When Mommy's Away.....

Hmmm...so Mama works on Monday nights and Daddy takes over. I was scanning through the camera pics tonight and came across a doozie :) In all fairness, I'm sure they got into our shower themselves, but this just made me giggle. I love my girls so much. :) What a wonderful family I have. I am so blessed. My husband is a wonderful father.

A Mitch Albom Reflection -- Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself

I'm sure you've seen it/read it....but if you haven't....it definitely shares my beliefs (Kelli...that is).

OK. It's a fantasy. But if I had five minutes in front of Congress last week, here's what I would've said:
Good morning. First of all, before you ask, I flew commercial. Northwest Airlines. Had a bag of peanuts for breakfast. Of course, that's Northwest, which just merged with Delta, a merger you, our government, approved -- and one that, inevitably, will lead to big bonuses for their executives and higher costs for us. You seem to be OK with that kind of business.
Which makes me wonder why you're so against our kind of business? The kind we do in Detroit. The kind that gets your fingernails dirty. The kind where people use hammers and drills, not keystrokes. The kind where you get paid for making something, not moving money around a board and skimming a percentage.
You've already given hundreds of billions to banking and finance companies -- and hardly demanded anything. Yet you balk at the very idea of giving $25 billion to the Detroit Three. Heck, you shoveled that exact amount to Citigroup -- $25 billion -- just weeks ago, and that place is about to crumble anyhow.
Does the word "hypocrisy" ring a bell?
Protecting the home turf?
Sen. Richard Shelby. Yes. You. From Alabama. You've been awfully vocal. You called the Detroit Three's leaders "failures." You said loans to them would be "wasted money." You said they should go bankrupt and "let the market work."
Why weren't you equally vocal when your state handed out hundreds of millions in tax breaks to Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Honda and others to open plants there? Why not "let the market work"? Or is it better for Alabama if the Detroit Three fold so that the foreign companies -- in your state -- can produce more?
Way to think of the nation first, senator.
And you, Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona. You told reporters: "There's no reason to throw money at a problem that's not going to get solved."
That's funny, coming from such an avid supporter of the Iraq war. You've been gung ho on that for years. So how could you just sit there when, according to the New York Times, an Iraqi former chief investigator told Congress that $13 billion in U.S. reconstruction funds "had been lost to fraud, embezzlement, theft and waste" by the Iraqi government?
That's 13 billion, senator. More than half of what the auto industry is asking for. Thirteen billion? Gone? Wasted?
Where was your "throwing money at a problem that's not going to get solved" speech then?
Watching over the bankers?
And the rest of you lawmakers. The ones who insist the auto companies show you a plan before you help them. You've already handed over $150 billion of our tax money to AIG. How come you never demanded a plan from it? How come when AIG blew through its first $85 billion, you quickly gave it more? The car companies may be losing money, but they can explain it: They're paying workers too much and selling cars for too little.
AIG lost hundred of billions in credit default swaps -- which no one can explain and which make nothing, produce nothing, employ no one and are essentially bets on failure.
And you don't demand a paragraph from it?
Look. Nobody is saying the auto business is healthy. Its unions need to adjust more. Its models and dealerships need to shrink. Its top executives have to downsize their own importance.
But this is a business that has been around for more than a century. And some of its problems are because of that, because people get used to certain wages, manufacturers get used to certain business models. It's easy to point to foreign carmakers with tax breaks, no union costs and a cleaner slate -- not to mention help from their home countries -- and say "be more like them."
But if you let us die, you let our national spine collapse. America can't be a country of lawyers and financial analysts. We have to manufacture. We need that infrastructure. We need those jobs. We need that security. Have you forgotten who built equipment during the world wars?
Besides, let's be honest. When it comes to blowing budgets, being grossly inefficient and wallowing in debt, who's better than Congress?
So who are you to lecture anyone on how to run a business?
Ask fair questions. Demand accountability. But knock it off with the holier-than-thou crap, OK? You got us into this mess with greed, a bad Fed policy and too little regulation. Don't kick our tires to make yourselves look better.

Busy....Busy....Busy

One of my all time favorites of me and my my big girl :)

McKenzie Grace's model photo shoot :)

One of my favorites of Kylie :)

It seems like life has slipped away so quickly around here! We have been jam packed lately with things to do. While the days seem to go by slowly, the weeks are a blur! It's hard to believe Christmas is only about 13 days away! Nutso!

I've been finishing up the semester at OCC, working at Sylvan, hanging out with the girls and doing all I can to keep my head above water :) It's been good and challening lately.

