This afternoon Claire was in her bed trying to settle herself down for a nap. She has been really good at going to sleep on her own until this week so it's been a bit of a struggle. I suddenly realized that she was no longer fussing so I went in to check on her, assuming she had fallen asleep. Instead, I found this:
Am I lucky or what?!
My parents left for their mission yesterday. Saying goodbye was hard and I get sad every time I walk into their empty closet. (I guess I should fill it.) They will spend the next two weeks at the MTC in Provo and then head to Samoa. I'm proud of them for choosing to serve a mission. They had a pretty peachy life that they had worked hard for and they left it all behind to serve the Lord--not an easy thing to do. Although they will be spending the next 18 months in the tropical paradise pictured below, which makes it a little harder to feel sorry for them!
In other news, Claire is nearly 11 weeks old and growing quickly. She weighed almost 11 lbs. at her most recent check-up which puts her in the 50th percentile. I keep trying to get a picture of her cute smile but I can't seem to catch it. She is an excellent baby who rarely makes a peep and loves it when her sisters talk to her. She has highly expressive and intense eyebrows as you can see from the following picture.
This is my cute niece, Lily, holding Claire.
This picture was taken yesterday when her sisters couldn't resist putting a clown wig on her head. She was an excellent sport and didn't complain as we all giggled at her.
And I'm sorry to those of you who didn't get a paper version of our baby announcement but here is the beautiful picture my sister took. Claire was only a couple of weeks old in this photo. Isn't it gorgeous?
So I really do know the proper uses of your and you're but I couldn't resist. I'm sure you were all trying to figure out if there was a polite way to tell me I had totally embarrassed myself. On that note, check out the paper that we received from Jenna's reading teacher. Pay particular attention to Thursday's instructions and the first sentence of Friday.
Seriously?! This person is teaching my child to read?! Since you were thinking of ways to tactfully inform me of my error, any suggestions?
My kids are so lucky to have wonderful grandparents. One thing I always appreciated about my dad when I was growing up was that he would frequently drop what he was doing to play with us. And he continues to do this for his grandchildren. The other day my nephew Owen was here playing. He really wanted to go outside but it was a million degrees so my dad told the kids to put their swimsuits on and he would spray them with the hose. Sounds like torture to me but they had the best time. The evidence is below.
Claire is now eight weeks old and such a joy. She grins and coos and we can't wait until she giggles. The other day I tried putting her in this little seat I borrowed from my sister. She's not old enough to sit in it for long periods of time but it was pretty fun for a minute.
Sunday was a great day for our family. We blessed Claire on the same day my parents spoke before leaving for their mission. We had lots of family and friends there to support us. In fact, Claire had three of her four great grandpas in the circle and I'm sure Grandpa Miller was there too. There was a great spirit in the meeting that day. Claire has a special spirit about her anyway but to combine it with my parents' wonderful testimonies of the Savior made it even more remarkable.
I still struggle with the words to express the feelings I have when I'm holding her or looking at her. Unbelievable is usually the word that comes to mind but that is always followed by a multitude of other emotions and feelings. The idea that we were the recipients of such an amazing miracle still amazes me. I'm so grateful for all that I learned while waiting for Claire to come to our family. I think Heavenly Father must have something special in store for her. I only hope I can be the kind of mother she needs to help her accomplish all that she was sent here to do. Every time I look in her face I am reminded of the great love of my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. What a remarkable blessing I have been given. Not only do I have this sweet baby but I have a deeper gratitude for and understanding of the atonement in my life. And now I have this cute face to be my constant reminder of all the things I have learned. 
We've had lots of new and exciting things happening around here. The girls started at their new school last week. I'm pretty sure I was more nervous about it than they were. They both love their teachers and have already made lots of friends. Yesterday Grace was excited to be elected as one of two student council representatives for their classroom. Not bad for the first week of school! And Jenna comes home nearly every day with a new best friend.
The other big change for Grace is that she now wears glasses. I think she looks pretty cute in them! (Although the lady at the store could not for the life of her get the glasses adjusted properly so they're crooked. We'll have to go get them adjusted another time and hopefully get someone a little more skilled.)
And Claire is now four weeks old and the most beautiful thing. 
I know I'm biased but have you ever seen a prettier picture of pink girlie perfection? I think not! 
(Hair bows and bracelets for sale at www.SaucyCreations.com but the baby's all mine! It's great to finally have a baby of my own to dress up in my handmade wares.)
Claire officially smiled at me this week--one of my favorite baby milestones. She is the sweetest thing and although she's only been here a month we can't imagine our family without her!
