Bedtime Stories

It's always a treat when Sophie comes in to read stories to Ella.

L.O.V.E.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love this man? Because I do. As much as I could love any earthly man. Thank God for an earthly husband as phenomenal as this one. I think I will keep him.

Snow Day 2011

We knew the snow was coming in. They estimated that it would hit on Sunday night and it did! We got about 5 inches and the girls were so very excited. 

Sophie made a checklist of all the things she wanted us to do in the snow.

Sophie making her snow angel.

Ella working on her snow angel.

Silly girls wanted to try "swimming" in the snow.

Our house with the pretty snow

Sweet little FIVE-YEAR-OLD

Her precious big sister

Five Years Old

Our sweet little princess is now five years old. It is so hard to believe. I somehow had convinced myself that the little peanut would stay a peanut forever.

This is her at three. Seems like it was just yesterday!

She is blossoming into a little girl as each day passes. She loves singing, performing, snuggling, and just being the center of attention (when it suits her to be the center of attention). She has the greatest laugh in all the world. It is more of a cackle, and it is so big that you think it could break her! She is reading on her own now. It is an amazing thing to see her sounding those words out. You can literally see those little wheels in her mind turning - such an amazing gift from God. 

Yummy gluten free donuts for breakfast on her birthday

Just still so hard to believe that she is this big already - she LOVES when I let her sleep in sponge rollers :-)

Birthday girl ready for her party at Build-a-Bear

Getting the hearts ready to put inside of her new stuffed puppy

This was the first year that this sweet child was not terrified of the candles. Usually, she cries and we have to help her blow them out. This time, she totally owned those candles! :-)

So thankful....

.....that I could surprise this little lovey with lunch today!

One little curly curly....

Ice Skating!

We took the girls ice skating at the Memphis Zoo this past weekend. Ever since they went ice skating at Rockefeller Center over Thanksgiving, it's all we hear about (particularly from Sophie). 

Can you tell she was happy to be there?!?!?

John with all 6 of his daughters. Our three, obviously. Plus Lisa (our nanny), Madison (Ryan's best friend for the past 8+ years), and Sydney (who just played "Annie"). 

This made me laugh because even when Sophie would bust her little bum, she'd still just smile and laugh and get back up to do it all over again. 

We can't wait to go back again!!!!

The many faces of Miss Ella Bella

So sorry for the blogging hiatus! Once we started rehearsals for "Annie", it was all I could do to keep the laundry washed, the house (semi) clean, dinner cooked, etc. Blogging was the last thing on my mind! This is such a fluff post, but I gotta get my feet wet again somehow.

Of all of our girls, Ella is definitely the biggest ham! She sees the camera and is instantly posing. She makes me laugh, though, because she wants to look through all of the pictures to see which ones "aren't cute". It's hard to stay focused on being mad at her when she's flashing one of these faces at you!

I love this one because you can see the big gap where she lost her two bottom teeth. So sweet. She really does just want her two front teeth for Christmas!

Backstage at "Annie". What a silly little orphan. 

She said this one was "cutest". I tend to agree.

This is the face we see when the princess isn't exactly amused with whatever we have said to her.

Caught her off guard while she was giggling. This is one of my favorites.

School Rules

Our little Ella bear is our rule follower for sure. She knows what she is supposed to do and she makes sure that everyone else knows as well. I hear the school rules at least once per day - usually more than that.

JK

Ella is in her final year of preschool before making the move to kindergarten next year. (Mommy is going to have to be put into a padded room!)  She loves to tell anyone around that she is in "the smart class" at school. Not really sure where it came from, but I am guessing that her teachers tell them often that they are a smart group of children. :-) 

She is flourishing in school this year and we are blessed with a couple of phenomenal teachers. We struggled for a number of weeks with the adjustment - lots and lots of tears for Mommy when I would drop her off. She thought she had me wrapped around her little finger - feeling so very sorry for her. What little miss drama did not realize was that I could see her turn the waterworks OFF the instant she crossed over the threshold from the hallway to the classroom. Little stinker!

Anyway, now that she has gotten that out of her system she's doing beautifully. They are learning to write uppercase and lowercase letters. She works on homework every afternoon. She has even gotten to be the "mystery reader" in class on a couple of occasions because she is reading so well on her own. I am pretty sure she's just trying to keep up with big sisters, so the reading is top on her list of things to learn to do independently. 

Travels

So I mentioned earlier in the summer that all of our travels were coming late this year. They were all phenomenal trips. Our trip to NYC at the end of July was one of my favorites to date. John was there on business, so I joined him after his meeting for a few days. 

Eating an early dinner at one of our very favorite restaurants there - Pigalle. The French onion soup is the best on the planet. 

We met up with John's sister and saw "A Little Night Music" with Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch. Can you believe Bernadette still looks that good?!?!?!?

Times Square - on the way to see a matinee of "Memphis"

 Plays Gator in "Memphis"

Plays Delray in "Memphis"

Plays Huey in "Memphis"

This was John's 3rd time and my 2nd to see "Memphis" - truly a wonderful show. The music brings me to tears every single time I hear it. We are so excited for the national tour to kick off in Memphis next year. You can bet we will be at the Orpheum more than once while it is here!

