Thanksgiving. . .

Thanksgiving 2010 was definitely eventful. . .

It started out typically. . . Thanksgiving dinner prep, breakfast & checking out the Black Friday sale papers, followed by a little parade watching (always one of my favorite T-giving traditions!).

A few Thanksgiving family photos. . .
. . . and a tasty Thanksgiving lunch at Nana & Foo-foo's house in Pearl with Uncle Clay, Aunt Valerie, Gentry, Eli, Emily
and Uncle Chuck. . .

But things quickly went downhill . . . the stomach bug Abby had earlier in the week flared back up so we made a quick return trip to Brookhaven to get Abby settled in at home.  Ellie stayed with her cousins in Pearl -- she was having such a great time playing with them.   But at 5 a.m. Friday morning, we got a call that she was sick, too, so Tim met Foo-foo in Crystal Springs to bring her home.  Our poor pumpkins!

Tim got it too, Friday night.  UGH!  The bug was just too much for Ellie, triggered her cyclical vomiting syndrome, and we couldn't get her better at home.  So, Ellie spent all day Saturday and Saturday night in the hospital. 

She felt  much better this morning after several bags of IV fluids, medicines, and lots of TLC (and so happy to see Abby, who was very worried about her big sister).  Check out her adorable pillowcase -- a sweet organization sews & donates them to the hospital to cheer up the children.  Ellie enjoyed selecting this cute owl print!
Dr. Shann released her today and Ellie was soo glad to come home to her own bed.   Abby had a quick ride in the hospital bed before we left!

We're totally exhausted but have so much to be thankful for this year -- caring family and friends, healthy children, the precious prayers and concern for our family, and the great staff at our local hospital.

Seriously tired!

These photos are from a couple of weeks ago, after a lonnngggg day of playing and no nap!  I'm just getting them downloaded from Tim's cellphone.  Tim and Abby were at Walmart when she passed out in the shopping cart.  She slept all the way through the store, check-out and even being transferred from cart to car to crib!



And I couldn't resist including this photo of "the face" -- she loves to make it at us!  Sooo funny!!!



Annie's Fall Party

Last weekend, Annie (one of Ellie's bestest friends) hosted a fall party for a group of first grade girls from Ellie's school.  Ellie had such a great time!  The girls ate pizza and cookies, decorated cupcakes, went on a very exciting scavenger hunt and finished up the evening with a hay ride through Annie's neighborhood.  
I wasn't able to attend, so Annie's mommy generously shared photos of their night.  Check out this adorable group of girls (Ellie can't remember some of their names, but soon will -- we're going to have a lot of fun with these girls this year:  (bottom row) Annie, ?, Caroline, Mackenzie, Olivia and ?; (top row) ?, ?, Ellie, Josie and ?.

Ellie & Annie.  Check out their Spirit Day tattoos! 

Enjoying pizza!

Hayride!!!  I love the look of pure delight on their faces!!  Thank you, Annie, for a great night!

Surgery Day

Yesterday, Ellie had ear tubes & adenoid surgery.  Dr. Mooney was so gentle with her and she was such a brave girl going into surgery.  The nurses said she even woke up from the anesthesia with a smile!!   Her pediatrician, Dr. Braden visited her in the recovery room and brought her that precious pink monkey (he's wearing the mask the doctor used to give her 'silly gas' to help her go to sleep for the surgery -- the nurses gave it to her as a little souvenir).   Here she is after we got home, sleeping off the sedatives. . .



By yesterday afternoon, Ellie felt well enough to start on her homework (her request!).  Today, her ears and throat are still pretty tender, but overall she's doing really well -- and enjoying all the yummy soft foods she can eat!  And she's so glad to have all that yucky fluid out of her ears -- she can hear soo much better now!



Mmmm! Tasty!

The other night, Abby decided to top her bowl of chili with the usual toppings --  cheese & cornbread.  Then she 'kicked it up a notch' with rutabagas and green beans.  Quite a combination!  She loved it and ate the entire bowl! 

She's a Star Student!

