Trip Home

 Jude and I had the wonderful opportunity to go home to NC over my mid-winter break. What a blessing. After heading to the airport on Saturday to get on the plane and sitting on the run way for 2 hours, they cancelled our flight due to electrical issues, AHHH. We did the whole thing over on Sunday and finally made it home (aka Jillian's house) for me to have little Eli in my arms for the first time. Jillian was in the delivery room with Justin and me when Jude was born so to wait nearly 4 weeks after his birth to hold him was very hard. He is so precious and such a content little guy.

 Jude did really awesome with meeting Eli. We had talked about it quite a bit. Right after this picture, Jude politely said, "Mommy no hold dat baby. (while pointing) Mo Mo hold dat baby." As soon as my Mom had Eli, Jude wrapped his arms around my neck.

 By the end of the week, Jude was really loving on Eli. He would put his bap (pacifier) in his mouth, rock him, flap his ears, and even asked to "Jude hold dat baby." He wanted to "bounce him" on his knees, haha. He even shared a Fruit Loop with him which we had to quickly grab out of Eli's mouth. I think my favorite memories of Jude with his first meetings with Eli were how he referred to him as being "so tiny" and saying that he "ate JJ's boobies". (sorry it that's TMI but it was hysterical)

 Right before this picture JJ's dog Alli was on the bed with the boys but we couldn't snap a picture quick enough.

In spite of starting the week with a virus, messed up plane trips, and travelling across the country, Jude was and always has been a trooper. We only had a few through yourself in the floor tantrums. :)

We had such a wonderful visit. It was great to spend time with family and friends (my college roomie Boofee came for dinner one night) as well as Justin's family. Jude had a quick visit with great- grandparents and my inlaws came to visit for a day. We also had an early birthday party for Jude while they were there, including cow and Elmo cupcakes, per request. Jude wanted me to keep lighting his candle over and over so he could blow it out. He cried when we sang to him, but he LOVED the cows on his "cupakes".

We are so blessed to have had our time with family. To say it was emotional to leave is an understatement as our boys are growing oh so fast. The Lord is always faithful to fill the void in my heart when I miss my family.

Here Lately...

 Life has been a little hectic here lately. Unfortunately, living 3,000 miles away from family, I haven't been able to help nearly as much as I would like. Since we returned from our holiday visit, my  brother had a brain bleed linked to his radiation treatments 7 years ago and is now in extensive therapy and recovering. My sister and BIL also welcome her first baby mentioned in my prior post, as well as Jude having his tooth extraction procedure. (After having a double ear infection and having his tooth become abscessed.)

It's been a lot, but let me tell you, God is faithful. Jude has been an amazing trooper through it all and continues to melt my heart every day. His love for books, animals, and choo choos blows my mind and how he is able to express himself blows me away. His vocabulary grows more and more every day and Justin and I are going to have to work hard to stay ahead of him. Let me give a disclaimer, my child is not perfect. He has began to learn the "art" of throwing himself to the floor but I think he's quickly learning that gets him no where fast. He can be whiny and bossy. But, in the midst of his sinful nature, he is sensitive, sweet, and pretty dern smart.

Thankfully, my boy does not like messes like his Mommy so he's pretty good about wiping up spills and helping with chores like sweeping, putting laundry in with Mommy, and picking up after himself when asked. There is the occasional "no" he gives me, which is usually ignored while he is then guided to do the said task. He knows where every thing is, meaning, his animal magnets on the fridge, yeah, when he plays with them and one random "dino" is missing, he tells Mommy, "Find dino peese!" It's usually behind the recycling bin or slipped under the fridge, but he knows it's not there, and he has over 20 of them. Maybe type A personality?

What has really melted my heart this month though is his spiritual development. He has learned 2 new Bible verses, 1 from church and one we've been working hard at home with. He says "Jesus washes white snow." Meaning, "Jesus washes us what as snow." and "I can all thing thwough Chwist". He's also started to help say the blessing at dinner, which makes my heart so happy.

There are so many horrific things he can and will be exposed to in this world. Oh how I pray for his soul and that his heart will be sensitive to the moving of the Spirit as he grows. I can't believe next month we'll be celebrating another birthday but until then, we'll enjoy these daily steps of Jude learning and growing.

And, on another note, is my nephew not the cutest thing you've ever seen? I can't wait to see him in just 2 more weeks. I love getting my daily updates on him from my sis and Jude asks to see Eli too. I hope and pray they grow to love one another and be best buddies.