Weekly happenings

Olivia and Nana

Fun dinner with one of my favorite families... The Ellis Family. Amber and I roomed together in college and then worked together for several years. We are making it a point to get together monthly so we alternate houses, eat dinner and have Ellison Family Night! Eli and the girls put on a "Frozen" show for us. Rachel was adorable and oh so serious as she sang 'Let it Go'. 

Family movie night upstairs.  I think we were watching Despicable Me 2. My little Minons look engrossed in the show.

I had Aunt Jane's letter to Olivia hand lettered and I'm going to frame it in her room!

Pool is at a standstill. Nothing else can be done until the temperatures increase.

Olivia woke up from her nap early and so I held her and she fell back asleep on my chest for 2 hours. Pure sweetness. 

We finally got above freezing so the kiddies played outside for a while. This makes me ready for summertime.

I caught the little guy napping. A rare occurrence around here. 

After I picked Isaac up from school early he wanted to drive up our hill.  He's 13 but it won't be long he is driving for real. 

Olivia Jane's 1st snow!! She liked marching around in it but didnt' want the gloves on and then got mad that her hands got cold. 

Eli making snowballs and cheesing for Mama

Isaac and Sampson... snowball ready to pelt Dad

Josh gave Isaac a snowboard lesson in our yard. They are going up to the slopes on Saturday. Josh was a snowboard instructor in college and Isaac is excited to learn. 

Isaac learning how to board in our less than 2 inches of snow!

A little light Blog reading...

1. Mix and Match Mama and Pinterest Told Me To... I just like to see the inside scoop of Shay's life as sister of the previous Bachelor Sean... plus she has a wonderful foodie blog! Pinterest Told Me To has hilarious recaps on each Bachelor episode, shopping sales, and Shaffer is a SLP as well so she gets points in my book. I love to watch the Bachelor because it's just a bunch of fluff and drama.... and oh so entertaining watching all the cray cray girls. Juan Pablo isn't too hard on the eyes either. 

2. I like this newest post from E, Myself and I.. she blogs about being a working mom and SAHM and how the grass isn't always greener. I've been in both places and I'm really not sure which one is harder. Mommy guilt comes with both.  Right now I am primarily a SAHM but I'm working for a local private practice doing speech therapy two hours a week. Two hours a week doesn't sound bad but when you've got to find someone to keep the kids twice a week it gets sticky. This week my sitters didn't get to my house until 40 minutes AFTER the time my therapy appointment started. Needless to say I apologized profusely. Not having set childcare (which would nullify any money I bring in) stresses me out. It was great when Josh was home to watch the kids but now I've got to rely on others and figure it out each week. 

3. This post just hit the spot today from "Playing with Words". This mom is a SLP but her son just qualified for school speech. Ouch. Olivia is doing well but there may be a time where she qualifies for school speech therapy. She qualifies right now for Early Intervention because of her hearing impairment. I like how this mom wrote that it's not what you did or didn't do... sometimes I feel like I could do a lot more! 

Weekday getaway

A full nights sleep, massage, facial, delicious dinner and beautiful scenery! Did I mention this took place with out the kids? Josh and I took a quick spur of the moment trip to the Highlands on Monday and Tuesday before he started work on Thursday. We previously visited Old Edwards Inn two anniversaries ago and we've been wanting to go back ever since! I packed for all three kids (usually Isaac does his own but he was at school) and we dropped the littles at my Mom's house on Monday afternoon. Eli is always ready to go anywhere.. anytime. He barely told me bye. Olivia was clingy but she was fine as soon as I walked out the door.

Tuesday we slept in, had a gourmet breakfast and then shopped around town before our spa appointments. We both had a massage and I had a facial afterwards. As we were eating dinner Tuesday night at Madison's (which is the most amazing resteraunt) I told Josh, "Wow, it is sure nice to eat alone but one day we are going to miss the chaos." To which he replied,"Yes, but we aren't going to miss it right now."

