Hiatus

One month has by far my longest blogging hiatus. There are good reasons for my absence though.

David injured his knee at work at the end of Sept, which resulted in knee surgery the first week in Oct. He spent several weeks on crutches and is still going to physical therapy several times a week. I’m not sure when he’ll be going back to work. He is meeting with the doctor this week to try to determine that.

 I have been so proud of him during this time. It would have been so easy for him to slip into “man-mode” and lay around whining and complaining. Instead, he was determined to get up and moving as quickly as he could. He has been helping out around the house and cleaning up while I am at work. The hardest part of this ordeal was the weeks that he was not able to drive. He is now back behind the wheel and he feels like a new person.

The other big thing that has prevented me from blogging the last few weeks was finding out that

WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A BABY!!!

We found out at the beginning of September, but wanted to wait a few weeks before we told everyone. According to the doctors, we should be welcoming our little one into the world at the end of April.

I knew it would be hard to blog and not spill the beans, plus I have had a tough couple of weeks. I learned that “Morning Sickness” is a joke! It is not just for mornings! Pregnant sickness is an ALL DAY thing! Add that on top of the lack of energy, and I haven’t felt like doing ANYTHING, especially anything extra like blogging. Sorry, folks, but that’s the honest truth!!

It has been lots of fun going through this with Mir. Of course, she is several weeks ahead of me, but it is fun to share stories and happenings with each other. They recently found out that they are having a BOY which means that John Mark Adams will be joining our family sometime around the beginning of March. I can’t wait for our little babies to meet!

I don’t know if the Chinese are as smart as they say that they are, but I thought I’d give them a shot. It pulled up one of the Chinese Gender Charts online, just to see what they had to say about our baby. If they are right (and I hope they are!!), it looks like we may be having a boy of our own. David is still holding out for a girl, but I’m pretty well convinced. I mean, those Chinese invented fireworks! You have to be pretty smart for that, right?!

So, there are my excuses. I’m hoping that this will not be a pattern for me. I already feel a little better having put all of this in writing. After so long, it seemed like a daunting task to pick back up, but I was wrong.

I’ll keep you posted on the events of the pregnancy as much as I feel like you will be interested. Some of this stuff is just not interesting to the average person, and I get that.

My parents will be coming home next week and will be here for a few weeks. I’m sure I’ll have lots to post about their time here and hopefully some pics to share as well.

Would You Rather - Part 2

Would You Rather

-have to always speak your mind or never speak again?

-find true love or 10 million dollars?

-lose your arms or your legs?

-forget who you were or who everyone else was?

-have to always take a cold shower or have to wake up 2 hours early forever?

-be able to stop time or fly?

-be covered in poison ivy or bee stings?

-be a lonely leprechaun or a hunted unicorn?

-go to jail for a crime you didn’t commit or never interact with people again?

-sit in a box of crickets or pet a tarantula?

Would you Rather...

I was told today that my blog is boring right now. Sorry about that. I thought about doing a big post on my birthday, but quickly decided that might be a little tacky! J

I will say that I did have a good birthday though! I was able to talk to all of my family and was able to spend some time with David’s family. Sunday birthdays are busy, but overall it was a good day. I’m very thankful to be hanging on to the 20’s – even if it is just by a thread!

I don’t have much in the way of actual posts, but I saw something on Pinterest that I thought might be cute. It is a “Would you Rather” Game. I know we’ve played several games here before, but it’s been a while. I’ve got three versions of this so that it isn’t forever long - the one that I actually saw on Pinterest, I split into two and then one that I made up myself. I’ll let you be the judge of which is better.

You know the drill – leave your answers in the comment field. If you don’t have it set up where it shows your name with your post, do me a favor and put it somewhere in your comment. Thanks!

Ok, here we go….

Would You Rather

-be blind or deaf?

-read minds or know the future?

-be able to only whisper or only shout?

-live in Antarctica or Death Valley (not Clemson’s Death Valley – the real one)?

-have 1 wish granted today or 3 wishes 10 years from now?

-always wear ear muffs or a nose plug?

-talk only in snorts or smell like an onion?

-live in the game Clue or Risk?

-fight a dragon or a giant octopus?

-wake up as your gender with the opposite gender’s face or be the opposite gender with your own face?

