So this past week was Screen Free Week. A week of unplugging from the TV and computer. I will say that unplugging from TV, movies, video/computer games was not hard at all for my family, but unplugging from the internet proved to be rather challenging.

I realized that so much of my life is wrapped up in being online. Majority of my recipes and craft tutorials are online. I pay our bills and balance our checkbook online. I find out the weather and news online. I stay in touch with family and friends online. Whew...what did we do before the internet?!

So this past week, I decided that instead of uplugging completely from the computer, I would just unplug from facebook and blog reading. I did pretty well. I logged into facebook once because I wanted to subscribe to a moms' newsletter. And of course the only way to do so was to like their fan page. Ha! I felt like I was cheating, but I'm proud of myself for not browsing facebook any while I was logged in. I liked the fan page and then logged off. This was a huge step for me!

I found that, as a stay at home mom, facebook and blogs are some of my only connection to the outside world. As a family, we try to stay home as much as possible. We don't do a whole lot of field trips and such. I have young children, and for us, home is the best place to be for learning and discovering. But it can be hard on me, so I find that facebook and blogs give me the adult interaction that I need to function normally. But I also found that I don't need them as much I thought I did. I spent last night and this morning catching up a bit, but I feel completely ready to shut this thing down and move on with my day. I think this unplugging was just what I needed to get my priorities in order.

I also enjoyed the time we had to really focus on Holy Week. The kids and I discussed Palm Sunday, Jesus cleaning out the temple, Mary and the alabaster jar, Judas' betrayal, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and of course celebrated the resurrection on Sunday. Our nature table has symbols from every day...palm leaves, written prayers, an "alabaster" jar, a bag with 30 dimes, a bowl and towel, a cross and toilet paper representing the empty cloths left in the tomb (my ideas came from here). By doing these activities and attending great services on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, we had some wonderful discussions this week.

So this past week was definitely a gift to me. I am blessed with a beautiful family, and I love being a homemaker. But I also have so much to learn in getting all of this right. That's the great thing about life though...each day is a new day to learn and try something different.

I'm still taking notes of each gift I have. It really perks up my day when I find a silver lining...

77. easy dinners
78. morning coffee
79. cupcakes with jelly filling
80. triangle bunting
81. refrigerator art
82. Easter baskets brimming with eggs
83. kids drawing a cross on a hill and an empty tomb...and both are surrounded with Easter eggs :)
84. Pirate Smee, Peter Pan, Power Boy and Robot peg people
85. homemade beeswax polish
86. caffeine
87. toddler beds
88. bandaids making all things better
89. playdoh playing instead of tv watching
90. tears with kids while discussing Good Friday
91. nature table displaying symbols of Holy Week
92. Tutus over pjs
93. water play outside even though it's not summer
94. planting seeds
95. wooden robot families
96. practicing selfless ways