One Thing - 9/30/14

The past few years I have taken yearly pictures of the kids. I wasn't sure how or when I would accomplish that task this year - 4 kids, new place, busy days. So, with less than an hour or so of free time this afternoon we tried to make it happen. I was hoping for more of the beautiful fall colors that are beginning to show up around here in the location we went to for the pictures, but it was still pretty green. Maybe we will try again in the next week or so if we can make time when the colors are so nice. Although I didn't get a lot of great pictures today, I did manage to get one nice picture of each kid and some okay ones of everyone together...with a 5 year old, 4 year old, 2 year old, and 4 month old expectations need to be low!

One Thing - 9/29/14

Last night Jude was struggling to just chill while we were getting everyone ready for bed and I was putting laundry away. So, Silas very kindly sat next to him and read him a Berenstain Bears book. Although he didn't stay calm for long, Jude did give us a few quiet moments.

One Thing - 9/28/14

One Thing - 9/26/14

This picture from my phone doesn't even begin to show how beautiful it was this morning as we played at the park. From my spot on a bench, I got to watch my boys giggling like crazy as they spun on the spinners, I saw Lydia befriend a girl about her age and watched them run and climb and slide together until the friend had to leave, I rocked Jude to sleep in his carrier and watched him snooze peacefully in the fresh air, and that gorgeous maple tree in the background kept my eyes gazing at it often during our visit. We are enjoying this above average fall and storing up the memories for those long winter days that we know will come!

One Thing - 9/22/14

We have some busy coloring kids at our house today!

One Thing - 9/21/14

Grandma and Grandpa left this afternoon after spending a few days with us. Mike and I went to his cousin's wedding on Friday in Belle Plaine and left the kids at home with Grandma and Grandpa. While  Mike was at work on Saturday, my dad helped to get some frames hung which definitely helps our house feel more like a home.  After my parents left, we all enjoyed some time outside. Jonah recently learned to ride his bike without training wheels. I decided to get my bike tuned up a bit this afternoon and then went on a bike ride with Jonah. A paved trail starts about 2 blocks from our house. So, we checked it out. It was beautiful! I look forward to some more rides as the leaves start changing. And, I discovered that I am terribly out of shape. A 15 minute/ about 2.5 mile ride had me huffing and puffing. My legs will be sore tomorrow! 

Since Jonah and I finished reading Charlotte's Web yesterday, we made tonight a family movie night and watched the movie (the animated 1972 version). It was enjoyed by all!

One Thing - 9/18/14

Grandma and Grandpa Nelson arrived today for a short visit. So, we celebrated Lydia's birthday with them tonight.

Successfully blowing out 2 candles!

What Lydia really wanted was to play with the dolls that were on top of the cake 

Lydia got a bike helmet for her birthday

It was a hit - tags and all!

One Thing - 9/17/14

Jonah and I finished school this morning while Silas was at preschool. So, after picking Silas up we stopped at the grocery store then to the park. Everyone enjoyed the beautiful morning!

Inspired by our reading aloud of Charlotte's Web, Silas exclaimed, "Look, Mommy! There are two Charlottes!"

Super Jude being super happy!

One Thing - 9/16/14

Lydia turned 2 today!

She got two new pairs of shoes

And some new hair clips

And this super cute fold up barn set from Ikea

Every time we asked Lydia whose birthday it was today she would name either Daddy or Silas - probably all the birthdays she can recall!

Trying to blow out that candle

The boys seemed to enjoy the chocolate cupcakes

This boy doesn't need chocolate cupcakes to make him smile

We love our sweet, spunky, considerate, mischievous 2 year old!

One Thing - 9/15/14

Mike's parents visited us today so we celebrated the birthdays of both Mike and Lydia. Mike's birthday was on the 4th. Lydia turns 2 tomorrow!

One Thing - 9/14/14

Today was the blessings of the backpacks at our church. At the start of the school year, they introduce the new kindergarteners, give them a Bible, and pray for them as they begin their education. 

One Thing - 9/13/14

Jonah is gone for the day on an outing with a friend, so Silas, Lydia, and I made play dough. I had never made it before but always wanted to try. Homemade play dough makes me think of the 2s&3s Sunday School and Children's Church at the church I grew up in. Our play dough turned out pretty good as far as I can tell. I need to work a bit on mixing the food colors. Lydia requested purple. It turned out as a dull, yucky color. I would have kept mixing more dye in but she was too excited to use her dough!

The Name

8 Days Old

In the craziness of Jude's short 3 1/2 months of life, I have not yet had the time to share the story of his name. While all of the other kids had their name story written weeks before they were born, I am just now getting to write about Jude.

