Saturday, January 28, 2012

New Puppy!



Meet the Newest Member of the Miller Family!


We currently call her "Lilly"  however there's some disagreement about if we all like that name.  So her name could change.  She's a Yellow Lab we estimate to be about 3-5 months old.  Weird we don't know, right?  Why didn't the owners tell us when we got her, you're thinking.

Here's the back story.

I have a friend who's husband was out in their driveway when this little blonde roly-poly ran up to him, along with her black lab sister, who was more timid and shy.  It was about 34 degrees outside and just too cold for puppies to be out running around, so he brought them in to his wife and six kids...they began posting pictures of the puppies on Facebook and shortly after began posting signs around their neighborhood for the owners to come claim their lost puppies....then---nothing.

Not a single call, knock or random person out looking around for puppies that were missing.  Since both were the same age, same size and roaming around together, it only made sense that they were siblings (sisters), I told Jay about her posts on Facebook and he went to check it out.  Of course my dog-lover husband and son (Bailey) saw the photos and ohhh'ed and ahhhh'ed over her until I had the feeling I was either getting a dog, or going to be the bad guy (shhh, don't tell but I have been wanting a big dog for about 2 years now...but shhh, that's our secret).  My friend posted on Facebook that they were looking for homes for the puppies, or they'd have to go to Animal Control.  ANIMAL CONTROL!?! NO WAY, JOSE'!  The no kill-shelter wasn't answer phone calls, you had to email.  Now remember I said she has six kids, the youngest under a year.  There was just no way they could keep these puppies...and there was no way I was going to let them go--these precious baby puppies just needed a home with kids to love on them.  Well if there's one thing we have..it's a home with lots of kids!  We had to go look.


We had upwards basketball and cheer leading today and I knew they'd be there.  Their daughter was my jr. coach, and they had two sons playing and one son coaching--I packed up my things after the game and Jay said "go ask her if we can go see the puppies"  So I asked.  A few hours later we had a new yellow lab puppy.  I'm preparing myself for chewed up things, hyper puppy behavior, accidents in the house.  If we can just make it through that time--I think she'll be a fantastic dog for our kids (and maybe a little for me) 

I know some people think we're crazy (OK, most probably do!)  So I guess I'm lucky I live in the family I do...because right now all I feel is blessed.  It's not everyday you get a Yellow Lab puppy for FREE!  Then again...ask me in a week when she's chewed up someone's shoes---


Friday, January 27, 2012

Awards Photo

A picture of Jillian after she got her certificates and coupons for free kids meals at Mickey D's and Chick-Fil-A (her favorite!)


Elementary Awards

Today Jillian gets awards at school for attendance and grades and behavior.  She cracks me up because she's such a rule follower, I used to be like that in school too, I'm actually still like that. I so so so want to break the rules sometimes but I just feel so guilty that I just can't bring myself to do it.

But this isn't about me and my issues, it's about my sweet baby girl.  Her classroom has a chart for behavior, on this chart each child has a clip.  Each day everyone starts at the top, and based on how they behave they can either stay at the top or move it down, the farther down the clip goes the worse your behavior has gotten.  Jillian is very proud of herself that she's never moved her clip down.  I went to parent teacher conferences earlier this year and her teacher said that she's the sweetest child she's met, then laughingly said if she ever had to move her clip down she was afraid of how Jillian would react.  Oh I know exactly how she'd react! hahaha, she'd be in tears all day---most likely all week!

So to keep up this sweet attitude and desire to please, we make sure to make a big deal over her never moving her clip down.  We ask almost daily "did you move your clip down today?" to which she responds
"Nope not ever, not even one time."  then I ask, like I don't know the answer, "You've never moved it down? Not even once?"
"Nope---not---even--once!" she says with a grin.

PJ day at Church

You just gotta love this girl!  She just sparkles, sucking you in and before you know it, you've fallen in love.  I don't just say this cuz she's my daughter....just ask anyone who's met her...because she's stolen their heart already!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Sick day continues...

Yesterday's post I mentioned it was a "sick day"  my throat was sore and my nose couldn't decide if it was stuffed or running.  It was the sure sign of the cold I was hit with full-force later that day.

Today I'm headed to the doctor.  My ear hurts, my head hurts, I can't breathe and I have a fever. OY!  Did I mention I have to coach cheer leading tonight and it's picture day! This might get some people down...but not me!  I'm thankful to be alive to get sick, I'm thankful that my immune system is healthy enough to fight off a cold. I'm thankful my kids are healthy.  As any parent with kids will say I'm so thankful I'm sick and it's not my kids.  It's true though, we parents hate to see our kids sick.  Their poor bodies wracked with coughs, cheeks flushed with fever, it darn near breaks your heart, so while I'm not thrilled to be sick I'm thankful for so many other things that my cold and fever seem so insignificant.

I've been following a blog for about three years now.  Ashley's Blog Lilblueboo.com has been a wealth of information for crafters everywhere.  Her quirky sense of writing and photo journalistic tendencies suck you in and keep you coming back for more.  She's an amazing creatively I'm not sure there's anything she's made I have been in awe over.  And she very generously shares her knowledge in tutorial with the world.   When I went to back to school I lost touch with my creative side for a while, I was just too busy.  When the creative bug just got to be too much to resist anymore I headed over to her blog and was surprised to find out she had been through more than one person should have to go through...it was a day I spent reading backwards (as you know blogs post most recent first)

Her story is touching, heartbreaking, and full of hope.  I hope you'll go over there and read it.  If you don't want to, I'm gonna give you a run down of what she's been through since June or July...

