silkey's strawberries

This was our forth year strawberry picking at Silkey Gardens and man I love this annual tradition. I first went when I was pregnant with Elsie, then when she was almost one, then almost two and now almost three. My kids are getting increasingly helpful, putting a berries into their baskets as well as their berries. But the best part is that the Silkey family is incredibly gracious and generous encouraging "the future berry pickers" in their strawberry snacking. Ivar was on a quest to find the "winning strawberry" always looking for the biggest one. And Elsie didn't start stuffing her face until check out when I was talking for a while with the owners. I think she had 25 strawberries while she stood and waited.

Tonight we ate our first strawberry pie of the season and plan on going back tomorrow for more berries for another pie for Father's Day. Nothing beats a fresh strawberry pie. 

Firmoo Eyeglasses

Whew. That's a close up head shot, isn't it? But I'm about to tell you about those there specs on my face, so a picture seemed in order. Before I tell you all about these glasses, I want to throw out a little disclaimer. I have never tried to monetize my blog. Rory has encouraged me, telling me if I'm pouring this much time and effort into these posts I might as well get some sort of kick back. And there are enough of you reading that I probably could do something with ad space or giveaways.

But here's the thing. I have read lots of blogs that have gone that direction and first I'd like to say, more power to them. Truly. There is nothing wrong in finding a little reward for all the words and images poured onto these pages. But I have noticed two things often happen when a blogger transitions from personal to promotional. The first is that you can sniff it out real fast. It's easy to know when someone is trying to sell you something. Second, I have found that bloggers can lose their voice in the process. They struggle with what to write about, thinking it needs to always fit into their advertisers niche. And it seems to tie up their tongues.

I love this blog space because I feel beholden to absolutely no one. If I fancy it, I write it. Lots of times I don't even read through a post before I hit publish. I feel free and uninhibited and for that reason I don't think I'll ever go the route of ads or sponsored blog posts. But never say never and time will tell, I suppose.

All that said, have I got a deal for you! Step right up ladies and gentleman, step right up for the best deal of your eye glasses lives!

So I have this long and emotional tale with eye glasses. Mostly that I have been wearing eye glasses without the anti-reflective coating for three awful, glaring years. It had something to do with the deal at America's Best and how you could get an eye exam and two pair of eye glasses for some serious deal, but as a result, your glasses were the basic, no frills specs you'd expect from a deal like that. About a year ago one of the lenses popped out of the first pair, and a few months ago one of the nose pads fell off so that I've had a screw digging into my schnozer whenever I go without contacts.

You can then imagine my delight when I got an email from Firmoo Online Eyeglass Store asking if I'd like to try their site and order a pair of glasses in exchange for a review. I was thrilled because I still drive 45 minutes to my old eye place, and because my prescription was still current...all I needed were glasses that didn't leave a dent on my face every time I wore them.

So I got on their site and looked at all of my choices. Glasses shopping always gives me a little identity crisis. I have no idea who I am when I am trying on glasses or sunglasses. So I went with a pair that I thought might be a fun change, a pair that looked sort of like what I see other people wearing lately, a pair that frankly felt a little out of my comfort zone. I plugged in my prescription that my eye doctor, after a phone call, had gladly mailed to my house and I ordered my specs.

They came and I really like them. They're totally different, I laugh a bit at their size, but again, this seems to be what people are wearing. And as I told Rory, the size of lens is actually awesome. There is no frame blocking my view in any direction!

I am pleased as punch to write all of this about Firmoo because it was truly that easy, and I really am that pleased and as one who hates making appointments with two kids along for the ride, this was so slick! And the real reason I can promote them is because the prices are awesome. Frames all range from $20-$40. Everyday they add new frames to choose from. And if you click here, they have sent me a link so that you can get 15% off your order.

