THE BUSY LIFE: Completely Blessed

THE BUSY LIFE: Completely Blessed:     So much has happened since I last wrote.  Vernon was home for his normal 2 weeks & we had lunch with  the preacher from the church we ar...

Completely Blessed

    So much has happened since I last wrote.  Vernon was home for his normal 2 weeks & we had lunch with  the preacher from the church we are now attending on Vernon's last day home from his hitch.  During this 3 hour long lunch we learned a lot, not only about each other, but also about ourselves.  Vernon shared that he has always felt that marrying me was the turning point in his life from the path of destruction he had been on since his early teens.  I, in turn, shared that my family & friends weren't always pleased with us dating since I had always been drawn to the 'bad boy' type.  The early years of our marriage were not easy for either of us...he struggled with who he had been in his past & who he wanted to be in the future....I struggled with feeling the constant need to defend his past & our relationship.  Probably the trait I love most about him is his ability to defy the ordinary & not pay attention to what others say or think, but i'm not sure I have ever told him that until that day over lunch at Whataburger!
   The conversation then turned to our faith & the things that we had been taught growing up & how we felt now.  With both of us being children of divorced homes, we had each had very different journeys with church lives.  Vernon had been raised mostly by his grandmother, who had converted to Lutheran when she got married & that was the only church he knew.  Myself, well let's just say, I was all kinds of messed up!  When I was with my mom, we attended the Church of Christ, when my dad had his weekend visitations, I either went to church with my grandparents to the Methodist church, or I went with my dad & step-mom to the Baptist church...talk about all kinds of confused!!  I new that everyone has a moment in their lives when they hear & feel God in their heart & if they listened & answered back, their life was changed forever & I had that moment one summer at church camp.  At that moment, I realized that it didn't matter what denomination you were, as long as you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior.  Vernon, on the other hand, had never been taught this way.  He had always been taught that if you go to church, attend & finish the classes that the church offered, professed you faith in a ceremony, that was it & you were good. So, the majority of this lunch discussion was the preacher talking to Vernon about the scriptures in the Bible that pertain to accepting Christ & how that is a decision that everyone makes, not just a requirement.  Boy, did that make me feel like a bad parent, since we had decided after we got married to join the Lutheran church since Vernon had the strongest & most stable church affiliation!  Our kids didn't know any other way of worshiping, but we were assured that the young years are all about teaching the stories of the Bible & learning of what an incredible gift we were given with Jesus' death & resurrection.  We did find out that B could go on Wed nights since the group she is in also has Wed night meetings.  After telling her this, she was pumped to go & see what it was all about since she knew her brother would be in the same place.
   The next morning, Vernon started out on his 10 hour drive for another 2 week hitch.  He called after being on the road for 4 hours in what sounded like a total panic & told me had some bad news.  "I'm on my way to work."  Now I might not be the sharpest pencil in the box, but I already knew this!!  Next he said he had good news, which was that as he was driving, the radio station had lost signal & he drove in silence for a few hours.  During this time, he began to think about the husband & father he was & how he knew he was meant to be better at the roles that God had put into his life, so he stopped & right then began to pray & invited Jesus into his life.  Talk about fast action!!  Without knowing what had happened, N went to youth group & felt the pull on his heart & asked Jesus into his life!!  Let me just say, the date of this completely blessed event will forever be celebrated by us.  God does work miracles & He allows things to happen sometimes that change us.  That lunch meeting has forever changed our family by strengthening the bond Vernon & I have as husband & wife, & by drawing our family even closer to the Lord.
   We are over half way done with Vernon's 2 weeks of work, & we are all excited for him to come home.  My mornings are filled with getting the kids up & ready for school, then I head out to the city park & walk.  The first few mornings, I left after 30 mins, thinking about all the things I needed to get done at home.  Then this mornings, I was taking in the cooler temps, the leaves beginning to change, squirrels scampering about, & the music from my earbuds filling my head with worship songs...1 1/2 hours later, I left to come home.  The laundry, floors, & dusting was all still here when I got back, imagine that!!

