As usual, James created another awesome birthday video! Check it out. My favorite part is the last scene!
Archive for the 'Ella' Category
08
Jan
13
Ella’s 7th birthday video!
07
Jan
13
Ella’s birthday party!
Ella had her seventh birthday at Capital Gymnastics!
Her amazing cake that my friend Jen made!
 |
The adorable plates I found on Hallmark.com
 |
 |
 |
| flippin’ fun! |
 |
| playing which team can get the bean bags first! |
 |
| the pit! |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| gotta love the sparkler! |
 |
| dad photo bomb! |
 |
| opening up her Kindle Fire from mommy and daddy! |
06
Jan
13
Ella turns 7!
Our Ella Bella turned 7 years old on Saturday! She is street smart and book smart, funny, cries WAY too easily, but also LOVES others easily (which I know I need to work on!) We believe her love language is touch, and she could cuddle all day long if we let her. She enjoys chaos, and has to frequently be separated from her brother because she makes him wild! (Her and Rilyn are very different in this aspect…Rilyn tries her best to calm down her crazy brother!) 
Her favorites right now are stuffed animals, Barbies, math, reading Junie B. Jones First Grader books, riding her scooter, and making crafts with all sorts of scraps.
Ella’s party day actually fell on her real birthday this year for the first time so it was a busy day!
She woke up to her traditional birthday morning donut!
 |
 |
| birthday hugs |
Then she got to run through the kitchen to open presents and read cards from her family!
 |
James’ card was very sweet. Ella declared last month that she is now collecting snow globes, and got one as a souvenir every place we went in California. So James made a snow globe for her as a card!
 |
 |
| Her reading daddy’s card |
 |
| Ella reading Asher’s card |
 |
After the morning festivities, she changed into her new leotard that she got for Christmas for her GYMNASTICS themed birthday party later that evening. Of course I did a mini fun photo shoot of her!
 |
| SEVEN!!! |
Fun on the trampoline!
 |
| happy to be seven! |
 |
 |
| Rilyn got in on the fun too! |
 |
04
Jan
13
gymnastics!
Cheerleading was definitely consuming this past fall, but Ella and Asher had an extracurricular activity too! They both were in gymnastics one day a week. They loved it, and Ella will continue doing it in the spring, but will focus on tumbling. Here are some pictures! Ella’s birthday party will be at this very gym tomorrow, she loves it so much!
Ella’s teacher said that she has an AMAZING vault, and said she could move up to the next level class!
 |
 |
| Ella LOVED chalking up her hands before doing the bars! |
 |
 |
| the foam pit!! |
 |
 |
*Halloween Preview*
Ella will be the pink musketeer on Halloween! Check Rilyn’s pics out for a link on how to make the duct tape boots!
 |
 |
 |
 |
23
Sep
12
Ella and the Ags
Ella got to go to the Aggie game last night in which we WHOOPED SC State!! 70-14!! What a fun game to go to since the tradition at A&M is to give a kiss when the Ags score. Ella got LOTS of kisses from daddy!
Before the game in her new hat!
 |
 |
 |
 |
Grandpa and grandma went to the game with Ella and James, and they spoiled her with lots of Aggie love. She told me she had an “Aggie Spirit” flavored sno cone!
 |
| grandpa |
Pardon the 12th Man towel in your face!
 |
| we’re just showing our spirit! |
 |
| half time lovin’ |
 |
| Ella posing with the SEC |
I thought they would want to leave the game early since it was a blow out, but Ella really wanted to walk on the field after the game!
 |
| Aggie Spirit!! |
14
Aug
12
somebody’s daddy is a pastor!
After taking Ella, my 6 year old, out on a back to school date, she told me, “Mom, you’re my best girl! Well, actually, there is one girl I love more than you.”
“oh ya, who is that?” I said, really not knowing who she would say.
“God’s queen!” she shouted.
