hymn cards for sale!

From the day I posted my first pictures of the Hymn Cards I made for our baby's nursery, I have been asked (and begged) to sell these Hymn Cards and finally starting today they are available!

This first collection comes with twelve hymns and are all my personal favorites. Of course, as soon as I say that I can think of twelve more personal favorites. And reading over the list you will probably wonder why I didn't include some of your favorites. I guess I had to start somewhere. There are some good, solid lyrics in these songs, promises to live by. I hope they bring encouragement and hope to your family as they have mine.

Inspiration for these the Hymn Cards came from working on the memory loss floor of a nursing home. I led the Sunday morning worship service for a group of men and women who often could not remember their own family. And yet, when we started singing What a Friend We have in Jesus, or spoke the words of the Lord's Prayer or the 23rd Psalm, new voices would join in, remembering every word. Those were powerful moments in worship, watching the songs of old calm anxious hearts, listening to incoherent sentences turn to harmonious singing. I remember deciding then that I, too, wanted to know these promises so well that when my memory fails, my heart would still remember.

I have my set of Hymn Cards on a little easel on the table next to my glider rocker. I can sit and rock my kids while looking right at the words of a beloved song, singing all four verses as my babies drift to sleep.

The coolest thing about singing these truths and promises to my kids is that God ends up singing these songs to me. The words are for me, too. And my heart is calmed, my trust is back in Jesus and I sleep as soundly as my babies.

For ten dollars, you can download a PDF of all twelve hymns to print on your own. For twenty dollars I will print the hymns on card stock and send them right to your door.

I’m excited about having these cards in homes all over, excited to imagine all of us singing these songs, remembering these promises. You might put them on the sill of your kitchen window to sing while doing the dishes. You might put them on the counter in your bathroom to sing as you blow dry your hair. You might put them on your desk next to your Bible for your devotional time. You might put them in your kid’s room, ready for bedtime prayers. You might give them as a gift for Christmas. I hope you are blessed by them. And I hope the promises take root in your heart once again.

For ordering information, click here.

The Family Book of Advent

I was contacted to write my first book review on this blog! Hard to explain how excited this made me. Not only that, but the book came in the mail and I adore the book. Whew. It's a book about family together time and preparing our hearts for Christmas. Basically my favorite two things in one book.

The book is called The Family Book of Advent by Carol Garborg. I love Advent. Advent is what the month of December is supposed to be about: preparation, contemplation, expectancy, joyful anticipation. Our Savior is soon to be born. He came in a very strange way. None of us would have written the story this way: The King of the Universe born in a bunch of straw in a dusty stable. The whole story can become cliche if we're not careful. The shepherds right next to the wise men right next to the barnyard animals might seem normal by now. But this was not a normal moment. From the moment everything fell apart in the Garden of Eden, all of creation was waiting for this little babe to be born. And here He comes. God with us. Emmanuel. That's what Advent is all about.

The book has a lesson for the 25 days of December leading up to Christmas. Each day has a short written lesson, an interactive advent activity, a thoughtful question for conversation and a short prayer. The very back of the book has a list of props and supplies you will need for the 25 days of advent activities, so in theory you could look through this list, make note of what you don't have on hand and run to Target one time to be prepared for all 25 days. Now if that doesn't make you feel like a super-mom, I don't know what will.

The Family Book of Advent seems most appropriate for elementary and possibly middle school aged kids.  But I'm going to try it with my family. I don't think you can start too young for family devotions and dinner table traditions leading up to Christmas.

The book is available on amazon by clicking here. And on the Christian Book website here.

how lovely are thy branches

 

 

Went to the Hampton Hills Tree Farm with Mark and Kathy and Baby Isaac today. Ivar was totally into it. Between Cousin Mark! (always said with enthusiasm), the Christmas Tree, Dad with a saw and Baby Isaac it was a very thrilling day. and Elsie slept through the whole thing. Not sure she even knew we had left our house.

 

And now to trim the tree!

 

burping elsie

"Ah, Aunt Bec, I am going to burp baby Elsie. So hand her to me that way." -Sonna

dear email family,

At Grandma's birthday party we each got a wooden ornament with her picture on it. Since then it has hung right by Ivar's reading chair in his room. Ivar likes to give Grandma sips of water from his bottles, and especially likes it when the littlest kitten gives Grandma a goodnight kiss. I like it that Ivar still knows his great grandma.

Grandma died one year ago today. I miss her a lot. I just spent an hour reading emails she sent out to the family over the past few years and it made her feel very near.

I love Grandma's strong voice in her writing. Felt like she had just sent these emails today.

