Eternal Thoughts of a Mommy's Mind

What a week!

2011-08-22T23:16:00.000-07:00

Well, we've been home from our wonderful Atlanta trip for about 10 days and it's gone by so fast that I can barely believe it! I thought that last week would be a quiet one where at least the girls and I would be able to "recoup" from our travels. Boy was I wrong! The girls awoke on Monday a little cranky, and other than a trip to Mountain View to pick up Mikie and Ollie (our two poodle dogs), the day was pretty uneventful...until that night. At around 9pm my sister called (on the house phone, and I immediately knew something was wrong) and informed me that Luis was taking her to the hospital because she wasn't feeling well, and was having some contractions. I was told "not to worry, and to NOT tell anyone in the family since it was probably nothing". About 90 minutes later, she called back to tell me that at 33 weeks, her water had broken, and she was in labor. How's that for "don't worry, it's probably nothing"?!? I immediately broke into tears worried and scared for my baby sister and my precious nephew, and began an almost all night prayer vigil for both of them. Being the control freak that I am, and the "mother hen" type, I felt absolutely helpless being that I couldn't be there even if it was to just sit with my sister as she went through this process. I kept my cell phone right next to the bed, waiting for any update from anyone! I finally awoke for the day at about 5:30 and called my mom to see if she had heard anything. For those of you who know my mom, she's up with the birds and had most likely already done a load of laundry and vacuumed the entire house! Unfortunately, all she knew was that my sister had progressed a little bit, the anesthesiologist was on the way to administer her epidural, and that they were expecting a long day of Lyd in labor. Since I wasn't sure how Lyd was doing, and I didn't know how much sleep she had, I was very hesitant to contact her, so I waited and waited for a word..ANY word on how things were going. Finally I heard from her at around 7:30 and she was still laboring and hadn't progressed much since 5:30. I told her that I was praying and to keep me posted with ANY news! It was KILLING me to not be there with her! At that point, I looked at the clock and realized that I needed to leave for Mountain View in 60 minutes. The girls and I were picking up my father in law, to then go and pick up his sister from the airport. Thank you Lord for caffeine! As the girls an I made our journey to Mountain View and then back down to San Jose Airport, I continued to check my phone every few seconds (or as often as I could) for any update from my sister or Luis. Word finally came a little after 10:30...my sweet nephew Logan Michael Guzman was born! I got word as I was driving from the San Jose airport to Mountain View. Thankfully my father in law was there to read the messages from Luis. Although he was rushed off to the NICU (he was born at 33 weeks gestation), he was perfectly healthy and born at 5lbs 4 ozs and 17 3/4 inches long - pretty amazing for being born 7 weeks premature! Isn't our God AMAZING????
As I am sure you can imagine phone calls to family members all over the country began and we were all joyously celebrating the new addition to the family. It was such an emotional day, that by the time that the girls were ready for bed, I was ready too!

We awoke to a beautiful Wednesday morning and my girls were anxiously awaiting the arrival of their three friends. I was helping my girlfriend out by watching her three kids while she went to work for a meeting. The kids had a blast, and ironically it was easier to care for 5 kids then just 2! Who knew?!? After a nice little nap, we headed to Mountain View to enjoy a wonderful dinner with Daniel's parents and Aunt Elizabeth.
Thursday's activities were running the "boys" (our poodles Mikie and Ollie) to the groomer's, as they were in DESPERATE need for a bath and a hair cut, and then a few other errands, back home for lunch, and then off to a favorite park for some water play with friends. The girls had a great time, and it's great to see that Samantha is starting to have and make friends of her own :)
On Friday, Daniel awoke early to take his parents to the airport for their trip(s) to Seattle and Las Vegas. The girls and I went to a friend's house in Los Altos and had a great time (as always) playing and chatting together. Due to the upcoming school year it would most likely be the last playdate of the summer.
So, as you can see, what was expected to be a nice lazy recuperation from travel, ended up being a crazy busy week, but hey, what do you expect?
~JRM~

YES...it's been a while...

2011-08-07T19:54:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting at well....10,000+ feet and my brother, who is sitting next to me on this lovely 5 hour flight from Atlanta back home to San Jose, politely reminds me that I REALLY need to update my blog...it's been almost a year since my last post. So since I paid the $4.95 for wifi, and Samantha is sleeping next to me and Daniel and Madison are in the row in front of me, I guess that now is as good a time as any, so here goes!

