Advent Season!

I love decorating for Christmas! We moved into our apartment in December 2oo8, so as we were settling in and setting up our home, we were also decorating for Christmas. So much so, that our entertainment center (and the pictures that are hung above it) is always slightly off center on the wall, due to our need to make room for the Christmas tree. I guess that's why our home seems more proportionate, er, I mean a little cozier and more homey with all the decorations up (at least this is what I try to convince Wes of when I want to start decorating for Christmas . . . before Thanksgiving, Ha!)

I am working on transitioning our Christmas tree into a cross-themed Christmas tree. My mom and mother-in-law have already given me a few cross ornaments to help with the transition. I am really excited about having a Christmas tree that will remind us that during the Christmas season we are not only celebrating Christ's birth,the 1st advent, but also rejoicing in His work on the cross and longing for the day when He will fulfill the promise of his return, the 2nd advent!

About the time Wes and I got married, 7 years ago, I began collecting different creches. We buy a new one together each year. It is a fun little tradition.
This one is one of my favorite. Wes bought it for me when he was in Bethlehem. I love having a nativity that is from Christ's birthplace.

My mom started piecing this Willow Tree creche together for me as gifts over the years for different holidays: birthdays, mother's day, Christmas, etc. It is another one of my favorites!

Wes bought me this one last Christmas. I love it.
Each figure has a scripture etched in it.
I love Mary's verse, it says "My soul magnifies the Lord. Luke 1:46"

This is a little countdown to Christmas calender that I made at MOPS. It is made from a small pizza pan, cardstock, ribbon, and sparkly glue. The star is made of foam and has a magnet on the back. Super simple, but so cute! Aubri loves moving the star all around.

Our Advent calender.
I found the idea on pinterest. I modified it a little to make it our own.
Each day we light the corresponding advent candle(s) and Aubri pulls the card out of the day's pocket that consists of the daily scripture reading and a family activity. The family activities include different things like reading the Christmas story from Bri's bible, playing with her Little People Nativity set, drinking hot chocolate, calling grandparents to sing Christmas carols, etc.

I'm so excited about our Christmas wrapping paper this year!
It has a nativity scene on it! I found it at Hobby Lobby if you are interested...

This is Aubri's tree that is in her room. She LOVES it!
The first few nights she would take the ornaments off the tree because she said she wanted to sleep with them. Some of them are glass, so we had to put a stop to that! :)

Aubri's creche. It lights up so it serves as a little nightlight, too.

Her Mickey Mouse snowglobe. Our sweet friend, Jenny, gave this to Bri because she knows how much Bri loves Mickey Mouse. It sits on her nightstand but usually ends up in her bed... with the ornaments. Crazy girl! :)

The purpose for celebrating Advent is to quicken our hearts with anticipation for the Lord's arrival into the world through the birth of God's Son, Jesus Christ. Advent is a time to celebrate light in the midst of darkness. It is also a time to look forward to Christ's second coming.
A friend of mine on facebook, wrote a quote from Ann Voskamp's blog,
"Whenever Christmas begins to burden, it's a sign that I've taken on something of the world and not of Christ. Any weight in Christmas has to be of this world... Christ came into this world as grace to lift all the weighty burdens."
May this be our prayer for one another as we fight against this world, striving to rejoice and celebrate Christ's birth, and await the second coming of our Lord and Savior with eager anticipation!

SUCCESS!

We went to see Bri's urologist last Thursday to get the results from her tests that would let us know if her surgery had been successful.
We were absolutely thrilled when the doctor came into our exam room,
shot his arms up in the air, and said "NO MORE REFLUX!"
Thank you, LORD! We are SO HAPPY!
And it makes all those doctors and hospital bills a little more tolerable! ha!
We stopped by Starbucks and then headed home to watch Bambi (the current favorite!) to celebrate!

WA's 1st birthday.

Last Tuesday, Nov. 22, was Wesley Adam's 1st birthday. We were overwhelmed by friends and family who remembered and encouraged us through cards, phone calls, emails, etc., during this time. Thank you. God truly used you as a means of His grace to our family.
My sweet sisters in my Bible study made a book for me. They each had written several pages and compiled them all together. It included many scriptures, prayers, and words of encouragement. It was a timely keepsake that I will treasure forever and glean on often.

