banana punch

My cousin Sarah made banana punch for Kathy's shower. And Kathy had made banana punch for the shower she threw for Sarah and me almost a year ago. I swear there is no better punch out there.

We did not have tea at this tea party. Instead, we kept refilling our tea cups with this slushy goodness.

I took my first sip and had one of the strongest taste associations of my life. The moment I took a sip I was back in the entryway of my Aunt Louie's house, offering punch to who ever was visiting for what ever open house it happened to be. It is a sticky mess, fiercely addictive, and I believe Sarah and Kathy and I, serving as the punch pourers at every open house, drank as much as all of the other guests combined.

Banana Punch
makes 25 servings. Or three servings, if it's Sarah, Kathy and me.
4 cups sugar
6 cups cold water
46 oz. can unsweetened pineapple juice
12 oz. can lemon juice
Two 12 oz. cans orange juice concentrate
5 bananas (blended in blender)

Stir sugar and water until dissolved. Stir all ingredients together and freeze in a 5 quart ice cream pail (or a couple gallon pails). Set out so it gets slushy before it is time to serve. Mix 1/3 of the mixture with 1 liter of 7-up. (By mixing it in thirds, it will stay slushy for a longer period of time.)

**FUNNY STORY: my mom made this for my brother's confirmation and had just put the mixed, not yet frozen, banana mixture into the freezer in an kemps gallon ice cream container. My brother, not knowing it was not ice cream, grabbed the handle and pulled it out of the freezer, which dumped the sloshy punch stuff forward, spilling the lid and spraying a gallon of sticky juice stuff on every surface of the kitchen.

My mom has not made banana punch since.

Kathy's Baby Shower

We celebrated Kathy and the little life growing inside of her on Friday with a Baby Shower Tea Party. It was a lovely. It was good to be together just two days after Aunt Jan's funeral. It was good to celebrate life, to share a meal together, to ooh and ah over tiny baby things.

Kathy had lots of help opening her presents. I believe the five little girls in attendance (all under age six) were more than willing to help pull out each gift, get the tape undone on the sides, and start to take the paper off...all to assist Kathy.

A favorite moment: Kathy got a picture frame with a poem etched on the side. Mara said, "you probably could just take out that picture (the generic black and white photo) and put in a picture of your own baby when the baby comes." We all agreed that was a very smart idea.

The menu was divine:
Ham balls from the Welcome meat locker (like meatballs, but ham. blew my mind.)
Cucumber sandwiches
Tortellini Pasta Salad
Fruit Salad by Aunt Diane
Aunt Annie's Deviled Eggs
PBJ's cut with heart cookie cutters
Aunt Jan's shrimp dip with fritos
Clementines
Gold fishy and Animal crackers
Candy from Sugar Sugar
Frozen fruit cups
Cupcakes
Banana Punch

Oh did we eat well. And in a crazy twist, there was no tea consumed at this tea party. But that banana punch has earned itself a blog post all of its own. Stay tuned for that one.

28 weeks

...and 35 weeks!

Did you know that 28 weeks is the start of third trimester?!! Neither did I until the good people at The Baby Center sent me an email to let me know and I am elated. This has been one long pregnancy and I am happy to have hit this milestone.

However. Just to keep things in perspective. This picture is me and my cousin Kathy. Kathy is 35 weeks and is finishing her FINAL rotation of residency. She's a pediatrician and works 30 hour shifts. THIRTY HOURS! And she doesn't get any naps! She is one tough mama.

My belly is getting bigger. Ivar used to see my tummy and say, "baby." But now when he sees my tummy he says, "ball." It got a lot rounder this month.

Aunt Jan's banana bars

Aunt Jan was known for her date bars, brownies and banana bars. But given then choice at any event where all three happened to appear, I chose the banana bars. Emphasis on the plural of bars. Because I tend to have no self control when it comes to cream cheese frosting and don't believe I have ever eaten just one singular banana bar.

Here is the recipe. It is a winner.

Aunt Jan's Banana Bars
Cream Together:
1/2 cup softened butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs (beat)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana

Mix dry ingredients together and then add to above mixture:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt

Bake in a 9 x 13 baking pan for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

And the Cream Cheese Frosting!
1/2 cup softened butter
8 oz softened cream cheese
4 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla

beat well. Be sure the bars are completely cool before you frost them. And then cover and keep these bars in the fridge so they're well chilled. I think this was key to how much I liked them...they were nice and set up by the time you ate them at room temperature...not too runny or mushy.

