Puppy Love

I have been very busy but want to say a few words about the little fellow I am mostly responsible for bringing into our home! This fellow is our almost ten-week-old mini schnauzer named Calvin. Brian named the little guy before we even saw him. Calvin fits, so Calvin it is (with a "C" after all!). He is a delightful little furry guy - full of life, spunk, and a desire to please us and cuddle all the time!!! He has been easy to "schedule" and has only one rough night on his record. Calvin sleeps well, eats, well, and does all the rest very well - and outside when I don't forget to be diligent! He enjoys the great outdoors but shivers easily. Chasing leaves and eating them are his favorite past times. He is already longer and bigger, but still very tiny compared to Aspen. He loves to wrestle with Aspen and sleep with her in her kennel; she obliges so patiently. We now see Calvin's "sinful" nature coming out. We knew it would emerge eventually! He senses us hovering over him and dashes out of reach at just the last second to evade our grasp. We are consequently training him to "come!" when we call. So far, so good. He knows his name (sort of) and loves to run to us to get some loving. Brian is taking to Calvin and enjoys the fact that the little guy admires the man of the house so much. Now there is a tiny occupant in that happy, furry place in our hearts that spunky Sparky used to fill. We dubbed Calvin "Calvin- Key to Our Hearts" on the AKC registration form. We are the Schlossers, after all, and locksmiths must have keys. And yes, we have sneaked a deeper double meaning into that long name. :) I'll leave you to ponder.

Posting Because It Has Been So Long Since My Last Post

Howdy! Yes, I am still alive and well. My family still lives and breathes and works and does school. I can't believe it is almost the end of October!!!! I wish the leaves were more colorful, but they are beginning to turn. It is appropriately chilly. End of the weather discussion.

Brian's ankle is better, but now his muscles hurt like crazy. All the time. He is unsure about the marathon. I hope and pray his body adjusts so that he can run the whole thing. Otherwise, he will run the half marathon - maybe. This means no Boston in the spring. Yes, you hear selfish motives in there somewhere, but I would definitely be sad for my hubby if he had to give up the whole marathon for a half.

Gabrielle is trying to prepare to run the mile race that same day - her 13th birthday. She WANTS to do it. (She can't possibly be related to her mother.) She ran a half mile today in great time, but had to walk some to finish. Brian is working her up bit by bit. We will all be downtown in the morning, trying to keep warm and enjoying something we've never enjoyed on Thanksgiving morning. Gabrielle and Brian should do well and have a fantastic time doing something new and different Thanksgiving.

Which brings me to my next point: I am very thankful for where God has us and how He is faithfully taking care of us! Brian's job is great and getting even better; Joel is surviving school and working hard and visiting every weekend; Aliya is working hard in school with a great attitude, passed her SAT's with college-worthy scores, and now has a driver's license! Abby is working hard in school, learning to work more efficiently, and is enjoying the beautiful weather outside with friends. Gabrielle is doing great in school and keeping busy. She is also looking forward to a birthday party in a few weeks. Everyone is healthy. (Stay away, flu.) Church is great and we love our new care group. We have also enjoyed getting to know some international students through the Friends of Internationals Bible studies (thanks, Friesens!)

I am grateful for my home, even though there are many things I want to paint, fix, and redecorate. If you know me at all, you know that these things will never completely get done until we move again. (And if we never move, well.... you do the math.) I am also happily preparing myself for the addition of a new "boy" into our family; a male mini-schnauzer who has been tentatively named Kalvin. I can thank my great grandmother for the opportunity to get the puppy. We are to pick him up in TN a week from Thursday. Brian named him for now, but we might change our minds when we see him. He comes from Karlshof Kennels, so we have been informed he will bear the kennel name before his pet name. This explains the spelling of his name. The name Kalvin is inspired partly by Calvin & Hobbes, and partly by the reformed theologian, John Calvin . Why not "Hobbes?" It just doesn't have a very nice ring. Sorry! Maybe if he were a hound dog - maybe.

In spite of the fact that the name means "little bald one," we persist for now. We HOPE our new guy has nice hair, and lots of it. He WILL be little, however.

BUT if we should decide Kalvin is a poor fit for our salt & pepper little buddy, please submit possible names for the future. So far, we have Hansi (awwwwww) as one choice.

If in a few weeks I am grumbling about lack of sleep, whining, yipping, potty on the floor, and bad puppy manners, remind me of this post, will you? I'll try to post pics of the little critter when I can. For now, we have Aspen's UTI to deal with (potty on the floor) and are expecting a pleasant visit from one Charlie - of Watkins labradoodle stock. He has graced our home before; it is always a party with Charlie here!

Our ladies in caregroup are having a social tonight. My friend Vikki had the idea of having a big hair contest. I had to scour old photos for a picture of me with big hair (complete with ginormous 80's glasses). I certainly found one - or several. I don't think I will win the contest for the biggest hair, but I wonder if 2nd place goes to the biggest glasses. Well, I am sort of in charge, so I can decide whatever I want, right? And by the way, if anyone ever wants to give this poor girl the gift of her own fashion consultant....

