Reflecting on a great weekend

Making friends

it seems to come easy when we are young

it's not always so simple to 

nurture those new friendships

to grow them

friendships are like flowers in a garden

sometimes plants go dormant

and BLOOM with 

JUST a bit o'water and attention

for MY self and my girlfriends

it's been a long stretch

I have known both the brilliant 

Glamour Moms

since I was a girl!

yep

and ya know what, 

they are such a joy and blessing to me

so MANY ups and downs

bends in the road

and yet 

a joy

that is what these ladies are..

and their daughters

and my daughter...

WOW ! 

They are a BLAST !

Fun

energetic, compassionate, hard working

a pleasure just to KNOW...

and I think

I wonder

about their days ahead

their lives

the bends in them

the ups and downs 

Where will the new found friendships take THEM?

Who knows...

But at least this ONE weekend

they had one another

a lot of silliness

a LOT of adventure

a whole LOT of fun 

I look forward to having these girls 

COME to Blessings Farm again and again

thank you SO much Swan

you are a joy,

We are glad to know YOU

and hope to watch you grow and grow

into an amazing woman 

Thank you Phin

for your energy

you passions

I look forward to seeing you grow, mature

blossom into the fabulous lady you shall be 

Princess

I am JUST so very thankful to God

that I get you be YOUR Mama

that I get to raise you up from little to Lady

so far it's been Brilliant!

thank you for all you do, and for being YOU!

Bean, you are bright and shiny 

a true Sunshine gal

thank you for coming to Blessings Farm

and blessing US!

May your days be filled with wonder, and love

and JOY

May each of you young ladies 

be BLESSED beyond measure

May God touch your lives in profound and unimaginable ways

may your days be joy FILLED to overflowing

may you ALWAYS know

no MATTER what,

that you matter SO very very much

that you are appreciated

that you have great friends because YOU are lovely !

and MOST importantly

that you are 

LOVED

thank you to you and your AMAZING mothers 

for attending the 1st EVER 

Blessings Farm

Mother Daughter Getaway Retreat !

Mother Daughter Retreat - A HUNT....

To break up all that cleaning, scrubbing, dish washing 

FUN we were having...

I prepared a little HUNT

a little 

PHOTO Scavenger Hunt

(inspired by other blogs & my brothers doing one with the kids last summer)

SO creative 

SO fun

SO many memories!

The PLAN was 3 teams 

Moms & Daughters

but with THESE STINKERS

we Mothers were overcome with 

Begging

Pleading

Plotting

conniving

All for the Purpose of Changing 

MY plans

what did they want me to change???

Just the groupings

they 

(Those cute girls Phin, Princess, Bean & Swan)

THEY 

wanted to go up against 

US

the Wise

Discerning

already BEEN THERE & DONE that 

MOM's

oh YEAH?

yea

do they KNOW how hip and with it WE are 

and have been?

hmmm

guess not

MATCH ON!

I won't give you the WHOLE low down, 

as you can see the list is 26 items LONG

here's just a few of our SNEAKY highlights

DEER

it did NOT say 

Living deer

Breathing deer

Real deer

or even DEAD deer

 (sorry Machine man.. better luck next year)

the list simply stated.. DEER

Ta Dah! 

Deer Rubbing

we won this..

the girls picked some sad tree with an infection

SO not a rubbing!

What was Princess thinking?

yes.. the list said

GREEN GRASS

look-e look-e

what we found!

Ghost Car

spoooooooooky 

right?

it would seem

THIS time

they had BEEN there 

and done that..

BLAST!

they beat us to it!

angel

yep

I even wore Machine Man's coverall's so I could plop on down

in THAT there snow

and make an angel

Like I was still 5 years old

and ya know WHAT?

it was fun!

till I had to GET back up

(Thank you Mrs M & Mrs. O)

I would STILL be there 

if not for GOOD friends like you!

things GOT fun and a bit silly..

Us Moms had a LOT of fun spying on our kids

and THEY

are definitely OUR children

as they covered evidence so we COULD not win 

Coyote bones.

.hmmmm

so our daughters

there they are...

The competition

will they find the RED squirrel?

or won't they?

Will tonight be AS clear as today?

Will we see Orion?

hmmmm

Mother Daughter Retreat - A mystery....

we had PLANS 

wonderful plans that involved things like..

Chocolate

and..

toffee

and crunchy yummies!

So we went on a little drive to the AMAZING

Amish Candy shop

and ..

it was closed

?

yep

HOW could it be closed?

We decided to go to the Cheese Factory

and get some cheese and jam..

While there we asked if they knew if there was some 

EXCITING goings on in the Amish Community

that would cause the Candy shop to be closed

but

they knew nothing

other than how to make AMAZING cheeses

and cheese fudge! oh my

but all this Amish Mystery

got the girls a bit to pondering

and it was decided

by them

that THEY would dash over to the Amish neighbors 

and see "What's up"

(are you giggling yet?  I am...)

I just HAD to get some snapshots of them on the way back..

They were SO colorful..

wonder if the neighbors were home..

if they were

I wonder what they might be thinking

of these VERY cute, VERY giggly girls coming up their walk

they are having SO much fun!

