Eli is 5!!!

yes...this little boy in the pictures below

Eli at 1 year old...

1 1/2 years old with cousin Gus...

on his 2nd birthday with his brothers...

3 years old...

4 years old riding his big boy bike...

and here he is today at 5 years old...going on 15...

so on his birthday we took him to Hershey Park to celebrate...

and he decided that he was big enough to ride the Sooper Dooper Looper with his Daddy (I am convinced that he would do anything with his Daddy) and that's exactly what he did!  The video below is of Wes and Eli on the ride...

the video below is of when he got off of the ride...the quality is horrible but his face is priceless!

Eli we love you and are thankful that God placed you in our lives.  

You are the best helper

...a lover of God's creation ...

...the best "lookin book finder"...

...the pull up machine...

...creative lego builder...

...a great big brother (finally)

...the master puzzle builder...

...the "how does it work" engineer...

...a "fisherboy"...

...and a spunky little boy that loves to make you laugh (even if most of the time it has to do with the word butt).

videos: if you received this post via email...please visit www.ouradventurewithboys.com to view the videos

Multitude Monday #3337 - #3367...

"Creator God, You gave me breath so I could praise
Your great and matchless name, all my days, all my days
So let my whole life be a blazing offering
A life that shouts and sings the greatness of our King"

                                              lyrics from Glory to God by Fee

Giving thanks with the Gratitude Community for His unending gifts...

...watching him pull his Daddy's face in close for a kiss...

...all of them back together again even though they started arguing within minutes...

...early morning sunrise...

...this reminder..."Genuine faith also looks up and sails, by using God's great Son.  It never travels by seeing the shoreline, earthly lighthouses, or paths along the way...let us move forth today, not knowing or seeing, but trusting.

...Wes and Micaiah discussing a Psalm...

...a train ride to meet Daddy for lunch...

...watching him love the time he has with just Will...

...an invite to an afternoon playdate that allows me to catch up on some sleep...

...time with house church girls...

...impromptu chat with my neighbor...

...holding her little one as we talk...

...Daddy and Will playing trains...

...an iPhone...

...the One Thousand Gift app...

...a friends help with organization ideas...

...grocery store helpers...

...the bright red sunset...

...Will gently running his hands through my hair...

...seeing Josh greet his grandparents...

...a soccer win...

...his comment "It feels good to win.  That's one more win than baseball"...thinking on how winning is so much sweeter when you have lost so much...

...a strangers help at the pool when Will was a mess and I needed help... 

...seeing him at his little table during rest time...

...hearing Will cheer his brother on..."Go, go Micaiah!  Kick that baseball!"...

...his smile after his coach had his team congratulate him for his work in the goal and then as he named him MVP of the game...

...4 boys in the lego store with Grandma...

...4 x 800 track workout (it's been way too long)...

...the 78 year old man I meet on the track that reminds me what a gift it is to be able to run and to enjoy those boys because time passes way too quickly...

...Eli holding his communion cup (right next to his paper airplane he had been building/coloring during the service)...

...the way he looks at his Daddy... 

...this view captured on our Sunday drive...

  

Multitude Monday Reflections...

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.  And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy , holy is the Lord Almighty;
    the whole earth is full of his glory.”

Isaiah 6:1-3

I keep listening to the song "After All (Holy) by The David Crowder Band (and more recently rehearsed by The Digital Age) over and over again...letting the words soak in...

There was a time this week when I was in the car with all the boys and everyone was singing...the presence of God was so strong that it brought me to tears... 

Please take a moment to view the video below...the words to the song follow...

I can't comprehend your infinitely beautiful and perfect love
Oh I've dreamed dreams of majesty as brilliant as a billion stars
But they're never bright enough after all

You are Holy
Oh Holy
Holy, Holy, Holy

I will sing a song for you my God with everything I have in me
But it's never loud enough after all

You are Holy
Oh Holy
Holy, Holy, Holy

Heaven and earth are full, full of your glory, glory
My soul it overflows full of your glory, your glory
Oh blessed is he who reigns, full of your glory, your glory
My cup, it can't contain all of your glory, your glory
Hosanna we are found after all you are

Holy
Oh Holy
Holy, Holy, Holy

I can't comprehend
You're infinitely beautiful




video: if you received this post via email...please go to www.ouradventurewithboys.com to view the video

  

Multitude Monday #3314 - #3336...

"Last night I heard a robin singing in the rain,

And the raindrop's patter made a sweet refrain,

Making all the sweeter the music of the strain.

So I thought, when trouble comes, as trouble will,

Why should I stop singing?  Just beyond the hill

It may be that sunshine floods the green world still.

He who faces the trouble with a heart of cheer

Makes the burden lighter.  If there falls a tear, 

Sweeter is the cadence in the song we hear.

