Elijah's 2nd Haircut

Elijah got his hair cut for his birthday party and his dedication which both took place the second weekend in September!

This one has nothing to do with
his haircut...it's just cute!

They had a fun little playground outside the hair salon
so we played while we waited for Elijah's appointment.

Elijah's sat in a fire engine and was adequately
distracted with the toys he was given.

I was watching carefully since I'll
hopefully be cutting Elijah's hair in the
future when he is a bit less wiggly.

Elijah had fun pushing this Elijah sized cart around.

Elijah's First Birthday

Elijah had a great first birthday! I cared for Maddie on his birthday so they had the whole day to play together. It was a beautiful day so we walked to the park and played for quite some time. When we got home we had dinner and cake as a family, and then Elijah opened his gifts. He had a birthday party the following weekend.

Elijah and Maddie started their own spoon
band. They are quite talented!

Elijah's crawling up the steps, but he has to look
back often to make sure I'm still following.

Victory! He made it to the top!

Elijah and Maddie love to go down the slide!

We're outta here!

Wahoo!

I don't know what's going on, but I think it's going to be fun!



Mmmmmmmm!



Oh, I get it! They actually want
me to rip this paper!

Elijah's first football! Sorry Dad...green was
the only color I could find at the dollar
store! No burnt orange or blue.

Hmmm. What do they want me to do with this?

Elijah's first drum!

Elijah's Birthday!

Happy Birthday Elijah! We love you more than words can describe. We hope today is as special as you are! Love, Mommy and Daddy

Zoomazium

The Woodland Park Zoo has some indoor play space for kids when the weather is rainy or cold. It will come in handy this winter.

Youth Retreat 2009

The first weekend in September we had a youth retreat. God did some amazing things. One student made a decision to trust Christ and we all grew as we studied His word. Aaron did an incredible job planning everything and teaching. A sweet couple in our church, Gordon and Marie, loaned us their cabin in the mountains and Sue returned again this year to cook for the entire retreat. They were both answers to prayer. Aaron and I led small group discussions after the lessons and we played many fun games including a murder mystery. The weekend was also filled with laughter and staying up far too late. Elijah did really well despite the crazy sleeping schedule. He loves these kids. Overall, weekends like this are such a blessing because we get to have fun and see God move in the students we love, but they are also a good reminder of how old we're getting. We sleep well when we return home!

We hiked to this beautiful lake for lunch.

It was a bit drizzly, but it didn't stop any of us from
enjoying the beauty of God's creation.

During one of the teaching sessions I had to go
upstairs to try to keep Elijah from distracting the
students. He does that very well, you know!
Luckily I could still hear most of the lessons for
the small group time.

Wrapping up the weekend to head home

Cheetos, Tables and Aidan

If you knew me as a child you know the best way I

could teach my son to use a fork is with cheetos!

This is one of the battles we'll have to fight.
Elijah loves to climb and this is his new mountain.

Aidan and Elijah

Blowing rasberries!

Andrew and Amanda's Wedding

At the end of August we got to see a couple in our church officially start their life together. The wedding was beautiful and Elijah had a ton of fun with the older kids; Katy, Luke, Megan and Jacob; at the reception. Katy is one of our youth who babysits for Elijah. Our whole family loves Katy and her entire family for that matter! Megan and Jacob are my mentor's kids. They are sweet, sweet kids.

Katy's holding Elijah while Megan and
Jacob are entertaining him!

Elijah is seldom short of attention when we do anything with our church. It brings joy to my heart to see all the kids delight in each other. This is Megan and Jacob again with Katy's brother, Luke. When we get together to play Apples to Apples with Luke and his family, you have to be careful not to get sassy or he won't pick your card! Aaron and I get quite the kick out of Luke and Elijah is really drawn to him.