While Wes was at work on Monday, a few of his close friends came filing in. One right after another were men that have walked this road with him and have been a stay of encouragement and accountability. They gathered around and each prayed over him. We are so blessed by saints the Lord has embraced us with and their faithfulness to bear our burdens so graciously.

Wes took off work on Tuesday, so we planned to go out to the cemetery. We knew we wanted to make WA's birthday special but having never been through anything like this before, we didn't have many ideas on what to do. Some sweet friends from our church lost their son in a car accident last year. They have mentored us through much of this grieving time and were able to give us a few ideas and ways to incorporate Aubri. So we took their wisdom and bought a few balloons to take out to the cemetery with us.

Wes brought his Bible and read several texts aloud.
We also spent some time in prayer together as a family.

We wrote on his birthday balloon and had Aubri let it go. We watched as the balloon floated towards the heavens. Aubri really enjoyed that part of it!

"Happy 1st birthday, Wesley Adam! We can only imagine the celebration in Heaven! We love miss you and love you! Love, Dada, Momma, and Aubri"

To be expected, it was a difficult day as we miss our little boy so much. We reflected back on the events from last year and how our arms ache to hold and love on our sweet son. However, the Lord was so gracious to recall to our minds and encourage our hearts of how His matchless grace has been very real and sustaining this past year. We were joyous as we gleaned on how the Lord has shaped us and how differently and more intimately we know Him. Even though we miss WA so incredibly much, we are thankful that we know he is abiding with Christ and someday we'll join him. Together, then, we will worship our great God forevermore!

One last test.

Tomorrow morning, we will take Bri to the hospital for her last set of tests. This has been a long road, and we are so glad things are coming to an end! Hopefully, the tests results will let us know if the surgery was successful. She will have to be put under anesthesia once again. I know this is done all day, everyday but, I hate this part of it.

We will not find out the results until Dec. 1 when we meet with her doctor.

Please pray with us for strength and understanding for Aubri, a smooth procedure, and good results, but ultimately for God's perfect will to be done and for us to be graciously accepting of it.

10,000 Reasons

This morning in church we sang the beautiful song "10,000 reasons" by Matt Redman
(Click here to hear it on youtube).
The first verse says,

"The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again.
Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul, worship His holy name.
Sing like never before, O my soul, I'll worship Your holy name."

The Lord used this song to encourage my heart to not dread and fear the week set before us, but to embrace His new mercies each morning and continue singing His song. "Whatever may pass, whatever lies before me let me be singing when the evening comes."

Lord, help us to proclaim Your holy name with each moment of our days.

Update from Bri's surgery.

Last Friday was a LONG day, but Bri's doctor told us the surgery went well. She was pretty emotional coming out of the anesthesia but it was nothing Simba and Nala couldn't take care of. Ha!

She has had some pain when she goes tinkle, which has caused a small digression with potty training. She has also had a little low grade fever that sneaks up in the evenings. We have more testing in 4 weeks and meet with her doctor in early December to see if the surgery was successful. Please continue to pray for complete healing.

Thank you so much for your prayers for our family! We have been so encouraged by your sweet words, texts, and messages!

Dr. appts, tests, and surgery.

Ever since Aubri was diagnosed with vesicourteral reflux we have had to visit her pediatric urologist once a year to make sure her kidneys still look healthy.

Last year, the doctor gave us the option to wait it out and see if her reflux would self correct,
so we decided to wait.
This year at her appointment, the doctor did a few tests
and the reflux was the same as before.
Our window of waiting has closed.
So, she now has to have corrective surgery.

Thankfully, she has been a real trooper through this whole process.
So far, she thinks that going to the doctor means she gets to have stickers, teddy bears, popsicles, bubbles, and tickles on her tummy.



Well, the time has come. Her surgery is today, October 14.
We are anxious, but are trusting God with this as we try to do with all things.
Please join us in prayer for sweet Bri and a quick recovery.
I will keep you posted.

Meet Elijah.

ELIJAH MARCUS BELLER

Elijah became part of our family the moment he stepped foot in my sister's home.
But, as of last week, it is official! His adoption has been finalized and I am now allowed to show the world his sweet little face!
Seriously, don't you just want to squeeze those sweet cheeks!?!

