What has been going on?

Well, not a lot of changes in the Ellison household lately. I am just starting my second trimester and I have heard the heartbeat, which was very surreal since I didn't think that would ever happen again. I have an very extensive genetic test set up for Nov. 18 which I will be having a 2 hour ultrasound, blood work, and some other tests done. Due to Mara's medical history and my family history Pat and I chose to make sure we are prepared for anything. I will update when that is all done.

Patrick has finished his first season of football, which he absolutley loved. He played quarterback, offensive end and safety. Which meant we saw him play quite a bit which was fun. Mara also finished cheerleading which she loved. Mara was born to be a cheerleader I think. She will be taking gymnastics through the winter since , I can't believe I am going to say this, she will be on the middle school team next year.

The boys start wrestling next week, which means our life will be over until about April. That is ok though, we have great friends and the boys love it. It should be a fun year, since Connor will be wrestling with the older boys group now and Patrick will be at the top of his weight and age group. I will try to keep these weekly stats updated.

Halloween 2008

What a great Halloween!! We had Darth Vader, a Jailbird, and The Joker. These are pictures from after trick or treating so as you can see the kids were wiped out. We went to the Taylor's house had pizza and Pat and Bryan took the kids out while Trisha and I stayed back and passed out candy. This was the first year Mara got to go around the neighborhood with her friends. She thought she was very cool, little did she know dad was trailing behind keeping an eye on things :).

OMG!!!!!!

Well that was our reaction. Pat and I found out this week that we are expecting baby number 4!!
The kids are so excited and Pat and I are excited but a bit in shock still. I am due in May and we have a lot of work, we have no baby supplies anymore, or even a house ready for a baby.

What a wonderful blessing and we know that this baby will have three older siblings ready to spoil it to death.

I will keep everyone posted on the progress and as soon as we find out what we are having. I know that Mara wants a girl and the boys want a bouy (big suprise). We will have to find out because there is no way they will all be able to wait until MAy to find out.

Stayed tune for monthly updates!!!

Congrats Mr. & Mrs. van Akkeren

Well I finally have a Brother-In-Law on my side of the family!! My sister Molly married Michael van Akkerren on March 29, 2008. It was a beautiful ceremony reception and day all around. The wedding was at Our Lady of Consolation and the reception was down at the Amway Grand Plaza. They did an amazing job, planning and organizing, there was not one glitch in the day. Well maybe just the flu outbreak among the guests. Guess that is the risk you take getting married during cold and flu season.

Michael had many family members from Holland travel here for the wedding. We were so glad to meet them and I am sure they had a wonderful time as well.

Michael is not a fireman, but apparently they do not have fire trucks in Holland so the Dutch boys are always so facinated with them. Michael's friend Jan and my brother went to Rockford Fire Department and asked them to make a stop after the wedding to surprise Michael. It was very cute.

Again, I want to say congrats to Molly and Michael and we love you both!!

Connor's Long Lost Father

Ok, this one was a bit hard to explain. It was so funny at my cousin, Jaymee's wedding a couple of weeks ago Connor was the ring bearer and everyone was giving us a hard time, because he looked more like the best man than Pat. I swear I had just met the best man at the rehearsal I have never seen or met him before ;) . It was very cute though, because Jack (my cousin) and Steve (the groom) got Connor to start calling Matt (the best man) "Dad" all weekend.

Wrestling Season has Officially Begun!

It is officially that time of year again, when Pat and I lose our life to the sport of wrestling that the boys love so much. It really is fun and we and the boys have a bunch of great friends from it. I don't have any pictures yet, just video and I can't put that on here due to insane amount of yelling on my part. Yes, I am a bit loud but never out of control :). Two weeks ago the boys wrestled at Chippewa Hills and Connor took 1st and Patrick took 3rd. That was a fun day, since Connor had to wrestle a girl. His first year he wrestled a girl and she choked him pretty bad, so he swore he would never wrestle a girl again. He actually forfeited a few matches because of that too. So he wrestled this girl and she started to choke him, they stopped the match and Pat thought for sure Connor was going to be done. Instead he looked at Pat and said, " I am going to go and kick her butt dad, she can't choke me." and sure enough Pat said he had never wrestled as tough. It was hilarious.

