Schemanski Shenanigans

5 Days With "Grampa Louie"

noreply@blogger.com (Niki) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 00:52:00 +0000

Down the beach at Captain Cook

Niki's dad recently came to Alaska and stayed with us for 5 days! So we packed in as much fun, visiting, and site-seeing as we possibly could... and even managed to get a couple naps in there too! Our first day was spent enjoying coffee and cinnamon rolls together in the morning, some visiting on the patio, and then a drive out to Nikiski ending at Captain Cook Park. We showed him all the meaningful places to us along our drive, and it was fun for Ty and I to reminisce about our childhood in Nikiski.

Grampa Louie with Nya

Grampa Louie with Elliana

Looks like some serious guy-talk here...

I (Niki) am not the photographer of the family, but this is one of my best shots!

The easy one to photograph...


This one takes a little more work... cute as a button, but slightly uncooperative sometimes :)


How can you resist a little snuggle time on a big huge boulder, I mean really?...

While Niki was making dinner Louie took Nya for a walk out onto the big hill in front of our house.

That evening we had a wonderful family dinner filled with lots of visiting and laughing.

The next day we set out on our first adventure ~ a glacier cruise out of Whittier. It turned out to be a bigger adventure than we'd planned because we missed the tunnel opening by 10 minutes and that meant we missed our boat... oopsie. The cruise staff kindly made us a reservation for the next day, but now we had a decision to make. Do we turn back home and make the drive again the next morning, or do we head into Anchorage and do something fun there? We decided to do the latter of two even though we were totally unprepared for staying the night any where. In our spontaneous decision to pursue fun we headed to the zoo!

Niki enjoying the petting zoo as much as the girls!

After our fun at the zoo we toured around Anchorage for a bit and made our way to Orso's for dinner. Then it was back to the hotel for some swimming! The next day we made sure to leave early and make it to the tunnel on time and we ended up having some time to kill in Whittier before our boat left.

Enjoying one of the many glaciers we got to see on this cruise. Surprisingly there wasn't much calving, but they were still very beautiful to see. We saw a lot of seals, otters, and birds... no whales though :(

Ok, this picture cracks me up because I want to caption it something like "6 hours is way too long on a boat with two kids..." But the girls really did a great job and Dad enjoyed every bit of it (I think, or at least he pretended well!)

The following days were filled with so much fun that we forgot to take pictures...grrr... seriously. We stayed home one day and my dad made some amazing clam dip and his fantastic homemade spaghetti sauce, and later told me that some of the meat he used was cow tale. Hmmm... can't say that's a regular item on my grocery list, but it sure made some good spaghetti sauce! Sunday morning Ty and I had to be at the church early for band practice and so grampa got the girls ready and brought them to church all by himself and was even early - amazing! I am still mad at myself for not getting a picture of all of us at church together... grrr. It was a blast having dad there and getting to introduce him to friends and family. That afternoon it was naps for everyone and then back to church for a potluck dinner. Then all of us went to Carl's Junior for ice cream ~ can you tell we like to eat in our family?! Dad and I stayed up late visiting and enjoying the last bit of time together before he had to leave the next morning. The next morning we drug the girls out of bed early and all went to the airport together and had breakfast at PJ's and then watched grampa Louie's plane take off. The 5 days flew by (as we knew they would) but it was perfect... well except that we ran out of time and didn't get to take him on a Rhino Ride. But aside from that (and forgetting to take more pictures) I can't imagine it being better!

I can have everything I want!

noreply@blogger.com (Ty) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 01:29:00 +0000

John 15:7 (NLTSE)
"...you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!"

Many of us are familiar with these words of Jesus in the gospel of John. We read them and think about how much God loves us and that he desires to give good gifts to us as his children. Generally speaking I think we understand that he's not saying we can ask to win the lottery or to be given a new car and expect those things to happen. But what about praying for things that don't seem so self-centered? Asking for a loved one to be healed or broken relationships to be restored? Do we get upset with God when things that seem like they should be his will don't happen? God works all things for the good of those who love him right?

This is a stumbling block for many. We pray for something that aligns with our impression of God's will and it doesn't happen.

Enter: the rest of the verse...

John 15:7
"But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!"

IF we remain in him, and his words remain in us, THEN we may ask for anything we want and it will be granted... So the question is, what does it mean to "remain in" Jesus and his words "remain in" us? In John 15:10 Jesus said "When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love." For us to obey his commandments we have to know his commandments, and don't be fooled to think that he's only referring to the ten commandments of the Old Testament. He is referring to everything he preached while he was on this earth. Including Mark 8:34 where he said “...If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me." This is a daily decision we have to purposefully make, not something that we can say once then go on living in ignorant bliss. Remaining in Christ is the resulting action of our faith and belief in him; daily turning to him in reliant prayer, seeking to know him through the reading of his word.

Does this mean that before our feet hit the floor in the morning we can say a little prayer, read a couple verses, try to obey everything Jesus taught and expect to get everything we ask for? Certainly not! John 14:13 sheds a little more light on this saying, "You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father." Here Jesus makes it clear that the reason God answers our prayers is for his glory.

Let's look at a scenario to put some context to this. Surely God would receive glory for allowing a baby to be conceived and fully developing in its mother’s womb ending with a complication free birth. The miracle of life can only be explained as a display of Gods glory. But now suppose that four months after conception he decided to allow that baby to miscarry, knowing that the parents would develop more character and depend on him more deeply, ultimately bringing him more glory. Are we OK with this?

