Beach buddies

California girl!

Baby A on a Sunday :)

:)

My green little secret...

I am too busy to be blogging right now, but I just had to put this on here because I am sooooo proud of myself~ I totally stuck a handful of baby greens into Jude's smoothie a few days ago and he totally didn't notice! HA! You WILL eat some vegetables, child!

The hard part was getting him out of the kitchen- he loves to help make his smoothie (and supervise me to make sure that the right ingredients in the right amounts end up in there. Bossy pants.). But I did, so he couldn't reject the smoothie based on it's ingredients. I'm seriously so excited about this. The kid will drink a smoothie every day if I let him. Little does he know he's eating lettuce! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

This is also great news for Jake and I who are not big salad fans, but need the greens... so, really, everyone wins here. But don't tell Jude. It's my little secret. I'm still happy dancing about it.

As a short P.S. Aviyah started eating rice cereal this week... she inhales the stuff like it actually tastes good. Or tastes like anything. Ok, for real, I'm done now... more later! :-)

Today's bad idea: "pollipops"

I pretty much never give Jude sweets and candy. Once in awhile, I let him have the candy that other people give him. This past week, he was given a "pollipop", a.k.a. a Blowpop to take home from church. He's been dying to eat it since then, so today, I finally let him. I planned on watching him carefully, but of course, I was distracted by other things like Aviyah eating the chair. That's her favorite thing to do these days. Anyways, after a few minutes, the WHOLE thing was gone. Literally. The WHOLE THING. The candy, the gum, and the stick. Jude tells me it's all in his tummy. So grossI predict that I will have a crabby child later.

Lesson: no more "pollipops". At least not the kind with gum and (apparently) edible sticks.

Jude's commentary on the frivolity of modern man

Jude: "I'm going to the chip store!" (Chipotle)

Eric: "Really? Uncle Eric is going to put on his work pants and contribute to the frivolity of modern man."

Jude: "I'm not going there."

Jude art.

Tree made with his hands at the Y. A keeper for sure :)

Christ's example of humility, and my lack thereof...

"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus..."

Sometimes it's so hard to be loving. It's easy to love those who we think 'deserve' it. It's infinitely harder to love those who don't. My ability to love others doesn't come from ourselves or from the other person, though, it comes only from God. This makes all the difference when trying to figure out how to respond to others in a way that reflects Christ. How did He love others? It certainly wasn't on the basis of anything that they had done. In that case, we'd all be in trouble.

I remember when I started studying Philippians in Every Woman's Grace (Bible study), Jake made a comment about how amazing chapter 2 was. I had just read it, but it hadn't sunk in. Jake's love of that passage stuck in my mind constantly for weeks, and I kept reading it. Now, I can't get it out of my head! IT FLOORS ME! Whenever I am having trouble loving others (this often manifests itself in a lack of patience with my rambunctious son), I think of the example of Jesus in Philippians 2. God himself humbled himself quite dramatically~ He became human. A humble, patient, loving, truth speaking servant to mankind. Am I to do any less?

So, I'm writing this here so that I will remember on the hard days: I am not here for myself. I am here to serve God first, and others second. There's no place for serving myself. The hard days only get harder when I selfishly allow my priorities to be me-centered. My response to other people and situations should not be based on anything within myself, but on the Word of God. I need this reminder constantly. I need to humble myself as Christ did, love others as Christ did, and serve them accordingly. So, note to self: Be patient with Jude. God was and is infinitely patient with you, and set a stellar example for you to follow. Go read Philippians 2.

Rollin'

I was too hungry to remember to take a picture of the huge strawberry and whip cream smothered gluten free waffle that I just ate, but she's a way better Mother's day present, anyways. I love you, baby A :)

Not thrilled about wearing a tux all day, but he looks so handsome! :)

barbershop.

Julia doing Jude's hair. She's very good. Ha ha!

smoothie-stache

Jude's obsessed with smoothies!

:)

Just being cute. As usual.