I turned 33 on Dec 18th

What better way to celebrate a birthday than to play Duck-Duck-Goose? I love that Elli has her hand up trying to get me to pick her. We played for about 20 minutes. Some of the most fun I have had!

Love you mom and dad.

CHeesy grin for our family photo, but so cute:)

Before the present opening began!

Tha birthday gang minus Heather who was taking the picture and Kyle, Meg and Seth who came shortly after dinner, which was P. F. Chang's by the way. Delicious.

Elli's Preschool Christmas Party

Santa came to the party. Elli wasn't nervous today. She hugged him and told him what she wanted...

...a violin. Uh oh. This is not the present we got for her, but she has mentioned nothing but this the last few times we have talked to Santa. We have now had the discussion that we don't always get what we ask for. Sometimes we get other fun things:)

The pastor of the church where Elli's preschool is, gave the best explanation of Santa at Christmas that I have ever heard. He explained to the kids today at the party that Santa was a man named St. Nick and that he loved Jesus. He knew that Jesus was a gift from God to us and that those who believed He was God's son could receive even more gifts such as love, joy peace, and even eternal life in heaven. St. Nick was so excited about this that he wanted everyone to experience the joy of the gift of Jesus, so he took gifts to others and told them about Jesus. Now, today, we remember the joy of St. Nick when he learned about Jesus and we give gifts to each other as well, in celebration of the greatest gifts given to us by God. Isn't that great?

Some of my favorite moments

"Mommy, since I didn't get you a present, I'll give you a present hug."

"Mommy, when I grow up I will marry a prince. But not Prince Daddy because you already married him."

Elli, how many presents did Jesus get for his birthday?
Three. Gold, Franken and myrrh.
Right, so how many should you get for Christmas since it is Jesus's birthday?
Three, or maybe five?

"Hurry mommy before the "struck night" gets us. (Cinderella-struck midnight?

Fergi

Posing against her will:)

I thought I needed to post about our dog Fergi. (aka fergs, fergus pergus, bad dog...) She has been knocked down a few noches on the "important" list in our house since Elli came. She doesn't get as much attention but I still love my doggie. She loves to sit on my lap and snuggle, chase her toys, and run around like a crazy dog just because. I am choosing not to mention the "bad" thing she does. It would take too much room. Love you Fergi!

An evening at the Greene

Cheesy smile with daddy as we listen to the horns play "Sleigh Ride."

Love that big tree!

Th Greene is so fun this time of year. The Christmas decorations are very pretty and the carollers and musicians make it exciting as well. We went last night again for a little visit. Elli likes the big tree and these fun presents. We also found these beautiful poinsettias.

Hollywood Florida

The hotel was decorated very pretty for Christmas. This tree was huge!

The back of our hotel. We are the room 5 floors from the top on the left hand side, but against the middle section. 3145

Our last night we ate at Hollywood Prime, in the hotel. It was absolutely delicious. I got a 3 1/2 pound Maine Lobster and Brent got some of the most tender filet ever! We ate salad, bread, asparagus and cheddar mashed potatoes as well. We were waited on by three servers so that not even a crumb fell to the table without being wiped away:) We ate so much we could hardly fit in our suits for our evening hot tub visit, but boy was it good!

This is the view from our balcony. The center pool in an infinity salt water pool. The other pools go underneath it and there is a waterfall on either side of the infinity pool. The hole in the center has a glass bottom through which you can see the pool below and vice-versa. So fun! The hot tubs are hidden by palm trees, but there are two of them. We found out way into them each night.

The morning of our last day there. It was supposed to the warmest and sunniest day reaching a record of 90 degrees possibly! So sad to leave and come back to the cold Ohio weather. We tried to soak up as many rays as possible in those last few hours! Thank you Brent for such a good present for my birthday!

Brent planned a surprise weekend get-away for us to Florida for my birthday. We went the 10th-13th and stayed at the Westin Diplomat. We had a great time relaxing, swimming, shopping, and eating. We had some plane trouble before we could leave which resulted in us arriving 4 hours later than planned but we got two free tickets out of the deal:) It was 80+ degrees each day with part sun and one tremendous downpour! (we got caught in it while trying to walk the broadwalk. It just added to the fun:)

Preschool Praise

Singing and doing the motions.

She really got into these motions.

Playing right on cue!

Brent and I were in Florida for our weekend getaway when Elli sang in front of church for Preschool Praise. So, I took pictures and video at their practice the Wednesday before the performance. She was so sweet and did a great job playing her bell, singing, and doing the motions. My little performer:)

Our First "Snow"

We woke up Monday morning to this dusting. We went straight downstairs in our jams and played on the deck. Elli's hands got cold. She still doesn't understand that you need gloves to keep your hands warm.

Elli saw this piece of snow and said, "Oh my goodness, Mommy. I found a sea shell." Hehehe

I hope we get a lot of snow this year for her to play in. What fun it will be!

Ginger Bread House

Elli using no hands to eat this house!

Evidence of the "digging" in.

The completed house gets a big thumbs up from these two.

Elli trying to decide just where to put all the delicious treats.

Heather and Elli put together this ginger bread house. She ate lots of it as it was going together and then she could not wait to dig in once it was done. It is a constant question at our house these days!

Thanksgiving

Aunt Cindy and Grandma Donough on Thanksgiving. Delicious food and great company.

Some of the 33 people playing after dinner.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, Elli and I put up this tree. She had fun putting on the ornaments. She was showing her baby all the lights.

