The Princess and her three pigs

Can we fix it ? Yes we can !

2009-05-14T18:18:00.007-04:00

Well not much going on around here. We are anxiously awaiting the end of the school year so we can sleep in and just hang out. Joe on the other hand is dreading the end of the year. He brings Noah to school and he said that is the best part of his day, he doesn't want to go to work alone, and wake up alone:(

Noah will start t-ball in June, and has a three week day camp for school in July. We are also going to Family Camp in August with church so it will be a fun and busy summer.

A couple weekends ago Joe took the day off to do some work around the house, we ended up taking the pergola down. We never liked it and Joe thought it would make it easier to sweep - we will leave that one alone. So here are some pics for your enjoyment, he wanted to make sure I got some action shots.

This one still hurts !

Are seating is also done inside. We have so much more room in our kitchen now !

Butterfly

2009-04-10T10:33:00.007-04:00

Yesterday we had a wonderful afternoon at the Meijer Gardens with our good friends. The Butterflies were amazing, they were everywhere. It was fun to see the kids look in their little books to find out which butterfly they were seeing. It also was a beautiful day for the kids to run around outside. Thank's for a "small moment" guys.

Cherish

2009-04-09T10:21:00.011-04:00

Well last week Friday we headed to Chicago to visit Honey and Grandpa for a couple days. We had a wonderful relaxing time as always. We even experienced Chicago Deep Dish Pizza, and Chicago Hot Dogs all in one day! good thing we went for a walk in the afternoon:).

I love being with family and friends and not really having to do anything special, just being together and hanging out is all you need. As we said this weekend, Life is made up of all the little moments.

In other news, we are doing some minor construction in our house. We are finally having someone do our Banquette seating in our kitchen ! I have dreamed of this since the day we walked in our house, so I feel completely blessed to finally have it done. Here are a few pics of before (sorry it's all cleared out already but all this has got to come out before the seating goes in.

Also I just had to put this pic up, we had Isaac for the night and he really enjoyed his dinner !

Tax Man

2009-03-18T16:40:00.005-04:00

So I know this is a very selfish post but I wanted someone else besides Joe to share in my pure joy and excitement that we got a new bed! Thanks to our taxes this year we were able to replace the thing that we called our bed with a king sized pillow of comfort. I can not believe the difference in my back pain already! Joe doesn't mind his feet not hanging off the end either :)

Let it Snow !

2009-02-22T14:02:00.004-05:00

I thought I would post a pic of Joe using his birthday present, he was so excited for it to snow.

A man and power tools, there is nothing like it !

Thank you to Mom and Dad, Honey and Grandpa, and Gretchen and Marc who all went in with me to make this dream possible for my Husband. Happy Birthday Babe, I love you!

Pocket Full Of Sunshine

2009-02-20T16:41:00.002-05:00

So Noah had mid-winter break this week and of course he got sick, along with his brother. This has been my past two days.

They were feeling better today though so I took them to see Bedtime Stories at the cheap seats. I wasn't even the ones sick and I feel drained !

Apologize

2009-01-28T19:45:00.007-05:00

So I Know it has been a long time and I am sorry, I know it is not an excuse but our lap top of 7 years finally kicked the bucket so I am sharing with Joe on his work one. Other than that things are going well around the Schelling household.

Joe has been at Bethany now for 6 weeks and trying to get used to not being in charge :) and he is still working for BRAINS on a weekly basis. Noah is doing well, his other front tooth came out last week and he is getting used to the feeling. Levi is doing well also, he is almost fully potty trained yeah! we have to work on the overnight thing yet. I am staying busy, I just picked up two more houses to clean so I have 5 now and still work one day at Spaanstras.

We are all a little sick of the winter over here ( I think we are going a tad stir crazy) I normally can handle it but this year I am so ready to play outside, listen to thunder storms, watch all the flowers bloom, take walks.. the list could go on. Anyway not much else happening, hope this finds you well.

I was really bad at taking pictures this Christmas, but this one turned out :)

Levi got his long awaited train set !

All I want for Christmas.....

2008-12-08T20:30:00.004-05:00

So today was a big day in my little Noah's world. I went to go pick him up from Aidan's house after I got out of work and they were playing in the snow. I decided to gave him a couple minutes and went in to talk to Michele. Soon after Noah came in crying a bleeding from his mouth. I asked what happened and he tried to tell me thru his hysterics that he had his mouth on the handle of the sled and hit it going down the hill, and now his tooth really hurt (his tooth has been loose for over a month now with many attempts to get it out) I tired to get it out but it is so tiny that I could not get a grip on it. After crying a bleeding for about 5 minutes Michele asked if he wanted a bag of ice to put on it, he nodded and asked to go home. We got about two blocks away and he told me he had felt like he had to throw up, so I pulled into a parking lot and sat outside the car with him but nothing happened. We finally made it to Oma and Opa's for dinner and he seemed to have calmed down a bit,that is until he bit into a roll and it started bleeding again. We told him to just try and yank it out himself - which he did, cried for a second and then continued on like nothing had happened - what a terd! I love you Noah, it makes me realize that my baby really is growing up.

"My Heart is filled with Thankfulness"...

2008-12-01T20:01:00.016-05:00

Well another thanksgiving is in the books. We headed to Columbus to spend time with Honey and Grandpa, as well as the Volkers fam. Honey once again out did herself with many pies all made from scratch and a turkey to die for. It was so nice yet, very hard to just relax for a couple days and not feel like I should be doing something at every second. We feel so blessed to have such great family to spend time with.

We also got a chance to all take an outing to Cosi which is wonderful science museum. Levi especially loved the keyboard that made all body function sounds :)

Get that engine to run guys!

We hope you all had a very blessed Thanksgiving !

How Great Is Our God

2008-11-04T20:15:00.016-05:00

We had Auntie Gretchen take some pictures this past weekend, and Joe put the kids to work. We love fall -( it is our favorite season by far )so here are some fall pictures for your enjoyment. Believe it or not Noah asked if he could mow the lawn, I think it makes him feel like a man. Levi is a little dangerous with the leaf blower, just don't get in his way that is all I will say. We also took the kids to Post Family Farms the weekend before but stupid me forgot to check the battery on the camera so the first pic is the only one we got before it died.

Oh Happy Day - (or maybe not)

2008-10-22T13:48:00.005-04:00

Noah got his cast off today and is having a hard time with it. It really doesn't help the cause that they use a saw to take it off, and then bring you to get X-rays again right after. He is scared to move it, (now that the protection is gone and all). The doctor did give him a clean bill, we saw the X-ray and where the new bone is. They said just to give him a couple days to get used to being able to move it again. In other news this past Saturday was his last soccer game, he had fun and said that he would like to play next year, we will see what happens!

Make Me Smile

2008-10-14T17:54:00.007-04:00

Here are a few pictures of our past weekends. Noah has been very happy to play soccer and we even had to have a bit of a talk about being a "ball hog", the kid can play though - wouldn't that just make my husband so happy :)

Like the bubble wrap over his cast? we were told to cover for the other kids sake, if he hit them with it, it would hurt :)

They were watching with much zeal from the sidelines! And last weekend we went to the boys first football game. We went to see the East Grand Rapids Pioneers crush the Grand Rapids Christian Eagles. I will have you know that because I love my husband I sat on the east side.

The boys did well, they made it through the 3rd quarter and then they were ready to go home. I am still an Eagles though! I can't cheer for East even though my husband played there :)

Some Days You Gotta Dance

2008-10-03T10:06:00.010-04:00

Noah got his new cast on Wednesday. He settled for a blue one because they did not have yellow. Everyone has to sign it in yellow though so it is still Michigan colors. They said that he can play soccer-yeah! and that he only has to have it on for 3 weeks. So it was a day of good news despite the look on Noah's face below. He was very happy to itch it for a couple minutes before the cast went on. This is a week ago when he was talking to Honey on the phone telling her what happened,it was intense:)

In other news Levi is doing well, he is going to a speech class twice a week and I forgot to post his first day of school picture. He was very excited to have a backpack and go to school like big brother Noah!

and here are just some cute pictures for you to enjoy!

This is when Grandpa Kelly was in town and came over for dinner a couple weeks ago -we missed you Honey!

"I've Seen Better Days"...

2008-09-24T20:35:00.004-04:00

This is the past 24 hours in the Schelling house!

Yes this really is what it looks like. First, someone broke into our house last night. We were not home at the time but Joe came home to it. They broke 2 screens and were going after this old laptop that I am typing on. We figured out that Joe must have scared them off b/c our DVR stopped taping at 8:16 (they had unplugged the modem) and Joe came in and did a walk thru and called the cops by 8:24. So they didn't get anything but they were trying, by the grace of God it looks like Joe got home just in time. It is such an uneasy feeling knowing that someone was in your house. Let me tell you we made sure that all out windows were locked last night and a ton of lights were on.

