Girls Night Out!

All of the girls in our family had a Girls Night Out on Friday night. We spent the entire week battling colds that we just couldn't seem to get rid of, and we were very excited to get to go out on Friday night.

Jeff took Elaina and Emily to the Franklin Community High School football game. They were so excited. Not only do they get to go watch football, which they love, they also got to ride in Daddy's truck! They had a great time. Jeff said that they really enjoyed the game. Maybe we'll get to another one this season and Mommy can go next time.

Mommy spent the night with her friends, Jill, Hilary, and Amy. It was Amy's 30th birthday. We went to dinner at Bravo's and then spent the night at Hilary's house. We had a great time, and Hilary was a great hostess. We got to eat Annie Leser cake, and Jill made her delicious blueberry muffins for breakfast. It was great! I just wish I had been feeling better. Amy ended up having bronchitis too. Hilary singing karaoke lifted my spirits incredibly. We're looking so forward to the arrival of Brad and Amy's second child on October 7th!

Stephanie, Jill, Hilary and Amy

Go Grizzlies!

Labor Day Weekend 2008

We were looking so forward to Labor Day weekend. Then . . . we got sick. The girls came down with croup and a really bad cold. We were in all weekend, but Monday we thought we would venture out for some fresh air. It was so nice to get out and go to the park to play. The girls had a really great time and enjoyed getting out of the house. Although our weekend didn't go as planned, we were still able to spend the entire weekend together as a family, and that's what we like to do most.

Emily, Would You Like to Read a Book? - A Much Needed Reminder

I personally needed this today. God was reminding me how blessed I am.

I'm fortunate enough that my girls take naps at the same time every afternoon. Their naps usually last anywhere from 2 - 3 hours. If Elaina wakes up first, she's very good about leaving their room quietly rather than calling for me if she notices that Emily's still asleep. This way, Emily continues her nap.

I usually lay them both down at the same time. Sometimes they "talk" and laugh at each other before falling asleep. Today, as I was listening after I laid them down, I knew Emily had fallen asleep immediately because I could hear her sucking away on her pacifier. You know, the sucking pattern that lets you know that they are out like a light. Elaina always takes "all of her books" (not really ALL of them because that would mean a bookcase full, but about five or six of them is "all of them" to her) to her bed with her and "reads" before she falls asleep. About 20 to 30 minutes after they laid down, I was continuing some housework that I wanted to get done while they were asleep. I heard Elaina coughing again. She has a slight case of croup, and she had a really rough night last night sleeping. She's much better today, but when she lays down for a long period of time, she starts to have coughing fits again. Anyway, since she was coughing again, I decided to go in and check on her.

I was startled when I walked in and saw Emily's crib. Basically, I saw a crib full of books, and I couldn't see Emily. I rushed over to the crib, and fortunately her head wasn't buried in books, so she was still breathing and sleeping peacefully. In fact, she hadn't moved an inch since I laid her in the crib. Not sure how having several books tossed over into her crib on top of her wouldn't bother her, but apparently it didn't. She was in the same position I initially laid her down in. I looked over at Elaina, and she was sound asleep as well, with her face planted right into her pillow . . . not really sure how she was able to breathe and have her face in the pillow like this, but she was making it, so I wasn't going to disturb her.

I just had to stand there and laugh for a moment. Apparently, Elaina decided to share her books with Emily today; although Emily had no idea! As I write this post, they are both still asleep, so it will be very interesting to get Elaina's interpretation of the story when she wakes up, and it will also be interesting to see how Emily responds to waking up to a crib full of books! I may have to post again if their responses are interesting!

God is so very good, and today He reminded me of the simple things in life and the happy times that I take for granted sometimes. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family that I can share these special moments with.

What more could I ever want? Well, at times, I have a long list of answers to that question, but today, I'm reminded . . . I already have it all. Anything else is just another added blessing from God.

Where's Emily? Really . . . she is in there!

Who Needs a Boy? McCrary Family Football Practice

For some reason each time we have given birth, there have been some responses that go a little like this. "Oh, a girl (or "Oh, another girl"). I bet Jeff was a little disappointed that he didn't get his boy. I bet Jeff really wants a boy." We wouldn't give up either one of our precious girls for a boy, so when we get this statement from people, we always just smile and say, "We love our girls." One, because it's the truth. Two, because this statement made by other people can get a bit irritating after a while, (it's funny that they determine your feelings for you), so we just try not to give too lengthy of a response - along with the question, "Are you guys going to try for a boy?" So, to answer that one up front . . . No. We're not going to try for a BOY. When that time comes, we're going to try to have another BABY (boy or girl) so that we can add another precious little one to our family - not necessarily so that we can "get a boy." Plus, my brother and sister-in-law, Stephen and Leah, seem to do a good job of keeping up with filling the need for boys in our family. They have three wonderfully boyish boys! I always tell people that we fill the girl quota and they fill the boy quota. Of course, we expect these comments just as any other couple who has either all girls or all boys expects the comments that they get. I'm sure I've made those comments to other people myself before I had children of my own. Now I try to make it a point of not making comments like those because I know that I get them myself. If God chooses to trust us with gifts of girls, then we consider ourselves truly blessed. Jeff has always been very thankful for these girls who love to snuggle on him, love on him and think that he's the greatest guy in the world! Now, would we be thrilled if we were to ever "get" that boy? Well, of course! The majority of families out there would probably like to fill their families with boys and girls alike.