As mentioned above, the whole family (plus my brother) is on the way back from a BEAUTIFUL wedding in Atlanta, Georgia. Madison was the flower girl, and she did an AMAZING job! She was so beautiful, and of course mommy and daddy are so very proud! The bride, my cousin Ashley, was STUNNING and it goes without saying that we had a wonderful time! We were able to see my Aunt Lou, and my cousin Ashley and her wonderful new groom Justin (now referred to as Cousin Justin), cousin Lindsey and cousin Courtney (they were the maids of honor and they were stunning as well!). I just miss them so much and wish that we didn't live across the country from one another! Hopefully they will all be able to come to San Jose soon! The cousins gave Madison a new nickname (baby bug) and she wears it proudly! Of course, if that nickname would have come from mom or dad, it would have been refuted almost immediately. Thankfully we love Aunt Lou, Ashley, Justin, Lindsey and Courtney SO MUCH, because the 90+ heat and the 65%+ humidity was about to kill us! All in all we had a WONDERFUL time and were so glad to be apart of such a wonderful day.

The rest of our summer has been quite eventful. We started off with a family trip to Las Vegas to celebrate Daniel's nephew Henry's graduation from Green Valley High School in Henderson Nevada. We arrived on Tuesday to wonderful 110+ temperatures. It was lovely (ahem ahem) to say the least. However, there's nothing better than time spent with family (especially for a celebration) and no amount of high temperatures would put a damper on our fun! Thankfully we were blessed to enjoy a wonderful hotel that had a pool and a man-made beach and also a lazy river, which definitely helped us beat the heat! Henry graduated with high honors, and to show off the family's pride - Crazy Aunt Jess had to let the whole Thomas & Mack center know just how proud we are of him! I think I was hoarse for the remainder of the 3 days after yelling so loud! Hopefully I didn't embarrass him too much :) The girls had a wonderful time with their cousins (Henry, Ben and Isabella), Auntie Inge, Uncle Cesar and of course Grandma and Papa. The other highlight of the trip (at least for Daniel and I) was the lovely getaway that we had to Caesars Palace. Daniel surprised me with a date night - Dinner out at an AMAZING sushi restaurant, and two tickets to my favorite performer - CELINE DION! We saw her during her first engagement there, so I was absolutely floored when my wonderful husband made it possible for me to see her again. We had a wonderful time - a night that I will definitely remember for the rest of my life!

We arrived home from our Vegas trip just in time to prepare for the 4th of July holiday. However, I thought it would be fun to start the weekend off memorably! It was Saturday night, and we had just gotten back from church and a quick little trip to Gilroy for some fireworks. We had put the girls to bed and were about to open a bottle of wine to chill out and relax when I went into the VERY DARK dining room and bent down to pick up the power cord for my laptop computer. I wasn't watching what I was doing, and on the way down, I rammed my head into the top of one of the dining room chairs. can you say OUCH! As I covered my head, I thought that I would have an ugly bruise, but then I took one step back and two steps into the hallway and fell to my knees. My hands started to feel sticky and as I pulled them away from my head, I realized that I was bleeding. LOVELY. At this point, Daniel realized that I really did hurt myself and rushes over to me. He takes one look at me and informs me that we will be going to the hospital. Thankfully my parents are 5 minutes away so we called them and they came right over. At the culmination of the evening, I had an ever so beautiful knot on my head that was tied together with 6 stitches and of course a RAGING headache, but thankfully the 4th of July celebrations could continue. On Sunday, we had the wonderful Jones family over for a great BBQ, water playtime and some sparklers. We all had a fabulous time. My girls didn't get to bed until almost 10pm! Monday morning we awoke to participate in the 17th Annual Cambrian Park Parade. We have enjoyed the last 6 parades and this year was no different. We decided (partially due to my injury) that it would be best if we sat in the shade and cheered on the participants rather than walk or ride bikes. The girls thoroughly enjoyed themselves and waved their flags proudly! After it was all over, we went into the house for some seriously good tri-tip and ALL the fixin's! We ended the day by going over to the Jones' house and watching a really cool fireworks display! All in all it was a memorable weekend to say the least!

