Remodeling

Sorry I don't have much time to report. Grace seems to be hungry and demanding my attention.

We are remodeling our house. It started out as just the bathroom but has extended to the office and living room. So now probably wouldn't be the best time to visit Minnesota! I will have pictures at a later date. Since our computer is in the office and is not able to be used, I probably won't update as often over the next few weeks. Right now I am using Trico's computer.

Hope to see alot of you at Christmas!!

Time Marches On

Grace in her first church outfit. Her Mom and Grandma both wore it to their first church service.
Three Generations

It has been a little while since I've posted, so I'll try and recap the past weeks.

Two weekends ago my Dad brought my Mom up so she could stay for a week and help out. She definitely was a great help to me and Grace. Mom just had knee replacement so her mobility is yet limited. However, she was always willing to hold Grace and take care of her needs. I've decided that when you have a baby, the housework comes second. (Of course this was true before Grace, I just didn't have an excuse.) While Mom was here we spent a lot of time relaxing. Grace had a 2 week check-up so while we were there, I showed Mom the room I had in the hospital. She was impressed with how everything is advancing, and how I labored/delivered/recovered in the same room. We saw some of our nurses, so that was neat for them to see how much Grace had grown and filled out in 2 weeks. Another day we went shopping in Alex for necessary items (diapers, etc.) Grace did great at Walmart, but by the time we went to Target, she was hungry. I fed her in the car, but she was kind of fussy. I had my first panicky moment of, what if she starts screaming in the store. She ended up being fine, but I realized that more than likely she will be one of those screaming kids in the store some day. I've always been annoyed by those instances, but I assume my day is coming. We also went to Rustin's parent's house and visited with them some.

Grace went to church for the first time on Thanksgiving. Rustin kept her and she slept all morning. Phew! We went to Rustin's folks after church. My Dad and siblings arrived in the afternoon so we ate a Turkey dinner and played games. It was neat to see Uncle Bob, Aunt Susan, and Uncle Matt interact with Grace. She definitely wasn't used to all the attention. On Friday Dad helped Rustin put in the shower downstairs. The rest of us cleaned the upstairs and relaxed. On Saturday noon the kids left for Tremont and Dad and Rustin finished downstairs.

On Sunday Jonathan Joos and Mindy Wulf were married. I didn't catch a whole lot of the sermon because I was in the Baby Room all afternoon. My parents left for home right after church and we went to the reception.

This week we are focusing on our upstairs bathroom. We have bought almost all of the stuff needed, so now we are tearing it down piece by piece. By this weekend we will either have a big mess, or the bathroom will be on its way to being rebuilt. Sometimes it seems like life flies by in a blur. Before we know it, Christmas will be here!

Grace Anna Schmidgall

Born Nov. 7, 2007 7#2oz. 19.5in. 12:39pm
Grace smiling at her Dad
Grace and me (you can tell I'm a little drugged)
Grace holding hands with her first boyfriend, Emerson Reuter.

(I think the Dads lended a helping hand.)

It has been an interesting 5 days. On Tues. I woke with labor pains and had them 10 min. apart all day. We went to the hospital at 9:30 that night and had an "enjoyable" night. The Doc came in at 7 Wed. morning and broke my water. From then till 12:39 pm I won't go into detail, but 'labor' is definitely an accurate term. The placenta separated from the U-cord so Doc had to knock me out and remove it. I ended up staying an extra day at the hospital because of this. We went home on Sat. afternoon. Grace is a good baby. She eats and sleeps, alot! It's hard to imagine life before her. There is never a dull moment with a baby around.

39 down, 1 to go

My husband informed me that it has been almost 2 weeks since I last updated. I don't know where the time went, but I apologize for being negligent. I visit the doctor weekly and he says everything looks the same. The head is down and ready, so now we just wait. Since there is no possible way that we can personally inform all of you when the baby arrives, we will publish the news and pictures on the blog. I'm not sure if the hospital puts pictures on a website, but I'm sure that, since we are smaller than the Peoria hospitals and they don't update regularly, it will be faster to come to this site to see baby Schmidgall.

Rustin is still very busy with anhydrous. There is a shortage of it this fall, so he thinks by the end of the week he will be close to finished with applying. I am excited. I'm not used to these late hours. Thankfully it only lasts a few weeks out of the spring and a few weeks out of the fall. I generally ride with him at some point every day. I've found out that the plowed corn fields are the bumpiest, so I try to go when he is on a bean field or a ripped corn field. His tractor has a GPS system on it, so all he has to do is press a button and the tractor goes straight. This feature allows him to concentrate more on the applicator behind him and his books on tape.

This past weekend we had 5 people give their testimonies and were baptized. There were 2 couples who are Rustin's cousins and one of his (our) single friends. It was encouraging to hear of the sincerity of changed lives. It's always a blessing to hear of how God works in sinners lives. Gary Hertzel from Sabetha and Wayne Grimm from West Bend were visiting elders. For those of you who don't remember, Wayne preached at our wedding service, so it is always special when he comes to Morris and we can visit. It reminds me of the good times I experienced while interning for his son and daughter-in-law in West Bend.

Well, the weathermen say it is supposed to snow today, and while I was at the doctor's they said it was flurrying. Judging by how windy it is out, it is a good thing it's not already on the ground or we'd be having a nice blizzard.

This week is pretty open. I am going to watch my niece and nephews some, but doc says to take it easy, so I think I'll just take his advice!!

