July 4th

One of our favorite summer traditions is the Irondequoit July 4th celebration. It was H-O-T this year and lots of fun! On Saturday we went to the celebration -- vendors, music, games, fried dough and ice cream!

Here we are waiting for the parade to start.
We had a great time hanging out with family and friends! This is Avery and her cousin, Bailey.

Here is Ella with her two pals, Anya and Emma.

Later that night we went to the fireworks with more family and friends. I brought glow sticks and bracelets for the kids, which was a great hit (and made them easier to see!)

Thank you, God, for giving us the privilege to live in the USA where we enjoy freedom and many blessings!

Spring into Summer

Sometimes there is just too much good stuff to do in too little time. So I made a purposeful decision to enjoy the activities and events of Spring, but not to take the time to record them on our blog. So with summer upon us, I thought it would be good to post some highlights from the past couple of months

Avery & Ella performed beautifully in their Spring recital. Avery has completed 3 years of piano lessons and her first year of violin. Here she is with her teacher (and my good friend) Mrs. Bertram. Avery will continue piano lessons with Mrs. Bertram next year, as well as violin lessons and orchestra at school.

Ella completed her first year of piano lessons and loves it! On the few occasions where a lesson was cancelled, she was so disappointed! Here is Ella with her teacher (and Awana leader), Mrs. Peden.The highlight of our Spring was the celebration of a decade of parenting (aka Avery's 10th birthday). To celebrate this milestone, Avery & Maria went to the American Girl Place in New York City. We traveled with my sister, Lori, and her daughter, Amanda, who also turned 10 this Spring. Here we are at Rockefeller Center.The American Girl Place was all that we thought it would be and more! Both Avery and Amanda had a ball. We have lots more pictures in our album at Kodak Gallery. It always seems like Spring when it's time for the Lilac Festival!
And we can't go to Highland Park without visiting our favorite spot -- "triple tree"!

To celebrate Avery's actual birthday on April 30, we had a spa day after school...

...followed by a taco dinner at home, with Grandma as our guest.

Eric's masterpiece cake this year was a sleeping bag.

Of course there was a sleepover too! Here is Avery with her good pals, Emalee, Gaby, Kaleigh, Ella and Maria.Another milestone event this spring was my parents' 50th anniversary. Here is a picture of Dad & Mom on their wedding day, May 7, 1960.

And a picture of them in May 2010 at their golden anniversary party.

We are looking forward to more anniversary celebrating next week in the Outer Banks!

Avery in Video

Avery's acting experience has progressed from the big stage to the camera. Check out this video that she helped produce for our upcoming Family Pack production at Northridge Church!

Ollie!

Meet our new dog, Ollie! The above picture was taken the day we got Ollie (March 13) and, although he was adorable, he was in great need of a bath and grooming!

Since then, Ollie has had a haircut...

...and a bath!

Ollie used to belong to one of our good friend's neighbors. He is a bichon frise, a non-allergenic type of dog that is also known to be smart and friendly. So far I have had no allergy problems and he is fitting right in to our family!

Ella and Avery LOVE Ollie! They have been very responsible, taking charge of his walks, feedings, brushing and play time.

We are working on Ollie's training, especially when it comes to jumping on visitors. He is a friendly little guy and he will love to meet you the next time you come to see us!

Glorious Day

Today was a glorious day in Rochester -- almost 90 degrees & sunny -- a day to enjoy the outdoors and look forward to summer!

When it's this warm, you have to have ice cream!

Even Ollie enjoyed playing outside today! (In case you haven't heard about Ollie, more news is coming soon!)

Thank you, God, for this glorious "summer" day so early in the spring! We look forward to celebrating Easter Sunday tomorrow!

Holy Week!

NOTE: This is an exact copy of a post that I wrote for the HighPoint blog It is a topic that I am passionate about, so I am posting it here too!

Holy week begins with Palm Sunday, the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a young donkey colt. The people lined the way, waving palm branches and crying, Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

So begins the devotion and activity that our family will engage in this coming Sunday. We have purposely set aside time each day next week to talk about, read about, and even do some family activities that symbolize Jesus' last week before He died, was buried and rose again.Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

On Palm Sunday (March 28 this year) our family will read about Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21, Mark 11, John 12). We will decorate our table with palm branches (made from green construction paper) and talk about Jesus' demonstration of humility and the greatness of Who He is. In years past, we've made a "praise tree" (Every family member writes a praise about God on a green paper "leaf". Add the leaves to a tree drawn on poster board or a stick you find in your yard). When our girls were younger, we would make a Holy Week poster (drawing pictures that represented the bible story we read each day of Holy Week). Last year we made soft pretzels on Monday (to remind us of arms that are folded in prayer) and had a simple Passover meal on Holy Thursday. On Saturday, we will make Resurrection Rolls - a tasty and easy treat that (again) points my kids to Jesus' death, burial and resurrection.

