The Greatest Generation

How fortunate for us to have taken that unexpected road trip to WI earlier this month. How fortunate for us that we got to spend one last week with my grandpa. How fortunate for us that we were there to help celebrate his 86th birthday. How fortunate for us to have had Robert L. Schreier in our lives for as long as we did. How fortunate for us to have known him.......

On April 20th 2011, we lost another member of our greatest generation, my Papa. He was the kindest, the silliest, the truest, and the most generous and patient person I've ever known. He was outgoing and fun and always had a story to share, a hand to lend, or a corny joke to tell. He was my hero, and I'll miss him beyond words.

God saw the road was getting rough,

The hills were hard to climb.

He gently closed those loving eyes

And whispered "Peace be thine,"

The weary hours, the days of pain,

The sleepless nights are passed.

The ever-patient worn out frame

Has found sweet rest at last.

God saw you were getting weary

So he did what He thought best;

He came and stood beside you

And whispered, "Come and rest!"

You bade no one a last farewell,

Not even a good-bye,

You were gone before we knew it

And only God knows why.

~ taken from the funeral card

Happy 40th!!

"I'm not 40, I'm eighteen with 22 years experience."
~Author Unknown

We really didn't do much for Jaime's 40th birthday. Jaime wanted to go paragliding, but we haven't been able to coordinate that just yet....

Instead, the boys and I took him out for lunch on Thursday, then we had a little cake celebration with the boys and Jaime's parents on Friday afternoon, and then on Friday night we hosted an Italian dinner to celebrate with more family and a couple friends. Jaime said it was all great, and it's his opinion that counts!! Happy 40th Daddy!!

"Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul." ~Samuel Ullman

Happy Mother's Day

A MOTHER'S HUG

by Susan Brewer

A child sits at his window
Watching storm clouds in the sky
Knowing that he's frightened
Not really knowing why

Maybe it’s the thunder
Could be it’s the rain
Maybe it’s the lightning
Mirrored on the window pane

But it really doesn’t matter
What fears the day may bring
If you’re safe and snug in a mother’s hug
You can face most anything

So soon the smiles of childhood
Turn Into teenage frowns
It seems so much of growing up
Consists of falling down

And through those painful middle years
I soon would come to know
The kind of pain that hurts the most
Is the kind that doesn’t show

Now children do get older
But a child they still remain
Childish fears of darkness
Give way to worldly pain

Maybe it’s the sadness
When you lose someone you know
Maybe it’s the grief that comes
From reaping what you sow

But it really doesn’t matter
What fears the day may bring
When you’re safe and snug in a mother’s hug
You can face most anything

Now I still look out those windows
At storm clouds in the sky
At hopes and fears and joys and tears
Of many years gone by

And I'm thankful for the blessing
Of allowing me to be
The one who gives the comfort
When my children come to me

Cause it really doesn't matter
What fears the day may bring
When you’'re safe and snug in a mother’s hug
You can face most anything...

Next time...

...won't - you - sing - with - meeeeee???

“My alphabet starts with this letter called yuzz. It's the letter I use to spell yuzz-a-ma-tuzz. You'll be sort of surprised what there is to be found once you go beyond 'Z' and start poking around!” ~ Dr. Seuss

This is what rugged looks like...

"There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million." ~Walt Streightiff

Anything exciting going on here??

Yes and no....

It seems the "real" potty training has begun, and, so, we have been sticking close to home these days (more than usual).

Yep, this is going to be a potty post.

The boys actually semi-started training shortly after we returned from the States. Once they were back in the swing of things at school, the teachers had us bring them with undies over their diapers. Then, they would go diaperless while at school using the potty when they needed to go (coached by the staff, of course). Then, the teachers would put them back in diapers when we came to pick them up. We were suppose to let them go diaperless as often as possible at home too, but, for the most part, things (real or imagined) kept getting in the way....Potty training can be a lot of tiring work.

Then, about a week ago. We picked up the boys from school and Ms. Rosy told us that the next school day they were to come in undies only and they would be leaving in undies as well. Um, scary! Our first thought was how we would manage to get them from school to home without an accident in the car...

We enjoyed our last couple days of diapers, and then, along with school, started the "undies only except for sleeping policy." We started with a timer, sticker charts, M&M's (or "em a lems" as the boys call them), and plenty of prompting...and, overall, it hasn't been too bad. Of course there have been plenty of accidents, mostly of the messier variety, but they seem to be doing really well.

Their main issues are going when they are busy doing something fun or interesting, and telling us when they need to go if we aren't at home. We carry a little portable potty when we do head out for short errands (and for school pick-up), and we still provide more prompting than is probably necessary, but maybe...just maybe we'll have two daytime potty trained boys very soon. Then we can start venturing a little further from home...just maybe.

"It's all to do with the training: you can do a lot if you're properly trained." ~ Queen Elizabeth II

Remembering...

We always take time to visit and remember some of our ancestors whenever we visit Wisconsin...

We mainly go to see Papa's true love, and my Gramma, Patricia Jean, who died back in 2003. It's sort of a tradition that, most likely, my grandmother would think we were crazy for keeping up. She always said "when you're dead, you're dead. That's it." She would also probably remind us that she isn't really there in that cemetery, and we are crazy to come out in the cold. Of course, she isn't here to tell us any of that...and, really, cemeteries and the like aren't really for the dead anyhow.

