It Means...

Last Sunday, while the older Blossoms were having their youth group zoom meeting, I gathered around the island for tea with the little Blossoms.  We chatted about quarantines, hiking, coloring and hula-hooping. 

I began to ask a few questions about that morning's online sermon, which included fabulous points about what to choose over some of the challenges we face in our lives these days. 

"He talked about choosing something else over panic.  Do you remember what it was?"

"Prayer!" they replied in unison. 

"And we can choose worship over something.  What was it?" 

"Worry!" they said.

"Hmmm, there was another one, but I can't remember what it was.  Do you remember?"

"Oh, it was to choose faith over fear!" Blossom3 answered.  I'm glad she remembered, because I had totally blanked out on it.

By this time, Blossom4 is slurping tea and fiddling with her donut, but I thought the last point was the hardest to remember and perhaps the most difficult to apply in our daily lives. 

"And the last one was to choose service..."

"Over selfishness!" Blossom3 finished.  I was surprised, but did she understand?

"But what does it mean to choose service over selfishness?" 

Blossom3 pensively sipped her frothy tea before replying,

"It means, don't hog all the toilet paper.  
Make sure there is enough for others."  

Dominique

A Beaut

Look at this beaut!  Blossom2 noticed it on our walk yesterday.  The thing is, we've walked past it countless times and never noticed it before.  I can't understand how we missed it.  The girls and I are usually quite keenly observant when we're out in God's Great Outdoors. 

In a way, this made me mentally stop for a moment. 

There is always more to see and more to learn!  I must approach life with humility.

I will miss thing, but how quickly will I stop, re-calibrate and learn?  

Dominique

Y'all know how much I love to photograph mushrooms.  You can check out some of our other finds here.  That interest was spawned in my teenage years, which I mention in this post.

Another Jaunt

It was time for another jaunt.

Time to swing on grapevines and perch on trees.

We headed to a local state park.  We wanted to finish hiking a trail we'd started months ago.  That hike had been interrupted when we ran into hunters.  We politely rerouted, per the unwritten hunter/hiker code of conduct.

This trail didn't have much of a climb to it (thank goodness).  It did have several tiny stream crossings, which we thoroughly adored.  

At one such stream crossing, we encountered this little garter snake, wriggling out from under a rock and slithering away.  It seemed a bit early to me for snakes, but he moved with such grace, that we stood transfixed, observing his quick getaway.

Look closely here.  Those are ALL briars.  

We walked through ALL of them, for SEVERAL minutes, because ~ onward!!!!!!!

Next time I'll take a machete to groom the trail a bit.  

We came across this small man-made pond and were delighted with it.  Surprisingly, it's not on the state park map, so we felt like we'd made a grand discovery!

Jake loved swimming in it because he loves swimming period.  

Then, Blossom2 made an exhilarating discovery ~ frog eggs!

We promptly harvested a few to take home to observe.

This gelatin-like mass in the water above is hundreds of thousands more frog eggs.  We didn't feel bad about the few we harvested for our scientific research.

We exited the woods and cautiously walked on the railroad tracks for a little while.

It reminded me of my own idyllic childhood, 

since we walked the railroad tracks at times.  

We stopped for a bit of quiet at the lakeside. 

 I just kept breathing deep, invigorating breaths of the silvery azure air.  

Dominique

PS - Walking and hiking are just a few of the things we've been filling our days with during the pandemic.

This Glorious Sunrise

On a morning following days of uncertainty, this sunrise felt like a blessing straight from Heaven.  I paused and reveled in the miraculous good thing right in front of me.

I'm painfully aware of the enormity of suffering out in our world these days.  

I realize there is fear ~ so much fear.  

We're choosing to focus on the blessings, the good things, around here.  

We're taking it one day at a time.  

I have walked a little more slowly lately, 

taking time to admire a little rustic beauty of a favorite stone wall.  

We've taken time to meet the neighbor's horses.

Standing around, speaking the equine language,

Loving sunshine,

Daydreaming,

Breathing deeply.

Praying.  

Learning Contentment

Hello friends,

These are strange and uncertain times we are in these days, aren't they? 

Around here there is loads of white space in the family schedule and the Rugged Mountain Man has commandeered my laptop because he's working from home.  That really means that Jake and Rory no longer lounge around in the dining room, kitchen, or school room during our school day.  Instead, they are glued to our bedroom door, which is his temporary office; panting, pacing, and napping near it so as to ambush him as soon as he makes an appearance for more coffee.

