I am just putting a little ‘good job’ note in here for me. On December 12, 2024 I got all the way caught up on my blog. I have been several months behind at any given point for the last year or two. Woohoo!
Tag: janae
Merry Early Christmas to Me!
Shorty after we had Matthew and were living in Wichita, Ryan surprised me with a piano for my birthday. This is the awesome piano I have had for the last 18 years. It has been a great piano and I have spent hundreds and hundreds of hours playing it. We moved it to four different houses with us and every time the movers told us it was the heaviest piano they had ever moved.
When we were building our new house, I decided that at some point I wanted to get a baby grand piano and planned for a spot for it in our living room. Nay Sayers-like my husband (and specific friends he asked because he knew they would agree with him) said it wouldn’t fit or it would look weird. I ignored them because I knew they were wrong and it would look beautiful. I didn’t know for sure when I would get one but it was on the list. I went and looked at pianos a few times and met a nice guy named Blair at one of the piano stores that kept an eye out for what I was looking for and would send me some options every now and then. A few weeks ago he sent me one that really caught my eye so Ryan and I went over to look at it. It was lovely and I liked it but I didn’t get it. I did however, see another one while I was there that I really liked and I ended up getting it instead. We bought it and a few days later it was delivered and was my early Christmas present. AND I LOVE IT!! It fits perfectly and doesn’t look weird at all. It is so pretty and all my kids and Ryan have said they will start playing again or want to learn at least one song. Will they?? …probably not. But it is so pretty they wish they could play it. 😂🎶 I can play it! And I love to play it! John Cazier helped me break it in and my sister and mom over Thanksgiving too. I’m excited to play it for years like I did my last one.
It’s Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime!!!
I have been so excited to decorate for Christmas this year! I wanted to put everything up early but since I was hosting Thanksgiving I thought I should keep my Thanksgiving stuff up at least until then. I did put my outside lights up and my tree without decorations on it early. It has been two years since we have had our decorations up. I forgot what some of them were! Two years ago we had just moved into our rental and only had room for a few things. Last year we moved in to our new house two days before Christmas so I put our tree up and that was about it. This year is was a little like Christmas opening up all the boxes to remember what I had. It was very fun to get it all up. The kids and Ryan were excited too. It feels nice and Christmassy around here now. We were in our last house for 7 years so I had a spot for everything. I have a few things that don’t work anymore or some areas that I don’t have the right decoration but I will tweak it a little each year and eventually it will all pull together. My goal this year was to get a bigger tree. We went from 7 1/2 feet to 12 feet. It is big! I love a beautiful tree but don’t love the setting up. I might get a little tired of setting it up every year, but I think it fills the space pretty good. I also got the garland for the stairs. Allison had a really cute idea to put ribbon on the kitchen cupboard doors with a bow so it looks like presents. I thought it turned out pretty cute! Ryan and I attempted to do the lights ourselves this year. He even crawled up on the roof for our tall front porch. The smaller eve next to it had a 30 foot drop off the one side so we decided it wasn’t worth the risk of our lives and ability to move all our limbs. I ordered a grinch and stuck him in the yard to make it look like he was stealing our lights, then we didn’t have to put them on that eve. Next year we need to get some bigger lights I think…and see about finding someone else to install them.
Halloween Spooks
This year our Halloween ended up looking a little different than it has for the last 10 years. The McDonalds kids and ours all made individual plans with their friends so we didn’t get together like we usually do. We still made pizza and home made root beer for people to eat as they came and went to get ready or stop in on the way to their party. Our houses in our new neighborhood are spread out pretty far so we didn’t have any trick or treaters.
Matthew dress up as Dr Duffensmirch from Phineas and Ferb. Campbell was Harry the platypus. They went to a party with a group of their friends from school. They actually went trick or treating for a little bit too.
Allison and her friends assembled matching outfits and were gangster minions together. They went trick or treating in Grandpa Terry’s neighborhood and then spent the night at our house.
Emilee was a witch this year. She went trick or treating with Reese and a few other girls. They picked a neighborhood that is known for handing out full size candy bars and they were not disappointed. They found a few haunted houses people were doing as they trick or treated too.
Ryan rediscovered his Joe Dirt costume from almost two decades ago and proudly wore it to work. He gave himself a goatee to go with the costume.
The night of Halloween Ryan and I shuttled the girls around were they needed to go and then enjoyed a quite night at home. We did go to a Halloween party with Dani and RJ Halloween weekend. RJ is a pilot so he provided Ryan with an outfit to borrow and Dani and I got First Officer costumes to go with them. I think we were a hit. Ryan LOVED being a pilot too.
