memories

I'm going to make a compilation of family stories/events. My students are doing an assignment for their final in one class where they wrote out interview questions for a family member and then interviewed, wrote down the answers, and put it into a paragraph. It made me think about how much I don't know about the way my parents grew up or what my children won't know about how I've grown up if I don't take the time to remember and write it down. I'm hoping my family will contribute some of the things that I don't really remember or that happened before I was born that are important or memorable from our own little family's history.

Being part of a new family with Luke has helped me realize how important it is to do things right from the very beginning. By this I mean, if I want my children to grow up in a home that has Family Home Evening, we need to start having it now, making it part of our Monday nights from the very beginning. Last night Luke and I read The Living Christ together and talked about evidences in the world that Christ in fact lives today. We talked about the way people's hearts change during this time when we celebrate His birth, being more willing to sacrifice and to give of their excess to those who are need. We talked about how some people may not realize how Christ has influenced their hearts, but we know that the light of Christ is real and that it is in everyone. It gives people the discerning of bad from good. It motivates people to do good if they will just listen or choose to act on it. We talked about a lot of things and I think it's so important to just take time to remember or we won't let it be part of our everyday thought.

I'm grateful for so many things and know that I owe everything to my Savior, who has allowed a life for me that is so much greater than anything I could have achieved without him.

I'm grateful for challenges and trials that make me stronger and that allow me to grow closer to Luke, as we strive together to work through things and move forward.

I'm grateful for the feeling that I get when I look at Luke and can't help but smile.

unusual challenges

well i'm sure that everyone experiences great challenges in their professions, but how many people do you know who have gotten bit by their students?

we have a student who kind of panics when he feels too uncomfortable. he'll get frustrated about an assignment or about it being too noisy. usually he gives warning and we can calm him down with a social story he reads, but yesterday he skipped the warning steps and went straight to pounding me on the leg. nothing serious happened because i was able to pin him to the ground (with others helping me eventually), but i do have a large bruise on my left arm from him biting me and some bruises on my left leg from him striking my leg and clawing at it to try and get ahold of me.

i feel like now that i've experienced the worst of it (this was the worst it has ever been), i can handle anything. i was really able to defend myself without harming him or allowing him to harm any of the other students in the classroom. i reacted with a clear mind and without too much struggle besides the fact that he is much taller/stronger than me. as soon as my adrenaline wore off, i was a little overwhelmed by the situation. during the whole thing, this student didn't show any vicious or malicious intent. he honestly looked confused and horrified and it broke my heart.

i am fine. don't worry. i can handle a few bruises. when i get home tonight i will post the daily development of the bite bruise on my arm. day 1 wasn't too bad, but it's getting darker and bigger, so we'll see. i also have to get a series of hepatitis shots that the district will pay for (he didn't break the skin because he bit through my shirt, but this is more just as a precaution).

26. i am blessed with clear and quick reactions to crisis situations.
27. i am blessed with a husband who takes care of me, even when he himself is sick.

learning and humility

What am I supposed to learn from this? I need to sleep more. I need to pay closer attention to my health and to my body. I can't do everything. Healing is a slow process and I have to let it happen before jumping into everything again. It's okay to rely on other people. Sometimes I need help and there's no way of getting around it. Also, sometimes you just have to turn on the heater, even if you're trying to save money. Mono, mono, go away and don't come back for another day.

It was really nice saying goodbye to Luke this morning, knowing that he'll be home when I get home. We really have grown in our relationship as he has worked evenings. At church yesterday, my friend Becky said (applying to something completely different), "you can't miss something that never left." I know what it's like having to spend time without Luke and then getting to welcome him home. At least now we can be an old boring married couple and go to bed early. That's all I ever wanted :)

I made muffins out of the Amish Friendship Bread that Kate Outcalt gave me... they looked so perfect when they came out, but booooooo the bottoms were burnt. Our oven is no good and I think it would've worked better with just regular old bread pans. Only some of them were burnt, so I got to have one for breakfast and it was delicious. I'm gonna make it again in about 9 days.

Coming soon: Fall Photo Recap

23. I am blessed with challenges in my life that help me learn and grow.
24. I am blessed with a good sense of humor similar to my husband's.
25. I am blessed with a love for cool weather and hoodies (otherwise I'd be miserable by now).

I love India Arie. I bought her acoustic soul CD used at Half Price Books (less of a selection, but cheaper than hastings for used CDs). I've had it playing while I've been working around the apartment. Luke has to work a few of these Saturdays coming up... but I can't complain that much because he's moving to day shift starting on Tuesday! yay! His schedule will be similar enough to mine that we can ride in one car together at least for December before his classes start.

