Yesterday we went shopping. Big ticket!! We bought a new Subaru Forrester. It is so nice. Eli has been telling people you can put a hole in the roof!!
Too funny- when we went looking the first time, Eli said he wanted a balloon. Yellow is his favorite color. Guess which vehicle was the only one with a yellow balloon on it?? hehe
More pics to come, once I find out how to transfer pics from my iphone...
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Palm Sunday
Tim sang beautifully in our cantata today. We were able to break for a minute and get a snap shot together between services. It was nice he sang- it meant he was here today- and then back to work tonight- but we got to have a little breakfast and lunch together. Whooo Hooo!! We are so thankful for any extra time with Daddy!!
Here we are
I have several more posts I am working on- but can not get the pics to load- so, sometime soon, scroll back and view the happenings over the last 2 months :)
Blessings and May you all have a WONDERFUL EASTER!!
Easter Sunday- We went in a little early, and Eli got his picture with Papaw!! He picked out the suit at the store all by himself... He said, I want to get a suit to look just like Daddy!!
Eli and Papaw
Then we got a pic with Papa, who had gone in early to sing.
Happy Easter!! Love, the Swingle family!!
Here we are
I have several more posts I am working on- but can not get the pics to load- so, sometime soon, scroll back and view the happenings over the last 2 months :)
Blessings and May you all have a WONDERFUL EASTER!!
Easter Sunday- We went in a little early, and Eli got his picture with Papaw!! He picked out the suit at the store all by himself... He said, I want to get a suit to look just like Daddy!!
Eli and Papaw
Then we got a pic with Papa, who had gone in early to sing.
Happy Easter!! Love, the Swingle family!!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Subaru vs Deer
There once was a big boy named Daddy. One day when he was driving to work, at Newton, he hit a bump. When he got out, he saw it was a deer, and the car was jacked up.
The adjuster came and looked at the car, and said he could not get a new car, because he had to get it fixed.
So is how the tale is told by Eli, of the day that the Subaru was side tracked by the deer. Or maybe side smashed, no, hmmmm, well- you can determine that.....
Thankfully, no damage was done to Daddy!!
I do chuckle, because every time we see the deer crossing signs on the road, Eli begins the tale told above, with few deviations.
We had to wait a long time for the adjuster to show up yesterday. "I'll be there around 1- probably quarter till" turned into around 2, maybe quarter til 2. But what blessings God has for us when we least expect it.Eli and I arrived at about 20 til 1. As we were sitting there in the truck, next to the damaged vehicle (Tim had left it at the Fire Department where he worked the day the car tangoed with a deer) the terribly gray clouds and rain we had dealt with all morning, gave way to big, picture worthy clouds, bright sunshine streaming down, a gently breeze wafting through the open windows of the truck, birds singing cheerfully all around and such a wonderful Spring feeling.
Sitting behind the wheel, with the book propped up on the steering wheel, we finished our library books we were going to return while we were out and about. Then we began to notice the thwack thwack of a helicopter. It got continually louder, until finally, Eli leaned over toward the window and said, "Mommy, look!!! The helicopter!!"
It landed at the helipad the department had installed a few years earlier when working with Medflight. 
It needed to refuel, and had been able to land there rather than flying further into town for another helipad.
Oh the excitement!! As we were standing there watching the blades slow down, the alarm went off at the fire station and we watch the medic, with all the bells and whistles, tear out of the garage and speed down the road.
The Chief of the helicopter is one of those wonderful child friendly folks, who love to watch the wonder unfold in the faces of children. He came over and told us once they were done refueling, Eli could sit in the cab, if he wanted to......
His face says it all....
The adjuster showed up just as we were ready to sit in the cab. So, we let him know we'd be right over once Eli got to sit in the cab. What a wonderful day!
On our way home, we got to meet with the woman who will be watching Eli for me on the Wednesdays that Tim works. We all hit it off very well, and I think all three of us are looking forward to the next day that Eli will be going to visit with his new friend.
The adjuster came and looked at the car, and said he could not get a new car, because he had to get it fixed.
So is how the tale is told by Eli, of the day that the Subaru was side tracked by the deer. Or maybe side smashed, no, hmmmm, well- you can determine that.....
Thankfully, no damage was done to Daddy!!
I do chuckle, because every time we see the deer crossing signs on the road, Eli begins the tale told above, with few deviations.
