Toots and Smooches

Nella

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:55:00 +0000

My new favorite blog and mommy/photographer has an interview with CNN!!!! Crazy that this new little life that was given to her is making such an impact on the world already!

I first shared her story here in a previous post.

Beachy

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:49:00 +0000

The one place in the world that makes Noah's spirit jump for joy is the beach. He LOVES to play at the beach, even if it's only 60 degrees and he can't get into the ocean. We went to Charleston for the day this past weekend. My sisters have been there all week for spring break, so we decided to meet them there along with my parents. It's been 7 months since we've been to the beach and I've missed it, I know Noah has. And this was Nina's first trip to the beach and to Charleston.

I often wonder what happens when people move to live at the beach permanently, if they still have that love and excitement for the beach as they had before they lived there? And I often wonder if anyone were given the opportunity to live anywhere they wanted, why the heck they would not choose to live at the beach? Any answers? Thoughts?

Does the novelty just wear off? I wonder if I were to live at the beach, if I'd take it for granted. Because from where I stand right now, I could go to the beach after having the worst day of my life and feel better after walking along the ocean.

Thank you God for making beaches and the vast ocean for us to enjoy. We love it.

Noah and mom running to the beach. Have I mentioned that Noah LOVES the beach?

Dad with Gus who only cares about eating his popcorn.

Gus did take his sand castle building very serious.

One of Mike's many jobs at the beach: flying the airplane kite.
and chasing the seagulls away from Gus after they attacked him for his bag of popcorn, ha!

Nina's first trip to beach (doesn't count, really, bc she didn't touch the water)

Our beach time was cut short bc Dad was getting hungry for some crustaceans.

The absolute cutest thing happened. As we were walking down the path, Noah was the last one and we noticed that he was turned around and was waving. He had to say "good-bye" to his beloved beach until next time. So sweet.

Nina & Friends

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:31:00 +0000

She's growing so fast I can't even stand it. Here are a few shots from Nina's social life - which is much more active than mine these days. I'm so blessed to be home with her all day. Her smile lights up my day. I love you my little Anina Bambina.

Playing with Madison.

Getting ready to eat Raggedy Andy's face.

Laughing at Austin.

Looking like a sweet girlface baby in one of my outfits as a baby.

Sharing something I've really enjoyed reading lately,

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 01:37:00 +0000

the beginning of the story of a little girl named Nella. She is only one month old, has down syndrome and a mother who takes beautiful pictures and loves her to pieces even though she wasn't what she expected in a baby - but is slowly learning that she is much, much more. Her mother writes honest, funny, and very real posts about the journey on her blog, Enjoying the Small Things.

I love what she wrote in her first post about the birth and realization of her daughter's condition. Thanks Gwen for sharing this with me.

Don't Upset the Rhythm

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 03:26:00 +0000

Acceptance

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:17:00 +0000

I feel like I need to post something on here since it's been so long. But I feel it might be a little boring because I don't have new pictures to post. I haven't had my lens for a while and blog posts without pictures are just boring, right?

So this boring, but honest, post is about the word I have chosen to theme this year around, "Accepted". I chose this word because I need to work on how I feel Acceptance. Who I feel Acceptance from. Why I want to be Accepted. And how my behavior and actions and sin revolve around my need for Acceptance.

I'll give an example. A couple of weeks ago Noah spent an hour in the Ikea children's play area (check a child in for an hour of supervised daycare for free). After shopping with a friend for an hour, I picked him up and had a disturbing report from the worker. She said that he had a hard time obeying the rules, i.e. liked to jump into the big bin of balls - hello! of course a 3 year old boy would want to jump in balls, isn't that what they are in there for? I apologized to the woman and continued shopping. I thought more on what had happened and after talking to Noah about obedience, we went back for him to apologize to the woman. With a very teary face, he finally kind of said he was sorry, I think he was very embarrassed and scared and maybe even ashamed, but that's okay, he disobeyed. So back to my feelings - for the next several days, I couldn't stop thinking about this incident, not because I felt Noah needed more discipline, but because of the way it made me feel. I was nervous, sad, and felt rejected. It's hard to describe exactly how I was feeling for the next few days, but it boils down to a belief of being rejected.

