NOW THAT'S A HOUSE!

Avery & Ella: "Daddy, will you help us build a house with these cardboard boxes?"

Many hours later . . .


I would call this a mansion!

Inside the door there is a popsicle stick deadbolt (it really works to lock the door!)

The windows open ...

...and close from the inside.

There is a special latching system on the roof ...

... that holds the windows open.

Two happy kids :)

And one great engineer. I mean Dad.

GREAT WOLF LODGE 2009

About 3 years ago we had our first visit to Great Wolf Lodge (different location that time) and we were very excited to plan a return visit for the end of winter break. When I posted our February calendar on the refrigerator early this month, the 22nd-23rd simply said "Surprise Trip". Avery and Ella have been guessing, pleading, and otherwise trying to get the surprise out of us all month! We were all very discouraged last week, with Avery's extended stomach bug, and prayed hard that God might make her well in time for our trip. He was so good to do just that!

One of the things that we really enjoyed the first time is the elaborate themed lobby. There is a huge tree as the centerpiece, with smaller friendly (and talking) trees and animals all around. It feels like you are in the middle of a big lodge in the forest.

Avery was definitely not her energetic self, but she did a great job of letting us know when she needed a break. For sure her favorite place was the regular pool, a place where she could just float around (preferably with Mom or Dad). There were cool water animals floating in the pool and she loved climbing on the giant water snake and falling off.

Ella really enjoyed the "medium" (that is not-too-big) water slides and the lazy river. We discovered on Day 2 that we could move around the lazy river without tubes, letting the current carry us.

We had a very spacious room -- two big beds, a mini kitchen and living room. Lots of room to spread out and relax. We brought all of our food and enjoyed snacking and relaxing in between trips to the water park.

I found Ella giving Eric a shoulder massage after our first afternoon in the water park. She let me know that she does this for Daddy "all the time."

In these hard economic times, and with the uncertainty of Eric's job, we were so thankful to find a GREAT deal -- more than half off the regular prices! We thanked God tonight that He provides us with so many good extras, in addition to everything we need.

To see the full album from our fun trip, visit our Great Wolf Lodge Picture Gallery.

ELLA ENCOURAGER

Well, Ella is not "enchanted" like that fun movie that we like so much. But she is definitely an encourager. Yesterday, as I spent my birthday caring for Avery, Ella was very concerned that it might not be turning into such a great day for me. She asked if she could call Eric at work and I heard her asking him what he had planned for me when he got home. She wanted to make sure I had presents and something special to look forward to. Shortly after that, she headed down to the "crafties area" to work on a couple of projects.

I received a birthday crown with the title "40 is a Blessing" and a "Map Card". The Map Card is an Ella-original -- a card that gives instructions on each page about where to turn next to see the message/picture (e.g. "pick up flap", "turn card after reading"). A Map Card gives directions -- just like a map! When I thanked Ella for making me feel so special, her response was, "It's your birthday. You deserve it!"

Last night, just before bed, I checked our voice mail. There was a message from my mother-in-law, Susan. Susan volunteers at a nursing home and she took Ella there with her yesterday morning. Eric's grandpa is a resident there and this is what Susan had called to tell me:

"Ella spent so much time with Grandpa while we were there. She worked hard to help him make the craft (a yarn snowman) and he got such a kick out of her. I heard him laugh out loud for the first time in 6 months because of her."

The name Ella means "bright light". And her middle name is Grace. I thank God every day for my Ella Encourager! She is surely a bright light and full of grace in our family and to those around her.

9 TIMES (and counting...)

My poor little Avery has been throwing up since Tuesday night. Fever. Bad headache. Weak from not eating. The whole deal. I feel so sorry for her. She has been keeping track of how many times she has thrown up. This morning she said, "That was 9 times. I've never thrown up 9 times before." Ohhh... neither have I :(

DROPPING IN

We love our good friends, James & Kristin, and their three beautiful children! It is a treat to live around the corner from them because they are so good about just "dropping in". I remember being in Jordan and how much we enjoyed the casual custom of dropping in on friends. That doesn't happen very often in the U.S. and we are so glad that this is the custom between our two families.

Yesterday afternoon the doorbell rang unexpectedly, leading to a wonderful visit with our friends. We had the delight to see Ellie stand on her own for the first time -- yay!

Kate & Avery have always been good friends -- lots in common as the oldest child! Neither one of them is a "little girl" anymore (at least in their own minds!) :)

I love this shot of Joshua wearing Eric's slippers :)

Of course Mr. James is the center of play for the kids. Avery and Ella LOVE it when he comes over! Yesterday he was "the Boat", carrying all of the kids through the lava pit. What fun!!

