Happy New Year!!

We were blessed to have a day visit with my brother Brent and sister-in-law Amy this past Tuesday at Brenda and Bruce's place in KC. Of course, it's always great to see my sis, Brenda and my brother-in-law Bruce too! Brent and Amy live in Arizona though, so our time together is limited. We all are looking forward to Brent and Amy's first baby, Zella Grace, a special family name. Zella Van Gundy was one of the most loving and accepting Grandmas that I've ever known. She had so many grandchildren that I can't give the numbers, but I knew she cared individually about me and she remembered specifics to be able to tease me with a little inside jokes when I would see her. (She always tried to keep up on my latest crush and tease me about marrying him some day. Sadly, she never lived long enough to meet Dale, back in those days, he was a kid from Yale that didn't live that far from her house!!! Little did she know....) Zella is an awesome name for our awesome newest little Van Gundy!!





Prepare to go backwards in time......












We went to the zoo the day after Christmas with all of our kids.....eleven in all!! It was a beautiful day for a long walk. Cooper took a little nap in Aunt Brenda's old stroller that I used for Mikiah. Sometimes it is good keep a few things around just in case! Let me know, Brenda if you want that back!



Here are the younger Aunts and Uncles making sure Cooper had a memorable day.

I like to just stand back and relish how God has blessed me sometimes. Little did everyone know that I took many pics of my family walking ahead of me. Here I missed Tyler standing beside Lauren, otherwise it's everyone but me!!! (The tall guy in yellow doesn't belong) Squint your eyes and see Mik's pink shirt under Amy's left arm! The gorillas were crazy that day!

Mikiah and Mallory enjoyed some "sister time".

I think it was Amy's idea to stop and get all the kids in a pic together. She knows me pretty well! I'm so blessed to have Lauren and Amy as my daughters!

The kids all gave me the beautiful scarf around my neck. I love it and really am in with the times a little better now! Thanks, guys! Being a Grandma has turned my life upside down!!! I love this little boy with all of my heart!

Cooper wasn't in the name drawing between our kids, so he got a gift for Bella!! She was dressed for the occasion very well...and always begging for food!

Dale had worked the overnight Christmas Day, so as much as he acted like he was doing fine.....he was secretly still needing some sleep. I think he was playing with Cooper here and ended up asleep!

Drew has wanted to take piano lessons for years now, so at age 12, he can!! Cooper liked it too! Drew is pretty money conscious, so he was a little worried about what this thing cost. I reassured him it wasn't $1,000, which he thought it was!

Trey thought he received a magic trick video called "How to Master Money Miracles" , but found an ipod inside the plastic wrapped cover! It was a hilarious time of watching Derek, Tyler, and Trey open their gifts together and Derek and Tyler had theirs open and Trey was still struggling with the wrapping to find this video that looked like that was his gift. I can't explain the laughter and the whole way it happened. It couldn't have been more fun and was just a blessing from the LORD. ( I had prayed while wrapping them..trying to imagine how it would work best.) We went a little big this year on most of the gifts, but we were blessed to be able to do it and although that won't be the norm, it was a blessing this year. We have interesting traditions in our family ......one has been that Derek and Tyler usually open their gifts together and usually get the same things. This year Trey came in the mix!

Cooper is wearing "moose pjs", which the "moose" is a Mleynek thing from way back when Dale used to tell Derek that he was a moose. Derek would return with "Daddy's a moose!" It continued with Tyler as well. Cooper continues to be very drawn to our stinky Golden Retriever named "Jenna". She loves the extra attention.

Mik drew Lauren's name and found these purple shoes all by herself. I was sceptical if they would be ok, but they were in her price range, and she was determined to get them. When we got home that day, she went straight to my room and wrapped them in two different sections of wrapping paper with lots of tape and had it under the tree before I knew she even did it. Lauren knew it was straight from her heart to her. It had Mik's touch and lots of love all over it!!

Everyone worked on a fun puzzle again this year. Thanks to Christa Williams, we have this fun tradition to put together a puzzle on our Christmas celebration! Christa gave us a 3-D puzzle last year that was quite a challenge. I bought this one of Times Square....the signifigance for me was the fact that David Wilkerson's ministry and church is right there on Times Square!! Praise the LORD. Oh....Bella added to the memory this year.....she got ahold of one piece of this brand new puzzle and ate 1/2 of it!!! It was just above Tyler's arm on the outside edge....you should be able to see the missing part. Everyone was very forgiving of this sweet, little trouble -maker!!!