The trip was a great ending to Josh's 'vacation'. Back to reality.. Josh goes back to work,  I get to see 3 sweet little faces... and my bed...which really is nice!

Dinner at PF Changs before our trip. Doesn't this guy look like Seth Rogen? I 'discretly' snapped this :)

Welcome! The service here is always spectacular. 

We tried out the heated pool and spa on Monday night and we were the only people crazy enough to be out there.

The showers at the spa.. that would be 13 sources of water hitting you at once. Pretty amazing.

Relaxing

Our starter- lobster claw and pork belly with risotto and greens. It was delicious

We finished the meal with a chocolate peanut butter souffle and coffee

A lovely get-away!

My 3 sweeties

We found her this pink frilly bathing suit while we were away and she loved it. It was a fight to get it off her.

Eli likes to cut paper. He's really good with scissors.. hopefully he doesn't get ahold of Sissy's hair.

Isaac and Dad built a rocket for his school project when we got back. 

Bachelor Birthday Bash

We had one of my besties, Kellie,  a birthday party at our house last Monday. Originally we hoped the hot tub and pool would be ready but nope.. right now I will be crossing my fingers it's done before summer. Several people couldn't come because we were experiencing an Arctic blast that night.  Marion saw some very low temps and our heat pumps ran continuously all night. However, despite the cold, we had a wonderful time hanging out in our pajamas, eating snacks and watching the Bachelor on the big screen! I of course had to make Neiman Marcus Peanut Butter Chocolate bars.. which I've talked about before. They are sooo not healthy but oh so good. This recipe came from Mix and Match Mama's food blog which I love stalk for yummy things to try.

Eli isms

Eli is really funny. He has me laughing every single day. He's tough, rough and full of never ending energy. Underneath all that roughness is a sweet heart and he loves to give compliments. Three is such a cute age. 

1. At the gas house line, Eli said "Daddy, I want a sucker." Josh, "We don't ask for a sucker. If she sees you maybe she will give you one." 

Eli said, " DADDY! Roll down the window!" Then he stuck his little head out, waved at the attendant and said, "Do you see me?" 

2. Eli, "We need to clean this blessed house."  Yea, he got that from me.

3. As he is shutting the door, "If I have to shut this door one more time I'm going to be really angry." That's me again. 

4. He tells one of my friends, "Heather, I like your hair cut."

 

5. Eli, "Isaac and Daddy and Papa are my bestest buddies." Me, "What about me?" Eli, "Well you are a girl." 

6. Eli, "Me and brother and Daddy have weenies, you and Sissy don't." This continues to be a frequent topic. 

7. "Mom, do you have any dato (data) on your phone? I want to watch Jimmy Jr (Disney Jr)."

A New year and a new...

I have some bad news and good news.....

I am loosing my helper.....

but that means Josh got a JOB!

Josh got a job offer two days before Christmas... talk about a great present! As much as I have enjoyed our 4 month vacation.. it will be nice to have income and insurance. He starts next Thursday and will be doing computer programming and database development for NOAA... plus they offered him more money and better benefits than his previous job. Isn't God good! I was really starting to doubt and get worried because he had several interviews that went great and then would get the call that they hired someone better qualified. We are both excited about this new adventure but I will admit I'm kind of bummed that he won't be here. It's been nice to go run errands without kids or run out to the grocery store mid day solo. Isaac won't miss Josh because of course he's at school during the day.. but Eli and Olivia are going to be sad. Eli has missed a LOT of pre-school in the last couple months because he always says, "Mom, please don't make me go to school, I want to help Daddy today." How can I resist that? I honestly can't because I know that very soon he will be in kindergarten and will have to go everyday.

