Rejoice! A King is born!

Merry Christmas from the Schultes!

Three Fun Photos

Here are three fun photos.

1. Seeing San-ka Clause. (Notice Joshua's eyes are squinted shut so that he can't see)

2. Joshua and his "No-man" with a "Go Big Ret Hat"

3. Susannah smiling with Daddy.

schultesays.org

Today our blog address officially moves to:

http://www.schultesays.org

We are excited to have our own domain, but for the most part nothing is changing. I chose to move our blog to this address in order to help the "searchability" of www.casaviva.org.

By posting items not directly related to the ministry of Casa Viva... ie cute videos of Joshua and Susannah, I  was actually diluting casaviva.org's searchability.

Now we have our own domain name and *hopefully* casaviva.org will be found more navigable by search engines.

Thanks for following our family!

Miles + Joshua... sharing.

"We're Sharing!"

--At least for a few minutes.

In all reality they shared very well all night long.

Where Joshua Spends Most of His Time

As you may or may not know, Joshua LOVES trains... sometimes to the point of near obsession. Last week we set up our Christmas tree with a train around it. He'll watch it go around and around. Then he'll stop it and make it go again... super cute.

The cargo in this load happens to be... Baby Jesus and Mary.

3 Months

Back by popular demand a size comparison. Unfortunately whenever the camera is going off, Joshua wants a part of the action.

Thanksgivmas 2009

We started a tradition last year with Kristin's family... we call it Thanksgivemas.
It really is a great holiday and I think every family who can only gather for one of the two major holidays should adapt it. Thanksgivemas gives you the best of both worlds: An A++ Thanksgiving meal AND Christmas presents all on the same day.

Multiple Voices

Let me start off by saying: We are not church shopping.

We are very content with the community of friends that God has provided for us at Wheaton Bible Church. However we also have some friends who are pastors/preachers in the area and so recently we have visited a couple of churches to hear them preach.

Both of our experiences were absolutely amazing. Mitchel Lee a pastor at Community Fellowship gave a great teaching on a Psalm and how it shows the Psalmists' realization that he NEEDS to be meeting with the God fearing believers on a regular basis. Todd Wilson talked about how we can become disillusioned when we face trials. Both of these guys are absolutely dynamic speakers... not only are they dynamic, their teaching is overflowing with the Word of God. We absolutely loved hearing from each of them.

As we sat there in a new church listening to a different pastor I was reminded of the power of exposing yourself to multiple voices, multiple teachers. My church holds firmly to the more traditional approach where the Senior Pastor preaches 80-90% of the time. It seems that in many churches there is a rising tide of teaching teams where a group of pastors does the teaching not just relying on one individual. I attended such a church in college and absolutely loved the multiple voices speaking into my life.

It provided depth to my knowledge, the kind of depth that can only be found when you are not limited to hearing the Word of God from one point of view. Even when that point of view is absolutely rock solid there is great benefit to hearing it from multiple tongues.

Churches that I have seen using this approach are: Bethlehem Baptist (my mother in-law's church), Fellowship Bible (where I attended in college), Community Fellowship (Mitchel Lee).

I hope our church moves in that direction and we increasingly hear from Rob Rienow, Chris McElwee, Ted Conaris, and even some lay speakers.

Advocates // Piper on the Global South

Dear Advocates,

John Piper on the Global South
Christianity in the global south (Latin America, Africa, Asia) is exploding. This calls for rejoicing from all believers. Don't miss the recent sermon on Acts 11. It will shake your perspective on the Church as well as challenge you to act.

http://bit.ly/3iOtz4

What a great opportunity for Casa Viva. As the church in Latin America is exploding to come alongside local congregations and help them care for the fatherless of their community.

Yearend Giving
You have co-workers and friends who will be spurred by the Holy Spirit, encouraged by CPAs, and out of the generousity of their heart will give to their church, university, or other nonprofit. What if you and I had lunch with one of these individuals and shared with them about the opportunity to care for children in families? I have availability and would love to make arrangements with you.

Connecting Children to Families
Matt Schulte
Casa Viva
630.487.0079

New Family Photos

Thanks Matt and Lauren!!! We love the photos!

On a Sugar High

This is what happens when 4 two year olds eat too much sugar. I am not joking they were literally running and dancing for a straight hour after dinner.

Trick or Treat!

Tractors!!!

On Sunday we went on a hay ride that good friends of ours, Charles and Heather, set up. We stayed around afterwards to drive the tractors with Charles... Joshua LOVED it. You'll notice that Charles is actually letting Joshua do some of the driving by himself.

