$54,000

Paige handed me a paper she wrote in school recently. Her instructions were to tell how she would spend $54,000 in prize money she was given if she had won the Nobel Peace Prize as Martin Luther King, Jr. did in 1964. MLK, Jr. donated his money to the civil rights movement.

Here is Paige's paper in her own words and her own spelling:

I would donate $45,000 dollars to a nursing home. Because my Papa was in the Nursing home. I would donate the money so that they can make medicine for people who have had Alstimers for a long time. I hope that they do make that kind of Medicine.

I would also donate $5,000 dollars to charity so they can get more food and clothing for the poor people and get them familys and so they can live Better.

I would also donate $5,000 dollars to people with cancer so that they can make medicine for these people.

Pictures from The Move and Christmas 08 are up!!!

I finally got pics up on facebook...

Click on the ones you want to see and enjoy!!!

The Move

Christmas Part One

Christmas Part Two

The Bus

I always hated riding the bus. When I was 10 years old and in 5th grade Oklahoma City Public Schools decided to make the school more integrated which meant I was bused about 10 miles across town to another neighborhood. That was my first bus experience. It was noisy, the bus driver was grumpy, the school was gross and I didn't like it.

A few weeks ago I was talking to some friends about my concerns that my kids wanted to ride the bus. I was not a fan. I always thought of my bus experience and didn't want my kids to have that same experience. Then a friend of mine, Heather, shared with me about her first day of kindergarten where she didn't know when to get off the bus so she stayed on until 10:00 PM...PM people at night!!!! She was locked in the bus barn with the busses all by herself. That was it...my kids were not riding the bus.

Well, day two of their new school experience and they are asking to ride the bus. I caved and let them. Abi missed the bus and I had to go get her at school...thank you Lord!...Grant made it...ok...thank you Lord! He is safe and sound...at 3:40 I go out to get Paige...no Paige at the bus stop. I asked her friend Sheigh, "was Paige on the bus?" Sheigh says, "I didn't see Paige on the bus." I calmly say, "Bummer" and head back to the house to call the school. On my way back a mom says, "The bus will make a huge loop and come back to the end of this next street and you can catch it there and see if she is still on if you want to." I dump my coffee I had brought down to enjoy leisurely while waiting for the bus and walk...ok, sprint...down to the next street. All the while I am thinking of my dear sweet friend Heather at the age of 5 sitting on the bus because her mom told her not to get off the bus until she saw her house and she was locked in the bus barn until 10:00pm. I ran faster.

Then, I think of my mean bus driver and I am afraid I am going to get in trouble for losing my kid.

I get to the corner and there is the bus. He looks at me and smiles and I said, "I'm missing a kid." And he is already on a walkie talkie with someone at Liberty Public Schools trying to work it out. But Paige is walking up behind and says, "Here I am mom!" The best 4 words I've heard all day!

What I learned is that Paige was talking to her friend on the bus and didn't know she was supposed to get off the bus. She just missed her stop. I can't imagine where she would get that...must be Kurtis.

OK!!! ALRIGHT!!! FINE!!!!

I'll say something new for crying out loud!! I know it is bad when my father-in-law mentions to me that he is bored with my blog. I am just impressed that people actually read the thing.

December was crazy for the Minneys needless to say. A complete blur actually. I would really like to rewind it and start all over because it was just insane.

Let me start at the very beginning...a very good place to start. Since this is going to be a month covered in one post I will give you topics so you can read what you want of it...you may have to come back later and pick up where you left off...

The Move-
Was crazy weird. We left Howell on December 12 and arrived in OKC on December 13. The movers were hysterical and there are many separate posts I could make about their singing while they were packing my things. Many of my facebook friends and I talked all during the packing process about their singing it was quite entertaining.

Finding a House-
Ya know this was quite an experience. We decided to rent a house because as many of you know, GM is a little unstable right now. So, after looking at 5 houses in Liberty, MO we were able to rent the one I really wanted all along and am very very grateful. We were told that it was under contract when we went to see it but apparently the people didn't have good enough credit and we got the house. I spent the next couple of days getting the kids enrolled in school. The part that made it so memorable was the weather in KC. I was fighting snow, ice and school closings. MO doesn't have quite the capabilties that MI does when it comes to snow and ice and I slid around quite abit those days but God is good and we stayed safe and found the perfect house for our family.

