Texas Fan

Our little spelling sports fan. :)



Eli has really started recognizing letters and numbers. The other day we were going through some little alphabet books that Eli got for Christmas (thanks to Nonie and Gimpa!) and I was surprised how many of them he recognized without prompting. Ethan asked me how many of the letters that he could name and I wasn't sure, so the next day we went through the letters again and I counted. I held up the book with the letter on it and asked him what letter it was. He got 18 right on the first try! Way to go, little buddy!

Streams in the Desert

While most of my blog entries are updates on Eli, there is something else that I want to blog about today.  I have found a new devotional book that I absolutely love.  It is called Streams in the Desert.  This devotional was originally written by a woman named L.B. Cowman in 1925.  She and her husband were missionaries to China and Japan from 1901 to 1917.  Her husband's health took a turn for the worse and the couple returned to the US, where she cared for him until his death six years later.  Out of her experiences and her heartbreak came this devotional.  It has been edited and revised by Jim Reimann, who was also the editor of the updated edition of My Utmost for His Highest.  Let me just say that I love this book.  I have not read it every day, but the days that I have are all incredible.  I will share one from January 22nd that seems to speak directly to me where I am at this moment.  I pray that it will encourage you as much as it does me.  I also highly, highly recommend this devotional for everyone...go get one today! :)

January 22
"He withdrew...to a solitary place." Matthew 14:16

There is no music during a musical rest, but the rest is part of the making of the music.  In the melody of our life, the music is separated here and there by rests.  During those rests, we foolishly believe we have come to the end of the song.  God sends us times of forced leisure by allowing sickness, disappointed plans, and frustrated efforts.  He brings a sudden pause in the choral hymn of our lives, and we lament that our voices must be silent.  We grieve that our part is missing in the music that continually rises to the ear of our Creator.  Yet how does a musician read the rest?  He counts the break with unwavering precision and plays his next note with confidence, as if no pause were ever there. 
God does not write the music of our lives without a plan.  Our part is to learn the tune and not be discouraged during the rests.  They are not to be slurred over or omitted, nor used to destroy the melody or to change the key.  If we will only look up, God Himself will count the time for us.  With our eyes on Him, our next note will be full and clear.  If we sorrowfully say to ourselves, "There is no music in a rest," let us not forget that the rest is part of the making of the music.  The process is often slow and painful in this life, yet how patiently God works to teach us!  And how long He waits for us to learn the lesson!


Wow, incredible.  I find this so so encouraging as I am in a rest point in my life.  Praise be to God, this is all a part of the plan, all part of the music.  Anyway, I just loved this and wanted to share.  Hope that you all have a wonderful day and that your greatest objective today wouldn't be to get all of your tasks done or all of the items on your list crossed off, but to have intimate fellowship with the God who loved you, who created you, who composes the symphony of your life.  What a good and awesome God He is.  I am so thankful to know Him!

Christmas Top 10

I have always had a very hard time summarizing.  My mom and I like to recount the time when I was trying to take notes on a book that I was reading in middle school.  She saw that I had a huge stack of cards and asked me how I was doing.   I said "good" until we realized that I was already up to 50 notecards and only on page 50 of the book. :)  Why am I bringing this up now?  Well, not much has changed from middle school Jennifer until now when it comes to summarizing.  While I would like to think that I am a little bit better, I still never want to leave out a single detail.  When it comes to blogging, I can be the same way.  I want to post every good picture and story, but I have come to the realization that there is just no way that will happen.  So, instead of getting completely bogged down and neglecting the blog all together (as I've done a little more lately...sorry!), I am going to try to work on "summarizing" better. 

I know that Christmas is already long gone, but I just have so many fun memories and pictures from Christmas this year.  Rather than skip it all together, I am going to do a brief "summary" of our Christmas and New Years.  So, without further ado, here are my top Christmas Top 10...


1. Christmas Crafts and Activities

While last year was Elijah's official first Christmas, he was a little too young to understand what was going on.  This year we had a great time getting into the Christmas Spirit!  We read many Christmas Books in which Eli loved to find Santa Clause (aka, "Didi Caw"), acted out the real Christmas story on the toy Nativity set that my parents gave us, sang and danced to Christmas music, and even did Christmas crafts.   Here Elijah is coloring on some awesome homemade coloring sheets made by artist Mom. :)

2.  Breakfast with Captain America

Here, Eli is enjoying breakfast with the one, the only, Captain America!  Alright, I'll let you in on a little secret here, this is actually my nephew just disguised as Captain America. :)  I asked Asher why Captain America was so cool and he told me "it's because he kills everybody."  I enjoyed listening to the dialogue between his dad and mom on this one as they tried to explain to Asher that Captain America did NOT kill people, he saved people and that is why he is a hero.  Not sure Asher went for that, but nice try mom and dad. :) 

3.  Fun with Cousins

One of the things Elijah loved about Christmas time was getting to be with his cousins.  At home, we try to go and do things with other kids, but a good bit of the time he is stuck with just mom as his playmate.  This week was different though and he had a whole crew of buddies to play with.  He especially loved Emory, as you can see in this picture.  I thought all of the kiddos were so cute in their Christmas PJs that I tried to get the all together for a picture.  I guess technically Abram complied...I mean, who said anythying about facing forward? :)

The Gang after Christmas lunch.  Elijah loved trying to keep up with the big kids.  They jumped on the bed, played in a tent, played with toys...Eli learned all kinds of fun new tricks.

