Smiles with the Birthday Girl

Kyle, Megan, and Seth.(new room for doll house)

Heather and Gary.(Two princess dresses, Belle and Cinderella)

Leah and Matt.(build a bunny, Lillianna, and two outfits; one dress that she wore to church the next day and a shorts and shirt that she cried and threw when she opened it)

Mommy and daddy with the birthday girl. We got her a new swing set which we put together over a week and a half, just in time for the party. It rained but the kids got a little time on it. We also got her a scooter. Can't wait to see her ride it.

Gonga and Papa with Auntie Cheryl in the background. Gonga and Papa got Elli the skirt she is wearing, a bat and ball, tic-tac-toe, a craft picture frame, new princess ball, and a cheerleader doll. Auntie Cheryl got her a jump rope and a wonderful book. She got lots of other presents too which actually overwhelmed her a bit. She is loved by many. She is also very thankful for her gifts. She has played with and worn most of them:)

Elli's 4th Birthday

Belle cake, number 4 cupcakes and princess dress cookies for dessert. French toast, peanut butter cinnamon bagels, fruit bowl, banana bread, casserole, hased browns, juice, and milk for brunch. Lots of presents, a video about Elli, and a book for entertainment. What a great party!

Lots of presents opened with the help of lots of little girls:)

Story time with Mrs. Lori. I wrote a story about King Brentisk, Queen Lorianna, Princess Ells-a-Bells, Fergville, and the beast. The kids colored a character from the story and then held the character up when they heard the name in the story. Fun times.

The little girls eating their food. These girls are close in age and it has been fun seeing them grow together on our care group. Life long friends? We hope!

Elli told her daddy she wanted flowers that go in a vase for her birthday. How pretty! She is wearing her princess Belle dress embroidered(sp?) by Jeni. It says "Happy birthday Elli" on the back as well.

Happy Birthday my baby girl. You are so enjoyable. You love to play games, pretend play with babies and mommies, and play with dolls and all your stuffed animals. You like lots of different foods and do not seem to be too picky of an eater. However, if you could eat sweets all day, you would:) You are learning to put letters together to make words, you write your name and lots of other letters as well. You memorize Bible verses very easily and remember them all! You are learning to be more patient and are sharing better with friends. You tend to like one-on-one attention and thrive when it is given. However, you are doing well in school too both home nd preschool. I could go on and on about how much I love you, but that is a given:) You are a fun little girl and I thank God for you everyday. I also pray that you will grow in your love and fear of the Lord, which you are. You have an insight into God that makes me realize new things about him as well. Happy birthday my little one.

Sit on a can?

Brent and I have really been working with Elli on staying in her seat during meals. She tends to want to run around, pick up toys, etc. So, Elli was up and Brent was telling her he was done warning her about staying in her seat. So, he said, "Get back over there and sit on your can." Elli replied very seriously, "Sit on a can? I want to sit on my seat!" I began laughing, silently, but violently:) I started crying I was laughing so hard. Eventually we all ended up laughing, but I think Brent still got his point across. I asked Elli a couple nights ago to please throw away her sticky napkin and she said, "Remember, daddy wants me to stay in my seat?" Goodness!

Happy Birthday ,Dad

Mom and dad at home for dad's birthday party:)

Mom trying out dad's gift. Not all of us are good at operating machinery:)

Us girls went together to get dad an elliptical machine for his birthday. He had been wanting some sort of exercise equipment so we thought this would work out great. It is supposed to be easy on the knees. I guess he will let us know as he begins his workout regime:)

The guys getting it out of the truck. So fun to see dad's expression as they pulled up with the truck and his present.

It was a fun party and dad really was surprised which is what we wanted!

Elli asked dad how old he was to cwhich he replied 59. Then Elli said, "That's a lot!"

Love you, dad.

Brent's Birthday

Brent opening a present. Elli is secretly opening another one of his gifts over on the side:)

Blowing out the candles on his Lamby cake with a little help.

We had a nice time celebrating Brent's birthday at the Springfield Country Club. The dinner was a pasta bar where we got to tell the chef exactly what we wanted. We enjoyed seafood pasta as well as many other kinds and three types of sauces. Delicious! It was a beautiful evening as well and we got to watch the sun set over the course while we ate. Happy 33rd Brent!

The Finished Product

After many hours and a week and a half time, we have Elli's birthday present finished. She loves it!!!

Easter Morning April 4th

Elli loves her great grandma. She also had fun looking for her basket with us.

Elli's basket minus the hamster:)

Easter morning in her pretty dress. She chose this one by the fact that it spun better than the rest she tried on:)

We had the "bunny" hide eggs and her basket. She loved looking for them but actually woke up twice during the night. I think it was because she thought the bunny was coming in and she was scared.

The bunny went to my parents as well. He hid eggs and a basket there too. Elli loved getting her Zhu Zhu pet hamsters in each basket. Sadly though, she got one stuck in her hair within about 5 minutes.

Elli is still asking questions about Jesus dying on the cross. She wants to know if he will be able to walk, if he will have hair and if his blood is gone. It must be a hard concept for little ones to wrap their minds around. She has no trouble believing he is alive and in heaven, but she is confused on what he will look like after what they did to him on the cross. I love this tender heart and pray God helps keep it tender!

Easter Egg Hunt at Springfield Country Club April 3rd

What is a trip to the club without driving range practice?

Here's hoping...

Elli was terrified of the bunny. After getting a look at him, I would have been afraid as well.

Aunt Leah with her little Elli. They had a great time together.

One of my favorite pictures of Elli looking for eggs. She was the oldest in her age group so Brent told her to look "over there," even though there were no eggs over there. Sad, but at least the babies who couldn't even walk got a chance to get some eggs:)

Thank you Mom and Leah for going with Elli and Brent to make this day special. I missed out, but she had a great time as well as each of you:)

1st Trip to Young's this Season

Petting the adorable baby goats.

A baby cow that was so sweet and soft.

A bigger cow came up to us outside the barn. Elli thought that was pretty cool.

Look at that sweet face:)

I cannot take Elli to Young's and not get a picture of her playing on the tractor. She loves it!

Elli actually looks forward to washing her hands in this sink and drying them with the MEGA hand dryer!

Her idea totally!

She told me to take my glasses off and smile for my picture. She took this. She has really improved in her picture taking abilities.

She was talking to this poor little goat as if she was a dog. She was saying, "come here little one, sit, down, stay, kisses, etc, all in her little squeaky voice."

She has figured out that she can wait for others to get the food out, then sweep little pieces they leave behind. Look at her determination to get what was left. I did purchase food for her to use to feed the goats, but she has just as much fun doing this:)

Do you gasp?

Elli was asking about Jesus dying on the cross. She knows he died and rose again to save us from our sins, but she wanted more detail. So, I began to tell her about the crucifixion. Se asked if Jesus cried, if He had blood, and if it hurt. I informed her in the positive on these points. Then I told her people were making fun of him and saying he wasn't really King Jesus, so they made an ugly crown for his head. I told her about the thorns being pushed into his head. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. We continued to talk about how Jesus did this for us even though it hurt because he loves us and wants us to be in heaven with him when we die.
After this conversation I started thinking about her little gasp. Why don't I gasp? Do you?