A Plug for a Rapper?

Well, more for our friend David France who just announced that he played violin on the title track of Golden's latest album. I'm not sure how big Golden is, but I think he's pretty big--we don't keep up on rap, sorry. If you know David France, you know that he's one of those people who things "just happen" to...we don't know how he got the gig, but we're not suprised either, because, well, it's just another "David France story." Rick and I personally aren't big fans of rap/hiphop, but we're big fans of our friend and thought it was cool. Listen to the song here (click on "Peddling Medicine on the right side of the page once you're there).

Easter 2007

This is out of chronological order; I'm just now getting to posting about our Easter weekend. Pictures to come soon--they're on Uncle Justin's camera at the moment. Speaking of the Moody's, they know what they're having, but I won't spill the beans here in case you're a person they wanted to tell themselves!!! They're announcing it, though, so ask them! Hooray! We're so excited for them! Can't believe Lesley's halfway through her pregnancy!

Ok, so our little Easter weekend...

Thursday evening (Maundy Thursday) we went to another church's service since ours doesn't have one. Maundy Thursday is to commemorate mainly the Last Supper of Christ and his disciples and the instituion of the Eucharist (communion), and also the washing of the disciples' feet by Jesus, the agony of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the betrayal of Christ by Judas. Maundy comes from the Latin word for commandment and we remember Jesus’ words to the Apostles during the Last Supper, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34).

Here are some words of John Piper (we're big fans) on communion/Lord's Supper:

"John 6:35, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." "This is my body," means, as you eat this bread and drink this cup come to me and believe on me. That is, sit with me at table and trust me to be your life-sustaining food and drink. Let the proclamation of my death and remembrance of all that I am for you awaken faith and draw you into deeper communion with me. "This is my body," and "This is my blood," mean eat spiritually, that is, eat by faith. That is, feed your soul on all that I am for you. Nourish your heart on all the blessings that I bought for you with my body and blood (see 1 Corinthians 10:16). That is what faith is: faith is a being satisfied in all that God is for us in Christ. Christ has given us the Lord's Supper to feed us spiritually with himself.
"The mental action of the participants of the Lord’s Supper is to focus the mind on Jesus and especially his historical work in dying for our sins. Verses 24 and 25: “Do this in remembrance of me.” As we do the physical act of eating and drinking, we are to do the mental act of remembering. That is, we are to consciously call to mind the person of Jesus as he once lived and the work of Jesus as he once died and rose again, and what his work means for the forgiveness for our sins."

"The Lord’s Supper is a stark reminder, time after time, that Christianity is not new-age spirituality. It is not getting in touch with your inner being. It is not mysticism. It is rooted in historical facts. Jesus lived. He had a body and a heart that pumped blood and skin that bled. He died publicly on a Roman cross in the place of sinners so that anyone who believes on him might be rescued from the wrath of God. That happened once and for all in history. Therefore, the mental action of the Lord’s Supper is foundationally remembering. Not imagining. Not dreaming. Not channeling. Not listening. Not going into neutral. It is a conscious directing of the mind back into history to Jesus and what we know about him from the Bible. The Lord’s Supper roots us, time after time, in the nitty-gritty of history. Bread and Cup. Body and blood. Execution and death. ...when believers eat the bread and drink the cup physically we do another kind of eating and drinking spiritually. We eat and drink—that is, we take into our lives—what happened on the cross. By faith—by trusting in all that God is for us in Jesus—we nourish ourselves with the benefits that Jesus obtained for us when he bled and died on the cross."

Friday evening we went to a Good Friday/Tenebrae service to commemorate the suffering and death on the cross by Christ. Although this rememberance and these services can seem heavy and dark and sad, it all leads to the Resurrection which is full of unfathomable victory and joy and glory.

More words from John Piper (click here to read all of it) speaking on Chaper 53 of Isaiah:

"In the last line of verse 10 Isaiah says that this desire of the Lord will succeed in the Servant's hand: "The good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hand." All of God's purposes in the death of his Servant Jesus will succeed. And the Servant is glad about this. He is not resentful at God. The first two lines of verse 11: "As a result of the anguish of his soul, He will see it and be satisfied." He will see the good pleasure of the Lord succeeding through his own anguish and he will be satisfied--not frustrated, not bitter, not vengeful--but satisfied.

