Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Pay it Forward

What a wonderful day. We had a play date today with our friends Julie & her son Garner. They came over, the boys played & then we enjoyed lunch together. We made pizza out of the flat breads (the deli flats). Kind of like the english muffin pizza's only better (at least in my opinion). It is so much fun because you can make them all different. I will tell you that our favorite today was with cheese, spinach & bacon. Oh my goodness, it was DELISH! Such a great lunch, dinner, party idea, kid friendly, whatever you want it to be meal. I am even thinking breakfast pizza's would be yummy made with them. Ooohhhh...may have to do that sometime! Anyhow, after lunch the kids played a little more & watched a little Land Before Time. Such a nice time spent together. I know that Eli & I had a blast!

I love the movie Pay it Forward. If you haven't seen the movie, it is a MUST see. I also enjoy surprising people by paying for something for them. (as in a previous blog). Dan & I have had it happen to us several times & we were so thankful & enjoyed it. We have now taken it as a fun thing to do & hope to teach Eli how fun it is. So...I just saw on Facebook a Pay it Forward page. Apparently there is a national day in April, but they are also encouraging people to do it tomorrow December 1st. So, I am encouraging you to do that. Pay it Forward tomorrow (or any day for that matter). It doesn't have to be a lot. Here are some ideas from the page:
Pay It Forward Day December 1st, 2010 ‘Tis the Season! A random act of kindness goes a long way so…PAY IT FORWARD!!! What can you do? ON DEC. 1st...
• Pay for someone’s cup of coffee…
• Buy someone some groceries…
• Get the next person’s gas…
• Help someone out…
• Donate something…
• Be creative!!!
When you do something for someone there’s a good chance they’ll do something for someone else. If not, at least you’ve done a good deed for someone. So on December 1st share some kindness and spread some joy! It can be as little as a few dollars or as much as you want. No one needs to know! I would love to hear your experience if you would like to share it! Join in with me for this!!!

Scoot was on the curtain rod today above a window. It really has been such a neat thing watching Elijah each morning find him. Today he continues to talk to him. So neat! If you haven't noticed by now...we really are having a blast with this!

Well, Eli & I are off to the Library to return his books & check out some new ones. Love my little man! The best part is...he just told me..."Mommy, I love you & Daddy, ALL the time!" Oh what a blessing!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Wonderful Monday

If you would have asked me this morning as I was cleaning up spilled milk from me dropping the container of Elijah's Vanilla Silk let me tell you I wouldn't have thought it would have turned out as well as it did. Let's just say that was the worst thing that happened to me today. :-)
Elijah woke up early, but was in a VERY talkative mood today. He normally will let me sleep for a while as he watches TV, but today, nope. Not so much. That threw me off a bit, but I was just thankful he was being good & energetic as usual. He had preschool today so we got everything together & off we went. On our way there he talked & talked & talked. At one point I was laughing because he was just going on & on about the trees & the planes & all the wonderful things outside. He was too cute. As we were walking in he told me that he wasn't going to cry today & viola...he didn't!!! I was so thankful.

Then...I am enjoying some special treats this week. When we moved here & selected our electric company they told us we would get a welcome bonus. We recently received the bonus gift card & I was so excited. Then...my sweet husband told me to use it for me. So, this week I am getting an early Christmas gift. (Thanks Santa!) Today I enjoyed a pedicure & manicure....LOVELY. Thursday I am going to enjoy my first ever Facial! I am so excited!!! Here is a pic of my beautiful toes & fingers. :-)

So after some pampering & running a few errands I then went to get my little man from school. He did so well at school today! I was so proud of him. We had talked about going to pick an ornament, so we did. He did so well! Then....surprise of all surprise...he wanted to see Santa! He told me how excited Scoot would be that he saw Santa. Well, when we got to Santa, he didn't really want to see him, but he did. Afterwards he was so excited to tell Scoot & that is the first thing he did when we got home.

