It must be some sort of rite of passage for 2 year olds. And since Macie will only be two for about another month she had to make sure and get it in. While Jamie and I were cleaning up last night from our church gathering, Macie scribbled on the wall. She has been coloring for some time now, even using markers, and has never once scribbled on anything but the paper. And she knew right when I found her that she had done something wrong (amazing how they just know, huh?). Macie is not a terrible two year old, she is actually very good and has a very tender heart, so she was devastated when I sent her to her room. Hopefully, she will not plan on doing it again or any other strange two year old rites of passage (like throwing things in the toilet). Good thing two year olds are so darn cute!

FYI- Most of it came off with some scrubbing, but does anyone have any wisdom on getting black sharpie off the wall? :)

There is just one more story I have to share from Adventureland. My sister Leah (an amazing up and coming photographer) took some pictures and posted them on facebook. Looking at them, she so perfectly captured my dear Tori in a classic life moment that I have to fill you in.

Tori is well aware that I am not quite the most daring of riders at amusement parks. She loves to give me grief about it when we have visited Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America and she is quick to point out that she has ridden certain rides and I am too big of a chicken. She was up to her usual taunting as we entered Adventureland--challenging me to ride some of the more adventurous rides there. I, of course, am not affected by these remarks. I am a 33 year old woman who feels no peer pressure to love rides. The second ride we came upon after The Galleon was the Splash Down. I have never seen a ride like it before, but you basically get whipped around and around while water sprays up at you (sounds fun, huh?). Well, Tori was the only one who wanted to go. She was acting very tough and macho convincing her cousin Mackenzie to ride with her. Mack conceded and off they went. I took a quick jaunt on the teacups with Macie and then came back to watch Tori. I will let the pictures show her experience....







For a split second I felt a little bad for laughing as hard as I was (I was in tears). The look of horror on her face when she thought the ride was over and then would realize it was just getting ready to gear up and whip them around again was priceless. It was a good humbling moment for her and now I have the pictures to prove it. That was her only moment of fear the rest of the day. I wasn't there to see it, but she did end up riding the Space Shot later that night, which I don't think I could have even watched her do. She is much braver than me, but even the mighty have moments of fear. ;)

We are in the last week before school starts and our summer has been full of adventures. Soon the girls will be in first and third grades, which at times seems unbelievable, and then at other times they seem to age right before my eyes. Take for instance, Isabelle, who Jamie affectionately calls "Little Gretchen" sometimes. He calls her that because if you didn't know she looks and often acts much like me (I know, lucky girl) :) But last weekend she surprised me by acting quite opposite of me and growing up in a 60 second galleon ride.

Last weekend we were down in Iowa for a "best of Iowa" weekend, with Iowa pork chops, Iowa sweet corn, The Iowa State Fair, the Des Moines Farmers Market and Adventureland (good times, good times). Adventureland is a small amusement park I grew up going to in the summer. Now Isabelle's typical m.o. with rides is cautious. Tori hits all the big thrills and Ponsi normally stays with me and Macie on the more tame attractions. So we entered the park and after hitting the token train and carousel rides we headed for the main portion of the park. The first ride you come upon is The Galleon. I hate The Galleon. It is one of those pirate ships that swings back and forth going higher and higher each time--your stomach butterflies and the worst part for me is as you go up you look down at the ride motor that would grind you into pieces should that lame little lap bar unexpectedly release (it could happen). Well, Isabelle took off following Tori and her cousins Mack and Gage toward the Galleon. I elected to stay with Macie and just watch. ;) An acquaintance from high school was standing watching her kids on the Galleon, too, so we started chatting. I told her I couldn't believe Isabelle was going to ride it, how she must not have seen it before she decided to go, and that she usually is a big chicken like me. As the words are coming out of my mouth, I turn and look at Isabelle and there she is huge smile (minus one front tooth) and arms raised high- not one ounce of fear on her face. Where in the world this sudden bravery came is a surprise to me. But she continued to hit every thrill ride the park had to offer, even riding in the front row of the roller coasters. I rode with her once on the Tornado. My hands were double clenched around the lame lap bar and she was smiling, laughing and being thrown from one side to the other with each turn. Oh well.



