Surprise Surprise!

1 Samuel 1:27-28 (NIV)

²⁷ I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. ²⁸ So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.

Well, I guess it’s time to share our exciting news.

In December Ella will welcome a baby brother!  I’ll give you a minute to pick up your jaw…

It has been pretty funny to watch the reactions we get as we’ve told our friends the news.  Some just stare at us, as though they have to gather their thoughts before they say anything.  Others are clearly trying to hide their shock as they wish us congratulations.  But most just drop their jaw and stand there.  It’s hysterical.  I think a majority of people thought we were finished having kids.  I have to admit, there were times I thought we were finished having kids.  Yes, I am at “advanced maternal age” (my doctor just calls it AMA to make me feel better), and yes, Ella is 6 years old, but we’re still bringing another sweet baby into the family and we couldn’t be more thrilled.

This has been a subject of prayer for many years.  In fact, since Ella was born we’ve been praying about whether or not to bring another child into the family.  God has already blessed us so much by giving us this new baby.

Ella is so excited she can hardly stand it!  She has prayed for a baby brother or sister nearly every night for 3 years.  She would watch shows where one of the characters had a baby brother or sister, and tell me that if she was a big sister she would help me too.  She would bring me clean diapers and help feed the baby, and she would play with the baby if I had something I needed to do.  For a long time she was afraid that she wasn’t going to get one.  We had many conversations about how we can ask God for things, even good things that we really want, and sometimes He still says no.  Ella would say, “But I’m a nice girl and I will be a good big sister.”  And we would explain that even then, sometimes God says no.  When we told her the news, one of the first things she did was look at me with a huge smile on her face and say, “Mom!  God said YES!”  Every single day she kisses my tummy and talks to the baby.

Specifically, Ella has been asking for a little sister (she says that boys can be too wild).  Joe and I tend to be a couple that likes to be surprised with the baby’s gender (we didn’t know Ella was a girl) but since Ella wanted a little sister so badly, we felt like we needed to find out the gender so that we could fully prepare her in case it was a boy.  We had talked to her a lot about how this could be a boy and would she be just as excited if it were a brother?  She assured us that she would be just as excited because all she really wanted was to be a big sister.

Joe wasn’t able to attend the ultrasound with Ella and me, so it was just us girls in the room.  Fortunately the tech looked at the gender first and when she told Ella she would be having a baby brother Ella let out a big “YAY!!!”  She talked for the rest of the time about her baby brother and what was he doing and where was his face so she could see him.  She also determined that she will be the one who picks out his clothes every day, but I have to change all of the stinky diapers.  She did, however, say that she’ll get me a clean diaper to put on after the stinky one is off.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared.  I miss the naivety I had with my pregnancy with Ella.  At that time I still didn’t know that bad things happen after 12 weeks.  I didn’t know that all babies weren’t born healthy.  I had heard of a NICU, but never actually known someone whose child spent more than a few days in one.  It had never crossed my mind that you can go into a hospital to have a baby, yet come home empty handed. 

We’ve already had this poor kid tested for everything, and I do mean everything.  But even after all this testing, fear still lingers in the back of my mind.  If we had tested Ella for all of these other diseases they would have also come back as “normal,” yet it was clear when she was born that things weren’t normal…not normal at all.  The EB results came back as 97% that it does NOT have EB.  That is great news that we were thrilled to hear, but I can’t seem to get over that 3%.  We’re kind of known for falling into the 1-5% category.

Every day I have to remind myself to focus on the gifts.  For now, all signs point that we have been gifted a healthy, EB free baby.  For me, the ability to be pregnant again has been an incredible gift that I never thought I’d experience again.  Ella is a gift.  In spite of all of her challenges, she always has been, and always will be an incredible gift.  If given another child with health issues, this child will too be a gift.

