Chickens!!

6 total! We have 6 baby chicks! 3 yellow, and 3 black w/ white markings. What we know, they'll lay about 1 egg a day to every other day each in about 6 months. There will be medium brown eggs. Their breed is a mystery, both Stephan and I have been told, but have both failed to write it down or remember! Sad I know! For now they are living in am aquarium, w/ a mesh cover, with a lamp to stay extra warm to one side! The girls are thrilled, Stephan and I are like big kids sometimes and are enjoying them too. This is a fun adventure. Stephan will be constructing their coop soon, for when they get their adult feathers and the weather truly warms up. Why you ask?? Because eggs get more and more expensive by the day, and well this investment if protected and managed well, will be a much more cost effective and healthier way to get eggs for up to 5 years!!

"That's What Love Is" By David Phelps

Stephan stumbled across the christian artist David Phelps a while ago, bought one of his live albums. I never bothered to listen to it until about 2 weeks ago I borrowed Stephan's MP4 player for something to listen to while at work. I totally love all that this mans music has to say. This particular song came on in the van as I'm driving home from bible study one Tuesday night, tears came. What a beautiful song. Then the CD had come with a DVD w/ the live performance the CD was taken from, so while working on some things last Saturday I decided to put it in. Prior to several songs David Phelps talks about the meaning of his songs, this song was one of them. So there sat the artist, his parents and sisters. They told a story of their life and how difficult the relationship was between his mother and father at one point and when the father was asked by one of the daughter's what he didn't just leave the mother...... The father's reply was when you love someone you don't just leave. Just like God loves us, and sent his son to die on the cross for us. Even when we laugh in His face, or ignore Him completely He's still there to love us. A love for a parent, a child, a dear friend, a loved one, a stranger.. this song speaks a thousand words to me, and I've chosen to let it be my only song on the blog for a while.... Hope you'll have a listen and pay attention to the words.....

Dance for the Lord!

That is what I am learning how to do, along with some other lovely ladies at our church. Linda our teacher is very patient, and I'm thinking our first day didn't go as bad I thought it would. We are learning Messianic Dance! The below clip will give you a glimpse of what we are learning. There will be a Passover Seder taking place at our church in 5 weeks and Linda hopes a few or all of us may take part in the celebration..... I hope with practice I'll be ready!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...........

Sunday February 22nd 2009
The Day of Tristen's Dedication, and she is truly a Blessing sent by God!!
Portrait Done by Warrie McBrearty
If you would like a copy let me know and we'll talk!

Daniel Fast!

This is a blip about me... read if you'd like!

I'm 6 weeks into a study on the book of Daniel by Beth Moore. We where asked to give up something that we loved that was in the "world" that we could have but should be wise and do without. Just as Daniel chose to do with out the Kings Rich foods and wine in the 1st chapter of Daniel. This was not supposed to be a diet by any means. I choose to give up soda, I was addicted and it's something most of America could live with out and be much slimmer and healthier by it. This fast ended this Tuesday for me. When we went to the circus, I had a bottle of soda, 20oz of my favorite Dr Pepper. I'm learning that I should have continued to do with out. This is a learning curve for me and my eyes are opening more and more each day. I'm not perfect at all and fail daily. God has layed out a manual for us w/ examples to follow, what awesome things would come to be if all of those who claimed to follow him actually lived by the word of God. Wow! There would be True "Change" in this country. Though daily most of America kicks out the God that this country was founded on, and people wonder why things are falling apart around them! So I will continue to strive to follow the word of God, in hopes that I can make a difference. I've personally approched some subjects with friends and family members in the wrong way resulting in walls that may never be brought down. I have come to learn it's not for me to judge anyone, only God above can pass judgement, and it's my task to live the life he has called me to live and to be a witness to those around me. Well folks thanks for reading if you did. Now I'm off to bed!

The Greatest Show On Earth!

Stephan, Chloe and Molly at the Circus 2/19/09

Well I'm sure there are better shows to see. However tonight we went downtown and see the Circus! It was a nice show. Though we encountered something rather comical prior to getting into the show. PETA, protesters! Now a young lady with at least 20holes and pieces of metal in her face approaches Us and looks at Stephan and states "There are more wholesome things you could be doing with your children tonight" Now how in the world to I take you seriously when you have over a dozen holes in your body and dress far from wholesome. Anyways. We carried on and had a good time with the girls!

I love the way the elephants hold each others tails!

New Heat Pump!

So Monday February 16th 2009, our new heat pump system was installed. Can I just say it's incredible. Stephan's hard work under the house to re insulate in areas that needed it, and the added new heat pump. The house is very cozy and comfortable at a steady 70degrees. Though we could probably keep it lower we are enjoying it at this moment.

A Photo of our NEW thermostat! It's a comfortable 70degrees!

6 years ago on Valentine's day!

A bond began between 2 little girls that will last a life time. Cousin's and best buddies!!!
We celebrated Mikayla's 6th Birthday yesterday, and I reflected back to when she arrived in this world, and Chloe was there to welcome her! They are 7 weeks apart! :o)

Stephan, Chloe, Mikayla, Chris Rouze, Nana Pickens
February 2003
Chloe & Mikayla
February 14, 2009

Book recieved!

