To Eli

Happy 7th Birthday, Eli. I cannot believe you are already 7 years old. It seems like only yesterday that YOU were the one I was pregnant with. We didn't find out if you were going to be a boy or a girl. Everyone was convinced you were going to be a girl and I think they convinced me. I'll never forget Dad saying, "It's a BOY....it's a BOY!!!" when you were born. There was such an excitement in his voice. I remember having images of you and Isaac being the best of friends, so close in age. I couldn't wait for you to get bigger so you could do all those brotherly things with him. And here we are....you're surely bigger and doing all those things I had imagined.

You are absolutely in LOVE with basketball. This started over a year ago and it hasn't stopped yet. You tell me you're going to play in the NBA. Eli, you can do whatever you put your mind to. You're a determined little boy and I know if you really want to play in the NBA, you'll do it.

It's not just basketball either. You love all sports and are willing to try any of them, whether it's baseball, golf, running, tennis, etc. You would much rather play sports all day than sit and read a good book. I think you must get that from your Dad. :) You have the endurance and energy to keep going.

You are definitely one who enjoys to challenge your mom. I always have to watch what I say to you because you will challenge me in any way you can. Teaching you in school has been the biggest challenge for me. I love seeing you grow and learn, but you seem to know just where to push Mom's buttons. I think this is God helping me with my own patience. I thank God for using you this way.

You are a wonderful brother to both Isaac and Logan. You look up to Isaac as your big brother. I can't believe the fantasy worlds you guys have traveled to! You are so gentle and patient with Logan. You love to teach him new things. I'll never forget the persistence you had in your voice when we were rummaging a couple weeks ago. You were insisting that Logan needed a little basketball hoop so you could "train" him to play basketball. "Mom, he's at the perfect age to be trained." How could I not get a basketball hoop for Logan??? I see how Logan wants to follow you and do what you do and I know it's because you're such a great big brother to him. I know you'll have that same patience and kindness with your soon-to-be new little brother.

You're also not afraid to voice your opinion. We have two names that we like for this baby. You have told me that you like one and not the other. If we name the baby the one you don't like, you've said you won't play with him because of his name. Now, I know this is not true, but it shows how strongly you're not afraid to express your thoughts.

You have a love for animals. PJ is your favorite, but you never leave Hunter out. You have to say good night to them every night and you are quick to tell me if they look sad and immediately want to figure it out and fix it. Your feelings are so easily hurt if the kitty scratches or bites you. You tell me that when you grow up you're going to have a whole house full of animals. Everything from snakes and lizards to horses and cows. You've already figured out that your brothers and Dad will help take care of these pets when you're traveling on the road with your basketball career.

Eli, you have big dreams. Remember what I always tell you???? You must always do and follow what God wants you to do. If God has blessed you with the gift of basketball, then go play basketball. Do your best. But always remember to thank God for your gift.

I love you, little guy. I look forward to your 7th year. As Grandma says, it's the perfect year, God's perfect number and I can't wait to see the plans God has in store for you.

Love you!!!!
Mom

Happy Birthday, Eli!

I know I'm late in doing this, but it's been busy here and I just haven't had the energy to write. This past weekend we celebrated Eli's 7th birthday. Wow, 7. Where did that time go??? He really wanted to go bowling so we went bowling with the Hart side on Saturday, the 24th. It was lots of fun. Dad was very happy with his bowling score (I think the average for 4 games was 194 or something like that). Logan even got in on the action (with Mom's help). After bowling, everyone came to our house for a cook out and bonfire. Sunday was spent going to church. "G" was back from Israel so we went out to lunch with her and Grandpa, Auntie Becky, Uncle Paul, Ellie and Will. Monday, Memorial Day, was Eli's official birthday. His plans for the day were strictly basketball related. Play the PS2 basketball game for two hours, play a real basketball game at a real basketball court. He got a new basketball hoop too and some new basketball gear. The guy really loves basketball! To top it off, the playoffs were on too! WOW! Doesn't get much better than that for this 7 year old! The party started later on (so it didn't interfere with his game). Another cook out but no bonfire. Too hot!
I will post pictures later.

30 weeks and counting....

Yes, only 10 more weeks to go! And I'm sure they'll ccccrrraaawwwwllll by.....

I had yet another pre-natal appointment today. Nothing too spectacular. Same old stuff. The only different thing is now I get to go every two weeks. Yippee, one more thing to try and fit into our schedule. I had to bring all three boys with me. You should have seen their eyes light up when they heard the baby's heartbeat. Eli let out a "cool!" It did make me wonder how many kids get to hear their new sibling's heartbeat before they're even born! Another amazing experience, I think.

My boys think the most amazing experience of it was seeing the big digger outside when we were leaving. They were doing some landscaping and planting trees and they got to see the big digger actually digging the hole for the tree. Oh, and the lollipop they got from the doctor was pretty cool too.

