27. December 2010 by Kelly.

I posted this video of Kyle and Hunter enjoying the heck out of their new Kinect game on Christmas morning; I hope you enjoy this as much as they enjhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn3aI5eT1esot the game.

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22. December 2010 by Kelly.

I have a younger brother, he turned 47 last Friday the 17th, according to Google his home is 5.5 miles or less than 15 minutes from my home, his name is Steven and prefers Steve, and I nicknamed him Ivan many years ago. He has a wife, 3 children; one from his current wife and two from his first marriage, his wife’s name is Dawn.We called him last Friday to wish him a Happy Birthday and to catch up on the goings on of he and his family; Dawn he said had just undergone a mastectomy and was half way through chemo . . . I lost my breath and I could sense through the phone that my little brother was choking back tears, as was I. The prognosis at this point is positive and Dawn and her doctors are planning removing her other breast when she completes chemo, she will then have a complete hysterectomy and then have reconstructive surgery of her breasts; Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. He went on to say that he had been without work between July and October but had found a new job  that he is enjoying if at least for the income, but he was happy to have work as Dawn has been unable to work for obvious reason;  their son Jack, 8 years old seems to be doing well.I asked if he had a cake and meal as my concern turned back to him and his birthday; he explained that some friends had brought a cake and that Dawn attempted to fix a nice meal, but she became sick in doing so; so he went out and picked up something to eat. I told him I would fix them some meals so that he didn’t have to worry about cooking after working all day and so Dawn wouldn’t have to worry about it either.In my mind I am thinking that their son is 8 years old and needs to eat a good meal after a busy day as an 8 year old and hopefully this is one less burden on Steven and Dawn’s plate. I was also concerned about groceries and household supplies but he told me that Dawn’s coworkers had brought over a ‘truck load’ of things and that my offer of some meals would be sufficient for now. I also assured him that we would prepare Christmas dinner for his family.Last night he stopped by to pick up the meals we had prepared, his eyes red as his hair I could tell that this entire ordeal is an emotional roller coaster for him, but it was good to see him and he was very grateful for what we had done.This was the first time I have seen my brother in well over two years; he has a family to care for and so do I and even though we live so close to each other, we are not very close at all. Cancer is such an ugly thing; Steven and I lost our father to cancer 26 years ago and as we have grown older (thankfully) we have lost friends and family to this deadly thing. I pray for Dawn to recover, heal and survive, so that my brother’s tears are those of happiness. And I pray that all of you will reach out to those that mean the most to you; if you need help seek it and have you have help and love to give, please give it.

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21. December 2010 by Kelly.

Posted a video of one of my sons, Kyle; he discoverd that he really enjoys home made chex mix; I hope you enjoy it too. http://kellykrei.blogspot.com

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16. December 2010 by Kelly.

As I was getting the boys ready for school this morning, neither of them wanted to brush their hair or teeth; to which my wife responded ‘boys, don’t you care what others think of you?’ Both of them stopped for a millisecond then went back to eating their breakfast, an obvious ‘No’ being the unspoken answer. My wife continued, ‘you may not care, but I do and you will brush your hair and teeth.’ So they did brush their hair and teeth and as they entered the bus, they both messed up their hair as if to say, ha-ha mom, we like the way we look just the way we are . . . 

I’ve never received a report from school stating ‘Dear Mr. & Mrs. Krei, your children came to school today and their hair was not brushed, please refrain form sending your children to school with unruly hair’, not once in the last 10 years have I ever received such a letter. And keep in mind that at home, Kyle & Hunter are mostly likely seen running around the house in T shirts and boxer briefs and if you come knocking at our door, you best be prepared and unsurprised to find them that way.

Another thing that my wife insists is that our sons wear ‘outfits’ that mirror each other; first off boys don’t wear outfits and secondly they don’t give a snap if they are wearing the same clothes only in different colors. Just for the record, we do not dress our identical twins identically.

Why is it that we humans care so much about what others think of us that it drives us crazy just thinking about it. Seriously . . . imagine for a second what would happen if Brad and Angelina stepped out of their mansion to jump in their Bentley and nobody cared because quite frankly, who are they really? I for one do not look around every morning I jump in my Mercury Sable and wonder  . . . how do I look? Did anyone see me? Where are all the paparazzi? I do look into the mirror to make sure my nose is clean, literally.

The average estimate themselves by what they do, the above average by what they are. Johann Friedrich Von Schiller

One of the ‘hot trends’ today is ‘Branding’ but I wonder if those that proclaim they can ‘help you brand yourself’ are teaching from the front end or back end of that quote. Be careful out there. I may appear to have weathered many years, but my soul is as bright and warm and inviting as the sun. 

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13. December 2010 by Kelly.

Technically speaking I am what is called ‘dangerous’; you see I have a web site that I thought I was posting blogs to, both via blogger and my dot org site, but as it turns out they were only posting to www.kreilife.org silly me. 

So if you look at my picture and then look up the definition of  . . . oh never mind, I think you get the idea. Or how about this for a topic, “How to create confusion by creating a Blog that might get read if you are completely lucky’.  

