And He Grows and Grows...

Isaac is adored by every single person in our house to the MAX. We just love him so much! I am thankful to be home this time around to get to know Isaac all day long. I can't believe how many smiles and snuggles I must have missed with our first two kids while I was working. Thankfully, I didn't really know I was missing out on anything at the time because it still seemed oh so sweet. :)

Isaac is 4 months old today. He enjoys talking (but only when Eli and Hailey aren't in the room to capture his attention, as well as his tongue apparently), he loves his play mat and is slowly mastering the back-to-front roll, he is most happy being held and talked to face to face, and he does not like taking milk from a bottle (still working on that one). He weighs around 16 pounds based on our scales at home and wears mostly 6 month clothes. Between vacation and illness his sleep had become a bit erratic, but he is finally sleeping through the night again. He falls asleep on his own the majority of the time which I have found to be the most useful skill I can teach my children at this age.

Isaac resembles Eli a lot as a baby and I especially notice it if I put him in Eli's outfits and compare the pictures. I wonder if they will look alike as they get bigger???

Silly boy!

We love you Isaac Miller!

Mother's Day 2013

I love being a mom. I'm sure I have said that at some point on this blog before, but I really mean it. At least a few days a week I take a moment to ponder what an amazing calling motherhood is (usually when I have been humbled by another time I have goofed in my job). There is no job in life that has brought me more joy and refined my character in such a profound way. My kids show me my sin...daily. All I have to do is look in their eyes and know that my tone was too harsh or my eyes too critical. They have taught me to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17) throughout my day in a way I never thought to be possible. I have learned to be patient instead of resort to frustration (most of the time) and have learned to apologize even to a two year old when I have wronged her (something I have never been great at). They have taught me lessons in repentance, forgiveness, and perseverance just to name a few. They are precious in my sight but even more precious in His sight, my loving God who has entrusted them to me for an unknown amount of time. I pray often that it is a very long time. I'm thankful to have a day at least once a year that reminds me of all these things. Happy Mother's Day to anyone I have the privilege of sharing this day with and especially to the wonderful women that Marc and I get to call mom.

Thank you God for giving me these most precious gifts of life and the sweet grace I need in this job to hopefully be a mom that these children will one day "rise up and call blessed." (Prov. 31:28)

Myrtle Beach- Part 2

I realized I have close to 400 pictures from vacation on my computer (I put my mom and sister's pics on my computer as well.) It is really hard to whittle that down to something manageable but here goes Part 2. :)

We had a few rainy and colder days on our vacation to Myrtle Beach which actually turned out to be really fun days. There is an area in Myrtle Beach called Broadway at the Beach and we had the best time walking around all the stores, trying out some great restaurants, and visiting the aquarium.

Ripley's Aquarium was lots of fun for the kids and I think the adults enjoyed the all around shark tank.

While out at Broadway at the Beach, we ate at Amici's Bistro, Johnny Rockets, and Sweet Carolina's (not all in the same day). The cornbread at Sweet Carolina's was so good!

On another cooler day, we decided to pack a lunch and go play at a nearby park. The kids had a great time.

I promise Isaac did go to all these places with us. He just failed to make it in any pictures because he was usually doing this...

And one thing that NEVER got old with our two was swimming inside at the condo. I'm so glad our kids love the water so much! Isaac seems to be taking after his big siblings.

This picture melts my heart. Love my boys. :)

We certainly had some good weather, too! One night we walked down the boardwalk by our condo to the big giant SkyWheel to take a ride to the top. We all fit into two of the compartments. They were completely enclosed which was a comfort with the little ones. The ride is situated right by the ocean and you can look out over the water when you come over the top of the wheel. It was really neat.

We had a great family vacation. Thanks mom and dad for all your work in making it fun for us all! We look forward to the next one. :)

Myrtle Beach- Part 1

A few weeks ago we packed up for vacation. My cousin was getting married in South Carolina so my mom thought it would be a good time for our family to get together for a week. So, we stayed a week after the wedding to enjoy some fun on the beach.

We were able to get super cheap tickets through Spirit Airlines flying from Chicago direct to Myrtle Beach. We drove up to Chicago the night before our flight and went out for pizza at Giordano's. I wasn't sure how the kids would like Chicago style pizza, but they gobbled it up. We stayed at a hotel right by the airport with an indoor kiddie pool which the kids loved. Marc's parents had just flown back from Arizona and they stopped by the hotel to watch the kids swim.

I realized I really enjoy packing for our family! I have learned that we always take too many clothes, so I try to take less than I think we need. My packing skills greatly improved after packing for Africa, but somehow I still managed to fill two large suitcases, a duffle, a carry-on, and a few backpacks.  :)

The kids loved these new backpacks I found at Target. They were a HUGE help to us because Eli and Hailey were able to manage them the entire time we were in the airport. I put all their goodies for the plane ride in them plus their DVD players. They hold a lot of stuff!

We started our vacation week off with a beautiful wedding in Georgetown, SC. We had a great time and enjoyed all the yummy food and live music. Our kids did really well considering they had traveled the entire morning. Eli and Hailey were so excited to wear their wedding clothes and loved dancing on the dance floor.

The morning after the wedding we drove over to Myrtle Beach and got settled into our condo. We ventured out to the water right away. It was fun seeing all the kids take it in. Eli and Hailey didn't seem to remember the beach very well (their last trip was to Florida two years ago) and it was Bailey's first time to feel some sand between her toes. 

 Here are some other favorite beach pictures from the week

The weather was a bit cooler than normal for this time of year, but it didn't stop Marc and Brandon from getting in the ocean....and of course Eli and Hailey wanted in once they saw daddy do it.

The kids were pretty cold once they got out

Bailey even got her little feet in for a bit

We had so much fun! Stay tuned for pics of the rest of our week.