Christmas with the Roses

It has been a very joyous two weeks for us. We brought Jazzlyn Reed home from the hospital on Wednesday, December 9th and the rest of the month is flying by. She is such a joy and blessing. We are amazed every time we hold her at how gracious and amazing our God is.

She is a funky little goose. She has been more than a little mixed up with her schedule. Occasionally she has been wide awake at 3 am and basically sleeps all day long. It has definitely been a different dynamic with a toddler to keep up with too. It hasn't been horrific or anything near as traumatic as some people made it seem before she was born. Anyway, it's just different because Jrew is up in the early morning ready to go and I feel like I'm just about to fall asleep.

Thomas has really been amazing. He is very humble about it all but has basically done everything that needed to be done plus more. I will say I know that I am a very lucky lady to have married such an amazing man.

I have been feeling great, by the way. I have been dying to get out of the house so we had a friend come over and watch the "kids" for us Friday night. We went to a graduation party of a friend of ours and took a "short" visit to Wal-Mart for some Christmas gifts. It was an absolute delight to be out among the living. :)

Anyway, I will post again soon (maybe) with funny and amusing anecdotes from our labor and delivery story. But, for now, please enjoy these wonderful pictures our friend Jonathan took of the babies. He is amazing to say the least and takes just about all of our family pics - save for the ones our other amazing friend Sarin takes. What a blessing to know so many wonderful photographers!

From our house to yours - Merry Christmas!!!!

Pictures of the sweeties.

Here is a link to a slideshow of the babies. Enjoy!

Joy To the Roses, Jazzlyn has come.

This morning we left for the hospital at 4:30, thanks to Johni Morgan rolling over to the crib, and all I can say is 7:34 am our sweet little baby girl, Jazzlyn Reed Rose, lit our world with her beautiful cries of life. She is 6 pounds and 10 ounces. thanks for your prayers and love. Dita will fill in the blanks later.
Thanks,
The Roses

Twinkle Twinkle

Here is a video link to Jrew playing piano and singing to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. So cute. :) He also sings Jesus Loves Me and Itsy Bitsy Spider. He just may have a winter concert in store for Christmas visitors. LOL

Growing Up!

Jrew is growing up faster than my eyes can take in. I am so happy to see him learning so much. He has learned so many words, although he uses them selectively. He has recently started to use some words more often than before such as Bye-Bye, Ball, Hello, Down, an attempt at Balloon, etc... He sometimes tries to imitate what we have said even if it doesn't come out as clear.

I've been trying to tell him to touch my belly and I say Baby. He will pat my tummy but I thought there was no way he was able to understand what I was saying... UNTIL he brought me a book to read to him at bedtime the other night. I was, like usual, reading part of it while he turned the pages way too fast. He stopped at a picture of a baby in a crib and pointed at the baby. He said something like bobo and pointed at the baby in the picture. THEN he turned around and pointed to my belly. I can't believe he did that... He's going to definitely be a great little brother. I am not worried one bit.

He also likes to climb. Climb everything. He climbs inside things, on things, and over things. He's definitely a stinker. Here are some rough pics from my phone where he climbed into a couple of things.

Here he is in the laundry. I was folding and

didn't even realize he had crawled inside the basket

until my clothes were being flung everywhere.

Here he is sitting in a small storage box that

holds his wooden train set that our dear friends

Aimee and Keith gave him. He doesn't quite know how to use it,

but he LOVES playing with the pieces. He especially loves the trains

because he can roll them on the floor.

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving. I'll be sure to post more pics soon. Baby girl will soon be here! :)

Thankful

This is a toilet in a public park my students went to for a field trip. NOW - aren't you thankful your toilet doesn't look like this?

WANTED for Larceny...

So, I have to tell this story before it gets too old to tell. Two weekends ago we played at a church in Greenwood, SC. It's about an hour and a half from my dad and stepmom, so we went to see them on Friday night and Saturday. Note: They live in a fairly small town (Union, SC) where everyone knows everyone. Almost.

Fast forward to Thursday night. My stepmom calls me and seems a little awkward on the phone. Not normal. She asked us if we had gotten gas when we were there in Union. "Yes" Did we go to the Exxon on corner such and such.. "Yes" Did we get $46.02 worth of gas. "Thomas - did we..."I don't know."

Then she said, I was reading in the newspaper today and... (read story below)

Gas drive-off

Another larceny under investigation occurred just before 2 p.m. at the Exxon station at 101 North Duncan Bypass. The investigating officer was told by the victim a tall black male in a silver SUV had drove off without paying for $46.02 worth of gas. The vehicle, which turned out to be a 2004 Chrysler Pacifica, had Tennessee plates. Officers searched for the vehicle but were unable to locate it.

So, Thomas and I started to breathe a little less easy as we tried to recall the events of Saturday. Yes, we got gas just before leaving town and we may have filled up all the way. Thomas even went inside and picked up some drinks for the trip. Did Thomas use his card? Yes. He slid it once... no gas... slid it a second time - gas tank turns on. Did we get a receipt? Not sure where it would be if we did. Therefore, we checked our bank account and found a $46 charge for an Exxon. No location listed. After a quick call to the bank, we were disappointed to learn the Exxon charge was for a Nashville Exxon and there were no charges from any Exxon's in Union. So, we assumed it must be us.

I was so afraid they would surely throw the book and whatever else they could find at us since it was a small town. However, Thomas called the following day and spoke to a gas station clerk. She said they completely understood and that the mistake occurred because the cashier turned the gas tank on when she noticed his card was not read. However, she failed to intercom and let him know - therefore, he was under the assumption that he had used his card and it had been accepted. Anyway, the good ending is that they let us pay over the phone and had no further requirements or inquiries. They also confirmed they had a license plate number and it was indeed ours!

The adventures with Thomas and Dita just keep rolling. Next adventure is planned - a quick yet easy birth in about 5 weeks. :) Woohooo...