Anyway, if by chance you are interested in reading any of my prior posts; you will find them at my dot org address, from here on out, they will be posted on BOTH, until I figure out a way to get my blogger account to export to my dot org; so if you like charity work and you don’t mind dealing with someone that doesn’t know what he’s doing . . . let me know. I need all the help I can get. 

Remember, a laugh a day keeps the blues away and I am always only one laugh away!   

As seen at http://kellykrei.blogspot.com

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10. December 2010 by Kelly.

How many times have we heard ‘Attitude is Everything’. Do you believe yourself when you say it? 

Recently at a business luncheon a business partner of mine asked me to speak to the attendees; in introducing me he described me as “incredibly gifted in making the best of what life offers”; immediately the butterflies in my stomach became soaring eagles and I felt as though the sun was shining from within me. 

What did he see in me that I take for granted or was he just saying this to make me feel good and to get the attention of my audience? Here is what I had to say that day: 

This morning I woke up and thanked the Lord for another day and another opportunity to be blessed and be a blessing to others. After getting ready for the day, I went in to wake my sons so they could get ready for school; my wife and I have twin boys, they are 15 years old, sophomores in high school and both of them were born with Down syndrome (DS) and both have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). And each day in preparing them for school can be filled with both joy and frustration, but regardless the bus arrives in our neighborhood at 6:30am and we must be ready. 

Breakfast was made and on the table when we arrived in the kitchen and my wife made sure that each of us boys received a warm ‘good morning’ and a kiss on the cheek; which each son quickly wiped from their face in a show of defiance and dislike as they wanted to stay in bed and sleep. We ate our breakfast in silence then put on our coats and backpacks, made sure we had our school ID cards and headed for the bus, still in silence. 

Upon its arrival my sons entered the bus, not saying goodbye or anything, and I started to think my whole day was ruined as I was walking back to the house, when all of the sudden the bus driver was honking the horn and the other children on the bus were waving for me to come back  . . . 

My sons sit in the front of the bus in the very first row directly across from each other, both had big alligator tears rolling down their cheeks; I dropped to my knees and they both hugged me and kissed my cheeks; as I wiped their tears they both said ‘sorry’ and whispered ‘you’, which from them means “I love you” and they returned to their seats and the bus was on its way. 

Walking back to my house, I had my own tears and my wife asked if everything was ‘ok’ to which I replied, “best morning of my life”. 

So, ladies and gentlemen, I ask you (and I paused and looked each person in the eye) how may I be of service to you; my sons seem to think I have what it takes. 

Some things are easier ‘said’ than ‘done’ but it all starts with what you tell yourself; and whether or not you actually ‘do it’ or not.

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2. December 2010 by Kelly.

Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than in the one where they sprung up.
Oliver Wendell Holmes When my sons were born, my wife and I had no idea that they would be born with Down syndrome; 13 years later we also discovered that they also have Autism Spectrum Disorder, talk about your catch 22. For the first 9 years of my sons’ life, I searched for the elusive answer as to why I had been given such a gift (that being my sons’). The question I asked everyday was, ‘what is it you want me to do?’ Which of course led to my next question, ‘are you listening to me?’ 

One day I asked these out loud and someone that was listening answered, ‘your questions are being answered over and over, every time you ask; pay attention and you will see the answers that you seek.’ So I wrote a book, in a way it was self therapy, I said what I needed to say on paper, got it off my chest and out of my head for all the world to see. As I was writing my book it became obvious to me that I was not the only one asking the same questions I was; the answer I found was that there are thousands of parents, family members and care givers looking for ways to improve the lives of the developmentally disabled. In the

 Sure most kids that are born with a developmental disability are rarely institutionalized anymore, medical care is better leading to longer life spans, Special Olympics has gone global and my sons have attended public schools with their neighborhood friends for the last ten years and all this is good, but it isn’t good enough. My children require constant supervision for their safety; what happens when they are finished with high school? Secondary education at this point is not a realistic option nor is early retirement for my wife and I; so what next? There are programs that can be modeled that offer services such as job training, day programs, work assistance and the like, but these models have taken years and years of trial and error and millions of dollars to fund and most of them would be nonexistent in short order if their funding suddenly stopped. 

So . . . what next? What is it that really needs to be done? Warren Buffet is an investment visionary; Bill Gates started Microsoft and now he and his wife help people living in third world countries live better; Oprah Winfrey is the most influential woman in the world and is known as the greatest black philanthropist in American history; J. K. Rowling created Harry Potter and is described as “rags to riches” and I could go on and on. So what do I do; I was born the son of middle class hard working parents in rural Wyoming (like there is any other way to describe Wyoming) and I am a high school graduate, I have a loving wife and twin boys and my wife and I work hard to make ends meet, but the ends meet and our sons depend on us and always will; so my idea in my book is still growing, be it slowly and so I ask, ‘what ideas do you have that seem to be only the IDEA stage?’ Or maybe you have an idea that has become reality; how did you do it? What did you use as inspiration when you had your biggest doubts and what advice would you give people like me to persist? 

Momentum; I love that word, for in it holds the key to getting things done . . .   Frances Willard
The world is wide, and I will not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum.

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