Wordless Wednesday

A special happy birthday to my daddy. Sixty-two years young! 

This is him and I at my wedding (almost 8 years ago!) 

WW: Six Summer Moments

Linking up with Mama Kat again this week for writers workshop. If you want to learn more about it, click the link at the bottom of this post. The prompt I chose this week is: List your top 6 favorite summer moments so far.

1. My feet in the sand. Being able to watch my little family enjoy the ocean.

2. Hearing McKayla tell me about how she passed her swim test at camp and could go off the diving board.

3. Listening to Alivia's story about the pirate who was at campfire one night at camp. She told me how the pirate looked just like her aunt Sissy. Explaining that it couldn't have been her aunt Sissy because she wasn't wearing glasses and Aunt Sissy can't see without her glasses. (PS It was aunt Sissy

4. Seeing pictures of all the girls at their swimming lessons.

5. Watching how quickly Natalie is learning how to spot slug bugs and how hard she hits. That girl plays to WIN!

6. The moment all three girls coming running for me, knocking me over with their excited hugs, the day they came back after 16 days away from me.


This post inspired by:

Wordless Wednesday

Daddy and I

Sissy and I

Alivia, Colleen, Natalie, Odin, Daddy and McKayla 

Wonderful Weekend Surprise!

This weekend, I knew my husband had something up his sleeve. He insisted on driving me to work. He also told me to quit asking questions so I didn't ruin anything. Well, since he dropped me off, he also had to pick me up. When I climbed in, I saw my dad and sister in the back of the van! I had ZERO idea they were planning this. Such an amazing surprise. They live about eight hours from me so we don't see enough of each other. I get to spend all Memorial Day weekend with them. SO GRATEFUL for three days with most of my family. Just missing my little brother.

Along with my sister came birthday presents. She spoiled me. One of my favorite gifts is the socks though. I love fun socks and she made sure I got a few new pair to enjoy. I also got a new devotional book for Stephen and I to do together, a GIANT bag of hot tamales, a new tea steeper, and a cool new popcorn popper.

I think I am most excited to be spending this time with my sister and daddy though. We already had a full Saturday today. Went to the MK Nature center and walked through the wildlife area. Then we went to Ann Morrison for a picnic in the park. Took a LONG walk to look for baby geese and ducks. Found quite a few and enjoyed the sights along the way.

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Alicia's writing prompt. Her favorite game is soccer. The picture is worth a thousand words though, she is in the middle having fun. Her friend on the left is calling her the winner. And the goalie is saying please win. Loll

1000 gifts: three gifts in your dad

• It is a gift that he is so generous. He's helped me out more times then I can count. 
• It is a gift that he has so much random knowledge. Never fails to teach me something when we hang out. 
• It is a gift that he has become so much more affectionate. Before we lost mom, I can't remember him ever saying he loves me, I knew he did, just didn't say it. Now he does and it means more then he will ever know.

Wordless Wednesday

1000 Gifts: Found in your mother
What a bittersweet prompt. Hopefully I can get through this without crying. She is still my mom, still a blessing, just not nearly as close as I wish she was.

• her giving spirit. She almost always said yes, to a fault almost. I loved that no matter what I did, I knew I could call mom and she would help. Her home was open to anyone who needed it. 
• her hugs. She was the best hugger ever. A mommy hug could help almost any problem. 
• her involvement and interest in my girls' lives. Not only was she their primary child care provider the entire time we lived in Oregon but she was really active in their lives when we moved. She visited us and we skyped and called each other a lot. I miss her so much. 

Thankful Tuesday

I am beyond blessed. I also think it's important for people to share the things they are thankful for. That is why I do Thankful Tuesday. It's one day a week where I specifically think about five things I am thankful for. If you are interested in joining in, just leave me a link in the comments so I can read yours. =) Here are five things I am thankful for this week:

1. I am thankful for the hard work and planning that Stephen put into his proposal. It was an unforgettable day and I am so grateful to have that memory. I also appreciate that he was thoughtful of my taste and what I liked when choosing the ring. It is just perfect and I am enjoying showing it off. 
2. I am thankful for my best friend. She was a big part of helping Stephen plan my engagement. I love that she was able to be a part of it. Made it that much more special. The fact that she kept it secret was amazing (if you knew her, you would be amazed too!). 
3. I am thankful for my family's acceptance. Stephen was able to meet a few family members (aunts) and also spend some time with my mom, dad and siblings. It is amazing to have them all get along and like being around each other. Stephen and my brother have actually become friends so that's nice. I am also thankful that my parents were willing to let us stay at their house and invade all their space. The girls, myself and Stephen all stayed the entire week with them and never once did they complain. 
4. I am thankful to have two wonderful church families. Not only do I have my church family in Idaho, but my "home" church family is still very supportive of me and the girls. I love it! 
5. I am thankful for the time I got to spend with my family. This is the first time in years I have had a sit down conversation with my brother in years and it was wonderful! I also got to know his sweet daughter a bit more, she is beyond fun, 15 months old and non stop! 

