"All I Want for Christmas...."

"All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth!"

Yes, that is right, Chantel lost her two front teeth, the top two finally! Well, she's 4 teeth down, 16 more to go. She lost one 11/21/08 like you've probably already seen, that was her first top tooth. Then, today, she lost her 2nd top tooth, 4th teeth overall!
(The first 2 teeth were the bottom front ones and they were both in the month of March 2008, about a week apart!)

The tooth fairy is so speedy around here! Ralph received the dollar right after Chantel lost her tooth and handed it to Chantel almost immediately afterwards! Wow, that's service, she must have connections!

(Oh yes, and the first photo above is Feliz, our White German Shepherd, Chantel wanted me to take her photo. The other photos were Chantel, showing her winning smile.)

A Video of Chantel with her HM CD and new tree

Chantel enjoys the Hannah Montana show, songs, CD, okay everything Hannah! So, here is Chantel enjoying the CD and dancing and singing in front of her new tree. She picked the color.

Her new tree is white. The other one we had for her was 38 years old. It was my parent's tree, since they were married in 1970, so it had it's life. It was really not very stable due to base issues and tried to fall over on us when we took it down. We definitely recycled it.

This was a deal at Wal-Mart on Black Friday, $25.00 for a 6.5 foot tree in white or green. She chose white; it's prelit too!

Look for her feet at the end. I believe this is the one, she didn't think she was on video. Smile! Chantel's rockin' around the Christmas tree!

A Birthday update and New Chantel photos

Well, we all went to the Bay Pony Inn! Chantel serenaded us quietly with song, since the music was playing right above our heads. We had a wonderful time, family style. Next time, hopefully it will be just the two of us!

Hope you enjoy the above photos of Chantel taken around her birthday, Dec. 7th, of this month. The babysitter made the balloons for her. The one even says princess on it!

Snow Day- Happy Birthday!

Today is an interesting way to turn 36! I got the day off from school, to myself! Yeah Me!

Chantel didn't have any cancellation of school, but my school district I work for did. So, Ralph took her to the babysitter's and will pick her up.

After getting Chantel ready, I went back to bed until almost 10. I loved it. I woke up just in time to turn 36. As I write now, it's official, 10:28 a.m.

Yeah for snow and birthdays! Have a fun and snowy day!

Can't wait to go out to dinner tomorrow night, Bay Pony Inn, just Ralph and me!

Guess Who's Turning 6?

Tinker bell balloon, the other was High School
Musical, picked by Chantel.

LJ, Sierra, Katie, Chantel and Sarah

Sierra, Katie, Sarah, Chantel and LJ

The Cake! Yum!

Chantel is turning 6. She invited 9 friends and herself. She ended up with 3 close friends and one friend's sister. She had a wonderful, hour-long party! She had a castle piñata in the garage which lasted 15 minutes, that was pretty good, for a store bought one!

Well, here are some photos of her friends and the food and fun they had. We open gifts, had cake and just played 2 more indoor games with bean bags.

Chantel had a good time for her first friend party, ever! The next one will most likely be sweet 16 or something like that! Well, maybe 10 or a sleepover or something?? Who knows!

Things to be thankful for

Going to a hockey game last night, was something to be thankful for.

We were waiting in line, when someone offered us a free piece of paper, which represented a buy one get one free ticket offer. When I took it to the window, the person had me fill in my info. on the back and trade it in for a free adult ticket, worth $19.00. (That made up for the $12.00 for parking- argh- one dollar more than last year, and two.)

Finding a new tree for Chantel's room, safer, easier to set up, and not too expensive. We found a $25.00 plus tax, white tree, at Wal-Mart. Chantel wanted white, I wasn't too sure about it, but it looks great in her room. It goes well with the pink balls a friend of ours gave her. Pinks not my thing, but Chantel loves it! So, that was a praise. (Esp. since the other tree was 38 years old, since my parents will be married 38 yrs. in December. It almost fell on us when we tried to take it down, so the stand wasn't very safe anymore and it seemed like it was leaning and ready to fall down.)

Chantel enjoyed celebrating her birthday and getting gifts along with the T-Day celebration since we decided to combine the two activities this year.

Oh yes, and we were given an extra T.V., by Ralph's mom today. It goes perfect, in our downstairs, extra room. It gives Ralph his space, when Chantel only wants to watch her shows. I really don't care, but the two of them can really go at it, about T.V. So, this will work well. We will have our space, downstairs and she can have hers upstairs, if friends and some day, boyfriends come over! (Yes, and the cable wires were ready to go!)

Heat and Electricity is a Wonderful thing!