I know that from my limited perspective I have no right telling God what outcome is going to bring him the most glory... Take Lazarus for example. He was critically ill and his sisters, Mary and Martha, sent for Jesus knowing that he could heal their brother. It's obvious that they were not thinking, "God let our brother die for your glory!" I have a feeling that it was out of the pain and fear of losing him that they asked Jesus to come. And their requests were not immediately answered. Lazarus did die and their hopes were dashed. They even told Jesus that if he'd gotten there earlier Lazarus wouldn't have died. It wasn't a lack of faith that prevented Lazarus from dying; they knew Jesus could heal him. It was God deciding that healing him in his illness wasn't going to be as effective for his glory as what was planned.

Jesus, knowing the final outcome of this situation said "...Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this." (John 11:4) Again Jesus points out the fact that the glory is the whole point. If you were in Mary or Martha's position wouldn't it make sense to pray for the healing? God is going to get glory for a healing right? We have such a limited point of view when it comes to knowing what will ultimately bring the most glory to God. The bible says that the heart above all things is deceitful and it also says that out of the heart the mouth speaks. I have a feeling that even when we think that we know what to pray for in a situation there's no way to be certain that it's God's will.

So what should we pray for? If anyone ever knew how to pray it was Jesus and he instructed us to pray like this:

Matthew 6:9-10 (KJV)
(9) ...Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. (10) Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

The only thing I can pray that I can guarantee will line up with the will of God is that His will be done! That's not to say it's wrong to pray for healing, restoration, freedom, or any number of things. We just have to keep in perspective that God receiving glory is far more important than our own desires.

So how then can we have everything we ask for?

When our desire for God to be glorified exceeds our selfish desire to have things go our way, then we will have all that we want. Suppose I interview for a promotion at work and I pray that God would give it to me if it's his will, then I don't end up getting it? I still got what I wanted because his will was accomplished and he will be glorified by my staying where I'm at. This is much easier to say than to live out because we are so selfish, but it is very powerful! When we can truly rest in knowing that God is sovereign and that his will is always accomplished we can let go of trying to figure out what we should be praying for and focus on obeying his commands, remaining in his love.

My Favorite Painting

noreply@blogger.com (Niki) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:31:00 +0000

I was just laying on the couch enjoying a relaxing moment while Elliana was napping and Nya was finishing her bath with Daddy. I'm a woman and don't have a "nothing box" (those of you who've watched "Laughing Your Way To A Better Marriage" know what I'm talking about), so my mind does not shut off even when I desperately want it to. So, I was looking at my favorite painting which hangs on the wall in our living room. I have loved this painting since I saw it in the "Burlington Coat Factory Art Gallery" for the high price of $80... definitely worth such a high price. Anyways, this painting has been the source of more than a few conversations between Ty and I. A typical conversation might go something like this:

Niki: "This painting just makes me so happy!"
Ty: "Doesn't it bother you that it's not realistic?"
Niki: "What's not realistic about it?"
Ty: "The shadows are all wrong. They're impossible." He would then go onto explain exactly why the sun could not possibly cast the shadows in multiple directions as shown in the painting. Niki: "Who cares, it makes me happy and that's all that matters."

So as I was laying on the couch I stared at this painting wanting desperately to figure out how it just might be possible for this painting to be accurate (after-all don't most artists study these types of things prior to venturing into creating such high-end pieces as one might find at Burlington Coat Factory?) I tried to imagine that maybe there were buildings unseen that distorted the shadows or caused them to be seen the way they are in the painting. But as I laid there examining it carefully I finally had to conclude as Ty had done 7 years ago that "it's just not realistic".

I want this painting to be accurate because it makes me happy. It's filled with sunlight coming from all different directions and who doesn't like lots of sunshine? It's enchanting and inviting to me. But, the bottom line is, it's not realistic and that's a fact.

Is it possible that in some ways we do the same thing with our view of Jesus... God... Heaven ... Salvation ... the Holy Spirit? We want to make them work the way WE want them to. Sometimes we can paint our own pictures of what Truth is. The problem is we don't get all the angles right and the shadows fall in unrealistic places. The Reality stays the same. God does not change and has not changed since the creation of the world. We are allowed to paint a picture that "just makes us happy" (just as the artist who painted this wonderful scene was allowed to do), but in the end we'll eventually come to terms with the fact that it just isn't accurate.

I've looked at this picture and felt happy thousands of times. So why today does it occur to me that if it's not realistic then it just doesn't do the same thing for me any more? Who knows. But God does the same thing in our lives some times, doesn't He? We're going along our merry way and then something begins to shake our world and we all of a sudden get it. For me, I'd rather walk through this earthly life living in the Truth (even though it's not as pretty sometimes) then to walk through it naively believing whatever makes me happy at the time.

