E-L-L-A

dear sick little ella had to go to the doctor yesterday. for mono confirmation and poking and prodding of liver and spleen.

it sure wasn't fun.

so imagine the delight at seeing this waiting for her at home.
do we have awesome friends or what?

the leamans are amazing. i knew christina was going to get her "a little something" but had no idea she'd spend her whole day creating this masterpiece of thoughtfulness for ella.

ella was absolutely beaming. she felt so special.

creative contents of each bag:

now, doesn't that just inspire you to go out and do something incredibly thoughtful for everyone you know?

(i'm pretty sure ella has not set that clipboard down since she got it...)

sorry, chad

the joy of having a little brother is that there is always an opportunity to tease him.
no matter how many years pass, certain things never get old. like teasing him about his big head, warning him about the green bean casserole every thanksgiving, that early morning he ran home shirtless and shoeless in the winter after the truck ran out of gas...

and one of our favorites... getting mono.

from kissing a girl named "monica."

naturally, renamed "mono-ca."

could the girl have a more perfect name?

only an older sister can take such an unfortunate period of misery in a little brother's life and turn it into something to laugh about.

clearly, i wasn't around much when he was suffering. i think i was at college. or just not paying attention to him. i was a teenager. i was self absorbed.

this leads me to my revelation of how heartless i was.

ella has been sick for awhile. really sick. fever, nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite (this is a big one. if the 104 on the thermometer didn't tell me anything the refusal of fruit snacks spoke volumes) then her lymph nodes started swelling to such a degree they were actually visible.

this freaks a mom out.

we of course went to the doctor. he ordered blood work. ella was a champ. i had to drag the whole clan with us and the boys did amazing too... waiting for an eternity, standing against the wall and "not moving a single inch or else!" while ella got poked and prodded.

and then we discovered she has mono. which is really sad of course, but welcome news when your paranoia has considered far worse options.

i called anthony and told him. naturally, how can he not respond with, "but she hasn't even been around mono-ca." (see, it will just always be funny)

but watching her misery, laying around, not wanting to eat, looking so sad... i actually feel a little sorry for chad after all these years.

maybe i do have heart after all.

so chad, even though you probably aren't reading this, sorry for making fun of you.

and mostly, sorry for continuing to make fun of you. because even though i now feel bad about the suffering you went through, i'm probably not going to stop.

because even though i love you, you are my favorite family member to pick on.
that should make you feel good, right?

coming this december

better be a girl.