Christmas is Coming

Today I am overwhelmed, and for no reason at all other than I am a woman and women tend to get overwhelmed more easily than men I think.

The kitchen is a mess, the dishwasher needs emptied, clothes need folded, the living room is messy, our bed is unmade, and I yet have unsent Christmas cards needing addresses, etc. I understand that anyone with children would probably think if those were the only things that needed done, they would be in good shape. But for some reason I feel like that should all be kept up since I have nobody to clean up after besides my husband, who actually tends to clean up after me more than I clean up after him.

Umm I think I got on here to write about the past week.

Christmas cards keep coming and it is so exciting! I finally got most of our cards sent out this week! This week's highlights have been getting Christmas decor up (involving a cart-full of purchases from Goodwill), a Young Couples Christmas dinner, Vespers, Christmas caroling, the Champion Christmas party, and going Christmas shopping in Iowa City with my mom. Christmas...Christmas...Christmas...!!

Young Couples Christmas dinner - was beautiful and delicious! 

Working on the Christmas scheme...

Vespers Choir Concert - starring Jonathan and Justin

Please note NO Christmas baking has been done. I am being a culinary Scrooge this year.

My shopping trip was super-successful, as I went from hardly starting my Christmas shopping to being almost finished. And I even got all of my gifts wrapped that night when I got home. It was also a fun day to spend with my mom! Before we went to Iowa City, we drove over to Williamsburg and purchased me some end tables and a coffee table that I found on Craigslist for our living room. The new furniture has been the excitement of my week because it makes the living room much more cozy and inviting! We seem to be spending a lot more time in the living room now (as opposed to the kitchen), probably because there is actually a place to set things now.

This weekend we have a little bit more of Christmas coming up: a school Christmas program tonight, Christmas Caroling on Saturday, and two Sunday School Christmas programs on Sunday. Christmas...Christmas...Christmas...!!

Did somebody say Christmas? Must be around the corner.

Merry Thanksmas!

This title may have been inspired by my creative sister-in-law, but nonetheless, that's how we've been feeling for the last week.

Following a short week at work and home to prepare for the festivities, Wednesday evening was Matt's family Christmas. Twas an enjoyable evening with everyone home! Steve and Julie arrived last Saturday and were here through the week, and Tim and Laurie were here for several days as well. We had supper, exchanged gifts, sang Christmas carols, and enjoyed the company!

Brandon is the "big kid" now! Garret is finally off of his oxygen and is a little easier to maneuver around. 

Opening gifts... 

The grandchildren got kinetic sand from Mom and Dad! It was quite fun!

All the 4-5 year olds with their new flipeez hats! 

Camille enjoyed the infinity scarf I gave her. 

The next morning, Thanksgiving day, we woke up bright and early to head over to Illinois with my family. Due to a misunderstanding about the time of services, we were the second vehicle to pull into church in Peoria. It was fun to welcome everyone to church, though! We ended up slipping into Skylines a bit late for our Thanksgiving meal, but I'm sure glad they still served us because it was a delicious meal! We spent the rest of the day with Grandma and ordered in pizza for supper.

Thanksgiving with Grandma Knobloch 

Friday afternoon was a Lanz gathering at Uncle Troy and Aunt Joni's and it was good to spend some time with the family.

That evening, Matt's parents took the grandkids and younger children to Mt. Pleasant for supper at Pizza Ranch and to see the Festival of Lights at the Old Threshers grounds. That equaled a great opportunity for some adult bonding time! All of the siblings and spouses over age sixteen came over to our place and Tim and Laurie brought pizza. I think everyone enjoyed their evening from all ends!

On Saturday, Matt went over to his parents house again to work on the frames while I stayed home and worked in the kitchen.

The big Schulz Christmas was that evening at Aunt Janette's home. There were probably around sixty people there for supper, and then we sang Christmas songs, opened gifts, and talked.

The kids getting ready to open gifts! 

Kyra got some puppets! 

