The New Job

Mike has started working for TKI. It is a company, contracted by a company, that is contracted by the government to teach foreign students how to fly. This class is in a classroom. It's lectures for the students, prior to going to the squadron. He dresses up all fancy in civilian cloths with a tie and such and shares his knowledge of pilot skills with Saudi Arabia gents. This is his 3rd week with TKI and so far he's enjoying it. It's 40 hours a week. He likes his fellow instructors. And he is still flying 5-7 days a month with the reserves. So needless to say, it's been busy around here. I am thankful for the Lord's provision.

Mr. Schloss' Job and Ketogenic Diet

After speaking with a close friend this week who lives far away, and is kind enough to read my blog I realized that I have not put any updates of some major life events in our home.  Mostly this is due to time constraints, and my attempt to balance something that is very unbalanced.  I try not to spend much time on the computer. We have a house full of people here at Schloss Casa that require much of my attention.

On to it then: Mr. Schloss's Job or should I say Lieutenant Schloss' Job.
Mike is now a Lieutenant in the Navy Reserves.  He separated from the Marine Corp this past summer with the intent of doing an inter-service transfer to the Navy reserves.  I am so thankful to the Lord for the time we had to plan and prepare for this transition as we knew it would mean at least 40 days of unemployment.  And in typical military fashion, it took way longer than expected.  Mike was unemployed for 6 months. He started checking in with the Navy in December.  For the first couple months he has been able to secure "active duty" status with the reserves, which is a blessing finically for us as he considers and looks for jobs he can do along side or with-in the reserves. Thank you for your prayers!

On to other big news....... we paid off or mortgage!!! So this reduces our monthly bills significantly. Pretty exciting!

Aggie has been on the Ketogenic diet for 6 months now.  It is the only treatment that is being tested for her diagnosis.  Her diagnosis is Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex Deficiency (PCDC). It is a metabolic disorder and mitochondrial disease. Her body is unable to use carbohydrates for energy. Instead of making energy it would make lactic acid, which would accumulate in her blood and cause damage to her brain.  Which is why her brain is already abnormal. The diet is, in theory, suppose to slow this process down. It trains her body to use fat for energy instead of carbs.  I have been thankful to see the diet has benefited her in some great ways in this short time; proper weight gain, increased energy, are two big ones.  She still gets crabby, and can be difficult to manage, but the incidences have decreased. She naps less because she has more energy.  Her main source of nutrition is a formula called Keto-cal designed specifically for children on this diet. It tastes like melted ice cream and Salem would be thrilled if it was what we put in her cup, as we often find her confiscating Aggie's cup. I do continue to make and weight out grams of food for recipes and meals for Aggie. We are in more of a groove now with that and have found some of Aggie's favorite things to eat.  One thing that has been disappointing for me is Aggie's lack of desire to eat. She does not eat much or often. I have had to relinquish my desire for her to be "normal" in this area as well, as it may never be part of her life. Eating is more a form of entertainment for her and her ability to consume enough to meet her nutritional needs is not there.  She loves to eat ice chips, which she is allowed in unlimited proportions. She requests it often.  One negative side effect of the diet is constipation, and we have worked out some kinks with that. We now use MCT oil as part of her evening meal to keep her regular, which works most of the time. Occasionally medicinal intervention is necessary. One other large risk of the diet is kidney stones. We have no reason to think she has those and have been running water through her feeding tube during nap time in an attempt to prevent them.  We still run the feeding pump at night most nights which generally complets it's feeding at 2:00 a.m. and I tend to it. She is suppose to drink 20 ounces of formula in a 24 hour period, so what she doesn't drink in the day she gets at night. All in all we are seeing that the diet is affecting her positively and plan to stick with it as long as it suits us.  It is some extra work for both Mike and I. Mike compounds(crushes) all her supplements that she receives twice daily, so that they are carb free and can be given with liquid though her tube. Any additional medicine she needs I crush and weigh on a milligram scale so it is an accurate dose for her weight.  Thankfully this is only occasionally that she has need for this.  The diet has been good exercise for my brain.  I have been re-acquinted with some intense algebra, could probably eyeball what 15 grams of butter or banana is, and have tried my hand a pharmaceuticals.  We are thankful for God's grace to do what He as called us to in this difficult season of life.

