Dan and Stephanie

The night of December 20th was cold and snowy. Most people in the Portland area were most likely hunkering down, watching the weatherman and sipping hot chocolate. We however ventured out into the winter wonderland for another purpose. To see Dan and Stephanie come together and commit their lives and love to one another. The streets of the city were quiet and white, as if it all belonged only to them. Inside the warmth of the Treasury Ballroom, where the ceremony took place, was the soft glow of candlelight and the romance of an abundance of red roses. The groom, proud. The bride, flawless. The family, so happy to see these two joyful, in love, and becoming one. I watched my little brother truly become a man that day. It really was something special. I'm so grateful that all of us could be there to welcome him on this new journey in life. Dan and Stephanie, I love you both so much. Congratulations!

Jesse, Matt, Dad, Dan, Mom, Sarah, Steve together again! The Young Crew So happy together!Maryn and her cousin Cole sharing a dance!

Flower Girls

I knew the day of the wedding would probably be a whirlwind and I wanted to document the girls in their flower girl dresses. So I sat them down a few weeks ago to take their pictures. Here's just a few of my beautiful daughters!

Christmas Eve

Technically it's Christmas day since it's 1:00 in the morning, but since I haven't slept yet it's still Christmas Eve to me. I've finally found a moment of quiet to just sit and think. The noisy children are nestled snug in their beds with visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads. My rowdy brothers have calmed it to a dull roar in the theater room and the rest of the house is finally at peace. It has been a whirlwind week and even month for that matter. I haven't had time to reflect on the Christmas spirit too much this year unfortunately. But I don't want this time to pass without acknowledging how grateful I am for the true meaning of the season. As gifts were wrapped and stockings were stuffed tonight, I had the feeling that that was all fine and good. But what I found myself truly grateful for is my Savior, for His birth, His life, and all that He has given me and taught me.

This year because of Dan's wedding all of my family is back together again for Christmas. All four of my brothers, my two sister-in-laws, my parents and my nephews. Being around my family has been so good. Sure we make each other a little kooky. Okay sometimes a lot kooky, but what families don't. I am amazed at how different each one of us are. Different lives, different paths, different personalities, and yet we are the same in that we all have the same blood that runs through our veins and we share the same heritage. My brother Dan said awhile back to my parents "I love being a McLean." I have to say I second that. I'm grateful that because of my Savior, my family can be together forever and that as a family we can work on and encourage each other towards that promise and that blessing. Because of my Savior and His entrance into this world on this day so many years ago, everything that I have and hold dear is possible. So with that said, I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. May the spirit of the season and the significance of Christ's life touch your life and heart as well.

Whew!

In this picture, Maryn best describes how we are all feeling right now! It has been a wonderful few days in Portland, but we are all pooped! Dan and Stephanie tied the knot yesterday in a very beautiful ceremony, we've enjoyed the fun and the perils of navigating the most snow and ice Oregon has seen in quite some time and we've had a blast hanging out as an extended family. Many more pictures to come when we finally get to my parent's house in Roseburg for Christmas, but for now we're just going to take a minute to finally catch our breath!

All In A Week!

A week ago today we found out Justin was part of the lay offs at Yahoo. We were keeping our chins up though, knowing if we had faith good things would come our way. Here it is just one short week later and Justin already has a new job! We get to stay in Georgia, Justin gets to continue working from home, he won't have to travel as much as before and he still gets to stay in Basketball! Basically from my point of view very little has changed besides the fact that I get to see my man more! The kicker on top of that is that we still will receive our severance package from Yahoo. We leave this afternoon for Oregon. It's so nice to know while we're gone there's no need to worry about anything. We get to enjoy ourselves and know that when we come home there's a new job just waiting for us! We are so blessed!

JibJab '08

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Poor Grammy

Because she's a good sport, this is what she gets.