And Then It Was 2008

I have to say my first day this year has been lovely. Desi and I slept in a bit and awoke to the sounds of laughter and pitter-pattering of Owen and Emma’s little feet. They were playing some jolly game downstairs and while I was annoyed at how loud they were (two other kids were still asleep), I was filled with joy at the sound of their happy playing.

We enjoyed our traditional cinnamon rolls and quiche for breakfast and then dove into our new games. We played Zingo (Emma’s favorite), SpongeBob Uno (Owen’s favorite) and Kings in the Corner (a new one for our family). Grandma Kate came over for lunch, puzzle putting together and more games. Desi was new to Kings in the Corner, which he really liked. I grew up playing this game (among many others) with my grandmother. Emma and I made Lemon Pudding Cake from scratch and we all enjoyed it while it was still warm. Before we ate, we took out a sheet of paper and wrote out all the blessings from last year that we could think of. Both sides of the page were full!

While our family was blessed with 6 birthdays, an 8th anniversary, vacations, a kitchen remodel, generous gifts from friends and family and new house churches in our network, I think the biggest blessing in our lives has been the gift of friendship and fellowship that we have with the people God has brought into our lives. I have grown closer to my brother than we’ve ever been, I have a couple of close girlfriends that I feel I could confide anything to and they would love, accept and support me. Our kids have numerous people in their lives who love them, interact with them and are great examples to them. Best of all one of our family members is now walking with God!

Our day ended with Micah stopping by to have dinner with us and play a few rounds of Uno Spin before the kids went to bed. They were excited to show off the newly decorated “Starr Kids Club Hideout” which is an extra space behind a wall in Owen’s room. I put up new lights (thanks to Grandma Kate) and cleaned it all up. One side is brick and the other is plywood that goes up to the underside of the roof. I told the kids let’s draw on the wood! We enjoyed creating art all over the wall. I jotted down the date and the kids ages for posterity. Who knows how long we’ll be in this house!

Last night my parents and Mark came over for games and fellowship. I made chicken pot pie, warm spinach salad and monkey bread thinking we’d have more people over. We found a You Tube video of last year’s New York ball drop/countdown to watch with the kids. We joined in the count down and cheered Happy New Year around 8:15. Next year I’d like to have it a bit better planned out (maybe have some poppers or something and let the kids stay up a bit later). As it ended up, everyone left around 8:30 so Desi and I had a quiet evening together. We ended up watching Seinfeld and totally missed the passing of midnight because we were caught up in an episode. Sad, I know.

I decided this past weekend that Hope and I would take another week off school. I have a lot that I’d love to accomplish and skipping school this week will really help. We already have began working on the first thing on the list: Organize toys (throw out broken toys, donate unwanted old toys and clean up the rest). We have a small selection in the living room, more in the basement and even more up in the kid’s two rooms. I am trying to make their rooms appealing to play in. They are used to playing down stairs because I’ve had babies sleeping up there the past few years.

The rest of our week will include:

• Putting away the Christmas stuff.
• Sledding.
• Going through all the kid’s clothes (toss, donate or store for the next kid).
• Thank you notes written and mailed off.
• APC accounting (my volunteer job for our church).
• Library trip to pick up my books on hold and pay my $2 late fee.
• Blogging (duh).
• More game playing with the kids. All of the sudden we love playing games together…how fun! Think of the possibilities as they get older: Rummy games, Risk, Hearts, Texas Hold ‘Em, Monopoly, Catch Phrase, Cranium, Dominos, Majahong, and more.
• Exercise and water aerobics on Friday.
• Work on Photo books for Owen and Hope’s last birthdays and our family album for 2007 (Apple’s photo books are 20% off till February)
• Costco trip (we need kitty litter, paper towels, salad stuff and fruit).
• Possible Lens Crafters trip (not counting on this one though). My glasses are over two years old and fall off my face periodically. No good. I need a new prescription!
• And the usual laundry, dishes, diapers, cleaning and cooking ;D
  

Well, here I go rambling on and on…forgive my lengthy post!

May this new year bring us closer to God and those around us. I pray that we are filled with joy and peace that passes all understanding as we put our hope in Him alone. May we bring God’s kingdom here on earth where ever we go and may we find fellowship in the least expected places. May we enjoy God to the fullest each day that He graciously gives us.

~Rose