Again, I'm not usually peddling anything on this blog, but folks, I got a pair of free eye glasses out of the deal, I didn't have to go sit in a lobby and try on fifty pair and wonder who I really am, and I am pleased to pass this site along to you.

a special reset button

Look at those pictures! That was all yesterday, another epic summer day. We went to a beach, had a picnic, played at two different parks, stopped by the Dairy Inn for strawberry malts and ended up driving by an airfield and watching all sorts of little airplanes and gliders land and take off just feet in front of us. The day was stunning and I was a happy mama.

But the day didn't start out that way. My whole crew was a moody mess when we woke up, including me. I tried to get us out of the house for almost two hours. I threatened all sorts of things that I never followed through on. I gave Elsie a choice of swimsuits and she screamed, "both of them!" Which was fine with me. I told her she could wear both. And then she screamed even more because I think she was looking for a fight, and I wasn't giving it to her. She did end up fitting both of her bottoms on and wore them proudly all day long.

We had nothing in the house for a picnic (mayonaise on hotdog buns, anyone?) So I gathered an odd mix of prunes, graham crackers and a brown banana that made me feel better but I knew no one would actually eat. I was loading sand toys, camping chairs and beach towels into the back of the jeep, listening to my daughter cry about something in the garage when I found a bag of bread Oma Zina had given to me to give to the chickens. I took a loaf over to the chicken yard, breaking it into bits, and was thinking about calling it quits on the whole outing, sending the kids to their rooms to regroup and staying put for the day.

And then Ivar shouted, "Patsy's here!" I continued to feed the chickens, took a deep breath and then turned around with a forced smile and welcome on my face and walked over to Patsy's car. Patsy is our neighbor who lives at the end of the road and seems to only stop in on the days when I am about to give every member of my family a spanking. She catches me right before I'm about to loose my mind (or have already) and then stays and talks for a long while. Her timing is so uncanny that just yesterday I saw quite clearly that Patsy is the way God helps me press the reset button on my day. Because after fifteen minutes of catching up on her kids, her grandbaby, our barn, the kittens and the volatile morning we were living through, I seem to be breathing normal again and can continue my day back in my right mind.

She left and I loaded the kids up. I filed up water bottles and we put on their favorite kids cd and took off for a 45 minute drive through the country to a beautiful county park that has this incredible playground and huge beach.

When we were all back home I was looking through the pictures of our stunning, epic, summer day. And I thought about Patsy and how glad I was that she showed up right at the wrong time and got me on my feet again.

north house folk school

Last fall we had our friends David and Jenny over and they told us all about a folk school up in Grand Marais. They showed us the webpage and we got on their mailing list and started reading about all of the courses they offer. The variety of workshops was astonishing and really inspiring.

So this past Wednesday, Rory loaded up his truck to head up for four days to North House Folk School to take a course on blacksmithing. He got a camp site that was walking distance to the folk school and right on Lake Superior. And then he was taught how to heat and hammer metal into useful things. (That's his classroom up above.)

I was so excited for him to go. He was so excited to get to go. And based on pictures he sent to my phone, texts and late night conversations, he really enjoyed the entire experience. He got home at 11:30 Saturday night and we stayed up talking and he showed me everything he made. Then tonight we had a family slide show, showing us the campus, the station where he worked most of the time, and a few of the other classes and projects in progress while he was there.

There are so many workshops offered throughout the year and now we're trying to figure out if there is anything we can go back and learn together before baby comes. The North Shore is my favorite destination and I'm so thrilled to have one more awesome reason to make the drive up to that beautiful part of Minnesota.

The Yearling book review, with NO spoilers

I finished The Yearling late last night and I wish I was in a book club to discuss every part of it. Now I'm not going to give a thing away (you know how I hate that!) But there are a few things I wish I actually had known going into it.  I wish I had known this whole books is mostly about character development and setting. I kept waiting for the plot to start, but similar to Jayber Crow, this is just a calm, lovely read. I wish I could have let go of the expectation of conflict or struggle earlier on and just soaked up the scenery and people along the way.

