An update and video

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Ellie started Kindermusik classes back in January and is loving it! She is our serious, very observant child and will watch all the other kids in class. She is starting to do more in class, but when she comes home she will do all the songs and dances with her baby dolls. It can be so funny to watch! She has always been very observant and we are learning that because of this she does not forget a thing. This can be good and bad! She is almost totally potty trained at this point. She has a few accidents here and there, but for the most part makes it to the potty because she knows she gets a "emmie" as she calls them (we know them better as M&Ms). She is counting to three and learning her letters. It is so fun to watch her make new discoveries! Just yesterday we were going through what different names start with and later in the day when I walked into the den Maggie, who is in her boppy seat, had a big foam letter "M" on her. Ellie put it there on her own because Maggie starts with "M"! Another funny story is that she will get stuck on a song and want to hear it over and over again. There is a country song "Chicken Fried" that Grant sang to her. When we hear it on the radio she says, "Daddy". We now have it on CD and as soon as we get in the car she starts saying, "chicken, chicken!!!" After it plays she yells, "More! More!" We have heard that song more times than I can count, but it is very funny.

Maggie is a trooper and lets Ellie pile her toys on her and kiss on her and put tutus on her! She is such a good natured baby. She still has blue eyes, so we are thinking they might stay that way. She loves to "talk" and last week we were on the web cam with my parents when Maggie started "talking" up a storm. This upset my serious child and she looks at Maggie and says, "uh uh" and puts her hand over Maggie's mouth! I can see it now...Maggie is going to follow Ellie around talking her ear off and Ellie is going to be going, "BE QUIET!" Their personalities are already so different.

Snow fun!

We didn't get as much snow here in the mountains as you folks in West TN., but we have about 3-4 inches. Ellie was having a blast playing in it and eating it. Here is a short clip of her in the snow in our neighbor's yard. Maggie was asleep inside the whole time! Next year she will be able to enjoy it as well.

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In Loving Memory of Grandaddy Ellis

Wow. It has been a hard start to the year for us here. On February 1, 2009, we lost my precious Grandaddy, Dr. Bob Ellis. He had fallen in November and been in the hospital ever since. His 87 yr. old body just could not fight all the complications and we all believe that he was ready to go home to be with his Lord and the love of his life, my Mema. We were so blessed to have had him here with us for so long. He was an incredible man who lived an incredible life. He grew up in the Great Depression, went off with his father to Oklahoma and lived under a different name for several years before being returned to his mother in Memphis, fought in WWII, graduated from Ole Miss and became Registrar there during some of the most difficult days at Ole Miss, then went on to get his PhD in education from Florida State and became a professor at Ole Miss. I learned that upon his retirement he had the longest tenure of any professor. I believe that says something about him. Grandaddy was very involved in his church and literacy in Lafayette County. He was also an avid swimmer and swam up until he fell in Nov. He was also a big supporter of Ole Miss sports and attended all football games and baseball games. The baseball team will miss one of their best fans this season!

He has passed on to me the importance of education and doing what you love. He always supported my efforts and was also so proud of Grant for going back to PT school. He loved all of his 9 grandkids and was so good to us as well as his great grandkids. I am so glad that he got to meet Ellie, who's real name is Ellis after him, and Maggie. The women at the Methodist Church told my mom that they all referred to my Grandfather as "The Gentleman". He was that. The pastor referred to him as the "humble giant". He was that, too. He was my Grandaddy and he left a legacy for us that I hope to pass down. His life is one to be admired and celebrated. I only hope that I can make him proud and be half the person he was. We will all dearly miss him, but are also filled with joy over having him be a part of our lives.

The pictures are from this past Thanksgiving when we went to see him. What a blessing that trip was as he fell that Sun and this was the last time we got to see him. The one of him and Ellie was of him helping her put her boots on. It was so sweet.

II Timothy 4:7 says, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith". Grandaddy did.

In Loving Memory of Pawpaw

With a heavy heart I write this entry into our blog. Last week, January 7, we lost one of the most wonderful people I will ever know. Grant's Pawpaw, Kenneth Shanks, passed away. I had the honor of knowing him for almost 5 years. I will never forget his smiles, singing, and genuine love for everyone. I thank God that I was able to stop to meet Memaw and him in Dickson on my way back from Thanksgiving so Maggie had a chance to meet her Great Pawpaw. We will all cherish this picture of Memaw and Pawpaw with her. The other picture is of Pawpaw sleeping with Ellie on her first Thanksgiving. We often get asked about Ellie's reddish hair color and where she gets it from. It was Pawpaw. He had red hair when he was a boy and was so proud that Ellie had red in her hair. She will always have a little bit of Pawpaw with her! He loved his great grandchildren dearly and there was no doubt of that. I could go on and on about how great of a man he was and how much I will miss him. Even though I was family by marriage he treated me like one of his own grandchildren so I know that they will miss him even more so. His faith is what stands out the most to all who knew him. He loved his Lord and was not ashamed to share it with anyone. One of his favorite songs was, "How Great Thou Art". I had the honor to play it for him on my keyboard as he sang along. It is a memory I will always cherish and I can still hear him singing it loud and proud. So I will end with the last verse of this hymn as I know Pawpaw's heart is filled with joy as he is with his Jesus.

