A Fly on the Wall this Christmas

Just a few short hours until 2010! I can't believe it. It's been a good year for us and the past several weeks have been magical - celebrating the birth of our savior, thru the eyes of our kiddos! Below is a quick little slide show that will allow you to be that fly on the wall at the Eilmes family Christmas and the days leading up to it. (Turn on your speakers.) Enjoy and Happy New Year!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Our little choir boy

For the past seven weeks, Austin has been participating in the Little Lamb singers at church on Wednesday nights. He loves it! This Sunday their little choir sung during the offeratory. For those of you that missed it, be prepared to be amazed!!! :-) We really lucked out and happened to be sitting just in front of where he was standing. Austin is the one in the navy blue pants and the light blue button-down in the front row, third in from the left, as you face them. The most memorable part about the whole thing was when he called Auntie Lisa afterward and said,"I was really good, really, really good." Then he continued to talk her ear off for about 10 minutes, until I finally said it was my turn! On a side note, Kurt and I were DEAD center in the front row of the sanctuary - absolutely unheard of for any Eilmes! Oh the things we do for our children!!! I was actually quite surprised Kurt joined me up there!

A Proud Daddy Moment...(that Daddy didn't see)

"Jesus!" No, not this time, rather "The Seahawks!"

Just before the sermon every week at church, the kids are called forward for a brief children's message. Today Jim Singleton sat up on the steps with the kids and began his message by asking them, "What's your favorite football team?" Without hesitation, Isaac said quite confidently, "SEAHAWKS!" I don't think it was the answer Jim was expecting, so he kept searching for the expected answer...Broncos, but it sure made me smile and made Kurt pretty proud, when I passed along the message.

After that, Jim moved onto favorite baseball teams. A few kids answered and then he called on Austin. With a bunch of umms and pauses, he finally said, "the team we went to watch with my daddy." Again, another moment I found myself giggling and smiling at.


The Rockies Game Austin was referring to.

Lovin' Colorado!

This weekend we had the opportunity to get away as a family and head to the mountains. Several times I found myself thinking, wow, we're really grown up - on a family vacation that doesn't include visiting or seeing ANYONE we know or are related to! It was a fun trip. The kids went several days without quiet time and/or naps, so we had some crazy/loopy kids by the end of the weekend, but it was worth it! The fall colors were beautiful. Below are a few photos from the trip.




We went to the hotsprings and both boys jumped off the 1 meter diving board SEVERAL times. Austin really started swimming, too! Elyse loves the water, too, so she's not too far behind.




I ran along Glenwood Canyon Saturday morning and once again, I had a great cheering squad! The run was beautiful, along the river the whole way, with the fall colors abounding.



We went on a mini-hike and got some beautiful views of the Canyon from above.







Kurt got to see Doc Holliday's grave!

Backtracking a bit - for memory's sake

When I started this blog, Isaac had just turned 3 and Austin was 1 1/2. There are a few token phrases and moments that Kurt and I laugh about still that they have said over the years, but for some reason I never blogged, so today, I'm backtracking and recording all of them. Okay, let's be honest, not ALL of them, but a few of them, while they're on my mind.

A favorite of ours was back when Austin was just a few months old (maybe even weeks old), we had just gone to the Garden of the Gods, I think, and we were on our way home. Back then we allowed for hot beverage-endulgences more than we do now, so we decided to go thru the Starbucks drive-thru and get a couple of drinks. We pulled up to the ordering screen and Kurt ordered a mocha for himself and a chai tea of some sort for me. The woman taking our order said, "will that be all?" and from the back of our car, Isaac, less than two years old said, "ummmmm....Isaac wants....quesadilla!" Kurt and I were roaring with laughter and then the woman said, "what was that?" We couldn't even respond we were laughing so hard. I guess we should have known then that Isaac would be quite assertive!
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Another, more recent "Kids say the darndest things" moment was when Austin came down stairs and randomly said, "Dad, Uncle Dan's my best buddy. Well, you are too, Dad."

I said, "What about me, Austin?"

Austin, quite emphatically responded, "Mooooommmmm, girls aren't BUDDIES!" Had he known the word, "duh," it surely would have completed that sentence. (The look on his face, however, said it without the words!)

