Updates

Ellie's prayers
Some of you may have heard me mention that Ellie and I pray each morning either on the way to school or when we arrive at school. Our prayer is simple, but we pray for the Lord to bless E's day, help her not to pitch any fits, help her to be kind to her friends and to make wise choices. We've been doing this all semester. God is answering our prayers! She has had 3 great weeks in a row. I am so thankful. She too sees the importance of asking God for his help.

Be Still.....
Each Friday, Mrs. Laws sends home a note that updates the parents on what happened at school that week. They have spent the last two weeks studying bears and have had the absolute best time! This week their Bible verse at school was what Mrs. Laws called the Quiet Verse. Guess what it was? "Shhh, Be still and know that I am God!" Can you believe it!?!?! I just thought it was way cool!

Brian's job
Brian found out on Friday that his group has been divided into two. He has been assigned to the Engineering side of Verizon. What this means for us is that Brian will be working more with network design and such (if I understand it all correctly). It also means that we are here in Little Rock indefinitely. There are no openings or places for engineers in South Lake, TX. So, they will leave Brian, his boss Jeff and another guy in the group here in Little Rock for "months to years." Brian is relieved that he now knows who his director is and what direction his job here in LR is taking. I'm still praying to be able to stay here in LR forever, but we shall see. :) God is good and He is taking very good care of us!

Baby Annie...
I realized the other day that I had YET to really mention the coming addition. I had my regular check up on Friday. It was very uneventful which is a good thing! I am 24 weeks. They did my gestational diabetes test on Friday. I should have the results early next week. We are slowly getting ready for this little one to come. I know that May will be here before we know it! Fortunately, the girls are excited and very willing to help. We're currently trying to convince Mollie that she really needs to give her bottles to Baby Annie. So far, it hasn't worked! ha!!!

Ice Day

Today was the 2nd ice day we have had this semester. I have to admit that it was definitely a full day. For the most part, the girls were really good and kept each other occupied. Here are a few highlights from the day....

Mollie wanted to play dress-up. She decided to wear Ellie's pajamas.

Then, she decided to wear her favorite outfit. She wanted to be "nekky."

Ellie showing off her dress-ups.

Then, she had a little photo shoot all by herself.

Ellie insisted I take a pic of her creation using her Digital Arts Studio that Mimi and Papa Jim bought her for Christmas.

PawPaw's Birthday

Last Saturday, we went to dinner with Brian's parents to celebrate his dad's birthday. We ate at Izzy's and came back to the house for some red velvet cake and presents. The girls always love celebrating birthdays, no matter whose it is. We were privileged to have Mollie sing a "Happy Birthday." It is great to listen to her sing it! As always, Ellie blew out the candles on the cake. I just love my girls!

What a week

This week has been "one of those weeks." Ya know the ones? The ones that never seem to go away and constantly toss us a few curve balls.

The girls enjoyed spending Monday with their daddy. He was off work and came to my rescue so that I could work and have lunch with my friend Tammy. Ellie and Mollie thought it was great fun. Tuesday it was back to school and to reality. On Wednesday, Ellie finally went for her 5 year check up with Dr. Feelbetter (aka Dr. Ledbetter). Ellie is 3' 9" tall and weighs 51.4 pounds. I have no idea how she could weigh 51 pounds. She is tall and lean. Dr. Ledbetter always seems to get a kick out of Ellie. She was shy with him at first but managed to answer all of his questions. A few of her answers were with hand motions. A few she was able to draw in her journal and show him. He managed to get her to smile and to laugh and to show off her great skill of standing and even jumping on one foot. He told me that Ellie is on track to be at least 5' 8". I have to admit I can't imagine being that tall! We shared with him the challenges that Ellie has had this year, and he said that she is doing great. She is a perfectly normal 5 year old! That is always great to hear! After our visit with Dr. Feelbetter, we were off down the hall to do her vision and hearing screenings. She passed both with flying colors. However, I wish you all could have listened to her answers to her vision test. When the tech pointed to the birthday cake, she said, "That's a cake. It has 3 candles, and it's for a little girl." Every answer was embellished and illustrated her great imagination! It was so funny. I thought the tech was going to die - she desperately wanted to laugh.

Be Still and Know that I am God

Then, Wednesday afternoon I received my lesson.....Tuesday morning after my mama finished teaching her Bible study, she stopped by my office to say hi. She showed me a gift she had been given by one of the ladies in her class. It was a framed Scripture - the word she had received from the Lord for the year. Each year, mama is given a word from the Lord...it's what she says God gives her to pray over our family for the year. I teased her about the year the she prayed for "Our year of plenty." I wasn't trying to be mean but the Lord quickly let me know that it wasn't funny. You see the word that the Lord gave mama this year is "Be Still and Know that I am God." Be still......after Ellie's check up Brian called worried about the future of his job and what was on the horizon for us. He was fearful that we would have to make a decision very soon about whether or not we would be willing to move. Move? Me? After all the struggles to get Ellie settled into school move her? After a discussion with Brian and a discussion with the Lord, I heard him say to me, "Be Still, Rachel. I am God. Be Still." I will never again make light (or at least desperately try to never) of any word that is given to anyone from the Lord.

