They Did It...We're so PROUD :)

FINALLY! At Last! Thank God! They worked so hard for so long and on May 8 and May 14 we all got to celebrate with them as they saw all their hard work pay-off! Kristen (on the right) has her BS in Nursing from IUS and a job working in critical care in Columbus. Lisa finished with her BS in Hospital Administration from IUPUI and is waiting to hear about a job on the southside of Indy as we speak! I couldn't be happier for them. We celebrated with an open house at our place. It was so great to have everyone together for such a momentous occasion. Their success is an answer to a much and long prayed prayer.

Things we NEVER did with Eli...

Isaac is a popcorn FREAK! Sunday was such a busy day and we were all SO exhausted that we HAD to like down just to eat our popcorn. I know...I KNOW...not only did we give him a choky food like popcorn but we let him eat it in a choky position. We're bad!

More Missing Teeth and Soccer

Here's Eli and one of his pals from the old neighborhood. Each of them lost their first tooth this week! They're good buddies...

The other shot is one of Eli going up against the ringer from the other team that we played today. We got beat but Eli gave it his all! GO ELI!

Rub a Dub...Two Stinkpots in the Tub

Isaac and Zoe and Mr. Bubbles during the last sleepover with the cousins. Out of all of our kids...it'll be these two that rock our worlds. They're so COMPLETELY rotten!

Eli's Big Week!

Eli had a huge week with report cards coming out along with...FINALLY...his first tooth! We're so proud of his success at school and relieved that his baby teeth have decided to vacate at last. We were wondering if they were gonna hang on until he was out of high school!

Eli has a special request, his teacher, Mrs. Phenicie whose teaching has helped Eli do so very well this year has had to leave a little early this school year to take care of herself and her baby that's on the way so... Eli would like for everyone to keep her in their prayers. He'll miss her bunches!

Glow

Buzz, buzz buzzy bee black and gold. Buzz, buzz buzzy bee we've been told... Here's Eli as a buzzy bee at his school's spring musical, "Glow". Crack me up! You should hear the song. He had to flap his little hands like bee wings and fly in circles around one of the flower girls. Hee, hee! He did great but you could so tell that he wished he had the part of the firefly.

The Maroon Cardinals

In spite of the dumbest name in the history of league soccer, they're a good team. Never mind all of the cool suggestions from the mommies like The Maroon Magic, The Maroon Mavericks (Mavs for short), The Maroon Miracle...nope we're saddled with The Maroon Cardinals. Here's some highlights of Eli's first few games.

Easter 2006

God is so good!

In the water

It was tough to get pictures of Eli while we were on vacation because he was constantly in the water! So, here I was with my precious camera perched periously over the water to get this shot. He's hanging onto my leg!

Gonna get ya and poochy lips

Here's Isaac's personality captured in images. Mercy, he's cute!

Isaac: 16 months

Well...here's our not-so-baby-anymore baby. We can't believe how fast Isaac is growing and learning and changing. It's inadequate to say, "it's amazing" but there are no other words. Isaac is our boy's boy. He's the worm-grubbing, dirt eating, outside loving, animal chasing, daredevil that will probably end up with a broken bone or stitches before three (we pray not). His guardian angels (notice the plural) have their hands full! He's walking and talking and exploring and getting into worlds of trouble daily. His favorite activity of late is to be YELLING from the sidelines at his brother's soccer games while chasing his own little soccer ball. Unlike his brother, Isaac (aka Gus) is permanently attached to a paci. He wants BADLY to eat all of the things he's not supposed to including but not limited to: coke, ice cream (all flavors), CHOCOLATE, popcorn, gummi bears, cookies (any sort), jelly beans and other various choking hazards. He has an inane knack for driving us directly to our limits and making us laugh while he's doing it. His right index finger is apparently stuck in his belly button. He hates any articles of clothing that deny him access to it and prevent his somewhat odd self-comforting habit. He's learned in recent months where he must go sit when he's been naughty. He has a fiery temper and a quick right hook that lands him in the naughty spot more often than he'd like. Of course, the joy he brings far outweighs the challenges and we're stunned that we have this whole other little person ransacking our house. We cannot imagine our lives without him. God must have known the perfect addition he'd make to our family and sent Gus just for us.

Eli: 7 years old

Here's our big boy! With most of first grade under his belt and spring soccer underway, he's having a great spring. He's got lots of plans for summer vacation including several camps. He's really excited about his 3 days away from home for church camp! We're in the middle of year-end activities with one spring musical down and one to go. He's quite the little showman and enjoys immensely his time on stage. He's reading all the time and it is so much fun to share our favorite books with him. Eli is a big movie buff, a music lover, an amusement park fanatic (he'll ride anything), a constant talker, a hockey and soccer afficionado, a cheeseburger addict, a sports nut, a techno-gadget geek, an emerging gamer (heaven help us), a loving, thoughtful, protective and affectionate big brother, and one of
our biggest joys!

At the Ocean

We also got to spend some time on Florida's tip at the ocean. It was Eli's first trip to see one of Matt 's and my favorite places. Isaac kept giggling at the wind and the waves and when he realized that the water was salty, he began lickfest. Eli was intrigued with all the different kinds and shapes of seashells. We all enjoyed the surf coming in on the private island that we got to visit which was also a protected wildlife sanctuary. There were pelicans and dolphins and ospreys...so cool. We rode the boat out to the island with the nicest lady from Hawaii. She took the picture of the four of us. Eli showed her his shell collection all the way back and we traded funny stereotypes...we laughed about where her lei and hulaskirt were while she wondered where we were hiding our corn and basketballs. We loved meeting her.

More Disney

We thought that we were nuts driving to Orlando with a 16 month old BUT he did great and he LOVED everything. Here's some of Isaac enjoying the trip! He and Eli had a ball at Pooh's House. There were little water fountains everywhere that he HAD to play in whenever he saw them. All the food was Mickey shaped and so yummy! And even though he's really short he still managed to get a good view however he could.

Walt Disney World Photos

Hello Everyone! It's been way too long since our last post and we've done so much living since last fall. One of our big events was a family birthday trip to The Happiest Place on Earth. We LOVED it! We plan on going back super soon. We wished we could have taken all of everyone that we love with us to share in the fun.