Sunday, December 12, 2010

testing, testing, 1, 2, 3

Some of you have noticed and have given me trouble for not posting in awhile.  This post is going to be short and I will give a better update later with pictures!

So, the big news is that after a week of thinking I was right on the edge of getting the flu and three pregnancy tests later... we found out that baby #2 is on his/her way!  I am five weeks pregnant and, although we weren't planning on it, we are so thrilled to have another baby to love and include in our family.  The due date is August 15th.

My little sister said it best when she said that "the best thing about babies is that you have 9 months to plan/pray!"  And so, we'd appreciate your prayers that our baby would be safe as its still early in the pregnancy and a lot could happen.

Friday, October 15, 2010

half-birthday

Today is the little handsome's half-birthday!  I can't believe that six months ago Owen was born.  It feels like he has been a part of our family forever, and yet, it seems like he just got here.  Well, little man, we love you and wish you a happy half-birthday!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Treasured in my heart

"And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.  But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart."  Luke 2:18-19

And then again...

"And he said to them, 'Why were you looking for me?  Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?  And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them.  And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them.  And his mother treasured up all these things her heart."  Luke 2:49-51

When I read these verses, I can't help but wonder what it would be like to be Mary and intimately watch the Savior of the world grow up.  Since he was fully human and fully God, I question whether he cried when he had a dirty diaper, if he had to go through sleep/nap training.  I watch Owen learn to talk and wonder what was it like for Jesus, the Almighty God, to be a baby and humbly not communicate through words.  As Owen begins to get up on all fours, I imagine being Mary and being a part of watching Jesus learn to crawl.  Can you imagine how amazing that would be?!?  I ask myself, how much did Mary love Jesus because he was the savior and how much did she love him simply because he was hers.  My heart fills with love for Owen and my heart melts.  What was it like for her??  I believe Beauty reached its peak with the Creator of the universe became like His creation and took the form of a helpless baby boy born in a manger, to a young mama and a probably scared step-father.  Oh what it would have been like to be Mary and watch my Savior grow up!  But what a blessing it is to watch my little man daily become more and more himself.  I am so thankful to be a mama!  Here is my little list of things this morning that I am "treasuring in my heart."

1.  Owen has recently started saying consonants.  The one that he keeps repeating these past few days is "da-da-da-da-da."  I know he really isn't saying "daddy" but I love hearing him say it.  He loves his daddy so much and it melts my heart when he says those words.

2.  When I pick him when he's tired, his little arms wrap around my neck and his little fingers kind of scratch my neck like he just wants to make sure I'm still there.

3.  Also when he's just woken up for a nap, or ready to sleep, he will nuzzle his face into Jon or my chest.  It is so precious.

4.  Sometimes he'll just look at Jon or I in anticipation for a smile.  When we do, his face lights up and he smiles back!

5.  Finally, these pictures that Justin took at Thrift for Hope of Owen and Kaisa the other day make me smile so much!



 

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Family Photos

Yesterday we took family photos with Justin, a good friend who also shot our wedding.  He did an amazing job capturing Owen despite lots of hair pulling, grass eating and spitting up.  Our friend Liz tagged along and learned a lot from Justin too.  We all such a good time together during the beautiful day!  If you want to see the pictures, click here.  Here is a preview of some pictures to hook you into visiting Justin's website.  



Also, just for fun, here is an engagement picture and a wedding picture.  Whenever people come over and see some of our engagement photos they say that we look a lot different.  I don't see it.  But, I am so amazed at all that God has done these past few years.  In April 2008, we started dating and now 2 1/2 years later we are married and have a handsome baby boy.  I am so thankful that God did a work on my heart and Jon's while we were at Drake.  He brought us both to a place of surrendering our lives to Him and trusting Him with the future and the details.  I never would have thought that I would be on staff with Great Commission Ministries and fall in love with Jon Schreiner, especially not that he would fall for me!  I am so grateful that God had our hearts and lead us in that direction.  Sitting here is making me remember and stirring my heart to continue to relinquish control because I know that he is not finished with us yet.  I am excited to see how He is going to lead us and where he'll take us!  Anyway, here are the pictures:

If you are looking for a photographer for a wedding or family photos, we highly recommend Justin at justinsalemmeyer.com.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

My first attempts to be a Do It Yourselfer

Magnets

A few years ago, my friend Megan Horn gave me some magnets that I have absolutely adored ever since. Last Christmas, Bo and I copied the idea and made some magnets as Christmas presents. Here is what we did:

{Step 1} Take a clear stone that you get at craft stores (they look like vase fillers).
{Step 2} Modge Podge a piece of a magazine, craft paper or photo to the flat side of the stone. You should place the side you want to see face down. Let dry.
{Step 3} Adhere a magnet to the flat side where you just modge podged. The adhesive I used was called Goop. You could use a hot glue gun or anything that has a strong adhesion.
{Step 4} That's it!

