Reflections on Birth

Today is the 28th birthday of 2nd Son. This picture was taken the morning after his birth.  He was about 12 hours new here. At breakfast this morning, my sis in law asked me about the day of his birth. Marlin was doing some fall plowing and had Ben in the fields with him while I mowed on the rider mower that afternoon back in 1983. When Marlin came home he told me that his dad had asked him if I was trying to shake that baby out. I laughed and told Marlin that was a good thought because I felt that something was about to happen. Soon after, I began labor. We dropped Ben off at Marlin's folks and headed toward St Joe Hospital. An hour later, Christopher Curtis Schrock entered this world at 9 lbs 9 oz and 21 inches in length. He looked like he was already a month old. Two hours later. We headed back home, but first stopped to buy what has become a Schrock tradition. We stopped and bought a birthday cake from Kroger. These days, Curt prefers a DQ Ice Cream Cake. Since I'm in South Carolina today, I wasn't able to do that. I guess I owe you one, eh?

This House

 Being the daughter of a military father, I didn’t have “a house” where I could put roots down…until I married a farm boy from Indiana. We are living on the corner in the little house where he was born and raised.  It is a blessing to be the fourth generation to own this house.  Grandpa Hochstedler sold it to Polly & Alvin Miller who sold it to Hilda & Vernon Schrock who sold it to us.  

My understanding is that it didn’t always sit on the corner (literally on the corner). At one time, it sat back somewhere around the old hickory tree that is in the field.  How I wish it were still sitting back there although it makes it a lot easier to get out on the roads in the winter where it is located now.  

Hilda & Vernon were married in this house in what we now call the "schoolroom" because that is where we had school during our homeschooling days.  It is actually the front room of the house. It used to be a front porch and a front room, but Hilda & Vernon remodeled to make the size of the front room more suitable for a growing family. When Curt & Julie lived with us, it served as our bedroom.  I liked the idea of having a huge bedroom with a sitting room, but Marlin never was sold on the idea so after they moved to Warsaw, we moved our bedroom back to the back end of the house.

When Ben went to Iraq the second time, Monica moved into the back bedroom.  Their California King size bed took up most of the bedroom.  Looking back now, I realize I should have put them in the schoolroom with a bed that size, but at the time, it just hadn't occurred to me.

Currently Joe & Mal are currently living with us until they get their Greentown Property fixed up. They are living in the upstairs where Emilie once had her bedroom until she got married. I think our kids have lived in just about every bedroom in this house at one time or another. Emilie is the only one that has never lived with us while married. Perhaps someday.

This house holds countless memories for me. This was the house I went to when I met Marlin's parents for the first time when we started dating back in high school. This was the house I went to when I learned how to plant and grow a garden, something this Air Force Child had never done before. This was the house we walked to nearly every day when the kids were little to say hello to Grandma & Grandpa and fill their bellies full of treats....and this was the house we moved into when Emilie was less than 2 years old...a house for family dinners, and picnics, and bon fires, and mock wedding, and summer proms, and boys who thought they were good at skateboarding building half pipes (or whatever they're called), and making movies about the Son of Sod...

It was a good house for raising four children.  

I love this house and I love all of you who made memories with me!

2nd Son Comes to Visit

Mentally I am still a stay at home mom even though I have worked outside the home since the late 90's.  With my brood scattered from Chesterton to Warsaw to New Jersey and Home, I savor the moments when they come to visit and spend a weekend here on the home place.

Birthday Party For Daylen

For his 5th birthday, Daylen decided that he wanted a Bowling Party.  What goes around comes around is what I say!  I was practically raised at the bowling alley.  My parents were on leagues from the time I was born.  Babysitters were unheard of in those days...they just took us every where they went. At that time, there were tables which were more like booths that ran in a line behind the alleys so it made kind of a natural barrier for keeping the kiddos (especially me) in a confined space. The parents had a constant watch over us and running around was absolutely not allowed. Armed with barbies, corgi toys and coloring books, we played the night away.  If we got tired, we laid down on the naugahyde upholstered seats and fell asleep.  As a child, I never could figure out how one minute I closed my eyes and the next I was opening them in my bedroom, and it was morning.  Here's to you Birthday Boy...I hope your memories are as good as mine.

