Yes, Bella Can Bark

Bella doesn't bark much at all. We can't even teach her to speak on command because she doesn't do it enough to be able to associate it with a word. However, when she hears a noise coming from the front door, she sure knows how to speak up. What the people outside don't know is that if they made it in, she would lick them to death! This is what happened when Bella got spooked this morning!

The Ellison Family is Growing!

Breck and I are expecting our first baby August 8 of next year! We had our first doctor's appointment last Monday and saw its little heart beating. Such a tiny miracle! God is so good! We will be posting updates and ultrasound pictures along the way. Stay tuned!

Brian's Trombone Quartet

Our cousin, Brian, has moved to Knoxville to work on his master's at UT with the bass trombone. He is in the orchestra at Sevier Heights, and the trombones did a special tonight. They did a great job! Here is a little part of what they did...

SNOW!!

Bella got to see her first snow this morning! And she loved it! I threw her favorite ball out to her, and she had a blast tossing it back in the snow and searching for it and tossing it and searching! She is so cute!

FOR SALE

So, the big news this week... our condo is for sale!! We have outgrown our condo and are ready to get a house that is a little bit bigger and with a yard for Bella. :) We will be staying in Knoxville, but we aren't looking at new houses until we get an offer on ours. When we look, we never have trouble finding houses that we like. But we just get disappointed when they sell before we are ready to buy! Hopefully it will sell soon... we are so excited about this big step in our lives as a married couple!
Here is the link to our condo listing... Breck and Lynda's Condo

October Fun Stuff

So I was downloading pictures to my computer from my camera and saw several cute ones that I wanted to share.
I bought a really cute muffin pan from Walmart with pumpkin and leaf shapes. I have had the most fun making everything from muffins to cornbread to biscuits in this!

Breck has started his new job as the Project Coordinator for Fleenor Security Systems, and he loves it!!! Praise God! He has enjoyed getting his space organized at work and feels like this will be a job that he will be at for awhile because he likes it so much! Yay! He posted several pictures to make it his space. :)

Before

After

Here's a cute picture. Kristen, Breck, and I all matched one Sunday morning at church. Breck and I were planned. Kristen was surprised. Oops!


Now I have some cute animal pics. We caught Spike and Bella having a stare-down one night!


This is Spike making the same face that Bella always makes with her tongue just sticking out of her mouth! Too cute!


Bella's favorite thing (well, one of them anyways) is putting her head out the window when riding in the car. She walks back and forth from window to window whining until I open one. I wish she would have discovered this when it was warmer outside! But she's too cute too resist!


After spending all day at Mimi's house playing outside, Bella was pooped!


Finally my latest and greatest news... Breck bought me a sewing machine yesterday! I have been wanting one, and so Breck (and I) did some yardwork for his mom to earn extra money. and he used his part to buy the sewing machine! I already made my first craft... it is an idea that my sister-in-law Beth sent me. It is a Rice Bag Foot Warmer that you heat in the microwave for 2 minutes, and it keeps your toes warm! I am actually using 2 right now- one behind my back and one on my feet! It is a very easy project, but I needed something like that to learn how to use my machine. I had no idea what I was doing. I had my instruction manual out reading how to load the thread. But I think I am starting to get the hang of it now. Maybe I will try something a tad bit more detailed next!

Silly Puppy!

Bella is loving this fall weather, so I have been leaving her outside in her leash. Here is the mess she got herself in the other day!




Spike is enjoying the fall weather too!

Apple Pie Cake

I tried this new recipe that Mom suggested. It turned out so yummy!

Here is the recipe:

1 box spice cake mix

1 can apple pie mix with Splenda (I would suggest to cut the apples into smaller pieces)

1 cup water

2 egg whites

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

New This Week... Another Praise!

This week, Fleenor Security Systems offered Breck a full-time job as their new Project Coordinator! Even though his sales position didn't work out, they have been so gracious to let Breck continue working there part time the past couple of months. And this week they actually created a position and offered it to Breck! It is a non-commission (yay!), Monday-Friday job! Now Breck can still do Cruizers for Christ events on the weekends! We are so blessed that I had a good job during Breck's search, and now we are so grateful that he has a full time job!!! His first day was yesterday, and the best part is... he enjoyed it! Yay! Praise God!

