The whirlwind weekend!

This weekend was jam packed! Although it was fun, I'm looking forward to a slow and relaxing weekend immensely! I will have to wait until November for that to happen....unfortunately :( We had a ton of fun though, and I have the pictures to prove it!

Friday night Ella and I went to a wedding reception for friends who just returned from a destination wedding. Paul got home late from a business trip so he stayed home with Micah. It was a "girls night out!" and I can't think of what would me more fun then cake and dancing!




Ella and her friend Bailey



Ella with the bride

On Saturday Ella kicked off her dress shoes and put on her John Deere boots. We headed down to the county fair where she competed in the tractor pull competition. She didn't make it too far down the track but she got a ribbon anyways and looked pretty darn cute doing it :)










Fueling up before the competition


Look at that determination!

stay tuned for the rest of the weekend.........

A visit from Great Grandpa and Grandpa

Paul's grandparents from California stopped by to see us yesterday on their way to Michigan. We always have a great time visiting with them and appreciate them taking the time to come see us. Micah warmed up to them right away! As soon as Great Grandpa walked through the door he walked right over to him and gave him a hug, it was really cute :)

First Day of Preschool

Ella started preschool today! She will be going two days a week for a couple hours. I already know Ella is going to love it! She has been talking about it all week "On Thursday I go to preschool!" and the first thing she said when she woke up this morning was "I go to preschool today!" I don't think she's going to be missing us too much when she's there ;)

Under the sea....Celebrating Ella turning 3!

We had Ella's party this last Saturday and decided to do an Ariel theme. Ella kept saying she wanted a Belle party but I thought that would be a bit more challenging to pull off. They don't make too many things with just Belle and all I could think of for decorations was french baguettes and french village decor which didn't seem too exciting for a three year old :) Besides, she has seen Beauty and the Beast like once and Little Mermaid about fifty times! She finally agreed to have an Ariel party so I had fun buying a few little things for an "Under the Sea Ariel Party" We kept the party pretty low key to save on cost and just had family come. My parents are out visiting so it was fun to have them here to celebrate with us! Ella's Ariel cake was AMAZING!!!! My friend Christen who is owner and operator of The Cutie Pie Bakery made it and it tasted as good as it looked!

Ella Grace turns 3!

I blinked and my little girl turned 3! How come they have to grow up so fast? We started the day with some yummy chocolate chip pancakes from First Watch. After breakfast we headed over to the Columbus Zoo for the afternoon. We finished the day with some homemade mac-n-cheese (Ella's favorite food) made by Grandma and some Vanilla jelly bean cupcakes made by mommy.










I have to be honest and say that the third year hasn't started off so smoothly. There have been many tantrums and bad attitudes. I have thrown my arms up more times then I would like to admit in frustration and wished I could go far far away from her. I have also had to ask my daughters forgiveness more time then I would like to admit because of my sinful responses to her behavior. I need to keep reminding myself that God is bigger and has the grace and strength to sustain me through it all! I need to continue to SEEK HIM, in prayer and through His word!!!!! He has given me everything I need to mother her heart so on days when I feel overwhelmed and don't know what to do I need to constantly be reminded of that! I think about how wretched and unlovely I was when God showed me grace and mercy and saved me. Should I not treat my kids the same way Christ has to me? What an awesome way I can show my kids the Gospel! So as we embark on year three I pray that as Ella grows and learns that mommy will also grow and learn, and that I will never try and tackle this huge responsibility by myself.

There is a song by Watermark that was written for their daughter that I LOVE. The lyrics sum up exactly how I feel about Ella. Since I'm not good with words I have to steal theirs :)

Baby woman, tiny in stature now
But your heart is a treasure
Little princess come follow behind me now
I am reaching for you

Ella, God has answered my prayers
Ella, God will conquer my fears
To mother a daughter, to look you in the eye
To know that I had everything, to walk with you in life
To give you to Jesus that He would impart
The wisdom that I’m longing for to mother your heart
Ella, God has answered my prayers


There will be others to lead and to guide you girl
But only one you’ll call Mother, the honor is all mine
To show you what a woman’s like
I’m so glad you’re mine

Happy 3rd Birthday Ella Jelly!!!

In honor of Ella's 3rd year of life I thought I would post two videos Paul made of her when she was brand new :)

Finally Walking!

I pray that those little feet will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. (Col. 1:10)