But in the meantime, Jeff is preparing his girls for that one sport that typically is for "boys only" . . . FOOTBALL! Elaina's Poppy bought her a football last year during football season, and she also has a football jersey. She loves playing and watching football with her Daddy. This week, Emily had her first football practice with Daddy. Emily has actually started her football practice with Daddy at a younger age than when Elaina did, so we were quite impressed with her natural abilities. Elaina didn't start practicing football until she was about 20 months or so. Emily is 15 months. I thought you might like to see some pictures of these future McCrary GIRL football stars!

Emily holding the football for Elaina to kick.

Elaina's touchdown dance!

Elaina holding the ball for Emily's turn to kick.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

It's been a week since I have posted anything on our blog. I have been meaning to, but we've just been so busy! It was a great week, but the bad thing is that I forgot my camera when we went to a couple of places!

On Wednesday of last week we went to Rosie and Jim's house to visit. Their grandsons were over, so Elaina and Emily had a lot of fun playing with Noah and Jack. We always love going to visit Rosie and Jim. Rosie and I usually get to sit and catch up, the girls and I get fed extremely well, and the girls have a ball playing with Jim. They absolutely adore him! Sunday was Rosie's birthday, so we got to wish her a happy birthday, too! Unfortunately this was one of the places I forgot to take my camera! Next time we visit, I'll get some pictures and be sure to post them.

Thursday, we noodled! The girls and I headed over to "MeMaw Terry's" house and made homemade noodles to freeze with Terry, Jennifer, Bethany, and Jill. We had a great time and made a HUGE mess! The girls played with their friends. Eventually, Hannah and Elaina decided that they wanted to help, and they had so much fun making an already huge mess even more of a mess! I couldn't believe that I had forgotten my camera again because there were some opportunities for some really cute pictures, especially when Sammy (Bethany's middle son) joined in with the rolling pin! The noodles are delicious! We actually had some tonight, and we have more in the freezer to look forward to this winter.

On Friday night, Jeff and I went to the Whiteland vs. New Palestine football game at the new Lucas Oil Stadium. For those of you who are not from Indiana and are reading this post, this is the new Colt's stadium. Friday night was the first night that a football game was played in the stadium, so it was really exciting. We went with a large group of friends who mostly are alumni of Whiteland, so they were super excited. We went out to dinner before hand. Jeff and I were really missing the girls at dinner because everyone else had brought their kiddos, and we asked Jeff's parents to watch the girls. Once we got to the game, though, we realized that we had made a wise choice to leave them with MawMaw and PawPaw. The game didn't get started until after 9 p.m., and we didn't leave until almost midnight, and the fourth quarter hadn't even began yet! We were able to get great seats on the first and second rows. We had a great time with our friends and getting to see the new stadium. It was especially neat when they opened the retractable roof. It's amazing!

On Sunday, we headed to Kentucky for Jeff's grandmother's 85th birthday. Most of the entire family surprised her at church and then took her out to lunch. We had a great visit with everyone. We don't get to see Jeff's brother and his wife and sister and her husband very often, so it was especially nice to see and visit with them. We hope Great MawMaw Welty had a very special day. She's such a wonderful lady!

Tonight, Jeff took Elaina to the first Northwood skating party of the school year. This is always something that he does with her. Maybe at the end of the year, Emily will be able to start going, too. I know Jeff is really looking forward to being able to take her, too. They had a great time together! Elaina loves the music and getting to see all of the kids, too. She especially likes the arcade games. To top it all off, she got to ride in Daddy's truck, and that is always a special treat for her!

Miss Emily had her 15 month check-up at the pediatrician today. She weighs 22 lbs. 12 ounces and is 32 1/2 inches long. That's 50th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for length. She's doing great. Of course, we'd love it if she would start talking a little more rather than pointing and grunting and whining, but the doctor isn't concerned. She said it's very typical for a second child to talk later than the first. This could be because Elaina is doing all of the talking for her! Emily also isn't a big book lover, so this also could slow her language development down. In fact, it's just been within the last few weeks that she's become interested in books. She can't sit still long enough to have a book read to her. Our girls two girls are complete opposites. Elaina loved books very early on, and still loves to just sit and read. Both of our girls are so beautiful and special, and we love to see traits in them that are similar, but we also love their differences. We just continue to pray that they both grow to love Jesus and live a life for Him.

