Ellia

Mostly caught up

2009-01-20T16:54:00.002-06:00

Today is a big day. Yes, it's the day we inaugurated Barack Obama, our first African American president. Yes, it's the day we remember the first official game of basketball ever being played (1892). And yes, it's the anniversary of Turkey's first national constitution (1921). But for our purposes here today, January 20, 2009 marks Ellia's nineteen-month day. We have noticed lately that she is no longer a baby but a little girl with full-on personality, words, and passions. So here are some great pictures of Ellia from these past few months with family and by herself.

Still catching up from Halloween...eek

2009-01-12T11:55:00.001-06:00

Halloween, etc.

2009-01-04T21:50:00.002-06:00

Yeah, we're obviously way behind. But we're catching up!

A new update (whaddya know)

2008-12-27T09:25:00.001-06:00

From the past semester

2008-12-13T09:22:00.003-06:00

All I can say is, wow, it's been a while. We have a slew of pictures to get through. These pictures are from this fall season. Ellia has now begun her second year (in fact, at this point she's very near 18 months). But here are some shots for now.

Sweet girl!

With Grandaddy at Noni and Grandaddy's.

Having a ball with Noni and Mama.

She's starting early.

At Grandma and Grandpa's house.

First birthday party, a little late

2008-09-15T11:44:00.000-05:00

Last memories from SF

2008-08-17T19:55:00.002-05:00

Sorry about the lack of updates lately. We've been a bit busy. But hopefully we'll be able to put up a little more frequently. We love you!

Baker Beach

2008-07-21T15:44:00.002-05:00

As we may have mentioned, San Francisco is chilly in the summer. Quite chilly. But that doesn't keep us away from the beach. Baker Beach is on the north side of San Francisco, not far from Golden Gate Bridge. It's right on the Pacific Ocean. Here are a few shots from our time there.

more pics to come

2008-07-19T13:31:00.002-05:00

Hi, dear family and friends. We now have less than two weeks in San Francisco, so we're trying to make the most of our time here. It's ridiculously cold here these days (low- to mid-50s), so we're trying to keep warm. We have moved into our last place (of five), so we're happy that we're in this house until we leave. However, there is very little internet access at this place. We have pictures, but it takes too long to upload them, and by the time I finally am able to get them all in, I lose signal and lose all the work. So I'll update with more pictures as I'm able, but it may be a little while.

We love you and look forward to seeing those of you in Texas again before too long.

Peace. Hope.
Brett (on behalf of Christina and the affection of all our hearts and blog posts)

Ellia's first birthday (take one)

2008-07-09T11:08:00.003-05:00

Ellia turned one year old on June 20. We had been in San Francisco for two days, were still adjusting from our respective jet lags, and knew almost no one in the city. However, we were determined not to let this first birthday pass us by. So we celebrated San Francisco-style. Here are a few pictures from Ellia's birthday.

The birthday girl crawling around Alice's place.

Mommy made Ellia her first birthday cake which she happily smeared all over her face.

Our friend Leanne graciously took us to visit the Golden Gate Bridge for Ellia's birthday.

The cake apparently wasn't good enough, so she decided to eat some dirt. So much for taking a cute picture in the flowers.

Mommy, cleaning off the dirt.

Ellia loves to swing. This is at a playground very near the place we first stayed.

Our one-year-old. She's ONE-derful!

2008-07-05T22:34:00.002-05:00

Despite two hospital visits during our time in Colorado,
Ellia was still smiling.

Ellia enjoys bath time with her friends Cole and Wyatt.

Ellia plays on the beach in Japan where Mommy taught a women's retreat.

Ellia loved the dolphins at the world's largest aquarium in Okinawa!

We arrived in San Francisco and Ellia handled the jet lag like a champ...
way better than Mommy did.

Stay tuned for a full report on Ellia's birthday!

