Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Hope you have a GREAT Birthday..We love you!!!!

Ella picks tonight!

Maybe she knows something we don't...Ella's been singing this all night!

I guess we'll see lol...

Sneak Peak

Randy, Ella and I had the most fabulous time last night having family and maternity pictures taken with Jennifer Kent of Jennography. We HIGHLY recommend her if you're looking for natural environment, candid, pictures. Talk about an artist!! She had so many creative ideas and we are already going crazy over the ones we've seen so far. She really captured us being ourselves and not looking posed.

Here's a little sneak peak of a couple until they're ready to view :)

Memorial Day Pool Party!

Last night we went to a pool party with our small group friends from "Monday Night Lights". It was Ella's first time swimming in a "big" pool this summer. She was in the pool a ton last summer, but was still so young. It took her a little while to get used to feeling like she was going to sink, but once she got comfortable, she seemed to really like it. She stayed in for a few hours!! Her poor little toes were so wrinkly!! She started out the day with Daddy and then I decided to brave the water and give him a chance to play with the boys and not have to worry about her. We mostly sat on the steps, but she did ask here and there to go in farther.

Mommy and Dolly had a little too much fun picking out bathing suit stuff at Gymboree! Randy and I couldn't stop giggling once we had her all ready to go!

Ella in the water with Daddy!

The ball was a big hit with Ella!

Later in the night, Randy and I were completely surprised, when they brought out cake and presents for Noah!! They called it a "Baby Sprinkle" lol and it was perfect. He got some really cute new outfits and a handmade baby sling that will be perfect for carrying him around! Ella also got two new dresses that are really cute. I think she enjoyed finding presents that were for her, too! When we got home last night, she "helped" (almost more work for me!) me put all of his new stuff in his closet and dresser. I love hearing her say over and over again that his stuff is "so cute!" (sounds like, "Toe Coot!") Thank you to all of our dear friends who planned and brought us stuff. We love you very much!!

Ella helping to open gifts :)

Seeing if it will "fit" Noah- Look at that BIG belly lol!

Little shoes!

Ella showing Daddy her present with bumble bees on it!


Hazel helping Ella to try on one of her new dresses!

How cute?!?

Come soon, Noah!!

Happy Memorial Day!

It's hard not to get distracted by all the fun we plan on Memorial Day Weekends. I thought this video they showed yesterday was a great reminder. Be sure to say a little prayer today for the people serving our country and especially the families who have lost a loved one.

My Belly Buddies!

I'm just loving this picture taken this morning at church of our baby bumps. Cessie (on the far right) goes in on Tuesday for her scheduled C-Section and then we will begin working our way to the left as all of these babies make their appearance this summer. It's been so much fun sharing this time together and I can't wait to get pics of all the little babies together!!

Love this!

A friend had posted this on Facebook and I just really loved it. The song, "God of this City" is Discovery Church's theme song for the year 2009 so we sing it pretty often. How cool to see the winner of American Idol singing it as well. Enjoy!

Home Sweet Home..

Oh my! I think we have had our share of "drama" for the summer. Hoping that we're done now!!
Last night on the way to small group, another driver wasn't paying attention and hit our van. Thankfully, Randy is a much more alert driver than myself and he anticipated that the man wasn't going to stop and began trying to move us out of the way. There were no other cars coming in the left lane, so he moved us as far to the left as he could, but unfortunately this guy was literally not looking at all and still plowed right into us. It was right on Ella and my side which was pretty scary. The van is actually in pretty good shape considering, although we will have to have the doors fixed. Because the main impact was right on my side a friend suggested I give my Doctor a call. Dr. Ferguson decided that she wanted me to head to the hospital and spend the night being monitored just to be safe. They also did an ultrasound to check for any tearing or damage to my uterus, placenta, all that good stuff.
Thankfully, the baby and his little home looked great. I've been having regular contractions about every 10-20 minutes since then, but given my history with Ella (she was a week late), they decided to let me go on home and go about life until they pick up some. They are regular, but they still don't feel strong enough to me.
Overall, everyone in the Strickland house is doing well. Randy and Ella had no problems from the accident and are playing in the backyard as I type this..think I'll go play, too! :-)

Here are a couple of pics from the night...

Ella has decided that she's found a way to "hide" from pictures when she doesn't want to be in one..here we are when we were about to head home..

And the baby bump, all strapped up with monitors...needless to say, I didn't get ANY sleep last night!!Thanks for your prayers..looks like the countdown says 2 weeks and 5 days left! I guess we'll see!

Mother's Day 2009

First off, we want to wish all of the Mother's out there a wonderful Mother's Day!! We love you all very much :-)!!

With that said, thought I would share a couple of pics from my Mother's Day.

Randy did such a great job at making my day extra special! Before we left for church, he and Ella gave me a gift card to go sometime before the baby comes to get a Pre-Natal Massage and a Pedicure!! I was so excited and surprised!!

Then we drove all the way across town to Dunkin' Donuts because I have been really wanting them, but don't ever want to drive over that way and get some.

Already at this point a VERY happy Mommy!

At church we enjoyed a really cool service. It turned out that we weren't having a typical church service. Instead they had set up a bunch of stations that had things to do as a family.

First, we sat down at a table with a laptop and recorded a special message to Ella. It was so sweet and we really enjoyed making a video to tell her how much we love her and all the things we hope are in store for her.

Then Randy and Ella got to go to a different section of computers and record a special message to me :)! I can't wait until they burn them to DVDs so I can see it. How special.

After that, we followed through several curtained off stations that led us through the story of Jesus' death. At the last station we were able to take communion and thank Him for all he has done for us.

One of my favorite stations was one were you could write letters to women or people who you wanted to encourage or thank for ways they've touched your life.

We were also excited because a member of our church, Lindsay, was there taking family pictures courtesy of Say Cheese. How fun is that for a Mother's Day church service!!

Ella has been a little sick lately, so she was a real trooper hanging in there with all of the excitment!

After church, we went to Chilli's for lunch and it was sooo yummy!

Now at home, I am enjoying just being lazy and hanging out. Tonight we are going to watch the movie Bride Wars.

This has been a perfect Mother's Day! Thank you so much Randy and "Boo Boo"- I love you both SO much!!!

Baby Noah @ 36 Weeks!

Me and my sweet Ella. I am so proud and happy to be your Mommy!!

Go Ella, Go!

I had Itunes playing on the computer while I was working in the back of the house. I walked into my room to find Ella like this...



I hope you all aren't getting tired of these videos. I know my family appreciates them, so the rest of you will have to hang in there :)

Beauty Sleep...

On Monday I went in to check on Ella during her afternoon nap. She had been asleep for way longer than usual and we were beginning to wonder if she wasn't feeling well or something. Well, she was just fine. It turns out the reason she had slept so late was because she had enjoyed a game of "Dress Up" before nap. All of her dress up clothes were strung around the room and she was fast asleep wearing her pink skirt. Randy, my sister, and I were all peeking in and giggling about how cute it was when I realized I should get a pic. Of course she woke just before I got one (and didn't find all of us staring at her in her room very amusing- hens the face!)

Save a horse, ride a....bicycle!

Ella getting down during dinner at Texas Roadhouse. We weren't sitting in a good spot for her to see the girls line dancing, but the loud music was enough! The video is pretty blurry since it's from my phone, but you get the idea!