So tonight, I share with you....Be Still....


Update: Mollie's Tooth
On the lighter side of life, I took Mollie back to see Dr. Friend today about the tooth she hurt in the little accident with Ellie in November. He took one look at it and said that it looks great! It has definitely reattached itself and should be good to go! We go back in 6 months so that he can clean her teeth, check the tooth and get her into the routine for going to the dentist! We are so very excited and thankful.

Ellie's thoughts on the inauguration

It was hard to miss that today was President Obama's inauguration. Even Ellie's class got in on the excitement. Mrs. Laws took the kids to the CFLC (our church's Christian Family Life Center) to watch a bit of the coverage with the "big kids." I ran into Ellie's class in the hallway and heard part of a conversation between Ellie and a friend. The friend didn't call Obama by the right name. Ellie said to her, "His name is Arak Obama." She had a half-way disgusted tone in her voice as if to say, "duh!" It was so funny!

When she got in the car this afternoon, I asked her what she thought about the inauguration. She said, "Mama, I don't know if he knows Jesus." I told her that I didn't know either but that that was one of the reasons it was so very important that we pray for him. Ellie said in her K4 voice, "I just don't know if I can pray for him yet, Mama."

Oh, well. I guess the love of politics from her Uncle Caleb may be rubbing off on her.

Easy Bake Oven

For Christmas, Ellie received an Easy Bake Oven from Mom and Papa. I never had one as a little girl, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. We have had so much fun with Ellie's little oven. She has been super sweet to let Mollie in on the fun too. We've made a treat for E to share with her daddy and a little cake for Papa Jim's birthday. Who knows what treats we will make next.

Ellie and her Easy Bake Oven.


Ellie being the awesome big sister and letting Mollie help stir the frosting.


Ellie's first Easy Bake Oven Graham Cookie.

Deep in the Heart of Texas

Many who who know me know that Texas is one of those places that is special to me. It's where my parents grew up, met fell in love and got married. It's where my cousins ALL lived most of the time I was growing up and where my at one point in my life my grandparents all lived. Fortunately, Mom and Papa moved home to Little Rock shortly after we did several years ago so we have had the privilege of having them here with us. It's now the place where my Grandma Osborne is buried (Mollie's namesake) and where Caleb and Stephanie are in school (Texas A&M) and my dad's dad still lives. It's also where my best friend Karen lives.

Over the last couple of years, the Lord has seen fit to bring special people in my life for what seems like short periods of time before moving them on to continue their lives elsewhere. A little over two years ago, God allowed me to become really great friends with two people who I had known for while. Both had daughters who are Ellie's age. However, one of these friends chose to follow a path that is completely opposite of everything that Karen (the other of the 2 new friends) and I believe in. I am so thankful that when God gave us all to each other especially Karen. We have relied on each other greatly as we have struggled with reality the past year and a half. We have very similar beliefs and have been great support for each other. Well, the Lord in his infinite wisdom saw fit to move Karen and her family (husband Robert and girls Haley and Kasey) to Whitehouse, Texas in August. We now see the benefits of this move. However, I have to admit there are many days I wonder why He couldn't have left them here.

This past weekend Brian and I loaded up our girls and headed to go to Whitehouse to spend the weekend with Karen, Robert and their girls before their newest addition - James - makes his grand appearance in a few weeks. I'm not really sure who this trip was really about. It started out being a chance for me to see Karen. However, Robert and Brian have a great time together; Ellie was in HEAVEN with her best friend Kasey; and Mollie adores Haley. It was definitely a great family trip! Below are a few of the highlights from our relaxing weekend. Thanks, Friends!

Kasey & Ellie had a blast playing Wii! I think Ellie is addicted. Now, if we can talk her daddy into letting us get one. :)

We can NEVER get Mollie to put on dress up clothes. However, she did this weekend. Her dress up adventure lasted just long enough for me to get a picture. Brian and I were very impressed.

Ellie also fell in love with Jasper the Luttrell's new yellow lab. Ellie thought it best to rock him. :)

Mollie Update

I haven't provided much of an update on Mollie lately, so I thought I would provide a little info on Midge.

Mollie has turned into my little song bird. This morning her song of choice was the ABC's. She was playing with a Leap Frog toy that she got off of Karen's refrigerator. Right now, she's playing with a Hannah Montana toy and singing "Best of Both Worlds." Ha! She sings constantly. Among her favorites are Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, The Wheels on the Bus and Happy Birthday to You.

