Christmas Cards!!

Happy Holidays everyone! I hope you are all having a great December so far.

I've managed to get my tree up, yay! It took far less time this year than last, imagine that :) Despite these little helping hands, I think it only took me 3 or 4 days to get it finished.

The goal for next year is 1 day :)

Next on my list is hanging the garland on my stairs and sending out the perfect Christmas card...on time. Speaking of Christmas cards...

I'm thankful for Kendall's post about the free Christmas cards from Shutterfly! I had no idea and I've been searching for just the right Christmas card for our family. Shutterfly seems like a great option and I will definitely be giving them a try this year! Check out the Shutterfly site if you are a blogger and you can sign up for 50 free cards. Thanks for sharing, Kendall!

In the meantime, I'm still working on sending out thank you cards for Ella's birthday. Cross your fingers that I can actually get Christmas cards sent out BEFORE Christmas!

Back at last!

Wow, it's been so long since I've updated that I almost forgot how to get to my blog- no good! So, once again, I have much to catch you up on. Life has been moving fast lately, way too fast. It goes against my OCD nature to be all out of order on my blogging but I must bite my lip and just blog what comes to mind...

Since my last post Ella has started talking and walking, we've had her first pumpkin patch experience...TWICE :), her first Halloween costume, her first birthday, and her first birthday bash. With much in between as well. I'm going to do my best to catch up over the next few weeks. But then again, Christmas in just around the corner. Which means I have a lot of shopping to do!

So...blogs to come soon :)

For now, here's a sneak peek at my birthday girl:

Goodness, I love this girl!

One whole year??!!

My sweet Ella,


Is it really possible that it's already been one whole year since you were born?


One whole year since labor began and you so kindly got me out of working the weekend shift at the pharmacy...

One whole year since tons of family and friends all gathered at the hospital to meet you...

One whole year...

since I spent almost 48 hours in labor with you, only to have a c-section...

since our hospital room was circled with loved ones, all bowed in prayer over your arrival...

since I heard you cry for the first time and cried right along with you...

since I saw your precious face for the first time and thought just how perfect you truly were...

since I saw that crazy head of hair you are still famous for - I'm pretty sure my second thought after seeing you was "oh my goodness where did she get all of that beautiful dark hair??"...

since I became Ella's mommy and began this crazy, beautiful journey of motherhood...


Beautiful child, you keep me laughing on a daily basis. You are so smart, funny, and sweet, not to mention mischievous and hard-headed like your momma. Since you came into this world you have been a loud one, a feisty one,


that definitely has not changed, but I wouldn't change you for the world. The sound of your giggles and laughter, your shrieks of delight when you spot Tuckie ("Guh-Guh"), your ever so famous "Hiiiiiiii" - our home is a better place because of you and all that you entail.

I adore you more than you will ever know.

Happy Birthday to our "Ellie-love"

May your second year be filled with just as much love, laughter, learning, and joy as the first one was. But maybe just a little more sleep :-)

I love you to the moon and back,

Mommy

Humbled

So many things to blog about...like the awesome anniversary party we had for Mom and Dad, the cute things I am envisioning for Ella's first birthday, not to mention the lovely surprise I found in Ella's crib yesterday...

Yet all I can think about it how humbled I am at God's love. His persistent, intentional, reckless, unconditional love. I am so thankful that He pursues us. Goodness knows He has to sometimes. I don't always stay close by. This past week has been so amazing yet heart-breaking at the same time. I have been so in awe of how many people have reached out and shared God's love with our family, with Michel's family.

In case you haven't gotten my prayer emails, here's what's going on:

Nolan's cousin, who lives in Germany, has been suffering from Lou Gehrigs disease (ALS) for several years now. Last week he was rushed to the hosptial because the disease has progressed and he is having problems breathing. We are not sure how much time he has left. His name is Michel Nahidi.


I've created a website where we will post updates as we receive them:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/michelnahidi

Forgive me for the sparse updates, they are across the world so we don't get them that often. Please go to the website and take a minute to sign the guestbook - share a scripture or prayer or even just your name. It will be amazing for him to see that people all the way across the world are praying for him.

