Carrying on the Tradition...

I agree that there are a lot of traditions out there that have seen their day and should probably die along with big bangs and whitewashed jeans (like my grandfather's tradition at the beach of cutting my great uncle's toenails), but there are some traditions that make the world a sweeter place to live in. One of those sweet traditions I had while growing up was our family's Valentine's Day dinner.

I can see the dining room table set with Mom's fine china. At every seat are cards from Mom and Dad along some chocolates and a present to open. Candles are glowing making a dim light in the room. There is an amazing dinner prepared along with a special dessert you might only see at a fine restaurant. There are three little girls seated waiting to open their Valentine's Day goodies from their parents. For a moment, these girls aren't thinking about missing out by not having a boy as their Valentine, for they have their daddy and mommy as their Valentines.

This evening was always something to look forward to in our family. Though I didn't always see it this way (especially while I was a teenager) there was something about it I always loved. I can still remember my first Valentine's Day as a married woman, and though I had my own Valentine, I still missed being a part of the family Valentine dinner. The neatest part, looking back now, is the fact that as a young girl growing up, I always had a Valentine. My mom and dad were always there for us and showed us we weren't alone...even if there wasn't a young fellow to go out with on Cupid's holiday. They also showed us up close the healthy love they had for each other. I am thankful for that because I was always sure that my parents loved each other and now I know how to love my husband because of their example. I truly have the best parents in the world.

Now that I have my own child, I felt it was important to carry on the tradition for our own family. So this year I decorated our table and made my best attempt at a fine meal for Chris and me. Eli sat at the table with us and enjoyed rice cereal. I loved the time I spent with my family around that table. Chris and I both dressed nicely and sat by candlelight and talked about our past years of dating and marriage. Eli cooed and played and stared at the fire from the candles. Though he won't remember this first Valentine's Day dinner, I hope the years to come will be as special to our children as it was for me growing up. Here are a couple pics from the evening...

Eli and me sitting at the table.

The table set for dinner...steaks, twice-baked potatoes, salad, beer bread, and strawberry shortcake along with sweet tea.

Boys, boys, everywhere...

Two and a half years ago, my mom decided to start a cooking team that consisted of young ladies at our church. A group of 4 young ladies, including myself, joined this team and started cooking once every six weeks for Wednesday night supper. Since that first meal back in the fall of 2007, our team has grown to include a few more young ladies and a slew of little boys!

I enjoy this time so much. I'm not sure if its because I love to cook or talk with friends or that I can do both at the same time! I have loved learning how to cook for big groups of people and grow in my relationships with other Godly women. It is neat how much we've been through over these 2 1/1 short years. As we were working in the kitchen today, I was just thinking back to the beginning of our run as "Supper Shepherds". I am pretty sure there was only one little boy born at that time. A few of us have been through trials with pregnancy, but today looking around the kitchen I was reminded of how faithful God has been to us all. Since our first time cooking, the Lord has blessed our team with 5 more little boys and two more baby boys to be born within the next month! Wow. We have gone from just us girls in the kitchen to tricycles, cribs, car seats, and little boys running around asking "pleeese" for another cookie or just one more lick at the bowl.

These are some pics of what the kitchen looked like today...

All the boys at the kitchen counter.

Eli and Owen. Yes, they are dressed alike. Not on purpose either!

Jack, Hudson, and Andrew belly up to the bar drinking their juice.

One more try at a group shot, minus Hayden.

Eli's first trip to The Grill

For those of you from Duluth, you know how important The Grill is to Old Duluth. For those of you who aren't from Duluth, let me explain.

The Grill, also known as The Rexall, is a small restaurant tucked inside of an old drugstore in which old local Duluthians frequent often. One of those locals being my grandfather. If you go there on most mornings, you can see a group of men, young and old, gathered in the back of the restaurant eating gravy biscuits, sipping on coffee, and telling far-fetched tales.

Since I was a little girl, potty trained that is (Papa's rule), my Papa would take me up to the grill for breakfast. Any child accompanying their father or grandfather would always get educated while partaking of their 3 small pancakes with butter. There are many things I myself learned from eating at The Grill with my grandfather: like how to make a lie sound like the truth and how to hold your own when talking with a bunch of old men about football, basketball, or whatever sport's season it was.

Now that you somewhat understand...today was Eli's first trip to The Grill. Papa and Nana took us down there to eat for lunch. (I don't think Eli's ready for the morning crowd yet.) Papa was so cute showing Eli off to everyone in the restaurant. I had such a great time and was delighted to continue on the tradition of going to eat with my Papa at The Rexall with Eli. And I was honored that Nana came along for the trip as well. Here are the photos from the day.

Papa showcasing Eli around The Grill.

Nana with her sweet little great-grandson. I didn't mention we also took him to her work to show him off to LOTS of co-workers. She works at the local bank in town and has since I can remember.

Eli in the kitchen with all of Papa's girlfriends.

Eli and Papa playing together at their house.

