The Ellis Family

moving

2009-12-30T12:10:00.000-08:00

pack up your blog bags... we are moving!!!

OUR NEW HOME

so this is Christmas...

2009-12-29T07:51:00.000-08:00

first... my parents came to visit us in Austin.
then... we all went to Dallas to spend Christmas with Brandon, Sara and Bailey.
then... off to Van, TX to spend the rest of Christmas with the Ellis family!

Now we are back home with 5 visitors- Philip's brother, Daniel/ His wife, Hannah/ and their 3 dogs! CRAZY few weeks we have had. And even more to come...

Here are pictures from our WONDERFUL Christmas:

Here is a link to a video from Christmas that my Dad put together... CLICK HERE!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

2009-12-22T14:28:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago we all went out with Tim (Aaron's brother) to take Band Family Photos... look at our gorgeous friends..... (to see ALL of the pictures go here: http://photos.imagopix.com/Rockstars/Aaron-Ivey-Band/10727933_dueoB#747434861_x3t5Q )

CLICK PHOTO TO SEE FULL SIZE!!

thankfulness

2009-11-25T12:24:00.000-08:00

top 10 countdown of what I (Kim) am thankful for this year...

10- POSADOS (We found one right down the street from us!)
www.posados.com

9- OUR NEW CAR
8- CARES TEAM
www.caresteam.org

7- HAITI (Livesays, Licia, Lori, Jean, Milienne, & Amos)
www.haitirescuecenter.wordpress.com
www.livesayhaiti.blogspot.com
STORYFRAMES: Hope in Haiti from The Austin Stone on Vimeo.

6- AUSTIN STONE COMMUNITY CHURCH
www.austinstone.org

5- MISSIONAL COMMUNITY

4- NEW FRIENDS (especially: Ivey Family, Bush Family, and the Ingrams)
3- FAMILY (Including Baxter AND Bailey)

2- My absolutely amazing, talented, sweet, good-looking, caring HUSBAND
1- GOD because he has changed our lives dramatically in the past year

What are you guys thankful for?

latest designs

2009-11-18T09:11:00.000-08:00

Here is some of my latest work.... you can click on them to enlarge the picture.

Also, my site is now live... www.kimellisdesign.com

just a little update

2009-11-17T11:27:00.000-08:00

So, I know.... we are TERRIBLE at updating. I'm going to try to fix that problem.

#1- Nov 7th was our 1 year anniversary and it was WONDERFUL. In Philip's words, "The best anniversary we have ever had!" DUH. But seriously, it was fantastic. We spent the weekend in San Antonio on the riverwalk and stayed in a 4 star hotel that was SO cheap because Priceline is amazing.

#2- Philip's car is crapping out on us...... SO we are getting a new car (hopefully) on Friday. That's the plan anyway. Blue 2006 Toyota Rav4 love it!!!!

#3- Still thinking and praying about Milienne everyday. Aaron and some of our other friends will be making a trip to Haiti on Monday... so of course we're sending goodies over for Jean (our Compassion kid) and Milienne! Today I got an e-mail from Licia (from RHFH) and she said that if I wanted I could send Milienne a new dress and some hair barrettes would be greatly appreciated! :) Can't wait to buy a sweet little dress!

#4- We are going to Van this weekend AND next weekend. This weekend Philip was asked to be a judge for a drum competition that he won quite a few years ago. And then obviously next weekend is Thanksgiving!!!!! (ps... we get to see our niece!)

#5- I decorated for Christmas a week ago... sue me.

STORY

2009-10-28T07:53:00.000-07:00

So... Story is finally HOME!!!

Friday night Maris (and little Bush), Ginger, Emily and I made are way over to the Austin airport to greet Jamie and Story. We were all super excited.... had signs, balloons, stuffed animals, etc. When they landed and came to baggage claim it was a huge celebration with around 40 of their closest friends. It was all very emotional and exciting to see this girl finally home!!! She wasn't feeling well at all, so Jamie went straight to Dell Children's Hospital where they ended up staying until yesterday. Story was diagnosed with viral meningitis. She seems to be doing much better and we can't wait to see her back to normal. Here are just a couple of pictures that I took with my phone.... please go to aaronivey.com to hear/see more of this amazing "Story".

coming soon...

2009-10-22T10:43:00.000-07:00

Kimberly Ellis Design
(click this link)

VOTE VOTE VOTE FOR ME!!!!!

2009-10-21T20:24:00.000-07:00

So... I entered a Bethany Dillon T-shirt design contest... I placed 3 entries so far.
Please go here, choose your favorite design (by:kim ellis) and VOTE FOR ME!!!!
Winner receives $300!!

http://getfaveur.com/design-contest/vote-on-designs (GO HERE TO VOTE!)

THANKS!

ps... contest doesn't end till 11/13... so keep voting DAILY! :)

just faaaaantastic!!!!

2009-10-21T12:42:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know... our good friends, Jamie and Aaron Ivey, have been in the process of adopting 2 amazing kiddos from Haiti for over 2 years now. Amos & Story. WELL, today they got some VERY exciting news... STORY IS COMING HOME THIS WEEKEND!!!!! Jamie will hopefully be flying there either tomorrow or Friday and bringing her home ASAP!
Continue praying that Amos will also come home super soon... he needs some extreme prayer!!!
Can't wait to babysit this little girl! :)

text from jamie

2009-10-15T13:46:00.000-07:00

Just got a text from Jamie. This was what she sent...

needless to say... my work day is pretty much ruined. I am a wreck. (but so thankful she sent this to me)

On a good note... Jamie is in Haiti as we speak (hence the photo text), AND she got the VISA appointment that they have been waiting on for SO long!!!! Story should be/hopefully will be coming home NEXT WEEK!!!!!!!!!!

