Valentine's for Daddy

We wanted Daddy to feel special on Valentine's Day even though Tom and I happen to think Valentine's Day is a REALLY lame holiday (sorry to all of you out there who love this day). We baked him cookies, made him some peanut butter fudge (thanks for the fabulous recipe Aunt Alison!) and put together some pretty pink Chex Mix. I made enough for his fellow commander friends as well, but I do believe Tom never shared. Greedy, greedy:( We made him homemade cards which Ella really loved doing. She's good with arts and crafts. I think she gets that from her grandmas. Both are very crafty and very artsy. We had plenty of time to work on all of these things since we were stuck indoors from that horrific ice storm!

Adding sprinkles (it's what she does best)

Our hugs and kisses cookies

Yummy Valentine's Day Chex Mix

The BEST peanut butter fudge

Concentrating very hard on making her card perfect for Daddy

She is eye balling that little fuzzy red ball like it's a cherry...

And she's double checking she isn't missing out on a delicious snack

Our final products:)

Our Valentine

We miss our handsome guy! 57 days until you are HOME! We love you always and hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day.

Ella Fun!

That's what Ella's game is called...just spelled a bit differently...Elefun! She loves this game and I forgot to post these adorable photos of her playing with her buddy Johnny. For those of you unfamiliar with this game, little butterflies shoot out of the elephant's trunk and the kids have to catch them with a net. Ella pretty much waits until they all fall on the ground and picks them up that way. Lazy? A little. Still fun for her though!

So happy!

Oh NO! There's a hole in the net!

So very sad. (I love her cheeks in this picture!)

Taking a breather trying to fix her net.

Ice Storm!

We had a terrible ice storm come through Lawton this past weekend. They say it's the most devastating storm this city has seen since 1947. Half the city was without power for days and it was miserably cold. When I was able to venture out, I took a few photos with my Iphone of the poor trees. The ice makes the branches weigh 3-4x more causing trees to bend and snap in half. Same with the power lines. As I drove around, it was eerily beautiful. Odd way to describe the scene, but even though it was a white winter wonderland, it was creepy to me. There was a mist that formed and I kept thinking vampires were going to spring from the ground and attack. (I really have a slight obsession with the blood suckers after the Twilight series...which I highly recommend.) And it was sad at the same time to see all of the destroyed trees that typically lined the streets.

This was the day the storm started. That's not snow either. It's a sheet of ice.

The forming of the icicles

The view from our windows

These were a few Iphone photos I took on Monday (5 days after the storm hit)

What the heck were those horses eating? Ice?

These were the trees at the Post Office. It was so sad.

Outside the neighborhood

My friend Leah lives on post and this was what it looked like there. Thanks Leah for letting me use these photos!

Needless to say, I believe the whole state is very ready for Spring to come!

Nice little Sunday

I just started feeling well enough on Sunday mornings to head back to church. I didn't think any of my fellow church goers would like me to get sick near them so I stayed home during my bout with the lovely morning sickness. If there is one day of the week that has been my favorite since Tom has been away, it has to be Sundays. It's the only day that feels a little different from the rest. This past Sunday was Ella's first trip to church without a diaper on. (We are in the middle of potty training) I prayed very hard she wouldn't have an accident all over the pew. God listened. She did great and as her little reward we went to Starbucks (I told her it was a reward, but really I just wanted a hot cup of tea and piece of lemon pound cake). The guy at Starbucks made Ella her very own vanilla milk so she thought she was absolutely awesome by that point of the day. I love the little outings we share just the two of us. I know when Tom gets back it will be the three of us and then soon after...the FOUR of us. Oh and Ella stayed dry the whole time. Ahhh the proud moments of potty training. Here's a little peek at our morning...

Ella likes to read her Tag books...lazy parenting b/c the pen reads for her. Keeps her occupied though!

Doesn't every family have a photo shoot before church?

She's striking a pose.

She finds the camera lady to be quite boring.

I just thought her outfit was super cute.

At Starbucks with her big girl milk.

The Shack

I had quite a few recs to read The Shack. I decided to give it a try. I am so glad I did. Without giving away the entire plot, I will tell you it's a novel about a father, his worst nightmare (one of mine as well) and his unbelievable journey to find happiness and God's love. I didn't expect to like this book as much I did. If you have ever suffered a heartache, the loss of a loved one, or any other life changing event where you blame God (as I have many, many times before unfortunately) this book will bring a new light to your life. Go ahead...give it a try. I would love to hear opinions if you do read it or have read it. It's the center of huge controversy right now, but I believe that's because religious nuts get involved. People have to remember this a work of fiction about God's Love, not to be taken literally, but figuratively. http://www.theshackbook.com/

PS Tom... that's book #6 for 2010 so far. 18 to go;)

Happy Friday!

Ella says "Party like a rock star/princess this weekend!"

We have a DATE!

Tom will be HOME on April 12th. He called me this morning bright and early to share that fabulous news with me. We can start an official countdown now. 81 more days or 2 months and 3 weeks. Whatever sounds shorter. And it's my mom's birthday that day so it's a great day all around! We can't wait to have the man of the house home. (just in time for grilling season and lawn mowing time!)

Last few days in FL

I'm finally getting around to posting our last few days of pictures in FL. This might sound crazy for me, but I barely had out my camera. I have so many beautiful shots in my head of my dad playing with Ella and my mom reading to her and Granny P building "hard" puzzles with her...and I didn't take a single picture of it. Real bummer, but next time I will be sure to take more so Ella has plenty of photos with her family.

New Year's Eve at Granny P's house...coloring with Grampy Larry.

We kept her up so late, but she finally passed out 5 minutes before the ball dropped. On the phone with Tom of course!

Ella at the small zoo. Her two grandmas took her there and to lunch. She had a blast! And I was able to rest that day:) She spent the night prior at Granny P's house and apparently no one wanted to take care of her wild hair!

Yes, my child does love Michael Jackson.

Word on the street is, these geese were mighty mean and chased Ella all around (behind the fence of course!)

Lovin' life!

Little monkey

Our last night in town we had a few friends come over for some food and drinks and lots of fun! Here I am with my HANDSOME Godson Aidan. I mean seriously...how stinkin' cute is he??

And the best part is...he LOVES me! Look at that smile!

Bridget (Aidan's mama) with Ella...beautiful blondies:)

Ella convincing Grampy Larry to play castle with her.

Party time.

We really had a great visit. It was nice to get a few breaks from being a mom 24/7 and to have my dad cook for me (he's the best cook in the world). I appreciated it a LOT. Ella is at the age now where she remembers everyone she meets. It's fun to look at the pictures or videos we took from the trip and have her name all of our family members. You may be far from us, but always close in our hearts and minds. (Awwwwww!)

The Artist

My Mother-in-law decided to take up oil painting after she decided she doesn't do enough for herself. It's her way to achieve a little peace and happiness. She works so hard with her job, has raised five beautiful children and after a stressful last year she was ready to start her New Year off on the right foot. This is her first painting and I just had to share it. I think it's absolutely incredible. Tom and I want her to paint us one of Charleston...maybe of the Battery or Rainbow Row? Just a subtle hint.