I am reading a book right now that is SO encouraging... it is rocking my world in a good way.

That book is Innovator's DNA.

The thing I love about this book is how encouraging it is to someone like me. I do ask a lot of questions and I come up with some crazy ideas... not all of them work, most don't ever even get shared with anyone but my beautiful wife. But I do enjoy creating, dreaming, and exploring new ideas.

This week I am going to challenge my self to ask twice as many questions as I did last week. Questions that uncover, not expose. Questions that push me/us forward. Questions that take us to the next level.

Here it goes...

Why would a parent attend this event?
What can help parents connect to their student's experience?
What does a parent hope to see in a Campus Life leader?
How can an outreach program hope to engage the family?
When a parent is missing from the home... what could an outreach organization offer?
Why is camp important?

Living in Expectation

Recently I found myself pondering my future. My future here on earth: should we buy a house, where will our kids go to school, how much money should we save for retirement. I began to think about these things to the point of obsession. It was then that I stepped back and asked myself, “What does the Bible actually say about my future here on earth?”

I found that the Bible actually says very little about our future here on earth, but it says a lot about our futures in heaven. I walked away from my study realizing that I should live my life in great expectation of heaven and our judgment day (Mat 6v25-34, Rom 14v12-10, Heb 4v3).

 “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation” 1 Pet 1v3 (NLT)

Speaking the Good News

 During a recent series all of our high school clubs spent several weeks closely examining Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. This series of clubs led to many students deepening their faith and other trusting in Christ for the first time. Join us in praying with and for these students:

• Rejoice with us as these students can now join us in living in great expectation of eternal life with Christ. (1 Pet 1v3-7)
• Pray that these new and deepened Christ followers would truly live transformed lives. (1 Pet 1v13-15)
• Pray that all of us, including you, would love deeply and live in expectation of the things yet to come in Heaven. (1 Pet 1v22)

Graduation

This past week we traveled back to the Chicago/ Wheaton area to visit friends and attend my graduation from Spertus college. Here are some photos! And if you think the kids might be sitting too close to the lake... there is a platform in front of them... they were not in immediate danger of falling in...

At least not when the picture was taken. JT did take a little slip into the water. But besides being a little wet, he survived just fine.

Joshua's Birthday is coming!

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Family Dance

We had a little family dance party tonight. Lots of fun... and yes mommy cut loose on the dance floor too... she just happened to be the night's photographer:

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Park Next Door–Winter Edition

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Already the kids LOVE the park next door. Here’s a fun video of them playing in the snow with mommy at the park.

Books Books and More Books

Picasa Content

JT and Susannah LOVE books. Mostly because their mom loves books and takes them to the library regularly. K recently discovered that each person can ONLY check out 150 books from the Lincoln Library system…

That means that we could walk out with 600 books!

Don’t worry, we haven’t checked out that many… yet.

Coo-ing and Laughter

Every time… and I mean EVERY time that Su and JT see Micah they laugh and coo.
It is SO cute to hear Susannah laughing over him.

Here's a video:

1 Week Pictures

Last week we took some pictures of Micah… here’s the best of the best:

 

Welome Micah!

More Details and Photos to come.

Su Practicing Her Words

Here is a fun little video of Su practicing her words before bedtime tonight:

Move Update Part 2

So now that we're pretty close to being unpacked and feeling better, it's finally time to explore Nebraska. . . .

Thanks to the snow removal guy who piled up all of the snow in front of the park next to our house so that my little guy could have a "dangerous" mountain to climb!  (Another one of God's blessings with a newborn on the way:  a park next to our townhouse--never even thought to ask for that).

But one of his favorite things to do is eat snow!

Sledding behind our house.

One of Joshua's favorite "new" things to do. . . .exploring through the snow-covered wetlands.  Doesn't it look like we live on the plains? :)  

Did I mention that he LOVES to eat snow?  

Congrats if you've made it this far!  We continue to covet your prayers for our family as we continue to transition to this new life here in NE.  We are confident that God has brought us here for now, and are excited to see what He will do.  We will be sure to keep in touch, and be sure to keep in touch with us, too!  

Lovingly,

K for Matt, JT, Susannah, and Baby #3 (we'll let you know when he/she arrives in February!)

Move Update Part 1

Hi dear friends and family,

Matthew and I are so thankful for each and every one of you and the ways that you have supported us, encouraged us, and loved on us throughout this entire transition process and move to Nebraska. . . .to say that we miss you all immensely is an understatement!  So I thought I'd give a "Schulte Family Move Update" via pictures. . . .

