{ Insert quirky title here }

whew... I am exhausted...

We have been sick for almost a week now. First the baby, then M, then W, with mommy and daddy quickly following. By Tuesday we were all sick. (Except for M, He had the same symptoms but he seemed to be feeling fine and into his usual mischief.)

 I will not go into all the details... you do not need to know how gross it was... I will say on Tuesday I did not know how we were going to survive the day, and I thought by the end of the day they would have to condemn the house and we would need to start over from scratch and that felt a lot better than cleaning everything.

The worst is over, but my house and bathroom have seen better days.

Here are somethings that I have been very grateful for this week:

1) Family. Joshua. My grandparents. Everyone that was at my grandmas house on sunday who watched the boys so I could nap. My sister for coming over tomorrow... my poor mama who got it from us. :(

2) Disposable wipes, and diapers. I had to throw one cloth diaper away.... talk about sick to your stomach! it was like $20!

3) Tax season. I am so thankful for this season and being able to get some debt paid off.

4) Mama bloggers. I found some very encouraging blogs from moms that have or had three kids under the age of three. The best advice is from people who have been through almost the same thing... not from strangers at the grocery store.

5) Grace. So thankful for the grace for this week that is defiantly not going as I thought it would, grace for each other while we don't feel good, And for my good friend Grace for calling me in the middle of it at just the perfect time to chat and to give me a GREAT cleaning recipe! :)

I think all of my guys are asleep so I'm going to try to catch up on some too.
Good Night! :)

{My Silly Boys}

I know two silly little boys! 

Train Track Battles. 

Friday we were SO busy! We played outside, did puzzles, helped mommy with chores, played with trains, painted, got in trouble and had to hug it out, then crashed on the couch! 

{Choo-Choo}

Obsessed! :)

{January}

Burrr....
I love winter...
but.... Burrrr.....
We just had one really nice teaser day last week and now I'm ready for spring!
I'm ready for the Farmers Market, planting our garden, getting the boys outside, Faelan's first birthday... the list goes on.

Look at those little happy faces! Outside playing! 

~Spring 2011~

Although you can't beat fun days at the cider mill, after Christmas winter just gets boring! 

We are breaking ground (aka cleaning out the basement) for our new play area. We just need somewhere to do to just get away from the living room for awhile. So hopefully, there will be pictures to come soon! It is not easy to get projects done with three little people! ha! We have had the "clean the carpets" project on the list since before Faelan was born and have missed many deadlines. (before he crawls, before winter...ect) I am hoping this one doesn't take us as long! 

We have already had a super fun trip to the zoo on one of the less cold days! I really need to get my camera so I can take pictures! 

Well I'm off to help with the train and the zoo we have going on here, we are having some new friends over to play today and are very excited! 

{2012- A Year in Review}

{My Top Ten List of 2012}

1. In April we welcomed little Faelan Seeley Ellsworth to our family! He is the happiest baby I have ever seen and such a blessing to us all!

2. In July our little men turned 2! We had a pirate party planned but just as great plans go (especially right after having a baby) it didn't work out... BUT my Grandparents blessed us with a little water party at her house for the boys and our good friend's (Keren, Anna & Joel). It was so much fun.
I'm looking forward to their third birthday, I have something fun up my sleeve. ;) 

3. I started doing yoga with my sister-in-law Harleigh, I can't even begin to tell you how much this has impacted my life. So Amazing.

4. The KC Zoo. We have spent many but not enough days at the zoo! My Grandparents got us a Zoo membership and we are loving it! The boys now know the names of almost every single animal and ask to go to the zoo every day!

5. We are still living in the same duplex. Which is such a blessing, rent is cheap, there is enough room for our little family. I am so very thankful to be here and not where we came from.

6. In September Joshua had been at his new job for one year. Such a great blessing.

7. In November Joshua starting working the day shift! It isn't his favorite, since now he has to work in the freezer and it gives his shoulder trouble. But it is great for us at home getting to see our #1 man more often! Us being able to eat dinner together every night, as a family is something no one should take for granted.

8. We started shopping at the Farmers Market even more then the year before and I'm hoping to shop there even more then that this year. Also we are planning to have a little container garden in the backyard.

9. We bought a van! It was such a blessing and came at the perfect time. Thank you Cousin Melissa! She asked me if we had found one yet and we really hadn't looked so I got on craigslist and found the perfect van for us. Less then our budget even! I don't know how I lived without a van before! ;)

10. There were several tragedies this past year involving shootings and people losing the ones they love. This is certainly not a top ten favorite from 2012, but when stuff like that happens you begin to understand why is it so important to be awake and intentional with your time and with the ones that you love.

{A little of my heart this week}

I cannot believe we are heading into a new year already! I'm excited for what it will bring and a little nervous. When you have babies you just envision them growing up laughing and playing having a grand ol time going on vacation and learning how to ride a bike.

But...

Our world is a scary place, and we are not guaranteed tomorrow. Oh how true that feels now in the days after such a horrific event.

I don't want to miss out on the good memories being worried about what tomorrow will bring, and I don't want to be so carefree about the future that I am not present in this moment. 

I think that sums up what I feel I need to take into the next year, being awake, not distracted by things that do not matter (facebook, hygene (hehe) ;) , ect).

My dear sister in law said during yoga class, nothing is a challenge everything in manageable. (She says a lot of very inspiring things.) That is my new mama mantra "This is manageable" ... deep breath...

Balance.

December at the KC ZOO

Here are some pictures from our zoo trip!