From the mouths of babes...

From the mouths of babes…

There is nothing like having a child to keep you humble. Children will let you know exactly what they think of you at any given time. If you thought you had any sort of wisdom in the area of child rearing (we’re going to say pre-kids) those little stinkers (albeit cute stinkers) will have you second guess everything you ever thought you knew… several times a day.

I love my children. But some of the things that come out of their mouths…

I often say, I need to write more of these things down and then I don’t! So this is me writing a few things down.

I’ll start with my youngest, Zavier Shane. He is very nearly three years old, but he’s definitely catapulted into what we affectionately (or begrudgingly) call the “three-nager” stage. At any given moment he can flip the switch for his insta-attitude and he reserves the right to change his mind, opinion or stance on anything… just to make life difficult. His newest catch phrase that he mumbles if he’s particularly upset with you is, “I’m gonna punch your face!” Isn’t that lovely? What a sweetie! Thankfully, I’ve never seen him actually punch anyone’s face and yes, of course I’ve talked to him about talking like that.

Zavi in the midst of a yogurt therapy beautifying session.

Now, I know that it’s a popular opinion to teach your kids the proper names of their own body parts. I understand that it’s for safety, etc. I’m not here to dispute or affirm that, but let me tell you, there can be consequences with educating a toddler!

We were in town in the afternoon the other day, so I thought it would be nice if my two youngest and I went to pick Jett up from school. We arrived a few minutes early, so I helped Lena & Zav out of our vehicle and we walked to the school to wait by the boot room doors. When the bell rang and kids began pouring out of the school doors, someone informed me that Jett was waiting for us at his classroom. (Pardon me, your highness, my son… let me come and escort you…) SO, I brought my littles into the boot room and gave them strict instructions to stay put while I walked just around the corner to J’s classroom (literally no more than 20 steps). Call me lazy, but I didn’t want to take everyone’s boots off just to walk the 20 steps and then have to get everyone re-booted. Jett was there and ready to go, so I really don’t think I had left Lena and Zav alone for even 1 full minute, but of course my little threenager couldn’t be expected to wait that long. He was almost in 3^rd gear when I cut him off and scooped him and his boots up before he could track anything down the hall. It was a quick reaction, one fluid motion as I bent down, and lifted him by swinging my arm between his legs so that his legs were straddling my arm. It’s an awkward description, I realize, but I’ve picked him up that way many times; often when we’re playing or giving ‘airplane rides.’ Anyway, I guess he found it uncomfortable because he yelled (not with an inside voice) “OW, Don’t touch my penis!!” He then repeated the same thing at least 5 times, just in case someone in the area hadn’t heard him.

Seriously, son, thank you. 

A few of my favourite things about Zavi at this stage in his life:
-He loves his stuffies. His favourites are Puppy, Giraffy, Unicorn and Cowie-Wowie. A stuffed puppy, a stuffed lion (yes, a lion named giraffy), A black stallion (there's no unicorn horn, but it doesn't seem to matter) and of course, a cow. The cow he has on time-share with his sister. ;)
-Zavi loves to catch me when I'm crouched near the floor. He gets this irresistible twinkle in his eye and grins at me. He then says, "Give me a hug, lady!" (I love it.. The first time he said it, I melted-- was putty in his hands. He knows it. He uses it.) and proceeds to run at me full speed, trying to tackle me with a monster hug.
-And his sleep sweat. A weird thing to love, I know. Each night I put my princess on the potty (she's fully asleep.. it's rather hilarious, but necessary!) and after I return her to her bed, I lean over my baby who's sleeping on the bottom bunk, feel my way through the stuffies until I find his sweaty little face, and then I inhale a big sniff. I love it. He has his own sleepy sweaty smell and I can't get enough of it.

Kalena Jane, my sweet princess, loves to tell stories. Whether they're true and based on reality is not important. She will decide and let you know if it's true or not. Some of the tales she tells...
She also can get highly emotional in an instant. (I fear her adolescent years...) But the other day, she slipped. She admitted to me that she is capable of making herself cry. She can even produce actual tears, which makes this whole parenting thing even more of a challenge!

You gotta love the influence of a big sister...

Miss Lena also LOVES to sing and dance (although her ability to sing on key... it's not developed yet...). We took the kids to the movie Trolls a week or so ago (it was cute) and at the end  when the credits were rolling, Kalena jumped up out of her seat and ran to the front of the theatre to dance to Justin Timberlake. She considered it her stage and she poured herself into a moving performance of her own interpretive dance. Of course her little brother joined her. (cramped her style)

"She came in like a wrecking ball..."

Of my three nose-pickers, Kalena is the least shy. She will approach pretty much any adult she deems interesting (we have work to do in the whole Stranger Danger department). I caught her starting a conversation with a strange man in an airport... a few times. Her version of social boldness is paired with a form of bluntness that leads to situations that are highly embarrassing. She has no qualms about loudly informing anyone who will listen to her of the things she observes. You know, things like commenting on the appearance of people around her... things like weight, interesting hair styles or tattoos...  Honestly, I am trying to teach Kalena how to be socially sensitive, to not spout out every thought that runs through her brain... to think about how the things that she says might make someone else feel... It's a work in progress.

This pic is cute and un-assuming, but the back story is that Kalena is wearing no shoes... On October 31st, in Saskatchewan, her barefoot state went un-noticed and she trick or treated a whole block without shoes. #parentingfail

We've been trying to catch up on some appointments over the last while, and all three of my kiddos did great at their recent visit to the optometrist. I first got glasses when I was 7 (my eyesight is horrible) so I'm always praying that my children will get Mitch's perfect vision. Anyway, our optometrist is brilliant. He used Paw Patrol for the kids to watch while he checked out their eyes and they all behaved marvellously. He took them to the prize drawer afterwards as a reward and my princess boldly inquired, "Do you have any diamonds???"

