PA Birthday

We took a weekend trip to PA to visit w/family, and to celebrate Syd's 5th birthday, in the form of a pool party. We all had a good time, and I actually remembered my camera for this trip!

House to House.

Today our church family came to our home, w/lawn equipment, paint, and man/woman power. The result... 2 painted bathrooms, a super clean kitchen, a swept back deck, and much clearing of much overgrowth in the front and back yard, and strange junk that was dumped in the woods. We are forever grateful for the sacrifice of a Saturday, to spend, sweating working hard to make this house more beautiful! Many left saying they would come back again to help finish of more on another date! That is Love!!! God has brought some awesome folks into our lives, and has blessed us greatly!!

Deeper Still

DeeperStill - Greensboro NC from Rich Kalonick on Vimeo.

This past weekend I went away with a lovely group of women, 3 I knew and 3 I had never met. The 7 of us moms would leave our children with the fathers, or grandmothers, and embark on a 3 and 1/2 hour drive from out home to Greensboro, NC to attend the Deeper Still conference. We all left expecting something great and that is what was delivered, by Kay Arthur, Priscilla Shirer, Beth Moore, and incredible worship lead by Travis Cottrell. These folks ministered God's love for us to thousands of women who packed the Greensboro Coliseum. I came across a video documenting the event. Enjoy, Hope some women who read this will be at the next conference! http://vimeo.com/5897091

Kindergarten Round 2!

This week, Molly has been especially busy and high energy. Since I had most of the house work under control, I offered to start up her Bible time daily. She was excited, so we did day one. Molly begged for more to do, so I went ahead and started her main work too, minus Math for now. So we've done 3 days worth of Kindergarten work, and Molly is eager to learn, and I'm glad I made the swap to Bob Jone's for home school curriculum. Many updates I'm sure will follow, but I'm thrilled that just 1hour of school work can calm Molly down so much! And she was so focused, and excited. :o)

We love camping!

Molly w/ the Seahorses

Chloe in a Bubble!

Molly Running on the beach, Chloe looking for shells.

Stephan and Tristen

looking for shells

MOLLY!

Tent Set up

A peak inside!

Another view inside.

So much that during Stephan's 2 week vacation, we didn't have plans to go away for 1 or the 2 weeks. In fact we had now plans until the week before he was to be off. I came up w/ the idea to visit the aquarium in Va Beach, and Stephan mentioned staying over a day or 2. So we opted to camp at First Landing State Park, it located on the Chesapeake Bay. The park was nice, our site was near clean bathroom facilities, and was a quick walk from the beach. We went to the aquarium, and other than that, spent time at our camp site or on the beach. So for half the price of 1 night in a hotel we spent 2 nights in VABeach (and that figure included our food that was purchased) This was our 2nd camping trip, the girls love it and ask when we'll be going camping again. Each time we are learning new things, and gathering good ideas from near by campers. Just the other day while working out, I received some good ideas from some seasoned campers. One lady was in her 60's and stated that her family always tent camped until about 3 years ago when they got a pop up. Pretty cool stuff. I don't think we'll be tent camping till I'm in my 50s. I hope to save some cash and in the next 2-3 years have a pop up camper so we can enjoy more seasons and places while camping, and a camper will make bigger distances easier! Unless someone wants to buy us one for Christmas!! :o) Enjoy the pics from our latest camping adventure to VaBeach. Stay tuned for more Rouze camping adventures!!

4th of July

Tristen and My Mom (Grandma)

The girls w/ My Dad (grandpa) and Snowden too!

For the 4th I went with the kids to my Mom's for a nice day visiting w/ family. The kids played w/their cousins in a pool my Mom put up. At good food, and had a nice time. Then later in the day I came home to get Stephan he had worked a double shift to then attend a cook out at his aunts house, and then go see fireworks. So more good fun with family.

