Way Behind!!

I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted. Time has just been flying by for us. I started a new job, and Ella is going to school full-time now. She loves it, I'm trying to love it, but we are all surviving it. I am teaching 4th grade ELL (English Language Learners), which has been a HUGE adjustment for me. Ella and I leave the house each morning around 6:55. I drop her off at 7:30, and then I have to be in my classroom at 7:45. That doesn't leave a very big margin for error. So far, we've done pretty well. I think if we'd both sleep in our clothes, it would be even better!
Ella loves school. Here she is on the first day:
She has been writing her name for a while now, so she wants to sign herself in when we get there each day. Of course I'm looking at the clock while she's writing SLOWLY, but I would never discourage her from doing this :-) She likes to be independent, and I'm happy for that. She's learning lots Spanish in her class and has already been the student of the week. Her teacher is a former kindergarten teacher, and Ella adores her. Anything that Ms. June says is just about as reliable as anything the Bible says.
Ella has started gymnastics and seems to really enjoy it, too. She's always very anxious to go each Saturday, and we enjoy watching her try new things. Her coach Miss Tiffany is in second place behind Ms. June. I'm not sure where I fall in the ranking anymore, to tell you the truth. Here she is on her first day of gymnastics::
Ella still likes the Florida Gators and likes to watch them when they play football. Blue is her favorite color, so we think that has something to do with it; however, whenever they are on, she recognizes their uniforms and says, "Go Gators!"
We found out that Ella is a talented artist. She is really into painting and can draw pretty well for her age. Here's a picture she drew for Brian's parents. It's of Brian's mom, his dad and Ella:
What a little survivor she is!! We have been very blessed by her sweet life.