Some of my favourite things about Kalena right now:
- She is SO affectionate. I get multiple "I love you's" and hugs/kisses throughout the day.
- Her hips. She's had this hip wiggle for a long time now, and it works its way into most of her dance moves. I can't call it a booty shake because this girl's got no booty!
-Her toothless grin. Having two front teeth pulled was rather traumatic for both Kalena and I, but she has such an adorable smile now.
-She has the hair I always wanted. Seriously. It took well over two years for Kalena to have any hair to speak of, but now that it's in, it's gorgeous. She can sleep on it wet, take it out of a ponytail, whatever, and all we have to do is run a brush through it and it's smooth, soft and full.
- She still pronounces several of her words with a toddler-type accent. I think it's on words that have combined vowel sounds. "Door" is one of words where we notice it the most. "The deuuu..." Kalena was talking to grandma on the phone the other day and was trying to tell her about the face-paint design she'd had drawn on her face. She was trying to say that she had a heart drawn on her forehead. I chuckled as she repeated at least a half dozen times, "No Grandma, a hawwwt!"

Kalena and her "hawwwt" design. ;)

And then there's my Jett.

Grade 1 :)

As my first born, he's been my guinea pig as I try to figure this whole parenting thing out. I know that I'm much more laid back with Zavi than I ever was with J, poor guy. I've written more about Jett than the others as I try to figure out the trick to this child-rearing process. Seriously, though, I am so proud of how my boy is learning, maturing, and growing. (Yes he IS one of the biggest 6-yr olds you'll ever see-- He thinks he's more like 10...)

I was flipping back and I came across this post I wrote about a year and a half ago. I think I was apprehensive as J was nearing the point of starting kindergarten. We're now nearly half way through grade 1, and I am thrilled with how Jett is thriving in school. He LOVES school. His favourite part about going to school would surely be that he gets to see/play with his friends, but he enjoys the school work, too!

Jett is still the energetic, mischievous boy in a large-for-his-age athletic body that I wrote about in that post a year and a half ago, but he's learning more self-control, for which I am grateful and ever-so proud. We're nearly to Christmas, and Jett's only had a couple of minor incidents at school. Here's the thing, though, when he gets off the bus at home, it's the first thing he'll tell me! I love his openness; how he comes clean with whatever may be weighing on his chest. I pray that we can keep/maintain an open and honest relationship as he grows through the years!

It was sometime in the first month of grade 1, I met Jett as he got off the bus at the end of the school day. "Hey mom, did Mrs. Tew (his teacher) send you a message?"he asked me right away. "Uhhh, no. Why?" I responded. "Well, I kinda cut my shirt today..." said sheepishly as he unzipped his jacket to reveal his batman shirt with a massive shark-bite in the front. We had a long talk about choices, the value of things and how we need to take care of our things. I think what happened was that he was exploring his school supplies while eating lunch (having school supplies accessible is new in grade 1). He took his scissors and made a small snip in the bottom of his shirt. He is a fidgeter, and as the day progressed, he pulled at the tear until it became so big that it revealed his entire tummy! His teacher had written a note in his day planner apologizing for not being on top of it, but I certainly do not blame her. ;)

Now, here is a conversation we had the other day when Jett got off the bus:

“Hey Jett, How was your day?”

“Good… Well, the first two recesses were good. The third one, I struggled.”

(I get a kick out of how he said he struggled. You can tell what kind of terminology we use!)
“Uh-oh. What happened?”

“On our way back into the school, I kicked someone.”

“Jett, why did you do that?”

“I was trying to be funny, we were goofing around.”

“Where did you kick him?”

[He points to the crotch area]

“Oh, buddy. That would hurt.”

“I didn’t know it would hurt him. I thought it would be funny. I said, sorry.”

“That wasn’t a good choice to make, J.”

“I know. The teachers talked to me and took care of it.”

We left it at that. He knew he was wrong, and he admitted/owned his poor choice and felt remorse over it. Lesson-learned.

***Sidenote-- I have a vivid memory from when I was in elementary school. There was only 1 year when myself and my 3 siblings were all in the same school. I was in grade 7, my brothers grades 5 and 1, and my sister was in kindergarten (Massey Elementary in Regina). One of my friends taught my little sister to go up to boys and kick them square in the crotch, which she did several times. She's a quick learner. ;) I may not have been directly responsible, but I didn't stop it! The crazy thing is, I don't remember any consequences resulting from this!!

"Mom, check out my muscles!"
(Note: Zavi's not wearing shoes.... ever.)

Some of my favourite things about Jett right now:

- His growing love for reading. His reading ability has been improving rapidly and the books that he brings home to read now have a decent plot line, which he enjoys.
- His understanding of spiritual things. He blows my mind with the questions he asks about God and heaven. (Our best conversations happen in the car or at bedtime)
- He is SUCH a keener. I will para-phrase what J's teacher wrote on his report card this year. She very nicely worded that he could chill out. ;) He is highly competitive and needs to be the first done his work, the first to line up at the door, etc. I don't want to completely snuff his keen-ness, but maybe just tame it down a bit.

I love being a mom and being able to watch my three little firecrackers grow up. I had a moment not long ago where the thought occurred to me that I don't have much longer where I'll be referred to as "Mommy." How sad! We joke about the millions of times our kids call for mommy... every day, and yet time passes far too quickly.

I often pray that God will give me wisdom and patience to parent my children in the manner that they need. I am thankful.

Twas the Day Before Christmas...

'Twas the day before Christmas at home on the farm.

The children all rose, without an alarm.

"Let's get up!" They chorused while jumping on me.

"We're all done our sleeping. We had to go pee!"

We crept out to the kitchen; I got coffee to brew.

I found the new magazines; new stickers to do.

The kids were happy/content for 10 glorious minutes.

A few sips of coffee, then the silence was kaputz.

My wee one awoke and yelled from his bed,

"Mommy, where are you!" is what my boy said.

I lifted him up from his crib with a hug.

We got to the kitchen, where a yogurt he did chug.

"Mommy we're hungry!" my three crazies agreed.

So I jumped to the stovetop to get what they need.

Dad came in from the barn with fresh milk to consume.

The kids shuffled their seats to make him some room.

As breakfast was ready, and I filled each plate.

My youngest stood by at my feet in a state.

"Just wait, my sweetie." I patted the head I adore.

Then that little sweetie puked all over the floor.

"Help!" I called daddy, who came quick with a rag.

We worked as a team as my wee one did sag.

He upchucked again, so dad grabbed him and ran,

To the bathroom where he could stand over the can.

When the excitement wore down, we got back to eating.

