Daniel & Drew’s Day!

Andy is off on his annual God Squad retreat and now that the older two are teenagers – they are off with him.  That leaves me with the two younger boys.  Since yesterday was rainy and cold we just hung out at home.  We started our day by eating breakfast at Chick-fil-a!  It’s Daniel’s favorite place to eat breakfast and I love it because there is usually NO ONE there!  After eating our breakfast I loaded the boys back into the car and then drove.  Daniel was confused when we didn’t go right home and questioned where we were going!  It wasn’t until we pulled up to the zoo that he figured it out and he was excited!  Drew hasn’t been to the zoo since he was 9 months old – so I knew he would be fascinated with every aspect of it!  I wasn’t wrong!  He loved the animals, the little statues all over the place, and the freedom he had to run around!

Daniel loved his time there as well and asked a zillion questions!  He also chattered away about everything he saw!  It was a good day and a great way to get the kids out of the house for a few hours.  Here are just a few of the animals that we saw.

We loved how they twisted their tails together!

This snake had a HUGE head!

Have you ever read the picture book Verdi?  Great book!  Love the snake!

Drew was a little worried about this crocodile coming straight at him!

Cute little frog!

The tigers were REALLY active!  Drew was fascinated!

The American Bald Eagles!  The front one flew to its perch – Drew thought that was great!

It was a great time together!  Drew crashed on the way home – I think I wore the poor boy out!  Daniel will crash fast tonight thanks to the fresh air!  Loved spending time with my boys!

I’m trying….

June 13th was a turning point in all of our lives.  Our hearts still ache with the loss and our tears still flow freely just about everyday.  Everything we do seems to recall a memory of PopPop.  We miss him terribly.  His home going has put us all in a bit of a funk – we are all going through the motions of living, but longing to see Dad once again, realizing that it may be a long time before that happens.

One thing Dad’s passing has taught us all is that life is SHORT!  It seems like we have endless days ahead of us to spend with those we love, but in reality it is a blink of the eye.  I’ve realized this point before – every time I realize that Matthew is now 15 years old!  So, I’m trying to focus on and build the relationships in my life.  In my effort to do this with my children I am trying to spend one-on-one time with each one doing an activity of their choice.  Last night was Matthew’s first activity – a concert!  (Now not ALL of his activities will be this expensive!  But it was a good kick-off event!)  He really enjoys listening to the band Kutless.They happen to be in the area and I got tickets!  I’m not into all the music that Matt enjoys – some of his choices are a little hard and loud for my taste – but I like going to see the bands he enjoys in concert so I can hear what it is that they stand for and believe.  I have to say I had a great time!They are an amazing band and have an incredible testimony and message!  And I even LOVED some of their songs!  Matt was thrilled to be able to talk with the band as they signed his poster.My favorite part of the entire day was the 1 1/2 hour ride out and the 1 1/2 hour ride home.  We talked and talked and talked!  When you get my oldest in a car by himself he talks!  He really is an amazing young man and my eyes tear up every time I think of him leaving for college in just three short years!  I mean, the kid DRIVES ME CRAZY many a minute – but he is my heart and I love him like crazy! 

So, if there has been one good thing that came out of June 13th – it’s the fact that I have opened my eyes to the blessings that I have been given and am determined to make every effort to love them, spend time with them, and enjoy every precious moment given to me!

Old Friends….

Camp Sankanac holds a special place in my heart.  I went there for 10 years as a camper (from ages 7-16) and then was a counselor there for four years.  The friends I have made from my days there have lasted more than 30 years!  AMAZING!  This past May the director of Camp Sankanac for 29 years, Jan Coudriet, suddenly went home to be with the Lord at the age of 61.  He saw me and my friends grow up there at Sankanac.  He saw our kids start going!  He was an amazing man of God and loved each one of us!  When my daughter started going to the camp three years ago he would personally make sure she was doing well and make time to talk with her a few minutes each day!  He was just such a caring and loving father-figure!  Yes, God took two very important men from my life this year – within a span of three weeks.  My heart misses them both.  I can’t imagine what Camp Sankanac will be like when we take our daughter up next weekend.  His smiling face was the first one we saw upon arrival and the last one we saw when we picked her up.  It’s going to be VERY hard and different.

