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.”

Zingo, Walking in the Snow and Gingerbread

Christmas Morning Smiles!

Well, it's snowing (dumping) again. Yesterday was sunny and warm (sort of). My brother spent Tue night with us. We all slept in a bit and enjoyed coffee and quiche for breakfast. We then played quite a few rounds of Zingo (a new game Emma got for Christmas). We all took turns being the dealer and had a jolly time. Jason wanted to get back to Boulder, so he packed up and slid around a bit on his motorcycle till he got to clear streets.

Once Levi was down for his nap I got the shovel out and finished shoveling our half of the block (the house next door is empty and the other one's owners are on holiday). After that I took the kids on a walk to Safeway so we could rent a movie. We saw they had a gingerbread house kit on sale for $3.75 so we bought it and rented The 12 Dogs Of Christmas. By the time we were home our noses and chins were freezing! We snuggled up in blankets and enjoyed the movie. After dinner we decorated our gingerbread house and then ate some of it. Dec. 26th is Levi's half b-day so he's officially 18 months old! He loved picking the jelly beans off the house but was not into the gingerbread at all. Desi and I watched a movie after the kids went to bed and a few episodes of Seinfeld (The Gum, The Rye and The Caddy) before hitting the sack.

The day was so full that I never sat down to the computer (that hardly ever happens!). So, today I get to catch up on bills, the checkbook, edit and post photos from Christmas, shovel the sidewalk again and enjoy being snuggled up inside on a cold snowy day.
~Rose

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

Happy Christmas Eve!

Christmas hath a darkness; Brighter than the blazing noon; Christmas hath a chillness Warmer than the heat of June, Christmas hath a beauty Lovelier than the world can show: For Christmas bringeth Jesus, Brought for us so low.
- Christina Rosetti

Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won't make it 'white'."
~ Bing Crosby (1904-1977), American singer and film actor.

Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect."
~ Oren Arnold

Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more."
~ Dr. Seuss (1904-1991), American author of children's books. From 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas'.

This is Christmas: not the tinsel, not the giving and receiving, not even the carols, but the humble heart that receives anew the wondrous gift, the Christ.
- Frank McKibben

Matthew 1:21
And she will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.

On the Cutting Edge!

The Kylanders came over last Sunday for dinner and brought a gift that was sent to them for both our families from Brent and Lisa. We opened it together and all had a good laugh when we saw it was a Flowbee Hair Cutting System.

After dinner the guys decided to try it out. I had to take some pics (of course). We I-chatted with Brent and Lisa, so they could see it in action. I have no idea how these sold (or are still selling- check it out). You have to pull out the vacuum, plug it in, plug the Flowbee in, attach various hoses and then you can't even get all that close of a cut. We didn't really read the directions though. Too much work and too many hoses for a hair cut. I prefer clippers and scissors. It's not that hard to sweep up the hair after.

Desi even tried it on Owen the next day. NOT A GOOD IDEA. That one ended in tears and had to be fixed with the clippers. Josh did a great job on Desi's hair, but I did have to clean it up a bit with my clippers!

Thanks again Brent and Lisa. That was a great gift ;) Now, who do we pass this baby along to who will appreciate it? Any takers?
~Rose

3.8 Million Packages

"By midnight, the metro area expected to take in about 3.8 million packages, the second-heaviest volume, behind Phoenix." -John C. Ensslin for the Rocky Mtn News

Yesterday I skipped school with Hope in order to finish my Christmas cards and get my packages to be mailed all ready to go. Desi agreed to take them to the post office for me so I could get dinner ready. He went to our BIG downtown post office and I told him, hopefully you won't be in line for a long time, but be prepared! While he was waiting, a reporter from the Rocky Mtn News came in to interview people. He wanted to know where packages were going, what people were sending, ect... He asked Desi if this was late for him to be mailing the boxes. Desi told him, for me no, but since it's my wife, yes it's late for her because she usually has her act together. I searched on line for the article and low and behold, Desi got quoted in it! Here's the link.

Now I'm off to mail the last three to my grandparents and Desi's parent's house. I had ordered something earlier in the month and finally they arrived this morning. They are wrapped and ready to go. I hope they make it on time!
~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

Deck The Halls

The kids have been dying to get the Christmas tree out. After unpacking (all the suitcases except for the hand-me-down clothes), we gathered up the fall decorations and boxed them up. My brother came over and while Desi was gone studying we put up the tree and decorated it. The kids loved seeing which ornaments had their names on them (I buy or make a new ornament for each kid every year and write their name and the year on them). Little Levi got in on the action as well. We had to put all the breakable ornaments at least 2.5 feet up and higher. I told the 3 olders that their job is to find ornaments that Levi takes off the tree and put them back on. They were so bugged that he kept "messing up" the tree.

Here is my favorite snap shot from yesterday: look at all those toes!Before:After:

Oh to have the sheer joy these kids had in decorating the tree. May God grant each of us His peace and joy in this season.

~Rose

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

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

Art Class- Henry Matisse (And an Autumn Project For You To Do)

We skipped art class for the past few weeks. This weekend we studied Henry Matisse. I even found a cute book from the library with works from Matisse in it. He was a painter but got ill in his later life and started to "draw with scissors" in bed. The featured piece is called The Sorrows of the King. We got to do a collage piece with musical instruments. The first one is Hope's and the second is mine. I am enjoying this art class as much as the kids!

