Just thought I’d mention…

Haley and I were doing one of our favorite bedtime rituals “team reading.”  Basically, she reads a chapter in a book and then I read a chapter as well.  It’s been a great way to encourage her reading skill and still let her enjoy being read to.  As often happens, a new word popped up in our reading that she did not know the definition.  Here is how our conversation went:

Mom: The word, “mentioned,” means to casually tell something to another person.

Haley: So to let a person know something that happened.

Mom: Exactly, you have it!

(A few minutes pass by of her reading to me).

Haley:  Mom, just thought I would mention that I tooted.

Mom (laughing hysterically): Good Haley, way to use your new vocabulary word appropriately.

Happy, Sleepy New Year!

Haley and Ian were determined this year to ring in the New Year.  Since this holiday is a new concept for them I was able to persuade my two big kiddos to watch the New York ball drop at 9 pm West Coast time (aren’t I tricky) on the TV.  We would ring in the New Year just a little early and they would not know the difference.  In reality, there was no way the two of them could have made it till midnight anyways.  As one can see Ian was fast asleep on our couch by 830 pm and Haley’s hyperness quickly wore off around 850 pm.  In fact, she barely made it till 9pm only to be disappointed that the crystal ball dropped very slowly and was not very exciting at all.  I gave each of my sleeping kiddos a celebratory New Year’s kiss and tucked them in their cozy beds. Happy New Year to all our family and friends–-may God bless your 2010 year!

Christmas Cheer

OK, I could not close out 2009 without a recap of our family Christmas gatherings and a few favorite Christmas pictures posted.  It has actually been one year since I started this blogging adventure and my plan is to have a printed copy of all the posts in one book as a sort of scrap-book or family photo album.  And, since I am definitely not the scrap booking type, and in this digital film age where all our family photos seem to stay put away in my computer an actual physical copy will be a very cool keepsake.

Now back to our Christmas season.  Our first gathering took place on Saturday, December 5th with my Mom’s (Mimi) side of the family.  This was actually the first year we all celebrated together so early.  For as long as I can remember, every Christmas Eve has been spent at my Grandma Margie’s church enjoying a beautiful candlelight service and then off to her cozy home for a traditional Dutch dinner, stockings, and lots of presents.  Well, Grandma Margie’s house seems to be getting smaller and smaller each year as the extended family grows larger and larger (thanks on my behalf for adding three kiddos to the mix).  Plus, Grandma Margie is now Great Grandma Margie and she admits the gathering is getting to be a lot of work for her.  So time for a change of plans– bitter-sweet for me.  The family will now get together every first Saturday of December for an early dinner (again thanks to all the little kiddos with an early bedtime) and cookie decorating.  No more stockings and gifts galore but a group donation to a charity of our choosing.  But Grandma Margie did not fail to pass out her favorite gift, Suchkaldah.  Thank goodness, I do not know what I would do without this delicious chocolate treat (perhaps one day I will blog more on this Dutch delicacy, it truly deserves a post all its own).  The early December gathering I will admit was perfect for all the little cousins and much more relaxing for the Mommas.  Great Grandma Margie enjoyed relaxing in a chair and watching all her great-grandchildren play.

Family Gathering # 2 was at my parent’s home with the Jenkins/Mac families on Saturday, December 19th.  First, a yummy Christmas breakfast was served.  Next a reading of the Christmas story from Luke for all to do their best to sit and listen to.  And, finally after much anticipation from the kiddos it was time to open the presents.  Ian’s big gift was a yellow and black bike.  He received a bike last year which he now literally looks like a giant riding on it. He loved his new “dirt bike” and has rode it everyday since and may even be ready to take the training wheels off soon.  Haley got an awesome outdoor “tether ball” game.  Watch out CCS playground here she comes.  The cousins exchanged books in lieu of big gifts and bought gift cards for local foster children instead.  We did our best to start involving the kiddos in giving this Christmas season.  Haley was actually very mature about it and seemed to grasp how much we truly do have.   The family time together was casual and relaxed with lots laughs and play time for the cousins.  Thanks, Mimi and Grandpa for a great Christmas gathering!

