Five Miles

Five miles on the bike tonight!
The first few workouts are the hardest.
~Rose

Home Sweet Home!

We all slept so well last night! It's so good to be home. We had the best trip yet to Cali, but there really is no place like home. It even felt good driving around last night as we picked up dinner. Weird. It's just so different here than in Murrieta, CA where we stayed for the past 3 weeks and I had no idea how accustomed we had become to things here. I'm not saying it's better here...just diff. One thing I will miss though...the weather was perfectly balmy there. In the upper 70's with a breeze and morning cloud cover. It was 36 degrees when we landed (with snow on the ground). I do love Denver winters though...I just cannot wear flip flops year round here!

Today I have one goal: empty all the suitcases. We had 10 checked bags (including 3 car seats in one bag) and 5 carry ons. Yeah, that is a lot of bags to unpack. Two of them were old suitcases filled with hand me downs. I think Hope got like $300 worth of the cutest jeans, skirts, shirts, coats, ect... Thanks again Rosie if you are reading this! One good thing: most of the clothes are clean :) I'm currently about 3/4 through...all that's left is the clothes upstairs. Levi fell asleep on the couch, so I'm staying down here till he wakes up. Here is my to do list...

My immediate to do list:
Unpack
Mail sorting
Bills
APC accounting
Meal planning
Meal shopping
Get phone looked at-it won't charge with a new charger
Download trip photos (all 680 of them)
Put away Fall decor
Get out Xmas decor & tree
Look over Hope's home school for Monday

Next week to do list:
Christmas Cards (take family photo, order at Costco)
Write a gift list
Newsletter
Weather strip two doors
Exercise at least three times, hopefully 5 times

And now for a true confession: I am overweight. I knew it for awhile now, but have not wanted to admit it. Having to buy a dress for the wedding was not fun. I had to get a size 14 and it was not my first choice for attractiveness. All this to say. I need to exercise so bad. I need to eat better as well. My family will benefit from the choices I make to keep myself healthy. Poor Owen has food sensitivities as well and needs to eat very healthy for his digestive track to work properly, so this change will be good for him too.

I have decided to post my weight and ask you my friends to keep me accountable. I can say it's hard because I have 4 kids and home school, but that is just an excuse. So, here it goes...I weigh 185 pounds! I'm going to put a ticker on the bottom of my blog and keep it updated as to my progress. Thanks for reading!

~Rose

Going Home

This is how I feel today!

Today is our last full day here in Cali. Time for laundry and packing...a trip to Trader Joes with a gift card we got Sunday. Our last meal with Desi's family. Tomorrow our flight leaves Ontairo at 2pm. I am so thankful to be going home!

Our time here has been amazing. Totally wonderful and amazing. God provided lots of special time for Grandma Jan and the kids before we left for the desert. The second day we were there we heard that G-gma Maxine had to go to the hospital. The whole time we were gone, Jan was busy with her mom and dad. Since Thanksgiving we've only seen her in bits. Lots of Grandpa Des time...and for that we are thankful! Yesterday we saw Maxine. She was doing so much better and is on the road to recovery. Too bad we could not spend more time with her, but God knows. Please pray for her recovery as well as Jan (she is spending a LOT of time down there). I think she'll have to visit us in the Spring for more good Grandma time.

Thanks to all of you who had us over and spent time with us. We are so grateful for the wonderful friends we have here. We will miss you all!

~Rose

The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet.
~James Openheim


Often people attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want, so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want.
~Margaret Young

Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.
~Abraham Lincoln

Tidepools and the Beach

After saying goodbye to Kameron and Steph, we headed down MacArthur Blvd to the Crystal Cove area. Thanks to Kameron's recommendation we had a blast at the beach. I LOVE the beach and it is the thing I miss the most living in land locked Colorado.

Our Family

Beautiful views

The tide pools and coast

The kids enjoyed finding critters. A lady came out and showed us good places to look and what the rules of the tide pools are. Good stuff to know.

