Hi everyone. It's been a while since the blog has been updated and so much has happened. The most important and exciting event that occurred is that baby Isabel was born. My side of the family had many babies this year, too. Take a look further down in the blog.
Here is Isabel at 3 months old (she'll turn 4 months old on August 28th).
Yes, she came out with all of this hair.
In December of 2007, we were moved into brand new military housing. All of the houses in our former neighborhood were demolished and the land was sold to private citizens. As promised in a previous blog, here are pictures of our new house.
THE OUTSIDE
Here is our house.
Hard to believe I actually planted and potted flowers..................and they're still ALIVE!!! Normally, I can kill a silk plant.
This is the back of our house and patio view. Notice the "alive" potted flower on the table? Yes, you see 2 grills - one for meat and one for veggies.
This is the sideview with our 2-car garage. It was a lifesaver during the harsh winter we experienced.
THE INSIDE - DOWNSTAIRS
When you walk in the front door, this is what you see. Our antique dry sink is up against the stairs. The downstair's rooms are, basically, set up around the stairway that's in the middle of the house. The doorknob you see on the right side of the picture leads to our garage.
If you walk to the right of the stairs and to the back of the house, then look right, that is our .........................................
...................................family room. This is where we congregate the most. If you turn 180 degrees from this view, you'll see our ..............................................
.........................................kitchen and breakfast area (although we eat most of our meals at this table, unless we have guests). On the left of this picture is our walk-in pantry. The blinds to the right cover the sliding glass door that leads to our backyard/patio (see previous photo of outside backyard).
From the front doorway, if you look left, this is what you'll see......................................our formal living room and dining room. 
From our living room, here is the view of our dining room and one of our kitchen entries.
From our dining room, this is the view of our living room.
THE INSIDE - UPSTAIRS
Our stairs are in a "V" pattern (not straight up and down or spiraled). If you go up the stairs, directly in front of you is our laundry room. It's great having the laundry room upstairs........................no more lugging the baskets up and down the stairs.
The kids' rooms are on the front side of the house. The master bedroom and office/schoolroom are in the back side of the house.
The girls' room (standing in the doorway view).
The girls' room (standing in the closet doorway view).
The girls' room closet. The closets in this house are so big, Pilar turned hers into a reading retreat. Notice the circle/pink chair next to the table. She placed them near the window (yes, this closet has a window behind the door).
Carter's room (from doorway view).
Carter's room (sitting on bed view).
Master bedroom (from doorway view).
Master bedroom (other side view).
Master bathroom (from doorway view). There's a lot of floor space in this bathroom. A Roman tub and separate stand up shower would have been nice.
Master bathroom (other side view).
The girls share a room so that the 4th bedroom can be used as a school room and office. It's worked out great so far.
This is the office, computer schooling and video game side of the 4th bedroom.
This is the interactive / textbook schooling area side of the 4th bedroom.
That's all the pictures of our house. We, also, have a kids/guest full bathroom upstairs and a half bathroom downstairs that I did not photograph. As you can see, we have plenty of room at our house for guests (hint hint).
In March, Pilar turned 11. I can't believe how fast she is growing up. She even babysits for other families now.
Pilar's birthday party (4 views)
Getting ready to rock climb the wall with Caleb, one of her best friends.
3 pregnant women after pizza, soda and cake. The one in the middle had her baby daughter the day after this party.
Pilar opening gifts.
Easter at our house is like a mini Christmas.
Some wonderful ladies at our church held a baby shower for me.
Mary, does this cake look familiar (and appropriate)?
I am so blessed.
Each person presented me with their gift.
This was one of my faves. Hand made by the lady in the above picture.
Dear friends helped me celebrate.
A couple of weeks after my baby shower, I was on my way to the hospital to have Isabel.
Here I am before my c-section.
Isabel shortly after delivery
Being held by her Kuya (big brother) Carter. Look at all that hair!!!
My recovery at home went very well. Grandma ( Chris' mom) came to visit and help out when Isabel was about 2 weeks old.
My little younger brother, Wes, and his girlfriend, Sonja, came to visit their new niece the last week of May. Isabel was 4 weeks old then and already sleeping through the night (6 - 8 hours) ------------- whoo hoo!!!
