My Baby is Leaving Soon!

 This blog has been around since Ellie was 2-years-old, which means that all of you, dear blog readers, have been able to see more glimpses of her growing up years than any of my other kids.  She is now about to head out on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and I'm going through a bit of a mid-life crisis acknowledging that I'm sending my baby out into the world for the next 18-months!  Of course, I'm thrilled that she's made this decision to serve a mission, but I'm also just kind of sad realizing that this raising kids stage of my life  is pretty much over.   

Don't get me wrong, after nearly 30 years of hands-on parenting, I feel peaceful that this progression is the natural course of life and I'm proud of who my kids are and the paths that they are on, but I have to admit that I do miss the little people they once were.  Call me nostalgic, I guess.  So today, I'm just going to post pictures of Ellie, because I'm going to miss her in a couple weeks.

Here she is in the missionary photo shoot my sister, Heather, took of her:  

My niece, McKenzie, came along too and was a good photo stylist!  I was grateful for her and for Heather for taking the pictures and saving us a bundle of moola! 

The other day I sent her down to the storage room to find something and before long she was trying on my wedding dress!   I wasn't that much older than her when  I got married and it made me feel kind of old, to be totally honest.   I've got a family full of full-grown adults now!  

  Ellie hadn't had her hair cut in over a year and really wanted to get it freshened up before she left on her mission, so here are her BEFORE pics....

and her AFTER pics....

For the record, yes, it is normal for us G girls to go a year or more without getting our hair done. I am low-maintenance and I think all of my girls take after me in that department.  

Speaking of low-maintenance, Ellie has been doing lots of thrifting lately, to get her mission wardrobe in place.  I don't really love shopping, so I've been grateful for siblings that have been willing to thrift with her.  

I've enjoyed finding little fashion shoots like this on the camera roll!  :)

She's ALMOST done with her shopping now and she has begun the process of STARTING TO PACK, which is making it feel extra real that she's leaving soon. 

We stopped by to visit my Nana the other day, so Ellie could say goodbye before taking off on her mission.  It was a good day for Nana, who is suffering with late-onset dementia, and  we were thrilled that she remembered all of us and was excited to see us. 

Ellie ate up her time with Lucie and Oliver while they were here for Thanksgiving...

It was a sad goodbye for her when Cam and kids had to head home...

And pretty soon we'll have our own happy/sad goodbye, but here is a picture of her with a pear-shaped potato to make us smile in the meantime...

With that I'll just sign off with a reminder to myself that this right here is what I dreamed about 30 years ago.   I can do this!