My mom told me it was made into a movie, and I cannot fathom how this story would work on the screen. So much of it is descriptive setting and interpersonal growth, I just don't know how the heart of this book would translate. But maybe some day I'll watch it.

I told Rory this book was so descriptive that quite likely in a few months I'm going to say, "I'm so glad we took that trip to inland Florida this summer" even though we didn't actually go. But I have this whole world in my head and heart now, and I was swept up. And the people. Oh the main characters in this book are lovable and upright. Sometimes when Rory and I are watching a movie he'll say, "There's not one character I'm rooting for right now. I'm done watching this." And it's so true...modern stories seem void of good, solid, moral people. But this book follows a father and son, two of the best.

It's a sweet read. Enjoyable all the way through. But now after reading a 500 page WW2 book, and a 500 page Coming of Age book, I'm going for something super light. Next up: a recommendation from my friend Amanda, The Rosie Project.

we are pool people!

I have a friend who has kids that are now both on the swim team. She was telling me recently how crazy it is that her kids are so capable in the water and how much her pool days have changed since they were my kids' age. I told her with enthusiasm, "you're a magazine mom! you could actually bring a magazine to the pool and read it!" ***

Last night I brought my kids to the community pool for the evening rate and felt my own sort of graduation into a new season of motherhood. The past two years we haven't hardly ventured to the pool. We just were too little and the whole scene was too overwhelming for one mama to take two wiggly toddlers. We went one time last year, with Rory. But last night, equipped with puddle jumper life jackets (that I found at Aldi Grocery Store for $12 each!) I also graduated into another season of motherhood. The one where I can safely and sanely bring my kids to the pool and enjoy it!

Now these pictures don't show it, but I was in the water the whole time with them (well, not the toddler pool in the last picture.) But every time they were in the big pool I was right there, guiding their arms as they floated and hopped around. I recently read Ali Edwards' summer manifesto to simply get in the pool with her kids where she linked to Jessica Turner's article encouraging mom's to put on that swimsuit. I loved every word of it...be sure to click on that link.

So last night I took my six month pregnant self and celebrated my two puddle jumping kids. Next summer will likely be completely different again with a baby and we'll likely have a summer or two where it feels too overwhelming. But this summer we're going to be pool people!

(***obviously still keeping an eye on her kids! I'm all about pool safety here, people!)

Elsie goes to High School

Today Elsie and I got to go and talk to a Family and Consumer Science class that my niece Josie is in. We were there to talk about what it is like to have a two year old and what it is like to be a two year old. Elsie was thrilled at the invitation. It was very special that it was just her thing.

It wasn't until this morning when I was getting dressed to go back to the high school I graduated from that it all hit me. I graduated sixteen years ago. I am pregnant with my third baby. I am walking back through the doors as a...panelist. What in the world. Life and age is a funny thing and much of the time I think of myself as much younger than I actually am. Today as I carried my two year old in over my baby bump in my front, I realized there is no denying it. I am not in high school any more.

The panel was fun. There were two other mom's there, one who had just had her first baby at age 40. The baby was two weeks old and she was in the overwhelmed stage. The other mom had grown children and brought her daycare kids along. The students asked questions the whole hour about discipline and sleep habits and the hardest part and best part of motherhood. The three of us moms enjoyed ourselves...at one point Josie whispered to me, "do you know these other mom's? It's like you're best friends." But that's because moms have a tight bond. We've all been there, or are going there...

It was a fun day at the high school. Tomorrow is their last day before summer vacation. And perhaps the most important thing we learned today is that the Apple Valley Waterpark is now open for the season!

annika's granola

I wake up in the morning excited to go eat my breakfast. My sister Annika shared this recipe with me, and I have no idea where she found it. But since she's the one who shared it, I'll call it Annika's Granola. It's really simple to prepare and after making it one time, I will for sure double the recipe when I make it in the future. I ate it up so fast!

