Happy New Year from the Rose Family 2010!!

We had such a harried Christmas that we decided to send you a “Happy New Year” letter this year. We hope that your Hanukkah and Christmas was beautiful. Mom anf J spent it on the couch being sick while Sand Hubby played nurse! Hubby cooked our Christmas meal all by himself and did a super job. We were very blessed with the generosity and love shown to our family this Christmas through family and friends.

So, in a nutshell………

Hubby has been with his job for 2 and ½ years now, though consistent hours were not there, he still can’t saying anything bad about his place of work. With the economy the way it is, it is what we have for now and wait for some company to see the wow factor in his skills in Administrative Assistance. He has been praying all year for an opportunity to open up for in 2011 and he has called it” MY year for a new career”. He finished his first year as a deacon at our church and has started a men’s ministry there. Our highlight was seeing all the family this summer in New Hampshire and driving up the 8,000 foot narrow road to the top of Mt. Washington. This Christmas we were able to bless several families, which included a coworker. All in all a year filled with growth and many blessings.

Mom spent the year working hard for the Baptists finishing up her 4th year there in August. It is hard to believe it has been almost 5 years have passed since we left NYC and headed south. WOW! She is doing well and has joined Curves losing to the date of this letter 22 pounds. The whole family is on the Rose Road to Better Health this year and we have pledged to donate in cash the number of pounds we have lost… to charity. All four of us have changed our eating habits and have seen significant difference in the boy’s behavior as well as Hubby and Momma feeling great!! She finished helping organize and implement the 2nd annual Toy Sale for parents and they served over 200 families who represented about 1000 people. Many families had lost jobs this year or were working but the salaries were not helping meet financial obligations. Four people that we know about received the Lord as their personal Lord and Savior. Lisa was thrilled!

J turned 16 in June and has blossomed in so many ways. He also started high school and has had a big time adjusting to the fact that the teachers will not fall for his charm and wit in order to get a good grade! Hard lesson learned but he is getting on track. He has some good teachers this year who really care that he succeeds. He also has been attending the Therapeutic Rec Center and working on his muscles. He played baseball and was on a bowling team this year. He is really into all sports and we love that he enjoys being so active. He was diagnosed this last year with Asperger’s Syndrome so we are adjusting and shifting sails in his treatment and lifestyle. Again, the diet we are all on has helped his focus and behavior immensely! We are very proud of his hard work last year and he ended junior high on a good note.

S has been growing by leaps and bounds and turned 15 in September. His health overall is great and we continue to watch and monitor his Marfan’s. He has finally HIT puberty and is it is in FULL FORCE right now. S is typically pretty even tempered and quiet but he is stretching his wings and finding his place in this family (sometimes the rough and bumpy way). He became OFFICIAL on July 22 of this year and we are so happy to have him fully a part of the family. Overall he has done very well this past year and is as smart as a whip. He too started high school and has had some challenges adjusting to the grueling schedule but doing well. He took a cooking class and other fun classes at the MTRC and enjoyed that immensely! Our favorite moment was when we were eating dinner one night and asked him what he cooked that day and he said, “Caucasian Salad” and we finally figured out that he was meaning Cajun Salad!! We laughed and laughed over that one.

One of the great things about our family is that we try our best to eat supper together every night. When we get that chance, we have some lively conversations and some doosies pop up like the conversation above. Those will make great memories and certainly we foresee these stories “popping up” if they get married one day! Hehe We have learned a lot about blending these four families this year. Everyone comes into it with old habits, traditions and ways of thinking about the world. It has been sometimes challenging to know what to keep, what to discard and then making new memories.

One thing that has been a theme with our boys is that they are learning that when they take things into their own hands, they end up getting into trouble. We thought about how we are like that with the Lord. Instead of following his Word, we take our lives into our own hands and then a lot of times end up screwing things up. A lot of times, God asks us to trust that He is in charge and He will guide our steps. We get too frantic or anxious and do it ourselves and it turns out to not be a great idea! We are thankful that through our boys lives, Hubby and I continue to learn lessons about our relationships with our Lord and Savior through our boys. They keep us on our toes for sure!

We continue to appreciate your support, love and prayers as we continue this journey of life. May God’s peace fill you up in 2011 and may He be even more real to you as you journey through this life.