We also stop by to say hello to a few other Schreiers. Anna and William, Papa's parents and my great grandparents, and Herman Papa's brother, my great uncle. I didn't get a chance to know Anna and William, but I did know Uncle Herm back when I was young.

Of course the boys don't know where we are or why we are there, they only know it's a great place to climb and run around. But they will have the photos later in life, and, in a way, they got to "meet" some of their ancestors.

"If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors.
All of them are alive in this moment.
Each is present in your body.
You are the continuation of each of these people.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Twenty Years??

One of the reasons our trip home was scheduled during the Fall, was so we could attend my 20 year Berkner High School Reunion!!! I never really feel like I am nearing 40 until something like this comes along to remind me. Similar to the 20 year re-release of E.T. or the 20th anniversary edition of Star Wars. Where do the years go????

Anyhow, the reunion weekend was really fun. Not as fun as the 10 year (I think these people are getting old and reserved or something), but fun. A friend of mine had a wonderful small party at his house on Thursday, then I attended the ice breaker on Friday, then we all went to the family picnic on Saturday during the day, and then Jaime and I attended the "formal" event on Saturday night. We left Saturday's event a bit early to attend the 40th birthday party of a friend from California that now lives in Texas. It was a VERY busy and tiring weekend, but we got to visit with old friends and we even made some new ones!!

There are tons of pictures on Facebook of all the events, but I seem to really only have pictures from the family day. I guess I was just too busy chatting or something to take pictures. The family day was organized separately by a couple of classmates, and, other than the ugly weather, turned out very well.

Okay, and I do have these pictures from Saturday night. The first one is at the reunion (don't look too close at that 80's hairdo picture on my name tag), and the other two are from the birthday party afterward:

"How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?" ~Satchel Paige

Just the Boys...

When we weren't visiting with friends and family, or out being "tourists," or somewhere shopping, we were hanging out in the back yard, going for walks around the neighborhood, or visiting local playgrounds. Here are just a few of my favorite pictures and videos from those times:

Here's a video of them out in the rain:



And the frogs!! Oh the frogs!!!!

"A boy is Truth with dirt on its face, Beauty with a cut on its finger, Wisdom with bubble gum in its hair and the Hope of the future with a frog in its pocket." ~ Alan Marshall Beck

More Friends...

Because I had some nice pictures, and because we spent the most time with these friends, I decided to do another post just for them....they are all the kind of friend you could call anytime for anything and they would be there.

My friend since middle school, Erin, came by to see us whenever she had spare time in her schedule (she is a VERY busy girl). Usually each Monday and Friday as time allowed. She would either join me on errands, hang out around the house while we did our "usual" stuff, or help me take the boys out and about. She even came over to babysit so that Jaime and I could go out for lunch and celebrate my birthday!! I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked (a typical case of "we'll do it next time..."), but I did snap these one day at the park:

Leslie and Corey have been my friends since at least 1993 or 1994 and have been Jaime's friends ever since we started dating almost 14 years ago. These two both work full time and take care of an ailing family member, and still managed to squeeze us in quite a few times. Once at a local park and then out for dinner, and then a few times in their home where we relaxed and ordered take out. They even had us over on the evening of my birthday and "made" cupcakes:

Mike and Cass are more recent friends (since about 2006), but they are the kind of people you are really glad to have met and call your friends. They have always welcomed us into their family and have even included us in many of their holiday celebrations. Cass and I also happened to be pregnant around the same time, and they have a son, Lucas, who is about 3 months younger than the boys. They were super flexible during our recent visit and, not only met us for brunch, but also invited us to their home for a couple of home cooked meals and some hanging out.

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.” ~ C.S. Lewis

Friends and Family....

Dallas always seems to be a busy place for us whether we are trying to see friends and family or just trying to do things on our own. Even though we have been gone over a year, we just seem to "settle" back in whenever we visit.

Travis and Connie took a week off from work to hang out with us a couple of extra days, and Trevor and Molly hosted us in their home several weekends. We attended festivals and fairs, and just hung out together as a family with all the grown-ups and the kiddos.

A few of our friends were very flexible in trying to get together with us as often as possible. They stopped by, invited us into their homes, included us in their parties, and even made us a dinner or two. Other friends were quite busy with their lives and schedules, so we only got to see them once...if at all. Maybe we just have to stay longer next time ;o)

We had a VERY full 4 weeks in Dallas and I am already looking forward to our next visit. Here are some random pictures of non-specific times spent with friends and family:

All the cousins at the Mansfield Pecan Festival,
and Alex with Landri:


In Trevor's back yard, and the Fall Festival at Mason's school:


The kids playing at Trev and Molly's place:

And the family portrait!!

Having lunch with Brendan and Collin (my friend Amy's twin boys) and visiting with my other friend Amy and her son Jacob:


Out to lunch with Tom, Samantha, & Sasha and Michael, Cassandra, & Lucas:

"Family and Friends are hidden treasures, seek them
and enjoy their riches." ~ Wanda Hope Carter