We Have News!

I'm positive you have all guessed already what I'm going to say by now (simply because of the title of this post) but since a picture is worth 1,000 words...here you go! (Make sure you read Everett's shirt.) :)

BEST BIG BRO!!

Now you know! We are excited to announce that Baby Schaffer #2 will be joining us around June 2nd! For those of you already doing the math, I am 13 weeks. We are so happy and and excited about our new little addition! 

Some of you know how sick I was was with Everett (meaning I was throwing up every single night for 8 of the 9 months of my pregnancy). It's strange, but I don't get morning sickness. I get evening sickness. I was hoping that things would be different with subsequent pregnancies, but unfortunately that hasn't been the case so far. I have tried EVERYTHING imaginable to help with my evening sickness. TRUST ME. I have. No one likes throwing up every single night. I've tried taking vitamins B12 and B6 (which are supposed to help with nausea and vomiting), I have tried taking anti-nausua meds that my doctor gave me, I have tried camomile tea and ginger, I have had 3 acupuncture treatments...and so far nothing has worked. BUT, that's ok. I still have hope that maybe it'll get better in a few weeks! :)  

What is strange is that my sickness strikes like clockwork. I get sick promptly between 7:30 and 8:00pm. (It used to be between 8:30 and 9:00pm until the time change happened.:)) So if any of you see us ducking out of Wednesday night Youth Group, or basketball games, or get together's that last past 7:30pm--- PLEASE don't be offended.  I just have to leave to go throw up. :)

We will be finding out if we are having a boy or a girl. I like surprises, but if it turns out we will be having a girl I will definitely be shopping differently than if we are having another boy! Maybe for the next one (if we end up already having one of each gender) we will just be surprised. :)

Anyway, that's our exciting news! Thanks for reading!

A Simple, But Special Reminder

Usually my little Everett is so easy going and compliant. For the most part he is a very happy little kid. But recently, Everett has decided that it's time he asserted his will. Lately he has refused to come when we tell him to, he's been testing all of the boundaries we have set for him (such as not touching Mommy's decorations and Daddy's electronics), and he has been throwing temper tantrums. Not to mention he has decided that he needs little or no sleep. I've really painted a great picture of my son for you all haven't I? Just trying to be honest here... :)

Anyway, needless to say we have been thrown into a disciplining frenzy here at the Schaffer household. Much to my consternation, Everett obeys Daddy WAY BETTER than he obeys me. Everett will be throwing a fit and Tyler will calmly pick Everett up and say: "Stop." And Everett will immediately stop crying and calm down! When I try that it's always an epic failure.

Well, I share all of this because even though Everett has been testing my patience lately, I have been reminded of a very important lesson I learned in college. While I was in college I really struggled with guilt. It was so hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that God loved me unconditionally...that His love did not depend on my actions. Even if I committed the same sin repeatedly no matter how hard I tried not to do the same thing again, God's love for me didn't change. Now that I'm a parent, I can understand God's love a little better.  When Everett acts in disobedience it does not change my love for him at all. I love my son unconditionally.  It makes me sad that he has chosen to disobey me, but it does not change my love for him. The same is true of my heavenly Father. He is grieved by my sinful actions, but it does not change His love for me in the least. 
I am thankful for this special reminder again today!

And hopefully, Everett will snap out of this mood soon and be back to his happy, easy going self! :)

Reasons to Be Joyful

I can be joyful because:

1.) Today is Tyler's birthday! I LOVE celebrating birthdays, and of course, I LOVE celebrating my hubby's birthday! :) I asked him what "birthday meal" he would like and he requested his mom's homemade tacos and snicker-doodle cookies for dessert. (Not sure how I'm going to do candles in the cookies, but everyone should have candles for their birthday, so he will definitely have candles one way or another!) 

2.) I have a wonderful hubby! Since it's his birthday, I've been thinking a lot today about how blessed I am to have him as my husband. He does such a wonderful job of taking care of me and Everett. He has such a witty sense of humor that always makes me laugh and he always is so sweet to humor my crazy ideas and bouts of unstoppable laughter.  He is such a great husband and daddy!

3.) Tyler's finger is healing nicely! Tyler didn't want to go to physical therapy for his finger and so I've been a little worried that it will heal properly. So far though, it's been improving every day!

4.) Everett ADORES his daddy. I know that Everett has always adored Tyler, but now that Everett is older he can express it more. I love watching them wrestle on the floor or on the couch. I love hearing Tyler pray with Everett before he puts him to bed and how I can hear Ev's little "Maymen." after Tyler's done praying. I love how excited Ev gets when he hears his daddy coming home from work. They have such a sweet daddy-son relationship that is priceless to me as a mom.

5.) Our schedules are slowing down!  Volleyball ended last night, which does make me sad because I love spending time with the girls, but on the up side, Tyler and I will have a lot more time to spend together...until basketball season starts. But even that won't be as crazy because just Tyler will be busy- not both of us. :) Tyler is almost done with football. They have an away tournament this weekend and then his football season is finished. I'm excited to be able to sit at the table for dinner with all three of us for a real home cooked meal...YAY!

Hope you all have a special reason to smile today! :)

Our Eventful Evening

We had a rather abnormal evening a couple of days ago. :)

Tyler was coaching football the other evening while I was in the gym getting ready for a home volleyball game.  Next thing I know, Tyler is inside the gym, in his cleats. He was covering his right hand with his left hand. He very calmly said, "Megan, I need you right now." I look down at his hands, expecting to see a lot of blood. But there wasn't any. Tyler moved his left hand to show me his right hand.  His right index finger was pointing in the wrong direction starting at his middle knuckle. His finger was pointing to himself even though the rest of his hand was pointing towards me. (Even as I type this, my stomach is turning.) Gag! After he shows me his hand, he says: "Any suggestions?" (Um. The ER.) :)

The volleyball game was about 10 minutes from starting. Mr. Walker came over once he saw how everyone around Tyler was reacting. He volunteered to take Tyler to the Emergency Room. I was rather torn. My first choice was to go with Tyler to the ER, but I also had to coach the girls during the game. Anyway, once Mr. Walker and Tyler got to the ER they called Marissa. I was SO THANKFUL that they thought to call her! She came to the hospital and sat with Tyler. I know Tyler would have been fine sitting there alone, but it did my heart good to know that someone was with him. :)

After the game ended I dropped Everett off with some friends (so thankful they could watch him!) and went to the ER to be with Tyler and Marissa. By the time I got there Tyler's finger had already been put back in place (thank goodness) and they were taking him back for x-rays to make sure it wasn't broken. As soon as Tyler got back from getting x-rays he wanted to know what the plan was for dinner. Needless to say, I wasn't really in an eating type of mood. :)

Tyler had his finger in a splint for a day and half. Apparently Tyler has a very high tolerance for pain. He said it only ever felt like a really bad jam- even when his finger was out of joint. He only took ibuprofen before bed the night it happened (because I made him) and he said the next morning that it didn't hurt at all.

