December update!

Hi! It has been a while since I've updated our blog, but I realized that I sent our blog address out in our Christmas cards and there won't be any new info! The last month has been very crazy. At our co-op, Katherine tested for her green strip belt in taekwondo (not sure how to spell it ever), and all three performed in a Christmas concert. Justin was in Boomwhackers, Katherine is playing clarinet this year, and Karissa sang beautifully in show choir. Justin got to participate in a free hockey program at the Dr. Pepper Star Center. Of course, he loves it, and now we are taking donations for the Ely hockey fund :). The girls got to participate in a dance convention just before Thanksgiving. They learned all kinds of dance styles. I think hip hop is their favorite, followed by ballet. (interesting, I know!) With all that going on, we finally have made our Christmas cookies deliveries, all my shopping is done (mostly on line!!!) and all the food is purchased and waiting for us to enjoy it.
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Eve!

Teeth

Thanks to my Gram, we went to the orthodontist today and had all three kids' appointments. We will have all three in braces of one form or another. Karissa will be getting her full set, plus a head gear. Katherine had her consultation today and we learned that she only needed to lose one more baby tooth. Her doctor informed her that was the "bonus tooth" and there was extra money involved. Wouldn't you know that she came home and within 20 minutes her tooth was out and she was on the phone to Paul to remind him that the "tooth fairy" had better remember her dough. Justin, on the other hand actually got a couple of braces on his top teeth. He has my cross bite problem, so they are trying to correct that while he is young so that he can avoid more extensive work later. They are very confident they can fix it. Our kids have inherited their dad's wonderful teeth and my small jaw structure.

Go McCain!

Okay, I know that the polls are all saying he is behind, but that will not influence my views! We've already voted early. I really wish there was no political polling out there. I think that it undermines the voting process. When I was in line last week the gentleman in front of me stated that he was voting, this time, for his grandchildren. Well, in a sense, I was too! People need to think before they cast that vote. Think about the lasting effects of the policies that could be implemented. Supreme Court Justices. Taxes. Education. Life. Freedoms.

Soccer Tournament

Justin played in the soccer tournament today. They were in second place and made it to the final game today. They played a very good team and were trailing 0-1 at the half. By the end of the game they were tied 1-1 and had to play overtime. They were still tied and won in a "shoot out" where the kids had to kick goals at the goalie and whoever scored the most won the game. Justin was so excited and we are all happy for him. He had great coaches and his teammates were wonderful, too.

Where is it flying to?

Time sure is flying this year! Every time Karissa stands up next to me, I realize that pretty soon she will be looking me in the eye! She is only an inch shorter than I am now! Both of my girls wear larger sized shoes than I do. Justin is in soccer again this year, and next week is already the last week of soccer. His team is currently in 2nd place and next week is the tournament. Where did the time go? It is already time for me to order the next section for history and literature for school!
I need to start stocking up on food for Thanksgiving and buying Christmas presents. Where did the time go? Life here truly does last for such a short time. Watching it go by so quickly challenges me to be a better mom, wife, friend, teacher, and whatever other role I fill.

Glasses

Okay. So, we have set our DVR to record every single "I Love Lucy" episode ever made, and on days when all our school is completed, and we are really needing a break, we watch a "new" episode. It's in black and white, so I figure, the view is a little grainy, so I think nothing of it when Justin really wants to sit close to the t.v. In the middle of hilarious laughter, Justin came back to the couch to sit with me,maybe 10 or 13 feet from the set, to snuggle with mommy, of course! I was no longer able to pay attention when my sweet boy said, "Mom, I don't get it. Is she happy or mad? I can't tell if she is smiling or frowning." Uh oh...Well, he does seem to have a hard time staying focused when he is in a big setting, like soccer, or class, but I thought that was just because he is a seven year old boy. At our first chance, we went to the optometrist, and when the doctor came out, he handed me the prescription and emphatically stated "He will see so much better now!" I had no idea! Now that I know he needs glasses, I can think back and see the signs. We picked up his glasses today at Costco. When he put them on, he looked around and exclaimed, "Woah!" He was so happy to be able to see better! It was so fun to watch him looking around at everything. He is seeing the world in a whole new way!

Rescue the poor thing...

