Photos and stories of an ordinary life.
Hi, friends! How was your weekend?
We had so much fun at the Detroit Jazz Festival! We kicked off our weekend by attending a Jazz Mass in Detroit. The worship music was wonderfully uplifting, and the entire Mass celebration was absolutely beautiful.
How was your weekend? I didn’t post Thursday and Friday because I had a tough few days. We had a death in the family, and it caught me by surprise.
I’ve been processing my thoughts and feelings on this, especially since I’ve had a couple of family members question my sadness.
Long story. Short version: I have a complicated relationship with my family.
One of the things I have learned about grief is you can feel deep sadness while also carrying on with your life, especially when you have children.
So, you could say this weekend was a mix of reflecting on my sadness, remembering the good times, and having joyful moments with Travis and the children.
On Friday, we took the kids to a local Asian market to get some ingredients for a few recipes we wanted to try.
Since we’ve been learning about the Lunar New Year, we thought it’d be fun to cook some new foods we’ve never made before like pot stickers and sesame seed balls.
The kids thought it was so cool to see the lobster and tilapia fish swimming in the aquariums.
And of course, they were SO excited to see all of the Kpop Demon Hunters merch at the market! 😆 They wanted me to buy all the Kpop things. Haha
We bought them Kpop-themed Shin Ramyun and Pocky snacks. They had the ramyun for lunch on Saturday. I was surprised they liked it despite the spiciness!
On Saturday, I spent the entire day drawing in my sketchbook, listening to music, and binge-watching a show.
My energy was a little low and my eyes were so puffy from crying. I’m doing okay today. Just still processing everything.
I just needed a calming activity that didn’t require me to think very much, if that makes sense.
On Sunday, we enjoyed a family breakfast and then went to Mass.
Travis and the kids made egg rolls and wontons later that evening while I worked on some lesson planning.
“Grief doesn’t always knock joy out of the room. Sometimes it just sits in the corner while joy continues.”
🙏🏽And today, I’m staying in prayer for world peace…
I hope you find small moments of joy this week.
💜XO
📸 Feature image credit here.
How was your weekend? We had another chill weekend, which the kids loved because every Saturday they like to have a pajama day. 😄
For Valentine’s Day, the kids wanted to make heart-shaped pancakes. Travis helped them with the cooking, and then they each took turns using a heart cookie cutter to create the heart shape.
I had my Canon camera out from snapping photos of the birds on our patio, so Zaya (5) and Zephaniah (8) asked if they could use the camera to take pictures of their Valentine pancakes. 🥞🥰
Future food bloggers! 📸👩🏼🍳🧑🏽🍳😁
Some of the pancakes were a little “well done” 😖😅, but the kids still loved eating them! 🙌🏾
I also did a lot of reading this weekend. 📚 I’m currently on chapter 21 of Outlander, my recent library book checkout.
Now that I’m halfway into the novel, Jamie and Claire are keeping me on the edge of my seat. It seems they are always finding themselves in a tricky situation. 🫣
On Sunday, we went to Mass, and Travis helped me with reorganizing our homeschool space.
I think I’m in a spring cleaning mood now that the weather is starting to warm up. I have a list of house projects I can’t wait to get started on this spring, including thrifting gently loved wood bookshelves!
Just a few photos of some of the progress we made. 😊 Overall, I think we did a good job with organizing my teacher books, the kids’ books, and our art materials.
About every three months, I like to refresh our space. It helps with focus and keeping the energy positive. 😌🙏🏽✨️
I’ve had this pothos plant for two years now, and it has grown into such a vivacious plant! 🪴
We love having it on our art shelf with the trailing vines hanging on the wall. It brings life and “good vibes” to the room. 🌿🙏🏽
And that was our chill weekend! Hope you find moments of joy this week.
💜 XO
Today was peaceful and relaxing. 😌 I made a big batch of French Toast for breakfast before we headed out to church.
We were running a little behind schedule, though, (kids taking their sweet time getting ready 😏😆), so we ended up going to the 12 p.m. Mass.
That’s one of the plus sides about living in a big metropolitan — there are a lot of options for Mass times because there are so many Catholic churches here! 😄
I finally got to work on my 1,000-piece Jane Austen puzzle. 🙌🏾 Why is it so satisfying to put a puzzle together?
Once I finished connecting the edge pieces, I was in the zone and it was hard to stop working on my puzzle. 😄
Here are a few moments from today’s peaceful day.
“May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.” whom I trust.” 2 Thessalonians 3:16
The day started out kind of rough. I slept in because I wasn’t feeling well and ended up running late for my hair appointment.
The interstate is a mess right now with all the construction, and the drive to the salon felt confusing with so many exits closed.
Thankfully, my hairstylist was kind enough to squeeze me in, and I was still able to get my hair cut.
Afterward, I thought about taking a walk at the zoo—we have an annual membership—but it was just too cold.
At the time I’m writing this, it’s 10° outside, and the weather app says it feels like -4°!!! 😱🥶
Zaya (5) said to me, “I hope the birds will be okay when they sleep tonight.” I have a little group of birds I’ve been feeding this winter—juncos, mourning doves, and sparrows. Sometimes three blue jays show up for some peanuts.
And when the temperature drops to the single digits, I’m just like Zaya. I can’t help but think about how the birds survive this harsh winter.
So instead of the zoo, I stopped by our local market to pick up some weekly groceries.
I ended the day in my warm, cozy bed with more binge-watching of my favorite show, Heartland.
Feature image: Travis and three (of the six kids and before Zaya was born) on a winter day in the city (2020).