The mood had been dampened, appetites depleting.

We cautiously fed our sick little boy,

Gave him some water, he played with a toy.

We brought down the calendars we use through December.

We read about Jesus and we try to remember.

There's chocolate incentive, the kids love to find.

Today was the last one! No more days left to mind.

My boy brought up his water, left us again in a quandary.

We jumped to the rescue and added more to the laundry.

Time for a craft, my boys did decide.

Beads and pipe cleaners were the tools I'd provide.

Dad and his girl went outside for a skate.

Mommy cleared away every spoon, fork and plate.

When the girly came in, the boy went outside.

It was "take turns skating with daddy"-- better than any ride.

The pukester and I, we stayed inside our walls.

Fixed his train set four times, as I answered his calls.

Remember those beads I mentioned before??

Sir Pukesalot dumped them all over the floor.

While cleaning up hundreds of beads in the room,

The job seemed too daunting, I went for the broom.

My girly looked funny, she was doing a dance.

Most of those beads had been put down her pants.

We got through the morning, played out our wiggles

Had a puke-less lunch as we all shared some giggles.

Dad and the wee one are now down for a sleep.

The house is calm, these few minutes I will keep.

I am one thankful mama for this life that I lead.

God has graciously given me more than I need.

I'm so thankful for this quiet moment to write,

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

A Dog Day in Our Life... 2015

I miss writing. The summer got away on me and here it is, NOVEMBER already! Wow!

Today, I have a moment to write as I sit outside the dentist office as my son gets a cavity filled (His last one, thankfully!). I'm not allowed to sit inside with him because my big tough 5 yr old boy cries for his mama much more when she's within reach. It's better for both of us that I sit outside...

So, I brought my laptop and I found this post that I started in MAY. Oops.
I thought about deleting it and starting over, but I think I'll use it and build onto it instead.

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May, 2015

SO, lately I have felt outnumbered and a little run off my feet. I suppose that's just the way it is when you have three busy preschool/toddler aged children. The month of May on a farm is all about getting the seed into the soil, which means that I'm a farm widow for a few weeks. We do get to spend a little time with Mitch here and there, on the tractor or a quick meal, but most of the parental responsibilities fall on my plate and I have a genuine appreciation for single parents who do everything all the time! I should also say that I have lots of family around that makes life much easier and more enjoyable, too. :)

Often I find myself thinking/dreaming about how much easier life will be when my children are a little more independent (and rational thinkers...). BUT there really are so many fun and memorable moments about this stage that we're IN and I feel as though, if I don't document it somehow, I'll forget it entirely.

Now without further ado...
a day in the life of the crazy Schultzies ;)

Jett- age 5 yrs
Kalena- age 3 yrs
Zavier- 1 1/2 yrs

It's difficult to say exactly when the day starts... is it when I'm up with the wee one (let's face it, he's actually a tank) at 3am? He's obviously starving and I always feel obliged to answer his hunger cries with a warm bottle of milk. He's my last baby and I am a huge sucker for letting him get away with this travesty this long... but he's my baby... I just need more coffee.

6:30am
This is when I am likely to be awakened and not permitted to re-enter dreamland. My hyper-sensitive super-human ears hear the sound of feet hitting the floor two rooms away from mine. My suspicion is confirmed as I hear the squeak of the door hinges and I brace myself for the flurry of messy hair and flannel jammies to hop into bed next to me... or on top of me ;) Since my dear hubby vacates his side of the bed at an unholy hour to coax some milk out of our cows, my squirmy little princess stakes her claim and snuggles up close enough that I find myself inhaling her baby-fine hair and trying to duck away from the nagging itch I feel under my chin from that blonde nest.

The other morning, she had climbed into bed with me and fallen back to sleep. So, when the boys got up, I quietly abandoned her to get a little more shut eye in mommy & daddy's bed. About an hour later, I heard the door open and there was a shuffling noise as Kalena made her way into the kitchen... with her pajama pants around her knees (hence: shuffle). "Good morning, Kalena," I said. "Do you need to go to the potty?" "No, mama." She said as she sheepishly looked up at me through her too-long bangs that I've been meaning to trim. "I kinda.. sorta.. peed in your bed. BUT I cleaned it up with water, to get rid of the pee!" She added the second part quickly and looked up at me, obviously proud of her supposed problem solving skills. "Oh, Lena..." I said with a sigh as I started moving towards my bedroom to assess the damage. "Mommy," Kalena went on as she followed me. "Could we not tell daddy that I peed in your bed?" I stopped and looked down at her as she took my hand, batted her baby blues and said, "It could be a mommy-Lena secret."  Oy.

Now, let me tell you, I am not a fan of the extra laundry that sometimes invades my schedule when one (or more) of my kiddos has an "accident" in the night. BUT I am even less of a fan when it is MY bed that they have an accident in!!! Even when flashed the baby blues...

...AND that's it. I never got past 7 in the morning. ;)

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November 2015

SIX months later, life is much the same, yet different.

I have many nights that are interrupted by my now nearly 23 month old boy. He no longer gets milk at night, but still calls out (too often) for some attention in the wee hours. The other night, Zavi called out "Moooooooooooooom" every five to ten minutes from 1am until just after 3am. He would allow just enough time to let you drift off before hollering again. Why? I'm really not sure. I did go to him a few times and his soothers were all in reach (yes, he still loves his soother), his feet warm, diaper not overly saturated etc. I gave him a drink of water and short snuggle, which usually does the trick, but not this night. Every. Five. To. Ten. Minutes. It would have been nice if he could have switched it up a few times and called for, "Daaaaaaaaaaaad," but no, I was the lucky one. He wouldn't call out for very long, just loud and long enough to ensure that I was awake with him. Thanks, Zav.

When he awoke for the day at just before 7, Zavi was happy as a clam, of course. He can be so silly and sweet that you almost forget the grief he gives you at night. Often I go and pick him up out of his crib and he smiles at me, flashes his baby blues and says, "Daddy!" Yep. In the hours when we're not trying to sleep, mommy is often chopped liver and daddy is the All-Star in this toddler's eyes.

