happy halloween!

A special thanks to my favorite church garage sale that supplies me with all our halloween costumes. Way back in May I held up this little bird get up and said, "a toucan it is!" We are off to trick-or-treat with friends at a nearby college and then will stop at a few neighbor's houses. I'm ready for the sugar!
Here's Halloween 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009.

this slice of life

+My kids were big into playing Panther Family for a few weeks. They were a nice family of panthers who seemed to mostly enjoy reading books in their cave. The panther mom never seemed to have a shirt on, and the panther dad had a lot of trouble keeping the panther baby in the cave. She would escape and he would have to drag her back in only to have her escape again. Panther Baby thought this was a hilarious game.

+My dad came over last night to babysit and I told the kids, "we need to pick up this mess, so grandpa doesn't trip on all our toys." Elsie thought about it for a moment and said, "Yes. Because he is a pastor." And Ivar added, "He's on God's team!" I told them that was all true, so just pick up the toys...

+Ivar has found a new favorite prank. Our small group comes to our house each Monday night at 7:30. The time from dinner to their arrival is mayhem, filled with barn chores, cleaning up supper, getting the kids to bed, making the coffee and tidying the house. Around 7 each night Ivar will knock loudly on the front door and say, "someone's already here!" Which throws me into a panic just long enough for him to laugh and yell, "Just kidding. It's me." The crazy thing is that so far he is 3 for 3 on this one. I fall for it each week.

+Hattie cut a new tooth on the top this week. One night I was holding her in the glider rocker, waiting for her tylenol to kick in. She picked at my lips and kept sticking her fingers on my teeth. And then she sang a sing-songy "la la la." And it dawned on me that she wanted me to sing. I started singing Children of the Heavenly Father and she lay back in my arm and snuggled into my body.

sogn valley orchard

My sister-in-law, Lisa, came over on Friday and was going nuts over this apple orchard they had just visited. We have driven by the sign countless times, but never would have made the trek if she hadn't sang it's praises so loudly! Rory and I looked at a farm in Sogn when we were finding our next home and fell in love with this area. It is a true valley, and the landscape is stunning. Rolling hills, red barns, hay bales and lots of oak trees. We have taken many, many pictures there.

Here's the thing about this orchard. We were there for over an hour, and only three other cars came in and out during that time. It's not a huge you-pick orchard. They have an adorable Apple Haus where you can sample apples and sample cider. And you can buy bags of picked apples. And then you are encouraged to walk around the orchard and we were told to each, "try an apple if it looks like a good one." So we walked all over, under and around the trees. They sell their apples to many area Co-Ops, so they aren't looking to make their big dollars as a you-pick. It felt more like a visit to a relative's farm.

And then there was this Border Collie named Collie. This dog is the best. In fact, at church today another young mom told me that they go to this orchard just so their kids can play frisbee with Collie too! My kids are usually afraid of dogs, but this dog is a wonder. I've never, ever wanted a dog and I came home and googled Minnesota Border Collies. (Rory is firm on his dog plans though. Ivar has to be eight. Because Rory knows the dog care will fall solely on him (Rory). And he's right... But this dog was a dream.) And after much online research I would like to tell you that Border Collie puppies are so adorable. And they are good and herding sheep, and sometimes people.  My Aunt Louie and Uncle Jake always had a Collie named Skippy. Even if one Skippy died, they'd get another and name it Skippy. I just want a puppy so bad now... I even have the name all picked out. A Collie would be so happy on our farm...

But back to reality. Hattie loves apples and gnawed on one the whole time while I bit bites into small pieces for her like a mama bird. It was a happy, happy adventure.

combines and curly fries

This October has been so spectacular I can hardly handle it. I forget that I adore this month! I think I psych myself up for cold weather and forget these stunning fall days. But this last week has been so glorious I have said each day, "we're all going outside! This weather isn't going to last!" But it has!

