The funny things they do

NOTE: If you are short on time, scroll down and watch Jrew and Jazzy singing and Jrew preaching in the 3 clips I have posted.

It is long overdue that I update family and friends on our sweet children that are growing up so very fast. Jrew said tonight that he didn't want a "baby spoon" because "I'm not a baby anymore." So, we traded out his spoon for a metal one.

Jrew is 3 now and of course, I think he's one of the smartest kids I know. He loves to play the drums and has a full set (kid sized). He loves it and can name every single drum. He is always tweaking his set up, moving a drum up or down to fit his "style". He will play for a long time and loves to play with me on the piano. He truly has some talent because he has picked up so many different rhythms and styles. It's such a blessing to hear him playing and we are considering starting him with official drum lessons soon.

Thomas has a flashcard app on his phone that he was letting Jrew play with. The app shows 4 pictures and a voice asks for you to press the picture for a specific object. Surprisingly, even with words Jrew had never heard before, he was able to deductively reason which picture to select. For example, Jrew saw several pictures of planes and the app asked him to select the hang-glider. Jrew looked at the pics for a few seconds and without hesitation, selected the picture of a man on a hang-glider. WHAT???

He also wrote a song. :) It says "Go away, go away. Don't climb on a tree 'cause it's dangerous"

So, it took me a day or two to figure out why he chose those word until I remember. Basically, a few weeks ago I was working on a new song that sort of talks about getting out of a situation that is dangerous or sinful, or whatever and how it is urgent to get out of those kind of situations quickly. In the song, I referred to getting out, walls are on fire, etc.. THEN IT HIT ME - he was writing a song that said basically the same thing. Don't do something that is dangerous. Go away, go away when I said Get out, get out. How does a 3 year old even know how to parallel a song like that. AMAZING!

Jazzy is just as cute as ever. She is getting so big. She talks all the time. She says many complete sentences and can usually tell me if she's hurt or something. She is absolutely NOT AFRAID of anything. She climbs on everything. Her preschool teacher said that she would climb up on this netting type thing on the playground, but would get "stuck" at the top. Afraid to climb over onto the other piece of equipment, she would freeze. She didn't cry or call out though. Usually, a bigger kid would see her and tell the teacher that Jazzy was stuck. The teacher would say "Jazzy, are you stuck" Jazzy would quietly say "tuck, tuck". Then the teacher would say, "Do you need help" Jazzy would say "Hep, hep". So, this happened (apparently) alot. The teacher did say it was a good thing I didn't see her doing this because it would make me too nervous. After a few weeks of this, Jazzy finally started to climb over to the other piece and the kids and teachers all noticed. They all started cheering "Go Jazzy! Go Jazzy!" and she did it. She made it to the other side (whatever that is). Whew! Good thing I didn't see her. I would have yanked her down from there so fast.... just kidding.

Jazzy's hair is so different from Jrews. Her is also very curly but somewhat more relaxed and very soft. She used to hate for me to fix her hair, but now she's getting used to it and loves it when I put it up in pig-tails. She also asked me for a dress the other day. She basically said "I want dress.." over and over until I got her ready for church in a dress. (Sshh.. don't tell her but we are buying her dress-up clothes and purses for her birthday). At this rate, Jrew may read this blog to her and spoil the whole thing. LOL

Jazzy is also counting to 10. If I start counting with her, she usually bulldozes ahead of me with the numbers!! Jrew is also counting to 20. More recently, I have worked with Jrew on concepts like which plate of cookie has the most & which item is the biggest. He picks up skills so fast! We are also working on identifying digits 0-10. He has many of them down already. He knows just about every single letter of the alphabet. He still has some trouble with K, I think. He can spell his name on the fridge using magnets!! and we are working on rhyming. Can you tell I'm a teacher? :)

Funny quotes:

#1 (This one may be a little personal.. hope Jrew doesn't kill me one day) While going potty, Jrew said "Mommy, a big, big coconut tree came out in the potty and", making his eyes wide, "I was so scared."

#2 Jrew asked me if he could touch me. I was like "Um, yeah." He started stroking my shoulder and said "Mommy, you're actually pretty."

#3 While listening to the radio in the car, Jrew said "Nice music, mommy!"

#4 Tonight, the Kroger cashier gave him a sticker. He said "Wow. That was so nice of her." She laughed and said she was so happy to hear someone saying something so polite to her.

