juice

The very best thing I have ever eaten in the whole wide world was Watermelon Juice. It was while studying in India, on a hot and dusty day when I found myself in a bigger city zooming around on the back of my host-mother's moped. She was taking me shopping for a Sari and between visits to different shops, we stopped in a little shack of a storefront where a man took a watermelon out of a fridge, hacked it into pieces and placed it in a blender. He strained it a bit and handed it over the counter and I swear it was the greatest moment of food consumption of my life. It was perfection.

Interestingly, I have tried making Watermelon Juice since I returned from India many times, with no great results. It's good, but not as good as it was the hot and dry and hungry day in India. I am realizing it's probably due to the Au Gratin Effect, and effect I learned while camping with my girl scout troop on a freezing spring weekend. We made Potatoes Au Gratin over the fire and they blew my mind. When we got home I made my mom buy a box, just like the ones we had at camp. And one night, plated with ham and corn I at those potatoes in the comfort and warmth of my own kitchen and strangely they did not taste nearly as good. Hence the Au Gratin Effect: the right food at the perfect time under the most appreciative of conditions.

All of that is a tangent. I actually came on here to write a post about Rory's latest hobby: juicing.

We recently got rid of all of our television channels and now only have Netflix. It was time to be done with tv, and not having tv has greatly cut down on my own viewing time. But since then, Rory and I have really gotten into the documentaries section on Netflix. We watched one on Tiny Houses, another on    and then we watched Sick, Fat and Nearly Dead.

It started slow, but it picked up and was so compelling. We were totally sold. In the documentary, you watch two men go on a juice cleanse for 60 days. It's radical, and both of them were in a place where they had to do something radical to stay alive. But the transformations are so compelling and the guys themselves are endearing and basically, we fell for it, hook, line and juicer. 

Rory came home the next morning with a brand new juicer, organic kale, fresh ginger, lemons, green apples and celery. And he's been faithfully juicing his breakfast ever since. 

Strangely, the smell of kale and celery juice first thing in the morning is terribly unappetizing for this first trimester pregnant wife of his. Also offensive is his tomato, cilantro, carrot juice. 

But I've made a yummy orange and pineapple juice that was delicious. And I'd like to think that one day, on a settled stomach, I might be able to enjoy the Green Juice Rory is so faithful to make each day. Until then I'll keep dreaming of ripe watermelons and giving it another go, when they're back in season.

For now, check out the documentary. It's entertaining and worth a watch. 

Bee Friendly Seeds

Thank you for all your love and enthusiasm for baby #3! I feel overwhelmed and grateful for the joy and anticipation this baby is surrounded by already. I've been feeling okay, on the whole. But come dinner time, I'm sort of done with the whole day. Lately my hobbies have included a lot of television viewing while laying still on my side. And it is from this sideways look at the world that I have seen my husband run circles around me, back and forth from his computer to his files to the yellow chair and back to his computer.

He's got a new venture up his sleeve, and I think the fact that I have been so very unproductive has made his incredible productivity somewhat of a marvel to me. I've heard him on the phone with seed suppliers. I've watched him open packages with all sorts of envelop sizes and samples. I've seen his spread sheets for pricing out postage. I've helped him with the art and design mock ups for his packaging before he hands it all off to an awesome artist next week. I have heard him on the phone sorting through permits and licenses. And I've seen his plans for packaging and branding. He's on the phone with vendors asking if the seeds are organic.

And in the meantime, I have watched a whole lot of Downton Abbey.

Rory is working really hard on a line of Bee Friendly Seeds. He's packaging eight different seeds that are all beneficial for honeybees, as well as other pollinators.

A few weeks ago when I had the flu, I was watching youtube videos of Wendell Berry, our favorite farmer-author. He was being interviewed for a morning show and was telling of his environmental work in Kentucky where he lives. The guy interviewing him said, "what is the solution to the water quality in the Kentucky river? Do we need more regulations on mining?" And Wendell slowed way down and shook his head. And he talked about how big problems can never be solved with big solutions. It's what got us into big trouble in the first place. But the only solution for big problems are small solutions.

