Kindergarten

I cannot believe my 5 year old Isaac  is starting school August 1st. I just doesn't seem right. It is going to be so weird that he will not be there at home with us and it will totally be an adjustment. I haven't had to get up and go anywhere yet and it has been this way for 5 years and now in a couple weeks, I will have to get up early and get things going and take him to school and will have to adjust naps to pick him up and will have to create  a new schedule which I know I have to do, but just don't know if I'm ready but ready or not, it is coming. I don't adjust to change very well. It is a weakness of mine big time. 

 Ashley and I are going on saturday to take him school shopping and I am thinking, "this is the start of everything" School life is here and I am excited for him even though I am sad that I will not see him much untill the weekends and I will miss him TONS!!! My Isaac is growing up so fast. It seems like yesterday that I was going into my dr. appointment for him and I was 38 wks a long and I was a balloon. Literally a balloon. Look at me..YUCK!! Anyway, I had preclampsia so my Dr. admitted me right then and there and the next day I was induced and had Isaac February 1, 2007 and it was on of the best days, but also a tough day. He came out not breathing so the nurses took him right away to the NICU so I didn't get to see him right away and hold him and it wasn't till 10:30pm where I was able to go down and hold my baby boy. My epidural went wrong and the dr. went in too far giving me a spinal headache for a good week and I was in pain. Couldn't move my neck or my head. Didn't enjoy Isaac at all the first week home and had to go back to the ER 3 times for them to fix my problem. And now 5 years later, he's off to kindergarten and take the journey and before you know we will be at his graduation..YIKES!!!

Overall, I think he will do great at school and will absolutely love it! It will be really good for him and I am excited on where he is going. Fortville Elementary. The school is a nice school and they are very friendly there and it's only 3 miles from my house so yay for me.. I hope after he's there for awhile to meet some of his friends and branch out and get to know our community a little bit better. I pray  Caleb does well with the adjustment as well. He has been with Isaac everyday of his 3 year old life and with him gone everyday I wonder how he'll do with nobody to play with even though levi is there but he's not really on caleb's level yet. :)  A lot to be praying for as we enter into a new journey of life. Enjoy some pictures of Isaac. :)

Just born

almost 2 months old




1 year old

 





2 years old



 





 



3 yrs old










4 years old

5 years old



The holidays

I can't believe it's already November. In a way I am excited about it being November and in a way I am not.

I am excited that it is November as I love the Thanksgiving holiday but I am not excited because December comes next and you know what that means? Christmas and I am not ready for Christmas. That involves money and right now I'm a little stressed on how this is going to play out w/ my family. For me, I would really love to just use what we will spend and give it to missions. But I don't think my boys would be happy with me. My family all 22 of us every year collect our change that we collect during the year and give it away to missions instead of exchanging gifts. We buy for the kids but other than that, we give away and I love that idea and I wish I could hear people do more of that. I am kind of disgusted right now on how much money we put towards buying stuff for other people when really, we don't need anything. We are selfish people and we always want want want and aren't satisfied.

We are doing operation christmas child at our church and it's a very well known organization and I'm sure you have heard of it. My heart right now is all for that and wish I could help more as those children NEED and the adults NEED. We don't NEED..This year I am wanting to do 3 boxes as I have 3 boys who I am so thankful I can provide for them but as I look at them, I know there are 3 children out there that aren't provided for that need theses boxes and even if I don't have the money to do 3 boxes, I am going to do 3 boxes. :) God will provide as I have a heart to provide for 3 little boys.

