Emma and Eli: July 2014

July started much like June ended…hanging out in Memphis and enjoying our summer break with lots of trips to the pool and a few trips to the lake.  Eli jumped right in to our summer of relaxation and fun with no problem at all.  While we were in Memphis, we played bubbles, went to the park, splashed at the splash park, made cookies with Aunt Katie, visited Gibson’s donuts and several other fun Memphis restaurants.  I love taking our kids to some of my favorite places from growing up.

When we got home, it was time for me to head back to work to get started on the new school year.  We still had leisurely evenings and weekends.  One big adjustment was Eli moving to his big boy bed the night we got home from Memphis.  My sister had an extra bedrail and she sent it home with us to try.  Eli loved it and has never looked back.  Since he started climbing out of the pack and play over vacation, we definitely needed a new strategy with our little guy!

Emma had her regular dental visit…which she seriously loves.  While we were there, they invited us to bring Eli in the next day for his first dental visit.  Grateful that things looked great for both kids!  When we arrived back from summer vacation, Emma’s first camp was our Princess Camp at school.  This is the third year that she has done this camp and she absolutely loves it!  The lady that puts the camp together is one of the godliest ladies I know and she has done a remarkable job of crafting a camp that harnesses the power of the Disney princesses to point little girls to Jesus…the true King that calls Emma His princess.

Eli got right back into the groove at his preschool catching up with friends and making new memories on the playground and in the classroom.  We took Emma to her first ever Gaither Vocal Band Concert…Clint’s first one too!  We loved it…tons of fun with our friends.  That weekend we also hit the lake and Eli got to tube for the first time.  His first run was with me and he actually fell asleep…I guess he thinks Lake Allatoona is some kind of big waterbed!  His second run we added Emma and he squealed and laughed just as much as she did!  We finished up that weekend at our church’s movie night so that Emma and I could see the Lego Movie.

We have been incredibly blessed to have a great relationship with my youth pastor and his family.  We keep in touch with them and are so grateful for their investment in our family.  They were in town at a mission camp at Georgia Tech and we went down to see them one evening during their dinner break.  After a fun time catching up, Eli had his first visit to Nuevo Laredo Cantina..Clint’s all time favorite restaurant from his Ga Tech days.

Clint put together a fun surprise for all of us when he planned a weekend at Lake Lanier Islands.  We went over Friday afternoon and enjoyed most of the slides, the beach, and the wading area.  It was pretty overcast and sort of cool, but we still had a great time together.  We woke up Saturday morning and it was pouring and forecast to rain all weekend.  We decided to save our remaining tickets for another weekend and just head home.  We had a wonderful weekend at home and Eli got his first American haircut…such a cutie!

The last week in July we celebrated Clint’s birthday all week.  We started with dinner at Henry’s followed by playing on the playground at Cauble Park in Acworth.  Super hot…but tons of fun!  That Monday, Emma and I went with a huge group of high schoolers from NCCS to a mid-day Braves game.  Emma loves every minute of hanging out with the big kids and I’m so grateful she has such great role models to look up to!   We spent several evenings swimming and wrapped up Clint’s birthday on July 31 with dinner at his favorite birthday spot…Fusco’s in Acworth.

July was such a fun month for our family.  We don’t even remember life before our sweet Eli.  Emma still loves him dearly and dotes on him every moment.  She is an awesome big sister and he is a blast as a little brother.  It’s so awesome to see how God so quickly knit their hearts together as He was forming our family.  Much to be grateful for!

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