Filled with joy.

Advent Season!

2011-12-08T22:20:00.015-06:00

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!

2011-12-05T14:09:00.003-06:00

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.

2011-12-01T12:57:00.005-06:00

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.

2011-11-20T15:43:00.003-06:00

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

2011-11-20T15:38:00.001-06:00

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.

2011-10-20T13:04:00.004-05:00

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.

2011-10-14T09:41:00.002-05:00

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.

2011-10-13T20:04:00.009-05:00

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.

2011-09-30T15:21:00.004-05:00

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.

2011-09-29T15:22:00.004-05:00

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

2011-09-29T15:09:00.004-05:00

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?

2011-08-09T12:26:00.004-05:00

A few fun photos using instagram.

Family.

2011-07-29T15:07:00.006-05:00

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.

West Africa

2011-07-29T14:40:00.006-05:00

We are so thankful that our church was able to send Wes and I and another couple (Clay and Robin) as the arms of Redeemer Church to wrap around the our friends and the new African believers and for giving us the opportunity to encourage and love on them in person. We were so excited to get to Africa and see the work the Lord is doing through our friends. It was an amazing, life changing trip. God is good.
Here are a few pictures.

On our way!
It was a. very. long. flight. But, worth every minute!

Our friends were praying to thank God for the "blessings"
our church sent with us to give them.

Helping make some pizzas from scratch.

Doing a little substitute teaching.
I was so excited to pick H's brain about how she homeschools her kids.

Off to the village!
Of course, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the babies!

Simply precious.

We were so excited to get to share about our family with the believers in the village. God was good to use WA's life as a beautiful testimony of His steadfast love and continued grace. They were very curious and asked many questions.

Praying together.

Robin, Leah (0ur translator), and I gave manicures and pedicures to the ladies and little girls in the village. It was blessing to serve, love, and pray for them.

We had a wonderful opportunity to worship with some believers in the village at night. For 4 hours, we sang praises and told stories of the Bible with many men and women as their children slept on the ground around us. It was beautiful. God was glorified.

Orange Beach-2011

2011-06-02T14:35:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago we took a family vacation to Orange Beach, AL. We went with Wes's childhood best friend and his family. We had a GREAT time!
I am terrible at remembering to take pictures, but here are a few that I took.

Mother's Day.

2011-05-11T09:38:00.012-05:00

Mother's Day weekend we were in Arkansas to visit our new nephew/cousin, Elijah.

We had a WONDERFUL time!
At Nana and Ops, we spent time fishing, grilling out steaks and burgers, riding on Ops tractor, getting in the hot tub, walking and strolling around the lake, watching the geese fly and swim in the lake, having a pizza picnic, running in relay races, and so much more.

We were able to stop by and have a Mother's Day lunch with Aubri's Mima and Poppie and swing by and see Papa on our way out of town. We missed you, Gamma!

Here are a few pictures from our trip.

It is a tradition that anytime the Carroll family gets together we have pancakes for breakfast.
The grandkids get to help Ops make them and only Ops and his helpers know the "secret ingredients". Aubri is finally old enough to help and she loved every minute of it!

Ops got a new lawn mower...er, I mean, tractor.
He took turns pulling the grandkids around in the wagon and, then they each got a turn driving! Aubri, of course, was a little hesitant at first, but after she saw her older (and younger) cousins do it, she was more comfortable.

Nana and Aubri on Mother's day.

We went over to Poppie's mom's house for lunch and saw Mima and Poppie.
Blake and Aunt Erica stopped by too! We had such a fun time laughing, talking, and making a video to send to great-Mamaw Peggy.

I LOVE Mother's Day. It is one of my favorite days.
You know that feeling right after you have a baby when you want to show the world how precious your sweet baby is?
Well, that is how my heart feels on Mother's Day.
I am so proud and grateful for my two babies.

Mother's Day 2008
I LOVE this picture.
This is a picture of my first official Mother's day. I was 6 weeks pregnant with Aubri.
My Mamaw and my mom had come to Texas for Wes's graduation and I was honored to celebrate with two of my favorite moms.

Mother's Day 2009
This was my first mother's day with my baby girl in my arms.
I am so thankful that God gave me such a beautiful and sweet little girl.

Mother's Day 2010
Last year on Mother's day, we found out that I was pregnant with our son, Wesley Adam. What a special day; I celebrated with a little girl in my arms and a little boy in my belly.
Thank you, God, for giving me a Mother's Day with Wesley Adam. You are so gracious.

Mother's Day 2011
Wes, Bri, and I celebrated Mother's day yesterday. They took me to my favorite restaurant for dinner. We planned to go by the park on our way home to play for a little while, but it started raining, so we headed home for a game of shopping cart basketball in the living room instead.

"Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward."
Psalm 127:3

The happenings.

2011-05-10T09:00:00.009-05:00

I have sat down many times to write a post but, it never gets finished, therefore it never gets posted. It must mean that it is the end of the semester when life gets crazy. Yep, that would be it. Here is my final attempt to catch up and fill in all the blanks.

We have had 2 new additions to our family- 2 nephews!
Asa Peter Macke was born to Wes's sister Ashley and her husband, Jonnie, in April. He was 3 weeks early but is strong and the whole family is doing very well! We are so anxious to meet that precious boy. Whenever I show Bri his pictures she says "I wanna hold da baby". Me too, honey, me too!

Baby Asa

Also, my sister, Ashley and her husband, John, are in the process of finishing up the paperwork for their newest addition, Elijah! He is home with his family and seems to be transitioning pretty well. He is a the cutest 2 year old (besides my Bri, of course. :) I have ever seen. We went to Arkansas this past weekend to FINALLY meet him. I found myself just starring at him because he is so beautiful.
(Because they have not finished the paperwork for his adoption, I cannot post his pictures online, but, if you are interested in reading all about their family and their adoption of Elijah, click here.)

In March, my Aunt Barbara, my 2 cousins, Anna and Taylor, and Anna's son, Silas, came to visit. They stopped in FW for a few days and then we took a road trip to my mom's to see more family. We had a wonderful, encouraging, yet interesting visit. You can read all about it here.

Anna and Silas

Ahhh, Easter. We had a wonderful Easter. Our church did a wonderful job of encouraging worship in our hearts and homes in the weeks leading up to Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter celebration. Our little family woke up early on Easter and read about Christ's resurrection from the Bible and had breakfast together. We got ready for church early so we could go to the cemetery. We had received a letter in the mail earlier in the week to let us know that WA's memorial tablet had been installed and we were so excited to see it.
What better day to go see it than the day we celebrate Christ's resurrection and the promise of His return!?
It was a day full of emotion, but we were so encouraged!
WE HAVE HOPE IN CHRIST because HE LIVES!

O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15: 55-57

That should catch us up on the big events. Here are a few pictures to share our day to day activities.

Aubri getting the dreaded haircut.
We are keeping it short in hopes of thickening it up a bit.
She hates getting her haircut but it is SO precious.

This girl LOVES to swim!

Bri reading books.
We read ALL day long!

I am helping a friend out for a few weeks, by watching her little girl during the day.
Aubri has made a new best friend.
She loves to hold her hand and give her her paci.

We have been spending lots of time outside
since we are having such beautiful weather.

Picnic time.

Wes played his last season of intramural basketball.
His team won the championship!
We loved going to the games every Thursday.

Nana came to spend a week with us.
No one was sick, recovering from surgery, or had just had a baby, so we didn't put her to work. We were able to enjoy getting out and running errands, shopping, playing, going on walks and a basketball game and talking. It was a wonderful and encouraging time for our family.
Thank you, Nana for coming!

Me and my friend, Nicole, ran the Zoo Run 5k again this year.
We had didn't set any personal records but we had lots of fun!

Mother's Day post coming soon. :)

Due Date

2011-01-18T21:11:00.007-06:00

January 15th was Wesley Adam's expected due date. For me, it came with dreaded anticipation. But, just as He has guided us through everyday, Saturday was no different-the Lord's grace was sufficient. Yes, there were many moments of emotion, but the Lord's peace was very present.
We knew we wanted to make a trip to the cemetery. Thankfully, for us, the cemetery is not a place of grieving and heartache. Though Wesley Adam's body may be there, he is not. He is in the presence of our Lord and his body is no longer broken. As much as I wish he was here with me, I know there is no other place that he would rather be-what a wonderful truth. While we are at the cemetery, our thoughts are often turned to Christ's return and when all things are made new. Wesley Adam is buried in a section of the cemetery called Bluebird. Right behind Bluebird is a Jewish cemetery. We often excitedly joke that when Christ returns, Wesley Adam's body will be resurrected along with God's chosen people! We are weird...I know.

While we were at the cemetery, we stopped at the funeral home to order Wesley Adam's memorial stone. This is almost more than a mother can bear. I forced myself to go through the motions and choose a stone as if I was picking out groceries at the supermarket-it was just easier that way. If for a second I let myself think about what I was there to do, I would fall apart. Aubri was with us; what a blessed distraction a 2 year old can be.

We finished up and went out to eat at our favorite Mexican hole-in-the-wall. Wes and I prayed together and had really good conversation. We were encouraged.

The day was good. The Lord used it to draw us closer to Himself. He opened our eyes even wider to the brokenness of this world. He quickened our hearts even more to cry out COME, LORD JESUS, COME!

White as snow.

