3 years ago...

Nick and I were making an offer on our house and I was pregnant (and didn't know it yet)!

Seems like a lifetime ago! What fun we have had!

Eli Says...

Eli’s vocabulary is just exploding… everyday he blows us out of the water with the things he says to us. Mostly a mirror of what we say to him, just in his own little way… Which is also a great reminder to watch every little thing you say!

Last night, Eli and I took a walk around our block and at one point Eli asked me to carry him. As I was holding him, he said, “Mama has a purple hat.” Which was true, I was wearing a purple hat.

This morning as we were getting ready for the day, we were in the bathroom and I dropped a couple things when Eli says, “Mama, what happened? What happened, Mama?”

Then we were in the bedroom and I was getting dressed when he said to me, “I’m gonna get you, Mama! I ‘m gonna get you!” when he starting chasing after me…

Nick shared with me that in the car this morning Eli told Nick, “Daddy, I have an elephant in my ear.” This was coming from his doctor’s visit the other night when I told Eli the doctor was going to look in his ear for an elephant (he LOVES elephants). The conversation went on and on about if there could be puppies or kitties on our ears, too.

I told Eli this because when I was little the doctor would tell me the same thing. This was always very entertaining, so I thought I would do the same for Eli.

I am so proud of him and his love for learning and exploring every day. It is the greatest joy to watch this little person grow into such an amazing human being!

Happy Valentines Day!

Grandma's Hands

My Aunt emailed this to me... I was really touch by it and wanted to share...

Grandma, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench.. She didn't move, just sat with her head down staring at her hands.


When I sat down beside her she didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I wondered if she was OK.
Finally, not really wanting to disturb her but wanting to check on her at the same time, I asked her if she was OK. She raised her head and looked at me and smiled. 'Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking,' she said in a clear voice strong.
'I didn't mean to disturb you, grandma, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK,' I explained to her.
'Have you ever looked at your hands,' she asked. 'I mean really looked at your hands?'
I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point she was making.
Grandma smiled and related this story:
'Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years. These hands, though wrinkled shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life..
'They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor..
They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child, my mother taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots. They held my husband and wiped my tears when he went off to war.
'They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent. They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son. Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special
They wrote my letters to him and trembled and shook when I buried my parents and spouse.
'They have held my children and grandchildren, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand.
They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer.
'These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of life.
But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of God.'
I will never look at my hands the same again. But I remember God reached out and took my grandma's hands and led her home. When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my children and husband I think of grandma. I know she has been stroked and caressed and held by the hands of God.
I, too, want to touch the face of God and feel His hands upon my face.

Billboards

On our way home from Eli’s daycare everyday, we take Snelling Ave. Just before the fairgrounds there are about 3 -4 billboards on each side of the road… one is a huge Troll for Treasure Island resort and Casino, one is for a Country music station, and another is a man’s face for a mortgage company or something… Everyday Eli says, “Mama, what’s that? What’s that, Mama?” I tell him, “It’s a billboard, Eli.” To which he repeats, “A billboard.” This morning when Nick was taking Eli to daycare, Eli says, “It’s a Billboard, Daddy!” Nick called me immediately to tell me.

Eli Says...

I see Eli digging in his nose and he pulls “something" out. He shows me his finger and I say, “What is it, Eli?” Eli says, “It’s a Goober, Mama.”

Let's! Play! Hockey!

Our son is obsessed with all things hockey. He has only been skating one time, but he is hooked! For Christmas he got some hockey equipment... goal nets, hockey sticks, special balls for practicing hockey indoors...etc, etc. If he sees the Minnesota WILD logo, he shouts, "It's a hockey game!"

Recently, we were trying to get Eli to drink some water and he refused, until we told him it was hockey water... then he was all about it. One night when we were struggling to get him to eat his chicken at dinner time... until we told him it was hockey chicken!

Last night as we were getting ready for bed I asked Eli if he wanted to wear his dinosaur jammies or his moose jammies.... he said, "Hockey jammies". He does have hockey jammies, but they aren't real hockey jammies. They are actually baseball jammies... but one night Eli didn't want to put on jammies, so Nick told him the jammies he was trying to put on him were, yes, hockey jammies...
We are terrible!