Annika's Granola:
2 cups old fashioned oats
1-1.5 cups coarsely chopped nuts (I used pecans and slivered almonds)
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 Tablespoon of coconut oil or canola oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (I used more because I love cinnamon)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup dried cherries (or craisins, blueberries or raisins)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix everything all together and spread on a sprayed or parchment lined cookie sheet. Toss every 8 minutes, bake 24-26 minutes).

It's so good and crunchy, great with yogurt and I like how "clean" the recipe is compared to the store-bought granola. Enjoy!

happy sabbath

Could I love a little boy anymore than I love this one? I am often struck by how much my love can grow for my kids. Just when I think I could certainly love them no more than I already do, more time passes and my love and affection deepens and it makes me wonder what it will feel like when they are 50 and I am 80.

I worked in the church nursery today and loved it. My kids were thrilled that I was the nursery worker. All week long they kept asking when it would be Sunday so that I could play with them in the church nursery. Somehow the fact that I am with them 24 hours a day isn't quite enough. Elsie woke up aware of the day and told me gladly, "you're the worker today!" And we had so much fun with all of the kids. We played restaurant and colored and played circle games and sang songs. And then I was spent and out of ideas and we still had thirty more minutes to fill. I made a mental note that next time I'll save my tricks for the last thirty minutes...

And now we're home and I'm finishing up The Yearling and loving every sweet minute of it. Some of my family is napping and one little girl is making up very sing-songy dialogue with her my little ponies. Rory got this shot of Ivar a few days ago and when we showed Ivar he laughed and laughed. He thought it was so funny he fell asleep in a chair. His dad had moved him so that when he woke up he was in his own bed. But this picture cracked him up. And it melted our hearts.

Summer Goals

(See my teeny kids at the bottom of this picture?)

I've got some serious enthusiasm and momentum heading into this summer. As much as I am aware that I am negatively affected by the weather in the month of February, and I just as aware by how positively affected I am by glorious days in May. And now it's a stunning, sunny June first and my kids and I just returned from a country drive to get chicken food, discovered a new park, had a nice conversation with another mom at the new park, came home and ate popsicles and now I'm about to bust open I'm so happy that it's summer!!!

While spotting my kids on every precarious thing at the park I was thinking through my summer goals. I'm not going crazy, but I think these things are good goals that will make for a well-lived summer:

1. Visit a new park every week. So far we're 2 for 2 on this one. Last week I found a park while following signs for a garage sale that I later took the kids to. They loved it. And I adored it because there weren't zillions of kids there. I think the hidden parks, tucked into subdivisions are little gems to be discovered. I'm out to find them all.

2. I just signed up for this e-course and I'm so thrilled. Any tips or tricks I could learn about better organizing my mornings for a smoother start to my day are very, very welcome in my life. For $16, I just don't think I can go wrong.

3. I've invited seven local friends to my house this summer to meet up seven times for a Bible Study. I found one at Lifeway called Why Do you Believe That? and I'm really excited about this intentional time to be with these ladies. They're friends I wish I got to see more often, and this is going to make it happen.

4. I have my first Girls Golf meeting tonight. So excited to get these six dates on the calendar. Based on my game last year, I think we're all pretty confident my belly won't hinder my score. It might even help me keep my body low through my entire swing.

5. Read books. I'd love to say one a week. I don't know if that will happen, but what a summer it if would! So far I'm on track, and I'm in love with the characters of The Yearling, just like Rory said I would be.

So those are the goals:
1. New park each week
2. Make Over my Mornings
3. Women's Bible Study
4. Girls Golf
5. A book every week or so

Fun, fun, fun. I feel the ticker with a new baby coming at the end of September. I know my life is going to greatly change again this fall. But until then I'm going to soak up this little pocket of time when my kids are so fantastically independent and I can do these things that feel downright indulgent. Ah, life is good!

(Can you tell I've had my Vitamin D today? The actual sunshine kind? I'm just a little enthused...)