September
September is one of my favorite months, and not just because it is my birthday. Its a little bit of a chill month. And usually the weather is beautiful, cooler and still pretty. Sometimes the leaves start changing at the end but this year was pretty warm so it was almost end of October before they started. Fall is just my favorite. I really like all the seasons and maybe they are all my favorite when they start, but I think Fall is my favorite right now…since it is Fall.
Per my request, Ryan took me to a Royals game with our friends the Gudjenov’s for my birthday. It was a great game, great company, fun environment and good food. Turning 43 wasn’t bad at all. I highly recommend it.
Emilee opted to not do softball for the Fall. She stuck with horse lessons and piano. She still loves horse riding and looks forward to her lesson every week. She is pushing to quit piano right now. I am letting her take a little break and then hoping she gets back into it.
Allison took a break from extra curricular activities for the first time…ever. She wants to start doing a weight training program but we are still discussing which one to do. She is going to help with wrestling at the middle school which starts mid October and is followed immediately by HS wrestling so she will be busy again before to long.
Of course football started. Matthew and Ryan both are in a few different fantasy football leagues. They love it and look forward to it all year. This picture is his school buddies that he does a league with each year. They get together and draft their teams and eat way to many donuts and junk food.
Homecoming was in September this year, I think it is a little early but nobody asked me. Matthew went to his last Homecoming with Campbell. Ramey and Ellie doubled with them. They took pictures while the sun was still up, then they changed into casual clothes and went to dinner at Taco Bell. Then it was off to the football game. Shortly before the game ended they went to change into their dance outfits again and then went back to the school for the dance. After the dance they hung out at Ellie’s house and played games. Matthew is still growing pretty fast and starting to put on weight too. The pants he is wearing he at the end of July for senior pics with Campbell. Just two months later he barely fit into them!
While Matthew was at his last Homecoming, Allison was at her first!! She went with a couple friends and had a fun time. We had pizza at out house for dinner and pre-game hanging out. She went to the football game with her friend Olivia and met other friends at the game. They came over to our house and got ready at half time and then I took them back to the dance. After the dance she spent the night at Olivia’s. Allison looked beautiful and so did her friends. I think they had a fun time at their first official high school dance.
Each year at the high school they have FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes). It is several school districts in the area that get together and do it and Spring Hill hosted this year. One of Matthew’s best friends, Ramey, spoke at it and several other people he knew participated in it. Matthew and Allison both went but this is the only picture I got from it. I am really glad Matthew has always picked good friends that have good morals and values. He has a great group of friends- boys and girls- that really support each other and are good kids.
Grandpa Jones Funeral
My sweet Grandpa Jones passed away at the end of April. He was a pretty awesome person. I wasn’t as close with him as my grandma but I loved him and know he loved me and his family. I remember lots of stories about him but you always learn and hear knew things about someone when they pass away. Everyone except two cousins were able to come to his funeral so there was a lot of memories and stories shared. He was a good example. He lead by example on how to work hard, try hard, love those around you, and do what is right. He had a witty sense of humor, loved sports and was an amazing Gardner. He hasn’t been able to keep his yard up the past few years like he used to and it was a little sad to see over grown bushes and no flowers and immaculate landscaping everywhere.
My grandma passed away two years before he did. They are my first set of grandparents to pass away. It was a bit of a different feeling at his funeral having neither of them there. It was sad when Grandma Jones died but he was still there and around. When he passed too it felt heavier because it is like the closing of their generation. More finality to it. I walked around their house and took a lot of pictures because I will probably never see it again and up to this point in my life they have always been there and been a consistent, happy, familiar, predictable piece in my life. It is like a chapter closing. I don’t know how often or if I will see a lot of the cousins and aunts and uncles again. Grandma and Grandpa were the connecting piece for us. They were both amazing people and I miss them.
A few days before he passed he told his kids that he thought he was dying and wanted to say goodbye to them. They are in Utah so I didn’t get to see him but i was thinking about him a lot that week. The day he passed I was planting plants in one of our flower beds. I had been doing it long enough it was starting to be more exhausting then enjoyable and I stopped for a minute and he came to my mind and I thought about a time we went to visit and when I got out of the car he and my grandma were planting dozens of petunias together in one of their flower beds and I helped them finish. Then all of the sudden I had a distinct feeling that they were both there watching me for a minute. I felt love and concern for me from them and then it was gone. I thought it was a memory but a few hours later I got the message that he had passed earlier that day. Maybe not, but I think that after he passed grandma was waiting for him and before she took him to wherever they were going they stopped by to visit me and probably other family members that weren’t able to be there when he passed. It was definitely a unique and special feeling.
