Elijah Harrison

Yesterday was Eli's 4th birthday.  We went to his party, had a wonderful time, and forgot to do his birthday post.  So here it is.

Eli was born in Valparaiso, IN.  He was the third child in his family, our 19th grandchild, and our 12th grandson.  What a wonderful addition he's been!

He's a very important part of our large family.

And an even more important part of this smaller family.

Here is Eli, pictorially, through the years.  These pictures were taken approximately 6 months apart.

Eli is a sweet, friendly boy who is unfailingly kind and generous.

He cheerful, smart, and extremely creative.

And, we're wishing him a year filled with fun, laughter, and lots of time playing with that ball he really wanted for his birthday (according to his adorable interview with his mom).

Happy Birthday, Eli!

Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Week 6

Here is the picture I thought I got and was quite pleased with.  I noticed a splash of color along the back fence and grabbed the camera.  I focused on that color and couldn't wait to download the picture to see what I'd gotten.  Turned out it was a lot more than I expected.

 And my runners up for the week included another splash of color.

 This pit bull mix not attacking me but running eagerly to his mistress when she called.

And this yellow bellied sapsucker.  (And yes, after seeing no sign of the evil hawk I saw a few weeks ago, I am feeding the birds again.

And those are my favorite pictures from this week.  To see more 'Best Shot' pictures, visit Nancy at Bacardi Mama's website and please enter your own best shots!

Our Visit

The easiest way to show the pictures from the 'ranch' we looked at yesterday to every one in the family is to put them in a post so here goes.

The approach to the entrance:

The driveway going up:

 The approach:

 The ranch house:

 The ranch house living room:

 The kitchen in the ranch house:

 

 Three twin beds in this ranch house bedroom.

 Two full beds in this ranch house bedroom.

 The view of the ranch house kitchen from the living room:

 Buck Inn stable building from ranch house.

 Lighted basketball court:

 Buck Inn:

 Horse corral:

 Tee Pees that they'll probably take down next winter.

 Small dining room downstairs in stable which seats about 40.

 View of ranch house from Buck Inn:

 View of stairs from upper level of Buck Inn

 View of fire pit from upper level of Buck Inn

 Swing set and horseshoe pits.  

 The owner and Dad on deck which surrounds the upper level of Buck Inn

 Small kitchen area on one end of Buck Inn upstairs.

 View of first sitting area.  The hall leads to another seating area that backs up on this one and on the right are some of the bedrooms.

 One bedroom and it's onsuite just to give you an idea of the decor

 Another bedroom.

 And more

 The other sitting room

 The decor

 The other little kitchen area.

 The other hallway.

 Views from deck

 The one chicken

 Some of the horses.

 Views from office area.

 The ranch house

 The office

 Heading down.

 

 

 Where we'd park when it snows.

 The road to the ranch

 And the neat little creek that flows near the road

That's it!  Let me know what you think.