Carl-isms

In the beginning of October we got the sweetest and most handsome puppy, Carl Duane Schneider. We are both a tad obsessed...like he's our real child or something. I mean, I do hold him like a baby on my hip often. That won't last too much longer. He's getting quite large.

Carl also has the coolest and weirdest personality. Some examples: When he sleeps and you pet him, he grunts...a lot. He sounds sort of like an old man. When he eats, he doesn't chew his food. He inhales it. Sometimes he will puke it up afterward because it couldn't digest. I know, disgusting. He sleeps in any and every position he can. He still pees like a girl. He thinks he's a hound dog (especially when he catches moles at grandma and grandpa Schneider's). He can high-five. When he hasn't seen you for awhile he will cry, wag his tail, and stuff his face in your legs because he's so excited. And one of my fav's, he's really bad at licking. His tongue is so long that it gets stuck for a moment and then he tries to finish. It's weird and hilarious. You have to see it to truly understand.

He's our baby right now:)

from Greenville to STL

We've been living in St.Louis for a month this weekend! That's crazy! Time has already gone by super fast. We love it here so far. Me, being from here, it hasn't taken too much time to adjust to city life again, but my husband on the other hand....he came from Centralia, IL. Ever heard of it? Yeah, me neither until I met him:) It's a bigger town than Greenville, IL though! So we moved from Greenville, IL, population= 7,000 people to St. Louis, population= a lot more. I'm trying to get used to city life again. I think what I miss the most is being able to call up a girlfriend and tell them I'm going stop by in 2 minutes. No, here in the city, everyone is way busier and they don't live just 2 minutes away. You have to plan more. Ugh. We LOVE our apartment. Its in Richmond Heights, MO..nice and safe. Highway 40 is basically our backyard, but we are getting used to sirens, loud trucks, and people accidentally driving on the rumble strips. That first week I woke up a lot from loud noises, but now it's all good. Side note...I woke/wake Scott up a lot still from my crazy sleep talking and crazy actions I do in my sleep. I like to hear the stories every morning...I make me laugh.
We found a great church, we have great friends, we love our place, everything is convenient, but our jobs are just ok. Mine is getting a lot better, but it's just taking time to build the program. Scott is job searching again...yay!(said in a very sarcastic tone). God has still been so faithful and his provision never fails. Our awesome neighbor only made us pay him one small fee and now we have internet for almost free! Jered, my bro-in-law, gave us his bunny ears (antenna), so we get the 3 best channels (the Office, Modern Family, the news, Biggest Loser)! AND I have a sweet deal picking up kids from school everyday and taking them to sports practices or home to make some extra mula every week! Seriously, that all happened in one day. God is good all the time, for realz. Here are some pics of our new apt...it still basically looks this way except no white patches on the wall anymore:)

an anxious heart.

Lately our lives have been crazy. Everything is up in the air right now. It probably has been one of the hardest times of my life. God promises there will be trials and tribulation, but we will grow through them. When you are actually faced with it, wow, it's a lot harder to deal with. I know all of the answers; I know how I'm supposed to react to them. I want to fully trust God, I want to have faith that He will provide, I want to live everyday without worrying, I want to trust that everything will be o.k. I'll admit, for about a month, my anxiety has taken over. There are days I'm fine and there are more days my stomach hurts thinking about everything.

Why do I think that if I try to plan before we have answers that it will make me feel better? It won't. Wednesday night I finally hit rock bottom with my anxiety. I realized I was completely unhealthy in my thinking. I talked to Scott all about it and we prayed together. The next morning I woke up with a peace that God promises, that I hadn't had before. I wrote down tons of scripture to fill my mind with truth. What a difference it makes to fill my mind with the Word rather than with my crappy thoughts. I am so thankful for a God who is sovereign. I am so thankful for a God who knows whats best for me. I am so thankful for a God who is faithful when I'm not. I am so thankful for a God who never changes. I am so thankful for a God who already has a plan for our lives! I am so thankful for a God who loves me unconditionally. I am so thankful for a God who provided me with a husband who IS and HAS BEEN completely trusting Christ through this hard time and who has encouraged me daily. I am so thankful for a gracious and merciful God.

I am finally thankful for our situation. I have already learned a lot through it. God's promises NEVER fail. Though we don't have a plan yet, He does:) What a beautiful Savior we serve. To God be the glory forever and ever!!

"The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to His children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear Him. For He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust." Psalm 103:8

patience and trust.

Yesterday Scott had another interview in Centralia for the school where he really wants to be a teacher. We haven't heard anything back from his last interview yet. I have been kind of, ok, a huge nervous wreck. I try to fool myself and say that I'm not nervous and that "God knows best", but deep down I haven't been truly believing that like I know I need to. What if Scott doesn't get a teaching job again this year? I kept thinking that last night and it did me no good. I prayed last night and this morning that the Lord would help me to completely trust Him and truly believe that He already has a plan. I know all of the answers, but it's a lot harder when I'm put to the test. Thankfully my husband is a man of God and told me about five times last night, "Jane, if I don't get a job, it's alright! I don't want it if God closes both doors. For some reason he may still want me to work at R.P. Lumber and I am thankful I have a job right now." Wow. I should be the one saying those encouraging words to HIM, considering he's the one that has to interview! Wife fail. I so badly want Scott to get a job because I know how bad he wants it and I know how amazing of a teacher he will be. He will be such a light to whatever school the Lord places him in.

I woke up this morning having more of a peace than I had last night. I feel awful for not trusting our CREATOR. He DOES know what's best! I have an issue because I need to think on the things that are true as Philippians 4:8 tells me to. He hasn't even been denied anything yet. Chill out Jane!!! God has blessed us so much already and I need to be thankful for what we have. I need not to be greedy. We will be just fine! I know that, I just need to put it into practice.

