Miller Family

NATIONAL ENTITLEMENT AWARENESS DAY

2011-08-22T14:33:00.000-07:00

About a year ago I discovered a resource that has been a lifeline for me to hold to. April Perry and Saren Eyre Loosli run a website called the Power of Moms. I love being a mom. It's all I've ever wanted to be. I am also a big advocate of intentional living. Through this website I have found a set of principles called the powers of motherhood. The articles and podcasts are strengthening and guiding to me. I find solutions and answers to how to raise my children and strengthen my family.

Last April I was lucky enough to attend a Power of Moms Retreat. It was AMAZING to meet in person April, Saren, and Saren's parent, Richard and Linda Eyre (NY Times bestselling parenting authors). The concepts taught and ideas I took home were very influential in my life as a wife and mother.

Today is National Entitlement Awareness Day. I think entitlement is a pretty important topic. My personal opinion is that many of the problems we see in the upcoming generation stem from entitlement. Kids today don't have to work like they used to. Life is pretty cushy. This can cause a lot of problems as people emerge into adulthood and expect they should never have to cut back financially, compromise in relationships, or find joy and fulfillment in the small and simple things of life.

As a mom it can be very hard to find the balance between giving stability/nurture/love and overindulging/spoiling. I've heard the Eyres talk about the fact that helping children take ownership in their lives can be a antidote to this problem. I am excited to read about strategies that will help me teach my children become responsible, appreciative, contributing people as well as taking ownership in their lives in the Eyre's new book, The Entitlement Trap.

Richard and Linda Eyre are promoting their new book through an exciting giveaway! Click here to read more about how to win a chance for some awesome prizes!

2011-02-17T20:23:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a year since I last made a post. I thought I would quickly type something cute Hudson said to me just now as I sit outside the kids bedroom working on the computer as they fall asleep, and I will do that at the end of this post. The last post hit me as very ironic, though and has made me stop to think for a moment.

Avynlee is 18 months now and still not walking. My family doctor suggests we start her in physical therapy and get her walking asap. I'm not opposed to that, but I have decided to consider all avenues to addressing this situation. Two very good friends of mine whom I highly respect and admire are each taking one of their children to a sensory specialist in Idaho Falls, both for completely different reasons. Each friend has noticed Avynlee scooting on her bum and not crawling and mentioned to me that I ought to have Dr. Monika Buerger (Eagle Canyon Wellness Clinic) evaluate her because scooting instead of crawling can be a sign of a neurological disorder.

After procrastination because of the expense and the fear of having to commit to a treatment plan that would greatly interrupt the flow of our lives, I finally brought her in for an evaluation. It turns out that according to Dr. Buerger, Avynlee missed critical neurological development as a young baby due to not enough tummy time. She was very late in rolling over and when she finally did, it wasn't from the hips first as it should be, but from the shoulders. I attribute that to the fact that I put her in the bumbo chair far too much and for too long. I have never read one bad article on the effects of letting your baby sit for long periods in a bumbo chair. Everyone knows that tummy time is important for infants, but I always thought it was so they didn't get a flat head in the back and so they could strengthen their neck muscles (which are both true), but it seems the more important effect of tummy time is the brain development. It is absolutely essential that babies lay, roll, push and pull themselves around on the ground for healthy brain development. Make sense, but Avynlee was always much more content to be sitting up, whether it was on my lap, in the bumbo, propped up with a pillow, ect. If I'd have known, I would have made her spend more tummy time on the ground, but I didn't and I do the best I can (AND she was child #3, that's hard in and of itself).So we are starting a not-too-intense treatment plan with movement exercises meant to help fire up those critical neurological pathways and help her to let go of some of the primitive reflexes she is hanging onto (go google primitive reflexes to see why it is significant).

Here is Hudson's cute thing:

As he was falling asleep he popped his head up and said, "Mom! I have exciting news! I don't have to say beeskwetti (spaghetti) anymore! Now I can say bssget....bssget...the real word!"

2010-02-02T09:29:00.000-08:00

If she isn't the dang cutest baby you've ever seen....

2010-02-02T09:25:00.000-08:00

This little "bumbo" chair was a Christmas present from Jaron and I for avynlee. It's such a cool concept to help babies sit up really early. Santa brought her this little book. She loves looking at books.

