Do Elephants Go To Heaven?

Today, the boys and I went to the zoo. It was a last minute decision but everything went great. Earlier this week Dylan told me we hadn't been to the zoo in a long time. We have Zoo Passes so it doesn't cost us any extra if we take our lunch. About 9:30 this morning I decided to go. We packed a lunch, went to the library for storytime, and then headed to the zoo. We arrived around 10:50 and got in quickly. I enjoy watching their reactions to each animal. Eli liked some of the monkeys that were moving around. He was very hesitant around the goats. When we got back to the elephants, Dylan and I started talking about baby elephants and he remembered that the last baby elephant at this zoo had died. So, he asked me if the elephant was in heaven. I said, No...only people can go to heaven. I continued on to say that not all people go to heaven. Only people who believe in Jesus go to heaven. Of course, it's hard to explain the whole truths to him at this time, so I just left it at that. He said, "I believe in Jesus, Mommy". I said, "I know honey, and I'll explain more as you get older."

This is just a sign of what my boys would miss out on if they never went to church, if their parents weren't believers, or if their grandparents weren't faithful Christians and teachers of The Word. For this reason and many others, I am again reminded to be thankful for the opportunity to attend church faithfully and to show my children a Solid foundation.

Eli's 1st Year Highlights

Babysitting

I had the privilege of babysitting two kids of a missionary family. The family is here for Candidate School. They have already been approved to be missionaries and are going to begin deputation to head to the field of Peru. Their kids were well behaved, played well with my children as well as together, ate good and had great attitudes. They have trained them well for the next few hard years of deputation and the many years of people's scrutiny as missionary kids.

Big Boy Bike!

Dylan is learning to ride on a real bike now. It, of course, has training wheels but it's a bike that can eventually just be two wheels and we're very excited for him. He came to me last Friday, one week ago, and said Mom I want to try to ride my big boy bike. We actually had tried earlier in the summer (probably like May) and his feet didn't quite reach the pedal when it was all the way down. Now, he can pedal great. He is still learning and falls occasionally but that's a natural part of learning and he gets back on to try again. That's the important part.

He's Walking!

How cool is that? I've been saying I really wanted Eli to walk by his first birthday. He would take a step here and there but on his birthday he would just get the courage to walk from one side of the room to the other. I'm not saying he's a full-time walker, yet...but he has really taken big strides this week. Earlier I was laying on my bed and he was giggling at himself as he walked from dresser to dresser and then to the bed. He was so proud of himself. His birthday party is Saturday. I'm looking forward to him showing off a little for all the visitors. We've got a big one planned. There will be 40+ with adults and kids counted if everyone is able to make it. I'm glad his birthday is in the summer where we can have an outdoor party. We're even going to roast marshmallows and make s'mores over a fire pit.