Livin' it up in ARKANSAS

They're Roaming About

2011-03-15T14:31:00.000-05:00

Sheen and I spent some time on Saturday doing a little yard work and getting the garden spot tilled. It was great, because for the first time ever, we were able to watch the boys play together outside. By themselves. Happily.

My favorite part was watching Isaiah roam the yard, playground equipment, motorized toys, etc. I get to first see him figure stuff out. Discover how things work. He's becoming rather independent. It's going to be a great summer.

Today, I feel ALIVE.

2011-01-28T10:45:00.001-06:00

Can you remember a time that you felt the most alive, passionate, and energetic? What were you doing, thinking, and feeling at that moment?

It's been said that this is one of the most impactful questions you can be asked in career counseling or exploration. The idea is that the answer to this question is ultimately what you should be doing, or on a path to be doing. In life, we should generally pursue our God given passions, gifts, graces that He has placed on the inside of us. If we look at people in this world that seem to stand out, have an unmatched drive and determination, and are excelling, it is most often true that they are doing something that they love, and are passionate about.

Well, in response to the opening question, I think that today is a day I can mark as "that time" to look back and remember the drive, excitement, and passion I had. Right now, there is a great level of this on the inside of me and what is going on in my life. I feel alive, vibrant, and determined. I am so invigorated by the things that God is doing at and through our church. I'm also excited about the work that God is providing for me and bringing me in to. Instead of going into a ton of detail, I will keep it vague, and turn the question back to you. If you can remember such a time as described above, and you are not doing it, or you're not on a path to be doing it later, why aren't you?

And if you ARE, then I would love to hear what some of those passionate things are!

What do you get

2011-01-27T08:47:00.001-06:00

...when you lock five Schlegel boys in a room full of balls for a couple of hours?

I had the privilege of watching my boys in addition to my brother's three boys for a couple of hours last night in one of the kids church rooms. Despite the never ending sounds of crashing things together and out loud laughing, rubber balls flying from every direction, I couldn't help but dream about what these five powerful boys would be like in 5-10 years from now. More specifically, I had thoughts of them playing sports together on the same team and DOMINATING. I had the privilege of playing on the same team as my bros in a couple of sports growing up, and I'm hoping our little fellers will get a similar opportunity.

Either way, I know they'll be playing on the same team that matters. And that team is the body of Christ, winning souls for the kingdom! Amen. Selah.

Dirty Snowmen

2011-01-22T12:37:00.000-06:00

It's becoming a tradition!

Roses are Red, Grinches are Green

2011-01-12T16:21:00.000-06:00

Do you find it exciting that I am related to the person inside this costume? What is it with Schlegels and their costumes?

My Kids Are a Bunch of Fruit

2011-01-12T14:22:00.001-06:00

The joys of parenting are many. Take Isaiah, child number two for example. He's one year old and has a very distinguished personality. Constantly happy and willing to be held by almost anyone. Smiles are freely given, and so are friendly head-butts. Hungry often. Perhaps best described in a Southern tone: "he's a mess" or "what a ham".

He also knows how to throw a first class fit. This was after I looked deeply into his chocolate chip brown eyes and deep tonely said, "NO ISAIAH". Snapping a photo mid-fit was probably not the nicest thing to do in that moment, but maybe he'll thank me later?

My kids are fruity. If I try to compare them, it's like taking an apple to an orange.

Swagger Wagon

2010-05-12T06:36:00.002-05:00

If you've ever considered buying a min van, this will easily convince you.

Weekend of Relaxfulness

2010-05-09T21:51:00.001-05:00

This weekend was probably one of the most relaxing that we've had in months. Saturday was "chill" day which meant almost no obligations. I had some quality time with Isaiah on Saturday morning while Sheen and JJ caught up on their much needed rest. Later we went to the park and then came home to have a backyard picnic. LOVED it. Family time = happy time.

Busted out the D5000 for a few snapshots at the park. My beautiful fam:

Love this angle. JJ is becoming such a big, little boy:

Our House

2010-05-09T21:14:00.000-05:00

I thought it would be fun to post pics of our home since I don't think I've ever done that. We are proud and blessed to call this home. Bought in August 2007:

View of front yard

View of back yard

Title

2010-04-22T00:59:00.000-05:00

If you're reading this from a RSS reader or email, come check out my new blog header. It's really cheesy.

Click click!

2010-04-21T23:44:00.001-05:00

I've taken over 1000 pictures already. Most of them have been just messing around, but it's seriously addicting. I want to bring this camera everywhere I go.

I. Hate. Flies.

2010-04-19T07:30:00.001-05:00

And because I hate them, I often make myself look like a psycho maniac when going ALL OUT to kill them inside my home.

