1. Taking More Time for Quiet
During this Year of Rest, I've been working on being a lot more intentional about making space for winding down and quiet in my life. Multiple times before bed this past week, I got everything done before dinner, and then had an hour and a half to wind down, take a bath, and read a book before bed.
Even though last week was very full and we had multiple activities every day and friends over at our house every day, it was such a productive and calm week - and I know it was because I was intentional about building in these spaces for quiet.
I've also been intentional about making time for Sabbath in my week - taking a day to refresh my soul, recharge my batteries, and re-energize my body for another week. A day to shut out the noise and soak up the quiet. A day with few responsibilities and commitments. A day to just let my soul inhale and exhale.
I finished this book this week and it was one of my favorites this year, so far.
Finding Spiritual Whitespace wasn't anything like I expected it to be, but it was everything that I need to read right now in this season of life.
3. Seeing My Kids Learn New Skills
We make homemade Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls again this week. Only this time, Silas wanted to made the dough almost entirely by himself and then I taught him how to roll it out, roll it up, and cut it up!
He ended up doing almost all of the Cinnamon Rolls by himself… and I think with a few more practice tries, he'll be able to make them without any help from me at all!
Folks, this is how I work myself out of a job! 
{Note: Notice his hair cut? This is why.}
4. Prepping for the Business Boutique Events
I've said no to almost every opportunity this year as part of my Year of Rest, but one of the few opportunities I said yes to was speaking at the Business Boutique events - a new event for women who are in business or who want to start a business from the Dave Ramsey team.
The events will be held in Dallas and Phoenix in May and Early Bird tickets are almost sold out! The speaker lineup is incredible and the price for the two-day event is really fantastic!
If you want to hear more about the event and about what I'm speaking about, watch this scope I did while I was meeting with the folks from Dave Ramsey's team this week.
{If you are interested in attending, go to BusinessBoutique.com for more details on the dates and price. Psst! You can use coupon code BBPAINE to get $10 off the price of any one ticket! That makes the Early Bird Tickets just $149!!}
5. Seeing the Love Our Kids Have for Each Other
It was a rough day yesterday. Kaitlynn competed in her first away competition (in Cincy) and got 4th place - which devastated her.
She had been dead set on getting first place (unbeknownst to us!) and was very disappointed in herself that nerves had gotten to her and she hadn't performed like she knew she was able.
It literally took an hour of talking and hugging and working through it for her even be somewhat consolable. Seeing her older sister and younger brother love and encourage her when she was so upset was a beautiful thing. And it warmed my heart in the middle of a hard parenting moment.
As parents, while we're so proud of our kids and are their biggest cheerleaders, we are grateful for times when they get to learn life lessons… Even though it breaks our hearts to see them struggle through loss and failure. Ultimately, though, it's opportunities like this that will shape and mold their futures.
{And I'm so happy that Kaitlynn is now ready to press forward and is talking about what she's going to do differently at the next competition!}
(Posted with Kaitlynn's permission.)
What are YOU loving right now?
