memorial day

Rory and I just watched a documentary on PBS called Hell and Back Again. It was powerful and sobering and the sort of reminder I think we all need to remember the true gift we are given from a military who protects and defends and serves our country. To those of you who have served, and to those of you who pray with might for someone you love who serves on our behalf, thank you.

After the program, I wrote an email to my cousin Diane whose son-in-law is a Marine and has served our country on multiple missions in some terrifying situations. This is what I wrote:

Diane,

Rory and I were just watching a documentary of Marines in Afghanistan and it made me want to drop you a line to pass along to Steve. I watched this program and thought about all the things that he has seen that he wishes he never had seen. And all of the things he has felt that he wishes he never had to feel. All the sounds he has heard, the emotions he has experienced and terrifying moments he has lived through that he wishes he hadn't heard, felt or witnessed.

So on this memorial day, just wanted to say a huge thank you to Steve. And to Libby too, for sharing her husband and her little girls' daddy with the rest of the country. It is overwhelming to me and impossible to say the perfect right thing. But I'm grateful. That's what I want him to know.

Becca

Ivar's swing/ thoughts on 18 months

I adore 18 months. Ivar now uses enough words that I can usually figure out what he needs, and this is fantastic. I recently heard him yelling from the bathroom, "Helpee! Helpee!" which is his combination of Help and Please. I ran to the bathroom to find his hands on the bottom of the tub and his feet extended over the ledge. He had been bending to try to get a ball and was stuck in a pike position with legs in the air. Thankfully there was no water in the tub, but more than that I was glad he had a word that could get me to his aid so quickly.

He will do anything for a laugh, and is often making himself laugh. Yesterday I heard him back in his room, all by himself, cracking himself up. No idea why. And now we have this swing, which is basically a giggle machine.

He also can entertain himself for longer stretches of time. I can't always count on this, but sometimes he will play in his room for lengths so long that I have to go and see what he's up to. Sometimes he's balancing on a box looking out his window and yelling, "hi!" to our neighbors in their backyard. Sometimes he's reading books in his glider rocker. Sometimes he is manhandling the cat. It's so fun to watch him grown and learn.

the machinery trader

While at the farm, we told Uncle Jake of Ivar's love of tractors and trucks and big heavy equipment. Uncle Jake walked into the next room and came back with a special gift for Ivar: The Machinery Trader. It's a newspaper filled with pages and pages of tractors, cranes, diggers, loaders and semi trucks that are for sale. Ivar cannot get enough. He will go page by page for a good long time. And when he needs redirecting all I have to say is, "where is your newspaper? why don't you go and look at your newspaper for a while." And he'll pull it out and begin his sound effects to accompany each page.

uncle jake, he had a farm EIEIO

We went on a little weekend adventure on Friday. Had to go see the baby moo's and baby meow's. And the buzz-lips-like-an-engine tractors. It was a great trip. We all got to ride in the tractor with Uncle Jake, Ivar and his second cousins Ida and Stella became quick playfriends, Aunt Louie made me my alltime favorite spaghetti and cheese sauce, and Ivar let us know when it was time to visit the cows again by standing at the front door with his shoes in his hands yelling, "moo!"

The coolest thing at this farm right now are the farmers. Uncle Jake is now farming with his daughter Sarah. Sarah is my elder cousin by three months and is working to take over the whole operation one day. She's tough as nails, mother, wife and 31-year-old female farmer. I mean, for real. I just think this is so cool. I'm so proud of her.

On Friday night we were up talking and Uncle Jake came and gave Sarah instructions for the morning. She is driving this tractor lately, over the planted fields, pushing down the large rocks with those heavy rollers. Uncle Jake told her she had 1 1/2 inch clearance on either side...if she got the wheels of course at all she would rip up the newly planted beans with the tractor tires.

It made me think about how sometimes I hit that buzz strip with my ford focus on a large highway, and how Sarah only had 1 1/2 inches of grace with this huge tractor! It also made me feel badly that we had stayed up so late when I saw her in the field the next morning. No dozing on a tractor.

We went to a farm auction on Saturday morning. That was a whole new experience for me. We left for naptime, but they actually auctioned the entire farm at the end. It was an old farmer's place, now dealing with memory loss. Cool to see the community show up and so fun to take in the banter of an auctioneer.

 And then, perhaps the highlight for one person in attendance: we shot guns.

Even the 8 month pregnant mama shot a round. This gun hit my shoulder hard...I wasn't a huge fan. But my husband was a huge fan of watching his round belly wife fire a weapon. Which made it all worth it.

good reading

Sometimes blogging is tricky because you're just not sure what to say. This week Ivar and I have been taking lots of walks and spending lots of time with his new swing in the backyard that is tied to the lowest branch of our biggest tree. That's really all I have to report on.

But other people seem to be saying good stuff this week...and I thought I'd pass a few favorites from this week your way.

Jamie threw an amazing Watermelon party for her son's third birthday. I have already informed her that I may very well copy this one in the near 3-5 year future.

Sara was interviewed on some radio station and packs a good conversation in a short amount of time. The announcer guy is the quintessential radio personality. It's sort of a riot.

Flo wrote beautifully about her own mom.This blog is quickly becoming a new favorite. (and she goes to my church!)

Sara wrote a post on editing that makes me so happy to love words too.

Meta wrote an awesome piece about her favorite night of the week.

Enjoy! Happy Weekend!