Holiday Festivities

Our Christmas break was quite different this year. Eli made things a whole lot different for us. We had such a great time loving on him and sharing him with all of our friends and family.

We made a quick trip to Mobile after Christmas to see some family and then had some of our friends come visit us to celebrate the New Year. It is crazy what all can happen in a year's time. I can remember pleading to the Lord around this time last year that I just wanted to know what was going on and where He would take us. There were lots of uncertain things happening then and I just thought, "What is God doing?" Well I guess he was up to some major things. Since pleading with Him, we have had lots of major changes. Chris and I were just talking about it last night that at this time last year we weren't pregnant, he worked at a different school and had different coaching jobs than now, and I was still a third grade teacher. Now we have a son, Chris has a new job, and I stay at home! Wow! I'm glad God didn't reveal all of that to me this time last year...I might of freaking out and had an anxiety attack! We are so thankful for all God has done in our lives and we know that each gift and every day is given to us from above. Here are some pics from the holidays.

All of us picking out our Christmas trees.
Eli in his Christmas pjs with reindeer hat from Aunt Emily.
Eli and me by his new stocking. I have the same picture of me with my mom at my first Christmas. Our whole extended family has this same stocking made with love by Mrs. Mary Evelyn Jackson. She had Eli's made the day after he was born!
Eli visiting with his great grandmother, Francis. This is my grandfather's second wife. She is so sweet and took such great care of my grandfather through his battle with cancer.
The new Kirby family came for a visit. Congrats Zach and Kate!
Eli with his new friends, Haleigh, Madison, Zoie, and Alex. Haleigh and Zoie belong to Noelle and Madison and Alex belong to Jessica. Noelle and Jessica are my friends from Young Harris. We got together a few days before Christmas to hang out and catch up. It was great to see them.
Chritmas night reading the Christmas story with Eli. This is a family tradition.
Chris, Eli, Trei, and Brock at the Akridge-Stallworth-Hendrickson Christmas party.
Eli met Coach Jeff Ward. He is one of Chris's best friends.
Jocelyn looking on at Eli.
Girls, girls everywhere! Reese and Kiley and Gabbie and Jocelyn hanging out on New Year's Day with Eli. He didn't know what to think of all those girls. It was great seeing you guys - Hawarahs' and Blacks'!

Our Gift From Above...

I know it has been a long while since I last updated my blog. I guess you can say things have changed in our life! Elias Mason Akridge was born October 9, 2009 at 6:26 pm. It was a smooth labor and delivery. Eli weighted 6 lbs. 9 oz. and was 19 1/4 inches long. Since then Eli has gained a lot of weight! Here are some pics from birth until now. Hope you enjoy. And yes, I know he looks nothing like me!

Eli during the Auburn game. His only UGA win so far! Thanks to his great grandmother and great uncle from Alabama for the outfit. It proved to be lucky.

Just hanging out. What a face!

One of Eli's first pics thanks to Julia, our photographer.

Cute little guy sleeping through the Raider game we were listening to.

Mirror Image

I just wanted to share a funny picture of my dad and I at 32 weeks of pregnancy. It is funny how much our bellies look alike. Mere took this picture Thursday night before dinner. I know some people also wanted to see my belly. I am still measuring about 3 weeks behind where I'm supposed to be but the baby is growing fine and things look good inside my belly. So praise God for that. It doctor says I am just carrying it in a way where I don't measure as big as I should. Which is ok by me! Maybe it will be easier to take off this weight. I also reached the 10 lbs mark at my last visit. If I add the 13 lbs I lost during the first five months...it makes 25 lbs total that I have gained since I stopped losing weight. Just keep praying for a healthy baby and a smooth labor and delivery.

Baby on the Way!

We had our first baby shower this past weekend. It was a Habersham shower that was filled with lots of wonderful people, great food, lots of pregnant girls, and tons of awesome gifts! I want to thank everyone for coming and for being so gracious to Chris and me. Here are some pictures from the event and a new pic of the baby...ultrasound, of course.

This is Jen Kafsky and me. I'm opening a diaper sack that is covered in Georgia Bulldog material! Sorry Chris, there is no hope for a Alabama fan in this belly! By the way, Jen is due the Thursday after this picture is taken.These are the hostesses, minus Julia. (She had to leave before we took the pic.) I am so blessed to have such wonderful women in my life! Each one has a special place in my life and heart. Thanks again for an awesome day. Chris and I are so blessed by you guys.

The food...and boy, was it good.

Here is the new picture of the baby. We had a surprise ultrasound on our last visit just to make sure that the baby is growing. I am not showing very much and measuring a couple of weeks early, so they wanted to take some pictures just to make sure everything of growing the way it should be. As soon as Chris saw this picture of the profile, he said, "Look at that Blackburn mouth!" (Blackburn is my mom's maiden name.) I think that is funny because I don't see it at all. What do you guys think? All I see is Chris Akridge's head!