5 Things I’m Loving This Week: School, a book I’m reading, a recipe I loved, plus more!

1. Our Kids’ New Classical School

Our kids started at a new small Classical School this year. This was a big change for them as we’ve always homeschooled.

I’m so grateful for those 7 sweet years I had to be a homeschool mom. I’m also grateful for God’s direction this year (for a long list of reasons) that a different schooling option is best for our family and our kids.

I won’t pretend it was an easy decision. It was one that we made with a tremendous amount of thought, prayer, discussion, and tears.

I will readily admit that I was scared of what the first week might be like — not just for the kids, but for me, too. We prayed and prepped and prayed some more. And, by God’s grace, it was a really good week. It was so much better than I could have imagined and there were so many different ways that God confirmed to us that this decision was the right decision.

Thank you to so many of you who were praying with us, caring about us, and who reached out to us this week. It meant the world to us!

We are so grateful for this school, for the teachers, for the educational philosophy, and for how it aligns with our family’s values, educational philosophy, and worldview. We’re also grateful for how God leads different families in different ways for different seasons.

There will be new challenges and new opportunities and I’m excited to see what God has in store as we trust Him to lead one step at a time. (The kids were excited because they had a very relaxed dress code this past week so they got to wear shorts to school! The real dress code starts this coming week!)

2. Uninvited by Lysa TerKeurst

I started this book last week and it is so, so good — just as I expected it would be! If you struggle with feeling lonely, left out, or like you don’t belong, please do yourself a favor and get a copy of this book.

{By the way, if you need some extra encouragement, I shared a video earlier this week here about how to change your mindset when you’re frustrated with what you see in the mirror. I also talk about Uninvited a little bit here.}

3. Our New Lunch System

We’re trying something for lunches during the school year. Our extra refrigerator is going to be 100% devoted to lunch items.

We’re making up a big batch of freezer-friendly PB&J on the weekends and, in addition, I’ll have 4 different bins of items that the kids can choose one from — cheese sticks, snack packs, veggies, fruit, applesauce, chips, cookies, etc.

Each bin will have something different so that when they choose one item from each, they’ll have a well-rounded lunch. I’m hoping this makes things super simple and easy for them to put together their lunches at night.

Kathrynne helped me set this up and she took the initiative to write a board with details on how to put together the lunches. So far, we’re one week in, and I have literally done NOTHING for lunch prep other than help set the system up and make sure we had the items on hand for Kathrynne to get everything into baggies in the extra refrigerator.

And then the kids have been entirely in charge of each making their own lunch every night. I haven’t had to remind anyone and no one has yet to forget their lunch. I know we’re only a week in, but I’m pretty excited at how well this has worked so far — especially because the kids seem to be loving it!

4. These Flowers Growing in Our Yard

I have no idea what kind of flowers these are… I think they might even be a weed? I’m not sure. Anyone know?

Regardless, they just started growing in our backyard and I’ve been picking them and put them in mason jars to brighten up our rooms. And if they are a weed, I’m really not going to apologize… because I think they are pretty and they make me happy!

5. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Next up, I made the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes. As the recipe stated, the batter was very thick. But the end result was a hearty and yummy pancake that freezes and reheats really well.

(I may have eaten way more of these than I’d want to admit. They are yummy… and they make me feel like fall is coming soon! Yay!)

What are YOU loving? Tell us in the comments!

Source : Money Saving Mom®