Memory Lane... A Holiday Tradition

This time of year always makes me think of years gone by and the people who have come in and out of my life. Maybe it is the receiving of Christmas cards from high school and college friends, the posting of pictures on Facebook of something from my past or the current and fresh goodbyes that stir memories of "the good ole days." This time of year is just notorious for taking me on a walk down memory lane.

It starts around Thanksgiving when the first Christmas card I receive every year is from my friend Sara who was my best friend growing up. I smile as I see her cute, growing girls, but then I am reminded of the passing years and how the only thing that connects Sara and I now is one card a year followed by possibly a brief conversation via text. I often think "how does this happen?"

Then I hear the music of Christmas past from a church cantata long ago or see pictures of the church I grew up in all decorated at Christmas time (it was always beautiful), and once again, I think, "where have the years gone?" I loved the church I grew up in. I always felt loved and a sense of belonging. In fact, I have fond memories of playing "hide and seek" with my sister and church friends while our parents decorated that church for Christmas. We were always the first to see the beauty of the Christmas season within that church building when all of the hard work was done. (Of course, I had it easy back then... I didn't have to do any of the work!)

As I said goodbye to a dear friend/co-worker last week (who is headed for a great job opportunity), I can't help but think about "the good ole days with Christine." Once again, another change in life that may have me traveling down memory lane every now and then. Like many others, Christine has impacted my life, and as this time of year always does, I am sure next year I will think about our friendship and think "wow, I can't believe it has been a year since Christine has been gone!" I know that I will keep in touch with Christine, but it still will not be the same when I don't see her every week.

Needless to say, I have learned a lot through the years as I have had many people and places come in and out of my life. I have learned the importance of taking time to remain in contact with the people that make me who I am. I don't always have the opportunity to pour a lot of time into keeping relationships at the type of level that I prefer (my love language is quality time), but sometimes a text or two is enough to show that I still care and appreciate the ways that people have impacted my life.  Plus, it is a great reminder to treasure the present moments and the people that surround me right now, because it may become "the good ole days" before I know it!

If you are reading this, you have most definitely impacted my life and made some "good ole days" memories for me. Just know that I cherish the way each and every one of you have impacted my life, and I hope that you take some time to take a stroll down "memory lane" this holiday season and cherish the "good ole days!"

Holiday Card

We have opted not to do a Christmas card this year due to the craziness of our lives right now. We also figure that with blogs and facebook we keep you updated fairly regulary. I'm sure we'll get back into the swing of things next year. For now, enjoy the card below, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Berry Merry Frame Holiday Card

Create modern holiday cards with your photos at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Ahhhh... Sweet Communication

As with all toddlers, yesterday was another day of firsts! Our conversation (Yes, I said CONVERSATION!) went like this:

Me: Bailey are you hungry?
Bailey: Eat!
Me: Do you want juice or water?
Bailey: Juice.
Me: OK. Walk over to your seat, and I'll put you in it.

As I round the corner into the dining room, I am still wondering if she is following my instructions. When her chair came into sight, there she was standing beside it! At this point, I am wondering whether to celebrate or follow through with my end of the deal and put her in her seat.

Though communication brings on a whole new area of challenges, I am so ready for it. Playing a guessing game is... for lack of a better term... getting old! As adults, we struggle communicating with each other, so I know it won't always be easy. I am hoping I'll learn something as Bailey opens more doors for communication over the coming weeks and years. And lets be honest, she'll probably tell you a few of our secrets in the meantime. Bring it on!!!

Pig Tails

I have been waiting for this day since I found out I was having a little girl! Bailey's hair is finally long enough to make pig tails! Though she wouldn't leave them in, I got some precious snapshots of this exciting time!

My Favorite Days

Look who I get to spend the day with...

Feeling very blessed to have a day off to spend with Bailey!

Crazy, Busy Life!

I apologize for my lack of blogging the past few weeks, but LIFE HAS BEEN CRAZY!!!

