The Ellison Family

First Teeth

2011-03-14T16:12:00.002-04:00

About a week ago we sprouted these little things. I didn't realize it was happening. But she was so fussy for a couple of days and had a runny nose and woke up during the night, which she hadn't done for months!. When they finally broke through on Sunday night, she was as happy as can be!

CRAWLING

2011-03-14T14:28:00.002-04:00

She is growing so fast!

Laughing Baby

2011-01-28T19:37:00.002-05:00

Laurie Kate's 3 Month Pictures

2010-11-11T22:00:00.017-05:00

I took Laurie Kate to get her 3 month pictures today. Here are some of my favorites. I have such a happy baby! She is just too sweet!

I LOVE my happy baby!

This one makes me laugh. :)

This is one of my absolute favorites!

She is getting over this photo shoot!

Little Miss Chatterbox

2010-11-02T20:55:00.002-04:00

Laurie Kate has begun to coo and babble as in a conversation. It is so much fun to talk to her and hear what she has to say! Here is a clip of her conversation with Grandpa today...

Halloween Weekend

2010-10-30T11:02:00.010-04:00

Friday night, we dressed Laurie Kate up in her Halloween costume to go to the Fall Family Frenzy at Two Rivers Church. Here she is ready to go:

Sweet monkey kisses for Mommy!
Smiling with Daddy!
Laurie Kate was alert and enjoying all the sights and sounds for awhile, including the baby camel at the petting zoo!
Then she passed out...

Isn't she sweet?!?

The transfer to Mommy's arms didn't even phase her...

So, that was the excitement from Friday night... but the weekend has only just begun! More to come!!! Stay tuned...

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-20T16:19:00.021-04:00

This morning Laurie Kate and I went to the Oakes Pumpkin Patch with a couple of friends from church and their kids. Laurie Kate was so excited about going that she needed a new outfit to wear!

It was a long drive out to Corryton, but we had so much fun- it was worth it! Here we are!

First we rode a hayride out to the pumpkin patch!

This is the tractor we rode on...

Then we got to pick out a pumpkin... so many to choose from!<

We found one!

This is Laurie Kate's little pumpkin

We also had fun going down the fast slide! Wheeee!

Next we rode the tractors around the race track. Laurie Kate didn't miss out on anything just because she is only 2 months old!

She had a blast!!! Can't you tell?

We ended our exciting day by going through the Kiddie Corn Maze!

It was such a beautiful fall day!

Laurie Kate wanted to show off her pumpkin when we got home :)
Here is the website for the Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch... you should check it out!
www.AwesomeCornMaze.com

More Smiles!!

2010-09-15T11:40:00.002-04:00

Laurie Kate has been smiling and smiling for the last week! She loves it! And I love a happy baby!

And this is her BIG smile!

The House Hunt is Over!!!

2010-09-09T17:51:00.003-04:00

We have found a house!!! After talking about it and looking and waiting and living without half of our furniture for about a year and a half, we have finally found our first HOUSE!!! It is in Farragut, just 5 miles from all the grandparents! (and closer than that to both of our jobs) :) We are so excited! The house is empty, so if everything comes together with the mortgage company, we hope to close on it the end of this month! We will be in and settled by the holidays!! We are so grateful that God has led us to this house... We can't wait to have everyone over when we get settled!

I Just Love Her Smile!

2010-09-08T12:25:00.001-04:00

Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-04T17:26:00.014-04:00

First of all...
Laure Kate is learning to smile!
Anne came home from school for Labor Day weekend and got to meet Laurie Kate for the first time! On Friday, we went to Cades Cove. Laurie Kate's first trip to the mountains! We rode around the loop in the back of Dad's pickup.
Laurie Kate enjoyed sunbathing...

She also enjoyed chilling in her stroller while we ate a picnic lunch. It was fun!!

Laurie Kate and Daddy hanging out before the game

Go VOLS!
All dressed in UT outfit :)
So sweet!!!

She got some little T booties as a gift! Love them!

Mommy loves this baby!!!
So does Daddy!
It is a beautiful day here in Knoxville... in the 70s, sunny... first day of football... we are grilling out sausages and have rotel and chips... life is good! Now to watch some football! Go VOLS!

Welcome Laurie Kate!!!

