Happy 4 month birthday to Ellie

Today is sweet Ellie's 4 month birthday! She weighs 13.44 lbs and is 24.50 inches. I think that is 47% for weight and 60% for height. She got 3 shots & 1 oral medication, poor thing. She was a bit fussier than normal tonight, so I'm sure they were bothering her some.


Ellie is just about to start rolling over. She will roll over 'til she just about has it but then roll back. She laughs & smiles & 'talks' alot. She is attending Bible Class, and they say she does well. She chews on things all the time: toys, hands, fingers, pacifier, burp cloths, etc. She takes reflux medicine because of her frequent spitting up and we put rice cereal in some of her bottles per the doctor's orders to help thicken and decrease the amount of spitting up. I still nurse her mainly, but she does get 1-2 bottles per day. The doctor said we can start her on rice cereal with a spoon and then veggies & fruits. We'll wait a day or two to start the veggies because she had a slight rash today, so the doctor said to wait so if the rash got worse we would know for sure if it was the food or something else.


We still call her Ellie, Ellie Belly, Ellie Roo, and our 'new' nickname for her is Ellie Belles. She is just too precious!

cousin fun!

My brother and niece (Josh & Ann Elise) came to visit last weekend, and we had lots of fun! We picked them up at the airport Friday morning (letting Gracie skip school!) and headed to eat lunch at a place Josh wanted to go. Then we treated the girls to pampering at Libby Lu's! We then went back to the house and had some friends over that night who had gone to church with Josh in Nashville.










Saturday, the girls played & played in the backyard and we walked to 2 parks and had a picnic. Later that afternoon we went to Dewberry Farm where we had lots of fun!
Sunday, we went to church and lunch and took them back to the airport. It was a short visit but lots of good memories were made!

our life as of late

Wow-it has been a long since I've written a new post! Let's see if I can update on our last couple of weeks.

*My mom came for a visit Oct. 1-6th, so that was fun. She spent lots of time holding Ellie and spending time with Gracie & Katie as well. She will be back with my dad & grandmother for Christmas, so we're looking forward to that.

*While Mom was here, we got to visit Gracie's classroom for her 6 week awards. We are proud of Gracie for doing so well and it was fun for me to get to participate in "Friendship Circle" where they compliment their classmates and tell jokes, etc. at the end of each school day. It was also convenient that Mom was here to watch Katie & Ellie for me to go to our Parent/Teacher Conference.

*We are really enjoying seeing Chris's cousin, Ashley, lately. She recently got married to a man who lives here in our same town. They are actually living apart right now due to job situations and he should be moving to San Antonio, but we not-so-secretly hope that something will cause them to end up living here full time instead! They had a small wedding, so they had a reception here a few weeks ago that we were able to attend, and then last weekend they joined us for a picnic & small fishing trip. It's so nice to see family, and Ashley has always been one of my favorites because she is so sweet!

*I am enjoying being part of a Bible Study on Thursday mornings. We've only had it twice, but I've enjoyed both times. It's a small group of around 6 of us and the ages of the ladies range. I really like spending time with and learning from "more mature" ladies, so I'm glad to have been asked to participate. We are studying Philippians. I actually have some "homework" that I need to do now that I think about it. Katie & Ellie come right along with me and Katie enjoys playing with her friend Emily during the study. We have been spending playtime with Emily & her mommy, Kerri, lately and this is a friendship I'm thankful to be developing.

*I've also been asked to participate in an online Bible Study with some friends, studying Colossians. I hate to admit that I'm quite behind on this, but I do enjoy what I've completed so far and plan to get caught up eventually!

*I went to a Moms in Touch prayer group last week, too. It was a small group but went pretty well. It was a bit different from what I was used to, but it was good. I'm glad the group exists.

*We are excited that my brother & niece are coming to visit at the end of this next week! It will be a short visit, but we'll be glad to see them. I know we'll hear lots & lots of giggling. We have plans to eat at a restaurant my brother has eaten at before when he was in Houston and really liked and also have plans to visit a pumpkin patch/corn maze. We'll stay busy, and I'm sure it will go way too fast, but it will be fun!

*Gracie is still enjoying school and doing well. We all enjoy walking to school each day, especially now that it's cool in the mornings (still not midday though) and with gas the way it is, I sure like not wasting it sitting in carline, although it is getting better-Chris paid $2.92 today! She is getting a bit sassier as she gets older, but is still a sweet girl who is a wonderful big sister to Katie & Ellie. She does get frustrated with Katie, but I suppose that's to be expected. They still spend lots of time together having fun-especially playing in the backyard together. She had a friend from school & the neighborhood come over last week for a short playdate, and they had fun playing together. She is enjoying her classes at church and got to go on a fun outing a couple of weeks ago where they did a service project and then also played 'glow in the dark 3-D mini golf' and ate pizza & ice cream, too.