For the first time, the Mac family attended Calvary’s Christmas Eve service.  We began the evening with dinner at one of our favorite Italian restaurants, Roma D’ Italia–we had the place to ourselves which was great.  The next hour and half spent in church was a little difficult to say the least.  What was I thinking taking a one-year old, four-year old, and six-year-old to a quiet, peaceful service ending with not one song but two songs sung with lighted candles?  I must have threatened my big kiddos a hundred times that Santa would not be bringing gifts in the morning if they could not sit still and behave–sort of worked (I know I am bad).  The  service ended abruptly when hot candle waxed tripped on two of the kiddos followed by loud crying and one lit candle rolling down the aisle.  Luckily, the church is still standing–ha!  Back at home we set out a plate of cookies for Santa and  nine carrots for his reindeer (all eight in addition to Rudolph).  Finally it was a silent night, and Mom & Dad watched Tim’s all time favorite Christmas movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

Christmas Day 2009 will be remembered as one of my favorites.  Last year I was too sleep deprived to remember anything with little Elize being only a couple of months old.  This year for starters, I was way better rested–ahhh!  We spent Christmas morning  in our pyjamas around the tree.  It was great doing our own pace of opening stockings and gifts with lots of breaks for the kiddos to play with their new stuff.  Best gift for each kiddo:  Haley – Singer sewing machine.  Ian – NASA space DVDs (FYI, Ian can tell you the first man in space, first man to orbit the earth, first man to walk on the moon, and many more incredibly interesting space facts).  Elize – mini shopping cart to push around (there go my walls).  Christmas breakfast included one favorite breakfast item of each of my kiddos and Tim.  It was a smorgasboard of coffee cake, sausage, eggs, bacon, OJ, hot apple cider and coffee lattes–good old simple breakfast picks.  Christmas morning delightfully dragged on and on with naps, more presents, more food, and TV time watching the NASA movies.  Christmas dinner was spent over at Mimi and Grandpa’s with the cousins.  Again, the time felt very relaxed and easy paced.  The cousins opened up stockings with new pyjamas which they all put on and  snuggled up in for a movie.  Overall, Christmas 2009 was filled with lots of  family gatherings that were enjoyable and memorable for all!

The Jesse Tree

A new tradition began this Christmas season at the Mac household.  Many thanks to the Kru Clan, great family friends who introduced this amazing concept to our family and helped design all the ornaments.  The advent season is a time to prepare our hearts for Jesus’ birth and wait with hopeful anticipation for His coming.  But in all honesty this concept is at times hard for me to grasp let alone our kiddos to completely understand.  Our two big kiddos were very excited about the Christmas season this year which for them included Baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Santa, Christmas cookies, Christmas music, family gatherings, stockings, and of course, Christmas presents.  The Jesse Tree was a practical tangible way for our family to re-evaluate what this time of year is truly about—Jesus, the Savior of the World making his entry into history to live, die, and rise again.

Now for those of you not familiar with the Jesse Tree think of a Jesse Tree as a sort of advent calendar, except that in addition to a countdown to Christmas, you go through a family devotion in the Bible, starting with creation and ending with Jesus’ birthday.  We geared it towards the kiddos with short, “kid-friendly” devotional times and simple reflective questions.  Haley enjoyed reading the scripture passages from her children’s Bible and Ian was all about hanging the ornaments on our tree.  Below is a short excerpt explaining a little bit about the Jesse Tree:

What is a Jesse Tree? It is a small, leafless tree decorated with symbols portraying Jesus’ spiritual heritage. It is a kind of family tree which was suggested by Isaiah’s prophecy: ”there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse and a branch shall grow out of his roots.”  The Jesse Tree is intended to guide you through the 29 days that lead up to Christmas as a journey  towards a deeper understanding of all that took place leading up to the birth of Christ through the Old Testament and then into the beginning of the New Testament. A few reflective memories during our first Jesse Tree journey:  listening to Haley read aloud the stories from her own Bible— very precious!  Haley and Ian learning Old Testament events.  Tim and I rediscovering how significant OT history was in leading up to Christ’s birth.   A new appreciation for Mary and Joseph’s obedient attitudes.   And, perhaps above all the time we spent every night together as a family in God’s Word–priceless! A couple of funny sidebars:  Ian informing me that he was very happy he did not live in Sodom and Gomorrah.  Also, that he would not have “looked back” like Lot’s wife did.  Haley explaining to us that Mary got pregnant from magic fairy dust sprinkled by God.   In conclusion, this is one tradition the  Mac family is  looking forward to continuing for years and years.  For not only did it encourage us to spend quality time together as a family throughout a busy December month but most importantly it stirred each of our hearts to revel in Jesus birth–His coming to be with us. O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan’s’ tyranny; From depths of hell thy people save And give them victory o’er the grave. Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel

“Get Your Program!”

