Obligatory First-Time Using Post!

    My name is Spencer Ellison.  I was born in the summer of 1990 in the USA.  My family consisted of head-strong yet lovable parents who had 6 children, of whom I was the youngest.  We were a tight-knit, religious family which, along with my shy, introverted demeanor, resulted in my having a stronger sense of co-dependency with my siblings than most in my position.  I was rarely alone, physically but felt constantly alone mentally and socially growing up.  I was closest in age with my older brother, Daniel.  We would play then fight then play and fight some more.  I hated how he was always stronger, faster and older than me.  I resented being a kid from the moment I was aware that I was a kid.  I had no control over anything, including me being the younger, weaker one when it came to competitions with Daniel.   I would fight and wrestle with all I had, compete at sports with all I had, and still not beat him!  I remember throwing rocks at him as hard I could, once breaking an old car window.  I would run around, swearing at him to beat him up, and he would do the same to me, usually without the swearing though.  I remember running for my life when he was angry and I literally thought he would kill me if he caught me.  The pain was bad when he finally would catch up which would just make me more angry and we would fight and fight.  From a young age, this instilled in me a mentality of competition which I haven't been able to shake, till this day, which brings me to now.  Its February 2023 and I am 32 years old with 2 kids of my own and married to a sweet girl, the former Haley Renee Macdonald now 24 years old.  I am in a competition with myself now, instead of Daniel; and I will not lose.  

    The idea of starting a blog has been in my mind via different fragments of ideas over the years. First, I purchased baby books for my two beautiful daughters to try and capture memories of the heart-warming and noteworthy moments in their lives.  Next, I compiled photos and videos so we could all have means of remembering, with detail, what happened.  A few months ago a conversation with another brother of mine sparked an interest in me to create something even better, more easily accessible and long-lasting to record a history of me and my family.  This blog is that attempt.  My intent is for this record to be passed down from generation to generation so that my descendants can have a first-person account of their family, both the joyous moments and the miserable ones.   I hope the experiences shared here, both noteworthy and seemingly insignificant, will serve as a reminder that all aspects of life, the good, the bad, the happy and sad, make it complete and worth living.  Do not fear failure; embrace it, for it is how we learn.  If you can just stand up one more time than life knocks you down, you will be the winner in the end.