Second, Noah broke his wrist today at school. He was on the "zip line" and someone pushed him to fast and he fell off. He put his hands out to catch himself and now has what they call a buckle fracture in two places which is on the outside ( pinky side). So Noah and I has some good bonding time at the hospital today. He has a temp. cast on right now which is just plaster on the top and bottom to allow for all the swelling. Next week he will go in for his full plaster cast which will be on for 8 to 10 weeks. He is doing ok, he has his moments. I think the hardest thing is that he realized that he can't play soccer now, which just started and they haven't even had a game yet! He said tonight "I wish I didn't have this happen today"-me too bubby! As a mother you feel so helpless, if I could take away the pain I would in a second. Pray that he handles this well, as do his parents :) I hope nothing happens tomorrow.

Happy Birthday To You

2008-09-13T08:51:00.007-04:00

Today is our first born's birthday. Six years ago today Noah came into the world at 6:02 pm and gave us all a scare by being 5 weeks early. God protected him though, and after a week in the ICU for a course of meds he was able to come home. Noah, we love you so much and we feel so blessed to have you in our lives, you are such a cool little dude :) We can not wait to watch you grow and see what the Lord has in store for you. Happy Birthday to my 6 year old!

This is the birthday treat he took to school on Friday. We had Aidan sleep over on Saturday night and Joe and I took them to out for dinner. That was fun let me tell you ! Ask Joe about the bathroom experience :)

In Christ Alone

2008-09-08T11:54:00.005-04:00

Hello everyone,
I felt an urge to write and just ask everyone to pray. My heart is very heavy today.
As some of you may know Mehgan (or friends daughter) is back in the hospital. She has an infection and her counts are very low. Her immune system is so weak that she will be there for the entire week. This is very hard on her (as she wants to be at school)as well as the rest of the family. I just ask that you pray for comfort for the Haan family during this time, and that Meghan can kick this quickly.
Also a young boy named Ethan who is in Meghan's class has also been fighting cancer for 5 years and he is at the end of his life now. His tumors are growing so fast now that they give him under a week to live. As I sit here and tears streaming down my face I can not imagine having to go through any of this with my own son or daughter. Praise God for his strenght holding them, without that there would be no hope. We know that Ethan will be healed when he passes, but we grieve with his family here on earth. It's strange because this morning I got a call from school saying that Noah had a accident on the playground and I should come and get him. The worst goes through your mind not knowing what to expect. I got there to find that he ran his face into a pole and has a huge egg on his forehead and a bloody nose. I couldn't help but think what would either of these families give just to deal with a bump and a bloody nose instead of their 11 year old children having cancer. I don't even know Ethan and his family but they have touched my heart. Please pray for comfort for this family as they grieve for their son. Also for more in depth you can go to Meghan's blog on the side here.

"No guilt in life, no fear in death -
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from his hand;
Till he returns or calls me home-
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand."

An Update - Ethan passed away this morning at 10 am. Please pray for comfort for the family.

Reasons For Living

2008-09-03T10:04:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was Noah's first day of school, my baby boy is in the in first grade! He had a little bit of a meltdown when we got there(he did not want to leave me). When I picked him up at the end of the day though, he was smiling from ear to ear. I think it will be a great year for him, and it helps that his best friend Aidan is in his class again, those two crack me up. Michele and I keep wondering what happens when they get sick of eachother? Yet they informed us that that will never happen, they are brothers in Christ!

Happy, Happy Birthday to you!

2008-08-31T14:14:00.004-04:00

I know Levi can't read but I am sending him a special Birthday message. Three years ago today a special little boy joined our world and our lives would not be the same without him. Thank you Levi for all your smiles, laughs, and hugs. I feel so blessed to be your mommy, and am so glad that you are part of our family. We all love you very much and can not wait to watch you continue to grow. Happy Birthday Baby!

Summertime

2008-08-10T16:19:00.026-04:00

We have been able to spend some good family time together this summer. Joe's schedule is a little more flexible now so most weekends we have free- what a concept huh? anyway one night we decided to head to Rockford to relive some good memories, we went to the Corner Bar for dinner and had ice cream at Rocky's. We also took a walk by the damn and took some pictures so here goes (these are really for you Honey and Grandpa)

Oh yeah, and the boys were almost attacked by the killer Canadian Geese, seriously we had to run!

As you can tell, Noah is so excited that I want to take yet another picture, and Levi saw a cute girl :)

Levi really and I mean really enjoyed his ice cream!

We also had the joy of taking the boys bowling and mini golfing one Saturday, believe it or not we had nothing planned that day, so it turned out to be a really fun day. This was the first time for Levi so it was very overwelming, but good. I love being a parent and being able to help your children learn how to do something new. Before that day Levi had no idea how to bowl or golf, what fun!

Noah informed us that he has been bowling 5 times before this so he does not need any help. I think he beat Joe too!

To make the day even more exciting, when we went golfing they were playing Joe's favorite kind of music in the whole world - Christmas music, why you ask? it was Chirstmas is July don't yah know? Levi didn't like golfing so much, he got very frustrated,but he liked running on all the greens.

Joe really took this seriously!

We had a chance to go Blueberry and Raspberry picking with some friends for the first time as well, I noticed that this summer is a lot of new things for the kids, and some for me too!

We had friends over for a grill out too, the kids had a blast with their friends, and the adults too:) That night was a perfect summer night, good friends, good food, and super hero popsicles.

We also had the opportunity to go the Fredrick Meijer Gardens with some very dear friends, we had a great day and look forward to many more. Thank's guys again!

Last but not least Gretchen and I took the boys camping for 3 nights at Son Life camp. It was a great time but I now understand the importance of a camper instead of a tent with children :) I can't wait to do it again though it was a fun time. Don't worry the Michigan State chair was given to Gretchen as a joke, we did not switch sides!

I love this picture of Noah, they were both fish all weekend, and Noah perfected his bike riding skills, he now can ride his two wheeler perfect and even on the gravel roads too.

I would like to inform you that Gretchen and I made this fire on our own, who needs boys right?
We have had a wonderful summer so far and with only three weeks left I am reminded of how quickly things are going to get really busy again. Noah will be in first grade, and gone all day and Levi is going to a speech group twice a week for two hours at a time. Noah is also playing soccer which starts the week of school and Joe job is going so well that he is getting new clients weekly. I am not meaning to complain in the least bit, I have just enjoyed my summer with my family so much. It will be hard to get back in the swing of things,( and set the alarm clock everyday :) but it is a new school year with so much to learn. Enjoy the rest of your summer, and remember these lazy days when you driving around town all day every day :)

Oh yeah and by the way Joe has not smoked in 6 weeks! He is doing so well and I am so proud of him for doing this. Joe you rock!

Diamonds On The Souls of Her Shoes

2008-07-08T21:52:00.019-04:00

Well we are back from C-bus as we like to call it, and we had a great time with Honey and Grandpa. We had "good times" hanging out at the pool and nights on the back patio.

Levi was very daring this summer and jumped right in, that scared the crap out of him, but after he realized that he could walk in at the steps and not go under, we could not get him out. Noah was also a great swimmer and even swam without his swimmies, which he was very proud of.

Here are some more pictures of the pool and the famous Honey,who by the way has a great new pair of Chaco's flip flops that she loves and do not look like skis :)

Levi did need some discipline over the week :)

At the last minute on the 4th of July (which had been a not so nice weather day) I, with the help of my oldest son got everyone to go to the fireworks. As a wise boy once said (with no help) "wouldn't you rather go spend time with your family at the fireworks that stay here and watch them on the TV" Thank's Noah !

This is what Levi thought of the Fireworks - need I say more?

This is Joe in his "little bit edgy" phase. No really, I am soooooooooooooooooo proud of him, he quit smoking on saturday June 30 and is doing so well.

and last but not least here is a picture of Grandpa, which Honey informed us was actually a good pic :)

Joe even got to go bar hoping with Kelly and his friend Brian one night, he felt like a real man he told me. He also found a new favorite beer - Boddingtons, as they tried a wide array of beers through out the week.

This is how tired the boys were by the end of the week, Noah asked to go to bed at 6:30 and Levi went at 8, this is how I found them at 8:30

In other news, the tree is gone, I know no one else is excited about this but we are so you get a picture of the wide open space in our front yard now!

Hope you all had a wonderful 4th! That's all for now folks.

Great is Thy Faithfulness

2008-06-25T14:36:00.008-04:00

To all of you who have been praying, Thank you.

For those of you who do not know my dad had a heart attack last Wendesday, he is ok they put two stents in, and he is ready to get back to painting the bathroom :)

There is nothing like getting that phone call to send your heart racing. We praise God for sparing his life and continue to pray that we will never take a single second for granted again. It was very emotional driving thru my tears to the hospital alone (Joe was on his way in from meeting with a client in grand haven) and not knowing if this was the time that the Lord had chosen to take him home. It is hard to understand in those moments that it is not up to us, God is in control. Noah is very and I mean very attached to my dad or Opa and we prayed all the way from our house to where I dropped them off, he asked me if he could die and it was very hard to tell him that yes, Opa could die. I'm sorry I am getting so worked up, it just hit me very hard that it takes something like this to realize the day to day things you take for granted. I LOVE YOU MOM AND DAD!

In lighter news we finally got flowers for the front of our house. My parents and I went to Motmans Greenhouse last week and they are having a huge sale so we were able to get stuff for really cheap. It will be fun to watch all of this grow up and out every year, and yeah we are not the house everyone drives past and looks at in a bad way anymore :)

Also we were informed that the huge tree next door is coming down next week. YEAH! yes this is the tree that is causing out root problem in the sewer line and, it is always a worry in big storms. We are leaving on Saturday to go see Honey and Grandpa so here is the last pictures of the tree before it is gone :) Hope everyone has a great 4th of July and I will post when we get back from a wonderful relaxing week at the pool !