2010-08-30T16:04:00.011-04:00

I must confess, it is much easier to update facebook than to blog. The real reason is because I can search on facebook with one hand while I am nursing Laurie Kate. But it takes two hands for me to be able to blog well. So, this post is now 3 weeks late. I cannot believe my baby girl is THREE WEEKS OLD!! She was born on Tuesday, August 10 at 10:37 in the morning. She weighed 9lbs, 15oz and was 21 1/2 inches long and absolutely PERFECT!! :) I am going to just add some pictures of my precious baby to share with you all!
Our first family picture
Bath time!
She likes her hands free while sleeping.

Sweet face

Silly face

Laurie Kate loves being in her Moby Wrap with Mommy!

We had a fun walk in the park... hope to do this more when the weather gets a little cooler!

There will be more pictures to come. We are always taking pictures of our beautiful baby! :)

Breck's Birthday Week

2010-08-02T14:26:00.015-04:00

Breck celebrated his 28th birthday this past week! We kicked the week off with his family last Sunday for lunch. His mom decorated with a Tennessee theme.
His mom made a cute UT birthday cake! And it was delicious! White cake with raspberry filling!
Breck making a wish that Laurie Kate would come soon!

On his actual birthday, Breck wanted Hardee's Thickburgers for dinner!

Breck was really excited about his birthday present!

Birthday cake #2. I made Breck a white cake with white icing. And we had strawberry ice cream with it... not too bad, if I do say so myself! :)
Anne wasn't able to be here for his birthday, but she had gotten him a present... he loved it!

Since Daniel and Breck share a birthday, we have started a tradition of celebrating Breck's Birthday Breakfast with my family.
What a feast!
Here are some shots of Breck and his presents.

Breck making his final birthday wish with a Tres Leches Trifle made by my mom... so yummy! (Please, please, please let Laurie Kate get here soon!!!!)

The Latest

2010-07-15T21:49:00.003-04:00

Wow, it has been a crazy last 3 weeks. Here is what is going on... Our contract with our realtor expired on June 30. So our plan was to ride out the contract, then take the house off the market until after Laurie Kate got here. Well, on June 29, we got an offer! Not the timing we would have chosen, but PRAISE GOD anyways! The original closing date was going to be July 29, 11 days before baby's due date. Yikes! With baby on the way, my parents graciously offered to let us move in with them until things settle down. So, last Wednesday night, we loaded up our bed and the baby's crib and took them to Mom and Dad's. We will be staying there until after Laurie Kate arrives. They have lots of space, so we have our own nice big bedroom and bathroom! It's great! Breck keeps asking why, with a pool outside our door, cable tv, and a Harley in the garage, we are ever planning on leaving?! We are moving all the rest of our stuff (that's not already in mom and dad's basement)into a storage unti until we get a house. I have been frantically packing and toting boxes (with the help of mom and some freinds) trying to get everything out except for the furniture. This Saturday is our official moving day to empty out the condo. I have recruited some cleaning help, so hopefully when we leave on Saturday we will be done! Thank goodness! We moved the closing date up to next Thursday, July 22. We hope Laurie Kate will wait to make her debut until afterg then... I would really like one weekend to relax before she gets here! So that's the craziness here. We are always keeping our eyes open but aren't actively looking for a house until after she arrives and we get to enjoy her for awhile. It has really worked out well to not have to rush to find a place. We can take our time, find a house that we love, paint it, and get it all ready before moving in. God knows what He's doing. :) I will post some pictures of our new living space as soon as I make it look presentable. Then soon afterwards, we will have pictures of the baby! Can't wait! Stay tuned...

Maybe This Will Help...

2010-06-23T08:34:00.002-04:00

Here are mine and Breck's newborn hospital pictures. I thought it would be fun to have them to compare to Laurie Kate! We can't wait to meet our little one!
This is Lynda:

And this is Breck:

3-D Success!!!

2010-06-21T15:52:00.013-04:00

Thanks to a very patient ultrasonographer and 3 attempts to see our stubborn baby's face, we were successful! Here are all the pictures we got today! You need to vote in the poll to the right and let us know who you think she is going to look like based on these pictures. :)

She's Got Hair!