To end our weekend, we were pleased to serve Steve and Julie their final meal Sunday evening before they headed back to Connecticut that night! It was wonderful to spend some time with them, as it doesn't happen often enough!

Yesterday, I took advantage of Cyber Monday and got some good Christmas gift deals online! Okay, so I actually forgot it was Cyber Monday until I went online to buy something and realized there was an awesome deal on it for Cyber Monday! :) Worked out well for me, anyway.

Until next time...hope you all have a wonderful week! Please work along with me to not lose focus on the meaning for the Christmas season. Things get so busy for me at the end of the year and it is hard for me to keep focused when I can't relax. And as much as holidays are supposed to be relaxing, I've got news for you: Christmas does not fit that mold.

But I've got more news for you: Jesus needs to fit into our schedule. More than just reading the Christmas story at Christmas dinner and going to church for the holiday. He isn't simply the reason for the season: He is the reason for our lives!

Happy December!

Freezing Cold Winter Snow

It's amazing what can happen when you appreciate the little things that make life interesting! (In reference to my previous blog post.)

For one, the weather is a very entertaining subject. Insert slight sarcasm. Mainly because it changes too abruptly for anyone to get very comfy. One week it was seventy degrees and balmy, and the next it is ten degrees and snowing. Therefore, life has gotten a little cold. But we'll show mother nature that we can still carry on!

The duckies are still around! Yesterday, however, we woke up and there were only five left. The others must have flown away. We have been feeding them and keeping the water open, so we'll see if these ones stay. 

This man takes no chances with the cold. The first day of winter, he donned a sweatshirt over his every day t-shirt (red hood), a thermal sweatshirt (gray hood), a heavy winter coat (brown coat), and Carhartts. I'm not sure how he was even able to move around in that gear, but he must have accomplished his outdoor mission (though I forget what it was). 

Two Sundays ago, we went to Ames for church services and to visit our brothers (Jacob and Billy) and other college student friends (all of the below). They were working on their Christmas card picture that afternoon (this was not the final product, but at least I got a picture of them all!). We enjoyed our visit, and if they are anything like I was, I'm sure they enjoyed seeing some familiar faces from home too. They only have about a month left of school for the semester...woohoo! 

Top: Alan, Jared, Billy. Middle: Steven, Jordan, Caleb, Jacob. Bottom: Kurt 

We got to drive home a Ford Edge for a friend who bought a new car. Matt was slightly impressed with his duty.  

And, of course, pictures from the kitchen cannot possibly be left out of a blog post about our everyday life. Because, food is pretty much a part of our every day life. I enjoy experimenting with different recipes when I have things to use up! In this case, it was apples...

My first apple pie...:) 

We still had some chickens in the freezer from when we helped the Steiners butcher chickens. Thus, my first whole cooked chicken...it turned out very delicious, but I could certainly use some carving lessons! 

Matt couldn't let any of it go to waste, of course.  

Finally, married life wouldn't be complete without a few acts of kindness.

Matt thought I needed flowers for our 13-month anniversary (These are the new ones next to the remainder of our one-year anniversary flowers).

...and he spent Saturday working on my Christmas gift at his parent's shop: homemade picture frames to match the cedar bed in our bedroom! 

Frames # 1 & 2 - almost complete! 

Frame # 3 in progress (Frame # 4 is still attached to the tree outside)

We are getting ready for a busy week of family get-togethers for both Thanksgiving and early Christmases! I've still got plenty to do before the second half of the week, but for now, I'm just enjoying the peaceful calm before the st[excitement]orm.

We wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with appreciation for all of the blessings we have been given! And next month we will celebrate the greatest blessing of all: our Savior Jesus Christ. :)

The Lame Logic of Interesting

A peaceful, snowy day in November sent me straight to the piano, where I tried to plunk out some Christmas tunes and eventually realized I've got a lot of tuning up to do before the holiday actually gets here. So what do I do when even music cannot silence my boredom? Pick up the proverbial pen and paper, of course. In my world, that means the keyboard and blog.