Scoot was in the kitchen today & with as well behaved as Eli has been lately I am starting to think that we need a Scoot all year round. LOL!
Tonight Eli & I ran to Walmart to make a quick pick up. Once we parked there was an employee taking in carts...Eli yells at the guy..."STOP, we need a cart!" I was laughing so hard! Then after we paid he told the cashier, "Bye, I love you all the time." Awww...he was crushing. Haha. :-)
It seems that this transition to Dan leaving for work has been much easier. I really think Eli is getting into the routine of life here in TX. It was odd today as the temp was close to 80 today. I was smiling as I was Christmas shopping in flip flops! Yup, I am really enjoying Texas!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Advent

You know, I really enjoy getting sleep, but for some reason lately sleep hasn't been one of my strong points. I usually will sleep one good night out of 10. I had that Friday night into Saturday when Eli left us sleep in until 8:30 Saturday morning! Today Eli showed up in our bed a little after 3 am. That was it for me. I was awake. So...I went to bed a little after midnight & was up a little after 3. Ugh. Could be a looooonnngg day. Maybe I will try to take a nap this afternoon. Oh yeah, right. Who am I kidding?!


In all my time this morning of quiet I enjoyed listening to Christmas music & thought a lot about the upcoming holiday. I am challenged to teach Eli everything I can about the real reason for the season. We are enjoying having fun with the "Santa" idea, however I know at some point we will let him know Santa isn't real. I know...shhhh....don't tell. The idea of Santa is fun. I just hope that we can teach him to be a "Santa" to others & not be so concentrated on what Santa will bring him. In our home we have decided that there is only one gift from Santa each year. The rest he will know who they came from. We will keep the Scoot idea going even when the real Santa is fully revealed, just to have some fun!

Church this morning...first of was so exciting for us to know that we are settled in our new church. We have found our new home. We know that God will use us there in His time & way. Service today was like nothing I have even been in. It was incredible!!! Today is the first Sunday of Advent. The first candle of Advent was lit today for Hope. The focus was to Worship Fully. Our church is participating in Advent Conspiracy this year & each week having a focus to help make your season more focused on the real reason. So, today as the church had the "Hanging of the Greens" here are things I learned or was reminded of that I would love to share with you.
(This is taken from our bulletin)

Advent represents the beginning of the Christian year, where our spiritual journey begins. It links the ancient, humble signs of Christ's first coming with His triumphant return.

The candles of the advent wreath are arranged in a circle (to remind us that God's power is continuous). They are lit each Sunday. There are three purple candles (symbolizing the royalty of Christ our coming King), one rose candle (lit on the third Sunday, representing joy), and one white candle (symbolizing Christ, lit on Christmas Day).

The cedar tree of royalty, symbolizes Christ's purity and His everlasting reign.

The evergreen garlands symbolize the unchanging nature of God and the everlasting life that is ours through Christ.

In ancient times, holly and ivy represented the signs of Christ's passion: the prickly leaves ~ the crown of thorns; the red berries ~ the blood of Christ; the bitter bark ~ the drink offered to Him as He hung on the cross.

The wreaths of evergreen shaped in the form of a circle remind us of the eternal reign of the Messiah.

The poinsettia, reminds us that it was Christ's blood that brought life into a cold, dead world.

The lights ~Jesus is the Life-Light who blazed out of the darkness. He will return in a blaze of glory.

Even though I was physically exhausted this morning God used this service & spoke to me. I was so excited to be there! I can't wait until next Sunday. I know God is going to teach me so much this year!

Well, we are going to enjoy the rest of the day with Dan. He will be leaving tonight at midnight to be at work tomorrow morning. He has a 7 hour drive, so we value your prayers. Elijah has already been talking about Daddy going to work, but Mommy being home with him. I am praying he handles it just fine this week.

Scoot has been chillin' out today by the Ipod docking station. He is enjoying the Christmas music & sweet spirit Elijah has today.

Happy Sunday!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Happy Day

My little man slept until 8:30 this morning! That was amazing!!!! Honestly that was such a nice surprise & I'm not sure it will happen again anytime soon, so I enjoyed the moment!!! I'm hoping that we will enjoy more of those moments soon though. LOL.