Well, my Managers of Their Homes book arrived, I've read, and have come to Step one! To Pray about and make my Mom's activity list, over the next week then review w/Stephan. My day needs to total about 24 hours or less.. I'll keep everyone updated. She does stress the importance of nap time for those under 7years old.. and well I restarted Molly's naps, and Chloe after the past few days could benefit from at least 1 hour of rest a day. This is only the beginning, and I'm excited about getting started!!!

MOTH method!

Homeschooling is going well. Though I'm struggling with just how to balance 3 kids, schooling 2, caring for baby, and house work. Some days it seems like there are not enough hours in the day, and if I only could split myself in two would I be able to get it all done. I've done the give me and the girls chores, it worked for a while, but my structure was not strong. In my fascination with the Duggar family, I checked out their web site, and found they use the MOTH method of scheduling their time, found at titus2.com. My thought was well if this works so well for a family of 20, then why not give it a try for my family of 5. So last week I ordered my book, and I'm now anxiously awaiting it's arrival to get started in hopes to be like the many before me that where able to send great testimonies on it's success in turning the whole house around.

No Hannah!

We decided we wouldn't let the girls watch Hannah Montana. Why not? Every other 4 and 6 year old is watching her! Well, I decided I'd watch the show on one of my late night feedings of Tristen over the summer, and was shocked buy the behaviors I witnessed that I'm not wanting my kids to behave in these manners. #1- Running after and kissing of boys. #2- Greed, I watched an episode where she was begging her daddy for a new phone even though the one she had was fine. #3. She's very sassy, and has a attitude. #4 I don't care for the way she speaks to her Dad. #5.. my list can go on and on so I'll stop. I've explained to Chloe and Molly that I would not like them to watch this show, and they understand it's because I don't like Hannah Montana's character qualities. So that's my little rant, and a little Hannah will hurt, So my girls are not allowed to view the Disney Channel after the noon hour if at all. Especially because of the chance to see Wizards of Waverly Place also, and the rest of the other bratty kids shows that come on in the evenings.

ZOO PASSES!!!

For Christmas my parents gave our family of 5 passes to the local zoo. Today was one of the random 60degree days in Va, warm, clear, and sunny. I decided to declare a field trip to take advantage of the passes and the weather. Especially since the next 2-3 days forecast calls for 30ish degree weather and rain/snow mix.

Our Trip exciting.. the kids had a blast.

Tristen watching Chloe and Molly feed the Giraffes

Chloe Feeding the Giraffe

Molly's turn!

The day was beautiful, and we are all looking forward to many more trips to the zoo thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Kruse.

Dirty Job

Stephan has discovered that working in the crawl space replacing old insulation, is a very dirty and smelly job. Our heat pump install has been delayed. However Stephan decided he needed to check the insulation under the house, and in the process discovered that it had fallen from many areas. This was part of our problem with cold! The heat pump does need to be replaced regardless, we had made a small fix to get us through last summer, and need the AC big time around here in the summer. Stephan with the help of Phillip spent 5+hours under the house working on this project and the back half of the house has been re insulated. They smelled nasty and where filthy when they where done. I now have a mound of insulation in the back yard, awaiting a trip in the truck to the dump!

Growing Girls!!!

Chloe, Molly, and Tristen have all grown.. The result a need to change out clothing sizes for each girl. This is a difficult task, because, I have limited times as to when I can get this done due to mine and Stephan's schedule. Stephan happened to be off this Saturday so I started my journey, in the tubs of hand me downs... and baskets of laundry.

The pictures offer a small glimpse of my bedroom over taken by little girls clothing. Chloe has gone from a size 6/6x top to a 7/8, Molly a 4/5top to a 6/6x. The tricky part with the hand me downs, They start w/ my niece Stirling, then good condition stuff gets to Ainsley, who also gets tome new things, then the good condition stuff comes to Chloe, then Chloe gets some new, then it all goes to Molly, result, Molly always has way too much clothing. So I then have to evaluate what will work for them, and then pass some on to charity, because I just don't have the space for it all. Tristen is moving from 12mo clothing in some items to 18month, so that transition is taking place too. Now Tristen is tolerant of being left on the bed to play with clothing and hangers for some lengths of time, however the 6+hours spent Saturday where not enough to tackle the task at hand, now I face Stephan sleeping in my work space so the transition of clothing has come to a halt.... The master bedroom stuffed, and some of the tubs are living in the family room. Homeschool is needing to resume for the week. I hope to tackle it in small increments each evening this week, and hope to complete the task of downsizing Molly's jumbo collection of clothing, Getting Tristen's bigger sizes washed and switched out. My hope is to have it done, by next week, or I may loose my mind in the process.

What about the kids??

