Bickel Bulletin

It's been 5 months since I last wrote.
I keep going back & forth between if I want to blog or not.
I think I will to kind of have something to look back to when I want to remember something fun in my life. It's easier to write in then a journal (plus that's a place where thoughts I don't necessarily want people to know about are in). So I'm gonna try it again.

June Update:
It's funny to think that I can't even remember what we did in June. This is what I do remember:
I worked with Alec & Garrett.

Luke & I went to the nicest, most expensive restaurant in Marysville for our 3 yr. Anniv. Of course, we had a gift certificate but Luke splurged for the most inexpensive wine. =) We enjoyed our fancy & delicious meal along with an appetizer (ONE crab cake) & dessert (cheesecake). Before our dinner, I attempted to golf with Luke. He did a nice job & honestly was so patient w/ me & my lack of skill.

I played sand volleyball 2 nights a week & we both played in our church softball league. Actually, at one point, I'd like to say that I made the winning catch! Ha. I'd like to think so. But really, I did catch a few balls. You have no idea how big of a deal this is for me. Haha.

Dad was with us for the first 2 weeks of June. He got to see me play softball & we had some fun times together with Levi in the warm summer sun!

Towards the end of June, Luke's Aunt Liz & Uncle Tony came & visited us for the morning. We took pictures in front of the parsonage & kind of caught up on what we've been doing. It was nice that they stopped by & visited.

July Update:
Really we left for Fl June 29th after our softball game. We drove Dad's hot little yellow convertible through the night & arrived in FL about 1130am. I don't know how dad drives in that tiny vehicle! We're a lot shorter then him & we were struggling for space! You wouldn't believe how Luke packed the trunk of this Saturn Sky. He put all our luggage (clothes, shoes, bathroom stuff, beach stuff) AND 2 homemade Cornhole boards in the minimal space that was given.
1st part of FL-The Villages! It was really great. Dad gave us a tour of the large, gated "village", took us to some yummy restaurants (seafood), & even took us out for a night of music (twice!) & summery drinks. It really was enjoyable & I know how proud Dad was of his new place of residence. Now he is very involved in all the activities that the Villages has to offer. Luke golfed his heart out on the $5 all you can golf courses. luke & i even played on a professional golfer's course! arnold palmer. we really had a nice time.
2nd part of FL-New Smyrna Beach w/ the Streeters & Dad-Luke isn't one for laying on the beach doing nothing...but I am. Give me some sunscreen (if i'm smart) & a book & I'm all set! Basically, that's what we did here. I got to play with my nieces & nephews, which I always love. We all played corn hole together (even Jake-he's awesome at it) & horseshoes on the beach. We ate Rock Shrimp & clams & other random seafood pieces (alligator!) at J.B.'s Fish Camp (a place we've been going to since I was 9?). Another neat part about this stay at our time share was that Grandma Schaaf (my mom's mom) & my Aunt Gail, cousin Elizabeth & 2nd cousin Xia came to visit. Really loved seeing all of them too.

OK, gotta finish later. Took me all day at work to post this (a little here little there)

Sooooooooooooooooooooo...
busy month of May, yikes.

It's been unpacking boxes for Dad & me who tried to help when & where I could.
It's been crazy, but this past weekend went suprisingly well. My whole family was there, siblings, aunt/uncle cousin & dad. We looked through ALMOST everything, I couldn't believe it. We didn't fight over any items that we treasured. I was again, suprised. Also, we had time to visit & play cornhole & drink summer brew. I loved playing with my nieces & nephews. The other big thing that happened this past weekend is that Joshua, my nephew, & now Godchild, was Baptized. I am very proud & honored to be his Godparent. We got to celebrate that too.
So the weekend-success! Now Dad & I are preparing for the Moving Sale next week. Plus putting things on Craiglist etc. Getting organized for the Sale is the biggest part though. June 4-6th!
Some other things that have been going on:
Luke played at Little Tony's again on May 9th & will play again on May 30th.
I joined 2 sand volleyball leagues on Tues & Wed nights. That makes me happy, because I miss playing. the first league i'm on w/ friends & the second league i'm w/ strangers, but they are all nice so far!
My friend's husband graduated from Boot Camp for the Army-please pray for him & her because they have been apart since Feb. & will be until Sept. at least.
We practiced for the new softball league we're in-I really stink at it, but I'm getting slightly better each time I play...I hope.
Luke hosted the St. John's athletic banquet. It was really great & well put together. I had to give a speech for my 7/8 gr. volleyball team & got through it ok! We had an awesome season (Undefeated in league, League Tourney champs, and ohio lutheran tourney champs!) Just had to add in our victories there. luke had to talk throughout the whole thing & i'm worried about one little speech! he had a lot more pressure on him than me!
Luke surprised me while my family was here w/ a Buster Bar cake & singing happy birthday. he knew that would make me happy to do that while my whole fam was there. it was very sweet.

ok that's all for now! gotta go!