2010-02-02T09:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas picture

2010-02-02T09:16:00.000-08:00

Savannah has had a fun time this school year going to a few birthday parties. This is a little purse we made as a gift for a friend's bowling party.

2010-02-02T09:04:00.000-08:00

pictures of avynlee with great grandparents

2010-02-02T08:41:00.000-08:00

Hudson loves playing super heros

2009-11-05T05:45:00.000-08:00

I was on my way to the church for a craft making afternoon. I looked over my right shoulder (like I always do) as I backed out of the garage. All of the sudden I heard a screeching/crunching sound. I thought, "Crap! What did I hit?" I looked over my left shoulder and apparently either Jason (Jaron's brother) or Rick (an employee) had parked a work pick up right across both bays of our garage (What the heck??!!). I just scraped the left back bumper of my car, no dent, luckily. So I pulled forward and got out to go move that dumb pick up. It was a stick shift and I guess it's been a while since I've drove one. I got in, put my foot on the brake and started the engine. I forgot to push in the clutch. The pick up started driving forward. For the life of me, I could not get it to stop!!! I was in a dead panic. Before I could do anything, it crashed right into the side of Jaron's Duramax pick up!!!! Both the driver's side door and back door are both probably going to need replaced now. Sucks to be me.

2009-10-14T08:05:00.000-07:00

Anybody else out there a love and logic fan? I need a little parent comforting because we had what I feel is a big lesson" these past two days. According to the book, parents should not nag their children to get ready in the mornings. Children should be responsible to get themselves ready with a little guidance. I usually follow Savannah around all morning reminding and prodding to get out the door on time. I have tried this experiment suggested in the book and I reallly think it will work, but it is soooooo hard!!

I showed her the time on the clock when we had to leave and laid out her clothes, put breakfast on the table and left her alone (actually I cheated, because I still did give a few reminders to look at the clock). Yesterday she didn't leave enough time for me to get her hair done so she went to school with long, ratty hair. She was really sad in the car. I said to her, "This is so sad :(. I know that tomorrow you get ready faster so your hair doesn't look like a ragamuffin..." As we walked the halls, I complimented some of her friends on how cute their hair looked.

This morning she made a special attempt to make sure I got her hair done and we did. It looked adorable, but she didn't move fast enough to get dressed!!! Ahhhh! So, yes, I sent my little kindergartner to school in her pajamas! I put her clothes in her backpack and said if she chose to, she could get dressed at recess. I poured on the empathy and love, just like the book says to, so it's not mean, but I still felt horrible! I'm interested to see if she comes home in clothes or pjs.

I'm a big fan of Love and Logic, and I really believe it teaches children to be responsible for their choices, but boy is it hard! I'm sure that's how Heavenly Father feels about us here on Earth.

The book says that employers today are having a harder time getting employees to take care of tasks without being asked five and six times. We need to teach our children to take care of responsibilities the first time they are asked and to manage their time effectively. I really want this for my children, so I'm praying she learns.

2009-09-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is supposed to snow :( So I thought I'd try to capture the beauty in the days we've been having. Here's my little adorable trio.

2009-09-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

We are stretching summer as long as we can!! My brother, William and I took the kids to play at the St. Anthony sand bar on Friday. We were the only ones there and they had so much fun! See Avynlee smile!

2009-09-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

Hudson wanted a super hero birthday cake for his 3rd birthday. I do not claim baking as one of my talents...my frosting was far too runny and my cake fell into peices when it came out of the pan. I started to cry because it was an hour before our family was coming for the birthday dinner. Hudson walked in and I turned my back. I didn't want him to know I was crying. All the sudden I hear, "Mama!! I love this cake! This is my favorite!!" Everything was suddenly better and you know, it didn't tasted too bad!

2009-08-20T07:51:00.000-07:00

I asked Hudson if he was sad or not sad that Savannah was at school. He said, "Not sad..." Then he paused for a minute and asked, "Are you sad?" So cute. I said "Yes, a little bit sad."

