Happy Holidays

Our holiday season was busy but fun. All of Devon's family came to Arizona for a Miller reunion, which was fabulous. Not only were we not alone on Thanksgiving but I didn't have to make Thanksgiving dinner. I've never cooked a turkey before because my parents always do it. I've heard it's about the easiest thing in the world to cook but daunting nonetheless. It was wonderful to spend a few days with our aunts, uncles and cousins we don't see very often. And we even had a nativity and gift exchange since we wouldn't be together for Christmas, which the kids really enjoyed!

We made gingerbread houses with the girls one night for Family Home Evening. I have no idea what possessed me to tell them it would be fun to add coconut for snow. We were cleaning up coconut for days.

We had our traditional Christmas Eve of jammies and pizza but we were sorely missing my parents! Every year my siblings spend Christmas Eve with their in-laws so we get Gammy and Papa all to ourselves that night. It was strange to be doing all of our normal Christmas Eve activities in their house without them.

Here are the cookies and milk the girls left for Santa. Notice the paper plate asking for his signature. Apparently they were hoping this would verify his existence.

On Christmas morning the girls were thrilled with new bikes and clothes and had fun opening all of Claire's presents as well! We spent the afternoon at my brother's house with my family, again minus Gammy and Papa, and again very strange without them.

We also reminisced about last Christmas when we revealed to the girls that we had a baby on the way. This year we got to enjoy Christmas with our long-awaited baby and it was wonderful!

Hope your holidays were filled with joy and family as well!

Grace's Adventures

Grace has done a lot of fun and new things this fall and I haven't taken the time to post about them until now.

Grace's ELP teacher gave them the assignment to build a bottle rocket. I knew Devon would be much better suited to this type of undertaking so I put him in charge. He and Grace spent two nights building a rocket that did, in fact, fly into the air. Super fun! (And I'm really glad I didn't have to do it.)

She also had her first piano recital. I tried to upload the video for the grandparents but it's not working so you'll just have to imagine her fabulous performance.

Grace decided to participate in orchestra this year and tried out the violin. Their first concert was this month. Before they started I expected to be wishing for ear plugs but they were actually quite good! Again the video wouldn't work. Sorry grandparents.

I can't believe she is even old enough for all of these fun things. She is an amazing big sister and huge help to me. One of her favorite things is to snuggle Claire on the couch. And she and Jenna are not only sisters but great friends and really enjoy playing with each other, which is such a blessing for all of us. Love you Grace!

Giveaway

My fabulous blog design was done by my sister-in-law Erin. She is having a blog design giveaway to celebrate the one-year anniversary of her business, Designer Blogs. Click here to enter the giveaway.

New Discoveries

Here are a few things Claire has discovered at the ripe old age of five months:

• Her mouth makes really fun noises
• Her feet are pretty tasty
• She can't sleep without her binky and no matter how many times, day or night, she wakes up and cries for it her mom will come put it back in her mouth (any suggestions for nipping this one?)
• People are highly entertaining, especially her sisters
• Eating with a spoon is tricky
• Rolling over is a good mode of transportation
• Toys are not edible, despite her best efforts to make it otherwise
• Staring at a camera is much more interesting than smiling at it
• Hair is overrated, just ask her dad
• A little slobber never hurt anyone
  

Not really the best angle for her ears. Looks like she might fly away, huh?!

Gratitude #2

Today I am especially grateful for my sweet children. It is truly a miracle to me that I am the mother to these amazing spirits. In the past several years I have come to realize how precious life is. I took for granted the blessing of having babies and raising my children. I know many people, several that are near and dear to me, who no longer get to raise their children in this life. My heart breaks for them. I cried today as I snuggled Claire and thought about my friends who don't get to snuggle their babies anymore. I know their babies are being well cared for and will be with their families again, which leads me to my gratitude for the plan of salvation. How thankful I am to know that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us and that we can be with our families for eternity, even if not in this life (which can feel like an eternity when you are missing a loved one). And there really is no way to adequately express thanks for the atonement of Jesus Christ that makes all of this possible. So if you are one of those friends who has lost a child, know that I think of and pray for you often. And if you are one of the lucky ones to have all of your children still with you, hug them a little tighter and kiss them a little more today.

Gratitude

I'm not really sure where to start with this post but I feel the need to put something down. Many people have been writing about their blessings on their blogs and Facebook pages. I haven't yet because I knew I had so much to be thankful for that I didn't even know how to begin listing them. Maybe I will have to do a series of posts. We'll see. For now I will mention the things that have been on my mind lately.

I had a long conversation with my parents today. Probably the longest I've had since they left on their mission. Most of it was light-hearted discussion about what's been happening in our lives. But then I started asking for help with the Relief Society lesson I am preparing for next week. As I have been working on this lesson I realized how much I have relied on my parents for spiritual strength, guidance, and insight. Suddenly they are not right around the corner anymore and I can't bounce ideas off them like I used to. (Mostly they were bouncing the ideas and I was just soaking up.) It has always seemed to me that my testimony of the Gospel was something I just had. But that is not the case. It was cultivated from the beginning of my life by my parents. Of course I had to do my part, but without them I would not have my firm and abiding faith. And this didn't quit when I moved out of their house. In fact, the last couple of years I have had the pleasure of attending my mom's adult institute class where I have learned so much. And after every institute class I would come back to my mom's house and spend the afternoon with her and sometimes my dad. Tuesdays were sacred to me and I treasure the time we spent together. And now they continue to add to my testimony with their faithful service as missionaries. I miss them terribly. I really want to just wrap my arms around them and let them snuggle my baby and kiss my girls and help me prepare my Relief Society lesson. But now is not the time for that and that is okay because what they are doing is right and good and I love them for it.

Now a shout-out to my husband. He is occasionally infuriating and annoying like all good husbands but he is also so good to me. I am blessed to have found a man that can put up with me. He works hard for our family and provides for our needs. He lets me go out without the kids whenever I need to. He never utters a word of complaint when I do crazy things like have a boutique in our house for two days. He supports me in everything I do. And he is an awesome dad!

And lastly for today, I have to mention my stupendous friends. I have always been blessed with good friends in my life and the last few years have been no exception. In fact, I have remarked several times recently how lucky I was to live in my last ward because we had a collection of the most amazing women. I'm sure I will not run across a group like this again. We have cried, laughed and learned together. I have watched them go through gut-wrenching, heart-breaking experiences. I have learned from them as they have triumphed in their trials. I have been encouraged to be more thoughtful and more caring as they have served me and served each other. I have felt loved and accepted despite my shortcomings. My burdens have been lifted and sorrows eased in many ways by these wonderful women. My patriarchal blessing promises that I will have angels both seen and unseen to help me in this life and they are some of my earthly angels. I believe it was no accident that we all came together at this time in our lives and I am so grateful that Heavenly Father put these ladies in my life's path.

Until next time...

Boutique Today and Tomorrow

Don't forget our wholesale boutique tonight and tomorrow (details in the previous post). Here are a few pictures of some of the things you can buy for cheap! And for you crafty people we are selling our fabric as well. And Amy will be selling her delicious cinnamon rolls. See you soon!