Baltimore Running Festival and Youth Sunday

Sorry it's been a while since I've written.  Our internet has been moving slowly, and it won't allow me to upload all of these photos!

Lil' E has had an action-packed last couple of weeks!  From visitors to running to spending several hours at church...it has been non-stop.  We are so thankful that he is flexible with us.   Joe Ella Darby, a dear friend of Eli's from the University of Tennessee, came to visit us.  I say that she is a dear friend of Eli's, but Eli says that I have stolen her from him because Joe Ella and I hit it off like we've known each other for years.  I just love her so much!  As an aside, Joe has 9 brothers and sisters (and they're all from the same two parents)--so she knows how to handle a baby!  She's also from West Tennessee like my daddy.

Early on Saturday morning, Oct. 11, Eli and I got ready to run in the Baltimore Running Festival.  Our church used the Running Festival as an opportunity to raise funds for our Christian School and our non-profit that provides one-on-one tutoring, sports leagues, and community advocacy to people in our neighborhood.  (By the way, Eli and I both ran in the event, and we are STILL LOOKING FOR SPONSORS, so if you want to sponsor us, you can make a check out to Faith Urban Works and mail it to me--it is 100% tax-deductible--but no worries if you forget, we will send you a letter).  Eli was on a relay for the marathon where he was slotted to run 6.8 miles.  Anybody who knows my husband knows that he is super competitive, but he hadn't trained in two weeks for this race because of pulled muscles.  We weren't quite sure he was going to make it!  I told him to make sure he filled out the medical information on the back of his race number just in case!  Well, to make a long story short (I am sure that Eli will tell this one for years to come), Eli and his relay team beat the other two relay teams at our church...but one of the girls on the other relay team passed him about 3.5 miles in and tapped him on the shoulder.  He couldn't believe how fast she was going!   He said that she was the Road Runner and that he was Wylie Coyote (long story).  He finished the race and ran pretty fast, but he was exhausted afterwards.  

And, yes, I ran the 5K--I ran faster than I thought I would...but I wish that I could have run 7 minute miles.  I ended up running 8.10 minute miles.  Well, let me tell you that having a baby changes everything!  Emily and I were supposed to train together, but I didn't have the strength to wake up at 6:45 every morning and run because I was waking every 2-3 hours with Emmanuel.  As a matter of fact, the night before the race, I woke at 2, 3, and 4AM and finally decided that I might as well get up.  I guess it's not the smartest thing to do (running in a race while you are sleep deprived), but it was fun...God had mercy on both Eli and me by allowing us to finish the race.  Next time I won't sign up for a race that happens 3 months after I give birth.    

We also had more visitors from UT that weekend.  Eli's dear friend, Rodney Lee and his girlfriend, Jessica, came to see Lil' E and so did their friend Desmond.  We went to church, grilled out, watched football, and played games all night long.  It was the girls vs the guys in Taboo--unfortunately, the girls lost, but we had a lot of fun!  

There is so much more to write, but I will save that for another post.  We had Youth Sunday at our church and we just got back from a CCDA (Christian Community Development Association, www.ccda.org) conference in Miami.  

I will post more later this week!  Thanks for reading.

Trip to Nashville!

I must confess that I am cheating a little bit in this post...the first picture below is NOT from my trip to Nashville...it's from today.  Mr. Emmanuel and I were in the kitchen having the best conversation, and I was able to capture one of his smiles before we headed outside.  He's sitting in a green bumbo, which is a seat for infants.  Tonight he also laughed a few times--it was really precious.  

Okay--so back to the Nashville trip.  Thanks for your prayers--the airplane ride went really well.  He was intrigued by looking at all of the people and the lights.  The pictures below are not in chronological order...so please bear with me as I try to recapture the story with pics that are out of order.  

On Sunday after church, my brother came to my mom's house looking like Bruce Pearl!  (For those of you who don't know...Bruce Pearl is the head men's basketball coach at the University of Tennessee, and we all know how Eli loves his alma mater).  Emmanuel and Joshua sort of posed for this picture.  

On Saturday, my mom and I drove Emmanuel, Mia (3), and Joshua (20 months) to visit my granddaddy, who happens to be 82 and born on July 4th (2 days after Lil' E) in Henning, TN.  It was really important to me that Emmanuel meet my granddaddy.  I LOVE this picture of my granddaddy holding Emmanuel with his hands.  My granddaddy has hands like my dad had...really strong, large hands.  I loved my daddy's hands.  Anyway, you get the point--here's the picture. 
Okay--the reason for the trip!  Kelly Marie Benda married Byron Aubrey Earnhardt!  Now--unfortunately, I don't have great pics from the actual wedding...but I am getting some sent to me from the maid of honor.  I promise to post those later.  Kelly Marie was absolutely gorgeous...below is a picture of her and her precious daddy, John, at the rehearsal.  

My brother's kids were in love with Lil' E.  Here were there responses: 

Joshua (20 months):  He kept saying "my baby...my baby," and he lowered his head next to Emmanuel's and kissed him.  It was really sweet. 

Mia (3 years):  She could not wait to meet this little boy!  She kept following me around, asking to change his diaper...and reminding me how many times she held him.  She would say, "You know I've only gotten to hold him ____ times."  She's a good little helper...and she counts well, too...she reminded me over and over and over again. 

Michael (7 years on Friday, Oct. 10):  Michael wanted to know all of the facts about Emmanuel.  Once he got the answers to his questions, then he repeated them back to me--he knows who Emmanuel's parent's are and when and where he was born.  

James (8 years):  James thought it was his duty to take care of Emmanuel....he sat next to him in the car and tried to comfort him...he held him and walked around with him when he was fussy...he said, "My Uncle Eli told me that I was supposed to take good care of Emmanuel while he was down here."  He wanted everybody to know that he was doing what his Uncle Eli told him to.
My favorite part of this post is this video of my granddaddy first being introduced to Emmanuel.  I just loved how he grabbed hold of him and kissed him.  I often imagine that my dad would have reacted the same way.  After granddaddy kisses him, I edited in Mia saying Emmanuel's name.  She calls him, "Eman--yell."  It's super cute!  Thanks for reading.