Christmas

In Which We Are Floridians Again

The biggest news from the past two weeks is that we are finally in our new home in Palm Coast, Florida!

We took three days to drive here. The first night we stayed in Kentucky at the home of a couple from Brian’s mission. Brian taught the husband the discussions. We had a great visit and experienced some southern hospitality.

The hospitality continued upon our arrival in Palm Coast. We stayed for a few days at the home of the publisher of the paper’s in-laws. They were out of town and let us use their condo. When we got there the fridge was stocked and there were snacks waiting. It was really great.

Our truck arrived and delivered all of our belongings, including a few items we accidently stole from Brian’s parents. Luckily they will be coming to visit and bringing a few things that we accidently left there.

Jackson started school on Wednesday. He was excited and has adjusted really well. He now takes the bus which he loves doing and when I asked him what his favorite part of Kindergarten was he said, “Having gym outside.” It’s full-day kindergarten here and he has to take a lunch. I asked him how that went and all he said was that it was really loud, so loud he couldn’t hear the TVs they have there. Bummer.

Grant has adjusted pretty well. Among all the boxes he has been potty-training. He’s doing great and I am thrilled to only have 1 in diapers. He keeps saying that he wants to go to the sledding hill by Grandma McMillan’s house, though. But then I send him outside to ride his bike in our screened porch and all thoughts of the snow disappear.

Brian’s job is going great. He’s meeting lots of people and receiving lots of support from the community. I have started to work as well. I will be laying out the newspaper from home. I’m really excited to have a big project and help bring in a little extra money. I’m not sure that Brian is as excited about playing mom when I’m working, though.

This afternoon we took a walk on Flagler Beach. It was windy, so the waves were crashing. I really love water. Jackson kept walking up to the water and then running away from the waves and squealing with glee. He stayed dry for a little while, but eventually his rolled up jeans got wet, too. He had a blast. The sand there was really weird. There are lots of broken shells that stick to your feet. You literally have to scrap them off. We’ve heard there are other beaches that don’t do that; maybe we’ll try there next time.

For homework, Jackson has to read a book to us. The first two books were very easy and he read them in about 10 seconds. Friday, he came home with a 54-page chapter book. The assignment was to read 4-5 pages a day and bring it back when he was all done. He finished it this evening. So 18 pages a day instead.

Our new home!

Sledding

In Which Oreo Hits Grant

Brian finished his classes this week. His last day was Wednesday and we’ve enjoyed having him available more. He has to administer a final this Wednesday but it should be pretty easy.

This upcoming week, Jackson will be the Star Student in his Kindergarten class. Because of that, he got to bring home a stuffed panda named Oreo for the weekend. We had to take some pictures of him having an “adventure” with the panda—so they went sledding. Plus we got some cute pictures out of the deal.

Jackson hit Grant one day this week. As we were putting Jackson in timeout he kept repeating that it wasn’t him it was Oreo. He sounded like he actually believed that Oreo could make decisions.

We started an obedience chart this week. The boys have done a great job. For their reward of finishing the chart they got to pick out a toy from the dollar store. Jackson picked out a rubber football tee that he said was only for rubber footballs. Grant got a Pixar Cars stamp set. Hopefully we’ll get to go again this week.

Update

In Which Our Lives Revolve Around Elizabeth

Ellie had her one month check up this week. She gained one pound and grew one and a half inches in just a few weeks, this put her in the 30^th percentile, dropping from the 50^th. I thought it was great—she finally passed her birth weight. The doctor, however, didn’t agree with me. She said she hoped to see Ellie back up into the 50^th. I had to explain to her that the 30^th was a record for my kids—they’re just really skinny.

The boys are enjoying having a little sister. Grant asks to hold her a lot and he asks multiple times a day, “Can I say hi to my baby sister?” Jackson just looks and her and grins. But they still haven’t shown any hint of jealousy towards her for all the time I have to spend holding her.

Grant was asleep in our room one night this week. Elizabeth was fussy, which usually doesn’t wake up any of the 3 McMillan boys. Grant rolled over and said, “Can you just feed her?” then rolled over and went back to sleep. He’s learning quickly how to quiet her.

Thanksgiving with Cousins, Eliza and Alayna