I Can Hardly Believe

I can hardly believe that the summer is officially over. We have had so much fun even though we didn't do any major trips or vacations. Just being with the family has been good enough for me this year. I don't regret that we haven't been camping. It would have been fun but all the work of packing everything, the sweat and dirt while pregnant, etc did not out-way the ease of staying home. I think the highlight trip for our summer was Fourth of July week. We spent a couple of days with my family doing our normal visit. Then we went to Cherry Hill with my sister and her three adorable children. And to finish it off we visited North Ogden where Mark grew up for a couple of days. It was a great trip filled with good friends.

I can't believe that my baby boy is 4. How in the world did this happen? That means he is half way to being old enough to baptize! We did our first friend party for Spencer on Wednesday at it was great. Everyone that he invited was able to come (yep, all 5 of them). We did a robot themed party but did not in any way, shape, or form, go overboard. Spencer got a lot of great gifts so thank you to everybody who came and made it a great experience for him.

I can hardly believe that Mark is almost done with school. He only started 2 years ago and this is his last semester. He is doing his student teaching full time now which has made work so CRAZY for me but I am so proud of him for sticking it out. 14 days down, 46 to go. Even the kids are supportive of Dad in going to school. It has been a family effort to get to this point and I know that the benefits will bless us for the rest of our lives (even if he doesn't become a teacher). Bonus: he gets dressed up every morning and looks good!

I can hardly believe how happy I am. There has been a lot of drama for our extended family the past couple of months. Mark and I have had just as many problems at work, financially and home as any family but somehow they don't seem that big to us. We are in a state of peace and joy when it comes to where we are as a couple and how are children are growing up. We are working through it all together. Life is good as one of my bishops used to always say.

Slacker Update

Yep. It is official. I have been a slacker, again. All well. If you have come back and are reading this I know you love me anyway. So, I will do the quick review. But, you are warned eight months takes a little to catch up on. Mostly, life is the same for the Miller clan. We go to work, spend time with our kids, eat, sleep, and repeat. The best time of day is bedtime routine. My kids go down with such little fuss and I love that 5 minutes with each of them where they let me kiss their heads without complaint. Mark started and finished his last semester of actual class time at SUU. He still has to do his student teaching after that WE are DONE! I say we because it takes the whole family to get through a semester of school. Mark took his Special Education test in April and passed with flying colors! Congratulations to him on all his hard work. He is starting student teaching Monday and has to do 60 school days. He should be done by November 15. Spencer is still growing like a weed. In March he grew almost a full inch. Crazy but like I said, a weed. He started going to Primary and he loves it! His favorite part about it is the Spotlight they do on a different kid each week. He loves his Aunt Sarah. She has been kind enough to watch both of the kiddos while Mark had school Tuesdays and Thursdays. Thanks again Sarah! Spencer also loves to read, paint, and watch Chip and Dale, Rescue Rangers. He is so excited for his birthday in a couple of weeks (I think mostly because I am letting him have his first friend birthday party). He has phased out nap time for the most part which is sad but good because he does quiet time and does a lot of preschool type activities by himself at that time. Katherine is so dang cute. And she is so polite. She is constantly saying "Thank you Mama, good morning Daddy, Hi!, Bye bye!, and please." We call her our own Walmart greeter because she says Hi! to everyone we pass walking down the sidewalk, at the grocery store, anywhere. She is speaking in full sentences and picking up new words daily. She loves Elmo, her blanket, when Daddy comes around, and her new favorite- creamies. Her hair is always a mess. I say always because I will do her hair but within minutes she pulls it out or plays with it. She loves to dance. She can count to 10 and is starting to count in the teens too. Me, well, I am a mom. Life doesn't really change for me. I am expecting our third child. I am due 12/12/12 (is that the coolest due date or what?) with a girl. We just decided on a name: Rebecca Rose. I was really sick the first few months but now I am not sick, just getting uncomfortable. We have had a lot of changes happen at work the past few months. We decided last year that we were going to have to let our big store/warehouse go. The overhead was slowly killing us and we decided it was too much work for the two of us. So, in January Mark renovated a store front on Main Street in Cedar for us. It is much smaller (about 1/5 the showroom space and 1/16 of the warehouse space). But, it has worked out so well for us. We get a lot more traffic through our store and more advertising being on Main Street. But, with this move has come some sad sacrifices. Our lights are spread from our little storage space on site, to a container 2 miles away, to out at our house (more info on that in a paragraph). Also, there is no space for the kids to come and stay all day with me at work. I have hated that the most but I know that sooner or later they can't be with me all day long. We are still living in our barn/shed house. It is great though. We have been adding on since, well, basically last November, and it is finished. Carpet is grand I tell you! The addition has a nice family room (13 by 24), a food storage room, another bedroom, and a mudroom/ storage closet. We also built a greenhouse on our property. The greenhouse is full of lights for now. But house by house we are getting rid of a few extras. We hope by next spring we can actually put a garden in the greenhouse. We are planning on living in the barn for a long time. I am sick of moving. Between the 5 moves in 2 years, plus moving our ENTIRE store and inventory this year and moving things around for the addition I am not moving for a long time. Last February we learned that Mark's mother had congestive heart failure (she is in stage 3 of 4). As of this week she has moved in with us so we can help give her the care and support that she needs. She is doing pretty well and I hope that we can continue to see her health improve. In April our ward was split. We, mostly I, were devastated to be taken out of our ward. But, the newly formed ward that we are now a part of is great! Mark and I serve as the 12 to 13 year old Sunday School teachers. We both love the youth and the challenge of teaching them gospel principles and doctrine. Spencer transitioned smoothly into the new ward, Katherine not so much. She loved having us as nursery leaders and had a hard time going without us there. Just another reason why I have learned it is okay for my children not to be with me all the time. The new ward is small but has quickly grabbed a big piece of our hearts. Well, that is all I have time for now. I will put pictures on here of some of our adventures and happy smiles by the end of next week. I will not slack off so much anymore. Thanks for reading a quick recap on our lives. We hope that you are having a wonderful day.