She continues to crack us up. She has the best facial expressions. She uses her hands constantly while she talks and has even started doing a little eye roll. She is a hoot! There is definitely never a dull moment with Mollie! She was really good at FKDO this week. We're keeping our fingers crossed that we are getting past the hair pulling stage.

Our goals for the next couple of weeks include getting Mollie to quit drinking from a bottle. Yes, I know. I'm a softy! Our other goal is to find some sort of milk that Mollie will drink. We've tried whole milk but the result was not pretty at all. We tried Soy milk. Mollie was not impressed. So, we shall see.

New Letter

Thursday night while I was working, I ran into Ellie's teacher, Mrs. Laws. She is quickly working on her classroom, getting it ready for Open House for Prospective Students this Wednesday. She was telling me that they learned a new letter - F. As is her custom, she asked the class if they could tell her what words start with the letter F. I held my breath as I waited to hear what Ellie said. She said that Ellie told her that the word "fit" begins with F. Mrs. Laws said that it was all she could do not to fall out laughing. She said, Ellie want do you mean. She said that Ellie gave her a look as if to say "You know what I mean." Ellie told her, "You know, like my coat fits." We all know what Ellie really meant. She meant like pitch a fit. :)

I was very much relieved to know that that was the word she chose to share and not something else.

By the way, each morning, we say a prayer asking the Lord to help Ellie not to pitch any "fits" and to help her make wise choices. It's always fun to see her learn. ha! The prayers are working, and we have had two good weeks! Yippee!!

The Water Cooler

This afternoon, after nap of course, the girls and I made a quick trip to my dad's office for me to take care of a little work. I promised the girls that it would not take me very long. Well, the hour started off just fine. The girls were good. They ate a quick snack of chocolate chip cookies (fresh out of the oven I might add). They then migrated to the outer office to type on the typewriter. Ellie quickly discovered the myriad of tax stamps that my dad has. The girls were having a blast. Mollie ended up drawing in a notebook. Things were fine...that is, 'til daddy got off the phone.

Papa Jim always has something fun for the kids. Being nice, he got the girls a cup of water from the water cooler. Well, we got a laugh out of watching Mollie try to drink out of the cup without pouring water down her front. Then, Dad got on the phone and things went downhill from there. Mollie thought it would be fun to play with the spout on the water cooler much to Papa Jim's chagrin. It was so funny to listen to them. The girls also got into his stash of snacks. The afternoon ended with Dad having to pour the water out of the tray in the water cooler. As he left the office, Ellie proceeded to follow him. When she stopped and came back, Ellie some how accidentally spilled water on Mollie's head. It was so funny. Papa Jim told Ellie to pour out her cup of water before she got into her car. She obeyed but poured it in the middle of the porch to Dad's office building. It was so funny! We kept telling her no not there - the grass! All the way home, Mollie kept telling Ellie no grass. It was quite the afternoon. Always an adventure with the angels.

Blast from the past

This afternoon while spending quality time on Facebook, I discovered this picture of Brian when he was in preschool. I couldn't help but get tickled. Brian and Jason, his cousin, are too cute!! Can you find Brian? Enjoy the flashback!

** I have had a few folks ask which one is Brian. He's the second little boy from the left on the top row. :)

Alltel is now Verizon Wireless....

Just a little update on Brian's work situation. The deal closed today, and Alltel is now Verizon Wireless. Brian told me this afternoon that it was difficult this afternoon when he had to change his voicemail to say "You have reached Brian Bennett with Verizon Wireless....." He had a group meeting today and his bosses told them that they would be split into two groups which means that Brian may be moving his office and/or moving to a different group. We are thankful though for the other bit of news that they shared with Brian's group - their jobs are safe for 12-18 months. There were some layoffs today - mostly of executives. Brian knew these were coming, but it was still a bit of a blow. Thanks for all of your prayers. Please continue to pray for us.

Little Girls and Chalk

Tuesday afternoon, Brian and I switched beds in the girls' rooms. The double bed that has been in what is now Mollie's room since we moved into our house is now in Ellie's room. The twin bed in Ellie's room is now in Mollie's room. Ellie is thrilled to have a "big" bed and is loving her new bedding. Mollie was really excited to get a big girl bed in her room. She kept saying, "That mine?" Bless her heart though, we won't let her sleep in it yet. I'm just not ready to go there. While we were hard at work, the girls played outside with 3 pieces of chalk. Ellie said her goal was to make the deck pink. I think they were fairly successful!

Mollie and Ellie hard at work on their masterpiece.

Mollie came in and showed me her pink self. I giggled and asked her if she did it or if Ellie did it. I think it was a self-coloring. Although, I don't think that it was on purpose.

Then, I stepped outside to check on the angels. There they were covered in pink chalk.

