A Weekend in the Country

This weekend we spent time in Elba (better known as Hooterville) celebrating Aunt Kt's 25th and Grandmama's 84th!  I always love spending time out there.  It's so peaceful, and of course, we love seeing family we don't get to see near enough of!

Eli loved "driving" everyone in the RV.  We took a trip to the beach!

The cousins got some playtime,

there were MANY trips on the golf cart to the fields to look at the cows,

 and A LOT of play time outside.  Needless to say, Eli was in heaven!

Eli sure loves Ginny and Pops!  We're glad to have spent so much time with them lately!

Grandmama, Leroy, Eli, and Aunt Pam

Eli also loves his Aunt KT!

It was a quick get-away this weekend, but we had a great time!  It was such a summer-teaser...only a few more weeks! : )

One Last Roll

Like all good Auburn fans, we headed with Nana and Puddin' to our alumni, Auburn, for the spring A-Day game, and to say goodbye to the Toomers Oaks.

 Like all trips to Auburn, we started with play time at our favorite park!

Then, we made our way to Toomers Corner to say our goodbyes.

The best picture family photo we go.  Real life though.

One final roll.

Eli with Nana and Puddin' at the A-Day game, along with 83,000 of our closest friends.  It was crazy crowded there.  I can honestly say it was much more crowded than A LOT of our games were last year.  It's nice to see people excited about Auburn football again.  Hopefully it wasn't just 83,000 fair-weather fans, and everyone will still be excited come this fall.

Eli sure does love him some Auburn (he gets it honest).  He's been singing the fight song and singing "War Eagle" nonstop!  He wants to go back to the football stadium.  Too bad he's got to wait another 5 months or so to go.

We had to leave at the end of the third quarter to make it back in time for a gender reveal shower for some friends (it's a girl!).  We made one more trip through downtown on our way out.  It was a little sad to part ways with the trees.  We have so many memories here!  It was kind of depressing looking at the pictures and videos of the trees coming down today.  I realize this sounds pathetic to non-Auburn people, but it's more than just toilet paper and wins for us.

It is a spirit.  It is an attitude.  It is a way of looking at life and at one another.  It is, almost, a way of living.  Unless you have experienced it; you will never understand it.  Once you have experienced it, you will never be the same.  A part of you will, forevermore, be an Auburn man or an Auburn woman.

- David Housel

And, finally, I'll leave you with this video.  It was made by someone that Wesley and I were in the band with during our days at Auburn.  He is amazingly talented.

 ...because I believe in Auburn, and love it.
War Eagle!

The Rest of Pompano...finally

Our last day in Pompano we went to Ginny, Pops, and KT's beach for the day!

Love this picture of these two! : )

What's a trip to the beach without someone getting buried?!

Whew, Eli did a lot of digging! : )

Pops and Eli watching "boaps".

A beautiful view!

Mommy, Ginny, Katie in our monogrammed hats (thanks, Ginny!).  Eli of course wanted to be in the picture with his Elmo hat.

I love this crazy kid!

We had such a good time in Pompano Beach.  I have a feeling we will be frequenting this spot many times over the years!

After coming in off of the beach, we headed back to our place to get ready.  After passing this pier all week long, we decided we needed to get out and take a stroll down it.

I'm glad we did.  We saw this crazy pelican...up close and personal!

I don't suppose I've ever seen this bird so close.  The thing strutted right past us and ate a fish that some fisherman tossed to it.  The beak is so crazy.

I love our little family.  It was such a fantastic vacation!

Jesus was a mmMess - a conversation with Eli

Eli and I had a conversation in the car this morning on our way to school and daycare.  It's one I never hope to forget, and one that I hope we have many more of.  We always pray on the way to school, although it's often hurried.  I try to get it in before we pass the neighborhood school bus, otherwise I lose Eli. : )

I prayed like usual this morning, and then I rolled down the windows and we stopped and looked at one of the big construction trucks parked in our neighborhood (they're replacing a lot of the water pipes).  As we continued on to school, our conversation went like this:

Eli:  You hear it?

Mommy:  Yes, Eli, those are the birds singing.  God made the birds and He makes them sing.

Eli:  God?  Jesus?

Mommy:  That's right, Eli.

Eli:  Jesus.  They took his shirt off.

I should stop right here and tell you we've been watching the Bible series on the History Channel.  Eli could not believe the crucifixion and beating scenes; that they stripped Jesus' clothes in the street...or as he says, "took Jesus' shirt".

Mommy:  You're right Eli, they did take Jesus' shirt from him.

Eli:  Jesus was a mmMess!  (if you haven't heard how he says 'mess', it's really cute..but not the point)

Mommy:  Yep, you're right, buddy.  He was perfect but became a mess for us.  He died on the cross but He's alive now!

Eli:  Yeh, and Jam-mama is with Jesus.

Mommy:  You're right.  That's why Jesus let those people be a mmMess of Him.  So we could be with Jesus in heaven.

Eli:  Yeh!

Amazing my two year old knows Jesus became a mmMess (aka-was beaten, hung, and died on a cross).  His Daddy and I pray one day he has more than just the head knowledge of it, but truly understands the weight of his sin and God's gifts of mercy and grace.

If you don't know, Jesus lived a perfect sinless life, died on a cross, becoming a mess, so that we could live with Him for eternity in heaven.  He loves you, desires you to know Him, and to have a relationship you!

{See Matthew chapters 26-28}

Easter 2013

 Easter morning started off with a few treats in Eli's Easter basket and this cinnabunny breakfast from Pinterest.  They were cute, and were a good idea, but too bad I left them in the oven a little too long.

Before church we took some pictures.  This age is so hard to photograph! : )

Eli is squatting because I was squatting to take the picture-haha!

Me and my boy

My two best guys

Our little family...and yes, we set the tripod up in the front yard.

 After lunch we came home and changed before hunting eggs.

Eli picked out his clothes and flip flops, was insistent on wearing his Elmo hat and sunglasses, and would not let go of his apple juice! : )

 I can't stand the cuteness!

Eli's egg hunt was a little pathetic; I sure wish we lived near Eli's cousin, Maddie.  When I think of hunting eggs, I think of eating lunch at my grandparents house with my cousins.  One day I hope we can spend Easter in Texas so that Eli and Maddie can hunt eggs together.

Egg hunting is serious business.  Eli was cracking us up.  After each egg he picked up he'd (loudly) exclaim, "I don't know!?  You see anymore, Momma?  You see anymore, Daddy?"

When he found one he'd yell, "Another one!", run and pick it up, and tell us what color it was!  Too bad he had no candy in the eggs...but he didn't know any better.

Eli's Easter Activities

We did a lot of fun activities with Eli this Easter, and I decided to just lump them altogether into one big, picture-overloading blog post.

Eli and Nana helped Mommy make our traditional Easter bunny cake.  Mommy let go of trying to make this one pretty.  You sure had fun with sprinkles! : )

Nana and Puddin' wanted to do this project from Pinterest with you.  You were a great helper and while you worked on your project, Nana and Puddin' talked to you about the meaning of Easter and what Jesus did on the cross.

 

Unfortunately, here we are the night before Easter and no grass has sprouted yet.  We'll keep watering it though and see what happens! : )

We also dyed Easter eggs.  You had so much fun, and we only spilled one glass of blue dye and ruined three towels.

Easter is not about eggs and bunnies, we also talked several times about Jesus and the cross.  I pray one day that Eli sees his sin and the price Jesus paid and chooses to follow Him.

We love the Jesus Storybook Bible, and Eli loved watching this video over and over! : )