LIVING INSIDE OUT IN AN UPSIDE DOWN WORLD

Last Friday night Avery and Ella enjoyed a highlight of their school year -- the NBCS school play! This was Ella's debut and she shone brightly as she read scripture and accompanied her class with special readings. Avery performed in the front row of the choir and lit up the stage with her contagious smile and expressive singing.

An excerpt from one of Ella's readings: "Have you ever seen a city on a hill? The lights can be seen for miles and miles around. Jesus said we should be the same way for Him. We have the light of the Holy Spirit living right inside of us, and naturally, His light is going to leak out, pour out. In every little space of every little minute of your life you can be a humble servant so that Jesus can shine through."

MEET SLIMEY, SLIMER & EARTHY!

Slimer, Slimey & Earthy are worms, dug fresh from the backyard. Avery & Anaja did most of the digging, as you can see from their hands! The worms all have a common last name: Connor-Martinez, in honor of the little girls who found them. Tonight the worms are sleeping comfortably in a old Cool-Whip container with lots of dirt and leaves (outside, of course!). I wonder . . . what other creatures will this Spring bring?

CONNOR COUSINS BIRTHDAY

Tyler is 13. Avery will be 8. Ella is 6. J.R. is 4. And Aidan is 2. They are Connor cousins and today we celebrated their birthdays! From nursing babies to grandparents and great-aunts and uncles -- it is always fun to be together. Click on the CONNOR COUSINS BIRTHDAY title to link to more pictures at our Kodak Gallery. Thank you, J. Connors for hosting us today!

MISSING A TOOTH

Ella was thrilled to pull out her first tooth yesterday! Yes, she pulled it out herself, at the dinner table. The tooth fairy came last night and brought her a special tooth box to collect her quarters.

Did you know that tooth fairies have names? In our house, we know that Mom is the tooth fairy, but the fairies still have names. Avery's first fairy was Anastasia. Then she retired. Now Vanessa delivers Avery's quarters. Ella's tooth fairy is Juliet Elise. Oh what fun!

EASTER CELEBRATIONS

My favorite part of our Easter celebration this year was our special family devotions that we did each day during Holy Week. I got many ideas from a great book called "Christ in Easter: A Family Celebration of Holy Week". We made a praise palm branch on Palm Sunday, did a skit on Monday (cleansing the temple) a Last Supper meal on Thursday and much more. We all loved it and it reminded us daily of what we were remembering -- that Jesus died and rose again so that all who believe can have eternal life! That is something to celebrate!!

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day. Eric played "Peter" at HighPoint children's church and the entire production was a wonderful time for kids to rejoice that Jesus is alive! Our adult service was so meaningful too. Following church we enjoyed a special family time with the Connor/Weisensel family at Mom & Gary's house.

To see our Easter photos, click on the title of this post and you will connect to our Kodak Gallery.

"HOW THE KING BECAME WELL"

I was privileged to enjoy a wonderful play in my own home this morning! It was the story of a very sick king (played by Eric), a spoiled and demanding princess (played by Avery) and a maid who transformed into a fairy (played by Ella). The fairy gave the princess five wishes and the princess asked for "magic chocolates" to cure her ill father. She also asked for a book that he could read (magically it was his library book!). Unfortunately the fairy was a little clumsy and she gave the princess a black eye (just pretend). The black eye was so severe that the princess died. The fairy thought we should end the story there, but the princess convinced the fairy to bring her back to life, which she did. Happily ever after! The End.

GOOD FRIDAY

Avery has been planning a Good Friday "party" for weeks. She came home from school on Wednesday crying because the things she had made for the "party" were accidentally thrown away. So on Thursday, after school, she re-created everything and we had a wonderful family "party" this morning to remember Jesus dying on the cross for us. We each had a nametag, that was later used in a game --we were blindfolded and had to put our name on Jesus' cross (the one in the middle). We memorized a Bible verse together -- Matthew 27:46 (NIrV) "He said, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" This means "My God, my God, why have you deserted me?"—(Psalm 22:1)" I have never memorized a verse before that includes Aramaic! We also each took a "quiz". The questions on the "quiz" were:

1) Who is Jesus?