The return of Ellia (to the blog)

2008-07-03T11:16:00.002-05:00

Hi sweet three people who still look at this occasionally. I've (Brett) been out of commission for over a month now. I spent a month--apart from Christina and Ellia--in India with a group of wonderful people from Truett. Life-changing as it was, we'll skip it for now (look for a letter coming your way within the next month or two...sorry, I'm really behind). There was a beautiful reunion between the three of us in the San Francisco airport. I finally had the opportunity to catch up with the lives of my girls for the previous month, which included two and a half weeks in Boulder/Denver and a week and a half in Okinawa, Japan. I'll let these pictures do some talking. I know it's been a while, so we'll try to catch up over the next few posts all the way through (I can't believe it!) Ellia's first birthday. We're in San Francisco for the rest of the summer while I do my mentoring at FBC, SF. Enjoy the pictures.

In Boulder, at the feet of Aunt Juli.

With the moms in Boulder.

Oh, so cute.

With Uncle Clint in Denver. This has become a common face, especially when she sees her new bear, Bill Braski.

Just enjoying life at Noni and Grandaddy's house in Denver.

Visiting Buck and Granmama's

2008-05-15T21:29:00.002-05:00

2008-05-08T18:05:00.004-05:00

Playing catch up

2008-05-04T21:15:00.002-05:00

Well, we haven't done a great job updating this thing. But we have not stopped taking pictures. So here are a few from these past couple of weeks. We'll have more coming soon, so check back. It's honestly just hard to pick out a few from the many we have because she looks so good in all of them.

Balls and bath

2008-04-22T09:22:00.002-05:00

Ellia is now 10 months old. Here she is doing two of her favorite things: playing in balls and taking a bath.

Shamu time!

2008-04-09T20:15:00.003-05:00

Okay, just to help these pictures make a little bit of sense, I will add some explanation. This past weekend Christina and I celebrated our fifth anniversary by going to Sea World. Ellia has loved Shamu for quite some time. We do have two stuffed versions of the famous orca. But this weekend she got the opportunity to see him in the flesh (or blubber). You won't actually see Shamu in any of these pictures (except for the occasional Shamu hat), but Ellia had a wonderful time, even though she didn't really sleep all day. She did get a little rest on Mommy's shoulder.

Family time in Louisiana

2008-03-29T18:52:00.003-05:00

Maui - pt. 2

2008-03-24T21:41:00.001-05:00

Maui - pt. 1

2008-03-21T12:36:00.001-05:00

The happy one

2008-02-29T11:53:00.003-06:00

Growing through her eighth month

2008-02-21T14:53:00.004-06:00

With the fam

2008-02-09T17:31:00.001-06:00

Our beautiful girl

2008-01-25T22:01:00.001-06:00

Adventures

2008-01-21T21:59:00.001-06:00

Ellia has recently (1/20) turned seven months old. It's just all going by so quickly. She is such a happy and fun baby. She loves to see her mom or me when we've been missing for a while, she loves peek-a-boo, she loves to laugh, she loves to dance, she loves banana and melon mixed together; she rarely cries; she has two teeth and (it seems like) a couple more coming in; she is just a joy to us. In fact, it's hard to say that "she is a joy to us" because she's part of us. There really are three people in our family, and it's fun to continue to learn more about each other. Here are some pictures of fun life, trying new foods, and just having a good time. And fyi, the shirt she's wearing at the bottom says "I may be short, but I'm a genius."

Get ready for preciousness

2008-01-08T09:07:00.000-06:00

Here are some more pictures from our time in Snyder. Ellia's a big fan of her family.

Favorite times

2008-01-05T09:56:00.000-06:00

Ellia started eating "solid" foods this month. Here are a few pictures of her first encounter with rice cereal.

It's not her favorite yet.

Bath time is undoubtedly her favorite time of the day.

We also got the chance to go to Snyder to be with the fam. Ellia loves her great-grandparents!

And Dr. Pepper. We're indoctrinating her early.

Stay tuned for more great pictures.

