Cold Feet

I have cold feet.  Almost always.

It is uncomfortable for me maybe, but excruciating for Andrew.

You see, every night my frozen little toes seek some comfort between his thighs.

He shrieks.  

I beg, “Pleeease!  They’re so cold and you’re so warm!”

I hate wearing socks, and my last pair of slippers became worn out and thrown out several years ago.  But do you see those cute slippers above? My mom bought those for me recently.  Not only are they the cutest slippers I’ve ever owned, but they keep my feet toasty warm.  I slip them off right before bed, and my feet stay warm all night long  – without having to steal some of Andrew’s precious body heat.

I’m pretty sure Drew is even more thankful for these slippers than I am.

Thanks, Mom!

 

And because I love it when my blog friends leave me with a question to answer, I’d like to do that too:

Can you remember a time when you had cold feet – literally or otherwise, like before your wedding?

 

 

Merry Christmas 2008! (our Christmas letter)

Dear Loved Ones,

Our prayer is that this letter finds you healthy, happy and whole. This is the Ellison family’s first ever Christmas letter!  We wanted to take a moment to share our year-in-review with all those we treasure in our hearts.

2008 was a whirlwind of play dates, appointments, and sharing meals with family and friends. Andrew is enrolled for college again, Blake has discovered Monopoly, Grace can read, and I cut off (almost) all my hair!   You can say it: “What was she thinking?”  In other news, the kids cannot wait to meet their new pets – they both asked for hamsters for Christmas.

In May, we were blessed with a trip to Florida. We were able to visit with many of my Floridian family members. Blake and Grace spent time with my Grandpa Roney – an experience that beats sitting on Santa’s lap any day. This trip was also our first visit to Disney World.

In June, we spent some quality time with my brother Kevin and his wife Angie while they were in town from Wisconsin.  Also, our June included  a day trip to the Toledo Zoo, and a swimming class for the kids.

August brought our annual camping trip with friends at the Pinery Provincial Park in Ontario. Fresh air is good for families. J We ate more s’mores than is probably legal in Canada.

Andrew and I celebrated our 9^th anniversary on September 11^th. We are so blessed to have each other and to know the miracle of marriage.  Andrew is working for Saturn, and he tied for top salesperson in his store for 2007. Andrew also teaches middle school kids at church once a month. 

Blake turned eight on September 17^th.  He is excelling in third grade, and enjoys being on the student council. Blake played T-Ball in the spring and spent five whole days on his own at summer camp with kids from our church.  He is also looking like quite the smarty-pants these days in his first pair of glasses.

Grace just turned five on November 30^th.  She is learning all about what it means to be a Kinder-gartner. I get to help in Grace’s class every other week and see her in action as a student.  She is a cuddly, creative girl with a great sense of humor.

As for me, I have finished 19 credits so far toward my nursing degree.  My mom has been a great support, watching the kids often while I was in class. And I love my Wednesday nights, when I volunteer with the teenagers at our church.

Next year we will enter a new stage in our lives: the kids will both be in school all day.  Imagine the possibilities for Mom! Most likely that means I will be enrolling in a few extra classes. Our house in Detroit is up for sale and we are excited to move on to our next home, wherever that may be!

In 2009, we hope to continue growing in love and pressing on towards Christ’s calling for our lives. We would love to hear from you!

Warm Wishes,

        AMY

 

 

dear blog.

i have some friday night unloading to do.

what a day, huh? i say that a lot. the complexities and sress of life never cease to amaze me!
here i sit with my ultra-cold, slightly skunky german beer. my husband will buy any beer that has a german name – skunky or not.

we got new carpet installed today. well, sort of. they were three hours late and didnt have time to finish, so our steps are still bare. what?! three hours late to work and they didn’t have time to finish? that’s crazy. ummm…. can’t people in other jobs get fired for that sort of thing? and unfortunately i couldn’t argue with them very well because english was barely their second language. ugh.

in the middle of this crazy day, i got a phone call. my sister called to update me on the results of the angiogram my dad had today. this was a routine test to check on his burst anurism that was operated on in July. and the news isnt the best. the coils they placed inside the anurism to cause the blood to clot have shrunk, and thus, are not helping clot as much as needed, AND the anurism has grown. he is scheduled for brain surgery.

are you kidding me? i couldnt believe it. i was so certain that this test was going to confirm his smooth recovery. so i stood in my torn apart, half-carpeted house and cried for a brief second. the future is uncertain. i know i’ll survive, and come out stronger. *i dont think he is dying soon* but if i’m wrong, Lord, i’m not ready for my dad to die.

——

part II of my thoughts tonight is so completely polar opposite of the sadness and stress of the previous paragraphs.

i am so freakin busy ! woo hoooo! but it’s not without purpose. i love this busyness. i love love LOVE being a student. i love having to study. i love listening to lectures. i have had so much fun at school this week. oh! yesterday i got to use a great microscope. just practicing with it of course, but MICROSCOPES are SO COOL! i want one. i got 10/10 on my first bio. assignment. so far so good.

and my english instructor is a dream! he is seventy years old, and has been teaching at OCC since it began in Royal Oak. I love his approach to teaching, and his sense of humor. i think i smiled through most of his class. he totally reminds me of a masculine grandma barbara (my husband’s paternal grandmother.)

so, while i am crazy busy, i am somewhere deep inside having fun.
those are my thoughts tonight, dear blog. tomorrow i go to my dad’s all day to spend time with him ( he needs company for 24 hours after his test…) and then off the grandma barbara’s 79th birthday party. Sunday however, is MY day. well – OUR day. andrew and i will have all sorts of anniversary fun on Sunday.