I am off to hunt for the perfect Big Hair Prize while wearing semi-frumpy clothing and smaller plastic-framed glasses. My teenage girls WILL still let me out of the house. Till next post...

LIFE GOES ON

I wanted to post a few small updates about life in our home (and out of it). I enjoy reading everyone else's posts, so just in case someone out there is curious, here goes. No need to hold on tight; this is more like the little kid boat ride at the amusement park than a full-blown roller coaster.

The girls are plugging away in school. They have endured a few test and quizzes in their co-op classes, and I am learning all the things I should have learned in high school by sitting in on Mrs. Ganster's composition class. I am so grateful the girls are able to learn to write and love literature in this setting! On Friday, I have the opportunity to put it all to work; I must help those budding writers improve their first essays. This will either be fun, humbling, or both. The truth will come to light on Friday.

As for Brian, he is still training for the marathon in Atlanta on Thanksgiving Day. Should he actually succeed in making it in one piece to the race, we will spend Gabrielle's 13th birthday morning watching Dad try to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I am praying he makes it; he has always wanted to do it. The problem is, potholes in our little haven of Woodstock have not been kind to him recently. He severely sprained his ankle on the last mile of his early Sunday morning run. My husband now has a tree stump for an ankle, and it is not looking good. He can walk on it, but is not supposed to walk on it. He attempted to install new basement plumbing while balancing precariously on a high ladder ON his swollen ankle. Maybe not the best thing to attempt, but we are grateful the new piping works great. Ice baths and packs have been his dearest friends over the past few days. We are praying for a miracle folks. Healing does not come as quickly when the body is on the upside toward fifty.

Joel is loving his first semester at Georgia Tech. We blessed him the other day by buying a house flag to fly his new school colors. He came home for the weekend to a "sweet" new flag. It brought a smile to his face. He took two tests on Monday and feels decent about them. There is another one tomorrow. We pray constantly for grace for him to learn and to be diligent. God is helping him do both. Joel is working faithfully and diligently in all his studies. He is enduring a few so-so professors (rather eclectic ones), and loving a few outstanding professors. Joel spends precious free time with friends, doing things like going to football games, buying Tech t-shirts, and playing ping pong with guys who can actually beat him! He is also keeping up with the latest political and economic news. (Who is this stranger?) He walks everywhere, works out regularly, and has lost seven pounds. I promptly took him to the store a weekend or so ago to buy him more food! I thought it was supposed to be the "Freshman, 10" not the "Freshman -10." (Joel would be grateful if I clarified that he is actually a Junior. :) )

I am enjoying the school year and am trying to keep my house in order, etc. Things are never as neat as I would like them to be, but the fridge is mold-free at the moment and we have food to put on the table and clean clothing to wear. (Though some of it is still sitting in my laundry room waiting to be put away...)

I love the fall, and it is just around the corner. It is only 74 degrees today, and the evenings are supposed to be quite cool this week. Yea! Callie, you should have moved to GA! This topography is beautiful and enjoys four real seasons. Thank you, God.

We just celebrated Aliya's 17th birthday (see other post) on Sunday with about 17-20 teenagers. They played foosball, ping pong, games, and ate food and watched football. We apparently had many Colts fan in the room. It was hot, LOUD, and fun. Thanks for coming, everyone! Pics taken were rather unusual; I am afraid they may end up on someone's blog or facebook. They were not immoral - just weird. Never leave the camera lying around.... I will not be posting any here unless I can find "real" ones.

I am going out with my hubby tonight. I can't wait. Aliya is going to be working on a school project with a friend, Abby is going to be hanging out at home, and Gabrielle is going to be babysitting for someone in the church. Joel will be on campus studying like crazy for his test tomorrow. So there you have it.

To be continued...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALIYA!!!!

I am late recalling the story of how our first baby girl entered our lives eight days early. Aliya entered this world on September 11, 1991, weighing 7 lbs., 14 oz. Our lives have thankfully never been the same!

Aliya came into the world with a pronounced little will. She cried more piercingly and persistently than any other baby being wheeled through the halls. We could always guess she was coming for a nursing visit to my hospital room way before she arrived at the door. She managed to outcry all the other wailing babies with her.

She spent her first few hours in Daddy's arms. If there is any truth to that bonding lore, then she was definitely affected by those hours. Aliya is definitely a daddy's girl! Thankfully, however, she and I have developed a wonderful friendship over the years.

Aliya has come a long way from the baby who used to roll stealthily around the family room eating newspapers before Mom found out. (If it was quiet and Aliya was missing, trouble was in the works!) She is less sneaky and much more honest! She is still persistent. However, this persistence increasingly shines in her God-given determination to grow into a godly young woman. She is more outwardly focused, yet inwardly focused in the sense that she is sensitive to areas in her heart that need change. She loves the Lord and is continually seeks to grow in Him and apply what she learns through daily devotions and weekly sermons. I am grateful for her tender heart that yearns to please God. She is quick to come back again to God when she fails. God uses Aliya in all our lives to remind us of his never-failing grace.

