Travis’ grandfather, Herman or Grandpa, grew up in the Oddfellows Orphanage in Corsicana, Texas. This is where Grandpa spent 16 years of his life. Afterwards, he became a husband, soldier in the Korean War, a student where he got his undergrad and Masters, a teacher, a principal, a father, grandfather, etc. The list of wonderful things Grandpa accomplished in his life goes on and on. He was such a wonderful man.

Each year, the orphanage has a homecoming for all the Kids (the orphan’s) that grew up there. The homecoming begins on Saturday evening with a banquet. At the banquet the Kids and their families gather to remember old times and catch up. The also have an auction to raise money to fix the bell tower and for maintance of the orphanage and its grounds. Each year, Grandpa puts in several wood pieces that he makes. This year, Granny B, donated 4 pieces for the auction. These are some of the last pieces Grandpa ever made. There will not be any more. It was very special to sit in a room with his fellow classmates and watch them bid for the pieces. You can tell he touched their lives as well.

On Sunday morning, everyone gathers at the orphanage to have a memorial service to remember all of the students who had passed since last years bell ringing. The ceremony started with prayer, music, then the bell ringing. They Kids asked the Barrs brothers (Barry, Bruce, Brent and Brian–Herman’s boys) to ring the bell. . Since there were 9 people that had passed, each brother was able to ring the bell twice. For the final person, they all 4 placed their hand on the handle. It just happened that the ninth person that had passed away was Grandpa. All four boys were ringing the bell for their father. It was the sweetest thing to see. It was very emotional for all the Barrs that were there. The funny thing is, when they went to ring the bell for Grandpa, instead of making a ding sound, it make a dink sound. This was funny because Grandpa’s nickname from the orphanage was “Dink”. It was perfect. A little bit of Grandpa was there with us.

While at the orphanage, Travis and I toured the grounds. It was neat to see where Grandpa ate, went to the doctor, slept, etc. It was so special to see where he spent 16 years. It has changed a lot from the early 1900′s, but I still got the idea. I know feel like I have a little more insight on who Grandpa was a a little Kid.
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The entrance to the Oddfellows Orphanage

The Bell Tower

Today, April 11th, we had Emma’s Strawberry Shortcake birthday party. We decided to do a pretty low key event that the kids would enjoy. We rented the playground at Emma’s school, had peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches, fruit-kabobs, chips, ham roll-ups, cheese cubes and lemonade. It was a BERRY special party. Grandmother also purchased a plate from Mud Pie Co, and had each of the children place their thumb print on the plate. Emma’s hand went in the middle. We will take it back and the children’s names will go under it. We then have a keepsake for the rest of Emma’s life. Hopefully, this will become a tradition for each birthday party.
Everyone had a great time at the party. Happy Party Day Emma Claire!

Today we were very lucky to have a holiday and it be Emma’s birthday. We were able to spend the day as a family. We got up this morning and headed to IHOP with Nana and Poppy. This has been a tradition for 3 years. Nana always takes Emma for pancakes on her birthday.

After pancakes and a fully belly, we headed to Deerbrook Mall to Build A Bear. I thought Emma would enjoy this and it was something we haven’t done before. She enjoyed looking at the options to pick from. She decided on a Hello Kitty. After picking the animal, she picked the sound to go with it. Of course, a meow. Then came stuffing time. This scared Emma. She didn’t like the sound or the looks of the big machine. After Hello Kitty was stuffed, we picked out a couch, pj’s, bows and house shoes. We got Hello Kitty dressed, then headed to the computer for her birth certificate. We had to come up with a name. Travis was saying several; Sophie, Chloe, Laurie, Susy, Susannah, etc. We ended up with Laurie like Laurie Berkner. We then headed to Barnes and Noble for some new books, then headed some for a nap. She decided that since she was 3, she didn’t need to have a diaper on during her nap. We will see how that goes…We are sleeping for 2 hours so far, so I”m guessing she hasn’t pee’d all over yet…

After a long and refreshing nap, we headed to Spring Creek BBQ with Grandmother, Papa, Aunt Lindsey, Uncle Matt, Dean, Matt Moroney, and Travis and myself. We enjoyed the normal BBQ meal and mini cupcakes with purple icing. We had a great ending to a wonderful day!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA CLAIRE!