New Recipes... and an Old One

Breck and I have been eating healthier and attempting to lose weight this last month. So, I have enjoyed trying out some new recipes.
Last night I made a Chocolate Diet Dr. Pepper Cake. It was so good! I just took a chocolate cake mix, added a can of Diet Dr. Pepper and 2 egg whites. I layered it with fat free cool whip in between. Yum!!! Breck is sitting here reading over my shoulder talking about how good it was. :)
This morning I got up and made Pumpkin Muffins that my mom gave me a recipe for. These are super easy and super delicious! You use a Spice Cake Mix, a can of pumpkin, and a cup of water. I made little mini muffins that were a perfect fall treat. Again, Breck is reading over my shoulder talking about how incredible these little muffins are! He says they are one of his new favorites! I must admit that I agree. However, next time, I might have to make bigger muffins- these little ones are too easy to just keep popping!

One thing that makes eating healthy a little bit easier is how much Breck and I both like salads. Last night we had huge salads loaded with healthy stuff! I had so much lettuce and veggies leftover that we used it for taco salad tonight! We love taco salad!

One final addition to this post that has nothing to do with food... We bought Bella a new bed today because she chewed up her old one. As it turns out, Spike thinks the bed is for him and seems to enjoy it more than Bella does.

Long Over-due Update

My neurologist called this week to tell me that Duke does not want to see me right now. My spot is so benign that they don't see the need to worry about it at this point. I will repeat the MRI in 6 months, and we will go from there. So, I guess in the meantime, we get to move on with our lives! Yay!

Homemade Fannie Farkle's

So, every time we go to Gatlinburg, we love to drive by Fannie Farkle's just to smell the onions and peppers cooking! It's our favorite! When we went there for our anniversary weekend, Breck actually got to taste the for the first time. Since we are trying to eat healthier, we decided to try a homemade healthy version of Fannie Farkles. So here's how we did it.

Healthy Ones Smoked Turkey Sausage- it comes in 2 long dogs, so we cut the each in half to fit on a bun (3ww points each)

WhiteWheat buns (1wwpoint each)

Sauteed onions and peppers in 1 tbsp oil, seasoned with seasoned salt and pepper (about 1ww point)

These turned out so good! Breck says it is going to become a frequent item on our menu!

Praise God!

I went to get my staples out today, and the nurse got my lab report back. As far as the pathologist could see, there were no abnormalities to be seen on the biopsy! So no brain tumor! I will have to meet with my neurologist to discuss a plan. I imagine we will still follow it just to make sure it doesn't grow. But it's negative!! Yay!! Thank you so much for all of the prayers, thoughts, and sweet messages! I have never felt so blessed to have so many friends and people praying for me. Wow! I have the best friends! And God heard our prayers! Thank you!

How Spike Got His Name

This is Spike after a bath he had to get last night after falling in the toilet (yeah- that's a whole 'nother story! Ha!). I couldn't stand the thought of him sleeping on my pillow with toilet water on him. So we gave him a bath, which he is not a fan of...

June Updates... in July :)

Bella made a new friend this month! John and Emily brought their dog Newman over to meet Bella. They played and played and had so much fun together! Bella is such a sweet puppy!




I posted some pictures earlier of my birthday night with Breck, but here are some pictures from my family birthday parties!

Taco salad! Yum!

Almond Cake! My favorite!

Dad got me some pretty yellow roses for my birthday.

Breck's mom made a beautiful almond cake for me too! The flower petals are almond slivers!





We brought Bella over on Father's Day. She loves her Memaw! Daniel and Breck grilled Father's Day burgers and brats! So yummy!




















Breck and Dad looked so cute in matching shirts one Sunday night!


Bella had so much fun meeting Daddy for lunch at the park one day last week!
June was a great month! I have more pictures from a trip we took with Breck's family to Oxford. I will post those soon! Thanks for taking time to be a part of my life!

