So, here we go on trying to keep a journal of some of the happenings in our crazy life! A friend told me how she uses her blog to have a glimpse of their life each year, and then gets it published into a book. I was sold! I am a scrapbooker at heart, but don't scrap in a time line, so I have adopted my friends solution! Scrap what I want, and blog our life's time line! I have always loved to get on and read friends and families blogs, so it was about time I take the plunge!
So here is our life in a quick nutshell, to catch up to May 2010! Steve and I were the best of friends from the first time we met! He was a friend of one of my friends, and they were playing basketball in our church gym. I thought..."who is that with Shane?...it is about time I see how Shane is doing! :)" Naturally, I was curious to see how Shane was, but MORE curious to see who was with him! :) And it paid off! I met Steve, and we became instant friends! However, he had a girlfriend and I had a boyfriend, so we were just friends. Which I think proved to be a huge blessing! We got to know each other, just for who we were. We didn't ever have that awkward being set up type feeling, and we had the laughter, fun, and trust that any great friendship consists of! Well, he was getting ready to go on his mission for our church, and before he left I told him, "When you get home, we need to go on one official date. We just have too much fun for that to be wasted!" So, in the few correspondences that we shared (Steve was not the best pen pal!), I would end with a "PS: Hope you are getting ready for our date!" I ended up serving a mission for our church too. We were worlds apart. He was in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and I was in Salt Lake City, Utah (otherwise known to my non-member friends as the "Mormon Mecca")! He got home 4 months before me, and I was a little nervous because the girl he had dated for years was there and waiting.
I got home in early April...it was a Sunday...we were engaged by Friday morning around 5:30! That may sound shocking, but if you know Steve it is nothing short of a miracle! Just because of the speed at which it took! When I got home we were hanging out with some of his family, who were all dear friends and great motivators behind us getting together, and I said, "So, when are you going to ask me on our date?" Steve replied, "What if we have played up this date so much, and we go out and it is not that great?" I simply replied (with a flirt and great confidence), "I don't know about you, but I am a great date." (he turned a little red, and so I turned on the heat) "I mean, I am not saying we are going to get married or anything from it. Sure, if that happened it would be great, but I know we will have a blast." I really wish I had a picture of just how red he got, and the gaping mouths of his brothers! It really was fun! Well, we did hang out for the next few days and nights (usually ending with him falling asleep while I watched movies until 5 in the morning and then speeding home...) , and then went on a trip with his sister and brother-in-law back up to Utah! We had a few hours to kill before checking into the Motel 6, and we decided to park and wait it out! Well, I just couldn't wait any long, five days had been enough of a wait! I patiently waited for him to kiss me, for about 5 minutes, when it didn't happen, I went in for the kill! And what a kill and kiss it was! By the end we were engaged! Talk about magic! :)
We were married July 9, 1999, and really have been living "Happily Ever After!"
Lydia Schmutz was our little honeymoon souvenir, and came April 5, 2000. She weighed in at 8lbs. 9 oz. She is named after a great grandma, and is a constant reminder of covenants we made to be together forever! We were a little shocked at the speed into parenthood (especially Steve! When we (my sister and his brother were in on the surprise to tell him) told him, we saw the whole universe of responsibility hit him in that one second...it took a few therapy sessions with me for him to realize it would all work out!) From the moment he saw her, he was hooked on fatherhood! He always tells people, "You just can't explain how amazing it is. There is nothing else like it!" And it is a good thing, because he has blueprinted himself on every one of our kids! I tease that he is a "gene hog"! Now, I wouldn't have it any other way, because it is fun to have my kids all look like they are together! Lydia was and is the easiest baby/kid to raise. She inherited her dad's responsibility and desire to just do what it right! I thought I wanted to start out with a boy, but I am sure glad we started with Lydia instead! She is my right hand! I tell her all the time, I don't know how I would raise kids without you!
Then on September 27, 2001 we welcomed Robert Douglas Schmutz to our family! He weighed in at 8 lbs. 3 oz. He is named after both of his grandpas and his dad. (Douglas is Grandpa Schmutz and Steve's middle name). We call him Bobby, and he is our peacemaker. He has always had just a peaceful nature, and my prayers constantly are that he will keep that nature! He actually is quite a bit like his Grandpa Hall, so the name has proved to be quite fitting! He came a little faster than expected ( they are only 18 months apart), but we are so grateful now! He and Lydia have just been the best of friends their whole life!