2010-06-16T16:14:00.003-04:00

Here is the hair picture I promised. The ultrasonographer said the white lines are hair (look for where the arrow is pointing). I don't really know how to read these things, but it looks like it could be a lot! Woo hoo!

3D Semi-Success

2010-06-15T16:45:00.003-04:00

We were able to get one picture of Laurie Kate's face on the 3D machine today. It's kinda fuzzy, but it's better than nothing! The most exciting thing we learned was that she has HAIR!!! I am just posting the 3D for now. Will post the hair picture later. Breck says you can't really tell, but I think she looks like my baby picture. :)

Happy Birthday to Me!

2010-06-11T22:17:00.007-04:00

I had a great birthday! It started at work last night. Mom and Dad brought me a birthday cake to share with my friends!
It was a very busy night at work, but I got to deliver a baby this morning... we share a birthday! It was so fun! I love my job!
When Breck came home for lunch, he surprised me with these beautiful flowers!
Then he gave me my birthday present- an engraved compact mirror! It is the perfect gift for me. I am obsessed with using little mirrors to check my teeth... I use it multiple times a day. But the one that I have says "Bride" on it. Breck thought I should move past that since we have been married for almost 2 years! Ha! He had it monogrammed with my name and a special inscription on the back! I love it! Thanks, Breck!

Tonight, Breck took me to Wasabi for dinner. It's my favorite restaurant! Then we came home, and Breck let me watch a chick flick. :) We finished the night with some of the cake leftover that Mom and Dad brought me last night along with some cookies and cream ice cream (another one of my favorites)! It has been a wonderful birthday!!!

Baby Shower

2010-06-07T13:30:00.022-04:00

I had my first baby shower yesterday, and it was so much fun! Several of my mom's friends threw it for me. It was so good to see so many women that I haven't seen in a while! We were blessed with so many wonderful presents for our little Laurie Kate! It was so much more than I could have asked for! Here are some pictures:
This was the yummy food table
Breck wanted to come too! He even wore pink to celebrate the occasion!

Look at all the fun gifts! You'll get to see what's inside the packages in a minute!
Opening up fun gifts!

I love the little hairbows! I hope this baby has some hair!

And look at the little black patent leather shoes!

Here are some more precious shoes!

Look at this awesome diaper cake my sister's roommate made!!

Here are the ingredients:

Here is a beautiful diaper bag from Aunt Beth and Uncle Daniel!

Everything we need for story and cuddle time!
Bath time!

Look at this precious outfit for her first birthday!!!

Look at this precious hoodie and monogrammed scrubs to dress like Mommy!!!

Breck's Mom found his blankey from when he was little that his Mamaw made for him... so special!

Cute biker outfit from Mimi for hanging out with Daddy and Grandpa. :)

Look at these little booties made and brought back from Asia from Mrs. Jeanetta!

I love all the cute baby girl clothes! Everyone said she is going to have to be changed multiple times a day to be able to wear everything she got! We got so many more clothes than this... it just takes too long to download pictures of all of them! :)
Our nursery was a mess!!!

But I did get everything put away. :) All we need is our baby girl! Thanks again, Friends, for the wonderful gifts!

Breck is Blogging!

2010-06-04T20:34:00.003-04:00

A couple of days ago, Breck asked me if I could help him start a blog. I don't know what he plans to blog about, but I said of course I would help him! So we have spent the last couple of hours picking out a fun but "masculine" background for him. I must admit, most of the backgrounds available are definitely girly ones! Then I showed him the ropes: how to edit his profile, change the colors, post pictures, add a counter, and on and on. It's been fun! The point of all this is you will have to check out his blog. He is really excited about it! :)

3D Ultrasound Fail

2010-06-01T15:23:00.003-04:00

We went today to have a 3D ultrasound done of Laurie Kate. However, her back was to us, her face was smushed against my uterus, she had her arm over her face, and she was sound asleep. She could not have been more uncooperative! The ultrasonographer tried to get a good angle but said she couldn't see anything. So we rescheduled to come back in 2 weeks. We will try again. She didn't even give us any pictures because there was nothing worth printing off!

Diaper Bag

2010-05-29T20:29:00.002-04:00

We bought Laurie Kate a new diaper bag today! Breck was proud, so here he is showing it off!