Wow! For an hour and a 1/2 we lived by candle light. Now I know what it must have been like for the Pilgrims. Chantel was asleep in the bedroom, ours, due to the lights being out. She luckily received the last of her medicine right before we were in the dark.

The candlelight was beautiful though! We had four candles glowing above our T.V. /entertainment center. There was one in the bedroom for Chantel to sleep by.

Then, when the lights came on, Ralph noticed the heat didn't seem to be warm, just cool. So, we called our neighbor who works for a Heat and A/C company. That was really wonderful, that he could start it again and let us know about a part, that we should have looked at by our company!

Thanks for lights, for heat, and helpful neighbors. Things to be Thankful for!

I lost my 3rd tooth and look how sick I am!

Even though I didn't feel good tonight, I still wanted Mommy to take a picture of me without my tooth. By the way, I lost it on the way to Wal-Mart last night.

It's my first top tooth. I lost the bottom two and they came in again already. So, 3 baby teeth have been lost.

Well, at least the camera gave me something to smile about. I have a 101.1ºF. fever, my normal is 95. or 96. something. Pray for me to feel better, my 3rd fever in 1 1/2 months. Mommy and Daddy are concerned for me!

The Kissing Hand

This is the Book I read to Chantel twice before she started Kindergarten!

I tried to read it without crying! The second time, the day before school I did better. Now, 1 month later, Chantel still wants me to kiss her hand before she goes to sleep. Tonight, she told me I forgot to kiss the palm of her hand at the center, if I didn't kiss the palm of her hand the hearts would stop coming out of her hand. The book is so cute, and so is Chantel. She just the other day repeated the words from the book, as she put her hand to her cheek and said, "Mommy loves you, Mommy loves you." When I put my hand to my cheek, after she kisses my palm, it says, "Chantel loves you. Chantel loves you!" When Daddy kisses her hand, she says, "Daddy loves you. Daddy loves you," as she puts the palm or her hand to her cheek.

2 cute little princesses

These are pictures from Chantel's time with Rachel as they played together on Friday, Sept. 12th, the end of their first week at school together!

They had a good time dressing up and being together. Chantel was quite exhausted by the time it was over; I'm sure Rachel was too!

Hope you enjoy their happy and silly faces too!

First Day of School- Video

This was the way we practiced things Chantel needed to know, just before she got into the car on Monday, Sept. 8th, 2008. She was very excited. She still loves school so much. (She didn't even want to stay home when she wasn't feeling well yesterday. She was afraid she would miss something!)

The first day of school was an unusual combination of events. Mommy and Daddy adjusting to life at home without Chantel around each day, Taking Ralph's Mom to pay for flowers for the funeral, Lunch (taking Ralph out for an early b-day lunch!) and coffee out together (Ralph and I), Picking Chantel up with Grammy at the bus stop and going to DQ to enjoy ice cream, only to Run to the funeral home for a final viewing of Pop Pop (Ralph and his mom), then Chantel and I went back to DQ so she could climb on the equipment. It was a day of mixed emotions!

This weekend we are planning on putting flowers on Pop Pop's (Chantel's step-grandfather)- the only one she knows and Ralph's dad's grave (Ralph R. Schultz), who Chantel and I never met, which also has his sister Jeanette's grave, (Chantel's Aunt, she won't meet until Heaven.), Ralph's older sister, he never met. The flowers are Chantel's idea. She wouldn't put them on the grave at the funeral due to too many people watching her. She even shook hands with people that day; I think she understood how much they truly cared for her!

Back to School- Finally! Monday, September 8th, 2008

Chantel before she gets in the car the first day!

Chantel at Vikki's house!

Chantel and Rachel at Vikki's house, before the bus pose!

Here comes the bus up the street!

Here Chantel is getting ready to board the bus for the first time to go to school! (Vikki is talking to the bus driver- Pat, about the stop changing. She now gets on one stop earlier. Things are settling down with the bus!)

Here are the pictures I've been waiting to post for all of you to see and enjoy! Chantel had a wonderful first day of school. She loves her teacher Miss Sweigart and they enjoy spending all day together.



So far she's been at school 8 days out of 10. She missed the 2nd day of school due to Pop Pop's funeral 9/9/09, and she missed yesterday due to cold/allergy- runny/stuffy nose symptoms.



She also has been enjoying ballet class on Thursdays! Her teacher is Miss Lisa and we can't wait to watch her in October, the 2nd week, when we are allowed to observe the class. (Miss Deanna, the owner said they looked like they were doing a good job when she watched them the other week!)



