Our Christmas Letter

It's that time of year again, where we glance at the calendar and realize that there are only a few days left until we flip the final page and bid farewell to 2010! This year seemed to fly by faster than before, and it seems like only a few weeks ago that I sat down and wrote our 2009 Christmas Letter! Perhaps there is some truth to the adage, "Time flies when you're having fun!"?

2010 was another good year for the McCarthy's and we have experienced the Lord's blessings throughout the year.

For Liesel, it was a special year. It was the first year since leaving South Africa in 2006, that we got to spend quality time with everyone in her immediate family. In March, we drove down to Charleston, South Carolina for a family vacation. There, we met up with Norman and Gabi who had just wrapped up their trip to their USA-partner churches. Rachel, not wanting to be left out, also flew into Charleston International Airport to join us for a memorable week on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean! Although we did not experience any beach weather (since it was still officially winter in the USA), we had a beautiful, relaxing, and memorable time together. Highlights included many walks on the beach, Norman (Opa) showing Nathan how to fish, and Nathan's favorite excursion, a trip to Patriot's Point to explore the Aircraft Carrier Museum.

In October, Norman and Gabi were heading out to the USA again, and this time they co-ordinated everything with Liesel, in order to give Nathan the biggest surprise for his birthday! During the weeks leading up to Nathan's sixth birthday, we were all sworn to secrecy, as Liesel and Gabi sorted out the logistics. Then, the day before the actual birthday, I took Nathan to one of his soccer matches, and in the meantime, Liesel fetched her folks from the airport. After the game, Nathan and I headed home, and as he walked into the house, he saw his grandparent's sitting there waiting for him! For the first time in my life, I saw Nathan speechless for five to ten minutes, as he tried to wrap his mind around his surprise! Norman and Gabi spent about two weeks with us, during which we took a trip to the glorious Niagara Falls!
Shortly after their visit, Liesel heard from Craig, that he and Marne would love to come and spend Thanksgiving with us!! So Liesel headed back out to the airport about a week before Thanksgiving to pick up her brother and his pregnant wife! We had a fantastic time with them, and Nathan developed a deep bond with them and even his unborn cousins!

Not only was it a year of reuniting with immediate family members, but we also had the privilege of spending time with two sets of Liesel's uncles, aunts and cousins in Wisconsin during the summer. We left Cleveland heading west past Lake Michigan, then turned north to Green Bay on an eleven hour road trip to the Edgar's house. The Staley family also joined us at the Edgar house, and we all had so much fun spending a couple of days together in the one house. Nathan loved every minute hanging out with his older "cousins". It was sad to leave after such a brief stay, but we have fond memories that we will cherish for years to come!

2010 held a significant milestone for Nathan too. It was the year that he started attending Kindergarten! Liesel and I remember that day in late August, when a big yellow school bus came around the corner and stopped at our house, opening its door for Nathan to embark on a brand new adventure! We managed to hold back the tears, and that was mostly attributed to Nathan's overwhelming excitement for a) riding the school bus, and b) starting "big school"! It soothes the parents' heart, knowing that their child loves school, and that all his enthusiasm outweighs any fears he may have! He started playing Little League Baseball in the Summer, and Soccer in the Fall - which he thoroughly enjoys! Being six years old, Nathan has started helping out a little around the house. He also has such a deep love for his brother, and is always looking out for him, entertaining him just being the best brother that Josh could ever ask for!

Joshua turned two in November, and we were so blessed to have Craig and Marne here to share the birthday with us. He is becoming more active and adventurous, and Liesel and I love seeing his personality in everything that he does. One of the things that Liesel and I treasure is when Josh says goodnight to us, he will walk up to us, and give us a hug and a kiss, before heading to his room! I think he shares the same deep-rooted love for family, as Nathan does. He also has a fondness for animals, music and learning and seems to be following closely in Nathan's footsteps..... Before Josh turned two, he could count to ten and recite (and recognize) all the letters of the alphabet! Liesel will definitely have her hands full trying to find creative ways to keep these boys' minds stimulated!

As for my year, 2010 was a good one too! I am still loving my job, working closely with Google! This year I have flown out to San Francisco three times, and to New York City once. Each time, Liesel has been awesome at running the household, and looking after the kids while I was away! During the Spring and Summer seasons, I played beach volleyball one night a week, in a feeble attempt to add exercise to my lifestyle. We have a great four-person team consisting of two guys and two girls, and each season we seem to play better. In fact, we won the Summer Intermediate Co-Ed volleyball league in Cleveland!

Now, as we look forward to what God has in store for us in 2011, we thank Him for answered prayers, wonderful memories, and His hand of protection over us in 2010. We also thank Him for the gift of Jesus, who was born on Earth over 2000 years ago, so that mankind's relationship with God could be restored!

May 2011 be a year filled with God's blessings for you and your family. We thank God for each one of you, and pray that we will be reunited soon rather than later!

With love

Grant, Liesel, Nathan and Joshua

A Partially White Christmas?!?

As snow covers about 60% of my yard, and Christmas now only 6 days away, I am optimistically hoping that the McCarthy family will experience their first ever White Christmas in Cleveland! The weather forecast shows that the maximum temperature between now and Christmas, is only 30 (-1C) - so I know that the snow won't melt away. There are also indications of a few snow showers during the week, but will that be enough to cover the exposed grass before Saturday? I guess we will have to wait and see....

