a big catch up

Rory and Ivar dressed alike for church yesterday. It was adorable. And then when we got to church, Rory's dad was wearing the exact same thing. There were pictures taken on phones, but my camera was out of battery (you've got to be kidding!). You'll have to trust me, it was even more adorable.

I also got a picture taken yesterday because this is the last time you'll see me in this sweet little dress. The zipper broke while I put it on, and I was stuck in it until later in the afternoon when Rory used a pliers and a whole lot of brute force to force the zipper back down. It was a cute dress, but it's time to turn it into a pillow or something now...

So October! I am ready for you! I am ready to slow down my life a bit, rake some leaves, decorate with lots of pumpkins and prepare for the blow-out party of the year: Ivar's first birthday. How on earth does a year fly by so fast? Not sure. Motherhood is like finding that there actually is a warp speed.

Each week of September I had some sort of speaking engagement. It felt great to get back in the game. I spoke two Wednesday nights at Cedar Valley on Living your life as a good story, and it turned out really neat. The talks were loosely based on Donald Miller's book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, which I really, really love. But as I worked on the material and the stories I would tell and the writing prompts I would assign the talk really became my own. It felt good and I was grateful for the opportunity.

I also went with my folks to Shepherd of the Valley's senior retreat at Camp Wapo. Ivar came along and charmed the socks off of everyone, as he does, and also brought the median age down by decades.

I decided to speak on Heaven at the senior retreat and what we know of Heaven based on Scripture and personal stories of walking with a loved one to death's door. There were stories shared in that room of sitting beside a loved one...a parent, a sister, and for some a child, as they breathed their last breath. These stories made every hair stand up on end, telling of a holiness that is beyond our comprehension. There were lots and lots of tears shed, and a sweet remembrance came over the room: we really are eternal beings. Heaven is our actual home.

When that talk was over Rory called to hear how it went. The words, "so good" or "great" didn't fit at all. All I could say was, "full. It was so full." The moment felt thick with the Holy Spirit, like the peace of God filled all of our hearts for the very same hour. It was a moment of community and stories that I never ever want to forget.

And then last week I had a board meeting for Mount Carmel Family Bible Camp. This wasn't a speaking gig, but I am finding that serving on this board takes up just as much mental mind space! We are in the midst of calling a new executive director and have a huge transition ahead. I have spent much time praying, writing, worrying and then praying some more as we proceed to call such an important servant to fill this position at Mount Carmel.

So folks, that's where I've been. I've missed this blog a lot. I use this space as a life diary and baby book of sorts, so to fall behind is like a triple guilt trip: baby book, journaling and blog slacking all rolled into one.

It's good to be back.

So long, September

September was a really, really full month for us. Lots of stuff I want to write about, lots of pictures I still hope to post. October looks a bit more relaxed at this point, and for that I am glad.

September's blog posts are sort of a riot to me. Lots of Sara Groves excitement with a few other very random posts. So to stay consistent with my random September, sporatic blog posts, I thought I'd close out the month with a video Rory just had me watch, sent to him by his friend Bill. It was exactly the humor I needed today. Happy Friday Everybody!

Just a friendly reminder...

I am hopeful to see lots of you on Saturday night! We just found our babysitter and are so excited for a great night filled with good music, friends and family. Sara's concerts tend to be filled with stories, lots of thought and heart. Your car is sure to be filled with meaningful conversation as you leave the parking lot Saturday night and head back home.

Here's a video of Sara telling the story behind her song "From This One Place." In it she talks openly about her struggles with anxiety attacks and then shares the song she wrote while working through her new normal. It's good stuff, and gives a good feel for what a concert of hers is like. click here and listen. The video coloring is terrible, but the audio is great... so treat it like the radio and enjoy.

See you Saturday!

it's been a while

...just thought I'd put a few pictures up to say hello. It's been a good month...a full one... and as a result the blog has been neglected. But we're well, on the move (read: Ivar is mobile and life will never be the same) and utilizing anything we can find as makeshift playpens...

adventures in missing the point

When we unloaded the moving truck at my sisters, I was given the sweet job of unpacking Mara and Sonna and getting their room settled. They have the upstairs of the house, full of fun little nooks and crannies. It's all sloped ceilings there is this small crawl space that is actually tall enough to stand up in and probably four feet wide. Turns out it is the perfect little place for all of their games, art supplies, ponies and sleeping bags.

If you know me at all, you know I love me a good organized shelf. I love staging things so it looks clean, inviting and colorful. This project was perfect for me. I worked hard to get everything just so.

