The Schefflers

Halloween

2009-11-08T13:26:00.000-08:00

Caleb, the TCU baseball player. Doesn't he look so old?

Our little TCU cheerleader. Go Frogs!

Annie's new trick for the camera. Fun!

Noah a.k.a. Michael Young

the whole gang (well, almost) Hudson and Isaac (knights), Nate (not in the mood to dress up), Caleb and Noah (baseball players), Jono (the cowboy), Emma (pumpkin)

Caleb and Noah are 7

2009-10-26T14:35:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that almost 8 years ago I found out that I was having twins. My life hasn't been the same since. Those first few months that they were growing in my tummy I wondered what this wild ride would be like, I had so many questions. I didn't know anyone with twins. I must admit that I cried quite a bit, at first they were tears of uncertainty, but they turned into tears of an intense desire for healthy babies. God miraculously gave me two healthy bouncing baby boys. They weighed in at 6 lbs 12 oz and 5 lbs 15 oz. That adds up to alot of baby. They crawled at 6 months, walked at 10 mos and climbed out of their cribs at 17 mos. Let's just say those were the busiest two years of my life. They have been inseperable from birth and it has been precious to watch their friendship. It is special, it is intense and hopefully they are learning that it is a gift. Every couple years, I feel like their birthdays are huge milestones. I remember when they turned 4, all the sudden they didn't just wrestle and fight over toys anymore. They would play dress-up and weapons (Davy Crocket and Almanzo from Farmer Boy) for hours. Finally, they were playing constructively and together! It was beautiful and I was so thankful to have finally gotten to that phase. Since then, 7 has been the next BIG phase. All the sudden I have big kids. They are insanely driven and thrive on anything that pushes them whether it be school, sports or outdoor stuff (shooting BB guns, rock climbing, bike riding etc). Just in the last few months they have started watching and caring about the Rangers and the Cowboys. You can imagine how their daddy loves that. They have matured so much over the summer and stay focused on their work at hand whether school, chores or whatever. They love to play games together and it has been fun to watch them get into a serious game of Battleship or Blokus. I am just so proud of the young men they are becoming. They play sweetly with their siblings and cousins and take the role of older brother very seriously. I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for them this next year. Matt and I are beginning to see some sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and we are praying daily for God to work in their hearts. They are special and these last 7 years have been the ride of a lifetime. They are so full of energy and life that it is hard to keep up with them. Happy Birthday Caleb and Noah. We love you and praise God for the gift that you are to us!

More cousin time

2009-09-07T19:03:00.000-07:00

Our first all-cousin outing and Malachi's first trip to the zoo. It was priceless to watch his face light up as he saw the animals.

He really got into the bird thing.

This pic. is a little out of order. This is Annie meeting Ava for the first time. She called her Aba and by the end we were all calling her Aba. They are our future besties.

Another cute zoo pic with everyone in their cousin tee-shirts.

The Girls

2009-09-07T18:55:00.000-07:00

Ava and Annie sat themselves down on this step after church. They were so cute together. They outfits coordinate too.

Later that afternoon my mom hosted a tea party to celebrate all the summer birthdays. It so happens that all the girls have summer birthdays except for Kelly. It was so darling and the girls loved it! It was Annie's first real tea party using real glass. What a treat!

Our family gave the Jacoby girls matching dresses for their birthdays. Precious!

Take me out to the ball game....

2009-09-07T18:45:00.000-07:00

Caleb and Noah have really gotten into the Rangers this year. Their daddy is soo happy. On Tuesday Sept. 1, the day Baby Emma was due, the Rangers were playing a double header. I called Matt and begged him to come home and watch the kids so that I could be at Emma's arrival. He wasn't sure. A co-worker reminded him that the Rangers were playing and told Matt that he should leave early and take the boys to the game. Well, you don't have to tell him twice. He called me up with this souped up plan that he would go and get tickets from Laurie's dad and come home early and take the boys. It was perfect! Five minutes after I got to the hospital Emma Elisabeth was born and Kelly and I both were there! The boys stayed all the way till the 7th inning of the 2nd game. They were mesmerized and loved every second of it (not so much Hud, but for sure the twins). Go Rangers!

Baby Emma

2009-09-04T20:07:00.000-07:00

Cousins Crazy Hair Sleepover

2009-09-04T19:40:00.000-07:00

The Jacoby cousins have been here for three weeks and we have crammed each day with tons of fun! This week while Aunt Jen was having her baby, we had our Cousins sleepover. It turned into the crazy hair sleepover which the kiddos loved. We let each of them take turns being the leader and picking the games. It was so cute to see what they picked.

Root Beer Floats

About to start a serious game of kickball

Duck Duck Goose

The night ended with reading time with Uncle Matt and of course a movie on a pallet.
It was for sure a memory maker!