Then October 17, 2003, we welcomed #3! Our little Roo! Loralyn Schmutz, at 8 lbs. 6 oz., is named after three of her grandmas ("L" LaRita (Steve's Mom), "ora" her great grandma Ora (my mom's mom), and "lyn" Jolyn (my mom)) And she is sure packed full of personality to go along with all those names! :) She came the same night my Grandma Ora had a stroke, and we often say they were passing ships. I did get to go and say good-bye and show my grandma her name sake, but she passed away the following day. Loralyn had to be connected to oxygen, so at a week old she took her first road trip to Utah for her great grandma's funeral, connected to her oxygen tank! She has never skipped a beat! She keeps track of all of us, and we don't know what we would do without her busy body in our lives! She is also very good at recognizing when I need help, and jumps right in! She is especially great to help when it is her idea!
Then came a "huge" gap...at least for the Schmutz family! Steve had decided to start his own business, so we had to hold off until we had some insurance, but Steven Ray Schmutz was worth the wait! He was born August 14, 2006! A week before his dad's b-day, and a spitting image! He was a big one! He came out at a whopping 10.5 lbs! He had his dad's broad shoulders too, and the mid-wife had to steer wrestle him out! He is named after Steve, of course, and Ray is Steve's very beloved grandpa! At first, I wanted to call him Steven, because I have always loved that name, but Steve insisted we named him after Grandpa, so we would call him Ray. He won out, and I am glad. He is totally "Ray Ray"! He also has the wonderful whit and charm that GREAT Grandpa Schmutz had! He is also our natural little cowboy! He loves everything about horses and cows, and anything related!
And then we were ready to add to the family right away! I was actually excited to have another two kids close together, but there was another plan for us! For the first time in our marriage, we had to "try" to get pregnant! Before, it literally was in the water! :) It took 9 months of trying, before the pink line finally appeared! It was a great blessing, because it made me really appreciate the 4 we had, and how easily we had them! So, Brigham Hall Schmutz reluctantly came on Dec. 27, 2008! I tease with the reluctantly, because we ended up having to do an emergency c-section! It was horrible, and I felt it all, but well worth it! Out came another whopper! 10.5 lbs, and he was a week early! Brigham is after the great prophet Brigham Young, and Hall is my maiden name, so it covers every "Hall" I have ever loved! :) He is a whole new breed! He screams, and yells, and has NO PATIENCE, but we just love every bit of him! He is even more of a blue print of his dad than Ray. And in the words of my dad, "I didn't think a kid could look more like his dad than Ray, but Brigham looks more like Steve than Ray did." I call him Steve's "mini-me"! He does have the huge Hall mouth, and I just love when he smiles, because he just lights up!
There is really nothing like motherhood! It is a combination of every form of emotion at it's peak, all combined into one experience! All of the frustrating attributes of motherhood somehow are instantly erased in priceless moments of pure endearment! How grateful I am to have the opportunity to be a mom. What a sacred obligation rests in motherhood!
So, that is our nut shell! Now comes January through May 2010, at a glance:
This was the year we began getting our house ready to sell! We started stripping up floors and tearing out cabinets! It has been a slow, but steady process! We now have the laundry room completely done, and both bathrooms, save a few faucet fixtures etc! So, now we are hoping to start the kitchen! It is so exciting to see the transformation! It is amazing what new tile, paint, and cabinets does to "face lift" an old house! Steve is doing a great job, he just wishes there were more hours in a day to get it all done!
Our kids continue to grow like weeds, and it is really starting to freak us out to think one more year until Lydia is in middle school...really, we don't feel old enough for that to be happening!
We did have one week that was what we called, "the week from hell" that has to be documented, just because it is so unbelievable! It was the end of March. Sunday night we went to bed, and around 2:20 in the morning Steve wakes up to the dogs going crazy! I roll over in bed thinking it will be nothing. Steve looks through the front blinds, can't see anything, but hears someone taking stuff off the work truck parked in our driveway. He rushes out, and can't see anything (the guy had unscrewed the security lights...which, needless to say, have been replaced by real security lights that can't be unscrewed! :) ) and he yells, "What the hell are you doing?"...as he is running towards the neighbor to the north's yard, because he naturally thinks the guy is going to get in his truck and drive away, and Steve wants the license plate number. He hears a weird pop sound, and says, "what was that?" Then goes towards the truck. The guy had snuck into his truck, and raised his had w/a gun out the window and shoots three shots in the air. Steve goes to run around the Yukon, and then stops to try to get the plate # one more time (thinking the guy was just trying to warn him, but didn't really want to shoot him). At that moment, the thief in the night runs at Steve, because he sees he is trying to get the plate #. Back to me laying in bed...I had rolled over to go back to sleep, and hear the pop....pop, pop, pop! I knew it was a gun, and thought for sure they shot Steve and then walked up and killed him. I was freaking out! I ran to go out, and as soon as I turned the corner to go out the front door, I THANKFULLY saw Steve hiding in his underwear behind the Yukon! Neither one of us thinking to call the cops yet...which we should