*I am trying to savor this last year that Katie is home all day with me. I am finding myself already in a bit of a panic when I think of sending her to Kindergarten next year! I'm such a sentimental fool, and I miss Gracie when she's gone so I know I'll miss Katie, too. I'm glad I'll have my sweet Ellie home with me for awhile longer! I know some moms express dismay when school's out, but I like it! I enjoy having time away sometimes, but I generally like having my family all together! Katie is tons of fun and is constantly making us laugh. She is just hilarious and will bust out with the most random, funniest things. She is so smart too! I am amazed at her sometimes! I was pointing to letters the other day to see if she knew them. She was telling me the letters, but apparently that was a bit boring to her so she started telling me the sound THEN the letter! We didn't go through the whole alphabet, but suffice it to say I'm not worried about her academically other than that I hope she'll be like Gracie and will enjoy school even if what is being taught at the moment is something she might already know. Hopefully, she'll be self disciplined & self motivated enough to take her knowledge to the next level and take advantage of opportunities to improve upon what she already knows. She is really such a sweetie and such fun. I worry sometimes that people who don't spend consistent time with her don't see that. Maybe they only see the part of her that is a bit impulsive and a bit crazy and a bit stubborn. If they'd take the time to really sit & talk to her they would see how wonderful she is! She's not the perfectly compliant child all the time, but she's wonderful! Of course, I am her mother.........

*Ellie Roo, or Ellie Belly, or Ellie Belles (all affectionate nicknames) is doing great! We did start her on reflux medicine this week due to her frequent spitting up incidents & choking on them. (Jennifer-are you excited about this?) She is 12 lbs. 14 oz. at 3 1/2 months. Gracie was only 16 lbs. at a year! She is such fun and smiles & smiles! She also has started laughing & "talks" a lot. So cute! She's started sitting in her high chair some while we eat and other times during the day. She's also started going to Bible Class. They say she does well! :)

*Chris likes his job and has joined a 'vanpool' that gets him home MUCH earlier and with much less stress than when he was driving himself. He is enjoying football season.

*I've been clipping coupons and checking the sales ads for the grocery stores and trying to take advantage of the bargains that are out there. We've also been trying not to eat out as much. With the prices of things going up & up, we need to cut back. I like feeling like I got a bargain, so I guess that's kind of fun. It really is amazing to see how much money is wasted sometimes just because of "picking something up" to eat for dinner or just throwing things in the grocery cart rather than paying attention to what is really needed and what might be on sale and what I might have a coupon for. Anyway......

*Halloween is coming up. Gracie wants to be Pippi Longstocking. I'm not sure what Katie will be. Ellie will probably wear a Halloween bib or a shirt that says, "This IS my costume" that my mom got her. I'm not a huge Halloween person, so we will most likely throw something together for G's Pippi costume and dig through the dress up box for Katie. I think there is something at church the weekend before Halloween and a few things in the community Halloween night. I'm not sure exactly what we'll do. We're tentatively planning to go to New Mexico to see Chris's family for Thanksgiving.

*I hope everyone is having a good Fall!

20 years ago.....

I haven't been tagged to do this, but I saw where Julie did this post and it looked kinda fun, so I thought I'd jump in and do it too. I'm supposed to tell what I was doing 20, 10, 5, and 1 year ago, also yesterday, today, and tomorrow. So...here goes!

20 years ago (1988)

I was a sophomore at Greater Atlanta Christian School and 15 years old. Um...um....um....is it bad that I can't seem to remember too many details? Anyone reading this who knew me then feel free to help me out with this one! I was living in Lilburn, GA (suburb of Atlanta) and attended Campus Church of Christ. Likely friends to hang out with on the weekends: Alethea, Tracy, Cheri

10 years ago (1998)

Chris & I had gotten married August 1994, and we were living in Uvalde, TX after having lived in Abilene & Lubbock. I was in my 3rd year of teaching (2nd year of teaching 2nd grade). We hadn't bought our house yet, so we were still living in our rent house. That rent house was really neat. Not to say that I'd want to still be living in it because it also had some odd things about it, but it was neat. It was out by itself on some other guy's land and it was quiet. I'm not sure I appreciated that too much until we moved here to Houston! ha! :) We were attending church at South Getty Church of Christ and had a nice group of 'older' Christians to look up to: the Royal's, the Lester's, the Forehand's, the Hale's, among others. No children yet at this point.

5 years ago (2003)

We were living in Aiken, SC having moved there in May 2001. Our precious Gracie had been born in July 2000, so she was just over 3 years old and I guess by this point we knew we were pregnant again although we didn't know if the baby was a boy or a girl yet. (We didn't find out for sure until Katie was born in March 2004) We were attending Aiken Church of Christ and had many friends in our same "stage of life."