As I have shared in the blogs written about everyone's name (Jonah, Silas #1 & #2, and Lydia), we chose names for our children that were names of significance, names that said something about the character we desire to see in our children, something about what we pray that God will do in their lives. I wasn't expecting Baby #4 to be a boy - although I was thrilled to find out #4 was a boy, I was almost sure he was going to be a she. We were set on a girl's name. We had no clue on a boy's name. Mike and I spent weeks thinking, praying, searching for a name. I had a couple of thoughts that I Googled that didn't turn out all that well - including creepy pictures of criminals! We even went into the induction not 100% sure on a name for our little guy that we had seen on ultrasounds so many times. But, one name kept coming back to me over and over again that I just couldn't seem to give up on even though I wasn't the most sure of - Jude Nathan.

If you haven't read the book of Jude in the Bible recently (no, he isn't named after a Beatles song), I encourage you to do so. It is only 25 verses and will take you less than 5 minutes of your time. Sometime in the past couple of years the book of Jude captured my attention. Even before considering Jude as a name, I found myself drawn to the book because of the imagery some of the phrases brought to mind:
 - written "to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ"
 - written "appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints"
 - encouraging believers "building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life"
 - encouraging those in Christ to "have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them our of the fire; to show others mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh"

For many, many years, Jude's doxology has been my favorite - "Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."

Jude was a man who taught of God's righteous judgement but who also taught of God's GREAT mercy in salvation through Jesus Christ. He wrote boldly in his short book. And in those last two verses, he speaks of the most unbelievable, unfathomable yet most true and amazing thing about salvation - that Jesus Christ, through his death and resurrection, can present those of us who are weak, sinful, and worthy of death as blameless before God. To Him be all the glory!

And for a middle name - Nathan. The story of the prophet Nathan is told in 2 Samuel 12. For those who aren't familiar with it, King David the king of Isreal anointed by God, the family line through whom the promised Messiah would come, had committed adultery with Bathsheba who became pregnant. King David tried to cover up his sin by having Bathsheba's husband Uriah the Hittite killed in battle. God sends Nathan to confront King David with his sin. Through bold but very wise words, Nathan brings David to repentance of his sin before the Lord. Out of David's repentance came one of the most broken and beautiful Psalms - Psalm 51.

Our prayer is that God would make our Jude His from a young age and that He would make Jude bold, yet wise and having great mercy for the lost, hating sin and contending for the faith once delivered for all the saints. And, that our Jude would proclaim the doxology from his heart - "Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."

One Thing - 9/12/14

One of my favorite times of our school day is read aloud time. We are just over halfway through Charlotte's Web. Jonah is loving it!

One Thing - 9/11/14

A few pics from our day - 

Everyone took part in science today as we played Simon Says after learning about parts of the body

Jude just hung out on his mat sucking on his hand and smiling at his brothers and sister

Late in the morning, I took all of the kids to a follow up doctor appointment for Jonah. As Silas sat on my lap, Lydia said to her brother "Jonah (which she pronounces as Donut), sit on your lap, too?" Although it didn't last long, it sure was sweet!

One Thing - 9/10/14

While I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, the boys prepared a feast. Even Monkey and Heezy got in on the feast. Bananas for Monkey and fish for Heezy!

One Thing - 9/9/14

The first drawing Lydia has interpreted for us - apparently the circle close to the middle of the page is Grandpa's hat. There is also a sun and a tree somewhere. Can you find them? I'm still looking! ;)

One Thing - 9/8/14

Silas started preschool this morning. He will have school Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays from 8:15-10:45. We managed to make it out of the house in time, which is a big feat for our little ones! It was a great morning - with Silas at school, I was able to get school mostly done with Jonah, and Lydia got some one-on-one time with Daddy while Jude was sleeping since Mondays are one of his days off. And, we finally were able to get the registration taken care of on our van. YAY!

One Thing - 9/7/14

We had GORGEOUS weather here in Mora today! With a high of 50 and rain predicted for Wednesday, we are going to enjoy our low 70s and sunshine as much as we can until then.

After an absolutely crazy summer, we finally have the opportunity to take the extra wheels off Jonah's bike and teach him to ride a two-wheeler. It's hard work growing up!

A view from our driveway - we LOVE our new house. It is perfect for us in so many ways. One of the things we love is that it is at the end of a cul-de-sac. It is peaceful and quiet. And, the kids can ride their bikes in the circle.

I am not sure, but I think this flowerpot and sign was left for us by the previous owners of the house - a very sweet older couple who needed to downsize and who go to our church. I think that our house has been owned by people who go to our church since it was built. We have been thankful for kind comments from people that they are glad that we bought the house and are keeping it in the church family.