The Mac5 mom

Wow - I am never on here any more- I guess blogging has fallen to the absolute bottom of my list these days. It's funny how time is such a blur. The girls (L&C) are home for spring break already !! Crazy! Lindsey is almost finished with her Junior year of college... it doesn't seem possible. Kaylee got her permit..yikes!! As far as I am concerned teaching your child to dive is the WORST part of parenting! It stresses me out.

Greg is all finished with wrestling for the year - it was fun. He some relly nice kids to work with. The season flew by and I even really got into it. I'm hoping spring arrives early this year. Our winter has been awful! We had the second snowiest January in the history of "weather keeping". I am ready for some SUN! My exciting news is that Kari and I are going to NYC for a long weekend in April. I can hardly wait! I have always wanted to go there so it should be a blast!~

II Cor. 9:15 Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift

 

Greetings from snowy Ohio! We hope this finds all our loved ones well this holiday season. In today’s troubled times it is a joy to know we have a heavenly Father who loves us and is interceding on our behalf.

 

Our family has had a busy year. We didn’t take any big family vacation this year but we did make a family trip to North Carolina and Greg & I went to Costa Rica with friends in February. Kaylee went to Alaska on a mission’s trip in June and had a wonderful time. She is now in the 10th grade and is the big 16! Chelsea graduated in June and started this fall @ Bowling Green State Univ. (where Lindsey also attends). She is enjoying it very much and is HOPEFULLY studying hard! She is trying to get in a work study program this summer in Austria so she is taking German this year too! Lindsey is a junior this year and is starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel! Her big news is the internship she was awarded for this summer. She will be working out in L.A. at BCBG MaxAzria for appx . 8-10 weeks. It was a real honor to be given this position and she is very excited. We are thrilled for her but are a little anxious about her being so far from home!

 

We have been affected as well by this economy. In October, Greg lost his job at Design Const. where he had been for the last 5 years. It was a big shock and hurtful as well but the building industry has really taken a huge hit. The Lord blessed richly though because the day he lost his job, he was hired by another company called Testa Builders. It is a much larger company and he is happy to be on board!

 

We are truly thankful for all our blessings. God bless you all and from our family to yours….

 

 

Merry Christmas !

  I added new family members !- My brothers wedding went off without a hitch. It was sweet and simple - and very pretty! So now I have a sister in law named Karen - I got to play with my great niece (Alexis). She is so cute! They live in N.C so I won't get to see her much but she sure is adorable!! I saw my nieces too - I hadn't seen them in years. So that was fun. I was really nervous about getting eveything done for the wedding ( the flowers, the decorating, the food, the singing) but because of great friends who helped me out so much- it all went great !

   Then my dad drove half-way to Mo. and brought back 3 of his new grandchildren for the week. They were darling! Abby is so precious and sweet. She is cute and I loved watching her with her brothers. I didn't get to spend near as much time with them as I would have liked (due to the big move) but I never saw her get cross with her brothers once! She and Kaylee had a great time~ they wre like peas and carrots ! They ( the boys ) are SO cute! Spencer is 7 and so funny! He could just melt you with his big eyes! And then Chas is the oldest- He was so sweet & polite and really a good little conversationalist. I am happy to have young children in our family again. My girls thought they were adorable too. Chelsea is a waitress at Bob Evans... (my dad's favorite restaurant in the world) and he and Carol took the kids there to eat. They got to sit at the counter and Chelsea was their waitress. She said they were so funny and cute and she really enjoyed them. So then, during church on Sunday AM, Spencer was sitting with me and he leaned over and said, "Aunt Kristi, ever since I found out my cousin was a waitress at 'Bob Ebans'... it is my favorite restaurant in the whole world.... oh, and they have good food!" I laughed right out loud!

  The big move with Lindsey went great. The apartment is darling and I know she loves it. This Sat. we move Chelsea in !

I posted a few wedding pictures too!

    I was a runner. I say was because my doctor told me after my last surgery that I should not do it any more. I was disappointed because not only was it great excercise,  it was very theraputic. If I was stressed about something I went running. If I was upset or overwhelmed I could run it off. I never ran a marathon although I had high hopes of doing it some day. I am saying all this because I feel as if this has been my marathon summer. I have been focusing on one event after another just as runners focus on a certain mile marker or landmark to reach. With each one that passes you feel more and more like you will make it to the finish line. I can see the finish line and am thrilled to be almost there!

    This summer has been particularly busy. but we have really had a good time. After graduation we were focusing on our trip to Wilmington for Jane's (Lindsey's best friend and another daughter of mine & Greg's!) wedding. It was really nice to get away for a couple of days and we truly fell in love with Wilmington! Terry and Diana were great and we loved spending time with them. We really miss these friends so being able to see them in their new "environment" was so much fun~ The wedding was beautiful... mostly because the bride was breathtaking! Anyway.... we rushed home then I had a two day stay with Chelsea at BGSU for orientation. I left straight from there, drove to the airport and flew to Georgia for my family reunion. that was a sweet time. My Uncle David has been diagnosed with lung cancer and his prognosis is grim. Please pray for God's will in his life and for his family. we were all devastated with the news but I know God is in control.

     I also got to go to the Tim McGraw concert with our best friends Chris and Kari. We had a blast !! I like his music and it was just a great evening with friends. Then I was able to have my dear friend Becky and her family come visit. It was so great to see them. They have moved back to Australia (on 7/24) so before they left came to see me. We were able to spend some very precious time together plus she helped me with my crazy weekend! While they were here we had the graduation pary. My aunts and uncles came as did my brother and his fiance. It was a lot of work but a lot of fun! We had about 120 at the party and everything went great thanks to my awesome friend Kari. I don't know what I would do without her. She is truly my sanity! Everyone should be so lucky to have a friend like her!!

   So now- I am planning my brothers wedding for Aug. 9th. nothing too elaborate but it should be nice. Then- on the 16th we move Lindsey into her apartment in Bowling Green. The following weekend, we move Chelsea into the dorms and on Monday (the 25th) Kaylee starts the 10th grade ! That is my finish line!  I can hardly wait. I can see the end!!!

 Today is my mom's birthday- I am thinking of her and all the fun times we had as kids, planning and plotting what we were going to do for her to make her day special! We made cards, got a cake ( once I made one... yikes... she ate it with a smile on her face), and bought presents. It was fun just letting her know that especially on this day we celebrated her life. Today I am doing the same - celebrating who she was and who I am because of her. I miss her but I know she is having a glorious day with her Saviour today so I can rejoice in that.

 I finally downloaded some pictures from my camera. They are mostly of Chelsea... It has been a big month for her! Prom, her last track meet, Senior pictures and of course Graduation! She has had a great time and we are very proud. I am so lucky to ber her mom!