Pictures

Just a quick note to say that I accidentally marked the new picture folders (December 2012 and January 2013) as private, so no one was able to see them.  I have rectified the situation and those folders are now available for your viewing pleasure.  Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

New BFF

Well, we have a new addition to the Murray family.  For 3 years Ella has asked for the same thing every Christmas and birthday…a dog.  This year Joe and I finally decided it was time.  Unfortunately Santa doesn’t like to bring dogs on his sled (they scare the reindeer) so we talked it over with Santa and decided that it would be best if Ella could pick out her own dog after we got back from vacationing in South Carolina.

So, last weekend we decided to make a stop off at the local Animal Welfare League and just see what was available.  Unfortunately none of the dogs there fit what we were looking for (small, cuddly and doesn’t bark too much).  We even went to another Animal Welfare League nearby and they didn’t have anything either.  Most of the dogs were large dogs and pit bull mix of some kind.  The 2 that we did like had age restrictions and Ella was too young.  (I totally understand the age restrictions, but when they put them in place they are referring to “typical” children.  Ella is not typical.  One of the dogs was quiet and doesn’t like loud noises.  We felt like he would have been a great fit for our family, but they had an age limit of 10 because most 5 year olds are loud and too active for what they thought would be good for this dog…not our 5 year old.)

This weekend we decided to hit up Pet Smart and see what they had available.  However, when we arrived they were only having cat adoptions.  I did give Ella the choice of getting a cat instead of a dog, but she was sure she wanted a dog.

Honestly, my first reaction was to come home and wait until next weekend to get back out.  I was really discouraged by what we saw at the Animal Welfare League the week before, and was sure they wouldn’t have much more variety this time.  Joe suggested we go out and just see if something new happened to come in.  So I suggested we head to another place not in Alexandria but nearby.  Once again, Joe suggested we go to Alexandria since that’s where we live.

We arrived and started looking around.  Imagine a long hallway with cages on either side.  At the far end there was a big dog that was barking very loudly.  Ella did NOT want to go down there with that dog, so Joe went down there and checked things out.  Immediately he waved for us to come down there.  As soon as we arrived we saw what would become our dog.  2 sisters in a cage together and as cute as they come.  2 women came up to the dogs after we got there and as they were oohing and ahhing over them I stated, “One of those is taken.  I don’t know which one yet, but one is going home with us.”

Joe went to get more info and found out that there were 2 more just like them on the other side (another area just like where we were), another sister and the only brother.  We went to the other side but those two were more hyper than the first ones and both nipped at my fingers when I went to pet them.  That wasn’t going to fly with me or Ella, so I knew those were out.

Joe went to tell them we wanted to meet with one of the first dogs while Ella and I went back to check them out.  Of the 2 one (Kelly) was a bit more assertive.  Not mean or anything, she just wanted to be petted first and she wouldn’t stop licking.  Sabrina was a bit more laid back.  She didn’t jump up on the fence as much, and let Kelly take the lead with any visitors.

By the time Joe got to the desk Kelly had been spoken for.  We were next on the list to have our pick and precious Sabrina was it.  I knew she was the right dog for our family.  We got to spend some alone time with her and Ella was in heaven.  Ella would pet her and Sabrina would just lick her fingers (no nipping), and at one point Ella sat on the floor to play with her and Sabrina came over, laid on the floor and put her front paws and laid her face in Ella’s lap.  They were immediate friends and I knew that Sabrina was coming home with us.

We had to run to Target and get some essentials before she could actually leave with us.  Of course Ella picked out a pink collar with glitter in it, and I saw these adorable blue flowers that go on the collar as decoration.  What would Ella’s dog be without some sort of hair accessory?  She got a matching pink leash and of course a pink rope toy to play with.  I’m sure if they had pink dog bowls we would have gotten those too.  Luckily brown was the only choice, so it blends in a bit more with our kitchen.

Here she is ladies and gentlemen…Sabrina!

Look at that face!  Couldn’t you just eat her up?  She’s a 4 month old Cockapoo (mix between a Cocker Spaniel and a Poodle).  We hear great things about these dogs.  Apparently they are very cuddly and like being around their people, and only shed a little bit (YAY!).  We have only heard her bark twice and both were very brief, and she has the sweetest, most precious disposition. 

This is how she sat the entire car ride home.  Right on Ella’s lap so she could look out the window and see what was going on.