Some Post-Surgery Pics!

Here are some pics I have taken the last few days.


Here is a picture of my lovely incision. :) Not nearly as bad as I had expected! Mom measured it today: 2 1/2 inches long.


Up close.


Fun basket Beth and Daniel made for us with "lunch items" and lots of fun snacks! We have had delicious meals provided by several family and friends, too!


I have received several BEAUTIFUL flowers! They make me so happy to see and smell! Thank you! They brighten my days!


Aunt Kristy and Bella! Hopefully I will feel well enough for Bella to come home tomorrow! Kristen has been such a great puppy-sitter! Thank you!

Post-Surgery Update

Hello, Friends! Yes, I am still alive. This biopsy was a lot rougher on me than I expected! Let me go back to surgery day and re-cap for everyone. My biopsy was scheduled for 8:30 am on Thursday. So, we arrived at the hopsital at 6:30 ready to go. When Dr. Boyer arrived, he said the MRI I had done the day before cut off the top of my head, so it would not be useful to determine the location of the spot since it is at the top of my head. He gave me the option to wait for him to come back after 6 surgeries at Fort Sanders that day or to postpone it to another day. We had been waiting and praying so hard, I couldn't imagine waiting until another day. So, at 11:00 that evening he came back and took me to surgery. (The worst part about it was not eating for sooo long!!) What was supposed to last a little over an hour took about 3 hours. Apparently they had some trouble getting through my skull. (Breck thinks it's great my doctor has officially said I have a hard head!:)) My family was there til after 4 in the morning when I got all settled back in my room. I got to come home later that day. Breck took good care of me. And we have wonderful family and friends that have brought us more food than we have been able to eat! I have had a much harder time with the pain than I expected. And today, I was very nauseated. I have pretty much slept and woken up to take pain pills for the last 3 days. Tonight I am finally feeling alive again. My head is not throbbing as it has been, and my nausea is much better. I actually ate dinner sitting up at the table! I stayed last night and am staying tonight at my parents' house. Breck had to go back to work, so it seemed easier to be at my mom's in the guest bed than to make her come to my house with nothing to do. She has been taking great care of me, and my dad has been giving me the best neck massages! (My neck and shoulders have been very tense and painful.) My sister Kristen has been the best puppy babysitter! I think Bella is getting super spoiled by her Aunt Kristy who lets her sleep with her in bed and brings her every day to come see Mommy! :) I dosn't have a picture on this computer of my head, but I have 7 staples on a pretty small incision, probably about 2 inches. They barely shaved any hair! Yay! Just immediately around the incision. :) They decided to go ahead and send the biopsy results to a specialist, at my dad's request, just to have the best of the best look at it to give us an answer. So we won't know anything for probably another week. So we will just keep on praying! I will keep you all posted! Sorry I haven't been responding to any e-mails, calls, or texts. I have been out of it the last few days. But I really appreciate all the prayers, thoughts, notes, and well-wishes! I feel so loved! Thank you everyone! I have the best friends!

My Birthday!

I had a wonderful 26th birthday yesterday! Breck surprised me by getting up early and taking me to breakfast at Panera. Cinnamon Crunch bagel and hot chocolate in a mug... yum! Then for lunch, Kristen, Mom, Breck and I went to meet Dad in Oak Ridge for lunch at Chik-fil-a. Then we shopped all afternoon. Then Breck took me out to my favorite for dinner- Wasabi! We went to go see UP in 3-D. Then we went to Menchie's (new yogurt place) for birthday ice cream! I had a blast! Breck bought me a new Vera Bradley purse which I love!!! Birthday dinner tonight with my family- party! and lunch on Sunday with Breck's family! I love birthday weeks! :)

