maddie is engaged!

You might remember one year ago when we celebrated our niece Maddie's 21st birthday. It was such a fun night and that evening she told everyone of her plans to travel to Sweden later that month and then to tour in the summer with a ministry team leading worship around the country. Little did we know then that on that tour bus she would catch the eye of the sound guy. They started dating and this year to celebrate her 22nd birthday, she got an engagement ring.

We've all known this is coming for a long time. Chase and Maddie met and I was ready for the announcement two months later. Every holiday I wondered, every time we gathered as a whole family I imagined the news being shared. The Groves family loves Chase and we have been happy for Maddie from the start. So it should have been absolutely no surprise when we got the text from Kyle, Rory's oldest brother, that Chase had popped the question.

And yet it totally surprised me. We were eating dinner and Rory read the text. I laughed so happily and we explained to the kids what it all meant. We told Elsie that Maddie was going to marry Chase and she told us flatly, "I already knew that." We laughed as we imagined Chase having cleared the whole thing with Elsie before he popped the question.

I got all slaphappy and told Rory I was going to drive to Kyle and Lisa's and crash the engagement party, that was disguised as a surprise 22nd birthday party, thrown by all of her college friends. Rory joked that I should bring morel mushrooms and frozen rhubarb (the projects I had been working all day) as my engagement gift. He said, "you can introduce yourself as the cool aunt from the country and ask where you should put the rhubarb and mushrooms." I was laughing so hard I was crying at the thought.

We explained to the kids that one day they would marry someone and Ivar said he wanted to marry daddy. Elsie said she wanted to marry mommy. And we said it had to be someone not in our family, that one day they'd meet someone special and they would join our family, just like Chase is joining Kyle and Lisa's family. And in an instant, my hysterical laughter turned into hysterical crying. Sobbing. Which made me laugh, because I was crying. Really hard. In fact, much of the time I couldn't tell if I was laughing or crying, I had crossed over into some super-emotional land of heightened hormones. I kept laughing and crying and it was so odd. Ivar asked what was the matter and I said to Rory with laughter, "I don't know what's happening right now." He said, "You don't know what is happening?!!"

And then he stood up and told us we needed to put our rain boots on and get outside. That clearly we needed to burn off some energy. I went and got the morel mushrooms from my neighbor and then we went to another neighbor's swing set to play for a while. Rory planted more of the garden between rain showers and eventually we called it a night.

Oh I don't know what all that was last night, but today when I talked to Lisa, Maddie's mom, I got the feeling I was just putting myself in her shoes, amazed at how fast all of this flies by. I cried on the phone with Lisa, and she told me that in 22 years the baby I'm carrying may very well fall in love and get married. Made me laughcry some more...

bulldozers and bobcats

We have some pretty major things happening around these parts lately. Life has not been quiet. It actually has sounded more like a bulldozer tearing down half of our pole shed, burying the foundation of the old barn-shed-thing, and laying the clay and sand pad where the new barn will be built. We were all excited to get pigs this spring but we didn't have a sufficient place to keep them. We talked about goats, but ran into the same problem. It became obvious that the next big project, before any other projects could happen, was to build the barn that would house all future projects.

It's been fun and exciting and it's been stressful and overwhelming. We've poured over the location and design and functions. And I think we're relieved we're not building a home. There are so many decisions to be made...and it's just a barn!

The kids could not be more pleased having a bulldozer and skid-steer and 7 dump trucks dumping sand working hard at their house. Parenting has been pretty easy-peasy these days. Today's entertainment came in the form of a bobcat with a post hole digger. The supplies were delivered by a huge semi truck and today construction really begins. Hooray!

garage sale season

I woke up this morning at 4:30, 5:30 and then again at 6:15 when I could finally get up. Today is our town's garage sale day with lots of churches and organizations holding huge rummage sales, as well as lots of family sales all around town. I woke up giddy as Christmas morning. I threw on my clothes, ate a bowl of cereal and took the truck to the bank to pull out some cash. I even had a birthday check to deposit, so the money I spent was covered by birthday funds...which meant I was "off the hook" for every purchase I made. Perfect for all of the unnecessary items I was about to acquire.

I called my sister at 6:45, since she has to be at her work at 7 and told her my happy morning plans. She helped me figure out my kids' shoe sizes (I never know...) and told me to send pictures of my treasures.

I told Rory I'd be home by 9. A mom without kids can hit a whole lot of garage sales in two hours.