So my "little Gretchen" grew past me that day and became "little Gretchen and then some" I guess. I imagine she will continue to do things I would never dream of and discover a life all her own. Watch out first grade--here she comes.

My Mom and Dad got me the most wonderful gift for my birthday. At first glance, you would think it was just a decoration for the house- a nice sign with a quaint saying. But for me, it is so much more than that. The sign says, "Come gather at our table" and I hung it (well, my mom hung it) right above our dining room table. I love having my family around the table. I love to hold hands and pray over dinner or Saturday morning monkey bread. But I also love inviting others to share around the table. When you sit at our table you take a seat in our lives. I can't "pretty up" my family around the table. I mean I love them, but sometimes watching the girls eat isn't the most pleasant thing to see (we are working on it). And I can't hide if my meal flops...like when I forgot to put yeast in the pizza dough...that was gross (Thanks Chuck for being so gracious and coming back). But I can offer good conversation, maybe some good food, possibly some laughter or tears, and a whole world of other things just from joining at the table. You should try it. :)

Anyway, when I look at the sign it makes me smile and it makes me grateful for the wonderful people who I have come to know as they have come and gathered at our table.

p.s. I would put a picture up but I am having computer issues hence photo posting issues...bummer. Maybe you will just have to come over and see it. :)

My laundry is done (for now), my refrigerator and cabinets once again have food in them (for now), and the girls are playing happily outside with a friend (for now). :) We have settled back into the wonderful routine of summer in Minnesota after having been gone for a long time. We saw a lot of wonderful people on our travels, but we also had our own little 3 day getaway to Washington D.C. We had a great time touring all over our nation's capital and we unexpectedly took a day trip to Annapolis, MD and absolutely fell in love with this beautiful city. Happy Summer!

I am out of touch with my internet world, and I have to admit it is not the worst thing in the world. We are in the midst of a 3 week adventure in the "east" and we have been privileged to chat, :) and LOL in person with some dear friends as opposed to through computer screens or text messages.

Shame on me for not posting sooner, but I wanted to be sure they didn't fire me after my first week. :)

God opened up a job opportunity with some chiropractors from my church. I am helping out in their office about 10 hours a week. It seems like it is going to work with our schedule and I am really thankful for the opportunity.

As always, God knew what I needed, when I needed it and He is faithful. Thanks to those who were praying!



I know you were hoping for a picture of me on my first day back to work, but you had to know there was a fat chance of that happening. :) Isn't Mace a cutie pie? This is her first adventure with an ice cream cone...I think she likes it.

Maybe a future teacher and her first student...



School is out in 8 days. Tori has created a summer plan and it is not what you are thinking-she has mapped out a learning plan to help Isabelle prepare for 1st grade and to challenge herself for 3rd. Seriously.

The Lesson Plan :)



Art Class



Yesterday she came home, had her snack and grabbed Isabelle to go downstairs for "homeschool". I was encouraging them to stop studying and go outside and play. :)

We made our 3rd annual Memorial Day visit to the National Cemetery here in Minneapolis. Every year something different strikes me and brings me to tears thinking of the sacrifice men and women and their families have made on behalf of this great country. Today as we exited the car a man played a trumpet salute over the grave of a friend, family member or fellow soldier and then saluted their gravestone. The sound pierced the sky and brought me to a halt. I would have loved to take a picture to capture the moment, but I didn't want to violate its sacredness. Thank you to the many men and women that have served and those who serve us now and grace and strength to their families who have sacrificed so much.









As we left I prayed for peace and praised God for a day when death and war would be no more. May your kingdom come, Father.

