Maine Vacation

We are so thankful for the 9 days we got to spend in Maine again this summer! It was the perfect trip, full of beautiful scenery, gorgeous weather, and such special time spent with each other and with my sweet, wonderful grandparents.

A bunch of pictures...

We flew into Boston again this year and ate at our favorite place, the Barking Crab. From Boston we took a train to Portland, Maine.

The next day we went to White Lake, where we spent the day swimming and hiking. It is such a beautiful, peaceful place!

On the way home we stopped at a local firehouse that was having a town dinner right inside the fire station! Eli was in heaven, because he got to meet firemen, see the inside of a firehouse, AND climb up on a fire engine!

On Sunday (after a trip to the doctor to get Eli some medicine for a nasty cough/cold he had), we took a hike up Pleasant Mountain.

And later that afternoon we took a boat ride around Moose Pond, where Eli, slightly sick and extremely exhasuted, promptly fell asleep! It was adorable. :)

On Monday morning we got up really early and drove to Bar Harbor, home of Acadia National Park, which I think is the prettiest place I've seen in America. Eric and Eli had never been before, so we were super excited to experience it together!

We ate lunch at the famous Jordan Pond House, and then we hiked around Jordan Pond.

The next day we spent the day at Sand Beach.

And we did some more hiking in gorgeous weather with gorgeous scenery.

On Wednesday morning we dragged ourselves and poor Eli out of bed at 4am to drive up to Cadillac Mountain, which is the first place the sun touches the continental United States. It was a really moving experience to watch the sun rise over the ocean that early morning together. I don't know how anyone could watch that and doubt the existent of a powerful, loving, beautiful God!

After a great breakfast and some shopping around quaint, beautiful Bar Harbor, we packed up and headed back home.

Thursday we spent the day at Pine Point, which is always a blast!

And on Friday we did what Eli has been talking about for a full year- saw the moose and fed the bears at the Maine Wildlife Park. He was pretty happy. :)

On Saturday we made our sad goodbyes and headed back to Texas.

I could go on and on about how wonderful this trip was, what a joy Eli was, and how meaningful it was to spend the week with each other and with my grandparents. We praise God for this experience and eagerly look forward to next summer!

The End of Summer

I can’t believe summer is almost over. In just another few weeks, we’ll be back to preschool, back to Awana and Bible studies, back to a more scheduled, busier life. I’m so thankful for the laid-back and restful summer we’ve had.

We’re done some fun things, too… trips to the lake with friends, a boating Saturday on Lake Ray Hubbard, plenty of afternoons at the Aquatic Center and the wave pool, Burger’s Lake with the family, summer reading club (which fizzled out after they ran out of good prizes :) ), lots of bike rides, scooter rides, walks, and trips to the ice cream/frozen yogurt shop, visits with family, and, of course, tons and tons of time logged in the pool.

Eli learned how to swim really well this summer. I learned how to bake good, healthy sandwich bread totally from scratch. We all learned the value of down time, good friends, and family. I think I’ve finally gotten to the point where I’m ready for fall (I LOVE summer and don't like to let it go!) and all that it brings.

But before all that? We get to go to Maine for 8 days!!! We are so excited to see my grandparents, spend time at the beach, hike, and enjoy the cooler weather and beautiful scenery. We can hardly wait! It will be the perfect finale to a perfect summer.

And perhaps I’ll even start keeping up with this old blog a little better, too. :)

Sweet Izzie

Yesterday we had to have our sweet dog Izzie put to sleep. :( It was so, so hard. She got super sick at the beginning of the week and spent three days in the vet hospital with great medical care. But none of the doctors could figure out what was wrong, and she was just suffering so much. Our decision was clear, and we're thankful for that. But saying goodbye was so difficult.



She was the sweetest, most gentle dog, so loveable and fun. We're going to miss her so much. We'll always have such fond memories of our sweet "Beast."

The End

Concern over Eli's tiny size began before he was even born, and it has been an issue for his entire life. We've seen so many doctors, had so many tests, and have spent hours praying over this situation. Last month we saw two new doctors- a geneticist and an endocrinologist. Today we got the results back from the final round of tests that Eli needed to have. The nurse said, "Everything looks perfectly normal."

I cried. :) This is the end of this issue that has been a struggle for more than four years. Eli is "perfectly normal" with nothing wrong at all. He's little, but that's okay. In the doctor's words, he has plenty of time to catch up in size, and he will. No more worrying about this! Short or tall, big or small, he's healthy.

We are so, so thankful to the Lord for helping us to carry this burden, and we are so, so thankful to set it aside. We praise Him for the strength He provides and for the blessing of a healthy child. We try so hard to never, ever take it for granted.

Praise the Lord, who is our salvation, who is good whether things look "good" or "bad," who was faithful and kind to us when Eli was at his sickest, and who is still faithful and kind to us today in Eli's health. He is always the same, always faithful, always good.

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a great long weekend for Memorial Day. On Saturday morning Eric did his annual 100k bike ride in the Mesquite Rodeo Ride. And I did my annual marvelling at how my husband can cycle 62 miles in 95 degree heat and live to tell about it! Super proud of him!