And, just a friendly reminder to the incredible list my ecfe teacher gave to us last summer...if you're looking for more things to do! Click on this link for places to visit in the Twin Cities (mostly south metro) and this link for ideas of things to do at home. (A great list for ideas when you're kids need inspiration... but don't get sucked into thinking you need to be the cruise ship director of your kids summer!)

the stories we write

At church this morning we talked with a friend of ours who just had emergency surgery where it was discovered she had two cancerous tumors. It had been a scary few weeks, a hard recovery but every time I have seen her or heard word of how she's doing she has had the most incredible outlook. Today she said, "there was so much God wanted to show me through all of this. I learned and grew and saw so much..."

She continued and told us lots more, and while she talked I was so struck by how she was choosing to retell her own story. She was completely sincere, completely hopeful and completely grateful as she talked about her scary month.

I love blogging for this very reason. Blogging is a very intentional way that I literally write my own story. And I'm so aware of it. Last week I could have written a end-of-the-week post and I could have written it ten different ways, all of them true. I hold so much power in my hands when I (literally) write my own story. We all hold this power.

So I could have written about how our barn has been one week delayed because the wrong length floor boards were ordered. And elaborated on any number of opinions surrounding that delay. Or I could have written about how because the wrong boards were delivered, the builder discovered they were not what we needed anyway, and that in reordering we saved thousands of dollars on different boards. I could have written about the mud pit that our barn is sitting in because of all the rain, or I could write about how incredible the grass seed in our field has taken... because of all the rain.

Do you see what I am saying? We each hold this pen in our hands. God has literally given us the ability to write our own stories, pick our themes, pick our mood, pick our response and reaction, choose our words, and as a result, literally choose our life.

I am naturally a positive person. And I've always been a storyteller so that even in awful circumstances I am already writing the comedy-version of this tale in my mind. I get that not everyone is like this. But today at church, hearing our friend tell of a really hard season with not a hint of victim-hood, I saw this truth clear as day. She possessed all the good fruits: hope, gratitude, joy and thankfulness, even in the midst of her storm. I thought to myself, 'no matter what, no matter what, I want to write my story like that.'

officially summertime

This week started out a bit dreary but Wednesday and Thursday were full on summer. And I realized that technically I can call the change of season whenever I want since we aren't on a school calendar yet. So as of Wednesday I decided it's summertime! That day we met with our ecfe friends for our first weekly park play date and I put sunblock on Elsie for the first time of many to come. Today I took the kids to Dairy Queen after we went to my midwife appointment for our first twist cones of the season. We spent most of the afternoon playing in the rock box and tonight we had dinner outside complete with sweet corn! (And it was good! From Aldi!)

Here's the other thing that really-truly felt like summer vacation: I devoured a book. My sister-in-law Sara recommended All the Light we Cannot See and I plowed through all 500-some pages like it was my job. Oh to be lost in a book! It is such a great feeling! And the second I finished that one, I picked up The Yearling, a book that has been on my shelf for a year or so. And now it is time.

Just a quick note on All the Light we Cannot See. I really liked it. And I will not give one single thing away here because I (fun fact) am one who does not like to read jacket covers or watch movie previews. I love to go into a story completely unaware of a single thing that is about to happen (if it has been recommended to me by a trusted source!). But before you pick this one up as a quick read, know that it is about WWII and it includes much of the horrors. But also know that the writer paints the story so vividly that 1) I had dreams about the book multiple nights and 2) I often tried to remember, "what was that great movie I just saw..." only to realize it was the book I was reading. The writing was that descriptive and the story was that captivating.

But even with that, it will be a while before I read a heavy-load-to-carry book. I needed something less intense, but just as good. Rory has been wanting me to read The Yearling and so that is my next read. Now don't you dare say one word about this book that will give a single thing away. Not a word! But do yourself a favor and go find a good book to kick off your summer. Is there anything better than reading outside in a camping chair? Add a lemonade ice-tea and you're living the dream.

backyard camping and princess camping

On Friday night Ivar and Rory decided to camp in our backyard. You might remember the last time we went backyard camping when Ivar was just one and I was very pregnant with Elsie. That is still one of my favorite family memories, especially when we brought Ivar into his crib around 10:30...

