We live in the most charming town. I have a friend who calls it Stars Hollow. Another who calls it Hallmark Town. It's really adorable and quaint and big enough to feel like there is something to do and somewhere to go, once you get your landmarks down. But every few months I have a little city-bug that creeps in. It's the voice in my head that reminds me how handy it was to live 10 minutes from Ikea, 15 minutes away from great museums, 5 minutes away from glorious city lakes that always had a band or movie playing.
That little city-bug tries to eat at my joy for living out in the country. And now, three years in, I know exactly what to do when she surfaces. And the remedy is actually the opposite of what I once thought. I don't go towards the city. In fact, I have learned that often that will lead to a disastrous outing...that the goal for going to the city will be thwarted by the long drive...which was the thing that made it handy to live in the city in the first place.
So I drive the other direction. Anywhere out into the country to find places and destinations I have never been. This makes for some marvelous adventures and in the end is the best way to combat the city-bug: to go find the charm of the country.
Friday the city-bug bit me hard. So I loaded up the kids, googled a nature preserve one town over that I have heard lots about and we left for an adventure. We played in the nature center for an hour, making up puppet shows, watching humming birds out the window, looking at all of the living and stuffed animals in the museum area. Then we found a new park with a huge slide and ended by visiting the town's library. I came home feeling excited with plans to return to the nature center to snowshoe in the winter and to frequent the new-to-me, but very old and charming library.
We continued our country exploration on Saturday, driving to Zumbrota to visit The Covered Bridge Park. It boasts the very last covered bridge in Minnesota and even better, it has an incredible playground that looks like a castle. It seems to be divided into age appropriate areas, so my kids stuck mostly to one section and older kids were on the other far end. The park is covered in huge trees so there is SHADE! People of the world, playgrounds are hardly ever shaded. For some reason when people plan parks they find the sunniest, tree-less space and plop their playground right in the middle. But shade is so, so welcome on hot summer days. We went out for ice cream and then visited a campground we have heard a lot about and always wanted to check out.
The benefit of the city-bug biting is that I now have four new area destinations to venture to when I'm feeling far away from the action. Some of them do require a bit of driving, but the beauty of the country is that there is never any traffic, the drive is beautiful (stunning lately) and I do like to throw in ice cream to break up a longer drive. That's a win-win-win.
31 weeks pregnant and growing
When we first told Ivar we were pregnant, you may remember, I explained the timing by telling him that the baby would come right about the time the combines began to work in the field. At the time (February) there was still snow on the ground, snow that needed to be melted, fields that needed to dry out, seeds that needed to planted and a few hot months to grow that corn healthy and tall. It seemed very far away, but time flies, and here we are with corn taller than my head. The only thing left is for the corn to turn yellow and then for the combines to come. (And actually, this baby will come before the combines harvest the corn, but we're just going to go with it, since the timeline has been so helpful this long...)
I am overwhelmingly grateful. I have a very active baby inside of me, with flips and tricks unending. At night I can watch my belly roll all around with knees and elbows and a bottom somersaulting in my womb. I don't even have to touch it to feel it, I can see the belly waves through my clothes. It is a joy, and sometimes I need to tell my baby to please tuck its elbow or knee back in, because I feel like I have an internal bruise near my belly button from something jabbing me so hard on the inside. Much of this week I have walked around gently pressing that part of my belly, trying to get that little extremity to stop hurting me.
It's also good that I am grateful to be pregnant, because I have had more hilarious comments this time around than I could ever imagine. I am bigger with this pregnancy than the other two, and people seem to have noticed (pictures posted here are flattering. It's my blog, I can crop how I want to!). A woman in a bathroom asked when I was due and when I said "end of September" her eyes got wide and she said, "Oh I thought you were due any day!" Someone else recently told me, "Based on your size, I bet you'll be early. Really early." And then there are the "you sure it's not twins?!!"
So far these comments have just made me more amused than hurt. Amused that people still think it's okay to say these things. And I do not let these words sink in very far because the truth is right within me: I have a life growing inside of me. It is a gift. And I won't pout or fret or wish this weight away, because I am carrying a life in my womb.
The very, very best part is that the joy and excitement and love I have for this baby is as strong as the anticipation and eager expectancy that I had with Ivar and Elsie. Sometimes I just smile because I am so happy to have another baby on the way. This baby is wanted, the extra pounds will be worked off eventually, and more than anything I am grateful to be undoubtedly inhabited once again.
I really like instagram...
I've realized lately that my "quick post blogging" has really taken a hit now that I've gotten so excited about Instagram. It's just so quick and fast to post a picture with the little story that goes with the shot. It's convenient too, right on my phone. And I love capturing my day in one or two pictures.
I know a lot of you reading don't have instagram or want an account, and I totally get that. But if you're ever wondering where I've gone and why it's been a while between posts, you can usually find me pretty consistently over on Instagram. If you look on the right column of my blog there is a section that says "Subscribe" and under that are lots of circles with different icons. If you click on the blue circle with the blue camera, it will take you directly to my instagram page. And there you will find all sorts of quick pictures with quick stories.
If you click on a specific picture, it will pop up in a bigger size with the text I wrote to go along with that picture. And then there is a little arrow on the side to help you click through to the next picture.
Just thought I'd throw this out there. There are a few readers in particular that I think might enjoy these day-to-day shots of our family and farm and I wanted to pass these instructions along to you. Enjoy!
purple and pink and princesses: elsie turns 3!
We celebrated in style, capitalizing on Elsie's favorite colors. Recently I went through her clothes and sorted out anything that was not purple and pink. Because those clothes simply never get picked. She knows what she likes and I'm rolling with it. We made princess crowns and I made this Sophia the First cake, which ended up a bit more hilarious than awesome, but Elsie was mesmerized by it and that it all that matters.
We had both families here for a summer picnic and enjoyed a stunning Sunday night in the country. Some saw the barn for the first time, some played kickball, some wrestled with kittens, some prepped food and some cleaned it all up. Elsie is one blessed girl to be surrounded by so much family love!
(You can read Elsie's birth story here, and about when she turned one and then when she turned two.)
family camp at mount carmel ministries
You know what hit me the most this year? (And I felt this way at Lake Geneva too...) Family camp is so awesome for young moms. Because the meals are all made for you. You don't need to bring groceries or stop playing at the beach early to go and prep dinner. You can stay in your swimsuit right up until the bell rings and when you head up to the dining hall food will magically appear in front of you and your family. Another reason camp is awesome is because there is childcare. Our mornings and evening worship are spent with our age groups. Which means that for two, sometimes three hours my kids get to play with toys and counselors, while I get to enjoy a little time without them. Family camp actually provides little "vacations" away from your own kids. And it also provides really special memories of together time too. It's the best of both.
And then there is the whole grandparent thing. Not everyone brings extended family with them to camp (most families come without relations) but if you do, you are able to call your mom at 8am in the dining hall to see if she'll come and sit in your cabin to wait for your kids to wake, while you go and eat breakfast with your cousins.
We had a great time this year, as always. We went with my folks, my sister and her girls and then my Aunt Louie and her girls (Sarah and Kathy) and their families. 10 kids, 11 adults. And it was a blast. If you have any interest in coming some year, let me know. I'd be happy to tell you all about it. I think these pictures sort of paint a picture as to why I love it so much.
I've written a whole lot about Mount Carmel over the years, and even created this sweet video made up of pictures from my own childhood growing up at camp. Grandma B used to call it, "a little bit of heaven on earth" and I'd have to agree.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)