Everything Is Coming Up Roses......

Surprise

2011-10-11T13:25:00.000-07:00

"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart.." Jeremiah 1:5

Yes, this is a baby...no, it's not actually my baby. But, I have been blessed to find out that we are going to be having another baby. This is what baby Rose looks like about now in my womb at 12 1/2 weeks. This pregnancy has brought lots of emotions: surprise, doubt, excitement, surprise, joy, surprise.....you get the point. I know that Brian and I really shouldn't be that surprised, when you practice natural family planning, you know that God's gift of life could always happen. I guess it has just been so long since our last pregnancy that we thought we were finished. But lo and behold, God had other exciting plans for our family. And that is exciting! Just as that verse promises, He knew this little one in my belly before He even formed him. Wow! Gives me goosebumps. Our kids are so excited, and that just makes this all the more exciting for us too. We are talking baby names at supper, lots of questions about what the baby is doing now in my stomach, how big is the baby, things like that. Beau believes that the baby has a diaper on now, no matter how much I try to convince him otherwise! So, as we embark on this next chapter in our family, we realize that we have to put our faith in God's hands as He gives us this blessing. In just 6 short weeks, we will find out the sex of the baby, so I will keep you posted!

My friend's Words

2011-06-06T13:17:00.000-07:00

I have a friend Joni, well, I haven't met her yet, but she sure does feel like my friend. She is a sister in Christ, an encourager, a teacher, an artist, an evangelist, and a quadriplegic for the past 50 or so years. To say the least, she is an amazing woman. I receive her daily emails that begin with a scripture, then a small note from Joni. She has a way with words and, if you ever have the chance to hear her speak or read a book of hers, you should!! Anyway, today's email speaks of the volume of love that Christ has for us that is sometimes difficult to articulate, but yet so simple. I wanted to share it with you:

The Love of Christ

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

--Romans 8:38-39

The supreme reason that you can and should trust God through suffering is found at Calvary, for no better argument can be voiced apart from the cross. That He would endure the full fury of hell so you could escape it should tell you something as you face your own hellish circumstances.

The greatest love scene in the world happened when Christ hung and bled on the cross. It was God saying, "Look, see, this is how much I love you!" What's amazing is that He played out this love scene while we snubbed Him in cool, callous indifference. Who would want to escape that kind of love, or ignore or deny it? And what Christian could ever dare doubt it? Christ died for you. What love!

Sometimes after I've snapped at a friend or chipped in my two cents' worth of gossip, I catch myself thinking, "Oh, God, these are the things that nailed Jesus to the cross... I am so sorry." Human logic tells me that He should turn away from me. But nothing, absolutely nothing can separate me from His constant outpouring of love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

Often we twist God's arm for the "reasons why" before we decide to trust Him with our circumstances. We want the blueprint spread before us. But the bruised and battered apostle Paul who probably had every reason to wonder "why," never said, "I know why all these things are happening." Rather, he said, "I know in whom I have believed." The love of Christ was enough.

Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.

Bless you all!!

Field Day

2011-06-02T15:51:00.000-07:00

The graduating Holy Cross Kindergarten girls. My niece, Ruthie, is the 3rd from the left.

Vann's class was taking a break after the water games.

Vann with his best buddies Ethan and Patton.

Maggie and Mitchell

Smile for the camera!

Maggie's besties!! I told them that we will recreate this pic when they are seniors.

Katie and the 4th grade class running from the squirt bottle.

Pre-K field trip to the Azalea Path

2011-05-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

First, a picture of Vann, who lost his front tooth this week.

On our way to the field trip, we encountered several delays in the form of underwater roads. With all of this rain lately, it was awful difficult to get to the Azalea path. You can see where the road is supposed to be by following the telephone poles. Crazy isn't it?

Beau, Jack and his buddy Gabe(their holding hands) strolling along on the tour.

Their buddy Ashton

snack time!!

Some of the gorgeous azaleas still in bloom

The entire class with Mrs. Dana and Ms. Kara

Easter Egg Hunt at the Roses

2011-04-19T05:28:00.000-07:00

Jack was excited to get his Easter eggs with his team.

Everyone lined up to start the chase...

I love this!! Look at my niece Sammy running wild to get an egg. The younger cousins got to start first, followed by the 4 older girls.

My niece Ruthie running in her prize:)

Here's Beau finishing hard!

My pretty girls

2011-04-17T09:32:00.001-07:00

Sweetness

2011-04-14T04:23:00.000-07:00

Brian patiently played Sequence with his boys tonight, it was sweet to watch them in action.

Vann's haircut

2011-04-12T16:34:00.000-07:00

Here he is all long haired and hippy like(to some people)

A mid whacking picture. I cut first with scissors because it was so long, I thought it might break our clippers. A note to myself for next time, no need to cut it quite so short with the scissors!

As soon as I was done, he took off for a quick run to see if he was indeed faster. Yep, he was.

Piles of hair on our porch.

The new and improved hair cut. I like it. I forgot what this little man looked like all buzzed. Or "bold", as Vann calls it.

Spring Fun and 1/2 Marathons

2011-04-12T05:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the fuzzy pics, it's either b/c I had my camera in the wrong setting or just that the kids were moving that fast in the warm sun! Something we haven't gotten to do at our house in 5 months. Oh how much we love spring time:)

A little bit of this from Vann....

...and some of this from Mags......

Of course the scooters were out in full force

They had a bouncy ball that they were all playing catch with, it was fun to watch them all run all over to the erratic bounce of the ball and be the ONE to get it.

On Sunday, we headed down to the 4H fairgrounds to cheer in Brian and our friend Barry, who were finishing the 1/2 marathon. The kids finally caught of glimpse of their daddies.

About to run across the finish line!!!

Post race activities are never complete without a celebratory beer-at 10 in the morning no less!

The proud daddies with all of the kiddos!! Way to go Brian and Barry:)

Sweet Siblings....

2011-03-16T19:21:00.000-07:00

I found these guys snuggled in my bed last night, listening intently to their big sister.

Florida

2011-02-25T12:10:00.000-08:00

We made it to Ashley's on Friday afternoon, in time for a concert out by the pool. Thanks boys:)

Vann, the lead guitarist.

Beau got into Morgan's dress up and this is what he wanted to wear.

On Saturday, we headed to Park Ave where my best friend from high school, Erin, took pictures of the kids. Here she is in action!

After the photos, we stuck around and talked with Erin and her family. It was a gorgeous day, the kids soaked up the sunshine. Katie walking down the train tracks.

We went to the farmers market and the kids got a taste of these scrumptious cupcakes.

Who doesn't love homemade kettle korn??

We stayed a bit and watched how they made the corn.

The next morning, it was off to Disneyworld!!!

Getting locked up with Zurg from Toy Story.

Maggie, T.J. and Ashley on the Magic carpet ride

Disney at night:)

On Monday, we went over to visit with my grandparents. dad took us out to Red Lobster for lunch. This is my Papa, my dad and my grandmother. Any resemblances there?

Katie and her Nana:)

Blog Giveaway....

2011-02-01T14:30:00.000-08:00

My sister Ashley met a fellow blogger not too long,her name is Tara, and not by coincidence either. Too much in common, it was a God thing, for sure. Well, she is celebrating her
1st blog anniversary and has a great giveaway. Go check it out, she makes these family rules signs!! Unbeleivable and you can win one, maybe, if you check our her blog @ http://tarahlowry.blogspot.com.

God Bless!!

Bath Time

2011-01-25T12:23:00.000-08:00

Rub a dub,dub....three cuties in a tub!

2011-01-20T09:09:00.000-08:00

Trash to Treasure

2011-01-13T07:52:00.000-08:00

First of all, my poor baby is feeling sick today:(

So the girls were walking around in the back woods and found these fancy dresses, along with records!, tea cups and several other things I told them not to drag home. However, 2 dresses did find their way back to our house. I washed them up for dress up and the girls are having more fun playing in them.