See Joe's car there in the corner? now you realize how big it is.

Bumblebee

2008-06-16T21:34:00.004-04:00

So I just have to share with you all one of Levi's little quirks. Among other things Levi's body does not like bug bites, (kindof like his honey) this picture is of his ear that some bug decided to attack yesterday. Joe did take him to the doctor today to make sure that is what it was, and yes it is and there is nothing we can do except as a mom feel so bad for my son, and Benadryl for the itching.

We also had the chance to hang out with Honey and Grandpa a week ago. They got a chance to witness Noah's last T-ball game of the season, and walk to our favorite ice cream store. We Love you Honey and Grandpa, and we will see you in 12 days :)

That's all for now, until next time !

Deep and Wide

2008-06-06T10:10:00.008-04:00

This is a lot sooner than I thought it would be, like I think it has been an hour. Anyway I am having a good morning and I go to take a shower, everything is fine except when I finish I hear water pouring out somewhere. I check out the window, no. I check the hallway, no. I hear it coming from down the laundry shot, I run downstairs and there is water all over the floor from the half bath, going on the landing and down the steps. I continue to run downstairs and water is coming down everywhere from the pipes by the washer.

Luckily one of the blessing of my tuesday morning bible study is LaKeesha's husband is a plummer, I called her up and he is coimg over this afternoon, the water has stopped for now, i just can't go to the bathroom. It seems as if our line is clogged (Joe) :) JK Just thought I would give you all a laugh.

Also here is a picture from Noah's Graduation. Levi Couldn't stay away.

To Late to Apologize

2008-06-06T08:25:00.015-04:00

Ok, so I know I suck and the three people that read this are bugging me to update so I apologize to you and I will try and be better at keeping this current :)

Joe's job is going really well, and God has blessed us immensely and shown us that this is where he want's us right now. I ask for your continued prayers as we following his lead and continue this journey.

It is Noah's last day of school today and he is sad, he thinks that 1st grade could not possibly be better that Kindergarten. I think he is sad because he will not see his Best Friend Aidan every day now. Noah has also been playing Tee ball which has been such a blast to watch him. He is a good player, (besides they playing in the dirt while he is in the outfield)he is bored out there he told me.

This is Noah trying to intimidate the other team, talking some smack :) No, he has done really well and my parents have come to every game so Noah has the biggest cheering section.

We also went to Columbus over spring break, I know that was a long time ago but go along with me. We had a great time making pizza's and just hanging out with Honey and Grandpa. We will be going back the week of the 4th for our annual vacation, we can't wait to swim.

This is Levi's Best Friend!

It fits him well don't you think? Do I see a future here?

Anyway we have had some sleepovers and most recently a field trip to the Dairy Farm, that smelled wonderful let me tell you.

Like three pead in a pod!

They were all more excited to see the few horses than the stinky cows. This is Marah, Alexis, Aidan and Noah.

This is Aidan and Mrs. Haan, one of the great perks to having your kids in the same class is the mom's get to hang out. I feel very blessed to have Michele as a friend.

Last but not least we are enjoying spending time with baby Isaac who is growing like a weed. We just helped them move this past weekend. It is very bazar to me that after growing up on the North end, now all of us are on the South side, and all within 5 miles of eachother. It great though, good friends and family can get you through anything.

Blessing to all, and I hope the summer will be filled with laughs and good times. Until next time, and yes I promise it won't be this long between posts. :)

Love of a Lifetime

2008-06-05T10:26:00.002-04:00

June 5th 1999

Consider this a public apology for working too much, being too selfish, not listening, and all the other things I have done to make these last 9 years "eventful".

To think that it all started in a coffee shop...here's to being scruffy with potential!

I love you!

Sweetest Thing

2008-03-05T20:46:00.017-05:00

Ok, Ok I know it has been a very long time since we have updated and I apoligize, things have been a little crazy around here including eating dinner as a family - I know crazy stuff huh?

Things are going well for Joe, he is doing alot of marketing right now and getting his clients together. We are alll healthy for a change, man am I ready for spring!

I will try to let you in on the major events around the Schelling household, here goes.

Levi has gone potty on the potty once, yes I said once. I was all excited and bought Pull ups, but he decided it was an attention getter and doesn't care anymore. Oh well we have time yet.

We witnessed up close and personal what happens when you put a pack of Mentos in a 2 liter of Diet Coke.

Joe toke on the project of putting down new flooring in the entry way, good job Honey! (my Honey, not the Columbus Honey)

It looks sooooooooooo much better, the red fake brick look wasn't really us.

Then I got to go on a field trip with Noah's class to the zoo, oh yeah the zoo in the winter. I have to say though there were a lot more animals out than I thought so it was pretty fun, plus Michele (Aidan's Mom, and my friend)went to so we got to hang out, thank's for the fun company :) This is the two boys who are "best buds" as they say when they toast with there milk.

Oh wait that isn't the monkey's :)

We had the pleasure of going to Isaac's baptism in February. I am also putting my Auntie knowledge to use, I am watching him on Wednesday's so Gretchen can go to work. Levi loves the special cousin time he has when Noah is at school. Can you tell he is a Zuidema? Most recentlly we went to hang out with the Haan's for a night of laughs, as you can see by the pics below. Thank you guys for the great time of fellowship. Noah and Aidan (or Mr. Incredible and Spiderman.)

Noah, Aidan, Rileigh, and Meghan, (Meghan you look like a alien)

Well that is it for now, we are enjoying spending time as a family (as I say that Joe is on his computer playing chess, and the kids are sleeping, good family time huh?) speaking of computers, a big thank you goes out to Michael and Calvin College for the new computer for Joe.

We are learing how to fully rest in the faithfulness of our Lord and trusting that he will provide for our needs during this transition time. We still feel strongly that Joe is following his will for our family, and Joe is getting great feedback and being clearly shown the strong need for what he is doing. I ask for your continued prayers, as some days are harder than others (especially for me) pray for perserverance, and that the Lord will truly come alive in out hearts. Pray that this will be a huge testimony of his love for us and he receives the glory. That's it from the super heros:)

Trust and Obey

2008-01-28T14:07:00.000-05:00

To all who stumble across this blog I would just ask for your prayers this week as we are making a big change in the Schelling household. Joe has been offered an amazing job and as of February 1st he will no longer be at Hope Network. This job will be through BRAINS- Behavioral Resources And Institute for Neuropsychological Services and he is writing his own program (Joe's edit: this has not been purely by myself, many people have worked very hard to establish it with me) which is called CITY -Community Integration for Teens and Youth, which is helping parents and children(for more in depth explanation you can talk to Joe). This is Joe's dream job really and we feel so blessed to be given this chance. We ask that you pray for this program to take off so to speak, and it would all go smoothly. He has a waiting list of clients already and we pray that the word gets out about this program and more clients will be blessed by it. Joe will be also working at Pine Rest a little until the program is fully under way. This is a huge step for us and we are going ahead knowing that this is what God is calling him to do, and that the success of this program is going to be a testment to His Glory. We know that are faith is going to be tested which is a good thing but sometimes hard to see in the process, and we know that the Lord is watching over us and we need to trust that we will be taken care. (I'm sure I will have to remind myself of this often) I am so proud of Joe for taking this on, and the passion that he has always shown for this type of work, I know the children and parents will be blessed through him and that he will be blessed by them as well. I Love you Joe and I know you can do this!

We also would ask that you keep our dear friends the Haans in your prayers, Meghan has been going through some very, very rough days with the Chemo and the drugs that have been used. There family is a tue inspiration to us, and there faith has shown us what a great example of trusting in the Lord is to look like. Meghan, you amaze me girl, keep fighting! the Lord will never let go.

Thank you for your prayers,

The Schelling Clan

Any Other Way

2008-01-23T13:59:00.000-05:00

Noah had a snow day yesterday so we decided to take advantage of it and spend some quality time together. The boys wanted to play outside of course so we bundled up to go play.

This was a fun game, go down the slide on the sled and then mommy pulls us around the backyard like a rocket ship. Let me tell you if you want a workout this is perfect.

There is something to playing outside with your kids that is relaxing almost. It's nice to just stop and take time to enjoy your children. I get so caught up sometimes in making sure that everything is clean, the laundry is done, the house is not a pit,etc... the list could go on, that I forget to really enjoy the gifts that God has so richly blessed us with. I love my boys and they mean everything to me ( including my big kid). Today was a good reminder that these days go fast and I need to enjoy them more. I admire Joe in the way that when he is home it is all about the boys, that is just one of the many things I love about him.

So to add to the day we went in to make cookies and have hot chocolate, really we did it so the boys could lick the beaters and go watch a movie after the first batch was done, but oh well it was fun and daddy enjoyed the treat when he come home.

We had a great day, even though Noah was sad he couldn't go to school and he missed Art day, he told me he was little grumpy because of that but I made up for it :)

Enjoy the people you love and tell them you love them often,( that goes for me to), you can never do it enough! Hug and laugh often, it can cure more than you know.

