Our Journey

Eli is the Boss!

2009-02-25T13:46:00.000-08:00

Here is a funny video of Eli, Blitz and Doggie (Eli's toy). It is a little long but it is a representation of their relationship. Enjoy our boy!

finger painting

2008-12-17T13:38:00.000-08:00

I tried finger painting with Eli today. It didn't go exactly as planned but he had fun running around the deck like a little jungle boy in his trash bag. Enjoy the pics!

Seeing Santa

2008-12-16T13:29:00.000-08:00

Saturday night we went to a Children's Christmas party through Jeff's squadron. It was hosted at a local toy store (which is a really cute store) and they served fudge, hot chocolate, and cookies and all the kids got to play with all the toys in the store. The squadron also made sure there was a Santa Claus as well. We were hoping to get Eli's picture with Santa and solve our Christmas card dilemma. This visit did not go so well. Eli was terrified of the man in the big red suit sitting by the tree. He cried so we took a family shot which turned out pretty good and then he seemed to be interested in Santa and would peek in room to see what he was doing. So we decided to try letting him sit on Santa's lap again and the hilarious picture I will post definitely lets you know his reaction. Thank goodness we didn't have to pay for the pictures!

I hope you enjoy our pictures from this year's visit with Santa.

Just Catchin' Up

2008-12-13T11:50:00.000-08:00

My halloween blog should have been posted well around Halloween but I haven't been too good about keeping the blog updated. While it doesn't look like we've been up to much we actually have been. My mom visited the first week in November and we took Eli to the zoo and did all kinds of fun things. The second weekend in November I was able to get away for a few days with some friends. We had a great weekend on Lake Sinclair, thanks to the Snow family for letting us stay in their lake house. The weekend basically consisted of food and lots of conversation, but hey it has been about two years and 3 babies since our last girls weekend so that's a lot to catch up on. Then, our family travelled home for Thanksgiving where we enjoyed family and lots of good food. This was our first trip home since Eli started walking so it was fun to watch everyone's reaction to his moves. Of course now the Christmas season is heavily upon us. We've been shopping and partying for a few weeks now. We put our tree up last weekend and it has been hilarious to watch Eli every time we turn on the lights...mouth wide open with a huge gasp and a lot of oohs and aahs. He loves it! We will be taking Eli to see Santa at a Christmas party tonight so I hope it goes well. I'll try to post some of the pics from the party on the blog tomorrow. Until then enjoy these new shots of our sweet boy!

Halloween '08

2008-11-02T17:49:00.000-08:00

Halloween has been a blast! We have actually been celebrating for about a week. We kicked off the Halloween festivities last Saturday night when we went to the Chesnuts for a Halloween party. The kids got to dress up, Ann planned some crafts and games for the kids, and the adults just got to hang out. The food was yummy and the company was was wonderful as usual. Then on Sunday, I worked a fall festival for Jeff's squadron, the VT-2 Doer Birds. (Don't ask me what a Doer Bird is because I don't even think they know.) Probably the highlight of the festival was the costume parade. All the little kiddos were so cute and proud of their costumes and some of them were really creative. I think my favorite was a little Minnie Mouse (but only because my own little one was at home napping with his daddy). She was so cute and I thought it was a really great idea! Finally, the week finished out with Trick or Treating and more food with our friends from church. We did this last year when Eli was just a little peacock and it seems to be turning into our Halloween tradition. This year Eli was a baseball player and quite a handsome one at that. I hope you enjoy the pictures from all of our Halloween fun!

Go DAWGS!

2008-10-28T20:53:00.000-07:00

Cute pic of Eli supporting the Dawgs last Saturday. He's wearing a jersey that some friends sent him. (Thanks Shannon and Brian!) I just love Eli's toothy grin!

Fabulous Fall!