During the week before Easter, our family plan is simple: 1) Read what the Bible says about the week before Jesus died. What did He do? Why was it important? and 2) Participate in fun family activities that reinforce the significance of the events that led to Jesus' death & resurrection. Christianity Today online has some great resources for simple Holy Week family activities. More simple ideas can be found in the article, Countdown to Easter: Forty ways to celebrate the greatest event in history

Moms & Dads, don't neglect your own personal reflections and Bible reading this week. I highly recommend the book Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter, compiled by Nancy Guthrie. This collection of readings, drawn from the writings and sermons of 25 classic and contemporary theologians and Bible teachers, focuses on the wonder of Christ's sacrifice.

Our family will be contemplating the cross this week, won't you join us? Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

P.S. If you've always wondered about the meaning of the word Hosanna read this short explanation by John Piper

12 Years

To celebrate our 12th anniversary, Eric and enjoyed an overnight stay at the Belhurst Castle in Geneva.

This was the lounge area on the 2nd floor of the castle, near our room.

We had the "lover's package" which included a wine tasting, certificate to the gift shop, a wonderfully delicious 4-course dinner at Edgar's restaurant and breakfast this morning.

It was fun to explore the property. It is hard to imagine that this castle was a private residence at one time!

We wouldn't recommend the Butler's Suite if you are visiting, but we've heard the other rooms are great. (Don't worry, the staff made it right at check-out!)

The one thing we didn't get was a picture of us together -- aagh! Maybe the girls will take one of us tomorrow -- the first day of our 13th year of marriage :)

Ella Grace is 8!

Today our precious "baby" turned 8 years old.

Ella Grace was born on March 11, 2002 at 11:35 am

She was 6 lbs, 4 oz and 18 inches long.

Today we celebrated Ella's 8th birthday!

Grandma came over to celebrate her special day. Ella requested waffles and fruit for dinner. Everyone except Ella enjoyed her birthday dessert (brownie sundaes) -- Ella was too full!

She was VERY excited to open her presents!

Here she is trying out her new DS. Even big sister Avery doesn't have a DS!

Thank you, Grandpa & Grandma T. for my new game!

We praise God today for the gift of our precious daughter. Her unique personality keeps us laughing and amazed. We rejoice today that we have the privilege to be her parents! She is "fearfully and wonderfully made" and we are thankful!

To-Do

I wish my to-do list were as simple and sweet as Ella's:

HighPoint Honor Videos

Our family loves to serve, attend, and be involved in HighPoint, the Northridge kids' program on Sunday mornings. Our monthly curriculum centers around a Bible verse and virtue. In February, the virtue was Honor and the corresponding verse was Romans 12:10. To help kids remember the verse and virtue, and to make it fun, we decided to videotape kids reciting the verse and virtue and make it into a weekly video component of HighPoint. I have had fun learning to use iMovie on the Mac to create these little movies. This month we did a comic book theme for the movies. I'm working on a film theme for March.

Both Avery and Ella got to "star" in one of the videos in February. Check them out below!

Week One: Ryan and Avery

Week Four: Ella and Will

Lately...

Lately we've had a lot of snow...

Meghan & Ella

Avery, Gaby, Anaja & Amaris

Lately, we've been enjoying time with good friends. I celebrated my birthday by going out to dinner with my best friend, Eric :) as well as our good friends, Kim & Gary. Avery had an overnight with her good friend, Gaby, and Ella had two playdates this week with friends from her new school.

Avery & Gaby doing devotions in bed

The dogs had their own devotions to do, as well as a pizza party!

Lately, we've been serving at church, as we excitedly prepared for the opening of our new church worship center and stage for HighPoint.

Eric has spent many hours at church in the last few months!

Even the girls are serving! Making CD's for the Virtues worship team and assembling Family Fuel Packs

Lately the girls are settling into their new schools and enjoying new opportunities and friendships.

Ella was selected, with 3 other children from her class, to do a presentation for the district school board.

Lately we have had a lot of sickness around here. Avery had the stomach bug. Ella had scarlet fever. And Avery is in bed, as I write, with a fever and ear ache :(

Ella made the most of her sick time at home, including a project that involved sorting her crayons into color families!

Lately life is good!

Three In One!

Three teeth out in one day!

Tooth 1: As Avery and I were driving in the car this afternoon, she popped a piece of gum in her mouth. The "hard" gum caused her tooth to get very wiggly, and she proceeded to pull it out before we reached our destination!

Teeth 2 & 3: Ella's nickname for several weeks has been "snaggle-tooth" because of the two, very loose, teeth sticking straight out from her mouth. She insisted that she would get them out when it was time and didn't want help. Apparently the motivation was knowing that her sister was going to get a visit from the tooth fairy! Both "snaggle-teeth" were pulled by Ella, without assistance!

NOTE: It was Ella's intent to only pull one tooth, but when I told her that the tooth fairy sometimes brings special treats to kids who turn in multiple teeth, she quickly got to work on #2!

Second NOTE: Both Avery and Ella have always known the truth about the tooth fairy. That hasn't stopped them from naming them (Vanessa [Avery] and Juliet Elise [Ella]) and referring to them as though they are real. Ella asked that I recommend something good for the tooth fairy to bring "like Littlest Pet Shop" :)