Olive’s Top 5 Reads of 2022

Here we are at the end of 2022. It’s been a good reading year for me – finished 52 books and found many gems along the way. It’s a difficult task to boil it down to 5 top reads, but I will try! (In case you missed it, here’s my list from 2021). I’ll also include a list of honourable mentions at the bottom of this post. I’ve linked the books to Amazon here, purely for convenience of reference. If you’re able to support your local bookstore or get these from your local library, please do so.

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Blue Day Conversation Guide

Early on in our marriage, we realized that most of our everyday conversations were superficial in nature but we didn’t often get around to talking about the deeper things that mattered most to us. We decided to address this by booking off a day to discuss these topics. After all, businesses and organizations have annual planning retreats, why couldn’t we? That’s how Blue Days were invented. Over the 13 years we have been doing Blue Days, many people have asked us what we talk about. We put this post together to outline the topics we cover.

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Paying Attention to Crap: What Potty Training Revealed About Me

For a long time I hadn’t really understood what the big deal was about potty training. It was simple! At least it was for my first child. But when we were a month into training my second-born and still having regular accidents, I could see how potty training earned it’s reputation as “dreaded.”

As I reflected on this particular experience of potty training, I learned several things about myself. They weren’t new discoveries – more like patterns I’d already known about myself that surfaced in a new context.

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How I Practice Resurrection

How I Practice Resurrection [An Easter Gift]

No, I’m not Jesus. But I am practicing resurrection. Before I explain, let me give you a bit of backstory.

About a month ago, I had the fortune of attending a one-day retreat facilitated by a former professor of mine. It was the first time I was away from Kayla (who was almost 8 months old) and I was nervous about how she would do. I knew, however, that I needed to go to this retreat because my soul was in desperate need of care. Kayla did great. And I was refreshed and inspired.
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why i bother going to church as a young mother

Why I Bother Going To Church As a Young Mother [Excerpt]

Mornings and I don’t get along. Even on the best of days without children, mornings are hard for me. Add round-the-clock nursing into the mix and getting up, let alone going out, takes herculean effort. All this to say, if I make a public appearance before noon these days, you can be sure it’s someplace that matters to me.

Now that we have two young children, getting out of the house is quite a production. In the three weeks that we have existed as a family of four, we have made it out as an entire family a grand total of 4 times. Of those occasions, only once have we gotten out the door in the morning.
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Our Favourite Blog Posts from 2013

What a year it’s been! We continue to be humbled that folks like reading our stuff and would actually share our posts with friends. This year, we’ve seen several of our pieces gain an audience and more delightfully, we’ve had the blessing of hearing from and having dialogues with our readers – some of whom we’ve never met.

As we end off 2013, we’ve rounded up our favourite posts from this year. Enjoy!
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Choosing an Education for Your Child: Homeschool vs Private School

Choosing An Education For Your Child: Homeschool vs. Private School

[This is a guest post by James Radcliff.]

Choosing an education for your child is a critical decision given its impact on the long-term prospects and successes of your child in a personal and professional capacity. There is much debate about the type of education that merits the best results. The reason I think that comparing private to home school is interesting is because they are both options that generally cost money. In fact homeschooling can be more expensive than private school – since it usually requires a parent to give up working.
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