Here are some favorites from Grandma B.

Dear email family,
What a joy to be able to visit with you again. Some were sure I had to buy a new computer, but our Vern who takes care of the many computers out at the electronics building was able to fix it--how ? don't ask me. I was taking a nap and when I awoke , Margaret was here with her neighbor and Vern was busy fixing. How long they had been here I don't know. How thankful I am. He made other things on this machine be more handy and better for me. I said all I want to do is e-mail but now I can reach facebook and bring up the blogs much easier. And all he would take is "Thanks"

Psalm 107:1,2

"O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever!

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,

whom he has redeemed from trouble."

Life here in Venture Out is comfortable for me. I simplllllly waited patiently [ or not so patiently-] for this machine to be fixed and read two books

 

I love you all, if you wish to be deleted from my e-mail list, please let me know. Too many messages are not needed. Grandma B.

 

Dear email family,

What a lovely day for a walk. Sunny but cool, a little wind and a clear blue sky. Ann left me a lot of pretty glads to play with yesterday. I made one white bouquet and one yellow, with other things to go with them. She also brought a huge purple and green gladiola bouquet. So my house has lots of color.

 

I've been doing a little painting.  Would like to try painting the evergreen in our front yard on the farm, that one Christmas was completely covered with snow after Phil had put all the colored lights on it. we had to add another set every year, the tree grew so fast. That was always a must before the kids came home from college. It was so pretty and they always looked forward to seeing it. My, that's a long time ago and that time went so quickly. It was always such a joy when they arrived--still is--

 

O, my new hearing aids have arrived, I'm so anxious to try them out. Will get them Friday when Ann and I will go to Fairmont.

 

Don has put some new information about Jan on 'caring bridge'. She has had some new changes on her tongue that should improve her ability to swallow. Was back to the hospital at the U yesterday to have this done. she is back home and Don is busy keeping her comfortable. How fortunate we are to have him to care for her.

 

Tonight is Bingo, plan to go and play. I was so disgusted when I found out we had services with Rev. Wilson this morning and I didn't know it. That's what I get for not looking at the black board early in the morning. But I cook my own oatmeal, with peaches and blue berries and english walnuts on top with plenty of butter and brown sugar--very good. and I don't go down till noon.

our verse for today: I am thinking a lot about Mt. Carmel these days, we will be gathering our family there next July. I found writtten in my Bible : " theme for Mt. Carmel in July of 1995,"

Isaiah 43:1

"Now thus says the Lord,

He who created you,

He who formed you,

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you:

I have called you by name, you are Mine."

So many wonderful Messages we received over the years, this was my 57th year of enjoying " a litttle bit of heaven at Carmel. So many good speakers, both for grown ups and the children.

Love you all, Grandma B.

Dear email family,
...mom made lots of rolled sugar cookies and drop cookies, guess she made all the ones I made, too. Plus she made divinity!! and she didn't have an electric mixer for years and years. Lots of arm power. Mom was so great, how she ever did all she did, I'll never know--maybe when I get to heaven she can tell me--I doubt wwe'll have time--think all we will do there is sing praises to our loving Heavenly Father. Love you all, Grandma B.

 

thankful for miracles

 

A few weeks ago we had our small group from our former church over to our new place. I was busy in the kitchen when the first family arrived: Scott, Emily and Calvin. Calvin. Miracle boy Calvin who I have prayed for since he was 20 weeks old inside of his mama. And there he was... standing in my kitchen. A miracle looking back at me.

You might remember me writing about Calvin here and here. He is the son of our good friends Scott and Emily, born with his heart and liver on the outside of his body. He is a miracle in our midst. After hearing about his life in the ICU for his first seven months, praying with might as he endured numerous risky and bold surgeries and getting to know him through stories, pictures and caring bridge posts, there he was in my kitchen.

I asked Emily if I could share a post they wrote on their Caring Bridge site on November 7th. When I read this and my heart was overflowing with joy, remembering once again that I believe in miracles. I forget that sometimes. But read the following. I can think of nothing more fitting to post on thanksgiving, a day to reflect on everything we are grateful for. At the top of the list: a loving God who is still active and at work in the lives and hearts of all of his children.

One year . . . it’s been one year since Calvin came home for the very first time! What a year it has been! Here’s a recap of what the past year has brought:

Calvin came home at the age of 7 1/2 months, he could not sit on his own, he could not breath on his own. He had never made a cry or a noise with his voice. He came home connected to a ventilator 24/7. One year ago, he had a G and J tube down his nasal passages. His heart was not completely healed over with skin. He was missing the middle of his diaphragm. His liver was still protruding from his abdomen. Our nursing care was a required 24 hours a day 7 days a week. He had not met most of his family prior to coming home. He was in 12 month clothes! He could only sign the word “dog”. The only place he had ever been was the hospital and the yard of the hospital.