We had to wait a long time for the adjuster to show up yesterday. "I'll be there around 1- probably quarter till" turned into around 2, maybe quarter til 2. But what blessings God has for us when we least expect it.Eli and I arrived at about 20 til 1. As we were sitting there in the truck, next to the damaged vehicle (Tim had left it at the Fire Department where he worked the day the car tangoed with a deer) the terribly gray clouds and rain we had dealt with all morning, gave way to big, picture worthy clouds, bright sunshine streaming down, a gently breeze wafting through the open windows of the truck, birds singing cheerfully all around and such a wonderful Spring feeling.
Sitting behind the wheel, with the book propped up on the steering wheel, we finished our library books we were going to return while we were out and about. Then we began to notice the thwack thwack of a helicopter. It got continually louder, until finally, Eli leaned over toward the window and said, "Mommy, look!!! The helicopter!!"
It landed at the helipad the department had installed a few years earlier when working with Medflight. 
It needed to refuel, and had been able to land there rather than flying further into town for another helipad.
Oh the excitement!! As we were standing there watching the blades slow down, the alarm went off at the fire station and we watch the medic, with all the bells and whistles, tear out of the garage and speed down the road.
The Chief of the helicopter is one of those wonderful child friendly folks, who love to watch the wonder unfold in the faces of children. He came over and told us once they were done refueling, Eli could sit in the cab, if he wanted to......
His face says it all....The adjuster showed up just as we were ready to sit in the cab. So, we let him know we'd be right over once Eli got to sit in the cab. What a wonderful day!
On our way home, we got to meet with the woman who will be watching Eli for me on the Wednesdays that Tim works. We all hit it off very well, and I think all three of us are looking forward to the next day that Eli will be going to visit with his new friend.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Gotcha Day
Gotcha Day
Wow- what a day in our lives- the day we celebrate becoming a family. Our first day as parents. As Eli has been saying- the day we got married.
So, here are the last few years of gotcha days:
I love this painting. I have had it hanging on my fridge since we first started thinking about our son. Still there :)
Just found this pic- this is how I imagined Eli until we met him. I prayed and prayed that God would hold him close!
This was our first picture of Eli- not quite gotcha day- but our first view of him, none the less.
Our first few minutes as Eli's parents, just before we left the baby home to start our new lives together.
Last year, we had Eli dedicated on Gotcha Day. It was such a special day to be able to dedicate Eli to God.
This year gotcha day was a combo celebration- we celebrated at Tim's family get together along with Mamaw's birthday, and had our own little celebration the next day as a family- have that video on my new iphone- hopefully will be able to share soon- anyone know how to get pics and videos from iphone to laptop?
Thank you, God, for the amazing things you did to bring our family together!! We celebrate so much today!!
Wow- what a day in our lives- the day we celebrate becoming a family. Our first day as parents. As Eli has been saying- the day we got married.
So, here are the last few years of gotcha days:
I love this painting. I have had it hanging on my fridge since we first started thinking about our son. Still there :)
Just found this pic- this is how I imagined Eli until we met him. I prayed and prayed that God would hold him close!
This was our first picture of Eli- not quite gotcha day- but our first view of him, none the less.
Our first few minutes as Eli's parents, just before we left the baby home to start our new lives together.
Last year, we had Eli dedicated on Gotcha Day. It was such a special day to be able to dedicate Eli to God.
This year gotcha day was a combo celebration- we celebrated at Tim's family get together along with Mamaw's birthday, and had our own little celebration the next day as a family- have that video on my new iphone- hopefully will be able to share soon- anyone know how to get pics and videos from iphone to laptop?Thank you, God, for the amazing things you did to bring our family together!! We celebrate so much today!!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
February
Eli practiced with his camera he got for Christmas quite a bit. Here I captured him with his Daddy at work. Not bad for a little camera :)
Just a bit over exposed....
Grammalot's birthday was Feb 17, so Eli got her card all ready. What a great job he did- all by himself!!
I got a pic of it,and then decided I needed to capture him with the card, too!
Eli, holding Grammalot's card.
It was a cold and snowy Feb. Thanks again Jim, for trading Saturdays with me- the 15 inches of snow we got overnight made travel impossible to go to work that weekend. Eli was a great help, too, helping to push the snow blower.
Beautiful- thou hard to hit the playset :)
We left all the snow behind and headed out to St Croix. What a time- we celebrated our 10th anniversary, and had friends that wanted to come with us. Our friend Kristen, a professional photographer, did some beach shots for us to commemorate the occasion. Little did she know what was in store for her that week :)
Here she is catching our photos as the sun was sinking down into the horizon.
Eli has started doing this with his camera, too. He takes a pic and then comes over and shows the pic to us.
