tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58961534929048038852024-03-05T10:53:55.572-08:00Happy at HomeTitus 2:3-5Ellingson Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397607517943717973noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896153492904803885.post-49932919079450051522012-07-05T14:32:00.002-07:002012-07-05T14:32:58.452-07:00Our Staycation Thoughts, Benefits & TipsOverall the Staycation was the perfect way for us to take a break from normal life, spend quality time as a family and do some new things...so yes, we would recommend it!<br />
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<b>Benefits of a Staycation:</b></div>
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<b>Cheaper</b>: It is less expensive overall then most vacations that involve traveling! You <i>at least</i> eliminate the cost of gas or plane tickets, hotel rooms, and extra food.</div>
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<b>Easier: </b>When you have young children, traveling is very tiring and a lot of work. I did not have to worry about packing everything for the girls and figuring what we would need to bring. It was easy to buy the groceries I needed for the meals we planned to make at home and have the refrigerator stocked.</div>
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<b>ZZZZs: </b>David and I always sleep better in our own bed and so do our girls! It was nice for them to still get most of their normal naps and to go to bed in their own beds, it was more enjoyable doing fun activities when we were all rested!</div>
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<b>Our Tips:</b></div>
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<b>Clear your Schedule: </b>We did not make any other plans the week of our staycation, and we did not attend our normal weekly Bible studies. We did go to church on Sunday which was a nice benefit of staying home. Normally we would have had to miss church!<br />
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<b>Plan in Advance:</b> <span style="background-color: white;">We made a list of all the possible activities we might want to do. We did research on those activities (opening times, costs, what days are best etc...). Then we planned out which of those activities we really wanted to do with the amount of days we had and the reasonable amount of time we would have each day to be out doing things. </span></div>
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<li><span style="background-color: white;">David and I had a planning session where we narrowed down what we really would like to do from the list of possibilities. I printed out a calendar that we could write on each day what we wanted to do. </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">The next thing I did was plan meals. We made a list of possible restaurants and then planned some easy, fun meals to make at home. I printed a meal-planning worksheet where I could write-in our breakfast, lunch and dinner plans for each day.</span></li>
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At the end of all the planning, we had an activities calendar and a meals calendar that we hung on our frig. This removed the added stress of figuring out what to do each day or what to eat. Doing this made the week much more relaxing.</div>
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<b>Scrub-A-Dub-Dub: </b><span style="background-color: white;">Make sure the home is clean and all the major chores are done, especially things like the bathrooms and floors. If you are like me, it will be hard to relax and be on vacation with housework looming. Get the laundry done too so you all have plenty of clean clothes for the week. Remember, you will be on vacation!! Once your staycation officially begins, resist the temptation to do too much housework. Obviously some things will need to still be done (i.e. dishes), but try to keep it to the bare minimum. </span></div>
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<b>Flex 'N Roll: </b>There were a few changes we made to our plans during the week, but they worked out for the better. Don't be too rigid on the schedule!<br />
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<b>Get Alone with your Spouse: </b>Since you are staying home, hopefully you have some friends or relatives who you could call upon for some babysitting while you and your spouse have a little "couple time". David and I enjoyed getting to go see a movie and have lunch one day because my mom came over and stayed with our girls. On Friday night, we also had a relaxing dinner alone since we dropped the girl's off at David's parent's house. So if you are staying home, take advantage of some child-care too!<br />
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<i><b>A note about our hotel stay:</b> </i>As you know, we spent one night at Embassy Suites. We enjoy this hotel because it has a great breakfast in the morning, a nice pool, hot tub and a Manager's Reception at night. We decided to keep the girl's with us since Lydia is still nursing, and that was fun. We got to take them swimming, and overall they did really well staying there. However, we decided that if we were to do it again in the future, we would rather go alone if we are going to pay for a hotel. I think we would have enjoyed our stay there much more and been more free to take advantage of the hotel amenities.<br />
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I hope this information is helpful to those who are thinking about trying it for themselves. Below I listed our activity list.<br />
