Here's another great shot that Nana snapped when they were here, and I thought it was incredibly appropriate to wish my husband a happy Father's Day!!!
I am so thankful for the daddy that Justin is. Elias is so blessed to have him, and I am thankful for his help and example in raising Elias to be a godly man!
I am also exceptionally thankful for my own dad, and I'd like to wish him a happy Father's Day too! I was sorting through an old tub of childhood mementos that Mom gave me recently, and I found a few old drawings that maybe say it all...
Well, actually, this one doesn't say anything besides that you're my dad... (And that life in your house is so magical that we don't melt from the heat of a giant sun, tiny rainbows sprout from nowhere, and grass grows from the sky!!!) Let's try another.
Hm. Well, I guess I appreciated you're a good provider? Although my wording makes it sound like Mom was paying you to work around the house... Let's look at one more.
Well, all this one says is that I really appreciated your rockin' mustache!!! (Note: This is an exceptionally good rendering of what my dad looked like as I was growing up! The rest of the family I didn't do so well with, and my poor sister definitely did NOT have scoliosis!)
Regardless of what I could find in my old artwork, I have always appreciated and still do appreciate my dad! I'm so thankful for you!!!! Happy Father's Day to both the special dads in my life!!
My mother-in-law snapped this photo of us on the swings when we went to the park one day while they were here. But I thought it was so adorable, it deserved its own post! Sweet family times.
We were blessed to have several family members come into town for Elias' birthday party! Justin's parents came in a few days before the party, so we were able to spend some really great time with them. Then my mom came in for the party and stayed a few days after. We were all so pleased at how well Elias did with them - he's definitely remembering them between visits, and we have fun together!
Cheesing with Granddad
Nana sneaking a hug and kiss!
Rascal stealing Granddad's hat
Playing footsie with Granddad
Elias and Granddad made up a new game where you try to throw the ball into the little hole on the goal's base. Hey, whatever makes him laugh, right?
Nana & Granddad got him a GeoTrax train set for his birthday - LOVE at first sight!
He LOVES this train set, and he'll play with it for hours at a time!
He has fun getting creative with it, too. He likes the tunnel the train goes through, and also the crane! He says the crane is Old Wheezy from Thomas, who sometimes goes crazy. So here he is playing Crazy Crane with Grandma!
Grandma also brought him a musical birthday card that we had a lot of fun dancing to!
I've heard this song many times on the radio before, but it really ministered to me today. I believe with all my heart that no matter what my circumstances, in Christ I always have a reason to sing. If they're tough right now, it's just the darkness right before morning comes.
Before the Morning - Josh Wilson
Do you wonder why you have to
feel the things that hurt you?
If there's a God who loves you,
where is He now?
Maybe, there are things you can't see
and all those things are happening
to bring a better ending.
Some day, some how, you'll see, you'll see.
Chorus:
Would dare you, would you dare, to believe,
that you still have a reason to sing?
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling,
It can't compare to the joy that's coming.
So hold on, you've got to wait for the light.
Press on and just fight the good fight.
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling,
it's just the dark before the morning.
My friend, you know how this all ends,
and you know where you're going.
You just don't know how you get there,
so say a prayer.
And hold on, 'cause there's good for those who love God.
Life is not a snapshot; it might take a little time,
but you'll see the bigger picture.
Would dare you, would you dare, to believe,
that you still have a reason to sing?
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling,
It can't compare to the joy that's coming.
So hold on, you've got to wait for the light.
Press on and just fight the good fight.
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling,
it's just the dark before the morning.
Yeah, yeah,
Before the morning,
yeah, yeah.
Once you feel the weight of glory,
all your pain will fade to memory.
Once you feel the weight of glory,
all your pain will fade to memory,
memory, memory, yeah...
Would dare you, would you dare, to believe,
that you still have a reason to sing?
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling,
It can't compare to the joy that's coming.
Would dare you, would you dare, to believe,
that you still have a reason to sing?
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling,
It can't compare to the joy that's coming.
Come on, you've got to wait for the light.
Press on and just fight the good fight.
'Cause the pain that you've been feeling,
it's just the hurt before the healing.
Oh, the pain that you've been feeling,
it's just the dark before the morning,
before the morning, yeah, yeah,
before the morning.
Elias' third birthday was on May 21, and we held his birthday the following Saturday at the Railroad Historical Museum in Springfield. We had never heard of this place, but a friend of Justin's at school had mentioned it to him as a neat place that offers free admission and is also available for private parties! So we booked it without having ever even seen it... I mean, how can you go wrong with a train museum as a location for a Thomas party?!?!?! And boy, it sure didn't disappoint! We didn't even realize it, but the museum actually IS an old steam train that has been restored, and you can explore all 4 cars. We kept it very simple, just come-and-go with cake, and the kids could explore the train. Since it would be fun and free, we just sent mass invitations to everybody, and we ended up with more than 40 people coming to his party! It was SO MUCH FUN, though, and I'm so glad it was such a special day for Elias. For most of the photos below, you can click to enlarge and see them better.
This was his e-invitation... Cute and appropriate!
Elias and Daddy in front of the big steam engine. Elias called it Gordon, like the big express engine on Thomas. You could pull that rope to make the bell ring on top of the engine... That was a big hit with the kids!
The 4 cars of the train, from left: engine, museum car, "dining" car, caboose.
The volunteers who ran the museum were so precious! They gave Elias that framed photo of the engine back in its working days, and they signed the back wishing him a happy birthday!
The museum had several working models, which the kids loved!
Elias' favorite was this working model of the old steam engine! He could've watched those wheels turn all day!
Inside the "dining" car. It had the kind of seats where you could flip the back to face either direction, or flip it up to make a table. That was PERFECT for our party!
Elias was thrilled over his Thomas cake, with the Thomas and #3 candles!
I'm glad we opted for the half sheet - I ordered it before I knew how many guests were coming!
Daddy helping Elias blow out his candles.
Elias ate about 2 bites of cake before he was done. I had forgotten we learned last year that he doesn't really like cake... Next year we'll do just ice cream!
He sure did love playing with the Thomas balloons we used for decoration, though! He is, in fact, still playing with them 2 weeks later - there are still about 5 that haven't popped...
My sweet 3-year-old! Note the adorable personalized train shirt from For Your Little Monkey on Etsy. She's the same one who made his personalized birthday shirt last year!
The train museum is part of a larger park with playgrounds, tennis courts, water park, you name it. So after the party, Elias and Daddy made a little stop at the playground to ride the triceratops!
If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you've seen that I've been majorly down for the past month (well, actually more like 5 weeks) with a bad case of mono. I was so exhausted that my entire life was pretty much put on hold! But I'm starting to feel a bit more like myself, and I have some major catching up to do, including on here! So I hope to catch the blog up soon on all these things that have happened in the past month:
- Elias turned 3 & had an awesome birthday party!
- Justin took a trip to Turkey
- Elias and I spent the week Justin was gone with my parents in Kentucky
- Umm, probably a whole lot more that I can't even remember because I was in such a fog! I'll post whatever pics & videos I've got, so stay tuned! ;)