Calvin is now 19 1/2 months, he can sit, scoot, stand and walk on his own. He can breath on his own. He loves to make audible voice sounds. He is not connected to a ventilator. He no longer has two feeding tubes going through his nose, instead he has one tube going directly into his stomach through the side of his abdomen. His heart his completely covered with his own skin. He now has a whole diaphragm. His liver has been put back into his abdominal cavity. We have 16 hours of nursing a day (on average). He has met most of his family multiple times. He is still in 12 months clothes, but does wear 18 and 24 sometimes. He has a signing vocabulary of 30+ signs. He has made trips to the zoo, a couple stores, the park, his grandparents among a few other places.

Some more current things about Calvin: he loves cars, I mean LOVES, he asks multiple times a day to go in the car; he likes to point out everything that he sees all day long; he no longer takes naps; he likes to make us (and himself) laugh; he is finally wanting to snuggle us sometimes; he LOVES television although he isn’t allowed to watch it much; he loves to kiss everybody and everything (and they are the best little kisses ever); he has learned how to whine; and he thinks that people in blue scrubs are scary. 
 
The past year at home has brought many joys, tears, and challenges. We have had a few hospitalizations, but in general he was home most of the year. Calvin has been blessed by God with good health, healing and continued progress without any hiccups along the way. We love our little boy so much and wouldn’t change a thing about him. This coming year will be sure to bring many changes and challenges as well as we work to get his trach out and he works on learning how to eat. Thank you for walking this journey with us. Please continue to pray for us. 
 
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

This battle belongs to the Lord and is more than a health condition, it’s for His glory.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 1 Corinthians 9:24-25

sweet sonna

Annika came home from parent teacher conferences and was met at the door by her girls. She told them, "Oh girls, your teachers love you so much. I am so blessed to be your mom and to get to hear of how you are a friend to others, are good listeners and respectful to the teacher and how you work very hard at learning every day."

Annika had a folder for each girl, filled with their own papers and projects showing their mastery of different skills. Sonna was rummaging through her folder and asked her mom, "Where is the one where she wrote she loves me?"

the funny/not-so-funny things Ivar says

 

"In a minute, baby Elsie." This is said when baby Elsie is crying and I am not able to tend to her right away. Ivar sounds suspiciously like me when he says it.

"not quite" said high pitched and encouraging with two syllables on quite. This is said while trying to put duplos together and they don't quite fit. He also says, "just about" in that same high pitched, encouraging tone. Again with duplos.

"Baby Elsie! Daddo downstairs! Making coffee!" This is how Ivar greeted Elsie one morning. Adorable. And so amazing to me. It is incredible to watch his speech progress.

"Oh mama! See Stars!" While dusting off the top of a cupboard in our bedroom a lot of dust started to stream through the light pouring in our window. Ivar was on the bed and saw the dust sparkling in the air.

"Stop it! Stop it, Mama!" Said while I try to wrestle him into his coat, try to put his shoes on, get him in his jammies. This is a hard one to combat. My knee jerk response is to snap back, "Ivar! Stop it. You cannot say..." And then it's just too obvious where he has learned that phrase.

"Sit down. Sit here. Let's play, Mama." Melt my heart. I love this invitation.

"No, mine, Mama." This is said as I begin to play with his toys. I do not know where he learned that four letter word, but I am not a fan. In my head I think, You wanna bet? Who do you think bought you these toys?

"Oh Bible! Jesus! Lions! Big Fish! Noah's Ark!" I am trying hard to get him to sing Jesus Loves Me for the flip cam. Some parts are perfectly clear, other parts take some creative liberty. It makes me so happy.

"Mama! Almost home." When we hit the gravel road on our way back to our house.

an elsie fashion show: one month old

I am very late in posting these pictures...three months late, actually. Josie, the wardrobe director on this photo shoot, has been patiently waiting for this post ever since we took the pictures. We took SO MANY pictures that day I was just overwhelmed picking my favorites. But since Elsie just made the jump into 9 month clothes, and this was a photoshoot of her wearing my favorite newborn and 0-3 month outfits, I thought I had better get these pictures up. (That pink bonnet above was mine when I was Elsie's age!)