Lemonade Stand

2009-08-11T18:56:00.000-07:00

Caleb, Noah and Jonathan were encouraged at VBS to raise some money for boys in Bangladore, India. They came right home on Monday with a plan for a lemonade stand. For those of you who know Caleb and Noah - know that they came in with intensity.Before I even got in the door, they had the sign made and the powder poured. I warned them that we live on a very very slow street. Nobody drives down it during the day. I told them that they might make a quarter each....maybe. Within two hours they had sold $6.75 worth of lemonade. I didn't participate at all. They sold and poured all on their own. I can't believe that I have such big boys.

Award Ceremony

2009-08-01T10:31:00.001-07:00

Yay Caleb and Noah!!!!

Hudson and Annie were "partying" during the ceremony

Puppy Dogs and Potty Training

2009-08-01T10:20:00.000-07:00

Hudson finally has a sleeping buddy

So cute!

the picture sums it up!

Swimteam 2009

2009-07-20T09:58:00.000-07:00

Jono's relay team

this pic seems so official with their caps and names on their backs

last day of practice....look at those grins

racing side by side

Caleb and Noah swam on swimteam for the first time this year. They loved it and did really well. The video is Caleb winning the 25 freestyle final race. Noah swam in the freestyle and backstroke finals too. We were excited that they worked hard and improved their times each week. Yay Caleb and Noah!!!!!

LUCY

2009-07-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

Lucy is our new 4 or 5 week old yellow lab/golden retriever mix puppy. My mom was at Salon Moda and noticed that the Paws and Claws truck was there with lots of puppy dogs. She called and told me that for $45 we could get a lab puppy with shots, spayed and microchipped. I was very UNinterested, I told Matt for grins and five minutes later we were loading up in the van to see these puppies. The labs my mom saw were five months old and we weren't quite ready for that kind of energy. We tried that last summer (ROMO). Anyways there was another very young litter of lab/golden mixes that they claim are five weeks. I think she is younger. For $25 (too young to be microchipped) we got a little princess named Lucy. She is darling and lets Annie drag her around all over. I'm sure in a week or two it will turn into a nightmare, but for now it is pretty sweet.

Fire Works from the Truck

2009-07-06T07:06:00.000-07:00

4th of July Fun at the Farm

2009-07-06T07:04:00.000-07:00

Sliding Hills with the Osterbergs

2009-06-26T05:40:00.000-07:00

more of our fun night...

2009-06-25T19:50:00.000-07:00

We started our night by cooling down with some ice cream...what a treat!

Brent and Keri saved all their big baby stuff boxes for us to use to do some serious sliding.

Because the sun was setting behind the hill all I could get was their silouhettes from the top of the hill....cool.

Yes, even I did it!

Off to meet the Babies

2009-06-08T13:54:00.000-07:00

My first morning with precious Ava. She gives sugars and cuddles the whole time you hold her. I could hardly put her down the whole week.

We took all the kids to the beach for the first time. They loved it! Malachi played in the baby pool Kelly brought the whole time. He was happy as a lark dumping and pouring the sand. He let Sean take him out into the ocean too and he smiled the whole time.

Grace wanted to show Caleb and Noah her tricks. Way to go Gracie!

Thatcher sure does love being a big brother. He helped entertain the little guys while they were in the pool. My camera broke after taking it to the beach so these are all the pics I got. There were a million photo ops that I had to pass up. I had such a sweet time loving on the kiddos and getting sweet sister time in too. What a treat!

ROCKPORT

2009-05-29T14:36:00.001-07:00

SPRING

2009-04-01T19:22:00.000-07:00

These pictures just remind me of spring. Sweet Annie found one of the big boys hats and thought that she was sooo cute. I did too!

Our winter hodge podge

2009-03-30T18:43:00.000-07:00

Valentine's Day was a treat this year for a number of reasons :
daddy was home to celebrate with us and both sets of g-parents planned special events with the boys and their cousins. We made the kids a special breakfast and loved on them all day. My parents had a party with all the boys and their boy cousins the night before so Matt and I went on a double date with the Cupps. It was so fun for the kids and the parents! Thanks Grammy and Padge! Saturday night they went on their first cousin crew outing to the TCU basketball game. They had fun and it gave us time to have a quiet dinner. Thanks G-Mommy and G-Daddy! We love you all!

Since the party was boys only, sweet Annie joined the adults for a night on the town. We "dolled" her up and took her to dinner with us.

I don't remember when this was, but the kids loved playing in the snow/ice wintry mix.

Here is silly Annie posing for the camera. For some reason she really wanted to lay down. I thought that the lighting was pretty and this is one of my favorite hand-me-downs.

This was a lovely attempt to get some pictures in the gorgeous daffodils. Annie wouldn't smile for anything and of course the sun was in the boys eyes. Oh well, we tried.

Ukraine Mission Trip

2009-01-13T10:13:00.000-08:00

Matt, along with a team from church went on a week long mission trip to Ukraine. They were there to work along side several of the pastors supported by SGA. The pastors ministered tirelessly to people in the villages. Matt was encouraged and convicted by their passion for the gospel. The weather was very cold, some days it was -10 degrees. They ministered to several villages in the Chernobyl zone as well. Most of those villages were abandoned, but not all of them. They also spent a great deal of time in orphanages doing skits, playing basketball and sharing the love of Christ. The team was able to hand out Christmas gifts sponsored by our church. It was special to hand deliver gifts to the children that members of CBC have been praying for throughout the Christmas season.

