A Belated Merry Christmas to You!

This Man...

This man . . . is one of a kind.

This man . . . is a risk taker.

This man . . . is genuine and full of passion.

This man . . . is intelligent and thoughtful.

This man . . . is an innovative problem solver.

This man . . . is goofy and full of life.

This man . . . is a faithful worker and provider.

This man . . . is a father full of love for his child.

This man . . . is gentle, yet so bold.

This man . . . is full of grace and quick to extend it.

This man . . . is a warrior.

My sweetheart, my companion . . .

. . . my love!

As we celebrate our second anniversary (a few days late), all of the reasons I chose to marry this man come to mind. We jumped into marriage, knowing full well the challenges we would face, the sorrow and joy that would come, and the maturity that would be required to do it well.

And . . . we are learning.

We are learning through slow, difficult lessons that prove themselves to bring about the destruction of our pride and selfishness. As Paul wrote in Romans, 'I do the things I hate and do not do the things I should', so it is with me. Oh how I wish I would not be bull-headed and stubborn, showing through my words and attitudes disrespect and distrust. Oh how I wish I could say "I forgive" and truly forget the transgression in my heart. Oh how I wish I could give up my selfishness for the sake of our marriage. Oh how I wish I was not the "quarrelsome and fretful wife" when I allow control to compensate for my insecurities. Oh how I wish my salvation would be brought to completion to avoid the pain and the heartache I cause. Oh! how I wish . . .

But . . . we are learning through the joyful moments as well!

One thing I do know is that God is so much bigger than our marriage, our sin and the pain that it causes. I do know that there is forgiveness through Christ who died for our selfishness and pride. And for that, I AM THANKFUL!

I am thankful for this man who will stand beside me through my insecurities, pain, pride and selfishness... through my ugly sin. I am thankful for this man that faithfully goes to work each day knowing that the burden is on his shoulders alone. I am thankful for this man who chooses each day to work on our marriage and do his best to love me "as Christ loves the church" and to love our son with his whole heart. I am thankful for this man whom I deeply love!

Thank you to our parents for raising us in the knowledge of Christ and the discipline and love of a healthy marriage relationship. We are so blessed to have parents who are still together!!

THANK YOU, LORD!, for your MaNy blessings! May YOU be honored and glorified today!

[Note: Photo by Suzie Bauman @ lifeartphotots.blogspot.com. Thanks Suzie!]

A Belated Trick-or-Treat!

Happy Halloween, Mr. Monkey!

Eli's SuPer goofy (and SuPer fun!) cousins: Gilly, Spiderman, Darth Vader and Bumble Bee!

Rest assured, the cousins ate plenty of candy in Eli's honor!

Our little BOO!

Return of the SIX MONTH Baby!!

Alright, blogger world... it's about time for a new post! Since it has literally been AGES since our last visit, I will be heavy on the pictures and light on the writing. [... and there was much rejoicing!] :)

Eli celebrated his 1/2 birthday with a cold, recovering from 7 (yes, 7!) shots at the doctor's office. Grandpa Frank was in town and decided to brave the sickness and bring us lunch! Thanks Grandpa Frank! This is the only picture we got of him that day, but we think John Deere looks good on him!

Though more posts are to come, here is a pic of Eli doing his best to enjoy this fall season! Before daddy bagged all of the leaves (11+ bags to be exact!), we threw Eli in the pile and he wasn't quite sure what to think!

Happy Fall Everyone!

World News Today

Eli has found a new passion in life... CNN. For all of those who don't know his daddy very well, Scotty loves reading up on the world news and Eli is definitely following in his daddy's footsteps! (He got the clicking down and everything. Just don't tell Daddy about the drool!)

Enjoy a good laugh today... :)

Visiting Philadelphia

So back in July on our crazy trip, we also stopped in Philly and stayed with the Luzar family, Brandon, Elizabeth, Agnes, and Charlotte. Agnes was really excited about Baby Lijah coming to visit. She also called him Baby Jai-ah. Agnes is two and has awesome nicknaming superpowers. We also got to go to Nathan and Sabrina's wedding, which was awesome to see them again after leaving them on their own in Denver :( We miss them, and it was great to celebrate with them and remember our own wedding. They also had their reception at Swarthmore, so Eli got to see his Daddy's campus for the first time. (Not that he'll remember it). Of course, we had to take a family picture in front of the big Adirondack chair that started out as an art project the year before I went to Swarthmore and is now a campus landmark.

Agnes liked playing on the chair. If/when we have another kiddo, this is probably what a lot of our family pictures are going to look like.

(Anisha, fabulous job capturing the essence of our family! beautiful wife and children, goofy looking dad.)