Sewing Projects

2010-05-27T12:30:00.006-04:00

I pulled out my sewing machine the other day to try some crafting projects for Laurie Kate. I am by no means a professional sewer. I actually have a lot more practicing to do! But here are a few of my attempts:

Here are some scented pouches to put in her drawers to make her things smell good and not like the paint and sawdust everything smells like right now.
These are some burp cloths. They aren't perfect, but for the purpose they will serve, I think they will do!
These are my favorite... paci holders! I love how they turned out! And they cost me probably around 50 cents each to make compared to the $5 or so at the store!

Baby Dresser

2010-05-24T13:10:00.005-04:00

We decided to refinish a dresser that we already had instead of buying a new one for the nursery. Breck did such a great job! I am so happy with the finished product! It is exactly what I was hoping for and looks great in the nursery! Here are the before and after pictures:

Opening the Pool

2010-05-23T22:01:00.005-04:00

On Saturday, Dad and Breck got the pool cleaned out. We never opened it last year. So after 2 years, it was pretty nasty. They pressure washed it and will hopefully be able to paint it in the next week or so! While everyone was on a lunch break, the dogs decided to go for a swim in the swamp. Here is a funny video of that. Watch them slip and slide down into the water.
And here are some pics from the project.

Laurie Kate's Nursery

2010-05-22T08:43:00.008-04:00

So we got a couple of really big boxes in the mail this week.
Yesterday morning when I cam home from work, the boxes were empty! Breck surprised me by putting everything together while I was at work! I was so excited! Here is my new glider:
Here was the crib when I came home:
And here is the crib after I finished with it: :)

And here I am enjoying my new favorite activity! I absolutely love my glider!

This is our almost complete nursery. Of course there are a few other things we need, but as I have been reminded, we do still have 2 1/2 more months! Just because I am anxious and excited doesn't mean it all has to be done now! :)

Free Spicy Chicken Sandwich

2010-05-21T14:00:00.004-04:00

I just got an email with a link to receive a free spicy chicken sandwich from Chik-fil-A. They are new and are giving out free samples before they come out on the menu. It's easy to sign up. And it's free food! Breck and I are going to the CFA Kingston Overlook on June 5 between 11am and 2 pm. Come join us!
Here is the link:
http://www.getspicychicken.com/

What's Kicking?

2010-05-19T07:32:00.000-04:00

Laurie Kate is! I just love the feeling of my little baby doing gymnastics inside of me! It is the neatest feeling in the world! She decided to start playing early this morning ( I was already awake because of Bella). So I got Breck to lay there with his hand on my belly for awhile. She kicked so hard a couple of times that his hand bounced off my belly! He loved it! These are such special times!

Building the Changing Table

2010-05-18T21:53:00.000-04:00

We received our changing table yesterday via Fed Ex. Breck got really excited and got it started while home on his lunch break. Here is the beginning
All the pieces are laid out. Breck is ready to get started!
Bella enjoyed watching her daddy working hard
Spike just liked the packaging that the box came in!
Day #2: Breck got all the detailed work done yesterday during his lunch break. Now he just has to put all the big pieces together! Mom and Dad came over tonight to help get the bed out of the way. We also took the dresser over to their house so Breck can keep working on his project of refinishing that. Breck has a lot more room tonight to spread out and work on the changing table.
Bella still watching Daddy put the pieces together!
Still smiling... and getting closer
Nailing on the back pieces. We accidentally threw one of the pieces away because it was cardboard, and I didn't realize it wasn't trash. Oops. Good thing it didn't rain today! :)
Almost done! Doing good, Breck
Putting in the drawers... the final pieces! We bought new knobs that match the ones we bought for the dresser so everything will match. I think they look good!
Breck and the finished product! He did such a good job! My handyman husband!
Laurie Kate's changing table! Our first finished piece of nursery furniture!
One more project I worked on while Breck was building the changing table... Mom had bought this mirror and gave it to me. So I added ribbon to match the nursery. I think it turned out great! Thanks, Mom!

Baby Clothes

2010-05-17T08:03:00.000-04:00

My friend Cheryl gave me a baby gift: cute clothes for our little Laurie Kate! They are adorable! She said she couldn't stand the thought of my having an empty closet. :) Breck and I are getting so excited about dressing up our cute baby girl. Breck even asked today if he got to pick out her outfits when I wasn't at home! Who would have thought Breck would be excited about picking out clothes for a little girl? Ha! It's so fun!