Back to Crazy

   Let me start off by saying, this whole lifestyle change stinks!!  I have been so excited to finally have all my health issues under control & be able to focus on a lower number when I step on the scale, that I have forgotten how hard it can be!  I have hit a stopping point, just shy of my 1st small goal, so I will have to work  on that a little harder.
   Hubby spent 2 1/2 weeks at work leaving me to handle the back to school shopping & prep in the middle of another hospital stay for my sweet grandmother.  I am so blessed to be with my kiddos now instead of working out of the home & feel even more blessed to be able to care for my GM & spend so much precious time with her.
   So yep, we are now back to school & at the end of our 1st week.  It has been easy & smooth sailing with the morning get up & go, until yesterday when Hubby was home.  Not quit sure why it always slows us down when he is home, but it definitely does!!  Then to add to our craziness, we have been in the midst of changing churches.  This decision for us did not in any way come lightly.  Hubby has been feeling the need for a change for a long while now, & there have been signs from above that it was needed for our family to grow in our faith.  Yes, this means that I am no longer involved in the children's ministry or in the social activities, but does mean that we are all 4 feeling the hand of God touching us each in a way that we haven't felt in a long time, which is beyond exciting!  The church we are now attending is huge in comparison, with 2 full services, children's group, youth group, & life groups for adults.  Attending the same church your whole life, which is small with 1 service of maybe 50 & being the oldest in the children's ministry of only 10 or less kiddos, you can easily see that our kids are nervous about joining these new groups.  With B being in the 5th grade, she would be in the children's group which meets during the Sunday morning service.  She has not felt comfortable enough to venture into that group yet, but with the youth group (jr. high & up) meeting on Wednesday nights, N gave it a shot this week & loved it!  He has always been our more laid-back, out of the spotlight kid, only doing band after trying many little league sports for a few years, so we all feel super-d-duper excited for him.  B of course did those little league sports till this year, which is when Girl Scouts really started kicking in high gear for her & she has started tumbling classes this week.  So during the 1st week of school we had an extra-curricular activity every day except Tues.
   Hubby is now home for 2 weeks (hopefully) & has already planned a cook-out for Labor Day which will turn into an all day affair, because off fishing from the back deck, which means I have to get busy cleaning.....yep, back to crazy!

Letting Go & Moving Ahead

   I had the opportunity to spend a few days out of town this past weekend & being the over-planner that I am, I left my daily cleaning checklists for Hubby & the kiddos.  Upon my return, the house was a disaster!  My 1st response was to freak out big time, but I was able to take a few quick breaths & ask what they had done while I was gone.  They had not left the house, but had spent lots of time together just being goofy.  With Hubby working out of state & gone so much, the kids really enjoyed the one-on-one time.  So, I let it go & moved ahead with attempting to get the house back in order.
   Now, the out of town trip was for my volunteer work with Girl Scouts & I learned a lot for this coming year.  I also ate a lot!!  After getting home, getting a good nights sleep & then weighing in, I was completely shocked (not sure why, I knew exactly everything I had eaten!).  So, I once again, let it go & moved ahead with attempting to do better.
   I have found that having a daily checklist for my housework helps me tremendously since I am a list maker by nature.  The habit of recording everything I eat is another great help & I am down 13 lbs as of this morning.....yeah me!!
   I should be very careful of what I eat today, but it is our anniversary & Hubby wants to go out for breakfast before he has to hit the road to go back to work.  His schedule has once again changed & he will be working for 2 weeks & home for 2.  Going out for breakfast, for me, means an endless supply of mocha coffee....nomnomnom!  So, once again, I will have to let it go & move ahead with my diet plan tomorrow :)

Freshman 15

   I have always heard everyone talk about the freshman 15, but didn't experience it when I went to college.  Let me just say, that freshman 15 isn't just about college--it has snuck up on me since becoming a sahm in November!  I have had problems with my weight since I was 10, but leveled out at around 150 in high school & remained there till my 1st pregnancy.  Last year I was walking & slowly getting the pounds off, then I became a 'freshman'.  I think it was so easy to do at work because we were all doing it together & kept each other accountable.  Here at home, there isn't anyone to hold me accountable.  So, this morning I took pictures for my weight loss journey, but I've decided not to post them yet.  I just can't make myself right now, but maybe after I am at my goal weight.  I have read several other stories about weight loss & am going to use an idea that I read about (not sure where saw it, sorry).  I am going to try a reward system for myself that doesn't include food!  This has always been an issue with me since I am an emotional eater.  I am already down 13 lbs since last month, so I a over 1/2 way to my first reward...yeah me!  I have changed these rewards a few times, but have settled on the following:
After 20 lb loss--Spa Pedi (I do my own every week & have always enjoyed going to the spa for it)
After 35 lb loss--Walking Shoes (my current pair is over 3 yrs old)
After 50 lb loss--Hair Appt (I've wanted to do drastic color since becoming a sahm)
After 65 lb loss--Cowgirl Boots (haven't owned a pair in over 10 yrs, but wore them everyday before kids)
After 80 lb loss--New Tattoo (once you get 1, they are addicting)
After 95 lb loss--Full Closet Makeover (shopping spree!!)
   After talking about this with DH, I decided that the freshman 15 hasn't just applied to my weight.  When I was working, I had a routine for the home--15 minutes of cleaning every morning before work, after getting home keep going because if I sat down, it was over!  I would go nonstop from walking in the door at 6 pm till dropping into the bed at 10:30 or 11.  Since i'm not working now, I have just felt like "oh, well, I have all day...no rush".  Then I do the 'crash & burn' where I clean like a mad woman for hrs & crash with pure exhaustion.  I am now working on 15 minute intervals of cleaning then rest every day & using a cleaning schedule.
   There are 2 websites that I am using for these 2 freshman 15.  I am using LoseIt for the weight loss & FlyLady for the cleaning.  Hoping I can get some control back!