37 Weeks

I can't believe how fast time can go sometimes. Three weeks left till a new journey. Somewhat scary, very exciting. I don't always look at my past blog entries, so please forgive me if I repeat myself. We can just blame it on being pregnant. Last Thursday Rustin and I went to St. Cloud and purchased a computer. Neither of us know a whole lot about computers so we talked to our dads and got some good advice. When we got it home and tried booting it up, we had all sorts of problems with it not starting, starting and then freezing up, and numerous pop-ups of how some stuff was installed wrong. Thankfully the Geek Squad had installed everything so we knew it wasn't our fault. We took some pictures of some of the pop-ups and headed back to St. Cloud on Saturday. (There is some benefit to a week of rain in the fall.) The hour and a half trip there was a little tense, not knowing what type of service we would encounter. The Geek looked at our computer and said it didn't look like anything was wrong at the moment, but since we had pictures of proof of nasty pop-ups and since we had just purchased it a few days ago, we could swap computers. Without any hesitation I said "YES." I didn't think we needed a 'lemon' sitting around the house, and Rustin hated calling the HP hotline and talking with hard-to-understand help, so we waited while they installed the new computer with anti-virus/spyware software and we headed home. Thankfully when we arrived home and hooked everything up, it worked. This brightened our weekend. I know computers tend to have minds of their own so I'm sure things won't always be peachy, but I am going to enjoy it until that point. Everyone has their opinion of Best Buy and the Geek Squad, but Rustin and I decided that they were very helpful to us, and we were glad to talk to actual humans face-to-face.

This week, thus far, has been sunny, so today marks the beginning of my temporary widowhood. Rustin is now applying anhydrous to area fields, so I will see little of him for a couple of months. Hopefully when I go into labor, I'll be able to reach him. At this time last year, we were engaged and I spent many nights up till 11 or 12 talking to him while he was finishing up a field. I think it will be different this year with me actually living up here. Ask me in a few weeks if I'm cut out to be an Ag wife.

One of my dear cousins reqested a picture of how I look pregnant. So after reading this section, you might want to exit out before you are forever scarred. Rustin delighted in taking many pictures, much to my dismay, so most of them have been deleted. Here are a couple.

It's still raining

Sometimes we just have to face the fact that we don't always get our way with the weather. It is still rainy and gloomy. This makes it difficult for Rustin to get into the fields and apply anhydrous. Last Saturday was a nice day though, so we finally finished the rock part of our landscape. We needed about half a bucket full, so thankfully some of our friends had an over-abundance left from their project so we could use that. We don't have the mulch down on the one side of the house yet, but we are going to wait for spring to do this. Last week I went in for my 36 week check-up. Everything looks okay, so now we just wait for the baby to come. I'm ready for it sooner rather than later, but I guess I'll just have to be patient. I have weekly appointments now so the arrival seems more real. At this point I would say that I would take the first 7 months over the last 2. I think this is because I felt better then, and didn't feel so clumsy and nauseous and big. I'll stop complaining though, because a lady at church told me that she vomited every night from month 3 till the end. I just don't know how she did it. Last Friday we helped at the first annual Fireman's chili/hamburger fundraiser. (It replaced the Fireman's Auction, which I thought would've been neat to go to.) People kept showing up, so I think they did pretty well for the first year. I am finally beginning to recognize people from Hancock besides church people which is exciting to me. Rustin was giving fire truck rides around town to whoever wanted one. There were four of us in his truck at one point and his pager went off signifying a fire call. Luckily we were only a block away from the fire hall, so he whipped the truck around and dropped us off. One anxious fireman was in such a hurry that he practically drug me out of the truck. Obviously he has never been pregnant. Since all of the firemen except one were gone, some of us wives stepped up and helped a little more. It ended up that the fire was in a different county, so they all came back in about 10 minutes. I'm always comforted when I hear of these dispatch mishaps. If my house was burning I don't think I'd be impressed if it took two or three tries to get the right people there. I guess so far nothing drastic has happened so that lives were lost, but if you get a chance ask Rustin to tell you some of the rather humorous Hancock Fire Dept. mishaps. It will make you glad you live elsewhere! Because it was raining yesterday, Rustin was able to take off a little early and we went to Alex shopping. We purchased a curtain rod and a toilet for our bathroom project. Thankfully we cleaned out the office so there is room for all this stuff. We also did a little Christmas and baby shopping. It's good to get out and enjoy different scenery!

The Philistine Army

Last week was kind of a slow one. It rained most of the week, so this was a good chance for me to do some house cleaning and rearranging. We bought a computer desk that has two wings for storage underneath. The armoire and one of our desks left the office and are now on the front porch. The office is less messy and things are more accessible. The store-all table is now used as my drafting table. This fall I have a couple of drawings and proposals to do. One of them I need to get done this week because they will be done with harvest by next weekend and the men can start on the landscaping. I enjoy the design aspect of landscaping and am hoping to acquire more business in this department. I am looking to invest in a computer program for design which will make my job much more efficient.
The title of my entry is what stuck out in the sermon yesterday. I don't remember where we were reading, but the theme of the morning was - allowing God to remove the Philistine Army(s) from our lives. It is easy to get bogged down with weights or fears or whatever else Satan can bog us down with. But, if we put our trust in God and give Him our whole heart, He will help us to destroy "the Philistines."
Other Sunday highlights were that my old roomate, Mindy Wulf, was engaged to Jonathan Joos. He was an usher at our wedding. We feel they will be good for each other and are excited to have another young couple in Morris. In the evening we went to Rustin's parents with some other families for a fish fry. It was some good fish! Hopefully this week will be a little sunnier so the fall weather can be better enjoyed.

