Emily, my middle daughter, and I are off on a road trip this evening to my Mom and Dad’s in Toledo. Each year around this time my Dad adn I take our traditional trip to Detroit for the North American International Auto Show. It’s a tradition that goeas back to when Maria and I lived in Detroit from 1993-1996. We’ve been to the show every year since, except for 199 when my youngest was born. (It didn’t seem appropriate to go off for the weekend with Maria due to give birth any day, nor in the days immediately following.) It’s an amazing automotive spectacle. It takes about 5 or 6 hours to get throught it, and that’s just skimming the surface. We skip the interactive kiosks and jumping in and out of all but a few cars. Hit the show cars, grab a brouchure for my collection and move on.
Emily will get to spend the day by herself with Grandma. She’ll be in seventh heaven, not having to share Grandma with anyone else. That doesn’t happen often. My sister is here in Columbus too, so if we head to Toledo or Mom and Dad come down her family, and 4 kids, are there too. That’s generally a good thing, they all 7 play well together, but it makes one on one time with Grandma or Grandpa a rarity.
We’ll be back sometime Saturday evening, or Sunday after church if the expected snow is too bad.

Today is Audrey’s birthday. She’s our youngest and today she turns 6. I remember when we first started to lead our church’s children’s ministry our oldest kids weren’t much older than 6. They seemed like such big kids and now my youngest is that age. Yikes.
We started today with our family tradition of breakfast in bed for the birthday girl. Then she got a bath and her hair curled and ready to go out. We went to Applebee’s for lunch and then off to Build-A-Bear. She got a kitty with a princess outfit and named it Princess Sparkle. Before we left she opened her presents (a 3 wheeled scooter and the Mulan DVD).
Audrey is a content kid. My sister is nearby and we are often there or they’re here. There’s 7 kids between us, all under 11, and Audrey can frequently be found by herself, quietly playing with a toy or looking at a book. She’s in all day kindergarten in a multi-age class with first graders too. She’s picked up on reading pretty quickly and can sound out most words and can even figure out how to spell them. Maybe it’s just normal (seems faster than the other two.) but I’m amazed at how fast she’s picked it up.
She’s also got an incredible long term memory, but not so good short term. She remembers the color of my great aunt’s casket (she was barely 3) but couldn’t remember where the lunch room was at school the other day.
She’s cute as a button – and she knows it. She’s tiny, she get’s mistaken for 4 a lot. She’s got a grin that just melts Daddy’s heart.
Happy birthday, baby boo.

Well, when I linked to my friend Paul’s new blog, I was excited to have him blogging. Then 12 days passed without a peep. At first I wondered if he was serious about blogging (sorry to doubt you, bro) but as time went on I hoped he was OK. Paul’s health isn’t so good.
My friend Paul has been through a lot. I mean an amazing amount. Really. He’s posted about his health struggles, and I’d encourage you to read it. Not so you can go “Awww” and feel sorry for him, Paul wouldn’t be impressed and frankly probably doesn’t want the attention. No, you should go for two reasons. One, to get some perspective on your own troubles and woes. And two, to be inspired by a man who’s been through the wringer and still loves God and is passionate to know Him. He’s an inspiration to me.
How bad can it be you wonder? Well, go read it, but to summarize, about 4 1/2 years ago he spent 16 weeks in an induced coma followed by months of physical therapy. He’s had multiple surgeries and been in and out of the hospital and unable to work since. His situation now?

Now, at this time, I now am diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis, diabetes, renal insufficiency, fatty liver, portal hyper tension, parathyroid condition, hypertrygliserosis, insulin resistance, inflamed spleen, inflamed panceas, herniatic intestine, nausia, chronic back pain, depression, OCD, PCSD, and as of last Wednesday, a infractured right foot (which I got from a fall when I blacked out). So try to deal with all of that along with financial devestation, raising a seven year old, and keeping a marriage healthy, and in a constant state of needing help from church, family, and state. We scrape, beg, plead, and generally have to ask for help consistantly. On top of all that, I am writing all the time. Not just this blog, but a book of poetry, a juvenial fiction novel, a full length Christian Sci-Fi novel in comic book form, and some advanced notes on reformation needs within contemporary New Testament Christianity. Oh, did I mention my spoiled dog? Well, needless to say, I recieved bad news this morning. My kidneys are rapidly failing, and I will probably need to go back on dialysis, maybe even within the week. This is a big bummer. I hate dialysis.

Meet with Paul and you’d have no idea that he was battling so much. He’s giving and joyful and revels in his God. Next time you complain about a sore back or a cold or sniffles, think about Paul and the folks like him and give thanks to God for your health.

