Just An Old Pink Bike

There she was hanging on a great big hook on our back garage wall where she'd been resting for decades: bent up basket, flat tires, and still missing all of her once-frilly tassels.

Funny how I can still remember our firstborn, Tiffani, insisting "I'm a big girl now" and ready to ride without training wheels. I recall anxiously watching her sail down the street without them for the very first time. Tiffani is now almost thirty-two-years-old and so is that old pink bicycle.

Tiff's old bike is coming out of retirement now, bent up basket and all, to represent Granny's House at Columbia Art League's ArtCycle Parade and Contest on June 7th during the annual Art in the Park.

"Bubblin' With Joy" is what we've named our entry and what a fitting title for an old worn out banana seat bicycle that's being transformed into a work of art to showcase the intricate beauty of the precious children who make up our Granny's House family! Our little haven on Trinity Place in public housing is always bubblin' with joy and so is our ArtCycle!

Our "Bubblin' With Joy" ArtCycle will be unveiled at the ArtCycle Parade on Saturday morning, June 7th, 10 a.m. The ArtCycle Parade will begin at Flat Branch Park and end at Stephens Lake Park. All of the ArtCycle entries will be on display throughout the weekend at Art in the Park at Stephens Lake Park.

"Kiona" from Granny's House will be our rider during the parade and I'm certain she'd love to have you all there to cheer her on!

-Granny Pam

Mission 007-Day 3

We're home! After a long day of traveling, Thunder, Prada, Reecie and Rudy have made it back to Columbia (their new home for the next 3 months!). It's been such an incredible experience watching the girls relate to their horses and I can't wait to see what happens this summer as the training gets more intense.

At this point, the plan is to have the girls train their horses twice a week (although a couple of the girls want to spend every waking moment with their Mustang!). Training will begin next week and will continue until we head to Fort Worth Texas for the Extreme Makeover Challenge in September.

The training will definitely challenge the girls in many ways. Vernita mentioned to me yesterday that she thinks the hardest part will be having patience with the horse, seeing as though they are wild Mustangs who have never worked with people. This morning, I watched as she stood quietly on the side of the trailer for 5 minutes holding grass in her hand for her horse to eat. Finally, Prada made her way over to her hand and gently grabbed the food. Besides the fact that this act showed incredible bravery and confidence on Vernita's part, it also proved that her patient training is already paying off.

We are convinced that the next three months will be life-changing for both the horses and the Spirit Riders. Stay tuned for more blog updates on this brave group of girls.

Mission 007-Day 2

We have the Mustangs! What an exciting (and busy) day it's been. We woke up early and made our way to the Southwest Stallion Station where about 200 Mustangs were being held awaiting adoption. We arrived to warm smiles and hugs from individuals from the Mustang Heritage Foundation who were so excited to see us, and made us feel incredibly welcome.

The girls were each given the job of preparing the trailer with bedding for the horses, and talked to several reporters who were from the Austin American Statesman (you can see the article by clicking here, and can also watch a video about the Extreme Makeover experience here.) The girls were surprised so many people knew who they were, and who were interested in their "journey" from Columbia Missouri.

Around 9:30am, the girls began a series of paperwork, and one by one were assigned a Mustang (at random). At this point, the yearlings have been completely un-handled, having been born in the "wilds" of Nevada. In order to load the horses, each had to be run through a chute up into the trailer.

One of our favorite moments of the morning happened when Starr named her horse. For the past few days, Starr has been brainstorming horse names, anything ranging from "Dot" to "Serenity". She was getting anxious, but Sue told her she should wait and meet her horse first because the name would come to her once she laid eyes on it.

After talking with Sue, Starr decided to make a list of boy and girl horse names to take with her to the ranch where the horses were held.

Starr's horse was an adorable little bay filly (girl) who had a lot of spunk in the loading chute. When Starr saw all of the energy, she whipped out her list, and with complete confidence stated "Thunder" and so Thunder it is!

By 3pm, each horse had been named; Starr will be training "Thunder", Vernita will be training "Prada"(since it is a very classy dark brown color), LaShawnda will be training "Reecie" (since her horse is the color of "Reeces Pieces" candy) and Arreal will be training "Rudy" (named after the BBQ restaurant we ate at which Arreal thought was the best BBQ she's ever had).

