Kindergarten Graduation, May 18th

 Elli and Molly said the pledge at the opening of graduation.

 Whole class picture with Mrs. Cooney and student teacher, Ashley Morris (former student of mine).

 Family picture with the graduate.

 Miss Morris.

 Mrs. Cooney

 Elli received two awards.  One for turning in all her homework all year, and the other for learning all 50 sight words for the year.  Way to go baby girl!

 Getting her diploma.

 Switching her tassel to indicate she is now a 1st grader.  This actually caused great confusion because the kids had three more weeks of kindergarten!

Lunch at Stony Creek with another frozen hot chocolate.  She is a spoiled little graduate!  So very proud of my big girl though.

Elli's book

 One night while reading Laura Numeroff's book, "If you give a moose a muffin", Elli told me she could write a book like that.  So the next day she dictated to me a story called, "If you give a cat a flower."  It is great!  She did the story all by herself, only needing a couple of prompts.  I am so proud of her work.  We fixed it into a hard back book and she has been reading it to friends and family.  Here she is reading it to Emiliee.

Proud of her.

Baby Shower Extravaganza, May 10th and 12th

 Sherry and Paula held a shower for me at Paula's on May 10th.  It was such a fun celebration of this life God has blessed us with.

 Thank you girls.

 Some of the ladies.

 Lots of presents.

 My two very helpful helpers.

 Laugh, cry?  Not sure because I spent the night doing both, sometimes laughing until I cried.  And no, it is not just because of pregnancy hormones.  This is simply the way I am:)

 Heading out for another shower, thrown by my mom and sisters on May 12th, at Heather's.

 Some of the ladies.

 Lots more presents!

 My little helper.  She is never far from the action:)

The girls.  It was another great day.  Lots of fun and great food.  Thank you to all who helped make these days special.

Ballet Fun!

 Love these girls.

 Always a pose when they are around:)

 Searching for the long awaited, much anticipated, highly sought after, 3rd year trophy.

 Found!!!!

 Happy girls.

Elli, Olivia, Sarah, Madilynn, Caroline, Lily.  What a fun group of little girls.  The mommies have had a great year too:)

Garden, Play, Dragons

 We decided to plant a garden again this year since last year was so much fun.  Yes, it is hard work, but oh so worth it to have all that fresh produce.

 Matt, Leah, and the twins came over to play.  We love having them around.

 We attempted a dragons game with the church.  We got there, got dinner, and then left due to a rain cancellation.

Brent keeping Elli dry under the umbrella on the way back to the car!  I love her sweet face here.

Happy 5th Birthday, Madilynn!

 Adorable Hello Kitty cake.

We are so thankful to have so many wonderful friends in our lives.  We love you, Madilynn Joy and cannot believe what a sweet big girl you are!

Elli's Spring Choir Concert

 Looking oh so pretty, ready to sing.

This is the kindergarten class singing during Cedarcliff's Elementary Choir Concert.  It was cute:)

Happy Birthday, Fergusons:)

Brent and Lance, April 14th, Elli April 25th, Kyle April 30th, and Jenna May 1st.  Calls for one huge celebration:)

Last Visit with AnnaBelle

 AnnaBelle has been in our family, as Heather's dog, for 15 years.  She was the best dog I have ever met and is greatly missed.  She was really sick and we knew she wasn't going to be around much longer, so we went over for a little visit.  Elli sure loved this dog and I am sure it is one reason Elli loves animals so much.

"Family" picture.

Ellianna's Birthday, April 25th

 Good morning birthday girl.  After school, we went to Stony Creek to get a frozen hot chocolate, Elli's favorite sweet treat in town.

 Afterwards, we went to the mall for pictures and other fun adventures, chosen by Elli.  Riding this horse was one of the chosen adventures.

 "Chickenese" for lunch, better known as Terryaki Chicken from Sarku.

 Playing with the doggies.

 This adventure was not planned, but I hit a curb in the parking lot and we got a fun ride in a tow truck to the Hyundai Dealer:)

 Daddy home early with flowers.

 A trip to Toys "R" Us to spend birthday money on squinkies and pet shops. Both turned out to be excellent choices as she plays with them all the time!

 Dinner and dessert at Red Robin.

 Coming home to presents of a new Bible and Bible bag, swim suit and beach towel, and a new scooter!

 We kept it in the basement and let her ride down there.

This is her first night as a 6 year old.  We had a great day celebrating by doing many of the things she loves.  She was worn out!  Somehow though in this picture, she does not look 6.  She looks more like my sweet baby girl that I just gave birth to.  Boy, how time flies.

Thoughts on my son

I was talking with a couple friends last night about this pregnancy and arrival of this precious baby boy.  I have a few thoughts to share on this topic, so here goes.
1.  The pregnancy itself has been tough.  Lots of scary moments early on with bleeding and cramping, episodes since 20 weeks of contractions, and most recently a trip to the hospital at 30 weeks thinking I was in early labor.
2.  The excitement of this coming baby has not been tough.  I simply cannot wait and get very excited everytime I think about meeting this little boy.
3.  My first time being pregnant, I was anticipating a baby.  This time around, I am anticipating my son.  I have realized after having Elli, that there is a person inside me, not just a baby.  He has a personality, a mind, a body.  He is letting me know things about himself already that I love figuring out as we spend more time together.
4.  Along the thoughts of number 3, I have realized that our son will be active, he will love apples, he may not be a snuggle bunny as he kicks back when he feels squished.  He will get the hiccups after he eats, he will come alive when we laugh, he will come alive at night:) 
5.  My son will change as he grows, but these things are true of him now, and I expect will be true when he arrives. I cannot wait to meet him and get to know him even more.
6.  I have been incredibly blessed and the miracle of creation is happening currently inside of me.  God is knitting his little body, developing his mind and spirit, and blessing me with all of it.  What an icredible experience I am able to be part of.  Again, I cannot wait to meet him.
(Now if God would just reveal to me what his name should be, we'd be all set!!)