We needed a little bit of time to recover from our Vegas trip and 4th of July, so we rested for the next few weeks and about midway through July, we decided that it was high time to go and visit the Tahoe house! We ended up going on our trip all by ourselves, but we really had a fabulous time! We went to the beach, relaxed at home and of course did some fishing. We found a new fishing spot, but unfortunately all we caught was Samantha's craw fish! Go figure that the youngest and least experienced one would catch the only fish! I guess it's "beginners luck". Madison has really learned to love fishing and Samantha is following in her big sister's footsteps! Who would have thought that this mommy would have to "fishergirls"! I am proud to say that they won't go fishing without their hair done (headbands for Madison and bows for Samantha) and co-ordinating shoes! Who says that you can't look good while fishing!

In true Miller fashion, we arrived home just in time for the next adventure. KIDZTOWN (aka VBS) for Madison. This was the first year that she was able to participate in our churches VBS. She had a BLAST! Thankfully she was joined by her BFF, EmmaKate Balog, and another good friend from preschool - Naomi Miller. The kids "traveled" to hometown Nazareth and learned all about life when Jesus was a boy! I have to say that it tickled my heart to have my daughter come home every day singing a new praise song! She proudly shows off the motions that she learned to each song all while singing at the top of her lungs! There's not too much better than to have your child sing praise songs!

And that my friends, brings me to today. I can't believe that in two short weeks, my little girl will be a first grader! You never truly believe it when friends tell you that "time flies" when your kids are little, but IT DOES! I'm sure that the next few weeks will absolutely fly by and I will *hopefully* be blogging about my daughter's first day of school!

The dreaded topic of...BOYS!

2010-09-18T14:17:00.000-07:00

Being any normal parent (some of you may differ) of a 5 year old girl, I figured that the topic of liking boys would be a little ways off. Last night, that theory was proven otherwise.
After a putting Madison to bed (Samantha was already down for the evening), I hear my name through the monitor. I rush in to check on Madison as she was crying. I asked her what the problem was and through much crying and tears she informed me that "none of the boys at school like me"! In the few seconds it took me to process this minefield of a topic, I was able to hold back the chuckles and ask her why she thought that. Now, while some of you may find this little dilemma trivial, those of you who know Madison already know that this is a HUGE problem. Madison doesn't like to have anyone NOT like her. In this regard, she's so much like her momma! Thankfully, I was on campus earlier in the day, and when I picked her up it was not the usual drive up pick-up that we normally do. I was having a meeting for her upcoming circus day (info to come later). Samantha was with me, and when we "rolled" up to the playground, Madison was VERY upset. She thought that because I was at a meeting, that she would get to stay for extended care (i.e. extra computer and playtime). As we were there one of the little boys from her class poked his head into the Sit-N-Stand, and told her that he would see her tomorrow at school. Little did I know, this little incident would prove very valuable later on in the evening. Now, back to my story. She proceeded to inform me that she has her one "boy" friend Ryan from her old school that likes her, but that she doesn't have any new "boy" friends at her new school. Madison informed me that she isn't quite sure why she isn't "chased" on the playground. Thankfully, I was able to recall the situation of the little boy who poked his head into the stroller, and I informed her that if he didn't like her, then he wouldn't be poking his head into the stroller or telling her that he would see her in the morning. That got her talking and then she told me how she plays legos with another boy, Evan. I think that she kinda has a thing for Evan, because he's the one that doesn't "chase" her on the playground. Then she lowered the bomb question, "Mommy, how did you get daddy to play with you on the playground?" Oh, the questions of a curious 5 year old! Again, I gained my composure and told her that some 5 year old boys don't play with girls, but that as long as she treats everyone with kindness then I'm sure that they would like her. She said, Ok Momma, and then leaned over and gave me a kiss and went back to bed.

Well, now that the boy topic has been brougt up, I'm on my knees lots and lots!
I hope that you enjoyed this little anecdote!
~jrm~

ALREADY?!?!?!!!