2009-08-20T07:14:00.000-07:00

Today is Savannah's first day of kindergarten. I have such mixed emotions. I am so excited and proud of her, but yet so sad at how quickly time passes by. Isn't she a beauty?

2009-08-17T09:25:00.000-07:00

ANNOUNCING:

Avynlee Jean Miller

August 2, 2009

6:20 am

7 lbs 11 oz

19 " long

Baby # 3 is here! She is such a doll. My birthing time went really well. I went all natural using "Hypnobabies" this time. Hypnobabies is a self-hypnosis program designed to teach women to have an easy and comfortable all natural birthing. I loved it!! It really worked. I can't say that I had a "pain-free" birth, but the intensity of my pain was soooo much less than it was with Hudson (who I also birthed naturally, but I thought I was going to die from the pain...literally).

I was working in the garden all day Saturday, August 1st when my pressure waves (hypno term for contractions) began at about 4 pm. I worked out there for another hour or two before I was afraid I wouldn't be able to make it back into the house. Jaron was gone dirt biking for the day, but he got home just as I thought I couldn't handle Savannah and Hudson any longer. He put them to bed and I laid down to go into hypnosis. At 12:30 we called the doula (my hypnosis birthing coach, Kelly Mckamie) and she met us at the hospital at about 1 am. She was awesome at helping me keep my hypnosis deep and keeping me comfortable. She would guide Jaron in things he could say and do to be helpful to me. I walked around, relaxed in the jacuzzi, bounced on the birthing ball, the time passed very quickly for me. At a little before 6 am, my midwife broke my water and I laid on the bed in deep hypnosis waiting for the pushing feeling. As soon as I was ready to push, I rolled on my side and pushed my baby out. I caught her with my own two hands and brought her up on to my chest. It was the coolest experience ever!! I would recommend hypno-birthing for anyone!! We named her Avynlee, inspired by the books "Anne of Green Gables" (but we changed the spelling). Jean is after Jaron's grandma and mother. We blessed her quickly at two weeks old because my parents were here and wouldn't be back for a while. That pregnancy flew by so quickly! It's exciting and very scary as we add on to our little family. We know we are so blessed and we thank our Heavenly Father for the experiences that bring such joy to this Earth life.

2009-07-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

Jaron just got back from the scouting high adventure trip to Moab, UT. They took these jeeps off roading one day, hiked in Arches National Park, golfed and swam at the condo pool. I would say I was jealous he had such a fun trip, but 105 degree weather at 8 months pregnant doesn't even sound the least bit fun. Besides, I must say some of the rocks and steep paths they climbed in those jeeps look more scary than fun-Jaron says I would like it, I don't know about that...

2009-07-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

This 4th of July we stayed in Parker. A family in our ward invited us to a barbecue party. The Congers have the most beautiful yard. There was so much to do. The kids played on the big waterslide and swing set. There was a big pond in the back for fishing (Savannah caught a fish with the help of a 7 year old friend, Chad Roderick). We ate delicious food and of course enjoyed fireworks at the end of the day!

2009-07-11T11:36:00.000-07:00

4 more weeks to go. We know it's a little girl but we haven't decided on a name. This pregnancy has gone by so fast. Besides being sick in the beginning (over Christmas-no fun!), I have felt great!

2009-06-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

In March we went to visit my parents in Portland and we decided to make a fun little overnight trip to the Oregon Coast. We stayed in Newport, OR and swam in the pool at the hotel. We were close enough to walk and eat at a local seafood house (yummy!). The next day we visited the Oregon Coast Aquarium. The kids loved it and we adults had a lot of fun, too. Then we got Taco Bell and sat and the beach and ate. We were very lucky to have decent weather. It was overcast, but no rain or wind-perfect.

2009-06-05T08:57:00.000-07:00

This was our family Christmas picture taken by our friend Millie Hull in her home. It's crazy to think back that I was pregnant and didn't even really know.

2009-06-05T08:42:00.000-07:00

This past fall a few moms got together to start a preschool. We each took turns teaching. It was a really fun, cheap way to have our kids doing something educational. The other pictures are of the Thanksgiving Turkey bowl at the Roderick's house. We loved drinking the hot chocolate on this cold morning.