We can't see the reasons for things sometimes. At the time I was distraught, but now I can look back and see God's hand on the situation. Josh was too loyal to leave to leave his old job even though he had been unhappy and underpaid for years. Sometimes a nudge is needed to get us out of the comfort zone and where we are supposed to be. The timing of his job loss was pretty awesome because Josh was here to work on our pool project which both saved money and kept a catastrophe from happening. Plus he was able to spend four months here with us, be with me to go to my Aunt's funeral and be there for his mom when his grandmother died.

Because it was too outrageous to pay for COBRA insurance, Josh and the kids have been uninsured except for a catastrophe plan. That's scary. I've always taken for granted the ability to go to the doctor and pay a co-pay for a visit. Thankfully everyone has been healthy and no doctor visits were needed! Olivia isn't needing hearing testing as frequently so that worked perfectly. I was able to get her in for testing in September while she was still covered and I've just been hoping and praying that by the next time she needed testing, Josh would have a job. I scheduled her new appointment this week. We have had to have new ear molds made but of course that's always an out of pocket expense because insurane doesn't deem them 'medically necessary'.

Unemployment benefits have been held up since he lost his job. I had accepted that we weren't going to receive a dime from the government (which we have both worked in and paid taxes for years!) when I checked out our account this week and realized they came through and they back paid us. How cool is that!

So my final thoughts.. don't be discouraged because even in the midst of what seems to be a bad situation... things work out!

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Christmas 2013

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! On Christmas Eve we went to my Mom's house and had heavy appetizers and opened presents. Eli was excited about his Lightning McQueen toy and Olivia loved her Princess horses from Aunt Day. Olivia absolutely loves my sister and wants her every time she's around. We came home around 8:30pm, got the kiddies in their Christmas jammies, left milk and cookies for Santa and Santa started his job. Eli wanted to leave a note for Santa and it said "Thank you".  Josh and I had so much fun wrapping their gifts in our "Santa" paper and getting everything ready for Christmas morning. We pranked Isaac with Justin Beiber wrapping paper and knew he would have a fit. The Santa magic disappeared when Isaac was about 7  and so this was the first year in a long time we've gotten to play 'Santa'.  Thankfully this year we didn't have any major hard toys to spend hours putting together.

Everyone slept great on Christmas Eve night which was wonderful and Isaac was the first one up at 7:30 Christmas morning. He came downstairs to our room and said, "REALLY.  Justin Beiber wrapping paper!" However, was just as excited as the Littles for presents under the tree. A few minutes later Eli appeared at the top of the steps. The boys just couldn't wait any longer so Isaac went and got little Sis up. The kids opened their presents and stockings and it was so much fun. Isaac got the guitar he's been asking for and a new gaming system. Eli got a little four-wheeler that takes gas; he was so pumped! Olivia sat in her new little pink chair and rocked her Baby Stella doll and loved that it has a paci.

Around 10 on Christmas morning, my family came over to our house for a big Christmas brunch. We had Nana's homemade biscuits and gravy, fruit, sausage, country ham, grilled pork chop, pigs and blankets, cinnamon rolls, Nanny's breakfast casserole and more. Needless to say we were stuffed! Olivia took a nap and then we headed to Josh's parent's house. Everyone was home for Christmas this year. We had lots of food and the kids opened presents. Olivia is the last grandchild making number 9 so the living room is always packed with presents, paper and boxes galore. Eli got a couple trucks, Olivia a doll set and Isaac some clothes. We stayed until bedtime, came home and crashed.

Eli with his new Lightning McQueen toy

Olivia playing with her new Princess ponies

Aunt Day, Olivia and Camden

Isaac opening his gift from Aunt Jane. She had set presents aside for us before she died.

My mom (Nana) and Olivia

Christmas Eve playing with the race track

It's a race

Appliqued Reindeer shirt and Car-harts... the best of both worlds :)

Really.. who puts the nozzle right THERE!

Ready for Christmas Morning

Cookies nibbled, milk guzzled, stockings stuffed!

This is me in my new slippers the day after Christmas... relaxing!