2011-01-12T14:28:00.005-06:00

This past weekend we traveled to South Arkansas so visit my grandparents. We had not seen them since last May and it was high time we did. Mamaw's Sunday School class has been a great encouragement to us as they shower us with daily prayer and frequent letters. There have been days that I would go to the mailbox and pull out a stack of envelopes and not recognize a single name on the return address label. We were really looking forward to having the opportunity to meet these ladies and show our appreciation.

So, Friday, we packed for our 2 night stay and made the 4 hour trek. We had a wonderful time with Mamaw and Papaw by catching up and telling stories. And of course, we were spoiled with all of Mamaw's cooking.
On Saturday night, Papaw and I met my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins at their church for a concert. We froze, but had a wonderful time. Mamaw, Wes and Bri stayed home but had an equally great time taking a bath and having a dance party.
Sunday, Wes and I went with Mamaw to her Sunday School class. As each of the ladies went around the circle telling me their names, I became completely overwhelmed with emotion. Each name was one that I recognized. All of the ladies had been faithful to the Lord and encouraged me, their sister in Christ. What a blessing it was to meet them.
When we returned to our car after church it was sleeting. It continued to sleet and snow for the next several hours. By 5 o'clock that evening, we had accumulated 8-10 inches.
Needless to say, we were snowed in.
So, our 2 day stay turned into a 4 days. They Lord must have known I need that extra time with my grandparents. Here are a few pictures to recap our "vacation".

Mamaw and I sat looking out the window watching the snow fall. She said "Jenny, every time I see the snow I am reminded of the Isaiah passage, 'though your sins are like scarlet, they will be made as white as snow', now that is white-that is FORGIVEN."
Yes, ma'am.

Tuesday morning, we packed and headed home. Thank you, Mamaw and Papaw and the Fords, for a wonderful long weekend. Thank you for encouraging us, speaking Truth to us, and loving us.

"Hello, Kitty."

2011-01-01T22:24:00.006-06:00

With each of Aubri's stages, Wes and I like to imagine "If we had Aubri's birthday party this month, the theme would be...." and laugh as the theme is constantly changing just as she does. This conversation has ended with us trying to come up with party plans using baby dolls, Oreos, make-up, Cheerios, lotion, hair combs, toothbrushes... just to name a few. But, when the time finally came to start thinking about her real birthday, the theme was a no brainer...Hello Kitty.

It all started when we went to Target on a mission to find house shoes for Aubri. There weren't many to choose from that came in size 4 so, we reluctantly settled on a pair with Hello Kitty on the toe. If you know Aubri, then you probably know that it took some convincing to get these house shoes in the shopping cart, much less on her feet. But, before too long she was hugging and kissing these little shoes and carrying them around the house like her baby dolls instead of letting them keep her feet warm.

On Sunday (Bri's actual birthday) we went to church, out to eat at Olive Garden so she could eat some spaghetti (one of the few things we don't have to force feed) and then, to the Science and History Museum. (Wes and I got her a museum pass for her birthday so we will be spending lots of time there.) She didn't get a nap so she started getting the "sleepy sillies", which made it all the more fun to watch her running around the children's play area.

One day old

One year old

Two years old

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth."
Psalm 127:3-4

We are so thankful for this precious life the Lord has blessed us with.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Bri.

How are you doing?

2010-12-07T13:29:00.005-06:00

"How are you doing?"

To no surprise, I've probably heard these 4 words more than any other over the past 2 1/2 weeks.
"How are you doing physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc, etc....?" Please, don't get me wrong, I really appreciate the genuine concern from my family and friends, and yet, at times I struggle to answer this question.

I desire to share with all of the people how I am doing, but each moment is different from the last. One moment I am carelessly playing with Aubri and her Little People wisemen and the next I am fighting back tears and trying to swallow the huge lump in my throat.

I want to be transparent (making myself more vulnerable than I am comfortable with) so that I can share with you how compassionate and trustworthy our faithful God is...

It has been a struggle for me to be around people. I recognize I am vulnerable and weak, and so I simply prefer to avoid the potentially emotional situations. Wes is encouraging me and I am forcing myself to go, but I have found that even the events that I always enjoy, such as care group, Bible study, and even checking the mail, are hard. I don't like wearing a fake smile. I don't want to act like I am healing quickly and my heart isn't broken. I don't want to feel as though I am standing still, stuck, while everyone else is busily carrying on with life. So, when someone asks, "How are you doing?" often times my eyes well up with tears.

Wes and I continuously share our struggles with one another and he shepherds my heart so well. He encourages me to stay focused on the Truth and we fight daily for the joy we have in Christ.

