!Surprise!

Coming soon in January '09, another little Schro baby.



Jaycee is a big sister! kind of.

Jaycee is most excited about not being the only one that gets called random things, and having someone she can tell what to do, also known as bossing, also know as- being a big sister :)
Jordan and Katelyn are most excited about welcoming another brand new baby into our home to love, smother with kisses, and bring up for the glory of God.

"Crinkler"

"Come here, Crinkler, time to get you cleaned up."

While this may seem like an odd phrase, it is frequently heard in our household. Yes, our daughter has incurred several nicknames during her short lifetime, one of the first and more appropriately dubbed being 'Crinkler'. This began way back when she was a newborn and while I would nurse her and read my Bible, she'd habitually reach back with her hand and methodically squeeze and unsqueeze the pages. Jordan recognized the trait and said, "Jaycee, you're just a Crinkler." She's been 'Crinkler' ever since. She literally has to be messing around with something all the time, if she happens to be found toyless in her carseat (inevitably because she 'crinkled' them all onto the floor), she crinkles her sun shade, her buckle, her headband, her shirt, or if all else fails, she can often be found twining her fingers in and out and slapping her hands together. It's chronic. When we put her in bed, accompanied with disappointed cries, even though she's so tired, she comforts herself by immediately reaching for the nearest blanket or toy and crinkles it. Her favorite, though is anything satin- she just rubs her hands up and down forlornly on the smoothness of her blanket until she falls asleep. It's cute, but it always causes me a little introspection as I watch this in my daughter. I here confess that my daughter gets it honestly from her mother;
I am a Crinkler.
While I don't bear the nickname, I fit into the category and now realize that my lifetime of rolling the sheets and rubbing them on my face when in bed, and jingling the keys, and shaking my leg whenever sitting, and countless other unconscious habits have been passed on to my daughter.

So, Crinkler she is, and while the nickname may not stick (I'm imagining a teenager loudly protesting at the ludicrousness of "Crinkler, time to eat"); she'll always remain a Crinkler, heretofore destined to worry her friends into slapping her legs still in church, annoy her husband as he's forced to hold conversations in the car over the sound of jangling keys, and pass on the genetic trait to her children.

But on to Jaycee's other nicknames: Crinkler goes pretty far back but not as far back as 'Sennacherib'. Yep, folks, I'm married to a chronic can't-call-anything-or-anyone-by-the-right-name man of my dreams. She (although we didn't know the gender yet) was dubbed Sennacherib in my womb by her affectionate father. He also tossed around the name 'option' of Kadesh Barnea, which is a desert near ancient Palestine. This is what happens when your husband is reading through the Old Testament during your pregnancy. While 'Sennacherib' can be heard on rare occasions in our household, Kadesh seems to hold its own. Just last night before picking her up I heard: "C'mere Kadesh". Now, I'm not at all opposed to nicknames and have come up with some for our daughter on my own, one of the first being "Beso", the spanish word for 'kiss'. But I think that sprung from "Jaycee Baycee", or just "Baycee" which got shortened to 'Beso', and is appropriate b/c she gets smothered in kisses and now knows how to give them back. Shortly after I began calling her 'Jaycee Baycee', Jordan piped in with 'Spacey Jaycee' which I immediately squelched b/c it sounds kind of mean. See, we do have some limits on this obsessive nicknaming. As her personality and life progressed, she continued to accumulate nicknames. Currently these are the most frequent:

Jayce- we knew this would probably happen and discussed it when choosing her name. We like it though and I think it's especially cute when her young aunts and uncles call her this

Jaycer

Jaycercise- this started the day after our sister-in-law was telling us about her Jazzercise workouts, classic, I know

Gucci

Schnikey or Schnikeys

Baby- b/c of the lack of originality or weirdnes, you guessed it, I call her this most frequently

Louise- when she's in trouble usually, and often used as a pseudo-middle name. I even sway to this usage; one time correcting her in front of our friends when she threw food off her tray saying "Jaycee Louise" in that parental tone of 'you're in trouble'. Jordan thoroughly endorses this usage saying, "We don't need to ruin her middle name by just using it when she's in trouble." her middle name is most obviously too precious to stain it with a disapproving tone. her middle name is Jordan

Girly- her A. KaraLea and U. David call her this the most, and she is pretty girly

Gumba- read "goom-bah"

Little Buddy- only used by her father, actually most of these are, but I never call her this, b/c in my family "Dolly" was for the girls and "Buddy" for the boys, especially my brother Caleb, whose widely used nickname is 'Buddy'. it sounds a bit masculine to me.

Dolly- that being said, I do call her this often

Dolly Llama- this nickname was born shortly after the Tibetan leader (correctly spelled Dalai Lama) was all over the news, and yes, it came from me, but I'm proud of that b/c the large percentage comes from Jordan

Diva- she only gets called this when she's sporting the 'my way or the highway' attitude, which thankfully isn't very often

Loco Grande- while it is Spanish, I did not dub her this, it was you-know-who

Goofball

Fish - usually accompanied with the article "a". "You're a fish" is often heard when she eats a lot. why? I don't know, go ask the nickname master.

