March Favourites // Little Loves

I can never quite believe how quickly another month can whizz by, and suddenly we're into the next month and I'm writing up my little loves for March.

Yet again, this month has been littered with hospital trips... affording me much time to read books and watch movies and listen to podcasts, and I'm thankful to report that baby remains on the inside. With every week that passes, we enter safer and safer territory and though I won't deny that each scare is slightly terrifying... I am increasingly thankful for the strength this little baby is already showing, and for a good God who I can rely upon, no matter what. We are almost at 32 weeks now, and the hoped for 37 draws ever nearer...

So here we have my little loves for March...




Read

The Children of Noisy Village: Astrid Lindgren
I did warn you, didn't I? That after a little detour, we would return to some of the Astrid Lindgren classics for our readaloud time, and let me tell you, she literally never disappoints. Each chapter has its own little story about six children who live in a tiny little Swedish farming community, and each chapter is just so quaint, and lovely and the girls are just lapping it up. Honestly, I don't know what we'll do once we've read Lindgren's complete library, because we genuinely have never been disappointed! The Children of Noisy Village (Die Kinder aus Bullerbu) is just delightful, and I can't recommend it highly enough!

When Marriage is Hard Work
My lovely blogging friend Suzanne wrote this fabulous piece on marriage - its real and its raw and its inspiring. Culturally, I think we hate the thought of hard work, but Suzanne's post is a reminder that hard work is always worth it. A genuinely great read, why not pop over and take a look!

Growing Up Social: Raising relational kids in a screen-driven world: Gary Chapman & Arlene Pellicane
This book is brilliant.... honestly. I'm usually pretty hopeless with non-fiction stuff, but I haven't been able to put this one down. Eye-opening, challenging and yet hopeful... it offers informed and important insight into the effects of technology on our little people. It's not one of these judgemental, make you feel guilty kind of books, but rather I have found it challenging and inspiring and already am implementing changes in our home. This is SUCH a relevant book for anyone with children of any age... and I actually think its a really important one too. The world of social media is new and exciting and where all our children will end up, regardless of how much or little we want them to know about it, so having a navigation plan, and thinking things through carefully is vital to helping our young people figure out this crazy new world. Seriously, of all the books I recommend, read this one.

Peace - Paddy's Post
This is a post I read in response to the passing of Martin McGuiness this week, and its a thought-provoking, challenging insight into the North/South divide and how to respond to all the troubles in Northern Ireland over the years. It also happens to have been written by my brother-in-law, so that's a bonus!

Watched

Me before You
I didn't know the story at all, so this one had me in floods at the end. An interesting perspective on a very controversial issue... all wrapped up in a heartwarming, earthy and tragic story. A worthwhile watch...

Ballerina
Dave and I decided that at 5 and a half years old, it was probably time to take Ava on her first cinema trip, so we packed Jonas off to my parents for the morning, and took the girls to the Odeon's Family Deal to see "Ballerina". The girls loved it, and honestly? So did we! Their little faces when they saw the size of that screen! To be honest, I think they'd have loved anything we went to see, so it was SUCH a bonus to watch a kids film that was actually really fun and inspiring and down-to-earth!

Speech from One Young World Conference
Gah... this had me in tears, such a brave young girl, and an insight into a world we can't even imagine. I was left so grateful for the freedoms we experience here in the UK. Not everyone in this broken world of ours know those freedoms, and its utterly heart-wrenching. In the light of Wednesday afternoon, this speech made me remember the need for us to stand up to any form of terrorism... but also helped me recognise that there is always hope to be found in the gospel.

Heard

Sally Lloyd Jones -RAR
I've loved the "Read Aloud Revival" podcast since I first discovered it two years ago, but I was super excited to discover that Sarah was interviewing one of my all-time favourite children's authors a couple of weeks ago. Sally Lloyd Jones is the author of the fabulous "Jesus Storybook Bible", a book which our girls LOVE and I found her interview both thought-provoking and inspiring.

Sara Tasker's Hashtag Authentic Podcast
Still loving this weekly podcast. For all you Instagram fans - subscribe, subscribe, subscribe!

Made

It through another week of pregnancy - 30 week milestone
And now heading towards 32! When the first scare hit us at 26 weeks, 30 seemed like hope. Now we're beyond that, it still seems far too early, but I'm so conscious that every day we get that bit further is a blessing. I'm hoping so much that by my April Little Loves, baby might still be happily tucked up. We'll see.

Pitta Pizzas
We had SO much fun making Pitta Pizzas a couple of weeks back.,. and they were absolutely YUM! So easy to make - even for our one-year-old! If you're after an easy, family-friendly, fun for all recipe, then check out the blog post here.

Wore

Headbands
So I'm hitting that awkward phase of life where the grey hairs are beginning to show, and where I'm making that life-altering decision as to whether I should go grey gracefully, or whip out the hair dye! Eek! As someone who hates bringing chemicals and nasties into our home, the thought of becoming reliant on fancy colours freaks me out... but at the same time, I'm not totally sure I'm quite ready for the grey thing at 31. So I'm procrastinating and temporarily stalling by wearing some super cute headbands. I used to wear them a lot in my uni days, and now, in my early 30s, feeling like its time to reinvest in a few new lovely ones.

OK... so its not really a solution by any stretch of the imagination... but still fun, right?!

And Finally...
We had a fun little trip to the antique shop last week, and invested in some lovely little nature books that all three of the children have been poring over. I love that they have a hunger and thirst to learn, and these "Observers Books" are absolute vintage gems! If you spot them in your local antique shop, invest!!

So that's us, the last week of March stretches before us, and then its on into April - real spring, and my favourite, favourite time of year - Easter!

Bring it on!