His funeral wasn’t until mid May because one of his daughters was in another country after he passed for a few weeks. I went out to his funeral and brought Allison with me. It was nice to see family and talk about grandpa. His funeral was very nice. It was a lot like grandma’s but his had a little more somber note to it like I mentioned because now they were both gone. I know we get to see them again someday and they are together now which makes me happy. Besides grandma he had four brother and both his parents waiting for him that he hadn’t see for a long time. His mom passed away pretty young so it had been over 60 years since he had seen her. I bet that was a very happy reunion. He was in the military and got a 21 gun salute at his graveside and an American flag to honor his service. That was a touching experience to witness as well. You will be missed by a lot of people Grandpa. Thank you for being a good example and good leader for your family for many generations.
These are pictures I took of pictures that were displayed at his viewing. Several of my cousins put together 7-8 picture boards of different parts of his life. They did really good job.
These are pictures from his funeral, the graveside service and his viewing. My aunt Kristin takes the pictures for everyone to have.
Before Allison and I left to come back to Kansas we went and spent some time at my Grandma and Grandpa’s house. I don’t think I will ever see it again so I wanted to walk around and sit and take pictures of things that I have always associated with their house to remember. The yard pictures don’t do it justice compared to how beautiful my grandpa kept it until he wasn’t able to anymore. Whenever we stayed at his house, he would come to the breakfast table dressed and ready to go out to the yard to work after eating a bowl of Wheaties, fresh home grown fruit and fruit juice and a slice or two of raisin bread with a healthy dab of butter spread across it.
This is the program that was handed out at his funeral. I put several paper copies in my kids memory folders too.
Sister Trip-New York June 2023
DeAnna decided we should do a sister trip again this year since the Jones reunion fell through the cracks this Summer. We picked a hot place last year in San Antonio so Sherri pushed hard for New York this time. She had never been and really wanted to go. She had a list of must do activities and sites to see.
We all flew in on a Friday morning and started the adventure off by taking a bus and then the subway and then walking the last block or four to our hotel. It took us 2 1/2 hours but it was part of the New York Adventure. Our hotel was pretty close to Time Square so it was a pretty good location for walking to most places we wanted to see. Once we were settled in the hotel we walked around and explored a little and found a local pizza place that we were told was a must try for dinner.
Saturday we took a New York in A Day Bus Tour. It was about 6 hours and we got a lot of things checked off Sherri’s list that she wanted to see. We would get off and walk around a bit then get back on the bus and go to the next place. We saw lots of the city and then specifically, the Empire State building, Ground Zero, Rockefeller Center (we ate lunch here), Central Park, Times Square, several of the bridges, famous movie places and took a ferry around the Statue of Liberty towards the end. The weather was cloudy but not rainy so it was perfect. On our way back from the tour we found the Cake Boss Bakery. It is a TV show that is famous for their elaborate cakes and fancy Italian pastries. We each got 3-4 things to try then came back to the hotel and had a big dessert sampling feast. I thought the cake was good. The cannoli’s were delicious and everything else was ok. It was cool to see it in person and actually get to taste stuff.
Saturday night we went to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway. It was really good. We all loved it. It was very well done and had really cool magic effects. The last time I went to New York I was pregnant with Matthew and we weren’t able to get to a Broadway play. That was the one thing on my list that I wanted to do and I wasn’t disappointed.
Sunday DeAnna found us a church to go to which happened to be in the same building as the LDS temple so we got to see that too. We found a yummy place to have brunch after church and then we rented bikes and rode them around Central Park. We made it around the entire park and stopped at a few places that you see in movies a lot of that Sherri wanted to see. It is a beautiful park. I would want to spend a lot of time there if I lived in New York. It is the only place you feel like you have a little space and can see a bit of the sky.
We walked from Central Park to our hotel by going down 5th Avenue. We went into a few of the stores like Tiffany’s, Gucci, Loui Viton, Trump Tower. We went into the Plaza Hotel and the Toy store (both from the movie Home Alone 2) We found a taco place recommended by our tour guide the day before for dinner. It was a pretty good authentic street taco. One of Sherri’s list items was to eat food from one of the corner street vendors. She said it wasn’t even though DeAnna and I both remembered it. We did get an ice cream cone and some nuts from a street vendor. When we got to the public library we found a little table and chairs and stayed there and talked for a few hours and enjoyed the good weather and pretty day.