Merry Christmas from the Mleyneks

Thanks to the creative work of Derek and Amy, I have my Christmas picture ready!! I've been thinking of it, but it hasn't been getting done. I rely on Dale a lot for this and Amy offered to get it ready for me today......so just like that......here it is!! I love it, especially the little extra shot of Cooper in the corner. (It just happens to be my favorite photo of him at this point)

We don't believe in Santa..

After we became Christians over 20 years ago, I went on a Santa boycott. I felt like Santa took the place that Jesus should have had in my life when I was young, and I was determined to make sure my kids understood the real meaning of Christmas. Like I said, I was a 27 year old adult when I understood who Jesus is and what He did and gave up to come to this earth to pay for the sins of all mankind. I have spent the last 20 plus years learning how to live thanking Jesus daily. Also, over the past 20 years, I have forgiven Santa and have come to the place I can tolerate the kids sitting on Santa's lap. So, this year, everyone except Trey wanted to sit on Santa's lap! I didn't think we would try that hard to make it happen, but we ate at a pizza place Dale enjoys today and there was Mr. and Mrs. Claus! Mikiah wanted to know if Santa loved Jesus too, so she mustered up the courage to go and ask him. He said, "Yes!" I love that picture on Christmas cards of Santa bowing at the manger worshipping the Baby Jesus. Afterall, Santa is just a man and needs to be saved as well.

1,200 Mile Weekend

How far would you drive to see a smile like this???

That's right! We were thankful for the lower gas prices as we began our weekend 1,200 mile trek to see Cooper. First stop... Bella Vista, Arkansas to celebrate Savannah and Mike's wedding. We loaded up with 7 people in our Durango.....Dale has decided we still need a van, but we are making this vehicle work for now. We made granola bars, brought apples, some kool-aid drink boxes and headed off. We spent the night in a hotel, while Mallory spent the night with Savannah and the other bridesmaids.

As you can see, Savannah was a beautiful bride and her husband, Mike is not only handsome, but also very friendly and personable. He took a little time to listen to my congrats to them and a little story....I was impressed with his character and kindness. Mike is one of eleven children, a strong Christian family from California.

We enjoyed the wedding in a small country-style church, and a reception at Steve's house. We headed to Yale, Iowa where our family was celebrating Thanksmas. We left at 2 pm and arrived at Dale's parents' home around 9:30 pm. We had a little trouble with our trailer tire, we actually had to stop and change tires twice, then go to Wal-mart for a new tire and still made it to Mleyneks in about 8 hours!



Joe Manley joined us for the weekend. He slept at my parents' house with Tyler, Lauren, Trey, and Drew, while Mallory stayed at Dale's parents' house with Derek, Amy, Cooper, Mikiah, Dale and me. Mallory and Joe give each other a hard time about their favorite football teams. Mallory is pretty loyal to Iowa, which is probably because she was born in Sioux City, IA, and of course, her Aunt Brenda, Uncle Bruce, and Uncle Brent all graduated from Iowa!!


Gma Debbie..I had a lot of fun with Cooper!


Everyone is gathering in the kitchen for Thanksmas dinner. (23 of us) Tyler is doing the funny stomach hold on Lauren in this pic. I've noticed more married couples that do this!!! I'm going to try it on Dale next time to see if he notices. Tyler and Lauren will be celebrating their first wedding anniversary January 12, 2009. It has been a great year for them and us!! Derek and Amy have their hands full now with little Cooper. He is checking out something on Great Gma NeeNee's wall!! Cooper will be one February 2.

Derek, Amy, and Cooper. Cooper was the highlight of the weekend for everyone!

Dale's brother Darrin, Kelly Jo, Garrett, and the twins Michelle and Miranda.


This is Dale's brother Den, Kelly Leigh, Tara, and Travis. Since we have two Kelly's in our family, we use their middle names to keep things less confusing!!

Michelle, Miranda and Cooper Mleynek

Aunt Mikiah and Cooper!!

The Mleynek brothers Derek, Tyler, Trey, and Drew making a funny snowman in Gma's front yard! The Big Guys have been doing this for more than 20 years!

Gpa Dale and Cooper making a face Derek used to make at this age.


Here's Dale, Den, and Darrin's parents, Donald and Neva Mleynek. I have 28 years of memories with Mom and Dad Mleynek now and it just keeps getting sweeter. I love and respect them with all my heart. Everyone had a great time with them!!