 

Josie is a favorite around these parts. Most often referred to as "Osie!" she is well loved and even had the patience to teach Ivar how to play hide-and-seek...which consisted of a lot of lessons on how to keep our eyes closed and not follow the person hiding.

This first dress came from Hawaii from Mimi. I'm pretty sure Elsie is saying in this picture, "Let's go to Waikiki, Mimi."

 

 

 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to go and put another blanket on Elsie. Given the wind outside my window right now, it just doesn't look like she is wearing enough clothes in these pictures!

leaves!

Our old house in Minneapolis had two trees and therefore two trees worth of leaves. Can't count the trees we have here...but I can count the number of times I dragged this 12 by 16 foot tarp into the grove, heavy with leaves. Eight is the number. And that's only the front of the yard. Haven't even made it to the back.

But for the record, raking is great upper body cardio!

 

a true story

Sunday we came home from church and I was feeling really ill. So I ate some crackers, fed Elsie and went to bed. I had the chills, had the sweats, had a bucket near by.

At 4:30 that afternoon I woke up and was taking it nice and easy. Rory had just changed Elsie who was still wearing her dress from church but nothing but a diaper on the bottom. This is important to note because as we sat in Ivar's room watching him play, Elsie sitting upright on my lap, she filled that diaper. Or she would have filled that diaper had it been covering both of her butt cheeks. Instead I suddenly felt lots of warmth on my lap.

I hollered for Rory to come and take his daughter. He had heard the filling from the other room and we laughed when he lifted her away. The diaper was empty. My pajama pants were a sight. 

Ivar was interested in what we were laughing at and came to look. But the second he saw my pants his face fell and he went white. His eyes began to water and he looked like he was choking on his tongue. I tried to reverse this moment, but it was too late. The boy lost his lunch, projectile, getting the floor, himself and mostly my pajama pants.

It didn't stop for a while. I yelled for a bucket and Rory threw the one that had been by my bed into Ivar's room running back to Elsie and yelling, "why is this happening?!!"

Minutes later Rory was taking all articles of clothing...Elsie's soiled leggings, Ivar's spewed on shirt and pants, and my poor pajama pants that were victim of both, and starting a load of laundry. I was on my knees working spot shot into the carpet, and Ivar was playing with his bath toys in a tub with no water, waiting for one of us to be able to supervise.

When Rory came back upstairs he began to run Ivar's bath water and I commented, "hey. remember how I am the sick one today? let's not forget that."

Ivar was fine after his bath. We now know he has a terribly weak stomach. And Elsie was fine once she had a diaper covering both cheeks. And strangely, after inhaling the fumes of spot shot and gross, I started to feel better too. I think it was the adrenaline of surprise shooting through me (or shooting at me?) that kicked me back into mother mode. Clearly there's really no good time for the mama to get sick.

sockie booboo

Ivar's favorite game lately is playing "nigh nigh! (tiny pause) good morning!"

His favorite thing to say is "sockie booboo." We have no idea what this means and have tried every coy way to try to figure it out. But he says it just out of the blue, "Hey Mama! Sockie Booboo!" Any good guesses?

The other super fun development is that Ivar can tell us stories now. A few weeks ago he spent the night with Kyle and Lisa. He came home saying on repeat, "Uncle Lisa! Kyle! Scuse Me!" Uncle Kyle had introduced him to Steve Martin via youtube and Ivar learned how to say, "Well Excuuuuuse Me!" Except Ivar's version is very staccato and always with Uncle Lisa and Kyle.

Then on Saturday Ivar spent the day with my dad and Svea. And when I was driving Ivar home he kept saying, "Grandpa say Slllooowwww Slow Slllloooooowwwww." I was almost home before I called my dad and asked what he was talking about. And dad replied, "that kid eats so fast, I kept telling him 'slow Ivar. sllllowww. you'll choke." 

Until tomorrow, Sockie Booboo!

a little catch up

I have so much that I have wanted to share on this blog. Little time I guess. So here are a few of the things in my head in one very random mind dump:

+I chose this picture to begin this post for two reasons. Number one: because it's adorable. Number two: to announce that my bangs are finally long enough to pull back. Somebody shout something!! Many a bobby pin has been used to keep these bangs out my eyes and now they are officially part of the rest of my hair. Praisalluja!

+My sister is wise. She was at a conference last week and told me later, "it was good. one session was pretty basic and a waste of time but I had stationary in my bag so I wrote notes to our aunts." And then she told me that she always brings stationary to events like this just in case. What foresight!

