theMcMurray's Blog » Alyson

Great Children!

kristy — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:18:04 +0000

Yesterday was crazy and I had a lot to do. The kids were locked into what I had to do and not able to do much of what they wanted. We created this little giving tree for our family. It consists of a cut out tree and slips of rolled paper with things we can do for each other to bring the spirit of Christmas into our home. After they complete the action listed they put a colored star (each color representing a different child) on the tree to show something special has been done. When I returned home last night from a long day of gymnastics stuff it was later on and the kids were all hungry. Scott quickly jumped in and helped me make the chocolate chip pancakes. He was able to make them pretty much all on his own while I cleaned up the kitchen. The other children played nicely together and let us get it all ready without complaint. Scott continued to help out by picking things off of the giving tree and doing the things that were listed, which in turn inspired Toby & Alyson to join in. By the end of the night, they had read the girls stories, told each other what they like about each other, Aly surprised me by cleaning the play room, and brought true joy to our crazy disoriented home. We had some treats before bed and shared our favorite Christmas memories and it was truly special to me. These are the moments that make me so proud to be a mom of such fabulous children. It is these moments that help me to realize what life is all about and what this Christmas season is all about. Thank you: Scott, Toby, Alyson and Fiona! You are all wonderful!

Holiday Blues

Ian — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 16:27:36 +0000

I hope you’ve had an enjoyable Christmas and that the New Year will greet you with much success. For us it’s been a family sick time! Kristy got a Sinus infection, Alyson and Toby both got colds with fever and Ian got a sinus infection with infected tonsils too! The bad news is that Fiona is now also starting the fever thing. However Scott has walked through all this untouched (at the moment). So if you’re wondering why I haven’t blogged for a while – this is why.

Cute Little Alyson

Ian — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 05:48:21 +0000

IM0032
Originally uploaded by theMcMurrays.
This was taken back in Feb 2005 (by Jim) I recently found this cute picture and I just had to share!

Alyson gets a cast

Ian — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 17:52:45 +0000

They say a picture speaks a thousand words… so here you go…

Fiona Clair McMurray

Ian — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 03:20:15 +0000

We’d like to announce the birth of our new daughter ‘Fiona Clair McMurray’.
Born Aug 19th 2005 @ 7:52pm MST in Orem Utah. She weighed in at 7 pounds 4 ounces and is 18 inches long. She scored a 9.9 on the apgar test and has red hair. She’s opened her eyes and is eating well.
Scott and Toby are over the moon, however Alyson thinks this is Daddies baby though.
Both Mum and Fiona are doing well.

Princess takes a break.

Ian — Sun, 14 Aug 2005 18:20:12 +0000

Alyson broke her arm today! A 2 year old with a broken right arm!! She was sitting on a see-saw (teeter tooter) when one of her nephews went over and thought she’d like it to bounce up and down. Alyson tried to get off but it was moving too fast. Momentum took over and she fell off at the highest point, landing awkwardly on her arm. Kristy instinctively knew that Alyson was hurt more than usual. I mean – Alyson usually just says ‘Ouwhhh’ (kind of like a whisper), but not this time. We took her to our local emergency room and after 4 X-Rays found out that her right arm was broken just above the elbow. Alyson was pretty scared of all the doctors, but came home with a lolipop and another cuddly toy.

Is a green lawn really worth it?

Ian — Mon, 13 Jun 2005 00:41:19 +0000

From the Bible we read that even a fallen sparrow is loved, yet we want our lawns to look the best, and who really cares if a few birds get in the way!! We had the unfortunate sadness of cleaning up after 3 of our neigbors decided to "Tru-Green" their lawn. They tell you to keep your pets and children off a freshly sprayed lawn for at least an hour, but nobody is telling the birds that. They can’t read a little sign stuck in the front of a yard.

We’ve found 3 baby pine ciskins dead in our back yard together with a decreased bird population attending our feeders. I was worried that only the babies seem to be affected, but my friend and avid bird watcher (Gary Grubb) proposed that the baby birds were feed by their parents (who didn’t ingest the poisoned food, but rather regurgated) and therefore past it onto their young.

We held a funeral service for our little feathered friends (who Scott and Toby had called Chester and Max) . They even made little grave stones out of popcikle sticks and paper. They only saw the two birds, Kristy later found the 3rd. It’s sad to see, especially when we’ve watched mature birds feed and later bring their young with them and feed them right here in our back yard. It was fun to see these little birds flap their wings as their parents shoved food down their necks. But such is the great circle of life, which is bigger than us all, but will forever teach us the ultimate lesson of life.

So the next time you’re thinking about Tru-Chem’ing your lawn – remember the Sparrows which will fall and hopefully choose a more natural, safer approach for getting rid of the weeds.

Happy Presidents’ Day

Ian — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 22:46:56 +0000

Since this is a Federal holiday I’m off work today, which gave me no reason to be lazy around the house. The boys were away at their Grandma’s (with Kristy) and I was home with Alyson. We turned on some music, did a little dance and then tidied up a little.
I also took down our external Christmas lights (almost 2 months after the fact!) which isn’t too bad. I blame it on the weather this year (yeah right I hear you saying!)

I was looking for some interesting facts about Presidents’ day and found this website. We’ve had 42 President’s so far – so Happy Presidents’ Day to all

Sickness

Ian — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 08:08:50 +0000

It all stated with Toby getting sick & it snowballed from there!
then Scott, fillowed by Kristy then Alyson & finally me!
Alyson got the works though & is on 3 different medications! But hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for all!

Alyson has a fever

Ian — Mon, 10 Jan 2005 06:44:28 +0000

We placed a quick temperature reader on Alyson’s forehead and it didn’t register – well 104 degress did kind of show up – but that was the highest reading! Thanks to the modern marvels of medicine we can bring her fever down. But it’s still no fun watching a lethargic little Alyson.
If she is still under the weather tomorrow morning Kristy will take her for a Strep test and I’ll manage the boys while taking a sick day from work.