Happy 2017! I just wanted to post here that I've started a weekly blog for the year, which you can find at:

www.figuringitoutatforty.com

You are scheduled to read a very long Christmas blog. If you feel as though you’ve come upon this in error, or if you need extended time, please raise your hand now.

Last Saturday I administered an ACT test at Greg’s school, which involves five hours of me explaining the rules and then staring at the wall as they take the tests. (My favorite rule is the ban of all tobacco products--the explanation of which goes on for quite some time--as if a student would be dangling a cigarette from his mouth at 8 am in a classroom.) Anywho, during my staring time, I was able to read a wide range of quotes Greg’s co-worker has covering the walls of his room. I picked out some of the more applicable ones to share with you now:

We leak what we love. –Bob Goff

If we leak what we love, Kate is leaking love. She cannot get enough of her parents (understandable) and tells us she loves us every time she sees us. I don’t know what to make of this, honestly. When I go away for a night or five, she hands me a note and a picture so I don’t forget what she looks like. She kissed a rock and gave it to me so that I can remember her always. Unfortunately for her, I’m not sentimental and I hate clutter, so I may have kept the rock for a week, then thrown it outside. While Kate does not show the same amount of affection towards her sister, she is a caring, thoughtful sister and friend. Kate is displaying some pre-teen tendencies including emotions, fast talking, maturity, and more emotions (Elia calls them “her-mones.”) She is in middle school now, has her own assigned laptop, listens to a great deal of music, reads 1-2 books a week,  loves to create hair styles on her mannequin head and to make movies or music videos…sometimes of her parents dancing which she then shares with non-family members. We are embracing her fun, loving nature and her love of us which will never change.

What does Elia leak? Not a love of stuff or money…she still literally throws money around as if it were a scratch piece of paper (when the girls opened their bank accounts last summer they scraped together all their cash. Kate had $102; Elia, $13.) She does not love her own room (she still begs Kate to let her sleep on her floor). She does seem to have an affinity for organizing people, cuddling with her mom (sheesh, am I popular?), knitting, Harry Potter, journaling and writing plays, lists and notes. To see how she keeps her backpack and room you’d think she’s really carefree, but she doesn’t like to make mistakes (apparently she doesn’t think leaving an apple in her bag for weeks is a mistake) and wants to get things right! Elia is super excited to turn ten in April; you see, in our house you find out who your tooth fairy is at 8, and how babies are made at 10. She had a pretty good idea of her tooth fairy (I got sloppy) but we’ll see about the other. She is determined, thoughtful, and shows a great deal of empathy for others.

Our calling is not so much choosing as it is listening. –John Ortberg

Greg is in the groove of life. Sometimes it’s not as deep as others, but he is enjoying his 16^th year teaching. If you ever need someone to volunteer his time, ask Greg, though not right now cause he’s heading up the HC Film Club (they watch movies at our house), Anime Club, The Focus (a student-lead news show), and open mic nights…and that’s just at school. At church he’s taken over my Sunday school class (I no longer love that) and teaches Children’s Worship. Maybe Greg is listening too well. But he’s quite content, doesn’t get much sleep, and is using his gifts.

Because Greg likes to renovate a three-season porch everywhere we live, he was able to complete this project at our present home, turning an otherwise useless hot tub room into our dining room. (Pictures to follow.)

I recently took the Strength Finder quiz at work, and it revealed my top strength is empathy. This surprised no one but my family. (Apparently I don’t take wimpiness well.) I was able to travel for work three times this year, my first business trip to Florida (yay!) in February, a trip to Brown County in the spring, and Pennsylvania in the fall. I’m not sure I’m as good as a “listener” as Greg is—figuratively speaking of course (though I find people do mumble an awful lot!) but am constantly reminding myself to be open to new callings, big and small. (Not as small as Sunday school, mind you.)

