Ethan Videos

He might not be a dancing fool yet, but isn't he perfect?....

In this corner, weighing in at 8 lbs 5 ounces and 19 inches of length....Ethan, the Big Easy McLaughlin!!!

We know that this is what you really wanted to see....

Labor of Love...at Least After the Epideral

Friday morning the hospital called at 5 o'clock and told us to come in for our induction. The pitocin was flowing by 8am. 6 hours and 1 epidural later Ethan came into the world. There was active pushing for about 30 minutes. The nurse had me stop for awhile because she didn't want to deliver the baby. The experience was nothing short of a miracle. I'm amazed at my body and all that it is able to do. Derek was an amazing support and I could not have done it without him! The nurses were so wonderful and really helped make it an amazing experience.

A day late...

First of all, a disclaimer. I do not mean to sound preachy, because that makes me feel like a hypocrite. I have made enough mistakes in my life that I think I have been banned from the pulpit and the help columns. If you agree with the aforementioned statements, you may proceed. If not, please leave. Thank you.
Yesterday, I sat in church and listened to the standard Easter talks. The last speaker stood with about three minutes left in the meeting. He began with the question of why do we love holidays? He talked about Christmas and Thanksgiving and about how much fun it is to be with family and eat a lot of food. He then asked, why isn't Easter one of our favorite holidays? Easter is a celebration of the most important event in the history of the world. It is the celebration of the culmunation of the earthly ministry of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. While Christmas is wonderful for celebrating the birth of the Lord, Easter is the time to celebrate his crowning act of love, the atonement...victory over sin and death. Is there anything greater than this?
I have thought about this a lot. We love Easter for the spring. We dress in pastels like we dress babies to show re-birth. We love the legthening days and the warmth that signals the end of another winter. We should celebrate Easter for the re-birth in our own lives. We should celebrate Easter as the opportunity that we have to leave our personal winters of sadness and sin and enjoy the warmth of the atonement. We should celebrate Easter through our testimonies of the risen Lord. While it is popular to say that we should keep Christmas in our hearts all year long, would we not be better served by keeping the message of Easter in our hearts all year long?
May the Lord bless and keep you. Happy Belated Easter!!!

Pics of the New Apartment

Our living room



The new kitchen



Thanks for the changing table, Nana!



Too cute, thanks Aunt Megan



This is Ethan's new pad...Thanks for the crib grandpa Steve!

And thank you to all those who helped us move in. Josh, Brian, Donnie, Mom, and Dad. Thank you so much. Sorry about the third floor apartment....

We've got gas problems....

So we found this great place in Pleasant Grove. We were so excited to move in. So we did. On Friday we called the utility companies to change the accounts to our names. The gas company explained that there would be no problem and that the service would be continuous. Clearly, this wasn't the case (otherwise, I wouldn't write about it). So, unbeknownst to us, but knownst to the gas company, service would be interrupted, and it was. So the gas company sent one of their minions out to our apartment to shut off the gas. They were successful. So we went along as normal. We ran the dishwasher, showered, and did other things that require hot water. Suddenly or rather gradually, the hot water ran out and didn't come back. I looked at the water heater and noticed that the pilot light was out. So we called our landlords and they eventually came over while we were out and they called and said that they got the light lit. That wasn't true either! We got home to no hot water. So we called the gas company again, and we learned that they aren't open on Saturdays, which means they aren't open on Sundays too. Luckily, mom and dad were in Mexico, we went to their condo and crashed there. So we had this great apartment, but got to stay in the condo for a few more days.
So on Monday, Emily called the gas company...again. This time they were open and said that they would send someone out to cut the zip-tie on the gas valve, but they wouldn't turn the gas on. They told Emily that a qualified person had to turn the gas on. So Emily posed the obvious question, who is more qualified than the gas company to turn on the gas? Apparently, they are not. So my nine month pregnant wife went out into the cold (while I was at work...I'm not an animal!) and became a qualified person. So I guess the message of this blog is that if your gas gets turned off, call Emily. She's qualified to handle all kinds crises. Really, give her a call.

A Tribute to the Origional Mack

As we begin this blog, we realize that we would be remiss without first recognizing the influences that have led to the generation of this blog. And so we honor the OG Mack, Huggy Bear...past and present.

Getting Started

I felt the pressure from Aunt Lynn and have started my own blog. Hopefully I won't bore you guys too much, if so, Baby Ethan will be here soon and he can entertain us!