Our Christmas 2009

This Christmas Eve all the (local) kids were here as well as Nikki's parents and sister Molly.This was our first Christmas with out Tim, he is living in Europe now. We did all open gifts with him on Skype. Guess it is the next best thing to him being here, but not the same and we missed him very much.
After that, we all had a fun snowball fight before church and then another one after church that ended with me catching a snowball with my eye. Put a bit of a damper on the evening but all together we had a great time and then... we caught Santa under the tree.

We all woke up to the smell of fresh bread in the bread maker and coffee. Chris and I got up first and started making Quiche for our Christmas breakfast. The sun was just coming up over the snow covered ground. It was our very first White Christmas!

Then it was time for coffee and opening our gifts, here are a few of the highlights....
Matt getting his long awaited for mixer!

and Chris his long awaited for guitar pedal

and me.... for my notebook laptop~ yeah!

Kevin, his must have Call of Duty computer game

can't forget Ryo with her new bed

and LiLI with her kitty city that she does not appear to know what to do with

Chris and I got Nikki an apron with her name on it, I think she liked it :)


I think this pretty much sums up how we all felt after breakfast, presents and all the excitement

What a wonderful Christmas complete with family, friends, good food, a white Christmas and celebrating the birth of Christ. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
The Minich Family

Oh Christmas Tree.. Oh Christmas Tree...

It's Christmas Time!
The decorations are finally all set up, shopping has begun, it's ok to play my Christmas music now without everyone saying "it's too early"!
We went and picked out our tree the day after Thanksgiving with Uncle Bob and Matt. Kevin and Nikki came over later that day and helped decorate the tree and have popcorn & mocha's.

It's so nice to have a daughter, she actually loves decorating the tree :) The guys "go along with it". It was sweet to watch Chris and his new daughter stringing up the lights together. He even taught her how to wrap the lights up like a ski rope :)

We picked our "special person" which is a family tradition. You pick a name and can't tell anyone who you got. On Christmas Eve we find out who had our names and give a gift to the person you chose. The "special" part is that it has to be something you make, plan or do with or for that person, not just another present. Something special for that person or between the two of you. It is a lot of fun, takes some creativity and we all look forward to it every year :)

LiLi helped, sort of.



We have already had snow ( even if it was just for a few hours) and hope to one day have a "White Christmas"! This was pretty close though.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Introducing Kapium Products

My son Kevin Minich has recently launched his new website Kapium Products. There is a great selection of items to take a look at especially for the men in your lives that you may be shopping for! Here is the link~


http://www.kapiumproducts.com/


Hi, my name is Kevin Minich, Founder and Co-Owner of Kapium Products. My vision is to create an online store where you not only can choose from a wide selection of products, but can also request a product to be sold on the website. All you have to do is email a description of what you are looking for and we will find it, price it, and post it for you to purchase! My goal is to make online shopping a smooth experience for you with customer satisfaction as our top priority. I want to create a personal relationship with my

www.kapiumproducts.com customers and make sure that they are happy. This is why I have created my Product Request page. It is a place where you can email and talk directly to me about a certain tool, toy, gidget or gadget that you would like to see sold on my website. I will work and collaborate with you the best I can to find that certain product you are looking for and will have it up and ready to buy as fast as I can. So please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, comments or just want to say hi. Thank you for stopping by and visiting www.KapiumProducts.com and I hope you find what you are looking for.

THANKSGIVING 2009!

Molly & Nikki's football "treats" ??


Molly schooling Matt!

More Football...


hot chocolate & coffee..

and nap time..

Happy Thanksgiving!

Click here for our favorite Family Pumpkin Roll Recipe. Enjoy!!

http://corinthminichs.blogspot.com/2008/11/happy-thanksgiving.html

Final Tribute for our Dad, Ed Minich

Funeral and other arrangments for Ed Minich

On Thursday, November 12th, we lost our dad, Chris's father, Ed Minich. He is in the loving arms of our heavenly Father. His passing will leave a hole in our hearts and our lives. We will miss you!



Funeral Monday at 11:00 (plus additional info)
Dad's funeral will be Monday, November 16th at 11:00am at his church, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. There will be a lunch afterward at the church.

The Parish of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux is located at 4001 East 101st Street in Tulsa between South Yale Avenue and South Riverside Drive.

The church web site is at http://stbernardstulsa.org/

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Kairos Prison Ministry of Oklahoma, where Dad had volunteered extensively.

Kairos Oklahoma
PO Box 54383Oklahoma City OK 73154-1383
http://www.kairosoklahoma.org/


Several out of town family members have made reservations at the Tulsa Holiday Inn Express. The hotel have made rooms available at $73 per night if you tell them you are part of the Minich party.

Tulsa Holiday Inn Express
9010 E 71st Street South
Tulsa OK 74133
(918) 459-5321
http://www.hiexpress.com/h/d/ex/1/en/hotel/tulwh?&dp=true

If you have photos of Dad you would like to contribute to the family, you may email them to David Minich dminich@datamovers.us.