My Project

2010-05-13T08:10:00.001-04:00

This is my project for the nursery that I have been working on the last few days. I plan on hanging it above her crib. Speaking of which... we have ordered the nursery furniture and are anxiously awaiting its arrival so we can get things set up for our Laurie Kate! I believe it is called "nesting," and I've got it bad!

Brad's Law School Graduation

2010-05-10T13:21:00.000-04:00

Breck's brother Brad graduated from law school this weekend from Ole Miss. So Mom, Breck, Jennifer, Randy, and I made a road trip to Oxford for the festivities!
Our first night there we went to one of Brad's favorites Taylor Grocery for dinner. We had fried catfish, french fries, and fried okra. They supposedly have great potato salad too, but I'm not a fan.

Breck, Mom and Brad before dinner at Taylor Grocery

Brad signing his name on the bench. The seats, walls, tables, and even the toilet seats (yuck!) are signed by people who have been to this tiny restaurant!
Welcome to Ole Miss!

Saturday morning was Brad's graduation. It was outside in "The Grove," and we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day! I had never heard of a graduation ceremony outside, but it was really nice!
Brad with his hood and tassels.

All of us waiting for the ceremony to start.
Entrance of the graduates. Way to go, Brad!
Us and Brad (and Laurie Kate who is looking particularly HUGE at 27 weeks!)
Brad and Aunt Je and Randy
Proud mom and brother of the graduate

Pound it!
Breck showing off his parallel parking job in the very busy square after graduation!
Randy at lunch at Ajax in the Square of Oxford after graduation with his personalized sign behind him!

My pooped Bella after spending the weekend with Grammie and Grandpa and her Aunts Holly and Ginger!
I did not take any pictures of the other part of our trip: packing and moving Brad back home. Everyone worked really hard to pack up his apartment of 3 years to bring everything back home as he waits to find a job as an attorney! We got it all done and made the drive home on Sunday. It was a long and busy weekend, but fun! Congratulations, Brad!

Still Alive and Growing!

2010-04-27T12:45:00.000-04:00

My petunias are still alive and still growing! I don't know what happens when they run out of room in the pot- because it looks like they are reaching that point! Oh well! They sure have added color to the front of our house!

My "Flower Garden"

2010-04-10T17:46:00.000-04:00

So, I have a black thumb. I have never been able to keep any plant alive. But I really wanted some flowers in front of our house to make it look prettier and springier for showings. I had a flower pot inside with a dead plant in it. Ha. So I bought some petunias. I took pictures today and hopefully will continue to add pictures of my growing living flowers! We'll see!

Baby Blanket for Laurie Kate

2010-04-08T19:42:00.000-04:00

I have had a student nurse training with me the last few weeks at work. Last night was her last night, and she gave me this beautiful blanket for Laurie Kate! It matches the bedding we have picked out for her nursery! I am so excited about our first personalized baby gift! Thanks, Maggie!

Mommy Bracelet

2010-04-04T12:24:00.000-04:00

Breck took me to Lily's Beadbox yesterday to make a mommy bracelet with Laurie Kate's name on it! I love it- it's exactly what I wanted, and we made it together! So special!

New Laurie Kate Pictures

2010-03-26T17:06:00.000-04:00

We had our anatomy scan ultrasound at the doctor's office today. We got to see the bones in her legs and arms, her hands and feet, her stomach, her kidneys, all four chambers of her heart, her spine, her brain, and even her lips!!! Wow! It was so neat to see out precious baby girl! The doctor said she looks as healthy as she can be! Praise God! Here are a few pictures from the ultrasound today...
This is just the traditional 2-D, but look how much she has grown!
Look at the detail of her face, nose and even little fingers! I love this picture!
In this one you can see her crossing her ankles and her little finger pointing out. So sweet!