So we don't just see the heart of God, we also see the heart of the Servant, Jesus. If you want to know the heart of God and the heart of his Servant Jesus, look now and you will see Isaiah unfold what it is they desire--what satisfies them--and you will be amazed.

We need more than anything in the world to know God--to know him not according to our own prejudices and expectations and limitations of what he can be like. We need to know him as he is, and that means as he reveals himself in his word."

Saturday, sadly, we did not go to the SunRun due to the weather. We were really looking forward to it! Calvin would've enjoyed it so much. We did go to East Heights UMC's children's party, though. That's where we were for Good Friday and learned of the party the next day. It was mostly indoors, except for a petting zoo in the parking lot and pony rides! They had crafts, snacks, and room for kids to just run around, and then a little indoor egg hunt for Calvin's age group. The eggs were empty and the lady talked about how empty is good on Easter because of what the empty tomb meant--not that Calvin could understand that, but I thought it was a cute object lesson. The kids could turn in their empty eggs for a full sack of goodies, though, when it was over! :) Rick and I talked about what we might or might not do in the future when our kids are older and can understand things more...we don't want them to think Easter is about candy and eggs and pony rides, but that it's OK to have those special things because we're celebrating! Same with stockings and presents and candy at Christmas... It's fun to think about what special things and traditions we will start with our own family on special holidays.

Sunday we went to our church after a weekend of church-hopping :) It was, for me, just wonderful! After a couple days of services and my own "quiet time" contemplating the events leading up to the Resurrection, I was ready to just rejoice! Christ had to suffer and die, but he also had to rise again otherwise death would not have been overcome. Our friend Donnie (from Rick's work) came with us, then to lunch at Justin & Lesley's. Good ol' Uncle Justin and Aunt Lesley had a cute basket full of candy, crayons, toys, etc. for Calvin--too sweet! They invited some other people, too, and it was such a good time to eat and fellowship.

More excellent words from John Piper (for more on Easter and the Resurrection click here):

"So we come back from Hebrews and Philippians and Isaiah to our original question from 1 Corinthians 15:17: If it's the blood of Christ, the death of Christ, that covers all our sins and justifies us before God, then why are we still in our sins if the Christ does not rise from the dead?

The answer we have seen is this: the resurrection of Jesus is the reward of his sacrifice. It is the proof of how perfect and all-sufficient his sacrifice was. Therefore if God does not give the reward, it is because the sacrifice is defective and our faith is futile and we are still in our sins. The gospel gives no wings and we are left unforgiven and unforgiving.

But the message of Easter is the shout of 1 Corinthians 15:20, "But Christ has been raised." And Paul gives the evidence for it in 1 Corinthians 15:5-8—the people Christ appeared to: individuals, small groups, a large group, many of whom were still alive as Paul wrote so that the Corinthians could investigate his claim, "But Christ has been raised."

Therefore our faith is not futile and we are not still in our sins and we are not unforgiven and we need not be—indeed cannot be—unforgiving. The Gospel does give wings:

Far better news the Gospel brings,
It bids us fly and gives us wings.

Doubt not his sacrifice can save,
God sealed it with an empty grave.
And by his blood and life we live
And now have freedom to forgive.

The resurrection of Jesus is an exclamation point of God's joy and celebration of all that Christ did for us in his dying. Christ is alive today for this reason: to deliver to us personally and powerfully everything he died to obtain. Including the joy of being forgiven and the doubled joy of being forgivers."

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Praise the Lord for the hope that we have because Christ has died and is risen!

Fun Little Weekend

Grandma & Grandpa Neill came down from Iowa on Saturday. Actually from Emporia--they stayed over Friday night there because of the weather conditions. Went to lunch Sat. with them, then supper, then hung out at our house where Calvin was excited to "fix" Buzz Lightyear with screwdrivers with Grandma. Grandpa, who was sporting a new beard, was trying to figure out Calvin's toy. The first thing Calvin said Sunday morning when Rick got him out of bed was, "Grandpa Nee-nul!" (Neill). Went to Spangles after church with the whole clan. What a gorgeous day Sunday was! Hooray!