Starting Over

Well, it has been soo long since I last blogged, but we have been very busy.  The last few months of school were crazy hectic, Vernon got a transfer a little closer to home (which meant a schedule change of 1 week gone then 1 week home instead of 2 & 2), & then summer was here!!  In early May, my mom asked me to start helping my grandmother with her dr appts since she had taken on a new position at her work & this meant more hours, so I have become her sidekick!  This has been a blessing, allowing us to spend more time together.  She has a scheduled surgery at the end of June, which went just as planned with only a 2 day hospital stay, but after 3 days after getting her home, I rcvd a phone call from my father-in-law that he had been feeling sick & had went to the direct care clinic here in town & they were waiting on the ambulance to take him to the hospital (45 miles away)......'GREAT DAY, what am I gonna do now?'  That was the first thought than went through my head, but then I pulled it together, went to my neighbors & begged for her to take me to the clinic to pick up his truck since that was his current concern & I couldn't very well have my 12 yr old drive!!  My mind was racing with 'We have to go out to Granny's house & take care of her; Vernon is, of course, out of state working; He can't be at the hospital by himself, alone.....' (you get the picture).  My adrenaline kicked in & we were off!!  Had the kids pack bags for the hospital waiting room (for the upteenth time), checked on & got my grandmother settled for the day & headed to the hospital.  After we arrived, the nurse informed me they were going to schedule surgery asap for an appendectomy.  She stressed to me how dangerous this would be since his blood sugar & blood pressure were extremely high & they were certain that there wasn't much time before rupture.  Guess what, a daughter-in-law isn't authorized to sign for medical consent....just my luck!!  After speaking with the drs many times they decided that not giving any more meds & having him sign consent in pre-op was the only option.  Surgery was successful, but he had a 4 day hospital stay.  He is now home & resting with me doing his laundry, cooking, & errand running.  Again, a blessing in disguise, as Vernon & his dad are now closer.
 So, after all this, we have decided to Start Over.  We really evaluated where we were in our lives--emotionally, spiritually--everywhere.  God is everything & we should do everything in His glory to praise Him.  A lot of questions came up about where we praised Him....aren't we suppose to help others; isn't family important; is one denomination better that another.  Our answers...we aren't were we feel we need to be; yes, God gave us a family to help each other; no, Jesus is the way-not catholic, baptist, lutheran, methodist.......
Starting Over in all aspects of our lives has been hard.  We are retraining our brains & I am working on retraining my body.  I began reading 'The Power of the Praying Wife' which is such a great book.  It is really hard for me to only read 1 chapter a night!  Vernon began reading the Bible faithfully with a coworker while they are at work & we began a journey of spiritual discovery with a nondenominational church.  I have began a lifestyle change of eating better & exercising daily.  I wish I could get the courage to take pictures & post here for motivation, but not sure if I could do that!!  Who knows, I may surprise myself & just do it for my own record.  I will absolutely be blogging about our changes, but not so sure about the pictures!!

