A September to Remember.....

Well, this has been a very busy month in the Miller household. We started off Labor Day weekend heading up to Grayling to meet with friends who were back in town visiting from Hawaii. The first week of September, Alex started Kindergarten at Grand Haven Christian. He was nervous that first week but did an awesome job. He had half days for the first two weeks before they started going all day Mon, Wed, and Fri. Luke and I did a lot of trips to and from Grand Haven that week in the middle of day to transport him from school to daycare and then back to work for us. It was new for all of us. We had lots of school picnics, ice cream socials, etc. to attend. We all had to learn a new routine and he also started going to the after school program there iwth new kids and teachers. He adjusted very well though - especially for a child who does not like change. I was really busy at work those weeks preparing to be off for a few weeks because on September 11th (good day huh?) I went in to have surgery to repair a hernia that I probably got when I was pregnant with one of the boys. The Dr said that most hernias are about the size of a dime and that mine was larger than a 50 cent piece, so what started out as 4 hours at the hospital, turned in to over 12 hours. It was awful. I was home recovering for 2 weeks at the end of September, but returned to work - just to do paperwork for a few days. Going back to work has been hard on me -and hard on the family since I have been a little cranky when I get home. I start heading out into the field again next week. It has been nice to see Luke be a single parent for the past few weeks. The hardest part of my surgery was not being able to pick up Max. He is at the age where he just doesn't understand why mommy is not holding him or refuses to pick him up when he raises his arms to me. It was sad. We just found out at the same time that Max had strep throat too, so he was not sleeping good and wanted to be held all the time. I think it has been good for the boys and for Luke to spend some more quality time together. Luke was taking them to school, picking them up, and taking care of all of their needs at home. He got to finally experience what I go through when he works out of town and I am a single working mother. I have a lot of respect for those who do it all the time.
By the end of the month, we are all feeling better. Life is getting back to normal - whatever that is right? I think Max has all of his teeth now, so no more teething hopefully, I am almost recovered, and Alex is loving Kindergarten and can't wait to go everyday. Luke is always busy at work but he will be taking some time off soon now that hunting season is starting. October doesn't look as if our schedule is going to slow down at all with hunting, dr's appointments, field trips, family pictures, etc. But that is all the stuff that makes like fun huh? I will post all the new pictures as soon as I get them.

Summer's almost over....

I haven't written in a while. Things have been a little crazy around the Miller household the last few weeks. My parents came to Michigan for 2 months. They traveled from house to house in July visiting all of the grandchildren, and then rented a house in Gaylord for the month of August to visit with friends and spend some time golfing. August has kept us very busy. We have been on the road every weekend, and sometimes during the week too. I have finally unpacked my car fully for the first time all month. The first weekend in August we spent part of it visiting with Luke's parents in Dewitt and we also had my niece, Lily's, 6th birthday party in South Lyon. The next weekend, we went to Bunker Hill, where it is an Italian-American type of reunion for Luke's family. They have mass, then a picnic and games for the kids (all outside and it was raining pretty hard). The next weekend, we headed to Lansing again and stayed with my sister Stacy and her family. On that Saturday, Luke and my brother in law, John, took Alex and my nephew, Matthew to the Busch Race, then on Sunday just Luke and John went to the Nascar race. Luke got home around midnight and got up the next morning to fly to Dallas for work. He was there until Thursday afternoon and then that night, we left to go up to stay with my parents in Gaylord for the weekend to spend some time with them before they left to go back to Florida. It was a long drive for the kids. We then packed up the car again and drove up to Grayling this past weekend to see our friends, Travis, Heather, Taten, and Tessa. They are home for a short vacation before heading back to Hawaii, where they have been living for about a year and half. Yesterday was the first day in a long time, where I got to sleep in while in my own bed. Luke got up with the boys, and they brought me breakfast in bed, and then he took them out grocery shopping while I relaxed a little and got some housework done. It was a very nice day. But now it is back to work and back to school. Alex starts Kindergarten tomorrow :) He is actually really excited since he had his open house and is really looking forward to it now. I think it will be harder on me than on him.

