Nesting

Drew has furniture, Andrew assembled the crib, and I'm nesting.
Gram came up to Temple for a couple of days and worked herself (and me) to death...but the house is ready and our closets are wonderfully organized!!
Kobe was left wondering what in the world happened to his room and his twin size bed that he used to have!

Baby Bump Watch

Merry Christmas 2007

Stephanie created the cutest Christmas cards for us this year, but DHL has held them hostage in Waco for over 2 days now. So, I'm putting it on the blog for you to see. They'll be "Merry after-Christmas" cards (hopefully) if the DHL truck can ever find it's way to our house!! Makes you glad Santa has reindeer and doesn't have to rely on DHL!
Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas...almost!

I love Christmas time!! This year we've been celbrating a little extra. The Ellison side of the family headed to San Antonio December 9th-11th to celebrate the season early. San Antonio has been a fun family tradition for the Ellison crew in years past, so it seemed like the perfect idea to visit again this year! We stayed in the Marriott on the river and had a wonderful time exploring San Antonio. We took a riverboat ride the first night and had a great time watching Avery as she took in the Christmas lights on the river. We stopped for dinner at Casa Rio, and then walked up to the Alamo to see it decorated for Christmas. Then it was party time. We all headed to "Gram & Grandpoppy's" room for presents and to feast on all the fabulous goodies they brought. We exchanged Christmas ornaments and all of the grandkids (yes, even the ones not born yet) got to open presents.

The next day, we toured the Alamo and walked through the Menger hotel and explored the mall a little. The boys played golf while the rest of us shopped like we used to do in the old days! Avery was the star of the show all bundled up in her little white coat with fur around the hood. She looked like an angel, and everyone stopped to say hi to her. She was so much fun to be around! We laughed at how this might be the last manageable road trip for a while, as next Christmas there will be 3 grandkids under the age of 3!!

We made some really wonderful memories on the trip. Thanks Mom and Dad for one of my favorite Christmas gifts ever!!

Shower Time

What an amazing group of friends I have. November 18th I was showered with blessings from many friends and family at Drew's baby shower. The hostesses were: Heather Bossen, KiKi Brabham, MarrGwen Dickson, Tamy Dillon, Jennifer Hannah, Lesley Hennig, Joni Lidiak, Elyse Spencer, and Stephanie Poage. Joni won the prize for traveling the furthest...she flew in from Kansas City to be a part of my big day. What a sweet friend!

The whole weekend was a big event. It started with picking Joni up at the airport in Austin on Saturday morning. We then hit Freebirds (as every good Aggie should do when they're within a few miles of one) with my parents. Joni, Mom, and I went down to Christmas Affair after lunch to do some shopping and had a great time. Then we headed back to Temple to show Joni the exictement of our tiny town. We went to Nami's for dinner with Adam & Heather and MarrGwen who was also in town from Austin for the shower. We had a great time.

Then Sunday we went to church and it was shower time!! The shower was at Belton Church of Christ. Jennifer Hannah made the cutest diaper cake for the centerpiece of the decorations! The food was great, and about 35 friends were there to help me celebrate and prepare for Drew's arrival. I was overwhelmed with blessings that day.

Where Does The Time Go?

Ok -- so I'm WAY behind on my posts!! :) Lots of exciting things have happened since Septmember!

Andrew has a JOB!! He signed a contract to join RGB Eye Associates and we'll be moving to Sherman, TX in late June 2008. We're really excited, as this is Andrew's "dream job" that he's had his eye on for the last 2 years. It's amazing to see how God's hand has been in this all along. The practice is owned by an incredibly smart, talented, generous and God-loving doctor who has been in practice for around 20 years. He decided to expand his practice in anticipation of retirement on the near horizon and began looking for 2 partners. He hired the first partner 2 years ago. That partner was one of Andrew's upper-level residents from Scott & White, and someone who had been a good friend for several years. There was still room for one more partner, and Andrew got the spot. It's wonderful to have your dream job AND to be able to practice along side friends that know you, know your talents, and love the Lord. We're very excited about Andrew's future out in the "real world".

So, along with the new job in a new city comes the need for a new house!! Shortly after Andrew signed his contract, we started looking at housing and stumbled upon some new construction that was perfect for us. We found it early enough that we're able to customize it to our tastes, but we don't have to deal with construction financing or the headaches of a true custom home. We went up a few weekends ago to look at the lot and see it all with our own eyes, and we loved it. There's even a 15 acre city park right behind the neighborhood with huge fields and a little lake to fish in. Drew and Kobe are going to love that.