Mack Academy Weblog

This afternoon, the girls and I set up a webcam in the living room so that we can share our Christmas tree with you.


Our Christmas Tree as of 12/24/01 4:30 PM


Posing for one last photo as of 12/24/01 8:50 PM


Christmas Morning 12/25/01 7:55 AM

Wendy decided to record the classic story, "The Night Before Christmas" to share with the family.

12/21/01 12:15 PM:  Well, we did not get the 15" of snow we expected last night; however, we did get enough snow to have some fun. So, once the morning chores were done, Amy & Wendy, Emily & Kelly headed for the back yard to build the first snowman of the year.  They are very proud of their accomplishment. Be sure to check back often as the web cam will update every five minutes.

12/21/01 5:30 PM  Well, it has been a bit warmer this afternoon and Frosty has lost some of his frost.... Keep checking back as we don't know how long Frosty will stick around. Not sure what you will see the next time... You might see improvements being made to Frosty, nothing, or you might see Frosty in liquid form.


Frosty and Friends - Photo taken 12/21/01 12:22 PM


Frosty The Snowman as of 12/21/01 12:22 PM


Frosty The Snowman in liquid form as of 12/22/01 3:30 PM

This afternoon, our family decided to put together a CD of some of our favorite Christmas Songs. There's even a surprise patriotic song from little Kelly Marie, age two. We asked her to sing "Away in a Manger" and she launched into the full version of "God Bless America."

With songbooks in hand we sat down around the table and recorded the songs for the CD. It's not very fancy - just songs from the heart. We had a lot of fun making the CD between takes, double takes, and outtakes.

Here's what we recorded on the CD:

Introduction (Eric)
Joy To The World (Emily, Wendy, Amy)
Away In A Manger (Kelly & Mommy)
Away In A Manger (Kelly)
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day (Amy)
Angels We Have Heard On High (Eric & Kathy)
Jingle Bells (Kelly, Emily, Amy, Wendy)
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (Amy, Wendy, Daddy)
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Wendy, Amy, Daddy)
Oh Come All Ye Faithful (Emily, Amy, Wendy)
Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem (Wendy & Amy)
The First Noel (Wendy & Amy)
We Three Kings (Wendy, Amy, Daddy)
Hark the Herald Angels Sing (Amy & Wendy)
Silent Night Holy Night (Emily, Amy, Wendy)
Twas The Night Before Christmas (Read by Wendy)
Closing (The Mack Family & Lassie)
God Bless America (Surprise song by Kelly Marie, Age 2)

The following video file to the right, is a 1.6 megabyte video of the girls singing at our Christmas play. To view it, right-mouse-click on the file and download it to your desktop. Then, double-click on the file to play it. You will need to have a RealMedia player on your computer to watch the video.

Today, the girls sang in our local Homeschool Christmas play.

This month we were able to make one of my dreams come true - we purchased annual passes to Disneyland! This is something that I have wanted to do since I was a little girl, and it was well worth it, as our family was able to "pop" down to Disneyland several times over the next year.  


The Mack sisters, enjoying a break in New Orleans Square

Disneyland at Christmas is something special.  The weather is cool, the decorations are beautiful, and there is an even happier spirit in the air.