This weekend Fallyn has started rolling over finally, though not on purpose. Every time we got her up from a nap, and about 5 times during the night (it's a sleepy morning, that's why I'm just sitting with the laptop right now) she had rolled onto her back. She didn't want to be there and would yell for rescuing. She is showing more signs of maybe crawling soon--you can see it in her eyes that she knows she can move somehow, if she could just figure it out...

We hung out outside for awhile with Tyler and Marie. The guys got the jogging strollers aired up and everything. Over the weight limit? Probably! :) Calvin got a fast ride down our driveway and partly down the street. Rick was running in his church clothes down the street with the single jogging stroller--it was an amusing sight.

Marie's trying to help Calvin do the pedals. No luck yet, but he loves to sit on it and have someone push him around.

Sunday evening we watched Stranger Than Fiction with Tyler & Marie. Very good movie!!!

Random stuff

awww, how cute!

Rick, returning home after working out with Tyler (a typical Sat. thing for them), telling me of his victory: "I burned Tyler bad...and then I almost threw up."

I'm sewing Calvin a "car movie" (Disney Cars) blanket. I originally thought it could be a birthday present for him. That didn't happen, obviously. It's nothing fancy, just a matter of sewing panels together, maybe with batting inbetween. I was too busy around birthday time working on that cake and everything. My sister-in-law, Lorie, knows how to quilt, but not me. Someday I'd like to learn, though. Speaking of sewing, I need to finish that slipcover for the kids' chair I started a long time ago! So long ago I'm not even going to tell... such is my life.

I sewed a wrap carrier to carry Fallyn in. All I had to do was cut a piece of fabric down the middle and sew a weight-bearing seam so that it is 20" by 4 yards. I read up about wraps online--how to do the wraps, how to make your own... It is a great way to carry a baby. It feels so much better than a standard carrier, even our top-of-the-line Baby Bjorn front carrier with lumbar support. The Bjorn hurts my neck and shoulders after just ten or so minutes, and for that reason it's been a few months since I've carried Fallyn in it. The wrap is so wonderful! It perfectly distributes the weight, and the weight isn't just hanging off your body, it's on your body. It's super-comfy. I think I'll do a test run with Fallyn on my hip at the grocery store soon. Lately it's been hard to get a big shopping list taken care of because she's in the main compartment of the cart in her carseat, and Calvin's sitting in the front of it and there's no room for all the groceries! Now with this super-comfy carrier I think I can just carry her and have room for everything. Click here if you're interested.

YouTube fun:

Found this fun video. Makes you wish you had 4 treadmills and 3 friends on hand.

The next 2 are dedicated to my brother-in-law Justin:
#1: Four year old drummer
#2: Warning: Uber-EIGHTIES! It's so 80s it's not even funny. No, wait, that's not right..it's HILARIOUS.

Rick, the love of my life, I dedicate this one to you.

Comments

I'm not very blog-savvy, but I was looking through some settings and I THINK I changed the settings so that anyone can comment on a post, not just registered users (or whatever they called it). So, if you're feeling comment-y, go ahead and try it out. I also set it to where comments have to be approved so that I don't get "comment spam" (advertisements, etc.) on our blog. Don't take it personally :)

Calvinisms

At a restaurant that was playing music: "Hallyn likes music, Calvin likes music, Mommy likes music, Rickdaddy go potty!"

Mommy: Ok, I'll tickle you just one more time!
Calvin: No, two tee fur five!!!

Mommy: Calvin do you have a stinker?
Calvin: Kitty have stinker!
(He's been blaming it on the cat for months, which is at Grandpa's house)

Calvin wants to take "naked naps" now for all his naps--still has to keep his diaper on, though. He begs for a "naked nap" at nighttime, but PJs are required. We've convinced him to settle for "naked feet" at bedtime.

Recently discovered the joys of trains. Got him a couple little engines and cars that link up by magnets. Not just any magnets, but "smart magnets", meaning, they can attach any which way. Genius.

Is so excited to discover pieces of thread or strings (mostly on our very-in-need-of-replacement couch), saying "snake!"

Still chasing Grandpa Vail's kitty around all time time when he's over there. His name's Microft (Sherlock Holmes' brother) and when Calvin says his name it sounds like "My cat." Cute.

His favorite place to be is playing in someone's car.

Thinks people I or he is talking to on the phone can see toys he wants to show them.