On Monday (1/10), while Matt spent the entire day with the packers/loaders, I took the kids and spent the day with my dear, dear friend, Deb Hervey, and her sweet girls.  I'm not sure how I managed not to capture any snapshots, but it was definitely the perfect way for the kids and I to spend our last day in the Chicagoland area--lots of playing, celebrating, and of course, tears.  Thanks again, girls, for the surprise b-day party!  After naps, I took JT back to our house so that he could see it empty.  It meant a lot that Joshua's buddy, Calvin (below), and my dear friend Sarah stopped by to say good-bye.  

During nap time I got a call from Matt, telling me that b/c the original truck we should have received broke down, we received another (older) truck that was 2 feet too short at the top, which meant that we weren't able to fit everything in the truck.  When Matt called and asked me, "How would you feel about pulling a U-Haul behind the Jeep?" I looked at Deb, who confidently said, "You can do it!" to which I (without much thinking) replied, "I can do it!"  Never did I ever imagine that I would drive 10 hours with my 16 mos. old daughter while pulling a U-Haul at 34 weeks pregnant!  Thanks to Charles Ogborn who spent the afternoon helping Matt in our house and with the U-Haul!  JT even got to "load" some of his own things into the U-Haul.

We spent the evening at the Hervey house with our small group--kiddos playing, yummy dinner, great fellowship. . . .and then Matt surprised us all with a Bebo Norman song followed by a surprise "dance party", which he's been wanting to do for some time (he's a great dancer. . . .I'm dance-challenged).  Needless to say, the kids loved it.

Susannah with her sweet friend, Kara Wilkinson.  Joshua will miss Sunday mornings with Kara's big sister, Jenna, who were always in the same class together.  

JT with his buddy, Miles Lewis, both of whom LOVE trains.  It made me tear up when JT was saying good-bye to Miles:  "Miles, I'm going to miss you all of the time because I'm going to my Nebraska house."  And so what a sweet surprise for JT to get a package at his "Nebraska house" from Miles--he loves putting together the puzzle of the two of them in addition to the sweet photo album  of his buddies.

And of course, JT and Susannah with their triplet friends--Abigail, Amelia, and Madelyn.  It is not uncommon to hear Joshua say of Abigail, "My LOVE Abigail."  Susannah already misses all of the sweet attention from Amelia and Madelyn!  And what a treat to receive some drawings from the girls for our fridge.

A very special thanks to the Herveys for letting us spend our last night in their home (and not on air mattresses in ours!).  It was a snowy Chicago morning when we left--Matt drove the Penske truck and pulled our Vibe with Joshua, while I drove the Jeep and pulled the U-Haul with Susannah (I got some good "how to pull a U-Haul" driving lessons from Charles Ogborn!).

Let me introduce you to "Harvey", Joshua's FAVORITE stuffed animal that he got from the Hervey family. . . .whenever I got the chance to see Matthew and Joshua in the truck, I smiled, because all I could see was this big dog and Joshua's little head peeking from behind.  Matt said that it never left his lap the entire ride (he sleeps with him every nap and at night!).

After a 10 hour drive, we finally made it around 6:30 PM!  Thanks for all of your prayers for traveling mercies and safety.  There were really only two major times when I got really nervous:  1)  during Susannah's morning nap when she couldn't fall asleep and on and off for over an hour, put her arms out crying "Mama!" and 2) driving through Iowa when it got pretty windy and you have the visuals of 12+ jack-knifed trucks and 30+ cars in the ditch from the previous day(s) snowstorm.  

After much prayer and having God's peace and leading for us to move to Nebraska, I began telling Matthew that because it seemed to me like there was a lot of land in Nebraska, we should live in a spot where there was lots of land. . . .well, God has sure spoiled us with an incredible backyard view!  We love the morning sunrises and spotting of deer from time to time.

On Wednesday, (1/12) the Campus Life staff came over to help us unload the U-Haul and Penske truck (which actually never started up with the below 0 temps and had to be towed away!).  We were so overwhelmed by their care for us on our first full day in Nebraska.  I was also overwhelmed by the sweet b-day cards and calls from friends and flowers from Mom as I celebrated "35" on Thursday.  Matt's parents took the kids that weekend so that we could have some time to unpack, although the kids and I ended up getting the stomach flu that's going around and so had to take it easy (our immune systems were already down due to these "coughs" we previously had, and then with me being pregnant and the stress of the move. . . .I'm just now on meds for bronchitis).  Thanks, Steph and Gary, for caring for our sick lil' kiddos.  

T-Minus 1 week

I can't believe it... it almost doesn't seem real.

In one week we are moving.

In one sense it doesn't seem real because we have been planning on making this move for over a month... and we are still here. We keep talking about and planning for the move, but we have yet to actually move. Yeah we have packed some boxes and listed our house, but we still sleep in the same beds and shop at the same grocery store.