Notice anything on that hand??? The surprise was amazing as John sang Kristen a beautiful song, declared his love and they agreed to be married. What a day!! and it wasn't ruined at all when Eli ran up, in the middle of the declaration of love, asking loudly if they wanted any hand sanitizer :)
Here Eli is, ready to head out to the pool with the pool toys we brought. He loved the water this year- the pool water. The ocean was still a bit to "big" for him.
I was so impressed with his snorkeling ablility!! He swam around for a few minutes with Tim,talking to us through the snorkel the whole time :)
This is one of my favorite pics from this year. Tim and Eli holding hands, walking along the beach.
Wednesday morning, we had plans to go to Christianstead with everyone to see the sites and while we went to the fort,they were going to look for souvenirs to take home. We had very spotty internet service at the room. That morning, however, Tim was able to get an email from our pastor.
He had been scheduled to go to Haiti on a mission trip on Jan 16. That trip, of course, was canceled due to the massive earthquake that all but destroyed much of Haiti on the 11th. Our crew was so disappointed to not be able to get there and help. We "knew"they wouldn't be able to get us back there very soon, since the airport was in such shambles.
Imagine Tim's surprise, regret, dismay, disbelief and overwhelmingly sad disappointment to find that our missionary had called the night before and wanted our team there that weekend- before we were scheduled to return. Ah- my heart was breaking for him, I knew how much he longed to go and help. But, he put on a happy face and we finished getting ready to go and met up with our friends and headed out.
Surprisingly enough, our phones have service on the South side of the island. So, once we got over the mountain to the other side of the island, Tim's phone starts dinging like mad as it received all his voice messages from the last few days. One was from his brother, Jeff, saying only call me as soon as you receive this message.
So, as we were driving down the road in the tropical lushness of St Croix, Tim learned that his Aunt had gone out looking for his uncle after he had been gone too long plowing snow, only to find he had passed away. At only 56 years old, it came as a shock to everyone. We were sitting there reeling with the news, not knowing what to do.
We went through our day, kinda numb, wanting to enjoy our beautiful surroundings, trying to figure out how to deal with these conflicting emotions.
Over the next 2 days we tried to find a way to get home early for the funeral on Monday. Tim wanted to be there with his family in such a bad way!!! Unfortunately, it would have cost $750 per ticket for us to fly home 1 day early. We spent a while on the phone with family, who assured us they understood we couldn't be there for the funeral. We finally concluded we could be there for afterwards- when the numbness starts to wear off.
The weather was beautiful!! Hot, sunny and wonderful- what a break from the feet of snow and no electricity we left behind!!
We toured around the fort in Ft Christianstead. Amazing to see the places people lived.
Eli liked the cannon!
The town Gazebo was dubbed the Merry-go-round without horses by Eli.
We all went out to dinner at Cheeseburgers in Paradise, enjoying food and getting to know new friends. Along with Kristen and John, John's 2 sisters, Beth and Faith were with us. What a fun time we had. Our server, after taking our pic, found out that we wanted to find the tide pools a few miles from our resort. He offered to take us the next day. So, on our 10th anniversary,we were able to do something we'd never done-and what an amazing day it was!!
Tim had just completed the P90X program. We sure were glad!!
He carried Eli almost the whole way on his shoulders!!
We all had fun on the hike. It was so beautiful, and a part of St Croix we have never seen before!
The tide pools are down at the far right end of the photo- just before the outcropping of the hill.
It was B E A utiful!! I could have spent a whole day there!
Some more pics from Eli's camera.
Mommy and Daddy :)
Kristen, John and Faith through the eyes of Eli....
Our four friends!!
The happy Newly engaged couple!
Every morning, Eli would wake with the sun (around 6:30!!) yelling- it's light out, waking up time, Mommy and Daddy, and then launch himself into bed with us. Ahhh, the excitement of youth- if only we could capture it and retain it always!~
The last morning we were there, Tim and Eli played in the sand by the beach (love the palm trees on the beach) while we went snorkeling. It was fun to be able to get out and explore underwater a little bit. Kinda completed the vacation for me :)
We did our formal pics then- here I captured the boys dressing. I'll have more pics to post soon- just waiting on the final disc of pics from the week.
Eli captured Kristen as she was shooting our photos.
Then he came and got us between shots :)
He learned to say bouganvillia- the name of the flower- while we were down there- here he is saying that on the plane on the way home:)
We arrived home in Columbus to several inches of freshly fallen snow. I am amazed the plane was able to land!! We had to get a taxi to get back to our hotel.