Owen's Baby Blanket
For my birthday, I got a sewing machine. I was inspired by this because while I was pregnant, I tried my hand at sewing with Carla Richey and Anna Judd. You can see what I made on this previous post. I also appliqued some onesies that Owen barely fit in. When I got my machine I tried some more burp cloths and they totally didn't work. And sew (get it?), I neglected my machine and my projects for the next two months. Then, I was inspired. I saw a cute and simple quilt on Etsy and decided I would try again. I went to the quilt store to get some fabric and came across this ridicously cute fabric of Eric Carle's illustrations in Brown Bear, Brown Bear and designed the quilt around that fabric. It was surprising simple after a few bumps. Here are the pictures and the "how-tos."

{Step One} Pick out your fabrics.
I choose my quilt to be 16 sqaures. I wanted four of them to be the Eric Carle squares. With 12 left, I decided the less expensive option and bought 6 fat quarters and decided to use them twice. For the back of the quilt, I choose a polka dot flannel that brought in a few of the colors.
{Step Two} Cut out your squares.
This is where I hit my first major bump. I almost didn't do the quilt because of this. I knew my squares needed to be at most 9 inches per side because I choose to use a Fat Quarter (which is 18 inches per side, I think). And so I tried to cut a square using my table as a guide. After I cut it out, I realized it wasn't a 90 degree angle. I got frustrated and this is where I stopped. A few weeks later I was sitting on my futon and realized I could make an accurate guide using an 8 1/2 x 11 card stock. I overlapped them and cut one down to make a square pattern with 8 1/2 inches per side. Success! I then proceeded to cut the remaining 15 squares while I drank some coffee and watched Owen play independently. :)
{Step Three} Arrange your squares.
Lay the squares out the way you want them arranged. Write down what you came up with.

{Step Four} Start Sewing!
I decided four squares together into four rows first. I took the top row and put two squares that are next to each facing in. I pinned them on the side they were connected at and sewed a straight line. I just choose one of the lines on the machine and had that be my marker. I'm sure you normally do that, but I have no idea how to sew. After the first two are connected, sew the third square onto the second in the same fashion. Do it again for the fourth. Do all four rows the same way. Next, sew the rows together in the same way. Finally, cut out the back piece to fit the size that your quilt became. Turn inside out, pin, sew all but one side of a square. Bring the inside out and sew the final side really close to the edge. You have a baby blanket!

CF

One tradition I have loved that began four years ago is going to Center Grove Orchard with Grand View Campus Fellowship. The first and second year we went early enough in the day to go around the orchard and pick apples. We enjoyed such a sweet time of love and laughter. The third year and this year we went at night with a large group (58 people this year!) and went on a hayride, carved Jack-o-lanterns, jumped on a giant pillow and wrestled in a pool of corn kernels. This year I noticed they had an animal farm too! Maybe its new, who knows? I can't think of many things more fun to do in the Crisp, Cool Fall! My favorite part of this year was that Owen got to join us!

In other news, Owen is gaining quite the personality! He is a Charming Flirt. For instance, today we went to Target to peruse the clearance items and every. single. person. we walked by he flirted with unashamedly. Women stopped to talk with him. Men stopped to talk with him. Other kiddos came to touch him. I hope he remains charming but loses the flirt standing by the time he enters his tweens. {He's not smiling in the one below but he's so cute with those cheeks I couldn't resist}.

Along with being a charmer, he has all of these new Crazy Faces. My favorite is the one below. My handsome baby boy is growing up so fast and I love learning who he is!

Here are also posting some pictures of him enjoying the bathtub. In the pictures, he is splashing and then looking up and smiling. He is such a goof!
Finally, there is a picture of Owen loving on Liz VanderSchel's dog Maddie. So far Owen loves dogs... but they don't really seem to want anything to do with him.

