Season Opener

This past Tuesday Chris opened his first season as a varsity head coach. I was so excited to see him take the field for the first time as a head coach. I know this day is something he has been looking forward to for the past 10 years. These are some pics from the game. Eli and I sat in the car because it was SO cold. I am learning that watching Chris's games are going to be a lot harder with a little one to take care of.

Pregame talks

Eli watching from the car. He liked eating the steering wheel and honking the horn on accident.

I didn't take any pics during the game because I didn't want to flash the camera and get in trouble.

First Trip to the Cabin

For the first time since Eli was born, the weather has been warm enough to take him outside for a long walk. He has been outside before but not for an extended period of time. Saturday was beautiful so when Chris got finished with baseball we headed to the cabin. When we got out of the car and put him in his carrier, Chris leaned over to him and said, "Eli, this is warm weather. You haven't felt this before." He loved being outside. He especially loved the waterfalls. I think the sound of the whitewater rushing over the falls captivated him. He was so funny because he just stared at it. Maybe he does have a little of his mommy in him! (I love waterfalls. If I hike, the hike must lead to a waterfall.) These are a few pics of our wild man enjoying his first trip outside. I'm almost positive there are MANY more to come.

E

10 things I love/hate:

Some friends of mine have been posting the 10 things they love. I thought I would join them in this and also include 10 things I hate. I'm not going to write about the obvious things I love like Chris, Eli, my family, hanging with my sisters, etc. I thought I'd share new insight into my life other than those you already know.

1. Eating - This involves almost ALL foods minus Captain D's/Long John Silver and coconut. The foods I love the most are veggies, mexican, and soups. Every time my family goes anywhere without me, my first question to them is, "Where are you guys eating?"

2. Summer - I love summer because I love being warm. I love to sit out in the sun and get toasty. This includes going to the beach with my family and hanging out at Lake Burton with the Barrys, Hills, and Kafskys... "AkBluBarSky" weekends.

3.Chacos - There is no better feeling in the world to my feet than putting on my Chacos. I long for that first spring day when its warm enough to wear them. Its almost like my feet thank me every time I slip them on.

4. Fires - If there is a fire in any fireplace, I need to be near it. Whether its at home, at someone else's home, or even at Cracker Barrell, my body gravitates to it. My favorite fire is at my parents' house. There is just something about it that I love.

5. Trivia - Of any kind...I love watching shows that have trivia. (Jeopardy, Cash Cab, even the cheesy Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?) I wish there was a restaurant in Hab that had a place to play trivia. I would be there every week, no doubt.

6.Laughing - I love to laugh. I often get this laugh that makes me cry. And not just a little cry, I actually can't breathe and I can't stop crying. I love like an idiot but I truly can't control it. The place I get this cry most when I'm with my family. Don't ask me why, I just do.

7.Coke - And not just any coke, a coke that is so strong it burns your throat going down. McDonalds used to be the place to get this kind of coke but i've been disappointed the past few times I've tried it there.

8. Giving my life away - I know this sounds a little "super spiritual" but I love it! I love sharing my life with high school and college age girls especially. I enjoy pouring my life into them and teaching them how to walk with the Lord with hopes that they won't make the same stupid mistakes I made in high school and college! I have made several special friendships over the past 6 years while doing this. There is just something about watching the Lord mold a young girl into a Godly woman who seeks after Him. I am so glad the Lord chose to use us to further His Kingdom. And I am so blessed to have had other women pour their lives into me and teach me. I can't wait to see where God takes these beautiful girls for His Kingdom.

9. Sports - Mainly college football and baseball. I take great pleasure in waking up on fall mornings and turning on College GameDay. In my opinion, there is no better way to start a Saturday morning in the fall. I also enjoy going to baseball games in the spring and summer. College baseball games are so much fun and the College World Series is one of my favorite times of the year. I'm glad the Lord gave me this love for sports because I'd be miserable with Chris's job if I didn't!

10. Being comfortable - I love clothes that feel comfy. Whether it be sweats, t-shirts, flowy skirts, etc. I love being comfortable. I even secretly desire to own the outfits that NFL refs where when they are calling a game that is outside. I'm weird, I know.

i have to add just one more...
11. I love that Chris could have written this post for me. He really does a great job at studying me and taking time to know what things I love. I couldn't have hand picked a better person to spend the rest of my life with. I'm so glad the Lord didn't give up on me through all my failed attempts at finding a husband. It is only by His grace that the Lord brought Chris into my life. I always like to say that I won the marriage lottery. And I did! I love you Chris.

10 things I hate...
1. losing
2. when people don't call you back or will only answer your texts
3. winter
4. the feeling in your stomach after eating fast food(a couple days in a row)
5. sweet tea that isn't sweet
6. bad drivers
7. college team with orange (esp in the SEC)
8. ignorant people
9. being out of shape
10. trying to figure out blogs (putting pics where I want them to go, adding links, getting cute backgrounds, etc!)

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'!