It must be in the water...

So it is officially public news and a lot of you already know but I can officially be excited. I am going to be an Auntie again in 2010. My brother Steve and his beautiful wife Kassi are expecting.

Steve texted me late one night and told me he HAD to talk to me and wanted me to meet him on iChat. It was 11:30 my time, 8:30 in Cali….I thought I can call him tomorrow. But then my phone rang and I was up. My brother is such a wonderful support to me that I knew I had to at least talk to him if he was upset about something. As soon as I answered he noticed I had been sleeping and felt so bad. He then says "well we can talk more about this later I just wanted to let you know real quick that we are going to have a baby." I was up, smiling and laughing. I was so excited for them I pretty much pushed Troy off the computer so I could talk to both of them live. Needless to say I was so excited I barley could go back to sleep. So much fun! My vote is they are having a boy, he will be adorable, blue eyes and dark hair, can’t wait to see him, I hope he has tons of hair when he is born.

At this point I will become an auntie 2 times next year and I am very excited for all these new babies. This makes for a very busy 2010.

In Date Order:

Kristen & Kyle – Due January 22 (sister-in-law) having a boy

Kassi & Steve – Due May 15 (sister-in-law) don't know yet

Obviously there is no way it is the water one in Kansas in the mid-west and one in Cali on the west coast. Unless they are all drinking the same bottled water there is no possibility but it does seem like baby season is here to stay, at least for the next couple of years....anyone else need to make an announcement out there???

Kassi when she was little

Steve when he was little


Just for fun...

Kristen when she was little

Kyle when he was little

I am going to have the cutest nephew's or niece.

Prayerfull Snippet

You know those times in your life when you look around and realize everyone is getting married or everyone is having babies. Well, I feel over whelmed by the number of people having pregnancy problems and health issues with there infants. Now for the sake of my loved ones that are all expecting and read this I am going to be vague. I just think that we need to by consistently praying for these little ones and the fight they have for their health. It is a hard thing being a parent and having no way you can help. You have to trust that the Lord will protect them. But everyone’s prayers count and help those precious babies.

Thursday Snippet

A mother's biggest fear is if something were to happen would I protect my child? Will I be quick enough, will I lean in front of them or be able to keep them from harm? Or will I be too late and will my mind just shut down? These are at least some of my thoughts. One of my biggest fears is if I went down the steps and fell with Gracie in my arms would my arms go flying, would I hold onto her and protect her? Yes, these are the kind of things I think about and play out how I will handle them, almost like practicing, hoping that when the moment comes I will be ready. I know it sounds horrible but I think God lets these things happen on purpose, and I am completely ok with this. It gives me those moments to practice my reactions and how quick I think in those moments, it gives me the confidence that next time I will handle it even better then the last and I will do a great job. So, that being said, that is what happened heading to the basement to check the laundry I slipped and went down the steps. Thankfully I held on to Gracie with my right arm, I have no idea what the left was doing....I think trying to stop us, and my right arm/elbow seemed to take the brunt of the fall is it got banged over and over again going down. Of course there was crying, first by Gracie who was so scarred and I immediately go into a repetition of "mommy is so sorry" and checking her body over to make sure there were no injuries, then mommy started crying. What a rough moment, one that I am glad she won't remember.

After a situation such as this, well you can be a little emotional for the rest of the day. Example I went to the car to look for my camera and pulled on a string under the seat that I assumed was the camera case and I found my Istanbul pouch that I keep my gift cards in and I started crying. It may not sound like a big deal but I have been looking for it for over a month at least. I had been given a lot of money for Old Navy from the company I work for and it was to buy some new clothes for winter. They were happy tears for sure.

This is a picture of the beautiful colors on my arm

2 days after, bruised and throbbing in some areas.

After that interesting note, here is an adorable video of my Grace. I was able to capture a number of my favorite things she has been doing. Just a note the first little thing is how she reacts right now when she has been sad or in pain from her teeth, just a little dramatized, you will notice with this there is not a single tear. So funny....

Faces of Grace from Candace Schenk on Vimeo.

Yet another loss

So you win some and you lose some.  Interesting enough we seem to be losing more then winning, yikes!  Malone lost against Taylor and there is not much more to say about the game because we just did not play well.  Besides the game Gracie stayed awake just long enough to enjoy the half time show and then take a good nap threw the 3rd and 4th quarter, she did not miss much.  We are praying for a win next week, we will see.

Lorie a MU alum and a co-worker came with her daughter 

Casey to watch some of the game and to hang out with Grace

Before the game Gracie spent the morning with her favorite friend Christina chasing her cats all over the house, while I was using the morning to do another job.  She loves hanging out over there and can't get enough of play time while she is there, what a blessing to have Christina and her willingness to spend the morning with Gracie.

Let the Countdown Begin!

Only one month until my baby is 1 and off to college she goes. Alright, so I am exaggerating just a little but it sure does feel like she is growing so fast. She does not waste anytime time exploring and learning new things. Last night she took her first steps to me a couple of times. Sadly, Troy missed it but we are going to practice so she does an excellent job her first time to her daddy. I will try and video tape it this week. Gracie pretty much loves everything, food, bath time, play time and most of all peek-a-boo. Even in the bathroom she will get behind the sink to play in the morning while I am getting ready. Needless to say she is so much fun.

Gracie and I attended our first night game this weekend. Gracie did so well, she loved it! She also found a little boy behind us she wanted to play with. I tried to get a couple of pictures of her watching him. Every time he said hi to her she turned away and got very shy. It was so cute. Gracie’s favorite part of the game is the band. She is absolutely mesmerized by them. As for the game against St. Francis it did not go so well. We lost 42-14, the Malone website is wrong, unfortunately. Malone is 2-2 for the season. Next week is homecoming and I am hoping the weather will be pretty nice for us to sit thru. Gracie has been fighting a cold on and off so I have to be careful.


I am sure many of you are wondering why I have been so busy since we have only gone to two games since the season started. Well, a side from the fact that I work, raising a daughter and my husband is M.I.A. for most of the season, I have been running like mad. Putting together Graice's Birthday Party, a baby shower that I am planning from Ohio to be held in Kansas and I have been moonlighting as a photographer. Yes, that is right I have been doing photography which I love and is keeping me busy. I have shared some of my photography on my personal blog but I have moved that to a new blog. If you would like to follow along in my new venture feel free, I would love the feed back. I actually have a website that is still in the works but it has been a lot of fun to work on with my brother. Steve has been so awesome in working with me on how I want the website to look. And, my friend Shanna has been sending me lots of business, what a blessing she has been. Thanks for everything and enjoy!

http://www.candacelynnphotography.blogspot.com/