Home for the Holidays

So Christmas Is Here... at least the Christmas Party Season!!! On Friday Night, we had our John Deere christmas party!!! It was alot of fun, it was good to see some of the John Deere wives i don't see alot... and even some of our friends that now that we have children we don't get to socialize with alot! :-( It was very nice to enjoy a Friday night out dressed up and with my honey!!! (thanks bunches Angie for finding a babysitter!!!)

(Amber, Me, and Angie)

Then the next morning we woke up bright and early and me and the kids got on the road to go back to Ohio to see the family. The kids did wonderfully on the drive home. We watched a few movies, sang some songs, and ate some yummy snacks!

When we arrived in Kalida we headed to Nana Judy's for the Unverferth Xmas. We got to see all their cousins even Will from Florida. The kids had a blast playing and it was the really first time they fought me leaving somewhere. UGH!~ Oh there's no place like home for the holidays... it is to bad that daddy can't be here to enjoy it with us!! We miss you... hurry here!!!
On Sunday we had cousin Willy's birthday party, the kids finally had to be patient while someone else opened the gifts.... good practice before xmas day!!!

Happy 6th Birthday Will!!!

The kids have also been able to play in the snow here. Of course the snow followed us, but this is the snow you dream about.... the PERFECT packing snowball snow! Watch out some of them hurt!!! heehee SO i had brought all their gear home with me and we modified some of our old snowmobile suits for faith, Jacob and Will... and we headed off into thte snow!

Thumpetty thump thump thumpety thump thump

Look at Frosty go

Thumpetty thump thump thumpety thump thump

Over the hills of snow

Here is a kid from Florida who loves the snow!!!!

look at that face what is not to LOVE!!!!

The kids have had a absolutely wonderful time here in Ohio playing head on until they crash at night. There is just soooo much to do that it is overwhelming. Daddy starts heading here tomorrow and then Santa Claus so the kids are excited. Right now they are sleeping after making Christmas cookies with Grandma Pam all morning. That's the other thing.. these kids are NOT used to having all this sugar. Talk about bouncing off walls!! ;-)

Sugar.. Sugar...Sugar...

Well... christmas is closing fast... I can't believe we are headed home on saturday! I really can't believe it because i am not ready to go yet... not everything is done. But i couldn't have gotten done what i have if it wasn't for having Aunt Kathy here this week. She has been a big help with getting errands done, and even fitting in time for me to go on a date with my hubby!!!

Today, I took R to meet her teacher and see her school which she will be attending. She was really excited. FIRST we stopped at the vet to drop the dogs off to groomed...and of course that cannot be uneventful!! Archie started to really shake when i brought him in and when the vet Dr. Lori took him from my arms he starting having a "vocal seizure" he foamed at the mouth and moved his jaw uncontrollably... before they could get the meds to stop it.... he was back to normal. BUT it was scary. POOR BABY!!

He was monitored all day, and he has never had a seizure before so they said it could be epilepsy or could be brought on by stress. So we are going to keep a close eye on him. They took some blood tests to rule out some things so we will see.... only our family!?! UGH!

Then we stopped by R's school.... she was super excited... but was VERY quiet while we were there. We met her teacher (even nate came from work to be with us to walk around!) looked at her classroom, and saw the playground she will play in. After we left the school, she talked once again... and wanted to play school with G when we got home! SO CUTE!!

Her backpack is packed and she is ready for school once we get back from Ohio.

Then the kids after naptime... got to make gingerbread houses!! They are really hard! I don't ever remember putting a gingerbread house together ... but they are not easy!

Then we made Christmas cookies all day. We made sugar cookies, molasses cookies, gingerbread cookies, and a couple more.... NOW my feet hurt and i am tired. So i am going to put my feet up and relax. See everyone soon!!!

Icepacks and Ibprofen

We are home!!! Yeah, our little R made it through her surgery... what a big girl!! It was excruciating and unnerving sitting in the waiting room and waiting. We were at the hospital, of course, 2o minutes early! They put us right into the room and i had brought plenty of things to keep us entertained while we waited so we played with the baby, read a book with the tag reader, watched Dora and Diego, and waited.... then the nurse came in. Rosetta asked alot of questions about what each person was doing. She kept asking if they could do it to her doll baby first... so the doll baby had its temp taken and oxygen level taken. I stayed with her as long as i could... then i had to go into the waiting room. UGH!!

I have never had to leave my child in a dr.'s hand before while i waited for them to poke and prod them... it is horrible. I know it was just mouth surgery (which by the way they called full mouth reconstruction!!! -- that freaked me out!!!) but as i was sitting in the waiting room... i was freaking out and counting the hours until the dr. called R's name. The surgery took 1 hour and 40 minutes... so of course when hour and 1/2 went by and it was 1 hour and 31 minutes... i was on the edge of my seat thinking what could be wrong. It turns out when the dr. got in there he ended up pulling another tooth and putting in not one BUT two spacers!

