Quote of the Night

Spencer:
"Owen, you should be punished for your own sins."

Bless His Heart

Spencer has something called Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome. Basically he has an extra conduction pathway which can mess up the electrical signals in his heart. We have know this since he was just a baby but he has been so healthy it's easy to forget that his little heart isn't working as perfectly as we would hope. At his 4 year check up the pediatrician referred us to a cardiologist at the children's hospital here. It was a long appointment with many tests but Spence was a champ. Even when he had to wear this for 24 hours.

The doctor says that he will need an ablation procedure done in a couple years and hopefully that will fix the problem for good. He is fine and this post is more for my memory and for family than anything and not to complain. As I sat next to his bed in the hospital with all those chords attached to him I couldn't help but feel a little scared but mostly I am grateful. Grateful that his doctor found it when he was young and that modern medicine can do something to fix it and that it's not anything more serious. I love my little Spencer... bless his heart.

Pilgrim Pacer Half Marathon

After Scott ran his first half marathon I was totally jealous and really wanted to be able to do one too. The day after his first race we registered to run this one together. He was ready but I had a lot of work to do. When race day came I was a little discouraged because it was really cold and with the wind chill it felt like 25° but it ended up being a really great race. I looked terrible but I was warm and most importantly I kicked Scott's trash Ü. Now I can't wait to do another!

Half Marathon Hero

Today Scott ran his first half marathon. Considering that just a few months ago he could barely run one mile the fact that he ran 13.1 miles today makes him our hero!



Nourishment...(check)


Direction (Check)

Supplies (check)

We cheered him on at mile 6. Unfortunately I didn't get a pic of our first sign which said,

"OUR DADDY IS A RUNNER (even though he still says he's not)"

Just a few feet from the finish he's still is going strong.

Quality Time

My mom came to visit this week and it was definitely the quality time we were hoping for with Grandma. It's hard to put my finger on what exactly made her visit so fun for me other than I loved spending time with my mom. We hit the YMCA each morning for a workout (i.e. Melissa's fitness camp) and then just enjoyed the afternoons at the park or playing at home. She let me grocery shop with no kids, have a date night with my hubby and actually enjoy shopping for new jeans. The company was priceless and I already miss having her around. The only time I had my camera was at Deanna Rose Farmstead so here you go...

Now we count down until Thanksgiving and Christmas when we have the chance to enjoy more quality time with family.

School Boy Spencer

The big day finally came and Spencer was so excited to go to preschool. To say he was excited is actually a bit of an understatement. He asked almost everyday for a month if it was "fall" yet and consistently told anyone who would talk to him that he was "starting preschool in the fall."

He was just as fearless as I expected him to be and jumped right out of the van and walked right in with all the other kids without even looking back. Owen cried, I did fine. I guess it helped to know that he was so happy.

Twice a week I take Spencer to school and come home and put Owen down for a nap and have over 2 hours of quiet time. I'm not going to lie, I totally love it and I think having some time alone makes me a better mom with a slightly cleaner house.

Primary Prayer

Spencer was asked to give his first prayer in primary today. I talked to him about it before and asked if he would like me to help him but he was determined to do it on his own. I didn't want to force him to say certain things so I tried to talk to him about some of the things he is thankful for. Well, this is what happened. Spencer walked right up to the pulpit just as confident as can be...bows his head...folds his arms...so far so good and says,

"Heavenly Father I'm thankful for this day. I'm thankful that I get to go to preschool...and that I have preschool on Tuesday. I am glad I get to play and have fun at preschool. Amen."

I have raised a spiritual giant!

Here's the Skinny

Time for a little run down of what's up with the Miller's.

It's hot in Kansas in July. This humidity thing is great for the skin and hair but a killer when it comes to trying to entertain 2 little boys when it's too hot to go out. So we get creative. Believe it or not this little water table (thanks Anna) with dish soap and water kept them entertained for about 2 hours.