Saying goodbye-
I didn't cry until it was time to leave CSA. Then the kids and I sat in the carpool line and cried...and cried...and cried. I truly loved that place and will miss it dearly. After CSA we met the Schoebs for dinner and then swimming at our hotel so things just got worse. We kinda had a good time swimmiing...ok, not really we all knew what was coming. But then it came, goodbye time...but then, in true Schoeb/Minney fashion...the goodbyes were said, tears were shed, they left and here comes Jayson. They had forgotten all of their stuff and he had to come back and get it. Too funny!

Living with family-
Since they account for 99% of my readership...this was a wonderful experience and am so thankful for them all.

Pictures-
I have tons and will get them up ASAP but we haven't unpacked all of the necessary uploading equipment so I have to wait a few more days. But please check back for pics of sledding in 70 degree weather in Bricktown, Zach and Grant sporting their handmade hats in the Oklahoma City Art Museum and Christmas with the Minneys and Stephens families. And of course our new town...Liberty, MO!!!

A Schoeb Thanksgiving

We started spending Thanksgiving with the Schoeberlein's our second year in Michigan. The first year we were here we traveled to Plimoth Plantation and had Thanksgiving where the Pilgrims actually experienced it 400 years ago. The next year, we had met a great family that invited us to Thanksgiving with them and we've done it every since.

Our Thanksgivings have changed some as other families have moved away that we shared that first Thanksgiving with. It was that first Thanksgiving at the Schoebs that Misty Wagner told me about a little school called CSA and it was only 4 months later that my kids were enrolled in that very school. Something we thought we would never do as a family but something I would receive such a blessing from.

We've learned games like Killer Bunnies and Nertz from these Thanksgivings and played more competitive versions of Wii games than I could ever imagine at the Schoebs.

The next few years brought Zac and Libby and I had my first ever Thanksgiving prepared by a professional chef. AMAZING!!!

But the last two years it has just been my Howell family of the Schoeberlein's and Jayson's mom and brother who I am also blessed to call family. I don't know what I would do with out all of them and I will always think of them at Thanksgiving and every other day of the year, and be thankful.

Here are some pics from our fun Schoeb Thanksgiving 2008.

The Conclusion of Bedford Falls

The girls participated in Community Theatre of Howell's production of "It's a Wonderful Life" this month and it turned out to be an outstanding show.

Here are some pics from the show.

Happy 14th Birthday Abi!

Paw

Celebrating the life of my grandfather this last week was one of the top days of my life. I am so proud to have called him grandpa and so proud to be his granddaughter. I have been so blessed by his life and was overwhelmed by those who filled the auditorium to pay their respects to his life. It's been 5 1/2 years since my grandpa knew who I was but that didn't stop him from calling one of the random aides at the nursing home he lived in following his stroke, "Jacki". When I went to see him he didn't know how much I loved him or how much it broke my heart to see him the way he was but on Wednesday we all got to share how we remembered him and we laughed and cried about our memories. It was a great day!

Dr. Doug Melton, pastor of Southern Hills Baptist Church (my mom and grandma's church) read the following at the funeral:

Alvin Standish Pierce died October 25, 2008 at the age of 89. Al was affectionately known by his family as “Bus,” and to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren as PawPaw Bus. "Bus" became short for Buster, which was a boyhood nickname. Al worked at Tinker Field but was self-employed most of his life doing outboard motor repair on Mercury motors in a shop he built next to his home in Wheatland, OK.

He was a member of the United States Army Air Corp where he served in Puerto Rico during World War II. His duty station in Puerto Rico sparked two life long interests: learning Spanish and flying. He earned his private pilot license in the late 40's. This interest was placed on hold until his girls were raised when he once again started flying, then earning his commercial and instrument ratings. He served as a Search and Rescue Pilot in the Civil Air Patrol, and implemented a program to assist in search efforts that was featured on a local news station. He was very proud of flying in formation with the Civil Air Patrol over a Fourth of July parade in downtown Oklahoma City. His family truly enjoyed all of the countless airshows attended throughout the state of Oklahoma. They did not need to be able to hear the commentators, they brought their own with them as he could describe every maneuver being performed.

