Here is John's very first niece, Elisabeth Noel....she became a string of many sweet nieces and nephews...who would have known this 12 years ago? And there are a lot of other neat things that have happened in those 12 years that no one would have guessed while this little one was eating her first cake!
...and at the time there was no Aunt Heidi in the picture! (this photo is from 2005)
...and there was surely no Chasey Jo....
...but mostly what was not known was what a sweet young woman this little one would turn into. Who would have known that she would be so full of creativity, or so loving toward others, or such a big help to her mom (and others)? And I did not know that such a big hole would be left in my heart when she left our daily lives. I'll never forget the first memories I had of Ellie. She and Drew were such little guys, and such good buddies. And Uncle John was (and still is) just crazy about her. He loved spending time with her and having her over to spend the night with us.
There are a lot of sweet memories there. We are anxiously awaiting Ellie's first big "flying by herself and coming to stay with us for a month" visit!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLIE! WE MISS YOU SO!
What sweet things to say Heidi. . . Ellie and I are crying. We LOVE and miss you all soooooo much. Thanks for calling Ellie tonight and for the WONDERFUL birthday presents. Ellie says "I love you and want to come visit you soon!"
ReplyDeleteSuch a sweet post, I'm in tears. I adore the picture of Ellie and Chase. You can just see how much sweet Chase loves her cousin. :-)
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