What would men be without women? Scarce, sir…mighty scarce. –Mark Twain

Greg is surrounded by women. Bless his heart. Oh, we had a male, house-trained bunny, Bublé (as in Michael Bublé) for a month, but sadly I got tired of caring for his endeavors, so we passed him on to a good home. So Greg puts up with the community’s emotions, plays Kate’s games (in a recent round of M.A.S.H. it was revealed that he’s destined to have 100 children and be homeless), and tries enforcing a less-to-no television rule. (Good luck, Buddy, especially when season two of Fuller House comes out!) Every time one of the girls says something inappropriate at the dinner table Greg yells, “We need a boy!” But he is adored, especially by Molly (the cat), who sleeps on his clothes, in his closet, and on his side of the bed.

I have not failed! I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.  –Thomas Edison

I think it’s imperative to allow my children to see me try at something and fail. Which is why I’ve done it a few times this year. I tell them it’s not about the end result always, it’s that we try. I’m proud that Elia tried out for a club at school. We’re keeping her first rejection letter. She also recently tried out for an acting role in the 4^th grade musical, and said that though she’ll probably cry if she doesn’t get a call-back, she’ll be comforted if she can sleep on Kate’s floor and if I can buy her something. Good lessons.

Greg’s new thing is to burn food. He’s what I like to call “a burner.” Popcorn, eggs, pizza. All well done. Maybe if he wasn’t head of so many clubs he’d have more time to focus on what he’s doing. Recently Greg was telling us about the new Uuni 2S, a $300 portable pizza oven which heats up to 930 degrees and cooks a pizza in 90 seconds flat.  I think he was serious in wanting it (he normally is), to which I retorted, “What, so you can burn things faster?!” I’m a very witty person.

A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.  –Bernard Meltzer

Greg and I will be celebrating 14 years of marriage this month! I said to him the other day that we hadn’t fought in a long time. To which he said, “Well, what would we fight about?!” We stared at each other for a beat then at the same time said, “money/time management/car repairs.” So, yeah, those are still viable options, but I think my point was that we’ve gotten good at this marriage thing. That, and the cars have not needed a complete overhaul this year.

Three o’clock is always too late or too early for anything you want to do.  –Jean-Paul Sartre

Ok, I can see the point Jean-Paul was trying to make (don’t use time as an excuse), but there actually are instances where three o’clock is too late to do something. Let me give you an example.  It was mid-day on a Saturday, and my family was coming over for dinner at five to celebrate my dad’s 70^th birthday. I’m cleaning and putting groceries away, and Greg decides it’s a good time to take the faucet off our kitchen sink. (We’d just purchased a new one you see—more mid-century modern.) “This won’t take long,” he assures me, then proceeds to struggle with bolts and do-dads under the sink until 4:45. Do you know how hard it is to cook a meal for nine people with no sink? Well, now I do.

Greg began his own film production company, Schemper Productions, LLC. He did one house film for a realtor friend of ours, then school began and it’s been shelved until next summer. This was neither late nor early, but launched Greg’s new motto of “investing in himself” this year. I’m not sure what the dividends are on Greg, but if anyone wants to get in on the ground floor…

I think it was about five o’clock on the Friday before Labor Day when Greg decided he was going to re-roof the garage. The good thing about this late timing was that a few friends didn’t have time to make plans to leave town in time to escape helping him in 80 degree heat and 99 percent humidity. Suckers!

I’m broken and (s)he doesn’t seem to mind.  –Father Joe

Elia began a list of regrets in her life. I think I’m responsible for most of them, as they include moving, Molly not being able to have babies, Bublé no longer being a member of our family, and the hot tub being gone. See…she’s a writer!