We're back...for a bit

2007-12-29T21:11:00.001-06:00

Well, we've taken a bit of a holiday, both from the blog and from our regular responsibilities. We've been on a couple of really short flights (one with Brennan Manning and both with Ellia's poo flying freely), visited with Christina's family in Baton Rouge (Noni, Granddaddy, Uncle Clint, and Aunt Hilary), more family in Conroe (Granmama, Buck, Uncle Andy, Aunt Patsy, Brian, and Emily), and then to a wonderful wedding of two wonderful friends (Erin and Jeff) where we were able to reunite with many good friends. Lots of traveling with great friends (Anna Beth and Keith) ended a great first leg of the holidays. Next, off to visit my family in Snyder for the New Year. But first, here are some pictures from our travels.

People tell us we look alike. I don't really see it, but I take it as a compliment.

Finally some extended time with Uncle Clint

Ellia only chews on people she likes...and, boy, did she love Aunt Hilary!

Noni and Granddaddy took good care of us in their new place in Baton Rouge.

Ellia, hamming it up

One of her favorite places to roost is atop Granddaddy's shoulder.

Uncle Ryan looked after Ellia during most of the time Mom and Dad had their own responsibilities at the wedding. He had a little fun with the leftover Christmas manger at the church. "Baby Jesuita," according to Ellia's doting uncle.

We got elfed

2007-12-04T10:43:00.000-06:00

Check this out. The Gibson family at our best. (If you have dial-up, this will probably take a while. Otherwise, it shouldn't take too long. Thanks, Kyle W., for passing this on.)

Christmas on 5th Street

2007-12-02T15:44:00.001-06:00

Ellia and Mom with the camels

Ellia has such a sweet tooth

In case you couldn't tell, that's not real snow. But even with the fake stuff, Ellia's still unsure.

Ellia's first visit to "the Big Man."

Winter

2007-11-29T22:31:00.000-06:00

Thansgiving travels

2007-11-24T17:35:00.001-06:00

This picture was actually taken outside as it was snowing on Thanksgiving Day. That's a happy Thanksgiving.

Ellia with her Papa

Ellia with her Aunt Carolyn

Laughing with Papa

Ellia nesting on Papa Neil

Ellia and Nana

Hiccups

2007-11-14T12:16:00.000-06:00

Christina and Ellia are in Maui right now, finishing up a long stretch of time away from home. Chris finished teaching a retreat for Rise, the young adult ministry of Hope Chapel Maui, this past weekend. I was able to join her there to help out with Ellia and enjoy Maui with them. We had a great time. Chris is such a gifted teacher. God is doing great things with these 'young people' in Maui (many of whom are older than us), and God certainly used Chris as a prophetic voice that opened up Jeremiah 2 and its implications into our identity, security, and satisfaction being found in God alone. I wish I had recorded her talks to share with you. Alas. But I'm sure she'll have more opportunities to share this same message again.

Anyway, we're apart once again (hopefully for the last time for a long time), so I needed to share this video from a few weeks ago that has both of my girls' beautiful voices. Pray for safe travel on Thursday night/Friday morning as they return home. And pray for me as I finish up papers and prepare for their arrival.

Cooler weather

2007-10-29T15:20:00.001-05:00

We are really enjoying the beginnings of fall around Waco. Ellia has seen temperatures this past week she's never experienced before. As I was walking her the other day to meet her mom who was coming home from her bearobics class, I tried to explain to Ellia why the leaves were changing colors. Seemingly mundane things like seasons are not easy things to explain. I found myself getting more and more convoluted in my explanation to her. I'm excited for the opportunity to answer the 'why' questions toddlers inevitably have. I'm just glad I have another year or two before they start. I really need to learn to communicate more simply. I think we probably don't truly understand things until we're able to communicate them to babies. Ellia is a great student; she's a better teacher.

Louisiana pics, pt 3

2007-10-26T16:49:00.001-05:00

Here are the third and final set of pictures from our time in Louisiana. We have tons more, but they would just get repetitive. Enjoy. More to come...

