Once Upon a Time...

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Kate,who wished to be a princess with all of her heart. She loved dresses that spun when she twirled in circles and shoes that went "tick, tock" on the floors. She loved sparkles and jewelry and make-up and tiaras. But Kate didn't want to be just any princess. She wanted to be a Real, Live Princess, with a dress that touched the floor and a bun in her long red hair.

One day, when Kate woke up from her nap, her mommy painted her fingernails pink and put blush on her cheeks and fixed her hair in the most perfect bun ever (because her mommy was very talented in the hair styling department). Then she gave Kate a long, sparkly dress that touched the floor and spun out so far when she twirled in circles. And Kate looked in the mirror and smiled, because her wish had come true: she was a Real, Live Princess.

Soon, other princesses (all of whom were very real and very live, but lacking the style of Princess Kate) began to arrive at Princess Kate's royal ball. They came from all across the land in tiaras and dresses and feather boas and fancy earrings and pirate costumes to celebrate the Real, Live Princess Kate. There was much laughter and merriment and present opening. Princess Kate got her first real necklace (a gold one with Cinderalla on it) and her first fishing pole (because all Princesses must learn to fish).

And on this most special day, Princess Kate was visited by her oh-so stylish and chic fairy Godmothers, the Watermelon Princess and the Tulip Princess.

At the end of the royal ball, Princess Kate was so full of joy that she danced and giggled and asked to sleep in her new princess dress. And they all lived happily, ever after.
The end.

Before and After...

Ellie before surgery for ear tubes...and after.
It was a rough day.
I cried.
Ellie cried.
We were all so exhausted.
But the tubes are in.
The kid is running around like it never happened.
Life is feeling better today.

Thank you for thinking of us...and please keep praying for this sweet little girl. She needs our prayers.

Ears..

Ellie will be having surgery on Wednesday to have tubes placed in her ears. I know it is a routine surgery and we are going to a pediatric surgeon who does thousands of these a year. But she's still my baby and I'm a little worried about her. My heart aches for parents of seriously ill children (like this amazing family). I cannot imagine walking that road and yet they have no choice but to trust God and walk on in faith. It makes my concerns about Ellie's surgery seem so minor. But I believe that God cares about every one of our worries, big or small, and so today, I ask that you pray for Ellie and for all the sweet kids around the world who are fighting much more serious battles.

She's a Jay Bird...

My Grandma Ruthie would have called Ellie a "Jay Bird," as in "She's ornery as a Jay Bird." My personal knowledge of birds is limited, but if they're anything like Ellie, I suspect they get in a lot of trouble! But let me just say that Ellie was so proud of her drawing. She kept saying "Ebow...Ebow (Rainbow). And Kate...just look at that face. She is good and quiet. She follows the rules. But she gets a real kick out of Ellie's antics.

I have to tell you that this little girl makes me crazy and she tests my limits, but I guess every home needs a little Jay Bird in it!

Beauty School Drop Out...

What do you think? Should I rule out hair stylist as a potential profession? Yeah...I thought so, too. The sad thing is that I tried so hard and sweet little Kate sat so still. She LOVED that braid and was so proud of it. Truth be told, I was proud of that sad, crooked little braid, too. We're not hard to please around here!

P.S. If anyone wants to volunteer to give me a french braiding lesson, I'm game. But be forewarned...I'm fairly pathetic in the hair styling department (in case you couldn't tell from the photo).

It's a ...

Girl! My friend Sara welcomed Ava Lynne into the world on February 1 at 2:13 a.m. Sara was convinced she was having a girl from day one...and she was right! Sweet Ava weighed 6 lbs. and was 18 inches long. She's crying in the pictures below, because we unwrapped her to take pictures of her little legs and tiny little feet. She was having no parts of it, so I snapped two quick pics, and we wrapped her up again. Welcome to the world little Ava!

I'm back....

Did you miss me? Sorry for the extended absence. I had a little issue with a potential blog stalker. Or at least I imagined a potential blog stalker (not sure if it was all in my head or if it was a serious concern...hopefully the former). But if Mr. "Looks Like an Ax Murderer" logs on again, I may have to take this show undercover, dissappointing my loyal, devoted blog fans (yes, all three of you)! Here's hoping the Ax Murderer Look-Alike has forgotten all about this little blog!

In other news...I have a million things to share, but let's start with the SNOW! Yes...we got a little snow and I'm thrilled about it. It was Ellie's first snow experience, and I'm proud to say that she loved it. She especially loved sledding and she kept saying "I go again?" Crazy girl! Kate is not a fan of sledding, and she prefers to make snow castles, lick the snow, climb on things, and basically just hang out in the fluffy white stuff. The biggest kid in the house (aka, Steve) spent two hours building a snow fort for the kids, complete with snow chairs and snow beds. Yeah...we all know who the snow fort was for. I thought he might be planning to move out there!




P.S. Did you notice that "condom hat" is no where in site? Thankfully, Steve got a new hat for Christmas! But if you need a good laugh, there's still a photo of condom hat here.