1 year ago (2007)

We were still living in Aiken, SC and still attending the same church. We didn't yet know we were pregnant with our adorable Ellie although maybe we actually were???? Close anyway if not since her birthday is June 24! :) At this point we had NO idea we would be living in Houston, TX less than a year later although I think Chris was starting to feel quite unsettled with his job, so maybe he had more of an idea of a move than I did! Wow! What a change! Gracie was 7 and in 2nd grade at Millbrook Elementary School. Katie was 3 and going to Mother's Day Out one day a week at First Baptist.


yesterday (September 27, 2008)

I actually stayed inside most of the day and slept a good portion of the afternoon since I've been feeling quite under the weather. Allergies, sinuses, etc. Hard to believe you can feel so bad from something like that! I did go through some of the girls' clothes trying to figure out what they have for this Fall.

today (September 28, 2008)

We went to church this morning. Gracie went out with a group from church for a service/fun project. Katie & Ellie napped. Chris watched football. I went to 2 grocery stores. Ellie & I stayed home tonight because I really wasn't feeling well. We watched the premiere of Amazing Race when Chris got home-our favorite show!

tomorrow (September 29, 2008)

Chris will go to work. Katie, Ellie, & I will take Gracie to school. Provided I feel like it, we'll work on getting the house ready for Grammer to come visit this week! Another week will begin!

I'd like to see these people complete a post like this of their own:
*Jennifer R.
*Cindy D.
*Krista B.

Ellie Hollyn is 3 months old!

Today my sweet Ellie is 3 months old. It is hard to believe that she has already been with our family for that long. These last few months have been such a whirlwind for our family, and I'm glad God chose to bless us with this sweet baby girl to enjoy the ride with us.

At 3 months this is what Ellie is into:

*She drools a lot these days. Could have something to do with the fact that she chews on her hands a lot. She also will grab her burp cloth and stuff it into her mouth and chew on it. Speaking of burp cloths....these are a necessity around here. She spits up A LOT! I'm actually a little worried she may have reflux or something. She will sometimes get quite choked on just saliva or drainage...I don't really know. But sometimes it happens even when she hasn't recently eaten. The other day she was strapped in her car seat at the library when it happened and I had to scramble to get her out of her seat so I could put her up on my shoulder and pat her back. It was so sad-she was struggling to breathe and was looking at me like, "Help me Mom!" If she had been my 1st child I probably would have been screaming for someone to help me. However, being my 3rd child, I was definitely concerned and worked quickly to get her out with my heart racing, but I knew as soon as I got her upright and patted on her a little that she'd be okay. I just worry about it happening sometime if I'm not right there with her.

*She has such a pretty smile and offers it quite freely which brings a smile to our faces of course! She also 'talks' & 'talks.' I love to hear her little coos. She has started to laugh a little bit.

*She has discovered television. I can tell it really grabs her attention, so I'm planning a trip to the library to look for some Baby Einstein dvd's. She likes to sit on our lap facing us and have us do 'patty cake.' Of course, she tries to put her hand & ours in her mouth!

*She is pretty strong and holds her head up really well-for a time-then it's watch out because it flops! She will sometimes put weight on her legs when you hold her up.

*She is about to start moving I think. When we put her on her back under her little gym thing, she pushes herself backwards. Also, when we put her in bed at night she is frequently in a slightly different place in the morning. She moves herself around somehow. I have also found her pacifier in a different place like maybe she picked it up and moved it. She is still sleeping through the night 99.9% of the time and has been doing so for quite some time now. I am soooo thankful for this! It makes all the difference in the world in how my day goes. Those first few weeks of getting up over & over in the night just about killed me. I've never done really well with those hard nights, so I'm grateful that she is sleeping well!

*Sometimes she looks like she has red hair so I'm still holding out some hope for it! :) She has quite a little temper sometimes so that points to being a redhead, right?! One thing that almost always calms her down is her biggest sissy singing, "Sing and Be Happy" to her. It is very sweet! One of Katie's favorite songs right now is, "Sanctuary," and that is very sweet to hear also.

*Katie & Ellie are forming a sweet relationship now that Gracie is in school. Nurturing Ellie comes very naturally to Gracie and they've had a special relationship from the beginning. Often she will jump to help her before I will! Katie has seemed to view Ellie as a bit of a nuisance for a time (after all, she took her place as the baby in the family!) Now that Gracie is in school, Katie will ask for Ellie to be brought to her room and she will dance for her and show her toys and just enjoy her being in there with her. Ellie likes it and will watch her (and the ceiling fan!) sitting in her bouncy seat and be happy for quite some time. She still doesn't nurture as naturally as Gracie does but that may just be her nature. I can totally see Gracie as a stay-at-home mom one day, while Katie I picture going on a medical missions trip to Africa or something! I just see her as being more 'on the go' while Gracie & I are happy to sit & read for longer periods of time. It's fun to see how different they can be!