2009-2010 School Books

Last week, we received the girls school books for next school year. We made the decision to switch from the Abeka program to Bob Jones. Chloe will move into 1st grade with the following subjects, Bible, Phonics/English, Reading, Handwriting, Spelling, Math, Science, and Social Studies. Molly will start Kindergarten with Bible, Phonics, Handwriting, Reading, and Math. This evening I went through the 3 boxes that arrived last week and we have received all the books we ordered. So I'll spend a few weeks decluttering my laundry room so I may use the shelves in there to store all my Teacher's Editions, and the girls books. I'll be working on a schedule for next year as well that will need to be stuck to as much as possible. I have a feeling this summer may just fly past, so it will require some work and discipline to get ready for next school year to flow a little more smoothly than this past year. But hey Kindergarten for Chloe is over, and she is doing great with her summer review work!! We'll be working on reading each day too.

1st real camping trip.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

This past weekend we took a camping trip with 2 other families. I had been researching camping with small children, and just camping in general on the internet, over the past several months in prep for this occasion. Check lists grew from my research, and ideas to purchase tubs to store various items to make of easy packing, unpacking, and repacking, only needing to then unpack again at home. Some of the tubs would house items that are used for camping only so they could remain packed to make for easy packing for future trips. My craziness was shot down buy Stephan. So I made modifications with what I had, and we had ton of walmart bags with lost of stuff in them. Digging for this and that when meal times came about was a little bit of a pain. Over all this trip was a blast, and a great learning experience as to what we do and don't need and my idea to get tubs was embraced and we'll be working on getting them and stocking them through out the summer, and I'll be hunting Craig's list and other areas for a camper shell for the truck to make for even easier packing!! The weekend was fun, temps in the 90s but under the shade of trees it felt much cooler and if we where in the sun it was to be in the lake, so it didn't matter. We delayed out departure day from friday to saturday, for reasons other than the weather and I thanking God for bringing about the delay. a nasty storm blew threw with thunder, lightening, and pouring rain. The rest of the weekend went well, and I've learned of a few things that will need to come along with us next time, some things that may stay home, and ideas of how to make things better. I only became frazzled at shower time, b/c showering a 12month old is not so easy!! Chloe does OK and Molly hates a shower too.. and it just takes forever to shower 3 girls and myself. We are talking another Camping trip w/ the crew, with additional people if their interested, in the early fall.... Enjoy the pics. We had a blast!!

The words of Tristen!

So our littlest is starting to learn and use some words. This is very adorable. So some of her words are, Daddy, Sissy (for Chloe and Molly), Dixie, Doggy, Chicken (as in the ones running around the backyard), kitty. Momma is said very rarely, and is usually hollered when Mommy needs to hurry up and get baby out of bed, or feed her some more of whatever she wants to eat/or give her a drink. It's neat to see her point she'll make a little grunt noise and "eh", then you tell her what it is, and sometimes she takes a swing at the word. Ah yes and she's getting better at Grandma too.. We visit Grandma Kruse (my mom) at least once a week. Then she'll talk away in her own little language, or babble.

Kabuto!

So Steph, took me out to Kabuto a Japanese steak house! Diner was great we took a walk around Short Pump Town Center, checked out C28 . It's a christian clothing store. Very neat, I found a tshirt I loved w/ Proverbs 31:10-31 printed on it though they did not have my size in stock. There where some adorable little girls shirts, and I could have bought the place out. Because these tshirts where not your typical corny christian shirt. We ended the night with some Coldstone for desert. Headed to pick the kids up from Aunt Nancy. A big round of applause for Stephan, this is the 1st time he's pulled of a surprise, and the 1st he's lined up babysitting and diner for our anniversary. We had a great night! Was nice getting out to celebrate! I've been terrible about my camera so sorry I have not one picture. :o(

Mystery Date.

So Stephan has made plans to take me out on a "date" to celebrate our anniversary. I refused to plan anything because I'm tired of calling around and begging for someone to watch ALL the girls. So Stephan lined up babysitting and diner somewhere. I was determined to at least know who would be watching the girls as I'm very particular about who gets to watch the girls, and I need to be able to pack them what they need and that all depends on where they go. So I'm looking forward to actually going out for a surprise diner! I'll let ya'll know where we went!!