Big and Bloated

Two weekends ago we went to Tremont. It was a very nice weekend, but by the time we reached home I was sore and my feet swelling. This was the first time this happened. Sometimes I am ready for our child to come out right now. I suppose it's better if I just acquire a little patience and realize that soon enough he/she will be here. Last week was in the 40's and 50's during the day. True Minnesotans were commenting how nice the fall weather was. I personally thought that it was a little chilly to be considered fall weather. This week it is back in the 70's which is more my cup of tea. The garden is finally done. I enjoyed working with it and reaping fresh produce, canning, freezing, etc. but after awhile they can become somewhat of a burden. The only thing we have left to freeze is potatoes, but we are going to wait to do this until later. We may as well eat them while they're fresh. Last Friday I did something I don't usually do for the City. I don't totally understand it, but the runoff or something from the sewer plant empties into a drainage ditch. The phone company was running fiberoptics through the area and cut through a sewer pipe, so this caused a problem. An excavating company came in and had to redig the ditch and needed trucks to haul the mud/grass/sewage to a nearby field, so for most of the day I got to drive a big dump truck. (It is used for a snow plow in the winter.) It was fun but I felt like a definite beginner. The excavator finally would put his bucket out to the exact spot he wanted me to back up to. My only consolation was that a fellow truck driver said it looked like I had been doing this all my life rather than for my first time. He might have just been making me feel better. It was pretty enjoyable except for it would get muddy from stuff slushing out our trucks, and then he would have to push us out with his back hoe. Also carrying a baby and driving over extremely bumpy fields isn't exactly the most comfortable always.

I also started another job last week. It is couple days a week over noon time. Doug Nohl started a business called Wurst Machers which translates to Sausage Makers. We travel to area companies and grill (on a huge grill like Famous Daves' uses) pork burgers and sell them. He has a man named Benji who kind of runs the show. Everything we do is in a trailer pulled behind a pick-up. A lady named Jeannette and I mainly do the bag packaging and meat packaging when it comes off the grill and distribute food when people come to our window. This is the second week of business and we have high hopes for the future.

Today I started pressure washing the trucks from last week. It was a disgusting job that I think would have been easier to do on Friday. Then in the afternoon I went shopping in Alexandria. I have decided to start Christmas shopping while I am feeling up to it.

Babies R Us

Michelle Mueller stayed with us last week - one last vacation before school started. We went boating on Sat. We mainly stayed close to shore and viewed the spectacular lake homes. Unfortunately both of us had to work so Michelle had the mornings to her self. (I don't think she minded the R & R.) My boss' dad passed away so I worked by myself the entire week except Friday. More mowing, painting, and branch clean-up got done. There are 57 fire hydrants in Hancock and 55 of them were painted by me. The other two were brand new. In the afternoons we had to do some canning, but one of the days we went to Alexandria shopping. It is a quaint little tourist town. The mainstreet is lined with shops so we stopped there. Rustin had to truck a couple evenings, so Michelle road with him once. She decided trucking maybe wasn't for her. As she headed home on Sat., we headed to the Cities to clean-up Rustin's dad's business. It took all day to cut and haul branches, so I was beat by the end of the day. We stayed at the apt. down there and went to Cities church on Sunday. It was the same weekend of the State Fair so there were several visitors. For those of you who don't recieve the Minneapolis Star Tribune, you missed a top story involving some of my relatives, the Wulfs. Wulf Limousin Farm was unloading their bulls when one of them got loose at the Fair. It couldn't find any other bulls so it got scared and took off running through the crowd of fair-goers. For some unknown reason (I think it was meant to happen) it bucked a fire-hydrant and fell dead on the spot. Fortunately no one was hurt and the city people had some excitement for their day. We didn't go to the fair, but instead after church went to the Mall of America to walk around. Our purpose for going to the cities was to baby shop. On Monday we hit Babies R Us and Target and purchased items such as crib, changing table, stroller, carseat, pack n play- using our parents' gift money. Since it was both of our first time in Babies R Us, we thought it was a neat store. After an all day shopping spree, we now feel like we are more prepared to have our baby. I'm glad Rustin was along to help choose items. Soon he will have no time to go shopping as he will be in the fields. Tomorrow we leave for Tremont, and sadly enough this will be the last time before the baby arrives. Just a side note: I have had dreams about the baby being either sex, so I think there is no clear sign as to what we are having. We will wait and see!

The Bat Fiasco

I really thought I was going to have to move before I was even in this house for one year. In an 8 day period we had 6 bats. Mostly they would come out at 3 or 4 in the morning. We were thankful for the tennis racket (and for Rustin). I think by the end he was sick of killing them. We found a company called Exclusive Bat Proofing on the Internet and called them up. We were put on a 2 week waiting list but given high hopes. Let me tell you, it was a long two weeks. They came the day we left for IL and did their job. As you can see, first there is proof of bats in our house. They put a 25 year sealant on all the cracks around our house, mainly on the roof. They also put up wire mesh doors, so the the bats already in the house could get out, but no new ones could get in. Thus far it has been a sucsessfull investment. I still cringe when I open the basement door, but I suppose in time, I will get over this. Unfortunately if you have bats and live outside of the state of MN you will have to find someone else to service your problem, as they only cater to Minnesotans.

