the ak family

A few weeks ago Chris's family came to visit for Eli's Baby dedication. We had lots of fun hanging out at the cabin. Chris's dad and I both fished a little. I didn't catch anything and he caught one little horny head. (the is the name of the fish...believe me, unless Lance and Chris just made that name up. which i wouldn't put it past them!) Eli had so much fun hanging with his grandparents and Aunt Kate. We love you guys. Hope you had as much fun as we did!

Eli checking out the fish.

Kate and Eli taking a walk.

Eli playing patty cake.

Sorry the lighting is bad Mr. Drew! You can't see the fish.

my favorite coach

Does this face scare you? Chris sent this to me today and said, "Are you sure you want to be married to the guy in this picture?" My response...OF COURSE! I knew when I married Chris that he was firey. I love that about him. It adds excitement to our marriage and there hasn't been a dull moment in the past four and a half years we've been married. I do worry about him having a heart attack sometimes on the field but there is nothing I can do about that because sick, healthy, hoarse, or with a splitting headache, he will always give all he's got for his team. But that is fine with me because when he is home, he gives all he's got to our team.

Today Chris finishes up his first season as the head coach at Habersham. We will travel to Athens one last time to take on the Jaguars from Cedar Shoals. If everything turns out well, we will end the season 13-13. I know it isn't the record that he hoped for but it could have been a whole lot worse. I am so proud of him and hope for many more years as a Habersham coach's wife. I love you Chris!

little boy

here are a couple new pics of eli. he is so close to crawling. his dad has been practicing with him every day. he is talking more and more and becoming such a joy to be around. i know any day now he will sleep through the night! his favorite "words" to say are: dada, hey and byebye. i love his little smile and i'm so thankful the Lord has given him to us.

 

 

 

 

home away from home

there have been many days lately where we have been in the car traveling. i am so happy eli does such a great job in the car. he sings, plays, or sleeps. yesterday we traveled to winder to watch chris's game. this is only the 3rd away game we've been to. eli did so well. he slept most of the way there and then the whole way back, which included a stop at mcdonalds with the team. at the game, he did great. he was entertainment for all the fans as he smiled and said "hey" over and over again to them. he sure knows how to work the crowd...just like his daddy! i'm so glad this little boy loves to travel and has such an easy temperament. it makes life so much easier. even if the kid doesn't sleep through the night!

bless him...

...those were my mom's exact words when she saw this face. all i have to say is "bring on the prune juice!" the poor fellow worked so hard today and only had a little poop to show for it. hope the prune juice helps!

in my next thirty years...

i can remember being in my red mustang with the top down listening to that famous song by tim mcgraw thinking, "thirty is so far away," or singing the lyrics by deana carter "and i still remember when thirty was old" in my parents tiny shower off of lebanon road and thinking "thirty is old!" little did i know thirty would come so quickly!

this past week i celebrated the big 3-o. i brought in this big year with my family and a few friends at Louie's on the Lake on lake rabun. it was great getting to just hang out and eat great pizza. i did get lots of great presents...thank you everyone! but there was one present that actually made me feel young again. meredith and i have been looking for the first pair of chacos i got when i was in my freshman year at young harris college. we have searched high and low because they were our favorite pair to wear (they were broken in nicely and had the old chaco sole on them) but our searching had been without success for two years. well, while opening presents from my sisters i dug down in a box and pulled out a converse all-star shoe box. i was thinking, "mere must have bought me a pair of converse. thats cool. i think i can pull those off." when i opened the box, much to my suprise, was an exact replica of those infamous chacos! i was in awe. what a great gift, mere! thanks for the shoes. i'll break them in real well and then you can steal them. :)

"converse. i can pull those off...maybe."

shock!

still shock and mere explains how she found them on ebay.

excited!

they went straight onto my feet.

p.s. emily and mere, thanks for dressing me so well. i feel like a cool thirty year old sporting my new clothes and my chacos. i love you both.

train a child in the way he should go...

this past sunday was eli's baby dedication. this was an opportunity for chris and me to stand in up and dedicate our lives to living in a way that teaches eli about the Lord. we hope to live our lives as a reflection of God's love, grace, discipline, and true character before eli and hopefully many more children in the future. thank you everyone for coming!

right now

A couple of friends of mine posted this little "get to know me" segment on their blogs today. I thought I would play copy-cat...

RIGHT NOW...
I Am- playing hair dresser with my new haircut.
I Have-only 5 more days in my 20s!
I Wish- I had 5 more years in my 20s.
I Want- summer to be here. I love the HOT weather and having Chris at home.
I Fear- losing someone I love.
I Hear- the clicking of Eli's swing as it lulls him to sleep.
I Search- for the true character of God.
I Wonder- if Chris's team will win tonight. I know they can!
I Regret- not being a more organized person when moving in this house.
I Love- getting to stay at home with Eli. And I love getting my hair washed when I get a cut.
I Always- want to sleep later than I get to.
I Usually- wake up at least 2 times during the night to feed a little hungry monster.
I Am Not- good at getting back into shape.
I Sing- all the time...especially in the car and at home.(but I need to point out that I'm not good at it no matter how much I do)
I Never- go a day without talking to my mom or at least one of my sisters.
I Cry- all the time but especially when I laugh real hard.
I Am Not Always- good at eating healthy. I love Micky Ds's fries!
I Need- someone to scratch my back and give me a massage.

