I Quit :(

I quit writing this blog anyway.  I just simply cannot keep up with it anymore!

To keep current with the Millers, I'm afraid you'll have to look elsewhere.  We're on Facebook, AND, our photography blog has a much better chance of receiving regular attention :)

So sorry to disappoint, but when your plate is too full, some things just have to go.

To keep you interested, and force you to subscribe to our From The Picture's Perspective Blog (www.fromthepicture.com/blog) here is a recent from our little sweetie - who just happens to be 8 months old tomorrow so you can bet there will be some fresh stuff to look at! :)

Happy Easter!

This cute little bunny has hopped all day,
delivering baskets for the holiday.
Her paws are so tired and her nose how it itches,
She left you something special to fulfill all your wishes-
Lots of cute little Easter bunny hugs and kisses.
-anonymous

 

Where Does the Time Go?!

Really?!  Someone please tell me what happened! 

It seems like only a few days ago that I was waddling around, 48lbs overweight, swollen as can be, suffering from the pains of an 8lb. baby girl pounding my ribs on a regular basis, sitting down and breathing through the regular contractions that I'd get in the middle of teaching math and English lessons to my 8th graders, and basking in the JOY of knowing I'd get to meet our baby girl soon. 

Now, I sit here, 5 months and 1 day later, in absolute awe of the miracle of this little life that God created and so graciously gifted to our care.

I am truly grateful for his goodness to us!

(Oh yeah, and I've lost ALL of the preggo weight - woohoo!!)

One Fine Satruday...

so many things to do...always, always something. Saturday was one of those days. The sun was shining, the weather - delightful. Housework? Yardwork? nah!

instead...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

CLICK HERE to see Reaghan's latest :)

SIMPLE

1.) Listen to Jesus!

2.) Identify what "it" is that distracts you and complicates your life!

     - Jesus did what He did on the cross because He had focus; He was redeeming humanity.  The payoff would be so great at the other end, despite what it would take to get there.

     - What you are focused on makes all the difference.  Keeping your eye on frustrations and complications will take you to the wrong place in life. 

     - Mark 7:6b "this people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.  And in vain they worship Me."

3.) Beware of measuring others by complicated standards of your own making!

4.) Only ONE priority is needed; a focus on Christ!

     - Keep your eyes on the cross, no ME!  Focus in the joy that is set before you.

The complications of life will disappear.  Don't look 100 different directions; know what God has set before you.  There will be hard times, but with a focus on Christ, it is SIMPLE!  May you have singular sight - to see Him and to hear.

-----

I am not skilled to understand
What God has willed, what God has planned
I only know at His right hand
Stands one who is my Savior

I take Him at His word and deed
Christ died to save me; this I read
And in my heart I find a need
Of Him to be my savior

That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior

My Savior loves, My Savior lives
My Savior’s always there for me
My God: He was, my God; He is
My God is always gonna be

Yes, living, dying, let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring;
That He who lives to be my King
Once died to be my Savior

That He would leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my Savior
My Savior loves, My Savior lives
My Savior’s always there for me
My God: He was, my God; He is
My God is always gonna be 

Aaron Shust - My Savior My God 

4 Months Have Come and Gone...

...and we love our sweet Reaghan more each and every day.

She is officially a short, chunky monkey - and the most well-mannered, easy-going baby I could ask for.
At 14.6lbs (70th percentile) & 23.5" (22nd percentile) she's simply perfect in our eyes.
Oh, and we're convinced she will be sitting up and/or crawling before she ever attempts to roll over.
She's quite content being on her tummy and has only rolled twice to her back by accident.
She has, intentionally, sat (unsupported) for a few seconds before tipping.
She can do stomach crunches like no other (how dare anyone try to put her in a recline position!)
She has, in attempt to scoot and reach a dog toy on the floor, moved her little body forward and about 90 degrees with the utmost determination.
Oh, and she would like to hold her own spoon, thank you very much.

Another Day in the Kitchen.

Reaghan has taken a sudden fancy to the culinary arts.
Doesn't she make the cutest vegetable soup you've ever seen?

Big Air!

the sun was shining

the snow was glistening

the air was calm

It was a beautiful day at the Mount Shasta Ski Park today.  

Reaghan and I went up in attempt to catch some photographs of the brave souls that were competing in the BIG AIR event.  

I couldn't ask for a more cooperative assistant.

As we enjoyed the practice rounds, and cringed with every faulty landing, I was continually reminded of why I am a spectator of such sports.  I. am. a. chicken. (and not afraid to admit it).