2) Do you love Him?

3) Is He kind?

4) Why did He die?

5) What happened after He died?

We each got to read each other's answers after we took the "quiz". My favorite was Ella's answer to #4 "Why did He die?" She answered very simply, "Becuss He loves us."

Ella asked Eric why it is called GOOD Friday when it is a sad day that Jesus died. Eric explained to her that Jesus' friends probably didn't think it was very good that actual day, but today we can look at Good Friday with joy, knowing that Jesus' death on the cross paid the price for our sins. And we joyfully look forward to celebrating Jesus' resurrection on Easter Sunday! Today is GOOD "becuss He loves us" so much that God sent His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life! Thank you, Jesus!

SAINT PATRICK'S DAY

Per my husband's request, I boiled (for almost 3 hours!) corn beef, then added potatoes and carrots towards the end. I was sure that no one else would eat it . . . To my great surprise, Avery & Ella declared that it was their new favorite meal! Ella also claimed that it is "healthy" -- not so sure about that! I have to admit, it was pretty good :) In honor of Mom T., I added green food coloring to the milk and we had green vanilla pudding for dessert.

Did you know St. Patrick introduced Ireland to Jesus? He's our kind of guy!

ELLA IS SIX! (Click here for party photos)

Our baby turned 6 on March 11. We celebrated her big day with Grandpa & Grandma Weisensel -- chocolate chip pancakes, cookie cake and a season pass to Seabreeze! Ella had a gymnastics party with some of her little girl friends this past Saturday. Click on the "Ella Is Six!" title to link to our Kodak gallery of exciting on-the-move photos of Ella's big day!

MAKING PLAYDOH

Ella and I had a great time making playdoh last week. Thank you, Leah, for this awesome recipe! Here it is to share:

1/2 cup salt
2 1/2 cups flour

2 pkgs. Kool Aid

3 Tbsp. oil

2 cups boiling water

Mix dry ingredients then add oil and water and knead. Add more flour if dough is sticky; add more oil/water if dough is dry.

BIRTHDAY WEEK

As is our tradition, we are celebrating Ella's birthday week! Seven days before her birthday we decorated the house and each day she receives a small gift or fun activity. Her favorite gift so far has been her Littlest Pet Shop magnet set. Avery has been enjoying birthday week too -- it's always a preview of what is to come for her in late April! We thank God for our most precious gifts -- our children!

DUMPED ON!

Within the last 24 hours we've received about 18 inches of snow! Besides all of the shoveling, we love it! It is a sunny day and perfect for outside play. Ella was only out for about a half hour when she wanted to come in because her "legs hurt". I guess it is hard to walk through all that deep snow with little legs!

UNSEASONABLE BUT WELCOME

Today was a record high for March in Rochester -- 65 degrees! We loved being outside without coats or boots (well, we needed rain boots for all of the melting snow!). The girls had a ball playing with neighborhood friends, riding their bikes and scooters, and playing on the playground. Tomorrow we are expecting an ice storm!

GOLD CUP

Avery has been taking piano lessons since September and she had her first recital/competition yesterday. As you can see from the photo, taken right before she played, she was a little nervous :) She did a beautiful job and will learn from this great experience.

A NEW NEPHEW

Chase Michael was born to Darrin & Jill on Monday, February 25. We had the privilege to keep Aidan (2 years) overnight while they went to the hospital. Jill and Chase are healthy and well. Thank you, God, for another precious baby in our family!

Pictures above are Avery & Ella with baby Chase, and Ella and Aidan, playing the piano at our house.

COUSINS CAMP-IN

The Tillis cousins love to be together! Ranging in age from 6-16 (oh my, is Jake driving??) they are special friends. We gathered together in Rochester on Feb. 18-19, minus Lori, who was sick (we missed you!). We celebrated February and March birthdays and the kids made a VERY special birthday book for Maria, signed by everyone in the family (even those who couldn't be here!) It was too rainy to go snow-tubing and too wet to play outside. So they had a "camp-in" in the family room. It was a blast!

