Ho hum

When is dad coming home again?

Soldiers Angels Website.

http://www.soldiersangels.org/index.php

Moving soon!

Hello everyone! The MArine Corps movers called today and gave us a heads up but not a specific move date. We are estimated to be packed up the week of the 18th. Seth will be catching the red eye on the 21st and will arrive early the 22nd. I expect to leave Jacksonville on the 23rd so that we can spend Christmas in Three Rivers, MI. Everything seems so faced paced and hectic, but I will try to get Christmas cards out to everyone along with pictures of the kids. Hang in there. Also, if you would, I know some people have moved so would the Matriarchs please send me an updated list of addresses. I appreciate it.

Write to SGT Esterle.....

In early October Seth and I joined the adopt a soldier angel program. It is a program designed to help make sure every soldier recies a letter at least once a month. M ail is soooo important to our troops and is sometimes a lifeline since it improves their moral and self worth. We wanted to do our part to help out a soildier and applied to the program. We were matched with a SGT in the Army (hey, thats ok) and have been writing to him at least twice a month plus we just sent a Christmas box. We Hvae recieved one letter and two e-mails from him and he seems to be an outstanding soldier who, like many others, are helping to support his single mom. I want to share his address with you just in case you find yourself with an extra Christmas card, please send it his way. He is very thankful and be sure to let him know you are part of the Rosendall family.

Robert Esterle
SGT Robert Esterle
656 TC Rebuild
APO AE 09381

Robert says:HELLO!!! This Angel's program has changed the esteem of so many soldiers over here. It us we who should thank you for what you do for us. Life isn't too bad over here, but some things are so hard to come by. Crunchy Peanut butter is a fav of mine, but hard to get. I also love tuna and canned chunky soups. Flavored drinks, especially Capri-Sun, are a welcomed alternative to the same bottled water all the time, haha. My absolute favorite is Campbells Tomatoe Soup, with those small oyster shaped crackers, like my meemaw used to make. Thanks again for what you do. I look forward to hearing from you.

His letter to us:

Dear Rosendall family,

Thank you ever so much for the cards. I have them hung near my bunk. Its awsome to see another military family helping another soldier. I thank you for that!! This is my first deployment, but I was ready for it! It was my turn to go so I couldn't complain at all. I feel bad that some people have been 2 or 3 times and this still my first. However, that's the way it goes I suppose!
A little about myself. I am 22 and I endeavor to be a Physical Therapist. I live with my mother who is a single parent of 2. Hardest working woman I know, and the best friend I have. I owe my mother everything!! My friends tell me I am the neirdiest jock they know, haha. I love to exercise, play sports, run, jump, play, whatever!! Haha. At the same timeI play video games, card games, read, and love it all. I tell my friends that I am just well diversified and it usually suffices. Haha.
I was surprised to get your cards so quick from the Angel's program, but that works for me! I plan on going for my E-6 next August. I have to wait until then for my time in service. I recently won battalion. On th 2nd I go to another place to compete for NCO of the quarter at the Group level. Wish me luck there.
Some things that are hard to come by here are disposable bowls and cutlery. I don't know if I mentioned those are not, but they will help. I appreciate all your family does, both through military and the Angels program.

Sincerely,
Sgt Esterele, Robert

I'm sooo serious.

Barely one and in daddys absence, Aidan is acting like the man of the house.

I'm sooooo pretty.

Willow 12-03-06

Trendy kids.

Here is a picture of Aidan and Willow in their Sunday best. After a cruddy start this morning, I decided we should all dress up and make the most of the day. Right now Willow is off playing with Dylan and Aidan is sound asleep while I fold clothes and upload pics.

Hi!

Alright Seth, here is a current picture of me taken today and as you can see I am slowly beginning to lose some of this stubborn baby weight. Yea! I just put copper highlights in my hair on Friday and now I need to get it trimmed. Eyebrows could use a wax job too.

Merry Christmas from Willow & Aidan.

Today I decided to take the kids to Wilmington to see Santa and boy did we have a good time. Willow was so excited and Aidan really took to Mr. Claus. Willow was sure to tell Santa about all of the toys she is wanting for Christmas and I think she just might get them. We wish daddy could have been with us to enjoy Aidans first visit to see Santa but he is studying hard in California. Goods news though, only three more weeks to go and then we can all be together again, just in time for Christmas and we are joyful for that!

We found a house.