As a task-oriented, agenda-driven personality, I could use a little more "dropping in" in my life. Hmmm ... who could I drop in on this week?

THOUGHTS ON LOVE...

Here are some awesome thoughts on love and Valentine's Day from one of my favorite Bible teachers, Beth Moore... "Oh That Bewitching Day"

VALENTINE'S PICNIC

My valentines...

Any excuse for a party is welcome at our house! We started the morning with special Valentine's donuts and little presents & cards all around. I actually received my present (a Cheesy Eddie's heart-shaped cheesecake) on Wednesday because it was delivered early and Eric was afraid it wouldn't be good by Saturday :) We contemplated grilling a steak for dinner, but my husband doesn't enjoy standing outside in weather under 65 degrees, so we decided upon an indoor picnic instead. The yummy food included brie & baguette, a meat platter (salami & pepperoni), grapes and shrimp. Sparkling flavored water to drink.

I'm thankful for my family, the people I love most and who love me back!

DAD'S QUALIFICATIONS

GM announced today that 10,000 employees will be layed off by April. While this is a slim possibility for Eric, the for-sure impact on his job is a significant pay-cut, effective May 1. Tonight we discussed all of this at dinner, using it as an opportunity to remind the girls that God is in charge and we don't have anything to worry about.

I loved their response :) They decided to write a list for President Obama. A list that tells the good things about their dad, and why Obama should hire him if he needs a job. Here is the list of Dad's Qualifications, by Avery & Ella:

Page two includes these qualifications

• fact knower
• computer expert
• pancake maker (and good!)
• good napper
• very helthy
• eats helthy foods
• safe driver
• good exerzizer
• good with budgets (I helped them with this one)
• knows how to do income tax
• loves Jesus
• good at teaching
• good at math
• chocolate lover
• loves apple fritter doughnuts

Who wouldn't want to hire this amazing man?!?

FITTING FUN

It is so cool to watch the girls' personalities develop and shape the way that they play. Avery often prefers to play alone and will either write, act, read or play something with her dolls. Today she was having a tea party with her dolls and teaching them manners.

In contrast, Ella would always prefer to play with someone (first choice being Avery!) and is VERY disappointed to play on her own. By herself or with a playmate, however, Ella's favorite activity is to build a fort in the family room and either read, jump, climb, or various other adventures inside the fort walls. Today (after Avery made it clear that she was playing alone), Ella decided to get her LeapPad and play inside her fort.

As I write this, Avery & Ella have wrapped up their individual activities and are playing ballet lessons together. Best friends once again. :)

SALE!

I love reading books that grow me as a wife & mom, woman, and follower of Christ. And I love good sales! So the sale at http://www.sovereigngracestore.com/ is too good to overlook! $7 books ... and these are life-changing books! A few of my favorites that I've already read include:

• Shopping for Time (this is a re-read!)
• Feminine Appeal
• Humility: True Greatness
• Living the Cross Centered Life (another re-read)

My order included these titles :

• When Sinners Say "I Do": Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage
• Girl Talk: Mother-Daughter Conversations on Biblical Womanhood
• Love that Lasts: When Marriage Meets Grace

I also highly recommend their worship CDs (on sale for $6).

Thanks, Susanna, for the tip :) Check it out!

A COMFORTING PLACE

This school year, we have begun a great routine of devotions at breakfast time. We are using Keys for Kids, as recommended by my good friend, Kim. Yesterday our devotion was called "No Fakes" and the theme was that Jesus is our only true "passport" to Heaven. When we finished reading, Ella said to me, "Mom, isn't it nice to know that we'll go to a comforting place? Heaven."

It is nice to know. And very comforting. Isn't it?

If you are interested in getting a FREE monthly subscription to Keys for Kids magazine or their daily email, click here.

HOT AND COLD

This post is dedicated to Mom & Dad, Dad & Sharon, Trav & Anna, Terri, and all of our other friends and family who aren't experiencing ANY snow this winter!

HOT (lemonade stand)

COLD (giant snow pile)

HOT (picnic on the patio)

COLD (18 inches of snow on the patio)

HOT (climbing on the playset)

COLD (bobsled down the playset)

As I write this, we are enjoying a balmy, almost-40-degree day and the snow is melting! Soon it will be HOT again :)

JIFFY POP

I realized this week that my kids have no idea that popcorn can be prepared any other way than in a microwave bag. Not that this is a major life lesson, but I have fond memories of my dad putting oil in the frying pan, shaking the kernals over the heat, melting the butter and adding the salt... it tasted so good! Later we got an air popper -- easier but definitely not as yummy.

