We finally got a little bit of snow!!

Last week we finally got a little bit of snow. The kids(mostly Brooke) loved to play in it for a little while but they didn't stay out too long!

 

 

 

 

This was on one of my early morning runs and it looked so pretty. It was a little slippery but not too bad.

 Brooke brought in a bowl of snow and gets it out of the freezer every once in awhile and plays in it with her pet shops!

Daddy Daughter Dance or in our case...Grandaughter Grandpa Dance

This past weekend our church put on a daddy daughter dance. It was such a hit! Brooke loved it and I was very grateful that my dad could step in and take her since Sean is in Utah. Brooke was sad at first that her dad couldn't be here and said she didn't want to go but when she saw the invitation, and it said you could bring your grandpa, she was so excited! They had a great time together.

 

 

 

 

Leo Wayne Elwell

Leo Wayne was born to Blake and Megan on January 23rd in the wee hours of the morning. He was 7lbs 10oz. and is healthy with a full head of hair. Sean kept me updated as he waited to see his first grandchild. He is a very proud grandpa. He waited to get a peek before he went home for a few hours of sleep before he went to work. He is a definite cutie and I was excited to come visit the following weekend. We stopped by to visit and bring the new parents a meal. Sean got Leo a little basketball hoop because that was the first gift he got Blake as a baby. I went with the more practical gift and gave me them an outfit.:)

 

 

 

 

Here is 3 generations of Elwell's! Sean doesn't look like he could be a grandpa!

All About a wonderful man!!

Warning!! This may get a little mushy, but I feel the need to share with you how incredibly blessed I am to married to such a wonderful man. The sad thing is that I think I am just realizing HOW lucky I am. These last 5 months have been a true test of my faith and I like to think when this trial is over, I will be a stronger person. Scratch that! I KNOW I will be a stronger person. It's no secret that we have been struggling as a family. With Sean living 800 miles away, I will be the first to admit, this is hard! I don't think I knew just how hard it would be. Sean traveled for his job and was gone a lot so I was used to it, or so I thought. Nope! He would at least come home on the weekends and give me a break so I could survive the upcoming week.
The first few weeks of him being gone was ok. I managed! Trying to keep the house spotless, taking care of 4 kids and trying to stay above water was manageable. But it slowly wore on me until I thought I would die if I had to feed my children or drive them anywhere. (the 2 worst things about being a mom) Add in a few other things that could go wrong and I and I just wanted to crawl in a hole and never come out.
Luckily, my husband came home because he knew I needed him. It was only for the weekend but it was what I needed. After working through a few things, I again feel like I can conquer the world. My kids are even getting fed. (most of the time)
Sean is amazing and is always looking out for my best interest. He's not the big cuddly bear and sometimes he gets frustrated but I know its only because he wants us to be happy. He doesn't like it when he can't fix things. He is the hardest worker ever. He works hard at his job to provide for his family and then he is constantly serving. All the time! He is very dedicated to his family first, then church, and then to his work. Almost every night I talk to him, he is doing something for someone. He's either helping a family move, shoveling the snow at the church and every Saturday you will find him at the temple from 5am-5pm. We aren't there with him! He could be laying around watching football.
I love this man with all my heart. He gives me everything I need and loves me fully everyday. I luckily had someone very important to me remind me of this recently. It came just at the right time. This person told me that Sean should be the single most important person in my life. Above my children and everyone else. I don't always do that, but I will now.
Sean-I love you to the moon and back and I am beyond blessed to be able to spend eternity with you!
I CAN'T MAKE IT WITHOUT YOU!!!!

Tough Week

This week was tough! I'm really struggling with the fact that I will be moving to Utah soon. Sean has been in Utah now for about 8 weeks and it is getting hard! You would think I would be use to it with all his traveling he did, but I would always get a break on the weekends. Not now, except for an occasional one here and there. He did come home this weekend because of the hard time I was having and I appreciate that. He (along with Anna) also set up a little gathering with some of my friends to come over and lift my spirits. They came in singing and we had a big group hug. I really appreciated it. President Barker, our Stake President came over too and gave me a wonderful blessing. It has helped me a lot. I'm so grateful for the wonderful friends and family I have here. I will never forget any of them and I will be back often!! (And anyone is welcome to visit me anytime they want!!)

 

Vivian, Lisa, Amy, Sarah, Kathryn, Kirsten, Anna, Jen S., Amy, Tari, Mindy, Mom, Tasha, Kristin, Marci, Heidi, Jill, Ryann, Ashley and Jen C. (Tiffany came after the picture)

 

 These are my quotes I will be living by these next few months!!!