News on the Job Front

We found out today that as of June 2013 Mike will no longer be an active duty marine.  We've been praying for a year now that the Lord would guide our steps in this area, and it is nice to finally have His answer.  I am excited to see what God has next for us!  No doubt it will be different, and we will face struggles along the way, but we are certain His grace will see us through.

The current plan on the drawing board is navy reserves and seminary.  There is still much knowledge to be gained about both.  So we shall see.  I feel like a high school girl trying to decided what to do with my future, it's fun to ponder, think and dream on such topics.

Spinning plates

As usual our life, once I take a look at it, looks a bit like chaos.  I try not to take too many "good looks" and keep my eyes fixed on Christ, but alas they do wonder around at times.

Our decision to simplify the therapy schedule has been such a blessing to me and the children.  Soccer has been a real source of laughter for me, enjoying and a bit tiring for the man.  And good exercise for Shiloh and Hosea.  Shiloh scored her 1st goal last weekend, which  was a pretty big deal for her.  We had to call all the grands to tell them about it. I heard her on the phone with an uncle, and I can only assume he asked her if she had won her game, as her response was so sweet, "it's not a winning and loosing game........ it's soccer".  Thankfully they still think that, b/c we haven't won a game yet :)  Mike put it best after the 1st game, "we may have lost, but we won in fun".  That still seems to be true with each subsequent game.  Mike does a good job making it fun for them.

I've been encouraging the big kids (if 4 and 6 can be big?) to play out in the back yard a lot as the weather has been beautiful for it. I call it 'park weather'. One day Hosea came in from the great outdoors and said, "Mom..... we had a lot of dangers outside. (deep breath) We lost a 'gee joe' (aka GI Joe), and a squids head came off,(pause) that's a lot of troubles (with a sincere serious face and a head nod to confirm he just articulated the whole story)." I loved it, and assured him that was a lot of troubles, but I had a feeling things were going to be ok.

Shiloh is becoming a little reader right now, we've been working through some lazy tendencies in this area, but have found something to motivate her recently and have seen much improvement.  She loves our co-op and would tell you her favorite part is presentations and lunch.  Along with any other story she could think to tell you as long as you would listen.

Aggie is her sweet self.  We've recently had a couple of hurdles. Her heel cords are tight, so when she pulls to standing she stands on her toes, which doesn't provide good balance and she falls often. Thankfully this hasn't deterred her from continuing to try.  Her braces use to prevent her from pointing her toe, but her old therapist had that feature removed to allow her to get into a kneeling position to pull to stand, but it would seem it was a bit premature, b/c now she pulls up all wrong and stands wrong, according to the new therapist.  So she was casted for some new braces a couple weeks ago to prevent the pointing hopefully and they will also be used at night to stretch her heel cords.  I am praying for this to work, if it does not we will need to explore some alternative treatment options that are more invasive for tight heel cords like Botox injections and surgery.  As walking on ones toes is not a very practical gait.  I see tiny little improvements in Aggie lately, she has started drinking a little bit better from a sippy cup, still not well enough to get rid of the bottle, but better. I guess drinking from the cup at all is better, and well....... she is.  Also, at the park she finally understood to make the horse rock she has to hold on with her hands and move at the same time.  She didn't actually make the horse move, but that she stabilized herself with her hands was the big accomplishment.  This will likely be a key skill in the months to come if there is any sort of walking progression in her future. Additionally on the Aggie front, and a bit on the humbling side.  For a couple months now she has developed a behavior in self-gratification, specifically in her car seat.  We've been praying for God to give us wisdom in how to handle it, and for it to cease, but it has not.  The neurologist said it is common in children like Aggie, and there isn't anything to be done for it. Mike and I are concerned for this sort of a habit to form in her life.  I recently bought a baseball protective cup to "block" her while in her car seat, and the behavior has reduced significantly, but please pray for us as we learn to parent in these uncharted waters.  Helpful suggestions are welcome.