2010-09-08T22:09:00.000-07:00

Yep, you guessed it! Another milestone in the Miller household! Madison lost her FIRST TOOTH!! I am kinda shocked that it came so quickly! Yesterday, as we were having our our daily morning prayer, Madison prayed to Jesus that her tooth would come out quickly and without any pain. Little did we know how quickly Jesus would answer her prayer! She came home after school yesterday a happy little girl, but by dinnertime, her mood had changed. Her tooth was hurting her and had started to bleed. Thankfully, just as the tears started to flow, Daddy came through the door to the rescue. She showed him her tooth, and how loose it really was. After a quick examination, and a determination that eating spaghetti would be difficult with such a loose tooth, we improvised a bit and allowed her to have some pudding for dinner. Of course, this was met with NO COMPLAINTS! After a healthy dose of pudding and LOTS of cuddling, it was off to bed and all of her teeth still in tact! Madison awoke at 6:13 this morning to go to the bathroom, and thankfully I convinced her that it was still far to early for her to get up. She obediently went back to bed. We finally had to go and get her up at about 7:30. Daniel did the honors and as soon as he went in, Madison proudly informed him that her tooth had come out! Both Daniel and I were shocked! We asked her how it happened, and she said that it came out in the middle of the night! WHO KNEW?!?! Madison was at first, very disappointed because she thought that the tooth fairy forgot about her! Apparently, when she lost her tooth in the middle of the night, she placed it under her pillow, and upon awaking this morning, found nothing under her pillow! UH OH!!!! After a bit of quick thinking, Daniel and I informed Madison that we needed to "call" the tooth fairy to inform her that Madison's tooth had been lost. So, of course, like all good parents, we "dialed" 1-800-TOOTHFAIRY and informed the tooth fairy that Madison had lost her first tooth! PHEW...crisis averted! We quickly finished getting ready for school and away we went barely making it on time! She was so proud! You might ask what the best part of the morning was, and my answer is...hearing my daughter Thank Jesus for answering BOTH of her prayers!

As much as I LOVE watching my daughter grow up, I'm hoping that the next milestone is a ways away. I need time to adjust!

~JRM~

CRAZY 2 WEEKS!

2010-09-06T23:41:00.000-07:00

Well, my last post was 2 weeks ago after Madison's first day of kindergarten. Thankfully, Day 2 was MUCH better. We found her little friend (and her mommy - who's a friend of mine) in the morning "line up" and I mentioned how Madison was a little hurt when the little girl didn't remember Madi. My friend said that her daughter told her about what happened the day before and she thought that she recognized her but wasn't sure. When we "re-introduced" the two girls, all was right with the world! Lunch time was a lot better since Madison knew what to expect, and I packed a sandwich instead. When I picked her up on day 2... she was furious with me that I had come so EARLY! Go figure! By the end of the week, she said that she wanted to be a big girl and do the morning drop off all by herself. I thought that I would have at least a few more weeks before that request came, but alas I allowed her to get out of the car and go with her friends, and for me to just drive away. I cried a bit, as I realized that my little girl is gaining more independence every day. All in all it was a successful first week of school.

Last weekend was spent participating in the annual Berry Way Block Sale. It's actually a really fun event. The majority of our street pulls out their "wares" and sells them in our block sale. The street almost shuts down to traffic and the kids run free. Many antiques and treasures can be found. Even the kids get in on the action. Many of them have Lemonade and baked goods for the shoppers. My parents joined us this year and we all were able to get rid of some things and make some cash at the same time. Madison was barely around as she played with the neighbor kids, and Samantha enjoyed hanging around with Mommy, Daddy, Grammy, Grampy and Uncle Phil.

Last week felt like things were back to normal as we settled into a "routine" PRAISE GOD! I am so happy! Madison is doing well adjusting to full time school, and she loves it! Last Thursday at Chapel, she received a "Principal's Award" for being kind and thoughtful to others, and for listening so well! We are so very proud of her! Another milestone for Madison is that she has her very first loose tooth! Of course I'll be updating here as soon as the tooth is gone! Madison is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Tooth Fairy. She's very curious as to what "present" she will leave behind!

Samantha is enjoying her time of being an "only child" when Madison is at school, although as soon as she wakes up from her nap, she runs to the door saying "sissy, sissy" Whatever Madison does, Samantha is trying to emulate. Wherever Madison is...Samantha isn't far behind. She definitely loves her big sister.

This past weekend was a well deserved relaxing one. After many many weeks and weekends of going, going, going, we were finally able to rest. We started the weekend with a pizza night and dancing around to some tunes and then a Mommy, Daddy, Madi date of watching Camp Rock - even Uncle Phil was able to join us!

Saturday I caught up on laundry and housework, and the girls and Daniel played games and hung out. Sunday we went to church, had an enjoyable brunch out and then did a little shopping and finally home for nap time. We then went back out after we were all rested and enjoyed the beautiful summer evening. Today, we just VEGGED! Even the girls woke up late! We ended up giving Mikie and Ollie much needed baths and then went out for our last "summer" yogurt. It was an uneventful, yet perfect weekend for us. Now, back to reality...work and school. Tomorrow will be here before I know it!
~JRM~

Well...we have a kindergartner!