That said, I pray every day…multiple times a day, that this baby is healthy.  I pray that he has the strength of his sister…strength physically, strength of character, strength in courage and strength of conviction.  I pray for a strong heartbeat.  I pray for strong skin.  I pray that he’s chunky (it would be really nice to have a kid and not worry about their weight 24/7).  I pray, pray, pray that he is healthy.  I ask that you all pray with us.

All of that said, we are THRILLED to have this precious new addition.  I get so excited to see him with each ultrasound and can’t wait to see his precious face in December.  I love each little kick and can’t wait until Joe and Ella can feel them too.  Of course since this is a boy it means that I get to go shopping for precious little boy clothes!  I’m excited to decorate his room, and Joe already can’t wait to coach t-ball.  We are so thankful to the Lord for blessing us with this sweet boy!

The last 3 months in a nutshell

I deeply apologize for my complete slacking off on the blog.  I’ve kind of been in a social media funk lately.  I’m not really feeling the vibe of facebook and I haven’t had much motivation to actually write a complete blog.  I’m trying to do better…really I am.

Here are the last 3 months in summary:

April:

April was a pretty boring month.  Ella didn’t have any really exciting events at school, we didn’t take any vacations, and even Joe and I didn’t have anything exciting going on.

May:

May always starts off great with my birthday!  I turned a whopping 36 this year.  So far I’m taking growing older ok.  I was nervous about hitting 36 but I’ve handled it ok so far.

The second week of May we had a special guest come visit.  GiGi flew into town to attend a very special Mother’s Day Tea that Ella’s class was having at school.  It was so fun to have GiGi in town, and it was especially fun for Ella to show off her class and friends.

The Mother’s Day Tea at school was amazing!  It was much more elaborate than anything I had imagined in my head.  Ella’s teacher had gone to great lengths to set up everything the night before including tables, fancy plates and cups, and full decorations around the room.  Each of the children had written their own story about the A B C’s and objects for each letter.  Then at the tea, 2 children were at each table and had the opportunity to read their stories to their family and friends.  The whole thing included a performance of poems and other readings by the kids, and of course, Ella had a speaking part (she loves performing).  GiGi was VERY impressed with the whole thing…so was I.

Also in May, I went back to working at the preschool 3 days a week.  It only lasted 5 weeks, so it didn’t take up my entire summer, but it was nice to have something to keep me busy at the end of the school year while Ella was still in school.  And as always, at least one kid in the preschool class did something to make me laugh each day.  Those kids are so much fun to be around!

June:

June was a VERY busy month.  Since in May Ella’s class had the Mother’s Day Tea, in June they held a Father’s Day Breakfast.  Fortunately Ella’s teacher knew enough to know that many of the fathers would be working during the day, so she scheduled the breakfast in the morning right after school started.  Joe went and got to see Ella’s performance skills first hand.  Ella has a t-shirt that says “My Mom is Totally Awesome” and one day when she was wearing it Joe said to her teacher, “I need to get Ella a shirt that says ‘My Dad is Totally Awesome.”  Well, much to our surprise Ella’s teacher went and had a shirt made and Ella got to wear it for the Father’s Day Breakfast.  Joe, of course, loved it!  Each child got to share what special activity they love doing with their dads…Ella said that she will always remember helping her daddy make coffee in the morning.  It’s amazing how those little activities sometimes mean the most.  During the program Ella read a poem titled “Little Girls Need Their Daddy’s.”  It was so sweet.  We have a copy of it at home and she has read it many times.

Also in June Ella’s class had their end of the year celebration.  It was a great performance where they showed the parents all that they had learned this year.  They also talked about what they want to be when they grow up.  Apparently Ella has changed her mind from being a singer and a dancer, and now she wants to be a doctor.  But after the performance she explained to me that she doesn’t want to be a people doctor, she wants to be an animal doctor.

