Welcome to Friday’s Fave Five, hosted by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story, in which we can share five of our favorite things from the last week, a wonderful exercise in looking for and appreciating the good things God blesses us with. Click on the button to learn more, then go to Susanne’s to read others’ faves and link up your own.

It has been a great week. Here are some of the highlights:

1. Jeremy (oldest son) has been home for the week! We celebrated his birthday on Wednesday. As I have said before, Skype and Facetime help a lot to keep us in touch, but it is not the same as having him here in person.

2. Time off. My husband was able to take the week off and Jason and Mittu half the week, so we’ve been able to do some fun things together. It’s been a nice combination of just hanging out and talking, playing games, and going on a few outings.

3. Help with meals. Of course, even if everyone else is on vacation, Mom still has kitchen duty. But Mittu prepared a couple of meals and we ate out for a few, so I got a bit of a vacation, too.

4. An outing in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge. We went to the Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies, walked around some of the shops, and ate dinner at the Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant and Grill.

5. A good Samaritan. Just as we finished up at the restaurant last night and were preparing to trek homeward, our car wouldn’t start. Jim found someone willing to jump the battery and help us on our way. I’m thankful that’s all the problem was (I had already been mentally running through the need to get a tow truck, rent a car to get home, and then figure out how and when to get back to pick the car up) and that someone was willing to help.

Because of much of the above, I haven’t been around to visit other blogs much this week, or often I have read but not commented. But I know you understand. 🙂

Happy Friday!