It is what it is . . . and to me it is amazing!

2/3/06 Two years gone . . . a life time full of memories!
I love you! I miss you!

Thank you, Dad, for all you taught me, showed me, and helped open my eyes to. I am who I am today partial because of you. The combined harmony you and mom brought to our family and your combined teachings and love created our Glauser Masterpiece.




. . . and now . . . The first chapter of our New Family book is now being written with excitement, wonder, joy and pure love!!! (Thank you, Dad, for some assistance with it) I cannot find words to express, but my heart is full with the knowing that this new book will also be a Masterpiece. A new combined harmony is now being created! It is beautiful. I welcome it with open arms. What an amazing gift and adventure. Thank you Jeff S. :) , for bringing this new love to Mom. Thank you for being willing to share your heart and your family with ours. I am so excited and look forward to it all!!!

T.y., F!!!

Our 6th Anniversary! Wow!

Saturday, February 2nd, was our 6 year wedding Anniversary! I can't believe it has been 6 years. It sure has been a mind blowing experience. I love my life! It really ROCKS!

Scott and I decided to take the kids to Classic Fun Center that day. Hana and Conrad both got scooters for Christmas and they have been practicing up and down our 10 ft long hall way for the last month. So both kids had a blast having a whole skating rink to ride on. (At CFC they let kids ride their scooter or skate, cool huh!) Scott and I had a blast watching them. Hana got faster and faster. Conrad had a couple wipe outs before he got the hang of it. Imagine Hana in her own little world going around the rink and Conrad trying to keep up with her - if he lost sight of her he would stop right in the middle while kids were wizzing by him, then if he saw her he would try to drag his scooter over to her, he then would give up and leave his scooter in the middle of the rink and run after her. It was hilarious. About an hour into in I rented some skates and skated with the kids. It was great!! I made the mistake of pushing Conrad around while he just stood on his scooter - this of course led to him not wanting to do it on his own after that. Oh well - it was fun!

Don't get the wrong idea - Scott and I did have quite a bit of time later with out the kids. Scott's fabulous parents took the kids overnight and we picked them up the next day and stayed at their house to watch the Super Bowl.

Saturday evening Scott and I went to Starbucks and had some delicious drinks and wonderful, uninterrupted adult conversation. Then off to dinner at Tepanyaki restaurant!! IT WAS FABULOUS! The next day(yesterday) we went grocery shopping (without kids - nice) and had another cup 'o joe together. It was great.

A New Year! So it has begun. . . . Wooo! Hooo!

aaaaaah . . . just breath in the newness and freshness of it!!! And Hurray! January is here!!! I guess it has been here for a couple weeks. Anyway, it has been great so far. No Inversion! Snowing every few days, and some sun in between has been great!

We had a wonderful Christmas with our kids!! Christmas morning and spending time with just our little family of four (and Zephyr) were my absolute favorite parts. It was the most relaxing and fun, with the least stress involved. Don't get me wrong, I liked seeing other family and such, but I have to say, being with just my hubby and kids will always be my most joyful of times.

Scott is still working at Skywest airlines as a Ramp Supervisor. ( just to give all a heads up - his flight benefits have changed and we do not get buddy passes anymore from Skywest.) He says all the time that he is ready for a change. He has had a longtime desire to get on with the Highway Patrol one day. He is looking at getting into the Police Acadamy this Spring or Summer. I am excited for him and his goals. I am still working at The Sharing Place: A Grief Support Program for Children and their Families; running a Support Group there and doing family interviews. I also work at the YWCA as an Activities Specialist. The teens and kids there teach me something new everyday. Hana is in her final year of Pre-school, with the big K starting in the Fall. She is a very social girl and is EXTREMELY attentive in all things. It is cool to watch her mind work. Conrad is a fun, loving, crazy little man. He brings joy, and playfulness into our home. It is wonderful.

Luckily we were all pretty healthy through the holidays. Then January came and Conrad got a little eye infection, but we nipped it in the bud real quick, so he is fine. As for mommy, I was blessed enough to get Strep Throat this weekend. It totally took me out! It came on Sunday, and yesterday I felt like my body had been slammed against a brick wall. Its no fun being a mommy while your sick. Thankfully it was Scott's day off yesterday and he and the kids had a very fun filled day. They went to Cabela's; did a little shopping for dad. Then they went to the Living Aquarium in Sandy, McDonald's for an late lunch and the pet shop to look at the animals. What a fun day! Meanwhile, mommy was drowsy on Lortab, and in bed all day. aaaaaah. Fun for all! ;)


(I will post pictures soon)

I think mostly Scott and I are excited for what this year has to offer us. Abundance in all things . . .

Merry Christmas to All !!! From the McKinnons!

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope your holidays are merry and bright!!! This is our holiday message from our family to all of you . . .

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1313779629

Turn up the volume on your computer and go to the link/website above! If is doesn't work, just copy and paste it into your address bar. It may take a minute or so to load, but be patient, it is worth it! We hope it brings some smiles, or laughs into your holiday season!