Pumpkin Carving

Last night we carved a pumpkin. In the beginning Joshua was more fascinated by his new sippy cup than the pumpkin. But by the end of the nigth we had to do everything in our power to peel him away from the front window where he just stared out the window proclaiming "pumpkin, pumpkin!"

One cute story is that I asked Joshua where we should keep the pumpkin when it is all done and he said "right here." so I told him that we should put it outside so that all the people could see it. We lit the candle and took the pumpkin outside. After we set it down Joshua turned around excitedly and said "People see it. People see it. Then he started to walk down the stairs to go find the "people."

Hopefully someone will see it and tell Joshua they like his pumpkin.

Cranky and the Hook

Joshua is very much into talking right now... there is one story he tells over and over... its the story of Thomas and the Jet Engine... he tells it as Cranky and the Hook.

Susanna at 1 Month

Andando Por Las Calles (Walking the Streets)

I spent last Tuesday in one of the poorest neighborhoods of San José, Costa Rica. As soon as we arrived I began talking with a pastor who works in the neighborhood on a regular basis. He turned to us and said:  

 ¿Ve a estos dos niños? Su padre los abandonó y su madre trabaja de cinco en la mañana a siete cada día. Los vi andando y andando por las calles cada dia. 

Translation: Do you see these two children? Their father abandoned them and their mother works from five in the morning to seven each day. I see them walking and walking the streets every day. 

As I looked at these two children, a 5 year-old girl and a 3 year-old boy. my heart was broken. I couldn’t believe it. These two little children, fending for themselves on the street every day from 5am-7pm!?! Could it be true? How could a father and mother be in such a desperate situation that they let their children wander through such a neighborhood all day?

Sure enough, the entire time we were in the neighborhood these two children would wander past us on a regular basis, showing up for a meal the pastor offers to children of the neighborhood every Tuesday and sticking around for the afternoon bible club. I never did get the opportunity to talk directly to these children as they often shirked from attention and kept to themselves. But the image of those two children will always be with me. This little girl and her brother are the type of children for whom Casa Viva is offering hope. 

It is children like these who are sleeping in a bed, loved by a family, eating three meals a day, and attending school. When I think about these two children who continue to wander the streets of a very dangerous neighborhood, my prayer is that God would intervene on their behalf and cause the local government and local churches to act on their behalf.

My Dad Would Be Proud

For years my dad has faithfully carried a handkerchief in his back pocket. He has probably done this since he was a young boy, because his dad does it too. For years he has lamented the fact that his boys don’t carry one around.

Dad. Yesterday I carried one, and it was a life saver.

Every time I come to Costa Rica I have a very hard time with allergies. Part of it is the different plants and climate, but for the most part I think its the prevalence of humidity and warmth leading to mold in a lot of places. I came prepared this trip with a brand new box of Wal-Dryl antihistamine and the handkerchiefs my dad gave me ten years ago when I left for college. For some reason I have kept them in my sock drawer ever since.

They saved many a runny nose yesterday and will at least through the end of my time here in Costa Rica.

Relationships Key for Recovery

Dear Advocates,

I have recently been reading a book about how trauma at a young age affects children (The Boy Raised as a Dog). It’s a fascinating book, in his final chapter of application Dr. Perry notes:

“Whether people have survived an earthquake or have been repeatedly sexually abused, what matters most is how those experiences affect their relationships – to their loved ones, to themselves, and to the world. The most traumatic aspects of all disasters involve the shattering of human connections. This is especially true for children. Being harmed by the people who are supposed to love you, being abandoned by them, being robbed of the one-on-one relationships that allow you to feel safe and valued and to become humane.

As a result, recovery from trauma and neglect is also all about relationships—rebuilding trust, regaining confidence, returning to a sense of security and reconnecting to love.”

This quote plus so many other passages in the book remind me the importance of connecting orphaned, abandoned, and abused children to families who love and care for them, not institutions.

Who should we talk to about the ministry of Casa Viva?

Susannah Grace // 1 Week Photos

These are some photos taken by a friend of ours. We took them in their living room. They turned out great!

Susannah Grace // The first 12 hours

Skating Party Video

Turtle Pool!

Comparing US vs Latin America // Child Abuse

I do not know how many of you get the newspaper... my wife will tell you I am one of few people my age who read it on a regular basis. But one thing struck me yesterday. On one page of yesterday's Chicago Tribune three of the attached four articles were on the same page.