Since the weekend of April 25th, Dad has been going through (w/ some help but he is ultimately the bearer of this 'burden') the vast amounts of items from his house. Dad sometimes gets in a funk wondering whether what he's doing is a waste of time or he's not accomplishing too much. Lately he's been very positive. But think about what he has to do...& also wants to do. The things that he's going through are from his life, the past 20-30 years & more. While it may be hard to dig through the dirt & grime of an old garage, trying to figure out what he's actually accumulated over those years, he's doing it with a pretty darn good attitude. I am proud of him for making these steps for himself. While sometimes, I can frustrated too...I remember that what I am doing is out of love for my father & my family. I actually feel bad because I can't help him enough, because of 2 jobs plus still continuing on w/ my life while he's here. In June...he wont' be here & it will be few & far between when I will see him regularly while he's in FL. Sometimes Dad gets on my nerves or we don't agree on something but it all works out in the end. Our goal is to get the items somewhat organized before the whole family gets here on the 22nd of May. Then 2 more weeks after that, we will have the enormous garage sale. It is helping to get everything organized now in preparation for not only family but for the sale. Now all we need is a million tables to put everything on! If we do not get it all organized before family...that is ok. We are doing our best w/ the time & energy we have. I mean, it's literally a house full of stuff packed away. I will be proud of our accomplishments & my dad's, when we have finished & we see an empty garage & closets & trailer (that we are putting stuff on).
Please still pray for patience etc. as we embark farther into the garage! =)

Did I mention this?


Titus left our house Friday afternoon & my dad arrived Friday night (we found out he'd be @ our house early through reading his blog the day before. haha. Thanks for the heads up, Dad! But we are thrilled because now he can teach 4 20 minute sectionals to the kids of St. Johns at their annual walk-a-thon this Friday, May 1st! ;)

We miss Titus & won't see him until August because he will be in Africa hunting off wild animals. Well, really he'll be in Africa but hopefully not being threatened by lions & elephants.


So, since my dad arrived we've been discussing ways to organize the ENORMOUS amount of stuff here. It's not just stuff to me though...or other family members. It's ALL the contents of my parents' house in MI. It has been stored here for about a year because we have lots of storage space in the old Parsonage we live in. So now is the time where we organize & sort & figure out who gets what or who actually wants what. But also we'll be remembering lots of things. Things we made, things Mom picked out at an antique store, books we read, etc. While we definitely need to work hard to get things organized, it'll be hard to not relive some memories. It will happen a lot the weekend of Memorial Day because all my siblings & spouses and my Aunt FiFi, Uncle Bob & cousin Alusha will be here! So my Dad & I (& Luke too w/ his good insights & box/container carrying skills) will be getting things straightened out so that it will be ready for them to 'browse' through. People will be keeping, deciding what can be thrown out, & the rest will be sold @ a garage sale(& Craigslist of course) our house the first weekend in June. Lots to do! But it's already been fun this weekend looking through things & putting boxes to the side that we've already organized! Hope this pace keeps up. Any suggestions on organizing & going through literally a whole house full please let us know!

PS. Prayers are always good too =)



PPS. Luke's sister is having her 3rd girl in September!!!

PPPS. Speaking of babies, Chris & Sarah are pregnant again & are due in November!

PPPPS. This weekend it was 80 degrees for 3 straight days in OH! It's awesome! Snow next week?!

Cody, Ash, Me, Theresa, Jonathan, Lukas squatting

Lukas

Back: Jonathan, Lukas, Cody, Titus
Front: Theresa, Me, Ashley

Lukas took a trip down the waterfall.

Today is my Mother's birthday. She was an amazing woman & mother. We all love you so much Mom & miss you. Here is the devotion (& emails from family) I received today that fits perfectly with how we all feel sometimes:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!! WE LOVE YOU THE BEST!!! TIM AND CATHY

Well said! I love all of you as well. -Chris

FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS!!!! SHE IS LOOKING DOWN AND SO PROUD OF YOU ALL!!! Phyllis

Oh, maaaammmmaaaaa we miss you so! -Joy

Please read. What a PERFECT devotion for today, Mama's birthday. ~Shari LYN
Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour MinistriesBy Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker of The Lutheran Hour®


