Just a cute photo! Long live Lydia!

moo cow

Here's just a taste of what we walk by every day. Can you see his tongue sticking out? (it kind of blends in with the meat hanging in the background). Lydia doesn't seem bothered, just curious. Har är en smakprov av den vi går förbi varje dag. Kan du ser hans tunga? Det smälta in lite med köttet som är i bakgrunden. Lydia bryr sig inte mycket, hon är bara nyfiken.

A bit of encouragement for me as a mother.... from http://theresurgence.com I dont put stuff on this blog unless i think it is well worth the read...enjoy. Young mother, it seems like everyone wants something from you. And you’re probably already giving way more than you ever thought you could give. But even with all your giving, you might struggle with guilt—lingering, joy-drenching, energy-sapping guilt—that you should be doing more, giving more, accomplishing more.

Don’t waste that guilt. Pay attention to it. Use it. Take it out of the shadows and examine it in light of Scripture. Is this a godly grief that leads to repentance or a worldly grief that produces death (2 Cor. 7:10)? Is it life-giving or life-depleting? Ask yourself, does this bring fresh joy and peace to those nearest me, or does it add unnecessary stress and strain to my home?

Mother: You have a mission field

Our first and primary mission field is our children. God values our children. Jesus became indignant when the disciples didn’t embrace the worth of children in God’s expanding kingdom (Mark 10:13-16). God tells us that children are his blessing to us (Ps. 127:3). And he places great importance on our teaching our children to love and serve him (Deut. 6:7-9).

Don’t feel guilty over making your children your primary ministry investment in their early years. Your availability, sensitivity, affection, and unhurried attention are irreplaceable.

There are no neutral moments in a young child’s life. Someone is going to be influencing your children, inculcating values and imprinting standards on their impressionable young minds. Let it be you!

Accept your calling from God to serve your family. As a mother, you are helping to shape the souls of your children for Christ and ultimately influence the world. Your children are your gift to the future.

Stay on mission

Does this mean you will never invest in others outside your family? Goodness, no. But if you are a young mother, stay on mission. Use your primary ministry of mothering to serve Christ now. Don’t let anything diminish your unique role as a wife and mother. It is not godly guilt that would call you away from a wholehearted investment in your little ones for his sake.

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Don’t feel guilty over making your children your primary ministry investment in their early years.

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This season in your life is just that—a season. And each season is a divine calling from our creator and king. Organizing a new event at church is important. Teaching your little boy to be kind to his sister is also important. But which one can best be done by you during this season? Serve God well by ministering to your children first. Very soon they will be grown and gone, and you will be unable to recapture the teachable moments you have now.

Mothers, listen to Psalm 78:4-7: “We will . . . tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders he has done . . . that the next generation might know . . . so that they should set their hope in God.”

Here's us about one year ago...Lydia had no idea that she was sitting next to a big sheep that was just about to be slaughtered; she was just plain along for the ride! Let's see how things have changed in a year's time... Our neighbors have decided to keep a sheep out on their balcony for the past week or two, we always have to watch out for falling sheep poop and strands of hay when we walk by there! It's like every street has suddenly turned into a petting zoo! Every day when we go out, Lydia stops to say hi to a couple sheep... And then all of a sudden, all those sheep will be gone! Good thing Lydia is too little for us to have to explain to her that all her new little sheep friends got slaughtered and eaten! Så, den första bild var av oss ett år sen, Lydia har ingen aning att hon sitta bredvid en större får som ska snart slaktas. Låt oss kolla hur allt har förändrat under ett års tid. Våran grannar har en får ut på alttonen, och vi måste alltid kolla så vi inte får bajs eller hö på oss när vi gå förbi! Det är som varje gatan har blivit en djur park, och när vi går ut, så kan Lydia alltid hälsa på några får. Men, helt plötsligt imorgon, ska alla får bli borta! Det är bra att Lydia är för lite att vi måste inte förklara för henne att alla hennes får kompisar har blivit lunch!

