Monday, April 30, 2007

A Fun Time

Well, We had a fun time. Never long enough. But it was still fun. The kids and I enjoyed the pool for a few hours while Rod was in his meeting.We then went back upstairs and ate lunch. The thing I like most about staying in a condo is that it's really just like being home. There is a full kitchen with a dishwasher, stove and fridge. They supply minimal pots and pans and bowls and dishes, silverware, etc. Enough to deal with anyway. And you can still function like home. You don't have to feel pressured to eat every meal out. They also have a stackable washer and dryer unit so you can still do laundry and not have to go home with a ton of dirty clothes. Plus the fact, for a family our size, we cannot just stay in a hotel room. We have done this for about 7 yrs. now and I and the kids are spoiled. We can't go back to a hotel! These places are always nice and clean unlike most hotels.
After lunch we just chilled out and waited for Rod to come back. Of course the kids were ready to get dad in the pool. So we went back down again before supper. Afterwards we came back up and got cleaned up and went out to dinner. One of the favorites is UNO pizza. YUM! I have to tell you the first time we ever got it we were amazed at its size. Only about 9 inches. We thought that no way could 4 adults and our kids deal with only 2 of them. But it was more than plenty. They are piled on with toppings making it super thick! The crust is very good and you can't eat more than 2 pieces. Rod , Britt and I shared one pizza and still had some leftover. The kids chose to make their own. They love doing it. Makes them feel big! Of course our goal was also to go for HOT GLAZED DONUTS at Krispy Kreme. They just melt in your mouth. We also spotted a Dippin Dots Ice cream store. This is little pellets of ice cream kept at - 40* .The store has about 50 flavors to choose from. Most machines you can get this from only have a few flavors. We went back to our condo and had desert. We were leaving the next morning. So when we got up rather than make a mess in the kitchen, Rod went to Chik-fila for breakfast. Another favorite. Also we had a cup of the dippin dots left which either had to be thrown away or eaten. So some of the kids chose to eat ice cream too for breakfast. Now that's not something we make a habit of, but we didn't want to be wasteful. And they didn't mind.

Friday, April 27, 2007

a small trip

We are in Orlando for a few days. Rod has a meeting up here today. So, we are staying in a condo for the weekend and enjoying some R&R. While he is gone today, we are going to go enjoy the pool. We can see the pool right out our patio door, so the kids are driving me crazy to take them out. They have been up since 8am asking to go. Guess I'll have to give in and go, or I will be insane listening to them begging. I've taken some pictures but guess I'll have to wait to post till we get home. I don't have a cord for my camera, and rod says not to buy one as we are hoping to buy a new more up to date camera soon. This one takes very good pictures still, but is a little slow on recovery. After all it's about 7 yrs old. So guess I will go change and take these monkies out before they murder me.I mean come on. We have all day, lets chill!

Thursday, April 26, 2007

an enjoyable afternoon




We took the kids last Sunday afternoon to a park in Juno Beach. We've been there several times. Its really a neat little place. Something the kids enjoy doing. They have a nice little play area and across the street is a small lake area with a gazebo and there are always ducks there. The kids love taking bread and crackers down to feed them. It's such a nice little place. Very relaxing. They have a sidewalk that goes all the way around so you could take a nice walk around the lake. It was an absolute gorgeous day to spend outdoors.

Friday, April 20, 2007

WARNING!!!!!!.................


One Happy Girl

Backing in at home. Hope we don't go in the canal!


This is a warning. Everyone in Hobe Sound, Stuart area stay off the roads. Brittany wanted to accomplish one thing while on spring break. And she did. That was to get her learners permit to drive. OH MY! Yesterday she accomplished this task and now she is eager to get on the roads. We have let her drive down Gomez, and she drove home from the drivers license bureau. Not sure we are anywhere near ready for US 1 yet. That's scary. She's doing alright, just needs to learn to use her brake while turning corners instead of turning them at 20 mph. I'll let you know if I have a heart attack and need to be visited in the hospital. Pray for our patience and safety while teaching this one how to drive.

