Trip to Chattanooga

Earlier this month, we took a trip to Chattanooga that was so special! We stayed at the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel, and then we went to a Day Out With Thomas! Elias was in little-boy heaven! :) As his souvenir of the trip, he chose a Day Out With Thomas photo album, and then I made a little story of our trip with the photos we took. So rather than typing out the tale of our trip into a blog post, I thought I'd just show the story pictures we put into his album.
If you're having trouble viewing the photo story or want to see larger pictures, try clicking here to view it in Photobucket.

Where Does He Come Up With This Stuff?: Angry Birds Edition

Over the past 6 months or so, we've learned that Angry Birds are a big hit among young boys all around the world. Elias was slowly introduced to it by way of friends who liked it, but when we returned to the States, he began playing the game on Grandma's iPhone. He, of course, thought it was super fun, and another Angry Birds fan was born. So then the next time Grandma was at the store, she saw a box of Angry Birds Cheese Nips, which she knew Elias would love, so she got them. And he did. Not only does he enjoy the tasty crackers, but he also loves looking at the box where all the Angry Birds are there together.

For reasons beyond my comprehension, he decided to make up names for each of the Angry Birds. Therefore, these are their new names:

Red one = Mado

Black one = Moodo

White one = Meedo

Yellow one = Tofasar (That's pronounced toe-fuh-sahr. I have no idea.)

Blue one = Charlie

Bahaha! Oh, and as mentioned in my last post, the green pig is named Guido.

So that's all well and good, but here's where it gets really funny. My dad is a backyard birdwatcher, and so he keeps birdfeeders that attract all sorts of birds. Elias and I have really gotten into the birdwatching as well, and Elias has now identified a real-life bird to be the equivalent of each of the Angry Birds! Let me introduce to you the identities of each one!

So we'll be sitting at the table with the birdfeeder outside, and Elias will suddenly shout "Hi, Charlie!" or "It's Meedo!" So we'll look to discover a blue jay or nuthatch at the feeder. And there can be any number of the same bird on the feeder - the 10 goldfinches in our field of vision are all named Tofasar.

So I don't know where my kid comes up with this stuff, but it's fun!

*Thanks to the Angry Birds Wiki for the images of the Angry Birds. I also learned there that each bird already has a name. We're going to stick with Elias' interpretation.

Kite & Culture Festival

This afternoon we went to the International Kite & Culture Festival in Georgetown. There were bouncy houses, which Elias thoroughly enjoyed. Then we got some food; Justin thoroughly enjoyed a lamb gyro and baklava! (Elias and I preferred more boring food: a cheeseburger and a chicken philly, respectively.) We had brought Elias' kite with us (the green pig from Angry Birds - Elias has named him Guido), and the weather was great for kite-flying!

Below is a shot of the whole festival from the top. The white tents are the food/craft displays. The bouncy houses are in the back behind the tents. Justin and Elias are the pair on the far left, and you can see their green kite at the very top of the picture.

New Bicycle

My parents' neighborhood has a Facebook page, and Dad spotted on it that someone was giving away a bike for a 4- or 5-year-old boy. So he claimed it for Elias, and we went to pick it up. It is a great little bike, the perfect size for Elias! Such a blessing to be given it for free! We just picked up some training wheels, and he's good to go.

The bike has both a horn and a bell, which Elias likes even more than riding on the bike!

We hope the weather warms up and stays good so that we can use this great new bike!

Celebrating Easter

If I hurry up and get this posted, it'll be not quite a year since I've posted on this blog. I haven't been snoozing that whole time - the things I've been blogging have been over on our Turkish Travels blog. However, while we're back in the States, I'll start putting things back on this blog... I like having kind of a record of what our life is like, and I also like being able to share it with others.

So although we had only been back in the States for a few weeks and barely had our wits about us (and still don't for that matter), we had a joyous celebration of Easter! How beautiful to reflect upon the resurrection of Christ and what that means for us both in this life and for eternity!

