Sarah & Kyle Schmidt
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will
reap, if we do not give up.
—Galatians 6:9
This year has been a year filled with many things for which to give thanks. On July 9 we were blessed with a safe birth and delivery of Theodore (gift of God) Tobias (God is good). Because labor was so long with Charlotte, I, Sarah, was determined to keep busy as long as possible to avoid wasting time at the birth center. To keep my mind off the labor, I let Kyle track the timing of contractions while I got busy working outside watering plants, blowing debris off the patio, etc. I was going to finish off by cleaning out the chicken coop when Kyle urged me to come inside. I told him it wasn’t time to go, but in his wisdom, he insisted on calling the midwife, who asked that we head in. About 4 hours after our arrival, Theodore was born, and 4 hours after that, we were headed home again! Conveniently, my parents agreed to take Lottie on vacation with them to the Dells a few days after Theodore’s birth. It was a huge blessing to us as it allowed us to rest and recover and adapt to again having a newborn. Theodore has adapted well to our crazy family and rolls along with about anything going on.
We decided to try out early preschool for precocious Lottie at Traders Point Christian School two mornings a week beginning in August. This allows us to get work done around the house more efficiently while also being able to give Theodore some one-on-one time. Lottie absolutely loves school and looks forward to it each week! After the first day of school, she came home saying her teacher’s name, which quite impressed her teacher.
Lottie is a smart cookie with a developing sense of humor. To elicit a reaction, she
often says whatever words she thinks might cause a laugh. She also has an excellent
command of the English language. One evening after bedtime, all was quiet throughout the
house. Sarah and Kyle were on the couch, sipping tea. Then, echoing from the bowels of the
house, Lottie’s voice rang out: DIARRHEA!!
She is also developing a love for making
her little brother, whom she adores, laugh.
Due to the busyness brought on by having a second child, we decided it is time for me to stay at home with our sweet children. My last day of working with Eagle Creek Nursery & Landscape was November 1. I am thrilled to have a little more time to work on projects that have been on delay such as finishing a quilt for our queen bed that I started November 2022 and expanding our garden that I annually overplant, forgetting to leave space for walking through (life is more exciting if you have to go on a scavenger hunt for your veggies and fruits). To celebrate my transition, Kyle held a surprise retirement party where those in attendance dressed as old people and colored their hair with baby powder.
Kyle is still working as an emergency room veterinarian and has been spending a lot of
time developing his ultrasound skills, most recently finding an intestinal foreign body in
a ferret! Earlier this year, Kyle took a dog to surgery. It had been vomiting and having
diarrhea off and on for over 8 months, which was when it was adopted. Everyone was curious
as the pup had been in to see the vet several times. In surgery, Kyle found a stuffed lamb
chop toy in the stomach. Excited, his medical director took the stuffed animal out to show
those waiting outside the operating room. Kyle then called her back in…. There was more!
Out came another lamb chop. The medical director brought that to the waiting room and
exclaimed, It’s twins!
only for Kyle to come out moments later swinging the last
one from an instrument and shouting, Triplets!!!
I feel deeply blessed to be in a family that can spend time together peacefully. In April, all the married siblings decided to house together at an Airbnb in Kentucky for an extended weekend. It was a refreshing time of sharing old memories, making new ones, and reconnecting with siblings who live farther away.