The McNutt Family

IT's A GIRL!!!

2010-12-09T18:37:00.000-08:00

What a differnence a year can make! Last year at this time we were doing our best to pick ourselves up and create a great holiday season for our kids. This year we are rejoicing in the AMAZING news that in a few short months we will be the parents to THREE little girls! We could not be more excited and feel so blessed this Christmas season!

A Year has gone by...

2010-07-19T18:08:00.000-07:00

A year has gone by since I last updated our blog. What a year it has been. It has been a year dominated by a roller coaster of emotion. About a year ago we decided that we wanted to add another child to the McNutt clan. We were elated to learn that we were expecting in October 2009. Our elation soon turned to shock and heartbreak when we learned that we had experienced a miscarriage in November due to a partial molar pregnancy. Our calendar was then full of blood draws and doctors appointments. It has been a rough road. Health wise we have been given the okay to have another child and we are waiting on God and His timing and perfect plan for our family.

We desire to praise the Lord for the blessings that He has allowed in the midst of our struggle and trust Him for His plan for our future. We are so blessed by our beautiful little girls and here is a year in review!!!

July 2009 trip to Chicago

August 2009 road trip to Steamboat, Colorado
Smiley girls growing up in September 2009

Halloween with Dorothy and Little Orphan Annie

Two little donkeys in Grace Family Christmas

Winter Snowbirds in Florida

Ready to take Grandma Wilson her quilt

Funny teeth from the Easter Bunny

Running fun in May 2010

Sisters growing so beautifully June 2010

And a year later ....

Lazy Days of Summer!

2009-07-10T17:56:00.000-07:00

For summer 2009 we decided that we wanted to have a slow, easy-going summer. We did not sign up for lessons, teams, vacations, etc... We wanted to just have time to relax and spend time with one another and our family and friends. So here is a little re-cap of our summer so far!
Daddy has been the pitcher of the Grace men's softball team which has been fun. Gives him a little time to do something that he enjoys and the girls love cheering, "Go Grace!"

When not cheering the girls can be found playing on the rock pile at the ball diamond, fun times!

Molly, Margot and I tried something new this summer. We went strawberry picking. It was a fun experience but a lot of back breaking work for not a whole lot of fruit. We came home with one small bowls worth of berries and this cute photo!

Another favorite summer time hang out is the Farm Park. It is a great little park with all the farm animals there for the kids to pet and feed. Margot likes the idea of the farm park but will not get close enough to touch or feed them. She and her friend Clara make a great pair, Margot holds the feed cone and Clara does all the feeding!

Molly our little animal lover's favorite activity is hanging out with the goats. She does not like the pushy ones and does her best to make sure they all get their fair share!

Riding in the car and singing to Mary Poppins has been another fun summer time activity. We have driven all over Illinois this summer visiting family and Mary Poppins makes the time fly by. Margot loves Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious and Molly loves all the songs that have really high notes to sing. It has been a blast listening to Molly perfect her British accent as we are driving along in the car!

Slip and Slide! Molly loves to ride the slip and slide in the backyard. It was all fun and games until she got hurt. She had a head on collision with a friend and we are now babying her very gray front teeth hoping we do not lose them. At least they are only baby teeth!

Birthday parties with friends are always fun. We had a great time in the park celebrating Allie's 4th birthday. She had a pinata and lots of fun prizes!

Bike rider with an attitude! Molly loves riding up and down the sidewalk on her many little bikes that have crowded poor daddy's car out of the garage. We have been working on no training wheels but we are not quite there yet. Maybe by the end of the summer we will conquer that feat.

I scream you scream we all scream for ice cream! We McNutt's love our ice cream. We have made trips to local ice cream hot spots like Emo's, Granny's and Ice Cream Shack but we also love a good ice cream sandwich in the driveway on a hot summer night.

Swimming is an activity that we can not get enough of. Luckily Nanu and Papa have a pool that they love to share with the kiddos. Margot and Molly have truly become water babies. Molly is now swimming all by herself in the deep end and she loves wearing goggles and spending lots of time exploring under water.

Margot loves to bring her smile along where ever she goes and it sure is contagious!

Molly is a thrill seeker. We took her to the fair and she wanted to ride every ride. She loved the dragon roller coaster!

Margot not a thrill seeker she was content to sit and watch Molly on every ride!

Molly also loved the swings at the fair and rode three times in a row! It made me dizzy just watching her but she loved every second!

Playing at the park is always a huge hit. We have made our rounds to all the local parks. The sprinkler park in Washington is fun even on a cold overcast morning. The chilly weather did not slow them down a bit!

Parachuters at Kroger??? We headed over to the Kroger parking lot in North Peoria to check out the Air National Guard parachuters who were landing as an advertisement for the upcoming Air Show. It was pretty neat!

We also have not let the rainy summer weather rain on our parade. We just head out the the Rainbow Park that is inside. We love it and it is great for running off a little pent up energy and makes for long naps on those rainy afternoons!

That is our summer so far, I am sure we will have many more adventures to come!

A Big One!!!

2009-07-10T17:51:00.000-07:00

Today was a big day in the life of little Margot Isabell McNutt, she poo pooed on the potty! We have been working on this for months so to say we were excited would be a huge understatement. I did the proud mommy dance even in the bathroom at the pediatricians office, which is the location she choose for this momentous occasion. Above is Margot after she enjoyed the chocolate candy bar which was the potty prize of choice! Hopefully very soon we will say bye bye diapers hello big girl panties!

I'm so glad I came to bible school!

2009-06-10T16:22:00.000-07:00

Bible School at Grace is a very fun week. This year we had 700 children attending and over 300 volunteers making everyting run smoothly. Jeff and I helped with the 2nd and 3rd graders. We learned all about the Armor of God!

Molly as always loved all the singing at Bible School. Her class learned all about Moses. The first day she came home with baby Moses in a littel basket and the last day they had the Ten Commandments as a snack, it was graham crackers with white frosting and black gel for writing. So super cute!

Margot was in the twos and this was her first year to actually go to bible school and not just the nursery. Margot learned all about creation. Her favorite was learning about light and dark and she cam home telling us all about how when you shut your eyes it is dark, so precious. She also enjoyed planting a flower for mommy!

A highlight of bible school this year for Molly was being at a table with all her best friends. She is a true girl loving her friends, Riley, Kylynn and Reagan. Everyday they were so excited to see one another, it was too cute!

Margot loved listening to a very special guest tell stories everyday and she even got to play his drum. Each day she would tell us that she played his drum loud! But she was too afraid to talk to him.

Our special guest every year at bible school is Black Buffalo. He is a Native American Indian, who is a missionary to Mexico and South America. He runs childrens homes. He comes each year and tells the kids stories of the Indian tribes that he has ministered to over the years. What an amazing man! We all love Black Buffalo! He has been a tradition at Grace VBS for 30 years.

Black Buffalo taught the kids to sing Jesus Loves me in a Native American language and here is the girls best rendition. It is pretty hilarious especially Margot's quick exit!

Bye Dr. Erickson!

2009-06-04T15:04:00.001-07:00

Today was a sad day. We had to say good-bye to our pediatrician Dr. Erickson. He is moving to Chicago and we are very sad to see him go. For those whose kids are relatively healthy you may not relate, but our kiddos catch everything and I saw Dr. Erickson more than we see many of our friends. He has been a great support and a voice of reason in uncertain and scary situations. We have truly appreciated his support especially this year with our run in with DCFS and our hospitalization with pneumonia. We wish him the best on his new adventure but he will be greatly missed by our entire family!

School's Out!

2009-05-14T13:10:00.000-07:00

Molly and her friend Riley.
Molly showing off all her "work" from this year.

Molly and her friend Riley sining in their Bo Peep Nursery School end of the year program!

All the cute kiddos showing off their sining!

We loved Bo Peep and are really going to miss Mrs. Wilson and the whole gang. Molly has loved playing with all her friends especially Riley and Matteo. She loved singing and making crafts. Her favorite part of the day was recess, it starts so early!

Soccer!

2009-04-30T18:10:00.000-07:00

Molly has started playing soccer with the Peoria Park District. Soccer is her first attempt at a team sport. She had fun at the first practice and was quick to tell us she learned to kick the ball with her heel. It was fun to watch her learning to be a part of her team, of all four year olds, poor coach!

Margot spent her time at the soccer practice picking dandelions. Jeff has assured me that she is way too girlie to play sports. We will have to wait a couple years and find out!Molly has a fun loving coach who has made the season fun. Here she was giving him a high five during their first game. The first game was great most of the kids did not get the point of the game. They had no idea what to do they all just ran up and down the field in a big herd. The coaches had to be out on the field pointing the kids in the right direction. So fun!

Molly, in her bow, taking a break after playing hard during the first game.

Easter Egg Hunt Anyone???

2009-04-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

Spring Break 2009 was a collection of egg hunts. The kids, Jeff and I packed up and spent a few days in Rockford visiting friends and family and enjoying the pool at our hotel. We also had three egg hunts. Our girls were a littel timid at the first hunt but by the third they were truly pros at finding all those colorful little gems!

The first egg hunt was at Lena Manor Nursing Home in Lena, IL where great-grandma Wilson lives. She and grandpa had a great time gettimg to see the kids enjoy the egg hunt. The only down side was that the Easter bunny was there too and Margot does not like the bunny. She spent all her time making sure that the bunny stayed far away!