Take this morning for instance: there was this nasty creature buzzing through my kitchen. I grabbed the nearest fly swatting item (kitchen towel) and lassoed that little sucker. Only thing is, he just happened to land near a glass jar of jelly before I pulled the trigger. When he was struck, so was the jelly, sending them both airborne to the other side of my house.

I want my jelly back.

Making High Quality Memories

2010-04-15T23:23:00.003-05:00

Not much of a blog update here, but at least I have a few cool pictures to share. We finally bought a new camera; we've been in the market to get one for quite some time now.

It's the Nikon D5000. We got an awesome deal on it by buying it refurbished. It takes professional looking pictures, and HD video too. Here are just a few of the 90-some pictures I took tonight. It's addicting since it takes them so fast and crisply:

(click on the picture for the full detail effect)

Tiling Countertops

2010-03-22T08:01:00.003-05:00

We finally completed the project that has only been talked about in our home for the last 18 months. We tiled our counter tops and back splash, and installed new sinks and faucets throughout the home. I’d like to send a huge thank you to our Arky Schlegel family for providing all of the tile, grout, tools, and advice for free! My friend at work for loaning his tile saw. And my beautiful wife for putting up with gallons of dust, dirt, and slivers, 3:00AM hammering, banging, and sawing, no water, no counter space, and shoe tracks and crumbs everywhere.

We started demo on a Tuesday night and still managed to finish the job 100% by Sunday night, on top of everything else going on at the church, including two services, LWTV filming and editing, prayer school, and a Youth Ministry meeting. We are more than conquerors!

Original was the look when we bought the home. Phase 1 was what we did before moving in. Phase 2 was last weekend (click to see more detail).

Staying Out of Trouble

2010-03-22T08:00:00.001-05:00

I grew up with 5 siblings, and loved it. I loved playing with them, going to school with them, eating out with them, playing sports with them, hanging out with them…enjoy even more the next phases of life in growing older with them, raising families with them, etc etc.

I don’t think we were the type to fight and bicker with each other a lot (interjections from parents are welcome here) and I have always appreciated that. I’m not saying we’ve never fought, but we were friends. We were all really close in age, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Sheena and I expect the same for these two little guys. Not sure how many more kids we will have, if any, but these two are already best of buds. No one can make Isaiah smile like Jeremiah can.

I saw Isaiah become legitimately sad for the first time two days ago. It was when I was disciplining Jeremiah. I remember looking at Isaiah’s face, and he had puckered his lower lip and began to cry. Sheena was telling me that Isaiah seems to notice when Jeremiah is getting disciplined lately and doesn’t like it.

That’s a good thing! They will help each other stay out of trouble….. right?

Melt my Heart, Child

2010-03-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

Our house was quiet as can be when I laid down with Jeremiah last night to assist him in going to sleep. He was to my left, and I was laying on my back. My patience was running low, and it was quite a bit past bed time. I turned my head to the left to look at him, and didn't say a word. He just locked eyes with me and offered a huge smile.

Then he reached out both hands and grabbed my two cheeks and head butted me. HAHAHA… I love having boys.

Techy Tuesday

2010-03-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

Two things:
1- I miss my iPhone. But even though it’s an old flip phone that does everything in the most inconvenient way possible, I am still able to get my email on it without paying for a data plan. I setup my gmail account to forward a copy of every email to my phone number @txt.att.net, which mean I get every email sent to me as a text message. It’s nice so I don’t have to ever “check” my email. I already know because it came to me immediately as a text when it was received in my email.

2- If you’ve been planning on buying a flat screen TV, you might want to wait a couple of months. My personal prediction is that the prices on them in general will drop with the new 3D TVs hitting stores soon. If you haven’t heard about 3D TV, it’s the next new thing in the world of TV and will require you to wear 3D glasses to get the full effect. Nerdy, I know. But mark my words: It’s coming, and will be “normal” in the coming 2 – 3 years. Just not at my house. :)

Cheesy Gas Station Advertising

2010-03-12T13:00:00.000-06:00

Ever used a gas pump with a TV screen on it?
I used one today and almost threw up. As soon as I pulled the nozzle off of the unit there was a really cheesy short video that played with some guy “pumping gas” in his truck and looking at the camera saying something like “hi, I bet you’re pumping gas right now. Come inside, we have snacks and beer” something lame like that.

As long as people have money, there will be a huge market for advertising. I mean, if there was someone standing outside of my office all day dressed in complete golf attire, swinging his clubs with a sound track of chirping birds, practice putting into my office, etc. you better believe it would make me want to hit the links.

Just when you think you can’t be bombarded with advertising to a greater degree… You will.