Our house is full of chatter from the moment Zavi wakes up now, too. In May, Zavi didn't talk, he just grunted. ;) At right around a year and a half, I had this moment where I realized that Kalena (and I think Jett, too?) had many more words than I could've even counted when we were asked about it at their 18 month vaccination appointment. At 18 months for Zavi, though, he had less than 5, I'm sure. While pondering the difference, I realized that we weren't ever really talking to Zavi! (Poor 3rd child) We always just talked around him. In the past few months, we've tried to be much more intentional about talking to our sweet boy, and his conversational skills have grown immensely. He is also very polite and is quick to use his "Pease." and "Tane-tu"s (Please and Thank-you's). If anyone near him sneezes, he loves to shout, "Bess-you!!!" And when I sneeze, Zav grins and says "Bess you, mama." I melt. Some other favourite phrases of his right now are: "Paw-Pawo" (Paw Patrol), "Pess pay!!" (Press play), "Tot-tar, Oooowuuuu!" (He yells for Rockstar and then makes a whistle-like noise). Not long ago, Zavi said what I believe is the clearest sentence he's come up with yet, "Detty, did it." (Jetty) and he's used it many times since; sometimes when his brother is to be blamed, but also when he's been innocent. (Clever little stinker) He is becoming a very good mimic, he loves to tease, AND he loves to pretend to be a puppy ;)

My princess Kalena is now 3 1/2 years old and makes everything overly dramatic. Her drama can be draining, but her imagination is spectacular. Lena plays make believe more than Jett ever has. Recently, we discovered that "Conan" (A mysterious individual she would talk about all the time) is actually her imaginary friend who seems to be lurking around our home very often. Sometimes Conan is accompanied by more friends: "Tonan, Nonan, and Keenee." (Low points for originality) Ohh, sweet girl. ;) Yesterday, Conan and Keenee were away at a wedding, so there was a new imaginary playmate in our home.

Frequent discussions pertaining to attitude choices are held with Miss Kalena Jane and let me tell you, she knows how to pull off a pathetically effective pout. Those big blue eyes glaze over with tears and her bottom lip sticks out so far she could trip over it, but I assure you, she knows how to turn it on (and off). A while ago, my sister and nieces were over to play but my three yr old niece. Lucy, was playing more with Jett than Lena. Kalena went up to my sister with those big blue tear-filled eyes and a quiver in her voice and gushed, "Nobody wants to play with me." Auntie was almost choked up too as she completely bought ALL of what my little Lena-bean was selling. ;) When she was exuberantly singing and dancing mere moments later, it was rather comical.

The other day, Kalena was helping me do some baking and she LOST IT because when I was done with the blender, I placed a beater in front of her on the counter rather than placing it in her hand. Completely lost it.. I'm talking a nearly half hour time out in her room where I go in to talk to her three times before she decides to finally "throw her bad attitude in the garbage." I believe she even pulled her gut punch, "I don't want to be your girl anymore." Drama drama drama

Not long ago, my dramatic little princess showed some real growth that made me incredibly proud. We couldn't find one of our three kittens that we were caring for in our garage. After we had looked and looked, I expected her to get upset but instead, Kalena says, "Mommy, we could pray about it" and without missing a beat, she began, "Dear God, please help us find the kitty..." I was floored that she instinctively went to prayer when we couldn't solve a problem on our own. I love that.

And my Jett. The last blog post I wrote (about a half a year ago) focussed on some of my frustrations and concerns about raising an active, large-for-his-age boy. Here we are a half-year later and he is doing fantastic. He began Kindergarten in September and is thriving at school. He loves learning, and I love watching him learn. Yes, he is the largest kid in his class; likely in all of kindergarten (there are two classes, so I don't know all of the kids), but he's decided to be a leader and loves helping his teacher, which makes me beyond proud.

On his first day of school, I walked him out to the bus (which comes right onto our yard to pick J up) and he jumped on without hesitation, found a seat and was waving to me as the bus pulled away. I LOST it. I wasn't expecting to get emotional, but watching him wave through the window as the bus drove my baby AWAY from me was more than my mama heart could handle. Tears flowed freely and were beyond my control. I promptly got in my vehicle and drove to the school to be there when the bus arrived and help J find his way to his class, etc. He handled the whole day like a pro, and I couldn't help but marvel at how grown up my baby is becoming.

When he got home after school, he announced that he'd had "the best day ever," (Just wait a few years, my boy. I hope you're singing the same tune). When I asked him what the best part of his day was, he excitedly informed me that he had THREE recesses. ;) He also told me how much fun he'd had playing with some friends from grade 1 as they played a game of boys chase girls... (some things never change).

By the third day of school, Jett told me that I didn't need to walk him out to the bus. He could handle it on his own. Already I'm being sidelined!! I'm getting over my hurt feelings ;) but I am thrilled at the growth, maturity and independence that I can see taking root in my son. 

I feel like there is so much more I could say about my three precious kiddos, but I think I had better wrap this up, or I might never publish this blog post. Where does all the time go????? AHhhhhhh...

The Birth of Us

I've told a few birth stories on this little 'ol blog over the last few years, but this is one of a different sort. April 24th, 2015 marks ten years that I have been Mrs. Schultz and as I've reflected over this decade of marriage, the desire to write OUR birth story took root in my mind.

The gestation period (bad birth joke?) of this particular post has been a few months and many hours of searching pictures. I have truly enjoyed remembering and pondering. This is a post that I will personally revisit and read through many times and it's my pleasure to share it with you. ;)

 This is the birth story of Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell Schultz.

Before we were Mr and Mrs, I was Wendy Sawatzky- student, basketball player, Starbucks barista, waitress, summer camp program director, pastor's daughter. He was Mitchell Schultz- 4th Gen. dairy farmer, basketball coach, youth leader (my baby brother Greg and sister Carrie were both in the youth group-- they try to take a little credit for Mitch and I getting together by putting a bug in his ear), hockey player, water sports enthusiast. We are both the oldest child and, if you've read any birth order books, you know that it's not the easiest combo to make a match of...

Believe it or not, I didn't always dream of being a farmer's wife ;) In fact, when I was in high school I remember saying, "I will NEVER date/marry a farmer." The funny thing is, I made one exception. Friends can vouch that I added to the above declaration, "EXCEPT Mitchell Schultz because I think he's hot." Oh, be careful what you say... ;)

To clarify, in those days I would have freely admitted that I found Mitch attractive, but I had no real crush. He was (is) four years older than me (which seemed like a lot at the time) and I never actually considered that I could/would possibly ever date Mitch.