On the other hand it doesn't seem real because we really like it here. This week I have met with a lot of friends for lunch, breakfast, coffee, etc. and I really like everyone of them. I could see myself being friends with them until heaven bursts open with the sound of a trumpet heralding Christ's return. Don't get me wrong... we'll keep in touch with these good friends but we won't be able to grab lunch after church ;(

We are excited to be going to Lincoln and we believe with all our hearts that the best place for us to be is right in the place that God has prepared for us, and that is Campus Life in Lincoln, Nebraska... but that doesn't mean that the move won't be difficult.

I can't believe it... yet at the same time I am anxiously awaiting the day when we crack open the moving truck and move in to our little place in North Lincoln.

Santa Clause

Last Saturday we saw 2 Santa Clauses at 2 different locations.

First we went to our favorite Cosely Zoo in Wheaton, did crafts and saw Santa. Later that day we met the Ogborns at Blackberry farm and rode the Polar Express and saw Santa.

It never occurred to JT that Santa was in 2 places at once though:

From 2010-12-04 (by Eye-Fi)

From 2010-12-04 (by Eye-Fi)

Model Trains

Our boy LOVES trains. There is a big model train display at the Morton Arboreutum right now. And he could spend HOURS looking at it... oh wait he has.

From 2010-12-14 (by Eye-Fi)

From 2010-12-14 (by Eye-Fi)

From 2010-12-14 (by Eye-Fi)

A Casa Viva Christmas

 

	A Christmas Care Package Every child has a story, every story is unique. If a crisis occurs, children need handcrafted solutions. We honor children when we consider a full spectrum of care.  Read more in the Casa Viva Christmas "Welcome Home." Two New Children Connecting to Families Please pray for Kattia, 8 months, and Deikel, 9 years, who will be connected to their new Casa Viva Families in the coming weeks.  Transitions are never easy, especially when they happen during the Christmas season.   Send a Care Package to Latin America Your partnership helps us create unique solutions for children by bringing together the local church, local Christian families, Casa Viva's professional staff and more.   Give online here.
Give Online | Website | CVCR Blog | CV Greenhouse Blog Questions or comments? Contact us at info@casaviva.org or call 630.427.4040. Casa Viva, PO Box 120, Wheaton, IL, 60187 Forward to a friend View in a browser

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Spertus, You Treated Me Well

Today I attend my last class at Spertus. About 2.5 years ago I started their program to receive a Masters in Nonprofit Management. I studied with the same 14 people for the majority of those 2.5 years.

My cohort was a diverse group of nonprofit workers from across Chicago including nurses, child support service workers, a teacher, a botanist, fundraisers, and second career adults.

I learned a lot from my classes and truly enjoyed many of my professors: Felix, Karin, Charles, Almarie, Betty, Michelle, Peter, and Laura come to mind.

I would highly encourage anyone pursuing the social sector as a career to consider Spertus. It's a good solid program with a great cohort model.

Learned a ton. Enjoyed it much. Glad to be DONE!!!

JT and the Lights

Yesterday (Monday) we decorated for Christmas.

We went out and hand-cut a tree for our living room. We also set up a short 4ft tree in the kids' room. We went out and bought true Christmas lights for that tree... you know the kind of bulbs that are big and you have to twist into the sockets.

Anyway JT LOVED having the tree in his room. After we set it up, he asked if he could sleep by the tree, I said sure why not.

So we got out his sleeping bag.

As we were laying there talking about the day he starts to say,

"My love my lights... blue, green, pink, red, and lellow. My love my lights." He said that over and over several times to me. About 30 minutes after I left Kristin listened to the door and she heard:

"My love my lights... blue, green, pink, red, and lellow. My love my lights... blue, green, pink, red, and lellow. My love my lights."

Well 15 minutes later, mind you this is like 1.5 after bed time. Joshua comes out and says, "can we turn the lights back on?"

I asked if he unplugged them, well I went into the room and they were still plugged in, but sure enough, no lights....

It was about then that I realized there was a pile of bulbs on his pillow.

Joshua had literally unscrewed every single bulb. And when he unscrewed the last one, the lights went "out".

So we screwed the bulbs back in. Packed up the sleeping bag and within 5 minutes he was dead asleep.

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Dashing Through the Snow

"Dashing through the snow.
In a Laundry Basket pulled by TJ."

From 2010-11-27 (by Eye-Fi) Thanksgiving

From 2010-11-27 (by Eye-Fi) Thanksgiving

From 2010-11-27 (by Eye-Fi) Thanksgiving