Our friends Matt and Ali moved back to Lawrence from Idaho and we got to hang out with them last night. We played Phase 10 and a game called Ripple with Skip-Bo cards. We're really glad to have them here!

20. I am blessed with a sister Lori who makes AMAZING caramel corn and was kind enough to share some with me.
21. I am blessed with a sister Kelly who helped me out a TON on Thursday night when I could hardly function and was supposed to take dinner to a friend.
22. I am blessed with a husband who holds the priesthood and was able to give me a blessing Thursday night when my mono symptoms started to come back.

DDR has become my workout regime. I've been doing it 30 to 40 minutes a day on the workout mode. It's a fun way to be active where I don't want to kill myself by the end... I know it can't take place of a real workout forever, but it's helping me get back on my feet again.

17. i am blessed with cable.
18. i am blessed with internet.
19. i am blessed with a clear conscience and peace of mind.

lamefaces.

someone stole my CD notebook out of Luke's car saturday night.... which contained my ENTIRE CD collection (about 275 CDs) except for about 2 CDs. they also stole Luke's book of 25 CDs which included a picture CD of about 300 pictures from his mission.

:(

15. i am blessed with excess and luxury in my life.
16. i am blessed with an alma mater worth cheering for (yay KU's winning football record and an exciting overtime in basketball last night).

family fun and guilty pleasures

Sunday night we celebrated my parents' 35th wedding anniversary which was actually on Sunday. we had delicious pot roast, homemade mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, and strawberry-filled cake. it was a lot of fun. i got to put up the streamers and Lori hasn't taken them down yet :) we did a schellman family trivia game and then luke and i had to play against mom and dad in the newlywed game... luke and i probably should've let them win, but they of course got the prize anyway. we got 12 questions right and they got 7. **to explain the picture, my mom used to add single candles to the numbers if we didn't have the right numbers... 33 + 1 + 1 = 35, right?**

i really enjoy spending time with all of my family, which we got to do again on Thursday for Thanksgiving! i wish i'd gotten some pictures, but i didn't. everyone looked very nice and all the food was delicious. some of us girls (gina, lori, kelly, me) and dad had fun playing apples to apples (at one point dad was laughing so hard he spit out his drink) while the boys (craig, kevin, eric, luke) all left at about 7:30 or so to go to craig and vanessa's for halo fest 2007. they stayed up late so they could go to the black friday sales in the morning. luke went with kevin to circuit city and pretty much bought his Christmas. i'm excited that he got Heroes season 1 and The Office season 3 for 18.99 each. he also got something for me that i definitely consider a guilty pleasure. i don't dork out on many things (maybe that's not entirely true), but there are some things i just don't want to live without:


that's right. i'm a fan of dance dance revolution and i'm really not too bad at it. everyone has at least one guilty pleasure and this is ONE of mine.

8. i am blessed with a good appetite and plenty of opportunities to fulfill it.
9. i am blessed with affordable rent.
10. i am blessed with an able body.
11. i am blessed with a large family with a lot of outgoing personalities -- and somehow we are all friends and love each other.
12. i am blessed with a fine example of marriage by my parents -- it's kind of sad that the fact that their marriage has lasted 35 years is such a rarety these days.
13. i am blessed with knowledge of the true gospel restored through Joseph Smith.
14. i am blessed to live in a free nation where i am allowed to worship how, where, or what i may.

stuff and stuff

i feel like i've been sick for most of my married life. i had a nasty cold a couple of weeks ago which has now apparently transformed into mono. awesome. i always thought that mono just made you really tired (true), but it also gives you a horrible sore throat and swollen glands, which makes your head feel like it's going to explode. i feel a ton better today after having taken 2 days of the antibiotic, but i'm still very tired... i get bursts of energy, but then if i actually use them, i'm exhausted. luke has been a great help as well as dad who showed up to the apartment wednesday night with a bag full of food he took out of his own pantry for me. the chicken noodle soup (which i don't normally enjoy) and orange juice hit the spot, and it was great to have some company before luke got home from work that night.

in other news, luke has enrolled in all of his classes for the spring semester at JCCC. aside from math, english, ya know the boring stuff, he gets to take piano and guitar. i'm a little jealous. and yay for pell grants.

for my one attempt out of the apartment yesterday we went to the payless furniture store and bought a new mattress set. the frame (and by frame i mean box spring) on our bed has been broken for a couple of weeks now and it's starting to cause pain (and it's a full bed for 2 not tiny people), so that's being delivered today. yay. at the store they also have these sweet round swivel chairs that we want to get someday. it's the modern-day love seat.