Then we took last week off due to my cousin's wedding. Today they went to Byron Center and had a tough day, but both held their own and wrestled very tough. Patrick took 3rd and Connor took 4th.

The boys are having a blast and they keep improving every week so that is always cool to see. So I will try to keep this updated and next week, I promise I will get some good "action shots".

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Parker

Saturday Jan. 19 we went to Lansing to celebrate my little cousin's wedding. We had a blast, Jaymee chose an amazing guy and we are so happy to welcome him to our family.
The day was freezing, and yes we took a couple of outside photos (which we all survived) .
I was the Matron of honor, and as you can see in one photo I was doing double cell phone duty well holding on to my itinerary, I was a pro :). Jaymee was a very organized bride which made things easier and a bit more stressful also. :)
As you may have read our great grandma passed away a couple of weeks before the wedding and Jaymee had a beautiful tribute to her since G.G. kept saying even up until the day before she passed, "Jaymee promised me she would get me to her wedding, even if she has to push me in a wheelchair." As Jaymee promised she got G.G. to the wedding and there was not a dry eye int the place when we said a special prayer. It was beautiful.
Jaymee was a gorgeous bride and Steve of course and very handsome groom. I of course thought the ring bearer may haven stolen the show with his looks though. I guess I am a little bias, since it was Connor. I didn't get any of him unfortunately yet. He did great as usual, he is becoming a professional. By the time my sister's wedding comes in March he may directing the whole show.
But all in all the day was wonderful, beautiful, fun, and of course very romantic. Congratulations Jaymee and Steve, We Love You!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our family to yours!!!

Well sorry this is so belated. It has been a crazy month in our family. About 2 weeks before Christmas Megan started a new job (full time) and this was a huge adjustment for the whole family, since she hasn't worked full time in 10 years. She is really loving it though.

Then came Christmas. Of course the battery to the camera was dead Christmas morning and we didn't get any presents shots. We spent Christmas Eve at home with Megan's family and the kid's (and mom & dad) got a Nintendo Wii from Grandma and Grandpa. Which was the big hit, of course. The kids voluntarily went to bed about 9:00 (which NEVER happens except Christmas Eve.) Santa came about 12:00 and Pat and I had just fallen back to sleep when we were woken up by Patrick and Connor to open presents. I thought I felt like I had just fallen asleep and something didn't seem right, so I rolled over and saw that it was 1:00 AM and about died. We of course were mean and made them crawl in bed with us and go back to sleep which only lasted until 7:00. They were very happy with their gifts from Santa, Mara got a cell phone and Mp3 player. Patrick got a huge Hot Wheels track that takes up most of his room and a "real" dart board that he can play with dad. Connor got a "real" skate board like Ryan Sheklar and spy gear.
So I guess all in all they were good kids this year.
After presents we headed over to Megan's mom and dad's for the Scott family Christmas and then to Pat's mom and dad's for the Ellison Christmas. The kids received ski passes from Grandma Carol and Grandpa Larry this year, which have been a blast.
As you can tell we had busy but wonderful Christmas and are very fortunate and blessed to be able to have spent it with our families.

Then came New Year's which all together was very uneventful. Megan's Great- Grandma was very ill and she was traveling back and forth to Lansing to be with her and the family. New Year's we all went to the cottage and relaxed, played Guitar Hero and Wii sports with Grandma Carol and Grandpa Larry. No one made it to midnight though, which is very unlike us. We love New Years. We spent a couple of days at the cottage and on New Year's day we lost our Great grandma (to Pat and Megan) and Great - Great Grandma (to the kids). Grandma G.G. (as we called her) was 91 years old and an amazing woman. Even when her body was shutting down and she had barely any pulse or blood pressure her mind was so sharp it was unbelivable. She lived an amazing life and was a very lucky women to be able to know and watch grow 5 generations of her family. We love you G.G. and we miss you dearly.

Well, sorry for no exciting pictures and just a lot of rambling, but here is a bit of an update on our crazy life. Next week starts the fun wrestling season. Check back for fun updates on the boys and their wrestling tournaments.