Day 3:

Whenever people go away on a big trip or adventure there is always a part of me that wants to go, to be where all the exciting action is, but being the homebody that I am there is always another side of it that I am so thankful for. Today, I was thankful for the fact that not only has Jamie been given a great opportunity to share the love of Jesus in Germany, but I have been given an equally great opportunity right where I am. Today I took a walk with the girls and stopped to talk to an elderly man walking a dog, who said he used to have 3 little girls running around his house before they all grew up and moved away....Today I had a conversation with one of my girls about a 17 year old that died in our community last week and how as she put it "17 is not very old"...Today I made tissue paper trees and flowers (so fun!)and interacted with 5 great kids about who made the trees and why Jesus was so great that people wanted to share Him with others...Today I sat with friends who have become family, sharing pizza and talking about life. It was a good day (well, except for when Isabelle got a sliver--we're not talking about that--let's just say if you live in a 25 mile radius of my house you probably heard her screaming as I tried to get it out). But anyway, I love the fact that the same God who ministered to my heart today, ministered to hearts in Germany, and in every other corner of the world for that matter. So, I hope you have great adventures in your life--near and far. And I hope you are inspired by the adventures of others as they carry out their God given callings. But I mostly hope that you have found great joy in your own calling and that this post finds you blooming with the love of Jesus wherever you have been planted.

On a side note, last night had 1 girl screaming with a nightmare, 1 girl claiming to be "lightheaded", and 1 girl demanding a drink which added up to a not-so-great night of sleep for me. Let us hope that 3 little munchkins sleep soundly this evening or they will have 1 grumpy mama in the morning.

Sweet Dreams!

Day 2:

Well, I woke up this morning (alongside 2 munchkins) with snow out my window. This is a personal record for the latest snowfall that I have seen, but it didn't damper my spirits. Now my sister-in-law texting me to tell me she was out in the sun catching some rays, that may have dampened my spirits a little, but she ended up getting burnt so there is some sweet justice. =) Anyway, I have a long list of spring cleaning to do--and I got a ton accomplished- I even pulled out the refrigerator to clean behind (Muy Macho- I know). A special thanks to Abby for taking the girls and their friends from church on a lunch outing to the Mall of America...they had a great time. =)

So, I tried to start our girl time off on a good note. I took the girls for donuts at a new to us bakery in Chaska--very good. And then I went for all the gusto and although, I am pretty much anti-stuffed animals, the girls added two more to their collection today. It is Webkinz Extravaganza Weekend (if you don't know, just think beanie babies with virtual lives--somebody is making millions). And the girls still had some money that they assured me they really, really, really wanted to spend on new Webkinz. So we now have a chihuahua named Cutie and a persian cat named Beautiful (they are in the pictures).

I did get to talk to Jamie this afternoon. Well, at first, I was talking and he was typing which was incredibly weird, but Yay for Eric who fixed that problem in a jiffy and we are no longer in radio silence. Now I just need to figure out this time difference thing and we will be golden.

The comment of the day:

"Mom, you are like a widow." (This made for a nice teaching conversation)





Macie really just wanted to read her book, but then I told her the picture was for Daddy and she perked right up.



Sweet Dreams!

(two posts today...read the other one first....please)

Day 1:

We all deal with our emotions in different ways. I have been mentally blocking out this trip for one reason or another. I do pretty good when Jamie goes out of town, but overseas seems to be a little more difficult for me. I am a cell phone user and although I do not always answer it or even know where it is, I can normally call and Jamie's voice is right there. This is not so with overseas travel. We have set up Skype, so we should be able to talk while he is away through the computer (that's amazing), but as of today he could hear me, but I could not hear him. So, hopefully Eric can figure that one out or we will be in what I am calling "radio silence" for the next ten days and that will be unfortunate.

Now the girls on the other hand have not given much thought to the trip until today. As we drove away from the airport I was holding back the huge lump in my throat and then I looked in the rearview mirror and saw Tori trying to hide behind the seat, tears flowing down her face. I heard her give a little sob--my lump now started flowing out my eyeballs--but then I had to laugh, because Tori looked at Isabelle who was happily singing a song and said, "You don't even miss him". So, that made Isabelle start to cry and argue "I do miss him, I'm just not crying, Tori said I don't miss him, but I do". Tori will sleep with his picture every night and Isabelle will probably draw him 100 pictures. Macie probably won't have any idea what is going on, but she will be really excited to see him when he comes home. We will all miss him, but we will just show it in different ways.

p.s. pictures tommorrow- I promise.

