Merry Christmas

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas.

Love, The Millers

Catch Up

The Miller family traveled up to Indiana for Christmas vacation. The first three days were more like a nightmare as we sat in traffic for a total of 18 hours. Next time we'll pay closer attention to the weather and hopefully avoid blizzard conditions.

Mackenzie enjoyed Christmas more than ever this year. She woke up everyone in the house with a sweet Merry Christmas that sounded more like "Hairy Hismass." Mac was in no hurry to open up gifts and insisted on playing with each new toy before moving on to the next.

I tried to savor every moment of this holiday season knowing that Nathan would not be here next year. I opened up the paper on Christmas morning to find an article about a mother who has three sons and her husband serving in the military. All four family members were deployed during the holiday season. I cried for her and all of the other families missing someone during this time of year.

Mackenzie spent some time playing in the snow when were home. She loved it and would have stayed out there all day.

Mackenzie has officially moved out of her crib and into a big girl bed. I fully anticipated her to be up and down all night, but so far it's been a breeze. We'll see if it lasts.

Creepy Santa and Florida in December

Last year, I opted not to take Mackenzie to see Santa, she wasn't exactly a laid back baby and I didn't care to wait in line for some old guy to hold my crying kid. This year I thought it might be worth while, unfortunately, I was wrong. Nathan kept telling me that she would probably be scared of him, but I didn't believe it, Mackenzie isn't that clingy kind of kid. When we entered the little cottage, she turned right around and almost escaped out the door. Anytime she got close to Santa she would cringe and make a whiny sound. Santa observed all of this, smiled, and said it is very normal. He then went on to suggest, "Mom could always sit on my lap." I pretended not to hear it the first time. Santa then went on to make the same suggestion 5 or 6 more times. Needless to say, I did not sit on Santa's lap, nor did my daughter.

Is this normal? Do "good" mothers sit on creepy Santa's lap for their kids? It was too awkward, I just couldn't do it. I kept thinking about all of the steps leading up to sitting on his lap. I would have to approach him and try to figure out which leg to sit on. Then I would try to, graciously, not apply all of my weight on him. So, it would kind of be like squatting to use a public restroom, only I would be getting ready to have my picture taken, while holding my daughter. With images like that running through my head, there was no way creepy Santa was getting that wish granted. Better luck next time, old man!

Mackenzie and I are currently staying with Nathan in Pensacola, FL. It's strange being somewhere so warm this close to the holidays. We made the trip down here because Nathan was suppose to have his wisdom teeth taken out on Monday. I was being a good wife and thought I should help take care of my husband. Monday arrived and Nathan called the office to confirm that he should have been fasting. The guy told him he didn't need to fast since he was only having his molar taken out. Um, what? Turns out there was a miscommunication somewhere (imagine that!). They suggested having the surgery when he gets back to Cherry Point.