It's pretty well known by now that we have a big problem with honey bees and other pollinators that we are greatly dependent on. One of the factors is the loss of wild food sources from mono-crop farming. The bees are looking for food, and it is hard to find. Our small solution is to get more people planting the right flowers to help the honey bee.

Bee Friendly Seeds is our small contribution to a much bigger problem. Last year Rory was looking for a few of these kinds of seeds but some are obscure and they were hard to locate. He went to different nurseries and looked online. After a lot of effort, he was able to track some of the seeds down. Our hope with these seed packs is that they will all be in one spot, easy to locate, easy to access and then easy for everyone to plant their own bee friendly flower garden.

We're really excited about these seeds. Honeybees have become a big deal for us. And we're so thrilled to get to do our small part.

our growing family

babytres from Becca Groves on Vimeo.

We are overjoyed with this news. We are twelve weeks along as of today and due at the end of September. A few have asked if we were trying and yes, we were trying. :) When the baby comes Elsie with be 3 and Ivar will be almost 5.

About a year ago we were watching America's Funniest Home Videos (all four of us get a kick out of this show) and there was a clip of a daughter announcing her pregnancy this way to her parents, faking the picture and actually taking video. I filed it away for when the time came and I'm so glad I captured these reactions. Hilarious.

Another favorite moment was after I called to tell my brother and his family, I received an email from my nephew, Simon. He wrote, "Hi!!! Currently, I am very excited about the new baby." That's been my favorite line for weeks now. Currently, I am very excited, too.

We wanted to tell the Groves cousins when we were all together so that Ivar could share the news. The adults all knew but he was so excited to share. We hadn't prepped him at all on how to say it, he just stood up and told the room:

after the combines from Becca Groves on Vimeo.

Oh I laughed so hard. At some point I had given him the timeline that first the snow would melt, then the farmers would plant the corn and then the corn would grow over the summer and then the corn would turn yellow. And about the time the combines would come to harvest the corn the baby would come. But that was weeks earlier. And here, he had pieced it all together and made such a sweet and special announcement, "After the combines come out, we are going to have a new brother or sister baby." Hooray!

food update

I haven't been talking much about my Pretty Much Paleo eating plan partly because writing about food is a little weird, and partly because I discovered Carbone's deep dish cheeseburger pizza and the discovery caused a full on Paleo rebellion. 

But as I stated when I first wrote about he eating plan, the sincere ultimate goal with this eating is to: get back on the wagon. And I have been doing that this week. It's not perfect. But I'm finding little "cheat foods" that feel like a treat even when the rest of my family is eating pizza and pasta. For one, I have found that the Byerly's Tomato Basil Soup (in the frozen section in a box) is a great meal for me when the family is eating pizza. It's a fatty soup, full of calories, but no grain. And it feels like my own treat while smelling the goodness that is pizza.

I also have been making peanut butter balls with oatmeal, raisins, honey and protein powder to have on hand all the time. They're delicious. And helpful for when I'm hungry and hangry.

And finally, the snack above was brought to ecfe today, and I literally drove straight to Target to buy my own. In the past I haven't loved roasted red pepper hummus. But paired with these little cheesy gluten-free rice crackers, something awesome happens. For the record it still tastes "healthy"...but it also tastes a whole lot like velveeta rotel and corn chips. It's a good treat and I'm thrilled to have a new snack/lunch option in my fridge. 

impulse buying

I took the kids to Cub Foods today to buy tulips and daffodils. When we were checking out Elsie told me, "we forgot food!" But we went specifically for flowers. We are at that part of the winter where springtime flowers really do a world of good for morale. While I was picking out my daffodils ($2.99 for 10!) I saw an older man and felt compelled to say, "Are you married?" And he said yes. And I said, "You really should buy your wife some daffodils today. They're a good price and she'd love it." And then he looked at me funny like I probably didn't need to be talking to him about his wife or about daffodils. And when I walked away I thought to myself, 'with a confused reaction like that, that guy really should buy his wife daffodils.' Later I saw him at checkout, flowerless.