I have learned a few things from this experience:
1.) I do much better with a sick patient than with one who is injured. I would much rather clean up puke than see a finger out of joint.
2.) Tyler is a much better patient when he is injured than when he is sick.:)
3.) The new St. Luke's hospital is REALLY nice.
4.) I don't want to go back there any time soon.
5.) Disjointed fingers make me ill.  :)

Warning- I am including pictures of Tyler's finger. If you don't want to see them, DON'T SCROLL DOWN! :)

Hope you all have a great week!

This is RIGHT after he came to talk to me in the gym.

This is the day after- we took off his splint so he could wash his hands after mowing lawns.

Comparing his fingers. Today his injured finger is even more colorful. :)

Different- On Purpose

Well, you probably noticed that my blog looks different! I LOVE change and I was getting a little bored with how my blog looked, so I switched! :) I asked my sister what she thought. She said: "Your blog looks like your 80 years old. Why are there doilies on your blog? I liked the other one better. It was more...cheerful." Haha! I love how honest she is. It's wonderfully refreshing. (This is why I ask her for outfit advice. :)) Anyway, I'm going to leave it like it is for now. (Much to Marissa's dismay! :))

I entitled this post "Different- On Purpose" not because I changed the look of my blog but because of something that happened today. 

At the beginning of August I received a letter saying that my driver's license was going to expire in September and that I should fill out the form they had sent me, include a check for a certain amount, and mail it back. They would then renew my license. Pretty straight forward. So, I followed the instructions and mailed back my paperwork. Two weeks later Tyler got the same notice for his license and we did the same thing for him. Now, in September, Tyler has already received his renewed license (2 weeks ago) and I am still waiting for mine. NOT GOOD. (I've never really trusted the DMV.) I called the DMV yesterday and basically asked if I should be worried that I hadn't received my license yet. Apparently I should be. (Granted it took about 5 phone calls to confirm that yes, I should be concerned but oh well.) I was informed that I needed to actually go to the DMV to get this all straightened out.

To be honest, I was really having a hard time having a good attitude about having to go to the DMV to correct a mistake that I didn't make. Especially with an 18 month old who hates to sit still or be held when waiting in line. 
But I got Everett and myself all ready to go this morning and headed out to the DMV at a fairly early time so that I wouldn't have to wait in a huge line. We got to the counter and I started to explain my problem to the lady. She wasn't very smiley...to say it nicely. (Of course, if I worked there I doubt I would be very smiley either.) She then informs me that SHE is the one that messed up my license. Apparently she entered the information wrong or something like that. Well she was a little snippy and kind of frustrated that she was having to "own up" to making the mistake. (Apparently the computer keeps track of who did what and when.)

I was getting kind of agitated that she was spending such a lengthy amount of time explaining to me how it wasn't really her fault. (I'll save you having to read all about that.) Everett was getting really fussy by this point and I was struggling to keep him happy while answering the questions the lady was asking me in between her monologue about why she wasn't to blame. 

And then I remembered a post that my friend Christy wrote. (See it here.) It talks about how powerful one little smile can be to someone else. I decided I better change my attitude. After all, my attitude wasn't any better than the lady's and I have Jesus in my heart! (How pathetic am I?)
I started to smile at her and assure her that the mistake really wasn't that big of a deal. That we all make mistakes. That we all have bad days sometimes. And amazingly...HER attitude started changing!! She started smiling and being pleasant! She even offered Everett a sucker before we left. 

I was so convicted about my poor attitude. ME- a SINNER- deserving of Hell but headed to HEAVEN because of my SAVIOR...and I'm upset about a little thing like going to the DMV. (Again, how pathetic am I?) I'm supposed to be different. I'm Christ's adopted child and I'm acting like I'm not. I need to make sure I'm different- different on purpose.

Well, I'm also thankful that I got my attitude under control because I was wearing one of my school's coaching shirts and the lady wanted to know what TFCA stood for. Um...Twin Falls CHRISTIAN Academy. (Yeah, that's right, I'm a grump and a Christian.) SO GLAD the Lord convicted me early on about my attitude! (He's merciful that way. :))

The good news is I got my license all taken care of, and got my attitude adjusted all at the same time! :) God really is good.

Returning to Reasons to by Joyful

I promised I would get back to why I am joyful! :) Well, TADA!!! Here it is!

I can be joyful because:

1.) The Lord provides for my family. He provides for my family's needs in amazing ways. And I'm not just referring to monetarily. (Though He has provided me with a consulting job that I am SO thankful for!) This month has been really crazy. We counted up all of the times that we were going to have to get babysitters for Everett this month...13 times! And that's JUST in the evenings. That's not counting all of the times he goes to our school's daycare while Tyler and I are both teaching and coaching! (I coach volleyball and Tyler coaches football.) Anyway, God sent along perfect solutions. First, my parents came out and stayed with us for about 2 weeks. That took care of 7 of the 13 times I needed a babysitter! My parents were such a blessing to us! Second, Marissa moved out here. She has watched Everett for us on several occasions, including one time when Tyler and I had games in Boise that we needed to stay overnight for. And lastly, our friends the Reeds. They have watched Everett on numerous occasions for us. We are so blessed and humbled by everyone's willingness to help us out! We are doing some thinking about what to change for next year so we don't get ourselves in the same situation next year. :)

2.) Tyler and I have time for "pillow talk." On an average day these last couple of weeks, Tyler has been leaving the house for school around 7:45 in the morning and has been getting back after coaching and mowing lawns at about 8 or 8:30 every night. Everett and I have been leaving the house around 9:15 every morning and have been getting back around 8:30 every night.  By the time Tyler and I are both home and have things cleaned up and everything packed up for the next day's activities we just want to go SLEEP! :) This doesn't leave a whole lot of time for us to be with each other so we can just TALK. Well, lately we have made it a point to talk before we fall asleep. It has been SO GREAT. We just lay in bed and talk until we drift off to sleep. It has been so good for us. I just love that man.