First off, Scott and I feel as though we have a newborn again. Bailey has been waking up almost every night for the past few weeks at least once (sometimes twice). I can feel two of her molars making their way in, and I feel other large bumps throughout her mouth. However, she still only has 5 official teeth that are in. So, this teeth issue is disturbing both sleep as well as eating. On Thursday, Bailey ate 4 green beans. That's it!!! I always said I wouldn't stress about my child eating, because they will eat when they are hungry BUT I am starting to feel a little stressed. Today was a better eating day though. She ate an entire yogurt and cup of applesauce as well as a popsicle. I just need to be creative, because she obviously doesn't want to chew anything. Any moms out there have any tips???

Also, we are dealing with whether her teeth still bother her at night or if she has just gotten herself into a routine where she wakes up. We have been told to let her cry, and we did last night. I have a hard time with this though if she is actually waking up because of a toothache. Oh, the joys of the guessing game that we call parenthood. I long for the days when she can just tell us what is wrong! (I know... be careful what I wish for b/c then she'll be telling the world our business!)

Scott's grandpa passed away this past Tuesday. He was diagnosed with cancer over a year ago and has been up and down since. We knew this was coming, but it still doesn't make it easy to say goodbye. We headed for Montgomery, Indiana (southern Indiana) after work on Wednesday and stayed until Friday after the funeral. (To add to the madness, I had to be back in Columbus for an all day class on Saturday.) Even though funerals are sad occasions, it was nice to see all of the Yoder family.

This semester is also winding to a close right now. I am so ready for it to be over! I spent most of this afternoon finishing up my last weekly homework assignments for my accounting class, and I am excited at the fact that I just have my final assignments to finish up now! Only 3 papers and 1 test stand between me and FREEDOM!!! :) I feel like I can't get anything else accomplished with these assignments weighing on my mind. I so badly want to concentrate on Christmas shopping and our basement. (It is a mess b/c we are redoing it at the moment.) Soon enough, it will be here!

I hope to have a more exciting blog for you soon, but this is it for now!

Pumpkin Carving

Pumpkin carving is a family tradition around the Miller household. Scott feels as though I made up the tradition, and he has to do all of the work. :) He enjoys it though! This year was fun, because Bailey was interacting with us during the process and "helping."



Here is Bailey with her pumpkin patiently waiting to get started!

Bailey & Daddy ready to start carving. (Look at that smile!)

At first, Bailey really wasn't too interested and wasn't impressed with the "ickiness" inside of the pumpkin. We could never get her to actually put her hand inside of the pumpkin, but she enjoyed playing with the pumpkin top. She eventually played with the "ickiness" that was inside the pumpkin after it was taken out by Scott and put into a large bowl. Of course, she was holding a spoon with a very long handle.



Playing with the pumpkin top! Her favorite!

 All in all, it was another successful year of pumpkin carving. It is fun to see how Bailey acts with different traditions from year to year. Maybe next year she'll actually put her hands in the pumpkin. We'll see!


The final product!





Smashing Barriers at the Columbus Half Marathon

Sunday was the big day! After 12+ weeks of training, my sister and I ran the Nationwide Columbus 1/2 Marathon. My sister reminded me of the long road of training that we had after the race yesterday. She talked me into running the 1/2 marathon when we were at the beach this summer on our family vacation. That was the beginning of July!!!! It is yet another reminder of how fast time goes by!!!

We got up at 5:30 on Sunday morning for the race. Unfortunately, there was a traffic jam at our exit and we never made it to our corrals. Even though we were rushing to get to the start line, we still had time for a pre-race picture:

We took off with the overwhelmingly large crowd towards the back of the pack. It wasn't until mile 5 that I felt like I had space to move. I spent a lot of time on sidewalks in the first five miles of the race. Not fun! I am just thankful that I didn't fall off of any curbs!! At mile 5 I also started to feel strange and unfamiliar pains throughout my body. I am not sure whether to contribute it to just normal running pains or old age... :) I also noticed the hill for the first time between mile 11 and mile 12. It didn't seem to be that awful the first two times I ran this race. Maybe they just had it put in??? Needless to say, this was a mental race for me. I had a goal that I wanted to achieve and I wasn't going to let large crowds or pains get in my way!