The Greatest Day In History

noreply@blogger.com (Niki) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:58:00 +0000

"The greatest day in history, death is beaten, you have rescued me. Shout it out - Jesus is alive!" These are the opening lyrics from one of my latest favorite songs "Happy Day", and they're still resounding in my head after leading worship on Easter Sunday. Personally, Easter is my favorite holiday. On Good Friday I always reflect on the fact that if it weren't for Jesus willingly suffering the cruelties of the crucifixion so that I could know God then I would be one mean-spirited, used up, selfish woman! Ah, but then Easter comes and I'm reminded that the cross wasn't the end of the story... it's the fact that he rose from the dead that makes all the difference! Many prophets and saints have died having taught good things and lived fairly good lives by our standards, but only ONE rose from the dead! And that brings me hope. Hope that I too will rise from the dead one day to meet my God face to face. Hope that I will rise from the "dead places" in my heart while I'm still here on Earth. Hope that makes me believe if God can raise Christ from the grave then he can do a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g! So, that's why I love Easter. But along with that celebration comes some wonderful family time, excellent food, and fun traditions!...

The fun began on Good Friday with the coloring of Easter eggs.

Saturday morning we did our Easter egg hunt inside the house. We weren't sure if Elli would get the idea or even be interested in trying to find the eggs, but she surprised us by finding the first two within minutes of starting the hunt!

The girls showing off their trophies!

Later that night Elli decided there was no sense in waiting for mom to take off her clothes before getting in the bath...

Sunday after church we headed to Mom and Dad Schemanski's house for a big family dinner and Easter egg hunt. Auntie Tera with her sweet Ruby Marie... almost 3 months old now.

We knew this would be a nearly impossible task, but we attempted to get all 7 cousins to sit still and look at the camera for a picture... we took like 10 pics and this was as good as it got!

Time for the outdoor Easter egg hunt!...

Who knew an Easter egg hunt could require helmets?! This was a hilarious sight... for some reason our girls decided they needed helmets for this activity!

I don't want to boast here, but do you love my impeccable fashion design?

"I spy something greeeeeen..."

Nya LOVED the Easter egg hunt!

Cousin Sadie with her basket full.

Papa and Grami came early Sunday morning to get the girls ready for church since Ty and I were practicing for worship.

The girls were quite excited to open their eggs and find the treasures inside! ... after a quick horsie ride of course.

Old Habits Are Hard To Break

noreply@blogger.com (Niki) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 06:44:00 +0000

"You see these fingers?... well you won't be seeing them in my mouth any more!"

We recently celebrated a victorious milestone in Nya's life... no more sucking those two fingers up-side-down! It's been a tough habit to break, but thanks to some disgusting nail polish she finally conquered it! So after one week of no finger-sucking we took her out on a special date to "The Moose Is Loose"... the famous donut shop here in town!

Yes, that is indeed 5 large donuts for a small family of 4.

1 vanilla latte and 1 strawberry steamer with LOTS of whip-cream!

Life doesn't get much better ~ donuts, coffee, happy kids, kisses... and a sugar rush coming in half an hour...

All dolled up for the big donut-date.

No, that's not laundry under that basket... it's Nya.

"What-choo lookin at?"

True Alaskan girls going outside in the snow wearing their pajamas.

Helping Daddy make pancakes...

Sometimes a princess doesn't always feel like a princess.

Every kids favorite part :)

In case you can't read the shirt it says "Girls Rock"

This is where we found Nya and Sadie one evening while having a family dinner. We knew they were downstairs and Niki's comment was "Oh don't worry there's nothing down there that they can get into." Well who says they have to get INTO anything!

Daddy turned the living room into a fort one evening while watching the girls!

"Could somebody get me the newspaper please?"

Oahu Days 1 & 2

noreply@blogger.com (Ty) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 09:56:00 +0000

Well it's the end of day number two and we are having a blast! Yesterday was pretty laid back and we just spent a couple hours at the beach playing. Today was a little more adventureous. Most of the day is documented by the attached pictures. Really the only thing missing is pictures of me (Ty) getting groud into the sand while bodysurfing on the North Shore in 8'+ waves. (I'm still draining saltwater and sand out of my sinuses.) Niki also saw some whales breeching as we drove aeound the coast. All I saw was a couple water spouts but she said they were coming most of the way up out of the water before I started watching. Go figure. Please excuse the picture quality, all the following pics were taken with my iPhone, which is also how I posted this entry. On to the pics:

Nya is 'diggin' the beach.

Breakfast on the beach. The hotel actually has little cooler bags and a great continental breakfast so that you can eat on the beach. We've really enjoyed it.

The hotel: Aston Waikiii Beach Hotel

Walking back from breakfast.

Hotel room view. The zoo is actually in the bottom left.

We spent about 4 houre at the Honolulu Zoo today and the girls absolutely loved it. We'll be going back again.

On the east side of the island north of Hanauma Bay a little ways. Today we drove up the east side and back down the center.

All in all this beats staying home by a longshot!
-- Post From My iPhone

Off to Hawaii

noreply@blogger.com (Ty) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 22:54:00 +0000

Well it's a little last minute but we decided to take a trip to
Hawaii! All the details worked out perfectly and were on the
airplane. Nya is so excited to spend time on the beach. More pics to
come...

So We're Moving?

noreply@blogger.com (Ty) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:58:00 +0000

Well many of you have heard the news that these Shenanigans are headed to the midwest. For those that haven't, guess what? We're moving to Michigan! Everyone that has found out has asked the same reasonable and expected question, "Why?" It's been interesting trying to convey exactly why we feel like we're making this move and it's been equally interesting seeing peoples reactions. We're not planning on heading out until April at the soonest, and a lot will depend on the sale of our home up here. The location is Saint Joseph, MI a quaint little lakeside town in southwest Michigan just across the lake from Chicago.

