Our Christmas Card!

You can see a peek into our Christmas Card here. Who knows ... you might get one in your mailbox in December!

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

My Little Smurfette & My Little James Harden

This Halloween was long... we started with a Family Fall Fest at the church where the kids do Awana on Wednesday night. Thursday night was trick-or-treating in one of the dorms at my university. Friday afternoon we partied at my mother-in-law's credit union (she's the CEO) and on Friday night we Trunk-or-Treated at my sister's church. Then on Saturday night we hosted a Trunk-0r-Treat at our Church and Sunday night we went to a Fall Fest at my in-laws church. Yep it was a bit over the top. So we dot to actual Halloween, today, and nada. Thank goodness!

So here's my little Smurfette



And my little James Harden



And just in case you don't know who James Harden is, he's the OKC Thunder basketball player, pictured below :)

We've got a lot of explaining to do...

Tonight we made good on a Groupon I purchased a while back. It was to a bounce place about 25 minutes from our house. I didn't want it to expire, so we took the kids this evening, even though we could only stay an hour.

Abi met a girl when she got there. I was not visually observing the exchange but I did overhear the exchange. One of the first pieces in the conversation was the girl asking, "is your brother adopted?" (I'd like to insert that I cringed because Eli *is not* adopted, he *was adopted* - course I was just listening not interjecting) Abi responded with a yes. Then the girl told Abi that she was also adopted. I kind of thought that was cool.

A bit later the girl left and I asked Abi, "Was that the girl you were talking to earlier that said she was adopted?" Abi said, "Yea but she just looked like a white girl."

So, clearly we've got a bit more explaining to do about adoption...

I love...

I know I have said it before, but Eli is SUCH a funny kid. He's had a sense of humor since he was probably about 2 years old.

I remember an occasion when he was really little at McDonalds (in Ohio) where he took a drink out of my friend, Amy's cup at McDonalds. It was tea. He looked at Amy and said "Well, that doesn't taste like chicken nuggets." :) He got laughs from us and from an adjoining table. He remembered it and the next time we were there he repeated the same line, looking for more laughs.

Well, last night he made me crack up! We were downtown, headed to a movie. He was reciting to me who all he loved "I love Mama, and Daddy, and Abi, and the cats, and Manny (the dog), and Bapa, and ZsaZsa (grandparents we had just had dinner with)..."

I stopped him and asked "But who do you love best." He paused and I whispered "Eli, say Jesus." Eli looked at me and smiled and said "I love Chuck E Cheese the best." I busted up laughing, hollaring at Jeff and Abi who were about 20 paces ahead of us, repeating the dialogue.

Yep, I'm pretty sure I'm raising a comedian!

What's New

I know it's been so long since I posted but after my last two posts I just couldn't bring myself to make those posts move down the list, as though we'd moved on. But in reality life does move on and we do continue to grow and change and start school and such.

So, whats new?

Well, Abi started school 2 weeks ago, 2nd grade! She was able to get a transfer into a school district closer to me than the one we live in, which was really good. This was a source of tension for me all summer... will she get in? So, we found out on Monday, Aug 8 at 5:15 that she got in and she started class on Wednesday, Aug 10. Quick turn around I know.

Eli? Well he got into a YMCA daycare, the very one I was hoping for. Again, I held my breath about it all summer. We found out with a bit more notice than with Abi. We found out Aug 5 that he was in and he started Aug 15.

Me? I began showing back up at my office on Aug 15 since the kids were in school and daycare. Meetings for me began Aug 19 and we will start classes on Thursday Aug 25, just two days from now.

Jeff? He's doing okay. Still working at Coca Cola as an IT Project Manager. He's leading worship at our church pretty much every Sunday (except when we were out of town).

Vacation? Yes I was out of town 3 places this summer. First was on a Mission Trip to Ethiopia with 5 students from my university in late May. Then we took a 5 day family vacation to San Antonio. Then immediately following that I took the kids on a road trip to Ohio - we were gone 10 days for that. Each trip was really good, but I don't think I will plan a trip that close to school starting again. You see, we got back Aug 5 and Abi started school Aug 10. Felt like chaos, let me tell you.

Yep so that's what's new here. What's new with you?

A Father's Tribute

These were the words of my brother yesterday at his son Caleb's funeral.

Caleb was born on March 6th but that was not our first memories of him, in fact Caleb had been telling us about his personality for more than three months prior to that. At first I thought Stephanie was exaggerating the extent of Caleb's kicking, that there was no way he could be as active as she was describing. By 6 months into her pregnancy, however, it became clear that Caleb wanted to meet us. So about a month early, and classified by weight as a premi, Caleb Neel Scheiern removed the barriers and allowed us to hold him in our arms. Over the next months Caleb began to show us the most incredible personality and we will hold close the memories of a wide-eyed boy who at three months old already figured out how to make his parents laugh and smiled all the larger when we did. Yes we wanted to see Caleb covered in cake frosting at his first birthday, to watch him hit a home run, and to learn to drive; but Stephanie and I are so happy because while we will miss all of those, we are given a huge gift. We will reunite in Heaven with our son, a son who we never yelled at, never sent to his room, and never had to discipline. Yes we'll miss 60 or so years on Earth, but we will spend eternity in Heaven with a son whose relationship to us has no scars, and no hurt feelings, an untarnished relationship with a son who never let us down.

A Picture from Heaven

This was written by my sister-in-law's sister, Susanne, and read by her today at my nephew's funeral. It is truly God-inspired.

A Picture from Heaven

"I want to see a picture from heaven," says the best big brother a boy could have. His sweet mother responds, "I know son, I do too, but we'll just have to wait." My heart breaks as I listen to this conversation and watch the tears fall from their eyes. "Daddy, I really miss Caleb. I want him down here." The answers to the questions seem so far away but soon the laughter begins as they share their grief with each other.

A picture from heaven? We'll just have to wait.

The love grows stronger and stronger as packages arrive. The newspaper is still delivered, nap time is still an argument, grass gets taller, trips to the park to feed the ducks still have to be taken and gas prices rise and fall. All of these things are symbols of life moving forward.

A picture from heaven? We'll just have to wait.

There is a piece missing that will only be replaced when Caleb is in our arms again. We don't forget. We don't move on. We simply allow the Earth to turn, seconds go by and God heals.

A picture from heaven? We'll just have to wait.

The road ahead is lit, the lamps have been placed on our feet. The picture from heaven we all so desperately want to see is waiting for us. We will be allowed glimpses as we continue to watch Stephanie, Chris, but mostly Mason. They are the picture I long to see from heaven. The love of Christ that dwells within them is what Caleb is immersed in right now. I was so blessed to have Caleb's smile and laughter fill my heart almost every day since he was born.

A picture from heaven? We'll just have to wait.

Until them a few words, a hug, a smile, is what we can offer each other. Caleb was born beautiful on March 6th, but he was born perfect on June 17th.