7 Years Old!

7 years old!

 

 

6 years old

 

5 years old

 

4 years old

 

3 years old

 

 2 years old

18 months old

1 year old

 11 months old

10 months old

9 months old

8 months old

7 months old

6 months old

 
 5 months old

4 months old

3 months old

 2 months old

1 month old

2 weeks old

Dear Calvin,

Happy, happy birthday, big guy! You always have to be very patient while we celebrate everyone else's birthdays in the first five months of the year ... but at last your day is here!

You continue to be a bright, delightful young man, and we are so glad you are in our family.

- You have an ultra creative mind (along with your brothers), and you all are frequently dreaming up wild and imaginative what ifs... Absolutely anything may set you off. (Please pass the salad. What if you had to pass like a football... What if you had a rocket launcher to pass... What if...) I do call you back from time to time to "talk about things that are true" when your fancies start carrying you all away!

- You are a wonderful artist! You've filled up many notebooks, colored many coloring sheets, and we have a wall of art from homeschool co-op that displays some of your really quite marked talents. It's so nice that you got your dad's artistic gifts. 

- You are a gentle and patient friend to Jemima (and other young friends who sometimes come to play). I love to see your welcoming their ideas and being willing to enter into their fun. You are equally prepared to be a ninja, a dad, or the royal puppy, as need requires. This accommodating spirit shows Jesus' willingness to put others' interests ahead of His own. I pray that you continue in that!

- You had a full and fruitful year of learning in 1st grade. You have gained some great reading skills, you are a pro at number bonds, and you really enjoyed drawing pictures and writing summary sentences for the interesting history learning that we did along with Elliot and Jemima (covering the 20th century this year). 

- It was wonderful to hear your good practicing of 2 Timothy 2 when we worked on that through the school year. I love how readily you can absorb and retain what we memorize, and I pray that you will have lots of God's Word hidden in your heart from your childhood! 

- You are a good helper around the house, doing your share of the regular (almost daily) bathroom cleaning, the dusting, bussing dishes after meals, carrying groceries in, helping Jemima clean her room, changing sheets on your bed, and so forth. Thank you for serving in these practical ways, just as Jesus didn't come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many.

- You are gaining a habit of reading your Action Bible first thing in the morning, and I love to hear your reflections after our family Bible times. This year we also started family prayer cards, and you have gained confidence and familiarity in talking to God, so that you're adding your own thoughts and requests. This blesses my heart so much! What a privilege that we can come to Jesus anytime with our needs and thanks and desires! May you grow in your communion with Him.

- Even in small things (not fussing about disappointments, working through conflicts with siblings, being tough with little injuries), we can see you gaining maturity, and we pray that God will continue to strengthen your arms for the call that He has on your life ahead. We think you're a swell fellow!

- You're an affectionate boy, still happy to crawl onto my lap for a story or come back and give me a hug in the middle of playtime at the park. I love it!

 

This summer our family is working on memorizing Psalm 84. We're doing a verse a week, and so far we have the first four verses pretty well! 

Here's how it goes:

How lovely is Your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD. My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God! Even the sparrow finds a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young at Your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God! Blessed are those who dwell in Your house, ever singing your praise! Selah.

This psalm holds so many wonderful pictures of the place where God's people used to gather to worship the living God. It was beautiful, a place of joy, a place of belonging and security, and the very happiest people were those who could be there day in and day out.

The very wonderful truth is that, in Jesus, we are the temple of the living God, because His own Spirit dwells in us! We enjoy the day in and day out communion with Him because Christ has broken down the dividing wall between sinful man and holy God. He became sin--who knew no sin--so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him! And we have full access to God the Father... not through a priest by means of a sacrifice. Rather we can come before the throne of grace anytime, and He welcomes us as His own beloved child, based on the redemptive work of His Son. We surely are the blessed ones!

I pray that you grow in your confidence and clarity of understanding that Jesus paid it all, so that we may be part of God's family and enjoy an eternal home with Him forever! And that is worth mulling over again and again.

I love you, big guy!

Mom

4 Years Old!

4 years old!

 

 

3 years old

2 years old

 

18 months old

 

1 year old

 

11 months old

10 months old

 

9 months old

8 months old

 

7 months old

 

6 months old

 

5 months old

 

4 months old

 

3 months old

 

2 months old

 

1 month old

1

 

2 weeks old

 Dear Jemima,

 

Happy birthday, my big girl! After many weeks of your asking, "How many days until my birthday?" we finally reached the big day! And it was a delight to thank God again for your life and for giving you to our family now for 4 full years! How the time flies!

