Enjoying Life

It was a great weekend! The weather made it a great weekend. Fall is in the air, even in the Central Valley of California, and it makes life seem a little more beautiful. I don't know about you, but 100-degree weather  doesn't cut it, and after three long months of summer, fall is always readily welcomed.

Saturday was a typical day. We did our monthly grocery shopping at Costco and Safeway, went to the park, and then hung out for the rest of the day. It was really nice. Ella loves having us both home and she keeps us very busy, constantly jumping from activity to activity with excitement.

Yesterday was wonderful. Ella wanted to go to church with us, instead of her Sunday School, and honestly, I love having her in worship with us (minus her dropping colored pencils during the message). There's something about seeing Ella soak in the experience with glowing, curious eyes. She loves worshipping! And, since she goes to a Christian pre-school and attends AWANA every week, I think having her in "Mommy and Daddy's church" (as she likes to call it), may have more of an effect on her than attending Sunday School. I love that she has a heart for God, even at a young age.

One time, Ella needed me, but I was busy doing something, so I asked her to wait a second, and she said, "It's okay, Mommy. Jesus is with me!" Melt my heart.

After church, we almost immediately headed over to my grandparents' for a little pizza get-together with some of my dad's side of the family. As always, it was GREAT seeing everyone. I really am blessed with such a wonderful family. A wonderful and LOUD family, I should say! We all try to catch up as much as we can having not seen each other for awhile, so that results in tons of conversations going on at once. But, I love it! I think we all burn all the calories we consumed during the visit through laughter. :)

As for some pictures (because what's a post without pictures?)...

Whenever Aaron and Ella play with blocks, Aaron ends up playing by himself. Well, yeah, when you make a 6-foot tower, Ella is pretty limited in helping out, hun! :) Timber!!!

LOL!!! Don't worry, Ella laughed and loved having the blocks being punched into her face. :)

For whatever reasons, Ella was very interested in dressing up this weekend. (Look at Bob peering from behind her! Awwww!).

"Dressing up" in Daddy's size 15 shoes. They're a little too big, Ella.

Aaron surprised Ella with an umbrella. So, he wanted to take some propped pictures. And no, we did not dress Ella up. She was already wearing that dress. She's actually been wearing it, on and off, for three days now. I think it needs a good wash by now!

As I said above, the three of us went to the park on Saturday. We played hide-and-seek, and Aaron climbed a tree to hide from us. Ella was so amazed! The next round, Ella and Daddy both hid in a tree while I "looked" for them. So, with determination, she tried to prove that she could climb this tree in our front yard all by herself. :)

Ella swam at Grammy and Grampy's house, but only for a short while. A little too chilly for her.

Grammy brought out childhood toys for Ella (and Otis, her stuffed animal) to play with.

Grammy and Ella enjoyed building blocks together. Every time the tower would fall, Grammy would yell, "Bingo!" Ella got a kick out of that! :)

Aaron can't go anywhere without taking some scenery pictures, even if it's just somebody's backyard!

So, from the outside, it looks like a great weekend. And it was! But, in the inside, my heart was breaking from the starting of my period...yet again. This coming Monday, Aaron and I have a big day at our infertility clinic. The last of our pre-IVF cycle tests will be performed, and we're hoping and praying everything comes back promising, especially the test to determine if Aaron is also a Cystic Fibrosis carrier. I'm very nervous to get those results. :( I wish we could've done the testing earlier, but with Aaron's work schedule, this is the soonest we could do it.

But, what I am realizing through all of this is that I never knew how strong I was until being strong was the only choice I had. Here I am, 25 months of trying to conceive, and I'm still able to put one step in front of the other with confidence, faith and hope. Hope is the best gift God gives us, and hope is what I am clinging onto to give me strength as I continue on...