While we were at the hospital -- aunt Kathy was watching the other two at home.... when i talked to her on the phone she said that the kids asked if R was going to die? It makes my heart break... they are soooo traumatized by hospitals since their mother and grandma passed away. Hopefully after seeing R go to the hospital and then come back unscathed... okay reasonably unscathed.... they will see that it is not all bad endings.

When they let me go back into R's room, she was not in there yet. But i heard her crying as soon as they her bed came through the door. They couldn't make out what she wanted other than apple juice. but as soon as she saw me she was trying to get out of the hospital bed. So as soon as they had her bed locked I crawled in and she got on my lap. They brought her an apple juice and she downed it and then they brought out another. They also brought her oreos... which i thought was weird since she just had all her teeth worked on ... but she did eat one??? ouch!

The nurse and i tried to roll her over when she was sleeping, so i could get up since i was falling off and holding on to the rail for my life, but R woke up instantly and started to cry.... so i did not get up anymore.... she only wanted to go home so the nurse's help me dress her and then they brought a wheelchair, But she wanted me to carry her! Putting her into the car seat was another story ... since she didn't want to let go!

And now we are home, the littlest two are in bed... and R is comfy on the couch watching Hannah Montana. Thanks for all the prayers... we are all okay! I don't know if the tooth fairy will come tonight... does he come if she doesn't even know it came out??? I do have it in my purse though.. THANK GOD that they put it in to a little box.... eewwwww!

Now, to relax and enjoy Aunt Kathy being her and hanging out!

Send you new updates soon!

Princess and the Frog

Disney's newest Princess...... Princess Tiana And our little princess..... Mommy was able to take R and X to the movies this afternoon. We saw the movie "The princess and the frog" it was a very cute movie... with of course a beautiful princess. X was enthralled with the movie and as much as R tried to fight she finally fell asleep half way through the movie. I have to admit it was pretty cute and had some catchy tunes!!!

My favorite character was an alligator who plays jazz music and only wants to play music but all the humans are scared of him!! And there is a firefly names Raymond who is in love with a bright firefly in the sky Evangeline (who is actually is a star!)

It was nice to take the kids to the movies and enjoy it. And daddy had G and Daddy time at home ..... she has been momma's girl all week so it was good to get away for a little bit :-)

So if you want to see a cute movie with a beautiful princess go and see it!!! I am sure i will have to download the songs from the movie so the kids can sing them as well.... i am really getting tired of listening to Hannah Montana ALL THE TIME!!!

Okay, now i have to prepare for R's surgery tomorrow. We have to be at the hospital at 9 am tomorrow for the dentist to do his magic inside her mouth. I am sure she is going to be tired and sore .. so i have plenty of fluids in the House for her to enjoy afterwards.... keep us in your prayers.

Love,

the schulte's

Frosty the Snowman

So Jack Frost came to our hosue this week and dumped alot of snow....and here is our driveway! Notice the high mound of snow adjacent to our driveway.... that just didn't end up there.... that is hours of back breaking snow shoveling by me!! Ouch!! Maybe it is time to get a snowblower!!! ;-)

I helped the kids make tunnels in the snow to play in, liek we used to do at mom and dad's in the big drifts. X and R loved the snow, but today G was not liking it......the snow was so thick she couldn't manuever very well.... and was stuck on her butt alot!
Here is our first snowman!! Isn't he cute!


Then we came inside to warm up with some Hot Chocolate YUM!!! and lo and behold we finally started getting mail again and Xavier got a birthday gift in the mail!!! Thanks Uncle Dale and Aunt Stacy!!


I just had to add this pic of our littlest DIVA in action!!! Check out those shades!!!!

Okay so the house is semi-clean for Aunt Kathy to come and stay.. our first house guest since the kids came into our lives! So, how do i keep the house clean until she gets here???? I know the perfect thing to do! On Friday night the new Disney Princess movie came out!!! The Princess and The Frog.... a story about an African American princess. It is a take on the princess and the frog story... and is full of songs! YEAH! (now just to convince nate that we ALL should go see it today!) I have gotten the girls the sticker book and a small book to prep them for the movie. They see previews on tv and get excited. I was thinking of maybe just taking Rosetta, but i think they would all enjoy it!! We will see... but i will keep you posted on how good it is!

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."

Mark 10:14

Happy Birthday Missy Me!

So it seems just like yesterday that we lost our missy me. And I don't know why, maybe because i have children this year... but it hurts this year more than most. I miss her lots and know she is looking down on us and smiling.





I just love this picture of nate and missy.... it is so precious. She is our little snow angel! :-)

Little angels up above, Bless our home with lots of love.

Missy Me (M&M)

December 10, 2003 - July 1, 2005

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

So yesterday we starting getting more snow... and then more snow and Today we wake up to Blizzard like conditions..... and trust me it is cold. BRRRRRR... the kids were out yesterday afternoon in the snow and trying to make a snowman while mom shoveled the driveway for the second time that day. But today we are planning on staying inside. I was supposed to go to get my hair cut yesterday... but that was canceled... then we had to bring the dog to the groomers this morning and THAT got cancelled, then i was supposed to stop by the dr.'s office for a TB test and I cancelled that.