We found this cool coral just laying on the ground.

The kids quickly tired of carefully walking along the rocks and such, so we moved over to the beach. The kids loved the wet sand, running away from the water and finding treasures. Hope asked me why we didn't bring our swim suits. It was so warm I was wondering the same thing. We all got pretty wet. Oh well.

Levi loved the wet sand and chatted with the water. Shells were good for throwing.
It was so stinkin hard to pull ourselves away from the beach. Next time we visit Cali, we are spending more than a few hours here. It will be an all day event!

~Rose

Every time we walk along a beach some ancient urge disturbs us so that we find ourselves shedding shoes and garments or scavenging among seaweed and whitened timbers like the homesick refugees of a long war. ~Loren Eiseley

Long Time Friends

These pics are from our first week out here in Cali. We drove down to Santa Ana to see my long time friend Kamron and her son Aidan (sorry we missed you Paul) and our friend Steph (whom Kameron and I have both had as a room mate). The kids enjoyed the cool playground near Kameron's house.

Aidan did so well sharing his toys. The biggest problem was seeing Levi using his old cup!

Steph, Kameron and me. Thanks for your hospitality Kameron! It was a joy to see you and Steph. I am thankful for bloggie land to help us stay in touch :)

~Rose
p.s. pray for Kameron...she's due any day now with baby #2! Doesn't she look wonderful for being 9 months pregnant?!

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival. ~C.S. Lewis

It takes a long time to grow an old friend. ~John Leonard

Happy Thanksgiving

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~Melody Beattie

So, Today is Thanksgiving. I have fond memories of past Thanksgivings. Growing up we usually spent it with my mom's side of the family. Grandma Nina (in Lomita, CA) or Aunt Nina (in Carpinteria, CA) would host and all the aunts and uncles and cousins would gather for card games and the feast! I have 7 cousins on that side. Most years we would not all be together since one family is in Australia and another in Washington. But some years we were all together and then even more family of family would come. I loved it as a kid. The games, the conversation, the good food. It brings tears to my eyes when I think back on those fond memories.

As our family grows and now that we live in Denver, the past few Thanksgivings have been different. The Thanksgiving after 911 Desi spent in New York. Grandma Nina had passed away less than a week before 9/11 so we gathered around Grandpa Dave and tried to enjoy the holiday without the one who made it most special. Other years we have spent it with our church family in Denver. This year we find ourselves in California with Desi's family. His grandmother Maxine is in the hospital and won't be with us today. She's been in for almost a week now. They discovered an ulcer, black spots on her lungs and she has penumonia. She should get out tomorrow. Pray for her recovery! Desi is down there now with his mom and grandfather. We will have dinner together this afternoon. We are thankful to be here now and to have this time with Desi's parents, sister and grandparents.

Speaking of thankful, I love the focus of Thanksgiving. Giving thanks is good to do-all the time. It's amazing how it will put things into perspective when you are struggling with something. I pray that you are able to spend some time today (and each day) giving thanks to God from whom all blessings flow. Spend time with your family and friends. Turn the TV off and go on a walk. Talk. Pray. Look into the eyes of those you love and tell them what they mean to you. We do not know what tomorrow will bring. Make the most of today!

I thank you...my blog friends and readers. You are a blessing to me. I blog for soul adjustment and perspective. I hope that I do not paint this "perfect" picture of my life...but rather just honest depictions of little snippets of my life. The "highlights" if you will. Sometimes I confess my sins, my hopes, my strong beliefs and my dreams. Thank you for accepting me for who I am and joining me in my journey. I have enjoyed being a "part" of your lives as well.
~Rose

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow. ~Edward Sandford Martin

Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds. ~Theodore Roosevelt

Camping In The Desert With 9 Children!