Then we went to Target. I should mention that the wind today is biting cold. It sucks your breath away. And even though the forecast looks great for the weekend, the few days we have to make it there feel like sucker punches (-9 tonight!). I got my kids in the store and then proceeded to impulse shop like only a mother at Target in the dead of winter can. We found new sunglasses for the kids. And a baseball cap for Elsie. Elsie got a new headband that has flowers all the way around that is adorable and will be worked into an Easter outfit. They had raincoats and matching boots and umbrellas for little girls that made me swoon, but I did have the good sense not to go completely overboard. The truth is, I could have bought the whole store today. Which probably would have helped Target during this sad time of layoffs. But it would have meant a lot of explaining when I got home. Instead I made sure the kids were good and excited to show dad their new sunglasses and hat and headband before we have the next budget talk.

We're going to make it to springtime. My sister is inviting her neighbors over next week for an outdoor Welcome Spring Chili Feed and Bonfire. I love that idea so much I might to have to steal it. We're almost there. We're so close. Daffodils will help us in the meantime.

a day in the life

At 9:00 this morning I decided I was going to get the kids out of the house and head to the zoo. At 9:48 we were loaded in the car and driving down our lane. At 10:30 we arrived at the zoo, and by the time we put our coats in a locker, found the mini-potty for everyone to "just try" it was announced that the 11:00 bird show would be starting shortly.

We had a huge owl swoop over our heads and the kids were mesmerized the whole time. When the show was over we went to the cafeteria where we got 20% off today because it was member day. I got Elsie chicken strips, which was a huge mistake because upon seeing Ivar's corn dog she suddenly realized that's what she actually wanted. Ivar insisted on helping pump the ketchup into our ketchup cups and together we ate our lunch with all the other moms and tots who decided they had to get out of their house today.

It was as we walked up towards the tropics trail that I started listening to the words coming out of other mom's mouths. I first heard one mom, "nope. you said you wanted to bring it in, so you need to carry it." And I wondered how many times those words have been said aloud. Then I heard another, "You need to change your attitude. Because the rest of us are having a nice time and you are the one choosing to have a bad day." Towards the top of the ramp I heard another mom say, "we're going to go to the bathroom first, just to try." I had just said those words myself an hour earlier.

We walked towards an enormous sand box, set up for just the last week and I saw a dad pick up his kid and wrestle the boy's socks and shoes back on telling him it was time to head home for naps.

I ran into friends at the sandbox and sat with them on a bench where we discussed cathartic topics like how much we loathe cleaning the kitchen after every meal. Then we moved on to how little motivation there ever is for bath time. Because it is a fight to get the kids in the tub and then a fight to get them out again.

I want you to know I am not writing any of this in a foul mood. In fact, today I felt downright amused. Encouraged, even. Today I felt a sweet kinship with every other parent at the zoo, and it made me feel very much validated. We're all saying the same things. We're all working really hard to raise good, awesome kids. We're all just as impatient and dog tired as the next person.

I got our coats out of our locker and went to buy the trail mix Ivar had been asking for since we arrived. We were in the cafe area just in front of the penguins when Ivar tripped on my shoe and his trail mix went flying across the floor. And the boy came unglued. He threw a tantrum bigger than I have ever seen. There was rolling and screaming and inconsolable crying. From my end there was comforting words, then firm words, followed by angry words and then threatening words. In the midst of it, Elsie kicked my mocha on the floor, spilling half onto the carpet, and a nice dad came and set it upright for me. The whole while there was an older couple with no grandkids that actually turned in their chairs to watch. That's not in my head. They just starred. And I realized the absurdity of the moment, how we were one hour past nap time and that this whole episode had very little to do with m&m's on the carpet and much more to do with an overtired little boy. But it was epic. Ivar finally pulled it together, Elsie announced that she had to go potty and as we left I said to the couple, "you didn't know you were getting coffee and a show, did you?" And they sort of smiled sort of not.

And we left to find the mini-potty.

