Luke Goes to Luke's!

Well, Dadddy gets to go to off to work and other places, and usually Mommy is home alone with the Little Boy for hours on end... so today, Dadddy kicked Mommy out of the house - sent her off to do whatever she might enjoy while Daddy played Mr. Mom all day... and what fun we had!

Here is the sweet little boy sleeping like, uh, well, like a baby. But getting to this blissful state takes a little work sometimes. One of my favorite tricks is cuddling with the boy having quality bonding and lovey time, and then pullin' the old bait n' switch... little boy falls alseep with Daddy only to replaced by pillows!

To master this Daddy move, Verrrrrrrrrrrry slowly first replace the arm under baby's head with one pillow, keeping your hand on baby and face close in case he peeks.... then slip away holding his hand and replace your body with another pillow. Finally, help him clutch the pillow case thinking it is your shirt... and your FREE!

They do eventually wake up and figure out they've been had.... but that's ok, got some work done! Next it is time for some motivational training and self esteem boosting watching the video of himself loop while I get the bottle ready.

After a little Mac OS training.... (he loves downloading baby music from iTunes), it was off to lunch!

It was a beautiful day so we decided to cruise in the PK Cruiser with the top down, oh yeah!

And what better place to go then, LUKE's!?!?!?

Already Luke can taste the yummy food he'll discover inside!

Hmmmmmm.... hot dog? burger? brat?

Sooooooooooooo many choices!

I suggested he chose from the Kids Menu but....

but once he saw the picture of the Chicago Style Dog....
oh, boy, did THAT look good!

In the end, Daddy and Luke shared a cheeseburger and fries!

For some reason, he didn't seem to want a bite of it!
Oh, well, more for Dad.

But, of course, he DID help himself to some of Daddy's Dew!

Uh, oh... baby's wakin' up again... and he's discovered he got tricked again! Gotta go!!

NEWS FLASH: Baby Luke Does the Dew Too!

Baby Luke has received many presents from family and friends, but I think his favorite was when his Aunt Barbara brought him a stuffed lion, a musical lamb that plays "Jesus Loves Me" and a six pack of baby sized Mountain Dew cans!

Did you know that standard bottle nipples will snap onto the top of a soda can?

You may not realize this, but Mountain Dew is actually a health drink! It is loaded with good stuff that every growing boy needs Have you ever LOOKED at the ingredients of Mountain Dew? They are really missing the health nut market... just look at this list of ingredients found in every can of Mountain Dew:

Dew Ingredients: Water, Corn, Orange Juice, 'other natural flavors', citric, stuff to 'preserve freshness', calcium and vegatable. Every single one of these is healthy for you!

The Good Stuff!

Luke took to his new formula quickly! He seems to just LOVE the stuff! Though, it does keep him up for hours, but then..... oh yyyyyyeah.... he sleeps all through the night!

Baby's first Mountain Dew! Oh yyyyyyyyyeah, Dude!

Ah sleeping like a baby. Oh, he IS a baby!

TODAY WAS: Take your baby to work day.

The pictures say it all.....

What a CUTE Kid!

Newest Mom on the Block!

Today is Mother's Day - and it is a very special one, since it is my wife Sara's FIRST Mother's Day as a Mom! Now, a lot of people tease me because I put more pictures of me and Luke on my blog than I do of Sara and Luke.... Well, I could just say it's my blog, and she can get her own blog if she wants to, but the truth is that first of all, there is an extensive approval process required for me to post pictures of Sara on my blog! Plus, many of pictures of Luke include me because Sara is a great photographer and is quicker at grabbin' the camera. Though, I will admit, that another factor is that I do hog the kid a bit, so when we are both home, it is more common to see me with the baby than Sara since she gets him all day when I'm at work. (Unless, of course, there is a dirty diaper, then she will be more likely to be with him!)

Anyway, since it is Mother's Day, I will risk posting a few pictures of the newest mom in our home without prior approval.....

Luke, already looking up to Mom!

Evidence of who changes diapers.

Super Mom, already learning to multi-task!

Almost burpin' time... that's Dad's job!
(Feeeel the burp within you, Luke!
Give innnnnn to the burp, Luke. It is your desssstiny!)

