My Annual Post-Our Family Recap for 2011

I am sad that I do not post more often, but I am happy that I can post our family update here every year. 2011 has been a great year for us! Hope you enjoy the highlights!

Mark

Mark is still with ARC, working hard. He stays busy keeping all of their systems running smoothly so the doctors can work productively. He also serves faithfully at church with the RAs boys’ group and helped me with teaching the 4^th graders. He ran the Chosen half marathon for the second year in a row and works out regularly. He had fun decorating our house for Christmas this year with all new lights.

Shelley

I finished my role leading MOPS in May. I also got to do a new big job this year—I coordinated the summer Bible camp at our church, which is VBS on steroids. It was hard work but so rewarding to work with amazing adults and minister to awesome children. I am planning to coordinate it again in 2012 with the help of our church’s new children’s minister. I am also teaching the 4^th grade Sunday School class, which includes my Riley. But, amazingly, I haven’t felt as busy this fall and have enjoyed the time with Kendall and developing more friendships.

Riley

Riley continues to grow into an impressive young man. He is in 4^th grade this year and doing well in school. He is a great brother and helper; he even received a special award at family camp this summer for being the “Ultimate Brother”. He still loves his Legos and stormchasing. Riley, Mark and Tyler even got to see an actual stormchasing vehicle, the TIV, at the Texas State History Museum in September. His current obsession is anything about the Titanic. He can tell you anything you want to know about it.

Tyler

Oh Tyler! He’s such a fun boy! He’s in first grade, reading, spelling and doing math. He loves school and works hard. He is becoming so mature and insightful. He got a Bible recently and enjoys reading it and taking it with him to church every Sunday. His prayers are also so compassionate and insightful. He loves Legos and is becoming more proficient and creative with his building. We were really proud of him on Thanksgiving Day, when he ran about 3K of a 5K race without complaining. Tyler will be a ringbearer at my cousin’s wedding in a couple of weeks.

Kendall JOY

What a fun year it has been with sweet miss Kendall! She’s so happy, talkative and fun. This year, she turned 1, started to walk, started to play and talk. She loves music, playing with her babies and being outside. She still loves to swing and has a passion for airplanes and helicopters (she gets it from daddy). She has begun to repeat everything we say; sometimes it’s not something good, but it just melts my heart when she’ll say, “Yes, Jesus loves me…” and “Mom, I love you.”

Family

It’s been a fun year as a family. Some of our biggest highlights were:

Snow in February! We had so much fun in this rare snow day.

Having fun playing in the afternoons outside with the neighbors.

Our family vacation to Rockport/Port Aransas in June. Going to the beach was great fun. We also visited the Texas State Aquarium and the USS Lexington.

We went to Lake City, Colorado to family camp at Camp Redcloud in August. What a memory! We got to go with my mom and dad and my brother Greg and his family. It was a great experience and we want to go back again. It’s like heaven on earth, plus we learned a lot from Creation Camp.

We’ve done lots of other fun stuff around town like playing at GattiTown, going to Austin Park, shopping at IKEA. We really enjoy our time together.

We are also looking forward to a mini holiday vacation just before Christmas at the Great Wolf Lodge and the Lego Discovery Center.

One major change our family is making this fall is that we are working on getting our foster home licensing. We’ve really felt a call to do this for the last 2 years and now is finally the time. We should be licensed just before Christmas and look forward to the possibility of getting a placement right away. We’ve prepared our house for 2 children and cannot wait to see what God has in store for our family. What an exciting Christmas gift!

We pray that you have a blessed holiday season this year! May God richly bless you in 2012 as you seek Him first.

With much love,

Mark, Shelley, Riley, Tyler and Kendall McDaid

(Juno and Milo cats too)

McDaid Family Update 2010

D Day, January 21st

Riley in his 2nd grade Patriotic Performance.

Great Grandma meets Kendall.

Spring bluebonnets and Tyler's 5th birthday!

The St. Louis Arch and Fourth of July!

Daddy with his girl!

Tyler starts Kinder, our new kitten Milo and our pink Halloween kitty, Kendall! Merry Christmas! Love Tyler, Riley, Kendall, Mark and Shelley

Kendall

Well, our year started off with a bang, and now we’re swimming in pink! Kendall Joy McDaid was born January 21, 2010 at 4:16pm, weighing 7 pounds 13 ounces. All went smoothly, and she has grown like a weed over the last 10 months. At 10 months old, she is scooting, playing and happy. Her favorite things are “reading” and being outside, especially in the swing. She’s very talkative; she is starting to use some real words like uh-oh and cat.