We visited the Jelly Belly factory and took a tour of the warehouse.
My sweet baby brother.
Isabel (5 weeks old) and Daddy (?? years old).
6 weeks old and already strong
Isabel's first "play date" was with her BFF, Natalee.
At the end of a tiring "play date".
Carter turned 8 in June. My former baby is now a big boy.
Carter's birthday party (3 views) Sorry - I forgot the camera and had to take these with my cell phone.
Pilar and her friend, Summer.
On the 4th of July, we spent Independance Day at the ball park in Milwaukee (Brewers vs. Pirates).
Even little Isabel's outfit was red, white & blue and said, "I Love The U.S.A." on it.
Isabel at 10 weeks old (3 views)
Isabel says, "hello".
The hair just cracks me up.
Isabel thinks the hair is funny, too.
After seeing the Bumbo seat at Isabel's BFF's (Natalee) house, we got one for her.
This seat must be very relaxing.
Oh, so relaxing.
We're at the 3 month mark now. We think our new addition is just beautiful!!
Our friends came and spent an afternoon with us (2 views).
Pilar (and dog, Toby) with her 2 best friends - brothers Caleb and Ezra.
Caleb & Ezra's mom (and my dear friend), Widia, getting her baby fill from Isabel.
Isabel loves her swing (2 views)
Isabel enjoying time with Daddy.
And Daddy enjoying time with Isabel, even as she sleeps.
We spent a week in Indianapolis recently during one of Chris' required trainings.
Having dinner with the sergeant that Chris appointed as his NCOIC (non-commissioned officer in charge) while in Iraq. He was at the trainings, too, but lives in Michigan. It was great spending time with him.
We took the kids to the Indiana State Fair and had a great time!!! (5 views)
My 2 babies were tuckered out the day after the fair. Here they are napping in our hotel room.
This is, definitely, a year for babies. Congratulations to everyone that's been blessed with a new little one. We have about 10 new ones at our church. My side of the family has had 6 so far this year. Below are pictures that I have (not necessarily current pics) of the new family members (Marcel, send me a picture of your new baby).
Savanna was born in mid-April. 
My beautiful cousin, Michele, and her husband, Patrick, are Savanna's proud parents. 
My other cousin (and Michele's brother), Chance, and his wife, Laura, had their daughter, Charley, in May.
My niece, Erika, and her husband, Norm, had their twin boys, Isaac & Samuel, at the end of June.
All of the new babies are adorable!
We hope you enjoyed meeting baby Isabel. We will now leave you with pictures of the 2 things she likes doing the most.
Touching her toes (she's our little monkey girl) .................................... and ...........................................
........................scooting herself around. She pushes her heels on the floor and scoots herself downward. In the picture above, she was at the top of the blanket. Here, she's scooted down to the end.
And here, she's pretty much completely off the blanket. Did you notice, though, that after each time of scooting, she went back to touching her toes?
She uses the scooting technique in the tub, too. She starts at the top of her bath seat, but she'll scoot down to be more submerged in the water.........................as in this picture.
Isabel, also, sleeps in the same position every night and during naps. Here she is after waking up from a nap.
Just takin' it easy. "So long...................................hope to meet you soon."
As you can see, it's been a joy having a new little one. We hope to see you all during our December vacation in Florida. Take care.
I know it's been a while since our last update. So much has been going on. We've been trying to accommodate ourselves to winter up here and from what we've heard, it is the worst winter in years. Just our luck, right!?
We took a trip back to Florida to visit family and friends. We're sorry we did not get the chance to see everyone we wanted, but hopefully next time. It was great spending time with the ones we were able to see. We miss you all, already!!
Our new baby (Isabel Hollie McKinnon) is due at the end of April and we are looking forward to meeting her. We hope you will be able to meet her soon, too.
Here are some of the things that we've been doing since the last blog update.
We visited Cale's (nephew) other grandparents in Michigan for Halloween.
Pilar (Cleopatra), Carter (Spiderman), Cale (scary tree)
The first snow came the evening before Thanksgiving. We were so excited!! The kids just had to go outside and play in it, even at midnight. (3 views)
Carter trying to catch a snowflake on his tongue during the first snow.