Additionally in the past 2 weeks we've had 3 family members pass away. Mike is currently in OH attending the services to an aunt, which was the closet relationship of the 3 losses. I also had an aunt pass, and a cousins baby.  I am especially grieved for my cousin, as she is my age and lost her baby and mom in the same week.  Her name is Kayla, if you think to lift her up in your prayers.  She also moved to a different state in that week, upon the discharge from the hospital with the surviving twin.  She also has a 3 year old son. Oh how I pray for the Lord to hold her right now.

Enough stories for one night, though I am certain I am forgetting something.  I put clean sheets on my bed and got to tuck in all the corners since Mike is out of town, so I am very much looking forward to that. The bed I mean, not Mike being OOT. :)

Soccer

We went to "meet the coaches" the other night with the children, as their new soccer season was in full effect.  They've only been waiting a whole year for this time to come.  I went with Shiloh, and Mike went with Hosea, as they were to be in different leagues this year.  Shiloh missed the age cutoff by one month to be in the 4-6 year league, so she was moved up.  As a result we were a little reluctant to move forward with the whole soccer thing, as we already feel our schedule/responsibilities busting at the seems.  At "meet the coaches" Shiloh and I were walking back from our field to meet up with the boys, I see Mike carrying a bag of balls.  Hosea's team didn't have a coach, and guess who's coaching now?  If you said Mr. Schloss, you are correct.  He made a deal with the gentleman in charge of the league.  If Shiloh could be on Hosea's team, he would coach.  And he agreed, after all it was only one month, more like 20 days.  This will save us from having 2 practice schedules and 2 game schedules.  In the end, it is saving us time.  Though I'm not convinced it will actually save time in the end b/c Mike has brought to this, like everything, his type A personality, organized, do it right mentality.  He has studied how to teach little people soccer, fun drills, and has even come up with a sticker reward system to motivate his team at practices and games.  This was our first week.  Here they are doing their thing.

He seems to have it all under control so far.  And the kids are really enjoying it too.

In the classroom

We started school last week.  Mike has decided he is the math/science man, so he can tag-in if I am unable to get to something.  It is kind-of bittersweet for me. I am so thankful for the back-up help and his desire to be involved, but........ my favorite subjects are math and science :(.  We kicked off the 1st math lesson last Saturday all together so we could be on the same page.

Here is math in action. 

 Math for all my friends.

Science; learning what thunder and lighting are.  Maybe a little beyond their years. But everyone seems to be having fun.

Ohio

We've decided against pursuing the Ohio job. After some further investigating we learned that the job entailed quite a bit of traveling, which we were not fond of. We are planning to go back to our old plan to stay here, but are learning of some new possibilities with in that plan. We are continuing to trust the Lord to guide our steps and be our provider. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Reserves

Mike went to OH last weekend to check out the Air Force Reserves unit and church in Dayton. The visit went well, the gentlemen were nice at both places. He came home and shared details. But honestly we still are a little uncertain if OH is where we should go, or if we should stay here and do the Marine/Navy Reserve thing.

Our impression of OH is that Mike will have to travel throughout the month and be gone for a week at a time. This is our biggest reservation. The first year or two would be especially busy as he would be learning to fly a new aircraft and would have to do that in OK. We know that the Lord would sustain us regardless of what Mike's work schedule is, but if we get to choose......... you know what I mean. Our impression is after the first few years things slow down a bit, keeping the week long monthly trips and a daily work schedule. The two "hurdles" to doing this option were 1. Mikes hematocrit was 2 points too low for the air force. He had that re-drawn this week, and it is now with in normal limits. 2. The recruiter thought that since Mike was passed over for promotion that he was ineligible for an inter-service transfer. Since we knew guys with the same circumstances that had done it, we are pretty sure he is wrong, but it is taking some time for that all to be cleared up. In the mean time, Mike's dental record was lost. So he needs to get a new exam so he can have one. :)

Our other option right now is to stay here in FL. Transferring to Marine Reserves then to Navy Reserves. There are so many pro's and con's to both of these options. And options piggy-backing off of options. And we are learning new things everyday it seems.

