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!

My Liddy Bug Is Eight Already!?!

Eight years ago today, the Lord blessed us with one special little girl (correction...she was really a big girl weighing in at 8lbs. 13 oz.). What a precious day that was to welcome another child into our family. We didn't know if this new baby would be a boy or a girl and we were quite excited to find out! I remember we weren't sure for another boy's name and we were discussing it back and forth while I labored. This time around, the process was sooo much easier than with Jakers, so it was light-hearted joking happening when someone mentioned Lester. Well, the first thing I recall when baby was being born was my mom exclaiming, "It's got chubby cheeks!" Shortly thereafter, the doctor chimes in, saying, "It's a Lesterette!" And this is how I received the joyful news that I had a daughter.
Lydia, you captured our hearts from the beginning and it has been a wonderful eight years since that day, March 10, 2003. There is so much that I love about you, Lid. You are a loving and caring child and you were nicknamed, "So Sweet Lid," at a young age. You aren't afraid of a challenge and you aren't afraid to fail at something and try again. You have a passion for the things you love...reading, writing your own stories, your friends, and I can't forget your sense of fashion. Even as a toddler, you loved your "pretty-pretties!" I believe I will be taking lessons from you soon.
Lydia, my prayer for you is that you will grow to become a woman who continues to love the Lord and serve Him. That you take that passion you have shown us and use it for the Lord's Glory. He loves you so much more than I/we ever could and it is exciting to think about what God has planned for your life.

You will always be mommy's little girl! I love you so much!

A Poll

So, I know some of you who read this and don't comment. And I am totally ok with that...however, I am presenting you with the golden opportunity! No giveaways or anything exciting like that, but I am in need of some advise.

When we bought our house, we knew we were going to re-do every room. Not a question in my mind about it. Our kitchen had the lovely 70's wallpaper color theme of burnt orange and lime green. And carpet that was supposed to look like tile. Yeah, you read that right. I wish I had a picture to share of that classy stuff but that was back in the day before we had a digital camera.

During the last 11 years we have lived here, we have slowly, but surely made those transformations. And we are currently in the middle of two more. Dan is building us a cabinet/shelving unit floor to almost ceiling in our lower level. I am super excited for this! While he has been working on this, I have been stripping off the dreaded wallpaper again. But at least, this time it was wallpaper we applied. I stripped off what was under the chair rail in our kitchen. A lot of this paper was torn and scuffed up. So, my goal is just to give it a fresh look. Now, here is where the advice part comes in. Originally, I was leaning toward just painting it a neutral tan/beige color. If we decide to try and sell our house, that seems like a safer option. However, I have always liked color. And if I knew we were going to live here a while longer, my choice would be to put a fun shade up. There are many different colors in our wallpaper above the chair rail, so I have a few options. Green is out... I think there is enough green in our front room. And we have a lot of red downstairs in the golden/red room. My favorite color is purple and there is a pretty plum shade in the wallpaper. So, that is probably what my choice would be. Dan says we should go with it. That even if we were to put the house on the market, the chances of the next buyers wanting to change it all up are probable...like we did when we bought our house.

So, the official pole question:
Should I
a. play it safe and paint it a neutral shade
or
b. go with color!

Just A Few Things I Want To Remember

A little randomness in no particular order:

Lydia's idea for a girly-girl nose plug...maybe they distribute these on The Loving (and looping) Airplane.

"Stisters" as Claire would say. There are a lot of squabbles in our house. I know, I'm sure that is shocking to hear. But I love it when I find our kiddos getting along..had to capture this as evidence.
We had a great time in the end of December when Uncle Rich, Aunt Araceli, and Noelani came and visited for a few days. Here is the only decent shot I got of the 4 cousins. Not too shabby, considering...

I had this to work with.

Glued to the tube, watching one of our favorites...

NACHO LIBRE!!!!

Two "reject" pancakes Dan made. Coincidentally, I gave Dan a new pancake griddle for Christmas. I expect no more sad looking pancakes.

We went out to one of our favorite restaurants to celebrate Dan getting a job. It was fun to hang out with 15 family and friends...and Bucca's was the best place to do that since you can be LOUD AND CRAZY! (Lydia is doing a great job demonstrating that).

No more pictures for now, but here are a few verbal memories to share...