Maggie's pretty score

Christmas in Clarkesville

2011-01-05T17:09:00.000-08:00

Papa and Jack horsing around

Uncle Todd getting his "Wii" on

Brian lost his pants at the park...j/k, he just got done with a run

I think Vann is doing his victory dance-look at these moves

Girls chest bump

Maggie

Katie breaking through to the boys

T.J.

Beau running through Uncle Todd's legs

Brian was freezing at the park

Buh-Bye Big Oak Tree!

2011-01-04T05:22:00.000-08:00

It's always hard in pictures to capture how things really look. This oak tree off of our back porch is enormous!! We love it and all of the shade it has provided us, not to mention it's branches that house our horse swing. But....it was a mess. It dropped acorns, leaves and other stuff year round leaving our porch dirty and difficult to clean. It also clogged our gutters in the back of the house that are super difficult to get to because of the sun room addition. So, in typical Brian fashion, he woke up Saturday and decided to chop her down. I was certainly skeptical but watched as my husband climbed 20 feet in the air, on icy branches, with a chainsaw (red flags anyone?) and began to cut away the branches. He managed to get me involved slightly having me hold some metal chains and straps attached to the bigger branches. I had to pull the strap towards the driveway(on ice btw) as he cut, positioning the branch for a clean fall. Exciting stuff!! After that, a friend of his from work and some family members helped him pull it over. It went quite fast. They basically tied a rope around the bottom of it and drove the truck towards the direction we were all hoping it would fall ie. not our house!!. I bet from start to finish it was only an hour? Who knew?? Anyway, we are looking forward to having a cleaner, more usable porch, and allowing our landscaping back there to get some light for once.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-03T14:10:00.000-08:00

Making our cookies for Santa

Running into the living room for Christmas presents

Beau was slightly behind everyone else

On our way to Christmas Eve mass. Katie's American doll, Samantha, came along.

Beau

Our annual family picture at Brian's parents after Mass

Vann

Jack

Katie

Maggie

Fun Day in the Snow!

2010-12-14T20:52:00.000-08:00

Katie

Jump for joy Jack!

Vann

Apparently the snow is irrestible.

Just ask Maggie!!

Enjoying the snow day-not!!!

2010-12-14T07:24:00.000-08:00

Here are the kiddos, all bundled up on this wintry 15 degree snow day. Out of school-YAY!!!

P
Poor Jack found out that it is no fun on a snow day when your forehead meets the end of a snow shovel:( My little man spent 4 hours in the ER getting 5 stitches to his head.

Basketball

2010-12-07T12:17:00.000-08:00

Katie tipping off to her lady Crusaders. This is a school team combined with St. Peter & Paul-3rd & 4th graders.

Bringing the ball down

She got fouled twice-here she is trying to make a free throw.

Broken Foot and Wacky Wednesday

2010-10-21T05:16:00.000-07:00

And a bonus shot of our house. Brian got the shutters back up and I love it. We still have some more little things to do, like hang up our black lanterns on the sides of the door and add a pair of shutters on the short window.

I keep looking at my door area. I can't decide what to do about my sidelights on either side of the door. I had him paint it the same color of brick as a quick decision, because I am not sure what would look best. Paint them all black, black with white trim, black with tan trim, leave em' tan or maybe paint the inside trim black for a pop of color. Decisions, decisions! Also, I don't like my planter box anymore. I don't know if I should get rid of it or paint it as well? I threw my inside topiary out there to give me an idea of what I want out there-I like it.

It's wacky Wednesday at school-arguably the.most.exciting.day.ever.

Baby Beau broke his foot-who knew?? Actually, I kinda did, it just took me awhile to get him to the Dr. because he never complained it hurt and could move it around painlessly in all directions. Don't worry, I threw out my nomination for "mother of the year!!"

Aren't they cute:)

Soccer Action

2010-10-09T15:07:00.000-07:00

My niece Ruthie kicking a goal kick

That's Jack in the air after kicking off!!

Vann getting ready to kick off.

Cute little huddle guarding their goal.

And this was Beau, after watching 3 games today, completely wore out! He was face down in the carpet while he was "watching" a movie.

Quit holding your breath

2010-09-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

Here is the last shot, the "before" of our humble abode. I love, love, love the color of our brick, but, sadly, the mortar and bricks were beginning to deteriorate. That led to water damage on the interior walls and ceiling, which meant I was never going to be able to paint or remodel. We had to get a handle on the leaking problem, so with much deliberation and multiple random opinions, we went with what we thought was the best solution. Seal our brick and mortar with paint. Plus, it does update the look of our house. Bonus!! Here is a shot of the house on the first day of it's transformation.

Now, we are 3 days into it. In the next few days, he is going to finish the top coat and begin to trim the doors, windows and roof line in bright white.

I think our landscaping is going to show better.

When it's all said and done, we will put back up our black shutters, hang a few black lights on the side of the door, and hopefully get some potted evergreens or topiaries next to the door. So far, I am giddy with the results and can't wait to see the finished project!

All of my kids can ride their bikes!!

2010-09-18T10:17:00.000-07:00

Ok.....here is my baby. He just learned to ride a bike without his training wheels. He is 3. His 4 yr. old brother taught him. Who needs mom anyway?

Heading down the lane....he has mastered all types of surfaces!

Riding in circles on the driveway.

Here are the other 3 playing soccer....can you spot the "coach". She's the one with her hands on her hips. Maggie loves to be in charge!

My Prayer

2010-09-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I couldn't help but think about the Hunter family and their enormous loss this week over their precious 5 year old daughter. I could not even comprehend the depth of emotion they must be feeling and the overwhelming grief over the loss of a child. I just can't. As I weep for them, I couldn't help but think of a father's love. Josh was able to capture it so well in his blog, but even more so, The Father's love. How much more he must weep when one of his children is lost. The Bible tells us He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die on the cross for us, for us, so that we can spend eternity with Him. It's a beautiful redemptive message, but one that so many people reject for some reason or other. And I can only picture God, The Father, weeping over the loss of even one person. My prayer tonight is for peace for the Hunter family and that maybe through the life and death of Ava, many will come to know Jesus.

This could be good for something in about 10 years or so!

2010-09-07T06:21:00.000-07:00

Looking good boys! I thought it was about time to get rid of some of our dress-up clothes, considering it doesn't fit the girls anymore. However, it seems to have an appeal still!

Those shoes really had some flash, Beau.So does the whitey-tightey's hanging out!

It's all about accessorizing! What would their dad think???

2010-09-01T15:18:00.000-07:00

There's my girl....ready for her run

Katie on the run, she had to go 1.86 miles!!!

Katie and her cousin, Shelby after the finished. I am so proud of them both!

Peace out-It's river time:)

2010-08-27T16:25:00.000-07:00

Barn Re-do

2010-08-27T05:02:00.001-07:00

Here is our lovely little pole barn that houses practically everything, all peachy, trimmed in dark brown. Niiiicccceeee.

This is our house painter who generously came over to spray the barn so that it would go quicker than rolling it-we love him!! It only took him like 45 minutes to spray the whole entire thing!

And....here is Brian, trimming it out in white, which took about 8 hours!!

Ta-da!!! I really love it! It is a neutral khaki and our house is going to be a shade darker with white trim as well.

The bonus is that now we are going to landscape around the garage to make it even more visually appearing. Brian, who can never start a project without completely finishing it, jumped right in and has been getting this underway already. So much for a week or so in between things to rest. He has already layed the pavers around most of the garage, with our plants and rocks to come this week. It's so fun to make improvements on the house:)

A 4th grader, a 3rd grader and what??!!! a Kindergartener too!

2010-08-20T06:20:00.000-07:00

Here they are on the first day of school-how could it be that summer is already gone?

Vann with his "reverse" hair-do. It was spiked in the front and combed down in the back but as time went on this morning, it switched!

Heading down the drive way to catch the bus-talking about trading silly bands.

Another shot of the house-possibly getting painted very soon. We thought that all summer though!!