The Kansas Mleyneks all headed home at the same time on Sunday eve. Derek, Tyler and their families headed to KC. Dale and his family headed to Nebraska to drop off Joe at his home and then continued from there to Wichita. We arrived home around 1pm.

Thanks Mom and Dad Mleynek for the fun weekend and time with family. It was well worth the drive!!

"Christmas at Walmart"

I ended up at Walmart tonight and saw the Christmas section with a huge sign that says "Christmas Shop"!!! This is a change from last year, so I want EVERYONE to notice this!! I've been especially grieved over this "Happy Holiday" forced greeting that has become the "politically correct" way to great everyone during the Christmas season.....take note of the stores that aren't denying Christ in Christmas this year, and spend your Christmas dollars there.

Mallory moved to El Dorado.....

Mallory has attended Butler Community College for almost a semester now. She is studying in the EMT program there and playing basketball. Her best friend at school and now roommate is Lynsey, which Dale and I have thanked the LORD for bringing Lynsey into Mallory's life. They both are committed Christians, so it really helps going to a non-christian college to have a good friend like Lynsey!!!

Mallory chose to live at home when she started college. That was a financial decision on her part to save money. Derek and Tyler went to college in Florida, so they didn't have this opportunity. It has worked out well for Mallory, but driving 45 minutes daily back and forth is a lot of driving. Mallory also didn't want to drive on icy, winter roads, which we agree. Mallory also has really wanted to get out on her own, so here is the chance. She has bills to pay, school to study for, basketball to work hard at.....her schedule is full. Please do pray for Mallory for her increased responsibilities.

I'll get a picture of the place next time. My battery was low and I was distracted by thinking it was going to shut off, so I missed a few informative shots. Let's just say it is an apartment above a garage.....

Lynsey's Dad is a K State graduate, so Mallory should be an interesting roommate! They'll be giving each other some hard times, I'm sure!!!





Here is a surprised shot of Cooper getting a bluetooth hung on his little ear. Uncle Trey will be adding to Cooper's electronic abilities as time goes on. With his Daddy Derek's computer knowledge, filming, and editing skills, Uncle Tyler and his talents in the same field, Uncle Trey and, well let's just say he knows how to run things I don't even know how to push "start" on. Lastly, Uncle Drew with the chance to learn all and more than his brothers......Cooper is going to be an electronic genius!!!!! He's a blessed little guy.

Cooper, Bumbella, and Changes in our Neighborhood

We haven't seen Cooper for not quite two weeks, but it feels like at least a month. I decided to put a pic in of him when I blog whether I've recently seen him or not! He was being pretty funny about standing up to this chair and chewing a little on the side handle.

Bella has collected a few outfits now. I'll get the others on next time. This is the newest addition from the Perry's. We call her "Bumbella" when she wears it. The hood even has ear holes, but Bella prefers the hood off!!!

Mikiah loves her puppy!

I'm trying to decide what Dale and I should do about the sunroof area on our house. It did have huge boards, probably 4 vertical and then a board that went across the front to box in the roof kind of. Since we resided the house, we haven't replaced them yet. Some of my friends like it this way and say I should leave it this way. I had the thought of putting a pillar at the front step area, but Dale isn't sure it that will look good. Let me know what you think...replace the sunroof look, put up some decorative pillars, or leave it this way! Thanks!

This picture is mostly for Derek, Tyler, and Isaiah to see. Our court has been so full for so many years! Derek was the oldest of about 9 teenage neighbors that have grown up and moved away!! Derek got his license in June of 1997 and got car then too. Tyler got his license in 2000 and a car too!! We had 5 other teenage boys that had cars as well. There was a time that Isaiah lived with us too. I remember counting 21 cars parked in driveways, along the court, and in garages. How times have changed. Today was the first day that I came home to a totally empty court. It was so amazing to see, that I took a picture. I can't want for the good ole days when the boys were home. That's just not God's will, but I do have some sweet memories of those good ole days! I love you, my big guys!!


Valerie asked for my Apple Crisp recipe. My Mom has made this all of my childhood and we really like it too. Last Thursday we had a missionary to Egypt in our home, so everyone had a chance to try the Apple Crisp.

4 to 6 cups sliced/peeled apples

place in a buttered 9 X 13 baking dish and sprinkle with 2 Tablespoons flour and optional 1/4 cup sugar.

1 cup old fashioned oatmeal

1 cup melted butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

Mix oatmeal, butter, brown sugar, flour. Spread over apples. Bake 350 til lightly browned and bubbly, around 35 min. Apples should be tender.

Serve with vanilla ice cream