Praising God!

With the funeral arrangements and such, this week is just too busy to sit down and blog much. So I am reposting this entry to remind me to worship God in all we do for today's Walk Down Memory Lane.

Originally posted on April 19th

Have you ever had a moment when you knew God was right there with you showing you glimpses of His glory? When that occurs for me most is sunset and sunrise. Not sure why, but I just feel like sometimes God wants to show me His creativity and glory all at the same time. For me, when I see that I run to get my camera, however the pictures are never the same thing for me. I try my hardest to grab onto that moment. I was humbled this week by my 11 year old daughter in a moment like this. We were at the lake house getting school done and giving mom a needed chance to focus. One evening, we looked out the large windows over the lake and noticed the most beautiful sunset. It had been raining all day long so truly this was the first time we could enjoy the outdoors. We both ran outside, me with camera in hand and Doodle with complete joy. We rushed down the steps to the dock and I started snapping my pictures. I turn to notice my daughter dancing on the dock in a moment of praise. What a sweet moment. And lucky me...I had my camera!

Doodle fully engrossed in praising her God!

Watching her freely praise her God in a moment of joy made me wonder, what holds me back from praising God in the way I feel at that moment? This week, I want to praise him like a child and not just any child....my child: freely and without regard to who is watching or what they think. God showed me a glimpse of His glory this week through my child. I'm so glad I had the camera at that moment, but now regret not putting it down and joining in the dance with her. Maybe next time.....

What a Difference a Day or Two Makes....

A couple days ago, I was wallowing in my own selfishness and pity really. Then today, after my daughter had a wonderful choir performance, we got the call that flips the switch immediately. My husband's grandma, the woman we named our oldest daughter after, had collapsed and not responding to CPR. We rushed from DQ leaving our girls with my parents. Thoughts of my time with Gaga Rachel raced through my mind. I was sad for me, but more so for my husband and mostly for my girls. We are so blessed to have a family that lives close to each other. Gaga Rachel use to stop by when Matt and I lived around the corner from her. She would bring pies or yummy food to share.

She stopped by to see her great-granddaughter when we first brought Doodle home. Then when she was 86, we adopted Bean. I was taking Doodle to Bible Study Fellowship at the time and hated to stop going. So I asked her to help me watch the new baby. She would drive over to stay with the baby for a couple hours while we went to BSF. This gave Bean and Gaga Rachel such a close bond. She did this for two years! Can you imagine! I know that she adored being able to help me but I think she just loved seeing that little girls' eyes light up when she saw her Gaga Rachel.

Tonight, I saw a new look in my girls eyes. Bravery. When we got to her apartment, it was too late. She had already gone home to be with her Jesus. So I called my parents and asked if they would bring the girls to us. We wanted to tell them and give them a chance to see her if they wanted, but we didn't want to force them to. Everyone grieves so differently. So, while Doodle chose to wait until the funeral, which I expected from both of them fully, Bean wanted to see her Gaga Rachel again. We warned her about what she would see and prayed with her. When she went in, her eyes came across Gaga Rachel's pale face. She knew she was gone. She knew that was not her Gaga. She cried and hugged us. But she stayed close to that room. She did not want to leave. She asked if she could have the picture of the two of them on her birthday and we willingly gave it to her. That is her Gaga Rachel, not the shell of a body she just saw.

As others arrived, still Bean stood by close to the room. I see this child in a new light tonight. She is trying to soak it all in and I know we will have many tough days ahead as we all try to process this loss. However, tonight, I see a strength in her that is far beyond her 8 years of age. So, I am sure I will have more posts on how we all are coping, but for now, I just wanted to post these thoughts and this picture Bean is sleeping with tonight as she holds her blankie Gaga Rachel made her 8 years ago:

Bean and her Gaga Rachel~ Best Buddies

Supporting my man

Do you ever have moments when you just feel so beat down that you can't breathe? I had one of those today. I don't know who all is reading this so let's just suffice it to say we are experiencing some family issues that do not involve anyone who lives in our home. :) Is that a safe way to put that? I hope so.

Anyway, I so struggle to be "normal" around people who are irritating or rude to my husband even if we are related. I want to make it right or tell them how I feel depending on the situation. I am highly protective in nature. Some situations just never go away: they may seem to but they always find a way to creep back into our conversations. We have one topic that continually comes up every year. Every year for almost 18 years!!! Today I snapped! I just couldn't take it anymore.

