Friday, October 29, 2021

From Faith to Fruition

Sometimes you see the fruition of Scripture and sometimes you take it on faith.  

I know that children are a blessing.

I don't always feel like children are a blessing, if we're being completely honest.  

I operate from the principle that children are a blessing.  

I spend time with my children, 

I love our children, 

I discipline our children, 

all the while, knowing that children are a blessing.  


In the midst of chemistry 
and scholarship applications 
and math tests 
and not feeling like doing schoolwork 
and daydreaming
and not hungry for what we have in the house 
and them wanting to go back to bed 
and irritating one another, 

I KNOW that children are a blessing.  

What I see in this very moment does not shake the Truth of what I know.  

And so I soldier on,
armed with grace.








Tuesday, October 26, 2021

SURPRISE!!!

One speckled Sussex hen kept flying out of the run and hunkering down under the deck.  While we were afraid that predators would get her, we know from experience that this usually means there are chicks on the way.  

It's frustrating to try to catch her 19,237 times, so sometimes we let them do their thing.  

On Sunday afternoon, Blossom3 and Blossom4 encountered her in the yard with some black bumpy things wiggling underneath her.  

After careful investigation, screams of "CHICKS, CHICKSSSSSS, CHICKSSSSSSSSSS" could be heard all throughout the Hollow.  

I jogged out there expecting maybe three chicks.  

We grabbed a cage to help relocate her and her new brood to a safer place.  The threat of coyotes and birds of prey is especially heightened this time of year.  

Gleefully we counted as she proudly clucked and cooed her joy.

One... two... three... four... five... WHAT? 

six... seven... eight... REALLY? 

nine... ten... eleven... FOR REAL? 

twelve... thirteen... FOURTEEN???!!!!

Yes, Lady Catherine the Bird* hatched FOURTEEN chicks and is teaching them how to forage already. 

Watching hens teach their chicks is one of my most favorite micro farm experiences.  It speaks a lot to mamas training their children in their future roles.  A female hen will actually make a very similar crowing sound and do drop-wing motions when training her male chicks.  It's the only time you will ever see or hear her do these strictly male-type actions.  She teaches all her chicks how to eat by making special clucking sounds to get their attention and then they learn by imitating what she's doing.  It's so intentional that it's absolutely fascinating.  

We're thankful we have been able to observe the process thus far.

*Props to you if you caught the veiled Pride & Prejudice reference.  This is a house full of classics-loving girls, after all.

Friday, October 22, 2021

Vacation with Fred and Flooding

Hurricane Fred came through while we were on vacation at the cabin this year.  

I don't usually mind the rain much when we're on vacation.  We truly try to embrace it all there.  The creek is equally enticing whether the water only flows beside you or whether it also falls from the sky.  

There is also a fabulous screened in porch and I'm perfectly content to curl up with a blanket, book, and a cup of tea.  Just writing about it now makes me long for such woodsy, fresh-aired luxury.  


It started raining that Tuesday night... and rained and rained and rained.  The sounds on our little cabin roof makes for deep, drool-worthy sleep.  We snuggled down in contented happiness.

We had our normal leisurely morning with a hardy breakfast and quiet time on the porch.  Then, we ventured out in the rain to go slopping in the creek. Sure, the levels were up a little, but it certainly wasn't anything dangerous at that point.  After meandering to all our favorite spots, we made our way back to the cabin, and settled in for snacks and some more indoor relaxation.  

Mama quickly realized that, due to the lack of a dryer and the onset of indefinite damp weather, it was necessary to institute a new rule:

"You wear wet clothes outside and you wear dry clothes inside," which means that next time you venture out, you do it in your previously damp clothes.

We went out gallivanting again and came out to this!  

Our little mountain stream had transformed into a raging monster in a matter of a few hours!!!  If you don't remember what it looks like, click here, here, and here.

The creek had risen SEVERAL feet in only a matter of hours.

I had to restrain Jake from swimming in the beloved swimming hole, though he was sorely tempted.  

I found myself remembering lines from quaint old board book favorites I read to the Blossoms when they were little:

"It rained and it rained and it rained.

'It's a little Anxious,' said Piglet, 'to be a Very Small Animal, 

entirely surrounded by water, and I can't do anything.'"

~A.A. Milne, Piglet is Entirely Surrounded by Water

So began our hourly "Fred checks."  We ventured out often, donning our wet clothes each time, marveling over the speed of its rise and cracking jokes about Fred.

We determined that we were never in any danger, though we did have to move our neighbor's swing to higher ground.

There was no more swimming for the rest of the week, though the rain finally stopped Wednesday night.  The water crested some time that night, rising even higher than these pictures.  

We made sure the girls knew how dangerous raging water can be.  Although we couldn't spend hours upon hours in the creek like we normally do on vacation, there's still plenty to do... including yelling across to the creek to other campers who were stranded (with plenty of food), or visiting with the neighbor from down the lane and his springer spaniel.

By Saturday, we were able to tube down our creek - a rare treat!  Usually, the creek levels are far too low by the dog days of summer.  We even got to do some kayaking that Saturday!

Although Fred made our vacation unique, it was still restful, and memorable too! 

Dominique






Tuesday, October 19, 2021

It Was Only a Straw

It was a straw that broke that poor camel's back...

Not a load of bricks.

Not a burden of stones.

A straw. 

Just like a million small things seem to be what overwhelms a mama.  

