I love my boys!!
I
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Halloween
Tonight was a lot fun. We went out with Benjamin (Tigger) and Emma (piglet). Nathan was Aslan from the Chronicles of Narnia and Daniel was Elmo. I think Nathan was a little jealous he didn't get to be Elmo but he was a pretty ferocious lion!
I love my boys!!
I love my boys!!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Baby Shower Devotional & pictures
So, its been awhile since I posted anything, but i did a baby shower devotional on Monday that miraculously turned out well. So I thought I would share it and give others ideas for devotionals they might have to do. Also, I wanted to post some adorable pictures of my children from Spooner's pumpkin patch and the fair earlier this year. My 2 beautiful boys are growing up way to quickly!!!
Baby Shower Devotional for Nikki
October 19, 2009
by Becky Elfers
My morning routine is pretty much the same every morning. I wake up a little before 7 with my 2 year old son on the bed looking into my face with a huge smile. As my eyes try to focus the thought runs through my head, “I wish he had a snooze button.” Soon I give into the child jumping on me and head downstairs to make breakfast and face the day. On the way I pick up my 8 month old who has woken up to the sounds of his brother calling “baby Daniel seeping!”
I round the corner of the stairs to head into the living room which looks like a tornado has gone through it and think to myself, “when will these children grow up and leave me a little peace, quiet and tidiness?” I know there will come the day when I will be free from the thump thump thump of feet as they run through my kitchen and drop their toys on the way. No longer will I receive the gooey kisses of a child shortly after they eat an orange that has somehow ended more up on their shirt and face than in their mouth. I will no longer be asked to kiss the Owies that were inflicted because they ran headlong into a closed door after I had asked them to “stop running in the house!” I was basking in those thoughts of peacefulness, when it occurred to me how precious these few moments I have with my children are. How much I enjoy cuddling with them on the couch as we watch their favorite shows or read their favorite book Or sneaking around the corner to tickle them and throw them on the bed. Their laughter becomes infectious and we all end up rolling on the floor. In that short moment I realized that my life would be so much emptier without all of this. I hear a soft whisper telling me to remember the wonderful gift I have been given in my two sons. Someday they will grow up and my presence will not be necessary. I have so much to enjoy in them now! I stop and give thanks to my God who has given me this day to love and train my children. My heart fills with a sense of purpose and I set to work making a path through the sea of toys in the living room. I set my baby down, grab my two year old and whirl him around in a big hug and plant a huge kiss on his cheek. He giggles, “momma silly!” and I set him down in contentment thankful to be facing another day of wiping noses, kissing owies, changing diapers and giving my best to the two most beautiful children I know. Someday they will grow up and all this will only be beautiful memories. God has called me to make the most of today.
Nikki, as you think about having your daughter, I imagine your heart must be excited to meet the new life inside you, but your mind is going crazy with the unknowns of change ahead. I’ll be honest with you, it is not an easy road, but it is well worth all your effort. I encourage you to remember these truths:
1. God has given you your children to be a blessing to you. Psalm 127 says, “Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;”
2. You and your family are precious to God. He knows all that is going on inside and out and is right beside you in all that you do. Psalm 139:13 “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, {And} skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained {for me,} When as yet there was not one of them.”
3. The most important thing you can do for your children is to let them know that they are loved and that in turn will model to them the love Christ has for them. 1 Corinthians 13:13 “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
4. Motherhood is a lot of work, but it should also be something you enjoy. Have fun with your children, connect to them, give them boundaries and enjoy the short time you have with them at this age. This is only a short season of your life, so make the best of it. Ecclesiastes 3:1,10,11 “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven... I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves. He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one's lifetime.” This is your time to be the mother God has made you to be.
5. Don’t forget to take time for yourself. I know it is hard to even brush your teeth on some days when your children are vying for your attention. Find a spot in your day when you can connect with the Source of strength for your day even if it is to only say “Dear God, I don’t know how I’m going to get through the rest of this day.” He will know your heart and honor your plea. Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge him.” And in Psalm 91:14-15, "Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him {securely} on high, because he has known My name. He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.”
I want to end with a prayer from Colossians. I pray that as a new season of motherhood arrives you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience. So that you may joyously give thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. (Col 1:9-11).
Baby Shower Devotional for Nikki
October 19, 2009
by Becky Elfers
My morning routine is pretty much the same every morning. I wake up a little before 7 with my 2 year old son on the bed looking into my face with a huge smile. As my eyes try to focus the thought runs through my head, “I wish he had a snooze button.” Soon I give into the child jumping on me and head downstairs to make breakfast and face the day. On the way I pick up my 8 month old who has woken up to the sounds of his brother calling “baby Daniel seeping!”
I round the corner of the stairs to head into the living room which looks like a tornado has gone through it and think to myself, “when will these children grow up and leave me a little peace, quiet and tidiness?” I know there will come the day when I will be free from the thump thump thump of feet as they run through my kitchen and drop their toys on the way. No longer will I receive the gooey kisses of a child shortly after they eat an orange that has somehow ended more up on their shirt and face than in their mouth. I will no longer be asked to kiss the Owies that were inflicted because they ran headlong into a closed door after I had asked them to “stop running in the house!” I was basking in those thoughts of peacefulness, when it occurred to me how precious these few moments I have with my children are. How much I enjoy cuddling with them on the couch as we watch their favorite shows or read their favorite book Or sneaking around the corner to tickle them and throw them on the bed. Their laughter becomes infectious and we all end up rolling on the floor. In that short moment I realized that my life would be so much emptier without all of this. I hear a soft whisper telling me to remember the wonderful gift I have been given in my two sons. Someday they will grow up and my presence will not be necessary. I have so much to enjoy in them now! I stop and give thanks to my God who has given me this day to love and train my children. My heart fills with a sense of purpose and I set to work making a path through the sea of toys in the living room. I set my baby down, grab my two year old and whirl him around in a big hug and plant a huge kiss on his cheek. He giggles, “momma silly!” and I set him down in contentment thankful to be facing another day of wiping noses, kissing owies, changing diapers and giving my best to the two most beautiful children I know. Someday they will grow up and all this will only be beautiful memories. God has called me to make the most of today.
Nikki, as you think about having your daughter, I imagine your heart must be excited to meet the new life inside you, but your mind is going crazy with the unknowns of change ahead. I’ll be honest with you, it is not an easy road, but it is well worth all your effort. I encourage you to remember these truths:
1. God has given you your children to be a blessing to you. Psalm 127 says, “Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;”
2. You and your family are precious to God. He knows all that is going on inside and out and is right beside you in all that you do. Psalm 139:13 “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, {And} skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained {for me,} When as yet there was not one of them.”
3. The most important thing you can do for your children is to let them know that they are loved and that in turn will model to them the love Christ has for them. 1 Corinthians 13:13 “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
4. Motherhood is a lot of work, but it should also be something you enjoy. Have fun with your children, connect to them, give them boundaries and enjoy the short time you have with them at this age. This is only a short season of your life, so make the best of it. Ecclesiastes 3:1,10,11 “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven... I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves. He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one's lifetime.” This is your time to be the mother God has made you to be.
5. Don’t forget to take time for yourself. I know it is hard to even brush your teeth on some days when your children are vying for your attention. Find a spot in your day when you can connect with the Source of strength for your day even if it is to only say “Dear God, I don’t know how I’m going to get through the rest of this day.” He will know your heart and honor your plea. Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge him.” And in Psalm 91:14-15, "Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him {securely} on high, because he has known My name. He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.”
I want to end with a prayer from Colossians. I pray that as a new season of motherhood arrives you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience. So that you may joyously give thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. (Col 1:9-11).
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