“itinerary for 8th anniversary celebraions!

sat
8pm- drop off kids

sun
8am- wake up!

8:45-9ish- breakfast at waffle and omelette cafe in plymouth

10:30-11ish- IKEA madness and swedballs

1pm- real seafood co.

2:30-3ish- go to the arb, window shop, etc.

5:45pm- dinner at melange

8pm- ??? movie? two days in paris.

10ish- go home and collapse in a heap

xo”

—

i know. he’s a catch. i love him. so much.

 

portfolio of beauty

a look at the artwork of my husband, andrew m. ellison

i could look at these all day. i pray that someday andrew would have time to sit at an easel and create some more.
xo

 

bits of my day

no where else in the world is there a neighborhood that gets more ice cream truck visits than us. we had four drive by tonight. my kids are going crazy and it’s not even june yet. “pleeeeeeeeeeease mom.” the pleading looks, and desperate body language. i’m sure my kids think that everyone but them gets ice cream from a truck every night. oh well. they get it a couple times a month. poor, poor deprived children.

————

andrew’s getting some exercise tonight -mountain biking with his friend, jim. i love it when he gets to mountain bike – he always comes home stinky, sweaty and exhausted – but proud. i love to hear his subtle excitement when he tells me that he left someone in the dust on the straight paths. but i miss him when he’s gone. i am a selfish woman who likes him home with me as much a possible. but i hide it and i’m always pushing him out the door to hang out with friends and do things.

————

landscaping is not my forte. i very much appreciate the beauty of a well-landscaped yard, but i feel stuck in a rut with my own. a few years ago i hastily planted a few things in the empty front yard – and it looks OKAY – but too crowded and squished up against the house. and not everything i planted is thriving. ?? yet i feel afraid to try and fix it because i know SO little about gardening – and i kill so much. and my backyard hasnt changed since we bought the house. nothing but grass framed by weeds. it’s a great country look. there are SOOO many weeds – and i dont want to spend lots on new plants – so i thought just leave it; it’s impossible. but lately i’m inspired to dig-in and do what i can. so i DUMPED weed killer all along the worst weed section today – and i’m hoping to start there with a pretty new bed of some inexpensive hard to kill, you-can-run-over-it-with-the-car hearty shade plants. it’s a start.

i’m tired today. there are toys everywhere, dishes in the sink, and laundry unfolded on my couch. and here i am blogging. yeesh. g’night.

 

Amazing Grace

how can i be so happy and content with who i am, and with life in general when i’m home with my family – and then so competely insecure when i step outside my house? i dont expect an answer. i just dont get it.

i went out twice this weekend for a friend’s birthday. it was fun. but weird. the first night i felt a bit akward and quiet. reserved but not wanting to be. and regreting my wallflower-likeness all the next day until we went out that next night, with more people, and i felt comletely opposite – like i was trying so hard to change the pattern of the night before that i was over the top and obnoxious. ugh. and i regretted all the way home and today. i dont know if i’ll ever get past the “what did they think of me tonight?” thoughts. “what did they see in me tonight that will drive them away?” i know the more i place my self-worth inthe hands of my Maker it should get better – but does it have to take so long? i’m impatient to the core.

it’s strange to me that i’ve had such strong self-doubting thoughts lately because i’m in an incredible time of life right now.

i can say with complete confidence that i have never experienced life to be as wonderful as it it right now. it’s weird – because financially – we’re broke as a joke. the worst ever maybe, but that hasn’t had any affect on my family. or maybe it’s one of the factors drawing us together. all i know is that i am more happy than i imagined possible and so very content. what seemed like a hopeless marital situation a year ago has turned into an almost dreamlike bliss. there are no words. i am so in love. i’ve learned how to love.

all i can say is thank you. thank you god. thank you to those who prayed for us. a few days ago i was overwhelmed with the realization that if it werent for the many people praying for andrew and i, not only would we not be in this new loving stage of marriage, but we just wouldn’t be together. i am blessed to be surrounded by friends and fanily who intercede for me, and my heart reaches out to those who are not also blessed in that way.

i am in a place of rest right now. a valley of peace, and mountaintop of victory. after the sweat and the tears, i want to stay here forever. i know i cant – but i’m enjoying the stay for now. what will tomorrow bring?

for today i am happy, and insecure, and freezing, and adoring my sick (but adorable) hubby lying on the couch next to me. life IS good.

 

25 and Loving IKEA

a quick funny story. someone dear to me – i would’nt dare name names – said this to me the other day: (i found it amusing, hopefully you will too) “there were times early in our relationship when i would look at you and think, ‘i cant believe i married an 18 year old, but i bet she’ll be one amazing 25 year old…’ ” i’m 25 now. any better, baby?

also – i was very excited to make my very first IKEA purchase a few days ago. i’ve visited a few times, drooled at much, and finally got to make a purchase. we bought a cool twin bed for grace that we’ve been saving for. it has three drawers underneath; perfect for a girl with the smallest room and SO much stuff. building it ourselves was a bit scary for me. i couldn’t help but think that she probably shouldn’t be jumping on the bed that mommy (and daddy) built… anywho, it’s nice to have her in a real bed (she’s been using a crib mattress on the floor…) and i cant believe it was so inexpensive!

oh! and we finally have our first REAL tree up and decorated!!! i LOVE it. it’s the classic douglas fir… i already know what tree i want next year – a white spruce. soooo pretty.

 

My son blake is for some reason fascinated by tatoos. we’ve told him he has to be 18 first for a real one. in the mean time, daddy gives him great sharpie tattoos!