Let's Rewind...

February 2012
This was a fun month that deserves a blog entry. I hope you can follow my random posts going back and forth in time. Starting in February my parents came West from Dallas to Caprock Canyons State Park to do some camp hosting. We got some crazy weather during their time there. My February/March folder goes from pictures in the snow....

...to our weekend at Caprock Canyons State Park with Grammie and Granddad. We were able to go twice, once at the end of February, and once mid March just Jake and I. Both trips were a BLAST. Jake just LOVES being outdoors. He would walk until his legs fell off if we let him. The first trip was spent playing at a park, throwing rocks it the lake, watching the Bison and riding around in the back of Granddad's truck.

The second trip was more hiking than anything. Jake enjoyes rocks, dirt and cactus, so he was in heaven. I was waddling by this time, but still enjoyed myself. Jake got to experience his first hot dog roast and his first smores. YUMMY!!

 We kept Jake away from Grammie while she literally ROASTED her marshmallow

 It was SO GREAT to be able to make these memories with Grammie and Granddad.

Just a side note... Jake has changed SO MUCH just since these pictures. Where has my baby gone?? He's turning into a little boy. He is such an amazing kiddo. He has the sweetest spirit, a servants heart, he loves to make others laugh, and he lights up a room with his smile. He is such a blessing to our family!

A Family of FOUR

So I'm overwhelmed at the thought of actually catching up on the blog... not going to happen. I hate that you have all missed out on so much of our goings on... lots of cute pictures. Jake has changed drastically over the last 6 or so months and we've obviously grown by 10 fingers and 10 toes. Instead of talking about everything that's happened, in one post I'm going to DO MY BEST to create one post a day this week.
So I'll start with the obvious...

WELCOME DAWSON RAY MILLER

6 lbs 11oz

19"

Believe it or not the delivery was easy. I had contractions for several days before he was born, but nothing major. Then the evening of Mothers Day the contractions REALLY started. I had no idea how fast my labor was actually going. I kindof wish now I hadn't had the epidural because apparently I was in the thick of it before I got the epidural and didn't realize it. All I knew was that the contractions were much more painful than what I had ever experienced with Jake and I THOUGHT they could only get worse. I progressed faster than the nurses expected me too as well. They left the room around 4:30 a.m. and didn't intend to even come back until 7:00 to check me and see how things were going. Well, Dawson had other plans. His heart rate dropped around 5:30ish which caused the nurse to come into the room. She rolled me over onto my side and I FELT a VERY strong contraction, lots of pressure. So she decided to go ahead and check me. To OUR great surprise my water had broke and I was ready to go!! I had another strong contraction, she checked me again and he was "heading out". There was no time for the doctor to get in the room. One leg in the stirrup, not even a full push and he literally fell out into the waiting hands of the nurse. Shortly after the Doctor walked in, ha! It was a whirlwind for sure. Dawson was good minus low blood sugar. So they had to give him some formula directly into his little stomach... he had already been nursing for almost a full hour before this. He also had a hard time keeping his body temp up so he had to chill under the warmers for awhile as well as some skin to skin with Mommy which I loved. There are more details to this crazy night, but I want this to be a blog post, not a novel. Maybe I'll tell the whole story later... but you know I probably won't. 



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!!