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.