Category Archives: Being Family

About raising our boys to be men, our daughter to be a lady, our marriage to be strong, and our family to be God-centered.

Staycation — Enjoying Smithfield and Western Tidewater Virginia

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staycation-image-wideAny times we say we’re from Smithfield, folks immediately ask, “You mean, like the ham?”

Yes. Exactly.

Smithfield, Virginia is the original home (and still headquarters) of Smithfield Foods. “Hams, History, Hospitality, and HeART” as we like to say around here.

Here’s some of our favorite, pretty much free, ways to spend a nice weekend around here…

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Smithfield Farmer’s Market…it’s growing every year and is quite the local hot spot on Saturday mornings. It includes everything from fresh veggies, to soap, to cut flowers, to bakery treats. Admission is free, of course, so you can just window shop (and gossip! {smile})  if you’d like, but you won’t be able to resist the ham biscuits from Darden’s Country Store, I’m tellin’ ya. (They’re our neighbors as well, and sometimes I make Mr. Fix-It take me to the Market just to get some fresh!)

Windsor Castle Park…a little fresh air and blue water right here. The Park is a recent, but well-loved, addition to the Town. Admission is free and there’s trails the whole family will enjoy, along with a dog park, canoe launch, fishing pier, and picnic areas. It’s a perfect place to enjoy some of our wetland wildlife and birds, including osprey, cranes, and herons. (And keep your eyes peeled for bald eagles!!)

Then be sure to walk across and enjoy some ice cream or a too-beautiful-to-eat cupcake at Jeff’s Sir-Cakes-A-Lot bakery on the Smithfield Station Boardwalk!

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Be sure to stop by the Visitor’s Center and browse the local art center and studios. And be sure to download a free copy of the Children’s Coloring Book with history facts and a scavenger hunt all about the Town in it. (Tours can be easily arranged if you have a group in the area as well!) And be sure to pick up a free copy of the “Porcine Parade” map and enjoy our life-sized painted pigs! (Ask the Visitor’s Center about a special treat for munchkins that identify all the piggies!)

And while you’re right downtown, you can grab a drink and a huge homemade muffin at the Smithfield Bakery (there’s actually a Virginia Bicycling Route named “the Smithfield Bakery Run” because it’s so yummy!)–which is Mr. Fix-It’s favorite local place for lunch. Not a “bargain” price for lunch, but you get good food and large helpings–and the place is always buzzing!

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If you’re looking for a little shopping time, we’ve got quaint or we’ve got commercial. (Hop over to the Visitor’s Center website to see more info on our local shops.) When we’re downtown I love to stop in Wharf Hill Antiques and Laura and Lucy’s, but if you’re coming from out-of-town, you might want to double-check the store hours. Not all our shops are 7 days a week.

But the best thing about Smithfield is that there’s always something going on!

Our local Lions sponsor a “Classic Cruz-In” car show the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Friday every month from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, starting in April. This is a big event, completely free and family friendly! (I hope to have pictures from us visiting later this month!)

The Town hosts weekly free Friday Night Concerts series at the open Gazebo on the Green right in the middle of Town over the summer.

And we have Smithfield Olden Days Festival every June (this year it’s June 28-29, 2013), including free concerts, car shows, river raft races, craft and food vendors, a kids and pets parade, and more all day fun. Oh, and it’s free, free, free. (Ok, a few specific activities have a small fee. But you can just come enjoy the day for nada if you want to–we do!)

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While you’re around, be sure to stop by the County Museum (it’s free) and look around at 400+ years of history. Isle of Wight County was originally settled around 1619 (we’re just a free ferry ride away from Jamestown!) and we’ve got every kind of American history right here in the County. From early settlement, to Civil War, to the Cold War, there’s a bit of it right here, and most of our historic properties are owned and managed by the County with free admission for visitors.

Fort BoykinFort HugerBoykin’s TavernNike Park/Nike Ajax Missile SiteAnd a few other historic sites worth visiting with your family–but I’m not sure if they are free, or a nominal cost.
The Old Schoolhouse Museum (The website alone is awesome–you should check out some of that oral history whether you come to visit or not!)
Historic St. Luke’s Church (Heritage Day is coming up June 8, 2013, with free activities for the whole family!)

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If you’re in Tidewater, you really should come out one Saturday and visit. There’s more than just an afternoon of fun here. And if you’re visiting Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, or other local attractions, don’t forget we’re here! {And if you’re coming this way–don’t forget to come by and visit us at The Lowe Farm!! Just drop us an email so someone ca be sure to be here!}

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Spring Pastures…On Grieving and Growing and Mother’s Day

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Well, we solved our car problem and picked the munchkins up in our new-to-us SUV on Friday afternoon. On Saturday, the Ladybug said, “I bet this car feels small to you momma. But not to us, because we’re used to driving in the “Zu-Zu.” We like it.”

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Our pasture bluebird houses are all full of growing families!