We are so proud of Ellie!  She was selected as one of Martin School's monthly STAR STUDENTS!!  It's a huge deal for the children and Ellie was thrilled to be selected.  The Star Students of the Month were honored at with reception in the school library last week.  Parents were invited and the children received a special tee shirt. 
Principal Hobbs (or Aunt Danita, as we know her!) introduced each Star and read a little description from their teacher.

Here's what Mrs. Cox had to say about Ellie
:
Ellie is the sunshine in my day.  She comes in every morning with a smile and a willingness to learn.
Ellie is. . .
E -- Everything a teacher wants
L -- Lovely
L -- Likable
I -- Intelligent
E -- Exceptional
. . . and not to mention she is cute as a button!  I love you Ellie.  Love, Mrs. Cox

Mrs. Cox said such kind things about Ellie.  It made us just about cry. 

First Grade Monthly Stars

Congratulations hug from little sister

Mommy's Little Star

Ellie & Granna

Ellie & sweet Mrs. Cox

Mommy's Surprise Party!

Tim and Ellie totally surprised me for my birthday with a precious little party!  They decorated the dining room with crepe paper and a birthday banner, served my favorite Broma's sandwich & a delicious chocolate cake, and gave me a tiara & wand to wear during the celebration!   Abby sang Happy Birthday to me (she's a total pro after singing it to herself 500 times in October, when she turned 2!).   I loved every minute of it!! It was the most perfect way to celebrate my birthday.

The cake smelled just like chocolate covered strawberries and was sooo tasty!
The next morning, Tim whisked me off to a fancy hotel on the Coast for our first night away, just the two of us, since Ellie was born.  So relaxing and restful, although we missed our little girls terribly!

Silly faces & Coffee!

Ellie and I were chatting outside for just a moment the other day, soaking in the pretty fall day, when I turned around and saw. . .

. . . this super sad little face!!  Abby realized we left her inside and was sooo upset!  Poor little pumpkin!!

Mmmmmm!!!  Coffee!!!
 Just kidding -- but we are soo excited that it's officially the start of soup season at the Slays.  We love the steamy savory flavors and finding new soup recipes.  The best way to warm up after a crisp day outside. . .   Our first big pot of the year was Broccoli Cheese.  The girls kept pretending it was coffee, sipping it from a mug.  So funny!!

Thankful plates!

A sweet designer online-friend of mine helped me design Thankful plates for my girls as a special treat. They turned even better than I'd expected!  Ellie didn't know what I was up to when I asked her to write down a list of things she was thankful for.  It made me cry to read her sweet list!   Ellie was totally surprised to see her list on her own personal plate. 

Faith Presbyterian Reformation Party

Raggedy Ann & Abby Cadabby!

Halloween night, we attended the annual Reformation Party at Faith Pres.  It's always a special event for the children of our church.

Playing the duck game with Tyndale.

The Cakewalk was definitely Abby's favorite event of the night.  She walked around the circle for almost an hour, pausing ( most of the time) when the music stopped!   She won several cupcakes, and devoured the icing off of all of them.  YUMMY!!!

Ellie's favorite activity was the pumpkin frame craft table.  My sweet crafty girl!

More cakewalking finished off the night! 

Halloween!!

We had a fun Halloween weekend! 

Friday, before Halloween, Ellie brought a snack for each of her classmates. 

We started out the weekend by watching It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.  A yearly tradition!!

Carving pumpkins was definitely on the agenda, too!

Showing off their handiwork!

More carving!

We trick-or-treated with the Mize & Hayes families.  It's been a tradition for several years and the children have such a great time!  Look at the precious costumes. . .  A lovely bride, Pinkalicious, Raggedy Ann & Abby Cadabby

Abby definitely got the prize for the best "treat"!  We stopped at one house, and the owner (a sweet friend of ours) realized Abby was 'Abby Cadabby' and GAVE Abby a brand new Abby Cadabby doll.  Abby was speechless!!  It was so adorable -- and wayyy better than some more candy!  Definitely a perfect way to end the fun night.