Party On!

We have truly been blessed with wonderful friends that have become our family. The Friday after Christmas we had a BUNCH of people over for dinner (thanks Courtney, Jeanne, Heather -it was so tasty!) games and lots of laughter. At the end of the night we said our goodbyes and I glanced at the clock thinking, "wow, almost 10...gotta get these kids in bed!" Once upstairs I realized it was really almost 11pm! We had a wonderful time and look forward to our next party. A big shout out to Ryan who played sword/gun fight with Owen and Ezra for hours! I don't think the boys have ever had so much fun fighting anyone! Thanks to everyone else who took the time to play with all the kiddos that night.

The slide show includes photos from the previous night (Thursday). Hope and I got to go see the "White Christmas" musical with everyone because Ryan's folks couldn't make it. They all hired a limo so everyone could go together and not worry about the crazy amounts of snow that kept dumping. Desi and the kids got to jump in to ride along to drop the group off downtown. Needless to say the kids were super excited (so were we) to ride in it! Hope and I had a wonderful time at the show.
~Rose

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

Starr Christmas 2007

Disclaimer: This post is long and mostly re-caps our Christmas for our long distance family (but you are welcome to read!) and the slide show is LONG as well.


Create Your Own

We have been wonderfully blessed this Christmas with the love and presence of family and friends. Thank you to all who gave and sent wonderful gifts for all of us. Andy (mentioned in the slide show) is Micah and Mark's room mate who moved here in Nov and stayed in our house with the guys while we were in Cali. He is a sweet guy and gave our family really fun gifts. Thanks Andy! Our youngest turned 18 months old on the 26th and the other kiddos are at such a wonderful age for Christmas morning excitement. They were very good about taking turns and waiting patiently for others to open their gifts. We played all day with new toys and games. What fun!

Christmas Eve ended up being just our family, which was unexpected. We had planned on my brother, his friend (we'll call him Jay-more on him later) and Mark. Mark ended up cooking at the guy's house (where Jason and Jay were staying) and invited neighbors over to watch football. Our family had a simple candle light dinner, listened to the Christmas passage from the Bible, and took funny Baby Jesus pictures. We put the kids to bed early, finished wrapping gifts and enjoyed a movie.

My parents arrived Christmas morning around nine with quiche and cinnamon rolls in hand. Mark had to work (RTD never sleeps) and Jason and Jay arrived about an hour later. The day was filled with opening toys packaged like Fort Knox. Thankfully we had all the batteries we needed and there were plenty of people for various games. The trash we created was pretty amazing...but with four kids all getting gifts from an aunt, an uncle, a great uncle, 4 grandparents and 6 great grandparents (as well as a few friends) what else would you expect?!

Mark worked a split shift and came over for a late lunch before returning to work. He said it wasn't busy, but he had some homeless folks get on his bus just to get out of the cold. My parents left around 2. We had a simple spaghetti with meatballs, garlic bread and ceasar salad dinner. Jason and Jay stayed late so they could pick Mark up after his shift was over and go back to the guy's house. All in all it was a wonderful day despite being cooped up inside all day and we were very blessed.

Back to Jay. Jason met him in Boulder (where he goes to CU Boulder) a few months ago. Jay has been homeless for about 8 years. He has an abandoned truck with a covered bed that he sleeps in. Jason has been spending a lot of time with Jay, inviting him to hang out at the frat house and has brought him down here on Saturdays and Sundays for the past few weeks (they stay at the guy's house). Jay's father left when he was young, his mother has joined the Mormon church and says that Jay is unfit for heaven and pretty much ignores him. He has a typical history with drug abuse, ect... He has lots of issues and is on meds for a few things. Currently he is waiting for disability to start and says that because of his metal issues that it's really hard to hold down a job for any length of time. He talks about his future with some hope though. He wants to go to college to be a lawyer ("to fight for the little guy" and "then my mom will be proud of me" as he told my mom). He wants to have a place to live and a normal life.

