Christmas Day 1982 from the Journal of Tom Rice

12-25-82

Christmas Day. Happy day. Spring like weather. We miss Jeni and her family. All received many presents Christmas nite. I'm going to New London for a while. Bob Norris going to hospital. I will try to be some help to Wilma as well as visit with Mark and Family. Andrea and Allyson are growing up so fast.I really enjoy playing with them.

This makes me warm and fuzzy inside. I know that Tom Rice loves his Family.

Tom Rice 1982 From his Journal

11-15-82-Monday

Cold dreary day.

My watch stopped.

Even the cat doesn't like me.

I never knew Tom Rice, my Father in law, But from what I have learned this is "so him!"

It made me chuckle.

Gum Drop Tree

Grandma's gum drop tree now lives in Houston, Texas. Will and Anna LOVE it! I'm so happy to let this small Christmas tradition live on with our little family. (Will really does love it, although he doesn't look too enthused in this picture. He wasn't in a good mood when we took the picture.)
P.S. You can see the top of Grandma's Christmas tree candy dish in front of the tree. It got cut out of the picture on accident, but it is also being used lovingly.

Clayton Ave Christmas Memories

Family,
As we are getting ready for Christmas 2009, are there things that you see in the store or around your house that remind you of Christmas' on Clayton Ave.? I know I do and I get warm feelings. Let's list some of the things that make you think of Christmas' past...ok, I'll start: ribbon candy.
Ok you go....

Where's my bumper sticker?

http://instruct.tri-c.edu/inside/pages/20091116/jones.htm
Nick won't share this... but I will :)
Cool, Huh?

The spirit of Grandma lives on! She did a few things that brought a smile to our faces, but did she ever wear two skirts at once!? Yep, we got home from a funeral viewing tonight, and it was then that I noticed that I forgot my slip!! That's okay, I had on a second skirt!
Bob's comment... "Jeni's gettin' old".

Belated birthday

To Will & Anna: Happy Birthday 2nd birthday wishes! Hope you had a fabulous day. Love and kisses, the Minnich's.

Muchas Gracias!

I had very good intentions of sending individual thank you notes to everyone that has remembered our family and our little wheelchair-bound boy. Things are unfortunately leaning more toward the crazy end of the spectrum so...

Thank you, wonderful family!!!

We loved the Halloween window decals, the "camolage" (as Mason says it) shirt, the Halloween goodies, Get Well cards, etc. Mason seems to be feeling better after his bone adjustment on Tuesday. Two more weeks in this cast then we'll change to a straighter one so he can start trying to walk some. Corinne no longer wishes her leg was broken so that she can get extra attention and packages. Ethan is thumping on Mason as usual. My back is bearing a lesser load since Mason is able to do more on his own. I think we are going to make it!

Love you!

The Tony Rice Family

Happy Birthday!

Sending the best birthday wishes to Larkin! Happy Birthday toooo yooouuuu!

Halloween Party

Halloween Party at the Minnich's! Come on over Halloween night for a fun family get-together! Bring a yummy snack to share and costumes are always optional!

New Rice-ism

Laughed my head off at Bradley's letter from a while ago...I've decided to create a new Rice-ism that will probably never get old (like they ever?!?!?)
Here it is:
' I'm gonna punch you in the face'

You gotta read his letter to get it. It's worth it!
Have a great week family.

Hi Family!
Elder Jones plans to print our next email to answer all of our questions, and then mail it to us (following the lead of his companion). It would be fun if all of us asked him things regarding his mission. Post a question here, and I'll include it in my next email, noting who the question was from, and then I'll share the answers with everyone. Wanna play?
Jeni

First Email from Brad

My 1st area: Paso Robles, Ca. The Northernmost part of the mission! This place is really cool. It's not like coastal, tropical, palm trees ... it's all vineyards and rolling, golden hills of wheat. It's really pretty in it's own way. My trainer, Elder Ray, is really cool. He's been out for about a year now. He's Hawaiian! He's from the Hilo side of the big island of Hawaii.

I got 'White-Washed' for my first area. Our area is a bike area and it's HUGE. So we have to rely on the members (who neither of us know) to give us rides. The only thing that the previous elders left was a piece of paper that listed our 3 investigators in the area and we had to figure everything else out for ourselves.

Our district has 8 missionaries and we share an appartment with two Spanish-Speaking missionaries. And I'm not sure how big my zone is. WE have a Zone Conference this Thursday. Our apartment is pretty gross. The previous missionaries didn't take very good care of it.

I saw Ryan Chapman a few times, his departure got delayed for Swine Flu reason. So yeah, he had to pretty much just chill out at the MTC for another week-or-so.That's a very good thing that we're getting the youth in our stake to be better prepared for going on a mission. They're gonna need all the preparation they can get.