Life otherwise has been hectic. Rustin is now hauling silage for the Dairy and does this when they need him from 4pm to 2am. I rode with him till midnight and decided I needed some sleep. I have been doing much canning and freezing in the past weeks. Since it has rained and temps are falling I have been helping my boss with his side job of seeding lawns in the afternoons and evenings. This explains the lack of updates. It's too bad that computers haven't advanced to where you think a thought and it types. Well maybe they have, but it hasn't reached MN yet.

Detroit Lakes

This is a picture of my two cute nieces. They seem to like each other. We had an enjoyable time at Detroit Lakes. On Saturday evening Dad S., Eric, Rustin and I went fishing. This was the first time I remember going fishing with die-hards. (minus Rustin) I caught a Northern, but unfortunately I don't have a picture of it. It got thrown back into the lake. We were on the lake for 3 hours. This was plenty long for me considering how many fish I caught. On Sunday afternoon we went to a flea market. We got some bargains and lots of sun. Other than this we mainly lazed around and went swimming. Very relaxing. This week has consisted of working in the mornings and canning and freezing beans and corn in the afternoons. Also I am currently in a pitch-all mood so there is major organizing going on. I got our brick-edge finished one afternoon, so now all we need is mulch and a little bit of rock. This weekend is the Stevens County Fair which is a mixture of the Tazewell County 4-H fair and the Tremont Turkey Festival, downsized. We plan to go there tonight and delight in greasy fair food. We leave tomorrow for Tremont for the weekend.

Wisconsin Dells

It's vacation time! On Wed. the 18 I went with my mother-in-law to St. Cloud to go shopping. By the way I was wanting to spend money, I could tell it was time for another shopping trip. Rustin met us there after work, and we headed down to the cities to stay at his Dad's work apartment. Thurs. morning we went to IKEA and some other little shops and then we met my family in the Dells. It had been awhile since I'd seen everyone so it was good to see them again. We stayed at the Tamarack resort, which I would recommend. It is a couple miles from the main drag, but it is very scenic and the traffic is much calmer. Besides, you have to drive practically everywhere on the main drag anyway. We crashed and bought a few groceries. We ate supper at Moosejaw Lodge. Good food. We tried their infamous mozz. sticks wrapped in egg rolls. Excellent! On Friday we mini-golfed and went to Riverworld Waterpark. Because of the baby I tried to tame down a little. Saturday we ate at Paul Bunyan's restaurant. After lunch we went to the Tommy Bartlett Show and played Bocce ball. In the evening Dad, Mom, Rustin, and I went to the Wisconsin Opry. We were among the youngest people there. After CD church on Sunday we went and rode the Original Wisconsin Ducks. They maneuver on land and water. Mom and I agreed this was our favorite part of the vacation. Check out these chicks!

We played more mini-golf that afternoon. On Monday Rustin, Bob, Susan, and Matt went to Mt. Olympus to enjoy water and themepark rides. Dad, Mom, and I decided we wouldn't get our money's worth, so we opted out. Mom and I went shopping instead and found some bargains. That evening we packed up to leave the next morning, bright and early. On the way home, Rustin and I stopped in Rochester to visit his uncle who had open heart surgery. He wasn't in Mayo clinic, but the nearby St. Mary's Hospital. After a short work week, it's hard to believe the weekend is already here. We are going with Rustin's family up to a cabin on Detroit Lakes for an extended weekend. It's too bad we can't vacation all summer!

Itasca State Park

First of all, here is our baby waving hi to you! July 4th seems like a while ago. Rustin was up at the firehall for a pancake and sausage breakfast at 6:00. I went up to eat with him at 8:30. Then we went back at noon for lunch and at 12:30 we set up barricades for the parade. Rustin drove a big 4 wheel drive tractor with an applicator and anhydrous tank pulling behind. I pulled the classic "Hancock drum" with the city pick-up. My father-in-law says that it was in the parade when he was a kid. It was fun, but I hardly knew anyone on the sidelines. Vern, my boss, rode with me, and his grandsons threw candy from the back. We went to Rustin's aunt and uncles for supper and then went to the Community sing. (we watched) In the evening Rustin helped light the fire works. It was a nice 80 some degrees but this is what he looked like.

I sat at the car and craned my neck to see the fireworks. Overall they were nice and loud. Since it is after the 4th my hours have been cut back to 7-12. Seems like my afternoons get filled with landscaping, garden stuff or other house chores. This past Friday and Saturday, Rustin and I took his parent's camper up to Itasca State Park and camped. This is where the Missisippi Headwaters are. It was very pretty. We also took our bikes and started down a 17 mile bike trail. 3 miles down we decided we had done enough hills so we headed back to our camp site. 6 miles was perfect for us.

On Sunday afternoon we went to Starbuck Beach for a picnic. Ginny Wulf and some girls from Gridley were up, as well as Curt and Norma Witzig and family. It was enjoyable to drive Brent's boat and to watch people freeze as they swam. This week is flying by, but as promised here is some pictures of our new landscape. To get the full picture, you'll have to come visit!

July 1, 2007

It seems like a long time since I have seen this computer. Same old thing. More painting of curbs, garbage cans and park benches - which I've been told isn't the best thing to do when pregnant. Hopefully after the 4th this will come to an end. Tomorrow and Tuesday will be long hours because of more setting up and sprucing up. After the 4th I have a feeling that things will slow down drastically. Last Friday I pulled a sweeper behind the town's pick-up. It took me 6 hours but was pretty enjoyable. More landscaping (trimming) has been done in the evenings so Rustin and I have been busy. We finally have our landscaping almost done. It looks much better to have the weeds covered and plants planted. Pictures will follow.