3.) God has been teaching me LOTS of things. I feel like I pray a lot more the busier I get. I'm not sure why that is. I think it is partly because I know that I can't get everything done without His help. And I certainly can't do the things I'm supposed to do with a good attitude without His strength and grace. So recently, instead of turning on the radio in the car, or popping in a CD, I've started to spend my "car time" praying. Good grief, I never realized how much time I spend in the car! Haha!  In all seriousness, I am always amazed how much brighter everything looks after I've finished praying about it. Daunting things don't seem as daunting. Disappointing things aren't as disappointing.  Discouraging things aren't as discouraging. Worrisome things aren't as worrisome. God is showing me once again how my prayer time is invaluable.

4.) My sister made me funfetti cupcakes. YUUUUUUUUUUUM. She gave me a key to her apartment and then let me pick them up while she was at work. They are SOOOOOOOOOOO good! AND she bought me a LITER SIZED CAN of Mountain Dew!! Those things are so cool!!! I started drinking it on the way to one of our away volleyball games and finished it on the way back. Man, it was awesome!

5.) Everett had his 18 month wellness checkup this month and he is as healthy as can be! I'm so thankful that God has allowed Everett to be healthy! What is kind of ironic is that Everett is in the 90th percentile for height at 33 1/4 inches. I mean, have you seen Tyler and me lately? I don't think either of us has ever seen that side of a growth chart. But don't worry. We don't let Everett get his hopes up. :)

Well, sorry I had to take a little vaca from writing my Reasons to be Joyful recently. Thanks for reading! :)

Just One of Those Days...

I'm sure you all have those kinds of days where early on you start to wonder if it isn't going to be just a typical, normal day? I'm not necessarily referring to it being a BAD day, just a day that isn't quite normal. Yeah, I felt like that this morning.

This morning my elderly neighbor from across the street was knocking on my door at around 9:00am. I hadn't ever officially met her. We have always pleasantly waved to each other as we come and go from our cul-de-sac, but we've never formally introduced ourselves.  Well, "grandma" had her knickers in a knot this morning! I opened the door and she starts by telling me her name. I tell her my name and stick out my hand to shake hers in a "it's nice to meet you" sort of way. "Grandma" had other priorities. She asks if it's my truck that is parked in front of her house. Nope, not my truck. And then she starts in about the Russians that live across the way from her and how they always park in front of her house and it's almost put her in the hospital 3 times! (Maybe the stress of it? Not sure how it's life threatening...but ok.) She tells me if there are any other cars that get parked in front of her house she is going to call the police. What if she needs an ambulance? Where will they park to come and get her or her husband if someone's car/truck is parked in front of her house??? Not to mention that the cars keep leaking oil all over the asphalt in front of her house. 

Now, I do admit that when Marissa moved in last week we parked the rented moving truck in front of her house. (Only because of how our house is located in the cul-del-sac, we don't have enough curb space to park the truck in front of our own house.) Well, apparently this put us on "grandma's" naughty list. She must have been stalking us. I did apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused her and promised we would do our best not to park there again.

Anyway, so that's how my morning started out. 
The rest of the morning and early afternoon were fairly normal. I taught elementary and high school choir without any major mishaps.

Then came the volleyball game. I coach the Jr. High girls volleyball team and today they had an away game. We had to drive the van without air conditioning to the game today. It wasn't too bad though because it was pretty nice outside. We rolled down the windows and propped open the back windows and it was fine. And then a bug flew into the van and up my nose. GROSS, GROSS, GROSS. Man does that hurt. And man is it GROSS. Took me a while to recover from that one.

Then we got lost. Yes, I know. Hard to believe that someone with my exceptional sense of direction got lost, but it happened. Thankfully, Annie, my assistant coach, has an iphone. Good thing too, otherwise we might still be driving around. :)

We get to the gym (finally), play and win our game. Hooray for us! Then we get back into the van to go home. We get about 10 minutes away from the school and realize that we have left our volleyballs back at the gym. NOT OK. So...we turn around and go back for the balls. (I was slightly irritated, but it wasn't that big of a deal. If that's the worst thing that happens to us we will be just fine.)

We start our trip back home for the second time after retrieving the forgotten volleyballs. We are more than halfway there when a guy pulls up next to us at a stop sign. He had his windows rolled down (and we did too because of the a/c...or lack thereof.) The man informs us we have a mug on the back of our bumper. Wait...a mug??
Annie said she remembered seeing a cup on the back of the van's bumper at church yesterday morning, but didn't think it could possibly be the same one. I mean after all, we had gotten lost and gone back to the gym to get the forgotten volleyballs which all required a lot of U-turns in rather bumpy terrain. (I promise I was not off-roading.) How could the mug possibly still be there? But it was. A lovely St. Luke's Hospital jug. (I swear those things could hold a gallon of water.) Unbelievable. Annie and I spent quite a while laughing about this. 

Anyway, I got home from this busy day around 6:00pm and couldn't decide what to eat. In the hectic-ness of today I forgot to pack myself a lunch and so I had to snack on a few crackers I had in my purse. (Wow, that made me sound homeless.) Regardless, I was SUPER hungry. I ate some leftover lasagna. It was good, but it wasn't quite what I wanted. So then I started trying to pin point exactly what is was that I wanted. (You know the feeling, right? Where there is something really specific you want, you just can't put your finger on it?) Well, I convinced myself that I really wanted a chocolate cookie dough blizzard from Dairy Queen. I had Tyler all convinced to go with me to get one. Then as we are just about to walk out the door, I realize---NO! I don't want ice cream! I want Kentucky Fried Chicken's mashed potatoes!! Rarely am I able to figure out EXACTLY what I want and this time...I DID!!! I was beside myself with excitement! So, my sweet husband took me out at 8:45pm to get KFC mashed potatoes. Oh, man! Did they hit the spot or what! 

