Eli's a Comin'...

My sister Jessica reminded me that I have been meaning to post a few favorite quotes of recent days (so that I will be able to remember them in the future)! :)

1. Anytime I grab Anderson's hand to hold it, he says, "I love you too mommy!" So sweet!

2. Yesterday Anderson and I were playing baseball in the backyard. I was pitching and he was hitting (as usual). I wanted to mess with him so I did the wind up and then pitched it overhand, like the big boys do...instead of pitching it underhand like I usually do. Here is the conversation that followed...

Anderson: "Don't do that mommy, only boys do it like that!"
Mommy: "Only boys do what?"
Anderson: "Wind up." (actually it sounded more like lined-up, he mixes his w's and l's)
Mommy: "Who told you that?"
Anderson: "Granddaddy."

I died laughing! I knew as soon as he said it what he meant but when I asked him "only boys do what?" I thought he would say "pitch like that." I had know idea he even knew the term "wind up." I don't know why I am surprised! And of course he learned it from Grandaddy...last time Granddaddy was here (over a month ago), he was messing with him too when they were playing baseball in the backyard! It was hilarious, you probably remember the videos!

When Anderson talked to Granddaddy on the phone yesterday, he said, "I told mommy don't do that, only big boys do that (as he is laughing...he cracks himself up)!"

3. I don't want to leave little EJ out, so here are a few of his conversations over the last few days and weeks...

EJ: bababbababa, dadadadada, mmmmmmmmmmmm (his newest sound, which will hopefully lead to mama soon!)
Anderson: "What's EJ doin'?"
Mommy: "He's talkin' to you!"

4. By the way, Eli's a comin'...only 5 more days! Here is a recent conversation on this topic...

Anderson: "Where's K-wub, I wanna see him?"
Mommy: "He's at his house, you'll see him in a few days."
Anderson: "No, I wanna see him on there (points to the computer)."
Mommy: "Ok (I show him some pictures on Jess' blog), did you know that Caleb's getting a little brother and we will get to meet him in a few days?"
Anderson: (silence)
Mommy: "What's Caleb's little brother's name?"
Anderson: "Ewi"

Can't wait to meet you in a few days Eli, we love you already! :)

Free To Be Me

Often times, when asked to describe me, people say that I am "real," and I must say that I take this description as a compliment, whether they meant it that way or not. I do strive to live a life of integrity, honesty, and transparency. I try to be a "what you see is what you get" kind of girl. You know, the same no matter where I am or who I am with. If nothing else, I want to be consistent, because in the end, it will be my character that defines me.

Now, am I perfect?!!? Yeah right! Is anybody? In fact, my brother-in-law once said that he wanted to stand next to me because, and I quote, "Erin always says out loud what everybody else is thinking but would never say!" Obviously, this charming little quality of mine must get me into trouble at times, to say the least! Ha! But I have no problem admitting my mistakes or weaknesses! I am confident and secure in who I am. More specifically, I am confident in who I am in Christ. After all, we are told to "approach the throne of grace with confidence!"

All kidding aside, I do think that Christ calls us to be "real," and that we need to be true to this calling and not worry so much about what others may think. In fact, Jesus said to the Pharisees in Luke 15:16, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts." The Bible talks about this very concept over and over again! Do these sound familiar..."the overflow of the heart, the mouth will speak" and "man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart?" And on and on and on...I could never list them all if I wanted to!

All this is to say, I would like to challenge you believers out there to join me in this quest for authenticity. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we have to lay it all out on the table! Obviously, there must be a balance! Beth Moore's daughter says it better here than I ever could. One of my best friends here in town sent me this link, which is the entire reason for this post. It must have reminded her of me for some reason! :) Check it out, I love what Amanda has to say!

By the way, please pray for Christie, who is my aunt's (mom's sister) niece by marriage. She is a 30 year old, mother of 3, who was just diagnosed with breast cancer. She will find out tomorrow if the cancer has spread. She will need surgery and chemotherapy at some point. Pray for peace and complete healing.

"Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry for mercy. In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me."
Psalm 86:6-7

Little Red Rodeo

Spring Break was pretty laid back around here, no big trips or anything! Grandma and Aunt Leslie came for the week so the boys had a great time hanging out with them while Mommy & Daddy got some work done for a change and also enjoyed some time away!

I went shopping ALL day Monday & Tuesday with my mom and sisters! We got alot of great Easter stuff but wore ourselves out in the process! Aaron and I went to see a movie Wednesday night, for like the 1st time in who knows how long!

Thursday night, we took Grandma & Aunt Leslie to Old Settlers Park to see the bluebonnets where we had our pictures made last spring (but they were non-existent this time) and to eat at the newly opened Salt Lick at Dell Diamond (delicious as usual).

Grandma & Aunt Leslie left Friday morning so it was back to our little famlily of 4 at that point! Anderson and I went to The Little Gym on Friday morning and ever since that time, we have pretty much been glued to the TV for March Madness, except for Saturday morning when we took the boys to the Austin Rodeo for a few hours!

We went out there with another family from church to see one of our youth and her grandmother work the cattle show! We had a blast seeing the huge longhorns, petting a variety of animals, sitting on tractors, and watching the pig races!

