Wow! That was a much longer break than we meant to take. :)
A few things have happened since you last heard from us: we packed our apartment in Belfast, moved to Michigan, and put Jackson in the hospital the night we arrived. He'd been fighting a cold for several weeks, and his breathing had become so labored that his oxygen level was at 85%. Thankfully, after some very good care by some very caring doctors and nurses, he was out of the hospital in less than 48 hours, and Thanksgiving was only delayed by 2 days. The up side of his sickness was that Lori's parents came to Michigan for a grand Bird-McVay Thanksgiving (In reality, though, all anyone cared about was Jackson. Well, Jackson and pie...).
Jeff started his time at our new church, and is doing great, in spite of feeling a bit overwhelmed (as you do at the start of any new job). The people here are fantastic, and have taken brilliant care of us these past several weeks.
Now, on to the good stuff: namely, Jackson's first Christmas!
The week before Christmas was soooooo cold because
We had to get ready to see Santa Claus!
His shirt was quite funny, but his beard was real;
And he gave me a suit with real Claus appeal.
Then on Christmas morning, to my great surprise,
He left me some presents that were just the right size!
Needless to say, it was a great Christmas! All the grandparents and great-grandparents were able to see Jackson, which made us really happy, since it also meant a break from diaper duty for a few days.
In coming weeks, we'll be sharing with you joys of a different kind: teething, snow and ice storms, visitors, and maybe some progress on that dusty ol' Ph.D....
