Christmas 2009

We did have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS this year and hope you did too, here are some highlights:

Ba-pa Louse: We spent the holiday in College Station with Stephen's family. Ever since spending so much time with family at Thanksgiving, little Lindsey has been asking numerous times a day when we were going to go to "Ba-pa louse" (Grandpa's house). You see Grandpas are the favorite in our family--on both sides, preferred over the Grandmas, strange but true.

So in EVERY prayer she offered and every time we got in the car and especially when we approached the freeway onramps for the past few weeks was the request for "Ba-pa Louse". We were all grateful for the day to arrive.

SHOPPING: We arrived a couple days before Christmas and enjoyed time with Mom & Dad, Joseph (in from Boston), Rachel and Sarah. Much shopping was accomplished as Joseph hadn't done his and a few of us needed some odds and ends picked up.

CAROLING PARTY: We endured a RAINY Caroling Party attempt before only one of 3 were home and we were getting soaked children in and out of the car. The treats when we got home were great though!!

FABULOUS FOOD: In all we ate too much (wontons and fried rice, spinach and artichoke dip, cheese dip, pizza, and Thanksgiving Part II with all the trimmings!!) I watched Mom make her famous pies and now am going to attempt one in the next few weeks (Stephen's excited!), not to mention MOM'S FUDGE (which I had attmepted an apparently failed at in the days leading up to our visit) and more cookies and treats than I even want to remember. Let's just say that I have an OB appointment this next week and the scale is NOT going to be my friend!!

NATIVITY: Then as is McKneely tradition, on Christmas Eve we read Luke 2 from the Bible and dress up so that we can reinact the Nativity story: All my kids wanted to be wise guys!!

At first we had convinced Sam to be Joseph and he dressed up like this,

but then he changed his mind (opting for a Super-Sam yellow cape that Aunt Summer had made him) and we let it fly as a wiseman costume--it was late and they were tired!!
So Stephen did a quick change to be Joseph instead--cute huh? Way to take one for the team!!

Santa Claus came to our town!!

We had a special visitor the day before we left for College Station..... Yup, the man in red paid us a visit. Stephen and I like to think that our kids just needed an added incentive to be good for just a few more days. His visit was AMAZING!! This guy was the closest thing I've ever seen to the REAL DEAL. His beard was real, his suit was beautiful and he had a perfect way with children. When talking with him on the phone to schedule the appointment he only ever referred to himself as Santa and if I didn't know the truth, I'd be a believer!!

All Christmas season Kaitlyn has been in this quandary wanting to know what is real and what is just pretend and she's been asking specifically about Santa Claus. Now she's only 5 1/2 and a very bright 5 1/2 at that but I didn't want to spoil the truth while she can still have the fun and magic that comes from believing in Santa so HIS VISIT came at a PERFECT TIME!!

She was thrilled to have him come and in preparation for his visit my kids compiled a list of questions for him:

1. How do you get up and down the Chimney and will you demonstrate it for us? (the Reindeer only go in the snow and so he hadn't brought them with him, they were at the North Pole resting and getting ready for the big night)

2. Who is your favorite Reindeer (it's actually not a Reindeer at all, it's a big animal that's part Moose and part Reindeer that helps Santa train the new reindeer to do their job, his name is Oscar)

3. Who is your favorite elf? (He then told us a story about a special elf, who's normal job is to paint the red stripes on the candy canes who once went out after a lost reindeer and found him by his bell)

4. How many elves do you have at the north pole? (2500, and they work all year long making the toys and treats for Christmas day)

He gave each of us a candy cane that had been made by his favorite elf and a magic jingle bell that if you rub it in-between your hands on midnight on Christmas Eve, then you would get to see Santa delivering the presents.

In total, his visit lasted about 30 minutes, Kaitlyn was the most eager to see him, she hopped right onto his lap. Sam and Lindsey both took a bit to warm up but they got there by the end. Of course they each had a turn sitting with him and telling them what they wanted for Christmas (these are very insightful moments as a parent--at their age, the list is always evolving).
After his visit, Kaitlyn asked: was that the REAL Santa? Well, what do you think? His beard was real, his boots were real, his suit looked real....YUP it was REALLY HIM! Thanks Santa (and Aunt Rachel for sending him!!)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Hope this guy was as good to you as he was to us!!

Candy, candy and Gingerbread Houses

A new tradition has been born, at least it went pretty well and so we may do it again. But a few days before Christmas we headed over to my parents home to decorate Gingerbread (ahem--Graham cracker) houses with candy. And as my sister-in-law Summer says, "much sugar was consumed!" and I'm telling ya!

Each child pared up with an adult: Lindsey with Mom please note the blank slate of a house and the already messy face--turns out all she did was sit and eat candy seriously this girl put a TON of it away while I tried to hurry and get the house decorated so we could get her down!!

Sam with Dad-- the engineer who were probably the most successful at the decorating of the house (see photo later).

Kaitlyn wanted to be with Aunt Summer. Aunt Summer is VERY crafty and thanks to her and my mom they figured out with trial and error how to build the perfect house and had them all built before we got there so all we had to do was put the candy on--a perfect idea!! The two of them were very creative with their candy placement and they made a very aesthetically pleasing masterpiece!!

Uncle Ben meanwhile was trying to make it fancy with building a porch on his house--it was a struggle to say the least. But wouldn't you know, the Sam-Stephen team figured it out and note this fancy porch!! He tried not to put Ben to shame too badly!!

Not wanting to Boast but....

We have an OTTERIFIC OTTER at our house!

