buncha stuff

Here is a big fat catch up post!
We have some REALLY great news. Like really great! We have heard for years about this really amazing family camp called Pine Cove. We have talked about it several times...but it just never seemed to work. I asked Justin recently if we could start praying about going. Its very expensive, but I just knew with all my heart that our little family could really benefit from this amazing camp. With everything going on right now a vacation is just NOT in the budget. So...we put our praying pants on and we applied for a scholarship. And guess what?? WE GOT IN! We had to submit all of our medical bill information and some other info about who we are. They called me the very next day after I submitted our application and let me know we qualified for a scholarship that would cover 85% of the tuition! We are BEYOND excited and are waiting for the perfect moment to tell Bryce about it. We will be going to The Woods on June 17th! The activities provided at this camp are through the ROOF...like WAY to many to list...and the best part? If Justin is not feeling well...he can rest and relax and I will have help doing activities with the kids!

Another exciting thing that is happening is that our Houston house is almost ready to be put on the market! We have been blessed right through the roof with the people who have helped us get it ready. Please start praying that the perfect buyer shows up soon...because paying two mortgages for much longer is not going to be so good.
I couldnt wait to decorate for Christmas...so as soon as my dad got here (like literally 5 minutes after he walked in the door) we put up the tree! I love Christmas time and all things Christmas-y. I have even made Justin a huge fan too :)
We have now seen Santa several times and even have a new little family tradition to start having fun with. If you do not have The Elf on the Shelf...then you better get straight up and go get it! Our sweet friend got one for the boys and I cannot wait until December 1st when he gets to come out of his box. We spent about 4 brutal hours discussing what we would name our cute little elf and Bryce finally came to the decision Jay Jay Bean. Dont even ask...because I dont even know.


We have had lots of visitors lately. Family and friends filling up the house. We had a full house for thanksgiving too! It was hard work getting all that yummy stuff going in the kitchen...but my turkey came out pretty darn rockin and I had some help from some superstars.

Back when we had pancake supper, we were given a gift card for a date night at Crescent Quarters. We have been so excited to use it and finally got the chance a few days ago. One of my friends came and stayed with the boys (i know! so nice!) so Justin and I could have a romantic night :) This is where we got to stay:

Now for some MORE fun. It was my favorite day in the world. Yup. BLACK FRIDAY.

I think about it for months. I love deals. I love the memories. I love the crazies. The deals are worth it...the lines dont bother me...and when you get to see your friend lay down on the floor at Walmart at 4:30 am then its instantly all worth the no sleep.

We started this year by getting in line at target around 9pm and I rolled in the house with all my goodies around 5:30am. It was a great night and I am now 100% done Christmas shopping. We had a smaller budget than normal this year and I am more than pleased with what all I was able to get with it!

Last night Pop Pop and I took the boys to Dickens on Main! It was so fun! We saw friends, snow, horses, fire people, ate yummy kettle corn and sausage on sticks, visited santa (several santas actually), saw some cute little dancers and much more!

Bryce and Renegade!

Two little snow birds :)

We have quite the collection going for their wedding slide show!

We have lots more fun things coming up in this fun Christmas season. 15 parties in the next 24 days is going to leave us with some FUN pictures to post soon!

Not going to ruin this fun post on a yucky note...but I will ask that you amp up the prayers for Justin. He is feeling worse and worse each day. We need prayers of discernment on some future steps that need to be taken. We need the Lord's peace on decision that need to be made and tests that need to be taken. It is hard to look back at this fun post and realize that my sweet best friend isnt able to participate in so many things that we are doing with the boys. He just doesnt feel well and with work and school...he is just pooped. He is one tough cookie, but I think he has reached his limit.

I recently was challenged to choose some verses for each of our children (I will share those in another post). While doing this, I chose one for our family. I chose a verse that I have spent a lot of time studying recently.

Philippians 1:8

...How I yearn for you with the affection of Christ Jesus...

I have thought so much about the word YEARN. I want to YEARN for my children with the affection of Christ Jesus. I want to YEARN for my husband. My family and friends. The impoverished. The people who do not know Jesus. The children in my preschool class. The women in MOPS. How can I more intentionally YEARN with the affection of Christ Jesus?

The affection of Christ Jesus is legit. Like, he loves us when we are jerks and when we mess up and when we say potty words. He loves us unconditionally forever and ever amen.

I want the McElhannons to YEARN for others. I feel that we have been shown the love of Christ Jesus in so many way. Every single day. I choose this verse as our mission verse. We have done our best to live this out for many years...but we will continue to try harder.

We will pursue those in our lives with HIS mercy.

