7 years ago.... ELIJAH RAY

Wow! I can't believe my baby is 7! And he is so close to being 10! How did this happen? I feel like I put him to bed in his baby bed yesterday and then this morning I woke up to a 7 year old who plays outside all day w/ his friends, reads me a bedtime story, loves to go to school, & plays video games! It is so incredible how fast they grow up! I remember when i was pregnant w/ him people would tell me to just sit back and enjoy him and hold him & cuddle him as much as I could because before I knew it they would be starting kindergarten & I was thinking Yeah right, Me w/ a 5 yr old that seems like a lifetime away! So I did hold him that fist year as much as I could if I wasn't working I was holding him and I remember people telling me not to hold him so much he would be spoiled, but all I could think about was how could I not hold him?! Now 7 years later I am sitting here wondering if I give him a quarter will he let me hold him for a few minutes! LOL I am blown away on how wonderful my life has been since Elijah came into it. I remember there being hard times trying to figure out the mommy role, but there were plenty more Great times!

I remember when he was born he didn't want to come out he was 8 days late and had to be dragged out my stomach..... He has been like that every since! He does things on his own time and is not one to be talked into doing anything new... he wants someone else to try it first & then he will decide if he wants to try it. He is the most loveable, sweetest, kindest little boy you will ever meet. He is so concerned about everyone around him that we sometimes forgets that he is just a kid. He is extremely sensitive and everything has to be just right. He is full of funny and crazy stories. Elijah is a complete daddy's boy and has been since the day he came into this world. I remember I would walk him and walk him when he was fussy & I could not get him to sleep, so then daddy would step in & w/in 5 min he had that little baby snoring! When he was about 3 he was doing the spiderman sign and instead of the right fingers he stuck out his 2 middle fingers, I told him how we can not stick out those fingers by themselves becaus they mean a bad thing. He thought about it for a minute and then w/ a puzzled look on his face he said "Yeah but mom didn't you say God made all my fingers? So why would he make 2 that where bad?" When he was @ his 5 year old check up @ the doctor getting his eye test she pointed to a plus sign and he said, "Oh that is the cross that Jesus died on!"

Now 7 years later my little baby is now a boy who loves Star Wars, basketball, baseball, hunting, lego's & video games! He is all boy and he is growing up way to fast for his momma! Happy Birthday Elijah Ray Gordon! Your mommy loves you and is soo proud of you! You are a loving, sweet, caring little boy who will always be loved and adored by his momma!!! =)

Living in the Present...

Fall Break is over ..... It was so nice to park my car for 9 days & just hang out @ home w/ the boys! We have some new neighboors that the boys just love to play with and their mom and I had daily coffee dates to chat about girl stuff.. It was so fun to not be on any kind of schedule and to just relax and know all i had to do was have dinner ready by 630 each evening. The boys had such a great time playing that they cried a few nights when the street lights came on & that meant they had to come inside, then they would scarf down lunch & dinner in the same sitting.

They made a clubhouse w/ their buddies, played football, rode bikes, tried to hunt down the Mountain Lion they were so sure was in our wooded area behind the house... You name it those boys did it and they came in each night dirty and exausted, but at the same time they were so completely happy it ...was exciting to watch. They are not my babies anymore they can now go outside and play all day long & not need their mommy! As Elijah stated.... I am a big boy who likes to hunt, fish, play football, & grind (whatever that means.. LOL) on my skate board! Each night I was able to steal some cuddles while we watched a movie or our favorite Icarly. Elijah helped me cook mac & cheese for lunch 1 day and boy did he feel so proud when it turned out delicious. =) Malachi showed me his computer skills he has learned at school & i was very impressed before long he will be teaching me how to do things ....

I vividly remember the days when they were both toddling around in just their diapers & I would dream of the day when they were both in school, could get their own snack, go to sleep by themselves, most importantly the day i could go pee w/out an audience! Especially after watching them this week I did some reminiscing to those days when they were babies & I feel like i was always looking ahead to the next step or the next chapter in our life of "i cant wait until are out of diapers or I can't wait until that day when they can buckle themselves in the car" Oh how I wish I could go back and cherish those times and not be in such a hurry to move on to the next day or the next stage in our life. Their is a song out called "Your gonna miss this" it is so true we are constantly looking ahead at what is coming that to often than not we completely miss what is happening today! So this week instead of doing loads of laundry and cleaning my bathrooms & floors I just stayed in the moment and I enjoyed my kids coming in & out of the house all day to give me hugs & kisses. I told them all week how much I loved them and how I was so lucky to have them in my life!

It's the little things .....

I have gotten hooked... on blog reading & I was thinking why dont i do my own? Its relaxing, theraputic, and a chance to enjoy my wonderful cup of coffee the craziness of my life w/ all our friends and family. It seems like life seems to pass my by and before i know it has been 3 months since i have been on here and so much as happened that its just to much to write. So i have decided to do just a little bit each day & see how i go.....

I was watching an episode of Oprah the other day and she had a lady on there who had been burned over 80% of her body during a plane crash. As they took us into her house and I saw the pictures of her before hand and video's of her and children & I guess what shocked me was how happy she was w/ her life now! Today she is not that picture model she was 3 years ago, but today she is a mother who doesn't take her life for granted she is not mad over the spilled drinks in the living room, the constant MOM MOM MOM MOM hey MOM!! She has been thru a horindeous ordeal, but yet as she sat on that couch talking to Oprah she said she would get back on that airplane knowing it would blow up. This experience changed her it made her take a step back and cherish the things i know i take for granted , like running thru the park w/ my boys or giving them a bath, Yet when they do say MOM MOM MOM hey MOM .... that isn't fingernails on the chaulk board it is the most sweatest thing coming out of the sweatest little boy that God gave me!

So as I sit here I feel guilty. I feel guilty for snapping @ my kids, or for telling them to just go to there room cause i have a headache or sitting there reading a book on the park bench when I should be pushing them on a swing or going down the slide. It all goes by so quick and yes we love our children and we are so thankful for them, but do we really appreciate them and what they have brought into our daily life?