mount carmel 2013

A week ago we left for Family Bible Camp up at Mount Carmel in Alexandria, Minnesota. It was a precious time surrounded by both of my families: the Groves and the Harringtons. 

Sara and Troy gave a fantastic concert on Wednesday night and at one point Sara sang these words:

It sort of knocked the wind out of me because in that moment I was living out those lyrics. Of course, we weren't all there (we were missing Kyle and Lisa's and Mat and Stephanie's) but my kids had both sets of their grandparents at Bible camp with them. An awesome moment for me. I grew up with both sets of my grandparents at Mount Carmel and here were my kids, one generation later, living in the same richness of family and faith and Jesus and his goodness.

Somewhere I have a picture of me with my four grandparents at Mount Carmel. I am eager to get these pictures in a side by side frame.

The mini week was good. It was so good to be together. And Sara and Troy's teaching was deep and meaty and gave me so much to think about. The summer staff was awesome and alive and the weather was perfect for playing in the lake. A blessed time for sure, and an awesome moment in my life.

(You can listen to the whole song, Every Minute, by clicking here.) 

Dear Elsie: one year old

Elsie. You are joy to me. You are delightful and strong-willed and beautiful. You are funny and attached and adorable in a bow. You are my sweet baby girl and you just turned one.

We got to celebrate your birthday up at Mount Carmel with a whole lot of both sides of the families gathered to celebrate the big day. You slept through lunch, but we got you up for cake.

You are sort of a new girl to me lately. Always looking to catch my eye. Ready to flash me your teeth with a big smile. You love music and dancing. If I start to sing, you immediately begins to bob. You let us know when you don't like a new food. I liken it to a slow moving conveyor belt in reverse. The food just slowly starts moving back out of your mouth via your tongue. It's entertaining to me every time.

Today you pieced your first two words together. We were finishing lunch after church and I told you that it was time for a nap. As I picked you up, you waved to your dad and said, "Na Na, Ada." Which obviously translates to "night, night, Da da."

You love playing in the water: at the ocean, in lake carlos and at bath time. You also seem to really like your bedtime routine, locking eyes with me as you drink your bottle, lifting your little foot up to my chin and giggling when I try to kiss it.  As soon as you have burped you try to crawl out of my arms into your crib. You love your sleep and rarely put up a fight anymore.

You are so well loved.  Happy Birthday sweet girl.

GFR: Beach Day

This was a great day too. It was Elsie's first trip to the ocean and she loved it. I had both kids dressed in their Hawaii outfits and the cousins who surf on this beach regularly pointed out that my kids looked quite touristy. That made me laugh. I suppose the john deere hat didn't help any either.

We played hard. And perhaps the hardest working was Sara, who made five Sand Cars for Riley, Ruby, Ivar, Elsie and Toby.

These Sand Cars were awesome. And my kids sat in them forever. Ivar hardly left his once it was finished. And Elsie sat in hers, playing with the sand for almost a half an hour. Unheard of!

GFR: Disneyland

Disneyland is magic. Even at 32. I felt it. I felt it the second we got off our bus and were greeted with the Indiana Jones theme song. And then as we entered the park the music switched to the music from Up. And I was so happy.

I had really low expectations for a day at Disney with a one and two year old. It seemed like it might be a disaster waiting to happen. But it was pure joy. The kids did great, we paced ourselves well and checked in with each other regularly, "how are you doing? do we need to stop for a snack?"

A favorite moment is from that top picture. We walked up the little hill into Toon Town and Rory said, "look at how high that back drop goes." And for just a moment he really thought that blue sky was a part of the set. But no, that blue sky was just the perfect California day we were living in.

We took our time, unlike that guy running next to me. He must have forgotten his family at the entrance or something.

Before we left I read all sorts of blogs with advice on "how to do Disney with a toddler." One of them even added, "and heaven help you if you have a baby too." But it was perfect. Fantasyland has a lot of kiddy rides and Ivar was loving it. Elsie too. There is just so much to look at.

Plus, I can't really do fast rides ever since my episode of Vertigo. Even jumping on a trampoline made me horribly ill a few weeks ago, so Space Mountain wasn't even an option. Casey Junior is more my speed.

We met up with the whole family for It's a Small World, the definite highlight of our day. And then we went on Peter Pan with everyone.

Rory and I left for lunch and slowly our children began to fade away. They took turns napping, so that rides weren't an option. So we walked all over the park, people watching.

At 3:30 we could see our day was coming to an end. Both kids had hit their wall. Not bad for having been in the park by 8:15. So we went back to the hotel for naps. Below is Ivar sound asleep in a gift shop.

And thanks to Mimi and Papa, once the kids were down for the night, Rory and I got to go back to the park until midnight. We went on Star Tours, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted House and Jungle Tours. Oh, and the Tiki Room. And got to see the fireworks and fantasmic. That Walt had a good idea when he was dreaming up Disneyland.

GFR: Paddle Boards and Peaches

This was my favorite day of the reunion. Tom and Sandy graciously opened up their stunning home to us and rented paddle boards, kayaks and a boat for a day of play. The day was really laid back and perfect for good conversation with lots of family.

One of the greatest joys of a family reunion is watching others delight in your own kids. I got to see this again and again, as different people offered to watch them so that Rory and I could play a bit. It meant so much to me!

At one point, just as we were arriving, there were eight of us out on the deck eating peaches. These peaches were perfect, and super juicy. Conversations were had asking each other if this was the best peach of your life. And as we began to catch up, we each slurped our drippy peach...trying to act casual about it. We'd say things like, "so you're moving soon..." while trying to hide our slurpy sounds, quickly getting the napkin to our chins. It was a funny moment that felt similar to ordering ribs on a first date. A little awkward, but totally worth it.

(I know that's a random story. But it's a funny memory I wanted to write down...)

See what I mean about other family delighting in my kids?!!

And here are some of the ladies. It's such a great group of people. I just feel so grateful and blessed to have married into such an exceptional family.