Keep praying for them (Jamie & Aaron)...
and us while we feel helpless for this little girl... SHE NEEDS SOME MAJOR PRAYER! Pray that her family returns for her, or a miracle (literally).

Feeling Helpless

2009-10-14T08:07:00.000-07:00

So this little girl that I posted pictures of from before... we are broken for her. Real Hope For Haiti is one of the places we visited while in Haiti. That is where she is living. I wrote Licia, one of the sisters who runs RHFH, and asked her more about Milienne's story and future. The e-mail I recieved back from her crushed us.

We had been hoping that she had parents that would be coming back for her once she was back to being healthy, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Here is part of the e-mail that I recieved yesterday...Date of birth: March 21 2005
Date admitted: Jan 27 2009
weight when admitted:14 pounds
current weight 24 pounds

The lady that brought her said that she was her aunt. She said the mother and father were dead. She had suffered from kwashiorkor three times before she came to us. The aunt has only been back 1 time and it was many months ago to see her. We have heard nothing from her since then.

She was in bad shape when she got her. At 4 years old and 14 pounds she was so tiny. She mostly slept and did not do to much when she first arrived. She did not gain weight well for several months. She was one of the first kids on the Medika mamba program. She was the reason I wanted to begin. I knew she had not gained weight for several months and this product was promising great things. I wanted a hard case to prove this product for me. She did wonderful on it and gained her required weight.

I will be bluntly honest with you because you have been here. Having 70 kid to care for I am just trying to get as many as I can to live most days. Her speech problem was not a major concern to me at the beginning. I believe that she can hear. I could have sent her into a doctor, but we usually have the family do this. They always ask where the family is at and sometimes do not see a child if the family is not there. Also there will not be a lot of options for her here in Haiti. If she just cannot speak I am not really sure what can be done. If she did not speak or hear she could go to one of the two deaf school in Haiti. But again a family member had to be present and they are hard to get into.

Please be praying for Milienne and for Licia, Lori, & Mr. Zach. The work that these guys are doing is absolutely amazing.

Please also be praying for Philip and I... we are feeling very helpless in this situation, and wish we could do more for her. Pray for the impossible to become possible!

We have a Niece named Aubrey!

2009-10-12T06:40:00.000-07:00

We went to go see the newest addition to the Ellis family this weekend. Aubrey Elizabeth Ellis (I hope that's how you spell it all!) She is the coolest baby I know. We figure that Aubrey had gotten enough presents, so we got some gifts for the proud parents. We got Jodi a little gift basket but I don't have a picture of it!

Here is a snare that I've been working on. Base coat done!
Masking for accent color done!
Accent color done! (it's gold, kinda hard to tell in this picture)

I'll have more pictures when it is done!
BTW - does anyone want to give a me an automotive spraying rig? Really I just need a good gun set up - I have an air compressor that would suffice for now.

more work stuff...

2009-10-08T12:15:00.000-07:00

click to enlarge photos

STORYFRAMES- video of our trip to Haiti

2009-10-07T09:24:00.000-07:00

Edited by: Steven Bush

can't stop thinking about this little girl

2009-10-01T14:23:00.000-07:00

COMING SOON

2009-09-22T07:15:00.000-07:00

We went to the Bush's house last night to have some dinner and record some audio for the video that Steven (Bush) is putting together of our trip to Haiti. We are really excited to see the finished product! It will be something awesome for us to always look back on and remember AND for us to share with you guys so that you can better understand what we experienced.

Etsy Shop

2009-09-09T08:43:00.000-07:00

Way more to come in the very near future........ but just to give you a little tease...

Check back very soon for more additions!!

Message to Family & Friends

2009-09-08T12:32:00.000-07:00

As you know, Philip and I just returned from Haiti on Friday. What you may not know is that we were able to visit Jean, who is our child that we sponsor through Compassion.

The band that Philip is now a part of speaks on behalf of Compassion and does tours strictly around Compassion. They have one coming up in October!

Anyways... There are four packets left from our trip of kids that need sponsors. These packets are only good until the 18th, so let me know if you are interested and we can get the packet sent to you ASAP. All of these kids are at the same place that Jean is, so if you ever decide to take a visit to Port au Prince, Haiti.... you can visit your sponsored child, which I can say is truly a life changing thing.

I'm not sure if you already sponsor a child, or if you've ever even thought about it. We just wanted to throw the idea out there and give you the same opportunity.

For more information on Compassion you can visit their website: www.compassion.com

Meeting Jean and his mother was amazing! We give so little of what we have, yet it is changing their lives and giving them hope. Being able to meet Jean and tell him that we love him and are praying for him and that he is special was the best experience that I personally had while in Haiti. We can't wait to send them more goodies, write back and forth, and just continue to keep encouraging them. I'm not sure why God has chosen to bless Philip and I the way that he has, but we are so happy to able to share that with Jean and his mother.

Something Just Doesn't Feel Right...

2009-09-08T08:19:00.000-07:00

Being back home after visiting Haiti is a weird feeling... something just doesn't feel right.

Soon, you will hear much more about our trip, etc. Steven Bush (our friend, and Philip's bandmate) is going to be putting together a video that he calls "story frames". It will be a video full of pictures from our trip and audio of us describing our experiences and such. So, instead of writing out everything... we will be able to show you through pictures and our own words. Hopefully we will have that soon (we are recording the audio tonight).

