You can pick your friends... Just kidding. I really love my family. I wish that I could see them more often. After my mom's parents (and my mom herself a bit later) moved to Dakota Territory some 1,000 miles away from their home in Michigan in the early 1990s, the Weigel/Schnabel side of the family never got together. Good news is that my grandparents recently came back for a cousin's wedding (see Andrea photo link just below); the bad news is that my mom still lives in South Dakota and I only get to see her every couple years or so.

Most of my family still lives in southwest Michigan or Chicago; most roots trace back to Chicago. My life story is complex, but I have at 3 sets of grandparents, and that's not counting the family whose name I have (Chmiel). I went by the name of PJ Coffinger for most of my school days; the Chmiel name caught up with me around graduation and I was too lazy/wishy-washy to change it, so now I'm stuck with it. Go figure.

Click on the photos to see larger versions.

Rare to see this group together in Minneapolis: Grandma/pa Hackenberg, Keiko, Grandpa/ma Coffinger, me, mom, dad. MCAD Commencement, '99.	My biological parents in the summer of '76, a few months before I would've been conceived. (Large image)	My mom and her husband, Nick. This shot is from about 1996, taken when she was still residing in Ashley, ND.

Keiko and I with the John Hackenberg family (bio. father's brother); John, Amanda, Johnny, Karen. 1999.	1999. My Grandma Hackenberg (bio. father's mother) in her kitchen, dishing up some of her famous pancakes. She and I took a trip to Poland in May, 2003 to discover her roots.	Christmas—in the greatest year that I can remember, 1984. Grandpa and Grandma Schnabel (mom's mother and stepfather), when they were living in Mattawan. I love them and that place.

One of the people I miss the most—my cousin Joe Zedeck, in that magic year, 1984. Joe was the closest thing I had to a brother growing up.	My parents Mom and (step)Dad at the height of fashion on their wedding day, 1980. There was literally a tornado in town the day they married!	I love this 70s photo of my aunt Jean (mom's sister) and uncle Bill, esp. his pose. They were/are real bikers, I could tell you some stories...

Grandpa Orrin Coffinger, retired master mechanic, on one of his tractors, 1970s. See a more recent photo of he and my grandma here.	A shot from '76 of most of my mom's family: Don, Sue, her, Pat (holding Joe), Steve (Sue's husbd.), Grandma, Bob, Chrissy, Ann Marie, Mike	Aunt Lottie (great aunt, bio. father's side) and I in her kitchen, 1998. She is the funniest, sharpest, kindest lady, I am so fortunate to count her as family.

My mom as a young woman, the year after I was born, 1978. Not sure if she was dancing or what, but the consensus seems to be that "she was hot."	Bobby Chmiel (spirit brother) and I, 1998. He presented me w/ these two gifts, a collage of various chinese characters and a large Clint Eastwood poster. I used this photo in a card.	Me and Aunt Jennie, (great aunt, bio. father's side) not long before she passed away, summer of 1996.

Many more photos of family members coming soon.