I like people to accept me, I don't like criticism, I am nervous and worried and fear confrontation when it involves me. It all revolves around my need for acceptance from people - even the lady at Ikea who watched Noah, my son, disobey. I'm so grateful that God has revealed this to me over the past years through mentoring and prayer. I look back on my life of 28 years (i just typed 27 b/c I seem to be stuck on that number and forget that I'm 28, haha) and see how most of the memorable times of fear, hurt, conflict, etc. all stem from a need for acceptance from someone or group of people.

And it continues. The story of my need for Acceptance will continue throughout the year, guarantee it. I just hope and pray that as I write and pray about this need, it will end in a feeling, knowledge, faith and action of knowing that I am completely Accepted by my Creator and nobody else. That I, and you, will view Acceptance through a whole new set of glasses.

WORD

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:23:00 +0000

ok, so reluctantly I've decided to have a WORD for the year of 2010. Inspired by Amber, Mandy and Ali Edwards who have all had WORDS the past few years. I have enjoyed reading their stories as they write focused posts about their word. I prayed about it and this is the word that God has given me - ACCEPTED.

I will write more about why I have chosen this word later. Right now I'm going to watch a movie with my husband. :)

Oh Christmas Tree

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 03:54:00 +0000

"Temporary/Semi-permanent Hard Surfaced Floor Over Carpet"

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:24:00 +0000

This post is to help any family looking for an easier way to feed their child/ren in a dining area with carpet without destroying the carpet and using area rugs to keep the mess contained.

When we moved into our new apartment that is (idiotically) carpeted in the dining area - not very conducive to feeding messy toddlers - I did not feel like picking gooey food from the carpet after my 3 year old and 1 year old were done eating. So I made it my top priority to find a better way to cover the carpet so my clean-up after meals would be easy. I found nothing on the internet to help my cause. So, this is what I thought up, and luckily - IT WORKED and still works after 3 months!!!!

Here is what I did:
I found some panel board from Lowe's - shiny white. I placed two sheets (8ft/4ft) next to each other on top of the carpet. They ended up being too flimsy to walk on - especially since they were just laying on top of carpet - I thought the boards would crack if we walked on it too much. So I kept the two white shiny panel boards, went back to Lowe's and found two sheets of plywood which was conveniently cut the same size. With a little help (I was 9 months pregnant at the time - hence the urgency), my sister duck taped the panel board to the plywood - with white duck tape, just one layer around the edges. Then did the next two boards. We placed them on the floor and taped them together, with two layers of tape and Voila!!! A semi-permanent hard surfaced floor for the dining area! We love it, it's easy to clean and kind of has a dance-floor appeal - the boys like to slide on it.

Total Cost:
2 4x8 sheets white panel boards @ $12 each
2 4x8 sheets plywood @ $5 each
1 roll white duct tape @ about $5

$40 !!!

Beginning Traditions

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:40:00 +0000

all three

making a christmas tree

playing in the tent with suzanne

nativity set

My boys are in Ohio this week with family, we will pick them up at thanksgiving, I miss them as I write about them and look at pictures.....

This year we've decided to start our own Christmas Traditions as a family. We're are also staying in our own home and not traveling, the first time since we've been married. We love our families so much and it will be difficult to not see them this year, but we feel our kids need to understand that our family unit is complete by ourselves on holidays. We hope that we will be able to train/mold them early to see Jesus in the important Holiday's, like Christmas - and the reason for the celebration.

We started last year already with an Advent Wreath and lit the advent Candles each night at dinner and read scripture. We also made a birthday cake for Jesus and celebrated before we left for Ohio.

This year I plan on using an Advent Calendar I started making last year but never finished. I've given up on my original plan and am hoping to finish it up this week with felt instead of hand sewn and stuffed nativity figurines. And we WILL be going to our own church's Christmas services and concert. Also, we will go to the Live Nativity scene at the Billy Graham Library here, and possibly stand in line long enough for a sleigh ride.

I also hope to use some other ideas from Noel Piper's "Treasuring God in Our Traditions" book.

