Quite a bit has been going on since I wrote last. I should really keep up better so that I am not always playing catch up. It seems fitting that my last post was on patience and blessings, this post should relate well to that.
Let's sum up; We went to Utah to be with family for Easter, as well as have the rest of the family in Utah meet Millie. Unfortunately on the way home we were involved in an accident that totalled our truck and damaged the piano that I finally had the courage to move up to Montana (luckily nobody was really injured). Chris' troops showed their love with a gift card for dinner and a date night, babysitter included (thanks Silsley). Duncan got his first set of stitches (probably the first of many) right down the middle of his forehead. We had our first yard sale in our first home (it only took us three years after buying our first home). Chris received a HUGE (and hopefully fairly temporary) promotion at work. We are finally seeing spring in great falls. Millie had her four month old check up. A new McDonald boy was added to the family, on my birthday! Apparently we survived the Apocalypse, or at least nobody that I know was taken, and May isn't even close to over yet.
So starting from the top... Utah and Easter.
We debated about going to Utah for Easter for a while. It was a good trip. We thought it would be important to go down for Millie's first Easter. We thought she was going to be blessed while we were down there, but with it being Easter weekend and family wanting to wait until later for the rest of the McDonald clan, it got pushed back. Not a really big deal. I just hope that we are able to do it soon. She is going to be nearly six months old by the time it happens, if it happens, on the weekend of Courtni's farewell. We also thought it would be important for grandparents to meet miss Millie before she got to big. That didn't completely happen either. Great Grandma and Grandpa McDonald didn't want us to come over for fear that the baby would catch something. To be honest, NOTHING about the trip felt right. Don't get me wrong, I know that attitude is 90% of the battle. We really did try to have a good attitude through it all, but from the moment we decided the trip was set it felt wrong, to both of us. Next time we will listen to that little voice I think. I was going to start listing off the things that went wrong, but it just makes it sound ten times worse than it actually was. There were a few things that were really nice. My grandma and Aunt Robbie did get to meet Millie... as well as Pat and Jeri. We were able to go to Church with family for Easter, and it was a really nice service. Duncan LOVED decorating and finding eggs! Duncan had fun at the dinosaur museum and got to "make" his own fossil, and a mess, as well as drill a real fossil out of a rock. He calls them his "rock collection." Granny and Gramps got to meet Millie and see Duncan. I was getting to bring back my piano. The trip overall wasn't a bad one. We did re-think our priorities with it, and learned quite a bit from our experiences. For instance, it is much harder to travel with TWO kids in a car =)
Our car accident, still sucks. From the beginning, Chris needed to cut our trip a little short because of a volunteer thing he organized for work. He and some other troops that volunteered were supposed to help with the city's Maypril cleanup project. Chris tried to get questions answered from people over the phone every day of our trip and was never able to get the right person or all of the info he needed. To make a long story short, Chris decided that we needed to be In Great Falls by mid afternoon on Friday so that he could talk to some people at work in person about the project. We were going to leave late on Thursday night, however, nothing went completely right on Thursday and we decided to get some sleep and leave early in the morning. We had pretty good weather until, well, Montana really. It was still okay until we hit Helena and the snow started to get heavy. It didn't start to stick until we had already headed into the canyons, figures. If we had been thirty minutes earlier or later we would have missed it completely. We didn't though. Snow + Trailer + Hill + Bridge + Other big trucks on the roads = crash in our case. We were really so SO blessed that it wasn't worse. It could have been SOOOO much worse. I don't think that I can describe it to be honest. We SHOULD have gone off that bridge. Neither one of us can figure out how we didn't. Talking about it together Chris and I both realized that we closed our eyes because we thought that we were already falling. It was SCARY. Even the people who witnessed it told us that they thought for sure that it would end much worse. Looking at the pictures of the truck, it really doesn't look all that bad. The front end is really all that looks damaged (and inside where the air bags went off). I remember having to turn the truck off, it didn't cut off by itself with the impact. We knew immediately that the truck was a total loss, but when we went back to the lot to get things out it didn't look as bad as I thought it would. There was a little glimmer of hope that they would be able to save it. No dice though. I am still just So So grateful that we weren't really hurt. The kids didn't have a scratch or a bruise, and Chris and I were just sore from seat belts and airbags. To add insult to injury, they canceled Maypril cleanup due to weather, they called us about an hour before the accident to let us know.