"you're looking sharp, kid."

My Aunt Jan passed away on Friday night.

A long battle with cancer makes the ending a bit more complicated. There is relief mixed in with the grief. She fought hard. She fought long. And part of me is comforted by the fact that she is comfortable again. And feasting at a heavenly banquet after two years of a feeding tube. She has a voice again, with a whole and healed body.

But she still died too early. Cancer is cruel.

When Ivar and I were in Mesa he loved visiting Aunt Jan's house, because Aunt Jan clapped. And he could clap too. Without her voice, this is how Aunt Jan got our attention to look at her laptop or notebook so she could contribute to the conversation. Ivar thought this was the greatest. Before we'd even get through her front door he'd start clapping. "I like this lady, she's the one who knows how to clap!" And they would smile and laugh and clap and delight in the other.

Today we'll join in the clapping. Applause, applause to Aunt Jan, for a long and strong fight. For loving her grandkids to pieces and scrapbooking their childhoods (HUGE books for each of her grandchildren!), taking the time to interview, compile and print our family lineage, history, stories. Applause for maintaining strong relationships with our Swedish relatives through travel and endless correspondence. For spending her working days as an advocate for those with mental illness. For making the world more beautiful through her art: stained glass, knitted sweaters, rosemaling, and numerous crafts. For her love of color and kosta boda glass, her bright blue couch, thanksgiving feasts and banana bars.

Applause for coming to so many of my band concerts, plays and recitals. And for always saying the same thing each time she saw me, "You're looking sharp, kid."

pardon me, as I eat my words...

Last Monday I had 17 tabs open on the top of my computer. Saving recipes, future art projects, blog posts I really enjoyed. And my favorites column on the side of my computer is complete madness. Over 100 things bookmarked that I hope to bake, make, organize, duplicate etc...

The next day I went to make sugar cookies with Lisa and Sara and we started talking about Pinterest.

I have forever said I would not go there. I was certain it was a black hole time suck and that I would never, ever get out if I stepped foot in that lovely land that everyone raves about.

But then I started looking around a bit, and I realized this: Pinterest is like Computer Organization. There is finally a home for all of those posts I have marked in my favorites column. Essentially, Pinterest provides a labeled tupperware tub for various online ideas. And you know how I love me a labeled tupperware tub.

And so this is how I am justifying my leap into the land of Pinterest. Sounds good doesn't it? Justification is always an interesting thing. Truth be told: It has been a black hole time suck. But actually, not that black. It's a super colorful, inspired time suck. And I'm smitten.

So watch me eat my words. My apologies to all of you that I gave my monologue to about my plan to look but not touch. I'm all in.

And if you want to see my boards (is that even what you say? I don't know the lingo yet...) you can check me out at http://pinterest.com/joyfullybecca/  and follow all of my colorful finds.

loopty loop

I'm a silent laugher. I once was home sick from middle school and spent the day practicing a loud laugh. It wasn't pretty. But I wanted a loud laugh that badly. Instead of a loud laugh, the funnier the moment the more silent I become, with full body shakes and tears to accompany my silence.

I may not have a loud laugh, but my son got one. And it's awesome. Excuse the yogurt on his face. He is sitting between me (with the camera) and Rory (that's who he's looking at) after supper. I told him, "I think I know someone who is going to sleep well tonight. Because he's getting loopy." And when I said loopy, Ivar absolutely fell apart. Then I threw in loopty loop and he went nuts. Believe it or not, this video is the very end of his fit of giggles.

Have I told you I call him my Joy Boy?

marriage care

On Tuesday night I was asked by a friend, "do you and Rory ever fight?" The question made me laugh out loud. Yes. Yes we do fight. But I am never afraid of our fights. We work through them, they blow over, I get a good nap, we forgive and we're both good talkers.

Most important, we are both committed to work at our marriage. Because it is work. And worth every effort we put into it.

From an early age my mom used to tell me that she and my dad went to marriage counseling when I was two years old and that it was the best thing they ever did for their marriage. They were in the beginning stages of planting a mission start congregation and were confronted with a lot of hard stuff all at once.