Noah's been asking about our real Christmas tree for a while now, but we've been telling him that it's still growing and not ready yet. So we made one for his room out of cardboard and cutouts from Miss Sharon and Suzanne.

We also got out the biggest hit ever last week, the Playmobil Nativity set.

CSO Blog

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:45:00 +0000

I wrote a post on the CSO Blog today. Here it is...check out CSO, it's an awesome ministry for churches doing sports outreach.

Gus eating Anina

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:56:00 +0000

In case you haven't noticed, I've been posting videos lately because I have my sisters camera (my video cam doesn't have a computer cord) for a short time and am trying to take full advantage of digital video while I can.

Gus and Anina from Courtney Siber Schnee on Vimeo.

mammoth men

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:45:00 +0000

this blog is great. it makes me laugh. the pictures are so fun.awesome photographers
.they have so much fun on their road trips. they remind me of my husband. and it really makes me want a tilt shift lens.Nate Kaiser is my fave from theimageisfound.com

Gus's First Hair Cut and Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:45:00 +0000

My sister and I traded cameras for a while, so I have a wider angle and the ease of point and shoot and the videos!

do we really have 3 kids?! how did that happen?

Gus loves to tickle everyone's feet, especially his sisters.

Rockin' the cute cloth diapers, thanks Liz!

Such sweet big brothers, they love to look at their sister. Noah always says that she is pretty.

Noah is showing Nina a dead fly he put in his play tea cup, awesome!

And below is Gus's first haircut - had to get rid of the mullet.

GUS HAIRCUT from Courtney Siber Schnee on Vimeo.

Right Now

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:01:00 +0000

I'm trying to focus more on playing with the boys and enjoying the "right now". Taking in each day with Anina as she is a newborn for such a short time "right now". And live for what is important in life - because it is so short and changes so quickly. Thank you God for right now.

Here is my "right now", literally less than ten minutes ago. Boys are sleeping. Listening to Pandora. Feeding Anina, just changed her diaper. Noticing how much her legs and face are filling out in just 4 weeks. Reading a few blogs online. Just took a very refreshing shower. Admiring my pedicure I had this weekend for a wedding I was in. Ignoring the messy house surrounding me, because it really doesn't matter.

Noah's soccer

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:28:00 +0000

A couple of videos from Noah's soccer this weekend.

Noah's soccer - Soar 2009 from Courtney Siber Schnee on Vimeo.

soccer 2 from Courtney Siber Schnee on Vimeo.

For Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:06:00 +0000

I read this post on a Stephanie's blog today - an argument "For" Facebook. It struck a chord with me because I have am in constant battle over the meaning/worth/waste of time of Facebook/Blogs/Internet can be in my life.

I've concluded that the internet, like anything, can be good in moderation or bad if abused. It can also be used to glorify God and connect people to Him and connect people to each other - wrote about this months ago. Stephanie's blog reminded me again or this truth. Thanks

Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:25:00 +0000

some pictures from our life recently :)

Happenings

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:54:00 +0000

What's been going on in our household in the past several weeks you may ask? I am asking myself the same question because I can barely remember or keep track. Here's a quick bullet blogger version:

-moved in September (and will be moving out in June, to where? only God knows). I've traded furniture with my sister 5 or 6 times, taken 10 loads to Goodwill, trashed a ton of stuff and finally have room to live and breathe. We are blessed to continually have a comfortable and affordable place to call home.

-had baby Anina end of september. It's so weird to not be the only female in our family and to see pink in the laundry. She barely makes a peep all day long. I love her sweet feminine baby-ness and so do the guys - they give her slobbery, gooey kisses all day long.

-Mike took a week off of work and I felt like I actually had a husband! It was unbelievable. He cleaned, cooked, played, cleaned, cooked, played all day long. The boys loved it.

-had my family here for a week, THANK YOU for your Help and loving on the boys.

-had my family here again this weekend for a family wedding.

-and my parents are moving to Columbia, SC for a job! They will be bringing my grandmother as well. It's only an hour away from us.

-Mike's starting grad classes in January.

-We are finally becoming members of our church and trying to make it for the members class every sunday.

-Going to Johnson City for one of my roommates weddings, I'm in (hope the dress fits) next weekend. And hope to see many college friends and their babies.