Baby,Baby,Baby

2008-01-14T17:32:00.000-05:00

I would like to present to you my nephew Isaac Daniel Driesenga, born at 3:59 am on January 13, and making a statment in the world already at 9p 12oz and 22 inches long!

Here is Isaac with his very excited cousins, We even got Levi to say baby Isaac! I can't wait to see them all run around together, more like get in trouble together :)

Levi is pointing to Isaac in case you couldn't figure out which one he is.

We are very happy for you Gretchen and Marc, we love you guys sooooooooooooo much and can't wait to watch him grow up and be part of his life - well the kids and I at least, we may have to keep uncle Joe away :) just kidding!

God has blessed you richly and you will be wonderful parents - cause your life will change ya know, are you ready for this? :) ha ha, we can laugh at it now right?

We love Auntie, Unkle Mac, and baby Isaac!

Oh Mister Sun (Noah's song choice)

2008-01-11T19:51:00.000-05:00

So I thought I would share some pictures with you of our first Christmas in our house. This is a picture of the boys (no really) at Fredrick Meijer Gardens before Christmas, we went to see the train and all the trees, this is also a great picture since both of them are actually looking at the camera and smiling. As you can see the boys are amazed at the trolly that kept going back and forth, they could have sat here for hours - no really they could have, they did not care about the trees from around the world as seen below, it was all about the train.

We had a great Christmas Eve with my family, we always do a candlelight dinner and a reading of the Christmas story. Then all the adults (which I am part of now-that's wierd) joke around about how we have to do the dishes and take a walk, then maybe we will need a nap, and then if there is time we can open presents. Noah and Levi did not like this idea so we continued with our tradition. Noah got a scarf which he was very excited about,

and my mom got what she has always wanted - beer :) no really it was a joke but to funny to pass up. The boys also got Cars PJ's which they have to wear at the same time, to avoid fights.

Here is Auntie, and Unkle Marc as they are called, this is one of the last pictures before we get to meet Baby D, man he got loot already this Christmas too, oh to be a kid again. Then we were graced with the presence of Honey and Grandpa for another Christmas on the 29th :), Grandma DeYoung also joined us as well as Aunt Jen, Uncle Kurt, Max, and Avery

The little one's got some appron's, and we all got something for the kitchen, thank you mom for working at a high end kitchen gadget store. If anyone is ever in Easton Columbus check of Sur la Table, it's awesome!
We can't forget about Eddie the new addition to the Colemans, Levi needs a dog I think, he liked the dog more than any of the present's.

We hope everyone had a Blessed Christmas and a great start to your New Year. I hope that this year brings many joys and blessings to all, as well as perserverance through the tough times, because we all know it's not all peaches and nuts :) I praise God for my wonderful husband, and boys, as well as all other family and friends that have supported us and loved us so much.

P.S New Years Day was my one year anniversary of not smoking, and I am still going strong!

I hope my next post will be of pictures of my nephew - and he will finally have a name :)

Mind's Made Up

2008-01-04T18:39:00.000-05:00

Please please click this link and read this blog entry. (I am trying to not write anything serious because life seems too serious right now) http://greenchairstudio.typepad.com/green_chair_studio/2007/09/once.html

It is a recomendation of the movie Once. Our friends have been bugging us to watch it for a while now and well as not suprise we haven't, that is until Wednesday night. Now I get why they wanted us to watch it. Check out You-Tube and see everything (seems like most of the movie is there). Great tunes!

WHile you are reading this blog, I encourage you to read the most recent posts and click on Meghan's blog, should be an encouragment to all of us. Please pray for them

Baby, It's Cold Outside

2007-12-15T20:06:00.000-05:00

In keeping with my new found Christmas spirit we decided to enjoy our "Snowman Cakes" this evening. Honey gave us these great cake molds that are in the shape of Snowmen (is[s]nowmen capitilized?) What a good time we had, but don't tell anyone that Joe had a good time with yet another Christmas activity.

It all started off inocently enough. We frosted the snowmen with white frosting first and then let the kids go crazy.

While it may look as if Levi is shouting in protest of Daddy offering assistance, the fact is he was screaming Levi words of joy! This picture merely represents a glimpse of the euphoria that Snowmen Cake can bring on!

Suprisingly enough, the snowman that Mommy helped Noah make did not match nor have the trendy styles that are all the craze! (I'm kidding with this, I love my wife and her keen eye for fashion and assure that we all in the Schelling house match)

Levi mistakingly assumed that the cakes were really ice-cream which resulted in...

...the knowledge that this is not an activity that should be done after a bath rather before a bath!

So in the end this is the results. From left to right, Noah, Daddy, Mommy, Levi. I suppose we should have saved these die to the fact that some one some where could say that these are fantasic works of art, or as Noah said right after this picture was taken...

"Ya know Daddy, the best part of all of this is that we still get to eat them!"

Thanks Honey for the molds!

It's Beginning to look alot like Christmas

2007-12-03T13:03:00.000-05:00

So we at the Schelling home decided to cut down our own Christmas tree this year, we went to Hart Tree Farm in Rockford and I highly recommend it we really did not see one bad tree. As you can see the boys were just so excited they couldn't contain themselves!

Noah wanted to get this Charlie Brown Christmas tree though

So after about five minutes and the wind wipping us so hard and Noah saying "how bout that one to every tree we walked past", we picked a tree, Daddy told him that he could help him cut it down so here goes nothing!

As you can kindof see Noah is trying to help Joe carry it, that did not last long though.

Well after Joe's fingers about fell off trying to tie the tree to the roof of the van(b/c of the cold) we headed home to set the tree up and decorate it. We had to stop and get some hot chocolate at Noah's request first though. So after the boys decided it was more fun to play with all the ornaments the actually put them on the tree, Joe and I finished it, and we even put up the stockings - not bad for mister Scrooge himself huh?

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! From the Schellings

Welcome to the cruel world

2007-11-06T10:06:00.000-05:00

If you look closely, very closely, you will find that there is a new addition to "friends in blogdom". I encourage everyone to click on "The Colemans" to see where not only do I get my dynamic beauty, but also why I am the way I am. So welcome to the cruel wold Colemans. Lukee Fag!

How Many Cans

2007-10-21T18:36:00.000-04:00

So this is a record in quick posts, so everyone can rest at ease. Which makes me think, can you rest at anxiety? I would think that its a given that if you are at rest, you would then be at ease?

Anyway, Luke and Julie came into town this weekend and we had an opportunity to take the entire clan (Micah, Chole, Jude, Noah, Levi) to a local orchard.

Here is the whole crew of us (minus Jude who was sleeping at the time, I think we left him in the Ida Red section of the orchard). Looking at this picture it is hard to fathom that we have gotten to this point in life. This morning in chruch Luke and I were talking about the free and "easy" days of gathering together at thier house on Newburg at 11pm to drink coffee until about 2am or so. Now, dirty diapers, day trips to orchards, discussions regarding our children's apperant bent to frustrated us in ways never thought possible. For crap sake, we both own mini-vans. How far we have come. We will catch up with a third child someday...hey maybe we should visit St. Louis again so we can take Interstate 55. (ha, ha)

Chole, Levi, Micah, Noah the future of America

This is Chole and Levi after being caught kissing under an apple tree.

Here are the two oldest boys. Micah looks as if he is being forced to enjoy his time with Noah while Noah looks thrilled to spend time with someone other than Levi.

Julie and Emilie

Finally, the two that are important...well you can't see them behind Luke and Joe, sorry

A little housekeeping
I added a link to Noah's school along with a link to Luke and Julie's blog (mostly Julie's) and a link to a dear friend of our's blog. Her name is Michele and she truely is one of the most talented persons we have ever met, not too mention pretty cool! Please check out her blog, it is what this blog dreams of looking like.

These Are The Days

2007-10-17T20:53:00.000-04:00

So...it sounds as if some updating is needed. How come Emilie never gets yelled at for this!? Anyway since I have not updated since September 8th, lets go through this systematically and with order (I know that was redundant, again, over and over).

So last time we left our super family, we had gone to the beach, started school and painted our kitchen. Since then, we have...

Had a family jam session (Emilie was kinda like the bad drummer in this picture, ya know unreliable and off-beat - ha off-beat that was funny!)

Celebrated a number of birthdays in which...

Levi was frustrated by the concept of being alive for two years without the capability to drive a car yet...

...Noah posed for another picture...

Levi protested being part of a family (really he is enjoying the single most irritating car and truck toy imaginable, thank Gretchen and Marc, you will be getting these back in about a year!) Are my teeth straight? (If you laughed at this, you have been at our house since this evening)

Again, Noah is astonished at how smart Grandpa Kelly is. Seriously, he could show Noah a pile of dirt and tell him it came from an alien tiger who flew in on a boat and Noah would believe him and argue with anyone who disagreed with him. It's pretty fun!

Before, during, and after...KA-POW!!! (what a fitting shirt)

While Levi was off KA-POWing, Noah and Grandpa Kelly pleasured all of us with this great picture. I'm not sure who is happier?

We have also...

Learned how to ride a two wheeler (sans training wheels) And what does this mean?

It means that Daddy had to learn that it is time to join a gym and get into shape

Levi learned how to lick a bowl properly. Yes you Levi, you learned it!