We love Bloomington Schools! Tori was one of the student mc's at her school assembly yesterday. Her school was given the Minnesota School of Excellence certification for being, well, excellent (Actually, I was pretty impressed...They said there are around 1000 public schools in Minnesota and only around 60 that have earned the "Minnesota School of Excellence" status). Anyway, Tori worked very hard to have her lines memorized and she did a great job speaking up loudly and full of expression. She was very nervous/ excited all week about it. Whoever was working with the kids did a great job pumping the kids up for their role in the program. Tori misunderstood that the Governor was coming (it was actually the Mayor) and she thought maybe even President Obama might stop by. ;) I love that she loves her school and that she is so proud of it. I love that she is confident enough to speak in front of others...she definitely did not get her confidence to speak in front of people from me. Congratulations Tori and all the rest of the Washburn Bears!!!

This one is for Becky. I can't keep up with the weekly picture posting, but I told her I would this week. ;) The category is hats. Check out some great pictures of dedicated photography bloggers here.

Some things you know when you marry a man. I knew Jamie played basketball and football. I knew he was a good card player, that he could sing, that he could dance. But then there are those new treasures that you learn about them along the way...like today, when I discovered Jamie is a mad kiter. He tagged along with the girls and I to one of my free community event adventures--Bloomington Kite Day. I am pretty sure he was mocking me and all the random things I have him do on the way there (blah, blah, blah--I know he loves them), but then we got the kites. They were giving away free kites to everyone there and then you just found a spot in the field and started to fly it. Jamie had his little plastic kite up higher than any other kite there. He swooped it away from a close collision with a tree branch and he successfully untangled his kite string from a neighboring flyer whose kite had wandered into his airspace. He even stepped in and saved it from tanking to the ground when he momentarily handed the controls over to Macie--granted he knocked Mace over in the process, but the kite did not crash.

The girls really enjoyed the kites, too. Tori was so excited about her new kite she did not want to risk breaking it by flying it too high, so she released it about two to three feet away from herself. Jamie told her the kite was depressed because it wanted to be free, but there was no way she would release it to his high-flying antics. Isabelle wanted a kite, but did not want to fly it. She didn't mind if someone else flew it but was in a mild panic watching Jamie unwind her kite to its last inch of string. Macie was enamored with the kite and wanted to fly it and didn't seem to want any help holding on to the string.

As for me, I am admittedly not a good kite flier. I don't know why--I just am not. Jamie handed his high flying kite over to me, so he and Macie could go get some more kites and, well, you can look at the pictures and see what happened.....Lucky for me, I have Jamie. :)








p.s. Jamie doesn't remember ever flying a kite before...Miller family, can this be true or is he just forgetful in his old age?????

For the past two years, I have been contracted by a recruiting firm to do some computer work. I have worked from my home part-time and have really enjoyed it and think I got pretty good at it. The job was such a gift from God and came at the perfect time through my friend Woody two years ago. Two weeks ago, I was told the company was shutting down and was no longer in need of my services. This was a huge bummer for me :(. BUT...at the same time, I am trusting that just as God brought me my old job, He will bring me another one at the right place and at just the right time.


My recruiter Isabelle and her buddy Anna :)


In the meantime, Isabelle has been brainstorming some job opportunities for me. Her initial idea was either the gas station or McDonald's. These opportunities had nothing to do with me or my skill set, but rather she thought these jobs would entitle her to free candy and chicken mcnuggets. I told her I would think about it. Later that week, she decided she didn't think either of those were a good fit, because she didn't think Macie could come with me to the gas station or to McDonalds. Her new idea was that I would write children's books and Macie and I would drive around town and deliver them to stores. She was very excited about this idea, so although I have been called a "dream squasher" at times, I decided now was not a good time to squash a dream. I told her I would try to be a children's author, but I didn't know how successful I would be. She seemed to find that answer acceptable. And then her final idea was that I just take over the company that I had been working for from my old boss. I told her I didn't think mommy had the experience, time or money to do that, but I appreciated her confidence in me. She hasn't had any new ideas this week. I will keep you posted.

Thankfully for me, the weather has been BEAUTIFUL, so I have not been inside twiddling my thumbs and losing my mind staring at facebook waiting for statuses to change (I wouldn't actually do that, but I am just saying). I have actually been pretty productive catching up on some journaling, taking long walks with the girls, cleaning up the yard and getting ready for year 2 of my gardening experiment (I doubled the garden's size from last year!). We shall see what God has in store next...Enjoy the day you have been given!