I think this is their first family photo, back in April.
Look at that hair! He has changed so much!

Aubri and Elijah are only 3 months apart and were instant friends...well, sorta.
The first time Aubri met Elijah, he walked up to her and gave her a HUGE hug. She didn't know what to think about this strange boy hugging her and it all ended in tears.
As you can see from the photo above, he is trying his best to hold her hand. So sweet!
It didn't take long for the 2 of them to become sweet friends.

All the cousins...
John Michael, Elijah, Aubri, Esther, Millie

The newest family photo.
With the judge, at the court house, right after all the papers were signed!
We love you, Elijah and are so thankful that God placed you in our family!

Heavens and the earth.

This past month, Aubri's Sunday school class has been learning about creation.

She has loved learning new songs about God making all the animals, but she has been especially intrigued by the moon.
Every night, before she goes to bed we go outside and tell the moon "good night".

Also, in her Sunday School class, they have started memorizing Bible verses.
Last night over the monitor, I heard her telling her baby doll Genesis 1:1.
I caught it on video the other day, too.

"In the beginning, God made the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1"

Hoot.

This is the Big Hoot.
Hoot is the traveling trophy that is awarded each year to the winning family
of the Labor Day Carroll Family Olympics.

After a weekend of intense competition: golf, card games, ladderball, watermelon seed spitting, beanbag toss, soccer ball dribbling, 3-legged race, hoola hoop, and so much more...
The MILLS were crowned the 2011 Hoot Champions!

The Mills- 2011 Hoot Champions

"Can I get a HOOT HOOT!"

Our cool summer indoors

Well, it was a hot one, that's for sure.

Due to the record breaking heat this summer, we tried to stay indoors in the coolness of the air conditioner as much as possible.

Our indoor fun included...
Feeding the babies, of course!

Pool parties on the porch!

Playdough sorting.

SNOCONES!

Water play...in the kitchen sink.

Instagram, anyone?

A few fun photos using instagram.

Family.

I have a prayer request.
My sister, Ashley, is a runner. She ran track all through high school and has been competing (and placing!) in 5Ks for a while now. She was beginning to train for 10K when she started having pain in her hip. Her initial thought was that it was a stress fracture from all the running she had been doing. After a few weeks and the pain not subsiding she decided to go to the doctor. After x-rays and an MRI, she found out that she has a tumor. We, later, found out that it is, thankfully, benign, but it is very painful. It hurts to sit, stand, lay down, walk, and carry her children, basically all of the time. She has 3 kids and her youngest is in the throws of potty training. She has been on crutches for 6 weeks and awaiting a big surgery that will put her on bed rest for a long time. But, you know what? Throughout all of this, she is still smiling; trusting in our God. She loves Jesus and her joy comes from Him.
She is a constant encouragement to me.
Please pray for my sister and her family as they have a difficult road ahead of them.

A couple weeks ago, my sister's husband, John, was going to be out of town for a few days and wouldn't be home to care for Ashley and the kids. So, John took Ash and the kids to my parents house so my mom could help out. Aubri and I jumped at the opportunity to help mom with her house-full and get some quality time with all and met up in Arkansas.
Now, to be honest, it was a crazy week. But, the time I had with my sister was worth all the craziness. We had "slumber parties" just like we did when we were little, and stayed up WAY too late talking and laughing, we snuck out during the kids' nap time to get snocones...ok, ok, enough with the mushy sister stuff. I will show you some pictures from our time together instead...
(I still can't post pictures of my newest little nephew, Elijah, but AS SOON as his adoption is finalized I will post his cuteness for you all to see!)

Nana and Bri at the park.

Cousin time!
Aubri and John Michael.

Fighting, er, I mean, taking turns on the slide.

Papa T was helping fix my car
so we were able to drop by and get some Gamma and Papa time, too!

Papa T and Bri

We had a great time in Arkansas but we couldn't wait to get home to see Dada. We also had Mima and Poppie coming to town for a visit and to help celebrate Dada's birthday! Yay!

Me and Mima got "makeovers" while we were out shopping.
(She's going to kill me for posting this..) :)

Mima and Bri

WHOA! That's a lot of candles!
Happy Birthday, Dada! We love you!

We had a great week seeing family!
Good is good to use His people to encourage one another! We are blessed.