We travled to Africa and took a stroll through the savannah, that was fun, kinda hot though.

While we were there, we had the privlidge to see in person the talented group Tito and Sanchez the amamzing singing giraffes. They were pretty good, but reminded me a bit of Hall and Oats though.

Option #1: After yet another melt down, Emilie lost control and tried to trade him away to this giraffe for a sack of onions.

Option #2: Emilie uses the social behaviors of giraffes to use as a teaching tools for Levi and how to get along with others

In a word, wow!

And yes we painted the living room, and hall, and stairway, and upstairs hall. (Thanks dad, even though he doesn't read this, big props anyways.)

And finally, we stopped by a little place in Rockford Michigan to remember good times that were had by all. Nothings says love like eatin' popcorn in the corner!

Aint It Great To Be Crazy (Boom Boom)

2007-09-08T10:38:00.000-04:00

This week, marked two major milestones within the Schelling family. First, we finally painted our kitchen, which was a nice shade of puke yellow/creamy type color. As you can see, we finally feel at home with the standard issue green on the walls. Now we just need to finish with some Mocha/Latte paint (which is a fancy way to say beige) in the living room and we shall have our family colors back in working order.

Also this week Noah started kindergarden. As normal, Noah was excited, but overly concerned about gym class while we were relishing in the fact that we can say "My, look how quick they grow up" and other typical adult things.

To add to the excitement, Noah's best buddy from church is in his class. Here's to the gruesome twosome!

To end this session, everyones favorite...random pictures!!

These are pictures from our recent day trip to Grand Haven

Great pictures because it looks like Noah is surfing. Really he is just kinda standing like that and jumping

The boys ready to hit the road, and to make it further than the local CVS

Big trains equal big fun (note: this is one of the few times that Levi actually looked at the camera at the right time)

Here is a great example of the fact that Noah is usually in charge of getting Levi to look at the camera. Also an example of the fact that rarely does Levi heed older brothers advice

"When I was your age Noah, I once swam all the way to Wisconsin just to eat cheese and brats!"

Let me explain this picture. This was taken on our way home. Levi was muching on some chips and fell asleep. What you can tell if you look closely is that he fell asleep with a chip in his mouth. (Yes, we stopped the van and took the chip out. We just waited until we have a picture of it so we can add it to his slideshow thing that he will have at his wedding)

Here Noah and Daddy work on cleaning my car. Again, Noah usually is good and looking as if he is helping, but leaves right after the pictures are taken

Even Levi gets into the action and once again refuses to look at a camera

After a job well done, Levi rewards all of us with a brief moment of cuteness! What a boy!

You Say It's Your Birthday

2007-08-31T12:51:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to Our Little Levi Joseph

Two Years Old Today

Photograph

2007-08-23T11:29:00.000-04:00

I know, I know...Here's pictures...I know it's late but here are pictures!

So a few weeks back we spent a week down in Columbus Ohio visiting Honey and Grandpa Kelly. We had a great time, despite the unnerving heat! We cannot thank them enough for putting up with all four of us for a week. Thier place is wonderful, though a bit like a compund. Seriously though it was wonderful. They do not live in an apartment complex, they live in a community.

First our trip to the Columbus Zoo

Who doesn't love a good picture of an elephant's hind quaters

What a tragedy, another victim of poor driving through the African savanah...ho wait, just a sleeping cat, cause it was too hot for even him!

This is a silver back gorilla beginning to stick its tounge out at Noah and myself. Not very appropriate if you ask me. I suppose I just make a joke regarding evolution, but I can't think of anything witty enough to be worth it

This is a manitee. I took the picture through the glass (which you all probably assumed since I am not the type ot swim with a large mammal such as this). Not only are these things really cool, they are huge! I know everyone knows that they are large, but the National Geographic Channel does not do them justice as far as size goes! Wow, big swimming cows, pretty cool!

Though it's kinda blurry, I love this picture. Gramps, Honey, and two of the three pigs. We had been trying to stage this photo all day with little luck. You can imagine how hard it is to get Honey to look at the camera and stop horseing around. (Just kidding, it was Junior)

We had a blast at the zoo, however hot it was. We did not get to see the whole thing, we are hoping to go back and see more in November. Hopefully it will not be as oppressively hot then. But then again it is Ohio and things seem to be a bit backwards there.

We also played some baseball while down there...

As you can imagine, this was one of those moments that forever changed Noah's life. Apperaently he had no idea that he was able to play on a "real professional baseball feild". As he stated, "I can't belive this, this is the best thing that ever happened to me". Oh, to be four years old again! Once again, this event was only overshadowed by the fact that we we enjoying our time in a freaking oven!

We also spent time with Tim and Kendra, the Buffingtons! This picture was taken at an outdoor (as you can tell) concert featuring the band British Invasion, hmmm, interesting. Great people, we really enjoyed thier company...the boys loved thier son Coakley

The boys had the most fun enjoying swimming, everyday, all day

(easy Em, if I'm in here, so are you)

Noah and Daddy took a "hiking adventure" to a pretty cool "nature preserve" jsut down the street from the Waco Compound. It was really cool, it kinda felt like we found something new.

All in all we had a great week of relaxation, conversation and quality time. We look forward to visiting again in November!

Welcome Back

2007-07-14T10:45:00.000-04:00

So this is overdue (at least that's what they say). These are merely pictures that I am cleaning off the old computer, I tried to at some captions to explain some...

As you can tell, the latter is a direct result of the former

Noah and Esther, future marital bliss. They do not know it yet, but the wedding is already planned.

After this incident, Levi has never been the same...we caught him before he reached Wisconsin

It looks as if Noah is a big help, really he only sticks around for the photo ops, then he splits to play with toys. But hey, he looks good. (Daddy really has no idea what he is doing either!)

Our House (Is a very very fine house)

2007-05-29T10:10:00.000-04:00

So I promised that these pix would be up on Sat and as we all know today is Tuesday. None the less here are some pictures of our recent upgrades...

This is our new bathroom. From pee-ish yellow to creamsicle! This was not without incident however while...

Noah was helpful, Levi decided to eat (or at least attempt to eat) the stir stick of the dark tarracota color. We did not get any pictures of this due to the fact that we were trying to cleanse him of the paint, both inside and out.

After the fun of cleaning a two year old from orange paint, we called it a day on Saturday. We did finally finish it all on Monday and here it is.

We also painted our upstairs bathroom...

It's kinda hard to take pictures in these room becuase they are so small. We also finally removed the big swing hanger thing in the back yard.

We are beginning to see some of our new grass come up. With two (plus me) kids running in the backyard its tough to keep it safe, but it looks pretty nice. Slowly but surely!

So that's all the pictures I have right now, I can't think of anything else new or exciting. Did I hear a rumor that a honey bee may be visiting Grand Rapids this weekend?

Our House (In The Middle of the Street)

2007-05-21T13:05:00.000-04:00

Alright, so this maybe a bit late. However I finished my May term class and have spent the last few days working around the house. Oh, yeah, we bought our house, moved in, I graduated (at least walked), recieved a new camera, worked around the house, blah, blah, blah, blah.

So here are some pictures of the whole ordeal, with comments just to make it more worthwhile...

This is the house with all the growth in the front. I had to be taken on Saturday, the day we moved because...

...our friend Eric began to cut down anything and everything that was green and had life in it. With permission of course. In fact he went to great heights to accomplish this feat...

Needless to say moving was as exciting as one can imagine. Fortunately we had lots of great help. Not just from cold beer and white chili either. So what have we been doing since? Well let's see...

Emilie has been busy painting anything! Just kidding, she painted the fireplace and it looks great. As you can tell, we still haven't painted any rooms yet. That will be cause for a blog-a-palooza celebration! I finally cut the lawn and put down some grass seed. I am hoping that this week or weekend I will have a chance to remove the old swing set (shouldn't be that hard) and put up the new one. I tried this morning to take out the white swing holder thinggy, however it is cemented in over two feet down. Which is nice to see that someone took the time to d it right, however I want to undo all their hard work! It does not look as if the in-laws will be getting a new swing holder thinggy.So this is where the house stands right now. I'm not sure if you can tell or not, but we painted the shutters black and the front door black. We still need to paint the frame of the little window on the front door white. I took out the huge log thing in the front and began to line it with soem of the large rocks we have laying all over. We repainted the window box and put some flowers in it (there orange and white, I don't know what kind). And a special note, if you look carefully you will see that the top shutters are painted. Yes I did it! However after seeing me struggle mightly, my neighboor Bob came over and finished it and fixed all the mistakes I made. I like Bob, he has a big ladder!

And now, random pictures of kids!