We are really praying for direction right now, that the "best" option would be clear. It is seeming right now that we have 2 "good" options, which is really a blessing.

Objective or bias opinions are welcome. Wise counsel as well.

Air Force Reserves

As Mike is sifting through and completing a mountain of paper work to attempt to do and inter-service transfer to the air force reserves we have met our first hurdle, perhaps our first 2 hurdles this week. A potential of 2 different "requirements" that we may not meet up to. The recruiter is checking into it. It may just involve some extra signatures from "important" people. We fully trust that the Lord will guide our steps as His word promises, and are holding loosely "our" plans. Please pray for us that our path would be clear and that we would proceed full of faith for whatever the Lord might have for us.

February so far....

This pretty much summarizes our month. We haven't gone long or far, but we've been gone often. Hopefully more details are coming soon.

Proverbs 16:9 "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps."

This week has been eventful in the "future plans" department. Mike spoke with a Marine Corp career counselor on Tuesday. This person was also surprised Mike was passed over for promotion, and did not know for certain why, telling him that "his fit rep looks good". We learned if he wanted to try and stay in the Marine Corp he should volunteer for a deployment of some sort aka "IA", and write a letter to the promotion board stating his plan in hopes to be reconsidered for promotion. However only 3% of people being looked at for the second time do in fact get promoted. This news pretty much ruled out the "staying in" option for us. We've always held to a principal that if Mike deployed it would be b/c he needed to go with his unit or if he was selected to do so by his superiors. We are not of the mind set that volunteering for a deployment in hopes that it will gain some sort of credibility is a good idea, though many people do it.

Up until last Friday the 20th, our plan was to stay in Florida. Mike was going to get into the Marine Reserves, apply for a simulator job, and then transition to the Navy reserves. And I would work part time for supplemental income as needed. Mike has spoke with many people on how to make this happen and had a plan to execute it. This is still a viable option. But friday Mike found out some interesting news.

Prior to our decision to stay here we were looking into the the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve squadrons. We were considering ones closer to family, close to a good church we knew of, and ones with an aircraft Mike was interested in. We never really found the perfect one. We were considering C17 squadrons b/c Mike thought he would enjoy their missions. We weren't crazy about the locations. We looked into an Ohio squadron, close to family, but he wasn't crazy about the aircraft. Another turn off for us was to get into these squadron's you have to "rush" them much like a fraternity and we will readily admit that we aren't, especially on first acquaintance, known for our social graces or being especially cool, or making others think we are cool. So we weren't really sure how to handle that.

Well anyway Mike found out last Friday that the Dayton, OH squadron that we checked out has decided to stand up a C17 unit. How amazing it that. A location and aircraft we were looking into. To put the icing on the cake this squadron had decided to come to VT-3 at NAS Whiting field (mikes squadron) to do some recruiting. What....???? recruiting????? This is unheard of...... We couldn't believe it! At first we were a little annoyed almost that this was messing up our newly decided plan to stay here. Then we moved to..... well God must be telling us to move to OH.... Then we said "ok, this is a great opportunity to learn more about all this Airforce Reserve stuff with minimal effort on our part. Lets get some good questions together and take full advantage of this opportunity". So we did, kind of. Well.... actually Mike ended up missing the guys b/c he got stuck in KS on the day they were here b/c of some bad weather. Thankfully he was stuck with his XO who told the guys that "his top recommendation for them was currently stuck in KS with him". It turned out to be a real blessing b/c Mike had some one on one time with them the morning before they left. It went well and they said they would be glad to have him as part of their squadron.

