Another Update!

Tonight was our date night, so our wonderful babysitter, Katie, put Eli to bed. She said he did great and never tried to leave the room and that he went right to sleep! I went in to check in on him and this is what I found!! He's so cute!! He didn't fall off the bed last night, that I know of, but it looks like he still moves around a lot!! At least he's still covered up!!

A little bit later...

Big Boy Bed Update

Okay, so today has been an interesting day for the big boy bed. During Eli's nap he played in his room for about 30 minutes and then started banging on his door yelling "Mommy" about a hundred times!! He finally opened the door and just stood there crying waiting for me to come. I went in and rocked him for a few minutes and, pretty much, just laid down the law...it's nap time and you stay in your room until Mommy comes to get you. I told him he didn't have to sleep, but that he did have to stay in his room. He fussed a little, but went right to sleep!!

Tonight was a little different. He went to bed just fine and after almost an hour flings the door open just wailing. I'm not totally sure what happened, but we did discover that his Ocean Wonders Aquarium's batteries were totally dead. So, John headed out to Kroger to get batteries and I tried cuddling with Eli in my bed hoping he would go to sleep. Nice try, Mom!! He bounced around and was just plain silly! When John got back and we had replaced the batteries it was back to bed for the Kick!! Once again, he went right to sleep. I guess he still needs to get used to his big boy bed!

Oops!!

I went in to check on Eli and this is what I found!! It looks like he needs some practice sleeping in his big boy bed!!

Big Boy Bed!!

Well, after last night, we decided it was time to move Eli to his big boy bed!! He went to sleep just fine, but he also didn't have a nap today, so he was really tired. We'll see how he does in the morning when he wakes up. We're going to work on teaching him not to leave his room until one of us comes and gets him. We'll see how that works out!!

Mamma's 80th Birthday Party

Yesterday, we celebrated my Mamma's 80th birthday with a surprise party for her. The big surprise was that all three of her children were there together for the first time in around 11 years!! She was really surprised and we all had a great time together...especially the kids!! For more fun pictures, take a look and my sister's blog!

Going "fishing"!!

As you can see, Eli loved the cracker candy!! Or, he enjoyed picking the chocolate off of it!!

Parade and Thomas Bed!!

Yesterday, there was a parade in our neighborhood to kick off a local church's VBS. There was even a fire truck and Eli was so excited!! Here is Eli and Trevor with the firefighters.

Also yesterday, Eli's new Thomas the Train toddler ready bed came in the mail!! We got this because he is getting too big for his pack-n-play and we needed somewhere for him to sleep on vacation. We set it up yesterday and he even slept in it last night.

Diego Yogurt!!

Eli had fun (a little too much fun) with his Diego yogurt today. I went into the kitchen to start cleaning up and when I came back, this is what I found!! Silly boy!!

'Night 'Night Hugs!!

Everynight, after we read our books and say our prayers, Eli gives Mason (a.k.a. Sissy!!) hugs and kisses! He loves his "Sissy"!!

John went to a music festival close to Nashville this past weekend with his friend Brad. Their main purpose in going was to see the Police. Anyway, Brad's wife and I had a sleepover with our kids! They had a blast. I'm bummed I forgot to take any pictures while we were there. Eli had a little accident with their step stool. He cut his chin pretty good. It doesn't look like much, but boy did it bleed. Chandra and I had to tag team him to put ice on his chin. He didn't like that at all. Amidst his screaming and crying while we are holding him down he started saying..."I go bye-byes"..."I play car trucks!" I felt so bad for him. Thanks, Chandra, for hosting us and for helping with Eli's boo-boo! We appreciate it!!

Dollywood Splash Country!!

Last Friday, my friend Jeanne invited us to go to Dollywood with her! She had a free ticket for us, so we couldn't decline!! Eli had a blast! We liked it so much that we bought a season pass!!

Waiting for Jeanne to pick us up!!

Here is his first time really in the water. It was a little overcast when we first got there, and the water was really chilly, so we didn't get in until the sun came out and it got much warmer!

The kids kept putting their feet over a hole in the ground where water was coming out like a sprinkler. After watching and laughing, Eli finally decided to join in!

Eli really enjoyed these slides!

Here are the friends we went with. Eli is the youngest, really only by a few days, but look how tall he his! And how skinny!!