In the mean time.... here are some pictures...

this picture was actually taken before we left for Haiti... I wanted to share this to show you all of the supplies that we were able to pack up and take with us... THANKS TO YOU GUYS!!!

lots more pictures here :)

Getting ready to go to Haiti!

2009-08-27T14:32:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited about what God is doing in our life. We've seen God do really huge things in our life that have brought Kim and I to a place where we must rely on Him for our strength and joy in life. We know that apart from Christ we can't do anything, but when we give up our life completely to Christ and stop living like we have it all figured out - that is when God has done the most in us and through us!

I think our life has been flipped upside down in the past 8 months since we've lived in Austin... in a good way, but a way that has put me and Kim on the "potter's wheel" so to speak... No more going through the motions. No more hiding. Gonna give it a real go at being the the church that the bible talks about.

I started going to a dude's bible study and we are going reading Devotional Classics. I've only read the first 2 readings in it...but it's awesome. I'll have to share some excerpts from the book soon.

Kim and I will be leaving for Haiti on Monday. We had our last meeting at the Ivey's house last night. We had dinner, prayed over the trip, packed 16 huge bags with 50lbs each of supplies for the missionaries in Haiti. At around 6:25 AM we will be leaving on a plane from Austin to Miami, then on to Port-Au-Prince Haiti. We ask that you pray for us and the team while we are there. I know that we won't change Haiti in 5 days, but it's been said that Haiti will change us forever. We can already sense that change taking place. Pray for safety, for us to not get sick, for us to have lots of energy, and to be able to see and love the people of Haiti the way Christ sees and loves each and every one of us!!!
-Philip

bored @ work...

2009-08-11T10:46:00.001-07:00

click on photos to see full-size

long awaited pictures from the garage sale & ATLANTA

2009-08-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

dad with their brand new unfinished island

after seeing G-Force in 3D with Max
nerds

before we got our hair DID!
garage sale pictures

Haiti Info... maybe you can help!

2009-07-29T07:31:00.000-07:00

So, as you guys know... we are going to Haiti August 31-Sept 4.
As the trip approaches we will be collecting supplies to take along with us.
PLEASE check out Aaron's blog about things we will be needing.
www.aaronivey.com
If you have anything to donate, please email me... kimberly.ellis@faithhighway.com

lOvINg LifE <3

2009-07-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

Philip is on the road with Aaron Ivey and the guys (Steven Bush & Jimmie Ingram), and even though Philip plays with them and played on the record... I can't stop listening to it. It's really just so amazing and uplifting.

Here is something I heard today... "If 6% of Christ's followers adopted, the world's orphanages would be empty."
This is CRAZY... and I am fully convinced that Philip and I will be part of that 6%. That part makes me happy. :)

I can not stop listening to this song... hope these lyrics encourage you today like they have me.

Jesus, healer of brokenness
Savior, the fixer of troubled souls
Redeemer, you’re turning my eyes to thee
Mighty God, you’re just and merciful

Oh God of beauty and grace
You are my resting place
All of my life is found in You
You’ve taken my brokenness
Made me whole once again
All of my life is found in You
I’m found in You

All my security, my destiny
What lies ahead is found in you
All my hopes and dreams, my thoughts unseen
All my wants are found in you
What I dread and fear, all that weighs me down
All my trust is found in You
You’re my sustaining breath, all that gives me strength
All life-giving is found in You

-Aaron Ivey

Win a P.Ellis Snare Drum!!!

2009-07-13T21:25:00.000-07:00

Want a shot at getting a custom snare drum and not paying $400+ for it? Follow the details below and you could win!

Go to www.pellisdrums.com!

austin park & p.ellis drums photo shoot

2009-07-11T16:41:00.001-07:00

New Video Drum Lessons!

2009-07-11T08:49:00.001-07:00

Hello Friends and Family, I posted this on www.pellisdrums.com and I wanted to share it with you all too!

This past week I had a little bit of down time to make some drum videos. I've always been facinated with afro-cuban and latin music, so I wanted to share a little bit of my passion with you. I'm no authentic cuban drummer, but I try to fake it every now and then. I hope you like these drum videos!

we are so excited for these guys

2009-07-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

Even though Philip is no longer in The Rocketboys, I still can't get enough of these guys! Philip and I both are just so excited and proud of them. Go HERE to read this awesome article!

camping, tubing, trains, bagpipes, 4th of july.... you name it, we did it.

2009-07-05T08:11:00.000-07:00

it was very very very hot...

making dinner

breakfast time

3 hour long float down the river

this is right before we decided it was too hot and time to go home

this is after we got back from camping... 4th of July with some friends.

we have some videos from camping, but for some reason they won't load.... so I will try to post them again later

2009-07-02T07:45:00.000-07:00

I've joined the Aaron Ivey "blog tour" to promote his new CD (I played on it!) So if you want to know more about Aaron's music and ministry check out www.aaronivey.com also click this button to open Itunes and hear some of his music!

ps... it went to #1 on itunes!!!
(in the christian genre)

Haiti Garage Sale!