At night she’s been sleeping on Ella’s bed.  It’s so cute!  We’re still working on potty training, but she’s doing pretty well all things considered.  Of course like any baby, after she wakes up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, she was ready to party!  The first night she wandered around our upstairs (which we had blocked off as much as we could…she basically could go into Ella’s room, our room and the bathroom) until she realized that no one was going to get up and play with her, so she went back to sleep.  The second night was much better and she went right back to bed pretty quickly.

We are convinced Sabrina is the best dog on the planet and that anyone who meets her will instantly fall in love.  I mean really, how could you not love this face?

After Christmas Catch up

Yes, I realize it has been over a month since I last posted.  A lot has happened since then so I’ll give you the quick rundown.

First, and most important, Ella sang her first solo.  I must also add that she beat her Paw Paw by a few years in the solo department (I think he was around 9) so this was quite a big deal on many levels.  What makes it funny, though, is that Ella didn’t think it was a big deal at all.  In fact, she didn’t even tell me about it until after the event.

Ella’s teacher plans special activities every month for the class to do.  Some of these events parents are invited to, and others are just special things for the class to do together.  In December Ella’s class went caroling around the school.  I’m still not sure who all they sang to, but it was not an event where parents were invited, so I didn’t get to actually see it take place.

I picked Ella up after school and asked her how her day was, etc.  Then I asked her how the sing-along went.  She said her typical vague, “Fine.”  So I prodded more.  She had told me earlier that one of her friends was leading the song “Feliz Navidad” because he knows Spanish, so I asked her how that went and if her friend did a good job.  She assured me he did fine.  The conversation continued:

Me: Ella, did you get to lead any of the songs? 

Ella: Yes.

Me: You did?  You got to lead all of your friends in a song?

Ella: Yes.  Wait, is leading a song when you sing by yourself?

Me: Leading is when you tell everyone when to start singing.  When you sing by yourself it’s called a solo.

Ella: Oh, then I had a solo.

Insert me freaking out and asking a million questions to verify that she did, in fact, sing a solo, then texting her aide to confirm that Ella had a solo.  Joe and I were (and still are) beyond proud of Ella.  How incredible that a little girl who is so shy can put it all aside and stand in front of strangers and sing a solo.  What a brave girl!  She sang “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.”

We of course had her repeat her performance for us, as well as several members of the family.  She even stood up in front of Joe’s entire family and sang for everyone.  She said, “Mommy, I get a little nervous to sing for other people, but I just do it anyway.”  (I do have a video of her singing but unfortunately I took it with my camera and uploaded it to my facebook page, so I can't share it on here.  I'll see if I can figure that out because I know you all are just itching to see it.)

Second, we had Christmas.  It was awesome.  Santa brought Ella a karaoke machine, which she loved (obviously) and sings with almost every day after school.

Third, we headed to South Carolina to spend a week with Joe’s family.  Joe and I were really excited to visit South Carolina because neither of us had ever been before.  Let me say we loved it and are already planning to go back.  Of course Joe loved all of the history Charleston had to offer and loved visiting Fort Sumter.

And as always, it was so much fun to see the family.  Since we only get to see them once every 2 years, we really cherish these vacations.  The kids are all growing so fast and I almost had a melt down when our oldest niece reminded me that she’ll be getting ready for college during the next Murray Christmas.

We also got to celebrate Grammy Janet’s 70^th birthday with a big birthday bash complete with slideshow and voice quilt (people from Janet’s life called in and left special messages for her).  It was a wonderful celebration and we are all so blessed to have her in our lives.

For the occasion, one of Janet’s favorite daughter-in-laws wrote a special song.  Janet’s favorite Christmas song is the 12 Days of Christmas, and she forces encourages us to sing it every Murray Christmas, so this year it got a special spin.  Here are the 12 Murray Christmas’.  (I realize that 99% of you won’t get any of these jokes, but I assure you, they are funny.)

On the First Murray Christmas we celebrated with…

1. Awesome Murray Mom

2. Wimpy Brothers

3. Gluten Free pizzas

4. Great Vacations

5. Sausage Bakes

6. Smiling Sisters

7. Blocks of cheese

8. Perfect In-Laws

9. Artichokes

10. Family Pictures

11. Poker Games

12. Basketballs

What was even better was that she had 11 of her 13 grandchildren present, so they all sang #1, and after that each child got 1 day.  Ella was #10.

We had a wonderful time and are already looking forward to the next Murray Christmas.

After leaving South Carolina we made a stop in North Carolina to visit my cousin and her kids.  We don’t get to see them nearly as often as we’d like, and lucky for us their house is half way between our house and our Christmas destination.  We spent a great 2 days with them before heading home on New Years day.