Big Bad Diary Days

2007-04-26T08:33:00.000-04:00

Today being Thursday is a day full of anxiety and excitment! Tomorrow this is our schedule:

8am - Go to the new house (Everything in being connected)
8:30am - Emilie and Levi arrive at the new house
8:45am - Joe leaves for graduation rehersal
10:30am - Joe heads back to the new house
11:30am - Joe and Emilie head over to Lake Michigan Drive to close on the house!
12:30am - Head back to the new house, er OUR HOUSE!!!, and unload a van full of small stuff
1pm - Go get a couple of van fulls of stuff to bring to the house
5pm - Joe should probably shower
6:30pm - Joe needs to be at Sunshine for graduation
7 (or 7:30, I can't remember) - graduation begins
Let's say 9:30pm - Go back to OUR NEW HOUSE and enjoy the fellowship (and beer) with Honey, Grandpa Kelly, and others
11pm - Back to old house to try to sleep
8am - pick up uhaul and begin to move in ernest

What a day! Now that I have a bit of a break in school, I have realized how good of a day this will be. I am never one to "toot my own horn" (at least intentionally), but we have very hard to get to this point. While at times we thought we would never reach this, God has blessed us richly through many trials and hardships in order to prepare us for Friday. This year will conclude my 6th year at RBC/Kuyper and mark the 8th year we have looked for a house! Granted there has been breaks in there, we have been working toward both of these for sometime! I think that its awsome that they both conclude on the same day (even symbollicly).

Here's to many years in our new house, many late evenings of fellowship, and great memories with our family.

By the way, if you are in the area of Alger Heights on Sat, drive down Blaine and look for us, you are always welcome. (Really anyone who reads this is already booked to be there Sat so...)

WORTH THE WAIT

2007-04-12T10:48:00.000-04:00

OK SO I AM A LITTLE LATE, BUT WE GOT THE HOUSE! WE GOT THE NEWS ON MONDAY AFTERNOON. WE ARE GETTING INSPECTIONS DONE ON SATURDAY AND IF ALL GOES WELL WE WILL CLOSE ON GRADUATION DAY WHICH IS IN 2 WEEKS. I AM SO EXCITED WORDS DOES NOT EXPRESS. THIS HOUSE IS, WELL WILL BE EVERYTHING WE NEED AND I REALLY COULD NOT ASK FOR A BETTER AREA IN OUR PRICE RANGE. IT'S ALL A LITTLE SUREAL YET B/C LAST TIME EVERYTHING FEEL THROUGH WITH THE INSPECTIONS BUT I AM HOPEFUL THIS TIME THAT EVERYTHING WILL WORK OUT. I CAN'T EXPLAIN TO ANYONE WHAT THIS IS GOING TO MEAN TO US. WE HAVE RENTED FOR ALMOST 8 YEARS NOW AND TO HAVE OUR OWN HOME IS THE MOST AMAZING FEELING EVER. I TOLD JOE THAT THE DAY WE CLOSE AND GET THE KEYS I AM GOING TO CRY. SO EVERYONE KEEP YOUR CALANDERS OPEN FOR THE LAST WEEKEND IN APRIL CAUSE WE ARE MOVING!
EMMALOU

WAITING, WAITING, FOR THE WORLD TO CHANGE

2007-04-05T09:57:00.000-04:00

THIS WHOLE PROCESS IS ENOUGH TO MAKE ANYONE START DRINKING. SO THE OFFER WENT IN ON TUESDAY WHICH WAS 6,000.00 OVER THE ASKING PRICE AND I JUST GOT A CALL THAT THEY ARE "CONSIDERING OUR OFFER" THEY NOW HAVE 3 TO 5 DAYS TO GET BACK TO US. I GUESS THAT THIS BANK IS GETTING TONS OF OFFERS ON HOUSES THEY OWN AND MOST OF THEM ARE GETTING REJECTED B/C OF THE LOW PRICES. I CAN TELL YOU THAT THROUGH THIS I HAVE LEARNED THAT THE PRESUMPTION THAT YOU CAN GO 20,000.00 LESS IS SO UN-TRUE. THESE BANKS COULD CARE LESS IF THEY SELL IT, THEY ARE GETTING THEIR MONEY, IT'S THE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE GETTING UPSET, THE HOUSES ARE LOOKING SHABBY AND THEY WANT PEOPLE IN THEM. ANYWAY ENOUGH OF MY RANTING, EVERYONE KEEP PRAYING AND HOPEFULLY I WILL UPDATE SOON WITH GOOD NEWS.

THE JOYS OF POLICY

2007-03-23T16:05:00.000-04:00

OK I WILL TRY TO SUM THIS UP AS BEST I CAN. THEY AGAIN REJECTED OUR OFFER AND THEY SAME DAY FOUND OUT THEY MUST LOWER THE PRICE. I KNOW IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE, BUT THEY HAVE TO LOWER IT A PERCENTAGE AMOUNT IF IT DOESN'T SELL WITHIN A CERTAIN TIME FRAME AND WE WERE JUST PAST THAT. SO ANYWAY AT THE NEW PRICE IT HAS TO BE "OPEN TO THE PUBLIC" FOR 10 DAYS BEFORE ANYONE CAN MAKE AN OFFER. THIS MEANS THAT ONCE AGAIN THE TORTURE CONTINUES AND WE CAN PUT IN A NEW OFFER WHEN THOSE 10 DAYS ARE UP. WE WILL NOT BE GETTING IT FOR ANY LESS, B/C NOW WE REACH THERE BOTTOM PRICE OF PROFIT BUT AT LEAST WE STILL HAVE A CHANCE FOR THE SAME PRICE. SO NO NEWS FOR A WHILE, BUT KEEP PRAYING THAT GOD WILL SHOW US HIS DIRECTION IN ALL THIS, EITHER HE REALLY WANT'S US TO HAVE IT, OR HE IS GOING THRU GREAT LENGHTS TO SHOW US IT'S NOT THE ONE. WE FEEL REALLY STRONG TOWARDS THIS HOUSE SO FOR US IT IS WORTH ONE MORE SHOT. WE SHALL SEE!
EMMA LOU

GOING INSANE

2007-03-22T12:09:00.000-04:00

SO THEY CAME BACK ON MONDAY AND REJECTED OUR OFFER. WE THEN TALKED ABOUT IT AND SAID WE SHOULD DO FULL PRICE OFFER, OUR REALTORS SAID WE SHOULD GO UP ONLY 2,000.00 SO WE DID. THEN WE GET A CALL THIS MORNING THAT THEY REJECTED THAT OFFER, AND THAT WE SHOULD PUT IN A FULL PRICE OFFER DUH ! DIDN'T WE SAY THAT, ANYWAY SO NOW WE ARE WAITING FOR THAT ANSWER. WE WERE TOLD THAT SOMEONE ELSE IS PUTTING IN AN OFFER TOO BUT THEY ARE DOING IT ALL WRONG AND GOING FHA WHICH WILL NOT FLY WITH THIS HOUSE.
REALLY I CAN'T HADLE THIS ANYMORE. I THOUGHT THIS WAS GOING TO BE A FUN PROCESS BUT IT IS ANYTHING BUT. KEEP PRAYING EVERYONE, IF THIS IS THE HOUSE GOD WANT'S US TO BE IN IT WILL HAPPEN BUT HELP US TO ACCEPT IF IT'S NOT.
EMMA LOU
NOAH WAS SAD THE OTHER DAY AND I ASKED HIM WHAT WAS WRONG, AND HE SAID " I JUST WANT TO KNOW IF WE GOT THAT HOUSE, I WANT TO LIVE THERE " I THINK I WILL HAVE A DRINKING PROBLEM BY THE END OF THIS!

EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOSTER

2007-03-15T12:05:00.000-04:00

OK, SO I AM FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW BECAUSE WE JUST PUT IN AN OFFER ON A HOUSE. THIS IS SUCH A EMOTIONAL THING. THE PHONE CALLS, AND FAXES BACK AND FORTH, THE WAITING, IT SUCKS! IT'S IN ALGER HEIGHTS AND HAS EVERYHTING WE WANT, OR CAN DO. THE BASEMENT NEEDS TO BE FINISHED BUT IT IS GOOD ENOUGH RIGHT NOW. THE KITCHEN NEEDS WORK BUT WE CAN DO LITTLE STUFF RIGHT NOW TO HELP IT. THE FULL BATH IS OK BUT NOT OUR TASTE. IT HAS A GREAT YARD FOR THE BOYS AND I COULD NOT ASK FOR A BETTER NEIGHBORHOOD. THERE ARE 3 OTHER INVESTORS THAT HAVE PUT OFFERS IN SO WHO KNOWS WHAT THE HECK IS GOING TO HAPPEN. I ASK THAT YOU PLEASE KEEP US IN YOUR PRAYERS, AND IF THIS IS NOT THE HOUSE FOR US THAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITHOUT BEING TO SAD.
EMMA LOU

Update on the Schellings

2007-03-02T13:58:00.000-05:00

Joe gets to graduate next month! We are so exicted, well at least I am Joe is waiting for the big one after his masters but this is a huge accomplishment for him and for our family. He does still have to take a May term and finish up his incompletes, but he does not have to wait a year to graduate. We are still looking at houses. I feel very down about this. It is supposed to be fun to find a house and we have been looking for 6 months and I have not felt the feeling so to speak when I walk in a house. I want to walk in and go " this is my home" We have looked at alot of places that we know could work but I'm sick of doing that. I know that may be a little selfish but I want a home, not just a house.
The kids are well, I can not wait until spring so we can go outside, they are getting sick of playing inside and quite frankly so am I. Next weekend I am going away with some of my high school friends that get togeher for playdate. I am so excited we are going to a cottege for the night just us girls to get away from the craziness that is our lives. I don't think I have ever gone away and left Joe at home with the kids for the night. I have all the faith in the world in him but it shall be interesting. God is giving both of us all the strenght we need to get through this last couple months. It is very hard I won't lie, Joe and I both have those days where we think we can't do it anymore, but alass we do. The end is in sight, at least for a while and then we shall see where God leads us.