 I wrapped up working at the preschool on June 14^th and had a few days to get ready for Ella’s school to finish up and prepare for another visit from GiGi and Paw Paw.  Ella’s school finished on 

 June 20^th.  Since it was so close to her birthday I let Ella take a special treat for her classmates.  Unfortunately the kids aren’t able to take food to celebrate their birthdays, so instead Ella gave each kid in the class a sheet of smelly stickers.  If I’ve learned one thing by working in a preschool, it’s that smelly stickers are the greatest invention on the planet.  A kid will do almost anything for a smelly sticker.  I knew Ella’s class would love getting some of their own.

I have to be sure to mention what a wonderful school year it was.  We could not have asked for a more perfect teacher for Ella.  She has learned so much and grown up so much both with her learning, and in personality.  She met some incredible friends this year and can't wait to get together for play dates this summer.  We are so excited to see what First Grade holds!

Immediately after I picked Ella up from school, we headed to the airport to pick up GiGi and Paw Paw.  It’s always fun to have grandparents come visit!  The next day GiGi and I spent all day decorating the house for Ella’s birthday party on Saturday.  This year the theme was “Garden Tea Party” so our house was decorated in bright flowers and butterflies all over the walls, and of course, streamers all over the ceiling.

Saturday was the big party.  Ella was lucky enough to have Grammy Janet and Aunt Katie come down for the event, and Cousins Lindy, Kit and Cam also came.  Of course Boppie was here, and 9 of Ella’s friends from school.  To say our house was chaos would be an understatement.  Toward the end of the party I looked at Kit (who is 16) and she was obviously in 6 year old girl overload.  After the party she went down to the basement and took a 2 hour nap.  Since it was a tea party, the little girls spent the first several minutes of the party decorating their tea hats.

After the tea hats it was time to eat.  As usual, we ordered pizza for everyone (Ella is convinced that it’s not a REAL birthday party unless there’s pizza) and I had fruit, goldfish crackers and candy on the side.  To drink we obviously had tea (which Ella was the only one who liked it) and raspberry lemonade.

After pizza the girls played “pin the spot on the ladybug.”  It always surprises me how much the kids love this game.  I always feel like its old and out dated, yet when they go to play the game they have a blast and laugh and cheer their friends on the entire time.  Next came stacking sugar cubes.  The girls loved seeing who could stack their sugar cubes the highest.  Of course one of the girls kept bumping the table and all the stacks would fall.  At the end they asked if they could eat the sugar cubes…no way!  The best activity (for the adults) was coloring wooden fans.  I went to AC Moore and bought a bunch of wooden fans with pictures of a flower and a frog on front.  The girls all laid on the floor and colored away in complete silence.  It was a much needed break after so much activity.

As I’ve mentioned here before, Ella’s not much of a cake eater.  This year she decided that instead of cake she wanted to have cotton candy as her birthday dessert.  AC Moore had some on sale, so I picked up several containers.  I think it was GiGi who came up with the great idea to put the cotton candy in cupcake papers.  I also baked some chocolate rose shaped cupcakes because I figured some of the girls might not care for cotton candy, and I was sure some of the adults would prefer cake.  What I didn’t imagine is that most of the girls would want BOTH.  A few of the little girls had 2 servings of cotton candy and 2 cupcakes.  SUGAR HIGH!

By this time the birthday party was over and the girls were starting to head out.  It was a great day and Ella loved every minute of it.  She wore a beautiful dress from cousin Lindy that was pink and looked like the skirt was covered in flower petals.  It was perfect for a Garden Tea Party.  At one point during her party Ella leaned over to her friend and said, “My mom is awesome!”  There is no greater compliment than that.

My only regret is that the party was so busy that I didn't get any pictures with my camera.  Thank heavens GiGi was there and took plenty with her camera.  She has emailed them to me and I'll be sure to include them in the right.

After the party all of the family sat around the living room and talked, then we headed out to Ella’s favorite restaurant for dinner…Hana Tokyo (Japanese hibachi).