2010-08-25T20:19:00.001-07:00

Yep. Hard to believe, but Madison is now a Kindergartner. Who knew that 5 1/2 years could pass by so quickly! It seems like just yesterday that I held her tiny little body in my arms being 100% dependent upon me for EVERYTHING! Now, my little girl is growing up, and she's not so dependent upon me! She was SO excited to go to kindergarten, but at the same time, nervous and apprehensive.

Our school preparations began on Sunday afternoon where we did some final back to school shopping, and then back home to bathe and get into bed early for a good night's rest. Monday morning came so fast and my little girl who loves to sleep in was up and rearing to go at 7:00. We picked out her dress, ate some yummy pancakes, prepared her lunch and then placed her "homework" (that was given to her at "Back to School Night" the Thursday before) in her backpack and of we went!

We arrived and were happy to see Madison's BFF in the courtyard. They were definitely two giddy little school girls. We are so happy that the girls are able to be in the same class. I'm sure that knowing that her friend would be in class with her helped her with any fears that she had. As the morning bell rang, the children lined up and marched into class. All of the kids sat nicely on the carpet at the front of the class, while the teacher read a wonderful story about a raccoon that was also attending his first day of school. It was so sweet!

The kids were each given a sticker to put on the back of their hand, and then one for the parents. It was a reminder that mommy and daddy's love would always be with them. At that point it was time for the goodbye. Madison came up to Daniel, Samantha and I, and proudly said goodbye. At this point my eyes welled up with tears and I realized that my little girl is REALLY growing up. She is so independent, and I couldn't be more proud. So, we walked out the door and away the three of us went. Full day kindergarten is quite a big step for a little girl, so at many points during the day I checked (and re-checked) my phone just to make sure that the school hadn't called to tell me that there was a break down, and that I needed to go and pick her up. Proudly she made it through the day, and I couldn't wait ti pick her up at 3:30. So I drove up parked the car and found my princess waiting for me with all of the other kids. I was met with the comment that EVERY parent wants to hear on the first day of school..."MOM...why are you hear already! I want to stay and play with my friends!" On one hand I was disappointed becuase she wasn't ready to see me, but on the other hand, I was so glad that she wanted to stay and was having a good day - or so I thought! As we walked away from the kids, she broke down. She informed me that one of the little girls from her old preschool didn't recognize her on the playground AND she was STARVING! Thankfully I had lots of love and hugs to give her for her "broken heart" and snaks and water for her hungry tummy. The hungry tummy was easy to fix but the "broken heart" needed a little work. I explained to Madison that her friend might not recognize her because in the year and 3 months since they saw each other, Madson got glasses and her hair cut. By the time that we got home, the tears were dry, the heart mended and the tummy full. So all in all, she had a wonderful day and enjoyed her first day of kindergarten, and couldn't wait to go back again. So here we are anticipating a wonderful year at Valley Christian!
~JRM~

Near Year, New Blog

2010-08-23T17:44:00.001-07:00

So maybe it's not an official new year, but it's a new school year and I've decided that I really am going to get on the bandwagon for this blog thing. So to all my friends and family, I'm gonna leave it up to you to ping me when I haven't posted in a while and you want to see/hear what's going on with us.

Love to you all!!!
~JRM~

Getting back on the Saddle (so to speak)

2009-07-26T17:58:00.000-07:00

Well, to say that my last blog was a long time ago is quite an understatement. So much has happened since then - but for most people, a lot DOES happen in almost two years, so I guess I better start.

When I last left off, Madison had just begun preschool, we had just purchased our home in Tahoe and had an addition to our family - Ollie.