I got the box from the Rices and you guys, I'm going to write letters later today.Study is going pretty good, I'm learning a lot. I've taught a few lessons with Elder Ray, including member lessons. And yes, we've had quite a few dinner apts. And they were all AWESOME! The people here really know how to cook!

Tell EVERYONE to mail me at: Elder Bradley Jones, 260 Maple Court, Suite # 120, Ventura California 93003-Please use 'Elder Bradley Jones' because there are a dozen or so 'Elder Jones's in this mission haha. Mission rules ask that I have everything sent there via Postal so they can forward it to my current apartment. It will just take an extra day. Please encourage everyone to send letters instead of emails. President Murri asks that we only Email Immediate family.

Funny Story of the week:I got a flat tire the other day on the bike i was using. I had to walk it back to the apartment :( on our way to the mailbox, we got egged! By people in our own apartment complex!!!! WHAT THE HECK!?! Hahaha but then I got a postcard from Sam Minnich and that made me feel better :D

We had a wonderful time at the openhouse / party that our Ward held for Brad's farewell. Thanks to the Minnick's for treking across the Ohio wilderness to be with us! Here are some pictures from that evening!
PICTURES
Brad will be set-apart as a Missionsy by our Stake President on Monday evening, July the 6th then He and Jeni will fly to Utah on Tuesday, and he reports to the MTC on Wednesday , July the 8th whereon Jeni will cry until Saturday, July the 11th!

Happy Father's Day!

Wanted to wish all the dads in this great family ~ a wonderful day !!

You each possess qualities that make you a wonderful dad!

• Strong testimonies
• Unshakeable faith
• Magnifiers of God's Priesthood
• Tender loving hearts
• Doing the impossible {whatever we may ask of you}
• Giving your all ~ no matter the "cost"
• Making us laugh
• Letting us laugh at the silly things you do
• Going above and beyond {to infinity if necessary!}

Love ya ~

Marina

Hi family!
Bob has confirmed that Brad's temple session is at 1pm on Saturday June 13th. I've called the temple with everyone's name. If you cannot attend, let me know so I can call the temple, the session is full and they'll need the space. Thank you for your support during this awesome time in Brad's life.
sniff, sniff,
Jeni

Belated...

Happy anniversary to Larkin and Allyson! Sorry it's late, But I hope you had a great day. I remember your wedding day. It was rainy but still a beautiful day!

Goin' to the Temple with Brad

Hey family!
We are very excited about Brad’s call to the California, Ventura mission!
We wanted to try to schedule a Saturday in June that would be convenient for everyone (as much as possible) to be with us when Brad goes to the Columbus Ohio Temple.
Right now we are thinking about June 13th @ 3pm? Please check your calendars and let us know if that’s OK by U. We may have to change the time based on the Temple, but please let us know if the 13th of June works for you. Thanks-a-Bunch, Uncle Bob

Mother's Day

We join Mark & family in wishing all the ladies a wonderful Mother's Day. The Minnich's are headed to Kalamazoo for the weekend visit Mother Minnich. We'll have Mom in our hearts and remember all her beautiful attributes. I am who I am because of her. "Her children arise up, and call her blessed..."

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the women in the family! We love you! Thank you for all that you do!

Love,
Mark, Judy, and all the kids

Even More Birthdays!

Happy Be-lated birthday wishes to.....Christopher Hurt and Jackie Hurt! Hope you had a super duper day! Love you both tons!!!!

Another Birthday

We send our Birthday love to Andrea! Have a fabulous day!

Day of Birthdays

Happy Birthdays to Chris and Jack-a-lina! We sent our best wishes for both of you! Love you!

OOPS!

Oops...forgot Matt's Birthday on the 17th! Happy Belated Birthday, Matt!

Sam turns 12 today!

Just want to wish Sam a Happy 12th Birthday!

Happy Birthday to you!!!!!

Love, Uncle Tom and Aunt Marina

PS ~ sorry, we forgot to post this earlier :(

It's a big day for the Jones family.

Dear Family,
This Wednesday, the 22nd, is Bob's third interview with a company in Akron. He feels great about the position and knows he'd be an asset to the company, but as always, it's in their hands.
I humbly ask you to join us in a family fast and prayer on his (our) behalf this Wednesday.
We have felt your prayers and support during this entire time, and love and appreciate you all more than you'll ever know. A moment of silence at 9am might work too :). Just kidding, when have we ever been known to be silent.
Love you all,
Jeni

Need Addresses

I am looking for Lois Ann and Janet Herre's addresses. I found pictures of their families and want to forward them onto them. If anyone has them, please send them over to me...Thanks, Suzanne

Conference Sunday

It has been decided to meet here this Sunday, April 5th for Potluck Dinner in between conference sessions. Whenever everyone can get here after the first session will be fine. Tom and Marina will be bringing the pile of things we kept from Mom's house to go through was well as all the legal details with Mark. We'll have conference on for the 4:00.
If anyone has a card table we can use for the day would be helpful. Call if you have questions,
Suzanne

Just a couple of things...