He was a member of Southern Hills Baptist Church but also attended Knob Hill and Kentucky Avenue Baptist Churches. He became a Christian after his oldest daughter Linda, came home from church as a preschooler and asked him if he as on the Lord's side or the devil's side, and was baptized at Rockwood Baptist Church by Vernon Cavendar, who was a very special person in his life. He was an ordained Deacon and taught men's adult Sunday Schools classes for decades.

After he retired he renewed his interest in Spanish, and went back to school to further expand his knowledge. From that time until the time he suffered a stroke in 2003, he read his daily Bible readings in Spanish. His interest in Spanish led him to being part of partnership mission programs with the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. After retirement he took two mission trips to Spain and a trip to Hondorous. He taught Sunday School in Spanish at The Good Shepherd Mission in Oklahoma City for many years.

He was active in the Brotherhood and served in Lay Renewals all over the state of Oklahoma and Texas and one in Georgia. There is a picture of Al and Bro. Cavender at a Rockwood reunion in the video. He was an ordained Deacon and taught men's adult Sunday School classes for decades. He served as a counselor at the last Billy Graham Crusade held in Oklahoma City at the Myriad.

At Knob Hill he was part of Evangelism Explosion, and a very sweet memory for his daugher Alana, is serving on an Evangelism Explosion team with him. Alana also has a very special memory of her Dad receiving a call from another Deacon at Kentucky Avenue on a Saturday night telling him that the church was on fire. Al's initial reaction was to say, " Good, the church needs a good fire under it," until he realized that it really was burning.

Even after Alzheimer's had claimed a major portion of his memory. He would still stop and ask a blessing for his food before he ate.

He loved to water ski, fish, hunt and travel. In most of the family pictures, Al can be seen with a camera in his hand. He loved to take pictures and video of the family and wasn’t afraid to make them all go to great lengths to get just the shot he wanted. Al began taking movies, and then videos in 1958, and the life of his family is chronicled on miles of movie and tape. The first year that he was not able to take videos at Christmas there were no pictures taken. It wasn’t on purpose, it was just that the family was so used to him setting up the video camera in the corner of the living room and taping all of Christmas morning, that none of the family even thought about someone else taking pictures. He was proud of visiting 48 states, many of which he visited with his wife, daughter and grandkids.

There is nothing Al could not fix and he would try to modify everything that might have needed fixing even if you didn’t think it did, sometimes sending suggestions to manufacturers on how they could improve the product.

He was an exceptional joke teller, and remembered every thing about every joke he had ever heard, except how many times he had already told it.

He loved his wife. That is such an understandment. There is one thing his children knew and that is that he loved their mother. Al kissed Ann good-bye and hello every time he left the house. Which might not be so special unless you remember that he worked in the back yard. He repeatedly told his family, and anyone who would listen, "I just don't know what I did for the Lord to allow me to have the woman that I got."

He is preceded in death by his parents, four brothers, six sisters and a daughter, Jackie who died at birth in 1951.

He is survived by his wife Ann, daughters Linda Pierce of Seattle, WA; Alana Stephens of Oklahoma City; granddaughter Jacki Minney and her husband Kurtis of Michigan and grandson Max Stephens of Oklahoma City. He has five great grandchildren which where his favorite five little gumps: Abigail, Grant and Paige Minney of Michigan and Tyler and Brookelyn Stephens of Virginia.

OU/Texas started out as a very fun day...and then the game started

Every year for OU/Texas we go to Spicer's and eat donuts, drink cider and pick apples for an apple pie. Here's pics from this years trip...

Yip...totaled the car

The story...

After I took the kids to school Monday morning I did some shopping at Target and then headed home. I slowed to make a left turn on Eager from M-59 (Okies-that's a two-lane state highway) when I got close to where I was going to make my turn this IDIOT ran the stop sign at Eager and was intending to go all the way across M-59 and continue on Eager. He didn't make it because the oncoming traffic hit him at 60 miles an hour and then me which was waiting to make my turn. So, the car is totalled.

PRAISE THE LORD!!! Because, I wasn't hurt other than bumps and bruises on my head, hands and legs and a lovely seatbelt bruise across my neck. The lady right behind me was a fellow CSA parent and she called 911 and another lady came over to me immediately who was an RN. How cool is that.

They shut M-59 down in all directions and it was so cool because Kurtis got to blow by the barricade and give the famous "my wife is in the accident, I was told to procede!" line and he came to my rescue.I convinced the paramedics not to take me to the ER by ambulance and the let Kurtis take me to the ER where I was "observed". I apparently passed and was released with a significant amount of pain meds. So, there ya go...all is good.

Truthfully, I've always felt threatened by Mindy and wanted to compete with her. She won again. She got stitches when she was in her accident. AGH!

Here's the pics...

I don't know where she gets this

Today I'm picking up the kids from school and Paige is telling me about some boys bothering her in the classroom. She says that there are 7 of them and they won't leave her and her friend alone.

So she said she turned to them and said, "Listen guys, I know I'm so cute and everything but I need my space so leave."

Gotta love her.

Why CSA is a School of Excellence

Today while working in the library I had the following conversation with a 5th grade boy:

Student: Mrs. Minney, can you tell me if you have any books about Barry Sanders?
Me: Well, it seems like we do but let me check the computer? (while checking I ask...) Barry Sanders is from my home state do you know where that is?
Student: Yes, it is Oklahoma isn't it?
Me: Yes, it is. Do you know where he played college football?
Student: Yeah, didn't he play at Oklahoma State?
Me: Yes, he did.
Student: Then he came to play for the Lions which means that he must have been a first round draft pick since the Lions aren't very good.
Me: You know what? He was because he actually won the Heisman Trophy.
Student: That's right!!! I'd forgotten that.
Me: It is a shame he had to play for the Lions because he didn't get to play for a good college or a good NFL team.
Student: Yeah, Oklahoma State isn't as a good a team as Oklahoma are they?
Me: No, they aren't. Someone is raising you right.

And this is a true story.
In case you care, we do not have books on Barry Sanders but I have some on the "to order" list.

Jacki goes to the Dentist

Usually there isn't anything real blog-worthy about a trip to see my dentist. You go, get your teeth cleaned, pick out your pretty new toothbrush and you go out the door right? Not today.

I was introduced to a new hygienist in the office. We will call her Crazy Kathy. We walk back to the little room where the scraping of six months of plaque will be removed from my pearly whites thereby giving me that snappy smile.

She begins the x-ray process and the small talk. And the small talk became enormous talk. Most of you know me well enough to know I can carry my weight in a conversation. I'm not shy. But I was speechless and not because she was up to her elbows in my mouth.

The first thing Crazy Kathy felt like she should tell me is that she has an allergy problem and that is why she is coughing...this is not a cold so do not be concerned. Oh, ok. She then puts an orange flavored cough drop in her mouth. There are many scents I just can't handle and one of them is orange. It just turns my stomach. I hate all orange candy or air fresheners. Just don't like'em. Nice that she now reaches over into my face with an orange flavored (scented) cough drop right in my face.

Then, in the following hour I learned the following about Crazy Kathy:
1. She has two daughters.
2. One daughter is married to a member of the armed forces.
3. He is over seas right now and so her daughter and grand kids are staying with her.
4. She was born and raised in MI.
5. She is the oldest of 6 kids.
6. She went to an all girls school.
7. It was a Catholic School.
---------------orange scented breath here------------
8. There were 200 kids in each grade.
9. This school isn't open anymore.
10. Youngest daughter was a real trouble maker.
11. She almost had to go to boarding school in Indiana.
12. Her husband objected to this plan so they hired a private tutor.
13. Her brother is a elementary school principal in another state.
---------------orange scented breath here------------
14. Another brother is going through a divorce and her mother is upset about this.
15. Mother chased brother down the street with a wooden spoon because of said divorce.
16. Another brother has a spoiled rotten child.
17. The mom dresses him weird.
18. She talks to her about this but she won't listen.
19. She is afraid he is going to get beat up.
20. He is only 3 right now.
--------------orange scented breath here-------------
I could so go on!!!!!

Fall Musical Revisted

Paige makes her second appearance in a CTH fall musical and Abi her debut in It's a Wonderful Life. And this time...I'm in the audience!!! AMEN to that!!!

We'd love it if you came to the show. And please ask for Paige Kristen's autograph at the meet and greet. She loves that!!!

November 14, 15, 21, 22, 2008 at 8:00 p.m.

November 15, 16, 22, 23, 2008 at 2:00 p.m.

More to the weekend saga...

When we got back from below mentioned camping trip we unpacked the soaked mess and set everything up and was resting peacefully when the girls noticed that Leonard, our family tortoise, was missing. Leonard has summer quarters out on the deck and Kurtis left the gate open when we were getting things together for the below mentioned horrible camping trip.

Kurtis, the girls and I got our shoes on, grabbed flashlights and began the search for Leonard. We looked in the bushes, out on the nature trail and woods behind our house but Leonard was no where to be found. It isn't like we can give the "Leonard Come!" command, ya know?

I love this tortoise. I am the one who wanted this tortoise when we went to the reptile show to purchase a bearded dragon for Grant. We weren't even looking for a tortoise but I loved him instantly. I was more than upset last night.

I had the poor little thing run over like those losers that purposefully run over turtles on the side of the road. I was afraid some teenager captured him and had decided to make him a science project or something. Michigan winters are rough on cold blooded creatures. What if we didn't find him. He would be frozen solid by late September. You name it, I pictured it.

This morning when I got up Kurtis and Paige had already begun the search again and had made flyers with a picture of Leonard and cheapskate Kurtis even offered a reward for his return. I know you are thinking it is a stupid turtle, right? No, it is a tortoise people!!! And it took my heart right with him I tell you!

Our precious neighbors have many times fed Leonard and our other reptile friends while we have been on vacations and they were anxious to help us find Leonard. They searched high and low and believe it or not...found Leonard!!!! Would you believe he had no explaination for his whereabouts?

Seriously, it was an answered prayer!!

The Calm Before the Storm

...is an understatement.

Let me start at the beginning. The very beginning.... a very good place to start.

It all started on Tuesday of last week when I called Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore to confirm that we would have no trouble getting a campsite without a reservation for the coming weekend. You might ask, "Jacki, why didn't you just make a reservation?" Allow me to answer that. Our national government only allows a certain number of reservable campsites per campground. The ones that were designated "reserved" had all been snatched up for the weekend.

Now, back to my conversation with the park ranger lady....

She replied, "oh, no...you should have no problem ma'am."

Don't call me "ma'am".

So, the Schoebs (our camping buddies) get ahead of us on this journey 4 hrs and 22 minutes to the north of the SE Michigan rat race we call home. They arrive at the campground approx. 10 minutes before us. My cell phone rings and Jayson says, "hey Jacki, they only have one site left and we can only have 6 people on a site (we have a total of 9 camping with us) what are we gonna do?" I'm ticked! Did that crazy ranger lady not tell me we should have no problem two days prior? Yes...yes...she did.

So we are able to get two walk in sites. What's a walk in site? Well, that is a site in which you hike your gear into the site several hundred yards. In our case it was about 200 yards. We take them because we have no choice. We have just driven 4 hrs and 22 minutes. With 5 children. We are tired and we want to climb the dunes and swim on the glorious shores of Lake Michigan. And eat a s'more!

So we do it! We hike two truck loads of gear to two adjoining camp sites. We set up four tents and misc other camping gear. For about 3 hours. Min and I head off for fire wood make a wrong turn and literally the road dead ends into Lake Michigan. It's not as pretty as last time I was here but still I could close my eyes and imagine I was somewhere tropical.

We grab the firewood and head back for our hot dogs, s'mores and pudgie pies.

We clean up that mess.

We played silent football.

Usually this is where we would load all the perishable things in the car for the night, however, it was 200 yards to the car because of the park ranger lady that lied to me so we loaded the food and other supplies in an extra tent.

We take showers and head for bed.

Pretty relaxing and uneventful.

Kurtis and I are laying in the tent reading and he says, "Oh man, I forgot to put on the rain fly. Should we put it on?" To which I replied, "Nah...it never rains when we camp and it will just make it hot." Let's leave it off."

You know where this is going don't you....Keep reading though.....

So, I never sleep well camping. I really prefer camping at the Four Seasons but I'm a trooper and my family likes camping so I like camping. I toss and turn all night long. Abi and I watch the racoons rummage through our trash (because Kurtis also forgot to take the trash to the dumpster-camping 101) and they fought over it for like an hour. I maybe slept a couple of hours. I'm finally having happy dreams of being somewhere....well, somewhere...else...and it happens. No warning AT ALL!!!