Sleeping on the last airplane home after a race across, under, and through the Detroit airport to make a quick connection. What a trip! I think we finally recovered sometime in August. It is such a blessing to be able to travel to see family and friends. Mom has finally met everyone in Dad's extended family. And reconnecting with college buddies is just beyond words how much I enjoy it and treasure our short visits with folks like Brandon and Elizabeth, Jesse, Billy and Anisha, Nate and Sabrina (even though they were a bit busy :) ), and Nick Groh. We can't wait to see everyone again.

This is kinda scattered. daddy must be tired. and it's only tuesday. oh well.

New Picture

So even though Daddy didn't get a picture of Eli with Great Grammy Birney, Aunt Karen (Great Aunt Karen) did! yay for picture happy aunts! :) Eli likes having crazy, fun great aunts and uncles. He told us when we got home . . .

Lots of Catching up to do!!

So July turned out to be a crazy busy month for the three of us. We left for vacation (Eli posted a quick blog right before we left), had a great time introducing Elijah to both sides of Dad's extended family, met some friends in Lubbock and in Philly, and then came home to host Diana, Matt, and Jamie on their cross-country drive for their move from Boston to Albuquerque. Here are some quick pictures with more to come soon!

Technically, this was Eli's fifth flight from Austin to Philadelphia. (We flew from Omaha to St. Louis to Dallas to Lubbock, spent two nights in Lubbock, Lubbock to Austin to Philadelphia, and then Philadelphia to Detroit to Omaha to get home!! whew!)

The Birney Clan. now 20 people strong. I think.

The Hajj Clan. now 17 strong.

including Siti who couldn't make it to the beach.

The newest and smallest Birney family.

Our first trip to the beach, complete with toes in the water and everything.

Great-Poppy Scott got a chance to have some one on one time with Elijah.

Somehow Dad didn't get a picture of Great-Grammy with Eli, but she did get some time with him too!

We also got a chance to visit Siti (Great Grandma!) at Crosslands before coming home to Nebraska. She had a blast holding Eli, making faces, and getting great big smiles from the little guy in return!

Eli still has to meet Great Grandpa John and Great Grandma Charlotte (Mom's grandparents). We can't wait to see them. hopefully sooner rather than later.

What a blessing to have five Great Grandparents to love our son!

and we know that Jidu (Dad's Grandfather), Marge (Mom's Grandmother), and Kilbourne (Mom's Grandfather) are watching from heaven too! There is such a powerful legacy in the men and women of God that have come before our son and walked a path of righteousness and humility by the grace of our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ. As we learn what it means to raise Elijah Khalil up in the way of the Lord, we can look to his grandparents and great grandparents to guide our steps. God has blessed Stacy and I so much with families to look to and see His love, grace, and wisdom shining through their lives.

Leavin' on a Jet Plane...

Hey guys,

This is Eli. Mommy, Daddy, and I are all going on a trip today! I've been ready for ages, but the two of them are running around like crazy people trying to get things done. So, I thought I'd blog and tell all of my favorite people bon voyage (whatever that means...)!

We're headed to Omaha to stay in my first hotel room before we fly out, on my first plane trip, to TX. Daddy gets to be in one of his friend's wedding and dress up like a penguin--that should be pretty funny! Thanks Grandpa & Doonie Birney for letting us use your wheels and your house while you're gone. I'm excited to see it! Then on Sunday we're off flying to Philly where we will drive to Bethany Beach, DE to meet all of my relatives on Daddy's side. I've never stayed in a house with 20 people in it-- I hope I don't have to share my crib with any big kids! After that, we head back to Philly to see my Great Grandma Sitti (Penny) and then another wedding at Swarthmore (Daddy's school)! What a blessing to be able to see all of my family at once! Thank you, Jesus, for making planes so that I don't have to sit in that dreaded car seat too long!

I'll be sure that Mommy posts lots of pictures of all my "firsts" when we get home. Mommy says she's ready now, so I'll leave you with a picture of yours truly, all ready for my adventure!

Don't mind my misshapen head. It's the mirror... I promise!

Love you... EKB

Strike a Pose

Presenting [drum roll please].............

The... Mohawk!!!!

I just love this little man to pieces! What a hunk! ;)

Love to those who read our blog--

ss & e

Belated Birthday Bash: Take 2

Though my quarter-of-a-century birthday was over a month ago (time really does fly!), I thought I would post a few pictures of my first bday as a new mommy! Since Scotty and I were born only six days apart, it makes for one long birthday celebration. Happy Belated Birthday to all of you May babies!

Since Scott had to work on my bday, I packed Eli up and headed out to the farm for some entertainment. When evening came, I headed home to spend time with Scott and was greeted by visitors!! Scott surprised me with a bbq with friends at our place, followed by dessert with more friends. Thanks to all for making my bday great!