Monday we were going to go to a building called the Edge and go to the top for a good view of the city (similar to the Empire State building). DeAnna was considering doing the adventure packet that lets you harness yourself to a staircase and walk up the OUTSIDE of the building the last 200-300 feet. Sherri and I were taking the elevator all the way to the top. However, when we woke up we quickly found out that our early evening flights had all been cancelled due to ‘weather’ and we had to figure out how to get home instead. By the time it was all figured out we had refunded my flight and changed DeAnna and Sherri’s flights to fly out of KC to their homes and we rented a car and drove from New York to KC. It took two days instead of two hours to get home but we had a fun road trip. I didn’t mind having our girls trip extended a few more days. Three drivers and no kids isn’t to bad of a road trip either. We drove through, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. Several of those were new states to me that I had never been in so that was a bonus too.
Once we made it back to my house both of them flew to their next destinations from KC and the Sister Trip was officially wrapped up and in memory banks. As usual and as expected we had a great time together.
Country Dancin’
Ryan and I went on double date with a co-worker of mine and her husband. I thought for a while that the four of us would get along. We did and we had a great time and have hung out many times since then.
The first time we hung out was also Dani’s birthday. We went country line dancing. Dani and I happen to listen to the same radio station on our way to work in the mornings and one of the radio hosts from the station was there that night so we met him while we were having a fun night dancing.
Grandpa Brent
My moms dad was not feeling well and went to the doctors to figure out what was going on towards the end of November last year. It wasn’t good news. He had a very aggressive form of leukemia. They said he probably had 4-6 months left. They had a few options for treatment but the doctors said that none of them would prolong his life more than a few months. To make the treatments even harder my grandpa was starting to have some dementia and would often forget he had cancer and not want to cooperate with tests and other things he needed to do.
They decided to choose the treatment option that was by were they lived so he could stay at home. They did the first treatment right around Christmas and he seemed to respond really well. The doctors said they would keep giving him the treatments every four weeks until they weren’t effective anymore. He had a good Christmas and New Years. All of his kids and other friends and family came to see him. When he went in for the second treatment they checked the cancer and it was exponentially worse. His symptoms had been getting worse quickly as well as his dementia. They doctors said there wasn’t any point in doing more treatments. So they went home and got hospice set up at the house and kept him as comfortable as they could.
I talked with him on the phone a few times. He seemed to know me most of the time. He was more talkative if I talked about things 10-15 years ago that we did. So he would tell me about going out to check on the cows and tell me how the farm was doing. On January 31, 2023 he passed away.
I was able to go out for his funeral. Everyone was there except the rest of my family, and my brother John and his family. Most of them live there already or no more than three hours away. Sherri and her family and my parents and I had the farthest to travel. I stayed at my grandmas house with my parents and my aunt Peggy and her daughter Sam. My sweet grandma can probably count the number of nights she has been without my grandpa since they got married on one hand. She seemed pretty lost. She spent as much time as she could at the funeral home sitting with my grandpa’s body. My sister DeAnna and I were talking and we both said we remember grandma saying since we were tiny that if Grandpa died first she was just going to crawl in the casket with him and let them bury them both. Since he passed away she hasn’t been sleeping more than 1-3 hours a night. She told Sherri she doesn’t know how to think on her own without him. It will take a bit for her to get used to her new normal.
There is a lot of drama in my moms family. The Call’s are a strong willed, determined, opinionated, sometimes prideful bunch. The last 15 years or so has had a lot of family drama and divisions in it. There were a few people that were pretty worried about how things would go at the funeral. There was some stupid petty stuff that happened but for the most part it was ‘behind the scenes’ and other than unnecessary stress on my Grandma the preparations and funeral went pretty smoothly.
When the viewing started the night before the funeral my Grandma could barely keep herself composed and sometimes didn’t. Before it even officially started there was a line of people out the room down the hall and to the exit door of the church. It stayed like that until 30 minutes after it officially ended. I think it really helped my Grandma to realize how many people loved her and my Grandpa and came to share their grief with her. They lived in Grant Idaho for over 50 years. My grandpa was pretty active in the community and church so he was a part of a lot of peoples lives. I saw several people that I remembered or new from visiting there in the Summers when I was growing up. Other than one of my uncles showing up high as a kite on something with his obnoxious ‘friend’ it was uneventful. There were several people there with the potential to cause a scene so it was a relief to just have the one.