Like a said, kind of an unusual day. A day with lots of laughs at people's craziness, forgetfulness, and quirkiness. Yup, I consider that a good day. :)

More Odds and Ends

So it seems that once again I have LOT of things going on, but none of them make for an entire post. So here are some more odds and ends. :)

1.) My sister, Marissa, is all moved into her awesome apartment! It is so fresh, and clean, and neat, and....FUN! Maybe it's super fun to me because never before (since we've moved to Twin) have I been able to say: "Well, maybe we'll just pop on over and visit Maris!" And I've said that like TWICE already! So excited to have her live here in Twin!

2.) My wonderful parents came to visit! My Dad had to leave yesterday afternoon, but my Mom gets to stay another week! I just loving having my family come! It's so nice to be together again and I love watching Everett play with Grandma Bat and Papa! (Trust me, Everett has already been totally spoiled by my parents and Grandma is still here for a while!!) :) He's just beside himself he's having so much fun!

3.) I kicked off my new job with Thirty-One this month! I have had so much fun with this job already! I love it! I'm so thankful that the Lord provided this opportunity for me and my little family!

4.) Tyler and I have been home at the same time this week a total of 6 hours. (I'm referring to being awake- not sleeping time.)  We have been a little crazy with volleyball games, football practices, volleyball practices, Tyler's mowing business, and church stuff. Thankfully, we will only be this busy for the month of September and the beginning of October. :) I'm thinking that it was providential that Mom and Dad came this month so that Ev didn't have to spend as much time in daycare. He is LOVING staying home with Grandma and Papa! :)

5.) I just LOVE my volleyball girls. We have SO much fun. We have had a couple of away games recently and the van trips are a riot. I love laughing and joking with them. They are so sweet to let me pick on them and tease them. I'm so thankful for each and every one of them. They are a blessing to me.

6.) I really will get back to writing my "Reasons to be Joyful." I promise I'm still being joyful even if I'm failing to write a post about it every week. God has been too good to me for me to not be joyful. :) See #4 as to why I have been delinquent in this area.

7.) I am thankful for such sweet, caring, supportive friends. I have been so encouraged these last couple of weeks with all of the craziness going on, starting my new business, and finding sitters for Ev, etc...in all of that my sweet friends have been in my corner. I am so thankful for you guys. You are such an encouragement!

8.) Football season has started!!!!!!!! I forgot how much I enjoy it! This means a couple of things for my family. First, Fantasy Football is becoming a heated conversation topic around my house. (lol) Second, my BUFFS are playing again! Now I know a lot of you out there make fun of me for cheering for CU because they aren't any good, but I AM NOT A FAIR WEATHER FAN! I will cheer for them until I die. I just can't help myself! 
So in honor of football coming back, I can't resist sharing a couple of pictures. :) Here's my little Buffalo fan and my little Tebow. :)

See! He's Tebowing! Haha!

I think that's it for now. I really will get back to "real" blogging. Eventually! :)

Odds and Ends

So it seems that recently I have had a lot of random things to write about, but none of them are significant enough to write a whole post about them. So here are some of the random things from the last couple of weeks...

1.) I have a love-hate relationship with the nursery. I am very thankful that our church has a nursery where I can drop my kiddo off and go to the service knowing that Ev will be just fine and well taken care of. HOWEVER, the nursery seems to be where Ev picks up all his illnesses and then shares them with us. :) Of course, this is nobody's fault- it's just the nature of the beast. This leads us to #2...

2.) My family has been sick. VERY sick. Ev had some nasty diapers for a few days and I didn't think much of it because he is teething, and sometimes that happens when he is teething. Apparently this was much different. The diapers were just a foreshadowing of what was to come! Tyler came down with the stomach flu Sunday night, and then Ev and I got it the next day, and my sister, Marissa, (who is staying with us for a little while) came down with it the day after that. I would just like to say it was not fun. At all. I was more sore from throwing up than I was from doing Insanity last week. But we are healthy now!! :)

3.) My sister is staying with us! (And I feel really bad that we got her sick!) But it has been SO FUN having her here! I actually have someone to watch chick-flicks with! Not to mention she has volunteered to watch Everett many times already. I have such a sweet sister. :)

4.) Matt, Marissa's fiance, came to visit when Marissa came! It was so fun getting to spend time with him. And, Tyler was finally able to meet Matt! It seems that all the other times that I have been able to see Matt, Tyler has had to stay home for school or other things. We had great fun!

5.) Everett has started saying new words. Some of them include: "Oh my!" (that one gets me every time! :)) "Whaaaaaat?", some of his friend's names like Lilly, Owie, and Leah (I promise we work on saying all his friends names- some are just easier to say. :)) and "Scooobydooobydoo!" (only that one sounds more like gibberish). I just love hearing my little boy talk!

6.) I have not had a Mountain Dew in over 48 hours...and no I am NOT pregnant. The stomach flu will change you...at least for a time. :)

7.) I'm excited that my family is coming out to visit! My Mom and Dad are bringing out a truck with all of Marissa's stuff soon! I can't wait to see them! Everett is very excited about seeing his "Papa" and "Bamba." (That's as close as we can get to "Grandma.") :)

8.) I have had so much fun with the volleyball girls! We have had a great time and I'm really proud of how quickly the newer girls are catching on to everything. Ahhh, I just love volleyball and I'm so thankful that God has given me the oppertunity to work with Becky (the head coach) and the girls. 

9.) I LOVE FALL! It's my favorite season! I can't wait to start decorating the house for fall! I promised myself I would wait until at LEAST September! Not to mention that Starbucks will get their Pumpkin Spice Lattes again soon. Oh yum!

Anyway, that's about all of my random ramblings. Hopefully I didn't drive you nuts with my frequent topic changes! :)
Hope you all have a special day!

Why I've Been MIA...