Chicken, however, is not the right word for this little fellow.  I just happened to stand near his proud mamma for one of my vantage points.  I learned that today is his 8th birthday, and he was absolutely thrilled to be spending the day flying through the air.  To make it even more special, he was the only boarder in his age group for today's competition (an automatic winner)!  This little guy started snowboarding when he was just 2 years old.  (Oh, AND, on his first practice run, he fell pretty hard on his landing.  The little trooper was back on his feet and hiking back to the top of the run within minutes, bloody nose and all!)

Here are just a few snapshots from the event - enjoy the ride!

You Should Probably Not Even Read This.

Saturday - a BEAUTIFUL, sunny, warmish day in Mt. Shasta.  Reece is at the ski park patrolling today, and Reaghan and I decided to go up for a few hours to take photos of the Big Air Competition.  More on that later (when I get a chance to go through the hundreds of pictures that I took).

This post is about something much more...ummm...eventful?  interesting?  disgusting?  yes, disgusting is the right term.

Please stop reading if you have a weak stomach.  Fortunately,  I suppose I don't.

Girl or boy, I would guess that every parent has experienced getting "messed" on at the changing table.  With girls it tends to be a little easier and less frequent (at least that's my experience with Reaghan vs. my youngest brother).  The first time Reaghan surprised me I was thankful that she isn't capable of making a huge mess everywhere - just on the changing pad which is easily washed - or so I thought.

The story begins with our drive home.  After getting Reaghan all buckled in and starting to leave the parking lot, I hear a sound in the backseat that only means one thing - time for a "big job".  I figured that since home was only 20 minutes away, it would be easier to deal with it there rather than in the car.  So we talked and sang our way home.  Reaghan was delighted to get home and onto the changing table (one of her favorite places in the house); we dealt with the "big job" and it wasn't too bad.  Yes, she needed a new outfit, and yes, the pad had to go into the wash, but that's a regular thing with these big jobs, no problem (someday I will design a diaper than can keep it all in). 

Freshly changed and in a warm outfit, it was time for lunch.  She ate her fill and suddenly....that sound again.  Another big job.  Back to the changing table.  This time it was even more fun!  Giggles, and smiles galore.  She was telling me all about how....well, at this point I thought it was about how glad she was to be getting changed again.  It was a little messy, but not as bad as the first (she only needed a new onesie, not a whole new outfit). 

Just as I got the yucky diaper off and was cleaning and preparing her for the "fresh pants"...she squealed...it was too late.  Surely her communications earlier were an attempt to tell me she wasn't finished and that I should leave the dirty diaper in place. 

The result?  Do you even want to know?  Can I simply state that my little girl can push?  Yeah, not only did I have to clean her, but I had to clean myself (my rings are still soaking), the end of the changing table, a large portion of carpet, the wall across from the changing table, and you can just assume how thrilled Daddy is going to be when he comes home and finds out that we need to pull off the baseboards in one section to clean down there, too!  I need to put a new bottle of carpet cleaner on the shopping list.

Boys, you've got nothin' on Miss Reaghan!

Hershey's Anyone?

What do you get when you mix mommy's favorite little girl with her favorite dessert?

A Super Sweet Treat, of course!

And you can bet this little chef gets more kisses and loves than she can handle.

I must confess, I cheated. I used some leftover chocolate frosting for the spatula - not brownie mix...

and rest assured, there was no chocolate tasting for this almost 4 month old - she just happens to be in love with her fists, so I knew this would be the perfect shoot!

I'm Back...or am I?

I have come to the realization that I am a horrible blogger. First off, and really this is the only reason, I don't have time. I would much rather spend every moment I have with my sweet baby girl - she is growing up so fast! When I am not with my baby girl, I am with my 80 something 8th graders who keep me so very entertained throughout the day.

However, with the desire to get our photography business up and running again I am going to work very hard at keeping up with a blog for that...so I might as well update this once in a while...once in a great while!

Here's the news...Reaghan turns 4 months next Monday - crazy, I know! I can hardly believe it. She changes so much every day, I can't seem to capture all of her new tricks no matter how hard I try. Today I noticed she is "talking" in different tones now - and using new sounds, too! She LOVES sitting up - and moving from a horizontal position to a vertical one with only the help of mommy's fingers supporting her grasp brings her great joy. Airplane is a new favorite - especially with daddy. Mommy has had the joy of tasting regurgitated milk during one of our adventurous flights...mmmmmm...yummy! Giggles come much more frequently and the deep belly laugh can get everyone going - she is our little 15lb. bundle of joy!

Cold, rainy days...