Hey everybody ... here's Nicks blog address, for your viewing pleasure :
http://threeyearstoolate.blogspot.com/

And Our Stake got a new Presidency on Sunday. Nope, I was NOT released or called to anything ...still the Stake Clerk (and loving every minute of it). The first thing the visiting authority said to me in my interview was " Well Brother Jones just so you know, we will not be releasing you when we release the rest of the Stake Presidency, so where are you from...!"

Enjoy spring everyone. Love Uncle Bob

"Wilma" telling Roger what to do ... 5 minutes after eye surgery!

Mitchell has discovered his weenis

... and is pretty entertained by the fact. Diaper changing has become easier because he's too busy tickling himself silly (literally and figuratively) to be trying to roll away screaming and yelling. Yay?

This is an email I got from Lois Ann. I responded on behalf of us all (after I called Becky to be reminded who Paul was)

Happy March everyone!!

Hi Jeni,
I have some sad news. Cousin, Paul, passed away Sat. Feb. 14th. His cancer returned with a vengence and he quickly went down hill from his Dec. dr.s appt. He was cremated and will be buried in Harrisburg, East Cemetery tomorrow, Feb. 28th Bobby, John, Tammy and our Friend Becky are all going out for the memorial service. you can view his obit Piitsburgh Post Gazette Tues. Feb. 17 I'll keep in touch, Love ya, Lois

Matt's Chronicle

Here is the article from The Chronicle featuring my favorite husband. There is no picture on the on-line version, but don't worry, I have a copy.
http://www.chroniclet.com/2009/02/06/through-the-eyes-of-a-caricature-artist_122/

The month of Birthdays

To James:
Parabens a voce, nesta data querida, muitas felicades, muitos anos de vida!

Happy (belated) Birthday to Tony-Bologny!

Pre-birthday wishes to Miss Corinne with the coolest middle name!

Mitchell Birthday Party Pictures are available here.

Mitchell Jones 1st B-day

It sure was a Fun 1st Birthday.

It's your day!

Happy 1st birthday to Mitchell! We are glad you are in our family! We love you!

OUCH!!!!!

Bradley D - How are thee?
Mouth so sore
Have some jello and herbal tea -
Though your teeth are gone
Your wisdom is not
Cuz you are the man
Who is now ready for His plan!

Aren't you glad it's done?

Happy Birthdays!

This month is such a happy month it's birthday time for you........looking forward to all the parties!!! Love to all!!

Mitchell Robert Jones - Feb 5th - 1 year old!
Anthony Thomas Rice - Feb 8th - uhmmm...never mind
James John Woolf - Feb 9th - ditto :)
Corinne Mae Rice - Feb 10th - 6 years old!

To the lovebirds, Nick & Sarah

Happy 2nd Anniversary....wow can't believe it's been 2 years!

No, not yet!

So I've noticed that when I put my glasses far down to the tip of my nose, I can see close things a lot better. Then when I push them up, I see far things better. Does that mean bifocals are in the near future for me? How can that be when I'm only 29?

It's Your Birthday!

Happy birthday Sarah! Hope you have a wonderful day and stay w-a-r-m!

A Birthday Celebration!

Mitchell's turning 1!

We hope you can come celebrate with us Saturday, February 7th, 11 am

at Home Town Buffet (Midtown Plaza, 1930 Snow Road, Parma).

Cake will be provided.

Hi everyone!
We checked with a furrier here in Bainbridge about Grandmas mink stole, to see if it was in good shape. Turns out, it isn't. It has quite a few tears (in the seams) and is dried out. She said she couldn't use it for anything, and we probably couldn't get more that $20 on ebay for it. That makes me sad, Dad was so proud to get it for mom. Who would like to have it? I'll hold on to it until I hear back.

The Jones' are at PostNet today, still disassembling, throwing away, and generally trying to decide what to do with ALL this stuff!! A huge thanks to Chris, Brad and Nick who have helped more than I can say. Yesterday Brad and Chris worked really hard, while Bob and I attended the temple, may they be blessed for their efforts. Today Nick and Brad are taking slat wall down. Everything is fun with power tools. Funny boys. If things don't sell on the auction, we'll rally in the troups to help move everything to storage. Naturally we hope alot sells, for alot of reasons.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. Bob gives me the "things are going to be fine" look all of the time. I'm grateful for his strength and faith.

Love all around!
Jeni

Happy Birthday Peanut

Happy Birthday Allyson!
Love Aunt Jeni and Uncle Bob.

Thank Yous All Around!

Just a note from the mini-Rice family to say how much we appreciated everything this holiday! The kids love eating off of their Lightning McQueen and Princess plates, Corinne loves wearing the sweater from the Hurts, playing with their new gadgets/toys, etc. The list could go on thanks to your generousity. We were sad to have missed seeing you over the Christmas holiday but hope you all had a wonderful time together!