2009-06-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

Me and Kim will being going to Haiti at the end of August to work with local missionaries and one of the ministries is called Real Hope for Haiti. I've been researching and trying to find video, pictures, and stories of Haiti to prepare us for what we'll experience. This video combines it all. We are saving our money to pay for this trip, but we are also doing some other things to help raise the money. Our "Missional Community group" which our church small group that is comprised of 3 other married couples all older than us has decided to help us raise the money by having a community wide garage sale! One thing you can do if you want to help out is donate garage sale items. The garage sale is set for July 18th so if you want to bring your items to our house before then you are more than welcome. The sale is actually going to be at our Mission Group leader's house down the road. We will sell hot dogs and drinks and tell people that their money is going to a great cause...!!!! But now I have to go to a wedding....Kim is making me get off the computer!

Real Hope For Haiti from Corrigan Clay on Vimeo.

Tribute to MJ

2009-06-26T07:45:00.001-07:00

Starring:
Meredith Anderson
Kate Bowers
Megan Dooley
Kimberly Ellis
and Ansley Rice

Photo update!

2009-06-18T13:49:00.000-07:00

So did you know that you can get a starbucks giftcard and load $5 on it once a month - register it and get 2 hours of free internet, plus free refills on drip coffee (maybe you work from starbucks, or study there) and free flavored syrup pumps in your coffee! I just found this out and did it...but I didn't get any free refills. Just go to www.starbucks.com/card to find out more.

Alright enough about starbucks. It's been 3 weeks since I've seen Kim and I am ready to get home. I will be back this weekend!!!! yaaa!!!!

Here is what i've been up to in reverse order of how it all happened:
Daytona Beach Florida playing a camp with Aaron Ivey

Playing in a waterfall in Tennessee! Me and Jimmie actually swam in this. It was pretty awesome.

We went hiking in Tennessee. I climbed up on that log right there and then noticed that there were 3 copperhead snakes about 1 foot away from it. If you look real close you can see them! 2 curled up together in the bottom left corner, and 1 a little bit to the right, on the log.

Waterfall again.

Hiking! I am standing on top of Stone Door.
Student Life camps in Missouri and Tennessee. - Amazing. First week was with Matt Carter - the pastor of our church - second week was with Chad Norris - great speaker...pretty much a modern day prophet.

Caught up with my buddies Brian and Jeremy in Nashville for some disc golf! Jeremy was on a business trip and Brian is home for the summer.
After I get my camera on Sunday, i'll be making some more drum videos in my free time. In my next lesson i'm going to explain the art of 4 way limb independence. Should be fun and challenging!

twister... except no cows

2009-06-12T08:53:00.000-07:00

Well... I am ALIVE!!!! Although, there were moments last night when I thought I might not be today. That may be a little bit of an exaggeration, but I was definitely very scared for my life last night.
I was across town visiting with our small group, when we got a call from one of the guys that had not come that night. He told us that there was a horrible storm heading our direction in about an hour and the winds were going to be 80-100mph. Needless to say I was a little bit freaked out after hearing that. Well, we quickly closed what ever discussion we were having and I got in my car to drive home. I did not take the following pictures, but this is pretty much what I saw on my way home...When I got home I turned on the news and was talking to my Dad on the phone (I couldn't get ahold of Philip right away.) The news guy said, "If you are near Well Branch and 35 you should take cover and turn your tv up really loud so you can still hear what is going on." So... I proceeded to do so, because that is EXACTLY where we live. Meanwhile... my dad is watching the weather channel in Atlanta and can see everything that is happening here in Austin... it was CRAZY.

I finally got ahold of Philip and he is cool about it, which is what I needed. I wasn't freaking out too bad... I was in our spare bathroom, in the tub, with every pillow and blanket we own... and Baxter of course (who was also not so excited about the storm). As I sat in the tub talking to Philip on the phone, it got extremely loud outside and I could hear things hitting the house... needless to say, I started bawling on the phone; which I'm sure made Philip feel oh so great about the situation. THEN... the power went off, which means the tv is off... so I have NO idea what is going on outside my house.

After about 30 minutes of freaking out and praying with Philip on the phone, it finally calmed down and so I made my way out of the bathroom with my candle lit and went to look outside. It still looked super eery, but I managed to get in bed with Baxter and eventually fall asleep.
I woke up this morning watching the news (the power came back on) and saw that a lot of people were not as fortunate as me.

This was my safe place for the evening...

This made my day...

2009-06-09T08:18:00.000-07:00

When I came in to work this morning, a co-worker said to me, "Kim, you HAVE to see this!"
And I have to say... now that I have seen this video, my day is complete.

Laundry and Food

2009-06-09T04:37:00.000-07:00

This morning I got up at 6 AM to do laundry because I am completely out of clothes to wear. I'm wearing my last shirt right now, I ran out of socks a couple of days ago, I opened my deodorant stick to have the last little bit of it fall on the ground, had to pick it up and use it because it's hot here (not as hot as Texas). After walking about half a mile from the cottages that we are staying at to the college (all uphill) I get to the laundry room with my quarters ready and realize I have no detergent. I walked to the front desk (I'm at Covenant College) ask if they have or sell detergent - they don't and the store on campus that might have some doesn't open until 8:30. Well...I'm supposed to sound check at 8:30 so laundry will have to wait until about 10:30 today. For those of you who don't know last week I went hiking and picked off about 25 ticks after the hike. I now have red bumps that itch all over my legs. I hope they will go away soon. I've been enjoying my time playing at Student Life camps with Aaron Ivey, Steven Bush, and Jimmie Ingram. I've also enjoyed being around their kids. Since I'm about to be an uncle I've been getting a lot of practice in with August Bush who is 7 months old (I think). He really is the cutest baby I've ever seen. They adopted him and were there at his birth which is pretty cool.