Guess I left the girls out of the last post! Tuesday nights they have Daddy time! Wednesday nights there is a place for them and some wonderful teenagers watch them! On every other Friday Grandma and Grandpa Rouze have graciously agreed to watch them for us, since we'll be in their area. So that's where they will be while Mommy and Daddy have their Bible study time with the other adults. More kiddie posts later!!

Busy Mommy and Daddy!!

I resumed my Tuesday night ladies bible study, we are doing another Beth Moore Study called Daniel . I'm on my 3rd week, have 5days of homework a week, it's just awesome, and it's helping to clarifying some things that God has already been placing on my heart over the past 2years. Starting this Friday, Stephan and I are returning to our Friday night local bible study group (with church friends who live on our side of town), and are doing a study called "The Bait of Satan" By John Bevere and is about Living Free from the Deadly trap of Offense. That study will require us to read the book and attend the video sessions every other week. Oh there is more, we are some bible studying folk right now! Wednesday nights, the men are starting a study called "The Way of the Wild heart" by John Eldridge, Stephan helped line some things up, and Ricky (Debby's Husband) will be leading the group of men. The ladies are starting another Beth Moore Study "Believing God"(workbook and homework optional) for those who attend Wednesday nights. I chose to dive in and get the work book!! It's just like taking a bunch of different classes in school, just our subject matter is God, serving Him, believing Him, and growing in His word! We are looking forward to our adventures in the coming weeks.

Baby it's COLD inside!!

So this past week we had some very cold weather, boo on the fact that we didn't get a lick of snow to show for it. Our heat pump, is not the best, at night it can't seem to keep the house warm enough. Chloe, Molly and myself do well with extra blankets. For Tristen I was layering her with the following, short sleeve onesie, long sleeve onesie, tights, socks, lightweight sleeper, blanket sleeper, a blanket pouch (in place of a blanket) and a pair of mittens w/ long socks over them to stay in place. Despite all of that clothing, Tristen would wake up with ice cold fingers, hands, and lower arms. So Friday and Saturday the temperature lows where to be bel0w 10degrees, since the heat pump couldn't hang with 20degrees, I opted to stay with my parents while Stephan was at work those 2 nights. We have 2 options, replace the heat pump, or just make costly repairs to it over and over, not really knowing when it will break completely. We have decided to replace the whole system, and this will take place next weekend. Last night wanting to sleep in my own bed, we returned home, it was not as cold, but still now warm enough for Tristen, so she snuggled up for the night with me in my bed, we slept well and no ice cold fingers this morning.

Parenting....

Why we do what we do...... In the realm of parenting. When Chloe was just a baby we dedicated her to the Lord.. and committed to raise her to love and serve the Lord. We repeated that dedication with Molly, and plan the same route for Tristen. Neither of us where made to attend church, or where taught much about God as children our parents had decided to introduce us to church and let us choose our own way. I'm grateful that Stephan and I had found friends in life that directed us towards church. We stepped away from church in 1999, to return in 2000 after an invitation to what would become our current church family. Our christian walk has not been an easy one, and not always a faithful one. However in the past year we have jumped into our faith with both feet, and are working more diligently to raise our girls the way we dedicated to do so 6years ago. Today I checked out a CD series by Jimmy Evans titled "Successful Parenting", it has confirmed many of our parenting methods, and has given me more incite as to which way to go with other areas of parenting to show them God through us. I look forward to continuing on this difficult and challenging path of parenting our girls. So following listening to this message I plan to listen to it again, and then to share w/ Stephan. Below is a link to Marriage today.

http://www.marriagetoday.org

Happy New Year!!!

The Girls and myself spent New Years at my Parents place. Along with my sister and her girls since our husbands had to work. Uncle Chris was home too. For Chloe and Molly we said Happy New year and had some sparkling grape juice around 9pm so they could go to bed. :o) Hope everyone has a great year in 2009!!

Camping indoors....

Our 15x14 2 room Family Cabin Tent

Queen Air bed and Tristen's Pack n Play

Chloe & Molly w/ their twin air beds and sleeping bags!

For Christmas we received a Tent. The girls got their air beds. With misc cash gifts we purchased our Queen air bed, my sleeping bag, and other camping gear. So to be sure that all functioned well and was not missing parts we camped out in the house in the tent. What a blast... we are looking forward to warmer weather to venture outdoors. Over the next few months we will begin to search for and purchase any other camping equipment that we may need.

Christmas recovery!!

So we have the largest disaster in our family room. It's full of boxes, toys, and camping gear. That's right. We have our tent!! It's huge, with a 7foot head clearance inside for us tall folk. Target had a great clearance sale on camping items, so we got the girls and myself a sleeping bag, our lantern, and other misc small items, a wash basin for dishes.... the list goes on. So yesterday I got all of our laundry washed and folded, and with Stephan sleeping all day I tend to get behind on putting things away. Today he is working a double shift so I'm working on making our bedroom tidy, and putting away every ones hanging laundry, as I have every ones including the kids clothing in my closet. They have a large dresser and 2 small sets of drawers in their bedroom that houses folded items, I hang their dresses, and tops. Then I'll do some work on the family room I should really do a before and after shot, it's terrible, and to top things off Tristen is teething making free hands hard to come by. Gotta get it done Stephan's hoping that with a clean family room and moving the couch we may be able to put up the tent in the house so all us kids can try out our gear that's indoor safe, and see how the pack n play will fit w/the air beds. Fun!! and EXCITING. it helps to motivate and we have another week of Christmas break!