Another Brown Eyed Baker!

Tomorrow (or I should say later today), we will going to Kokomo for Daylen's birthday party (at the bowling alley).  His theme this year is The Smurf's so Mal had to make cupcakes fresh from this Brown Eyed Baker...chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with buttercream icing...and, oh yeah, don't forget the Smurf Blue Sugar Crystals on top!

Moses Wonder

Can you believe this little guy is already 2 years old?  I carried a little caterpillar in with the Swiss Chard tonight before supper and Moses was all over it. His mind is a little sponge just taking in everything that God made for us.  What a blessing!

My Little Helper

 Oma:  Ari, would you like to help me take out the trash?
Ari: Hruh?  (and he shakes his head yes)

I'm telling you....I'm going to go through the Empty Nest Syndrome all over again when they move out....but for now I'm going to enjoy every living minute of it!

Chicago Marathon 2011

Monica was all smiles when she woke up on Sunday Morning.  We had a close call the night before.  There was a birthday party in the room right next to us and they kept singing Happy Birthday very loudly.  They eventually moved the Birthday Party to another floor where there were no runners who needed to get their sleep.

 It was an awesome experience being on the streets with Monica at 6:30 a.m. There was all kinds of energy and you could feel the excitement.  It was 55 degrees but it felt a lot warmer.  Monica had wings made of duct tape on her back reminding everyone to remember why they run.

 Since I can only have a coffee once every four days (because of my rotation diet), I decided to stop by my favorite coffee shop, Caribou Coffee.  I didn't even have to wait.  I just walked right up and order Ben a tall black coffee and a foo foo coffee for me.

I shot the video above at the twelve mile.  Monica was in really good spirits and even threw a water sponge at me as she passed.  However, by the time she got to the 21 Mile in China Town, she was in the zone and ran inches from us and didn't see us although she heard us when we yelled.  When she got to the gates at Chinatown, they were playing the Rocky Theme.  She was feeling strong now.

This shot was taken at the 21 Mile.  Monica saw Ben and smiled and waved as he ran parallel to her on the sidewalk.

 We were all so very proud and happy that Monica met her goals. We had a hard time finding Monica after the race because we didn't realize that the place we chose to meet was closed off to non-runners.  Monica's phone was dead we later found out due to her pouring water on herself every two miles when she came by the water tables. Whoops!  It looks like she'll get a new one now.  She eventually borrowed someone's phone and we re-connected.  After showering and getting out of her marathon clothes, we stopped and ate and then boarded the train for home. A lot of good things happen in October. One in particular happened eight years ago when Ben & Monica became husband and wife. Today was another monumental moment to add to our memories. All in All, it was a perfect weekend.  Monica finished 17, 000 out of 45,000.  I'd say that is a pretty good statistic.  See you in 2017 Chicago Marathon....if not before.  I've heard it is pretty addicting!

Preparing For A Marathon

 It was a beautiful Indiana fall day when we boarded the South Shore Line at the Portage/Ogden Dunes Train Stop.  After a short ride to Chicago, we got off at the McCormick Stop.  Monica had to sign in and get her BIB number for the Chicago Marathon.  Her number was 16,800.  With only 18 hours to go for the start of the race, we decided to do something low key to keep Monica relaxed for the big day tomorrow.  There were 45,000 runners this year and all the names were listed on the wall of runners.  We found Monica's and noticed that there were actually quite a few Schrocks on that wall though only one woman and that was Monica.

I made the regret of caring a bag instead of bringing my rolling backpack suitcase.  I looked like a bag lady every where we went.

 No visit to Chicago would be complete without that distinguishable Chicago skyline.  We commented on how glad we were that we decided to ride the train instead of driving.  It was an adventure.

 After dropping our bags off at the Palmer House just a few blocks from where Monica would start the race, we went for a walk to check out Grant Park. Needless to say, we had to stop by to see the Bean and Ben suggested that they stand on their hands.  As you can see, the people standing around us were taken back by the strength of the young couple standing on their heads!

After eating supper at The Corner Bakery, we turned in for the night.  The view outside our window was spectacular and seems to support the idea that the city never sleeps, but the marathon runners do.

Liberty

Just a little drive up north and I found myself in the company of two of the cutest kids I know. The occasion was the Liberty School Hoedown which was located at the school where my grandson, Alex, attends Kindergarten. There were games to play...like hot potato...crafts to do...western tattoo's...hay rides...and a pony to sit on and pet.

Haley and Alex were tired when we got home.  Alex promptly put himself to bed and Haley lay down on her new favorite pillow which her Aunt Emmie gave her.  Tomorrow will be a new adventure into the city by train so it's time to get some shut eye.  Chi-town here we come.

Chicago Marathon Here I Come

I've missed these two, but fortunately, I get to spend the weekend with them.  Their mom is running in the Chicago Marathon, and I get to spend Sunday dashing to various points to try and see a glimpse of our favorite runner.  I don't have a picture of Monica running...yet, but stay tuned for pictures from Chi-Town!  I've read where the first Chicago Marathon had 5000 runners, but this one has 45,000. Yowzers! Monica will be the one in the blue outfit with yellow stripes and we will be the ones in the bright yellow hats with blue and red duct tape (the kids and I will be making these masterpieces before the race).  Watch for Monica...and us on ESPN...haha! It will be a fun time in the old town on Sunday!

Daylen's First Cowboy Boots

Daylen's birthday is next week, but I couldn't wait to give him his cowboy boots that I brought from Idaho.  He said he wants to be a cowboy just like Woody.

Yee-Haw!

Look Poppie, We both have boots!

Ari wants a pair too!

Jubilee Cafe

On the last day of our trip just outside of Peoria, Illinois, we found another little diner.  This one was called the Jubilee Cafe...home cooking.  It was Day 4 of the Rotation Diet for me so I could have turkey, mashed potatoes and cole slaw, and don't forget the cranberry sauce! This was real turkey folks...not the processed pieced together mess that most restaurants serve.  The cook actually cooked a turkey, picked it off the bone, and served it up along with Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes (you can tell by the color).

It was a very good trip.  We couldn't have asked for better weather! The food was great, and the hotels were good...in fact, Marlin commented on the last day that we should stay in just one crappy hotel on the trip to appreciate how good it was and Hilda said, "No Way" I like nice hotels!" and then she talked about how she didn't want to have to worry about taking bedbugs home. haha!  I talked to my girlfriend tonight and she said she enjoyed looking at my blog and seeing the way that families are supposed to interact....families that have fun and show their love and happiness by just being together.  Yep, I'm blessed...but then, I've always known that.

A Longer Journey Home

Why is it that the drive home always seems longer than the drive it took you to get there? Today was our biggest driving day.  We put in around 760 miles today.  We kept asking the folks how far they wanted to drive.  Vernon gave us his standard answer of "whatever you want to do" and Hilda said that she would rather drive longer today and have an easier day tomorrow so drive on we did.  We started out in Rawlins, Wyoming this morning and drove all the way to Des Moines, Iowa.

Sunrise in Wyoming

Sunrise Effects on the Land

The Aspens are turning...

Beautiful Morning...

Peaceful Prairie...

Hilda & I agreed that we're glad we don't have to travel by Stagecoach!

After awhile, the road begins to blur and the sun begins to set creating a new canvas and signaling the end of another day of driving...

Tomorrow, the Lord willing, we will be back home again in Indiana!