The next day at the funeral there was another long line waiting to talk with her that even with the funeral home people ending it so they could start the funeral on time went 20 minutes over. It was a nice funeral. My grandma kept her head down and couldn’t look at anyone but she said she liked what was said and thought it went well. I learned a lot of things that my grandpa did and participated in that I didn’t know. It was also fun to hear the things people shared that I remembered or new he loved or did. He tried to be a good example and leader for his family and community. He was a doer and a go getter. He had an amazing drive and work ethic.
At the gravesite after it was dedicated my Grandma requested that The Rose be played. It was one of my grandpa’s favorite songs. It was very sweet and touching. I think my Grandma would have sat there all day if they would let her. Eventually everyone left and my Grandma was taken back to the church for lunch. After the lunch everyone dispersed to their own homes. My sisters and I were at my Grandmas a bit before they left. She slept a lot in her chair which was good. She needed any sleep she could get. She doesn’t like to be alone but doesn’t want to move out of her home or have someone move in with her. She decided to go with my mom to Florida for awhile for a change of scenery and to think about what she wants to do going forward. I hope it is good for her and she can start to heal and rally a little while she is there.
After the viewing my cousin Jarom offered his office for all the cousins to get together and hangout for a while. I was back and forth on going but ended up going. I feel a little bit out of place in the family as to were I fit. I was the oldest grandchild by several years. When I had other cousins come along they were my siblings age so I didn’t really play with them. I babysat them sometimes but I didn’t have a cousin I hung out with. Since I was the only grandchild for a while I hung out with my aunts most of the time. The two youngest are 9 and 11 years older than me. So that is who I spent most of my time with but as everyone has gotten older I have been reminded by some of them that I am a grandchild not a sibling…in case I forgot I guess. So I ended up having that realization while I was at the cousin dinner and was able to verbalize to myself what I was feeling all weekend. It was still a good time and now that most of them are older and have families the gap is a little smaller and we have more in common now. My Great Grandpa had a pocket watch that he wanted passed down from Grandfather to the oldest Grandson that would be carrying on the Call name. My cousin Jarom had been holding the watch for his son Levi that will some day pass it onto his Grandson. They brought the watch and passed it around and let everyone see it. It still works, and has a elk etched on the back and the chain has the two (one has been lost) ivory elk teeth (I also learned that elk have two teeth that are ivory) from an elk my great grandpa shot.
I flew home the day after the funeral. I arrived just in time to see the fireworks go off from the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl. It was good to see my family and spend some time with my Grandma, I am glad to be home.
One of my cousins spouses put a book together for my Grandma with memories from the grandkids about Grandpa. Here is what I put in it;
Over the past few days I have seen some happy memories posted of Grandpa on Facebook. Several of them mentioned things that I have memories of too. Checking cows. Summer and Winter days at the cabin. Burnt cookies, and watching movies (The Man From Snowy River most of the time). I also remember the dairy barn, milking cows, checking baby calves, ‘short’ drives to the farm that turned into spending the whole day at the farm. Checking and changing water. Helping with potato harvest. Water skiing, family reunions, The Playmill, snowmobiling. Driving to the store and getting ‘lost’ in Yellowstone for hours on end.
I learned to never get in a vehicle with Grandpa without a few snacks because it was never ‘just a quick’ drive. From the time I was a teenager one of the things he would often tell me on our drives was to always keep a quarter with me so I could always call him if I needed to. About the time I was going to college he was telling me again and I told him I hadn’t seen a pay phone for years. He just looked at me and said, “Well, figure it out.” I laughed and told him I will always think of him when I see a quarter, and I do.
One of the earliest memories I have of Grandpa Brent is ‘hide the beanies.’ I am not going to explain more. If you know you know. (To further explain this. When I was little 3 maybe 4 I was often taking a bath before bed about the time that Grandpa would come home from working) If he heard us splashing around in the tub he would make a big deal about covering his eyes as he walked by to his bedroom so he didn’t have to see any naked beanies in the bathtub. He would say, “I’m walking by hide all the beanies. I don’t want to see any beanies!!” It always made my sisters and I giggle.)