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Thanks for reading about our 2012 Staycation!!<br />
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<b>Our Activity List:</b><br />
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<li><span style="background-color: white;">Reid Park Zoo</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Brandi Fenton Park Splash Zone</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Pump it Up</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Embassy Suites Hotel</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Date Night</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Birthday Party for the Girls</span></li>
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<b>Other Ideas that we did not end up doing:</b><br />
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<li><span style="background-color: white;">Mt. Lemmon </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">Sabino Canyon </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">The Tucson Children's Museum downtown</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;">YMCA swimming pool</span></li>
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<br /></div>Ellingson Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397607517943717973noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896153492904803885.post-47178556822802104652012-06-25T21:08:00.002-07:002012-06-25T21:08:59.324-07:00Days 5-6 of the Ellingson Staycation!Our Staycation is officially over. Today was our first day back to "real life" again. I think that is why this afternoon felt like an eternity from 3:00p.m.to 6:00p.m. I really enjoyed David being home and doing fun things with the girls, so today seemed quite slow.<br />
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Let me back up to Friday and tell you how we finished our week. We went out to lunch and then we packed up to go stay at the Embassy Suites on Skyline and Campbell. We took the girls over to David's parent's house (about 3 min from the hotel), and then we tried a new restaurant for dinner called <a href="http://www.foxrc.com/blanco.html">Blanco</a> at La Encantata Mall. We considered this to be our anniversary dinner date. We had some yummy fish tacos and taquitos, and we got a free dessert for David's birthday, so we tried their Flan, which was delicious! The food was really good, but it was a bit loud since it was during their Happy Hour, so we headed over to Embassy Suites and visited together during their "Manager's Reception", which is basically free drinks and snacks for the hotel guests. We enjoyed some good conversation and lots of eye contact...which is always a plus!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAiWR54ixbv6vyTN4ZeDT3HickWiVHmF3GQ7EF30Ht1LCvMLToFze2CraOhd2esIr2dn_rx72RUM5lUBLr6_XXXKeAeLA8qI0BG56VISKUUGNCpvwJAyve-JRTOPdmj3pL8_crhBNjeyI/s1600/P1070927.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAiWR54ixbv6vyTN4ZeDT3HickWiVHmF3GQ7EF30Ht1LCvMLToFze2CraOhd2esIr2dn_rx72RUM5lUBLr6_XXXKeAeLA8qI0BG56VISKUUGNCpvwJAyve-JRTOPdmj3pL8_crhBNjeyI/s200/P1070927.JPG" width="200" /></a>The girls had a great time with their "Grandpops" and "Granzie" while we were out and didn't seem too interested in us taking them away. After we got the girls settled to bed back at the hotel, we enjoyed reading the Word for a while and then we popped popcorn and watched a movie.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD22DkEqtYyder1_4F51wrTW2iM7u6el4YDr-2EzPIudsXsSvr6odPiqoFx-C42s48tsin5XxAumNUyIw4Jlyazr8RSCOdFmMX-sUTHogm6lZV-0q52YfiP3tP2OGvmPrGbCDLJ1C8eMs/s1600/P1070934.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD22DkEqtYyder1_4F51wrTW2iM7u6el4YDr-2EzPIudsXsSvr6odPiqoFx-C42s48tsin5XxAumNUyIw4Jlyazr8RSCOdFmMX-sUTHogm6lZV-0q52YfiP3tP2OGvmPrGbCDLJ1C8eMs/s200/P1070934.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />So now for the low point of the trip... I could NOT sleep that night! I don't know if it was caffeine, if I was nervous about the girl's waking up, or because I was hot, or in a different bed....maybe all of thee above! All I know is I ended up sleeping in the living room and I didn't crash until around 2:30a.m. Lydia was up at 5:30 crying and I grabbed her so she wouldn't wake up Izzy. So I was pretty tired Saturday morning! David really didn't sleep much either, so we were both struggling. But we enjoyed the hot breakfast, with cooked-to-order omelets and then we took the girls down to the pool! We had fun spinning the girls, splashing and all that fun stuff you do with kids in the pool! Izzy liked sitting on the top step of the Jacuzzi a lot too!<br /><br />That was a busy day because we had lunch with David's parents and then that evening we celebrated June birthdays and Father's Day at my parent's house! What fun!<br />
<br />We really had a wonderful week overall even though we were all struggling with colds by the end of it. I want to write some more about how we planned our staycation and give my recommendations/advice if anyone else is interested in doing one. This was our first year trying it, so I'll share my thoughts about it overall. I think that will be my next post.Ellingson Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397607517943717973noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896153492904803885.post-85662762120655239882012-06-21T20:46:00.002-07:002012-06-25T21:10:37.500-07:00Day 4 of the Ellingson Staycation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today was <b>Pump it Up Thursday</b>! Since Izzy just turned 2, we decided to take her to <b><a href="http://www.pumpitupparty.com/az/tucson/home-p1q161.htm">Pump It Up</a></b> as a birthday present, just her, Mommy and Daddy! Boy was it fun! There were obstacle courses, jumping castles, and huge slides! David and I had a great time, oh and Izzy did too! She was fearless when it came to the slides, she would go right down them without hesitation! We are very glad we decided to take her, we had a blast! Let me know if you have questions about going, we would love to go again or tell others about our experience.<br />