2008-10-23T12:29:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful few weeks we have been experiencing! Fall has always been one of my favorite seasons...it signals change, the holidays, football...so many great memories are wrapped up in fall. We have been quite the busy little bees these last few weeks. Eli has started attending Gymboree classes where he is learning concepts like big and small, some fun new songs and is getting to play with kids his age and a little older. It is also nice because mommy is there and gets to talk to other mommies! I have been attending a stay-at-home mom's bible study which has been really great. We learn, laugh and talk. It has been really helpful to me. We've also been enjoying the beautiful weather by going to the park, the beach, and for walks around the neighborhood with our friends. I've added some pics of our fall activites.

Eli is doing well. He is trying hard to talk. He can say some words but most of the time I have no idea what is coming out of his mouth. He is still holding on to that happy disposition (not this week but most of the time) and laughs a lot. He is so cute to watch as he stumbles around the house laughing all the way.

Jeff has been pretty busy lately. He has traveled to Jacksonville, FL and San Diego, CA for golf trips over the last few months. He is finally home for a little while and although we did just fine while he was gone, we missed him and are glad he's back.

Eli actually walking!

2008-10-15T07:25:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

I just wanted to update the blog with a video of Eli walking on his own. He is still a bit shaky but is doing great and is walking further every time he attempts it. I know each child is an individual and that walking brings more work for me but I am so glad he is finally walking. It took us 17 mos to get here and I was beginning to wonder if he would ever try it! Enjoy the crazy, drunken baby as he makes his way across the room.

The best of September

2008-10-10T10:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since I have blogged. I am really not good at keeping up with this. Since the last blog Eli and I have been all over the place. We were in GA for a week, then went to Daytona Beach with my mom and sisters, back home and then to Destin this last weekend for a wedding. We have had lots of fun and I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Eli is Walking...sort of

2008-08-30T13:19:00.001-07:00

Check out the video of Eli walking. We have had this toy since Christmas and while he has loved the buttons and music on the plane he has had no interest in walking with it. Just this past week he started walking with the help of the plane and was cracking up!

Hope you guys enjoy Eli as he busts a move!

2008-08-27T12:37:00.000-07:00

These are some shots of Eli over the passed week or so. I tried to add one of Eli and his friend Ashley having snack. She came over to play for about an hour that day and I felt like a mom! It was crazy! Another fun thing that has happened over the last week is that Eli likes to play in his Pak n Play as a fort. He seems to really enjoy it. He hates the Pak n Play in its true form but loves it on its side, go figure!

The pics I was actually able to add are of him standing at the front door playing in the curtain and of his first Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich. He isn't a mess because we broke it up into tiny little pieces. He really liked it which is great since it is so easy! Anyway, just wanted you to see Eli and how he is growing!

Eli and Friends

2008-08-14T11:49:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks have been lots of fun for Eli and his friends. We have had play dates in he afternoon with his friend Ashley, his new friend Brian over one day last week and a play date with our Okie friends and their kids.

Eli is doing great. This week he is really enjoying throwing his toys all over the house. He is getting stonger all the time and is almost ready to stand on his own. He can stand for about 2 seconds and then he gets scared and immediately sits. He is also becoming more and more adventurous with going up and down the stairs that we have at our home. He loves swimming which is a huge turn around since the 4th of July in Daytona and is just so lovey in general. He gives the best hugs in town, just ask the ladies in the nursery at church.

I have really been burdened this past week with teaching Eli self-control. I am learning more and more how important self-control is to his life now and to his future. So, if you think about it please pray with me that self-control will be established in the life of our young boy. Eli is such a sweet, smart boy and I'm so glad I get to be his mom!

Eli fans everywhere...

2008-08-05T13:40:00.000-07:00

...we had a great week last week thanks to the visit of Gran and Aunt Amy. They were such a help to me by taking turns changing diapers, playing with Eli, feeding him and giving him baths. These things can often get mundane for parents so the extra hand were awesome. I also think they received blessings just by being with our sweet baby. He is just a joy, a little strong-willed but truly a joy.

The weekend before the fam visited we enjoyed a cookout with friends. I took yummy oreo pie and allowed Eli to lick the spoon from the chocolate pudding. I think you can tell by the pictures that he liked it. We've also been trying to brush teeth which has been a little hard to remember, but when we do remember, Eli loves his toothpaste! He has also picked up this new style of crawl. I guess he is going to go through every stage of crawling before he takes his first steps. Oh well, everybody says they grow up too fast anyway, I guess I'll just enjoy his non-walking for a little bit longer. Hope you enjoy the shots of Eli!