View Larger Map

Throughout this process Niki has been keeping notes about how we got to where we are and we figured we'd share those with you. It's a little lengthy so get something warm to drink and settle in...

--edit--
So I just realized that this doesn't really state "why." It's more of how we got to the point we're at. The why is to pursue ministry of some sort... Don't really have much more info than that...

------------------------------------

In November we purchased “Hailey’s House”, as we’ve come to call it, from Scott and Lisa Walters. This decision is both an act of obedience and a step of faith for us. Ty does not have a job prospect in Michigan. We don’t have a buyer for our current home. There are no ministry positions, recording contracts, or can’t-resist-offers being made to us. From a financial standpoint this could be the best move we’ve ever made or the one that forces us to live from paycheck to paycheck. From a relational standpoint we could be leaving the best friends we’ll ever have… or we might become the best friend someone’s never had. From a ministry perspective we might be stepping into the promise land… or we might find ourselves wandering for years debating whether we should return back to where we came from. But we trust in this promise of Proverbs 3:5,6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your steps.”

The obvious question to ask someone who’s moving is “Why are you moving to such-and-such location?” Our answer to this question has been difficult to put into words. As reasonable, fairly intelligent, play-it-safe kind of people we want to give a logical explanation to the question, but our best answer seems to be “It just feels like we’re supposed to do this.” Hmmm, a feeling huh? Feelings are messy. Feelings change with circumstances. Feelings can be hormonal. Feelings are scary. But as we’ve tried to come up with better reasons we just haven’t been able to honestly convince ourselves that any of those reasons are actually good enough to make us leave behind what we have here. This isn’t one of those situations where the pros far out way the cons. You can’t put a price on the relationships we have here. Those things are not worth trading for warmer weather, a change of scenery, or different activities. But there is One thing that compels us to move through life with open eyes and open ears, and that’s God. Not just “a god”. The one true God, the One who has redeemed us through his very own son Jesus Christ, and the One who says “I know the plans I have for you…” Jeremiah 29:11

We have sensed for about 5 years now that we were going to be moving out of Alaska, but knew that our job was to be faithful to use our gifts and serve while waiting for the next step to be revealed. Prophetic words have spurred us on, but we never sensed a clear or specific direction until now. We could’ve never predicted that a family vacation to Michigan would turn into this. However, in hindsight we see many pieces of a Divine puzzle coming together.

Niki often journals about significant events or conversations, and those documented interactions have been one of the ways the Lord has shown us the unveiling of this plan over the past 5 years.

Going all the way back to April 2004, Chuck Flinn (anointed speaker with the gift of prophecy) spoke a prophetic word over Niki saying “The anointing of the Lord shall bless and strengthen, and you will be at the right place at the right time. Amen! So get ready! Because of your faithfulness there’s going to be an effectual door opening and you’ll see the promotion-end of the Lord and you’ll know thy God reigns. So get ready.” His prophecy was much lengthier and other parts of it were fulfilled within months and years. But the words “being in the right place at the right time… effectual door opening” was a lingering portion that we now believe was fulfilled the day that we were driving in the back alley behind Scott & Lisa Walter’s house. Her kids, Seth and Hailey, were playing and she hurried to get them out of the way. We ended up stopping to ask her a few questions about the house for sale next to hers. After visiting for a while she offered to let us look at her house if we didn’t end up liking the other one because they were considering buying another house. We took her up on that offer and toured their home two days later. When we walked out of their house we both knew that was going to be the house we would buy if we moved to St. Joseph. This was confirmed to us the 2^nd day after we got back home to Alaska. In the morning Niki prayed and asked God to speak to both of us in a way that was almost audible and would help us to feel absolutely certain in this and not put the pressure to “hear from God” on one or the other of us.” Later that afternoon we were all driving in the car and the girls were napping. When Nya woke up we heard her mumble something from the back seat, but all we heard were the words “God” and “Hailey”. So we asked Nya “What did you say?” And Nya replied “God is bringing Hailey’s house to we.” She uses the word “we” instead of “us” a lot of times, but we knew exactly what she was trying to say. But just to make sure, we asked her again “What did you say?” And Nya repeated the exact same words very clearly. We didn’t want to make a big deal about it so we just tucked that moment away in our hearts. A few days later Niki asked Nya “Did God tell you something about Michigan?” And Nya said, “Ya, God is bringing Hailey’s house to we.” Over the next couple weeks we continued to talk with the Walters and made a verbal agreement to purchase their house. At that point Lisa shared with us that her son (six years old) told her the week before we looked at their house that he wanted to move. She said this was odd because they go to open houses every Sunday and he always says that he doesn’t want to move. The day we were in her back alley was the same day she toured a house that she said they just knew they were going to buy, even though they hadn’t put their house on the market yet. She said she hesitated to say anything to us about their house because she didn’t think anything would come of it, but “something inside her was prompting her to do it anyways.” Little did she know that invitation would result in the sale of her home!

In June 2005 a trusted older woman in our church called Niki and said the Lord had given her a word for us during her prayer time. She had Niki write it down exactly: “My beloved children I am here. I am watching. I am pleased you have questions. Seek first the Kingdom of God and I will give you direction. Look only to me and I will show you the path. On the 3^rd day I will send you a sign. Prepare yourselves to receive my word. Clear yourselves of doubt and worry. I know the plans I have for you. Trust in the Lord and lead not on your own understanding.” It was on our third day in St. Joseph that we found “Hailey’s House” and met Lisa.