We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.  –George Bernard Shaw

Greg created a sled run along the side of our house (which I lovingly refer to as “the death ride”).  He cut down some small trees one afternoon (around 3 o’clock) and padded the sides with logs and leaves which forethought had kept us from raking this fall. Greg also moved a pottery wheel into our basement and bought 50 pounds of clay for our children to explore with. When I was away in Pennsylvania, he and Elia collected moss and were fashioning a miniature house on our kitchen counter for a week. Greg is a dreamer and explorer, which makes him an excellent teacher and father to our dreamers and explorers. Oh, I like to play too, it just needs to be more organized. Like the 40^th birthday party my friend and I did end up throwing for ourselves last year at a distillery. We each sang some solos, Greg and I sang “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” only with me singing the male part (just to mix things up a bit), and then I handed the mic over to Greg, who dedicated “Thinking Out Loud” to the birthday girls. Since Greg doesn’t want a big deal made of his 40^th birthday (in January), I asked if he’d mind if I threw myself a big 41^st birthday party. Too much? We’ll see…

Boy, it’s really hard to look at a tower of my shame.  –Elia Schemper

This was not on the classroom wall, but it stuck in my mind all the same. You see, Elia decided she was going to start charging herself change for every time she sinned. After she’d done this a day or two she was stacking the change and, well, you get the picture. I find that confidence is a roller coaster in our home, and most of the time the girls are on the upswing. For Elia’s Sunday school program everyone was to bring a wrapped gift and write their “gifts” on the box. Elia grabbed the marker from my hand and didn’t stop writing for five minutes: acting, dancing, singing…you  name it. We were driving to Grand Rapids for Thanksgiving and overheard Kate say, “Elia, we’re two of the most creative people in the world, we should be able to come up with something to do in the car!” After I finished laughing, Greg said, “I’m not sure you’re even the two most creative people in this car!” We’re trying to pull them down a bit. How did this happen? I mean, Kate I can see, because she was our first child and we over-shot…for the first year we clapped every time she farted. (We no longer do this.)

I just had the worst nightmare…it was like a orror story! What? Do you pronounce the “h” in English?  –Kate Schemper

Kate does a lot of reading inside her head. I guess she’s officially considered bi-lingual (Spanish) and is now in a “maintenance program.”

So I was going to the bathroom at school, and I thought to myself, did I pull down my pants as I was walking into the bathroom? I hope I at least waited until the door was closed!  I mean, there were no cameras…we’ll just say that I did.  –Elia Schemper

I have no comment on this.

Comparison is the thief of joy.  –Theodore Roosevelt

I can see where this would normally be true, but I have one instance in which comparison brought us a lot of joy. Not sure if you’ve heard, but we were on the cover a magazine this year. Oh yes. South Shore Neighbors, a hyper-local magazine about (white) Hollanders. We’re the March cover family. It wasn’t until the issue came out and I was reading it out loud in the car (on the way to parent teacher conferences) that we realized what hillbillies we sounded like. We were laughing so hard we were crying. As if that weren’t enough, a week later we received Lakeside Living, the north side magazine. So, same month, both families of four. Here’s how we stacked up:

Article Title:

Us: “The Schempers: Local Life, Global View”

Them:  “The Wilderers: German Family Receives Warm Holland Welcome”

Okay, apples to apples…

Places Lived:

Us:  Ontario (Canada), Liberia and Nigeria (Africa), Michigan, Iowa, and California.

Them: Johannesburg (South Africa), Erlangen and Munich (Germany), Shanghai (China), Jakarta (Indonesia), Bangkok (Thailand), Colorado, and Michigan.

Oh, crap.

Jobs:

Us:  Sarah holds a degree in communications from Dordt College in Iowa. “I work as a resident program coordinator (activities) thanks for the explanation, Sarah at Freedom Village Holland Retirement, where I plan day trips, activities, speakers, and book weekly entertainment,” she explained. This position plays to Sarah’s strengths. She explained, “As sad as it may sound, I really like organizing stuff!” She laughed….In her spare time, Sarah writes a family blog, that she updates annually, for family and friends. I’m sorry, did you just say “annually?”