My parents' neighborhood had a little petting zoo the Saturday before Easter. Elias LOVED the chicks, and still talks about them! He was less excited about the goats (that you can see in the pen behind us).

We colored eggs the day before Easter. Grandma had bought some no-spill coloring cups, and those worked great!

I had also bought some of the shrink-wrap egg decorators, which I remember using as a kid. However, rather than dipping them in boiling water, which is what I remember doing, the instructions said you could also shoot them with a hair dryer to make the plastic shrink. Elias loved that too!

Our beautiful eggs!

We had brought home from church an Easter craft for Elias to do, so he and Grandma did that the day before Easter. He liked the way he could "open" the door to the empty tomb!

Then on Sunday morning, there was a lot going on at church! First a sunrise service, followed by breakfast. Then the choir practiced its cantata that it would be performing in the later service. Then Sunday School, then the later service, then an Easter Egg hunt!! In the later service, the children performed a handbell song, which Elias thought was awesome!
Listen at the end of the video... Hear the excited "YAAAAAAAAAY!"? That's Elias. :)

My parents' church has this cross of daffodils planted on the hill behind it, and every year it blooms just in time for Easter!

Due to bad weather, the Easter Egg Hunt at church had to be moved inside, but Elias still had fun!

For Easter supper, we made Easter Egg Salad! You can't really tell from the pictures, but the egg dye got on the eggs themselves, so our salad was pretty psychedelic. Made it even more delicious!

Christ is Risen!

Thankful for Her Legacy

Today in celebration of Mother's Day, I wanted to join in with the One Thousand Moms project and show a little gratitude for my mommy in this public forum. Although I have kinda the best mom in the world, so there are a lot of things to be thankful for, one thing I've been meditating about a lot recently is her legacy that faith, love, and family are more important than material things. (Of course, I'm thankful for BOTH my parents having lived this out, but today we're focusing on Mom!) A few ways she has done this:

- Before I was school age, she took in sewing at home so she could stay home with me instead of going out and getting job, when I know we could've used the money.
- When I was in elementary school, she and Dad both went back to college to finish their degrees in order to pursue their dreams. Looking back, that was like totally insane of them, but I'm proud of them for doing it. Seeing their sacrifice made a big impact on me.
- When I was in college, they sold everything and moved to Poland as missionaries. That is such a huge deal! They quit comfortable jobs that they loved, sold a beautiful house, and left behind their family to follow the Lord in obedience.
- Even after returning to the States, they took jobs (or stayed in jobs!) that were less comfortable, less money, and further away from family, all for the sake of the ministry they were called to.

Seeing where I am today, it's easy to see how watching Mom & Dad's life of making drastic steps of faith and obedience has shaped my worldview as well. Mom, I'm thankful for the way you have shown me with your life that materialism is NOT where fulfillment is found, and that love is not hindered by distance! I love you!

Warrior Poet Clothier

Most of you know that I've been doing all my blogging recently on our Turkey blog.  However, I have this awesome news that I wanted to post on here and spread the word!  Warrior Poet Clothier is a fledgling company that I've been working for as a social media assistant since November.  This is an amazing company that makes awesome designer shirts for boys, but their true goal is to encourage and instruct boys to grow up to be strong, virtuous, and godly men.  I am thrilled to be even a small part of this company, and I'm especially thrilled to announce that the opening line of shirts is available for sale TODAY!  Warrior Poet is offering a Friends & Family 30% off discount, so check out the image below (Click here to view larger image. You may need to click on the image again to enlarge.):

I can't say enough good things about this company and its mission! 
Visit the website: http://mywarriorpoet.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/mywarriorpoet

Twitter: http://twitter.com/mywarriorpoet

Elf Yourself

I had forgotten about the Elf Yourself website where you can put your faces in and watch yourself do hilarious dances each year at Christmastime.  So I put in Justin, Elias, myself, and Mrs. B since she's as beloved as a member of the family.  The video it made was hilarious - click here to watch my favorite.  (I believe the link is only live until January 15, so hurry on over if you want to see it.)