I, by all accounts of the definition, am not a blogger. When I get busy, I don't stop and capture our events in this blog as I should. And who am I kidding, "when I get busy"....I am always busy. We have had such a wonderful summer, it was a shame that I didn't keep track of it better. It's so hard to pull out all of the details 2 months later. We spent a week with my parents in Georgia, along with my sisters and their families, headed down to Barkley Lake for some boating adventures and went out to Colorado for 10 days. In between all that, we swam on the city swim team, worked a little, read tons of books for the library club, had slumber parties in the clubhouse, and spent many a long summer nights playing outside. It was wonderful. So, now, we are back in "routine" mode. Early bedtimes, packing backpacks, homework, soccer and cross country practices, and scheduled work days for me. But soon, before we know it, another season will be upon us and it won't be long until those glorious summer days will be back.

Katie Slaloming....briefly:)

2010-06-17T07:43:00.000-07:00

Here she is concentrating on the big drop of one ski

Yeah!

Things are getting a little unsteady at this point

.....and she's down, what a wipeout!

Summer Time

2010-06-11T11:13:00.001-07:00

Katie giving Jack a boost

goofing off.....

my best attempt at getting everyone to look, not too bad!

However, Vann is starting to have nothing to do with us. So, the kids are making their grumpy Vann faces.

We lost Vann:(

Could they be any cuter looking like they are going to fight!

My girls....rarely photographed since they are usually at school or on the go.

Oops...when you gotta go....you GOTTA go!

Look at this goofball while she was waiting for me, everyone else gave up on taking pics!

Sweet Mags

Pre-School and Pre-K last days:(

2010-05-23T18:40:00.000-07:00

Vann with Mrs. Kara

Jack

The boys are officially done with PreSchool/K for the year. Vann had his big graduation ceremony on Friday and Jack is going to finish with a field trip to the zoo on Tuesday. It's hard to believe how fast this year has gone. And to think, Vann will start all day kindergarten next year-unbelievable! The girls have 4 days this week and then their summer vacation starts as well.

You know I'm Bad.....

2010-05-19T11:10:00.000-07:00

"You know I'm bad...I'm bad...

you know it, yeah......

...whose bad?"

Ok, so maybe thery aren't as bad as they looked, more sweet and playful!

Cousins

2010-05-07T17:50:00.000-07:00

Owen climbing up to the clubhouse

Look at these big boys! The "ack" Brothers-Jack, Zack and Vann

Eric swinging Katie-that has to be tough!

Sweet Sammy and Jack

Shelby swinging Vann

The teenager and almost teenager-Shelby and Emily

Maggie, Sammy, and Katie

The whole lot of them minus Owen...beware of Griffin...he's the one with the gun!

Griffin and Jack

Beau and Eric

Jack, Zack, Vann and Griffin

We celebrated Maggie's first communion this past Sunday and I am slowly sorting through the 250 pics I took that day. My mom and dad were able to come from my side of the family and then all of their cousins, aunts and uncles on Brian's side came as well. I captured some of the fun that those 13 kids had that day. We were blessed with beautiful weather, despite what was forecasted, and blessed with family, friends and sweet memories of Maggie's special day. I will post pics of her next.

Peek-A-Boo

2010-05-02T21:08:00.000-07:00

Let's go back in time

2010-04-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

I know that most people have seen the "better" one of this on Facebook, when I got them all to look at the camera. I thought this was pretty cute though, and way more realistic!! They were checking out Dad, standing to my right. This is getting ready to head to church to celebrate Easter. Yay, HE has risen!!!

Beau, showing off his Reese's egg.....mom and dad's favorite!!

Racing up the hill to search for more eggs and candy.

After the hunt...

Hanging out on the back porch, going over and mostly eating, the goods.

I can go so back and forth with my blog. Mostly, I am full force on posting nada. I don't know why I don't? It really takes no time and it is such a valuable way to capture our life. My sister has told me about a way that I can print out my blog yearly to keep as albums. I really love this idea and plan on doing that. I think it will be such a treasure to look back on when we are older. Anyway, these are a few pictures of us celebrating on Easter. Our family tradition is to celebrate Mass on Sunday morning, then head home to a surprise of eggs and candy on the lawn to hunt. After that, we always join our extended family at Brian's uncle's house. It was such a beautiful day and joyful reminder of what Jesus sacrificed for us so that we could be with Him in heaven! Wonderful!

Weekend Recap.....

2010-04-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

Katie and Maggie's soccer team, they named themselves the
"Orange Crush". Cute, cute girls on this team!

The girls warming up with coach Brian...they love playing for their dad! I know I am a biased observer, but the team had their best game yet on Saturday. It was great to see them communicate on the field together and really incorporate the teamwork mentality into their game. My girls each scored 2 goals a peice, not to mention the other girls who scored as well. It was fun!

Jack, just a swingin'

Vann too!

Brian was working overtime this weekend around the house. One of his many projects was to get the boat ready. Boating season is just around the corner-yipee!

New Wreaths

2010-04-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

I know I am not as creative as most people, but I was pleased how my new spring wreaths turned out for my doors. This is the front door......

and this is the back. Stay tuned for the BIG brick painting reveal....coming soon:)

Port St. Joe

2010-04-05T12:32:00.001-07:00

Heading down, ready for some fun in the sun....but first, Beau caught up on his napping, beach style!

Our humble abode for the week, looks like a bomb exploded and we just got there! I tell ya', you have to get one with the sand when you camp on the beach. It's EVERYWHERE!!

Brian's getting ready to try and catch us some fish for supper. No such luck though. So, we headed into town where the local fisherman brought in the fresh catch of oysters, shrimp, and scallops. I think we bought 60#'s of oysters....mmmm, good!

Playing in the ocean with cousins

Katie was this close to learning how to skim. And I almost got on to try to show her how to do it, but then I remembered, I don't know how to do it!!

The girls were so brave! I think the air temp that day was 65 and the water temp was around 63!

Beau, once again, catching up on his naps.

Shelby and Katie enjoying a game of horseshoes.

They could pass for sisters, couldn't they?

Giveaway on "Beneath My Heart"

2010-03-19T13:01:00.000-07:00

Head over to Traci's blog, Beneath My Heart, to get in on the giveaway action. One of these days, I am going to win one! Today's giveaway is from Leen, the graphics queen. There is virtually nothing that she can't put into a vinyl decal! Any of her graphics would really compliment anybodies decor. So go check it out at:http://beneathmyheart.blogspot.com/2010/03/time-for-giveaway-50-value.html#comment-form. Have a wonderful day:)

Making Pizzas

2010-03-15T12:59:00.000-07:00

Loading them up with pepperoni

Our little helpers!

Say Cheese!!!! Lots and lots of cheese!

This past Saturday we cleaned out the garage and gathered our supplies to make "homemade" pizza's-Rose style! Brian' s mom always did this when he was growing up, and now we have gotten in the habit of making these and freezing them for later use. I tell ya, they really come in handy on a busy Friday night, or after long day at the river. We have perfected our recipe a tad each time and always think that current batch is "the best ever!" Our little chefs think it's fun to work the assemble line and we save so much time with all of the help. Off to enjoy one of our pizzas!

New Harmony

2010-03-11T11:43:00.000-08:00

Katie and Beau goofing off before we leave.....Katie loves to give all the kids piggyback rides!

Swinging on the tire swing at the park-yay for spring!!

He was giggling so much, I couldn't hardly stand it!

This past weekend brought another round of gorgeous, get out there and play weather. Our great friends, the Kesslers, and the TenBarges were down on Saturday and we had a fire outside while the kids played. For some reason, I didn't take any pictures and I should have because the kids were a muddy, fun mess! On Sunday, Brian's brother and sister-in-law, Dave & Tammy, were headed to the New Harmony park so we joined them with our lawn chairs, bikes, snacks and coolers. Brian thought it would be fun for him and the girls to ride their bikes there.....so, 21 miles later, my girls and their dad pulled up to the park!! I was so proud of them. I probably would have made it about 10 miles and would have given up but they loved it. It's so awesome to see them enjoy the outdoors and not be afraid of tackling a new adventure. They stopped about half way at a convenience store and picked up some gummy worms and after that, they stopped every few miles for a water break and a few worms-good memories!

