eli is now nearly five years old (will be october 22nd), and he is so excited to be such a big boy. he LOVES "his babies" so much, and is a great big brother. chris and i could not ask for a better big brother to the twins. he has never once offered to hurt or ignore them, and in fact is quite the big helper, though he gets tired of bringing mommy and daddy diapers/wipes/burp clothes, i'm sure. he actually told me a few weeks ago that he no longer wanted to be a big brother. when i asked why, scared to death that he would say he no longer wanted the babies, he said "i don't like carrying peepee diapers." whew... that's easier to handle then him wanting the babies gone.

he is the big entertainer too. he loves to sing and dance, and has some of his own patented moves, such as cat eye boogie, and some booty shaking. he loves all types of music including blues, country, gospel, bluegrass, and rock. he has sung in our church many times, and his favorites to sing are "Jesus loves me" and "Jesus love the little children." i'm so afraid that one day he'll grab the mic to sing and bust out in "my humps." i'd be looking for a hole to crawl into that that point. :)

eli is now in pre-k, but can hardly wait for the day he goes to "big boy school," which is equivalent to kindergarden in his mind. he's a big time super hero fan, and can never have too many spiderman, venom, superman, or fantastic four figures on hand. why he needs four different versions of the same spiderman is beyond me, but he seems to have a reason for it. he also loves to build things, like daddy, and enjoys anything outdoorsy that may scare mommy to death. "go faster" is all he wants while riding the sea doo, four wheeler, or golf cart, and looks forward to the day when he and daddy get to build a "monster jeep" together.

it seems like only yesterday we were holding our little man in our arms, rocking him to sleep, and admiring all of his gorgeous rolls, and now it's all we can do to grab him long enough to steal a hug. definitely a lover though, he still likes to crawl up into mommy's lap, along with the twins, and cuddle while we watch one of "his movies." the boy has more plans than chris and me combined though, and the grandparents have to literally schedule their "eli time" because he is always on the go, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

chris and i expect great things from our big boy, as we see his brilliant mind at work each day. one of the proudest and most humbling moments i believe we've ever had as parents was just recently, when eli got saved. you can read an account of that day below. we are still marveled by his understand of christ's love for us, and each day when he prays that "Jesus will come into everyone's hearts."

July 26, 2007

This week he has been going to VBS at our church, and his teacher has been my very good friend Angie (also his Sunday School teacher).  Tuesday night Eli tugged on her skirt, and asked her “Am I saved?”  This is the second time Eli has asked this (also at Hominy), and it took her by surprise.  She told him that you have to ask Jesus to come into your hear to be saved, and he said “I haven’t done that yet.”  Then he asked her “Am I going to go to hell?”  She was really struck by that one, but told him that he needed to talk with his parents about it more.  It’s important to note that Eli came up with this out of the blue, as they hadn’t been discussing it, but actually teaching on King David.  He had really been thinking about it.

Eli hadn’t mentioned it again until after VBS last night.  Chris tucked him into bed, but then Eli called out to us and said that they had forgotten to say “night-night prayers,” so I went back in there to say them.  Before I did, Eli sat up in bed and said “Mommy, when you pray will you ask God to come into our hearts?”  I explained “Eli, I already asked Jesus to come into my heart when I was a little girl.  That is something everyone has to do on their own.  I can’t do it for you.”  He said, “but I don’t know how to do it.”  That’s when I called Chris in, as I wanted us to share in it together.  Chris explained what it meant to be saved, and that we had to believe that we could never get to heaven on our own because of our sins, and that Jesus died on the cross, taking on our sins, to make a way for us to go to heaven.  Eli knows well that Jesus died on the cross, that he was put in the tomb, and that after three days He rose again, and is now alive in heaven.  I told Eli that he didn’t have to pray about it now, that he could wait and just let us know when he was ready, but he said “I’m already ready.  I want to pray now.”  So, he did.  We all three bowed our heads, and Eli prayed aloud on his own.  He said “Dear heavenly father, thank you for this beautiful, beautiful day.  Jesus, please come into my heart.  Please forgive me of my sins. I love you.  Please keep everyone safe.  In Jesus’ name, amen.”  It was so precious.  I just cried and cried, and afterwards he wanted to know why Mommy had tears running down her face.  It was the sweetest moment.

I told him that we would talk with our pastor about what happens now, baptism and all, and Eli said “I don’t want to get babitized (how he says it).  I don’t want to put my face underwater.”  It’s funny that is his concern.  I told him that he didn’t have to do it right away, but that God wants us to get baptized after we are saved.  He is very excited about his decision, and woke up early this morning, all loving and sweet.  Chris and I have been sharing the good news all around, and singing God’s praises for what He has done.