Chantel is very lucky to be going to Kindergarten all day, she enjoys: recess and lunch for 1/2 an hour each, snack, 45 min. of special daily- art, gym, computer, music, and library. They even have a reduced length schedule for classes, etc. to fit in specials on early dismissal days. (Wow, when I heard that the other day, I was impressed.) Oh, she will have the opportunity to purchase an in color school yearbook. I don't know of any elementary schools that do that! (just 5th grade ones, not in color?) Small class size 12-15. I believe she has 14 children. Normal is close to 20-21 or more at most schools, public or private! So, we are very grateful for the benefits she is receiving! Praise the Lord!

She seems to be developing friendships and maturing so quickly. She is developing a self-confidence that I 've never noticed before. She's not as dependent on us, more polite and patient with others as well. Hopefully, we can learn some of these good things as well. (The pressure of life recently seems to have caused me to get frustrated so easily the past 2 weeks, today feels a little better.)

Hope you enjoy this update

Starting Kindergarten, Saying Goodbye to Loved Ones!

Making friends, meeting a new teacher, riding the bus, and small class sizes, these are the things that kindergarten is all about! This is one reflection of today. The good news was Ralph was off to join Chantel and I at her school. The bad news was the reason why he was off.

Today started at 3 a.m. with a phone call from Ralph's "Step-sister" Diane. She told me that her dad had passed on at 2:16 A.M. this morning. She had received a call from the hospital. I was shocked. Ralph C. had just gone back into the hospital, but I had no indication that he was in that bad of a condition until later in the day, today.

So the day consisted in lots of phone calls. E-mails to and from friends for prayer and encouragement. Ralph going to tell his mom the news at about 6:30 A.M., after waiting around for about an hour to get her up.

Next, going to Chantel's school and hearing about all the excitement of the year ahead. We were so thrilled. We even got to meet her teacher today. The sad thing was to give her the news that Chantel will be missing her second day of school and hand in an excuse blank. Chantel enjoyed everything about her class, meeting a new friend, Katie. Also, meeting her teacher and feeling like she understands how shy Chantel is. According to the principal, her class should only have about 12-15 students at the most in it. So we are excited about the small size which will help her to learn and grow and develop friendships more easily!

Oh, before we left school, we finally broke the news to Chantel about her "Pop Pop" dying. Her response, so he's in Heaven with Dion, my parents dog that died earlier this year. (An interesting connection, but she does relate well with animals. ) Later in the day she made a card for Grammy and told us that she missed Pop Pop. She also prayed for Grammy as she misses Pop Pop in her pre-bedtime prayers!

We will see if Tuesday goes so smoothly. It is her second funeral she attended. The first one was this summer, one of Ralph's uncles, who she didn't know very well. It was a good way for her to go through the motions without all the emotions of knowing the person, just to see how she would take it. She did well!

Finally, we went shopping to Wal-Mart and enjoyed a final family meal during the day, during the week at Subway! Chantel loves eating at Subway!

Let's Have a Fiesta!

Chantel and I always work on a yearly piñata. This year was our second year. Last year, at 4 ½, she did quite well cutting the tissue paper. I only

let her cut one little strip of tissue paper last year.

This year, she was quite involved, not just getting messy like last year, with the water and flour mixture. (You should see the picnic table we used.) We finished the sticky, messy part in a little over an hour, on Monday. We dried it in the sunshine for 2 days (Tuesday and Wednesday), and today, Thursday, we cut the strips of tissue paper and glued them in place. (Oh yes, Chantel, last year and this year did very well with the glue and attaching the strips in place.)

Now, we let it dry for 3 months. Then, our 4th graders from our Church, our new Sunday School Class, will get to take a wack or two at it. Hopefully, on Sat., Dec. 6th, after we do Christmas Caroling to the neighbors. We always enjoy the opportunity to sing and to deliver the cookies we've baked for them.

Chantel enjoys her part with the piñata and making cookies that still need baking for our neighbors. She will have to wait until 4th grade to take a wack at the famous piñata. It usually takes about 1/2 hour to break it, with a baseball bat!

Swinging with a Friend

When my friend, Mindy, visited with her husband, James, and son, Dean, Chantel enjoyed having a playmate outside for the weekend. The weather was gorgeous and Chantel and Dean enjoyed swinging together. Later, they enjoyed the pool together too, no pictures of that, at our church S.S. Teacher Picnic, we invited them to join us.

Butterflies, Nectar, Pollination!

Here was a very interesting opportunity. Friday, August 22nd, right before my friend and her family from NY came to visit, I spotted this cute little butterfly which loved our purple flowers on our backporch!