Again, none of this is written in anger or embarrassment or shame. I'm just amused at all the work and patience and care that goes into parenting. We got home and Ivar got the chills on the couch. He's got a fever, aches all over and now I've got a sick boy up in his bed. No rest for the mama. When I tucked him in I said, "Buddy, you have to sleep. Sleep is the way your body heals so you can feel better." And I wondered how many parents have said those words to their own kids.

Papa's Epic Birthday Party

On Thursday night the Groves family gathered at Kyle and Lisa's to celebrate my father-in-law's 70th birthday. Lisa came up with the anchor theme because Madison is the anchor of this family. She had pennants and pictures and anchor cookies and even made cookies shaped like cupcakes because she knows my kids are crazy about cupcakes at a birthday party. They loved the cookies just as much (I think they each ate four.) 

We ate an incredible meal, and actually I'm going to link to all of these recipes because you've got to try them. The food was sooo good. Lisa made this Greek Chicken. I made Pioneer Woman's Greek Salad. Sara made Brown Rice and Zucchini Casserole (links to come) and Lisa made Samoa Sheet Cake...a cake based on the girl scout cookie! 

For Papa's candles, she bound 70 candles together. Most hilarious was Elsie's lack of a reaction to the blazing inferno in front of her. 

Then we gathered around to open presents. And each person shared a story or told why they love Papa. I told about how when Rory and I were dating I wasn't sure I was going to stick around and marry him. And at some family gathering Lisa and Sara and I left the house and went out to Sara's car to sit and talk. I told them that I knew Rory and I worked now, but I just wasn't sure. Sara told me that at some point when she and Troy were dating she realized that if Madison was the man Troy aspired to be like, she was all in. And when she said that, I was too. Because I knew Rory respected no one more than he loved and looked up to his father. And if I was marrying someone who was going to grow up to be a guy as great and solid as Madison, then I was all in too. 

And that all turned out to be true. Madison was Rory's best man. He still is his greatest sounding board. And I am so, so glad I stuck around!

The night was filled with stories of servant giving, family loyalty, stories of thanksgiving and gratitude. When we drove home I thought about the fruits of a Christ-following family. The fruits are many. The fullness I felt in my heart and the gratitude I have for being in such a clan is such a sweet gift and a gift this good can only come from God alone. I would wish this deeply-full feeling, rooted in the solid foundation of faith and family, for every person on the planet.

I know not every one has this in their family, for lots of different reasons. But I left so inspired to run my own race and raise my own kids like Marlene and Madison have raised their three boys, so that one day when I'm 70, I might have some awesome descendants lip syncing gospel songs for me too.

Oh we laughed so hard.  Every lyric, solo line, and harmony was perfectly executed. Ruby covered the baritone notes, Toby was the announcer and it. was. incredible. It doesn't get much better than this. It was a sweet night. And so easy to celebrate such a quality guy. Happy Birthday, Madison!

weekend update

Well this has been quite the week. I began the week with a 24-hour flu that somehow didn't spread to the rest of my family. But it was awful. In the midst of the flu, we were potty training Elsie. More on this another time but the girl loves her potty chair and most of all her Princess Sophia underwear. All the while, Rory was watching his eggs, waiting for them to hatch. They were supposed to hatch on Tuesday and if you could have seen my sad husband on that day, your heart would have softened a bit. He was very sad and concerned something was wrong because they didn't hatch. But Wednesday morning came with the surprise and joy of a baby chick! And Thursday morning he woke me at five o'clock to watch the second chick hatch. We watched the whole thing: from little hole in the egg, to a floppy chick kicking off the rest of the egg. It was really special. After the chick excitement, we celebrated Rory's dad's 70th birthday, an epic celebration for one quality guy. Prepare for an awesome post about an awesome party.

The weather is brutally cold again and Ivar informed me this morning that, "all of my toys are just so boring." And as his mom, I sort of agree. How many times can you whip out the same puzzles and blocks and make them look fun and fresh. The boy needs to be outside, and it's just too cold. So I decided to step up my game and make sand boxes in the kitchen with trays and...corn flour. A decision I very much regretted pretty much right away.

