Happy Friday From the Friendly State of Tennessee

So much has been going on around here. I have been making a list of all the things I want to share with y’all.

1. First, people in Tennessee are so nice, I mean they go above and beyond nice. Our neighbors invited us to a potluck right off the bat, another neighbor brought us homemade cookies, and another neighbor and I have weekly coffee dates. It feels so nice to already be making connections since we are so far away from our Oklahoma people.
2. The fences in Tennessee are so gorgeous. Full of history, made with beautiful materials, and so picturesque. Stone, picket, civil war style to name a few.
3. Do you have a budding little typist? My friend, Heather, shared an awesome website that teaches the keys to the computer keyboard.  It’s free, too.
4. I’ve been listening to the audiobook Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis. I recommend it. I also was able to watch her movie in the theater, Made for More. In her book, she talks about how important it is to not break promises to yourself. So many times we keep our promises to others but don’t follow through on the things we’ve promised ourselves.
5. I’ve had trouble finding good podcasts for my kids. Any suggestions? Recently I heard about Highlights Hangout Podcast. We only listened once but I heard cheezy jokes from kids and the hidden sound rather than the hidden picture. Cute!
6. Something we like to do before we watch a movie with our kids is to look up its ratings. We usually use Common Sense Media which is helpful to learn what is an appropriate age to watch the movie and the site rates the level of scariness, consumerism, sexy content, etc. Also, My sister recently told me about Pluggedin.com. It is from Focus on the Family. It reviews movies as well as books. All very helpful.
7. This is a resource concerning child development. I like to look at it every so often to have a little clearer picture of what is going on with my boys. Of course, every child is different and all develop at their own pace but I do think it is helpful to look at characteristics based on age from time to time. If you have time to look at the site let me know your thoughts.
8. Have some holes in your walls? I learned how to do a California Patch recently. Quick and easy fix!
9. Our whole marriage I have searched for a chili recipe. Each time it always fell short until I tried the chili recipe in the Magnolia Table cookbook. It tastes exactly the way chili should taste and is super easy. You should try it and as she says– don’t forget the Fritos. (I used one can of Ranch Style brand beans and one can of Bush’s chili beans, I thought that combo was yummy).
10. I think it would be so fun to have one of these. Totally impractical but I feel like I could have a proper British breakfast and feel like I was at Downton Abbey. Don’t you agree?

Have a great weekend. What are you doing? We’re headed to a Vanderbilt football game on Saturday. Grant, my oldest son, received a free ticket through a reading program. See I told you, Tennessee is so nice!