My favorite picture is the second one where Chantel is just looking in her unique way at the very beautiful butterfly, a special part of God's creation, around our house.

It was a fun thing to discuss and see as I was in the middle of cleaning for our guests.

We discussed the butterfly was pollinating the flowers (helping them bloom and grow), the butterfly's proboscis (tongue like straw for sipping), nectar- what the butterfly likes to drink! Lots of new vocabulary!!!

Chantel, Rainbow Boots, and Singing in the Rain

Chantel loves to sing in the rain! Today, she really enjoyed using an umbrella and it wasn't even her Hannah Montana one! She just wanted to put her new rainbow boots on and play in the rain. Finally, a rainstorm without thunder or lightning. Those are such bummers, since she can't play outside when they occur! Chantel loved using her new boots. The first day we bought them she wouldn't take them off at all. They looked so cute with shorts, not your usual combination!

Chantel Writes her full name without any help!

Chantel proudly displays her NAME!

On Wednesday, August 27th, 2008, Chantel picked up a tablet and a marker and with no words or letters in front of her, wrote her first name all by herself. I was so very proud of her. Today, Thurs., August 28th, 2008, she was writing her name by herself even better, by saying the spelling to herself and writing her letters as well, mainly all upper case, but it will only improve in Full Day Kindergarten! She was also making a birthday card for Daddy with her name on it. I helped her sound out the word Dad and she wrote that too!

Chantel Loves Black Ballet Leotards Too!

Chantel and I went to Wal-Mart the other day, looking for more ballet items, since they are reasonably priced there. So we picked up several items, the same day we purchased the "Rainbow boots", read the next article to find out more!

Rainbow Boots

The other day, we found out from Chantel's new babysitter that we may need to travel through her front yard to get to the bus at times and will be in need of rain boots. I looked online and everywhere, so we went to Wal-Mart to pick up more ballet items and soon found out that they had some rainboots. Not a huge selection, but these size 13 "Rainbow boots" did the trick. You've probably seen the video and pictures of her using them already in the blog, or will soon.

Ballet Videos

Here is some more Chantel does ballet stuff! She loves to see herself on video on the Blog.

Ballet- We signed up for lessons and got Real Shoes!

Here are some more poses and maybe a video, if it lets me add it, of Chantel doing more ballet in her "real" shoes. They are made of leather and they actually have a stretchy strap. They also cost $20.00. So, they have to be real! They had to be fitted on her by the owner of the Dance Studio, a real ballerina.

We are waiting for the real tights to come in. She's inbetween size, since one size was too short and the other was a little baggy around the ankles.

She and Ralph and I as well, are so excited! We can't wait until his birthday, Sept. 11th, that's her first day of class!

Serving Others- VBS 2008

Our Vacation Bible at Church this year, Souderton Mennonite, was about God's Big Back Yard. It talked about how we can serve our family, friends, neighbors, community, and finally Jesus!

Well, day one, Chantel did help me with laundry. Day two, we made cookies and Chantel typed a card for our Pastor who was not at Bible School this year; it was 5 sentences long! Day 3 we tried to give peppers to our neighbors. Instead we gave some to Aunt Judy, who loves peppers. I said, she is our neighbor, too. Day 4 we walked along our 1.1 mile walk and cleaned up the roadside and the park where Chantel plays on each walk. We cleaned and walked for about an hour.

The picture above shows Chantel after we cleaned up. She was so ready for the pool, so I let her pose next to the bag in her swimsuit. It was a warm afternoon, so I put my feet only in the pool, since I only filled it minutes before! Chantel's next picture shows it wasn't too cold for her!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures and learning a little more about what we learned at VBS this year!

Bicycle Prayer Ministry?

This morning I decided to look up websites about Christian Cyclists.
Most of it was about Sharing the Gospel with others as they ride. There is even a group at a local Mennonite church which hosts rides for serious riders and those who just want fellowship and exercise.
Well, that's just to let you know that my husband, Ralph, while I was still sleeping this morning was riding his bike to work, as he always does when the weather is gorgeous (2,000-3,000 miles per year, it's a 13 mile trip each way). (He's biked over 60,000 miles now.)
On his way to work, he doesn't just enjoy the beautiful scenery, the lovely cool, fall like temperatures, but he thinks about those who live near where his daily ride takes him. If you live near his route, you may unknowingly have been a part of his bicycle prayer ministry.
When he rides near houses of people he knows, he prays for them and their needs. Maybe it all started when we used to walk through our old neighborhood daily and then go home and pray for those houses we walked by on our Prayer Notebook lists.
All Jesus did for others and any ministry He did started with prayer. So why not Walk or Ride your Bike and Pray!
I'm so proud of Ralph finding his own personal ministry. Not to mention he loves it. He saves gas and helps to protect the environment and picks up aluminum cans, (and tabs- which can help Ronald Mc Donald House), which can be recycled for a little extra cash.
You don't have to be part of a big group to make a difference. Start your own ministry for God, right where you are!