However, I am not much of a "make it from scratch" kind of girl. I really enjoy the time savings and convenience of the microwave popcorn. So I decided to use the easy way to demonstrate stove-top popcorn -- Jiffy Pop!

Avery & Ella were so excited as the foil began to expand over the heat, especially when the loud popping started. And the finished result? According to them, "the best popcorn ever!" Maybe next time we'll try the frying pan :)

P.S. We made the popcorn at 10 am so that we could finish movie #5 in the "Love Comes Softly" series (based on the books by Janette Oakes). Kind of "touchy-feely" for Eric, but the girls and I LOVE them!

THE 10 MOST REDEEMING FILMS OF 2008

Today I found a very cool take on movie awards. ChristianityTodayMovies.com announced its picks for the 10 Most Redeeming Films of 2008, highlighting the best movies of the year with meaningful stories of redemption. Eric and I are always looking for a good movie to rent, but find it hard to sort out the good from the bad.

I was excited to see that my latest favorite movie, Slumdog Millionaire, made the list. This movie is hard to watch (graphic scenes of violence and extreme poverty), but so thought-provoking and challenging. In addition, you'll see some great kid/family movies on the list that are entertaining for everyone (we all loved Wall-E!).

If you live in our area, I highly recommend the online library system. If you don't want to travel to a specific branch to pick up the DVD, you can reserve it and have it delievered to the branch of your choice for just $.50! Or Redbox has many of these flicks for just $1.00. Happy watching!

A LAMP TO MY FEET

I was inspired by my friend, Susanna, who has taken the Beth Moore challenge to commit to memorize (or seriously meditate on) 2 Scriptures a month in 2009. Scripture memory is a discipline that I have pursued, off and on, for many years and I am excited to renew this activity in a commited way this year.

The Bible records many great reasons to memorize Scripture. A few of those reasons that I've found helpful in my life include:

• To help me avoid sin: "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you" (Psalm 119:11)
• To guide me in day-to-day life: "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path" (Psalm 119:105)
• To fight spiritual battles: "Take ... the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Ephesians 6:17)
• So that I can recognize truth from lies: "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth." John 17:17

The verse I'm working on this week is Proverbs 4:25-27:

"Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil."

Anyone want to join me?

THE ARISTOCATS RETURN

One of the highlights of summer 2008 for Avery & Ella was a week-long camp at Stages Youth Theatre. Both girls performed in "The Aristocats" musical and it was a great learning and fun experience. Today they had the exciting opportunity to present a portion of the show at the museum of play (Kids Performing for Kids program). We even got to enter through the performer's entrance -- how exciting!

Avery & Ella loved re-connecting with their summer friends (below is Avery (Berlioz) and Alizabeth (Duchess).

Avery performed in her original role as Berlioz, an Aristocats kitten. Last summer, Ella was cast in the Alleycat ensemble but for today's performance she was re-cast as Jazzy Cat the Alleycat.

We are excitedly looking forward to the 2009 summer performance of "101 Dalmatians"

A CUP OF CHAI

Ella: "This is the BEST day ever!"

Maria: "Why is this the best day ever?"

Ella: Because I got to have a cup of chai with Dad. And he put SUGAR in it! Plus I got new sneakers."

Ahh, simple pleasures.

NEW AND OLD

"Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold" (Brownie Friend Song) These past few months have been a wonderful time of making new friends. And also a special time to spend with old friends. Here are a few shots of Avery and Ella with their new and old friends...

One of our prayers for Avery, as she started public school this fall, was that she would make some close friendships. Rachel has been a sweet, welcoming friend to Avery and they truly love spending time together. Last week they were in the school talent show, performing a skit called "The Frog Princess". They are both such serious girls -- not!

As a bonus, we have enjoyed developing a friendship with Rachel's family. Rachel's sister, Anna, & Ella are good pals as well.

Right after Christmas, we enjoyed a morning with our dear friends, Dan, Susanna, Calvin, Abigail & Easton. The kids jumped right back into their regular games :) It was as if no time had passed since we were last together.

In recent weeks we've had a blast getting to know a new famly that has moved to Rochester and joined the staff at our church. Our six girls (combined) have so much fun together and Eric and I are enjoying this new friendship too!

Last night our two families had a fun night at the museum of play --good times!

We are so glad for the new and old friends that God continues to bring into our lives!