I look at what I have and yes honestly, there is stuff I want. I want a new mattress for our bed as it's horrible, I want new work clothes as I have been wearing the same stuff over and over again for the past 4 years. I want to redo my wall in my livingroom like this:

How cool is that? I love it!!! Anyway, these are things I want but don't really need. When I go to bed at night I am so thankful for having a bed to lay in, I am thankful I have clothes to wear, and shoes to wear and running water and food to eat. I am thankful, I have a house and a livingroom. As we go into the holiday season, think about the unfortunate and think on how good you have it, because as much as I gripe and complain to myself about what I don't have and wish I could just go shopping and get stuff that I do want, I have to stop and thank God for what I do have. I have to realize that the items I do want is just "stuff" I can't take them to Heaven with me. I am reminded of

Matthew 6:19-20 which says:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moths and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

What powerful verses and to remind as we go into this holiday season.. :)

Adjustments

I have no idea where to start as I haven't blogged in a long time!!! I was thinking last night about wanting to start back with blogging and here I am :). I honestly don't have any hobbies and don't have a whole lot of free time to just sit down and do something for myself. I don't have time to scrapbook, do crafts, go shopping or anything fun like that so blogging will be my thing as I do have time at work to blogg so I hope this works out. I love to read other peoples bloggs and I hope you enjoy reading mine. This is a way for me just to let my feelings go and express what I am feeling at this very moment and this probably will be really long. I have no idea how often I'll blogg. I guess just whenever I want to and have something to say. :) We'll see how this goes. :)

Life is in the fast lane at the Schelle household and have had to adjust big time to a new little boy in our household. It's been a good adjustment and wouldn't change it. I honestly didn't realize how much more work it would be even though going from one to two was so much harder than going from two to three...I had a tougher time adjusting to having caleb than I am with Levi. It's funny how different life is with each child. I didn't have depression with Isaac or Caleb but I did have a little with Levi. The first two weeks home with Levi I went on as a normal person and went through the day, but in the back of my head I was down thinking that it was over. The excitement of labor, the hospital stay, people coming over to visit to see him, the meals brought to us, and the newness of him. It was hard. This could possibly be our last baby and that thought just makes me sad as well. He's only a newborn once and this little for so long, I just want to soak it up and keep it like this just a little bit longer. Today I was dressing Levi and was putting him in a romper and thought, "this outfit won't last long" and was looking through his drawers at the summer outfits he won't even get to wear that are absolutely adorable b/c of the weather and or b/c he's growing so much and it made me frown a little bit. I can say though, I am really enjoying him. He's such a good baby and even though I don't get to hold him much and don't get to interact w/ him as much as I would like, I sure am treasuring the moments of him and am so thankful God gave me him!!! I am proud to be his mom!!

Ashley and I are in the fast lane of life as I mentioned before. We honestly don't get a break. Our days are FULL and we are tired!!! I am so thankful he's on my team and that we are doing this together...Yes, we get aggrivated at times and times are tough but life isn't easy and it never will be. We work long days just to keep the household going and at the end of the day when I can sit down (at 11:30pm) and think about the day and our kids, I thank God for a good day or will thank him that we're done for that day if it's been a bad day. :)

This week has been a whole lot better than last week. Last week was my first week back at work and to tell you, it was hard and I say hard for two different reasons, hard to leave my family and hard on my body and to adjust to a new schedule!!! I am tired. Being home for 4 wks was nice and I didn't have a schedule I really enjoyed that. I had all day to get stuff done and to eat dinner w/ my family but reality snuck back in and I had to go back to work and it was hard to adjust. My time is limited now and I only have so much I can sqeeze in. I am very picky about the way my house looks and it has to be clean and picked up before i'm satisfied even though if you've been to my house sometimes it's not and it drives me nuts and I am embarrassed as I didn't get to this or that, but I have told myself these past few wks to let it go.. I can't get everything done in a 5 hr period before having to go to work...It will be there tomorrow and i may just have to have the weekend to play catch up even though I stress big time on how my house looks..It's very hard for me to let it go.. I cleaned up the kitchen last night before bed b/c i couldn't stand going to bed w/out it being done even though I know it won't go anywhere...My days are full and I know I can't do it all so if I have dinner made, the boys fed, clothed and down for naps and have clean clothes in the basket and the dishes cleaned and the kitchen cleaned up w/ the dishwasher unloaded for ashley, and my bed made, I am trying to be content w/ that..It's just really hard for me to adjust right now to the new life style...Plus, I'm trying to get my workouts in as well which I am making that a priority as my body needs some adjustments as well..hahaha...I am not content with it and it needs to change, so I'm working hard to get back to where I was before pregnancy and it's not easy.. Adjusting is hard but we're doing it..