My eyebrows definitely raised at that one, and I said, “Who is God’s queen?!?”
“Mom, you know, the church!!”
“Oh, you mean Christ’s bride, the church?”
“Yes, His bride! I love her more than you, but that’s the only girl I love more.”
Somebody’s daddy is a pastor (of finance-but still)! ;-)
 |
| me and Ella |
As we prepare to go to the Dominican Republic in 3 days, we have been praying together each night this week, as a family, for the many requests that surround our trip. I learned a few summers back, when reading A Praying Life: Connecting With God In A Distracting World
Anyway, last night, we prayed in the early evening. James prayed for team unity, Ella prayed for travel safety, Rilyn prayed that she would make friends there, and I prayed for the rice and beans we are bringing would be multiplied like the miracle Jesus did from the boy’s lunch of 2 fish and 5 loaves to feed 5,000.
During these summer nights, James has been watching a cartoon called Avatar with the kids each night before bed. It’s not every night, but it’s most, and they love watching it together. After we prayed, I told them it was time for them to get ready for bed.
Ella promptly said, “Ugh! That prayer stuff wasted our time!”
Now before you think what an ugly thing to say, we adults think the same thing all the time, we just have the social graces to know NOT to say it out loud.
Ella wanted to watch Avatar, and because we had prayed, she thought that took up all her TV time with daddy. (Which by the way, we were going to let them watch Avatar after they got ready for bed, but because of that comment, they didn’t.)
We immediately talked to Ella about her heart. Luke 6:45 ”The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” What did that comment reveal about her heart? She loves Avatar more than praying for our mission trip? She believes that prayer isn’t that important or powerful? She feels she deserves the “comfort” of watching TV? Now I know she is only 6 1/2, but these “adult” conversations lay the groundwork for future conversations when the stakes are a lot higher (teenage years!).
I can’t wait to talk to our girls about this trip in 2 weeks to show how powerful our prayer was!
19
Jul
12
summer
 |
 |
 |
Asher has a thing for water in his face…he LOVES it!!
 |
 |
| I think I’ll stand right here… |
 |
| so I can get dumped on!!!! |
And just for fun-grandma bought Asher and cousin Caden matching Jake costumes from Jake and the Neverland Pirates show. Cousin Caden’s birthday is coming up, and his party theme is from that show…grandma just couldn’t resist. Personally, I couldn’t even tell if that was a wig Asher was wearing! 
 |
14
Jun
12
pine cove base camp!
These past two weeks have been all about camp and VBS! During first week of June, my girls went to Pine Cove base camp at our church!
I highly recommend this as a transition for overnight camps. Next summer, I would love to send my girls to Pine Cove overnight week long camp, and I think they would be totally ready for it based on the week they had at base camp! It was 9-4 p.m. Monday-Friday and they loved every minute of it! (Okay, Rilyn did complain about being too sweaty some days!) :) But that is a girly girl for ya!
They had tons of water activities every day!
 |
| Ella on the far left |
 |
| Ella in the middle trying to drink the water sprinkles! |
 |
| Rilyn and her friends! |
They had Bible study in their tents every day!
 |
| Rilyn in the red |
They got to act silly!
 |
| Ella |
Listen to silly skits!
 |
| Ella loving being in the front row! |
They did the Wobble (I totally recommend playing this for the kids, so fun!)
 |
| The girls LOVE this clean version of the song |
They had worship!
 |
| Rilyn |
And during the last day, the counselors (which both my girls want to be when they are in college!), presented them with a certificate of character quality!
 |
| Ella and her counselor |
Ella’s said, “Ella is an outgoing young lady. Her enthusiastic attitude is contagious and inspiring. Her positive outlook is a blessing to those around her.”
 |
| Rilyn and her counselor |
Rilyn’s said, “Rilyn is selfless, putting others before herself. She is uplifting in what she says and does. Her gracious attitude is a blessing to those around her.”