Chloe Turns 6

This day 6 years ago our oldest daughter was born. She had her birthday party a week early, and we will be headed out to eat at the restaurant of her choice this evening just the five of us to celebrate her official birthday.

The Rouze Family Christmas letter.

Many of you received this but for those I missed here it is!! Along with the Picture taken by our dear friend Warrie, special thanks to her for her hard work and dedication on this project.

Merry Christmas,

This year has been quite the adventure for our family. We began the year with our house on the market, a baby in Heather’s belly, and various other things to keep us busy. We took preventative measures knowing Heather would face some time on bed rest. We also took into consideration the third child we were expecting and the un-affordable costs of daycare. This dilemma left us looking to downsize our living quarters.
A good friend of ours, Phillip, had taken a job which required him travel the country most of the time. He had the perfect house for our family. A cozy little rancher nestled on almost an acre, with three bedrooms and a large family room. He agreed to sell the home to us upon the sale of our house. Of course, with the economy and all, this was easier said then done.
We actually listed our house in October of 2007. The start of 2008 left us without a single offer, and many pains to come. We had reduced the sale price to $40,000 less then the appraised value before our first offer. The first offer failed, then a second failed offer came, and finally God came through! After much prayer in May we received not only one, but two good offers, on the same day. We didn’t get as much as we wanted, but we closed with what we needed.
On May 27, 2008 we sold the big house and made the move. To add to that week in History on May 29th we ended up at the Hospital with a un-official family record baby weigh in. Tristen Leigh Rouze was born, coming into this world at 10lbs and 2oz!
Summer time was spent organizing the new home and enjoying the lower mortgage payment! We took the kids, along with Stephan’s parents, to Pennsylvania for a week vacation. We enjoyed going to Sesame Place, Amish County, the Crayola Factory, and the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum. The kids had a good time, and the ‘big’ kids had a blast too! It was nice to see the family up north as well!
Perhaps the biggest thing of the summer came when we officially decided to keep our kids out of government schools and home school our children. It has taken a large commitment on our part, but it is well worth it. Chloe has already surpassed Kindergarten standards and is excelling rapidly. Molly is engaged in a preschool program and she too is taking off!
Chloe turns 6 in a week and Molly just turned 4 in September. The kids are growing up fast! They continue to make life interesting and un-predictable! We hope the New Year offers more excitement as we take up camping as a new family activity. We love all of you dearly. May God Bless you richly in the coming year!

Merry Christmas
Love,
Stephan, Heather, Chloe, Molly, & Tristen

Lost tooth!!!

Chloe lost her 1st tooth today!! What excitement! She has heard stories of the dollars her daddy received when he was a kid for each tooth he lost! I'll post a picture of her grin in the morning!

Best Christmas Gift EVER!!!

I receive a call while waiting to get Mikayla.. and it's Stephan singing to me.... "I'll be home for Christmas"

I was overcome with Pure Joy!!


Stephan is off Christmas eve into Christmas Day!!!!! He was supposed to work.. he worked overtime today and was asked to work next Sunday for someone, and he bartered Christmas eve night off!! I'm so very excited, now our typical Christmas will go as planned, and I couldn't have asked for more. So we'll go to my parent's place Christmas eve as usual. We'll have Christmas morning at home, then off to Stephan's mom's for breakfast since our home is no longer large enough to host. And then home for a rest if we desire.. then back to mom in law's for Christmas diner with the rest of the family!... I'm so excited have I mentioned that.....So 3 days until the festivities start!!

Chloe's Princess Birthday party

In the grand schedule December 20th, turned out to be the best weekend for Chloe's 6th birthday party. Stephan didn't have to work tonight so it just worked out well. Due to the size of our house and not having the extra spending cash to have the party elsewhere. I opted to have a kids only party, better yet a girls only party. My ex-sister in law was kind enough to allow me to have my neice Mikayla for the night, since she was the one person Chloe wanted to be there, the 2 of them are only 7weeks apart. My sister Jackie's girls Stirling(11) and Ainsley (10) came out to help with the party. 3 other girls where also able to come to the party, Ally, Katie, and Mackenzie. The night started out with playing, and watching some of "How the Grinch stole Christmas", then we ate pizza, played more, had cupcakes and ice cream, opened presents, played some more...
We played a game of pin the tierra on the princess, and painted nails complete with pretty nail stickers. Then all the girls played until their Dads arrived to pick up them up.
Mikayla, Stirling, and Ainsley all are spending the night.

(Pictures coming soon check back)

Bump in the night.....

