Music you can dance to...

If your looking for some great workout music but don't love listening to the lyrics in secular hip hop, then you've got to check out these two artists. I have been listening to Trip Lee and Lecrae for a few years now.
Love it. Can't get enough.
They are preaching the Gospel thru hip hop. What could be better?!

I was very skeptical of any type of "Christian Hip Hop", but these guys completely changed my opinion. This isn't DC Talk....

http://reachrecords.com/artists/show/Trip-Lee
http://reachrecords.com/artists/show/Lecrae

Let me know what you think!

Hats

And now he likes hats too. His own are fine, but he really likes his daddy's hats. Just got him a bike helmet... loves it.

(Here he's signing that he wants to eat)

Eat! Eat!

Mom's Birthday

Happy Birthday Mom!
Fun times at Kierland in the rain.

Shoes

So Elijah has started walking, but more importantly (in his life) is now he gets to wear shoes. I didn't really put him in shoes much before he could walk, but once he was stable enough to walk outside I strapped on some sandals.

Thanks to all our great baby showers, he is set with shoes for a while. But he didn't have any sandals, and with it being so hot right now, I just couldn't imagine putting his already sweaty and stinky feet in some lace ups. So I went looking for sandals, but for whatever reason, couldn't find much selection. They all had Disney something or other on them and, I don't know... I just wasn't feeling them. The pair I finally got were the coolest ones I could find.... slightly-too-small, but camouflage, so who cares. They were cute. The second Josh saw them he started laughing. Too nerdy. For him. :)

Elijah wants his shoes on all the time. The minute he gets up from a nap, or even in the morning for that matter, he is pointing to his closet and making the 's' sound. It's hot here. So for the most part, it's a diaper and whatever shoes for the entire day while we're in the house. He walks around so proud and I can't get enough.

Our Anniversary

Josh and I celebrated our 4th Anniversary on July 14th. Josh has made it a priority to get away for each anniversary and this year was probably the best yet. We stayed at a resort in Scottsdale for 2 nights while Elijah had his first major sleep over away from home. He had SO much fun with Josh's family.

Josh and I enjoyed some restful days at the resort. I brought a camera but didn't take one shot... too busy doing nothing. We tried two different cafe's for breakfast that lasted about 2 hours, (that is probably one of my favorite things to do with my husband). We also hiked Camelback Mountain, saw an afternoon movie, and layed by the pool. It was a great weekend.

Since I didn't take any photos of our weekend, I am going to copy-cat Brenda's idea and share some photos of our wedding 4 years ago.

Summer Vaca 2011

One of the best parts about living in Phoenix is the convenient proximity to so many fun destinations. One of our favs is San Diego, just a 5 hour drive. Ashlyn and Grandma LaLa live there so we always have a free place to stay. Hugh and Ash got the chance to house sit for a friend this summer, so their apartment was sitting open for a whole month. Josh and I took advantage of that for sure! They live in Point Loma, about a 10 min bike ride from Ocean Beach. California is a busy place; lots of traffic, a constant drive thru line at In-N-Out (even on a Sunday night at midnight), but Ocean Beach still manages to keep a small town feel... as much as you can in CA.

We spent a good amount of time on Coronado Island this trip. I gotta say, it was my favorite beach experience in a long time. The sand was perfect, the water was warm, close enough to grab a drink, and good parking. This is what vacations are all about.


You can see Elijah pointing to something. This started about a month ago. When he figured out how to point, he became a new man. I know all kids probably do this, but of course I think it's extra special when Elijah does it.


We didn't think about needing beach toys so we got creative.

E man loved the beach. He was completely in his own world...loved finding seashells, digging in the sand, knocking over sand castles, and crawling far away from us. Here he is after he took a tumble in the water.

Thanks Hugh and Ash for your apartment!!

Father's Day

On Father's Day this year we dedicated Elijah at church. It's just a time for us to introduce Elijah to our church family and also to take vows as parents. It was actually a really great reminder for us of our role as parents. These are the vows we took:

Do you dedicate yourself to wholeheartedly pursue your relationship with God by trusting in the finished, saving work of Jesus Christ and depending on the Holy Spirit to guide and direct your life, knowing that the life you model will shape your children even more deeply than the words you say?



Do you dedicate yourself to faithfully pursue a vibrant relationship with your spouse: sacrificially loving each other, dating each other, prioritizing each other over your work and children, and seeking help and guidance from your church family to help your relationship thrive, knowing that one of the best gifts you can give your children is a joyful, godly marriage?



Do you dedicate yourself to actively participate in the church community: investing in people, learning from friends, and using your gifts for the sake of Jesus’ Kingdom, knowing that your children need input and examples from the church family in addition to your family?

Do you dedicate yourself to raise your children with biblical love, instruction and discipline? Will you take every opportunity that life gives you to diligently teach your children to love the Lord Jesus and observe all that he commanded, knowing that your primary responsibility as a parent is to train your child to be Jesus’ disciple?

Here is Josh introducing Elijah. Notice the cheerios. I thought this was a good idea to help keep him happy. I didn't realize all the cheerios on the stage floor would be an even bigger distraction due to the other children trying to pick them up like candy from a pinata.



After church, all our family went out to Oregano's for lunch.