Happy Birthday to Gordie. . . a few days late here

I often post things on facebook that I want to commemorate and remember, but after everyone enjoys them, they go into the great abyss of facebook backlogs.  However, I print a hard copy of my blog (in book form) every year, so I can come back and enjoy the pictures and sentiments later.  Thus, even though the day has passed, I'm posting this here to enjoy these photos for my dear husband whom I love very much.

 Over 30 years ago, last month, the world was blessed with Gordon Schroeder. Somehow (I'm pinning a lot of it on the prayers of his grandmas!) he turned into an amazing man, husband, and father.

Your goofy, joyful spirit is a welcome blessing in my life, Gordie, and I hope to grow to cherish you, in all your quirks, for years to come.

Happy Birthday, Gordie! smile emoticon

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!

A birthday evening. . . through pictures. . . 

Birthday Brownies. . . minus the candles because. . . 

Candles put in birthday brownies too soon. . . that melted the bottoms - oops!!

So we improvised with "other" candles and children to bear them.  (3 representing 3 and 3 for 33 :)

Daddy blowing out the candles - and turning off Miriam's candle (it was electric - and was not considered "valid" so it did not throw off the three for thirty-three bit)

Paul loves birthdays!

Group shot, just after the candles were blown out.

Since I am cheap and did not feel like wasting wrapping paper. . . and we did not have a gift bag large enough for our gift, I let Rebekah color on the bag they gave us at the store.  

Back of the bag - yes, we got the gift from JC Penny. . . it was a blanket, in case you were curious. . . and I somehow managed to miss getting a picture of it.

These are all the kids in the family.

And here are "Dad and Mom"

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!  We love you very much!!  And we thank God for the amazing husband and father you are for us.  Love, your wife and children.

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

We celebrated Gordie's birthday today.  It was kind of a crazy day.  We have had 17 inches of snow so far (and it is still going) so Daddy was not able to get the car out to go to work - seriously - and he drives a Ford Escape!  He worked from home.  No big deal.  For dinner I chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and cream gravy.  We are all stuffed now.



Rebekah made the gravy.  She is getting SOOO helpful in the kitchen!

Nice writing, 'eh?  Saying this (rather than "Happy Birthday") seemed easier.  Gordie's response to the cake: "Wow!  Do you or the kids do the writing?"  Yep, he had to ask. 



Fun facts about Daddy:

*This year I put "tech guy" down for his job description on our taxes.  (Jokingly as I planned to go back and fix it later, but forgot to do so).

*His favorite meal (that I cook) is chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes.  (He likes to eat his with cream gravy on top and ketchup.)

*His favorite dessert is a toss-up between homemade brownies (my friend Karen M's recipe) and homemade chocolate chip cookies (his Mamma's recipe).

*He likes to work on cars in his spare time.  Right now he just saves us and his friends money, but one day he hopes to build (or rebuild) an old car (or several).  This is one of the driving factors behind the addition of our "monster" garage.

*Along the same vein as the previous, he recently lamented that our children are homeschooled (which is not set in stone for any pre-determined time, btw) as he wants to work with each of them to build AWESOME cars for them to drive to high school.

*He likes to play games online.  He has dabbled in World of Warcraft (well, we both did that for several years), Star Wars Online, Tabula Rosa, Dungeons and Dragons Online, a few others that I cannot remember, and currently plays League of Legends.

*He equates playing online games with playing real sports.  We argue about this regularly.  He claims he has to "practice" to play online games just like I used to practice to play college basketball.

*His favorite liquor is Grey Goose Vodka.

*This year I got him a remote control helicopter.

*I like him very much.

 

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!



Daddy being Daddy :)

What is wrong with my husband. . .

Ok, I admit, that first line was a teaser.  I actually cannot think of ANYTHING wrong with my husband, at the moment.  Now wait.. . nope, still nothing.

He is currently out cleaning and re-organizing the garage.

And I am taking this time (as I nurse Miss Miriam) to be THANKFUL for my amazing husband.

(Side note: yep, this is me jumping on the bandwagon again - but it is good peer pressure from my good friends - Monica, Erin - that are definitely helping me grow in holiness even though we have not even met in person yet! - hah)

Gordie is so good for me.  He reminds me that life needs laughter.  Lately I have been sick off and on and he has put up with me oh-so-well!  And although it has definitely thrown a wrench in his plans more than once, he has pointed out that his main concern is for me to feel better - how is that for selfless?  He does so much for me - from fixing whatever is broken, to building whatever I need.  And I'm still amazed how he can like me even when I do not like me.  Plus the fact that he cannot seem to see my varicose veins or "extra padding" is simply amazing.  (yes, I am vain like that to care :)  It has been a lot of fun to "grow-up" with him over the past several years.  I suppose now we get to start "growing old" together and that sounds even better.

For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior.  (Ephesians 5:23)

It also just so happens, that Gordie is a spectacular father.  I really LOVE how he plays with the kids and wants to do special projects with them.  They ADORE him and it is so great.  He is always teaching them and encouraging them to grow and think and do things for themselves.

Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray.  (Proverbs 22:6)

We are all blessed to have him in our lives.

Ok, that is enough gushy-ness for one post.  Until next time. . .

