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.