Prayers Answered

He's finally home!! Jonah arrived around 10:30 last night. Here's photos from our big exciting day. Enjoy!! :)

As soon as we got home Ella wanted to show Jonah everything. (especially her room with all the goodies in it)

Our little girl was a little curious about the party she was awakened for. ;) 

Finally together!! :)

My friend, Anne, and I waiting for our husbands.

Ella was a little grumpy from interrupted sleep.

It was pretty cold and I had to laugh when someone made a comment of it being Michigan weather. 

Going to pick up Daddy finally!!

Ella brushing her hair and being all patriotic for our big day.

Cheese!!

Thank you again for all your love and support. Jonah doesn't have to be back to work until next Monday, so we've a fun filled family week ahead of us!! :)

Shamrock Kisses for Daddy

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

As you can see, no one will be pinching the two of us today. Tehehe.

Ella is holding her photo of Daddy that she keeps on her dresser. We've been going through albums a lot this week and I've been getting her all excited about Daddy coming home soon!!

She loves to kiss Daddy on the picture frame; little does she know how soon she'll be able to do it in person!! :)

Yes, only I would find a shirt that says "I shamrock Dad" and make sure it's worn on the appropriate day. I made her bows too btw which was fun and I'm quite impressed with. ;)

Ella and her super Cheese grin; that one has been around pretty much since she began to laugh and I know we're looking forward to seeing it forever. We love our baby girl! :)

I'm not sure what this gesture was about; you can see her little runny nose that we both have had pretty much since we got here. She was busy playing with her magnets on the fridge this morning. They are of various animals which she knows (most of which she can say) along with their sounds. 

This one is especially for Jonah. We love you so much and can't wait to be in your arms!!

This morning we got all decked out for the holiday. Which all I can really remember as a kid about St. Patrick's Day is that you must wear green no matter what or you'll get pinched. Some little kids are nice about it with a delicate "squish" and politely remember that they got you once for the day and that was it, however, their always is a little group of those aggressive pinchers that repeatedly nab you throughout the day because you've forgotten to wear that booger color which leads to by lunch time you finding a huge permanent green marker to color all over your hands as your "I'm wearing green now go away or I'll kick your butt". I forgot to mention also about the "Leprechaun" that would leave green tiny foot prints on my desk in the morning of school that oddly resembled the shape of my teachers thumb. And after watching the movie Leprechaun around the age of 10, I'm not really certain about the whole pot of gold being at the end of the rainbow thing. I think it's funny now being an adult around this holiday; we pretty much use it as an excuse to go out to an Irish pub whatever given night of the week it lands on to go drink green beer with buddies. Booger Juice anyone? ;) Mmmm!

Unidentified Cow

Here's some cute photos of Ella taken within the past couple weeks. We're pretty much doing whatever possible to help this week go by quicker. For those of you that haven't heard, Jonah is to be home within a week now!! Pins and needles at this point and ready to be in each others arms. Lots of prayers please and if you get bored and want to just chat don't hesitate to call. Tomorrow we'll be going to a "Mommy and Me" group for the first time and are looking forward to it. 

Funny side info about Isabella... today we had lunch at Chick-fil-A (one of Jonah's least favorite place but my favorite for fast food). Anyways, Ella was enjoying her chicken stripe and fruit cup when all of a sudden this HUGE cow comes in and touches her on the shoulder in a friendly gesture. Ella pretty much freaked out and decided she was instantly through with her meal. The last few minutes before we could quickly "save ourselves from the big spotted beast", Ella didn't leave her eyes from it and glared shamelessly with a look of disgust. Needless to say, I don't think that clowns or disney world is going to be in our future any time soon. We'll stick to our natural environment along with educational zoo visits for the time being. ;O)

In a nut shell...

Hello Friends and Family! Here's a brief update of what's going on with the Dornbos Family out in Sunny California. (Sorry I've to rub in the fact that the weather is absolutely gorgeous here.) Unfortunately Jonah has not arrived home yet but will be here within 2 WEEKS!! FINALLY!! Ella and I arrived here safely about 3 weeks ago (which seems like 2 days b/c of all the stress from the move), and with the wonderful help of my mother and close friends in the area, we were able to get everything out of storage!! Hurray!! That itself is a relief; thank you all so much for all your help from the 3 of US!! Our little home is small, but cute and wonderful because it's ours. Now we just need Daddy to hurry up and get his butt out here to join us for the completion!!!! :) We love you Jonah!! We want to give a big THANK YOU to everyone for all your prayers and support throughout this deployment!! We truly are blessed with such loving family and friends. The next 2 weeks will be filled with more prayers of safety travels for Jonah and his fellow Marines along with grocery shopping, Buffalo Wild Wing orders (yes, I'm traveling 40 mins to have the kind Jonah loves in the fridge waiting for him at home), overstock of fresh fruit in the fridge (more of Jo's fave), Welcome Home card making (Ella colors for Daddy), and pretty much sitting on pins and needles waiting for a call to pick my Hero up to finally take home to be with his girls. Love and Prayers~ E

