Feeding the Ducks!

While walking the Greenway in Collegedale, we found a really fun duck pond at Southern Adventist University. We weren't prepared to feed the ducks, but managed to find some goldfish crackers left over from our picnic lunch. Ellie loved feeding the ducks - and chasing them! The dark colored duck with red on the beak area didn't like her very much. I left her alone with him so I could get a picture and he snapped and hissed at her. I dropped the camera and grabbed her up thinking she was scared or hurt. Ellie thought it was funny and kept putting her hand out to the duck! Oh well... maybe he won't be there next time we go back!

Phelps Family Reunion

We had so much fun getting together with family a few weekends ago in Townsend, TN. The Family Reunion was on Sunday afternoon, but a bunch of us got together and stayed in a cabin Thursday - Saturday night. We had such a fun time together - playing four corners, bingo, charades, eating really good food, and just catching up from the year. Here are some pictures from the trip


To me (the mother!) Ellie really resembles her Daddy in this picture. I'm just now starting to see what people have been saying since she was born!! This picture was taken on a hike to an old schoolhouse.


Here's a cute picture of the kids on the trip - Caroline, Alex, Kaylee, and Ellie! They really had a fun time playing together.


I love this picture of Ellie and her Papaw and Grana! We had just finished our hike and were going to have a picnic lunch. Ellie loved getting to see Grana and Papaw all weekend (I think they enjoyed it a little bit too!! :)


We had a blast playing in the Little Pigeon River! We blew up the tubes and went down the rapids... even some of the big kids (well... one of the big kids by the name of Michelle!) Ellie enjoyed the water just as much. It was absolutely freezing, but that didn't bother her one bit.






Ride 'Em Cowgirl!! Ellie had her very first trail ride!! I was worried about her sitting - because the ride was an hour long. She did very well - in fact, she fell asleep through a lot of it!! Poor Chris - he had to hold Ellie up and guide the horse at the same time!

Fourth of July

We celebrated the Fouth of July at Chris' MaMaw's house. She has beautiful property - Chris enjoyed fishing at the lake. As you can see, Elliana enjoyed watching him fish! This picture reminds me of how quickly Ellie is growing up. She is watching us and is mimicking our every move. I pray that when she looks at us she will see a picture of the Lord.


This is a fish that Chris caught - Papaw is looking on and keeping Ellie away from the edge of the lake. As much as she loves the water, it wouldn't have surprised me in the least to see her jump right in!



Our little girl is growing up!! It is amazing to watch as she grows bigger physically, and develops mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually. It is so neat to see her associate things together. Each night we read the Bible and do sign language to John 3:16. When we get the Bible she says "Bible" then she says "God" and signs the word God. I pray that she continues to grow in her knowledge of who God is, and that we will teach her with wisdom and discernment.


This is a cute picture of Ellie and Hannah (cousin) playing in the yard as we all sat and talked. Chris' Aunt Sandy and Mamaw are also in the picture. There's always some kind of fun and interesting toy for Ellie to play with at the farm.

A Trip to Poppy and Nana's House!

June 2007
We were so excited to be able to take a little trip up to Rural Retreat, Virginia to see Poppy and Nana (Michelle's grandparents). Ellie had not seen then since she was a few months old. It was a blessing to watch them with their first great grandchild. We had such a wonderful time!!


Here's Elliana with Poppy!! Ellie became quite smitten with Poppy. In the drive home she would say "Hi, Poppy" and "Hi Nana." It was so sweet to hear her say their names!


Ellie LOVED their dogs and puppies! Actually, she was more interested in the dogs than the puppies - they moved around a little bit more!!


Four Generations - I'm so glad we took the time to take this picture! It was the first four generations picture we've taken together. Elliana is blessed with a Godly heritage on both sides of her family. I'm so thankful for that! We had such a wonderful, memorable trip!

Elliana Loves Books!!

Our little girl is definitely a book lover!! Reading is about the only activity that she will sit still for. Some of her favorite books are "Moo, Baa, La La La" and "Peek-a-Boo Kisses." This picture was taken on a Sunday morning before church. Sunday is always hectic around here - especially in the morning while we're trying to get ready for church. Giving Ellie a pile of books seemed to hold her attention for awhile so I could finish getting ready!

Dollywood!

We brought a group from church up to Dollywood at the end of June and had a blast!! This was not Ellie's first trip - she went last year at this time, too. She was just 3 months old!! It was definitely more enjoyable this time. Ellie loved everything! The carousel was a huge hit, and she loved splashing in the water. They also have a really neat playground that we played at a lot. She also enjoyed playing with Charity, Shelby, and Megan from our church. They were good company for her on the way to and from Dollywood. We really had a fun time!

Cades Cove

June 2007
After the wedding in North Carolina, we headed over to Cades Cove. It was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed the scenery. Ellie enjoyed stopping to play in the creek (eating rocks - I think we might have a rock collector on our hands!) and helping Daddy "drive."

