It has been eons (okay, a few years..) since I last did a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 post. So, here we are 😊

Five pictures that describe my life lately:

1. Baking for Etsy! Popular items lately have been the gluten free rainbow cookies and the gluten free fudge brownies. I just realized the other day that I’ve been back to selling on Etsy for over a year now. It felt like such a fast year and I’ve learned a ton.

2. Reading + coffee dates with Sadie. Well, coffee for me… not Sadie, lol. I’ve really been enjoying the iced toasted vanilla oatmilk shaken espresso and Sader Tot loves the egg bites or cake pops. It’s such a treat to spend time with her, read together, and of course get my caffeine fix 😉

3. School. We’re working our way through Abeka’s Preschool for 3s for the summer and really enjoying it. We used Abeka when Sadie was two, and it’s neat to go through it again and build on it, especially with letter formation. It’s a joy to see her grasp a concept and how proud she is to tell Jimmy all about it when he goes home from work!

4. Swim lessons! Jimmy and I aren’t big on filling our family’s schedule with a million sports/activities/classes, however learning to swim is a skill we feel is important for Sadie to acquire. So, we enrolled her in swim lessons and she’s loving it. Yay!

5. Spring in full bloom. Spring is definitely here and I am here for it. Sadie and I went to the library this week and I had to stop and take a picture of these flowers by the entrance. As I was doing that, we saw at least five rabbits running around the landscaping. Love it.

Four random things:
1. Malcolm (our cat) puked on my planner. It was so bad I had to buy a new one. I don’t know what him puking on my calendar says about my future plans 😂
2. Sadie helped me clip Malcolm’s nails! He’s really good about letting us touch his paws, brush him, clip his nails, etc. and this was the first time Sadie really helped. She fed him treats while I clipped and nobody was harmed in the process 🙌
3. I gave our mailman brownies. I had some extras from an Etsy order, so I gave him a couple. Then he liked them, so he ordered more. Today he told me his mom wants to order from my shop. Totally random and totally awesome 😊
4. I met someone really amazing. When Sadie and I were at her swim lessons, one of the lifeguards struck up a conversation with us. I came to find out that she had a stroke, wrote a book about her recovery, and has ran over 100 marathons since her stroke. Talk about inspiring. Of course I bought her book on the spot! I’m enjoying it and can’t wait to talk to her during the next lesson.

Three happy things:
1. Jimmy’s birthday is tomorrow! Sadie is spending time with her Pappy and Gramma K while Jimmy and I go on a date. Swoon. We’re going out to dinner and then going to the mall to use an Express gift card that Jimmy got for Christmas. So excited for one-on-one time with the birthday boy!
2. We’re having a cookout. Jimmy wanted to have family over this weekend as part of his birthday gift, so we’re having a cookout on Monday. I’m going to make ribs and chicken and we’re borrowing the waterslide that was at Caroline’s party. Can’t wait!
3. Jimmy’s sermon went well! I mentioned in my last post that he was preaching for the first time on Sunday night and he knocked it out of the park! If anyone wants to watch the livestream, I can send you the link. The real MVPs of the day were my mother-in-law and her husband: they took Sadie to the mall so Jimmy could practice and polish up his sermon before preaching!

Two U.S. cities I want to travel to right now:
1. Seattle, Washington. I want to go whale watching, stay in a houseboat, see the Space Needle, and drink good coffee. So, pretty much everything!
2. Washington, D.C. I am dying to visit the Starbucks Signing Store. All of the employees are fluent in American Sign Language and the store is set up to enhance communication for those who are deaf or have hearing loss.

One thing I’m looking forward to:
1. Baking a wedding cake + cupcakes. Jimmy’s cousin is getting married in July and yours truly has the honor and privilege of making the cake and cupcakes (and some cookies, too!). We’re meeting with the bride and groom soon to go over flavors and details and I’m excited to see what they pick!