Our second hunt was at the Children's Discovery Museum in Rockford. We met our friends the Hiser's at the museum and enjoyed our second hunt. Margot could not figure out why the eggs were all over the floor. She was hilarious!

In Rockford Molly was able to hunt with the big kids which required a little more speed and precision than our previous hunt but as you can see she was up for the challenge!

Molly was quite the egg hunter by the third time around. She was running everywhere and snatching them up as fast as she could. She also enjoyed checking out her loot and trading with her cousins to make sure she had the best eggs!

Margot needed a little help from Daddy to coordinate the picking up of the eggs and placing them safely in her large paper bag. She would have been quite content to pick up one egg and eat its contents before going on to the next egg.

It was so fun to have all the cousins together for the egg hunt this year. Even our youngest member little Ella Grace enjoyed watching all the action. I think that they were all happy with the money and candy that was contained in all the eggs that they found. My mom had even hidden a few camoflouged eggs which were a challenge even for the big kids, and adults to find.

Molly really enjoyed her chocolate Easter Basket from GG. It was a basket made of chocolate that contained even more yummy chocolate treats. She was overjoyed when we let her have it as a treat after dinner. What's a little more candy after three days of a menu concsisting of purely sugar!

Margot dug right in to her chocolate basket as well!

Five, Six Pick up Sticks!

2009-03-21T14:55:00.000-07:00

What is more fun than picking up sticks on a sunny Spring day. We all went over to visit a good friend today and she offered to pay the girls a quarter to pickup sticks in her yard. We started out just picking up a few little twigs and one thing led to another and we were eventually hauling huge pieces of wood.
Molly loved the challenge. She wanted to carry the biggest stick and throw it into the ravine all on her own. She is really going to be a hard worker!

Margot joined in on the effort as well picking up all the sticks that her little hands could hold.

Here are Molly and Margot helping our friend Terri drag a whole tree down to the ravine!

We love Terri, our Peoria grandma, and were happy to have the chance to help her out with a little yard work this afternoon. The girls each got their quarter and an ice cream treat for all their hard work!

We want spring!

2009-03-10T13:56:00.000-07:00

Right now it is pouring rain in little old Peoria, but we have had a couple of warm days this week that have made us anxious for Spring. The girls are loving riding around the neighborhood in their Barbie jeep. Molly is actually a pretty good driver! It is also comical how we never see the neighbors all winter and then the first nice day it is like folks come out of hibernation and we all get to reconnect! How fun.....

Florida Re-Cap!

2009-03-04T15:03:00.000-08:00

Finally a recap of our wonderful vacation to Santa Rosa Beach Florida! We had a wonderful time and here is a little glimpse into our adventures on the Emerald Coast.

The beach was a major priority. We did not have true beach weather, usually in the low sixties but it did not stop us from enjoying the sand and the water. Molly loved jumping in the waves. Margot liked digging in the sand and just getting her toes in the surf.
A great day on the beach was one where there were very few waves so the kids were able to safely play in the water. This was one of those days and the girls were living it up!
The pool was objective number two. Both Molly and Margot were little fish when it came to swimming in the heated pool. Another fun part of the pool was feeding the turtles that lived in the pond surrounding the pool. We would bring over some bread and we could feed 6 or 8 turtles. They are probably hungry now that we are gone!
Margot was the crazy swimming girl with her little pink floaties.

We enjoyed many nights out to dinner. One night was Valentines dinner at PF Changs, YUM!

Another sunny day on the beach relaxing and working to make one major sand castle.

Margot running from the waves, how dare they get so close!

A chilly day on the beach. Even the cold couldn't keep us away. It was windy so we went out to fly a kite with Papa.

Molly and Papa working hard to keep the kite in the air. Papa had taken a kite flying lesson last year so he was quite the expert. The only funny part was that when trying to get the kite down he was knocked over by a strong gust of wind. Unfortunately for my dad the girls loved the kite flying but all they talked about was seeing Papa face down in the sand trying to keep a hold of the kite!

Molly and Margot posing for one of many pictures that we took to send home to daddy who had to stay home and do taxes!

Eating at Stinky's fish camp! We love Stinky's. It is a fun restaurant on 30-A which serves wonderful seafood and has a pretty fun name as well.

New nighties. My mom had gotten the girls new nighties and they wore them every night. They were adorable but it did make for lots of laundry.

One rainy night we decided to go bowling. It was not quite as easy as really bowling but still fun. Molly actually beat all of us fair and square. She did have the advantage of the bumpers but watch out she may be the next queen of the pins.

Showing of their I'm a Stinker shirts from Stinky's fish camp!

Our last sunny day spent on the beach. It was a little chilly but we had to take advantage of the suns rays before heading home to chilly Illinois.

Two sisters loving the beach. This year our vacation was very low key and we loved it. We loved heading to the beach and the pol everyday and just having fun in the sun. The girls were a joy and I especially loved watching them on the beach truly enjoying one of God's amazing creations! We are so blessed.

We had lots of family with us on our trip. My parents and my moms two sisters and one of their husbands. We all stayed together in the condo which was great fun especially for the kids. They really like that communal living. One night we celebrated my dad and my uncle Bill's birthdays with a cake and balloons. The girls loved the party!

Margot especially loved chocolate cake. Margot's favorite person on the trip was Uncle Bill. She would follow him all over the place asking a million questions. He was so patient to answer and play with her. He has one huge fan!

Our last day we headed to the Gulfarium on the way to the airport to check out the dolphins. The girls loved standing at the window and watching the dolphins.

Dolphins were definitely a highlight. We loved all the tricks.

All and all we had a wonderful trip. We are so grateful to my parents who graciously invite us to visit them every year. The kids love the time spent with Nanu and Papa and the memories that they will forever have of their time spent together on the the beaches on Florida. We love you Nany and Papa!

She can SWIM!

2009-02-19T17:18:00.000-08:00

One of Molly's main objectives in Florida was swimming every single day. She had been taking swimming lessons at home and she was going to use her time in the sun to perfect her skills. She would work each day on all the skills that her swimming instructor had shown her. It was so amazing to see her pushing herself and really progressing each day. Today when we went to the pool Molly was truly swimming on her own. It was like she broke through a little barrier and she was swimming all over the pool on her own. It was AMAZING! Mommy is very proud!

Florida!

2009-02-07T13:56:00.001-08:00

Since just after Christmas all the talk at our house has been about Florida. My parents are snow birds and spend the winter on the white sand beaches of the Florida pan handle. Each year the girls and I make a trip to visit them. Typically we go down at the beginning of January but this year we waited until February. Everyday my mom calls the kids and tells them about the beach which fuels their conversation about Florida. Yesterday we awoke at 3:15am and headed to the airport, finally headed for FLORIDA!
Margot was a little trooper on the plane. On our first flight she happily played with all the toys that I had brought. We checked out lots of view mater reels, colored a little and even bothered all the surrounding passengers with a little flashlight.

Molly was very excited about flying. She wanted to know what all the little lights meant. She was very brave and sat in the seat across the aisle from Margot and I. She was the perfect little traveler watching her movies and playing the DS.

When we arrived in Florida the first place that the girls headed was out on the beach. They loves playing in the sand and jumping in the waves. They did not let the slightly cold and breezy weather deter their fun. By the time we headed back to the condo they were both soaked up to their necks.

Today we again we out to enjoy the weather. We played on the playground and even got out our bikes and took a little ride around the parking lot.

Swallowed a Bead!

2009-02-02T15:32:00.000-08:00

Today Margot one upped herself. She swallowed a bead. After a call to the doctor we are sure she will be just fine. Mommy and Daddy just have to make sure that the bead "passes", lovely! I think that would be a great job for Daddy! Will let you know when we have the bead back....

MARGOT!!!!

2009-01-29T13:11:00.001-08:00

Margot, Margot, Margot. She is a sweet happy little girl that gives us a run for our money. Here are a few fun stories of Margot from this week. Tuesday night Jeff and I were eating dinner after he had gotten home late. We were trying to enjoy a little adult conversation. We looked over and Margot had added some artwork to the wall and the door with a black crayon. She is very proud and often comments about how she has drawn on the wall and she wants us to come see!Margot is also a photographer in training. Whenever our camera is in her reach she has to use that opportunity to refine her skills. Each time I download photos there are always 10 or 2 of her pictures. This is one from last night that she took of Molly.

Margot loves to eat her peas. Last night after finishing all the peas on her plate, she helped herself to the can of peas on the counter. Then just to challenge her fine motor skills she decided to eat them off of the end of the butter knife. It was quite a sight to see.

After finishing her peas, Margot decided to rest with the cats. She sat right in the cat bed. That is one kitty between her legs and the other is under her arm. The best part of the whole picture is that the cats did not try to get away. They are quite a team!

Snow Angels!

2009-01-21T16:23:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the girls and I had a great day playing out in the snow. It finally warmed up enough that we could venture outside and try out our new sled. The girls were so sad last week when we had subzero temps and all they could do was stand at the patio door and look at the snow. We found that our unshoveled driveway made the ideal sledding hill!

Molly and Margot

Margot loves to eat snow. She is always trying to eat the snow off the bottom of her shoes. Today I was finally able to let her have her fill of snow!