Princess- but of course :)

Gucci has actually started looking at us weird when we call her 'Jaycee'. It's like she doesn't know what to do with it. She's so used to being called anything but... I don't even think she knows it's her real name.

No, I'm kidding, but truly, with all those other wonderful options, it's a wonder the word "Jaycee" ever gets spoken in our house. We don't need anymore over here, in fact the things Jordan and I get called is a subject for an altogether separate post, but feel free to tell me the nicknames that can be heard in your home. (G version, of course)

Mother's Day, crawling, and pianos

I had an awesome Mother's Day! A really great Mother's Day, my first; well not really, but my first with a child outside of my womb. We spent Sat. night at my parent's, so we got to be with Mom T. in the morning, and during church. There was a wedding in Washington, which I always love going to b/c it brings back all those happy thoughts and memories, and just makes us rejoice for the blessing of our marriage. Later we spent the afternoon and evening with Mom S., and the whole Schroeder family, had a nice time relaxing and playing with all the kiddos. What a happy day, God is so good to us!
For my gifts, Jordan and Jaycee went shopping together on Fri. night and gave me a Beth Moore Bible study, sunglasses and these gorgeous flip-flops- they did a phenomenal job. But more than that, I'm just overwhelmed at his blessings, the love of my husband and baby, and how much I just love being a mom.
Well, for an update on Jaycee, we're going in for weight checks every other week and this last time, she had gained 12 oz. in two weeks! Praising Jesus for miracles always! She's just a busy little girl, her crawling skills are improving daily, she's so proud of the fact that she can go into the bathroom, open the cupboard where my hairspray and makeup is, get into all of that and make a royal mess. She loves it. Her latest skill though, is playing the piano, yes, she's a genius, not quite pounding out Bach or Mozart, but we're working on it. The other night, I was in the kitchen making supper and the whole time, she sat on that bench and just plunked and pushed buttons happily, I wasn't too worried about her falling off, b/c I was right there keeping an eye on her, and every time she got close to the edge, she'd just re-center herself. Actually, this is the trick I'm most amazed at, she has a pretty good sense of balance, and can adjust herself if she feels her body start to go forward. Her personality is blooming, and it's so fun getting to know her for herself, and training her to listen to our voices, and hear her little voice tell us what she thinks, I love all of her ins and outs, discovering her likes, dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, she's such a part of us, but in the same breath, such an individual masterpiece of God's. I've been reveling in His glorious design and plan for all of us, and being so humbled at getting a glipse of His Father heart through being a mom.
So- to all of you mothers: Happy Mother's Day! May you be strengthened and blessed as you raise the most precious commodities on the planet; and thanks for all you do, and all you are!

All glory to God

So- I knew I'd be back with more grace miracles and an update on Jaycee's weight and breathing difficulties we're going through, and here I am. We had a weight check and doctor's appt. last Thurs. and, Praise God- she had gained 8 ounces, which is an answer to prayer and so reassuring. Thank you Jesus!

We're scheduled to see a pediatric EarNoseThroat doctor next month b/c she still has difficulty breathing through her nose and has very enlarged tonsils. I feel like my daughter eats all the time, my Mom has testified that she far out-eats Timothy, and my sister in law Jill (mother of 3, 1 in utero) has also told me that none of her kids has ever eaten like my petite, delicately featured, tiny little girl. She's just ravenous and proof that looks are deceiving. Also proof that kids with a higher resting metabolic rate than most need to eat a lot, so we're just feeding her as much as she wants. And all the time. But I'm fine with that, she's listening to her body, and we're listening to her, and we're still praying over her and trusting. She has a very limitless Father.

So, for your entertainment, here she is, doing what she loves best with Timmy, and yes she did eat more of the delicious orange stuff than he did, and isn't my 3-yr-old helper just so.... helpful:)

Blessings to all- Katelyn

Where is God when it hurts?

We just heard a sermon on Job. It was riveting, to the point, and it didn't answer the problem-of-evil questions in my mind. But it didn't claim to, in fact, he said that God made it that way- unfathomable and confusing to our finite minds, in part because He loves it when we come to him with our wrestling, our out-pourings, and yes, God's big enough to handle our "why God?" questions. (Just be careful of demanding His answers; you don't want to be in the position of receiving a terrifying, four-chapter lecture from the Almighty. Job 38-41)

