Craft time part 2

I had the opportunity to make this cute Christmas Tree hair clip over the weekend. I have decided that I could easily make more (different types) for Ellen and the baby to come, so if you have any good ideas let me know. It was a ton of fun and so, so easy!

Craft time

As you can see, Ellen loves necklaces. She loves all kinds of jewelry as a matter of fact. So, yesterday I thought it would be fun to make a Cheerio necklace. She had so much fun putting the cereal on the string and watching her creation grow. She also enjoyed the snack it provided!

Nativity Scene

For the last two years we have read the Christmas story and let Ellen help put up the Nativity Scene. This year we were able to talk a little bit more about who the people were and why they were there.

I thought it was pretty cute for her to line up all the sheep! I'm sure that's how it really happened!

Christmas Tree

We are passing down one of my favorite tree decorating traditions to Ellen this year. I remember my dad putting me on his shoulders so I could put the topper on the tree. Even after Tim and I got married; Tim would put me on his shoulders so I could put that last finishing touch on top. Finally Ellen is big enough to do it herself this year, and it was a great start to the Christmas Season.

Dad, who would have thought that putting the topper on the tree would turn into such a memorable thing?!?!

Tim and Ellen proud of their hard work!

Thanksgiving at the Garber House

Jane is famous for her cinnamon rolls! This time she added apple to them and they were great!!! Ellen had a blast helping Grandma Jane spread the filling onto the dough and then cutting the rolls and placing them in the pan. Way to go girls!

The Garber's are also famous for their massages! Jane was rubbing Krisit's feet and Ellen just pulled up a stool and started rubbing the other foot. It was pretty cute! I need to get her to perfect that skill before the new baby comes. It might just come in handy ; )

Here is another picture of Ellen dressing up. She wanted to wear the "Yee Haw" hat a.k.a cowboy hat so, Gina let her borrow her boots to finish off the outfit!

5K Turkey Trot & Family Stroll

The Garber family got up bright and early Thanksgiving morning to participate in the 19th annual Turkey Trot. Jane and I walked with Ellen while everyone else jogged. It was pretty cold that morning, but after we got moving it really warmed up. It was a beautiful day to be outside and everyone had a great time. We all finished in less than an hour which was pretty good! Ellen had a good time cheering for the runners who passed us. There were some pretty serious runners. I think the young guy who finished first ran the 5K in under 15 minutes!!!! There were people dressed up like turkeys and there was one guy who was only wearing a couple of blue bandannas as a pair of running shorts! I am not kidding!!!

Dress up

Ellen LOVES to play dress up. She will put on anything that looks fun. Well, she dressed herself in a pair of my pants while I was trying to fold laundry, and was so proud of herself. She started saying, "look at me mommy, look at me daddy!" So, Tim couldn't resist and took a picture of her wearing my pants. Isn't it amazing that one day she will actually be able to wear them?

Tea Time

One of Ellen's favorite things to do is play "tea set". She will play with whoever is willing. Dale and Jane got to come down a couple of weekends ago and all she had to do was say the words and everyone got down on the floor. One funny thing about the tea set is that she is ALWAYS pink. She very rarely lets anyone else be pink and if she does, it's usually Tim.

Halloween

Here are just a couple of pictures from Halloween night. Ellen and I had attended a birthday party with all of her little friends earlier that evening and I forgot to take my camera. They were all very cute I assure you!

Pumpkin Carving

The Thursday before Halloween we carved Ellen's pumpkin. This was the first year that she was able to help in the process.

Pre-Carved pumpkin

Ellen wasn't sure about putting her hand down into the goopy pumpkin. She would take one seed out at a time. It was pretty funny. She eventually did get a big handful of seeds, but wanted to immediately wash her hands. She is a bit of a neat freak!

This pumpkin was the hardest thing to carve. I have never had this much trouble before.

Tim let Ellen help him carve the mouth.

Post-Carved pumpkin!

Such a big girl

Ellen is turning into such a big girl. Things seem to be happening so fast around here! She is becoming very independent, she likes to to everything on her own. She will go in her tent and read her books, she will beg me to let her read the paper, as you can see below. She wants to do everything we do. She is a great little "Holy Spirit" She keeps us very accountable. She has started using the small size of our silverware, she enjoys drinking from an open cup (plastic of course) and she is getting really good at using the potty!!! That is one thing I would love to have down before the new baby comes. Speaking of new baby, Tim and I have about three weeks to decide if we are going to find out what we are having. We will be scheduling the ultrasound during the first week of December.
Things are going really well around here. Tim is finishing up his Master's in Administration and will graduate in July! He is getting ready to start up another session of indoor soccer. He plays with some friends from SBU in a league in Springfield. I don't get to make it to many of the games since most of them start after Ellen's bedtime. I have been working out at the local YMCA for a year now. It's a great deal because Ellen can come with me and play with the other kids. She loves it! I am currently in a Bible Study at the FBC here in Bolivar. We are studying the book, Calm my Anxious Heart, by Linda Dillow. It is all about contentment. Couldn't we all use a little of that?? It is a great study and I would recommend it to anyone.
Baby news...there isn't much to report right now. I have gained a few pounds, which is much better than last time. I think I was already up 10 pounds with Ellen at this time. Well, I usually don't write this much, but I thought I would fill some of you in on what's going on in our lives.

Americas Choice Now - Video

Americas Choice Now - Video

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I'm having a hard time deciding...
RAPPER OR CHEERLEADER ?

Go Jayhawks!

Tim had his annual middle school fall costume dance last night. Ellen went as a KU cheerleader! We had many mixed reviews from his students because most of them are MU fans. I was a little

nervous for her because I didn't know how she would react with all of the costumes. She did great and when I told her we were going to a dance she was very excited. As soon as we got there she ran into the gym and started dancing. It was so cute. I wish I would have video tapped it. She had a blast.

As many of you know, Tim likes to think of creative, low maintenance costumes to wear to the dance. Can you guess what he is?

A CEILING FAN!!!

The two fans on their big night.

Braver than Mommy

I have been challenged recently to do more quality things with Ellen. I'm not sure if it's because I know another baby is coming and I will never get this time back; or if it's because she is getting older and can do more things now. Honestly, it's probably a little bit of both.

Yesterday I made up a scavenger hunt for Ellen to do after lunch. I drew a list of things for her to find when we went on a walk. She was so excited and seemed to know exactly what to do. We found the leaves right away, but the stick was the hard one to find. Ellen was so proud of her treasures. As soon as Tim walked in the door from work she ran to him with her bag of stuff.

As we finished the walk I spotted a big toad. I'm not quite sure why I pointed it out to her, because I HATE frogs. Don't ask me why, I just do. It's obvious by the pictures that she isn't afraid like me. She got right down there and waved and said, "hi frog!" The frog was also on the top of her list to show daddy when he got home. She doesn't forget much.

Funny Girl

Ellen is such a funny little girl. She decided to make a place for her and her snacks in this laundry basket. She put a lot of thought into it by adding the pillow. I am so blessed to stay home with her and see her grow everyday.

Baby Steps

We have been asking our friends Luke and Laura to go camping with us for a long time now. I think we made a little bit of progress over the weekend. We made a fire in their back yard and roasted hot dogs and made smores! We said the next step will be to move to our back yard!

That night as I was laying Ellen down to sleep and saying our prayers, I thanked God for our friends and that we got to have fun roasting hot dogs. Ellen spoke up and said, "thank you for corn and chips!" That's what we had with our hot dogs. It's funny what kids think is important.