This year’s Christmas school programs were a HUGE success for BOTH Haley and Ian.  Just to give the reader a little background, last year’s program Ian refused to put on his shepherd costume and instead looked dashing in the old sweats and white t-shirt combo that was obviously not supposed to be showing or much less modeled on stage for all to see.  And there was no beautiful singing heard but instead about a thousand boisterous “Hi Mom” or “Hi Dad” throughout the entire preschool play.  Yes, it was our young four-year old’s first preschool play and he was very naive to proper stage behavior.  On the other hand, our oldest daughter is a true uninhibited performer where from an early age she would gladly sing and perform to any listening audience.  One of our favorite memories is Haley singing “Lily of the Valley” to family and friends at only 2 years of age, and well these type performances have continued.  There is not a week that goes by without some sort of home-made play or song and dance number that Haley beckons the entire family to come watch.  But to our delight and surprise both our big kiddos did an outstanding job this year at their programs.  (We were OK with Ian not liking the stage life and having just one Drama Queen so far…).

Ian’s preschool program, “Super Gift from Heaven,” was a toy-themed and toy costume play.  Ian dressed up as a race-car driver, and a huge smile was on his face throughout the entire performance.  He really looked super happy and thrilled to be up on stage singing.  He did yell out a few “Hi’s” to our family this year but it did not interrupt him from doing all the hand motions.  The Mac family may just have another star performer in our family.  Speaking of stars, Haley wore a head  band with a star on it and a green t- shirt for her school play—yep, she was Christmas tree for the program.  The elementary school performance was titled “It’s Christmas Everywhere,” with each grade representing a selected country.  The 1st graders represented the country of Germany and sung “Silent Night” in German.  It sounded beautiful and we were all very impressed that Haley memorized such a tough song.  She gave a fabulous performance and did not miss a beat with the choreography or words.  Haley shines when she is on stage and of course soaks up all the applause.  The cool part was that Haley and Ian enjoyed watching one another perform, and cheered and praised each other.   Mimi and Grandpa would not have missed their plays either—two of their biggest fans!  For Tim and I, it was such a blessing to watch our kiddos perform and see how far they have come, how confident they are, and how they love to sing about Jesus.  Bravo, Bravisimo to our star performers!!

The Duet

Haley’s piano recital this year was extra special.  Why, you might ask?  Well, Haley performed one of her piano pieces with one of her favorite people.  First, Haley opened by playing her solo piece perfectly, “The Hungarian Dance.”  She even added a little bit of her own flare to the song.  Next, the audience was delightfully surprised when Dad joined daughter for the final piece.  Haley and her Dad performed an AWESOME duet of “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.”

For the past year Tim has been taking piano lessons with Haley every Monday evening.  And while Haley has made tremendous progress since beginning piano just over two years ago, Tim is pretty darn good himself for recently starting.  I am so excited they have this incredible opportunity learn to play piano together.  The two have been an encouragement and teacher to one another.  It has been a special father-daughter bonding time.  I love their love for music and all the creativity that comes with it.  Perhaps one year they will play together in Carnegie Hall…or I am totally thrilled with the two of them just performing for our family!

Eight Years and Counting…

Dear Haley, Ian, and Elize -

Your Daddy and I just celebrated our wedding anniversary.  On December 8th of 2001 we were married, and now eight years later we are a family of five.  Wow, how amazing is that and what a journey it has been!  I love the man I married so much on that very special day and even so much more today in 2009.  God blessed me with a great husband and best friend nearly a decade ago.  He continues to be an incredible husband, a best friend who has been my faithful companion through lots of ups and downs, and an excellent, one-of-a-kind dad.  I remember getting a little glimpse of how he might be as a father many years ago as I watched him play with a close friend’s daughter.  Your Dad was amazing and so natural with the little girl.  We were dating then, and once Tim left that evening I told my friend that is the guy I want to be my husband and father of my kids–I got my wish!  I am grateful for how God directed our lives to meet, date, and marry.  Time has changed a lot of things in our lives, but one thing it can never change is the way I feel about you…Tim, you are everything to me.   Happy Anniversary!