Our new sled has a string and mommy made the perfect sled dog. Molly and Margot had a great time riding as mommy ran up and down the sidewalk. The funny part was we headed out around 4:00 so all the neighbors coming home from work had big laughs at our antics as well!

Molly took one nose dive in the snow but when she came up all was well!

Margot was laughing so hard as Molly was pulling her around! You have to listen for the laugh...

Thome come Home!

2009-01-18T12:02:00.000-08:00

Jeff was so excited to meet Jim Thome at the Children's hospital of Illinois benefit last night. For those who may not know Jim Thome is one of the Chicago White Sox star players and he just happens to be from Bartonville which is just outside of Peoria. Each year he comes to Peoria to host a benefit for CHOI. Jeff and I were able to attend as representatives of Jeff's company RLI. Jeff had a great time talking with Jim Thome, having him sign a couple baseballs and even getting to chat with the White Sox announcer! Go Sox

Sisters so Sweet!

2009-01-17T12:43:00.000-08:00

Our little girls are at such a fun stage playing together and loving just being sisters! Don't get me wrong we have our moments of fighting and hair pulling but the fun times overrule the bad. Margot loves to do everything that her sister does. Molly has gotten used to giving directions and I think enjoys having her little shadow! Here are a few fun shots of our cuties!

They love to sing!

They truly are Daddy's little girls and the true apples of his eye!

Wii

2009-01-15T10:14:00.001-08:00

For Christmas our family received the Wii. I was not sure that we really wanted the Wii but I was told that it was fun so we went for it. Our kids are loving the Wii. Here they are having a Wii Music jam session. They crack us up! Molly has taken a liking to Wii bowling and regularly beats everyone she challenges. Little Margot even gets in on the video gaming action. She loves playing the drums.

Here are the girlies taking their Wii very seriously!

Holiday Re-Cap!

2009-01-07T19:43:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2008 is one that the McNutt family hopes not to repeat. The week before Christmas Margot and Jeff came down with a nasty virus that included pink eye, fever and nastiness all the way around. So the illness was front and center this year and everything else revolved around it! Even my brother's family was struck with the virus, yuck, yuck, yuck! All that said here are a few pictures that are the highlights of our holiday!

Molly in her Ariel dress one of her favorite gifts!

Merry Christmas Margot!

Molly and Margot loved singing with their keyboard and mic.

Checking out all the goodies that Santa left.

The day after Christmas we all headed out in our new car, at Suburban to help out in the winter weather. We went to St.Louis to visit Tyler Reback and his mommy and daddy who had come to the Midwest from LA for the holidays. We loved catching up with all our family over the weekend.

While in St. Louis we had to check out the new addition to the Magic House!

Lauren and Papa were loving the great big chocolate cookie sundae!
New Years Eve was spent with the Saul's. The kids had a blast with all the noise makers!

Daddy tried his hand at Wii boxing and had a great start on an exercise resolution!

Best Christmas Pagent Ever!

2008-12-18T20:37:00.000-08:00

Molly was the perfect little angel for her preschool Christmas program. She was so cute. She watched the teacher and did her best to sing every word and perform every movement just perfectly! We were so proud to see our little girl being so grown-up!

Molly's whole class dressed up like all the characters who were part of the manger scene. The teachers did everything and the kids gave the program as a Christmas gift to all the mommys and daddys.

Sisters enjoying their Christmas cookies at the holiday party after the program. The big man in red paid a visit to to party but Molly and Margot did not want anything to do with him. Guess we won't be standing in that long line at the mall!

The closing song of the program was "We Wish You a Merry Christmas!" It was adorable, before the song started they gathered up all their love into their hands and then threw it to their mom and dad while they were singing!

East Peoria Festival of Lights!

2008-12-15T10:49:00.000-08:00

Last night the Reinhardt cousins along with Nanu and Papa came down for our annual trip to the East Peoria Festival of Lights. It was a huge hit with all the kids. We voted on our favorite part and collectively we all agreed it was the fireworks at the end.

This is my best attempt at a picture of the fireworks. They are better in real life!
Molly loved standing up in the car while riding through and admiring the lights!

Margot loved the lights and the drumsticks that we brought along as a little treat. Margot made us all laugh because when she saw lights that she really liked she would burst out into song, usually, happy birthday Jesus!

I think this is s fun one, maybe we can call it EP Festival of Lights at 90mph!

If you have to see the lights it really is worth the trip to central Illinois to check it out and you could even visit the McNutts while you are in town.

Here are all the kids, having a blast!

Margot's Party!

2008-12-14T12:23:00.000-08:00

Margot had a fun second birthday party on Saturday the 6th! We invited over a few friends and celebrated our little lady who is growing up right before our eyes.

Margot loved her Cinderella cell phone from Miss Joy, Stever and Bobby! I am sure she is going to be a chatter just like mommy. She uses her phone to call Santa and tell him that she wants a baby doll for Christmas!

One of our adorable little friends, Mr. Bobby Morris, being just a little camera shy!

Molly, Margot and Celeste posing with the pink cake!

Margot checking out her candle, wait I thought that there should have been two!

Okay there she is, our little two year old girl loving her pink cake and her two candles!

Grace Family Christmas 2008!

2008-12-08T06:41:00.001-08:00

After Labor Day, I began practicing with the Christmas choir at church. We were beginning to prepare for our annual Christmas program entitled Grace Family Christmas. The program this year was a review of songs that have been performed over the last fifteen years. As always the concert was amazing and the preparations were memorable as well. Part of my preparations are listening to the music and memorizing it, which in my case is best done in the car. Because somehow I am never in the car alone not only did I learn my music but so did Molly and Margot.

Molly and Marogt were very excited to get all dressed up and come see mommy sing!

Ellen Tabor and I sat next to one another and enjoyed many laughs!

Janet Maston, Jenny Nash and I ready for the show!

Margot singing Happy Birthday Jesus!

Molly singing Happy Birthday Jesus!

She is Two!!

2008-12-05T02:44:00.000-08:00

Margot had birthday cake for breakfast this morning to celebrate being two years old!

Our baby girl Margot Isabell McNutt is two years old today. I can not believe that she has grown-up so quickly. Margot is a joy and we are so blessed to have her in our lives. She brings a fresh energy to any situation. She is curious and loves to chat about all the new things around her. Margot's favorite person is her big sister "Moddy" (aka Molly). Margot follows Molly around and imitates everything that she does. We are still trying to convince Molly that imitation is a form of flattery, but they do pretty well together most of the time. I wanted to share a few pictures of life with Margot Isabell!

Margot and big sister Molly. Margot was only three days old in this picture! I con not believe how much she has grown.

Six month old Margot was all smiles for the camera!

Our one year old girl. She was always a smiley happy little girl and has brought fun and laughter to all that are around her!

Margot at 18 months old, in June 2008, with her little pink stumpy arm. Margot broke her arm when she fell off the bed. She is a crazy girl and I am sure Mommy and Daddy are in for many more close calls with this little lady!

Fake or Real, that is the Question????

2008-12-01T09:54:00.000-08:00

The McNutts have always had an artificial tree. We had a Christmas themed wedding and used a tree from our wedding in our home since that time. This year we were torn. Our original thought was no tree at all, between the curious little kittens and the two year old who gets into everything a tree with lots of little fragile ornaments sounded like a very bad idea. But poor little Molly really deserves a Christmas tree. So we decided on a tree with no ornaments, but a fake tree with no ornaments.... Okay we will get a real tree and it will have colored lights just like Molly wants but no ornaments. Here are a few pictures of us getting our very first real tree!

Molly and Margot at the tree lot. We decided against cutting down our own, a little much for the first year, maybe next year!

The tree man bailing our tree so we can take it home!

Hooray we have a tree on our cute little car and now it is Christmas! We will post more pictures later of the tree at home if it makes it that far!!!

Coolest Light Display Ever!

2008-12-01T07:36:00.000-08:00

The Friday after Thanksgiving we headed out the check out the Christmas lights around Ottawa. After driving through every side street and ohhing and ahhing, we heard of the best light display yet. This display is on a home in Utica, IL. All I can say was it was amazing! Marogt was clapping and cheering. After this it is going to take a whole lot for a light display to impress the McNutts! The music that you hear in the background was a radio station that the home owner broadcasts!

November, What a month!

2008-11-30T19:04:00.000-08:00

November has been quite a month for the McNutt family. We started November in the hospital with Molly's pneumonia. We have continued with lots of doctor visits to check ears and heal croup! We have also had interesting car issues with one rear ending and a scary ride into the ditch on the way home from the Thanksgiving festivities. We are definitely looking forward to December holding lots of FUN holiday activities. Here are some of the fun November moments in reverse order, sorry I have not yet mastered the photo download!

Snow snow snow.... On November 30th we awoke to snow. We got 6 inches of the best snow ball making snow and the girls loved playing in all the white stuff!

Molly loved the snow. She has been very confused why there had not been snow before this. Her preschool teacher had told her that winter was when the snow came and they have their room decorated with snowmen and snow flakes. I guess she is pretty literal like her daddy asking everyday where the snow was!

Molly even broke out the sleds and took a ride down the tiny hill on the side of our house. It was the perfect start to winter!

This is a fun photo of the whole family including kitties, Bandit , Belle, and Ozzie, heading home from Nanu and Papa's after all the Thanksgiving festivities were over!

