2 Years

I'm feeling a bit light on words today, so I thought I would go heavy on pictures.

Late last night, Ellie's great-grandma, Agnes, joined her in the presence of God. This photo was taken a few years ago...



This is one of my favorites... Ellie and Loretta in a moment of pure joy...



And this is the little devilish side coming out:



Here is another favorite photo. It was taken with a phone, so the quality is a little poor, but I love it because she was looking at her Uncle Nick. This was her special "Uncle Nick look".



In keeping with the crazy-Ellie theme I've been on for a week or so, this one just makes me smile!



And, finally, one of the most special memories, Ellie with her Uncle Chad. She made this welcome sign for him, and when Chad arrived, she hugged him like she would never let him go.



Here's a few photos from the past several months...





I will leave you with this last photo. It was taken just a couple of nights ago at Ethan's school Christmas program. These are two of Ellie's very best friends. Aubrey Myers, in the middle, is one year younger than Ellie would have been. On the right is Alex Corley who was 4 months younger than Ellie. These two girls were always by Ellie's side. I had to show how tall they are, so I took off my high heels to get this photo. I figure that Ellie would not have been that tall. Both of these girls come from tall parents, but I love seeing these girls and imagining how Ellie would look at 11. And I just love them. Every time they see me, they hug me, and this mama's heart is soothed and comforted. Aubrey gave us some flowers today with a letter about how much she misses Ellie and loved her and I am reminded that we are not the only ones who have tears on our faces today.

Aubrey and Alex, I love you so much and am very proud of the beautiful, sweet young ladies you are becoming! Ellie loved you with all of her heart and she would be proud too...

Circle of Life

I just wanted to put out an update to ask for prayer. John's Grandma Agnes out in Montana is not doing well. It looks like she might get to see Ellie soon... We know that she has been longing for Heaven for quite some time, so this is a bitter-sweet time. Our prayer right now is for God to take her quickly and with minimal pain and trauma. We would also love prayer for Loretta, Reni, and Belinda - for strength and wisdom - as they care for Grandma. Belinda just flew out to Montana. Also, please pray for all of the family who are too far away to be there.

Can you believe that Saturday will be two years since Ellie died? Wasn't it just a few months ago? Two whole years without our little warrior princess... Somehow it just doesn't seem possible. Loretta was talking the other night about this funny face that Ellie would make when she knew that she was going to get her way on something that she totally shouldn't be getting. I can't even describe it, but it was cunning and endearing all at the same time. I've been remembering a lot lately about that funny side of Ellie... how she was equal parts sweetness and willfulness. Towards the end of her life, Ellie started making a joke about her blind left eye. When she wanted to be really ornery, she would close the good eye and "stare" with all of her might at you with her left eye. Someone finally caught on to what she was doing and indignantly asked "what are you doing? Are you giving me the dead eye?" Ellie laughed so hard at that, and giving the dead eye became her favorite pastime. She had the strangest, funniest sense of humor. I can picture like it was yesterday how Ellie would watch "Night at the Museum" and get so tickled over something that she would sit up and slap her leg with her hand and then repeat the line like she was hearing it for the first time.

Two years later, we find ourselves remembering our joyful, comical, and loving little maniac, and I can almost see her sitting by her great grandma's bed, shaking her head over all that we don't know, just waiting to take Agnes by the hand and show her the wonders of eternity. I would love to tag along for just a minute and get a peek, but that exasperating child just rolls her eyes at me and gives me her perfected, I-may-only-be-a-child-but-on-the-inside-I'm-all-grown-up look, and her eyes sparkle over this ultimate secret that she gets to hold over my head for the rest of my life. It figures that Ellie would get to have all the answers before the rest of us. She wouldn't have it any other way!

Ethan's Birthday!

Today Ethan turns seven! I can't believe that we started this journey together when Ethan was only three... soon-to-be-four. We had a party for him yesterday, so I will post some photos soon.

We are currently decorating the Christmas tree. (I am taking a quick break while John is vacuuming under the tree. It could be a while.) We usually do the tree on the day after Thanksgiving, but things have been busy with work, and quite frankly, I don't think I was ready for it until now. Both John and I have had a hard time getting ourselves geared up to take on the whole festive season. We do want to keep our traditions alive for Ethan, and even though it's bitter-sweet for us, we do enjoy Christmas and all that goes along with it. We also know that Ellie would want us to make it fun and special. Decorating with lights and all things Christmassy was one of Ellie's favorite things!

Well, the vacuuming noises in the other room have stopped, so I think that's my cue. I'll be back soon with pictures!