I called the room "The sleepover room" because of their sleeping bags spread out on the floor. Mara took this quite literally and went to get all of her pajamas to string along that bar on the side of the slanted ceiling. She thought her pajama's made for nice decoration.

Unfortunately, I had a different vision. I could handle the messy pj's for a while. But before everyone came up to check out the girls rooms I told Mara, "I'm just going to put these back in your dresser, okay?"

Mara nodded and seemed okay but later that night I was stricken with guilt. Are you kidding me? Could I honestly not handle the pajama's hanging as decorations in the sleepover room? Really? Am I really that uptight that I couldn't see the creativity in her thinking?

The next day I apologized to Mara. I told her that I really like a clean and tidy space and that sometimes my need for clean gets the best of me. I told her that after thinking about it, I could understand how clever and bright her pj's were for setting the theme of the sleepover room. I just didn't catch her vision the first time around.

Mara acted fine, I told her she needed to help me relax a bit and enjoy a mess more.

As it turns out, she and Sonna are doing a great job of helping me with this request. Because all those games stacked nicely on the shelf there? They play with them! And the evidence is strewn all over their fun-loving bedroom.

rainbow crayons

I hit up a few garage sales with some girl friends and found these silicone heart and star molds for ten cents. Perfect. I made the alphabet crayons a while ago but they were hard to get out of the molds, and my guess is that they were hard to color with....though they were adorable and I will still make them again and again :)

I had my nieces over on Saturday and decided it was time to get crafty. Mara used the Ikea cheese grater to grate the crayons really fine. Sonna helped take the paper off of the crayons, and I used the super sharp knife to cut the crayons into small pieces.

Full instructions on how I made these crayons can be found on the Alphabet Crayon post. More fun than making the crayons was coloring with them when they were cooled from the freezer. Each crayon was filled with so many colors.

We decorated envelopes and played mailman with our mail slot, a highlight for all visitors-of-a-certain-age to our house.
Unfortunately, this mailgirl left one of the crayons in her pocket and her mom did a huge load of laundry with that crayon tumbling around in the dryer. Big Whoops.

around here

Around here we are enjoying the harvest from our garden. It is a two person vegetable garden, producing three ears of corn at a time, one eggplant every few weeks, tomatoes and cucumbers unstoppable, beans and sweet peas too. Perfect for just the two of us. And each morning there are just a handful of fresh raspberries to throw on my cereal.

Around here we are amused by Ivar’s favorite toy: his big green ball. He can roll in back and forth with one of us, or he plays by himself army scooching to catch it and roll it again.

Around here we are really loving Toonces’ new room in the basement. We can’t hear him at night and it means we all are sleeping much better. Can’t believe it took us so long to figure that one out.

Around here we can't stop playing Sara’s new album. Yesterday I was singing a song from her last album and Rory said, “no. only new stuff. You only can sing from this new album now.”

Around here we are adjusting to Ivar’s vigor for feeding himself. He is a sticky mess after he’s done eating. He loves ground turkey, banana, peaches and cheerios. Recently when I went to wash his arms he was sticky in his arm pits. No idea how he got banana in his pits, but he did. And therefore he got a bath.

Around here we are inspired by yard projects again. Rory is building a compost bin for the driveway and using all sorts of cool tools in the garage. Ivar loves hanging out with his dad out there, sitting in his stroller, eating cheerios and watching him drill and saw and hammer.

Around here there are so many monarchs in our neighborhood. One neighbor wondered if these aren’t the ones that end up in Mexico. They are everywhere!

Around here my sister is moving into a house with her family...that really, truly is around here! Like 15 minutes away, around here!

Around here we are remembering why we love the midwest and the change of seasons. We love summer, but fall is starting to sound nice too. Cozy things like long sleeves, soup, fires in the backyard and lit candles in the house all seem to sound lovely and perfect right about now.

true story

We spent yesterday afternoon with the whole Groves family on a pontoon on Prior Lake. The following conversation took place on that boat:

Lisa: Becca, is that your new camera! Let me see it!
Becca: It is. I love it. I researched for a long time and found a great point and shoot.
Lisa: Oh this is awesome. Way nicer than mine. Mine is old and way less megapixels.
Rory: Lisa, you don't have to put your camera down to make your point. Becca is always self-deprecating like that.
Becca: Wait a minute. You just Becca-deprecated to show Lisa that she was self-deprecating!
Rory: Well, why do you guys do that? Why can't you just say, "this is a nice camera."
Becca: I don't know, but you don't have to wife-deprecate to make your point. (long pause) Maybe I just like deprecating.

one year ago today.

