Pet Surgery

A few of the kid's stuffed animals had tears or open gaping wounds that needed sewing up. After much pleading, I finally got out the needle and thread and fixed those little guys right up. All is well for the stuffed animals in the Starr household again.
~Rose

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

We Love Snow!

But then again, we don't exactly live in the mid west! Here in Denver we get snow, the sun comes out, melts it in a few days and we're ready for more. It does not stay "white" all winter long here. I doubt I'd love it as much if I had to deal with it daily for months on end. Here are a few pics from the kids playing outside tonight. They were in and out all day, usually playing alone, but tonight all four got in on the action. Even Bedhead (our cat) made it out for a bit. Owen called to me, "Mom, there's a mystery out here! Some dog got in our yard! Look at the foot prints!" I was sort of bummed to tell him it was the cat, but he thought it was pretty cool anyhow.

Hope got to go with my mom to the Ladies Christmas Tea last night. It was sort of short notice and I wish she had something really fancy to wear, but she looked wonderful in her cute brown outfit. She even got new shoes to wear with it! They had a wonderful time. Thanks mom for taking her!
~Rose

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

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

Cheap Thrills and Not-So-Cheap Costumes

Here are a few more pics from last weekend. God really blessed me with providing friends to come over and fellowship. I don't really like being alone for long periods of time! The kids and I picked up wooden leaves at Hobby Lobby to paint Friday night. My brother came over and we enjoyed fellowship and rented Wild Hogs. With the low expectations we had for the movie, it was rather enjoyable! Here are my darlings painting. The wooden leaves were $1.50 each, so for less than $5 we had a easy fall craft that now adorns our wall. Painting is a FAVORITE thing to do in our house. I included a few close ups of the new costumes as well. Dress up is another favorite in our house so I know we'll get good use out of the costumes.

I was blessed to have Brian and Shannon come over Sat to watch the game with me and we had church after until after midnight. I was encouraged with the fellowship. I skipped Sunday morning...had these great plans for sleeping in...but alas, Owen, Emma and Levi were up VERY early...and I did not have a good attitude about it. My folks came over for lunch and much to my surprise and delight, Mark and Micah offered to make dinner Sunday night. A few more friends came over to watch our Rockies lose...(we were swept by those Red Socks) and my neighbor Nafisa and her daughter joined us for dinner as well. I was so blessed to have people around and enjoy fellowship with them. Now if I could just get time to connect with Desi and hear how his weekend went!
~Rose

Devotions, Corn Bread and Simple Play

We are using this book for morning (some days it's noon time) devotions. We enjoy the simple conversation like passages and discussion questions. I choose a song on I tunes to play after. They love to sing and dance and even Levi joins in.

Don't you just LOVE corn bread in Autumn? I made chili last week and corn bread from a mix. It just has to be sweet in my opinion and this batch was delish!

My girl loves corn bread too!

I post about Hope's school and realized I haven't posted much about the other kiddos. They love to have free play time and usually play very well together. Last week Owen found and caught a spider in the backyard. Here Owen and Emma are looking for another spider in the leaves.

Thanks Grandma Jan for the bug boxes. We are using them! It's hard to see, but our pet spider is in here. Owen caught a fly at my mom's house and brought it home (alive) to feed to our spider. She liked the fly and we discovered an egg sac in the box yesterday. We are on the constant look out for live food for her. I hope we get to see the baby spiders!

A funny sight to me...all four playing together and stuffed into a tight spot! I get a lot of joy in listening and observing their free play. They are quite creative and play "movies" or "games" where they have certain roles. They "pause" the game or movie to use the bathroom or get a snack.

~Rose

Camp Timberline

Warning...this is a bit long...but I want to share the saga that was my weekend. Read on at your own risk!

Desi was asked to teach at a youth winter camp this past weekend. There were about 70 jr and sr high kids and 20 leaders who came up from Faith Evangelical Church in Fort Collins, CO. We had done a few outreaches with Grant (the youth pastor) and the kids over this past summer. Our whole family was invited to come up and stay for the weekend. I thought, "How fun! and we can be there with Desi instead of missing him all weekend!"

So, Friday we head up I25 around 5pm. We arrive at Camp Timberline just after 7pm. We are told we will be staying in the boys dorm (what?) and our room name was "Otis". I have an uncle named Otis. Otis turns out to be one of many rooms (which included a bathroom) in the boys dorm building. We have 7 bunk beds, two showers and a toilet and sink all to ourselves. So, we walk into the room and I see...cement tile floor, plastic thinner-than-twin mattresses, plywood under the mattresses, and exposed pipes. It the dawns on me...I brought sleeping bags for the kids, but nothing for Desi and I. Negative thoughts begin to plague me. I do not bring them into captivity.