The most important thing we ask is that you pray for Michel's heart...pray for salvation, that he will experience God's amazing love. I cannot imagine the pain he has gone through as his body has become progressively more ill, and he has lost the ability to walk, speak, and play with his children. Please pray that God would place people around him that will share His love with him and that he would accept it with an open heart. I know our God can do mighty things and it is never too late for anyone to turn to Him.

Pray for his wife, Manu, who has remained so incredibly strong throughout these past few years. Pray also for their two small children, Michel and Emma, who have had to see their father, their hero, become progressively more and more ill over the past few years.

We appreciate your prayers more than anything. I believe with all of my heart that God can reach Michel. Please visit the website and share you prayers, scripture, and encouragement with Michel and his family in the guest book section. I know that you do not know Michel, and may not even know me , but I know that God uses His children to show His love to those who are hurting and are in need. I also trust that it is God's will for His created to come to know Him and that is what I ask you to pray for Michel.

Please share this with your church prayer groups, prayer chains, and anyone else who would be willing to pray for Michel.

God promises us that
"Where two or more are gathered together in My Name, I am there in the midst of them." -- Matthew 18: 19-20

Thank you tremendously!

Congrats Sister!!

We are soooo very proud of our little sister, who was accepted to nursing school a few months ago!


So proud that we decided to throw her a little surprise party. Mainly because we were so proud of her, but secretly, because we like any excuse for multiple desserts ;-)

I was pretty worried about keeping the party a secret. I think I told everyone I invited "please please pleeeeease don't tell Megan!" And guess who was the 1st to let it slip - yours truly!! Thank goodness Nolan was sitting next to me and elbowed me really hard. I was like "whoa what is wrong with him!?" Lucky for Megan, I finally caught on. And lucky for me, Megan didn't.

Mom and Dad were in charge of food - and rightfully so. They make a mean brisket and sides

Laura was in charge of the cake. Well done sister!


And I, the most anal of all, was in charge of decorations. Let me just say now that high ambitions and ocd-ness do not go well together.


We managed to keep Megan out of the house all morning thanks to her good friends who occupied her time. After all was said and done, I think their "vagueness" finally made sense to Megan :)


In keeping with the theme of the celebration, Mom, Dad, Laura, Stu, Nolan, and I put our heads together to come up with the "Top 25 reasons Megan will be the Greatest Nurse." I think she really loved it - I hope so, because Ella insisted on "helping" all week while I worked on this little project.


And in case you were wondering, here is our compilation of the

"Top 25 Reasons Megan will be the Greatest Nurse:"

1. You are one of the only ones in the family that doesn’t pass out at the sight of blood.

2. Your smile would brighten any hospital room and every patient’s day.

3. You could pull off salmon colored scrubs if need be - you’re just that beautiful.

4. You have a way of putting people at ease…
might come in handy right before giving someone an enema!

5. You truly have a passion to serve people.

6. It’s what God called you to do. He always equips those He calls.

7. You can finally learn to stitch your own wounds in case your constant falls get more serious.

8. You have a compassionate heart…there is no greater quality required of a nurse.

9. God desires to use you to show love & compassion to others who are in need.

10. If I was a patient, I would hope you were my nurse.

11. You are genuinely good with people - you have a gift of being able to talk to and get to know anyone instantly.

12. You work hard at the things you are called to do.

13. The smells of the hospital probably won’t bother you - if you can handle skunk funk all day, bodily fluids will be easy!

14. You learned anatomy & dissection at an early age…at the deer lease.

15. You’ve been practicing changing the TV channel for Dad for years.
So when a patient ask, you will gladly say “No really, I don’t mind changing the channel for you, again!!”

16. You will look awesome in white support hose!

17. I love the antibacterial foam at the hospital and can’t wait to have an inside “hook up!”

18. You are great at downplaying a stressful situation, so the words “this won’t hurt a bit” and “the bleeding will stop eventually” will flow in a convincing tone.

19. You’d hate wearing heels & dresses everyday, so scrubs & tennis shoes will be perfect - and there is no better hairdo to go with your attire than a ponytail!

20. You’ve been bossed around by older sisters since day 1 -
so you will have no problem being bossed by arrogant doctors all day.