Let's see...what's happened in two years? Well, we added another member to the Miller Family - Samantha Noelle. She was born March 5, 2009. You would never know by the picture above, but she weighed in at a whopping 5 lbs 13 ozs and she was 19 in. in length. She dropped weight, as most babies do. At her lowest, she was 5 lbs 1 oz. She was SO TINY! She was actually the size of Madison's baby dolls! She is such a blessing. She absolutely makes our family complete! The first six weeks of her life were a bit trying. She was tongue tied at birth, so her first few days of life, she was fed with a syringe. After her tongue was fixed, she didn't take to nursing very well. Thankfully I knew from experience that the first few weeks are trying to say the least. She finally did figure out the nursing thing, and we're going strong at 4 1/2 months. For about the first six weeks of her life she slept on my chest, and I slept on the couch. She definitely had her days and nights mixed up. Then (just like her big sister) the night before she turned six weeks old she slept from 12 am to 6 am. I thought that I was in HEAVEN! Who knew that almost six hours of uninterrupted sleep could feel so good? Thankfully she never looked back! Now she sleeps from about 10 pm until about 7 am. Its wonderful! She's also about doubled her weight. At her 4 month appointment she weighed 11 lbs 2 ozs and she was 23 inches in length. She's still quite a peanut! She recently (about 5 weeks ago) graduated from newborn clothes to 0-3 months clothes. I'm definitely not complaining. It's much easier to carry around an 11 pound baby than a 15-16 pound baby! As much as the last 4 1/2 months have seemed to drag on, they also seem to have flown by. My precious little baby is now playing in her exersaucer

and interacting with her big sister. Sami absolutely ADORES Madi! I think that they're going to be great friends! Having two little girls is WONDERFUL (remind me of this in 14 years when they're 18 and 14!

As for Madison here I sit 5 weeks from the beginning of her last year of preschool. In a prior blog I was hesitant for school to start - now fast forward 2 years, and I can't wait for school to start! Madison still attends Los Altos Christian Preschool. She absolutely loves it. She has asked several times this summer about her teachers, and friends. She's very excited to start another year, but she doesn't like the fact that she will have to give up her weekly play dates. She is such a social butterfly. She makes friends wherever she goes - and it's no lie - TRUST ME (maybe she is a lot like me - HAHA!) So for Madison, not too much has changed in the past two years. She is one of those kids that wakes up every morning asking what we are doing for that particular day (i.e., what fun thing are we doing today mommy?) She is in gymnastics and ballet, and she enjoys both of them. Here is a picture of my little ballerina:

She is quite the smart little cookie.

Daniel is doing well and working away - that's one thing that hasn't changed in the past two years :) Well, I guess since I've written a ton, it's time to get back to the real world. The dirty kitchen and laundry are calling my name!
~JRM~

So many things

2007-11-14T14:18:00.001-08:00

It's been a while since I've blogged and I'm feeling a bit guilty. I wanted this blog to be an easier form of journaling, since it's hard for me to find the time to sit down and physically write what's going on in my daily life. I thought that it would be much easier to type my all of my thoughts and feelings down. I guess I was wrong. Oh well. Here goes try #2. Since my last blog, my daughter has grown in more ways then I can even count. She had her first day of school. Here's the picture of her on her very first day of school. I can't believe that the little girl that I gave birth to less than three years ago is going to school. I know that I'm a little bit biased, but I think that she's the cutest preschooler ever. She had a blast on her first day. She didn't even want to leave. The second day (the first day that I left) was a different story. She cried. I sobbed. I think that she cried less than I did (which is probably a good thing) but it was hard to leave her. I don't think that it was the fact that I was leaving her in the care of someone else, but the fact that my little girl is growing up. She will always be my baby girl, but she's now a preschooler - not even a toddler. She's now beginning to form opinions that are all her own. Thankfully it only took her three days of me leaving her before she stopped crying. She now loves to go to school and even asks to go on the weekends or days that we don't go. She loves her teachers, her friends and everything about school. She is so proud when she brings home a project. I'm so glad that she loves school. I know that the days are going to come when she doesn't even want to go, so I'm thankful that at least for now, I don't have to force her to go.

Another thing that has happened is that we got a new puppy. His name is Ollie. He's a red toy poodle. He can be a bit of a bruiser, thankfully he's so adorable, that you look past that. He loves to antagonize Mikie. I feel so bad. Mikie was just beginning to get along with Madison. Madi pulled on his hair and ears when she was a baby and toddler, and now that Madi's older, she finally understood that she couldn't pull Mikie's hair or ears. They were beginning to get along, and life was good, and now Mikie is having his ears bit and chased after by Ollie. I think that the two of them have a love/hate relationship. They love playing with each other, but as soon as one of them gets in the other's way - forget about it. It's DogWar 3 here at our house. Hopefully soon things will be back to normal around here.