What is one thing you are thankful for?

My Daddy

In celebration of my daddy's 54th birthday, I thought I would share with you the fun kind of daddy I grew up with. I had the kind of daddy who was the first to try out the slip in slide.

And figure out new ways to slide down. Fairly certain he was bruised from head to toe after this, but it wasn't the only time we did it.

I have a daddy who would run with us under his arm like a football. This is him and my brother Mike. I am sure he will be doing this with my girls soon enough.

My dad is the original photo bomber. This is him in our cousin picture (starting at bottom left: Bradley & me, Next "row" is Sharon, Mike and Colleen then Bryan on the top)

He was the first one to start the card game and usually the last one left playing.

He never passes up the chance to play in the ocean, no matter how cold it is. I did not get this from him, but my sister did!

And he loves a good meal and conversation. I remember, I couldn't wait until I would be old enough for the grown up table. Now that I am an "adult" I have grown closer to him then ever.

Happy Birthday Daddy!! 

I hope you have an amazing day. 

Thank you for being such a wonderful daddy 

I love you!!

 Special thanks to my Aunt Analise for the pictures. She is always great about digging up old photos for me and is quick to send them to me. 

A Difficult Lot, Favorite Photo & Childhood Story

Another three posts today. Hopefully you guys enjoy reading them as much as I am enjoying writing them!

Day 16: Something difficult about your "lot in life" and how you're working to overcome it. I think the biggest difficulty I have had about my "lot in life" is the whole divorce thing. I consider this a "lot in life" because it was something that happened to me. I didn't choose divorce, actually had no choice in the matter. Anyway, this was something very difficult for me because it wasn't in my plan. I did not want to be divorced and definitely did not want to be a single mom. It is so much harder to do this on my own then I could possibly have imagined. I am working to overcome this by using my resources. I am trying to get past my pride and ask for help when I need it. I don't think I will ever "get over" what happened to me fully, but I do think that I can move past it and will be a stronger person because of it.

Day 17: A favorite photo of yourself and why. I am going to cheat and use two here. I couldn't pick just one because both are equally my favorites!

My mommy and I shortly after Liv was
born. One of my very favorite pictures of us

My sister and I at her graduation

And just because I feel bad that a couple other had to be "cut" here are some other top picks:

My daddy and me

my girls and me after a race 

Day 18: Tell a story from your childhood. Dig deep and try to be descriptive about what you remember and how you felt. The most vivid memory I have of my childhood is my first broken bone. I don't remember what time it was, but it was after "bed time" but I felt the need to mail this letter before I went to bed, so I wouldn't forget. Well, I guess my brother Mike saw an opportunity to scare me so he stood just inside the doorway and jumped out and scared the bejesus out of me. I screamed and swung my arm out to hit him. Only, it wasn't him I hit, it was the wall. My middle finger got jammed really hard against the wall. I was crying and screaming at him (because who else could I scream at) when my dad came out. He doesn't get mad often, but apparently us waking him was not a good thing. In a calm voice he says "Elizabeth Marie Schallig, be quiet and GO TO BED!" I was still crying and pretty upset. Told him that I was pretty sure I had broken my finger. He told me he didn't care, that my mom would deal with it in the morning. I remember trying to sleep that night, my hand on an ice pack because it hurt to bad to put it on top. Mom did end up taking me in to the doctor the next day and sure enough I had chipped a piece off the knuckle on the middle finger. I don't even remember my dad's response to finding out I had actually broken it, but I do remember how bad he still feels about it. Not that we could do much besides go to the ER. It is definitely a fun story to tell. Makes my dad sound like a really mean guy, and those who know him can just laugh at that (because he is so NOT mean!)

Daddy Project

My dad has always been the orginization guru. He makes the most of any space. He helped us load up the u-haul when we moved from Oregon and did such a good job we only filled that thing like half full! Anyway, part of his "to do list" for his visit was to help me convert this closet

Into a pantry. We need more pantry space and less coat closet space, so this was the solution. It's right off the kitchen so it's not too inconvenient. This is what we ended up with 

And because my family and friends are so amazing, they also helped to fill the pantry! 

Surprised!

While I was expecting to have visitors today, they showed up yesterday and surprised me! I am so happy to have some family here with me for a couple days. =)

Day 14

This is a picture my aunt took WAYYYY back. This is the 4-generation picture of my dad, my brother, my Oma, and my grandpa. We lost Oma when I was 16 so seeing this picture brought back a flood of my memories of her. My Oma was an absolutely amazing woman. She and her entire family lived through WWII in a Japanese concentration camp in Indonesia. They moved to the US after the war was over when my grandpa was about 16 years old. My Oma is the strongest woman I have ever known. To have lived through that, surviving with her kids in this work camp all alone (my Opa was in a work camp for men and we think the ONLY reason Oma wasn't with him is because of her ability to paint portraits). Anyway, bit of history of my family =)

On top of that, the total 80s style of everything makes me smile! lol