I remind myself a lot of Phillipians 4:13. "I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength" Simple verse but he's giving me strength for my busy and full weeks and I give him all the glory. :)

Thank you for reading..God Bless you!!

Well, this week has been a GREAT week...It's been a struggling week but I have felt God's presence this whole week and it has helped to know he's by my side. It's been a good day!!! I am sad to say I did not do my workout today but am still watching my food intake and watching what I eat and with working out 3 days a week is good w/ me so today I took the day working in my house and getting things caught up.. Hand washing my dishes took a lot of my time today. My dishwasher is acting up again so this morning I had to hand wash all my dishes that were in my dishwasher and it was pretty full. That took me a good hour just to do those and then I had to wash other dishes I dirtied for dinner and had to clean up the kitchen so I was probably in my kitchen for a good 2-3 hours and then did laundry and folded a bunch back from the weekend. I was low on detergent and had to go through what really needed to be washed so I did a load of towels and kitchen towels and washcloths and then did a load of darks and washed ashley's work sweatshirts for him for tomorrow and clothes for Isaac as we are very short on clothes for him so that was that..All out of detergent now til grocery time this weekend so I'm still very backed up on laundry.. My basket is still over flowing..Oh well. :) Today at work we had a chili cook off and so I made chili for it so I had that going in my kitchen today and then took out some vegetable soup i had frozen in the freezer and put that in a crockpot for dinner so my kitchen was smelling pretty good today and I really enjoyed having them going. :) I know I'm weird... My chili was a hit at work and it's all gone..I hope I win!! lol.. It was fun to participate. :) Well, I'm happy I accomplished a lot today. I've been really tired today but it's been a great day!!! I hope you have had a great day!!!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understandings; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Day 2

Well....today has been an ok day!!! Busy day I would have to say...I think I got everything done on my list that I wanted to get done but if not tomorrow is another day. :) Tomorrow is MOPS and I really look forward to my MOPS days!!! It makes my week complete and I really enjoy spending my morning w/ other women and fellowshiping!! :) I do have to wake up early and actually have to get out of bed and get going but it's worth it!!! Tomorrow though, I will have to control what I eat and only pick out a few items and I know it's going to be really hard for me too do as all the bfast casserole's and cookies, brownies, donuts, and cinnamon rolls and so many other items that aren't good for me will be staring me in the face but I will discipline myself and say no. :) I'll let you know how it goes. :)

Today I didn't do any laundry which was hard for me not to do but I told myself no, I do laundry everyday pretty much but now I have to save on my detergent as doing it everyday it doesn't last me my full two weeks. I love having the machines going. I don't know why but it motivates me (I love the sound too) and so does the dishwasher. I did have that going so it helped. :) I cleaned my shower today and I hate doing that..probably b/c it's soo big and when I get done cleaning it, it still looks like I didn't clean it. There's an old tub for you. :) So it doesn't motivate me at all to clean it as I don't see a positive result but knowing it's clean I guess will just have to do. Boys went outside again today and it was cold this morning so I had to get all their gear on and of course as I get caleb's hat on he pulls it off and refuses to get his coat on and kicks while getting his shoes on but Isaac really wanted caleb to go outside w/ him so during his ranting and crying I finally got everything on him and he did go outside willingly and they played in the sandbox mostly and it was so cute to see them outside playing together w/ their hats and coats on and they played very well together. While they were outside I was able to vacuum the livingroom, bedroom, playroom and all around my edges and corners of the walls on my downstairs, sweep my floors, make my bed and clean up my room and clean my shower and get ready to get on my treadmill. I got on my treadmill and of course my boys want to be right there w/ me beside the treadmill or right in front of the tv and I will tell you my workouts don't go as well as I would like them too.. I want to be focused on my workouts but mostly i'm focusing on my boys as they will turn the tv off or be jumping on the bed or caleb likes to walk a long the wall of the treadmill and I have to tell him to get out or Isaac is tackling caleb and caleb starts crying so now i'm having to stop or just talk to him while i'm running and so my focus is on them and not my workout and i hate it and it's hard but I get it done and still feel great afterwards but I just don't understand why they have to be right there w/ me instead of going and playing in another room. :) It's probably why I dread working out. :)

