Treasuring the memories

Rob always jokes that I try to 'immortalize' our lives by taking so many pictures every day. Well, that's probably true. My mom passed away when I was 10, and it seems as though much of my childhood 'died' with her. The memories, anyways. Compared to today's digital standards, we didn't have terribly many photos. And even if they want to, dads just don't remember things the way moms do. So I find myself subconsciously trying to make sure that in the event that I leave this earth early, my kids will still know what their life was like, and what my heart was for them. I started keeping a journal for Ellie from the day I figured she had been conceived and now I have one for Joshua too. I don't often have time to write serious, long messages, but try to document the funny or sweet things they say or do whenever I get the chance. (It'll be great wedding material one day, if nothing else!) Anyhow, ALL of this is to say, here's a few recent excerpts from the journal I keep for Ellie:We had company over last week and they were light-heartedly talking about wanting Ellie for a daughter-in-law one day. So jokingly we asked her, "Ellie, who is your boyfriend?" knowing full well that she has no clue what that is. And without hesitation (and with a very coy grin on her face) she declared, "OWEN!" (Owen is the 3 year old friend of hers pictured above). Then she walked away from the table, threw her head back and repeated again, for good measure, "His NAME is OWEN." Well, that settles that!

The other day Ellie was fake crying about something in the living room (not uncommon). I knelt down at eye level and asked her, "Ellie, are you FAKING it?" Ellie immediately stopped fussing and began to do a little dance, shaking her whole body. SHAKING it. Ha!

On Sunday daddy was starting to make waffles for the company that would soon be coming when I asked Ellie what kind of juice she'd like to drink. Mommy: "Apple juice or orange juice, Ellie?" "I want THAT juice!" said Ellie, pointing to the large vegetable oil jug on our counter. Mommy: "Oh, that's not juice, Ellie, that's oil!" Ellie, "Yeah OIL!! I want that one!"

I came upstairs the other morning after having showered for MAYBE 10 or 15 minutes. Ellie threw herself into my arms and exclaimed, "MOMMEEEE! It's SO good to SEE you!!" Talk about making me feeling appreciated. :)

I was trying to get a shot of Ellie in her birthday dress from Auntie Dana when she started to pray. "Lord Jesus. Monkeys. Judah. Malachi. Window. Another window. Blinds. Amen."