way hot wednesday!

man it was hot here today! these summer days in Pennsylvania can be brutal! at least in florida we had the beach and in texas EVERYBODY has a pool. but i love living here so enough with the complaining. 

tonight  the house is so quiet, adam is gone, nora is in bed already and i have 1,654,125 thoughts running through my mind so its the perfect time to blog. 

i am always trying to stop and pause, take a look at myself and evaluate. what can i do better? what can i cut out? what do i love? what do i hate? how can i love more? what can i do for my family more? and sure thats all great but its in times like that i go back to my roots and realize the convictions i hold deep in my heart will never change and thats part of what makes me, me. 

i will always put my family first. adam, nora and my future kids are my legacy, what i will leave behind one day and i want them to be the best they can! i will always be involved with the local church. getting to be around people and doing work for god is the best! i will always have a heart for middle school girls. helping them find out who they are young so they dont struggle later makes me so happy. i will continue to live a life where i honor. its not always easy but i can see the value it brings. i will always love. love wins, simple as that. i will always dream big. i will always laugh. i will always cry when i preach, i cant help it. i will always do whatever i can for my parents. im grateful now more than ever for everything they gave me and hope to give it back to them. i will always smile, even when its not easy. i will have bad days, but i will get back up because the good ones are worth it. 

i will always blog :)

enjoy your wednesday night!

sweet dreams!

summer fun!

Summer Greeting from the Miller Family!

We have been enjoying our summer so much so that i have been MIA in the blog world. 

But im here to catch you up. We've had lots of exciting things to do this summer!

we went on vacation to florida for a little while, had tons of play dates to pools and parks, hung with the cousins, and so much more!

One of Nora's favorite things to do right now though is to take her diaper off! When we are at home she will suddenly just rip the tabs and yank that diapey right off!

the other morning we were playing in adam & i's room, i was putting away laundry and i here something rip! so of course i had already heard the sound prior that morning as nora decided to take her diaper off after breakfast as she was leaving the table. So i looked up quickly to see my toddler throwing her diaper away in the garbage can, wiping her hands together and saying ta-da! so cute, but not so fun! i panicked quickly because i did NOT want her peeing on the carpet. crisis averted though. 

Nora has 3 back molar and we are waiting on the other 5 now! what a slooooww process getting teeth is! 

now for the fun part! here are some pictures!

vacation 2011

she loved being in the water!

what a doll!

one of the best restaurants with the best people, with the best view, and the best food!

so glad aunt jessie came to play!

precious!

bikini baby!

love him!

my little nora clam!

k-dawg and j-dawg!

my attempt to take her pics. we WILL be trying again

4th of july

maddox & nora

maddox sweet smile!

OH BOY!

bouncin on the trampoline!

enjoying ice cream with daddy

yummy!

So we have a few upcoming things are so exciting for us! we are going to the local theme park this week, adam is way excited! me, eh ive been there like 5 times, same thing each time. Adam is traveling a little with the worship team, we have friends from texas coming in that i am WAYYYY excited about, jesus culture chicago, my dad and sister are coming to visit, the cumba clan is having another baby and the millers are getting another cousin! 

so stay tuned for more summer stories and pictures.

xoxo

its friday!

man have we been busy!

but good busy. i love the summer, it give nora and i a chance to get out of the house more and explore Pennsylvania! i remember last summer thinking i couldnt wait for this summer bc nora could walk and play and i am anticipating lots of fun! 

one of the best parts about our summer will be our friends! nora has a partner in crime, bff, nursery buddy named eva that she LOVES! and i just so happen to LOVE her momma Jessica. its such a fun friendship for both nora and i! Jess is one of the funniest people ive ever met, has such a kind heart, can cook up some tasty carrots, is an incredible mom, her heart is full of love for god and her family and i am just glad i can call her a friend :)

this past week we played at the park and then the pool @ the cumba residence!

enjoy the pictures!

nora loves sunglasses!

and she loves to slide

and she loves to beat momma at tic tac toe

but she does NOT love the swing

she loves momma though :)

eva and nora BFF

playing with the pool toys

eva diva!

FRUIT MONSTERS!

maybe one day nora will be tan like eva :)

gettin down on some strawberries

no, nora didnt push eva over

partners in crime!

big girl

eating ANOTHER strawberry!

So our summer has started off fantastic. we will be in florida for vacation in 3 weeks and of course we are pumped for that! in august we will be in chicago for jesus culture with our youth and any time in between that you can find us at home playing!