We're hitting the part of winter that drags the most. Historically, I do fine with winter (even love it) right up until President's Day. And then I'm over it. Ready for the sound of melting snow. Ready for walks down our road. On the whole, I'm doing way better than I have the last few years, and for that I am grateful. But I'm still going to admit that this winter is getting long. (Even longer than the sticker train Ivar stuck to the plastic on our big window.)

I have a post in the works to tell all about Madison's Epic Party. It was such a sweet celebration. Hopefully that will go up tomorrow. Until then, keep an eye on The Grovestead. Rory has documented all of the egg to chick excitement this week and has much to share.

a one hour winter adventure

On Saturday Rory loaded his family up for a winter hike at a nearby county park. The temperature had risen to 21 degrees with more sub-zero temps in the forecast. It was time to seize the day. He started out with three less-than-thrilled family participants, but by the time we got out of the car at the park we had switched our attitudes. And it was a really great adventure. We found a hollow tree we could get in and a little hole in another tree that we imagined was an owl house. Ivar excitedly pointed out all of the "wooden rainbows!" in the woods...trees that were arched over so the tops were touching the ground. Elsie was a trooper, walking the whole way and everyone was kept nicely motivated by the gorp I brought along, complete with valentines m&m's. 

Ivar and Elsie lost steam for the very last hill back up to our car but thankfully their daddy is strong and loves them to pieces. Once out of the woods we made our way to the picnic shelter but Ivar was really done then. He wasn't exactly sad or mad. Just done. And licking the snow.

It was a good reminder for me to find the fun in this weather. I recently saw a blog post of someone who went camping over valentine's day on the Oregon coast and I was struck down with the whole "why is it so cold where I live?!!" thing. But Saturday turned that attitude on its head. I still wonder why it has to be so cold, but it also is beautiful and full of its own adventures too. 

a sledding hill

I remember visiting my childhood home a few years after we had moved. And the thing that weirded me out the most was that the sledding hill in our back yard  wasn't actually that great of an elevation change. It was a tiny slope, and yet somehow sufficed for a childhood of sledding memories.

On Monday my sister and her girls came over and found the only change of elevation on our property. How their sleds even continued forward was a bit of a mystery to me. But they made it work and I felt happy that we have a sledding hill.

Have a happy weekend, everyone. This morning we are starting the three-day potty training plan with Elsie. It worked like a charm with Ivar, but from the start I think Elsie has a bit more fight in her. Might take more than three days, but we'll see. I'll let you know on Monday. :)

cardboard creativity

For Valentines this year my sweetheart built me an Ikea dresser. I purchased the dresser on January 4th, but it took us a solid five weeks to muster up the will to open the boxes and follow the picture instructions. We've built enough dressers to know exactly what we were in for. It probably won't go down as the most romantic valentines days of my life, but it was awesome. We were in fun moods and we now have four hemnes dressers of all shapes and sizes organizing our clothes.

The very best part of the dresser delighted me all week long. It was the cardboard box it came in. It has given us five solid days of entertainment and is still going strong. Ivar made a pizza to fit in the pizza box that held all the small parts for the dresser. Below he made a robot and the bottom picture he proudly told me "is a statue!" The mileage from that big box is incredible and it is a joy to watch my kids create. I didn't do much guiding on this one...my kids found the tape and scissors and asked for the crayons. On the whole, they are just getting more self-sufficient.

I also am learning the art of letting Ivar take the lead. The first day he had me cutting up tiny squares to make "bricks for the roof!" I cut the bricks and helped decorate them and knew there was no way these things would end up making a roof. After all, I have 28 years of fort-building expertise on the kid. But I followed his plans, did what he said and in the end, after trying lots of failed options he happily decided that the bricks on the roof could be "decorations on the wall!" I was proud of him for course-correcting. And even more proud of myself for not taking over the role of project manager. :)

I never want to forget

Each night on my way to bed I slip in to check on Ivar and Elsie, to adjust their covers and to give them a kiss on their cheeks. Usually they've already been asleep a few hours and their breathing is heavy and loud. My heart swells twelve sizes and I know I've never been so happy. I move Ivar's entire body so that his head is back at the top of his bed and I reposition Elsie so that her covers are snug around her neck.

