Happy birthday baby Hads...

I wish I could've gotten a good pic of her with her face down in her little cake....she loved it so!!!! We are having a little party tomorrow night, but we had to have our first cake on the actual day of her birth. My, oh my, how I thank our Heavenly Father for this dear gift he gave our family last September 18th. She fills our days with joy - really should've named her Happy Kate instead...

One year ago today!!!

Sweet, sweet Hadley Kate is one today!!! I can hardly believe that it's been a year now that we have had this precious one in our lives....

Mil's first soccer practice!

Mil did t-ball practice for about 6 weeks last spring, but never had any real games or anything...so this is our first official organized sport for him! We are all so excited - Laney even coached him from the sidelines at practice. Jay is helping coach Mil's team, which is lots of fun for both boys. I thought Had would probably be fussy just because it was almost her bedtime at the time of the practice, but I think she had as much fun as Mil! She was just chilling in the stroller with her leg propped up and the breeze blowing her few hairs into a mohawk-like shape... I think soccer is going to be a blast for the whole family!!

Turning Texan??

Last weekend we went to the rodeo with our ABF from church - it was lots of fun, and that is something I thought I'd never say. When we moved here and first went to the rodeo over 3 years ago, I was horrified at the idea of a rodeo. To make matters worse, the night we went a bull rider was thrown and half trampled to death. His ear was cut off and he was convulsing on the dirt floor... life flight had to carry him away, and it was on the news that night. Laney, then just 4, was completely traumatized and we said we'd probably not be going back. Rough start with rodeos, but this last time was great - still a bit nerve-racking to watch, but fun. There's one pic of Jay and Miller in the middle of a crowd. That's when all the kids that want to come down and chase a calf with a ribbon on its tail. A night full of BBQ and the rodeo - now what could be more texan?? :)

Hadley LOVES Chef boyardee pizza!!!

Lane's 1st Day!

Laney started school today at Wylie Prep and was beyond excited to get there!!!! She was not only excited about every aspect of school, but was super pumped about the uniforms!! She also got bangs yesterday as part of her "new look"... she had a definite idea of what she wanted her hair to look like... It was a super first day, and she can't wait to go back. (This is Lane with her language arts teacher.)

Fireworks at the Harbor

We went down to the Harbor in Rockwall for fireworks last night, and it just couldn't have been a prettier sight...the lake was full of boats and the breeze from the water was perfect. We laid on blankets and enjoyed the atmosphere. Had's new trick is to climb over Miller and Laney's backs like she's climbing a mountain. The big kids think it's hilarious. The fireworks were pretty, but the real fireworks show happened when we got home. The street behind our house shot TONS of fireworks (until 2:00 am actually....), and after we put Had to bed, we went out in the backyard and the kids watched more fireworks while they jumped on the trampoline!

Scooter

Hads is doing more of a belly-slide to get places than really crawling - she scoots herself by her arms. She must have really strong arms to pull herself, I figure! She loves to pull down our salad bowls and the kids' tv trays from the shelf on the island. She tried deviled eggs today, and it was love at first taste. Actually, I haven't given her anything that she didn't like. She's got another ear infection right now after only being off antibiotics for 4 or 5 days, so hopefully we'll get those ears cleared up before the beach. She's waving "hey" and "bye-bye" a little, but they are different styles - she looks like she's washing a window when she waves "hey", and her fingers go in and out for "bye-bye"... SO fun!!

Spa Night

Last weekend, Miller wanted to watch Underdog with Jay and have a boy's night...so Lane came up with the idea for us to have a girl's spa night while the guys did their thing and after we put Had to bed. Laney (now those of you who know her well know that this girl is a busy one - always creating) came up with an "order of events" for the evening that we followed step by step. We started with soaking our feet in the tub after using her foot scrub, painting toenails, and then painting fingernails. She had also seen an idea in an American Girl party idea book about old-fashioned curls. So we cut up one of Jay's old t-shirts and twisted her hair around the strips for her to sleep on. She thought that was the coolest thing ever, and woke up earlier than usual the next morning to take the strips out of her hair to see the results. We had lots of fun just doing girly stuff together and hanging out. She's awesome.