Them:  After earning her Master of Science in social science and business studies from the University of Bamberg in Germany, she continued with a Ph.D. in international management which is completed at the University of Oldenburg in Germany…Currently Mirka serves as the vice president and general manager of the Separation Technologies Segment of Evoqua Water Technologies. The Holland location is one of Evoqua’s largest manufacturing facilities that builds equipment for multiple Evoqua business segments, and ships these globally. Come again?

Pets:

Us: An honorary child is the family cat, Molly, “Who Greg says I love too much,” Sarah joked. “Greg taught her to raise her paw when she’s asking for food, and still if she’s asking for something she’ll do this.”

Them: The Wilderer family has two dogs, Lilly and Ginger. “Lilly is two years old; we rescued her from the Humane Society in Colorado Springs,” Andy shared. “She is a German Shepard/American Eskimo/Chow mix.” Though shy at first, Lilly quickly warms up to people, giving them lots of love and kisses. …Their second dog, Ginger, joined the family at the end of January. “Ginger was just born in November 2015 in Montana,” the couple explained. “She is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever.” …Andy has started his training to become a dog trainer. He shared, “I volunteered with a dog rescue non-profit in Colorado Springs, that recues ‘problem dogs’ from death row, fosters them, trains them and helps place them in forever homes.” Did I mention our cat can lift her paw?

Travels:

Us: The Schemper family finds themselves traveling a fair amount, much of the time to visit loved ones. Since they lived in California for four years before moving to Michigan, they made the long journey to Michigan several times to see family. In addition, the family has attended extended family reunions in both Georgia and Iowa and even had three weddings in quick succession. Said Greg, “All three of my brothers got married within 14 months several years ago (one in Denver, one in Los Angeles, and one in Grand Rapids) so that was a busy year! Iowa you say? I think Ginger has traveled more than you have this year!

Them: This international family has lived and traveled all over the world, but they said their passion lately has been exploring the United States, especially their new home state of Michigan. Traveling in their RV, the Wilderers have discovered destination from coast to coast, and their latest endeavor has been seeing as many National Park sites as possible. “We have visited over 70 sites in 14 states,” Andy shared. “I like to collect the passport stamps and the kids are collecting Junior Ranger badges.” Of course they are.

Family fun:

Us: This bunch loves nothing more than hanging out together, whether it’s in the form of a planned activity or a spontaneous event that creates lifelong memories. “We try to implement a  Friday-Forced-Family-Fun Night (Kate is the enforcer),” Sarah explained. “Usually it includes games of some sort, and ends with an episode or two of one of our favorite shows, Dick Van Dyke. Thankfully the kids enjoy the same classics we do, so far!” This organized mom shared that the unplanned family moments seem to make the best stories. “Like when I put the girls in each other’s flower girl dresses accidentally, and didn’t find out until afterwards!” she laughed. “Or during one family fun night when we explored our new back yard after a recent rain, and most of us got stuck in the mud.” What a bunch of kooks!

Them:  In keeping with their love of exploration, the Wilderers shared an unforgettable experience they recently had as a family. “Last year, our special vacation was a hiking trip to Isle Royale National Park,” Mirka said. One of the most remote national parks, getting there is half of the excitement. “It took us about 11 hours driving 600 miles before we arrived in Copper Harbor,” Andy described. “From there we took the Isle Royal Queen IV for another three and a half hours across Lake Superior.” …The Family carried everything they needed with them on their excursion—food, water and shelter—and hiked a total of 24 miles in four days. “This does not seem like a lot, but with the rough trails and a four and eight-year-old, it was quite an adventure!” Andy said. In addition to visiting the national parks, this four-some loves to ski, bike, kayak and walk Michigan’s beaches. There’s a beach in Holland?

On our house (they, for some reason, didn’t talk for a paragraph about their house.):

Us: “The house has many build-ins like a whole house intercom/entertainment system, heat fans in the bathroom, built in desks, bed frame and furniture in several rooms,” I’m sorry, but it sounds like you’re bragging that you have furniture in several rooms …“while our kids were so sad to give up our old house (mostly because of the pool), it’s been fun for them to be able to play in the front yard for a change…” Yes, because the mud is in the backyard.