Mike plans to go up to OH the first weekend of March to check it out and check out a church there to see if we would be a good fit. If all goes well we will start the mound of paper work that is required, that can take 1.5 - 2 years to complete. Thankfully we have a year and a half before Mike's Marine Corp commitment is up. We see God's kind provision in this and are thankful to Him for guiding our steps.

Staying in Vs. Getting out........ Take 2

I don't know if your remember this post back in April. But I shared Mike and I's struggles of whether or not to stay in the Military. We've leaned heavily both ways on more than one occasion not certain what would most please the Lord, which is our chief concern. In April we settled on trying to stay in, and prayed the if that was not the will of the Lord that He would make that clear to us. I can say with certainty that our exact prayer has been answered. It is not looking probable that the Marine Corp is going to be an option for us anymore. We learned the week prior to Christmas that Mike was "passed over" for promotion. This came as a huge shock to us as Mike has had outstanding "fit reps"(military grade cards), his last 3 were 100, which is as high as he can get, his lowest was in the mid 80's about 5 years ago, but still not the lowest score out there. We honestly thought he was a shoe in for promotion. But as the Lord has sovereignly seen fit, we were "passed over". If one is passed over twice they are essentially kicked out of the Marine Corp. Once one is passed over it is less likely for them to be promoted the second time around. All this to say, we aren't anticipating much forward progress in this area. We fully believe God to be sovereign over all things and are trusting in His goodness. Mike is looking into possible post Marine Corp jobs. Many of them will involve a transition period of no employment or part-time employment for one reason or another. In preparation for this time we will be saving money and I will be working on getting all my nursing credentials in order. I am excited at the opportunity to serve my family in this way, and grateful to the Lord for equipping us for such an option. As of right now we are planning on laying roots here in Milton/Pensacola area, unless the Lord should guide us elsewhere. We are excited at what the future might hold for us. It will have it's joys and struggles no doubt, but we have the promise of "a hope and future" and we eagerly anticipate what that might be.

Silliness

Mike and I went to an ugly sweater Christmas party for his squadron. We won the contest! It was a loudest cheer crowd vote of about 50 people. We are so proud of our dressing up skills:)

Mikes head all clear

Mike had his MRI yesterday and saw the Neurologist today. He looks good in radiology terms. He's been having exertion headaches and migraines. They plan to "break the headache" with some medication, he hasn't been taking anything. Then he could be back in the cockpit as early as next Thursday. Thankful for a happy ending.

I was thinking......" that's not right"

So I was thinking on Monday I wonder when Mike's MRI would be? Then it reminded me that no one ever called about Aggies MRI. Then I thought........ that's just not right that two people in our home need an MRI..... Geesh!

Now that I have your attention. Last Sunday Mike got sudden intense headaches with exercise on two occasions, so sever he thought it wise to stop. He has never really gotten much of a headache, so naturally this was alarming enough for us to think going to the ER would be wise. He had an CT, which ruled out an aneurysm and tumor. The MRI was closed, (which shows a clear picture) so they decided to schedule it for later, (thank you military hospitals). The MRI will rule out a slow bleed in his brain. I'm not a doctor, but it's not looking probable that this is the problem b/c he would probably be dead by now if it was. They told us today, 5 days after the event that his MRI will be next Tuesday, 9 days after the event. He is not allowed to exercise, an of course not allowed to fly. He will have to get the MRI, see a neurologist and then get cleared back to flying by a special flying Dr. made for such permissions. As alarming as this may sound to some, i think it has not caught us off guard in that way at all. I find myself thinking "really?, OK... whatever". Since sunday we've had a kiddo with a fever that is now gone, and a totally different one vomiting, which has ceased. I had the same thought as previously stated with each episode. I am finding myself struggling with bitterness/resentment. I'm totally over all this medical drama that seems to follow us. I am trying to think of things to be thankful for, we have so many, and be characterized with contentment, but truthfully I'm finding myself a bit feisty. I'm really wrestling with my sin. I know in Christ I am not hopeless and victory is mine, but not responding to my feelings and responding in truth as been difficult.