My goal going into the race was to run it in under 1 hour and 50 minutes. The last time I ran a half marathon I ran it in approximately 1 hour and 52 minutes, (I say approximately because my time chip didn't work. Talk about aggravating!!!) so I wanted to beat my previous barrier. Well, I SMASHED the barrier, and I am stoked about it. I ran it in 1 hour 45 minutes and 2 seconds. (Of course, I am thinking if I wouldn't have slowed down at so many water stations I could've knocked off those two seconds! Never satisfied am I???) My sister also smashed her barrier as well by five minutes. Her goal was to run it in under 2 hours and she ran it in 1 hour 54 minutes and 41 seconds. So proud of her!!!

Here we are all smiles after the race!!!

Can I just say that I love running!?! Even though it was physically (and mentally) a tough race, I look forward to my next race. Someday I will take on a full marathon, but I have some other things to do first. :) I also don't feel like I can talk about running without thanking the man who gave me my running genes, my dad!!! Thanks, dad! We really wish you could've been with us yesterday!!! Maybe next time???

"Be amazed, and be changed, by a perfect God"

"There's no such thing as perfect people

There's no such thing as a perfect life

So come as you are, broken and scarred

Lift up your heart, and be amazed, and be changed, by a perfect God"

-Natalie Grant

This song played on my iPhone today during my final training run for the 1/2 marathon on Sunday, and I felt like Natalie was singing to me personally. If you are a fellow control freak/perfection seeking human being like myself, this song will speak to your heart. I do not have to be perfect, because GOD IS PERFECT!!! I am being challenged by this right now and pray that you will challenge yourself as well if you struggle with giving God control.

"... come as you are, broken and scarred. Lift up your heart, and be amazed, and be changed, by a perfect God"

How refreshing!

I couldn't find an official music video, so here is a YouTube video to enjoy

if you don't have a copy of the song!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHd5c7vHl24&feature=related

"We're in Swiss Cheese Heaven at the Swiss Festival"

Well, another Swiss Festival is behind us. The Kiddie Parade was a rainy success! Bailey did great in the midst of cold temperatures, wind and rain fall during the entire parade on Friday. Our float didn't win any awards (not that we were surprised), but it turned out great. Our float theme was "We're in Swiss Cheese Heaven at the Swiss Festival." I give Tash's creativity and artistic ability all of the credit! It was fun, but I highly doubt this will be a standing tradition... until we forget what it was like five years from now. :) Sometimes we tend to only remember the parade and not the days leading up to the parade... you know what I mean?

Here is a picture of the girls on the float before the parade:

Bailey, Sydney and Skylar were troopers through the rain as we held umbrellas up the entire parade route. Bailey even fell off of her chair twice and had to switch places with Sydney, but she remained calm for the most part during the seating situation. She did much better than her mother did in her first parade. I was about four years older than Bailey when I was in my first parade and I cried the entire time because it was raining. Needless to say, my family doesn't have much luck with weather during parades! Bailey's happiness may have partially remained intact because I let her "double fist" her first suckers ever down the hill. A mother will do anything in moments like this!

All in all, it was a great weekend with friends and family. We ate a lot of strombolli and apple fritters, Bailey got to ride on her first rides (which she didn't enjoy), Scott once again was the pig in the big parade on Saturday and we had a great time hanging out with friends!!!

Enjoy more pictures from the parade!!!

Cheese Making 101

Tonight was the big night... CHEESE MAKING NIGHT!!! In order have a true Swiss float, you have to include Swiss cheese. One of the biggest questions from the very beginning of this whole float making process has been "Where do you find fake Swiss cheese???" Thanks to my creative/handy brother-in-law, Ben, we found a solution. We made Swiss cheese out of left over wood from a basement project. Ben cut the wood, Scott cut the holes, I spray painted and Dusty played with Bailey. What a team!!!

