Tuesday, May 16

Each Day is His

Psalm 23
The Lord is my 
shepherd; 
I shall not want.
He maketh me 
to lie down 
in green pastures: 
he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: 
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 
I will fear no evil: 
for thou art with me;
 thy rod and thy staff 
they comfort me.
Thou preparest a 
table before me 
in the presence
of mine enemies: 
thou anointest my 
head with oil; 
my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness 
and mercy 
shall follow me 
all the days 
of my life: 
and I will dwell 
in the house 
of the Lord 
for ever. 

Last night we attended Janella's visitation. She was a friend (Matt's age) who grew up here in Oakville. Her sudden death hit many of us very hard. Life is so fragile. It has been such a big reminder that we need to always be ready to go Home. And that we must make our life count; she was a great example of a life of service for God.

We grieve and pray for God's comfort for the family. For a husband who lost his dear wife. For her two children who seem far too young to lose a mother. For her parents who lost their only child. For the many friends and acquaintances who knew God better because of her. 

There is a beautiful angel waiting for you in Heaven.

So we live on with renewed zeal to make Heaven our goal in everything. 

Recently I have been reading a devotional called "100 Days of Blessing" which I received as a gift when Micah was born. It has been such an encouraging reminder of the importance of my role as a mother. My purpose is to further the kingdom of God by training up children who will serve Him someday and be lights to the world. God is counting on me to leave behind a generation that will continue to serve Him and bring souls to Him. 

Blessed to celebrate Mother's Day as a mother for a second year! 
Of course, motherhood is not a breeze. My children are training me, too! God uses them to teach me patience, to be thankful even in difficult times, to be joyful when everything goes wrong. And I am growing in understanding of God's love for me. I must try His patience, too! 

And then there is this patient and loving husband of mine. He is the perfect father for my children!  
Since Easter, we have kept busy but have little to report that is not covered in the photos below! Piano lessons have started up again after my maternity leave so that is keeping me busy again. :)
Micah is 3 months old! No big milestones this month, but he is still doing great and we are very thankful for that! His nights continue to lengthen (averaging 8-9 hours now), and he is super cheerful most of the time.  
SPRING DAYS
Levi helped Daddy plant flowers for my planters and pots! His shirt ended up being very fitting that day: "DIRT is my favorite color." 
Levi helped Dan M. plant corn a few weeks ago. It was his first tractor ride! 
The fruit trees are all bearing fruit thus far! This is what apples look like in the spring...
Matt cleaned up the raspberries and put down carpet to help with the weeds. 
OUT AND ABOUT
Matt (top right) sang at the Midwest Gospel Sing in Washington, IL. Quite an experience! We watched it on the computer at home.  
Levi had an eye appointment in Iowa City last week. The doctor says all seems good and normal with his eyes for now. We plan to return in a few more months. 
Vienna and Billy's wedding is only a month away! Mom and I enjoyed attending another shower last weekend. She ended up getting dressed up as a "housewife."  
Matt and his boys at Schulz family night on Saturday. 
AROUND THE HOME

Levi saw that Micah had "bubbles" on his mouth, so he wanted to pop them...
Levi has started helping me set the table. He does a great job for a 15-month-old who can barely reach the table! :) 
It is a special moment when the camera clicks and both boys are smiling....all at the same time! This picture makes me smile every time I see it! 
The days go by quickly, but they are good. Some days I am weary, but I never have a good reason to complain. I am blessed. I am blessed to be a wife to a loving husband, a mother of two beautiful, healthy boys, and the child of an all-knowing, loving and wonderful Creator.

Said the robin to the sparrow,

“I should really like to know,

Why these anxious human beings

Rush about and worry so.”

Said the sparrow to the robin,

“Friend I think that it must be,

That they have no Heavenly Father,

Such as cares for you and me.”

Tuesday, April 18

Around and Around in 30 Days

We've got a two-month-old in the house! Time flies when you're having fun! 

13 pounds and 23 inches...pretty close to Levi at this age! Those smiles, grins, and giggles are so much fun!  
We have had a very exciting month. First of all, Levi got to meet his future aunt! Uncle Billy is engaged to Vienna...to be married in June!