Mark

Mark is still with ARC, working hard. He stays busy keeping all of their systems running smoothly so the doctors can work productively. He got to be home for 3 weeks when Kendall was born, which was such a blessing! At church, he works with the boys’ group, RAs. They just completed their annual Pinewood Derby car build and race. He also works out avidly, and he and I completed our first half marathon in October. I was really proud of his dedication to the training and the race. He did a great job!

Shelley

I continue to help lead the MOPS (Moms of Preschoolers) group at Hays Hills Baptist Church. We had a great year last year and have started another great year this fall. Currently, we have 62 moms in our group with more inquiring daily. We will be launching a 2^nd group in January to have more room for more moms. I love the ministry of MOPS; it reaches stay at home moms in the community so they do not feel like they are mothering alone. I also have enjoyed being more active at the boys’ school. And, amazingly, I trained and completed my first half marathon in October! It was really challenging; I am so thankful to have done it, but I don’t know that I’ll be doing another one anytime soon. I think 5Ks and 10Ks will be fine from here on.

Riley

Riley has really grown and matured over the last year. I have really come to rely on his help, and he has risen to the occasion. He is an awesome big brother; Kendall adores him. He is in third grade this year and thriving in school. He loves to build with Legos and has built many creative designs. He also is loving reading chapter books and is an excellent speller. Riley is passionate about storms and tornadoes. We are curious to see if it will develop into a career in meteorology.

Tyler

Tyler has had a big year! Not only did he lose his position as the baby of the family, he also started Kindergarten this fall. I am so thankful that I got to spend so much time with him at home because I feel like I hardly see him anymore. He is loving school, learning and making new friends. We found out his peanut allergy is not severe, but he still enjoys eating at the “peanut free” table in the school cafeteria. He also is a Lego fanatic, and really enjoys minifigures (the people) and accessories.

Family

I am so thankful for our family time. We’ve really made some memories this year that I will always treasure. We went to Sea World in December, one last hurrah before Kendall arrived. We enjoyed a rare snow in February. In June, we took our first big road trip to Saint Louis, Missouri. It was the boys’ first trip outside of Texas. We visited family, went to my cousin’s wedding, saw the Arch, rode on a riverboat and went to the zoo. But the highlight had to be stopping in Dallas on the way home to go to the Lego store! While we were there, we found out that Austin was getting a Lego store. (It opened in August, and we have been there many times already.) We also did fun things around town, like going to Gattitown, Austin Park, swimming at pools and seeing movies. This fall, we got to spend time with the Beamans for the first time in a long time, which was also really fun.

We still have our sweet Siamese cat Juno, and added another kitten, Milo, last month. Teddy went out a week ago and hasn’t returned. We are still searching for him, hoping he’ll come home and be okay. We’ve had him for 9 years and really love him. But Milo is a silly boy, and he fascinates Kendall.

This year, God has really blessed us. It is so fun to see the world through a new baby’s eyes. Thinking about how much she’s grown in such a short time is amazing. And now, we get to enjoy this holiday season with her. It will be a special time.

We wish you many blessings this holiday, and may you remember the true joy of Christ’s birth! Love, the McDaids

2009 Family Recap

We went to Kiddie Acres over Spring Break.

Mark's baby sister, Liz, got married March 1st.

Easter 2009 (notice Tyler's band-aid to hide his stitches)

Tyler's 4th birthday and our new kitten, Juno (with old cat, Teddy).

Riley and Mark finished a family Triathlon! The boys played dress up this summer.

Our family at the pumpkin patch and the boys dressed for Halloween.

My big old belly at 29 weeks. Tyler loves his baby sister! :)

Mark
Mark is still working hard as a Programmer in the IT Department at Austin Regional Clinic. With 2 years under his belt, he feels pretty comfortable at his job. He has really enjoyed working out and running this year. This summer, he completed his first Triathlon, then did a family Triathlon with Riley. He’s also run a 5K and a 10K this year, as well as going on regular runs in the neighborhood with the boys to help Riley complete his marathon. I always keep him busy around the house, too! He has built many a furniture piece from IKEA this year!

Shelley
As soon as I finished teaching Pre-K at Mother’s Day Out this spring, I found out I was pregnant! It did come as a surprise, but in September we found out we are having a baby girl, which is so exciting! She will be at the top of our 2010 highlights, since she is due January 21st. Just before I found out that I was pregnant, I agreed to take on the role of MOPS Coordinator at my church. This is our third year, and we are still growing and going smoothly. God has really blessed this group! We even started a sister group in Kyle this fall, which 2 dear friends of mine are coordinating. This summer was tough for me, with the first trimester pregnancy yuckiness and the scorching heat. We spent a lot of time indoors at home this summer.

