William is growing up so fast as well. It seems that every day I look at him and see a new exciting change. William is 3 almost 4 years old. William has energy taking after his brother Andrew (5). William is very STONG WILL'ED bringing much excitement into the Ellingson household.
The biggest of new's to hit our home was last Thursday Jay's sister Tracy had a baby girl: Gabriela Kathleen. She is adorable and resembles her older brother Evan. We cared for Evan Friday into Saturday giving his family a day to get used to having a new baby in the house. Evan is a joy to have over. He plays so well with both Andrew and William that it really is easy for us.
Celebrating Gabi, and memorial day weekend we invited the entire family over for a BBQ. It was much bigger than expected however it was so nice to get together with family to aaawww over Gabi or "Abi" my boys have called her. My grandmother is in town as well so it was nice to have her to join the group as well.
My father is having surgery tomorrow as he deals with Prostate cancer. He is in the very early stages of it however the surgery is a bit unnerving for us all. He is too young to have these scares. We pray over him that God heal him and rid him of the cancerious demons that have entered his body. We watch over him as our heart and hand put faith in God to make everything as it should be. We pray all this in Jesus name.

My boys have certainly grown up. Last week Andrew attended a kindergarten open house where he was able to experience what Art, gym, music, library, computer room, and 1 or 3 classrooms is going to be like. He does not know who his teacher is going to be yet however met all three of them. Andrew will attend an all day every day kindergarten. Being that he will turn 6 years old on September 13 just after school starts I feel very comfortable in sending him to school. He is a ball of energy so I do want to award his teacher for next year already, she'll need to be ready for him!

Well oh my goodness has a lot happened since my last entry...


I have dealt with cancer and conquered! I have registered Andrew for Kindergarten and made it through the winter blues with William. Jay and I enjoyed a beautiful trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and reconnected with one another. It was a week of sunshine, relaxation and fun!!!

My most recent favorite taken at Sear's 2 weeks ago! They are the best buddies ever!

What a roller coast of a summer. I was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer in May shortly before mother's day went through radiation therapy for 10 weeks and then had surgery. I am now down to 2 treatments left to be completely done. Where did the summer go? The boys have grown even more. Andrew enjoyed T-ball and is now onto soccer. He is so fun to watch, fast and energetic. William has enjoyed many things this summer as well. He turned 3 learned that he has control to bat his eyes and get his way but in my book the potty training thing was the biggest accomplishment! We went to Door County WI for a week camping and honestly I thought we would get out camping more than the one time but with all the cancer treatments and doctor appointments when would we have fit it in.

Memorial Day weekend has come and gone and the boys are growning and getting bigger by the day. Thanks again for all the support.

I should probably fill you in… I have Cervical Cancer and was diagnosed nearly 3 weeks ago. It has been a world wind of a couple of weeks and I just started Radiation treatment this morning. I’m not sure how long I will be here at work as I am just so tired. The radiation does not make you too sick however it makes you feel like you’ve just run a marathon and all you’ve done is walk from your desk to the bathroom.
The prayers and support are appreciated.
Thanks and I’ll keep you posted. Laura

I have not included a picture of the kids lately so I figure that I better! Our neighbors behind us built their own snow machine and invited the kids out to test it out! Andrew was more excited about it than William. William seemed a bit nervous but was comforted to know that he didn't have to try it again. Gott-a love WINTER!

