Five Finds Friday (five)

FUNNY

The kids have really been enjoying taking photos lately.

And I keep finding gems like this on my phone:

FASHIONABLE

I know I am partial to this model – but you guys, isn’t she the cutest?

She’s modeling this terrific and surprisingly bouncy scarf made by my talented friend at Phoebeflock.

And it’s a perfect stocking stuffer, hand crafted and one of a kind.

FLAVORFUL

For our weekly family movie night we like to eat pizza.  

Except when we don’t.

And then we like to have homemade Chinese food.

The last time we fixed our Chinese (ish) dishes we realized we were all out of our favorite Trader Joe’s sweet chili sauce for the chicken (and the rice and the egg rolls).

Of course we weren’t going to go to the store, so London researched a make-it-at-home sweet and sour sauce.

And found this gem.

The website is not attractive – and neither is the photo – but the recipe was simple.  We had all the ingredients in the cabinet.

And.

It was delicious!

We were all scraping the bottom of our cups to get just a taste more.

We’ll definitely add this into our Chinese dinner nights.  (And stop buying any other kind.)

FAITHFUL

Earlier this year hannaH bought our family a blank journal with a few words of instructions on the first pages and a verse about God’s provisions.  She encouraged us to record all the ways God was providing for our family.

And we’ve been writing them down.  

I think my faithful section here each week probably sounds a bit like a broken record.

But God keeps using people and I can’t stop being grateful.

Which leads right into the next category …….

FEELS

Tonight was that Noonday party at my house.

I cleaned the house and tried to make it smell good.

(I frequently need outside motivation for that effort.)

Friends gathered (and I was so so glad for every one that drove out in the dark on a week night to look at jewelry and eat snacks – I know how valuable our evening times are).

It was such a fun night actually!  I had honestly been a bit nervous – the junior high girl in me coming out – because I haven’t hosted this type of an event since I don’t even know when.

The Noonday jewelry really is lovely and truly has an inspiring beginning beyond just a trinket.

Plus – the stuff is just so cute!

But what turned out to be just the best was the fact that by the evening’s end there were probably about six of us remaining in the living room and we were talking real talk about life’s real struggles and there were tears shed and prayers offered and laughs interspersed and who knew that God can work through bracelets and hair do-dads and a handful of people in a living room on a Thursday night?

And the kids were such team players.  They helped me clean the house the day before and then found quiet and sweet activities to entertain themselves during the party itself.

After everyone left I walked into this scene in my bedroom:

All that right there is worth entering into our provisions notebook — friends who drive out to your house to attend a party, kids who help you clean and then happily let you hang out with grown ups in the living room.

There’s so much simple beautiful in all that – you know?

And — as if all of that wasn’t enough (and, trust me – it really was enough) —-

guess what guys?

You did it!

Me and Sean Penn can soon live happily ever after.