Riley
It’s amazing that Riley is a 7 year old second grader! He is such a big boy and so helpful to me. He’s a great big brother to Tyler, and I know he will be great with his baby sister (he loves babies!). He loves school and was so excited to get the teacher he wanted for second grade. They have lots of animals in their classroom, including leopard geckos and snakes. He really enjoys running and completed a Kids’ Triathlon in July and ran a 5K in October. He did his first sleepover camp last summer and had a great time.

Tyler
Tyler is 4 and is such a big boy. He and I are doing “home school preschool” and he is learning his letters, numbers and other fun stuff. He loves to “read” and has many of his favorite books memorized. He had to give up his room for the baby, but is excited to share a bunk bed with Riley. Their room is full of Legos, which both boys are very passionate about. I am always amazed at the original creations they come up with! Tyler is running with Mark and Riley—his goal is to do the 5K on his own next fall. Tyler has also had his fair share of boo-boos this year, including stitches on his forehead in March from falling at the park.

Family
It’s been another fun year for our family. We’ve gotten to do some fun things, like going to Round Rock Express baseball games and stock car races at the local track. Mark and Riley got to go camping this spring with a group of men and boys from our church. This summer, we tried some new things, like seeing “Up” at an outdoor theater, learning to play laser tag and race go-karts at Austin Park and Pizza, and going to the Children’s Museum in New Braunfels.
We got to go to Sea World in San Antonio and stay at the Hyatt Wild Oaks Ranch for our summer vacation. It was really fun, especially spending 4+ hours a day in the pool. We also took the boys to the Riverwalk and Rainforest Café.
Oh, and another highlight of our summer was the addition of another cat, Juno. He is an adorable Siamese cat who is so funny and friendly. We originally thought he was a girl until I took him to the vet about a month after we got him. He keeps us laughing and on our toes.

It has been another wild year, with lots of ups and downs. It is so rewarding to see the boys growing up and seeing their character develop. They have really bonded with each other. They both are thriving at church and love Jesus and His word, which is truly exciting. We are looking forward to 2010 with our newest addition. We can’t wait to meet little Kendall Joy in person. She has already captured our hearts! I am so thankful that I can look back and see God’s love and faithfulness in our lives. He has truly blessed us beyond what we deserve.

Love, the McDaids

Just Released! Stampin' Up's New Catalog!

The 2009-2010 catalog is officially live! It is beautiful and full of great new products and project ideas. You can view the catalog online or contact me to purchase one. They are $5. If you purchase a catalog, you will receive swatches of the 6 new In Colors for free.

I will be having a new catalog preview and a watercoloring class Friday and Saturday, July 24 and 25th from 10:00-12:00. The class is $15 and you must RSVP by July 13th. You will make 6 3"x3" cards using 6 different watercoloring techniques. Plus, I will have a BONUS card for you to make using a brand new hostess set!

Also, Brenna and I will be continuing to do the monthly stamp club. If you are interested in being a part of it, let me know. Stamp club is a great way to gradually build your product stash and have some fun girl time!

Big News!

The McDaid family will be welcoming a new member in January 2010!

Will it be another boy or will it be a girl??? Time will tell!

Handcrafted Items for Sale

Faux Alligator Skin Wristlets Gift Card Holders $5

Colors Available: Moss, Celery, Chocolate, Turquoise

Monogram Cards Boxed Sets $15

Ten custom made monogram cards with envelopes in a coordinating box.



Baby Girl Thank You cards Boxed Set $15

10 handcrafted baby girl thank you cards with envelopes in a coordinating box.

Baby Boy Thank You cards Boxed Set $15
10 handcrafted baby boy thank you cards with envelopes in a coordinating box.

Assorted Greeting Boxed Set $15
10 cards with assorted greetings with envelopes in a coordinating box.

To place an order, please e-mail me at smcdaid@austin.rr.com. Please allow 1 week for completion and delivery.

Handcrafted Items for Sale

I have been working on some projects to sell. I am very excited about putting some of my creations on the market. Here are a couple I am offering:

Faux Alligator Skin Wristlet Gift Card Holder $5

Colors Available: Chocolate, Celery, Turquoise

Parisian Boxed Card Set, includes 10 cards and envelopes in a coordinating gift box $15

Walk in the Park Boxed Monogram Card set, includes 10 custom monogrammed cards and envelopes in a coordinating gift box, $15

Stay tuned for more projects I'll be posting, including baby thank you card sets and card sets with custom greeting options.

If you are interested in ordering a set, please e-mail me at smcdaid@austin.rr.com.