We did get to see "Promises Promises", but the stage door was a MOB SCENE afterwards. We expected that to be the case because Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenowith are both starring in it. The show was phenomenal and hysterical. So sad to find out that it is closing in January. 

John and I spent an afternoon aboard the USS Intrepid, which has been turned into a museum. It was an amazing experience. We definitely want to take the girls aboard when we go back to NYC in November. 

There were so many things to see. There was no way we could cover it all in our four short hours there. Like I said, our trip was wonderful. I so enjoyed spending that time with John. It was awesome to see Laura a couple of days that we were there. The city is so special to us because John proposed to me there. I am just thankful to God for blessing us with the means and the ability to enjoy that time together. 

"But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let those also who love Your name be joyful in You." - Psalm 5:11

Flying!

Time is flying. My baby no longer looks like a baby. Wouldn't you agree?

Eating out

Why our family is banned from two or three eateries in Memphis....

"All Shook Up"

John and the girls are in another show together at the Harrell right now. My travel schedule created too many conflicts for me to join them on the stage this time. :-(

Here are the girls ready to go on for their jailhouse scene ("Jailhouse Rock").

A 2 and a 6

Sophie started 2nd grade today!!! And then came home and lost her 6th tooth!!! What a big day!

Seven?!?!?

Dinner with sweet friends. Happy birthday to Sophie (tomorrow)! Can't believe she's already seven.

Is it really true?

How can it be that my girls head back to school just FOUR weeks from tomorrow??? Oh, it hurts my feelings. Ryan will be a junior and our sweet little Soph is headed to second grade. I am still trying to decide which one makes me feel older. We're not even going to talk about the fact that this is Ella's last year of preschool before she heads to kindergarten. They're gonna have to put me in a padded room at that point.

We are having a wonderful summer. Busy, but wonderful. Our yearly journey to see the Big Mouse was put on hold this year. But it won't stop me from looking at pictures from last year and smiling!

The girls just finished "Kids Kabaret" and now are in rehearsals with their daddy for "All Shook Up". "Kids Kabaret" was a fabulous experience for the girls. It was a wonderful experience for John and me to get to watch them just blossom on the stage. This little blondie had enough personality for about three or four little girls! Guess we could have seen that one coming. :-)

Ryan worked backstage for the show, so it was wonderful for her to get a new respect for the crew who works so hard to make it a great show.

John and I are headed to NYC this month. He has to go for work and it just so happens that I am going to be able to tag along. It's one of my favorite places in the world. I just love it. I love being there with my husband. It's where he proposed to me. We love Broadway. We get to NYC and it's like time moves so slowly. So funny to be in a city that's so fast-paced but feel like you have all the time in the world there.

We are also taking Sophie to North Carolina to see "Annie". It's her first "big girl" trip with just Mommy and Daddy. She's so excited, and so are we. We are literally going for about 36 hours! Fly in, eat dinner, see the show, go to bed, and fly home the next day! What an adventure. :-)

Then I'm off to Orlando for MOPS convention with some great gals from church. I've been once before and have been looking forward to this trip all summer. So, after a summer spent at home, I am packing three separate trips into a span of about two and a half weeks. Exciting and stressful all at the same time! 

Then John and I will head to California right after Labor Day for the annual Fox trip - always a WONDERFUL time. They take very good care of us. We get completely spoiled for five days. Our kids get completely spoiled by a sitter for five days. We reconnect with old friends. We spend time together. We come home refreshed and reconnected. It's always a special time that we are so very grateful for. This year is even more special because we get to stay an extra day in LA with some very special friends. Can't wait!

We've been planning a big surprise for the girls and were finally able to reveal it to them this weekend. We are taking them all to NYC to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Thus, no trip to Disney World this summer. We are all so excited. It will be Sophie and Ella's first trip to NYC. It cannot get here quick enough. Broadway shows, Central Park, Museum of Natural History, Broadway, shopping, and a parade to rival all other parades!!!!

So, summer is going to end quickly enough. But we have lots to look forward to in the fall. :-)

Afternoon Delight

What's better than an afternoon at Ben & Jerry's? An afternoon at Ben & Jerry's that cost us nothing! The girls were in a neighborhood parade with their very best friends on July 3. The prize for first place costumes and decorations was a Ben & Jerry's gift card. They had such fun that morning and again today - picking out their treats and toppings and paying for it all by themselves. Sophie told me it was even better because it was at "Aunt Erin's ice cream store". I tend to agree, my love. I tend to agree.

Erin's Story

This is the link to the story that Fox 13 did on Erin's death and the dangers of drowsy driving. Mearl Purvis did an unbelievable job. I knew I could expect it to be good, but it turned out to be PHENOMENAL. Please continue to pray that the Lord will open doors for me to take Erin's story to anyone who will listen to it, and that they will think twice before driving drowsy because of her. 

http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/local/070110-family-speaks-out-on-dangers-of-drowsy-driving

Christmas in June

All she'll want for Christmas is her two front teeth!!!!