"Ode to My Mom"- by Hannah

Did you ever think about how awesome moms really are? They truly are gifts of God. This is a poem that I wrote for my mom on Mother’s Day.

Ode to My Mom

Listen to what I have to say, please do,

because everything that is said is perfectly true.

A mother makes a promise when she has a kid;

sometimes this kid makes her flip her lid.

Like a couple that says their vows when they marry,

a mom says her vows when she carries.

She says “I do” to the diapers and sleepless nights,

to reading us stories and flying us kites.

To cooking us food and helping us clean our rooms,

thanks to mom our rooms don’t look like tombs!

To the spanking and kids screaming when we’ve been bad,

to the tears and emotions when we’re sad.

To teaching us science, math, and writing,

even when we try fighting.

To the special notes when we feel down,

to finding us new friends when we move from town.

Caring for us when we feel sick,

giving us her ice cream, more than a lick.

Being a good mother and a good wife,

she pledges to do so for the rest of her life.

Praying for her kids, wishing them good night,

saying, “sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

Reading her Bible every morning,

with mom around things could never be boring.

Mom you’re superb, I just want you to know,

you could never be my foe.

A wonderful example of Christ,

by the things of this world she’s not enticed.

Strength in the Lord, in the end unbreakable,

a Child of God, overall unshakeable.

Mother of two, blessings are many,

you are a new, bright, shiny penny.

A mom of love, compassion, and care,

fixes our relationships when they tear.

Mom you’re the BEST, I just want you to know,

I LOVE YOU!!! XOXO!

As you can tell by my poem, I think that my mom really is the best!!

Thank you mommy for all you do for me!!! I LOVE YOU!!!
Running on Course,

Hannah Schilling

Learning...Fishing...Running... and finding Miss. Daisy

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created." ~ James 1:17-18 What a beginning to 2011! I appreciate the above verse from the Bible because it is so true. Anything good that happens to me (or our family) is a gift from God! Everything truly comes from Him. Much has happened over the last 3 months since we last posted. Of course, we have every day to thank the LORD for His love, His grace and His eternal Word! Vicki, Hannah, Gracie and I have been on some wonderful adventures in this time and we'd love to share some highlights!

Bible Quizzing

- In late January, Grace was part of our church AWANA Bible Quizzing team. They have been studying hard since Nov. '10 and their hard work paid off! Quizzers answer questions about the Bible from their TNT handbook. Also, in the speed round, they can recite Bible verses for points. Very exciting stuff! This year our team took 3 first place finishes and one second place. Overall, it was a banner day for our GEBC Awana program!

Science Fair

- Hannah and Grace both participated in their homeschool co-op annual Science Fair and did very well. They both received awards for their projects! Hannah's project was about magnetic fields and the the germination rate of plants. Grace's projects was on the burn rate of candles at different temperatures. Both projects were well illustrated, colorful and the girls presentation of their projects was bar none! We are blessed to be the parents of Hannah and Grace!

Running

- Vicki is gearing up for the racing season. She is currently training to participate in the Rainier to Ruston relay race with 4 other ladies. It is a 50 mile race and she is running two of the legs, specifically the first leg which starts closest to Mt. Rainier. The race is on Sat. June 4th. Should be a great time! What a blessing to have friends to spend time with doing what you love to do! (http://www.rainiertoruston.com/). (We are tentatively planning on running the Rock n' Roll the end of June...we'll keep you updated!).

Field & Stream!

I made it into a magazine: Field and Stream in the March 2011 edition! The picture below shows me with my first winter steelhead. It's from a trip with my good friend Tally!

Schilling Addition!

- Lastly, we ended our 2 month puppy search when we excitedly brought "Our Sweet Little Ms. Daisy" home on Sat. February 26th! She is an English Lab and was born on Sat. January 8th. What is the BEST part of this is that we witnessed the birth of the litter via webcam! Then we daily watched as these puppies grew and began to walk, play and develop. What a neat experience to see all that happens to puppies from birth to 7 weeks and then be able to choose a puppy from the littler! We've had her for over a month now and we're all getting used to the tail-wagging and sloppy kisses from our happy Daisy! What a blessing she is to our family! To introduce her to you, we had some fun and put together a little video for you! Enjoy!

In closing, we just want to thank the LORD for His goodness shown to us in so many ways, BIG and small! As we look forward to Easter and all that it represents, we thank the LORD Jesus for His guidance in our lives. We know that He is real, alive and one day - as the Bible teaches - will return as the King of kings and Lord of lords and reign over all! As we patiently wait, we continue to thank Him everyday for His wonderful gifts!

Staying His course, Jay, Vicki, Hannah, Grace, Daisy & Donut (our Rabbit)

Happy New Year!

It’s hard to believe 2010 has come and gone! We highlighted just a few of our special family memories for 2010 on the side of this letter. How does one put down all the events that happen in a year? It seems impossible to do so! And yet, some people seem to be able to sum up a year in a few short words. So, for sake of brevity, we will sum up our year with one simple phrase that has resonated in our hearts- “We are grateful”.

We are grateful for our loving family, friends and church. We are grateful we have a home, Jay has a job, we have food to eat, clean water to drink and clothes to wear. We are grateful for good health. We are grateful for laughter, joy and peace. We are grateful for the talents and abilities God has blessed us with to serve Him and others. We are grateful for the joy we receive when we serve. We are grateful for the good times. We are grateful for the tough times– for they have caused us to depend more on our Faithful God. We are grateful for Heaven– and that because of Jesus, one day we will go there. We are grateful for opportunities to tell people about Jesus! We are grateful for the Bible and that we can read it freely. We are grateful for the privilege to pray for you!
We pray you will have a wonderful 2011!
Much Love~ The Schillings

Special Family
Memories for 2010…

· Hannah and Gracie placed in the top 3 of a Science Fair
· Hannah caught her first Steelhead
· Hannah got the “Timothy” award in AWANA
· Jay ran his first Full Marathon– 26.2 miles– in Victoria, BC
· Jay caught the biggest fish he has ever caught– a 10.6lb Steelhead!
· Gracie turned 10 and got her ears pierced!
· Gracie played one of the main roles in our church’s Kids Christmas Program and sang her first solo
· Hannah and Gracie sang and played the piano with friends from church to Seniors at a Senior Center
· All 4 Schillings took part in the plays at the Easter Egg Hunt and VBS program at church
· Vicki ran 1 Half Marathon and 2 Full Marathons this year!
· We went on a our first cruise to Alaska!
· We said goodbye to our 14 year old Golden Retriever-Ben