Meagan's first ice cream cone



Last night after going out to dinner we came home and decided to give the kids a treat. So we stopped by the store and bought a gallon of Breyers ice cream. Has anyone noticed the price of that stuff is going up like gold?But it's the only kind we'll eat, so guess you pay the price or don't eat it. Not that we eat it much, but anyhow.We made all the kids a cone and of course Meg had to have one too. She was so cute to watch. She would dip her thumb in and get some ice cream and lick it off. It was funny to watch her. She was so adorable.She wasn't real sure she liked the cone, think the dog ended up with it. Thought I'd share some pictures of her enjoying it.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

More Spring Pictures




Jessica, Zach and Andrea got their spring pictures back the other day. Not sure that they are that great. Unfortunately they are required to wear their uniforms. So this doesn't make for a very nice picture really. Thought I would share with everyone.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Our Anniversary getaway

Saturday morning we woke up early and decided to go ahead and get on the road to wherever it was we were going. Rod knew where that was, but I didn't. And he was in no hurry to tell me. He likes to surprise me! The info I had to go on to pack was, your going away overnight and it's going to be hot. Well, knowing that the state of Florida is pretty long, and takes awhile to get anywhere for a long distance and that it's warm here, I knew we weren't going too far. So off we ventured by about 6:45 am. We made it to Jupiter to a bagel shop for breakfast and out to the highway by about 7:30 am and headed south. Of course there aren't too many places to go south, so I had a choice of thinking it was either, West Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami or the Keys. As we drove and continued to pass them all, I knew it must be the Keys. So Rod finally told me that it was. We managed to drive there in a descent amount of time. We checked into our hotel and looked around awhile. We left and headed farther south. We were getting hungry for lunch ,so we stopped at a place and ate. It was a sport fishermans store, pretty good size and they had a restaurant upstairs. We ate outside on the balcony area. Enjoyed the view of the water and some boats. It was a beautiful day. Warm, but breezy. Made it just right ! Of course the big selection of food was mainly fish dishes. And I do not like fish. So I had the choice of chicken tenders or a turkey club, don't like either of those. So I had to choose my only choice, a beef asian wrap, served with tortilla chips with a red spicy sauce drizzled over and peanut sauce for the wrap. It proved to be pretty good. I couldn't eat it all. We went downstairs to walk around for a few minutes. Mainly to see a big fish tank with some fairly big fish in them. Neat to see. We left there and headed south to check the rest of the keys out. It was neat to see different things, but alot of it was old looking.We stopped into a turtle hospital. Could have taken a tour, but it was a little pricey and 90 min. long, 45 min of it being a movie. So didn't realy see the point in wasting the time. we drove on and went down across the 7 mile bridge. That was fun. Water on both sides and no land around other than a little island out there. We didn't go much farther after that point. Would have liked to have went to the farthest point, but it was still a ways down and we were getting tired of driving. So we headed back north. It was some nice scenery. Relaxing. The water is very blue there. And actually not very deep. We took a glass bottom boat ride out to a coral reef 7 miles offshore. It was really choppy and windy, so the ride was rough. Most of my pictures at the reef didn't turn out too well. Number one reason, it was so rough that the boat would move every time you would go to take a picture. And the fish would swim by so fast, the camera (which needs replaced) just couldn't get the pictures fast enough. The reef itself was not as colorful as I imagined it to be. But it was fun to see. But looking down through the glass and the boat rocking made it very easy to get that lovely sick feeling. Many people left and went up top into fresh air. There were a few of us left downstairs. I'm proud to say I made it without getting too sick feeling. I just looked out the upper windows alot in between and didn't focus alot on the underneath. That's about the extent of our 1 day trip. Not enough time to accomplish alot, but nice to get away and have some peace and quiet for a few short hours.

