What a Difference A Season Can Make

Oh, what a difference a season can make!  While I love being on vacation, taking "littles" to a rustic cabin in the middle of no where, means LOTS of packing.  I dreaded the unpacking as well.  I once calculated that it took me a week or more to get everything back in order!  I didn't realize how much having "littles" affected that. 

(Back in the day, the shoe lineup at the cabin looked more like this for ALL of the girlies... tiny, tiny little shoes!")

Now that the girlies are 8, 6, 4 and 15 months, I've noticed quite a difference.  We've worked with them for quite some time to pull their weight around here.  Additionally, the "What Next?" concept made great strides in Mommy having help too. 

I couldn't believe it when we had everything unpacked and put away in 2 days.  WOW.  Amazing. 

My heart was chock-full of gratitude as I communicated to the girlies how much I appreciated their help - how I couldn't have done it without them.  I want them to know the satisfaction of a job well done.  They certainly deserve it.  Mommy is grateful to look around a tidy, "normal" house only days after vacation. 

And, I'm sharing this as a word of encouragement to mothers with "littler littles" than me.  They won't be THAT little forever.  Sure, it's crazy when they are all little-little because you're the only one pulling the load.  Keep at it.  Keep letting them "help."  Continue requiring the smaller jobs.  Don't stop supervise because it takes a little longer.  It's worth it.  I'm so pleased to be able to taste just a little of the joy of working alongside my own daughters.  Now, I'm smiling at the days ahead.  :)

Ahhhhhhh, vacation.

A cabin in the middle of "nowhere..."  It doesn't get much better than that. 

Blue skies.

Fresh air.

Birds chirping.

A creek laughing and gurgling.

Children "slopping" (in above creek).

Fireside chats.

Always food for thought... Like the words, "Just trust."

Monumental words in fact.  Timely words, reinforced in my spirit from seemingly every direction. 

"Just trust."

All the what-ifs that flit through my brain and all the things that could happen.  All the things that did or didn't or mightn't have happened in life to my family. 

"Just trust."

I was talking to the Rugged Mountain Man about fear a few months ago.  He said, "Sometimes you just gotta get back up on your horse and trust God, Honey."  It was a timely and much-needed word.

And this, "Just trust" word was simply the Lord reinforcing that moreso.  It's time to go beyond recognizing satan's workings of fear in my heart and mind.  Stand up and just trust God.  Oh, the peace that comes with trusting Him.  Oh, the peace!!!

Why not just trust the Lord?  What do we have if we don't have trust?

"Just trust."

Now, I'd best get to that unpackin'.

Blessings,
Dominique

Work stuff

I guess I've been talking about work a little bit lately.  One of the things I tasked for Blossom1 to do was clean the bathroom.  Only, I didn't tell her to "clean the bathroom."  She knows how to do all the individual tasks, but I assigned one at a time.  Maybe this doesn't seem like rocket science to you, but it made sense to me. 

First, clean the mirrors.
Then, do the sinks and counter tops.
Then, do the toilets.
Etc. 

One by one, she completed each task and moved from bathroom to bathroom. 

She asked why we were doing so much cleaning today.  I replied that I always clean all the bathrooms on Thursdays.  She usually just got tasked with other things.  It did open my eyes a bit.  I want her to know all the workings of the household, so I think I'm a bit inspired to involve her even moreso in the days ahead. 

the What Next concept

Amidst the packing, I enlisted the help of my small army on the premises.  They were learning the "What Next?" concept.  I assign a task.  They complete it.  Then, something mysterious happens.  They disappear.  It's so strange.  Suddenly,  I find them reappearing in the yard, playing.  But, wait?  I needed H E L P. 

It's a concept known as initiative to some.  Our Blossoms have got to learn it.  So, we drilled this concept this week.  You obey by completing your task and then, return and ask me, "What next?"  For play-loving bodies, it's a little difficult to grasp, but they can enjoy the rewards of working hard to get somewhere and then enjoying the fruits of that work. 

But, when they start saying, "What next?" be ready.  If you aren't, it'll drive you half buggy to try to think through your list while your 4 year old is saying, with her usual persistence,

"What next, Mama?  What you want me to do now?"

"Mama... MAMA... what you want me to do now?"

"Hey, Mama, I said WHAT NEXT??"

It'll force you to be ready.  Hey, that's a good problem to have though.  And, they'll appreciate a time to work and a time to play. 

When it's time to work, we work.
When it's time to play, we play. 

Shhhh, what's that?  I can hear the creek at the cabin calling to me!  Just a little more work and we'll be there.

The Case of the Missing Washcloths

Lots of things go missing here. Actually, quite often I offer a reward to motivate little treasure hunters...

"Fifty cents for whoever finds Blossom3's missing flip-flop!" 

(Blossom3 offered Fifty Dollars to whoever found Mommy... I had to nip that one in the bud.  No giving away your fifty dollars.  Besides, I would've won since I found myself first.) 

I was packing for our vacation and couldn't find wash cloths. 

Really?  I mean, we have stacks and stacks of wash cloths!  The wash is caught up!  What is going on here? 

I sent Blossom2 to look for some.  She came back with two princess wash cloths.  Two, for a family of six and a week at a rustic cabin?  I searched three different cupboards!  Still, NONE.

Finally, I found them, SHOVED in the back of the Blossoms' bathroom cabinet, the victims of sending a certain younger Blossom to put wash cloths away. 

And yes, people sometimes wonder what a Stay-At-Home Mom does all day.