Last weekend Greg and Mary came up to visit. We spent the day in Alexandria shopping and mini-golfing. In the evening we had friends and relatives over for a weiner roast. We invited our friends Greg and Sheila Reuter, but they had their little baby boy on Friday night. So instead we went and visited them at the hospital. His name is Emerson Jerry Reuter. Last night we took them supper and mother and baby are doing pretty well. They say you don't know what lack of sleep is until you have kids. Sheila can attest to this. We are excited that our kids will be close to the same age and hopefully will atleast get along.

Hope you have a great 4th!!!

News

Okay, so I have been a little lacking in updating the Blog. Sorry about that. It seems like Summer is here and I spend all of my time outside and not in front of the computer. As life goes on I realize that sometimes it's just better to keep my mouth shut. It's not a good idea to tell people when you are or aren't going to have kids because you just never know, one might show up in mid November. Everything is going well as far as we know. We got to see the baby move on the ultrasound. That was cool. Now we have a few months to get used to the idea that we are going to be parents soon. Last night we were with a couple that is due next week. We decided that we should get together one last time while we are childless.
At work I have been very busy sprucing up Hancock for the 4th of July. I mow, clean storm drains, trim trees, paint fire hydrants, and most recently paint curbs. This latest task will take me awhile to get them all done. I'm glad Hancock isn't any bigger. I have a boss but mainly work by myself. I enj0y this. I can pretty well come and go as I choose. I am only supposed to work 20 hours, but lately it has been more like 30. Things will slow down after the 4th.
In the evenings, Rustin and I have been tackling some small landscaping projects. It makes for a long day, but so far we have enjoyed working together and slowly we are getting our name out.
It seems like our social life goes in cycles. Sometimes we have nothing going on for a few weekends. Lately we have been busy, busy, busy. It can be challenging deciding what fun activities to do. I'm not complaining, though. Tonight we are meeting some families at a park for a cookout. We are the only kidless couple, so it should be interesting being with a whole bunch of kids.
We are doing a garden with Trevor and Jody. So far everything is coming up pretty well. It has rained alot so this helps Jody out. It is at their house. I go over once a week to help weed. We put straw and grass clippings down, so this has helped immensely on the weed population. Hopefully we get a good crop to can and freeze.
I hope everyone has a Happy Father's Day tomorrow and may we remember our Heavenly Father and all He has done for us.

Separation

Last week Rustin and I were separated from each other by two states. I went home to Tremont to attend two of my sibling's graduations. I also spent time with family and friends. I was priveleged to go visit my week old niece, Abbi. She is pictured on the left. She slept most of the time and of course is as cute as a button. Thankfully Rustin and I were able to converse via telephone or I don't know what we would've done. I returned home on Friday, just in time for people from the Tremont Young Group to show up for Memorial Weekend. We had a houseful of girls on Sat. night and Sun. night we kept cousins and Bob. It was a very enjoyable weekend. Monday we went to the Cities to help Rustin's Dad move into his "for work apartment." It is cheaper than buying hotel rooms for a couple nights a week. On Tuesday I started my job for the City of Hancock. I picked up branches and cleaned storm drains. Good thing I did this because it rained Tues. night and Wed. The drains were somehow clogged up by the end of Wed. On Wed. I cleaned out the shop. Today I mowed from 7 to 4. Needless to say I have a nice burn.

This morning a first happened which I hope is a last. To back up... 2 weeks ago I went downstairs to do laundry. As I reached the bottom of the stairs a bat started flying at me. I shrieked and started running up the stairs. Rustin, thinking I had fallen down the stairs quickly ran over to see the commotion. This is when he realized there was a bat. He quickly slammed the door and went to get the broom. Of course, when he went back down there was no bat in sight. Then for two weeks there was no sight of a bat. You could hear it scratching in the walls at night which freaked me out. Then at 4:30 this morning I heared this whirring noise in our room and thunk thunk. I immediately knew it was the bat. I dove under the covers and started kicking Rustin awake and saying the bat is here. He didn't hear it at first and it took him a while to come to full conciousness, but then he dove under the covers. Once it hit the wall so hard that it was momentarily stunned. Rustin rushed out of bed and ran downstairs to get the tennis racket. After a few swings he killed it and took it downstairs with a pliers. I told him I didn't even want to see the ugly thing. For all of you who now may not want to stay with us, please reconsider! We plan to call the bat exterminator and have our house exterminated. This is just one of the joys of living in an old house. Rustin saved the day and truly is my hero!

The Time Flies On

The time really does fly by. Sometimes I wonder where it goes. It seems like it has only been a couple days since I updated my blog rather than a week. The Garage Sale was a success. 25 garages were on the map for the Hancock townwides. Kara Messner and Susie Wulf brought some of their things and stayed to help me, so I was able to shop around for a little bit also. I just love garage saling; especially when I find good deals. I bought a wheel barrow and a fertilizer spreader and Rustin found a sledge hammer. We only have a couple boxes left to take to Salvation Army, so I say the sale was a success.

Last week Rustin and I were working on a retaining wall for our friends Mark and Lori. It was again on the outside of a cement pad to hold the gravel in. I was feeling pretty proud of myself that the wall was fairly level until I got to the end and the block was 2.5 inches above the concrete. Then my intelligent husband made the comment that the driveway sloped 2.5 inches. The little things I don't take into consideration! So, we went back about 12 feet and gradually sloped the wall so that it butted up to the driveway. Someday I'll learn my lesson and not jump into a project without looking at all angles.