Anyway, I hope you all are enjoying the beautiful fall weather!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

September Fun

Owen is now five months and he has been having a blast! Both Grandpas came into town to play in a golf tournament for Youth For Christ. They all had a good time and they golf club even let Owen and I drive around in a cart for a while with them! Here are all the boys.
Owen and I got to go to Kansas City to go to my cousin Kelsey's wedding reception. We had so much fun seeing everyone and I remembered to take a picture of our newest little cousin - Zack. We also had fun hanging out with Grandma Tickles and Aunt Sandy.
We continue to have a good time hanging out with some of the mama's and their kiddos. This is a picture of Noah. He is now seven months old and the sweetest boy ever!
It was chilly last weekend and so I was so excited Owen FINALLY got to wear the first article of clothing I ever bought him! It is this adorable sweatshirt with bear ears. He was such a charmer in it!
Jon has been playing intramural football at Grand View and one day Owen and I went to watch the game with a few of the girls. He was looking like such a balla with his hat backwards!

eating machine

Owen is quite the eating machine. Whenever we give him a bottle he excitedly waves his arms back and forth in anticipation for food. Sometimes he even makes noises! He is also starting to recognize what it means when Jon or I are at the kitchen sink making a bottle. He watches intently like if he stops watching he won't get the bottle. We've attempted to give him rice cereal some these past few weeks, but for some reason he hasn't seem that interested. However, yesterday, we tried giving him sweet potatoes and after a few minutes he LOVED it! He started grabbing the spoon and then also he started making grunting noises before each bite as the spoon came his way. It was hilarious! And so here is the video of our little eating machine. well... I was going to post a video but it wasn't working. So, I'll have to try again later. Sorry Aunt Mandy!

Monday, September 20, 2010

we bought a house!

On Saturday, a bid Jon and I put on a house was accepted!  We are so excited and, to be honest, a little surprised.  We thought it would be a while longer before we were able to have a house but God changed our circumstances and it's possible now.  As I sit here in my apartment, I can't help but be so grateful for what God has given us so far.  The apartment we have been in has been such a blessing and has felt so much like home.  It will be nice to be in a house soon so Owen doesn't have to share a room with us anymore and so we can have more people over.  
The amazing thing about all of this is God answered every prayer I had for a house - even meeting a desire I had for a porch, even though that wasn't a necessity.  Before going house shopping, I made a list of prayer requests.  Things that were important to us was location between Grand View and Windsor Heights and easy access to the highway since Jon will be back and forth to many spots in Des Moines.  The one we put a bid on wasn't even on the list the day we went looking but we drove by it and called to see if we could get a showing that day.  The location is awesome.  I don't know what the neighborhood is called but it's at 35th and Iola (2 blocks south of Kingman).  So kind of the drake neighborhood, kind of the woodland neighborhood.  I don't really know.  But it's easy to get to and I feel safe in it for little Owie and I.  I've loved seeing God's hand directing us in it.  One thing that is awesome about prayer is that it takes away any need to be nervous.  Jon and I put this house in God's hands and so we can trust that this was the right decision.  Finally, I want to put a word in for our awesome realtor, Jason Rude.  He did a great job with everything and even made a sheet with a clip board for me to take notes on!  I loved it!

Here are some pictures.



Do you have any of these items??
Since we're moving to a bigger place, there are some things that would be nice to have to fill the space.  I've started searching on craigs list and hope to go to garage sales.  My cousin had a great idea to mention on the blog of any items on searching for.  Then if any of you are trying to get rid of something or would want to sell it to us you can let us know.  A few of these things we may want to buy new anyway but it doesn't hurt to ask!  Here is what I know of so far:

washer and dryer
patio furniture
a grill
a curtain rod long enough to go above french doors
standard window size curtain rods
a large area rug for the living room
couches, love seats, chairs, etc. 
end tables
2-4 dining table chairs
sturdy bookshelves
a stool

Friday, September 10, 2010

Hello, Goodbye; Beginning and Ending



The theme of the last few weeks in the lives in the Schreiner household has been new things beginning a few things ending. Some are pretty trivial and others have had a large impact on our lives.

