The Jolliff Family

We're heading home tonight with sweet Mr. Andrew! We can't wait to get started as a family of four. I (Elizabeth) am feeling really good. Hap finished up VBS today and we are so thankful for everyone who made it run smoothly while Hap was with us in the hospital! As I sit here and marvel at our newest son, I am amazed that just days before he was all curled up in my belly and he was "unknown" to us but known to God. The Bible says... "For you created my inmost being, You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; You works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, you eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Psalm 139: 13-16 We are so thankful!

Andrew met lots of friends and family today. His favorite visitor? His big brother Sam!! Night night

Andrew Hap Jolliff 07/29/09 at 8:48pm 7lb6oz, 20inches long All are doing well, we are in love!

It has been a busy weekend around our house. Yesterday, Hap spent the day at church decorating for our VBS this week, Boomarang Express : It All Comes Back to Jesus. The church looks great and we are prayful for the week ahead. He also spent yesterday putting the finishing touches on his sermon. Sam and I spent the day yesterday around home. It was rainy here, so we spent the majority of the day playing inside and got out for a walk that was shortened by the rain. Then last evening, some ladies from work hosted a diaper shower for Baby J2. I received over 750 diapers and lots of wipes. It was such a great time and I appreciate all the diapers!! Today, I am 39 weeks!! Come on baby, could be anyday. We headed to church and had a nice surprise visit from Hap's parents to hear him preach during the service this morning. They hung around a short time afterwards to play with Sam. Hap stayed at the church and decorated the rest of the day, while Sam and I headed home for a Sunday afternoo...

Sam's new favorite activity is hiding. He enjoys putting all his balls and himself under our desk while I am getting ready and "hiding" from me! He enjoys playing "hide and seek" with Hap as well. Happy Saturday!

PART TWO!!! Happy Thursday

Today I ran to the grocery store to pick up some essentials, including a gallon of milk. This was going to be just an ordinary run to the store however, when I opened the dairy case I noticed something very exciting. Someone at church told me once that you know your due date is close when the milk expiration date is past your due date! Well it's official, the milk will still be good after my due date! Exciting to me, probably not so much to you:) haha! But the next time you notice a pregnant woman smiling at the dairy case, you'll know their secret!!

Well, we might live in the city but we have wild animals among us. Since our back yard butts up to a small wooded area with a creek, we have seen deer, coyotes (yes I have a picture to prove it), squirrels and pesky raccoons. These raccoons are brave and come out during the dusk hours to feed off our bird feeder. It's annoying! and Hap likes to get his gun out and have target practice with the raccoon. I myself just say "scat" which seems to work pretty well! Sam, watching daddy, is very interested in the gun. I in no way condone the activity of my sweet toddler son pictured in the pictures below! In fact, I was sure that our neighbors probably worry about their safety in our backyard and talk about us secretly. Well, that is until our sweet neighbor Norma came out encouraging Hap to "kill him" and then she took some target practice on the rock and coke cans! Ahhh ... just another Saturday night in our neighborhood!!

Do you know what animal that is? It's a monkey (according to Sam) and today I brought our little monkey to the zoo! It is a beautiful day today and I thought I would take advantage of it and decided to go last minute. Sam dressed himself today, double shirt, must have thought it was going to be really cold today:) He probably could have stood and watched the giraffes all day long. He loves him! and he also liked watching the "choo choo chain"! We didn't ride the train because I heard it was a bore. Maybe next time! The Kimono Dragons are new this summer at the zoo. I was a little frightened by them, but he didn't seem to mind at all! Fun morning resulting in a napping little boy! Happy Friday:)

We had a great time celebrating Sam's birthday on Saturday. It started out by Hap and I singing "Happy Birthday" to Sam and the remainder of the day he would say "more happy day", and in fact said it today when I gave him a piece of his birthday cake!! It was a nasty, rainy day but we had a nice party in the afternoon, with both sets of grandparents, family and some friends. Sam really enjoyed opening the presents. He has the hang of it for sure! He received some great gifts, that have seemed to occupy him since Saturday. It was fun to celebrate his life and Hap and I are daily blessed by being his parents. I remember before he was born thinking that I can't imagine what life would be like after having a baby, I even remember those first few weeks after he arrived thinking about how different our lives would be, but now I can't imagine him not being a part of our lives. We thank the Lord for this precious gift.

I don't have long to post right now, but will post some birthday party pictures later this evening. Sam had his two year check up today and weighs 25lb 10oz and is 33.5in tall! What a difference a year makes:)

Hap, Sam and I spent a nice long weekend in Illinois celebrating July 4th and an upcoming wedding. We drove in Thursday evening and headed to Patoka. Hunter and Beau were there to greet Sam and they played for a short time before heading to bed. On Friday, we spent the day outside. The day started off rough with the death of three raccoons and what I thought was a calf death, but it quickly got better:) The boys played outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Sam again enjoyed "driving" the gator. He has some trouble steering, but loves the gas pedal... we'll have to watch out in 14 years!! Here Hunter is helping him steer! Hunter and Beau are such great cousins and Sam is enjoying the ride from Beau. Thankfully there was plenty of help and willing playmates for Sam, like Gigi in this picture because me helping him steer the gator isn't a pretty sight! I didn't get any pictures of the cows this trip or Grandma and Papa but they were much enjoyed as well! Frid...