Thanksgiving was just our family. We still put on a nice spread.
A couple of weeks later, the 2nd snow came. It's a little heavier than the first.
A few days later, the 3rd snow came. Once the kids had to shovel the driveway, they were over the whole snow thing.
We had to organize a Christmas Luncheon for Chris' unit with very little time and resources. As the Family Readiness Group (FRG) Leader of his unit, I was the spearhead of the event.
Chris with his Commander and First Sargeant
The kids and I at the unit before the luncheon. I'm 20 weeks pregnant here.
Pilar and I sang a duet at our church's Hanging of the Greens ceremony.
My sister, April, and her boyfriend, Corey, at one of Pilar's swim meets.
Our homeschool group coordinator had a wonderful Christmas fellowship at her beautiful house.
Opening gifts at Christmas (3 views).
Chris showing off one of his autographed baseballs that Santa brought him.
Lani modeling the beautiful earrings her sister gave her.
Looks like the kids were happy with these presents. Thank you, Auntie April.
Chris' late father's cousin lives in Chicago. We met her, her son and his daughter downtown at the Navy Pier for Winterfest. (4 views)
Carter tackling the big slide at Winterfest.
Brave Pilar learning to climb with a harness.
At the beginning of January, we started our new school year. The kids do 2 subjects on-line, using the computers, and the rest we use a wonderful curriculum called Heart of Dakota.
Here is our non-computer schooling area.
When we traveled back to Florida for a visit in late January, 2008, my friend, Mary, hosted a baby shower for me at our home church in Florida. Thank you, my friend. It was a wonderful gift. (5 views)
Brother, Ron, taking it all in.
Our beloved church family
Lani and friend, Wray.
The kids enjoying the good eats.
Okay, I've had several requests for belly pictures. Although I do not have any belly pictures to post, Chris tells me that you can't even tell I'm pregnant from behind. I think he's just being sweet. You be the judge. (3 views)
32.5 weeks - backside view
You can sure tell I'm pregnant now.
32.5 weeks - side view
32.5 weeks - front view
The next update will be after the baby is born. Since we moved into our new house back in December, I'll post pictures of the house (outside and inside) on the next blog update. I'll also include baby pics.
Take care. We miss you!!
SPECIAL NEWS - We are expecting!!! 
The baby is due at the end of April, 2008.
Well, I know it's been a while since I've updated our blog, but with the numerous requests for the update (thanks Mary and brother Joel), I couldn't put it off any longer.
We love this area of Illinois. There are a lot of trees and preserves/parks around. We see a lot of wildlife, including deer, skunks, foxes, etc. It's just beautiful! We haven't had to experience a winter yet, so keep us in your prayers.
We've done a lot since we've been here and hopefully the pictures will tell the story. As a side note, our computer crashed and we lost everything on our hard drive, including pictures of some of the things we've done.
When we first arrived in early July, we went house hunting. Below is the picture of the house we had under contract. After about a week, the sellers pulled out of the deal, so this is the only picture I'm posting of that house.
We discovered we were eligible to live in military housing, so that's where we are now. I don't have a picture of the outside of our current house, because they're not that nice looking on the outside. Brand new houses are being built and in November, we'll be moved into a brand new house, and the houses in our current neighborhood will be demolished to make room for more new houses. I'll blog pictures of the new house once we're settled.
Our Living Room - 2 views
Our Dining Room
Master Bedroom
Master Bath
Pilar's Room - she calls it "Shabby Chic Mod"
Carter's Room - 2 views
This view of Carter's room is for Uncle Wes
Guest Room/Nursery - yes that's right, for those of you that missed it above, we're expecting another little one at the end of April, 2008.
We are still a homeschooling family. Below are pictures of the kids schooling via their on-line curriculum "Time4Learning.com". We love this curriculum. Thank you my friend, Mary, for giving us the scoop.
Kids schooling in our family room/schooling area - 2 views
There were quite a few chilly nights in September. Here we are by our fire pit out back - 2 views.
Although we like Carter's new pediatric ophthalmologist, we do miss Dr. Hess. Here we are before leaving for Carter's first appointment with his new eye doctor.