Friday, April 13, 2007

Our Anniversary


The Roses

Our wedding day 4-14-1990

The wedding party
A more recent picture

Seventeen years ago today I was preparing to marry my best friend. We had been working hard for several days preparing our new home, remodeling and moving things in. We also were using our new home as a place for the guys to stay who had to fly in to be in our wedding, so we wanted things to be ready for their accomodations. We worked day and night trying to finish things up so they could stay their. Of course we had the wedding rehearsal that friday night and we were frantically trying to finish things up that needed done for the wedding and reception and all things involved. I remember that our rehearsal took hours on end to get through. You see, none of us had ever done this before. Although Rod had been in a few weddings, I had never been in one. So , I didn't really know how things should go, and our pastor had never performed one either. We were all in the dark. Luckily my maid of honor had coordinated a few weddings at her church back in Texas and was some help. Thank goodness we had the rehearsal dinner before, because we would have all starved to death. After finally figuring out where to stand, how to come down the aisle etc. Rod and I needed to practice a song we had chosen to sing to each other.Now I don't claim to be the best singer in the world, but I think I can carry a tune. But I had gotten a cold and was not able to hit the high notes in the song. So we had to knock it down a few notches. Well, after several run throughs, I thought I had it down pat. NOT! On our wedding day,it sounded horrible. You wouldn't believe I could sing. And There again, I'm not the best, but it should have come out better than it did. Rod forgot his words, so I was mouthing his to him on his verse. Needless to say, we made it through, but don't ever ask to see the video. It turned out to be a rainy cool weekend, which was also Easter weekend. But we were married and life had begun.Now I could say all things were wonderful, but we had a rough first year adjusting to each other and all the things that go along with marriage. We could have killed each other, but we decided we were going to make it work or else! I must say we have went through trials, wondered why we had to go through so many different things. We lost a house to a fire in 1994, we lost a business, but I think all those things has made our marriage stronger! We moved to Florida in Feb. of 1997 and got into a better ,bigger church where we could grow, have many friends, although in Florida they come and they go frequently, but I think our marriage is the best! I have a wonderful loving husband who spoils me rotten and is truly my very best friend. Many people think we are crazy because we do everything together, and up until about 3 yrs ago never spent any time apart for any length of time. Now that I look back, I never would have imagined that we would have 6 kids and living in Florida. But I love every minute of my crazy life and wouldn't change it for the world. Rod came home today with a card and Roses and tells me I need to pack because we are leaving early in the morning to go away for a short overnight trip, but time to spend alone with each other. I look forward to the time alone with him to relax and reminisce(sp). So, Rod I love you ! Happy Anniversary, I hope we have many more!

Time with friends


Last night we picked Mark, Sharon and Amber Yoder up from West Palm Beach airport after a long flight from Haiti on Missionary flights. We got to spend the rest of the evening with them and we went to dinner at Outback Steakhouse. It was a yummy meal. Here they are enjoying their first meal stateside.

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Amber wanted ice cream. She's enjoying every bite. Could you resist that little face?

Thursday, April 12, 2007

New beginings

As many of you know we at Hobe Sound Bible Church are getting ready to begin a new era I guess you could say. After 17 years of Pastoring our church Pastor Paul Pierpoint is retiring. It's been a long process trying to find the right person for the job. And I think many people are afraid of what might happen when we get new blood in here to take over. But, I think we have probably found the right person for the job. We look forward to a new begining and seeing what is in store. Although we like our comfort zone and love the church and all the pastors that have and are serving us, it's probably time we move on. Last night we were introduced to our new pastoral staff. It's quite the mix from very young to middle age to older. But I think it's a good mix. We have been blessed to have P.D. Wolfe agree to be our Senior pastor. And helping fill the ranks are Rodney Loper, Wes Holden, Dr. Peak will continue as music minister and we have Jay Slagenwitt(sp) for our youth. I think he will do a good job since he has been involved with them already. Mr Gordeauk(sp) will help with spiritual life and George Vernon will help with visitation. We also have a new secretary coming from GBS, her name was Janene (Fiello I think). Looks like a pretty good group of people, and we look forward to seeing whats going to happen. So everyone please pray for our church that we will accept the changes and take them one day at a time . Keep us in your prayers as these changes will be taking place the end of June.