Not much has happened since getting home.  Ella is back in the swing of school and Joe is back in the swing of work.

I promise to try and post more often.  Maybe I should make that my New Year’s resolution (although I’m not really into resolutions).

Ella-isms Part 4

I haven’t done one of these in awhile so I thought I would fill you on in just a little bit of what goes on in Ella’s 5 year old mind.

Ella asks a lot of questions.  I really try to be patient, but its hard when there are 20 questions in a row and you don’t know how to answer them other than to say, “I don’t know…God made it that way.”  Here are some of our favorite questions from the past few months.

“Mommy, how can Jesus live in my heart AND in heaven?”  She’s very interested in heaven.  She’s curious about what happens up there and can people see us when they live in heaven.

After several days of having the Christmas tree up, Joe kept forgetting to put the star on top.  Ella was getting pretty annoyed with her dad and finally one afternoon she said, “Why doesn’t daddy put the star on the tree?  What does he think there was when Jesus was born?  Nothing?”

This weekend Ella asked a question that I think is too deep for a 5 year old.  She said, “Mom, they say that Jesus died so that we can live…what does that mean?”

The best question of the weekend was when Joe and I were both in the room talking to her one morning and completely out of the blue she asked, “Where do babies come from?”  We gave the standard answer, “From God.”  That answer is no longer sufficient.  “No, when they’re in the mommy’s tummy, how to they get in there?”  Joe looked at me with a blank look (let’s face it, neither of us are ready for this conversation) so I answered with the first thing that came to my mind, “Magic…God’s magic.”

The other night Ella was in the bathtub and apparently something had fallen into the water.  She kept trying to get it out but was unsuccessful in her attempts.  Finally I heard her say, “Oh well.  C’est la vie.”  I guarantee she has no idea what C’est la vie means, and I know she didn’t hear that phrase at home.  She probably heard it at school and has now adopted it into her vocabulary.

One morning while getting ready for school I accidentally knocked one of the shelves in our bedroom and the shelf completely fell sending everything on it to the floor.  Ella looked at me and said, “A teacher would be really mad at you for that.”

One morning after getting ready for school, “Dad, mom just said a very not kind word!”  Joe: “What did she say?”  Ella: “No.”  Oh poor, spoiled child.  Heaven forbid that I actually tell you ‘no’ once in awhile.

The other night Joe was putting Ella to bed and they were reading a Veggie Tales book.  Ella said, “Dad, this book says Jesus is the Bread of Life…I thought He was our Savior.”

Needless to say, Ella asks a lot of questions and has a lot of thoughts on life.

Celebration of Thanks

There has been something I've dreamed about since I decided that I wanted to be a mom...school programs.  I don't remember having a lot of school programs when I was growing up.  I remember one where I played a bird and I had 1 line, "Help!  Help!"  I remember going to see my brother in something when he was in about 5th grade, but that's it.  Other than basic choir concerts, or high school theater productions, I don't remember having what I would consider a "school program."

I love the idea of school programs.  I love the idea of a bunch of kids standing on a stage in paper costumes that they made and singing songs their teacher has made up.  I love the idea of kids practicing for a long time, then finally getting to perform it for their parents.

So today, I finally got to fully experience my first elementary school program as a mom.  When the teacher sent around a note asking for volunteers, I happily responded with a willingness to arrive an hour early.  I arrived with camera in hand ready to capture each and every moment of this event.  Ella had told me her special lines and sung me a few of her favorite songs, so I was excited to get to see it all come together.

IT WAS AWESOME!!!

All of the kids did such a great job!  They sang loud and spoke clearly so we all could understand them.  It was so cute and I am SO happy that Ella has such a great kindergarten teacher that goes to great lengths to give the kids great experiences like this one.  This is only one of the events she has on the calendar for the year, so now I'm extra excited to see what else she has up her sleeve.

In case you don't know the true Thanksgiving story, here it is presented by Ella's kindergarten class.  Be sure to be on lookout for child #7.

 

In this video I almost missed Ella's big moment!  She was Turkey #1

 

Here is Ella telling us what she's thankful for.  It was at this point in the program where Metti and I started laughing.

We laughed so hard because Ella said she was thankful for her pets.  Just in case you're not aware, Ella doesn't have any pets.  In fact, a few weeks ago I asked her what she would like Santa to bring her and she said, "Maybe this year Santa will finally bring me a dog!"  After the program I asked her which pets she was thankful for and she said she's thankful for her fish.  Well, at least I know Ella the fish, Belle and Elvis aren't neglected.