So, we got back last night from the desert. We were about 10 miles from Yuma, Arizona. It was about a 5 hour drive from Temecula, CA where we are staying. We drove up in the motor home and back in a car. David and Sharee brought up their 4 neice/nephews and a friend as well so it was a full house. We played games, rode the quads, enjoyed campfires, made new friends and just relaxed! What a great trip :)

The Gang: Four adults and 9 children!

Hope learned how to ride the little 50cc "little red" and went around this berm track over and over again. Owen learned how to ride it as well and Emma and Levi got rides on it with an adult.

I think we really got hooked on this desert dune thing!

David and Desi on their last ride together. They went out to the dunes and rode up the "hill" twice! That's my man!

This is the "hill"...at the top are two large sand rails and I think that is a quad near the top. David and Sharee are on their way up. I was not comfortable on the 400cc bikes (I rode it once) and my little 90 would not make it up. The hill was way too intimidating for me to go up alone, but I got to go up in Dave Van Hulzen's beefy 4runner. It was probably the most fun I have had since my roller coaster days. We rode with a large group of sand rails and quads and spent probably close to an hour in the dunes going in and out of the bowls.

Sunset on our last night. Buddy (the Adam's dog) was a big hit with Levi. You could hear Levi calling "Buuudee" when he saw him.

I took close to 200 pictures out there, so I have more to share, but this was all I time to load up today. More to come at a later date. We had a blast camping and it was relaxing and fun to be there with many families and kiddos. Hope made a friend named Selah and they are going to be pen pals. Thank you David and Sharee for bringing us out along with your kiddos. This will be one of the most memorable trips our family has ever taken. We are truly blessed and enjoyed our time with you both.

~Rose

The sky is the daily bread of the eyes. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

A Good Family is Worth It's Weight In Gold!

We are really enjoying our time here. It seems the days go by so quickly though. Yesterday we drove down to Santa Ana to see my long time friend Kameron and old friend/roomie Steph. I still need to download the pics so bear with me :) It was fantastic to see Kameron (who happened to be my BFF in High School and maid of honor in my wedding) and her cutie pie son Aidan. We played at a near by park and then took a snack break in her cute condo. Thanks for your hospitality Kameron. You look fantastic and I'll be praying for a smooth labor and delivery...hopefully sooner rather than later ;)

After saying our good-buys and rounding up our wild and noisy kiddos we headed down MacArthur Blvd to PCH to go to the Corona Tide Pools. Man, we should have brought our suits, it was so warm we could have gone in the ocean. The kids loved the beach and did NOT want to leave. But alas, in Orange County you must beware the traffic on the 91!

Today the family (save Levi and I) went back to Knott's. I am not feeling all that well and wanted to get laundry and snack shopping done before we leave tomorrow for camping (in a motorhome). I think it will be nice to be out there for the next few days and just stay put in one spot. I am not used to all this coming and going (and neither are the kids for that matter). So, I'll be offline till Wed evening :D

Here are a few pics of Desi's family and the kids. They are the best in-laws ever! Grandpa Des-ever sweet and kind. I feel at peace around him.Aunt Shannon in her classroom. She is a fantastic aunt and sister. I only wish we lived closer so we could see her more often.

Grandma Jan, full of wisdom and joy. She brings a positive spirit to our family and is so encouraging and just knows how to have fun with the kids.

Now time for some honesty. I am really struggling with loving Owen on this trip. It's totally my thing and I do not blame him for acting like a child. He is still having bowel issues and it's so darn frusterating to have him continue to whine and cry way more than the girls. He is a really great kid, but I have been having a really hard time with him. It's so hard to admit this, but this is what God is using in my life right now. I do not have health issues, I do not have difficult co-workers, I do not have loss in my life right now. What I have is a boy who needs a lot of love and patience and I am failing at giving it. Please pray for me on this camping trip that I will be able to connect with Owen and find my joy in God in the midst of situations that usually get me angry. I know God wants to help me in this and I am ready to surrender it to Him. Thank you my friends.
~Rose