Today I did my 30 minutes and for me I think I worked hard.. I burned 335 calories and went 2.42 miles but I walked 10 minutes then ran a 10 min mile and then walked the last 10 all on an incline of 3 and I was tired at the end but it felt great!!! I know it's only day 2 of my journey but I'm already feeling good but to be honest I really haven't had any temptations yet. Tomorrow will be my first at MOPS and then I know I'll have to deal w/ it when the weekend comes...I know I can do it...After the treadmill i had to run to the store as we were out of toilet paper and I hate having to stop what i'm doing in my daily routine and go to get one thing but it's something we have to have so did that, came back around 12pm and took a walk w/ the boys and then fed them lunch and made dinner, put caleb down for a nap, showered and picked up all the toys and got ready for work and finally was time for naptime for Isaac and I and it was nice.. :) Well,I hope all is well. Until next time!! :)

Thanks for reading.. :)

"This is the day that the Lord has made, Let us rejoice and be glad in it". Psalm 118:24

welcome back

Wow!!! I can't believe it's been over a year since I have blogged. I feel horrible I didn't keep up with Caleb and his developments as a baby. Looking back it's always fun to reread what you write...I never keep a diary but maybe I can keep up w/ blogging.

I think i'm going to blog a little bit differently and not directly point it on how my family is doing or how my kids are doing. Yeah I might mention them but many people have facebook and can keep up w/ them on there. I enjoy facebook and enjoy keeping up w/ lost friends and seeing how people are doing and love to put up status' but can never put up everything I want to write.
This blog is mainly about how I am feeling and what I have done in my day and this blog is going to keep me accountable on my journey of my weightloss and help me to stay motivated b/c if I know I have to post, I'm going to do it (well hopefully). I've been kind of nervous about wanting to blog my journey and thought a lot about it but I'm going to do it b/c if not I will fail as I have failed millions of times before trying to stick w/ a diet and fail miserably as I have no motivation and no encouragement so I'm hoping this will keep me accountable and people will want to see how the progress is coming along and keep me accountable. It's going to be hard I know. It's not going to be a walk in the park but I hate how I look and have a very low self esteem and I know if I can shed some pounds I will feel sooo much better about myself and will be happy. I know mainly I need to change my eating habits. I exercise but I eat what I want and when I want and that's probably why I have stayed the same weight since December of 2009. I just can't get the scale to go down b/c of my eating habits.

So, today October 18th, 2010 I started my new journey b/c I REALLY want to do this. I'm doing this for me. My husband Ashley asked me last friday if I wanted to go on a diet w/ him starting monday and I was absolutely shocked.. I said, absolutely. He said I don't know how long i'll last, probably until monday afternoon and I have no idea how he is doing..lol..I don't count on him actually sticking it out but I hope so. I would love to have a partner. :) If you know my husband, he LOVES to eat. :)

Today I have made the goal to lose 15 lbs by Thanksgiving. I am not sure if that is too high for me but I think I can do that.. I will continue and make a new goal if I make that goal by thanksgiving but if not, i will just keep trying but it's something to look towards and see if I can accomplish. :)