My little Nut

Aggie has such a fun personality. Additionally she loves her daddy. When I say she loves him, I mean she adores him, far more than any of our other little people did at their age. Anytime the man is in her view she tracks him steadily with a full out grin just waiting for him to respond. As a result, she enjoys making him laugh, and once she does something that does, she will repete it over and over. Here is one little game they started playing recently, I'm elated at her responsive interaction!!! Praise God for such a blessing!

Happy Birthday Love!

Mike Celebrated his 32nd birthday on the 26th. It's a belated post.

This is Shiloh presenting her green (mike's favorite color) heart shaped card covered with sparkles on one side and birthday wishes on the other. She was very proud of her work.
Here Hosea is showing him his drawing of a "super hero" aka. stick man, also covered in glitter. This was the first time I could get Hosea to draw "super hero's" with out my help. He often gets frustrated, I was proud of him for trying.
This was a yummy orange dream-cicle cake. It was my first attempt, it was good, but not a home-run.

Happy Birthday you old man you!

I love the backyard!

I truly enjoy our back yard. It provides us with much fun and relaxation, and has become a very popular spot for the kids to play freely.

We had the pleasure of hosting a costume party at our home this year. It was all because we were going to miss our dear friends, the Steel's, that we had grown accustom to attending, and decided instead of moping, we would host one and just use all their good ideas. Here is a great shot from the sack races.

The kids love playing in the rain.

He "didn't want to get wet". He cracks me up.

They take turns pushing each other in that thing.

And who could resist the hammock?
Note: I'm not sure if you remember that Mike wanted this beauty hanging in our home, but look where it ended up! I'm very pleased, and it was from no work of my own, but rather the simple fact that it would not fit where he wanted it. I'm so sad. (sarcasm)

What we've been up-to.

We went to the beach yesterday to see the effects of the oil spill. This is the Perdido Key beach that was closed last week, as you can see it looks normal. The clean up was quick and effective here for this beach, the warning signs were down, people were swimming and the sand was still white, I hope it goes this well for the rest of the beaches here in FL. Hosea enjoyed running from the waves, though he got caught a couple of times.

We also had the pleasure of seeing Sesame Street Live. There was a free military performance, and the kids got a free toy. Hosea was a little scared of the over-sized characters, but did eventually get his face out of mikes chest to watch. Shiloh enjoyed the music and was entertained. At first she didn't want the characters to get close to her, but then later wanted to "say hi". There was never an opportunity for that. She did get up and dance along during some of the parts, it was cute to watch her try and dance.

Shiloh and I went to a bridal shower for a young lady at church. We played a game where each team had to turn a team member into a bride using duck tape and a table cloth, Shiloh was are model and she insisted wearing her outfit all evening so she could come home and "show daddy".

One evening we ate out, and decided to go to Krispy Cream and watch the fresh doughnuts be made, and of course enjoy one. We got a dozen to go and relived the whole experience the following morning, both kids loved it!

Shiloh loves doing my hair and accessories. Don't I look fabulous!

This is her preparing, "she had to put her glasses on so she could see".

Church Picnic

We had our church picnic last Saturday. I had no idea what to expect, nor any idea I should bring the camera, but thankfully some other people did, so I've stolen these pic's from them. There were many games played (egg toss, sack races, wheel barrel races,ect) the winners of each game had a "final challenge" which was a pie eating contest. My proud husband was declared champion of all, good job babe!

Here he is preparing to eat the pie, I decided having a bib on would be best since i did not pack him an extra shirt the only extra cloths I had were size 2T and 4T.

Here he is scarfing, yum yum! Or if you are me and Shiloh you might say "gross".

Here is the proud winner! I handed him the wipes right after this shot was taken.

We all had a blast, the kids are still talking about it. Hosea will randomly say, in reference to bobbing for apples, "mommy apples water, big mess", or "mommy throw egg, i stomped em" in reference to the egg toss. And Shiloh will say "mommy remember when daddy did that silly thing"? Referring to the pie eating contest.