Well folks, I feel like I should explain why I haven't posted in so long...yet realistically I realize that you all don't sit on the edge of your seat just waiting for me to write a new post...and therefore there is no need for me to explain why I've been MIA...BUT...I will tell you anyways! Haha!

Life has been a little busy...no I mean crazy. But a good kind of crazy. I'm not usually one to go on about how hectic my life is--frankly because I don't feel like my life is all that wild. But lately, it's kind of been nuts!

Here's the scoop. School is starting back up again, which means volleyball and football are starting back up. (JOY!! :)) (No, really...for real joy- I'm actually very excited about volleyball.) So basically this week I have had volleyball from 8-12:30 in the morning, we switch Ev over to the "other" parent, and then Tyler has football from 12:30-4. This week, Tyler has also been mowing lawns 3 evenings a week (getting home around 10:15 every night) and he will be mowing all day Saturday. (He and his friend Ray have their own mowing business.) And next week, school starts! I will be teaching choir 2 days a week for 2.5 hours each day, then coaching Junior High volleyball during their PE time every afternoon and then go on to HS volleyball practice after school is over. Tyler will be teaching full time, plus coaching, plus mowing...There are some other things that are going on as well, but I thought this was getting a little tedious. :)

So, I tell you all of this not to have you pity me or anything like that. No. Not at all. Our family has enjoyed 3 months of SLOWNESS and RELAXATION this summer. We have had more than our fair share of downtime. Please understand, I am NOT complaining. 

What I am saying, is that all of the slowness that suddenly turned into business has made me realize the importance of priorities.
 Example: Is it SUPER important that right now, at this very moment, there is a pile of dirty dishes in the sink that have been set aside for another time so that I could talk to my hubby this evening for more than just 5 minutes at a time? Or, should I have spent my downtime this afternoon frantically cleaning up Everett's room and sacrifice the time I got to spend tickling him and reading him books? Or, should I purposely set my alarm later tomorrow morning so I can sleep in a little bit longer rather than spending time with the Lord...simply because I think I deserve it after such a grueling week? Priorities.

In my naive state, I would like to think that if my schedule had transitioned from boring to frantic a little more smoothly I might not be struggling with getting my priorities right. :) But that's just me always thinking the best of myself- HA! (How unbiblical.) :)

Anyway, that's why I've been away for a little bit. I've been getting my priorities straight. :) Have a great Friday everybody!

Fantasy Football...who knew it was so SERIOUS?!

Over the last couple of years Tyler and I have gotten into Fantasy Football. Let me rephrase this, TYLER has gone nuts over Fantasy Football and I have finally become more familiar with Fantasy Football. This year we are both in a family league and a friends league...which basically means I'll be more confused than normal. 

Let me explain a little bit about this for those of you who aren't familiar with FanFB (fantasy football). You have a bunch of people in a league...these people are called coaches. Each coach drafts real live football players for their team. You can pick any player from any team to make up your personal football team. (For example, I can draft Peyton Manning as my quarterback and Arian Foster for my runningback even though they are on different football teams.) Each week you decide which players you want to play and which ones you want to bench. The players that you decide to play accumulate points based on their performance in games. You win if your team gets the most points. (Duh.) 

Anyway, Tyler LOVES FanFB. He researches players for his team months in advance. He has spread sheets that he makes for each round of the draft. He participates in practice drafts online just for fun. He makes out spreadsheets comparing players and their individual stats to best determine who he needs for his team and in what round he should draft the player. He also runs numbers for hours to determine who the luckiest coach is versus the most skilled coach. He takes this very seriously. It's one of his summer hobbies.

And then, there's me.

I am NOT skilled in any way, shape, or form concerning FanFB...much to the consternation of my husband.  I tend to draft with my heart instead of my head...a big FanFB "no, no" if you believe certain people. For example, last year on our draft night with our friends in the first round I took Antonio Gates. Yes, for those of you who are FanFB buffs, I took a tight end...in the first round...SO SUE ME! Then to make my team even more solid I took Eddie Royal in the second round! :) And to make my team AWESOME I took a second string quarterback in the FIFTH round!! None other than TIM TEBOW!! Booyah! (See what I mean about drafting with my heart and not my head?) 

Well, this year, as I already mentioned, we are in two leagues. One is with our family and then other is with our friends. (My friends FanFB team name is MegaMen, and my family FanFB team name is Megadomination. Yes, my teams are already on their way to GREATNESS!)

Anyway, this summer Tyler has taken it upon himself to teach me "the ways" of FanFB. Really? I thought I had the hang of this. Guess not.
I have been called into the kitchen on numerous occasions to read this or that article on "The How To's of Drafting." (Summary: Don't pick who you want, pick who will win.") I have been subjected to many talks which involve player evaluations and drafting order abnormalities. (Summary: Tight ends should never be taken in the first round.) And then after much coaching by my husband, I was left to try out my new and improved drafting skills. 

Now, to really help you understand how excited Tyler gets about FanFB I need to tell you about Draft Day. We had our friends league draft last night. Tyler hooked up our computer to the TV screen so that everyone can see who they are drafting. And of course, there is food...which for us, required a trip to the grocery store. For those of you who know Tyler well, you know that he isn't keen on making small talk with total strangers. We were in the store and I couldn't believe my ears! Tyler was talking to random people!! One person commented on how cute Everett was, and I was about to jump in and say something so Tyler didn't have to, and lo and behold--Tyler starts yapping away!! I couldn't believe it! He even talked to the cashier for a while! I'm walking out of the store completely dumbfounded! I asked him, "Do you realize you just talked to about 5 complete strangers in there??" Tyler says, "Nothing can get me down on Draft Day!" Hahaha!! I just about died laughing. So yesterday evening everyone came over after church and we began the draft. I felt somewhat nervous and apprehensive...what if I forgot all of my training??  What if I had a relapse and went for a tight end too soon?  Eventually, the draft was well underway and I realized that no one had given me any weird looks...come to think of it, there had been no collective gasps brought on from one of my draft choices from anyone in the room...I MUST HAVE DONE OK!!! Granted, my draft looked nothing like the well thought out and planned draft like that of my husband's, but I resisted the urge to draft with my heart. In essence, my draft was successful!