Israel and Rome Trip

2010-03-20T09:35:00.000-04:00

We just got back from our trip to Israel. Wow! What a trip! We learned so much about the country and even so much about the Bible we didn't know. It was amazing to walk in places where Jesus walked! And to be able to see the geography of the land and put all the pieces together was awesome! It is going to be so neat to read the Bible from now on and know I have been to these places and to be able to actually picture where they are! Wow! Here is a sampling of pictures from our trip... I took over 600! :)
This is a shepherds cave like where the angels would have appeared to announce Jesus's birth.
This star marks the place in Bethlehem where Jesus was born.
Some Israeli food: Falafel and Shewarma
The Eastern Gate of the wall of Jerusalem that has been sealed but will be open again when Jesus returns! The Muslims built a cemetery in front to try to prevent this... Ha!
The Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus spent some time praying before He was arrested.
Floor of the dungeon where Jesus was kept the last night before He died. He stood here. Wow.
The empty tomb!!!
Breck's souvenir- a shofar!

So hot in the desert! Breck cut off the bottom of his pants to make shorts and used the bottom as a sun shield!

We renewed our wedding vows at the Church in Cana where the wedding feast was that Jesus performed his first miracle! Our pastor that did our wedding was there with us to perform the ceremony.

This is a view from the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount with the path leading down to the Sea of Galilee in the background.

View from the top of Mt. Carmel with Armageddon Valley in the background.
A cheeseburger in Israel! (NOT kosher!)
In front of the Coliseum in Rome.
Our favorite thing about Rome... the gelato!!! Yum!
The Romans had a lot of control in Israel for a long time, so it was neat to go to Rome and see the complete picture. What a great trip! Thanks for taking the time to look at our pictures!

Packing

2010-03-05T17:53:00.001-05:00

Here is the beginning of my packing progress... going to be a long weekend... so much to do! But I am so excited about our trip!
We still have to decide which suitcases we are taking. Then I can start packing clothes. Going to make a Walmart and Sam's run in the morning to buy snacks... :)

Busy Weekend

2010-03-01T14:40:00.000-05:00

We were very busy this weekend. After going to out to dinner with friends Friday night, Breck and I headed home to start moving furniture and taping to get ready to paint our bedroom. We were so excited about the new paint we found. Behr Premium Ultra Paint and Primer in One is awesome! It took one coat of paint to cover our pretty chocolate brown with neutral tan. Our realtor said the brown was too bold for people looking to buy. So we are very excited to move and paint our new bedroom brown again!

Our bedroom went from this...

To this...

Sunday we had lunch at my parents' house. Mom surprised us with a "Laurie Kate" Party! Everything was pink! She even had little party favors for everyone to take home to remember to pray for our baby girl! Mom is so thoughtful! It was so much fun! Here are some pictures:

Party favors filled with pink and purple jelly beans!

Little chocolate mints in all different baby and animals shapes! So cute!

Delicious almond-flavored cupcakes! My favorite!

So cute!

Yum!!!

Isn't pink fun?!

It's a GIRL!!!!!

2010-02-24T07:45:00.000-05:00

We are so excited! We found out yesterday that we are going to be having a baby GIRL!We have already decided to name her Laurie Kate. We are just thrilled! She wasn't shy at all and opened those legs wide for us to see! Here is a picture that gave us the proof- 100% sure, according to the ultrasonographer:

More Pictures of Baby Ellison

2010-02-11T08:38:00.000-05:00

Look at these pictures of our precious baby! It is moving all over, but I still can't feel it. And we are anxiously waiting until we find out if it is a boy or girl! We can hardly wait to start buying pink or blue things! So exciting! You can see its little legs stretched up in the air. It is about 4 inches long, and she measured its little foot today and said it is 1 centimeter long! So tiny yet so big too!

And here is the first 3D ultrasound of our beautiful baby! You can see it's hand up in front of its face! What a miracle to see it growing!

Bella in the Snow... and Mud

2010-01-30T10:03:00.001-05:00

As we know from previous posts, Bella loves playing in the snow! So I let her outside in my parents backyard to play for awhile this morning. What I wasn't thinking about was how much Bella also loves to dig. And snow plus dirt makes mud! This is how we found her:

How can you get mad at that?

More Pictures of Our Growing Baby

2010-01-27T08:25:00.001-05:00

You can see the baby's head on the left and its little arms and legs sticking up on the right.

This time you can see its head on the right. You can almost see the outline of its little face!

Do you see its little hands and fingers?!?

You can see in the video the baby moving its arms and legs. It even gets the hiccups! So cute already!