Today was so nice as a family. After breakfast we went to mail our Christmas cards. I sent out quite a few, so I took them to the Post Office. It always feels so good to put them in the box. I really enjoy sending out Christmas cards. I pray that everyone who receives them enjoys the card as much as I enjoy sending them. Then we had a couple other stores to hit...finally getting some throw rugs for our house. I am telling you that between hanging things on the wall and placing some rugs and decorating for Christmas this house is becoming home!

Tonight we had guests for dinner. Our Pastor & his wife. What a great time we had. It was so nice to learn more about them & the church. We have found our new home church!

Elijah has been so good lately. He has really been a big helper for Daddy these past few days. It has been so neat to watch. Dan is so good with him. Today Elijah actually talked to Scoot. I told Scoot that Eli was so good at the stores today, but then he was in time out a little later....then when he was out of time out he went over & talked to him. Too cute! We have been having so much fun with Scoot! (I'm still hoping he is listening to what I'm wishing for too. ;-) )

Well, tomorrow will be our last day with Daddy home for the week or ???? He will leave tomorrow night for San Angelo for the week. We have been so thankful to have him home for this holiday weekend! What a blessing it has been.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Home Sweet Home

I can just say that Black Friday shopping is most likely out of my league in TX. I have never seen so many people. Okay, correction, I have seen that amount of people in the Philippines Airport around Christmas time. Yup...wall to wall people. People punching people over a game. Really? Wow. The deals aren't this good. Yup. I'm home. I left WalMart completely empty handed. I really am sure that is the first time in my life that I left WalMart without spending money. Oh well, at least I live less than a mile from the store. I was home quickly.

Later today I did decide to head out for a little time by myself. My men stayed home & worked on hanging items in our house to make it feel more like home. It's amazing how having things hung on the wall make it more like home. I really do like our house. I miss a lot of things about our home in Shippensburg, however, this house is definitely becoming our home & there are many things I LOVE about it!

While I was away Dan & Eli began decorating for Christmas. Dan later shared with me that Elijah was so excited running around the house saying it's Christmas time. He stated "Merry Christmas Daddy, Merry Christmas Mommy, Merry Christmas God!" He was so happy to see me when I came home & couldn't wait to show me the tree & have me help them finish decorating it. truth be told, I didn't decorate much. Eli actually did most of it. It was so neat to see.

So...our home is well on it's way to being decorated for Christmas & I must say, I LOVE IT!

Scoot was in the kitchen today. Eli has been having fun with him. Tonight when we were eating dinner Eli just looked at him and was watching him while he ate. It really is cute & although I'm not a big Santa person this has been working out for us. :-)

All in all this day has been wonderful. The deal that I went to WalMart for last night, but didn't get, well, I ordered it online today for the bargain price! I was able to get some other deals online too! I did hit the mall this afternoon & got the deal there that I wanted. I actually enjoyed the crowd there. Christmas cards are almost done & most of them will be in the mail tomorrow.

For now...I'm getting ready to watch Elf with my hubby. I really do enjoy the Christmas season!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Laughter

Maddie, Sadie & Eli watching TV
The feeling & sound of laughter is something that is soothing & feels good to the soul. Happy Thanksgiving to all! We have had an amazing day. Dan made our turkey this year. It was sooooo moist & delicious! Good job honey! Our stuffing was delicious! It tasted so close to my mom's! That made me really happy! Sarah & her girls joined us & brought some wonderful sweet potato fluff & delectable Peppermint Mocha Cheesecake. Oh my goodness! Our dinner was complete with baked corn, green beans, cranberry sauce, rolls & some gravy. We had enough food to feed an army & well, we had 3 adults & 2 toddlers eating. Needless to say we have LEFTOVERS. Oh yeah...forgot about the pumpkin pie too. LOL. Elijah had watched Dan put the Turkey in the roaster this morning. About 20 minutes after he put it in there Eli asked..."Daddy, is the chicken done yet?" I think Eli asked about the turkey (chicken in his mind) being done so many times we couldn't help but laugh.