I pulled up to the church I had heard the most rave reviews about and saw a line out front. The doors hadn't opened. Average age in the line was 60. I went and joined my people.

Twenty minutes later I left victorious with a hot dog costume, a lightening mcqueen lunch box, mini mouse ears and a winter coat that will fit Ivar in 2017.

It was 7:20 when I got back in the truck, and I had trouble finding another sale that was open so early in the morning. So I drove myself to get a sausage egg mcmuffin. I walked in and found many older men at McDonalds at 7:30 in the morning, and I happily joined them with my variety section of the newspaper, hashbrowns, oj and mcmuffin.

At 7:45 I got back into the truck and started looking for family sales. In the next hour I visited about 10 houses and found a cute swimsuit and sun hat for Elsie, a little stroller for Elsie's baby dolls, a Lightening McQueen and Mater for Ivar and some pajamas for both kids.

It was the best start to my day. I was having so much fun all by myself. I loved finding the deals, being out and about and alone in the morning and I love that we now own a hot dog costume.

here's your Jesus

Our bedtime routine includes all the usual and ends with each kid picking out a book, one or two stories from their kids Bible and finally bedtime prayers.

Here's the thing: my bedtime prayers have been really terrible. I'm so done with the day that often I say them while tucking them in, praying a litany of thank you's for all that we did that day and then closing their door and walking down the stairs.

Obviously there is no such thing as a bad prayer, but I believe in the power of prayer and always knew I wasn't using that time very well. I wasn't modeling the importance of prayer and I wasn't saying much of impact of influence over their little hearts.

I heard recently of the power of praying a blessing over each child before they go to bed. For a few weeks now I have been trying this and I love it. We finish the three books and then I get Elsie tucked in first, make the sign of the cross on her forehead and then pray with something specific I noticed in Elsie during that day, "Dear Jesus, I thank you that Elsie is such a good listener. Thank you that she listened well to her teachers at ecfe, that she got her crocs on quickly when I ask her to. Lord, I pray that she would learn to listen for your voice, listening for your lead and to do the work you call her to. I pray that you would always speak into her life and that she would have ears to hear. Amen."

Then I go to Ivar and do the same thing. The kids are usually pretty quiet for the other kid, wanting to hear what I'll say. And they lay so still. In some miraculous way, these bedtime blessings have now become a favorite part of my day. This time is now filled with meaning and is precious to everyone in our family.

Rory came down from tucking them in a few nights ago and told me that after her blessing, Elsie was singing loudly and bouncing during Ivar's blessing. So Ivar sat up and told her, "No Elsie! You already had your Jesus!"

The blessings are short, they are specific and they are special to each kid. And the kids love it.

So go give your kids their Jesus.

why I love being a mom

Elsie was supposed to be in nap time/quite play time but clearly had made it into the bathroom where she had mascara time. Impressively, she got quite a bit of mascara on her actual eye lashes. And even more impressively, she is not blind after using so much mascara so closely to her eyes!

The moment was hilarious to me. It felt like I had arrived at a quintessential moment in raising a little girl. She watches me when I put on my makeup and always asks who wears makeup. We talk about how her cousins Ruby, Mara, Sonna and Svea do not wear makeup yet. But that Josie and Maddie do because they are older. She'll ask if Grandpa Paul wears makeup or cousin Jack. And we talk about how makeup is just for girls when they are bigger. She's very interested in all of it.

I maybe should have taken less adorable pictures in this moment and scolded a little harder, because the next day she found my same mascara (I know, I know) and came down just as proud and pleased. So then we put the kibosh on using mom's makeup and mom also put her makeup on a high shelf.

These moments in motherhood are so sweet. They're such an honor. To get to explain how some things we have to wait to do until we're older. To teach and show and direct and explain. I'm really loving this part of the mama gig lately. Ivar and Elsie have these fresh eyes on the world and are full of wonder. Their enthusiasm this spring for dandelions and violets is helping me see these beautiful things with my own fresh eyes.

I have the honor to get to introduce them to the world, but at the same time, they're reintroducing me to the awe and wonders of the world that abound when you're a kiddo.

Sara has a song called I Can't Wait, and I'm just realizing she has already summed up in song what I'm trying to say in words. The chorus says, "And you'll teach me of hearts and dreams, and all the most important things, and all that I have lost along the way. And I can't wait."

Happy Mother's Day Everyone!