In today's world it is all about "total access". We get behind the scenes looks at everything from the homes of the rich and famous to how they make movies and tootsie rolls for crying out loud. So, I made an executive decision...brace yourself..this week we are going behind the scenes.

Background:
Jamie is in flight to Germany as I type. He and Eric Beavers are headed there for a book tour/ speaking trip with one of Consumed Ministries' authors- Rob Stearns. You can stay updated on all that is happening on their trip at Consumed's website (www.consumedministries.com). But I am here in good old Bloomington with the girlies and it is my sincere intent to give a daily update (hopefully with pictures) of all that is going on at home. "Why?" you may ask...well, one, I have had a good number of people express that they are praying for me this week (THANK YOU!!!!) and so I thought I would give you a more accurate picture of what you are praying for....and probably give you a few good laughs. Two, Jamie will not get to see our beautiful faces for the next 10 days, so this way he can keep caught up, too. And, three, I expect I am going to be bored, so....here we go...A behind the scenes look at the family behind the scene- Germany 2008.

Here are the girls are snuggly buggly for Friday night's showing of Enchanted--complete with popcorn and peanut butter m&m's.
I just love 'em!

I hear we may get some snow today...Maybe a song will cheer you up...

http://www.noggin.com/shows/spring.php

Believe in Spring! =)

Jamie's bowling league career was cut short when he broke his ankle playing basketball and could no longer hop on his release. (this is absolutely true)



The Miller fam went bowling for Family Friday Night...It was quite fun. We have never really gone bowling with the girls, but I got a coupon in the mail (of course). Tori had gone with us once when we went with the Alumni Department at BBC during Volunteers week, but that was many moons ago- she was about Macie's age at the time. This time, the girls actually bowled, so against Jamie's wishes we used bumpers. Isabelle was all over the bumpers (otherwise she may have scored a 4). Instead I think she scored an 80 and is now under the false assumption that she is a very good bowler. Oops. Tori, on the other hand didn't actually use the bumpers much at all--and she did pretty well. But Isabelle ended up beating her "technically", which made Tori not so happy and not so cooperative for my photo shoot. I, admittedly, may have used the bumper one time, not on purpose, it just happened. My puny little arm has a hard time staying straight after a few frames. =) Jamie, for the record, did not use the bumpers at all and he won--in case you thought I did. I am not ready to join a league or anything (Jamie may have said something about that---ay-yi-yi), but I do think we will go again sometime.

Did you note that Jamie has a different outfit on in some of the pictures? See the ones of him in his black "Go Bucks" shirt...well, that is our little Tori girl with him at the aforementioned PA bowling trip...Can you even believe it? Where has the time gone?

I am the first to admit that I am totally gullible and believe many absolutely absurd things that I am told. But I was told that the size of the squirrels in the fall is a good way to determine the length and severity of the winter to come. You know, because God provides extra nuts for them to eat in the fall to survive the winter. (Go ahead and mock me--I can take it) =). Now it may be coincidence, but the creepy albino squirrel that lives in my neighborhood was so chubby this fall and now it is March 31st and we are supposed to get 4-8 inches of snow. I don't know...seems kinda interesting to me...
Heed the squirrels people!

The simple joys of the past couple weeks...

Take the time to smell the roses....even if they are buried under the snow. ;)

So sorry...I have been getting spammed and so I had to add the word verification thing THAT I HATE onto my blog. Darn spammers! Sorry for the inconvenience.

I wanted to introduce you to some new residents in the Miller household. We got them last Friday night for Family Friday Night, Yeah Family Friday night (Columbus people you can sing it with me--to the tune of Football Friday night). Anyway, I thought I should introduce them now before, well...you know what happens to fish.

Here are our fish--Tori named hers "Buckeye" and Isabelle named hers "Shakey" and then changed his name to "Bunny". They are Male Betta fish and we had a wonderful and informative worker named Kevin help us get them all set up.