2009-06-05T08:34:00.000-07:00

This is Halloween 2008. Savannah wanted to be Wall*e and Hudson wanted to be a blue wall*e. It was fun putting those costumes together. Jaron and I went to our adult party dressed as pirates.

Fall 2008

2008-10-19T21:10:00.001-07:00

Fall always comes and goes pretty fast, it seems to me. I love it. It's a beautiful season. We were able to get in one last camping trip with Jaron's brother's family. We went up to Henrey's Lake in Island Park and on into Montana. There is a lake called "Quake Lake" which was formed when an earthquake caused a dam in a river. The earth quake also caused houses to slide into the existing reservoir (we are sitting on one). My friend Millie and I took our older kids on a hike out in Kilgore to Aldous Lake, led by a friend from my ward. It was beautiful. Hudson Turned 2 in September. That is a picture of his "Roarie cake" (you know, the dinosaur says "roar"). The last 2 pics are of a little nature trail I took my kids for a walk on last week. It's about 3 miles from my house. Earlier in the summer a friend of mine took me kayaking down the river you see in the background--something I'd like to get into a little more. The kids and I had a little picnic after our walk. It is such a blessing just to enjoy the precious moments of life. I'm grateful to live in this free land of opportunity and I'm most thankful for the gospel that teaches me what the most important things in this life are.

Our Summer 2008

2008-10-19T19:53:00.001-07:00

2008 has probably been the most fun-packed season we've had since we've had kids. Now that our house is finished and we are settled, we've been able to do a little playing. We went to Portland for the 4th of July. We did a lot of swimming there and went to a really fun little local amusement park called "The Enchanted Forest." We took our kids bowling for the first time and Savannah took swimming lessons while we were out there. The 24th of July parade in Saint Anthony is always big. There's a pic of my kids with Jaron's brother's kids (their only cousins) at the parade. I put a couple of pictures of my kids with the beautiful "amber waves of grain." This is what surrounds our house in the summer. Jaron and I took the kids up to an old abandoned railway tunnel up above Ashton for a little "hike." Did you see the pic of Hudson naked? He reminds me of Adam in the Garden! A very big part of the summer for my kids was catching frogs in our back yard. That container was filled in about an hour's time! Savannah did nothing else, but look for more frogs. They were just hopping around in our grass! I hope it is like that every year! We were so lucky to be able to plant grass in our back yard this year and that made for such a nice summer. The thing Hudson loved was the sand box Jaron made for the kids. It was actually more of a gravel box (pea gravel is much cleaner and the cats don't poop in it). Over all we had an awesome summer and we were sad to see it go!

