Elijah

Happy Birthday to my incredible brother, Elijah!!!  What an amazing young man he is!  He is godly, gentlemanly, hard working, patient, thoughtful, gentle, and beyond-wonderful, not to mention good looking.  :)  I love him so much and do not know what I would do without him.  God was indeed good to give me such a brother! 

 

Elijah, I pray that God would bless you with a greater knowledge of and love for Him in your 17th year.  It is a joy to see you striving to serve Him.  I can see the fruits of the Spirit in your life each and every day.  It is an example to me to see how you respect and honor authority,  and how you work until the task is completed and well done.  Thank you for always being there to encourage me on the hard days,  treating me, our mama, and all other ladies with respect, going running or biking with me in the mornings, loving me when I am unlovable, protecting me, and taking time to serve and bless others.  I love you more than words can say, I respect you, and I can not wait to see what God has in store for your life this year.  Keep pressing on, loving Jesus, and serving the Lord. 

 

I love you.

 

To God be the Glory,

Hannah

You know that your little brother is growing up when...

He still reads that book. :)

You know that your little brother is growing up when...

...He answers the phone and his voice sounds like your dad's; you won't (absolutely refuse to!) believe him when he says he's your brother...

...He fits into your dad's boots...

...He's shorter than you when you leave on a 10 day trip and is taller than you when you get back...

...His hands are about twice the size of yours...

...You have to refer to his "work schedule" before making plans for a group phone call...

...You look back on photos from last year and he looks like a little kid...

Yes, my biggest little brother is growing up.  Where did the time go!?! 

Happy 16th Birthday, Elijah.  I cannot describe in mere words what you mean to me.  You are a brother, friend, encourager, gentleman, joy, blessing, patient with me when I'm not patient with you :), one who keeps me accountable, keeps me laughing, and, most of all, you love the Lord.  To sum it all up, you are an amazing brother!  May your day be wonderfully blessed because of Jesus.  I pray that we may be so blessed as to celebrate many more years of God's grace in your life.  I love you (so much!).

They got creative one day and took the coastguard legos out on a floating "island" in the pool. :) 

This photo was taken last year... 

...and this was taken a few months ago.  He sure has grown up!!! 

Hello all!

If you want a good laugh, go on over to my brothers' blog.  Enjoy!  :)

Bikes 'n' Baseball

The weather today is simply delightful, so we decided to spend some time at the park down the road from our home.  Mama, Jonnie, and I walked while the rest of the boys rode their bikes.  The park has a baseball field, so the boys love it when they have a chance to hit the ball a long way without fear of hitting something or possibly breaking a window.  I am really happy with some of the photos that mama and I got and I hope that you enjoy them as well.

Jonnie climbing in the "spider web".

Jonnie really enjoyed the spinning chair.

The happy biker.

(please click to enlarge)

Hot wheels.

Jonnie has a wonderful big brother.

What kind of infielder is that!?!

...runner goes!

The coach ...

... cheering his team on.

Elijah's trick move!

(my very first video on this blog!!!!!)

Now the "good new days"

This post contains photos from late 2007 to the present.  ENJOY!

Staying at a cabin on Lake Mille Lacs.

Elijah can tolerate a lot from tired little brothers!

Mr. Four Arms.

Best buddies.

Ready for a long road trip.

"Football" at an RV park.

Elijah's fancy way of picking apples from our tree.

He miraculously stretched overnight!  (really the marvels of

trick photography which I'm not very good at, as you can see!)

Jonnie loves it when Elijah pushes him up and down the sidewalk in that car.

The hardworking leaf remover.

Bunny ears and monkey ears.

At the fair.  Visit the boys' blog to see what else Elijah did at the county fair!

The boys helping out in the kitchen.

Elijah and his snowfort before it was 15 feet high.

Elijah's snowmen welcoming family for Thanksgiving.

Fun on the ice.

Baseball at the park.

The boys laying paving stones out from our back door to our pool.  I am amazed at the job they did.  We had a funny incline and they were able to lay the stones so that there are no spaces, dips or rises between the stones.  I am truly blessed with amazing brothers!

Our 15 foot high snowfort.

...and there's the serious guy on the left with his "banana peeled" sweet corn.