Baby's Heartbeat

2010-01-27T08:17:00.000-05:00

I got to hear the baby's heartbeat!

Please Vote!

2010-01-26T00:28:00.000-05:00

Please vote on the poll over to the right for whether Baby Ellison will be a boy or a girl. I can't see who votes for what... I am just curious to see what you all think! Thanks! Hopefully we will have some real results in the next few weeks!

Our Moving Baby!

2010-01-14T08:06:00.000-05:00

I hadn't done an ultrasound since we saw the heartbeat at the dr's office a few weeks ago. So my friends and I decided to peek at work last night (one of the perks of being an L&D nurse), and see if there were any changes... and boy has this baby grown! It actually looks like a baby now! It has 2 arms, 2 legs, and was moving all over the place! So wonderful! It made it feel so much more real!
Here is one shot we got... it's my favorite because you can see its little hands and feet all sticking up! Head is at the bottom, hands and feet in the air.

Here is a little video we got. The quality is horrible, and all the action is in the first 15 seconds. But you can see this little baby moving around! Wow!

Yes, Bella Can Bark

2009-12-28T12:16:00.000-05:00

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!

2009-12-22T20:58:00.001-05:00

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

2009-12-13T20:17:00.000-05:00

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!!

2009-12-05T10:28:00.000-05:00

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

2009-12-03T16:56:00.000-05:00

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

2009-11-08T22:27:00.000-05:00

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!

2009-10-03T14:54:00.000-04:00

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

2009-10-03T14:48:00.000-04:00

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!

2009-10-02T04:19:00.000-04:00

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

2009-09-26T18:09:00.000-04:00

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

2009-09-20T15:03:00.001-04:00

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

2009-09-20T14:43:00.000-04:00

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!

2009-07-13T12:58:00.000-04:00

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

2009-07-08T11:46:00.000-04:00

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 :)

2009-07-07T20:13:00.000-04:00

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!

2009-07-07T19:11:00.000-04:00

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

2009-07-06T23:04:00.000-04:00

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!

2009-06-12T13:13:00.000-04:00

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

2009-06-03T12:06:00.000-04:00

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

2009-05-27T15:55:00.000-04:00

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

2009-05-15T22:29:00.000-04:00

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

2009-05-11T22:50:00.000-04:00

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!

Meet Bella!

2009-04-28T13:28:00.000-04:00

We got a new puppy! Her name is Bella, and she is a 3 months old retriever/shepherd mix. So cute! We have already had so much fun introducing her to her toys, watching her gnaw on her bone, and playing with her outside. Breck almost has her trained to "sit." We have had a few pee accidents already, but that's what happens with puppies. We had a great fist night. She whined for about 5 minutes after we put her in the kennel, but once we quieted down, she was quiet for the rest of the night! I hope this is a trend that continues! I am just worried about her not being happy pinned up on the days I have to work.
She already has separation anxiety from Breck when he is gone. When he was grilling dinner just outside last night, Bella whined and watched waiting for him to come back inside. And when Breck left fer work this morning, she went around looking for him and whining. She loves him already!
Spike isn't too crazy about her. He hisses but fortunately doesn't have any claws! So he isn't mean, just scared.
Breck and I just love the newest addition to our family!

Spring is here!

2009-04-23T12:45:00.000-04:00

It is a beautiful spring day! I am sitting here with the windows and doors open enjoying the sun shining in. Breck is home with me now. He is enjoying the flexibility of his new job! Life is good. :)

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T06:18:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas from the Ellisons! Breck and I celebrated our first Christmas as a married couple on Christmas Eve last night. Breck was able to leave work early, so we got to open presents and enjoy dinner together with no rush! Yay! We had a wonderful time.. Breck gave me several Disney animated classic movies, like 101 Dalmatians, Robin Hood, Rescuers Down Under, Peter Pan, and the Swiss Family Robinson. He also has ordered me a necklace and earrings with my new initials monogrammed. And he had a First Christmas ornament engraved with our names and wedding date! He was so thoughtful and got me such nice presents!
I surprised him with several things for his motorcycle and an Ultra Classic Electra Glide ornament! I also got him some things he may be able to use with his new sales position coming up! I had to work on Christmas Eve, but today we will be celebrating Christmas with both of our families (after a little bit of sleep!). Yay! We love Christmas!