So, I feel like I should take this moment to give a shout out to a few very special people who have made my drafting experience successful. First, to you, NFL.com. Without you I would have never been able to read about how abysmal my first draft was, and I would have never learned how to overcome my fear of drafting people whose names I can't even pronounce correctly. Second, I would like to thank my husband, for without your support I would have never been able to pass by Tim Tebow for my draft. (Seriously, I actually didn't draft Timmy this year!) And lastly, I would like to thank you, Mom. (Because that's what everyone does after they've done something AWESOME!) :)

Frames Around the Word Art Board

  I had mentioned in a previous post that I was going to add stuff to the wall around the word art board because the word art board looked kind of "abrupt". It's almost painful in contrast to the wall. :)  See...(look below)

 So Tyler and I went to several garage sales on Saturday and low and behold, I found some stuff to hang around the board. I was SO excited when I found these frames with the pictures in them. They only required a little bit of fixing up and I got all of them for only $3!!! I LOVE finding cute stuff for cheap! :)
All I did was add a little white paint to the frames that were somewhat dinged up and gave all of them a thorough cleaning.

Now Everett's room is finally complete! (About a year after we moved into this house! lol) That is, it's complete until I find something else to putter around with. :)

Reason to be Joyful: My Sister is Coming to Idaho!

I know that I usually have a list of reasons why I am joyful, but this week there is one very SPECIAL reason that I wanted to focus on. So here it goes...

Ever since Tyler and I moved out to Idaho after we got married I have been trying to convince both sides of our family that they need to move out here too. Of course, they all have their own lives, houses, and jobs where they are at, but those things are all minor, right? :) We even tried to sweeten the deal by adding a grandson to the mix! I've been rather persistent about this whole thing I can assure you. I'm sure it's almost gotten to be annoying. :) But anyway...

My younger sister, Marissa, just graduated from nursing school in May and I thought it would be perfect for her to get a job as a nurse in Twin Falls. I tried convincing her of this for MONTHS. Even before she graduated from college I was constantly talking up Twin Falls and how fun it would be if we lived in the same town. She was always very sweet and very patient with me as I insisted, YET AGAIN, that the Lord's will for her life was out in Idaho. And yet, for some reason, she just didn't seem convinced. Try as I might, she applied in Colorado for nursing jobs! (Insert exasperation here!! :)) Maybe it had something to do with the fact that most of our family lives in Colorado, or that she is familiar with the area, or could maybe live at home until she got married (since she is getting married in less than a year)...who knows. In my mind, none of those reasons could possibly trump coming out to Twin Falls to be with ME! Haha!

Well, a little while ago, Marissa told me she was planning on applying at St. Luke's in Twin Falls! I was SO excited! (Which is the understatement of the year.) You should have heard me on the phone trying to contain my excitement. 

 To make a long story short, I am so grateful to Melissa Fenderson for being willing to look into hiring Marissa at St. Luke's! So, it's official! Marissa is moving out to Twin Falls, Idaho in a little less than 3 weeks...to be with me. (Ok, so maybe not to be with me, but that's how I see it.) :) I couldn't be more PUMPED to have her move here! It'll be the first time that we have had family live IN TOWN since we moved here. I must admit that having family around is something I will NEVER take for grated again.

So, MOM AND DAD, and MOM AND DAD SCHAFFER, it's your turn! Come on out to the blessed land of Twin Falls, Idaho! :) (Don't worry, I've been house hunting for you guys and I already have some house options for you....I'll be in touch.) :)

For now, I will simply glory in the fact that my "little" sister (who is 4 years younger than me, but 5 inches taller...) is coming to live in the same town as me.
 (FIST PUMP!!) Booyah!

*New* Craft- Word Board for Everett's Room

This craft was inspired by Pinterest, but I modified it a little bit. I had seen a bunch of different ways to make word signs and I had seen a ton of websites selling word phrases that stick to walls. I really liked the word phrases, but they seemed a little expensive, and some of the crafts seemed REALLY tedious, so I decided to try doing it my own way. 
I decided to use the saying: "Loved you yesterday, love you still. Always have, always will." I thought it was the perfect for my little boy's room.  So here is how I made it:

I used a painters canvas (again)... :) Apparently, I can't do a craft without using painters canvas and Mod Podge. :) I used two coats of paint on the canvas.

 I used my Cricut to cut all of the letters out. There were certain words that I wanted emphasized so I did those letters in a different color of scrapbook paper.

 This is a picture of the second coat of paint. I also painted the sides twice.

 Before I started Mod Podging I laid out all of the letters to make sure that I got them straight and spaced out how I wanted them.

 Then I put a coat of Mod Podge down and placed the letters for the first word. I found that if I removed all of the letters to Mod Podge, I couldn't space them correctly and might have run out of room on the canvas. So I did the letters one word at a time. Also, if you do the whole thing at once, the Mod Podge will dry too fast for you to get the letters down in time. You also want to make sure to smooth out all of the air bubbles that sometimes pop up as you go along.

 After I was finished attaching all of the letters, I let the Mod Podge dry. Once it was completely dry, I put another coat of Mod Podge over the top of the letters. I found it's important to use a light touch, or it is easy to snag the corners of the letters.

 Here is the finished sign hanging in Everett's room! I'm planning on adding some other things to make the sign a little less "abrupt" on the wall, if you know what I mean. :) But that will be for my next craft...whenever I get around to it. :)

Hope you all are having a fantastic week! :) Thanks for reading!

Fabric Boards and Letter

So I'm back to catching up on crafts! I was in a dilemma for such a long time about what to do with one of the windows in our living room. I wanted something to dress it up a little but I didn't want to use curtains because the window has a window seat. To add curtains may have made it hard to sit at the window seat. Plus I already had curtains hanging over some of the other windows in the living room and I didn't want to dominate the room with a ton of brown curtains, so I opted for this instead. 

First, I cut out the material so I would have enough fabric to wrap all the way around the canvas. 

Then, using my Mod Podge, I coated the canvas. You want to work quickly so that it doesn't dry too much before you attach your fabric.

 Smooth out the fabric over the Mod Podged surface, making sure to get out all of the air bubbles.