However, another version of the dance wasn't as good, but the ending pose was too hilarious - I took a screen capture to save it forever!

Justin dipping me and Elias dipping Mrs. B.  Couldn't get any more lifelike than that!

More Christmas Fun

In addition to the birthday party for Jesus, here are some other pictures from our Christmas Day together.  We went to church in the morning, and it was a really neat service.  They brought all the kids on stage and read the Christmas story from the Jesus Storybook Bible, which rocks my socks off.  I have never read anything out of that book without crying.  Ever.  If you have kids Elias' age or older, get one for them.  Anyhow, here is my adorable boy in his Christmas church outfit:

Who can resist a cutie in a sweater vest?  Not me.

Then the weather was really beautiful today - warm and sunny!  So my boys spent quite a bit of time playing outside!

My adorable boy in front of the neighbor's display of inflatables.  You should see their front yard!

Elias rode his tricycle.*

And we all played frisbee!

Then for dinner I cooked an ethnic Indian meal.  In my mind, it reminds us that the angel said "I bring you glad tidings of great joy, which will be FOR ALL PEOPLE!"  But really we just like Indian food.

Butter chicken, green bean & potato curry, and tomato rice.  YUM!

So we really had a special and enjoyable Christmas together!!


*Note: I've had a video of Elias riding his tricycle on these adorable ramps that Justin set up for him for MONTHS, and I've just been too much of a slacker to blog about it.  So, uh, look at these awesome ramps that Justin made for Elias, and see what fun Elias has riding his trike on them!!!

Christmas, Birthday-Style

Every year at Christmastime we really try to make it as meaningful and as honoring to Christ as we can.  So we try not to tie ourselves to traditions, but to be willing to try new things in order to make the holiday special.  This year we were at home just the three of us for Christmas day, and so we tried something new that I think was REALLY fun!!!  Instead of making it like a traditional Christmas, we celebrated it more like a birthday party.

Elias helped me make a pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing.  (YUM!)  Since it was just us, we halved the recipe and only made one layer.

The 1 candle just happened to be the only one we had in the house that would work on a cake.  But hey, Jesus is God's one and only Son, not to mention He's just #1.  So it works.

Then we decorated with balloons and streamers!

The balloons looked pretty awesome when the fan was spinning!  On the back wall is Elias' Christmas-themed artwork, some from school and some we did at home.

We lit a candle and sang happy birthday to Jesus!

Then, instead of giving gifts to each other, we chose various missions and ministries, and we gave donations as our gifts to Jesus, since He is the Birthday Boy after all!

It was really a lot of fun, and the birthday party atmosphere really resonated with Elias.  There was absolutely no confusion at all about what we were celebrating and why.  Happy Birthday, Jesus!!!

Family Portraits

We also got some family portraits taken, and those turned out great too!  Most of you will see the first one in our Christmas card.

Elias being a ham.

My sweetheart & me

See Elias' portraits from the same session here.

3-1/2 Year Portraits

Since I totally dropped the ball on getting 3-year portraits of Elias, we got some at 3.5 instead!  Worked out well to get family portraits for our Christmas cards at the same time - see this post for those.  :)  Here's my precious buddy at 3.5!  (Click to enlarge.)

We had to get at least one shot with Mrs. B - the love of his life.  :)

Zoo With Nana & Granddad

As I mentioned here, Justin's parents came for a visit shortly after Elias and I returned home from our trip to Atlanta.  Unfortunately, I'm way worse at taking pictures when we're at home than when we're someplace new, so I don't have many pictures of Nana & Granddad's visit.  One thing we did together that I got some great pics of, though, was visit the zoo!

Elias loved this dragon sculpture in the pond.

An otter saying hi to Elias, Granddad, & Nana through the glass.  Elias LOVED this!

We were there in the morning and the tiger must've been hungry for his breakfast, because he was making some loud growling noises!  Elias couldn't decide whether that was terrifying or awesome.

