Schemper Christmas
Update 2013:
It’s officially that time of year again. We had our first blizzard of the year yesterday, served pumpkin pie today to our small group, the solar-powered dancing flower on my desk has stopped, and I’ve started paying more attention to my kids to catch any cute things I can report to you.
So let’s start with that.
Last night after supper, Greg was about to read our devotional book when Kate said, “Wait! I have two more questions for you! Dad, how do you know if God is speaking to you? And Mom, how do you clean your necklaces in that liquid stuff?” I know, right? How do I get all the hard questions! Kate Jayne is now 8.5 years old, half-way grown up! Greg co-coached her first rec soccer experience this fall. After the first practice, Kate was saying how she didn’t think they’d win any games but all that matters is that they have a “good time.” That attitude came in handy after their 1.5 wins all season (Greg tells me most people say, “1 win, 1 tie”). Kate loves to dance (she’s now in the sacred dance team at church), sing, act (she’s done some work in some of Greg’s students’ films), read, write, and play with her friends. She, along with her father, was able to turn a simple 3-point social studies project into a week-long film shoot. She got a 3. Sorry, they got a 3. And after a disturbingly provocative performance in our living room, Greg and I enforced a ban on no more “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus.” Good foresight on our part, and the dancing/attitude has improved substantially. Kate was begging us for her own room last week (Kate and Elia share a rather small room), so we put up a long rod and 2 white shower curtains down the middle of the room, cutting the room in half. I’m so wise. Like Solomon, who we’re reading about right now. Though without the dead baby.
After supper last night Elia started singing “If I were a rich man” as she danced around the house Gangnam-style, and then later hitting herself on the butt as she jumped across the room (ok, I may be responsible for that dance move). Greg took the girls to the Fiddler on the Roof at his high school last week. Elia is 6.5 years old, still, obviously, loves to dance, sing, be dramatic (at her parent-teacher conference, the term “drama queen” was mentioned at least two times), do science experiments and make bracelets. Kate and Elia took a 2-week dance class last summer, which ended in a fantastic routine to “Twist Your Hips,” which they later taught us. (You should see Greg twist his hips!) Yesterday Kate and I successfully (I think) talked Elia out of giving her picture to a boy she hardly knows in 2nd grade. I’m just going to let this one sit with you for a minute, so you can start praying for us.
I took Molly Ann (the cat) to get her nails clipped at the vet yesterday. As I was waiting, I couldn’t help but notice the whole “different” world of pet-lovers. One lady was talking about her dog’s “brother” (another dog??), and when someone asked a different lady how old her dog was, she said, “I don’t know, how old are you Sadie?” “How sad!” I thought, “that these people have lost their minds!” But when I put Molly back in the car and was lecturing her on her “attitude” with the vet (she’d hissed the whole time!), the irony was not lost on me. Oh, it’s still a little sad, but Molly is like people to us. Except when she licks her butt.
Greg is now a real godfather! (I say real because this time last year he said he felt he was someone’s godfather, he just couldn’t remember whose….) His youngest brother, Paul, had a son a few months ago, and Greg got the coveted role. Besides this new role, Greg is busy as ever with teaching Film I, Film II, Communications, and American Lit. He is helping with Catechism at our church, singing from time to time (at church and in an occasional wedding), and at this very moment, trying to get our 1995 Volvo to work again. It’s in several pieces in our garage. No need to worry though, this “shouldn’t take long!” Bless his heart. Greg finds himself torn between wanting a smartphone (he loves technology) and holding fast to our 7 year old flip phones (yes, there still are a couple of them out there—in our house!) As a high school teacher of media, he can really see the pros and cons of such technology and the effects it’s having on our relationships. Oh, I’m sorry, were you not listening to me? Greg and I have taken to giving each other the look when the kids are talking (or dancing provocatively)—you know, the deadpan look that Jim Halpert always gave the camera on The Office that said, “Are you hearing this?” We seem to be doing it a lot more as the kids grow older…I think the kids just assume we like to stare into each others’ eyes (which of course is a bonus).
The plan was, now that Elia is in First grade (full time school), I was going to start looking for a full-time job at the beginning of the summer. Fortuitously enough, a lady from our church who owns a home healthcare company, hired me mid-June to do HR work for her Holland office. I worked 3 days during the summer, and am now full-time permanently. Because my boss has been flexible with my hours (I get in 8:40 and the office closes at 4:30) I am able to drop the kids off at school still. I am enjoying working outside the house again…there is a certain civility to it. The only glitch is finding out how to not spend my entire weekend cleaning, doing laundry and getting groceries for the next week. I thought I’d had it figured out, I found someone who cleans for $15/hr, so I approached Greg with my idea. He (somehow) talked me into getting our girls violins and lessons instead with the promise he’d help me clean. (We’re hitting about 50/50 on that one). SO, now we’re officially those parents. Spanish-Immersion, private school, piano, and violin. Can you say “spoiled”? Well, our kids can…in two languages...maybe three—they take Mandarin 3 times a week too. For the most part we are used to our new routines, and my anxiety dreams have really slowed down. Though after a particularly busy week, I did have another dream where I had to clean a huge house, I was running late, and I had just turned 40. (Note: I have a good 2 years before that particular dream comes true!)
