SAD GOODBYE

Our dear friends moved to New Hampshire this week. Susanna and I have been close friends since they moved to Rochester 6 years ago. Our kids have grown up together and we have shared many special times as families. We went to see them off in their moving truck, early Monday morning. We were sad all day. Dan, Susanna, Calvin, Abigail & Easton -- WE MISS YOU!

AVERY IS 8!

Avery turned 8 years old on April 30. She has been saving some money since Christmas, and we added to it to get her "Julie", the 1970's American Girl doll. She was so excited! Even cuter were the little "dolls" in the box after we removed Julie :)

BRING YOUR DAUGHTER TO WORK DAY

The day finally arrived . . . Avery has been waiting for YEARS to go to work with her dad! The rule is that kids have to be 8 years old. At just a week shy of her 8th birthday, Avery was thrilled to be able to go to work with Dad today. She met two new friends and got to participate in many science experiments that involve things like ethanol, hydrogen and liquid nitrogen. She even got to ride in a fuel cell car! Avery and her dad had lunch at Eric's favorite pizza place, followed by ice cream on the walk back to work. She brought home a "keepsake" folder of all of her day's activities. She is already excitedly looking forward to this day next year. Ella is counting down the days until her turn . . . just two more years :)

BIRTHDAY TREE

One of our favorite things about our home is the special tree in our backyard. When we moved in (December 1999) the tree looked dead and especially un-lovely to a pregnant wife who had just left perpetually green Atlanta. I decided that if it remained that ugly in the spring we would cut it down. Early in April the tree began to bud. At 36 weeks pregnant, I declared that the baby would be born on the day that the tree bloomed. Sure enough, on April 30 we saw our beautiful tree bloom for the first time. That same day, Avery Elizabeth made her way into the world, 5 days early. From that day forward, we have dubbed it "Avery's birthday tree" and we look forward to this time every year!

SPA PARTY

Avery and her friend, Serena, are turning 8 this month! To celebrate their birthdays, we had a spa party on Saturday. Nine little girls enjoyed painting their nails and doing their doll's hair. Avery's big-girl cousins, Sam and Erin came to help do the girls' hair while the grown-ups gave the girls "facials" and pedicures. Avery declared it "the best birthday party ever!"

Serena's mom, Bonnie, made adorable flip-flop cakes! To see more pictures of our memorable spa party, click on the title link above.

SPLASH WEEK

Avery and Ella had a ball with the free swim lessons offered through the YMCA this week. As we expected, Avery was right in the water, swimming like a fish and loving it. Ella, however, had been very hesitant last summer -- often not leaving the side of the pool without Mom or Dad. It was so fun to see how she has grown! She was jumping off the side with no one catching her, "bobbing" underwater and floating on her back with her head in the water. Big strides!

H.O.R.S.E

This week we put up a fun new basketball hoop (thank you, cousins Sammie & Ty!). Today Avery told me, "I didn't know that I loved basketball this much! Of course we had to purchase a PINK basketball!

The rule is that Daddy has to squat while he shoots, just to make it fair. Their favorite game is H.O.R.S.E. (or D.A.D. if it's getting close to dinner or bedtime).

When Ella shoots she not-so-quietly coaches herself to "push" as she sends the ball up in the air. We are loving this warm weather and the promise of summer ahead!

MOMMY-DAUGHTER DATE

Avery and Mom went on a date on Sunday afternoon. It seems that Avery is outgrowing the Strong Museum -- she chose to go there for our date but we could never quite find a good place to settle in and play. Finally she said, "Can we just leave and go get an ice cream?" I don't even feel sad to see her growing up -- she just gets more precious every day!

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.