I would love to see what some of you are up to "right now."

new life

Spring has sprung at the cabin. Two years ago on April 5th this place looked a lot different. For one thing it was really green (thanks to Dad) but the sun wasn't shining. Looking back now, I'm glad that day was overcast and rainy because that meant no gnats! There were also many people here celebrating the wedding of my sister and her wonderful hubby Josh. While Chris and I were walking around I was thinking about that day and how I know Big Mommy and Papaw were so excited that we used their place for that special day. Happy Anniversary Josh and Em!

This first pic is special because my grandmother planted these hydrangeas a long time ago and a couple of years ago during a late spring freeze this one died and hasn't come back since. This is the first time in 3 years that it has bloomed. I can't wait to see what it looks like!

The other hydrangea

shout out to my wonderful hubby!

This post is just to let Chris know how much I love him and how proud I am to be his wife. Four and a half years ago, I won the marriage lottery and there hasn't been a day that has gone by since where I have second guessed myself for marrying him. He is a great husband and now a great dad to Eli. I can't imagine my life without him in it. He truly is the person God hand picked for me. I hope the Lord blesses me with many more years as his wife! Here are some pics from our free time yesterday...

Can you tell where Eli gets his good looks?

my new trick

Chris has been teaching Eli a new trick. Here are some pics of Eli performing his new trick for his grandma. He really knows how to work the crowd.

Big boy!

Holding on for dear life.

easter

Eli with his adorable Easter outfit on at Mere's church

This year we spent Easter morning at Apostles with Meredith. Since she works at a church, she can rarely come home for a Sunday. It was such a blessing being there. I cry every time I here her sing. After church we headed to eat with family in Lawrenceville/Duluth. Eli enjoyed his time being passed around and loved on. As a new mother, I am really contemplating how to make sure Eli understands the importance of this holiday. Even more so than Christmas, this is a holiday that means everything to the Christian faith. Without Easter, we have no hope as believers for without Easter, death still has a sting. But now that Christ died for our sins, death no longer has a hold on us! Praise God for that if you to believe in Him. I want to make sure Jesus is the center of Easter for our family and that Eli understands what Easter is all about. Here are some pics from the day.

Eli posing with his Easter egg.

Eli's great uncle Don and his cousins showing him how to play ball. I can't wait for him to be able to play with his cousins.

Easter pic of us. I love Eli's face.

Eli with his great uncle Johnny.

Nana getting Eli to sleep after a LONG day of being loved on.

Still asleep.

Papa, Boo, and Eli by Papa's beautiful Cherry trees.

My favorite pic from the day.

what'll ya have!

Eli made his first trip of many to the Varisty in Athens this past week. Chris had a game in Athens, so Mom and I ventured east to have a wonderful spring day in Athens. We ate lunch outside at Marti's at Midday (is there any better place than Athens on a beautiful spring day?) and then checked out some local shops. Right before the game we decided to go for some ice cream at an old pharmacy, Hodgson's Pharmacy, in town only to find the place closed down. What a bummer! The pharmacy dates back to Mom's days in Athens as a beautiful ZTA in her hip-hugger jeans with long, Farrah Fawcett hair. Who knows when they truly closed. I haven't been on that side of town in at least a year.

After the close game, which we lost in the bottom of the 7th, we decided to drown our sorrows in some grease. What better way to mend a broken heart than eat some chili dogs, onion rings, and fries? (I'm sure many sad Dawgs fans have done this after a bad game.) As soon as we sat down, Eli reached for the chili dog and stuck his fingers right in. Yuck! I'm just glad we caught him before he stuck his fingers in his mouth. He loved the Varsity and we took some pictures of him with his hat on. I'm pretty sure I even saw a sad coach crack a smile when he saw this cute kid with his hat on.

What'll ya have?

Eli drooling over a chili dog and some fries.

in the blink of an eye...

i cannot tell you just how fast the past six months have flown by. i feel like just yesterday Eli was a little baby that couldn't do anything for himself. just today while trying to rock him to sleep he dropped his pacifier, reached down, grabbed it, and shoved it back into his mouth. i thought to myself, "who taught him how to do that and when did he really start doing that?"

also, the other day i sat him down sitting up and let go and he just chilled out sitting up! that totally caught me off guard. there are times when the past six months feel like an eternity (usually around 3:30 am) and other times when i think, "how can eli be 6 months already?"

the most common quotes i get from people are: "wow, he has such BIG eyes?", "look at his feet! they never stop moving.", and "bless him, he looks just like his daddy." (which i think is a compliment) and a couple of new things he is doing are: reaching for people, laughing out loud, napping in his jogging stroller the minute i start walking, singing and talking while riding in the car, holding his juice cup, and screaming if he doesn't like something. he has also become quite the mommy's boy, which is adorable and hard all at the same time.

yes, that is his big toe he is sucking. gross!

he fell asleep while holding his baseball.

sitting up. this smile looks like my sister emily to me but i also see chris's sister, kate, as well.

playing with his feet and drinking his juice.

no matter how many times i move him, this is the way he ends up while taking a nap. then he wakes up with red prints of his fingers on his forehead.