Love Letter to My Husband (PG-13)

Being on the road a lot for work, my husband Aron eats out at restaurants many nights. He has always observed that there are couples who sit through dinner and barely speak a word to each other. To us, that is sad.

I know, we should not judge. Who knows what they are going through? I mean, once when Michael was having his OCD symptoms, we went out for our anniversary anyway. I was upset to have left him, we disagreed on a few other things, and we sat through dinner in silence, obviously mad at each other. Maybe some young couple observed us and said to each other, "That will never be us!"

I hate that my husband eats dinner alone so many nights and has for about 17 years. Yes, we have many months and even one entire year when he won't travel. But most years he is going someplace, and we miss each other incredibly.

January 5, carriage ride on the Plaza in Kansas City with 6 kidlets in tow. Romance is all around!

The other night we had a rare night. I was a "good mommy" and pulled out the sofa bed for the kids to lounge on and watch TV. I was upstairs nursing Sam to sleep and Aron and I got to talk on the phone (he's in Wyoming again) for over an hour, uninterrupted. So much of the time at home our talk is "business" (here's what this costs, here's where we're going tomorrow, here's what the kids are doing in schoolwork, etc.).

Aron, I loved talking to you the other night and making plans for our future. When I met you in 1995, I never dreamed we would be at this place in our lives, still together, still falling more in love every day, and doing it with 5 wonderful little people in tow. I think you are amazing. I think you look hot in chef pants, in a suit, in jeans and a hardhat, in coveralls.

I think you are the most attractive to me when you are canning chicken and noodles, playing with the kids, and going off to work so you can support us and so I can stay home to homeschool, be close to our children, clean your house immaculately (ha!) and soak in the tub eating Kit Kats all day.

Thank you for being my complement, for keeping me grounded, for loving me so completely.

Like the fabulous Justin Bieber so eloquently sings, "As long as you love me, We could be starving, we could be homeless, we could be broke." As long as you love me, all is well.

Reasons to Get a Dog for Your Kids

This is my oldest, Joel, hanging out on the floor while our Snoopy lounges on him. Sure, he still poops on the floor sometimes, but for the most part he is doing his business outside these days now that he's a little older.

I'm talking about Snoopy, not Joel.

January 2013 Weight Watchers Update

I took this picture of myself a few weeks ago when we were out of town visiting family for Christmas. I had just gotten some cool new dresses at a vintage/consignment store and was really excited. I've lost nearly 20 pounds and am finding that my style is more funky and less baggy jeans/high-neck T-shirts. I love to wear this dress (I call it my Pucci print) with crazy-colored hose and black fuzzy winter boots just for fun.

Sam in this picture shows that I am still always with my kidlets and love it that way.

What was your first clothing purchase after losing weight? Or what will it be?

*Check the comments for the 2018 update!

Elderly Love

Yes, we've all heard of brotherly love.

Today Aron was home for lunch and we were hugging and kissing on each other.

Our oldest son Joel, age 11, says ...

"Ew, ELDERLY LOVE."

WHAT? We're only 41 and 46!

Kids! Due to the economy, we may have to lay one of them off.

2012 McLoughlin Family Christmas Letter

Hope you are all enjoying today, no matter what your religion is. Thought you might like to see our McLoughlin Family Christmas letter that went out this year.

Merry Christmas once again from the McFamily! Let’s dive right in …

            Aron has been busy this year just being awesome. When he wasn’t traveling to Wyoming or working long hours, he was involved with Joel’s Scout campouts and meetings and spent quite a bit of time replacing drains and pipes and ceilings. Before he could get a little break, it was time to put in new kitchen windows, a new double door and paint the kitchen! He did find time to take the boys fishing a few times, though J

            Not much has changed with Kerrie. She still loves her bon bons and bubble baths. On the side, she dabbles in homeschooling, freelance writing, hanging with her friends, scrapbooking, reading, stripping (wallpaper J), wrangling children, walking and trying new recipes.

            Joel turned 11 in June and was busy this year with 2 Pinewood Derbies, Pokemon Club, archery and gymnastics. He crossed over into Boy Scouts in February and is already First Class rank, has 4 merit badges toward Star Scout and enjoyed summer camp. He is on the move all day long, playing, reading, shooting arrows and more. He says he wants to be an actor when he grows up.

            Michael turned 9 in April and also participated in 2 Pinewood Derbies, Pokemon Club, gymnastics and a homeschool Chemistry class. Michael prefers to hang out at the dining room table creating various things out of Legos and recyclables. I think he’ll be a great engineer!

            Callie turned 7 in February and her hobbies include cheerleading, gymnastics, fashion design and debating with Mommy. She also had fun making her Pinewood Derby car for our homeschool group’s race and can be found at homeschool Chemistry class. I see her with a career as an entertainment/fashion attorney.

            Eva turned 5 this month and is still our tough little sunshine. Her hobbies include collaborating with Sam to make messes and get into trouble and … well, that’s mostly it. To occupy an hour of her week, we gave in to her pleas of, “I wanna do gymnastics, too!” I’m thinking she’ll grow up to have a career in something involving making messes all day and getting paid to do so.

            Sam turned 3 in October. He’s still master of any ball, and we’re considering getting him into a teeny soccer league just for the entertainment value. He insists he is a BIG BOY and wants to do everything himself. He’s also in gymnastics, and says he wants to be a fireman when he grows up.

            We adopted Snoopy Baby the Shih-tzu/Hound in October. He will be the perfect pet once he learns to poop OUTSIDE. We also have Giggy the tiny turtle, Henry the Betta fish and a minnow.

            Joel, Michael and Callie go to religious education weekly while I babysit in the nursery with Sam and Eva. This year we did Passport to Adventure, the zoo, went swimming a lot, went to Paradise Park, rode a train and more. The kids were a big help with the garden, too!

            We drove to Wyoming in May to be with Aron, who was there for his job, and we ended up staying 5 weeks at Kingfisher Bend Ranch! We fell in love with it and it made us want to move somewhere with wide open spaces. While there, we explored the Uinta Mountains, hit the Salt Lake City zoo and children’s museum, sunned ourselves on a Bear River beach, kayaked, fished, played in snow on Memorial Day, had a bonfire, watched kittens grow up, rode horses and chased bulls away.

Check out more of our family fun at TheKerrieShow.com. Wishing you an amazing 2013.

The McLoughlin Family

Aron, Kerrie, Joel, Michael, Callie, Eva and Sam

HOPEYLOVEYDREAMYPRAYYLEARNYSINGYLAUGHYACCEPTYSLEEPJ