Big changes ahead for our family!

Well, for those who don't know, we have big changes ahead for our family! Michael decided a few months ago to aim for a lifelong goal: joining the Army! It has been a dream of his for his entire life. His original intent was to join the service right after he graduated high school. However, his parents asked him to consider going to Bible college for a year first, so he respected their wishes and went. While at Bible college, he felt the Lord leading him to finish and get his Bachelor's degree, so he respected His leading and graduated from Bible college! Fast forward a few years, and here we are!

It has not been easy - he has had to work hard to get back into shape, and he's done an AWESOME job! He's lost about 40 pounds, and gained lots of muscle! (Woohoo!!!) The plan is for him to start basic training (boot camp) sometime towards the beginning/middle part of January. (Though we do understand that w/the military, things do not always go according to plan!) The kids and I will be staying with my parents in MO during this time, which of course I have mixed emotions about. (I know I just ended a sentence w/a preposition, but I can't figure out how else to word it where it sounds normal. Sorry Mom!! Anyhoo....) I'm THRILLED for us to be able to spend extra time with our family, but I really am going to miss my "family" here in Georgia. I've truly come to love our home here, and our "family" here.

Below are our Christmas pictures. I try to get a good family picture at least once a year, and this one took quite a bit of work, but we finally got it - lol!! (All of those with active 5 1/2 year olds, and emotional 2 year olds can relate, I'm sure!)

I hope everyone has a blessed and safe Christmas, and I pray that no one gets so busy or stressed that they forget the true meaning of this time.

Yay for Christmas Shopping!!

I'm so glad to say, that with the exception of just 2 gifts, I am totally done with our Christmas shopping! Woo hoooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is SUCH a good feeling! I took Jared with me today to pick up several items from several different stores, and he was such a good little boy. I even had 2 different people comment on his good behavior. That is in addition to the lady who stopped by our table at lunch today (Michael took us all out to Golden Corral - yummy!) - just to tell us how impressed she was with the kids' good behavior! Such sweet music to a mommy's ears. Makes me think that perhaps....just MAYBE......some of the stuff we're trying to teach them is actually sinking in! Lol!!

Pics from the last few months

Daddy and Laynie

Mommy and Jared

Jared's famous silly face!

Michael's 30th birthday cake - triple chocolate!

Lion Jared!

Princess Laynie

My little cowgirl and cowboy on Roundup Sunday.

Michael and me at Disney on Ice - Michael surprised me w/tickets for the 10th anniversary of our first date! Awww!!!!

Getting ready for "Girls' Night Out" with Aunt Bebe and Coco.

Jared and Laynie sitting by the pond at Gram and Grandpa's house.

Bad Laura!

Ok, so I pretty much knew when I started this that I'd be horrible at it. Since I haven't made an entry since July 22nd (4 long months ago!), obviously a lot has happened in our lives!

I'll start where I left off last time - we had a great visit w/my Mom, Dad, and sister (Holly) here in GA, then the kids and I went back to MO w/them for 2 weeks. While we were there I found out that what I had suspected for a couple of weeks was true - we were expecting Baby Schnellbacher #3!! Needless to say, I was thrilled! Michael was super excited when I called and told him, and it was so much fun getting to tell all of my family members! We all love babies!

In the month of August, my friend Amanda had a baby - Emily Marie - and we were so excited! Her arrival was hugely anticipated by the whole church! She is just as precious as can be and growing so fast! At the end of the month, Jared started school. He is doing the A Beka video program and doing so well! Of course, considering who his parents are, are you really surprised? Hehehe....