I will try to do a better job of keeping up with the blog. I don't like to get behind, and I especially don't like forgetting my camera!

Lucas Oil Stadium

OK. So the whole night I was trying to get a really good picture of Jill and Scott for my blog, but she was being a punk the whole time whining about me taking her picture. Since we were sitting so close to the field, and Peyton Manning was standing on the side line of the field in front of us, I was wanting to get his picture. Jill decided she would continue with her shenanigans and get right in front of my camera while I was trying to get Manning's picture. So much for a good picture of Peyton, and so much for a good picture of Jill. This is what I ended up with.

The best picture of Peyton Manning that I could get.

Hilary posing for the camera.

The kids had a great time at the game. I don't think they watched one minute of the actual game. Their focus was getting on the big screen, and our seats were perfect for it! This is a picture of Madison and her little girlfriends on the big screen. Madison is in the middle.

When it came time for Hannah to get on the big screen, she was super excited. But her big brother, Luke, did what big brothers are made for . . . he stole her glory and shining moment. This is a picture of Hannah with Luke jumping right in front of her to get some screen time.

Now, typically, it was the younger kids and the high school students who were doing everything they could to get on the big screen. But there was ONE poor 35 year old soul in attendance who was desperately awaiting her big moment! This is Hilary on the big screen. She is the blonde on the left side of the picture behind the younger kid. Way to go, Hilary!

Elaina and Emily sharing an ice cream cone at Great MawMaw Welty's 85th birthday lunch.

Elaina posing for the camera with her roller skates on.

Oops . . . posed a little too long, and lost her balance.

Elaina on the motorcycle arcade game. She gets her love of motorcycles from her daddy!

It's Football Season!

Through our seven years of friendship with the Ruddles, we've been able to watch their kids grow up. Benjamin was 2 when we met, Luke was 7 months, and Hannah was just still part of God's wonderful plan. We love these kids so much! As they've gone through several sporting seasons in soccer, baseball and basketball, we've always enjoyed seeing them play. This last Saturday was a new one for them . . . football! We were so excited to see them play, and they did a great job!

Elaina was pumped all morning. She wore her football jersey, got her football ready to go and she was bound and determined that she was going to go play football with "the boys Ben-Ben and Urk" (now becoming "Uke"). Jeff had to get her hopes back down to reality and told her that she couldn't play with them today that she would just have to watch and practice.

Luke, the younger Ruddle boy, plays "QB" and Wide Receiver. Benjamin, the oldest Ruddle boy, plays Quarterback and Wide Receiver as well, but they are on separate teams. Benjamin and Luke both scored touchdowns! It was so fun to watch them play. They are both really great! We look forward to watching more of their football games this fall.

Saturday evening, we were able to watch Brooke while her mommy, daddy, brother and sister went to a tour of Lucas Oil Stadium. Brooke is so sweet, and Elaina had a great time playing with her. By the end of the night, Elaina was exhausted from our long day and getting to play with so many of her friends!

Jeff coaching Hannah, Elaina, and Emily in the techniques of football. Look out, Emily's running it in for a touchdown!

Benjamin and Luke Ruddle ("RUD STUDS!")

Elaina and Brooke having a picnic

Introducing . . . Elaina Joy McCrary . . . the Gold Medalist in All Sporting Events . . . for the 2024 Olympics!

As I mentioned in my earlier post, we have been thoroughly enjoying the 2008 Summer Olympics. Our television has been on at 8:00 p.m. each night, and we've been staying up ridiculously late watching it all. It has been so much fun because Elaina is so into it. She absolutely loves watching the Olympics, and to hear her even pronounce the word is so much fun in itself. She has been staying up way past her bedtime, too, but it's been worth it because of the laughter and joy she's brought to us through these Games. She does not like it at all when a commercial comes on. She's going to miss the Olympics for sure when they're over, but Jeff recorded some of it on Thursday night, so we can always have her watch that.

She has proven herself to be an all around athlete! She participates in all sports to her maximum ability and with such determination and grace. We just want the world to know that she's the one to watch for the 2024 Olympics. Her strong point is definitely gymnastics, but she is also very strong in diving, track and field, and beach volleyball. Look out, World! Elaina Joy McCrary will be coming home to the USA decorated in Gold in 2024!

(DISCLAIMER: By the way, please know that we are not the type of parents who would really be truly serious about any of the content in the above paragraph. We are not training our 2 1/2 year old for the Olympics in 2024 nor do we seriously think she's a superstar at age 2 1/2. Well, she's a superstar in our eyes though . . . superstar in the drama department!)

One of Elaina's gymnastic moves

Dismount

Elaina - the tack and field Gold Medalist. "I run fast like those boys on the Olympics!"

Elaina serving an ace in beach volleyball

Standing on the podium waving to the crowd after accepting her gold medals