*Jake woke up on Monday telling me he had dreamed he lost his tooth. We went about the morning and I took the kids to school. Later, at supper time, Jake was laughing about something. I asked Jake to smile, he did, and I discovered it had not been just a dream. He had more of a "whole-y smile." We still have not found the tooth...I'm wondering if he swallowed it.

*Was reading to Claire the other day and I grabbed the next book on the stack, which happened to be a Little Mermaid book. Don't know what was going through her mind, but I heard her mutter, "Ariel and the three wise men." Hmmm, now that would be an interesting book.

*In love with Mr. Bean

This summer, I had taken the kids to a free movie at the theatre. I believe it was called Mr. Bean's vacation. I wasn't sure if they would like the unusual humor, especially Claire, but they all enjoyed it. Enough so, that when I was at a garage sale this past fall, I nabbed a collection of 3 Mr. Bean VHS tapes. I had wrapped them up for Christmas. Claire has been asking and asking to watch them, so last night, while the ice storm was hitting us hard, we started watching Mr. Bean, vol. 1. There were lots of giggles, so I think the love of Mr. Bean continues.

If We Are The Body

It's crowded in worship today As she slips in Trying to fade into the faces
The girls' teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know Farther than they know

CHORUS But if we are the Body Why aren't His arms reaching Why aren't His hands healing Why aren't His words teaching And if we are the Body Why aren't His feet going Why is His love not showing them there is a way There is a way

A traveler is far away from home He sheds his coat And quietly sinks into the back row The weight of their judgmental glances tells him that his chances Are better out on the road

CHORUS But if we are the Body Why aren't His arms reaching Why aren't His hands healing Why aren't His words teaching And if we are the Body Why aren't His feet going Why is His love not showing them there is a way

Jesus paid much too high a price For us to pick and choose who should come And we are the Body of Christ Chorus (2x) If we are the body Why aren't His arms reaching Why aren't His hands healing Why aren't His words teaching And if we are the body Why aren't His feet going Why is His love not showing them there is a way Jesus is the way

This song by Casting Crowns has been coursing though my brain for much of this month. Can't seem to get it out of my head. Not that I want to though. I'm sure a huge reason for this is something I have been meaning to share on my blog for some time...but time has escaped me lately. But it is so worth sharing! We have some wonderful friends, Beth and Ryan Riddell. Beth has been a childhood friend and I don't know what I would do without the love and support she has given me over especially the last few years. Her husband is a pastor and he felt the Lord was calling him to take a big step. For the entire of month of January he has been "homeless." He has been sleeping in a van at night. During the daytime hours, he has been finding the homeless, connecting with them, hearing their story, and sharing the love of Jesus with them. One of his goals he felt the Lord wanted him to do was to raise awareness for the kids who are aging out of the foster care system and ending up on the streets. He is trying to also raise money to give to the New Family Tree ministry located here in Dayton, Ohio. To learn more about this ministry, you can go to www.newfamilytree.net Also, if you are interested in the journey Ryan has gone on, he has a video blog that he has kept up with at www.30dayshomeless.tv

God has done some amazing things already, including the salvation of 4 people who came to the church Ryan pastors at. He has allowed Ryan's story to have been aired on some local television stations. He was also K-Love's featured story of the day once this month and even had a comic written about him. Obviously, Ryan and Beth point all the good that has come of this situation back to our Heavenly Father. Please be in prayer for Ryan as he finishes out the month. And for Beth and the boys, as they are ready to have their husband/daddy home!

Back to the Casting Crowns song...yesterday, once again, I was singing this song in my head, but for a different reason. I found out some pretty sad news. A couple of years ago, when I worked in the child care room at work, I met a family who had just come to the States from the Middle East (can't remember exactly where). The mom was so sweet and even though we had a language barrier between us, a small bond was formed. They had two children who were only a year apart in age. I didn't see the mom at all last year, since I quit working. But it has been fun to reconnect with her in the hallways this year with Claire going to preschool. Anyhow, her daughter, who was Claire's age, passed away a couple of weeks ago. No one had told me because they forgot I had that connection to the family. Needless to say I was shocked and it felt like someone had kicked me hard in the stomach. I hugged the mom and told her I would pray. My mind raced to this song wondering how "if I am the body," how can I reach and touch this family in a meaningful way?