On the night of September 10th (late) every pregnant mama's worst fear started happening - I started spotting. Of course I completely panicked and called for Michael to come quickly (thank the Lord he was home at the time!). His first reaction (as was mine) was, "Call your mom!" So I did, and she calmly told me I needed to call my doctor right away. (It's a good thing she was calm, because I certainly wasn't!) I had no idea what to think - my first two pregnancies were beyond "normal" - no complications at all! This was totally unexpected for me. We ended up going to the ER (praise the Lord for my wonderful friend April who dropped everything and rushed over to stay with the kids while we were gone!). After some blood work and an ultrasound that seemed to last an eternity, the doctor came to us and gave us the news we were dreading to hear: Our baby was gone. Obviously it was a huge blow - so unexpected. I realize thousands, and probably even millions of women have gone through the same thing, but I've never felt so alone in my life. I'm so thankful for my Lord, for Heaven, for my wonderful husband, friends and family. Though I did feel alone, I felt very peaceful and so loved. I don't know why the Lord chose to take our baby to Heaven, but He did, and I'm ok with that. Sad, but ok, and hopefully He will bless us with another baby soon!

October was relatively uneventful here. We dressed up Laynie as a princess, and Jared as a lion for Fall Family Fun Night at church, and of course they were the cutest kids there! (In my own, unbiased opinion!) Laynie is talking more and more, and we're loving it! She has a hard time saying her "r's" which of course, I LOVE - it's too cute! Also, in October Jared got baptized (or "bathtized" as he says). This was a big step for him - he has been saved for about a year and a half, but did not want to get baptized. We've been talking to him about it, and letting him come in and watch when other people get baptized, without pressuring him at all. Finally he came to us and said he'd like to do it. We were so excited - he called Preacher himself and asked him about it. He did great! No chickening out or anything! :)

This year Thanksgiving was just the 4 of us and it was so nice! We love being with our families, but it just didn't work out this year, so we made the most of it. We ended up eating out for our Thanksgiving dinner - sooooooo delicious! And easy! Lol!! It was a very restful, relaxing day. Two days after Thanksgiving, we went over to my friend Leah's house and got to spend a wonderful day with her, and her family, and our other friend Carolyn - it was so much fun!

We're now in December, and gearing up for Christmas and Jared's 6th birthday! I can't believe my "baby" is going to be six years old! I'll get some pictures posted then we'll see if it's another 4 months before I post again! Lol!!

Some recent pictures

Our van full of teenagers on our way to Youth Conference 2008!


At Navy Pier in Chicago


At the Rain Forest Cafe in Chicago
L-R - Michelle (great pose Michelley!), Ariel, Cortney, Ames, me, Stephanie, and Dani


Michelle getting ready to play her bass clarinet w/the Youth Conference Orchestra!


Laynie's self-given pedicure - beautiful!


My future pianist!


Laynie, Jared, Kaitlin and Kinsey


She put it on herself - can you tell?


Grammy and Papa with Jared and Laynie


At the Chattanooga Zoo


At a museum on the Chickamawga Battlefield.


The two cutest kids ever! :)


VBS 2008


She decided to give herself a manicure to match her pedicure. Nice!

May, June and July happenings

Ok, so I totally knew this would happen when I started this blog. I knew that I'd do pretty good the first few days/weeks, but then it would taper off. My deepest apologies to the 2-3 people who actually read this!

We didn't have a lot that went on in May, aside from the girls' weekend I got to go on w/my pastor's wife, and a handful of other ladies from my church. That was WONDERFUL! One of the ladies in our church has a "cottage" in the mountains in North Carolina, so a bunch of us went out there for a "Jane Austin" marathon. It was sooooooooo beautiful (in spite of the snakes!) and I can't wait till we get to do it again!

Also in May, we went on a mini-vacation to Chattanooga, TN. Even though it was only about 24 hours, we really had a good time with the kids. We went to the zoo there, took them go-carting, and we also visited the Chickamauga Battle Site from the Civil War, which was very interesting.

Of course in May our little angel turned two. I can't believe my baby is growing up so fast. Oh, I don't think I've mentioned (or maybe I have and I just don't remember), but she is completely potty trained PRAISE THE LORD!! I started training right after we got back from Pastor's School in March, and she was almost trained in one week, and completely trained in 2 weeks. I am BEYOND thankful that she was so easy to train. I tell people that God knew I needed an easy one after training Jared (which was an 18 month process)!!

June was relatively uneventful other than our church's VBS. It was an incredible VBS with 32 children trusting Jesus as their Savior. Praise the Lord! We did a dinosaur detective theme and the kids just loved it!

