a happy mother's day

I've got to admit I don't always love Mother's Day. It's sort of like my problem with adult birthdays: a whole lot of expectations...and that never really works out well in the end. So this year I made a special decision to just go with the flow (let go of the expectations!) and relax and enjoy my kids. Which is probably what the day was supposed to be in the first place, but you know how social media has hijacked our happiness based on what the Jones' are up to...

And in the end, our day was magical simply because I was so relaxed and enjoyed the glorious day. My folks came for a picnic lunch with fried chicken and strawberry shortcake and I got out the new kite I recently bought. We hung out with the goats, tried out the new swing, ate ice cream cones, picked lilacs and tulips and ended with a hike through StairStep Forrest. And later, Rory and I ate Ben and Jerry's in bed while watching Waiting for Guffman. That was the perfect ending to a lovely day. 

Rainbow bird was a tricky bird to fly. We did a little repair on the string, but I think a windier day would have been helpful. But it wasn't for a lack of effort! I was about to give up for the day, but my folks wouldn't have it. So they tried to launch the kite for a while and watching my mom throw the kite in the air and my dad running through our lawn was awesome.

The day left me feeling so grateful for my family, and so blessed by my parents and the way they love me and my family. And happy that I get to experience the same love for my kids that my mom has for me.

I'll save the pics from StairStep Forrest for tomorrow...it's such an enchanted place!

we got goats!

Wednesday we loaded up the family and drove two miles away and came home with two adorable goats. The woman who sold them to us was awesome. She's a high school math teacher by day and a farmer by night, grew up in the suburbs of Georgia, married a Minnesota farmer and has figured it out ever since. She was so supportive, so encouraging and loved her animals so much. We made another friend and I'm so grateful.

We got a mama goat and her baby, a female. My sister-in-law Lisa thought we should name them Lilac and Tulip because those flowers are in full bloom on our farm this week, and I loved that idea and calling them Lila and Tulla. But Rory couldn't remember those names and kept saying, "what did you name them? Lyza and Minnelli? Flora and Fauna?" Rory makes me laugh.

Ivar didn't like Lila and Tulla either, so he decided the little white goat should be called Precious. And Rory is still coming up with the Mama's name.

Animals are so fun. We went to bed last night and Rory commented that it just feels so good to have some animals in that barn. And Ivar has been by Rory's side the entire time. Early this morning Ivar asked, "Dad, am I your first farm hand?" And Ivar found a place in the electric fence that needed to be looked at because the baby could burrow under the wire. Everyone was quite proud of Ivar for spotting the weak part of the fence!

Today the boys are mending the wire fence that runs around our property from the previous owners. That way if a goat escapes the electric fence, we'll have a second fence to catch them. Worst case scenario would be an escaped goat! A double fence feels like a good precaution.

They are very sweet in temperament so far, more scared than aggressive. So we've spent lots of time sitting by their pen, talking nicely, hand feeding them their hay and cracked corn. It's a real life petting zoo, right here in our barn and it's really, really fun.

a sweet memory

On Sunday I sat in our church service with all three kids. Rory was out for most of the service talking with a friend, so I held Elsie on my hip and Ivar stood on the chair next to me wanting me to hold his hand. Then he went to kids church but Elsie decided to stay. I took Hattie out of her car seat and before I could put her on my lap, Elsie had climbed on my lap so that I had both girls on me, Elsie proudly "holding" Hattie. We stayed seated and sang songs and clapped our hands and I felt blissfully happy.

Then the Lord brought a sweet memory to my mind. When I was little I lived for Sunday mornings so that I could go to church to see all of my favorite babies and toddlers. I had some serious favorites: Christine, Jonathan, Sarah and Joel, and topping the list was Naomi. Those last three were the kids in the other pastor's family and I love, love, loved them. Naomi in particular was basically my best friend from her birth until age five or so when they moved away. And I must have been nine or ten when she was born. (Her mom was also my piano teacher, and Naomi was my greatest reason for sticking it out during those years.)