Our 8th Anniversary

So 8 years ago Stephan and I tied the knot. So much has happened, the whole sickness (only bedrest) and health, rich (kinda) and poor, thick and thin, for better or for worse... and I'm not ready for any parting so no body here is dying. We have 3 beautiful girls, are in our 3rd home, and it will surely not be our last move. God has blessed us this far and I'm looking forward to where He will take our lives together in the years to come. I'm sure it will not be the easiest road, but together we'll make it through.

Lil tent #1 (playtime tent)

This is one of 2 items I purchased to make our camping adventures baby friendly. It's a Lil Nursery Tent. This will be used for the lake side beach at the camp grounds, and also the camp site, to keep the sun and bugs of this lil cutie pie. This tent arrived today, so we had to test it out in the family room, big sisters hooked her up with a blankie and toys to play with. The bag it goes in is little and everything is light weight! Both older girls can squeeze in there w/ her if they like.

Swim Lessons

Waiting their turn

The Whole crew and the teachers

Chloe and Molly Completed a 6day swim lesson. They pf course are not expert swimmers, but are now a little more confident when it comes to being in the water. The girls learned how not to get water up their noses and now go under water, can float on tummy and back with some assistance. Will jump in, use a kick board to get around, and started on some introduction to swim strokes. Both girls look forward to our next trip to a body of water so they can try out their skills. They also practice dunking their heads under water in the tub! Their instructor was awesome!

Preparation.

I'm preparing for our up coming camping trip with our 3 girls and 2 other families and their children. Making this trip 6 adults, and 7 kids under the ages 6,5,4,3,3,2,and 1. Got that!! 4 girls and 3 boys. I know that this will be a fun trip with the kids having their buddies to play and explore with. The Moms and Dads will have company too, that equals either just chatting or we could bust out a game of some sorts that travels well. I'm looking into some expert like advice as in people who have been there done that with small kids with recommendations on what to bring along to make things enjoyable and tolerable. So that none of us mommies loose our minds! We have done 2 test runs in the tent at home 1 inside in Dec 2008, then again in April 2009. I've learned somethings that need to come along. So I thought I'd share my personal gear list that's grown a little and I have some messages to come consignment shops for what I believe will be my final baby gear purchase for the whole camping gig.

The list goes..

• -our tent of course
• -air beds (1 queen, 2 twins)
• -kidco peapod (baby airbed/tent)(this is set to arrive at my house June 15th!!!)
  
• -sleeping bags for all...
• -FAN (we will have an electric hook up)
• -MP3 Player with portable speakers to play the girls Healing Praise by Kelly Copeland and other misc. music we may wish to listen to.
• blankies & a stuffed animal for each kids to sleep with
• back packs/packed with clothing and personal items (5 bags total!!)
  
• Lil nursery baby tent (to protect from bugs/sun and to use at the lake)(waiting on it to ship)
• Camp chairs (4 total)
• Hook on feeding chair(the kind that hooks to the table, I'm searching for a deal on one, hope to find a used one for cheap, I'll be calling around to all the consignment shops that sell baby goods near by)
• Lanterns and flashlights
• sand/water play toys
• fishing gear
• cooler(s) w/food/snacks/drinks
• various kid entertainment, games, coloring, maybe I can be creative and come up with a scavenger hunt that can be done in a small area or on a hike. (under adult supervision!)
  

That would be my list of must bring items. I would love a sun/screen shelter, to help w/ bugs especially when eating. I'm also considering bringing along my "play yard" like plastic gate pen, for babies, and a tarp w/ quilt. To make a play area for the youngest to be contained in. So she may scoot about and not get totally ticked about being contained to a small baby tent, carrier, or chair the whole time. So it may be a try to pack it, for the sake of we'll try just the baby tent, and if it fails at the camps site but out the pen!! I'm growing more excited about this trip, know I may not sleep as well as I'd like to, still excited. So watch for a post in the next month about our trip! Any advice would be much appreciated, if anyone has it to offer, on camping with kiddies, and babies!!