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We broke from our normal routine of doing Family Worship before bed and did it this afternoon before we went to dinner. It went really well and the girls were very focused, which was nice since that is not always the case. For dinner we went to one of our favorite eating spots, Pei Wei! And after dinner we headed over to Frost for some Gelato. Izzy, David and I were all shoveling the yummy goodness as fast as we could since we were all eating out of one bowl. Lydia didn't want to miss the action, so she started scooping it out with her hand, which then turned into finger paints on the table....it got a little messy, but we didn't care! I just wish I had my camera! <br />
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Funny story time! So we were enjoying our Gelato at Frost this evening, the girls fingers are sticky and their white shirts are getting messier by the second and David and I are chatting away. David makes a comment about his cool pants that he bought in Norway back in High School. They were a strange<span style="color: #bf9000;"> mustard-yellow</span> color when he used to wear them to youth group. Later he found out that they were actually a different color when he purchased them, but when his mom washed them in the Norwegian washing machine somehow the color changed. I think she did the wrong temperature of water since she couldn't read Norwegian? Not sure. Since David's vision is considered "color deficient" he never realized that his pants changed color. OK, that was really background information to the rest of my story. So David tells me tonight that his pants that he used to wear from Norway were, and I quote, "<i><b><span style="color: #bf9000;">a stylish yellow</span></b></i>",and I replied loudly, "Is there really such a thing as a 'stylish yellow'". I thought my response would be funny. As soon as the words left my mouth, David says, "look to your left", I turn and look in disbelief. The man sitting with his wife at the next table, maybe 5 feet away (definitely in earshot) is wearing a <span style="color: #f1c232;">YELLOW</span> polo shirt! His shirt was <i>all</i> yellow, without even a stripe...just a pure bright yellow polo. Of course I felt bad about the comment I had just made, however the moment was also extremely humorous, and I couldn't help but break out in uncontrollable laughter! The situation struck David the same way and he lost it too, almost spitting out his water. The next thing he said was, "you have to tell this story in your blog". So there you have it....done.<br />
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This evening after we got home we enjoyed dancing in the living room to some fun kids music, David definitely won the dancing contest, Izzy came in a close second!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All ready to go with my new backpack on</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Izzy nursing her baby tonight</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyffWpRbZCwFimfOonELB4lAqp2l-9Fndj5i0zW3UGPqOnskwpeAM_txBa-BvuUm80qNYW0NaAejIIIGhWfGHuiDwc1aSXpadTYE5kLD22EmrK4sIoK_vFRCJxWZfeigHrFWVxfTlOMEg/s1600/P1070899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyffWpRbZCwFimfOonELB4lAqp2l-9Fndj5i0zW3UGPqOnskwpeAM_txBa-BvuUm80qNYW0NaAejIIIGhWfGHuiDwc1aSXpadTYE5kLD22EmrK4sIoK_vFRCJxWZfeigHrFWVxfTlOMEg/s320/P1070899.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lydia on her new Rody she got for her birthday!</td></tr>
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<br />Ellingson Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397607517943717973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896153492904803885.post-67154215364222319222012-06-20T20:12:00.001-07:002012-06-25T21:11:51.095-07:00Day 3 of our Staycation<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcuFODzWBy1vG5lEwkdo4YzsqBBCP8UOH5Bg0bMZoBM9B5CJ1DTqKcuVewBnAkCFkrFCewhwSyjEKkCjXwVeGegEiffPD2Z82e9km6VXw7MwBCPTNAZnrMk_MFKmAmSEHHRjPpA0MuJTo/s1600/P1070759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcuFODzWBy1vG5lEwkdo4YzsqBBCP8UOH5Bg0bMZoBM9B5CJ1DTqKcuVewBnAkCFkrFCewhwSyjEKkCjXwVeGegEiffPD2Z82e9km6VXw7MwBCPTNAZnrMk_MFKmAmSEHHRjPpA0MuJTo/s200/P1070759.JPG" width="150" /></a>
Today was really nice! It is <b>Lydia's official 1 year old birthday</b>! Amazing that 1 year ago today I was in labor for 13.5 hours, and now she is already a year old. Time flies when you have kids. David and I got to go see The Hunger Games this morning in the movie theater! We hadn't been to a movie in the theater in close to a year now, and we enjoyed it! I ate way too much movie theater popcorn....aaah, it was so yummy, but I should have stopped myself. I just loved the combination of buttery popcorn with Cherry Coke! Then we had lunch together at the mall and did a little bit of shopping all by ourselves. We came home and both girls were sleeping, so then we got to have our quiet times and read the Word.<br />
