Uncle Andy and Aunt Jessica

Andy and Jessica surprised us with a visit! We were so happy to see them and spend some time with them. Eli loved them! We had to break out the vacuum at one point and Eli ran to Uncle Andy. After that those two were best buds! Eli loved all Aunt Jessica's songs she sang to him too! We all went up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and did a small hike but it was a bit too overcast to see much. On Sunday we went to church and afterwards our friend Rebecca (Andy and Jess had education classes with her )came over for the rest of the day. We had a blast eating, talking about old times at CUAA and playing games. It was hard to see them go this morning!

Just Catching Up...

So I've misplaced my camera cord...actually I'm sure Eli found it and put it somewhere. He loves to drag cords around the house. So I just thought I'd write about what's been going on and try to keep this thing updated.

BJ went to Baltimore and New Jersey for a week with the youth group. They did some service projects in Baltimore and then camped out on the NJ beach at a Christian youth festival. He came rolling in at 9 p.m. last night. This morning he had to go take the rental vans back. About 5 minutes after he came through the door last night, Eli woke up and started crying. BJ couldn't help but go in and lift him out of his crib. The poor child looked so confused but seemed to be crying in relief! This morning Eli couldn't stop touching BJ's face as if to say, "Are you for real!?" We let Daddy sleep in for another hour but Eli kept sneaking into the bedroom and would climb up into the bed with BJ. 

My parents came up from FL and stayed with me all week. They had fun playing with Eli. He found Me-ma's suitcase and started bringing her clothes to her at one point. Then after he had emptied it out he decided to climb inside. She loved it and threatened to take him home with her. Not long after that we found him pulling his clothes out of his drawers and putting them into the suitcase. He threw in a couple diapers too! 

We had a surprise visit from my old choir director and her husband last Sunday night. They have known me since I was nine years old and they still go to my parents church. They met here in Hickory at Lenoir Rhyne College and started their family here. They were visiting a good friend in Boone and stopped by to see us! It was so much fun catching up!

It was nice to have 2 extra pairs of hands around the house. Granddad stayed busy with Eli and also did some odd jobs around here. He replaced several burned out bulbs outside, fixed a toilet paper holder, rehung a cabinet door that had fallen off my pantry, and hung a shelf. We also got my sewing machine fired up and I made some drapes for the dining room out of some upholstery fabric BJ snagged from someone at church. 

Well, this is getting long now...

Eli is still keeping us entertained. We have to make sure to keep the chairs pushed in at the dining room table otherwise he will climb on top of it! His hair is pretty long and curly in the back. We're going to hold on to those curls as long as we can! He has a couple molars that are going to break thru his gums any day now. I'm surprised he isn't more cranky though. His G.G.s got him a sand table! He loves it but I'm trying to keep him from taste testing the sand. 

It's hard to believe that we're so far into Summer now. God has been so good to us! I started attending a woman's Bible study. We meet at a different home every week and it has helped me to get back into God's Word and get to know other women from church. It's been good for me!

BJ and I will be celebrating our 4th anniversary on Wed. Each year has brought something new and exciting. We're looking forward to new adventures ahead! 

Eli at 15 Months

Elijah checked in well at his 15 month appointment this morning. He weighs 23 lbs. (25th %) and is 32 inches long (75%). He only had to get one shot, the DTap and he was a very good boy! The nurse even gave him 2 stickers!

He hasn't been sleeping well the last couple nights. He just cut one molar and I am thinking another one is starting to come in. So we stocked up on Tylenol and Motrin. We'll try the Motrin tonight. 

He's getting to be such a big boy. He says buddy, bath, and bye bye. He will dance to any tune and loves to flip through his books. 

What a blessing he is to us!

Slow Down and Smile

Sorry. This isn't a picture post. It's an into-the mind-of-Liz post, so you can check back later for pictures if you wish.

I think lately God has been telling me to stop rushing around and be more polite to people. Perhaps even make eye-contact. I've gotten into this rut of trying to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. Especially when I have Eli in tow. I look for the checkout lanes with the least amount of people. I stay in the fast lane on the freeway. It feels like there aren't enough hours in the day when there are errands to run and chores to do. 

So the other day I was dashing into the grocery store from the left and some slow walkers were coming in from the right. I didn't even look at them, I just zoomed past and maybe even cut them off a little bit. But I had Eli on my hip and my eye on the shopping carts and didn't even look at the people. As I was buckling Eli into the cart the lady I had cut off came over and started talking to Eli! Turns out it was someone from church! A sweet lady whose daughter does all the administrative stuff for BJ. I felt terrible for not even looking at them.

Then this morning I was making a mad dash to the post office while BJ was home with Eli. It's only a mile down the road from here. but I got behind a grandpa at the traffic light and when it turned green he was going too slow so I ended up pretty much running the red light. When I got to the P.O. I was annoyed b/c there weren't any spots close to the building and one guy had taken up two parking spots. So in order to get a close spot I had to park crooked as well (I am thinking how lame I am now as I write this). As I got out of the car I saw out of the corner of my eye a lady with 2 boys slightly behind me carrying a large box. And immediately I think, I have to get in front of them so that I can be next in line! Well, one of the boys runs up and even opened the door for me as I walk into the building. I had to stand in line behind one other customer and as I get my small package stamped I start to feel really guilty. I should have let them go ahead of me. They have a huge heavy looking box and I think they were out of their car before I was and it just would have been polite to let them go ahead. So as I am walking out the door avoiding eye contact I hear, "Hey Liz". I turn to see Sue and her 2 boys who are in BJ's youth group standing there. One of them had even held the door for me. Sue has even had me over for lunch and she and her husband are from Michigan. She went to Kendall where BJ's dad went to school for crying out loud! I say, "OH hi!" Ask how they're doing and even comment about how big the box is that they are mailing. Then I tell them to have a nice week and walk away feeling absolutely mortified. Then I remember how I saw them in Wal Mart about a month ago and would have walked past them except they said, "Hey Liz" and got my attention. 

Maybe I am being absolutely ridiculous and self conscious. Hickory is a small town and I am use to being in Plymouth where I only saw strangers when I went out. My mother always told me to avoid eye-contact with strangers, especially men. But I was reading a Christian book the other day (can't remember what) and it said that shame is what makes us avoid eye contact with other people. I am so use to keeping to myself and just trying to mind my own business but how am I going to be the light of Christ to the world if I am staring at the ground or straight ahead all the time. 

I really think I just need to slow down and stop worrying about what needs to be done all the time. I should take time to smile and make eye contact with other moms (maybe not men) and scan the Wal Mart aisle for people I might know.  

 

We took Eli with us to Sonfest at Carowinds! He had a blast riding Scooby Doo's Haunted Mansion, the Sportscopters and Dora's Train. Then we went to the water park to cool off and he loved it! We ended the night with Switchfoot and Third Day in concert! What a little trooper!

P.S. This was filmed by his Aunt Ashley.

Life is Fragile

I found out this weekend that my old college roommate who was pregnant with identical twins went into early labor last weekend and the little ones did not survive. 

They were able to baptize the little boys and gave them both beautiful names before they were called into eternal glory with our Heavenly Father.

News like this is so hard to understand. I can't help but wonder why God allows things like this to happen. But I know that our Heavenly Father has a plan, even in this. I'm praying today for Tiffany and David and that God would embrace them during this time of loss. What a comfort to know that they will always have 2 beautiful twin boys in heaven!