21. You’ve had practice changing the world’s nastiest diapers -
so when you have to change a grown man’s Depends, you will be a Pro!

22. You will be great at giving FREE medical advice to all your family.

23. Who says white shoes are only acceptable after Easter through Labor Day?!
You will show them - wear those white shoes & support hose all year round!

24. You will get to witness God perform many unexplainable medical miracles.

25. God is going to BLESS the patients you care for (and you too) in a huge way!

25 & ½. Each patient you serve will be hand-picked by God…some will require a lot of skill.
Others you will simply need to listen to, to lend an ear in a difficult season.
You will be amazing at both.

Here are some more fun pics of the day.



Megan, we are beyond proud of you, sweet sister. You will make an AMAZING nurse. All of your hard work and studying has paid off - but get ready, it has only just begun :) Better load up on highlighters, note cards, and fun pens because it's coming! And...prepare yourself for the many many questions your family will bombard you with because - you should know everything, you're in nursing school :-)

In To EVERYTHING!

Have I mentioned that our daughter is into EVERYTHING she can get her hands on lately? I can't help but laugh as I watch her dig through my purse - man they start early :)

hmm would Mommy care if I got into this?


Think I'll just jump on in:

Busted! Leaving the scene of the crime:


She later headed over to the puppies' water bowl and had a big time playing in all the water!



Then she thought she should check out the cabinet where I keep the pots and pans:

Woooow


Whew! All in a day's work - it's hard to be 8 months old!

8 months ago today

My Ella girl, Today you are 8 months old - I'm not sure that I'm ok with that.


Six months I could handle. I was even excited when you started crawling.

Seven months was a little harder for me because you were more than halfway to your first birthday.

And now, 8 months - that just seems too big. I can't help but think that there are only 4 months until you turn one!



Time is flying and I know it will only seem faster as you grow and change everyday. Daddy and I adore you and are so proud of the "big girl" you are becoming.

At 8 months you are so very busy:

-You've been crawling since you were around 5 months old

-Pulling up on anything you can get your little hands on

-Taking steps down the couch as you hold on

-Finally FINALLY catching the puppies (might have something to do with the "snacks"
you carry around)

-Learning to feed yourself

-Still "singing" yourself to sleep

-"Talking" to anyone or anything that will listen

-Moving all over the place in your walker

-Stealing the puppies' food

-Turning over the puppies' water bowls to play in the water

-Feeding the puppies' your Gerber snacks

-"Dancing" to the Gilmore Girls

-"Dancing" and laughing when Daddy sings to you

-Insisting on standing throughout your entire bath

-Literally jumping out of the bathtub like a fish when YOU decided bath time was over

-Giving Mommy "kisses"

-Crawling as fast as your little arms will go when Mommy or Daddy walk in the door from work

-Squealing in delight when you spot one of your puppies

-Playing in Mommy's makeup while I get ready for the day

-Growing two teeth!

-"Brushing" your teeth

-Disassembling your baby monitor because Mommy was naive enough to think you couldn't reach it from your crib

-Becoming quite the little paper shredder if left unattended for more than 30 seconds

-"Making tea" while you sit in your bumbo seat

-Outgrowing your bumbo seat :-(

-Making the silliest faces I've ever seen

-Swimming like a big girl

-Finding your way to the bathtub while playing in your room

-Finding the one and only toy that belongs to poor Tuckie and hijacking it

-Getting yourself stuck in tiny spaces because you are a bit hard-headed...like your Mommy

-Wearing your first "piggies"

-Standing up while holding onto something but being brave enough to let go!

-Celebrating your 1st July 4th, complete with fireworks, which you waited up for even though you were delirious by then


Baby girl, I just wish you would slow it down a little. Mommy and Daddy blinked and you grew from this little tiny, sweet, LOUD bundle of smiles and crazy hair to a silly, sweet sweet sweet 8 month old who is into EVERYTHING. You still have the crazy hair and you are still rarely quiet :) We love our Ellie girl and are enjoying every second of watching you grow into a sweet little girl.

We love you more than we ever dreamed of,

Mommy and Daddy

Sooooo True!

Saw this cartoon and I wanted to raise my hand and say "Meeeee!! That's me!!"