Scott and I are working very hard with our friends, James and Natasha Miller, to create our first float ever. Needless to say, we are rookies!!! Luckily, we have gotten outside help from a seasoned float maker. Bailey will ride in the float with Skylar and Sydney (James and Tash's girls) on Friday for the Swiss Festival Kiddie Parade. They each have their own Swiss outfits to wear. They will for sure steal the show! I will post pictures of the actual float and the girls in their outfits later. For now, enjoy some Swiss cheese...

A Mom, A Student, A Career Woman

If you know me, you know that I face a constant struggle with the pull I feel as I fill the shoes of three different people while only having one body. Sound strange? I find myself switching between three different frames of mind all throughout my days. As I went for my morning run, I was aware of the fact that I thought about my mom duties, my homework, as well as my work at the hospital.

With my school work I face the most horrible fear... getting a... B!!!! I am actually laughing at myself as I type this because I know that this way of thinking is silly to most "normal" people. I am not sure when I developed this behavior either. I used to be very content walking away with a B in undergrad. Maybe I am just more mature??? Ha! I am also faced with accounting this semester, and I am the type of person that if I see a word problem with numbers I freak out. I am taking this semester as yet another learning experience and definite challenge. Maybe I can become "normal" again by the end of the semester!

My work at the hospital is extremely important to me. If you knew me in college, you know that I had very hard time picking a major. (In fact, I had at least four or five! Remember when I had to take an art class???) Well, my broad outtake on my career has payed off. I truly enjoy human resources. For me and my Gen Y tendencies, if I can still say that I enjoy something after doing it for three and a half years, that is saying something. I had the opportunity to attend a user conference in Atlanta, GA on Monday and Tuesday for Halogen software. (This is a software we use at work. I'll spare you the details.) I was really thankful for this conference, because I needed the reminder of why I went into human resources in the first place. Fresh out of college I remember wanting to read books like "HR from the Heart," and it is easy to lose that fire after a while. Being reminded of true talent management this week gave me perspective once again on one of the reasons why I chose the HR field. I love to be developed, and I want to develop others!

Though I feel pulled in three different directions, my most important job at the end of the day is being a mom. Watching Bailey grow and begin to communicate with me has been amazing. I often wonder how in the world she knew what to do by the words that I used. She is very smart!!! :) (I know a lot of mothers say that about their children, but she really is!) We went to an orchard today, and I decided to let her walk on her own. She actually followed me and listened to my directions. This was a very proud moment for me as a mom. I know that the next time we go out she may wander from me and throw a fit, but days like this give me hope that I am doing something right. Scott and Bailey had a great time together while I was in Atlanta. I am thankful for a husband that can take on the "mom" role when I am not able to.

I know that my mom role is where my true priority lies in this season of my life. Though I love learning and being a student this season will come to an end in May. The season at work is just that too, a season. I am blessed to have the ability to work part-time in a job that is my career. Even though I sometimes get the urge to take on the world of human resources and dive in head first, I know that in this season I am where I should be. For me, true success at the end of the day is putting my selfish ambitions aside and developing Bailey into the person that God wants her to be.

Four Days without Mom???

For the next four days, the tables will be turned at the Miller household. Scott will be the one getting Bailey up in the morning, taking care of her all day and putting her to bed at night. Where will mom be??? I have the Fall Trail Run for work first thing Saturday morning, then I head straight to Columbus for class, then I leave for Atlanta Sunday morning for a two-day conference for work. Usually, it is the other way around with Bailey and I preparing to send daddy away for four days. To be honest, I prefer being the "sender" instead of the "sendee". Bailey and daddy will have a great four days of bonding time, and I will be soooo excited to get home Tuesday night!!!