It was a good day today overall beside Isaac and Caleb getting into the paint AGAIN and he had so much on his hands that Isaac looked like he had white gloves on it was another mess to clean up.. I need to find another place for my paints as the shelf isn't good enough I guess.
They go outside as they always want to so I let them b/c then I can get stuff done and they are out of my hair. I have no idea why they want to play in the garage though. I'm always checking on them but checking on them sometimes is whew they are good or sometimes they are getting into something they shouldn't and today when checking on them, they were doing something they shouldn't..
I did my norm today though. Laundry, swept my floors, made dinner, cleaned up the kitchen, washed all the sheets off the beds and blankets and cleaned the bathroom and got on the treadmill and did my 30 minute workout. It's always a struggle to get on and do it though. I need to make that my priority and not my housework. I'm trying to let stuff go and this and that can wait but it's soo hard. I'm constantly wanting my house to look perfect.. Ok back to the treadmill. Today I didn't get on til 11:45am when I should be getting on it a lot earlier. I'm constantly finding something else to do around the house and push it back and of course Isaac and Caleb have to be in the bedroom while i'm on and it's quite caotic. I did an incline of 3.0 which the more of an incline the more calories you are going to burn... I'm not focusing the distance anymore even though I still like to look at it and see if can go farther and it makes me work harder to go farther but it's more about the calories being burned as the more you burn the more of a workout you're getting and more likely to lose the weight. Today I burned 330 calories in a walk/run exercise. I want to get to where I run more than I walk but for right now i'm even.. I'm power walking 10 mintues running 15 mins and then power walking the last 5 minutes and it was 2.40 miles if you were wanting to know. :) so I thought that was pretty good. Mondays will be my weigh-in as hopefully that will help me watch what I eat on the weekends. :) I will blog everyday but check back to see if i have lost anything next monday. :) Have a GREAT day!!!!

I can do EVERYTHING through Christ who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

Learning from God's Point of View

Caleb 5 Months Old

First time eating cereal

Wanting to do it himself

Cried himself to sleep

Rolling over for the first time

July 4th Ft. Wayne Zoo

He cried when I told him he was done and had to get off.. That is how much he loves tractors and he wasn't even sitting on it..Just by it.

Poor guy had to be in the carseat part of the day..

Loved looking at the fish in the aquarium

He met a new friend

He's training to join the monkeys. :)

I love this picture of them walking

At the entrance of the zoo

What a great month July has been. Ashley and I started off the month by taking a 4 day weekend getaway.. A small out of the house trip which was really nice. Last year Ashley took a 4 day weekend off during the 4th and we went up to Michigan so this year he decided to take the same days off. Wed night the 1st of July, Ashley and Isaac camped out in a tent at Ashley's parents house and they had a big time.. They went boating, they did some trails, they grilled out and then slept in the tent all night. I was kind weary on how Isaac would do all night but he slept the whole night. Caleb and I slept inside this time which was fine by me. We left thurs morning and headed up to my parents house and spent the day there and spent the night and then friday morning headed up to Pokagon State Park north of Ft. Wayne. That was fun, but our grill didn't work so we had all the stuff to grill out and no grill.. Ashley ran to burger king and got some hamburgers and we ate those w/ our chips, and whatever else we had..It wasn't the same.. We walked some trails, tried to swim but it was kind of chilly and Isaac just wasn't up to it.. We did the nature center and overall it was a great day. We planned on coming home but we were enjoying being away we weren't ready to come home so we stayed in Ft. Wayne w/ my sister and her family and headed to the zoo saturday morning. That was really fun!!!! We headed home after that and got into rain and it rained the rest of the day... I enjoy my family and any chance to get away is always nice..Even if it is just for a weekend. You don't need to have money to enjoy your family. :)

As you know, Isaac is 2 and I believe 2 is when it all begins w/ back talking, tantrums, not listening, and so on.I'm going to be honest with you. I never really thought parenting would be so hard. You go through the baby stage of them learning how to crawl and oh they got their first tooth and look at the outfit that is adorable and they are eating cereal and baby food and now they are standing up on things and now they are walking and then they are 1 so you throw them a big bday party and look how they have grown and at 1 they aren't really talking that much so as a parent, you are taking care of them and being there for them and definitely pay for them but at the age of 2...That's when it starts (I think). Ashley and I are working together to learn discipline and to be consistant with it. Not so much discipline in a bad way but also in a good way. Isaac is learning from us as well and is learning that he can't throw things, and he can't tell us no, and he needs to listen when we tell him to go wash his hands or go pick up his toys. He knows if he doesn't do that, then he's going to get in trouble w/ spankings. We always follow through to tell him why he got spankings and he knows his wrongs. Good discipline would be when bedtime is with reading and praying and when it's time to eat and when it's time get dressed and when it's time to brush his teeth.