He's very much our "girls have cooties" boy. I count my blessings on the days that he realizes being a girl is absolutely no fault of my own! :-)

This was shortly after the day Austin, quite seriously (and randomly) said, "Dad, I'm going to start calling you 'Dad' now. Not Daddy." And ever since that moment, it truly has been "Dad." It's a bit funny, since Isaac still calls us mommy and daddy, but Austin is on to Dad and Mom (sometimes still Mommy).
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Just yesterday we were at the park for lunch and a little fun. Sadly, nature called for Isaac shortly after we started playing and he was fairly certain he couldn't wait any longer, so I told the kids we had to head home. Austin was disappointed, but seemingly simpathetic to his brother, but must have given Isaac "the look," anyway. As Isaac was jumping down from the equipment and heading to the car, he said to Austin, somewhat disdainfully, "Austin, it's not like I'm a dog and can just poop anywhere!" A completely normal conversation between these two brothers...

A Reminder

This morning I awoke just before my alarm clock to a terrible dream about terrorism. It was one of those dreams that I just couldn't get out of my head, no matter how hard I tried. Even while I was at the gym spinning, I just couldn't shake it. Then, I came home and got a quick peak at the front page of the paper that was all about the latest terrorist plots. I'm not one to normally dwell on things or to live in fear, but for some reason, today, I was somewhat paralysed with fear.

In the next couple of months, Kurt, the kids and I are travelling quite a bit, but only once as a whole family. That's the part that really paralysed me. I'm not afraid of death. I know that this is just a stop on the way to my TRUE home, but I just got so emotional about us travelling without one another and being in separate locations.

Amidst my over-reactive emotions this morning, I was reminded of Phillippians 4:8.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

I'd be lying if I said I'm completely at peace now, but I DO trust in the Lord and am trying to focus on truth, beauty, and what is good, and only those things I can change!

In the Words of Forrest Gump...

"Sh** Happens!"

Just when we start to think we're close to beginning our FINAL potty training of our FINAL child, we are reminded that crappy weekends come and go. No details needed, just know that the days of dealing with others' poop may be around longer than we think...even when the "others" have been potty trained for 3 and 2 years, respectively!

Desk jobs may be easier than parenting on days like this, but we're already laughing about this, and no matter how much you enjoy your colleagues, its rare to share that good of a laugh!

Let's Get Ready for some Football

You can smell it in the air, you can sense it in our daily schedules, and it's evidenced in the hype around the beginning of football season. Fall is officially here!

In the Eilmes household there aren't too many teams that matter - UW Huskies, The NE Huskers (thanks to Wes), and of course, "The Hawks!"

Chick Fil-A hosted a FREE Chicken Sandwich day on Monday for all those "sporting" their favorite team's attire. Well, we had no problem finding enough Seahawks gear to go around, and we're not a family that passes up free food, especially if it is tasty and means I don't have to cook!



(Elyse received the cheer leader outfit the Christmas before she was born!)

The Best Cheer Leaders

Last Monday I completed my first 1/2 Marathon. I think I might be slightly "hooked" or "addicted" to running now. That's so funny for me to write, since I've never been a runner, let alone a long distance runner.

The run was on a beautiful trail, just below Pikes Peak, but the best view I saw was running past these three kiddos and their daddy, just meters from the finish!

Meg and John ran it too, as a fundraiser for Big Brothers Little Sisters




Buffye, Jessica, Shelly and I have all trained together! Great girls!

Family Fun in the Sun

Hand-me-down swim suits: FREE, old-fashioned slip n slide: $10, camera to capture it all: $200, The resulting family fun: PRICELESS!








(This one may win us big bucks on America's Funniest Home Videos someday...)

It's been 2 1/2 months since my last post. In that time, Elyse turned one, Isaac and Austin had preschool end-of-year programs, we've had several trips to the zoo, a Father's Day trip to the Royal Gorge, lots of fun playdates, we made our annual trek to Creede (unfortunately without Kurt, due to busy times), Elyse started walking and fully "asserting" herself with the words, "no,no!" we hosted our annual Fourth of July Party, and today we had Elyse Tilney Eilmes baptised! Fourteen of Elyse's family members, including her Great Maternal Grandparents, Unkie Bunkie and Auntie Megs, her Great Aunt Joey, and cousins Hayley and Mary Hannah, and MiMi and PopPop, were here to support us as we committed our lives, as parents, to showing her Christ's love. It was really pretty neat! Both Kurt and I were pleasantly surprised that Elyse didn't make a big fuss when we handed her off to Pastor Joe. THEN, Joe even handed her to someone in the congregation for several minutes just to point out that it is US, as a church, that has made a committment to help raise this child in Christ's love, she was totally fine! What a beautiful day! We feel very blessed to be a part of First Pres and are thankful for the love and support our family has there. We missed Ryan and Sherry Sanner (2 of Elyse's Godparents), but were happy to have Hayley Ann Huber (my Goddaughter), Elyse's other Godmother there. After church, Pops took all of us for a FABULOUS brunch at the Cheyenne Mountain Conference Center! What a treat! Below are several photos from today.

