Sunday, March 28, 2010
Cereal and Big Boy Cups
Two big accomplishments this Palm Sunday: milk from a "real" cup and cereal from a spoon. Eli was pretty proud of himself, but Luke wasn't too sure rice was such a good idea.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Luke's Baptism
Luke Benjamin Mulder,
for you Jesus Christ came into the world;
for you he died and for you he conquered death;
All this he did for you, little one,
though you know nothing of it as yet.
We love because God first loved us.
We had the joy of celebrating Luke's baptism this past Sunday, March 21, 2010. His little body is growing so quickly it is a good reminder that his spiritual growth has begun also. I've been studying the book of John through BSF this year, and one of my favorite stories has been that of Jesus' encounter with a Smaritan women at a well (John 4:1-42). After this woman has met and come to believe in Jesus, she returns to town and can't help sharing about God's son. As a result, many of the townspeople seek out Jesus and become believers.
"They said to the woman, 'We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world." (John 4:42)
This is our goal as we raise the sons God has blessed us with. Dave and I aim to live our lives in such a way that Eli and Luke will witness God's Spirit at work in our lives. We will tell and teach them of the Lord's mighty works. We will point to Jesus Christ as the center of our lives, our home, and all of history. We do this with the faith that the Holy Spirit will work in the lives of our sons and they will commit to a personal relationship with their Father. They will believe not because of what Dave and I have said, they will hear for themselves and know that this man really is the Savior of the world. What an awesome priveledge and responsibility!
Same smirks 
In the Larry Bird wig. What a goofball! 
Eli finds it so hard to share, but... 
Luke loves this little jumpy play saucer. 
And this is why we put in a fence this past fall. 
Ba! Ba! Ba! If that's not a first word, it sure is getting pretty close. 
Checking out the new play place from Mr. Duane. His grandkids have all outgrown it. Eli was all smiles when we were setting it up in the backyard. 
for you Jesus Christ came into the world;
for you he died and for you he conquered death;
All this he did for you, little one,
though you know nothing of it as yet.
We love because God first loved us.
We had the joy of celebrating Luke's baptism this past Sunday, March 21, 2010. His little body is growing so quickly it is a good reminder that his spiritual growth has begun also. I've been studying the book of John through BSF this year, and one of my favorite stories has been that of Jesus' encounter with a Smaritan women at a well (John 4:1-42). After this woman has met and come to believe in Jesus, she returns to town and can't help sharing about God's son. As a result, many of the townspeople seek out Jesus and become believers.
"They said to the woman, 'We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world." (John 4:42)
This is our goal as we raise the sons God has blessed us with. Dave and I aim to live our lives in such a way that Eli and Luke will witness God's Spirit at work in our lives. We will tell and teach them of the Lord's mighty works. We will point to Jesus Christ as the center of our lives, our home, and all of history. We do this with the faith that the Holy Spirit will work in the lives of our sons and they will commit to a personal relationship with their Father. They will believe not because of what Dave and I have said, they will hear for themselves and know that this man really is the Savior of the world. What an awesome priveledge and responsibility!
Same smirks
In the Larry Bird wig. What a goofball!
Eli finds it so hard to share, but...
Luke loves this little jumpy play saucer.
And this is why we put in a fence this past fall.
Still loves to snuggle up with Momma.
Ba! Ba! Ba! If that's not a first word, it sure is getting pretty close.
Checking out the new play place from Mr. Duane. His grandkids have all outgrown it. Eli was all smiles when we were setting it up in the backyard.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Butterflies and Daffodils
It has been so wonderfully sunny the past few days that yesterday I noticed the daffodils Mom Mulder planted for my birthday last fall have started to sprout! I was so excited that Eli and I held an impromptu parade around the house chanting, "They're coming! They're coming!" (Well--I paraded and chanted and Eli watched his crazy mom with a slightly concerned look.) I tried telling them that winter is sure to come back for a few days at least, but this morning a few more had already peaked their heads through the mulch and melting slush. They're coming!
