Our Fourth E-Man in the Family

The biggest surprise/change in our family came on July 7 when we adopted our new puppy, Eli, into our family! We had no idea that morning that we would have a new puppy that evening! It was a strange turn of events.

I took Evan to swimming lessons at the Cain Center that evening and went to Weight Watchers while he was in his lessons. One of the ladies from our Monday night Bible study, Anna, was at WW that evening. After the meeting, she was telling me how Mandy Hancock, a mutual friend, teacher at Malakoff, and member of our church, was trying to get her to take one of their little puppies. She kept telling me how this puppy would be perfect for our family. I told her how we lost Jake a few months ago, but that we weren't quite ready for a new puppy yet. Before I knew it, she called Mandy and told her she had someone to take one of her puppies! I told her that I would have to talk to Eric. Then, Evan came up the stairs from swimming and she started telling him all about the puppies...they are half dachshund and half rat terrier. He was so excited but we knew it would be Daddy that we would have to convince. When we got home and talked to him about it, he said we could go to the Hancock's and look but we would NOT be bringing a puppy home!

Well, needless to say, that did not last! As soon as we got there, we all picked up a puppy. They were so cuddly and cute! Eric was "whooped!" We told Mandy that we were going on vacation at the end of the month, so we couldn't get a puppy until after that. She said if we'd take him that night, they would babysit while we were on vacation! Eric and Evan were thrilled! I wasn't quite ready for the challenge, but I was outvoted! A puppy is a lot of work! So...now I'm trying to potty train two boys...Ethan AND Eli!

All the way home, we were trying to think of names. Evan wanted to name him, E-man, but Eric would not hear of that! He said there was no way he was going to take him to the vet and say, "Here's E-man!" So we started brainstorming more E-names...we couldn't break the cycle of E-names for the boys in our family. Someone thought of Eli and it was perfect! So our little rascal Eli is now a Beechem! He really is quite cuddly and cute, but I'm ready for the puppy stage to be over already!

Eli loves to chase Ethan around the backyard while Ethan pushes the spreader.

Caleb took to Eli very quickly!

And Eli took to Mauri even quicker!

Ethan doesn't really like Eli to chase him...but Eli doesn't really care!

Evan is a great "big brother!" He is really good about feeding Eli, taking him out, and cleaning up his messes! He gripes a little, but he does it! I guess that's the way it goes for a 10-year old!

So...the Beechem house is full of life and quite a few messes right now. That's ok. We wouldn't know life any other way!

Memory Verses #13 - #14

OK, I haven't posted anything in a few weeks...I think about it often but don't take the time to sit down and write. I get so distracted when I start working on this blog...I start reading other blogs for inspiration and then look at the clock and realize I've sat at the computer for over an hour! Then I start feeling guilty for wasting so much time...so then I start boycotting the internet...Oh well. I better get this typed before I waste another hour. :)

My memory verses for July...

Colossians 3:12-14
"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

I'm so thankful for Beth Moore giving us the challenge of memorizing 2 verses per month for the year! It holds me accountable. And I've enjoyed finding verses that apply to my life every few weeks. It's amazing what God has brought to my attention when I need to work on something!

Last week, I drove to Texarkana with Ethan and practiced all 14 verses all the way there and back (except when I was on the phone)! I love Beth Moore's idea of the notecard spiral because I can take it wherever I go. I just glanced at the verse "address" and then said the verse out loud and would glance at my notecard if I needed help. This was a great way to pass the time on the 3-hour drive all by myself. (Yes, I know Ethan was in the back seat but he wasn't much conversation. Actually, he took a long nap both ways!)

Our Week in Texarkana

Last week, Evan, Ethan, and I drove (well, I drove...they rode) to Texarkana on Father's Day afternoon. We decided to split our time between both fathers...we spent the morning with Eric (Daddy), went to church, and made lunch for him. Then, we left about 2:30 and drove straight to Texarkana to go to night church with PawPaw and Grammy! It was only the 2nd time I've driven the whole way by myself, and we made it just fine! We were planning to stay until Wednesday, but both of the boys were having such a great time at VBS at Nash FBC that we decided to stay an extra day. I was also enjoying visiting and scrapbooking, so I didn't mind either! And Eric really didn't mind being alone...I think he enjoyed the break.

So...here are the top 3 things that Evan and Ethan enjoyed doing throughout the week:

1. Going to VBS at Nash.
Each morning, Dad and I loaded up the van with my boys, Kevin & Ami's foster child, Lilliana, and 4-6 kids from Mom's daycare. I had 4 car seats in my van for the week! (I was thinking this is what it would be like to have quadruplets! I think it might be fun for a few days, but every single day would probably get really stressful!) It was fun taking the little kids to Bible School...I'm sure some of them never get to go to church. Although Ethan won't be 3 for a few more months, his teacher, Vicki, said it would be fine for him to go! He had a blast (as you can see from the pictures).

It was nice visiting with everyone at Nash! It's hard to believe it's already been a year since we moved! We felt very welcome! Evan enjoyed seeing his buddies too! We had our VBS at Malakoff just a few weeks before, but Evan didn't care. He LOVES going to Bible School!

Ethan and Lilliana...I was trying to get them to make a cute pose, but you can see by the smirk on Ethan's face, it was not going to happen!

This is one of the huge decorations that they had in the church! Lilliana loved walking up and down the train tracks!

Ethan enjoyed playing with the net more than he did playing the soccer game.

Snack time is always fun!Ethan loves singing and doing all the motions. He really pays attention and tries to mimick Mrs. Vicki!

This is my favorite picture! They were praying for their snack! How cute is he???

2. Going to Game Xchange...several times! Evan LOVES this store and says that is his dream job--to work at Game Xchange! He never buys much...he just loves to look and talk to the workers. And PawPaw doesn't mind taking him. He and Ethan have fun looking around too.

3. Going to McDonald's...almost every day! McDonald's is PawPaw's FAVORITE place to eat and he has passed that down to all of the men in the family! My 34-year-old brother still loves it too! And now Ethan and Evan think PawPaw should take them there every day we go to visit! (And he usually does.) Ethan now calls it "Mac-A-Donald's." It's so cute!

Now, here's how I spent a great portion of the week...SCRAPBOOKING! I was determined to start and finish Ethan's 7x7 ABC Album. I made one for Evan when he was little, so I had to make one for Ethan. I spent ALL day on Monday with my friend, Sandy Olson. She invited me to come to her house and have a scrapbooking marathon. I haven't gotten to do that in well over a year! It was so much fun to create this book! I finally finished it right before we left on Thursday! I have some pictures of a few pages here:

Well, that about sums up the week. We had such a great time relaxing and visiting with Mom and Dad...eating out some and shopping a little. We had a good time visiting with the rest of the family too! It was nice just to not have to rush so much too. I just love summer time (well, except for the heat).