We both dated a few other people, went to Bible college (He to Briercrest, me to NABC) and did a little travelling/mission type work before we found each other.

This pic was from a short missions trip to Mexico I made with a group from my College.
My debut as an actress... ;)

Obviously Mitch is on the far right ;) but, for those who don't know, my baby brother Greg is #9 in the back row.

To set the stage for this story, it begins in late Fall of 2003. Mitch was working on the farm, assisting in coaching basketball, and a youth leader at church. I lived with some girls in Saskatoon, was a Starbucks Barista during the day and a server at The Cave restaurant most evenings. For the life of me, I can't remember if I was also taking classes at the U of S that Fall. I had finished a 2-yr Associate of Arts and Religion from Taylor University College (formerly North American Baptist College) and I transferred most of my credits to U of S to enter their Bachelor of Education program, but had to pick up some classes to meet their requirements that differed from Alberta. So, maybe I was in school then, too???

ANYWAY, our paths didn't have many opportunities to cross at the time, but we both casually attended the College and Career night at Forest Grove Church on Mondays which gave destiny the jumpstart it needed. (too cheesy? ;)

I can remember the evening quite well. I hadn't planned on going to College and Career that Monday because I had to work, but business was slow at the old Cave and I must have left around 8. I walked into the church a little late to meet up with some friends. As I went to sit down, I noticed Mitch sitting with a friend just behind us and my heart did a little flip for some reason. After the worship and devotional challenge, everyone was mingling around the room. I didn't talk to Mitch at all in the sanctuary, but he sure was on my radar! All of a sudden though, I lost him. I couldn't see him in the room anymore and I remember feeling disappointed because I had been planning on somehow finding a way to casually strike up a conversation.

Unbeknownst to me, Mitch had a similar plan but had been getting worried that I would get away on him that evening. So, he went and planted himself by the exit doors in the foyer so that he wouldn't miss me. I was excited/surprised/relieved when I left the sanctuary and found that I hadn't completely botched an opportunity to talk to Mitchell Schultz.

I believe it was Mitch who initiated conversation with me, and we hit it off right from the start. Conversation flowed easily; likely because we were both eager and that evening it overflowed into the parking lot and on to Tim Horton's where my friends met up afterwards.

Our fate was sealed ;)

BUT he didn't ask for my phone number or a date,
so the continuation was a little tricky.

Knowing that I worked at Starbucks, Mitch stopped in for a hot beverage on 3 or 4 occasions hoping to see me there and pour some fuel on the fire of our initial connection. The funny thing is, my dear Mitch has never been a coffee drinker (which is odd considering the unholy hours he gets up to milk the cows), so he was in line with our regular coffee addicts, but ordering a hot chocolate or carmel steamer. Unfortunately, those efforts weren't very fruitful because I was never there when he came in!

So, Mitch changed his tactics. Like I stated earlier, Mitch was coaching the high school basketball team that my baby brother was playing on. One day after practice, he casually approached my brother Greg and asked him if he could have my phone number. Mitch thought that this would be a simple request but my little brother was not in the habit of calling me on a regular basis, so his response was, "Sure! I'll ask my mom and get back to you." There are no secrets in my family ;) By that evening, I was tipped off that a certain handsome dairy farmer had sought out my phone number. We could only assume that he meant to call ;)

Again though, I proved difficult to get a hold of. I suppose I must have been working too much because I was never home during the FIVE times he called to talk to me. (This was still in the day when we used landlines) When I missed his call for the 5th time, my dear roommate and BFF Sarah Jane called me at Starbucks to let me know. By that time, I thought that I had made Mitch work hard enough, so during one of my breaks, I called him back.

As a little side note, we had a funny moment a few months into our dating relationship when Mitch was hanging out with me at my Saskatoon townhouse. I answered the phone when a guy called to talk to Sarah Jane, but instead of handing her the phone (because she was sitting next to me) I said, "Let me just see if she's here..." She quietly shook her head and mouthed, "NO!" So, I politely informed this guy that, "I'm sorry, she's not here right now." Mitch watched this charade and was instantly suspicious that we had pulled a similar stunt when he had unsuccessfully tried five times to call and talk to me. ;)

Now that we were finally on the phone together, he promptly asked me out on a date and I happily agreed. We went out on our first date on Dec. 2nd, 2003 which was my dear Sarah Jane's birthday (the day she lost me ;)-- not really)

This was Dec. 2nd in Saskatchewan, so of course it wasn't warm. I think that Mitch was determined to see exactly what type of girl I was, so he planned an outdoor date and we went to a park to play a game of frisbee golf. I never once complained about the cold, (I was just thrilled to be there with him) so I think I passed his test. Afterwards, we went the Saskatoon Inn for dessert and we both ordered a Saskatoon Berry Cheesecake-- a match made in heaven. Again, conversation flowed freely and it was obvious that we both very much enjoyed each other's company. When he walked me up to my door at the end of the night, I remember wishing that he would kiss me (yes, I know- shame on me, this was our first date). Being the classic gentleman, he didn't kiss me, but I think I got a nice hug. 

Hanging out at my townhouse we had creative hang out sessions.
This is the Big Red challenge and I think the paper in front of Mitch
might be the farming quiz he made me take. (I failed)

Some of the details from here on in are a little fuzzy, but I do know that after that first date we started to see each other regularly. A game of 21 at the gym, a walk along the river (we held mitten-covered hands), go out for Sushi... Did you guess that a farm boy would like sushi? Mitch actually took me out for my first ever sushi on one of our first few dates. At Christmas, his brother and girlfriend (my future sister-in-law) were out and I was invited to take part in a Schultz/Lepp/Shantz/Zacharias gathering, which was a fun time to get better acquainted with Mitch's world.