At this point I, 1.feel foolish for forgetting towels and bedding and 2.am trying real hard to have a good attitude. We've stayed at youth camps before and there have been motel-like rooms for the leaders. This was different. Some of the guys who work there round up a few sheets, blankets and towels. I go to work covering each mattress we were using with sheets. The kids are very excited to have their own bunk beds and think our room is tops. Oh to have their perspective on things.

We have a late dinner, enjoy worship with the group in the Party Barn and head to our room. At least the heat works. The kids are in their beds around 10pm. Levi has a rough go of getting to sleep, but Owen and Emma are out pretty quick. By the time the boys next door come to bed Hope is still up and we get to hear fart stories and talk of girls as we fall asleep. I think to myself...I sure don't want Owen and Levi acting like that. I share my feelings with Desi and he says, "Too bad...they will."

Levi wakes up at 5:17 (I had my phone near by). He is happy and I give him a few cheese fishies, some water and put him in bed with me. He stays awake for an hour and then falls asleep. I have half of a thinner-than-twin mattress (with no pillow) to try to get back to sleep on. More "great" thoughts are swimming in my head.

The rest of Saturday goes a bit better. I get a nice hot shower. (Oh yeah, I had started my period Thursday night...so a shower was necessary!) Back to camp. We enjoy breakfast, more worship and go back to our room to hang out while daddy teaches. Owen hated being in the party barn listening to worship and Emma loved it. She clung to Desi all weekend and cried at the drop of a hat. Hope stayed with some of the girls to listen to her dad.

After the teaching, the kids are divided into four groups for the day and have an hour at each station. We watch them do a zip line, gut check, leap of faith, ect... It gets pretty cold and sort of snows in the afternoon. Owen complains about the new coat I bought him. It looks like Emma's. He refuses to wear it. I let Owen and Emma play outside in the softly falling snow. They are wearing their sweatshirts. I get Levi to nap and then take the other three to the "game" room. They play fooseball, air hockey and table tennis.

After dinner, more worship and back to our room. I am not doing so well at this point. I have totally failed at having that great attitude that I had wanted to have all weekend. I get upset at the kids and say some horrible things. I am totally in sin at this point. I hate being in that place. I apologize and ask for forgiveness from my kids. I am so down, that I don't even feel like praying. I am able to get the kids in bed by 8. They are pretty tuckered out and CRANKY. We let Levi cry it out to sleep later (only a few minutes and he is out). Hope has a hard time falling asleep again. It could be the boys jumping up and down above us, or the boys next door telling their funny stories again. Who knows.

Finally all is quiet and as I try to get comfortable I pray. "Lord, help me get through this night...if I can just make it through and a few hours tomorrow, we'll be in the car and on our way home. I know with Your help God, I can do this. I want to glorify You! This place isn't all that bad and it's much nicer than many families have all around the world. Help me be thankful."

Then the power goes out.

Owen freaks out because it is so dark. We find a book light and turn it on.

Levi wakes up at 4:25 and since it's so cold joins me in my spacious bed. Desi puts another sheet on me and I put a sweatshirt on.

We all wake up around 7ish. It's dark. The power is still out. I go to use the bathroom and get my hands half washed. For some reason the water is off.

I hear people talking outside. I open our door to about 8 inches of SNOW!!!!! It was crazy to see...and beautiful. I overhear some guys talking. No, the power will not be coming back on any time soon. And yes, the water is somehow connected with the power so no water either. So, I do not get a shower and have to pack us up in the cold dark. Oh joy. Another bad attitude erupts.

We gather with the group in the dining hall (lots of windows) and enjoy granola bars for breakfast. The snow is falling fast and I'm wondering..."I sure hope our little Toyota can get out of here!" Desi shares and I take the kids down below to the game room and two fireplaces.

Finally, we are done and Desi treks out to the parking lot to hopefully bring our van up to load. Thankfully he makes it and with some high school boys' help we get the van turned around and are on our way out! We drive in other trucks tracks and make it down the hill safely. We then go about 9 miles into Estes Park and enjoy some coffee and donuts from Safeway.

We end our adventure with lunch at this McDonalds that has maybe the most fun play place ever.
~Rose

I was so thankful to get home. And so humbled by my bad attitude.

Art Class-Alexander Calder

Last week we looked at Alexander Calder for art class. Check out this website for tons of photos and a great bio. He came from a family of artists and was the first to sculpt with wire (like drawing 3D pictures with wire). He is known around the world for inventing the mobile which is art in motion. He has done many large metal pieces that are displayed around the world in outdoor areas. I enjoyed looking at his many pieces and think his work is quite fun. I went overboard taking pics, so I put them in a slide show. The kids really enjoyed this art class.

~Rose

Butterfly Pavillion

A few weeks ago we went to the Butterfly Pavillion. We bought a pass almost a year ago and wanted to "get our money's worth" before it expires. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and we enjoyed the surrounding gardens and nature walk as much as the indoor areas. The bug room is way cool with all sorts of bugs to get up close to and gaze at. The butterfly area is always fun to stroll through. We all hope that a butterfly will land on us! Then there is a very kid friendly area with a new "spider web" to climb on. We are blessed to be able to do such fun things!

