To Do List

Thought I would type out my 'To Do' list on my blog post today- Not because I think anyone gives a hoot but because I need to get it written down so I can start working on it :)

Write thank you card's to all who attended Ellie's Shower (THANK YOU GUYS FOR ALL THE AMAZING GIFTS!!! If you don't see your thank you card for awhile hopefully this will suffice)

Clean out my refrigerator (Something brown spilled like a week ago and I look at it every time I open the refrigerator door and think to myself.....I should clean that......then I shut the door and move on to the next thing I am doing)

Either give away or sell several pants that Eli has grown out of (Ryan and Eli's styles are so different that Eli never hands his clothes down to Ryan- The jeans I am getting rid of are 28's American Eagle and Abercrombie)

Fertilize both the back and front yard

Go out to my friend Darrah's house so we can hi-lite each other's hair

Wash my comforter cause Ellie did a major spit up on it in the wee morning hours- I wish I had a black comforter cause if I could not see the big stain in the middle of my comforter I would not wash it :)

Take Ellie's 6 week picture and post it on here

Finish reading the book I started several weeks ago (Francine Rivers 'The Last Sin Eater'- It's super good)

Fold Laundry

Balance my check book 

This was going to be the picture on our Christmas Card last year-
I was going to crop out the foot-printed sand in the front and just
keep the 'we miss you'- at the last minute I changed it to the one below-
How exciting that this year we will have Ellie to add to our picture!!!

It's My 17th Anniversary Today!

Happy 17th Anniversary Babe- I love you SO much!

July 30, 1994

Dating My Dudes

Last night, as I was putting my boys to bed, Ryan say's "Mom, I miss hanging out with just you!'- I say "Wanna go on a date tomorrow and we will have Nanny (my mom) watch Elle's?"

Olive Garden to Sportsman's Warehouse to Sonic and then to the Mall..........Thanks for the Date Ryno and Eli!!

As I am typing this blog post I've got Ellie laying right by me (sleeping her day away so she can keep us up all night...LOL) looking ever so cute......

Ellie's First Bumbo Seat

If you have not heard of a Bumbo 'Baby Seat' you are not alone- I had never heard of a 'Bumbo' until I saw my friends super young twins (Leah's Jax and Ryder) sitting in them in one of her face book pictures- I could not believe how small they were but able to sit in the seat- I knew we would get one if we adopted-
I ended up getting 2- one from my friend Michelle and one from mother/daughter in law duo Heather and Caryn (Thank you ladies)-
Today was the first time we put Ellie in her Bumbo-  She LOVED sitting up :)

As I snapped this picture I saw Oklie in the back ground
so I took the pic below.......she loves watching the cars go by- 

A Few Baby Favorites

A few things I have come to absolutely LOVE and feel like I would be lost without since having Ellie:

1. Dr. Brown's Bottles- My sis bought me one when we were in the hospital with Ellie- she said that she heard they were awesome from our cousin Becca- I currently have 6 and will add more to my collection before Ellie is through taking a bottle- They are supposed to reduce gas- Ellie has latched on really well to them from the beginning (which is HUGE when you have a small baby).
2. Home Made burp clothes that are made from cloth diapers- They seem to absorb Ellie's spit up really well- LOVE LOVE LOVE them.
3. Sleepers that zip from Children's Place- During the night, if Ellie's diaper needs to be changed- It is so much easier to zip something up and down then to snap it up- 
4. Aveeno Baby Wash and Lotion- The Lotion with the purple top- While I was baby sitting Lily, I saw that my friend Dionne (Lily's mom) used it on her- I tried it out and really liked it- It seem's to work well on Ellie's skin.  The baby wash smells really good and I love smelling Elle bug after she has had a bath :)
5. Mylicon- My sis Jodi bought Ellie Mylicon gas drops- THEY ARE AMAZING.  If your baby has ever suffered from gas I would highly recommend Mylicon- It will calm Ellie down and she will sleep after having it- If she does not have it and is suffering from gas, she is very fussy for hours.

I just came across this picture of our middle son Ryan- He was
a little under a year old..........so so so cute- Daddy and I love you Ryno Chase!!

A Sweet Picture of Friendship

 As Becca's mom (Robin- Becca's mom is standing to the right of this picture in the black shirt) was praying on Sat. at Bec's baby shower, I opened my eye's toward the end of the prayer to check on Ellie- I happened to glance up, and this is what I saw...a scene that brought tears to my eye's-
My sis-in-law Liz (who is lovingly nick named 'precious liz-a-beth') with her ever loving hand on Becca's leg-
If I could have read Liz's mind at that moment I know that she was pouring forth an enormous amount of Love and support- Among other things, she was confirming to Becca that she (Liz) would be faithfully praying for little Claire (Bec's new baby girl) and Bec-
I think that this moment was extra tender to my heart, not only because I love these 2 women like sisters, but because I am going through a season in life where I feel like the Lord is really teaching me about being a good friend- during this season of learning I have been doing the Bible Study 'David' by Beth Moore- In it she talks about the friendship between Jonathan and David (found in 1 Samuel)- I have written, in the margin of 1 Samuel 18 in my Bible, "Lord please let me be a friend like Jonathan............"
That is the prayer of my heart- It is neat to see physical examples (like the pictures on my today's post) of beautiful Godly friendships-

We've Been A Family Of 5 For 5 Weeks

O.K...................... So We have been a family of 5 for 5 weeks tomorrow-
I had a moment of quiet cause Ellie decided to drink twice as much formula for dinner tonight than she normally does and is completely zonked out.  I might regret the decision that I allowed her to go to sleep at 7 tonight instead of keeping her up until about 10 (we normally keep her up from 7-10 pm every night so that she will sleep a decent amount at night- her day's and night's were confused the first couple of weeks we brought her home).
Back to my first sentence- WE ARE A FAMILY OF 5!!!
The past 5 weeks has been a huge life change (obviously)- We are navigating through bridging 2 vastly different age groups (Ellie a newborn and Eli and Ryan tween/teen)- For instance, if we are to do something as a complete family- floating down the river would not be the choice anymore- It would look more like going to the river- the boys will swim and I will sit on the shore (in a very shady spot) and watch........Still totally great to do- just different-  Lot's of thinking through for Matt and I on how to create our new 'normal'-

I was eating breakfast this morning and heard Ellie start fussing- She was just waking up and still in her bassinet in my room......I never even said a word to either of my boys- I saw Ryan jump up and and say 'Miss Marie is crying!' (They both call her 'Miss Marie)- He went and got her, laid her on his chest and she slept for a good half an hour more cuddled against her big brother-

What a blessing to be able to say that we are finding and creating our new 'normal'
Eli Ben, Ryan Chase, and Ellie Marie.......You bless the socks off of daddy and I!

This picture is totally unrelated to my blog post- I just found it and thought it was adorable-
I am guessing it is about 7 years old-
From left to right is our nephew Jess, Ryan, and Eli

I think Ellie is trying to tell us to 'Talk to the Hand' :)