Merry Christmas and Blessings for the new year!
“ For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting father, the Prince of Peace. “ Isaiah 9:6
Greetings and blessings to all our special friends and family,
It is with gratitude and humbleness that we greet you this Christmas. We are a very blessed family and we have such wonderful family members and friends. So with this note to you, we just hope to catch up this those of you we may not have spoken to for a while. Our shared journey through life takes us many unexpected places. This year has been very memorable. So sharing on.........
Looking back over the year, these are some of our highlights.
January and February were very busy for the Harnsberger family. We were up and down the state of California -- Napa, Mammoth and San Diego. Our big family day was to help Rachel and Johan move into their new pad. A nice 2 story condo in the University Town Center area of La Jolla. After living with Mom and Dad for 5 months they were very excited to be in their own place again. Rachel began her job at UCSD Brady School of Business and Johan delved into his doctoral dissertation full time. At the end of February I was able to travel to Washington DC again with the SBCS 8th graders.
March was the most emotional time for me. My Dad, Lou Schirm III passed away on March 16th, just 2 weeks shy of his 91st birthday. At that time my Dad, known as Papa Bear by those who loved him, had a very bad fall while trying to get out of his chair in his apartment. It was only a few days later that he passed away. My brother Louie, Nicky and I were together as Dad entered heaven. One brief time while still at the hospital Dad had a vision of heaven. It was miraculous to witness, and was a sign for us Dad would be passing and he was entering that final stretch of his life.
A blessing in the midst of this what that Dad always wanted to share the made-for-the-movies story of how he met our Mom on VE day 1945. On April 1, just after what would have been his 91st birthday, his story was published in America in WW2 magazine along with his personal pictures. It was truly a blessing during such a time of grief.
At the end of May Fritz and I experienced a dream come true, traveling to Europe together for the first time. Our trip included stops in England, Holland, Belgium, France, Germany and Switzerland. Our first week was with Johan and Rachel in Holland and later Belgium, visiting both our families in these areas. We were in DemBosche and in Ghent and truly enjoyed the community, the food, the people and all that we could experience in such a short time. Then we were off to England to meet up with a tour group. The next 8 days included an overwhelming amount of sightseeing in five countries with a lot of driving, a cruises on the rivers Seine and Rhiene. Quite a trip! I am ready to go back =)
Our summer highlight is always our family times. We traveled to South Lake Tahoe for our Annual Schirm & Scribe Family Reunion. All the cousins were able to make it this year and we enjoyed ourselves so much. The family continues to grow with the new 3rd generation. This year’s additions include baby Casen and baby Leo. We are 36 now.
Another highlight this year was a trip to Maui. Fritz and I had a very relaxing trip with Dotty, his Mother. Every day we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise or sunset. No agenda. Just surf in the morning, meet with new and old friends and relax in the sunshine.
Phil continues to work with Fritz but under his own corporation. “Upward Industries” He still surfs as much as possible travels to Hawaii and Mexico often. He loves living in Orange County and continues to enjoy being a homeowner. His special interests are economics and market trends.
Ryan and Tina, the newly weds, are living in La Jolla where Tina is in her 2nd year residency for General Surgery at UCSD Medical School. After working for himself for many years, Ryan took a job working for a construction company and has been project manager for the last 6 months. He enjoys his works and his time with Tina, and surf is still part of his day. They had a nice 2 weeks off in September visiting Santa Barbara and all their friends.
Rachel and Johan are enjoying life back in California and living in San Diego. Rachel plays hostess to her brothers and Tina often with “sibling” dinner about twice a month. She works full time for the Brady School of Business at UCSD and is enjoying being back in a jewelry studio in her free time. Johan is completing his Doctorate and will graduate in May 2012. This year he presented papers at Political Science conferences in Chicago and Philadelphia. He will also defend his dissertation in Boston early next year.
At Thanksgiving with family we were especially thankful for the time we are able to spend together. It has been a good year, and this month has been a time of contemplation and thankfulness. Fritz business continues to grow and we are amazed at the interest there has been in Marathon.
This Christmas we take time to remember the reason for our celebrations – the birth of the Christ Child – our Savior. As we celebrate and sing the beautiful songs, I am reminded how truly blessed we are.
In His Grace, Fritz and Lorette