The girls have consistently checked on their horses, sang to their own horse and are even getting up in the middle of the night tonight to make sure they are doing okay!

More updates tomorrow as we head home and the training experience begins!

Mission 007-Day (Night) 1

After 16.5 hours on the road (yes...16.5 hours), the four "Spirit Riders" (Arreal, Vernita, Starr and LaShawnda), two riding coaches (Sue and Robin), a Columbia Tribune photo journalist (Julia) and myself (Angie) have finally made it to Elgin Texas! Even though it's midnight, the girls are busy playing in the swimming pool (which might I add was opened just for them--as long as they promise not to wake up any hotel guests) and enjoying their first time in Texas.

Tomorrow we will begin the process of picking up four wild yearling mustangs and will head back toward Columbia! So far the trip has been a blast, and the girls can't wait to see what horses they will be training this summer.

More updates to come!

Golfing for Granny

On Monday, June 16, The Crossing will sponsor a scramble golf tournament at the Lake of the Woods Golf Course in which all the proceeds will go to help Granny's House! Coach Gary Pinkel and Jon Sundvold will host the tournament again this year.

Click here for more information on how you can get involved!

Son's of the King graduation

The long tees, baseball hats and throwback jerseys were put away for the day, as seven Son's of the King (SOTK) members slipped into freshly pressed collared shirts, silk ties, and black dress pants. With shiny shoes, a bit more “pep” in their step, and with heads held high the boys were ready for graduation.

After a year of mentoring, spiritual growth, and of course plenty of field-trips to their favorite restaurant, Buckingham's, seven young men were honored by Granny's House for completing the requirements for the 2007-2008 Son's of the King program:

“Our goal is to nurture young men with strength of character - integrity, honor, purity, dignity, strength, and courage. Hopefully, each one will become just like their mentors…” says Dr. Ellis Ingram, SOTK Director.

Each SOTK graduate stood at the podium at the University of Missouri's Oldham-Gaines Black Culture Center before friends and family members as they shared scriptures that had been especially meaningful to them. And, in their own unique way, each boy thanked their mentors for their hard work and dedication to the program.

The highlight of the event was the debuting of the SOTK video that featured the mentors and participants sharing their sentiments about the year's SOTK events.

Getting to observe these young men's professional and oh-so-dignified side made all of us proud! What amazing spiritual growth had developed in them since the program began last fall. Each one is, indeed, an incredibly talented and intelligent man of God.

The verse for the year was Romans 1:16 “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” Our prayer is that this verse will forever be a foundation for these young son's of our King to stand on and that, through it, their lives will be continuously transformed.

Texas here we come!

Saddling up a horse, cleaning out stalls, and riding off into the sunset don't sound like typical activities for kids in public housing, do they? But for twelve Granny's House youth, these tasks have become mainstays of their week as they participate in the “Spirit Riders” program which was launched three years ago by attorney and Granny's House volunteer, Sue Crane. One of the main reasons she started “Spirit Riders” was to expose inner-city youth to life on the farm.

Since its inception, more than 20 children have received horseback riding lessons and learned horsemanship basics from Sue and her “Spirit Riders” volunteers. On any given Thursday evening and Saturday morning, a van full of youth head out to the country, lace up their riding boots, and enjoy a two-hour adventure with the Crane's horses.

And now, four of these young horse-women are about to undertake yet another adventure that will take them nearly 800 miles away to the great state of Texas! A few months ago, Sue Crane heard about “Mission 007,” sponsored by the Mustang Heritage Foundation, whose purpose is to increase the adoption of wild Mustangs to “good homes.” This competition allows indivduals from across the nation to “adopt” a Mustang for 90 days, train it, and then compete during the upcoming “Extreme Yearling Makeover, Mission: 007” in September.

During the competition, the Mustangs will be judged on body condition, and the trainers will be judged on how well they have “trained” their horses. As if the satisfaction of breaking in a wild horse weren't enough, the top competitor will win up to $15,000 in scholarship money!

While Granny's House staff and Sue Crane selected which four Spirit Riders qualified to enter the competition, the decision wasn't final until the Mustang Heritage Foundation reviewed all the applications that came in from across America. Our four applicants were among those who where selected!

On May 5th, we finally received the good news! All four Granny's House applicants had been selected to compete in Mission 007!!