And finally, this is Ella's favorite song from the program.  She sang it to me all afternoon.

As you can see, the show was totally awesome!  I got every song and poem on video, so there's much more to see in the photos link.  It was so much fun to be a part of it all.

Happy Fall!

Yes, I’m well aware of the fact that it has been 3 weeks  since my last post.  I’m busy…and a slacker.  I’ll just hit the highlights for you.

Halloween was awesome.  Ella was the greatest Superhero in the neighborhood and daddy dressed up as her trusty sidekick, Wonder Dad.

What has become very clear is that Ella enjoys the idea of candy much more than she actually enjoys the candy.  She loves going door to door to collect, and she loves looking at her loot when she gets home, but she hardly eats any of it.  This is both good and bad.  It’s good because she actually prefers to eat real food.  It’s bad because Ella’s mom has a major sweet tooth and just hates to see all that good candy go to waste.

We felt fortunate to be able to participate in Halloween since hurricane Sandy hit us Monday and Tuesday.  Our house fared well and the entire time we were thankful for our new roof.  We did sleep in the basement since we have a massive tree in our backyard and if it happened to fall, it would land right on Ella’s room.  And we did lose power for about 19 hours, but 9 of those were while we were sleeping, so it wasn’t too inconvenient.

When we knew the storm was coming we went straight into prep mode.  With the last storm we lost power for a few days, so we wanted to make sure we were at least prepared this time.  We went to the store and stocked up on food that didn’t have to be refrigerated and didn’t have to be cooked (AKA, we bought 3 bags of chips and a pecan pie).  Joe spent 3 days searching high and low for a generator.  Every store in the area was sold out and the only other options were driving 4 hours to southern VA, or driving an hour to MD to buy one off of Craigslist (that was WAY over priced).  We finally decided to let the chips fall where they may and just survive without one.  After all, we have a fireplace and plenty of blankets for warmth and we have several friends that have generators, so we could just move food to their houses if needed.  On Monday morning a light bulb went off in my head…BJ’s (a wholesale store down the street).  I immediately called and they just happened to have 4 generators left.  I reserved one and Joe jumped in the car to go pick it up.  Even though we weren’t without power for long, this generator was a wonderful thing to have.  We were able to plug in our refrigerator and TV and any additional items that needed charging (cell phone, kindle, etc).  If it was really needed, we could have easily added a space heater.  Thank heavens for BJ’s and thank heavens for light bulb moments!

Before Halloween and before the storm I got to volunteer at Ella’s school for Harvest Day.  As a SAHM this is something I’ve dreamed of!  This, and her first school performance.  I dressed Ella in her overalls and straw cowboy hat, and headed to school with her.  As soon as I walked in the room a little girl said, “Look, that’s Joella’s mom!”  Even though she tried to keep her composure, you could tell that Ella was really excited to have me there for a few hours.  I know that in the not to distant future she'll be mortified to be seen with me, so I'm glad that at least for now she's happy to have me at school.

School continues to go really well.  Ella is growing so much and learns more and more every day.  I feel like I only see a small glimmer of the little girl she was when she started school.  She has grown in confidence and knowledge.  Last week her aide had to be gone for 2 days and unfortunately Ella had 2 different helpers those 2 days.  At first when I heard about this I was sure Ella would be a complete wreck.  Ella doesn’t do change well and she definitely doesn’t do new helpers.  Much to my shock, she was totally fine.  She hardly batted an eye at having a new helper.  I was so proud of her!

On Monday we had our first Parent/Teacher conference.  Before we left we asked Ella what her teacher was going to tell us about her.  Ella confidently replied, “She’s going to tell you how smart I am.”  Well, that’s exactly what she did.  She showed us all of Ella’s work and how far she’s come since the beginning of the year.  She knows A LOT and is learning more and more every day.  Reading and writing sentences is becoming so easy for this kid, and she’s learning and comprehending beginning math skills.  They did an assessment on Ella and out of 102 things, she only missed 8.  The kid is a GENIUS!  She even LIKES doing homework (she must have gotten that from the Murray side)!

She is still very shy and only talks when the other person talks first.  I asked her why she isn’t more chatty in school, since she doesn’t seem to stop talking at home.  She said, “Mom, because the teacher tells us no talking.”  It’s hard to argue with that.  She’s right.  Teachers do want kids to be focused at school and not talking all the time.

Those are the highlights from the past few weeks.  Thanks for sticking with me even though I'm really inconsistent with my posting.