Clean Beds

2010-03-04T09:24:00.001-08:00

I am pretty impressed with Vann's bed...he did this all by himself!

Even situated his little animals all in row. That is definitely one of the benefits of having older siblings, you learn things by watching-in spite of the teaching from mom and dad! However....as I ventured into Katie and Maggie's room-

Maybe that theory doesn't hold true..... This is the bed of a 9 yr-old! As much as I can't take credit for Vann's structure and cleanliness, I can neither take credit for Katie's "carefree" cleaning attitude. I really have to stay after her to make her bed in the morning, vs. Maggie and Vann, who rise and shine as they happily make their beds. So funny how God has given each us different personalities and character traits that make us unique!

My Baby

2010-02-26T05:50:00.001-08:00

You forget so quickly how they look with their pacifiers...

Check out this belly!!! How he is able to stay upright and not topple over is beyond me!

I was just reminiscing this morning when going over some pictures in my computer and I came across these of Beau. Back when he was just one. It seems like forever ago that he was one, and in diapers, and using a paci. He is only 3 1/2, and truthfully, he is still such a "baby" in my eyes compared to his big brothers and sisters. I still love to pick him up every morning when he first gets up and snuggle him on my shoulder. I love it when he sits in my lap and just giggles. At church, I still secretly like it when he throws his hands up in the air...his gesture for "pick me up", even though we say that at 3, Mom and Dad don't need to hold you anymore. But, I still hold him! And yet, it's not like I don't want to be a big boy, or act his age. We certainly encourage him and guide him to be more mature, but you know how that is, when they are your youngest...I am holding onto his sweet little "baby" age because I see how quickly it goes!

It's still not warm here........

2010-02-23T19:26:00.001-08:00

It did, however, warm up to the 40's this past weekend which is why the girls don't have on more clothing. The snow was more mushy so they were able to build better snowmen with it and on Saturday all 5 of the kids came up with the idea to build a snow "family". It kept them busy for 2 hours (loved that) and no one fought!! I love those kinds of activities.

Florida

2010-02-23T12:49:00.000-08:00

The main reason we went to Florida last week was to celebrate with my grandparents, Norm & Iris. They were celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary. Isn't that awesome? We had a reception at the Bistro in their community, and pretty well most of the kids and grand kids were able to make it. My dad also arranged to have their nieces and nephews that they haven't seen in a number of years to come and surprise them. It was a fun day with family. Ashley had Sprinkles in Orlando make them a beach themed cake since they have practically lived on or near the beach their whole lives.

And here is the cute couple.....I just love my grandparents! If you have ever been around them, you know what fun loving, kind hearted people they are. Never a dull moment, that's for sure!! Especially when Grandma gets going on a story of how they met!

This is my second cousin, Jim, swinging the boys. Fortunately, he knew what he was in for when he started this. And you can guess who got tired first!

Morgan and Jack romping around in the grass behind my grandparents apartment. I think my boys were just so sun and grass deprived that they didn't want to come in all day.

Ahhhhhh.....73, I miss you! So, so, so, so much. Won't you come to Indiana soon!!!

Yet Another Snow Day

2010-02-09T11:14:00.001-08:00

Paoli Peaks, Baby!!!

2010-02-08T08:24:00.000-08:00

I know this isn't clear, but I love the look of surprised concern on Maggie's face!

Hamming it up together when we came in to warm up

Katie and Brian on the lift near the end of the night....bbbrrrrrr!!!

This is Maggie and Brian coming down the steep hill for the first time. She is in the pink, Brian in the green.

Mags and Brian on the lift.

Katie....the cute, little snow bunny!

So we headed into Sunday with our big plans made, tons of snack food and drinks bought, special clothing on, and competition against teams at it's peak. Sounds like all the makings for a good skiing weekend...errr, back up.....nope, not the makings of a Superbowl game. Over the years, Brian and I have discovered the best day to hip the slopes in Southern Indiana is none other than Superbowl Sunday. The place is a virtual ghost town, especially, when the beloved Colts are playing. Brian had taken just Katie last year, so Maggie and I joined them this year for an exciting adventure of teaching a 7 yr old how to ski. And man, did she get it!!! I was blown away at both her and Katie's ability to maneuver on the snow/ice with their speed. Of course, the mother in me was squinting her eyes and gritting her teeth when they whizzed by me imagining a big crash at the bottom of the hill. But, there really wasn't much of that except the time Brian yelled "Follow me over these nice, gentle, rolling hills" and I caught some fat air and came down to a loud crash landing with lots of laughter from my family! We had a great day spending time with just the girls, including them in one of our favorite past times and it was great to see them love it as much as we do. I wish I would have gotten more pictures but the 18 degree weather kept me from slipping my gloves off too much to fumble with a camera. And, of course, we were sad to hear about the Colts loss when we got into the car, but, all in all, it was a fabulous day!

Snow days, birthdays, bangs and giveaways!

2010-01-26T08:26:00.000-08:00

Check out her new bangs-she most definitely wants Aunt Ashley to see them per her request!

Ruthie's beautiful cake for a beautiful little girl!

Here is my gang today heading out for an adventure in the woods in our backyard.

Well, I know I have been missing for awhile. I love looking at every one's blogs, just a little bit slow at posting my own stuff. We have had quite a nice January-somewhat lazy, pretty cold-but that keeps us all bundled up and warm together inside, which is nice. Today brings another day off of school due to the weather-apparently it is not because of the "dusting" of snow but rather the ice out there that kept us home. So the kids eagerly bounced up and down to get their snow gear on, so I obliged. Somehow we were down one coat-how you could lose a coat is beyond me? Oh yeah, Brian Rose is their dad-that's how! So, Vann had a make shift winter jacket on comprised of a thick layer of sweatshirts, long sleeve shirts and a windbreaker-it'll do! I yelled at the kids as they took off on their adventure in the woods. "Try to see if you can find Vann's jacket ", we'll see if it turns up? This past weekend, we celebrated our goddaughter's 5th birthday. She will be in Vann's class, as well as his other cousin, Zack. Quite the little trio...She was all smiles as her mom placed her special order horse turned unicorn cake in front of her. We also caught the Colts vs Jets game too and are excited to see the Colts head to the SuperBowl-woo hoo!! In other news, Katie is very subtly growing up in ways weren't prepared for yet. She is starting to fuss over her hair?? and over her clothes and always wants jewelry on. She even told us she thought the waiter was cute when we ate out Saturday night! Brian's face was priceless when those words shot out of her mouth! She has really been wanting bangs, so we cut them Saturday and she has been curling and primping them all weekend. Good times! Lastly, I promised I would post about another giveaway on Beneath My Heart's blog. One day I am going to win one of these! It's another cute silver stamped jewelry giveaway and you'd be silly not to throw your name in the hat! Well, I hope this gets you caught up a little on the Rose family and may you all have a very blessed day:)

I love Lisa Leonard jewelry!

2010-01-04T11:09:00.000-08:00

Head over to one of my favorite blogs, Beneath My Heart, to see how you can enter a chance to win Lisa Leonard's beautiful hand stamped jewelry. She has so many unique designs-you will love them! Go over here and submit your comment!

Merry, Merry Chrismas...Joy, Joy, Joy!!!

2009-12-25T20:37:00.000-08:00

Maggie stirring it up front and center

Katie is in the middle row with the green shirt

Jack was a wise man in the play

Making cookies.....or eating frosting

Vann's proud of his snowman

Maggie had a little help from Dad with her gingerlady

After mass, at the Roses

I bet this is truly how Grandma and Grandpa feel sometimes with all 11 of these grand kids!!

