The Schopper E-News from the Schopp House Combined issue for 2006 and 2007 since we neglected to get an issue out last year!!! Thanks for lookin' at our Newsletter!  If you click on the pictures, you can see a bigger picture.
		2006 and 2007 were both years of “firsts” for the Schopp family.  Dave travelled to New York City for work and Julie tagged along on a free air mile ticket for their 1st ever trip to NYC!  This is a pic of Dave on top of the Empire State Building with King Kong!!  It was quite frightening for him. (Dave, that is!) Dave worked during the weekdays while Julie explored Manhattan taking in bus tours, watching a taping of David Letterman, eating at Ruppert’s Deli (left), and of course she had to do lots and lots of “schopping”!  Also quite frightening for Dave! By night, we took in “Mamma Mia,” and “Phantom of the Opera.”  Poor Julie’s arm was nearly black and blue from Dave squeezing it during Phantom of the Opera.  He kept leaning over and whispering again and again, “We are on Broadway, We are on Broadway!!!”  We both could not stop grinning during both productions!
		The highlight of the week for Julie was on Friday night.  Check out our incredible view sitting with the owner/client of Dave’s in the company seats at Yankee Stadium. We were “wined, dined and spoiled rotten” by our hosts.  Julie got to stare at Derek Jeter in person for the first time...again, quite frightening for Dave!   At the end of the 7th inning the locals, including our hosts, cleared out in order to beat the traffic.  We were able to move new seats right above home plate to watch Mariano Rivera close the game.  Julie’s Yanks won, of course! On Saturday, a downpour did not stop Julie from taking Dave to some of the sights she had seen earlier in the week.  Together we took the Staten Island Ferry out to see Lady Liberty and we explored Times Square, Rockefeller Plaza, Ground Zero, the Stock Exchange, and then took a romantic, but rainy, night tour of Manhattan & Brooklyn atop a double-decker bus.
		2006 also introduced Zach to Castle Rock Middle School where he is now on the honor roll in 8th grade.  He plays percussion in the Concert and Jazz Swing at school and drums two Sundays per month at church for the Kid’s Worship Band.  He is still best buddies with his childhood friends, Dustin and Dylan (twins who are a day older than Zach), and Joseph (2 days younger than Zach).  The quads are pretty much inseparable and can be found riding their BMX bikes just about anywhere in town in any kind of weather and at any time of day or night.  This fall, on the day before school started the gang explored the entire city of Billings logging around 30 miles on their bikes!  We have lost track of the injuries and broken bones--Yes, it is quite frightening!  Zach was pleased that he also conquered the Buffalo Wild Wings Flaming Challenge on that day by devouring 12 of the hottest wings in the world in under 6 minutes.  He proudly displays his t-shirt and his photo was on the restaurant wall for weeks!J
		While he is not the diehard baseball fan that his dad, mom and brother are, Zach attended his first major league sporting event in June, 2007.  He seemed to enjoy exploring the stadium and doing his first “wave” at Coors Field!  During the winter of 2006 and 2007, Zach continued to be a ski bum and has also volunteered over 480 hours in the past 4 years with Eagle Mount’s Ski program and their summer day camp program.  And lastly, the most recent excitement for Zach is that after saving all year for a new 2008 BMX bike, he finally ordered it this week!  It should arrive by February.  Julie and Zach are tentatively planning to make a pilgrimage to Denver to visit a BIG bike/skate park with the “biker gang” during Spring Break in March.
		2006 was Than’s first year playing baseball All-Stars and he also began high school.  Than’s freshman year was not the most positive experience for a variety of reasons.  Suffice to say the year was a huge learning experience for all of us.  We all grew through the trials of that year!  Than logged almost 300 hours volunteering with Eagle Mount through their Ski Program, Life Academy and Summer Camp in 2007!  He is very gifted in working with special people and hopes to one day be a special education teacher!