It was Jamie's idea and the girls were actually squealing when we told them. I was not thrilled about the idea, because I am not interested in going down the slippery slope of pet ownership. I am just not a pet person...sorry. I am taking good care of the fish...at least I am trying to take good care of the fish.

It is a GLORIOUS day here in Bloomington, MN and I have total spring fever. So, Isabelle, Macie and I went on our first walk of spring. Isabelle rode her scooter through every puddle and I pushed Macie in my "made for the mall, not for the outdoors" stroller through an ice slushy. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if we would have stuck to the streets, but if you have seen Ponsi ride her scooter you would know why it is much safer for us to stick to the sidewalks. So despite the bottoms of our pants being covered in mud (actually Ponsi fell twice so she was completely covered in mud) and my arms being a little sore, I feel so refreshed to have felt the sun on my face and to have breathed the fresh air into my lungs. Ronsi, however, lost her steam after about 3/4 mile and made me carry her scooter home (well, she didn't MAKE me--I gave in--she had fallen twice for goodness sake)and she is now taking a hot bath and expecting hot chocolate when she is done. Oh well. Happy Spring!

(p.s.--I fully realize it is not technically spring yet and we may get a snowstorm in a day or two, but I am relishing my spring day today--that's all.)

Macie was not happy when I made her come in. Temper, temper. ;)

Jamie was having deja vu last night...good deja vu of attending a choir concert for one of his sisters. =) Tori was a lovely ladybug in the 1st and 2nd grade production of "BUGZ". She has been excited about it for weeks and I have heard the songs rehearsed over and over and the motions practiced (in secret) until she got them just right. I realize she was one of 200 children up on the stage yesterday, but I was beaming with pride because, of course, she was the cutest little ladybug I have ever seen! ;) And Isabelle soaked up every glorious moment vicariously through Tori--dreaming of the day when she, too, could be a ladybug. Those of you who know Ronsi well can imagine the squeals of delight when Tori let her wear her antennae after the show. Bravo Victoria!

Jamie was not the only one having some "Mardi Gra" fun this week. Today we girls went to Tori's school carnival that was all done up in Mardi Gra decor. Isabelle played all the little games-- winning a bag full of notebooks and bracelets and plastic frog treasures. Tori decided that the game prizes were junk (Thank you Jesus--we are making progress) and spent her tickets on hair extensions and food (I said progress, not miracles). So, maybe it was not exactly the French Quarter, but we had fun!

One of the great responsibilities of being a parent is navigating them through the questions of life. And while someday I am sure the girls and I will tackle some really big questions, we have answered a few here and there, I was laughing today at the kinda silly questions I seem to spend most of my time answering right now...

1. Do I have to wash my body? (she was taking a bath--you know, a bath, some people do it to get clean- my daughter currently thinks it is a fun time to splash around in her own filth and then get out). I told her "Yes, you definitely have to wash your body EVERY time you take a bath".

2. Is today tommorrow? (now you may have to think on that one for a while...we were supposed to do something tommorrow and she wanted to know if that was today--follow?) Seriously people, I just could not even think how to articulate an answer to help her understand, so she just got a no. Yet another thing I am dumping on her elementary teacher to take care of. :)

Jamie is away this week at the Christian Life Center in Waveland, MS. He and some others from our church community are there helping with the rebuild from Hurricane Katrina. My friend, Chuck (who is on the trip) is posting updates and pictures of their time down there on his blog--check it out!

"Angel you were born to fly and if you get to high I'll catch you when you fall" - Nickel Creek

So blessed to be your Mom. So amazed by all the strength and gifts that you have been given. I love you! Happy Birthday Tori!

Despite my normal routine of hibernating in the winter, the girls and I went on an outing last night to the Richardson Nature Center in Bloomington. As is typical me, I came across a flyer advertising that this week is "BLIK" or Bloomington Loves Its Kids week. These events are hit or miss--more often than not they are kind of cheesy and boring, but last night was a winner. Isabelle was in learning heaven with animal puppets and tiny turtles. And Macie just kept saying "oh--what's sat?". And Tori, well, Tori pet a snake--didn't even think twice about it. Who is this child?

