On Where It Begins

"I rise early, before the sun is up;

I cry out for help

and put my hope in Your words."

These are the moments where I draw strength. 
These are the times when I rest in His peace. 
These are the times when I lay down my burdens. 
These are the moments of hope, seeping into my soul. 
This is where I get grounded on a foundation, unshakable by the events of any day. 
This is where faith blossoms in my spirit. 
This is where change begins. 
This is how I start to look like Jesus.

Friend, no matter the time that you rise, cry out for His help and put your hope in His words first.

Dominique

Psalm 119:47

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

PS - This was a sunset in the Lowe's parking lot.

Newest Hospitality Tool

I'm constantly growing in the area of hospitality.  I love finding the best ways to use my home to be a blessing to others. 

I've wanted a stove top cover for a while, but since they are bulky and I didn't know where to store it, I thought it wasn't worth it.  (They are also known as noodle boards.)

I had a lightbulb moment the other day, realizing that it could easily be stored in an unused space beside the fridge!

And then I went to Lowe's, so that the Rugged Mountain Main and I could build this together. 



I love how it works well for a large hot beverage station in my kitchen. 

Look around and see if there is a simple way to maximize the hospitality potential in your home.

Dominique

#lifewithdogs

With our two big dogs in the middle of daily life, things around here get a little messy sometimes.  

My in-laws are long time dog lovers, so they've taught me a trick or two.  

Sometimes Jake and Rory eat something that doesn't agree with them.  Whether it's puke or poop, getting the chunks off the floor is a nasty job, but here's how we tackle it.  

When we finish a box of cereal, I commission one of the girls to cut the box up into approximately 6 inch x 6 inch pieces.  We keep a stock of these small cardboard pieces in our "dog life" bin.  

Whenever there's a nasty pile in the house, we scoop it up with those.  THEN, we soak up the liquid with paper towel and spray the stain.  (Even if you have hard wood flooring, the cardboard scoopers still come in handy.)

My father-in-law says you can also use old Christmas cards, but alas, I haven't been able to bring myself to that point.  

It's a huge revelation, folks.  Cereal boxes make great puke-scoopers.  

Dominique

#dogloverslife

#lifewithdogs

#doglifehack

Deep Walmart Observations

After a rare evening trip to Walmart by myself,  I observed that 75% of the women there wore yoga pants or pajama pants with an oversized hoodie.  Conversely, every man I saw at the store was wearing jeans, boots and a jacket.  What stunned me was that they immediately looked more put together than the women I noticed, even if they had clearly been working hard.

I found myself wondering, "When women get dressed, why don't we choose clothing that looks more put together?" 

One must put pajama pants on the same way jeans are put on; one leg at a time. 

One must put a nicer tee on the same way a cruddy too-large tee is put on. 

Perhaps comfort is the driving factor? 

Ladies, we can choose clothing that is functional and comfortable. 



We can make a choice in the morning to dress respectably,
even if we aren't going anywhere,
even if we are only running errands,
even if we're working hard,
even if we're "only" going to see the people we care most about ~ family. 

Classy Pearls

I think Jackie O said it best!

A flowy gray hand-me-down poncho shirt, black skinny jeans and gifted suede over the knee boots are paired with a triple strand of pearls for a simple and pretty church outfit.  

Simple is classy, friends!

Never Been Too Proud for Hand-Me-Downs

It's been a while since I've shared an outfit, hasn't it? I like to come around to these posts every now and again, so we all remember that being well put together doesn't mean we have to be big fashion spenders.

I wore this outfit around the house and to drop the girls off to skit practice.  It's one of my favorites!  I felt well put together and that always helps me forget about what I'm wearing and focus on the tasks at hand.  

~The gray Mama Bear hooded t-shirt was a hand-me-down and so was the Old Navy white buffalo plaid flannel shirt.  Shout out to my sis-in-law and sis for sharing their castoff goodies with me!

~The jeans were from a sale ages ago.  

~The purse was a Christmas present from my Mom several years ago.  I picked it out from Amazon.  

~The gray socks were actually sleeves cut off a thrifted sweater to give the scrunched sock effect above my boots.  I call them "bargain boot cuffs!"

