Ella is 2!

ella is almost 2!

2nd year of reflection on the birth of ella:

Dordal Family Blog

Video of her birth + 1st year

transitioning

i guess it's about time to transition this blog into a 'dordal family' blog.  i have always been hesitant about starting a blog and then everything with ella happened and we thought it would be a good way to keep people updated and praying for specifics.  as i have blogged over the past year and a half it has grown on me. i can hear a few friends saying, "yes!  i knew she would be sucked in!"  :) 
i feel like it will be a good way to document the kid's milestones, family happenings, update faraway family, and have something for our family to look back on as a 'journal' of words and pictures.  posts may be few and far between at times, but to know i have this space to 'jot things down' from time to time will be nice.


so here it is:
The Dordal Family

by god's grace

we brought ella home for the first time 1 year ago today!  such a happy, happy day.  tears and laughter all rolled into one.

Goodbye and thank you Deaconess NICU

Walking our for the last time after visiting twice a day for 70 days

Last ride down the elevator with our baby!!

HOME!!

happy birthdays and a merry christmas

the dordals celebrate like no other from november through january.  such a happy, happy, busy, busy 3 months that include:

nov 10 - ella's b-day
nov twenty something - thanksgiving
dec 4 - ayden's b-day
dec 10 - erik's b-day
dec 25 - jesus's b-day
jan 1 - new years day
jan 3- elijah's b-day

lots of celebrations of thankfulness.  so thankful for family, Jesus, His promises, and births.  here are a few pics of recent happenings.  happy faces everywhere.

Ella's 1st Birthday Party

 We had Ella's birthday party about a week and a half ago.  We really wanted it to be a celebration.  I really feel like there was this huge build up to her party for Erik and I.  A lot of processing.  I 'processed' by planning the biggest and most decorated party I have ever done and Erik 'processed' by putting together the most touching video of Ella's first year of life.  I know....who's the shallow one.  ;)  For some reason, though, this party was a big deal to us.  Like a milestone that we just wanted to get past.  


We invited so many people because we wanted it to be a celebration of life that glorified God for all that He has done. Also a celebration of our friends and family, a wonderful community that surrounded us with love, food, prayer, laughter, and tears when we most needed it.  We are so thankful for all of them and wanted an opportunity to say 'thank you!' in person.  


So enjoy pictures of a grand birthday party.  If you know me, I am not one to go all out for my children's birthday parties.  I usually try to keep it simple, but this was a lot of firsts: first birthday, first girl....so that's my excuse.  Thank you all for your support.  On to a new year of growing and trusting.

Ella's 1st Year

Her actual birthday was 2 days ago, but today was her party to celebrate it.  What a wonderful, crazy, amazing year.

We've been reflecting on her 1st year a lot lately & it's really brought us back to her beginning.  Even with something as wild as Ella's 1st couple of months, as time passes it becomes easy to forget what it was like.  So its been good for us to reflect on it.  To replay the sequence of events, to remind ourselves how we felt.  To remember how God healed her & carried us through.  

We also remember how much love & support we received from all of our friends, family & even strangers.  Thanks again for everything!

I finally completed this video which kind of sums up Ella's journey so far.  It's a bit over 10 minutes long, but we had a lot of content. :)  Enjoy!