Random Pics

2008-07-22T06:53:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family - These are just some random shots of Eli from the past few days. His latest fascination is pictures so when he took his toys to look at the picture of himself I couldn't resist catching the moment on film. The next few shots are of being lovey, cheesin' for the camera and of his "Rod Stewart" hair. He's so cute!

Sweet Summer Days

2008-07-18T14:02:00.000-07:00

What a great week we've had! We have been to the beach, shopping, doing yard work, playing in the pool, playing with daddy, out to dinner with friends, and mommy had a colonoscopy! Eli is doing great. He is working hard at crusing around the furniture and of course he has always loved to toss and chase down his toys but now he is interested in the buttons on his toys and putting items in piles. We are trying to teach him to share things when asked but there is definitely a lot of work to be done there. I also discovered tooth # 3 today. His top right tooth has broken through. This is big news for us here in the Hodges household because teeth mean expanded meals! I am looking forward to the next few months as Eli's curiousity and speech continue to grow. God has given us such an amazing little boy! Enjoy the pics!

First Haircut

2008-07-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

Eli got his first haircut on Friday. I was very reluctant to get his hair cut but Jeff really wanted it so I finally relented. Eli did great and so did his stylist. She cut about an inch off of his hair and left it long enough that it still has some curl which I love. Check out the before and after shots! I also added a cute shot of Blitz with his bow that he got from his stay at "We Tuck'em Inn".

Hodges Beach Trip 2008

2008-07-12T16:55:00.000-07:00

We're fresh back from our first Hodges family vacation since the arrival of the babies and we had a great time. It was so fun spending time with Mimi, Papa, Uncle Jason, Aunt Ali and Caroline. This is the first chance that we've had to really get to know Caroline and it was so great! She has an amazing personality. So sweet and talkative, helpful and obedient and fearless as her mommy has labeled her. She was all about the ocean, sand and pool with literally no fear. Eli is a different story...

Our trip started out great as we flew from Pensacola to Atlanta to Daytona on Tuesday July 1. Eli was awesome on both flights and Jeff was equally as awesome keeping our little one happy and calm. As I stated earlier Eli is not fearless when it comes to the water. I thought we were making progress since we've had a couple of pleasant experiences hear on the gulf lately but we'll get there. He actually is fine in the water as long as you are holding him or entertaining him but don't even think about putting him in the water on his own. Also, Eli's second tooth finally broke through while we were away and all I can say is its about time.

I wanted to say a special thank you to Mimi and Papa for watching Eli and just being such a great help. We were able to relax and play and just have a great time; in fact, while we were gone Jeff and I got to have to grown up dinners out which we never do and it was soooo nice! Hope you enjoy the pics of our family vacation.

12+ Mos

2008-06-20T14:22:00.000-07:00

Wow, last week was the hardest week of my young motherhood. Eli was such a crank! He was fussy, squirmy, hard to console, like I said before cranky and really just difficult! Mealtime which usually goes okay was a royal battle and he cried for an hour at the gym and did not sleep well at all. I cried two or three times last week just because I didn't know what to do. It was just hard....and then Jeff got sick and it got even harder. I kept thinking maybe a tooth is coming in so I gave him Tylenol and Motrin but here we are a week later and no tooth. Looking back I think he must have been sick with the cold that took his daddy out of commission for a few days but he still needs to listen and follow directions. Thankfully, that week ended and a new week began and while we still struggle with some things for the most part my precious little Eli is back. Actually, making it through this rough patch makes me feel like an official mom and opened the door for some reflection.