Each family was grouped together to open up the same gift

The girls were thinking it was a Wii,they were right. For some reason the picture with the exclamation on their face like "NO WAY!!" did not upload

Jack got a skateboard

Vann and his cousin Zack opening gifts

I think Beau likes his skateboard

Santa has arrived at our house early Christmas morn'. Time to go get the kids:)

Some were a little sleepy from the night before

Wow, it has been awhile since I have posted. Since Thanksgiving, the Rose family has been ridiculously busy just like everyone else, I am sure. I also had a mishap with my new, new camera(sniff, sniff) so I am back to my other new camera that is no comparison!! I apologize for the crispnessless(?) and blurriness of these pics but it was what I had to work with. We started this merry season with the kids Christmas program at school. The K-5th grades put on a musical called "Cooking up Christmas" and the Pre-Schoolers program was the "Color of Christmas". Both programs were sweet, and chock full of smiles and laughs for the participants and the parents. I look forward to those every year. We also got busy decorating some cookies, headed to the most joyous celebration at our Christmas eve Mass, stopped by Grandma and Grandpa Roses for some fun and enjoyed our own Christmas at home. Whew! Here are some pics from those events and may everyone have Merry Christmas marveling at the humble birth of our Savior and a blessed New Year!!!

Thanksgiving in Clarkesville

2009-12-07T20:23:00.001-08:00

The gorgeous Woodards!!

The beautiful newlyweds:)

The Roses!!

We made it down(finally after a super long drive) to Mom and Dad's for Thanksgiving this year along with Ash and her family and Courtney & Jose. It was a houseful of fun and it went way too quick. On Thursday, we headed to Aunt Bunny's and Uncle David's gorgeous home in the mountains to celebrate with my moms family. Uncle Nick planned an eventful day full of wood chopping, pool tourneys, and horseshoes that kept the conversations and competition up!! It was great fun and our kids look forward to going there every other year. We are blessed to have been able to spend Thanksgiving together, thankful for all of God's blessings this year!

More Birthdays!!!

2009-11-25T10:05:00.000-08:00

Vann turns 5!

Katie turns 9!

Rose family celebrating Jack, Beau, Katie, Vann and our cousin Griffin's birthdays

My sister-in-law Jana, made these great cake for the boys

Well, we made it through another year of the multiple birthdays in a row! We have a tradition of letting the kids pick out their breakfast so Vann asked for homemade chocolate chip muffins and Katie wanted pop-tarts. Works for me. We then celebrated all 4 of the kids who have had a birthday in the last three weeks along with my nephew Griffin, who shares a birthday with Vann. It looked like Christmas with the 5 of them opening presents. We are heading to Georgia today to celebrate Thanksgiving and some more birthday bashes down there too. May you all have a wonderful holiday with your families!

Brian did the Half!!

2009-11-12T20:26:00.000-08:00

Brian has been training for a marathon since last January, part of his bucket list. He has done a few triathalons and his next sight was focused on a marathon. Unfortunately, half way through his training he developed some type of hip/muscle pain that took him out of training for a little while. He almost scrapped the idea of running at all, but his hip began to cooperate(thanks to a little physical therapy from his #1 fan!) and he was back in the game for a half marathon. Our good friend Barry was also training too, and they ran the Indy 1/2 last weekend in the most gorgeous weather you could ask for in November. Brian beat his goal time of 2 hours and ran it in 1:57. We also got to stay at our friends' house over the weekend which was basically a giant slumber party and we had the best time! Brian is trying to convince me to run the 1/2 in Evansville in April and I am considering it....we'll leave it at that for now:)

Happy Birthday Beau!!!(and 2 more to go this month!!)

2009-11-10T19:18:00.001-08:00

Some wedding pics

2009-11-09T20:57:00.000-08:00

The very cute couple

Umbrellas were a BIG hit with my kids...unfortunate for the people sitting in front of them, though!!

It was soooo hot!

I LOVE this picture...this was a view of the ceremony through the eyes of my grandparents who have been married for 65 years this upcoming February!!

Putting on the ring..

It's official!!

Papa and Grandma Mossman with Courtney & Jose

The view from the restaurant-it was gorgeous of the Cape Canaveral Port.

Isn't this funny??

The wedding cake pumpkins:)

Happy Birthday and Happy Halloween!

2009-11-09T20:49:00.000-08:00

Jack blowing out his birthday candle on his doughnuts

The whole camping gang getting ready to trick-or-treat

My own little Scooby Doo gang-they looked so cute and loved dressing up!

Who doesn't need a cute magnet board???

2009-10-19T20:42:00.000-07:00

Here is another super cute craft giveaway form one of my favorite blogs, Beneath My Heart! It's a burlap magnet board that I really want to win and you could have a chance too. Head over there, her link is http://beneathmyheart.blogspot.com Such cute stuff!

Is it an Owl????

2009-10-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

Starting this past Monday, Beau, Jack, and I are participating in Toddle Time at the library. It is just 40 mins or so of puzzles, stories, songs, and crafts but it is BIG time to Beau. He keeps saying to me, his siblings and daddy that he went to "library school." He just wants to be like his big brothers who go to pre-school....too cute. So anyway, the theme on Monday was owls. We had owl puppets, owl story books and even made a cute little owl mask that we played a game with. The kids would put it over their face and then say "Who, Who am I?" To which Jack would squeal, "It's me, Jack!" Well, after it was over, we were walking outside, heading to the van when Jack turned around with his mask and asked, "Mom, what do I with this coyote thing anyway?"-yeah-I think he's learning!!!!! Can't wait till next week:)

Dolan Lake

2009-10-08T13:44:00.000-07:00

The gorgeous reflective view from our spot

playing horseshoes...or as Vann would say, "Let's play shoe horses Mom"

Morgan(whose last name happened to also be Rose), Maggie, and our cousin, Emily

Peek-a-boo says Jack

Brian taking the boys for a spin in the canoe

Vann

Jack

Beau (sportin a smashed up head of hair from his carseat nap)

Katie and Maggie

This is the view of our canoe from the passenger seat of the van while we were scoping out so. illinois stores for a lawn chair.....no chairs to be found

**Disclaimer-It seems every time I want to put my pictures in order they always come out backwards-I wish that these pics would be in the complete opposite order as they appear. There-at least I feel better:)

This past weekend was wonderful. I think it was, in part, because we were glad to have Brian back home. He has travelled a couple weeks this past month and we have all missed him. On Saturday, the troops went up to the soccer field for another "on the edge of you seat" game. Who knew that 7 & 8 yr olds could have you shouting, whooping and hollering.....what in the world is high school sports gonna be like. They tied the game 2-2, leaving their little Jr record to 2 wins and 2 ties. On Sunday,after church, we loaded up the van and went to Dolan Lake in southern Illinois. And when I say loaded...I mean LOADED!!! We had a canoe on top of the van and a trailer behind it full of bikes, scooters, paddles, and various sporting equipment. When we were unloading we were cracking up at the enormous amount of things we brought. We just wanted to be prepared for 5 little people to do every activity that they would ever care to do. Brian's aunt and uncle also came over, to our delightful surprise, with their kids. We built a fire and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and relaxed like we haven't' done in sooo long!

Soccer

2009-10-05T18:33:00.001-07:00

Ready for Fall!!

2009-09-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

Ready for this.....

or this..........

but definitely not ready for this!!!

I was browsing through my pictures stored on my computer and ran across a few fall ones from last year. Looking at the bright, warm colors got me more in the mood for my favorite season. Our leaves are just starting to maybe have a hint of color in them, maybe. But, it always comes fast, before you know it, we'll be heading into winter! We usually camp alot during this time of year but, since Brian starting coaching the girls' soccer team, we haven't had the opportunity. In a few weeks we will be heading up to Shakamak for the Halloween weekend there. The kids are really looking forward to it and I can't wait to see all of their costumes on them. You'll just have to wait and see what they'll be:)

Cute Faces

2009-09-24T12:48:00.000-07:00

Jack making his silly faces

I love this profile picture of Brian...the sky is gorgeous!

Some Firsts This Week

2009-09-19T10:37:00.000-07:00

It was Jack's first day of Pre-School on Tuesday...he's been waiting to go "forever"

His backpack is almost as big as him!