"It Is Well With Your Soul"
April 24, 2009
I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
The salvation story of Jesus Christ reaches around the world. So that the readers of our Daily Devotion may see the power of the Savior on a global scale, we have asked the volunteers of our International Ministry Centers to write our Friday devotions. We pray that the Spirit may touch your day through their words.
In Christ, I remain, His servant and yours,Kenneth R. KlausSpeaker of The Lutheran Hour

When I first heard the story of the famous song, "When Peace Like a River," I asked myself why is it that God allows His people to go through such sufferings and calamities. What will our friends and relatives say about God when things go bad for us?
The songwriter of the well-known song had a similar experience, and this is what influenced him to write the song. He was a lawyer who had amassed wealth through his labor but lost all his properties through a fire. Surprisingly, his trust in God was not affected a bit. As if that was not enough, while crossing the Atlantic, all four of his daughters died in a collision with another ship. His wife survived and sent him the now famous telegram, "Saved alone."
What a tragedy! What a calamity in the life of a Christian. When he received the message, he was never worried about his trust in His God but wrote the wonderful song which said, "Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul."
Amazing as it may seem, God has truly taught us to say, "it is well" when we encounter unfortunate circumstances. He promises us in His Word that He told us these things, so that we may have peace. In this world we will have trouble; however, we should take heart because Christ has overcome the world through His perfect life, His sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection. What a comforting and refreshing message for all of us as we are going through troubles.
We need the Word of God to strengthen us each day of our lives so as not to lean on our own strength but to put all our trust in the Lord who will guide our paths. In this regard, when calamity befalls us, we are sure God will empower us and we can also say, "It is, indeed, well with my soul."
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, strengthen us each day by Your Word and help us to put our trust in You always. Amen.
Biography of Author:Isaac Adaam is programs coordinator for Lutheran Media Ministry - Ghana. Through Bible Correspondence Courses (BCC), Equipping the Saints (ETS), and The Harps - a music ministry team -- LHM-Ghana reaches people with the Gospel in this West African nation of 22 million people.

It IS perfect – thanks for sharing it! -Chris

Okay, so I am now crying for the second time today…
I can hear mom singing this song in church…loud and proud. Great devotion – -Joy

Thank you for sending that devotion, I loved it! How appropriate! It made me cry and I printed it out because it is so important to remember. -Cathy

Thank you all for sharing. Linda was So Beautiful inside and out. Will always Love Her and Miss Her.
Love, Uncle Joe

We love you the best, Mom! -All of us.

From Good Friday until Friday the 17th Dad & Mom Bickel have been visiting us. They got to spend their whole Spring Break right here in Marysville, OH! Titus arrived on Monday, the 13th & is here until this Friday. I know how much they appreciated being w/ their two youngest sons. I'm sure it's been a long time since they'd spent that much time w/ Ti & Luke at the same time. It's harder as you get older & if anyone would love that time spent w/ family it would be Dad & Mom B. While they were here we did a lot of things.
Let's see...we went to Good Friday Service & early Easter Service (& they have great voices, which get complimented on after each service!)
We got raccoons out of the chimney, made a huge ham dinner & had 2 leftover meals w/ the ham. yum. they also put MORE ham in the freezer w/ a frozen bone for soup! double yum. They went grocery shopping for us while we were at work, always kept milk stocked up, helped w/ every meal (ok did 95% of the meal preparation!) & took our car in for an oil change. Mom Bickel came & watched me (&others) play volleyball @ our open gym night. Dad Bickel watched L & T play basketball the same night. We had our own little superfans! Dad B & Lukas played golf on one of our few gorgeous weather days. That same night Mom B & I took a nice sunshine-y bike ride.

Much has happened since last Tuesday, but just a quick little note to say that Lukas & Titus played @ an Open Mic night in @ CBR's in Columbus last Wednesday & sounded awesome!
If anyone knows how to put video from a camera to the computer please tell me, then you could hear them (& see the baby racoons!). It was really cool to see L & T playing together. Lukas played the acoustic guitar, bass guitar, & a 12-string guitar. Titus played the electric violin & acoustic guitar. They both sang of course too. They pulled this 45 min. of playing together in 2 short days! Very impressive & very jealous of their musical gifts. At least I get to enjoy them!

Few songs they played:
Intro Song (sorryLB..i forget the original name)-Northbound (their high school band)
Long Black Veil-Johnny Cash
#41-Dave Matthews Band
Grey Street-Dave Matthews Band
(Forget the Name of It too...)-Death Cab For Cutie
The Color Rose-Titus Bickel
You Don't Know How It Feels-Tom Petty

I know I'm forgetting some but hey, that's pretty good for me to remember that much!
We thought up the name T-Rex (Titus & Lukas Rex together)...but I'm thinking it's not gonna stick.

2 Things that are totally unrelated to each other: