"firewood!" with Alden

Recently while at the zoo Alden called every mammal "a kitty!" and everything else "a birdy!" When we got to the taper, I asked him what that was, while looking at the large black and grey ant-eater type animal in front of us. He looked a long time and then said, "Firewood! Firewood!" And began running back and forth along the glass divide, positively thrilled by all of the fallen, dead trees in the taper exhibit. I'm not even sure he saw the animal.

It was so funny to me because this boy LOVES firewood. Just like Ivar loved "balls!" Alden's passion is firewood! Each morning of the winter he helped Rory build the fire and proudly helped bring logs to Rory. He even points out fallen trees while driving, "Firewood!"

It is nice he has this passion as we have many piles of firewood all over our property and even more trees that still need to be chopped up after the storm in September.

Alden is 21 months and is happiness around here, as well as a lot of work. He spends his every waking moment moving items from room to room. Alden begins his waking day yelling, "Ellllsie! Elllsie!!! I awake! Elllsie! Elllsie!" And then Elsie will get out of her bed and help him get out of his crib. He and Elsie are very close. One time the rest of us were at a playdate but he was left home napping while Rory was at home working. Rory said when he woke up he got him out of his crib and then Alden proceeded to cry for Elsie nonstop until we came back home. He did not appreciate being left out.

Ivar has his own special nick name calling him Oden and telling him to "grow up quickly, Oden, so I can take you to my new tree fort." Alden also adores his dad and if he ever sees Rory's truck pull up he will yell continually, "Daddy, Hooome! Daddy Hooome!" and wait in the kitchen right by the door to the garage, not taking his eyes off of the door, patiently waiting for Rory to walk in.

This boy is a joy. He is always a little dirty, loves to snuggle and be held close, thrilled by tractors and trucks and wants to be "outside!" all day long. We have a fun spring and summer and fall ahead of us!

Ivar's Lego Land

Last summer Ivar and Rory were walking around the woods and Rory asked Ivar what his dreams were for the farm. Ivar thought for a while and after some time said, "You know, I'd really like my own space."

And then we moved him into a room with his three siblings. Ha! Just kidding. First we let him move all of his legos out to the cabin for his own private retreat. He loved it, but often commented that he felt a little lonesome out there. You know, in his own space.

So this winter Rory cleared the work bench in the 1890's limestone-walled basement, installed some new drop lights, built some shelves, rolled out a piece of scrap carpet and surprised him with his own space, in the house. Ivar was thrilled and has spent long afternoons working on legos, stop motion or art projects in his own personal Lego Land.

And he can't be too lonesome with big cousins Kirby and Toby smiling at him while he works...

So I've got a good story.

Last night Ivar came up to me, "Mom, I had no idea one of those lego books I got from the library was by Sean Kenny. If I had known that I wouldn't have gotten it. I always feel so jealous when I see how many legos he has."

"Oh Ivar, I know that feeling. And I'm so glad you can put words to it. That shows you have wisdom. It feels bad to feel jealous. Did you know I used to look at pictures and read stories about a girl who had goats and chickens and zinnias. And when I saw her pictures I always felt super jealous."

"But Mom! We have goats and chickens and zinnias!"

"I know it. That's how crazy jealousy can be. You literally forget what you have and wish for what another has. It's crazy. And I think Satan likes us to feel that because it means he has stolen our contentment. And it literally blinds us from the things we do have, that we should be grateful for!"

"I don't feel like this with every Lego Book. It's just that Sean Kenny has bins and bins of every color and shape and they pay him to build with Legos everyday! But some books I feel fine reading."

"Well that's what is so weird about watching another person. There are other writers and picture takers that I follow that leave me feeling inspired and motivated instead of jealous. And I'm not totally sure why that is. But the moment I realize that I feel sad about what I have or don't have because of someone else's pictures, I stop looking their way. I had to stop reading the blog of the girl with goats, chickens and zinnias so I could enjoy my own goats, chickens and zinnias again."

Isn't jealousy a sneaky thing? Hearing it articulated by an 8-year-old felt so profound to me.

