Uncle Dan

Uncle Dan Greenwood came to visit us this last weekend. He flew in on Wednesday night and left Sunday morning so we got to stay up a lot of night talking to him and seeing how he is doing. The kids were very excited and wanted his attention the whole time. Eli wanted him to always hold him, Aubrey wanted him to tickle and play with her and Jaxon was scared of him at first but then loved to be with hime too. (Jaxon gave the biggest pouty lip of his life when Uncle Dan made him stop lifting up the tablecloth. Hilarious!) Thursday Dan was supposed to drive up to Kentucky to work but ended up getting in an accident and dented the mustang he was driving but he was just fine (that's a relief). The roads have been really icy up in Kentucky. He ended coming back to do his work on our computer and was able to get it done. Also that day I took the kids shopping at Goodwill so we could get out of the house. Eli had one of his yelling fits and we got kicked out of goodwill. I knew it was going to happen sooner or later. I cried for a little bit but now I think it is a funny story.

Friday we went and checked out the Opryland Hotel. It is gorgeous with tons of gardens to walk through for free (free is the best part). Aubrey and I rode on the little boat and that was fun but not worth $9 but still fun. We then went to the Opry Mills mall and checked out the Aquarium restaurant. They let us check it out for free and it looked like a ton of fun. They had a ton of Fish and sharks and stingrays. Absolutely beautiful! We would love to go and eat there sometime. That night I got a babysitter and so James, Dan and I went out to eat and then went to check out the sites. We went to the Parthenon and it was beautiful all lit up and everything. Then we drove down broadway to listen to all the country singers trying to make it big.

Saturday we tried to get Josh and fam to come with us but they said they were too buys (how rude!).j/k We went up to Mammoth Caves and then went to Abraham Lincoln's birthplace. We want to go check out more of the caves later. We had a blast with Dan and hope he had a great time too. See, we know how to party so come and see us okay!?!

Thief/ Worn Out!

We have a thief in the house! Jaxon climbed up on his own to eat the rest of Eli's breakfast. I couldn't find him so I asked Aubrey where he went. "He's up there Mom!" she said. He was already up chowing down. When it was time for dinner we found Eli asleep on the couch. He looked so cute we didnt' want to wake him but we did want him to go to bed a little later so we had to wake him up. So Sweet!

Valentine's day!

Happy Valentine's Day! We love you all and we expecially love our kids. We bought some Playhuts for really cheap for them instead of candy. They love them. Eli and Jaxon's is Lightning McQueen and Aubrey's is a Princess one. As you can see, James doesn't quite fit but they had fun anyways. We took a balloon and some candy to James' work to show we loved him. He brought home roses, a card, and some chocolates (yum) for me. We had tons of fun. We made a chocolate ,Eli, cake in the shape of a heart. They said it was actually really yummy. Yeah a new recipe we can use again. Eli ended up sleeping under his hut that night because he didn't want to let it out of his sight. Kisses and hugs to all!

Snow

Ahhhh, Snow! It didn't last a long time but Aubrey couldn't wait to get out and play in it. Everyone else had colds so we didn't go and join her. Fun huh?

Family Day Out!

It was so nice on Saturday that we made it a family day out. I feel the Jealousy rolling in from all you people in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada. Well to get away from the snow you can just come and visit. hehe

We went to centennial park and saw the parthenon, a replica of the one in Greece. It was beautiful. We walked around the park played on the playground, saw an airplane from the late 1950's (added that so my father-in-law would be proud) and then we ended our trip at the mall. They have a restaurant called the Aquarium that you eat while watching all the fish in the aquariums swim by. We just looked at the fish because we don't know how much it costs to eat but it looks fun. We walked around until our feet got sore. It was fun. James always loves the mall!?! Aubrey rode on the carousel and had a blast. It was nice to actually get out of the house and see the sites.