I am reading this book called, "Don't make Me Count to Three" I am borrowing it from my sister in law and I'm not sure the author but it is a good book and I'm learning a few things from it. I may need to read it again b/c I know I'm probably missing out just like a movie. This book is teaching to raise your kids in a biblical mannor, not to be a prideful mother, explain to kids why they are in the wrong and how to fix it and do it right and always be consistant with what you are doing. Ashley and I got a CD from his parents as well on how to raise you children. I know I'm horrible, but I didn't look at the cover so I don't the name of it, but this past weekend Ashley and I started listening to it in the car and so this past weekend I have gotten a lot of advice on how to parent which I love. What really stood out w/ me on the CD was, you start now with discipling and explaining while they are young and teach them how to be wise and compassionate, and learn how to love and listen and teach them about Jesus.

God has really been w/ me this past week giving me good advice about all this through the book I'm reading and through that CD and I am overwhelmed with what we should do w/ our children and how to parent but I am thankful that I have Jesue Christ as my father who I can go to for help. Ashley and I are role models for our children and they look up to Ashley and I. We are all Isaac and Caleb know right now and so Ashley and I need to set good examples for them now so they can see and be taught how we have been taught and that is through the Bible and to live our life for Christ.

I absolutely LOVE being a parent. Isaac is talking so much and everytime he says Mommy or Daddy, it just melts my heart. I love that he trusts us and he comes to us when he's scared and will sit w/ us. He's so loving and sweet. I melt when I see his big eyes smile at me. It's a "I love you smile" I admitted parenting is hard, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. We just started with the whole potty training thing. Today actually. :) Isaac got Thomas the Train underwear and he wore them today. Well, half the day. He went in them so I had to put them in the washing machine and he had to go back to a diaper but he's sitting on the potty so that is a start. I know he's not going to get it in a day or a week but you have to start somewhere. So potty training has began and now we have limited his binky to just naptime and bedtime...My goal for the end of the summer is to be potty trained and no binky. :) If my goals are accomplished, I will be happy. I'm a busy mom who doesn't have a whole lot of time so it's easier to give him his binky and easier to put him in a diaper but I'm discipling myself to give him time to do the potty and saying no to the binky..I don't like the binky but it's easier so now, I told myself, today is the day we start and we have started..He's done well w/ no binky even though I don't know about his dad and if he's doing it at night while I'm at work. :) We will see...

Can you believe Caleb is 6 months old? He's pushing himself up on his arms like he is wanting to crawl but just doesn't have that much strength..he's adorable and I love how he is trying... He's sleeping all night but loves to get up early..This morning he was up at 4:10am so I went up and got him b/c if not, he would of woke Isaac up...They are right beside each other and Caleb was just talking as loud as he could so he came down to his bassinet and stayed in that awake til 5am and then fell asleep til 7am but he just likes to wake up early..I need to do away w/ the bassinet I know as you are thinking but i don't want Isaac up b/c then I'm up and I don't want to be up at 430 am when I go to bed around midnight...It's a battle on what to do... Soon Caleb will not be able to fit in that bassinet so I guess I'll worry about that when it comes. :) You have to walk through Caleb's room to get to Isaac's.. Caleb loves to chew on things and loves to use his hands to play w/ rattles and puts his feets in his mouth and I can tell he's learning...He loves Isaac and Isaac loves him..Isaac is saying Caleb now and will just kiss him and hug him and will say "hi caleb, morning caleb, caleb awake, caleb sleep" statements like that.. I love hearing him talk to him. Makes me excited when Caleb is two and can talk back to him.. :) Well, this is long and I"m going to wrap it up. My camera broke so who knows if I'll have pictures next month..We'll see. Maybe my husband will be nice enough and say I can go buy one. :) hahaha..yeah right!!! I hope you enjoyed my blog and hope it all made sence. :)