I have learned your lesson, bird with spotted wing,

Listening to your music with its tune of spring-

When the storm cloud darkens, it's the TIME to sing.

                                                      Eben Eugene Rexford

Giving thanks with the Gratitude Community for His unending gifts...

...my husbands creative use of an electrical cord as a clothesline in the basement...

...a dehumidifier that helps to dry the hanging clothes more quickly...

...Will snuggled up so I can read him book after book after book...

...worship in the basement with all the boys playing instruments and dancing...

...a good conversation with Micaiah...

...an afternoon visit to the local volunteer firehouse...

...Fireman Joey's tour and willingness to share his suit...

...reading this..."Whenever your enemies are closing in on you, claim victory!  Whenever your heart and your flesh fail you, look up and claim  VICTORY!...We are children of the King.  Therefore which of these most honors our divine Sovereign: failing to claim our rights and even doubting they belong to us, or asserting our privilege as children of the Royal Family and demanding the rights that accompany our inheritance?"

...bright sun rising through the trees...

...an unexpected catch up with a friend from years ago...

...watching Eli enjoy a peach and remembering my Mom Mom telling me "Oh, Jenny Brooke there is nothing better than a fresh peach...when you bite into it the sweet juice runs down your chin."

...late night bowling and treats with Mom Mom...

...lunch at Panera with my boys...

...help from a friend with the younger three while Micaiah had soccer...I was able to sit and read for an hour and a half!

...a morning storm...

...smores around the campfire with friends...

...seeing familiar places through the eyes of friends (new visitors)...

...a walk behind the falls...

 

...steak with blue cheese butter, grilled sweet potatoes and strawberry poppyseed spinach salad...

...conversation over dinner as the sunsets over the lake...

...morning 6 mile run with my dad on our favorite loop at the lake...

...excedrine migraine...

...Wes and Eli hanging our bedroom curtain...

  

Multitude Monday #3296 - #3313...

 ^"My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You're deeply rooted in him. You're well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. "  

Colossians 2:6,7...The Message

...a neighbors dryer...

...real conversation with my sister in law... 

...cousins happy to be together...

...a cancelled meeting...

...David Crowder Band on shuffle driving the backroads to visit family...

...God's way of gently leading us...

...headache relief...

...how we hear Will singing the chorus to "Let Me Feel You Shine" on the monitor as he puts himself to sleep...

...the way this song has blessed our family and the significant story behind the lyrics...

...a break in the torrential downpour so we could experience the Safari Tour...(pics to come)

..a text message from a friend regarding an answered prayer request...

...Daddy and Will dancing in the kitchen...

...Eli's help unpacking groceries...

...conversation over lunch with small group girls...

...Eli's Lego creations...some of the names...the Statue of Liberty and the Iron Giant Laughing

  
...hearing Wes sing "All the Poor and Powerless" at the piano...


...a morning run...


...a friend sharing a devotional message that spoke to me..."When you are unsure which course to take, totally submit your own judgement to that of the Spirit of God, asking Him to shut every door except the right one."

  

Micaiah's Catch...

 

fishing with Poppy...he says he caught one bigger than this but Poppy didn't get a picture...he caught 12 in all...and this was after a 5 mile kayak trip and an 8 mile bike ride (one of the miles was through a tunnel)!

Multitude Monday #3272 - #3295...

"When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!"

We spent an extended weekend at the lake this past weekend.  The verse above from the hymn "How Great Thou Art" captures my thoughts as I hiked down to the stream with the boys one day.  I read recently that "time spent in God's creation reveals the face of God"...yes, yes it does!

Giving thanks with the Gratitude Community for His unending gifts...

...Micaiah verbalizing that sometimes he has a hard time feeling like God is with him and loves him and the conversation that followed...

...a neighborhood mechanic that drops the car off after it's been serviced...

...receiving this encouragement from a friend's gratitude list..."#10 A friend who has been changed by practicing gratitude even in trials, and how that has been changing all of us."...

...shucking corn with Eli and hearing about his day at camp...

...slow mornings...

...Grandma and Pap's fun adventure with Will...

...lunch with Wes...

...this practice of gratitude and how it continues to change me...

...Hallelujah by The Digital Age...

...this podcast from Passion City Church that I listened to Again and Again and Again...

...worship on the backroads...

...Will's reaction when we walked in the door to greet him at Grandma and Pap's...absolutely priceless...sheer joy...

...hummingbirds at the feeder...

...a bucket full of blackberries...

...a Sunday drive on Saturday through the backroads of West Virginia...

...a visit to the falls with the boys...

...birthday fun with Van...

...bikes through the empty campground...

...helping him catch a crayfish and water striders in his net...

...playing games with the boys while the rain falls outside...

...the way my husband loves on each of our boys in just the right way...

...throwing rocks in the water at sunset...

...the sky painted with colors and clouds...

...beautiful scenes on our way back to camp...