At least they were occupied while Brian and I worked in their rooms. They really had a great time. I love that they can play together and want to be together. Hope Baby Annie is ready for all this excitement!

Christmas in pictures

Waiting for Christmas presents at Nannie & PawPaw's on Christmas Eve.

Mollie was thrilled with the new piano Nannie & PawPaw gave her.

Ellie is all about making Christmas cookies!

Caleb & Stephanie at the annual cookie making. This was Stephanie's first Christmas in Little Rock with all of us. We loved having her here!

Noah was all about making Christmas cookies. Too bad he couldn't eat any of our creations, but isn't he precious!??! He is definitely our favorite little man.


Mollie and Dunna (aka Kelsey) during our annual Christmas Cookie making at Mimi and Papa Jim's house.

Waiting to run down the stairs and see what Santa brought. Mollie wasn't quite ready to be up.

Ellie shows off her new Fancy Nancy Doll.

What you can't see is that Mollie is clutching a fist full of Hershey Kisses and her new trains. Yes, she is in love with choo choos!


I think Micah and Noah have the same hair cut, but I'm not totally sure. Hmmm? Gotta love my boys!

Christmas 08

The decorations are down and packed away - all except Ellie's Christmas village. It's always a bit sad to me when the lights are down and the decorations are gone. I have yet to get all of Mollie's new toys into their proper place. Fortunately, I have finished Ellie's room.

Here's a brief recap of our Christmas Adventures:

Christmas #1: We spent the weekend before Christmas with Robert & Karen Luttrell and their girls. On Friday night, we had Christmas dinner at Tammy and Jeff Segars. The food was amazing and the company fabulous! We had a great time exchanging gifts and just being "family." The girls are always in heaven when they are with their friends. :)

Birthdays: We celebrated Ellie's 5th Birthday, Caleb's 24th Birthday and Kelsey's 20th Birthday on Sunday, Dec. 21. It was so much fun watching them open their gifts and just be together. We continued the celebration that evening when we celebrated Ellie's birthday with Brian's parents and grandmother.

Tuesday, Dec. 23: I made dinner for our family and we ate at Mama and Dad's. Just before we ate, Brian and I with a little help from Ellie shared our good news with everyone. We are expecting Girl #3, Elizabeth Ann, in May. Needless to say, everyone was a little taken aback by the news.

Christmas Eve: We started the day with our annual Christmas Cookie Making at Mimi and Papa Jim's. We had a great time decorating the cookies. It always amazes me that the girls are the ones who end up finishing the cookies b/c the boys get tired. We finished the day with Christmas Eve dinner at Brian's parents' home. The kids had a blast. It was fun to get to visit and eat pork tenderloin. The kids really enjoyed getting to spend time with Mamaw, Brian's grandma. After dinner and gifts, we headed back to my grandparents to go to bed. Once again, we were all in one bed. Fortunately, it was king-sized bed.

Christmas Day: We had a wonderful time being a family. ALL of us were together at my grandparents for a while. We opened gifts and had the traditional waffle breakfast cooked by Papa. It was nice to lay around and do nothing. There was a little issue with our turkey. Fortunately, my grandparents had a ham. We had a very late dinner, but it was all good. After dinner, we headed back to the Bennett's so they could see the kids and so the kids could open their stockings.

We finished the year with an evening of fun at the Lora and Scott Deaton's with friends from church. It was great to have an evening with friends and no children. Last night, we finally got our turkey dinner last night at Mimi and Papa Jim's. It was amazing!!

So, happy new year to all of you. May God bless you.

Ellie is 5

Yes, I know that I am a "little" behind on updating my blog. However, the last two weeks have been a bit wild. However, it has been a great two weeks.

One of my most favorite things about the month of December is that Ellie's birthday is December 19th. This year our baby girl turned 5! It is hard to believe. Where has the time gone? It's amazing all that has happened to her and with her in the last year. We've seen her mature and grow a great amount this year. This year, she gave her cherished paci, got her first bike (i.e. the prize for giving up her paci), fell in love with the beach, started school, took dance lessons and learned that it's OK to be a part of a group of people where you know absolutely no one. There have been several struggles such as having her best friend move away, having to make new friends and having to adjust to our new schedule since she now goes to school every day. It has been a great year for Ellie, and we can't wait to see what the coming year holds for our Princess.

To celebrate Ellie's birthday, we planned a "pretend" sleepover with her friends from school and a few friends from church. The party had to be delayed 2 days due to a brief ice storm that kept E out of school for 2 days!! When we did have her party, we had a great time. Ellie was thoroughly pleased and that was great with me! We had pizza, watched Wall E and made pillow cases. I am forever grateful to Mandy for helping us survive the party!

I've been thinking a lot about how far Ellie has come in five years, and I wanted to post a couple of pics to mark the blessing she is to us. (I can't get the pics to be in the position that I want them in so that's why they are at the top of the page.)