For Jane Austen Fans....

Over the past few months and especially while Jeremy has been out of town for business, I have been exploring some movies through Netflix. As many of you know, I am a huge Jane Austen fan. I have been going through all the older versions of Sense & Sensibility, Persuasion, etc. Through those movies, Netflix has suggested other pieces similar to my Austen favorites...this is how I discovered Wives & Daughters and Cranford. I would love to recommend them to you too.

Both of these shows are based on novels written by Elizabeth Gaskell. Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865) was an "English novelist and short story writer during the Victorian era. She lived/wrote just after Jane Austens' time.

Wives & Daughters - novel written in 1865 - "The story revolves around Molly Gibson, only daughter of a widowed doctor living in a provincial English town in the 1830s". (wiki)
In 1999 BBC produced a 4-part mini-series, which is the one I rented through Netflix.

Cranford - novel written in 1851. The BBC took Cranford and two other EG novels and used them to make the TV series Cranford that came out in 2007/2008 through Masterpiece Theater. The TV series is "set in the early 1840's in the fictional village of Cranford, in the county of Cheshire, in North West England, the story focuses primarily on the town's single and widowed middle class female inhabitants who are comfortable with their traditional way of life and place great store on propriety and maintaining an appearance of gentility. "complicated portrait of a group of women inhabiting a town wrestling with modernity and the inevitability of change." (Netflix) I was excited to discover that some of the actors/actresses in Cranford appeared in other Austen films I love. Remember Mr. Bingley in the Keira Knightley version of Pride & Prejudice? Well, he is the doctor in Cranford and plays a very prominent role. Also, the gossip in Emma Thompson's Sense & Sensibility, she is also the gossip in Cranford. Other famous people are in it - Oscar-winner, Judi Dench and Michael Gambon (Harry Potter films).

Cranford was definitely my favorite of the two, and just today, I realized the BBC just produced Return to Cranford, which unfortunately aired last week on PBS and I missed it. But, for a short time, you are able to watch it online through Masterpiece Theater. This is what my Friday night will consist of!

Hope you enjoy too!

Goodnight Moon & Runaway Bunny

We received tickets to the Paramount Theater for Christmas from Grandpa Greg to go see a production of Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny. Jeremy had been planning to go, but his work trip to China got scheduled during this time. So, my mom came down for the show and to spend a few days with us while Jeremy was gone. The kids always get so excited to go downtown. They are amazed at the tall buildings and all the sights and sounds of downtown. The show was great...I honestly thought Ella would be more into it then Caleb, but it was the opposite. Caleb was mesmerized...he sat in our laps and stared straight ahead at the show. I was not allowed to take pictures during the show, so this picture was at the end during question and answer time. The set looked just like the pages of the book. Thank you Grandpa Greg for the Christmas present!

Remember Colorforms?

I recently had a credit to purchase an item from an online toy company/catalogue. I have had the credit for a while now and knew I needed to use it before it expired. The other day, I was so excited to find, original colorforms, in their sale section (even better!). We already received them and Ella has been most intrigued by them, rather than Caleb. They remind me so much of when I was a kid....I am having fun too! And, they are great, they leave room for a lot of creative imagination.

3 Birthday Girls

This year again, Ella had a birthday party with her two friends, Adeline and Brynna. They all three have birthdays within a day of each other. The party this year though was much smaller and we tried to invite friends all the girls knew and played with. They had a great time.Making party hats...Playing Pin-The-Tail-On-The-DonkeyWe borrowed a friend's bouncy house and we used our Jumpolene grandma Katherine sent for Christmas.Pinata time!Cake! This is what they were all anxiously waiting for.My friends did something similar to this last year on their blogs...I thought I would post some again since it is fun to compare how much they grow and change. Here are a few pictures of them and previous birthdays together. They are growing up too fast!

Brynna, Adeline & Ella at about 8months old 1st Birthday 2nd birthday 3rd Birthday4th Birthday

Ella's Family Birthday

Here are a few pictures and things we did to celebrate Ella's recent birthday.

The Friday of her birthday, Jeremy and I took the kids to Chick-fil-A for lunch...which is always a hit for Ella...she wants the free ice cream you get when you trade in your kid's meal toy. That night, we had a little birthday dinner here and we gave her our presents. Her big girl bike was the big surprise!
Ella requested a fairy/Tinkerbell cake (like one she saw at HEB). I made my own again this year and tried to copy the one she had seen....somewhat. It still had a waterfall and Tinkerbell, although, this was a "cheaper" version of Tinkerbell. It was a Tinkerbell candle and she didn't completely resemble Tinkerbell...although, Ella didn't realize. Jeremy thought she looked "tipsy".

Ella followed a string attached to her bike all around the house until it led her to the bike hidden in our bedroom. She was very excited and has done wonderfully with it...she just zooms off and we can barely keep up (walking) behind her.G & G MacDonald and Uncle Cory and Aunt Stephanie came down from the Dallas area to celebrate. My sister's little girl is also having a birthday, so we celebrated both their birthdays together. Saturday, we all went to Jungle Java and the kids had fun, but it was a little crowded. We went back to my sister's and had a pizza party lunch, played games outside and opened presents. It was a nice time! Thanks family for coming down to share in these two little girls special birthdays!Thanks also to G & G Trowbridge & Grandma Katherine for thinking of Ella and sending gifts for her birthday! Wish you all could have been here.

Happy Birthday Ella!

It is hard to believe our little girl is already turning 4 today(Friday the 8th)!

Ella continues to be a joy each day. She is out-going, friendly, thoughtful and compassionate. She continues to adore her baby doll and take care of her daily. She is an outspoken little "helper" and likes be a mommy to even Caleb some days. Although, they have really grown to be wonderful playmates. Books are still a big hit and she still sings a good portion of her day away. She loves to cook, but play food does not always satisfy...she wants a real egg to mix in her mixer! We frequently find her playing dress-up in usually some princess dress and accessories and having a tea party in her room with her dolls and stuffed animals. She enjoys her Sunday school class at church and likes going to dance lessons each week and practicing at home in silly dancing times. She is eager to learn and really enjoys us teaching her things and actively participating in whatever preschool activities I come up with each week. Almost daily she asks to do a craft or to make a card or picture for someone. She is very concerned about others with sickness or hardship and often wants to pray to Jesus about them. When it is not soooo cold, going outside is a daily must for Ella...riding her tricycle to the park, swinging, climbing, jumping on a trampoline or playing in the sand are all favorites.

We have some fun things planned to celebrate with family this weekend and friends next weekend. We will post birthday pictures soon.