A little respite.

Some days I can not put pen to paper -- or fingers to keys as the case may be. The past few weeks have been reflective for me. I traveled to Delaware with my husband last week. He was speaking and I tagged along for a change of scenery.

The winding roads and rolling hills were like a balm after a busy busy semester for my little family. I took deep breaths and tried to drink it all in.

A tour of the Winterthur grounds made me hungry to see this beautiful estate in every season!

And just to fully immerse me in a few of my favorite things -- the Winterthur estate (estate of Henry Francis DuPont) is currently hosting an exhibit of the costumes from Downton Abbey.  The historians did a beautiful job exploring life at Winterthur -- an American estate home -- during the same time period. It was fascinating history -- and my kids are desperately jealous! :)

I toured another mansion while in the area as well -- the grounds of Alfred DuPont's Nemours Mansion were completely different from the ones his cousin owned at Winterthur but breathtaking nonetheless!

And after that bit of respite, I am ready to charge full ahead with summer, with making memories with my crew and the big decisions the older three need to make in this their final summer before high school graduation. I might need a few more deep breaths.

Do you have a busy summer ahead? What are you looking forward to most? I pray it is full of joy!