12/18/08 2am....... settling in for the night.... yes that's normal for me.. the cat meow wakes Tristen, who then thinks she should eat, so I settle on the bed to feed her, and our dog Roupen starts barking like someone is here. I'm home alone, as Stephan is at work, so I call him. He stays on the phone and asks a fellow officer who works this area to just sing by to check the place out, for a little piece of mind, because well the dog was probably barking at an animal, but you never know. We've lived here 6 months and he has never barked after 11pm. So not only did one officer come out but there where 3. The house lit up w/ spot lights, they got out of their cars and walked the property. Special thanks to the lovely officers that keep my family safe while my husband is at the other end of town keeping other families safe. If I hadn't been feeding Tristen, I would have passed out some Christmas cookies, for their willingness to come out, to calm a officers wife that was totally freaked out by the fact that our dog was going bonkers.

Baking Cookies with Grandma

Wednesday morning we the girls and I where invited by Stephan's mom to come by and help with her annual day of baking Christmas cookies. I dropped Chloe and Molly off at 9am, took Tristen to her pediatrician appointment... she's now 16lbs. I returned at 11am, to start helping. I briefly saw our nephew Luke who turned one that day, and him mom Amy, who where there while I was at the pediatrician. There was a break from baking for a quick sandwich, then Chloe and Molly pushed along the activity of baking. Hours passed and the girls and I where still there, cutting, pressing, decorating, and baking cookies. It was near 445pm that we left to make our way home before attending church. A fun day, and break from school work for the girls and myself. I failed to pack a camera, and was just so wrapped up in helping I didn't even walk upstairs to use my father in laws camera, so this is one event without a single photo.

Men's Campout & Ladie's sleepover

December 12&13, 2008 The men from out church planed a large men's camp out. Yes in December, and yes outside. They had tents, sleeping bags, a camp fire, airsoft guns, and real guns, they ate well, and had a blast. So I had the bright idea of a ladies sleepover at my place with much less invited b/c our new house can not hold too many people. The plan watch Christmas movies and veg all weekend. Not so much. The movies played only Warrie, and Tina spent the night, the crew of kids as in mine and Tina's took forever to go to sleep, and sleep did not come well to me. There was a full moon, and the kids and animals where all in rare form, the 1st night, and we where up bright and early with the kids. The next day went a little smoother however busy with misc tasks. Come night time more folks came out for just diner that equaled more kids. This was a fun but crazy evening. Then bed time came, the little girls went off to bed and I actually watched my 1st beginning to end movie of the weekend. Once the movie was over, bedtime I was happy to great it, Tristen on the other hand was not, I found myself up until 430am. By the time 8am rolled around I was miserable for more reasons than I care to write about, and knew I wouldn't make the 30min drive to church nor last the service, so we opted to stay home. Then my rest began. Warrie sent me off for a nap when I was falling asleep sitting up on the couch, and I had a good 2 hours of rest at least. The men have decided the women need a weekend kid free... smart men.. so they have informed us February is a good time, and they will have another camp out in April. I have learned my lesson.. though a sleepover and the idea of the event sounded great, I was more exhausted than ever... Just to used to the fact that if my girls are left alone in the morning after a late night they will sleep in until they are well rested. So no more mega sleepover planing for me.....

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!!!!

December 9,2008.
Stephan needed to go to a sporting goods store to purchase his sleeping bag for an upcoming(past) Men's camp out. So I decided why not go the open air mall that blows snow each night at 7pm for a kick, it was maybe 65degrees that night. So the white flecks in the photos snow blown from the top of the stores for about 5-10min. The kids loved it and Tristen is always happy to be outside in the fresh air.

Weekend to the lake... 12/05/08-12/07/08

Chloe & Molly

Heather (me!!) & Stephan

Ryan & Warrie

The Lake House!


We took a weekend trip to Lake Gaston w/ Ryan and Warrie. It was cold, and we where lucky the house has a wood stove upstairs and an open fire place downstairs for heat. So we stayed warm, w/the fires burning and space heaters working we had a great relaxing weekend away with good friends. Prior to leaving Stephan purchased us a Wii fit, so we ALL tried it out. We decided for the guys to ride together and the girls to ride together. When we where almost to the lake house, I had trouble controlling the van but was able to barely stay on the road, and we made it safely to the house. The weekend was full of video games, movies and rest. Chloe and Molly always enjoy a weekend getaway and have a way of being well behaved. When leaving on Sunday Stephan noticed the van was not handling well and we thought we hit something, so once on a hard surface he got out to check things out. Turns out we had a flat tire. With an hour drive ahead, the guys changed the tires and we headed for back roads since driving on the spare at a high rate of speed is not recommended. On the ride home we passed a house engulfed in flames, apparently no one was harmed, but it was alarming to see. Everyone made it home safely after a nice weekend of R&R. We had the tire fixed by Ryan's brother CJ on Monday afternoon.

School & Tristen's chair

Real Date December 1, 2008

School is coming along nicely, 73days worth past already. Tristen was no longer liked being put in a bouncy seat or her exersaucer, while we had school. She then preferred to be held so she could see what was going on. That was challenging when attempting to help Chloe or Molly, and having Tristen grabbing papers, pencils, and books. So On December 1st when we adventured out to the post office, we made a stop at Kmart to get something for Tristen to sit in at the kitchen table with us. Now Tristen sits with us when we do our school work.