Checking out the elephant

This monkey was by far Elias' favorite part of the zoo.  He was swinging wildly around his pen, and Elias thought that was hilarious!

You can't see it well because of Elias' reflection, but the monkey is right on the other side of the glass from him, walking with its arms in the air.  Elias thought that was so cool!

He really liked these crowned cranes too!

Elias and Daddy went up on the observation deck, and this giraffe got really close!

Even though we don't have more pictures than this, we had such a great time with Nana & Granddad, and we're so thankful they came to visit!!!     

Atlanta Trip 9: Wrapping Up

Can you believe I had 9 posts worth of pictures from this week-long trip?!  It was so much fun, though, and I'm so thankful for that time with my family!  If you're still hanging in there in this long series, here are a few pictures that didn't fit anywhere else:

The kids' table at our Sunday afternoon cookout.

Grandpa bought Elias a ride on the train at the mall!  He was beyond thrilled!!!  Notice the blue tickets he's holding - he still has his souvenir train ticket!

Jessica has an app on her iPad that is an adorable version of The Monster At The End of This Book - a book we used to read when we were kids!  Elias absolutely stinkin' LOVED it!  He would just laugh and laugh - scream laughing!  We definitely bought that one for our own iPad.  This picture is Grandma showing it to them before bed one night.  Many thanks to Patriot & Azlan for putting up with his craziness while reading this one!

So that was our visit!  Our return home was also an adventure, since Atlanta traffic caused us to miss our morning flight.  However, there was another flight 2.5 hours later that they put us on for no charge, and it was really no inconvenience to us at all to get home a little later than originally planned.  So, we enjoyed a long car and train ride with my sis to get to the airport, then extra hangout time waiting for the next flight!  Score!  So it was a fantastic trip - all that I had hoped it would be - and I'm so thankful for how good Elias was to travel alone with!  What blessings God has given me in my family!!!!!

Atlanta Trip 8: More Celebrating

Patriot and Azlan's birthdays are only a couple weeks apart, so we had a family celebration for both boys, since we wouldn't be able to come back for Azlan's party.  Also, Patriot and Azlan are both in karate classes, and while we were there, they passed their tests to move up to orange belt level!  Way to go, boys!  (We went to watch their testing, and Elias LOVED seeing all the kids doing their karate!  He sat still on my lap for the entire hour just in awe of all the kicking and movements and shouting.  He still walks around going "A-ya!" like the kids did.  Maybe martial arts are in Elias' future too?!)  So we had a lot to celebrate that day!

And when you have a lot to celebrate, where else do you go but Chuck E. Cheese's?!  It had been more than 2 years since Elias went to Chuck E Cheese's (with the same crowd actually!), so it was definitely more fun for all of us this time!

Loving the helicopter flying around in this game.

Pushing buttons on Deal or No Deal.

This was a helicopter-type ride that you pedal like a bike.  He wouldn't actually ride it, but he loved to just touch it and shake it!  He called it the Thingmajigger from The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That.

What's really funny is that even though he loved touching the games and pushing their buttons, he refused to actually play or ride any of them.  So we didn't spend one token there, which actually ends up being a lot cheaper...  So if he's happy to just run around and look at things, I guess I'm ok with that!

Looking adoringly at Chuck E.

Then he finally found the thing he loved best - seeing himself on TV with the bluescreen!!  He danced there until it was time to go.  :)

Then we went back to the house for cake, ice cream, and presents.  I for some reason didn't get any pictures of cake time...  But it was yummy!  Then it was present time, and in true Grandma fashion, she had brought one for Elias!  She said she felt bad that the other boys were getting birthday presents, but Elias wasn't getting anything.  I think that's sweet.  So all three boys were simultaneously ripping into presents!  Mayhem.

They were all very excited with their haul, and Elias didn't let go of his little Cars 2 Lightning McQueen and Fillmore characters for the next 48 hours!  (He's holding them in the pajama photo in this post!)