The Sunday after Ella’s birthday party we headed up to Maryland for a mini family reunion with Paw Paw’s cousin and her family.  I feel fortunate that we live so close to his extended family.  We don’t see them very often, but it’s nice to know they are here if we needed them.  It was a fun time reconnecting with family, looking at old pictures and reading letters.

We spent the next several days relaxing and trying to rest up for the next leg of our vacation.  GiGi and Paw Paw had never been up to the Jersey shore so Joe was more than happy to show them around his hometown.  We headed up to the shore on Saturday morning and spent the weekend sight seeing and showing my parents all of Joe’s favorite spots.  They loved spending the time on the beach and we had a lot of fun seeing everything.

GiGi and Paw Paw headed back to Wyoming on Tuesday.  Our house is almost too quiet without them.  I think Sabrina may miss them the most.  Every morning she would head down to the basement and cuddle up next to GiGi and give her some morning kisses.  The first morning they were gone she went downstairs and when I found her she was just sitting on the floor staring at their empty bed.

July:

We have now welcomed July and are looking forward to what this month holds.  Today has been the perfect, relaxing 4^th of July.  I stayed in my pajamas until noon and we spent the morning cleaning up some things and Joe mowed the lawn.  Just as it should be.  We’re not planning on leaving either.  Steak on the grill tonight then most likely watching the fireworks from the comfort of our bed in our air conditioned house.

I promise that I’ll try to do better with the blog updates.  In April I didn’t have anything to update, so I kind of got out of the mood.  Hopefully from now on the summer will hold many exciting adventures.

So much to update on!

Wow, it has been a really long time and a lot has happened around the Murray house.

Unfortunately on March 6 my beloved grandfather, Big Daddy, left this world and met Big Mama in heaven.  Big Daddy was such a solid figure in the family and it’s still hard to believe he’s gone.  His health had been declining over the past several years, yet his death still seemed too quick and came as a shock.

I have so many memories of Big Daddy.  He was very skilled with his hands and could make anything in his wood working shop.  As a kid we would spend hours upon hours out in the shop with him.  I would ask for a dog cut out of wood, and within minutes he would have cut out a dog for me to sand and paint.  I would also often give me little bits of leather to stamp designs into.  One of my favorite videos is of my brother and Big Daddy in the 80’s.  Curby was very into break dancing and Big Mama and Big Daddy has a perfect break dancing slat on their front porch.  Curby spent hours “perfecting” his moves and brought along his big boom box so he could show off all his skills.  During one dance session, Big Daddy decided to show off some of his moves.  He had the moves alright!  Not exactly break dancing moves…or really any kind of skilled dancing moves, but he had moves.  Just thinking about this makes me laugh.  Big Daddy had such a wonderful sense of humor.

As is the case with all funerals, along with the bad there is good.  We got to fly down to Texas and spend several days with my extended family.  We haven’t been able to spend time with them since Ella was about 2 years old, so it was great to see everyone.  My parents, brother and his family, and all of us stayed in the Bigs house on the farm.  While I wish the occasion had been different, it was wonderful to spend quality time with my extended family.  Both Joe and I wish we could get down there to visit more often.  He loves all the farm activities and hanging out with my uncles and cousins, and of course I love being able to catch up with the family.

Ella loved being there with all of her family and cried the whole morning we were set to leave.  She decided that we should just move into Big Mama and Big Daddy’s house since they were in heaven now and wouldn’t need it anymore, and Aunt Nancy could be her kindergarten teacher (fortunately Nancy really is a kindergarten teacher).  She kept telling us over and over, “I don’t want to leave my family!  I like being here with my family.”

