A Small Group Christmas...

Good times were had by all at our annual small group Christmas party. We ate pizza, decorated gingerbread houses, and opened white elephant gifts. Woo hoo!

Brittany is proud of her gingerbread making skills..

Jenni and Katie make sure the house is sturdy...

Eric and Russ follow the directions to hopefully beat the girls...

...but their final product wasn't up to snuff because...

the girls totally whooped them...

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner...

Good times for sure!

Happy Halloween from the English Department...

The CPMS English department celebrated Halloween with a fabulous middle school dance and by dressing up in sweet, sweet costumes. We sure know how to have a good time. Check us out:


Cathy (Super Toole) and Jessaca (Clark Kent transforming into Superman) demonstrating their super powers...

Kim (Batman) even showed up because she just can't seem to stay away from us. :-) Ready, pose:

And I was able to dress up as Hannah Montana...booyah!!


Teaching with all of these wonderful people and being able to dress up like Hannah Montana...sounds like the "best of both worlds" to me. (For those of you non-Hannah fans...one of her songs is called "The Best of Both Worlds"). I guess the pun isn't so great when I have to explain it in order for it to be funny.

October...

Well October has come and gone...what a month.

First off...the CPMS boys tennis team rocked the world (errr...surrounding counties) by winning the Junior Mid-State Conference Championship! Booyah! Those boys are so thoughtful (ok...you're right...their moms put it together, but still...) that they sent me celebratory flowers...pictured below.
Next up...we had Dan and Ali's wedding. What a great time! I only took a few pictures (none of the bride and groom...how rude), and they are all from the rehearsal dinner...hah. I will have to borrow my mom's camera to add more pictures.

Dan and Ali gave Carson a Colts helmet for his duties as the ring bearer; however, somehow Russell ended up with it on his head.

Russell and I picked out our pumpkins too. As I was standing there pondering which pumpkin to choose, I felt what seemed like a raindrop on my forehead, as I casually wiped it off, I noticed it was not a raindrop as I had assumed, but it was a nice dropping from an overhead bird. Eww! After taking a picture of my poo-marked forehead, Russell helped me out...haha. The lady at the pumpkin patch gave me a free little pumpkin for my troubles.

Did you know what the hot spot for Fall Break 2010 was? If you guessed Flora, IN, you guessed correctly. Russ and I made a spontaneous visit up to Flora to visit Ty. While there we ate at The Corner Cafe, I drove Ty's big truck, Russ drove Ty's tractor, and most importantly we were able to spend some time with Ty.

The Corner Cafe...downtown Flora

Ty and Bailey

Russ going for a ride on the big red tractor...

Lost and Found...

If I were to tally up the number of items that I have misplaced in the last two months, most people would wonder why I hadn't placed "my mind" to the aforementioned list. Among these "things" that I had misplaced would be the camera cord (so...no pictures of the house on the computer) and as of this week, my cell phone.

I am thankful to say that I have found the camera cord!!! Woo hoo! While the cell phone is yet to be discovered (after numerous bus searches, parking lot looks, and ridiculous car detailing DIY jobs), I am back in business with Russ' old little flip phone...it makes and receives calls, so that is all I care about.

Anyhoooo...I now have pictures to share! Booyah!

I took these pictures of the house the second week that we were here, so let's call these the "Before Pictures."

When I made the twin bed, Carson came running into the room simultaneously jumping into the just made bed and saying, "This is my room!"

When Carson spent the night at the Schneider abode, he helped Uncle Russ make pancakes for breakfast.

What a great uncle...he even made Mickey Mouse pancakes.
Mmm...mmm...good...a satisfied customer.

I will take more pictures of the house...don't you worry.

From the Bex to the Bend...We are all Moved In...

Holy smokes! We bought a house! Do I have pictures? Uh no...but I will be taking some very soon. One month ago Russ and I looked at six houses (our first day on the house hunt). The fourth house we looked at that day is the very house we signed our name next to last week. Wowsers!

Now for a shout-out to Brad, our wonderful Realtor (I learned that this title should be capitalized because he is the real deal...haha...it's true though)...Anyone looking for a house should contact Brad (ask us for his info)! He did a wonderful job!

Saturday was moving day, and I never realized how much two people can cram into a two bedroom apartment over three years. Yikes! It is too embarrassing to admit how much stuff we really have. I am a big time give-awayer...yah, I made that word up, but I make it a point to take several trips a year to Goodwill to avoid holding on to too much stuff, but after packing it all up and moving it over here (thanks to some pretty strong friends), I am thinking I should make a trip to Goodwill a weekly routine. :-)

Anyway...stay tuned for pictures.

Minnesota state of mind...

Greetings from Ottertail, MN!

We were able to spend a week and a half in Minnesota over the fourth with the Schneider clan. Our good friends, Becki and Dave, came along for the trip, and boy oh boy, did we have a good time.
Summary of trip: boys--fishing, girls--hanging out on the boat, singing karaoke at The Otter, dancing to the karaoke at The Otter, talking like pirates, calling Becki her new name, Conchita, calling Russ his new name, Paco, the aforementioned Conchita talking in a British accent for a good twelve hours (or more), being treated like royalty by Betsy and Scott (delicious meals, fireworks, the whole shibang), etc.

We also were able to spend some time with Matt and Jen for a few days and Cassie and a slew of camp counselors.

Good times were had by all! Here are a few photos from the trip! Thanks to Conchita (see, we really are calling her that now) and her mad photography skills.

