Week of wonderful!

After last weekend, I am happy to report that we were back on track to enjoy the run-up to Christmas, Christmas Day and the Christmas weekend! On Wednesday, Nathan and I had a boy's day out and spent most of the day at the Great Lakes Science Center. There, we watched an IMAX movie called "Prehistoric Sea Monsters", We were enveloped by the giant wrap around screen which seemed to bring the creatures to life around us. Afterward we had plenty of time to explore all three levels of the Center, with Nathan enjoying electrical demonstrations, operating a model train and raising a draw-bridge, landing a lunar module, and driving a remote lunar rover over a moon-like surface! The hot-air balloon, tornado, and sound demonstrations also captivated him. Reluctantly, we left the Center and headed home for dinner.


On Christmas Eve, The McCarthy family had the privilege of lighting our church's Advent Wreath during the Christmas Eve service. Liesel read a passage from Luke, beautifully, and I led the congregation in prayer. After my prayer, I handed the microphone to Nathan, who immediately finished it off witha confident "Amen!". The congregation absolutely loved it, and he received so many compliments afterward! We then headed home, had dinner, bathed the boys and once Josh was in bed, we gave Nathan the option of opening one gift, which he eagerly did! After discovering a Talking Microscope under the wrapping, he had a few minutes to try it out before he had to head to bed! When he was dreaming about Santa's visit later that night, Liesel and I went into the lounge and exchanged our gifts, in a quiet and candle-lit living room! This way, we could appreciate our gifts in a serene setting, and then on Christmas Day, we could focus on the boys, and be a part of their excitement as they rip the flimsy gift paper apart!

Nathan awoke around his normal time and came downstairs to wish us all a "Merry Christmas". After a couple minutes, his eye's suddenly lit up as he shouted, "I wonder if Santa ate my cookies?" and disappeared into the lounge! He was greeted by an empty plate, a note from Santa and a lot of gifts under the Christmas tree. So the rest of the morning was spent in the living room as Nathan made his way through the plethora of presents! His favorite presents were the Tonka Garbage truck he requested from Santa, and his Lego City Police Station that he got from Liesel and myself! The rest of the day was spent playing with his new toys and starting to piece his Lego City Police Station together.

That evening, we were invited to friends to enjoy a Christmas Dinner together. The food was delicious, the company delightful.

On Saturday, most of the day was spent playing with toys and building Lego prison cells. The weather was particularly nice - so that afternoon we all went for a walk around the neighborhood. That evening was famaily fun night, and Nathan chose to play the 3 new board games that we received for Christmas. It was 90 minutes of fun, playing Sorry, Blockus and Cariboo!



On Sunday we went to church as usual. Right after the service, a friend of mine took me to my very first Football game. We went to the Cleveland Browns Stadium, as he was a season ticket holder, to watch the Browns take on the Oakland Raiders! His seats were in a preferential position, right near the top, under a limited roof that is around the stadium. This was perfect for us, since it began snowing heavily during the game, but we were not affected. It was really cold, sitting there in 30 degree weather (-1C) for 5 hours. Luckily I had my extra layers underneath keeping me warm, as well as my woolen hat, snow gloves, and hood all playing their part in keeping hypothermia at bay! Even though it was cold, it was rewarding, as the home team put on a good performance and were victorious at the end of the game! Thanks for taking me, Jim! I had a blast!



What a great way to end a great week!

Low-key weekend

This weekend, the McCarthy family laid low. Unfortunately Liesel, Nathan and Joshua all came down with a bug during the week, with Nathan becoming the latest victim on Saturday night. So we spent most of the weekend at home. On Sunday, Liesel stayed at home with the boys as I was playing in the worship team. Since there is not much to report on, I have posted the McCarthy 2009 Christmas letter below!

Wishing all my readers and joyous and peaceful Christmas on Friday, and may 2010 be your best year yet!
God bless!

McCarthy's Christmas Letter 2009

As 2010 creeps ever closer, slowly nudging 2009 into the history books, what better time is there to reflect on God's goodness and faithfulness over the last 12 months. I recently heard a spiritual lesson that I would like to share with you. When going to sleep at night, we should not be counting sheep to aid in the slumber process. Rather, we should count our blessings and thank God for everything we have. How much better would it be to fall asleep with thoughts of gratitude than thinking of four legged wooly creatures!