My baby is growing up....

I just realized today that I no longer have two babies anymore. Even though I will always think of him as my baby, Alex is truly growing into a big boy. He will be starting Kindergarten in a few weeks - which I can't believe. It feels like yesterday that I found out that we were pregnant and 5 years have passes already. I took him today to get his hearing and vision test so that he is able to start school. He was so proud of himself when he was done and got a perfect score. When we were walking out and talking about it is when I realized how grown up he is now. He used phrases like "that was no prob" and "what a breeze that was". He is just so mature for his age that it just amazes me sometimes. Sorry daddy, who wishes that Alex is going to be a hunter and fisherman with him - I just don't think that it is going to happen. Alex is already talking about how you need to take care of the earth and how you need to love all living things. I have no idea where he gets some of his thoughts from. We also had a talk today in the car about being brave and a friend told him that he was not brave because he is afraid of the dark. But he thought of several different things that make him brave - including doing a good thing even when all of his friends at daycare are being naughty. He also enjoys spending time playing in the basement and is not scared down there all by himself. He also said that he is brave because he is not going to be scared to go to kindergarten but he may be a little shy. I am so proud of the "big boy" that he has become and am looking forward to watching him grow into a young man someday. Love you Alex - just don't grow up too fast for mommy OK. I am not sure that I can handle it. :)

My first day

Hi. This is my first time ever posting on a blog. I am not so sure how I am going to like it or how much time I am going to have to actually update it. I have been looking at a lot of my friend's blogs and have found that it might be a good way to keep in touch with friends and family that I am not able to talk to or see on a daily basis. I thought that I could keep everyone updated on our lives and maybe be able to connect with others who I haven't been very good at keeping in contact with over the years. Life gets so busy sometimes that I feel awful because I am not the best at making phone calls or returning emails.

What is happening in our lives these days.......Well, Luke and I have both been very busy with work. It is never ending. We have many busy weekends coming up too before the summer ends. Last weekend we spent in Lansing. This weekend we are going to a picnic at Bunker Hill. It is with Luke's family. Next weekend we will be heading to Lansing again. Luke and Alex will be heading to the Nascar race over the weekend down in Jackson. After that, we are spending a long weekend in Gaylord with my parents. They are renting a condo up there for the month. Labor day weekend is usually spent in Grayling with our friends Travis and Heather. After that, summer will over :(

Alex is having a good time this summer going on many field trips with his daycare. Today he is at Chinook Pier - at the playground, having a picnic, and having fun. He only has 3 more weeks until he starts Kindergarten. He is hesitant about going, but I think that once he is there, he is going to love it. He is my studious one. He loves to read books, write, and make new things. The other day he wrote a book about him and his friend Colin. He also does arts and crafts and made me a bunch of money so that I don't have to work anymore ( wouldn't that be nice). He is my boy that loves to take care of others and when he grows up he says he wants to be anything good like a Dr, police officer, teacher, or superman. He is the one that is always telling me "Mommy, everyone is different and that's OK" he also says "You don't have to be friends with everyone, but you still have to be nice."

Max is now walking and talking. He likes to get into everything. He is one of the happiest kids around. Even when you are mad at him and yell at him, he keeps smiling and laughing. It gets frustrating at times because it is so hard to be mad at him for long. He just had a very hard week last week when he got 8 teeth all at once. We had a lot of sleepless nights and he was not eating much. We all made it through though. He loves being outside this summer and anything that has to do with playing with water - which includes playing in the toilet :) He is in love with Elmo now which is the only thing that will keep him in one spot for more than 5 minutes. He is a busy little boy.

I am hoping with this blog that I will be able to keep everyone posted on our daily lives and I will try and update pictures and videos for the grandparents and those who like to see them.