Sunday School and Other Weekend Events

Ella went to Sunday School for the first time today. We picked up Zak (our godchild) and his grandma on our way to church. Zak and Ella are in the same Sunday School class. One of the first people she saw when she got to church was Mary Jo Peterson. She is such a warm and welcoming person that I am happy she was probably Ella's first impression of Calvary. Ella was not sure of Sunday School. At the begininning, she would not let me go. I was excited to see that Grant Dresser was in her class too. Grant's mommy, Tara, has always been a tremendous source of support. She definitely did not like the singing. However, when it was snack and water time she was all about that. She then sat in my lap and her and Zak worked on an art project. Then Winston Peterson came to see her. She was all gigles and laughs with Winston after awhile. :) So I would say the first day was a success!

It's amazing how God put's the right people in your life on a specific day. It was great to have Arlys and Zak come with us. If Ella was going to be a handful, it was great to have reinforcements. One of the first people we saw when we entered Calvary was Mary Jo Peterson. She is such a warm and welcoming person so I am am happy she is Ella's first impression of Calvary. Mary Jo and Winston are the parents of Elsey. Elsey was my precious Sunday School student last year. Unfortunately, Elsey passed away at the age of 11 last winter. She will forever be in my heart. When we entered Ella's Sunday School room, Tara was there. Tara and her husband, Doug, were instrumental in going through the grief process when Ethan died. They had lost their child a month before. Their son, Grant, is in Ella's class too.

Ella was able to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Hagelin on Saturday. She also got to see Uncle Mark briefly. We went out for the afternoon. Ella loved feeding Grandma red raspberries. It's kind of funny because she begs to eat the yellow raspberries at home and would never share. She played with Grandma and Grandpa and had a fun time. When it was time to leave, she didn't want to go home.

Hopefully, she will be medically cleared soon so she can spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Litfin too. They have come out to talk to her when she is in the car but she hasn't had much quality time with them yet.

Updates: Ella is sleeping better. She is sleeping about 10 hours at night and 2 hours for an afternoon nap. She still does not like Cheyenne (our dog) but will at least be on the floor or near her. Prior to this weekend she would only sit on the kitchen counter if Cheyenne was out.