On March 21^st we had a big event in the Murray family…Ella went on her first field trip!  And of course, I volunteered to go with her as a chaperone.  Ella was really nervous about this field trip.  First of all, she was nervous that I would be late and would miss the bus and therefore, miss the field trip (What? Me late? Never!).  Second, she was really nervous about riding the bus.  She had never ridden a bus before, so the idea was very intimidating.  Every Thursday morning for a month she would wake up and ask if this was the Thursday they were going on the field trip.  Finally, when the day arrived she woke up ridiculously early and strongly encouraged me to get ready just so she would be assured I would arrive on time.  Of course I got there in plenty of time and we headed out on the trip.

The bus was way better than Ella had anticipated.  She sat next to a girl from her class (no names mentioned, but Ella has decided that this girl is her best friend…she’s also an only child so they have a lot in common) and they chatted the entire bus ride.  It was mostly the other little girl talking and Ella listening or responding, but Ella definitely participated in the conversation.

The field trip was to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.  Most kids don’t get quite this elaborate of a field trip when they’re in kindergarten, but it’s just one of the many perks of living in the Washington, DC area.  Once we arrived at the museum, Ella’s teacher had divided up the class and each chaperone was in charge of just 2 or 3 kids.  I had 2, Ella and the same girl from the bus.  They had a great time checking out all of the things the museum had to offer.

March 24-29^th was Ella’s Spring Break!  WOO HOO!!!  Joe also took this week off work, so we had an entire week to just have fun and hang out as a family.  In 2010 we decided to have our very first Staycation.  We both took a week off work and just spent the week doing fun things around Alexandria and Washington, DC.  We had so much fun that we decided to do it again this year.  Each day we planned different activities to do.  It was so nice being at home and able to sleep in, and getting out to do something fun every day.  We figure we saved a lot of money by not traveling, so we went out to eat every day.  Not every meal, of course, but at least once a day we went out.  We all three love eating out, so that was a lot of fun!

Monday we went to Cosi for lunch (I love that place but it’s kind of out of the way, so we rarely get to go) then we hit up Ella’s main request, a visit to Paint This, a pottery place in Old Town Alexandria where kids can come in and paint their own pottery.  Ella absolutely loves this place!  She is always coming up with new people she needs to paint something for.

Tuesday we had lunch at our very favorite restaurant, Hana Tokyo, then took Sabrina to PetSmart to get her very first professional bath.  They even put a big purple bow in her hair!  Sabrina and the dog groomer had a rough time together.  In fact, we got charged an additional fee because they had to get an extra person to come help with her bath and brushing.  She’s still a puppy, so all of this stuff is new for her.  At least she’s clean, and she kept the bow in for 5 days, which surprised me!

Wednesday Joe and I decided to take Ella somewhere special…Chuck E. Cheese’s.  She had never been before and we both knew she would love it.  We were right!  She loved the pizza, but especially loved the games.  With the help of her parents, Ella racked up tons of tickets for prizes!  Fortunately we were able to convince her to get an ice cream cone as we were leaving, and to save all of her tickets for later so she could combine them and get a bigger prize.

Of course with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese’s came a load of stares and questions from kids who wanted to know “what’s wrong with that girl?”  I really WANT to be understanding.  I know they’re just curious and interested in knowing why she looks different than they do.  But the biggest part of me wants to say, “She’s a kid, just like you, who’s just trying to have fun at Chuck E. Cheese’s.”  My answers were short and to the point, “She just gets boo boos really easily.  Now go back to playing.”

That said, it’s also in places like this where I’m reminded how kind humanity really is.  Toward the end of our visit a little girl came up to us and handed Ella the rest of her tokens.  She said she had to leave so she wouldn’t be able to use them and wanted to give them to Ella.  A few minutes later her mom came back over and handed Ella yet another cup of tokens.  Their group was heading home so they decided to take all of their left over tokens and give them to Ella.  It was so sweet!

Thursday was a relaxing day at home.  Ella woke up with an upset tummy, so we decided it was a good day to just take it easy.  Joe went and picked up some Moe’s for lunch, and the rest of the day was spent hanging out in the basement watching movies.