And you can stop following this blog if his Lego Land makes you feel jealous. :)

four kids in one room

At some point during this long winter we decided to get all of the kids in one room, preparing the nursery for the baby due in August. We obviously made this change a lot earlier than we needed to, but when we brought it up the girls got so excited about sharing a bed that we decided to give it a go. And that left an empty crib in their bedroom that Alden could easily switch into.

So now they all share one room. And they LOVE it. Rory calls it summer camp.  Alden goes to sleep immediately, Elsie and Hattie snuggle up together and sometimes read books with flashlights and Ivar keeps an eye on it all, perched on the top bunk, often reading late into the night. 

And it is going really well. They've all been together for five or six weeks now, and with hardly an incident. The sisters have had to learn how to sleep with another in the bed and not thrash around, but that has settled down with time. Honestly, I think they're really fortunate to share this season altogether. I think it's really fun. 

farm camp creative projects

I have been working on all sorts of fun ideas for Farm Camp. This is a personal favorite: the rope rainbow. I have seen these all over online, and I love how each one turns out so different and unique.

Planning for Farm Camp has been so exciting. I am beginning to see how each day will feel, and how it will all come together. Our week this summer is going to be so much fun.. the crafts, the teachings, the meals, and the farm projects are all really varied and creative. This is the camp I would have LOVED when I was in high school.

We will be making these rope rainbows on day three, the day we focus on how we are God's handiwork, created in Christ to do good works. We will spend time discussing how we all have creation within us, made with a purpose by a loving and thoughtful God, and how we might share our unique loves and passions with the world.

This little rainbow is a hopeful sign to me of all that is to come!

Sunday morning with little ones

This Sunday Alden woke up especially clingy, and even while at home, would not let me set him down. He had his hand in his mouth and I assume it was some sort of teething thing.

But it meant that when we got to church, he also wasn't letting me set him down. Which is fine. Some mornings he will gladly go into the church nursery, and other mornings he makes it very clear by body lunging away from that side of the hall, that he is not going in there. But our church is gracious and usually we can be in the service at least during the singing.

And then there is the cry room that has a feed of the service for moms and dads to watch while their kids play. Lately, that's where Alden and I spend most of our morning.

And it's a funny mind game. Immediately I want to feel sorry for myself (I should say that Rory takes his turn as well, but often he is volunteering in the service as an usher, so he can't really leave as easily) and there is a devious voice that sneaks in and wonders why we made the effort to get to church anyway. Afterall, I could just watch this same service at home, with a sleeping Alden in his crib, instead of sitting on the floor, playing fire trucks, feeding the needy child donut holes and catching every forth sentence.

But I caught myself this past Sunday. I made myself list all of the conversations I had during Fellowship Hour. And some of them were very meaningful to me. And then after service we stayed a long time (we are the folks who tend to close the place down...a genetic trait we both got from our own parents) and I had a few more great conversations.

On the drive home I realized I had two VERY TRUE stories I could have reported to Rory from my morning. The first was the pity party story of sitting in that back room with a fussy Alden, feeling tired and exhausted (likely from the donut holes I was sugar crashing on). The second was the connection I had with so-and-so before church and the life-giving talk I had with so-and-so after church. And I decided in the moment to tell the second story because I would have missed out on those meaningful connections if I had stayed home and watched in my pajamas.

The other story from the morning: After sitting in the cry room for a while I told Alden we could go see Daddy in church if he was very quiet and colored next to me. He said, "Yaasss." That he did want to do that. So we walked back into our spots, sat down and just then our pastor began talking about Peter. And everytime he said "Peter" Alden would yell, "Pizza! Pizza!" I tried to shush him, give him a cracker, distract him, but he was very interested in the sermon now, waiting for Pastor Brent to say the buzz word again. He did, and Alden excitedly yelled, "Pizza!" again, and then I had to take the walk of shame (not really, but you if you are a mom who has already exited the church with a noisy child, and have to do it again...it definitely feels this way!) back through all the church, back into the cry room to play firetrucks with Alden.

And likely if we asked Alden, he would say his favorite part of the morning was playing fire trucks with his mom on the floor.