One question I get a lot is, "Why aren't you working here in the US? There are children in horrible circumstances down the street, facing physical and sexual abuse, negelect, etc."
This is a tough question because it is true children are suffering around the world. For the most part here in the United States these children have advocates fighting for them: teachers report physical abuse, police respond to domestic violence, local governments have taken a stand for children. On the other hand in developing countries the cries of these children often go unheard.

As an example of this it is reported that 80,000 babies die of physical abuse in Latin America and has a population of 569 million. 80,000!

It is estimated that similar deaths in the US total 1,200 (population 304 million).



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Aug 5 Chicago Tribune
Aurora woman gets 9 years for abusing son, 3
Tribune staff report
...in June to one count of aggravated battery to a child and two counts of domestic abuse. She was sentenced July 29 by Kane County Judge...at the insistence of her boyfriend, brought the child to a hospital two days later for treatment. ...
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August 5, 2009 |story
Mich. man, 31, arrested in sex assault on boy, 11
Associated Press
...was arrested Wednesday. The charges including first-degree criminal sexual conduct stem from a report of an assault on the child on July 11. The man was being held in the Clare County jail. He faces up to life in prison if convicted. Harrison...
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August 5, 2009 |story
Ind. officer accused of taping sex acts with girl
Associated Press
...2008. Forty-five-year-old Lawrence Ross Frame was charged Wednesday with possession of child pornography and five counts of production of child pornography. He faces 15 to 30 years in prison on each production count and up to 10 years...
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August 5, 2009 |story
SC man charged in Iowa baby's death seeks delay
Associated Press
A former Iowa City man accused of killing his infant son nearly four years ago wants his trial delayed. Brian...trouble breathing at Dykstra's home in Iowa City. The child was taken to a hospital and died the next day. Dykstra wasn...
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30 Days Continued

So I was working at my desk preparing for a meeting and the doorbell rang.

An overnight delivery from FedEx. I open the envelope and there is a paper and all it says is:

www.oldmanschulte.com

So I read the website... quite amusing. Not 30 seconds later my cell phone rings. It's Ben. The creator of the website and the mailer of the letter. As soon as he received confirmation that I had accepted the package he sent me, he gave me a call.

SUPER fun and creative... Thanks Ben!

Continuing the 30 Days Until my Birthday

As the 30 days leading up to my 30th birthday continues (thanks babe). Yesterday I had two great experiences. First I got a call from Chris McElwee (friend and local pastor at our church) and we went out to play some disc golf.

First round of 9 I did horrible and he walluped me. The second round brought much improvement and a tie-game at even for the round. Thanks Chris!!!

Jason Clayton (who cheated "his" day was Wed) and some other families went to a minor league baseball game, Kane County Cougars. 20 minutes before the game Jason pulled me aside and told me that he had arranged for me to throw in the first pitch!

It was true, me and a few other people, including "Mr Breath Right Illinois" and a 3 year old all got to throw in the "first" pitch of the game. It was fun. Here's the video:

Toby how to change your Jeep rotors and pads

When you take off your wheel this is what you see. The thing on the right holds the pads, the thing it "hugs" is the rotor. Begin by removing the thing that holds the pads... There are two bolts on the back to be removed:



Bolts in

Bolts out. Now that this is loose, do NOT let it hang by the tube which carries the brake fluid to the "thing that holds the brake pads"(caliper?). Set it on something or use wire to suspend it from your shocks... I set it on my ramp. Then remove the brake pads, after much work I discovered that there is a wire that presses down (pictured on top right of caliper). Use pliers to pull one end of the wire to the right lossening the grip on the brake pad.

Old brake pads coming loose.

Comparing old and new brake pads. You can see that the new one is much thicker, so you have to use a C clamp to push the piston back into the caliper... make sure and retract it all the way so you can get your pads in.

Some websites say you should retract these pistons with the old brake pad in so that you retract them both at the same time... I had trouble getting my c-clamp in their with the old one in place. It will take some "jimmy-ing" to get the new ones in place, but generally you I put the one that touches the piston in first, then used my hands to slide a piece of the caliper to make room to put the outer brake pad in place.






To remove the rotor I used a ten pound hammer, then I sprayed some WD-40 into each bolt hole, let it sit (while I worked on the pads), smack it several times and repeat. DO NOT HAVE YOUR PARKING BRAKE ON if you are replacing the rear rotors (learned that one the hard way).

Then you slip the new rotor on, and bolt the caliper back in place.

Good luck!

Sunglasses

Our little guy (finally!) absolutely loves to wear his sunglasses (thanks again grammy and grampa!). . . .while napping or at the teddy-bear picnic storytime at Cantigny Park. Thought you'd enjoy seeing them :) . K