Summer Bucket List Wrap Up

As you know, I made a Summer Bucket List of things that I had hoped I would be able to do. I'm sad to report that I was unable to have a 100% completion. I was able to do 12 out of 18 which I think is about 65% (I'm not really good at math, so that may or may not be correct!) I don't guess that is too bad especially considering all the extra stuff that we did that wasn't on this list. Completed list or not, I'd say this was a pretty good summer. It was definitely more busy that relaxing, but that's ok. It can't all be fun and games, can it?!

• Go Camping
• Boat Ride
• Roast Marshmallows
• Have a Snow Cone
• Watch Fireworks
• Paint
• Go to a Baseball Game
• Go Swimming
• Go to a Museum
• Go to Dollywood
• Go to a Water Park
• Ride 4-Wheeler
• Read
• Have Homemade Ice Cream
• Indoor Skydiving
• Grill Out
• Road Trip
• Go YardSaleing

Happy Birthday

September 11 (9/11)

This is probably one of the most famous dates in modern history.

For so many this date represents pain and hurt. It brings back thoughts of fear and confusion. On the other hand, it also brings up thoughts of pride and patriotism.

In the Miller family, this has been a special date for many, many years. This is the day that my dad was born - the last of 10 children born to my grandmother and grandfather.

After reading my mom's blog post about my dad, I decided to link it instead of writing my own. Hers is perfect. So, go here and read up about my dad and his work in Guatemala.

Happy Birthday, Dad! We love you!

Super Fun News!!!

If we can share on Facebook, that means I can finally share here…

I am SUPER EXCITED to report that that my sister, Miriam, and her husband, Mike, are going to have their very first baby!!! We still don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl, but you better believe I’ll let you know when I find out. 

I already have two nieces (Molly and Eve) from David’s sister and brother-in-law, but this will be the first niece or nephew on my side of the family! We are all VERY excited and can’t wait for March to get here!

 Mike doesn’t have a beard any more. (Thankfully!) This was his pre-Afghanistan look. I just don’t have any good updated pics of the two of them.

 This was how Mir told my brother, Stephen, about the baby. If you know anything about my brother, you know this was a perfect gift for him!! 

Love Him

Today is my hubby's birthday! 

He has officially crossed over the 30 hill and is working his way down it now. He still looks pretty good for an "old guy" though, doesn't he?! 

  
I am so glad we have gotten to spend the last 10 birthdays together, and I sure am hoping for much more that 10 together in the future!

What's Been Going on

Sorry for the recent blog hiatus. Things have been pretty busy lately, and I haven’t had a great chance to sit down and write / I haven’t taken the time to sit down and write. 

When I last left you, we had just gotten back from NC visiting Mike and Mir. That has only been a few weeks, but it seems like that was months ago since so much has happened in the mean time. Of course, my week days have been filled with work (sorry, no good BL stories right now!) and getting ready for all the adventures of the weekends. 

Since NC

• I have been to…
• A Beth Moore Conference in Charleston
• Edisto Island
• The Downtown Market in Greenville
• The Apple Festival in Hendersonville
• I have …
• Worked out at the gym (though not as much as I should)
• Paid my late fee at the library
• Made my very first batch of fig preserves
• Tried a new bakery in Travelers Rest (Upcountry Provisions)      
• Hosted David’s family for his birthday party
• I have spent time with…
• David
• LA, Brett, and GaGa (Brett’s mom)
• Anna - My College Roommate
• Crystal, Molly, and Eve
• Most of David’s family (grandparents, parents, sister and her fam)
• I have eaten…
• McConkey’s Pimento Cheese Burger (Edisto)
• Shrimp and Grits (Downtown Market)
• Apple Cider Slushie (Apple Festival)
• Taco Bar (David’s birthday party)
• Muscadines (my neighbors yard J)

And that's pretty much it in a nutshell. See, I have been busy!! Busy and having fun! 

The fun doesn't stop just yet...we are going to TN this weekend to spend some time with David's parents that will be camping in the Gatlinburg area for the next few weeks. Although summer is officially over now, I'm looking forward to knocking off another item on my Summer Bucket List!! Details to come later...

Close Friends

I saw this quote on Pinterest, and it made me think…who do I spend most of my time with?

