The Emma Trilogy

WARNING This is going to be a long entry about Emma. If you want to read some kind of deep theology or such, read Adams. I'm a mom. This is what I do.

Part One: Shaving

Ok, just a random thing on my mind. Taking a shower… Either I have to take a shower before Adam leaves or I take a shower with Emma. I haven’t lost my mind to the point that I let a two year old run around the house by herself. So, this morning we set the alarm clock for very early and guess what, didn’t get up. So as I was showering with my beloved daughter wrapped around my ankles, I began to think… I used to think of shaving as a beautiful art form. Like I was a beautiful swan gracefully perched upon one leg. Needless to say, my swan days are over. But hey, at least I still shave my legs.

Part Two: Daddy’s a Nerd

I have the best role in the world. I am with Emma all day and I get to teach her everything she knows. For now, I’m the smartest person in the world to her. I realize that one day she is going to become a teenager (sorry to take a dig at you teenagers) and I am going to become instantly ignorant but, for now, I’m soaking it up.

So one thing I like to do is show Adam the things she’s learned for the day. First, I taught her to say that “Daddy is cool, I’m awesome, and Momma is my best friend”. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m very proud of my honor of being her best friend. But, I decided I didn’t want Adam to get a big head so I taught her to say, “Daddy is cool, but Momma is the coolest and “I’m Awesome”. By this point, I’m having a lot of fun so, “I decided to teach her, “Momma is the coolest, I’m awesome, and Daddy is a nerd”. Since that hurt Adam’s feelings a little, I tried to teach her something new, something a little nicer but no, nerd stuck. But here is the funny thing. Last night, we had one of the teenagers, JT, with us. So I said, “Emma what is momma?” She said, “Momma is the coolest” “What are you?” “I’m awesome” “What is Daddy?” “Daddy is a nerd.” Then I said, “What is J.T.?” She said, “J.T. is sixteen.” And he is!! LOL

Part Three: She wants to be like me

Ok, now for the serious part. Adam and I each have a basket under the bathroom counter that our toiletries go in. And, I must add here, that I married a guy that uses more styling products than I do. Anyway, after Adam leaves each morning, I go into the bedroom and get his toiletries and go and put them back in his basket because of course, he never does that himself. This morning, Emma went and got them, and put them right in the basket. I was very excited about this for a couple of reasons: 1. I’m going to get some help around here. 2. She’s showing signs of not being messy like her daddy. But then, the seriousness of the situation hit. She does everything that I do. So, in light of that, I try not to be cheesy and put song lyrics on here but there are some that I’m thinking of that are just too fitting to leave off. So here they are:

I want to be just like you,
Cause she wants to be just like me
I want to be a holy example,
For innocent eyes to see

Help me be a living Bible Lord,
For my little one to see.
I want to be just like you,
Cause she wants to be like me.

Something like that anyway.. Now, to our busy day.

Love from Above,

Dana

LEAVE COMMENTS PEOPLE

Emma has been sick the last couple of days. She threw up yesterday. But, I cleaned her up and gave her lots of hugs and popsicles and she's feeling better now. I need some rest before I can really update. Until then... Enjoy the pictures grandparents

Picture 1: Emma sick on the couch. You know if she was still long enough for me to get her picture laying on the couch, she wasn't feeling good.

Picture 2: Emma and Kylee (girl in the youth group) Emma loves her teenagers.

Love from above,

Dana

My life is the Grandest

Ok, today was not a great day.. Emma and I both have a nasty cold and when I have a cold, I don’t sleep well so I’m tired and have a cold. Adam left me stuff here to do that he should have taken care of before he left (thanks sweetie) and I messed it up terribly. So, I’ve been messing with that stuff all day. The highlight of my day was going to Hannah’s (girl in the youth group) volleyball game with Kylee and Anna (girls in the youth group). Williamstown didn’t win but Hannah sure looked cute out there. It was all made better at the end of the night. Right after I got Emma ready for bed and in her pajamas, I looked at her and said, “Emma, you know baby, I really don’t feel very good”. She said, “It’s ok momma, I’ll scratch your back. That’ll make you feel better”. And yes, that’s a direct quote,she said all those words. And so she scratched my back and I basked in her sweetness. And yes, it did make me feel better. So, I’m about to go to bed knowing that my life is the grandest. And, I’ll pray that God takes care of all the other stuff tomorrow. Edit Sept 22: and he did!! God is great!