I think our only trips this past year were in the summer…First to the Nieuwsma family reunion in Iowa (I recently asked the kids where their dream vacation would be. Elia said, “Disneyland. No, wait—Iowa!”), then to a week at a cottage close to us with Greg’s whole family, and finally to a cottage with two other families (we try to get together once a year). Being slightly down on family traditions (I don’t like being told what to do), Greg and I started Friday Forced Family Fun Nights this fall, when we try to do pizza, games (I quite often win), conversation cards, or watch Cosby. This coming week is a particularly good one in the Schemper house…Wednesday Greg and I are going to a John Mayer concert in Grand Rapids, Thursday is Thanksgiving, and Friday is our little family’s Christmas celebration! Greg suggested it initially (I thought he was testing me because I have all the girl’s presents wrapped in the basement), but when he said the idea would be to make Christmas about Jesus’ birth, as opposed to getting presents, I thought, “Ooh, that’s reasoning we could really use!” SO, if you heard some partying going on the Friday after Thanksgiving, it was us. (This might actually be possible, as one of our presents for the girls is 2 wireless mics with an amplifier. Call me crazy.)
Well, you’re probably tired of reading about us! So I’ll bit you adieu. May God fill your new year with His grace, peace, and joy!
With love,
Greg, Sarah, Kate, Elia and Molly-The-Cat
Post Script:
Our before-Christmas Schemper family gift exchange went well! Only 2 meltdowns…but Greg is feeling much better now. Speaking of Greg, I thought he’d learned his lesson with “helping” Kate with homework, but just recently Kate was describing a group science project they were working on to use any materials to create a sound barrier (head phones). Greg’s eyes lit up and he quickly asked, “How much time do we have?!” I told him he has no time….I don’t know for sure, but I think he may be making his own in the basement, and I did catch him handing Kate a rubber strip yesterday morning to take to school. You’ll be glad to know that the microphones were a smashing success! Elia fell to her knees and sang, “I love this gift!” Greg and I have only had to fight the girls a couple times so we could practice our duets (we just send them to bed early if it gets to be a problem).
It’s officially that time of year again. We had our first blizzard of the year yesterday, served pumpkin pie today to our small group, the solar-powered dancing flower on my desk has stopped, and I’ve started paying more attention to my kids to catch any cute things I can report to you.
So let’s start with that.
Last night after supper, Greg was about to read our devotional book when Kate said, “Wait! I have two more questions for you! Dad, how do you know if God is speaking to you? And Mom, how do you clean your necklaces in that liquid stuff?” I know, right? How do I get all the hard questions! Kate Jayne is now 8.5 years old, half-way grown up! Greg co-coached her first rec soccer experience this fall. After the first practice, Kate was saying how she didn’t think they’d win any games but all that matters is that they have a “good time.” That attitude came in handy after their 1.5 wins all season (Greg tells me most people say, “1 win, 1 tie”). Kate loves to dance (she’s now in the sacred dance team at church), sing, act (she’s done some work in some of Greg’s students’ films), read, write, and play with her friends. She, along with her father, was able to turn a simple 3-point social studies project into a week-long film shoot. She got a 3. Sorry, they got a 3. And after a disturbingly provocative performance in our living room, Greg and I enforced a ban on no more “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus.” Good foresight on our part, and the dancing/attitude has improved substantially. Kate was begging us for her own room last week (Kate and Elia share a rather small room), so we put up a long rod and 2 white shower curtains down the middle of the room, cutting the room in half. I’m so wise. Like Solomon, who we’re reading about right now. Though without the dead baby.
After supper last night Elia started singing “If I were a rich man” as she danced around the house Gangnam-style, and then later hitting herself on the butt as she jumped across the room (ok, I may be responsible for that dance move). Greg took the girls to the Fiddler on the Roof at his high school last week. Elia is 6.5 years old, still, obviously, loves to dance, sing, be dramatic (at her parent-teacher conference, the term “drama queen” was mentioned at least two times), do science experiments and make bracelets. Kate and Elia took a 2-week dance class last summer, which ended in a fantastic routine to “Twist Your Hips,” which they later taught us. (You should see Greg twist his hips!) Yesterday Kate and I successfully (I think) talked Elia out of giving her picture to a boy she hardly knows in 2nd grade. I’m just going to let this one sit with you for a minute, so you can start praying for us.