#5 Jazzy is starting to sing with her songs in the car and is actually matching the pitch! She loves to talk on the phone. And she's not biased as to what kind of phone she talks on.. she talks on banana phones, brush phones, hand phones, book phones, and anything else she can put up to her ear. She also loves to talk to people. Tonight, she leaned over the booth in a restaurant to talk to the family behind us. She spared not personal space as she leaned in close to the 10 years old boy behind us. He loved the attention and she did too. So funny.

Strangers: Several months ago, Jrew saw a lady nearby that he did not recognized. I think she came near us for some reason or walked by.. he said "She scares me." I was nervous that she heard him and I wasn't quite sure what to say. So, I said "She's not scary. She's just a stranger. A stranger is someone you don't know." Of course, this conversation has been repeated many, many times in the past few months. He most often thinks that men with bears are strangers and sometimes gets so scared he cries. One time, he just froze in place and started crying hysterically. I swear to you, he was frozen with fear. I finally got him into my lap to calm him down and figure out what was wrong. Well, a father who was playing with his kids at the next table, saw Jrew watching and smiled. Jrew did not think that was friendly. I don't necessarily want him to be okay with strangers smiling at him, etc... but I also don't want him to have such a scary experience just because someone smiles at him or walks by him. We have reiterated over and over that he is with mommy and daddy and we will keep him safe.

Here are a few clips of Jrew and Jazzy "playing" guitar and putting on a show for me and my friend Aimee. I had to upload them in a few separate clips to make it work.

Happy Birthday Thomas!

Today we celebrate the birth of the amazing, most selfless, honest, and Godly man I know.... Thomas Rose III. It was nearly 15 years ago when we first met, not knowing that day would change the rest of our lives for the better. We have celebrated 8 1/2 years of amazing marriage & 2 beautiful children. I am attaching a link here for you to go to. Please check it out. I wrote this song for Thomas back in February but I wanted to offer it up again of any who missed it. Once you get to the link, click on the second set of words entitled "Gave You My Hand MP3".

Thinking back, I thought I'd share one or two stories about Thomas and I. If you know me, I could go on and on about our adventures together. However, I will try to reserve just a few. Sometime after I met Thomas, I began to play piano for his church. Of course, it quickly became my church as well. I would ride with Thomas every Sunday from the campus of Charleston Southern University, because I did not have a car. He would always pick me up from Little John Parlor at a specific time.. and that never changed. However, after months and months of hanging out at church, I would start to call him on, say, Thursday or Friday. I was "just checking" to be sure he was going to pick me up at such&such and at the same time. etc...

Many months later, I asked Thomas if he would fill out a reference form for me so I could apply to the North American Mission Board for summer missions. He obliged and called me up one day to tell me he had the form ready. He said he would meet me in (again) Little John Parlor and added that he didn't know I was such an awesome girl.... and that he would have to marry me some day. (wink) Perhaps that is a real-life example of foreshadowing... Thanks God.

Also, Thomas and I dated for a long time before we decided to tie the knot. Everyone was always asking us if we would ever get married. One New Years Eve, Thomas and I went to a New Year's Eve Party with college friends. I don't think any of us were in college anymore, but we still had occasional get-togethers. So, we were all gathering in the living room to watch the ball drop in NYC when Thomas motioned for me to follow him to another room. He pulled a chair into the middle of the room and asked me to take a seat. Of course, you know by now that my heart was pounding out of my chest. I thought I was going to pass out and that this was the moment I'd been waiting for my entire life.

Then, Thomas said it.

"Let's pray". He had planned on praying in the New Year and had apparently forgotten to mention this small detail. I don't how I made it through the rest of the night without just bawling or falling to pieces. But, this story speaks to the overwhelming heart of gold that Thomas had. He has always and continues to desire God, His will. He is always quick to thank God for His mercies, grace, and overflowing love. I couldn't ask for more in a husband.

Thomas did propose to me in December of 2002. Nearly 5 years after we began dating, we were married in a most amazing ceremony and we have never looked back. Some people say your first year is the toughest. We NEVER felt that way.. we have always been happy together. We have had our fair share of arguments, blow-ups, and disappointments... but we have kept our vows and we love each other more than we have ever loved.

Someone else recently asked me if we were happier before we had children. She had read in an article that a certain percentage of people report they are not as happy with children as they were with children. Or that their overall happiness level was down. I asked Thomas later to see if he agreed with what I had to say to my friend. It was like he had read a script of our conversation. He said exactly the same things.. we were always happy together: but now we are a family. In every sense of the word, family! We both come from "broken homes" or "non-traditional homes" so this is for us OUR VERY OWN family. Whole. Healthy. and Loved.

