There have been several sweet moments with Ella lately so I'll recall a few to the best of my ability.
A few days ago, the kids and I spent some time gazing out the picture window in our front room. Just outside the window is a small tree and we watched the birds land in the limbs and fly to and fro. Some of the birds were walking in the street. Ella said, "Oh Mommy! Those birds are looking for something to eat and they can't find anything!" She was so worried about them going hungry! That gave me an idea for a craft so a few days later, we made pine cone bird feeders and hung them in the front tree. So far, there haven't been any birds visiting again, but I think they're trying to keep warm somewhere.
Our pine cone bird feeders
Ella by our bird tree
This morning at breakfast, Elijah came downstairs and was having a bowl of cereal. We were asking him questions about how he's been since he's been so busy lately we've not seen much of him. I asked him a few things like if he thought he might like a bookshelf in his room. Not to be left out, Ella chimed in: "Did you sleep ok last night Elijah?" We all cracked up at her sweet politeness and genuine care for him, after which she buried her little head in her hands in embarrassment. Sweet thing.
Ella very often asks questions with spiritual significance these days. A week or so ago, she and her daddy had this conversation:
Ella: "Dad, does Jesus rip people open?"
Dad: "WHAT?! No! Of course not! Why?"
Ella: "Then how does he live inside?"
Sometimes I just wish I could bottle this stuff up as the memories fade and time marches on. My love just grows and grows but I'm sometimes hit by the sobering thought of being entrusted with such precious gifts. God help me to treat these children with gentleness and care!
UPDATE: We spotted some birds nibbling on our pine cone bird feeders this morning! Unfortunately, later on in the afternoon, we noticed a rather greedy squirrel devouring what was left of them. I believe he had carried off three out of the five and the last two, he was gorging himself pretty effectively upon. Ella suggested we go outside and punch him in the face, but I talked her out of it.
Simon loves raisons and always has. I have not been giving him raisons much lately because it really affects his digestive system (if you get my drift) and the last time I gave him raisons for a snack, I discovered he had shoved one straight up his nose!! Because I was in the middle of preparing dinner, I never would have figured this out because I wasn't paying close enough attention to where his food was actually ending up. Plus, Ella never, ever did such things (welcome to the wild world of raising boys...a whole new game!!) The only reason I put two and two together is because his eyes were watering profusely and he kept shoving his finger way up his left nostril coupled with sneezing fits and uncomfortable whining. It didn't take long for me to get him to blow the offending raison out into a tissue because it was truly bothering him and he was motivated to get rid of the tiny invader. Well, that was several weeks ago and I had completely forgotten about the incident when I gave him raisons for a snack again while I made dinner last night. A few moments later, I heard sneezing coming from the living room and the whole scene came flooding back to my mind. I immediately dropped what I was doing and found Simon on the couch with his finger up his nose. However, I was unsure if there was another raison up there or if he was just making himself sneeze because he didn't seem to be nearly as bothered and uncomfortable as the first time around. As the evening wore on, I noticed he was still poking his finger way up his nostril but I still couldn't find a raison or convince him to blow his nose. It was a real mystery...until this morning. I descended the stairs and noticed a tiny marroon object on the carpet. It was a saturated, plump little raison that looked as though it had spent the night in my son's nose. And so, the adventure continues...
It is now January and we've had to begin thinking of schooling options for Ella coming up in the fall. Living in the city, it's quite a predicament for most given that the public schools are atrocious and private schools are a major financial commitment. The saving grace for the public schools is the magnet programs that have an academic focus or gifted curriculum. There is a school called Kennard Classical Jr. Academy [www.kennardcja.org] just a mile from us that is the most highly praised magnet in the city and has fantastic test scores. The only trouble is, there is only one pre-k class at Kennard with 20 slots and the amount of applicants is crazy. Plus, the testing just to get into the drawing for these 20 slots is intense. I have always felt that Ella was bright but when I found out that she would have to test into the top 95th percentile just to make it into the drawing, I was slightly intimidated. Her testing was a couple of weeks ago and we went into it with very little information on what it involved. I had no idea that it would be two hours alone with a tester and that we would not be allowed in the room! It was very strange to hand her over to someone like that without any time to warm up or get the low down on what was about to take place! But Ella was such a tropper! She was relaxed and comfortable with this woman and simply waved goodbye to us and commenced in playing "games" with the lady. An hour and a half later, they emerged for a short break and Ella walked by us gleefully holding the woman's hand. She had a wonderful time having one on one time with an adult playing all these smarty games without a little brother to interrupt! After finishing the testing, we were so amazed to discover she tested in the 96th percentile and had an IQ of 126. Wow. I was so proud of my girl! So as it stands, she will be entered into the lottery and we will find out in a few weeks if her name is drawn. Whether she makes it or not, I feel confident that God knows the best place for her and that she will do well because she loves to learn! I feel God has blessed the whole process as I missed the original deadline to enter her application in November and was told she would go on a waiting list. But somehow, that was bypassed and they tested her anyway. I can only believe that that was God's hand at work and that He is in control of this situation. I am excited to see what the end result will be!