We started to look at vehicles. We even went to a couple of dealerships and such looking at certain kinds. In the end Chris decided that becoming a one car family and taking care of some other priorities was the best decision for our family. I am hopeful that it will work out for us. I will admit that I am disappointed that I will no longer have a vehicle, but in the end I should be able to get what I WANT without having to settle for what I need. I just have to have some of that patience that I talked about earlier, and remember to keep smiling even when I don't want to.
In the wake of our car accident and all the changes that were going on at work and at home, Chris' troops rallied together for him. They got together and sent us on a date night. It was really sweet. They even thought about how we would react to a babysitter and did everything in their power to make sure we would agree to it. It was so nice. I am not so sure that John will ever want to babysit for us again, let alone have another child. I guess that Millie was not so pleasant for him. I hope that they know how much we appreciate them and even the fact that they would think of us like that. They are a pretty amazing group of friends and co-workers.
The weekend after Easter we went to Church at our own ward, finally. It had been a while. We were running a little late and decided that it might be better to spend it outside the chapel since Ducky was wound up and Millie was a little fussy. When the meeting was over Chris and I were chatting with some friends outside the coat closet. Duncan, still wound up for some reason, was going in and out of the doorway playing. Being the clumsy McDonald child that he is, he managed to trip on his way in, and hit the metal door frame square on with his head. It turned into nearly half an hour in the bathroom at the church, followed by a few hours waiting to be seen in the ER. Chris was called by work in the middle of it and told that the troops were all on standby for something that was NOT an exercise, and so took Millie home with him to get her out of the ER so she wouldn't catch something, and so that he could get changed to go into work if he needed to. Duncan was such a trooper for the stitches, five total. He was more scared of the people that tied him down, and the fact that his face had to be covered on top of that. He didn't cry for the actual stitches, but instead kept telling himself to take a deep breath and asking me if he was okay. It was heart breaking, but I was so proud of him. For a two year old that was pretty impressive. Later that night we found why Chris was put on alert... American troops had finally Found, and killed Osama Bin Laden. Declaring a small victory in the war against terror. So it was a memorable day on more than one account.
The yard sale was pretty fun. I was a little, okay a lot, nervous about it. I knew that it was supposed to rain. I didn't have as much done for it and organized as I should have. I still had a Uhaul trailer in my garage the night before. I am not to fond of crowds, or strangers, or chaos... I could go on, but then you wouldn't believe me when I write that I really did have fun. It was a nerve grinding experience for me, but I met a new friend out of it, and we all made a little bit of money while getting rid of stuff that we didn't need or want anymore. Not to bad. The new friendship by itself was worth it. Despite the rain we had a pretty good turnout and by mid morning it was a beautiful day. Everyone had things left over the first Saturday and since it was already priced and in our garage we just decided to do it again the next weekend too. It was only Sara and me in the morning the second time around. But it was better organized and we got to know each other a little better. The group of us that got together for it have quite a bit more in common that I would have thought. I hope that we can get together more often. Though I am sure that they all think I am a pretty big ditz after the first weekend. Lack of sleep, stress over the car situation, Duncan's stitches coming out, rain, and an infant kept me distracted from what I was doing all day. I know that at least Dana thinks that I can't count or be trusted with money. hehe. Hopefully they all understand that is not my "normal" function but rather my "survive pleasantly around company" brain function. Not to mention that I was really trying not to shy away from everyone (did I mention I don't do crowds or strangers well, and for a successful yard sale you need both). I am really glad that I didn't cancel and back out of it though. I need to start doing more with lots of other people or Duncan and Millie are never going to get the experiences that I want them to have.