Here’s out Christmas letter that went out by snail mail a month ago. Some of you already got this the old fashion way. It’s a rare case of the internet being slower than real life.
Dear Loved Ones,
As 2004 draws to an end, we thought we would share with you our very own Top Ten List:
The Schaefer Top Ten List of Things We Learned in 2004

10. Having three children in school all day is a blessing from Heaven! Although, Girl Scouts and Dance Lessons keep Mom in the car a lot! (all three girls are in dance again and new this year…Girl Scouts).
9. Seeing the President and the “Governator” is pretty exciting. (October–Victory Rally in Columbus)
8. Remodeling is hard work, but it’s really worth the benefits (this year we painted the hallway and remodeled the laundry room and made it a pantry as well as remodeled the girls’ bathroom).
7. Family Trips can be fun! (We went to Wisconsin for a week in March and Missouri for a week in August–we had a blast with Adam’s Family in St. Louis).
6. Having your own weblog is a creative and interesting outlet (Doug–salguod.net Check it out!)
5. Having a broken arm (Emily) and your tonsils out (Emily & Jessica) in one month is NOT fun! (July)
4. Turning 40 really isn’t so bad! (Maria/October)
3. Letterboxing is a cool new family hobby (See letterboxing.org if your interested).
2. Christmas is a truly wondrous time of year.

And the #1 thing the Schaefer’s learned in 2004 is:

1. God is Good and we are BLESSED!

Merry Christmas to you and yours this Holiday Season!

The Schaefer’s just returned from our annual holiday pilgrimage. Each year we make the rounds to see the Grandparents and this year we even added in two stops along the way compared to last year to see some old friends. It’s about 1,700 miles, four states, four Grandparents, three Great-Grandmothers and various aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.
We left Christmas eve afternoon after opening presents from Santa (He comes early to our house because he knows we have to go to Grandma and Grandpa’s) and got back late on the 2nd. First stop my family in Maumee, OH. Mom and Dad still live in the house I did most my growing up in, they’ve lived there for 28 1/2 years. Family traditions are huge in my family so Christmas there is full of tradition. It starts with a Christmas eve service at church. We got a late start from Columbus, the roads were bad and service was earlier this year, so we missed that.
After church we prepare for family and friends to arrive for snacks and Tom and Jerrys. A Tom and Jerry is a drink made with hot water, a shot of something (A whiskey and gin mix, I think. I drink mine sans alcohol and Dad mixes the drinks, so I don’t know), hot water and a batter made with eggs and confectioner’s sugar. (I can get the recipe if anyone’s interested.) Good, sweet and warm. There are plenty of snacks (home made cookies, cheese balls, crackers, etc.) and friends and family. The festivities don’t start until after the kids are in bed around 8:30 or 9:00. There’s usually 14 or so of us and we all sit around the dining room table and laugh and laugh. My great grandfather used to do this years ago and my Dad took over after that. He’s been doing it as long as I can remember. One day it will pass to me, hopefully long from now.
After our friends leave around 11:00 or so, the family cleans up a bit and then we gather around the Christmas tree to exchange family presents. Mom and Dad start by giving out one present of their choice. The recipient opens it and then chooses one of their gifts to give. We go on like that until about 2:00 or 2:30 in the morning. Fun stuff, lots of laughter.
The kids get up around 7:00, ready to open theirs. They take turns opening one at time, no chaos and flying wrapping paper at the Schaefer house.
This year was extra special. My Grandmother’s birthday is on Christmas eve, so it’s a part of the celebration too. This year, she turned 90 so my Mom threw a party on Sunday. Not a surprise party, somehow 40 or 50 people yelling ‘SURPRISE!‘ at a 90 year old woman didn’t seem like a good idea. But it was a bit of a surprise as she didn’t expect so many people. The immediate family yes, but extended family and folks from her job, no. Yes I said job, my 90 year old grandmother works. nights. For about 40 years she’s been the head usher at the Stranahan theater, the place where the Toledo Symphony plays, all the Broadway shows come and many concerts. My Grandma has seen more concerts than I have, by a real long shot. She saw Adam Ant when I was in High School. I didn’t.
Grandma has always been a blessing to our family. She’s always looking for some way to help. Even at 90, you’re likely to find grandma at the sink doing dishes after dinner. If my Mom got sick, she would bring over her Chop Suey for us to eat. Even now, she’s likely to be helping Mom and Dad by running to the store for them or something. In all my life, I’ve never heard her express any need or desire. Take her out to dinner and she’ll order the least expensive thing on the menu. Give her a menu without prices (we tried it once) and she’ll order chicken because she knows its cheap. That’s her at the right with my uncle Jack. Uncle Jack would be about 71 now, so I’m guessing that picture is about 60 years old. Grandma was quite attractive in her day.
We left Maumee on Monday morning the 27th and drove to Peru, IL to meet our best friends who had left Columbus for Wisconsin about a year ago. We miss them greatly and they miss us too so we arranged to meet for a night in northern Illinois. During our stay, we had a scare in the hotel pool. Our youngest, Audrey sliped off of the pool steps and was under water for a bit until Maria noticed her and jumped in and grabbed her. She spit up water and cried a lot, but was fine. It gives me chills thinking about it now.
We ate take out and snacks in the room and played canasta with our friends while the kids watched a DVD accross the hall untill they fell asleep. One night in a hotel in the middle of nowhere, $78. Dinner and snacks, $50. Friends that will drive 4.5 hours one way just to spend 12 hours with you in a hotel in a strange town, priceless. We hope that this will be a new holiday tradition.
We drove the rest of the way to Moberly, MO on the 28th and spent up until the 2nd with Maria’s family. Usually our family of 5 stays with Maria’s Mom and Dad along with Maria’s Brother’s family of four. Her Mom and Dad’s apartment is about 800 square feet. Cozy is a big understatement. This year, we stayed with Maria’s youngest brother about 2 miles from her Mom and Dad’s house while her other brother stayed with Mom and Dad. I think it was good for the sanity of all concerned. On Thursday we took a road trip to Rushville Illinois and back to visit Maria’s grandmother, a Steeves (Maria’s family) family holiday tradition. We did Christmas at Maria’s youngest brother’s house on Friday afternoon, throwing our crumpled up wrapping paper into the ceiling fan as is our tradition. Another tradition for Maria’s brothers and I is playing capture the flag on Driver 2 on PS 1. We laugh ourselves silly.
On Saturday afternoon we drove down to see friends of ours who used to live in Columbus. They moved to Columbia, about 45 miles from Maria’s family, about 3 years ago. We hadn’t seem them for two years and it was good to catch up. They used to go to church with us and attend a sister church in Columbia. It was good to visit with them about all that our churches have been through in the past 2 years. We met with them and Maria’s youngest brother and Mom for dinner at Steak and Shake and then headed back to Moberly.
On Sunday the 2nd we headed for home. After nearly 11 hours on the road, including dinner at Bob Evans, we arrived home at 9:45 PM and back to real life after a whirlwind tour full of driving, family, friends and laughter.

