Uncle Chris and Aunt Karrin

Elijah had some special visitors at the end of August! I started to type that we had special visitors, but my sister and her husband would be the first to admit, they were here to see Elijah! Elijah adores them and they clearly had mutual feelings for him. They came for a week and it was such a fun time for all of us. I am ashamed to say, Karrin and I lost spades a few painful times, but some day, revenge will be had! We laughed a LOT playing games and really enjoyed our time with them.

Chris and Karrin spent the first couple nights seeing what Elijah's routines were like and then they did some sight seeing for a couple days. They returned and Aaron and I spent three glorious days and 2 nights by ourselves at a friend's cabin in the mountains. It was our first weekend away from Elijah since he was born. I spent a couple days before we left for the cabin feeling a bit sad and anxious to leave Elijah. I really tried to embrace all of those emotions and work through them beforehand so I could really enjoy our time away. I had heard from friends that they didn't enjoy their trips away because they missed their kids so much and by the time they got over it, it was time to come home. By the time we were ready to leave to go to the cabin, I really was ready.

Aaron and I had such a nice time connecting. We slept passed 10:00am each morning and took naps! We read books for pleasure! We didn't cook anything of any nutritional value! We played games. We went through a long process of family goal setting. We prayed. We read the beginning of a great marriage book by John Gottman And Baby Makes Three: A Six Step Plan for Preserving Intimacy and Rekindling Romance After Baby Arrives. We talked. We fought. We enjoyed each other. I was really thankful for the time away with Aaron.

We didn't have phone coverage so we had to drive back to the highway to call and check on Elijah. Now, I was ready to be away, but I had no idea how Elijah would do so I was eager to find out about his first night away from us. I was half way thinking that I shouldn't call. What if he is doing fine and then he loses it when he gets off the phone with us. Yeah, well, that's not quite how it happened. The kid was at the zoo, said, "Hi Mommy!" and eagerly pushed the phone away because some exciting animal was in view! It was such a relief! He learned his Uncle Chris is a push over and he can get just about any kind of sugary treat he wants from him. And, he really bonded with his Aunt Karrin. He love, love, loves them. To be honest, it wasn't easy recovering from their departure. Chris and Karrin, come back soon. We all miss you! Here are some glimpses of your time here!

We're crossing over the railroad tracks to
Richmond Beach, which is close to our home.

Daddy and Elijah!

Uncle Chris and Aunt Karrin

Crazy Chris had to check out the
frigid water of the Puget Sound.

Gleneden Beach Vacation-August 2010

We couldn't have been more ready to go on vacation! Aaron and I coordinated Vacation Bible School this year along with a culminating carnival. It was a lot of hard work! I got to teach the fourth, fifth and sixth graders and got to see four kids receive Christ. I wrote skits that presented the gospel for the large group times and Aaron and my good friend Dawn did a great job performing them as Mr. Incredible and the Zapinator! VBS was Monday-Friday and then we packed the car Friday night for our vacation to Oregon. Saturday morning we went and set up the carnival and watched the festivities unfold. As soon as the carnival was cleaned up, we were on the road headed for Oregon! It really was insane, but it made the time away all the sweeter. Elijah and I were completely exhausted as we started the trip and we both slept for the first three hours of the drive thanks to Aaron!

The resort we stayed at was in the middle of nowhere, which was perfect for me because I really just needed to get away and truly relax. There weren't even many people at the resort or on the beach. It was perfect for Elijah because he loved the sand, the waves, the heated pool, the hot tub, the playground, and our hot chocolate ritual after swimming. Everything was literally right outside our door. We were on the top level, had the perfect view of the beach and went to sleep each night listening to the waves. We got to feed seagulls off our balcony. We were far enough away from the pool and playground to not hear a thing too so it felt like we had the place to ourselves. It was such a treat. God is so good to us. He provided in such extravagant ways with little expense to our pocketbook. It is all so undeserved, but He extends such grace.

Here are some of the images we captured on our trip! Enjoy!

Each morning started with a leisurely breakfast and
relaxing. Elijah and Aaron played catch a lot.

We discovered not all kites are created equal.

Here's where we stayed. Top far right balcony was ours.

Elijah loves to jump off things! He could
have done this balance beam for hours.

We'd have hot chocolate from the resort lobby
after each of our swimming excursions. There were
a few warmer days and we even ventured out to
the beach in swim suits once. The water was freezing so
we stuck to the heated pool and hot tub.

It doesn't happen often, but every once in a while
he'll sit still long enough to snuggle. We watched
a couple movies over the course of our week and
that kept him still long enough for me to love on him.

Oops! That was very cold! He was pretty scared of
waves by the time we left because they'd sneak up
on him and he fell a few times.

We didn't have a change of clothes so he sported
a diaper and my coat. We got some strange looks.

Elijah LOVED these birds. He'd cart them back and
forth between the balcony and the fireplace. On
the balcony, he'd line them up so they could see
what was going on at the beach. They were his little
buddies. When we left, he kissed each of them goodbye!

And....the journey continues....