1. David – I guess that one it obvious, but I sure do wish we could spend more time together! Between his schedule and mine, there are some days that I don’t see or talk to him, and I hate those days! Most couples take their time together for granted, but we look forward to the time that we get to be together. 
2. Diane – I actually probably spend more time with D than anyone since we are together at work for about 8 hours every day (except Friday, that’s just 4 hours!!). I’m so thankful that I have a BWF like her! She makes work worth it – even on the bad days, we have fun working together!  
3. Leigh Ann – I get a double dose with LA. Not only do we work together (at both of our jobs), but we also hang out together. (I’d hang out with D, but she never wants to do anything. I like to say that she hates people!) Since she only works in the AM, I don’t spend as much time with her as I do D, but Thursday nights are Rabbit Nights. I spend most of the afternoon/evening at her house sorting produce and what not.  
4. Savannah – Sav is my work out partner, so on regular weeks I see her at least 3 nights. We also spend a lot of time together on the weekends, especially when David is off of work. She and JL are our Dollywood friends as well. We take a lot of random TN trips with them. Since we were out of town most of this week, I feel like I haven’t seen her in about 12 years. I don’t like that!

I know that’s only 4, but those are really the main people that I spend most of my time with. There are others that I could add, but I would consider these to be my closest friends. In looking at that quote and this list of people, I’d say I’m in pretty good shape if I start acting more like them!

Weekend Update

I am happy to report that there will be no BL stories this week. I am happy because that means I did not have to work with her at all. 

Last weekend and the first part of this week, we spent up in the Raleigh area with my older sister and bro in law. David had an appt at Duke, so we thought it was a great time to get in some family time as well! This was our first time getting a chance to see Mike since his return from Afghanistan! It was so nice to be able to stay with them for a few days and just chill.

On Saturday we went up to Mike’s parents’ lake house and spent the day out on the water. I REALLY needed a day like that since this summer has been so hectic, and I haven’t been in the sun much at all! We traded out our time floating in the water and laying on the dock. After a day on the water Mir made a homemade BBQ chicken pizza for dinner, and we headed back home. It was a perfect Saturday!

On Sunday we went to their NC church, Provident Baptist. They are really sad to be leaving that church and their friends there. It is a great church with great leadership that has really helped them grow during their years in Raleigh. I’ll be sad that we won’t get to visit there anymore too!

Sunday evening after an afternoon nap (duh…it’s Sunday, you HAVE to take a nap! At least that’s how we were raised!), we went to Maggiano’s for dinner. This was the first time that David and I had ever been, and I was EXCITED!! For years I have heard my parents and siblings talk about this place, but I’ve never had the chance to go to one. Mir accrues points on Polly and Blue’s dog food and can turn them in for gift cards. She usually saves them until she has enough points for a Maggiano’s GC. That is one of their fav fancy restaurants.

Maggiano’s is a family style Italian restaurant. Italian as in salads, breads, pasta, desserts. Family Style as in they will bring you as much of your dishes as you want. All you do is ask for more! It is an amazing yet dangerous combination! We definitely ate like fat kids and took home plenty of leftovers that we have eaten all week long!

As if the night hadn’t been great enough, Mir and I got to watch The Hunger Games movie thanks to her friend Laura that had gotten it from the Red Box the night before. The boys weren’t interested, but Mir and I were super excited about staying up late to watch it! Judge if you want, but we both LOVED the books and were excited about the movie. I had actually seen it in theaters, but still couldn’t wait to see it again. It did not disappoint!!

Monday was a chill day. We hung around the house in the AM and then went out to dinner that evening. Mike LOVES sushi. Mir does not. David and I also LOVE sushi. After some coaxing, Mir took one for the team and let us all go to Mike’s fav sushi restaurant. It was YUMMY!! After sushi, we of course needed ice cream (because we hadn’t eaten enough bad stuff the night before!). We hit up the Yogurt Mt on the way back to the house. I’m telling you now, the Caramel Pretzel Yogurt is my new go-to! It was delish!!

Since we had talked Mike into staying Monday night, he had to get up super early Tuesday morning and head back to DC for work. I feel guilty about that, but I’m so glad that he was able to stay and play a little longer! We had David’s appt, so we were up pretty early for that. Mir fixed lunch at home and then we hit the road back to SC. The time flew by, but I’m glad that we were able to hang out!

Although the free lodging was nice, we are still praying (join us, won’t you?) that Mike and Mir’s house in Raleigh would sell. They have officially moved to Virginia in the DC area, but have not been able to sell the NC house. As you can imagine, this is a pretty big burden on them.

More details about the trip to Mir’s later…