While at his funeral, my friends and I talked about how we hadn’t seen each other in many years – like ten years!  It was far too long and I wish the circumstances had been different in us deciding this fact….but we made a date for us all to get together.  That date was today!  It was a wonderful time of fellowship and fun!  Though not all could join us there were six families present – with a total of 16 kids! (Four kids were not present as they were either grown and away or at camp!)  It was so much fun getting together!  Here are a few snap shots of our day!

My guys!!!!

Puppy Love!  She was SO cute!

Our passel of kids!!!

Part of the “original” gang!

With the spouses!

The whole gang!!!

BAD Aunt Lisa!!!

It was a great time together!  I hope we don’t wait ANOTHER ten years before we get together again!

Backyard Oasis

We live in the city – have for the last 18 years (this week!).  When my husband and I first got married we lived in the second house that was on my in-laws 30 acre farm.  I thought I had moved to heaven!  All my life I had lived in a two bedroom apartment – no land to plant anything in, no place to walk safely, constant people all the time!  Moving to the country was AMAZING and I was THRILLED – for eight months!  That’s when we got the call that we could serve with a ministry in inner-city Philadelphia for a two-year internship.  Did I mention we’ve been here for 18 years?  That’s a LONG internship! 

After the two years were up we found we really loved the work God had called us to do and also found out we were expecting our first little one!  We began to look for a house to buy.  At first we looked with an agent, but he wasn’t listening to where we wanted to live.  We then started looking for for sale signs on our own.  On a walk with a friend, I spied this cute little house with a front yard containing a tree, bush, and a flower plot!  Almost unheard of in our area.  I showed it to Andy and we immediately called the realtor listed on the sign.  We got in the house the next day and it was love at first sight!  The kitchen was HUGE!  And it had amazing windows!  What was even more amazing was the backyard!  It, too, was HUGE!  Most backyards in our neighborhood are referred to as “postage stamp” size.  Ours is at least four yards put together!  It’s wonderful!

Flash forward 15 1/2 years, four kids, and a cat later and we seem to have run out of room!  Two years ago, Andy thought the same thing and built a deck off the schoolroom.  At first I HATED it!  He tore apart the wall in my schoolroom to put the door in and then the whole deck thing was mess.  He decided to fiberglass the deck do that the underneath would stay dry and we could use it during gentle rains.  He had to do it at night because the weather was so hot and it required a certain temperature to cure.  It took a lot of time, money and energy and I wasn’t sure it was worth it. 

Today, I am thankful for my husbands wisdom in building this deck!  I spent the morning scrubbing the winter/ spring grime off the fiberglass deck.  I went to Target and finally found the perfect table to put out there, one where the kids can do schoolwork on the warmer days and we can play games at.  I also set up Drew’s baby pool – much to his delight!We planted flowers in the flower boxes and are really hoping the squirrels stay out of them this year!  Last year they pulled up every flower that was in them.If I can’t live in the country, I guess this is the next best thing.  If I close my eyes and just listen I can hear tons of birds singing and can imagine I’m living back home on the 30 acre farm.  We even have a fountain that sounds a bit like Mom Schultz’s fish pond!  So, for now I’ll enjoy my backyard oasis and be thankful for God’s blessing!

Dad

That one simple word…..what does it conjure up in your mind?  It is often just attributed to that one man in your life that brought you life.  The one you grow up adoring and hoping you’ll find a mate just like.  Growing up I was not blessed with that kind of dad.  My father left when I was two and caused trouble until I was 21.  No, God had another dad in mind for me.  His name … John Henry Schultz, my husbands’ dad.  He is the only person I called “Dad.”  He is the only man who truly fit that word. 