Chris had to attend a Leaders' Conference in Michigan in mid-September, so we went along for a little vacation.
The kids inside our hotel room
Chris and the kids outside the hotel
The kids and I outside the hotel. You can see my little baby bump.
On the ride home from Michigan, we were surprised at how much the leaves were changing in mid-September - 3 views.
This one was taken at the end of September - just beautiful!!!
Downtown Chicago - our new entertainment area
We went to a Padres vs. Brewers baseball game in Milwaukee with our friends. The husband is our chiropractor and his wife is pregnant, too. She's only 4 weeks farther along than me.
From L to R - Chris, Mason, Stephanie and Lani
Chris, Stephanie and Mason outside Miller Park
The kids with Mason and Stephanie at their chiropractic office
My sister came and stayed with us during the weekend and hung out with the kids, so we could go to the baseball game. Thanks Lil' Sis.
April, Carter and Pilar before church
We found a wonderful Christian homeschool support group, called "In Him". We attended a fellowship at the coordinator's house and took a fieldtrip to the Royal Oak Orchard Farm with the other families. We are so blessed to have found this group.
"In Him" homeschool support group moms
From L to R - Lea, Sheila, Becky (holding Abby), Carol, Tamara, Nola (coordinator) and Lani (me)
Pilar picking apples
Carter inspecting his apple
Quinn (friend), Pilar and Carter by the carousel at the orchard farm
Carter in front of the movie teepee
I wasn't able to get back to Florida for my cousin's wedding. My 3 brothers were there and I'm so sad that I missed the chance to see them again. I miss you guys most of all !!! And boy, do I miss our Sibling Revelry band. I've been jonesing to sing/perform, but doubt I'll find that perfect blend again. Thanks for the memories.
My brothers from L to R - Wes, Joel, Ron
My cousin, Chance, and his new wife, Laura - what a handsome couple!! Sorry we weren't able to make the wedding.
Well, that's all we have for now. I'll try to keep the blog updated more frequently (Mary, stop laughing). Please know that we miss all of our family and friends back home or wherever you may be.
Okay, this is our final update of the time that Chris has been home, before our move. I will record the progress of our move and house hunt, which will be the next updated blog (after this one - sometime in the near future).
FAREWELL GET TOGETHER AT THE ANTHONY'S HOUSE Since our church pastor was away with the Youth at camp during our church farewell party, our friends, the Anthonys, threw us a little get together so that our Pastor Ron could say goodbye.
From L to R: Chris, Pastor Ron and Joe
Pilar with Pastor Ron's wife, Lynne
Our family with Pastor Ron and Lynne
Us with Joe and Shirlene Thank you for having us over.
Our family with good friends, Mike and Carla.
GOODBYE TO OUR BASEBALL FRIENDS AT PAISANO'S It was a blessing that we were able to say goodbye to our friends, the Cardalicos and the Hages, from Carter's baseball league. We went to our favorite pizza place, Paisano's. We will miss you guys.
"Coach" Chris and little Chris. This little guy is an awesome baseball player ! !
Cousins - Carter and Cale ........................such cutie cuties!
The girls playing with pizza dough.
Chris with the Hage family. Daddy Hage was a childhood friend of Chris'. What a beautiful family!!
The Whole Gang - McKinnons, Cardalicos and Hages
SAYING GOODBYE TO FRIENDS AT CHICK-FIL-A (my favorite fast food place) It was so nice to be able to spend some time with the Phillips family and my friend, Tarsha and her family. Chick-Fil-A is a great place to hang out if you have kids, with it's cool play area. Although I've gotten a lot better at bringing and using my camera, I'm sorry to say that this was not one of those times. The below picture was the only picture I took and it was done using my cell phone camera. Nevertheless, we will miss all of you, too.
OUR ANNIVERSARY AT ARIGATOS We had another chance to say goodbye to Chris' family and we all went to dinner at Arigatos Japanese Steak House (yum yum) on our anniversary (July 3rd).
Our motley crew. Pilar was spending the night at her cousin's house (Gabrielle).
Again, cousins - Carter and Cale. Hey, these 2 little guys look familiar.