Molly loved the McNutt family Thanksgiving at Aunt Sue and uncle Bill's house in Rockford. She loves playing with her cousins Ashley, Kyle and Troy.

Margot had fun too! We had an early birthday party for our little girl who is almost TWO!

In Ottawa we headed out for the Santa Claus parade. Molly was very intrigued to see this man in red who lives at the North Pole!

All the Reinhardt cousins had great seats on top of the van to watch the Santa parade!

Molly and cousin Mia Reinhardt enjoying pizza and a few smiles before bundling up for the parade.

Margot the serious at Nanu and Papa's for the Reinhardt Thanksgiving. She loved watching the turkey cook and could not figure out where that turkey had gone after lunch!

Molly at Nanu and Papa's for Thanksgiving!

November days at home included lots of singing to our High School Musical Three CD. The girls love to use our coffee table as their stage! They are stars in the making.

Cute sisters at home. Getting so big and bringing such a joy! Through all the trials this year has brought the Lord has confirmed that our kids are such a blessing and we thank Him for them continually.

Margot showing off her new adorable coat for church. She gets lots of attention when she walks into Grace Presbyterian!

Minnie Margot!

2008-11-06T12:12:00.000-08:00

My mom brought down an old Halloween costume of mine from when I was a little girl. It is a Minnie Mouse dress with matching Minnie Mouse shoes. Margot has gotten very attached to the Minnie shoes. Actually just the right shoe. She wears it everywhere and becomes very distraught if it falls off. Unfortunately the falling off part happens often since the shoe is three sizes too big!

Margot was showing Bandit her shoe this morning. She thought that maybe he would like a shoe just like hers!

Margot has mastered going down the steps while holding her baby and her blanket and carefully keeping the Minnie shoe balanced on her foot. She cracks me up, she is already a woman who can multi-task!Sweet little Margot! Or as we like to call her Crazy-Hair!

Pneumonia, YUCK!!!

2008-11-04T07:33:00.000-08:00

Molly has pneumonia and it is no fun. She ran a high fever all weekend and after much worry and two sleepless nights, we took her to the ER at OSF. Once there they determined that mommy instinct is right and Molly was a very sick little girl. They admitted her to the peds floor and started her on IV antibiotics. Unfortunately the numbing cream they used on Molly's hand before the IV did not numb mommy's heart! It was really unfun to watch her scared and hurting and not be able to help. She is thankfully responding well to the meds and we are hoping to go home tonight!

Trick or Treat!

2008-10-31T20:15:00.000-07:00

Halloween 2008 will go down as one of the greats. The weather was amazing, a beautiful 70 degrees that was perfect for trick or treating and enjoying the evening with friends. Both Molly and Margot were very into the whole candy thing. They were great at ringing doorbells and saying trick or treat. They even remembered to say thank you and wish people a Happy Halloween. It is so fun to watch our two little girls growing up!

Margot was a bumble bee this year. She was cute and loved to say buzz..... She is loving all the candy and definitely has enjoyed taste testing each piece that she was given!

Molly was a witch. She was the cutest witch in town. She loved her costume hat and all and when asked if she was the good witch or the bad witch she definitely wanted to be a good witch.

Molly and Margot enjoying Halloween 2008!

Move that Bus!

2008-10-29T18:05:00.001-07:00

This isn't the greatest quality picture but it is taken of some pretty amazing people. In the blue shirt, holding little Jake Grys, is my friend Angie DeLost. Yesterday she saw a dream come true for a child that she works with. Angie along with Ty Pennington and thousands of on lookers were able to yell, "Move that Bus". They were able to give Jake Grys and his family a new home that will allow Jake to have the safe and independent life that he deserves. Angie persevered for three years working to get the Grys an Extreme Home Makeover and yesterday the miracle she prayed for was witnessed by lots of folks! Thanks Angie from the bottom of my heart and from all the others who have been changed by your hard work and determination!

Any Help in There!

2008-10-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

Molly said the funniest thing today. She and I had gone into the bathroom at Jeff's office. It was an emergnecy pitstop on the way home from the grocery store. She went into her own stall and she was finished before I was. When she was finished she came over to the door of my stall and sweetly asked,"Do you need any help in there mommy?" They are such little parrots and so cute too!

Jump Start Halloween

2008-10-27T13:05:00.001-07:00

Today was Halloween dress-up day at Jump Start Gymnastics! The girls were very excited to finally be able to wear their costumes. Margot was a bumble bee. Her favorite part of class is always blowing bubbles and here she is giving it her best try!

Molly wanted to be a witch this year. After much searching mommy found an acceptable witch costume and Molly was so excited to show it off! Here she is with all of the Little Lions classmates!

Margot also loves the bars and just hanging around showing off her muscles!

She got a big high five from her teacher Miss Peajay after all her hard work!

Molly had to tell me that witches can't wear hats to gymnastics, silly mommy!

Fun Times with the Reinhardts!

2008-10-25T22:31:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a fun day spent with our cousins. All the Reinhardt kiddos came to Peoria! We headed down to Pekin to show them all the excitement at the Extreme Makeover house. The cousins are Margot, Daniel, Molly, Mia, Grace and Thomas!
The house was almost finished on the outside Saturday. They were finishing up siding and stone work on the front of the house.

All the kids were excited to try the haunted hayrack ride at Apple Blossom Farm. Margot was scared before the ride even started she did not like the "cary witch" that took our tickets. All the other kids had fun although Daniel had to keep reminding himself that he wasn't scared they are just costumes!

All the kids peeking out of the Apple Blossom bus, photo-op!

We rounded out the evening sipping hot cider by the fire listening to stories! These are the things that memories are made of and we were glad to share it with our cousins!

The Foundation has been laid!

2008-10-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

Rib, one of the designers from Extreme Makeover Home Edition!

Rib making friends with Margot, Margot wants no part in it.

Mommy and her two shy girls with Rib

Molly watching the Grys pool be lifted into place. Jake enjoys warm water pool therapy and this pool will allow him to swim year round at home!

The big crane lifting the floor beams into place.

Margot loving her donut!

Molly the VIP.

On Thursday the girls and I along with our friends the Sauls were able to be VIPs at the home site. Being a VIP means we had a special tent right across the street from the house where we could sit and watch the progress. The girls are showing off their green VIP tags and their donuts which all VIPs have, right?

It was amazing the watch all the things that were going on at once to get this home built in time!

Classic Margot she is a character and this picture shows it all!

Let's Help Jake!

2008-10-23T11:13:00.000-07:00

Jake Grys and his family were chosen to receive a new home furnished by Extreme Makeover Home Edition! This week my friend Angie, who nominated the family, has another goal in mind. She would like to raise 100,00 dollars for the Grys to pay off the mortgage on the home that was demolished yesterday. The money would allow the Grys to live in the new home (with higher taxes and overall expenses) without the stress of more financial burden. If you would like to help you can go to http://www.designbuilthomesextreme.com/donate.htm

Thanks for all your prayer and support for the Grys!

Tear that House Down!

2008-10-22T22:44:00.000-07:00

Extreme Makeover Home Edition has come to Central Illinois. They are building a new home for the very deserving Grys family from Pekin, Illinois. The girls and I headed down to Pekin to see the demo of the old house. You can check out Jake Grys the very deserving little boy who will be getting a new house at the following link:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/jakes-declaration-of-independence.html

I have to brag on my friend Angie for a minute. Angie DeLost is an occupational therapist at Easter Seals and three years ago she nominated the Grys family for this makeover. She has been working so hard to make this dream a reality, organizing the builders, donations and working with the architect to make the right accommodations for little Jake. I have to say that when Ty came to town on Tuesday and knocked on their door, I called Angie and told her you did it! She is an amazing person and I am so happy that she is on my team too! When we went to see the demo, we were able to go and give Angie the giant hug that she deserved!Yes this is Ty Pennington. He is filming the part of the show where he has a camcorder and is recording the demo for the family to watch. He is great and it was so cool to see him there. This tape will be shown to the Grys as they are enjoying a week at Walt Disney World!

This is Carson and the profile of his mom Sally. They are good friends and they joined the girls and I to watch all the action. He was a trooper spending most of the day on his mommy's back!

Molly with the Grys house in the background before the demo began!

Molly and Margot had a blast playing with Elyse and Celeste as we waited for the demo to begin.

The demolition had begun. They had three CAT tractors and just went to town tearing that house down. Within less than ten minutes the whole thing was gone. It was an emotional moment for Angie and the Grys family as the culmination of all their work was really happening.

In the red jacket is TY! He was doing more video taping of all the action.

The demo was almost done here as the tractors moved in to the foundation.

Molly love watching! We are hoping to head down a few more time this week to keep tabs on the progress!

Happy Birthdday to Mommy!