Saturday we got home from an apple orchard (more later! a gem!) and found combines in our field. Everyone needed a snack to stretch us to supper, so I put some curly fries in the oven and then joined the family (Hattie was napping) to watch the show with fries and ketchup. And what a show! The man who owns the field behind us is aging, and they must have hired a harvesting service. Because there were two combines, two tractors pulling large wagons next to the combines to catch the corn and FOUR semi trucks waiting to take the corn away.

The combines never stopped moving. And it was so mesmerizing. And incredibly fast. We sat and waved to the drivers and they waved back, and made another favorite memory on our farm.

so long, Shadow

The last six weeks we have had a special visitor to the Grovestead. Shadow, the billy goat came for two cycles, with the hopes that come February we will have little baby goats born to Darcy and Precious. We loved Shadow so much. He is a young Billy Goat, which means he doesn't smell like the older billy goats (we had been warned that they can be quite stinky!) Instead, he joined in and was a happy and easy addition. 

He went back to his farm on Monday, and it was quite the ordeal. Rory used brute force to get him into the trailer, and the sounds from all three goats made for a very dramatic farewell. Goat bleating was heard all over the farm and many human kid tears were shed as well. 

But here's a fun fact for your next dinner party: The first time a goat has a baby, she will have one kid. But thereafter, she will have two at a time. So come February, we are hoping Darcy will give us two goat kids and Precious will give us one goat kid. We're eager to grow our herd to help us clear out the grove. 

cheesecake bars

I was temped to name these bars You're-gonna-die Bars for two reasons. 1) They're that good. 2) When you see what is in them, you will realize the great risk of a massive coronary upon consumption.

It was at a neighborhood bbq that I was first introduced to these bars. I took a bite and then stopped the picnic yelling, "excuse me! who brought these bars?!!" It was our next door neighbors and I begged them for the recipe. When he sent it he wrote, "I am sorry for what you are about to read. There is a reason I need to drop twenty pounds."

This week I made a pan for our small group. That's sort of the perfect excuse to make them...a large group to help you eat the pan. Now brace yourselves:

Cheesecake Bars
3 packages cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp Mexican vanilla
2 cans refrigerated crescent rolls
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup honey

Preheat oven to 350
Spray 9x13 baking dish
Beat cream cheese with 1 cup sugar and vanilla until smooth
Unroll first tube crescent dough on bottom of the baking dish
Spread cream cheese mixture on dough
Cover cream cheese mixture with second tube of dough
Stir 3/4 cup sugar, cinnamon and butter together.
Dot butter mixture over the cheesecake
Bake until dough is golden brown, about 30 minutes
Remove from oven and drizzle with honey
Chill completely in the fridge

That last step is probably the most important. You have to make these far enough in advance that they are good and set and very cold when you serve them. In fact, I made them on Monday afternoon and served them around 8pm and they were great. But the next morning I had half a bar with the kids and it was sublime. And that must be really good, because I've never used the word sublime in my life before this moment. So I'd recommend making them a day ahead.

File this one away for your next potluck or party. It's a winner!

the start of a sport

We signed up for our first organized sport this fall. Soccer met once a week for a few hours on Friday afternoons and it was the perfect introduction to a new sport. And all I have to say is thank goodness for the shin guards and knee socks. Because the excitement over these items alone seemed to motivate my boy to head out on the field.

It's amazing how quickly you are suddenly the parent. Our very first day brought a lot of nerves and worry. In the parking lot and I found myself repeating all of the things my mom just said to me when I was filled with nerves and worry. "Everyone is feeling the same butterflies. It's totally normal. We just have to be brave for a few minutes and then we'll feel more comfortable. Just try it for today and then you'll know if you like it or not. The coach is there to help you learn. How could you already be good at something you've never learned before?!!" 