80 degree day is a pretty spectacular Thanksgiving day in my opinion. Eli & Maddie were able to play outside for a while & enjoyed some time in the warmth. I personally enjoyed being able to wear short sleeves today. My niece Sarah however, willed the cold weather by wearing a sweater. Well, by the time she left this evening it was rainy & getting chilly. It is now 55 degrees outside. It is to get a little colder this evening. I'm just thankful it is not snowing.

Laughter...today we had so much laughter in this house it was fantastic! Eli & Maddie played well together for the most part (aside from the normal loving tats). They played the piano together which was adorable & they just enjoyed the day. It was so wonderful listening to them say Happy Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, us adults...yup, we laughed & laughed & laughed some more. I'm not even sure we were always aware of what we were laughing at. Although one thing that caused laughter...we have been trying to get Eli to keep his toys out of the kitchen (mainly because I'm tired of stepping on them in there), well...all day...I kept asking him, please keep your toys in the living room. While we were eating dinner this evening Eli had toys in the kitchen. I looked at him & asked...Eli, how many times have I asked you to keep your toys out of the kitchen? He just looked at me & said..."Three!" Oh My Goodness...I BUSTED...okay WE all cracked up. I did get the toys out of the kitchen, but oh my.





Scoot....Eli & Maddie realized that they both have an elf. Maddie was so excited to see Pyga at Aunt Beppie's house. Pyga is the name of her elf. Well....Eli all of the sudden decided that he wanted to have his named Pyga. Thankfully Sarah came to the rescue & explained that Pyga & Scoot were probably brothers & maybe even twins! Eli was content with that answer. Scoot didn't have much activity today. He just watched the good & bad behavior and I'm sure has some exciting stuff to share with Santa tonight. I just hope he is listening to me too...Santa needs to know what mommy wants for Christmas! Hopefully Santa can deliver! ;-)



All in all my first Thanksgiving in TX was great. I am so thankful that I was here with my men & that Sarah, Maddie & Sadie could join us for today. We are so blessed. We had a great day! We lacked for NOTHING! So, that is a wonderful day!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Home Sick

Today was a stay home day. The weather was gorgeous & thankfully Elijah played outside for quite a while today while I cleaned. He was so good for me today. I am so thankful for that.

It has been an emotionally tough day. I really miss home. At one point today I was crying & Eli asked me "What's wrong Mommy?" I told him that I missed PA & my family. He matter of factly just looked at me & said, "It's okay Mommy, they will be here in a couple weeks & then you will be happy." So sweet, even though they won't be here in a couple weeks, it was nice to hear. I really am missing home. My family is all together this year for Thanksgiving & I really wish I were there too. I am thankful for so many things & I won't let it ruin my day tomorrow, but I really am struggling today.

As I was thinking about family today I would like to encourage you all one thing. For many years (and still so) I did what I felt others wanted me to do. Sometimes Holiday get togethers were more of a turmoil for me than a good thing. Today knowing that I miss that togetherness I wish I had done some things differently. I encourage you to spend time with your family. Do things that you know in your heart are what you need to do. Who cares if you make someone mad because you did what you wanted & not what they wanted. If you want to see someone, GO. If you want to help someone, HELP. If you want to encourage someone, DO IT. Don't let the holiday pass you by.

Scoot was found today on the piano. Eli is really liking him. He asked me to read him the Elf on the Shelf book again today. So, I did.

One final thing...having watched the movie Santa Paws with Eli last night I am really dealing with some internal struggles. Please pray for me that God will direct our family in the direction we are to go. We want to be used by Him. We long to serve Him & only Him. Thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving. Love your family!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Jumpalooza