Louisiana pics, pt 2

2007-10-23T10:15:00.001-05:00

Here are a series of pictures from our time by one of the ponds at the May home. Mommy's taking the pictures while Noni's making Ellia laugh.

Louisiana pics

2007-10-18T18:21:00.001-05:00

Ellia got to visit Noni and Grandaddy at their new place in Baton Rouge. We got some absolutely incredible pictures from our time there. We'll be putting those pictures up over the coming weeks. So enjoy this first batch. Again, if you would like a good quality version of any of these pictures, let me know in the comments section which one (e.g. first one, fourth one, etc.)

ExerSaucer

2007-10-16T23:10:00.000-05:00

We were finally able to assemble Uncle Ryan's gift for Ellia: the ExerSaucer. You can watch her getting smarter.

We were also able to take a lot of really good, high-quality pictures of the girl this past weekend. Unfortunately, the picture feature of Blogger is not working right now, so we'll have to put them up later. But stay tuned...you will soon see some incredible pictures on here.

Another attempt at moving pictures

2007-10-10T06:59:00.000-05:00

A word about our videos: Ellia is a smart cookie. For whatever reason, she knows the moment a camera (anywhere in the world, mind you) is turned on. As soon as a camera is turned on, she is turned off. That's why, for instance, in the previous video, I sound like a blabbering moron. She reduces me to goos and coos because, literally a half-second before, she was gleefully screaming and laughing and cooing like a baby (not a grown human) should do. This video is not much better. Near the end, there's a taste of her normal voice. But more than anything, Mom and Dad are just trying to coax her out of her camera-shyness. So with that said, here's your video.

And here's a picture taken just before the video.

Happy girl...

2007-09-30T22:27:00.000-05:00

And don't miss the video at the bottom of this post.

A three-month-old

2007-09-26T14:29:00.000-05:00

1/4 of a year old!

2007-09-20T16:48:00.000-05:00

Well, today Ellia has turned 3 months old. She continues to grow and mature. What an amazing picture of God's sustaining love. Here are some recent pictures of our old girl.

Precious one

2007-09-12T22:35:00.000-05:00

Catching up

2007-08-31T09:45:00.001-05:00

We're still trying to catch up for the time we've missed. Ellia's just growing incredibly. Thanks for continuing to check back here.

Home Sweet Dorm

2007-08-29T23:04:00.000-05:00

Just some fun Ellia pictures. Enjoy!

In this last picture here, she actually said to me, "One more picture, and I'll sock you!" She's got a bit of a 'tude if you ask me.

Found it

2007-08-25T16:26:00.000-05:00

It's been quite some time since we last posted anything. We made a move at the beginning of this month into our new residence hall and in the process lost our cord that connects from our camera to the computer. But we found it. So here we present some very recent pictures of our growing girl, who is now over two months old.

More pics from Conroe

2007-08-07T09:30:00.000-05:00

Sorry it's been so long since we've updated here. It's been not just a little bit crazy for us. We just moved into our new dorm apartment in Alexander Residence Hall this weekend. It's tough moving with a baby, but we've made some good headway. We had some good help from friends (Collin, Meredith, Anna Beth, and Keith) and family (my mom, Ryan, and Megan). In the midst of all this, I'm finishing up my summer course, and I started training for the resident chaplain position yesterday (Monday) which will not end until students get here. We're doing well, but just trying to get settled into our new place. We haven't had much opportunity to take pictures, so here are a few more from our trip last weekend to Conroe to visit family. Soon enough, we should have some pictures of Ellia in her new bedroom. :)

Hamming it up for the camera (never mind the dirty diaper next to her head)

With her Noni

With Grandaddy

Over my shoulder, laughing

Intently watching something on Mom's lap

First Photo Shoot (part 2)

2007-08-04T09:41:00.000-05:00

First Photo Shoot

2007-08-03T07:48:00.001-05:00

Because (1) I work in the Honors College Living and Learning Center at Baylor and (2) the HC-LLC is updating their webpage, we were asked to go in for a photo shoot with Baylor photography. They gave me access to the photos, so we figured, hey, free high-quality family pictures. Great! So we'll post a few up here (today and tomorrow). If you happen to want me to email a higher-quality version of any of these pictures to you so you can print them off (and that goes for any pictures on this blog), just comment at the bottom of the post and tell me which picture you want. Oh, and be sure to identify yourself in the comment. Thanks so much. Enjoy!