Yes, we did it! The cute stray (whom the kids named "Cookie") was taken to a vet Thursday morning and will be taken to an animal rescue group after she has received proper medical care! I am so glad. I feel like we played a small part in blessing another family with what will be a really sweet, loving pet. I think if she would have gotten along with Ginger, I could have fostered her for up to a month until the rescue organization found her a home. I was telling Paul that would be the way to go. The rescue group pays all the vet bills and helps with expenses, and you just get to help care for the animal until it finds a permanent home. The only thing is, you don't really have time to train it and make it part of the family. There is a very big difference in behavior between Ginger and Cookie. Cookie was so emaciated when we found her, and she was always afraid that Ginger was going to take her food and snapped at Ginger whenever she was within 2 feet of her food. Ginger, although she was a good 20 pounds bigger than Cookie, was afraid of her and started to refuse going outside. So, we had to lock up Cookie in the doghouse (which was treated for fleas and ticks) and then convince Ginger it was safe to go out. Now, I have to say, we only had Cookie for about 4 days, but she was looking so much better. I am very pleased, and the kids really feel good about releasing her to a place where she won't be euthanized.

Dog Days of Summer

Well, here we are in the dog days of summer. Literally! Animal control prefers that we isolate strays in a backyard and then they will come and pick up the poor beast. We noticed a cute little stray about a week ago. Obviously female, undernourished and has had puppies sometime in the past. We called it to get it into our yard to call animal control, but it wouldn't come, so we took it food, only to discover the poor thing was covered in ticks. YUCK! It was not in the best of health. Karissa, our "animals are people, too" child, couldn't take the pressure. We returned to the park to feed it again to bring it closer, and a neighbor was with it. She just happened to belong to an animal rescue group and has 5 dogs of her own. Well, when we told her of our plan she said "Don't call animal control, I can hook her up with an animal rescue organization who will pay her vet bills and find her a family." We were very excited. This dog is doing so much better. We gave her a bath, medicine(provided by someone else) and plenty of food and water. We've also treated much of the yard and dog items with flea and tick spray. So, hopefully she will be on her way out on Thursday. She should make a great pet for the right family. Karissa is a very happy girl.

Money

Have you found yourself doing this lately? My friend Melissa sent this to me, and I thought it captured how we all feel about living expenses lately.

Gram

On Friday at 4:15 eastern time, my Gram passed away in her home. Thank you so much to all of you who have been praying for her and all of us. I am comforted in the knowledge that she is in a much better place now and she is no longer suffering.
Please pray for strength for our family during this time.
Many have asked if we were close, and I would answer by saying that many of my fondest childhood memories include her. We also have communicated regularly since I left home. She only lived about two small blocks away(I could probably walk to her home in under 5 minutes). Sometimes my sister and I would ride bikes and whenever we would turn onto her street, the evil chihuahua would dash out after us, barking and nipping at our ankles. We were so afraid of that little dog! When we arrived at her house, it was always neat and tidy. Gram loved to garden, and she would frequently walk us around the perimeter of her white, two story home to take a tour of the various plants. Of course, we were always thrilled to find a toad or a big, fuzzy bumble bee. She always had toys in her front room (room by the kitchen) and we frequently played tiddly winks in there! Or pick-up sticks. She always invited us in to sit on the davenport (her word for sofa). Her nails were always polished, make-up done, hair in place, jewelry on...
She loved working crossword puzzles. I have to credit her for stimulating my mind and fostering my love for learning beyond school doors. She would often encourage me that I was college material and provided me with countless reading materials and workbooks to do in my spare time. She also took Kristie and I on several little trips around to experience Pennsylvania, Ohio, Niagra Falls, New York City, and countless other places. I am so grateful for her influence on me. I could write for days and days about these memories. I praise God that she was a part of my life!

June

I posted several times in one day so I could label the pictures for you. Following all the pictures, I wrote all about our trip. Happy reading! I will try not to wait 6 weeks to post again!

Family

From top to bottom:
Ely's and Lord's;Mom, Kristie, and me; Dad, Connie and Kids; Gram and Bill with kids

Penn's Cave

Inside the cave, and out on the lake afterwards.

Parker Dam

Here we are at a beaver dam, and also, if you look carefully at the top photo, you can see where these tiny trees were chewed to a point, looking like pencils sticking up from the ground.