So, they had hot chocolate and cookies, made a craft, saw a live owl, falcon and some other bird I can't remember (owls are so cute by the way), they pet a turtle and a snake and I was the coolest mom in the world (well, until I made them go to bed then my cool status plummeted). The only fun thing we did not do was go on a snow shoe walk (it was a little chilly for that)...but I will be going back to do that if we ever break into the 30's, because how fun is that? And did I mention it is all FREE--Here is to new discoveries!

Did someone say they weren't having a happy Valentine's Day?



Do you need a hug?



How about a big old kiss?



Will you be our Valentine?



Jesus loves you and so do we!!! Happy Valentine's Day!

Macie has recently joined the girls club. It is quite entertaining to see her "playing" with the big girls. She is normally the dog--that is how Isabelle started out, too.



That is her little hand around Isabelle's neck...she did that all on her own. She knows the classic "girl" pose. I love it!



Don't worry- they are only allowed to play this under my supervision.



And pictured below is Macie's face when she is done playing. Poor little thing.

I have never heard of this before in the blog world, but my blog well is dry so why not? I was tagged by Amy...

8 things I'm passionate about:
1. Jesus
2. Jamie and the girls
3. My family (by blood, by marriage, by Jesus)
4. Speaking Truth
5. Journaling (leaving a written legacy for my kids)
6. Women (in a totally pure way, but there are too many areas I am passionate about so I had to shorten it)
7. Being Hospitable
8. Ohio State Football (Go Bucks!)

8 things I want to do before I die:
1. See my girls all growed up
2. Adopt some aged child/children (maybe a boy) from some place (this is all very sketchy)
3. Travel places I have never been
4. Learn to speak Spanish
5. Take the girls to Disneyworld
6. See the dreams of GC and Consumed continue to come to fruition
7. Finish the laundry. (I am running short on answers)
8. Live downtown in a loft

8 things I say often:
1. Jame
2. Maso, Butters, Ronsi Ponsi, Tor, Tor-Dor
3. Stop Whining
4. Sweet thing
5. The church building or the church is the people
6. What's that?
7. kisses
8. He/ she is on my team

8 TV shows you recently watched
1. American Idol
2. Miss Spider's Sunny Patch
3. 30 Rock
4. Little Bear
5. Survivor
6. Sportscenter
7. Wow! Wow! Wubzy!
8. The Office

8 Artists I never tire of listening to:
1. Charlie Hall
2. Nickel Creek
3. Brad Kilman
4. Sarah McLachlan (especially her Christmas album)
5. Country- whatever
6. Indigo Girls
7. Norah Jones
8. Dave Matthews Band (this is Jamie's fault)


8 things that attract me to my friends:
1. Down to earth
2. Sincere
3. You cry easily...you're in
4. You laugh easily...you are also in, especially if you laugh at your own jokes =)
5. Loyal
6. Humble
7. Friendly
8. Common Interests

8 Things I learned in 2007
1. I am assertive, especially when I feel attacked and that is NOT a bad thing.
2. I love having older women in my life and being an older woman to younger women.
3. Macie's smile can brighten anyone's day.
4. I can bring forth food from the ground (this was quite empowering).
5. All day school makes kids old.
6. Tori is good at soccer and Isabelle, well, she looks really cute in her uniform--and that is okay cuz that is how God made them.
7. God wants me to make a difference in this world and I can.
8. I turn into a junior high girl when I see The Ohio State University Football team.

Who am I gonna tag?
1. Tara
2. Abs
3. Lisa and/or Eric
4. Chuck
5. Heidi
6. Marissa

If you are sad your name is not included just keep this in mind a. I did not think you would participate or b. you are hiding your blog life from me (come out of the secret blog closet).

From Fall 2006:
Separation Anxiety

No, I am not talking about a baby and their mom--although I always found that more complimentary than annoying--I am referencing "sister separation anxiety". This fall we held our breath to see how their first real "separation" would go. Tori started kindergarten, and as I have observed, school just makes kids older. I really thought Isabelle would be left behind as Tori burst into the kindergarten scene, but so far so good. Isabelle walks to the bus stop every morning. Tori is sure to give her a hug every day before she gets on the bus (I don't always even get one), and when Tori comes home they embrace again. The separation has not really affected them yet, because as is classic Tori she is thrilled to come home and fill Isabelle in on everything about her new adventure. They look at the website to check out pictures of Tori in her class and they sit and do homework together. Once again, Tori is introducing her to the world. Honestly, Isabelle has probably aged more than Tori.