Love you all,

Dana

Now here’s the thing I’ve been tagged to do about a hundred times now:


10 years ago I:
-was 17 and had just got out of a serious relationship (by the way, serious relationships are for married people) and thought my world had ended.
-was a senior in high school and held the Alabama state championship in high jump
-could do a back tuck

5 years ago I:
-was married to the greatest guy in the world
-was living in Albany GA
-was in college and could do a back hand spring

1 year ago I:
-was still married to the greatest guy in the world
-was loving being a mommy
-lived in Panama City Florida and could do a cart wheel
-
Yesterday I:
-Was still married to the greatest guy in the world
-still loving being a mommy
- had 20 something teenagers at my house and was lucky to be able to get out of bed

5 snacks i enjoy
-cashews
-soft pretzels with cheese from the mall
-cheese
-oatmeal pies
-chocolate chip cookies and milk

5 songs i know by heart:
-Stay by Lisa Loeb
-I’ll be there for you by Bon Jovi
-Patience by Guns and Roses
-many, many church songs
-many, many children’s songs

5 things i would do with a million dollars:
-pay off our house
- put half of it in investments. I’d live off the interest and let my family have the rest after I’m gone
-Set my mom up where she could retire um, in West Virginia J
- Give some to the church
Um, I’m out of money… a million dollars really wouldn’t go very far

5 places i would run away to:
-where ever my momma is
other than that, I pretty much like being at home
-
5 things i would never wear:
-tight rolled jeans. A lot of you probably don’t even know what those are..
-granny panties… ok, I did that once but it was a joke (huh Sam and Anna)
-a girdle… I don’t care how fat I get
-Abercrombie and Fitch… Though I love their jeans, I’m boycotting them because their catalogs have naked people in them.
-one of those glitter t shirts that say princess, or hot or something like that

5 favorite t.v shows:
-The Apprentice
-American Idol
-ER
-Smallville
-Dharma and Greg

5 bad habits:
-losing my keys
-calling Adam a dork
-caffeine
--wearing my heart on my sleeve (me too Heather)
- -caring what people think

5 greatest joys:
-..Emma Elaine Ellis
-Adam Keith Ellis (when he’s not a dork)
-my family
-the kids in the youth group
- -spending time with friends

5 fictional characters i would date:
-the guy Harrison Ford played in Air Force One
-Mel Gibson in Braveheart
-Zorro
-Clark Kent
-Adam Sandler in “50 First dates” Guess I like the heroic type

who needs to do this now:
-Heather Hedden
- -Adam, I’ll believe it when I see it
-Kayla Hammock
-Justin, my nephew
-Justin’s girlfriend Caitlin. I need to know some things about this girl

Home Sweet Home

We’re finally home. We have been in seven states in the past week and I’m glad to be back home. Emma did great. She did not even whine once the whole trip. We made it home yesterday evening in an impressive 10 hours and 45 minutes. With a long McDonalds stop to play. Soon after we got home, we were paid a visit by some of the kids in the youth group. They brought milk and cookies with them. Very thoughtful.. I continuously thank God for bringing us here and blessing us so greatly.

Ok, the last few days of our trip:
We went to church with Adam’s parents Wed night and spent the night with them. Thursday, we had lunch with Adam’s grandmother and then traveled back to Birmingham. Thursday night, we had dinner at my friend Kristen’s house. Kristen is my best friend from high school and elementary school for that matter. I have known her since sixth grade. Our friend Jana also came over (also since sixth grade). All of our kids got to play together. Jana has two, Kristen one and one on the way (she's having a girl woo whoo.. And no, I don’t give in to peer pressure. We sat around at marveled at how much our lives have changed. Most people are not fortunate enough to have friends that they’ve known their whole lives. Thank you again God for blessing me so greatly.
Picture one: Jacob,Jayden(Jana's kids)Emma,Camden(Kristen)
Picture two: Emma,Kristen,Camden
Picture three: Emma and Camden

Today, I kept Connor Whitaker because Rachel had the baby. I’m about to do another post of the baby so their family can see pictures of him.

Have a great night.