 

 

 

 

He Is Risen

 

In what seems to be less of a phenomenon each year, Colorado Springs was blessed with a beautiful white blanket of snow this morning. I know most people picture Easter with tulips, green grass, and 70 degree weather - that's not the case here. But, we're getting used to white Easters. (I can remember more white Easters than Christmases, actually.) Isaac made the best argument ever for why Easter shouldn't be any other way!

In his infinite 4-year-old wisdom, Isaac said to me this morning, "Why do we have snow on Easter, Mommy?" I said, "Honey, I don't know, I think God knew we needed the moisture." He then said, "It's because that's what God did when Jesus died on the cross. He made us clean - as white as snow, right?!"

That's RIGHT!

In that case, I think we should ALWAYS have White Easters!

Happy Easter from the Eilmi!

Unbelievable!

 

The Role of a Parent

This morning Isaac and Austin came down to our office as Kurt and I were working. The babes had awakened and were ready to eat. Austin said, "Daddy, we're hungry, we want breakfast." (Okay, so it wasn't the politeness we generally go for, but we'll give him a break, since it was only 7 a.m....) Anway, Kurt said, "Okay then, go get breakfast," somewhat jokingly, but trying to squeeze in a little more work before one of us went up to do breakfast.
Austin replied, quite seriously and disdainfully, "NO! Us not pawents!"

Sometimes we have to remember our roles, I guess...:-)

Comments from the peanut gallery

Over the past few weeks I've been realizing how soon my days of three young kids at home with me will be over. I know it's not overly common for moms in the midst of this stage (chaos) to already grieve this time, but I am. I can't believe how fast it's going. When I allow myself to get away from the "to do" lists and just listen to and enjoy my kids, I realize what an incredibly special time of life this is! They bring so much joy! (Lots of turmoil, too, but incredible joy!)

Isaac has been cracking me up with his "little adult" vocabulary lately, so I thought I'd share:

Just the other night I made a gourmet dinner of pizza, broccoli salad, and fruit salad. Isaac sat down at the table, looked at the bowls of salads on the table and said, "Wow mom, did you make all this? This looks delightful!" It was hysterical!

Then, just now, Isaac was working on the kids page from the newspaper. He was doing a dot-to-dot, which happened to be two dogs. He looked down at Soward and said, "Soward, you're a genius! It's two dogs!"

Too funny! Plenty of funny things come out of Austin's mouth too, I just have Isaac's on the mind right now. Needless to say, we're never lacking for a good laugh around here!

9 month update

Last week Elyse turned nine months! It's hard to believe how fast she's growing and these past nine months have gone. A friend of mine who shared the pregnancy with me, just emailed to say her 10 month old just took her first steps! I can't believe it. Elyse is far from taking steps or even crawling for that matter. Kurt and I joke that she's just "fat and happy!" Truly, the girl has no motivation to crawl, walk, or even sit back up after tumbling over because she's just so content!

She's a smiley little girl. Her smile lights up a room and she just beams at the boys. She gives great high fives, waves, even says "hi" with the wave, occassionally, and has her own word for dog! She's quite obsessed with Soward right now! All three of our kids' first word has been, "dog." Obviously Soward is a big part of their lives. (Let's just say the movie/book Marley and Me hit home a bit...)

Unfortunately Elyse welcomed the start of her 10th month with some scary moments. Sadly, she had her first ear infection (actually, a double ear infection) on her 9-month birthday, so we started her first round of antibiotics. The next morning she was a BALLOON. Her face was so swollen, she didn't even look like herself. Her eyes were so swollen they were little slits. She had hives all over too. Obviously she had had a terrible allergic reaction to the antibiotic. We were very close to having our first ER visit for any of the kids, but I gave her benedryl after speaking to a pharmacist and the doc on call and she started to get a little better. I couldn't bare to take photos because she looked so bad, but after two strong doses of benedryl and 8 hours, I finally took some. She looks 200 times better than she originally did, but this gives you an idea.
She's completely better now, after blood work and lots of benedryl. Now we know - stay away from penicillin!