- Ryan is the most wonderful person on this dear Earth. He is genuine, helpful, caring, and thoughtful. For 10 months he has pulled 90% of load of parenting, disciplining, homework, and all that comes with running a household. While I know he is as ready for me to be done with my MBA as I am...he has never once complained about giving more than his fair share. For that, I am the luckiest girl in the world and thankful for the support he provides on a daily basis.
- Children are resilient. In the past year, we went from me being laid off and home 100% to traveling 4 nights a week, flying to a new city each day and studying in each and every spare minute I have. I know I am not the parent I need to be right now but this has opened the door to many conversations about trying your best. Kate and Jake understand our situation is temporary and I am lucky to have them as my cheerleaders after each and every paper is submitted and final exam taken.
- I have an extremely generous network of support through my family and friends. Ryan's mom has stepped in to cook dinner for Ryan and the kids once a week for the past several months and my friend Leslie has cooked as many meals for Kate as I have in the past year! Thank you to EVERYONE for providing Ryan, Kate and Jake what I haven't been able to provide. It means the world to me.
While off the past few days I have enjoyed looking through old pictures and catching up on a few blogs I used to follow pre-MBA days. Ryan's attempt at blogging was very short lived as he now understands how time consuming blogging can be. I appreciate his attempt but vowed NEVER to put pressure on him to keep it up. I started this blogging journey several years ago as a way to capture most of life's events. The absence of posts will be pretty telling of this point in our lives.
Here are a few of my favorite images of the past several months...
Happy 7th Birthday Kate. I have a hard time comprehending that you are nearly 7 1/2 now! I am so proud of you. You have a warm heart, kind spirit, polite manners, and are adventurous beyond words! I love our level of connection and look forward to watching you blossom into a young lady over the next few years. I love that your birthday will always be part of the July 4th weekend - sparklers every year!
Kate and Jake are becoming quite the duo! Jake mimics EVERYTHING Kate says and does and while it may get on your nerves now Kate, it will be something you will cherish in the future! Here are a few of my favorite pictures of my 2 favorite kids in the world. When making the decision to have a 2nd, their relationship is exactly what I pictured.
We played many hours in Pee Paw's new playhouse. Yes, it is nicer than our own house :)
Ryan got to enjoy a night away at the Cardinals game!
The Ellis girls challenged ourselves to a day at The Adventure Camp. We successfully climbed the rock wall and zip lined back down to level ground. Thank you Aunt Granny for such an incredible adventure.
We vacationed. The pictures don't need much explaining. Thank you Dad for providing us such wonderful memories. We are thankful for each and every vacation and look forward to doing it all again this year. The first one is one of my favorites. This is the 1st day in 3 1/2 years that Jake tried to go without a nap. We made it without any meltdowns and as we were getting ready to leave for dinner, we found him on the couch in this position.
We started 2nd grade and entered into our 2nd to last year at the YMCA CDC program. Here is a picture of Kate from the 1st day of school. This may go down as one of my most favorite pictures of all time! Beautiful smile showing your sweet and loving side, pig tails to show that you still let mom do your hair, a plant for Mrs. Carr because you love every teach you have ever had and bruised and battered legs because you and rough and tough.
The start of a school year is never without a lice scare! We survived this one but treated both kids just in case. Just to clarify, treating a boy just means shaving their head.
Jake visited the dentist for the 1st time and was a champ.
Working in 12 different states has its perks - I get to see my friends that are scattered all around the U.S. Here is Breagel during our dinner date for sushi.
We went to King's Island, thanks to our other "grandmother" Shirley. Kate road her 1st roller coaster, The Racer, and LOVED it. It took her a few hours to get back on after the 1st ride but she ended up riding it 5 or 6 more times by the end of the day. She was still a little hesitant to ride the bigger ones and as it turns out, I have lost my thrill seeking love of roller coasters. I was just fine hanging in the kiddie park with Jake!
We had an awesome fall, full of neighborhood celebrations and a fun night of trick or treating. I love our homemade costumes. They still make me smile. Kate's prep resulted in her 1st selfie!
We lost our beloved boy, Brooks, in November. After 14+ great years, his body just gave out. For anyone who is going through this process, I highly encourage the book Doggie Heaven. It got us through the thought of him gone and we are all able to picture him running in the clouds with Cooper. We celebrated his life with a picnic lunch and as much table food as possible in the last 48 hours of his life. He provided us such joy and we miss his presence each and every day.
As if working full time, traveling 4 days a week, and studying more than I thought possible, we decided to make a few upgrades to our house. The biggest change is our kitchen. We painted the cabinets, walls, and ceiling. We also painted several other rooms. I will try and post a few more pictures in the near future (probably means anytime after March 2015).