This month has been exciting - Michael and I chaperoned our church's youth group on a trip up to Hammond, IN for First Baptist Church's annual Youth Conference. It was a looooooong drive but so well worth it! We had a fantastic trip and the kids were great! They made some awesome decisions for the Lord and we're so thankful that we made the long trek up there!

In case you're wondering what the kids did while we were in Indiana, my mom flew down here to Atlanta to stay here w/the kids the whole week. Is she great or what? :) She wouldn't even let me pay for part of her plane ticket. Of course the kids were THRILLED to see her and had a wonderful time playing, reading, and baking with Grammy all week!

Michael's sister, Angel, and our two nieces, Kaitlin and Kinsey came for a visit at the first of the month. We had a really good time, and needless to say, Jared was VERY sad to see them go! It was really a great time of visiting though and we can't wait to do it again!

Right now, my dad and Holly are here as well (they drove down the Monday after we got back from Youth Conference) and they'll be staying for about a week. When they drive back to Missouri, the kids and I will go back with them and we're going to stay for about 2 weeks. At that point, we will fly back here to Atlanta. Shew! It's gonna be a crazy few weeks! We're really looking forward to our visit though - I'm excited about seeing my brother and his wife, my other sister, my grandparents, and of course my best friend Bethany and her MOST adorable little baby girl Chloe!

So, that's my life for the last few weeks for those who are interested. :) I'll try to get some pictures posted soon. (As I know all 2 of you are just dying to see them!)

March Pictures

From the top, the pictures are of Jared and Laynie on Easter, Laynie getting tossed in the air by Uncle Bubby, Laynie w/Aunt Holly and "Uncle Jim", coloring w/Grammy, and me w/one of my birthday cakes!

March

Well, I didn't intend to let so much time go between posts, but here we are, several days into April and I'm just now posting for the first time in a month! Yikes! A lot has happened since my last post - yes, we're finally over the sickies - praise the Lord! It is just so pitiful to see your kids sick!! I hate it!
Laynie and I had a great trip up to Indiana for Pastor's school - in spite of the fact that neither one of us are pastors - lol! We got to spend a lot of time with my mom and sister (which is the whole reason we went!), and we got to see my brother as well. I'll post some pictures from that week in my next post.

We also had another big event in March - my 30th birthday! :) LOL!! Michael made it a wonderful "happening" by throwing several different parties, and I was spoiled rotten! I truly felt loved! Looking over my life, sure, there are things I'd change if I could (for instance - the fact that we live 12 hours from family waaaaaaah!!!!). BUT overall I really have a great life.

We also celebrated the rising of our Saviour this month! We had an AMAZING day at church that day with a record attendance and souls saved AND baptized. God is so good! Of course, the day couldn't go by without having some fun things for the kids. They had so much fun with the Easter egg hunt - even Laynie! I don't think she really understood what was going on, but she sure had fun!!

Sickies!!!

Well, it's our turn now! I was REALLY hoping that the "bugs" would skip over our household, but we weren't so lucky! Michael has a sinus infection, I have Rota virus, Jared has a cough, and Laynie has pneumonia. We've all been to the doctor and gotten medicine, so hopefully we'll be good to go in a couple of days. Thankfully Michael has been working from home a lot, so that is a huge help. Well, that's all for now. I know this was a short entry, so I'll try to make up for it next time!

Jared's Revelation

Just thought I'd share Jared's most recent grand discovery. I was getting him a pickle to have as a snack, and he got all excited. He said, "Mommy! Guess what! PICKLE is the same as 'pick your nose,' only, instead of 'your nose' it's 'ickle'!!" Amazing! That's my little genius for ya!

I was thinking recently that I need to be more aware of the things in my life that I have to be thankful for. So, I decided to make a list, though I'm sure I'll forget some things. Here goes...