Little Aunt Shannon and A Potluck Dinner

Wow, I am so stinkin' tired. But I knew that's how I would feel going into this vacation! Here is a pic from Saturday night. Jan had put on a tape of little 5 year old Aunt Shannon singing Thanksgiving Day songs. She was so cute and our kids had a blast watching her.I met my friend Lori at the Los Alamos Sports Park today for a few hours of playground fun while Desi drove the newlyweds to LAX. Thanks to Des Sr, Levi and I got a little shopping and rest in this afternoon and we all had dinner together once Desi got home. After dinner it was over to the Pipher's to hang out. Speaking of the Piphers, they have graciously offered their house for a get together. I emailed a bunch of people, but if you are reading this and did not get the invite, than this is your invitation! We hope to see you there.

~Rose

You are all invited (and anyone else you know) to come potluck with us!
Where: the Pipher abode
When: Saturday November 24th
Time: arrive 4:30 Dinner at 5pm
Please Bring: a main dish, side dish, dessert or drinks :)

There is a nice pool table so if we get enough people we can have a little tourney. This is a family friendly event so bring your little tykes if you have any. Hope to see you there! RSVP back to me only if you feel like it.

At every party there are two kinds of people - those who want to go home and those who don't. The trouble is, they are usually married to each other. ~Ann Landers

California Adventures With Grandpa Des

The above pic was taken last Wednesday while waiting for our plane to arrive in DIA. Notice the two goofs to the left of Hope. The next few pics are from the following day when Des Sr. (aka: Grandpa) took us to In-N-Out and Knott's Berry Farm.

This is my favorite shot from the day. Little Emma enjoying Lucy's Tugboat so much that she can do "no hands" all by herself!

~Rose

And We Have Sitters!

Whew, we've got sitters for the kids! Desi and I took the kids over to CCM yesterday to see Grandpa Des's office and say hi to a bunch of people. We interrupted Aunt Shannon's class and wouldn't you know it, the gal that was recommended to me for babysitting the boys was in her class! I asked and Erica said yes! Yipee! I am very confident that she'll be fine with the boys. I'll attempt to put Levi down for a nap and then there is always the cell phone, so I can come to the condo if needed. What did we do before cell phones? Those poor babysitters just had to deal with the screaming babies (been there, done that!).

Desi is out with Tim doing last minute errands. They have been friends since they were little boys and it's such a blessing to be a part of Tim's wedding. Lauren is super wonderful and a great fit for Tim. We look forward to a life long friendship with them.

The kids have all had one on one time with Grandma Jan and are loving it. They get to spend the night and be the center of attention. Hope's night is tonight. She gets to go see High Tops the musical at CCM with Aunt Shannon and Grandma Jan. Tomorrow we get to church when 1st ends, go to 2nd service, stay till 3rd starts and then Desi is off with Tim to make sure he eats and is dressed and ready by 1pm. I'll have to leave to take the girls to Erin's house by 1:45 or so. The wedding starts at 2:30. After the wedding, I'll grab the girls and head home. Shannon and her boyfriend will come over so we can get to know Gregg a bit better (which will be nice, since we won't get to see him again this trip-he lives up in Northridge-I think).

~Rose
p.s. one of my bestest friends in the whole world (Dori) sent me a link to a great website full of quotes...as you can tell I am hooked! Hope you enjoy the quotes...otherwise ignore them ;)

There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage.
~Martin Luther
(of whom we named our son after: Levi Martin Luther Starr)

Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.
~Emily Brontë

Come, let's be a comfortable couple and take care of each other! How glad we shall be, that we have somebody we are fond of always, to talk to and sit with.
~Charles Dickens

Love one another and you will be happy.
It's as simple and as difficult as that.
~Michael Leunig

Sometimes It's Good To Be A Veteran

Grandpa Des got all 7 of us into Knott's for only $51!!!!! Can you believe it? We arrived shortly after lunch and stayed till the 6pm closing. The weather was cool and cloudy (wonderful) and there were hardly any people there! The kids were pumped and a bit overwhelmed at first. Camp Snoopy was a big hit.

