It’s Christmas Day and a time to spend with friends, loved ones, and family. Sally and Gil, Paul and I, decided there would be nothing more appropriate than to pay a surprise visit to the Austin Children’s Shelter. We loaded up Rocky into our van and off we went to meet  MasterCard and SeanMonet. Jess and Lain brought Bandit too, sporting his Christmas apparel, pulling his cart and Christmas bells, They all  wanted in on the fun too,   Steve and Laura showed up to volunteer and help out too. It was, a very pleasant surprise that some of the Children remembered the horses by name from their visits before and they were all so excited as they called out to their favorite  Horse, and came running over to greet them. We had to slow them down and remind them of the rules, No running!  They were all just so happy and excited to see them again and get a chance to hug the horses, brush and groom them,  and walk them around for a while.  As I looked around at our group of Mini’s, mingling with the Children, I had this  warm fuzzy Holiday feeling come over me, as I could see the  Joy and smiles it brought to the Children’s little faces. That’s what it’s all about, these guys bringing Happiness and Joy into these kids lives, and to let them know we care about them.  At the end of the visit, on behalf of Mini’s and Friends, and our love for these Children we left them with a Merry Christmas wish and a gingerbread goodie bag with a few Christmas treats. What a great way to spend a little time on Christmas Day!

On Halloween Saturday, October 31st, Minis and Friends attended The Juvenile Diabetes Walk. This is the first year the event was held near the new Dell Children’s Hospital at the City park. The weather was beautiful, sunny, and warm, and being that it was Halloween, the crowd was huge. Almost everyone showed up in complete costume, from the littlest tyke to Grandparents, to furry little friends.  There were Ladybugs, Cowgirls, Dorothy form The Wizard of Oz, Punk rockers, Dracula, to The infamous balloon boy.

As far as attractions for the families, there were, Moonwalks for the Children to bounce and jump on, Rock climbing, Facepainting, Hair streaking, Fire truck rides, and free food. The hit of the whole day though was the miniature horses. All of the Children on hand, were just drawn to the little guys. Time and time again, I kept hearing from the parents, Boy you guys are the hit of the event, My children just wanted to keep coming back to see the horses. They were defiantly the main source of their entertainment for the event. We had MasterCard, SeanMonet, Rocky, Rudy, and Bravo there. All of the boys,  were on their best behaviour. Well besides wanting to eat the pumpkins, I brought for decorations and knocking our sodas off the table! This was only little Rudy’s, the new comer’s, second event. Gil and Paul, kept noticing when the kids would walk away or come towards the corral, Rudy would stick his red head, right over the corral, as if to say,” Come over here and see me.” It is so obvious, Rudy is going to be a great therapy horse, and he really adores kids. He wasn’t raised around any Children at all, so we couldn’t tell how much he loved them until we put them in the same venue.

The event was a huge success, as thousands, came out for The walk for Juvenile Diabetes and to support the foundation. There were parents Aunts,  Uncles, and Grandparents with wagons decorated which may have had their child’s name and the year they were diagnosed. As I walked around and saw these, it really brough everything into perspective and  reminded me what  and why we were all there.  To support them so that they could find a cure so no more kids have to suffer.

Emma, called us to Thanks us for attending and supporting their foundation. She also told us, What a big hit the Mini’s were. Then they offered us a donation of 31 bales of very gorgeous coastal hay, as a way to say Thanks to us and the Mini’s.  Since I was taught by my Grandfather, never to look a gift horse in the mouth, We graciously accepted this generous donation, on behalf of our Non-profit organization. Certainly this was a huge donation for us, since we are all individual owner’s and bare the expense of their food., supplemented by  Callahan’s and their continuing donations. We are extremely grateful to now have hay to feed the horses for the winter. We even took two bales and made them a very soft cushy bed to lie on to keep them off the cold ground. Thanks Emma so much for helping us so that we can continue to help our community and organizations like The Juvenile Diabetes and walk for a cure.

Visit the YouTube link to see our “We Are Austin” segment with the minis. Don’t miss it to see what the minis do when they are working in the community!

Sherry hold check from Sam's Club.

