Productive Rest

Last weekend was a whirlwind, but we made it through to the other side.  If you remember, I was blogging from a coffee shop on the front side of a majorly over-scheduled weekend.

God has always been faithful to speak to my heart when I'm in the throes of parenting, to fill my cup and feed my spirit when I've had babies in my lap or young ones running around my chair.  Nowadays the "distractions" are more like thinking through logistics, answering a pressing question, or working on something that I didn't realize would be on my agenda today.  I'm faithful to spend time with the Lord in the morning every day, even when those things press in and try to derail me.  However, there is something about getting away, just me, to listen and read and journal and pray.  

The birthday party was a smashing success, with this "hat bar" at the top of the list for activities I've ever done with the Blossoms and their friends.

How cutesy are these personalized trucker hats?!!!

Blossom3 was thrilled with all the fun at her Sweet 16 and it made my mama heart so happy.  Their gratitude means a lot to me, but if they forget, I do what I do to serve the Master.

Shout out to the other 3/4 of the Blossoms who managed the party prep on their own while I carted Blossom3 and her friend and fellow State Project Ambassador to a day camp an hour away.  The party would not have been possible without our Blossom Bunch.  I was so thankful for their hard work and willingness to make her party nice.  I was impressed at how many things they remembered and accomplished that weren't on my to do list.  They were excellent hostesses as we came sliding into the driveway with twenty minutes til folks were set to arrive.

After staying up wayyyyyyy too late, Blossom3 and Blossom4 headed out the next morning for Gatlinburg, TN.

They relished the sunshine and warmer temps as I deeply embraced my homestead mama persona and fed animals on days that were -10*.  Honestly, as brutal as that was, I'm just grateful they had this opportunity to see some new sights and relive some of my childhood memories.

They did several hikes and enjoyed good quality time and several inside jokes with Grandma and Grandpa.

Meanwhile, after tackling all the housework and random projects that have been bothering me, I retreated to a local coffee shop in a greenhouse.  This is GENIUS in winter time.  

The sound of the running water,

the green of the plants around me,

the colors of the blossoms,

the warmth of the magnified sunshine,

the time with an old friend,

and a dirty chai.

Later in the week, I headed into town to find some books for a grad school project Blossom1 is doing.  Being that she's teaching all day in school, it makes it difficult to get to an actual library to get materials.  I was glad to be able to serve her in this way.  I texted her a pic of all I borrowed for her with the caption, "Never doubt that I love you."  Then, I decided that a better caption would have been, "Love is books."  

Then, I treated myself to a trip to the thrift store.

Blossom3 and Blossom4 returned home with this thank you mug for me and I am thrilled.  I think I'll go put the kettle on again.  It was a pleasant mix of productive rest this week.  I'm grateful that my little birds are safe in the nest again.

Dominique

Your Why, A Victory, and What's Brewing This Week

4-H has afforded the Blossoms many opportunites akin to the idea that, "The sky's the limit."  I love that this program helps them think like this.

Last weekend, Blossom2 was inducted onto State Council.  It's a bit of a pinnacle experience in your 4-H journey. The green blazer ceremony that kicked off the upcoming year's journey was enjoyable and inspiring and I needed that as a 4-H leader who has a lot more than just that volunteer side hustle on my plate.

When nearing burnout, keep your WHY front and center.

There was lots of joy and hugs and happy tears coming off the stage. 

On a practical note, I am so glad that Grandma was available to do professional blazer tailoring!

(clearly there is lots of journalling going on during quiet time)

The rest of the week has been preparing for the Younger Blossoms' trip to Tennessee, a birthday party, and Blossom3's 4-H State Project Ambassador event this weekend.  She's assisting with an expressive arts day camp and I'm excited to hear how it went.  I'm blogging from a little coffee shop this week and I'll be picking her up in a little while.

Blossom3 and Blossom4 decided we need more protein rich breakfast recipes.  It's been fun trying them out.  We all agreed that the protein cinnamon roll crepes are a favorite!  We even omitted the sweeteners so we could have some savory crepes for lunch and found those to be a delicious as well.

I love one on one interaction with the Blossoms, especially after a long day of directing and supervising and facilitating. I find I often need to consciously step back, reorient, and purpose to enjoy them.  

Mancala and Sudoku have been fun ways for me to do that lately.  Favorite plaid blankets and wool socks are a bonus too!

