Time

About midnight last night, Elijah woke up and stood at the gate at his bedroom door and called for me. He has always been such a good sleeper and didn't afford me half as many opportunities to help him back to bed in the middle of the night as Andrew in toddler years. So I quickly got up and grabbed the little fella. I think he had a bad dream, pretty typical for his age. Anyway, as I held him, I realized very quickly how his body had grown from being able to fit right on my chest to now hanging off my shoulder, with limbs in every direction! I suddenly began feeling discontent with how quickly he was growing. I sat down on the couch and starting spiraling downward. My discontentment took over to such a degree that I starting feeling very sad- sad that time passes so quickly, sad that I couldn't remember every detail of days past, sad that he now says "Andrew" instead of "Drew" when calling for his brother , sad that he has outgrown some really cute clothes, sad that Andrew had outgrown those same clothes before him, sad that I had neglected such precious opportunities, sad that I hadn't spent my time more wisely... Wait a second! Thankfully, the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit convicted me at that very moment that I was sowing a future of discontentment and sadness by waisting my time right then. Memory is a precious gift and so is growing- for us all- and I can do nothing about the past. It has in fact been a means to my more sanctified present, which would be incomplete without it just as it was. I repented, thanked God for precious moments past and for the fresh, precious moments present and for the sweet, maturing, two-and-a-half year old on my lap. I gently kissed his head. Elijah in turn, feeling smothered by my attempt to cuddle him finally got frustrated with me and said, "Mommy, I want to go to Elijah's bed!" It was a nice 10 minutes.

Conviction is a wonderful thing.

Happy 5th Birthday Andrew!

January 12th marked Andrew's 5th year on this earth. We are so thankful and proud of him! He has grown from a little 5 lb. 13 oz. baby to be a strong and healthy kid. God's lavish and gracious gift of a precious baby boy was not deserved or owed to us. We are profoundly grateful for the time we have been given so far to spend with him in this life.

Andrew is a thinker. He recently shared with Micah's boss his ideas about improving the Chick-fil-a by adding outdoor seating. He wasn't going to let lack of space in the parking lot deter him from figuring out how it could work! He decided that a picnic table in the grass might be the best option~ He always wants to know what the plan is for each day and makes sure we stick to it. This is really helpful to Mommy who is easily distracted... He is still very driven in preschool and loves to write and read. I have to keep up with all he wants to learn. He loves legos and computer games. His favorite song is still the "army song" (refer to Tiffany's Tracks blog for more info on this one). He makes new friends very easily. It is not uncommon for him to introduce himself to people at random- especially at Chick-fil-a!
We spent his entire birthday playing legos. In the evening, we did go to Chick-fil-a (of course:)) for dinner. He got ice cream, cookie cake, and a make-shilk for dessert (for those of you who don't understand what a shake-milk is, our children are just determined not to call this frozen treat by its correct name!). The day following his birthday, we had friends meet us for bowling and cake. The kids all had a blast!

Converstaions With and Between a 2-Year-Old and 5-Year-Old

Elijah: "Daddy, You have a boo-boo. You have to go to the doctor and he'll shoot you... No.... he'll shot you. And you have to cry."

Elijah: "Thank you, Thank you, Mommy."
Tiffany: "For what Elijah?"
Elijah: "For holding me."

While the family is watching a new movie together, Elijah, anticipating something exciting (Which is once every couple of minutes) exclaims, "What's going to be?!? What's going to be?!?"

Tiffany: "Elijah, why are you up from the table before finishing your lunch?"
Elijah: "I had to fight the tiger, Mommy."

Andrew: "I have to go on the top bed!" ~the top bed is what the boys call the top bunk~
Tiffany: "Andrew, you know the top bed is just for sleeping and not playing."
Andrew: "I do need some rest, Mommy. I haven't had rest in years."

Elijah: "I like Tarheels!"
Tiffany: "Me too!"
Elijah: "Daddy doesn't like Tarheels?
Tiffany: "No, Elijah. Daddy likes Duke."
Elijah: "Duke is scary?"
Tiffany: "Yes, Elijah. Duke is scary!"

Andrew: "Elijah, let's play Superman! You go get stuck on something and I will rescue you!"


Nursery Worker says to Elijah: "You are so cute I could put you in my pocket!"
Andrew, overhearing what was said: "He's too big for your pocket!"

And my favorite comes from lunchtime today. I decided to start asking the boys while they are at the table how I can be praying for them that day. Andrew answered that he was thankful for his church and needed me to ask God to help him obey and not disobey (I really need this prayer for myself as well!). I then asked Elijah, "How can I pray for you?" Elijah said, "Mommy, you just say "Dear God.. Amen!" Just go like that!" I decided at that point that his advice was best; to stop talking about praying and just do it!

Welcome Chick-fil-a!

This past week has been very busy as a new Chick-fil-a opened near Mall St. Matthews here in Louisville. The boys have enjoyed driving by and watching the building progress over the last few of months. Micah had many opportunities provided by his boss to help in hiring and training some of the new employees. He was very thankful for the experience! As life in the US has been uncertain for so many, we are so thankful that God has taken care of us through Micah's job and more specifically through the generosity of Micah's boss. This makes us all the more thankful for the blessing of this new store for he and his family!

This past Monday, we attended the Dedication Dinner at The Olmstead. It was a 20's theme which made the evening fun and festive.

Tuesday night, there was a community dinner at the new store. We stopped by at the end of the festivities. The boys and I got a tour of the store and the boys got to break in the new play area.

Wednesday night, we went by to see the first 100 "raving fans" who received 52 free combos (one for each week of next year). It was freezing outside- actually below freezing. There were couples, families, college kids, and singles all camped out in the parking lot. I didn't get a picture of the tents but they covered the entire parking lot! We did meet up with a group from NC. One of the guys used to attend Western Avenue Baptist Church with us a long, long time ago:) This was his 17th Chick-fil-a grand-opening! He may almost eat more Chick-fil-a than Micah!

It was a party outside equipped with a DJ and outdoor heaters!

We also had the pleasure of meeting Dan Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-a's son and current president of the company. Also in this picture to the far left is Micah's boss' son, Nate. He is so sweet to Andrew and Elijah~