2008-10-19T17:24:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday! So I thought that I would reflect back on all the things that the Lord has blessed me, especially over the past year!
Margot has been a true blessing. She is full of life and brings so much fun and joy to everything that she touches. She has spunk and energy that are contagious along with a smile that can break down any barrier. I feel blessed to be her mom and look forward to what the future holds for Margot Isabell!
Molly is my baby! She is growing up so quickly and this year I have been blessed to learn more about her personality. I have seen her blossom into a little girl with many friends who loves life and loves to learn. She is a dancer and a singer and brings music into every situation, I know that she will tackle anything that the Lord throws her way with a song and a dance!
My parents have been an incredible blessing this year. Our family has been through many valleys and the Lord has allowed my parents to walk through each one of them right by our side. I am so thankful to have them as an integral part of my life! I also feel abundantly blessed that my girls are have a Nanu and Papa that love them very much!
Lastly I am so blessed by my loving husband. Marriage is a challenge, especially during the season of raising young children. Many nights when Jeff comes home I am mentally and physically exhausted from the challenge of being a mother. He steps right in and is my partner in parenting. He loves his family and for that I am eternally grateful. I want to say thank you for Jeff for the blessing of his partnership that we are able to do life together! I Love you!

Foster Parenting!

2008-10-18T17:28:00.000-07:00

We have officially started the foster care process. This morning Jeff and I attended session one of the PRIDE training. I have to say that I think this nin week process will be filled with lots of learning and fun. We are so excited for waht God has in store for our family through foster care. Will fill you in with more details as the traning continues!

She is Four!!!

2008-10-13T11:43:00.000-07:00

My baby girl Molly Anne McNutt turned four years old today. I can not believe that she is becoming such a beautiful little girl right before our eyes! What a blessing it has been to see her grow and develop! I wanted to take a look back at Molly over the past four years.
Molly was pretty silly playing out in the snow when she was three!
This is our two year old cutie who finally had enough hair for pig tails
Molly at her first birthday showing off her new teeth.
The first day that we met our little beauty, October 13th, 12004.
Molly's birthday has been fun this year. We started out with a party a couple weeks before her birthday to celebrate with her cousins. She had a pink princess cake and a great time at Firehouse pizza enjoying her favorite cheeseburger pizza!
Mommy and Daddy had a birthday surprise for Molly when she woke up from her nap to find a Tinker Bell bouncer in the backyard. We had a fun party with all our Peoria friends. I think Molly believed that heaven had landed right in the backyard!
Molly hamming it up for the camera with her fourth birthday cake!
This is just a fun shot of Molly and Margot playing out in the leaves.
Daddy had to join in the fun too! He is a great daddy and loves to have fun with his girls!

Week in a Nuttshell!

2008-10-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing week in Southern California! It was such an awesome blessing to have a relaxing, fun filled week as a family after our turmoil filled summer. I wanted to give everyone a little re-cap of the trip. After our first day spent on the beach we decided to see what southern CA was all about....

We headed out on a whale watching excursion on the open Pacific ocean. It was a three hour tour! Jeff found out in a hurry that he gets very sea sick. The girls and I however had a great time checking out all the marine life. We saw Harbor seals, Sea Lions and hundreds of dolphins jumping at the bow of the boat, but no Whales, maybe next time!

Our next day we drove all the way down the Pacific Coast highway to Newport Beach. It is a fun high class town on the coast. We went to Fashion Island which was a fun outdoor southern CA mall. The girls loved the Koi pond and we got some fun photos of them playing with the fish.
We stayed for a week at the Hampton Inn in Seal Beach CA and Margot became quite the expert at working all the buttons in the elevator. Even the one that looks like a bell and makes a loud alarm noise! I am sure that they were sad to see us leave.

Disneyland was on the schedule for the next day. It was all decked out for Halloween which was fun. The kids loved all the rides. Molly's favorite was the Storybook boat ride where you get to see all the characters homes in miniature. It was one of the original rides and they do not have it in Orlando. Marogt however, she liked the teacups. She is a fast ride kind of girl. Above are Mommy and Margot ready to take on the the teacups, Margot fared better than mommy I have to admit!
Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach was great! Molly and mommy pet the sharks and the sting rays. Daddy was not willing to put his hand in the water. We also checked out all the cool fish in the tanks and got our picture taken when we found Nemo! Molly also fed the Lorikeets. They were colorful little birds that drank nectar right our of your hand and they landed on my head and Jeff was too scared to help me get it off. We ran out of there pretty quickly!
We did the California version of Tanner's orchard. It was a temporary pumpkin patch set up in a parking lot with lots of fun rides and a petting zoo. It was perfect for our kids and they loved it. This was a fun ride kind of like the flying Dumbos at Disney!
San Diego Zoo was out next stop. We went on a fun double decker bus tour of the whole zoo and got to see the pandas hanging out on the trees. Then Molly had a highlight of the trip getting to feed the giraffes! It really is an amazing place and so beautiful!
Molly and Margot also became very fond of riding on the luggage cart at the hotel. One morning Margot was even pushing Jeff down the sidewalk on the luggage cart. They were quite a sight and Molly got the bell hop to give her a ride one morning!

What is a trip to southern CA without a little Hollywood. We checked out Hollywood Blvd and the walk of the stars, the Kodak theater where the Oscars take place (which is a mall on its off day, who knew) and Growman's Oriental Theater where many movies have premiered. Margot loved putting her little hand in all the stars hand prints at Growmans.
Why did we go to southern California you may be asking yourself?? You are looking at it! Tyler Reback and his mommy Amy! My cousin Amy lives in Belmont Shore outside LA and we wanted to meet little Tyler before he was all grown-up. Amy was a great tour guide. Her office was just across our hotel parking lot so we met her most mornings for coffee and then we would meet for dinner each night! It was fun to have Amy, Dan and Tyler all to ourselves cause when they visit the Midwest we have to share them with the rest of the family. We will miss seeing them everyday. Margot is still talking about going to Amy's work!

Our final stop was the Santa Monica pier and famous southern CA destination. It was a beautiful place and the girls had a great time on the beach and playing in the surf.
Our plane ride home was long. It is amazing that it can take 15 hours of traveling to come home but the girls were troopers and my mom, Nanu, was a huge help. Nanu and Margot enjoyed watching the direct TV on the flight. I think at this point they were watching Maury, anything to pass the time.

All and all I have to say we had a great time. We were sad to leave but at the same time glad to be home sleeping in our own beds and cribs!

Beach Nutts!

2008-09-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

The Nutts are on vacation. We flew to sunny California on Sunday and have been having a great time. Our trip through LAX was a little crazy with two over tired kids but we made it. Poor Molly got the stomach flu so she and Daddy spent the whole first day of the trip cooped up at the Hampton Inn. Tuesday she woke up and was flleing better so we headed to the beach. Sunset beach is a beautiful beach and we were the only ones enjoying it!

Daddy and the girls got right to work building a sand castle. Molly found lots of seashells to add an extra special touch! Margot loved process as well.
They also loved the water. Molly went right in even though the water was freezing. Marogt was a little hesitant of the waves. It was hilarious to watch her face as the waves came in. She could not figure out what was going on!
We took a moment for a family photo op. Not bad considering that I snapped the photo myself!
A fun shot of Molly watching the waves. It really is a blessing to watch the world through the eyes of our children.

The Nutts family toes on the Pacific coast!

This video is hilarious. You have to watch all the way to the end....

I am sure that we will have many more adventures to come!

Ralph, Ralph, Ralph!!!!!

2008-09-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

Today we headed out in the rain to see one of our favorite performers who had come all the way to Peoria, RALPH, from Ralph's world on the Disney channel. It was supposed to be a cool outdoor music festival but thanks to all the rain we moved inside and had our own personal rock concert. The rain kept lots of folks away, but as a result we had front row seats!

Margot danced through the whole show with a blue sucker in her mouth loving every minute! Molly and Daddy headed up on stage with Ralph during the show and right under the guitar is our little red headed buddy, Bobby!
Molly was a big girl and told daddy she wanted to dance on the stage with Ralph all by herself. She did a great job playing the air guitar.
Daddy and Molly danced to the POLKA!
This little guy was great. He had a blue guitar, signed by Ralph and he rocked out through the entire show, hopefully his parents got lots of video, he stole the show!
Ralph put on an amazing show! Thanks for making the trip to P-town.
Molly, Margot and I got to the show early and were able to see Ralph warming up and doing a sound check.
Margot dancing with blue sucker in hand.
Molly was showing off all her cool moves!

Bobby, isn't he adorable! We got his cute shirt signed by Ralph.

A little taste of the concert just for you! Can you swim, swim swim with Ralph, too!

Fall fun Nights...

2008-09-09T18:02:00.000-07:00

We have been loving the Midwest weather lately, besides the torrential rain, we have had beautiful fall weather. The girls and I have been out enjoying it as much as possible. We have taken walks, spent time at the park, the apple orchard and riden our bikes.

Last night Molly was out showing off her skills on her big girl bike. She has gotten very brave and will ride on the sidewalk down about 5 houses before turning toward home. It is fun to see her experimenting with her new found freedom. It is her first set of wheels!
We have even broken out the fall clothes. Aren't they cute in their matching orange!
Molly's latest favorite movie is a circus VHS tape that I was given when I was 10 years old. She loves watching the clown and the couple that does tricks on the high wire. This is her very own rendition of the high wire on Daddy's legs. Hopefully she won't run off with the circus.
Molly and Margot both helped me make chocolate chip cookies. They took turns dumping in the ingredients and tried their hand at using the electric mixer. This was the first time that I really was able to share my love of cooking with them. They had a great time and Mommy did too! Daddy also loved the end result.
Our Belle! She is one of our new additions. She is a sweet little kitty that has taken a liking to sleeping in the napkin basket in the middle of the kitchen table.