Hello everyone, it's good to be back. After a long attempt to find a real estate agent who would work with me (we went through three) I finally caught a break. Two days before we were due to leave I found a house on the net in Three Rivers, MI. It was Thanksgiving day so I was skeptical that they would even be open the next day. Much to my surprise they were, so the kids and I with Aunt Karen drove thirty minutes to the nearby town, looked at the house and had it under contract in only two hours. It is in downtown Historic Three Rivers within walking distance to all of the shops on Main Street. The house was built in 1895 and is a large 1800+ sqft victorian home. There are four bedrooms and one bath with a claw foot tub, a living area, dining area, parlor, large updated kitchen and Michigan basement. It is a wonderful home and we can not wait to move in. We close on Dec. 29th, so I will be sending out a change of address to everyone around that time. There will be a guest bedroom, so everyone please come and visit!

Stars and stripes.

Here is a current picture of Aidan 12-01-06

I'm driving.

Move over Aunt Karen and take a back seat sis, this is my gig.

Seths duty station.

Three Rivers, MI.

Aidan celebrates his Birthday Rosendall style!

You go Aidan, tear that cake up. Sure we were in a hotel but Aidan just loved making a mess of his very first birthday cake on the hotel coffee table. No worries, we cleaned up afterwards.

Mt. Airey

How is everyone doing this 1st day of December? We are all fine and relaxing a tiny bit before the movers come to pack us up. Here is a picture of me and the kids in front of Mt. Airey, NC. This was early into the second day of our trip to Michigan and as you can see Aidan is trying desperatly to get down. Overall, we had a very thrilling, stressfull, yet successfull trip. I want to thank my little sister for coming along to help entertain the kids and save a bit of my sanity. Thanks Karen!

Seth is marching right along.

SSGT Rosendall took his second test yesterday and missed only one question; however, there were twentysix other Marines who failed. I told him not to be too hard on himself for missing the one.

Offline.

Just a note: We will be offline for then next few weeks as we celebrate the holidays. We will also be very busy house hunting and we will be sure to let everyone know where we are going as soon as our location in concrete. We will be back on Dec. 1st.

Guess who's turning one?

Surprise! Aidan is.

I think she likes it.

Willow is having such a good time at the Ice House in Wilmington, NC. Go Willow. She skated her booty off .

Willow gets a taste of ice.

One of Willow's classmates, Aubrey Gellar, had her seventh birthday today. Aubrey is the little girl in blue on the far left, her three year old sister is on the far right....these are very petite children. Noel is the girl in red and Willow is in Autum stripes. They are recieving a brief lesson before they skate and I must say, Aubrey is a fantastic ice skater...then again she has been practicing three days a week for the past two years! All of the kids had a blast at the birthday party and I think Willow has found a new calling.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Marine Corps, you are 231 years old!

Seth is doing great!

During the first week of Marine Corps Recruiter school 20% of the over all class will not pass; however, Seth did! Infact, he did not lose anyone from his class which means alot to him since he is the head SSGT in his group. He should be finding out where we are moving next Thursday, which is also the day that we close on the house. Thank goodness!
This picture was taken at the Jacksonville, municiple airport and as you can see the kids were real thrilled to see dad go. Good news is he Graduates December 21 and will be home in time for Christmas.

It has officially been a week since Seth left for school. We are fortunate to be able to speak to him every night and he is doing very well. He passed his physical fitness test and knocked two minutes off of his run time, astonishing even himself! He is the senior SSGT of his class and is in charge of 20 other Marines. Monday he turns in his request for duty stations and also has three public speaking assignments due. We are so proud of him and can't wait for him to come home to begin the next leg of our journey. If you would like to contact him his barracks number is 1-(619)542-6262 Ext. 2860 This is his phone but sometimes his loud roommate SSGT McCorcorkle will answer. The weekends is the best time to contact him and I am sure he would love a quick pick me up call.

Nooooooooo!

"He fenced me in!"

I can still escape!

"It's not finished yet!"

Don't fence me in.

"But why Dad?" ~Aidan ponders the new fence.

Time for a break.

Aidan and I decided to take a quick break from the yard work.

Spider baby.

Here is Aidan at his halloween party this morning.

I am a Fairy Princess!

Willows' Great Mema sent her an adorable fairy costume to wear for Halloween this year and Willow is already putting it to good use. Even though it was chilly outside today, Willow couldn't resist dancing around the backyard in her new colorful costume.