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For dinner we ate some delicious ribs that we put in the crockpot this morning! They were falling right off the bone and tasted scrumptious! We kept calling it a feast since we had baked potatoes, beans, garlic toast and salad with our ribs. What a wonderful week so far! Praising God for this blessed opportunity to enjoy this time as a family!Ellingson Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397607517943717973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896153492904803885.post-16956233387408043012012-06-19T20:01:00.003-07:002012-06-19T20:01:49.442-07:00Day 2 of our Staycation<b>Today was Day #2:</b> Today is our 8 Year Anniversary! We had a great time today! We took the girls to the Zoo for the first time! It was so much fun! We got there when the doors opened at 8:00a.m. and spent 3 hours enjoying all the animals! After that we had a delicious lunch at Chick-Fil-A...mmmm good. And we all took naps when we got home! For dinner we ate at our favorite Sushi place close by during their Happy Hour. We had a great dinner and we even got a free "Tempura Ice Cream Sundae" for all our birthdays and anniversary! Our waiter said that it is supposed to be only for the day of someone's birthday to get the free ice cream, but since we all have June birthdays and it was our anniversary, he said he's try to get us a sundae, and he was successful! And it was amazing!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyku6ODASr4xPqFPD9SY8MJNIaHgtqcHFsw1en2Zt8tipYAXHNGIVHUgrAIjC3LUXBZNpll9GvmDI6HG7sV56e30HvOr1Illu3tN35tPsazUrof86wSW_CDWCB_cM7OKSATDADfosRXk8/s1600/P1070825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="150" width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyku6ODASr4xPqFPD9SY8MJNIaHgtqcHFsw1en2Zt8tipYAXHNGIVHUgrAIjC3LUXBZNpll9GvmDI6HG7sV56e30HvOr1Illu3tN35tPsazUrof86wSW_CDWCB_cM7OKSATDADfosRXk8/s200/P1070825.JPG" /></a>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF9choQ8Unrn2d_USpm68PJdcBaJYm-h22HXHKF5te9e8mKEBMkCkwip3Fs9CFw7HHdRDcSlT4xte-G1tH_i0LF7hDucit4QfRUOVOraGr5R-x-4ZbDQvSm6G23vcXDixjOBUFTjM9TJA/s1600/P1070845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="150" width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF9choQ8Unrn2d_USpm68PJdcBaJYm-h22HXHKF5te9e8mKEBMkCkwip3Fs9CFw7HHdRDcSlT4xte-G1tH_i0LF7hDucit4QfRUOVOraGr5R-x-4ZbDQvSm6G23vcXDixjOBUFTjM9TJA/s200/P1070845.JPG" /></a>Ellingson Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397607517943717973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896153492904803885.post-20662199991703767102012-06-19T19:50:00.002-07:002012-06-25T21:14:17.828-07:00The Ellingson "Staycation" 2012So this year my hubby had a moment of brilliance. "How about if I take a week off work and we stay home, but we pretend we are on vacation?" The more I thought about this idea, the more I liked it. We talked about fun things we could do as a family and places we wanted to go out to eat and fun food we could buy for at home. June is the Ellingson month of celebrations! My birthday, Isabella's birthday, our anniversary (today, 8 years), then Lydia's birthday (tomorrow), and then David's birthday! It is crazy, but June is the perfect month for us to take a week off and just have fun as a family! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkcOQatP1ExoO0y2BdcaDC7RTZKCJPHi_YSksSi9QZ7Pvs69jLNjBFmGcJ4CBDoeWC4bJ9ZMMFzePqjTG5FtkVQpRwfsLri2-6zQnGQWeY6L_bqSUeYkVbFoPDaXxVv19uXYfe79lgJr4/s1600/P1070805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkcOQatP1ExoO0y2BdcaDC7RTZKCJPHi_YSksSi9QZ7Pvs69jLNjBFmGcJ4CBDoeWC4bJ9ZMMFzePqjTG5FtkVQpRwfsLri2-6zQnGQWeY6L_bqSUeYkVbFoPDaXxVv19uXYfe79lgJr4/s200/P1070805.JPG" width="200" /></a>
We had taken both girls to California in March and the trip really didn't leave me with an appetite to travel for a summer vacation. So we decided to stay home this summer, but still have a vacation! So this is the week, and so far it has been a success! We did a lot of planning ahead and figured out what we wanted to do each day and even planned out our meals.'<br />
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<b>Day 1 Monday:</b> We went to <a href="http://www.pima.gov/nrpr/pools/bfsplashpad.htm">Brandi Fenton Memorial Park's Splash Zone</a>!! First we drove through Eegees and grabbed some yummy food and ice cold Eegee drinks and headed to the water zone! I packed some fruit to snack on and the girls had a great time! We spent about an hour playing in the water and then going down the playground slide a few times! Then we all came home and had a nice nap! For dinner we tried a new restaurant that brags of "gourmet pizza" called <a href="http://www.bostons.com/bostonswall/">Boston's</a> Pizza. It was good food, but a bit overpriced and the atmosphere was nothing to brag about. Overall it was a great day! And I loved that we all got to sleep in our own beds and in our own rooms!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFW65rVnlkj6WA6Xulyf3iikuVrry12-OiNRR5Sl478wjhoGRjGL7CD8u7HYNjdqIEv-sz6arfn6unw8EMKx5vSUH9OPhlXBOte9F0OFWhIwvTzFG7gm6FP9-hxl_o-NuDYt2-V811P8/s1600/P1070787.