Sandcastle Competition!

We went to Fort Myers Beach for the Sandcastle Competition held each year. It was a beautiful day, and really neat creations!

Justin's 10!!!!!!

One of the crazier decisions we have made is to get Justin a real drum set....Good thing we don't have neighbors! Hard to believe he is "double-digits"....

Sisters

Lindsay and Taylor were inducted into the National Honor Society recently. I love this picture!

Emergency Room

Justin had an unfortunate encounter with the dreaded monkey bars during Friday night's football game. They apparently are "slippery little devils"! Thanks to the kindly Doctor, Fire Chief and moms who were at the game ready to help us. (all who apparently used to watch "MacGyver" and made a sling out of what people had in their bags. The good news is that there is no break! We all had on our team's football jerseys, so I am sure we were quite the sight walking in to the hospital. Thank you Jesus for no cast!

First Day of School August '09

The kids roll their eyes every year when I say I want the annual "back to school" picture! Lindsay is a Junior, Taylor is 8th grade, and Justin is in the 4th grade. Lindsay is helping me out with the driving to school this year-which is an odd feeling. We dropped Kyle off at college this past Saturday. He has really nice friends there that we were able to meet. He is staying in a new dorm that is more like an apartment. What a blast he is going to have!

More fun in Chicago...

We went to Navy Pier for the day after taking the train from Crystal Lake. Special surprise, Kristin and the babies were there! We went on a boat ride and saw the beautiful Chicago skyline. Fun Day with the family!

Chicago!!!!

We girls went to see Mary Poppins our first night in Chicago. It was a really fun show. We went out to dinner beforehand...ask me sometime how many adults fit in a revolving door section...funny story!!

Ouch!

Taylor had SIX, count them, SIX teeth pulled yesterday! Look at the roots on those things....the oral surgeon said they would have never come out on their own. Taylor is a brave girl! She is doing great....a few prescription pain pills have done the trick.

Visit with the Miller's

We took Cheryl and Micaela to Barefoot beach during their visit. They say you must check under your car for Gopher Tortoises, and we saw them lots of places in the early evening.

One Year

I am sorry that I did not post anything on June 6th. I was not able to be with the family in Michigan for all of the wonderful plans-which was very hard. It was difficult to read my prayer journal from that time period-especially when it was evident that we were going to lose him. One small section of what I wrote was "Ryan never gave up-he was so determined to give it his all. There were so many people who blessed our hearts with prayer. We did not lose him because we didn't pray enough, or because Ryan and Kristin didn't try hard enough or because his Doctor's and nurses didn't care enough. We lost him because our sovereign God's will was for Ryan to have glory in Heaven." The rest is just too painful to share, but one thing is certain-He was loved by us all! I can't wait to see him again!

Sweet 16!

Lindsay-girl turned sixteen today! Thank you God for such a great daughter!!!!!!!!!!!

Sports Banquet

Here are Taylor and JoJo with their awards from the sports banquet. JoJo was honored for "Most Improved" in volleyball and JV cheerleading. Taylor received her awards for "Most Improved" in Varsity Competitive squad cheerleading and "Coaches Award" for JV cheer. Congrats to my favorite 7th grade girls!

Fitness award

We received an e-mail that Justin would be receiving an award in chapel yesterday. Here is the picture of him and his National Physical Fitness Award. He then insisted that I come back to have lunch with him! Some day he won't want anything to do with me sitting at the lunch table with him!

Announcing the new V.P.!!!!

Taylor ran for Vice President of next year's 8th grade class. There were two other opponents. We made posters, stickers and business cards. "vote Tay and you'll have a say", "It's a pity if you don't vote Schmitty", and "vote Schmitty on the Committee" were her campaign slogans. Friday the results were announced and Taylor was elected. We are proud of her and her willingness to step out of her comfort zone and make a speech and be a part of the whole process.

Jr./Sr. '09

Our school does a Jr./Sr. dinner dance that is not as formal as a prom. (Homecoming is the formal here.) Since Lindsay's boyfriend Scott is a Senior, she was able to go as a Sophomore. The day before the event, Lindsay was very ill. I have really not seen her so sick in a very long time. On Saturday she was very weak with a low grade fever, but was determined not to let Scott down. Taylor stepped up to the plate and painted Lindsay's toe nails for her(that's what sisters do!) Lindsay literally picked herself up off the couch and made a magical transformation at 3:00p.m. Scott arrived at 4. She looked beautiful, Scott looked great and they took off for the evening. Dave let them take the Trans Am. He had a busy week, so at 10 pm the night before, he was washing it in the dark(that's what Dad's do!) I just spent the night wondering how she was doing....(that's what Mom's do!)

Trinidad '09

Here are some pictures from Lindsay's mission trip to Trinidad. She had an amazing time, and can't wait to go back...

Only in Florida!

Only in Florida can you go to Dairy Queen for happy hour artic rushes and run into a monster truck....

CRAZY!!!!

(anybody see the truck name and the exhaust pipe that is an arrow pointing to Justin?)

Buddies

Justin brought his friend Christopher to the opening night game of the Charlotte Stone Crabs vs. the Fort Myers Miracles. They were "glove ready" for foul balls, but no such luck. It was a great night for baseball!

"Everything" skit

This is Lindsay's skit that she is doing in Trinidad with her team.

Trinidad

Just wanted everyone to know that Lindsay is in Trinidad on a mission trip all week. Please be praying for her and the team. They have really special events planned, and it is an extremely talented group of teenagers. She was very excited about the jet airliner that she was on-it had two big screens and 7 seats across. She said the plane was huge. We will have no contact with her all week-no cell phones.

McKenzie and Megan!

We had a special visit from our Ohio "pool buddies". Lindsay and Taylor spent lots of time with McKenzie and Megan when we lived in Medallion. It was really special to visit with Ashley and the girls! Thanks for coming!

Lonigro's!

It was really fun to have the Lonigro's visit us for a week. The cousin's had fun "chillin". They were able to visit a couple of beaches, a water park and something about alligator hunting...with marshmallows. They went home to a snowstorm-6 inches of it!

Taylor's 13th birthday party

Taylor had her 13th birthday party sleepover at our house. It was special because Cassidy was able to be there to celebrate with her and her friends. It was amazing-there was constant talking until 3 a.m. How do they do it?! Notice Justin in the hot tub? (bunny ears!) He had a blast with all of the girls!!!!

"Wicked"!!

Last weekend for Taylor's 13th birthday we went to see the broadway show "Wicked". It is such a great show! We went with our special friends Diane and her daughter JoJo. If you ever get a chance to see this production, treat yourself. It is amazing!

Spring Break

Kyle was home all last week. He caught this large-mouth bass in our pond. It was great spending some time with him!

Taylor's 13!!!!!!!

We celebrated Taylor's birthday last night because they didn't want to miss youth group tonight. We went to Ruth's Chris restaurant and had delicious filet! Taylor's choice for dessert was creme brulee! Hard to believe there is another teenager in the house....yikes!

Special Visit

Grandma Wilson came for a visit this week! She experienced the busy "Schmit" schedule. She was able to see Justin play and Dave coach the awesome Cubs. Lindsay's drama class put on a play, and we were able to have lunch out a couple of times. Unfortunately, it was chilly for her visit. It was great to see Grandma!

Success--Justin's First Florida Fish!!