-And looking forward to seeing more family at Thanksgiving in ohio! My sister-in-law is pregnant with her first! and my best friend just had twin boys!

-and lots of birthdays/baby showers/soccer/meals with friends and fall activities in between

I'm not sure what else to write on this blog - so these are the facts. :)

We're Back!

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:55:00 +0000

And we have an addition....Anina Gabriella Schnee entered the world on Sept 25. Weighing in at 7lbs 1oz and 19 inches.

In case you're interested, there are more pictures of her "Birth Story" here.

Apartment Therapy

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:57:00 +0000

Apartment Therapy..."saving the world, one room at a time"...this blog is one of my daily blog reads (Ohdeedoh is their "kids" blog and is my all time favorite right now). It us all about decorating, design, cooking, and cool new things...but not necessarily always involving an apartment. Most of the spaces they showcase are lofty areas indoor and outdoor one wouldn't consider to be an average apartment size space, like mine.

Our apartment is 1300 sq. ft, 2 bed/2bath and we're on the second floor. And although I would love to live in a huge space, this place has been good to us this past year. The boys have a playroom in the sunroom, we have large bedrooms, private baths and a big living room. The only complaint I have is the lack of yard/outdoor space and our neighbors.

We are moving tomorrow to a new apartment, smaller, 2 bed/1bath and 1000 sq ft and we'll be adding one more body come Sept 25...HA! Why are we doing this...convenience, job unknowns, drive, price, etc....I continually tell myself it is only temporary, eventually we will have a house with a big fenced in yard for the boys to run (this will be our 5th move in 4.3 years, 4 apts/1house). Of the two problems I have with our current situation, only one will be fixed. We will be on the first floor and have a patio, but no yard just outside of the door...but we do have a pool and playground. The second problem is why I am writing....This is MY Apartment Therapy....

"Showing and receiving grace from one neighbor at a time". The first day we met our neighbors, beneath us, they were moving as well but the circumstances for them were different....we think the mom left her husband or boyfriend in a hurry and found an apartment...because nobody looked happy that day, they acted like they were miserable and not excited to move (so different from me....I like to move, and am always excited for a change)...but who knows, we've never had deep conversation. We said "hi" a lot, I gave her my phonebook, etc.

My attitude with new neighbors was to share Christ's love to them, make a friend and be in their lives, especially since I would be home all day long. Right away, my heart turned hard and it was difficult to show grace.

The mom's two kids, a guy and girl in high school, were smoking on our steps and spitting on the steps afterwards. It wasn't a big deal for them to smoke there, since they were trying to hide it from their mom, but to leave big, nasty, wads of spit on our steps where Noah and Gus walk/crawl up and down, was disgusting. I just didn't understand why they couldn't do it around the corner, or on some other steps. So I asked them to stop one day and she denied doing it. It continued and then stopped and this went on for a while. I could tell neither one of them liked me. So we all avoided each other at all cost, never making eye contact. They ran away and off the steps as they heard my door open, as if I was going to yell at them or something....I felt like they saw me as some evil witch or something...Some other problems came up. A new boyfriend lived there and was very, very loud. They got in fights and we could hear all of it late at night. The teenage boy would play his rap at all hours of the night and we can hear it in our bedroom. He is an aspiring rapper, actually they both are...and rap outside all the time, especially as we walk by, just loudly to themselves. It is a daily thing to hear a low base in Noah and Gus's room every morning beginning around 6 am, weird. These are the problems I have with them.

They may have a whole list of problems with us. They probably are annoyed by Noah's constant running and jumping, jumping, jumping all day long. At first I was very concerned and told him to stop because it would disturb them and I wouldn't like it if I lived below us. So we were cautious about it for a while. Then after the smoking and rapping began, I didn't care anymore. They probably have a whole list of problems with us. The biggest may be the time I - or Gus, rather - spilled an ENTIRE GALLON of White paint through the deck/balcony down to their patio and sliding glass doors. It was a windy day and I ran downstairs immediately to see the damage. The wind kept blowing the paint onto all of the windows, all over the patio, furniture and screen. It was the biggest mess and I did my best to clean it up with rags and Windex....but there is a huge mark of white all over their patio and windows. I must have looked like an idiot running around frantically, all the while, she was getting ready for work in her bedroom watching me and Gus was in our bathtub screaming for 20 minutes with paint all over himself. The paint finally stopped dripping.

