Christmas 2011

What an AMAZING Christmas we had! We decided this year that instead of us buying 3 plane tickets and flying all the way to Charlotte, or the Nuzum clan buying 5 plane tickets and flying to TX that we would all drive and meet at a central location. Thanks to Gerald's sister, Merry, we were able to get hooked up at an AMAZING hunting lodge just outside Tuscaloosa, AL. It's called Zidon Avisha and owned by an the sweetest couple you could meet. We were truly blessed by them.
So our journey began on Thursday, Dec. 22nd around 8:30 a.m. We were COMPLETELY loaded down.

We didn't even care that we had such a LONG drive ahead of us, we were SO EXCITED to FINALLY be with family again after a long 7 months. The first day we drove from Lubbock to Shreveport, LA (with a stop to stretch our legs in Mesquite) where we stayed at a hotel for the night. This was our first hotel stay with Jake and he did GREAT. We all slept surprisingly well. We got up, had a yummy breakfast and got back on the road around 9:00. Jake was such a trooper in the car. He is NOT a fan of sleeping in the car so he never got much more than a 45 min. nap each day. It never phased him though, we brought along plenty to keep him busy, plus the DVD player, of course.
So, we all arrived at Zidon Avisha within 20 min of each other.... pretty good considering we were all coming from 3 different directions. It was SO GREAT to be together again. It was a little chilly when we arrived, but not too bad. We were all in awe of this beautiful house we were staying in. (Mom and Dad stayed in their RV right outside, not that there wasn't PLENTY of room for them inside).

The first 3 days it was cold and rainy outside so most of the fun was had inside, where there was PLENTY to do. There was a pool table, ping-pong table, two huge TVs, a sun room where the kids could run and play, we brought our Wii along, and of course, just good 'ol cousin fun.

Once the weather cleared up, though, out we went and pretty much stayed for most of the day. We did a lot of fishing, walking, exploring, rock collecting, and "tractor" (golf cart) riding. We all loved being outside, it was BEAUTIFUL, and there was PLENTY of room to run.

Dad went fishing for a little more than fish... a basketball, and the end of a fishing pole to be exact.

Christmas morning was a blast with all the cousins together. We listened to Tonya read and Josh recite from memory the Christmas story. Our family has always made it a priority to remember what CHRISTmas is all about. The reading of The Christmas story has been a tradition for as long as I can remember. Then we got to open presents, Jake really got into it this year.
As you will see, there were plenty of presents to be opened.

A fun time was had by ALL! I couldn't ask for more. We are so incredibly blessed. I just wish we didn't all live so far away so that we could get together like this more than once a year!!

By the end, we were wiped out, but our hearts were full!!

Christmas decorating

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Miller house. I have so enjoyed my new found love for the everyday I couldn't wait to get the house clean and ready for Christmas decorating. I spent the week after Thanksgiving getting everything in order for a fun Saturday with the family. I looked forward to it all week. I was worried at one point we would have to postpone because Jake-Man came down with a fever Thurs. afternoon. Luckily by Sat he was as fit as a fiddle.
We started out our Saturday morning by staying in our jammies and enjoying a YUMMY green chili and bacon breakfast pizza.

After that it was time to unpack the train that goes around the tree. To say Jake was excited would be an understatment!

Admiring the Engine....

 

After playing with the train a little it was time to start on the Christmas tree! Jake was a big help!!

A short break to admire the engine once more...

Make sure it's not crooked, Dad!

Helping Mommy with the lights.

Hanging ornaments

Jake's all landed on the same spot on the tree. He had so much fun looking at all the different ornaments. We'll be lucky if they actually end up staying ON the tree.

Finally it's all said and done. After finally getting dressed for the day, a little time to adimire the train once again.

And a day topped off with a story with Daddy...

We had such an amazing Saturday together. Ya know, our decorations aren't perfect, they aren't fancy, they aren't glamerous... but they are ours, and I LOVE them. We are so very blessed. I love our growing family of 3!!

Thanksgiving 2011

So I know we've been absent for awhile and I promise I have good reasons! There is so much to tell, there's no way I'll fit it into one post. So I think what I'm going to try and do is start with Thanksgiving and maybe between now and Christmas do some backtracking to Jake's 2nd birthday, Halloween and other activities I've managed NOT to blog about.

I'm sure most of you know by now that we found out in September that we are expecting baby #2 in May. We are extremely thrilled... now that we've gotten through the rough spot called the first trimester. To say it wasn't nice to me is very much an under statement. I went from having HORRIBLE nausea and losing 10 lbs to breaking out in hives from HEAD to TOE. I'm talking swollen ears, hands, knuckles, etc. You know the scene in "Hitched" where Will Smith eats fish and has an allergic reaction. Well, lets just say that was my ENTIRE body. It was AWFUL! It's a long story, but we're past that now and I'm LOVING the second trimester. I'm full of energy and have a RENEWED joy for what I get to do as a stay at home Mom!

