Tea & Reading

I like to sit at the kitchen island and sip tea with my sister... or in this case, today I tried to make her a Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso.  It wasn't as good as the ones Blossom1 makes for me, but it was drinkable.  I'll try again when she's over again next week.  

We talk about all sorts of things at the kitchen island while the little boys are doing activities with the Younger Blossoms in the dining room.  I kept glancing over and noticing Blossom3 helping one of her cousins memorize and choreograph a Shel Silverstein poem... something about April Fools.  Their big motions and enunciation made me smile.  

Sometimes we talk about giving our husbands haircuts.  Sometimes we talk about our latest thrifting finds.  Sometimes we talk about what the girls or the boys are up to.  

We haven't talked about books lately, but books are always a good idea!  That's the kind of post this is... a sitting at the kitchen island, talking about books kind of post.  

Have you read anything good lately?  

A friend sent me this very thought-provoking post about the valorization of busyness.  Read it.  It's totally worth it!  This article re-iterated an unpopular truth that what I do in a day might not be "productive," but it is good.  Am I following the leading of the Spirit as to how I fill my days?  Am I measuring my days with His standard or the world's standard?  Busyness, in and of itself, is not a measure of success.  Have I chosen according to the Lord's wisdom?

I just finished Creative Love by Jeremy and Audrey Roloff.  It was a quick little read that I picked up when the Rugged Mountain Man and I were wandering the aisles of the Ollie's book section on his birthday.  The Ollie's book section is our small town equivalent of a bookstore date.  Creative Love was a quick little read that was inspiring.  Their stories kept it light-hearted and their style kept it personal.  It was full of ideas for investing in your marriage and relationship for the long haul. I really liked hearing what they were doing to build a marriage that lasts a lifetime.  Overall, I would recommend it as a mini-manual of ideas and principles for anyone building a healthy, long-lasting relationship.  

Somebody mentioned something in conversation the other day about starting a bakery, and it took me back to the Baxter Family Bakery series by Elizabeth Maddrey.  I first read this series a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Perhaps it's the fact that it's centered around four siblings in a small town.  Whatever the reason, I love the small town vibe, the new business startup, the real characters, and the easy reading.  Clean Christian romance for the win!  Her Billionaire Next Door series is awfully fun too!

Christy Barritt is another favorite author of mine.  She released Shadow Operative, a new book in her latest new series.  I love every one of her series that are based in and around Lantern Beach.  Her bent is suspense and there's still the Nancy Drew fan in me that craves suspense.  This is clean and fun. I'm looking forward to more in the Shadow Agency series!

I'd love to know what you're reading.  

Hold on... I'll get out my Goodreads app and add that to my "Want to Read" list.  

The best recommendations come from friends!

Life Skills ~ Keep it Matter of Fact

Now that the older Blossoms are 18 and 16, I reflect from time to time on what we have and haven't yet taught them to do.  I got to thinking the other day about all the things I consider a life skill.  It's not necessarily the same list that others might have and I'm good with that.  

It's my job as a parent to make sure that life skills are being developed and utilized in order to move toward healthy independence.

Cooking is a life skill.  Reading a recipe.  Boiling water.  Scrambling eggs.  

I once taught a cooking class for our homeschool co-op with a dear friend.  We called it, "How Not To Starve."  Our premise was that if you can cook eggs, you won't starve.  If you can make spaghetti, you won't starve.  We hit a lot of great basics -  even homemade chicken nuggets - in that 8 week class and the class still stands as a fun memory for our children.

Life Skills:
Making change.  Ordering food.  Making a phone call.  Scheduling doctor's appointments.  Carrying on a conversation.  Driving.  Advocating for yourself.  Giving a speech.  Making a grocery list.  Knowing how to stand up for your convictions.  Performing household cleaning chores.  Growing something edible.  Thrifting affordable clothing and housewares.  Harvesting your own meat.  Buying good ice cream.  Sustaining a quiet time with God.  Doing hard things.

I don't ask their opinion.  I don't make learning life skills optional to the girls, nor do I make it a huge blown up announcement kind of thing.  We keep it matter of fact.  

You live here on earth, therefore, you will learn how to _______________.  
(Fill in the blank with the whatever the latest thing we've decided they need to know.)  

They don't have to love that particular thing, but they need to be able to do it independently.  As a parent, it falls to me to faithfully teach them.  

You can teach your kids life skills.  

Steady plodding makes good progress!  Keep at it, my friends!

Just Some News Lately

What's up with us lately?

~ Blossom1 made the President's Honor List.  Man, she was proud of that certificate.  Being that this is more like her third year of college, she was thrilled to finally receive recognition for her hard work.  (Dual Enrollment students do not get recognized on the Honor lists.)  She's a freshman and yet, she's not.

~ Punxy Phil declared that spring is on its way.  Blossom3 and Blossom4 aren't sure what to think.  They've been enjoying good outside time whenever possible.  Blossom4 especially loves to play on my 30 year old wooden balance beam.  (Thanks for spending a few hours on a Saturday morning building that thing, Dad.  It's given me and the girls hours of fun throughout the years.)  They enjoy sledding and winter fun, but being able to get out in the sunshine in just sweatshirts and leggings with crocs and socks being optional is where it's at.  Even hiking with Daddy is a perk of Punxy's prediction as well.  

~ Blossom2 has been busy cranking out restaurant quality desserts. Death by Chocolate Cheesecake, Red Velvet Cupcakes, Dark Chocolate Truffles, White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Bars, and other delicious goodness.  I'm impressed at the level of quality she is putting out and I'm excited to see where she is headed with this skill.  The future is bright!

~ Blossom2 and Blossom3 have been working on Fine Arts entries.  This year, their team is doing an American Sign Language number.  I got to watch a video of practice today and I was astonished at how much drama, expression, and choreography can be put into a routine that only involves sign language!  I know it will minister to people!

Looking at life lately, it seems there's a bit of a theme.  

Identify an interest, work hard, and see where it goes.  

There aren't many fireworks-light bulb-rainbow-genie kind of moments in life, but there's a whole lot of chiseling away at honing skills.  There's a slew of perseverance.  

Sometimes I help the Blossoms persevere and sometimes, they are inwardly driven.  Either way, I'm here, intricately involved and invested in the process... supporting, encouraging, nurturing, still correcting, and...

parenting.  

 

Winter Reading

Winter time is for reading... among other things!

The thrill that went through my heart when I saw Blossom4 kneeling at this veritable buffet of Nancy Drew was worth all the time I've spent investing in her reading journey.

She's been knocking out Nancy Drew books in less than a day each.  

On the read-aloud front, we're putt-putt-putting through Christmas with Anne.  It's a collection of Lucy Maude Montgomery's short stories and excerpts that involve Christmas and New Year's themes.  Even though Christmas has marched back into our great-grandmother's storage steamer trunk for another year, the cozy winter lights remain and we snuggle down during lunch and I read.  

We get busy.  Our days move faster and faster it seems.  And yet, why do I keep coming back to reading aloud, even when I'm only hitting my goal 2-3 times a week?  

That lunch time pause brings us together.  It restores a peace to our time at home.  It helps us linger over quality words and thoughts that take us deeper than mundane life.  It brings opportunities for deeper discussion.  It's just so good.  And yes, the older Blossoms meander back to their laptops to dig back in to their college work... but sometimes they still soak up a little Anne while they're eating.  

So, as the days are busy... as my goals for our routine change, ebb, and flow, we keep coming back to reading this winter.