Big Berner & Blossom4

How Blossom4 greets a new day:

Rambling

Spring Sunday afternoons seem perfect for rambling in the woods, stretching our legs, deep-breathing scrumptious air and exercising dogs who long for the woods as much as we do.

This time we ventured to a part of our favorite state park that I'd never explored. 

The Rugged Mountain Man had once cross country skied here, but the rest of us only became familiar with it at our forest-schooling co-op session last fall.  

Though this part of the lake is drained, I still felt the envy of the the kayakers I saw there on that magical fall morning last year.  

The evening sun made up for the lack of water and kayaks on this splendid Sunday afternoon.

Curiosity over this water crossing was what drew me to this trail to begin with.  

I do love a good bridge; they're quite possibly as poetic as a bend in the road.

Don't be fooled by the calm picturesque nature of this snapshot.  We were all marveling at Jake, romping through mud 12 inches in depth and then scrambling to get out of the way as he greeted us to shake the mud away. 

There's always the draw of the view.  What's over the noll?  What is beyond the tree-lined crest?  Blossom3 couldn't resist the urge to see.

We found ourselves at the peak of a local sledding hill, a place where I sledded as a child.  I told the stories again; the one where my brother hit an unknown ramp on the first run down and vaulted 8 feet in the air, while my dad sprinted down the hill to check if he was okay.  Despite having the wind knocked out of him, he was.

After soaking up the stillness on the bench, the Blossoms decided that sledding hills are terrific for rolling log-style down, since no sleds or snow could be fabricated at the time.

We hustled back to the truck to beat the setting sun and closing gates, delighted to have rambled the afternoon away.

Friday Fun

- I washed a boot. #thatsactuallyafirst

- Try explaining Russia's doping violations to your 4 year old.  #huh?

- Sometimes my hair looks like this.

- Blossom4 was picking up the slack and doing Blossom3's inside chores.  Since the dogs are being treated for worms with food grade diatomaceous earth that we keep on top of the fridge, she requested, "Mama, hand me the di-uh-maesh-uhs earth."

- "I'm pretending my big toe is the head of a snake!" Blossom3, on why there are creepy hissing noises coming from her desk during math time.

- Blossom4 ~ "Mama, our bathroom smells funny."
Me ~ "Ok, I'll go take a look."
Blossom4 ~ "I said it SMELLED funny."

- The little Blossoms may be little, but they still wield the power of revenge over Mama, by persuading Daddy to let them watch a movie in Mama's bed.  They ate graham crackers while doing so.  #itchybedtimeforme

Have a wonderful weekend, friends!

Dominique

In the Garden

I've noticed that Blossom4 really likes to just be in the garden with me.  I like to encourage that.

We all had a fun time the other "dinging" around in the bare flower bed.  We were tidying things up and having a little fun with the "blank spaces.  The Blossoms earned those picturesque little houses with their successful morning and night inspections.  I must say, the swing set is my favorite though.

Put Rocks in Your Garden

My sister-in-law sent me this pin for river rock garden markers, originating from West Valley Moms Blog.  The girls and I were so excited about making some!  It was the perfect project for easing out of winter and into spring.

And, it looked perfect for a Sunday evening craft session together.  

Bonus points for the craft being something useful in our garden!

We went free style with our painting and, of course, Mama got in on the painting too.  We used acrylic craft paint.

Once they were dry, I painted on the words.  I let them dry again and clear-sprayed them to seal them.

Every time I see these fun rocks, it makes me smile to think about how much fun the Blossoms had painting them.

Check out all of our garden beauties.  Can you find Cookie Monster or Oscar the Grouch?  It's no accident that I used Oscar for "cabbage."  

You may have already caught a glimpse of this delightful project in Tuesday's post about hardening your plants.  

 Just another way to be inspired, rather than discouraged by Pinterest.

Harden Your Plants

This post was actually written last spring.  However, due to real life, I never got around to publishing it.  It seems more applicable now, when we're prepping for another planting season and the garden is looking like a beautiful blank slate.

  
Yesterday, I really enjoyed venturing out with the Blossoms into the garden.  I was astonished that the task of planting the garden, which had been hanging over my head, really didn't take long at all.  

The girlies have went from being "helpful," to be being real helpers!  (gasp!)
(This seems to be a theme around here lately, much to my and the Rugged Mountain Man's delight.)

I hear mamas of "Bigs" who train their kids to work keep telling the mamas of "Littles" to hang in there.  They say to keep teaching your children to work.  

They're right; it really does pay off (eventually).  

As for gardening, in some ways, you could still call us rookies, just like I am still a rookie mama in many ways.  My 11 years of mama experience pale in comparison to my mom's 36 years of experience!  

I was thinking of one trick that has really upped our garden success rate and helped me shed more of my rookie uncertainty and frustration.  

You gotta take the time to "harden" your plants 

before you plant them.

Say what?

I usually stop by my local Amish greenhouse and load up on all the beautiful green plants, but I rarely trek them home and plant them on the same day.  Instead, I plan to plant them about 4+ days later.  I use those next few days for "hardening."  