6. I am blessed to live in a town that makes it possible to buy a mattress in one day.
7. I am blessed with laughter every day (usually with my husband).

gross.

I have mono.

4. I am blessed with good health insurance.
5. I am blessed with an extremely understanding boss.

yiiiikes

Nobody's head is on straight today. What's with this week? I couldn't get out of bed today, Luke sounded like he hadn't slept in a month when we got up to pray together, and no one wants to be at school today or is at least struggling.

On a more exciting note, we're getting ready for our big Thanksgiving lunch next Tuesday. The students get to invite guests (family) and we're all contributing to the feast. We've started to decorate a little during down time. I got to make acorns today. My job is kind of awesome.

(from yesterday) 2. I am blessed with a job that I actually enjoy going to every day. It brings its own challenges, but I enjoy being in the lives of these kids. They have good hearts.

3. I am blessed with a family who is supportive of my decisions.

challenges, renewal

[this is a long post. proceed with patience.]

Last week there was a student in our classroom who came in that morning to find that her teacher wasn't there that day. She had brought him some chili from home and was disappointed that he wouldn't be there to try it. Her reaction was to choose the desk with all the papers on it that would be used for the class that hour and throw it over sideways, sending the papers flying. She had several more outbursts during the day, consisting mostly of storming out of the classroom or kicking her backpack down the hallway. During 6th hour I was in the same class as her and noticed she was sitting against the wall in the corner. I went and sat down and just let her talk. She said she wasn't upset because of anything that we had or hadn't done, but that she was just having a bad day and just needed time to have her bad day so she could move on.

story.of.my.life.

When she described it that way, I was able to actually understood where she was coming from. She had come to school so excited about bringing this gift to her teacher that when it didn't happen, it impeded upon how she had hoped her day would unfold, no matter how trivial it may have seemed to everyone else.

storyofmylife.again.

Today's sacrament meeting talks were on Gratitude. We've been commanded to be grateful for everything, so wouldn't that also include trials and hardships? It reminded me of the ward conference talks that were given 2 weeks earlier, also on gratitude, but specifically on being grateful for the challenges that we face in our lives.

First, Luke and I have been sealed for eternity, which in doing so, includes a wonderful covenant that he and I have made with God. I can't imagine this being something that satan, who is very real, would look upon positively, so wouldn't he do everything in his power to cause us to fail at the covenant, to fail at the marriage? This has brought about some interesting challenges, though they have all been very minor and easily resolvable. I am grateful for Luke's perspective that is so unified with mine, that a marriage, that love, takes a LOT of work and constancy. If we are both facing each day with that intent, to succeed each day, then how can we fail? Sorry satan, you lose.

Finances are always a challenge in marriage, but hey guess what. Money is just money. It can't buy us happiness in this life and we can't take it with us in the next, so what's the big fuss about?

The temple has helped me so much to see the minor challenges in my life just as they are: minor. Eternally, what difference does $100 make or a disagreement about the evening's plans? None. At all.

Still, there are times when I just need to have a bad day, just like the student I spoke with last week. I need to be sad. I need a good cry, so I can jump back on to the horse and move forward. That's why basketball players, even the best ones, have to go to the bench every once in a while. If they didn't, their whole game would suffer. So, I need to have a bad day every once in a while. If I didn't, I wouldn't be so good at recognizing the good ones. It's almost like a cleansing -- a chance to start fresh.

Anyway, relating to this topic, my weekend has been a challenge. Nothing in specific has caused me heartache or pain, but it was challenging for me. I am grateful for that because it has helped me to see the positive in my life (there's a lot there) and to recognize the countless blessings that I am allowed to enjoy each day.

It seems so appropriate that Thanksgiving is the holiday that precedes Christmas. I can't think of too many things that fill me with more gratitude than the birth and life of Jesus Christ. I challenge my readers (those who are willing) to focus on the blessings in your lives by writing down 1 blessing in your life. Don't stop doing it on the day after Thanksgiving, but until the new year. A new year is another form of renewal and what better way can we start anew than with a list of over 50 blessings that we have taken the time to recognize in our lives? I hope you'll share them with me.

1. I have been blessed with being sealed to my best friend Luke, together as a family for all time and eternal.

holiday spirit of service, traditions

I must confess... I've been listening to the Christmas radio stations. Fully knowing I'll regret it come Christmas Eve when the sound of "Merry Christmas, Darling" makes me want to swerve into the car in the next lane over, I just can't help myself! Whether or not you believe in Jesus Christ or the nativity story, it's hard to deny that there is something special about this time of year that really seems to bring people together. The simple caring about another person, by donating food to Link or donating to Toys for Tots; it changes people's hearts.


