The Schoon Scoop

28 January 2012

Random Pictures

This post is a snapshot on the past month, because even when there aren't words, there should be pictures.

Weebleville

Learning new things.

Game Night

Tea Party

Getting ready for big things to come...

26 January 2012

...pretty amazing. There hasnt been much to post about or comment on lately. We are definitely in a waiting period here around the Schoonmaker house. And in all honesty I've had my days of frustration, brokenness and disconnection from everything important to me. But none of that has prevented me from seeing the fingerprints of God EVERYWHERE.

It really is amazing to see how things are moving, even if it is in the slightest way, toward glory. I am so thankful to have eyes to see and ears to hear and I pray I continue to turn my heart toward Jesus that I might see more and more of His wonderful face.

And on a related note - I have the most amazing, godly, humble, faithful sister a person could ask for. God is truly moving in my sister's life and I am excited for the plans He has for her and for Mike.

There isnt much going on over there now, but I highly suggest following The Petes if you dont already. I have a feeling you may get a glimpse at God's majesty if you are willing to be patient and watch for it all to unfold.

11 January 2012

The Birthday Girl

January 8th is my birthday. This year I turned 32.

My mom and sister have always done a wonderful job going out of their way to make me feel special on my special day. But now I live pretty far away from both of them and over the past 14 years I've slowly gotten used to having less and less bells and whistles on the day of my birth.

Now dont get me wrong, my husband does a wonderful job at the "husband" part of birthdays. He even got me this beautiful ring this year:

But he never promised to be an expert party planner or anything close. In our little family, that's my job. And it just feels weird to plan stuff for yourself.

This year, however, a dear friend invited me out to lunch on Saturday for a pre-birthday lunch. It was the first time I remember anyone inviting me out for a birthday lunch. After 2 and a half hours sitting and enjoying one another's company I was more than happy to have moved into the "grown-up" phase of birthday celebration.

My actual birth-day fell on a Sunday this year. I woke up early with Nora and we had a little quality time in the early, early morning. Everyone piled on the bed so I could unwrap my presents, then we started getting dressed and ready for church. We had a good morning of worship, followed by a farewell reception for some dear friends at church. We squeezed in a quick lunch with our new music minister's family (Jeff, Kate & Olivia). I was a little sad that Noel would have to immediately return to church for a funeral and meetings and I'd just be hanging out with the girls at the house like any other afternoon. But when we got home this is what I found:

My lunch buddy knew Sunday would be crazy SO SHE DECORATED MY HOUSE to cheer me up!

And even left a present on my doorstep complete with confetti.

It was beyond amazing in my book. Sometimes the smallest gestures make the biggest impact. I was running around the house like a kid on Christmas asking "who did this?," grabbing my camera, taking photos and giggling like a school girl. I am very hard to surprise and this was a complete and utter surprise.

Then Kate and Olivia came over while Noel and Jeff were at church. We had a spontaneous party complete with a Carvel ice cream cake (it's tradition).

And the girls played together while Kate and I visited.

These two are trouble together. The red & white polka dotted skirt in the corner is Maggie jumping on the bed and egging them on.

Too much cuteness in the tent!

At the end of the day we got the girls all ready for bed and Kate read some stories while I straightened up.

The Carter's headed home and Noel and I put the girls to bed. Then we settled in for a sofa date... the perfect end to a surprisingly wonderful day. I have to say, thirty-two is looking pretty great so far.

25 December 2011

A Merry Little Christmas

On Christmas Eve morning I could tell the girls were a little restless to finally get into some of the presents they'd patiently been waiting to open. So, we decided to start a new tradition. In addition to opening the ornament I got them for their tree, they were invited to open the present from their sister on Christmas Eve. The new tradition was a big hit!

Nora got Maggie a Xia-Xia hermit crab with a house and a few extra shells.

Maggie got Nora a baby Rapunzel. She could hardly believe her eyes.

Of course then they decided they wanted to open the presents from MY sister... so we called Aunt Leigh who was available for an iChat and they opened their presents from Aunt Leigh and Uncle Mike as well.

Maggie got some new clothes for her Strawberry Shortcakes & American girl doll.

Nora got a new doctor kit which was an instant hit with both girls.

Our Christmas Eve evening started out on a sad note since we were missing Nana who caught the bug going around our family. Since Nana couldnt be with us Maggie drew her this wonderful portrait to cheer her up.

Then we went to the Christmas Eve service which included one of my favorite moments of the whole church year - Bruce and Noel's O Holy Night. I love it! After that we headed to the chinese restaurant for our annual Chinese buffet and then said goodnight to Papaw and headed home to get two little girls in bed before Santa's arrival.

The girls were absolutely delightful at the restaurant which was a blessing since it was late and we were all tired.

Once the girls were asleep Noel and I enjoyed a little down time on the couch. Then we laid out our gifts and headed to bed.

Santa must have woken Nora up on his way out because she was up at about 12:15 and wanted to hold her mommy. I spent the next 2.5 hours cuddled up with her before getting back to bed. Around 3 am Maggie came into our room with a nightmare so it was a pretty long night. Luckily Christmas adrenaline is a powerful drug.

Getting ready for the big reveal:

We spent the early morning unwrapping gifts.

Maggie got a new bike with a kitty in the basket (she'd been saving her own money to buy a kitty just like it so she was quite excited that Santa left it for her).

Nora got a new tent with balls and keys. It is a super cool tent and I think she will have a lot of fun playing with it. She also really enjoyed the bag of Annie's Graham bunnies which doubled as breakfast.

The girls also had several other gifts under the tree. Here are a few random unwrapping shots:

Once we unwrapped everything we had breakfast, showered and got dressed for church. It isnt every year that you actually get to worship ON Christmas and we were ready!

When we came home we had a quick lunch and got Nora down for a nap. Then Noel, Maggie and I played the three board games she received. We were all pretty much in agreement - Pretty, Pretty Princess, Sleeping Beauty addition was the best of the bunch!

When Nora woke up we hit the cal-de-sac for a little bike riding.

Maggie, dressed and ready to ride.

Maggie enjoyed trying out her new wheels and Nora was pleased (despite the face) to discover she'd inherited a trike.

In the long run, though, Nora preferred running to riding.

We came in to iChat with my family in Florida and then it was time to make dinner. Our Christmas dinner wasnt anything exciting. We made clean meatloaf, new potatoes and peas. It may not have been fancy but it was delicious and we all really enjoyed our meal.

The girls are now asleep and the living room, while not perfectly in order is reasonable enough for Christmas night. Noel and I are debating an early nights sleep or finally getting around to watching A Christmas Story which we previously recorded on the dvr. It been a fairly quiet Christmas but it's been a wonderful Christmas.

And at the center of it all, Jesus Christ, the very best present of all...

and one of our girls favorite things to unwrap each year.