 

 

 

Thankfulness

A lot has been happening in our family life right now.  A lot that is STRESSING ME OUT!!  A lot of "really God?  really?!?!" moments for me.  I started a "whiney Wednesday" post (a few days early) but as I listed my "whines." I realized I had a lot to be thankful for.  So I'm going to make a Thankful List here to remind myself of all the good things God is doing and continues to do for us.

Although this is not really Miriam's CUTEST picture.  I actually think I see a little of me in her face in this picture.  It makes me happy.  Thus, I am putting it here.

Thankfulness List

1) I just had a baby and I feel GREAT.  Seriously, I remember feeling good for a few days post-birth (while the hormones are still raging) with most of my kids, but then after those first two or three days, not so much.  But this time, wow!  I am really floored.  I am ALMOST tempted to add some more physical activity, but I started that too early with my last babe and then it took EXTRA LONG to recover.  Still the housework and running after the kids is really a low-impact work-out most days as it is!  :)

2) Miriam is a fairly easy baby (so far).  She eats ok, she sleeps ok (as long as tucked in near a person -but I've come to expect this from babies, so it really does not bother me to keep her close while she naps).  I think maybe she likes me :)  I am way pumped to start "wearing" her more in my Moby Wrap.  But every time I think, "now would be a good time to put on the moby and wear Miriam," she falls asleep waiting for me!  Such a sense of humor this child has :)

3) I feel like I should be freaking out to have so many children, so young, but it is really not a big deal for me.  (Must be those happy "mothering hormones" I have flowing through me right now :)  We went to the museum today and I was very calm.  Other than Paul pushing the panic button on the van keys (that he ninja'd from the stroller when I was not looking) from the Discovery Room (3rd floor up - but has a window over the parking lot) and having to make a speedy exit to try and tame the noise, it was an enjoyable adventure.

4) Gordie seems to REALLY like his new position at work.  He is a trainer.  And the people he trains generally have good stuff to say about him.  I think he might have found something he actually enjoys!  (A real answer to prayer as he has never been all that crazy about his jobs before- they paid the bills, that was all.)

5) I have actually gotten some of my ever-growing "to do" list done.  I figured I would be barely surviving at this point, but with Miriam being so affable I am kinda thrown in flux here.  I keep expecting to not be able to get anything done and then find myself sitting around kinda bored.  So this afternoon I actually tried to be productive and wow, it worked!

6) Our air conditioner broke yesterday.  It was nothing too major, but it was a little overwhelming.  I put something on facebook out of sheer desperation (for pity more than anything else - as this was definitely one of those "really God?!?  really?!?!" moments).  No more than 3 minutes past from posting and I get a call that one of my friend's husband could help us out.  Today he and Gordie did a little work on it and so far it has been working fine since.  This definitely turned into a "WOW!  God really DOES answer prayers sometimes" kind of moment :)

(I know, I know, He ALWAYS answers prayers - we just sometimes know not what we ask for, but I have a poor memory when it comes to how good God is - all the time :)

"O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures for ever."  - Psalm 107:1

Yet another reason why my husband is AWESOME :)

Gordie is going to be working from home.  Wanting to encourage him in being healthy, I urged him to purchase a stationary bicycle.  His ingenuity and AMAZINGNESS led to the following creation.  This is definitely one of the reasons I love him so much.  Such creativity and the ability to follow through and make an incredible creation.  I hope he enjoys many hours of work at this "desk" :)

Helping Daddy

Fortunately, my husband is amazing and can fix things for me - like the vacuum cleaner.  He is passing on his talent to our children (as witnessed here - for your viewing pleasure).

S'mores :)

The kids were rather unsure about this whole event. Rebekah and Samuel have roasted marshmallows one other time at Grandma and Grandpa's but this is such a different setting, I'm not sure if they would consider the two events to be all that similar. This was the first time for Jacob and he was most puzzled, to say the least.

I finally gave up trying to nurse Paul to sleep (as it was past his bedtime) and let him sit and enjoy the family fun. Surprisingly he seemed rather interested and did not fuss much. . . until his blanket started falling off.

Mmmmm. . . .marshmallows. . .

Jacob is not so sure. I was not quick enough to capture the really good faces he was making (I was trying to hold Paul at this point and still take pictures) but he cautiously took the treat of absolute yumminess. . .

Here Jacob just got some marshmallow goo on his fingers and he looks at us as if to say, "Are you sure about this?" And I'm thinking, "You revel in making a mess of your dinner but you are sticking your nose in the air over a teeny-weeny bit of marshmallow gooey deliciousness?"

Jacob finally tried it. . . and it was very good!

Samuel only wanted the marshmallows - not the chocolate or crackers - No, I don't know whose kid he really is.

Rebekah - mmmmmmmm :)

My Husband IS AMAZING!!

This picture probably does not look like much to you. It is not exactly a fancy new sink or anything but if I had taken a picture of the old one before he ripped it out, you would be just as impressed and excited as I am - trust me! :)




New Sink

New Drain

New Faucet



ONE amazing husband



And this was just one of the MANY MANY projects he got done this weekend (without my asking/nagging/reminding in ANY form). Yes, yes, he is TRULY amazing. I love you, Gordie!! :)

Bedtime story