~Rose

Zoo Trip With Grandma

We decided to take advantage of the beautiful Autumn weather so we skipped art class and went to the zoo instead. We had a great time and enjoyed a game of zoo bingo. I printed off zoo bingo cards and the kids really enjoyed finding the animals on their cards. We are so thankful to have the zoo only a mile from our house.

~Rose

Home School Weekly Digest

Last week our theme was Jesus is the Bread of Life. One of Hope's activities was to make play dough. The kids were SO excited to make their own play dough, having never done it before! Hope chose pink (of course).

Emma chose blue (she goes back and forth between blue and pink as favorite colors...depending on who she is closer to at the time- Hope or Owen!)

Mixing and heating the flour, salt, cream of tartar, oil, and food coloring.

It takes a few minutes for the dough to ball up.

Owen chose blue/green so we could tell his apart from Emma's.

After the dough gets balled up, it kneeds to be kneaded till it's smooth! Love those puns!

They enjoyed playing with their new and hand made play dough! Great experience, but buying PlayDoh at the store is cheaper!

Another activity Hope had was to make bread. Last week we did yeast experiments, so this week when we used the yeast to make the bread, Hope really got a visual on what the yeast does to the dough. We had talked about yeast representing sin and how the Isrealites ate unleavened bread. She asked me why we were eating bread with sin in it!
Hope made rolls (with a little help) to go with our soup for dinner. We also made butter, but I forgot to take pics...it was delish on those rolls!

Letting them rise before baking.

The finished product...Yum!

We also made a bread of life napkin holder to remind us of her verse:
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst." John 6:35
Hope didn't want to write the words...so I did.

Hope's dictation assignment: Taken from The Courage of Sarah Nobel. We are loving this book which I read aloud to her daily. Hope's darling drawings just bless my heart!

I had to add one from Levi my little man. He is a JOY to interact with and it's so fun to watch him with that walker! He went to the corner and had I not been there, he would have continued into the street and down the next block. He was so MAD when I turned him around to go back home! So "it" begins! Lord, help me :)

We also studied about French pioneers who used Birch bark canoes bought from Indians to travel along rivers. Lord, forgive me for EVER complaining about anything related to my housing...those pioneers had it rough! Hope continues to do well in spelling, reading, and art. She struggles now and then with math, Spanish and writing assignments. Those are the times that we can talk about struggles, calling on God for help and forging ahead with determination.
~Rose

Art Class- Paul Klee

Last week we learned about Paul Klee. He was an accomplished violinist but at a young age decided to pursue art. I love his bright, childlike paintings. When he died at age 60, he left behind 8926 works of art, some of which sell for up to 7.5 million! We looked at The Golden Fish which combined oil paint and watercolors.

The book suggested sketching an underwater scene, coloring it in with oil pastels and then do a wash with dark watercolors.

This week I decided to join in the fun...this is what I drew. It felt good to get creative!

Owen had help with the oil pastels, but did the watercolor himself.

Hope's artwork:

Owen's artwork:

My artwork:

The aftermath! Love those plastic tables!

~Rose

Art Class- Pablo Picasso

Last Tuesday we learned a little about Pablo Picasso and took a look at his piece called "Punchinello with a Guitar". I guess Picasso loved the circus and went regularly. This is a painting of a clown with a guitar coming out from the curtains to perform on stage.The book suggested painting a stage and using collage to cut and paste shapes to make a clown.

Hope hard at work...

And her finished product:

Owen did not want to do it, which is fine, so I got to help Emma. This is a cooperative piece!

~Rose

Art Class -Katsushika Hokusai

Katsushika Hokusai's block prints are amazing! To think he created this truly beautiful piece (The Great Wave off Kanagawa) of art 175 years ago boggles my mind. I guess this is the first and most famous of a series called "Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji." I would just love to see this in person at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We learned that this piece was done with a series of blocks. Some of his pieces were so popular that the block prints wore out!

My mom was on a road trip this week, so I was solo with the kiddos on this one. We were excited to see if we could do it!

We used styrofoam plates and sharp pencils to carve a wave design. I did most of the waves and the kids poked holes for splash effects.

We smeared on a mixture of blue and green poster paint with foam brushes.

This one turned out to have too much paint on it. We tried three before we figured out that it needed just a little paint (think stamp). We then turned over the plate onto a white paper and rubbed away with our little fingers. It was messy. But good art often is messy!

This was the result as we carefully peeled the paper off the plate. I like the round design.
Just beautiful! This week we will do Picasso inspired art.

This is a shout out to my man. He conquered the kitchen floor to rest of the house issue! Look at that lovely reducer piece installed and wonderful. He did 3 total and I love how it finishes off the floor. Thank you Desi! You are the best for putting up with all my "prodding." ;)

~Rose