Throughout 2005 the word Chicago seemed to be popping up a lot. It was unusual how many times in a day the word Chicago would come up in conversations, prayer times, on the television, radio, and all sorts of interesting ways. It caused Niki to take notice and begin asking God what it was all about. It became so strong that we decided to fly into Chicago and stay a few days while on a different trip to Michigan in October 2006. We ended up staying over in St. Joseph for two nights with Ty’s cousin while on our way to another cousins wedding and found ourselves driving around looking at property because we liked the town. But after coming home we knew it wasn’t the right time to be pursuing that. When we returned back to St. Joseph on this latest trip we both felt that same feeling we’d had the first time we visited… strongly enough that we extended our stay in order to pray and explore the town further. At this point we’re not sure if Chicago will be a place of ministry for us, a place for schooling, or if God just used it as the destination that took us to St. Joseph in the first place. Whatever role it ends up playing we see this as one more orchestration of God’s divine leading.

In January of 2006 our youth pastor at New Life Assembly of God) had a dream about Ty and felt compelled to share it with him. He said he rarely remembers his dreams, so this was odd to him. He said: “The dream was very brief but you and Niki were in another location working in a job that you absolutely loved and were so excited about. There was a symbol in the background that caught my attention and it looked like a hexagon.” While in St. Joseph we visited First Assembly of God “The Blue Roof Church” and really enjoyed it. We spent about an hour afterwards visiting and praying with the pastors. After being back home in Alaska for a few weeks Tera (Ty’s sister) asked me if the church we visited was the hexagon one. She said when you look at it on Google Earth from overhead it is the shape of a blue hexagon. So I got on Google Earth myself and it’s actually an octagon, but could easily be mistaken for a hexagon. So, if we wanted to throw this one out on a technicality we could, but we both feel pretty confident that this is another fulfilling of prophecy.

When praying with the Associate Pastor at First Assembly in St. Joseph he spoke a word that stuck with us. He said multiple times “You’ll just know that you know. It’s like when you get married. You just know.” When we stepped out of “Hailey’s house” we both had that feeling. Then coming home we just continued to pray and the more we prayed the stronger the feeling got. That Associate Pastor even prayed against the spirit of sickness hindering us from moving to St. Joseph, and wasn’t sure why he felt led to pray that way. After we got home and all four of us got bronchitis, sinus infections, and two of us got pink eye, we knew we needed to press on and continue seeking God for the answer to our question about moving.

It has been so interesting for us to see how prophetic words spoken years ago have been brought back into our minds in order to confirm and direct this decision. Journal entries, tattered pieces of paper, and audio tapes that were laid to rest were all of a sudden brought back into our minds at various times almost as if the Holy Spirit was answering our questions with answers we already had.

May God be glorified however this all works out!

Schemanski.com Email

noreply@blogger.com (Ty) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:43:00 +0000

Calling all Schemanski's. I realized that I haven't formally invited many of you to a free schemanski.com email address. It's hosted through Googles Gmail, provides 7GB of free storage and is accessible all over the world including on iPhones and Blackberries. If you'd like an address just fill out the form below or go to: Schemanski.com email signup form. I plan to keep this active for the entirety of my little life so don't worry about it going away in a couple months...

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Some Recent Firsts

noreply@blogger.com (Niki) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:00:00 +0000

August has been jam-packed with fun, family vacationing, and celebrating. And with that has come many first for us and our girls. It's funny to me how such joyous events can bring that little lump in your throat because it reminds you that time is so short. Kids are growing faster than you want them to. Marriage feels like it's new in so many ways even after 10 years. We're getting to know certain family members for the first time as adults. And we're starting to classify people in their 30's and 40's as being "young like us". Hmmm... just 10 years ago those were the "old people". But I (Niki) am still in my "late 20's" for one more month, and I'm going to enjoy every day of it!

Nya's First Date... her friend Grady is about 6 months younger and quite a few inches shorter. Grady got this top-of-the-line-souped-up Jeep for his 2nd birthday. They worked together to operate it ~ Grady steered while Nya pushed down on the gas peddle. This made for a hilarious show as they drove all over the farm.

Nya's first time being a flower girl! She was so excited and still talks about it when we drive by the Lutherin church where the wedding was. There was a wonderful reception at Niki's mom's house and the kids got to play in the lake. The bride herself even ventured into the lake with her beautiful wedding dress on and danced with Nya.

Ty's first class-V white-water rafting trip down six mile creek up by Hope. Nineteen men from church went on the trip and really had a great time.

After getting stuck on a rock the only way off was to tip the raft down off it. Amazingly, nobody fell out!

We celebrated our first 10 yrs. together on August 14th while in Michigan for our family reunion (which will be a different blog post coming soon).

On our honeymoon I said to Ty "Do you think after 10 years of being married there will be anything we don't know about each other... I mean will there be anything left to discover?" Now we both chuckle at that comment because as any couple knows ~ you never stop learning about each other!

Ty & the girls' first time meeting my dad. On our way back home from Michigan we stopped off in Salt Lake City and got to visit with my dad and his wife Lisa and my half-brother Tony. I haven't known my dad since I was seven years old, but getting to know him now as an adult has been a wonderful blessing for both Ty and I. He is so kind and loving, and his wife and son were easy to love instantly. This visit was too short, but we'll look forward to seeing more of them in the future.