Then, we had two fiftieth birthdays. Grandpa Massner in March, and Grandma Schulz last week.

My dad's party...
The Steffens made it over for Dad's party and Micah really hit it off with Myca! :)
Then came Matt's mom's birthday...I got to celebrate with her a couple times. We kids had a surprise dinner one evening, and then we had a ladies' brunch at Aunt Janette's on Saturday. 
...so I guess that puts the boys' grandparents "over the hill" now. They have some pretty young grandparents compared to me at that age! They even have several great-grandparents, which is something I never had either.

Last week, we enjoyed being in Mediapolis for my brother Justin's testimony and baptism. There is no better thing than to be at peace with our Lord.

It is a blessing to be at peace with God because we never know when He will call us Home. We are thankful Matt's Grandpa Knobloch was ready to meet Jesus when he passed away suddenly a couple weeks ago. We were glad to make it to Lester for the funeral and to be with the Knobloch family last Monday. 

The whole Schulz family (minus Mom and Dad in Lester, Steve in Connecticut, and Levi who stayed home) drove home in a five-minivan, thirty-person caravan. 


There happened to be a play place at the McDonald's we stopped at...the kids had fun there! 
Easter weekend followed our week of baptisms, funerals, and birthday parties. We enjoyed spending time with the Massners on Saturday and the Lanz family on Sunday.

Actually, the birthday parties weren't really over yet. The Massner family combined our Easter dinner with Travis's birthday...15 on the 15th!

Levi had fun on his second annual Easter egg hunt!
(This was Levi's first Easter egg hunt...for those who may have forgotten.)
We are enjoying the beautiful weather! Levi has enjoyed some days playing outside, and Matt has been getting things looking good around here, too!

Chillin' on the porch with a few of his favorite things...his chair, his bottle, and his cat.
Around the house, things are proceeding as normal. 

Levi's head detached from his body...
...but I managed to get it screwed back on so he could play with Micah again. 
Strawberries grew to the size of apples...
...and I ran out of thyme to finish my chicken... 
...6'5" Travis no longer needs a stool...he just kneels and is still taller than Matt on a stool.
Micah was fussy one afternoon, but fell asleep instantly when I laid him on the rock-hard kitchen counter.
We're kind of losing our marbles around here...

But thankfully we're still smiling! Hope you find reason to smile, too...we are so blessed!

Monday, March 20

Days at Home

...and just like that, Micah's first month of life was in the books! He remains a very happy baby and has already given us a few smiles and coos!


The past five weeks have gone quickly. I have been pleasantly surprised to find the postpartum and newborn stage to be much better this time around. A happy baby sure makes things go well too.



He is on a good streak with nights, too; we are up to about a 4-5 hour long stretch at night and he is going back to sleep after eating. 

All dressed up for church last weekend! :)
We have gotten into our routine at home and things are going pretty smoothly. But unless you want to hear about laundry, dishes, and babies, I don't really have much to report because we don't leave the house much these days! Things just go better when we stay home.

Levi is learning how to color. He is gradually doing more coloring and less eating of the crayons. :) 
Relaxing in Micah's crib
I found Levi's doll in Micah's pack-n-play last week. Levi must have thought his baby needed a nap, too! 
Helping Daddy outside in the beautiful weather! 
...and playing outside with Daddy, too! Micah's arrival has provided lots of bonding time for them! :) 
Brotherly love...
Matt has been supervising a project south of Burlington the past couple of weeks. He has enjoyed the change in scenery and a bit of outdoor work! 

Today when Levi and I were eating lunch, Micah started grinning and cooing about every time I looked at him. I am glad he is such a happy baby. Hopefully he will always be this thrilled to see Mommy!

I should also mention for the record that Levi is officially walking now! He loves the extra freedom and ease of exploration!

And before we go...one last picture of our two handsome boys all dressed up for church yesterday! :)


And that about wraps up the last few weeks of excitement at the Schulz residence. Have a good week!

[Off the record: All of the pictures on this post of the two boys together makes their bonding time look like a common occurrence, but that is rather deceiving. Levi doesn't really know how to handle Micah yet, so after about two seconds of being together, Micah ends up getting smashed, pushed off Levi's lap, etc. But they do love each other. They just show their affection in non-affectionate ways right now. :)]

Friday, February 24

Micah Charles

Welcoming...