I was informed to be at home for an 11am delivery. What could it be but a beautiful bouquet of flowers from Kearney Floral! Very unique and quite gorgeous! Here are some creative pics of the arrangement...

I hate to admit, but we didn't get any pictures of the actual birthday until right before bed! I'm getting in some Eli time before we hit the sack. :)

Though he doesn't look particularly pleased, mommy loves Eli kisses! What a birthday treat to have such a precious little gift from God!Here's to another year of life!

One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.

Ps. 27:4

Belated Birthday Bash

Alright folks, we're officially back to the blogging world. Though I'm confident we will slack off on our blogging duties in the future, it is now time to show you what we've been up to in the past few weeks. With mommy's day, graduations, birthdays, anniversaries, moving day, and many sleepless nights all in the span of a month (a bit more), we've been busy! That said, we will make it easy on ourselves and you by recapping the month in pictures.

Scotty's birthday was on Wednesday the 20th and oh boy, how exciting birthdays get when you're not a kid anymore! :) Scott celebrated the day by working, but was showered with food (that's as creative as I get) in celebration of turning a quarter of a century.

We started off the day by eating Scott's favorite breakfast, maneesh on Grand's biscuits. [And for the 99% of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, maneesh is an Arabic breakfast consisting of zaatar (a paste made of olive oil, thyme, oregano, and seasame seeds) traditionally on arabic or pita bread (we cheated and Americanized it!) topped off with labneh (strained yogurt). Trust me, it's great!] Lunch followed by a surprise trip to the Grand Island Sonic, and then a surprise gourmet supper made by yours truly! Because I am still a country girl at heart, what else could I fix my hubby but steak and potatoes! :)

Alright, here come the promised pics. Buckle up and here we go:

Here is a pic of a full Scotty and a hungry Eli. Who would have ever thought we'd have a 3 week old when we turned 25!!

And just so you don't get the impression Scott is getting boring in his old age, here is his classic face to prove it:

Eli got his first bottle on daddy's birthday and daddy got his first chance at feeding his little man!

[Note: Mommy has no time to figure out the art of picture rotation. sorry!]
Success!! Eli seems to eat like his father... quick and with some burping involved.
Eli was soooo excited--what expression for a 3 week old. Or maybe just a strong startle reflex...

The new addition to our family since dad's last birthday. Scott, you are an amazing man, husband, and father whose love and character continues to mature and affect those around you. I wouldn't trade you for anything and can't wait to do another year with you! Love you...

Bath time!!

Mommy recorded some of bath time today with Elijah.

"You're gonna do what?!? Bath time?!? ummmm . . . I don't know about that."

"I'm not so sure about this bath thing"

"Yea, I'm pretty sure I don't like bath time"

(OK, so this picture is from earlier,

but mommy was a little busy with a crying baby to take pictures of him)

"I guess that wasn't too bad. This robe is warm and fuzzy . . . zzzzzz"

"Do I smell clean, mommy?"

Clean baby, clean diaper, back to his nap. That's my boy. :)

Celebrating Mother's Day

I think Elijah is going to be a great son.

Reason #1: He came in time for Mommy to celebrate her very first Mother's Day!

We were so excited to celebrate Mother's Day that Daddy forgot to take any pictures until the evening. But here are two of the pictures from the evening celebration with the Hadley Family.

Here she is. The prettiest mommy ever (according to her boys). Can you tell that she is happy to be a mom?

Here she is with both of her boys. Our little family. What a blessing from God.

I am so blessed to be married to such an amazing woman of God. She continually amazes me with her energy (even when she's exhausted), her compassion, and her ability to keep her husband from embarrassing himself too often. I believe that it is one of the greatest joys that I will have in my life to watch my wife become a mother and give so much of herself to our son. She is truly an awesome woman.

Visiting the Farm

Last Wednesday, the last day before Dad went back to work, we visited the Hadley farm for the first time. It was a beautiful Nebraska spring day, and we had a wonderful time hanging out with the family. Played a little baseball and helped the guys out in the shop.

Little cousin Aldyn showcasing her grandparents' beautiful lawn.

Carter and Uncle Scott playing a little baseball.

Uncle Mike and Elijah checking out the shop at the farm.

A little guy time in the shop with dad.

He's a good little stretcher . . .

Relaxing at Grandma's house.

We sure have a lot of fun visiting the farm. One of many visits to come for Elijah as I'm sure that pretty soon he will think the farm is much better than being at his boring home with mom and dad. :) It was great to take some time off of work and be with Mommy and Eli for a few days. Even though I'm back at work now, we still get to have family time every night. It's amazing how much both Stacy and I crave that time to just hold the little guy and thank God for His little miracle.