I feel something more fulfilled and content and satisfied in this daily ritual than anything else.

It's often right then that I'll step on a little john deere tractor or a duplo, right in the arch of my foot, full body weight. Which keeps it all real. But that feeling of peaceful satisfaction is just as real too. 

And in the night Ivar will need to go to the bathroom and Elsie will cry out because her covers are off. And I'll feel frustrated at the interrupted sleep. But then in the morning, if I'm lucky, I'll open my eyes to two heads watching me, smiling, excited for me to get up and begin the day. And even though I'm tired, my heart swells twelve sizes again. Because I know I've got a pretty great gig.

is there a book inside you?

We've had this book on our bookshelf since were were married. Rory remembers buying it when he was in high school. I've thumbed through the pages but mostly answered the title. Is there a book inside you? Me? Are you talking to me? Why, yes. Thank you for asking. Yes there is.

I've always known this. I love writing. And I've always had the desire to find the discipline to write an entire book. The hang up was that I never felt I had anything unique to add to the mix. I have lots of stories. Lots of story material. But I knew it wasn't a book. A few years ago I decided to table the idea of writing a book until I had something to say. (That was a smart idea!)

This year at the Groves' Family Christmas my brother-in-law, Kyle, asked me if I thought I'd ever write a book. I told him I thought I would one day, but for now I didn't know what I'd write about. And I'm not sure how it snowballed, but soon most of the adults were discussing one idea I had mentioned and the conversation gained momentum and I got excited. My father-in-law brought up something that felt like the clincher to bring the whole thing together. We drove home that night and I knew I finally had something to say.

(I'm going to pause here for a minute to flat out apologize for being so vague. Because I'm not actually going to tell you what the book is going to be about. I'm afraid if I do, I steal my own thunder and write a blog post about my book, instead of the book itself. That's probably super annoying, but hopefully it is super motivating for me to write the thing and super inspiring in the end when you read the thing. But again, I apologize.)

A few weeks after the Groves' Christmas conversation I brought something up at ECFE that sort of summarized the idea behind this book and after a friend wanted to talk some more. As we talked I mentioned that I want to write about this and she was so encouraging. The ideas felt original to her and she was so excited that I might write them out formally.

I went home that day, gave the kids lunch and put them down for quiet play time and nap time and then sat on the couch and wrote out the entire outline for such a project. I had nine chapters. I had subtopics. I had illustrations plugged in. I have had this book inside of me for a long, long time.

The reason I am writing about all of this at all is because I think it's going to affect my blogging. It actually sort of has to. I've got little margins of time during my day and I'm realizing that if I'm going to pump this sucker out, I will have to stop blogging so regularly. Which is a bummer, but hopefully will lead to actual pages in your hand in the near future. I would imagine, just knowing myself and my blog, that I won't be able to stay away for any serious long stretches, but if I do go missing, I would love your prayers that I would write something worthwhile, helpful and heartfelt. (And then be sure to keep tabs on Rory. From possums to hatching eggs, he'll keep you entertained...)

I have given myself a little six month deadline. It's totally doable. The book is written in my head. At night I wake up and write entire sections in my head. Rory told me I probably need to start getting out of bed and writing them down when they're feeling fluid and inspired. I might start doing this, but I also am trusting that when I sit down with an hour to write, God will give me focus, clarity and confidence to write the words that need to be written in that window of time.

I'm so excited. Can you tell? I have a strange and awesome confidence going into this project because I know this book is supposed to be written. I would love your prayers for focus and to see this baby through. I am anticipating that at some point this confidence and excitement will turn into insecurity and heaviness, so pray against that. I'm announcing this project as a means of accountability. Pray that I see this book through to its completion.

I've got a book inside of me! And it's busting to get out!

giving away my first book

The picture above is of me and my friend, Amanda. I've known Amanda since she was three, friends through church and our mom's sang in the same singing group. When I worked at Mount Carmel Family Bible Camp recruiting their summer staff, I recruited Amanda. She was thrilled to come and I was thrilled to have her spirit on our staff.