And, thankfully, he did feel comfortable right away. And loved it. He wore the same blue shirt with a soccer ball on it, blue plaid shorts and blue knee highs each week and did really well on the field. Hooray for positive experiences when trying something new! And hooray for an awesome coach who could deal with 4, 5 and 6 year olds and their attention spans, tears and enthusiasm!

baby mobile

I helped host a baby shower for friends at our church almost a month ago. The friends lead our children's program and my kids absolutely love this couple. I was trying to figure out what we could do that would include all of the kids in the congregation and decided on a mobile. The adults wrote blessings on the leaves and the kids wrote their names on the birds, promising to keep this baby in their prayers. I found the branch under our oak tree, assembled it last night and figured the thing out as I went along. I absolutely love how it turned out and want to make one for Hattie now. 

It felt so good to be crafty again! And I have so many projects in my head now. It's amazing how one project can inspire other projects. I remember my sister-in-law Sara telling me that whenever she feels stuck in writing a song, she'll crochet a pair of slippers, or get her sewing machine out, or do anything creative. Because somehow the act of creating spurs on greater creativity. How amazing!

Here's to more creative projects! 

kitchen help

Back in August I wrote about all sorts of new systems I was putting in motion in an effort to keep my house tidy and organized. I am happy to report that things are really sticking around here. The paper clutter problem has been solved. My counter tops are kept pretty empty and the whole 'start the dishwasher each night and unload it in the morning' thing is a game changer.

But there is one other thing that I have to mention if I'm going to be totally honest. I got kitchen help. She comes in first thing in the morning and has really helped me streamline the way my kitchen runs. She's big into accessibility. For example, the first thing she does is open the towel drawer and pull all the towels out onto the floor. If I'm ever loading or unloading the dishwasher, she is right there, pulling out the sharp knives first, lending a hand. She pulls out the tupper ware each day, and I can only assume she is trying to match lids to bottoms. Once we found her sorting the garbage can all over the floor, making sure there wasn't something that should be in the recycling bin. She's so thorough! Above and beyond!

It was when she dumped the trash out that I realize her genius in pulling out all of the dish towels, very first thing. Because suddenly we needed all of them to wipe the mess off of her, the cupboards and the floor.

She's great company and I'm grateful to have her assistance. And also for a locking gate on the kitchen.

well that was never going to work.

Well. There's actually not that much to say other than I feel like I'm ripping duct tape off of my mouth right now. Turns out not writing about our day to day, and the little and big things floating around in my head just didn't work out. So I'm back. I suppose I could elaborate for a few paragraphs, but whatever. I love this little place for archiving our life and I love sharing it with whoever wants to read about it. I'm not sure the frequency of which I'll blog, but I'm for sure not shutting this thing down. I may very well be blogging from the nursing home after all.

Besides, where else would I share my pictures from our latest glorious country drive?

Fall in the country is stunning and knocks my socks off every year. The whole world turns to gold and it's breathtaking. The pictures below were one night when the five of us jumped in the truck to watch our three lambs graze in the orchard. They do the mowing around the apple trees and have become very friendly, tame farm animals. We watched the sunset and watched the sheep eat and took lots of pictures. Obviously worthy of a blog post!

So here I am. I'm not even that shy about my return. I suppose my dad knew best all along in saying I should just try it for a month. But you know I'm a bit more theatrical than that...so we're back!

so long, farewell

You may have noticed I have been quite wordy on this blog during the last two weeks. But there's a reason for that...

So a very remarkable thing has happened to me. I never thought it would happen. I was certain it never would. But I have lost some zeal for blogging. And I'm as surprised as anyone. I thought for certain I would blog into my 80's, writing funny stories about my nursing home, telling about my fifty-year-old son, Ivar.

But right around January I began to wonder if I should keep this baby up. And immediately with the thought of ending my blog, my writing became really labored. For eight years I have whipped posts together with speed and joy, but it started to feel like something I had to get done.

I suppose part of it was the addition of a third child and trying to keep up with all the life that surrounds my every day. Margin time is sort of a lost reality with three...