Chocolate Milk and Car Seats

2010-03-11T08:00:00.001-06:00

It’s warming up around here, but what else should I expect? It’s Arkansas, right? It’s pretty neat how some of your memories can be tied to seasons. There’s buds on the trees and a crispiness in the air. It was 60-something degrees the other day, and Sheena and I were putting the kids into the car after a regular visit to ‘Wally World’. As I lugged my 2-yr old Jeremiah into his big boy car seat, my mind flashed back to a year ago, when he was not so big-boyish. The days when he actually wore diapers, couldn’t recite the alphabet, and was unable to request chocolate milk in perfect dialect.

I glanced across the Jeep’s back seat to see Sheena doing the same for Isaiah, and couldn’t help but imagine what these two little boys will be like a year from now.

It truly is a wonder how time flies by so fast. We are making so many wonderful memories with our children right now; I pray that I don’t get caught up in busyness of life to notice them growing up.

P.S. Mom: the chocolate milk we provide is [edit: non dairy], with added vitamins. Believe me, it tastes nothing like chocolate milk.

Four Years Arky - VISION

2010-02-15T06:08:00.004-06:00

Sheena and I have officially lived in Arkansas for four years now. Crazy to think its been that long, and yet somehow it seems like its been longer. In those four years we've had four different mailing addresses. There's a fun fact for the day. I can't say it's been the easiest four years of my life, but I can say its been the most blessed. I have grown a lot spiritually and don't plan on slowing down the pace either. In fact, I have more anticipation AND vision about this year than I ever have before. God has placed specific things in my heart that I am to walk out this year.

That last sentence has created so much excitement in my heart, and I believe it is a result of increase in my time in praying in the spirit. God is showing me exactly how I am to focus on my job, and my position at my local church. Obeying Him in these things requires less "me time" but wow the rewards of doing so are great. By committing to obey and pursue the things He has placed in my heart, God is giving me more. I believe the spiritual mandate this year is "turning the corner" and with that, I am not going to sit back and watch things happen. I am going take action and obey what God shows me. I greatly anticipate looking back on this year later, and reading this post only to give God glory for all that He has done.

Vaccinations

2010-02-05T11:30:00.000-06:00

I recently asked one of my friends his reason for not being a believer in getting vaccinated for things such as the flu, hep b, etc:

“I am a firm believer that my auto-immune system was designed by God, and as such has been designed in a superior fashion to defend me from infections etc. I don't believe you "grow stronger" due to your exposure to all viruses. AIDS is a virus, why don't we have immunizations for that? That is an oversimplification I know, but that is the general point. A supporting point is the fact that western medicine has had many huge "uh oh" moments in the past, blood letting, leeching, etc. The medical industry itself states that they double their knowledge every 8 months - a year. This has the opposite from intended consequence for me and my confidence in them. If they doubled what they knew 8 months ago, and they know so little now, they sure seemed confident for knowing so little back then. And if that is the historic trend, I think they know far less than they attempt to suggest. When they stop discovering so much all the time, and stop having drugs with side affects worse than the problem they allegedly cure, I might re-evaluate my position.”

I decided to put this up on my blog so that people can have a fresh look at the subject… a view that doesn’t really exist in the media. There seems to be a lot of push right now for vaccinations, and I HATE IT.

Techno Tuesday

2010-02-04T12:46:00.004-06:00

Ya, It's Thursday... what's your point.

If you've never heard of this website, and you're a texter, and you are like me and need a reminder about stuff every now and then, then check it out. No need to explain all the details since it's pretty self explanatory, but basically with this neat little website you can enter as many reminders as you want. Put in date/time or reminder, your phone number, and your message.
At that exact time, you will receive the text you asked for.

I use this site often. You could also use it to remind your significant other about upcoming events so they don't forget. Just sayin' :-P

Snow Day

2010-01-30T14:46:00.002-06:00

The office closed on Friday at 2pm due to the MN-like snow coming down. And let me tell ya, it really came down. I think we got about 5 or 6 inches total. The J-ster and I built a snow man today. He's about 7 feet tall.. you can't miss him if you drive by our place.

I expect that this is only the beginning of snowy memories with my kids. Hopefully snowmobiling and snowboarding will come upon us before too long. You can't have a true appreciation for snow until you experience both!

Techno Tuesday

2010-01-26T07:00:00.001-06:00

I figured I'd mention the latest tech news that excites me. Well, the news hasn't transpired yet, but nonetheless I am very anxious to find out what Apple is going to announce tomorrow. I love how they hold events just to announce a new product that they've created, and will later sell. There's a ton of speculation out there that it will be an Apple Tablet computer. Check out the flyer:

Considering that Apple posted a Q1 profit of $3.38B should tell us all something: they know what they're doing. Another cute little fact: 70 percent of the Fortune 100 companies and 50 percent of the FT 100 companies are actively piloting the iPhone for enterprise use.

That's what gets me anxious about these events. It could be a device that changes EVERYTHING! haha ya right.
Maybe I'm just a NERD.

Blessed

2010-01-24T16:47:00.001-06:00