On May 23^rd, we travel to Elgin, Texas to pick up the four Mustangs. And with the help and advice of Sue Crane and her “Spirit Rider” volunteers, the girls will immediately begin their job as “trainers.” They will work all summer to get their horse competition-ready for the “Extreme Yearling Makeover, Mission: 007” in September.

Please pray for our four Granny's House competitors: Arreal (17), Vernita (16), Starr (11) and LaShawnda (11) as they embark on a journey that will surely be life-changing!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and like many other children, our kids LOVE making gifts for their moms! In fact, regardless of the time of year, kids are always asking “Can I make one for my mom!?”--no matter what the activity or craft is!

Yesterday, Granny’s House was filled with kids “posing” for portraits and decorating picture frames to give to their moms for Mother’s Day. With an instant picture printer on hand, and a dozen volunteers from Altrusa International, the project was a fun and creative way for the kids to show their mom how much they love them!

I think one of my favorite parts of the day, was watching the kids “pose” for their portraits. Each child was able to pick out a bouquet of flowers to hold, and they were so very careful to make sure they picked out just the right one. “Well...I’m wearing blue...so I should probably pick the blue bouquet of flowers...my mom would like that!”--or “My mom’s favorite color is pink...do you have any pink flowers?”--or “My mom is going to LOVE this...her favorite flowers are roses!”

Another exciting part was watching how creative the kids got with their poses. Some kids decided to look “tough” while others made sure their hair was just right and their smile was bigger than ever. Either way, I’m sure the moms of Granny’s House will enjoy their very personalized and thought through gifts!-And I KNOW the kids enjoyed making them!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Top Ten Reasons...

Food… we love it, we need it, and the Granny's House kids are no different! They're usually “starving” and ready to devour just about anything as they pile through our front door. As she greets them with one of their favorites (hot dogs or nachos) or a surprise concoction, Vance Weddle (aka “Granny Vance”) is usually the very first face the kids see upon their arrival. When she's absent and we have to fill her shoes, we fumble-bumble around our little closet-kitchen, doing our best to serve the forty to sixty kids with her efficiency and grace. Granny Vance has been our Kitchen Supervisor for almost seven years, and quite honestly, we all feel a little “lost” when she's absent.

You've probably heard one of David Letterman's “Top Ten Lists.” We thought you'd enjoy reading our “Top Ten Reasons” why we love Granny Vance:

#10 She is super organized, and like the ant, is always storing away food and supplies to make sure we have all the essentials on hand to prepare the meals and serve the kids…

#9 She's a creative and adventurous cook, brave enough to try out new concoctions even when her delicacy brings a chorus of “Hmmmmmmmmmm?” from another staff member. She's on a mission to expand the children's food palate and, last month, she introduced them to goulash, a recipe from her German exchange student. The kids loved it!

#8 She has a gigantic servant-heart. Nearly seven years ago, when she first learned how much she'd get paid for her role as Kitchen Supervisor (peanuts!), she responded with genuine surprise: “You mean I'll get paid to do this?”

#7 She loves the kids and carries a spiritual burden for each one…

#6 She makes and wears those cute little hats and has custom-designed them for the Granny's House kids. They loved being able to select their own fabric and trims!

#5 She cares deeply about the quality of food the kids eat and, because of her convictions about nutrition, she is quite comfortable vetoing my suggestions to “add a little more sugar… how about some more salt?… perhaps more spice?” This former nurse does all she can to impart healthy eating habits to the Granny's House kids…

#4 She exudes Christ-like patience, even when it's “hot in the kitchen.” She moves about our small kitchen space as if she has all the time in the world, even when it seems that every single kid is asking for “seconds,” or asking “where's the hot sauce?” all while the rest are spilling their juice… again.

#3 Granny Vance doesn't “compartmentalize” people. She showers everyone with huge doses of love and assumes that everyone wants to hear her latest revelation of God's goodness. She has a unique gift of sharing her faith “naturally.” No hype, just those simple, yet precious little Truths she learns from Him everyday…

#2 She has a precious, teachable, humble heart. I've heard “I was wrong” spill over her lips more times than I can count…

#1 She has a red-hot relationship with the Son of God, and it shows!!

Now you know our “Top Ten Reasons” for loving her! -Granny Pam