Merry Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas from the McNally family.

Snow

OK these pictures are HORRIBLE quality but I had to just capture the amount of snow we have gotten this year. I thought last year was alot, oh my goodness no. Last year looked like a dusting of salt compared to this year. From the pictures you can see the snow is up to Morgan's knees. It has been so crazy, but so much fun. One evening Brandan went outside with Ryan at 1030 to shovel the driveway. If we didn't shovel at that time it would of been way to crazy in the morning to get the car out. CRAZY, CRAZY. So much fun. Now I'm praying for another white Christmas.

Fire station

A few weeks ago our car broke down right in front of a fire station. There are many reasons why God totally protected us. Out of this very frustrating situation came a fun field trip for my kids.

New Tradition

I found this really cute idea somewhere that I am going to use this Thanksgiving. You take a table cloth and a cloth marker. Everyone that is celebrating Thanksgiving with you has to sign the tablecloth and write what they are thankful for. I thought this was a great idea. It is a wonderful tradition that can be passed down for years.

Traditions

I think traditions are so important. Traditions are what memories are made of. I want my kids to look back on their childhood and remember that we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus every year on Christmas. Christmas cookies put out for Santa every year before bed were a must. New jammies and a game that we played on Christmas Eve were a must have. Decorating the house the day after Thanksgiving.
These are just a couple of the traditions I have set up for our family. I would love to add some more. Would you please share what your family does every year to make those special memories?
I now know I have five readers, so I'm expecting at least five comments.

Just can't cut it this year

Last November it was a hit. I loved blogging every day for a month. I lived for what I was going to write down everyday. Reading all of my other friends who took this challenge was so much fun.
Well, not this year. I just can't cut it!! I'm just not feeling the blogs this year. I have lots to write about but just not into it.
For those two people that read my blog I will continue posting just not the November challenge.

Computer

We are back. While our computer is still very sick he is back at half speed. I will use this to post a quick post. I'm hoping from here on out in November my blogging will be a go.
Oh computer how I have missed you.

Crashed

YUP that is what my computer has done. CRASHED!!! I'm not even sure how to survive without it. We have had the computer for a long time and it has been acting up for a few years, but we just tried to ignore it. I went to jump on it this morning to do my blog and nothing. NOTHING!!! Again, I have no idea what to do without it. I guess I can say I am lucky. My mother in law gave Morgan an old computer a few years ago. I am sitting here right now typing away on that. The R is missing and I am using dial up because I'm not sure how to connect it the other computers Internet. Anyway, I was very afraid that I wouldn't be able to post but look at me. Where there is a will there is a way. I wonder how much work I can get done now that my computer is down. It should be really interesting.

My Kitten/Tiger

I thought Morgan was a kitten, but she informed that she was a tiger. Whatever she was she was very cute.

Running

Since I turned 34 last month I have discovered I have forgotten what I like to do. I love raising my children, teaching them, cleaning, caring for them. These are the things I love to wake up every day to do. Looking back over the 9 years that I have been a parent I have realized I have forgotten what I like to do (besides raise kids).
This next year is full of finding out what I like to do. One of these new found things that I have forgotten that I like to do is run. I use to love running. So I have rediscovered the wonderful art of having alone time and just running. I have set a major goal with this old, new found running. I am planning in the next year and a half I am going to run a marathon. My hope is to start out with a half a marathon next summer and then go from there. Wish me luck. I am on week four of training and all is going well.

Crock Pot Recipe

There of course is one more little kitten that needs to be mentioned from Halloween. We are down in Sacramento for a few days so you will just have to wait patiently for the third McNally's Halloween pictures.
I have to share this awesome and very easy recipe with you my blog friends.

Easy Chicken Crock Pot Recipe:

4-6 Chicken Breasts
2 Jars of salsa (my favorite is the mango salsa from Walmart)
2 cans of corn
1 can of black beans

Throw all of these ingredients in the crock pot. Top the ingredients with some water so the chicken does not burn. Set your crock pot on 8 hours and away you go.

I have served this with Mexican rice in tacos. I have served it with white rice. I have also piledit on top of some chips and called it nachos.

Of course whatever way you decide to serve it make sure you have some sour cream and guacamole.

Very easy and very yummy!!!
Enjoy

Spider Man

Well I had a spider in my house this year. I really don't like spiders. I had to make an exception this year because I really have grown fond of this big spider.

Little Barney

My little Logan is obsessed with Barney. Guess what he was for Halloween.

9 Years Old

My Big Girl turned nine last week. I'm so not old enough to have a nine year old. She is such a wonderful joy. I always wanted to have a girl. Morgan is like a dream come true for me. She has always allowed me to dress her and do her hair just the way I wanted to. Of course now that she is nine I can no longer do that, but at least I was able to have nine years of fun. She is a wonderful big sister that give everyday her best. I am enjoying homeschooling her this year and having her home all day long. I love this big girl. She wanted to go to the pizza place where you play games.