We spent the weekend in Chicago and it just happened to be Light Up Chicago! We stayed at the Westin (directly behind the Christmas tree in the picture below) and while I worked a conference, Ryan, Kate and Jake enjoyed the Shedd aquarium. Despite Kate throwing up in Ryan's car during the car ride up and it being 50 below zero, we had a fabulous time! It was the perfect weekend trip to the city I call my 2nd home! Kate was in heaven in the American Girl store and Jake spend a nice hour or more in the Lego store, which just happened to be right next door. This game us a lot of Christmas ideas!
We dog sat 2 of our favorite dogs - Louie and Rolo
And last but not least, we just wrapped up an awesome Christmas celebration. It is such a bitter sweet feeling right after the big day! We celebrated with family and friends. Jake loved Santa as much as he did last year!!! The girls on the other hand could have sat there all day.
Here the kids are prepping for the big night
And I'll wrap this post with my most favorite picture of 2013. During the day on the 24th, we spent a few hours building a fort under Kate's bed. We used the mattress cover from our bed, along with a string of Christmas lights to make it one of the most magical places to sleep while waiting for Santa's arrival. I hope we get to do this every year. It made my Christmas.
Kate and Jake are becoming quite the duo! Jake mimics EVERYTHING Kate says and does and while it may get on your nerves now Kate, it will be something you will cherish in the future! Here are a few of my favorite pictures of my 2 favorite kids in the world. When making the decision to have a 2nd, their relationship is exactly what I pictured.
We played many hours in Pee Paw's new playhouse. Yes, it is nicer than our own house :)
Ryan got to enjoy a night away at the Cardinals game!
The Ellis girls challenged ourselves to a day at The Adventure Camp. We successfully climbed the rock wall and zip lined back down to level ground. Thank you Aunt Granny for such an incredible adventure.
We vacationed. The pictures don't need much explaining. Thank you Dad for providing us such wonderful memories. We are thankful for each and every vacation and look forward to doing it all again this year. The first one is one of my favorites. This is the 1st day in 3 1/2 years that Jake tried to go without a nap. We made it without any meltdowns and as we were getting ready to leave for dinner, we found him on the couch in this position.
We started 2nd grade and entered into our 2nd to last year at the YMCA CDC program. Here is a picture of Kate from the 1st day of school. This may go down as one of my most favorite pictures of all time! Beautiful smile showing your sweet and loving side, pig tails to show that you still let mom do your hair, a plant for Mrs. Carr because you love every teach you have ever had and bruised and battered legs because you and rough and tough.
The start of a school year is never without a lice scare! We survived this one but treated both kids just in case. Just to clarify, treating a boy just means shaving their head.
Jake visited the dentist for the 1st time and was a champ.
Working in 12 different states has its perks - I get to see my friends that are scattered all around the U.S. Here is Breagel during our dinner date for sushi.
We went to King's Island, thanks to our other "grandmother" Shirley. Kate road her 1st roller coaster, The Racer, and LOVED it. It took her a few hours to get back on after the 1st ride but she ended up riding it 5 or 6 more times by the end of the day. She was still a little hesitant to ride the bigger ones and as it turns out, I have lost my thrill seeking love of roller coasters. I was just fine hanging in the kiddie park with Jake!
We had an awesome fall, full of neighborhood celebrations and a fun night of trick or treating. I love our homemade costumes. They still make me smile. Kate's prep resulted in her 1st selfie!
We lost our beloved boy, Brooks, in November. After 14+ great years, his body just gave out. For anyone who is going through this process, I highly encourage the book Doggie Heaven. It got us through the thought of him gone and we are all able to picture him running in the clouds with Cooper. We celebrated his life with a picnic lunch and as much table food as possible in the last 48 hours of his life. He provided us such joy and we miss his presence each and every day.
As if working full time, traveling 4 days a week, and studying more than I thought possible, we decided to make a few upgrades to our house. The biggest change is our kitchen. We painted the cabinets, walls, and ceiling. We also painted several other rooms. I will try and post a few more pictures in the near future (probably means anytime after March 2015).
We dog sat 2 of our favorite dogs - Louie and Rolo
And last but not least, we just wrapped up an awesome Christmas celebration. It is such a bitter sweet feeling right after the big day! We celebrated with family and friends. Jake loved Santa as much as he did last year!!! The girls on the other hand could have sat there all day.
Here the kids are prepping for the big night
And I'll wrap this post with my most favorite picture of 2013. During the day on the 24th, we spent a few hours building a fort under Kate's bed. We used the mattress cover from our bed, along with a string of Christmas lights to make it one of the most magical places to sleep while waiting for Santa's arrival. I hope we get to do this every year. It made my Christmas.