Where is my food?

Mexican food, oh so yummy, but oh so bad for the little tummy. Aidan is 11 months old!

I'm seriously holding my breath until....

my imitation mexican food arrives,
I get the next book I want,
my wife says i'm right,
the kids go to college,
I leaves for recrutor school and finally be free of the evil, pig-headed, S.O.B's at my host squadron!

Seth leaves Sunday at 2:00! Yay!

Duck....Duck...Willow?

Well folks, we decided to adopt Willow out. We always told her that if she miss behaved she would go to live with the animals. Hummm, I didn't expect her to be so thrilled about her new family!

Here is our NEW house!

Ok, so our house is currently pending sale; however, we decided to go ahead and put money down on this fab find! Sure we are losing square footage but think of the character we are gaining!

Check this out!

We had our inspection yesterday and now are in the waiting stage which is nerve racking....but hey we have a great house in a fantastic location! No worries!

MEOW!

Oh looky, it's Willow and her kitty Bill! This picture was taken 10/17/06 right before Willow left for school. She was very excited because it was picture day and she was able to wear her regular clothes for all of her friends to see. Bill is packing on weight for the winter and he is just getting huge!

It's Halloween all of the time at the Rosendall Home!

This is Willow and her boy/friend Dylan. They decided to dress up in their costumes today and play Princess and Captain Barbosa from Pirates of the Carribean. ~(Not sure how to spell that)

Contract Pending..............

Hello everyone, sorry for the delay with posts, but this website hasn't been working properly. Seth and I just finished signing all of our paperwork and we are now under contract after only three days of showing the house! We are selling it to a couple from California who have three kids and are just so excited...both parties are. I will be writing a letter tomorrow to the Comanding Officer of the district we are chosing to formally request Lubbock, Tx. Cross your fingers, it puts us smack dab in the middle of everyone!

It's mine...all mine....arrrggghhh!

This one is mine, it's the perfect size...like my head. Hee! I can't wait for my very first Halloween so that I can frighten everyone with my spider costume. Look out little girls......the princesses are going down!

Old McDonald had a farm.....

and on that farm he had two of the cutest lil' helpers.

Pumpkins.....pumpkins....everywhere!

We took the kids to the Methodist churchpumpkin patch yesterday and they had such a good time. Aidan was amazed with his surroundings and Willow was such a busy little bee looking for the perfect pumpkin to carve.

The house is up for sale.

Our house is up for sale and our agent said that there are many inquiries about it. We will open the house for show beginning Monday and we believe that it will sell in a matter of days. For now you can see a teaser of our property at www.dianecastro.com . Click on properties, scroll down to 308 Woodhaven, click on it then when ready click on visual tour at the bottom lefthand side. More pictures will be comming next week after we finish preping the house for visitors.

Oh sis, go to school already!

Hi everyone, I took this picture just as Willow was setting off for school this morning. Aidan is always so bewildered by her and just adores her, but sometimes her love is just too much. They are too cute sometimes.

Oh must summer end?

Summer has come to a close here and we are already into Autum. The days are nice and cool and the nights are growing colder. This weekend will be the last weekend we will visit Onslow Beach on Camp Lejeune, probally for the last time....for a while anyway. Willow and Aidan just love the water so I expect there will be an increase in the number of baths they beg for. To bridge the gap between the cool and cold months, Seth and I have set up a water table on the back porch that is just Aidan's height. For now he can splish splash to his hearts content until it becomes to cold. Autum is the most beautiful season here so if you have never visited the East during this time, I strongly urge you too. Virginia is especially festive and full of history. ~More pictures comming soon!

Home Depot Kids Club.

We discovered the Home Depot Kids Club last summer while I was pregnant. It is the first of every month and it is a fantastic bonding experiance for Seth and Willow. They really enjoy working on the free projects Home Depot sponsors and even though Seth suffers sore thumbs afterwards, he never misses a Saturday. What a good daddy!

Look how big I am!

It's Aidan and he is standing! During the school day Aidan likes to crawl to Willows room to see if she is there. His favorite thing to do is to pull up onto here bed so that he is standing in front of her vanitys huge mirror so that he can see himself. Another favortie hobbie shared by both children is bouncing on the bed (while we are there of course). Both giggle uncontrollably as they catch air and try to avoid landing on top of each other. It really is quite a sight. Well, Dad has duty today and I am supposed to finish packing, so I wll post new Autum pictures of the kids Monday. P.S. Our house goes on the market Monday and we already have a potential buyer comming to look at it. Cross your fingers.