And then there were a few kid stories that I thought about writing about, but because of all we know about the internet and how permanent this place is, I just decided not to. The kids are getting older, and many of their stories are not mine to tell.

But the thing that sort of sealed the deal was earlier this month when I made fried green tomatoes and I thought, "I should photograph these for the blog." And then I thought, "I wonder how many years I have staged pictures of my fried green tomatoes and written about them?!!" (Answer: 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 I've been blogging about Fried Green Tomatoes for six years!)

Which just feels terribly redundant.

Plus, I'm about to embark on educating my children. Which is sort of a doosie of a commitment to heap onto my day-to-day life.

So I prayed about it and felt a sincere release. I really did, and that is my main reason for concluding this long-running public journal.

I'm sad though. Even though I know this is good and right for this season of life, I am going to miss it. I print each year that I blog into a book and have loved this avenue for documenting my life in stories. (Anyone remember when the blog was called that? Back in Nebraska!) This place for writing and sharing our life has been such a gift to me. I've always said I would write even if it was just for my own family, but the truth is the love and connection I have always felt because of this blog has been a sweet spot in my life. I have LOYAL readers. I have blogged for eight years come September 21st, and have so many of you who have read every word! Eight years is no small amount of time, and I am grateful and in awe of all of the love and friendship that has come of this little blog.

I have told a few people about this turn of events, trying to get a feel for how I should close it. My dad said, "well don't just be done. Say you'll reassess in January in case you want to return. Or that you may jump on once in a while if something really eventful happens." But that's the tricky part. If I leave that door open, I'll still feel the need to put something up here once in a while. And it's that feeling I'm trying to let go of.

I will say that my friend Shannon brought up The Grovestead Blog and asked if I'd start contributing over there, maybe just a quarterly update on what's going on inside the farmhouse.  I loved that idea. To write a post four times a year giving a little life update for anyone still interested. So that's the plan. Rory will continue to update that blog and post on instagram. (I'm not on instagram anymore...I get super compulsive with any social media platform...)

And I won't be a stranger. Maybe Dad is right and come January I'll be dying for an outlet again. But we'll see. Until then, it's going to be quiet around here, so drop me an email sometime. I'll still be here, organizing my house, learning how to roast lamb chops, reading more lovely LM Montgomery books, playing in my kitchen garden, teaching my kids how to read and doing it all very joyfully.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for caring for my family and checking in on our adventures. Thank you for all of the emails of encouragement and your faithful friendship. I do believe God is in this decision, and I do believe something new and different will likely surface after a while. I believe in a God of resurrection and that he makes all things new. I will be eager to see what new thing he is doing here.

mama's kitchen garden

We've been working on a fun project all summer long. Back in January I started sketching out a garden area based on a little garden we love at Murphy's Landing. It was the doctor's garden, full of medicinal herbs. The garden I had in my head would be my own, personal garden.

I have a growing theory on gardening. I think it is a solo sport...and I'd be curious to find an exception to this rule. Rory sort of runs our huge garden. He has the vision, he figures out where to plant everything, and it's his project. But he does need a workhorse-helper...one who will listen to directions and weed the blueberries for the umpteenth time. I was bitter about this for a while, until I started to realize it's just how gardening goes. Would you agree? One person has the plan, and the other person is the partner to help execute the plan. 

So when I started dreaming up this garden I drew up my own plan and asked my partner to help me execute it. And I tell you what, I am loving this arrangement! Rory was enthused to get me working on my own project, and I loved that the size and scope of this garden felt compatible with being the mama.

The plan is to have a brick patio in the middle, with a little table and two chairs. That's the final part of this project we hope to complete this fall. And next spring I'm dreaming of lining the outside of the picket fence with zinnias. Perfecto!

The holes were dug back in May, and slowly Mama's Kitchen Garden has been coming together. 