I've been trying to eat alot healthier lately. Being around 4 vegetarians who eat to be healthy (the Ivey family) and 1 guy that had cancer who eats to stay cancer free (Matt Carter) makes me really aware of what i'm putting into my body. Also whenever we went on vacation in Florida I ate and ate and ate the whole time I was there. I over ate way too much. I actually was convicted about overeating through hanging out with these guys. It's one of those almost taboo sins that no one really preaches or talks about to the church, but gluttony is just as serious as any sin. I've been thinking about our trip to Haiti that we'll be going on and thinking about what I'll have to eat over there - I'm not real sure but I imagine it will be alot of rice and beans type meals. Definitely no cookies or pie or candy or soft drinks or cake or ice cream - so I've been cutting all of that out of my diet. (for the most part - I had a Cinnamon roll last night) Who needs that stuff anyways? Many people in other countries have never tasted some of the junk food we have here and they are perfectly content.

I think that is all for now.
-Philip

HAITI

2009-06-08T08:40:00.000-07:00

As some of you may or may not know, Philip and I have been given the opportunity to go to Haiti at the end of August. August 31-September 4 to be exact.
Right now we are just doing a lot of praying and researching. We will be going with The Austin Stone (our church), and our friend Aaron Ivey will be leading the trip. Aaron is also who Philip has been on the road with this summer. You can check out his music and blog here.

As of right now, we aren't extremely sure what to expect. In fact, we don't even have much of an agenda going there. All we know is that we are going because we feel lead to do so, and when we get there we will do whatever is needed of us. Aaron and his wife, Jamie, have been to Haiti a lot over the past few years, and just hearing their stories and experiences is what really made us interested. We have been touched so much by them and others at The Stone, and we are so thankful to have these people in our lives.

As we prepare for this trip spiritually, mentally, and physically... we are also trying to find ways to prepare financially. Our small group that we meet with on Thursday nights has been amazing. They have decided to hold a garage sale where all of the benefits will go towards our trip. We are so blessed to be in small group with them. They are exactly the kind of people we strive to be like. In the mean time, we are also looking for other ways to raise some money. We might be selling T-shirts, we might be throwing a benefit concert... really we just don't know yet. But any suggestions/ideas from you guys would also be greatly appreciated! :)

Please join us in praying for this trip and all of the others that will be joining us. If you are feeling a little bit curious... here are some blogs that you can follow that will show you a little bit more about what we will be doing...

www.livesayhaiti.blogspot.com
www.blog.compassion.com
www.haitinurse4life.xanga.com
www.haitirescuecenter.wordpress.com

work stuff and philip

2009-06-05T20:23:00.000-07:00

So, I've had a lot of people asking to see some of the work that I do... I will say that I have only been working at my new job for 3 weeks, so hopefully my work will be way better than this in the future.

Here are just a hand-full of the sites that I have designed...

ps... This is a picture update of Philip and his life on the road, playing student life camps, with awesome people...

these days...

2009-06-03T21:36:00.000-07:00

not much to say, but this is our life these days... video chatting... mean faces.

dogs, work, dogs, flowers, dogs... dooooogs

2009-06-02T17:49:00.000-07:00

So, Brandon and Sara are on vacation in Florida. 2 weeks ago when Philip and I went to Florida they kept Baxter which means.... *bump buh di bump* WE GET BAILEY THIS WEEK!!!!!

These 2 dogs are my favorite dogs in the whole world! And it's just crazy to me that they are dogs, but there is still such a HUGE difference between them because of their genders. Bailey is OBVIOUSLY a sweet little lady and Baxter is SO obviously a crazy boy. But they are so sweet together!

This morning they woke me up at about 6am and then after I took them outside to potty we came back in and went back to bed. Next thing I know I'm waking up with Bailey curled up right next to me and Baxter right beside her...... it was precious! Then I turned on the lights and I think they were a bit ticked off.

Remember the picture that Philip took of our seeds we had planted.... well here they are now. I'm pretty sure they are dying. We REALLY need to plant them in the ground... maybe over the weekend.But in the mean time... I planted flowers that were already pretty!!!! :)

beaches and new furniture

2009-05-29T17:32:00.000-07:00

So... We went to Florida last week with Philip's family and had a blast! It rained quite a bit, but we at least got to go to the beach for a couple of days. Here are some pictures from the trip...

This is the view from the condo

This is a veeeeerrrry tricky bathroom at McGuires

Philip and I rented a moped one day

We made a stop at the Bass Pro Shop

This little (or should I say BIG) fishie kept pushing his nose up to the glass to see Philip

Everyone in the condo

Collecting sand for our small group leaders who LOVE Destin

We went to a Air Force Museum

And FINALLY after a super long wait.... WE GOT OUR FURNITURE!!!

What i've been up to...

2009-05-15T10:10:00.000-07:00

today i'm making drum videos!

2009-05-14T07:42:00.000-07:00

I'm working on making instructional drum vids for all of the Rocketboy's old songs. Watch me live if your bored!
Live TV by Ustream

doggie in the water

2009-05-10T14:51:00.000-07:00

Not much to say except church was great today, lunch with friends was awesome, and Baxter went swimming in his pool....

Picture update!!!!

2009-05-09T09:57:00.000-07:00

This last week i've been workin on drums in my shop and realized that I need to organize it better. I kept misplacing things that I needed and I ended up spending just as much time looking for tools as I did actually using the tools. I didn't do many "major" things...I just built some shelves and installed some pegboard! I have to say thanks to Mema (Kim's Grandma) for giving me the inspiration (she gave me about 30 "Family Handyman" magazines.) I found lots of awesome ideas from those magazines. Here are some pictures of the shop!