1) miscarriage
2) father passed away
3) molar pregnancy which caused
4) operation to remove molar pregnancy--
5) which led to her almost dying from blood loss
6) which in turn meant to stop the bleeding her uterus has to be removed
7) Meaning no more children
8) The reason for the emergency surgery was that a tumor had broken through her uterus
9) Tumor was cancerous, a very aggressive form
10) chemo, chemo, more chemo
11) chemo didn't work
12) stronger chemo, chemo, chemo
13) Hair loss (check out her rite of passage video) here (oh bring tissues--it's very touching)
14) the stronger chemo...not working
15) back to the drawing board...stronger chemo on the horizon.

Through all of this in less than a year and her blog is never, ever, ever depressing or dismal.  When her father died they found torn out devotional page, on his desk that read "choose joy"  that's been her mantra ever since.  And I've found myself taking it on too.

When I had a wee bit of a hysterical breakdown on the way home from training one day, because I was just so overwhelmed and was doubting if I could embark on this and take it on, I suddenly stopped wallowing in my misery and remembered, I have a choice here.  Do I choose misery and self-doubt or do I choose Joy?  Do I trust my Lord to lead me where my path needs to take me or do I stress about all the little things I don't know?  All the way to work the next day I mentally chanted "I'm choosing Joy, I'm choosing Joy, I'm choosing Joy"  because let's face it, if Ashley of Lil Blue Boo can choose joy in the midst of all she's going through, I certainly can choose joy, too!



Today---CHOOSE JOY and SPREAD JOY!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

We all need an update

Its been a while. I know. I could fill this entire post with reasons why I haven't blogged. Too busy, too lazy, nothing to say...blah, blah, blah. You don't want to hear excuses though, do you? If you do, I can make a list for you...someday. When I have the time, that is.

The older you get the faster life seems to hurl past you. Sometimes it takes a rainy, bad-weather, sick day (like today) to make you stop and reflect. Then you think back at the craziness that was your last two years and say...hmmm, did I enjoy that time? I can pull bits and pieces out and say yea I enjoyed it! But for the most part it's days running into nights running into days running into nights. Wash, rinse, repeat...eat, sleep, breathe.

Where in the craziness do we stop and say "YES! THIS is what I'm doing all this running around for!"  When do we live?  The moments I pull out of the past two years are more than family vacations, girls weekends and new toys.  The moments I have been working so hard for occur at the time when I least expect it.  At my photography class that I took last Saturday when I finally understood a concept I was struggling to wrap my brain around.  It happened when I was watching Jillian get a special AWANA'S patch that had never been given out at that club before because she finished her book...TWICE!  The moments I see my kids up on stage performing and singing. When they are being themselves, and running around the gym laughing with their friends.  Those times it's like, time stops for a moment and I can enjoy the view from all angles without being interrupted.  I hear the tinkle of the laughter as they duck to avoid being hit by the ball,  Aiden will skip away and as if in slow-motion glance up at me and wave before he darts off again.  Then as quickly as it happened, it's over.  I slip back into the hustle and bustle of life and keep plowing ahead.

I think I need a game plan.  A blue-print for my year.  Some call these resolutions, but I don't want to use that word...resolutions are willy-nilly made easily and broken easily.  I want a game plan for my year.  Challenges and rewards all laid out before me.  A starting point...a way to answer that question "What am I doing this for?"  The obvious don't count...(raising my kids to be good human beings, healthy and happy--well of course I'm doing it all for that...but I'm talking about personal goals--made just for me.)  Does that have a ring of selfishness to it? I hope not, I don't want to be selfish, but I do know that sometimes we need a moment to think...what am I here to accomplish....in order to answer that you have to look inward, I don't think that makes someone selfish.

This year I have a few things I would like to do.

1)  I am totally in love with my camera.  Helplessly in love with it.  Problem is...I don't know how to work it.  I mean I know how to work it in "Auto" but I want to flip it to manual and capture some amazing shots. Which leads me to ...
Before

After



2)  Learning Photoshop!  This program is amazing for photographers...everyone goes on and on about how easy it is to use and it's so user friendly...in what world do they live??  The experienced world of "I've been photoshopping for 10 years" Maybe...because as a newbie it's not that "user-friendly"  so number 2 is enhance my photos from number one with photoshop and to do that I have to learn the software..

3) Make some money at my new career path.  When I started school again to be a Realtor I wasn't sure what to expect.  It was the first I'd stepped into a college in years....yeeeeeeeears!  So I was intimidated, scared but I knew I needed to do something, figure something out, so I sucked it up, put on my big girl panties and headed out the door.  I love learning.  I think I could make a career out of learning new things...the real trick is applying it to real life!  I could be happy to just know about the real estate business, I could be content knowing how to make music videos and photoshop too...but those won't pay for squat!  I actually have to do something with this licenses now...so number 3 is sell and list a few homes...

4)  Take the kids to Sea World.  or splashtown or Schlitterbahn or six flags...somewhere fun!!!  Just the family on a day or two trip somewhere nearby without any major disasters. (or arguments!)

and finally..

5)  post at least weekly to my blog.  It's an excellent outlet for my thoughts, it's a way for everyone to keep up  with what's going on over here on our side of the world and I actually do enjoy it.  If I can just keep up with it...which is why it's on my list.  Maybe it help me remember more moment's of "that's why I'm doing all this..."

So until next time...why are YOU doing what you're doing??