It's my most popular blog post ever. Most discussed of all my writing. And it all happened one year ago today. If you've got the time, take a moment to read or re-read our adventurous move from Omaha to Minneapolis by clicking here.

And if you have read it before, can I tell you the absolute craziest ending to this story?!! Around January I got a blog comment from one of my favorite friends from high school and college, Heather. She told me she was catching up on my blog, had just read about Story City and couldn't believe we were at the Comfort Inn because her in-law's own that hotel in Story City. What in the small world?!!

And, you might also be interested to know that I did send Al a birth announcement. He was such a nice guy!

more Sara Groves: Invisible Empires!

I got an email this morning for all of the pre-release goods for Sara's new record. You can get the package above for $25 or a $10 download of the album. I think the best part of the deal above is the download with the commentary edition. It's Troy and Sara talking over the album sharing a lot of behind the scenes, how the music was chosen and the stories behind the songs.

If you're interested, head over to http://www.saragroves.com/ and get your new music! It's so good!

fried green tomatoes

Well, it used to be one of my favorite movies and now it is a favorite food. We have an abundance of tomatoes right now, and a few green ones fall off the vine every now and again so I decided to try my hand at some fried goodness.

And oh goodness are they good! I've made them three times already! They're just pan fried after dredged in egg, flour, egg again and italian bread crumbs. After one side is golden I sprinkle them with garlic salt. But the best part is the dipping sauce. I used this recipe from The Neelys. (sort of modified depending on what I actually have in the house when I make it.)

Twanda!

Sara Groves: Invisible Empires!

Well, sometimes I just turn into her biggest fan. And here I go again. We had a listening party a month ago to hear this new album and just yesterday Rory came home from a brother's breakfast with our own copy. We've listened to the whole thing six times now. Because it's that good.

The album doesn't release until October sometime...but I wanted to get the word out about her CD Release Concert for those of you twin cities folk. Tickets are on sale now, and I guess I just really think you should go. Sara is a storyteller more than anything else, and a CD release concert is full of the stories behind the songs. And there are some really good stories within these songs.

So the details!
The Release Concert is at Church of the Open Door in Maple Grove on October 1st at 7:30.
Line up your babysitters now! :)

You can order your tickets by calling 877-840-0457 or else you can click here to order online.

If you're not in the Twin Cities, check out her concerts page for her future shows this fall and Christmas. They have shows in MD, NC, TN, FL, WA, WI, ND, CA

And I just found this interview with Sara talking about the new album. Enjoy!

before you head out to the fair!

I've said it before (in 2009) and then I said it again (in 2010). And now I'll say it another time. I adore the Minnesota State Fair. Love it. I went last night to arrange flowers with my mom and it was great, though I was glad we decided to leave Ivar at home with Rory at the last minute. It was a bit hot and I watched enough kids have meltdowns that I felt good about having my little boy at home.

This is just a quick post to let you know I found a new fair favorite. I've always loved the fruit stand, but I cannot even tell you how good the peaches are this year. They're enormous and are the kind of juicy that has you slurping your fruit from the very first bite. At $3 they're probably the cheapest thing you'll find to eat. And it's the best $3 you'll spend.

Unless, of course, you're excited about the new chocolate covered jalapenos. I was in this line getting a lemonade for my mom and these babies were popular! But I think they were underwhelming. It was a raw jalapeno dipped in melted chocolate. And the chocolate was still saucy. One guy took a bite next to me and said, "well, it tastes like a pepper dipped in chocolate."

For those of you going to the fair in the next few days, the Fruit Stand is between the Horticultural building and the International Bizarre and looks like this:

And my mom swears by the World Famous Coconut Macaroons. I'm bummed I didn't get them!

Toonces is rescued!!!

(moving from Montana back to Minnesota)

The short version of this story: Yesterday, I woke up and started crying. Hard. So sad to say goodbye to a cat that has moved with us to Montana, Nebraska, Alexandria and back to Minneapolis. He's been a faithful family mascot and we love him so much. So I cried. The ugly cry. The cry that has you staring at yourself in the bathroom mirror as you cry because you feel that sorry for yourself.

The morning moved along slowly. I filled out all of the paper work telling Toonces' next owners the important stuff like, "he loves water dripped on his back" and "he loves tiny wax paper balls to bat around on the hardwood floors." I ugly cried some more.