I have pictures opening up Christmas presents at Grandpa’s house when I am way to young to remember. We lived close for a short time when I was young and then it was anywhere from 4-20 hour car rides to come visit depending on where we lived. When we would arrive Grandma would come running from the garden or wherever she was at to give us all hugs. If it wasn’t dark Grandpa would still be working out at the farm and we would see him when he got home. He loved to give me a hug in his dirty coveralls. Sometimes I would help him take his boots off. I still remember the smell of dirt and grease on him. I would always tell him he cleaned up pretty nice when we would go to church. I remember the smell of his cologne and leather boots and belt.
I remember a light blue car, maybe a Buick. The interior was covered in matching light blue velvet. There was an ABBA cassette in it and he and Grandma would play Chiquitita over and over for me when we were driving. It is still one of my favorite songs.
Sometimes Grandpa would try to convince you to do something by betting you that you couldn’t. Sometimes I took the bait, other times we would just agree to disagree. One of my visits he brought home a Big Judd’s burger and challenged me that I couldn’t eat the whole thing. I did and topped it off with an ice cream sandwich. For the next 10 years he introduced me as the grandchild that could eat a whole Big Judd Cheeseburger.
It was nice to go to college at Ricks/BYUI for a few years and get to see both Grandma and Grandpa more often. I would come do my laundry and spend the day at Grandma’s and usually stay long enough to eat dinner if I didn’t get there early enough to see him before he left. One year he took me to get new tires on my car for winter. He teased me about how often I had to eat (apparently 3-4 times a day is high maintenance) but I was always welcome to join them for dinner whenever I wanted.
I remember dancing with Grandpa at my wedding reception. Shortly after I was married and living in Kansas I came home from work for a lunch break and heard a knock at the door. Grandma and Grandpa were standing at our front door, driving around the country to who knows where and decided to stop by for a minute. It was a pretty awesome surprise.
I have four generation pictures with each of my kids and Grandma and Grandpa. I will always treasure them. I love you Grandpa Brent. I’m glad I got to talk with you one last time a few weeks ago. Thank you for all the memories and talks. I didn’t always do what you said 
but I liked to listen and spend time with you. I will miss you and miss giving you a hug and kissing your scruffy cheek.
Until we meet again.
Love always, Janae
Something We Never Expected
This is the third year of doing the Primary Program for Sacrament meeting. The first year was COVID and we just did a video. The last two years have been more traditional versions. The kids learn the songs all year and we help them come up with their parts about a month before the program. We practice everyone’s parts and singing together the two weeks before we do it for the whole congregation. We had a Saturday practice the day before this year as well. The kids were doing great and excited to show their parents and the people they invited.
Once it was time to start the kids came up front and found their spots and things were going along great. About 15 minutes in I noticed a rustling of noise starting and kids seemed to be losing their focus a bit. I was trying to figure out what was going on and I saw one of the boys point at something. I look up to where he is pointing and there are two baby mice running along the ledge of the light facet around the room. Once one of them noticed it took about 20 seconds for word to spread to all the kids on the stage. Our music leader was able to get there attention and the teachers up with the kids on the stand helped them refocus. We continued on with their program.
The mice were not done exploring though. They were jumping and skipping along the edge. The audience also started to notice and we lost several of them because they ran out crying. One of the mice got a little to crazy and fell from the ledge right down the wall. He was at the back of the room and started working his way up the pews on the floor. We lost a few more audience members. I was in the very front row and could tell my Sunbeam class teacher was not ok with a mouse getting anywhere near her. She was sitting by her husband and he was trying to help her relax. At one point when the people right behind me gave a little jump indicating the mouse had reached their pew she stood up to exit. Her husband put his arm around her shoulder and helped her stay in her seat. The mouse then moved up past me and was headed towards the ramp to get up on the stand. The poor Sunbeam teacher was at the top of the ramp and I new if it got any closer to her she lose her composure completely and no amount of coaxing from her husband or myself would calm her down. So I stood up and walked over to the baby mouse-his ears were bigger than his body- and kicked him under the door. I was very grateful he went out the door instead of up my leg. By this time a few people had gotten a bucket or two and were waiting for it to come out in the hall to catch it. I am now known as the legendary primary president that saved the primary program by literally booting a mouse out the door. Apparently I did it very calmly and people were impressed. I was just glad it was not a snake.
When we are getting ready to do a program, I try and think of all the different situations that could come up and how to handle them so I am prepared for anything 80 kids from 3-11 might throw at me. I never thought of mice showing up and running around. Once the mouse was out of the room, things settled down a little and the kids finished their program and did a great job. Afterwards when we talked about it they thought it was so great they sang and said their parts so well that even the mice came to watch.