Watching my child be his natural self really reminded me of human nature or sin nature. It really makes me think about the love that God has for us His children and what an amazing love it is. For example, Eli has been hitting lately and we wondered where he picked up this nasty little habit. Well, I don't think he learned it from anyone it is just how we are as humans. Naturally we are disobedient and want to push the limits and for some reason God loves us in spite of our humanity and in spite of our disobedience. He wants a relationship with us so much He gave His perfect son to atone for our sinful nature. He always wants more for us and longs for obedience from us. He longs for obedience from us because he knows what's best. This is exactly how I feel about Eli. I want him to obey for his own benefit now and down the road. I have been praying with him about choosing to obey and praying for Jeff and I as we teach and train Eli to love the Lord. So after a week of pain I just feel renewed. I know it is a long, hard road ahead but I am trusting the Lord for wisdom and joy as I parent Eli everyday.

These are a few of my favorite things....

2008-06-12T12:19:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let you all know what Eli's favorite things are...at least right now. He is currently enjoying self-feeding and doing it well. He loves Blitz and has learned out to pet not hit and often tries to share Blitzie's bed. Eli is so proud that he can pull up and is doing it all over the house. He has always loved to toss his toys wherever he goes and now he can do it on tables, bookshelves, chairs and whatever else he can pull up on. He is now cruising around furniture and doing a great job. It is so exciting to watch him learn and grow. Eli also loves giving kisses, giving smiles, making messes and playing with his books and toys. So these are a few of Eli's most favorite things and they manage to keep us pretty busy too!

I think I also failed to mention that right before he turned one he finally got his first tooth and I think based on the drool and chew fascination that tooth number two may not be far behind. Yea!!! Hope you enjoy the cute pics of our little man.

Happy Birthday to You!

2008-06-05T13:40:00.000-07:00

On May 24, 2008 we celebrated Eli's first birthday. I am still is disbelief that a whole year has passed, it seems that just yesterday we were bringing our beautiful boy home from the hospital. We had a great party! Lots of food, family, fun and work. I still can't believe how much work a goes into a birthday party. We would like to say a special thanks to Mimi and Papa who let us borrow their house for the celebration. We also want to tell everyone who came thank you for making Eli's party extra special and for all the wonderful gifts. He has already enjoyed playing with all of his new things. There are way too many thoughts about the party for me to jot them all down so I thought I would let pictures do the talking. Thank you Shannon, Mandy and Jon for all the great shots!

Reflections

2008-05-12T08:44:00.000-07:00

For the last two days I have reflected on being a mom and what that means to me. I had a wonderful day yesterday. I actually had a wonderful day Saturday too which is when we chose to "celebrate" Mother's Day. But since yesterday was the actual day on the calendar the celebration kind of carried over. I woke up yesterday to my precious husband and son wishing me a Happy Mother's Day. It was wonderful first of all not to be the first one up but also to see those beautiful faces smiling down at me what a gift! So we headed off to church and I enjoyed many "Happy Mother's Day" comments from friends at church and returned the greeting many times too but I wasn't really struck by the weight of it until we were asked to stand up if we were a mom. Now I got to participate in this little tradition last year since I was very pregnant but it was different this year. I kind of hesitated before standing and then when we sat back down I turned to Jeff and make the comment, "That was weird." I mean I often have those moments when I am going about my day and the thought just hits me that I'm a mom. I normally shake my head and smile at the thought, amused that I am still surprised by my role. Well yesterday I couldn't really shake the thought since the whole service was about being a mom.

During the service yesterday our pastor and his wife discussed the different aspects of being a mom and of course one of those is responsibility. This is the part of being a mom that I seem to get lost in sometimes...all of my responsibilities. I get lost in my chores around the house, my schedule for Eli, preparing his meals, preparing our meals, making sure I am teaching Eli all he needs to learn and exposing him to all he should be exposed to and then not exposing him to negative things. Sometimes these responsibilities become more of a burden and can start to weigh me down which usually gets taken out on Jeff. So mom's have responsibilities and lots of them but I was reminded that if I am walking close to the Lord then all of those responsibilities fall into place. Challenge to self: stay close to the Lord, walk with him daily, cast my cares on him.