It was a few weeks in, when I did get that kiss. ;)

We spent a lot of time together at the farm, at my town house in Stoon, and by February, I remember feeling ready to slap a label on this relationship. Does that sound needy? I didn't think so at the time. We were definitely dating and there were sparks, but I wasn't sure if I could call him my boyfriend. I hadn't heard him refer to me as his girlfriend, but I wanted him to. So, as we found ourselves in Tim Horton's one evening, I decided to broach the topic. I'm sure my words weren't elegant as I tried to push him into defining our relationship. The only thing I can clearly remember him saying was, "If you need a label, you can call me your boyfriend."

I learned two things that evening. 

1- Mitchell Schultz doesn't like to be coerced into anything. 

2- I wasn't likely to ever receive poetry.

BUT, as frustrated as I felt with his poor declaration of "like," the evening ended well. Mitch showed me how much he liked me and how hopeful he felt for where our relationship was headed by inviting me to Texas with him. He even paid my whole way (flight/hotel etc) so that I could go with him to his best friend's wedding in March.

I had a great time in Texas with Mitch's friends. While I was nervous to meet all of these people whom I'm sure Mitch was looking for affirmation from (aren't we all on trial a little bit when we meet family and close friends?) they were very kind and welcoming to me. I was happy to be there as Mitch's girlfriend. I was introduced that way several times. ;)

This is a picture from Mark & Desi's wedding in March 2004.

For those of you wondering why Texas is a part of our world, Mitch went with his friends to work at Camp Ozark (a summer sports and adventure camp in Arkansas) for a few summers in his early 20's. All of Mitch's best friends, including his brother, met and married American women from there. I'm sure thankful that Mitch didn't join their ranks, although from what I've heard there were some willing females. (back off ladies)

These Canadian boys (who had grown up spending summers on Sask lakes) made up most of the camp's lake crew. They were famous on the warm waters of Lake Ouachita for putting on a ski show each camp session. Below, is a pic of the 6-man pyramid they perfected. They also did a 9-man.

My hottie is the hulk in the bottom middle holding it all together. ;)

Anyway, I had a great time in Texas with Mitch and his friends. I think we both came away from that trip feeling even more confident in the direction our relationship was headed.

Sometime at the beginning of that 2004 year, Sarah Jane and I together took on the position of Co-Associate Directors of Redberry Bible Camp. I had previously held the positions of cabin leader and program director (8 summers in a row at Redberry) and camp held (holds) a big place in my heart. I moved out to camp at the end of April and although I was busy there, one of my favourite things was to see Mitch's red hotrod (There's a pic of Mitch and his Mustang above) pull into camp to come see me. 

We took many walks around camp and had many great conversations. It was sometime late spring or early summer that I realized I loved this man. It was a great feeling :)  I remember wanting him to know how I felt and wanting to hear that he reciprocated my amorous feelings. However, I wanted him to be the first to say the words "I love you," so I held my tongue.

I can remember going for a walk on a beautiful path at camp and feeling like he must love me. Being the patient woman that I am, (*ahem, right...) I tried to steer the conversation in a direction where he could naturally share his intimate feelings with me. Apparently I hadn't learned from our Tim Horton's conversation because I think Mitch smelled coercion all over me and I went away from that date feeling rather frustrated.

It wasn't long after that, we were hanging out at my parents' house and at the end of the evening, we shared a very nice long kiss before he left. As we pulled away at the end, he pensively uttered the words, "I love you." Of course I was thrilled to hear it, and thrilled that I could let him know that I felt the same way.

This pic is from a little surprise birthday party I threw for Mitch at camp.

We didn't get to spend as much time together in the summer as we would have liked seeing as summer camp runs at a busy pace and farming also requires some work in the summer ;) (I was incredibly naive about farm life and the work entailed while we were dating). We saw each other on the weekends and snuck in the odd evening walk at camp.

We also attended some weddings on weekends.
I think this pic is from my friends Rob & Andrianne's wedding?

When the camp summer ended, I resigned from the position of Associate Director (my dear Sarah Jane stayed on) to go to University and date Mitchell Schultz full time. I moved back in with mom & dad to save on costs as I went to school and therefore, worked less. It didn't hurt that I was also moving closer to the farm... ;)

That Fall, Mitch and I encountered our first major disagreement or misunderstanding. A couple of my cousins were getting married in Alberta and of course I wanted my handsome boyfriend to come with me. As I made plans to go to the weddings with my family, Mitch was hesitant to commit to coming because of how it could affect the harvest season. Not coming from a farming background, I really couldn't understand how missing a day or two on the field could really affect the harvest as a big picture. I knew that I loved Mitch and I wanted him to meet more of my extended family (and show him off a little, too).

As it turned out, he wasn't able to make it to either wedding and I guess I took it personally. It's funny how time can change you perspective on things, but I remember feeling incredibly frustrated and like he was choosing the farm over me. (As if anything is ever that simple) I'm sure on his end he was frustrated at my lack of understanding about the farming life. I wrote Mitch a long letter, airing my grievances/concerns, and dropped it off to him before heading off to the last wedding. 

I felt just awful the entire time I was in Alberta for the wedding, wondering what Mitch had thought of my letter and wondering if I had made a big mistake in writing it. I couldn't wait to get home and talk things over with Mitch who, I later discovered, wasn't sure if I was contemplating breaking things off or what.

When I got home, we did talk things over but the funny thing is, I really have no memory of what that conversation was! (Kiss and make up, perhaps?) The main thing was, we were okay ;) I was beginning to realize what a high learning curve I was entering in choosing to be with a farmer.

Maybe it was our skirmish that kicked Mitch into high gear ;) because it was only a few weeks later that he was in a jewellery store (without my knowledge, of course) purchasing a ring. Actually, he was in that store on a few occasions because his debit card had a low daily allowance on it ;) (I know he loves me because his time is precious!!)

Mitch chose an evening when he knew I was working and wouldn't be home to go and talk to my parents about asking for my hand. Normally, my parents were not early to bed but on that particular night they had turned in early. My sister Carrie opened the door (Mitch knew that his chances of flying under the radar were lessening) and she went and woke dad up to come talk to Mitch. The experience didn't quite play out as smoothly as Mitch had envisioned it (I think dad did get somewhat dressed to talk to Mitch), but all was well ;) My dad was happy to give Mitch his blessing in asking me to be his wife.