The other day Spencer informed me that there was a bug in our house. I have become a little more accustomed to this and with little hesitation grabbed a shoe and headed towards it. Spencer immediately started bawling. I mean he was really upset and I believe these were his exact words, "Mom don't kill him...I love him. I love him and he is beautiful and Jesus made him and I love him." I guess it's good to know he is listening in Sunbeams. I put down the shoe and got the bug jar and that is when Eli Miller joined our family. If you look closely you can see the cricket that stayed on our book shelf for a couple days until one night just after bed time when he left to go be with his friends in the backyard.

We were inspired by some friends to start a little diet and exercise plan. It really has been great for both of us and I am especially proud of how hard Scott is working at it. He was invited to go running with some guys in our ward and apparently this is what happens if he runs over 5 miles...ouchie

We love the YMCA. That is where both Scott and I workout and they have awesome child care for the boys. Some days the only reason I stay motivated to go workout is because Spencer loves to play with the kids there and I love the alone time. Owen really likes it too and has one of the teachers wrapped around his little finger.

On Saturday they had a block party and fun was had by all.

He was trying to hard to hold still and not smile.

I thought that the hot dog might be too hard for my little baby to eat. Who am I kidding.

We are all doing great.

Owen makes me laugh everyday. We just transitioned from 2 naps a day to 1 and I am enjoying the freedom. We have made it. Only one more week until Owen goes into nursery, not that I have been counting down or anything, but we will both be much happier on Sundays when we have officially hit the 18 month mark.

Spencer will start preschool this fall and can't wait. He has finally stopped asking me everyday if it is fall yet, but still proudly announces to everyone everywhere we go that he is 4 and will be going to preschool.

Scott is a running fool and I do my best to keep up.

Somehow this post ended up sounding like a Christmas letter therefore it must be stopped.

A Conquered Fear

Owen is my fearless child. He climbs on everything, loves to wrestle, prefers to ride his bike in the middle of the road and doesn't want me too close or in his way. My little Mr. Independent.

The fight-or flight response is the biological way we respond to stress. If I hide behind a corner on my hands and knees and jump out to scare Spencer he screams like a girl every time(I'm so cruel...I get it from my Dad) and he runs away. Owen on the other hand in the exact same scenario will immediately charge toward me every time, he is fearless.

This is why I was so surprised when we took Owen swimming for the first time this summer and he was terrified. He held me tight to whole time and would start crying if I tried to move him at all. Next we tried setting up our little wading pool in the backyard. He wouldn't even go near it or even leave the patio for that matter.

Finally at the end of a very hot humid day I set up the pool for Spencer and let him play. I stepped in with Owen and slowly dipped his toes then his legs and after about 2 minutes this happened.

Success.

Celebrating the 4th in Independence and Liberty

We had such a great Independence Day weekend. On the 3rd we went to Independence Missouri which is about 20 minutes away from where we live and went to the visitor center there. We promptly put Spencer to work.

While we were in the visitor center they blocked off the road to this parking lot for the fireworks show they were putting on a little later. Since we were already there we ended up with the "best seat in the house" our own van. They had the city band there playing patriotic music and they even handed out free popsicles. It started out innocently enough.

Until this happened...

The fireworks show was amazing. We were so close that the debris was falling all around us. It made for a slight contact issue for me but an incredible fireworks show. The boys loved it.

On Monday we headed north to visit Adam-ondi-Ahman. We weren't expecting much because we had heard there isn't much there but we loved it. When we arrived we were the only ones there. It had just finished raining lightly and everything was so green and peaceful. We have especially enjoyed learning more about the significance of these church sites that are so close to us.

The pictures don't do it justice.

We are offering to be tour guides to anyone who is interested Ü

After Adam-ondi-Ahman we went to Liberty to visit Liberty Jail. They have rebuilt a replica of the jail with some of the wood and stones from the original jail and have a nice presentation. We struggled a little here because Owen started coming down with a cough (which ended up being croup) so we had a hard time getting the full experience.

It was a very memorable holiday weekend and we are so grateful to be having the opportunity to really learn more about our church history.