Projects

We're overdue for an update, so I'd better make it a good one! Leah and I have been busy with projects in the house along with being parents. Lydia is changing day by day and seems to be getting more of a personality! Her neck is very strong already, so it's fun watching her sit up and look around. She is also gaining control of her limbs, so she whacks herself in the face a lot less now! Her record night is 10 straight hours of sleep, but we're not that lucky every night! Some of the projects we've been working on are making a cutting board, putting wall art up, putting the baseboard back up on the wood floor, and converting an island cupboard into a trash drawer. There are still a lot of projects on the list, but they can wait...I'm content as long as I have some quality time with my girls every day!

Not a bad way to use up scrap wood laying around

It looks nice now, but it should come with a "Do not try this at home" warning

Whenever I see Biblical wall art at other people's homes I wonder what made them pick that specific verse. Leah and I have seen quite a few inspiring, beautiful verses on walls, but we wanted something a little different. We wanted something solid. We wanted something that pricked the heart instead of stirring up emotion. What I really wanted to put up was 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 which reads:

"For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
    “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
        and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
    Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
    For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.'"

Right now this is one of my favorite Bible passages, but it's a little long to put up on the wall! Proverbs 9:10 seemed to sum up the 1 Corinthians passage fairly well, and it fits on the wall better too.

We wanted a verse like this because of what is going on in the world around us. Our world is becoming more and more "worldly", for lack of a better term. Sadly, that same term can be used to describe far too many Christians in our nation and in Western culture. No longer is God's Word the final authority for we are far too smart (wise?) to believe that! With all our education and research we think we can figure things out for ourselves. We place ourselves above the Creator of all things when we tell Him that we know too much to believe the Word that He gave us.

I so badly wish that as the world got wiser it would turn toward God, but in His infinite wisdom God did not ordain for things to work that way. The world will never come to know God solely by its own wisdom. The folly of a death on a cross is the only way to heaven, and that is beautiful in its own way. We won't completely know what true wisdom looks like until Christ comes back again, but we can start with "The fear of the Lord" because that is the beginning of true wisdom.

Lydia always has smiles for her monkeys

My girls looking pretty in pink

Bins for compost, recycling, and garbage

She starts to tip over when she gets tired of sitting up

Lydia trying out our new bar stools

Someone is ready for a snack

Grandpa and Grandma Hofland stopped by for an afternoon

Flattering double-chin

Smiles are much better

Waiting patiently to leave for church

Have a great week, and a blessed weekend coming up!

Daniel

Children are a Heritage from the Lord

Being a parent is delightfully challenging!  This week has been another reminder of that truth.  Lately Lydia has been crying a lot in the evenings, to the point where we can count on it.  Either Dan or I must plan on not getting anything done after supper during her "fussy time" (that what all the books and doctors call it anyway).  The first few nights I wanted to cry right along with her because I was so frustrated!  I'm her mom after all!  I, of all people, should know what she needs to stop crying.  Now we are mentally, emotionally and physically (it can be exhausting!) ready for these spells, whether they are short or long.  Sometimes she hardly makes a peep in the evenings and we are left wracking our brains for what we did differently that she didn't cry.  This is probably what the veteran parents would call the training grounds for raising children.

My dear cousin Alissa put it well when she said that the easiest part of being a mom is being pregnant.  She is very right, pregnancy is easy compared to the time and attention a baby needs. But nothing compares to having Lydia give me a big smile when I peak over the edge of her crib in the morning, or watching her eyes get big and round when she hears the thunder, or when she intently watches me as I sing to her. 

This verse fills my heart as I go about my days as a mother. "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth."

Lydia likes to watch the ceiling fan.

....she really, really likes it :)

Hanging out with daddy.

Nap time.

Taking our new jogger for a spin.

Works great on gravel!

She's not so sure about her Bumbo chair.

A little drool never hurt anybody :)

Sleeping beauty.

Our friend Ryan came over for supper one rainy evening.

Motherhood

Another week has come and gone already.  I am loving being home with Lydia and watching her change and grow.  I wouldn't trade it for anything!  I know I could be bringing home a paycheck, but that rarely even crosses my mind as I care for and nurture my sweet baby each day.  As she gets older, I can't wait to teach her about the world around her and the truths she needs to know.  As we spend our days together I hope to instill in her that God created her, that she is a sinner in need of grace, that scripture and prayer are essential and that we love her.  There will come a day (and it's probably closer than I think!) when she needs to be disciplined, and she will most certainly receive the loving discipline that she needs and that God commands.  All of this is part of the responsibility and joy of being a mother, a journey that has just begun!

 Here are a few pictures of what we've been up to!

She loves to take baths in her little blue tub, and she is already learning that the bigger the kick the bigger the splash!

She hates it when bath time is over...

That's better.  A warm towel and a pipe can do wonders :)

Resting with mom.

The beautiful changing table that Dan made!

Lydia seems to like her new changing table too.

She likes to sit on the counter while I work in the kitchen.  Although I can't say she's much help yet!

This is the face Lydia gave me when I tried to get a picture of her smiling.  She's got an attitude already!

Big, bright eyes.

Loving the view from our new home!

Her outfit says, "I melt daddy's heart".  Nothing could be more true.

Hofland family, do you think she's ready for the "tummy test"?!