Pennsylvania

We have been busy this summer, and now that the girls' dance camp is over , we are finally settling down. For the first two weeks in June, we traveled to Pennsylvania, my home state, to visit family. My Gram is sick with lung cancer and I really wanted to take the time to go and see her. While there, we had a wonderful time. First, now that the kids are older, the car ride was much more pleasant--not so many stops! When we arrived, we stayed at my mom's place in Dubois, and drove to Clearfield almost every day to go see my Gram and Bill, Dad, Connie, Kristie, Brody, April, Josh, and Jed. We also had a wonderful time visiting the Neff's!!!! It was so fun reconnecting. Missy and I talked about how funny it is to see all the parallels in our lives: both home schooling, musicians, kids, and CHRIST! Our kids really hit it off, too! They really should be our next door neighbors!
We also got to hang out at Penn's Cave and see the only cave that you travel through by boat. Our children had never seen anything like it, and it was wondeful to share that experience with them, probably about 30 years after I went with my Gram. We also visited Parker Dam State Park and enjoyed swimming and seeing the beaver dams. We found a couple fairly quickly. I tried to talk them into buying a Smokey the Bear doll, but they weren't interested. I should have bought one for me!
I did visit the Dutch Pantry and buy a shoo-fly pie. It was great! We passed by many Amish communities and saw some Amish people.
The trees are so enormous. They say everything is bigger in Texas, but I say...everything but the TREES!! The part of Pennsylvania I grew up in is called "the wilds" and that is what it feels like over there. It is a giant forest with little towns cut into the woods, usually along a river somewhere. The water is clean, the show of stars at night is phenomenal, and there are all kinds of wildlife everywhere! We saw groundhogs, deer, possums, squirrels, chipmunks(I miss those) and a large variety of birds I missed seeing! We also stuffed ourselves with Lebanon bologna and birch beer(like rootbeer). We got to visit the Old Town Dairy, which has the best ice cream anywhere! I always get the peanut butter. My Great Grandpa Woods owned it when it was called the Keystone Dairy, but he lost it during the Great Depression. The sign still hangs in the store.
I did have some nice visits with Gram, but not nearly enough. She is an amazing woman. Home health nurses were amazed to go see her, and there she sat with her jewelry, make-up, fully dressed, nails painted...she was determined to live her life to the fullest. She is still fighting, but after I've left last month, she has declined rather rapidly. I miss her already. She is too weak to talk to me on the phone. I want to, but I know it will wear her out. But, what a blessing she has been to me all these years. I am glad she is my Gram, and I am glad I got to go and see her.

What we've been doing, part two--Recitals

The girls had their dance recital last Friday and did very well. Katherine played in our first ever piano recital. We had so much fun with that. I was very proud of her and all my students. Phew! Tonight is the cast pary for the dancers. They will not have dance camp until July, so we can really take some time off in June. We will be traveling to Pennsylvania. My grandmother is terminally ill with lung cancer, so pray for her that she is as comfortable as possible, and for us as we travel in our 8 year old vehicle 1300 miles each way. I am glad that we are able to take the time to go, but it will be a bittersweet trip, I am certain.

What we've been doing, part one--CO-OP

At our co-op, Karissa had one of the starring roles in the play "Our Town" as Emily Webb. Paul played her dad! They both did very well. They also had end of the year concerts for band and choir. We had a bit of a glitch during the band concert, but they were brave and it all worked out. Hopefully we will continue to grow!
Katherine and Justin are taking tae kwon do, and successfully tested for their yellow belts by learning their new form and by breaking a board with their elbows. Katherine had to use her weak side because she had a bad scrape, but she made it on the first try!

We're still here...

Our family has been tremendously busy with end of school year activities. I promise to post in the next couple of days, including pictures. We've had tae kwon do belt tests, a play, dance recitals, ice skating parties, a band concert, a music concert, a garage sale, and tonight is a music recital for all my students. My first one to be in charge of...I am so excited for my students! I feel like I've found my area where I am strongest. I absolutely LOVE having my own music studio! Katherine has been amazing and picked up on piano really well. I wish I could post a video of her playing. I am also helping to plan a going away party for a very precious friend which is tomorrow. I am trying to avoid thinking about it. I feel like I am grieving the loss of someone, even though I know we will still keep in touch.
On Sunday I was pleasantly surprised by a visit from my old (not old, but in the past old) college roommate whom I have not seen since I was newly pregnant with Katherine 12 years ago!!!! We all had such a great time. My girls are asking when they are coming back.
Well, I promise to make a post with tons of pictures this week. Until then, pray for a successful week, with calm during all these activities. They are supposed to be fun. NOT stressful.

Expelled

Has anyone heard of the new movie coming out this weekend? Ben Stein made what sounds like a really great documentary that brings the question of intelligent design to the scientific community and he exposes their bias against it! Check out the website: www.Expelledthemovie.com

Tell me what you think!!!

Where My Treasure Is....