So being curled up in blankets and snuggling sounds like a good idea for today!

The kids giggling under the tree with their new blankets from Vicki's prayer group. (i will send you a pic to show them to your girls, Vicki!)
Here is our munchkin all ready to go outside.... missing her coat, and gloves!! ;-)

Ok, so teaching Archie to come to the back door to come in was a good idea........ until this morning when we had drifts 12" high next to our sliding glass door!!

The aftermath after I got him in..... now there is towels strewn all over the floor to soak up all the snow falling off the dogs. Good thing it is sooooo cold the dogs don't want to be outside very long.

All the snow.

Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we've no place to go,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

It doesn't show signs of stopping,
And I've bought some corn for popping,
The lights are turned way down low,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

When we finally kiss goodnight,
How I'll hate going out in the storm!
But if you'll really hold me tight,
All the way home I'll be warm.

The fire is slowly dying,
And, my dear, we're still good-bying,
But as long as you love me so,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

So before we put the kids down for bed last night the snow started falling and this morning it was a winter wonderland!!! So Beautiful!! The kids wanted to go outside and play right away... but we did get to fit in breakfast before we bundled up to play in the snow. They had a ball looking out our window and watching the dogs jump around and make puppy prints!
Luckily my mom had gotten the kids all the gear we needed to enjoy ourselves outside in the snow!! Look at us all in our Snow Pants.... i felt a little like Jon and Kate plus eight... because once i got one kid half done they were burning up and then the other needed a coat on and the other gloves and then G is riping it off because she was sweating.... by the time we headed outside Mom was exhausted already! ;-) But we still played for over an hour! The kids tried to make a snowman but the snow is way to fluffy and then mommy started shoveling the driveway so the kids used buckets and shovels and made their own snow piles.... then to warm up a little bit we went into the garage and tried to clean up so daddy can finally park inside and not have to scrape the windows in the morning.

Archie enjoyed the kids playing inside too... because now he has a wonderful bed of warm winter coats and pants...

Nate has been asking to look at snow plows for our driveway... since our magic snow angels moved out of the neighborhood :-( But i convinced him that i don't get to work out much because i am busy with the three kids so shoveling the driveway would be a great calorie burner. It was actually fun to do today!! (we will see how long into the winter i say this!! hee hee)

Then just when we were coming inside the fed ex man came bringing Xavier yet another gift.... thanks Uncle Jeff... we found another outside toy!!!! ;-) Xavier loves the better batter baseball thing.... he can't wait to go out in the snow after nap and try it!!!

Santa Claus and Combining Families

So today we headed to Des Moines this morning to go see the children’s family. We met at a McDonald’s Play Place, the kids 2 aunts and a cousin & her little boy. It was a bit awkward at first because no one knew how to act or what to say… but then the kids were their normal selves and went to play and jump around and made it a bit easier. We know it was difficult for the family to see the kids (they were happy to see them so happy) because they miss them. Their Aunt Robin thinks about them often and you can tell she really misses them in her life. It is heartbreaking because you are so torn, as to keep them as close to us as possible, but these family members love our kids as well.

Me, cousin Keisha, her son Trashan and X

The kids had a blast playing with their pal Joey

The kids two aunts: Carmie and Robin

What a cutie!!!

R and her auntie

Giving good bye kisses

Then the kids and us headed to the Des Moines botanical Center to see SANTA!!! The kids thought at first we were going to the North Pole... but we told them Santa came to us! They all sat on Santa's lap and told them what they wanted. R started off with "well, i want a whole lot of things!"

The fun thing about choosing a botanical center to visit Santa -- no lines... and wonderful scenery. Nate even allowed me to take the kids around the center and see all the beautiful flowers!!! I even got to see some of their prize orchids.... i have two of them and 1 of mine is from the friends society which volunteers displays their orchids at the botanical center.

All in All a wonderful day!!!

Happy Birthday Xavier!

Happy Birthday to Me, Happy Birthday to Me....

So we survived onset of birthday parties! Last week was Rosetta’s party with the family, and then last night we celebrated X’s party with a few friends and their kids. The house was full—but I think we did have enough seats for the kids. The kids had a great time playing with all their friends – even G (who usually plays by herself or stays close to mom and dad) was really interacting with the kids and playing with Riley, iris, and Audrey. X had a blast playing with Zack (his really only friend who is a boy!) Thanks Todd and Janice for making the trip down her to make X’s day extra special.

Here is our house packed with people..... it was a little cramped.

Buzz Lightyear was a BIG hit... X got wings to wear and a Buzz Lightyear action figure that is flying around the room with him... the wings made him a little wider but he didn't realize it and ran into just a few things!!

The soccer ball became a outdoor toy very quickly!!!

Mommy had to get X to read his cards... unlike R who loved the cards as much as the gift... X only wanted to dive into the gifts.

AND
Here is X this morning with his wings on and his new Buzz Lightyear who made our trip to Des Moines and back today!!!