I really am surprised that no one in my family spilled the beans about Mitch's visit that evening because it was at least 2 weeks before he carried out the rest of this pre-marital endeavour. I had no idea that he had taken these steps in preparation to "pop the question." We had talked about wanting to be apart of each other's future, and we had become more generous with the "I love you's," but we never directly talked about marriage.

On November 20th, 2004, we went to a steak night fundraiser that we had bought tickets for in support of some friends. We sat at a table with a few other couples who were friends of ours and enjoyed an evening visiting with them. Throughout the evening, I felt myself becoming increasingly frustrated with Mitch because I felt like he was giving me somewhat of a cold shoulder. I now know that he had a ring burning a hole in his pocket and his nerves were driving him crazy.

After dinner, we went for a walk (just the two of us) along the Meewasin trail and ended up sitting in the little gazebo near the University bridge. I remember still wrestling with my attitude towards Mitch and contemplating bringing up my frustrations from the Steak night (yep, I'm a talker-- poor Mitch). Mitch had another plan in mind though and that's when he looked at me beside him and said those words I'll never forget...

"How would you feel about not dating anymore?"

Say what??? The evening hadn't gone that bad! For a second I was really thrown by Mitch's choice of words for this moment, but he was referring to upping the status of our relationship, not a break up. Not a poet, remember? ;) He didn't give me much time to puzzle over his wording because he was quickly down on one knee and instantly my frustration vanished. He said the words, "Will you marry me?" while he held out a beautiful diamond ring and I don't think I said yes right away. He had certainly caught me by surprise and I think I said, "Really?" a couple of times before answering with a resounding YES!

The rest of that evening is a blur in my mind as we savoured the moment and then excitedly made a million phone calls to share our news.

We went out to The Station Place with both of our parents to celebrate our engagement.

We had our wedding pictures done by Gina's Portraits and she did a fun engagement shoot for us, too.

Engaged on November 20th, we planned to get married on April 24th (a date strategically selected before farm seeding), which gave us five months to plan a wedding. We quickly found our photographer (I have several friends who are photographers now, but ten years ago a good photographer was more difficult to come by!) I found my dress and we booked the church/caterers, etc. Then, we waited. I know five months doesn't sound long, but I remember it feeling incredibly long!

Mitch and I actually made all of our own wedding invitations! For two non-crafty individuals, this was quite an endeavour and they turned out quite well, if I do say so myself. You'll have to take my word for it though, because I can't find any that I kept!!!

I have sweet memories of Mitch and I cutting, punching holes and tying ribbons in the living room of our old farm house. I'm risking embarrassment with this next little story, but I must have been really comfortable, because it was the first time I ever tooted (passed gas) in front of Mitch; accidentally, of course. I remember surprising myself and then quickly looking to see if Mitch's radar had picked it up. He had been cutting some paper when it squeaked out and he instantly froze, turned and looked at me wide-eyed. I don't remember if he actually spoke the words but his eyes said it all, "What was that???!!" Certainly his sweet soon-to-be wife was not capable of such sounds/smells! Haha... if he'd only known then what he was in for...

During the months of our engagement, I was in school and working at Starbucks while Mitch was milking cows and we were both youth sponsors at our church.

Some of you may wonder how we chose to go to Dalmeny Bible Church when my dad is the pastor at Dalmeny Community Church (at least for a few more months-- he is retiring after 19 yrs at DCC). We really like both church communities, but when Mitch and I got together he was very involved at DBC and I had been away and not involved at DCC for a few years. It was natural to join Mitch where he was already involved and serving and thankfully, we never received any flack from family or friends for our decision. For a community where there are only 2 churches and they are both evangelical, I am thankful for the amicable sentiment between the churches. We joked about being Romeo and Juliet, but our union was not nearly so tragic. We felt nothing but love and support from both church families.

We flew out to Texas at the beginning of March 2005 to attend the wedding of Mitch's brother Carson to my now sister-in-law, Hilary. It was a beautiful wedding at a ranch in Austin Texas and I remember enjoying it immensely. It only made me more excited for Mitch and my own wedding 7 weeks later.

As our wedding date drew near, we were very excited. Both Mitch and I have truly great friends and we enjoyed spending time with them in the days approaching our big day. I felt very special as there were a few wedding showers thrown in our honour, and I even had the experience of being kidnapped and thrown in the back of a vehicle, than paraded around the city in ridiculous garb. Mitch's groomsmen all travelled north from Texas to celebrate with Mitch the week leading up to our wedding.

While I was in Jenny's Bridal Boutique for my final dress fitting, I was given an interesting reminder of the world I was about to marry into. Mitch called to tell me about a massive calf that one of his cows gave birth to. It's actually a cool story and a fun memory of our wedding week. When the mama cow was calving, Mitch could tell that the calf was bigger than usual when the feet came out. He quickly hauled her in to the University large animal clinic where they performed a cesarian on the cow. They had to re-cut the incision 3 times before they could get the calf out! Poor Bessie was cut from her spine all the way under her belly! (Don't worry, she was stitched up and healed well, even milking a full lactation after this) The bull calf they delivered was twice as big as what's usually expected. The average holstein calf is around 85-90 lbs at birth but this big guy (Who we named Andre-- the giant) was a whopping 187 lbs!! The biggest calf the University has seen on record. Mitch brought cow and calf home to the farm and Andre became like a pet as he was shown off to our many visitors at the farm that week.

I had to write a University final exam the day before our wedding (I forget which class). When the exam schedule came out, I tried to see if I could write that exam early, but a wedding is not a good enough reason for changing an exam, apparently. So, I wrote a nearly 3 hour exam that Saturday morning, then went to the church to help with the decorating that was, thankfully, already started. Nothing like adding a little extra stress to the day! ;)

All the details seemed to fall into place (with the help of many friends and family). We opted for a bit of a different style of wedding. We had our wedding rehearsal during the afternoon on the Saturday, then our rehearsal dinner was actually a larger sit down, catered event where we had toasts, speeches and our slide show, etc. We knew that our actual wedding would be quite large, so for all of our guests who travelled to come, as well as close friends and family, we invited them to our rehearsal dinner (approx 150 people) catered by the delicious Oven Scents Catering. It was a very fun evening. I remember feeling overwhelmed and humbled as I looked around the room. Having all the people you care about most in one room is an amazing experience.

