Last night we had our second little Schmoyer! We were at the hospital for less than 4 hours before Maggie was able to push Titus Daniel out. Yup, it’s a little boy! That is good because we had 5 girl’s names and only 1 boy name. It was an easy decision!

I will post a picture of him here pretty soon. More will be posted when we get back from the hospital. Maggie is doing very well. She did an awesome job and has even been able to feed Titus a few times.

He was 8 lbs. 7 oz, 20 1/2 inches long, and was born at 6:09PM. AND he has a lot of DARK/black hair!!!! Crazy!

I’ll update you all soon. Thanks for your prayers!

Dan, Maggie, Ruby, and Titus

I am going to post a blog Maggie wrote today on www.schmoyerfamily.com because I really want you all to pray for her and her Mom’s family.

I just got a phone call from my mom this morning and her little sister, my Aunt Debbie, died this morning. She has been battling cancer for the past 10 years and died at the age of 49. She has 4 children in their 20’s and the last just got married earlier this summer. Please be praying for the family, especially her husband. She was a wonderful woman and a big part of all of our lives and we will miss her terribly. She is the aunt that helped me move out to PA with my mom, some of you will remember her. She is with the Lord now and we are so thankful that she doesn’t have to suffer anymore, it is just hard for us who are still left here on Earth. Thanks guys.
Maggie

I was personally encouraged by Debbie’s strength, patience, and reliance on God throughout all her struggles.

Maggie works this weekend so she won’t have a lot of time to process this loss so PLEASE PRAY for her, her mom, and the whole family. We are still in the process of deciding whether or not Maggie will be able to attend the memorial service because of her pregnancy and travel time (it’s about a 3 hour trip each way).

Someone once told me “Prayer shows how much you care.” and that has really stuck with me as people ask me to pray for them. Thank you all for your concern and prayer.

Everything is shaping up GREAT for the middle school camping trip!!! I was able to spend a lot of time in April and May planning, calling, and preparing for the trip. That prep is coming in handy now because it allows me to still spend a lot of time pursuing kids for one on one’s and even going after kids I want to come on the trip. So far we have 6 kids that want to go and are planning on attending. That is awesome because most kids have a hard time committing to anything 2 weeks in advance.

Our teaching topic for the trip is “Child of the King”. We are going to talk about how how people view us, how we view ourselves, who people think we are, and what a child of God looks like. On the last night I am going to give a short salvation message and give the kids an opportunity to become an Child of the King or to recommit their lives to Him.

Part of that evening involves giving them something they can tangibly take home with them. I have ordered 21 rubber bracelets with “Child of the King” printed on the outside to help them remember who they TRULY are in Christ. The cost for the bracelets is $51.45. I am putting this here because I want to give you an opportunity to step alongside these kids and give them this gift by paying for the bracelets. I don’t want it to sound like I am always asking for money from you all because I am SOOOO thankful for all you have done to support me, TreeHouse, and sponsor kids this summer. Chaska TreeHouse has had more scholarship money come in this summer than in any past summer!! Thank you SOOO much for that blessing.

Having said that, I know there is someone who has a heart for kids who is willing to step forward and donate these bracelets to the 12-15 of us going on the trip. I could use the money from my scholarship fund to pay for them but I want to be able to use that money to scholarship as many kids as possible. If this is something you are interested in doing just let me by posting a comment to this update. I’ll be in contact with you via email after that to work it all out.

On another note, please pray for Maggie and the new baby. We are getting closer to the due date (Aug. 13th) and it’s getting more uncomfortable. To make things even more fun our central air conditioning has  broken! Last weekend it hit 98 degrees here which is pretty hot for Minnesota. The forecast for next week is upper 80’s and a couple days in the 90’s again. We do not have the money to fix the central air now so we bought a window unit to help take the edge off when it gets really hot. Pray that Maggie stays cool over the next few weeks as we get closer and it gets hotter! Thanks! We love our house and having a pool this summer has been a lifesaver.

Have a great weekend and I’ll update you again with specific prayer requests as we get closer to the trip. Just leave a comment here if you are willing to give the bracelets to the kids on our trip (and yes, you will get a bracelet too). Thanks!!!

Some of you may not know, but my family from PA came to visit last week (the 7th-17th). It was really good to see them. Maggie, Ruby, and I have not seen them since the first week of December when we flew there to raise support for TreeHouse. Some things about the “little family” have changed and some have not. Mark and Grace still like to cuddle and play with each other; I can still beat Mark in basketball and Madden Football 2007; Grace still sports the bandanna’s on her head, Mom still loves dogs and wants one, and Dad is constantly learning something new about a new electronic device he just got. Grace and Mark are growing up and maturing so quickly! It still seems like they should be 6 or 7 years old still! Mom and Dad are gladly and graciously accepting the new role of Grandma and Grandpa (I’m pretty sure they don’t mind the ” officially old” label that goes with those two names!)

I am very glad that Ruby got to see everyone because faces in a book or on the computer are not good enough. She will remember everyone better now that she’s seen them and has names for the faces and voices. I don’t want her to grow up not knowing her grandparents well and I think this past week was a good step in keeping them fresh in her mind. I also think it will be good for her to see them again around September because she will have someone to give her some extra attention while Maggie and I focus on the new baby. Ruby LOVES having your undivided attention so it is going to be a pretty big wake up call for her when she has to share her mommy and daddy. We are taking steps now to reduce the adjustment period but it is still going to happen. Oh well, life will go on!

Well, I am leaving for a TreeHouse Staff Retreat tomorrow morning so I should go to bed. Once again, thanks Mom and Dad for coming out here with Grace and Mark! We all enjoyed seeing you and connecting with you. The new baby will be here before we know it and we’ll be seeing you again!

Dan