BUCKETS, I mean serious...BUCKETS of rain pours in from ALL SIDES of our tent. I yell at Kurtis to grab the rain fly (which is in the tent) he grabs it and goes out in his unders to put it on. He has this head lamp thing that we bought for caving on his head and I have no flashlight so I just stand still and hold it up off the ground. We are soaked!!! The stuff in our tent is soaked. Everything is a good ol' fashioned SOAKFEST!!!

We hear the Schoebs in their tent laughing so we assume they have their fly on and have just been witnessing the stupidity of the Minneys.

I check my clock on my cell to see that it is 6:07am. You are kidding me!!!

Paige has to go to the bathroom so I grab a jacket and hike up to the bathroom with her. (I really wish I was a guy sometimes!)

When I get back both camps are up and the damage is being assessed.

Food tent-no fly-lids on some of the tubs containing food but pretty much soaked.
Schoeb tent-no fly. Status-soaked.
Chairs-soaked.
Clothes-soaked-they were in the tent with us.
Kids-soaked.
Grownups-soaked.

We are done. We decide we are going to head home because everything is soaked. So, we begin that process which takes about 2 hours. It has temporarily stopped raining so we begin breaking things down. Things are packed and loaded near the cars. Notice I said, NEAR and NOT IN the cars.

Yip, rain again. And everything is soaked again.

Jayson says to me, "I think I am too old for camping". And I can't agree more.

We load up...Minneys head home...Schoebs take their kids on to the dunes. When we get home we get to unpack everything again. Set up two tents again so that they can air out from the soakfest. We also have to unload all the gear so that it can dry out so that it doesn't mold and stink so that when we go camping again in 10 years we have it at the ready.

Mindy and I figured out we spent more time actually packing/unpacking, driving and planning this camping trip than we actually did camp. And I didn't even set foot on the dunes or the beach.

Pics of this fabulous journey are here and I'm sure Min will have more but I wasn't much in the pic taking mood.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Totally WICKED!!!!

To quote one of the great thinkers of our time, Junie B. Jones...

Wowwie, Wow, WOW!!!

Wicked was amazing!!! Thanks so much Min and Evy for inviting me, it was a BLAST!

I had to hold E up so she could get her pic made with the truck. The real prop truck!!! How cool!

I love this!!! Evy really wanted to listen to the Wicked CD on the way to the theater but neither Min or I had our CD's or iPod but I had uploaded it to my phone so she listened to it just like this for the 30 minute drive to Lansing and kept listening (and singing!) through the lobby. And actually during some of the show!

Six Flags Trip-Chicago

3 iPods
2 portable DVD players
1 PSP
3 Nintendo DS

yet,

3 kids that are bored for the 4 hour (well like 6 with construction and stupid Chicago traffic) trip to Chicago. What the heck!!

This is our first weekend (although midweek) get away we have had with two teens. They are legitimately weird. Full fledged weird. Example: This morning we stop to have breakfast at Dunkin Donuts which is a huge deal because we don't usually do that. We can't just go in and get a donut. Abi needs a iced mocha latte, Grant needs an omelet croissant, I also messed up the whole system because when I ordered coffee she asked if I wanted cream. Who knew they did that behind the counter for you? Kurtis shorted out knowing that usually I get the non-fat, no whip decaf number at Starbucks so he had to find out what I wanted. He commented that he remembered when going to get a donut was a simple as going into the store and getting a donut and milk. That simple. No choices. Just donut. Milk. Not with teens in 2008 people.

Six Flags was fun and I actually rode a roller coaster for the first time since college. My church college group went before Kurtis and I were married and that is the last time I rode one. So one of the bonuses of older kids is-roller coasters! It was so fun!

Anyway, here are pics from the adventurous weekend. Enjoy!

Random Thoughts with Jacki

Ok, thought this was a weird combo but maybe it is just me.

Today I'm driving around Howell running my hum drum life little errands and I see the funniest collection of bumper stickers/advertising. It was a minivan (strangeness #1) with a bumper sticker that read "I love scrapbooking" -not so strange but with the advertising that with it- "Michigan Paranormal Investigation Organization became strangeness numbers 2 and 3 respectively.