Here is the overall picture. It's somewhat messy right now.

This is my multipurpose mobile work bench. It has a drill press bolted on it and a buffing wheel, vise, and clamps mounted on it by C-clamps and that red clamp. I sometimes need to make more room on the table, that's why I didn't permanently mount everything to it. My air compressor hides underneath it. It has a polyurethane hose which is sooooo much better than the old rubber hoses (Family Handyman says so!) And yes, that is a vintage ludwig field drum. I say vintage, but I don't know what era it is from...it just looks really old...I plan on restoring it after I finish up the orders I have for other people.

This is my table saw that I have used only a couple of times. I have a cordless circular saw that is much easier to use when I need to make quick cuts.

This is my shop vac and my homemade router table. I would like to eventually upgrade to a shop dust collector.

Underneath my router table.

This is where I keep my shells. It is also mobile so I can move it around to make more room if I need it. You can't see the bottom rack of shells because it is covered by cardboard to protect it from the elements. I also made a really simple sanding table by tapping sandpaper to some laminated MDF.

I'm pretty excited about this. I made these shelves yesterday. I used to have that board held up by cardboard boxes...so they are gone now and I have room underneath the shelf to store other random junk that needs to be out of the shop. :( I still have to buy some wood for the top shelf. It has a 2x4 up there right now.

Just some drums i've been working on. Still waiting on parts to come in. That big blue blob is my roadcase that I built a couple of years ago for my drums. I don't really have a need for it anymore...I need to either sell it or salvage some of the materials and make a case, probably 2, that will fit inside my car. This case fits in my car, but only if I put it in sideways.

This is the other thingy I built on Friday that has already made my worship much more organized and makes me happy. I actually got the pegboard at Lowes for free! and it fit perfectly!!!!! I was gonna buy a whole sheet and have them cut it in half so I could fit it in my car, but then the guy said he had some left over from earlier that he could sell for about $2, but then he just ended up giving me that piece!!! Thanks dude!

This is something I'm pretty excited about also. I now have a place that is totally out of the way to hang drum hoops! I used to have a huge cardboard box on the floor with this hardware in it...it was really annoying to step around it all the time, now I don't have to worry about it!
I'm sure there will be more revisions to the shop...but for now I'm OK.

This picture is our kitchen table that we painted. You might have noticed that the chairs match the dishes!!!! We finally upholstered the 2 chairs that had funky color cushions.

Last but not least, me and Baxter climbed a tree together!!!!

Going Live @ 9 am today!

2009-05-06T06:45:00.000-07:00

The first live broadcast from the shop went extremely well. I had alot of great feedback from the people who were able to watch. I’ve updated the gallery with some W.I.P. pictures of the kit’s i’ve been building. The artists page is also updated.

Watch me make drums @ www.pellisdrums.com

Live Broadcast from the P.Ellis Drums Shop!!!

2009-05-03T21:40:00.000-07:00

I'll be doing another live broadcast from www.pellisdrums.com starting around 9am tomorrow (5/4). I'll be finishing up some drums and I hope you can drop by and watch...you can also message me using twitter while I work.
@pellisdrums

Wheelers and Banana Pudding

2009-05-01T20:10:00.000-07:00

So I know this is a little late, but Brittany and Daniel Wheeler came over Monday night to play some Wii................ here are some pictures of Daniel and Philip dancing. So graceful...

Tonight I decided to make some homemade banana pudding. That's right.... homemade.

So... I was offered a job yesterday!!! And not just any job... A GRRRRREAT JOB!!!!!! I will be a graphic designer for fH (Faith Highway). I will be designing websites and things like that. It should be pretty dang awesome! God has been SO amazing in both of our lives. We moved here to Austin for pretty specific reasons, but God has totally turned all of that upside down and changed everything. Three months ago we would have NEVER seen ourselves where we are now. It's amazing!

Naz T Butts!!!

2009-04-30T20:58:00.000-07:00

So about 2 years ago Kim and I were vacationing with her family at Tybee Island and we were asked to be in a public service commercial with a butt! Cigarette butt that is!!! whoohahaha. We found the commercial on Youtube and decided to share our 30 seconds of fame with you...

Philip's Last Show... :(

2009-04-27T18:44:00.000-07:00

So... Friday night was Philip's last show with the Rocketboys. I just thought that I would post a few videos and pictures to share with you guys that weren't able to be there.

Getting ready to go to the show...

Us at soundcheck

Me and Lindy at soundcheck

The Parish

I love me some Rocketboys...

Gift from Philip's Mom (and family)

P.Ellis Drums

Departure from the Rocketboys

2009-04-27T12:13:00.000-07:00

I just tried to sit down and explain in detail why I resigned from the Rocketboys, but I've already done it once in a personal letter to the Rocketboys and trying to write a public blog about this just won't do it justice. If you would like more details about what is happening in our life just call us, the short version is that God has been moving in our life and through that I've thought about what I want our life/marriage to look like a year from now, 5 years from now and so on... and I slowly, thoughtfully and prayerfully came to the decision that I need to be obedient to what God is calling my life/marriage to look like. We don't know exactly what the future holds, but we are excited because we know and TRUST that God is in control. (I highly recommend listening to the message from Austin Stone from this past Sunday.)

A Walk in the Park

2009-04-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

Me and Kim went for a walk at Barton Springs today. Pretty amazing place. I think we are going swimming there soon!