It was time to take him to the Humane Society, so we got his crate out. I loaded the diaper bag in the car and the paperwork. I was going in to get Ivar and told Rory we should call our next door neighbor to see if she wanted to say goodbye. I dialed, but then started crying too hard and handed the phone to Rory.

Our neighbor picked up and she and Rory discussed a new plan. You see, there are really only two other people in the whole wide world who love Toonces like we do. Alison our neighbor here in Minneapolis and Joan, our neighbor in Nebraska. (Both read this blog! Hi Ladies!) The rest of the world doesn't really care for our fat, shedding, vocal cat. But these two ladies do.

It's okay that others don't love Toonces. We wouldn't expect them to. We don't love other people's pets with the same love that we love Toonces, so it's okay.

But Alison loves Toonces. She really does and we can feel it. Sadly, her cat is ill and quite old for a cat, and she discussed with Rory that when her cat passes on, she would for real love to take Toonces. For real.

And that changed everything. Because our deadline was arbitrary. Obviously if we had been putting up with Toonces for 9 months, we can handle him a bit longer. We don't know if we'll have Toonces for another year or just another month. But just knowing that there is a loving lady who is ready to love and care for him made this whole story turn into a happy ending.

Not only that, we spent the day yesterday cleaning out a storage room in the basement and put all of Toonces things in there: food, litterbox, bed, pillows... There is a window and a high ledge and a shelf to sit on. And last night we put him in his new room and we could not hear a thing upstairs! Not a thing! He was meowing, but we couldn't hear him.

And the happiest ending to this story? Guess who slept through the night last night...11 hours?

Ivar Nicholas Groves.

Toonces needs a new home

Well, this is a sad post. And sort of a desperate plea, too. We have to find a new home for our beloved cat, Toonces. Over the last year he has developed a period of time in the morning and evening when he gets really vocal. He meows loudly wanting attention and if we don't give it to him immediately, he wakes Ivar up. Every time.

We've been putting this fact off since the day Ivar was born, trying to quiet him every possible way, but at some point the baby's sleep has to take priority.

It's so sad for us. Toonces is a snugly cat, loves to be brushed, so affectionate, fantastic with Ivar, and 95% of the time quietly looks out the window. It's that other 5% of the time that just doesn't work with a baby.

If we had a house that had a room where he could be kept at night, allowing us all to sleep in peace, this would be no problem. And, if we didn't have Ivar it wouldn't be that big of a deal either. All he wants is some love and affection. But that is harder to give with a little baby crawling around.
People who know Toonces (and love cats) love him. He's a people cat, loves chasing little wax paper balls, and likes to eat... which means there is a lot of him to love!

Anyway, if you or anyone you know is looking for a declawed, fully immunized, free cat and would make for a good loving home for Toonces, let me know. I'd be so relieved to know where he is going. Otherwise, he has an appointment on Wednesday with the Humane Society where they'll evaluate if they can keep him until he finds a new family.

Can't tell you how heavy my heart is and how sad I am. It's a terrible feeling to have to give your own pet away.

the three of us

Our good friend Shannon came over one morning in July...it was one of those horribly hot days that was sticky, muggy and so hot we thought we lived in the Bayou. She had a photo shoot with us and I am so happy we captured these shots. These pictures are Ivar pre-teeth and now he looks so different!

I adore the shots of just Ivar, especially the one with his legs all the way to his toes. Got to document those sweet feet! Thanks Shannon for a super fun morning, and for the happiness I found in opening the envelope from you yesterday with these beautiful pictures inside.

baby doll ivar

Ivar and I went to a garage sale yesterday and we found this little doll for a buck. It actually startled me at first looking so much like a frozen, smaller version of my son.

a library favorite

Ivar and I try to walk up to the library each week and I have another favorite I'd like to pass along. This is a sweet book told by a little girl explaining Alzheimers disease with the simplicity of a kid. It's a sweet story, talking about what is different about her grandma and also what is still the same.There is no more cruel disease than Alzheimers. I remember when my grandpa harrington was losing his memory and how terrible the year was when he was aware that he was losing his memory. It was actually a relief once he lost enough of his remembrances so that he didn't realize he was forgetting so much. In that terrible year I remember sitting in his room with him and having him speak some really powerful words over me, telling me that God would surely use my gifts in mighty ways. He wasn't really a tender man, so this conversation was stunning and precious to me. But in the blink of an eye he looked right at me and started shouting, "call the sheriff!" He was very agitated and kept repeating that there was someone in his room who needed to leave. And just as present as he was moments earlier, he was just as impassioned that I was no longer welcome.