This time it was just the boys who stayed out to camp. I decided earlier in the day that anyone who was five months pregnant or two years old would stay for Smores and then go in the house for...Princess Camping! Elsie was most enthused. Princess Camping included reading her Sophia the First coloring book and going to bed. It was the best idea ever. Now I am all for camping, but when you are just footsteps from your own bed, pregnant or two years old, it just felt wise to let the boys have their own special time.

And it was special. I remember the very first time we saw this property with the realtor Rory said, "and that's where I'd put a family campsite." Friday night that dream came true and he was very, very pleased.

this week at the grovestead

It is sort of awful that on Monday I was crying about not being productive, because there certainly is enough happening around here. I'm not really doing the work, but I am keeping the ship running that allows for the stuff to get done.

Construction began this week on our barn. I'll just go right out and acknowledge that it's going to be big. First, because barns are big. And second, because you only build a barn every 150 years, and it felt wise to build it with 150 year of possibilities. Strangely, though, I think it is going to fit right in, and Rory and I could not be happier with the shape, the crew building it, and the progress being made.

Percy had four kittens! We knew this was coming when she got real fat about two weeks ago. :) We never had her fixed and were hoping for a litter. We're cat people at this house and so excited to get to hold them eventually (but not going to interrupt the mama-baby bonding happening these crucial first weeks...)

Rory planted the garden this week and re-seeded our field with pasture grass and regular grass (closer to the house). I asked for more lawn so we can play kick ball and t-ball, and he was happy to give it to me under the condition that I get to mow that section. :) Rory's goal is always to make less lawn to mow, not more!

He's been in full swing with a new round of honey bees. We purchased two nuks (workers and queen) for two of the hives and then our friend Adam gave us frames of worker bees, split from his healthy hives, enough for two more hives. Rory ordered two queen bees that came in the mail (!!!) and he has added them to the worker hives. He took pictures to explain all of this in detail and is working on a post at the grovestead. But I'm not sure I've ever seen my husband so busy in all our marriage, so I'll let you know when he posts next. :)

We're excited it's the weekend. I'm reading a page turner and am ready to rest for a few days. Happy Weekend! Have a great Memorial Day!

the sixteenth day

I didn't post this on Tuesday because I thought it was too pitiful. But I just reread it and it made me laugh. So here it is: Becca and her terrible-no-good-very-bad-Monday. 

Monday night at dinner Rory sat down and asked me very honestly, "Can you think of an equation that ranks the swath maps based on coverage area and hail size?" I looked back at him and said, "Just an hour ago I realized that today isn't actually Tuesday. It's Monday."

I think that little exchange perfectly sums up our life lately. Rory is running circles around me and is so productive and is accomplishing so much. He's overseeing this entire barn project (which is a big project...it's a big barn!) and is in his peak crazy-busy season for his weather software (storm season) often not coming to bed until after midnight when he finishes his work for the day. He has taken over the honey bee operation this spring, driving an hour to purchase two new hives and starting two other hives from the bees of a friend and mail ordering for two queens to add to the boxes. He literally picked up the queens at the post office this morning.  He has planted our garden, sprayed our apple trees, reseeded our field and never seems to stop.

It's so hard when my days would never be described as productive, and often little has been accomplished that could ever be measured. Monday I threw myself such a fine pity party. This one was a dandy. I was so sorry for myself. This pity party had a motherhood theme, the one where it feels like nothing ever gets done because everything is always undone the second it's done. Even yesterday I actually finished the laundry, every last sock folded and put away, only to have Elsie flood the bathroom (waterfall over the counter onto the floor below) so that I had to take all my newly folded towels, clean up the mess as fast as I could and then...put them in the washer to make another load of laundry. I could have cried.