And if that isn't enough, Lovee and I decided that we would take the plunge and buy a new house in Lake Tahoe. I love this house! It's so beautiful. God is so good. He has blessed us beyond measure. I can't believe it. We just got back from our first decorating adventure. We took the in laws and let me say they were a huge help. We got so much done. All of the furniture (with the exception of two twin mattresses, one nightstand and sectional couch) has been delivered and is in place. The kitchen is about 95% furnished, and we just need to purchase some more linens, some window treatments, and do a little bit of decorating, and it will be ready to rent out. I am so nervous that we won't be able to rent it out. But thankfully God knew about all of that when He gave us the opportunity to purchase it. I can't wait to go up and be able to ski the beautiful mountains and enjoy the house. I can't wait!

So, that's the happenings of this mommy in the last few months. Hopefully I'll get more thoughts down on paper and I can continue my journaling goal.

~JRM

Does it Ever Stop?

2007-08-12T16:37:00.000-07:00

I'm wondering if life ever slows down? I can't believe how fast the summer has gone. Lovee's nephews were here all summer, we had a great time with them, and Madi had an awesome summer. She found her love of roller coasters, the beach, and she has really developed into her own person. In the midst of the summer, we finally finished our kitchen. Now we're working on whole house audio/visual stuff. I can't believe that one week from tonight I will be getting my little princess ready for her first day of preschool. It seems like just yesterday I was talking to the registrar at her school and thinking that this day would never get here...now it's less than a month away. Why do I get the feeling that i'm gonna blink and she's going to be going to kindergarten,then first grade, then junior high, high school and then college? I pray that it slows down a little big so that I can enjoy her more.

Contentment

2007-07-19T17:56:00.000-07:00

After a long week that took us from a 36 hour trip in Las Vegas to meetings, dinner and an overnight stay at Santana Row, to watching our nephews for a few days, I am so glad to be at home with just my husband and daughter. No inlaws, family or friends (not that I don't love them all dearly - I do). It is just nice to be at home with out any one else around. Last night was glorious. Daniel made dinner on the grill, then we put Madi to bed, and enjoyed the quiet of our own family room watching Flip That House. We then took a late night dip in the jacuzzi that was absolutely incredible. Today has been just as relaxing, I just did some laundry and enjoyed being with my daughter. This is what bliss truly is!

Fourth of July Celebration

2007-07-05T14:24:00.001-07:00

My fourth of July celebration was great! I am so thankful to live in a country where we have the freedoms that we do. We all know about them, so I don't need to repeat them, but I think that so often we forget that we live in a great country. Take away all of the politics, and drama that's going on right now, and get down to the point. We live in a phenomenal country that was founded on the very best principle's. I was overcome with joy at just participating in a neighborhood parade, seeing sheer excitement on my daughter's face as she waved her flag as it passed in front of us and spendidng quality time with my husband and daughter. I do have to say that I wish that my pap was still alive and could have been there at the parade. He loved parades....everything about them from the grandeour to the simplicity. From the floats to the kids laughing and waving. From the bands playing to the cheerleaders cheering. I miss him every day, but I know that he's watching me and my family, and some day I will get to see him again. And no matter what, I will carry on the tradition of watching or participating in a parade just to honor his memory.

JRM

Friendship

2007-06-13T20:48:00.000-07:00

For the last few years, I've wondered if there is anything wrong with me when it comes to having friends. I can say that I've had two best friends in my life. My very first best friend was Marcy. We were six months apart in age, my mom and her parents went to high school together, so we were destined to be good friends. We did EVERYTHING together. During the summer, we would spend two or three days at her house, then we would be at my house for two or three days, and the cycle would continue. We were best friends until about the 3rd grade when she moved away. When I was in the 4th grade my 2nd best friend came into the picture. Rebekah and I had a lot of things in common and our personalities complimented each other well. Our friendship suffered a great deal when I moved here to California in 1991. The first summer I was here we talked on the phone once a week, and wrote often, but highschool and life took its toll, and we lost touch. We are still very good friends to this day. We talk about once every three months, but things have change for us: (a) we live 3000 miles apart - she still lives in Pittsburgh, and I in San Jose, and (b) she's made some decisions in her life that I do not agree with, and she knows that, but she also knows that I love her dearly, and if she needed me, I'd move hell or high water to help her. So basically for the past 16 years, I've been without a best girlfriend - you know the one that's not in your family, who you can share your deepest darkest secrets to, and just hang out and be girls with. I have my husband, and he is my ultimate best friend, and my sister, and let me tell you for us being 8 years apart, she's AMAZING but I'm longing for that special girlfriend.

