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.

a quick hello

It's not like me to have such a gap between blog posts. But this has been an unusual week. On Monday I found out about a writing fellowship and decided to apply. The application took all day and I got it in by midnight. Yesterday I made a meal that we brought to a friend's house for dinner. Today we've been to ECFE, McDonalds (hence the ketchup on the face) and at the moment I am most excited for a nap, so this will be a quick little drop in.

Because I did want to share the conversation Ivar and I had on the way to ECFE today.

Ivar: Mom! Look out your window! Do you see Baby Jesus is gone! It's just the stable left. (a house we pass on our way into town has had a nativity set up all season)

Becca: Oh right. That's because Mary and Joseph took Baby Jesus to Egypt where he'd be safe. An angel warned Joseph in a dream so that's where they went.

Ivar: No. Mom, those were just decorations. So they're probably in a box in the garage.

sister daughter

If I ever call Elsie my baby she will protest, "I'm not a baby! I'm a sister daughter!"

Today we were playing house and they were assigning roles. Ivar was the daddy, Elsie was the mama and I said I'd be the baby. But Elsie corrected me again, "No. You be the sister daughter."

the best ice breaker questions

As a part of Women's Bible Study this semester, I was put in charge of coming up with a weekly ice breaker question. I just spent entirely too much time reading through other people's lists and came up with my personal favorite get-to-know-you questions. The first question is original. I'll be sure to answer that question some day on the blog...

• Have you ever ordered anything off of tv? Was it as good as they said it would be? 
• What interest haven't you pursued but have always wanted to and what draws you to it?
• What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten? Best thing you've ever eaten?
• If you could choose one day to live again, what day would you choose?
• What is your favorite thing to do in the summer? In the winter?
• If you had a time machine that could travel to anytime in world history (the past) what time period and where would you visit? (And then after Jesus' living years, where would you go?)
• If you could hop a plane and go anywhere in the world with anyone, where would you go?
• What is a gift you will never forget receiving?
• Would you rather go without television or fast food for the rest of your life?
• If you had this week over again, what would you do differently?
• What book, movie or tv show have you seen/read recently that you would recommend? 
• What was your first job? What is the best job you've ever had? The worst?
• Do you have any pet peeves?
• Who, from your childhood, were the people who most greatly shaped who you grew up to become?

And if you're looking for one incredible resource for group mixers, check out this link.

how to make a friend

I spent four days this weekend in Mesa with my sister and my folks. Annika and I left our kids and husbands behind and hopped on an airplane with good books, hopeful for naps and sunshine. And we got a lot of both.

I came home late last night and this morning Rory had really important phone calls that required a quiet house from 9:30-12:30. So we went to the John Deere store, our favorite burger place and the library.

When we got to the burger place I put in our order and then we waited at our table. It's sort of a diner feel restaurant and we are regulars. I needed to use the restroom and was trying to get my kids to leave their chocolate milk to join me in the bathroom so I could go. But they were hard sells and eventually the woman who took our order walked by, heard my plea to my kids and told me she'd be happy to watch them.

When I came back they had discovered their shared love of John Deere tractors. Ivar told me excitedly that she has two boxes of tractors at her house that her big boys used to play with. When she walked away he asked me when we could have a play date at her house.

She brought our food and we asked her name. She said it was Laurie. And Ivar asked if he could play with her tractors and she laughed politely.

After she walked away I explained to the kids, "That is how you make a friend. You start talking and find something in common. Then you learn their name and remember it so that the next time you see them you can say hi. And then you are friends."

As I said it I was struck with how simple this formula is. And then I realized that I had just made a new friend named Laurie, and left motivated to try to learn one new name each day. Especially the names of the people I see often, like the workers at the stores I frequent or really, any place in my small town.

The world would be a whole lot more inviting if everyone shared this daily goal, wouldn't it? I thought it was a nice thought, and I'm going to give it a go.