And my latest philosophy is:

"Do what bothers you."

All the little things snowball and lead to loads of discouragement.  And when I'm discouraged over the insurmountable tasks that need to be done, I tend to waste time avoiding them.  (I know, it really doesn't make sense.)

Lately, I (re)send the girls off to do what they are supposed to be doing, and I do something that's bothering me.  

Even if it's only the five minute version of taking care of what's bothering me. 

If you think your house is loaded with cobwebs, at least start with knocking down that one that you can see out of the corner of your eye while you're grading math.  

If the dusty baseboards are bothering you, at least wipe down the ones in the bathroom that have been tormenting you while you do your business.  

If the wash seems like it's out of control, at least throw in the load with the jeans your daughter needs for Bible Quiz practice tonight.  

Maybe it doesn't seem like much, but I've found that it snaps me out of my overwhelm and helps me see that the journey of a million miles truly begins with a single step.

Now, I'm back to sipping my tea and doing a few things that bother me. 

Dominique


Photo Credit to the Blossoms. They were wielding my camera up at Grandma's house up on the mountain.


Friday, October 15, 2021

A New Hook

Lounging in a sumptuous couch after teaching my Crazy 8s math class at co-op, I chatted merrily with old friends.  Our conversation jack-rabbited in our typical fashion from writing to fiery crockpots to the National Guard to ants.  

Yes, ants.  

We reminisced about the time Blossom4 ate an ant.  On purpose.  The story goes something like this:

Go ahead, pop over there and read it.  It's a classic from 2017!

One of my friends is teaching a writing class and she's been working with the students on their "hooks."  You have to get the readers' attention, bulldog tight, from the get-go!  I love a good writing challenge, so with my classic parenting story, I brainstormed a few more first lines for it.  

~Sobbing.  Sniffling.  Weeping.  Over the wrong color ant?

~Speechless.  Virtually speechless.  All because of a fire ant.

~She's four.  She's blond.  She's a pixie.  And she ate an ant. 

~I wanted to teach them survivalism, after all, but I'm not sure ants in the sandbox were what I had in mind.

~There's protein in ants, right?  Asking for a friend.

~This is definitely going on my list of things I'd never thought I'd say as a mom.


I think the protein one wins, in my book.  

The whole exercise made for a good laugh and a fun little stroll down memory lane. 

Be assured, Blossom4 is older and wiser now (EIGHT), but you never know...

Dominique


Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Those Words Though

There seem to be seasons of conviction for me.  God works on one area and then turns His attention to a different area.  He is never done with me!

He speaks through His Word to me, through the wise words of family and friends, through a sermon, through His still, small voice as I wait in silence in my times of quiet.  However He brings it about, my heart is continuously open to His molding.

We're studying Proverbs in our Ladies' Bible Study and a friend mentioned that she really like The Passion Translation.  I sailed over to the chapter we'd just completed on Thursday night and meandered down through the familiar words.  

I didn't get very far.  


"Respond gently when you are confronted 
and you'll defuse the rage of another.
Responding with sharp, cutting words will only make it worse.  
Don't you know that being angry can ruin the testimony of even the wisest of men?"

Further down,

"When you speak healing words, 
you offer others fruit from the tree of life.
But unhealthy, negative words do nothing but crush their hopes."

Proverbs 15:1,4

There are ups and downs in family life, mountains and valleys.  Sometimes in them, it's harder to be gentle, to speak healing words.  I'm finding the Holy Spirit prompting me to speak gentler, to focus hard on the quality of what I'm saying and the life and love that flows through those words.  

God can do mighty things through the words of a mama.  As He works on me, I'll keep mulling over these verses.

These pictures are from my kayaking adventure with Blossom1.  We saw otters frolicking about in the lake and observed mergansers, eagles and heron amongst a charming low-lying fog. It was magnificently splendid and we cherished the peace together.  

Teenagers are good company; I don't care what anyone says!



All Scripture quotations are from The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017, 2018, 2020 by Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ThePassionTranslation.com.

Saturday, October 9, 2021

So Many Earrings

When I was about the girls' age, my mom made my sister and me an "earring tree" very similar to these.  It turns out that we needed the same solution here, because the earring situation was out of control!  That's super frustrating when FOUR Blossoms want to get ready to go somewhere!

We busted out the craft supplies and put these together!  It was one of the first fun projects we did as soon as the Fair was over.  


It's just colored burlap with old dowel rods, ribbon, and other fun trimmings!

This has seriously simplified the earring organization here at our house.  

The Blossoms are happy, so I'm happy!


Tuesday, October 5, 2021

This (Humbling) Thing Called Sanctification

I was talking to a younger mom friend today.  We were astonished to find that we each felt and thought similar things, despite the vast differences in our children's ages.  

We want to impact our children, yet we feel frustrated and discouraged that our own stumbling has ruined our witness to our children. 

The thing is God's grace is sufficient in our weaknesses! As we soldier on through the process of becoming more holy (sanctification), our children have the best seats in the house.  

They see, in essence, how to be a Christian.

They see my process of becoming more holy.  

They see me growing.  

They see me, desiring to be more like Jesus.  

They watch me as I fail, as I apologize, as I repent.

They observe me getting up again the next morning, starting fresh, relying on the Holy Spirit again, letting Him change me and work in me.  

What could be more encouraging to them in their walk with God?  

What could be more real than Mama living the very thing I want for them?