The plants are kept inside the garage or basement at night.  In the morning, they are moved to a shady porch.  Some folks get creative by putting them under an umbrella or picnic table; use what you have to keep them from getting harsh, direct sunlight all day!  The plants sit out all day in the delicious springtime air, getting gentle sunlight and being watered by my minions ~ oops, I mean Blossoms.  Then, the plants are taken back inside at dusk.  This is done each day until we're ready to plant.  

This hardening really seems to lessen the greenhouse-to-garden shock that is evident after immediate planting.  You know the look; like my weak and wilty plants are struggling to survive!  

This also allows you to buy your plants a little earlier before the greenhouses are out of your favorite plants, not that that has ever happened to me or anything.

I'm grateful that a friend shared this info with the Rugged Mountain Man several years ago. I latch on to tips of every day wisdom, wherever I find them.

Happy gardening and child rearing!  They really do go hand in hand.

Dominique

#gardenhack #rusticlifehack

Through Gritted Teeth

Remember when I read Recapturing the Joy of Motherhood?  It really got my attention how much emphasis the author put on affirming her children.  I knew I could grow in this area.  

Bonni Greiner talks about giving at least one “wug” or word hug to each child by lunch time.  I’ll tell you this.  I don’t like flattery and I don’t think that empty praise has a place in parenting.  I’d already found that if I was frustrated with the Blossoms and they did do something right, I found myself rewarding them through gritted teeth.  Ahem.  

That almost seems like a sort of grudge.  

“Here’s what I expect of you.  Oh, you didn’t do that.  Grrrrr, I’m mad.  Oh wait, you finally got it and you did what I wanted.  Nope, I’m still so frustrated over all it took to get here that I can only begrudgingly offer a word of praise to you.”  

Can you relate?  I’ve seen this in myself and felt the Holy Spirit put His finger on it, pointing out the wrong attitude in my heart.  In the last few weeks, I’ve made more of an effort to notice the good things and voice them to the girlies.  

Their response caught me totally off guard.  They responded to those “wugs” moreso than anything else lately.  They worked harder to please, to obey. 

So, I want to grow.  I want to be holy as God is holy.  I want to be Godly, every day.  My standard isn’t actually another mom, a book, a magazine or a social media post.  What I look at as acceptable behavior is what I see in the Word of God.  That patience, kindness and gentleness.  Yep, that’s what I want to be.   

Dominique

These photos were snapped on a recent weekend with my lovely in-laws.  My father-in-law drove us past this covered bridge, much to my delight.  We saw these magnificent flocks of geese flying overhead when we stepped out to the parking lot after dinner.  Snapshots like these bring me an everyday life kind of joy.

The Burdens

Lately it seems that various friends have had days fraught with pain, sadness, uncertainty and even tragedy.  I've been feeling like my hands are tied.  I pray.  I text.  I hug.  I ask.  I reach out.  What else can I do?

I've been thinking about bearing burdens.  It brings to mind a picture of both friends under a huge sack of feed, whilst trudging together.

Maybe bearing burdens is simply bearing the sadness together.  

Feeling the pain with them.
Being in it together.
Not scoffing at their difficulties.
Realizing that their days are hard.
Offering grace in their struggles.
Refusing to fall back on empty platitudes.
Pointing gently to the Everlasting Hope.

Perhaps bearing burdens is the action 
of "weeping with those who weep."  

Bearing burdens might be as simple as being there and feeling the sadness too.  

Let's slow down and bear burdens together.

Dominique

The first snapshot was taken by Blossom1, out the van window, while running errands on Friday.  By afternoon, the snow had disappeared from all other surfaces, except in between these two peaks, in what the Rugged Mountain Man calls "the Gap of Rohan."  The second snapshot was taken as I stepped from my vehicle to attend a meeting at a friend's house on Saturday morning.  The fresh beauty of the morning light on their hillside caused joy to simmer in my soul. 

Top Spot, by His Grace

After an afternoon of outside work that we knew would make the Rugged Mountain Man smile upon his arrival home from work, I pondered the inner workings of a day here.  It's really not complicated.

My husband, the Rugged Mountain Man, is the top priority.  

But what does that mean?

I plan around the Rugged Mountain Man's schedule.  Is he home?  Then, we are.  And, I'm available to help him.

In the afternoons, the Blossoms and I do the things I know that he wants done around the house.  Those rocks that need to be raked out of the yard and back into the driveway get raked, because we are considering what he wants accomplished here in the Hollow.  What he thinks is a priority, we make a priority.

When he gets home from work, I ask him what's on his agenda for an evening and then we go from there, planning what I'll tackle and what the Blossoms need to do.

If I'm making food for a potluck, I ask him what he's in the mood for, considering his tastes first.

If he doesn't want me to buy it, I don't.

If he wants me to wait to spend money, I do.

If I'm headed out, I do the errands he needs me to do.

If he calls, texts or emails, I respond.  Immediately.

I love my husband and he comes before everybody else.  These are the practical ways that he is my priority.  I'm honoring him above myself.  I'm giving preference to him.  In honor, I'm preferring him.  It's solidly Biblical, and it's found in Romans 12:10.

I still love the paraphrase my dad used to repeat to us often,

"Prefer one another higher than yourself."  

With God's grace, you can prefer your husband higher than yourself.  

Dominique