Interesting ways to make money.

2009-04-16T15:30:00.000-07:00

I just watched T.V. for about 30 minutes and then answered some questions about what I watched (Sports Center) and got paid $20 on a VISA card. Pretty cool huh?

Well I somehow found a flyer or advertisement about a month ago that said Watch TV. Get Paid. So I went to the website and signed up for it, not really expecting to hear from them. It turns out this research company is only 2 exits down from where I live and they do different studies each week. I was the first person to participate in the Sports Center survey. I'm pretty sure you have to live in the Austin area to do this though because they make you come to their research facility.

Anyways, they took me to a dark room with a tv in it and made me wear these glasses that had a camera lens thingy taking video of my eyeball to track where I was looking on the tv. They had to callibrate it at first and I messed up and moved around because i'm pretty fidgety especially when someone asks me to be still. I then watched some of the most boring sports news ever.

After I got my VISA I went to Game Stop and bought a Wii game for $30, but I only paid $1.61 because I traded in Spiderman (I just beat it) and got $10 for it!

I hope to do this again next week!

In other news, I have some friends that donate (sell) plasma twice a week and you can make around $200 a month doing that....but i'm way to scared to let anyone stick me with needles.

Me and Kim are going to a Missional Community group thingy tonight. We've been meaning to get involved with The Stone more than just going and playing on Sunday. So hopefully this group will have some nifty people in it that we can become friends with!
-Philip

Reflections on Easter

2009-04-14T10:04:00.000-07:00

This weekend was very busy for us. After being on planes all day Kim picked me up from the Austin Airport. We then drove straight to Van, TX (about 4 hours from Austin) - home of the Van Vandals and my family. We thoroughly enjoyed being with family. We went to church, ate some lunch (Kim folded the napkins in this picture!) and hung out.
While I was taking Baxter outside to do his doggie business he made a break for the road - wriggled through the iron fence, stopped to play in the muddy water, and then walked right in front of a truck driving by. Thankfully they saw him run out there and they stopped. Here he is taking a shower.

Kim bought a small gardening kit the other day while I was gone. She planted some flowers, watered them and then left them in the window to grow. When we came back from Van we found this!
We were home for a very short time before we had to leave again. The Rocketboys had a show in Abilene last night so we had to leave at noon to get there for soundcheck and dinner. Kim and Baxter came with us! I sometimes think Daniel Wheeler loves Baxter more than we do.

While I was in Colorado recording with David Crain we went to the Good Friday service that Caleb's church had. It was a very reflective service and it was cool because we kinda broke up and reflected and talked and prayed in small groups with the people around us. I don't think I've ever done that in a church setting, i've usually done it in small groups outside of church. I really enjoyed it. Caleb sang a song called "Sweetly Broken". I have heard the song and even played drums for this song before, but I had never actually had the words in front of me to read. The words are pretty amazing and they got me thinking alot. Here they are:

Sweetly Broken
By Jermey Riddle

To the cross I look, to the cross I cling
Of its suffering I do drink
Of its work I do sing

For on it my Savior both bruised and crushed
Showed that God is love
And God is just

Chorus:
At the cross You beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees, and I am
Lost for words, so lost in love,
I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered

What a priceless gift, undeserved life
Have I been given
Through Christ crucified

You’ve called me out of death
You’ve called me into life
And I was under Your wrath
Now through the cross I’m reconciled

Chorus:

In awe of the cross I must confess
How wondrous Your redeeming love and
How great is Your faithfulness

While I was reading these lyrics and after reflecting on the Cross and what happened on it... These lyrics really stuck out to me:

For on it my Savior both bruised and crushed
Showed that God is love
And God is just

This is really hard for me to understand - espeically in the context of Easter and the death of Jesus. I don't fully understand why this Jesus had to go through what he went through in order for us to have access to God. It's pretty mind boggling to me. I always try to have faith like a child, but this is something that has recently stumped me. I'm boggled not in a doubting God kinda way - but in a reflective, amazed and wanting to know more kinda way!

What to do with my day?

2009-04-09T19:03:00.000-07:00

Well, Philip has been in Colorado the last few days, and I have been off work.
The big question for me was... What will I do with my day?

I haven't done a whoooole lot... but I did take Baxter for a good long walk, got Chick-fil-a for lunch, fed a woman down the road, played around a little bit with the website I'm making but got very frustrated because the internet wouldn't work, and then I decided to do some scrapbooking... this is what I did with my day.

Now... I think I will go play my guitar that has not been played for quite a few months now...

Hello Peeps

2009-04-06T21:31:00.000-07:00

Me and Kim just saw an ad on our blog that we thought was pretty silly, so we apologize...but if you ever click on them we get money! I've been experimenting with Google Adsense, and so far we have made $9.67 for doing absolutely nothing! If your not familiar with Adsense you should check it out - get a google account and then get a google adsense account.

Also, I'm still in the process of writing my ebook about how to make drums. So far I have about 30 pages. I'm pretty excited about this. My inspiration for this ebook came from listening to the Internet Business Mastery (IBM) podcasts. You can find it free on Itunes or check out www.internetbusinessmastery.com

An internet business (specifically selling an ebook) appeals to me because:

There are no costly entrance barriers to the market. (I bought makedrums.com, buildcustomdrums.com and makecustomdrums.com all for $7 each, and just by placing ads on the parked domains i've made 1/3 of it back)
It will allow me to work anywhere I want to as long as I have an internet connection.
There is no risk. I just use my spare time to write this ebook and build the site, and if it sells - Great! If it doesn't sell the only thing i've wasted is my spare time.