Thomas Rose: I hope you know today that you are loved so much. I would never trade what I have for anything else in the world. I am honored to be your wife and to have this amazing family with you. Thank you Lord for blessing me with this unbelievable life with Thomas. Thank you for giving him life xx years ago. :) And thank you for giving him to me for the rest of our lives!!!

Happy Birthday BABY!

Jazzy and her quirkiness...

Jazzy is 20 months now... but these pictures are from her 18 month old check-up. I thought they were too cute not to share even though I'm way late.

But first, let me give you some updates on Jazzy and her quirkiness. She is starting to talk so much. Actually, this week she is becoming a parrot and she repeats everything I say even if I'm not talking to her. She knows where her eyes, nose, hair, face, mouth, feet, and tummy are. She also points at her shirt and says "shirt." She says some sentences that usually include: I want eat, I dropped it, I want daddy, I want night-night, and much more.

A few nights ago, I was trying to work on the computer and Jrew was having a hard time going to sleep. So, I let him lay down next to me while I worked. A few minutes after we settled in, I thought I heard the doorknob jiggle.. and I looked up but didn't see anything. So, a few minutes later, I heard something else in the hallway. I thought maybe Thomas was home so I said "THOMAS?" and I heard "mama".

Jazzy had gotten out of her crib and was coming to get me. I was freaking out.. how in the world did she get out of her crib. But, sure enough... she can get out on her on. I took her down to the room (which I'm trying to refer to as the kids room for Jrew's sake and not baby room.). Anyway, she was able to get up to the top of the crib railing in probably less than 30 seconds. Of course, I stopped her before she could get out completely. But last night I again found her getting out of her crib just before she dropped down to the floor. I may have to put a bunch of pillows there until we are able to get the conversion kit that turns her bed into a toddler bed. Wow... what fun!

Enjoy the pictures... I took them while we were waiting for the doctor. She's just toooo cute!!!

Jrew's birthday

Jrew turned 3! He is (obviously) so very cute. He loves to sing. His current selection is the veggie tales theme song. He can't always remember the words, so he is singing "broccoli, broccoli" over and over again.

He talks a lot! (like his mama). He loves people and loves to give hugs. He is so compassionate and is always concerned for others. Last night, we were wondering where he was when we were walking out of a restaurant to our car and realized he was holding the door for people. :)

He is a fabulous little guy. He loves being a "brudder" and adores Jazzy most of the time. Other times, he is heartbroken because he "steals" his food, his drink, and sometimes his whole plate.

Jrew has a funny sense of humor. Here are two examples:

Last week, while we were driving to church, out of the blue Jrew said "I'll blow your house up." I queried "What?" and at the convenience of a stoplight, I turned to look at him. He just blew a puff of air at me and smiled. I laughed so hard and then I asked him where he had heard the story of the Three Little Pigs (because he didn't hear it from me). He said "Goldilocks."

Over the summer, sometimes Jrew would lay in bed beside me to fall asleep while I read. One night, he reached over and grabbed at my page while making a crunching sound. He smiled and said "I ate your letter. Do you want it back?"

I will update about Jazzy in a little bit. I am so far behind, I thought I'd at least start with Jrew's birthday. Enjoy!

New photos!

New photos of Jazzy and Jrew! Click here!

A few notes about the kids...

Jazzy is 17 (going on 18) months old. She is so precious. She is learning new words fast and babbles all the time. She has said "my milk" and "I want some". She also said (believe it or not) "I can't reach it" when she was trying to get Jrew's toothbrush down from the sink. It was more like "I tant teach it"

Jrew is a spitfire, just like Jazzy. Jrew is very close to being ready for big boy underwear and ditching the pull-ups. I think by summer's end it will be official. Jrew loves to read, knows all of his letters, and picks up song lyrics like they were made of sugar. After reading a story to him, he said "Please read this to me." and when I said "not now, mommy's tired" and he teared up and said "I can't read!". Of course, that woke me right up. Who else should teach him? ME! ME!

So, camp starts for us in about 1 week. I can't tell you how many loads of laundry I have waiting on me to organize. By the time I get them folded, it will be time to wash them again and pack for camp. :) Love that cycle.

I may be going to 1st or 2nd grade next year and I am so excited!!! It will hopefully be official next week. Rooting for 1st!!

Hope you all enjoy the pics. Look for another update soon during camp!

Love, The Roses

Jazzy and Jrew showing off.

Here is an attempt to upload a few videos for you all to see. They usually take forever to load. Here goes...

Growing Up

Here are a few pics of the kids. They are growing up, yes. But we are enjoying every minute of it!