Josh and Charity's Wedding

June 2007

These pictures were taken at Josh Green and Charity Householder's wedding last month in North Carolina. The wedding was beautiful and Christ honoring. We are very excited for Josh and Charity as they begin their life together!

Sitting in Her Easy Chair!

Aunt Shannon got this chair for Ellie for her birthday and she loves "sitting" in the den with Mommy and Daddy! However, usually we don't find her "sitting", she is standing! Ellie is a very adventurous littler climber. In fact, I found her standing proundly on top of the kitchen table one day with an apple (from the fruit bowl) in her mouth! She is an adventurous and fast little booger!!

Mommy and Ellie at Imagination Station

May 2007

We LOVE going to the Community Park in Collegedale. It is a beautiful park and Ellie loves the Imagination Station playground. Ellie thoroughly enjoys swinging, sliding, playing with other children, eating rocks, and throwing sand. :)

Pumpkin Patch Playground

May 2007
Ellie stays at Papa John, MiMi, and Aunt Shannon's house when I'm at work on Mondays. Ellie loves to play at the Pumpkin Patch Playground - I'm sure that MiMi and Aunt Shannon were tired from chasing her around all morning long!

Aloha!

We had so much fun during Hawaiian Night in Awana! Ellie got a little tropical fruit outfit for her birthday from Uncle Tim, Aunt Leslie, and Katie just in time to wear it for Hawaiian Night.

Driving in the Car

We also celebrated Ellie's first birthday by installing her new carseat! We've been anticipating this day for some time, because now she can face forward to see Daddy and Mommy, instead of looking at the back seat of the car. Elliana really seems to love her new car seat. As you can see, it didn't take her very long to get comfortable.

Happy Birthday to Ellie...

It is hard to believe that our baby girl is now a one-year-old toddler. It seems that this year has flown by way too fast. Someone once told me that the days may at times seem long, but the years fly by. I am finding that to be true now more than ever. We enjoyed a family birthday party Friday night, and a get together at Ryans on Saturday night in honor of Ellie and MaMaw's birthday. Ellie wasn't too interested in her cake on Friday night... instead, she saw everyone eating broccoli and dip and wanted to try that! That made Mommy soooo proud!! However, that didn't last long because by Saturday night she was warmed up to the whole cake idea! She enjoyed the icing and some of her birthday cake from Ryans. In the coming years, we will be praying that the Lord will use us in Elliana's life to show her what this life is really all about.

What an Invention!!

I had several errands to run one afternoon, so Chris offered to watch Ellie so I wouldn't have to keep getting her in and out of the car. He still had a good amount of work to do on our Awana Grand Prix cars, (he made one for each of us - even Ellie!) so he came up with a great invention. Chris figured out a way to attach Ellie's outside swing in the basement where he was working on our cars. She loved swinging and watching Daddy work! Someone once said that "necessity is the mother of invention." Now that I have a child I see just how true that statement really is!

Egg Hunt!

What a fun time we had at Chris' MaMaw's house the Saturday before Easter! Elliana enjoyed seeing her cousins Dakota and Hannah, and tasting all the yummy food that was prepared. Despite the freezing cold weather, we bundled up and headed outside for an Easter egg hunt. Unfortunately, Ellie was more interested in eating the hay in Mamaw's barn than finding Easter eggs! She eventually started getting the idea of what an Easter egg hunt was all about!

Elliana is growing like a weed!

We got to church early Wednesday night for Chris to do a few things, and I thought I'd take the opportunity to snap a few pictures. The grass that Ellie is sitting in is getting really tall, and seems to be growing quickly. It reminds me of how fast our little girl is growing up! She has gone from being a helpless little infant to bounding into toddlerhood with such great curiousity and independance. It seems that this has happened almost overnight. Our prayer is that we will give her what she needs to continue growing - not only physically, but growing in her faith and love for the Lord. We want Elliana to grow up and accept Christ as her Savior, and live to honor and glorify Him. We pray that the Lord will help us to give her the love and guidance that will help lead her to Him.

Welcome, Spring!

This is one of my many photo sessions with Ellie! She cooperated very well, too... and was rewarded by a little picnic of cheerios and veggie puffs! These pictures were taken in our backyard.

Pretty in Pink!

I snapped this picture in Elliana's nursery while I was getting her ready for church one Sunday morning. Daddy and Mommy thought our little girl looked absolutely gorgeous, but she wasn't quite as impressed... poofy pink dresses aren't really the best for crawling around and getting into everything! It was pretty funny to watch her try to move her little legs, and then look up at us with a look that said, "How come I'm not going anywhere??"

Backyard Marshmallow Roast!

Chris decided to burn some of the brush that we had in our yard, and so we decided to make the most of a warm fire and a cool March night! We were also able to use some of the marshmallows leftover from Marshmallow night in Awana. Elliana had her first taste of roasted marshmallow!! We found out that Ellie loves the taste of marshmallows, and so does our neighbor's dog, Sadie. In fact, she decided to eat the whole bag! (Sadie, not Ellie!)