On Daisies

 Give me ALL the daisy sort of flowers.

I'm sure there is an official sort of name for them, but for me, they are all in the daisy family. 

"Daisies are such friendly flowers."

Coneflowers are like a daisy's older cousin.

What with all the daisies, coneflowers, and black-eyed susans that are in bloom along roadsides everywhere and in my kitchen sink garden, I smile often at their cheery ways.

Easy Date Nights

Some of the most relaxing date nights have been a quick ice cream date and chatting on a bench along a local nature trail. 

It's pretty and quiet and peaceful and so good for the two of us.  

We chat about the children and logistics and decisions and jokes and plans and whatever comes to mind.  

There's always more we could be working on but we admonish the Blossoms to behave and then, we drive away to choose our ice cream and relax for a bit.  It's totally worth it.

 

Lessons

Lessons from the past few weeks:

~ Give others the grace that you wish they'd give to you, whether they deserve it or not.  The people we least want to give grace, are usually the people that need it most.

~ Praise the Lord.  Always, always, always praise the Lord!!! Every day and in every situation, through every bump and through every misunderstanding.

~ Be Godly, even when you've been terribly wronged.  You still want a clear conscience before God at the end of each day.

~ When you're tired, don't let the one tiny thing that didn't go quite right overshadow all the other good and beautiful things the Lord was able to do through you, His servant.

~ When you finally sit down for a second, take a deep breath and rest your mind.  Stop and pray.  Roll the things He has done over and over in your mind while you gaze out at the hazy blue green mountains.  He can speak when we stop to listen.

~ Read the Word, even when you're so tired you don't feel like it's soaking in.  Read the Word.  It's spirit nourishment when you can't feel it.  You don't have to feel nourishment.  His Word nourishes through all seasons, all the time.

Through the busy seasons, I am thankful that leaning on Him sustains us.

Sewing & the Little Girls

 Every year the Fair is my arbitrary deadline. It's my self-imposed motivation to do a sewing a project with the Blossoms.

Blossom1 graduated from my sewing school this year. Blossom2 was independent and rocked a beautiful apron with only a few minor pointers from me.

It was sewing with the Little Blossoms that I found to be particularly good for the soul.

Or, more accurately, good for my mama heart.  

Not in the everything-is-peachy-and-rosy kind of way.

HA.

Instead, through the nitty-gritty of sewing new curtains for their room, 

I noticed their developmental growth.  

I noticed their maturity rising.  

I noticed how they pushed through when things got bumpy.

As I stood over their shoulders and pointed and instructed and encouraged and took a deep breath to be patient again and again, I was thankful to be a part of a project that thrilled their souls.

Some day, I hope they remember with a smile, that we sewed together.

A Paperwork Miracle

"Okay, you help Blossom4 and I'll help Blossom3."

Those words were sweet to my ears.  They had just got done trying to explain to each other how Blossom4 made a mistake in what she named her meat pen rabbits and how it will complicate the tatooing process.  (Don't ask.  They've been doing this long enough that I know they know what they're doing and they got it worked out.) But there had been frustration and arguing!

BUT THEN, there was show paperwork to fill out and submit.  Instead of me being in the thick of it, from the schoolroom I can hear that Blossom1 and Blossom2 decided to help Blossom3 and Blossom4 fill out theirs.  I can hear them walking the "little girls" through the whole process.  Blossom1 and Blossom2 took the initiative to do this paperwork with them!

TOGETHER!!!

WITHOUT ME ASKING!!!

AS A TEAM!!!

This is one reason they do 4-H.  

I am so glad.