So there you have it…If only I could make this stuff up! Our only solace is that no one receives both magazines, so the comparison has been lost on them. Until today, that is.

It’s all about relationships and simply sharing life. What we are doing now—just doing this—and being open and available to others around us.  –William Paul Young, The Shack

Who knew I had so much to say! And I haven’t even started on politics! (I’ll abstain, as it’s Christmas and I don’t feel very Christmas-sy when I’m ranting.) Seems like every year there are losses and much sadness. Life seems precarious at best…but we continue to walk with each other through the good times and the hard times, and rest in the assurance that God holds us “in the palm of His hands.”

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.  –Nelson Henderson

Go plant some trees!

Merry Christmas Everyone! With lots of love, Sarah, Greg, Kate & Elia Schemper.

Postscript:

Well, Elia did not get a call-back. But she’s been sleeping well--on Kate’s floor with her new over-sized stuffed bear named “Cookie.” Fuller House (season two) was a huge hit—it comes highly recommended by the smaller people in our house. (Not Molly, she could take it or leave it. And she’s not a person, I guess.) And…at the end of January I’ll be changing jobs. I’ll be the Guest Services Manager at The Beach House, a 8-unit rental/fractional ownership resort near the state park in Holland! As hard as it will be to leave Freedom Village, I am excited about this opportunity! Check us out for your future vacation rental needs… I hear the service there is delightful!

Greg took the girls to the Harry Potter midnight launch party (The Cursed Child)

Schemper cousins!

view from the kitchen before...

the new dining room!

80's girls for Halloween 

Greg tried on a new suit...looked great, but couldn't sit down 

See, she's like people!

Buble (before I gave him away, obviously)

the "suckers," bless their hearts!

Molly Ann

I look like an angel! Oh, and this is my newest nephew Landon James.

Our new house! No windows in front, all windows in back.

Greg reading to the girls. They're on the 4th Harry Potter book.

Elia, Sarah & Kate

On the train to Chicago!

Sarah selfie

Greg selfie

Kate selfie (oh dear!)

Elia selfie

December 2015 Update:

I’m a googler. There I said it. I love to google. And since you can find out a lot about a person by what they google, here is a random snapshot of my browser history from past 12 months:

how common are skydiving accidents?

I don’t know if you are aware of the fact that I’m turning forty soon. (I hope you all are gasping right now out of respectful surprise.) So last spring I got the great idea to make a short documentary of me and two of my friends (who are approximately 32 days older than I) facing our greatest fears. Then, we’d show the movie at the Park Theater downtown where we’d have the biggest cocktail party ever and each do a song/dance number (including Total Eclipse of the Heart), which would be another fear—if not for us, then for our audience. We’d also, of course, make a music video reenacting Uptown Funk, with Greg following us around in the Volvo. Everyone would laugh, some would cry, but all would agree it was the party of the century. Sadly here’s another fun fact about me: I’m a talker. As in I’ll tell everyone my grand ideas, until they get all excited about them, then I’ll slowly back out because it’s too much work. (Can’t help it, and I’m too old to change.) So long story short, I’m not doing it anymore. I may, however, throw myself a “favorite things” party in January…but it’s too soon to tell for sure. 

homes for sale in holland, MI

I think it was March when Greg asked me if I’d ever thought about moving. My first thought was, “Oh crap, he wants to move back to Africa!” But no, he just meant that since we live on a busy street, and were not really pool people (correction—the girls are “pool people,” we are not) would we want to live someplace else. Two weeks later I found a place on Zillow, and after the second viewing we made an offer on the condition that our place sold. So that gave us Spring Break for Greg to quick finish his restored, hand-planked custom oak flooring and the renovated living room. He did it!  The house sold in two days, and we moved the end of May, just in time to coincide with the busiest time of Greg’s school year. (He is still alive.) And we love our new mid-century modern home. In keeping with tradition, Greg is renovating our current 3-season room to turn it into a 4-season dining room. We (Greg and I) have never had an ounce of regret about this move. Sadly our little pool people have taken longer coming around, but they admittedly are enjoying the open space and having their good friends right around the corner.

dianna ross’s children

My new favorite show is Blackish, starring one of Diana Ross’s daughters.

why do some old people get so cranky?