I took Molly Ann (the cat) to get her nails clipped at the vet yesterday. As I was waiting, I couldn’t help but notice the whole “different” world of pet-lovers. One lady was talking about her dog’s “brother” (another dog??), and when someone asked a different lady how old her dog was, she said, “I don’t know, how old are you Sadie?” “How sad!” I thought, “that these people have lost their minds!” But when I put Molly back in the car and was lecturing her on her “attitude” with the vet (she’d hissed the whole time!), the irony was not lost on me. Oh, it’s still a little sad, but Molly is like people to us. Except when she licks her butt.
Greg is now a real godfather! (I say real because this time last year he said he felt he was someone’s godfather, he just couldn’t remember whose….) His youngest brother, Paul, had a son a few months ago, and Greg got the coveted role. Besides this new role, Greg is busy as ever with teaching Film I, Film II, Communications, and American Lit. He is helping with Catechism at our church, singing from time to time (at church and in an occasional wedding), and at this very moment, trying to get our 1995 Volvo to work again. It’s in several pieces in our garage. No need to worry though, this “shouldn’t take long!” Bless his heart. Greg finds himself torn between wanting a smartphone (he loves technology) and holding fast to our 7 year old flip phones (yes, there still are a couple of them out there—in our house!) As a high school teacher of media, he can really see the pros and cons of such technology and the effects it’s having on our relationships. Oh, I’m sorry, were you not listening to me? Greg and I have taken to giving each other the look when the kids are talking (or dancing provocatively)—you know, the deadpan look that Jim Halpert always gave the camera on The Office that said, “Are you hearing this?” We seem to be doing it a lot more as the kids grow older…I think the kids just assume we like to stare into each others’ eyes (which of course is a bonus).
The plan was, now that Elia is in First grade (full time school), I was going to start looking for a full-time job at the beginning of the summer. Fortuitously enough, a lady from our church who owns a home healthcare company, hired me mid-June to do HR work for her Holland office. I worked 3 days during the summer, and am now full-time permanently. Because my boss has been flexible with my hours (I get in 8:40 and the office closes at 4:30) I am able to drop the kids off at school still. I am enjoying working outside the house again…there is a certain civility to it. The only glitch is finding out how to not spend my entire weekend cleaning, doing laundry and getting groceries for the next week. I thought I’d had it figured out, I found someone who cleans for $15/hr, so I approached Greg with my idea. He (somehow) talked me into getting our girls violins and lessons instead with the promise he’d help me clean. (We’re hitting about 50/50 on that one). SO, now we’re officially those parents. Spanish-Immersion, private school, piano, and violin. Can you say “spoiled”? Well, our kids can…in two languages...maybe three—they take Mandarin 3 times a week too. For the most part we are used to our new routines, and my anxiety dreams have really slowed down. Though after a particularly busy week, I did have another dream where I had to clean a huge house, I was running late, and I had just turned 40. (Note: I have a good 2 years before that particular dream comes true!)
I think our only trips this past year were in the summer…First to the Nieuwsma family reunion in Iowa (I recently asked the kids where their dream vacation would be. Elia said, “Disneyland. No, wait—Iowa!”), then to a week at a cottage close to us with Greg’s whole family, and finally to a cottage with two other families (we try to get together once a year). Being slightly down on family traditions (I don’t like being told what to do), Greg and I started Friday Forced Family Fun Nights this fall, when we try to do pizza, games (I quite often win), conversation cards, or watch Cosby. This coming week is a particularly good one in the Schemper house…Wednesday Greg and I are going to a John Mayer concert in Grand Rapids, Thursday is Thanksgiving, and Friday is our little family’s Christmas celebration! Greg suggested it initially (I thought he was testing me because I have all the girl’s presents wrapped in the basement), but when he said the idea would be to make Christmas about Jesus’ birth, as opposed to getting presents, I thought, “Ooh, that’s reasoning we could really use!” SO, if you heard some partying going on the Friday after Thanksgiving, it was us. (This might actually be possible, as one of our presents for the girls is 2 wireless mics with an amplifier. Call me crazy.)
Well, you’re probably tired of reading about us! So I’ll bit you adieu. May God fill your new year with His grace, peace, and joy!
With love,
Greg, Sarah, Kate, Elia and Molly-The-Cat
Post Script:
Our before-Christmas Schemper family gift exchange went well! Only 2 meltdowns…but Greg is feeling much better now. Speaking of Greg, I thought he’d learned his lesson with “helping” Kate with homework, but just recently Kate was describing a group science project they were working on to use any materials to create a sound barrier (head phones). Greg’s eyes lit up and he quickly asked, “How much time do we have?!” I told him he has no time….I don’t know for sure, but I think he may be making his own in the basement, and I did catch him handing Kate a rubber strip yesterday morning to take to school. You’ll be glad to know that the microphones were a smashing success! Elia fell to her knees and sang, “I love this gift!” Greg and I have only had to fight the girls a couple times so we could practice our duets (we just send them to bed early if it gets to be a problem).
