Sunday, February 28, 2010

A SUNBEAM on a beautiful Sunday day!

The boys had such a fun time at church this morning. Thomas went to Sunday school and learned about giving to the poor. Meanwhile, Ollie met a new friend named Kayla at church. Kayla is 13 months so she and Ollie are about the same age. They played together in between the services and decided to dance and sing with the band today. Ollie and Kayla showed off their moves for everyone to see. They were so cute playing together.

Then during service Thomas got to sing with his preschool class. They sang the sunbeam song about how Jesus wants them to be a sunbeam. Thomas is quite the good singer now. If you can get him to sing for you he will sing really loud. He told me that the sunbeam song is his favorite song to sing.

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Saturday, February 27, 2010

Cookies for Church!

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Mmmmm hot and fresh cookies!!! And no they are not for me. Our focus for the second week of Lent was to give as much as we can of ourselves. Through out the week we focused on what we can do to be kind to others and how we can use the gifts God has given us to bless others in our lives. So to wrap up the week, I am bringing some yummy MONSTER size cookies for the treat cart at church. I am going to have to resist the temptation to eat these all up, and to keep the kids out of them too. But it feels good to give.

Thank you Lord for blessing us and allowing us to give back to those around us. Sometimes all it takes is taking the extra time to listen to a stranger who needs help. Sometimes you ask us to give financially. And other times you call for us to use our own great gifts that you have given us and share those with others. Help us to make sacrifices and share our gifts so that we can share joy and peace in your name. Amen!



Here is the recipe for anyone who wants to try it! We found it on Cooks.com and used the Easter M&Ms for some fun spring colors!


M & M PARTY COOKIES
1 c. shortening
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/4 c. sifted flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. M & Ms
Blend shortening and sugars. Beat in vanilla and eggs. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in 1/2 M & Ms. Reserve the rest for decorating. Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet. Decorate as desired and bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden.

Don't let that angelic face fool you!

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Don't let that halo over his head fool you. Ollie is quite the busy little toddler these days. Just one day after his little accident Ollie was getting into everything as usual. He thought it would be really cool to practice his jumping skills by climbing onto of the potty and diving off. And of course, every body needs a good book on the potty right? Ollie chose his favorite book to jump off the potty with.

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Seriously, that picture right there is proof of why they strongly recommend you have good insurance for children under the ages of 3!

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I did capture one calm one of him. Only here he is sitting on top of his books. I guess this is how we have story time these days.

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And since we were both feeling a little blah we indulged in some homemade chocolate cake. Ollie was not happy at all when the cake was gone. He wanted more!!!

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All kidding aside, he is quite the angel isn't he? Love you baby boy!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

It's official--Oliver is my dare devil child!

Oliver had his second trip to the hospital last night. Poor little guy had to get stitches. He was chasing his big brother and hit his head on the metal bed frame in the bedroom. Fortunately it wasn't too serious but it did require some stitches. The doctors were so good to him, his surgeon even tried to get him to laugh and sang him a song. His nurse stayed with us the whole time and talked to him about cars and Elmo, she really helped me keep him calm. I am so thankful for Mercy Iowa City's medical staff. They took such great care of my little baby boy. I can't thank them enough!

Today Oliver is back to his normal, usual self. He is running around and being goofy again. I think we might just have to bubble wrap everything though so he doesn't have a repeat experience. I guess I better start saving up for all those future ER trips from my little dare devil!

Here is my tough little guy:
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Thank you Lord for taking care of my baby boy last night and please continue to bless him with a super quick recovery.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

SNOW DAY!

These are from Monday. Thomas had a snow day at daycare with his friend Laina. Don't they look so adorable in the snow?

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Here they are helping build the fort.

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Hard to believe how much snow there is! It is just about taller than them!

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I'm with the band

Today was music day! The boys and I made homemade instruments out of a used paper towel roll. We decorated them a little, cut out paper to go over the ends, poured some rice in them and tied rubber bands over the ends. The boys loved shaking them all over the house.

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They had their own little band going for a while!

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Shake it boys!

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Oliver thought it was silly!

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Thomas started singing songs too! What a talented little musician! :-)

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Block Party!

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Yesterday Ollie and I had a little "block party." These days Oliver loves three things: 1) balls 2) little people and 3) blocks. Well as you can see, blocks are probably he favorite thing right now.

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His favorite thing to do with the blocks is bang them together. He thinks it is hilarious and could probably spend half of his day banging them together and belly laughing each time.

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And the other half of they day he likes to run around holding two blocks trying to get you to chase him. Running around holding onto his toys is the best. Only thing better than that is getting mom and dad to chase you around while you do it.

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Well guess what? Mom LIKES block time too! Shhh! It is our little secret, don't tell Oliver. It is the one time you might catch Ollie sitting still. So if it isn't a picture perfect moment, mom at least gets to rest her feet before chasing him around the room again.

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Thursday, February 18, 2010

A Few Reflections


Yesterday was the start of the Lenten season for Christians all across the world. Lent is a time for personal reflection and growing--a time to turn away from sin and repent from anything keeping you from God. We have never been the best at attending church and giving God our full attention. In a world with all the electronic distractions and busy schedules, God often gets put on hold. We have been very bad about putting God on hold and have recognized that it is time to grow with Him in our lives again. To keep our family focused on what really matters, we will be working on a new thing every week to keep us more mindful of God's presence in our lives.

This week our focus is prayer. We are going to try and incorporate prayer into our lifestyle. Not just praying at dinner or before bed, but talking one on one with God in our moments of frustration and anger--asking for patience when we need it the most. But we also will pray to God and share our joys with him and be thankful for what he has given us. It is my hope that by starting with a strong focus on prayer we can make God a bigger part of our lives and he can guide us not just through the rest of Lent, but the rest of 2010.

So here is our prayer for the day:

Dear Lord, help us to be keepers of your plan. Help us to do good works and walk away from all that keeps us from you. Let us be strong and patient in the face of opposition. Encourage us with your spirit when we are discouraged in our weakest moments. Comfort us when we need a friend and feel alone. Let us be reminded of your love for us, that you gave away your only son so that we could be free of sin. All that we have been given is because of you, and we are so thankful Lord. Help us oh Lord to be who you made us to be--your servants. Amen.

A Valentine Treat for YOU!

Thomas and I baked cupcakes after church on Sunday night. They were super yummy! They were gone in days and even that is quite amazing since we love eating goodies in this house! Enjoy our Valentine's Day Photos!

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Family sent some special cards and presents in the mail. The boys are opening their gifts here:
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Showing off the goods!

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The boys gave their daddy the card they made him!
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Friday, February 12, 2010

New Blog Name!

We have updated our blog name to try and keep things more simple for everyone now reading our blog. The blog name has changed to http://ourfamilyiniowa.blogspot.com/. Add it to your favorite blogs to stay up to date on the Schenk Family happenings!

~XOXO

Happy Valentines Day!

This week the boys and I made some Valentines from scratch. We got out the scissors and paper and cut up some hearts. I had picked up some Valentines Day scrapbooking goodies at Target for $1 and we used those and some cute red paint to decorate our valentines. Thomas and Oliver especially loved getting paint all over their hands. Oliver decided to squish it and made it go everywhere. Don't worry, no carpets were destroyed in this activity!!!

Here is a *sneak peek* at the Valentines we made!

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And of course, our little artists in the making: Thomas + Oliver!

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Happy Valentine's Weekend everyone! XOXO