Friday Fun!

Living healthy natural lives is not always the easiest thing, which is why I started my blog - to inspire and help others live their best life healthfully and naturally. Friday Fun is my way of sharing a bit of my life with you, my readers and friends, and I hope you will be willing to share your thoughts and ideas with me too.

So, here we go!

In my life this week...
This week, I started piano lessons with my son, which has been really fun. The best part, they are free!! Check out how to get started with your free lessons here, if you missed it.

I also got back to working a few more hours at work, which is both a blessing and a little bit of a challenge. I am training a couple groups of city employees in a friendly competition to see who can lose the most weight. It is so much fun, but they go right up until supper, so it is a rush to quickly get my children and scurry home to grab supper from the crock pot or something I have prepared ahead of time.

We had our first parent/teacher conferences last night! That was really great, because I feel like our son's teacher is a partner with us in training him up, and I love hearing how things are going from her side of things. He is doing wonderfully, but there are a few social things we will continue to work on.

It also snowed here for the first time. And it is still on the ground.

I am inspired by...
children working just as hard as I am as an adult in poverty. We got an update on our sponsored child (we work through World Vision), and we also got a magazine talking about some of the other children in neighboring countries and their personal stories. I saved the pages to share with my children to remind them of how truly blessed we are! One girl's story hit us particularly hard. She is 9 years old, lost both parents at age 6, and only has a sister and nephews left. Her sister left to work in the city. She is left in a little shack to care for her two nephews, cooking whatever she can find outside or borrow from neighbors over an open fire in the shack. Makes you thankful! Please keep her and the many others living with hardships in your prayers!

My favorite thing this week was...
getting a friendly email from my sister in law, talking to my mom on the phone, listening to Christmas music for the first time, and my migraine going away!!!

What's working/not working for me...
Working - Those awesome free piano lessons are so wonderful. My son loves them, and we really enjoy seeing his joy and listening to him play.

Not working -I have been trying to spend a little less on groceries, but that isn't working. I am already a very frugal person, so there just isn't much left to cut out. Also, my kids are doing a lot of whining and crying instead of talking when they have a problem. I keep reminding them over and over again, but it gets frustrating!

Questions/thoughts I have...
Is the snow really here to stay?

I'm reading...
A collection of Mail Order Bride fiction stories, Encouragement for Today Devotional by Proverbs 31 Team,  Creative Correction by Lisa Whelchel, lots of children's books!

I'm cooking...
Sneaky Sliders, Nona Lim soups (will be reviewing them next week), Delicata Honey Boat Squash, Crockpot Italian Chicken Soup, Salmon Salad

I'm grateful for...
a warm house, humidifiers, air purifiers, essential oils, cinnamon, time for a warm bath, a new book, God providing for our family what we need, and foot rubs

A photo, video, link, or quote to share...

Be grateful!