As a result, I've never felt any stigma attached to seeking help for your marriage. Seeking help and guidance is going to be inevitable. I got married under the assumption that Rory and I would utilize counseling at some point. Not because we were that rocky from the start, but because that's just what married couples do. In fact, when I asked mom if I could share this story on my blog, her comment was, yes, of course, I actually really wish your dad and I had done more counseling at different seasons of our marriage.

Rory's folks are always encouraging us to attend every conference, seminar, workshop, or any offering that will help us build a stronger foundation. Because they, too, know that a good marriage does take time and effort and intention and there is always room to grow closer.

So, having said all that, our church is hosting a marriage conference. Just a Friday night and Saturday morning (April 27th and 28th), $39 per couple and the speakers are solid. Solid. I really can't wait.

The conference is called Good Love and you can find out all the details by clicking here. Look around the site, find yourself a babysitter, and grab that love of your life and come work on your marriage. I hope to see lots of you there!

quote of the day

This is a happy picture of Rory and I to offset the following conversation.

Becca: I really miss those lilacs we took out last spring.

Rory: Yeah, but the fence will go right where they were. They really did have to go.

Becca: I just wish we could have kept them.

Rory: Yeah. But wait. Do you even remember how all last summer and fall you kept at me to take them out? You were relentless. And now you're telling me you're sad that they're gone? We still have an entire hedge of lilacs.

(long pause)

Rory: Do you have any idea how hard it is to be married to a woman?

(longer pause)

Rory again: Is it so hard to be a woman?

and can you feel the love tonight?

Our cat Toonces, and our son Ivar have a very affectionate relationship. Every morning they greet each other this same way. I am pretty sure these pictures determine Ivar as the dominate species. Toonces never puts up a fight, though he will look at me after a while as if to say, "I'm a good cat. Now get me out from under this kid."

The two of them have adventures together. So many that it makes me relieved we have another human playmate on the way for Ivar. Afterall, meow is Ivar's best animal sound. Here on the ottoman Ivar is drumming on the side, and Toonces is trying to swat at his hands. After this they crawled into the bathroom where Toonces jumped in the tub and Ivar threw balls all around him...and at him.

And then later in the day, when they were reunited after nap time, they resumed their snuggle position. It always makes me start singing the Lion King, "can you feel the love tonight?" And to answer that lyric... I can. I really can.

things I think about

**can the department of transportation actually just start building two-lane round abouts without sending every American back to drivers ed? because no one in this country knows what lane to be in on a two-lane round about. single-lane round abouts are self-explanatory. but have you ever been on the round about in Richfield by Target? you might as well just sign yourself up for a good ol' side swiping.

**how many different kinds of public bathroom toilet paper dispensers are out there? and who in the midst of a building project decides which dispenser to purchase? and why are some public toilet paper dispensers so poor and dispensing toilet paper?

**did Press n Seal glad wrap ever win any awards when it came out? because it should have. every time I use it I stand in awe of this large step forward for mankind.

and that is what I am thinking about today.

leaf print easter eggs

We had my folks over on Saturday for blueberry waffles and easter egg dying. I was looking for a new and clever method to color our eggs and found this idea on the family fun website (anyone else adore that magazine?) So I called my mom and told her to bring her old pantyhose.

We wrapped our hard boiled eggs tightly with the leaves in place with hair ties. My mom was quite skeptical, but I made her try it with me. She did the three little leaves and I wrapped the evergreen.

And when she unwrapped her egg she found a delightful little white print of her leaves! I couldn't stop slugging her in the arm yelling, "it worked! it really worked!"

And as it turns out, all of mom's eggs turned out awesome. She was a natural with the pantyhose.

As for my eggs, my red egg was awesome and my evergreen eggs failed. This is LEAF printing...so find actual leaves. Not evergreen branches. This makes sense now, but at the time it was all one grand experiment, and the evergreen pattern seemed so lovely to me.

Since Saturday I have thought of all sorts of grocery items we could try. This was a very warm year for a Minnesota Easter. Odds are we won't have so much green vegetation next year, but parsley, cilantro, celery leaves and all sorts of other herbs or tiny lettuce leaves all seem like they might print nicely.

happy easter!