So, here are some of the blessings that the McCarthy's have received in 2009:
For us, there is nothing better spending time with our beloved family. These opportunities are so few and far between, so we cherish every minute together with our loved ones! This year, we were doubly blessed!
Firstly, we were blessed to see the New Year in with Norman and Gabi! It was wonderful to have them spend a number of days with us, as they got to know their month old grandson more initimately. Of course, Nathan also loves every moment with his Opa and Gogo! Many precious memories we made together, indoors and outdoors. Some of his fondest memories are going sledding with his Gogo! We were also honored to have Norman and Gabi attend Joshua's dedication at our Church in January.
Then, God gave Gabi another opportunity to visit in July and August. Liesel was scheduled for some minor hand surgery. After the surgery, Liesel was not allowed to lift anything heavier than 2 pounds (1kg) for at least 6 weeks. We clearly had a problem, since I had full time job and Joshua was at least 10 pounds and immobile! So we put out a distress call, which Gabi answered! Within a few weeks, she was making her way westward across the Atlantic again. It was the first time Gabi had visited us in the summer. She got to see Nathan at his swimming lessons, go on a family cruise on Lake Erie, have fun at a kiddies' amusement park, enjoy backyard barbecues, and even spend TWO nights outside in a tent with Nathan!!! To this day, he still gazes admiringly at the photo of him and his Gogo in the tent, that now has its permanent place on our fridge.

Little Joshua, who is just over a year old now, has been thriving. With his attentive mom taking care of all his needs, and keeping him well nourished, he is a very happy boy! Currently he is in the 90th percentile for his height, so it appears he is taking after his Uncle Craig. Today, we affectionately call him Hurricane Josh, because of the destruction that he leaves in the wake of his explorations of the play room and his bedroom! He is also developing an affinity for books (like his older brother), and can often be found paging through a book, in the middle of a lake of literature that he has liberated from his bookshelf!

Nathan has been loving having a new playmate, even though there is a four year difference between the two. Josh has a special place in his heart for Nathan. This is evident every time Nathan walks into the room, or climbs into the car after school, Josh's face lights up with joy! And Nathan knows just how to get Josh to laugh, which soon turns into a non-stop chuckle-fest between the two of them!
Nathan is now attending preschool four days a week and is loving every minute of it! He has a driving desire to learn, which is why he loves trips to the library with Liesel. There, he'll pick out many non-fiction books and DVDs to feed his insatiable appetite for information! We are so very proud of him and Liesel does all she can to nurture his desire for knowledge!

The wonderful qualities that our boys possess can mainly be attributed to all the hard work that Liesel puts in into raising the two boys! We are so blessed to be in a situation where Liesel is able to be a stay-at-home mom, and the benefits are obvious. Besides being a full-time homemaker, Liesel has served in the leadership of our Church's MOPS (Mothers-of-PreSchoolers) ministry, and has also recently joined the Avon PTA. In July, she underwent some minor surgery to relieve carpal tunnel syndrome in her right wrist, which she had since being pregnant with Josh. As mentioned earlier, Gabi cleared her busy schedule and flew out here to assist us in so many ways. Liesel really cherished every minute with her mom, and some wonderful memories were made!

As for me, God has also blessed me in so many ways this year. Besides giving me a loving, healthy and happy family, I was blessed to be offered a job just 6 miles from our house! In this economic climate, it is undeniable that God's hand was involved in my getting this new job. This new position has me working closely with Google, and developing applications that take advantage of existing Google products. Because of this, I have had the privilege of visiting the legendary Googleplex in California, twice this year. What an enlightening experience it was to walk around the grounds of one of America's most admired companies!
My office environment in Westlake, is completely different to the huge corporate bank that I used to work for, especially when it comes to flexibility. I also now am blessed to come home for lunch on most days, and often am able to take Nathan to his afternoon preschool. God is good!
During my time away from work, I am blessed to belong to our church's very talented worship band, and love serving God in this ministry, with my fellow musicians!

These are just a few hand-picked blessings of the many we've experienced in 2009. We want to give God all the praise and glory for everything He has done, and continues to do for our family! We especially want to give Him thanks for the gift of His Son, who came to earth in the form of a baby, 2 000 years ago! We also give thanks for each and every one of you who have impacted (directly or indirectly) our lives over the past year. May you all experience the true joy of Christmas.

Until we meet again,
Grant, Liesel, Nathan and Joshua

Sights and Sounds of Christmas

Just 50 hours ago, I was stepping off my plane after the four hour flight from San Francisco! I had spent a week at Google, learning some very cool new stuff, that I won't bore any of you here with! I had a good time out west, but nothing beats being at home with the family! This weekend, we didn't celebrate Family Fun Night on just one night, in fact it was more like a family fun weekend!

On Saturday, Nathan's Pre-school presented their annual Christmas program. Liesel volunteered to assist with the food for the other "grades", so she got there at 11am. Nathan's "grade" (aka Extended Pre-K) was performing at 1:15pm, and I made sure I got him and Josh there with plenty of time to spare. Soon it was time for the show, and it was so cute. Nathan was adorable, singing and acting to the songs! See the video's below to prove that I am not overly biased :P Everybody had a great time, and Nathan thoroughly enjoyed putting on the show for us. After a couple of cookies afterwards, it was back home, to put Josh down for a power nap.