This week I have been working on a lady's landscape in Hancock. It was a pile of weeds and perennials that she didn't want anymore. She told me to clean it up and put in something she won't have to touch. The only thing I can think of is decorative rock, but I don't think that is what she had in mind. I put in a couple of bushes and brick edge, and today I will finish up by putting in the rock. Yesterday it was upper 80's and today it is 65 so there must be something going through.

I became an aunt again on Mother's Day. Eric and ReKeeta had a little girl in the afternoon. They named her Abigail Lisa Leman. I haven't seen a picture of her yet so I can't share what she looks like. I'm sure she is cute though. I am excited because I will get to see her while I am in Illinois. The rest of the week looks like cleaning the house and finishing up a few ID and trimming jobs. I plan to leave on Friday when Rustin goes to work. So hopefully I will see many of you soon!

Farmer "Tax Season"

It has been eons since I have been able to sit in front of my computer and update my life. Sorry for all of you who diligently read the Sharon saga. The past two weeks I have arose with the sun and went to work at Trico from 6:30 till 8:30. I usually answer the never-ending telephone, file, and sweep the floors. It's amazing how much dirt the guys track in in a day. Then, since this week was the end of one month and the beginning of another month, I stayed longer on a few days to help out the bookkeeper. Rustin has generally been working from 6 till about 9-10 at night. Everyone wants fertilizer NOW. It makes for great togetherness, but atleast this will only last a month or two. I have been spending a great deal of time out at Trevor and Jody's helping them on a landscaping project. They put in a cement patio in their back yard, so we put retaining wall around it. I love it. When the project is finished I will update with pictures. I have been getting landscaping or maintenance jobs here and there, so I think I will spend most of my summer doing what I love best. When Rustin slows down, he hopes to help with some projects. Yesterday it finally rained. Everyone was glad for the reprieve. Since Rustin was home for the evening we actually got to celebrate his birthday. I made him my favorite meal, which is roast, potatoes, and carrots, which he likes too. Then we worked on putting together a futon bunkbed which we purchased to house more company. Today it is raining also, so he didn't have to work long. I think we are going to relax. Tonight we have testimonies so I am looking forward to those. This next week I am looking forward to the Hancock town-wide garage sales. I doubt they are as well traveled as Tremont's but this will be my first garage sale ever. I guess I have alot of cleaning, hiding, and tagging to do!

Spring is here, I think!

I had a very nice, relaxing weekend with my parents this weekend. They arrived on Friday afternoon, and we sat around visiting until Rustin got off work. We then went to A. Stella's auction. Thankfully we all took coats because as the evening wore on, it got a little chilly. Rustin helped his dad with the auctioning, so I got to bid on everything. We ended up taking a few tools home. Mom even bought a blanket and many cookies for the kids there. Afterwards we went to Rustin's parents for pizza. Saturday we slept in a little. After a waffle breakfast we toured Trico. My parents thought it was a neat little place. We had to drive around the yard because it was a big mud pit and none of us were too excited about getting muddy. Rustin and Dad went back to the house and Mom and I went up to Bent and Dent to get some deals. We left with only a couple of bags, so it wasn't too bad. It seems like when parents are around work gets done. I don't know if it's the motivation thing or if it's because there are more helping hands. Anyways, we cleaned out our basement and garage. We can actually walk in our garage now. We were storing a kid's 4-wheeler for some friends. Dad was pretty excited to ride it to their house. Too bad we didn't have the camera ready. We delivered all the goods and ate Subway for a late lunch. We found out that instead of having a two bathroom house, we now have a four bathroom house. While cleaning the garage, my dad thought this one room looked like it could be an outhouse. After moving junk around and some prying of boards, we found a two-seater. It was quite an exciting find. I guess this tells how old our house is. Thankfully someone had filled the holes in. The rest of the evening we played Rummikub and Phase 10. Grandpa, you should be proud: your eldest stomped us in Phase 10.
On Sunday we had butterbraid and eggs for breakfast and then headed off to church. Mom and
Dad enjoyed visiting their old friends and people they thought they knew; they just had to ask them their name. Rustin's parents are visiting ReKeeta and Eric so we checked the trap and fed/watered the cats. He has been noticing that much cat food has been missing, so this explains the trap. He suspected a racoon. Friday he caught a skunk, so we were hoping this was the end of it. Of course not! A huge racoon was caught in the live trap. It definitely filled the trap. We suspected it was well fed with cat food. Rustin shot it twice in the head, but it wouldn't die. We decided to leave it and come back later when it was for sure dead. It all grosses me out, so I just watched from inside the house. (When we came back later, rhigamortis (sp) had set in. Now we just have to dispose of it and clean the trap. After this excitement we went to Dave and Nancy Wulf's for a snack and visit. After much laughter and talking, we went home so Mom and Dad could get on the road. In the evening we were invited to U. Gary and A. Velma Domnick's. I was excited to learn that they were serving fish. I don't get it very often and it was some good Northern as usual.
Today has been spent doing much laundry. The awesome part is that I have my windows open and a short sleeve shirt on. I never thought I'd see the day of short sleeves. Spring has sprung!