The other aspect of motherhood discussed yesterday was opportunity. This is the aspect I tend to overlook. I mean there are days when I marvel in the wonder of being a mom and am amazed by how Eli just grows and changes and just knows how to do things I know I didn't teach him. The opportunities God has given me actually balance the responsibilities God has given me. I mean God has given me this wonderful opportunity to watch his miracles everyday. He's given me the opportunity to make a real impact on society through the life of my little one. He's has given me the opportunity to be used by him to train Eli in "the way he should go" not my way but the way God has chosen for Eli. This has definitely changed my perspective on the day to day responsibilities. Yes I am sure they will still get mundane at times and frustrating but my prayer is that I will view them as opportunities. I have been given the opportunity along with my husband to love and raise this beautiful little boy who has the most wonderful personality. I pray that we will teach him to love and serve the Lord. I pray that we will take each opportunity everyday to let him know he is loved and that God has a purpose for him. I pray that one day we will have the opportunity to pray with him as he begins the journey of a Christ Follower. Being a mom can be overwhelming sometimes but just as often as it is overwhelmingly hard it is overwhelmingly wonderful.

I love you Eli...more than you know!

Big Boy Fun

2008-05-06T10:05:00.000-07:00

We had a great time visiting with our families last week. It is always bittersweet to come back home to Pace; sad to leave but nice to get back to our routine. We won't be crying long because we'll see them again in two weeks when we head north for Eli's One year b-day party!!!

Above are pics of Eli doing two big boy activities: eating and playing. He loves playing at the park and good thing since its free!

Growing like a weed!

2008-04-26T06:39:00.000-07:00

Wow! What an amazing two weeks we have had around the house. We have seen our little one accomplish so many of the major "milestones" for his age. In just one week he began crawling. He still choses to army crawl a good bit but just to know Eli can really crawl is awesome! Eli has also started pulling up to standing on items around the house and self-feeding! Yea!!! We had been working hard on the self-feeding and just one night when he was home with Daddy, he just got it. Jeff also says he said his first word "ball". I haven't heard it but I wouldn't be surprised because he is really into chasing this little jingly ball around the house these days. Then just last night Eli finally became comfortable enough in the bath tub to actually have some fun. The bath tub has been quite a challenge for us because for the first 10 months all he wanted to do was lay on his back and make a splash. We went from back to sitting up and now to swimming and playing in the tub!

These past two weeks have reminded me again how much I love being a mom. Being a parent is truly the most amazing role I could ever imagine. Most of the time Eli's accomplishments come from nothing we have done but just click into action at the Lord's appointed time. It just truly reminds me of the verses we have claimed for Eli since he was in the womb Ps 139:13-16. How amazing that not only does God make each of us 'fearfully and wonderfully', individually and carefully, but he also appoints each event in our lives, even my little Eli's milestone moments. At the close of each service of Life Church in OKC the pastor will say "God is good all the time" and the congregation repeats "And all the time God is good." I could not say it any better than that. I praised God with those words the day Eli was born and will continue to praise him for God is truly Good!

More Spring Break Pics

2008-04-12T09:12:00.001-07:00

Spring Break Pic

2008-04-12T09:04:00.000-07:00

Spring Break 2008

2008-04-12T08:27:00.000-07:00

Well, we have had a busy few weeks. The Santa Rosa school system was on Spring Break the week of March 31- April 4. During that week Eli and were two busy people. It all started with a visit from my sister Mandy and her husband Jon. They came down for a weekend with us and then headed over to Orange Beach for a week. We kept Tucker their dog while she vacationed and he was in meetings. That week Eli went to the zoo for the first time with some friends. The Northwest Florida Zoo isn't the fanciest zoo around but good enough for a 10 month old. You actually get pretty close to the animals at the NW FL zoo sometimes maybe a little too close as some of our friends have had interesting experiences there. One friend had a gorilla throw a small tree branch at the train as they rode through the so called "santuary" while another friend's husband was sprayed with scent by the male tiger. We saw gorillas, tigers, bears, alligators, hippos, and tons of monkeys, birds and other animals. The peacocks were amazing and would walk right up to you with their feathers on display. It was funny to watch Eli and his friend Ashley(three weeks younger than Eli). They had a hard time focusing on the animals for all the leaves and plants. They were really cute though and it was a nice way to spend the afternoon. The next day we headed down to the beach with Ashley and Eli's friend Jackson for a little picnic. It wasn't the sunniest day at the beach but it was fun to watch the three of them and their reactions to sand, waves and each other. Eli is slowly warming up to the sand but is still not crazy about the waves. Then on Thursday we went and visited with Aunt Mandy in Orange Beach. It was a day for fun in the sun. It was beautiful and we enjoyed spending time with Mandy and some new friends that Eli met. We soaked up some rays and played in the sand a little but mostly lounged around. Finally, on Friday Eli's Mimi (Jeff's mom Bettie) came down for a visit. Eli had lots of fun while Mimi was here. They played and strolled and talked and laughed. We made it to the beach once while Mimi was here for a short visit. We took Eli's baby pool just to see if he would get in but he let us know he's not ready for that yet. Bettie stayed with us until Wednesday morning and her visit allowed me to finally get the living room painted. Yea! It took me a full week to do but I am so pleased with the outcome. We enjoyed Mimi and can't wait for Eli's other g-parents to visit us too! Well that's about it for our Spring Break.

