5 Friday Favorites: April 17, 2026
It's time for my Friday link up with A Little Bit of Everything and Momfessionals.
On Fridays I share things that made me happy from the week - a photo, a song, a quote, a beauty product, a recipe, a pair of cute shoes, etc. If it's a product, sometimes it's something I actually own and sometimes something I just saw online that gave me a smile. Sometimes it's serious and sometimes it's silly. I suppose I believe that God is in the simple details of life and yes, I can even find Him in a tube of lipstick.
Hello, Friends.
ALERT: I will have all my boys together for this entire weekend.
I’m counting the minutes, so let’s get to my favorites from this week. A warning: My 5 Friday Favorites often tend toward a big mess of randomness, but this week might take the cake. Here we go.
Teleties Hair Clip
In very exciting news, I recently discovered the best hair clip ever thanks to my friend, Keri. This Teletie Tiny hair clip is the perfect size, really sturdy and holds even my very fine, dwindling-away hair in its tough little teeth. It comes in other sizes and colors as well.
2. The Kelley Pen
We’re starting out with a bang, aren’t we? I will always contend that it’s the little things in an ordinary life that bring us joy that will help us recognize the intimate attention God gives us, so here’s one along with a story that no one will be interested in except perhaps the Kappa Alpha Theta pledge class of 1987 at the University of Texas at Austin.
What you see here, friends, is what I’ve always referred to as the Kelley pen because in Ye Olden Days of 1988-1991 when college students used writing utensils and spiral notebooks and didn’t know what a computer was, my pledge sister, Kelley, always had one of these four-color pens for taking notes. So I started to use one as well.
Anyway, I was cleaning out my desk drawer the other day and I found one. It was like an archaeologist finding a fossil. I instantly thought of Kelley and wondered why I hadn’t been using the Kelley pen. I wasn’t even sure they still made these pens, but God is good and kind and apparently they still do. This pen is really useful for taking sermon notes, answering Bible Study questions, making To Do Lists, or for scheduling events for your multiple kids on a calendar.
Am I about to write lo, even more paragraphs about this pen? Yes, I am.
When my three boys all had 753 activities each week, I used my Kelley pen and wrote each boy’s activity in a different color on the calendar. Joe was green, Kyle was blue, and Drew was red. You can do the same with your To-Do list. Make tasks you hate in your least favorite color and tasks you’re looking forward to in your favorite color.
HEY READER! DON’T YOU DARE SCROLL DOWN OR CLICK AWAY. THIS IS FASCINATING CONTENT.
When taking sermon or Bible Study notes you can use a different color for Jesus’s words or for Paul’s words or for each Gospel writer or WHATEVER! The possibilities are ENDLESS.
Oh, the joy this pen brings me. It’s a nerd’s dream come true.
3.Sugar Free Yum Yum Sauce
Continuing with this riveting list, let’s discuss this G Hughes Sugar Free Yum Yum sauce, shall we? If you, like me, are trying to choke down 542 grams - give or take - of protein in the form of grilled chicken, steak or seafood and it’s getting really boring, I present to you this sugar free dipping sauce. It’s also great on all your roasted vegetables. You’re welcome.
4. DND Gel Nail Polish in Raspberry
I usually don’t wear red nail polish in the spring and summer, but I chose this one at the nail salon this week and I love it. It’s not too dark and not too clown-ish if that makes sense.
5.Odd (Wo)Man Out
Subtitled: a lovely essay based on Proverbs 31 that I wrote whilst living in a house teeming with testosterone
Since I wrote so many words about the Bic 4 Color pen, I’m out of words and pulling from the blog’s archives today for #5.
I am so excited to be with all of my boys this weekend, but it occurs to me that there were some - okay, many - days when they all were constantly under my feet. And the idea that there would be a day when I would be counting the minutes until all of us could be together under one roof was a concept I couldn’t wrap my head around. I was searching for something in the depths of my blog this week and found this little missive from 2015. Seems like your girl was teetering right on the edge.
PS Young Mama. I see you. It gets better. Promise.
From 2015:
Good morning.
It is July 1st. The boys have been out of school for approximately 14 days and 17 hours. We've had no camps or vacations yet. We've just been here. All together. Everyday. All day. And the Husband has been working from home a bit this week. He’s also coaching a Little League All Star team that practices every evening. And though I know he loves me, if I told him I was running away with the sweet older gentleman that power washed our deck last week to his Guatemalan homeland, I think Coach Skinner might just say, "Well, that sounds fun. Do you think I should move Jimmy to the 3 hole and Billy to clean-up?"
So, you know, the gang's all here. In the heart of my home, sweet, home. Lounging on the couch. Running up and down the basement stairs. Eating everything in the fridge and then staring into the fridge and asking why there's no food in the fridge. Watching the Red Sox on tv. Watching a DVD of the Red Sox winning the World Series on tv. Watching the College World Series on tv.
And I'd say that it's going pretty well because, as I have said, I was made to live in a family of boys. I handle each day with grace and patience. I'm pretty much the ideal summer time Proverbs 31 gal. I am like the merchant ships bringing food from afar (or at least from the grocery store). I am clothed with strength and dignity (or at least in a pair of cute pjs). I laugh at the days to come. I speak with wisdom and faithful instruction on my tongue. You know, pretty much all that stuff.
Until that one day when I find myself a bit overwhelmed and tired. And I walk into the kitchen and notice the dirty water jugs on the table next to someone's cup (not the drinking kind) and someone's shoes and someone's baseball hat and everyone's dirty dishes. And I think maybe we'll have a family movie tonight, but I forget that the NBA draft is on and it's absolutely crucial that we know which team drafted which player in the 4th pick of the 7th round.
So I decide to go upstairs, take a bubble bath, read a bit and fall into a deep sleep so that I can get up the next day and be my graceful, patient self all over again. And just as I am almost asleep, all the boys seem to be talking/yelling/laughing/arguing/stomping at the same time. And although they are downstairs, it sounds like every last one of them is right next to me trying to bust out my eardrums.
I would like to tell you that what happened next was a very elegant moment for me. And that in a calm, measured manner, I made my request that perhaps my family could just lower their voices ever so slightly, so that I might catch a few moments of rest and that I looked exactly like this:
In reality, it was more like this:
And at that point, Steve definitely wondered, "a wife of noble character, who can find? Certainly, not me."
Perhaps you're having some trouble being a Proverbs 31 woman today, too? I suggest a quick trip to the nail salon, a walk with a girlfriend and a scented candle. Then ask God to give you another shot at it. He's faithful like that. I'm so grateful.
Have a great weekend, y’all.
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