We put the posts up after the kids were all in bed and the sun was slowly setting. It was just the two of us and we worked hard and fast and talked about all sorts of things. That's a personal favorite memory...there is a special romance in working hard on a project together. Those are all my favorite memories on this farm...are the side by side projects when I know I am needed and we have a shared vision.

We got all the posts in, packed in the sand and pounded with a pole. But the next morning we found that the very last post we had put in was terribly crooked. Apparently we couldn't see the level in the dark... We laughed and poor Rory had to dig the thing up in order to reset it.

Neighbors started walking by and asking us what we were building. It was very mysterious for awhile!

When I had the kids at Aunt Annie and Uncle Ed's house Rory finished the pickets and filled the garden beds with compost, soil and wood chips. I do love this gardening arrangement!

I started my basil, thyme, oregano, chives, rosemary and mint from seed in January. And then went to a little garden store in town and purchased the rest. This year I went for a mix of herbs for cooking, teas and medicinal. I have a ton of stuff drying in my garage right now. But next year I think I'll do more lettuce, kale, carrots, tomatoes, peppers and basil. It seems those are what I actually use each day.

It wasn't until we had it filled and planted that we mustered the will to paint the thing. Which is obviously the opposite order we should have completed this project. But we were eager to get stuff in the soil! So we planted, and then had to figure out how to paint around the plants. Hindsight is 20/20! We had our good friends over for a painting party, realizing quickly that a sprayer was going to help this project greatly...

And then just a week or two ago I called my folks and said, "I have a project that will take us no longer than 30 minutes working together..." I asked them to wear their painting clothes and come ready to finish the kitchen garden. Turns out it took 3 hours to weed whip, mow, dig out what needed to be painted, and paint all the precarious places we hadn't sprayed. Thankfully they are awesome and saw this project through to the end! Even Elsie helped paint with a teeny paintbrush from our craft bin. And then we ate the peach pie my mom had made and that made all the hard work feel good and worthwhile. Plus, it was a glorious day, which always helps too.

And Mom made me two stained glass garden stones from pictures that Ivar had drawn for me. That's me in my kitchen garden next to basil and chives and a big zinnia under the sun. What a lucky mama in her kitchen garden!

And now today I'm hopeful to make and freeze some pesto from that awesome basil plant that Sonna is standing next to. I started that plant from the teeniest seed you ever saw. And now it's a huge, bushy plant. God's abundance is so amazing!

I'll close with a special thanks to my garden helper. It is very fun to be the garden lead, but even more fun to have a garden helper who built the whole thing based on a little sketch I showed him on that paper back in January. You're a good guy, Rory. And someday I'll get out to weed those blueberries...

anne of green gables

A few days before Hattie arrived, I started reading Anne of Green Gables. (The picture above was taken when Hattie was still on the inside. I hope you knew that!) I loved every chapter and felt so grateful for this diversion. I didn't get half way through it though before I went into labor, brought a baby home and entirely forgot that I had even started a book...

A few weeks ago one of my favorite websites posted an article on the author, Lucy Maud Montgomery (linked below). Her story is fascinating and at some point while reading this article I remembered, "oh that's right! I was reading Anne of Green Gables a year ago!" So I searched for the book on our bookshelves, figured out where I left off and have been on a vacation to Prince Edward Island ever since.

I know I'm prone to overstate my opinions. I speak in a lot of "bests" and "greatests" and "favorites." But I'm pretty sure this is my favorite book ever. The whole thing amused me, every character is lovable, the writing is beautiful and I felt grateful for having a great book to pick up. I'm not sure I had ever read it before. I know I've seen the movies on pbs during their telethons, and I loved the movies. But the book took me to Avonlea and I loved every minute I was away.

So if you're looking for a few more moments of summer vacation, even while school is starting back up, go get this one at your library. You'll love it. I now have a goal to read all of Montgomery's books this year. What an awesome year it is going to be!

And to get you excited, go read this post about Lucy Maud Montgomery at the Rabbit Room (it will link to part two in the post).