Father's Day Togetherness

For Father's Day, it was a pretty routine Sunday-

        Church, Grill, Nap, Porch, Outdoors.

The "regular" times are even more special now that the Blossoms are working multiple jobs and have their own busy schedules.  

We were all exhausted from a marathon of a week and being away all day Friday.  It was a good week, accomplishing goals, making headway on lists, spending time at the cabin, and even another victorious Caricature stint for Blossom3.  Good weeks can still be pretty tiring though.  

It was so nice when everyone started filtering out to the porch after our naps.  The Rugged Mountain Man said he'd gather up the rods so we could head out.  It's interesting that rarely does everyone want to do the same thing at the same time.  We are always practicing practical love through flexibility.  This is the time we have to be together.  

It's Father's Day, so we're going fishing.  

Some might feel like swimming.

Some might feel like reading.  

Some do want to fish but maybe not in that location.  

At some point, we just have to make the call on what we're doing... so we're going fishing today.

We pile into the truck and drive away to get into the Great Outdoors... to experience some peace in the green of flora, the beautiful big blue of vast skies, and the ever-soothing water music.

Blossom2 happily caught the first fish.  Mama caught lots of algae and ended with three fish... that's more than the Rugged Mountain Man caught, surprisingly.  I never catch more fish than him!  Blossom4 eventually broke her line, gave up, and conveniently decided to swim for the duration.  Some of us just reveled in the fresh air.  

Together moments are never perfect.  Getting out the door is never perfect.  That all makes sense, since we're imperfect people.  

We ventured out together, soaked up the sunshine, and were grateful for these moments of true beauty and togetherness.  

An Aspiring Caricature Artist

Lately, I've been missing blogging.  Life gets so busy these days, that I don't always get to do the things that I want to do.  I understand that can be par for the course with the season of child-raising that we're in.  However, I've realized how much I benefit from writing about the things that we do and counting my blessings here.  

Last weekend, Blossom3 had her first craft show as a Caricature Artist.  It was a big stretch for her, considering she was originally planning on doing face paint - an art form that is a lot more forgiving for an amateur, in my opinion.  A month prior to the show, we found out that they already had a face paint artist there.  Could she do caricatures instead?  We decided together that she would complete two full caricatures per day and we would see where she stood in a week's time.  After only a week of practice, we could see that this was completely doable for her, so long as she continued to practice each day until show time.

She didn't originally feel like making that leap to do it.  Just like our other girls, we explained that 

sometimes you have to stretch a little.  

She loves art and this was her opportunity to stretch.  

Sometimes kids kinda want to do something but they'll balk because they are shying away from the work involved.  They'll also shy away because they're afraid.  Neither of those things are good reasons not to spread your wings to fly a little.  

Fear and laziness aren't great long-term habits or decision-makers.

My part was to evaluate each practice caricature piece and give feedback.  

I encouraged her to find helpful YouTube videos.  

I helped her compile resources that put tools in her hand for different face shapes and eye/nose/ears/mouth types.  

I made sure she had the right markers and such.  

I helped her problem-solve certain roadblocks she was encountering.  

We came up with a creative business model that lessened the pressure on her.

Ultimately, she still needed to practice, practice, practice, and then draw the caricatures all day long.  

I don't throw the girls into a deep end without making sure they can swim and they know how to swim.  I'm here for every part of the process, but the Rugged Mountain Man and I felt that not jumping in, wasn't an option.  

She rose to the occasion!  She sat there, like a seasoned artist, chatting and smiling as people watched her work and she cranked out twenty-five fabulously creative caricatures!  I am so thankful that she could encounter this victory!