Mothers Day 2011

"You are the only one who will ever know the strength of my love for you. After all, you're the only one who knows what my heart sounds like from the inside."

happy mothers day! what a gift and a privilege to be a mom. i wrote this blessing to read in church this morning. i cried the whole time.

For the stay at home mom-
May you be blessed today with great patience and an even greater influence. may you not become unsettled in your place but gladly take a paycheck that is cashed in by love.

for the single mom who never planned on doing this alone-
may you be consistently strengthened by god and hear him singing
over you. your courage and strength make you super mom.

for the working mom-
may you be blessed with energy, validation and hope. be strong in knowing the example of hard work and dedication will be a life lesson your children carry forever.


for every mom-
may your homes and hearts be filled with laughter joy and deep satisfaction. may you be blessed and honored not just today but everyday.
we recognize the sacrifices you make to give your child everything they could possibly want in this world.
may your sense of nurturing grow as you continue to care and give unselfishly to your children.
your encouragement, strength, and generosity will be the rock children stand on in hard times.
your prayers and faith have made a godly heritage that will increase with each generation, declaring the goodness of our god.
may you always believe in yourself and the calling god has given you
you are making the world a better place because you are filling it with love only a mom can give.


your children will rise up and call you blessed and today we call YOU blessed!

back on board

if someone has kids and a life and they say life isn't crazy, THEY ARE LYING!

i wouldnt change anything about my life though!

in the past 3 weeks, my mom has recovered very well, nora is walking more and more, nora has had a double ear infection, nora threw up all over me AGAIN, we planned our summer vacation to the beach, we have made new friends, had tons of fun play dates, cooked new recipes, enjoyed our great weather, and not blogged :)

now what kind of post would this be without pictures so here are a few:

 flashback! isnt she adorable!

 she now climbs into the rocking chair and sits there to drink her bo-bo!

and giraffes are now her favorite animal! she likes to bite them :)

yes we are having a biting problem. and im normally the victim!

happy sunday friends!

my smart girl

just a quick blog to let you see how brilliant my cupcake is! 

this morning after adam and i had to deal with some water damage in our basement the day went on as normal. adams office is located at our kitchen table and when he wasn't occupied at his computer our Nora took the opportunity to show us that she is mac baby! 

isn't she adorable?! she even knows how to unlock my iphone and hold the icons long enough to delete or move them! thank goodness for sync.

My mom is doing awesome! she has started rehab and i am so excited for this next phase of her life. she is going to enjoy life so much more and i am so glad nora gets to play with her more!

Now im just waiting for my hot hubby to come home from youth. Nora and i left early so that her tired meltdown wasnt public. she still is great!

xoxo julie

Home Made Sushi Night!

Thursday nights usually consist of a weekly youth staff meeting for us but this week we changed it up a little and had some fun! (are meetings are normally fun this one just was different) 

My friend Angela, took us to a restaurant called AOI in cincinatti! they serve the most divine sushi you have ever tasted! so we recreated that sushi last night for dinner and for our meeting. 

Making sushi involved sooo many steps but was easier than i thought and delicious!

this is the instruction book. basically told us how to make the rice sticky.

all of our sauces, wasabi, hot & spicy mayonaise, soy sauce, terryaki, and i cant remember the red one with the green cap, maybe seshami?

sliced cucumbers, celery and asparagus

fresh peeled shrimp!

 steaks,, cooked at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes

ready to make some shrimp tempura!

meet ang, one of my dearest friends! this is where she is warning me that once we place the battered shrimp in oil its gonna go POP POP and splatter and hurt us. grrreat!

its a POPPIN!

voila! shrimp tempura!

the paper, i dont know the japanese term for it.

rice.

 terryaki shrimp, that i served over rice for the non-sushi eaters like nora :)

beginning the rolling process!

rolled!

i didnt get a picture of all of it before we devoured it!

we had surf and turf, (lobster and steak with aparagus) buffalo shrimp, shrimp terryaki, and veggie!

plus a delicious ginger salad! dont you wish you were there?!

and this was dessert! rice krispie treats with a swedish fish and fruit by the foot! so cute and creative and i wish i could take credit but i cant. Mindy is awesome!

and what would my blog be without some pics of the cupcake! she was tired last night and wanted more peach ice cream!

hahahha i love this one! she was mad though that i wouldnt let her have the camera.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sweet friend Richelle D'Amico! she is awesome and if you dont know her you are missing it!

xoxo-Julie