Sunday April 24th, 2005 was our wedding day and I woke up early that day (hardly slept, if I can recall). The sun was shining, the sky was blue and I felt great. I didn't go to church that morning, but I do remember reading a little from my bible which seemed to set a beautifully reverent tone for the day. My bridesmaids had all slept over with me and I don't think they woke up with the sun as I did ;) One of my dear friends, Andrianne came over early to my parent's house to transform my hair. She is a superb hairdresser and I think we even did highlights and a cut before she styled my hair for the wedding. All of my primping for the wedding happened there at the house, and it was so fun and relaxing with my favourite girls all around to share that time with me. I don't recall there being any stress to that morning; just lots of laughs and love.

I know that there are many people who are firm believers that the groom should not see his bride until she's walking down the aisle, but we broke that rule. (We also like to know the gender of our babies before they're born-- Rebels, I know) Our wedding day events went like this: Prep, Pictures, Wedding Ceremony then stand-up reception immediately following. (The program had been the night before at the rehearsal dinner, remember?)

Mitch came to pick me up to go for pictures at 1pm. He waited in the backyard of my parent's house and we had our own special moment where we could look at each other, embrace and take in the greatness of this commitment we were about to make to each other. It was really special.

We went on our own to meet our photographer and take pictures of just the two of us in a few different locations. Our wedding party and then our families met up with us later on. The following are a few of my favourites.

We had a very fun wedding party which added to a great day.
All of these wonderful people are still treasured in our lives today!

We are so thankful to have family that is loving and supportive! Both the Schultz's and the Sawatzky's are solid families that are generous and kind. Our wedding day could not have been as wonderful as it was without all of these people!

I may have lost our wedding invitations, but I did find a program from our wedding. We had a beautiful wedding with lots of music and worship.

When I think about our wedding, there's almost nothing I would change. The day was nearly perfect, but there are two things that I might do differently. In the above pic, you can see me holding a mic at the back of the sanctuary before walking in. I love to sing and I came up with this totally romantic idea that I should surprise Mitch and start singing the song I would walk in to from the back of the church. I was in love with an album by Sarah Kelly at the time and I chose the song, More than Anyone. What I failed to take into consideration was how overcome by emotion I would be. My emotions are my achilles heel when it comes to singing or speaking in public. I lose control of my voice and often come away feeling embarrassed. When I started singing, I took one look at Mitch (who is great at remaining composed, but his tell-tale sign of emotion is his jaw sticking out a little further--- which it was) and I was a goner. I fumbled through the first few lines, but was relieved when I could let my little brother and sister finish the song and I could ditch the mic.

The second thing I would change is minor, but I'm reminded of it every time I look at pictures of our ceremony. The church had recently celebrated it's 100th anniversary and made a banner to commemorate it that hung on the wall at the front of the sanctuary. Why did I not think to cover it up?? Our pictures would have been nicer with a more neutral background. (see below)

After the ceremony, we had a stand-up reception with desserts and a mashed potato bar in the gymnasium of the church. We had a receiving line in the hallway in between the sanctuary and gym. It took us nearly two hours to greet/hug our 350-ish guests, and I'm glad we let our wedding party off the hook for that. It was just Mitch and I with our parents in the receiving line and we enjoyed getting a small window to connect with all of the people who came to support us at our wedding.

Once we made it into the gym with everyone, we had a short time to mingle, do the bouquet and garter toss, made a few public thank-you's and then it was time to take off! I fully loved our wedding day, but the feeling of driving away from such a momentous event in our lives with my new husband was amazing. We stopped to get changed and then we hit a drive through as we went to a hotel for the night. There had been a tonne of food at our reception, but there's no time to stop and eat when you have so many great people to visit with!! We were famished!

Checking in to a hotel as Mr and Mrs felt super weird but fun, and I'll suspend the telling of the rest of this day. It's classified.

The next morning, we checked out of our hotel and swung by the Govt. of Canada building to pick up my renewed passport. (Nothing like cutting it close, eh?) Then, we drove to Calgary. We had booked flights out of Calgary to go to a resort in Cancun. I can't remember what our rational was for flying out of Calgary instead of Saskatoon but it was likely cheaper? These days, we're willing to fork over a little extra cash for convenience, but I remember loving the drive to Calgary. It gave Mitch and I time to debrief and share stories of people we'd talked to at our wedding. I remember the drive not feeling long at all!

In Calgary, we stayed at a hotel near the airport so we could leave our vehicle there for a week and be shuttled to and from the airport. Going to Cancun was an excellent decision for us as it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. If you've read earlier posts I've written, you know that we love Cancun. Returning there in January in honour of our 10th Anniversary confirmed and rekindled our love for that place.

Our honeymoon in Cancun was perfect. (I'll just leave it at that)

On our way home, we stayed in the same hotel in Calgary and Mitch left a large tip for the cleaning lady... by way of his wedding band on the bedside table. He almost kept his ring for our whole honeymoon. We did find him a replacement band, and Mitch would want you to know that he has kept it in his possession all these years ;)

We returned home in time for putting the crop in and I hit the ground running in my role as a new farm wife. Those were some crazy weeks of adjustment.

This post is entitled the BIRTH of us, which would imply that it's about beginnings, so I suppose that now is when I should wrap this chapter of our story up. It's been a crazy, wonderful, challenging and incredibly rewarding 10 years that we have spent together. Maybe I will have to write a continuation to this tale, because it is really only the preface to our forever.

I love being a Mrs to my Mister and the mother of our beautiful babies. I have been on a high learning curve when it comes to taking on the role of farm wife. (I could write a book about my mishaps, mistakes etc. --hitting the ditch 5 times in one year, nearly causing a grain truck to catch fire, and much much more!) I know that I am far from perfecting it, but I can't imagine our lives anywhere else.

Consider the following pics to be like a teaser of an upcoming sequel... (it may take awhile to write...)

Farming celebrities ;)

First Christmas?

Acapulco Mexico- Feb. 2009

I was at least 5 months pregnant with Jett when Mitch and I attended the World Juniors in Saskatoon.

Jett Jaxon 

Galveston Texas- Fall 2011

Kalena Jane

Zavier Shane

Oahu- March 2014

Cancun- January 2015