Firsts for the Nutts

2008-09-06T19:20:00.000-07:00

The McNutts have tried some new activities this weekend. Molly and Margot love ice cream just like every kid, right? So mommy and daddy decided to introduce them to the wonder of Magic Shell. It was a real hit. They sat and their little table and savored every bite. Margot's favorite part was blowing on the chocolate to make it harden. She even blew on the ice cream after she had eaten all the Magic Shell, I don't know but I think she thought it might make more chocolate appear!

Another first was Margot buttering her own roll with the butter knife. She was so proud of herself. She is getting to be such a big girl. It was fun watching her even though she managed to mutilate an entire stick of butter in the process.

A week in review...

2008-09-03T14:55:00.000-07:00

We had a fun start time last week with our first trip to Tanner's Apple Orchard. It is our family's favorite fall playplace. We took our friends the Anderson's for their first visit. The girls love all the play equipment especially the train and Noah's Ark. Marogt also tried out her role as a true Peorian riding on a CAT tractor. She looks pretty good up there!
Later in the week we headed up north to visit Nanu and Papa and we took a side trip to the DuPage children's museum. It was a great visit because it was not crowded. Molly and Margot got to make crazy hats in the art room and they did a great job modeling them.
Our friends Ashley and Logan met us there along with their mommy. They are friends from Peoria who are living in the Chicago suburbs for a few months with CAT. It was great to get to spend a little time with them at the museum and of course we had a fun lunch in downtown Naperville.

Then on Tuesday my baby, Molly started preschool. She was so proud to go to school with her princess backpack in tow. I can not believe that she has gotten big so quickly. It seems like yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital and now we are sending her off to school. How time flies! We love you our little school goer... Molly did great on her first day she ran right in to Mrs. Wilson's class and never looked back. She was so proud to tell me that she was chosen to put the 2 on the calendar. We are looking forward to many more highlights this year!

"Doe Doe Bell Nutt"

2008-08-23T14:32:00.000-07:00

What??? Doe Doe Bell Nutt is Margot's best attempt at saying her own name. Not bad when your name is Margot Isabell McNutt! Margot is such a joy and brings so many smiles to our faces. She is a busy toddler. We still refer to her as the baby but she is a toddler through and through racing toward the terrific twos! We wanted to share a few of Margot's latest antics....

Margot had a great morning on Friday unrolling an entire roll of tin foil. It makes a great noise when you run through the house with it trailing behind you, who knew...
An action shot, our red garbage can tipping over. Margot filled the garbage can with full cans of Diet Coke which Mommy had left next to the fridge. The can couldn't take the weight, became top heavy and tipped over..... tragedy avoided as mommy grabbed Margot out of the way!
"Holt chew" Again the translation would be Margot wanting to be held by telling us, Hold You!

A smile that you have to love. Margot is such a playful and happy little thing that the craziness is easily over looked. She loves going down the slide at the Farm Park and convinced Daddy that he should try it too. He is a sucker for his little girls!

Curious Kittens!

2008-08-20T06:14:00.000-07:00

Having two little kittens added to our family has been lots of fun. They are very curoius and love to run and play. Last night they were on a roll. Bandit was checking out all the girls toys and found that when he bit the strings of the guitar he could play music. It was hilarious he was playing us a tune. Then when Jeff and I were just about to fall asleep were heard a splash in the bathroom. I ran in and had to rescue Bandit out of the toilet. He got a little to curious and fell right in!

Chicago Weekend!

2008-08-19T14:59:00.000-07:00

The McNutts had a busy but very fun weekend in Chicago. The weekend started early on Thursday when Daddy and Molly headed to US Cellular Field to take in an afternoon White Sox game. Jeff and Viola Townsend also went to the game. Molly and Viola had a great time. I am not sure that they saw much baseball but loved it all the same!
Molly and Viola have had so much fun playing over the last few weeks in Ottawa. We were very sad to say goodbye to Viola Monday. The Townsend family is onto to a new chapter moving to Fort Collin Colorado. We will miss them very much.
Viola and Molly enjoyed lots of treats at the game. I think the suckers might have been their favorite. On Saturday Mommy, Daddy and Nanu and Papa went to see Jersey Boys in Chicago. It is a very upbeat musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. My mom especially enjoyed the show because all the music was the hit songs from her teenage years. She was rockin' and boppin' in her seat. Then on Sunday we took a family trip to Six Flags Great America. It was surprisingly a fun time. I had not been there since high school but it was so fun to see the kids riding all the same things I enjoyed as a kid.
Molly and her cousins Mia and Daniel Reinhardt on the Fruit Salad ride. They were crazy riders they rode all the rides they were tall enough for. Their collective favorite was a roller coaster, a kiddie one but it was really fast, even I was a little scared but they loved every second of it and rode many times in a row!
Wiggles World is a new attraction at Great America, and the Wiggles show was definitely the highlight for Molly. She danced and sang along with every show! Margot even got in on the ride action. She loved all the rides and was not happy when she sis not meet the 36 inch height requirement of some of the rides. I was amazed we took her on the log flume, my favorite as a kid and she loved it. Molly on the other hand was not so thrilled. She was crying at the end of the ride and I assumed it was because she was scared of the big drop at the end but she was actually very upset that her hair had gotten wet! She cracks me up, she is all girl!

Softball Season!

2008-08-13T19:16:00.000-07:00

Daddy's biggest fans!Daddy is a softball player for our church softball team. We have not been able to take in too many games due to the late start times and hot hot weather, but tonight we took a special outing to see the last game. Margot and Molly loved sitting in their little chairs and cheering on daddy. Molly would yell "Go Daddy Go". It was so sweet!
Here is Jeff the famous Grace Presbyterian pitcher. They even asked him to sign for next season! He is still in negotiations!
Al, he is the best umpire ever. He has umped every game I have attended over the last five years. He is a very patient and good humored guy watching so many "exciting" games!

Daddy's last at bat. I wish it I could say that it was a home run but at least Daddy got on base!
We love you Daddy and are proud of your hard work for your team. Daddy even took a ball to the shin tonight. Molly was very worried that Daddy fell down! He has quite a bruise but we think that he will make a full recovery before next season!

The Wiggles!

2008-08-11T12:58:00.000-07:00

The McNutts getting ready to see the Pop Go the Wiggles show at the All-State Arena in Chicago. We were very excited to get last minute tickets from a friend and had a great time at the show. We would definetely recommend the Wiggles if they come to your area.
Margot was enjoying the show and the candy too! Mommy got candy from the bulk candy store before the show and it was the perfect treat. Surely beat the $15.00 cottn candy that all the other kiddos had....
Molly was showing off how close our seats were to the stage. We were only about 15 feet from the stage which made the show even more exciting! A couple times the Wiggles ran right past our seats as they headed out into the audience. Sam and Murray even waved at Margot, we were star struck!
Here are those long awaited Wiggles in the Big Red car. All four of the wiggles are so high energy it was unbelieveable. Jeff and I looked at eachother and said who needs Gold's Gym just dance with the Wiggles!
Molly smiling for the Wiggles. She like Jeff had no expression during the entire show and said she wanted to go home before it was over. She is a home body just like her daddy. But ask her about it now and she loved it! Kids you gotta love 'em!

Just Keep Swimming!

2008-08-08T16:41:00.000-07:00

Molly has spent this summer learning to swim. In only 6 lessons she has gone from being terrified of the water to being a true water baby!

This is Molly going off the diving board for the very first time. She was scared but jumped anyway!

This is Molly and her teacher Mrs. Palmer. Mrs. Palmer has been teaching swimming lessons for 30 years in a pool in her backyard. She has amazing techniques that have helped many kids in the area learn to swim. We love Mrs. Palmer.
Molly's magic pink goggles. Molly wore the magic pink goggles to help her swim all by herself and they did the trick. She will now swim about 6 feet all by herself. It is amazing how far she has come.

A fun little clip of Molly showing off her swimming skills during her last lesson. We are already looking forward to next summer!

Ottawa Summer!

2008-07-28T19:14:00.000-07:00

Lots of our summer has been spent in Ottawa. We have taken lots of fun photos that we wanted to share!
What sweet sisters. Molly and Margot are really enjoying playing together this summer. Margot has trouble keeping up but she does not let that deter her. They are so fun!
Molly and Margot loved checking out on of the murals in Ottawa. It is on the side of a school and is dedicated to Bob McGrath who is on Sesame Street. It is painted in vivid colors and had many familiar characters. There is even a child depicted who I treated when I worked as a therapist in Ottawa. How fun!
Margot is attempting to keep up with her sister. I hated to tell her that he little legs were too short!
Molly my sweet little angel!

Margot loves swimming. She has no fear and jumps right in. She also loves to drink the water, probably not the greatest but at least she is not eating dirt!
I love this smile! Margot is our happy little girl, she just loves life and she is a joy to be around!
Here is another smile that I love. Molly is becoming a little girl. It has been fun and sad this summer to see her grow and mature into a little lady.
We are so proud that Molly is now putting her face in the water and blowing bubbles. She has taken swimming lessons in Ottawa with Mrs Palmer who is a wiz and we are so proud of the progress that she is making. She is going to be a swimmer like mommy!