Thankful Tree

Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for our many blessings.  To make this idea more tangible for my kiddos we create a “Thankful Tree”…this great idea was actually introduced by our Nana a couple of years ago in Maryland and we have continued the tradition in our family.  Here is how it works:  it begins with a fun family hike to look for the perfect tree-decorating branches.  The hike is a great time to connect with my kiddos out in nature, and this year we hiked on the trail right next to our home.  We laughed at the enormous branches Ian thought would be perfect for our tree–after narrowing it down to sticks that would actually fit through our front door, two were chosen and brought home.  Next, we place the newfound sticks in a sturdy base (this year it was a big glass vase filled with lots of rocks to secure the sticks in place).  Then comes the crafty part of this project…home-made leaves!  We draw, paint, color, and cut leaf shapes out of paper.  The result is many authentic, real-looking leaves mixed with a few car-shaped, blob-shaped, and who-knows-what-shaped leaves!  I love the kiddos creativity with this part and can easily identify whose leaves belong to whom.  Next comes the “thankful” part of this whole project.  Each family member writes what they are grateful for on the back of their leaves.  A few examples from this year are “my teacher,” “my race cars,” “my friends,” “my salvation,” “my home,” and you get the idea.  The neat part is that throughout the month more thankful leaves are added to the tree as more blessings come to mind–one morning Haley came running down stairs and added a leaf that read, “I am thankful for my friend in Peru, Carla” (Carla is a little girl from Peru whom we support).  How sweet of my Haley!  The leaves get hole-punched and hung on the branches like ornaments.  We even hang up leaves from the previous years and leaves that other family members contributed.  One of my favorite leaves is inscribed with “I am thankful for Tim and Haley (04),” and a year later I added Ian’s name, and last year I added baby Elize’s name.   This year I just wrote “ditto (09).”  God is so good!  That is the cool part about creating our Thankful Tree, old and new blessings are remembered and above all God is given praise.  By the time Thanksgiving Day arrives, we are full of thankful hearts and our Thankful Tree is full of colorful leaves.

O my soul, bless God.

From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name!

O my soul, bless God,

don’t forget a single blessing!

Psalm 103:1 & 2

Super Heros to the Rescue!

To be honest, I was not quite sure what exactly to title this post:  Cute Halloween Costumes, My Heros, Super Villians, Brave But Not Always,  The “S” is for Silly and Sassy, and my list could go   on and on.   But for Halloween Day they got to be Super Man and Super Girl, and loved playing the hero role.  Super Man could be found lifting heavy toy boxes and rescuing his baby Sister.  Super Girl zoomed around with arms stretched out and shouted things like, “I am on my  way,” and “I can save you.”   They looked adorable and tough all at once.  And I think I should have worn a shirt that read Super Mom.  I have a feeling these costumes will be worn many more times to come.  And let’s be honest, we moms know that it really is “Super Mom to the Rescue, Again.”

Fall Fun

The cool, crisp weather has encouraged the McAveney family to embrace fall-themed activities.  Well, OK it actually was chilly for one week (Tim reminds me that our coldest days here in Cali are pull out your shorts and tank tops days in MD), and the rest of October was rather warm even hot in the 90s.  But not to disappoint “fall-like” things were done and here they are in no particular order:  three visits to pumpkin patches, one scarecrow dressing, pumpkin decorating, fall treat baking, one apple picking day, two apple sauce making, one fall leaf hunting day, lots of sipping of hot apple cider, one movie watching of Charlie Brown’s “The Great Pumpkin,” and one cozy night by the fire.  Overall the kiddos have enjoyed loads of fall fun, Mom has baked (and eaten) too many pumpkin treats, and little Elize has learned to say “pumpkin” and wave good-bye to the scarecrow on our front porch.  Welcome Fall!!