Nanas and Pancakes

I found her barn which has become her favorite toy as of today.

Entryway

Living Room which I have to add how much I'm impressed with our $35 chair set. (Forest Green and you pretty much can sit 2-3 people in one.)

Dining Room (Yes our piano too where possible voice lessons will take place.)

More of Living Room and our oversized window which was difficult to be creative with for drapes.

Ella's Room (Pink and Fabulous but missing some Batman Legos at the moment.)

I repainted her previous letters and Mom made the adorable PoohBear wall hanging. Also, as you can see, we're in the process of introducing Ella to her toddler bed as well as the "potty" I might add.

Right before we had to take Grandma back to the airport (they both are laughing in this photo); but Ella cried and so did I after dropping her off. 

Our Kitchen

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello!! We have had a couple busy weeks this new year. Ella and I went on a road trip with Nana Dawn up to Virginia (visiting our friends Bob, Dana, and Tivan) and then headed up north to Jersey City to see Josh, Andrea, and Aylah. The time went by so quickly!! We had a great time though and it was fun to visit with everyone. Thanks guys for having us!! Dawn flew out of New York a week into our travels to head back to Michigan, and Ella and I took the road trip down the same day while stopping in Quantico to visit with our friends for another week or two. The drive from Virginia to my parents house was quite brutal. Let me just say that their will be no more road trips longer than 2 hours with just Mommy and Ella in the car. ;) Road trips will involve Daddy and lots of breaks to recover from any traumatic episodes to occur. I can't believe Jonah and I were able to conquer 17 hours (probably less) from Niceville to Muskegon with 2-3 potty stops. Which at the time wasn't really all that bad except for the poor guy that we lent a ride to that had to sleep off his hangover in the backseat of our truck. I'm just glad I was able to use my "I'm pregnant" card for that one. ;) At least he got dropped off in Indiana. That was fun though and for sure memorable.

Jonah and I had our 2 year anniversary this 10th of February. I got to talk to him on the phone for a good hour and later in the day was surprised with a beautiful bouquet of roses (pink purple color) and white lilies. Thank you so much Sweetheart!! I get to boast about being spoiled considering the circumstances. I guess I should also mention he bought me some new clothes too along with an upcoming hair appointment. ;) I'm just excited that this year we will be able to share together and celebrate being a couple while feeling like newlyweds all over again. I know that war is not good for families nor distance, BUT it makes you indescribably respect and love your partner and cherish every moment that you get to have with them. I LOVE YOU JONAH AND CAN'T WAIT TO BE HOME WITH YOU!!

Now, speaking of home, Ella and I will be flying out to California this upcoming week. We had a house offer and decided to take it seeing that another wouldn't be available until the 10th of March (the day I'm turning 26 ugh). ;) I told Jonah I would start lying about my age once 30 hits and sit on 29 for a while. AnYwAys... I am just super excited to get one step closer to being home with my family. I'm going to try and attempt to get some things out of storage for us, but I'm perfectly fine with sleeping on an air matrice for a couple weeks and using plastic forks and plates if need be. My mom will also be flying out around the same time to meet Ella and I to help with the move. Thanks Mom!! It will be a long flight entertaining our little one, but easier I'm sure than road tripping. ;)

Jonah is doing good; he has had a flu lately and not feeling so hot. We haven't been able to talk a whole lot recently, however, I did get an email from him the other day and excited to know that he's well. I don't know times or anything about his exact arrival, so pretty much just know that he will finally be home with his family in March!! :) I will make sure to have lots of photos asap for you all to enjoy. Please just continue to keep us in your prayers; let's just say it's not going to take 24 hours for Jonah to get home. Thank you again for all your love and support!!

Lots of Love,
E,J, and I

PS- Please check out the blog below containing new photos!! :)