ABC's of the last 2 months

Hello friends & family i'm back. i'm sorry it has been so long since i have blogged i sort-of forgot how to do this again. my New Year theme for this upcoming year is "take time to realize." As a busy wife & mother, especially when your husband is a 3rd year OB/GYN resident i have forgotten to take time to REALIZE 'finding joy in this journey.' I loved Pesident Monsons talk on "finding joy in the journey." He talks a lot about change.... "Nothing is as constant as change."
Time never stands still; it must steadily march on, and with the marching on, and with the marching come the changes. President Monson goes on by saying, i plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by. Instead, find joy in the journey-NOW. i love the part when he said, rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future. Stresses in our lives come regaurdless of our circumstances. We must deal with them the best we can. But we should not let them get in the way of what is most important-and what is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they MUST know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Adapt to the changes in our lives, that we may REALIZE what is most important, that we may express our graditude always and thus find joy in the journey.

Now with that said, the last couple of months i have stepped back and have found joy in the journey that i'm on. Nate has been on nights for the last 2 months. it ends Dec. 29th. :) The kids & i have been lucky to see Nate for 45 min. each day. He has had Saturdays off and i have cherished every min. So what has the Miller family been up too for the last few months???

Aging

Busing the kids everywhere. birthday parties for friends.

Cayden learned how to ride his bike without training wheels. computer problems for a good month. corn maze in october... so much fun right, Amy {we got so lost it was too funny}
christmas caroling.

Date nights. decorating christmas cookies over at a good friends house. thanks carrie.

Evening wear. Nate had a work christmas party that we went to 2 weeks ago. we got to dress up all fancy.

Fireplace. the kids love to sit in front of the fireplace to keep warm & watch movies. {it only lasts 10 min then they get too hot}

Garrett learned to walk & is everywhere now. Gymnastics for marlee

Halloween. we went to Utah for my moms annual Halloween party. it was so much fun to see everyone all dressed up.

Itunes. we have loved buying new music for our ipods.

Juggling balls in the air. i mean 3 kids. i have the up most respect for single moms cause it really is not that easy.

Kiss the boo-boo's away. marlee & garrett have my clutzy genes in them... don't forget kissing nate before he heads to bed at 9:30 am & then wakes up at 4:30pm & is off to work again. then i can kiss him good-bye :)

Late nights working on christmas projects

Marlee cutting her bangs to the scalp the end of Sept.... they are finally growing out a little bit. you can tell from our family picture they look a whole lot better.

Nate getting accepted TODAY to the MFM {maternal fetal medicine}program at Madigan Army Hospital. i'm so proud of him & his accomplishments. We will be staying in washington for his 3 year fellowship. We ranked staying here #1 and he got it!!! YEAH for Nate. So what this means is that he will finish up his year & 1/2 left in general OB/GYN then he will do a fellowship in MFM which means he will be a high risk baby doctor when it is all said & done! :) Congrats babe!!!
Night float... almost over!! horray :)

Opening christmas gifts early {sorry jolene we peeked early :)} Our family had our own christmas this last weekend it was so fun to be together with nate on saturday and do christmas eve & then we did christmas on sunday morning before nate left for work. Nate is driving the kids & i to Utah this friday for Christmas then he will catch up with us when he finishes night float.

Parent teacher conferences for Cayden & Marlee. They both are doing really well in school & love it so much!

Quiet time.. ahhh i love that time of day.

Reading. Cayden has been reading like crazy & has been doing great!

Snowing, snowman, no school. it is snowing here in Western Washington. i have never seen it snow so much since i have been here the last 2 1/2 years. Scouts for cayden. he loves it so much. we go every tues. night from 7-8pm. he has so many great friends from school that he does it with.

Twilight... need i say more. i loved the movie. i even got nate to go see it with me.
Thanksgiving. first year i cooked the whole meal by myself... Nate was with us for 2 hours before he had to go to work. it turned out yummy. t h a n k f u l.

Ups & downs. i think we all have those days right!??!

Vitamins. 1 a day. my kids never forget to remind me.

Watching movies

X-ray... well sort-of. i am going in on friday morning to get an ultrasound & mammogram of my left breast. i went in for a yearly check-up last week & my doctor found a lump in my breast the size of a grape. i am scared but, feel that it will be o.k. the doctor thinks it might be one of those benign cysts... that is what i'm hoping for. i will keep you posted.

Yummm that is garrett's favorite word.

Zzzzzz

i hope this brings you up to date of what we have been doing. I am greatful for change. i love my family so much. i love my friends. xo