For more photos of the Tillis cousin camp-in, see our Kodak Gallery at http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=j3d0owr.1chx45qf&x=0&h=1&y=-qe6ydk

CRUISIN' TO COZUMEL

Eric and I celebrated our 10th anniversary (March 20) a month early with a 4-day cruise to Cozumel, Mexico. We left Rochester (icy weather) on February 6 and spent our first night in Boca Raton, FL with Maria's good friends from Cornell, Tammy & Sumaya and their families. It was so much fun to catch up with them. On Feb. 7 we drove down the coast from Boca to Fort Lauderdale, stopping for some beach time at Deerfield Beach. We boarded our ship -- Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas that afternoon and headed out for a wonderful adventure. Everything on the ship was perfect (that's a big statement coming from a very picky hotelie!) We loved it all! Our favorite activity was taking a catamaran excursion in Cozumel, snorkeling on the reef and relaxing on a beautiful white sand beach. We also enjoyed every activity on the ship -- ice skating, roller blading, mini golf, rock climbing, swimming, hot tubs, shows and more! We enjoyed time with new friends at dinner and made many special memories. We arrived back in Rochester on February 11 (more icy weather) to find a very tired Mom W. and two happy kids. We are so thankful that God provided us with this special trip!

To see more photos, visit our Kodak Gallery at http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=j3d0owr.68oa0viv&x=0&h=1&y=-k149p2

SICK KIDS

What a week! Ella has had a fever since last Wednesday (4 days now!) and Avery is now joining her in sickness. I forgot what it is like to be home with them all day, every day -- definitely fun in some ways but I appreciate the breaks that I usually get even more! Eric and I are scheduled to leave on our cruise in three days and we are praying that they will get well so that Mom W. doesn't have a full week of sick-care. In the photos they are watching a Redbox movie with glassy eyes and small smiles.

KINDERGARTEN STAR

Last week was a special event in Ella's elementary years. It was her turn to be "Kindergarten Star" and the week was full of special memories for her. On Monday, she brought in a poster of her life -- captioned pictures that included her family, grandparents, cousins, special trips, favorite toys and fun events from her life. Each day she brought in a show & tell (Mr. Bear, Webinz, Littlest Pet Shop digital pet). She also was asked to complete a personal information sheet which she shared with her class. Some information she shared included:

• "My favorite thing to eat is noodles & butter"
• "My favorite place to go is my cousins' house"
• My favorite kind of animal is dolphins"
• "When I grow up I want to be a veterinarian"

On Friday, Eric, Avery, Grandma Susan and I went in to share some fun things with her class. Ella asked Eric to do a science experiment (an activity that they love to do together). So Eric and Ella made a "vortex generator" out of a soda bottle and a tupperware lid and demonstrated a vortex by blowing out a candle from a distance. Avery conducted a "melt race" with ice cubes. And we were each asked many questions by Ella's kindergarten friends (e.g. "What is your favorite wild animal?"; "What is your favorite shape?" etc.)

To finish off her week, Ella was allowed to bring home a giant Pooh bear. Pooh came everywhere with us, including HighSchool Musical on Ice and to Syracuse for an overnight with the Spicer cousins.

It was definitely a week to remember for our precious little 5 year old!

YOU'LL ALWAYS BE MY BABY

"You'll Always Be My Baby" is the perfect daddy-daughter song. Last night at bedtime I caught Eric and Ella dancing in the kitchen as Sara Evans crooned on the radio. As you can see by their joyful smiles, she truly is his baby!

BEANBAGS

The most requested Christmas gift this year? Beanbags! So at the last minute, we re-thought the gift list and on Christmas day Avery & Ella were delighted with one pink and one purple beanbag chair. I must admit, Eric and I have enjoyed them many times after the girls have gone to bed! So comfortable for reading and resting, and I love the removable covers!