East Coast girl's trip

2008-06-19T19:39:00.000-07:00

I met Millie Hull through my husband. Millie and her husband Don went to high school with Jaron. Jaron and Don were snowmobiling buddies. We would occasionally go to dinner as couples, but Millie and I didn't know each other that well. Don and Millie moved to Hawaii for a few years for work. While they were there, they called and said, "Hey, if you guys ever plan on coming to Hawaii, now is the time to do it because you can stay with us, we have cars, we have the local connections, we know all the hot spots, etc." So we took them up on it (that was in 2005). Ever since then, Millie and I have been great friends. She was a nanny in Boston before she got married and has a little sister, Annie, who is living there now, but plans on moving home soon. So Millie and her mom planned a trip out to see Annie. In no time it became a huge girl's trip because I ended up going along and so did Millie's best friend from high school, Amber. We had a trip of a lifetime! Millie and I drove 12 hours to Portland to drop off my kids to my parents then hopped an almost 6 hour flight to Boston. When we got there, we stayed with Annie and her roommates in this way old house turned into an apartment. Our first day Millie, Amber, and I took a road trip up to the Maine Coast and had some lobster. Next we toured Boston for a few days then the 5 of us hopped in Annie's teeny-tiny toyota tercel to make a 3 hour drive to New York. We thought we could save money by staying outside of Manhattan, so we got a hotel in Queens. I have to say, it was a very adventurous part of our trip. The dingy hotel, the subway, the wrong bus we got on at 11 p.m., the creepy escort services trying to offer us a ride--yeah. But, it was so amazing, like nothing I've ever done. The shopping was sooo fun. That huge city was like it's own world! We went to two Broadways--"Wicked" and "The Little Mermaid." Going to a Broadway is something I cannot describe. I LOVED IT!! I swear, if I lived in NYC (and had $$) I would go to a Broadway at least once a week! There is nothing like it. The smell of the subway is disgusting. We ate at Bubba Gump's on time square twice (my favorite restaurant.) Our feet would just ache at the end of the night. NYC is so perfect as a girl's trip. I just don't think Jaron would get the same joy out of it. A week of shopping and Broadway plays, who could ask for more? I would go back every year if I could. If we thought it was tight in Annie's car on the way up (I don't know why I always say "up," NY is down from Boston), we were definitely in for a sardine-packed commute back to Boston with the shopping of 5 women. I was so car sick. I have come to appreciate Dramamine the way I used to as a kid. Boston has such a clean, friendly atmosphere compared to NYC. Boston is such a cute, old, historic, beautiful city. We would just walk the old brick-paved streets and admire the architecture. We had awesome food while we were there. We ate at an Indian Bistro, an authentic Spanish restaurant, and a quaint little Italian restaurant in the North End. It was interesting to me, however, the amount of Dunkin Donuts that dot that coast. During our whole trip, at any given time, I swear there were always at least 2 Dunkin Donuts in close quarters (and ya know, the donuts really weren't even that impressive). But oh man, the ice cream. We had the best ice cream sometimes 2 times a day! The most dreadful part of the trip was the 6 hour flight back to Portland, which we got in at like 11 pm, then packed up and were on the road home by 1 am. We drove through the night and were home by 2 pm to enjoy at least a few hours of Mother's Day.

2008-06-16T02:49:00.000-07:00

I just thought I would post our most recent family picture taken last September. It's like 4:00 in the morning, but I can't sleep. Yesterday was Father's Day. I had planned to get up early and make Jaron this huge old breakfast with bacon, eggs, and pancakes (usually the best he gets is an Oddwalla bar on the way out the door (if you don't know what an oddwalla bar is, you must check it out. I find them in the produce section of Winco for the cheapest, but I've also seen them in Super Walmart. They are mostly organic and packed full of vitamins and other healthy stuff.) Anyway, I woke up yesterday with a really nasty flu, so instead of getting the royal treatment, he had to do everything. He got Savannah ready for church, got Hudson's diaper changed, fed both the kids, and prepared an elder's quorum lesson (which was his own fault for procrastinating, but still...) while I went back and forth between the bed and the toilet. So I slept a lot yesterday and now I can't sleep. I really am lucky to have married such a good man. He is a super father, the kids adore him!

2008-06-16T02:24:00.000-07:00

Savannah and Hudson play so cute together (they also fight together, which isn't so cute). This is a picture of a favorite place to play. We have these 2 big windows in the corner of a little family room. They love to climb up and down and look for the animals outside or watch dad in the tractor.

The other day we were in Broulims grocery store. We were in the check out line. Savannah and Hudson were sitting in one of those carts that looks like a car and has 2 little steering wheels. As I was unloading groceries to be paid for, this was the conversation that took place:

Savannah: Mom, let's wait for Hudson to take a really long nap so I can have a piece of gum.

Hudson: No

Savannah: Hudson, you need to take a really long nap you can get strong and grow up.

Hudson: No

Savannah: Don't you want to grow up?

Hudson: No

Savannah: But Hudson, it's very fun to grow up.

Hudson: No

Savannah: If you don't grow up, you won't be a daddy. Don't you want to be a daddy, so I can be a mommy and we can have kids?

Hudson: Otay.

I about died listening to this, it was the most precious thing!

Time to get to work

2008-06-12T12:41:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a technology class for recertification in Rexburg. This is day two and we set up an educational blog this morning, but this is the part I've been waiting for. I knew we were going to be setting up a personal blog so I am excited. I think this will be my new form of journaling. Our teacher told of a friend who printed off all of her postings and put them in page protectors in binders. She had 3 fat journals to look back on and I am really excited to start doing the same thing.

I finally joined the blogging world

2008-06-03T14:17:00.001-07:00

Becca made basically set this up for me, hence the reason why I have one!!!!