(Great) Aunts and Uncles

2007-08-02T09:07:00.000-05:00

We have a few old ones here and some more recent ones. These are some of Ellia's great aunts and uncles.

One-day-old Ellia and her first babysitter, Uncle Max.

Aunt Debbie, when Ellia almost never opened her eyes.

Aunt Carolyn with Ellia in the hospital, with Granny looking on.

Aunt Pat with a more alert (and almost six-week-old) Ellia.

Ellia loved Uncle Larry, who was recently voted "sweetest in the family."

Galveston and cousins

2007-08-01T07:27:00.000-05:00

First, you should know that Ellia, in the middle of the night last night, turned 6 weeks old! Can you believe it? She's ancient.

The three of us got the opportunity to go to Galveston, to stay in the luxurious Tremont House, and to see the sights of Galveston because of the generosity of a friend of ours in Galveston and her mom (we love Coley and Celia!). It was a wonderful break. We didn't get to take a whole lot of pictures, but here are a couple that we did take.

Ellia's first view of the ocean: she slept straight through it.

The three of us on a paddlewheel boat at Moody Gardens. I know, you can't really see the boat, but I promise that's where we are.

And here are Ellia and Mom just hanging out at Granmama's and Buck's.

Ellia here with her cousin Jenny who dropped by to see her while we were in Conroe.

Here's cousin Kandice who made a special trip to Waco just to see Ellia right before we went on our vacation. So fun!

Stay tuned tomorrow for a group of aunts/uncles who love Ellia. And then, a special photo shoot featuring you-know-who.

The last of the great-grandparents

2007-07-31T07:54:00.000-05:00

Ellia finally got to meet the last set of her great-grandparents this weekend. Buck and Granmama were very excited to meet Ellia, and she just adored them.

Four generations of women

We did go to Galveston as well, but we didn't get a chance to take too many pictures. I'll put up a couple from our trip tomorrow. Thanks for all your prayers for us. It was wonderful to see family and get some Ellia-Christina-Brett time as well. It's also good to be back home.

By way of preview, we'll be moving into our new residence hall (Alexander) probably some time at the end of this week (maybe the weekend). That could be crazy, especially amidst all the other responsibilities we have. Again, thanks for your prayers.

Vacation

2007-07-26T10:35:00.000-05:00

Christina and I have not left Waco since about two months before Ellia was born. All three of us are about to leave for a short vacation in Galveston, thanks to the generous gift of a friend of ours (thanks, Coley!). We'll also get to spend a couple of days with Christina's grandparents (Ellia's greats) who have not gotten to meet Ellia yet. Can't wait to see you! We'll leave this afternoon (Thursday) and get back to Waco sometime on Monday.

We're excited to get away together as a family. Pray for safe travel, restful nights, and enjoyable relaxation. Amidst all this fun, I also have to write a paper for class, so pray that I would prioritize rightly, finish my paper, and enjoy my family.

We're taking the camera, so we might be able to put up some pictures while we're there, if we can find an internet connection. Check back.

Partnership

2007-07-24T19:07:00.000-05:00

Marriage has transitioned for Christina and me into a significant partnership. We've always embraced the idea partnership, walking beside one another, seeking God, asking for direction, helping one another. But now we have a baby to feed, calm, wake up, get to sleep, and change. We have learned in new ways the importance of partnership. That first night home especially I needed Christina in a new way. She was a model of patience and compassion for our newborn in the midst of Ellia's inconsolable cries and screams. I was about to lose it, but Christina continued to show such patience that I was brought there alongside her to help her.