It's So Hard, To Say Goodbye

2007-02-16T16:13:00.000-05:00

You've all wondered...

Could it really be possible...

Would reality hold such things...

Yes, the "Blue" Sable is no more! Well it still is, that is in the essence of Sable-ness, but not in our family.

Today I purchased a Camry that will hope to prove more reliable, safe, and attractive mode of transportation. It's a 1995, but that's like brand new after driving a 98 for five years!

And now,mainly for readers in St. Louis, pictures (yes, from autotrader.com)

attack of the killer flu

2007-01-25T11:19:00.000-05:00

So we all has a wonderful week. Sunday at church Levi decided to throw up all over me, himself and the carpet.I just stood there in shock not knowing what I should do next. Later that night after I got Levi settled, Noah got sick and we had to go up to Mom and Kelly's to dogsit. I thought OK this will be fun two sick kids, with it coming out both ends I can get through this. Oh but wait it get's better, monday I woke up with it and Joe had to go to school so the kids watched a lot of tv that day. I felt so bad, I couldn't even feed them because food smelled and looked so gross. Joe came home and didn't go to work that afternoon so I could relax, and the kids could eat. Yet we don't want to leave Joe out would we, he woke up Tuesday moring with it. I can not believe how fast we all got sick, it was like the plauge! Needless to say I washed everything, used Clorox wips on all surfaces, and sprayed the crap out of the house with lysol. Mom and Kelly come home tonight and I pray that they do not get sick. So now I am at work and feel like I have returned to the world. I love being up there, but you are away from everything and being stuck in the house for 3 days makes a person go a little nuts. So everyone beware of the flu, it's a good one this year.

Things to look forward to in 2007

2007-01-08T12:41:00.002-05:00

Ok so I will attempt to post again as long as no one will dis me in the comments for anything. As I look over the past year, and the last post I realized that we had a lot going on this year. It's always funny to me to look back and see God's hand in everything that happens. It never is how we planned or even even in our dreams what we expected. Sometimes in the midst of trials we even wonder how we will make it through. I thank the Lord daily for the path that he has put us on and that he has provided for eveything we need to take that path. Now if you asked me this about two years ago I would have told you that there is no way I would have seen our situation as a blessing, but once again God has brought us through and we know we wouldn't have it any other way. God has taught me so much over the past couple years about myself and about us as a family and only hope that I can continue to be the wife and mother that my family deserves. I think 2007 will be a good year, (in my mind anyway) we have a full year once again and look forward to the joys and the struggles he will bring us through. This year we hope to purchase our first home, (it maybe soon since we found one this weekend we really like), Joe is going to finish his degree at Kuyper dispite all the set backs last semester, Noah will finish his first year of pre-school and start kintergarden hopefuuly at Knapp Charter, Levi will be 2 already, and Lord willing we will have another prenancy. Now those are the things we plan to happen but who know's the path God has for us. I ask for prayers for us as this year is going to be very crazy, and also my mother in law and father in law need to sell their house in order to move to Columbus, so as much as we don't want them to move, the commute is driving them both nuts. Blessing to all in 2007 and we shall see what this year brings. I know we need to get pictures up here of the boys, so I will try and do that soon.
Emma Lou

Thankful Hearts

2006-11-29T10:13:00.001-05:00

So I know that this is a little overdue, but I thought I would fill everyone in on the ongoings at Ida. Joe is doing much better and went back to work this week. I think more than anything he needed to get out and feel like he is doing something again. His normal daily life is a little more busy and exciting than sitting at home cleaning the house and doing laundry:) We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and were able to spend time with both families and Luke and Julie. Over this past six weeks it has been a big adjustment on both of our parts but it also has made me realize a lot so here are a couple things I am thankful for.
- I am thankful for the daily strenght I get from my savior.
- I am thankful for being raised in a Christian home.
- I am thankful for my wonderful Husband, who means more to me than he will ever know.
- I am thankful that God has blessed us with two beautiful boys who are the light of me life.
- I am thankful for my wonderful parents and Gretchen and Marc. Also my great in- laws and extended family that we are so close with.
- I am thankful for great close friends who have always been there for us.
- I am thankful for the house we have right now (even though we don't own it) and how it has helped us.
- I am thankful for Noah's school and his teachers
- I am thankful for the jobs we have and that they have been a blessing for us.
Anyway the list could go on, but I thought I would share a couple things with all of you, if anyone still reads this :)
Blessings to all
Emilie

Cuts Like a Knive (But It Feels So Right)

2006-11-13T22:26:00.000-05:00

So here I am, 10:19 on a Monday night.

I have had my surgery this morning, at 8am, Emilie has gone home to get some sleep (she needs this dearly). The boys are at Oma and Opa's for the next couple of nights. The only things going through my mind is that "I can't believe that we are done". I mean we have been thinking, dreaming even of this time, when I was done with the surgery. I am comfortable, for the most part. I am on pain meds, but have a bit of a head ache because of them all, and because I have not had a smoke in over 24 hours. (If anyone is reading this, this does NOT mean that I intend to stop smoking anytime soon. Let us not go down that road right now!!)

My doctor told me that I can't return to work for at least two weeks! I hope I do not become the Wally Pipp of the DART program. It has been nice to hang out with my family so much though. I must say that my wife absolutely is the best hands down. I will not even take arguments regarding this! There is NO better wife ot there than Emilie.

So now I wait to go home. I know that I am here for at least one more day, maybe two. I cannot leave until I have the cathader removed. (Which I will not boast of the benifit of. I can fart around on the internet, drinking water and grape juice and not have to get up to pee. I know to some that may not be cool, but for me it rocks!!!) It's not bad here, I have a private room, if anyone want to visit, 5025 I'm not going anywhere!

Great nurses, pretty good coffee (I also learned that coffee is NOT bad for kidney stones)
I have my computer to watch movies, play on the internet.

Until next time....

Stay (Wasting Time)

2006-11-03T10:08:00.000-05:00

So it's Friday of the first week that I am at home...bordome has set in. I think Emilie is getting tired of me being home all the time. I have changed the way my boys get through the day, they are not used to daddy being home so much. I have learned that there is not much to offer as far as daytime TV goes. I can only hope for a good documentary on the History Channel and the allowance from my children to view it. I have watched every movie we own, and am being to enjoy the thought of bangging my head upon a wall. All the while, I am still in pain and at times the taking of more percept and going to my "happy place" is the only respite at times.

So that is the negative...the positive are great.

I am at home! I have not seen my boys this much in a long time and it is truely great. I have spent so much time with Levi and realized that he is one of the funniest little boys in the world. Noah, is very gifted at everything he does. We have eaten many meals together and it reminds me how important family is. I have also spent a day with my Mom, who is sick herself, and had a great time. (There is nothing like being with Mom when you don't feel good).

I have set a loose goal of going to at least one class next week, or maybe I'll try to go into work. I am trying to just "get used" to the pain for at least half the day. I also realized that I have some control issues that I need to work through. Emilie has to drive me everywhere and at times I do not act as a supportive husband as I should. (Sorry about that Em)

I check my email very regularly throughout the day hoping for some interaction. Soon life will get back to normal, until then I think I will take this time and enjoy my family.

Hey, You, Get Off Of My Cloud

2006-10-28T10:11:00.000-04:00

So here's the latest on the stone patrol...

Ever hear of a cystoscopy and ureteroscopy? No you say, then click here to learn all the exciting details. I had this done on Thursday. It does not feel real good. The doctor said that if it is bothering me then I can take it out. Yes, by myself. If you did not read about it, let me just say that it is a stent between my bladder and kidney and there is only one way out. Think about the work URETERoscopy and think where it comes out!!!!!

I have to wait until the 13th of November to have my large stone surgically removed. So I have two weeks of drowning in Viducin, Diladud, and Percocet which all provide varying degrees of "fuzzy headedness". So how am I going to work and participate in school with either pain or pain medication? I do not know!

Since I can feel the stent in my body, and have other associated pain, the thought of no pain medication is not pleasant, but the thought of being on a different cloud is not nice either.

My whole family has been incredible. Emilie is truly the best thing during all this. She knows exactly what I need, even when I don't. Noah and Levi know to be gentle with me. Maybe just Noah. I explained to Noah that there is a rock in my back and a doctor has to take it out. Then I tried to explain to him that I have a hose in my body. He asked me if we could go out and water the lawn with my special hose. I told him about all the special pills that Daddy has to take and he thinks it cool that I have an orange pill that helps me poop.

Hopefully this will all end soon, I keep you posted.

Everybody Must Get Stoned (or The Friday Song)

2006-10-25T18:58:00.000-04:00

Can you guess what this is? No, it's not a moon rock nor is it a old tangerine that is hard. You guessed it, it's a kidney stone and if you know me at all you know that I am fond of these puppies! For the last six or seven years I have struggled with these things and finally I broke, I went to the doctor to take care of the problem.

