On Fridays I share things that made me happy from the week - a photo, a song, a quote, a beauty product, a recipe, a pair of cute shoes, etc. If it's a product, sometimes it's something I actually own and sometimes something I just saw online that gave me a smile. Sometimes it's serious and sometimes it's silly. I suppose I believe that God is in the simple details of life and yes, I can even find Him in a tube of lipstick.
Hello! I'm coming to you with a late edition of Friday Favorites because I was in Texas all week with very little time to write. I got back last night and slept until almost 10:00 am this morning like some sort of teenager. I had so much unpacking and laundry to do that I thought I'd skip writing today, but then a very sweet and encouraging person who I will not name sent me this text:
It's good to have people keep you accountable to your writing goals. Such kind and gentle motivation. ;-)
Anyway, I had the best time in Texas attending a Park Lane Jewelry Leadership Retreat for a few days and meeting some amazing women from all over the country. I was also able to see two of my college besties for brunch right when I arrived which made me incredibly happy. After the conference concluded, I hung out with my dad and brother. We helped my dad out with some medical appointments and errands and had a great time together for a few days. Also, I ate Tex-Mex three times, but who's counting?
I got home last night to find my baby boy in the house again. He got home from his freshman year for the summer while I was away. To be honest, the boy came home to neither parent because Steve had to leave for a business trip the morning of the day Drew was set to get home.
It occured to me that when the firstborn, Joe, came home from his freshman year of college, there was probably a steak dinner and a huge welcome from the whole family. I likely was counting the days and holding my breath until he got back.
This is when you realize that all the memes about 1st children and last children are the absolute truth.
When Joe came home from college:
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When Drew came home from college:
1. Trader Joe's Thai Yellow Curry Sauce
I spent the night with my Aunt Marilyn in Dallas on Wednesday night and got to see a couple of my cousins and their kids for dinner and we had the best time. I've mentioned what an amazing cook my aunt is before. She can cook and bake like nobody's business from scratch, but she also knows how to put together something simple and make it look like she worked all day on it. We had chicken curry over rice and she used this Thai Yellow Curry Sauce from Trader Joe's mixed with chopped rotisserie chicken served over jasmine rice. Then she had little bowls of fried jalapenos, chopped peanuts, and toasted coconut to use as toppings. Oh my goodness, it was amazing. I actually think I might be able to do this all by myself.
2. Park Lane Jewelry Ideas for Mother's Day
Mother's Day is right around the corner and if you're looking to get your mom some jewelry this year, Park Lane has you covered with all metal colors, all categories and all price points. Here are some of my favorite pieces for moms of all ages
The Bev Necklace is so pretty and classy. I love this alone or layered with another silver chain.
I love this 5 strand Denali bracelet. The "Gold" option has gold and silver beads and the "Silver" option has silver and black beads. It's stretchy so it will fit any wrist size.
These Lana earrings come in black, white or lavender and are only $28. A perfect gift for mom or grandmom.
3. Amazon Denim Dress
I ordered this denim dress in green and I LOVE it. It's great for every day for spring with flip flops, wedges or tennis shoes. It comes in every color you can think of which means it will be perfect to wear in your team's color for the early weeks of college football season before it gets cold. It's 15% off today!
4. Brandon Lake's Gratitude - Instrumental Version
At our Park Lane conference we heard from a mindset coach. He gave some great advice that was applicable to any aspect of life - certainly not simply to business or career. For whatever reason, my attitude when he started out was that most of it would be a bunch of trendy buzz words and "rah-rah" stuff. I'm not saying it was a fair, I'm just being honest. As he started to talk about the importance of gratitude though, I leaned in a bit more. Then at one point, he asked us to close our eyes and put our hands on our hearts and he guided us through some - oh, I don't know what you'd call it - meditations, I guess? Again, being brutally honest, when I first heard, "Close your eyes" my skepticism flared up again and I was thinking, "Oh boy, here we go with some sort of woo-woo stuff that's going to be awkward and weird. Check, please."
(Basically, what I'm saying is that I'm a real pain in the butt.)
Well, well, well. By the end, my sweet friend, Mindy, had to give me a handful of tissues because Little Miss Skeptical was crying and Jesus and I were having a moment. All that to say, I'm not 100% positive, but I believe this instrumental version of Brandon Lake's Gratitude was the music played as we went through the process. Whether it was or it wasn't, it's just absolutely beautiful. If you're stressed or worried or just need to take some deep breaths, I highly recommend listening to the music and having a chat with Jesus. The lyrics are shown in the video and you can also find the version with Brandon Lake singing it here.
At the end of the day, what I realized is that Jesus will find a way to tell your heart what it needs to hear. He'll use just about any situation - could be a mountaintop, could be a sanctuary, could be a hotel conference room. He's pretty adept at figuring out how to get to me these days.
5. The OG Favorite Guys in my Life
Well, to be honest, this photo is from December because I didn't take any this week. Still I had the best time with my brother and dad over the past few days in Texas. Before I had a house full of boys of my own, I had these two. I'm the luckiest.
Y'all have a great weekend.
Disclosure: The View From Behind Home Plate is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn small fees by linking to amazon.com. Post might contain other affiliate links as well
3 comments:
Sometimes I think those first born take on all our expectations and the later kids can be themselves lol. I hopped over from Friday Favorites today, my first time visitng. Have a great weekend!
It sounds like you had a fantastic trip! I love your motivation for writing this post. hehehe How lovely to have your boy back home.
That jewellery is beautiful and I love the colour of that denim dress.
Before I got to the end of the post I had already sent the "recipe" on to my daughter (she will LOVE it I think) and ordered the denim dress - ha! I got to visit my brother last weekend too - so thankful the Lord gave me both a brother and sister here on this earth. You are so right about the first kid returning and then the last. . .this week our youngest put in our family group chat, "Convenient, Dad, that you would have surgery the day I am supposed to move back to the house". I'm SURE our first child's "he is coming home!" day was on the calendar for months - hahaha.
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