Eli, earlier Saturday threw lightning mcqueen in the stream behind us and dove in after it. What a funny kid. We were all out exploring our back yard.

And just for a side note, The Children's Place is having a big sell. We were able to buy Aubrey some pink (cause she loves pink ) pants for 99cents. Love ya.

Daddy's Home!

"I'm so glad when Daddy comes home, glad as I can be." Just like the song that is what happens when daddy get home. He gets ambushed. All the kids want to be held at the same time so Thursday, Feb. 7 James decided to hold them all at once. It only lasted a minute or so but they loved it. I would have had him hold me too but I decided to give hime a little bit of a break. He's so cute! Ten hour days sometimes kill us more than him. So fun!

Masks

We found some mask on the back of one of our cereal boxes and so we put them together. Eli wouldn't wear his but Aubrey and Jaxon loved theirs. So make sure you check out those cereal boxes. You never know what kind of entertainment you'll find.
In our back yard there is a little stream and a little forest. I lifted Aubrey over the porch so she could go play. She had a blast picking weeds, which she calls flowers, and playing in the water. Eli still jumps in the water otherwise I would have let him go too. He kept trying to climb over. Silly kids!

Eli's Poem

One day while staying home from church with sick kids I felt like I should try to write a poem about Eli. I wrote this poem for Eli. We are trying to see if my friends Matt and Jamie can help me turn it into a song for him. We will see. Here it is:

Across the Sand
I call out his name but he doesn’t reply.
His eyes are far away, I can’t understand why.
My heart aches for my little one
“Please, Help!” I cry to God’s only Son.

What’s a mother supposed to do?
I know it’s to stand fast in faith and hold true.
But when I watch my child suffer so
In shame, I wonder where did my Savior go.

This special child of mine
With a long journey to take and a nature divine
Looking to God, trying to reach so high
Wanting this Angel in my arms to raise his wings and fly
He’s stronger than I know or can understand
Because Christ is carrying him Across the Sand

God, himself, had to watch his child suffer in pain.
Why can’t I too withstand this rain?
Peace fills my heart as I pray to find a cure
He hears me, I know, the spirit does assure.

Again I call out his name but he doesn’t reply
But wait, he looks, with comprehension in his eye.
The hand of God has reached out to touch
To guide us through the sand and encircle the one I love so much.

This special child of mine
With a long journey to take and a nature divine
Looking to God, and trying to reach so high
I watch my angel spread his wings & fly.
He’s always been stronger than I could understand
Because Christ carried him, for me, across the sand.

Hello from Nashville

Here are some pictures from us in Nashville. Jaxon loves to open drawers and climb in them no matter how many times we take him out. He always has a big smile on his face, especially when he is getting in trouble. He loves to play with Aubrey and Eli and they keep him laughing Eli got a wagon for Christmas (both he and jaxon) and he loves to just go and sit in it. He also got some Lightning McQueen slippers and he carries those around everywhere. If you even try to touch them he starts to yell. Just this last week he started to walk around saying "Do it!" or "Hey." He has been playing with us more. He played ball with me the other day and he has been sharing some of his toys a little bit more. He is doing better everyday and I hope it is because of the diet and the other things we are trying to do for him. He loves to dance to the "Cars" soundtrack by spinning around and around. He also the other day handed me a mask and told me "Mo" which I think meant more because I kept putting it on and taking it off. He didn't like me to take it off so he kept bringing it back to me. funny kid!

Aubrey is so smart and has recently started to try to write her letters. She also walks around saying words and then telling us what they start with. She know most of her alphabet and their sounds. She loves for us to read to her everynight and she still always wants to have someone to play with. Jaxon always follows her around and they have a great time getting into things.

We have spent a lot of time indoors because it has gotten a lot colder. We got a little bit of snow the other day but it melted in a couple of seconds. We can't wait for spring when we can use the new wagon to walk to the park or , as aubrey would like, for us to go to the zoo which is just down the road.