I love you Eli Ben-ja-stink!

My Eli....who will be 15 very soon is one of the smartest little chaps I have met- He is especially skilled in the area of knowing exactly how to get on his mom's nerves.  Whether it be we are driving home from school- he is sitting in the back seat- he props his feet up on the consul that separates the 2 front seats and rubs his feet together so that his feet scum comes off and looks like dandruff on the consul- he removes his feet and I happen to put my hand, elbow, or lean against the consul and waa-laa I have Eli's feet scum on my person.
Or maybe when we are sitting on the couch together and I smell something horrible and ask 'WHO FARTED!'- Eli's the first to say 'no'- I keep smelling random whiffs of the same stench and finally in a firm voice tell Eli that He is the one that farted.....He innocently looks at me and say's that he did not fart but has been blowing his breath on me- he strategically could blow his breath from the side of his mouth and direct it my way-
AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH Eli Ben-ja-stink!!!!!!!!!
Oh the list could go on-
Along with knowing how to get on my nerves, my Eli is also a pro at making Matt and I so proud of him-  It's indescribable, the feeling that well's up inside of my mom's heart when I hear him say something that is profound and beyond his years with wisdom- or when he does something when he does not know that someone is watching and that something he did was so genuine and kind it brings tears to my eyes.  I had one of those moments today- oh I am always proud of both of my boys- but today was a moment with Eli that signified both his maturity and tugged on my heart that he is indeed growing up.
 It was a small thing- simply that he has a 2 day job on the other side of the hill from us- Because this job is accessed by private ranch roads on both sides of the property he is able to drive himself by way of his dirt bike.  So, on top of driving himself to his job, I also noticed a back pack on his back- He had made his own lunch, packed his own water, and gotten himself out the door without ANY sort of reminder or help- I was not even around when he was doing all of this.  Why does it seem like yesterday that he was a 3 year old that needed help tying his shoes and brushing his teeth.........In the blink of an eye he has grown up-
Eli Ben daddy and I are so proud of you- The boy that you are growing out of and the Young man you are growing in to- God Bless you Sweetie.

just heading out to work

He was waving goodbye- caught the tale end of the wave

One day soon this 'drive away' will
signify all grown up and heading out to face the world on his own.

P.S. boiling 6 eggs for deviled eggs- Also noticed in my original post that I put May as the expiration for the eggs- Nope it is April 11- 97 eggs to go!!  Also, thank you Holly for the coconut cookie recipe, I will be making that hopefully tomorrow.