BEGINNING
Jon is now doing ministry full-time! We are extremely thankful for the opportunity God has given him to be able to serves the students better and with more flexibility. A few months ago he began working for Campus Fellowship at Drake while continuing his work with students at Grand View University. We are excited to see what God is going to do on both campuses this year!

ENDING
With Jon doing ministry full-time it means he left his job at Nationwide. He was employed there for just under three years. We were very thankful for Nationwide and how God used it to provide for us.

BEGINNING
This month we went to two weddings. Our friends Derek and Robin got married August 13th; Bo and Tim tied the knot on August 27th. I love witnessing our friends get married! Below are pictures from the Laehn wedding. Isn't Bo a beautiful bride?

HELLO
This month we got to meet two new babies! Charlotte Crummy is the daughter of Matt and Allie (some friends from church) and she was born on August 12th. With the birth of Charlotte, I realized that all the girls that I lived with my junior year of college all had babies within one year of each other. Carla had Kaisa, Colleen had Payton, I had Owen and Allie had Charlotte. Here is a picture of us when we were roommates.

Also, here is a picture of Owen and Kaisa trying to figure each other out.
While we were in Kansas City last week, we got to meet my newest second cousin Zack Dinkel, born on August 17th! After I left and realized I forgot to take pictures... I was so mad at myself!

BEGINNING
On August 12th, we got to witness Samanthya get adopted by Terry and Susan Amann. Sam is one of the students involved in CF at Grand View and Terry is a pastor at our church. It has been a good example to me of God's love for his children. In Galatians 4:4-5 says: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." Which basically means that when the right time came He sent His Son, Jesus, to earth to fulfill the plan that He had since the beginning of time. In response to our sin which caused us to be separated from God, He had Jesus live on earth as a man and had Him die on the cross to pay the penalty for us. When we choose to accept this free gift, God gives us eternal life and we become His sons and daughters. I love seeing that Terry and Susan are unconditionally accepting Sam into their family, along with her wonderful traits and her not so wonderful traits. She is theirs and they are hers. The same is true with God. When someone chooses to believe in Jesus Christ and trust Him with their lives, God then welcomes them to become His child and an heir of eternal life. Below are some pictures at the court hearing for the adoption.
ENDING
Owen is no longer an itty bitty newborn. Okay, maybe he never was itty bitty. But, O is growing up! This past month he stopped needing to be rocked to sleep, began rolling over, sitting up and today I put his 3-6 month clothes in a bag because he will never wear them again. It's so funny how the mind works - I already forget how bad labor was, I already forget how hard it is with a newborn and all I remember is how cute and cuddly he was. Now, at night or right before/after naps Owen will cuddle with us and I just soak it all in. But along with his being itty bitty ending you get to see all the cute pictures of what he can do now!



BEGINNING
I know I've mentioned it before... but my baby sister Sandy is now a freshman at KU! Just to see how crazy this is below is a picture of her the summer after my freshman year. I can't believe it!

Speaking of KU - Owen went to his first KU athletic event this past trip to Kansas! Sorry Gophers, the Jayhawks will have Owen's allegiance.

Also with the Tickles family, Mandy began her new job at the beginning of August and my parents became empty nesters.

Since we're speaking about family and new beginnings we want to say we are so thrilled that Jon's sister Anne is pregnant and we can't wait to find out if Owen's newest cousin will be a boy or a girl. We also are so excited for Melanie getting a new job! We are praying it'll go well for her!

ENDING
Summer is ending. I'm mostly sad because I love being outside. But it was also nice to take Owen for a walk and not worry if it was too hot for him. Look at him modeling off his fall clothes!

GOODBYE
Sadly, this month I had to say goodbye to my cousin and friend Jessica Roark. For the past few years, she has battled and fought hard against a rare cancer. In the midst of all of this, she was able to receive two very challenging degrees. She also studied abroad or did internships all around the world. She was quite the go-getter. I love you Jess and will miss you. Below is a picture of Jess and I when she came down to visit me at Drake.

One thing it has made me think about a lot is how short our time on earth can be. None of us really know when our last day will be. As you read this, my question for you is do you know what will happen to you when you die. I believe this is the most important question anyone can ask. If you would like to know how you can be certain you are going to heaven follow this link or contact me and I would love to talk with you about what the Bible says.

GOODNIGHT
I thought you might want to see how cute Owen is before he goes to bed.