		We decided that this fall he would enroll at Billings Central Catholic High School, population just over 300!  What a difference the size has made for Than and he LOVES it!  The principal, staff, and coaches can easily get to know the students and this means a great deal to him!  And from our viewpoint, it has been a positive experience for Than to be at a smaller school where there are high expectations for all students in regards to spiritual issues, dress code, behavior, academic achievement, community service (required by all students every semester), and involvement in extra curricular activities.  Nathanael was even willing to give football another try.  He loved it!  Although coaches wanted him to play varsity, he was not allowed to play because he was a transfer student (90 day eligibility rule), but he did play JV.  There are 3 teams (Frosh, JV and Varsity) and combined they lost only 4 games this year with the varsity going 12-0 and taking their 2nd ever state A championship.  What a party!  Next fall, he’ll most likely start on the varsity team as a kicker and also play defensive linebacker and offensive guard.  Another “first” that was probably as big for Mom as it was for Than…his first formal date.  Here are Than and Megan on Dec 1st for the Central High School Twirp. (16, braces off and a driver’s license—now THAT is quite frightening to both Dad and Mom!)
		Dave celebrated 10 years at Computers Unlimited where he is a Tech Support Specialist.  But the excitement for Dave in 2006 and 2007 was not work related.  Aside from Dave’s first trip to NYC (ok, that was work related!), several “firsts” for him all involved the game of baseball!  Of course, one “first” for Dave was that he was able to coach his son in baseball All-Stars in 2006.  In 2007, for the first time, he did not coach Than in baseball.  It was fun for Julie to have him in the stands watching/pacing/groaning/yelling, etc.  He secretly would have preferred to be in the dugout, but it really was time for Than to be on his own.
		Dave also saw his first major league baseball game (Marlins at Yankees) in June of 2006.  And an even bigger “first” for Dave was when he saw his team, the Colorado Rockies, play in Denver in June of 2007.  We took Julie’s Dad on an unforgettable Father’s Day trip to see his Yankees play in Denver (above).  To David’s delight, the Rockies swept the Yankees in a 3 game series.  It was sure exciting to have Than, Julie and Dad cheering for the Yanks while Dave, Corky and Zach went “Rockies” crazy.  Of course, we had no idea at that time how well the Rockies would do this season!
		Imagine Dave’s surprise when Julie gave him his birthday present in October—a trip to see the last NLDS Playoff Game in Denver (right).  We got to see the Rockies tromp on the Phillies and make it to the World Series!
		In June, ’06, Julie graduated from Yellowstone Valley Bible Institute (Local Church Ministries), where she had been studying for a few years (left)  At the top of the list of “firsts” for Julie this year would have to be “first grade!”  After 15 years “off,” raising the boys, Julie returned to teaching.  During the ’06-’07 school year she was under contract for 3 separate maternity leaves and ended up teaching ¾ of the year!  This school year, she decided to put her name in the hat for a full time position and was hired as a 1st grade teacher at Highland Elementary School!  The adjustment to working full time has been hard on all of us at times, but it really is a season of “learning” for all of us!  Being back in the work force has had its advantages beyond the pay check.  God has placed “Mrs. Schopp” in exactly the perfect position where He is using her and her gifts to teach 6 year olds how to read, write and much, much more.  What an assignment!   But Julie would say that it is actually “Mrs. Schopp” who is truly blessed to be able to be with the little ones every day.  It has been a whirlwind, but she enjoys being able to focus some time and energy on “2nd” career in teaching again.
		News of Dave’s dad being diagnosed with a serious illness took us to Texas this past September to see Papa and Granny.  It was the first time the boys had been to Texas and the first time Zach had been on an airplane.  Pictured are the boys with Texas cousins.
Please keep Papa JD, his wife, Evelyn and their four kids, Dave, Dauna, Darin and Desiree in your prayers during this time.  We’ve sure seen the power of prayer in various situations throughout these past two years.  He truly is the Way to peace in times of trouble and joy in the midst of sad or difficult times.  He shows us time and again that it is He who is control and that we can and do grow the most in the midst of and through trials.  It was good to hear from so many of you.  Thanks for taking the time to write. We sure do know how easy it is to get so caught up in life and busy-ness.  Sharing this bit of us with you is our way of taking a little time to let you know how we are doing.  And if we haven’t heard from you, we would sure love to real soon!      Dave, Julie, Than and Zach Schopp
Site developed by Julie Schopp Site and Contents Copyright © 2000 The Web Schopp. All rights reserved. Last Revised: January 05, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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