Overall, I see him as a lost and hurt soul who really needs love. He's been wounded and has a very high and thick wall up so he won't get hurt again. But, I am finding it difficult to show him love. He smells of cigarette smoke mixed with bo, he's pretty grizzly looking and doesn't have the best manners/people skills. I am being totally honest here which is a bit hard. I didn't want to spend my Christmas with him in our house all day! I don't like how he makes everything about him, how he complains about everything and is negative most of the time. I battled my thoughts all day and sort of steered clear of him. My mom was amazing toward him though. She brought him a gift, included him in a game and was just really sweet and kind. The kids have gotten to know him a little over the past month or so and have been totally unbiased to him as well. Emma even climbed up on his lap with a book and asked him to read to her! Upon leaving he thanked us and said it was the best Christmas he's had in a really long time and he doesn't remember when he's had so many home cooked meals. Later that evening he told Jason that being around all of us (including our APC family) has improved his morale. You know as I look back on our day I do not feel like we were robbed of "family time" at all. I am thankful (sort of) for this opportunity to grow!

So, pray for "Jay" that God will reach his lost soul. Pray for my brother as he finds a balance in his friendship with Jay. Jay is the type of person that suffocates a friendship till the other person is done. Jason is feeling this now. Jason just really wants to learn from this and already has grown and learned a lot. It's amazing to see his maturity and love (that is totally from God) towards Jay. Jason wants to help Jay without enabling him to continue down the path he's on. I am praying that Jay will learn and grow from my brother and be open to God who sent Jesus to call sinners to repentance.

I think we all have people who come into our lives who at first glance seem easy to judge. May we be quick to show kindness, love and generosity and very slow to make assumptions or judgments. The world is FULL to the brim of hurting souls in need of a touch, kind word or deed done as unto Jesus by those who love Him. The Bible says we love Him because He first loved us and I think a lot of that love we experience from Him comes through other people here on earth. What are your thoughts?

~Rose

Luke 5:30-32 "And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

I'm Dreaming Of A White Christmas!

Good Morning and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

This is what we woke up to:
This is only the 14th Christmas with snowfall in Denver in the last 100 years! In 2005 we had a high in the 60's on Christmas.
I like little facts like that.

"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."
Matthew 1:21

Merry Christmas from the Starr Family to you!!!

~Rose

What to do on Christmas Eve?

Surprise your kids with a trip to the movie theater! Our kids see a movie in the theater only a few times a year, so it's very special. Little do they know daddy is taking them to the discount cinemas ;) Desi took them to a 2pm showing of Bee Movie which I'm sure they'll love.

I think Desi and I both would have liked to take them, but I opted to stay home while Levi naps and enjoy the peace and quiet. I'll blog a bit, read a few chapters out of my current book (A New Kind of Christian by Brian McLaren) with a cup of tea, listen to some classical music and start on food prep for tonight and tomorrow's meals. Sounds divine. The only thing missing is a roaring fire...but I'll settle for the dish heater.

Hope your day is lovely.

~Rose

Super Sledding Saturday

Last Saturday we were invited to my parent's house for lunch. Honestly I didn't really want to go since I still had so much to do, but looking back I am so glad we did. I think we all needed to get out and enjoy time away from home. I thought we could try sledding if it was warm enough. The sun was shining so we geared up to go out before lunch. Levi got a present early: a little sled thing with a seat and seat belt. The kids took turns pulling it and if for that day alone, it was worth the price! Desi and mom worked on setting up a berm to start off from and away the kids went. I love our "boogie board" type of sled. It's flexible and light weight. I think we may need another one...it's hard to wait your turn when 6 people are sledding. We all went down, even Grandma and Desi and I. What fun! I love being outdoors when the ground is covered in snow. It's magical. I feel God's love when I am in His beautiful creation.
~Rose

The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found? ~J.B. Priestley

Weather is a great metaphor for life - sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, and there's nothing much you can do about it but carry an umbrella. ~Pepper Giardino

There's one good thing about snow, it makes your lawn look as nice as your neighbor's. ~Clyde Moore

Snowballs and Uno

This shot cracks me up...it's so hard to get all four kiddos in one shot, and i just love this moment that I happened to capture.
And Levi in the Tigger costume- too cute!
Hope made snowballs for everyone with our snowball maker. I know, a snowball maker...we got it on clearance at the end of the season and it's great!