First of all let me just tell you that I really enjoy sleep & when I don't get much...well, I usually get to a point that I am rough. Well, yesterday was a full day & a great one, so last night I was exhausted. Eli was in bed & asleep by 7:30. I was in bed & asleep by 10. At 11 Eli cried. I went to him & calmed him down, gave him a drink of water & turned on his music. By 11:30 Eli was in my bed with me (he came over). Fine, as long as we both sleep I don't mind if he is with me. At 11:45 Eli to me: "Mommy, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pee in my pants. Mommy, I'm sorry I didn't mean to pee in my pants." Over & over again. Yup, you got it. He wet himself. Thankfully he was telling me this as it was happening, so I got him out of bed quick enough that only a little bit was on my bed. Thank God!!! So, cleaned him up, put on a pull up & back to bed we went. Only to have him awake for 30 mins. Then 2am..."Mommy, can you turn the TV on?" No Eli, there is nothing on...it is still way dark outside. "Mommy, I'm hungry." I guess you should have thought about that before you didn't eat much supper Eli. "Can I have milk mommy." No Eli...go to sleep. 4am..."Mommy, please turn the TV on." No Eli...GO TO SLEEP! 5am...same question. I gave up & got him milk. 6am...I was so tired I turned the TV on so I could sleep. What a night! Or better yet...lack of sleep night. Hoping tonight is better.

Today was play date day with our friends Julie & her son Garner. Originally the plan was to go to the Zoo, but there was a chance of thunderstorm all day. When we woke this morning it was raining, so on to plan B. Play date at Jumpalooza. They opened at 10, so we were there shortly there after. We (the 4 of us) were the only ones in the place for close to an hour. It was so much fun. The great thing is...mom's can be a kid too! It was a wonderful time & a good work out!!!! I love that place & so does Eli.


In the car after a trip to HEB (our grocery here that is AMAZING) Eli had been acting up at the register. He was so crazy. As being tired normally dictates. So, when we were in the car I told Eli he was acting so yucky. I explained about how that is not appreciated. He then tells me..."Mommy, skunks are yucky. I won't be a skunk." Oh my goodness, I almost busted out laughing. I didn't though. I just told him skunks are yucky & he was being skunky. Whatever it takes to get through his little big mind.

Scoot Update: Today he showed up on the mug tree. Eli spotted him right away this morning. I told him that Scoot told me that Santa asked him to get some clarification on the BIG car issue. Eli looked at me as if I had no clue telling me..."Mommy, a car like the big kids drive that I can mow the grass with." WHAT?! Okay, so my thought is he is wanting a car/tractor like his cousin Owen. Not really thinking this Santa is going to be doing that this year, but hey, a kid can dream, right? Scoot has been working wonderfully though. He told Scoot that he was sorry he acted skunky. LOL I had to bite my lip.

I had been chatting with my niece & her daughter Maddie has a Twilight Turtle. It shines stars so to have some light at night. Well, we had tried a night light with Eli, but it had too much light & actually kept him awake. So, I talked to Eli this afternoon & asked him what the issue was with sleeping. He told me, "well, it's kinda scary in the dark." Yup, he's afraid of the dark. So, off we went to Toys 'R Us. Eli picked out a Twilight Ladybug. HE LOVES IT. Bedtime tonight was a breeze. No rocking, no crying, no whining, just the ladybug & Eli in bed looking at the stars. He even prayed differently tonight. "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for sleep. Amen." He then told me that is how Bob the tomato prays. Ahhh...smile to my face! I hope this works!


The best news of the day...Dan WILL be home for Thanksgiving & the weekend. HOW exciting is that?! So...we will have Thanksgiving as a family with Sarah & her girls. I am sooooo excited! What a great blessing that is! Praise the Lord for his blessings! Also, we will continue our tradition & put the tree up this weekend. Woo Hoo!!!!