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFW65rVnlkj6WA6Xulyf3iikuVrry12-OiNRR5Sl478wjhoGRjGL7CD8u7HYNjdqIEv-sz6arfn6unw8EMKx5vSUH9OPhlXBOte9F0OFWhIwvTzFG7gm6FP9-hxl_o-NuDYt2-V811P8/s200/P1070787.JPG" width="200" /></a>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkXLLTDXfjypkfjgygd-jHUgyroIAUvi8pisNiNE7A99_mT_2Qp7vdzi5BpJtXhhBeJVsW7ItyhnScCpLLOqtvd0hbamuZ8e2veOgPVVBvApQ3FQnfe9oXiJ4Fg-nWJ14tzpvIYZ8Tb0g/s1600/P1070824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkXLLTDXfjypkfjgygd-jHUgyroIAUvi8pisNiNE7A99_mT_2Qp7vdzi5BpJtXhhBeJVsW7ItyhnScCpLLOqtvd0hbamuZ8e2veOgPVVBvApQ3FQnfe9oXiJ4Fg-nWJ14tzpvIYZ8Tb0g/s200/P1070824.JPG" width="200" /></a>Ellingson Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397607517943717973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896153492904803885.post-81927086171191970122012-06-12T20:50:00.001-07:002012-06-12T20:52:37.288-07:00Do you ever have one of those really productive days? I had one today. It felt so good to get lots of cleaning and organizing done. I was in the mood, I had that nesting juice flowing through my veins and I felt happy with every wipe of the dust cloth and paper that got thrown away. It was a blessed day because my children were happy and Izzy was being obedient, which really makes for a fun flowing day. I also spent some time outside with the girls playing in the water and the little blow up pool. Man was it hot!! The girls loved it though, and they took good naps afterward, which is always a plus.I find myself wanting to be more and more organized in my home so that I spend less time searching for things or buying something I already have. Now that I have two toddlers, I need things to be in order and I need to know where things are when I need them! But I praise God for days like today, because He doesn't always give me days like today. Many are discouraging and just plain tiring. But God is gracious to give me a happy day that is productive...I need those sometimes. Thank you Lord, You have been oh so kind. May You receive all the glory!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJXRdnrWqhLxuP4Y1Ca5E7suXibRY7AFkE1mENTMZaOmL9rnY5TDRqRcpsxky7SBuCa-Y0j66_52TV7C4ooOAcqXbFXF0hYhJKptBrjX7TzSuqvS58_03ULgc690Ni2eP0D4Uat1vFxrA/s1600/P1070716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJXRdnrWqhLxuP4Y1Ca5E7suXibRY7AFkE1mENTMZaOmL9rnY5TDRqRcpsxky7SBuCa-Y0j66_52TV7C4ooOAcqXbFXF0hYhJKptBrjX7TzSuqvS58_03ULgc690Ni2eP0D4Uat1vFxrA/s320/P1070716.JPG" /></a>Ellingson Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397607517943717973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896153492904803885.post-7030064604451147152012-05-18T21:04:00.001-07:002012-05-18T21:32:13.255-07:00I have not updated this blog in a long time. It has stories about when I used to ride the bus with the purpose of evangelizing. My friend Amber and I rode the bus a couple days a week to and from work together and witnessed to people, and handed out tracks and Bibles. It was an amazing growing experience, I am so glad we did it!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw11Adu3lfD42Fr_uPEZDTAuupcfupv5fjSx7wArHOIe08Bd6H7FNI-drRr8BgDcEWIVOBluJyzM67meJXTtGsH5gKMQoKPiGwnG0E3HfnaBg0sXFERDwlrXJ1yoLe5YHxw13VbDwbz7g/s1600/P1070397.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw11Adu3lfD42Fr_uPEZDTAuupcfupv5fjSx7wArHOIe08Bd6H7FNI-drRr8BgDcEWIVOBluJyzM67meJXTtGsH5gKMQoKPiGwnG0E3HfnaBg0sXFERDwlrXJ1yoLe5YHxw13VbDwbz7g/s320/P1070397.JPG" /></a></div>Ellingson Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397607517943717973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896153492904803885.post-51886059609466990742010-04-05T11:35:00.000-07:002010-04-05T11:36:26.389-07:00Last week at ABCSThis is my last week at ABCS, it is really strange. I have such mixed feelings. I am transitioning to be a full-time wife and future mom!Ellingson Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397607517943717973noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896153492904803885.post-9265686721830785582009-11-03T22:17:00.000-08:002009-11-03T22:24:03.692-08:00What we have been up to latelyWe are currently going to one bus stop at Speedway and Alvernon for about an hour and talking with those there. There are a couple people we have seen consistently and built a relationship with and then a lot of others we have only seen once. It has been really good for us to become more bold in sharing our faith and getting used talking about the Gospel. For me, it has also been a growing experience to be rejected or have my beliefs ripped up. Talking with people from EVERY background, makes me have to defend my faith to all sorts of affronts. It is amazing to me how many types of background and religions and beliefs you can come across in one hour.<br /><br />I know God is using it in my life to not be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to have a heart for the lost in my city. Knowing that the power of God in salvation comes from Him and not me, yet I am called to share the gospel and it is through the hearing of the gospel that people are saved.<br /><br />My desire is to spend time humbly, yet with boldness and gentleness share the gospel of Jesus Christ with people who may have never heard, maybe have heard many times or completely reject it. My life is a vapor on this earth and the salvation of souls for the Glory of Christ should be a priority.Ellingson Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397607517943717973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896153492904803885.post-87573039558282863062009-11-03T21:50:00.000-08:002009-11-03T22:16:09.163-08:00Second Visit with the refugee girls!A couple weeks ago(Oct. 23rd), Amber and I went back to visit the refugee girls. It went really well. We spent about 3 hours there and both girls were there this time. Praise God! On the way I bought a white board thinking it might be easier to explain some thing esp. with the language barrier using drawings. The Holy Spirit really lead us and gave us wisdom. We had several other family members that we coming in and listening too, which was neat. <br /><br />We talked to them about creation again and then we discussed sin (and it's origin with satan in the garden etc...) and then we spent a long time