A Life Well Lived...A Beautiful Legacy

This week, I had to say "good-bye" to a dear man. Mind you, not a final "good-bye," for I know he put his trust in our Savior, Jesus Christ, so I will be seeing him again someday. Smeltzer Charles Rose went home to be with the Lord on Monday, April 18th, 2011...just a few hours before his 92nd birthday. To me, he was Grandpa Rose, regardless of the fact that we were not blood-related. The Bowersox family was gracious enough to "share"him with me...something I will be forever grateful for. Some of the best memories from my life happened on Grandma and Grandpa Rose's farm in Galipolis, Ohio. Feeding the cows; gathering eggs from the chicken coop; going frog hunting, knee-deep in the pond; ridin' the tractor while it spread manure (who know getting hit by a random piece of dried manure could be fun?); going down to the creek to catch crawdads and skip rocks; working the meat from a freshly butchered cow; playing Carrom out in the screened in porch; getting our first try at driving - in my mind, I can still hear the crunch of the tires on the gravel; learning a lesson in patience, which involved Beth, Brian and I deciding we could clear our own path to the creek....ended up getting into a bunch of nettles. Wish there was a video of us trying to run back to the house while scratching and digging our arms and legs, then being hosed off and sent to the basement with Comet and scouring pads to get the boogers off our skin. I could go on and on. But I do have to mention one last memory. The first time I ever went to the farm, we stopped at a McDonalds. I had just known Grandma and Grandpa Rose for a few minutes...but leave it to me to make an impression. Can't really say why I was doing this, but I decided to twist the ketchup packets in half like little bows. As I lifted one up to pretend it was a hair bow, the thing exploded. I was quite embarrassed and didn't know to expect a scolding or not. How relieved I was when there was laughter instead!

I got the privilege of going to hospice Sunday evening and getting to tell Grandpa, "thank you" and "I love you." I count that as a gift to have been welcomed to come and give honor to such a gentle man. Since then, I have been pondering how very important our legacy is. What memories and thoughts will my loved ones have of me? While it is strange to think about, it is very much a reminder about what is important in life and what's not.

Happy Birthday, Bertha!

Beth with son #3

Just wanted to shout out a "Happy Birthday!" to my dear friend, Beth (a.k.a. Bertha), a beautiful person on the inside and out! What a blessing she has been in my life. The days of us spending those carefree summer days on the farm or at camp are long gone. Now, we get to watch our kiddos enjoy similar memories. And while our adventures have changed, you betcha that we still have them! Trash pickin' in the late night hours, spending hours in Applebee's to have kid-less debriefing sessions, setting up our garage sales despite pending storms looming over our heads in high hopes that it would just "blow over." What I appreciate about Beth the most is that she is real! I know I can come to her seeking advice, prayer, encouragement...whatever...and her response is always real. Her passion is real! Her love for her family is real! Her love for the Lord is real! And I tell you what...real is refreshing. So, Happy Birthday, Beth. I love you, girl!

Lid's Skating Party

It has been over a month since I posted. Life in the month of March/beginning of April has been slightly CRAZY!! Lydia's party was a success as you will see from the pics below, but I ended up coming down with strep throat the day of her party. Being hopeful that it was allergies acting up, I suffered through and enlisted the help of others to help me serve, just in case I was truly sick. I am happy to report I did not spread the love to anyone. Although it was utterly awful to get strep, I was ever so grateful to get sick when I did, because the next weekend proved to be a very memorable one that I would've been sad to miss. For that was the weekend we threw my sister's baby shower at the church, complete with fire alarms going off 10 min. before it started and the fire depart. coming (some casseroles had bubbled over and were smoking badly). And then, somehow knowing her parents had all the things needed to care for her, my niece decided she was ready to be born. I got a call that very night (actually 2 a.m.) from my sis telling me her water had broken and they were on the way to the hospital. Anna Jane was born the next day at 2:41 p.m., I believe. Of course, she will get her own post, but it'll have to wait until I get my camera back from her parents =0). I love her so, so much already! Since then, I've gotten as many baby fixes I can and have enjoyed spending time with my sister, too. Throw spring break week in there, where we got to spend some time in Indy with family, as well as a busy week last week with our church's missions conference...and there, think I've mostly summed it up. Enjoy the pics from Lydia's 8th birthday party...as you'll be able to see, it was a roller skating party. Originally, she was just going have a couple friends over for a sleep over, but I discovered how inexpensive this place was (Skyborn Skateland) from a party Jake and Lydia were invited to a couple of weeks prior. In hindsight, I am soo glad she chose this over the sleepover with me getting sick. Thanks, Lid! The cake...a 2 layered German chocolate cake with homemade butter cream icing. I made a batch of rice krispies and molded it into a boot shape for the skate. This was the first time I worked with fondant, so it was challenging, but fun! The boot is covered in fondant and the letters and hearts are fondant as well. Used candy necklace pieces for the eyelets for the laces. I was going to use licorice strips for the laces, but what I had wasn't long enough. My mom had come over and she suggested just piping the laces. Well, I need lots of practice with piping, and my mom was up for the challenge. Way to go, Mom/Grandma! They turned out great! And the wheels are mini chocolate donuts. I didn't take into account the fact that the weight of the rice krispie and fondant would crush the donut, so I just placed them beside the boot. I was given suggestions by a certain someone. Next time, *cough Dan cough* I will do better on the wheels. =0) But I'd say for my first time doing a cake like this, it wasn't too shabby. I am really excited to start the cake decorating classes Dan got me for Valentine's day!

Playing with Barbies before it's time to get ready.

Never have I known two girls more girly-girl than these two. Did that even make sense?

Laced up and ready to get on the rink! *Grandma Ernst watching in the background...how nice it was to have them there that weekend, too!*

How many adults does it take to help lace up 11 pairs of skates?

Silly group photo

Somehow, we managed to squish all these kids around 2 tables.

Getting ready to sing "Happy Birthday" to Miss Lid.

Cutting the skate...I was using lots of hand sanitizer.

Had to include this pic of Lydia starting to open her gifts. We got her that dvd, but you would have thought we gave it to Claire. She LOVES, LOVES, LOVES to watch "Ramona and Bevus" and would watch it everyday if she was allowed.

Her gift from her cousin...thanks Noelani! Lydia loves her pretty-pretties, just like you!

Finally, at the very end, Claire decides to skate. Once she got the right ones, she was having the time of h er life! I'd say a good time was had by all!