she's 4!

"When I count my blessings, I count you twice." -Jewish proverbover the past 6 weeks, i have often wondered what women did before pacifiers, swings, percocet and pbs kids tv shows. life around here has been pretty much what you might imagine it would be with a newborn, a toddler and a preschooler. but someday soon, i am confident i will once again have the chance to shower and make my bed.

it seems the most significant event since the last post is the birthday of our very special first born. ella turned 4. i can't believe i have a 4 year old. i also can't believe i have 3 children, a mini-van and turned 31 this year. but back to ella...

what a blessing our little girl is. her imagination, creativity and sense of humor keep us laughing and we are thankful for her strong-will... which we believe God will use for his glory (if we can make it through these years!) a couple of years ago, anthony made a comment about having 5 kids. i said, "what if they are all like ella?" and his response was immediate: "if we have 4 more like her we can seriously rule the world." we love our feisty, stubborn, determined and strong young lady. and not only is she strong willed, she is also very loving and very sweet. bennett and mason are very blessed to have such a wonderful big sister to look after them.

so... ella's birthday party this year was a princess tea party with her cousins. a big thanks to my mom and sister for making it all possible and thanks to the kids for making us laugh. who knew boys secretly want to wear make-up? and never underestimate the fun of putting sugar cubes in your lemonade.

ella, we love you! you are a gift from God.

stickers

so i checked on ella at naptime the other day. this is how she slept:

trying for the group picture...