Watch out world... daddy's in charge!!!!!

Teeth Matters

Scott had to travel to Lynchburg, VA this week for work, so it was just me and Bailey this week. Before having a child, I looked forward to the day when I'd have a companion while Scott was away; however, it's A LOT of work!!! Scott did not leave until Tuesday because of Labor Day. Normally, that would be nice, except now he doesn't return until midnight tonight (which is Friday night).



When I think about this past week, one word (or object) seems to have taken over our lives... TEETH! Somehow I made it through an entire work day with three hours of sleep as well as countless hours of fussiness followed by soothing and cuddling (not that that part is hard at all). In these moments, I tend to be more thankful for my mom and all she did for me. It also makes me thankful for a husband that shares the load (and who will definitely take the morning shift tomorrow morning). :)



Bailey now has four teeth and two or three on their way. She won't let me look in her mouth for very long, so I am having a hard time counting an exact number. I'd love to share a picture, but that's not going to happen this week either.



Running was our reprieve this week. I wanted to keep up with my training schedule for the Columbus half marathon in October, so I took Bailey in the jogging stroller with me. Usually, my running time is my "me" time, but this week it was even more special than that. Being able to bring Bailey along while I was running was soothing for both of us. She loved it, and my favorite hobby distracted her from her teeth for a while. We both got fresh air as well as exercise. I look forward to the day when Bailey will possibly want to run beside me instead of in the stroller in front of me.

An Unfaithful Blogger

Hi Everyone,

Since I haven't posted since January 2009, I have surrendered to the fact that my faithful blog follower (aka Michelle Underwood) may be skeptical of my sudden interest in blogging. (And yes, Michelle is my only known follower at this point.) I am hoping to recruit more followers as I prove my true loyalty to blogging.

So, what has happened in the Miller family since 2009? Let me give you a quick update:

In the summer of 2009, I started the journey towards getting my MBA. Three years later, I'm almost finished. I plan to graduate May 2012.

Scott moved into a senior project consultant position at Ontario Systems (I can't remember when this happened).  In 2010, Ontario Systems closed their Berlin office, and Scott has been working from home ever since. He still enjoys his job as well as his travels.

The biggest and best change was welcoming Bailey Elizabeth into our family on July 5, 2010.



Needless to say, Bailey came sprinting into the world and has blessed us in so many ways. Bailey is teaching me a lot about flexibility, and this has been good for me. I am a "planner," and when Bailey came two weeks early, I knew I was in for a learning and growing experience.

Five weeks before we welcomed Bailey into the world we welcomed Grady David. Little brother to my nephew, Gavin, and Lesli and Matt's second boy. What a blessing he has been to our family!

Scott and I celebrated four years of marriage on August 18. It is hard to believe it has been four years, and it makes me feel old. Scott is a wonderful spriritual leader for our family, and he challenges me in many ways to grow in my faith. Scott is an awesome dad as well. He has changed his fair share of diapers and taken the early morning shift numerous times. (Thanks for all you do, Honey!!)

Most recently, Scott's sister Heidi got married. She is officialy Heidi Yoder now. We are so excited to have Ben in our family, and Bailey loves having another uncle.

Bailey was the flower girl in the wedding, and Ben's nephew, Liam, was the ring bearer. An animal cracker before the ride down the aisle was the key to success. In fact, Bailey waved and said "hi" the entire way down the aisle. I was a very proud mommy!

I still work in human resources two days a week at Pomerene Hospital, and we still live in our first home in Sugarcreek. We are constantly making updates to our home, and we are about ready to take on the basement. I feel like I am leaving out numerous occasions, but I wanted this to be a quick update about the last 2-3 years; however, a lot happens in 2-3 years. (Another great reason for keeping up with my blog!)  One thing that hasn't changed is our desire to remain in the center of God's will and wait on his timing for all of the "occasions" in our lives. I look forward to sharing more of our journey with you.

Thanks for reading, and I will post again soon! I promise!