I desire to see my husband respected and revered as I feel he should be in his home life, work and everywhere he serves. Yet there are people who refuse to see in him what I see. They refuse to allow him to rise up and be the man in this situation that God intended. As I was venting to my mom and her reminding me of who is in control (thank you!), I realized that I am no different than the people who are not allowing my husband to shine. If I take over making the decision that "now is the time!" to have a talk or to stop the insanity in the situation before he is ready (no matter how long it takes) than I have taken away the leadership of our home. He has no one to stand beside him no matter where he is if I cave and give into that sinful nature. So, I am humbled tonight. I want to scream at the fact that we are still having the same talks for the past 18 years but then I stop to remind myself....18 years or 180 years there is no one I would rather dig through this issue or any other that is thrown our way. I love you sweetie and I am so sorry if I added pain to an already sticky situation. :)

Seems Like Yesterday!

Today's walk down memory lane is short and sweet to me. This weekend we had the chance to help dear friends celebrate their little guys Adoption Day! What fun we had going duck pin bowling downtown and then back to their home for a cook out. I was taking pictures like crazy just having fun. This one stopped me in my tracks.
I know for some, it may not look special, but to me it reminds me just how fast time is going by. I recall standing in front of the judge with this precious girl like it was yesterday. I was so nervous. I didn't know what to expect and when we left, we could not believe how little pomp and circumstance the entire event really had. We also celebrated because that is the day that Doodle became a Miller officially. She was 100% our girl and that could never change. I think I was less nervous when we stood before the judge with Bean because we knew what to expect, but it is still a day we never forget or take lightly.

I enjoyed talking to my friend about how much celebrating the adoption of our children reminds us of celebrating our adoption into God's family. We did not do anything to earn that love. Nor did our children. We loved them unconditionally and fully. Being officially adopted gives our children full heir ship in our family. Same for us with God. We are full heirs with Christ. What a sweet time to reflect on the day we celebrate how our God brought our girls to us but also thankful for the way He adopted us into His family forever. I am so grateful we were included in this special day. It was a sweet moment for us.

Doodle loves being a mother's helper to this family. Here she is with their daughter. Sweet!

Our friend, Gaby, was with us as well. Bean has always been her special buddy.

Menu for the week

This week is going to be tough getting back to all the "normal" activities after having two or three weeks off. So my plan is use the crock-pot often or make it quick. This should be our last week of all activities due to Bean's choir musical being on Sunday. No more choir after that. Slowly everything will dwindle out and our summer life begins. :) Yeah! Here's the plan:


Monday: grab what you can (BSF night)

Tuesday: crockpot lasagna, salad and bread (ballet)

Wednesday: taco salad, chips-n-salsa (choir)

Thursday: veggie soup, homemade bread (Bible Bowl)

Friday: Make your own pizza! (Doodle dance at retirement home)

Saturday: chicken on the barbie, rice and veggies (NOTHING TO DO!!!)

Sunday: ribs, baked beans, corn on cob, salad (Bean's musical at church)

Reasons to Praise Him!

Have you ever had a moment when you knew God was right there with you showing you glimpses of His glory? When that occurs for me most is sunset and sunrise. Not sure why, but I just feel like sometimes God wants to show me His creativity and glory all at the same time. For me, when I see that I run to get my camera, however the pictures are never the same thing for me. I try my hardest to grab onto that moment. I was humbled this week by my 11 year old daughter in a moment like this. We were at the lake house getting school done and giving mom a needed chance to focus. One evening, we looked out the large windows over the lake and noticed the most beautiful sunset. It had been raining all day long so truly this was the first time we could enjoy the outdoors. We both ran outside, me with camera in hand and Doodle with complete joy. We rushed down the steps to the dock and I started snapping my pictures. I turn to notice my daughter dancing on the dock in a moment of praise. What a sweet moment. And lucky me...I had my camera!

Doodle fully engrossed in praising her God!

Watching her freely praise her God in a moment of joy made me wonder, what holds me back from praising God in the way I feel at that moment? This week, I want to praise him like a child and not just any child....my child: freely and without regard to who is watching or what they think. God showed me a glimpse of His glory this week through my child. I'm so glad I had the camera at that moment, but now regret not putting it down and joining in the dance with her. Maybe next time.....

Easter

I can't believe how long it has been since I last wrote on here but life around here has been crazy since we returned from Spring Break. So, with that...I am just now posting pictures of our Easter. We had a great Resurrection Sunday.The Miller Girls looking pretty in pink and white.