I don't take for granted the friendship my girls have and I am sure someday Tori won't find it cool to be with her sister and then Isabelle will be left behind--devastated by the blow of losing her hero. Or maybe not...and maybe Jamie and I are the ones that suffer from separation anxiety as our girls take one giant step together in their growing up process.


P.S. back to 2008- ronsi is getting her Kindergarten shots as I type :(

Well, there are now 2 short-haired girls in the family (well, 3 if you count Mace). Ronsi donated her hair to Locks of Love this past Friday. I am really proud of her and I think she has learned a lot these past weeks about caring for others--mainly through this and following the story of baby Gwyneth, who we have never met, but who Isabelle now calls "our baby". (If you haven't heard of this baby you should check her and her parents out--you will be moved by our amazing God and His amazing children)

Anyway, As far as her hair goes, it is quite a bit shorter than I anticipated and we did have a miscommunication (hairdresser gone mad) bang cutting incident, which was slightly traumatic, but we now have a tupperware full of clips (Isabelle was really pumped about that) and so it works. For those lucky ones who knew me as a child it is pretty much my haircut that I had from 1st to 3rd grade (Thank you Dad, Mom and Dorothy Hamill for that) and I don't think I did that on purpose, but my counselor friend, Chuck, said I may have some deep seeded issues. Who knew?

I think they are trying to take over. I know they have nice little stitched smiles on their faces, but I really believe stuffed animals are trying to take over my house. It is as if they know that I do not like them. It is bad enough that they multiply like rabbits, but now they have started taunting me. Last night I was sleeping in Ronsi's bed (don't ask--the girls took over my bed)...Anyway, I am in sweet sleep la-la land and I hear a voice. It just keeps saying the same thing in a high pitched annoying voice over and over again. It was haunting me: "This is Cheer Bear. How about a hug?", and again "This is Cheer Bear. I want to play with you". Well, Cheer Bear, I DO NOT want to give you a hug and I DO NOT want to play with you--I want to sleep and I want you to leave me alone. And just so you know if I have to use force and rip out your battery or rip off your head--I will. Don't fall for their tricks--Beware of the Bear!

Here are some of their latest enlistments just since Christmas...

I now have two kiddos in school... I would take a picture, but he would kill me. Jamie started his classical guitar class at Normandale Community College today and he is practicing as I type. Quite a fellow I am married to...

Skateville in Burnsville--That is where I dropped my little Tori off for a birthday party today. Wow! When I dropped her off amidst the chaos of tons of kids, video games and those same old brown skates with orange stoppers I had some thoughts. My first thoughts were flashbacks to a roller rink in East Des Moines somewhere where I played the giant dice game, the limbo, skated to "Downtown" and dreamed of the moonlight skate. My second thought was that Tori was way too young to be there. There must be some sort of age restriction for entering that world. They just let her walk in- no i.d. or nothing. Apparently our society does not care about such things and they think it is just fine that Tori be involved in such activities. What is this world coming to? I am not so sure I like it.

Call me a nerd if you like, but I love getting my new calendar for the year. Most years my Dad gets all us girls one for Christmas, but some years I get the job myself. This year Ronsi, Macie and I headed to the calendar store after Christmas (they are 50% off then, ya know) to find my 2008 calendar. There were a lot of nice ones left and I had 2 or 3 that I thought would do, but then my eye landed on my choice. It is called "The Road Home". You are probably thinking that calendars do not normally have titles, but they do and this one I just loved. My road home leads me lots of places. I can take 35 South to my home in Iowa where my wonderful family is or I can take 494, 94, 39, 270 (I am pretty sure those are not correct- Jamie will be apalled) or something close to that and go to my home in Ohio where more family and great friends live, I can drive around my newest home state, Minnesota, visiting my "might as well be family" and at the end of the day come home to be with my precious little family of Jamie, Tori, Isabelle and the Mace. I am a rich woman and I am thankful for my new calendar and its reminder to me of how thankful I am for all my roads home.