I can't imagine doing this parenting thing alone. For those of you who have done that, I am in awe and have much respect for you. Parenting is difficult. But as we find those people with whom we can partner in this high calling, we are spurred on and given strength we simply can't have on our own. Here's to Christina! Here's to partners!

And now...a little partnership in action.

Happy Ellia

2007-07-23T09:57:00.001-05:00

I promise that you're not going to want to miss these pictures. Never mind the hairy legs supporting the ridiculously cute baby.

Eating

2007-07-22T08:18:00.000-05:00

Probably the first thing God taught me in our first days as a three-person family regarded Ellia's eating.

First, Ellia must eat. If she doesn't eat, she will die.

Second, she must receive her food from us (Mom, mostly). If Mom withholds, Ellia doesn't eat, and Ellia will die.

Yet, Ellia must work for her food. This is in stark contrast to the nine months she spent in the womb. During that time, she was fed by a cord attached directly to her stomach. She had to do nothing except let God grow her in her mother's womb. But as soon as she was delivered from her womb and began to breathe oxygen, she had to go through the (at times very painful) process of working for food. I had no idea it wasn't just automatic that babies know how to eat properly. For breast-fed babies, they have to learn to 'latch on,' how to swallow, etc. There are plenty of amazing biological/physiological things that happen automatically because God created it that way. But he also created it so that we must work for our milk.

So though all the food that is necessary must come from Christina (making Ellia 100% dependent on her mom), Ellia still must do her part. If she doesn't, she won't eat, and she will die.

The apostle Paul said it this way: 'Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure' (Philippians 2:12-13). God has all we need at his disposal, and God longs to give it to us as a mother longs to give food to her child. But the child must learn her role in this process.

As we've progressed in this past month in the eating department, there have been fits and starts throughout. Ellia sometimes spits up what her mother gives her, or even refuses to eat despite the fact that she is hungry. But her mother, a gracious and patient mother, never loses heart and is always there to wipe her off, clean her up, and give her what she needs.

May we all grow in our desire and our ability to eat and rest in the eternal resources of our loving Provider.

ONE MONTH...AND BEYOND!

2007-07-20T09:08:00.000-05:00

Today Ellia is one month old. The initial 'culture shock' as I've tended to describe it has begun to wear off a bit, and we're settling into a new life called parenthood. My friend and mentor Bobby would often teach from his experience as a father on the Fatherhood of God. Parenthood certainly provides the opportunity to learn more about our triune God who is Father, Son, and Spirit (as we have already begun to taste).

So we intend to pay close attention to the things we see in Ellia, the experiences of parenting a child, and the opportunities to learn and to teach. Our hope is to share at least some of these encounters with you via this blog. We will continue to post pictures of Ellia, probably more than some of you care to see. But we want to complement those pictures with stories and musings that God brings to our attention with the hopes of encouraging all of us in our journeys toward knowing him.

And here is what our one-month-old looks like today.

Smiles

2007-07-19T07:03:00.000-05:00

Around the house

2007-07-18T13:39:00.001-05:00

It's actually more like 3 am.

Ellia has a deeply intense stare...she'll look right through your soul.

Play time, sleep time

2007-07-16T18:54:00.001-05:00

Preliminary wedding pictures

2007-07-15T13:31:00.000-05:00

I've gotten some complaints that there are too many pictures of Ellia with Dad and not enough of Ellia with Mom. Well, don't you worry. You'll see plenty of mother-daughter pictures in this post and in posts to come.

A note of news: yesterday (7/14) we celebrated the wedding of Ryan Neil Gibson and Megan Holly Weaver. Such a fun time with family. And, naturally, Ellia was the most popular person there. She may have gotten a bit over-stimulated, as you'll see.

Napping on Ryan, just a couple of days before his wedding.

Showing off her amazing chin and jowls.

Chillin' with mom after a long day of wedding.

The over-stimulation has set in.

Ellia's eyes

2007-07-11T21:36:00.001-05:00

Ellia in her front-pack with Mommy

Ellia is beginning to look around a lot more. Here she is looking at GG, who's visiting this week before Uncle Ryan and Aunt Megan get married this weekend.