talking about how people had to make animal sacrifices for their sins. I hadn't really planned to talk about this, but it seemed appropriate. I also mentioned that people were telling of one to come that would save the people from sin. Then we talked about the virgin birth of Jesus and his perfect life here on earth. I read from the Bible that when John saw Jesus he explained, "Look the Lamb of God who takes away sin" and the 14 year old's eyes lit up and she said, "Jesus was the lamb!" All those listening seemed to make the connection of the lambs being the sacrifice and now Jesus being the lamb, but she really seemed to grasp it. We explained that crucifixion was a criminal's death, and how horrible it was, and then they didn't understand why Jesus died on a cross if he was absolutely perfect. We had made it very clear that he lived a perfect, sinless life, so his death didn't make sense to them. I explained the human reason for Christ's death (that he was claiming to be God and the people didn't believe Him), and God's purpose and plan for His death (to make the payment for sin and die in our place). Of course we had talked to them about what the payment for sin is, death and how we all deserve death and hell for our sins. We told them about his resurrection and ascension and the Holy Spirit. We had to talk for a while about the trinity. <br /><br />Something that really hit both of us is how crazy all this really sounds. When you grow up hearing it and being in church your whole life, it doesn't sound weird or hard to believe at all. But sitting there that night after talking about the talking snake, a young lady becoming pregnant by the spirit of God, God becoming a man and living on this earth, dying and rising from the dead, and then the Holy Spirit indwelling people...I started to wonder if I believed myself, it was all starting to sound pretty loony! Amber and I both reflected on how it does take the power of God and the His regeneration for someone to believe this stuff. Wow! I was thinking, "If they believe this, then it is really God working in their hearts". <br /><br />The younger girl (14) really seemed eager and said she wanted to be saved. She asked us several times what she needed to do. We explained repentance and faith and she said she believed. However, we weren't sure since they are impressionable young girls how sincere it was and didn't want to give her any false sense of security. And when a young man came in and was dialoging with us, she seemed hesitant to pray. So we prayed with them and are praying that the Holy Spirit will do the work in their hearts. God must brake their hearts over their sin and help them see who He is and their need for the Savior.<br /><br />It is hard to put into a blog or even words all that went on that night or all the discussions we had. It really makes you think though, we have to explain everything in child-like terms and words they can understand (their English isn't great). It takes us hours to talk with them. Everything we explain we are very thorough and have them repeat back to us and try to make sure they are grasping. <br /><br />We are going back to their apartment this Saturday (Nov. 7th) and desire to continue sharing with them and pray that the Holy Spirit will work in their hearts. <br /><br />Our God Saves Sinners-Glory to His name now and forever. Glory to the Lamb who was slain, He is worthy of all honor and praise. I desire to see more souls saved, not for their sake alone, but that the Lamb would receive His due reward.Ellingson Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397607517943717973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896153492904803885.post-40913285413555310312009-10-05T20:14:00.000-07:002009-10-05T20:17:56.687-07:00Another Opportunity to Witness to the RefugeePraise God, Purnima finally wrote us! She wants us to come back and teach her more from the Bible! She is the one we shared with before (Sept. 5th 09). Amber and I layed out the gospel very clearly with her when we went. Our desire is to bring her to the point of realization that she has sinned before a Holy God. We are excited that she wants us to come back. We were pretty blunt with her before. Please pray that we can go visit her again and bring to light the knowledge of God to her.Ellingson Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397607517943717973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896153492904803885.post-29616111886010620152009-10-05T20:06:00.001-07:002009-10-05T20:14:34.144-07:00"Creepy energy"Since I didn't blog for about 5 months of riding the bus and sharing the gospel, I am still thinking of stories. So this one time, a few months ago, we are riding the bus and this large African American lady sits down next to me. I am praying in my heart about sharing with her and trying to get up the nerve. Finally I strike up a "conversation". I ask her if she goes to school (because she has a backpack) and she curtly responds, "no, why?" and I tell her because I noticed she had a backpack. I then proceed to ask her if she has had a good day. And she again rudely reponds "of course, what other option is there" or something like that. By now I am getting the clue that this lady doesn't want to talk to me. Finally I just outright ask her if she has ever heard the gospel. At this she gets really upset, she glares at me and says, "Why do you care???" I said that I want everyone to hear it. Then she tells me to keep my religion to myself and that I have<span style="font-style: italic;"> creepy energy</span>. I am a little shocked and scared, but ask, "What do you mean by 'creepy energy'?" She tells me that I know what it means. And I politely tell her that in fact I do not know what she means about my energy being creepy. She says, "Do you know what energy is?" I said, "Not in the context you are using it", and she says, "Do you know what creepy means?" and I said "yes, but I don't understand what you mean?" and She said "I could feel your creepy energy as soon as I got on the bus!". Yikes!! At this point, she told me to never mind if I didn't knonw what she meant.