Each fall, our family draws names for Christmas. I'm buying this year for my brother-in-law's sister Liz. We set a price limit and then exchange gifts on Christmas Day. We decided a few years ago to set the price limit a little lower and use anything extra to put towards Christmas for another family in need. One year, we went out and bought toys and various things for a family from church who we knew needed a little help. Christmas Eve, Dad, Kevin, and I went to deliver the gifts in a car they wouldn't be able to recognize. Kevin took a large trash bag filled with gifts to the door, rang the doorbell and took his time, just slightly jogging back to the car. Before any time at all, the door was flung open and Kevin was sprinting for the car door. As we barely got away unrecognized, we saw a young boy in the family start after the car at full pace until we turned off of the street. He wanted so badly to see who had done this for his family. I'm so grateful for that experience and hope to never forget it. Every so often, I would see that same young boy wearing the sweater that I happened to pick out for him and the memory flooded back into my heart each time. Even now, it brings a desire to do all that I can to look for opportunities to serve whenever I can. We can literally act as angels in others' lives if we only allow for it to happen. They need those blessings as much as we need the blessings that we receive from humble service. I love Christmas and am admittedly in the holiday spirit. Luke and I have already been so blessed in our marriage and we hope to be able to somehow return the favor.

I can't help but think about traditions. With the beginning of a new family, I have the opportunity to think about our own traditions that we can begin as a couple (and hopefully carry on as we someday have our own children).

What are your favorite holiday traditions that you couldn't live without (or at least wouldn't want to)?

back to work and... a little about the honeymoon

(I promise all of my blogs won't be this wordy... some of them... most of them probably will be though :)

I ventured back to work today. I did cough some, but I think I was ready. I was going crazy being at home so much by myself. At least when I have kids (some day) I'll have them to entertain me. One of the kids threw up and had to go home. You know how most people at least stop walking and bend over if they feel like they're going to throw up? Not this kid... he just kept going... and got it all over his mom. That poor sweet woman.

The interesting thing about my job is that I thought it would take a lot of patience. Well, it does, but with my coworkers, not so much the students like I had thought. There is this silly feud going on (one para is particularly difficult to handle) and I'm trying to stay out of it, but what do you do when someone is getting so involved that he/she's losing sight of what is actually going on? I struggle when I see someone getting into a student's face... especially in the special education program. I don't know of anyone who enjoys another person getting into his face. How does that fulfill the duty of a para to assist in learning and constructive functional skills? That's all I'm saying.

On another note, I'm almost done with the photo books. I've completely finished one and now I'm just waiting for Luke to write his little wedding day reflection before the other one can be finished. I just wish I had space to include pictures about the honeymoon. Oh but lucky me! I can just put some of them on here! :) We honestly didn't do much for a honeymoon. Luke's dad was so generous as to pay for our hotel... 3 nights in St. Louis... the Marriott right by the airport. It was a nice hotel and we made use of the pool and hot tub as well as being able to order TV shows that we missed from the week before (The Office).

As many times as I've been to St. Louis, I had never been to the zoo OR the arch! So, that's what we did. I took way too many pictures of the animals at the zoo. Everything was so beautiful there... the gardens, even the structures. Some of my favorites were the penguins, the polar bear, the sea lions (I got a fun video of them during feeding time) and the giraffes. I took a lot of pictures and Luke was getting a little impatient toward the end because he was really hungry. In my defense, it was his idea to go to the zoo and not eat until after. The room with the penguins was really cold and smelled kind of funny (they said it was the water that smelled funny). There were a ton of people in there, but I still got some cute pictures! They also had puffins, which are so cute, but weren't very photogenic for me. Zoos are so cool.

We had fun walking in the park that surrounds the arch. It's a popular spot for sitting and for runners... the park was full of people who you could tell lived in the city. We watched where the locals went and decided to eat at a delicious Italian Bar & Grill called Caleco's on a nearby corner, while we waited for our time to go up into the arch. Luke's spaghetti carbonara was amazing (I ate more than my share of it), but the pizza I got was just okay. I ended up eating 1 and 1/2 pieces and then we chucked the rest (This gave me the opportunity to learn that I do not like sweet pizza sauce). The weather was beautiful until we came out of the arch... then it poured on us (just in time for us to travel back to Lawrence in the car... for hours... wet from the rain... awesome).