I would say I can usually keep my perspective, head above water, remembering my bigger mission in this awesome and holy calling of motherhood.  I probably keep my perspective fifteen out of every sixteen days. But it's that sixteenth day that I just want to hire a maid, laundry service, chef and nanny and run for the hills. Or stop midday, give up and make chocolate chip cookies and get out a new book.

Anyway, Tuesday the sun was out and I woke up completely reset. I was excited because I was confident that it really was Tuesday that day and that I had a whole new day to try my Tuesday all over again. I took a long shower first thing, made myself some coffee and took care of some correspondence long overdue. I had a friend over during nap time. And mostly I just woke up with my right mind. I know all the right answers to this productivity dilemma: I am growing a baby in me, which is quite productive, I am raising kids, keeping a house, keeping a family fed and I know it all counts. I'm just saying that about every sixteen days I'm ready for a day off...

maddie is engaged!

You might remember one year ago when we celebrated our niece Maddie's 21st birthday. It was such a fun night and that evening she told everyone of her plans to travel to Sweden later that month and then to tour in the summer with a ministry team leading worship around the country. Little did we know then that on that tour bus she would catch the eye of the sound guy. They started dating and this year to celebrate her 22nd birthday, she got an engagement ring.

We've all known this is coming for a long time. Chase and Maddie met and I was ready for the announcement two months later. Every holiday I wondered, every time we gathered as a whole family I imagined the news being shared. The Groves family loves Chase and we have been happy for Maddie from the start. So it should have been absolutely no surprise when we got the text from Kyle, Rory's oldest brother, that Chase had popped the question.

And yet it totally surprised me. We were eating dinner and Rory read the text. I laughed so happily and we explained to the kids what it all meant. We told Elsie that Maddie was going to marry Chase and she told us flatly, "I already knew that." We laughed as we imagined Chase having cleared the whole thing with Elsie before he popped the question.

I got all slaphappy and told Rory I was going to drive to Kyle and Lisa's and crash the engagement party, that was disguised as a surprise 22nd birthday party, thrown by all of her college friends. Rory joked that I should bring morel mushrooms and frozen rhubarb (the projects I had been working all day) as my engagement gift. He said, "you can introduce yourself as the cool aunt from the country and ask where you should put the rhubarb and mushrooms." I was laughing so hard I was crying at the thought.

We explained to the kids that one day they would marry someone and Ivar said he wanted to marry daddy. Elsie said she wanted to marry mommy. And we said it had to be someone not in our family, that one day they'd meet someone special and they would join our family, just like Chase is joining Kyle and Lisa's family. And in an instant, my hysterical laughter turned into hysterical crying. Sobbing. Which made me laugh, because I was crying. Really hard. In fact, much of the time I couldn't tell if I was laughing or crying, I had crossed over into some super-emotional land of heightened hormones. I kept laughing and crying and it was so odd. Ivar asked what was the matter and I said to Rory with laughter, "I don't know what's happening right now." He said, "You don't know what is happening?!!"

And then he stood up and told us we needed to put our rain boots on and get outside. That clearly we needed to burn off some energy. I went and got the morel mushrooms from my neighbor and then we went to another neighbor's swing set to play for a while. Rory planted more of the garden between rain showers and eventually we called it a night.

Oh I don't know what all that was last night, but today when I talked to Lisa, Maddie's mom, I got the feeling I was just putting myself in her shoes, amazed at how fast all of this flies by. I cried on the phone with Lisa, and she told me that in 22 years the baby I'm carrying may very well fall in love and get married. Made me laughcry some more...

bulldozers and bobcats

We have some pretty major things happening around these parts lately. Life has not been quiet. It actually has sounded more like a bulldozer tearing down half of our pole shed, burying the foundation of the old barn-shed-thing, and laying the clay and sand pad where the new barn will be built. We were all excited to get pigs this spring but we didn't have a sufficient place to keep them. We talked about goats, but ran into the same problem. It became obvious that the next big project, before any other projects could happen, was to build the barn that would house all future projects.