So on Tues. morning Emilie took down to the ER (after laying in my living room grunting like a drunk cow) to begin the process of kideny stones removal. What did we learn? A couple of things, (1) we always have great nurses whenever we are in the hospital, I tend to have great conversations about theology in there (granted I am pumped full of morphine) (2) I have a big stone that needs serious attention. Next step...go see the urologist on Wednesday morning. (Only after three hours on the phone with my insurance company).

Forward to this morning, 8 am, getting x-rays and seeing the urologist. (its not my-in so it must be u-rine) He looks at my x-rays and states "wow, that's a big stone". He said that lithoscripty will not work because its too big, they will have to operate. Sweet, not only do I hate needles, I have never had surgery nor am I comfortable with the idea of someone cutting open my side, take out my kidney, cutting that open (no joke!), removing the stone, then putting everything back together again.

So I get to wait until the 13th of November to have that, but get to have a smaller "procedure" on Thursday to help elevate some of the pain, which is not helped by a constant stream of Vicodin and Diludid. To top it off, our best friends are coming into town from St. Loius as we speak.

For more information on kidney stones (or to be bored out of your freakin mind) click here. For more cool pictures of kidney stones click here. To interact with me as I sit around my house in a medicated stupor, click below where it says comments.

Go Tigers!

Cat Scratch Fever

2006-10-14T21:04:00.000-04:00

I really never thought I would see this again! The Tigers are in the World Series!!

Bring on So Taguchi

Roam (If You Want To)

2006-10-08T16:20:00.000-04:00

So our little Noah had his very first field trip on Friday. They travelled to Klackels Orchard in Greenville. He even was able to ride on a big yellow school bus for the first time. If you have spent any time with him, you know that this was a very special occasion in his young life. The secratary, Ms. D as Noah called her took some pictures of them and sent them to us...

How 'bout them apples!

We know call him "The Big Doughnut"

Toot Toot Chugga Chugga Big Red Car!

One of the rules is that you cannot smile on field trips, can you find the rule breaker?

Some people fish, others get pumkins. It's actually quite an accomplishment to pick up a vegetable (or is it a fruit) that sits in the dirt

This is his class of fellow pre-schoolers, he's not even paying attention. That is rare for Noah when there is a camera around

In other Schelling family news we have accepted thier counter offer on the "big blue house". We are having our inspection on Wednesday morning. I will follow the inspector around with a cup of coffee in tote pretending I understand what in the world he is talking about. We might be moving as soon as a couple of weeks. If anyone is into stipping wallpaper and painting then give us a call. Oh yeah, if anyone is in the mood to help us out moving let us know because we are going to need as much help as possible. We will keep you posted.

Manic Monday

2006-10-02T11:03:00.000-04:00

I have not been able to create a new post in a while. I have been very busy but consider this an update on current state of affairs with the Princess and her three pigs.

As far as work goes, it has been very crazy. As part of my internship, which I am doing in our outpaitent clinic, I have been perpare for our CARF accredation. In a nutshell it is a painful process where you have to meet certain standards of practice in order to recieve national accrededation thus giving your program a "good name". It is a meticulous, line by line assurance that your paperwork all says what is "proper", you facilities are clean and accesable, your staff are trainied in all "meaningful" areas, and oh yeah, paperwork. If anyone has a complaint about paperwork in any social service agency, the reason is probably CARF.

In happier news, I think that we finally found a house to buy.

I know it sound crazy to even think about buying a house while going through school and work, but so far it has been pretty stres free (for me anyways). It appears to be a pretty sound house, but we have yet to get an inspection. It needs some cosmetics, i.e. ripping down wallpaper adonred with ducks and swings, changing some flooring, but nothing that is terribly major. Eventually we will reside the house. We are hoping to get all neccesary paperwork (here we go again) in this week and make an offical offer. We would like to move in during the semester break. The boys love the house and it would offer us a tremendous amount of room, we would not have to move for along time.

That's all I can think of for now...

Hail to the Victors

2006-09-16T19:23:00.000-04:00

OUCH, How does that taste South Bend?

Photographs and Memories

2006-09-08T22:38:00.000-04:00

Here are some more pictures of the family. All of these photos were taken by my wonderful sister-in-law Gretchen. I love the pictures that she takes, and the way she pours my coffee on Friday nites!

Here is one of my favorite pics of the Princess and her three pigs.

This is little Levi Joseph with his cousin Avery Joy who is one month older than he is

(baby-tastic!)

A closer look at Avery Joy

The fabulous Kurt and Jen (sister and brother-in-law)

The many cups of coffee that have been spilled with them (he was asking for it!)

Levi Joseph looking at what life might be brinning him from the left

This is Max. The one and the only!

Noah James (for some reason all of our children look towards the left)

The whole fam! Don't mess with us!

Again, many thanks to Gretchen for spending the day with my family and taking great pictures. These are memories that we all will forever cherish!

The Magical Mystery Tour

2006-08-27T15:28:00.000-04:00

As I sit, I am looking another year of school in the eyes. While this would not normally cause concern, I am working full-time (plus an intership) this year. Granted, I am not the first and only person to do this, since this is my blog, it's all about me!

Work is good, even great, but busy. I am very thankful for the opportunity I have at Hope Network. Although we just watched "Fun with Dick and Jane" last night and are conviced that a similar situation will find us soon. (I think I am a bit pessimistic)

I am also going to try to add new music links over there on the side. I am very big on Paste Music right now. I have downloaded some tunes from a few of the artists featured and look forward to adding them to my study music rotation. Check out the links for Jason Harrod, Luke Brindley and Jan Krist. Very impressive music if you like the new folk scene. yes it's mellow (some would say said) but very emotional and isn't that what music is supposed to be!

So with that being said, I must not put off this paper I am to write any longer. The unfortunate thing is that it is on a topic that I have no idea about, so it should be fun.

Has anyone seen a Columbus Honey anywhere?

HELLO EVERYONE, EM ENTERS THE BLOG WORLD

2006-08-24T11:24:00.000-04:00

I'M NOT SURE IF ANYONE EVEN READS THIS OR NOT BUT I HAVE DECIDED TO SHARE WITH YOU SOME OF MY THOUGHTS, OR JUST THE DAY TO DAY ONGOINGS OF ME, THE PRINCESS AND MY THREE WONDERFUL MEN. LIFE IS ABOUT TO GET EVEN MORE CRAZY, JOE STARTS SCHOOL NEXT WEEK AND NOAH STARTS PRE-SCHOOL ON SEPT. 11 LEVI TOOK HIS FIRST STEPS ON WEDNESDAY, AND OF COURSE WILL NOT ATTEMPT IT AGAIN. AS FOR ME I TRIED TO DO TO MUCH YESTERDAY AND CLEAN THE HOUSE BUT NOT JUST ANY CLEANING, I CLEANED AND ORGANIZED THE BASMENT, GOT OUT ALL OF THE KIDS CLOTHES FOR THE UPCOMING SEASON OF FALL (WHICH I CAN'T WAIT FOR) AND WENT THRU ALL THE TOYS AND ROTATED THEM. THAT WAS MY FUN FILLED DAY.:)
AS I WAS SITTING LAST NIGHT DOG TIRED, I BEGAN TO THINK ABOUT MY LIFE AND HOW LUCKY I AM. YES LIFE IS CRAZY FOR US AND PEOPLE WONDER HOW WE DO IT, BUT I HAVE SO MUCH TO BE
THANKFUL FOR. I HAVE A WONDERFUL HUSBAND WHO WORKS SO HARD FOR OUR FAMILY AND AND IS SO GOOD TO ME AND OUR BOYS. I ALSO HAVE TWO WONDERFUL CHILDREN WHO I COULD NOT IMAGINE MY LIFE WITHOUT, MY THREE BOYS ARE THE REASON I GET UP IN THE MORNING.
OK SORRY FOR GETTING SAPPY, I WILL TRY TO GET SOME PICTURES UP HERE SOON, GRETCHEN IS TAKING FAMILY PICTURES ON SATURDAY. THE CAPITALS ARE ALL TO PISS YOU OFF JOE:) I LUV YOU JOE

She blinded me with sceince

2006-08-08T23:02:00.000-04:00

Hooray for technology! Hooray for me for stepping into an age that is already old and passed away. I recently recieved a palmPiolt from my mom (big props to the moms) but it did not seem to want to wake from it almost year slumber away from any energy source. Finally she awoke with a falsh of a light, can't really explain why.

Although I have discovered the world around me has given to me numerous digital calendars, phone, email, pda, Outlook, I can't seem to get the damn things to get along and work in a wonderful digitally united universe that I command!

Now it is on to my next earthly goal, going from comp-u-tarded to comp-u-tastic!

Hooray for tech geeks!

Mama Said

2006-08-05T17:34:00.000-04:00

Some may say that being a "mama's boys" is not tough. I can proudly say that I am a mama's boy. Mom's are pretty cool!

*This picture was taken at John Ball Zoo circa 1987

Family photos, can't get enough!

2006-07-19T22:30:00.000-04:00

Here are some random pictures that I have accumulated on my computer. The b&w's were taken by my sister-in-law. I think they are great. They are a couple of years old now, my how time flies....

I have to get some new photos on my computer soon. I will try to update this again soon!