This book put a lump in my throat. If you know of someone (and sadly, I think we all do) who is dealing with the sorrow of Alzheimer's in their family, this might be a good book to pick up. I used to work on the Memory Loss floor at the nursing home and thought they should get a copy of this book for that floor so that parents might have some way to discuss with their kids how grandpa's body is still alive, but why the person inside who made that body "grandpa" seems to have gone missing.

You can purchase and see more of the story of Still My Grandma, here.

beautiful baby food

I remember seeing Jennifer Garner on The Martha Stewart Show. It was probably half a dozen years ago and she was very pregnant, as was everyone in the audience. The show was geared towards expecting mama’s and all that they should know before having that baby. Martha was interviewing Jennifer and asked if she planned on making her own baby food. “No,” she said sweetly “you know, I sort of think it would be one of those things that I’d try at first and then tucker out along the way.” Martha was aghast, “oh it’s so, so easy. You must make your own baby food!” Martha’s tone was a little much for me, but Jennifer just laughed back, “No. I feel no pressure. I figure if Gerber has been making it for this long, I’ll let my baby eat what they’re making.” Or something like that.

It is so weird how much I remember about that episode. Maybe because I never watched Martha all that often, but I think it had more to do with Jennifer’s likable honesty. She felt no pressure to pretend she was going to puree her own cooked squash. And not only was she this honest about her baby food plans, but she was basically making Martha look like an overbearing mother-in-law. (I can write that because I don’t have that mother-in-law!)

I swear to you, in that moment I made a mental note that I, too, would let Gerber do their pureeing for me. I would purchase those cute little jars and enjoy the fun readymade combinations like cherry-apple and blueberry banana. So this is how we started.

But then I got a voicemail from my friend Meta asking me if I had any tips on making baby food because she was “sure I was the type of mom who must have tried this before her.” And it dawned on me. I am totally the type to try making my own baby food. Not because of anything against gerber, not even really for the financial reasons. But because I might actually enjoy it. I like cooking and baking. I like creating. I’ve heard it involves lots of ice cube trays…why wouldn’t I give it a try?

And then Meta posted these pictures. Had I known rainbows of beautiful color would be involved I might have jumped on the wagon a bit sooner. I think I might have to go and make Martha Stewart proud…

9 months

Dear Ivar,
Today you turn 9-months. And you just get more fun.

You delight us every day. Like the day I came back from walking around Lake Harriet with you and while giving you a bath found that you had tan lines in the rolls of your thighs. You are a very healthy eater and love all foods so far, though you give us a good gag show with avocado (but you still eat it!)

You are not crawling yet, but still get to where you want to go by barrel rolling side to side, all the while kersplatting on the hardwood floors. In the early mornings I set you up in the living room with all of your favorite toys and then head back to bed, and just this week I found you had almost made it to the kitchen! You also can scootch yourself backwards but tend to get stuck under the couch a lot because of this maneuver. And that is very frustrating for you.

You have acquired a scream that would rival any middle school girl sitting in the front of a roller coaster. It is high pitched, abrasive and terribly unnerving. Unfortunately, you have learned that it is effective. So we’re trying to ignore the pterodactyl that has moved into our quiet little home, but it’s harder to do than you’d think. Hopefully the scream is just a stage.

The flip side of the scream is that you have an opinion and are really starting to show us some personality. You’re still fantastically social. Today your dad and I took you for a walk around Lake Harriet and you stuck your arms straight out and waved your wrists and smiled at the runners as they ran by. You gave sweet smiles and we got lots of quick remarks of “cute baby” “he’s waving at me” or “hi buddy.” It tuckered you out and after a while you fell asleep in the stroller.

It was odd to have you lying back in the stroller, because your normal posture is very upright. Especially in your umbrella stroller, you rarely sit back. You’re very interested and eager to see what is up ahead In fact, when I see you playing with your toys on the floor I am often reminded to roll my shoulders back and sit up straighter myself..

You sing our names as a sweet background to our days. Mamamamamama and Dadadadadada are babbled lovingly all day long and you often times will make us stand quiet for a bit as we listen to you talk to your toys.

We love you more and more Ivar. I’ve stopped lamenting your changing and growing because your new tricks, ever-growing thighs and new sounds just give us that much more to love. And we love and adore you like crazies.
Love, Ma mama ma ma mamama