I hope you had a joyous Easter. This was a great weekend for me with the whole truth of the gospel sinking in deeper. It's such a good feeling to grow in your faith. You can't force it, but I am always aware of when I am digging in deeper, when I am searching the scriptures, when I am fully participating. This was an especially special day for me and my savior.

Ivar got an Easter basket this morning with seven eggs, each filled with one teddy graham. He loved it and delighted in each one. We did too.

holy week

                                                                                                                                                image source

At Christmastime my dad tells a story about a farmer and some birds. It is Christmas Eve and there is a terrible ice storm outside. The farmer looks into his farmyard and sees some birds tossing around in the wind, sure to die if they don’t find shelter. So the farmer bundles up and goes to open the barn doors for the birds to rest for the night. But the birds don’t go in. So he turns the light on inside, and they still don’t go in. He tries to run them in, flapping his arms behind them, desperate to save their lives. But they will not go into the warm barn.

Defeated, he turns off the light in the barn, closes the big door and begins to walk back in his house saying aloud, “if only I was one of them. If only I could be one of them so I could show them the way.”

And just then the church bells ring for the Christmas Eve service and he understands why Jesus had to come. Why Jesus was born into this mess, God with us, to show us the way to eternal life.

 I love that story. And I completely understand why God sent his son to walk this earth with us.

Good Friday is harder to understand. I feel like yearly I have to wrestle through these questions again. Why did Jesus have to die? Really. If God is God and this story could have played out any way he pleased, why did Jesus have to suffer so. It’s so graphic. It’s so gory. The flogging, the blood in his eyes, the nails (nails!) in his flesh.

This Holy Week I have been thinking about death and resurrection a whole lot more intimately than usual. Aunt Jan continues to suffer. Her dying has been long and her suffering great. It is so hard to watch. It is hard to understand. She will die and this reality is still impossible to swallow. Because she hasn’t lived out all of her years yet. Her grandkids are still young, her husband is ready to travel another few decades with his best friend by his side.

Death stings. It hurts so much and leaves you so, so heavy and sad.

Two thousand and twelve years ago Jesus suffered a terrible death. He was so fully human, that even he did not get to escape the terror of that last earthly breath.

In the midst of attempting to process Aunt Jan’s dying, I feel a certain clarity in understanding the rest of Jesus’ story and why He absolutely did have to die.  Because this whole three day period of waiting, during the time Jesus’ body was laid in the tomb to the glorious morning when Mary Magdalene met him outside on the path, Jesus was conquering death. He was triumphing over the grave. He was going head to head with Satan one final time and won our mortal battle. Because we were meant for eternity.

We were created to live forever. And because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we now own that hope.

Aunt Jan will die. We will all die. But because of her belief that Jesus truly is the son of God, her belief that this is not merely a story but is the truest truth to be discovered here on earth, then she too will be resurrected to new life.

And when she is, she will meet Jesus face to face. She will be welcomed into the most perfect and wonderful home. She will be greeted by her mom, embraced by her dad, surrounded and cherished by her great cloud of witnesses.

Jesus had to come to earth. And Jesus had to die. And though it is so cliché, let these words sink in. His whole life, death and resurrection was all so that you might live forever.

crock pot meal #2

Another hugely successful meal.

Biggest lesson learned this meal: A slow cooker is extremely slow when you neglect to plug it in for the first two hours of cooking.

Thankfully Rory found it in the kitchen, realized nothing was smelling yet and put the cord into the socket. Things went better after that.

We loved this meal. Easy as pie (took 8 minutes to assemble in the morning) and very tasty.

Pulled Pork Tacos from this crock pot cookbook

2 pounds boneless pork roast

1 cup salsa

1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies (use them all! Don't be afraid of flavor!)

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

flour or corn tortillas

shredded cheddar, sour cream, salsa, sour cream

1. Place roast, salsa, chilies, garlic salt and pepper into crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours (I cooked mine for five hours)

2. Remove pork from crock pot and shred with two forks. (After shredding I put it all back into those yummy juices) Serve on tortillas. Top as desired.

This was really good. And I'm not going to say that about every recipe. Because the wild rice casserole I made tonight was terrible. Except that Rory and Ivar had seconds and thirds and loved it. But believe me, it was not delicious. More on that "meal" another time...

crock pot week

Becca, did you actually take your sandwich outside to be photographed? Well yes I did. And I'd like to thank the sun for it's lovely natural light.

