Happy 11th Birthday Elise

My curly blonde turned 11 this month.

Here she is at 3 patiently waiting on the sidelines at Samantha's soccer game.

Here she is going off to her first day of preschool Elise's entry into this world couldn't have been more perfectly orchestrated had we planned it!

Brad was in med school and had a test on Thursday, and they always got the day after a test off. So... Brad took his test Thursday came home, and in the wee hours of Friday morning (like 4am) my water broke (4 weeks early) and we went to the hospital. She was born around 11am and they took her to the special care nursery to watch her. She was due to be realeased from the nursery Saturday afternoon. Our dear friends the Salmon's showed up, then the Jarvis's came to visit, followed by the Glowa's just as they were releasing Elise from the nursery, so everyone (all 9 visitors at once) got to see the new baby. It is one of my most tender memories. Even though my family was thousands of miles away... I was surrounded with so much love and support, I couldn't have asked for more. We went home from the hospital on Sunday and Brad never had to miss a single day of school!

Here she is now... 11 years old!!

Elise had some really nice girls over for her birthday. They all stayed after school to play tetherball (Elise's new passion) together for about an hour and a half, then came back to the house for the festivities. Really nice girls!

Elise used her birthday money to buy herself a digital camera. She has decided that she would like to learn more about photography, so she has been busy ever since taking pictures and learning how to edit them.

Elise is such a nice even tempered girl. She has a tender heart and a desire to do what is right. She is a wonderful part of our family.