All my love,

Dana

Funny thing Emma did:
She stood up in a chair and said to Adam, "Look daddy, I'm going to bust my tail".

On our way

I don't know if you could call this a restful vacation but we're having a good time. We made it down to the beach and were able to spend one day on the beach. We enjoyed seeing some of our friends and Emma really enjoyed getting to play with her old friends. We saw some of the teenagers and parents from Panama City and were glad to see them doing well. Emma has taken to calling the teens in PC "the old teenagers" and the ones from West Virginia "the new teenagers". We're now working our way back up the map. We are spending the night at Adam's parents in Enterprise Alabama and going to church with them tonight. Tomorrow night, we will get together with some friends of mine from high school and spend the night at my parents house. Then Friday, we'll be going all the way home. I'm so glad that I think of it as home already. I could be really cheesy and put in some song lyrics here but I'll spare you. Hope you all are having a great week.

The picture of the pregnant girl is my friend Pam. Isn't she cute!!

Love from above,

Dana

More pictures from the ceremony

Vacation

We are making a stop on our way to the beach. We are in Adam's sister's class room in Prattville, AL. This has been our first chance to get internet access. Our trip is going well. We traveled all day Friday and made it to my nephew's football game. The first picture is Emma with him after the game.My grandparents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary by renewing their vows. It was a really sweet moment and the family enjoyed being able to get together. We are missing everyone in West Virginia and have enjoyed the text messages and phone calls we've gotten to keep us updated on everything. We have already had some interaction with hurrican refugees and have some neat stories to tell about how God works when we get back. I will share them with everyone when we get home. Just a little reminder to the Heart to Heart girls, keep up your prayer journals :).

I will post more pictures Wed. night when we get to Adam's parents.

Love from Above,

Dana

This past weekend we went to Summit in Columbus. It was a really great trip. I had been under the impression that it was a youth rally but it was really a sort of family rally. The numbers were low which is somewhat dissapointing because I thought it was a great event. There are very few things that families with young children can go to and worship God and know that their children are well taken care of. They had a great child care section and Emma had a ball. Our group was the largest group there and that was quite a boost for us. The group did great and I was so proud to be a part of them. There were several times that I would see specific kids going to great lengths to make sure another kid didn't feel left out. They do a great job of loving each other. And, since the Bible says that "they will know us by our love", that's a huge deal. And it's working, Linda went and seemed to have a great time and felt really welcome. I'm so excited about all of this. I do believe that this group of kids are going to change the world.

While we were in Columbus, Jan flew in and Emma and I went and picked her up at the airport. Since we've been back in Vienna, she's been spending a whole lot of time with Jason. In case you don't know, Jason is a guy that works at OVU that I introduced her to. Yes, that was me patting myself on the back. This will be interesting to watch.

Now an Emma update... Well, that terrible twos stage probably wasn't really the terrible twos because it didn't last for very long. She's back to her sweet little self. We had her two year old check up last week. Yes, it's two months late but give me a break, we just moved. She was 36 and 1/2 inches tall and weighed 30lbs. She is in like the 98th percentile for her height. Guess she's going to be tall like her daddy. For the grandparents.. Sorry, I haven't taken many pictures of her this week but I'll work on that today. In the one I posted from Summit, her head is turned away. Funny things she's said... Well, I'm not sure this is funny but when I picked her up from her class at Summit, I asked her if she had fun and she said, "Yeah, I had fun playing with the boys". Also yesterday, she came up to me and pulled out her ears and said, "look, I'm a monkey". Then, a few minutes later, she said, "I figured I'd be a monkey". Who knows? She keeps us laughing. I have the best job in the world. I thank God that I'm able to be at home with her and not miss these precious moments.

Yesterday, we went to the park to meet people from this Mom's club that I've joined. We really enjoyed it and I'm really excited about all the events that this group does. They do all kinds of service projects and field trips and stuff. And, it's a chance for me to meet some people out side of church and do a little reaching out myself.

Tonight, we are having Heart to Heart with the teenagers and I'm excited about getting a chance to discuss things that are on their hearts.

We are going on vacation this Friday and will be gone a week so it might be a while before I update. But I'll try to add some more pictures soon. Hope all of you have a wonderful week.

Love from above,
Dana