Jerusalem

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem lift up your voice and sing. Hosannah, in the highest, Hosannah to the King."

I've had this song in my head all day! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We've all been blessed with tons of gifts (Colt was so overwhelmed he is taking a 3 hour nap!) but my favorite this year has been the fun we've had with family. Yesterday we had a packed day (and packed car)- Casey, Heath, Savannah, Wes, Colt & I headed up to Troy to see all the family. It was so much fun!

This time is also bittersweet for our family. It's only natural to remember those that we long for to be with us on Christmas. With the recent tragedy our dear friends experienced, Wes and I have revisited the emotions and questions of losing our precious Evie. However, through our experiences, God has revealed our purpose- to serve Him through encouraging and mentoring others who experience this unforseen territory.

I'm reminded at this time what a Great God we serve. Luckily, His ways are not my ways- how scary that would be!

Tomorrow I leave for the Holy Land. I've never been more excited about a trip. While I will miss Wes and Colt dearly, I'm confident God has incredible things in store for me! Pray for me while I experience this mountaintop. Pray for Wes while he plays "Mr. Mom" for 8 days!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

New Job!

I have accepted the position of Director of Keep Opelika Beautiful!! I'm so excited about my new role in the community! Many of you know (and may have worked with) Mrs. Shirley Flora. "Mrs. Shirley" as she is known, helped start the non-profit organization in 1997. She has decided to retire after 2008. The organization is an arm of Keep America Beautiful and some of my duties will be Arbor Day, Recycling Program and Garden in the Park. My office will remain at the Opelika Chamber. While I am sad to leave chamber work, this job has a flexible schedule and I will be able to do some work out of my home.
So, with a new job, a spoiled 9 month old, Christmas and a trip to Israel, the Miller household is crazy right now! I promise your Christmas card is being mailed today! :)

Busy, Busy

Saturday Casey and I took the babes to Montgomery to finally meet Blake Roberson. He is precious and Claire is such a good big sister. Colt and Savannah had a great time scattering Claire's toys across the house. I didn't take any pictures but check out Amanda's blog for the cuties.

Saturday night I worked at the Victorian Front Porch Tour serving wassail. I know- it doesn't really sound like something I would do but I loved seeing everyone! People come from all over for this event! I also saw lots of old friends that I haven't seen in a while.

Sunday all the family packed up and went to Eufaula for the day. My grandparents have a cabin on the lake there so we met our Ray cousins (Mom's side) for an early Christmas. We all learned to ski there and have some great memories of the cabin. As you can tell from the pictures, the decor hasn't been updated since those memories were made. I didn't get a shot of the faux marble island. It was a masterpiece in the early 90's!!


Colt got his first riding toy! He loves it.

Savannah and her new Little Mermaid riding toy. She couldn't decide if it was more fun to dance sitting on the toy or holding onto the back.


Aunt Shelia & Colt


My brother, I mean Trip, got a marshmallow gun and bow from Uncle Jim & Aunt Shelia. I tried to get a picture of Trip and his blue arm (he & the goat wrestle and the goat won so he has a blue cast) but he doesn't stay still long enough to get a picture! Ray got a cute cupcake maker (kind of like an Easy Bake Oven). I was too busy sampling to get a picture.


My cousin Shannon and her cute boyfriend Stephen


I just have to show you the beautiful sofa. This was in my parent's house when I was little.

The boys challenging the very, very old rope swing.

Hives!

How can something this precious

Be so allergic to this

Sunday morning Colt woke up with a slight rash on his head. As the day progressed the rash got worse- covering his whole body with red bumps. We made a house call to the dermatologist who said it was hives and he needed Benadryl. We spent Sunday running through everything Colt had eaten and touched on Saturday (including some things he shouldn't eat!). Monday morning Colt's hives were worse so we went to the Pediatric Clinic. Dr. Fuller diagnosed him as allergic to Amoxicillin (prescribed for his ear infection). The hives are better today but Colt is very uncomfortable. He is very clingy and I think it's really itchy.

My Late Thanksgiving Post

Happy Belated Thanksgiving! With our first ear infection this week (and everything that comes with that delightful illness) and the Opelika Christmas Parade, it's been a crazy week. Tomorrow I'm decorating the tree so hopefully that will be my next posting. It's a Charlie Brown tree!



Colt loving riding the horse at the lake house during Thanksgiving. Please notice the very 1970's shades in the background. My mother claims these are odd shaped windows so they were custom made. Our lake house is octagon shaped and we bought the place with all furniture, window treatments, dishes, etc. included! It's one of kind!


Colt and his cousins on the Miller side, Lauren & Aiden. They love Colt but I think he was competition for the attention!


Wes and his cousin Justin with their boys- Colt & Thomas. Colt and Thomas are 2 weeks apart so it's always fun when they get together. Thomas is a speed crawler but is scared when Colt finally catches him!

And watch for the upcoming post on my energetic nephew, Trip, and his new blue cast. He fought the goat, Glory, and the goat won.