Nya's first bad hair day (or maybe not the first)! This isn't a major event, but this pic was too cute not to post.

And last BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEAST is our favorite "first" of all ~ Elliana turns ONE today! I seriously cannot believe it's been a year since bringing her home from the hospital. (See the post titled "Elliana's Song".) She is a precious baby with a smile that makes anyone feel like a million bucks (although hard to capture on camera for some reason). She's our little snuggler.

All The Marks of a GREAT Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Niki) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 06:41:00 +0000

It's only the beginning of July and we've already experienced days upon days of beautiful and unusually warm weather for us Alaskans! So this blog post will be short on words because, well... a picture is worth a 1000 words, as the saying goes...

Elli eating on our front patio

Sadie & Nya in their own little raft at Grandma & Grandpa's house

Ty water skiing (the mark of a TRULY great summer!)

Playing at the park

Nya playing in the sprinklers

Jumping on the kiddie trampoline (how cute is this thing!)

Nya watering the flowers

Father's Day Picnic at Captain Cook

Fourth of July Parade (AKA ~ Fire trucks, horses, motorcycles, & CANDY!)

Rain or shine we like our Rhino!

We got completely soaked with rain and hail on this ride... and laughed our heads off the whole time!... except for Elli, she slept through it.

Two of my favorite clothing items for summer ... tank tops & baby bonnets!

Lions & Tigers & Bears Oh My!!

noreply@blogger.com (Niki) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:26:00 +0000

...ok, so not really any lions, and maybe just one tiger, but still ~ the Alaska Zoo was a blast for the Shenanigans. Of allllll the things Ty could do for his 30th birthday he chose to skip out on free tickets to a motivational speaking seminar and join his girls at the zoo. And boy were we glad to have our favorite photographer along with us to capture all the fun! It was an absolutely gorgeous day and we managed to stretch our zoo visit to about 5 and a half hours ... this could be considered somewhat humorous for anyone who's been to the Alaska zoo. But we are indeed an animal-loving, photo-taking family!

There, we just saved you $12 :) no need to visit the zoo ...

"What? We missed one?"

"My go find more an-mals," said Nya all day long. "I'm just along for the ride," thought Elli.

How hard can it be to get 2 parents and 2 cute girls to all look at the camera at the same time? Apparently quite difficult! :) Oh, but it makes for some fun memories anyways :)

Train Adventure

noreply@blogger.com (Ty) — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:37:00 +0000

Niki and I managed to sneak off for a little post turnaround getaway.
We spent the night in Anchorage last night and are on the train headed
to Seward now. More to follow...

Romantic Getaway For Two

noreply@blogger.com (Niki) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 04:27:00 +0000

We left the girls and went to Homer this past Monday and Tuesday for a little getaway ... and the girls were still watching cartoons when we got back! Ha ~ kidding, kidding ... please don't report us. Anyways, thanks to a generous gift from our youth pastor & church, we got to stay at Land's End and have a wonderful dinner (King Crab for Niki & Prime Rib for Ty) and breakfast.
As anyone who's visited Homer in the winter knows, there's really nothing to
do there this time of year ... so it made it easy to relax and enjoy the beach, scenery, & hotel amenities (aka outdoor hot tub).Crossward puzzles are a favorite relaxing activity for us. This was activity #1 on Niki's agenda (would not be #1 in Ty's mind, but patience is a virtue) and she quickly did as many of the easy ones as possible before Ty joined in! We kicked butt on this one, knocked it out in less than 30 min. Then we were off to the beach for a walk to try and find a geo-cache, & we did.

Niki pointing to our favorite mountain top ~ we like the pointy, jagged ones.

We decided to do a photo session under the docks even though it was quite cold.

Niki saying to herself "smile like it's not cold, smile like it's not cold" ... :)

A three-hour lunch at Sourdough Express (another crossword & some vacation planning) & a visit to Greg & Karen Newell's were the highlights of Tuesday. A fun trip indeed! Thanks Ryan, Grandma, & Grandpa for giving us the opportunity to do this.

Super Nya!

noreply@blogger.com (Ty) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 07:15:00 +0000

Most superheroes have fancy costumes, but some are so cute they don't need one at all... Today Niki and I were blessed with the presence of our favorite super hero in our house and I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a few photo's. This is really my first foray into black and white photo's with my new camera and I have to say it's really fun. It's interesting how a lack of color can actually bring more depth to a photograph.

Mount Redoubt, Bring It On...

noreply@blogger.com (Ty) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:20:00 +0000

Well as I'm sure you're all aware, Mount Redoubt finally blew yesterday and is continuing to do so. I wish that I could have got some pics of it but as circumstances had it she came like a theif in the night. But, that doesn't mean that we're not prepared, I think the following speaks for itself...

And here's Nya's take on what happened:

Sick Day Drive

noreply@blogger.com (Ty) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 07:44:00 +0000

As many of you know the shenanigans aren't feeling all that well this week. We've been lying low and staying pretty close to home the last couple days. Enough so that we're getting tired of just being at home. So, Nya and I (ty) decided to go for a little drive in my truck to get the mail and break the monotony. I decided to grab my camera just in case I saw something picture worthy. We didn't really see that much and I still managed to take about twenty pictures too many. Here are the three most notable:

{sarcasm}Oh, look! The sun! I've never taken a picture like this before!{/sarcasm}

Nya was pointing out some birdies.

