Why, hello there Friday.  Fancy meeting you here again.

FUNNY

That yard sale fiasco was last weekend.

I mean, it was alright.

On the positive side, we did clear out a lot of unnecessary items from our home and this house could certainly use a bit of purging as I tend to live with five pint-sized hoarders.

But the funny thing is, Piper and her friend Matthew hosted a lemonade stand and bake stand that day.  Hands down and nowhere close, they made far more money peddling over sweetened lemonade and  homemade cookies than I did selling my household possessions.

FASHIONABLE

When we hit the trail with a group a while back our family met a high school student named Bonnie.

She’s funny and kind and interesting.

And she wants to attend a three week summer art program in Missouri.

I like art.  I like Bonnie.

And, even more, I like a young person who works hard to meet financial goals to enable her plans to work out.

That’s what Bonnie is doing.

She’s creating and selling beautiful brass and nickel rings to help her earn the remaining $500 she needs attend this college level art program this summer.

Brass $15

Nickel $18

They’re totally adjustable to your size so that makes them an easy one size fits all choice.

You can e-mail Bonnie to order a ring.  (Her email address is Bcampbell918@gmail.com.  If you aren’t local, you’ll need to cover shipping & handling too, of course.)

You get a gorgeous handmade ring.  You help Bonnie hone her skill and you support both the arts and entrepreneurship.

FLAVORFUL

We love pancakes.

I’m always chasing down the best pancake recipe because they are not all equal.

This simple little recipe I found online years ago has now become our go-to choice.

I almost always triple this recipe because if I am going to effort to make pancakes one morning I’d rather just make a ton.  (I freeze the extras and then pull them out another day for a much speedier breakfast or lunch.)

They are such fluffy pancakes – and fluff is exactly what I want in my pancakes.

FAITHFUL

One way that I am frequently reminded of God’s faithfulness is through the watching of other people live their lives in a manner that brings glory and honor to Jesus.

This week we’ve been praying for our friends Nate and Laura who just added a second little baby to their sweet family.

Laura teaches elementary school and Nate is finishing up exams and is nearly completing his degree in nursing.  This couple works so hard to love one another well and to love their two children well and to love their friends and family well.

And in the middle of an exhausting season, they serve other people.  They laugh.  They share what they have.

I think they’re beautiful.  And every time I am around them I leave feeling encouraged and hopeful.  Hopeful for the future of my sons and daughters.  Hopeful for the future of their son and daughter.  They are a good team and I think it’s powerful what God can do to use a family serving him faithfully.

FEELS

I’m not exactly a dancing kind of gal.

But there are a handful of songs that really make me jump around the kitchen and have me grabbing kids and swinging them back and forth.  You know – wooden spoon in hand kind of singing and dancing.

One of my favorites, The Avett Brothers, are releasing a new album and they’ve put out one song so far.

I can’t even explain why I like it and what makes this song so dance happy to me, but it just really strikes me that way.

Ask hannaH.  She happened to be in the kitchen the other night when it began playing.  Even with watching eyes, I couldn’t help myself from skipping around when the music started playing.

It’s called “Ain’t No Man” and sometimes there’s just no explaining musical tastes, you know?