RouseHouse 8th Annual Easter Eggstravaganza!

I can't believe we have been hosting our

Easter Eggstravaganza for 8 years!

It all started the first year we lived at the

house on Terrace Dr.  The neighbors wanted

to get together and have a "block egg hunt".

Well, by the time it was all said and done,

it was at our house! : )

That first year wasn't quite as big as it is today,

and it didn't include craft, snack or egg-dying,

but it was still fun.  And, we've been adding friends

and fellowship every year since!

Thanks to a wonderful trip to Jamaica for Dave and I,

our party was on Easter Day this year.

Despite the busy weekend, our "usual crew" were

all able to make it.

We had a fabulous time making cupcakes, dyeing eggs,

playing games, and of course, hunting for eggs!

Thank you to our dear family, friends and "extended family"

for celebrating this Holy and wonderful day with us!

God has blessed us with an amazing 'village' to raise

our kids with and we are very grateful for each of you!

And, to make it even more special, cousin Sophie was able

to enjoy her very first RouseHouse Easter party!

We can't wait for her to come back next year and get

in on the egg hunt too!

The basket toss is a favorite game ~

Even Sophie tried to get in on the fun!

Everyone got to decorate their own cupcakes this year.

I think that suited Avery quite well ~

Yes, very well indeed!  Wow, that's a cupcake!

Next was the egg dyeing.  Amazingly enough,

we have never had an "accident" yet. 

Just lots of very colorful eggs ~

Friends are what it's all about ~

Nice job Claire ~

Three great kids, lifelong friends!

What a great bunch of kiddos!

Our little Easter "bunnies" ~

The Egg Hunt~

 Happy Easter to all our friends and family!

Outtakes ~

Pictures are great, but rejected pictures are even better!

Enjoy a few of my favorites from this Easter weekend!

"I can only sit nice for so long!"

"Oh mom! Seriously!"

"We're going to take this family picture.  You're going to smile.

And you're going to like it, now!"

Enjoy your family, even when they aren't 'picture perfect'!

Happy Easter!

Christ is Risen. He is Risen indeed!

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter again this year.

I love this time of year.  Celebrating Easter.

Celebrating Spring.  Celebrating Family.

We were extra blessed this year because

cousin Sophie spent Easter with us!

You'll see much more about that in later posts!

As for the Rousehouse, we did are usual celebrations.

Church with Grammy and Boppa, church at Hope,

Easter party at the Rousehouse,

Easter baskets and candy all weekend!

As our spirits are lifted, and our families begin

to dig out from the winter hideouts, we want

to remind everyone to count their blessings.

When we have friends, family and God on our side,

nothing can stop us!  Enjoy the season!

My sweet, sweet Ella ~

3 precious angels ~

1 happy family ~

Cousins!

Candy!

Egg head ~

Mommy egghead ~

God bless you our dear friends and family.

We love you all very much and are so grateful that

we get to share, not only holidays, but everyday

moments with you too!

Oh, those crazy kids!

As my baby grows so quick, I'm trying to take the time

to jot down some of the hilarious things she says and does.

Avery keeps us laughing all of the time!

Sometimes it's sweet, sometimes it's naughty

but with Avery, it's alway funny!

Today I'm working in my office and Avery says,

"mom, close your eyes and come to the kitchen"

While this is never a good sign, I go ahead and do it.

"Avery's Animal Haircutting Place!" She yells excitedly

as I turn the corner to the kitchen.

Notice the decorated, and cut (her favorite thing lately)

placemat her brand new hampster is sitting on for his haircut.

Even better, after she was done with "Douglas" she told

me to sit down so she could give me a cut.  I passed!

When Avery isn't busy cutting her lovey's hair,

you'll find her talking about Jesus.

I remember all of my girls going through this phase.

I like to call it the "Jesus is my friend, where is he?" phase.

I love it!  This is right about the time that they have

learned how much Jesus loves them.  That He is always

there to take care of them, watch out for them, etc.

But it also the developmental age that makes

understanding that which we don't see or touch difficult.

So, I know Jesus is real and He loves me so....

as Avery said the other night before bed,

"Mama, can you call Jesus and ask him to come

to my house tomorrow for a playdate?"

Jesus is real and He loves her, now can He play

tea party too???

When we aren't busy laughing (lovingly) at Avery we

are enjoying the "big girls".

Claire is having a great week!  Swim team started again

and she is testing for ELP (Talented and Gifted).

I told her that it's an honor just to have high enough

grades and scores to test, and I'm proud of her even

if she doesn't get in next year.  Kind of like the same

way it's an honor just to be nominated (yea right!) ; )

Claire also was blessed to attend 1st Communion classes

and receive her 1st Communion on Maundy Thursday.

It was so special to celebrate this huge spiritual

and "grown-up" milestone with our best friends

and family.  Thank you to everyone who came and

made it so special. 

I could not be more proud of Claire and the truly good,

inside and out, girl that she is growing up to be!!

Ella is having a great week as well!

She is also excited about the start of "summer" swim team.

She is also having a great week playing with friends.

Ella is finally creating some great neigborhood friendships

on her own, as opposed to the "little sister".

She has really formed some good, close friends lately

and it's fun to watch her enjoy more playdates and

even a sleepover here and there.

Another great playdate opportunity is big sister's

softball games.  While Claire has fun playing ball,

Ella has a great time playing with all of the

"little sisters".  We are lucky to have some great

families on our team this year, and a great coach as well.

Thanks Grandpa Johnson for coaching the Pirates!!

All in all, spring is off to a good start.

Enjoy a few of Avery's latest "one-liners" ~

~ I'm going to sue you!

~ These flowers look condemned!

~ I need a rope. I'm going up to see Jesus.

~ After whining to her teacher to zip her coat, the teacher

finally tells her to use her "big girl words".  Avery response,

"oh forget it!" and walks away to find someone else to help her!

~ mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama??????

~ I love you!



1st Communion

Easter was extra special for us this year, because Claire completed

her 1st Communion classes and received her 1st Communion

on Maundy Thursday.

Hope celebrated 1st Communion with over 200 kids this year

and I really enjoyed going through the process with Claire.

The 2 classes were both interesting and fun.

That is one of the many things I love about our church.

They find a way to teach meaningfully, yet in a way that is fun

and makes you want to learn more.

On Maundy Thursday we got together with our "best family friends"

The Liskeys and all of our families, and celebrated Claire and Katie's

special night.  It was wonderful to be able to celebrate with so

many people that love our girls very much!

Claire, supported by her Godmother Ashley and

Godfather John.  Two very important people in her life!

Claire taking her 1st Communion with Wendy!

What a blessing to have Wendy there to be a part of this moment.

Of course, that didn't help the tears any!

God bless you girls.  Stay faithful to God, serve along side

each other, and be accountable to one another.

Always stand by each other with integrity, love and faith.

We love you very much!

God bless our child and our family ~

Elle, Elle, the Science Gal!

While Dave and I were toiling away in Jamaica,

Ella participated in her first Science Fair!

She worked hard with Grammy, Boppa and a couple of friends

to come up with an exciting, and educational display.

She had a great time making it and an even better time showing it.

We are so proud of Ella for doing something outside of her comfort zone,

and especially with mom and dad out of the country.

Despite a few nerves, she was brave and articulate and did

a great job presenting her science experiment and what she learned.

Way to go Ella!

Tornado! by Ella Rouse

Her experiment was a hit!  All of the kids wanted to check it out!

Now that's an Iowa tornado!

My proud little scientist!



Good night and God bless ~

The quality isn't the best due to the low light,

but the sweet sound comes through beautifully.

Sweet dreams from my sweet baby ~