I’m still working full time as the Resident Programs Coordinator at Freedom Village where I get to plan many fun programs, entertainment, and trips.  Last spring my boss pitched a 12-day food & wine trip through Tuscany, and we were planning on going in the Fall until some residents had to back out. So instead we ended up going to Midland and Frankenmuth, of course, for three days and two nights. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but, comeon!

millennials

I had to search this because Greg says I’m “of the generation” that hates to commit to things (I think he said this right after I told him I’m anti-traditions.) I’m sorry, but why on earth would I put a tree in my house just because “that’s what people do?” It’s fine and good (and we did get one) but I just don’t like being told that I have to do something because “everyone else does!”

hipsters

My Millennials search led me to this. I’d never heard of it before!

yuppies

It dawned on me, after I dropped the girls off at their private school in the Volvo, that I may be a Yuppie. Nope, not young enough (me, nor the Volvo), not rich enough, not big city enough.

what does driving a volvo say about you?

Volvo drivers are people who value quality and safety over ostentation. They are often liberal, well educated, and upper middle class. Although the cars are pricey to buy and maintain, Volvo drivers see them as works of art--well-made machinery that protects their passengers, other drivers, and even pedestrians from the hazards of the road. Volvo drivers appreciate the cars' understated comfort and the manufacturer's concern for the environment.

There, that’s Greg’s paragraph. This year Greg has trimmed trees, fixed bathrooms, laid floors, replaced timing belts and struts, gardened, taught 200 teenagers English, film production and media, read almost nightly to his daughters, and planned a surprise weekend for me and some friends to see Beth Moore in Toronto! (Until I found out about it and took over the planning. We stayed at my Aunt Elaine and Uncle Len’s place, toured a bit of the city with my cousins, had a fantastic time…and Greg got all the credit!) What a Volvo driver.

what is the 13th anniversary gift

Lace or textile furs. See, this is why I’m an “anti-traditionalist.”

anti-traditionalist

Apparently this isn’t really a word.

nontraditional

not bound by traditional ways or beliefs: a nontraditional couple who are planning a very unconventional wedding.

Yeah, I can see that.

are the bananas really dying?

I had to see for myself, because Greg is often a bit of an alarmist. (And yes, apparently there’s some horrible banana disease that may wipe them out in the matter of years.) Greg informed us of this while the girls were quietly enjoying a banana. Other areas of alarm? It turns out nail polish contains highly toxic chemicals (including formaldehyde) which are particularly dangerous for developing girls. (“So…” Elia said, “I shouldn’t be biting off my polish?”) Apparently the idea of his wife skydiving is not “prudent” (a mother of two should not put herself in danger like that!”), the idea of his children owning a trampoline is not “safe” (after some googling I had to agree with him on this one.) He thinks he can pin-point my monthly freak-outs (neither true, nor wise), and he thinks his body is conspiring against itself by being forgetful in the morning, so that his adrenals kick in when he runs home to get his forgotten computer/lunch/pants. He also has the keen sense that people are watching us--just because I “refuse to” close our curtains. (We have a wooded back yard…granted we can see our neighbors now that the leaves have fallen.)  He came home the other night, said he’d driven by the back of our house, and “It’s like the Schemper show out there!” Greg also is starting to think that after three months of me putting off cutting his hair, I’m trying to make him “look bad.” Bless his ever-thinking, ever-working, ever-lovin’ heart! But who are you going to believe? Me, or some scraggly long-haired guy?

what are good styles for thick wavy hair?