SPA DAY

While Mom & Dad were attending a wedding, Avery & Ella got to stay with Aunt Coleen, Uncle Jerry, Sammie & Ty. So much fun! Cousin Sam brought out all of her spa supplies. The girls were pampered with manicures, pedicures and fancy hair-do's -- complete with glitter! Cousin Sammie has agreed to attend Avery's spa birthday party and provide the same delightful services!

SPECIAL TIMES WITH OLD FRIENDS

This past weekend was both joyful and sad. We attended the wedding of Maria's close high school friend, Liz. She married the man of her dreams and she looked beautiful! The reception was wonderful -- the funniest toasts ever and an amazing band. It was so fun to catch up with Robin & Andre, Tim & Amanda, Jackie & Chet, Darcie & Denise. We had a ball.

Upon arriving at my sister, Coleen's house,we got the news that Maria's close friend, Christine's, dad had passed away. I spent many days and nights with Christine (aka T.T.) and her family throughout my high school years. It was bittersweet to visit their home and spend time with their family -- Bud was a kind and gentle man and he will be missed.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Whew! My blog is caught up for 2007 and now we are on to 2008! We brought an extra kid home from the Tillis celebration this weekend. Kelli spent New Year's Eve and Day with us and the girls had a ball. In Kelli's words, they played "Littlest Pet Shop [slash] Polly Pockets [slash] Ello" for two days straight! Eric expressed his gratefulness that our family room doesn't always look like that when he gets home from work (picture a tornado of tiny toys). We are still finding 1/4 inch Polly Pocket shoes around . . .

The three girls and Eric built our first snowman of 2008. There wasn't much snow, but it was good packing!

A TILLIS CHRISTMAS

Christmas celebrations were wrapped up this past weekend in Vestal with the Tillis family. Mom & Dad postponed their trip to Florida so that we could all gather together for some family fun. With 9 cousins (ranging in age from 5-15), who are like best friends, it was a wonderful time together. Highlights included karaoke and dance moves on the Wii, someone ran over "Rudolph" in front of Coleen & Jerry's house, and not enough food (yeah, right!). We missed Grandma Hall being with us.

For more photos of the Tillis Christmas 2007, see our "Christmas Photos 2007" link in the left column.

CELEBRATING CHRIST'S BIRTHDAY

Christmas Day is always a special day at our house. Our good friends, the Dundores, came over mid-day to celebrate Jesus' birthday with a party. Avery recited the Christmas story from Luke 2, we sang Christmas carols (accompanied by Maria on the piano), and we enjoyed a special birthday cake in honor of our Savior. My favorite memory of the morning was all of the kids singing "This little light of mine, I'm gonna' let it shine . . . Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine" while they held their glowsticks high.

Thank You, Jesus, for coming to this dark world to save us from our own sin. Thank You, that You were born to die for us, taking the penalty of our sin upon yourself so that we can be pure and righteous in God's eyes. Thank you that it is by Your grace we have been saved -- that we don't have to be "good enough". Thank You that by our faith in Christ alone, You have assured us an eternal home in heaven. Come soon, Lord Jesus!

To view more photos (taken by Susanna) from our Christmas Day celebration see our "Christmas Photos 2007" link in the left column.

A CONNOR-WEISENSEL CHRISTMAS

The Connor/Weisensel Christmas was a fun and multi-event celebration. On Christmas eve we all gathered at Mom & Gary's house, as traditional, to exchange gifts, play games and enjoy family time. After several rounds of "Apples to Apples" and too many cookies, the cousins exchanged gifts and received fun gifts and stockings from Grandpa & Grandma. The only sad note to the evening was the absence of (Great) Grandpa White, Jeanine and J.R. We missed their presence greatly!

On the 26th, the Connor boys and families joined together with Aunt Sheila and Uncle Emmet for more food and gifts. Again, we missed Jeanine, but this time it was Bailey who was under the weather.

To see a slideshow of photos from this first round of Christmas cheer, see our "Christmas Photos 2007" link in the left column.