As far as Eli's accomplishments...he has started to pull up to his knees and is finally getting up on his hands and knees in a real crawling position. He has also taken a few wobbly steps with aid of his walker and he is learning to self-feed. He hasn't got it yet but he's close! He seems to be doing great otherwise and I am praying he is gaining weight at least an oz or two. I'll post pics from our Spring Break in a separate post.

Eli update

2008-03-26T07:42:00.000-07:00

For all who have been praying for our precious little boy, I talked to the doctor yesterday and he let me know that so far all of Eli's test results have come back normal which includes the results from his Cystic Fibrosis test Monday. This is a huge praise for obvious reasons but also that God allowed the amount of sweat collected on Monday to be enough for a conclusive test. It wasn't that the test was that difficult but anytime you do something like that you don't want to do it twice! Thank you Lord! We are waiting for one more test to come back. It should be hear on Friday and it is testing how well he absorbs nutrients or something like that. Please continue to pray for Eli and his weight gain issues. We go back next month for a weight check and really want good news. Also, if you could pray that Eli's doctor will have wisdom and will be able to look at Eli as an individual with an individual make up that could be different from the standard chart. Thanks to all of the prayer warriors out there. We love you!

Prayer and Pics

2008-03-22T18:52:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share some cuteness with everyone. I love Eli's facial expressions in the above pics. He was clapping and talking/yellling up a storm. He's showing his support for the Dawgs even though his Daddy claims to be a Gator fan. We'll see what happens during football season...

We also have a prayer request for all of Eli's fans. On Friday Eli had his 9 mo (eventhough he's almost 10 mos) "Well Baby" appointment and after checking his vitals his doctor is concerned with his trailing growth. He is growing in length, weight and head size but not at the same rate or on the same curve as he was in his first 3-6 mos of life so as I stated his doc is concerned. On Friday, they suggested increasing Eli's formula intake which we are doing and they also drew blood to check for any problems with anemia, thyroid, or lead and then we have been referred for another test to check for Cystic Fibrosis. Our appt for the CF test is on Monday and we are asking that you pray for a negative test and not only a negative test but a conclusively negative test. The Dr. said the possibility of him having CF is very low because it does not appear in either of our families but they want to rule it out. So we would also like to request prayer simply for Eli to be healthy, gain weight at God's rate for Eli, and for his docs to have wisdom in treating Eli. Pray for my peace of mind because it is really hard to hear that it appears that your child is starting to 'fail to thrive' just a term but still. So that's what is new in the Jeff Hodges household...we are so thankful that so many people love Eli and are willing to lift him up to the Lord in prayer and have done so continually even before he was born. He is such a precious gift from God as are all of you!

New Pics of Eli

2008-03-19T07:43:00.000-07:00

Here are some cute pics of Eli. They didn't really go with the somber tone of the blog so I thought I would post them separately!

We're Back!