This is her all pink outfit that her Nana bought her. You have to love the fur vest and boots that she can hardly walk in because they have a heel.

She made her own cake with her friend. It had horses all over it and was very colorful.

November

So, I'm not committing, no not me. I thought maybe just maybe I could do the National Blog month like I did last year. I'm really not committed, but just in case I decide to commit I better post something today. So there it is.

Another Year

So another year has past and I'm another year older. For some reason this last year has felt like a really long year. I'm starting to feel my age. Maybe it is because I have three small children, I home school, and I'm trying to manage a home. I'm determined to make this next year my best year yet. On the top of my list is to get my body back. My body has spent the last nine years devoting itself to little McNally's. Don't get me wrong these years are about my kids, but I also know that to be a good mommy I need to be a healthy mom inside and out. I have one MAJOR goal for this year. I'm really, really excited about it but I'm not ready to share it yet in the blog world.
For now I will leave you with some really cute pictures of the kids picking apples and pumpkins. Logan had so much fun picking the apples.

Brandan is pretending to pick the apple so I could get a shot of him. He is such a ham.

Morgan had a huge bag of apples by the time we were down. She is such an apple lover, so this was heaven to her.

Logan contemplating life.

He is so handsome. He looks just like his daddy.

Brandan is telling Logan the lessons of life.

My three favorite guys in the whole world.

Fall Recipes

Does anyone have any good fall recipes? Please share my blogger friends.

The Big "5"

In September my big guy turned 5!!!
You are the best big brother to Logan and you worship your sister. Your favorite things are swords and Star Wars. If I would let you video games would be on the menu for the whole day. We are doing kindergarten at home this year and you are as smart as a whip.
Daddy was able to score free A's tickets in the box seats. You had a great birthday. I think 5 is going to be a GOOD year for you big guy.

Limbo

Limbo is really the only word I can use to describe our lives right now. I consider myself the type of person that wherever I am in life I try to just make the best out of it. These last few months I have been failing miserably at this. God has us in a major limbo still with Ryan's job. Every week we are promised that we are getting closer and closer to the offer. This has been going on since June!!! I kept thinking I can handle this time until its time for school to start and all of our fun activities to start back up. Well that time has come and gone. We decided to get involved in a bible study down in Sacramento so we are traveling down there two days a week. Last week we found a wonderful home for us down in Sacramento that won't be ready till November. That would work out perfectly if we could just get out of this LIMBO. Right now we are toying with the idea of just moving and Ryan commuting for a little while. We are just praying and trusting that it will all come together.
With this Limbo we decided to home school because it just made since. I am loving it!!! Third grade is really fun to teach. I feel as though she is teaching me just as much as I am teaching her. The big guy is doing kindergarten. Fun, Fun, Fun. So, I guess the home school part of the limbo has made it worth it.
Well, I guess that is it for now. I was telling my sis in law yesterday that I just haven't been feeling creative to blog. This seems strange for a person like her that is always creative. By the way she just started her own photography business. Go check her out http://livilanephotography.blogspot.com.

"I can do it myself"

There once was a boy named Brandan who lived by the motto, "I can do it myself." He did his own hair and then was mad that he got water ALL over his shirt.

Family Pictures

My sister in law was very kind to take some family photos of us. She did such a great job. Thanks Michele you are the BEST!!!!

June/July 2009

A fun summer with no time to blog. I wanted to post these pictures so I would have photo memory of our summer.

This is time spent at Lake Tahoe. Please ignore the girl in her bikini behind Brandan.
Morgan collecting tons of sand.

Logan loving the water.

This is the only picture I had of our visit with the cousins. Like I have said before when my sis in law comes my camera goes out the window. She is the photographer for our family.

Morgan was in a drama camp for a week at Sunrise. She had such a blast. Morgan is a natural on stage just like her Daddy.

Totally fun surprise for Ryan for fathers day and his birthday we took him to American Idol concert. I know totally cheesy, but we had a blast.

4th of July pictures

Can't forget the fun Disneyland trip!!!!!

I guess that wraps up our summer in pictures. I can't believe school starts in two weeks and we still have no idea where we are going to be. As of today we are moving forward in Reno. I keep feeling like the Lord has been truly teaching me to be humble and patient. Ryan and I keep saying we are taking our lives one day at a time.

Where did June go?

Where in the world did June go?
1. Disneyland - Five days in Disneyland with our wonderful kids.
2. Major fun times at Sunrise (Baptist) Community church.
a. Ryan sang a solo a few weeks ago. It was really fun to see him up on the stage where I have seen him sing for so many years.
b. Morgan made the church play for the summer so we have been busy learning lines and music for that.
c. Church picnic. MAJOR HOT 108 but tons of fun!!!!!!! The kids ran around like crazy. Ryan and I just kept telling each other we are miserable but we are making memories.

