Whew!  This weekend was so jammed full, it is kind of a blur in my mind!  It was packed full of fun times, though. Here are the highlights:

 

On Saturday, my brother (Troy) brought Brooke, Cassidy, and Bradyn (Todd's kids) to take Ella to her first movie in a movie theater.  They saw the "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie."  With this being Ella's 1st movie, I asked to tag along, too, to take some pictures.  Plus, I wanted to see the movie anyway.  Ella sat on Brooke's lap the whole time.  She had no problem paying attention all the way to the end, though she did seem a bit sleepy at times.  (She still takes a 1 1/2-2 hour nap every afternoon, but missed it this day.)  There were a few parts she turned her head away from because they were a little scary, but overall, she just really seemed amazed by the huge screen.  After it was over, what stuck out to her the most were the rock monsters.  She REALLY didn't like them. 

 

Then just about an hour and a half after we got home from the movie, we hosted a fellowship for our Sunday School class.  It was a game night.  We had five tables set up, plus two kid-size card tables, and everybody brought snacks and drinks.  I counted 32 people in all (in our house!!) and I think everyone had a great time.  Brooke and Cassidy stuck around and helped out with childcare at the party.  They were a huge help.  It was fun having them stay the night, too.

 

After the party, we got everything cleaned up and to bed around 12:30.  Then on Sunday, we got up early and went to the 8:30 church service and Sunday School, then drove to my parents' house to celebrate my 32nd birthday.  Mom made a great ham dinner, I had my traditional ice cream cake, and we all enjoyed having the whole family together.  That is one special thing about my family.  No matter how old we get, we all make every effort to get together for each person's birthday. 

 

We drove straight back to our church Sunday evening in time for me to teach children's choir.  Then afterwards, there was a special business meeting about the new buidling project our church has voted on.  It was another late night, with kids eating dinner at 9 pm and getting to bed even later.

 

So now I think my head has finally stopped spinning and things are getting back to normal.  Enjoy the pictures!

I was blessed to spend Friday through Sunday at a Scrapbooking Bed and Breakfast in Paducah, KY called "Cropical Paradise."  The name is a little corny, and as you would guess, it had a tropical, "palm trees and pink flamingos" theme, complete with lime green, tangerine, and yellow walls and decor.  It was cute when we arrived on Friday, but a bit sickening early Saturday morning after only 4 1/2 hours sleep.  Really, it was a very nice, comfortable place and I know everyone enjoyed our time there.  I was invited by a friend from my church in Louisville, Sarah, who now lives near Paducah.  There were seven of us from Louisville, plus two from Sarah's new church.  We had a great time talking, laughing, eating, sitting in the hot tub, and working on our books.  For the record, I am really not a "serious scrapbooker" like most of these ladies.  I don't have all the tools, papers, stickers, or the creative ideas they have, but I do have two beautiful baby books that I am very proud of.  I was happy to get them nearly finished, but I most enjoyed catching up with friends and having a short break from being full-time mommy.  Having said that, I was so excited to hug and love on Ella and Lucy (and Jeff, too) when I got back.  I missed them so much!  My mom was gracious to come and help out part of the time, but on Sunday, my wonderful husband got both girls up, dressed, fed, to church ON TIME, back home, and fed again on his own!  What a guy!

 

We ended our weekend with a time of worship and a devotional on Sunday morning.  It was so great to be able to give thanks and praise to the One who made the whole weekend possible!  I hope we are able to do this again some time!  The place, food, and hospitality were excellent and I would recommend it to anyone!

The highlight of this week was that Lucy took her first steps on Monday night!  Just after dinner, she began standing without holding onto anything for several seconds.  That in itself was a first for her!  I was happy that Jeff was home to see her.  Then a few minutes after 7:00, after Jeff was gone, she began standing longer and longer and then without any prompting from me, she took three steps!!  I was so excited, but disappointed that Jeff missed it.  I told him about it on the phone and he encouraged me to set up the tripod to try to get some video, which I did.  She took several steps throughout the evening, walking seven steps at once one time!  Ella came through for me as the photographer.  I really wanted to get a picture for Lucy's baby book taken that night in the place where it happened, but there was no way for me to get Lucy to walk and take a picture, too.  Ella had been asking me if she could take some pictures, so I decided to let her give it a try and she did great!  (This will explain why a few of the pictures are a little crooked.) 

 

The video was taken tonight, Thursday.  She's gaining more confidence all the time!

With SO many pictures this time, I'm going to keep the blog short.  Most pictures have captions, so they speak for themselves, anyway.  We had a wonderful break - relaxing, most of the time, and just such a nice change of pace and scenery, not to mention the great food and sweets.  We strove to make sure Ella understood that the birth of Jesus was really the reason behind all we were doing.  I think each year she internalizes it a little more. 

 

Happy New Year!