Each 6 weeks every teacher in Kaitlyn's school chooses 1 student who is displaying outstanding academic achievement, citizenship and otherwise good things and recognizes them in a special award ceremony with the principal and parents. Kaitlyn was chosen and we are so proud of her!! The morning included a nice note written by Kaitlyn's teacher that was read to everyone, some obvious photo ops and then muffins and juice. Stephen and I were both able to be there (which was a treat) and Kaitlyn was so proud to have us all to herself!!

Here's Kaitlyn with her principal (our camera was REALLY REALLY low on batteries so we were glad to get the shot we got)

And here's Mom & K enjoying the refreshments!! YUM!!! Way to go Kaitlyn!!

Christmas Newsletter 2009

Merry Christmas 2009!!!

We hope this letter finds you well and happy. We’d love to update you on our busy 2009!! 2009 brought a few big changes to our family. WE MOVED!!! We were quickly outgrowing our 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home, mostly because it didn’t have enough “living” space and we were in desperate want for a playroom. The Lord blessed us amazingly to sell our home in 1 DAY this May and move into a wonderful move-in ready foreclosure in early July just a few miles up the road. We’re really enjoying the space to spread out and even have a guestroom upstairs so if you’re ever in the area let us know!!

We also couldn’t set aside the repeated impressions that our family wasn’t done growing and so in June Melissa got pregnant with baby #4 (gender is a surprise for once) and is due March 31st. And since she always goes over, this will be a great addition to our already full April Birthday calendar but we like to say “Let them eat cake!” so what if it’s 4 times in one month?!?!

This fall we also decided to finally bid farewell to our trusty red little 1995 Toyota Tercel (that was perfectly in running order—but a deal too good to pass up came along) and got a 2009 Toyota Corolla. Melissa is probably most excited about it and Stephen is adjusting to his new ride—I’m sure our neighbors appreciate not having to look at it anymore!

Stephen has had a busy year. He enjoyed a 10 day trip to Switzerland in February to visit his brother Joseph and went skiing and took in some of the sights of Rome and other glorious things. This summer he championed the task of becoming a rock climbing instructor so he could take the teenage boys from church on a high adventure activity—and can’t wait to go back! About the time we moved he accepted a new position (and promotion) at Raytheon—sure he doesn’t travel 2-3 times a month like his former job, but his new responsibilities require him to work longer hours. The trade off is he’s home every night—but sometimes it’s after the kids are in bed, we’re just grateful for a job in this time of instability. He completed a 2 year Leadership Development program through his work as well. He serves as Ward Mission Leader in our new ward which keeps his Sundays pretty busy!

Melissa: Is pregnant (easiest one yet!!), LOVES a treadmill some neighbors who were moving gifted to her. She works on the Public Affairs Council for the Allen Texas Stake and just helped to coordinate a 25 year anniversary celebration that included 800 members donating over 3000 hours of community service to the city in one morning—it was quite the event! She loves her role as home economist trying out new meals, couponing for low grocery bills, and keeping the family in budget. In her spare time she loves scrapbooking (she went on a retreat in October only to come home early because swine flu hit her kids!!), blogging, and coordinating a monthly Girls Night out for her ward!

Kaitlyn (5 ½) is officially a Kindergartener! She LOVES school and is thriving! She was just recently chosen as the “outstanding student” of the quarter in her class. This summer we started teaching her to read and she doing very well. She just lost her first tooth and has another loose one. She loves to play with baby dolls, do art and craft projects and shows a flair for the artistic like her Grandpa Lewis.

Sam: (3 ½) is potty training with great anticipation for the day of mastery so that preschool can begin (okay so mom’s anxiously waiting), loves playing baseball outside. He’s a creative story teller and has a vivid imagination. He’s very excited about the new baby and hopes for a brother to share his room with. He is a sweet big brother to little Lindsey and enjoys playing with trains, blocks and tools.

Lindsey (2): Our wild and crazy girl. She finds the fun in any activity and is fiercely independent. She gave mom multiple panic attacks this summer in the pool with her lack of fear of the water. Her vocabulary grows exponentially every week and is easily frustrated by the fact that she’s not as big as the other kids and her attempts to do what they do end up in injury and tears. She’ll be transitioning into a big girl bed (bunk beds with KP) in a few weeks and SHE’s excited about it.

So that’s us in a nutshell. We’re doing so well and have so many things to be thankful for. Most of all we treasure our relationships with you and send you all our love this Holiday season. May you remember He whose birth we celebrate, our Savior Jesus Christ. We are so thankful for Him and His gospel and what it offers us. Love, The McKneelys!

Christmas Dresses

Remember when you had a new Christmas dress and how fun it was to get pretty? This dress is especially fun because it came with a matching one for your doll! KP is pretty thrilled with this!!!
And while we did get a matching one for Lindsey, she took one look at Kaitlyn's old Christmas dress and fell in LOVE so we took it back.

Thanksgiving 2009

Was a busy time for us. Kaitlyn enjoyed her first "class party" of a Thanksgiving Feast and I was thankful enough to have my other kids cared for while I went and attended. Kaitlyn dressed up in all her garb (see below) and then had a sweet program of memorized poems and songs with her class!
Thanksgiving Day was spent feasting with the Lewis' and we had quite the spread:and Aunt Summer added her perfect touch of helping with a beautiful table:We feasted much and enjoyed the day. Of course the festivities HAD to include the traditional game of Croquet in the great back yard!!

We had a great day!!

Then the very next day we hopped in the car and drove to College Station to spend the rest of the weekend with the McKneely clan as they had all gathered and were not to gather so much at Christmas. We enjoyed visiting and the gorgeous weather that allowed us to spend a lot of time outside. I wasn't the one with the camera so if I get my hands on some great photos I'll post them later!!