"When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart! Then I shall bow in humble adoration And there proclaim, my God, how great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee; How great Thou art. how great Thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee; How great Thou art, how great Thou art!"

Christmas and the New Year

We were asked by our church, Long's Chapel UMC, to play the Holy Family in the church nativity on Christmas Eve. Maggie had the honor of playing the baby Jesus. Grant and I both had speaking lines! It was fun and will always be a memory we will cherish! We went to Grant's parents' home in Delano, TN for Christmas. Ellie decided for the second straight year that Christmas is a good time to get very sick. We went to urgent care there, but did not see improvement as the week went on. Ellie did feel okay enough to open some presents and tried her hardest to play with them. We returned a day early to take Ellie to our pediatrician and he told us that he had sent kids better off than her to the hospital. She had a mild form of pneumonia and double ear infections. He trusted us to give her the meds and breathing treatments to help her get well. She didn't eat for almost two weeks, but thanks to all the prayers and modern medicine we are happy to report she is back to running around and eating very well! She was able to enjoy watching the Cotton Bowl with me on Jan. 2. She now says "Ole Miss" and will point to my shirts and say it. She also asks to hear the "Hotty song". I do the G rated version of Hotty Toddy for her. She now knows everyone in the extended family's name and loves to talk. We love hearing what new word she will pick up on each day. She also enjoys helping to do chores and is a little OCD just like her Daddy ;)!

We are working hard on potty training and if you ask her what she gets when she goes tt on the big girl potty she will say "emmy", which means M&M's. She also knows she gets to wear her Elmo or Abby panties as well. Maggie is getting so big and is staying awake much more. We are still wondering who she is going to look like and if her blue eyes are going to stay around. She looks less and less like Ellie. We go for her 2 month checkup tomorrow.

I started back to work last Monday and Grant started his clinical in Asheville. We have Ms. Rebecca and her 2 yr. old daughter coming to our house to keep the girls. Ellie has had so much fun and adjusted well. We are so excited about the arrangement and love Ms. Rebecca. She is so good with the girls.

Pre Christmas Festivities

Before Christmas we had lots of activities going on. They had a Christmas party at Haywood Regional Medical center for all babies born in 2008. That was our first visit with Santa. We saw Santa again at our local Toy Store on Main St. Ellie likes "Ho Ho" from far away, but will not sit in his lap. We saw him again the same night on Main St for the Christmas celebration. Ellie also rode in a covered wagon pulled by horses down Main st with Daddy. Maggie and I watched. Since I was on maternity leave and Grant was out for his break we had lots of family time. Grant took Ellie to a basketball game at Western Carolina. She refers to basketball as "Daddy ball". We had our family Christmas the Sat before since we were going out of town over Christmas. Ellie opened everyone's presents for them and kept wanting more to open. She was more into the opening of presents then she was into what she got! Maggie slept through most of it, but Ellie was sure to show her what she got from ho ho. Ellie knows what belongs to each person and wants to make sure they get it. We also let Ellie paint get well cards for my Grandaddy who has been in ICU since Christmas. She painted herself as well and tried to paint Grant! She loves her baby sister and that is usually the first person she aks for when she wakes up. She still refuses to say Maggie, but only refers to her as "Baby".

Thanksgiving Adventures

We have so much to be thankful for this year especially the addition of Maggie! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My mom drove the girls and me to Jackson the Sunday before and Grant came down on Wednesday. My grandmother came over to see Maggie and Ellie as Maggie's middle name, Thompson, is after her maiden name. On Thanksgiving we went to Oxford and saw Grandaddy Ellis. We spent the night and on Fri my mom kept the girls so Grant and I could go to the Egg Bowl (Ole Miss vs. MS. State). We had a blast watching Ole Miss win and go to 8-4 on the season. I told Grant I actually have bragging rights this year in the house!! We also got to see my cousin, Melissa, and meet her new daughter, Claire. She is about6 weeks older than Maggie. Ellie had so much fun playing with Lynndy and Pops and of course Unlce Monkey. When we ask her who he is she does her "ah ah ah", which is her monkey sound! So funny! She is talking up a storm and now knows every Sesame Street character. Maggie is getting so big as well and doing great. She is a great baby. We stopped on the way back to NC at a Wendy's to let Grant's grandparents meet Maggie and see Ellie. Grant's Memaw is Maggie's namesake.