Micah Charles Schulz
Born Saturday, February 11 at 5:42pm
8 lb 10.5 oz; 20 inches long


We are so thankful to announce the safe and healthy arrival of another baby boy! God has been so good to us over the past two weeks and answered many prayers.


Labor Story (if uninterested, please skip the next few paragraphs): Throughout the last few weeks of my pregnancy, I had enough contractions to get me dilated to a 3.5 by my 41 week appointment on Friday the 10th. At that appointment, we decided to be induced the next morning. 

Saturday morning, we arrived at the hospital a little after seven. I was GBP so they got me started on IV antibiotics and hooked up to the monitor while I got checked in. Per my request, the doctor agreed not to start me on pitocin unless I didn't progress after she broke my water. When she broke my water at 10am, I was dilated to a 4. 

After my last labor experience, I was ready to do whatever it took to avoid pitocin. As soon as the doctor left the room, the nurse let me unhook from my IV until my next dose and take off the monitors for a bit. We left the unit, ran up and down the stairs several times, and power walked the halls of the hospital for a couple hours. At the end of the day, Matt's phone pedometer said we had walked 4.5 miles. 

At noon (two hours later), I was dilated to a 5. Just enough for her to let me stay off pitocin. More stairs, more laps. At 2pm, I was a 6. Contractions started getting uncomfortable, so we stayed in our room after that. I used the birthing ball for awhile, then moved to the bedside. At 4pm I was at a 7. Doctor was still happy without pitocin. I moved into bed and spent the next hour and a half there until it was time to push, then only pushed through about three contractions before we got to meet our sweet little baby boy!


God answered our many prayers for a better labor experience this time, and we were very thankful. 

And now...the beautiful miracle that came from it all: our new baby boy! He has been a very alert baby since the very beginning! 


We had no problems with nursing, no health issues, and no bilirubin problems. He did get a little jaundice after leaving the hospital, but nothing the doctor was concerned about. Again, many reasons to give thanks to God!

Our First Family Meeting
Levi was a little tired that night and wasn't quite sure what to think! 
The kids came to see him through the window again! 
Monday afternoon, both Micah and I were cleared to return home! 

Daddy and Micah all ready to go!

...let the fun begin! Our first night home had me a little nervous. It took Micah a bit to settle down for bed, but once he fell asleep he gave us 2-3 hour intervals through the night and stayed asleep between feedings.

Brenda and the kids were our first visitors after coming home!
Micah has been a good baby so far. He has been calm and content, and he hasn't really cried much since the first evening home. 
Our other visitor for the week was Issa! Micah may be our only baby with the privilege of meeting her as a newborn! 
ENTER: Big brother Levi!


Levi has been doing great as a big brother. We tell him not to touch the baby's face, so he leans in and gives him a kiss instead. He calls the baby "bee-bee" or "Ma-ma" ("Micah" - not to be confused with the "ma-ma" that means "Mommy" or the "ma-ma" that means "Grandma"). And he always likes to go see the baby when he wakes up in the morning. 

Grandma Massner with her grandbabies! 
And...he has taken interest in all of the baby's things. I think he enjoys the swing now more than he ever did! At least he is still small enough that he doesn't ruin it!


We are very thankful for the extra space that our minivan provides! The middle row is now filled up with baby seats. This scene makes me feel a little crazy. 
So...how is it going? Life with boys twelve-and-a-half months apart really hasn't been too bad yet, mostly due to all of the help I have had from Matt and my mom, for which I am SO thankful. Levi still takes two naps a day, so usually Micah's naps can line up with him at some point. And Micah has been a good baby, giving me decent stretches of sleep at night. I have been feeling great this time around, so as long as I get my naps things go pretty well. 

Life is busy now. And it is exhausting. There is pretty much always a need to be filled. But it hasn't been stressful. 

I may be speaking too soon. It has only been two weeks. But I am starting to realize I can survive. Hopefully things continue to go smoothly as I begin to spend a few more days on my own with the boys.

By God's grace...I have been learning to rely on Him and not worry about tomorrow. He gives me grace for the day, and he will give me grace for tomorrow.

One week old! 
Such a sweetie! :)