:)

Monkey see, monkey do

As I was walking down the hallway last week, I glanced into the boys' bathroom and saw an incredible sight. Logan was standing in front of the toilet, shirt pulled up, pants pulled down (diaper still on, of course). I had to catch myself from laughing out loud at this sight. I mean, the little guy doesn't even "reach" the toilet yet. When Logan spotted me, he said, "potty." WOW! Is he ready, I wondered????? Nah, he's only 20 months!
Well, over the course of the next couple days he continues this process, especially when he sees his brothers going. I decided to pull out the ol' potty chair and give it a shot. Logan doesn't get the whole potty chair thing. He wants to do it like his big brothers do it! Unforunately, even with the stool over in front of the toilet, he still doesn't quite make it. He'll run around saying "potty, potty" when someone says they're going to go, but I've realized it's not really "clicking" in his head. He's just copying what he sees others doing, which he is very good at lately.
So, for the time being, I'll tell him to go before we get dressed in the morning or before bedtime or bathtime, but I'm not pushing it. It would be very nice to have him potty-trained before his lil' brother comes, but I think that's a far stretch of my imagination!

Mother's Day arrives early

I woke up Saturday morning with one intention....I'm going to get this house clean!!! I felt like it was a disaster zone! And it really wasn't THAT bad, but I just had a goal of getting it clean in the morning before we had to leave for a birthday party in the afternon. Well, the morning started with me getting up bright and early to see Joshua off to work. I usually just stay up then to get things done before the boys wake up. I worked a little and then started to make waffles for the boys as I had promised. Before long, one by one they rolled out of bed and came to eat breakfast. After that was done, I had to take care of our dog's ear. He has allergies and has developed an ear infection. Well, this turned out to be more of a process than I really had wanted. When his ear gets really bad, he'll shake his head constantly, thus creating a hemotoma in his ear that has to be drained by a vet. I really want to avoid this!!!! So I attempted to wrap his ear (or head) with a bandage so he couldn't shake or flop his ear around. Darn dog kept shaking it off and I kept rewrapping and taping it! We went back and forth with that for a while (I eventually won) and then the laundry had to be hung on the line. This whole time Isaac and Eli are playing basketball outside. Logan is riding in his car.

While I'm hanging the laundry, I suddenly notice that it's just me and Logan outside. Isaac and Eli have disappeared somewhere inside. No big deal. You never know where their little "playworld" is going to take them and I'm just happy they're getting along. Logan needs a bath when we get inside so I immediately take him to the bathroom. I do wonder what the boys are up to as I swore I heard the vacuum running at some point. Nah, that'd be crazy!

It's not until Logan's bathed and dressed that I come out and realize what Isaac and Eli have been up to. They have cleaned the ENTIRE house! Vacuumed, put dirty breakfast dishes away, organized closets, picked up toys...you name it! I'm shocked! They're standing there smiling and say, "Happy Mother's Day, Mom!" I'm just about brought to tears. How sweet. And the fact that they did it on their own makes it so much more special. No nagging from me. Isaac says, "Now you don't have to spend the morning cleaning the house, you can do what you want to do." Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! It's moments like this that I think we're doing a good job raising these boys into young men. And I needed to be reminded after the week we had had!

My actual Mother's Day was good. We went to church and then out to eat, just the five of us! We took the boys to a pet store because they think they're interested in purchasing a guinea pig, hamster, turtle or something for their room. Mom's not so sure and neither is Dad. :) Right now we're just checking them out. Josh bought me the patio set that I've wanted for a couple years now. A wicker, metal type set for the front deck...loveseat, coffee table, two chairs....a nice conversational set for sitting outside. I LOVE IT!!!!

I hope all the mothers had a wonderful day despite our yucky weather! You are all so important in the lives of your kids. Don't ever forget the impact you have! And most importantly, trust God in all you do!

Orange hair

Although this doesn't necessarily tell the best side of Eli, I had to share and preserve this memory.

Isaac came in the other day upset and near tears.
"Eli doesn't like my orange hair," he said. "He said people with orange hair never get a job."

I'm like what in the world does orange hair have to do with getting a job and secondly, why would Eli say something like THAT.

I go out and find Eli and ask him why he said that to Isaac. He says, "Because it's true." So I proceed to tell him that there is nothing wrong with Isaac's hair color, it's the color God picked out for him and God doesn't make mistakes, God created Isaac this way, just like God gave Eli blonde hair. And lastly, the color of your hair has nothing to do with whether or not you'll get a job!

Eli says, "Well, I still don't like Isaac's orange hair."

Brotherly love, I tell ya.
(Eli was then reminded to keep his opinions to himself.)

One or two??!!

Lady: One or two in there? (pointing to my ever-growing stomach)

Me: One.

Lady: REALLY???!!!! (Very shocked look on face.)
When are you due?

Me: End of July.

Lady: WOW, I looked like that when I was nine months pregnant!!!

Some people's words are so kind and just lift my spirit!