Chris' promotion... deep breath. It is kinda complicated and VERY unexpected. Chris' shop has a few people in charge. I can't keep them straight most of the time, and it has a lot to do with the fact that it is split into sections which is split into other sections, and both Military and Civilian co-workers. In a nut shell, his civilian boss is moving. Chris thought that another one of the civilians in one of the sections would take her place, or that his Master Sergeant or an officer would take it. Turns out they all WANTED him to take the position. He found out about his jump in responsibility a few days before it went into effect. I think he is still a little shell shocked about it. Basically he went from being an office supervisor to being the program manager. Lots more responsibility, but because he is military and his pay is based on rank, which is on it's own schedule, he doesn't get the raise in pay. Sucks. I am so very proud of him though. I think that he is pretty proud about it too. I am sure he is a little nervous about being thrown into his new role and the HUGE jump that it took. But hopefully confidence will win out until he gets the hang of it. By then there might be a replacement. lol
Spring has finally sprung in Montana. It took a long LONG time to get here. I didn't let myself think that it was spring until flowers started to pop up and trees started to bud. That didn't happen until week before last. It is still really rainy. One of my friends phrased it pretty well...--April snow brings May rain, brings June flowers in Montana--. Seems pretty true though. It seems that my nemesis (the rhubarb plant) has exploded over the last few days. It started with just a tiny sprig and one lone leaf just last week. It is now three feet across and two tall. I have given up on trying to get rid of it. I have tried something new every year that we have lived here. Last year I dug it up and poured weed killer all over the area... to no avail. The plant wins. I have decided that I shall instead take care of it. That is how all of my other plants die. hehehe. Our little family really needed the sunshine and warmer weather. Duncan is such an outdoor kid. Even when it is pouring rain outside he is trying to sneak on his boots and go outside. He has found a stick that is now his precious. He has a million and a half toys out there, and prefers 'his stick' to all of them. Even Millie has spent some time with bare feet in the grass. I am looking forward to this insurance mess being over with so that I can plan out and start the garden and flowers that I want. I don't want to start in on the work until I know what I can afford to plant in the areas. I hate weeding, and therefore don't want to start until I can finish. This weekend is a holiday, so maybe we will be able to get the bushes torn out of the front yard while Chris is off. It is so nice to see and hear the birds and the sunshine. Even in the rain my spirits are lifted. It was a long winter.
Millie had her four month check up. She is doing great. She weighs 12lbs (13.5 on our scale) and measures 25 inches. She is in the 23rd percentile for weight. The 75th percentile for height. and the 25th percentile for head size. She is right on track with her brother for everything. I am hoping that she wont have the same weight issues. but Chris was tall and skinny as a rail growing up, so I am not to terribly worried about it. She did NOT do well for shots though. I have never heard her scream like that. The last shots were bad, but they don't hold a candle to this scream. Poor baby. It took fifteen minutes just to get her calmed down enough to take a bottle, and another fifteen to get her back to sleep after she went in her car seat to go home. I am going to have to get a sitter for Duncan next time we go. He did great for me, but that is asking for a lot for a two year old to wait patiently for. I am pretty sure that it was killing him by the time we actually got to leave.
The McDonald clan welcomed it's newest member to the world. Isaac Lynn McDonald was born to Nathan and Melissa McDonald at 4am on May 20th (my birthday, yay). He weighed in at 9lbs. and 9oz. with a head size of 34cm. He is beautiful. They had some pictures done at the hospital and posted a link to them. He is all cheeks. It took the proud parents a while to decide on the perfect name for him. They announced his name as Otis Jay on facebook, but I guess it was an inside joke that we weren't in on. Curtis (Chris' dad) has declared that he is going to call him Jimmer, Chris wants to continue to call him Otis or OJ, and Duncan cant seem to get the whole name out, so he is Ike. I hope that the new parents aren't easily offended, and know that we are excited and love him, come the end of June when we go down to meet him. I can't guarantee that the other names wont stick around for a while.
On another bright note, the world didn't end. The second coming and Apocalypse was conjectured for 6pm on the 21st of May 2011. We weren't raptured, and don't know anyone who was. I guess that we will have another chance in December of next year. I am not to worried about it. I am pretty sure that I read in the bible that --we do not know the time or the day that Our Lord and Savior will come-- He will come like a thief in the night...-- I am sure that there are a few others phrases in there too, but those ones seem to pop to mind first. Guess we will have to just keep on keeping on the best that we can until we get our turn to stand before him.
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