Well, it’s my first Fun Friday Favorites in almost TWO YEARS. Two years? Goodness, I’m so glad to blogging and vlogging (video blogging) again! I’ll say it again…I’ve missed this.

What better way to end a long week during our Covid19 than to have see some Fun Friday Favorites? Today, it’s all about encouraging you as we are in this pandemic together. So grab a cup of coffee. Protein shake. Or a glass of wine. Your third Diet Mt. Dew of the day. WHATEVER you have. And sit back and enjoy a few moments of joyful simplicity.

1. Jigsaw puzzles – We’ve fallen in love with jigsaw puzzles over here. Who knew they could be so addicting? We bought this whitetail deer jigsaw puzzle and it’s allowed some great “cooperative learning”. Now, for the record, we paid $12.99 for ours. When I went to look it up this morning, it is selling at $39.99. 😳 Maybe wait for the price to go back down…. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LP8ERLY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

2. Our Snack Schedule – If you’ve been following me on Instagram or my Angela Banae Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/angelabanae , then you’ve seen this Snack Schedule I’ve created about our current reality. (Okay…it’s slightly exaggerated, but it’s fairly close! LOL)

Last night, I would have had added “Midnight Meal” to this schedule. If you consider making two kids two batches of ramen noodles at 11:40 p.m., then by all means, YES…a midnight meal was added to this current meal plan. Anyone else feel like their kitchen has a revolving door??

3. I said it on Thursday Thoughts, my Facebook Vlog last night (video blog) {if you haven’t, check out Thurday’s Vlog https://www.facebook.com/angelabanae} and I’ll say it again…kudos to every. single. one. of. us. We are all just trying to do our best. Let’s remember that and extend grace and kindness. We are all doing the best that we can for our families during this pandemic.

Whether you are a parent working from home and then, having to “homeschool” your kids WHILE doing your job remotely, from your home…

Or you are an “essential employee” and still going to work during this pandemic because you are a healthcare provider, farmer, restaurant worker, grocery store employee, postal employee, gas station attendant, truck driver, working with other essential companies to keep our country going, WHATEVER you are doing because you must go to work…and then, come home to try and “homeschool” your kids…

Or you are currently home with your children and trying to manage some type of normality with some sort of schedule that includes chores, “homeschooling”, play time outdoors, or WHATEVER…

Whatever you are doing, let’s remember…we are all just doing our best here. Aren’t we? In this Covid19 pandemic, we are all trudging through each day the best way we can, so let’s remember to be light in this unsettling, dark time. Let’s be kind, spread joy, and offer grace. Now, more than ever, our kids are watching us. They are watching us to see how we handle the daily news. They are listening and hearing how we speak about others. They are seeing how we pray to God, asking for His protection and healing on our world. They are seeing if we are being selfish or selfless. They are watching us. Intently.

Let’s do this current reality well, friends. Let’s come out of this pandemic with more love for God, more love for our family, more love for others, more love for the things that really matter.

Stay healthy and have a wonderful weekend!

xo ~ Angela Banae