I have 3 kids.....

When people ask me how many kids I have I say, "3. Two big girls and the baby."
Well, no more. Today, I have 3 big girls!


We spent the weekend painting, moving, packing, unpacking, sorting, storing, and building to create 3 "big-girl" rooms for our angels.


Our goals:
Claire - new pink room, new desk, no more bunk bed
Ella - new storage, new dresser, no more armoire
Avery - new art work, new bed, new dresser, no more changing table, no more crib


My goals:
Don't cry through the whole thing!


Here are some before and during pics as the process began:



Tearing down the bunk bed, finally!!



Ella's room. Where does she get all this stuff?!



Storing, sorting, and passing down....



My baby's room. We have used this crib and changing
table for all 3 girls. I'm sad to see it go, and yet also
excited for the future.


No more changing table. Too bad I can't
say the same for the diapers!

The process has begun. A few tears here, but not too bad.

Avery and Jack were "great" helpers!

Stay tuned for the After pics. They are beautiful!

Avery's Preschool Parade

One of the best things about my part-time job as an Academic Advisor is that Avery gets to go to preschool at the Child Development Center.
This place is amazing!
The teachers and staff are incredible.
They have the best activities and facility.
And, best of all, they do cool stuff! This year they celebrated the Week of the Young Child.
As part of the celebration, the kids participated in a parade around campus!
Avery enjoyed dressing in her favorite princess dress and walking around, but she held on to the candy for herself!

These are the days that I love

Beautiful weather.
Dad takes Claire to softball.
Mom plays with the other 2 outside.
We all meet at Grammy's for dinner.
Dad takes Ella to softball.
Mom goes to her PTO meeting.
We all come back home and snuggle with books before bed.


I love these days. I love my family. I love having a husband who is actively and wonderfully involved in the raising of our children.
I love having so many caring Grandparents to help raise our girls. I love that my girls get to know them so well. That they have other adults to turn to for support and love.
I love the opportunities my girls have. The softball, the swimming, the school activities, the neighborhood fun, the friends.
I love being home with Aves. I love going to PTO and being an active part of my girls' school.
I love my girls. I love their giggles, their grumpies, their gifts. I love watching them grow, and learn, and discover.
I love being reminded how precious this life is. How important it is that I look for the good, that I slow down and enjoy it.
Thank you, dear God, for my busy, beautiful life!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from the RouseHouse!
We had a great day celebrating with Grammy and Boppa and Aunt Laura.
We missed the rest of our family, and can't wait to see you all very soon!

The annual, and always interesting, Easter family portrait!



(Princess) Grammy, Boppa and the girls

(Ella was in a candy-coma, I believe!)


Oh, those girls!



Beautiful, and surprisingly peaceful, baby Avery



The big girls and Jack



One more egg hunt for good measure!






Avery, and Jack, digging into their loot!

I hope this Easter was a peaceful and joyful one for all of you.

My prayers are with those families who are struggling this year.

I pray for peace, understanding, healing and faith.

I pray for my brother and his wife as they get ready to have their

first baby girl.

I thank God, with humility and profound gratitude, for the health

of my children today. I thank God for my family, my friends, and

all the blessings that have come our way this year.

I ask that God continue to remind me to slow down and enjoy the

life he has been given me.

Amen

Easter Eggstravaganza!

Every year, the RouseHouse hosts our annual Easter Eggstravaganza!
We love celebrating God's love with our friends, and Easter is the perfect time to do it!

This year Ella helped me by decorating all of the cupcakes. She did a great job!



One of our favorite games is the Easter basket egg toss. (Just think Bozo the clown)
The kids loving getting to pick a prize from each basket, can't get enough pencils and erasers! : )

The best part, at least for all those moms who don't want to deal with egg dye at home, Easter Egg Decorating!

This year we opted to move the egg dyeing to the garage and it was a huge hit!

Egg decorating is serious business.....

Avery colored eggs for the first time this year. She tackled it with great enthusiasm, as she does everything else!

Decorating with friends is always the best!

Finally, the egg hunt! The "dads" hid over 200 eggs this year!

The kids found all but 1, not bad odds.

Great friends, great Easter, great times!

I feel so blessed to have so many wonderful friends in my life!

I love having the opportunity to spend time with them, both new and old.

To share the blessings of our lives together.

Thank you for loving me, loving my kids, and continuing to create

traditions together!

God bless and Happy Easter!

Minneapolis Marathon Weekend

Claire was lucky enough to qualify for Regionals in swimming this year. The meet was at the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis, so we decided to have a marathon weekend of fun!

We packed a lot of fun in a small amount of time, but no one seemed to mind!

We spent two days at the Mall of America. One whole afternoon just on the rides!

Avery loved the Merry Go Round. She also liked making sure we were following "map".

The great thing about Avery, even at an amusement park, she can make her own fun!

The big girls loved the log ride. Lucky Mom and Dad each got to ride it several times!

Our next stop was the Aquarium. The RouseHouse loves a good Aquarium.

Ella, my beautiful treasure!

Of course, we couldn't go to the MOA without a trip, a very long trip, to the American Girl Store.

First a little dinner with our dolls, then a lot of shopping! Avery even got in on the shopping fun this year!

Finally, the swim meet. The two day event was a great learning experience for us all. It was a bit overwhelming, but by the end of the second day, we felt pretty good.

Claire did great! She led off her relay team to a 12th place finish, good enough for her first Regionals ribbon!

She also competed in an individual event, and while nervous, still managed to keep her qualifying time!

Best part, she did it! She worked hard, trained hard, and learned a lot! Way to go Claire!

The other best part, our team won! Walnut Creek Dolphins took 1st again this year! What a privilege to be a part of such a great, and winning team!

Claire and her relay team.

Avery passed the time with a little Diego on the Ipod.

Finally, the water park. Between the swim meet, the Aquarium, the Mall of America and the AG store, we found some time to relax at the waterpark in our hotel. All three of my little fish really enjoyed it.

A great weekend was had by all! Now I need a vacation! : )

Happy Birthday Baby!

2 1/2 years ago the RouseHouse was good. Mommy and Daddy were happy. We had two beautiful, sweet and smart girls. We enjoyed going out to eat and sitting at any table or booth. We enjoyed picking up our friends and all riding together, comfortably, in our minivan. We enjoyed going for walks, and when our 2 little girls got tired, we'd each carry one. Ahh, yes, life was good at the Rousehouse. But, there was something missing. Something was not quite right. It seemed almost too quiet, too peaceful, too well organized. Then we discovered what we were missing.... Our baby Avery!

Yes, now when we dine out, it's a large table please. When we carpool, it's a little squished. When we go for walks, we're out numbered. But, we are even happier! We are even more blessed. We are never bored!

We love you baby Avery. Happy 1/2 birthday!