Sorry, no humerous or well thought out blog tonight. Which it should be considering this is the eve of the day we have been awaiting since the day after Mother's Day, 2010 (the day I found out he was deploying). Just pure thankfulness, excitement, nervousness and exhaustion. Ella must be trying one last time to strengthen my patience as she must know this deployment is almost over. But in her defense, this must be a lot for a little 4 year old to process. The stars have made it to the top of her countdown chart. Her picture has moved its way up to the top to be reunited with daddy's picture. We've been counting airplanes (one out of four left to go) - counting days is too risky without knowing for sure when he will arrive. Making signs, hanging signs and decorating the house. Yet, she still won't completely understand until she sees him. I still think it will even take some time for her to really process it all. It's even hard for me to process. I have to end with a verse that I have thought about frequently:
2Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Who knew it would be this hard. If it weren't for our wonderful family, friends and most of all, God, I'm not sure what Mike would be coming home to.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Ramblings of a 4 year old
Azalea our sitter watching the kids:
Azalea: Ella, are these your pj's for South Dakota?
Ella: South Dakota! I've never even BEEN there. You mean North Dakota.
Prayer time:
Ella: And thank you God for the emergency exit...
Me: Honey, what emergency exit?
Ella: The one on the wall.....over there.
Me: (Laughing almost hysterically) Honey, that's the breaker box! It's for the electricity. (Thinking)...we spent way too much time looking at the safety cards on the airplane.
Azalea: Ella, are these your pj's for South Dakota?
Ella: South Dakota! I've never even BEEN there. You mean North Dakota.
Prayer time:
Ella: And thank you God for the emergency exit...
Me: Honey, what emergency exit?
Ella: The one on the wall.....over there.
Me: (Laughing almost hysterically) Honey, that's the breaker box! It's for the electricity. (Thinking)...we spent way too much time looking at the safety cards on the airplane.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Ramblings of a 4 year old
Ella with a cold:
Ella: (Sniffling)
Me: Ella, do you need a kleenex?
Ella: No, I will just keep smelling it in.
Looking at Ella's Countdown Chart:
Ella: Momma, how many more days until daddy gets home?
Me: Just a few more weeks, not very long honey.
Ella: Momma, this is a long road we've been on.
Ella: (Sniffling)
Me: Ella, do you need a kleenex?
Ella: No, I will just keep smelling it in.
Looking at Ella's Countdown Chart:
Ella: Momma, how many more days until daddy gets home?
Me: Just a few more weeks, not very long honey.
Ella: Momma, this is a long road we've been on.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Missing Daddy
Rubbing cream on Ella's face at bedtime (chapped from a bad cold):
Ella: Momma, momma! I can't stop these tears from tumbling down my cheeks.
Me: What's wrong sweetie?
Ella: (Voice cracking) I really miss daddy. I wish he was here.
Me: Oh honey, he will be home so soon! Remember when we started your chart? We started the stars at the floor and now they are almost to the ceiling. And look! Your picture is almost to the top with daddy too!
Ella: Aw, I can't wait for him to be here!
Ella: Momma, momma! I can't stop these tears from tumbling down my cheeks.
Me: What's wrong sweetie?
Ella: (Voice cracking) I really miss daddy. I wish he was here.
Me: Oh honey, he will be home so soon! Remember when we started your chart? We started the stars at the floor and now they are almost to the ceiling. And look! Your picture is almost to the top with daddy too!
Ella: Aw, I can't wait for him to be here!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Ella Dreams
Ella: Mommy, I going to dream tonight.
Me: What are you going to dream about?
Ella: I'm going to dream about smiling coconut trees gently moving in the breeze.
Me: What are you going to dream about?
Ella: I'm going to dream about smiling coconut trees gently moving in the breeze.
Ramblings of a 4 year old
I will post more about Ella's birthday and Christmas when I can download all my pictures. But for now, I will just post more of her ramblings from Christmas to now. She has been full of them lately!
Ella, I want to apologize to you in advance for all the potty posts. I know some day you will be very embarrassed that I posted them, but they are so funny.
At Grandma Betty's and Grandpa Jerry's in Dickinson:
Grandma: Ella, you still have toilet paper in your butt.
Ella: No I don't.
Grandma: Yes, you do.
Ella: It's not toilet paper, it's a piece of cheese!
At Grandma Fran's and Papa Joel's in Bismarck (Ella on the potty):
Ella: Ehhhh, Errrr, Ehhhh, Errrr. That's the sound I make when I go poopy.
Sarah: Are you done going poopy?
Ella: No, I still need to roll one out.
Again at Grandma Fran's and Papa Joel's (pulling into the garage):
Ella: I don't want to go in the house anymore. It's too constricting. I want to go back to Texas. In Texas I can go outside and play on the playground where it's nice and warm. Grandpa, you must like the cold.
Grandpa: No, but I live here and work here and it would be too hard for me to get a job in Texas.
Ella: I have an idea. You can just wait until it gets warm out. Oh! I have a job for you in Texas. You can feed Grant his bottles!
On the way to school:
Me: Ella, why are you so crabby today? You are really showing bad attitude. What happened to my sweet Ella I had back in ND?
Ella: I'm here.
Me: No, the sweet Ella is gone. I sure wish I had her back. I wonder what happened to her.
Ella: No, mommy it's me (pointing with urgency at her chest). It's me!!! I'm your Ewwa.
