sweet moments

I just laid Elijah down for his later afternoon nap/quiet time. I can hear him kicking around and talking, not so sure he was ready for his quiet time but I needed it for a little bit. :) I have had some sweet moments today with Elijah and just taking in all that he has learned and trying to learn. We went for a walk this afternoon to get some fresh air and enjoy the beautiful day and when going back up our driveway he looked at me and said "more", "more what honey?", "walking, more walk"...I could not resist his sweet plead so we headed back down the driveway for yet another walk. While walking we stopped and looked at dogs, trees, water and "porcupines-cones", not really sure what they are really called...the little round prickly balls that fall from trees. He liked them and wanted a couple on his stroller while we walked. Then we came home and he sat by me on the couch while we read books and watched ELMO, the new favorite. On top of all that I spoke with my sweet friend, Marta, today. She is from Poland but living in Minnesota with her husband. It was wonderful to hear her voice and catch up.

Today has been full of "sweet moment"...which has brought me to my blog. Something I have not done in several months and needed to catch up on. So while I sit in the quiet of my house and let my fingers type away I will try and reminisce the past few months for you.

Christmas was busy with lots of traveling to see family. We drove from Alpharetta to Columbus Ga, to Jasper, to North Carolina....we had some wonderful moments with family and enjoyed all the conversations and time together with everyone.

(the ball-pit he got for Christmas...starting to put all the balls in)

(Eli hanging with his Papa Barton...eating more JUNK)

As the New Year was rolling in we celebrated the home-coming of Bryan's grandpa, George Mendenhall. He went to be with his Savior. It was an honor to know him. We had some precious time with him while he was in the hospital. Bryan shared a bit of his heart at the funeral...a letter he wrote to George shortly before he passed was read during the funeral. It was a beautiful representation of love and family.

Shortly after the New Year we lost yet another loved one in our family, Harley. My rottweiler I had for 11 1/2 years. He was a sweet dog loved by many. He will be missed.

After a long and emotional couple of weeks we rolled into February ready to get back into routine. The first weekend in February was our THRIVE student weekend at church. It is the same thing as DNOW, we just like to be different at North Star. This year we had close to 300 students attend. It was wonderful. During the weekend the students raised over $3000.00 to go towards Trafficking awareness. We, the girls ministry of North Star, are partnering with another organization to mentor and love the rescued. It was an incredible weekend and to watch the things God did in the lives of these students was awesome!

The same weekend as Thrive we gained a 3rd roommate...yes, we are nuts. AJ, is a guy who has been in our lives for several years now and is very dear to us. He is getting married this June and wanted a place to stay until their apartment is ready. So hear we are...or here I am, with 4 guys and a baby...there is never a dull moment around this house but we are blessed to have them here. They are a joy and keep us laughing.

Then last week we got 3-4 inches of snow and Elijah loved it. He was not sure what to think at first but then went out and stomped around and laughed. At one point in the afternoon I looked over at him and he was at the front door with his hat and gloves on ready to go...it was too cute!

We enjoyed the snowed in weekend with AJ and his fiance, Lindsay. Such a sweet couple.

And now here we are almost done with the month of February. I think I got some of the big highlights over the past few months....now time to cook some dinner and get ready for my hubby to come home.

Cau for now