Merry Christmas from the Rohdes!

Hello Family and Friends,

Yes, we're are taking the cheap way out again this year to get our Christmas greetings out to everyone.  I hope you find yourself right where you are supposed to be...right where God wants you. 

This has been a full year for the Rohdes.  We ended 2010 with the hope and plan of moving to a house we found out in the country.  After 3 1/2 months of limbo we moved to our house on the prairie on Valentine's Day.  Kirk really is going to have a hard time beating that Valentine's gift this year.:)  Besides more wind and getting used to the long commute (about 6 extra minutes) we LOVE being country folk.  Kirk and I were just saying last night how amazing the stars are out here.  We have a barn (currently empty, but full of possibility!).  One more thing we certainly couldn't do in the middle of Cheyenne is shoot guns - Kirk got his antelope this year on our neighbor's property (with permission).  Good ol' country fun!

One of the other big changes for this family in the last year is school - after three years of home schooling, we decided to put the school-aged kids in public school.  What an agonizing decision that was, but so far, so good.  One of the ironic things about this decision is how committed I have been to prayer and Bible study with the kids each morning, versus before when they were with me all day.  I definitely feel more urgency to make this a part of our day, now.

Zion (10) is in 5th grade and growing into such a sweet young man.  He loves to get a hug from his mom everyday (I hope that never ends!)  Zion is an eager, quick learner and doing great in school.  He loves to read, and probably like many boys, loves video games.  Reading we encourage, video games have pretty severe limits.:)  He is participating in 4-H and plans to show our dog and do some leather work for fair.  He's still playing piano and just started playing cello (my absolute favorite!) this year.  He does well at these, but his main passion is definitely football.  He played again this last fall, and is still a gigantic Chargers fan (although he's pretty down on Philip Rivers right now).  His grandpa took him to his first pro game this year between the Chargers and the Broncos.  Best. time. EVER! for this kid.

Tekoa (9) is in 3rd grade, and is also doing wonderful in school.  This is the one who pushes my buttons, but I am learning more and more how to "handle" her, and trying to become a "Tekoa whisperer."  She is very strong-willed, which makes for some confrontation, but at the same time, I can see such amazing leadership skills in her.  She is organized (who knows where she gets that?) and has a lot of dedication to things that are important to her.  She is also in 4-H and was elected the club Reporter for this year.  For our church's Christmas play this year, she had one of the main parts with the most lines and did great!  She is playing piano and doing ballet this year.  Tekoa has turned into a crazy reader, too, and is doing so good in school.  She makes me smile when she says she wants to be a mom when she grows up.

Toren (7) is in 1st grade and is such a little teddy bear!  He is doing great in school and his teacher said she wished everyone followed directions like Toren.  This is definitely a child that has a tender heart.  It's very sweet to watch him with his younger siblings - he's an awesome big brother.  Toren also started piano this year.  He is our little athlete.  Just like his daddy, he can pick up most sports pretty easily and did really well in football and is gearing up for basketball.

Micaiah (6) is in kindergarten this year.  She is loving the big kid duty of school each day.  This girl is a sweetie.  She is eager to learn and has come really far in her first few months of school.  Micaiah still loves to do art, and, in this mom's opinion, she does really well.  She also started playing piano this year and is the most likely to be practicing in the music room without being asked to.  She and Shiloh (being the only to same gendered kids next to each other) are great friends and really enjoy being around each other.  It's pretty cute to watch.

Shiloh (4) is officially the oldest here at home during the day.  She LOVES having this role.  Like Tekoa, she is a natural leader and has 2 little siblings following her around all the time.  Lucky for her, I finally feel like I have time to play with her hair and do girly things during the day.  She loves this!  Shiloh is our youngest piano student, and really enjoys her lesson (even though, at this point it's about 5 minutes) because she is "one of the big kids."

Ezra (2 - 3 in a few weeks) is BUSY!  Wow, this kid is SO cute, but he keeps me on my toes!  I'm curious to see how many of my Christmas decorations make it through to the end of the season after they've been Ezrasized.  He's probably the first child I have (that I can remember) who has a major fascination with toilet paper, even at Grandma's house.  Nevertheless, he is stinking adorable, and loves to mimic his older brothers.  He got to attend a CSU football game with Daddy and the boys this year and hasn't stopped doing the crowd chants since then. 

Na'arah (16 months) is delightful.  She is simply a happy little girl!  As long as we get our naps, there is very little crying from this girl.  She is starting to talk and for some reason, the only name she says is "Shiloh."  She and Ezra have a sweet relationship, and somehow he makes her bust up laughing regularly.  I love it!







In March, we will have Baby #8.  In case you don't know our tradition...we take turns on whether we find out the sex or not.  I like to know, Kirk likes to be surprised.  Well, it's his turn, so we won't know until the arrival what exactly is in there, but we can't wait to meet him or her. 

Kirk is still working at WYDOT and manages to stay very busy after work running kids around to all the activities I mentioned.  He is such a great Daddy/husband/provider/friend.  I'm so thankful for him.  Little by little, he is becoming a handyman by necessity.  We have some rentals and between those and this house, he keeps very busy taking care of everything.  His energy and work ethic amazes me.

I'm sitting around eating bon-bons now that I only have three kids here at home - just kidding.  I am still pretty busy.  I continue to lead worship at our church (until I go on my bi-annual maternity leave:).  This pregnancy has been really great, but I definitely don't have the same energy as my husband.  Nap time is crucial for everyone in this house!  I also started blogging quite a bit, which I usually manage to get done during "Sesame Street."  This has been a great outlet for me, and makes me feel very "published" even though no one has to edit or approve what I write.  I'm also still leading worship at our church which I really love.  Thankfully, my pastor fills in the gaps when I'm on maternity leave (about every 18 months) and doesn't mind letting me get back in there afterwards.

I have been so caught up in God's love lately.  He is such a good God and has blessed our family in so many ways.  I am so thankful for His incredible plan of salvation that began in a barn, probably not nearly as nice as the one we have, without a hospital or nurses at their beck and call.  His entry into this world is probably not what we would come up with, but He is REAL and He came in a real way to touch us in a real way.  If you have emptiness in your soul, my Savior, who came in a very un-fancy way, is softly and tenderly calling to you to come home to Him.  That is absolutely the most amazing Christmas gift you could ever receive, but it's worthless unless you accept it and receive it.

I pray your Christmas is full of joy, wonder, excitement, and blessing.  Merry Christmas!