Monday, November 22, 2010

Monday, Monday

With Thanksgiving right around the corner I have been constantly thinking about the many things in my life that I am Thankful for. The most important to me is that God sent His son to die on the cross for my sins. Forgiveness comes so easily for God. I have also thought of many things that perhaps I have taken advantage of, or haven't thought of the complete reason to be thankful for it. For instance...when I lived in PA I had a TON of family & friends that were always willing to help us out & watch Elijah for me. Sometimes I did it without even thinking about it (however shameful that is to admit) and sometimes I wondered if I was even mothering my child or simply allowing other people to do it. Well, let me tell you something that happens when you move states away. You don't have that. I am so thankful for the many times that my family or my friends would take Eli for a day, a night, a weekend, a couple hours, a hour or whatever the case may be. I needed it. I know cherish it more than ever. So, to all of you who have willingly done that THANK YOU! I praise God for you.
So, in remembering that & being thankful for that I was reminded today of my niece who also lives here in TX. She has 2 beautiful daughters & her husband works away (in Nigeria) & was lead today to call & offer to keep her girls for her. She took me up on it (which btw--was a huge step for her as she normally doesn't do this because she's never had it) so...I was blessed with 2 princesses in my house today while Sarah was able to clean her house & enjoy not having to be interrupted. The funny thing is I was blessed. I absolutely enjoyed having 2 more children in my house. The girls took naps & then we went & picked up Eli from school & boy was he surprised! Then Eli & Maddie played together so well. Eli got a little jealous sometimes & I can tell you that listening to a 2 year old & a 3 year old talk simultaneously is a little overwhelming sometimes, but since I don't have to do it all the time it was amazing. I had such a great time today. When they left tonight Eli was at the couch crying. I asked him what was wrong, he told me he already misses them. My little man is definitely a social butterfly. In any case, I realize now that people were telling me the truth when they said it was their honor to watch Eli. It was my honor today to watch my 2 precious nieces.
Scoot Update...so...this morning Eli found Scoot on top of the TV. He called him Santa Claus, but then I reminded him he was just Santa's helper. He told me but mommy he doesn't talk. I reminded him that Santa gave him strict orders not to talk to kids, but that he should listen very closely to them. Eli then told him...Scoot, for Christmas I want a big toy. Later he defined that as a big car, like the big kids have. Should be interesting. Not sure Santa is going to deliver that.
Daddy left for San Angelo last night for possibly the entire week or maybe just until Wednesday. We are praying that he will be able to come home Wednesday for the long weekend with us. We already know he will be in San Angelo next week too. I will keep you posted on this.
VeggieTales has become a favorite of Eli's right now. I love that he enjoys them. At least they are teaching him. I actually enjoy listening to him talk about them. He loves Bob the tomato.
Hope you all enjoyed your Monday. Be thankful!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Sunday Best

We LOVE Sundays in our family. Not only is it that day that we worship the Lord in church, but it is our family day. We enjoy time together. And that is exactly what we did today! The church that we are fairly certain will become our home church has an early morning service, so today we decided it would be a good day to try out the early service. So, at 9am we were in church. God brought a great message through Pastor Doug. The message was "Giving Thanks' or 'Piggin' Out'?" A great reminder to be thankful in ALL things. He challenged us for this Thanksgiving season to not just have a day of being thankful & forget it. The more we are thankful the more we will have to be thankful for! So true. So important to be reminded. So needed. Wonderful service today! Thanks be to God!

Well, last night I told you about us beginning the tradition of the Elf on the Shelf. So, we read Eli the story last night & told him the story about the Elf. You see, the Elf is out everyday between now & Christmas. His job is to watch the kids (in our case kid) and fly to Santa (with the magic of Christmas) every night & report on how he did for the day. The rule is that kids can't touch the Elf, but they are encouraged to share secrets with him and since he comes back every morning he is always in a new place in the house, so he has to be found every morning. The elf can only talk to Santa & the adults, but can't talk to the kids. Eli was so excited as he hunted for him today. Once he was found Eli has decided to name him Scoot. So, from here on out Scoot will join our family each year around Thanksgiving to start reporting back to Santa. Going to have fun with this. Even after the secret is out that Santa is really mom & dad! ;-)

Eli finding "Scoot"

our famous Scoot



Sugar Cookies...what in the world was I thinking when I signed up to take cookies into Eli's school tomorrow for the Thanksgiving lunch? Oh, yes, I wasn't. I was trying to be helpful since no one else signed up for it. But...thank God Dan was home! LOL. So, it turned into a family affair. Eli helped Dan & I make the cookies. We made pumpkins for tomorrow then we made a bunch of Christmas shapes & placed them in the freezer to decorate in December. Yay!