Spent snuggling with your precious baby girl...

are truly the best!

Blogging - low on the "To-Do" list

Merry Christmas!!

So, it's become apparent to me that I am not good at keeping this thing up! Sorry to those of you (if there are any of you) who check it frequently, only to be disappointed that another week as gone by without a post. The life of a new mommy is a busy one - but an absolutely fabulous one! I have, over the past few weeks, managed to get a pretty solid daily rhythm...and somehow, come January 4th, I get to figure out how to get everything done in much less time and on much less sleep as I have to return to work and finish out the school year with my eighth graders. (I fear I will become a lazy teacher as I will want to spend every minute I have at home with Reaghan! I've been trying to get a head start on lesson plans during naptimes to make things a little easier.)

Reaghan is now 7.5 weeks old - full of smiles and simply a delight. She has been sleeping through the night since about 4 weeks old (from 10pm to between 6 and 8am), and is only "grumpy" when hungry or super tired. Her favorite things to look at are the Christmas tree (when lit), the ceiling fan (at all times of day), the teddy bear mobile that hangs over her swing, the baby einstein floor gym, and out any window she is near.

As of her 6.5 week appointment, she weighed 10lbs 13oz and was 22.5 inches long.

I cannot say enough how much we love our sweet baby girl!

All Smiles :)

After several days of "grumpy baby", Reaghan seems to have returned to her normal, cheerful self - for which I am glad! From Monday to Thursday she was averaging sleep time of 5 hours at night - which is great, but only 26-60 minute naps during the day - definitely not so great. Today, however, she seems to be back on "routine" - she slept just over 8 hours last night and has been right on schedule with the eating, 'wake time', and sleeping. She is a much happier baby when things go according to 'plan'.

Ok, so perhaps I'm a tad bit obsessive as she is only 4 weeks old.

However...

Here's what my princess looks like when she doesn't sleep well...

And here she is on a happy day - like today...



See the difference? I definitely do!

...must be the bow.

Growing, growing, growing!

I am 4 weeks old - tomorrow!!
9.8lbs, 20.5"

Sweet Little Lady-bug

Auntie Julie makes adorable outfits for Reaghan!
I am thrilled that the little hat will fit her for quite some time.

Three Weeks - and getting bigger every day!

Time goes by too quickly...much too quickly. Even during those days when sweet Reaghan doesn't want to take a nap, or seems to cry non-stop, I don't want it to end. I want her to stay small and snuggly forever. I guess that's why I can't stop taking pictures of her - I want to remember what she looks like, feels like, smells like, and sounds like for she'll never be this small again.

Happy Fall!

From our little Pumpkin Head :)

Progress on the house...

Prior to moving in, Reece's mom and brother came up and helped clean the floors and scrub the bathrooms and kitchen cabinets so they were ready for us to use.

They, along with Tom and Mary Alice (friends here in Mt. Shasta) helped us get everything moved out of our rental in a day and a half - a HUGE feat considering nothing was really packed except for baby stuff and a few kitchen items. (We kept holding off not knowing the results of the mold tests)

--------------

My parents came up to meet baby Reaghan this past Wednesday evening and stayed with us until Sunday. We are truly thankful for the visit, as they did so much more than just meet our daughter!

Here's what got accomplished...

* The stovetop was completely disassembled, scrubbed, and an attempt at repairing the one broken burner was made - sadly, it's still not fixed, but we think we know what the problem is. (I'm just thrilled with the fact that it's clean - inside and out!)

* The walpaper in the kitchen has been removed and we're ready to paint!

* The guest bathroom shower door was removed, leveled, and put back together. No longer does water leak all over the floor every time it's used.

* The walpaper in the living room is partially removed. These walls were never textured. The walpaper is as old as the house - 20 years. I believe it was glued on with super glue. Eventually, we'll get the rest off so that we can paint this room as well.

* The large maple tree in the front yard had its lower limbs removed, and Jeremy so kindly raked and moved all of the leaves to the burn pile in the back.

* Reece, Dad, and Jeremy went out with our friend Tom to cut more firewood to get us through the winter.

* Mom and I painted the name letters for Reaghan's room - they're adorable and ready to hang as soon as we get her walls painted.

* Dad did some electrical work and changed out all the weird switches around the house.

--------------

THANK YOU,

THANK YOU,

THANK YOU! - to EVERYONE who has been such a wonderful blessing to us.
















Gi-Gi & Reaghan (>1 day old)















Uncle Drake & Reaghan




















Uncle Jeremy & Reaghan (1 week old)





















Nana & Reaghan















Poppa and Reaghan