Home Again

We returned last night from a week's vacation in Maine! We had a wonderful time with my grandparents, enjoying the gorgeous weather and scenery, the beach, the lakes, the mountains, etc. It was hard to come back to 105-degree Texas!

But, as always, coming home feels really nice. And I don't know that Eli could have endured one more day of fun- he was absolutely exhausted! :) He fell asleep about thirty minutes before we landed in Dallas, and he didn't wake up at all as we got off the plane, got our luggage, got into the car, drove home, and came into the house. He roused a little when Eric sat him down on his bed. We came back in a second later to get him for a bath, and he was face down on the bed, sound asleep. I've never seen him more tired! :)

He had such a good time- we all did! My dad asked us tonight what were the "high points" of the trip, and our honest answer was, "All of it!" A few things we enjoyed most, though, were...

-stopping in Boston en route to Maine, enjoying seafood and cold beer on the water at the Barking Crab.

-walking out on the sandbar at low tide at the beach, finding tiny little crabs and seashells in the clear, cold water.

-riding a big boat out to a picturesque island for a clam bake.

-enjoying coffee and a giant cinnamon roll in a coffee shop in the cutest little harbor town you can imagine.

-laughing over dominos and dessert with my grandparents late in the night.

-getting up early to run in the 50-degree weather on quiet, wooded roads.

-witnessing Eli's absolute delight in seeing a moose for the first time (at a wildlife preserve)!

-watching my grandparents with Eli and seeing his love for them.

-pork roll and eggs for breakfast!

-zooming across Moose Pond in Grandpop's boat under clear blue skies.

-hiking up Pleasant Mountain with Eric and Eli, hearing Eli's laughter echoing down the mountain.

See what I mean? The whole trip was a "high!" :)

I'll post some pictures soon.

We are so thankful to have had another wonderful summer vacation in Maine!

"My Yeg Hurts"

This is what Eli says to describe his most recent injury. :) He was with Heather on Tuesday at an indoor playground. He jumped from a tall play structure to the ground, and he hurt his foot when he landed.

He wouldn't walk on it and was really in pain, so I left work early and took him to our family doctor for an x-ray. Fortunately, nothing is broken, but he does have some soft tissue/cartilage injury. His foot is pretty swollen, and he won't bear weight on it at all. And every so often he'll just burst into tears and say, "My yeg hurts!" It breaks my heart!

I'm so thankful that he's not seriously injured, and it was nice to just sit on the floor and play games with him today, honestly! I'm surprised we've made it this long without a serious injury, with the kind of climbing and jumping that Eli does!

I'm hoping that tomorrow he'll be able to walk on it a little more, at least. He told me today while gazing forlornly at his basketball hoop, "When my foot feels all better, I'll run fast and play." :)

Sleepovers and Other Random Photos

We'll start with the randoms...

First: This is Eli's self-chosen attire for trips to the pool. My favorite part is the boots.



Second: On a previous post I mentioned Eli helping Eric with some new shelves/cabinets. Here are a couple more work-in-progress shots that I think are cute...





Third: The finished product! I love them. Sorry for the terrible flash photography. They're a kind of grayish-purpleish color, not that you can tell from this picture! :) I love them!



Fourth: We made our first attempt at a sleepover with Timothy last week. They did pretty good, although Tim didn't ever fall asleep. :) Fortunately, his parents don't live too far away! :) We look forward to trying again soon!



Fifth: Eric got his first watermelon this week from his garden! We've had peppers, tomatoes, and herbs abundant, but this is the first melon. He was proud! :)



And now for the sleepover portion of this lengthy post...

We had Cooper over to spend the night for the first time this week. Jacey was in Maine this week with my parents, and I really wanted to do something special for Cooper. Plus, both boys have been asking about this for a while now- they're at that age, and I think it's adorable!

They played for such a long time together. I love listening to what they come up with. The theme of this night was that a lion was coming to get them. They played this game forever, stopping only to eat pizza and brownies for dinner. :)



It was super cute to tuck them into their matching sleeping bags for the night. Although Cooper ended up in Eli's sleeping bag and Eli ended up in his bed by morning. :)



We ate pancakes for breakfast (after they woke up an hour earlier than usual with boundless energy!)...



And then I took them to see the Winne the Pooh movie, which was adorable. Kelly and the boys came, too.



And we topped it all off with chicken nuggets and naps. :)



A good time was had by all!

Prayers

Eli is an earnest pray-er. He remembers when we mention someone who is sick or sad or needs help, and he'll pray for them at night and at random times throughout the day. It's precious and heart-melting.

And at times it's comical. :)

Last night was a prime example. My parents (Pop-Pop and Mom-Mom to Eli) and my neice Jacey (whom Eli absolutely adores) left today on a trip to Maine. We've been talking about it for a while, especially since the three of us are going to Maine in a few weeks, too. So last night Eli prayed, "Dear God, Pop-Pop and Mom-Mom be safe on airplane, and dear God, no lobster bite Jacey. Amen."

The best part was that his prayer was so heart-felt, motivated by his deep concern and care for Jacey. Eric and I smiled at each other over his head and saved our laughter for later. Oh, how we love this kid!

To the Lake

We spent Saturday at Lake Ray Roberts with some friends from church. I wish I had gotten a picture of all the kids, but there were twelve of them, and you can imagine how difficult that would have been! :) We all had a blast! We're thankful for a pretty place to swim and good friends to enjoy it with!

This and That

- Eli loves to swim. We spend a good chunk of most days in the water. He loves goggles too. He is particularly fond of this pair, which he calls his "nose goggles." He carries them everywhere and puts them on in the house and pretends to swim across the floor on his belly.



-My grandparents came to Texas from Pennsylvania this week, and we so enjoyed spending time with them! They are truly two of the most godly people I know, and we just soak up every second we get to spend with them!



-A couple random facts: There is a small cardboard jewelry box with five dead cicadas in it sitting on my coffee table. There is a rubber snake named Pete that comes with us on most outings. I love little boys.

-The cousins minus Charlie. Cooper and Jacey refused to smile, but Timothy and Eli look happy enough! :) They love each other so much, and we all pray that their good relationships continue for the rest of their lives!



-Eric revels in any sort of building/construction project, and Eli does too. Here they are at work on a new set of cabinets they're building...



-And finally, something that made me laugh today... Eli has a dog pillow pet, and his cousin Jacey has a unicorn pillow pet. Eli has no idea what a unicorn is, but I guess he played with Jacey's pillow pet while he was with her today. Tonight he said, "Jacey have a pillow pet like me! A CORN pillow pet!" I laughed and then said, "U-ni-corn." He looked at me blankly for a second, trying to register what I was saying. Then he giggled, pointed at me, and said, "No, YOU a corn!" :)

He Makes Us Laugh

We have a little book that has a bunch of different activity suggestions for dads to do with their little boys. Eric picked it up the other day and read a random one out loud. Eli was nearby, but we didn't even know he was listening.

Eric: "Involve your son in important painting projects."
Eli: "Amen."

Apparently Eli feels strongly about painting! :)