Five Things To Do This Weekend - Welcoming Summer Edition

1. Ice down a watermelon
2. Make fresh-squeezed lemonade
3. Break out the popsicle molds and freeze a treat
4. Try some new wading pool games
5. Teach your kids "In the Good Old Summertime"

Five Things To Do This Weekend

1. Enjoy a festival or carnival.
2. Cut a magnolia blossom and float it in a bowl of water.
3. Catch lightning bugs.
4. Cook lunch on the grill and eat outside together.
5. Order Father's Day gifts before it's too late to get them shipped and you have to shop at WalMart. Again. Make plans for a magical day, while your at it.

Five things to do this weekend

1. Attend a spring or strawberry festival. There are a few to choose from around here.
2. Make these strawberry sparkles for a special treat.
3. Paint a picture of a strawberry with strawberry scented paint.
4. Plant a sunflower house
5. Plan an end of school party.

Five things to do this weekend

One of last year's pics

1. Help the kids make the valetines they chose for which I finally found the right paper.
2. Figure out some nice surprises for Brian and plan a nice dinner.
3. Choose Valentine's Day outfits and reserve them for the big day, find the Valentine hairbows I bought on our Christmas trip, and schedule a family picture.
4. Read more in Genesis and Desiring God.
5. Catch up on laundry - See ya later!

Five things to do this weekend

1. Pray for snow. (I know some of you are praying for the snow to melt, but you can pray for God to send it to me instead. Besides were looking at an ice storm, and snow is so much better!)
2. Write a thank you note, not for an actual gift received, but for someone's time, friendship, or service to you. Write the thank you note that doesn't have to be written, to the person in your life that has really encouraged you. If you're really stumped, try starting with your church pianist, janitor, or secretary.
3. Oganize your recipes. If you're anything like me, you have a lot of recipes that sounded great, got clipped out and stuck in a folder, and may never get used becuase you can't find the right one at the right time.
4. Pick up some eyedrops at the pharmacy. Yep, this is a prayer request, Brian has infection in his eyes again. Please pray that it clears up fast!
5. Fill your bird feeders.

Five things to do this weekend

1. Finish packing away the Christmas decorations. I'm pretending that I'm not the only one who hasn't done this yet. I'm also pretending that I'm actually going to pull this off this weekend, but maybe I'll get an E for effort.
2. Write a letter of encouragement, or call a friend that needs encouraged. I'll be writing to my brother in prison, as I try to do almost every day. And I'll be calling a girlfriend several states away to listen to her and to listen to God, begging Him for the wisdom to know how to encourage and when to keep listening. It's humbling to not know the answers, but comforting to know that Someone does.
3. Hang a calendar for each of your kids. I get each of my children their own calendar, hang it in their room, and use it to write down things that they say or do, just like a baby calendar. It's less effort than a journal, but I still have a record.
4. Make some homemade mixes. I need to mix up a batch of gluten-free Bisquick, a dry cream soup base, and some gluten-free corn muffin mix.
5. Send out your remaining Christmas thank you notes. I have an old card maker from when I was a girl. The kind where you choose the plates, put a piece of paper over them, and then rub them with a crayon. The kids love it. Of course, the internet also has a limitless supply of great (free) printable thank yous too. These are really cute.

Five Things to do this weekend

1. Attend a seasonal choral concert such as the Messiah.
2. Begin tracking Santa at NORAD. If you haven't seen their promotional video you must watch it right now - your kids will love it!
3. Last chance to order photo gifts. If you still need grandparent gifts, check out the great options at Walmart's photo center.
4. Make these wonderfully simple cinnamon ornaments.
5. Light the second candle (for peace) on your advent wreath. We'll be following Lindsey's suggestion and saying "May God's peace dwell within us."

May God's peace surround all of you.

Five things to do this weekend

1. Attend a Christmas lighting and carol sing.
2. Enjoy a local Christmas parade.
3. The Nativity Story opens today. View the trailer here, and Focus on the Family's Plugged In review here.
4. Take advantage of online shopping whil there's still time. The Lakeside Collection is a great place to find affordable gifts for almost anyone.
5. Light the first candle on your advent wreath.
   
   

Five things to do this weekend

1. Attend a high school play. (We're going to a local Christian school's production of Alice in Wonderland.)
2. Get all of your food shopping done so that you can focus on food preparation next week.
3. Send out your Thanksgiving cards to family and friends.
4. Let your kids print out a Thanksgiving craft or game at Crayola.com.
5. Plan a family activity or reading for Thanksgiving Day that will draw your family together before God with overwhelming gratitude for the blessings He's given to you this year.

Five things to do this weekend

1. Find a footbridge over running water and play "Pooh sticks." (This is the name my children have given to reenacting a scene from a Winnie the Pooh cartoon where the characters stood on a bridge, and threw sticks into the water, and watched them float downstream.)
2. Check your local paper for any living history events in your area. We're having beautiful weather and are planning to attend one near our home tomorrow. The children love to watch someone turn sheep's wool into thread. It fascinates them.
3. Rake some more leaves.
4. Try out this amazing twist on pumpkin pie. I had the nerve to serve it at Thanksgiving in place of the traditional version several years ago, and there's been no going back.
5. Stop and look at your children and take a moment to really see them for each of their beautiful selves. Then hug them close and thank God for this day with them; life is a vapor. I served a meal before the funeral of a five year old today. It makes you grateful for every moment God gives you with those you love. Pray for Laura and Jason. Their arms feel empty tonight.

Five things to do this weekend

1. Line up someone to watch your kids (if you're not planning on taking them with you) while you vote on Tuesday.
2. Make sure you are voting for a freedom-loving, pro-life candidate.
3. Rake up the rest of those leaves and let your kids jump in them.
4. Put out your Thanksgiving decorations and throw out those wrinkly jack o'lanterns. I'm so excited for my kids to see this Plush Pilgrim playset their Gran got for them. The story of the first American Thanksgiving is always a hit at our house.
5. Make pumpkin waffles.

Five things to do this weekend

1. Take your kids to a fall festival.
2. Carve pumpkins. We always share the pumpkin gospel. If you don't want to do a jack o'lantern face, check out this beautiful way to carve a pumpkin at By Sun and Candlelight. Just scroll down the post until you see the pumpkin.
3. Walk the easy hike at your local state park.
4. Build a bonfire, invite the neighbors over, and make smores.
5. Collect leaves and do this foliage friends craft at family fun.