Fridays With Ella: Respecting the Elderly

Hi.

On Monday, Mom and I went to see Ms. Phyllis from our church. She lives in the same apartment building as Ms. Lora, and first I wasn't too sure about going to see her because even going to that building makes me sad.

And then Mom and I had a talk about what it means to love and respect the elderly. Mom said that sometimes, people forget about the elderly and don't go see them. She said that after these people are done caring for their babies, and their babies grow up, they don't take care of their parents. Ms. Phyllis had seven children, and even though some of them come and see her, she is still lonely sometimes.

We didn't want to go empty-handed because when we used to go see Ms. Lora we always brought something. Sometimes it was a flower. Sometimes it was a plate of food. We bought Ms. Phyllis a card and some flowers.

 



We stayed and talked with Ms. Phyllis for a while. Well, mostly she and Mom talked and I listened. I found out that even though her husband died when they were young, Ms. Phyllis never got married again because that's how much she loved her husband.

My Mom also promised to come by and cut Ms. Phyllis's hair for her because right now, Ms. Phyllis doesn't have a car. Hers broke down. So, one day next week, Mom and I are going to take all her haircutting supplies and make Ms. Phyllis feel beautiful. Maybe the most important thing about this visit is how different Ms. Phyllis looked by the end of it. When she opened the door for us she looked happy to see us, but kind of sad and lonely, too. She was smiling and laughing when we left.

What Ella wore:
Printed T-shirt: gift from a fried, Xhilaration brand
Navy skirt: hand-me-down, Justice brand
Shoes: Thrift store

Tidbits from this week

A promise kept: I promised myself that I would take more pictures of Gabe and me, since that's virtually stopped since we had children. So far, I've done well to keep the pic-a-week tradition going.

...this leads me to the next thing....

Yikes!: I just realized that in virtually every pic of me and Gabe, I have my hair up. Why, you ask? Because it's way too long and is driving me crazy. I really should look better in these pictures. That's my next promise to myself. Look.better.in.these.dang.pictures!

Making Grandma Aniela Proud: This week, I mastered my Grandma's mushroom soup recipe. It was dee-licious, as Ella says.

It's....Bat-owl?: Putting my (extremely limited due to a lack of a sewing machine) sewing skills to use, I made Ella a pair of bat wings. She says they are way cooler than fairy wings, and hey, they only cost me 15 cents to make.

Gabe's New Fave: Gabe has been missing Chicago-style pizza puffs, and truthfully, I have too. Except the deep-frying. I don't miss the deep frying. So, this week, I made pizza puffs and baked them. They were amazing. Success!!!!!

27/52

We are definitely making headway in the spiffying up of our house!!!

And then there's this....

27/52: Looking for turtles

27/52, Sunday: I love her little outfit. We got the skirt for a dollar, and the tank top and shrug for not much more.

Happy (Belated) Independence Day!

We celebrated Independence Day here with hamburgers, hot dogs, family and fireworks. I would have written up this post yesterday, but we all pretty much fell into bed exhausted at the end of the day and didn't wake up until this morning.

Here are some 4th of July pics!

Ella got her face painted by one of her friends. Great fun!!!

Aren't those fireworks awesome?

Fridays with Ella: Helping people in my town

Hi.

I decided to type in pink, to make my blogs different from my Mom's.

Yesterday, Mom and I went to unload a truck at the Manna food bank in our town. Mom usually helps there a few times a month, and sometimes I go with her.

Our food bank helps out the people in our town. I had no idea so many people were going without food. Whole families with little kids, smaller than me.

The food bank doesn't just give out food. They also give out things like toothpaste and soap, and even laundry detergent.

Another wonderful thing about our food bank is that all the workers there know each other and treat each other like family. Whenever I come with my Mom to help, Mr. John is always there to greet me. We all do a lot of work, but then we laugh together and have lots of fun!

 

What Ella wore:

 

Polo shirt: Thrifted, "Self-Esteem" brand

Plaid skort (skirt with shorts under it): Gift from a friend, "Faded Glory" brand

Jeweled flip-flops: Rose's/Maxway: "Sarah's Closet" brand

Tidbits from this week

YES!: I figured I will start with this. Dad had some tests run this week, and doctors CANNOT FIND A TRACE OF CANCER ANYWHERE. Praise God! Dad doesn't have to see the inside of a doctor's office until September. Also, Dad's officially a resident of Adams, WI. Two days before he left, there was a tornado near him. Dad ended his Illinois residency with a bang!

Prayers, please: Gabe and I are discussing something pretty life-changing for our little family. Major prayers are needed. Thank you.


It's about time: Ella is starting guitar lessons. Her love affair with the guitar began when she was fairly young....

...and it continues

 

 

New duds: It's no big secret that Ella and I like shopping at Rose's/Maxway. Their prices are great, they have jeans that fit my skinny kid, and they carry a wide variety of Christian T-shirts. See?

More great news: My oldest sister just passed one of the hardest pharmacy tests she's ever had to take. Yes!

Cereal Box Sandals

Most of you know by now that Ella is in the summer reading-arts program at our local library. Today, we made cereal-box sandals. My friend Laura was intrigued by these (she totally needs a blog, by the way...hint, hint, Laura) and asked me how to make these sandals.

For once, I was actually just the watcher and not the maker of these things, so I was able to take pictures.

Here's what you need.

*Empty cereal box
*glue/tape
*scissors
*stuff to decorate the sandals with


Here's What You Do:

*Flatten your cereal box

*Trace your feet, and cut them out

 

 

*Using another part of the box, make straps for your sandals, and glue/tape in place

*Decorate!

*And voila :)