Family Updates

I know it's been quite a while since our last family update, so here it goes. On April 3rd I had a hysterectomy because my uterus was prolapsing. Mom McDonald was kind enough to come out and help with the children while I was recovering. Jake was also able to take off from work, to ensure I got enough rest. Things are now more or less healed and back to normal.

Unfortunately, while I was in the hospital my grandmother, Mrs. Claire Murray passed away from complications with pneumonia. She was cremated and we had a grave side burial service for her at Christ Church in Pomfret, CT. I went up for the service and left the kids in care of a babysitter. I played my flute at the service, and only managed to make a few mistakes due to emotional turmoil. There was a dog present and that was perfect for my Grandma.

Otherwise I've just been busy being a Mom. I did manage to plant my first herb and vegetable garden this year. It all seems to be growing well and we've just started enjoying the fruits of my labors. Jake was kind enough to build me 3 huge garden boxes that make the whole thing easier. They keep the weeds to a minimum and require less bending and reaching on my part.

Anyway, enough about me. On to Jacob, who packed up and headed off to Drill Sergeant School. He'll be there from June 9th to August 13th. On his way down to the school at Fort Jackson in Columbia, SC his mustang's engine died. He left the car at the shop and continued on in a rental car. I the drove down two days later, sold the mustang for scrap and found a new vehicle for Jake in Columbia. We are now the proud owners of an '02 Mercury Mountain. Haven't heard of it, well it's built sided by side with and is essentially the same car as the Ford Explorer.

Other than the trying trip down to SC Jacob is doing well. He is scoring high, and taking it one day at a time. Although we never would have chosen for Jake to become a Drill Sergeant, it will have some advantages for Jake's career. It ensures his promotion to E-7 down the road and gives him additional training that will count towards college credit. So we are reluctantly preparing to move to Columbus, GA at the end of September. It's not that we have anything against Columbus; so much as we love it here in Fayetteville and know we'll be returning here once his two years as a Drill Sergeant is over. However; it will be nice to be only an hour or so from Collin and Sara in Atlanta.

We are looking forward to this weekend as Jake gets a three day break for the 4th of July. The kids are hyped up waiting for him to arrive tonight. The kids are all doing really well. James finished kindergarten and will now tell you he is a first grader. With that he also was able to start Tiger Scout in the Cub Scout program. We went on a family camp out where he received his first award for placing flags in the cemetery for Veteran's Day. He received his second award for a Nature Walk we did with the Boy Scout Council in this area.

Mikey loves that all the Tiger Scout activities are family friendly, as he thinks he's one of the boys. Mikey loves all things active from swimming in our pool, to playing on Fort McDoanld, climbing trees, camping, or just plain running around. He has soooo much energy!

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Evey isn't as excited about all Mikey's adventures, but is right in the thick of all the "boy" things. She still loves her princess dresses and changes her outfit 2-3 times a day. Thank goodness for good thrift store finds! I don't feel as bad when she comes in from outside with grass stains and dirt all over. I've also learned that dollies, barbies, and ponies wash too.

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Stephen has no idea that he is the baby of the group. He believes he can do anything the big kids do. He is very small for his age, but quite inventive in compromising for his short stature. We love hearing his 10 or so words, and are often encouraging him to speak more, but in this crowd it is hard to get a word in edgewise. Stephen loves to sit and "type" at the computer so he wants to put his two cents in now:

dddnjnnnddndssdsdsssssdsdmsdksks,mm. lddvf rg lflfll

Well there you have it. I hope that this update finds you and yours whole and well. I'm not sure if I'll get another update out before we move, but will definitely post our new address as soon as I have it. We miss you all.

Craziness in the McDonald Family Life

So it's been quite awhile since I updated. Where to begin...kids?... well James is doing well in Kindergarten. He is reading now! It's hard to imagine my little guy so grown up. We have run into some problems with him containing all his energy, but thanks to creative teachers he is still doing well.

Michael is my very busy boy, into everything, and constantly running. He loves his Thomas the Tank Engines and has now horded all of them & their tracks/accessories up to his room. We are still having a few issues with his speech, but are diligently doing speech therapy 2 times a week. In addition we are still having some potty training issues... doesn't want to do #2 in the toilet. Any suggestions? We've tried bribing him with new trains, and that isn't even a big enough motivation to try.

Evelyn is also a little behind on the toilet training, but a much more willing participant in the process with random successes that end in great praise and barbie dolls. Our little "princess" has become very adamant that she is into all things girly... changing her princess dress 2-3 times a day, playing with dolls, barbies, and ponies, but most often roll playing in dressup clothes. Her constant talking & illustrating her imaginations has resulted in a rapid increase in her speech and although we are continuing with therapy she is now at an age appropriate level.

Stephen has transformed from a baby to a toddler practically over night. He is now running around, climbing on chairs, drinking from a regular cup, and interacting with the people around him. He loves to be chased and tickled. He also is good at saying Dada, Momma, No, Uh-O, Ames (James), Byebye, Eveee (Evy), Myyy (Mikey), and a string of unintelligible words as well. He has gotten over the fear of Mommy leaving, but still cries when his Aunt Terri walks away.

Now onto Jake and I. Well, I went into planning mode for Halloween, putting on both the PTA school Harvest Party, and our Ward's Trunk or Treat. Then it was onto the Christmas Party for our Ward, which ended up being a combined ward party themed First Night in Bethlehem. It was a tremendous success, but a lot of time and effort went into the production. Once we were past that we commenced building Fort McDonald in our back yard for the kid's Christmas present. Thankfully Grandma and Grandpa Stephens came for a Christmas visit and helped us make Fort McDonald a reality.

Once the chaos of the Holidays in general ended I took a short break and just planned the twins & Jake's birthday party. They enjoyed their 4 year party at the Fayetteville Children's Museum.

After the birthdays Jake took off for Fort Meade, MD to do his Phase 2 BNCOC which is his E-6 military training for 3 weeks. While he was there I started planning our ward's Hoe Down and Chili cook off for March 7th - I'll let you know how it goes. I left the children with our sitter and went up to Maryland for Jake's graduation. We spent Valentines weekend on our own at the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, and Washington DC.

It was so nice to visit our Nation's capital, national monuments, and the Smithsonian without little ones in tow. I love our children, but this was our first weekend away from them and it was a nice break.

So that pretty much sums up our family's activities since August. Future events include Jake going to Drill Seargent's Training for 2 months and then our family moving to Fort Benning - Columbus, GA at the end of September. It will be our next great challenge and adventure. Currently the plans include 2 years of Jake being a Drill Seargent and then we'll return to Fort Bragg and our Fayetteville Home.

So keep our family in your prayers and we'll do the same for you. Best Wishes, Elizabeth