I've learned

As a home school teacher. This is a challenging job description! Any mom can wake up and put her kids on a bus to allow someone else to teach her children starting at the age of 5, homework is insane and I know that it comes with challenges for the parents.... It was easier to pop out of bed early (blah) and get the kids and myself ready, drop them at preschool, and carry on to work 8hours. Now I have to be the one doing all the teaching, Stephan helps a lot and love teaching math to Chloe. So maybe next year we'll do things a little different, and Stephan will teach the Math and I'll do the rest!! That's a little task off my shoulders. To teach, care for the 3 girls, do laundry, clean house, prepare meals, take kids dance, skating... be involved in a number of different evening activities! All this makes my head spin, and there are days that this mommy needs a break.... and that break just doesn't come and I carry on with my mommy duties. To be a homeschooling mother of 3, is a hard job, and one that I would not trade for the world. I met some amazing moms while the girls took swim lessons, with anywhere from 3-5 children, these women inspiring, and amazing! Each of them where able to give me additional advice and reassurance! I'm looking forward to enjoying every day of summer break with the kids doing fun things in the sun, and hope to get myself better together by next fall... in prep for a kindergartner (Molly), and 1st grader (Chloe)!!! Tristen will have her own playtime, and maybe we can introduce crayons!

Kindergarten draws to a close.

So Chloe has just about completed Kindergarten this year. She has 2 more numbers (math) work sheets to complete, and some reading. Then Kindergarten is over for the summer. We'll start it again in the fall for Molly. Chloe will move on to 1st grade!! Both girls are smarter than they let on to be. Stephan and I will attend a home school convention here soon, thank God for my Mom she's watching the 3 girls while we go to look at all of our options for the girls. This year we went with ABeka because that's what the girls used in the private school they attended, and we could only preview the ABeka curriculum last year. So this year at the convention we'll be able to put our hands and eyes on the other options that are out there. I definitely like the cursive writing, may do some print practice with the girls during summer months to allow them to be able to have neat writing with both. I'm thrilled that this year is just about done, and we can have some summer fun. I started reading the girls a series about a little Amish girl named Rachel Yoder, the title of the first book is "School's Out" and this girl is celebrating with her family by having a picnic. For the summer my friend Warrie is helping me to plan summer camp like activities... like Water day, Bike day, zoo day.. and so on. On top of that we have our 1st camping trip planned for later this month, and plan on having several this summer, and into the fall!!

Dance Recital

Chloe and Molly embarked on a journey into the world of dance this past fall. Friday we enjoyed seeing them all done up, for their 1st dance recital. Both girls did GREAT! I personally enjoyed seeing the other dancers as well, on all of the skill levels. Good Job my little ballet and tap dancers! Can't wait to see the improvement that next year will bring! They will take the summer off, and plan to take some skating lessons, and attend some home school skating sessions, at the local skating rink.

Happy 1st Birthday!!!

Tristen turned one!!! Hard to believe a year has passed already. I'm grateful for the gift God gave us! Tristen got her 1st pair of earrings, we had her ears pierced Saturday. On Sunday we had family over to celebrate her birthday with pizza and cupcakes!! Baby girl got a few new toys and some money to let mommy get her some gear to make camping and lake trips a breeze!! :o)

A personal blog

Hello all who follow... I've embarked on a spiritual and personal journey... and some have recommended I blog it, others a journal. I stink at the journal part.. so have decided this is not the appropriate blog for it so have started a seperate blog to record my 40day journey. So if you are interested here's the link a40dayjourney.blogspot.com And you can also click on me!! and see my profile and it will list my other blogs.. I'll let this blog remain for family related stuff... And will try to keep it up to date.