VBS

Mark and I had the privilege of serving on the Chicago VBS committee this year. Even though it was a little nutty since we just got back from Jamaica when it started, it was a wonderful time. Here are a few pictures to enjoy.

The Junior High class building chairs to donate to the Gateway Woods Sale

Braden and Alexa "doing their craft"

Julie reading to the youngest class

The Junior High class

The Youngest class

I have a picture of the middle class somewhere but can't seem to locate it now. I'll post it when I find it.

Who do I look like?

Zoie here. From the time I was born people said I look like mommy. While that is undeniable, I think I may have a bit of my daddy too. Here are some pictures for comparison. Let me know what you think.

Zoie 9 Months

Daddy 9 Months

Zoie 1 Year

Mommy 19 Months



I want to know your thoughts! ~Zoie

Pomp and Circumstance

My first "baby" (aka Amanda) graduated high school this weekend. We are very proud of her and love her sooooo much. She is a wonderful Aunt and great sister. Love you "short child."

Table Manners

As you know, 1 year old children do not have table manners. Recently Zoie has found lots of fun finding food and eating it all by herself.

Zoie loves bananas. The other day she found one I had put in her diaper bag. I saw that she had it but hadn't worried about it too much. Well she was able to peel it by herself and proceeded to eat the entire thing. She was just so happy and content, I let her do it. Glad we have hardwood in the living room.




Friday she was playing in the kitchen. I could hear her and all of I sudden I could tell she had a spoon. She had pulled a half-eaten yogurt from breakfast off the table and the spoon. It was soon no longer half-eaten...and the spoon wasn't really necessary. Notice the yogurt all over her hair and clothes. She had another bath after that.

Zoie's Grandmas

Zoie is very blessed to have so many Grandma's. As Mother's Day has just passed. I thought I'd acknowledge all the love of Zoie's Grandmas.

Below is my mom, Zoie's Grandma Sonia. Zoie probably knows her the best, as she is who we've spent the most time with. Zoie loves Grandma. Potentially because Grandma will ALWAYS pick her up when she wants to, gives her favorite foods, and just generally gives her lots of love. Either way, Mark thinks that Grandma Sonia ranks higher than he does some days.


The next is Grandma Lindberg. Zoie hasn't spent as much time with her but every time she has Zoie definitely loves her Grandma. She went to her right away when we landed in Georgia and had lots of fun playing with her. Grandma Lindberg knows lots about babies and how to love them.

Great-Grandma Kuntz is my mom's mother. Great-Grandma likes to come visit Zoie whenever she gets the chance. I have many fond memories with my Grandma.

This is Grandma-great Schumacher (I have the wording right, Grandma-great is the name Ali bestowed upon Grandma-great Schumacher to not mix it up with her other Grandma). Mark's mom's mom. We have spent more time with her and that side of the family since Grandpa went home to heaven earlier this year. Mark often talks of all the fun things he did with Grandma. We hope Zoie is able to have many memories just like her Daddy does.

This is Great-Grandma Vercler, my dad's mom. We've gone to visit her in the nursing home many times. Unfortunately her mind isn't very good. Sometimes she knows who we are and other times not.

Finally, we have Great-Grandma Lindberg. She is Mark's dad's mom. She is a very active busy lady, who can teach us a lot about strength of character. We love her very much and glad to live closer.

Mommy's Sidekick

Today while we were out running errands, a lady asked Zoie if "she was mommy's sidekick for the day." I responded..."she's mommy's sidekick everyday."

As I left I thought about it a bit and really appreciated how much time Zoie and I spend together. While there are certainly times I need a break, I'm thankful I get to be with my little sidekick.

Guess who is 1

ZOIE

It's hard to believe but a year has come and gone. Here are some pictures to enjoy.



Someone really happy about her cake.



11 months old

10 months

9 months

8 months

7 months

6 months

5 months

4 months

3 months

2 months

1 month

1st week home

Home Improvement Nuts

Here are a few pictures of the work Mark has been doing on the basement. We had to cut a hole in the basement floor to put the plumbing in to add a bathroom. Now he is busy framing the walls. Are we a little nuts?

What it looked like 3 weeks ago

What it looked like 2 weeks ago

What it looks like today

Wedding and Chocolate Mousse

Troy and Carrie's wedding was at the end of March. This is very exciting for the Chicago church as two of our wonderful young singles joined become a wonderful young couple (which also means they are not moving away).

Zoie enjoyed the wedding (my parents also attended). Visits with her grandparents and Grandpa feeding her chocolate mousse made for a wonderful day. Here are a few pictures.

Dessert with Grandpa

The happy couple

Touch the fishey

On our trip to Georgia last month, we had the opportunity to go down to what I affectionately call the "hippie aquarium," otherwise known as the Gulf Sea Specimen Lab. This aquarium in Panacea, FL, is not like your typical aquarium. In one of the first buildings it has a series of "touch tanks" where you can pick up and touch the various sea creatures.

It takes a bit to work up the nerve to stick your hand in the tank...but it's very cool. They are currently redoing one of the buildings, so it's a little smaller than usual. Not that it is very big to begin with. It isn't fancy but I haven't found anything else quite like it. This was my fourth trip down. Mark never had the opportunity to go before, so we all went as a family. Here are some pictures from our recent trip.

Matthew getting Zoie to try it

Ben and the squirter...when you pick it up it squirts water at you. If you give it tiny squeeze, it makes a great squirt gun.

Me with the crab


The sign out front