Misc

Brent, Elli, myself, and our AIA intern Michelle, dressed up like cows to get a free meal at Chik-fil-A. Brent only got an entre though because he didn't put on his ears!!! We had a lot of fun.

Elli wanted her friend to come over and help her make yogurt popsickles (sp?) since "P is for popsickle. The girls loved making them and making a mess, but were disappointed when they realized they wouldn't eat them for another day! They were cute.

Heather's wedding is quickly approaching, so we spent Thursday putting her invitations together. They turned out great despite the fact that between the three of us, Heather, mom and myself, we don't have a single creative bone:)

Chicago Fourth of July Weekend

Elli is loaded down with her baby, blanket, sword, and backpack leaving the hotel. We had a great weekend. Brent chose a great place to stay and Jenna and Justin were very accomodating with so many people coming to their home for meals, and fun. Love you all.

Sparklers on July 4th waiting for fireworks outside our hotel room. These ended up being better than dowtown's fireworks. Tons of fun.

The throngs of people trying to leave the city at the same time. Craziness! We took the train from Jenna and Justin's house into the city with standing room only, but believe it or not, we left on that same train with almost a whole car to ourselves. Elli was asleep before we even got settled into our seats. When we got to our hotel room, she giggled in her little bed looking over at us and said, "it is fun to sleep with people." ?

The whole gang waiting for the fireworks downtown Chicago. They were good. We had fun. Elli got a great sword that she swung around dangerously the whole time. That is until she started shaking her booty!

Elli loved the statues of these little kids. She talked to them, hugged them, rubbed their faces, and asked if they were doing okay. How sweet she is.

Eating yummy corn at Taste of Chicago. Also, Elli and daddy enjoying the carousel on the Navy Pier. Elli loves to ride these horses!

Young's and Fireworks

We went to Young's last night before going to see fireworks. Elli of course wanted to feed and pet the goats and cows, then get ice cream. All three were accomplished with the company of Brent and I plus my parents. The fireworks were at Springfield Country Club and were great. Elli was in awe as you can see her staring at them. She also enjoyed playing with Papa as they threw their glow sticks back and forth before the firworks started. What a fun night.

We have bushes of black raspberries in our backyard. The last couple of years, Elli has helped pick these berries and she loves to eat them. I also like to turn them into cobblers and crisps and this year is the same. Elli decided she wanted to help make it. Yummy!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day. We had a great day on Father's Day. Brent was able to relax and enjoy being with us. My dad also had time to relax. What a great day. I am blessed to have two wonderful men in my life. A great husband and father to Elli and a great dad. Thank you God for the blessing of these men in my life.

She never stops

Even shen she sleeps she is moving around. Our little girl has turned into a very active girl. This is a picture I took of her after she had been sleeping for a little while, sounding restless.

We had a lot of fun at Bible School as well. She loved the singing and dancing and by the last night was doing all the motions and singing the words. We often have to put the DVD in sing and dance to the songs at home now too. I loved being part of the activities at VBS doing the games for the preschool kids. They had a blast. Elli can still remember the stories and the fact that she can FEAR NOT because Jesus is with her.

Heather's Graduaton

The long awaited graduation. Heather was so excited as were the rest of us. You can see it on her face. In the picture above, Elli is making another face. It is a monkey face. We had to pass the time some how:) Sadly, mom was very sick and missed the ceremony, but felt well enough to come to Heather's house for the open house party. It was a great day and Heather is very excited to be done with school for the time.

Strawberries with Friends

We just couldn't let those strawberries sit in the field, so we went again to get some more. They were once again delicious and this time we went with friends. Elli and Caroline had fun chasing each other and eating the berries. Poor little Catherine though was not so happy because she couldn't get down and play. We had a good morning.

H is for Horse

Since we were learning about the letter H, I decided to let Elli see some horses. When I called Shannon Stables and told them I was teaching Elli at home and we were learning about the letter h, she said to bring Elli over. She let Elli brush the horses hair, watch her clean the horses hooves, and told her about feeding them hay. Elli also got to pet a baby horse and then even ride one! What a fun day! We really enjoyed the horses.

Heather's Birthday

For Heather's birthday we went to Thai 9 for dinner. Yummy! Elli ran right into Gary's arms. We all had great food then headed to mom and dad's for presents and cake. Gary had an idea to wrap different sized cutting boards and then pretend we all got her one. She was trying to be thankful but we knew she wanted more:) Mom finally gave in and got the real presents. It was fun. Mom made cupcakes and we had ice cream. It was a great night celebrating Heather's birthday.

School/Cool

Elli is still enjoying school with me. We work each day on lots of things, one of which is rhyming. She said this morning that school is cool. Then she smiled and said she rhymed. Good job Elli. Brent and Elli are planting two rose bushes because we did G for g-g grow. She is excited to water and help these plants grow this summer. She told me that they also need sunshine, but God would give them that!

Rainbrella

Elli went to Toys-R-Us to use her birthday coupon. (I thought it a good idea to save it for a little while so she could get something new away from birthday time.) She walked around picking lots of things out. Then, she saw this "rainbrella" and decided that is what she wanted. She has played with it everyday. Thankfully it actually rained this week so she could stand under it. (She is wearing a beautiful dress yes, but she does everyday:)

Strawberry Picking and Jelly Making

We love the time to pick strawberries. Elli did such a good job this year. Mom and Heather came with us as well. We picked a ton of strawberries and made lots of jelly. Over 65 jars! It was a great day and we had a lot of fun together.

Elli enjoyed eating the strawberries. I told her not to eat too many because we needed to buy them first. Her reply was, "Mommy, this is not Kroger." Goodness.

Happy Graduation Devin

Happy High School graduation Devin. We are very proud of you. It was great fun being there with you in this celebration. Elli thoroughly enjoyed herself as well, whooping and hollering for all names announced, especially yours! She also enjoyed the dessert and staying up until 11:30! Can't wait until you come to Cedarville and live so close to us!

We forgot the baby

We were putting away some of Elli's toys that she has outgrown into the attic and she wanted to play with them one last time. She then said, "Mommy, we forgot the baby." I said we didn't have a baby but she said she wanted a real one. I asked her where she wanted the real one and she told me "in your tummy." I replied that she would need to ask Jesus for that and she immediately said okay and bowed her little head. Here is her prayer,"Thank you Jesus for today. I really want a baby in my mommy's tummy. Thank you God." She looked up at me and said, "God said yes." So all of you who read this, pray for a baby in mommy's tummy. How fun to let Elli see a HUGE answer to her sweet little prayer!