Family Favorite of the week~

Chris with his sister Carla :)

Halloween Past

Timmy as a bunny~ his first Halloween

The punkin'patch

Kevin as Egon from Ghost Busters with Tim the dinosaur & Matt the LiL' Monster

Cookie Monster & Big Bird


Chris & Elayne

Grandpa Ski & Tim as a puppy

Kevin the pterodactyl!

Grandma Ski & Matt the baby Ninja Turtle

CANDY.. CANDY..CANDY...CANDY!!!

Family Favorite of the week~

Tim's travel by train with a group of friends to Karlstein Castle- outside of Prague.

Sandi-Luke-Tim-Stephanie

Trip to Tulsa

Chris and I took a 4 day trip to Tulsa Friday-Monday to see Ed, Lois, Judy & Bob. We arrived Friday and Ed was still in the hospital. At that point he was still weak and tired but Judy and Bob said he had much more energy than just the day before. We were quite anxious to get there and be with him.

The next 3 days were spent getting Ed home, settled and everyone learning how to administer his insulin shots as well as making sure his diet was appropriate for diabetes and gluten free. Kind of challenging.

He has decided it would be best to stay in an assisted living home for now and we visited one in his neighborhood. They invited us for lunch and to talk. I had no idea how nice those places are and what a great option for anyone needing extra care, but remaining independent in a great social environment. I think we were all ready to move in :)

Each day we saw Ed getting stronger and doing more and more. Including his typical "cutting up" with everyone. He was asking staff at the hospital and assisted living for a skateboard and trying to play "bumper cars" with his walker with the others. He never ceases to amaze me and keep me laughing :) He learned quickly that if you push the "emergency " button on the hospital bed the nurses come running- it did work!

We decided to stay in a hotel with a pool and hot tub which was much enjoyed after we did a 16 mile run downtown Tulsa at Riverside Park on Saturday morning ( more info. on the run see my blog; http://elayneminich.blogspot.com/

Monday afternoon we had to head home and knew it was just not a long enough amount of time there. His sister Judy and son Bob are holding down the fort right now and Carla should be there tomorrow, followed by Cindy and then Dave. All to help get Ed and Lois situated and Judy back home to Michigan. She has been a wonderful aunt and sister through this!

For more detailed and up to date info. on Ed please follow his blog that Bob is keeping up.

http://oakiegrandfather.blogspot.com/

Prayers for Ed and the Minich family are welcome and much appreciated! Ed~ a big hug to you from me :) Love~ Elayne

Grandpa Minich updates

This is the latest update regarding how Ed is currently doing He was brought into the hospital after a blood test revealed his blood sugar level to be at 600. His sister Judy is now there taking care of Ed and Lois. The following information was an e-mail update last night from his son Bob.

"Dad's doing OK. He's still physically weak. He's alert and talkative, but still wants plenty of sleep. His blood sugar is still not well controlled but they are working on that with insulin and diet. The MRI results are in and the doctors are happy with the result. They said the tumor is shrinking and the treatment is doing what it is supposed to do.

Judy said Dad is eating well, though his menu is now both gluten free and diabetic appropriate. He said he didn't have any visitors other than Judy today and that's OK because mainly he just needs to rest and sleep. A diabetic nurse visited while Judy was there. They think Dad will require insulin when he gets home so they are going to set him up with a blood tester and supplies. According to the diabetic nurse, the three main causes for diabetes are steroids, genetics, and stress. It sounds like Dad is lined up with 2.5 of those factors.

Dad got his radiation treatment today and is still on the prescribed drugs. They are working to lower steroid dose. Dad still needs assistance. He is too weak to move between the transport bed they use to bring him to the radiation treatment and the bed in his room. They will be working on physical therapy to get him more active.

Chris and Elayne are planning to come to Tulsa."

-- Bob

Please continue to pray for Ed while he is getting the rest, treatments and care he needs to regain his strength. We are looking forward to getting there and giving him a hug :)

Grandpa Minich

One of my favorite pictures of Ed! ( Grandpa Minich)

I was reading my sister-in-laws blog today and thought about how heavy our hearts are as Chris's Dad ( Grandpa Minich) is having a rough time right now going through Chemo/Radiation for brain cancer. We just hate to see him have to go through this.

It looks like his sister is going to come down to Tulsa to help out for a while, which brings so much comfort to all of us that can not be there on a full time basis.

We too, look forward to him finishing his treatments and feeling better. I don't think there is anything he loves more than getting together with as many family members as possible at one time, the more the merrier!

Please keep Ed in your prayers, he has a few more weeks of treatment and then on to healing and recovery. We pray for rest, comfort, peace and healing.

FATHERS DAY~Kevin, Tim, Grandpa, Chris & Matt