Then on Saturday I went out to run errands which the crew and we got to spend a few hours at the bookstore. Oh the drama of the bookstore! {smile} We like to occasionally take them out to the bookstore to spend some of the gift money they have and as a reward for good school efforts. Their little banks were filling up again and we’re in the last week of school, so I took them to pick out a couple books for their summer reading. Besides, I had a couple member coupons for Mother’s Day.

The sales clerk was getting such a kick out of their three little voices echoing back and forth across the children’s section, “Momma, is this in my price range?!” He said, “They have a price range? That is so cute!” I said “Yes, their budget is half our money and half theirs. It helps them appreciate the books more at home.” Hopefully, anyway.

I don’t think of it as “cute.” I like to think of it as teaching responsible stewardship. But maybe it planted a little seed for when that young man has a family. We came home with a copy of Shiloh, Lego Kingdom, Lego Ninja, Face-to-Face with Frogs, the Great Migration, the Burning Bridge, and Brotherband Chronicles #1.

Sometimes we think of "grass" as just grass. But it's not. It's full of flowers, and clover and colors.

Sometimes we think of “grass” as just grass. But it’s not. It’s full of flowers, and clover and colors.

The kiddos are going to be home again with a babysitter this summer (although we’re all a little bummed that it won’t be “Ms. Maya” again) and we’re looking forward to redeeming a few extra hours each day with them. We’ve also printed out copies of the Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Journal and the Ladybug has her eye on a free copy of Tuesdays at the Castle and The Tale of Emily Windsnap, so she’ll be quite busy.

Purple and spikey!

Purple and spiky!

And then it was Mother’s Day.

And Mr. Fix-It walked on eggshells.

And honestly, so did I.

Because sometimes I don’t know if I’m going to be a mother, for Mother’s Day, or if I’m going to be a motherless daughter, for Mother’s Day. The pain doesn’t lay itself out in advance and let me prepare…I don’t see it coming and have a chance to run and hide, or give Mr. Fix-It a signal to batten down the hatches…sometimes it’s just there.

But this year I was just a mother, on Mother’s Day.

Soft and round and yellow!

Soft and round and yellow!

And I got marigolds in a red solo cup for my garden. And a hand-drawn picture of me holding hands with the Cowboy. And a cookie sheet turned magnet board covered in goldfish from my Speedracer.

And Mr. Fix-It helped me trim the rose bushes, and my irises are blooming, and my allergies have gone crazy, and we’re building a new pen for the ducklings, and we have a new grill again (after nearly 2 years!)…and I was just a momma.

Just a momma, on Mother’s Day.

And it was good.

And green, and white, and purple, and more yellow, and just a speck of pink!

And green, and white, and purple, and more yellow, and just a speck of pink!

And I thought how sometimes, when you look over the whole field, you just see grass. But when you walk through it, day-by-day, you learn to see the flowers. And if you didn’t walk through it each day, you’d never see the purple and the yellow and the tiny spots of pink…

And I thought about how “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

And about how, if you don’t love God, and you aren’t following His calling and His purpose, those words aren’t your promise. Everything is for good, only if you’re allowing God fully into your life. It’s not an absolute, it’s a promise based on your choice.

This year I was just a momma on Mother’s Day…because all things work together for my good, because I choose the Lord.

How was your Mother’s Day?

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Sheep on the Loose…And Other Daily Adventures

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Mr. Fix-It popped in the kitchen on a recent, foggy, soggy morning to say, “Um…we have a situation.”

Actually, what he said was, “Tiberius is out and coming around the field. Can you get dressed–I need you outside.” So I threw jeans and a tee-shirt on over my pink nightgown and hollered for Speedracer to grab my muck boots and charged outside–into the sopping wet grass.

And I do mean sopping. I was wet to the knees from the tall grass within minutes.

I saw the cows, looking a little confused by my frazzled haste.

I saw the cows, looking a little confused by my frazzled haste.

I also didn’t see any sign of our big, dumb, ram galloping blindly around the field as he is known to do whenever he’s foolish enough to get out.

Now, I hate to call any animal stupid. I prefer things like “driven by instinct” or “just being how God made them.” But when it comes to Tiberius, there it is.  That sheep is a few eggs shy of a dozen, folks. And that’s being generous. He’s big, and beautiful, and throws good lambs on our ewes…but I’ve seen earthworms act more intelligent. (Oh, how I miss our ram, Ozzie!)

The spring calves are really growing, aren't they?!

The spring calves are really growing, aren’t they?!

Anyway, I didn’t see any sign of him galloping around crashing into things, leaping clover patches, and falling into ditches. I just saw one, lone, crying, lamb looking lost and confused and headed in the wrong direction. Mr. Fix-It hopped on the tractor and headed out to cut off the long-way-around-side and I hustled through the backyard and cut off the short side.

I turned him around and Mr. Fix-It and I converged on the little guy…

He squeezed back under the gate he’d come out of and everything was fine. Mr. Fix-It added a little extra security (we’re still not sure how Tiberius managed to get his 220 lbs of brawn-not-brains out and then back in again) while I looked everyone over.

And what did I see?