Owen's favorite ride: Charlie Brown Speedway-where the best ride operator ever let the kids ride three times in a row. Emma's favorite ride: the airplanes (even though she never got her's up in the air). Hope's favorite ride (and mine): the LOG RIDE! We did it three times and I could have done it more. Love it! We talked Owen and Emma into joining us on the first go and they were so stinkin scared! Owen said he was not scared, but did NOT want to ride again. The only ride we had to wait in line for was for the stagecoach. All in all it was fantastic. We got home with kids in bed by 9pm. Not bad.

Thank you Grandpa Des for a wonderful day at Knotts and tasty dinner after. To quote Hope, "This was the best day of my whole entire life!"

Tomorrow is Tim and Lauren's rehersal and dinner. Des and Jan will babysit so we can go together. Pray for the kids to be good for their grandparents! We are still working on babysitters for Sunday afternoon (the wedding is from 2:30-8). I'm planning on splitting the kids up if we can so no one is overwhelmed by our four loud children!
~Rose


We should all have one person who knows how to bless us despite the evidence, Grandmother was that person to me.
~Phyllis Theroux

The best baby-sitters, of course, are the baby's grandparents. You feel completely comfortable entrusting your baby to them for long periods, which is why most grandparents flee to Florida.
~Dave Barry

Is It Always So Moist Here?

We arrived safe and sound in Ontairo, CA yesterday around 1pm. The plane ride was wonderful. The seat near Owen and I never got a body, so Levi had his own space to move around in. The kids did very well and the only bad part was landing...Levi just screamed...I mean SCREAMED for the whole landing. Everyone around us was really understanding and one grandma said some encouraging words to me as I tried to restrain the crazy Levi.

We have a super nice two bedroom condo to stay in in Murrieta. Boy has this place changed and grown since we first lived here over 8 years ago! Calvary Chapel Murrieta has blessed our socks off with providing this place for us to stay as well as gift cards for food and gas.

Grandpa Des is taking us to Knott's Berry Farm today as a surprise for the kids. Grandma Jan is not feeling well, so pray for her as she stays home to rest. We'll get to see Aunt Shannon tonight hopefully and catch up with her. Time to go! I'll post pics in a few days.

I miss all you Denver folk already!
~Rose

APC Fall Retreat 2007

Last weekend we celebrated Hope's 7th birthday up in the mountains with our church family. She had asked to invite everyone from church so it made sense to celebrate on our retreat. Click here to see all the pics from our fantastic weekend.

I'm 97% packed and totally pumped that I found some new bras today. It's amazing how great a nice new bra can make a mom of 4 feel ;) Looking forward to seeing some of you very soon!

~Rose

"Independence"... [is] middle-class blasphemy. We are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth.
~G.B. Shaw, Pygmalion, 1912

Holy Smokes! 500 posts!

Yeah, this is my 500th post! I was just going to drop a line to tell ya'll that we had a great weekend up in Dillon, CO with our house church group.

I kind of feel like those big anniversary posts should be special, but this is all I've got ;)

It was such a fun retreat...only one scheduled event...Sunday morning gathering. The rest of the time we ate, sang, prayed, hiked, walked, fellowshipped and just enjoyed each other's company. Levi slept with me (aka: no sleep for momma) and the rest of the kids shared a bedroom with the Kylander kids. It was one big slumber party. I'll post pics soon.

Today I did laundry, science experiments with a pumpkin and the kids, shopped for a few last minute things and just enjoyed being home most of the day. Tonight I had my LTG with S and A. They are such sweet girls and I find a place of peace, love and acceptance with them that is so refreshing in this world. I will truly miss them these next three weeks!

My goal for tomorrow is to check off everything that is on my list and to be packed by tomorrow night. We leave the house at 9:30am Wednesday for 3 weeks in CA!