Bonnie Barrington happened to be in the right place at the right time when she went to Sam’s Club to buy supplies for last weeks Mini play day at Paul & Sherry’s house. While there, she happened to speak to a Club Manager (Randy Wright) about a Turtle Cheese Cake she had seen while shopping that was calling her name. While talking to the Manager, Bonnie mentioned that she was part of a Non-Profit Organization and gave him a brief description on some of the things that we did. Randy thought that maybe Sam’s Club could help us out in some kind of way so he gave Bonnie a business card and told her to give them a call. Bonnie passed the business card on to Sherry who is our Fund Raising GURU and that started the ball rolling. Sherry contacted Marie Flenoy who is Sam’s Club’s Marketing Director and gave her all our info needed to check us out and to see if we qualify to receive funds from Sam’s Club.Marie contacted Sherry a few days later and gave us the good news. We were eligible to get these funds and we had to show up at Sam’s Club on I-35 north in Austin on Friday 8/28 to give a presentation and to receive a check.

We set up a display table with our brochures for all the other Non-Profit groups help them selves to. It was great to meet with some of these other groups and to see how much people really do care for the well being others as we do. Sherry and Sally gave the Presentation to explain what we are all about, Rocky and Bravo represented the herd and Paul was on scooper detail. Sounds like a winning team to me. Rocky and Bravo were a big hit with the Sam’s Club shoppers and their children. Sherry and Sally gave a great Presentation and Paul scooped like he never scooped before.

Sam’s Club presented Sherry with a check for $1000.00. They have no idea how much that amount of a check helps us out. Sam’s Club is forever in my heart and I pray for good thing to happen to all those involved. Good thing happen to good people. A special thanks to Randy Wright & Marie Flenoy.

Randy- Thank you for taking an interest in what your customers have to say. Without that, this wouldn’t be possible.

Marie- Thank you for taking our call and taking time to check us out and having the confidence that we were worthy to receive such a great gift.

If our Mini’s could talk, they would be speechless.

From all the Mini owners- God Bless you all.

On Sunday August 23, 2009 we were asked to help out one of the many businesses that reached out to us in times of need. Hooters donated Chicken Wings to us to help us out for our most recent Fund Raiser. Thanks to Hooters and many other companies like them our Fund Raiser was a huge success. So of course when they ask us for a helping hand, we were fast to do whatever we could to help them out. They were having a company party at their location on 183 north (just south on Lakeline Mall). Their party theme was Country/ Western. They thought it would be a good idea to have the Mini’s there to add to their theme and to have as an added attraction for the kids. We brought Mastercard, Sean, Rocky, Stardust and Bravo to meet the Hooters girls. The Hooters girls LOVED our boys and so did the kids. If I were single, I would take a Mini out with me at night. They are absolutely babe magnets. You have to love these little guy’s.

There was a good handful of little one to enjoy the Mini’s. All of the Horses were so sweet with the kids. There was even a couple that had 2 big white dogs that were great with the horses. I think Sean wanted to play with them. He was so cute.

We would like to thank the Manager of Hooters (Paul) for including us for their party and we look forward to a long lasting relationship with him and Hooters. Paul is a special person. They had bails of hay around the parking lot they used to add theme to their party that he let us take with us when we left. We all would like to thank Paul once again and wish him luck with whatever he does in the future. It’s people and businesses like that that help us survive.

Minis and Friends thanks you all,

IT’S ALMOST CHRISTMAS!!!

Once a year families all over this nation get together to celebrate life, love, and laughter.  Commercials are suddenly filled with holiday jingles and gift-giving ideas.  This year, my favorites include the Progressive Santa Claus commercial,  and the Lexus Christmas commercials (yeah, it’s because I want one too).  Kids start thumbing through the Toys’R'Us catalog and circling everything on the page that they want (which is everything on the page)

Maximum energy is spent trying to decorate the house, the tree, the cookies, the kids, and anything that you’ve been meaning to hide throughout the year.  Nothing is more fun than watching the good old Christmas movies like the classic Dr Seuss’s “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, and “It’s a Wonderful Life”.  We all get excited about “Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown.”  This year, albeit not much different from other years on the surface, things are going to be a little less bright.