A ewe, off by herself in the field…

All our readers know that a sheep by itself is a sheep that has a problem!

All our readers know that a sheep by itself is a sheep that has a problem!

It turns out that we thought we were done lambing and we weren’t!

We had one Clun ewe that was sick and struggled badly with worms over the summer. She barely put any weight on over the winter and we were just glad she survived. We assumed that with the high doses of medicine over the summer she either would not breed or would lose the lambs early. Her lack of size seemed to confirm that she wasn’t carrying lambs.

I can't wait until we shear--their wool gets so raggedly-looking in the wet spring weather!

I can’t wait until we shear–their wool gets so raggedy-looking in the wet spring weather!

She started putting on weight like everyone else when the fresh grass started coming in and we thought she had finally made a turn for the better.

Turns out, all this time she was carrying twins!!

They are very small. We’re worried about whether they are going to be completely healthy, or if the medicine from last summer will have affected them. But so far they are ok and their momma seems to be handling everything fine.

I pray that they’ll both grow up normal, but I’m very happy that she seems like she’s going to make a full recovery. She’s a very valuable ewe and we’ve been worried about her most of the winter. We had even added extra feed pans to the winter field to reduce the pushing and shoving at feeding time to make sure she could get her share. (We don’t like to completely separate an animal from the flock if not absolutely necessary because it’s so unnatural to them that they tend to fret themselves more than heal.)

These two bring our count for the year up to 20!

These two bring our count for the year up to 20!

I’m usually not a fan of lambing out in the big pastures because it’s harder to keep track of everyone. But in this case, I’m very glad that she lambed after the grass was in. There’s just no dietary substitute for fresh green grass. It’s what God made sheep to eat! It will be absolutely the best thing for her, health-wise, right now.

I’ll keep ya posted on how it goes!

How is your weekend shaping up?

See where I’m sharing…

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Like American Honey

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“She grew up on the side of the road,
Where the church bells ring and strong love grows,
She grew up good, she grew up slow,
Like American honey…”

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“Steady as a preacher, free as a weed,
Couldn’t wait to get going, but wasn’t quite ready to leave,
So innocent, pure, and sweet
Like American honey…”   (American Honey, Lady Antebellum)

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She doesn’t care that little girls are supposed to wear hair bows and headbands. She doesn’t care that her hair’s not brushed smooth or all the tangled are out of the underneath. She doesn’t care for ponytails or short hair because they make her look like a boy.

She says “It’s fine, Momma! My hair likes to be loose!”

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She doesn’t care that her boots on the outside of her pants. She doesn’t care that she’s wearing boots with a skirt. Or a dress. Or shorts. Or without socks.

She says, “It’s fine, Momma! I gotta go!”

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She doesn’t care that she’s wearing a skirt and climbing through a fence, over a gate, onto a trailer…She doesn’t care that she’s wearing “sweatshirt-pants” with stained knees and a school-uniform polo shirt and a wool sweater and cowboy boots to go to the grocery store.

She says “It’s fine, Momma! They’re my favorite!”

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Sometimes parenting seems so complicated. And sometimes it’s just this…Carve out a place in this world where they can grow up slowly, carefully, in their own time, under God’s hand.

Just that. And they’ll be fine.

And I think, “Do you see her, Momma? Isn’t she fine?”

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Can I share something with you, from my heart to yours? My daughter is like me in some ways, and very, very different from me in some ways. And sometimes I find myself confused and discouraged when I don’t know how to mesh my expectations with her abilities or needs. And sometimes she finds herself confused and discouraged when she doesn’t know how to meet my expectations. And sometimes it hurts both our hearts.

For years now, when things get out of whack, we curl up in her bed and read about “Ruby-duck,” the little duckling who did everything later than the rest of the family. Who did everything “in her own time.” When we bought the book on a whim, because of the title, our 3-year-old Ladybug didn’t know why Momma cried every. single. time. we read it together. She just thought it was neat that there was a book with her name in it.

I think our 8-year-old Ladybug knows why.

But she never cries. Know why? Because the last line of the story says, “And, she did.”

We’ve had a busy, challenging couple of weeks and are struggling to finish the school year strong. Together. And I’m feeling the need to curl up with my own little Ruby-duck and remind myself that “She will. In her own time.” Do you have a favorite book you turn too when motherhood gets tough? I never imagined mine would be a children’s storybook, but I guess you’re never too old for the truth.

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Making Iron Man Do His Chores…And Other Boy Mom Adventures

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I was loading the dishwasher the other day when Iron Man popped in to ask for a snack.

See what happens when you're a no-video-games family? Super Heroes drop in to visit more often.
So I offered him some yogurt-covered raisins in exchange for emptying the compost bucket.

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He didn’t really think that Iron Man should be distracted with such menial work when there was a whole planet to save.  He was just look for a little jet fuel.

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So I threw in a juice pouch to sweeten the deal.

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It turns out that negotiating with Super Heroes involves a lot of fruit snacks and cheese crackers–you didn’t see that part in the movies, now did ya?

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