Bucket List for Mommy Time 2012

I was spending some time on Pinterest and I found this list of things to do with kids. I decided this will be my bucket list for the yer with 2012. Some of these things I have already done with them. Kuddos to me. Many more to do, bring it. As I do the activity with them I will let you know.

Color
Blow Bubbles
Play Hide-and-Seek
Peek-a-Boo
Play Chase
Do Finger-plays
Sing a song
Collect rocks in a basket
Make an obstacle course out of cushions and/or furniture
Make a fort out of cushions and sheets
Go for a Walk
Make a Car out of a Box
Read a book
Go to the park
Finger-paint
Play with Play-Dough
Toss Bean bags into a Bucket
Play the shell and pea game
Dance to music
Download games for toddlers from the Internet
Practice putting things in and taking things out of boxes and bags
Make a temporary slide out of a table leaf and your couch
Roll a ball back and forth on the floor
Scoop dirt or sand into a child's bucket (or use a serving spoon and bowl)
Practice climbing by stacking boxes on top of each other (only with adult supervision)
Put on a puppet show
Go fishing with a yard stick and yarn
Make a Horseshoe game
Make a Shape Puzzle
Play paper basketball
Run through a Sprinkler
Play with a bucket of water and a sponge (PLEASE WATCH CHILD AT ALL TIMES!)
Make a Drum out of an oatmeal box
Play with a kazoo
Wash windows together
Bang on Pots and Pans with a spoon
Brush each other's teeth
Play dress-up with stuffed animals and your child's clothes
Stack canned or boxed food on top of each other
Let child stack mixing bowls inside each other
Make a playhouse out of a large box
Let child play with a sticker sheet (make sure your child doesn't eat them!)
Put stickers on fingers for finger puppets
Play a musical instrument together- i.e.recorder, piano, etc.
Go on a Smelling Hunt
Frost Cookies
Plant a flower or vegetable plant together
Roll a tennis ball into an empty trash can or bucket
Draw on a mirror with dry-erase markers
Play hide and seek together- trying to find a stuffed animal or other object
Have a splash party together in the bathtub
Put a leash on a stuffed animal and walk around the house
Record each other on a tape recorder (great for scrapbooks or journals!)
Make and try on paper hats
Give a piggy-back ride
Play "Horsey"
Talk into an electric fan (it distorts your voice)
Play tug-of-war with a blanket
Collect flowers (felt, artificial, real...)
Make a camera and go on a Safari
Play games with frozen juice lids
Disconnect your phone and pretend to make phone calls to relatives
Leave your phone connected and really make phone calls to relatives- let your child talk too
String large beads onto or along a shoelace
Squirt each other with squirt bottles
Glue shapes onto paper
Make sock puppets
Make paper puppets
Fill an old purse with toys
Use a paper towel tube as a megaphone
Make binoculars and go "Bird Watching" or "Stuffed Animal Watching"
Put snacks in different fun containers (paper sacks, empty canisters, etc.)
Act out a story from a book
Walk on a balance beam- use a 2x4 placed on the ground
Draw with chalk on the sidewalk
Sketch an outline of your child on the sidewalk or paper with chalk
Paint child's palms with tempura paint and blot on paper. Makes a great card for loved ones!
Put lipstick on child and kiss a mirror
Make a puddle on cement and splash barefoot in it
Let child decorate and eat an open peanut butter sandwich
Make a toilet paper barricade for child to go under, over, or through
Do the Hokey Pokey
Make a super-hero costume out of household items
Do Knee-Bouncing Rhymes
Play "Red Light, Green Light" saying "Go" and "Stop"
Make a shoe-box train for stuffed animals
Make a pillow pile to jump on (keep it clear from any hard surfaces, including walls!)
Make an easy puzzle with felt and Velcro
Make bracelets or collars for stuffed animals out of pipe cleaners and jingle bells
Learn numbers from a deck of cards
Play the matching game with a deck of cards
Make a domino chain
Have a picnic in the park, backyard, or living room!
Play dress up in Mommy or Daddy's clothes
Make a tin cup telephone and talk to each other in it
Make a nature collage
Mirror each other
Make a "Mummy Mommy" with toilet paper
Make a tape recording of short music selections and instructions to move in different ways
Make and walk along a toilet paper trail
TAKE A NAP!