Hello lovelies! It’s 3:42 p.m. on Friday afternoon before Valentine’s Day. The kids are in their rooms cleaning. You don’t want to know the state of disaster their rooms are in. I’m not one to talk. I still have a Christmas tree in my living room. The goal was to keep the tree up through Epiphany, but I’m determined to get it out of here before Valentine’s Day. After all, I have standards. For now, my little dog is sleeping in her bed that’s turned inside-out for some reason and I’m sipping Tony’s Coffee in one of my Starbucks tumblers, the stainless steel one with the stenciled-like poinsettia. Seems like today’s theme is Christmas, which I totally dig. (Who doesn’t like Christmas?) I should probably pour what’s left of the coffee in the sink. Like a child sneaking a can of Coco-Cola before bedtime, nothing good happens with I drink coffee in the afternoon. 

I don’t have a ton of time to share this week. I meant to write this morning but after I helped in Steven’s class I ended up at Ulta to find the perfect flat iron. I never found the perfect flat iron so off to the library I went. I had to return a book (Young Jane Young) and pick up no less than eight books from the hold shelf. Next I stopped by Central Market where I unknowingly paid $17.26 for five sweet potatoes. Ufda.

Moving on.

Many of you know that a Weekend Roundup is what happens when I share the work of my friends at Hope*Wrtiers. But this week I’m going to shake things up a bit by throwing in a few podcasts and a Facebook live video.

I’m going to start the way I always do by sharing an essay from one of the Hope*Writers. In Failure Is Necessary, Crystal Stine writes, “Failure is tricky. The world tells us we should avoid it at all costs, and for a long time I only did activities I knew I would be good at for that very reason.” Yep, Crystal’s statement pretty much sums up the bane of my existence. If, like me, fear of failure is your mode of operation, you may want to give this essay a read. Crystal poses a question at the end of the post that hits particularly close to home. I’m amazed that someone who is not bothered by a fully trimmed Christmas tree in her living room on February 9 worries about failure. But really, in the world according to Nicole, the only thing worse than failure is people not getting along.

Another article that grabbed my attention is one by Bethany Boring. Despite her last name, Bethany is anything but boring. I bet that joke gets old. This one grabbed me because the author was born deaf with vision-issues, heart issues and a short right arm, yet is going to Ukraine to extend love to special families. In the article, Bethany links to two videos about orphans and the forgotten in Ukraine. I have yet to watch them, but will soon. I have a feeling the videos will remind me a little too much of the beautiful people I met in Romania in the summer of 2003 and 2004. Here’s the link to the blog post about Bethany’s upcoming trip and her ministry, Step Out and Thrive.

Even though I linked to Karen Gauveau’s work in the last Weekend Roundup (read it here), I can’t help but do it again. I simply can’t get enough of Karen. Her work is what happens when humor meets heart. In this article, Karen writes about her easygoing third child after two strong-willed older children. An easygoing child after two strong-willed older children? Now where have I heard that before? Hmm, reminds me of life with Emily, Steven and Lauren before Lauren turned three and suddenly became not-so-easy. Enjoy this tender (and funny) post over at Lightly Frayed.

It’s now time to spice the Weekend Roundup up with what I call bonus material. Jamie Ivey and Jen Hatmaker both had Candace Payne on their podcasts recently. Have you heard of Candace? I hadn’t. Though I’m probably the last person on the planet who never clicked on the Chewbacca Mom Facebook live video. Here ya go. If you’re not on Facebook, you can check out Candace’s video on YouTube here. I promise this four-minute video will make your day. When you’re through, check out the following podcasts to listen to Candace share her story and talk about her book. Here’s the link to listen to Jamie Ivey’s chat with Candace on The Happy Hour With Jamie Ivey, and here’s the link to hear Candance and Jen Hatmaker gab on For the Love! With Jen Hatmaker.

Friends, it is time for us to part ways until the next Weekend Roundup. I should have thrown dinner in the Instant Pot a half-hour ago, after all. If I were one of those kind of bloggers I would post an original recipe of what we’re having for dinner, accompanied by stunning photographs and step-by-step instructions just waiting to be pinned on Pinterest. But that’s not the way I roll. Who has time for Pinterest when your life goal is to take down the Christmas tree before Valentine’s Day? Don’t get me wrong. I fully appreciate those kind of bloggers. I’m beyond grateful for the food blogger I found via Google. She taught me how to steam sweet potatoes in my Instant Pot like a lady boss, which is fortunate because dinner tonight just happens to be sweet potatoes masquerading as taco shells, served with spicy ground beef and taco trimmings. (Think baked potato bar, taco-style.) The Twedtlings, I guarantee, will not be impressed.