Spring Break

Soo, the cake decorating classes were cancelled due to lack of sign-ups.  That was a bummer, but everything happens for a reason, so on to the next adventure.  Things have been busy here at the Schaefer house, with Girl Scout cookie sales, school functions, & everyday life.  I did get some part-time work (3-4 days a month) at a food vendor cart at 1st Monday.  I began today & within 5 minutes of arriving, I was learning how to roll egg rolls!  It's too bad Vernon & the kids won't eat them :(  Oh well, I did get a little cultural lesson out of it, if nothing else!
   Speaking of cultural lessons, there has been something really weighing on our hearts for the past couple of months, & we are still in discussion & prayer for God to lead us down the right path.  We are looking at possibly homeschooling the kids after this summer.  It is such a huge commitment & will take a lot of time & work, but the rewards seem so worth it.  This year has just really worn our family out, with all the stress placed on the kids regarding the standardized testing, the tons of homework, & let's not forget all the fundraisers!  It seems that the schools are trying to make up for the state budget cuts by adding more fundraisers, & with kids at 2 different campuses, it is re-donk-ulous!!  Not to mention the constant money needs for field trips, t-shirts, or 'extra' supplies.  I added those up today that are due during the month of April, $125--that we know of right now!  I am not in the habit of complaining about the public school system, but wow, this just seems unbelievable!!  We will be praying that God leads us down the right path & hope that the decision that we make is right for our family.
   Tomorrow at 3 pm begins our Spring Break & I think I am more excited than the kids are.  I have lots of crafts & activities lined out for us & can't wait to get started on some of them.  Since next week is Holy Week, the majority of the crafts are for the Easter breakfast at church that I am planning for the fifth year.  The past two years I was stuck in a rut with the decorations & activities, but we are going to change that this year, & I can't wait!  Hopefully I can post pics of some of our activities (I know I haven't been doing good at that, but hey, i'm new at this blogging thing--I have to give myself a break).
   Soo much to do & soo little time---we wouldn't have it any other way  :)

No sense in wasting...time or peanut butter!!

Well, I didn't do very well at posting in less than 2 weeks, it's been almost a month!!  I have been feeling very homey lately.  I made my 2nd batch of homemade peanut butter today.  The 1st was a little too salty, but we ate it anyway...no sense in wasting peanut butter.  I have been organizing the hundreds, maybe even thousands, recipes I have collected over the past several years & have been trying some of them out.  We always seem to have our favorites, spaghetti, chicken & rice, tacos...  I am ready to break out of that pattern & try something new at least twice a week, but my family is not anywhere near ready.  I told them we were having teriyaki chicken tonight & they grumbled.  But when I said I was making banana bread for dessert, the smiles came out!!  I just can't help feeling like I need to be doing something else in my life right now...(as if there isn't enough already!)  Soo, I will begin cake decorating classes on Monday night.  Let's see how this goes since I have to eat a gluten-free diet & won't be able to taste my work......wait, maybe I can get away with trying more varieties at mealtimes as long as my family gets to sample my creations---awesome idea!!!  I'm sure there will be lots of wasted cake as I work on decorating, but my family certainly won't let it go to waste.  Just like the peanut butter, there is no sense in wasting!!

624 Frogs

This past 2 weeks have flown by....with this warm weather & last minute scramble for the PTO annual Valentine fundraiser, I can't seem to keep up with the date!  I have been volunteering by cutting, taping, & writing messages on Val-o-grams; cards that the students can order & send to each other.  I have completed 624 frogs for this.  YES, I do have ocd & have been diagnosed by a doctor, but my meds don't always stop all of my tendencies.  The main things for me are counting (as you already know) & organization.  Anyone who has been to our house knows, Don't mess up my pantry!!  It is the silliest thing, company doesn't come over to examine our canned goods or the silverware drawer, but my mind says that these places MUST be orderly at all times.  Vernon has always known this & it has been a huge joke for years...he will go into the pantry & purposefully mix everything up, just to watch me go into full freak-out mode & close myself up in there to re-arrange everything!  This may sound cruel, but I always end up laughing at myself in the end.
   I have always loved frogs & the meaning behind the name...Fully Rely On God; but after 624 of those cute little paper creatures, I am sooo glad that the weather is back to winter temps.  I am not ready for spring just yet!!  I need a month or so before they come out of hiding to croak all night long & the tiny ones jump in front of us as we walk out to the car!!  I'm going to try really hard to not let another 2 weeks go by, but there's soo much to do & soo little time!       

