Five years ago, on August 9, 2003, Jim and I met Eli in person for the very first time. We drove from Idabel, Oklahoma to Tuscaloosa, Alabama full of excitement, anticipation, and a lot of fear.
I feared the unknown, of having a dog in my house. (I grew up with a dog in our home, but my mother was constantly complaining about something he did that he shouldn’t have. Krisha was not allowed to have an inside dog when she was growing up. And now, here we were bringing a dog, not just any type dog, a BULLDOG, into our home!)
But my biggest fear of the day was that Eli would become "attached" to Krisha or Martha and not want me to be his Mommy. (Krisha and Martha picked Eli and Beau up that morning and had spent most of the day with them before we arrived. Naturally, Krisha wanted to bond with Beau, so Martha was left to babysit Eli until we arrived.) I can close my eyes and see Eli for the very first time again............he was sitting inside of a clothes basket, whining very, very loud.
He won our hearts immediately and has had control of them ever since. He was an angel from Heaven during those first couple of months for me. I had only just recently moved to Oklahoma myself, and left all of my family and friends behind. Jim was working seven days a week........Eli was my constant companion. But, no one was more thrilled to see Jim come home every afternoon than Eli! (Eli usually got the first kiss from Jim too!)
Jim liked to call him the "King of the Country Club" since we lived in the Country Club Estates. Eli ruled the house, but he did find himself in trouble over some situations!
Eli has had a couple of serious health threats over the years. And, during both times Jim and I have said that we would give up every Earthly possession we own for Eli to just get better. Funny how our "fear" can change from not knowing if we really want a dog in our house to saying we would sacrifice EVERYTHING for Eli's wellbeing.
It is hard to remember life before Eli, and we pray every day that we don't have to find out any time soon what it would be like without him. He is truly our gift from God.
And if you were wondering, I had nothing to fear about him bonding with someone else as his Mommy.
I feared the unknown, of having a dog in my house. (I grew up with a dog in our home, but my mother was constantly complaining about something he did that he shouldn’t have. Krisha was not allowed to have an inside dog when she was growing up. And now, here we were bringing a dog, not just any type dog, a BULLDOG, into our home!)
But my biggest fear of the day was that Eli would become "attached" to Krisha or Martha and not want me to be his Mommy. (Krisha and Martha picked Eli and Beau up that morning and had spent most of the day with them before we arrived. Naturally, Krisha wanted to bond with Beau, so Martha was left to babysit Eli until we arrived.) I can close my eyes and see Eli for the very first time again............he was sitting inside of a clothes basket, whining very, very loud.
He won our hearts immediately and has had control of them ever since. He was an angel from Heaven during those first couple of months for me. I had only just recently moved to Oklahoma myself, and left all of my family and friends behind. Jim was working seven days a week........Eli was my constant companion. But, no one was more thrilled to see Jim come home every afternoon than Eli! (Eli usually got the first kiss from Jim too!)Jim liked to call him the "King of the Country Club" since we lived in the Country Club Estates. Eli ruled the house, but he did find himself in trouble over some situations!
Eli has had a couple of serious health threats over the years. And, during both times Jim and I have said that we would give up every Earthly possession we own for Eli to just get better. Funny how our "fear" can change from not knowing if we really want a dog in our house to saying we would sacrifice EVERYTHING for Eli's wellbeing.
It is hard to remember life before Eli, and we pray every day that we don't have to find out any time soon what it would be like without him. He is truly our gift from God.And if you were wondering, I had nothing to fear about him bonding with someone else as his Mommy.
He 
is 110% Momma's boy!
is 110% Momma's boy! 
1 comments:
Happy Belated 5th Anniversary with Eli. He sure made a great addition to your family and you are all so beautiful.
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