Dancing Queen

We had another great weekend! Friday afternoon I came home from work early so that I could take Ella to get a flu shot. I had to make an appointment through the hospital several weeks ago. Everything was set up in a big auditorium. We got there and signed in, and much to Ella’s surprise, they had mini 3 Musketeer candy bars. I grabbed one and headed down to the front of the auditorium to get our shots. Ella dug in to the chocolate pretty quickly. The nurse gave me the shot first, then came Ella. We put the chocolate down during the shot, and of course Ella cried. The second it was over she said through her tears, “’More yummy chocolate.” Then took a bite and she was fine. We had to hang around for 15 minutes, so we just sat and colored and finished up the chocolate. She was a trooper for the whole ordeal. When we got in the car she was asleep before we even left the parking lot. After we got home I just sat in the car with her so she could get a good nap in. It’s amazing what parents will do for their kids…like sit in the car for an hour. The great news is that the flu shot made her sleepy, so even though she took an hour nap, Ella still went to bed on time and SLEPT ALL NIGHT!

Saturday morning Joe had some school work that he had to get done, so it was just Ella and me hanging around the house. We stayed in our pajamas until noon. Saturday night we headed to Frederick, MD to meet with our friends, the Fraternal Order of Eagles. As you may remember, they have supported us and Ella in so many ways. When Ella was first born, the Eagles sponsored a CD that Jenni Benson (my BFF) made to raise money for Ella. And on Ella’s 1 year birthday we were able to personally thank the Eagles for their help…and in return they gave her another financial contribution as a birthday gift. In June we were invited to join the Eagles once again as the two Presidents chose Debra and EB as their charity for the year. Joe and I were so touched by their hearts and willingness to help Ella and other kids with EB.

There is no way I can begin to tell you all the things that Joe and I have come to love about this group. In fact, every time we visit we grow to love them even more. The meetings aren’t just meetings…they’re fun. It’s obvious that they really have a good time when they get together. One of my favorite things is that if someone gets up to speak and they don’t introduce their spouse, they have to pay $10. I love it! The people are so welcoming and kind-hearted. We instantly fall in love with everyone we meet at the meetings.

On Saturday night Joe, Ella and I were invited, once again, to join the Eagles for dinner and a presentation. They have been working hard to raise money for Debra and on Saturday night they were able to present Mary Sprague, Executive Director from Debra, with a check for $5,000. They are still working hard to raise money for EB and will continue to do so throughout the year.

The dinner was wonderful…turkey with all the fixin’s. Ella was less interested in the turkey and more interested in the leaf cookies that had been dipped in chocolate (she's a chocolate girl...I can thank Metti for that) and the cake. Of course we had to sing Happy Birthday several times while she was eating the cake. After dinner and the presentations came the best part of the night and the reason for the title of this post. They had a band…and the Murray’s danced. Ella really cut a rug! She showed them how to skip around the dance floor and shake your booty. She even showed them how to dance on a table and kick your legs up really high. She would ask one of us to hold her and dance, then she'd get down and dance by herself, then she'd want to take a break and have some sweet tea, then she'd stand up on the table. This is how it went all night. We stayed and danced until about 9:45pm and Ella would have stayed longer if we had let her. The good news is that all that dancing tired Ella out and about half way home she started asking to go night night. Of course when we got home she got very upset with me because I put her in yellow jammies and not the pink ones she requested (2 year olds are really opinionated). Oh well…that’s all part of being a mom I guess. Anyway, Ella fell asleep pretty quickly after we got home and she SLEPT ALL NIGHT AGAIN!!! Maybe we should take her out dancing every night! It’s amazing what two full nights of sleep can do for a person! Of course last night she woke up twice just to make up for the two nights she slept, but I told Joe that I was ok with it.

Ella made this special video as a thank you to the Eagles.