As sad as snow in November and a slump in piano talent, this blog ranks pretty high up there, too. I remember back in my blogging prime, readers would claim our lives were so interesting and there would never be anything for them to write about if they had a blog. In response, I would think, not true. Anyone's life can be made interesting if you make it that way. Somehow, I was so easily inspired whenever I sat in front of the computer. What has happened to me? Why can't I find inspiration anymore? I did some research and found out that my life, quite simply, is not very interesting. This sounds lame, but it is true in a very logical way.

1. I used to live in a household of eight, where I had seven other people to write about if my own life was not inspiring. And every one of my brothers lived a fairly entertaining life. Our family had many conversations that would spark ideas and they would do blog-worthy activities.

2. I used to attend school - a university, actually. I met, interacted with, and watched many different people from diverse backgrounds. Daily life was full of adventure and new experiences.

3. I used to read books. Even if it was mainly textbooks, I was learning, and my mind was constantly stimulated. An active mind brings creative thoughts. Outside of devotions, I never take the time for reading books anymore.

4. My life now lacks diversity. Every weekday, I spend the early morning with my husband, go to work and spend the rest of my morning doing tasks I have done at least a hundred times, interacting with the same two people, and eating lunch with the same person (Disclaimer: my coworkers are wonderful - if it weren't for them I would go crazy having nobody to talk to all day). From there, I spend the rest of the afternoon doing things around the house until my husband gets home, and spend my evenings either at home with him or visiting family or friends.

5. In the life of being a housekeeper, my time has been devoted to activities outside of writing. I have been nurturing other talents, such as baking and crafting, instead of writing and even music. Baking seems more practical, and I have been working on several different crafts and projects for our home. Practicality seems to be taking over my life, and blogging does not fit into the practicality time schedule.

But everyone who knows me well knows I love to write. Writing is my way of venting, of making sense of the world around me. The only time I stop to think about life is when I put it into words that I can read (note the orange post). I have a talent that is getting rusty because I am not taking the time to nurture it, and even my mental health seems to be suffering. Nothing to be concerned about, I just feel unsettled and confused when I don't write often enough.

How are we going to fix this problem? I am going to come back to the blog more often. I will read. I will learn new things and meet new people, even without spending thousands of dollars for an education. I will sit in public places and just watch people. I will look for inspiration in the daily happenings around me. I cannot expect inspiration to find me - I must pursue it myself.

Whew, glad I got that all sorted out. Oh, the peaceful bliss that comes back over my heart when I know my problems have been transcribed to an organized, comprehensible format.

Kind of like the first winter's snow that blissfully drifts to the ground in flakes big enough to choke on.

Year Two Begins

Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Schulz are now well established in their marriage after celebrating their first wedding anniversary on October 20th.

Thus begins year two of husband and wife, under the loving care of our Heavenly Lord. We may not be long-established, but are certainly well established when Christ is our foundation. It has been a blessing to grow in love and understanding for one another in the past year. In the midst of my lack of age and wisdom, I will venture to say that the key to marriage seems to be humility. When we both seek to please each other before ourselves, and God most of all, things seem to fall into place.

For our anniversary, we went on an overnight getaway to a cabin in Pella a couple hours away. Matt found out about these cabins at Horn's Ferry Hideaway when he was staking power lines last year and staked the lines right next to the cabin. We had a nice time and enjoyed reminiscing on the year before! 

We spent the morning walking around on trails and enjoying the beautiful fall scenery!

We did not end up getting over to Lake Red Rock (the largest lake in Iowa), but it is on the other side of the dam behind us! 

Our cabin - The Nest

The finished product of some of Matt's design work last summer. (For the uninformed, we are looking at the power lines here-not the road, ditch, cornfield, sky, clothing, outfit, haircut, or yoga pose)

In the afternoon, we walked around to all the little shops in the Pella town square. This picture is Klokkenspel. Pella is a cute little town, but we forgot to keep our cameras out! 

That evening, I got my first (EVER) combine ride with Uncle Kenny! (This is a picture of corn...)