Micah and Mark (who have moved in) will be taking care of the best cat in the world (Bedhead) and will be watching/taking care of our old girl of a house. We are thankful she won't sit empty for three weeks.
~Rose

"Household tasks are easier and quicker when they are done by somebody else."
James Thorpe

"I must take issue with the term 'a mere child,' for it has been my invariable experience that the company of a mere child is infinitely preferable to that of a mere adult."
Fran Lebowitz US writer and humorist (1950 - )

Library Day!

Every Thursday we go to the BIG library downtown. They have a wonderfully fabulous story time and free craft at 10:30am. I go every other week with all four kids and my mom to help. The other weeks she will take one or two kids alone. We have really enjoyed getting to know Miss Christy the librarian. She uses colorful voices as she reads, has the kids get up for dancing or songs and uses a theme to tie in the books and craft. Two weeks ago I brought my camera to capture a "trip to the library" for posterity's sake.

The day was so warm we ended up getting wet in the fountains in front of the Art Museum. Mom and I were cracking up because of how happy Levi was (squealing with laughter) and then the older kids started playing follow the leader (Levi was the leader). It was one of the funniest things they have done in a long time. I'm sure the sophisticated adults sitting around sipping their lattes were appalled.

Thanks again mom for all your help and not running away from the noise our kids create.
~Rose

Random Pics

I found these random shots today. So cute. I made the hat for Emma. Hope wants one now. The flower and trim makes the hat in my opinion!

This is the house next door. Dan moved out last week. The bank sent people to unload the stuff that was left. All day long people came to scavenge. I feel bad for Dan losing the house. It's happening all over the country though. Praying for nice new neighbors. Devin: now you can come stay with us and don't have to sneak in at night!

Dress up fun.

~Rose

Home School Weekly Digest

Last week Hope began her study of the individual states in the order they joined the Union. We began with Delaware. For each state, she gets a state sheet, learns some facts, puts the flag sticker on and colors the state bird and flower (looking at a colored card for reference). You can pause the slide show to get a longer look at the pages. I had borrowed two books on each state: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Georgia to learn about the states in colonial times and what they are like now. I love the library.

We began reading Indian in the Cupboard for our read aloud since there was no scheduled read aloud this week. Both Hope and Owen are loving the book. We read it over the next week or so. We'll take the next 4 weeks off for our vacation (except for a little Thanksgiving unit and one week of spelling in CA). What a joy it is to teach and I am thankful to be a teacher (it's in my blood).
~Rose

Dumb

So, I don't know how it happened, but upon erasing some pics from Picasa, they got deleted off my blog. It's like someone ripping photos out of a scrapbook page. Ouch.

I re-posted all the pics (and some new ones) into slide shows for this page. Eventually I'll go back and re post them to the older posts. This is when the perfectionist and impatience comes out in me. I want the blog fixed and I want it fixed correct and asap! Time to learn to let go and have some patience.
~Rose

What? No Snow on Halloween?

It usually snows on or the day before/after Halloween. Because of this we have usually stayed in our warm house or gone up to Thornton to enjoy the Kylander's fireplace. This year we decided to stay home because Desi had a late afternoon meeting.

The weather turned out to be wonderful. After dinner we suited up the kiddos and hit the streets. Our friend Brian came over with his two cutie pie dogs (his wife was home sick). We saw almost all our neighbors, met many new neighbors and had a blast! Once home we quickly handed out our large bag of dum-dums. It's amazing how CUTE kids are in costumes.

The best part of the night was as we were almost home. A full grown woman came up to the door behind us to trick or treat with her Safeway bag. She had no costume and Desi talked with her a bit. She wondered why people were hassling her for asking for candy and she said Halloween is for adults too. Yeah, that is my neighborhood.

It was the best Halloween for our family yet. I think the reason is the good weather...who wants to trek through snow or bitter cold wind? I think of all the "holidays" that we Americans celebrate, Halloween is the most community centered. When else are most people's porch lights on and doors open with a smiling face behind it? Hope you enjoyed last night too!

~Rose