It's not that life has been particularly busy around here, it's just that my free attention is mostly focused on reading about keeping bees (good news, Virginia residents! The beehive grant program is still going on!) and chickens (we just ordered a dozen chicks from our local feed store and the kids are DYING with anticipation) and garden stuff (where to dig the asparagus trench! where to plant the strawberries! why did John Paul click the "3" button for Okra seeds when he was helping me order things!).

So really, if you have helpful resources for any and all of those things, I'd love them!!! I still know basically nothing so you can assume ground zero for animal information :)

In the meantime:

We got a new-to-us laundry sorter for the kids and apparently it has inspired them to go to great lengths to do their laundry! Cecilia (5) dragged her bag downstairs and washed, dried, folded, AND put away her entire load! Plus she added the dish towels and wash cloths to it and got John Paul to fold THOSE and put them away.

6/52

Well, I didn't get a picture of *my* ashes on Ash Wednesday, but I got all theirs!

John Paul, 6.5

Easter Style Thoughts {7 Quick Takes}

--1--

The snow is (mostly) melted, the days are getting longer, we're in the throes of Lent and... Easter is coming! 

All Jesus talk aside, one of my favorite things about Easter is dressing to the nines with the family & taking one of our twice yearly pictures together:

Magical Hand Cream, Sanity Savers, etc {Five Favorites}

It's been ages since I've done a truly random, "Here are 5 things I love right now" post, so since I know you're SO curious... Here are 5 things I love right now!

Affiliate links included - thanks for helping fund my book buying!

ONE

These seed starting trays are the easiest ever. John Paul and Cecilia helped me start seeds in them last weekend and I didn't have to touch them at all except to lift them once the two of them were done (which is so great because I find it tedious planting each row, but they were SO into it!). They come with pellets that expand when you add water, which you can transplant directly without having to pop them out of the tray like the other kits we've used (which, when kids are helping, often results in the seedling getting yanked out of the soil completely...).

5/52

I tried getting pictures of each kid from above this week - I'm still learning where the good light is in our house, and sometimes the pictures end up blurry because I misjudged whether the light would be good or not!