My two favorite people in the world!

But, it wouldn't be Mother's Day without also remembering the other Moms that are important to me. I have not one, not two, but THREE special Moms.

My own mother went to meet Jesus on Christmas morning, 1996... so hard to believe that will be ten years this Christmas. Sara's mother is as much my 'Mom' now as my mother was. But I was blessed with another Mom too.... sure, she was my Aunt, but I practically lived at her house and got as much of my love for children's ministry as I did from my mom... forgive me as I travel down memory lane a bit....

Yup, me, Melissa, Lynn and MOM.
(Sorry, Jordan, ya weren't born yet!)

My mom may not have had a website - but she was a huge influence in many people's lives and especially the children she taught. She was always dressing up and didn't care how silly she might look. The kids loved her and I was often told how lucky I was that my mom was my mom!

My mom with her 'Story Box' - every week something new would come out. IN FACT, just this week I got an email from someone who said they still remember her story box, and its been over twenty years!

Oooooo, a scary story!

Arrrrg! Pirates! (My Mom and Melissa!)

My Aunt Linda and my Mom.

My Aunt Linda's home was always filled with kids!
(I'm the one with my arm on the left arm rest barely visable!)

She was no dummy, but would use anything to teach.

I can still sing the songs and remember the stories from Aunt Linda's children's church!

Aunt Linda with her bird puppet!

My Mom and Aunt Linda, sisters, friends, and ministry partners!

My mom with Sara when we were at Moody Bible Institute.

Sara and her mom, Patty Jo. (I love this picture!)

That's a lot of pictures. I'll end with this one of my mom, perhaps putting together a Mother's Day bulletin board. Wow, I miss her bad. I sure wish she could meet little Luke, but I am so thankful for her loving and gentle example and the love of Jesus and children that she instilled in me. Luke may never get to meet his grandma, but his life will still be richer because of her patient investment in me - and may Luke not drive me as crazy as I drove my mom!

I am so thankful for my Moms.... my mother, Patti, my mother in law Patty Jo, my Aunt Linda, and now, newest to this elite club... my wife, Sara. Each has made my life so rich, so blessed, so happy, and so special... and so filled with memories that I cherish every day, but especially today.

BONUS FOR READING ONLINE: Download the Mother's Day Video I made for the worship services today. (Let Them Be Little 32.8MB)

On being a father....

Oh yeah.... being a DAD is the best thing in the world. (Oh, just let me gush.) I've waited twelve years to gush. Longer, in fact. I've wanted to be a dad since I was a boy myself. My dad was so much fun I often thought, "Someday I'll get to BE THE DAD and how cool will that be!" Well, it is, and I know I'm only in the early stages.

But that smile that appears when I enter the room, those eyes that follow me around the house, even up the stairs to the balcony on the second floor, those little hands that clutch mine, those legs that kick sporatically when I make him laugh..... oh, yeah. It's all good.

Yeah, sure, there's that little rear end that needs wipin' every now and then, but then, that's what mommies are for, right? (JUST KIDDING!)

I'm sure I'm just the 156,295,905,283,004th Christian dad to make this discovery, but being a Dad teaches me so much about my heavenly Abba Father....

Luke only cries when he is hungry, poopy, or in need of sleep. He craves love and attention from his parents and is eager to learn and interact with his growing world. And he often cries only because he doubts we know his needs and won't meet them in time.

My soul cries too. But only when I am hungry for more of God, when I have 'poop' in my life (sin), or when I push to hard working FOR God and forget to simply REST with Him. I crave my Father's attention and approval, and find myself whining if I don't get what I want when I want... forgetting that my Father loves me, knows what I need, is there to clean up my sin and give me a fresh start over and over, and will give me what I need just when I need it, every day. My crying doesn't make it sooner, it just makes me miss the fact that He would have given me what I needed anyway.

Oh, yes, I cried for a son, many times, and all along He knew I needed a son. And in his perfect timing.... he gave me one. Sorry about all the e-mails, phone calls, meetings, deadlines and other projects I am behind on right now....

But it's time for another nap with my boy.