There have been a few friendships since then that have come and gone. A few of which I am sad that they ended. I miss my friend Kristin. We participated in drama productions together, and were close for “a season” but we lost touch after my senior year, and her junior year of high school. We’ve reconnected through facebook, and I am glad that she’s doing well with her husband and adorable son. I hope that some day, I can see her. There’s one friendship that I wish that I had true closure on – my friendship with Sabreena. There’s a lot of history that I can go into depth about, but I don’t know if it’s necessary. For whatever reason, our true friendship was short lived. When I met her, I thought that we would be friends for ever, but that never happened. I have a feeling that this friendship – or lack thereof has had a profound effect on me. I don’t want to put myself out there to be hurt. I’ve tried to be a good friend to several people, but because of the relationship with Sabreena, It’s been hard for me. I have no idea why. I wonder if it’s because as a child through my twenties I always had people around me. I was at church, and friends just kinda happened. But when my dad left pasturing in 2002, the “instant” friends thing kinda vanished. I have a feeling that this lack of good girl friends is a generational thing. I learned that my grandmother didn’t have a best girlfriend and neither does my mom. I am determined to break the cycle. I want to have that kind of girlfriend relationship just because, and I have a feeling that I might have found it. It will take some work on my part, and I am determed to make it work. Not just because our husbands are friends, and our kids are close in age, but because she's a really awesome mom. The main reason that I need to learn how to be a good friend is that I have a little girl who needs to not follow in the footsteps of her mom, grandmother, and great grandmother. I want to teach her how to be a good friend, and be there for her when friends let her down. I want her to have best friends, and tons of them. More than she can count. I want to run her around to this friend’s house and that friend’s party. I want the best for her.

JRM

Frustration

2007-06-09T13:28:00.001-07:00

My husband asked me this morning if I'm going to be in a bad mood again today. I told him that I am sorry, I seem to be in a funk, but that I would definitely try to "sweeten up" (as my dad used to tell me). He asked why I was so miserable, and I told him that I am so frustrated that the last work that was done on our kitchen was on Monday, and it's now Saturday, and the contractors aren't planning on being at the house until Monday. That's a whole week wasted. I could understand if there was one thing that they were waiting on, and that they needed that portion to be completed before they continued, but in my opinion that's not the case. They say that the granite fabrication process is taking longer than they thought, and that it won't be ready until Monday/Tuesday (it was supposed to be ready on Thursday/Friday). There's more than just the granite that needs to go in. The outside needs painted, the roof needs shingled, the lighting needs to be finished, the transitioin pieces from the hardwood to the carpet needs to be done, and a few more things. All of which do not require the granite to be installed to be worked on. This project was supposed to be completed on April 18, and we're 11 days shy of 2 months later. I WANT MY KITCHEN BACK! I want to cook a meal for my family, have my friends over and get back to normal life. Thankfully I like my contractors and I don't mind too much when they're here during the day. I'm probably not too happy with them at the moment, but in general, I like them. I will like them even more when they're all done and out of my house.

I have to admit that this medium of "blogging" allows me to get my frustrations out there and I don't have to take it out on my family. I am really enjoying this, and the blogs will definitely continue!

JRM

My First Blog

2007-06-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

I sit here today when I should be cleaning my house, but no, I'm putting my feet up for a minute, here on my comfy couch thinking of all of the things that I want to say and accomplish with this blog. I guess for those of you who are interested, I will tell you a little about myself. My name is Jessica Miller. I just recently turned 30, and so far, I am loving it! I was born in Allison Park, Pennsylvania. I moved to Sunnyvale, CA when I was 14. I got married to the love of my my life - Daniel Miller - on April 21, 2001. Our daughter Madison was born on January 30, 2005. She is definitely our biggest joy. That's the basics, and probably over time, I will divulge more about me.

Anyway, I was driving home this morning after dropping of Madison at her grandparents. They are AWESOME in more ways than one- not the least of which is that they watch her on Thursdays so I can keep my sanity. I was thinking how much of who I have become is a direct result of her. My identity in the "corporate world" has ceased, and I'm learning to exist in a position that requires me to be available 24/7/365. It's funny....there are moments in the day that I wish that I could just have a few moments to myself and when those opportunities are granted, all I want is to be with her. I feel like a part of me is missing. Like a major body part of mine is temporarily not attached, and I can't wait until I get it back. I know that I have A LOT to say, but the cleaning bucket is calling my name, and I only have so much time until the bell tolls 3:30, and I have to go and pick her up again.

JRM