Blossom2 and I met up at a favorite coffee shop and did some thorough planning, organization, and brain-dumping about Blossom1's upcoming bridal shower.  It's super fun to plan events with carbon copies of yourself.  I love being on the same team as my girls!  She and I were also impressed with the Ube selections.  Paired with top-knotch pastries, we were happy to combine work with pleasure.  The chatting and chilling together made my mama heart so happy.

Given the coffee references, is it surprising that Blossom1 chose "Love is Brewing" as the theme for her bridal shower?  I'm here for it.  Literally.

Other bright spots this week were Blossom1's students googling her and figuring out about her fair queen days.  

"Miss ____, the crown pic of you is fire, bro!"

"BRUH, that is so TUFF."

"THE AURA, Miss _____!"

Amidst the hard work, the bright spots shine brighter when I hone in and revel in them.

Dominique

Frigid and Beautiful?

Did I mention we're having subzero temps here in the Hollow lately?  And that's after the 12-15 inches of snow that fell from the heavens on Sunday.

I thought the sleigh mug was appropriate for the weather, because choosing your mug in the morning is "choosing your vibe."  It's a small thing but savoring the small things truly helps me savor real, everyday life.

Who knows what the Blossoms were ogling here, but there were all sorts of cutesy comments.  I love this.

(That's Blossom4's signature slime being stretched there.  I'm currently wondering if she will be an entrepreneur that builds a business around this. In the meantime, I won't tell you how many random containers of slime are all over our house.)

What a perk of homeschooling!  Blossom3 and Blossom4 were in between subjects.  It's a snack and a furry snuggle time sort of break.  

I don't have to understand how it works to know it helps to build healthy humans.

Blossom3 passed her learner's permit test!  Afterward, she sipped her celebratory Dunkin' frozen matcha and we took a few minutes to chat about anything and everything.  It was such a busy day that day, but all day long, we came back to relishing the victory of surpassing that milestone.

Celebrate the milestones.

With words.

With a matcha.

With a smile.

With a hug.

A dear friend from our church family passed away last week and we organized the funeral meal.  I got a kick out of our three instant pots all lined up, cranking out delicious homemade refried beans.  

There was something so beautiful about being together all day, working toward the same goal, problem-solving, and remembering Melvin.  Remembering how he was always serving in the background and loving people.  

Involving our children is something near and dear to my heart.  

This is how they learn to serve.  

This is how they learn to spearhead and conquer events like this.  

This is how they learn to show love. 

I once heard a comedian say something like, 

"Drugs were a big part of my upbringing.  

I got drug to church.  I got drug everywhere."

I can attest to this, and I hope you can hear my humor when you read this.

I got drug along to serve.  

I got drug into raking leaves all day at a camp.  

I got drug to outreach events to man carnival games and serve food.

I got drug into baking hundreds of cookies for campers.  

I got drug into washing tons of dishes.

I got drug along to clean the church.  

I got drug along to serve right along with Mom in whatever she was currently doing,

and guess what, it was good for me.  

I can now (and many times, then too) attest to the joy, fellowship, and beauty of serving together.

Dominique

Just Winter Lately

Every now and again, I like to do a "Life Lately" post, so here's...

What I'm decorating lately:
A cozy winter view of our living room is something that makes me smile.  We said good-bye to the Christmas tree for the year and embraced the wintry decorations.  I'm loving the birch logs with twinkle lights over top.

Homemaking doesn't have to cost a lot.  The tiny snowmen on the mantle are Christmas ornaments I picked up dirt-cheap on post-Christmas clearance circa 1999.  This makes me laugh that I still have them and that I still like them.  The large snowflake was a gift from a dear friend.  The Blossoms and I made the tiny yarn hearts.  Pretty glass bulbs from the Blossoms' Corning Museum of Glass field trip with Grandma were just too wintry-perfect to put away.  Sometimes homemaking is another way to keep me "smiling at the days ahead." (Proverbs 31:25)

What I'm reading lately:

Our current family read-aloud is Rainbow Valley, book #7 in the Anne series by L.M. Montgomery.  I love that my Younger Blossoms are getting to know characters that are near and dear to my heart.  The antics of the manse children and the Ingleside children are so fun and remarkably insightful, which is a delightful hallmark of Montgomery's writings.  