Nolan makes fun of me because when Ella goes down for a nap, my ocd self kicks in and I actually run the stopwatch on my iphone so that I know how long she's been sleeping! Crazy, I know, but it helps me know how much time I have to get stuff done. Nap time is a precious commodity around these parts, gotta milk every second of it :) I'm sure I'm not the
only Mommy who feels this way...maybe the only one who sets a timer, but come on, you know you all do it in your heads anyway. I just prefer to make it easier on myself.

A little tooth-brush'in

Just for fun, because we all know I can't resist a cute picture of my love...and because we also know that one picture turns into two, three, four, or even a slide show ;-) I can't help it, I'm a little smitten.

Ella wanted to play makeup with Mommy :)



She then decided it was time to brush those two teeth of hers


I hope everyone is having a BLESSED week!

My mother's day surprise

So this year for Mother's Day my sweet husband planned a little family get-away to Galveston, just the three of us. It was Ella's first "vacation," first hotel stay, first swimming adventure, you get the idea. Needless to say, we had a blast watching her experience a weekend of firsts.

Before we left I bought Ella her first swimsuit and her first real pair of shoes. (Yes I am one of those moms who lets their baby go bare-foot. I just haven't seen the need for shoes when her little feet hardly touch the floor, not to mention how fast she is growing!) But after seeing how enamored she was with these new shoes, I definitely want to find her some more - she looooved them! Guess she's a typical girl ;-)




Ella LOVED the hotel room! The king-sized bed must have seemed never-ending to this little girl. She would crawl as fast as she could from one corner to the next and giggle when we grabbed her to turn her around. She hadn't been crawling and pulling up too long before we went, so everything peeked her curiosity. Within minutes of arriving, she had investigated every inch of our room :-)



Nolan and I couldn't help but laugh as we looked around this nice hotel room and realized how we had "baby-ed" it up! The bathroom counter became the bottle making station...the pack-n-play was all set up...and naturally, her things were everywhere!


Ella rode in her "big-girl stroller" for the first time that weekend. It's pink. She loves it. Or maybe it's Mommy that loves it ;-) I love it for reasons other than it's "girliness" - it's MUCH smaller than the bulky travel system stroller making it sooo much easier to maneuver, and fit in the car! I know Nolan was thrilled to push around a hot pink stroller all weekend ;-)

She was so excited about her new ride that she promptly fell asleep.



First time at Rain Forest Cafe - Ella slept through most of it - even the crazy "rainstorm" and gorilla noises that happened several times while we were there.

She did, however, wake up just in time to pay the bill...


"Can you believe how much they charge for iced tea???"


...and see fish for the first time


and make a new monkey friend...

but wasn't too sure about him


...and decide she was a country girl after all :)


Of course we couldn't pass up some fun pics with the gorilla on the way out...


Ella also decided she wasn't too fond of grass...she had never really touched or sat on the grass before. And as far as she was concerned, wasn't in a hurry to do it again anytime soon.



She did, however, enjoy her first bath in the big girl bathtub. We couldn't exactly pack her little bathtub and I'm glad - she had a blast!


My favorite part of the weekend was seeing this little girl go swimming in her first swimsuit! I bought her a 6 month suit and had to return it for a 12 month because her little belly just didn't want to fit in there - cutest thing EVER! And I say that knowing that I am more than a little bit biased :)


She seemed to enjoy the pool but didn't get overly excited about it. I'm sure it didn't help that her absent-minded mommy forgot that there was a such thing as "swim diapers" lol. Within seconds her diaper weighed 10 pounds. That could explain why she got tired so quickly and was ready to get out!

We checked out a local burger place that everyone had raved about - The Spot. Enter Ella's first experience with lettuce! Nolan brought it back from the salad bar for her and she was entertained the entire time we ate :)


Overall, it was a great weekend with my sweet little family...one that I will always remember as our 1st "vacation" together - even if it was just an hour south on I45 :) I know that the years ahead will fly by and we will have many more fun filled weekends of family time and road trips but I will always cherish this one as our 1st. After all, in a few years Ella will be a moody teenager and the thought of spending hours in the car with her parents might not be quite as appealing. Gotta enjoy these moments while they last ;-)

Here are a few more pics of the weekend: