Mark, Vanessa, Courtney, Leslea and Maddi

Well it has been quite a while...

2010-11-18T22:08:00.003-05:00

Should we or shouldn't we? That seems to be the question! With facebook, the blogging thing has barely been on our minds, but I must admit that I kind of miss it. I guess I will give it one more try to see if I really want to start it up again or not. We shall see! Don't even know if anyone else does it anymore or not, so if not,then what is the sense of us trying to keep one up??? Give me a shout out if anyone still does it or not and that will help me make my decision! Thanks!

So sick of all this sickness!!

2010-02-02T09:47:00.002-05:00

It seems as if the past couple of weeks have been nothing but yucky for us. First it was the stomach bug that attacked and now it is the cold, cough, sore throat, fever, pink eye bug that is here. So much for wishing for a "healthy" new year. I know that it is that time of year and we should expect to have a little bit of something, but good grief enough is enough! I am so ready for winter to be over. I want to be able to open my windows and air this bug filled house OUT! I am hoping that Mother Nature will be good to us and let some sun shine down on us and blow some warm breezes our way sooner than later! I know that simple bugs come and go and I should be thankful that they are short lived, but I am so sick and tired of everybody being sick and tired that I can not help but wish for Spring! I still have a long way to go, but I am trying to convince myself that it is just around the corner! A girl can hope right? Sorry to vent, but sometimes it just has to come out!! Hope everyone else is having that happy and healthy new year that we wished for! Things will get better I am sure of it, but my patience is wearing thin and I am ready for a break from all these stinking bugs that keep finding their way to my house! Until next time...stay healthy and enjoy the month of February:)

A Fresh Look!!

2010-01-19T22:08:00.006-05:00

Just a little glimpse of what our new paint job looks like! We are very happy with it and are getting used to the new colors!

Our New Year has started off busy as ever...

2010-01-11T17:38:00.008-05:00

But we would not have it any other way:) Last week we shared in the union of two pretty special people. Our neighbor Joel got married and Maddi was his flower girl. Though she was nervous, she did a wonderful job and we could not have been more proud of her. She was the only child in the wedding and she behaved as if she was one of the grown ups. That there was a shocker!! It was a busy week, but it all turned out wonderful and very beautiful. This week poses to be a little busy as well, but plenty of things to look forward to. Maddi will go ice skating for the first time on Friday night with the GEMS girls and us leaders. I can not wait to see how many times she pulls me down. I can not wait for her to try it and see how well she does or just how much she likes it. You never know with her. I am also going to get the paint for the interior of our house on Thursday, so I am a little excited about that. I am in need of a change and paint is about the easiest way to do it. The only thing is is that it is gonna be a lot of paint and a big change for us. I am going a little bolder than I would normally, but I kinda want to step out of the box and try something a little different! Guess we will have to wait and see just how it turns out. Until next time, enjoy every day like it is the last! Laugh out loud, love like you have never been hurt and touch every heart that you come in contact with! May God bless you all!

Out with the old and in with the new...

2009-12-31T09:49:00.002-05:00

Well now that 2009 is about to depart, I am looking forward to a new year. Looking back I must say that 2009 was very good to us. We did a lot. We experienced the loss of our beloved chocolate lab Brandi, got a new yellow lab named Ellie Mae,enjoyed a summer/fall full of camping, I had the chance to go to Canada, some of Mark's family came for a visit, Maddi started kindergarten, the girls and I went to Chicago for a long weekend and so on. I could go on and on and on, but I will not bore you with any more details of the past.
We are anxiously awaiting to see what 2010 will bring. We are hoping and praying that we will be blessed with good health, good luck and much happiness. I am sure that this new year will be just as busy as the last, but we are looking forward to a new year of possibilities. We already have a few things planned, so we have something to look forward to. Just a little glimpse of what we have planned...
In January Courtney will be playing for the All-Star Band...
Easter break we are going to Ocracoke for the week...As a family!! So excited.
In August, us along with 3 other families are going to Kentucky on a houseboat for a week! That should be a blast!!
And of course some camping!! We can not wait to get out and do that again!
As you can tell, we have just a few things on our agenda for 2010, but I am sure more things will keep jumping on our calendars! We wish all of our family and friends a very Happy and Healthy New Year! Much love to you all!!

Guess you could say that we are...

2009-12-04T17:50:00.003-05:00

Slacking once again! Man I have gotten so bad at this blogging thing. As much as I am on facebook, I do not have an excuse not to jump on here at least once a month and post an update of some kind. Sorry people:(

Things have been busy as usual here in the Rose's household. We stayed home for Thanksgiving and were blessed by having Randy, Robbie and their 3 girls come and spend 3 nights with us. We had a wonderful visit and came to realize that we missed living so close to them. The girls got along so well that you could not even tell that there were 6 of them in the same house. No drama! Woohoo:) We also realized that if they were to see each other more often, then they would be much more than just cousins, but great friends too!

We are in full swing of the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season. Always somewhere else to go and do or something else on the list of things to get. Isn't that always the case? I have a good bit of my gifts bought, but still have a ways to go. I am losing days quickly, so I must get my rear in gear and get it all done!

Well I guess that is about enough for now, so until next time....

Come and gone...

2009-11-02T08:43:00.002-05:00

Well now that Halloween and October have come and gone, we find ourselves in November and Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping are right around the corner! Man I do not think that I am ready for any of this! As fast as fast as time is flying by, this too will pass rather quickly and I will look back and wonder where it all went. Colder weather is not something that I am totally looking forward to and this is mainly due to the fact that Maddi now in school and it is just going to be that much harder to get her up, dressed and out the door. I have a hard enough time now, so I can only imagine what it will be like when there is snow on the ground! Well I guess enough grumbling for now. Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their fall and goes on into winter with an open mind! That is something that I am definitely going to have to work on:) Until next time...stay healthy and happy!!

Post Family Farm

2009-10-20T08:45:00.010-04:00

Well Maddi and her kindergarten class went to Post Family Farm this week and of course had a wonderful time. She said that the whole trip was her favorite part, so I guess you could say that she enjoyed it. She saw the animals, rode on a hay ride to go to the pumpkin patch to pick her very own lil' pumpkin, ate pumpkin doughnuts and drank apple cider, played in the hay, and rode the pumpkin train. She also got to participate in the skit that tells the story of how a pumpkin grows. She was the cloud and let me tell you, she was thrilled. Not!! Oh well that is what you get when you volunteer:) Here are a few photos...

Trick or treating at Holland State Park

2009-10-06T10:51:00.007-04:00

This past weekend we had trick or treating at Holland State Park and it was fun as usual. The weather was not the greatest, but at least the rain held off until the kids were done. It was the same last year, so we kind of knew what to expect. The kiddos had a blast and that is all that matters. Here are just a few photos that were taken. Maddi was a giraffe(sp), Les was a Lollipop kid with Erica and Melissa, and Court was Wednesday from the Addams Family with Shelby as Cousin It and Howie as Uncle Fester.

Happy Fall Ya'll!!!!!!!!!

2009-09-23T11:09:00.002-04:00

Well it is that time of year once again and I love it! I love the changing of the leaves, the scarecrows, pumpkins, haybales, you name it, and I love it. I think that this is my favorite time of the year and I just savor every day that it is here. We all know what comes after it here in Michigan, so just enjoy it while you can. Before long we will be seeing some of that white stuff that likes to hang around for quite some time, but maybe I will be ready for it when it comes. Probably not, but I can say that for now because it is a little while longer before we should be seeing any of it. I wish all of you blogging buddies a very happy and blessed fall!!!

Packing up for yet another weekend of camping!!

2009-09-16T11:58:00.002-04:00

Well hump day is here and I am trying to focus on packing up for our camping trip up North this weekend. I do believe that there are about 30 of us going to spend the weekend in Mesick. The campground is called Northern Exposure and is right on the lake, so this should be fun. We generally stick closer to the homefront because Mark can not be too far away in case he is called in to work, but we are venturing a couple of hours away this weekend, so Miss Ellie will be accompaning us. She herself will make this camping trip interesting, but we will see how she does. It is supposed to be a little cooler, so it should be just right for camping. Atleast the campfires will feel good when we sit around them:) We hope that all of you blogging buddies have a wonderful weekend yourselves and I am sure we will post a few photos of our trip when we get back. Until next time...

Trick or Treating in September???

2009-09-13T22:38:00.006-04:00

What a beautiful weekend for camping. This past weekend we were at Yogi Bear once again and it was Halloween weekend there, so the girls quickly threw something together and went trick or treating on Saturday evening. It was so warm that our little kitty had to wear a tank top, but we are not complaining. I think that I can honestly say that I have never trick or treated in September, but there is a first time for everything. The campground did a wonderful job and it was nice to see that just about every site participated. I am sure that those few that did not were not aware that it was Halloween weekend. We did not know it until we checked in, but at least we were close enough that we could run home and grab something for the girls to dress up as and run to Wally World and get some candy. Court did not have much time beings she had the youth group's annual car show at church, so she opted for the easy choice of being a mime like she did in Holland campground last year. It all worked out well and they had the best time. After we trick or treated, we went to Sally's 60th birthday party where we all had a blast square dancing. Poor Mark, as well educated and smart as he is, had the worst time telling his right from his left but it gave us all a good laugh and believe me, he was NOT the only one. Courtney has found a new love, yep square dancing. She could not stop talking about how much fun she had. Lots and lots of memories for these girls to take with them as they grow up. I am thankful that we are in a place where we can give them that! Right now we are enjoying our lives and loving every minute! Hope everyone has a blessed week! Until next time....

First day of school

2009-09-08T09:43:00.008-04:00

Things went rather smoothly this morning. Kids all got up early, got dressed, ate and were actually excited about going to school. There of course were a few glitches, but that is to be expected on the first day. To begin with a bus went by at 6:45am and Mark made Courtney get in the truck to run it down and it was not even her bus. It was the High School bus. Then when her bus did come, she was standing out there waiting and her bus driver rode right by her, so we had to jump in the car and go chase it down. Oh you gotta love the first week of busing! I took the other two to school, so they got there on time. We will see how their bus is tomorrow. I am glad that the first one is behind us and hopefully the rest of these early mornings will continue this way. I doubt it, but a mom can always hope right?!?!?!

Hoping everyone has a Wonderful weekend...

2009-09-04T09:04:00.006-04:00

Well the last weekend of summer vacation is here and we are gonna be busy as usual. Court has an end of the summer party to go to tonight, then both girls are going to the races at Berlin tomorrow night with Jen and Brian and their 2 girls, not to mention all the things in between that we are doing or have to do. The weather is supposed to be BEAUTIFUL so I am sure that we will hit the beach a day or two too. It is bitter sweet, but I am looking forward to being on a structured schedule once again. What ever all of you blogging buddies do this weekend, have fun and be careful! I am sure we will be back next week with a first day of school update! Happy Labor Day to all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
P.S. There are no new photos of Les on here because she in never here! Always running with somebody:)

Really starting to wonder??????

2009-08-31T22:05:00.002-04:00

Am I the only one that is wondering if it is even necessary to update this blog? I know that I am busy and I hate to admit it, but facebook does about the same thing, so I just wonder if we even need a blog anymore. I like to do it, but sometimes I wonder if I am just wasting time. I don't know! Maybe we will keep it and maybe we won't. Just have to wait and see what my gut says to do. Just pondering the thought right now....

Another busy weekend...

2009-08-30T18:47:00.008-04:00

Once again we had a busy but fun weekend. On Friday night, Mark and I went to dinner with John and Chris. It was wonderful!! Court babysat Maddi for us so that we could have an adult night and it was so nice. Mark and I do not ever really get to do that, so we took a chance and let her try and it went well. She did a great job. We were only gone for 2 hours and were at the Beechwood Inn which is about 20 minutes down the road, so we were close enough to home just in case something happened. When we got home Court asked us if we had a good time and when we said yes, she told us that we needed to do that more often. Don't know when that will happen again, but at least we know that we can trust her. On Saturday, Mark had an out of town softball tournament so our afternoon, 1:30pm-9:00pm, was spent on the softball field. We were wet and cold the entire time. The temp was not that bad, but when you are constantly being rained on it gives you that bone chill that is hard to get rid of until you take a hot shower. It was fun though and the girls were little angels. They NEVER complained one time! That made the day go a lot easier!! When it rained too hard, they spent some time in the back of my Acadia messing around. Payton, Maddi, Shelby and Court were the only kids that went, so it worked out well. The 2 older ones took care of the 2 little ones, well most of the time anyway. Then today we had church and then Melissa, Howie, Shelby, Austin, Erica, Ed, Luke and Payton came over for dinner. We had grilled pork chops, fresh corn on the cob, greenbean casserole, potatoes, bread and homemade cheesecake and lots of coffee. It was sooo yummy. They hung out until about 5:00pm and then we traded a few kids and all was done for another weekend. If we weren't busy, then we would not know what to do with ourselves, so I guess we just keep on going and going!! Hope all of you have a wonderful week. Looks like our weather is going to warm up a bit this week, so guess we will enjoy these last couple of days before the girls go back to school. Until next time.......

Nothing new to report...

2009-08-25T22:33:00.007-04:00

Well we can't actually say that we have anything new to report, so we will just say that the same ole' same ole' is happening with the Rose's. Still always busy running doing this and that, but nothing that we think is thrilling enough to share. Life is good here and we will share a few of our photos from our "family" beach day and yes, we did have someone else's kid with us that day, so actually I guess you could say that it was not just a "family" day, but we still had a good time.

Our baby girl turns 5!!

2009-08-19T19:41:00.011-04:00

Well yesterday our little princess Maddi turned 5 years old. She was so excited and says that it was the "best birthday ever!!" We did not do anything huge, but she get to choose what she and her guest would have for her birthday dinner. Of course this little girl is a true southerner because the first thing out of her mouth was, "Oh I have to have my favorite, FRIED CHICKEN with mashed potatoes and french fries, but only Daddy's homemade french fries!!" Well as you can guess, she got her wish and had all of the above with some fresh corn on the cob, deviled eggs, macaroni salad, cheesy zucchini medley and bread. She then had cake and ice cream sundies. She had it all planned out as to what we were eating, what was for dessert, and who was sitting where! I think I have a little planner/organizer on my hands. Her guests were Kasidy and Katelyn and Mr. Dwayne and Mrs. Sharon. They all loved spending her birthday with her and made her feel special. Leslea, Kas and Katelyn even dressed her up in a "princess" dress and waited on her hand and foot! She got the royal treatment and enjoyed every minute of it. Here are a few photos that we took of her special day! Now she is just looking forward to starting Kindergarten in a few weeks. She even went out today and spent most of the $100.00 that she got for her birthday on school clothes! She is such a blessing, but she is also a handful and I can not wait to she her grow up and become whatever life has in store for her! We love our little Mookie and are so thankful that God blessed our lives with such a little sweetheart! Enjoy the photos...

Enjoying a little down time...

2009-08-12T08:50:00.002-04:00

Now that my trip to Canada has come and gone, Mark's family has returned to NC, and VBS is over and done with, I have found myself wondering what to do with myself. We have been so busy lately that it is almost hard to stop going. Sunday night at 11pm we lost our power and did not get it back on until after 2pm on Monday, so everything that I had planned on doing in this poor house of mine got put on hold a bit, but you can bet that when it did come back on, I dashed around like a mad woman with the vacuum cleaner and loaded the washing machine and dryer. I did not take any chances, if it was going to go off again, I would at least have some of it done.
The girls are wrapping up their summer by staying as busy as they can with their friends and I think that they are seeing just how many nights they can stay away from home. That is all fine and dandy, but they better enjoy it now because they only have a few more weeks and then it is back to the grind and that forbidden word to them will be back in our daily lives...STRUCTURE!!! I am looking forward to it to be honest!! I think that they need to be seperated for a few hours a day!! Anyway, we are looking forward to the weekend. The weather is supposed to be GORGEOUS!!!!! Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week and a wonderful weekend!!

VBS 2009

2009-08-05T09:03:00.013-04:00

We are half way done with this years VBS and things are going WONDERFUL!! Our theme this year is, "Paul and the Underground Church" and the kids just love it. There is something for every kid of every age and this makes things go so smooth!! Here are just a few(even though it seems like a lot) photos that I have taken so far. Enjoy and until next time.....

Wow!!!

2009-08-03T13:20:00.009-04:00

It has been quite a while since we updated this blog and I apologize to those that are interested on what is going on in our lives. I do however think that I have a legitimate excuse this time though!! We have been super busy. I spent 5 days in Canada and then we had a week of spending time with our family from NC. Canada was super busy for me but I did get to visit Niagra Falls. It was really beautiful. I came home last Sunday from that trip and got to enjoy Mark's family from then until this past Saturday morning. I think that we had a blast. We stayed super busy, but it was all fun. We had plenty of good food, laughs and made memories that will last a lifetime!! We have VBS this week, so we will be super busy again, but hopefully all our hard work will pay off and it will go well! Hopefully it won't be so long before the next update, but until then, here are a few photos of our past few weeks!!

Taking a little break from it all...

2009-07-15T09:12:00.003-04:00

We are heading to the campground today so that we can get away from a little bit of the hussle and bussle of our everyday lives. Mark still has to work, but the girls and I are going to enjoy some bike riding and chilling at the State Park beach. We are looking forward going. It may not be the fartherest away, but it does not matter because when we are camping, we have a total different mind set and it is so worth it. We have a pretty busy weekend, so we aren't able to camp then, so that is why we decided to go in the middle of the week. It is just how it worked out and makes no difference to us. Camping is camping and we are READY!!!! I just hope that this much needed rain goes away when we head out to get set up. We will see what happens, but if it decides to hang around, then that is ok too! We will still have a good "family" time together! Hope all of our blogging buddies week goes well and a wonderful weekend ahead! Until next time...

Another busy week..

2009-07-08T09:41:00.006-04:00

Well you would think that things would be a little slower now, but not for us. We stay as busy as bumble bees and are always off doing something. Mark looked at me last night or early this morning at 12am and said, "Honey we have got to start going to bed a lot sooner than this!" And it is true. We are feeling it the next morning, but the plain truth is we do not stop until after 10:30pm and then it takes a few minutes to wind down before I head off to bed. Anyway, we have already had a busy week and today is only Wednesday. Leslea is at camp Geneva, Courtney has had one softball game already, has practice tonight, and another ball game tomorrow, Mark has been busy at work, I have been running the girls to the beach for play dates with friends, done yard work, been preparing for VBS, helping plan our dinner for New Comers and New Members Orientation Class dinner at church on Sunday, and so on. Too much to even list. Maddi has a birthday party today so she is so excitied. Of course it is at "CRAZY BOUNCE" so I am sure that she will have me climbing and sliding with her. Boy I can't wait! Haha! Anyway, I am sorry for the lapse in updates, but as you can tell, we are as busy as we can be. We hope that everyone has a good week and a wonderful weekend! Until next time....

Just some random photos

2009-07-01T09:50:00.011-04:00

A little bored this morning with Court and Les gone to their friends and Maddi still snuggled up in bed watching cartoons, so I thought that I would throw a few photos on the blog. My flower bed is finally looking somewhat decent, so I took a few photos so that Nana could see what it looks like. I am sure that by the time you get here, most of them will no longer have all their color, so here is a glimpse. I still haven't put mulch down because I can not seem to get rid of the mole that is playing games with me. Mark is trying to catch it, but no luck. It makes my blood boil when I go out there and see all the dirt pushed up around every one of my flowers. I have even tried to drown the little monster with my soaker hose, but it just runs it deeper down. Oh well maybe I should name it and consider it a new pet because it is obviously not going to leave!! Right that will never happen. It is a rodent and I totally hate rodents! Anyway, we hope that all our blogging buddies have a wonderful 4th weekend! We have plenty of options, but are not quite sure exactly what we are going to do as of yet. With it falling on the weekend, it is kind of hard for Mark to get too far away. He is always on call, so you just never know what is going to happen. So have a good time and stay safe!

2009-06-27T09:09:00.002-04:00

One of my new favorite photos of Maddi. She of course hates it, but I just love it. I don't know if it is the bathing suit or the water that brings out just how blue this little girls eyes are. It is funny because it also looks like she has all of her teeth, but we know that ain't so!!!!

Can you say slackers?????

2009-06-26T10:20:00.006-04:00

I can honestly say that I am not as good at updating the blog as I used to be, but I think that I can blame it on the season. It is summer and all the girls are home, so we are staying pretty busy from the time that they get up until the time that they go to bed. It has been a pretty busy week for us. We have been on the ballfield Mon, Tues, Wed, and Thurs. When we haven't had something to do with softball, then we have been in the pool or doing something outside somewhere. We did make time to go to the beach with our friends on Wed and we all had a good time. That is unitl the beach started getting so packed that everyone seemed to be on top of one another, so we packed up and headed home. We had already been there for like 4 hours, so it was a good time to head out. None of the kids complained about leaving, so that made our departure a lot smoother than we had expected. This weekend we do not have a whole lot planned, so that will be a nice change. We do have marina day on Saturdy so we will be attending that, but the rest of the day will be ours to do whatever we please. Poor Mark has to be in uniform, so it will be like a work day for him, but that is how it has been all week. Busy, busy, busy! I know he is ready for a bit of a break. Anyway, we hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend!!! Below are a few photos from our beach day. Until next time...

Our weekend at Yogi

2009-06-21T19:02:00.008-04:00

Well I am sure that you all have heard by now, but we had an absolute blast camping this past weekend at Yogi. There was plenty for the girls to do, so they were pretty happy. Friday night we had some thunder, lightening, and rain, but the worst of it went south of us. We feel sorry for those that got affected, but we were thankful that it did not hinder our weekend of camping. I think we were all thankful that we were in a camper and not a tent. Anyway, Friday night Sharon and Dwayne came by and we had hamburgers and hotdogs that we cooked over the fire and then we chatted for a while and they stayed with the girls long enough for us to run home and take care of our 4 legged babies before the storm got too intense. Maddi says that they are her Michigan grandparents, so she was thrilled that they came and saw her and was willing to stay with them without a fight. Then the weather was absolutely beautiful on Saturday and the girls spent some of the day doing some of the activities that the campground was having and then the rest of it playing in the pool. They had a blast. We cooked bbq chicken, green beans, corn and rice for dinner and ate it outside on the picnic table, without the mosquitos eating us. Then our friend Melissa came and brought Cody, Shelby, Morgan, and Austin for the girls to mess around with. We sat around the fire pit and ate junk and talked and talked until after mid-night, so we had a wonderful time with them too. We did have to have the girls at church at 8:40am this morning, so we did not give them time to complain about anything! We think that Mark enjoyed his father's day weekend camping and cooked him up some fried seafood for his dinner tonight. He is a little spoiled, but that is ok! Hope you all have a wonderful week!

All because two people fell in love...

2009-06-16T21:22:00.003-04:00

It is hard to believe that Mark and I will be celebrating our 14th wedding anniversary tomorrow. We can look back and remember all of the good times that we shared the year before we got married, but we are so thankful for all that we have been blessed with since we said, "I do." Our lives coming together was a true blessing from the good Lord above and we have no doubt that our lives were meant to be together. I think that our marriage has been a little easier than some, but maybe it is because we are more than husband and wife! We are each others very best friends. As all of you know, it takes work for a marriage to be a good marriage, but I am so blessed to have a man in my life that is so wonderful. Mark is one of the most kind, considerate, loving, honest, and caring men that you will ever meet. I do not know what I ever did to deserve him, but I thank the Lord that he blessed my life with him. My life is wonderful because of him and the three girls that he has given me. I just hope and pray that when our girls get older and find that special someone that they are meant to be with, that he will be as good to them as their Daddy is to me. It is a true blessing to know that someone loves you unconditionally and that they are always going to be there for you. I know this post is a little sappy, but I can not help but be so thankful for all that I have in my husband. I just hope and pray that we will continue to be blessed with a wonderful life and many many more happy years together!!!

One more day...

2009-06-13T11:23:00.002-04:00

Well I think that my husband is getting a little excited! We leave bright and early in the morning to head to the NASCAR race here in Michigan. I can honestly say that I am sure it will be an experience for us. After all, it is a first for us and we are looking forward to going and spending the day with some friends. We are praying for some decent weather and hoping that the girls will make out ok while we are gone. Maddi has Courtney, so I am sure that she will make out just fine. Mark and I never get the chance to do anything as a couple, so we are taking advantage of this opportunity and looking forward to some alone time. That in itself does not ever happen either. Thank goodness for good friends that are more than willing to spend the day with our girls so that we can go and do something together! We are thankful in more ways than they know!! Anyway, I am sure that beings it is a first for us you will more than likely be seeing some photos next week! Until then, hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Pictures from the weekend...

2009-06-08T09:37:00.007-04:00

Just a few photos that were taken at open house at the Coast Guard station this weekend. Most of them are posted on facebook, but not all of you have facebook, so we thought that we would post a few on here too! Have a good week!!!

Summer has officially begun...

2009-06-06T14:02:00.010-04:00

Well as most of you know, school got out here yesterday and the girls are somewhat thrilled. They will miss seeing all of their friends on a daily basis, but they are glad that they do not have to get up so early every single morning. I took a minute and posted a few photos of Leslea's awards day. I did not post photos of her with all of them, but she is definitely most proud of getting the "Perfect Attendance" award. She was so worried that she was not going to accomplish this because she was picked up 2 or 3 times just a wee bit early so that we could make it to her sister's softball game, but she was there everyday for just about all day. I think that she only missed like 10 to 15 minutes on the days that we got her early. She so deserved it. I do not think that I ever got the "Perfect Attendance" award!! Guess someone really loves school!!! Anyway, we hope that you all have a wonderful weekend!!

Waiting for school to get out...

2009-06-02T11:22:00.005-04:00

It seems as if Friday will never get here for the girls! They are so ready to start their summer vacation. Leslea had homework last night and was sooooooo mad about it. I will be glad when I don't have to listen to her grumble about doing her homework. That child does so well in school, but absolutely hates to have homework and it is a fight to get her to finish it. She is always wanting to do anything but what she is supposed to. Anyway, I have posted a few photos from Court's awards ceremony that took place last Friday. She made the honor roll all year and finished with a 9.96 average for the year. Being a little slack in band class got her an A- and brought her 4.0 down just a bit. Oh well, you live and you learn. The girl in the photos with her is one of her very best friends Marissa. They have been friends since we moved up here and I kind of wonder how they will function this summer without seeing one another each and every day. It is nice to have such close friends and I so approve of all of the ones that both of the girls have made here in Michigan. Leslea's awards are on Friday, so I am sure that we will post photos of her at the end of the week. Until then...

Same ol' same ol'...

2009-05-28T12:15:00.002-04:00

Not much new happening here. We are just plugging along waiting for school to get out next week. The girls are getting excited and I am looking forward to having them home with me. That is until they start aggervating one another and fighting all of the time. That, I do not look forward to. Guess I will just have to keep them as busy as I can. Anyway, I hope that all is well with our blogging buddies. We hope that you all have a wonderful weekend. We have a pretty low key weekend until Sunday when we have church, lunch bunch, and then we are off to a Whitecaps game with Leslea's school. Hopefully the weather will be half way nice for us. Until next time........

Maddi's preschool graduation...

2009-05-24T19:32:00.010-04:00

Here are some photos of Maddi's preschool graduation. It was as cute as it could be and all of the kids did a great job with their songs and their skit. It is amazing just how much they learn and how much they mature in just 8 months!!! Sorry for the photo overload, but there were many more that I did not post:)

Maddi with Mrs Veldheer. She is a wonderful lady! We'll miss her

Maddi playing her part in their skit

Maddi explaining what she had learned in school this year

Most of the class performing

Maddi with Mrs Sharon, her Mighigan grandma

Leslea's trip to Macinac Island

2009-05-20T10:37:00.011-04:00

Les had a great field trip to Mackinac Island. It was cold and raining yesterday before we caught the ferry back, but I think that even though she and everyone else was miserable, they had a good time. Here are several photos of her and her friends. Took too many to post and this post will be way longer than it already is if I explain them all, but enjoy these few. You can see how happy she is in each one of them. That girl just lives life to the fullest and loves every minute of it. She is a huge shopper too, but unfortunately for her, I grew up on an island and know what all the gift shops are about, so she had to settle for a hoodie, necklace, fudge, and some rock candy. Aren't I mean?? No! She does not need anymore junk!

Mark's Spring Turkey...

2009-05-16T10:13:00.005-04:00

Well here you have it! Mark finally killed his spring turkey this morning. It has not been as easy for him this time around, but patience and persistence has finally paid off. He did not kill the one that he has been after for about 2 weeks now, but I think that he is just finally relieved that he finally got one. I know that I am glad, it has been a lot of early mornings and disappointment for him. Anyway, here are a couple of photos. I don't know all the measurements, but I did hear him say that it had a 9 inch beard.

Just asking for a quick favor...

2009-05-15T10:54:00.004-04:00

Hey blogging buddies! Just taking a minute to ask all of you to send up some prayers for Mark's Dad and the family. We just found out that he has to have open heart surgery because I think that Mark said 3 if not all 4 main arteries are 80-90% blocked. They are waiting to find out if it is gonna happen this weekend or on Monday. Sometimes it is hard to be so far away from your family in times like this. We just have to hope and pray that all goes well. So if you have a minute, storm Heaven with some prayers for him. We will be doing a lot of it ourselves! Thanks guys! LOL!!

All in Ellie's perspective....

2009-05-11T19:04:00.005-04:00

Ok this is Ellie and I am giving you the low down on the rosebuds. It is the same ol' stuff going on here. Mom and Dad are busy doing the work and running the kids thing and I am usually just chillin' in the back yard with my new buds. Today however, Mom snatched me out of my backyard element and put that stinkin' collar around my neck and off in the car we went. I knew that wherever we were going was not gonna be good because she was in a hurry and had a handful of snacks. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my snacks now, but she usually don't give em' to me in the car, so that was the first sign that something was up. After driving for a couple of minutes, we got to where we were going and as soon as she put that leash on me and we got out of the car and headed in the door, I knew where we were and as soon as she tried to get me to go in that DOOR I said "I don't think soooooooooo..." and put the brakes on. Of course that did not work because I am still small enough for her to pick up, so in the door we went. Oh brother!! I knew where I was and what I was there for, SHOTS!!! I got weighed, the doc looked me over and then that ol' needle went right in the neck. Good things I still have a lot of extra skin so it did not hurt too bad. After all that yucky stuff, the ol' doc gave Maddi a treat to feed me, so it was all good. Finally we could leave that building of ouchies, but first, Mom had to stop and make my next appointment and pay that lady at the desk. I have yet to figure out why Mom would want to pay someone for giving me an ouchie, but who said that us dogs understand humans? She always says that it is for my own good, but I don't see her getting any for her "own good"! Anyway things checked out all fine and dandy. Guess from what I over heard, I gained 10lbs since the last time that I was there, but that was good and the ol' doc said not to be shocked if I gained about the same amount by the next visit. What a way to give a girl a complex. I know that I am growing, but even in dogs, weight and girls just do not get along!!!! So I am up to 22.3lbs at 13 weeks old. Gee that sounds kinda big to me, but I also heard that I am all legs, so I will take that one as a compliment. When we finally got in the car and headed home, yep, you guessed it, I got those treats. We were home before I knew it and I was back in my backyard with my buds. It felt like a lifetime since I had seen them, but it was good to be back. I cuddled up beside Ember and told her about my trip and fell fast asleep. Oh what a day!!!

Happy Mother's Day weekend!!

2009-05-08T08:25:00.002-04:00

Just taking a second to wish all of you a very Happy Mother's Day weekend. We hope that no matter what you do, you enjoy and are spoiled rotten by those that are dear to you. I know for a fact that all of you are wonderful mother's and you deserve to be appreciated for ever and not just on one day. Don't forget to thank God for the blessing of children that he has given each of us. When we hold those little ones for the first time, we realize that they are nothing but a miracle from God and our lives change forever. I know that my kids have made me who I am today and I am so blessed to have them in my life. Once again, Happy Mother's Day! Love you all!!!

First of Three...

2009-05-06T15:58:00.009-04:00

Well one of the three parades that Courtney has to march in for Tulip Time is now over. The video on the bottom of the post is of her marching. She is the third one in the line and yes we know that it is blurry, but to get more than 3 or 4 seconds of video, we have to use a lower quality and it comes out a bit fuzzy. If you want a glimpse of how and what she plays, then check it out. The photos are just a few of what we took, but we thought that the little boys scrubbing the streets were cute. That one little fellow lost his shoe in the process and just stood there and pointed at it until his Mom realized that he we staying behind. He was so cute. Two more parades to march in and we can not promise any more pictures because we have enough to keep up with just with Maddi, but if we take anymore, then we will be sure to post them. Hope the rest of your week is good! Ours is busy as usual, but we will get through it as we normally do.

What a wonderful weekend...

2009-05-03T20:28:00.010-04:00

we had!!! I can not tell you how much we enjoyed our weekend. We knew that Maddi would make it or break it for us because she loves to be home, but she did so good and we can not thank her enough for not making us so miserable that we had to come back home. She actually woke up on Sat morning and said, "Mom, this is a lot like home!" And how funny that when we got home this afternoon she says, "Yay! I am so excited to be home!" How cute. We enjoyed the weekend with 4 other couples and all of their kids and a few of their friends. I think in all, there were 25 of us and then a few came by on Sat evening/night for Austin's birthday party. Not to mention all of us had our dogs, but Mike and Amy. All of the kids got along great and played games, rode bikes and played on the playgrounds until someone had to make them come back. All in all, we stayed busy, but enjoyed ourselves very much. I think that we will be doing some more camping and definitely would like to do the family thing so that we could at least see the kids a little more. I did tell Mark that we need to try to camp a little farther from the house so that we could really see what it is like to be "away" from home. We hope that all of you enjoyed your weekend as much as we did. Sorry that this is a little long, but at least I did not bore you with all of the details. I did however post a bunch of photos, more or less for Nana, but you can see that we did actually go. I think that I can safely say that we are looking forward to the next camping trip!!

Maddi

Court

Les

And of course Ellie

HiHo HiHo it's off camping we go...

2009-05-01T08:12:00.002-04:00

The girls are so excited about this weekend. We are just going to Holland State Park with some of our friends to go camping, but it is a new experience for them. It may not be that far down the road, approx.20 minutes, but it is by the lake and the first time in our camper. They packed all of their belongings last night and are bouncing off the walls this morning. It will not be until late afternoon that we all get to the site and get settled because of school and softball practices, but that is ok because it gives me more time to fry all of the chicken that I have to cook for tonight. There are 4 families with lots of kids, so I will be busy and the time will go by fast. We will try to take some pictures and let all of you know how of first weekend camping goes. I am sure it will be rather interesting. At least we have plenty of people there to help us get everything set up for the first time:-) They are experienced campers, so any question can be answered!! Hope everyone else has a wonderful weekend with whatever they have planned. We are looking forward to ours!!!! Until Sunday....

Some random photos...

2009-04-27T16:39:00.007-04:00

As you can tell, not much happening so here are a few random shots from the weekend. The weather has been quite wet and we had a lot of inside time, so we were bored and took some pics. Sunday evening, it did clear up for a while and we snapped one of Ellie in the grass while the girls were throwing a softball around with their Dad.

Court not being amused easy

Les sporting her new haircut

our BooBoo Bear with her ball

someone not wanting her photo taken at all
she looks like a wild woman

Weekend getta-way

2009-04-24T18:48:00.013-04:00

We broke down and got us a RV and here are a few of the pictures. Nessa has spent two days cleaning and getting it in excellent shape. Sorry the photos are posting weird, but no matter what we do, we can't get them to do right!!!

close up of master bedroom

view of kitchen and living room area

kitchen area

another view of the kitchen area

table/bed

bathroom

bunk area

Happy Birthday Papa Wink

2009-04-24T17:10:00.004-04:00

Happy Birthday Papa we love you very much. Love Court, Leslea, and Maddi.

Zeeland Cityside Beats Harbor Lights

2009-04-23T18:43:00.002-04:00

Well as you can tell by my title, Court and her team lost today 14 to 7. The girls were challenged by a wonderful pitcher that meant business when she was on the mound. She was amazing and will definitely be an awesome ball player as she continues to grow. Court did pitch for one inning and did well. She just has to continue to practice and gain some speed with her pitches. It will all come together eventually and she is only in 7th grade, but I know that she wants to do it all and she is just not ready. She does however do good with what knowledge she has. I think that if she continues to take softball serious she will be something to watch too! Anyway, her next game is on Tuesday at Grand Haven, so we will see what Tuesday brings! That's all for now! Until next time...

Another update on Miss Ellie Mae...

2009-04-22T21:05:00.006-04:00

I know cheezy right? Well sorry but she is one of our babies and we just can not believe how big she is already. She is 10 weeks old and is already acting like a dog instead of a little puppy. She knows when she has to go out to do her business and has done so good about not having any accidents. When it is nice out, she spends most of her time outside with the big doggies. They still get a little annoyed with her because she wants to nip and pull on their ears and lips, but she will eventually outgrow that. Little by little, they are starting to love her. I know that they will accept and love her when she gets a little less annoying, but boys can they make me mad sometimes. I yell at them and tell them to be nice and love that baby and all I get are "yeh right" looks and they flop down and tolerate her, but sometimes I have caught them loving on her when they do not realize that I am watching them. It is funny to see them act like humans sometimes. They truly do have their own little personalities. Ok enough about the dogs!! Hope you enjoy the rest of your week! We will be on the ball field tomorrow evening, so I am sure you will see another update. Until then, happy blogging!!!!!

Ellie and her favorite stuffed animal

I love my webkinz bear!!

Look how big I have gotten in just a few weeks!

Slackers...

2009-04-21T07:33:00.002-04:00

Well it seems as if the "blog slacking" has hit us or me I should say. Truthfully there has not been much happening that is really worth talking about. Our weekend was good. We messed with our deck a little getting it ready to spend some time on it when the weather gets warm. We went to our friend's Melissa's and Howie's on Friday night for a hotdog roast and sat around the fire and just enjoyed being outside. The mosquitos decided that they wanted to join us, but they were not too bad. Les went to a birthday at Lost City and had fun playing laser tag with some friends from school, Court got some much needed rest, and Maddi just played and played outside enjoying the sunshine and taking full advantage of getting dirty. Then as most of you know, the rain and colder weather came back on Sunday and has not left us yet. We have also taken advantage of the rain and done some inside stuff. The girls cleaned their rooms good on Sunday afternoon and yesterday, Leah and I textured the ceiling downstairs. I am pleased with our work, but we do have to prime it before we paint the walls. Slowly but surely, it will get done. Now the big thing is to find a color that I will be happy with. I have chosen a few, but not decided on one just yet. Oh well, guess I have rambled on long enough. Good things I did not have much to say! Ha!Ha! Enjoy the rest of your week! Until next time...

Another win credited to Harbor Lights!

2009-04-16T18:24:00.004-04:00

Well Court and her softball team won their second game, 13 to 9. It was a good game and there were a lot more hits, runs and catches than yesterday. There were walks too, but overall it was more contact. It made for an exciting game. Court pitched to 3rd and 4th innings. In the 3rd, she threw 5 pitches and the inning was over. The 4th had a few more hits and the defense was changed around a little, so it took a little longer to get out of that inning, but she survived and did well. Once again we were proud of her and look forward to seeing her play next week! Have a good weekend. I am sure that you all will be glad to know that our posting for the week is done:-) That is unless something exciting happens that we want to share! Ha!Ha! Yea right!!

Field trip, softball game and visit to the vet...

2009-04-15T21:07:00.008-04:00

Wow! What a busy day for us!! Leslea had a field trip to Grand Rapids with the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders today and she seemed to have a blast. When we picked her up from school to head to Courtney's softball game, she talked non-stop about her day. We are glad that she had a good time. They went to some museums, ate lunch by the river and just had fun on the bus ride to and from. Court had her first softball game and I am happy to announce that they won 13 to 4, but due to the mercy rule, they logged it as 10 to 4, but that is ok! They still won. Courtney finished out the game with 3 good outs. It was her first time pitching in almost 2 years, so we are so proud of her. I do believe that I was way more nervous than she was. Pitching is a lot of responsibility(sp?) and I do not know why she wants to put herself in that position, but she always does well. I just think that it would be hard because the pitcher, in most cases, either wins the game for you or loses the game for you. I would not want that on my plate, but she enjoys pitching and I support her. Her Daddy is so proud to see her on that mound. Nothing but a smile can be seen from him and he has worked pretty hard with her to get her where she is, so we have to give him some credit too:-) And then ol' Ellie girl had her visit to her new vet today and she did really good. Of course she was a big hit and everyone thought that she was a cutie. She did get a shot and some wormer, so she is not 100% this evening, but I am sure that she will be back to her sassy self tomorrow. She is growing way too fast. I almost forgot just how quick they grow. She is already 9 weeks old and weighs in at whopping 12.30lbs. We go back in 3 weeks, so it will be neat to see how much more she has grown in such a short amount of time. Well hope all is well with all of you! Until tomorrow when we post on game 2....

Employee of the Month!!!

2009-04-14T21:59:00.004-04:00

Just joking. Leslea's school had a fundraiser at Dairy Queen where 10% of the profits tonight goes straight to Sheldon Woods Elem. They had some of the kids busing tables, cleaning/wiping them down, etc. Well Leslea even took trays of food to the people. We were a little nervous when she was bringing us ours b/c Maddi's ice cream looked like it was going to slide off at any time. It did not and she did a good job. We do not have to worry about her not giving 100% to anything that she does. She just jumps right in, gets the job done and makes it fun no matter what she is doing. She is something else!! She makes us so proud. Here are a few pictures that we were able to snap of her while she was "working."

How beautiful is this?

2009-04-13T21:34:00.004-04:00

Mark took this picture of the sunrise this morning. It almost seems as if it is a true promise that Spring is on its way. The temps proved otherwise, but the end of the week looks like it will be nice. We are so ready to see the 60 degree mark. Court has her first softball game tomorrow in Zeeland if the rain holds off, so we will let you all know how it turns out if it even happens.Ok I will just add this here, the game was canceled so we will have the first on Wednesday now. Hope you all have a good week.

Just a look at our Easter morning...

2009-04-12T15:51:00.010-04:00

Here are some random photos of our morning. Of course one of Courtney's friends spent the night and I did not mention to the Easter Bunny that we had another girl that needed a basket, so she got a make-shift one, but she was happy with that and she knew that the Easter Bunny was still going to come to her house and leave her one:-) Ellie was even lucky enough to get a basket. Needless to say, she wanted her basket more than what was in it. We have had a very blessed day and we hope that all of you have as well! Once again, Happy Easter from our house to yours!

Shelby, Courtney, Maddi and Leslea

Ellie with her basket

Is this not a cute picture of Mark and his new little girl? She is loved just a little bit!

Happy Easter!!!

2009-04-11T23:10:00.007-04:00

Here are a few photos from the Easter egg hunt at our house this morning. We had the older kids, Court, Les, and Shelby, hide the eggs for the smaller kids. Most of the little girls were with me all day yesterday and we took regular sand pails and dressed them up so that they could use them for our egg hunt. They are such girly girls and had to have them all prissed up. They turned out really cute! After they found all of the eggs, we enjoyed hotdogs that Mark had cooked on the grill along with some baked beans(Southern style of course), macaroni salad, chips, cupcakes, cookies, etc. Mmm! It was so yummy. The kids enjoyed playing out in the backyard in the SUNSHINE!!!!! Over all, they all had a blast. It was such a beautiful day here and we took full advantage of it. We hope that all of you have a wonderful Easter Sunday. We will be off to church early, like 8:40am early because the girls are playing the bells for the choir, and then we will have our Easter dinner with Dwayne and Sharon, and then the girls will have their very own Easter egg hunt. Like they need more candy:-) I am sure that the Easter Bunny will be very good to them, but Mom and Dad have to hide eggs for them to find too. I do not think that they will ever be too big for that. I don't care if they are 50 and I am still able, I will do my best to make it special for them. That is just me! Anyway, enjoy your day and know that you are all in our thoughts today and we are thankful for each and every one of you! Hugs and kisses!!

Just a few new snapshots of Courtney

2009-04-09T22:42:00.003-04:00

All of you know just how hard it is to get Courtney to let us take a picture of her, but she was more than willing to pose for a few so that she and her friend Jillian could post them on their facebook pages. Yes she has one and her Daddy is not too thrilled about it, but I told her that she needed to ask him and needless to say, she ended up doing it anyway. We know a ton of people with them and don't worry, she will be asked a million questions on what she is doing and with whom online. You just never know these days. I know that we can trust her, but it is everyone else out there that you have to worry about. She is a good kid and questions things that she is not sure about, so that it a blessing. Anyway, I think that she is changing by the day. The teenage years are creeping up on us with her, 3 months, to be exact, so it won't be long before we have to keep a closer eye on her:-) I hope she stays a homebody for a lot longer! At least we know where she is and what she is doing. Well it is already pretty much Friday! We hope that you all have a wonderful Easter weekend. Let's all remember exactly what this special time of year is all about! Love to you all!!!

Some good sleeping...

2009-04-08T10:16:00.002-04:00

I went in my bedroom this morning to see what Ellie was up to and this is what I found. A bit earlier, Maddi had wanted to put her in the bed with her, so I did and then went into the kitchen to put some dishes away. When I went back in, these two were sleeping together and I had to snap this picture. I think that ol' Ellie Mae likes to sleep on people's heads. Just remember that she is NOT spoiled. The sun is actually shining and we have already been playing outside, so I guess that after I get my running done we will be spending a lot more time outside enjoying this long awaited sunshine. I am sure that we will be updating again real soon, so until then, get outside and get some vitamin D!! LOL!!

Who knows I may jinx it, but...

2009-04-06T22:54:00.002-04:00

I highly doubt it. It looks as if the UNC Tarheels will win the NCAA tournament and I have 2 girls, Courtney and Leslea, that are totally thrilled. I guess what they say is in some ways true. You can take the girl out of the state, but you can't take the state out of the girl. Ha! Ha! These two, along with their Daddy, are die hard Carolina fans. Courtney did not want them to play Michigan State because everyone in her class is rooting for them and she is the only one wishing for Carolina to win. Well sometimes it is good to be different. It is kind of strange that we are from North Carolina and we now live in Michigan and they are the two teams that ended up playing for the championship. We are all huge basketball fans, but as most people, we have our differences on who we root for. I am the outcast by being a huge Duke fan and Maddi is too young to really know or even care, so we are out numbered, but that is ok. Being a die hard Duke fan usually means to go for whatever team is playing against Carolina, but I could not do that tonight. There is a lot of pride of where you grew up that you carry with you where ever you go, so tonight I have to admit that I was hoping that Carolina would pull this one out. It looks as if they are going to make all of us North Carolina folks proud. Way to go UNC!! Sorry to all of our Michigan friends, but sometimes it is what it is!! Michigan State is an awesome team too, but I think that the seniors on Carolina's team were determined to go out in style! It has been a little while since they have won one, so I guess we have to give'em one every now and then:-) Anyway, have a good week and happy blogging!!!

Look how Mark spent his Sunday afternoon...

2009-04-05T18:18:00.002-04:00

We couldn't resist this photo. Of course Courtney had to take it in black and white, but never the less, it is cute. We were relaxing on the bed after we got our bellies full from our Sunday dinner after church and Mark decided that beings I had Ember on the bed with me, he would get Ellie and put her up there to see if she would lay down and relax with the rest of us. Well she did and here is the end result. He has already said that she is "HIS" dog and I guess she is. He has even admitted that he hates dog kisses, but he kisses Ellie all the time and lets her kiss him back. He just said yesterday, "GEE! I have never kissed a dog in my life and now look!" Well I think that there are plenty more in store for him!!!! Hope you all have a good week. Hopefully ours will be better than this past!

It is so hard to say goodbye...

2009-04-04T10:33:00.001-04:00

But we all know that it is a part of life and today, 4-04-09 we had to say goodbye to a very special and important part of our family. Our beloved chocolate lab, Brandi, passed away. She was so loved and will be missed more than she or anyone else will know. She would have been 12 in July, so some would say that she lived a good long life for a dog, but for me, I wish that she could have lived on forever. I believe that she left way too soon. I do not know how our other 3 labs will react to this, but we will all get through it. It is not going to be easy because a part of us has been torn away, but I am thankful for all of the years and memories that we have had with her. God knows she was a good dog and none will ever replace her. My heart is so broken right now and I wonder why I or anyone would ever want to put themselves through such pain, but when they are here, they show you nothing but love, so every minute of mischeviousness is worth it. Well I guess all that there is left to say is, "Goodbye my sweet girl! May you live on forever in our hearts and memories. You will be missed so much more than words can say. You were more than just a dog! You were our 4 legged daughter, sister, companion and friend. We love you and do not want to let you go. God was ready for you to go, so we have to accept that, but we hope that you know you will never be forgotten. We hope that you run free and play without any aches and pains now! We love you and miss you already!! Bye Bran! Bye our sweet girl!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

2009-04-04T08:56:00.004-04:00

We are kinda doing this in a weird way, but we want to wish our brother-inlaw, TRAVIS, a very Happy Birthday. We hope that your day is just as special to you as you are to us. We love and miss ya and hope that Christy and the boys treat you right on your special day. We know that Christy will treat ya good, because she usually does and she is such sweetie anyway:-) So have a good one and know that we are thinking of ya! Sending lots of hugs and kisses from Michigan!

Happy Birthday
Love ya,
Vanessa, Mark and girls

Can you say TROUBLE???

2009-04-03T10:01:00.002-04:00

I think that is what we are in for with this one! She was trying on her new Speedo bathing suit and said that she wanted to be a super model and this is one of the poses that she gave me. I think that Mark should start worring about her even though she is only 4!! That blonde hair and big blue eyes might get her in more trouble than she wants when she grows up. Especially if her personality stays like it is!!

Spring Break...

2009-04-02T09:12:00.004-04:00

Well when school gets out today, the girls will officially begin their spring break. However, we are not all that excited about it because it is supposed to be COLD. It is April and it seems as if we will be celebrating winter break instead of spring break. Seeing snow in the forecast for 3 days stinks! Oh well, as usual, we will make the best of it and do what we can. Mark will of course be leaving town on Monday afternoon and will not return until Thursday evening/night, so he will be gone just about all of their spring break. How convienent hunh? Courtney has softball practice everyday but one, so we couldn't do much anyway. Her first game is the Tuesday that they return from break, so they need all of the practice that they can get. Most kids are going to Colorado or Florida, so I don't know just how many will be on vacation and how many will be practicing. Well everyone else that is about to start spring break, we wish you warm weather and good times. Think about us here in Michigan freezing when we should be somewhere warm sunning. Oh well when life hands you a bowl of lemons, you just have to use them to make lemonade right??? We will make it fun somehow and appreciate the warmer weather whenever it decides to finally show up:-) Until next time...

Another chilly weekend...

2009-03-29T21:53:00.009-04:00

Oh my goodness! What a yucky yucky day here in Michigan. I can not believe that it is the end of March and we had snow today. I was too hopeful that it was long gone. Yes I know that this is Michigan and it is normal for here, but it still sucks!! I saw snow in the forcast, but I was hoping that it was just flurries, but no! It had to cover the ground. However, I am glad that it went away almost as quick as it came. The rain and the wind made it all nasty, but I am glad that I see muddy water in my driveway and not that white stuff!! So with that being said, we did not get the chance to go on our family adventure today, but we did take Ellie for her first walk at Hemlock Crossing yesterday after Maddi had her first play date with her little pre-school friend Luke. She(Ellie) did pretty well. She did all that she could to get that collar off of her neck, but she soon realized that it was gonna stay put. She gets tired a little quicker than we want her to, but she is so little and those little legs went as fast and far as they could go. The girls enjoyed her so much and of course there was plenty of fussing over who was gonna walk her. I assure you that everyone got a turn and the dog did not know the difference. Anyway, we hope that everyone had a good weekend and we wish everyone a wonderful week ahead. It is hard to believe that Monday is already upon us! Goodness where does the time go??? Enjoy these photos from yesterday.

Maddi & Ellie(as you can see Ellie is taking a potty break oops!)

Who is walking who?????

Maddi being a big girl and holding Ellie all by herself

Ellie all tuckered out on the ride home

2009-03-27T15:01:00.004-04:00

Here are a few photos of Ellie that Mark took yesterday. She is growing like a weed and has already adapted to living with us just fine. We couldn't have asked for a better dog. I may be wrong, but I think we picked us out a good one!! And as you can probably guess, she is already spoiled rotten. We can not seem to have a dog that is not spoiled. Many say that our dogs are treated better than most people:-) Well I would not have it any other way. All they ask for is love!

Another accomplishment!!

2009-03-25T20:13:00.002-04:00

Just a real quick post to say congrats to Courtney once again! She has tried out for the middle school softball team for the past couple of days and today the announcements were made. SHE MADE THE TEAM!!!!! We are so proud of her and I know that she is excited because she has said several times that she can not believe that she made the team. We were hoping that things would go well, but she did injure her foot two years ago while playing in NC. We do not know if pitching the ball and dragging her foot caused this or not, but she has dealt with it for 2 years and it finally seems to be healed enough for her to play. She loves to play softball and has a bit of a knack for it, so we hope and pray that all goes well for her. She has admitted to us that she may do some pitching again this year, but we are stressing that she takes care of her foot and that she lets us know as soon as she gets the least little twinge. Hopefully that won't happen, but you never know. The coach did tell her that she did a great job and she was a good player and she made the team, but she needed to gain some weight because if the ball hits her, then she would be nothing but a bruise! Ha!Ha! Guess he does not know her well enough yet to know that first of all she stays bruised up and second of all, she is a little spitfire and does not take much off of anybody! It is those little ones that you have to watch out for sometimes!! Wish her luck and pray for that foot to hold up for her!!

The newest little rosebud...

2009-03-24T12:55:00.009-04:00

Welcome Ellie!!
Well as most of you know, our chocolate lab Brandi is not doing so good and is more or less living one day at a time, so we have gone out and got another member to add to our family. Meet Rosebuds Ellie Mae of West Michigan. She will be called Ellie and she is 6 weeks old. She is a loving little girl who has come out of her shell a bit more today. I can already tell that she is going to be a handful, but we will get through it. It has been quite a long time since we have had to do the puppy stage thing, but we are ready for it and at least we already have quite a bit of experience. She did well in her crate for the first night and then I had to leave her in it this morning for about 3 and a half hours and when I came back, to my surprise, there had been no accidents!! Good girl Ellie!! I am sure that we will drive you nuts with photos of her on the blog from here on out, but the girls are so excited to welcome her into our family and they want to share her with all of you. Here are a few of her first photos. Ain't she a cutie??

Random photos of our Sunday hike

2009-03-22T16:14:00.013-04:00

Thought that we would share a few of our photos from our "family" time today. When the weather is nice on Sunday's after we go to church and have Sunday dinner, we try to go and do something as a family. We generally like to go on one of the nature trails and just spend some good quality time together outside. Today we thought that is was nice enough to venture out and we went to Mt. Pisgah in Holland. We climbed 258 stairs to get to the top so that we could then follow the trail around. The views were beautiful of the lake. We had a good walk/hike and just enjoyed being outdoors. Enjoy the photos.

Happy Spring!!!

2009-03-20T13:55:00.002-04:00

Even though it is the first day of Spring, it still has the feeling of winter here in Michigan. The sun is shining, but the air is chilly. I am ready for some green grass and colorful flowers. I am sure that by now, all of us are ready for the warmer weather to come and stick around. I know that it won't be much longer and we will probably be wishing for some cooler air, but I know that you won't hear me complaining when the warmer weather sticks around. It could be 75 degrees all year long and I would be happy! Oh well. Anyway, we have birthday parties to attend this weekend, but other than that, not much on the agenda. We hope that all of you have a wonderful weekend with whatever you have planned. I am sure that it will fly by like the rest of the week, so take the time to enjoy each other! Have a good one!! Until next time...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

2009-03-17T07:57:00.002-04:00

Wishing all of our blogging buddies a very Happy St. Patrick's Day! May the luck of the Irish be with you whether you have Irish blood or not. Enjoy this beautiful day that we are supposed to have in Michigan today! I know that we are going to be messing around outside as much as possible! Have a good one!

It is Monday again

2009-03-16T11:41:00.002-04:00

Hope everyone had a good weekend. Ours was pretty good. We didn't do too much, but never the less we had a good one. Saturday we went downtown to the St. Patrick's Day parade. It was really cute and man did that sunshine feel GOOD! Sunday we went to church and then had some friends over after the services for some steaks on the grill. MMM!!! What a beautiful day to enjoy being outside. We still had to put a layer on, but it was not as bad as it has been. Today is another beautiful day and tomorrow is supposed to be better, so we are looking forward to that. Mark went back to work today and says that he has been busy catching up on things. I am sure that there is plenty to keep him busy especially after being gone for 5 weeks. I had to go and pick Court up from school due to a migraine. Yuck! Not a good way to start out the week. She unfortunately gets those from both sides of the family and we can not help but feel bad for her when she gets one. They really take it out of you and sleep is the best remedy. Anyway, welcome to a new week! We hope everyone has a good one! Until next time...

Daddy's finally home!!!

2009-03-12T21:53:00.007-04:00

Well the 5 weeks of being in California is finally over. Mark made it home safe and sound. Thanks for everyone's prayers and good wishes. It all worked out well and we got home from Grand Rapids at around 8:30pm. As you can all guess, the girls are totally thrilled to have their Daddy back in Michigan with them. Maddi is like the energizer bunny, she keeps going and going and going. Little does she realize that she has school tomorrow and she is not going to want to get up and go. Oh well, maybe she will and maybe she won't! Guess we will see what tomorrow brings! Hope you all have a good weekend with whatever you have planned. For us, we will just be hanging out and enjoying some family time. Hopefully we will get to enjoy some nicer weather too!!

Maddi showing off the poster she made for Daddy

Waiting for Daddy's plane to land

The girls staring out the window looking for Daddy's plane
Note: Daddy is standing behind them waiting for them to turn around
SUPRISE!!!!!!!

Only 2 more days...

2009-03-10T17:08:00.002-04:00

And then we will head to the airport to pick Mark up. We head to Grand Rapids Thursday evening. Mark should fly into the airport around 6:15pm, so we plan on leaving right after Leslea gets off of the school bus. It should be an eventful ride there, but who can blame them? They have not seen their Daddy in 5 weeks. In some ways it seems as if it has gone by fast, but in other ways, it seems as if it has been a lot longer than only 5 weeks. I am looking forward to having a little bit of piece and quiet if I choose to. At least if he is here and I need a moment, I can walk out and not worry about who will be killing who because someone other than me will be here to seperate them. No they are not that bad, but when you have a strong willed 10 year old and a smart mouth almost 13 year old, you just never know what is going to happen next. Then to top that off, a 4 year old going on 8 or 9 has to get her mouth in it, and it just goes on from there. Anyway, it is already the middle of the week, so it did not drag on like I thought that it was going to. I hope that all of you continue to have a good week and if you think about it, keep Mark in your prayers and pray that all of his flights are on schedule and that he gets home safely. Lord knows that man is more than ready to come home!! Until next time...

It is so hard saying goodbye...

2009-03-09T08:39:00.007-04:00

Ready for Church...

2009-03-07T18:44:00.006-05:00

Well almost anyway. Maddi, Court, Les and I went shopping around for Easter Dresses today, and no we did not have any luck. We did see some possiblities, but needless to say, we did not make any purchases for Easter. We did however find this little dress that came with a dress for Maddi's baby doll, so she just had to have it and insists on wearing it to church tomorrow. Well all that is fine and dandy, but she wanted to try it on and put the baby's on her and have some pictures taken, so here are the results. They did not turn out the greatest, but I think that you can get the idea of what her and her baby look like. I guess this means that I will be taking 4 girls to church with me tomorrow!! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Congrats to Courtney!!!!!

2009-03-04T15:41:00.004-05:00

Just a quick little post to let you all know that the West Ottawa 7th grade band that Courtney is a part of won First Division!!! They really exceeded what was expected of them. Maddi and I got the chance to go and listen to them perform and they were sooooo good. No I am not just being partial because one of my children was involved! They were exceptional!! We even went into the band room after their stage performance to see how they did on their sight music, and they blew those of us that were in there away. This part that was being judged, was where they were given music that they have never seen, played, or practiced before and they had 7 minutes to look at it, discuss it, and then play it. They did two parts of this and when it was over, the judge stood up and commended them on how well they did and how wonderful it was to see how they worked together by listening to each other and feeding off of one another. He could not find 1 mistake and that is amazing. Of course a lot of credit has to be given to Mr. Wheeler because he has done a wonderful job with them!! So once again, CONGRATULATIONS to Court and her 7th grade band!!!!!!!

Messages to Daddy from Maddi...

2009-03-02T16:22:00.003-05:00

Make sure your volume is turned up. She is a little bit hard to hear!!

Another weekend gone in a flash...

2009-03-01T20:17:00.002-05:00

Well it is already Sunday night here at the Rose's and real close to bedtime, so I thought that I would type a little note to wish everyone a good week ahead. Beings it is our last full week of Mark being gone, I am sure that it will probably just drag on by. The girls are already starting to get a little hyper and we still have 11more days before he heads this way, but just knowing that it is only a week and a half away, they are excited. Lord help me when I head to Grand Rapids to pick him up!! I will need some nerve medicine and some really good ear plugs:-D I will survive I am sure, but if they stay like they are now, then they may not be alive to go with me. Just joking. Anyway we hope that everyone's week goes well for them. We are already looking forward to some warmer temps for the end of the week! Sure do hope that they happen, especially after these past few! Brrrrrr! Have a good week!

See Daddy I am feeling a little bit better

2009-02-28T10:55:00.005-05:00

Here are a few photos of your 4 legged children. They have actually ventured out of the garage and have stayed outside for a while. Brandi is acting a bit better than she has been, but she is no way 100%. She is not acting as chipper as she was last night, but it is rather chilly outside and sometimes it takes her a while to get going. Hopefully she will come around and start acting like her aggervating self soon, but if not, then we know that her age is finally catching up with her. She has been eating good as you can probably tell. I don't think that being sick has left her mal-nourished by any means. Just send a little prayer up for her and hope that she continues to do good until you can get back home. We hope that you enjoy your weekend.

Brandi acting as if she is completely over it!

Getting playful kisses from Ember

All four of them enjoying the sunshine, but avoiding the wind

Just for you Aunt Christy...

2009-02-26T21:11:00.004-05:00

As promised, here are a few photos of Les wearing her birthstone earrings that you gave her for her birthday. She absolutely loves them and thinks that they are so pretty. She can not wait to wear them to church on Sunday. She says that they are too special and beautiful to wear to school. Good thinking Les!! Anyway, we kind of had a busy day running, so she did not get the chance to call you, but she WILL tomorrow. Let us know if you are going to the island so that we will know whether we can get up with ya or not. I know how the cell phone reception can be down there. We love you and once again send many many thanks and smiles and hugs and kisses. Have a good weekend!!

Court's Pre-Festival Concert

2009-02-25T10:17:00.004-05:00

Mark here are a few photos of Courtney from last night. As you know she had her pre-festival concert to prepare them for the judging next week. They did an awesome job and sounded sooooo good. She says that she is not nervous about being judged, but they have put a lot of pressure on them because since 1992, the 7th grade band has gotten first division. Pray that all goes well for her and her band next Wednesday. They have worked so hard on this and they really do deserve to get first division. I could be a little partial, but I think that they are the best!! Anyway enjoy these because you know how she is about having her picture taken. The first thing out of her mouth last night was, "Oh Momma! You are NOT going to take pictures like you did last time are you? You know that I hate that!" Oh well I took them anyway and here they are!

Blowing a few notes before heading out

Really begging for this to be over. She HATES having her picture taken

Sporting her new West Ottawa Band Sweatshirt Thanks Dad!

Just some random photos...

2009-02-24T12:04:00.005-05:00

Casper pleading with me to not take his picture

Dressed and ready for school

Ember taking advantage of some inside time. She knows better!

Happy 10th Birthday Leslea

2009-02-22T22:15:00.002-05:00

Finally the real day is here. Well almost anyway. I am typing this before I go to bed so in the morning at exactly, 5:41 am, Leslea will offically be 10 years old. Even after celebrating all weekend long, the child is still excited about tomorrow. I guess she is loving the fact that she is going to be double digits and she knows that it is her special day. Well she is definitely a huge blessing to me and I would not take anything in this world for her. She is a special little lady that has a lot going for her and I hope and pray that all her hopes, dreams and wishes come true. I know that she makes my world a better and brighter place, so I can only imagine what the future holds for her. She will definitely be something else:-) Anyway this is the last birthday post for the year of 2009 for Leslea. I can only imagine what she will want to do next year for her 11th birthday. I am sure that as soon as this one is gone for an hour or two, she will start tossing ideas around. That is just part of growing up and always looking forward to "next year" I guess. Hope that everyone has a good week. Hopefully our will be a little less eventful!