Meeting with Neurosurgeon

We got an appointment with Dr. Boyer, a neurosurgeon, a month earlier than expected! Praise God! Breck and I met with him today. He was very nice and spent a lot of time with us discussing the biopsy, and possible treatment afterward, etc. We decided that the only way to know anything is to go ahead and do the biopsy just to get some answers. He admitted that it could still be nothing. But we won't know unless we do this. He also said that the biopsy may not even be definitive. So we need to pray that we will get definite answers from the biopsy, one way or another.
We scheduled it for July 2 at St. Mary's. I will have to go in the day before to have another MRI that they will use for mapping to go to the exact spot during the surgery. It is actual surgery. They will be putting me to sleep and cutting a quarter sized hole in my skull. I asked if they replaced it, and he said they could put a plate there, but we didn't reach a definite conclusion. I may need to bring that one back up.....
I am really not excited about this whole thing. The thought of having staples in my head and part of it shaved... just not too exciting. I haven't even thought about what if the results come back bad. I can't do that right now. We will just keep hoping and praying that everything comes out fine. I know that God is in control and am so thankful for that. I truly believe He gives us peace in times like this!
So surgery July 2. Pathology reports soon after that. Then we will go from there!

MRI Update

A quick background: a few months ago, I was having constant headaches along with some nausea and dizziness. My doctor suggested I have an MRI done, just to rule out anything weird. Well, what we thought it could possible be did not show up, but something else did. Turns out there is some sort of spot on the very top of my brain. So, we waited 2 months, pretty sure the spot was some sort of inflammation and would go away. I had a repeat MRI last week, and the spot is still there. I met with the neurologist on Tuesday, and he wants me to follow up with a neurosurgeon and possibly have a brain biopsy. The spot could be absolutely nothing, it could have been there forever but just never knew about it, it could be old scar tissue from something long ago. Or it could be a low-grade glioma (brain tumor). The only way to know for sure is to have a brain biopsy done. So I am in the process of getting that scheduled so we can find out!
I know that God is in control and knew about this before we did. My prayer is that it will be nothing, and we can just move on. However, in the process, I pray that God will use me to be a witness for Him in everything that I do.
Thanks for the prayers and the concern. They are much appreciated!

Kitty Kennel Cough

Our poor Spike has been sick the past couple of days. He has been coughing and sneezing. Who knew that cats could get a cold? I called the vet to see if it could be serious and if I needed to bring him in. But she said he probably just got kennel cough from Bella. Isn't that pitiful? The good news is it should go away on its own in a few days. And he already seems to be doing better today. I can tell he is feeling better because he has been trying to beat Bella up all day! He likes whacking her in the face if she gets too close! So funny!

Welcome to My Life

Well, Breck has decided to switch from Dean Koontz books to Christian fiction novels. So we made a trip to McKay's today to spend some money we earned from trading in old DVDs awhile back. The Christian novel section there sure has grown! Breck loaded up his cart, and I had to convince him to save some to get next time! He is working on his first one now "Brevig Mission Plague" by Frank Simon, and he is 3/4 of the way through! He is such a quick reader! At first I thought I would be bored, but then I realized all I could get done! I organized some of Bella's vet info, registered her with the microchip company, and ordered her heartworm medicine. I found it $6 cheaper online than the vet sells it! Yay!
I also went through our wedding pictures and wrote down the numbers of the ones we want in our album... I have been putting that off for MONTHS! Now, I just have to send it in to our photographer... we'll see how long that takes! She said it takes 1-2 weeks to get the draft, then another 6-8 weeks to get the finished album. So MAYBE we will have our finished wedding album to look at on our first anniversary!
Bella has been a hyper little girl tonight too. She has been playing fetch and is doing so well! She has "sitting" down pat, and is really good at shaking! We are so proud of our pup! We have been cracking up watching her throw around her bone the way a cat throws around its toys! So funny! Spike just sits silently in the corner glaring at her, but he is getting used to her.
Oh, another funny thing from today: Breck is trying to teach Bella to bark. And she just won't do it! We were both chasing her around barking at her, Breck was messing with her and holding her funny ways (like in the picture), but she doesn't care. She just does her own thing. Tonight she did bark at Spike, but now we can't figure out how to get her to do it again! Crazy dog!
Like I said, Breck bought several new books tonight, so I may have lots more free time in the evenings to do little things around the house while he is busy reading!