have, because they were a block away, and would have caught him for sure...but you don't think to do "being robbed and shot at drills" on family home evening, so we were just going with the pure adrenaline approach! Well, neighbors came out, the cops came and the dogs were praised for being great watch dogs! Then the next day, Steve is out waiting for Roo to come off the bus, and sees where the first "pop" came from. There in the bumper of his work truck was a bullet mark! Strait up from the mark was the spot Steve was standing! It made it all more real. The robber was shooting at Steve, probably assuming someone running out that pissed off and yelling had to have a gun! How grateful we are that he wasn't a good thief or marks man! He only got an 8 foot ladder...really people? An 8 foot ladder is worth killing a man over! What is this world coming to! Also that day, we found out Obama's RIDICULOUS health crap passed...once again really people? Right now everyone gets great health care, even if everyone doesn't have health insurance...you do this ridiculously stupid plan, and everyone will have health insurance, but crappy health care! Lets ask the Canadians who...oh wait...come here for health care, because their socialist health care is CRAP! Or Europe...where do they go? To the great USA, because our health care is the best! Anyways, enough about ranting and raving about Washington stupidity...that could be its own blog spot! Then the next day, Steve's brother gets in a wreck in the company work truck. Not just a hit another car wreck...no, it was a hit another four cars wreck, and ruin the lift you are pulling in the back! WOW! Poor Steve...he had been shot at, and then his rights as an American taken away, and now he saw his company being lost all in a brief moment! We joked that we were being violated on all spectrums of our life! That same day, I took our beloved naughty "Cody" to the vet...he had been acting really sick, and we found out he was going to have to be put down! That Saturday, Steve lovingly carried "Cody" into the vet's office to put him to rest. He pet him, and told him, "You're a good boy..." until he fell asleep. I was in Glorieta scrapping with friends, and had tearfully told him good-bye before I left, afraid that may have been his fate while I was gone! When Steve told me that he was telling him "You're a good boy.." he said, "because he always loved to hear that!" Especially coming from Steve! I told him, "Cody probably thought he was already in heaven!" So, he lovingly took his body, and found a perfect spot on the top of a hill, under a pine tree, on our property where Cody can rest in peace! He is with Molly, who was our first dog...a miniature schnauzer...that got ran over while we were on vacation in Snowflake. That led to buying "Cooper", an australian shepherd, in Snowflake, because I didn't want to come home to an empty bowl. And then "Cody", an australian shepherd, so Cooper wouldn't be lonely! When I got home from Glorieta, I was amazed to find Steve looking on line for Australian Shepherds for sale! I think between the dogs guarding our house, and the last tender moments spent with Cody, Steve realized how much he loves our dogs too! It was definitely the week from hell, but like all trials, we are better, more humble, and more grateful for the joys in our lives!
Well, we found a perfect match for our family a few days later, and had "Tex" flown in from Texas! It was love at first sight! We were a little nervous about not meeting him before we bought him, but he is the cutest little puppy! He just loves life! He instantly loves anyone who love him, and has really "happy eyes"! Cooper has the "wise eyes" and always has, but Tex is just happy go lucky.
So it was that time of year! "Egg"citement in the air, and keeping "Egg"celent company! We decided to get together with the Hall cousins, and die easter eggs! Now, the pictures I don't have of the night, which I wish I did, was what happened at the school park moments before the coloring began! Oh, it started like a regular picnic with the cousins! The Schmutz family running late! We met them at the Hubert Humphrey park! Just as we unloaded the pizza and food, actually the entire time we were, there were two "hot dog" dogs yapping their little mis-proportioned bodies at Cooper and Tex. Tex was brand new to the family, and Cooper had instantly made himself the body guard. Well, somehow the owner lost the leashes, and those two funny looking dogs came full force....yelping and running towards Cooper. Natalie snatched up Tex, but Cooper didn't know it, because she did it with such lightening like speed! The owner is running to try to get the dogs before they get to my dog in all his furry! I was reassuring the owner, "Oh, don't worry, he looks mean, but he usually calms down once they get to him..." (in my defense, that had been the case, and at least I was in control of my dog! :) ) Literally, the moment I finished with my reassurance, Cooper snatched one of those "hot dogs" up like he was a hot dog! Right into his mouth he went! And then he was stepping backwards using a swinging like motion of the dog in his mouth to keep the other dog at bay! Now, in Cooper's defense, he had been a little insecure having just lost his sidekick Cody, and very protective of his new puppy Tex. And, well, frankly...it was a pretty well thought out plan of defense! The poor owner was screaming like a girl, having just witnessed his "hot dog" being eaten without the bun! I'm yelling, "Cooper put down the dog! Don't eat dogs!" He soon put him down, and the owner did an immediate assessment of the dog, and found no permanent damage. He was really good to say it was their fault, because they charged Cooper. Those darn dogs just kept yapping away, until they left. I must say, it was quite a sight! Natalie and I had some gut busting moments reliving it!
