Saturday was a great day for our family. Grace was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She was quite nervous but did just fine and had a huge smile on her face once it was over. We were so happy to be surrounded by our family and friends. Thank you to all who came--it made our day that much better. Grace is super lucky to have that many wonderful people to influence and guide her. She is such an amazing little soul and I consider myself greatly blessed to be her mother!
(Unfortunately Jenna is conspicuously absent from all our pictures of the day. She was a zombie with a very high fever but was a trooper and came to the baptism anyway.)
Monday, May 26, 2008
Grace's Day
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Happy Birthday Jenna!!
Yesterday was Jenna's fifth birthday. It's strange that my baby is already five. She had a Backyardigans birthday party on Saturday. I ventured out on my own this time and made the cake without Amy's help, although she gave me the idea. It looks like it was easy but it took me a long time even though it's not nearly as impressive as the microphone cake. It was perfect for the party though and Jenna loved it.
On her actual birthday Jenna got a pedicure from my sister and spent her very own money on a Strawberry Shortcake DDR (dance dance revolution) video game. She also got roller skates for her birthday so she spent half the day rolling through the house.
Like I did with Grace I think I will tell you some of the things I love about Jenna. Probably the best thing is that she is so happy. She is the most pleasant, easy-going child, which I'm quite sure she gets from her father. She's also hysterically funny but very tender-hearted and sensitive. And she's a complete cuddle bug, which I relish since I don't have a baby to snuggle. Her teacher tells me she's super smart and a joy to have at school. And two of her funny talents are that she can recite the alphabet backwards and she prefers to write things in mirror-image. In fact, she completely confused my 80-something grandma with her Mother's Day card that was written backwards. My grandma kept trying to turn it upside down until I showed her that the note read from right to left. Maybe she's Hebrew.
Life in the Miller family would be pretty dull without Jenna. She lights up any room she enters and has such a joy for life. We love you Jenna!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Happy Mother's Day!
I figured I couldn't let the day pass without writing a tribute to the mothers in my life. It's hard to know where to even begin. In recent years my mom has become my best friend (next to my husband of course). She leaves every summer for Bear Lake and I go through withdrawal. I'm quite sure there's no way I could list all of the wonderful things she's taught me but what I appreciate the most is that she taught me how to be a good mother. My children are benefiting from the great mother she was to me, not to mention the awesome grandma that she is to them. Below are a couple of the things I love the most about her.
I have loved watching her spirituality deepen in the last ten years and it has been a great example to me. She has spent many years teaching seminary or institute and she studies and prays and prepares so that her students can draw closer to the Savior. And she's an awesome teacher!
Something that I didn't inherit from my mom but wish I had is her determination. She will work at something even if it's hard until she's figured it out or completed it. I'm completely the opposite. I don't even attempt things that I know will be hard or that I'm not good at. I'm trying to be better at attempting new and hard things but I have a long way to go to catch up to my mom in this regard.
My mom is also really smart--book smart and common sense smart. She is always our medical consultant when we have questions about our kids and don't want to bother calling the doctor. She has great ideas about disciplining and teaching our kids. She has developed amazing reading programs with her friend at work. And thank heaven she went to college and studied speech therapy because that's the reason I tried it out my freshman year. I'm so blessed to have a career that I love that works so beautifully with having kids.
She will do anything for her children and grandchildren. She has taken care of me through so many different moments in my life that I can't imagine life without her. She has enjoyed the good times with me but also carried my burdens in difficult times and helped me learn from my trials. The past three years would have been nearly unbearable for me without her support.
I could go on all day but I'll stop here. I'm sure you all love your moms but I think I have the best! I love you Mom!!
But I'm doubly lucky because I have the best mother-in-law too. I never imagined finding another great woman to look up to and love. We wish we could live a little closer to enjoy each other's company more often but we do manage to see each other a few times a year. People think I'm crazy that I'm comfortable spending a week or two at my in-laws house without my husband but they're so wonderful that it's nearly like being at my own parents' house. Sharon is a great cook who always serves healthy food. She is the best seamstress I know and is super patient with me even though I typically have no idea what I'm doing. She is deeply committed to the gospel and her family and it shows. When we visit them she always makes a point to plan fun activities with the kids. In fact, the last time we were in Utah, Grace wrote her a note that said, "I want to cling to you as if I were a koala bear and you were a tree. You must really love us to buy us tickets to the movies, museum, etc." I'm so lucky to have a second great example to follow. I love you Sharon!
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
It Lives!
Yes, it's still alive. For those of you who don't remember or didn't see my original post about this balloon it was given to Devon when he was accepted to the State Bar of AZ. My first post about it was dated March 6th and it's still flying high. And yes, much to my chagrin, it still plays "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang when you touch it. I really wish it would die already and no one in my family will let me kill it. Where's Dr. Kevorkian when you need him?
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