Dad went home to be with the Lord, June 13, 2012.  It was sudden.  It was unexpected.  It is heart wrenching.  My mind is boggled by it all.  My heart is raw and and tattered.  My kids are completely heartbroken.  Daniel’s (6) first words after hearing the news were “But he can’t be gone…he was my best friend!”  And he was.  Pop Pop “knew” Daniel and was crazy about him!  They went on walks together, played checkers, and spent many hours at the swings while Pop Pop pushed Daniel high into the air.Matthew (15) just cried when we told him.  The very morning Pop Pop went to glory he sent out his daily e-mail about living each day for the Lord.  Matt responded to that e-mail immediately saying thank you and that the verses he sent out helped him a lot that morning.  Matt’s parting words in that e-mail were, “I love you, Pop Pop!  Have a great day!”  He DID!  It was the rest of us having a lousy day!Sarah (13) was Pop Pop’s princess.  Never a visit went by when Dad didn’t tell her how beautiful she was.  He always encouraged her to do her best.  I remember we were visiting and Sarah had a spelling test the next day.  Sarah HATES spelling.  He sat with her and went over each word until she knew them by heart and encouraged her that she could do it.Drew (2) doesn’t understand much of what is going on.  He’s confused as to why we are laughing one minute and crying the next.  It breaks our hearts that he will never really remember what an amazing Pop Pop he had.  Drew was the light in Pop Pop’s eyes!  He laughed every time he was with Drew.  One of my last pictures of Drew and Pop Pop is Drew playing peek-a-boo in the stroller.  You don’t see Pop Pop as I was focusing on Drew – but the smile on his face says it all – he LOVED his Pop Pop!  One of Drew’s first words was Pop Pop.  He misses him, too.Andy’s parents have always displayed a strong faith and love for our loving God.  Both have always been amazing followers of Christ.  They ALWAYS pointed us to the truth and ALWAYS prayed for us.  During the funeral, Matt commented on how it was Pop Pop’s prayers that carried him through passing the 9th grade…and all the previous grades!  He’s right!  Now half of that prayer team is gone.  It’s going to take many more to replace those prayers.Though we are completely broken by this event, we are not crushed.  Though we are perplexed, we are not in despair (2 Corinthians 4:8).  Dad knew his Savior and served Him with his whole heart.  We KNOW he is in heaven worshipping his Lord.  We KNOW, beyond a shadow of a doubt, we WILL see him again.  I know the tears I cry are completely selfish.  I want him here with us, praying for us, my children, giving us words of wisdom, loving us the way only he could, helping us navigate this thing called life.  But he is no longer in pain, no longer dealing with the craziness of this world.  And I praise God for that. 

I am so thankful I had a Dad.  I may have waited 24 years, but I got the best one out there.  And, yes, I married one just like him!  I am so blessed.The above picture is the very last picture I took of Dad.  Mom and Dad had come down to our annual block party to see Matt and Sarah participate in ministering to the people in our neighborhood.  He was so proud!  He witnessed the legacy that he and mom began so many years before with their own sons.  I was disappointed that I didn’t get a picture of them with the kids but didn’t want to call them back as it was so hot and they had a long drive home, so I quick took this snapshot as “proof” that they had been there.  I always thought there would be a “tomorrow” to take that group picture.  Never wait until tomorrow….be intentional.  Dad was and I’ll never forget that as long as I live.  Thanks Dad!  I know you have heard the words, “Well done!  My good and faithful servant!”  We miss you!

Cornerstone Block Party 2012

Today was our church’s 8th annual block party!  It truly is an amazing event to pull off!  We close a main thoroughfare in our neighborhood – we have to obtain a block party permit and it is ALWAYS a huge answer to prayer when we are granted one – they aren’t too keen on closing a main street because buses have to be rerouted!  But God has been incredible in granting us one every year!

The block party has become an event that the entire neighborhood looks forward to!  There is face painting, inflatables, music and puppets, and most importantly – the gospel is being shared through the use of the evangi-cube, stick drama, and gospel magic!What I find amazing is that Matt and Sarah are now actively involved in A LOT of the block party events!  They are the ones pictured performing in the stick drama and the gospel magic!  How did they get so old already?

I took Drew and Daniel up for a couple of hours.  Daniel was a mess for the first part but soon shipped up and started having fun.  He loved the inflatables!  I tried to get Drew to do the water one – but he would have nothing of it!  He much preferred to play in the fire hydrant!It was a great day and the weather was VERY cooperative!We are praising God for the people whose lives were touched and praying that they would grow in their faith.