This is a banner that Hope and I made 4 years ago. It says Give Thanks and is made from construction paper, raffia and bits o' nature. The last two pics are close ups of a few letters. Some were glued on and some were sewed on. This is a great project to do on (or before) Thanksgiving. Take a little nature walk with lunch sacks for the kids. Have them gather bits o' nature to use for making the banner. I have loosely stored this for the past few years and it's done amazingly well. Hope you enjoy it if you choose to make one!

~Rose

Mother's Day

We went out to a fun fifty's diner with my parents, brother and Micah for a mother's day lunch. Mom and I shared a chicken salad and each got our own shakes! YUM! It was a wonderful day and we were blessed to be able to take it easy and enjoy the company of family!



Wouldn't this be a nice gift?! What a cute car!

~Rose

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the beautiful, wonderful and inspirational women in my life: Happy Mother's Day! Mom and Jan-may your days be blessed! I am so thankful to have you two as my moms! I value your friendship, wisdom and joyful attitudes. I thank God always for you when I remember you-knowing that my kids will have such fond memories of you and all the wonderful things you do with them. You are such beautiful women and the love you have for God and your family shines through all you do.

To the rest of you beauties out there...to you who are single, widowed, married, divorced, have adopted a child, have lost a child or are praying for a child to hold in your arms...we are all on this journey together and need each other every day. Thank you to those who have been like a mother to my kids or your friend's kids or your neices or nephews...you make a difference in our lives and we are blessed because of it. May you find peace and joy tomorrow no matter how you spend your day! Check out Girl Talk to read their last 4 posts...beautiful posts on all aspects of motherhood...you won't regret reading them!

To my own kiddos: You have taught me what unconditional love is in such an amazing way...you have caused me to grow and streatch in ways I could not have without you. You inspire me to live in a way that pleases my Heavenly Father. You bring so much joy (and noise) to my life and I would be lost without you. I have messed up and sinned against you countless times and have apologized, prayed with you and you have forgiven me. I have gained small insight into the sacrafice God made in sending His Son to die on the cross to pay for our sins. He sacraficed His ONLY SON! What an amazing free gift of grace to us...His adopted children!

I am amazed to see God working in your life Hope, and to see you growing into a beautiful little girl who truly loves God and her family...who is blessed artistically and with the gift of giving and hospitality at such a young age. Owen, you are growing so fast and have a tender heart toward your family. Thank you for being the man of the house when daddy is gone. Emmaline, you have quite a strong personality and I am excited to see where it takes you...I know you won't take nothing from nobody when you're older! I love your kisses and cuddle time. Levi, you are so little still and yet that sparkle in your eye when you look at me...well, words cannot describe. I am amazed at how much I am enjoying your babyhood (being the 4th and all) it's like you're my first baby sometimes!

To my husband: You make motherhood such a blessing. You are an amazing husband and daddy and I truly cannot imagine having someone better suited to me. Thank you for pushing me closer to God and dwelling with me in understanding! I love you for you and all you do!
~Rose

Happy Earth Day!

My mother is retiring from teaching at the end of this school year. I went to her classroom yesterday to look through her teaching materials and books. She asked me if I'd be interested in anything to use for homeschooling. I just grabbed a ton and decided to go through them tonight and giver her back the ones I won’t use. I found this gem and Desi urged me to put it up in honor of Earth Day. I just laugh looking at this cover. The publication date is 1983. So, it's Eath Day-go hug a tree...but keep your shirt on!
~Rose

He Is Risen!

We had a white Easter this year! Here are some of my favorite shots from the day. Click here to see all the photos from today on our church website. Hope your day was blessed with friends, family, joy, peace, hope and love.







~Rose

Good Friday

Today is was a nice day. The kids and I went over to my neighbor Priya’s house for playtime and lunch (she has two kiddos Emma and Levi’s ages). After that we did a bit of school beginning with Owen’s Math U See. He is totally PUMPED about math and it’s so cute to see him get so excited about it! I met my mom around 3:45 for coffee and picked up a pizza after for dinner (we love Papa Murphy’s). After dinner Desi and I gathered the kids together and talked about what Good Friday is. I read the crucifixion story to them from a kids Bible and we asked why it’s called Good Friday if Jesus died? Hope answered, “Because He died for our sins!” We sang a few songs, prayed and then got down to the business of decorating hard boiled eggs. This was our first year doing it and the kids LOVED it!

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

For my pardon, this I see,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
For my cleansing this my plea,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Nothing can for sin atone,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of good that I have done,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

This is all my hope and peace,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Now by this I’ll overcome—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
Now by this I’ll reach my home—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Glory! Glory! This I sing—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
All my praise for this I bring—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Thank You Lord for your ultimate sacrafice!
~Rose
P.S. This is my 300th post. I LOVE BLOGGING!

Thanks for the cards!

We had a nice Valentine's dinner Wednesday night. The girls helped me set the table all pretty, complete with sparkling cranberry cider. We enjoyed heart shaped pizza, Reeces peanut butter cup and decorated cupcakes. Micah joined us and the kids had a blast opening cards. Thanks to family and friends for sending the cute cards. I had a little $1 gift for each child and a silly mustache and beard for Desi (Micah and Levi are modeling them). Desi brought home a beautiful flower arrangment with a sweet card for me. It was such a nice evening.
~Rose