Vann had his first day of Pre-K on Monday...he had to wear a belt!

Katie and Maggie had their first soccer game of the fall season with Brian coaching

Fall Giveaway Chance

2009-09-14T13:22:00.000-07:00

You know that super cute shelf giveaway I told you about last week....well, now I found her sister's blog and she is giving away a super smelling candle. Check it out at http://lovinlifeasapastorswife-cyndi.blogspot.com/

2009-09-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

I messed around with the picture on picnik...kind of different.

I think I like this one better......

I took this picture of Maggie the other day...I need to do more of that. Of all my children. It seems like such a simple thing to do yet I don't do it as often as I would like. One might think that would have to do with the fact that I am too busy, but I think it has to do with priorities. So, I am going to make it my priority to take more pictures of the kids. Quickly. Before they grow up.

'Cuz every little thing, is gonna be all right........

2009-09-03T20:41:00.000-07:00

Sunset

2009-09-02T08:09:00.000-07:00

My friend did this with her family....I only had half of mine to try it with but I love it....will have to get everyone next time!

Vann

All of that corn.....the boys can't wait until harvest

I just love our beautiful weeping willow tree

Check this out!!!

2009-08-31T08:24:00.000-07:00

I am a follower of a blog called, Beneath My Heart. You can find the cutest ideas for DIY projects for your home there and this "little shelf" is no exception. Head over to her blog to see how easy it would be to make this shelf and maybe win one too! Here's the link :http://beneathmyheart.blogspot.com

My girls......

2009-08-28T06:08:00.000-07:00

Here they are dressing up like little old ladies....they have on my clothes, even my, err..underlovelies! Somehow Maggie put on hers upside down.

Smoothie's are so good!!

2009-08-27T16:40:00.000-07:00

Lip smackin good!!!

Kiss me baby!

Haircut

2009-08-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

This is too funny!!!

I love the eyes

Life is tough when you are the youngest of 5. You have to cut your own hair.....

...even if you are only two.....

Tah dah....not too shabby!!

I have always cut the boys hair, actually, Brian's too. And, it's pretty well the same. A #3 on top and #2 on the side-for everyone! But Beau's hair has a little more bounce and is not so thick so I have been letting his grow out longer and snipping it occasionally over the ears. I think it was the night after I took these pics of Beau's hair combed up funny that I decided he needed some clipper time from Mommy. I used the #8's on top but it still seemed so short! He looks cute though, so fresh, even though I miss his little curls at the back:(

Last day of summer......first day of school!

2009-08-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

I'm loving my new camera with my adorable children!!!

2009-08-05T06:01:00.000-07:00

Creation Museum

2009-08-02T13:38:00.000-07:00

They loved this camel at the feeding zoo!

Maggie getting ready for a big ol' camel kiss!

Doesn't he just look like he should say" Whatcha talkin bout Willis?"

Photo op in the beautiful gardens

Jack growling at the Triceratops

Brian and I....aren't those T-Rex's arms so little!

Jack and Beau sitting in a section of the museum that is "still evolving"...funny, nothing is there!

The gang posing in front of a replica of Noah's ark

Papa and Jack waiting to see the movie "Men in White"

I think that is a Brontosaurus??

Last week, my dad spent 4 says in Cincinnati attending the Creation college with over 1200 other wisdom seekers. While he was there, my mom stayed with us. She was here to see the completion of the clubhouse and provided the wonderful linoleum floor in it-thanks Mom! Halfway through the week, she took the girls over to Cincinnati where they got to swim, go to the aquarium, the mall and the movies. I think they have now been officially spoiled this summer! The boys and Brian and I drove over Friday night and went to the Creation Museum on Saturday with everyone. I have been wanting to go since it opened in 2007 and had read and heard all of the comments from people who said it was impressive. It was all that and more. First of all, it was CROWDED!!! Which would seem somewhat annoying but I was excited to see over 3500 people walking around experiencing the wonder of creation. In fact, the museum is getting ready to reach it's mark of it's one millionth visitor-way to go! Secondly, it kept my kids attention the whole day. There wasn't any whining, or boredom and we were able to go through each exhibit and explain to the kids what each one was about. I have to say, being able to walk through a small portion of the ark was awesome. The dinosaurs were very realistic and the kids couldn't get enough of them. They have a planetarium and I couldn't help but think as we were watching our solar system,universe and galaxy overhead, what a wonderful and majestic God we have. "God of wonder, beyond our galaxy, You are Holy, Holy"-that song (by Steve Green, I think) is the song that the captain of the Columbia space shuttle, Rick Husband, requested as he viewed the glory outside the windows. I could totally understand why. I think the favorite part of the day for the kids was the petting zoo. The camel there was so friendly and very eager to be fed-we snapped some good photos. All in all, it was a great week and a fabulous way to end the weekend with Mina and Papa.

Good Times

2009-07-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

Our new clubhouse:)

2009-07-20T05:19:00.000-07:00

The kids (specifically Katie and Mags) have been asking Dad for a few years now for a clubhouse. Any given Saturday you could walk outside and find a wagon, stroller and cardboard box draped with an old comforter and sheet-complete with a cardboard sign that usually read "NO BOYS." So after seeing how eager the kids were to have a little "place of their own" and getting fed up with never being able to find my scissors or the tape or any kind of marker, we decided that they could really use a tree house/clubhouse. And what I mean by that, is that we tossed around ideas of a little platform stuck up in a tree with a ladder going up to it......

But here is what came instead........you know, a little platform, stuck near a tree, with a roof over it and a front porch, with 2 windows and a door, up 7 foot in the air from 6 telephone poles, completely sided with tin....a place for the kids to call "their own"Building the floor...that is Brian on the right and his uncle Jack(the brains behind this undertaking)
Taking a break...well everyone but Jack(that guy is amazing!!) On the ground is Brian, Dan and Grandpa Rose.
Jack anchoring on the roof...thank goodness for Jack's amazing carpenter skills and his big heart to donate his time on our "little" project!!

A little Jack and Beau:)

2009-07-12T13:03:00.000-07:00

The Lake

2009-07-09T04:42:00.000-07:00

Maggie getting on her skis-by herself, thank you very much;)

Jack and daddy-getting ready to ski together

The beautiful double rainbow after the big storm

Maggie

Katie

The real truth of why we do all this boating;)

Aunt Bernie, Tammy and Eric cleaning potatoes

Beau excited about eating corn

"I'm cool dude," says Vann

Vann, my nephew Zack, Jack and Beau-what a bunch of blondies!

Happy 4th of July! We again spent our ever-too-short 3 day weekend down at Barkley Lake in Eddyville, Kentucky. We always stay at Brians' uncle Jack's place...a weekend getaway lot that is jam packed with people, campers, motor home, and boats. The kids love to go boating and well, so do I...what's not to love? On Saturday, we picked fresh blackberries on the side of the road and brought them back for Grandma Rose to whip up some cobbler-yum! Uncle Jack had planned a big fresh fry with hush puppies and fried "new potatoes" as well as some fresh corn on the cob. We were all waddling after that meal was over. Some high points this weekend-Maggie not only learned to get up on her skis with me helping her take off, but she mastered it and now I don't have to stay in the water with her-woo hoo! Also we got the special privilege of celebrating Mass on the top of one our friends houseboat on Sunday. Fr. Tony was vacationing with them and they invited a bunch of people over that they knew were down. It was a great example to all of us that we can worship no matter where we are. It was neat to see all of the other boaters driving by checking out this surreal scene of 40+ people on the deck and am man in a white robe leading us in prayer and scripture-too cool!

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-24T15:31:00.000-07:00

Brian and his girls before church Sunday morning-they had just given him his special gift-a #1 Dad button(that he wore!) and some chocolate chips...yum!

I included this pic of Fr. Gary(appropriate for Fr.s Day), it was his last Sunday with us at Holy Cross-we will miss you Fr. Gary and all of your goofy faces!!!