Anyway, God reminded me of this season of life and how every Sunday I would watch the mom's with little babies all throughout the church service. I even followed a mom I didn't know very well out of the service once, when her baby was crying, and offered to hold it for her! She declined, but I was so earnest. I remember dreaming about having my own baby or even just that my brother or sister would have one that I could hold during the service. I just wanted a baby in my hands.

So this past Sunday, while I sat in church with my own redhead on my lap, with my baby stacked on top, my heart completely burst open. I felt so grateful and happy. And  I worshiped the Lord with so much gladness.

There is no season I can imagine that is more fulfilled than this one. I am tired. My patience is tried each day. But this joy and gladness for these little lives in my care cannot be topped. I have waited for this season for a long, long time and I am so glad it is here.

kindergarten boosters

Our new ecfe classroom has this pool of balls. Ivar got in it and I had to take a picture because this was his favorite place when he was a baby at ecfe. Remember these pictures?

Yesterday we took Hattie in for her six month shots. While we were there we started talking about Ivar's kindergarten booster shots and decided on the spot to get them over with. You can imagine how surprised Ivar was at this turn of events. He thought he was just going along to play with the toys in the lobby.

He was very brave and got two shots that hurt quite a bit. He cried until the doctor said, "you won't need another shot for another eight years." I said, "Ivar! You haven't even been alive for eight years!" And then he stopped crying and his whole face turned into a giant smile at this very good news.

I told him about when I got my kindergarten booster shots. I don't remember getting the actual shots, but I know I got one in each leg, because when we got home I made my best friend and next door neighbor, Jennifer, push me around in the stroller all night. I remember this vividly...that she pushed me in circles around our garage and I pretended I needed to pick something up and put it in another part of the garage.

I think I was pretty bossy to Jennifer, but I also know that I could make her laugh really hard with funny jokes and barbie story lines (our favorite was when Barbie's hair caught on fire at her beach party because her hair was so full of hairspray and she got too close to the grill with the hot dogs. She would go berzerk with her head on fire, running around to all the beach party goers, her head aflame, asking if anyone had butter to put on her head. Then she stuck her head in the butter to help with her obvious burns and everyone would be grossed out because her head had been in the butter at her beach party.) Jennifer liked to laugh and I liked to make her laugh. We laughed a lot.

Anyway, that was a funny story to tell Ivar after he got his booster shots and made me laugh again as I retold each part. And it was good to have a funny thing to think about because he woke up in the middle of the night with a fever from the shots and then got sick up in his top bunk so that I had quite the mess to clean up. That was when I got really glad it will be another eight years before he needs his next shots...

more grovesisms

+On Monday morning the kids asked for the plan for the day. I told them, "I want to make your room fun again! How can we have any fun in this room when it looks like this?" And somehow the kids bought into this idea of making their room fun again...

+When Elsie comes inside after playing in her crocs and tights she'll say, "Ah! My tights are socking wet!"

+Ivar and Elsie have this series of moves on the back of the couch that they like to do. They lay on their backs and slide down the couch until there legs flop to the side. They laugh and laugh and call it their "Okie Pokie Exercises."

+Anytime a shirt needs to be put right I'll hear, "Mom! Get this outside out!"

+I hear the kids talk about "Far Town" all the time. From what I could piece together, it is a place at Mimi and Papa's. So at Easter I asked them to show me Far Town and they led me to a teeny part of the basement that has become a magical place for them. I still don't quite understand what happens in Far Town, but I believe they have found their own Narnia. I love that so much.

+In this house we call the fly swatter the fly swiper. And when a paper is wadded up it is crampled.

+We have been bird watching again this spring. We had hundreds of Junco's in our trees for a few days. Before I knew what they were called I told the kids we should come up with a name like Adam got to name the animals. They are dark grey with a white underside. Ivar came up with Night and Elsie came up with Moon for the undersides so we call them Night Moons. Isn't that poetic?!! Way better than the Junco.

+The kids begged to eat their lunch on this little part of the counter. They loved it and it made for a very special and silly lunch.