Patriotic tree.

Hello all! Here is a patriotic tree that Willow and I crafted together. I have a mini white tree that we use during Christmas, but I wanted to utilize it year round so Willow and I decided to decorate it to match the rest of the house. We found the little grungy stars, Americana accessories, and star fabric at www.hugsandstitches.com, for under $20.00. We also bought a very small strand of clear lights at the dollar store and a roll of small rope at Big lots for a $1. When we were ready to construct the tree we cut the fabric and the rope into pieces long enough to tie onto the ornaments and then onto the tree. Then we used any leftovers to make tiny bows for the rest of the branches. Lastly, we added the lights and......volia! We have it displayed so when the neighborhood kids come to call for Willow, they can see it from the front door. You don't need a tree for this, you can do it with a plant or even a bush.

Two of a kind.

Oh no! You are probally leaning sideways to look at this photo. Unfortunatly, like all of the other posts....I am in a hurry (you can tell by my horriffic spelling and grammatical errors...lol). This is a picture taken of Willow and Aidan last night in front of my huge Texas Star. I have quite a collection going of all types of stars and the kids just love them. My next post will be of a patriotic tree I crafted complete with details. Also, I will be taking a photo of the kids this weekend at the church pumpkin patch, so look for that sometime Monday. Off to pick up Willow from school now.

Many years of happiness for sale.

We began signing paper work with the real estate agent last night and on Monday our home will be placed on the market. It is both sah and exciting as we move toward the next step in our lives. When I have the link for the home tour I will post it. The tour is really neat, it is like walking through our home and seeing it yourself. Most of you have never been here so it will be nice to share a glimpse of the home where we have lived in for many happy years. Love you all!

Goodbye Old Friend.

On Friday we said a very sad and emotional goodbye to Seths Gran Torino; however, we were thrilled that we donated it to a young disabled Marine in need. The young man was seriously injured during the battle of Fallujah.

Happy Birthday!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday to the Number One man in our lives! Our Marine, Hero, Husband, and Great Father!!!! Happy Birthday Seth!!!!

We are soooo attractive!

Not so much attractive as possessed! At least Willow can pull off this look.

Willow is doing fantastic at Christian Living Water!

This year Seth and I decided to enroll Willow in a Private Christian school which has truly transformed her. Her speech is better, her academic work has dramatically improved and she is recieving a Christian background as well. In October she will be participating in two clubs, Spanish and Sign Language. Besides attending school, she is enjoying her ballet and tap class. She aspires to be an actress and we are confident that she will reach her goal, since she is our little drama QUEEN!

Baby and Me.

Aidan went to his playgroup this morning and had a wonderful time! There were many other little ones for him to play and explore with. Oooooh, just look at adorable face.

Little Rebel

Most of you are familiar with this photo, but for those of you who are not, this was taken last in late July before Aidan recieved his mini military haircut. He and Willow are growling at the camera and Aidan is ready to take a bite out of the nearest object or person. These two are so full of personnality, so much so, that Seth and I are never bored. Willow and Aidan always seem to have a great time and it wasn't until recently that the word boredom entered into Willows vocabulary. Seth is busy putting away DVD's.

Two front teeth.

Rosendall Happenings
Aidan is cutting his two top teeth!

Last days of summer in the Carolinas.

Here is Aidan and Willow in the front yard enjoying the warm air. Summer is happily comming to an end and the cool fall air is moving in. As you can see, Aidan is now standing and is beginning to walk along the furniture. Willow is blowing bubbles as well as eating them. Yep. These two really enjoy one anothers company and Aidan has even begun crawling down the hall to see if Willow is in her room (usually she is at school). His hobbies include pulling Willows hair as well as pulling DVD's out of the entertainment center. Willow loves to dance.

Launching...Lift OFF!

Hello everyone! Last week I began taking Aidan to a Mommy and Me playgroup aboard New River Airstation where Seth is stationed. Upon checking in the ladies where kind enough to give me a welcome packet which containd a wealth of useful information, such as this website. I have decided that instead of sending individual emails, I will just update this site at least twice a week with new information. Please feel free to interact and I will upload photos of the kids soon. ~Christina