+And she shared this with me: She has a friend who is trying to create more rhythm and routine in her life in an attempt to take better care of herself. So she decided that every day she would 1) make her bed 2) put fresh lemon in her water bottle and 3) put nice lotion on her feet, followed by thick socks before she goes to bed. And the friend reported that these three simple things really make a difference in her everyday. I liked these ideas a lot.

+I think Annika is so pretty. She looks tired in this picture, and cold, but I think she is so beautiful.

 

+ When we were on the north shore for the Harrington Family Reunion I got to hear my brother read bedtime stories to the kids. And it was awesome. He's an attorney, but the man has a real knack for reading Winnie the Pooh. He used different voices for all of the characters. He sped up and slowed down, he was loud for some voices and quiet for others. I was transfixed. And he didn't even know I was listening. He was up in the loft with the kids and I was down below. But I left totally convicted that I need to up my game for bedtime stories. It's time to bring it.

+Also. While en route to the north shore I looked back at Ivar in his footie pajamas (we set out early) and asked Rory if he had grabbed Ivar's shoes by the door before we left. He did not. I didn't either. So Ivar got to wear pink mary janes for four days of hiking on rocks. Thankfully my cousin Yang Yang and his daughter Nui Nui had brought these brand new shoes to give to Svea for her birthday. But they fit Ivar, and he really made them his own.

+And, after a few people asked: Yang Yang is my Aunt Jane's nephew. He came to the United States probably 15 years ago and I consider him a cousin...my only cousin on the Harrington side. He married Nancy and they have Nui Nui. Unfortunately Nancy couldn't make it to the reunion because she was abroad (I think in Poland) for a work conference. Thank you YY and NN for letting Ivar wear the shoes you intended for Svea all weekend!

+Finally, I will close with a picture I just came across while looking at all of these North Shore pictures. I appreciate that they included a dog in this quality photo op from Split Rock.

today she's 37

She's always known how to rock an outfit. Skinny enough to tie a bandanna around her waist. She's jazzy on the flute and has 20/40 vision. She's my sister, and today she's 37.

She's not afraid to tuck her pants into her socks and is always ready to pose for the camera. She's got thick hair to create large feathered bangs, glasses on her cheeks and teeth that are just about fully grown. Today those teeth are fully grown, because today she's 37.

She's not afraid to color block, trendy way ahead of her time. She matches her necklace to her shorts, her socks with her short sleeve sweatshirt and lets her side pony blow casually with the wind. She's my sister. And today she's 37.

I've always wanted to be just like her. Always wanted to tie my shoes on a tall fence in a birch forest. Always looked up to her, loved her with all my heart and felt blessed beyond measure that she's my big sister. Today's her birthday. She's 37.

Leave her a facebook message or drop her an email. Or leave her a little love in the comments today. I'll make sure she sees this post.  

Heh.

ivar turns two

 

My little baby boy turned two. And he is nothing but wonderful.

 

I remember thinking after his first birthday party that I wouldn't do such a huge blow out party for his second birthday. I remember at the end of that party realizing how little time I had spent with Ivar as I decorated the house, prepared the meal, organized the games... this year I was hoping to do something a little more simple.

 

So instead we had four mini parties. Because four parties sounds like way less than one party, right? Hmmm. Not really sure what I was thinking. We had cupcakes four days in a row, lit candles four days in a row, cleaned the house four days in a row. Next year: one big blow out party.

 

First, our new neighbors came on Thursday, his actual birthday. Ivar loves them so much and they love Ivar. They knew him well and got him a dump truck that dumps duplos. And a digger and a garbage truck. Ivar was thrilled.

 

The next day we had over our old (former!) neighbors, George and Katherine. Oh how we miss these guys. They loved seeing our place, and loved seeing our kids. Ivar warmed up to them right away, Elsie got some good snuggles and Katherine brought match box cars and beanie babies for Ivar.

 

Then on Saturday, we had the Harrington party. Party is probably too strong of a word. I was exhausted and my mom and sister got the meal on the table and Mara and Sonna decorated the cupcakes. Annika, Jedd and Rory all took naps at various points during the afternoon, and that maybe describes the laid back tone of the day the best. But Mara and Sonna found their own fun making a jungle gym out of the scaffolding and a teeter totter out of scrap wood.

 

And then on Sunday we had the Groves over for what turned out to be the most party-like of the parties. We fit everyone around one table in our kitchen and had taco pie, chocolate cupcakes with little john deer hats my mom had found the day before, cows, tractors and presents. It was pretty awesome.

Ivar was celebrated. He was singing the happy birthday song to himself when I put him down for his nap yesterday. Pretty sure he thinks a birthday lasts days and days.