Tiny Prints

Well I've mailed out our Christmas card reluctantly.  My annual Christmas letter is so small that you need a magnifying glass to read it.. no kidding!  Oh weeellll!

So if you happen to want to know what it says here ya go! Ha.. wait you still can't read it.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed, happy New year of 2014. 2013 has seemed to fly by for us. Eli turned 3 in March and goes to pre-school 2 days a week for 3 hours. He brings so much laughter to our family. Olivia turned 1 in May and is right on track with her speech and language. Her hearing has stayed stable and we are thankful to God. Isaac is in 8th grade; this is his last year before transitioning to high school next year! He has played football and is now wrestling. We took several trips this year... we went to Disney World this summer and then to the beach. The kids loved Disney but Josh and I decided for our sanity sake we wouldn't come back until everyone was 42 inches tall. 2013 has had plenty of laughter but has also had it's share of struggles. Josh lost his job in September of this year so that's been a lesson in faith and patience. He currently has several prospects so we are hoping and praying one of these work out. I'm still staying at home with my babies and most of the time enjoying every minute. Of course there are some minutes I am ready to ship them both off and lock myself in the bathroom, but I do try to soak in these moments because I know the days are long but the years are short. I am working very part time as a Speech Language Pathologist again for a local private practice and that's been nice to feel productive in the working world. Our Golden Retriever, Sampson, is doing well except for a knee injury that required him to have surgery and an artificial ligament. He's recovering nicely and will hopefully be out running through the yard with Eli soon. In November, Josh's grandmother passed away as did my sweet Aunt Jane. After loosing so many family members in such a short time it makes me thankful for the times I do have with my loved ones. I keep a blog to scrapbook our lives, so if you want to find out what we've been up to then check out www.allisonfamilylife.blogspot.com
            

                                                     Merry Christmas!
                                                             Love,
                                                           Summer

Isaac, age 13

                                                 

Eli, age 3

Olivia, age 18 months

Christmas happenings

What have we been up to lately?

We've been shopping- and of course Olivia had to try out the bikes just like Eli.

Eli's held the phone for Olivia to watch Sophia the 1st

I found a baby picture of Isaac as I was cleaning out my laundry room. He  was two here and we lived in Boone at the time while I was in graduate school. 

Puddin' face. We can make a mess in 0.2 seconds.

A little more work has been done on the pool. Tile is installed!

Still so much left to do, but I really like the tile. 

We went to a Wine and Design class in Asheville for my sister Audra's 31st birthday. It was a lot of fun but I have ZERO artistic talent. Mom and Audra have it all. 

My pretty sis and her painting. I tried to trade with her but she wouldn't let me. 

My mama! She made a yummy cheese-ball for us to snack on as we painted.

Eli having some boiled eggs, raisin toast, and milk for breakfast before his field trip. 

Olivia hanging out on the tractor ride at the Sugar Plum Tree farm. 

We were in the BOOOOnies for sure but boy it was beautiful.

Eli driving the sleigh... Reindeer beware!

Visiting Santa. Eli has asked for a red ATV every-time he's seen Santa

It's a Eli Snow-man

Mommy and Livi on the tractor ride

Isaac's Christmas band concert. This was right after he had a wrestling match and won. He rinsed his face and wet his hair in the locker room and threw on his clothes for band. 

We've done a lot of entertaining! Olivia playing with her friend Griffin. He was putting make-up on her. 

We've played games.. or tried to anyway.

One of my besties, Kellie and Olivia. 

Annual Christmas party for Jonathan!

We've ate muffins in our jammies

Stomped around in Mommy's shoes and Daddy's hats- the closet is a favorite play spot.

Last minute Christmas shopping with Isaac in tow. Oh how I enjoy taking him out to eat. Eli and Olivia.. not so much

Isaac is a GREAT Elf.

Making Gingerbread cookies!

Attempting to make a Gingerbread house. This was right before all the mini candy balls spilled all over the floor.

House was a flop!