Things I'm thankful for....
-My salvation!
-A God who somehow loves me in spite of myself! (Still have a hard time wrapping my brain around that one sometimes!)
-Christian parents
-A husband who loves me and takes care of me.
-A son and a daughter who are healthy and SMART!
-A Mom and a Dad who love me unconditionally
-A brother and 2 sisters who are some of my closest friends.
-A best friend who has been with me through thick and thin - love you Beth!
-My church.
-My pastor, his wife, and his daughters.
-My Sunday School girls - love them!!
-The opportunity to serve in my church.
-Knowing that I am exactly where God wants me to be.
-A nice home with working heating and air conditioning!!!! :)
-A husband who goes to work every day and provides a very stable environment for me and our children.
-My Christian education.
-All of the pastors I've had - Pastor Caldwell, Pastor Crumly, Pastor Jack Hyles, Pastor Jack Schaap, and Pastor Baines - each and every one has played a major role in my life in one way or another - I'm so thankful that God put each and every one of these men in my life.
-Absolutely wonderful grandparents. (Love my Gram and Grandpa!)
-Parents-in-law who have always been there for us - every time!!
-3 (soon to be 4) Brothers-in-law (Brian, Kenny, James, and almost Jim - hehehe), and 3 sisters-in-law (Jacqueline, Angel, and Jennifer) who have truly become family to me. I feel like I have 9 siblings instead of just 3!


Wow! I know there are more things that should be on my list, but for now, that's what I've got!

Oh no!!!

The thing I feared would happen, has happened. I have no idea what to write about today!!! Ahhhh!! I know - you all can't even imagine me, LAURA, having nothing to say! I know! I'll post a picture of the birthday cake Michael is getting for me! Does that look delicious, or what!??! I think he's worried about me. Seeing as how this birthday will be my 30th (just 17 more days - woo hoo!!), he's afraid I'll spend the day moping and crying. I told him I didn't think I could cry OR mope if I had this cake, so he said - then we'll get it for you!! LOL!! Whatever works!

Just a week after my birthday, Laynie and I will be traveling to Indiana for Pastor's School at First Baptist Church in Hammond. I can't wait! I'll be honest though. I really don't care much about the conference - I'm WAAAAAAAY more excited about getting to see my Mommy, sister (Holly) and brother!!!! I've been missing my family a lot, so I'm definitely looking forward to this trip. Plus, it's another opportunity to spend some time with my Pastor, his wife, and their family since we will all be riding together. And anyone who knows them, knows that I will have a great time just because they'll be there!

Well, I think that's about all for today...amazing - when I thought I had nothing to talk about, I came up with two paragraphs! Should I be shocked?

Me and my sweetie!

Our 2007 family picture.

Here is the picture of Jared and Elayna that we gave as Christmas gifts this last Christmas. J is 5 and Laynie is 19 months in this picture.

We'll see if I can figure this out!

Well, since it seems to be the thing to do, I thought I'd try my hand at blogging. I'm not making any promises though! I've hesitated to start one simply because I don't know if I can think of things to write about, so I figured I'd just try and see how it goes.

Of course, as soon as I figure out how, I'll be posting tons of pictures since showing off my children is one of my favorite things to do. Not to mention, they are two of the most beautiful and photogenic children I've seen in my life! (In my own unbiased opinion, of course!)

So for now, I'll start with a couple of today's highlights. I was woken up this morning to the feeling of a little 5 year old hand patting my cheek, and Jared compassionately saying "It's ok Mommy, I'm here now." LOL!! Don't know if he thought I was having a bad dream or what, but it sure was sweet! Oh, and Laynie's new word of the day: "Ta da!!" She is very proud of her new word, and is saying it pretty much every 3-5 seconds. She is such a daddy's girl. When he's at work, she'll wander around the house saying "Daddy?" with a very confused look on her face. She doesn't quite understand yet when I tell her he'll be home later! Of course - it's precious!

Of course, not ALL they do is precious. Jared is getting very frustrated with Elayna's thumb sucking habit. He explained to me the other day that "Laynie is a TODDLER now - she should NOT be sucking her thumb." (Even though he still has the same habit at 5 years old!) And Elayna's newest discovery is that she can scream! She loooooves practicing that too. (Groan!) Generally when we are in the car, or when I'm on the phone. Her timing is impeccable.

Well, that's all for today. I'll see if I can figure out how to post some pictures.....