Margot loves to give Papa the business. She bosses him around and this is just one example. I am sure that she is talking to him about the "Monstie" in the pool. The pool sweep that cleans the pool is a monster to her and she is not fond of it getting too close.

Swimming!

2008-07-27T18:35:00.001-07:00

Molly and Margot have both loved swimming at Nanu and Papa's pool in Ottawa this summer. We have spent the last few weeks in Ottawa and the girls have become real water babies. This is just a fun vidoe clip of the two swimming. Margot cracks us up because she is fearless and just takes off swimming on her own. Molly has also started to be less fearful and she is enjoying the water!

The second video is just one that cracks me up, it is Margot laughing at Molly who was banging her head on the door. Don't ask me why but Margot thought it was quite hilarious!

Craziness!!!

2008-07-21T12:39:00.001-07:00

We have had a crazy summer that has presented us with many unexpected challenges but we are thankful that we have still had lots of fun as a family. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the last few weeks!

Molly loves the inflatable slides at all the local festivals. She was loving having the slides to herself at the Peoria balloon festival that didn't have any hot air baloons due the the windy overcast weather.
Another favorite are the carnival swings. She told the lady running the ride that she did not want to get off so she just kept going around and around!
Sweet sisters. Molly and Margot both jumped in the jogging stroller for a run back to the car!
The McNutt family slide. We are blessed to have a rainbow playsystem that is for our entire subdivision. We spend lots of evenings after dinner there playing and running off the last of our engergy before bed. This night the girls convinced Daddy that he needed to run off a little energy too! We love our Daddy!
Margot swinging and singing the ABC's. She loves to sing but the only part that comes out it EFG , she cracks us up!

Three Dancing Princesses!

2008-07-10T19:34:00.000-07:00

What a hilarious afternoon! Molly had a little friend over named Allie DeLost. The two girlies spent the afternoon dressed in frilly dresses. Molly was Barbie and Allie was Ariel! They danced and sang the afternoon away to clips that I have recorded from the Tony Awards. Their favorites are Circle of Life from the Lion King and the the Little Mermaid. They were cracking me up. They even danced with little plastic heels, or "glass slippers"!

This is the fancy dance floor, or maybe it is just a family room I can't tell!
Molly new smile for the camera, very cheesey!
Margot did her best to keep up with Molly and Allie but it was a little difficult especially with her stumpy pink arm. She tried walking in the plastic heels but like her mommy heels are not her friend. Instead she opted for a Fruit Loop snack break!

Looking Back!

2008-07-10T07:47:00.000-07:00

We are finally having a quiet week in the McNutt house which we are thankful for so I thought I would post a few of our favorite older photos.
These are our two kitties, Ozzie and Ariel. We are sad because Ariel the Calico cat ran away about three weeks ago. We keep looking for her and checking at the shelter but we are beginning to believe that she is not coming back. Molly says she doesn't want to look for her anymore casue she ran away.
This was one of Jeff's best moments. After the White Sox won the world Series in 2005 we were able to attend the ticker tape parade welcoming them back to Chicago. We had so much fun that cold Chicago afternoon. We call Molly their good luck charm because we were at opening day that year with Molly and she also went to a couple other games. Go Sox!
Molly loves her little girl friends. This is Viola Townsend, Viola's mom Hunter and I were best friends from the age of three so when we had little girls just a few months apart it was fun. We are sad that Viola and her mommy and daddy will be moving to Colorado in August.
These are the Reinhardt cousins Easter of 2007 (minus crabby Thomas who was not into photos that day). It is so fun to look back at all their baby faces. They are Daniel, Molly, Margot, Grace and Mia. We love our cousins and wish we could play with them more often.

Weekend of Fun!

2008-07-06T12:54:00.001-07:00

After the crazy week that we had with DCFS and our poor car the McNutts were ready for a weekend of fun. We took advantage of Daddy's day off on the 4th and spent the day together. We went to the farm park and feed every animal. Molly loves the goats and Margot could not get over all the noise that the hungry sheep made. Then we had a fun lunch at the Sonic drive-in and we rounded out the afternoon with a hilarious round of mini-golf. Margot thought that picking up the balls was the idea which made playing an entire hole quite a challenge!

After long naps we all headed down to the Peoria river front for the Red, White and Boom fireworks display. They were great. The kids loved all the action although Molly said the fireworks were too bright and she needed sunglasses!
Saturday night Molly and Margot stayed with Nanu and Papa while Mommy and Daddy took in the first White Sox game of the season. Despite our less than perfect seats it was a fun date night and of course the Sox Won! Go Sox....
Sunday Daddy and Papa had an early tee time for a round of golf so the girls headed to Geneva for hair cuts and a little shopping. We love Cookie Cutters a kids only salon. They did a great job and Molly and Margot both got cute new dos!
We then had a relaxing afternoon in the pool. Margot and Molly both love the pool and Mommy and Daddy love the waterproof cast. What a fun weekend we were blessed with too bad we have to return to reality in the morning!

Nutts 1!

2008-07-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

Yes this is a picture of our poor van known as Nutts 1 being loaded onto a tow truck. The girls and I were in an accitdent yesterday afternoon on the way to have lunch with friends. We are very happy to report that no one was hurt, but our poor little car did not fair so well. Hopefully we will know on Monday whether or not they are going to fix Nutts 1!

On a happier note, here is a fun picture of the girls from July 4th weekend last year. I can not believe how much they have changed. One thing that is still the same is their love for popsicles! I think that popsicles are Margot's favorite food, they consitute their own food group in her diet. Have a Happy and Safe Fourth of July!

Fun Playdays!

2008-07-02T15:08:00.001-07:00

Molly and Margot were in the mood to play today. Yesterday they were home all day cause mommy was not feeling well so after gymnastics we called our good friends the Mastons and had a girls day out.
Molly and Emma had a great time climbing in all the tunnels and Emma was very proud that she came down the big slide with Molly. Molly told me that Emma loves her at church and Emma told her mommy that Molly is her best friend. I just love little girls at this age cause they just love to play and run and scream in their little high pitched voices.
Margot and her little pink arm even got in on the action. She climbed right in the play place and did not let a broken bone slow her down. Margot's favorite part of McDonalds is rearranging all the shoes in the little cubbies. Jeff better watch his wallet cause this little one already has quite a thing for shoes!
'

When we got home from our fun morning out we got to check out the progress in the basement. Our drywall and painting is finished and they have started to lay the tile flooring. It is very exciting to see it all coming together! Now we are ready for daddy to come home so that we can wear him out and ask him to mow the lawn. Poor Guy!

We are almost there!

2008-06-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

Here is a fun video of Molly and Margot dancing to the peanuts theme song played by a Hallmark greeting card. Wouldn't it be great if all entertainment was that easy. I just wanted to follow-up yesterday's blog. We have heard that our case with DCFS will hopefully be closed tomorrow. The doctor that examined Margot said that her injury is consistent with a fall from the bed and she has no concerns of abuse or neglect. It is such a huge praise! God is good.....

What a week!

2008-06-29T15:03:00.000-07:00

The McNuts have not had a great week. After Margot broke her arm, we were turned into DCFS alleging neglect. It was heart breaking to have someone say that they thought Jeff and I had purposely caused harm to our daughter. So our week has been filled with interviews and investigations in our home and medical exams for Margot. At this point we are just waiting to hear what DCFS decides after reviewing all of Margot's medical information... What a broken and sinful world we live in, I am glad that my citizenship is in heaven!

Margot has been a real trooper. This is a picture of her having her little pink cast put on. We are hopefull that the cast will be off on July 11th.

This is Margot happily getting her water proof cast wet in the sink at Nanu and Papa's.

One huge praise from this week has been seeing the power of prayer. We have been sharing with friends and folks at church through e-mails about all the trials this week has held and they have been praying us thru each step of the way. We have received so many kind words, phone calls, meals and lots of hugs that have truly gotten us through the roughest hours. I want to share a verse of encouragement that the Lord showed me this morning from Psalm 34:17-18

"The righteous cry out and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit"

Our family would like to thank all the righteous who have cried out on our behalf!

Happy 30th Daddy!

2008-06-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

Today is Jeff's 30th birthday but our celebratin occured yesterday. We started our morning at the Farm Park in East Peoria, Jeff's favorite, Ha Ha Ha! We all had a great time feeding and petting the yummy smelling farm animals.

We had quite the gang at the Farm Park, My dad Pat holding Margot, Grace Reinhardt, Molly, Mia Reinhardt, Daniel Reinhardt and Thomas Reinhardt. My sister-in-law brought down all the cousins to celebrate Uncle Jeff's big day!
Margot and Molly loved feeding the goats. They eat what looks like hamster food right out of an ice cream cone. The goats have the life being fed by little kids all day long!
Molly was so excited to see this little white bunny close up. They all even got a turn to hold the bunny all by themselves.
Another activity of the day was taking in a Peoria Chiefs minor league baseball game from the suite that Jeff's company has. We al had a great time and Molly loved the chocolate cake decorated with sugary baseballs that mommy snuck in to the suite to surprise daddy. (Thanks Dan and Amy!)
Here's a picture of Daddy who is now officially 30 years old, Happy Birthday Daddy we love you!

We have a BIG problem here mommy!

