We drove over to Kessler's Tree Farm for a Christmas tree today. Unbelievably warm weather, so it didn't quite seem like "Christmas weather." More importantly, it's not suitable for hunting deer. Today was opening day for rifle season, so the orange could be seen throughout the surrounding woods. Dan was lamenting the fact that there was no snow and that the deer would not be about, but I saw a dozen on my jog up the road and about nine on the way back down. Who knows?!? What would you do to cool the meat down with temps in the 50's?
Tomorrow we hope to get some lights & ornaments on the tree. Our deck has some lovely clear lights decorating the railing. I love cheery lights! The more the merrier!

Thanksgiving 2006. We had such a nice, quiet day at home -- just the seven of us. Wednesday I spent a good portion of the day in the kitchen making jello, cranberry bread, pies, sweet potatoe souffle, etc. It would make the next day more restful! Wednesday night we attended the Thanksgiving Service at church where we looked at Deut. 8. This passage was in my Beth Moore study. It would come up again during the 30-hr Famine. Was the Lord trying to tell me something or what?!?
The girls played with their American Girl dolls. The boys played nicely as well. I was able to get some photos in an album before 11:00. Then we started to work on mashed potatoes, fresh bread, setting the table and baking all of the side dishes. The turkey was smelling GOOD! We ate about 1pm. Later that day we enjoyed a game of dominoes. Briella was excited to make her own train and she ended up winning the game! Daddy followed with a close second and Jared came in third.
Although we desparately missed being with family, it was restful and relaxing to have a quiet day at home.

Biography Dress-up Night was Monday, November 13, 2006.


Here we have Johnny Appleseed, whose favorite book was the Bible and favorite place was being alone in the woods; Marie Curie, the scientist who invented radium and the first woman to win the Nobel prize;
Johnny's big sister Elizabeth Chapman who took care of him when their mother died while the two youngsters waited for their father to return from the Revolutionary War in NY; and Willa Cather the author who spent her formative years in Red Cloud, Nebraska.

Briella's cast is removed! Nov. 10, 2006:

The latest in fun at the Rose house : "Rock-n-Roll in my car jammies!"

Haven't had much time for keeping you posted. Here's a quick photo from a family camping trip with several friends from Iowa. 

Jared's birthday bash was Friday afternoon. He didn't want any presents except for a cap gun. He wanted all of his friends to come over for a party. So, we went all out on a great big guy party. Look for all the photos on dotphoto.com. In the meantime, here's one of the guys at the mess hall. If you are looking through dotphoto, you might wonder what in the world is happening with Marci & her friend, Olivia. Well, Drill Sargeant Daddy decided to take the new recruits out in the woods for a search & rescue operation. It was great fun for all, except when one of the rotting pieces of wood snapped & the rescuers nearly dropped the rescuees! The boys had fun on the tire swing to close the festivities. It was a great time of visiting, playing, and eating for all! Grandpa Nelson, you'd be proud to know that we baked apple pie instead of cake again this year.

I let each one choose a favorite activity outdoors for picture time. This caused Emily to have to think hard. Daddy finally found something for her to do outdoors! She LOVED it, of course.

What beautiful faces, eh? Okay, I'm just a little biased :) It's a great time of year and we finally got a sunny day, the mowing was completed and it was a fun time to romp around to each child's favorite spot for a photo. Next, look for each one doing their favorite thing...

Back to school photos! Here's the first happy student :)

Okay, here are the rodeo photos!

Briella milks the cow. Part of playing Farmer for A Day at the Harford Fair. After all of her hard farm work, she gets free Frito Lay chips & milk!







Well, the latest excitement in Susquehanna County is, of course, The Harford Fair! Pictured above you'll see the kids posing with the queen and her assistant. They helped hand out Fritos for a photo-op.
You'll also notice the Kiddie Tractor Pull contestants working hard. Briella came in 6th, Jared participated with a large crowd of six year olds and Marci ranked 2nd in her age group! Wooo-weeee!
The fair marks the official end of summer. It's cool & rainy now ... and school begins tomorrow. We've readied our school rooms with a little change this year: Elementary in one room, middle school in another. I hope this provides some peace and quiet for my diligent middle schoolers :). Daddy left for a week of teaching in Iowa this week. It was sobering hearing about the ComAir crash early this morning. Dan called tonight to let us know he arrived safely. PTL for his watch care over us. Goodnight all!

Oh, one more of the Ronald McDonald Magic Show. Ronald entertained us all with several smooth magic tricks. Nothing slipped by those kids! Ha ha! Keith was chosen to go up on stage and he entertained us all with his performance --- what a ham he was! (He's wearing the mask, in case you're wondering.)

Friday night we took in the rodeo. Here are a couple shots of us in the bleachers.

Recent excitement in the Rose household includes a bike ride up the dirt road to take in the beauty of a nearby campground. The weather here has been absolutely perfect. It's very difficult to be indoors preparing for school! The garden is finally yielding an abundance of tomatoes and cucumbers. We also have zucchini, yellow squash, hot peppers and baby watermelon. We'll see if any pumpkins make it!

Yesterday we enjoyed the Harford County Fair. We spent time in the barn, played "Farmer for a Day," and rested in the grandstands while we watched the tractor pull. The boys were mesmerized by the tractors, but the girls were a little restless. We ate at the infamous Youth For Christ pizza tent. The entertainment this year was a team of trapeze artists and a juggler.

We're all fighting the sniffles -- sore throat, yucky nose, etc. Not sure if it's seasonal allergies or a change-of-season type cold.

Here Marci rides Tag.
Emily completes her arena work on Captain.
Briella scores a goal!
The Rose kids play soccer! Go Team!

Emily's counselor, Rachel. (I think that's her name). Boy, these counselors are looking so much younger than I remember. I asked and they have to be at least 17 years old!

Emily's participating in Horsemanship Camp this year and staying in the Seneca cabin. She was very excited because they get to ride at least two hours each morning.

Marci and her counselor, Jamie. Marci will be going to Rough Riders! Ride 'em, cowgirl! She packed her cowboy hat and everything! She was looking forward to the trail ride out to a wagon-load of food. I can't recall which evening they do that, but it did sound like alot of fun!

Check out that cute driver in the background! Titus was having fun on the wagon of "Big John."

Briella found a cute kitten in the Critter Corral.

Here are Jared & Marci on the wagon ride up to the cabins.

That's all, folks!! Be sure and send them mail this week: E-mail: mmrcamp@mmrm.org

Snail Mail: Miracle Mountain Ranch Missions

RR1 Box 95, Spring Creek, PA 16436.

They'll have pictures up on their webpage soon.

We took the kids to see the Narnia movie this evening. It was such fun to watch their faces & listen to J's exclamations throughout the show. I'm especially glad that we read the book just ahead of seeing the movie. Even little B did not think it too scary!

I SHOULD fold laundry, but I'm going to read 'til I get sleepy.

Goodnight,
L

Today we got a new bed for the girls' room! It was so nice to have the delivery men set it up. For once, the floor was clean & mopped! Em's dresser was even in the hallway so they'd have plenty of room. The girls had spent the night in the living room the previous two nights.

The boys have now inherited the bunk beds (free from a friend in Iowa!) I did indulge on some new bedding for them --- cars & trucks. They are thrilled. I hung Christmas lights to provide some lighting for Ti, but that was a mistake. I found him with one of the lights in his mouth. I'm still missing two little lights. Who knows if he ingested them or not!

Good night, all! I'm eager to read a little more in my new book about Aunt Jane!

-L

P.S. Boy, do I miss my digital camera! Had to resort to the 1 megapixel video camera.