Pass the Cheer!

The picture of this cup makes it kind of hard to read - so this is what it says:

"Pass the Cheer . . . A good way to pass the cheer when you are on the road is to pay the toll for the car behind you. Do this and you might start to look at stop lights as holiday lights instead. Red means stop and be thankful for a moment. Green means go out and do nice things."

Aaaaaahhh! Starbucks. The home of delicious hot holiday beverages. I hope we can all take some time to "Pass the Cheer" this holiday season, and even all year long. Here is my story about how the cheer was first pass to me. . .

When I was in Indiana a couple weekends ago, my friend and I stopped at their local Starbucks drive thru. My friend Tamara was in front of me in her car. I ordered and pulled up to the window. The woman at the window said "The person in front of you paid for part of your order, so you now owe $1.56." I thought, oh that was nice of Tamara, but then the woman continued. She said, "We have something we do called Pass the Cheer. You are welcome to pay the $1.56, or pay a little more and pass the cheer for the next person behind you." I thought, "This is pretty cool." So I handed the woman $4 and told her to put whatever is left toward the order behind me.

I wonder how long the cheer was passed that day. (Hopefully there wasn't a scrooge who stopped the cheer - that's got to be some bad carma ;o) The cup above was the one I got that day at Starbucks, so I thought I would share the thought and experience. I hope we all have the chance to "Pass the Cheer" sometime.

I love you all!!! Pass the Cheer and Have a wonderful holiday season!

Visiting friends is always fun . . .

I got to visit my fun friend

and her family in Indiana this weekend. Tamara and Jimmy lived here in Utah for about 1 year, from July 2006 to June 2007, and we became fast friends with them. (They now live in Indiana)Hana and their daughter Kyla were best friends instantly. Kyla was born 9 days before Hana, so they loved having their b-days so close together. James is about 10 or 11 months younger than Conrad. As you can see from the picture above they loved playing together (when James was feeling good - he was sick when we were there) Of course we planned the trip to come over Kyla's 5th birthday (picture of Hana and Kyla, above, is at her party).






Now these pictures above and to the left side are of the fabulous experience it was, and continually is, traveling with just me and my two kiddles. As you can see my loony son must be restrained in unique ways, or he would be lost by now in some other state. Hana, as I have said before in other blogs, is a seasoned, and very well behaved traveler. Of course she has her moments, when she is bored or tired, but don't we all.

Anyway, it was a good trip. I am now getting ready to have Hana's birthday party (she turns 5 this Sunday, Dec. 16th). Wow, December is way too busy. I need to take a few of the extra things off my plate next year. :)

My teacher, Hana! I sure love ya . . .

This picture is Hana's first day back to preschool in Oct. this year.

I am finally blogging after a 2 month break - not on purpose.

I wanted to blog today about my sweet daughter, Hana. I am amazed at how quickly she is growing up. I find my self wanting to stop it somehow. She now is tall enough to reach things on top of our microwave, which is on out counter. I know that does not sound so great, but it is just a conformation that she is growing fast. Just yesterday she could bearly reach the light switch - ya know?

Scott and I also decided that we know how to do this parent thing with 2 year olds, because we've done it before. However, Hana is turning 5 in less than two weeks and we don't know how to raise a 5 year old. AH! Sometimes we feel like we are in over our head. :)

I have also recently taken on another parttime job, working at the YWCA, with kids and teens. I leave for work right after Scott gets home in the afternoon. I am still really enjoying it, but it has been a big change for our family.

Hana has said to me a couple times that she wishes everything was back the way it was before. She first explained that a couple of her preschool teachers are different, and she wished that they were the same again. Then she wanted her bedroom back the way it used to be (when we had the bunk bed set up and Conrad's crib up ) - we now have the bunk bed separated and the kids sleep in each of the beds. Then the final heart breaker for me was when she said "And I just want our family back the way it was, too. Mom, it sure is hard having so many changes." Well, there goes a little piece of her childhood, toddling out the door. Oh Man! What do you do? Yes, I have to agree with Hana, it is very hard watching changes happen - especially with my kids.

Don't get me wrong, I am very excited for my kids to continue experiencing life. What a great adventure! But ya know - I also hope I can be there for them the way that is need for them to have the fullest life possible. I guess it is a daily "giving up." This is where I put my hands in the air and say "I give it all to you, Father. Show me the way and Thy will be done! I give it up! It is Yours - knowing I will be shown my role in this beautiful life!"

I have also realized how individual my sweet children are. I mean in the sense that they are separate from me and each other. They are not mine. They only belong to themselves and the God or Goddess that they are. They are their own people living their own life experience. It is hard to explain from my true perspective, and everyone will have their own interpretations of what I am explaining. All I can say is that I am so glad I am their "mom" right now. I "know" these people or Spirits who have joined in on this particular life adventure. We are friends and they have gifts they have brought with them. It sure is a beautiful thing remembering that.