This is one from the archives. This is day one, probably about minute ten or so. We're so happy to have her!

"Daddy does my hair."

Ellia, cousin, and dress

2007-07-10T22:01:00.000-05:00

She's funny already.

Cuncle (cousin+uncle) Justin dropped in for a visit to his new nousin (niece+cousin).

Ellia's dress for Uncle Ryan and Aunt Megan's wedding, complete with shoes.

Ellia contemplating Mommy's request not to spit up or poo on the pretty dress.

Ellia's angry and defiant response to Mommy's request.

She did spit up on the dress in the three minutes it was actually on her. Ah, parenthood.

All Ellia, all the time

2007-07-09T22:15:00.000-05:00

You've gotten plenty of pictures of us people over the age of 3 weeks. Now for those of us who are a little bit younger. I won't put any captions on these. These tend to speak for themselves. We just can't get enough of her, so we'll keep taking pictures and putting them up here if you'll keep looking.

A new slew

2007-07-09T11:05:00.001-05:00

After bath time, wrapped up nicely in her turtle towel, Ellia dries off.

Ellia sharing deep theological discourse with her dad. She really struggles with Calvin.

We have found our tongue!

Mommy really needs to get out more.

Ellia loves to rest her sweet arms on Mommy while she sleeps.

We'll have more tomorrow. Check back!

Around the house

2007-06-29T21:42:00.000-05:00

Close-up with the little one.

This is one of her favorite positions...for gas release.

Daddy may or may not be smitten.

We love early mornings together.

The joy-filled (and a little tired) family.

A few random pictures

2007-06-27T22:12:00.001-05:00

Mom and Ellia loving on each other.

Uncle Ryan is in love!

Ellia loves Aunt Megan.

The new fam gathered for the first time (with nurse Becky).

GREAT-Grandparents

2007-06-26T22:23:00.001-05:00

Here, once again, we feature some of the loving family of Ellia May Gibson. Now, we look at the supportive new great-grandparents. Unfortunately, Granmama and Buck were not able to join us on this trip, and we can't wait to see them. But we love all our amazing grandparents as they get to see a third generation come up under them.

This is Grandma looking at Ellia for the first time. Ellia is just about five minutes old at this point.

Grandpa was very excited to hold Ellia with Grandma looking over his shoulder. So beautiful!

Ellia felt right at home in Papa's arms. He's very good with her.

Granny got a great shot at our baby bird. They bonded immediately.

We just had a great time together at the hospital. How exciting to have four generations all together in one place! We love family!

The Proud Grandparents

2007-06-25T20:40:00.001-05:00

Here we present Ellia with her grandparents. Few people in the world love this little girl more than these people. I'll let Ellia introduce each of them to you.This is Noni. She's staying with us now to help out with me for a while. She likes to listen to music with me and dance with me.

This is Grandaddy. He really likes to take my picture and lets me hold his finger while I sleep.

This is GG. She loves to hold me and will do absolutely anything for me. I love it when she baby-talks to me.

This is Papa. He comes and visits me a lot and will never let a nurse stand in his way from seeing me.

This is Nana. She squeals with delight everytime she sees me. I'm her first granddaughter, which is pretty special.

So, as you can see, I'm surrounded with love and support from every direction. I love my grandparents!

Two more for now

2007-06-24T22:13:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple more pictures. I'm still uploading them.

Things are going well with us. We're very happy. Chris' mom is staying with us for a little while and is a huge help to us. We've already learned a lot about calming Ellia, feeding her, and playing with her (yes, you have to learn how to play with her). Life is good. Thanks for your many prayers for us. We continue to covet them. Life is different, but good different. We love you!

She's here!

2007-06-23T21:01:00.001-05:00

Ellia was born at 12:58 am on Wednesday, June 20. She was 7 lbs. and 20 inches long. We just wanted to post some pictures up here for you to see. We'll try to update with more soon. We're a little busy these days. :)