I’m still cutting my own hair. And it looks like it, so I think I’m going to stop.

test to find children’s love languages

Yes, we still have the children! (That’s who I was referring to when I was talking about the “pool people.”) This year, in an effort to stream-line things, I’ve decided to only speak my family’s love languages to them. But in order to do this, I needed to be sure I knew what they were. Sure enough, Elia feels most loved from Physical touch, and  gifts. Kate, on the other hand, really enjoys quality time, and Words of affirmation. So now the plan is to hold Elia while playing a game with Kate, saying nice things to them the whole time. Are you freaking kidding me?!?!

I’m still working on it.

dance classes for kids in Holland, MI

Apparently I, at one point, told the girls that they could each pick three things to do for the summer. I then changed it to two. Then zero. As you can imagine, the “pool people” were rather aghast at my change of mind. Not only had we taken them from their natural habitat (the pool) they no longer could do a fun art camp or horse camp! On an upside, they did get to go with us to the Dykstra reunion in the mountains of Georgia, then with Greg and his parents to a Schemper gathering in Colorado, and a weekend at a cottage with friends. So they’re not hurting or anything, but now that I think about it, I can see where I might be a frustrating person to be with. Ah well.

foreign accent syndrome

This is perhaps the only syndrome I wish I could get.

best novels for ten year old girls

Kate loves to read. She is always working on at least two books at a time, and begs to go to the library every weekend. To celebrate Kate’s tenth birthday, I took her to an exotic location (my parent’s house in Byron Center—they were out of town) for a long weekend of just the two of us! We cooked, shopped, relaxed, and talked about things ten year old girls talk to their moms about, and it was delightful for both of us. Hard-pressed to top this trip, (where do you go from Byron Center? Though in our defense, as Kate said, “Papa and Gran’s house is like a resort!”) Greg took Kate to Chicago for a weekend in June. They saw Blue Man Group, ate, shopped, and talked about things ten year old girls like to talk to their dads about. They had a blast. (Elia of course was highly jealous and is planning her ten-year trips as we speak.) Kate has turned our furnace room into her school room (for playing purposes). She likes to keep her room neat, and likes to keep things organized and her bed made. Kate has a softer voice (like her mother), and smiles a lot. She appears to be a morning person (like her mother) and follows me around the house talking about the things she’ll do that day (I think, I can’t quite hear her). I’m pretty sure she’s the only ten year old girl in Holland with an autographed & framed picture of Dick Van Dyke on her nightstand. (We’re still loving his show!) Kate Jayne is sweet enough to let her sister sleep in her bed with her when she gets scared, (it’s been 2 months now), but every once in a while she’ll put her foot down when it comes to Elia. For example, the other day Elia was doing something to Kate (tipping her over in her chair?) and Kate calmly said, “You’re getting paid for this! No, I mean I’m paying you for this!”

how do you finger knit?

Elia (8 years old) kept asking me to teach her knitting, but we would get too frustrated, until I happened upon this gem. Now Elia has made skeins and skeins of 4-stich knitted strands. When Elia gets started on something, she has a hard time stopping. And she likes to surprise people with gifts, so the other day after spending two hours on the living room floor, she found herself surrounded by paper snowflakes and highly stressed. She said, “You don’t know the pressure I’m under!” Turns out she wanted to make a snowflake for all of Greg’s students. I’ve found that Elia has a near-perfect tune and phrase recollection, so she will often be singing songs or quoting phrases she hears here or there (‘We have fun, we have fun…”) You can imagine my surprise when we were driving past the old house to see they’d pulled out the big bush to put in an egress window…Elia shook her head solemnly, and said, “That was a damn good bush.” (She says she heard it in To Kill a Mockingbird.)  I made the mistake of putting the presents under the tree right away this year, and it has nearly killed Elia to not open them. In fact, when I came home yesterday she handed me a jar she’d made at school full of popsicle sticks, on each she’d written instruction of something to do. She, herself, did the honors and pulled the first stick (before I’d taken my coat off, mind you) and low and behold it said, “Everyone gets to open one present!” I’m not sure she yet understands why we didn’t listen to the stick.