Today was over 80 degrees here, so we spent lots of time outside with Eli. He played and Dan & I had some time to sit & chat. What a great time! It was refreshing to have the windows open and the fresh air coming throughout the house. Gorgeous. I know at some point this weather will get cooler here, but until then I am going to enjoy each moment.


Dinner conversation tonight...Eli: "Daddy, do you trust God hard?" Daddy: "Yes Eli I trust God, but no I don't have a hard time doing that." E: "I love God. I trust Him." 20 minutes later...Eli: "Mommy, do you trust God hard?" Mommy: "Yes Eli I trust God & sometimes Mommy has a hard time, but God is good & always takes care of us." Eli: "I trust God too mommy." Wow. All Dan & I could do is smile. We love our little man! We are not sure where he came up with that, but we are assuming that he was asking us if we find it hard to trust God. It was interesting to us that he asked each of us 20 minutes apart.


Now my men are both in bed. I am enjoying some quiet time then Dan will be leaving the house at midnight to travel the 7 hours to San Angelo for his work this week. We are praying that he will be able to be home for Thanksgiving & the long weekend, but if not, we will enjoy our week anyhow. God has blessed us & we have so much to be thankful for!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Daddy's home!

This morning was absolutely one of the cutest things in the world. Eli didn't automatically come over to our room, instead he was yelling that he had to go to the potty. Dan went to get him & I listened through the monitor. This is what I heard: Daddy: "Good Morning Bub." Eli: "Well, uh..." D: "Let's go potty." E: "Uh, well, uh..." D: "Are you going to hug me?" E: "Yes!"
I didn't think I would ever hear my child speechless, but for that moment he was! On my end that was the most amazing thing to listen to.


After spending some cuddle time together in our bed all of us decided to go out for breakfast. So, once we arrived at IHOP & had ordered the table beside us there were 2 elderly ladies sitting enjoying their morning. Dan & I love to bless others every now & then by paying for their meal. After the women argued with each other whether it should be one check or two we secretly told the waitress that we wanted their check & that they were just to be told it was taken care of & they should have a wonderful day. Oh my goodness, was it FUNNY to listen to them. After they were told, they immediately were complimenting each other on how good they looked today. They were trying to figure out which one of them had the secret admirer or if they both had one. They were literally scoping out the place checking for men who were dining alone. It was so funny. Dan & I smiled & enjoyed our morning meal. Elijah was just so happy to be there with Daddy he didn't even pay attention to anyone else, until we were leaving & then of course he had to tell everyone goodbye. What a blessing breakfast was!


Then...on to a special place to do some hands-on artistic work for Eli. He was making his Nanny's Christmas present. He did a wonderful job & we can't wait to see(know) how Nanny likes her gift. So...for now, that is all we can share about that adventure in our day. Stay tuned for further information on this!


Elijah & Daddy then came home & mowed our grass & weed whacked! It is hard to believe that on November 20th we had to mow the grass! However, today was a beautiful day @ 75 degrees & we were enjoying the weather outside. I can't believe Thanksgiving is this week! WOW! Have I mentioned that I LOVE this weather? Because honestly I do NOT miss the cold. I really do miss home, just not the weather. :-)


This evening we busted out the Elf on the Shelf book & magically the elf is going to appear tonight. I will keep you posted on how this goes. We are so excited about Christmas & hoping that Eli will enjoy the Elf.



Tonight was wonderful family time. Thanks to the crock pot dinner was a breeze. This morning I had placed a pork roast in it with bar-b-que sauce & baked beans. Oh my goodness was that ever YUMMY! Then tonight playing & relaxing with our little man! He fell asleep in Daddy's arms. Perfect end to this wonderful day.