Aliya also loves her family, sports, literature, music, math, science, art, writing, and administrating her life and those around her. :) She often serves as my second brain by planning for me and remembering details I always forget. She is full of drama, has very big dreams and too many things from which to choose in life. I think she still identifies at times with Louisa May Alcott's character, "Jo." Hers is not a predictable path. God seems to use Aliya as one joyful surprise in our lives.

Aliya, you are a blessing to me! Your smile makes me smile. I love your laughter, your drama :), your zest for everything, your sense of humor, your left-handedness, your willingness to learn and work hard in school and in life, and your beautiful, blue eyes! You are still my soft, cuddly, sweet, baby girl!

Happy 17th Birthday!!!

Aliya Nicole: "To go up to the city of God victoriously"
Keep climbing by God's grace, Sweetness!!

"Who may ascend the hill of the LORD ?
Who may stand in his holy place?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol
or swear by what is false. ^[a]

He will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God his Savior." Psalm 24:3-5

Education and Intelligence

We started school 8/18. Today marked the first day of the second school week. Now that we have a full schedule (all co-op classes included), the days are already longer and patience has already been tried. Overall, everyone is doing well and working hard and learning well. I love the structure of school. We all manage to accomplish so much more with a defined agenda. Summer was fun and lazy, but it is good to get back to reality.

It rained most of the day today, and now the sun is finally out. The rain resulted in a typical problem: Aspen would not do her duty in the rain. Schooling meant little time to devote to a finicky dog. At one point, I just gave up and made her stay outside until she went. Aspen was already wet, so why should she continue to try to avoid getting "wet" by going out into the bushes or yard to do her thing? I figured she should surely realize that if she would just go #2, then she could come in out of the torrential rain.

Dogs don't reason like humans. Aspen did oblige me by adding to the already wet grass. She did not oblige me by taking care of other matters. I let her in. Elle gave Aspen a bath, dried her off and let her loose - all with my blessing. Aspen slept for a while on the girls' bedroom floor while I checked science questions.

A short while later, Aspen's MATTER was quite visibly deposited onto my family room door mat. No surprise there, but I still managed to feel incredulous. Who is less intelligent, the dog or the mom? (And who's homeschooling three kids?)

Buddy Boy

At the end of July, my baby boy (Joel) turned 19 years old! This is his last year of being a teen; I know it will go more quickly than the last 19 years each have.

We celebrated his birthday very simply; we each gave him something to help him on his way as both a college student at Georgia Tech and a roommate to three other students. When Brian came home from work, we surprised Joel (and Aliya!) at work by bringing cupcakes and singing happy birthday in the restaurant - quietly, of course! :) Joel took the remaining goodies to the kitchen to share with his co-workers.

I spent one week thereafter remembering Joel as a baby, a little boy, and now a teenager who is quickly growing up into a thoughtful young man. All while remembering things about Joel, I realized he was going to be living downtown to be closer to school and to avoid the snarl of ridiculous traffic that Atlantans everywhere have come to dread. (Abby has great pics on her blog - check them out!) Joel being here even less; that is a sad, strange, empty feeling. The endearing part is how Joel has continued to hang around home even though he has been paying for an apartment he has yet to move into - until this past week, that is. I have not complained once about his delay; neither has he or any of the rest of us! But now his things are there and he shall stay downtown during the week.





He has led himself well and gotten all his finances in order, his schedule in order, and his new home in order. He starts school at Georgia Tech in three days to finish a degree in electrical engineering. Lord willing, he will finish in about five semesters and consider graduate school somewhere else. It took a long time to pick his life's vocation; let's see how it all goes! He can't wait to start school again, and we can't wait to see him thrive and work hard and learn new things and meet new friends.

That having been said, I will miss his fuzzy face around here - and I do mean fuzzy. I think he is handsome as ever. I will miss his happy voice, his clever, sometimes ornery sense of humor, & the way he banters with the girls and engages with them. I will miss the mess he leaves on his bedroom floor & doing his greasy work laundry (theoretically). I will miss pouncing on him in the morning with stolen kisses on his sweet, sleepy head. I will miss hearing about all the complex physics problems (blow-by-blow) and not understanding an iota of it. I will miss the late-night talks about God and life and matters of faith and Scripture. I will miss sharing struggles and prayers together and long drives in his car with the windows down. I will hearing his bass rumbling upstairs, and his whistling and humming. I will miss seeing his beautiful smile every morning before he heads off to school. The great thing is, I will only have to miss these things for five days... Thank God for the weekend!

So Joel, my friend, I love you and think you are the best son God could ever have given me! I am grateful every day for the gift of you, and cannot wait to see how God shapes you into the man He has planned for you to be. You continually provoke me with your faith, your perseverance, your convictions, and the boyishness which wants to hang on for dear life! :) I love you, my son, my only one.