We had a lot of fun even though we only spent about 10 minutes actually at the top of the arch. The little pods you sit in would be so cool if it weren't for the fact that they make you completely claustrophobic. They cram 5 people into a space that should really only fit 2, so we got nice and cozy with the strangers in the pod with us. Of course the view was gorgeous, even through the cloudy little windows made of plastic.

One thing we established on our honeymoon was a little collection. Who knows how long it will last, but since we didn't have any magnets for our fridge, we decided that we would buy a magnet any time we went somewhere cool. At least that's a somewhat useful collection and not too expensive either. I'm just glad I had my camera there because that's the best kind of souvenir you can get anyway. Our honeymoon was a nice relaxing long weekend (complete with The Office and 3 Target runs), and really that's all you can hope for, right?

being sick, and the wedding

I feel so weak when I'm sick. My chest is filled with grossness and I'm coughing practically nonstop. I should be at work right now, but seeing as I work at a school (I'm a special ed. paraeducator for one of the local high schools), I didn't think it'd be the best idea to infect everyone else.

My dear friend Adam took our wedding pictures at the reception and did such a good job. My sister Kelly took the ones at Nauvoo, which I also love. I'm making a couple of photo books from Shutterfly.com (I have 2 free ones from various wedding registries) and it has been a lot of fun doing the layouts, captions, etc. It's like scrapbooking on the computer. I need to buy a wedding album, so I can scrapbook for real.

My sister Lori did my flowers and I've gotten SO MANY compliments on the bouquet especially. There's even a friend getting married in January who asked me about it, so she could get the same person.

My mom did my cake and some people were unsure of her success... until they saw the finished product. I loved it! The orange ribbon gave it a nice touch, and of course the flowers were again arranged by Lori. Mom spent weeks concocting the perfect cake recipe, followed by the perfect frosting recipe and it was all so delicious. The frosting was light and airy and had just a tiny hint of orange and lemon to it. I LOVED it. We can't wait to eat the top of the cake when it finally comes time. We might just wait until our 6 month because I've heard about the whole year not always being the greatest success. I wrapped it up tight in foil and closed it into a freezer bag also, so we'll see.

I love the fact that Luke pretty much picked out his own outfit for the wedding and looked so sharp. He sure was stubborn about that 3rd button, but it does kind of make it look like he's posing for a magazine or something :) I love that even if we've just been disagreeing about something, moments later we can have resolved it and are laughing about something completely different. We've made a goal that we will never go to bed without resolving any kind of conflict that we've had during the day. Then we can have an honestly connected family prayer at the end of the night instead of just still being grumpy (I can stay grumpy for a while if I'm allowed). In the photo book that I'm making, Luke agreed to journal (I will do the same) his feelings/thoughts from that day in Nauvoo. I'm excited to see what he has to say.

Everything turned out so great and I realize that I did so little of what was done. Thank you a thousand times to everyone who helped (there were many of you). It means the world to Luke and me.

Now the hard part is cleaning up the mess. I have a lot of leftover decorations and nowhere to put them. I'm hoping that some of these marriages coming up (I have several friends getting married between now and January) will allow me to pass on some of these things.

unexpected experiences: marriage

Any time something interesting happens in my life ... you know, when I should be documenting it... I don't have the time! Hopefully this will help with that, where I can add a thought here and there. I've been blogging for a long time (www.xanga.com/adelheide8), but I've switched over to Blogger because I've watched my sister Lori use it for quite a while now and it seems more convenient.

I have recently become married to my best friend Luke... October 5, 2007. Luke and I were married in the Nauvoo, Illinois Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and it was a beautiful ceremony. I was so excited about the event and making it to that point, that I didn't take much time to think about how completely my life would change after that point. Every day is a surprise. We've had conversations about whose dad could beat up the other, funny sounds we each make in our sleep, why I should be able to use the block cheese instead of the grated ... each day is less expected than the one before.

Yesterday the apartment above us had her water heater bust, meaning we got some leakage into our kitchen. Our apartment maintenance is so up to par that we got to work the shop vac to suck up the water, while he went and did something else. We can't really complain, considering we got the least of it in our building, but these are things I never had to worry about before I was married (I lived at home up to that point).

The wedding was practically perfect. I'll be one of the few women to admit that a wedding reception is just a party, but it's important to remember that it's just as much about your family, friends, and relatives, as it is about you. My family helped so much with everything, it's ridiculous. I'm so grateful for their willingness to do so much. It directly shows that they support my decision to be married.

It's bedtime, but you'll hear from me soon.

yay for eternal families and the opportunity to begin my own. yay for the countless blessings that come from being married in the temple. yay for a new start and a new life. yay for luke and yay for us, together for eternity.