Sisters!

It makes me smile every time I see the girls interacting together. Ellie really is the best big sister ever. Even when Olivia is doing things that I know drive her crazy, I can see in her eyes that she loves her sister and she is increadibly patient with her. I worried so much before bringing Olivia home from the hospital about Ellie being jealous. I can honestly say that if she feels jealous, she does a great job of hiding it. She would do anything to help us with her sister and is really enjoying playing with her as Olivia is able to do more. She has also started helping us feed her which is so nice. Last week we got their pictures taken and this one that I am posting happened randomly. In between two different poses, Olivia started getting tired. She crawled up on Ellie's chest and grabbed hold of her dress to use as a blankey. This picture means so much to me because it really does represent their relationship right now.

Livvy's First Day With Milk...

I know this seems silly to post about for some of you... but, I had to add this to our blog! Livvy had milk for the first time today and she LOVED it. We are super excited not to have to buy formula anymore. She is such a precious little girl and is so happy. I can not imagine our life without her precious smile!!!

Our Top 5!

Danny and I are taking a class at church called Revolutionary Parenting. The assignment a few weeks ago (I am a little late posting this) was to decide together on your top 5 nonnegotiable characteristics you want your children to possess when they leave your home. We finally had a minute to finalize our list.
We want our girls to...
1. have a genuine love for Christ and a personal relationship with him.
2. cherish their family and friends and understand that marriage is forever.
3. have a moral conscience that guides their decisions.
4. respect other people and have a desire to help them.
5. be responsible for their actions, finances, relationships, learning, and health.

We have also started having daily Bible readings with Ellie. We read a story from her children's Bible and then she draws or colors something that goes with the story we read. I think this is going to become a wonderful addition to our evenings!!!
More than anything, I am thankful for this class because it has reminded Danny and me that we need to be intentional about modeling and teaching our girls how to love God and how to care for others.

"All the Gods"

Ellie (looking at her Bible) - "Daddy, I am going to read you a story and you have three options. I can either read you, God is Number One, God Loves Us, or All the Gods."

Danny - "Ellie, there is only one God."

Ellie - "No. There isn't. Because what would happen when God is sick?"

Danny - "Well, that is where Jesus comes in and helps out." (Not real sure where this came from :)

Ellie - "What happens if Jesus is sick, too?"

Danny - "Well, that doesn't usually happen. It is like Mommy and Daddy... they are usually not sick at the exact same time."

Ellie - "Oh, okay."

The things you can not prepare for..... guess we will explain this in a more mature way in a few years!!!

4 Going on 14...

Well, today was not one of our best...
Ellie got very frustrated with me because I would not let her walk through the mall parking lot without holding my hand. She wants so much to be independent, and most of the time that is just fine. But, sometimes, I just have to be the mommy! Today was one of those times. What started out as something very small quickly became out of control. We were driving in the car and Ellie was very upset with me. Out of her mouth came the following....
"I will never treat my children the way you are treating me right now." You can imagine my surprise! She is only 4 and just barely 4 at that. After a long evening of conversations about what my job is as the mommy and what her job is as the child, I think we are finally okay. How will I ever make it with her as a teenager????

Funny Little Things...

Here are a few funny things that I want to remember...
1. Ellie says "well" instead of "or" when she lists things. "I could bring my doll, well my leapster, well my games." She also says "why" instead of "because". "That's why Olivia pushed me."
She has such a HUGE vocabulary for her age and most of the time you would have know idea she is only 4. So, these little things always bring a smile to our face.

2. The other day Ellie told Danny that she knew how to spell one of his friend's names. He asked who and she replied, "J.W.". She told him that you spell it J - W. Her little mind just goes non stop!

3. Ellie to Olivia - "I am cooking dinner and I will let you know wha tyour options are in a minute".

4. Olivia is sticking her tongue out at everyone and blowing spit at them. Her newest trick. Lovely! :)

"I Want To Marry My Daddy!"

So, this morning, while getting Ellie ready for church, she and I were having a little "girl talk". She told me that she was upset because last week Mary,who is a parent of a little boy in her room, had told her that Austin was marrying Kylie. She said she had always planned to marry Austin and that it was just really sad that he was going to marry someone else.

Now, I should note that I am 100% sure that Marry did not tell her that. Austin and Kylie are not even in the same class at school. But, for some reason, this is what Ellie told me.

Anyway, the best part happened next... I was trying to explain to her that she would find someone perfect to marry someday when she was older and that this really was not something she needed to worry about right now. She looked up at me with tears rolling down her face and said, "I just really, really, want to marry Daddy, but you are already married to him". She started crying hysterically and it took me several minutes to calm her down. I told her that she could be married to her Daddy for now if she wanted to and that we would share him until she met someone her own age. She asked Danny if that would be okay and, of course, he agreed! That seemed to make her happy and the tears stopped.

I am so thankful for my husband. He is the kind of man I can only hope my girls marry one day!