A real pack of pals

word has it the neighbors were NOT home...

so the Mystery remains..

and desire for Amish Ambrosia chocolates

deepening..

The Littlest Room - part 6 MEETS Mother Daughter RETREAT!

We are Practical gals

and are blessed with friends who are 

HANDS ON,

HARD WORKING

basically

a HUGE HELP!

LOVE IT!

one project was on the list to GET done

and that is

the 

LITTLEST ROOM

I have truly been struggling on this room for a while

my arms get SO sore 

and I get so discouraged

so what better way to GET the job DONE

but to do it in FUN?

These ladies signed up knowing I would put them to work

and upon entering the littlest room, 

I do not think they thought this would be a challenge AT all.

but

ancient Plaster walls 

are by definition... a challenge

Miss Swan is looking elegant as she scrubs

REALLY scrubs those walls...

We had a little music on,

and We ALL were so busy on our sections

Mrs. O is working it OUT!

Scrubbing away grime and WHO KNOWS what!

These walls will surely look terrific

LOVE this photo..

Mother and daughter

working side by side! 

it's a keeper for SURE

Miss Phin SO much fun to work with!

now.. I wish I had better understanding of photoshop

the lighting here on Miss Bean is NOT great

but she IS a hard working beauty..

need to fiddle with photoshop so you can better SEE her!

here's here beautiful Mama

Mrs. M

truly focused and diligent

AS always!

Working with friends is SUCH a blessing..

 I could NEVER have finished cleaning the room with out them..

"get by with a little help from my friends"

comes to mind...

Thank you ladies

THANK YOU 

so very much!

now.. WHERE is Princess?

1st ever Blessing Farm Mother Daughter Retreat pt 2 "Cast of Characters"

Cast of characters

and I DO MEAN

Characters!

These gals are FANTASTIC

so fun,

so funny,

so honest, blunt, and loving.

what a rare combination to see in ANY group

and we saw it all here at the farm 

this past weekend!  

Let us start with...

Miss Bean

Isn't she a beauty, you can just SEE her

terrific persona shine through 

she is fun, and eager, and SMART as a whip!

Quiet and OBSERVANT

she is always watching

listening and thoughtful.

I can not tell you HOW much we enjoyed the energy and giggles she brought

I don't think I have THAT many words

she is BRILLIANT 

and an amazing presence to be around

This is Miss Swan

She's a Ballerina, a DANCER and she is very graceful

when she isn't being down right SILLY!

Miss Swan is quick to crack a joke, 

one that WILL make you laugh!

very mission oriented..

give her a task,

and she's ON IT !

LET'S GO GIRLS!

She's our RALLY CRY!

someone ya DON'T wanna leave behind! 

Miss Swan is Superb!

Meet Miss PHIN

She is our Instigator, 

our FLYER, she can concoct a plan and carry it out

NO PROBLEM

she's smart, sassy, and a BLAST to be with!

She's got no problem conspiring with Princess

and the gang

yet is SO hard working

compassionate and enthusiastic

Phin is FABULOUS

and Princess

you all already know her!

She's just.. well.. Princess

Fabulous

Fun

Silly

Sassy

compassionate

creative 

well...

so so fun

so NOW for the Mama's

(now I have to tell you getting good shots of the Mama's was HARD!

we Mama's can be tricky to get, and I am an AMATEUR at this

with need to REALLY work on my photography...

so.. 

these are NOT all the BEST photos in the world of these gals

and try as I might, heads turned AWAY when I had my camera out

Mom's disappeared..

I promise to practice harder, and get better at these candid shots.. but

that said lets take a sneak peak at these BEAUTIFUL women)

Mrs. M 

AMAZING woman of Strength and beauty

she's a heart of gold

and IS such an amazing Mother and Wife

she is wise, and thoughtful, and loving

did I mention she's downright fun

LOVES photography and reading

(so a kindred spirit!)

I am honored to call her friend

She is patient, and kind, and a woman who perseveres

I admire and esteem her greatly! 

Mrs. O

What can I say about Mrs. O?

She is SO loving, compassionate, nurturing

and HARD working!

She is a passionate woman

a woman of faith,

an amazing mother, a dedicated wife

basically

a total blessing to ALL who know her

especially ME 

(ha ha, I bet Mr. O would say to HIM)

My children all adore her and BEG to hang out at her house!

She's awfully busy right now, ending a long career in child care 

to study nursing

we are EVER impressed with her stamina

Miss O is someone I am so blessed to have as a friend

so THAT is the Cast of Characters

that made the 1st EVER Mother Daughter Retreat

simply a BLAST!

now...

what did we do

alone

on the farm

that whole weekend long?

wouldn't YOU like to know?

1st EVER Mother Daughter Blessings Farm RETREAT!

Ever have a BURNING desire to do something 

SUPER special 

with someone you LOVE?

well Princess and I

have been longing to host "mother daughter weekends" 

with SO many boys in our life

we get our fill of "guy life"

and so,

we planned

invited

cooked

baked

prepared

and 

RANG THE BELL!

Calling ALL LADIES!

to our very FIRST 

Blessings Farm

Mother Daughter 

Getaway Retreat!

So WAKE UP 

and be excited for 

the next few posts!