This was the seminary where the team stayed. The accomodations were wonderful. They had warm beds, hot showers, good food and indoor plumbing. Yay!

These are some of the children recieving their stars and gifts from Calvary.

Here is the team with the children from one of the orphanages. They had a lot of fun with our wild and playful guys!

Here is Damon and Jeff showing one of their breakfasts that was a little harder to stomach. The white logs that look like fingers were sausage and the noodles I guess were pasta.

The team heading to the Chernobyl Zone. It was a cold cold day!

New Years Eve

2009-01-13T09:51:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Christmas with the Schefflers on New Years Eve. We had a wonderful time opening presents, building projects and playing Guitar Hero. The kids had a blast and Grandmommy and Granddaddy gave special gifts as always.

Here is Annie immediately playing with her precious new kitchen from G-Mommy and G-Daddy

She played with it all night. It was so sweet. She new just what to do.

Here are all the cousins (except Annie) with their gifts from their grandparents. They got "cousin crew" t-shirts to all wear to the outings that G-Mommy and G-Daddy will be taking them on throughout the year. It is such a thoughtful gift! I love that it didn't have a million peices. haha... The daddys worked on the basketball goal down in the shop and it came together quickly and w/o any problems..lol! Way to go guys!

They are numbered in order from oldest to youngest....too cute!

To ring in the new year, we headed down to Ben and Laurie's to see what this Guitar Hero thing is all about. They have the whole band set and it was a blast! Madelyne is awesome at it! She plays the guitar on the hardest level! You rock Mady! Matt and I, not so much, but it was fun none the less.

Christmas Morning

2008-12-28T07:43:00.000-08:00

I don't know who Christmas morning is more fun for, the kids or Matt and I!

We were so excited to give the kids our gifts! After gifts and stockings we packed up and headed to my parents for a day with cousins! Annie loved her new brown skinned baby and her cooking utensils. Hudson wanted weapons, so we got him his own bow and arrow. The big hit was the air hockey table. Matt and I couldn't believe that they made stand alone ones that are kids size. Fun!

Christmas Festivities

2008-12-28T06:42:00.000-08:00

We have been busy and blessed this Christmas! We have celebrated with sweet new friends and family. It is always a wonderful time because the Jacoby family comes and stays for weeks around the holidays. We were blessed to be able to host our families on Christmas Eve this year and the Scheffler annual gift exchange. Praise God for our new home!

Since the Jacobys have been here, we have packed it full of fun. Cousins barbecue and caroling, building gingerbread houses, performing for the new annual talent show, acting out the nativity and playing Prince Caspian in the backyard with the daddys! What fun!

Peter Pan

2008-11-25T20:04:00.000-08:00

Grammy picked up Hudson Monday morning and brought him back dressed like Peter Pan. She had sewn him a precious costume so that he could be his favorite character. Thanks Grammy!
He has been Peter Pan ever since. We let him wear it to his bowling party, but had to draw the line at the Thanksgiving service.

Nate and Hudson Hudson bowling at his birthday party with the Scheffler cousins.

Cosmic Bowling with the cousins

Annie girlying it up with her baby plus it kept her from crawling on the nasty floor.
First time overstimulated by video games.....aaagh!! All my kids were mesmerized the entire time by all the lights and sounds and videos.

Thanks Grandmommy for the fun!

Our Girly Girl

2008-11-22T11:34:00.000-08:00

Annie loves all things girly. One of her few words is "bow" and when I say "where's your purse?", she crawls away to find it. She hauls it around and pushes her baby stroller all day. Too cute!

This is a video of Annie doing something weird with her ear, and also her hiking her purse up for the first time. The voice you hear in the background is Hudson wondering if Annie is going to Sonic or Wal-Mart.

Birthday Bash!

2008-11-19T19:46:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Cyndy's 60th birthday with a dinner party. The night was full of surprises! She knew that we were having a dinner for her, but she didn't know that her mother, sister, brother, neice (and her hubby) would be there. Later on in the evening Frank surprised her with a trip that will include her sons and wives to Napa Valley, CA. It was a night that I will never forget!

Camping

2008-11-19T19:02:00.000-08:00

Our first family camp out to Daingerfield State Park. We truly beheld God's glory in the beauty. It's a good thing it was beautiful because it was cold and let's face it...camping is hard work especially with a two year old and a baby. It was worth the work and we had a wonderful time full of adventures and sweet moments with family around the campfire.

Daingerfield State Park

Hiking with pokey puppy Hudson makes you stop and smell the roses. Thanks Hud.

The big boys loved gathering firewood, protecting "princess Annie" and going after the red-eyed bear.

I think the hike will definitely be memorable for Annie.

Wow! The changing of the leaves was breathtaking!

The boys defending the campsite.

Did I mention the beauty?.... and that b/c we went after the time change the sun started setting at 3:30 making it cold and pitch black by 5:30...fun!