Number 100

This is the one hundredth post on this blog, for the record. Thanks to all who still follow along with us!

Well, the baby arrived and I'm feeling great! Oh wait, not my baby...but I did get some practice with holding little Russell at the hospital. He's a sweetie!

We enjoyed an afternoon of sledding at Dad and Mom Schulz's.

Playing Cranium:)

All the kids decided they wanted babies in their tummies...(this was still a couple weeks before our announcement)

My kitchen helpers! I spent the month of January constantly behind on dishes, so they helped bail me out one day.

A sweet picture from the big Schulz Christmas in December that we received. Micah, Abram, Weston, Krista, and Asher.

The children finally got to meet baby Russell when he was a week old! They were in love! (And Levi was in a phase where he felt compelled to stick out his tongue every time I took his picture. Joanna is imitating him.)

Matt put up the shades in the new windows in the basement so they are all ready to go! The outside still needs some work when the weather warms up. 

It snowed the weekend of the 18th - perfect packing snow for building a snowman! When we were ready to go inside, Micah insisted he was going to stay out and watch the snowman until it melted. Thankfully, I convinced him that it might be awhile or he would have been out there for a few weeks.

Along with the weather came some nice ice for slipping and getting a black eye! Oops!

The week of the 24th kept us on our toes with classes on three nights, a planned doctor appointment and grocery shopping on the off-day, and squeezing in an unplanned doctor visit with Levi that ended in a diagnosis of strep throat and ear infection. In one way, the sickness kind of helped slow us down a bit because I had to cancel piano lessons on Wednesday and Thursday.

And then, our big boy turned four! In line with his character, it took him a couple days to adjust to the new age and admit that he was now four. He is not keen about transitions. But he enjoyed his birthday to the fullest!

Also fitting for his character, Levi had a very specific request for his birthday cake: a mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwich cake. It ended up being super simple; I layered mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches with cool whip (which I dyed his two favorite colors, red and blue). I wasn't feeling up to making a nice beautiful cake this month so I was happy for an easy-pleaser.

It actually turned out to be very colorful when we cut it open!

Our gift to Levi was a "four" puzzle that revealed the anticipated baby!

A favorite gift was this dog on a leash from G & G Schulz. It has had a new name about every day...things like "Caramel Eyes Apple" and "Leash."

The next day, I decided to keep all of the kids home from church because they had been coughing and had slight fevers and weren't acting well. These new stickers from G & G Massner came in handy that day! 

We were planning to host young couples on Tuesday, but since our children still had coughs and runny noses on Tuesday, nobody felt comfortable coming with their babies. So Nate and Lucy graciously offered to host for us. I made my meat and brought it up there, and then we spent a quiet evening at home. 

Levi got four dollars that he spent at Dollar General. A couple purchases were these capsule animals...

...and these beautiful lips that he just couldn't resist. Along with some candy and a card game. 

My mom sent home some of my old clothes. Joanna thought this ten-sizes-too-big outfit was the greatest! So retro:)

The first weekend of February, we went to Monmouth for Ray Defenbaugh's visitation in the afternoon. Due to the long line, we ended up being forty-five minutes late for supper at my mom and dad's. It was a very low-key "family night" because Jesse was sick in bed with pneumonia, Jonathan was still in Ames, and Bill & V stayed home with Russell since we didn't know whether Jesse was contagious at that point (and we are obviously just reckless parents when it comes to exposing our kids to sickness).

The next day was the funeral at the Biggsville gym. The children and I sat in the bleachers at the back of the gym in the non-designated AC children's section; Matt directed the choir. The funeral ended up lasting about two hours. We were so exhausted at the end of the day, but it is a funeral we will not forget for a long time. Ray was an inspiration to all of us.

The next couple weeks, I started to regain some energy to get caught up on two weeks' worth of dishes and laundry, do two months worth of ironing, put away the Christmas decor, and prepare meals containing meat again. My hormones have also started to rebound a bit after about a month of being down and depressed. So, I guess as February comes to a close I can say I am feeling much better overall.

The next birthday cake project was Micah's! He was so excited to turn three. I told him for the past several months that when he turns three he is going to start using the potty and wearing underwear. So far (2.5 weeks later), so good! 

The finished product (his request was a balloon cake)!

Birthday buds! Alan had his "birthday party" at our house the same night as Micah's. Only Alan's party was on the pond in the form of a hockey game!

Our Valentine's Day Bouquet! 

Around 10:30pm on Valentine's Day, my brothers showed up for a late night hockey game!

Micah and Joanna enjoyed splashing in the puddles one Saturday!

Drummer band!

Monday the 10th was our last day of foster care classes...it is so nice to have our Monday evenings back again! Our final home visit was the next Monday afternoon. It will probably be the beginning of April before our home study is finalized and approved and we have our license, but everything is out of our hands now.