Eli fell asleep as we were taxiing into the airport. I carried him out of the plane, where we saw a wheelchair waiting, and no one that needed it- so we put him in the chair, and used it to push over to the baggage claim. We had our sweatshirts only- thinking we'd be stepping right into the van from the hotel. We ended up waiting outside in line for about 1/2 hour for a taxi- there were so many others lined up.
I had Eli under my sweatshirt, his head sticking out, hood over his head. We finally got a cab and arrived at the hotel. What an experience that ride was!! We arrived at the hotel about 11:30. We got up to our room and I laid Eli down on the bed. That is when he woke up.... :)
We ended up staying overnight due to the road conditions.
Notice anything amiss?
Eli kept running out the door after he woke up- he wanted to go swimming- not realizing that the pool wasn't open. Our door lock wasn't very effective, eh?
We got home the next morning- but couldn't make it up the drive way- so much more snow had fallen.
So, from one paradise to the next- we went from sand to snow. After a few hours, we were able to get up to the garage :)
This is the view out our front door. WOW!!
A friend of mine had given Eli and me a Gingerbread house kit. We decided to make a valentines house. Chey and Wes came up and we made it all together. We had some icing left over, so we decorated the kids,too :)
Chey
Eli
Wes
Valentine's house front view
Valentines house back view.
Then we all went to Papa's work, sharing our gingerbread house with the guys and eating pizza with them. Sat is pizza day at work- they make it from scratch- yum!!
Then, of course, the kids went down the pole- well,the boys did:)
Wes coming down the pole
Wow!! What a look!!
Then Eli and Daddy came down the pole.
They got a tour of the back of a medic...and got to sit in the back of the fire engine. Good times!!
Eli had his first cleaning in the big room. He was so still and did just what they asked him to.
I was so proud of him. He made it into the "no cavity club"
The month passed so quickly!!
Just a bit over exposed....Grammalot's birthday was Feb 17, so Eli got her card all ready. What a great job he did- all by himself!!
I got a pic of it,and then decided I needed to capture him with the card, too!
Eli, holding Grammalot's card.
It was a cold and snowy Feb. Thanks again Jim, for trading Saturdays with me- the 15 inches of snow we got overnight made travel impossible to go to work that weekend. Eli was a great help, too, helping to push the snow blower.
Beautiful- thou hard to hit the playset :)We left all the snow behind and headed out to St Croix. What a time- we celebrated our 10th anniversary, and had friends that wanted to come with us. Our friend Kristen, a professional photographer, did some beach shots for us to commemorate the occasion. Little did she know what was in store for her that week :)
Here she is catching our photos as the sun was sinking down into the horizon.
Eli has started doing this with his camera, too. He takes a pic and then comes over and shows the pic to us.
Notice anything on that hand??? The surprise was amazing as John sang Kristen a beautiful song, declared his love and they agreed to be married. What a day!! and it wasn't ruined at all when Eli ran up, in the middle of the declaration of love, asking loudly if they wanted any hand sanitizer :)
Here Eli is, ready to head out to the pool with the pool toys we brought. He loved the water this year- the pool water. The ocean was still a bit to "big" for him.
I was so impressed with his snorkeling ablility!! He swam around for a few minutes with Tim,talking to us through the snorkel the whole time :)
This is one of my favorite pics from this year. Tim and Eli holding hands, walking along the beach.Wednesday morning, we had plans to go to Christianstead with everyone to see the sites and while we went to the fort,they were going to look for souvenirs to take home. We had very spotty internet service at the room. That morning, however, Tim was able to get an email from our pastor.
He had been scheduled to go to Haiti on a mission trip on Jan 16. That trip, of course, was canceled due to the massive earthquake that all but destroyed much of Haiti on the 11th. Our crew was so disappointed to not be able to get there and help. We "knew"they wouldn't be able to get us back there very soon, since the airport was in such shambles.
Imagine Tim's surprise, regret, dismay, disbelief and overwhelmingly sad disappointment to find that our missionary had called the night before and wanted our team there that weekend- before we were scheduled to return. Ah- my heart was breaking for him, I knew how much he longed to go and help. But, he put on a happy face and we finished getting ready to go and met up with our friends and headed out.
Surprisingly enough, our phones have service on the South side of the island. So, once we got over the mountain to the other side of the island, Tim's phone starts dinging like mad as it received all his voice messages from the last few days. One was from his brother, Jeff, saying only call me as soon as you receive this message.