Monday, April 9, 2007

From coloring to hiding to searching

With Easter being this past weekend it definately made for a full few days. Saturdays at our house is a day for cleaning, grocery shopping and whatever else has been neglected all week. So, Saturdays are always full without any extra things to do. Rod & I woke up early so we decided to rush out and finish up the easter basket shopping and getting the groceries needed for Sunday dinner. We went to breakfast and then we went shopping hoping to beat the crowd. When we came home we worked around the house getting everyone motivated to get their jobs done quickly so we could finish getting the rest of the Easter outfits that had not been bought. Oh, something I hate, last minute shopping!After searching many stores in the mall to find a shirt to match a skirt bought several days earlier , we finally found one that would do. Did any of you notice their didn't seem to be many spring colors this year? anyhow, after several attempts to find another outfit, we finally found one at the final moments of closing down the mall. ahh! Such relief! I hate such stress. well, we finally made it home to color eggs. Yes, the dreaded eggs, at 10pm. Why oh why! After I had hoped to do it earlier in the day, my plans never seem to work. Well we finally got them done. Poor Meagan kinda conked out on us, but we revived her to color the final egg. What we do for memories. After finally getting everyone to bed, this easter bunny was too tired to finish up the baskets, so I called it a night, got up early to hide the eggs, which we only do in the living room and dining room and finish up the baskets. The kids enjoy the thrill of hunting the eggs. Meagan actually found one of the boiled eggs and decided to take a bite and peal off the shell. She was cute to watch when she actually figured it all out. We made it through the egg hunt and had breakfast and actually made it to church a few minutes early. What a record for us. It was a beautiful day weatherwise, and we ended the night with a wonderful Easter musical at church. I think it was one of the better ones yet. You all should check it out in the church website archives. I hope everyone had a nice Easter and remembers why we celebrate it.

Friday, April 6, 2007

Happy 21st Birthday Alexa!

Today 21 years ago I gave birth to my oldest child. What an adorable little thing she was. After 12 1/2 hours of labor she made her way into this world . Weighing 6 lbs 9 oz. She seemed so little. Grandma and Grandpa Schaub just thought she was it. And they still do! She was number one in our house. Grandma and Grandpa had a lot to do with helping me raise her. And they have done a wonderful job. She has turned out to be such a wonderful young lady. I hope you have a happy 21st birthday. We love you!This album is powered by BubbleShare - Add to my blog

something different

Last night we did something different. Rod had a meeting and didn't get home until after 6pm so Zach begged to have pizza, his favorite meal. We ordered pizza hut carry out and picked it up and went to a nearby park. We sat at picnic tables and ate.Of course the kids were dying to go play so they devoured their food. They got to play in the dark, but they still had fun. Even the big kid! Brittany decided to play too. So we had to have a kodak moment with that. We took a walk on the boardwalk and enjoyed the waterThis album is powered by BubbleShare - Add to my blog

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Spring Break

Jess, Zach & Andrea are on spring break this week.So lots more things to do while they are home. They have actually been pretty descent, but I'm wondering what summer will be like. Unfortunately since they are in a different school than Brittany their breaks are not at the same time. So it poses a problem with being able to go away and do anything. We would take her out of school a few days, but they have SAT testing all week. So we have spent time at home not doing much of anything. It's been nice to sleep in an extra half hour or so. You know they would not want to sleep in for any length of time. But yet they complain about getting up on school days. Go figure! The kids are already anticipating Easter and our coloring of eggs and egg hunt. They look so forward to it all year. Meagan gets to hop (no pun intended) right in and join in finding eggs. So that will be fun to watch.
The weather has been beautiful for this time of year. It's been great walking weather in the evening. I have enjoyed getting out and having some fresh air and just relaxing. After talking to my mom today , Ohio is having 35* weather and expecting snow the next few days. Hard to believe it's so nice down here. Well the 3 spring breakers are off to a birthday party with a movie and Cheesburger and more. So while they are gone We'll spend some quality time maybe shopping with Brittany and Meagan. Something thats hard to do with all the little monkees along.