VIRUS!!!!

So for about 2 weeks we had been with out our PC, it was infested w/crazy computer viruses. Then the laptop I have we have been using for about 1 week. It works for checking email messages, and well I think I wrote all of one email. I have at least 3 blogs to type up, with pictures to go along with them over the next week.. I work Monday and plan to at least get one posted each evening during the week to get caught up. We have been a busy family so watch out the blogs are on their way now that the PC have been healed up, thanks to hours of Ryan's IT help!!

Black friday.

So Thanksgiving went as planned like in years past, Morning and afternoon w/my family and evening and night w. Stephan's. Lots of yummy food... and overeating. This was my first black Friday however since we've been married that we did not buy a single gift. We slept till 9am, hung around the house, and met Stephan's Mom and Aunt Nancy for lunch. Then that afternoon we made a trip Pocahontas state park for a hike. We all enjoyed the mild weather, and the nice quiet hike. Once we returned home, Stephan set up our Christmas tree, I got out the Christmas CDs. Our only Black Friday purchase was a large box of little white lights for our Christmas Tree, the girls helped to decorate it, and it was Molly's year to place the angel on top. We will be having our family photo taken in front of our own Christmas tree. Christmas shopping will come later.

Power of imagination

Chloe and Molly can play for hours with whatever they can get their hands on, and the power of the imaginations. How my couch becomes a dentist chair, or a class room. The toy box became a fire truck the other day as they played with the walkie talkies Molly received as a gift on her 4th birthday. Possibilities are endless. The best thing is when they line up chairs and play church they fill the chairs with stuffed animals and baby dolls and proceed to sing songs they know, and talk about God. Guess we are doing something right...

Pilgrims.

The girls made pilgrim hats as a little art project. This followed a leason on The Pilgrims and their journey on the Mayflower from England to the US. We discussed that frist Thanksgiving and how they where thankful that God got them through, and provided for their needs w/ the help of the Indians..... The next project is to make the Indian outfit out of brown paper bags, so I'll be snatching 2 from Grandma Kruse next week so we can compete the rest of our Thanksgiving projects.

Thanksgiving, Black Friday...... Christmas....

Next week, we'll be having a Thanksgiving feast w/Stephan's family, at his Aunt Nancy's home.. I have come to adore this woman, for all that she is, and love that I have someone with in the family who has been there done that in our faith and homeschooling. When the rest of the family scurries home early, we lag behind and play games or just chat w/ Nancy, Bill and their daughter Debby and husband Ricky. Nancy played a special part in the lives of Chloe and Molly by being their caregiver while I worked full time then part time then full time again, and she continues to have a special place in the hearts of my girls.... The meal YUMMY, dessert good as well, we'll visit with family, and this year will have to joy of having Stephan's Dad's parents Grandmom and Grandpop Rouze at the wonderful Thanksgiving feast. The house is crammed full of family, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times.. not hustle bustle, or obligation to buy meaningless gifts for whoever... Our day typically starts out w/my girls and I at my parents home to watch the Thanksgiving day parade, and to look at the Black Friday ads (to see if we are going to be nuts and wake up at 5am for the big deal) while Stephan sleeps off a night off work. Then the Dinner fun starts at Aunt Nancy's. Then we'll talk about who's going where and where are we going to have lunch together on the next day... Always fun.... This year will be similar to previous years and in so many ways different. We have had the glorious journey of learning less is more.. and that more stuff or more things does not by any means buy anyone happiness. We are tired of worrying about what to buy for so and so... After 7 years.. of Christmas' filled with flying paper at family Christmas gatherings.. who got what.. and what was their reaction... and what on earth did you get I sure missed it only saw the nice wrapping paper fly past my head.... geee... I'm not even sure what I got...... what did the kids get??? Dunno... I get home with piles of toys, clothes, candles, candies, cookies, jewelry, cd's, books, lotions.. and whatever else... and I have no Idea who any of this stuff came from.. it's jumbled and sitting in a pile near my Christmas tree, and now the task of where to put everything, it takes days, weeks, and months to recover from all this new stuff..... is the picture clear in your mind?? Last year our girls received from us Stephan and myself, a scooter, a few movies, cds, and a replenishment of their paper/pen supplies...... from immediate family..... loads of stuff.. some things I wouldn't buy them ever..... This year..... will be more simple.. we have decided one meaningful gift w/a stocking full of new crayons, craft items, and paper.... that will be it here in our home... and we have urged family to just get ONE and only ONE gift for our girls this year.... This year I would be happy enough with nothing for myself. The greatest gift I received this year was the chance to get out of a large amount of debt, move to a house I'm loving more each day, and to be able to home school my girls, and have most of my days spent with Chloe, Molly, and Tristen. I want to reflect this year on the true meaning of Christmas, Christ and the wonderful gift God gave us his son who died on the cross for us so that we may have ever lasting life. What a great gift and so many of us get wrapped up in the have it all that we forget what Christmas is all about..... God has given me so much these past few years, a great family, an awesome husband, beautiful and smart children, a wonderful church family, food, clothing, and shelter.... for those things I'm grateful to the God I long to serve better each day..... I love my Jesus.. and I long for my family to truly seek him... So I'll keep praying that those walls will come down from around their hearts and the blinders off their eyes.. I fail.. and I mess up on a daily basis.. however I'm trying with all I have in me... To serve my Lord.... and to do his will.... My pray is for the salvation of all of my dear loved ones

Fall.