We may spend less money on a real tree with fancy trimmings, cut back on the five gifts per kid shopping spree we’re used to, and we may have to sacrifice the elaborate holiday parties for more intimate family affairs.  But in spite of everything that is happening in the world around us, we cannot forget the reason for the season.

This year remember to make Christmas less about the gifts and more about what you give.  Give your time, your energy, your expertise and your talents to those around you with special needs. 

1. Minis and Friends will be at the Town Lake YMCA from 1:00 – 3:00 pm on Saturday, December 13th.  Join us for a chance to make a child smile this season. 
2. Donate your used ink and laserjet cartridges and your old phones at Onion Creek Ranch when you stop by on December 14th to help us Spruce up for our Christmas Benefit starting at 10:00 am.

Get into the Giving Spirit this holiday and find other ways to give this season.   

Visit www.minisandfriends.org to learn more about our Minis and Friends Christmas Benefit on December 21st at 3:00 pm at Onion Creek Ranch.  Check the website for a list of Silent Auction items for you to bid on to pick up last minute gifts without wasting time in mall.  Enjoy good food, food fun, and good folks while listening to music, taking pictures at the Minis and Me photo booth, and chowing down on a BBQ dinner.

Email us at savethedate@minisandfriends.org for mkore information, directions, or to donate to Help Keep Hay in the Minis’ Manger.

Minis and Friends reaches hundreds of individuals a year because of the support and friendship of our volunteers and mini owners.  On a day when the whole nation briefly stops to give thanks, I wanted to take a moment and recognize those who give freely of their time, energy and money to help our “mini herd” touch the lives of those with special physical, mental, and emotional needs in our community.

This year has been full of blessings.  Eletrobraid has provided the minis with a wonderful gift of protection with the electric fence at Onion Creek Ranch. They are now able to move about the ranch with the other horses and we can rest easy that they are unable to escape and predators are unable to get in.  LCRA blessed part of our mini herd in North Austin with a new mini barn and two sponsored visits, one of which went towards the Good Friends visit in September.

Our volunteers base has grown to include new volunteers with different skills and abilities that have allowed us to grow and expand our outreach capabilities.  Minis and Friends would not be able to operate without your continual support and attendance at our events and visits.  Mini Handlers keep our minis safe in a crowd.  Think Tank volunteers keep our mangers and gas tanks full with creative fundraising ideas to support our mini interactions.  Business supporters and individual donors help us take care of the necessary medical care, liability insurance, and operational costs for running Minis and Friends.

So while gobbling turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie, take a moment and give thanks for the many gifts you have been given.  Today, our minis will be able to give th

One of Mini Adventures for Candy, Dean, Cashew, and Khaki Delleney

October 19, 2008 was our 2nd year as a participant in the Buddy Walk.   Candy and crew set up the mini corral, decorated the table with miniature horses and miniature bales of hay, surrounded by a multicolored miniature fence – we are Minis and Friends after all.  Thanks to the Mini Friends who joined the adventure: Barbara Burns, Tom and Cheryl White, Nell Ritchie and daughter Kelly.

The Buddy Walk is an annual fund raiser for the Down Syndrome Association of Central Texas.  Minis and Friends enjoys donating a visit by some of our miniature horses to the lucky high bidder in the Silent Auction.  As a 501(c)(3) non profit organization, we are supported by the donations and generosity of the community.   We are committed to giving back through participation in events like the Buddy Walk, throughout Travis and Williamson County. There are numerous young Buddies with ig smiles on their faces who especially enjoy interacting with our miniature horses. 

 Next year load up your wagon, put on your spurs and meet us at the Buddy Walk. 

***** Visit our website (www.minisandfriends.org) to learn more about upcoming events, like the Story Book Time and Gift Wrapping Adventure at the Sunset Valley Barnes and Noble or the Town Lake Christmas Advneture.  We’ll looking forward to seeing everyone out at Onion Creek Ranch for the Minis and Friends Christmas Benefit on December 21st at 3 pm.  Check back soon for updates.