konmari method

I virtually read Kondo’s book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (I say virtually because I skimmed it on my sister-in-law’s smart phone). Now, this woman speaks my language! The point I really took home from her is that you can’t sort through other people’s stuff, they need to do that. So I sat the girls down and we went through every single item of their clothes, and I asked them to hold each one and see if it still brought them joy (sounds weird? Read the book!). Turns out every single item brings joy to Elia. And there is no advice for this in the book, as the author, herself, is childless.

is dairy paleo?

After a friend asked if I wanted to try “Whole-30” with her, and after I (of course) googled it because I’d never heard of it before, we, along with a group of friends from church, completed the 30-day cleanse in September. On the first day of October I incorporated a bit of dairy, some chocolate, a few fermented grapes, and have otherwise been sticking with the plan. So, yes, if you’re keeping track, were you to invite the Schemper family over for a meal you might notice that Greg doesn’t touch the gluten, Elia won’t touch the chicken (ever since she wrote a report on pollos), Kate swears she’s allergic to onions and mushrooms, and I will not eat grains of any kind. Honestly, it’s a wonder why anyone ever wants to be with us. Though no one knew all of this before now, so forget I said anything.

why is rebounding so good for you?

Guess what I started doing? I couldn’t get the idea of a trampoline out of my head, so I got myself a mini-tramp (also known as a “rebounder” to make people over 40 feel better about what they do.) It actually is rather good for you…and fun! Plus, it gives people something else to watch when they’re driving past “The Schemper Show”!

do all cats purr?

Just wondering, because I think I heard Molly purr once…when she was being petted by Greg.

nursing homes in west michigan

No, not for my parents. Yet. My beloved Grandma Dykstra very recently moved into an assisted living place just down the street from my parents in Byron Center. Doing what I do, I have a lot of time to reflect on what it means to grow older. One of “my old people” said that growing old is not to be taken for granted, because it’s a privilege only given to some. But it sure can be hard, and sad, having one’s youth stolen by the years. I think my point in this is, yes, life goes too quickly at times, but also, our lives here are not how they were meant to be. I’ve watched so many people I love have the walls around them just crumble. And when we’re standing close enough to them, we can take a hit from some of those bricks, but can’t seem to hold them up. So without anything better to say, I will end this year with a blessing: 

May the bricks not strike you too hard. May you find joy in things like rebounding, reading, finger-knitting, foreign accents, and bananas (while we still have them). And may our Lord bless you, and keep you, may he shine his face upon you and be gracious to you, and may he grant you his peace!

With lots of love,

Greg, Sarah, Kate, Elia, and Molly, the cat.

2014 pics...

Hey, is that a mid-century modern couch I see?!

Molly Ann enjoying our new white bedspread

This is Holland, Michigan, People! Turns out we have a beach! (I know because we went there 5 times this summer...whenever we had out-of-town company!)

Greg driving to Denver! 

Uncle Greg with baby Ezra

Kate and Elia with Great-Grandma Schemper (in Denver)

Did I mention the snow last winter??!

More 2014 pics...

Papa and Elia at grandparent's day!

Schemper sibs at family wedding photo booth

My sweet sleeping babies 

Greg's doppelganger (who just so happens to be a model) 

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).

Papa and Gran Nieuwsma at Elia's Grandparents' Day

Sarah and the girls at the cottage weekend

Kate, cousin Avery, and Elia

Elia, Greg and Molly

Kate Jayne

Elia and "Manna"Schemper

G, K & E in Iowa

What we'd look like with another baby (only I wouldn't be smiling so big). Greg's Godson, Gavin!