Keeping the PEACE

It has been a few weeks & I haven't had any takers on the assistant job---can't imagine why!!  I have been searching for that PEACE that I wanted & I think I have found it.  I am learning to not let the little things become BIG things.  I am a sort of Pinterest addict & I remember a saying from there that goes something like "The laundry may not all be done, there may be dirty dishes in the sink, the house may be a little messy.  That just means my kids have worn clean clothes, eaten at meals, & that we have enjoyed our time together."  I know I am not quoting this perfectly, but you get the idea.
  I am still trying to stay with the daily chore chart that is on the dry erase board in the laundry room, but I am not going to run around like a chicken with my head cut off & stay up all hours of the night to try & get it done!  So, if you come to our home to visit, don't expect everything to be oh-so perfect...it is 'lived in'.  We haven't given up by any means...but we are enjoying each others company & keeping the PEACE in our home, lives, & sleep schedules!!

Job opening

   I LOVE to volunteer my time to organizations close to my heart.  My church; I teach Sunday School & am the Social Activity Director, which includes a number of things (organizing potlucks & picnics, floats for parades, children's skits, all holiday events....), Girl Scouts; I am a troop leader for the 4th year in a row now & this year became service unit manager over the area with 6 troops under me.
   Along with these, which are the largest 'jobs', I also am trying to keep my household together.  Remember before you continue reading, I LOVE to volunteer!
   This first week of 2012 started with the kids going back to school & myself trying to find that PEACE & get onto the household schedule I had set up.  It was also my son's birthday & the week that we began selling GS cookies, along with Vernon coming home from his 2 week shift.  The kids & I were ecstatic for him to be coming home after being gone through Christmas & New Year.  His flight was going to arrive on Nicholas' b-day & the kids could hardly wait for the school day to be over so they could see him.  I could hardly wait too, but as I was driving the 1 1/2 hour drive to the airport, my phone started to ring like crazy!  I tried to be polite & helpful, but all I could think was, "Here we go...".  Usually when I get to the airport I am so excited I have to stand outside the vehicle & tackle Vernon as soon as I see him.  He must be used to this because as I am sitting there on the phone (feeling very frustrated at the fact that I just need 1 day without distractions), Vernon came walking up with his hands in the air saying, "Hello?"
   We were able to celebrate Nicholas' b-day that evening with a quite dinner, but that was all we were able to squeeze out of this week (until today).  These are volunteer positions & the key word is 'volunteer'.  This means  I give of myself freely & am not paid.  I should not be at someone's "beck & call", but when they call every 30 minutes & send texts in 15 minute intervals...really!?!?
   So, today, I did not answer that phone that at times is a life saver, but this week, has been my worst nightmare!  We had the best time hanging out with our dearest friends & I now feel refreshed.  So refreshed, that I am going to announce that I am not at anyone's beck & call & I am not anyone's personal assistant.  If anything I need one myself, so I will be taking applications--no pay, long hours, no benefits, & you will be responsible for this cell phone!!!   Any takers?!?!?

Life on a Sugar High

Another year has gone & for the 1st time in our marriage we weren't together for that New Years kiss at midnight.  This year marked another holiday 1st as well, no gathering or party to attend, so the kids & I stayed in & played card games (all day).  I made homemade hot chocolate in the crockpot & when it was ready the kids got their mugs, added the flavored marshmallows of their choosing...& fell asleep!!  This left me with 3 mugs of rich, creamy hot chocolate &...let me just say, I didn't want it to go to waste.  Talk about a sugar high---I was up till 4 am when Vernon called to start his work day!
   Let me tell you, in a quiet house for all those hours (the kids crashed at 9) I had lots of time to think about the coming year.  To make a resolution or not?....it will just get broken within a few months just like in years past.  I decided I will strive for PEACE....in every aspect of our lives.  Peace for the worries about Vernon traveling so often; Peace for my new journey as a housewife; Peace for my ongoing work as Girl Scout troop leader, Service Unit leader, Social Secretary & Sunday School teacher at church; Peace for our crazy schedules that sometimes get way out of hand & over-booked at times; Peace for our church as we look to grow; and Peace for our household.
   For the last, I thought of 'The Little House on the Prairie'....(not sure why, but my mind works in overdrive & never shuts down!)  Monday is for washing; Tuesday is for mending; Wednesday is for churning.....I updated this as I don't do much mending & I don't churn!  Monday is laundry; Tuesday is floors; Wednesday is errands--post office, groceries, airport trips :-); Thursday is bathrooms (yuckk); Friday is dusting & extras; Saturday is project day (yard work, crafts...); & finally Sunday is prep day for the coming week.  Wheww...just putting it all down seems exhausting!!  I may need lots of Peace for our household.....
   On to the 1st week of the new year & tomorrow we begin with school for the kids & laundry, or washing, for me.  As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "What lies behind us & what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us."  I pray for Peace within me & Peace within you for this new year!