<br /><br />I was a little shaken up and unsure what to say. It was a weird experience. Oddly enough, a man on the bus started talking to Amber and I right after that and saying that we have beautiful hearts and we were doing the right thing by sharing with people. It was kinda strange, but cool. I can't remember everything he said to us, but it was encouraging.Ellingson Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397607517943717973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896153492904803885.post-67073179867476937212009-09-16T12:19:00.000-07:002009-09-16T12:36:12.685-07:00Sharing the Gospel with the refugeeGod opened up an amazing door for Amber and I with a couple of young refugee girls. We talked to them at a bus stop and sat with them on the bus ride a few months ago. We gave them each a Bible and some other materials. We exchanged emails with them and corresponded with the eldest (16) for a while through email. She asked us in her emails to come see her and teach her the Bible. We finally went to see her Sat., Sept. 5th, not sure if she would be home. We met at Sbucks and prayed and I brought some children's materials to help us share the gospel. Her English is not too great considering she moved here in May, but amazing at the same time. We found the apartment complex and parked. Trying to be discrete, (yeah right), Amber's car alarm decided to go off and she couldn't figure out how to turn it off for several minutes...so we made quite the entrance. After going to the wrong apartment (and being invited in), her brother helped us find their apartment. And he was home! Praise God! We were able to walk her through the gospel of Jesus Christ beginning with creation, she even had a Bible in Napli which she was able to read the first chapter of Genesis in out loud. We talked about who God is, creation and sin. We talked to her about our fallen nature and the fact that we deserve punishment in hell. We discussed Romans 3:23 and 6:23. Amber talked to her about Jesus, Who He is, what He did and the cross. We spent 2.5 hours with her and it went by so quickly. She told us she wanted to learn how to pray. Amber and I each prayed out loud with her and then she prayed a short prayer as well. It was an amazing time that we pray the Lord used to begin to open her eyes and take off the blinders on her heart.<br /><br />I feel so blessed and unworthy to have had this opportunity to be used to spread the gospel. I pray that God will draw her to himself and use her to save more refugees. Amber and I are praying that we will be asked to come back and share more with her, at this point she has not emailed us. I have emailed her twice. We know the message of the gospel is offensive and it is veild to those who are perishing, but I pray God will draw her.<br /><br />We did not lead her through a "sinner's prayer", we know the gospel is the power that saves a person.<br /><br />Please Pray that we can go speak with her again<br />Please pray that God will save her by His mighty power<br />Pray that God will move among the refugees in Tucson by saving those in the communities<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">May the Lamb that was slain receive His due reward! </span>It is all for the Glory of Christ and God the Father and not for the sake of any man that we pray for the salvation of helpless souls!</span>Ellingson Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397607517943717973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896153492904803885.post-75055068421043986402009-09-10T09:04:00.000-07:002009-09-10T09:06:31.357-07:00TedWe continue to pray for Ted. We met him a few weeks ago sitting in front of McDonald's reading the paper and sipping coffee. We pleaded with him to believe, but he would rather be apathetic and just see what happens when he dies. We have talked to him a few more times, he is smiley and makes jokes, but doesn't really want to worry about the afterlife. He figures he'll worry about that then.Ellingson Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397607517943717973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896153492904803885.post-90564834017827131632009-09-10T08:57:00.000-07:002009-09-10T09:15:17.435-07:00"I am a good person, God will let me in"So everyone thinks Amber and I are in High School, or maybe college if we are lucky. It is funny. We saw Connie (age 17) again this morning. She is pregnant, due this December, living in a group home and was sleeping with a man to get drugs from him, and her mom is pregnant by the same man. We have shared the gospel with her and talked to her about the Lord. She is very agreeable and says she believes. We continue to see her every Thursday and talk about the arrival of her baby, school and her goals and plans for the future.<br /><br />We talked to a guy named Dan who was on his way to the airport to go see U2 in concert in Chicago. He politely listened to us share about sin, hell, the forgiveness through Christ. He just smiled and basically didn't care. He figured he was a good enough person that God would let him off the hook for any wrong he committed. I kept telling him that no one is "good enough" to go to heaven. He acted as if it didn't phase him.