 

You are growing by leaps and bounds and are certainly my very big girl now. And you keep us on our toes! Here are some of your latest accomplishments:

 

- At homeschool co-op, your class had a great time learning numbers, reading books, investigating creation, and doing some very amazing art projects. (This is one major reason why we are at homeschool co-op!) You just loved it, especially your art class! And you enjoy those friends greatly, which is another treasure of God's kindness through co-op.

 

- You were gifted a number of beautiful dress-up princess dresses and fancy shoes, and you have an aptitude for walking in high heels that definitely exceeds your mother. It is never too early nor too late to wear those special clothes. You are so aware of beautiful things, and that is certainly a reflection of God's image and handiwork. Isn't He kind to give so much beauty in the world for us to enjoy? But we need to remember as well that the beauty that is hidden in the heart is far more valuable and lasting than what is on the outside.

 

- You are ever the attentive mother to your many stuffies and baby dolls. Your duties call you to push your babies in the stroller, hold them while you eat breakfast, sing to them before they have a snooze, read them stories, and correct them when they are not being respectful. Never a dull moment! It is very good to practice many of these important skills in preparation for the day that the Lord may indeed entrust some little ones to you.

 

- You are gaining so much independence. You can dress yourself, put on your pjs, go potty (and wash your hands, now that Dad switched out our bathroom faucets for some that you can operate!), put on your shoes, help set the table, clean your room with your brother's help, and many other tasks. 

 

- You are a good eater, although sometimes your brothers and dad are so entertaining at mealtimes that it takes you a very long time to clean your plate. 

 

-  Although it's hit and miss whether you'll actually sleep, you still have a good rest time in the afternoons. Since your brothers usually save their literature reading for the afternoon, it makes for a very nice "book and rest time" for everybody, and then we normally have fun outside when we're done!

 

- We had some rough transitions going to your church class at the beginning of the school year, but by the time we finished, you were marching in happily (normally with some kind of stuffy to accompany you). Your teachers are so wonderful, and I'm thankful for the investment of so many to give you songs and verses and prayers and joyful play that shape your understanding of God's people as such a gift for us in Jesus.

 

- You continue to be the cherished little sister of your four big brothers! When I tell people about our family, and they ask how it is to have a girl, often I respond that one of my favorite things is to see your brothers loving you so much!

 

- You have a vivid imagination and very lively sense of humor. Recent quotes:

 

Mom (to Elliot and Josiah): Both of you wear your gray uniforms tomorrow.

Jemima: I like gray unicorns.

Victor: No, gray uniforms, not unicorns.

Jemima: But I like unicorns.

 

Jemima (discussing the ages of her siblings): And, Mom, you're Victor's age.

 

Jemima to Mom, showing a hair band: This ponytail holder was outside. It's not yours. (Emphatically) It's God's.

 

Jemima, after helping deliver hot cross buns to neighbors: Mom, can I have cross eyed buns now?

 

Jemima, looking at the photo card for a missionary family with four sons: There's their mom, but where's their girl kid?

 

Jemima: We're playing princess in my room. Calvin is going to be the royal puppy.

 

 

To sum up: we love you so!

We are preparing to study Romans 8 in women’s Bible study this summer. It could be compared to sipping the richest hot chocolate … truth that is so deep and thick and nourishing it warms you from the inside out.

The very first verse articulates how the gospel changes everything: Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Our identity, our future, our present life, our home forever … all of this is transformed in Christ Jesus.

You know, at a very basic level, that all kinds of trouble can brew in your heart. Sometimes it is frustration when a brother won’t listen to you. Sometimes it is jealousy when you want something currently played with by someone else. Sometimes it is rebellion against Mom or Dad’s instructions. And we talk about what that sin earns. It has a payment, like a paycheck earned on a job. But this is a very bad payment—judgment from God. Condemnation for breaking His standard.

Our sermon this morning (about Jesus’ healing the paralyzed man in Matthew 9) underscored the reality that our biggest problem is sin. And Christ’s greatest gift—far greater than any short-term physical healing or removal of temporary suffering—was His provision of a way for our sin to be paid for … at the cost of His own life on the cross.

For those who will receive it, that payment totally removes the guilt, condemnation, and judgment for our debt of sin. It is finished! And now we may walk in new life and be adopted as one of God’s own. I pray that this reality, this rich gospel, will be your hope and joy and standing place all your days!

The verdict “no condemnation” is a gift of immeasurable worth, paid for by Jesus on our behalf. What a Savior!

Praying that you will find life’s deepest joy in Jesus,

Momma