XOXOXO

Never a dull moment....

 

This week was going to be all fun and games for the Elwell's! The kids were off for one more week and we were going to party....That is until Brooke got sick New Years Eve. It didn't last long but she was in bed for 24 hours. That day was shot, except the kids kept an eye on her and I got to sneak in a 10 mile run with my sister. That was good because I really needed to get out.

 

 

The next day we were feeling good and I thought we were in the clear and no one else would catch it. I was wrong! The next day I got it and was in bed all day. It effected me a little differently. I didn't throw up but was not able to do anything. Brooke made me a nice card and they basically all just hung out downstairs. I'm sure Brooke had cereal all 3 meals but at least she was fed. 

 

 

Connor went with Chance, Austin Grandma and Grandpa to Ifly and had a blast. He thought it was a lot of fun and wished it was a longer ride. Grandpa even thought it was fun.:) Then they were treated to Red Robin by grandma and grandpa!

 

 

 

 

We took a trip to the park while someone was looking at our house. Brooke was in her jammies and Kaylee was enjoying the swings a little too much!:)

 

 

Cierra completed her track card and as a surprise the ones that finished got to have a special day. They went to Coach Tiffany's house for breakfast and then ice skating and wallyball at Sprinker.

 

 

We did get out again this week and walked to the park for some fresh air with Baylee and Ashley! It was freezing but nice to get out.

 

 

 

 Cierra is totally turning into a teenager. She got all fixed up to go to a going away party for a friend of hers. Bryton is moving to Utah next week. I'm sure we will be seeing them soon, at least we hope.

It wasn't a total flop of a week but I was hoping to do more. We got a few shopping trips in and a few games played. I was kind of sad to see them off to school this morning but then when the house was all quiet, I realized what I had been missing and was glad to be back to my schedule.
My back was in some serious pain last night. Not sure what happened, but I received a blessing and kept ice on it and it is feeling better this morning. I will be laying low today!!

Merry Christmas!

Sean was only here for 5 short days but we lived it up while he was here. On Monday I surprised him with a trip to the Salish Lodge for a night. It was much needed! Although it was a little spendy, it was worth every penny! We had the best Italian dinner at a little Italian restaurant in Snoqualmie. It was seriously, the best Italian food I have ever had. We also had a very tasty breakfast that we ordered the night before so we could wake up to breakfast in bed!

 

 

 We got home Christmas eve! We grabbed the kids from the Gailey's and then went home to prepare food and get ready for a day of fun family time. We started our festivities off with the kids making  gingerbread houses. It was fun for them all, even the older kids. Chance and Kaylee really got in to it while Connor's was pretty much a flop.

 

 

We then had our first annual White Elephant exchange. It was fun for almost everyone. Brooke had a few tears when she thought someone was going to steal her gift.

We then took a drive to a near by neighborhood to see some really nice decorations. Some people go all out! As for us, we didn't put up any lights this year. We were lucky to get a tree up. I wouldn't have bothered if the kids hadn't insisted. I wasn't really in the Christmas spirit this year and really just tried to focus on my family and the true meaning of Christmas.

 After the kids went upstairs for the evening,(37 out of 38 of my Christmas eves have been spent sleeping at my parents house) Santa came and did his magic! Brooke was very excited to hear Santa as he came to the house. He called everyone by name and ate the cookies and was off!

 The next morning the kids woke up at 5 to start the morning! Unfortunately they had to wait until 6 and even then it was too early for me! This was the line up this year. They picked numbers out of a hat to see who went first!:)

 And the unwrapping begins! Everyone got everything they wanted and more!

 Mom got a new hat that fits her perfectly! She will need it when she comes to Utah to visit us!

 We always go out to breakfast afterwards. We were there by 8 o'clock! We got in and out pretty fast. Kaylee and Connor went with their dad and the rest of us hung out for the day. We ate and maybe took a snooze and just enjoyed each others company.

This would be Sean babysitting for Brookie!

 Brooke made a haul on the pet shops and was very excited to set them all up and play with them.

 Yes, he always sleeps with his hood on!

 After we got home we sang a few carols at the Conner's with the missionaries.

 Then Ellie stopped by so they could exchange gifts!

All in all it was a very Merry Christmas. I could say it's my last Christmas in Washington, but that is not true! We will be here or my family will be in Utah. But I will have many more Washington Christmas'!  Merry Christmas as we celebrate our Savior! I'm truly blessed!