4TH OF JULY AT BROTHER JOEL'S HOUSE And our final event was a cookout at my brother's (Joel) house on 4th of July. Thank you, brother (and Angela, of course), for having us over for one last goodbye. I'll really miss you guys when we're gone.
Chris, Pilar and brother Joel.
Carter says he loves fireworks. Here he is outside watching them.
Chris, Mom, Lani, and Angela (in the kitchen).
Sonja (Wes' girlfriend), brother Wes, and Chris. We'll really miss you guys, too.
From L to R: Joel, Gabrielle, Angela, Carter, Mom, Pilar, Chris, Wes and Lani. Ron was working out of town that day (yes, can you believe, on 4th of July).
Thank you all for being a part of Chris' return home from Iraq. We hope you've enjoyed our family blog thus far. We'll be sure to keep in touch through updates of this blog. Take care and God bless.
Lani
Well, as you can see from my previous blog, week 1 was already pretty eventful. There's still 2 weeks to blog. This is for week 2.
OUR SARASOTA TRIP The day after our Sibling Revelry farewell gig, Chris and I took the kids to Sarasota for a 3 day vacation. We stayed at a hotel on Lido Beach (no, it's not a nude beach anymore). We used to go down there every year for a combination celebration of Carter's birthday and Fathers' Day, but with Chris being gone so much lately, we missed the past 2 years, so we decided to take them back there before the move.
Chris with the kids on the balcony of our room.
Mommy and the kids before dinner. The dinner was awesome!! For anyone interested, the restaurant at the Helmsley Sandcastle hotel on Lido Beach has excellent food and the prices are better than those of the restaurants in St. Armands Circle.
Chris and Lani on the balcony. Look at the beautiful beach in the background. We'll surely miss that.
MCKINNON FAREWELL PARTY AT AZALEA BAPTIST CHURCH Our home church gave us a farewell party during the usual Wednesday night supper and prayer time. This church family has been such a big blessing to us. We will miss you guys more than we know how to express.
Chris with his church cronies.
Carter with his cronies.
Pilar and her patriotic cronies.
Shirlene starting the McKinnon hazing. Just kidding! She actually started a beautiful memory for us by telling the tales of her McKinnon experiences. That led to others standing up, one by one, doing the same thing and thanking us for things we, most likely, learned from them.
Joe, Chris, Shirlene and Lani - what a combination!!
Lani and Tarsha. I'll miss you, my friend.
Lani and her dear friend, Carla. She is a beautiful person, inside and out. Sundays would not have been the same without you, Carla. I'll miss you more than you know.
COOKOUT WITH THE ARNOLD FAMILY Mary is one of my closest friends and I've known her for over 11 years. I watched her kids (4 boys) grow up and we've been through a lot together. Mary says that her husband, Scott, and I are twins (behaviorally speaking). Whenever she wanted to see how Scott would react to something, she would call me and run it by me first. I will miss you, Mary, most of all. Thank you for all the years of support and encouragement you've been so generous to give. I've grown so much just by being your friend. Our whole family has been truly blessed by being friends with your family. We will miss you all.
Lani and her best friend, Mary.
Mary, Scott and their oldest son, Brandon. Brandon, you've grown up to be an amazing young man.
From L to R: Carter, Jacob, Pilar, Seth and Colton......................friends forever !!
FAREWELL PARTY AT CHRIS' MOM'S HOUSE Chris' mom and stepdad, Melody and Sam, were very generous and threw us a farewell party at their house. We were so blessed to have friends and family come over to spend time with us. Usually, I'm really bad at remembering to take out my camera and use it, but I came up with a system to take pictures of the guests as they left. That way, I could get them all. It was great seeing everyone that came over. We will miss you all.
Us with the Foster family.
With cousin Charlotte and Aunt Martha
Carter teaching Hallie how to play a Nintendo DS game.
With the Wheaton family.
With the Janarone family (minus Pat, who left before we could take his picture).
With Chris' mom, Melody, and the Bradys.
With Chris' sister, Karen, her husband, Mike and their granddaughter, Hallie.
With my brother, Wes, and his girlfriend, Sonja.
