Strawberry Picking

Yesterday, my mom took us to the strawberry farm to pick strawberries. It was a really hot day, 88 degrees, so we got up early to go picking. The kids brought their hats, but the girls took them off. They looked like little cowgirls.

We filled up 5 bushels. There were many strawberries, but they said they had a hot spring, so there weren't as many as usual.

The three of them did awesome picking! Look at Ellie's basket she has quite a few. After she filled up the basket she decided to throw some like a ball. Not a great idea!

Here is my cool dude showing how he picked his first four strawberries.

Here is my sweet strawberry!

They were really get into picking them!

After all our hard work we got some homemade donuts and juice boxes. It was a hot day!

Here are all the yummy strawberries.

Then we decided to make jam. I haven't done it before, but remember my mom doing it when I was a kid.

Canning done! That night we also had strawberry shortcake. It was a really fun experience and now want to go strawberry picking every year!

Grad Girl!

Last weekend, Ryan's youngest sister, Rachelle, graduated from high school. We went to Michigan to be apart of this special moment! We are so very proud of Rachelle and all her hard work. Ryan's mom was telling me that when Ryan graduated high school Rachelle was four years old. It is funny that while we watch Rachelle graduate her niece and nephew are almost 4 years old!
I was privileged in meeting Rachelle when she was in kindergarten. That is the year I started dating my now husband. It has been so neat being able to watch her grow. When she was little we would talk Pokemon and play dog. I always loved to see her latest artwork and her latest fashion. Rachelle is so tiny, but man can she eat! When she would come visit us at our small little house I made sure to have Cartoon Network on and a refrigerator filled with food. She is easy to please! Now she is all grown up and is an adult! Rachelle I have just loved being apart of your life and am proud of the woman that you are!

The proud Dad and Mom with Rachelle

This of coarse, is Rachelle's yummy Graduation cake. The night before Rachelle's graduation party, Ryan's parent's had a graduation party for her.

Cousin Jenna, sister Rachelle, Chevy, and sister Renee

This is GG, or Grandma Milley playing dolls with Ellie. Grandma Milley is so good with the kids and can keep up with them!

Earlier that day we took the kids to the splash park and castle park to play. Here are a few cute shots of the kids.

Out of the Ordinary

This week for me and the kids is out of the ordinary! Avielle is at Nana's and Grandpa's in Michigan for the week. These pictures are taken of her day today. I think she is having a lot of fun! She went fishing with her Auntie Renee and Mr. Nate. They said she just giggled when she caught one fish after another! My little girl just loves getting her hands dirty and isn't afraid of anything! I keep thinking that she will one day be a nurse.
Nana took her to the mall today and let her bring her baby stroller to stroll around. Avi also got to pick out a dress from Gymboree and get her nails done at the salon with Nana. What a life!

Here are her nails

Auntie Renee and Mr. Nate with their fish!

Anderson is in Vacation Bible School for the week. I asked him what he learned today and he said that he learned about God! I'm glad! He got a cool purple shirt that he has been wearing all day and won't take off! It seems like such a good program! I dropped him off at 9:30, well I was a little late or a lot of late, and picked him up at 12:30.

Wow, I had three hours with one child! Ellie and I hurried to Gurnee Mall so I could use my $10 off coupon at both Carter's and OshKosh. While we were at the mall I think Ellie said hi to every person we passed. It was cute, but for a mom who is not extremely outgoing it was a little embarrassing. It was neat to see people's responses. Some people said hello again and some just didn't say anything. When they didn't say anything my persistent girl would continue to say hello. I loved how her hello just put such a smile on every one's face!

After I picked up Anderson, both Ellie and Anderson said they didn't want lunch, but wanted to go straight to bed! They took at 2 1/2 hour nap and I was able to get school work done and unpack from our weekend.

Then we took Ellie and Anderson to my parent's to pick up our lovely dog that we missed so much. Actually we didn't miss her a ton. The kids wanted to play and so we stayed and hung out with my parent's. Chevy left work and we all went out for hot dog's and ice cream. It was a delightful day!

The Big 2!

Ellison Cynthia is 2 today! I just can't believe it! Our little Ellie is quite talkative and active. If you are ever on the ground you can be sure that she is going to tackle you! She loves playing ball and going on the swings. I love when she says, "Come on Mommy!" Ellie truly loves life and loves to laugh and play. For the most part she is always happy and loves to give hugs. Every day with her is a joy! She is still a mamma's girl, which I hope will never change!


Over Memorial weekend we celebrated Ellie's Birthday. Nana and Grandpa were able to come in so we wanted them to be apart of the little celebration.

The theme of the party was Minnie and Mickey. Here are the kids at their table. We had the party at my parent's house and we all went swimming in the extra warm pool! That is the only way I would get in the water if it was really warm!

Here Ellie opening her presents. She was very polite with her thank yous.
It was funny that the common theme of her presents was a princess known as Ariel. I wonder why that would be the theme? HA!

Ellie decided she wanted to go for another swim in the pool, but this time with her clothes on! Thank goodness mommy brought three different outfits for her to wear to her party. You can never be too prepared.

Auntie Kelli helped Ellie take a swim.

She knew exactly what to do when it came to blowing out the candles! Happy Birthday my little angel! Mommy and Daddy love you so much and know that you are such a miracle!

Update

Thank you for your prayers! My sister Jenny is now going to be coming home today. The doctor's said that she had a burst vessel in her head that was not caused by the delivery of the baby, but by the high blood pressure of the toxemia. Jenny said that on Friday she felt like her heart was beating through her chest and she felt like something wasn't right with her body.

I'm so glad that my sister will be home and that she will be able to see Penelope. The doctor's have her on strong medicine to help with the head and neck pain. Unfortunately that means she will need to pump and dump! When I was nursing breast milk was like Gold! HA!

Please Pray!

If you remember from my previous post, my sister had her baby last week. Her baby is doing wonderful, but my sister Jenny is not well. After having Penny, my sister retained a lot of water and was really swollen. She went to the doctor's office on Friday and they told her that this can happen after the baby is born.

Then on Monday, my sister had an awful migraine and it wouldn't go away, so my sister and brother-in-law went to the emergency room. The doctor's were unable to relieve her from her migraine. They later found her blood pressure to be extremely high and they transferred her to Highland Park her original doctor and put her on the labor and delivery floor.

The headache still continued and her blood pressure went down a little. The doctor said that she has toxemia, (not sure how to spell). It is very rare for women to have it after deliver. Then the doctor said that he wanted to do a cat scan on her head. The doctors found a slight bleed. They then transferred her to Evanston Hospital. She is there now and we are waiting from news from the doctor.

Her week old daughter is with us for the night. She is so sweet and such a good baby. I want to ask you to pray for my sister, that God will heal her completely and the scan will come back normal. Thank you all!