I am so far behind in my blogging (sorry grandparents!) We have been notably busy (we moved) but what really held me up on posting about Ella turning seven was that I wanted to write about who Ella is at seven and that is a bit difficult for me to encapsulate. So I'm going to borrow these words from one of Ella's teachers "There is just something about you that I so admire. I think how you choose to interact with the world is truly exceptional. You are patient, kind, accepting, smart, curious, and hard working. You make life beautiful!"
I went to Ella's school conference this fall expecting to hear that she was doing well, she loves school and is eager to pursue knowledge. I left feeling so overwhelmed, not with who Ella is, but with how awesome God is. Daily I pray that my kids will be filled with the fruit of the Holy Spirit- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. I pray that they will have "wisdom and discernment" and what I heard in the conference was that God has answered my prayers. I was told that Ella approaches life with a wisdom that is beyond her years, and that a few of her classmates when to draw a picture of who they admire, drew Ella. I don't say this to brag, we know she is not perfect, but she is at an age where we see some of the fruit of our labor, the answers to our prayers and we really like what we see. She is a lovely young lady!
A bit more about seven year old Ella; She is a bookworm, loves to read! Magic Tree House mysteries are still her favorites but she also loves books about horses, unicorns, princesses, and fairies. She's a detail girl, she notices everything, we could walk into a restaurant that has a million thing on the wall and she'll mention that they changed something. She's an internal processor. If something really excites her she'll say nothing just stand in awe, processing it all. As her mom (and someone who tends to gush words) I had to learn that Ella's silence in those situations is a sign that she's happy not disappointed.
Ella really wanted an American Girl doll for her birthday so we sent her to the store with nana for some girlie fun picking out a doll, she chose Rebecca
We then made her wait 3 days, until her birthday, to open her doll.
an afternoon at Chuck-E-Cheese
Then dinner at Ella's favorite Thai restaurant. The revolving door was a big hit with the kids!
Then Cake at home
We ended the evening by watching London ring in the New Year on youtube (it was still to early to watch NY)
The weekend after her birthday Ella got the opportunity to go to a Make a Wish workshop with artist Fumi Watanabe to make pieces to be auctioned at the Make a Wish Gala.
Ella worked with her personal assistant ( a volunteer) to draw and then create her art project. They told us that Ella knew exactly what she wanted to make and was the first to finish her piece, so she got to make a second.
Ella's first piece
Ella's second piece
The day after her art workshop Ella had her Mermaid birthday party at the YMCA
I spent a lot of time making these little mermaids which Ella had seen online and really wanted, but knowing that Ella notices and appreciates details made it fun.
Instead of gifts and goodie bags we had a book exchange. Each guest brought a book they'd finished and got to bring home a new book. I liked the idea of a "no gift" party (which is common for birthday parties where we live) but was surprised at how excited all the kids got about picking out new books, it was really fun to watch all the eager little readers.
Since Ella's birthday we had our 2 year follow up with the oncology department at children's and praise God her scans came back clean. This is never a given, we truly never know what they will say when they walk into the appointment to give us the results. Random complaints of belly pain (every morning for a week) or statements like "sometimes it just hurts so much when I breath" make us question what is a normal childhood complaint vs. what is cancer. This is just life after you've won the "bad luck lottery" once. And I am so grateful that we can pray about our fears to one who knows exactly what is going on inside her and have our hope in Him.
Ella's "cowgirl" look
Coloring Easter eggs,
Easter egg hunt
with a llama (?)
...and this is where Bini stood for the entire hunt. He found an egg or two and decided to eat the candy. When everything was done another mother spread some of her child's eggs around and he was happy finding those.
He kept talking to the bunny "do you want to play a game with me?"
Easter morning
We're in trouble with this daredevil
"I made a B" Bini LOVES letters, he makes them out of sticks or his food or anything he can find. So even biking can be put on hold if there's an opportunity to make a letter!
Saturday @ Birch Bay
Whistler with friends
The girls got to go on their first chairlift ride up the mountain for some sightseeing.
scary faces
Mekdes' kindergarten class hatched chicks, and they entrusted us with caring for 3 of them over the weekend. Bini named one "Pickly" and kept saying "Awe, he's so cute!"
We're very pleased to announce that all 3 chicks survived their stay with us! 
