Update from the Schumachers

Christmas Greetings from the Schumachers!

It has been awhile since we have updated the world about the happenings of the Schumachers - we thought we would invade the blogosphere to share some news about our family - from youngest to oldest.

Annie is 5, and she has started kindergarten this year.  Pink is her favorite color, with purple running a strong second.  She wrapped up her second season of soccer with the Little Eagles.  What the Little Eagles lack in skill and speed is made for with an unbridled enthusiasm for the after-game snack.  She also has continued her gymnastic career at the Richardson Rec. Center.  So, it looks like we are raising a Mia Hamm/Gabby Douglass mix.   Annie shows a natural maternal instinct with her brothers and her army of dolls, but she has enough moxie to make sure her two brothers do not run her over. 

Johnny is 7, and he has entered his third year at the Discovery School.   The term "school" is a bit of a misnomer, as the Discovery School is only comprised of Johnny's five classmates and their teacher, the magical Ms. Barbie.  In the past year, Johnny has learned to read and do basic math.  As many of you know, Johnny has been diagnosed with autism, so this is big progress for Johnny.  We love to see this development, and we pray that it continues.  Johnny played baseball in the Spring in the fantastic Buddy League (http://www.buddyleague.org/)  where kids with special needs of all kinds can experience playing a sport with their brothers and sisters and their friends - Jack and Annie were on Johnny's team and that experience was rich for our family.  Now, Johnny is tackling basketball with some of his friends from Discovery School.  While we are not slamming the ball quite yet, you can only imagine the joy we feel getting to see him to play and learn a sport.  It is a special thing.  Johnny is doing great, and he is certainly progressing.  No one outdoes Johnny for his enthusiasm for other people - whether it be his family members or a complete stranger that he may be hugging (we are in the process of trying to teach that high fives, fist pumps and handshakes work, too).  We love that he loves people.  We thank you all for praying alongside us and encouraging and supporting us all these years that we have been battling Johnny's effects of autism.  Through this process, we have learned about the outbreak of autism, as there is spiked level of autism in the general population.  While there is great debate about the explanation about why the rate has risen, we know that much more research needs to be done to figure what is happening to cause this condition in our kids.  As such, we strongly encourage each of you to consider being involved with autism research or giving to organizations who help families who are struggling to provide the necessary treatment for their autistic children. 

Jack is 10, and he is in the 4th grade.  Jack is a sports nut.  He plays basketball, baseball and football (and we are sure he would play tennis, golf, archery, ping pong, and hockey if we let him).  Per one of his recent school projects, we found out that he is a self-proclaimed die-hard fan for the teams he supports.  While the 2011 World Series Rangers' loss was hard on Jason, we may never forget seeing Jack's emotions over the Rangers' meltdown.  We are seeing that Jack strongly embraces any cause that he takes up and brings passion to it, whether it be sports, being the big brother in the family, or a school project that sparks his interest.  We hope that characteristic stays with him.

Kimberly continues her role as a full-time, stay-at-home wife and mom.  She wrapped up an amazing year leading a small group with Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) and recommends that Bible study course.  While she continues to attend BSF, she has stepped away from leadership this year in order to spend more focused time in her role as Johnny's homework buddy.   She also serves with Jason as a co-leader of a bible study and fellowship group at The Branch, our church congregation (www.thebranch.org) and works in other ways with our childrens' ministry as the need arises.

Jason is a now a partner at his new law firm SNR Denton (http://www.snrdenton.com/) - he received his new title earlier this year.  Now, he has to be more focused on bringing in work than just doing work, but it is a tremendous opportunity.  If you have a legal problem or want to know the legal snares of a business opportunity, do not hesistate to give him a call or shoot him an email - he would love to talk to you about it to see if his firm can be helpful or refer you to someone that he knows who can help (his contact information can be found by clicking here).  Jason is still active with Kimberly at The Branch, where he volunteers as small group leader and serves as a greeter in the childrens' ministry.    He also wrapped up his first season as the head football coach for Jack's 4th grade tackle football team. 

We have new pictures of our family, so we wanted to share those with you.  We have to give credit to Angie and Matt Weedon at Angie Weedon Photography (http://www.weedonphoto.com/) for their beautiful work.

Feel free to connect with us on Facebook.  Jason also is on LinkedIn and Twitter - his Twitter handle is @theschusez.  Neither of us post much on social media, but we like the connections to keep up with your families and to let our friends and family know the occasional news about our family (or an occasional Rangers opinion on Twitter that needs to be said).

Blessing to each of you and your family.  Hopefully, our paths cross in person soon.