Chris' high school friend, Lee, and his beautiful girlfriend, Lana. No need to pay attention to the cronies sitting at the table. LOL
Us with another one of Chris' high school friends, Darin - better known as D-Mo (also one of the cronies above).
With our childhood friend, Billy (although he goes by Bill now).
With our nephew, Mike (AKA "Big Mike"), and his girlfriend, Danielle.
The more I work on our family blog, the more I tend to reminisce. Us moving away is starting to hit me harder and harder each day. Our friends and family have been so important to us. You all are irreplaceable ! ! !
Lani
It's been over a year, but Chris has returned home safely from Iraq. We are so happy to have him home. He's healthy and handsome as ever !!! Since we are preparing for our move to Illinois, we've had 3 whirlwind weeks of vacationing, visiting family and friends, and of course...................packing.
This blog includes the events of our first week. I will send updated blogs of the following weeks' events separately. Enjoy!!
CARTER'S 7th BIRTHDAY PARTY We picked Chris up from the airport at 5:00pm in Tampa and headed straight to Carter's birthday party in St. Petersburg, which started at 6:15pm. At least Carter was able to have his daddy home for his birthday.
Daddy Chris with Carter and Pilar
Lani happy to have Chris home
Chris' mom happy to have him home, too
Carter analyzing the cake.
And here he blows....................................
Wow!! He likes this present.
Chris with the Cardalicos
Lani's little brother, Wes. That's Uncle Wes to Pilar and Carter.
My dear friend, Mary, playing her hubby (Scott) at air hockey.
Scott, seeing how the game is supposed to be played.
Carter's cousin, Gabrielle. What a cutie cutie!!
The kids doing the limbo.
Simon Says..............................sleep.
OUR FAMILY TRIP TO DISNEY We promised to take the kids to Disney World and since we are moving to Illinois, now was the time to do it. The kids were excited, although, us parents weren't really looking forward to standing in long lines during the Florida summer. It, actually, turned out to be a lot of fun. We had a great time!!
The kids are so happy to have Daddy home!!! This is in our hotel room in Kissimmee.
Carter actually took time away from Daddy to take a picture with his mommy.
Our first stop was Animal Kingdom
Mommy and the kids in the conservation area.
Pilar brushing a cow.
Carter brushing a goat.
Mommy and the kids with our friends, Rafiki and Jimeny Cricket.
Near a big dinosaur print
Our next stop was Magic Kingdom.
Of course, this military family had to visit the Hall of Presidents.
The kids and their daddy, again.
And...............with their mommy.
SIBLING REVELRY'S FAREWELL GIG Due to my moving to Illinois, our brother-sister band had our final gig during the first week Chris returned home. It was nice to have a place where all of our friends and family could come out to say hello and goodbye to Chris/us.
Lani singing with brother, Joel, playing the drums.
Family and friends came out to enjoy the show.
Chris and his family.
The Sibling Revelry fan club.
I am planning to keep everyone updated on our move and house hunt, too, so be looking for our upcoming blogs.
Take care,
Lani
I just set up our family blogger. For those of you that really know me, blogging/journaling is not my thing. I grew up with 3 brothers and was like one of the guys, so it would be like one of my brothers blogging or journaling...............just doesn't really fit. One of my dearest friends suggested that I start a blogger since my family and I will be moving to the Chicago area soon. She reminded me that this would be a good way to keep the friends and family we would be leaving behind, informed of our new lives. I thought this one could be the launch of our new family blog. Whether I blog every week, month, or just sporadically, I will try to use this as a tool to keep in touch. Thank you my dear friend, Mary, for showing me that the people we love and that love us, may want to know how we are doing and continue to be a part of our lives.
CHURCH PICNIC
Our church picnic was earlier today. As usual, the kids and I had a lot of fun. We love our church family. For anyone that knows me, I often forget to bring my camera. Or, when I do bring my camera, I often forget to take it out and use it. Well, true to form, that was the case today, as well. I forgot to bring my camera. But instead of having nothing to show for it on the launch of our new family blog, I attached pictures of a previous church picnic (Nov. 2005), when I did remember to bring my camera.
Our Pastor Ron
Pilar telling a joke
Carter imitating the dinosaur
Suzanne, Lani & kids on the swing