Monday began with a bang. After reading some helpful tips on proper crock potting, I realized I had too big of a crock pot. If I ever want to do an Easter Ham, I am set. The one I have is huge. But for the best results for the recipes I was trying, I just needed standard size crock pot.
Target sells a red 3 quart Hamilton Beach slow cooker for $14.99. Sold. Bought mine Monday morning.

Monday was Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches and they were fantastic. This first recipe is a keeper. The steak was tender, the whole sandwich super flavorful and the bread and cheese all broiled together gave a bit of crunch that any crock pot recipe so desperately needs.

All of my recipes are from the Rival Crock Pot Best-Loved Slow Cooker Recipes cookbook. We just ate our second meal from this cookbook and it was also a winner. So far, two for two.

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches:
2 lbs round steak, sliced
2 tablespoons butter, melted (I never added this. Just forgot, I think.)
4 onions sliced (I used 3 small ones)
2 green peppers sliced
1 tablespoon garlic-pepper blend (I did 1/2 T garlic powder and 1/2 T pepper)
salt, to taste (I left this out because of the bouillon)
1/2 cup water
2 tsp beef bouillon granules (I used five cubes and melted them in the water in the micro)

6 crusty Italian or French rolls, sliced in half
8 slices Cheddar cheese (we used Havarti)

1. Combine steak, butter, onions, bell peppers, garlic-pepper blend and salt in crock pot. Stir to mix.
2. Whisk water and bouillon and pour over meat and veggies.
3. Cover; cook on LOW 6-8 hours (I cooked ours on LOW for 4.5 hours)
4. Preheat oven to broil (move rack to the top). Cut rolls, (we put mayonaise on ours), pile high with meat and veggies, cover with cheese, place on tray and WATCH CAREFULLY as they toast to perfection.

We liked this meal a lot. Hearty, tasty and our house smelled homey all day. A serious perk of the slow cooker.

free ice cream!

It is days like today when I know why Rory is the one who works from home and I am the stay at home mom. I asked him this afternoon if he'd like to come along for a free ice cream cone and he obediently declined saying he needed to work. Man, to be your own boss. I don't know if I could do it. But me? I busted over to Ben and Jerry's with Ivar like it was my job. Because it sort of is.

This was Ivar's first ice cream cone and he did not understand the concept one bit. He wouldn't hold the cone, he grabbed at the ice cream and when I put it to his lips he was offended by how cold it was. So guess who got TWO free ice cream cones?!! Hooray for free cone day!

Thanks to my former youth director, Dawn and her blog for the heads up on Free Cone Day! You can click here to find your nearest Ben and Jerry's. The deal goes until 8 pm tonight. And the lines weren't bad...no one pays and everyone is getting a single scoop. The trickiest part is deciding what flavor to get!

25 weeks

I'm 25 weeks and loving it. The baby is so active and has been very accommodating to kick when someone special is around to feel it. Sunday at church I sat next to a dear friend, Ethel, and the baby started boxing and high kicking during the sermon. I loved grabbing Ethel's hand and putting it on my belly. I could tell for a moment she wondered what on earth I was doing, but then she lit up.

I have had some awesome cravings over the last month. One night I got back out of bed at 11 pm, made Tuna salad, and then assembled a tuna melt loaded with pickles and cheddar cheese on toast. I brought it out to the couch where Rory was watching tv and he laughed hard. It was almost too cliche.

And yesterday I got the supplies to make those pickle rolls with a sweet pickle, wrapped in salami and cream cheese. My grandma bredberg used to make these and once I started thinking about them, I couldn't let it go. And let me tell you, they did not disappoint.

Check out this blog post of me at 24 weeks with Ivar. It's hard to tell with different clothes, but I think I'm showing pretty much the same...

growth spurt

Ivar slept last night from 7 pm to 9:21 am. A new record! Wondered if he was still alive, but not enough to risk the lovely, quiet morning we had here at the Groves House. And then he went back down at 1:00 for another 2 1/2 hours.

And guess who was nearly his equal for hours in bed?  Me! I think the little baby in me must be growing a whole lot too. And now it's nearly 8 pm, and with all the outdoor time wiping me out, I think it's time to hit the pillow again.