The Schaefer’s, like so many American families, write up a Chirstmas letter for our cards each year. This year is no exception, and in the letter, we mentioned that one of the new things in my life this year was this ‘blog. So I’m betting that over the next few weeks I get at least a casual look-see from quite a few family and friends wondering what in the world I’m up to.
Well, it’s always nice to have new visitors. Welcome, and thanks for stopping by. Leave a comment if you’d like, or email me to let me know you’ve stopped by. Come back again if you’d like and join in the conversation.

This morning as I’m laying in bed, trying to avoid starting my day (I love lazy Saturday mornings), I can hear Emily (7) and Audrey (5) ‘cleaning up’ in Audrey’s room.
Audrey says to Emily “Put it on your head, you’ll be an Indian!” Memories of cowboys and indians games are in my mind. I can hear the girls laughing in the other room, Emily saying “I’m an Indian! I’m an Indian!”
Then she comes into our room. I turn, expecting to see feathers, a headress or something like that. Instead, there’s a velcro dot stuck to her forehead.
Oh, that kind of Indian. 🙂

Well. my wife did it again (twice in one weekend!). She got me out of the house to experience something new, in this case Letterboxing Letterboxing is basically a scavanger hunt run by stangers. Someone has hidden a box somewher and you have to follow the clues tto find it. In the box you’ll find a rubber stamp and a journal. You bring your own journal and rubber stamp. You stamp your stamp in the box’s journal and the box’s stamp in your journal. Afer that, you dicreetly put it all back for the next person. Then, using the email addess at the Letterboxing site, email the person who left it to tell them you found it (or that it’s missing if you didn’t find it). It’s a mini adventure and a little connection with someone new.
We spend part of both Saturday and Sunday looking for 7 letterboxes in the Columbus area. We found 5 of them. In the process we foun a mid-1800’s graveyard in the middle of an apartment complex (with fresh flags on two graves!), explored a cool ravine in the same comlex, discovered a new park with a neat stream and another park with a 25 foot high rock wall along a creek. We also got to poke through a fair bit of underbrush, lift some rocks and get generally dirty. Pretty fun.
Maria told me at one point “See, I’m providing you with fodder for your blog.” I love this woman.

