Eva Joelle & Isabella Marie

Two loves of my life : My nieces - Eva Joelle and Isabella Marie

Here they are meeting for the first time and maybe a little overwhelmed with all the pictures we took of them! Who can blame us?! Look at those faces:)!!

Here are a few of my favorites.

They are just too cute for their own good. I mean seriously! Ridiculous.

How does a simple hat make them even more cute!!!?? I must say it again, Ridiculous.

Ok this just makes me miss them A LOT! Moving on....

The Holidays are now spent chasing around these two:)! So long are the days of beaching it on the couch!

Of course we already have brainwashed them with a die hard love for the Cyclones. Would you expect anything less? This is much inspired by mother dearest of course!

Eva just turned one in January!

Cousin Bella (who turns 1 in February) was sweet to give her these angel wings for her birthday!

There is nothing better than two beautiful nieces!

I am praying Psalm 23 for them (following Mark Arant's example) - that they would walk in paths of righteousness for His namesake!

I love you Eva & Bella and can't wait to see what God has in store for you!

Brother Brandon

Aren't we cute?! It's those Schaefer genes.

You guessed it. This post highlights my older brother, Brandon Schaefer.

Don't worry Matt (my other brother) you will get a post soon!

Here's just a few of the many reasons I love this guy!

He prayed that I would come to know Jesus.

He showed me what it means to love Jesus.

He never gives up on me.

He listens to me – really listens to me.

He lets me cry to him.

He knows me - maybe better than I know myself! :)

He’s patient with me.

He’s honest with me.

He watches out for me (as every big brother should!)

He doesn't pull my hair anymore (ohhhh the days of grade school!)

He never makes me pay for dinner!

He points me to Jesus – again and again and again.

He prays for me.

He gives me words from the Lord.

He pushes me in my relationship with Christ.

He gives me great wisdom and advice.

He makes me laugh.

He’s a great Husband and Father. (see pictures below)

I LOVE YOU, Brother and am SO grateful for your investment in my life. Thank you for taking your "role" as big brother to another level in my life!

Brother Brandon and his beautiful wife, TJ.

You will be blessed if you ever get the chance to meet them!

Brandon and little baby Eva!

SO cute!! Eva that is:)!

Eva again - Enjoying a little time at SeaWorld - can't remember if this was before or after the ice cream or before or after Big Bird!?

Eva and TJ - again!

Ohh wait this post was about Brandon...ahhh doesn't he have great offspring:)!!

Blogger's Block...

I am only on my fifth blog post and I am finding myself with “blogger’s block.”

Who should I write about? What should I say? Who should I write about? What should I say? Who should I write about? What should…ok you get the idea?!

It’s not that I don’t have lots of wonderful friends and meet lots of wonderful people. But I often overlook those amazing God given qualities.

Which begs the question, “Do I really see people as Jesus does?”

Genesis 1:27 says “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them”

Everyone I encounter is made in the image of the one true God.

Everyone. The lady that bumped into me at Wal-mart, Miss America 2011 from Nebraska, chatty Cathy who checked me out at Wal-Mart, my dad, my mom, my two beautiful nieces, my co-workers, the good-looking yellow shirt guy from the gym, the boy screaming in Wal-mart, the cute old couple having coffee, and the list goes on and on…

I want to see people as He does. If anything to make this blog a lot better! :)

So again, For the Sake of a Blog – God help me to see YOU in everyone I meet!

If I lived in the mountains, I imagine this is how I would conquer "blogger's block!"

The sign behind me said, "SLOW"

I laugh in the face of slow, and then usually take a face dive down the mountain!

My partner in crime, Carrie.

I try not to leave home without her.

Yes, I was just looking for any opportunity to post these sweet snowboarding pictures! Can you blame me? :)

Eccelesiastes 3:4 – a time to weep and a time to LAUGH

I love to laugh. I mean who doesn’t right?! A little chuckle, a big ole roar, a knee slapper, the silent laugh, a giggle, or somewhere in the middle. It’s all good! I think God delights in our laughter, and it’s sweet to imagine him laughing along side of our jokes, fun, and sarcasm.

Laughter can break the ice in an awkward conversation, make your side hurt, allow you to not take yourself to seriously, make the time go faster, make your pants a little wet (yep I said it!), bring you to tears (in a good way of course), lighten the mood, provide that sweet bond in a relationship, and the list goes on and on…

So many of my friends make me laugh so I couldn’t just single out one of them. The list below is a few of those people who have made me laugh in the last couple of days. If you made the cut, congrats and keep the jokes a coming! If you didn’t well I am sure you just slipped my mind or maybe you really aren’t as funny as you think you are. Probably the latter! (Yes, I just said that as well!)

The first 5 names are my beloved Veritas staff co-workers!

Mark Arant – my boss so I have to laugh at him – Kidding! He is funny!

Jeff Thune – his show tunes are the best

Lance Allgood – dry, goofy, or witty humor – he’s got it all

Clint Robinson – what to even say?

Carrie Clement – my co-worker, roommate, and friend who makes me laugh daily

Katie Feekes (friend) – she does great accents

A Biggest Loser contestant – yes, I am addicted

The whole Office cast

Mardy Schaefer (mom) – she knows how to get me

Pete (gym instructor) – actually laughed at an ISU joke towards me

Kerri Myers (friend) – she’s just funny

Joann Baustisa (friend) – I think she laughs at me? either way I still laugh!

Also, here's a picture of memory that still makes me laugh!

You can always count on a good time when you are with my dad and this banana boat ride was no different!

We couldn't stop laughing as our Mexican driver struggled to pull my dad on the boat after he had fallen off. In the midst of pulling him up the driver kept saying, "No mas tacos, No mas tacos!" Even my dad was laughing at this point!

My Dad is also very vocal (laughing & hollering) when riding any sort of "ride" so between falling off and his hollering we could barely breathe this whole boat ride!