(I never saw them, I was too excited about the photo...)

Didn't really mean for this one to turn out like this. I guess it's kind of cool for an accident...

O 2 B 2

noreply@blogger.com (Niki) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 04:12:00 +0000

My little Nya bug continually impresses me with her vocabulary and comprehension, and today was no exception! So here are a few fun stories for the day...
If Mommy Says No, Ask Jesus
I was nursing Elli and Nya walks up and says "Mommy, paint Nya's nails?" (at least now she's asking instead of just doing it herself!) Anyways, I reply, "Not right now, Mommy is feeding Elli. You'll have to wait a little bit." Nya: "No! Mommy paint Nya's nails right there, peeeeaase." Mommy: "Nya, mommy can't right now. I'm feeding Elli. Mommy will paint your nails later ok." A couple minutes goes by (eternity for a two-year old) and Nya is a few feet away doing her own thing... then I hear her say "Jesus, paint Nya's nails right there", while showing him exactly what finger she wants Him to start with. After seeing no results, she again says her little one-line prayer. Moral of the story: Persistance pays off, her fingers and toes are all painted ~ by mommy (in case you were wondering).
Is That A Lie?
After Nya's nap she came excitedly running up to me asking for a cookie (she got one after her nap yesterday, so why not every day?) I said "Sorry, there's no more cookies... they're all gone." But you see, that was a wee little lie. There was ONE left... and it was mine! I didn't think twice about telling her they were all gone because basically they were (I called it.) Her response left me in a predicament ... "Mommy, show Nya cookies all gone." I said "What?", mostly to buy myself some time while I pondered what I would do. Again, in no uncertain terms the two-year-old says to her lying mom "Mommy, show Nya cookies all gone." Moral of the story: Don't lie. Even to a 2-yr-old.
Betcha Haven't Heard This Song
Nya wrote her first song today and it goes a little something like this:
"Momma pooping, momma pooping, potty chair, get a treat..." sung to the tune of Frere Jacques. Lovely. However, it's still in the creative process because she's been singing various versions of it all day. Moral of the story: You can sing just about anything to the tune of Frere Jacques.
In case you couldn't figure out the title of this blog... "Oh To Be Two"

Ski Day

noreply@blogger.com (Ty) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 22:45:00 +0000

Today Ryan and I (friend from work), came up to Alyeska for a day of
riding. It's beautiful out but a little cold so far. About 5
degrees... Were eating lunch right now. Just thought I'd drop a note.

"More pickle please?"

noreply@blogger.com (Niki) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:07:00 +0000

... said Nya after eating a bowl of pasta and 4 baby dills. And what happened next? ... up she blows. Nasty. Yes, I should have trusted my better judgment after day #4 of barfing and diarrhea, BUT the fact she even had an appetite made me want to give her whatever she was asking for (which happened to be noodles and pickles).
Some of you have called to check on us and see how we're all doing and we appreciate your thoughtfulness! So the update is ~ two girls still running at both ends, two parents feeling a bit queezy (possibly the same flu, or possibly just tired of cleaning up puke and poop). 11 loads of laundry in 3 days (typical for some families, not for us!), bed-sheets changed 5 times, 1 queen sz comforter going to the dry-cleaners, 1 freshly bleached kitchen floor, & steam-cleaner has become a permanent fixture in the living room... oh and 1 sleep-deprived mommy still in her bathrobe and glasses. I am radiant I tell you.... in that special kind of beauty that only mommy's possess ~ super models aint got nottin on us.
I'm so thankful Ty will be done working at 5pm tonight and a friend is stepping in to lead worship at the last minute so I don't have to. What a blessing! Thanks for checking in on us :)

Nya & Mommy slipped out of the house for some library time and got a new stash of books.

Elli's not handling the sickness quite as good as Nya, poor thing.

Nya helping to mop after another "spitting" incident (that's what she calls her puking). And in case you're thinking we're cruel parents that make our 2-yr-olds mop up their own puke, we're not ... she did this on her own :)

Nya getting cleaned up after her most recent episode. If you look closely you can see the pickle/noodle barf on the tray in the sink ... also notice the candle burning to try and hide the smell (not working as well as I'd like).
Nya enjoying her "special treat" afterwards.

Which Is Grosser?

noreply@blogger.com (Niki) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 06:33:00 +0000

.... barf or diarrhea? ... or how bout both mixed? Ya, I know. Disgusting. That's what I got to clean up in Nya's high chair after finally getting both girls to bed tonight (a tiny miracle in itself). My poor babies are both sick so my day started out with cleaning up puke and ended in the same way :) Nya can't seem to keep anything down and if it's not coming out one end it's the other (if you're confused just read opening line again). She's been such a trooper all day though, quite snuggly and loving ~ and patient when Elli needed my care more than herself. It's so hard to see your little ones sick, makes me sad. I know that any mom reading this is totally relating. So, I guess I don't really have much more to say ... and you'll just have to forgive me if once again I've broken blogging etiquette. I think I'm going to apply for that show "America's Dirtiest Job's" now ~ Mom.

I guess Elmo isn't quite as exciting when you're sick.

"Did you toot?"

Nya loves to "help" cook... "Nya do it."

Are words really necessary...?

"Wadup homey."