Swim Class at UT

Last week and the week before Eli had swim classes at UT. He did pretty good!! The first week he was a little hesitant about doing any of the exercises, but the last week he started to really do well!! He never did get comfortable with swimming on his back. The main point of the classes for him was really just to get used to the water so he wouldn't be afraid. The water was really cold everyday, but we still had a good time!!

Here, his teacher and I are trying to coax him to lean back and put his head on my shoulder. He did it once the whole two weeks and only for about two seconds!!

Swimming on his belly!

Here is Eli's teacher, Miss Kari!!

Before The Cross

Many of you know the challenges John and I faced during our season of buying and selling a house. It was very difficult and we didn't always respond in a Godly way. However, it is good to know that we have a sovereign God who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our sin. His Son, Jesus Christ!! Last night, at Care Group, we sang this song during worship and it really reached my heart. I thought I would share this with you all and maybe it will speak to you or you can tuck it away for future trials. Because, they are inevitable.

Before the Cross

My Savior's sacrifice,
Paid for all my sins.
So in my suffering,
I look to the cross again.
No need no want, no trial no pain,
Can compare to this.
The wrath of God once meant for me
Was all spent on Him.

Before the cross
I humbly bow.
I place my trust in the Savior.
Your finished work captures my gaze.
You bore the wrath
I know the grace!

In my darkest hour
Your presence is my peace.
In my days of joy
Your grace carries me.
Jesus my great high priest
The one who pleads for me
My heart is filled faith in you
Here at Calvary on my needs

Before the cross
I humbly bow.
I place my trust in the Savior.
Your finished work captures my gaze.
You bore the wrath
I know the grace!

No need no want, no trial no pain,
Can compare to this.
The wrath of God once meant for me
Was all spent on Him.

Before the cross
I humbly bow.
I place my trust in the Savior.
Your finished work captures my gaze.
You bore the wrath
I know the grace!

Song sample

Our New House!!

Well, we did it! We finally moved!! We actually moved last Saturday, the 19th. Life has been too crazy to even think about putting pictures on the blog. We are still living amidst boxes and empty walls, but things are starting to come together!! Here are a few pictures of the outside. The inside needs some updating and is a mess, so those pictures will come later. As you can see, we have a wonderful backyard that Eli has been enjoying tremendously!! The house is 2400 sq. ft. where our last house was just under 1500. So, we have a lot more space for Eli to put his toys!! We really thank God for this house. It has been an interesting journey getting here, but we believe this is the house God wants for us. So, we'll do our best to use it to bring Him glory!!

Cincinnati & Megan's Recital

This past weekend we went to Cincinnat for for Eli's cousin, Megan's, dance recital. She was so cute in her little red costume and did a great job on stage!! Eli and Megan had a blast playing outside with Megan's wagon and big wheel. Every moment we were at Megan's house these two were outside playing!!

Thomas PJ's!!

Last week we went shopping for some Thomas pj's for Eli. Target had some cute ones but they only had 4T. I tried the shorts on Eli in the store and he liked them so much he wouldn't take them off. Here he is modeling them for the camera!!

Zoo Fountains!!

Last Monday, Eli and I went to the zoo with our friends, Jeanne and Trevor. The animals were great, but nothing comparted to the frog fountains by the Kids Cove. Eli and Trevor played there for well over and hour and still fussed when we left!!

Day Out With Thomas!!

The last weekend of April, John and I took Eli to Day out with Thomas in Chattanooga!! We coordinated with our friends, Dean and Jeanne, whose little boy, Trevor is Eli's age. The boys had a blast!!

Eli was enamored by the trains!! He would just stand there and watch them for a long time!!

In the imagination station they had temporary tattoos, train tables and other crafts. Eli wasn't so sure about the tattoo at first, but once it was on he loved it!! It was nice to stand under the tents and get out of the blazing sun!!

Here he is on our train ride. They boys were so excited to get to ride on a train!! After the ride, they got their picture taken with the conductor!!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Joshy!!

At the end of April, Eli's Aunt Tonya (a.k.a. Aunt Tonee) threw a 30th birthday party for her hubby, Josh (a.k.a. Uncle Joshy). Eli had a blast and loved the cake and ice cream! What little kid doesn't!!