It's been fun and exciting and it's been stressful and overwhelming. We've poured over the location and design and functions. And I think we're relieved we're not building a home. There are so many decisions to be made...and it's just a barn!

The kids could not be more pleased having a bulldozer and skid-steer and 7 dump trucks dumping sand working hard at their house. Parenting has been pretty easy-peasy these days. Today's entertainment came in the form of a bobcat with a post hole digger. The supplies were delivered by a huge semi truck and today construction really begins. Hooray!

garage sale season

I woke up this morning at 4:30, 5:30 and then again at 6:15 when I could finally get up. Today is our town's garage sale day with lots of churches and organizations holding huge rummage sales, as well as lots of family sales all around town. I woke up giddy as Christmas morning. I threw on my clothes, ate a bowl of cereal and took the truck to the bank to pull out some cash. I even had a birthday check to deposit, so the money I spent was covered by birthday funds...which meant I was "off the hook" for every purchase I made. Perfect for all of the unnecessary items I was about to acquire.

I called my sister at 6:45, since she has to be at her work at 7 and told her my happy morning plans. She helped me figure out my kids' shoe sizes (I never know...) and told me to send pictures of my treasures.

I told Rory I'd be home by 9. A mom without kids can hit a whole lot of garage sales in two hours.

I pulled up to the church I had heard the most rave reviews about and saw a line out front. The doors hadn't opened. Average age in the line was 60. I went and joined my people.

Twenty minutes later I left victorious with a hot dog costume, a lightening mcqueen lunch box, mini mouse ears and a winter coat that will fit Ivar in 2017.

It was 7:20 when I got back in the truck, and I had trouble finding another sale that was open so early in the morning. So I drove myself to get a sausage egg mcmuffin. I walked in and found many older men at McDonalds at 7:30 in the morning, and I happily joined them with my variety section of the newspaper, hashbrowns, oj and mcmuffin.

At 7:45 I got back into the truck and started looking for family sales. In the next hour I visited about 10 houses and found a cute swimsuit and sun hat for Elsie, a little stroller for Elsie's baby dolls, a Lightening McQueen and Mater for Ivar and some pajamas for both kids.

It was the best start to my day. I was having so much fun all by myself. I loved finding the deals, being out and about and alone in the morning and I love that we now own a hot dog costume.

here's your Jesus

Our bedtime routine includes all the usual and ends with each kid picking out a book, one or two stories from their kids Bible and finally bedtime prayers.

Here's the thing: my bedtime prayers have been really terrible. I'm so done with the day that often I say them while tucking them in, praying a litany of thank you's for all that we did that day and then closing their door and walking down the stairs.

Obviously there is no such thing as a bad prayer, but I believe in the power of prayer and always knew I wasn't using that time very well. I wasn't modeling the importance of prayer and I wasn't saying much of impact of influence over their little hearts.

I heard recently of the power of praying a blessing over each child before they go to bed. For a few weeks now I have been trying this and I love it. We finish the three books and then I get Elsie tucked in first, make the sign of the cross on her forehead and then pray with something specific I noticed in Elsie during that day, "Dear Jesus, I thank you that Elsie is such a good listener. Thank you that she listened well to her teachers at ecfe, that she got her crocs on quickly when I ask her to. Lord, I pray that she would learn to listen for your voice, listening for your lead and to do the work you call her to. I pray that you would always speak into her life and that she would have ears to hear. Amen."

Then I go to Ivar and do the same thing. The kids are usually pretty quiet for the other kid, wanting to hear what I'll say. And they lay so still. In some miraculous way, these bedtime blessings have now become a favorite part of my day. This time is now filled with meaning and is precious to everyone in our family.

Rory came down from tucking them in a few nights ago and told me that after her blessing, Elsie was singing loudly and bouncing during Ivar's blessing. So Ivar sat up and told her, "No Elsie! You already had your Jesus!"

The blessings are short, they are specific and they are special to each kid. And the kids love it.

So go give your kids their Jesus.