ON the subject of weather, many of you have seen this lighthouse on the news, but I bet you didn't know that it was only about 20 miles (30km) from my house!


The Christmas season is in full swing in the McCarthy household. Nathan is officially out of school until 2011. On Friday, Liesel and I headed over to friends for a Christmas party, while the boys stayed at home with their babysitter. We had a good time at our friends, playing some fun games, having some good food, and enjoying each others company.

Saturday was more laid back than normal. Our primary goal was to avoid any place that had a cash register on the last Saturday before Christmas. Nathan and I did go to the library that afternoon, for his first ever, Brick Builders Club. The library invites children between the ages of 6 and 13 to come and build some Lego. Nathan had a great time and built some Lego Castle creations! At the end of the hour, the librarian takes a photo of the kids' creations before they head home. He will definitely be registering for the next Brick Builder's Club.

That evening, after putting Josh to bed, Liesel, Nathan and I sat down in front of the TV and watched the South African classic, The Gods Must Be Crazy. So many memories came rushing back, and it was still as funny as ever! Nothing better than laughter and a good dose of South African accents before bedtime. We still have The Gods Must Be Crazy II to watch :)

On Sunday, I took the boys to Church, to give Liesel an opportunity to do things like wrap Christmas gifts and other chores that can't be done with a two year old tornado in the house....

Speaking of Christmas gifts, Google has also been in the Christmas spirit this week, and generously sent me a prototype of their brand new Chrome OS notebook to keep, and use as I please! It's is basically a smaller, lightweight computer, loaded with Google's ultra fast web-based operating system. Even Liesel seems impressed, and has finally given up her Yahoo email address, in favor of a brand new Gmail address, specially created to help me test out this notebook.
(This blog was typed on the Google Cr-48)

The weather outside is frightful......

As I type this blog, we are under a Winter Weather Storm Warning issued by the National Weather Service. Earlier this evening, Nathan took part in our church's Children's Christmas Concert. He took to the stage with all the other K through 4th graders and sang his little heart out. It was wonderful, and we were especially proud watching Nathan singing at the top of his voice and doing all the actions enthusiastically! The only downside to the evening was driving to and from church in the major snow storm of the season. Only 3 more month's of this :)


Going back in time, Saturday was a great day weather-wise. The temperature was in the lower 40s (6C). How is that great, I hear you ask. It's great because it's the first time in about eight days that the mercury visited the above freezing side of the thermometer! On Saturday morning, I was invited to a Men's breakfast at our church, which turned out to be quite enjoyable. The company as well as the food was really good, and I even had two helpings of the casserole and the hash browns!

That afternoon, Nathan, the social butterfly of the McCarthy's, had his first of two birthday parties this weekend. After dropping him off, I headed over to a friend's house to pick-up a fish tank and about 10 exotic fish that they had offered us. It took us over an hour to figure out how to transport the fish, and then catch them in the fish tank and transfer them to a large bucket for the drive home. At home, after giving the tank a quick cleaning, we returned the fish to their tank, connected all the devices, and set the aquarium in it's new home, Nathan's bedroom. He absolutely loves the fish and spends much time staring at the H20 habitat.

Saturday evening was my company's annual Christmas party. So while our boys were being cared for by their favorite babysitter, my beautiful wife and I headed to the restaurant. The food was excellent, and it is always fun meeting our colleagues spouses.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

The signs of Christmas are all around! And no, I am not referring to the myriad of commercials selling the latest trendy gifts!

It all started on Thursday, when the first significant snowfall of the season arrived. Significant is a relative term, and in early December, it means that the ground was covered with a layer of snow. That snow has mostly melted, already - but it's the thought that counts. "Significant" in January or February would mean probably at least 1 foot (30cm) of snow......

The second sign of Christmas, was some unexpected gifts arriving at my front door. On Thursday, Google sent me the Logitech Revue, which is the easiest way to turn your regular TV into a Google TV! It's a small set-top box that connects to your cable box and to your TV, as well as the Internet. Now I am able to browse websites, update my Facebook status, tweet, and check email, all while lying on my couch watching TV! I love things that make me even lazier than before!

Another unexpected package arrived from South Africa. This package, sent from my mom, was filled with my favorite South African chocolate. These packages are loved by everyone in the family, as there is usually something for everyone! (But I do consume the bulk of it .....)

The third sign was the holiday lights at the Carlisle Reservation Metro Park. The McCarthy family bundled up warmly for the outing on Saturday night, because most of it was outdoors and the temperature was below freezing! The reservation had a number of different displays of Christmas lights, each done by a separate group (such as the Boy Scouts) or a business. These displays lined a relatively long pathway that wrapped around the reservation. After the chilly walk, we headed indoors for some very welcome hot chocolate. Once we had warmed up, we headed up a hill to board the reservation's train. This little train takes it's 20 odd passengers on another path in the reservation that is lit up with tunnels of light, and with various characters dressed in their full Christmas regalia lining the route. What made this even more special that the snow was coming down during our wait in line, and on our train ride, giving us the perfect setting for the festive season!