Is it Worth It?

noreply@blogger.com (Ty) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 04:26:00 +0000

As an Alaskan mom I often ask myself this question when it comes to winter activities. On average it takes about 20 minutes to get both the girls and myself ready to go play outside in the winter. And how long do we actually spend outside?... hmmm... on a good day, maybe 25 minutes. Then it's back inside, and another 10 minutes of undressing and cleaning up. So, I ask myself, is it worth it? On the day I got this video clip I was definitely asking myself that question because Elli had been crying through the entire dressing process and then on and off throughout our time outside, but I reallllly wanted to shovel the steps... so I got desperate and drug this toy outside...

Watch in High Quality
So the answer is, YES!, it's worth it! Always. Ok maybe just most of the time. Ok sometimes I question why we live here.

Who Made The Moon & Stars?

noreply@blogger.com (Niki) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 01:05:00 +0000

So it turns out I get a lot of praise from the hubby for blogging, which in turn motivates me to do it more! I think I get way more "atta-girls" for blogging than doing the laundry or cooking so I've decided I'll let those things go and spend that extra time blogging every day... he won't mind right?
Anyways, some of you may have noticed the incredibly gorgeous full moon the past few mornings and will know what I'm talking about as I describe this moment. Two mornings ago I felt prompted to get out of bed much earlier than I needed to... and will never regret doing so. Nya and I had one of my favorite moments together so far in her sweet little 2 years on Earth. I had been up reading and praying when I noticed the full moon sitting low on the horizon out our dining room window. So I turned off all the lights, grabbed a blanket, and sat at the table with my coffee and just marveled at what I was looking at. The moon was glorious... yellow... haunting with some clouds gently encasing it's glow. There's such a feeling of "it's just me and God" when I'm either up super late or super early. I love those moments. After about 20 min. I heard Nya calling from her bedroom so I quietly went & scooped her into my arms w/out turning on any lights. I quietly wispered "Let mommy show you something". So we went to the window and I pointed to the moon. She giggled and exclaimed "Moon! Oh wow!" For the next 15 or so minutes the two of us sat in the dark staring at the stars, moon, and clouds. Nya was as captivated as I was. Something about being snuggled together on one chair, under one blanket, looking at one gigantic moon made me care less what the rest of the day was going to be like. I knew all too soon she'd snap back into her typical two-yr-old behavior. But for those precious minutes she was my best friend and fellow worshiper. ... but... when asked who made the moon and stars she confidently replied "daddy." :)

This One's For the Grandparents

noreply@blogger.com (Niki) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:33:00 +0000

Grandma Great

Nana

Papa

Grandma

Papa Pastor

Jolie

Nya's 1st Ice Cream w/ Grandma & Grandpa Great

This blog post is in honor of our favorite babysitters ~ oops I mean grandparents! This morning I had the opportunity to go have coffee with some friends (thanks to my mom watching the girls) and the joke came up about how the word "babysitter" could easily be substituted for "grandparent". And boy are we blessed because of it! Since both Ty and I have our immediate families here, we don't lack for grandparents close by! So this post is a tribute to the wonderful love, care, and free babysitting that comes from those dearest to us.

Burning The Midnight Oil

noreply@blogger.com (Niki) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 07:59:00 +0000

I think I'm starting to understand the true meaning of the statement "Momma burns the midnight oil". There was an old song with that title and somehow from listening to it I got the impression that "momma burning the midnight oil" went something like this. Momma tucks her beautiful children into bed, turns out the lights, then quietly slips into her closet to put on a beautiful long nightgown that's both comfortable and attractive to her husband (is there a nightgown like that?). Her hair and makeup look slightly worn from the day, but she still radiates beauty. She quietly sits in her favorite chair under the glow of a lamp sipping on Chamomille Tea while reading the Bible. Then she kneels down to spend her last minutes of the day talking with God. Kinda makes you go "ahhh" doesn't it? Well, let me tell you what I really think it means. Momma's burnin the midnight oil cuz she can't get nottin done durin' the day! The normal routine for this momma goes a little more like this... tuck the girls into bed, turn out the lights, listen to Nya say "Wud you" 4 or 5 times after I've shut the door, then go to the bathroom because it's probably been 5 hours since I last went. There's no time for nightgowns and tea... it's off to the kitchen to clean, sweep, and sometimes mop. Then the dryer usually dings letting me know that my final load for the day is done. Then I do a quick cleanup of all the miscilaneous toys, dolls, & animals strung all over the house. At this point it's probably about 10:15 and I'm getting tired physically so this is when I work on bills, mail, emails, worship team prep/schedules, & go through photos (we take like 10 a day). I might add that my hair is not gently swept up as I imagine the lady's was in the song, but more like a tangled mess on top of my head. And my makeup has pretty much been rubbed off, sweated off, or cried off (as seems to be the case lately). By 11:30 I start thinking "oh it's getting late, I better call it quits".... "oh, but I just wanted to get one last thing done for the day..." next thing I know it's 12:30 and I think "hmmm, I'm kind of hungry". Off to the kitchen for a snack... nothing dainty like tea, usually cereal actually. Then it finally hits me ~ I AM TIRED. So I wash my face, brush my teeth (or not ... but don't tell my hygienist, he thinks I brush AND floss), then put on my footed pajamas. Yip. Yes they do make them for grown ups... especially for momma's burnin the midnight oil.