Welcome Baby Chloe!

My brother Glen and his wife Emily welcomed their firstborn

into the world late Thursday night.

She is a beautiful baby girl named

Chloe Jo Gregerson.

Congratulations Glen and Emily!

Ken's deep theological thought while on campus...

Today I (Ken) was walking from the seminary library to class, and I learned something profound. My favorite candy bar is not Reeses Peanut Butter Cup as I had always thought. As I munched on a Butterfinger, I realized that Butterfinger is much better.

And you thought seminarians spent all their time pondering the trinity and the providence of God.

What are we doing these days?

We haven't disappeared...we've just started school again. And "we" is very accurate. Last week, I took a J-Term Seminary Wives Institute course called Conflict Management. I am still working on my assignments, which are all due at the end of January. Ken is in a J-Term class this week called The Worshipping Church. He has really enjoyed it. He finishes up today, maybe even as I am writing this post. So we have been trading off on caring for the boys, and trying to get them to bed early each night so we can both do our class reading.

Our Last Christmas Party of the Season

Last night, we had our Sunday school class over for a late Christmas/New Year's party. It's kind of fun to let the Christmas season linger on into January! We had a delicious potluck ham dinner. Between the dining room table at full length...


And a second dining table set up in the entry way...

We comfortably sat fifteen people for dinner! Here are a few pictures of our friends enjoying the fellowship in our home:

This group on the couch is watching the Packers game. What Christmas party is complete without football, right?




We also played a group game that revealed some little-known facts about one another. Every one's kiddos were with baby-sitters, so we all actually enjoyed some uninterrupted conversations. It was a fun night! And now, it's time for the Christmas decorations to come down.

Calvin, the defender of truth II

Well, Calvin is at it again. A month ago two men came to our door. They were Jehovah's Witnesses. Kimberly and I visited with them and I pressed them on the issue of who is Jesus. They replied that he is 'a god'. We showed them Scripture after Scripture that showed that Jesus is God, the God.

Time passed and we thought nothing of it. Three mornings ago Calvin said to Kimberly and me at breakfast, "Those two men said that Jesus is 'a god', but that is not right, he is the God!

Wow, what a lesson for us as parents. Our children are always listening and they are always learning. The Bible says that we are to, "...teach them (the Scriptures) diligently to your children..." (Deut 6:7). Every moment we are teaching something about God to our children in words AND actions.

Christmas Cards

We have enjoyed receiving Christmas cards and photos this year from family and friends new and old. A couple years ago, my cousins Jeff and Nancy had all their cards on one wall in their home. It looked fun and festive and really put the cards on display. So I stole their idea and created our own Christmas card wall.

As is our tradition, when I take down all our Christmas decorations (mid-January for me!), I will tuck all the Christmas cards from 2007 in one of the decoration boxes. Next year, when I decorate once again for Christmas, I'll take out the stack of 2007 cards and Ken and I will sit together and look through them once more. I plan to use the cards after that to make Christmas crafts with Calvin and Teddy.

Thank you, friends and family, for all the cards and photos! Can you spot yours in the photo?

Good Friends

My good friends Bill and Heidi Sprouse drove through Louisville on New Year's Day and spent a night at our home (As my mom said, "Oh! The Schmidt hotel is open again!"). It was so fun to see them. Heidi is pregnant with their first child, due in March, so I got to see her pregnant belly. So cute! We celebrated Bill and Heidi's fourth wedding anniversary on Wednesday morning with our good friends Matt and Ashley Wireman. Bill and Heidi are the ones in the picture with the red "Special Plates" in front of them. Ken is admittedly looking a little out of it in the picture- he worked two days of double shifts, stayed up late visiting with Bill and Heidi, played with Teddy Dean at 3 a.m., then got up at 8 a.m. for our little breakfast celebration. Good man!

I've been reflecting on my friendships with Heidi and Ashley. The three of us first met in the summer of 1999, when we roomed together on a Campus Crusade for Christ summer project in San Diego. We were all from different states and attended different universities. We could have easily said good-bye at the end of the summer and never seen eachother again. But God has graciously allowed our paths to cross in many unique ways over the past 8 1/2 years.

Heidi is from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Her family became my home away from home during my college years, even when she was away at UW-Stout. She and Ashley were roommates at Crusade staff training in Colorado. I travelled there and visited them for a few nights that summer. Heidi was a bridesmaid in my wedding. When she fell in love with Bill, she asked Ken to perform their marriage ceremony.

Matt and Ashley married in South Carolina, then moved to Minneapolis to attend The Bethlehem Institute. The Schmidts and Wiremans enjoyed living in the same area for two years, getting together for many Settlers of Catan evenings, baseball games, and good food. Now, Matt and Ken both attend Southern Seminary. More amazing to me, we now live less than 2 1/2 miles from the Wiremans!

God gives so many good gifts and I am thankful to Him for these friendships. Thank you also to Heidi and Ashley, for keeping in touch and sharing your lives with me. You have both encouraged me greatly in my walk with God and your lives are a testimony of faith as well.