Friday Five: November 2nd

Dipping my toes in the "Friday Five" waters...maybe this is something I can keep up with?  With my track record, no guarantees!😂  Anyway, I'm calling this week the "H" edition: homeschool, habits, health, and home.  Here are 5 things that I'm loving this week!

1. Homeschool: Finding out that David Suchet has narrated the entire Bible and you can listen to it for free on Youtube.  Suchet is one of my favorite British actors (actually probably one of my favorite actors, period!) and we listened to his narration of the book of Mark this month for school.  It's so well-done.  I should note that it's only in NIV, just a heads up.  I prefer ESV, but we have really enjoyed listening to this and I've found it's not that much different.  
2. Habits: One of my focuses this year was to be habits, but I haven't done as well with them as I would like.  But I'm happy to say that since we got back from our trip out west, I've actually kept up with the dishes every night for the first time this year.  It's been a whole month now, and I feel like this habit is slowly becoming...well, a habit!  It's really given me more time in my days, and I feel so victorious every time I finish the day with a clean kitchen sink.  Hurray!
3. Health: I've been struggling in this area lately, after having a fairly good summer.  I indulged a bit too much (or a lot too much) on our trip, so now it's time to buckle down again and work on healthy habits.  One thing that I've embarked on is a 21 day THM challenge that a gal on FB has organized.  So far I have finished 2 full days of eating on plan, and I am thankful for the accountability.  Now to get back to regular exercise as well!
4. Home: I just love being home at this time of year, and I especially love fall decorating.  Our fall foliage wasn't the best this year because of so. much. rain, but at least I can make things pretty inside!  Thankful for thrift store and dollar tree decor, and other odds and ends that I've been able to decorate with. 
   
   
   
   
5. Homeschool (part 2 😉): Another great thing we've added into this year's morning time for school is The Same Page podcast, hosted by Mackenzie Koppa.  When we first started listening to the Core Edition (memory work) back in August, I will admit my kids were less than thrilled.  I even heard, "Do we HAVE to listen to this?!"  BUT, they did love the Literary Edition, where Mackenzie reads a chapter or so of a classic novel, 4 days a week.  The first book she did was The Wizard of Oz, and even though we've listened to Anne Hathaway's recording of the same book on Audible, I believe they enjoyed Mackenzie's reading just as much.  (The current book is Peter Pan, which they are also really enjoying!)  And now they have even become fans of the weekly memory work, and have painlessly memorized selections from Scripture, Shakespeare, and other poems and facts.  I love that Mackenzie gets her kids involved in the memory work, so there is variety in who is reading what pieces each week.  Hearing her kids recite Romeo and Juliet was just so fun!  So if you haven't checked this out, please do...it just might be a hit with your kids, too.  

So ends my first (but hopefully not my last) Friday Five!