IN OTHER NEWS...

Matt came home from working on his truck one night looking like this (his pants, that is). For some reason he was afraid for me to see them. 

After several soaks and washing machine runs, the grease started to come out! This wasn't even the final product - you can hardly tell now! I was pretty excited, especially since they are his only jeans without holes. :) 

We've got ducks! Philip's family was raising ten mallards, but no longer wanted them and brought them to our pond. The eight remaining ducks have been hanging around for about a month now, so maybe they are here to stay! They sure do bring some life to the pond.

Fall is here (and almost done)! Jesse designed this sign for me. 

We went to Mom and Dad's for Schulz family night in October. Laurie and her kids came, and we were able to talk to the Connecticut crew over webcam!

Little Garret is growing! He is a little over six months old now.

Talking to the Lanz family.

The aunties take their jobs quite seriously!

Justin marches (tuba) in the homecoming parade.

Jonathan is somewhere in the football crowd. 

Mom celebrated her birthday at our place in September! 

Brandon turned 2 a few days later...

Tristan the Turtle 

One evening while Matt was working late in the shop, my brothers and I went up to Iowa City to visit Alice. We ate at HuHot and then walked around campus a little bit. 

Visiting Herky! It was good to see Alice again. 

Lanz Nauvoo in October 

The old Oakville church building was torn down last month. It was sad to see it go, but we are thankful that the church is not a physical building of bricks and wood, but a spiritual family of believers. 

The single sisters came over for supper one evening when Abby came to visit. We made caramel apples for our snack! 

All kinds of toppings! 

Matt had to be my guinea pig a few days before. (No pictures of any of the end products - but they were loaded with toppings and very delicious!) 

The boys think the new turf football field in Mediapolis is pretty exciting! We went to watch Justin's band rehearse before their contest in Muscatine one afternoon.

Phil and Kelli's boys came over and helped Matt cut firewood. Some hard workers! 

Brandon and Kyra look on...

The activity for Jonathan's birthday party was dissecting Justin's old iPod that drowned in our pond. This kept them all enthralled for at least an hour! 

As if making me breakfast didn't show it enough... :)

We finally figured out the most practical way for a two-person household to eat supper. 

My happy first anniversary!!!

Alice came to visit the first weekend in November and we exposed her to all kinds of "American" experiences! 

We took Jesse trick-or-treating Friday evening.

She was pretty impressed with how much candy he brought home and thought we should help him eat it. He wasn't thrilled with that idea until we reminded him that he wouldn't have any unless we had brought him out. I got an M&M out of that deal. 

We enjoyed a nice walk out behind our house on Saturday! 

Abby stayed with us Friday evening on her way to Illinois for the weekend. It was fun to have her here too! 

Alice got her first experience on the farm as well. She rode in the combine with Ryan for awhile.  

Our families came over Saturday evening for a weiner roast and hay rack ride. It was a little chilly, but an enjoyable time! 

These two silly boys rode in the "high" swing. AKA we haven't gotten around to finding a longer chain for the swing, but hung it up anyway. Didn't take long for the kids to find that safety hazard! 

Bundled up for the ride! 

HOT CHOCOLATE :)

Two more of her photo-worthy moments were the Mississippi River and Bridge, as well as good ole' homemade casserole. :)

I am out of pictures to tell our stories now, but aside from the Kodak moments (or shall I say Canon moments?), life has been moving along as usual. Matt goes to work at 7, I go to work from 8 to noon, come home and find other projects to keep me busy, he gets home at 5:30, and we tend to eat supper around that time. Now that the weather is cooling down, most of the outdoor work has come to a close and we seem to have forgotten what to do with ourselves indoors in the evenings. We have found more time to go out visiting family and friends in the evenings now that our to-do list is not a mile long, so that has been good.

The upcoming holidays are already sneaking up on us, as two of our family Christmases will be over Thanksgiving this year. We are very thankful for our families and look forward to seeing everyone soon!

God bless each of you! (Hoping to write a few more times again before 2015...) :)