So, as we were driving down the road in the tropical lushness of St Croix, Tim learned that his Aunt had gone out looking for his uncle after he had been gone too long plowing snow, only to find he had passed away. At only 56 years old, it came as a shock to everyone. We were sitting there reeling with the news, not knowing what to do.
We went through our day, kinda numb, wanting to enjoy our beautiful surroundings, trying to figure out how to deal with these conflicting emotions.
Over the next 2 days we tried to find a way to get home early for the funeral on Monday. Tim wanted to be there with his family in such a bad way!!! Unfortunately, it would have cost $750 per ticket for us to fly home 1 day early. We spent a while on the phone with family, who assured us they understood we couldn't be there for the funeral. We finally concluded we could be there for afterwards- when the numbness starts to wear off.
The weather was beautiful!! Hot, sunny and wonderful- what a break from the feet of snow and no electricity we left behind!!
We toured around the fort in Ft Christianstead. Amazing to see the places people lived.
Eli liked the cannon!
The town Gazebo was dubbed the Merry-go-round without horses by Eli.
We all went out to dinner at Cheeseburgers in Paradise, enjoying food and getting to know new friends. Along with Kristen and John, John's 2 sisters, Beth and Faith were with us. What a fun time we had. Our server, after taking our pic, found out that we wanted to find the tide pools a few miles from our resort. He offered to take us the next day. So, on our 10th anniversary,we were able to do something we'd never done-and what an amazing day it was!!Tim had just completed the P90X program. We sure were glad!!
He carried Eli almost the whole way on his shoulders!!
We all had fun on the hike. It was so beautiful, and a part of St Croix we have never seen before!
The tide pools are down at the far right end of the photo- just before the outcropping of the hill.
It was B E A utiful!! I could have spent a whole day there!
Some more pics from Eli's camera.
Mommy and Daddy :)
Kristen, John and Faith through the eyes of Eli....
Our four friends!!
The happy Newly engaged couple!
Every morning, Eli would wake with the sun (around 6:30!!) yelling- it's light out, waking up time, Mommy and Daddy, and then launch himself into bed with us. Ahhh, the excitement of youth- if only we could capture it and retain it always!~
The last morning we were there, Tim and Eli played in the sand by the beach (love the palm trees on the beach) while we went snorkeling. It was fun to be able to get out and explore underwater a little bit. Kinda completed the vacation for me :)
We did our formal pics then- here I captured the boys dressing. I'll have more pics to post soon- just waiting on the final disc of pics from the week.
Eli captured Kristen as she was shooting our photos.
Then he came and got us between shots :)
He learned to say bouganvillia- the name of the flower- while we were down there- here he is saying that on the plane on the way home:)We arrived home in Columbus to several inches of freshly fallen snow. I am amazed the plane was able to land!! We had to get a taxi to get back to our hotel.
Eli fell asleep as we were taxiing into the airport. I carried him out of the plane, where we saw a wheelchair waiting, and no one that needed it- so we put him in the chair, and used it to push over to the baggage claim. We had our sweatshirts only- thinking we'd be stepping right into the van from the hotel. We ended up waiting outside in line for about 1/2 hour for a taxi- there were so many others lined up.
I had Eli under my sweatshirt, his head sticking out, hood over his head. We finally got a cab and arrived at the hotel. What an experience that ride was!! We arrived at the hotel about 11:30. We got up to our room and I laid Eli down on the bed. That is when he woke up.... :)
We ended up staying overnight due to the road conditions.
Notice anything amiss?
Eli kept running out the door after he woke up- he wanted to go swimming- not realizing that the pool wasn't open. Our door lock wasn't very effective, eh?
We got home the next morning- but couldn't make it up the drive way- so much more snow had fallen.
So, from one paradise to the next- we went from sand to snow. After a few hours, we were able to get up to the garage :)
This is the view out our front door. WOW!!A friend of mine had given Eli and me a Gingerbread house kit. We decided to make a valentines house. Chey and Wes came up and we made it all together. We had some icing left over, so we decorated the kids,too :)
Chey
Eli
Wes
Valentine's house front view
Valentines house back view.Then we all went to Papa's work, sharing our gingerbread house with the guys and eating pizza with them. Sat is pizza day at work- they make it from scratch- yum!!
Then, of course, the kids went down the pole- well,the boys did:)
Wes coming down the pole
Wow!! What a look!!
Then Eli and Daddy came down the pole.
They got a tour of the back of a medic...and got to sit in the back of the fire engine. Good times!!
Eli had his first cleaning in the big room. He was so still and did just what they asked him to.
I was so proud of him. He made it into the "no cavity club"The month passed so quickly!!
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