I wish I could say that I thought of all this, but like I said IBM is one of the most inspiring entreprenuerial podcasts i've found. If you enjoy reading you might want to check out a book called The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss. It is also one of those books that has inspired me.

Once my ebook is up and the sites are up i'll let you know if all this big talk amounts to anything! I hope it does!
-Philip

Puppy Hotel (for the weekend)

2009-04-05T19:02:00.000-07:00

So... Brandon, Sara, and Bailey came to visit us this weekend!! Philip was gone Friday night and most of Saturday playing with Aaron Ivey, but he got back last night and it was SOOOO good to have him back!

There is LOTS to tell and update over the weekend, but Sara already posted pretty much everything on her blog... so if you go here you can read all about the weekend and see great pictures and videos! I will still add a few...

http://saraandbrandon.blogspot.com/

Also...

Other than just the weekend stuff, Philip and I have really been thinking a lot lately about how we spend our time and money. God has really brought it to our attention that we could be doing more with both. We have just realized that we are very blessed, and even though we are newlyweds and aren't the richest people ever, we could still be doing more with our time and money to further his kingdom.

We have just had a lot on our minds about the future. What is God calling us to do? Where will we be in 2 weeks? 10 months? 5 years? We don't just want to do what comes naturally or what exactly it is we want to do... we just really want to be doing whatever it is He has planned for us. We want to make sacrifices and feel like we are actually doing something for others rather than ourselves. What is it that we will do? We have no idea. But we will be praying like crazy and hope that you will do the same for us!

That is all for now...

Playin 'dem druhms

2009-04-04T11:14:00.000-07:00

I've been enjoying my time playing drum for Aaron Ivey. This weekend we are leading worship in Ft. Worth at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. I've met some really cool people and the speaker, David Platt, has given some of the best bible based, Christ centered messages that I've heard in a while. He is up there with our pastor Matt Carter who teaches at the Austin Stone. I've been challenged and convicted every session. I needed this. I plan on getting the recordings of this weekend so I can share them with anyone who wants them. His message is coming from Exodus where God has let Moses lead the people out of slavery....but then when they get out Aaron makes an idol out of a bunch of gold from all the people and then says to the people something like "this is our god who led us out of slavery, lets worship him".....(don't quote me on that) So the people forget about the real (G)od and start worshiping this idol. Platt made the parallel that today's church has done the exact same thing. I don't do this message justice though....just let us know if you want to get the message, it will stir you.

Another key idea this week has been:
All the things we do to help others, like feeding the hungry, helping out the needy, caring for widows and orphans will only be a glorified service project unless we do it in the name of Christ. Then it becomes a mission. You are no longer a humanitarian, but someone who is being Christ to those people and helping usher in the Kingdom of God.

I guess i'm inspired to say the least.
-Philip

He's gone...

2009-03-28T17:29:00.000-07:00

So... Philip is officially gone for a while. I will get to see him a little bit here and there, but he is going to be gone for the better part of 2 weeks. Right now he is in Florida playing with Aaron Ivey, then they will be in Belton, TX, then Fort Worth, and then he is off to Colorado to record for David Crain's 4th CD.

I've been getting a lot of stuff done though since he has been gone and not here to distract me. Yesterday I had a day off and mailed a wedding present to Rebekah and Cody, took some old clothes to Plato's Closet and got $34 in exchange, Philip and I both got paid, I bought a headboard for our bed (sort-of), I got to lay-out in the backyard with Baxter for a bit, watched some Wife-Swap and Super Nanny, etc.

Brandon, Sara, and Bailey are coming to visit next weekend and I can't wait!!! Unfortunately Philip won't be here for that like he was originally supossed to be.

There is talk of Philip and the Rocketboys going on tour for like 5-7 weeks between May and June... maybe a little of July, I'm not completely sure yet. He always finds out about everything last. :)

Work at American Apparel is going pretty well, but I'm definitely still keeping my eyes open for something better. I've even been considering doing another internship while I am working at AA, just so I can meet people and network.

I have been counting down the days until we get to go to the beach in Destin. I just CAN NOT WAIT!!!! I've already got a couple of things in mind that I want to get at work for the trip... oooooh yeah!!!!

Well, I better go play with the pup since he has been home all day without me.

Our first blog entry! Yippee!

2009-03-23T08:04:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone. We jumped on board and got a blog. We hope we can entertain you (our family and friends) while keeping you up to date with whats going on in our life. Enjoy!

The most recent news is - I (Philip) gave myself a haircut. I was working in my drum shop and it was really hot, so I decided I needed to chop off all my hair so I could feel the cool breeze on my bare noggin.

Uncle Sam was really good to us last year and helped us buy a couch, a chair and a ottoman. They will be here in 8-10 weeks.

We also bought a HUGE armoir off Craigslist.com for $75! We then found out that the normally sell for around $1500....! After having it in our house for a week or so...we've realized we just don't like the shade of wood (oak)...and when I said it's HUGE I wasn't exagerating. We need something a little less ginormous. Our plan is to sell it on craigslist for more than we bought it for...and then use that extra dough to get something we really like.

I'll be flying to Jacksonville, FL and then Belton, TX this week to play with Aaron Ivey. It will be fun. Then when I get back i'll be here for about a week before I fly to Durango, CO to record with David Crain. I'm gonna miss Kim (and Baxter) while i'm gone, but we are also thankful that we actually have jobs right now.