Johnny Appleseed... haha

I miss John. He came out last week to go on the College Life Ski Trip with the college group from our church out here in Oklahoma. We went up to Winter Park, in Colorado and had an amazing time together. He is such a man of God and I respect him so much. It was so cool to see him in his element, on a board in the mountains. Man, that boy can snowboard. I was giddy the whole trip having both him and Eric there. He also just got accepted to the University of Oklahoma, which I am STOKED about. I pray that the Lord leads him to where he's suppose to be, but, secretly, I REALLY JUST WANT HIM TO COME TO OU!=) He is such an amazing brother and I am so honored to be his sister. Love you John.

LA to see Max... Vegas to see Eric!

He's such a cute! Little Max-man was such a joy to hang out with. He slept quite a bit, as babies seem to do,=) but the few times he could keep his eyes open, it was a treat. I had a wonderful visit with my mom and just being available to help settle into having 2 children was great. Phoebe was so precious to Max and couldn't stop kissing his head. Her and I had some fun together. I love the little forehead wrinkles! Here he is trying to get a glimpse of his Nana.

We painted our toenails and she got her fingernails done as well, which she showed off to everyone that came over.

Little Max sleeping away.

Nana with her new grandson.

Phoebe and I were attempting to take a picture together and this is as close as we got. We look so mad at each other, haha! She was not cooperating and so we ended up with a stare-down pic.

Love it.

Phoebe wanted to do everything Max did. Sit in Mom's lap, suck on the binky, and get the car seat. She was so adorable.

And then I headed to Vegas where Eric has been for the past 3 weeks for a string of training missions. He's been pulling 14 hr days and its been a long ride. He comes home tomorrow, which we are both SO excited for. One of my best friends, Sam and her husband Jordan, who live in L.A. were able to drive up and hang out with us for the weekend. We had a wonderful hanging out and having awesome conversations about ministry and life. It was amazing the fellowship we had in such a pagan place.=) It was a great time.

Me and my AF Stud.

Sam and me... or affectionately known as "Shuga & Spice"

Hanging out with the Ballards! We miss you!!!

Soooo....

So this is what happens when you turn on the stove but its the wrong burner and your dish towel is sitting on the burner that you didn't mean to turn on!! Yeah, it was kinda funny but then again, not really. The kitchen started filling with smoke and I immediate tossed it in the sink and turned on the water. Thankfully it hadn't started to flame yet, but it was close. So, lesson learned: one, watch what burners I turn on more carefully, and two, don't put towels on the stove, even if you THINK its off. Praise Jesus for not burning down the house before Eric arrived home.

Maxim Lane Cole has arrived!

I got a nephew this morning! He is so precious and I only have to wait 2 days to hold him. I'm so excited! Sarah gave birth around 3:30am this morning after only pushing 6-7 times! Incredible! She said when she and Levi checked into the hospital, she was already 10 cen. dialated and the baby was right there! And Max came within the hour. Praise Jesus for a fast and safe delivery. Here is a picture of Phoebe meeting Max for the first time. So precious. She is so loving and tender.

She's giving him a version of her kiss, a stick-tongue-out-and-plant-on-cheek-or-forehead kiss. Haha...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINDSAY!!!

Hello my love! This is your belated happy birthday gift! You will have to forgive the "um's" and the "like's" - this was done in one shot. So, enjoy! I'm sorry it's taken so long, eh hem, only 1 1/2 years. But here it is, Miller Cribs. And you'll have to come out to stay in your bedroom and see the back yard. I will have cleaned up Ellen's little (actually not so little) puppy piles by then, haha. I love you and happy birthday!

Love is in the air

I thought this was appropriate with Valentines Day coming up. It gave me a couple chuckles and a couple tears. So cute!

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does love mean?' And here are their very profound answers.

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.
So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'
Rebecca- age 8

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'
Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'
Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'
Chrissy - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'
Terri - age 4

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'
Danny - age 7

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more.
My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss'
Emily - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.'
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,'
Nikka - age 6

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'
Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'
Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.
He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'
Cindy - age 8

'My mommy loves me more than anybody
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'
Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'
Elaine-age 5

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.'
Chris - age 7

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.'
Mary Ann - age 4

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'
Lauren - age 4

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)
Karen - age 7

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget..'
Jessica - age 8

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,

'Nothing, I just helped him cry'

So I know our last entry was about food, well, this one is too. This is chili. This is the 3rd pot of chili that I had made as of the past 13 days. You see, 1 1/2 years ago when we first got to Oklahoma, we had just bought our home and it was taking me a lot longer then we had expected to find a job. Needless to say, money was a little tight. We were spending a max of $35 on groceries and I was cooking about one dinner a week and stretching it out over meals. Anyway, there was one week that I made a pot of chili, which is very inexpensive and we were able to make it last for 6 days by adding rice or cornbread with it. At the end of the 6 days, my thoughts were "Well, that was cheap, and I'm not quite sick of it... So, lets do it again!" And so we did. For another 7 days, we ate chili. It was amazing how the Lord gave us the grace to eat the same meal for dinner for 13 days in a ROW! So, Eric's idea was to make a memorial of the way the Lord provided for us and to remind ourselves how much the Lord has blessed us. (lets just say I cook more then once a week now) We then decided that every year we are going to eat 13 days of chili, and use the money we would have spent on groceries to give away to someone who needs it. We just finished and are so happy to be eating salads, pasta and other dishes, but it was a good thing. I love doing these things with Eric. It reminds me of our struggles and how the Lord has walked with us every step of the way in our marriage. He is so good.