Another birthday update...

2009-02-22T11:40:00.012-05:00

The girls had a great time last night at Leslea's sleepover. They ate tacos, opened presents, had cupcakes and made their own sundies, played games, watched movies and stayed up until 2am or later this morning. No major issues, just a good time. I wish that I could say that her birthday is over, but truthfully her birthday not until tomorrow. UGH! And then she has the impression that she needs to celebrate once again when her Daddy comes home. Just how long does turning double digits last?????

waiting so patiently for Les to open her gifts

playing BINGO

Joel calling the numbers

Having sundies

Wanna-be gangsters

The morning after having breakfast

Friday night's celebration...

2009-02-21T10:45:00.005-05:00

Well our plans for Friday night did not go as we had planned, but Leslea still got a chance to celebrate with Mrs. Sharon. We had some cake and ice cream and some good laughs, so it was a good night. Mrs. Sharon had to work this morning at 9am doing funeral flowers and we were not sure about how much snow we were going to get over night, so we thought that she should probably spend the night at home and plan a slumber party with the girls another night before Mark comes home. As busy as things are, we will wait and see if that happens. I am sure that we will work something out.
Tonight Leslea is having 5 friends over for tacos and a slumber party, so we will be busy trying to keep all these girls happy. I am sure that Maddi will be the one that is a handful, but she will have fun with all the girls. Some of them have been around her several times, so they know the drama that she brings along. I think she just gets so excited to have so many people to play with and she wants them to do what she wants to do and throws a cow if things don't go her way. Well I can assure you that it does not last long, because once again Mommy is the big bad monster and puts a stop to it rather quickly. We will see how she does tonight. Mark I guess you should be glad that you are gone so you don't have to put up with so many girls. Although you are pretty used to having so many around, so it would not be anything new for you. Anyway, we hope that you have a good weekend. We love you and we will post some photos from tonight sometime tomorrow after everyone goes home. Until then here are a few from last night.

The cake for Leslea to celebrate her birthday with Mrs. Sharon

Thinking of something to wish for

Les blowing out her 10 candles

Maddi and Mrs. Sharon

Oh no! Another meltdown...

2009-02-19T20:21:00.002-05:00

This time it is Leslea. Don't know what brought this one on, but the child is broken hearted. I guess she is just thinking about her birthday coming up and dwelling on the fact that her Daddy is not going to be here to celebrate with her. It will all pass, but you just feel so helpless because there is absolutely nothing that you can do but comfort her and tell her that it will all be over soon. I guess you could say that we have some big Daddy's girls. Oh well I can not say anything because growing up, I too was a big Daddy's girl and I would not change the relationship that I have with mine for nothing in this world. Her relationship with her Daddy will only grow stronger as she gets older and it will be harder and harder for him to leave her and vice versa. I am just thankful that my girls have their Daddy in their lives on a daily basis and it does them good to have him leave every now and then. I think that they appreciate our family a lot more when someone has been gone for a bit and then when we are all back together, they realize just how good they have it. It is a blessing in one way and a curse in another. Luckily I know how to deal with the drama and it generally does not last long. Well have a good weekend! We will be having fun celebrating, or at least I hope we will!!!!!!!

The weekend is already sneaking up...

2009-02-18T21:42:00.003-05:00

This was not taken today, but on PJ day at school

It is hard to believe that tomorrow is already Thursday. I wanted the week to go by, but it now seems like it went by too fast. I think that we are about ready for the weekend. We have a lot of Birthday plans, so I guess I better be ready. Leslea is getting excited and really looking forward to having some of her friends over for a slumber party Saturday night. A good friend of mine, Sharon, who is also like the girls Michigan Grandma, and I are taking the girls to the Aquatic Center in Holland Friday night and then we will come back and have pizza, cake, and ice cream. Sharon is planning on having a slumber party with the girls that night as well. It will be fun. Poor Maddi is once again having tummy troubles. At least she is not throwing up, but her little tummy is so messed up. She ate a few Fruity Pebbles this morning, but other than that, she has not eaten a bite. Totally unlike her. She usually eats all day long, but not today. She started with this on Monday, but it was just a touch, then Tuesday, it was a little worse, but not that bad. Then along came today and the poor baby is just miserable when the belly pain hits. She says that her tummy will not let her chew food because it hurts. I am just thinking that she means her stomach hurts too bad to eat anything. I hope and pray that she is better tomorrow. She plays and argues with the girls, so I know that she is somewhat herself. Tonight when she talked to her Daddy, she was in tears because she felt soooo bad and I am sure that only made him feel more helpless, but she wanted to talk to him, so I let her. Not long after he hung the phone up, she was sound asleep. Maybe she needs to sleep it off for a while. I told her before she drifted off that she could sleep with Mommy tonight. I think that this is more for me than for her. She is just so pittiful when she is sick. Those big blue eyes look so sad and that makes me feel so sorry for her. So send up a little prayer for her and ask God to take this bug or whatever it is away and keep it away. I am so ready for warmer weather so that all these germs and bugs can move on. Well I am sure that you will be more than sick of updates through out the weekend, but we plan on keeping Mark updated. In a way, we kind of hope that by doing the updates, he feels like he is more or less here with us, or at least, he knows and sees what we are up to. Anyway, hope you all have a good night! Until next time...

Well it is Monday again...

2009-02-16T09:24:00.002-05:00

Once again it seems as if the weekend just flew by and now it is time to start all over again. And with the the start of a new week, winter has definitely returned. It was once again 11 degrees when poor Courtney went outside to get on the school bus. Maybe those pretty days that we had last week were not such a good thing. Now we are all really disgusted to see more snow. It was just so nice to see grass for a few days straight. It may not have been green grass, but it was still grass and the ground was not blanketed in snow. Oh well as some may say, this is Michigan and after all, it is only the middle of February. We have more snow in the forecast this week and with that comes colder temps, so we will grin and bare it for a while longer. I think that with it being so cold for so long, we are all just filled with Spring fever and want to get outside without all of the layers. That too will come in time.It seems like our week is not going to be as busy as last week, but we still have enough going on to keep us busy. Leslea is planning on celebrating her Birthday this weekend, so she is way excited about that. We will see how things turn out, but it should be lots of fun for her. Well we hope that you all have a good week. Mark we are sure that you will be busy and this week will probably go by fast for you. Maddi is ready for you to come home, so I am sure that the next few weeks will be longer for her and I than it will be for you. She did last longer than I thought she would. She is a little trooper and knows that you can not come home until you are finished with your school, so we will just keep plugging along and telling her to keep marking those days off of the calendar until we reach March 12. Hopefully we can keep her busy enough that the days will just fly by:-) We love and miss ya. Take care and have a good week!

Mmmmm!!!!!!!

2009-02-14T19:11:00.003-05:00

So, so yummy:-)

Thank you for the flowers Daddy!!

2009-02-14T15:58:00.008-05:00

Mr. Dwayne came over bright and early this morning to play cupid for Mark. Mark had sent flowers to all of us girls and Mr. Dwayne had the privilage of catching us all in our pjs enjoying some french toast and strawberries. He did not mind one bit though. Maddi was running around in her pajama top and undies all excited that she had gotten Valentine's from somebody. She had no idea who they were from or where they came from, she was just excited that she had got something. When she found out that they were from her Daddy, she seemed a little confused. "Just how did Mr. Wayne(as she calls him)get these from Daddy? He is in California!" We tried to explain, but she then discovered that Mrs. Sharon had sent some homemade chocolate chip cookies and she did not care any longer. Too funny. She is a handful and her little mind never stops. Of course Leslea was not here when her flowers were delivered, so she had to wait until she got home to get her surprise. Well Maddi met her at the door and busted a gut to get to her before she even crossed the welcome mat. She couldn't let her come up the stairs and discover them for herself! She just had to tell her right away. You would think that she would be over Valentine's Day beings she has celebrated it just about everyday this week, but no. She has been to the calendar everyday seeing when the 14th was so that it would be the "real day" as she called it. I remember when Leslea was that age and she was the same way. She even cried when she went to bed that night because she did not want Valentine's Day to be over. Too cute:-)Over all we have had a good day. Both of the girls had "dates" with their closest girlfriends, so they got to do some special things with them. Tonight we are going to have a shrimp dinner and then later on eat some chocolate covered strawberries and watch a movie or something on TV. It will be a good end to a good day. Mark thank you for making your girls feel special today. Even though you are so far away, you still made us all know just how special we are to you. We hope that you liked your package that we sent to you. We know that you will not eat the candy that we sent along with it, but what else do you get to send all the way to California? Make someone else feel special and pass it on to them if you don't want to spoil your diet. We love and miss you! Once again, Happy Valentine's Day!!XOXO

Courtney and Maddi with their flowers from Daddy

Leslea with her flowers from Daddy

Mom's flowers from Daddy

Looks like the girls were pretty special to somebody

Court getting ready to go to the movies. Look how grown up she looks!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2009-02-13T10:53:00.002-05:00

Well not today, but tomorrow. Beings Valentine's Day falls on Saturday, I am sure that I will not get the chance to update, or if I do, then the day will already be pretty much over, so I am going to take the chance now and wish all of you a very Happy and Love filled weekend. The girls have plans and of course they start as soon as school gets out. I do not know what it is about kids these days, but they have to be continiously doing something all of the time. And to stay home is almost like a crime. They just can't do it and they don't want to either. Anyway, as you can guess, they will have me running them all over the place, so we will be busy once again, but that is fine. It just seems to make the days go by way too fast when you are running all of the time. Oh well that is life ain't it? Hopefully all of your sweeties will treat you good and you will have a wonderful Valentine's weekend. Hugs and kisses to all of you guys!XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Until next time...

If you are checking in Daddy...

2009-02-10T20:58:00.003-05:00

Maddi had a great Valentine's party at school. She was so excited and could not wait until she got to go. She actually woke up at 6:15am and has not shut her eyes yet. It is 9:00pm and she is still going strong. Guess we all know what kind of night I am going to have. Hopefully she will do well in her bed tonight so she can be miserable all by her lonesome. Boy I am mean, ain't I?? Anyway here are a few photos of her with the goodies that she got from school. Look real close at what she wrote on the bottom of her Valentine holder. She is writing in sentences now. WOW! Well we will go for now. We love and miss ya!

One happy little Valentine

Maddi with her Valentine loot!!

Upon Daddy's request...