3. Ryan applied for a job down in Sac two weeks ago. We haven't heard back yet, because the boss down there has been on vacation. It would be such a blessing if the Lord opens the doors down there for us but we will see. I haven't been really patient with this one. I think because I want to move back to Sac so bad that my patients have been really thin.

4. Taking care of a ticket. Seriously it has taken me the whole month of June and it still isn't fixed to take care of a stupid ticket I got. I'll have to post a separate post just ode to the ticket because it is just that long of a story.

So June is gone and July is tomorrow. I am looking forward to July. Friends visiting, and hopefully hearing a go for Sac.

Organic

Organic not Organic please my blog friends share your thoughts.

Crazy

I know we say life is busy, but life has seemed really busy lately. I just haven't had anytime to sit down and blog. There have been a few things that I just don't want to forget about.

Morgan received her yellow belt last week in karate. She is so darn cute and it kills me. She wanted to cut her hair again so a-line we did for the girl.

Brandan is crazy as ever. I am still on the fence about what to do with him for school next year. His birthday is the middle of September so he can really go either way. I would love some advice from my teacher friends that read this.

Logan as always you are my little love. You are running around like a mad man and continuing to bless our lives.

We are still praying about what to do with the kids next year for school. Home school again, or back to King's academy. I just haven't had the peace either way yet. I know the Lord will make it very clear, but I would love for him to fly a banner over my house with the answer.

I had to write these little things down or I would forget them. The next few weeks are just as busy so I know my writing will continue to be sparse.

16 Months

Happy 16 months my little man. I'm very sorry I didn't post for your 15th month, but I know you will forgive me. There is actually a reason I didn't post for your 15th month and it was selfish on my part. I didn't want to put into writing that you weren't walking yet. I know, I know everyone kept telling me you would walk soon. So many people told me their own stories of how old their children were when they walked. I really appreciated this advice from others, but you are my little miracle baby who I want to be perfect. You are perfect!!!!!!!
You are definitely walking as of your 16th month. I wouldn't say you are ready to run a marathon but you are a walker.
For your sixteenth month visit you are now in the 3oth percentile for you weight. Praise the Lord for this. The doctor is so wonderful and is impressed by you each time she sees you. She even made a remark last week for you visit, "All the trauma you have suffered definitely has not affected your brain. You are a smart cookie." I love to hear these words from a doctor.
You are my little miracle man and I continue to be in awe of the Lord on how he is allowing me to have such a perfect baby.

The Voiles on TLC

Please vote for my friends the Voiles on TLC. Due to tech difficulties all the votes were lost and they started the count over again yesterday. They had a strong lead and as of today they are down. They are such a wonderful family and it would be so fun if they won. You can vote everyday once. Thank you so much!

Wordless Wednesday (Almost)

Love you my beautiful friends. Abby thank you so much for being such a wonderful example of a Godly mother. Thank you Lord that you put these three friends in my life.

The Voiles on TLC

We are good friends with a family that has six girls. They have a single, twins and triplets. They are the Voile family. They entered a contest on TLC for Ragu. They are one of the top three finalists. Click here for the link to got vote for them to win!
Thank you

I Lied

Ok, so I lied, I guess I did take two pictures of our vacationWe went to this awesome bounce house in Folsom.
The kids loved it. I think Ryan loved it even more!

I took this picture of Logan eating his Easter candy. I hid a couple of eggs for him and he was in heaven.

That is truly it for my pictures. My sis in law put some awesome pictures up today of Morgan you must check them out.

No Pictures

A week of vacation and no pictures to show for it. I figured out this week when I am with my sis in law I forget my camera. I rely on her and her perfect photos to capture our time. So, if you are dying to see our vacation pictures you will have to visit my sis's blog http://twobrunettesandtworedheads.blogspot.com/. You will just have to trust me when I say we had a great week.

Six Days

The last six days have been a little crazy around here. Very fun, but crazy. We were blessed to have my nephew here for a few days. I found him and Brandan on the floor talking with Brandan's around him. Who knows what he was telling him? This is the new face that Brandan gives when wanting something. I call it his pout face. It works.

Two of my favorite men. Ryan has no idea I took this picture.

The boys outside going for a drive.

Morgan did a report on Helen Keller in front of her class.

I found Morgan holding Logan just rocking him. It was so cute.

Morgan had crazy hair day. Oh my was her hair crazy.

As you can tell from the pictures the week has been crazy. Now we are preparing for our wonderful nieces to come and visit us.

Have a wonderful Easter.