*She still loves her bouncy seat and endures the portable swing sometimes although it's certainly not her favorite! She likes to lay on the floor for a little bit but not her favorite either. When she's really fussy, she calms down best if you hold her horizontally, stick the pacifier in, and pat her bottom pretty hard. (other than feeding her of course). She is mainly nursed although she does get 1-2 bottles of formula per day-usually just 1. The girl is a BIG burper! Goodness. It's embarrassing sometimes! She also rarely fusses in the car or stroller. I think she enjoys the 2 walks she gets per day as we walk Gracie to & from school. I'm glad she's getting the regular fresh air. Around here we'll probably be able to walk her year round!

Ellie is a precious part of our lives and we're blessed to have her as part of our family!

Fall 2008

I love looking at these "Fall-ish" pictures because I love Fall, but it sooo does not feel like it~or look like it~around here! I will close my eyes and picture it often and pray for some cooler days like we had last week. I did put my Fall wreath on the front door and my "Fall-ish" tablecloth on the table last week, but that's about all I've done in the way of decorating for Fall. I may get around to doing more of it later...but then again I may just walk into Kirkland's and enjoy their Fall decorations. I just don't have it all together right now. I'm loving our new house and trying to keep the laundry caught up (ha!) and the kitchen clean and getting those last boxes unpacked. Maybe NEXT year I'll do more decorating. For now, I'll look at these pictures and remember that there are places in the U.S. that look like this.

I also want to remember my blessings each day because they are many. I am thankful.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Bracelet

In April of 2007, a friend of mine was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. This was devastating news to me. I mean, this girl was younger than me and had 3 young children-under the age of 3 years old. She had been sick for awhile and the doctors had just discovered what was wrong. I think all of us were in a bit of shock. It just didn't seem real. We heard that this was the "good" kind of cancer to get, but we were still scared for our friend.

Holly, the friend, decided to do something special for our group of friends-to make something good come out of her scary experience. In Aiken, our church was somewhat small-around 150-but we had a large group of girlfriends who were somewhat the same age with children who were also somewhat the same age. This was-and still is-special. Sometimes we didn't-and still don't-always get along for one reason or another, but the bond between young mothers with common faith & values is one that should be treasured. These relationships are blessings sent from God. Holly wanted to do something that would make each of us pause for a moment and cherish each other despite the differences we may sometimes have. After all, Holly was being faced with an uncertain future which tends to make people realize what's really important in life.

What Holly decided to do was get a charm bracelet and put a charm on it and to also get a journal that would always stay with the bracelet. She placed a charm on the bracelet that signified what she was going through at the time-a cross-and also wrote in the journal about her current circumstances and her hopes for the bracelet and what it will mean to all of us. Since then, the bracelet has been passed on to 7 other girls-the 7th being me. Each girl who has had the bracelet has added a charm to signify what they're going through and has written in the journal.

The bracelet has received a crown to represent the prince a mother's baby boy is to her, a heart charm for the mother of a baby girl who had open heart surgery, an elephant for our "Alabama" fan who moved away from Aiken, a dove to represent the peace a mother felt on the birth of her 3rd child, a key for the mother who says her sons hold the key to her heart, and a '4 seasons' charm to represent the mom who recognizes that our lives are full of different seasons. I can't express how honored & thrilled I was to receive a chance to wear the bracelet and to write in the journal-especially since I've moved away. I received the bracelet for the events of moving & also for the birth of our precious Ellie. I have had such fun looking at charms and trying to decide on the best one to add.

My girlfriends in Aiken are special parts of my life and I miss each of them for different reasons. I recognize how special it was to have those ladies & their children in my life and I think it makes me appreciate the relationships I'm forming with new girlfriends here in Houston even more. These new friendships don't make me not miss my Aiken friends, but rather to appreciate them & the memories I created while there even more. I so appreciate the ones who have taken the time to keep in touch with me and am thankful for all the avenues we have these days that allow us to keep in touch so easily.

I am happy to say that Holly is now free of her cancer and I pray it stays that way!

Dear Lord,

Please bless my girlfriends in Aiken for they are special to me in so many ways. Bless all of us with the ability to love as You would have us do. Bless all of our children and please keep us close despite the miles that may sometimes separate us-with some of us being in South Carolina, some being in Colorado, and some being in Texas there are many miles between us. Bless us all with the wisdom to appreciate each & every day we have with our true friends and help us all to bless each other as often as we can. Thank you for the blessing of Christian girlfriends and bless us as we welcome new girlfriends into our lives as we experience the different seasons you have planned for us.

In Jesus' Name,

Amen

Here are some pictures of some of us at a 'girls' night out' right before Holly's surgery.