Happy National Adoption Day!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Learning the hard way

Today was an interesting day. We started off the day well. Eli has now learned that once he wakes up instead of yelling for me he has started to just come over to my room & hop up in bed with me. I enjoy this time. Usually he will go to the fridge & get his milk first & then ask me to turn on the TV. I am so thankful for the PBS channel in the mornings. I know that if I go in & out of sleep for a while when he is watching this station everything will be appropriate for him. So, this morning, that is exactly what we did. He loves the warm bed (because I sleep with the heated mattress pad on all night) and he enjoys the time with mommy even though I'm not always awake. I enjoy sleeping in a little on days when we don't have to be somewhere right away.

Late morning my niece brought over her youngest daughter, Sadie, for me to watch while she enjoyed Thanksgiving lunch with her oldest daughter, Maddie, at her pre-school. I LOVED having a baby in the house for a while. Eli did so well with her here. He played in his room for a while since Sadie was sleeping & I was able to get a few things done around the house. I was so impressed with how he did with her. Once Sadie woke up she was laying on her blanket on the floor & Eli & I were playing together while she was cooing. It was very enjoyable for us all!

This afternoon Eli was tired & I did something I know I shouldn't have done. I gave him a nap. Only for a little over an hour, but now as I am writing this blog at 9:30 pm my little man is still awake in his bed & insists that he is not ready for bed. Yup. I will one day learn to just deal with the fussyness & put him to bed early instead of giving him a nap & dealing with the bedtime nightmare. Oh well, hopefully I will learn soon as I do this too many times.

I am so looking forward to Dan coming home tonight. I didn't tell Eli when Daddy would be home, just that he would be home tomorrow. I can't wait for him to be surprised in the morning. It will be great to spend some time together this weekend as a family.

Tomorrow is National Adoption Day so I am planning on doing a little celebrating together as a family. We are so thankful for adoption in our life. Even on the days when I am most exhausted by my little man, I am so proud to be his mommy. I am so thankful for the gift of adoption. Tonight as I close I am going to put a piece from one of my favorite books to read Elijah. It is called "My Adopted Child, There's No One Like You"

"You are the cub of my heart, Panda," said Mama. "You were born right here," and she touched her furry chest with her paw. "Don't ever forget that Papa and I love you very much and always will. We'll always be a part of each other, and even after you grow up, you'll always live in my heart."
Panda understood. Adoption was a special thing indeed. It came straight from the heart. "I love you too, Mama."

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Trying Again

After trying to do this blog thing once & failing, I have decided (after a conversation with my niece) to try again. So...here we go.

Today was a wonderful day. Elijah had school today (pre-school) and did great! He ate ALL of his lunch that I packed for him! That is a BIG deal. Lately I have been asking him what he wants packed in it & he usually does well, today was exceptional though. Every last drop was gone! I was so proud of him. While he was in school I enjoyed a complimentary haircut after obtaining it by asking a lady where she got her haircut. She actually worked at this place-The Conservatory Day Spa-and viola gave me one for free! It was wonderful. A girl named Kerri was my beautician & although I am not nearly as comfortable with her as I was Karen back in PA, at least she cut my hair unlike my first attempt here in TX when I left the salon wondering why I even went in. So, before I left I booked my next cut! Woo hoo! So thankful! After that I hung out with my niece at her house then picked up my little man & we went back & hung out some more! What a great time & lovely day!

So...Dan will be home for the weekend in 1 sleep for me & 2 sleeps for my little man. (he is going to be home late Friday night). So excited to have some good family time this weekend. Looking forward to just spending time together as we are learning to cherish those moments.

Oddly enough today I was talking to my mom on the phone & told her how much I am enjoying Texas. I really am, but wouldn't you know it that tonight...the devil is slamming that back in my face. I am missing home. I miss our youth. I miss my family. I miss my friends. I miss home. Not the cold weather, but I miss the comfort of home. However, in the same thought I know that I am home now. Home is where we make it. I am thankful for what I have.

To end on the best note I know how..tonight after I read Eli a couple books (which by the way, we went to the Library for the first time ever yesterday & Eli LOVES it!) Eli's said his good night prayer. This is how it went..."Dear Father Heavenly, I love God. Amen!" I just want to keep him young forever.