Our Second Guest

Hope everyone had a nice Easter. We went to Rustin's parents house for a nice chicken dinner. I took jello and one of them flopped. It was a good thing I took two. I think I must have put too much liquid in because it didn't set right. The disgusting thing was that I have made this jello before and this never happened. I guess learning from our mistakes is our best teacher. On Monday I spent the entire day giving our house a good cleaning. Since this task isn't really my forte, it took a little while. Then in the evening I went to Amber Nohl's for supper. Doug and Rustin and some other men had to go move our A. Stella's stuff for the big auction coming up tomorrow night. The other reason for going to Amber's was to pick up Michelle Mueller, our guest. On Tuesday we woke up bright and early to go shopping in Willmar. The forecasters were calling for lots of snow so we decided to leave early and beat it. There is a fabric warehouse in Willmar, so that was our main intent for shopping there. Michelle bought some fabric and then we went to the Mall so I could return something. After a bit more shopping we ate at our favorite restaurant, Culver's. The closest Culver's is 45 min. away, so I take every chance I get to eat there. By the time we arrived in Hancock it was very windy and freezing cold. No snow, though. We visited Rustin at work, and unfortunately for Michelle, since it was so cold, we didn't feel like taking the Trico tour. We then went to the local Bent and Dent store. Michelle didn't act as impressed as I am with the store. I like to buy fruit snacks for Rustin there. In the evening we took the truck in for repairs and went out to eat at Pizza Ranch. While we were eating, it started to snow. It snowed through the night, and thus, ruined our plans for Wednesday. We were planning to go to Alec and shop around there but decided it would be better not to get stranded 45 min. from home. Instead we slept in and lazed around all morning. It cleared off in the afternoon so we ate lunch at the local restaurant, Buddies. It is the new bar and grill in Hancock. I have never been there in the evening, but they say that the smoke factor is a lot less in the afternoon. Rustin and I like the food and recommend it to anyone who is driving through Hancock. Later on, Michelle and I went to Morris and did a little browsing and picked up the pickup. For supper we made Polachinka (sp.) This is a favorite of mine and basically it is a thin pancake kind of like a crepe and I put jam or cinnamon/sugar on the polachinka, roll it up and sprinkle powdered sugar over the top. It is an excellent meal any time of the day. In the evening we went to church. This morning Michelle left at 8:30 to head south. Tomorrow my parents arrive for the weekend. The visitors are pouring in! We appreciate every one that comes, just give us a heads-up.

Good Friday

Rustin and I had one of our first compromising situations this week. I prefer longer hair and he prefers buzzed hair, so we compromised that in the Summer he will have short hair, and in the Winter he will have long hair. So, for those of you who saw him last weekend, he looks totally different. Unfortunately for him, it turned cold after we cut it. He has received many comments on his nice haircut!
This last Wednesday evening was Morris' Easter Program. Each child up through 7th grade recited part of a poem or scripture which centered aroung Easter. Having grown up singing a song with my class, I was impressed that none of the kids got gun shy. They all did a good job. Throughout the evening the Bible Class and 8th grade sang Easter songs. At the end each of the children who performed and in those the audience received a bag of peanut butter M&M's.
On Thursday I awoke with Rustin at 6:45 which is very unusual. His mom and I went to Alexandria, more commonly pronounced Alec, to go shopping. I went along mainly for the social outing and for the monthly trip to WalMart. Nobody except his mom, Jody, and I appreciate Chinese cuisine so we enjoyed a delicious lunch at The China Buffet. We checked out the used book store in town and found a few bargains. Then we went to Ron's Warehouse, which is a store that you never know what treasures you are going to find. I decided I am going to have to go back when I have more time to browse. That evening Rustin had to help a friend move, so I stayed home and cleaned out our guest bedroom. Our second guest arrives next week.
Today hasn't been overly stressful. It's cold outside still, so it's better to stay inside. I have been filing papers for Rustin's dad and did the dishes. You'd be surprised at how many dishes two people can go through in a couple days time! Today I have also stopped and pondered at what our Savior went through on this day for us. It's unfathomable. Wishing everyone a Happy Easter!

The return to Minnesota

This was the sight I awoke to this morning. Actually it's after I shoveled, but it's a little windy. Whatever happened to April SHOWERS? It's only supposed to stick around until the weekend, and then next week is supposed to be in the 50's. We had a very nice weekend in Tremont. We arrived around 2 am on Friday and royally surprised my parents later on that morning. They even slept through the watch dog alarm. Everybody except Mom went to work or school, so Mom and us ate brunch at Bob Evans. We had to do a little grocery shopping for the weekend. It's amazing to me that I can go an entire week without seeing someone I know, and during the 2 hours I was in Pekin I saw at least 4 people I know. In the afternoon Rustin put together a desk that was Matthew's birthday and graduation present. I went to my hair thinning appointment. I haven't found anyone in Morris yet, so I have to get it done while in Tremont. Friday evening we had some people over for games and to try out our new icecream maker. It took 3 hours and it still wasn't completely done but it tasted okay. On Saturday morning we met Eric and ReKeeta at Cracker Barrel in Morton. We had good food and good visiting. For lunch we went to U. Dennis and A. Mike's for the annual Koch Potato Feast. It was awesome as usual and I ate way too much. It's kind of like with haystacks where you start small and all of a sudden you have a mound. In the evening my family celebrated Bob and Matthew's birthdays. On Sunday we went to church and it was good to see everyone there. People say "welcome to Tremont," but I don't feel like a visitor; I feel like it is still somewhat my home, so thats kind of strange. I know they are being nice, though. In the evening we went to U. Dean and A. Karen's for Easter. Once again a feast was served. We sat around and sang, visited and played games. Rustin and I left for MN around 8 Monday morning. We stopped in Minneapolis at IKEA and looked around. We plan to do our bathroom this summer so it's always neat to look at different ideas. Then we met his dad for supper. He was on business in the Cities so it worked out perfectly. We arrived home around 9 and crashed. As I said earlier, I awoke to 3-4 inches of snow that needed to be shoveled. Thankfully it won't stick around for weeks. The job hunt keeps going with more possible prospects.