This morning I reminded the Blossoms of Paul's words in Philippians 4. 

Being content is something that is learned.  That's a bit encouraging to me when I notice it doesn't come naturally to our girls.  This is a situation in which we all will learn a little more about contentment. 

Paul even says that he has learned the secret of living in every situation.  EVERY. 

I'm glad that it's possible for us to be content in this situation.  But how?  What is this secret?

Paul says he does it all in the Lord's strength.  

"...for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.

I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength."

Philippians 4:11-13 NLT

We embraced a little bit of contentment with a walk/ride on a local rail trail, reveling in the sunshine and glittering waters.

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.

Tips for Going Virtual

With all this talk of so many entities, including schools, going virtual, I wanted to share a few tried and true tips from our family to yours.  Perhaps they may help you weather the days and transitions that may be ahead.

~ Have a designated work space for school (or work).
You all have seen our school room.  That works well for us.  Growing up, my brothers, sister and I  worked at the kitchen table.  Many of my friends educate at their kitchen table.  What about the dining room table or a spare table set up in a "public" location within your home?

Having one work space helps me know at a glance who is working and who is goofing off, since I don't have to go off and check bedrooms to know if they're working or not. 

~ Gather your supplies and store them there.
Grab pencils, markers, paper, textbooks, the computer, your cup of tea and park yourself and them.  This saves so much time and frustration.  A caddy, a crate, a basket or a shoe box will save multiple trips all over the house.  It also eliminates one more interruption of having to go in search of what you/they need.

~ Decide on your media and music rules and make them clear beforehand.
The Blossoms are allowed to listen to music with earbuds, as long as I see them working.  If I see distraction, they lose the privilege.  (They rarely lose it.)

Other devices are off limits in the school room, unless they are using their math flashcard app.  Their tablets are kept at the charging station in another room.

My phone generally is located on the kitchen counter, two rooms away. 

From other friends who teach cyber classes or educate their children via cyber school, we've heard that even the games/web sites on the laptop can be quite a distraction.  Seriously consider taking the appropriate steps before it becomes a big problem.  At the least, simply facing their laptop screen so you can see it from your chair is a good idea!

~ Use your alarm clock.  
From experience I've learned that the later they start, the slower they progress through their school work, and everybody gets crankier and more stressed as the day goes on.  Consequently, the alarms go off at 7:00 am and we start our day.

~ Designate a learning coach to be present.
I park myself in the school room from 8:30 am until they are finished.  I might throw in a load of wash or pop some meat in the crock pot, but I am IN the school room otherwise.  This works!!!

~ Make a checklist.
Since the routine will be new, try a checklist of expected school work (and chores too!) to be completed before your children are free to play and chill.  It could be jotted in a notebook, on an index card, or on a whiteboard.  An older student could be trusted with a checklist on Evernote.

The Blossoms know that chores must be completed, four pages or an assignment in each school subject accomplished, and all wrong answers corrected before they are free.  We start out the school year with a daily Evernote checklist and they eventually memorize it.

~ Check school/home work daily, at the very least.
I check school work every afternoon.  It helps me keep close tabs on how each student is doing.  This "immediate" feedback helps them learn faster!

~ Use learning tools!
If your schools are cancelled and not virtual (yet), keep your kids sharp with great tools like Khan Academy!  They can keep information fresh in their minds and work toward individualized goals.  Keep 'em sharp by having them read silently, read aloud and do flashcards every day.  This is my favorite flashcard app!  There are so other many fabulous resources on the internet!  For high schoolers, consider working on SAT prep or studying for a CLEP test.

~ Learning happens everywhere and learning happens together.
Just because your kids may not be in a school building, doesn't mean they aren't learning.  Be open to new opportunities and ways to learn.  You might be surprised!  Embrace it!

Lately, we've enjoyed reading Encyclopedia Brown at lunch.  Blossom4 is learning about space so we watched the original moon landing footage today, right in the middle of the day.  Blossom1 and Blossom2 have been taking my co-op dissection class and the younger girls have been watching some of the dissection videos too.  The older three Blossoms were thrilled to make homemade bagels the other day, of their own volition.  So much learning!

