Four Years ago...

On March 11, 2008 our lives changed forever. Elena Nicole Lowery came into this world and we haven't been the same since. This little girl forever amazes me:

• She loves: dinosaurs, trains, playing T-ball with Daddy, watching Star Wars, digging in the dirt and building things.
• She must sleep with "Bear, Ted, & Doll" every day at naps and bed time
• She does her chores willingly most days (except for cleaning up her toys)
• She dresses herself in the mornings and is very decisive about what she will or will not wear. Her Daddy says that she is opinionated like her Mommy with the fashion sense of her Daddy...not a good combination!
• She is an independent little soul. Whether she's entering her Sunday school room or visiting a new play ground, she enters the place as though she owns it.
• She approaches every task with intention
• She is a perfectionist about some things and gets very frustrated when she can't make things work EXACTLY how she thinks they should be
• She LOVES tying knots (and has tripped up Mommy on more than one occasion with her "webs"
• Though she's outgoing, she is cautious about more physical activities like slides, tumbling, swinging, etc.
• She enjoys ballet but I learned the hard way that she's a bit modest...she didn't want to go for the longest time because she was "showing her underwear." After purchasing a pettiskirt, she hasn't complained once!
• She knows more things about dinosaurs than I do (and I LOVED them when I was little)
• She loves to learn new things and is starting 4K in the fall
• She is a loving big sister (MOST of the time)...the words "Come on, Kate!" ring through our home all day
• She's SO easy going (as she has always been). She didn't even cry yesterday when she got her 4-year shots! At times my mother's heart worries about her bottling up her feelings.

All about Elena in her own words via her Yearly Birthday Interview

(you can see last year's interview answers here):

My favorite color is...yellow

On TV, I like to watch...Word World

My favorite book is...The Easter Story (from her children's Bible)

My favorite movie is...Star Wars

I like to eat...chicken & rice

I feel happy when...I eat doughnuts

I feel sad when...Kate pushes me (yep, her little sister is already showing her who's boss)

I like to...climb up trees

I don't like to...eat onions

I think Daddy is...special

I think Mommy is...so pretty (melt my heart)

I think Kate is...really happy

I think Georgia (our dog) is...funny

I think Gracie (our cat) is...happy

I like to play with...Grandpa

My favorite toy is...my train set

I am really good at...playing with toys

I get excited...when a train comes by

I like to go to...Hobby Lobby (that's my girl for the second year in a row!)

My best friend is...Averi & McKenna

I love...my bears (that she sleeps with every night)

I thank God each and every day for choosing me to be her mother. What a precious child and an amazing responsibility He has given us as parents. I pray that I would live each day showing her the love that He has for us and what a jewel she is both to her family and her God.