Emily's princess party

All the princesses at the party.

Cinderella and Arial. Such cute little girls.

Gary's Birthday

Elli was helping Gary open his presents.

This was quite the rousing game of "Duck, Duck, Goose!" Notice that AnnaBelle has to play too:)

Elli sure loves this precious dog, as do the rest of us.

We enjoyed dinner at Amber Rose and then had great cake and ice cream at Heather and Gary's house. The presents were a highlight as were the games. Happy birthday Gary.

Hot Dog

I put Elli's hair in a bun one night and she thought it was very pretty. So, the other night I asked Elli if he wanted her hair in a ponytail. She said, "No, I want it in a hot dog." I asked if she meant that she wanted it in a bun. She replied, "Yes, I want it in a hot dog bun!"

Morning Prayers

I pray with Elli before I take her into preschool, but lately, she has taken over the praying. Wednesday she prayed this, "Thank you Jesus for today. Help me to obey and share. And thank you for the ideas you give me. In Jesus name I pray, Amen." When was the last time I thanked God for the ideas He gives me? Maybe never. Thank you Ellianna, for reminding me that even the ideas in my head are from above!

Pancakes, turning four and sweet pumpkin

This morning Elli said she wanted pancakes. Then, she said, "Hey I have an idea. How 'bout we make m-and-m pancakes. Sounds good." So we made them and she loved them. She also, helped as you can see:)

On the way to school yesterday, Elli said, "Mommy am I four yet?" I told her she would be four in April when she had her birthday. Her response was, "It's really hard to get into the fours."

This morning after breakfast, Elli wanted to play babies. She had a doll and gave me one. We named them Arabella and Lindianna. Then she said she had another baby in her stroller that she calls, "sweet pumpkin." I thought it was so cute that she was using little pet names for her babies. Then I saw she actually had a little pumpkin strapped into the stroller! I love this girl.

Christmas Lights

Since we have had such a warm November, Brent and Elli decided to go ahead and put up Christmas lights on Monday of this week. Brent also installed an outdoor outlet so we could run them with a switch inside. Thank you, Brent for getting this done for us. Elli loves it as well as me.

Cousins

We all love this little guy. It makes me smile though when Elli asks when he is coming over to play, or if she wants to buy him something when we are out shopping. How sweet she is. It will be fun to watch them grow together.

A trip to Michigan

Kyle and Elli playing Kyle's favorite marble game from when he was a kid.

Daddy and Elli playing Mouse Trap. As all kids know, the most fun part is watching it go.

One of the biggest reasons for the trip was to help with the humungous pile of leaves that cover the Ferguson's yard. Elli had fun trying to run through the leaves. She tired quickly though and then went in to watch Cinderella.

Linda and Kyle making some progress. We used 1 large tarp, two leaf blowers, 3 rakes, it took about 4 hours and there were 5 of us working. Fun times:)

Elli loves little Seth. How sweet they are in this picture.

I don't feel good, Mommy

Usually these words make me feel nervous of what is to come and sad for Elli, but today those words sparked a different emotion. Elli didn't want me to look into her lunch bag before I gave her a snack on the way home from school. I always make sure she has eaten her lunch before the sweet, so I looked anyway. I noticed the container with her yogurt wasn't there. I asked her about it, but she said it must be lost. I gave her a chance to tell the truth after this lame explanation and she did. She said she put it in a hiding place because she didn't want to eat it but she wanted me to give her a sweet on the way home. I told her that was a wrong choice and she should have just put it back in her bag to finish when we got home. She sat in her seat thinking for a while then said, "I don't feel good, Mommy. I feel sick about what I did to my yogurt." I told her that is what sin does to you. It makes you feel sick and you need to ask Jesus to forgive you. She didn't ask for forgiveness, but she said she wanted to make better choices and obey so she won't feel sick. What an awesome way for God to show that He wants Elli's heart for Himself. After a few weeks of really praying for wisdom in raising and training Elli (we have had many new issues lately) I am thankful for this very real sign that God is working in her life, and mine!

Surprise Papa and Gonga

We took Elli to my parent's house to surprise them. She was giggling as we told her not to tell them it was her. When she walked in after knocking on their door, the next trick-or-treater was a little surprised and unsure what to do. I don't think he wanted to go in:)

Baking Cookies and Trick-or-Treat

Getting candy from the neighbors with the neighbors/friends:)

Elli and Lily holding hands as they begin the quest for candy. Elaina and Kiersten were also with us. Very fun way to "trick-or-treat."

This police officer was handing out candy as well. Elli was a little nervous but once she saw he was giving candy, she was all for it!

I wanted a picture with Elli, Fergi, and our little pumpkin.

Elli using the rolling pin for the sugar cookies. Look at that smile:)

Once again, I let Elli help cook. This is becoming quite the regular routine. She was loving using the rolling pin. She did a good job, but had to reminded lots of times to wash her hands after licking her fingers. The cookie dough is just too yummy!

Care Group Costume Pictures

Reagan, Elli, Lily and Madilynn being sweet to each other:)

Andrew (Davy Crockett), Caleb (indian), Reagan (ballerina), Elli (Angelina ballerina), Emma Grace (elephant), Caitin (Wendy), Lillian (village Belle), Madilynn (princess, and Caroline (monkey)!

It has become a bit of an annual event to get all the kids in their costumes. This one is a winner!