Doodle and Bean showing us their basket of loot.

We went to the 8am service at church, came home and made our food to take to lunch at my parents.Here are all 8 grandkids with my parents. Sweet!

Enjoyed our time there and then ventured off to visit with Matt's family for dinner at the lake house. A full day! The four "Miller" grandchildren.

The girls and I stayed at the lake house the rest of the week to do school and just enjoy God's beautiful creation all around us. Matt commuted to work and back to join us each night. We have had a full couple weeks. I took a few pictures of our school week as well.

Have schoolbooks....will travel. :)

Bean and Doodle enjoying the view of the lake while working away.

Spring Break Moments

I am a little late for "Wednesday's" walk down memory lane, but better late than never. :)

My parents have blessed us the past three Christmas's with the gift of a condo for Spring Break. We all head down together, my brother's family, sister's family, parents and our family. So last week, we spent time together at Panama City Beach, Florida. My family use to camp there for Spring Break when I was a kid. We loved those memories together and I have to say the white sand beaches kind of stick with you. So, thank you Mom and Dad for continuing the memories with my kids. Too bad they had to suffer sleeping in a condo bed instead of a tent or pop up. Truly they will never quite understand why we are so giddy over our accommodations, but I am so grateful! :) So here are a few pictures and memories from our trip. Enjoy!

Mom and Dad~ could they be any cuter?

The Miller Girls~ I actually made it in a picture!

Usually I am the one taking them.

Sunset

Doodle walking along the beach at sunset.

Sunset continued....gorgeous!

My girls on a shell walk

Bean on a sunrise walk...only child that got up for the first one.

Poppy (my dad) with my little niece, Faith

Nana, Poppy and the 8 grandkids

The kids all lined up on the beach. Too fun!

I don't care how old you are, watching your parents together makes you smile. :)


My brother's family

My family

My sister's family

My girls saying good bye to the ocean.

I am missing the ocean this week and not enjoying the "detox" from our vacation, but even more, I miss the calm of that week and watching my kids enjoy their cousins, aunts, uncles and my parents. Priceless!

A Heart of Prayer

Walking down memory lane on Wednesdays is so much fun for me! Join me and all the other sentimental ladies at Lynnette's blog: Dancing Barefoot, if you want to start your own walk.

This week, I am actually sitting on the beach in Florida with my entire family for our spring break trip. However, I planned ahead and wrote my post before we left. Yeah! I can plan ahead still. I had started to think I lost that ability. Anyway, as I tried to decide what to write about this week, a few pictures popped up in my mind and suddenly I knew I had to write about the power of prayer and child-like faith.

About five years ago, my girls had taken care of a critter thinking they could save it. They even had their cousins working with them on this project. They made a little home for it. They found a spot that would give it water and brought leaves to it. What they didn't realize was it was already dead. Now, my sister-in-law and I could not bare to tell them this information. They were so sure they would be able to make this little friend happy. So we watched and waited. Days passed and by that time, they knew this little guy was gone. So, they buried it in the home they had made for him. They spent some time talking about him, then they did something that made me grab my camera and wipe a tear at the same time. These four girls gathered around the tree and prayed for this critter. They thanked God for bringing him to our home and for caring for it. They asked God to keep the little guy safe in heaven now. My sister-in-law and I were so touched.

Here are all four girls praying for their little critter friend.

Fast forward about four years and we have a similar situation with different friends. My girls purchased turtles when we were in Florida with my sister and her friend. We had no idea what all would be part of caring for these baby turtles. We also found that the other children we went with had lost their turtles. The little guys just couldn't make it. So, my husband and I decided to set the turtles free to give them a chance to live. I knew that broke our girls hearts but they were such troopers. We gave them plenty of heads up that we were going to do this and let them help decide where to set them free. So, we chose a good friends lake. After talking with my friend, we agreed to bring them over that summer and let them go so they could have a chance to live. Once the kids put the turtles where they wanted them in the lake, again they gathered together and began to pray without prompting.

Here are Doodle, Bean and their two friends praying for turtles.

That brings me to my life. Their simple examples of feeling prompted to pray makes me wonder: What spurs me on to hit my knees and pray? When do I seek God for comfort or guidance? It seems to me that there was not one second delay in these children going through whatever it was at the time to turn to God in prayer. They knew they could not handle this or do this alone. It was all over their head. Therein is the secret to childlike faith. Realize we can't handle it without him and give it over right away. Talk about letting the little children lead them....hmmm.