She is one of my favorite people on the planet. She's like sunshine. She's a happy, joyful, fun girl and to be with her means you're probably also feeling happy, joyful and fun.

When she came to work at Mount Carmel she was at a crossroads, deciding what direction to take. At camp she was surrounded by awesome people and solid teaching. And then she decided to grab hold of the truth and she has been in a dead sprint following after Jesus ever since.

Since then, there have been so many times that I have looked up to Amanda and her solid foundation in Christ and wanted to be more like her. She is such a bright light and so encouraging to me. She's a dear friend who always leaves me wanting to run the race a little harder, shine a little brighter and love and serve with all my heart. Isn't that the sweetness of having a sister-in-Christ? She spurs me on when I'm feeling weary, and I can spur her on too.

I think it was three summers after we worked together at Mount Carmel that I was pregnant with Ivar and we were up at camp at the same time. She and our friend Lindsey came to eat dinner with me and Rory and wanted to know everything about pregnancy. And they begged me to write down everything I was learning and feeling so they could read it one day. I'm not just saying that. It was like they both had me by the arms, telling me to write about this first baby.

So I started right then. With the two of them in mind I started writing little pieces about pregnancy all the way to Ivar's first birthday. I called the book Two Lines to One Year. (The two lines being the two lines on the pregnancy test). A few of the pieces I published on the blog, but most of them I didn't. After Ivar was born I would bring him to my in-laws, Marlene and Madison's, house and then go and write at the Prior Lake Library for a few hours. Looking back I can't get over how fortunate I was to have this time to myself and time to process all I was feeling as a first time mom.

In the end (and with a whole lot of motivating by Rory) I self-published a very rough draft. I had two copies printed and when they came in the mail I felt so proud. I read it through and then I got pregnant with Elsie and the two books made the move with us to the country.

It was not until a few Sunday's ago as I sat in church, thinking of all the things I needed to do before going to Amanda's baby shower that afternoon that it dawned on me: "I wrote Amanda a book! I get to give her that book!" The book is dedicated to Amanda and Lindsey and it says, "if you are the only two who ever read this little ditty, I can think of no greater readership." I came home and pulled it from the bookshelf and wrapped it up.

I drove to Eagan and sat with all of Amanda's awesome family and friends and then got to give my friend a book I had written. It was the best feeling in the world. I felt proud of this little rough draft and so grateful to give her something to read while she is walking the same rocky road of being a new mom. She loved it. Cried big tears and I was so glad for the time I took to write each word.

I got home and took the other copy off of the shelf and went up to bed and read the whole thing. Some stories I'd omit now. Some I'd greatly edit. But on the whole, I loved it. I loved my heart behind it and some of the stories were hilarious. I was proud of that little book.

Now I don't intend to actually ever publish that one. But it stirred something in me. Something that's been brewing for a long time. And since I'm getting a little long winded here, I'll save part two for tomorrow.

the sacred ordinary

Our days have been pretty ordinary lately, and it seems my eyes to "find a story" are less creative than usual. But in an attempt to find the sacred in the ordinary here's what we've been up to:

+We've spent most of our time building and rebuilding and building again a zoo. We've got a pony stable, an aquarium, a mini-bear and a lion exhibit. It's really pretty impressive. And we're always in the middle of another building campaign.

+The kids are so loud lately. Loud when laughing, playing, fighting, running, having-trouble-sharing... One day last week I found myself shushing them over and over and finally at one point I realized I was the only one in the house. Their volume didn't matter. They were going bananas because we've been cooped up so long. So I decided to join them. I got super loud and played loud music and joined in their silly loud play. And it worked. It didn't annoy me as much when I joined in.

+Rory built an incubator and has four eggs that he rotates four times a day. He has an external thermometer that tells him the temperature in there. He wakes up multiple times a night to check the temp and then runs downstairs to adjust the dimmer switch so that the temperature stays within three degrees. He is a very devout mother hen. You can read more about his incubating adventures here.