New Blog...What?!

I have a new blog, devoted to healthy eating, fitness goals, encouraging one another, and just feeling better. The title is Comrade Connection. Go check it out! :)

Fabulous Fall

And we're back. Wow, it's been over a year since my last post. Time to remedy that. This school year has been busy so far. One child is learning multiplication. One is learning her letters/sounds. And the littlest? Hopefully learning how to use the potty on a more frequent basis. ;) Goals!!

And a random pic from this morning, of Fall Fun!

Things I'm Loving

I am horrible at putting together regular blog posts. Just terrible. But, I have come to accept that. ;) Instead of a long written post, I wanted to do a fun post of the things in our lives right now that I am loving! Life moves quickly, and chances are if I don't write things out...I will miss out on the opportunity of being thankful for them.

If anybody reads this post, feel free to comment on what you're loving right now. :)

Here goes, I am loving :

• My coffee station. I printed off a free printable from Pinterest. It says, All I need today is a little bit of coffee and a whole lot of Jesus. AMEN! Every moment. I need Him...

• What's not to love about a good hug? I snapped some pics of this peanut loving on her Daddy! Joel was trying to go to work...but Sophia didn't make it easy. She wouldn't let go of him. So sweet!

• I'm also loving the above pic that I hung in my room. My Sister gave it to me for my Birthday...it's about TRUSTING GOD in the happy moments, SEEKING HIM in the difficult times, TRUSTING HIM in the quiet moments, and THANKING HIM all of the time. Love this reminder. <3

I feel like I should explain, that bottle on the picnic table is rootbeer! ;-)

• I love quality family time. A couple weeks ago we had an outdoor picnic. Nothing fancy...I made some sandwiches and we had lunch outside. Enjoying the weather. And each other. We also had some homemade apple crisp with butter pecan icecream...YUM!

School Days

I can't believe the Summer is over. Time went too quickly. Today we began the 2014-2015 school year! Preston is in 3rd grade and Mckenzie is in Preschool. It seems that one of the biggest challenges this year is going to be keeping Sophia entertained. :) She is 19 months now and loves to climb up to Mckenzie's desk and sit in her little chair or try to get into whatever Mckenzie is doing. Fun times. I am going to take this year "day by day", as my Sister and I were talking about last night. I know I need the Lord's grace to handle the busy-ness of this school year and hopefully become more patient in the process. Excited for things to come!

 The "big kids" this year!

What about me?? :)

The Things Kids Say

Lately my kids have been cracking me up. And amidst the fighting and tantrums that can occur on a daily basis...it is good to sit down and remember some of the "funnies".

Kenzie has a very vivid imagination. We have to be careful about what we allow her to watch, because even a seemingly friendly cartoon can have something that will scare her and cause her to wake up at night, from a bad dream. The other morning she was telling me about a dream she had. She said, "Mom I had a dream last night, but it wasn't a scary dream. But it wasn't good either." When I asked what it was about, she replied with, "Well I got to go outside, so that was good. But then I didn't get a snack, so that wasn't very nice." Of course! I can understand what a concerning dream that could be. Snacks are obviously very important to her. :)

And then there was today, when I told her to stop jumping on the couch. And she replied with, "I'm not jumping. I'm BOUNCING." Of course.

Preston also told her today that her breath smelled like sasafrass. That was a new one for me. ;-)

I got to have an afternoon date with my Honey on Sunday. We went through an open house (it was quaint, but not one we loved) and also bought him a suit at Kohl's. We got P a little blazer too, his first! They will be decked out on Easter Sunday. :)

Really pondering this year what it means to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. We were talking at Bible study the other night, about the pain and shame that Jesus endured on the cross, taking our sin upon him. My mind cannot comprehend all that he suffered. And I can't fathom the fact that He paid the penalty for all of my sins, past-present-and future and the sins of everyone that has ever lived (and ever will live.) And the pain of that moment, where God the Father had to turn his back--because He is a Holy God, and can not be in the presence of sin. Jesus cried, Eli Eli lama sabachthani : which means, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?, and in so doing...directs us to Psalm 22. I am so humbled by His willingness to die. And so thankful that He is Risen!

Life in Motion

We are plugging away. P is working on 2nd grade school work. Kenzie is working on her flair. ;-) And Sophia is teething-she is up to 9 teeth now, with another about to pop through. We have battled sickness in our house, for the past few months it seems! Kids all have something now...from hacking coughs to a tummy bug for Sophia. It seems that every virus going around tries to find its way into our lives. Ready for Spring weather to arrive--and stay, so that maybe we can all be healthy for a little while.

Today I was able to go to a luncheon at the Hilton downtown : the Completely Kids Author luncheon. We got to hear an author speak. Her name was Rosalind Wiseman. Her latest book is about relating to boys and the pressures they face today. We're not quite at that stage yet, since P is only 8...but eventually, I will see more of what she talked about, I'm sure. Some of the things that she shared, I could relate well to--boys can still have complex emotions and struggle with how to share them-girls are not the only ones that can have emotional turmoil over how to solve a social conflict, etc. She also mentioned that if your son is telling you about someone that is giving him a hard time, it is probably something that has been on his mind for a while! So if we as parents respond with a, "Get over it" kind of attitude, that is not acceptable. They have been TRYING to get over it! Working at problem solving together is what will hopefully bring about a positive outcome (and perhaps a stronger bond between parent/child). Overall, I'm glad I went and thankful for the invite. It was a tasty meal and I was able to sit at a table with 4 of the ladies I go to Bible study with. What a fun event...even though it was way {way} outside of my comfort zone. ;-)

 Sweet little lady...wearing Kenzie's lady bug antennas. :)

 Math worksheet for today...see how excited he is?!? Haha.

 All ready to go to my luncheon today...{Yes, I know I am way past the age of bathroom selfies...ha!}

I asked P if I looked very "luncheon-y". And he responded with, "I don't know what that is." :)

 Just excited to get dressed up mid-day. I don't usually get to go out to fancy events like this.

 Sweet Sophia and a dolly.

The girls over the weekend at We'll Smoke You BBQ in Gretna. We ate there with family visiting from Iowa...oh my! 

I want to go back. Seriously good barbeque.

My Sister in Law

I love Kelly's blog and am always intrigued by her "Show Us Your Singles Posts". There have been 9 couples get engaged/married that met via the blog, and I just think that is such a fun way to meet someone, for single gals/guys! My husband comes from a big family, and happens to have 6 sisters and 2 brothers. The great girl I have in mind for Kelly's link-up today, is one of Joel's Sisters : my sweet Sister-in-Law, Rachel. She is 26, and lives in Iowa.

 

Rachel is small...but strong. :) She works as a paramedic/EMT. She also enjoys running. She raced in the Color Run this past Spring in our city...so many fun colors--everywhere!

 She loves the Lord and wants to honor Him with her life.
She is also tenderhearted and a good listener.

 She loves to travel, and in the past few years has taken trips to Michigan, Nebraska, and Florida to see family...Her family is important to her! She is very loyal and has a high moral standard which can be hard to find now days. :) Above, she's pictured with her two younger brothers.

She loves babies and kids, especially her amazing nieces and nephews. ;-)

 Stylin' in the gorgeous dress she wore at her Sister's wedding!

We think Rachel is pretty terrific, and needs a good Christian man that is equally amazing. :) To find out more, comment on this post and leave your contact info. and I'll pass it on to Rachel or you can email me at jenlschmidt@gmail(dot)com. Thanks for stopping by!