I became tied down and married so young to Jay that there are many times that I look at my life and wonder what if… I wonder what if I would have dating a bit first, what if I would have finished college all at the same time instead of starting and stopping, starting and stopping then finally graduating just over a year ago with nothing to show for it with not longer being able to pursue a teaching job. The one regret in life that I do have is not continuing the friendships that I have made along the way. I seem to forget about the meaning behind keeping in touch and let’s do lunch.
Jay doesn’t have more than me in life and doesn’t go out at all so therefore I leave the house feeling guilty that I am working on and continuing a social life when he has never even tried for one. We wants to golf in the summer but then complains that it’s only family that he looks to go with, he wants to be on a bowling league then complains that it costs too much money to commit to each week.
It’s a never ending battle that I wish I could fix but I am who I am and I love the person that I want to become it’s just getting there that is hard work.
Do I like being married? …for the most part, I do. Do I want more out of life? …who doesn’t?!
After 9 almost 10 years of marriage I look at the accomplishments: entered into for the right reasons – love, companionship and consistent commitment. Everyone in my family especially my sisters said it would never last and I would be the one getting a divorce and remarrying someone new, however I was out to prove them wrong and I have; so now what?
I have 2 wonderful and amazing boys… they bring a whole new meaning to the word love and commitment. It’s those boys that I long for a happier life for, it’s my boys that I want to grow up understanding why I am who I am and why I’m trying so hard to be someone better that they can be proud of. Interpersonal strength is what drives me and the love that I have for my boys. Is only the beginning of a long chapter of reasoning’s, excuses and goal setting that I tried so hard to achieve!!
So to answer your question: have I accomplished what I am looking for, longing for. I guess so however am I happy within all 3?
I’ll leave you to understand the result!

WOW - I bet you all thought that I had fallen off the face of the planet! Well after a busy few weeks with the Christmas Holiday and New Years I am finding myself trying to continue to get back on track. Christmas was a great time. We again stayed at mom and dad's (aka Grandma Mel and Grandpa Mark's) house. The entire family was there and enjoyed a surprise visit from Santa Clause! He stopped by after blowing a 'shoe.' For more information you'll have to see the video to understand. Several copies are floating around the family so be sure to check it out! William's favorite gift was a Fire Truck that is 4 feet long and has a mechanical ladder that is controlled by a couple of different controllers on the side of the truck.
Andrew asked Santa for the bouncy ball with handles (aka a hipity hop ball) and a Grinch doll. He got both and was thrilled. It was a lot of fun see the joy on the children's faces. If it would only last!
Andrew and William started school again last night. We are doing a parent separation class this time that allows us to talk with other parents about "adventures" is how I like to put it where we can discuss ideas and solutions for struggles that we are having with are kids. Jay and I have really liked being involved in teaching the boys social and educational play. The school district seems to really be a great one for the boys future.
Work has been pretty mundane the past few weeks and really hope that it turns around soon. I am really starting to loose my motivation. The company I work for buys computer and communications equipment from companies in efforts to sell equipment to them equipment that we find at or below cost. It's becoming more and more of a challenge as companies today are so set in their ways with the vendors that they are currently working with that it doesn't allow a lot of room for discussion for ME! I'm hoping to write more again soon (seem like I go in spurts)!

Such a great Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Makes missing the stay at home mom life a ton! We had the entire family minus Paula, Craig and Emma over on Thanksgiving day. However did get to see the Bursch's as they used our home as a stopping ground for a resting spot on their way to Omaha. It was nice to see them Thanksgiving morning and Paula was there to help me fix the turkey and get it ready to cook. It made the house sell so wonderful all day! Now that is the true meaning and feeling of the holidays. The familiar smells of the feasts. It was a wonderful day of family old and new and new friends that were introduced to our family for the first time. I for the first time got up on Friday (BLACK FRIDAY) and shopped! It was great wonderful deals, long lines and time to myself! I showed Santa some great deals on toys, clothes, things that NOBODY needs! We drew names again this year for Christmas with my side of the family the theme for this year is HOME. So anything for the home. I have my mom and hope that my challenge can be obtained. Jay has my sister Paula and she now lives in a project house in Duluth so it should be fairly easy to find something fun for her.
Yesterday we went out and bought a Christmas tree and decorated it. Andrew was so cute he loved looking through all the ornaments and find the ones with his name on it and the ones that weren't his he would ask... Well can that one be mine now? It was a lot of fun! William didn't have as much interest helping with the tree, however we discovered that he knows how to put a new DVD into the player and watch a different movie every 10 minutes or so. Smarty pants at 2 he is! Looking forward to Friday, my parents are taking the boys for the evening so that Saturday morning they can go and have breakfast with Santa. They will have a great time. Sunday we are going to attempt #2 in getting the kids pictures taken. It should be interesting as the first time William would not sit in a posed picture at all. Hope you are all doing well.
Happy Holiday's!