elle's first haircut

since the kitchen is being demolished elle and i must find a quieter house to nap at during the day. so today we hit up the thomas' thanks! elle took a really long nap and loved trying to "walk" to catch up to the boys speed. tile floors make that a little difficult. seeing how we had some extra time on our hands martha and i decided it was time for elle to get her first haircut!
honestly, i was more nervous than i am when martha cuts mine (no offense, martha - you did awesome) elle really didn't notice too much since she was busy snacking on goldfish.

the boys shared their bounce house with elle too, she loved sitting in it and being bounced by the boys. and well sydeny she's such a cutie, only 8 lbs. away from elle. yep! either she's a tank (as martha says) or elle is a pipsqueak. either way the BFFs don't really know how good of friends they'll be this summer.

move over HGTV...

the kitchen is well under way
here's a few pictures of the demolish work josh did in the last week
cupboards are ordered, appliances will be here in a week, the wood floor is in the back room waiting to be laid, now just onto the small details: lighting, plumbing, replacing a window with a door and replastering the walls. not too much to do, right??

and yes, elle use to crawl around on this floor. gross, i know! soon it will be brand new

merry christmas, ellington!

"For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, laying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
-Luke 2:11-14

it's been a whirlwind of a fall but somehow around christmas time you get the chance to have a break from it all and reflect back on the blessings you have been given by God. i've read this verse more times than i can count, but for some reason each time/each christmas it means something different. while our life has been crazy and totally different over the last year i can't even imagine the excitement that must have been in the air the night Christ was born. what an amazing gift He has given us. THANK YOU FOR THE GIFT OF PEACE!!

and thanks to our amazing families we had a wonderful first christmas with ellington. we treked across the better part of michigan from the west side to the east side visiting with family all while carting our 50 lbs husky and 11 month old. what a trip! (to say the least)

both of our families have some wonderful holiday traditions like christmas church service, crown roast for christmas dinner, christmas morning cinnamon rolls, stain glass window treats, baby Jesus birthday cake and story, and so many more. but this year it was fun to include ellington in our own family traditions. since our first christmas josh and i have exchanged pjs on christmas eve and christmas morning our stockings were filled with new underware and socks. (ok, maybe to personal, but it's fun anyway) so this year was no different. ellington got a fun new pair of jammies and we couldn't leave her stocking empty so this year her new undies were well, diapers!! so cute! another one of our (josh, ellington, i) family tradition is to have pizza on christmas eve. i know, not your typical but we love it anyway!

merry christmas, ellington

elle's dedication

He has shown you, O "Elle" what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act JUSTILY, to love MERCY,
and to walk HUMBLY with your GOD.
Micah 6:8

this past sunday we had the privilage of dedicating ELLE to the LORD. we were so blessed to have both of our families there to celebrate with us. we feel so honored to be her parents. she is such a cool little girl and each day she amazes us with her spunky personality and zest for life.

elle was also dedicated along side her new BFF sydney paige thomas (pictures to come of the two girls) we're so excited to watch these girls grow up together and come to know the LORD as their savior. the thomas' have been such a blessing in our lives for the past four years.

elle with her great grandmother virginia's baby locket

elle with great grandparent hostetters

elle and the vogel clan
(minus a few)

o christmas tree...

i love this time of year...

the smell of fresh pine
twinkling lights at night
christmas music
snow days
snuggle time with elle and tackle
christmas cookies
family time

elle putting up her first ornament

we're hoping to take elle to see santa next week when we're both off from school. we looking forward to a much needed break from school. life's been crazy busy but at the end of the day we love where God has us.

just because...

seriously?
this is quite the preview for her senior pictures

flashback

can you believe this is my old snowsuit?
i know there's no snow, but i had to at least try it on her
she's like ralphie's younger brother in the christmas story movie.

at least she's ready for when the snow does hit.

truly thankful

we had a great thanksgiving stayin' in the ville.
it was a weekend filled with lots of family and great friends.

we welcomed elle's newest friend
sydney paige thomas
11/25/09
8 lbs. 22inches

micah & elle's 1st kiss

i think they both liked it!!! they're both quite the flirts, we better watch out

we enjoyed a visit from anna & bryan
it was so good to have a nice long weekend with them

just playin' with her BOY!

of course we packed as much as we could into our extra long weekend
and in typical josh & emily fashion we decided now would be a great time to start a house project

THE KITCHEN


stay tuned for upcoming pictures
before & after
we're hoping to have it done for elle's 1st birthday