Yep, they eat their snowballs. I explained how dirty the snow really is.
They don't care. Gross.

My Christmas card helper. Seven year olds are great!

My dinner helper. Counter tops are great!

Our new favorite past time. UNO. We LOVE this game...especially Owen. All five of us play and I am amazed to see Owen and Emma learning their numbers as a result. We play Sponge Bob Uno where there is a wild card that when played the person with the least amount of cards has to pick one from the deck and one from the players to the right and left of them. Very exciting. The kids are learning the joy of playing games and are learning that you can lose a game and still have fun. Good lessons for little people!

I just finished my Christmas shopping last night! What a great feeling. I have 7 packages to mail and still have a bunch of cards to mail as well, but we still have over a week. We made peppermint bark to give to our neighbors...hopefully this afternoon. The sun is out and Denver is defrosting, which is nice. I am hoping for a White Christmas though.

As far as exercising goes, I LOVE water aerobics! I was so sore for two days from Friday's workout. I am usually getting two 30 minute stationary bike workouts in every week as well, but would like to up that. I am finding that it is difficult to start out on the bike, but once I get over that "hump" I really can enjoy the workout and all that sweat! I am amazed at how getting moving is helping me to get up earlier. I love to sleep. Always have, always will. I had been wanting to get up earlier though to have some quiet morning time to read and pray. For awhile I was not exercising and just doing my morning time but it was so hard. Now it is so much easier. I did not expect that at all. Thanks for all the encouragement from you my friends!

Happy Sunday to you. May you find time to connect with your Creator and enjoy some peace, joy and love of family or friends. Find your Uno deck and grab some kids for some fun!

~Rose

One More California Slideshow!

I wanted to post one last slide show of various pics from our CA trip. We loved the Los Alamos Sports Park playground! The shade tent was wonderful and it was fun to meet old and new friends there for lunch. I took the kids back there one day while Desi had a lunch meeting. Owen almost fell asleep in the sand. It was so warm we were all in flip flops and the sand felt so good between our toes :)

For Thanksgiving we were at Desi's parent's house. Jan drove Papa up from Escondido and we were all sad that Grandma Maxine had to miss out since she was in the hospital. We made the most of it though and enjoyed Shannon's wonderful cooking, Costco pies for dessert and pin the hat on the turkey after dinner. Grandpa Des amazed Owen and Emma with his barrel of monkeys skills and Owen got to show Papa his magnetic car. As far as Grandma Maxine goes, she is doing better at home but is still not fully healthy. Thanks for your continued prayers.

On our last Saturday, we got to spend time with our friends the Eberts and that night our friends the Piphers hosted a potluck for us. It was wonderful to see long time friends. We dined on great food and played Cranium and pool. Thanks again Scott and Tracy (and Megan) we had a wonderful time with you guys!

Sunday the kids got to play a little b-ball and we visited with so many wonderful people at Calvary Chapel Murrieta. That night we were treated to the best carne asada tacos at Joe and Rosie's. Somehow I failed to get a pic of their dog (which I wanted to steal). Our kids loved playing there and it was so hard to leave!

The last pic is of Owen and Emma sharing a rocking chair. Amazing. They are touching and smiling at the same time! Precious moments :) Thanks again to our family and friends. We miss you and are blessed to have you in our lives.
~Rose

Please Pray for Maxine

My husband's grandmother was in the hospital for about a week or so while we were in CA over Thanksgiving. She was very sick, but got healthy enough to go home (still being very weak and not fully recovered). We took the kids to see her before we left and she seemed to be doing better each day and even came outside for a bit.

Well, we got a text from Desi's mom that her mom was getting worse today. Please pray for Jan (Desi's mom) to have strength, patience, love, and wisdom as she helps her mom and dad. Pray for Maxine's healing as well and poor Jerry as he see's how sick his wife is. Thanks so much!

Here are a few pics of our trip to their house.
~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

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