Rainy December Day

The cold temps took a hiatus for a few days so we took advantage of them and went out to play!

It had rained off and on through out the day and night so there were plenty of puddles for stomping using new rainboots:

Swinging in December! When I ordered Mack's rain boots, I ordered them in anticipation for her foot size this spring. When she started swinging, her boots went flying!

Check out this pics Mike took. They are really neat!

Snap shots

Just a few quick snaps I took of Mack last week.
Making hand print snowflakes:


Check out this picture of " mini-Mike"! I have seen pictures of Mike at this age and they look so much alike:

Overcome with imagination!

There is nothing more magical than watching a child " in the zone"-that place where they are completely oblivious to the world around them and are enveloped in a world created simply by their own imagination. It happens so much to Mackenzie lately. It's so much fun to watch her because it's completely involuntary! One moment, she's having crackers for snack and the next she's having a full out conversation with " Boyna" the super fast gold fish, wondering how to chop the ice on a gigantic ice rock!

Here are a few pictures of Mack " in the zone" :

After finishing up her train puzzle, she wanted Olivia the pig to ride on her train ( if you look closely, you can see her). Mackenzie, of course, is the conductor:
Now Mackenzie is a lady bug hibernating in her "den" :
And now it's spring! Time to wake up:
And suddenly Mackenzie is very into dress up. Here, she's a ballerina who is an expert at spinning. In case you haven't noticed, shirts have a way of being " lost" around these parts:

Many Blessings for 2011

Happy New Year!

It's our prayer for each family member and dear friend have a healthy, happy and productive 2011! 2010 was a good year but we three M's are looking excitedly towards 2011. Here's a quick glimpse at what we hope to accomplish in 2011:

Mike is starting his second master's degree this month. In 2011, he'll complete the first half of the Critical Care Nurse Specialist program at the University of Cincinnati. All of the course work is done on-line followed by a year of more course work and clinicals leading up to the completion of a research type paper that will complete his degree. I have every confidence that Mike will do very well with this degree even if it means we will see more of the back of his laptop than of him. Mike also is working towards losing weight. His current goal is to lose 30 lbs by his 32nd birthday.

Mackenzie doesn't have much by way of goals but she will be starting preschool in 2011. I also hope to continue with music class and maybe add a soccer class or swimming class to the mix.

I am resolving to be better with my meal planning and budgeting. I'm also back at the gym with hopes of finally running a 10k this summer. While running miles and miles on the treadmill hasn't translated to much on the road, I hope to trim down a bit more this winter and then hit the trails 15 lbs lighter this spring.

So that's what we aspire to do this year. If 2010 is an indication of who time will fly in 2011, it won't be long before I am looking back at 2011 and looking forward to 2012!

Camera hog

I couldn't wait to get my hands on my new camera and try out some shots. Having such a great learning camera makes me realize how very little I know about photography but with a little practice, I hope to be able to really capture the great moments of our lives- mundane or exciting. So anyway, here are the results of my first attempts with the new camera:



Mack's portrait of daddy. She even drew five fingers on each hand before she started to scribble it out:

Christmas 2010

My living room feels HUGE! The tree is down ( Go ahead. You can say " Bah Humbug!" but it doesn't count since Christmas has been over for almost 24 hours) and the house has been de-decorated and redecorated in a plain and simple winter theme. The winds of winter whip outside and I am cozied up to them computer with a warm cup of tea. It's the perfect time to write the obligatory ( but still exciting ( at least we think)) Christmas post:

When last I left you, the scene was set for Santa. Did Santa come? Did he enjoy the cookies? Do reindeer really know how to fly? Let's find out!

He did! And he brought the requested " Big , juicy, orange!" which had to be eaten before any gifts could be open ( as directed by Mackenzie):
Mackenzie's presents were all loved. She got several puzzles, board games and books, some new rainboots and a 'squishy ball' ( the one she has to squeeze five times every time we go to Target). Grams sent a hand painted picture to go in Mack's big girl bedroom. It's already found it's spot , hanging next to her bedroom door.

The gift that's gotten the most play time, is the Zhu Zhu pet Mack named Sweet Pea. She didn't even want to put him ( yes, Sweet Pea is male, most of the time) to open her other presents:
Santa brought Mack the Tag reading system and that, too, has received lots of attention:

The best present was given to me by Mike:
With in this alluringly wrapped box was my dream camera- A canon Rebel DSLR complete with extra telescoping lens and carrying case, this camera is all I could ever dream to have. In fact, I am still having a hard time understanding that I have it!

No one was left out! here are the cats enjoying their cat nip:
Once things settled down, Mack tried out her alphabet train puzzle:
Later that afternoon , Grammy and Janet came over for dinner. We opened presents, played games and chatted before having yummy lasagna and the much anticipated sweet potato brownie birthday cake to celebrate Jesus' birth.

The girls playing Old MacDonald's farm ( Thanks, Auntie Nikki!)

Mack and her hot chocolate mustache getting up close and personal with my new camera ( any of my side of the family see some hints of Taylor Bug in this picture?) :


A very tired Mackenzie wearing the vest Grammy knitted her:

It was a very lovely Christmas season and we look to 2011 with lots of hope and anticipation for what is to come! Cheers to 2010!

The scene is set..Bring on Santa!

Christmas eve did not go as we had planned . We had to miss the post-church service Christmas party at our friends, the Asher's house, since neither Mike nor I was feeling well. In stead, we came home from church , got into our Christmas eve pajamas and watced "Finding Nemo" . ( Can you guess who chose the movie?). While it wasn't what we had set out to do, it was really quite perfect:

Mack all set for church. She got to wear the cross necklace Grammy gave her at her baptism. She was excited and insisted that Mike and I wear our crosses, too:
Here we are in our Christmas pajamas:
Mike took Mack to the store when he picked out mine. She could hardly wait for me to get them on:
With fully bellies and drooping, tired eyes ( for one of us) we decided it was time to set the scene for Santa:

Mack writing her Santa letter:

With Baby Jesus placed snugly in the cradle:
and cookies and milk at the ready, Santa could come any time!