Friends, if you do end up with kids at home, I hope the transition is smooth and that good memories are made.  Time together is well spent.

Blessings,

Dominique

Another Bright Spot

Last Sunday, I was sitting in the waiting room with Blossom1 and Blossom4.  My little Blossom4 was in pain.  She couldn't have any more medicine for forty-five minutes.  There were sick people all around me.  I was exhausted.  Terrible sleep for two weeks will do that to you.

Who knew how long we'd be there?!
And would the pharmacy even be open by the time Blossom4 saw a doctor?!

I managed to soothe Blossom4 for about forty-five minutes and finally could give her a dose of ibuprofen while we waited to see the doctor.  She asked for a drink of water and, my heart sank as I realized I had taken my resident water bottle out of my purse that very morning.

I cuddled her close and tried to distract her.  Meanwhile, another lady came in with her ten year old daughter.  This woman started to chat with me.  Honestly, I answered her questions politely, but I didn't feel like chatting.  I didn't really try for more conversation.

I just wanted to get Blossom4 into to see the doctor.
I wanted to be done with fevers.
I wanted to GO HOME.
The Rugged Mountain Man was coming down with the flu.
I was weary.
I wanted the misery to end.
I just wanted Blossom4's relief.

Then, she must have overheard Blossom4 ask me again for water.  She spoke up, "Can I get her a bottle of water? I have a whole case in my car!"  I paused, pondering if I should take (bottled!) water from a stranger.  With a relief that was palpable, I finally said, "That would be really great actually."

This stranger brought in THREE ice cold bottles of water for us.

I shyly teared up.  She then proceeded to carry on a friendly conversation with me for the next hour and a half.

Aside from the water, it wasn't until later when we started coming out of our fog, that I realized what a blessing she'd been to us.  Her conversation had served to thoroughly distract Blossom4 (and me) for an hour and a half until we finally saw the doctor!

What I thought was a bother in my own weariness,
struck me as a Godsend, carefully arranged by loving Divine hands.

Bright Spots in the Flu

As you probably noticed in my Sick Day in the Life post, we've been... sick.  The flu worked its way through all of us.  In hard times, when I'm weary and discouraged, I like to dwell on the bright spots.  One day midweek, I jotted these down.  It helped me persevere through the sickness.

~ Friends dropping off milk and ice cream, just because our family needed a boost.  It was like a ray of sunshine on our evening!

~ More (round-the-clock!) closeness with my family.  Sure, we were sick and miserable, but at least we were there for each other.

~ Running into a dear friend in the waiting room at the doctor's office.  Her hug helped me grab faith and a healthier perspective when I was sleep-deprived and upset.

~ Successfully making delicious yogurt in my Instant Pot.... finally!  It was so nice to have nutritious snacks and breakfasts for whoever was currently hungry.

~ Everyone pitching in over the last two weeks.

~ The Mufasa bunny!  Just like during Blossom3's head injury, he made being sick, just a little bit better.  TV gets old.  Bunnies do not.

~ Squeezing in subs, chips and a family movie night when only one of us was down.

~ Daddy going to the feed store and doing the grocery pickup in my stead.  I can't say enough about how much I appreciated that.

~ LOTS of tea.  Scads of tea.  Myriads of tea!

~ Selling a leather jacket I'd thrifted a year ago.  I turned a neat profit!  Don't worry, I still have my favorite buttery soft caramel leather jacket.  Having that notification pop up on my phone was a fun little bright spot though!

~ Sunshine and spring weather on Monday.  We made it a point to get out and get some sunshine... and critter time.

~ Special read-aloud time with the Little Blossoms.  The Boxcar Children and Encyclopedia Brown got us through.  One night, in a desperate attempt to distract Blossom4 from the pain while the medicine kicked in, I broke out these vintage Christian Mother Goose favorites from the Rugged Mountain Man's childhood.  I read them a lot to Blossom1 and Blossom2 when they were little, so it was super special to read them to Blossom4, even if it was the middle of the night.

~ Seeing Blossom2 experiment with doll hairstyles.  Her new interest has the other girls into it too.  Now they have me doing creative new hairstyles on their hair!  It's just one more way to stay connected with my girls and that makes me happy any day.

You'll find that I've written about bright spots before.  I enjoyed rereading that particular post.  You might also.

Dominique