We got home from vacation just in time to celebrate Father's Day. My kids have the best Dad( I am in no way biased:) and I grew up with an amazing Father. So, my hat is off to both of these wonderful men in my life!! I love you and Happy Father's Day....

Hello All...I am back!

2009-06-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

Brian and Beau
Maggie and Brian
Katie, Dad, Papa, and Court
Brian and I in Ft. Myers
So...it's been awhile!!! Right after Katie's first communion I went "back to work" for a few weeks. A friend of mine had a baby so I filled in for her in May and will finish up a couple weeks at the end of July. We then went on vacation for two weeks in the beginning of June so you can see why I haven't blogged so much. Brian and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary on June 5th. We took a trip with some good friends that were also celebrating their 10 yr as well. We left for Ft. Myers beach on Monday and headed back on Thursday. 4 days without the kids!!!!! It was great...I didn't have to brush anyone's teeth, cut up any food, hear my name(mom) repeated 100 times a day or cook at all!! I could handle that-but only once every 10 years or so:) I did miss our kids and our routine...but soaked it up while I was away. After that trip, we headed to New Symrna beach(my absolutely favorite beach!!) with my family to stay in a condo. My grandparents, parents, sisters and cousins were all there too. It had been way too long since we all got together but we made great memories on this trip. Enjoy the photos.

More First Communion Pics......

2009-05-13T08:33:00.000-07:00

Katie and her godparents, Tammy and Dave (Brian's brother)
Katie's lamb cake.....a tradition that Grandma Rose makes

Katie and her teacher, Mrs. Dill...who is fast approaching her due date!!

Katie and Maggie

Grandma and Grandpa Rose and Mina and Papa

The proud parents

Life is Good.....

2009-05-11T16:20:00.000-07:00

My little Superman, Beau, at the race track
Katie bundled up, ready for the next race with her ear plugs in...it is SUPER loud!
Jack "cheezin" it for real-those would be cheez-its in his mouth!
Little spectators
Vann
Katie
Mags
Jack
Brian and his mini me-Vann
I thought this was funny. When my parents left last Monday, the boys put their masks on to wave good-bye to them. What, you don't do that when your guests leave??!???

Ok....I think I am actually caught up on my real time post!(Does that make sense???) Well, anyway, I have a few pictures from this last week of the fun we've had. On Friday night, we had a marshmallow roast on the back patio while we looked at the moon through the telescope. Needless to say we were quite sticky with marshmallow goo from our head to our toes. The moon was also alot easier to see when NOT looking through a lens that 3 boys were "helping" with! It was alot of fun and a truly simple way to spend the evening with the kids. On Saturday, the girls had their last soccer game. They lost 2-0 BUT that was the smallest gap they had all season and the team really did improve each game. I may have pictures of them playing as soon as I get my dad's developed. Saturday night we headed up to Tri-State Speedway for some sprint car action! The kids loved the loud noise of the engines, the tractors that graded the track in between races, drinking coke after coke(totally a treat!!), and the two wrecks we saw. It was action packed and lasted until 11:30p.m (Mom was exhausted by the way) We spent a lazy Sunday recouping from our weekend after celebrating Mother's Day at Church.......life is good!!!

Katie's First Communion

2009-05-11T09:25:00.000-07:00

The girls in the 2nd grade at Holy Cross
What a sweet pose!
So lovely......
Getting ready for her big celebration
Katie and her best friend Kennedy
Kennedy and Katie again
The girls skipping into church

Before we knew it, Katie grew up!!! It just seems like yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital without a clue how to be parents other than to love......and now she is blossoming into a little young lady. Her first communion was a most precious day that we will always remember. Her heart has been prepared to receive Jesus not only in belief in Him, but through his sacrifice at the last supper. It was so humbling to see these precious little 8 year olds eagerly accept Him and celebrate Him, and I look forward to doing this again 4 more times:)

Spring Program at School

2009-05-08T16:02:00.001-07:00

Katie and some of her friends from 2nd grade
The 5th grade performing a dramatization of the temptations in our life and how God is there for us through it all
Katie and Maggie
The cutest thing I ever saw....this little guy showed off his talent of pogo-ing!
Katie and her best friend Kennedy performing a poem of a seamstress, a carpenter and a captain...Sail On!!!

Camping with the TenBarge's

2009-05-08T15:12:00.001-07:00

Technical diffficulties with Beau
Jack
Vann
Our goofballs, Brian and Barry

Maggie, Katie and Kaylee

Our first camping trip of the season was a wet one, for sure. We headed to our favorite spot at Shakamak with our good friends the TenBarge's. It was good to get back in the swing of things, good to see our friends after a few months, good to play at the park all weekend, and best of all, we did it in the rain!!

SARAH PALIN!!!!

2009-05-06T16:39:00.000-07:00

Michael Steele addressing the sold out crowd
Sarah Palin making that face! You Betcha'!
One Nation, One Cause
Govenor Palin and the first dude, Todd, walking through the crowd.

The Thursday after Easter, Brian and I went to the annual Vanderburgh County Right to Life Banquet. The keynote speaker this year was Micheal Steele, the head of the RNC and Brian and I both thought we would enjoy to hear him speak regarding his pro-life commitment. Just weeks prior to the event though, we found out that there would be a "special" guest speaker and it was none other than Sarah Palin herself. Many of you know what a huge supporter I was of her and how I really admired her support and commitment to the pro-life movement, among other things. Well, needless to say, it was a powerful evening with an uplifting message of hope and possibilities for the future. It really was amazing to see that many people and businesses gathered together for one cause and truly an honor to be in Sarah Palin's presence. She is a remarkable person with tons of personality, wit, compassion, wisdom and humor. Matthew West was also there, singing out his soul for his love of Jesus and love of life. It was also amazing to see how many people brought their children to the event, they were truly welcome. Others brought their ultrasound pictures of their little ones proudly displaying the life they had in their womb. I certainly pray that one day we will be able to come together as a nation strong, strong in the defense of the weak, strong in the opposition of abortion, strong in the love of children and the blessing they bestow on us, strong in voice in the support of life, much like Sarah Palin has!

Easter

2009-05-04T13:15:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love Jack's face.....I think he thinks he is DONE with taking pictures!
Katie
Beau
I love this one-Maggie barely stopped as she grabbed this egg and was off to another
I will know for next time that trying to take a pic with them into the sun doesn't really work!
Vann at Grandma's
Beau
All of the kids waiting to go "hunt"

Obviously I am a little behind on my calendar. No it is not Easter, but I am trying to post what I should have been doing for the past three weeks. First thing I missed was one of the most important celebrations of the year!! Brian had Good Friday off and we went to the passion Mass that day to see the high school youth re-enact the last few hours of Jesus' life on Earth. It was powerful and always has such a strong impact on the kids to see it visually instead of just through the gospel reading. We went to Grandma and Grandpa Roses on Saturday after soccer games for a big egg hunt with our cousins and lots and lots of chocolate. Katie only had one more day until she could FINALLY taste it! Giving up chocolate was quite a sacrifice for her.
On Sunday, we celebrated Mass and the fact that Jesus did come out of the tomb alive-praise God!! We got home to find some "treasures" hidden around our yard before heading out to Brian's uncles house for a big feast. OK, hopefully I can catch you up another week on my next post.

My Mirror Image

2009-04-07T21:57:00.000-07:00

Vann has really taken to coloring and drawing here lately. For the longest time the girls loved to color, cut, paste, tape and do any craft they could get their hands on and the boys have had absolutely no interest in any part of it. Well, just in messing it all up, but that's another story! So anyway, Vann is into stick figure drawings and I am not sure what my first emotion was when he showed me his cute little drawing of a robotic looking person. Oh-that person is me!! As I am smirking at this picture-the eyes, the missing mouth, the short arms, the square bottom, the round thing on my abdomen-wait, what is that round thing??? Vann tells me it's my "little belly". Thanks bud, you just made up for the robot eyes! But, as Brian pointed out,(while totally cracking up), "He thinks you have a square butt!!" HA-gotta love little kids and husbands:)

Our Week at St. Joe Peninsula

2009-03-30T19:00:00.000-07:00

This is the "woo-hoo" face, we're driving 12 hours in the car with 5 kids!
Maggie, Sammy and Katie
Uncle Dan grilling the oysters
After they opened, we doctored them up with butter, garlic and parmesan cheese and even some hot sauce.