One of the more difficult things we have had to explain to the girls is why we live away from family. Jamie and I have never lived by family during our almost 12 year marriage. The girls love living in Minnesota, but anytime we are with family in Ohio or Iowa, they get a little sad. At young ages, they have learned the lesson that obeying God is the most important thing, no matter where that lands you. Last time we left Iowa, Tori said, "Why did God choose us out of all the families to live away?" (all our cousins, grandparents, Aunts and Uncles all live by each other). Poor thing.




So, I tell them they are doubly blessed, because we don't just have Ohio family and Iowa family, but we have Minnesota family and Pennsylvania family, too.

And our Minnesota family came through in a big way this week. The past two years my mom or Jamie's mom has been able to come to Grandparent's Day at school, but this year nobody was going to be here. Tori came home from school frantic on Tuesday that it was Grandparent's Day and it was Isabelle's first Grandparent's Day and she had to have someone to go with her. She told me she needed to call Randy and Shannah immediately to ask if one of them could come...


"Grandpa" Randy saves the day!!! :)

Living away from family is not the easiest thing, but I am so thankful and blessed for the family God has given us every place that we have lived.

I love the moon. Sometimes it just stops and mesmerizes me.

"OH DEAR! WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?"



It has been a while since my last post. I don't need an excuse, but I am giving you one as a little insight into my world. As Trip Manager of the Miller household (this is an official role I have--I can explain it another time). But as Trip Manager it takes me about a week to prepare for an Ohio trip (I like making trip lists). And then we were there in Ohio for about a week. And then upon return it takes a few days to recover from all the festivities. So I am giving myself an excused absence from blogging.

At any rate, we spent time in Ohio with our wonderful family. It is a trying time currently for the Miller family, and so it was really good to be together.
I sum up my Ohio trip as Beauty in Chaos. Beauty in watching 14 grandchildren, with totally different personalities and ages spanning from 7 months to 16 years, find the greatest of joy in playing with each other. The big ones gladly helping the little ones and the little ones looking up to the example of the big ones. Beauty in childlike faith as demonstrated by the humbling generosity of some special nephews. Beauty in the love of a Father and Mother sharing "big news" and giving all of us a special time away. Beauty in a brother-in-law removing 40 viruses from my darn computer (Thank you, Tim). Beauty in relaxing around a fire, a family style dinner from Bob Evans, a family picture shoot, a scrunched meal at Tony's Coneys. The beauty of Father/ Daughter moments. The beauty of a 3 year olds singing one line of a song over and over again that echoed truth to my soul. And most of all the beauty of my sweet sister-in-law, whose grace, strength and faith inspire me and whose face reflects the very presence of her Saviour.

Confession #1: I have a few quirks. I know, it is surprising, but true. One of my more alarming quirks to people I meet is my absolute refusal to put milk (or any other liquid substance) in my cereal. I eat it plain, right as it comes out of the box in all its crunchy, glorious self. The thought of milk sogging it all up...yuk!

Confession #2: I may have influenced the girls to carry on my quirks. I don't think I did it on purpose. My original intent in not giving them milk in their cereal was to avoid the mess that a two year old with a spoon, milk and cereal could create. I don't like messy. I am not the fun mom that gets excited to jump in puddles or make mudcakes or play with sand. SIDENOTE: The theme for this weeks I Heart Faces photo contest is "messy". I got nothing. I have let the girls get dirty, but since I am not a big fan, I am not inclined to take their pictures when they are. :)

Anyway, back to the cereal. Jamie let Macie try his the other day (The other girls just scream with disgust if he even suggests they put milk in their cereal). But, the Mace...she liked it. And Jamie instructed me that I was to give her cereal and put milk in it. So yesterday, for the first time ever as a mom...I gave my two year old a bowl of cereal with milk and a spoon. Surprisingly, it wasn't too messy and she ate pretty much the whole bowl. I guess I will have to influence Macie with one of my other quirks. :)