After the ride, we took Eli and Timothy to the air show that they had at the Mesquite Municipal Airport. The boys were mesmerized! It was a great show. I loved the boys' excitement most of all.

On Sunday we went to the church picnic, which was fantastic as always.

On Monday morning we went for a run at White Rock and then to breakfast at one of our favorite places. And in the afternoon/evening my parents hosted a big picnic/pool party for lots of friends. By the end of the long weekend we were sunburned and exhausted, but super happy. It was a perfect way to start the summer!

Proud to be Eli's Mommy

I had a really nice Mother's Day. Afer a stomach bug took Eli and I down and foiled our Saturday plans, we decided to skip church on Sunday and have some family time. I missed being at church, but we sure needed that time together, and it was wonderful!

The day started with a run at sunrise- a much-loved activity- and just went uphill from there! Eli could hardly contain his excitement in giving me his card and flowers- it was adorable. We went to breakfast at one of our favorite places and then walked/rode bikes around White Rock Lake. It was a perfect, perfect morning with my top three favorite things in the world- being with Eric and Eli, going out to breakfast, and long walks in pretty places. And Eric topped it off with a Kindle for me! Wahoo!

We went to Eric's mom's house to spend the afternoon with her, and the stomach bug began to work it's wonders on Eric. We drove home with poor Eric in misery, and I spent the rest of the late afternoon with my sweet boy and tucked him into bed that night with such a sense of joy and humble gratitude that I get to be his mom! It is my greatest blessing.

And, just because I love him, here are a few recent things that Eli has done that just make me laugh:

1. We were at the playground at his speech therapist's school the other day, and there were a couple little girls from the after-school program there that were really bugging Eli. He just kind of ignored them for a while and then finally asked one of them, "Where are your parents?"

2. He calls the place where you put your drink in the car a "holder cup." I don't ever correct him.

3. When we play "Uno" and he only has one card left he proudly announces, "Who Knows!" Again, I never correct him. :)

4. He has three little horses that go into this truck trailer toy he has, and their names are Elmo, Henry, and Tractor Henry.

5. He speaks to the cat in a mis-match of English and meows, i.e., "Jo, do you want to go outside? Meow? Outside? Meow? Meow?"

I am so very thankful to be Eli's mommy!

FOUR!

Our sweet Eli is FOUR YEARS OLD! I can't believe how fast these four years have gone. We are so in love with him! A few facts about our Eli Dane at age four...

-He loves animals of all kinds. He is the first to pet a dog, pick up a cat, dig up a worm, pick a caterpillar off a tree, catch a snake, etc. When the kids were swimming in a lake recently, I told them to stay out of the grassy area. "Why?" they asked. "Because there might be snakes in there!" I replied. "But I like snakes!" Eli told me matter-of-fact-ly. :)

-He is the most helpful kid I know. He just simply loves to help! He's perfectly happy unloading a dishwasher, planting flowers, cleaning a bathroom, mowing the yard, etc. if he is being of help to someone. I love this about him.

-He is sweet! I know every parent says this about their kid, but I'll say it about mine too. :) Eli is just a sweet-natured kid, and I love it! I love how loving and kind he is.

-He's pretty coordinated and atheletic. When you ask him what his favorite sport is, he'll reply, "Basketball and baseball and soccer and football." :) I love watching him ride his bike and have a catch and kick a ball all over the yard, and I look forward to seeing what he does with his atheletic ability in the future.

-More than anything else in the world, Eli loves: his Mommy and Daddy, his Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop, his beloved cousin and best friend Timothy, and his and Timothy's "treehouse." He's also into rocket ships, dinosaurs, his bike and new scooter, swimming, and his truck/horse trailer toy.

-Eli truly has a thankful heart. I love, love, love this about him. He is effusive in his gratitude for all the beautiful, daily gifts from the Lord, from a blue sky to bird's feather to his "soft, cozy bed." He loves Jesus and is so thankful to Him.

I am resisting the urge to just keep on going... :)

For his birthday, we had a party with his dear friend CJ, whose birthday is just a week before Eli's. They have the same group of friends from church and love all the same things, so we just decided to do a big party together! We went to an indoor bounce place in Forney (Moon Jumpers), and it was a blast! We had 17
kids there, and every one of them had a fantastic time, as did the adults! :)

A few pictures...

The birthday boys:

Eli and Daddy:

The three of us:

Cake time!

Later that evening we had cake and ice cream and a pinata and presents with our family for Eli and Phil (whose birthday is also May 9!). And on his actual birthday (Wednesday) we went out for donuts for breakfast and then to the zoo with my dear friend Libby and her kids Jacob, Kayley, and Macey, who are Eli's dear friends too. And then in the evening when Eric got home we went to dinner at Primo's and sat on the patio overlooking the lake, and then we came home and Eli got to open his present from us- a much-desired razor scooter!

We put four candles in a cupcake and sang to him again, and I just can't believe my baby is FOUR! He is our miracle, and we couldn't be more thankful or proud to be his parents.

Happy birthday, Eli Dane! We love you!