<br /><br />Vanessa (17) also thinks that she is a pretty good person, I mean better then a lot of people. I focused on the sin in our hearts, that even hating your brother is considered like murder to God. I shared with her that believing in Christ as the sacrifice for her sin is the only way to heaven. We were able to give her a Bible.Ellingson Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397607517943717973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896153492904803885.post-9631738508243923972009-09-10T08:37:00.000-07:002009-09-10T08:38:34.999-07:005 Months later!So it has been five months that Amber and I have been going to bus stops and (used to) ride the bus too. It has been a very eye-opening and revealing time for me.Ellingson Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397607517943717973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5896153492904803885.post-6102068174290937842009-04-14T08:40:00.001-07:002009-04-14T19:59:10.932-07:00Missing the Bus<span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000000;">Morning- April 14th</span> Pray for <strong>Gabriel </strong>and <strong>Ted</strong><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color:#000000;">Amber and I took the bus to work for the first time this morning. We met at her house near Roger and 1st and went to the wrong bus stop at 6:57a.m. Once we figured out where we actually needed to be, we moved over the other bus stop. So far the two ladies who we had waited with were not really interested in conversation. Once on the correct bus we found that people were listening to ipods, reading, or simply not wanting to talk. Once we got to Campbell and Speedway we once again walked over to the wrong bus stop. Once being directed to the correct bus stop we walked across the street and finally met some more talkative folks.<br /><br />A middle-aged man who was a little too friendly was astounded that we were not in High School as he thought we were teenagers. After some small, kind of awkward talk with him, he hopped on his bus. There was another man sitting next to us though. And now it was just the three of us. This man, named Gabriel began opening up to Amber and I. He shared much of his story. He shared about his past of substance abuse and how he lost his family because of it. He showed us the pictures of his three children. Twin boys who are 8 and his 6 year old daughter who he said is "his princess". As he continued to talk and share, Amber and I also shared where we work and other small things. He said that Amber and I must love what we do because we seem so happy and that he could see it in our faces. Amber said, "Well, I think that is God". This lead into more conversation. He began saying that God had helped him be free from his addictions a year ago when he went through rehab. He said it was God's grace. Amber asked him if he knew God and if Jesus was his savior. He said, "yes". We continued listening and hearing his heart for some time. His bus pulled up and he didn't really move. He said, "oh, I'll just catch the next one". Before long, Amber asked Gabriel if he had a Bible. He said, "well, I have a little pocket Bible, but I think it is just a New Testament". I opened my backpack and began pulling out one of our Bibles, he said, "Do you have an extra one?!" with excitement in his voice. When we put it in his hands, his face lit up. He looked like a child on Christmas morning. He was so thankful and grateful. He kept running his hands over it and looking it over. Soon after our bus came and we shook his hand and said, "God bless you". He said he hoped to see us again. As we pulled away we could see him beginning to read it. We know God's Word is powerful and effective! Praise the Lord for our first day. He is Sovereign!</span><br /><br />Evening<br />Well the way home had a theme of missing the bus as well. We ended up sitting at a stop at Fort Lowell and Alvernon for over thirty minutes. We talked with a man named Ted. He goes to a church called Metropolitan Community Church and believes himself to be saved. He told us that he is bi-sexual, has been married two times and divorced two times. Amber and I were able to share out faith in Jesus and His salvation from sin. He was pretty open about things. Amber and I just talked about different things with him. On the bus ride home, I got the chance to visit with a lady for a little while, just small talk. There was a man and woman on the last bus that made me very sad. Her face was bruised and she looked so sad. I believe that the man she was with was probably the culprit.<br /><br /><br /><br />Some Thoughts: Getting out of my bubble<br /><br />This was my first time riding the city bus in Tucson, and I am glad that I did. I learned patience and how to rely on God's sovereignty through it. I got out of my comfort zone and my Christian world and saw all kinds of people. Old, young, sad, lonely, distracted, every time I scanned the bus I wondered about people's stories. When my eyes would meet another's, I would smile. I felt curious about people's lives, their stories, what was going on in their life, what they had experienced. God has people He will save in Tucson, I feel privileged if I get to be a part of that, to truly be the hands, feet or voice of Christ. Most of all, I rejoiced that I could lift up Christ's name today, to speak of what He has done in my heart.</span>Ellingson Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07397607517943717973noreply@blogger.com0