2008-03-19T07:15:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated the blog. We were out of town last week to celebrate our niece Caroline's 1st Birthday and to celebrate our anniversary. Five years I can't believe it! We had a lot of fun at the party it was all green because Caroline is a St. Patrick's Day baby. The party allowed us the opportunity to spend time with Jason, Allison and Caroline as well as Jeff's cousins which we don't get to do enough. Jeff also planned a little escape for the two of us on Saturday night which was so much fun. I spent my first night away from Eli (well other than my appendix removal but that doesn't count) and I was very proud of myself. I wanted to call Eli's Mimi and check on him but as it turned out Jeff called her instead. It was strange being without him but a much enjoyed mini-vacation from being mommy.

On a slightly different note, most of you know that last Friday two of the pilots in Jeff's old squadron were killed in a plane crash. One was an instructor (David Yaggy) and one a student(Alexander Prezioso). The instructor left behind a wife(Erin) and a little girl (Elizabeth, 18 mos) as well as his parents/siblings etc. The student we don't know too much about but we do know he wasn't married but leaves behind his parents and a sister, etc. Please pray for these families. It will be several months before they know what happened if ever. I have been told that the instructor's wife is a Christian and overall is doing okay. I did not know the instructor and I still don't know his wife but this situation has burdened me in a way that I have never experienced. I guess it is the reality of the danger that Jeff faces everyday settling in and the danger that so many of our friends face everyday as well. So please pray for Jeff's safety daily and the safety of all the men and women in the armed forces. Thanks in advance.

And finally, I wanted to wish Aunt Allison a very happy birthday today! In the Nichols household we sing the following birthday song:

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you,

May you find Jesus near everyday of the Year,

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you,

May it be the best one you ever had!

Eli the Inchworm

2008-03-06T06:44:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of Eli "crawling". He has such a look of concentration on his face as he inches across the floor. Most of the time he has to stop half-way to his destination for a rest. I would too if I had to work that hard to go somewhere.

My First Blog

2008-03-03T07:04:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess I am officially in on the blog trend. I have been repeatedly encouraged by my brother-in-law to take the dive. He's promised me that it is sooo easy so here I am. Please don't expect too much from my blogs they will probably just be updates on Eli's development and the new adventures of Jeff, Edi and Blitz as we continue to adjust to being parents and a family of four (which has been awesome by the way!). Also, please excuse my poor grammar as far as commas and semi-colon's go...I have always been horrible with writing. So what's new with us....

Jeff has recently transitioned to his new status in the military which is a weird spin on Active Duty Reserves. For those of you who don't know, we will be staying in the military and in the Pensacola, FL area for the next 3 years, and Jeff will continue to train new pilots flying the T-34 trainer. Also, in April Jeff will be up for a promotion to Lt. Commander in the Navy. Please pray that God's hand will be on the board and that Jeff's professional efforts will be rewarded. Anway, this opportunity to

stay in the P'cola area has been such a blessing. We have been able to relax for the past year knowing that Jeff has a job. This probably doesn't make sense to non-military but many of our friends are wondering what their future holds now

that their military commitments are up. They are worrying about selling their homes, job interviews, where they will live, etc. and we have been free from much of the anxiety our friends are dealing with. Thank you Lord for your providence and that you are totally in control of our short-term and long-term futures. It is so amazing when you realize that you are not in control and can look back and see how God has worked and moved in you life. Okay enough about Jeff's job..

So now on to Eli...Eli is just a blessing! He is 9 mos now which I cannot believe! Time has flown by and I know that we have had

hard times but they just get overrun by all the good in our lives. Eli is still toothless, is saying dada (and if I try to encourage mama he just smiles and says dada some more), is finally sort of crawling using an inchworm like move, and can stand for a few seconds holding on to something. He smiles and giggles most of the time and I will never get tired of watching, holding and kissing him. He's turning in to quite the little flirt and best buddy to Blitz our pup. Blitz loves all the treats he gets from Eli during meals and has started to bring toys over to Eli for playtime. Its so funny to watch the two of them. At first Blitz wanted no part of Eli but he's definitely warming up to him.

Well, I guess that is a good introductory blog. I'm sure I won't be as insightful as Allison but I will try to update the blog on a regular basis. Have a great day!