We went out w/ Warrie on this past Monday, to enjoy the fall foliage at Maymont park in Richmond. It was a beautiful day, the girls can make the best of sticks, rocks, dirt, leaves and water. Tristen loves just to be outdoors it just calms her, so anything outdoors with her is great. I took our camcorder however the batteries died with in seconds I should have charged it overnight, My camera survived till the end, then died, and it in need of new batteries. Chloe and Molly have been doing great w/school work. The best perk of homeschooling is being able to get out and enjoy things w/out having to wait for the weekend. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving spent w/family, and are planning a very simple Christmas this year, more details on Christmas in an different post. Well enjoy the slide show and I'll make sure I keep the camcorder charged so I can post some videos soon.

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Solid foods for baby Tristen.

Yummy, Tristen has started on solids. It's hard to believe that she is already 5 months old. She eats cereal and Daddy(Stephan) requested she start veggies first so that's what we have done. So in the past week we have introduced carrots, squash, and sweet potatoes. Next week we'll try some green veggies, then on to fruits the following week. Tristen has to be the messiest eater out of all my girls, she gets her hands in her face and just gets food everywhere, it's too cute and we get a kick out of her being covered in her food. So as a result of her messy eating and to preserve the clothes that have lasted through her 2 sisters Tristen gets down to her onesie to eat.

FLYlady

Well, most know we sold our large 5 bedroom home just before having our 3rd baby, this past May in order to afford me working very part time and being home more. We now live in a 3 bedroom home, with just one living area and a small kitchen. We had already gotten rid of lots of "stuff" that we didn't need before moving, however discovered that wasn't enough. Clutter seemed to overtake us, the amount of toys was outrageous, and enough Christmas decor to decorate several houses. So in a recent yard sale we sold some excess furniture items, some toys, and a whole Christmas village that would take up half of my living room. It's nice just not having those items taking up precious space. The kids came to understand they prefer a clean room, makes it easier to play, and clean up with a new system we came up with, they have 3 large tubs under their beds, one with barbies, my little ponies and items of that nature, the second with Molly's geotrack train set, the other with dress up and pretend items. The only other toy they have in there is a doll house that folds up nice in the corner and a small tub with it's people and furniture lives under their bed as well. The other kids room drama we had was the closet, it's a small one and their clothing collection was just as out of control as their clothes, so we kept only the best condition clothing and passed on the rest that was not torn or stained to charity, and all of their clothes moved to my closet, making room in their closet to store games, books, and building items (tinker toys, Lincoln logs, and the mega blocks will move out of my family room tomorrow to join that collection. So I now no longer have unnecessary laundry, and everything they have has it's place. Tristen's room is still a work in progress, as she still sleeps in my bedroom. My true house cleaning breakthrough came when I some how through reading of a blog came across www.FLYlady.net, this ladies site focus' on routine, and starting out small, and with the Kitchen sink of all things. So for the past 3 days I've had a clean sink, gotten completely dressed w/tennis shoes, and started a quick clean of my bathroom every morning. Since I have 2 bathrooms, Chloe and Molly have received a lesson in what to do, and they are responsible for the quick clean of their bathroom, and boy are they proud. Both girls have also taken to learning how to wash and dry dishes, dusting will be their next chore once I have completed my decluttering process. Stephan and I never really had set chores growing up, so had no real management of cleaning a home ingrained in us so it's been a battle of how to keep a house clean. So far so good, I think the baby steps help, and my girls prefer a clean house.

Stephan and I have also been sacrificing our childhood "stuff" He has sold, baseball cards, magic cards, that where taking up a load of space. I am letting Chloe and Molly pick one of my Anne Geddes baby dolls I'll pick one for Tristen then will sell off the rest. Those dolls gone and I'll have a whole shelf in Tristen's closet. It's amazing how good it feels to get the house work under control and to wake up in the morning to the coffee brewed in my clean kitchen!!

So for any of you who are struggling with the same cluttery stressful mess, try this out it may just be your light at the end of the tunnel in the house cleaning world.

http://www.flylady.net

Pumpkin Patch

Visit www.moblyng.com to make your own!