Ballet? Chantel wants to be a ballerina.

This is the newest area of interest. Well, it's a very relaxing thing to listen to and watch. Chantel kept saying for Halloween that she wants to be a Ballerina. Well, when she bought her the clothing for it at Wal-Mart, which wasn't overly pricey, she decided she wanted to take ballet, too.

For those who don't know this, first borns don't need to be motivated very much. They are primarily self-motivated! Chantel is a first born! Read Dr. Kevin Leman's, Birth Order book.

So, she came up with this idea herself. I was glad it wasn't me that suggested it. That probably wouldn't have worked anyway.

She kept asking me a few weeks ago when I would call the Ballet places. I chose 3 places to call and only one called back. So on Wednesday night, we will be going to an open house at the http://www.ssdaballet.com/

see it posted on the side of our website on sites to visit. Hopefully you will see her face added to the photos in the years to come. She is very excited and so are we. She is very flexible and can still get her foot to her mouth and can interpret music very well. Any type of music gets her dancing, even Blue Grass (88.9 FM) on Sunday evenings, which Daddy loves. She has one CD right now, the NutCracker, which she uses to dance around the Living room and Kitchen, too, ballet style.

Hope to update you more on this in future additions!

Look What I made for Breakfast!

Here are some of Chantel's July breakfast funny and serious poses.

She told me what she wanted, then she helped me make it.

Wow, I didn't make eggs until I was in 4th grade. I helped her of course and monitored her use of the gas stove top.

Oh yes, she also made, Banana on a Shingle, banana with peanut butter on grain bread, toasted.

Yum!

Bedtime Prayers

I just wrote the entry in Chantel's journal that I've been working on throughout Chantel's 5 1/2 years. Tonight she made me cry. Hearing her prayers to God at bedtime are so precious!

I was just re-reading the entry of 5/15/07, when Chantel was almost 4 1/2, like me at that age. She prayed to ask Jesus into her heart. She was giving her lamp a hug and saying sorry to it. We used to call it the "Jesus" lamp because she was afraid that it had eyes that were looking at her. So we told her think of it as Jesus looking at you. Earlier that day, we had talked about why we need to say "sorry to Jesus" for the wrong things we do that made Him die on the cross for us. So, after she hugged the lamp and said sorry, I asked her if she wanted to say sorry to Jesus by praying a prayer. So, she prayed after me, her mom, and Ralph was there too. She asked Jesus to forgive her for "making him" die on the cross for her sins. She asked Him to take her to Heaven to be with Him someday. She was glad she would be going to Heaven like Mommy and Daddy someday. (I reminded her that she would meet "Blessing" our child we lost to miscarriage on 4/20/05, her brother or sister that is already in Heaven.)
She then was concerned who else that she knew would be going to Heaven.
She sounds just like me at her age!

Well, back to her current prayers. A little over a year later, this is her heartfelt prayer to God at night. Hands folded and head bowed.

"God you did good today! Thanks for watering the plants for us."

A day ago, she also prayed something like "Thank you God for making people, the earth, the stars, the planets or the plants."

God must really smile and pay extra close attention when Chantel prays. I hope He can smile that much when I pray? All she wants to do is thank Him. She doesn't just give him a list of needs and wants. Wow! God must love that!

Fireworks, July 6th- A Trip Home- In the Woods, Green Lane Nature Center Trail

Chantel waits for Uncle Mike to light her sparkler/Morning glory.

Now she's loving it!

Chantel plays the drums to Bible School songs on the way home from Maine!

Daddy and Chantel make a funny pose by the Green Lane Nature Center, on the trail.

Please Read on down the page, at least 4 or 5 more posts written today.

Crabs and Ice Cream?

Crabs that we saw at the beach.

That's a Small ice cream in Maine- 4 dips!

Chantel gets a 1/2 a kiddie cone, 1 dip!

Here's my small with sprinkles, peanut butter and cookie dough ice cream!

More Beach photos, July 5th in Searsport, Maine

Ralph and Uncle Mike ride the log. Is it a log rolling contest, in the ocean?

Hannah, Ralph, and Uncle Mike all join in!

Sean, collects more cans! That's 5 cents each in Maine!

Chantel prepares to brave the water, it was comfortable!