And a power nap it was, since 60 minutes later we were on our way to drop Josh off at our friend's place, as Liesel, Nathan and I had tickets to the Lake Metro Park's Country Lights festival! We had previously visited the lake Metro Park (about an hour east of us) in the Spring, and saw many farm animals (pigs, sheep, goats, llamas and alpacas), horses, and even a dog show! But this time the farm had decorated for Christmas! Upon our arrival, we boarded a horse-drawn wagon, and we were taken on a trip around their fields. The fields were lit up with thousands and thousands of Christmas lights. Most displays had a nursery rhyme theme, some of which were even animated! We saw, jack and the Bean Stalk, Little Boy Blue, Hey Diddle Diddle, Little Bo Peep, and Humpty Dumpty. Our favorite, was definitely the animated lights of the three little pigs, with their houses being huffed at by the big bad wolf!

After the wagon ride, we stood in line to enter Santa's Toy Workshop. Here each child can choose their own wooden toy from a huge variety of different models. There were planes, trains, automobiles, fire trucks, tractors and boats (to name a few) for boys, and just as many options that appeal to the girls. They are given a bag with all the parts for their selected toy, which they are to hand over to the "elf". So Nathan chose the airplane and soon an "elf" called him over to his workbench. Nathan sat beside him and was handed some protective goggles. Then the assembly of the airplane began. Nathan got to hold the trigger of the drill while the elf carefully made the necessary holes. The ever-so-trusting elf then handed Nathan a hammer, and got him to hit the nails into the airplane to secure the wings, wheels and propeller to the body of the plane. Nathan absolutely loved this!! Once he had assembled we could move to the next table where Nathan could paint his newly assembled toy! He painted the plane blue and red, and added some glitter for the finishing touches! He was so proud of his plane, and we were proud of him. We left the toy behind to dry, and made our way to see Santa Claus! After sharing his desires with Santa, we made our way to an indoor arena where a "Cowboy Christmas" was being enacted, along with their horses. Afterward we headed back to collect Nathan's airplane, and climbed into the car to find a restaurant - and then head back west to fetch Josh and then finally home!


On Sunday, we all headed to the 9am Church service. Liesel was on Nursery duty all day, which was unfortunate, as she missed the annual Cantata! The Cantata was absolutely spectacular, with full orchestra, forty voice choir, and hand bells! There is something special when singing your favorite carols accompanied by a brass section, strings, wind and percussion, not to mention the harmonies of the choir! This was a slice of what heaven will be like, I am sure!

(Photo taken by Dave Ercegovic)

On Sunday evening, Liesel had prepared a delicious roast of beef for us, along with her addictive Yorkshire puddings! Another taste of heaven :) After the boys had bathed, and Josh put to bed, Liesel myself and Nathan snuggled up together under a blanket and enjoyed the DVD, Up!

Oh yes! It's good being back with family!

Winter is starting to bare its teeth!

I am so thankful that I could complete my house's Christmas lights last week while the temperatures were in the 50s (10 C)! This entire week, there were only a couple of occasions when the mercury was brave enough to venture above freezing! So needless to say, we spent most of the weekend indoors!

On Saturday morning, Liesel attended the Providence Annual Women's Christmas Brunch, and had a wonderful time with friends! I spent the morning at home with the two boys, having plenty of fun. That afternoon, I headed out to one of our favorite stores to pick up some white fudge covered gingerbread men, and my personal favorite, chocolate truffles imported from France! Hmmmmmmmm........ Saturday was also our family fun night. We thought that it was a great evening to head out into Avon and look at some of the Christmas lights and decorations that people have put up. So we bundled into my car, turned the heat up and took a leisurely drive through some of the neighborhoods, and were pleasantly surprised by some people's efforts. We returned to the warmth of our house and began to watch Ice Age 3 - the Dawn of the Dinosaurs! Nathan chose to watch 30 minutes and then go to bed and have Liesel read some books to him instead. She happily obliged and then came back downstairs and the two of us finished watching the movie together.

On Sunday morning, it was all hands on deck from 7:30am onwards, as our church was having their annual Children's Christmas Program, featuring our very own Nathan. We made it to the church with plenty of time to spare, and even managed to secure some of the best "real estate" available (second row from the front - with no one in front of us). Nathan and the 5 year olds made their very cute, albeit brief, appearance! But he had fun, and that's what counts! Scroll to the bottom to see the video of his performance......



Once home, we had a delicious roast chicken for lunch, and then Nathan and Liesel went to the library, while I entertained Josh. When Josh's "sell by date" was surpassed, I put him down for a nap, and I started packing my bags for California! Tomorrow I am flying out to Google for some more training, leaving Liesel and the boys here to brace the first big winter storm :( I am disappointed that I won't be there to fire up my trusty snow thrower, so I had to show Liesel how to use "the beast".

And now I lay me down to sleep, as tomorrow morning I am being picked up at 7am and heading to the airport! I am also trying something completely new. I have signed up for a paperless boarding pass, which means that I have a special barcode that was sent to my iPhone. When I get to the check-in counter, I will place my phone (displaying the barcode) under the scanners, which should work as well as paper! Let's hope that works as well as it's advertised to.........