2009-02-09T19:15:00.007-05:00

We are updating the blog with a bunch of silly photos that no one else is really gonna care about, but what do you do when he is all the way across the country wanting to see what is going on with us back home? Well we made it through the first weekend without any drama. It was actually a good weekend and we even went outside Sunday and enjoyed the warmer weather. I cleaned up around the flower beds and swept the steps and concrete drive really good to get all of the mud and muck off. I even broke out the water hose and sprayed everything down really good to make sure it was all washed away. Mark you know it was warmer if I broke the hose out!!!! The girls decided that they would build snowmen beings the snow was wet and easy to pack. They were making a lot of progress until our little devil got mad and started smashing everybody's. She can be so mean sometimes. Anyway we have a semi-busy week ahead so the days will fly by. Both girls have already made plans for the weekend, so we will see if that happens or not. Depends on their attitudes:-) Well Mark, we hope that you have a good week. It sounds like they will be keeping you busy, so maybe the time will fly by for you too! We love and miss you. Everyone else, we hope that your week is a good one too and we apologize in advance for all of the updates that you will be seeing if you check in on us within the next 5 weeks. With the time difference, this is the best way for us to keep in touch, so please accept our apology. We are certain that most of the updates will be rather BORING to most of you. Anyway, have a good week! Bye for now Daddy!! We love you!!!!!!XOXOXO

Les, Maddi, and Court sending love to you Daddy

Maddi making her Valentine's for school

Brandi and Rookie ventured out of the garage into the sun Sunday

Deer in the field this evening

Well Mark is off!

2009-02-06T09:43:00.003-05:00

This morning went pretty well. A few tears were shed, but over all we all handled it rather well and I have already told the girls that time will fly by and before they know it, their Daddy will be back. Leslea's birthday is Feb.23, so I told her that her special day will be the half way point and if she can get to that point, then she will make it a few more weeks. Poor child is such a Daddy's girl and tries to be so strong, but she just couldn't help it this morning. Maddi is too little to understand the true concept of time, so she was ok. And Court, she never shows any emotion, so she deals with things in her own little way, but she did really good. I have 3 strong girls and I know that after the first day or so of Daddy being gone, they will be just fine. It is such a beautiful day here in Michigan, so Mark has a perfect day for flying. Please keep him in your prayers and pray that he gets to California safely. Until next time...

Another Bittersweet moment!

2009-02-05T19:43:00.004-05:00

Well it is official! Maddi is registered for Kindergarten. Can not believe that our baby is big enough to be going to "Big Girl" school. I do not know where the time has gone. It seems like only yesterday that Leslea was off to "Big Girl" school herself. It does not take long for them to grow up. It is really sad to realize that our oldest will be in 8th grade this fall and our baby in Kindergarten. I feeling even older when I think of the following year when we have one in high school, one in middle school, and one in elementary school. Lord knows they are getting bigger and I am getting older! Maddi was so excited to go and get registered tonight. She actually made a few of us laugh when we were coming down the hall from the Art room by saying, "Momma this is the BEST day of my life!!!!!!!!!" Too cute. Hope she keeps this attitude until she graduates from high school! Ha! Ha! We all know that won't happen. As long as she can ride the bus, I think that she will remain happy. That is the one thing that she is looking forward to, riding the bus with Leslea. Well tomorrow is a big day for the girls. They have to send their Daddy off to California, so say a little prayer that all goes well. I know that the time will just fly by because they keep us busy. Look at the past week! Something going on everyday and night of the week. It is ok though. It would be really boring if they weren't involved in so much!! Well hope everyone has a good weekend. Looks or should I say, it sounds as if the weather is going to warm up a little. Hope that happens. I can deal with warmer temps and the rain that is supposed to come along with it!!

Maddi in her new school shirt!

Looks WEIRD to see Class of 2022!!

Is it finally gone???

2009-01-29T09:34:00.003-05:00

The bug that is. It has surely been a long week at our house. As you know, Maddi came home Friday not feeling so well, then she was sick again on Saturday night/Sunday morning. After 3 sheet changes and 2 baths from 2:30am-4am, we thought the worst was over! Wrong! Mark got a touch of it starting Sunday, Leslea got it Monday night, I got it early Tuesday morning and was probably the worst out of all of us. I am sure that is because I totally hate getting sick because I can not just sit or lay around and do nothing, but someone had other plans for me b/c I could not move without loosing it. YUCK! Then yesterday Courtney came home after school with a splitting headache and a rumbling tummy. Well needless to say, I had already, once again, disinfected the whole entire house, even opening the windows letting some cold, but fresh air in. I gave her some crackers, sprite, anti-nausea medicine, and she went to bed. She was fine this morning and hopefully escaped the yucky part of it, but time will tell. I just hope and pray that it is long gone. I want no more of that for quite some time. Hopefully we can all get back to feeling 100% because now we have to prepare for Mark to leave next week to go to California for 34 or so days. That will be another adventure in itself. Maddi has never been away from him that long, so it will be interesting to see how she does. Court and Les are used to him being gone, but they have not had to be away from him for this length of time in quite awhile. Hopefully things will go well and as scheduled. It surely will be a huge blessing if it does. Well of course our weekend is busy, so until next time, have a wonderful weekend of your own.

And to think it is only Friday!

2009-01-23T18:22:00.006-05:00

Well it is hard to believe that today is only Friday for us here in the Rose household. The older girls were out of school today, so their weekend started last night. Court and her friend Jillian had Panther Palooza after school yesterday, so they got home around 6pm. Jillian stayed with us for the first time and the girls had a blast. I think that they spent more time texting Alex(a 16 year old from church) then they did doing anything else. They made each other up with make up, did one another's hair, and so on. It really gave Mark and I an insight to what we have to look forward to. Lord help us!! Maddi had school this morning and of course came home sick in her tummy. She is such a drama queen anyway, so you can only imagine what our early afternoon was like. Les already had plans for Kasidy to spend the night, so we did not cancel, but told her Mom that Maddi was not feeling well and she still let her stay with us. Of course I have clorox wiped everything down, sprayed the Lysol all over, washed all pillows, blankets, sheets, comforter, you name it and the poor child had not even puked on anything but the sink. Guess I am a little germ aphobic(sp?), but I would rather be safe than sorry. The crowd at church had this little bug 2 weeks ago, so I am not sure if we are just now catching it or what, but it is short lived, so for that I am thankful! She is back to her normal self right now aggervating the pants off of her sister. I am much happier seperating them because they are fighting and not because one of them is sick. So things have been a little crazy here, but that is actually the norm for us. It is just hard to believe that we still have Saturday and Sunday to get through! Lord I pray we make it! Ha!Ha! We are just really hoping that no one else gets sick! Hope everyone has a good weekend! Until next time...

Les, Court and Jillian just being Tween-age girls

Mark says that Maddi looks like one of the Victoria Secret girls here

Kasidy and Leslea

Poor Maddi not feeling well at all!

Another night of sledding at Pigeon Creek Park

2009-01-19T20:50:00.006-05:00

Well once again we decided to brave the cold temps and go sledding. It was 10 degrees when we started at 6:30pm and when we finished, it was a whopping 6 degrees. Good things we were only out there for an hour and a half. The girls had a good time with their friend Brigitte and Maddi even found her a new little boyfriend. His name is Dylan. Mark actually took a picture of them holding hands coming back up the hill, but when we reviewed them when we got home, he kinda cut most of Dylan out of the picture, so I posted one of them posing for us. Too cute and way too young for this kind of stuff!! Maybe she is going to be the one that we really need to keep our eyes on. Guess you can just call it "cute" at this age. Well that is about it for now! Hope you all have a good week! We are looking forward to seeing a rise in the mercury, but I will believe that one when I see it!

Hope you all have a good weekend!

2009-01-16T10:25:00.005-05:00

Good Friday to all of you. Just thought that we would take a minute to wish you all a wonderful weekend. If it is cold where you are, we hope that you stay warm. That is our plan, but we do have a bit of things going on, so we will have to venture out. The older girls have their GEMS sleepover at the church tonight. They are also going ice skating so they are excited. BRRR!! Tomorrow we have game night at church and Courtney is sleeping over at a friends, so little bit of this and that happening, but nothing too exciting. Here are a few photos from the week. The one of the three of them is silly. They have some pieces from a ball on their noses acting like little turkeys. Don't quite get that one, but that is what they claim to be. Maddi is in the other one pretending to be a little book worm. She loves to have books read her, but she was reading to me with her reading glasses on. And a very dirty face from a fudgesicle that she had just finished. She is too cute and too funny. Have a wonderful weekend!

We are so proud of you Maddi!!

2009-01-14T08:27:00.004-05:00

For those of you that know us pretty well, you know that Maddi has a few sleeping issues. Well my New Year's resolution was/is to make her finally sleep in her own bed for the whole night. I was/am determined to do whatever it takes to make this happen because after almost 4 1/2 years, I think that Mark and I deserve some much needed rest. If we were to get more than 2 or 3 hours of sleep, Lord only knows what life would be like. Anyway, I am sure that I would be scolded by the professionals for going about this like I have, but it seems to work for Maddi and for us, so I will continue to do what we are doing. Instead of rocking her to sleep(a big no no we all know), she goes in her bed with her Daddy or whomever and lays down until she drifts off to sleep. If she sleeps in her bed all night, then she has a wrapped prize in front of her door waiting for her when she wakes up. Most of her prizes have been books, puzzles, coloring books, markers, a new cup, etc. They may not be the most rewarding prizes, but the amount of determination that this has given her to sleep in her own bed has been amazing. So far she has slept in her bed for 5 nights in a row and the first thing that she says when she wakes up is, "Mom make sure you put another prize in front of my door after tonight ok!" We know that she can not receive "prizes" forever, but until she is into a regular routine of doing this, I do not mind spending $.50 to $1.00 a night.Wrong, maybe, but it is working for us. Now the next big hurdle to cross is to get Mom to sleep without wondering or worrying if she is wandering around sometimes ending up downstairs screaming and crying for us and so on. She seemed to only need a few hours of sleep before, but being in her own bed has made her sleep almost 6 or more hours. That is A LOT for her! Maybe we will get her to continue this pattern and we all can learn how to sleep again. I know that I am ready for a good nights rest. It has been a long time and I too need to learn all over again, but it will happen! I am more determined than ever! Looking back, if we could have just put her to bed in her own bed/crib then she may not be as bad as she is, but she has never slept more than a few hours at a time. When she wakes up, she is up and miserable! Leslea was our only child that slept. She was not that great, but she was much better at it than Courtney or Maddi. Well enough for now. We will continue to see how this works out for us and we will be hoping for some sleep filled nights for all of us! Enjoy the rest of the week! Until next time...

Yes we are updating once again!

2009-01-09T21:09:00.012-05:00

This is the second winter that we have spent in Michigan and this is the first time that we have taken our girls to Pigeon Creek to go sledding. It is kind of sad because the park is only like a 2 minute drive from our house, but Maddi was just a little too little last winter. They had a ball tonight. They started out on the smaller of the two hills, and then Les and Court graduated to the bigger hill and had a total blast. I think that we were there for about 2 hours. Going down on the sleds was the easy part, but climbing back up the hill was a little challenging for them. There was nothing but solid ice in most places, so it was a little tricky. It was a lot of work on Maddi's little legs, but she was a trooper and hung in there. Towards the end, Mark would have to pull her back up the hill in her sled, but for the most part, she did great. I am sure that this will be a regular family outting as long as the weather is as good as it was tonight. Here are a few captured moments from our fun filled Friday night!!