Opening Cousin Doug's and Kristi's presents:
Ella: Mommy, Doug is a husband now, right?
Me: Yes.
Ella: And Kristi is his wife, right?
Me: Yes.
Ella: Then they need to have a baby.
Per Kelly, the babysitter:
Ella: Let's play dolls. I'll be the babysitter and kiddos, you be the mommy.
Kelly: Ok. "Bye kids, I love you and I'll see you in a little while".
Ella: No! You have to say, "I'm leaving now, I need some 'me' time".
Disclaimer: I do not ever recall using the "I need me time" statement. However, I do say "I need my space" or "I need it quiet so I can think".
Driving in the car after discovering Grant has his first tooth:
Ella: (Starting to cry) Momma, I don't want Grant to get a tooth.
Me: Why?
Ella: Because, I want him to stay a baby.
Me: But honey, he can't stay a baby. He'll keep growing bigger and bigger and soon you will be able to play with him more.
Ella: Then I think you should put him back in your tummy.
Ella, I want to apologize to you in advance for all the potty posts. I know some day you will be very embarrassed that I posted them, but they are so funny.
At Grandma Betty's and Grandpa Jerry's in Dickinson:
Grandma: Ella, you still have toilet paper in your butt.
Ella: No I don't.
Grandma: Yes, you do.
Ella: It's not toilet paper, it's a piece of cheese!
At Grandma Fran's and Papa Joel's in Bismarck (Ella on the potty):
Ella: Ehhhh, Errrr, Ehhhh, Errrr. That's the sound I make when I go poopy.
Sarah: Are you done going poopy?
Ella: No, I still need to roll one out.
Again at Grandma Fran's and Papa Joel's (pulling into the garage):
Ella: I don't want to go in the house anymore. It's too constricting. I want to go back to Texas. In Texas I can go outside and play on the playground where it's nice and warm. Grandpa, you must like the cold.
Grandpa: No, but I live here and work here and it would be too hard for me to get a job in Texas.
Ella: I have an idea. You can just wait until it gets warm out. Oh! I have a job for you in Texas. You can feed Grant his bottles!
On the way to school:
Me: Ella, why are you so crabby today? You are really showing bad attitude. What happened to my sweet Ella I had back in ND?
Ella: I'm here.
Me: No, the sweet Ella is gone. I sure wish I had her back. I wonder what happened to her.
Ella: No, mommy it's me (pointing with urgency at her chest). It's me!!! I'm your Ewwa.
Opening Cousin Doug's and Kristi's presents:
Ella: Mommy, Doug is a husband now, right?
Me: Yes.
Ella: And Kristi is his wife, right?
Me: Yes.
Ella: Then they need to have a baby.
Per Kelly, the babysitter:
Ella: Let's play dolls. I'll be the babysitter and kiddos, you be the mommy.
Kelly: Ok. "Bye kids, I love you and I'll see you in a little while".
Ella: No! You have to say, "I'm leaving now, I need some 'me' time".
Disclaimer: I do not ever recall using the "I need me time" statement. However, I do say "I need my space" or "I need it quiet so I can think".
Driving in the car after discovering Grant has his first tooth:
Ella: (Starting to cry) Momma, I don't want Grant to get a tooth.
Me: Why?
Ella: Because, I want him to stay a baby.
Me: But honey, he can't stay a baby. He'll keep growing bigger and bigger and soon you will be able to play with him more.
Ella: Then I think you should put him back in your tummy.
Grant's Firsts
Grant has been a very busy little guy. He is so smiley, but do not be fooled. He is one determined little bugger when he sees something he wants. Like now with the computer. He keeps adding plus signs to the post. Anyway, either Grant or the object must be removed or he will keep trying until he gets it.
While we were in ND, he really took off crawling on his hands and knees vs. army crawling on his belly. Yesterday there must have been some serious brain wiring going on. In one day, he got from sitting into 4-point position to crawl for the first time (usually just goes from belly to 4-point), pulled up to tall kneeling holding onto a box, then pulled to stand from that position. I usually have to work on these skills for a few weeks or months. It's fun to see it "just happen".
As you probably already read in Ella's latest blog, he also got his first tooth. Bottom center-left. This would explain the crankiness a few days before we flew back. Sarah, the kids and I were at the fabric store when he opened his mouth just right and I saw a little white bud poking through. I exclaimed, "Look Sarah!!! He got his first tooth!!! Then we all oohhed and ahhhed; Sarah, Ella, me and the lady cutting the fabric.
Let's hope he slows down now a bit and holds off on any new firsts until daddy gets home...which is just a few weeks away!
While we were in ND, he really took off crawling on his hands and knees vs. army crawling on his belly. Yesterday there must have been some serious brain wiring going on. In one day, he got from sitting into 4-point position to crawl for the first time (usually just goes from belly to 4-point), pulled up to tall kneeling holding onto a box, then pulled to stand from that position. I usually have to work on these skills for a few weeks or months. It's fun to see it "just happen".
As you probably already read in Ella's latest blog, he also got his first tooth. Bottom center-left. This would explain the crankiness a few days before we flew back. Sarah, the kids and I were at the fabric store when he opened his mouth just right and I saw a little white bud poking through. I exclaimed, "Look Sarah!!! He got his first tooth!!! Then we all oohhed and ahhhed; Sarah, Ella, me and the lady cutting the fabric.
Let's hope he slows down now a bit and holds off on any new firsts until daddy gets home...which is just a few weeks away!
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