4.  Christmas Morning

Gifts Galore!  You can see that Ethan is VERY excited! :)

Not everyone was excited. :)  Emory, who has a memory like a steel trap (which is why I like to call her Emory Memory), know exactly how everything is supposed to go on Christmas.  This year the parents and grandparents changed things up on her a little bit.  They did stockings first instead of last!  She did not like that, not one litte bit.  Here, Emory is giving me her "grumpiest face possible" to show her disapproval of changing the order of Christmas morning.  How dare they!

5.  Great Grandparents

We got to stay with Nonie and Gimpa, Ethan's grandparents, while we were in town.  Elijah loved spending time with Nonie and Gimpa in the mornings, around naptime, and before bed.  What a blessing to have our little man loved on by his incredible great grandparents!

Nonie, Eli, Ethan, and Gimpa

Gimps, Gloria, Eli, Mamie, and Daddy
We also went by to see the other great grandparents, Gimps and Gloria!  And I must say that Gloria is one amazing lady!  She carried Eli around for longer than I could and entertained that little boy every second he was there.  Eli loves his Gimps and Gloria and we are thankful for the time that we got to spend with them. 

6.  Roadtrips

Between our Shreveport and San Antonio Christmas times, we went back to Dallas to do a little laundry and be home for a day before getting back on the road.  Elijah woke up especially early on the day that we were heading down to SA, surely out of excitement to see Nana and Papa.  He was out snoozing in his carseat before we even got out of Dallas. :)

On our trip to SA, my car his a major milestone! :)

7.  Christmas with Nana and Papa

Eli opening up presents with his Nana and Papa

Elijah got this cool art easel and desk from Nana and Papa!  We already have it stocked up with crayons, pipe cleaners, and other fun kid crafty items.  It is the perfect place for us to do fun afternoon craft activities!

Mmmm...animal pancakes!  Both delicious and fun.

8.  The IPAD

Ahh, the IPAD.  Eli woke up early every morning and I'm sure it was because he just couldn't sleep thinking about that IPAD.  One of my Christmas presents was that my parents got up with our little early riser and let us sleep.  Thank you!  This was one of the best gifts of all. :)

Papa's lap is the perfect place for kids of all ages to come and be amazed with the IPAD for hours. :)

9.  Adventures in Nana and Papa's Backyard

Is that our kid outside in late December underneath a windmill with no pants on?  Surely not...

Okay, so maybe it is...but it was warm out, I promise!  In Shreveport we were wearing jackets and scarfs.  In San Antonio, we didn't even need to wear pants...well, we wore pants...only people under 2 were exempt. :)

Elijah loved to play with the windmill, the sole sustaining energy source for my parents house. ;)

"Was that a joke, Mommy?" 
"Yes baby, that was only a joke." :)

Playing a fun game that he learned from his cousin Dylan over Thanksgiving...still no pants.

First you get this cool car (aka, gardening cart) and drag it up the hill

Then you lay down on your tummy and ride all the way down the hill!

10.  New Years Eve!

Loved our time with the Coben Clan!  Here is my brother and his wonderful family.
Katelyn, Dylan, Jenny, Matthew, and Michael

Nana and the grandkids

Proof that Ethan and I really were there!
 Exchanging Christmas gifts with Michael and Jenny and the kids...we are so blessed!

Time for Games and Snacks!  Not quite sure, but I am pretty sure Katelyn may have just eaten one of the oreos. :)
We had a fabulous time on New Years Eve.  We played games, laughed until our stomachs hurt, and then celebrated the New Year together with family that we love.  I couldn't think of a better time.  We love you all and had a great time! 

Thanks for all of the fun memories everyone!  We are truly blessed.  Merry Christmas and  Happy New Year.  Looking forward to all the new fun and memories in 2012!

Sports Nut

Well Happy New Year everyone!  I hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  I literally have hundreds of Christmas pictures to sort through between our visits with both of our families during the holidays.  We had a fantastic time, and I will eventually get some of those pictures posted.  But, in the mean time I wanted to do a quick post about our little sports fan.  Let's just say that Elijah definitely has his Daddy's love for sports.  Basketball, football, soccer, golf...he is obsessed with them all at this point. 

Elijah loves to play golf with Daddy!  I have SO many pictures of the two of them playing golf ...and they have yet to set foot on a course together.  They play in the living room quite often with Eli's plastic clubs after Daddy gets home from work.  This past weekend, we had a family trip to Dicks Sporting Goods, and OMG it was all Elijah had ever dreamed of and more. :)  For a sports nut, this store was beyond awesome.  Here are just a few pictures of our little athlete...

Dream. Come. True.

A green basketball...seriously, does it get much better than this?!

Playing "Ott-ball" with Daddy

Alright, Eli, focus.  You got this.

I love, love, love these next photos!

Daddy teaching his little buddy to play golf.

It all starts with the right grip.

And the swing.

Success!

Ethan and his little Mini Me :)

Leaving the store...somehow I get the feeling that Eli wasn't quite ready to go. :)

Too much fun. Definitely time for bed!