Today is one of the most important days of the year for me. More important that the birthdays of my children and my anniversary. Without today, those other days would not have been possible. Today is the birthday of my bride. She turns 40 and I’ve had the honor and privilege to spend about a third of those years with her. They’ve been the best years of my life, and they only get better and better.
Maria is everything I had hoped for in a wife and many things I wouldn’t have thought to ask for. When I first met her, at a super bowl party in 1992, I was intrigued by her and hung on her every word. In the coming weeks, I looked for excuses to spend time with her. We had out first date the following February first and by mid March we were dating steadily. I knew right away that she was the one for me, she required a little convincing. We were engaged on Halloween that year and married the following February.
It was her passion for life that drew me in. She wants to experience life to the full and she tackles everything with zeal. I was amazed at her, and still am. I’m a laid back guy, content to sit in my chair and watch TV, no matter what’s on. The world and all its wonders could be marching by my door and I would miss it for reruns of Friends. Maria has plans and dreams and she won’t be denied and I love that about her. She calls me to do more and experience more. I can’t do more than one thing at a time without loosing my sanity, and she takes on multiple projects at once and does them all well. She has opened me up to a whole new world.
She’s an amazing servant in our church. She’s famous for her home made note cards, which she gives to nearly every woman in the church on their birthday (she’s making some as I type this). She’s the first to volunteer to help a family that needs a meal or something else. And she isn’t content to just ship off a pot of spaghetti, but making sure there are bread sticks, salad and brownies too. Did I mention that she’s an incredible cook? In 11.5 years of marriage I can count the bad meals on one hand (not counting the ones I’ve made).
Most encouraging to me is that she has stood behind me in everything. When I took a job in Detroit during our engagement, she followed without complaint. When I said I wanted to come to Columbus on the mission team for our church, she backed me up despite the fact we had no savings and no job prospects in the Buckeye state. In the past year and a half, while I was going through a sort of crisis in my faith, she listened and supported me as I tried to find my way. And when I got the lame brained idea to have a meet of Ohio members of Odyclub, she drove an hour with me to meet with strangers about a minivan (Now that’s devotion!)
Our girls are turning into amazing women because of the amazing love of their mother. She’s absolutely committed to them, toting them to dance lessons and school activities, volunteering in each of their classrooms and staying home to make sure that they are being influenced more by us (her really) than anyone else. She reads the Bible to them every morning before school and it shows in their own love for God.
She’s an avid scrapbooker, having put the last several years of our lives together into an amazing series of a dozen and a half albums. The irony there is that she’s sparsely represented, usually behind the camera taking the shots. She’s one of the leaders (On the ‘house blessing team’ I think) at The Old Front Porch a scrapbooking, crafting and homemaking site. She’s also a frequent lurker here, so watch yourself. 🙂
She’s amazing and I am truly blessed to have her in my life. I love you, Maria, Happy birthday.

This week I sent to three ‘Curriculum Night’ events at my daughters’ school. I am completely amazed at teachers. My middle one’s in 2nd grade and her teacher talked a mile a minute about the curriculum, how he’d present it, what he expected of them, school values, his philosophy on handwriting and the umteen-zillion ways we can work with our child at home. He did this non stop for 45 minutes. He handed each of us a folder, about 3/8″ thick with the stuff we should read about our kid’s class. (I got one just as big from the kindergarten class and about have as much from the 4th grade class. At my reading pace I’d say it’s about a month of reading.) I was sitting there overwhelmed, thinking I can’t possibly do all this great stuff at home for one kid, let alone three! It was overwhelming just thinking of my role as a parent, let alone a teacher of 20-some 2nd and 3rd graders.
What absolutely blew me away was how psyched this young guy (2 years from college) was about teaching. I mean I would need a perfectly thought out and prepared plan for each day of the entire year and I’d still be a wreck thinking about it. I’m sure he doesn’t have that, he does it himself, and he obviously loves it. I know it’s extremely important and valuable, but how can anyone find this exciting? I’m amazed. I’m sure the thought of sitting at a computer doing CAD work would drive him up a tree too.
So, if you’re a teacher, my hat is off to you. You work hard with little reward (at least financially) in a job most of us wouldn’t want at twice your salary.
Thank you.