 Then Mod Podge the sides of the canvas and stick down the fabric. I used my scissors to cut the extra fabric away from the corners. Then using my hot glue gun I glued the extra fabric to the back of the canvas. You don't have to, but because I'm OCD I cut the fabric around the back of the canvas so it looked nice and neat. :)

 Here are the finished boards.

 And here are the boards hanging above my window! I was please with how they turned out. Adds just a little something I think. :)

I also did the same thing with the letter "E" to go above Everett's door.

I plan to add some embellishments to it, but for now it'll work. :)
Happy crafting! :)

Reasons to be Joyful

I can be joyful because:

1.) The Olympics are on TV! I love to watch the Olympics! It is so fun to watch all the different sports and cheer for the USA. I always feel so patriotic and I almost always tear up when I hear the National Anthem being played when we win a gold medal. I just can't help it! Lol!

2.) I got a new watch! I have decided to start a running program called Couch to 5k. Basically, you train to run a 5k in about 10 weeks. I needed a watch with a stopwatch for this and so I got one! It's lime green and SUPER cheerful...which I will definitely need to be cheered when I get further into the program. :)

3.) My son LOVES to read! He is CONSTANTLY getting out books and bringing them to us. He always says: "Boooooook! Boooooook!" It's so cute. He enjoys it enough that he will even look at books all by himself. I hope his love of books and reading continues all through out his life. 

4.) Volleyball season is starting soon! I get to coach Junior High and JV volleyball this year and still help with Varsity. I can't get enough of the sport. Watching the USA volleyball team play at the Olympics has also been getting me pumped up! :)

5.) Our good neighborhood. I really enjoy where we live. I recently got to meet some of the people that live in the cul-de-sac behind us and they invited us to the block party they always have before school starts. Of course, there are always those neighbors that are kind of problematic...like our teenage neighbors that drove their truck into the cul-de-sac's mailbox stand...which is now broken on the ground...but we really are blessed with such a nice place to live!

6.) I saved approximately $59 dollars today at Once Upon a Child! It was a madhouse there today because it was their "cram everything you can into a bag and pay $15 for the whole bag thing." :) I got a TON of winter clothes for Everett! I know it's a random thing to be joyful about, but I was SO excited to get such great deals on a bunch of clothes for Ev!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful week! Keep smiling!

Thoughts from My Heart

LOTS has been going on. LOTS and LOTS. And it's one of those times when LOTS has been going on in other people's lives and not necessarily my own life. Which it TOTALLY fine by me. Trust me, I'm not complaining, but all of the "LOTS" going on in other people's lives- some good, some bad, has made me realize how important prayer is. 
I HATE being cryptic. Like, for example, when you read someone's status on facebook and you think..."Ok, what in the world did that mean?? Should I be concerned?? Happy?? Sad?? Should I be asking questions?? Is it personal?? Should I mind my own business???" You know what I'm talking about- cryptic. And I feel like I'm having to be a little cryptic and vague as I write this. So I'm sorry that's the case.
Basically, there is stuff going on at home that I can't be helping with, or be involved with because I'm here. In Idaho. And I don't like that I can't be there to help. But, as I've been reminded of several times these past couple of weeks, I can pray. Prayer is often underestimated and undervalued in my mind and it shouldn't be...at all. 
My personality is one of "what can I do to fix this?" I have a hard time letting go and letting God (as the saying goes). Which sadly, shows what I believe about God. In essence, I am saying that what I could do to fix things is better than what God can do. I'm saying that my way is better. Which leads to all sorts of selfish, discontented feelings. Great! What a wonderful way to live! (note my sarcasm) 
How quickly I forget the things I've been taught, both at home by my parents, and at Northland- where we were taught over and over again that the greatest work we can ever do is on our knees! 
So I'm driving home tonight from church and my heart is overflowing. So I just start praying. Outloud. I call it praying, but it's more like jumbled words just pouring out from my heart. I just tell God everything I'm feeling, everything that I'm worried about, everything that I feel discontent about, everything I know I've been selfish about...everything. On, and on, and on...as I'm driving around the block again, and again, and again.
I look behind me at my son who is in his carseat. He is sitting there with his hands folded waiting for me to say: "In Jesus's name" because that's when he chimes in with his loud: "Mamen!" (All I could think was: "Sorry kiddo, but you may be waiting a while to say your Mamen!") But it was the perfect reminder for me.

Everett doesn't worry. He's a kid. He doesn't worry AT ALL. He doesn't worry about his next meal, or the clothes he'll wear, or about scheduling, or money, or jobs, or illnesses. He doesn't worry because he knows Daddy and Mommy will do ANYTHING to take care of him and to show him how much he is loved.  Just like Everett trusts Tyler and me as parents, I'm supposed to have that kind of trust in God. 

I know that already. 

I've known it since I was little.

But it really hit me tonight. Maybe it's because I have a kid now and I understand what unconditional love is. Or maybe I thought I understood it before, but didn't really. But I get it now. How easy it is to start out the day trusting God and then by the time lunch rolls around (or sooner) you've already gone back to trusting in yourself! Ugh!


Here is the verse God has given me time and time again when I go through these phases of worry and discontentedness. 

Hebrews 13: 5b-6 (AMP)

"...and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support, I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax my hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]  So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]..."

I know that I have kind of rambled and been quite vague and for that I apologize. This is what has been on my heart recently and I'm SO thankful that I have a God who is sovereign and loving! God is good, all the time!