Friday was Joe’s day.  All week he’d been asking for one thing…go to Bass Pro Shops.  Luckily I decided to post about our endeavors on facebook and a friend of ours asked if we wanted to meet her and her husband for lunch.  It was great to catch up with them!  After lunch we headed over to Bass Pro Shops.  The ladies just sat and talked while the men looked at hunting gear.  We made sure to stick around until 6pm because the Easter Bunny would be making a stop and Ella definitely wanted to meet him.  We all got our picture taken with the Easter Bunny, then Ella got to make some Easter crafts.  We had a great time, but were all exhausted when we got home.

Today we’re just staying home.  Ella is busy dyeing Easter eggs and Joe is cleaning up the kitchen.  Tomorrow will prove to be a wonderful day of worship.

Betsy Ross

Several weeks ago Ella’s teacher sent home a letter stating that for the class “Who am I?” presentation Ella was going to be Betsy Ross.  This was the perfect person for Ella because she loves the flag and knows all of the songs about the flag (You’re a Grand Old Flag is her favorite).

I wasn’t sure where to begin with creating a costume, and it always makes me laugh when someone says, “It’s so easy to make!  You could make one yourself.”  Ummm, no.  I have not inherited the same skill of sewing that my mother has.  I did what most mom’s in my situation would do…I posted it on facebook.  Luckily one of my friends from the great state of Wyoming offered to make Ella a Betsy Ross hat and she had an apron that she threw in for good measure.  Perfect!  Now all we needed was a flag with 13 stars in a circle.

As fate would have it, we went up to Philadelphia, PA for Joe’s nephew’s birthday, and while we were there I mentioned this school project to 2 of Ella’s aunts.  They both piped up that Betsy Ross’ house was just 30 minutes away and it might be a fun stop to make on our way home.  Joe was immediately on board and Ella thought it was a great idea, so before heading home we made our way to downtown Philly to visit Betsy Ross.

The tour was great!  We got to look around the house, pick up a flag and even meet Betsy Ross (at least an actress playing her).  The thing I found most interesting was that apparently George Washington wanted the stars to be 6 pointed stars.  Betsy convinced him that it was easier to make a 5 pointed star.  When he was in doubt, she asked to show him.  She took a square piece of fabric and folded it up, made one snip with her scissors and voila…a perfect 5 pointed star.

The day of the event arrived and I knew Ella was ready.  She had recited her lines for me, she had the perfect outfit, and she had her flag.  One of the greatest parts of being a SAHM is that I get to help with classroom activities, so I arrived at her class 2 hours early for the program so that I could help set up.  It’s times like these when I realize just how lucky we are to be at Polk Elementary and to have the awesome teacher that we do!

When I arrived there were 19 chairs lined up near the front of the room, and at the front of the class was a little desk.  Who was sitting at that desk, you ask?  None other than Joella Gale Murray!  Yes, Ella was perched right at the front of the class because she was the Mistress of Ceremonies for the entire program!  Why does my child leave out critical details like this when talking about her school programs?  Ella introduced the program and laid out the instructions for the competition the parents would participate in (we had to guess each of the characters the kids portrayed…I’m embarrassed at how many I didn’t know), then she would introduce each child before they came to the front to tell about their person.  She did a fabulous job and I was so proud of her!  She read every word perfectly and spoke clearly.  She was confident and poised and didn’t hesitate one bit!

After the program we had a little reception with snacks, and by the time we were finished school was over and it was time to come home.  Since daddy wasn’t able to be there, Metti also came to see the program.  She’s so impressed with how far Ella has come with her confidence.  Ella seems to have gotten the performance gene from her Paw Paw and speaking gene from her GiGi.  Who knows where these 2 gifts will take her.

I have kept all of Ella’s Betsy Ross items and will file them away in hopes that some day she can do a more in-depth project on her.

Yes, I do have pictures to share but I'm in a time crunch right now so those will have to wait.  Sorry about that.