On the 14th, I took the kids up to Muscatine to get groceries and eat lunch with Matt. That evening, Matt and I went with a group to sing for Jody Eberhardt, who was on hospice care at home. We spent the remainder of the evening at Mom and Dad Schulz's. That weekend was Travis and Kenna's wedding and we got the privilege of hosting four single sisters...two we knew, Cherelle and Liberty S....and two new ones from West Bend, Anna and Abigail Z. Sunday after the reception we went to Mom and Dad Schulz's for a family night.

A walk in the woods had the boys discovering a tree house!

The next week involved two trips to town, one for my doctor appointment and another for Joanna's 18 month check-up. Thursday evening we returned to town for Jody's visitation and got groceries afterward. Friday we attended potluck at Nate and Lucy's, and Saturday was memorandum at church.

Uncle Jesse spent the evening here on the Sunday of the Parent's Supper! He had spent the last two evenings babysitting our children, so I guess it was our kids' turn to babysit Uncle Jesse!

The boys wanted to match me on Monday!

On Tuesday, my mom came and picked up the boys to spend the day with them at Shug's Tiny Town in Burlington for their birthdays. It is kind of like a children's museum of sorts with all the different kid-sized shops to play in. The boys had a blast. They met Grandpa for lunch at McDonald's. They were wiped out at the end of the day but had many fun stories to tell!

The hair salon

Going fishing!

"We're fire mans," says Micah.

We kind of slowed down the next couple days. Joanna had a fever last Wednesday night and it returned Sunday and this Wednesday afternoon. Micah got a fever Tuesday night, Levi had a fever and sore throat all day Thursday, and Micah had a fever again on Friday evening. It doesn't make any sense to me...I never know if anyone is sick or healthy around here! But apparently we should just start assuming everybody is sick. I planned to host Baby Joy on Thursday but we ended up rescheduling since so many were cancelling with sick kids anyway. We also cancelled piano lessons and our evening plans so a very full-looking Thursday turned into a quiet day at home.

I was so proud of Micah...he learned how to put together this square block puzzle all by himself! I can't even do it, so that's saying something. 

"Orange" you silly!

We're looking forward to some beautiful weather this weekend as we take our big "leap" into March!

If you read our blog, please comment below with something inspirational. Or a simple "Salutations" would be great too! After 100 blog posts, I would love to hear something from our readers!

And then...

Another little baby will be joining us in August, Lord willing! I'm at around 13 weeks right now. January was a miserable month, to be completely honest. I have high hopes for February as I come out of the bog of the first trimester and am able to start feeling more excited about the baby growing inside of me. We are a very blessed family! We revealed the news about our "fourth" on Levi's fourth birthday. Clever, I know. :) The boys are very excited in anticipation of the baby...after watching three cousins grow in bellies this year, they have somewhat of an idea of what is going on. Except I don't think they comprehend how long six months is going to take!

Thankful and blessed...praising God for all His wondrous works!

It's 2020!

...so let's wrap up the final month of 2019. I think I left off after a busy first few days of December. It was followed by some more eventful days.

Friday night we got to see Grandpa and Grandma Schulz again! Grandpa got a kick out of Joanna trying to ride the toy tractor. 

Saturday we headed to Peoria to celebrate Christmas with my dad's family and Grandma Knobloch! Here are all the great-grandchildren (sorry for the blurry picture)!

Joanna modeling Levi''s new safety goggles that came in a tool set he got from Grandma.

That night, Andrew, Hannah, and Rebecca came over to install the trim on our egress windows downstairs.

Sunday was Burlington Church Christmas caroling, and we were in charge of arranging the caroling portion of the evening.

Monday was our first of ten foster care classes. Talk about finding ways to make our schedule more hectic...adding in Monday evening plans from 5:30-9:30 was a crazy idea.

Me and the three kids brought the two cats up to the vet to get their shots. Corralling three little children and two terrified cats into the van to the vet was another wild idea, but I couldn't think of another way to get the job done. Snowbell got weighed and then just sat on the scale until Dr. Seth pulled him off. Ash hid in the back of the closet the entire time until Levi pulled her out by her ears. I think the nurse was quite impressed by how gently our cats are treated by the children.

Making more use of Levi's new tools, breaking up insulation leftover from the windows.

With some imagination we found a way to clean up the bits of insulation laying everywhere afterward. Credits to the best Daddy ever. 

Wednesday evening we sang for Norm and Maryann Frank before church. Friday evening was our Young Couples Christmas dinner. Saturday Zach came over to help Matt out for the day and they finished the egress windows!

I also might add that one random night Joanna puked and a few nights later Levi also threw up several times. At one point Matt was certain he had contracted strep throat a third time, but we fought it off with vitamins and ACV treatments. Lest you think we were totally healthy for the whole month of December.

Sunday were the Burlington and Mediapolis church Christmas programs. Monday was class night again. Tuesday we enjoyed singing for Uncle Al and his family at hospice. Wednesday evening we got to hear the testimonies of Ray and Alice D. and were thankful to welcome them into our Burlington church family.