Shelby really loves oysters!

2009-03-30T18:00:00.000-07:00

Jack making his #2 face-of course, there is a story there!
When you gotta go-I can't tell you how many little hineys I saw on this vacation
Maggie striking some kind of karate kid pose
Jack and Beau
I was so excited to get the sand in my toes, there is nothing like it. However, my feet weren't ready for flip flops as you can see by the little sore on my toe.
This is 5 of the 6 grandsons lined up in the kayaks: Griffin, Zack, Vann, Jack, and Beau
Vann
Dave reeling in a BIG one(actually it turned out to be nothing!)
Baby Owen wearing his manly pink towel
Katie

2009-03-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

Beau striking his GQ pose

Zack, Vann, and Beau running from the wave

Brian coasting in from his kayak adventure

Cold little boys

Uncle Dan's hammerhead he caught right off the beach!

Zack and Vann "surfed" the waves like this for about an hour-safety first!

The girls playing in the waves

SUPERSTAR!!

Katie, Sammy, Shelby, and Maggie

Peekaboo says Beau to Grandma Rose

My new Camera....

2009-03-19T18:42:00.000-07:00

Can't you just tell how much fun they were having-look at Vann's legs!!
This would be Beau, changing his mind AGAIN on getting in/out of the swing.
Jack and Ruthy
Jack
Owen

I finally got a little bit of free time squeezed in between 5 kids to research cameras and decided on getting a Fujifilm finepix instead of going the Nikon d40 route. Maybe in the future I will get a Nikon. As for now, I am just thrilled to have a camera that actually works and doesn't suck the life out of my fresh batteries! It is GORGEOUS here in Indiana. If only the weather could stay like this for months! We hit the park this week like it hasn't been 4 months since the last time we were there. Some days we went twice!! I got some cute pictures of the kids, mostly of Jack, since he stood still the longest. My niece and nephew were with us in some of the pics. This has also been a big week for us because we are counting down until Saturday morning. We leave to head to Port St. Joe, FL to camp on the beach with Brian's entire family. His mom and dad have a motor home and have been down there for a few weeks already and Brian's brother and sister(and their families) are all headed down on Saturday as well. It should be fun and provide me lots of opportunities to snap some photos. Have a great week everyone and I will check in later:)

2009-03-09T09:46:00.000-07:00

Until I can figure out what camera I think I need, my pictures on the blog will be elusive:( Hopefully in the next few weeks I can come to some conclusion! We have been so excited this past week to see the winter blahs slowly fade away and spring emerge. It was a gorgeous 3 day weekend with temps in the 70's. We are preparing to go to Port St Joe, FL in two weeks so this just got us more in the mood for flip flops and bathing suits. (I should definitely get a camera before then!) On Sunday, some of my closest friends and I got to travel to Nashville for an all day shopping adventure that ended in gluttony at Buca Di Pepa's. It was a long day in that we left at 7am and didn't return until 11 pm but it was so FAST. Does that make any sense? I am sure it does to all of you moms!
The boys are starting their 4th week of swim lessons and other than one little child calling Jack a "fat, little pig" it has gone pretty uneventful. In this little child's' defense, Jack does have an awful hard time crawling up the side to get back to sitting because of his round belly(it is such a sight to see!) But, it is still no reason to call names but thankfully Jack just laughed as he always does and went on about his business of climbing up and kicking his little legs in the pool.
At this moment, my three boys are watching Peter Pan and I am "eavesdropping" on Vann telling Jack that they "cannot like mermaids because they are girls" to which Jack just responded, "I like girls!" So cute......

Maggie is 7!

2009-02-19T19:25:00.000-08:00

Her school style-pigtails for her Birthday!
I saw these in a Woman's Day mag, petit fours-they were so good and so cute!
Cupcakes at Grandma's
Getting ready to go to McDonald's
Maggie in her new dress from Mina and Papa

Well, Maggie, our one child that wasn't born or due in November(out of five!), celebrated her birthday today. Just seven years ago she came into the world 3 days early and with a little drama-that is so Maggie's style! It's hard to believe this little bundle of joy is now a high-spirited, sharp witted, determined, compassionate and energetic little girl! Oh and she is so much like me, it's kind of scary! Mom, you will love this. Her last report card said she is a fine learner but has some trouble talking to the people who sit next to her-sound familiar??

She started the day with a phone call from Dad who is in Kansas City this week followed by a celebration at school with chocolate cupcakes with white icing and red sprinkles of course! After school, Grandma and Grandpa Rose took us out to a very exclusive children's restaurant...McDonald's. We had more cupcakes back at Grandma's, then finished off the evening with a phone call from Mina and Papa. It was flabulous(that is how Mag's pronounces it)

These are a little fuzzy

2009-02-19T10:12:00.000-08:00

Look at my little skiier go!

On the lift

I forgot that Brian had emailed these pics of Katie on the slope from his blackberry....they are fuzzy but still shareable!

Here Lately...

2009-02-17T20:03:00.000-08:00

Goofing off after dinner tonight
See my scarf, I made it myself! (she says)

It's got monkeys on it, a Rose family favorite

Getting ready to hit the slopes in Southern Indiana!

So my camera is on the fritz-not that you need a camera to blog but I love posting pictures of the kids! I think it is a stalling technique for me because if you have pictures you really don't have to write that much, and I really don't feel like I am that great of a writer. However, having said that, my camera did seem to recover from it's latest round of injury(it got dropped on the floor for the millionth time!) There was a picture on there from a few weeks ago of Katie and Brian heading out the door to Paoli Peak-a ski slope. It was Katie's first time to hit the snow but Brian said she did really well other than a few incidents with the fence. Every hour or so she would call me from the ski lift with a story or a "Mom, guess what.." She really had fun. Brian said the whole way home she was talking BIG about next time and how she will be able to go on her own and not have to hang out with dad! Oh my!

Since all of the snow has melted and somewhat blue skies and warmer temps have appeared, we find ourselves back outdoors. It's almost like having Christmas again because they really haven't seen their bikes, Rollerblades, scooters or hot wheels since January! We opened the garage door and they were all amazed-gotta love that.

Katie has started sewing with the local 4H club and seems to somewhat like it. I think she is typical in that she so desperately wanted to do this and now a few months into it I find it harder and harder to get her to practice. She did perk up today though because she got to make and take home her first real thing- a scarf. She walked out of there today all puffed up with pride over her new scarf, sashaying over to the van like a movie star! It was cute. She wore it the rest of the night and wanted to wear it to bed but we have this crazy rule about nothing around your neck at night-we're such crazy parents!

2009-02-06T12:07:00.000-08:00

I never was a waitress, I think I would spill alot!
These are my girls!(minus Carrie who was home with a newborn)
Mandy and LeeAnn
Aren't we cute!!!

Last week was a fun one to say the least because of all of the snow. This is what the kids live for this time of year....sledding behind the 4 wheeler that DAD drives(not mom). Unfortunatly for mom and dad, one thing that we love this time of year, Parents Nite Out, got cancelled because school was out. It's always nice to have an evening a free babysitting especially when it's at school and SR. T is involved. So, despite what the kids think, Brian and I were much more disappointed than they were when we found out it was a no go! However, we also had other plans that same weekend to head up to our school fundraiser dance on Saturday and thankfully, it was not cancelled. The girls and I(my friends) were ready to break a leg on the dance floor but the music didn't really cooperate. But as Michelle said, If you get lemons, make lemonade! There were lots of photo opportunities of us out there on the floor, thankfully some will never make to the computer(we hope!) The evening flew by much too fast, but good memories were made!