July, so far

A few pictures from our July...  It's been a really nice month after the busy-ness of June.  We've enjoyed being home, and the more relaxed pace of summer.

Fourth of July sparklers!

And the fireworks that I was told were "legal within city limits," but then found out later were "not exactly legal, just quiet."  :)  I loooooooove this shot of the three boys watching.  This is how I always want to remember summer.

Sweet little profiles. 

My mom took the kids to the Gentle Zoo to feed the animals and play. 

Eli is spending every morning this week at soccer camp (INDOOR, thankfully!).  It's hosted by the Dallas Sidekicks, and the players are there teaching the kids the skills- it's awesome!  Eli LOVES it, and is absolutely exhausted by the time I pick him up.  :)

We have a few more fun things planned for July and August, and then it's back to school!  

June 2015

June!  The first part of June was pretty low-key, which was great, and then we concluded with a trip to Lake Tahoe, California for the last week, which was also great!  :)  Some pictures...

LOTS of swimming in June...

Annual trip to Hamm's Orchards for lunch and lots of peaches and blackberries:

We went to the Aquatic Center with some friends...

And now a few pictures from Lake Tahoe!

The scenery was breathtaking.  It was hard to even believe that we were looking at such beauty- crystal clear, deep blue water, mountains all around...  God's creation is so amazing.

You'll see this one on our Christmas card this year, for sure.  :)

Every day we did quite a bit of hiking, and we always ended up at a beach, too.  The water was FREEZING- like take-your-breath-away, make-your-limbs-numb freezing- but we still got in!  We couldn't resist swimming in that amazingly clear, blue water.

I love this picture!  One day, we started up here at the top, and hiked down to the beach (Emerald Bay) way down below.  The hike back up again was much harder!  :)

Pretty waterfall...

One day we drove south a few hours to see the giant Sequoias, something we have all three always wanted to see.  Words can't describe that experience- to be standing next to these amazing trees was humbling and emotional.  We hiked a 5-mile loop looking at all the trees and praising God for his stunning work.

This was at the base of the biggest tree we saw.

I love this shot, on another hike.

And another beach, also freezing cold, but equally gorgeous!

June was fantastic, and we're looking forward to a fun July as well.

May 2015

And just like that, May is over!  Crazy!  Here are a few pictures from our month...

Eli turned SEVEN on May 9.  He asked to go to a hotel for his birthday, and to a baseball game.  We took him to a hotel in Rockwall, ate dinner and walked around the Harbor, and went back to the hotel to snuggle up and watch a movie together in bed.  

Birthday candle in frozen custard in bed at a hotel- doesn't get much better than that!  :)

The next morning, we were supposed to have a soccer game, but it was rained out.  It has been SO rainy here this spring that the majority of practices and games have been cancelled!  We met up with Eric's family for brunch instead.

And then later in the afternoon we had some friends over to play and have cake.  Eli wanted to "play basketball with our family and the Howards," so that's what we did!  The boys played basketball, and then we all came inside for cake.

Birthday cake with 7 candles!

I loooooooove this boy!

If I could have one snapshot to capture what this spring has been like, it's this one below.  MUDDY DOG has been the theme of our spring.  With insane storms and flooding, it is constantly wet and muddy in our yard, and there is nothing Hank likes more than running in mud.  If I never wipe a muddy paw again, I will be happy.  :)

MUDDY BOY is a close second to the muddy dog snapshot.  At least muddy boys can be told to wipe their feet before coming inside, though.  The dog isn't as obedient.  :)

A couple pictures of the grand finale to Eli's birthday- a Rough Rider game!  It was actually a pretty evening for a ball game- one of the few clear evenings we had in May.  We loved it, as always, and there was a great fireworks show afterwards, too.

Not a great picture of either one of them, but oh well.

And continuing with the theme of things getting rained out, Eli's school's big field day was rained out!  The kids were so looking forward to it as the grand finale to the year- we were disappointed for them.  They had a cute little awards ceremony in their classroom, and then the year was over!

Eli's first grade class.

Since field day was cancelled, I took him to In-N-Out Burger for lunch as a slight consolation prize.  It's his favorite restaurant.  :)

And that wraps up May!  We have some fun things planned for this summer- I'm looking forward to it!

Seven

Today my sweet Eli turns seven years old.  I could seriously use all the cliche sayings in the mothering handbook about how fast time has flown, but I'll hold myself back.  I could also go on and on about what he means to me and to Eric and about how great we think he is, but I doubt anyone wants to read that except for me.  :)  I'll try instead to summarize Eli in just a short paragraph or two, as a tribute to him on his seventh birthday.

Eli is sweet and gentle, but also determined and tough.  He is a hard worker and faithful to do what he is asked.  He is funny and goofy and fun, but only to those around whom he is comfortable.  When he is with new people, he is shy and quiet.  He is coordinated and quick and loves to play sports and games, and he's a good sport about winning and losing both.  He loves animals and the outdoors, climbing and building and using his imagination.  He is dependable and careful and neat.  He is a fantastic reader, reading far beyond his grade level, even though he would much rather be outside playing.  He is super easy to get along with and goes with the flow easily.

He has a tender heart that loves Jesus, and he loves to talk about Heaven.  He asked Jesus to come live in his heart last November, by himself, in the quiet of his bed in a cabin in the woods, on a family camping trip.  We have seen such wisdom and integrity develop in Eli in the past months.  He is wise in choosing friends and activities and even conversations, removing himself when he knows something isn't right.  He quietly does the right thing, even when others do not.  His teacher tells us again and again that Eli is always helpful, and always a good friend.

I tell Eli every single day that I think he is the best boy in the whole entire world, and if I ever forget, he'll quietly ask me, "Do you think I'm the best boy?"  My heart overflows with love and like for this boy that has been given to me to shepherd.  It is my greatest joy to be his mom, and I hope that his birthday is filled with so many reminders of how loved he is.

April 2015

April is over!  Eli turns SEVEN in a week!  Time is flying by way too quickly for my liking!

But we have so enjoyed some really special times together this spring, and we are looking forward to many more in May!

April at a glance...

Dyeing Easter eggs...

Easter egg hunt at my parents' house...

Sorting through his treasures (with his tongue out, which I love)...

Easter, like most days in Texas this spring, was rainy, so we had to resort to badly-lit photos on the back porch.  

Eric snapped this one of Eli after church, though, minus his feet.  :)

Soccer!  The rain has meant that most practices and games have been cancelled this season, but we've enjoyed the few that we've actually gotten to play!

Eli and Timothy are on the same team.

My grandparents came to visit last week, and we so enjoyed our time with them.  What a blessing it was to be able to see BOTH sets of grandparents this last month and get to spend time with all of them.  Sadly, and dumbly, I didn't take a picture of my other grandparents while they were here, though.

Our bi-annual family camping trip is always a big hi-light of the spring.  

It was warm enough to swim, which the kids all enjoyed.  Here they're sitting on the dock listening to my dad tell them stories.

Hiking around the lake with the whole crew.  My parents with all five of their grandchildren...

Fishing...

Eli and Cooper walking down to the field to play soccer.

Campfire stories...

All the kids...

My little family, including Hank the dog.

I LOVE this picture!  Pure happiness!

And I LOVE these kiddos!

This is such a classic "Eli" expression.  I couldn't love this kid any more if I tried.

Traditional family photo on the cabin steps...

And that's April!  Love to you all!