I praise God for his grace on my unbelief and his faithfulness in our lives.

"Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry for itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own." Matthew 6:34

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Matthew 6:27

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6

"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7

a great week

This week was a great week for both Scott and I.  Work went well, Scott and I stayed up late having fun conversation a few nights in a row, God blessed Scott with the opportunity for an interview, and Scott may be bringing home a motorcycle tonight he found on craigslist....mm yeah, the motorcycle and the interview are probably tied on his list of excitement.  I'm really excited about most of that list and will be more excited when I actually get to go on a motorcycle ride. I trust when he sees it he will make a wise decision about buying it, right Scott?  Please be praying for Scott's interview on Wednesday!  Now we get to see Chrissy and Elijah for the weekend along with enjoying Amie's baby shower for Blake Douglas (I like to call him Blakey D) in Chicago on Sunday!  Lots of babies in my life right now to hold me over until I'm ready someday.  Have a great weekend!

couldn't resist

oh, how i long for our sweet carl...

Lord willing, Scott and I will be moving sometime in May or June. Do we know where yet? nope!! I know this may be weird, but one of the things I would say we are both most excited about moving is to be able to finally get a puppy! We have decided we probably are going to get a golden. His name is Carl. We talk about him like we already have him. We are weird, I know. I can't wait to take him on walks, to snuggle with him, to play with him in the yard, to be mad at him when he chews my shoe up, to discipline him when he pees or poops on the carpet and to love him!! I'm waaaaayyyy more excited about that right now than having a baby....I'm not ready for that yet. No thank you...maybe in a few years. Golden Retriever's are great puppies and they grow up to be awesome and beautiful dogs. My mom has a golden named Patrick, and he is definitely one of my best friends. He's the coolest dog ever! I hope Carl will be able to live up to Patrick's standard. It won't be hard for Carl to be smarter than Patrick, because Pat is pretty dumb, but he still is amazing. Carl, mommy and daddy are coming for you soon!!!

puppy fever

Lately, I've been having puppy fever bad! Yeah, there are definitely times I have baby fever, but then I give myself a reality check. I'll just enjoy my nephew and friends' babies for now.  Our landlord basically made it impossible for us to have a dog. He said we could and then gave us a list of things that would have to happen first. No thanks. We will wait until we move.  The next place we move, we will make sure we are allowed to have a sweet puppy. We would love an English Bulldog, but I heard they are expensive because they have lots of issues that need to be taken care of. We already talk about our dog like we have one.  His name will be Karl. Scott chose it. I told him we can name our dog that, but not our child. Nothing against that name for a person if that's your name:)  Dogs are great for a lot of reasons. Most of the time they have so much personality, you can take them on walks, they are snuggly, they sit by you when you are sad, they can be your vacuum cleaner, and they love you no matter what. Karl, we will pick you up soon!

crazy einstein woman

Yesterday I went to the dermatologist...finally.  I have sunspots on my face and I've been meaning to get them checked out for awhile now. I went to a doctor in Carlyle, Dr. DuComb. First the nurse came in and asked me a bunch of questions.  I thought she was Dr. DuComb. Nope! In comes Dr. DuComb singing my last name along with some other lyrics I couldn't understand. She had crazy, curly hair that looked like Einstein's and she talked about a thousand miles/hour. I had to have her repeat herself several times. After she stopped singing, she gave me a mirror to hold, turned off the lights, and held up a light to my face. Welp, my sunspots were a lot nastier in that lighting than they are in regular lighting...thankfully.  I found out it wasn't just from the sun.  It's a combination of 3 different things: being a female (hormones), genetics, and UVA rays. She told me everything I needed to do and said goodbye.  It would've been nice if she talked a little slower, but thankfully when she left the room the nurse re-explained everything she said and wrote down what I needed. I was happy I can use skin lightner, until I found out it would cost $240 for the skin lightening cream!!! That's just sick. That will have to wait. She did give me some good recommendations while I was there:
1. a bar of soap is the best thing to use on your face and body (specific kinds are best)
2. lotion is just water. body cream is best for face and body.

If  you think about it, that's what was used back in the day and it worked well. It will save us money too!  Anyways, I did purchase what she recommended and I also have to wear sunscreen on my face everyday. I guess it's time to start taking care of my skin so I don't get skin cancer.  I don't want to look like this lady:

a bowl of soup

I stayed home from work twice last week due to a nasty, nasty cold.  It's that time of the year in the midwest when the weather can't make up it's mind, so we all get sick. Not fun. Staying home from work is nice, but not really when you are sick. I haven't laid on the couch for a full day straight since I was probably in high school.  My body needed it.  Monday morning I woke up with a stuffy nose.  I still went to work and even worked out afterward. When I got home, I knew it was coming on strong.  I decided to make some good 'ol homemade chicken noodle soup...well, not from a can at least:)  My mom used to take care of me all the time when I was sick.  I do admit, I can be a baby when I'm sick.  This was the first time since we've been married that I've been sick.  I guess I expected Scott would be just like my mom when I'm sick...I should never assume.  He didn't know I was a big baby either, so it took him by surprise when I wanted him to, somewhat, wait on me hand and foot (I try not to ask him to do much for me usually:)  I am thankful I made a huge pot of chicken noodle soup on Monday that was able to last us all week!  So all Scott had to do was warm that up...and attempt to make grilled cheese for the first time.  He did great, though his specialty is Hamburger Helper.  Now he knows next time I get sick he will have to turn into my mom:)  A bowl of soup a day took my pain away...well, I like to think so.