Merry Christmas!

Santa came, Santa came!!

It was a very Merry Christmas here at the Rousehouse.

We are blessed with 3 beautiful, active girls.

All of them are at a great age to celebrate the holiday.

They're old enough to appreciate their gifts and

the real reason for the holiday, and they're still

young enough to really enjoy the ... presents!!

Santa brought Jack a great Christmas shirt.

"Thanks a lot Santa!"

Waukee Warrior bags with Walnut Creek towels in them!

Sisterly love~Ella gave Claire a personalized ornament

Claire had to start organizing her loot right away~

Ella was thrilled with the toys and the clothes!

Claire's excitement upon seeing her new itouch!

Ella's excitement upon seeing her new AG Doll, Julie!

Happy little lady~ makes for 1 happy mom too!

Avery with her collection of pillow pets!

It was a great Christmas this year. Yes, the stuff was great.

Lots of presents, lots of wrapping, lots of wishes granted.

But it was also great in another way. Lots of gratitude.

Everyone was happy and appreciative with each other.

There were no cries of "not fair" or "I didn't get that" or

"that's not what I wanted!"

Everyone enjoyed each other.

It was fun to watch the girls, so excited to hand out their presents.

They took such pride in thinking of others this year.

Once the wrapping was cleared and boxes thrown out,

I can say it was a very merry Christmas indeed!

Praise God on this most wonderful day and Thank God

for another great year!

Holiday 2010 Traditions

Two great new traditions were started this year at the Rousehouse

First: Holiday Treat baking with Grammy and the girls~

It all started with a sad and lonely grammy and

traditions of the past.....

As you know, I have 3 sisters and 1 brother in California

and 1 brother in Minnesota. Every year, at least some

fraction of them come home for the holidays, always.

Well, not this year. For the first time ever, I am the

only "Wangerin" child home for Christmas.

This means 3 things: 1. very sad grammy and boppa

2. lots of pressure on me to "entertain" the folks! : )

3. grammy goes a little "coocoo"

Well, by coocoo, I mean she decided to bake. Not just a

batch here or a pan there. I mean, she spent 3 straight days

baking and shaping and rolling and sprinkling.

All with the goal of mailing some "homemade goodness and love"

to the missing siblings.

So, the girls and I headed over there on day 2 to start

a new family tradition, "baking with Grammy!"

Avery spend most of her time with Boppy or the TV

Claire is quite the baker, no surprise


Roll, roll, roll that dough...


Ella even got in on the fun

I had a pretty good time as well, although

my favorite part was the eating...

'Reindeer cookies' were the favorites!

When the cookies cooled and the mess was cleaned,

we vowed to do it again next year no matter

who was in town to enjoy!

Next: my girls and I started our own Rouse tradition.

Pottery painting!

I have always wanted to take the girls to the

local pottery painting store to make unique gifts

for our loved ones, but, you know... Avery.

Well, this year I decided to brave the paint and

breakables and it was great!

The big girls each picked 2 pieces to decorate for

anyone of their choice. They also each painted

an ornament for their school teachers.

Avery painted 3 ornaments (I thought small and flat

would be best for her!)

Besides a few drips here and a "mommy meltdown" there,

we had a great time and can't wait to do it again next year!

If you don't receive one of our one-of-a-kind

creations this year, don't worry, you'll be on the list

for next year!

Avery took it very seriously, at first....

Ella was definitely in her element!

Claire paints like she does everything,

thoughtful, meticulous and lovely~

Happy Holidays to you all!

Enjoy your family traditions this year!

Just a little sample...

This is some video I took of Ave's on Christmas Eve morning.

I love it because it shows so many of the great sides of Avery ~

"grumpy Avery" - with the scowl

"funny Avery" - laugh, funny talk

"annoyed Avery" - "forget it!, I'm leaving!"

"crazy Avery" - "Pillow Pet" in scary voice

"teenage Avery" - "oh mother..." (at the very end)

She really is quite the character, and I love every one of them!

White Christmas!

God blessed us with every child's dream

A White Christmas!

We took advantage of the beautiful snow

and warmer temps on Christmas Eve Day

to go out and play in the snow!

Avery's snow angel ~

Ella's awesome snow man ~

Poor Dad, less play and more work!