When it's time for bedtime prayers he names person after person for us to mention. It's fun to see who he's thinking about.

Likes interacting with people when we're out, will even draw pictures and take them to people nearby like if we're sitting in a restaurant. Everything he's drawn for months now has been "Big eggs and footballs". He draws things THEN sees what came of it. He'll pick out letters of the alphabet, too, amidst his eggs and footballs.

And speaking of interacting with people...I had the kids at Panera not long ago, and Calvin was standing up in the booth sort of playing peek-a-boo over the divider with the lady in the next booth. I was tending to Fallyn for a second while Calvin continued to interact with this lady, then I noticed he was reaching way over the divider, trying to bat at the lady's VERY elderly mother's hair. She was very short so he was really trying to reach way down to her wispy hair.

Counts to ten, although 6-10 hasn't quite been nailed down. Usually skips 8. When he's got several objects in front of him he'll say something like, "Look Rickdaddy! OnetwoteefurfivesixsevenninetenYAY!"

Knows his letter sounds. Learned them mostly from his letters video.

Seem like at this age there's so many new things they're learning and doing and saying that one could go on for hours!

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8 months old!

These pictures are from Fallyn's 8 month homemade photo shoot. Many of you have seen our little collage of Calvin's 0-12 month photos on our wall; I'm doing the same with her. Poor child, though, you'd never guess we had 2 children from the photos on our wall and in frames around the house. I have ONE from minutes after her birth and that's it. I just haven't gotten around to fixing them up on Picasa and ordering them...*sigh*...one more thing on my never-ending list of things to get done! I at least got her monthly photo taken and that's good enough for me at this point :) That's a cute pink bunny she got for Easter from her Aunt Linda--Great Aunt, actually. Thanks, Linda! She's loving it!

Other notes:

She still has not shown any signs of crawling anytime soon. I hope that means she's just content! Just the other day the kids and I were listening to music and Fallyn was bobbing her head while sitting, then later was on her back on the floor kicking all her limbs when the music came on. Calvin leaned over her and said chipperly, "Hallyn likes music!" It's fun that she's that age to start having fun with music.

She ate 3 containers of baby food without even slowing down at the end, took a nap, woke up and ate a whole banana (mashed, of course)! That's more than our 2 year old eats. We're glad she's a better eater. I don't remember Calvin ever finishing an entire container--just a couple bites and that was it for him. Same story now, too! His eating has been the most challenging aspect of parenting him thus far But this post is about Fallyn, so back to her...

Recently mimicked some actions I was doing.

Loves to make eyes at Daddy when she spots him in the same room.

For the past several days has been twirling her right hand, Hawaiian style. It's so cute and funny. She had done it on occasion previously, but now does it when she's playing, fussing, nursing... Sometimes while she's doing it she'll just STARE at it and that's when it's extra funny. Looks like she's hypnotized herself.

Still loves watching Calvin, is giggling at him even more these days. A month and a half ago Calvin was saying "Ti-GER!" and slapping his knee when he said the last syllable and Fallyn thought that was just hilarious. It's been one of my favorite moments. And now, all he has to do is say "tiger" and she lights up and starts to laugh. Amazing what their memories are capable of at such an early age.

Loves to watch Danick, a baby boy just a few weeks younger than her, at my women's group. They're cute together--they smile and watch each other. Today he made his way over to where she was sitting--he's mobile--and she reached out to feel his face and talk to him. "Really cute" became "even cuter" when all of a sudden he was sucking HER thumb for several seconds. So funny!

Likes to be with Mommy the best, although if Calvin could hold her and tend to her needs, I'm sure she'd choose him over me :) She doesn't usually like other people to hold her except for me and Rick, and then Grandma Pam. After that, it's questionable. But...she did let Donnie (Rick's friend from work) hold her 2 different times on Easter Sunday! For a good while, too! We were quite suprised! Donnie, you should be flattered!

Has 2 teeth now, on the bottom. Last week she was definitely teething, but that seems to have let up. 2 more on bottom are closer to coming in. I guess they took a break for a little bit, because they're not looking closer to coming through, but she hasn't been fussy about it. Maybe they've retracted? I've heard that can happen, but I don't know if that's just "talk" or fact. You more knowledgeable ones can let me know.

Easter Cookies