I asked God why He let that happen to me. I know it was to humble me, and teach me to forgive, just as they have probably forgiven me of the paint incident (she wasn't even that upset). The only way to reveal my sin was to make me naked and shamed in front of my "enemies" to break me down and force me to see my sin....it worked. I was humiliated, and I'm sure they were looking out of the windows and laughing at me, I could just picture it. I will never forget this incident and why God put me in the situation. This began the change in my heart, from bitterness and lack of grace to forgiveness and a smile with eye contact to my neighbors. I began to pray for them and to pray that I would have a softer heart towards them. God taught me to rely on Him to be my protector, my skin/clothes, my savior and strength, my problem solver, etc. The only thing I had to do was give it to Him, let Him take care of it, and love others and forgive.

So long story short....God has used My Apartment to teach me some great lessons about myself and Him. His grace and forgiveness on my filthy painted rags and hard heart towards others' inconsiderate actions.

The icing on the cake, and why I will be leaving this apartment with no guilt, is just this week Mike was able to help the mom get into her car as her teenage daughter locked the keys inside. The mom shared that it was her birthday, - a step of vulnerability on her part towards us - a deeper conversation. Just tonight (which led me to write this very long post) the girl knocked on our door and spoke a few words to me, with eye contact she said, "can I use your phone?". The first thing that came to my mind was, "yay! she doesn't hate me! she has forgiven me too! and we are okay now." Noah handed her the phone in his Thomas the Train underwear, she used it she said, "thanks". That is probably the last I will see of this family, but that is okay.

I will never forget the lessons I learned at Apt 203, my Apartment Therapy.

*stay tuned in the next few months for lessons from Apt 1111

Marketing My Sister

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:47:00 +0000

While in Durham this past weekend to visit my sister, Hilary, we were talking about some neat little serving spoon her former boss gave her from some other country. Hilary's boss told her that it reminded her of the senior project she did in Art school - Dinnerware for the Blind. Her desire upon graduating school was to create/design with a purpose of helping people...in this case, the blind.

We talked about how several people who have seen her portfolio have told her to market her design. And just today I came across something similar in the look as what Hilary designed, but not for blind. In my opinion, Hilary's designs are very marketable for the blind as well as for the average person who likes this look.

She said she hopes to do more research on the blind and how to market her dinnerware, it just takes time. The best option would be for someone to market it for her! So if there is anyone out there in the world would partner with a really talented designer to make a difference in people's everyday lives - contact my sister!!!!

By the way, Hilary, I think you're on the right path in helping people through your talents and gifts. Whether you're a designer in a public firm or an art teacher in a private school...YOU make a difference through your faith.

LOVE YOU!

***Hilary also has a very talented twin, Maia, who's in a league of her own in talent and gifts - together they would make a great team - HINT, HINT.

Happy Birthday Hilary and Maia!

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:36:00 +0000

i love you my beautiful love sisters

Say "ChEEEzzz - AhCHOO"

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:08:00 +0000

...the name I've given my new camera strap cover. I made it out of two handkerchiefs for lack of better fabric and to save money. I was sick of the dull black strap and have seen them all over the internet, so I thought I'd give it a try. I think it turned out pretty well despite my misbehaving sewing machine. I think I may try and knit one after my sista teaches me how :)

It was sew easy to make and it's reversible! Mike thinks I should make one in blue - otherwise he will not being taking any pictures with my camera - his words.

Surprise Baby Shower

noreply@blogger.com (courtney) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:37:00 +0000

I had so much fun making decorations for Monica's Surprise baby shower in Ohio a few weeks ago and it took so much time, that I have to post it on my blog for a memory. It was a great shower, the only unfortunate thing was that her mom could not be there. She was surprised and received so much for her twins...a double stroller, expensive diaper bag, two car seats, hundreds of dollars in gift cards and the list goes on.

Can't wait to meet the boys this fall! Love you Monica.