Sunday after church we had invited some friends to head to the pumpkin patch for some fall fun. So Matt, Tina and the children Ethan and Amber, went with us for a bite to eat, then we headed to the pumpkin where we met up with Ryan and Warrie. We had planned originally to head home after church but found it easier to grab lunch so I did not have my camera. However I had my personal trusty family photographer, Warrie along, she always has a camera in hand. We did have a disposable camera but it will be weeks before I ever see those photos, the ones of Tina coming down the inflatable slide w/Amber. :o) The weather was nice and warm, we had a hay ride, played some, Stephan bought feed so the 4 kids could feed the goats, then we went along to pick pumpkins, then to top it all off the kids got to slide down a large inflatable slide, Tina too she had to help Amber up. I wore Tristen in the trusty pouch, she enjoyed the sights only fussing when she got warm, the once I took off her long sleeve shirt she nodded off to sleep. Such a fun day with the kids, and friends. Since then my girls are asking for chickens and goats. So Daddy is trying to figure out how to fence the back of the property and once clear we have been thinking of getting chickens, but not sure if just one acre is enough for a pair of goats.

Mommy time

Starting tomorrow I'm starting a 6week bible study, Stepping Up by Beth Moore, I'll be joining a few ladies from our church that live on my side of the county. I'm truely looking forward to jumping further into the word of God, and getting to know these ladies even better. So for the next few Tuesday evenings Daddy gets to hang at home with his girls for the evening. Today I worked for 8hours and Daddy survived his first day of homeschooling w/out the DVD to help, good thing it was a day for review. For now I'm off to work on my Crown Financial homework, and to watch 17kids and counting (the Duggars show) amazing. I have a small obsesion with watching shows about extremely large families.

WHAT????

On top of the many reasons why we do not send our girls to public schools this is just another strike to the public institutions list of reasons my girls will NEVER EVER go to public school. There is already a failed academic system, the sex education is a waste, because the kids have not a single clue what sex really is, and that getting pregnant is only the least of their worries. Excuss my little rant.. but please go to this link read it.. I don't think that it is the schools job to instill values... not impress upon our children either. What are we doing when we put our kids on a school bus? This is scary, I just graduated high school in 2000 from a public school, and the quality and trust is totally gone... this is a failing system..

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=77373

Trip to Lake Gaston.

This past weekend we took a trip to NC to Lake Gaston with our good friends Ryan and Warrie. Warrie's Grandan own's a home on the lake, it's truely a relaxing and beautiful place. We arrived friday night, and after checking the place out in the dark the girls headed to bed. The adults stayed up until 2am, the guys played the Wii, the girls watched a movie then we played some pirate dice game (was interesting). When the kids woke up they where excited when the could see water from the window. And out we went to explore. First we just walked the property, then after a pancake breakfast we explored some more, played in the water, Molly got soaked, Chloe collected some prized shells that are now cased in a tub in her bedroom. We changed into swimwear and played in the water some. Yes for you northern folks it was warm enough in October to play in the water. We just hung out the kids played. In the evening we fed a large crew of ducks w/ some aged bread that Warrie brought along. Watched a beautiful sunset over the lake. Just a wonderful weekend spent w/ a great friends and our family. Enjoy the slide show be patient there are lots of beautiful, and cute pics Warrie took while we where there.

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Teaching and Playgroup

Today was our 1st day of homeschool with out the DVD. What a difference, the joy of sitting down at the kitchen table and teaching my children. This was very rewarding and Molly is responding very well, and much better w/ this route. Chloe she would do well any way, just tell her what it is and how to do it, and leave her alone she'll ask questions if she has any. The kitchen table area has been transformed into our classroom I love it. However the rest of the living room well it's in shambles at the moment. There is a large wooden tv cabinet we are selling, and some other items that need a home in the house and others that will be donated or sold as well.

Another 1st for today, we attended a playgroup. This was good for both the kids to play w/other kids that are also being homeschooled w/similar values, and for mommy to meet other moms who are on this same rewarding journey. I'm looking forward to attending this playgroup again.

Jump, Run, and Jump some more

Today we made an afternoon trip to a local indoor play place. Complete with 3 bounce house/slide things for kids over the age of three. They also have an area for 3 and under, that Tristen will be able to enjoy once she starts crawling (I will however not be rushing that milestone) We spent a total of 3 hours there, and I'm sure the girls could have kept going until the place closed at 5pm. We opted to come home and see daddy for a few after his training class and before him taking a nap because he works tonight. Back to the place we went and what the girls did. They jumped, climbed, played, ran, played dress up, pretended to cook, be a pet shop owner... they stopped for a little snack... then off to do things all over again. Tristen and I hung out in the little "cafe" area, and also moved around to watch Chloe and Molly playing, Tristen cracked up laughing while watching her sisters jumping, it was adorable. Tristen also tested out a Bumbo seat (def have to get one of those) and one of those free standing jumpers (she thought it was amusing for me to bounce her because her feet didn't reach the floor, that was about as much amusement as she got out of the trip, she even had a cat nap while there. So this place has the stamp of approval, and we will definitely be making this a monthly outing, and Chloe is hoping to have her 6th birthday party there, since it's cold in December and I couldn't possibly fit everyone in my house. What a great and fun day. Now everyone is either resting or a sleep. Must say this homeschool gig gets better by the day.