We just had our first tour group come, and here is a glimpse of how it went through Lydia's eyes... Even though she had 35 Swedish people who all could've been her grandparents, Lydia like the bus driver the most. He let her drive the bus (when it was standing still), carried her proudly around to show his buddies, and she came to squeal for joy when she saw him. It was endearing. I guess Daniel's stories and explanations about st. augustine and local history was Lydia's idea of a good bedtime story, because she spent many an hour snuggled up and sleeping on the bus. Maybe she has ambitions to become an archeologist one day...she was very pleased with herself and constantly showing off to people the great ROCKS she found. Sometimes she got a bit too carried away with herself, and tried to take home rocks that were too big for her...haha. I was worried that a week long intensive tourist trip would be too much for Lydia, but she passed with flying colors. She even got monetary tips from some of the guests at the end of the trip! Not bad for a kid who has hardly started speaking yet... Vi har just haft våran första turist grupp kom på besök, och har kan du ser hur det såg ut ifrån Lydias perspektiv. Även om gruppen var ungefär 35 Svenskar som kunde alla har passat för hennes farmor och farfar (men bli inte Ledsen Dan och Monica, bara ni är hennes RIKTIG farmor och farfar), Lydia tänkte mest om buss chauffören. Han tillåt henne att köra bussen (när det stöd stilla), och vill bara henne runt och visa henne till hans kompisar. Hon började skrika med glädje när hon sa honom. Vad söt. Kanske Daniels berättelse om augustinus och lokala historia var en ideal kvälls godnätt berättelse, för att Lydia användares många timmar sovande och gössug på bussen. Hon vill kanske tänka att bli en arkeolog nån gång i framtiden...hon var jätte stölt och visade ofta till alla de fina sten som hon hittades. Ibland hon var för hoppfult, och vill bara ivag stener som var för stör för henne! Haha. Jag var rädd att en veckas intensivt turist resa skulle bli för mycket för Lydia, men hon klarade det med gladje! Hon även fick lite pengar från folk på slutet, "till våran solström på resan!" Inte så dåligt för en bebis som kan bara säga mamma och pappa.

How do shoes taste?

You might be appalled that we let our daughter play with a bunch of dirty shoes, but we just can't keep her away! She has had this shoe phase...I thought that was just a thing for the shopaholic woman, but Lydia indeed has spend many worthy minutes organizing her shoes, setting them in rows in the doorway, and occasionally testing to see what shoes really taste like. She has a special taste for shoelaces. Lydia even walks around sometimes with one of her shoes in hand, and the shoelace hanging out of her mouth. Sweet, eh? Kanske du ska bli overaskad att vi låta våran dotter leka med massa smutsiga skor, men vi kan inte hålla henne tillbaka! Hon har en skor fas i hennes liv...jag har alltid tänkte skor fixering var nånting för en person som är tokig i att handla, men Lydia gillar verkligen att ordna hennes skor, att sätta de i rad, och ibland smacka på de för att kolla hur en skor smacka. Speciellt gillar hon skosnöre. Hon går runt ibland med en av hennes skor i handen, med skosnöre hängade ifrån hennes mun. Vad gullig, eller hur?

I always dismissed duplos as lego's pathetic cousin. But recently I have decided to give them another chance. Here's what happens when we have playtime together. I build something with the duplos as fast as I can, and Lydia destroys them, sometimes equally fast.It's like a game where I can never win! Jag brukade inte gillar duplos så mycket, de var legos inte så roligt kusin. Men nu ska jag ger duplos en annan chans. Detta är vad händer när vi leka tillsammans. Jag bygga så fot det går, och Lydia ta ner allt så fot det går. Det är som en lek som jag kan aldrig vinna på!

(Afternote: destroying duplos and legos seems to be a recurring theme, and is often considered more interesting than the actual building for many younguns).