Good times on the water weenie! This is quite possibly my favorite picture of Conchita.

Russ caught a big ole bass...what what.

Dave caught a...umm...I forget what this one was called.

The Schneider boys doing a swell job on stage.

Proof of "life after the accident"...I am a horrible singer, and I never ever sing karaoke, fearing I might scare some people, but I do not have much to be afraid of these days...boo to the yah, give me the mic and watch what I do with it. haha Russell did not want to claim me as his wife that night, leaving room for Country Kenny to step in...see next picture.

What do you say to a man (a 90 year old at that) who asks you to dance at a karaoke bar? By golly, sure, I'll dance with you, and I bet my bottom dollar that someone (ahem...Conchita and Russell) will take this opportunity to snap a few photos and a video. Oh boy!

Next post will include a monumental event for Annie and Russell..what could that be?

Happy 40th Anniversary to these two wild and crazy kids...

1970-2010

It's a little belated, but my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary at the beginning of June. BOOYAH! We celebrated at Ruth's Chris! Cheers!

When people deny that God exists...show them this...horrific car accident with a happy ending....

On Friday Renee and I were heading to Bloomington to turn in my FINAL paper for my Masters in school counseling. We were struck by a truck, who was attempting to cross SR37. We spun around and flipped over two times before we ended up back on four tires (well what was left of the tires).
When we finally realized what had just happened, we asked each other, "Are you ok? Are you ok?" We then heard people coming toward us asking the same question, for what they all had just witnessed, they probably assumed the worst. I opened the door and hopped out, and the people who had stopped (about five cars of people or so...see....there really are some great people in this world!) helped Renee out of the car through the driver's side (look at the pictures, and you will see why).
We were taken to the hospital in Bloomington and released a little while later. Poor Renee has some severe cuts on her foot, but we both walked away without broken bones, stitches, or any other ailment that a crash like ours would have created.
We are both sore today, but we are alive! I never thought I would ever have to say that, but I think this is a near-death experience if there ever was one, so to say that we are alive is totally worthy.
We are both still trying to come to grips with what we experienced yesterday. The whole thing is very surreal. We are so incredibly blessed and fortunate to be able to walk away from that car. Science can only go so far (car flips over and over and is smashed on the top usually means fatality)...and then you just have to have a little faith(somehow some way we were protected). I thank God for seatbelts and for this narrow escape from a horrific accident.
Usually I would say, enjoy the pictures, but for this post...just look, and you will be in just as much shock as we were.

Cory, Topanga, and the Crew are Back!

Yah, that's right. I am writing a post about Boy Meets World. Much to my surprise while Russell was flipping through the stations this morning, he started yelling my name (yah, seriously yelling). When I came into the room, I saw Topanga and Cory, and the rest is history. haha They're baaaaaack. Every day for an hour before I go teach tennis lessons, I will be able to watch my beloved Boy Meets World...Booyah!

Ok...seriously...what is wrong with me? :-) It must be SUMMER!

Mr. and Mrs. Chris and Stephanie Cobb...Yay wedding season!

Our friends, Stephanie and Chris, were married this weekend. The whole weekend was fabulous. Here are a few pictures from the weekend's events:

The lovely couple, Chris and Stephanie.

Our roomies for the weekend...Dave and Becki.

This is what Russell does during dinner. He's quite the photographer.

The bride dancing to "Barbie Girl" upon entering the reception. Niiiiice.

Annie on the dance floor...what what.

When the GPS is broken...

Although I do not own a GPS (Russ says that is why we have atlases), I some times wish that God had given me a personal GPS, so I could know what would happen next (eh...does that sound like I am trying to take control from Him?). I am a big-time surprise ruiner (might have just made that word up)...but in this case...a few hints would be greatly appreciated.

It's almost May, and that means many things for many people, but for the Schneiders it means we are closer to our next step in life. Now don't automatically start thinking babies. :-)

I will graduate from grad school (yay school counseling)...another school year will end...summer will begin...God will provide Russell with his next step...and we plan on moving from our beloved Bexley to a place yet to be decided.

This has proven to be an interesting, exhausting, and a definite learning experience as we figure out where God is leading us. Through the ups and downs...the joys and the heartaches...we have tried to keep the faith. Some times certain parts of life sure don't make any sense, but the light at the end of the tunnel gets brighter every day.

I received the following from a friend, and I really liked it...so here is a great explanation about the sum of the parts that life hands us:

God's cake...

Sometimes we wonder, 'What did I do to deserve this?' or 'Why did God have to do this to me?'
Here is a wonderful explanation!
A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong,
she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away.
Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the
daughter says, 'Absolutely Mom, I love your cake.' 'Here, have some cooking oil,' her Mother offers.
'Yuck' says her daughter. 'How about a couple raw eggs?' 'Gross, Mom!'
'Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?' 'Mom, those are all yucky!'
To which the mother replies: 'Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they
are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! '
God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and
difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always
work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!

DIG IN!

Random updates...

Ode to Joe Junior--(Joe Jr. is what I affectionately called our former maintenance man)

Joe Jr.'s Best Catch...pictured...


JC Penney loves Russell! :-) He won a raffle (which his name was put into based on customer service), and he received this sweet prize. He will not be too happy that I am posting this, but he never reads the blog anyway. haha That'll learn 'em.

Bulldog Jog...

Good times at Butler. Russ and I ran the Bulldog Jog this weekend, and we ran into (not literally) a few friends. Always a good time at Butler. :-)