Thanks to Grandma Ginny, you now get to see my little bugs growing up right before your eyes! Yes, that's right. I have a digital video recorder. The best part, it's the size of a deck of cards so I can take it everywhere. Yes, you'll see videos of Avery eating, walking, falling and sleeping. You can see videos of Ella dancing and Claire swimming. My oh my, the possibilities!

Now, don't worry. I won't bore you with endless hours of my little angels in every possible display of cuteness. I'll limit the videos to small enough times as to keep you awake!

And, the best part. When I'm convinced that I've done it all wrong. When I'm sure that my children are damaged or undisciplined or just plain out to get me. I can go back and watch these videos and remind myself of just how amazing these little creatures from God really are!

Thanks for sharing in our lives! And don't forget, if you like following my blog, register as a follower on the right side. It's easy to leave comments and fun to see whose watching!

Enjoy your weekend, school starts Monday!!!!!! : )

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!
We here at the Rouse House want to wish you all the best this coming year. We hope that all your dreams come true and resolutions are fulfilled. Although, really, are resolutions so great? That has been the thought nagging at me all day.

At the beginning of 2008 I made my yearly resolutions: exercise, eat better, yell less, love more, slow down. The same "goals" I'd been setting for several years. Well, as many of you know, I didn't exactly excel at my resolutions. I'm busier than ever. Still don't exercise and I eat chocolate and Diet Pepsi for breakfast. I'm known as a bit of a yeller and could probably work on the lover part too! On top of all that, this year didn't go exactly as I planned. Maybe that's the problem. Maybe I'm taking the wrong approach. This year, no resolutions. Instead, I'm praying. This prayer was sent to me today through my daily devotion. I found it fitting. Instead of planning what I can and should do this year I'm going to pray for what God would have me do. I bet that if I follow God instead of my ideas, some of those old resolutions just might make it into my life!

Father, You are Holy and call us to be Holy. Yet, we confess that so often our hearts wander from You, our speech does not glorify You, and our actions do not honor You.
Soften our hearts to receive the words Your sweet Spirit has to speak to us.
Clothe us with humility. Take away our desire to always be right and have our own way.
Help us to seek Your Word in all that we say and do.
Help us to submit to Your Word; allow it to penetrate those deep places in our hearts that resist change.
If necessary, put us through the refiner’s fire to burn off those things that keep us from walking in step with Your character.

Give us hearts that love and seek after Truth above all else.
Give us wisdom and discernment to reject the lies of this world and the evil one.
Guide us into all Truth. Guard our hearts and keep our eyes fixed on You.
Grow in us those things that will make us more like You.
As we study Your Word, fill us and saturate us with You!

Today, Father, we surrender our thoughts, our speech, and our hearts.
Thank You that You are Faithful and True. We trust You will do a mighty work in us and through us this year and carry it on to completion until the day we step into eternity with You.
Help us to trust in You with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding.
Help us to acknowledge You in all our ways so that we can hear Your voice as You say, “This is the way, walk in it.”

Lord, we love You and thank You that You love us. May our lives be a living testimony of You. We ask this in the powerful and mighty name of Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord who will do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Resolutions? Prayers? Planning? Accepting? However you start your year, however you live your year, we hope it's the best year it can be! I know ours will be, even if it's a little bumpy!

I want to thank my many friends out there who have stood by me, held me up, made me laugh, let me cry and just over all blessed my life in 2008. I don't say it enough, but I love ya!

If you liked the prayer, check out www.proverbs31.org

Cascade

Happy New Year's Eve everyone!
The girls and I just got back from a little post-holiday clothes shopping. What a nightmare! I have to admit I'm so ready for the girls to go back to school. It's not that I don't love spending all the extra time with them, I do. I'm just tired of the bickering! The constant tattling, whining, complaining, arguing, fighting, temper-tantrum throwing, grabbing, snipping on and on and on. Add Averyinto the mix, and well, that is more than any mere mortal can handle!

So anyway, we get home from the mall, I put the baby down for nap and send the girls downstairs to play and I plop in front of my computer for some "down" time. Check my email and head to MSN to catch up on the happenings of the day. I click to watch a video and it begins with a Cascade commercial. You know the one? It's talking about the holidays and it goes through all these different families sitting down to dinner; small families, new families, old families, lonely families, laughing families, baby's first holiday dinner. The tears start coming! How can a commercial bring me to such tears? Because it reminds me again of what is truly important. Family!

They may bicker and fight, but they won't forever. One day I'll wake up and realize my house is totally quiet and wonder why. Then I'll remember, they're gone. Those 3 little girls have grown up and moved out. (Hopefully off to college!) So for today, I'm going to try to relish in the noise and cut them a little slack. I'm going to enjoy the constant stream of questions from Ella and the music coming from Claire's room. I'm going to get on the floor and play ball with Avery and read with Claire. I may even do some art with Ella!

Have a great New Year! I'm off to the kitchen. We've got some Easy Bake Oven cooking to do!