This Thanksgiving we had so much to be Thankful for, but never have I been so thankful for my health and the ability to do.... do laundry, do dishes, do the dusting and cleaning, do the normally mundane tasks. The Lord really has put a new song in my heart for the place I am in in life right now. He truly puts a new song in my heart each and every morning. I ask Him DAILY to never let me forget what it was like to NOT be able to do. To have to sit by and not be able to cook/clean/take care of my son. To watch my AMAZING husband take on not only his task as husband and dad, but also the task of Mom, cook, sole child care provider, EVERYTHING. He was running SOLO. And let me tell you, not ONE TIME did he EVER complain. He would actually tell me at night, as I cried myself to sleep time and time again, how honored he was to be able to serve me in such a way. WOW... sorry ladies, he's taken and he's MINE!

So needless to say, just the fact that we were able to get in the car as a family, drive to Mesquite and spend time with family was more than I could have ever asked for. We had THE BEST time with Gerald's family. We ATE, and ATE, and ATE.... you see the trend. We laughed a lot and just enjoyed being together. Now, the drive there was not so pleasant, sitting in traffic for about an hr. and making it about 5 miles, but even in that I was able to remain joyful. GOD IS GOOD!!

So we arrived in Mesquite Wed. evening where Jake pretty much went straight to bed on his fun little pallet on the floor. Thursday we woke up, had a great breakfast with G's family, and relaxed until it was time to get ready and head over to Dawna's house for turkey and other yummy fixings.  We got there around 3:30 and had a smorgasbord of food. It was all DELICIOUS! This expecting Mommy was happy! Jake got to play with cousin Grayson, who is about 6 months younger than him. They had fun running around and playing with cars. Later when the men were taking a break from football they hooked up the Kinect for Jake-Man to play with. He was a HOOT! He thought it was the coolest thing that he could see himself appear and then disappear on screen. They also had a mini-tramp out for him to play on and the phrase "Jumpin' Jake" was quickly coined. He would have jumped on that thing all night if we had let him. Jake pretty much had everyone in stitches by the end.  He would jump, jump, jump, then jump off and yell, "YAY JAKE!". Such a cutie! He had a good time with all his Aunts, Uncles, and cousins. (Minus Aunt Merry who didn't make it down this year, she was missed!) We finally managed to get J-Man loaded in the car and headed back to Bauchi's house for the night. He crashed hard! The next morning we got up and headed out the door around 9:30 to do a little shopping.  Nothing serious, just a little browsing and to just get out and see the crowds, which really didn't end up being that bad in Mesquite. We had fun just strolling and letting J run the mall. After that we headed home for a quick nap and then off to the park with Aunt Michelle, Uncle John, and Bauchi to feed the ducks and play on the playground. The weather was perfect, and as usual, Jake had a great time. He could play on a playground 24/7 if we had the time. Once we were done at the park we went and picked up Grandpa and headed to eat at Texas Roadhouse, YUMMM! Jake was such a big boy, he did AMAZING, if I can say that. G and I were so proud at how well he sat in his highchair, and what a joyful heart he had.... I guess it's contagious. We had a great visit and plenty of leftovers.
So Saturday came and Bauchi had to leave and meet up with Aunt Merry in Vicksburg, we were sad to see her go. We packed up and headed over to Aunt Michelle's where we spent the day and evening. It was great to get to spend so much time with Gerald's family this holiday. It's usually a whirlwind trip, but this one was relaxed and just enough time to see everyone. WE ARE SO INCREDIBLY BLESSED!!

A Hodge Podge of Activity

So our little man has kept us busy... can I blame him for Mommy not having the energy left at the end of the day to update the blog?? We have so much fun together everyday. I try to get us out of the house at least once a day, usually to a park to play. Jake is a little monkey, he climbs on, over, on top of ANYTHING he can find. I still have to stay close b/c he'll also try and JUMP OFF of any high apparatus he can manage to climb onto.
Last weekend we stayed pretty busy out and about. We went out to the Apple Orchard in Idalou for the Apple Butter Festival. Jake had a BLAST!

Playing in the corn field with his BFF Ellie

Cruising down the bounce house slide,

picking apples

Eating Apples

Sharing Apples

And just having fun.

... oh, and his favorite, jumping off the hay bales

Fun was had by all!!

This was also the anniversary for 9-11, so we took Jake out to the memorial they put up every year. It's overwhelming to be out there and think of all the men and women, past/present/future who have fought and even given their lives for OUR freedom. I hope we can raise Jake in a way that he appreciates the history that has brought us to where we are today.

Jake loves to go and feed ducks at the nearby parks.

There are a ton of other shenanigans I could show you and write about, but my time has run out. I hope you have enjoyed this update. It's hard to believe my next post will probably be about his SECOND BIRTHDAY!!