I just finished You Bet Your Stretch Marks by Abbie Halberstadt and it was a wonderfully encouraging and convicting read.  Is what you're doing as a mom worth it?  It's a resounding yes!  It was encouragement for when I feel weary.  It was also full of Scripture to keep me plowing ahead in the way that God would have me to mother in this season.  I read a chapter a day so that I had time to digest what I was reading, often journalling or writing down key thoughts.  Writing down thoughts and principles really cements them in my heart.

What I'm drinking lately:

I ran out of my favorite daily tea, Tetley British Blend so I had to find an alternative.  This Irish Breakfast blend from Taylors of Harrogate might be taking its place!  I love the quality, strong, full-bodied flavor as my early morning pick-me-up.

When Blossom1 or Blossom2 are home, I say YES to a hot latte.  The Blizzard of '26 means I had luxurious lattes yesterday and today, with my favorite people all around me!  I don't take this for granted!

What I'm thrifting lately:

I was thrilled to discovered this $1.99 neck scarf find was Anthropologie 100% silk!  To think I swiped it simply because neck scarves are current rustic style AND this one matches all the denim I'm always sporting.

This LL Bean vest in mint condition was a $3.00 find.  I knew it didn't fit anyone in our family, but I was able to resell it for a profit.  I don't mind doing this when the right piece falls into my lap.  

Where I'm travelling lately:

Blossom3 and I spent her 16th birthday in the Sweetest Place on Earth.  I was supervising my current fair queen during the State Fair Queen competition.  Blossom3 got to enjoy Hershey Lodge, junior fair board activities, delectable Hershey food, and one-on-one time with me.  We had such a lovely time!  And we even squeezed in a successful foray to a new thrift store.  I thoroughly enjoyed our conversations and jokes!

Life is always full here, but the wintry bright spots are exquisitely beautiful!

Farm Show 2026

The Farm Show was a big part of the last two weeks.  It's traditionally about good food and agricultural education for us but as the Blossoms grow, our involvement and responsibilities change.

We were there a couple of days in multiple family configurations.  Blossom1 and her fiance were with us one day ~ tasting delicious food, purchasing local skyr yogurt, and exploring exhibits.  Oh, and the Rugged Mountain Man was VERY happy with his turkey leg, but not the parking situation.  

Blossom2 was involved with the Culinary Connection stage,

helping with demos, preparing tasting portions, and 

competing in a Chopped-type competion with other culinary and baking and pastry arts students.  We got to see some stuff in person and some through a livestream.

Let me just say, it is intense to watch your daughter do this.  I was talking to the livestream,

"Check the rice!  Somebody PLEASE check the rice!!!"

"There's only five minutes left, SOMEONE get the plates out for plating!"

(The camera panned over to Blossom2 arranging plates.  That was a proud mama moment!)

Her team won!

Blossom3 did a presentation with another 4-H State Project Ambassador.

They've been working toward this for a few months now.  They wrote the presentation themselves, practiced, tweaked, pulled together a game, and organized a craft.  

It was a major victory for Blossom3 to own this project from start to finish with very minimal involvement from me.  

They also spent time researching categories for future exhibition by other expressive arts 4-H members.  

This is a growing part of 4-H and they are excited to be a part of it.

Blossom4 has been along to support her sisters, be a part of the games, and be inspired by them - her real life role models.  

It's a beautiful part of sisterhood~

learning from their victories AND their bumps, watching their goals from start to finish, and being the best cheerleader a sister can be.

Ag education was another big order of our days at Farm Show.

Blossom3 was inspired... maybe there's an upcycled greenhouse in our future.  Pretty inspiring since her presentation covered the topic of upcycling.

There were bovine organs to be explored.

The alpaca fiber arts were some of my most favorite.  

Mom and I love to admire craftsmanship.

This booth featured 'Paca projects from makers from all across the Commonwealth and we were in awe.

The miniature landscapes are one of our most favorite exhibits.  

We came away determined to exhibit more next year.

Considering how much the girls have matured, I'm excited to see the determination become goals and grow into fruition. 

America's 250th is a big theme for PA Fairs this year, which is no surprise.  Patriotism is strong in the Fair world and it's something we love.

We signed the bell

and marvelled at how many signatures were collected in

only FOUR days.

With tired feet and full bellies 

(with deep fried cheese cubes, bloomin' onion, pierogi, flavored lemonades, cheesesteak pretzel roll, and milkshakes... the list goes on), 

we greeted the police horses, and trekked toward home.  

Dominique