New Year, New Post, New Hair Cut, New OSU Jersey....so many new things, where to start. First of all, happy belated New Year. I have been "away" for a few weeks and took this past week to get organized. Pictures will be posted from the holidays, but I thought I would get the haircut up first. I donated my hair to Locks of Love a week or so ago. I have talked about it for awhile and finally actually did it. It is such a great cause--I am sad I did not do it sooner. So, I have short hair, which I have not had for oh, 12 years or so. Everyone in the family seems to be adjusting okay to "short-haired Gretchen" as some people have been calling me. I don't think I am a different person, but maybe carrying around all that extra hair and wearing a pony tail most days did have an effect on my personality. Anyway, Jamie likes it, I like it, Ronsi likes it, Macie is unaffected, Tori has come to like it although she sobbed when she first saw me. Not kidding--sobbed. And then told me the next day that she still hated it. But now I think she likes it.

Anyway, there is the first picture...my stylist did it in a sleek bob, but let's be honest, I will not be taking the time to do that very frequently. So, this is my usual do. Suggestions welcome.

And finally for now, in the picture I am sporting my new Ohio State jersey--a James Laurinaitis Jersey--courtesy of my in-laws. And although I DO NOT have a crush on him I did get my picture taken with him while we were in Seattle and I will be wearing it proudly and cheering for him and the rest of the Buckeyes in the National Championship game tommorrow.

GO BUCKS!

Well, I guess Santa Claus was a one year adventure for me. I am not a Santa Claus hater--I just never believed in him. My parents never said he didn't exist, but they never said he did either and they definitely didn't have a distant uncle call me and tell me to get in bed on Christmas Eve because he had flown by in his sled and saw I was still up. Anyway, you get the point...

Now fast forward to me as a mother of three girls. Tori sort of played it like me. Santa is a nice story, but she never actually believed he came down the chimney and such. But Isabelle, well, the stories of Santa brought wide-eyed wonder. And, for me at least, wide eyed wonder is one of my favorite things about having children. So much so that last year I went all in and while Jamie had the girls out I dreamed up an elaborate story about Santa and how he had visited our house while they were gone and swooshed down the fireplace, took their stockings and filled them with treasures and then hid them somewhere in the house and I couldn't find them. Tori was a skeptic, although she played along, but Isabelle fell hook, line and sinker. She started asking every question under the sun and my little white lie got more and more elaborate...I didn't want to lose the wonder in her eyes.

Well, this year I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I wasn't sure I could come up with another story to fool a now 5 year old little girl. But today I learned I don't have to. In an uneventful moment of discovery this morning, Isabelle told me Santa is not real. Santa is your mom and dad. I asked who told her. She said no one, just herself, because last year when there was Strawberry Shortcake bubble bath in her stocking she knows you buy that at Target and Santa does not go shopping--he has a workshop. I didn't argue, cuz why bother with the lie if she doesn't seem to care. And so I sang her "I Saw Ponsi Kissing Santa Claus" and she told me that means she is kissing her dad. She's a smart one.

Merry Christmas!

My dear, sweet Ronsi Ponsi....from before you even made your first appearance in this world you were teaching us things. A visit to the hospital in the beginning days of my pregnancy, taught us to wait on the Lord and take nothing for granted, as a nurse prepared me for the possiblility that I had miscarried you. Your early arrival into this world taught us the value of friends who could take me to the hospital and stay with your big sister at a moments notice, while Jamie rushed home from a basketball game in Long Island to be there in time. Your teensy tiny 5 lbs., 13 oz. frame taught us about an amazing God who had carefully formed each precious finger and each precious toe. And now, as five years of your life have passed, You have taught us joy through your infectious one dimple smile and uncontrollable laughter. You have taught us that a hug (especially a Ronsi leg hug) really can make everything feel so much better and raise your endorphins all in one shot. You have taught us of an insanely creative God as you brought us into a whole new world that is uniquely you--filled with mgiraffes, princesses, horses and puppy dogs and more made up words than I can recount. We have watched you grow from a tiny baby into a soccer "sort of" playing, scooter riding, cartoon watching, skip-bo winning, junk food loving big sister--all done in your own way with a confidence in who God has made YOU to be. You captured your Dad and I's heart a long time ago and capture more and more hearts by the day. Happy 5th Birthday Sweet Isabelle! We love you!