Almost at Christmas now. Friday the 20th was the Myron Schulz Christmas at the fellowship center. Saturday we attended Uncle Al's visitation and then the Joan (Ed) Lanz Christmas at Grandma's with somewhere around 150-175 in attendance. 

New fuzzy socks!

Myron Schulz family: A. Janette, U. Roger, A. Peggy, Dad (Gary), A. Lorna; Grandpa and Grandma in front

Grandpa and Grandma surrounded by their grandchildren and great-grandchildren! I think Eric, Brianna, and Lucas were the only ones gone, but I could have missed someone else.

A few Schulz girls:) Joanna, Adriana, and Rebecca

Adrienne and Joanna entertaining us at Grandma Lanz's

Snack time at Lanz Christmas! I didn't realize until after this picture that Micah has like five cookies on his plate. He got really sad when he learned that all those cookies had sugar in them. Because, of course, he is well aware that "Sugar makes me get sick. If I eat sugar, then I will get sick. And if I don't eat sugar, then I won't get sick!"

This girl never misses out on food!

Sunday the 22nd we spent at Mediapolis church and attended Uncle Al's funeral in the afternoon. We went from there to Massner caroling for the evening. 

Monday was class again. Tuesday, Matt came home early and we had our family Christmas. We made ice cream, ate supper, opened gifts, ate the ice cream, and that was about the extent of it. 

The boys seemed to think the ice cream maker was really loud...

Ready for gifts! My minimalist overhaul found its way into Christmas this year. I didn't want to get them anything that wasn't wearable or disposable...and they are all young enough that the funnest part is just opening the presents! :) One of Joanna's gifts was a box of blown up balloons! Micah's favorite was a new pair of church shoes. Levi got a storybook that he was excited about.

Levi got a dot-to-dot book that he loved!

Wednesday morning we went to church and spent the rest of the day at Mom and Dad Schulz's with Matt's family. Festivities included lunch and supper, outdoor kickball due to the spring weather, a nativity play, and a gift exchange. 

It's not too often we get to see this kind of outdoor play on Christmas day!

Kickball!

Who knew boys could have so much fun together?!

A few pics from the nativity play...

Rebecca got to be the baby!

The angel dance...

Levi and Garret were wise men.

Our cowboy and pilot!

Three cowboys...Micah, Abram, and Weston

And...Matt, my deer.

The older grandkids all got pajamas from Grandpa and Grandma! 

Corbin gave Levi a Lite Brite that he loved!

A new workbench gave the boys and Daddy some good bonding time. 

Friday was Matt's day off so I went to town for groceries and then we went to Andrew and Hannah's for supper to spend the evening with Steve and Julie! Everyone else there had been feeling sick in the past day or two. Somehow we still have not caught whatever went around. Maybe our family already caught every bug there was to catch over the last two and a half months and now we can just have a healthy winter from here on out. :)

Saturday was my family's Christmas at Mom and Dad's...another day full of family and tradition!

The annual Christmas table photo! I think this is the first year that none of our children were napping during lunch. 

LEGO creations from G & G Massner

Micah's fire truck!

After Christmasing ourselves out, we were ready to crash. I feel like that is the summary statement in all my blog posts these days. I'm ready to crash...then I get all my pieces picked back up and put back together just in time for another marathon. Maybe I should say we were ready for a break. We joined a very small gathering at Burlington Church on Sunday, then spent the evening at home. Monday evening we had our evening class again. Tuesday evening we welcomed in the new decade by going to bed early and watching our eyelids drop.

Our first outing of the new year was to Norman Frank's visitation. Friday night we returned to Lunnings Chapel for Dean Massner's visitation. And people wonder why my kids are playing funeral all the time. We made the most of our trip to Burlington and got groceries as well. 

Matt was in charge of the funeral singing on Saturday, so he attended the funeral and I listened from home with the children. It was a nice funeral. Unfortunately, the speaker in the assembly wasn't working which created another disaster. They were able to rent a speaker for the funeral, and then Matt returned to town later in the afternoon to meet with a guy and get the problem fixed. We spent Sunday at Mediapolis church to help Mom serve lunch. 

Then this week happened. My details are getting boring but we finally have had three nights in a row without plans. It's been great.

This girl called me into her room after her nap to show me her new trick! If one pacifier is good, two must be better! 

I ordered some sprouted wheat flour to try making my own sprouted bread rather than buying the sprouted grain bread at Aldi. It turned out well but I don't think we saved ourselves any money (or time!). I was excited about it though. :)

A sweet boy giving the dolly a nap.

Last night we were thrilled to hear the news of a new baby cousin for our children and my first flesh-and-blood nibling! Russell was born to Bill & Vienna and we can't wait to meet him in person!

Sweet Little Guy:)

We hope this new year finds you blessed and seeking God's grace in whatever may come. It is amazing to look back at how far we have come in a decade and to wonder what God has in store between now and 2030! If all goes smoothly, we will already be into the teen years of parenting by then. Hopefully time goes by slowly! These sweet moments with our little ones will only be memories by then.