Causeway on Gull

I know, it's hard to believe that I could be so busy that I didn't have time to update my blog for a week. That's life! Causeway on Gull was just what I needed to relax and recoup and get away from the same old. On Friday night, Rustin and I went to St. Cloud which is about halfway to Gull lake. His aunt lives there so we visited her for a couple of hours. Then on Sat morning we went shopping. I think this was the forth time I've been shopping since I've been married. Some days I miss the Peoria closeness. Later on in the afternoon we met his parents up at Causeway on Gull. Of course we forgot our camera so I have no pictures to show. If you go to Causeway on Gull.com you can see where we stayed. We decided the entire Schmidgall family could stay there pretty comfortably. There is a hot tub in the house so we spent some time there. We pretty well ate food, played games, did puzzles, and lazed around, relaxing for the weekend. On Sunday, Rustin and I thought we would be adventurous and play tennis. The front desk said the courts were clear, so we ventured over to play. Needless to say, there was a foot of snow on the court so we had to make our own court in the parking lot. After supper on Sunday, Rustin and I headed home. It took about three hours. I would like to go back to the resort in the summer. I think they would have more options for outside recreation. Rustin's parents ended up staying there the entire week.

Last week, Rustin and I made two trips to Iowa. They bought this semi truck and trailer that needed a wet tank mounted on the trailer. On Tuesday we drove the truck down and the company gave us a car to come back home. That was a long day. We could've stayed down there, but Rustin has been very busy at work sandblasting and painting The Wulf Farm's gates. They have a big sale coming up at the end of the month. So, on Thursday after work, we headed back down to Iowa and stayed in a motel. Early Friday morning we picked up the semi and headed up north, back to work. I made a lot of progress on my thank-yous. It seems like there is always something more enjoyable to do, but I just want to get them done so I can move on to other projects. Rustin and I kind of agreed that no decorating can be done until the thank-yous are done. I think I only have a couple of days left! I went to a couple's house last week and got some creative ideas for decorating our house. It's amazing what a little paint can do. Last week we also bought a piano for the right price. All I have to do is strip and varnish it and it will be ready for our house. For all those interested, I am still looking for a job. Sometimes it's nice to set my own schedule, but other times it would be nice to be contributing the household income. This afternoon my niece Tiffany is coming over, so her mom can go help out at school. I'm sure there won't be a dull moment!

The Housewife

I have posted a couple of pictures of the snow we received in the past week. Thankfully it is supposed to be in the upper 30's so some of it will melt. This week I decided that I need to exercise. Unfortunately the scale told me that one. After Rustin leaves for work I take a 2 mile trek around town. It took me awhile to figure out my route because Hancock is such a confusing town. If any of you have been to Hopedale, Il you know what I mean. There is a railroad that runs through town that is not parallel to any main roads. So, half the town is parallel to the railroad, half the town is parallel to the main road, and the other half of town is parallel to I don't know what. I have found that after this brisk walk, I feel awake and ready to attack the day. This week I have been focusing on writing thank-yous, so you should be getting yours in the next month or two. It takes alot longer than I thought it would. The rest of my day consists of cooking, emailing, dishes, laundry, grocery shopping, and whatever else I can think of to take up time. It's really not that bad, but I am very ready for spring. I am applying for a few more jobs, so we'll just wait and see what happens. One job I already have is answering phones at Trico (where Rustin works) between 6:30 and 8:30 am. It seems I am becoming an early to bed, early to rise woman. My sister-in-law is a consultant for Swiss Colony. (like Pampered Chef or those other parties) Tonight she is hosting at one of my friend's house, so I will go and spend some more of Rustin's money. I showed him the magazine though, and he picked out some things that looked good to him. Swiss Colony consists of alot of food items and some home decor. Tomorrow we have our tax appointment and then we are heading to St. Cloud to go shopping and visit his aunt. St. Cloud is halfway between here and Causeway on Gull where we plan to spend the weekend. I am ready for this relaxing trip!

Life in Minnesota

Hello everyone!
After almost 2 months of being married, I am finally starting my blog. The past 2 months have been spent: putting wedding gifts away
getting rid of Rustin's 'treasures' (don't worry, I haven't been too mean!
finding places for all of my junk
cleaning
I am beginning to feel like a real housewife. Every day he comes home for lunch, or if you're in MN - dinner, so I get to cook 2 meals a day. Lots of times he gets leftovers for lunch, but he doesn't mind. The last two weeks we have been housesitting/babysitting a family from church. After watching 2 high-schoolers and 1 grade-schooler, we have decided that we are glad we are kidless so far. They are way busier than we are used to. As of today we have 18 inches of snow and it looks like we could get around a foot more. I'm glad to be indoors most of the time. At least when it is snowing (in March) the temp. stays around freezing. I never really understood what -30 meant until I experienced it. We haven't even been too house-bound. We just put on 4 wheel drive and plow through. Since the house is finally starting to look in order, I am starting to put out resumes and maybe get a job. I am looking for a flexible job that I can do some landscaping on the side in the summer. Rustin tells me good luck, but we'll see. Since I do such a horrible job of emailing, this will be the best way to keep up with my life. unless you call me!
Take Care!