2008-06-20T19:07:00.001-07:00

The McNutts have had another crazy week! We started with remodeling our half bath on the main floor in preparation for using the old fixtures to finsih the bathroom in the basement.

Margot loved helping Papa put the new toilet in the bathroom!
After Papa took out the out toilet it spent a day in the front yard, I am sure the neighbors were thrilled!
The morning the bathroom was finished, Margot fell off the bed and broke her arm. Our poor baby now has a pretty pink arm that she is using as a weapon!
We lucked out that she has a water proof cast that can stand up to watering the flowers, swimming, bathing and lots of other fun summer time activities.
She has been a real trooper and the cast does not seem to be slowing her down a bit. We are hopeful that she will be fully healed and good as new in three short weeks!

God is Good!

2008-06-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say that wow God is faithful to meet us where we are! I was reminded of that truth today. I have been having a tough couple days. I went to a moms bible study this morning and God met me there. We are doing Beth Moore's study "Loving Well". All I can say is that God came right along side me and spoke words of challenge and encouragement into my situation! Thanks Lord for using Beth Moore and all the amazing moms in my study. I love you!

Here are a couple of older pictures from our trip to Florida in January. Just added in cause what is a post without some fun pictures to enjoy!

Lazy afternoons in Lena...

2008-06-14T17:29:00.000-07:00

The past couple weekends we have been trying to get up to Lena, IL to visit Jeff's grandparents, Sam and Isabell Wilson. Due to our continual illness our trip was postponed until today. We headed up north with Gondolas in hand for a lunch at his grandparents home!

We had great weather for lunch. Jeff's parents and his sister Suz and her two sons also came along. It is always a treat to spend a little time with Jeff's grandparents, as long as his grandpa dosn't put you to work. He is a welder and even in his eighties he goes to work in the shop everyday!
Jeff and his grandma enjoyed chatting in the rocking chairs that his grandpa made. They are great they say his and hers! Margot even got in on the conversation.
As always the kids also had a great time. Above Margot is leading the crew of Troy Graff, Molly and Kyle Graff all over the yard. Jeff's grandparents got such a kick out of watching the kids running around acting like kids.

Check It Out!

2008-06-12T18:40:00.000-07:00

My parents have a new business venture. They are now the happy and tired owners of a newly refurnished rental condo on the beach near Destin, Florida. Check out their listing at Vacation Rental by owner.... www.vrbo.com/184246
We can't wait to check it our during our annual trip in January 2009/ If you are looking for a great place for a relaxing family vacation at the beach, this is an ideal setting!

Three Amigos!

2008-06-12T10:59:00.000-07:00

Just thought that I woould share this fun shot of Molly and her two best buddies, Reagan Metzger and Kylynn Murray. The three girls are always together at church and keep everyone entertained. They have had a great week at VBS learning with the Veggie Tales about the verse, "When I am afraid I will trust in you" Psalm 56:3. I am so thankful for all the VBS workers who have dedicated their time to pour the love of Christ on to my little girl and her adorable friends! Praie the Lord.

A Day in the Life...

2008-06-11T14:44:00.001-07:00

I want to give you a feel for a day in the life of the McNutts this week. After a night with very little sleep. Everyone is awake and on a roll at 6:00. Vacation bible school at our church started this week and since both Jeff and I were committed to teach, Monday started a week of splitting duties. Jeff has had the privilege to stay home with the sick kiddo. Monday it was Molly and since then it has been Margot.
Jeff's days have been filled with looks like this from Margot. He has described Margot as a bad patient. She is very unhappy and nothing is ever quite the way she likes and she lets you know about it. I give Jeff all the credit he has been an extremely patient and loving daddy even when she calls him, MOMMY!
I have had the privilege to be one of over 600 volunteers at our church taking part in vacation bible school. I have been teaching about sixteen 2nd and 3rd graders about the armor of God. We have learned to, "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devils schemes" Ephesians 6:11 They have been a joy and I have loved teaching them about Jesus and his free gift of salvation. Our Church makes a huge commitment to VBS with over 800 children in attendance each day.
I also have to share Molly's favorite part of VBS. She loves Black Buffalo (pictured above). He is a native American missionary who has been part of VBS at Grace since the early 70's. He has never missed a year. He runs children's homes throughout south America and they are all called the Quiver. He is an awesome man of God and comes to each department daily and tells the kids stories of the children that he has ministered to in his children's homes. Molly loves his drum, especially when she gets to play it herself!

UNCLE!!!!!

2008-06-08T17:03:00.000-07:00

Can I just say that we have had a run of bad luck with our kids health lately. I made the mistake of commenting on how healthy they were all winter and BAM our luck has run out. We started with Molly's tonsils and adenoids being removed at the end of April. Then about a week or so later Margot got an ear infection, even though she has tubes. Then Margot started acting really cranky again and we thought it was her ears, a trip to the Dr. comfirmed just a crabby baby. Then a few days go by and Margot is running a fever and a couple days later develops croup! Then the next day Molly has a fever which goes up to almost 106! After a trip to the ER, we find out Molly has pneumonia. Molly finished her antibiotic on Wednesday and Thursday starts running another fever. We headed back to the Dr. yesterday and were told that she has blisters in the back of her throat, it is viral let it run its course. Oh and it is very contagious... Did I mention that Margot had Molly's pacifier in her mouth about an hour before that Dr. appointment. All I can say is please let this be the end we can't take much more and neither can our insurance company!

Here are a couple old pictures, cause at moments like these I have to look back and remember that they are such a blessing and worth every moment and penny of sickness!

Let there be light!

2008-06-06T13:30:00.001-07:00

For those who may not know, our basement is under construction. The last two weeks our home has been a construction site with lots of men in and out and noise like you woud not believe. Our neighbor even said that she can hear all the banging! This wek I am happy to say that we have light. The team of electricians were here and now we have lots of can lights, outlets and other fun electrical stuff. Now we need heat and then we get drywall. I am looking forward to all the dust (ha ha ha) Even though it is loud and a little crazy at nap time, we are so excited to have the project underway. We are looking forward to having the extra space for the toys that seem to be multiplying all over our house!

Molly and Margot have loved to check out the progress each night when the crew leaves! Molly carries toys downstairs every night to play. She was very upset the first day that the builders were here and we told her they were making a playroom but no toys were there when we went to check it out. Margot loves to hunt for the nails that the guys have left lying around for her to find!

The Budweiser Clydesdales!

2008-06-02T12:46:00.001-07:00

The clydesdales came to Peoria this weekend and we made the trek to the East side of the river to check them out. Molly and Margot were so excited to see the giant horses. Margot had no fear. She got our of the car and ran right over to them as if she was going to get on and go for a ride.

Kid Talk

2008-05-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

I learned on Monday that I need to watch what I tell Molly as we were at the playground in our neighborhood and Molly told all the kids there that her daddy farted.

Croup!

2008-05-27T18:10:00.000-07:00

Yikes! Poor little Margot has croup. Last night in an attempt to let Margot cry it out, we heard a strange sound coming from Margot's room. It was the poor little thing with a terrible croupy cough. Yuck, She is in a yucky mood and we are hoping that the magic medicine from the doctor will have her feling much better by morning.

This is Margt feeling yucky and Daddy feeling not so youcky!

No Sleep for the weary in Indy!

2008-05-25T17:52:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to give you all a quick glimpse of what our hotel room was like in the evening in Indy. No a lot of sleep was had by children or parents. It may be awhile before we muster up the courage to stay in a hotel with them again!

Not so Vacation!

2008-05-25T14:08:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I decided to take a short vacation to Indy this weekend. We just wanted to get away from the ins and outs of daily life and spend a few days having fun as a family.

Our trip started very smoothly with both girls sleeping almost the entire four hour drive which was a huge blessing. There is nothing like a quiet car drive!
Friday morning we headed out for the Indy children's museum. It was awesome. The girls loved all the exhibits. Margot's favorite was the toddler sized water table and Molly loved the dinosaurs!
Our evening ended with a trip to the pool at the hotel. They both enjoyed spsplashing and telling daddy that he was a mean shark.
We grabbed a little dinner at Buca di Beppo. Molly loved drinking from the fancy glass!
One thing we did not plan for was the Indy 500! Don't ask me how we didn't realize it was race weekend but I guess we really don't keep track of those things. But we were right in the middle of the festivities and caught a little of the Inndy 500 festival parade. They had huge balloons that the girls were amazed by!

All and All it was a fun weekend. We would recommend it for a short weekend trip. The children's museum, zoo and canal walk are al worth seeing! Jsut try not to plan your trip for race weekend!

2008-05-23T13:27:00.000-07:00

I have so enjoyed reading the blogs of friends. It is a great way to feel connected to even those who are far away. So here is the start of the McNutt blog with a glimpse into a day in our ordinary life!

We love the rainbow playsystem in our subdivision where we meet all our neighborhood friends to play during those last couple hours before Daddy is home from work. Margot is a climber and love to keep up with all the big kids. Molly and Margot enjoying the sunny spring weather!
Molly always the leader of the gang is climbing up the slide!
You may ask what is this? Painting the sidewalk or driveway with water is a favorite past time of the McNutts. We spend a great deal of time every afternoon making sure that we have covered every inch.
Margot enjoys painting but also sneaks in a few sips of water from her brush along the way!

So I am happy to say that I am now a blogger. Check back and see what else our little family is up to!