The start of spring would not be complete without a visit to the Butterfly House at Dow Gardens. Grammy and I took the boys this morning. The butterflies were beautiful and the walk to their greenhouse was just as grand under the bright blue skies.
Do you see the butterfly that took flight just as Eli reached out his finger?
The start of spring would not be complete without a visit to the Butterfly House at Dow Gardens. Grammy and I took the boys this morning. The butterflies were beautiful and the walk to their greenhouse was just as grand under the bright blue skies.
Do you see the butterfly that took flight just as Eli reached out his finger?
Where'd he go?
Monday, March 8, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Spring Cleaning
I know, I know... it isn't quite spring yet and we've still got at least one good Michigan storm coming in the next couple of weeks, but these first two days of March have been so nice and sunny it's felt a little bit like spring is just around the corner. So, in the spirit of spring, we've been doing some cleaning.
Stanley Steamer came to do the carpets last Wednesday. After two years of baby drool and sometimes leaky sippy cups, they needed a little more tlc than than my Oreck could give. It's so nice to have them feeling so fresh and clean. We even got the sofa done. And since all the smaller furniture needed to be moved before they came. . . a little reorganization was in order. For now, all the papers are filed away in the office, all the toys are in a bin, and all the dishes are in the correct cupboard. For now.
As nice as it is to have the house feeling fresh, it's even nicer to know that our Father is working to clean out our hearts as well. We are so blessed and thankful to be in a season and place were God is continually working to make us more like Him. Though we often fall so short, it's exciting to be challenged through the Word to love like Jesus commanded. I don't always know how that looks, and sometimes it's a little messier than I expect, but it's definitely worth it. Our joy is made complete by remaining in Him!
Eli even got in on the cleaning. He "helped" for almost 40 minutes before going to bed tonight!
Stanley Steamer came to do the carpets last Wednesday. After two years of baby drool and sometimes leaky sippy cups, they needed a little more tlc than than my Oreck could give. It's so nice to have them feeling so fresh and clean. We even got the sofa done. And since all the smaller furniture needed to be moved before they came. . . a little reorganization was in order. For now, all the papers are filed away in the office, all the toys are in a bin, and all the dishes are in the correct cupboard. For now.
As nice as it is to have the house feeling fresh, it's even nicer to know that our Father is working to clean out our hearts as well. We are so blessed and thankful to be in a season and place were God is continually working to make us more like Him. Though we often fall so short, it's exciting to be challenged through the Word to love like Jesus commanded. I don't always know how that looks, and sometimes it's a little messier than I expect, but it's definitely worth it. Our joy is made complete by remaining in Him!
Eli even got in on the cleaning. He "helped" for almost 40 minutes before going to bed tonight!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Both of the boys are sleeping right now. It doesn't always work out this way, but it's nice to have a couple of minutes when it does. You know, an opportunity to throw a couple of pictures up on the blog or attack the dishes piled by the sink. I'm certainly jumping from one thing to the next pretty quickly these days. I'm not sure if I should blame the new one or the one-year-old; it's probably the combination of this destructive duo that I'll be loving for the rest of my life. While most of my day is concerned with eating--feeding little Luke, preparing meals, scraping hardened spaghetti off of a high chair, changing diapers, cleaning sippy cups, etc.--we find time for plenty of smiles throughout the day. Sometimes the biggest challenge for me is to let the "to do" list be and just enjoy these beautiful boys God has blessed me with. Some photos from yesterday:
Snugglin'.
Eli's first snow angel. It's creation was really more of an accident than anything intentional, but I think he did pretty well. His favorite outdoor activity, though, was walking up and down the snowy driveway.
Snugglin'.
Eli's first snow angel. It's creation was really more of an accident than anything intentional, but I think he did pretty well. His favorite outdoor activity, though, was walking up and down the snowy driveway.