We still don't know anything about Rob's job. Thanks to all of you who have been praying. It's tough not knowing, but our plan is still in place and we're waiting for God to move...however He does...even if He tells us we're staying where we're at. I've got my own opinons on the bailout from Congress, so if you ever want my two cents just ask me :)

The Christmas season will be busy, but we'll enjoy it, I'm sure. Just trying not to go overboard with the girls. McKenzie is getting some pretty cool stuff and we want to make sure she understands that it's really about Jesus after all, too. We don't do Santa. We celebrate Jesus and make him a birthday cake. We try to keep the focus on that so when it comes time for her to know why she is who she is and how God created her so beautifully.....it will all make sense. :) We're excited and thrilled and what we've been up to is alllll posted below! It took me about an hour to add all these entries, so enjoy...and I'll try to not to fall this far behind again! :)

Winter Fun

Kylie patiently waiting her turn!

"Daddy! Are you coming?"

"Come on, Daddy!"

Waiting at the top.... :)

Bundled and ready to go!

McKenzie loves the outdoors...we all do! So, when it gets cold outside, it's just so hard to take! But...she's got a GREAT daddy who will go out when it's 16 degrees and play with her...just because she's got so much energy! She is such a fanstastic little girl and such a trooper! They had a blast playing the other morning :) Here are some pictures!

Kylie's starting to W-A-L-K!!!

Kylie learned how to walk with help yesterday! What a big girl! I am so surprised she is walking so early (she'll be 10 months on the 12th), but also thrilled for her! :) It's so neat because she just wants to be just like McKenzie. She is so excited to follow her around the house and McKenzie is starting to really interact with her. It is so fun to watch them together!


I know she doesn't look happy trying to walk here, but she did really GREAT. She just got a bit frustrated at the end :(


McKenzie enjoying her Taco Bell "roll - e- up" :)

Kylie LOVES baby dolls.

My little miss playing with her toys :) She loves that ice cream cone! She's definitely a Crampton, too :)

GYMNASTICS!

Kylie getting in on the action with sis....she wants to be just like her!

Jumping with the girls...and looking at the "big kids" with "swimsuits" on :)

Practicing her jumps on the trampoline!

Stretching with Coach Sam :)

Ok...so I've been putting off doing this because I wasn't sure I wanted to spend the money, but I should have done it much earlier :) On Saturday, we signed McKenzie up for gymnastics class. She was in a class about a year ago, but this is a real class with a teacher and she is learning how to use gymnastics equipment and do "gymnastics moves". :) She jumped on a trampoline, walked on a balance beam, jumped into the "pit" and had a GREAT time. She was so awesome and our hearts swelled watching her. I have never been so proud. There are only 2 other girls in her class (sisters) and they are quite a bit older (maybe closer to 4?) and I know....I know...I'm biased....BUT...McKenzie did SO GOOD listening to her coach "Sam" and did soooo good for being 2 and 1/2. I was so proud. So...we'll keep going as long as we can. It really seems to build confidence in her and she has a great time.

First Christmas Party in Ohio

"Mama...that was a LONG trip....where is my sippy?" :)

After the trip....McKenzie lovin' on her daddy by the fireplace :)

Kylie Noelle loving on her Great Grandma Amos. What a cutie :) And yes, we also play bingo at these parties....if only I had the time, I could have won some cool prizes!

McKenzie and Kylie and all the little ones got backpacks from Great Grandma Amos. McKenzie LOVED, LOVED, LOVED her backpack and didn't want to take it off. :)

Kylie Noelle with her 3rd cousin Alexis (Rob's cousin's daughter's daughter) born on EXACTLY the same day! :) They love playing together.

Today we traveled to Ohio and back for our family Christmas party. These are always so nice, though it's quite a haul making it there and back ;) We started out about 11:15 or so and made it to Ohio at 1:45. We arrived to Rob's family and a room of oh-so-much love. About 50 of his relatives were there including cousins McKenzie and Kylie don't see very often. We would love to get down there more, but it seems time slips away faster than we would like. We have fabulous food....waaaay to many deserts....a $5 gift exchange game (you'd be AMAZED at what this family can find for 5 bucks!) and the littlest ones always get the most attention (of course). It's always a blast and often ends too quickly :( But, we plan to return to Ohio for Christmas and make the rounds with the immediate family, so it won't be long before the girls can enjoy family time again. We got home around 8pm...just in time for baths and mama to crash with McKenzie in our bed before I had to work online at 11 tonight. I am very tired, but it was a great trip!

Marin Nora Webb --- Our New Niece! :)