On Wednesday, March 26th, I arrived at church and was greeted by a nine year old boy who handed me his electric guitar and asked me if I could tune it. That I did, along with my own (acoustic model) and zipped everything up, returned his guitar to his room, and made a trip out to the van for a reason that escapes me. I got into my "trunk" and when I closed the door and looked at my left ring finger, I was shocked to discover that there was a hole in the place where my diamond should be!!! I've had that diamond for 15 1/2 years and never had a problem with the setting. Granted, it was a teeny tiny diamond, but it was mine, and now it's gone. I told some of my friends who were wandering the halls, but we searched in vain. It is nowhere to be found, and it would be a miracle if it were to ever be found. I joked that it would just look like a little sequin sparkling in the carpet. Well, at this point in our lives due to a variety of difficult circumstances, we just can't afford to replace it, plus it will never be the same one, so now I walk around with a simple gold band and no diamond. I am very disappointed about it, but it got me to thinking where my real treasure is---and it certainly is not in that ring. I have my sweet husband and children, my family, and friends who love me unconditionally. God has been a faithful, loving Father to me and I am so grateful for His patience and mercy. My true treasure is not in the things I own (and I'm so glad....)but in the wonderful relationships I have in my life. Every person God has strategically placed in my life is for my good, and I am so glad! We aren't to "store up for ourselves treasures here on earth" anyway. This situation helped me to stand back and examine if I am being a treasure to those God has placed in my life, and also to be grateful for the treasures He has given me while I am here. I think I often complain too much and don't see my "treasures" through His eyes. How should we treat our treasures? If we had a $10,000 diamond, we wouldn't drag it through the mud, knock it around and mistreat it. We would keep it cleaned and treat it with great care. We would be proud to claim possesion of it. In the same way we must treat our real "treasures" with great care. Lord, help me to see Your precious gifts to me with Your eyes!

Our Family Turned 15 Today!

The Ely Family was officially established 15 years ago today, March 20! I can't believe that it has been 15 years ago when I was walking down that aisle to joyfully bind myself to Mr. Ely for the rest of my life. There we were in dusty Arizona. So much has happened. 3 children, 8 homes, countless amazing friends, 6 cars, 2 dogs, 2 cats, countless fish, 2 hamsters, a rabbit. (poor creatures...) We have been very blessed with an unusually good marriage. The credit goes to God and His immeasurrable grace in our lives. I don't know how people do it without Him, especially when circumstances become difficult. We haven't had the easiest life, and have had our fill of trials, but God has astonished us over and over again to show His faithfulness, sometimes when it looked like we were completely out of hope. So, I just want to praise and thank God for His ever abundant mercy and favor on our little family, and thanks for all the awesome families He strategically placed in our lives to be examples to us, especially early in our marriage-- Our first pastors at Calvary Chapel in Winslow who insisted on premarital counseling and praying together, five bazillion others in Abilene when we were such a young family and people thought we looked like hs/college kids even though we were in our mid twenties(No one says that to us anymore, and now I WANT them to!). Over the years we have been blessed with so many friends who have become like family to us. I just can't believe how quickly time goes by, but one thing I do recognize is this: God has His sovereign hand in our lives, gently weaving in relationships and situations to work all things together for our good, and we can trust Him.

Our Special Guest---Gosh!!!

Almost through it!

Okay, we just had Karissa's massive slumber party last night, so now all three kiddos have had a birthday. It was Karissa's turn for a large party...and I mean large! We had 14 extra girls! 16 total, plus ONE Mr. Dynamite! Here are some highlights from the past.

Karissa's theme was "Secret Celebrity" and we had so much fun. The girls had to come in character. I don't want to post pictures of other people's kids, due to privacy issues, but as you see above, you can see our wild-haired special guest!

Birthday Marathon

Welcome to the season of the year our family affectionately refers to as "Birthday Marathon." This is a season that occurs from just after New Year's until April 23rd. This is the time when birthdays come one right after another, like the contractions of a woman far into labor...and then....boom! Birthday! First we have Justin. He will be 7 this year on Friday which is exactly one month after Christmas. This creates a shopping challenge, but we keep it small. Katherine will soon follow as she will be 11 on February 5th. Karissa will finally be a teenager on March 12th. She really gets a party this year, and has been talking about it since her birthday last year. Sandwiched in there is our wedding anniversary. Fifteen years on March 20. I can't believe it, but an unnamed number of pounds, backaches, and dark circles under the eyes don't lie. (no grey hair yet, praise the Lord)We end this season on April 23rd with Paul's birthday. He doesn't want me to reveal his age, but there is still a 3 in the ten's place for 2 more years. I am quite relieved that my birthday is in July. It gives everyone time to plan the sweet ways they will thank me for all the planning and baking I've just done for 6 months straight. (since we can tack Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's onto this just to make me look more angelic.) Of course, I think it is no accident that God planted Mother's Day just a couple of weeks after the last day of the marathon! ;-)