Bass Fishing+Megan-Style= Merriness

On Saturday Tyler convinced me to go bass fishing with him at Bruneau State Park. There is a glorified pond there where Tyler and his friend Johnny Wiest catch GOBS of bass. Just last week Tyler caught 48 fish there in about 6 1/2 hours. Crazy. 
Tyler has been fishing there with Johnny since we moved out to Idaho and he LOVES it. It's one of his favorite summer things to do. Apparently, it was so fun that Tyler really wanted me to go along at least once to experience it. So I went.
Now, in case any of you have never gone bass fishing in the way that my hubby does, I feel like this deserves some explanation. First off, you don't fish from a dock. Oh, no. That would be too simple. You go out into the water in a float tube. (Possible problem number one for me.) And of course, the objective is to catch fish while you are in said float tube. (Possible problem number two for me.) Thankfully, my husband likes to be prepared and gave me a little "casting tutorial" in the backyard. It went something like this:
Tyler: "Ok, now that I've shown you how to cast, try casting into Everett's pool." (No worries, Everett was not in the pool...not like it would have mattered.)
I fumble with the line, finally get a hold of it between my finger and the pole like I've been shown, I bring the rod back, I fling it forward...and I watch as the line sails forward flinging my bait into the sliding glass door of our house...approximately 10 feet behind Everett's pool. Success. Tutorial terminated. Now to catch me a bass. 
We arrive at Bruneau and begin unloading the truck. Little did I know how much actually goes into bass fishing. Oh, how little. I am instructed to don the waders. Chest waders that is. Haha.  I am told to make sure to stay on my flip flops with the waders on so as not to ruin the feet on the waders. Easier said than done. After maneuvering around the bank for a little bit I was directed to put on my flippers. I did so and realized with one or two kicks I would be donating these flippers to the fish if not tightened. Tyler helped me tighten them and then I was told to get into the tube. Walking backwards, so as not to trip myself with the flippers, I waded into the pond carefully and eased myself into the float tube. So far, so good. Tyler told me to go out a little ways and wait for him there until he got all set up himself. Looking around I realized that I am sitting in a LOT of brownish-green water with lots of weeds. But I'm not sinking- that's all that matters. Tyler finally joins me and we begin to go across the pond to one of Tyler's favorite spots.  We begin fishing and in a short amount of time, Tyler is reeling one in.  I try to remember my "training" as I cast. I am excited and yet terrified about catching a bass. (They wiggle and are gross, you know.) Sure enough, I have a bite. I yank up on the fishing pole and reel like crazy. Oh...and I'm screaming and kicking like mad. I don't know what came over me--but that type of behavior seemed appropriate at the time. After I get the bass somewhat close to my float tube I realize with trepidation that I can't catch another fish until I get this googley-eyed fish off my hook. GROSS. Not happening. It took a while, but I kicked my way over to Tyler's float tube and let him do the nasty work. And actually, that's what I did for all 10 bass that I caught. I did at one point try to get the fish off the hook by myself. You have to stick your thumb in their bottom lip and hold tight while you undo the hook with your other hand. I got as far has having my thumb in the fish's mouth, but I SWEAR it licked me! That was the end of that!
All in all, I really enjoyed the fishing trip. I got to experience what Tyler enjoys doing and I even got to enjoy it with him. My only complaint (in all seriousness) is that there isn't a cup holder in the float tube to hold my Mountain Dew! :)

Flower Pillows

This project was SO SO SO much fun! Part way through this project my Tiny Tailor died. So I got a new sewing machine! (Apparently the Tiny Tailor is meant for tailoring...not sewing felt onto pillows.:)) 

Here's what you need to get started:

-- A little over a 1/2 yard of fabric….19 inches to be exact. You can get away with a half yard if you already have it, just cut your pieces to 18" instead of 19". 

-- 1/4 yard felt. Buy the good stuff on the bolt and not the cheap sheets in the kids crafts section. Buy a half yard just to be safe.

-- A large and small cup (or other circles) for tracing, a large bowl for tracing, a pen, scissors, and cardstock to make your template.

Trace and cut out the circles in your cardstock. I used two different sized circles. One was 2.5 inches and the other was 3.5 inches in diameter. 

 I traced and cut out roughly 30 large circles, and 20 small circles. Then I cut all of the circles in half.

Next I cut my fabric into three pieces.

1 large square 19 inches x 19 in. , 1 rectangle 19 in. x 15 in. , and 1 rectangle 19 in. x 12 in.

On the right side of the 19 in. by 19 in. square, I traced a bowl which made a large circle in the middle. I left 4-5 inches or so around the edges. The line I drew was to help with placing the petals in a perfect circle.

I lined up the edge of a large petal along the line I had traced. As I sewed the petals on, I overlapped the petals about a 1/4 inch. I continued sewing around the circle, adding petals.

 After I did four or five rows of large petals and I got closer to the center, I switched to the small petals. As I got closer to the center I curved and bunched the straight edge of the petals so they stood up a little and looked like real petals. When I got to the center I added a couple petals that were good and bunched at the bottom for extra volume.

I finished the short edges (12 inch and 15 inch) of my two back rectangles by folding one side under 1/2" twice and sewing. I placed my pillow front and back pieces right sides together, and lined up the edges. I put the larger rectangle down first against the flower with the right sides together, then put my smaller rectangle on top if it, right sides together. I used lots if pins. :)

 I sewed around the edges with a 1/2" inch inseam. Because home decor fabric frays easily, you can serge or do a quick zig zag stitch around the edges. (I don't have a serger, so I just did the zig zag stitch). I trimmed the corners and turned it inside out. Tada!!

This was by far the most I have enjoyed doing a sewing project! Hope all the instructions weren't too confusing! :)

Coffee Filter Wreath

WARNING: This craft takes A LOT of time and depending on your wreath size, it takes approximately 500 coffee filters. There. You've been warned. :) But it was still a lot of fun to do. Just make sure you aren't planning on finishing it during your kiddo's naptime. :)

What made my wreath take a little longer is that I decided to dye all of my coffee filters. I bought some regular $0.89 bottles of paint from Michaels. 

I diluted the paint with some water in separate cups. Then I put each coffee filter in for a few seconds so they would absorb the color. (In hindsight, I should have had bigger containers to put the filters in for the coloring. It would have been much faster.) Then I spread them out on some foil to dry. (Needless to say, this was a process that I spread out over several days.)

After they had finished drying, I started using my hot glue gun to stick them to my wreath form. I purposely left the plastic on the wreath form so that if for some reason I want to use it for something else I can just tear the plastic off and still have a good wreath form to use. Also, MAKE SURE you attach the ribbon that you'll use for hanging the wreath BEFORE you start gluing. It will be much easier now than later.

I also recommend some Mountain Dew to help get you through this project. :)
Here is the final product!

I will say, if you are hanging your wreath outside you will want to see if the sun hits it at all because otherwise the filters will begin to fade. Thankfully, we have a bit of an overhang so we are good to go!