Backyard Fun!!

Well, we weren't able to join a pool for the summer, but that doesn't mean we haven't had lots of chances for fun in the pool!! We have sweet friends that have had us over swimming at their pools, and we made our version of The Great Wolf Lodge in our backyard!! Miller loved the water slides when we went there, and Lane loved the water basketball, so...this is what we came up with. They even had their afternoon snack in the pool one day - you just can't beat that. We most certainly have a big circle of dead grass under the pool, but it will surely grow back - it's so worth it to have somewhere to cool off in the backyard!

Ole Blue Eyes

Hadley adores Laney and Miller. She thinks Lane is hilarious, and - something we think is so funny - she cannot stand to hear Miller cry. She cries immediately if Mil cries. Sweet Baby Hads....

Track 101

I'm just learning about this whole world of track and field...we went to Laney's first official track meet a couple of Saturdays ago, and it is amazing all that goes on there! A few things I did not know before we got into all of this: track meets take ALL day and they also take place just about every single Saturday, you are kind of like your child's agent b/c you have to have them at the right event at the right time and it's all very confusing to me, you have to have a plethora of snacks (the healthy kind to give them fuel - not the slim jims and little debbies I threw in the bag in a panic to get out the door) and water to last you all that time in the Texas heat, and it's very challenging with little tiny ones who need naps!!!! But, Laney had a great time and managed to get a few ribbons. She actually, since this meet, has decided that she really enjoys longer races much more - like the 300 and 400, as opposed to the 50 and 100 yard ones. Maybe we'll try those at the next meet. And she loves relays. Miller thought the whole thing was "not fair" because he didn't get a trophy. I might also add that Miller doesn't care how he gets a trophy (pie eating contest??), he just knows he wants a trophy...

Baby Hads can sit up!!

Miller's big day...

Precious Miller has been asking Jay and I for weeks and weeks if he could ask Jesus into his heart. He has said over and over that he loves God and he knows that Jesus died for our sins. This morning he came to me and said that he really wanted to pray to accept Jesus, so we called Jay at work and Jay and Miller prayed over the phone. It was sweet, sweet. You know, I wondered and wondered if he was too young to grasp it all, and if we should just wait until he was a little older so that he would really be able to get it. But Miller will eventually learn more about what sin is and why we need a Savior, and about the work and the importance of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He will eventually be baptized. But for now, he loves God and believes that Jesus died to save us and rose again from the dead. The Gospel really is meant to be simple - we so complicate things. And after all, it's not about necessarily understanding so much as it is about faith in what God has done for us.

So...we had a big steak and shrimp dinner at Memaw and Peep's house to celebrate, and Grandma is still here, so it was great to have her here for this big day!! I am so thankful...

Old McMiller had a farm...

Yep!!! These are our first ever home grown veggies!!!!!!!!! All out of MoMo's garden in an old sandbox!!!!!!!! He is so proud, and loves to eat things he's actually grown!! I have become totally addicted to gardening. It's such a great destresser, and it's so rewarding...Jay laughs at me for that, but it's true. I'll post more pics of Laney's garden just as soon as her squash are ready to harvest!

Big buddies

Grandma is in town, and she and Hadley Kate have become best buddies!!! Joyce kept the kiddos for me all week last week while I was in class with Jay. I am so thankful to her for that - it was an amazing class, and I'm so grateful to have had that opportunity. I got to soak up some of Dr. Bingham's wisdom and spend all day everyday with my husband - which is a pretty great combo. While I was in class, Hadley started sitting herself up (from laying on her belly on the floor) and her first tooth came through with another close behind. You can see from the photo where Had got her blue eyes!!!