Today after church we went to the park with several other families for lunch, the weather has been so nice lately! By the way, EJ learned a new trick this week...Mommy taught him how to give high-five! Hope everyone had a wonderful break, too bad it is back to the grind again!

Notta Lotta

Things have been pretty uneventful around here these days! Not alot going on, pretty much the same ole, same ole for the most part. We have hit our usual hot spots over the last few weeks...you know, The Little Gym, Chick Fila Kids' Night (Love it!), the park, baseball in the backyard....and this morning we returned to Barnes & Nobles for story-time again! Nothing new or exciting.

We are thankful that March is a slow month for us, as far as events go. We are using this time for rest & renewal and are doing alot of planning ahead. Aaron is working hard on preparations for the Todd Agnew concert, which will be held at AMBC on June 13, among other things! And I am working on about a million different things at once, as usual! I am currently trying to slow down and do some writing to prepare for the Christian Writer's Conference I am attending in May, all the while still trying to plan the AMBC Racquetball Tournament, AMBC Sports Camp, MHS Team Camp, Vick Family Reunion....not to mention family stuff like birthday parties, summer camps, swim lessons, trips, etc!

Next week is spring break and although we are not going anywhere, it looks like we may have some visitors, so maybe I will have more exciting things to post after next week! I still need to post an EJ video soon, he is all over the place, moving and talking like crazy...trying to keep up with Anderson, which I am not sure can be done by anyone, much less EJ (although he does a pretty good job for a little guy)! I still have not figured out how to post the video that Aaron made me for Valentine's day, I have not forgotten, I just keep forgetting to get Aaron's help!

In the meantime, here is the new favorite game played at our house! Anderson LOVES to watch mommy & daddy play (he can't play on his own yet). Mommy pretty much stinks, although I must say that I improved drastically in the 2 times I have played, I mostly watch too! We LOVE the movie Cars and its characters around here (it was the theme of Anderson's 1st birthday party)!

Two of a Kind

Little Rocker

Long Time Gone

It's been awhile since I updated you on the happenings around our house. This past weekend was our 3-on-3 Men's Basketball Tournament at church so I have been a little preoccupied with that! But now that it is over, I wanted to take a few minutes to fill you in on life. As you know, 2 weeks ago we went to FW because Aaron attended the C3 Conference at Fellowship Church. He had a great time and got alot of great ideas, as usual...this is like his 3rd or 4th time to attend that conference, he just keeps going back for more! The boys and I tagged along so that we could see family and friends and attend my sister's baby shower! All in all, it was a great trip!

On a side note, check out this link. A guy that went to my highschool started a company called TOMS. They sell cute, comfortable shoes and the best part is....for every pair of shoes you buy, they will send a pair of shoes to a child overseas who does not have shoes. Apparantly 40% of the world is without shoes. Alot of churches, including Fellowship Church, are getting on board with this great cause and are volunteering to take the shoes overseas as a mission trip.

That Sunday after we got home from FW was EJ's baby dedication! Gigi and Granddaddy came down for the occasion! I was nervous because all 4 of us had to go up on stage and be cooperative at the same time...it went really well, EJ and Anderson both did great! EJ received several nice gifts, including a beautiful John Deere/Farm blanket (which goes great with his farm room) made by the Sew Special Ladies! Which as soon as Anderson saw, he said "Mine!" (his favorite word). Afterwards, we went to lunch at Rudy's....yummy! And then took Gigi and Granddaddy to a few of our favorite spots...Anderson's new preschool, The Little Gym, and Be My Cupcake (which is inside the mall) so they could see where we spend alot of our time! We hit the mall at just the right time because Anderson got to meet Bob the Builder at the indoor playground at the mall, he was fascinated as usual!

Did I mention that we found out that Anderson got into our preschool of choice for next year! We are so excited, he will love it there! He will go every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday starting in the fall. He will go there a few weeks this summer for camp as well! Go to this link to check it out! I am also hoping to get him into Emler swim lessons for this summer too and maybe some classes at The Little Gym, but we shall see what works out...we are going to be traveling ALOT this summer!

This past week was a little more laid back, mostly spent preparing for the basketball tournament! Anderson went to the Little Gym as usual, but this time daddy took him, and he also got to go to the UT baseball game with daddy! He LOVED it and has not stopped talking about it since! He sat and watched the entire time and got to eat a hot dog and m&ms and drink DP! What could be better than that to a 2 1/2 yr. old boy, or any guy for that matter! He also ate Mr. Mike's (who used to be a HS baseball coach in the area) peanuts!

EJ turned 9 months old on Saturday and is moving like crazy! He crawls everywhere and all he wants to do now is pull himself up and stand. He is like a little puppy at my feet, crawling up to me and pulling up on my legs to stand. He even stood up holding onto one chair and then took a few steps to stand up holding onto another chair. He will be walking before we know it! He also said his first word "ba ba" which translated means bottle! Anderson thinks it is so funny that he says " ba ba" for bottle...and I just smile knowing that it was not very long ago that Anderson had his own language, including "di do" which meant cow! Today EJ also said "da da." I promise to get his new tricks on video soon!

That's all for now, hope all is well in your world!