This is how its worded in the message version:

^7-8It's not at all fanciful for me to think this way about you. My prayers and hopes have deep roots in reality. You have, after all, stuck with me all the way from the time I was thrown in jail, put on trial, and came out of it in one piece. All along you have experienced with me the most generous help from God. He knows how much I love and miss you these days. Sometimes I think I feel as strongly about you as Christ does!

That is all for now.

winner winner chicken dinner!

hooray to my friend JODI HARPER who won the beautiful noonday necklace!!

you are one lucky duck!

i am looking forward to the trunk show at my house!!

you can also buy on her website if you cannot make it.

PS: katie would LOVE to talk to you about having a trunk show at YOUR house...and guess what?? she will travel!

giveaway!

yay! its my very first giveaway!!

my sweet friend katie is the newest (and cutest) ambassador for noonday collection.

what is noonday collection you say?

check out the website HERE.

but just so you know...its an amazing company that sells beautiful handmade items that directly benefit their creators in other opressed areas.

so you wanna know what you could win??

THIS...

click HERE to see more info on the item.

SO HOW DO YOU WIN???

easy... just leave a comment below with your name and email address.

deadline to comment is Monday (11/21) at 5pm.

i am hosting a trunk show for katie on december 8th (i can hardly even WAIT!!) so if you live near me then please message me for more info on that!

happy commenting :)

ivig and 58

Today while I watched my sweet husband sleep in his hospital bed...I read over marriage vows on various blogs. It made me want to marry him all over again. It made me want to stand up and shout our wedding vows from a roof top.

for better or worse (yup...we have been better and there may be worse)

for richer or poorer (yup...we have been "richer" than we are today)

through sickness and in health (duh...)

this marriage has rocked my socks off. i made a commitment to love him and cherish him forever and always...and i recommit myself to that promise today. we are just regular ol' people...i mean we say things we dont mean and bicker like the rest of them. BUT we put the Lord first in our lives and we are truly blessed by that. we have taken the initiative to be mentored & to learn about how God wants us to love each other. i dont think it was a coincidence that we started a program to enrich our marriage through our church about one year before justin got sick. the Lord has brought us closer to Him and closer to each other through this time.

we think about what we would be doing if he wasnt sick. would we be doing the lords work as well if he wasnt? would we cherish each moment as well? would we be as devoted? i would like to answer yes...but who knows. this is where we are...this is our story...and its good.

justin is just a few hours away from finishing his IVIG treatments. this was one big pain in the rear. he will do this "little" process every month forever. i am sure we will figure out a good plan and it will all get easier with time. this will just be another thing that is new to our "normal."

in other news...we are so on fire for the film 58 right now! check it out at www.live58.org/thefilm and find our facebook group. i was able to view this movie with some of my favorite friends a few days ago and then justin and i watched it last night in his hospital cubby (seriously...its not a room...its like a little cubby). it was truly a life changing experience and i hope each of you will consider coming out to the event that is in the works!

(go find us on facebook...58: the film - boerne movement)

We can make a difference. We can change the world. We can END extreme poverty.

Go get inspired and get your prayer on. Even just watching the movie can make a difference. Let's live Isaiah 58 together. Seriously...it will be fun!!

now please stop and pray that this ivig that is SO inconvenient and makes my husband puke his head off and sleep like rip van winkle will work ASAP.

november already!

i have had a hard time catching the blog up the past week because there is just so much going on!
we had a fun halloween with our precious friends. we got to play all afternoon in a bounce house with lots of fun and a WHOLE bunch of friends and then we headed to our house for our annual trick or treat extravaganza! the boys had SO SO much fun playing with their friends...and well of course we had fun getting to play with our friends too :)
we had some of our favorite houston people come spend some yummy quality time with us. lazy days with friends will never get old! and speaking of houston....we are prayerfully dealing with our home that we own there. it is currently vacant and we are being so very blessed by the love of others in dealing with it.
i dont think i will ever stop praising our incredible friendships. the Lord has given us so much to be thankful for. the outside edges of our lives right now are a little unsettling and unknown and very scary...but the core of it is GOOD. like really really really good. we will continue to serve our mighty father and live in His word...and not the word of the world. life sure is easier in this cozy little bubble!

so medically....this is where we are:
justin will be heading to the hospital thursday to begin IVIG treatments (blood antibody transfusion). he will do this once a month...forever. it will take around 12 hours each day and he will do this both thursday and friday. thursday just so happens to be his 29th birthday and friday just so happens to be our wedding anniversary. kind of a bummer right?!
he currently has anywhere from 1-3 doctors appointments a week and also blood work twice a week. there are so many strange things going on in his blood right now and pretty much with each blood test there is a new discovery. its hard work keeping up with everything!
i appreciate those of you who are praying...and if you arent praying yet... then get on board quick!!
here are some pictures of our cuties at the kitty kat halloween par-tay!