~The hat is a $2.97 Walmart purchase that sees a lot of action.  

~The earrings were actually a set that the Blossoms made for me.  

~The duck boots were my birthday present from the Rugged Mountain Man this year. He got them on sale.

If you take away the socks, earrings and hat, you'll notice the outfit seems to lack pizzazz.

I've found that looking well put together has a lot to do with taking that extra five seconds to put on a pair of earrings.  It's grabbing boot cuffs that match whatever you're wearing.  It's taking five more seconds to snag a baseball hat that complements what I have on.

It says to every one else, "I may be busy, but I tried." And yes, I'm not to proud for hand-me-downs.  They too can be the building blocks of great outfits!

Dominique

The Trade

Back in the day, Israel traded their glorious God for a statue of a grass-eating bull. 

What a vastly disappointing trade!

What kind of trades have I made in my own life? 

Anything else I make god in my life is not going to be worth it.  

It will be a drastic come down from the power of God reigning in my life. 

Putting the Rugged Mountain Man above God,

Putting the Blossoms above God,

Putting my own wants and needs above God,

Putting the things, the habits, the foods I turn to above God...

All of it will be a drastic come-down from having the one glorious true God in the supreme position of authority in my life. 

What trades have you made in your life?

For me, thinking about keeping God in His number one position is always a fruitful time of thought.

Dominique

Psalm 106:20, NLT

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A Special Frigid Wednesday

Since there's a big wood stove in the basement, our living room fireplace rarely sees more action than the pillar candles that normally adorn it.  As an aside to a history lunch we were doing this past week, I built a fire in the fireplace.  

It just so happened to be one of the coldest days of this winter thus far.  All day long I relished the rustic fragrance of burning wood as well as the soothing crackle of the flames.  

As I went about my day, I kept stumbling on Blossoms parked in from of the toasty flames, soaking up the experience.  

Amidst a bleak winter day with brutal temperatures, something as simple as a fire added a cozy, content element to our time indoors.  Dealing with the extreme cold makes a lot of extra work for the girlies and me.  

This soothing fire and the resulting gathering about the hearth brought a special high note to a frigid sort of Wednesday.

Dominique

#freezerhack

Most of my friends stock food in a freezer... or two... or three.  They buy (or raise) meat in bulk.  They freeze fruits or veggies or herbs. 

So, nothing ever gets lost in their freezers... or mine. 

Ever.

Nope.  Not ever.

But, just in case your freezers are stuffed and you need that beef roast that is calmly reposing at the bottom underneath 40 pounds of hamburg, I might have a tip for you.

Keep a pair of winter gloves next to your freezer at all times. 

Then, when you have to dig for something, it isn't such a big, bone-aching deal. 

This is mind-blowing ingenuity, is it not? 

What can I say?  It was the Rugged Mountain Man's idea.

Dominique

#freezerhack 
#mamalifehack

Practicing Better Something

Getting supper on the table on the brink of sitting down together, I reminded the Blossoms to wash their hands. 

Amidst groans and calls of "I just washed them ten minutes ago" and "why do we have to wash our hands AGAIN?" 

I parried with, "We are trying to practice better... uhhhh... we are trying to practice better...uhhhhhh..."

(places hand on forehead in #mombrain frustration)

Better what????  Friends, I was floundering for the word hygiene.  

"Because we're trying to practice better biosecurity?" queried Blossom1. 

Sure.  If biosecurity is the reason you wash your hands more often, I'm good with that. 

Just wash your hands.

#countryfamilyconversations

Happiness

What if, when I felt unhappy, I simply asked God for happiness?

The Psalms are such honest and heartfelt words.  

The honesty compels me to surrender afresh and 

ask anew for God's true happiness to be in my heart all day.

Dominique

Psalm 86:4, NLT

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

I would say, by and large, that I live in a culture that is not satisfied, 

and yet, I want to live a satisfied life.  

I want to bask in contentment every moment of every day.

Contentment seems to be the secret of happiness throughout life and at the end of life.  

That satisfaction, that moment-by-moment contentment, is found only in Him.  

ONLY.  

There is no substitute.  There is no way around it.  

I humbly ask to be satisfied that way in Christ.

Dominique

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.