Update from the Schumachers

July 4th greetings from the Schumachers - we are unsure how often we will be posting here, but we did want to provide the world with an update on the happenings of the Schumacher clan.  We have been remiss in sending out the usual Holiday card update (or Holiday cards at all) for the past couple of years.  Our April Fool's Day card of 2008 was met with large approval, so it may make another appearance in 2012.  We do hope you stay more responsible than us and share your Holiday cards with our family, as we love seeing the pictures of your families and hearing about the going-ons of your households.

Without further adieu, here's some happenings of the Schumachers:

Jack is a recent graduate of the 2nd grade.  He is also a recent graduate of basketball camp, which we are sure he sees as the more important accomplishment.  Jack's current career plans involves the NFL with the usual route of becoming an attorney following his playing career.  We look forward to seeing these plans unfold.

Johnny attends pre-school where he is doing quite well with his academic pursuits.  Johnny was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in 2008 - his diagnosis was the result of him having a speech delay, some learning difficulties and bouts of seizures when he was two.  Johnny has been seizure-free since 2008, so we are now attacking his speech delay and learning difficulties with good success.  Johnny's road to recovery is a multiple year process, and we are plugging along full steam ahead.  We thank those of you who have known about Johnny's diagnosis and have been so encouraging and supportive of us.  For those that have not seen Johnny in awhile, you will see big changes in him being able to tell you what he is thinking the next time you see him.  Johnny is normally intent on getting a laugh or hug from you, so be prepared for either - he is normally successful with us.  For example, we inquired what Johnny wanted to be when he grew up - he says with a smile and giggle he will become a dog, a mouse in a house or a big, fat yellow cat.  Those familiar with Johnny's brand of humor will enjoy his current career aspirations.

Annie also wrapped up a year of pre-school where her behavior earned her the status of having all of her bananas in her basket for the entire year.  We are told this is where you want to be, so we are pleased with her efforts.  Annie's current career aspirations involve becoming a ballet instructor.  Given her dance moves, we see this as a potential gold mine for her.  Given her father's dance moves, we are unsure that she overcome this great force working against her.

Kimberly continues the role of being the full-time stay-at-home mom and wife.  We got her a really cool car (a minivan), so she has that going for her.  She volunteers in numerous roles at our church, The Branch located in Farmers Branch, Texas (http://www.thebranch.org/).  She also will be a leader at Bible Study Fellowship, which is a non-denominational Bible study program that is offered across the globe.  Kimberly is involved with the Bible Study Fellowship group that meets in Richardson.  She and Jason will also be running in the White Rock Half Marathon in December.

Jason is still an oil and gas and corporate finance attorney, helping businesses and individuals buy and sell things, as well as borrow, lend, invest and recover money.  Jason recently changed law firms and now works in the Dallas office of SNR Denton (http://www.snrdenton.com/people/s/schumacher_jason_a.aspx) (For those attorneys reading this who have not heard of SNR Denton, this firm was previously known as Sonnenschein in the US until it merged with the London-based firm Denton Wilde in 2010).  Jason is also very active at The Branch, where he and Kimberly lead a small group.  Additionally, for the past two years, Jason has coached Jack's flag football team.  He also fights the two conflicting camps of wanting to be in shape and wanting to be a queso and hot sauce expert - both have great importance obviously, and he is attempting to find the right balance. 

We wanted you to be able to see pictures of our family, so we have posted some pictures at the bottom of this blog post (including a couple of shots from the Rangers' run to the World Series).    We have to give credit to Cassie Henley at Twelve Twenty Photography (http://twelvetwentyphotography.blogspot.com/) for her beautiful work on the professional-looking pictures that are included in this group. 

If you use Facebook, we are both now out there, and Jason is on Twitter - his handle is @theschusez, and he specializes in infrequent commentary on baseball.   We do not promise to post much to either this blog, Facebook or Twitter, but we do plan to bring you good stories and great pictures of our kids and the occasional life transition or job related news that may occur.

Blessing to each of you and your family.  We hope we can see you in person soon.