One of the things we have always, always prayed for in our children was good health, from before she was born, we've entreated God for a healthy baby. Jaycee had a follow-up appointment at her doctor's last week and she was weighed (naked) three times on two different scales because they thought for sure there was some mistake. She had lost 10 ounces over the past 6 weeks. She is now not even on those stupid growth curve/percentile charts. Going from the 70th to the 30th, I kept thinking- it's normal to not be 'normal'. What's normal anyways? how can they expect my child to be at the 50th mark when only half of the other kids in the world are? I'm not going to let some un-individualized curved pink line stress me out. But when we didn't even make it on that curved pink line, I experienced several emotions, somewhat unfamiliar to me as a new mom and none of them allowed me to think 'it'll be okay'. This is not okay. I recalled all the times others had picked her up and commented on how light she was, of how even Jordan and I had noticed, and how her jeans were fitting a little loosely. Her follow-up was for her respiratory problems- she has difficulty breathing through her nose, and it's only seemed to get worse recently. She had been on an antihistamine to clear up any problems in case of allergies, but had 'failed' it. She also has super-enlarged tonsils and fluid behind her ear drums which makes her pediatrician think that she may have problems with her adenoid and thyroid glands. We got referred to an ear/nose/throat specialist in Peoria and are currently waiting to get in. She also got switched to another antihistamine just to cover all the bases before we go see the specialist. She will go in for a weight check next week and if she hasn't gained will go to the children's hospital for a blood work-up to check for blood complications. Your prayers are welcome.

Also, with my grandpa just being diagnosed with a disease that is both debilitating and fatal, (see my cousin's blog http://kirstenhany.blogspot.com for details) the pain in our family is fresh. He hasn't been feeling well for quite some time and now it looks like he may not have too much longer to be here with us. It's just painful! full of pain. it's hard to watch my family respond in their pain, it's difficult to see him wan and tired and unable to get up. Again, thanks for your prayers.

I don't know the "Why does God do what He does?" but I do know that God is.

Matt 28:20 "and lo, I am with you always." -Jesus

So where is God when it hurts? He's here. listening to our heart cries. And through all the bad news, and 'could-be's and 'what-if's, He shows up- more than that, He delights in showing up! In the sermon it was made clear that the problem is with my perspective, the illustration was given of a stage, where everything that was going on was visible, and then there's another stage, up on the roof of the church, nobody can see what's going on up there- but it's there- the divine drama. And what's going on up there is directly affecting the stage down where we can see. So my perspective is warped, it's incomplete and myopic and limited. Therefore I can't know the 'why's and 'why not's. But I do see the rays of awesome intervention and goodness and blessing coming down from that heavenly stage. The "Praise Gods", which are everywhere once I get my self-pity glasses off.
Praise God that Jaycee has wonderful brain development and is learning to walk. Praise God for financial provision and the peace He's giving Jordan and I through everything. Praise God for the life-change in Papa and the hope he now has for his "new beginning". Praise God for Papa's great-grandson who is growing in Kirsten's womb. Praise God for the break through in stem cell transplantation and the bankable cord blood of this baby that could help his great-grandpa be cured. Praise God for the daily answers to prayers in all the little things. Praise God for the throne of grace where we can run to in time of need for grace and mercy. (Heb 4:16) Praise God for His listening ear and His sovereignty and His goodness!

May we all pray for the faith of Job who, after being dealt the unfathomable blow of everything he owned and all his children being taken from him...

"Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, and said 'Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord'" Job 1:20-21

P.S. I look forward to posting more answers to prayer!

Entering 'Bloggerdom'

Jordan & Katelyn Schroeder with Jaycee Jordan. Welcome, we hope this attempt at 'blogging' testifies to our awesome God's provision, blessing and leading in our lives. Jesus Christ is who we owe our lives, our eternity, our forgiveness and continued grace to. It is our desire that everything in our lives, even our new blog, glorifies our Savior.

We've had this blog -although it might not have fully qualified- since it basically consisted of a layout and username, since December of last year, but, here we go- beginning our blogger journey as we let our friends and family and the greater internet public know about our lives. The convenient sharing and, -let me use the correct 'bloggese' here- the convenient posting and viewing are attractive and the ability to publish thoughts and prayer requests and other things that those who love us may want to know and can view on their own time and according to their interests, has led us to descend into bloggerdom and see what happens.

Well, to start off, I will just tell you that a lot of these posts will consist of telling you exactly what, how and when Jaycee has done anything of even the slightest interest and maybe come with corresponding pictures. What can I say? We're new parents, and she just lights up our days! I could go on about how unbiased this opinion is and how naturally everybody shares it, therefore we're doing the world a favor by minuscule updates on our little angel, but somehow, I remember others telling us that these are there own exact feelings of their little ones. So, while the temptation to slip into 'personal fable' is much greater after having been blessed with a beautiful baby, I'll refrain and simply condition all future posts with the understanding that we really believe Jaycee is the best.

Here's some pics that were taken yesterday. The big story here is that my adorable & talented little brother Timothy Quinn Thames was born a mere 19 hours after Jaycee. Yes, my mother and I were pregnant and expecting and due at the same time! Pretty much the only similarity between the two babies though, is their age- he is so big, she is so little, he is all boy, she is all girl. We take their pics every month so we can monitor their growth and the ever widening gap in their physical differences. When born she weighed, 7lb. 4oz. He was 9lb. 8oz., currently; 16lb 8oz, and approx. 24lb, respectively. oh yeah, & their good looks-thats another similarity :)