In spite of all my efforts to stay clear of potentially emotional situations, the Lord has ushered people into our lives and into our homes that we (or rather, I) may not have otherwise let in. For example, yesterday a friend called and I thought I was supposed to watch her daughter while she was at a dr. appt. so I answered. It turns out, she had found someone else to watch her little girl but wanted to call and check in on me. We talked for a few minutes about how I was doing, about our children, and her school.
It was encouraging. It was from the Lord.

I called my mom yesterday afternoon. I was having a "moment" and was hoping for some encouragement. I knew she was busy preparing for her company coming into town in a few days, but she stopped everything she was doing to encourage me. She spoke Truth. She said exactly what I needed to hear. It was from the Lord.

Yesterday evening, a friend of mine dropped by to bring me some fresh cut flowers from her yard. She stayed for awhile. We both shed a few tears. I am realizing more and more that's ok.
She cares. She loves us. It was an encouraging visit. It was from the Lord.

Last night, I reluctantly went to Bible study. It is a group made up of my closest friends. I felt myself steering clear of certain conversations that could end in uncontrollable tears. But, I listened to their stories and really laughed. We studied James Ch. 4 and my heart was encouraged in many ways. It was from the Lord.

Today, a lady from my church called during Aubri's naptime (which seems like the hardest part of my day...) and said she was in the area and would like to bring us a meal.
How thoughtful and encouraging. It was from the Lord.

I am reluctant to let people in because I don't trust my own emotions, but, God is showing me that even though I may not trust myself, I can trust Him, and in spite of my own weakness He is faithful to provide for me, to encourage me, and love me. He is graciously comforting me through His people by ushering them into our lives at those perfect moments. Thank you, Lord, for comforting me even though at times I try to avoid it. You are so compassionate. Although I am weak, you are always strong and faithful.

Celebration of Life- Parents Tribute

2010-12-05T20:33:00.003-06:00

Last Saturday, friends and family gathered together to celebrate the life of our son. It was a beautiful time of worship, praise, and a clear presentation of the Gospel of Christ.
We were blessed and God was glorified.

As Wesley Adam's parents, we had a few things we wanted to share about our son, our journey with him, and the testimony he leaves imprinted on our hearts.

Wes read these words.

"In order to speak about the life of my son, I really need to back up and provide a brief context. It was six years ago today, Jen and I said “I do.” We covenanted together before our Lord, friends, and family that we would be married to one another, “ for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, till death do us part.” We recognized when we made these promises that it wasn’t our love per say that would sustain us through the good times and the hard times, but the sweet sustaining grace and love of our heavenly Father. He would be our Sustainer, our Comforter, our Healer, our Refuge, and our Foundation.

As Jen and I look back over these past six years, which, by the way, honey, have been wonderful blessings that only the Lord could give, ;). We see many ways in which the Lord graciously matured our thoughts and affections- kindly preparing our hearts for this day. Today. Today is the day that we have come together to celebrate one of the most precious gifts the Lord has ever given us. Today we celebrate the life of our son, Wesley Adam.

Let me share with you all just a couple of the ways through which the Lord prepared our hearts and faithfully demonstrated to us that He is our Portion. For the sake of time, I’ll start just a couple days prior to the Thursday doctor’s appointment when we found out Wesley Adam’s diagnosis.

First, I had been asked to preach here at Redeemer. I had been considering and praying through a few different texts, trying to decide which one to preach. I had been walking Jenny through each one, as a time of family worship as well as getting some feedback on her thoughts. The main texts that the Lord had laid on my heart were (to state briefly):
James 1:2-4 - the theology of trials
Hebrews 4:1-11 - there is rest available for those who faithfully respond to God's Word
Matthew 14:22-33 – there is one proper confession and response for the believer- Jesus is indeed the Son of God thus we should worship Him.
Indeed, during these sweet times as a family, our kind heavenly Father was preparing our hearts.
Second, Jen is in a weekly book study with a few of her good friends. At the time they were studying "Lord, I Want to Know You" by Kay Arthur. Due to a variety of reasons, the group had been on the same 2 chapters for almost a month. She had read and reread those 2 chapters for multiple weeks now and had even mentioned to me that she was ready to move forward. Apparently, our wise Lord was not. The chapters they had been studying were the names "Jehovah-Shalom"- The Lord is Peace and "Jehovah-mekoddishkem"- The Lord who sanctifies you. Indeed, the Lord knew Jen and I needed to know Him as a God of Peace and a God who sanctifies. Jen’s group finally discussed these two chapters on the Tuesday night before the Thursday when we received the news about the condition of our son.
Indeed, our Lord of peace was maturing our knowledge and understanding of Him- preparing our hearts for what He already knew and we would soon learn.
Next, on Thursday, we had a doctor’s appointment in order to find out if we were having a little boy or a little girl. I remember that morning, about 6:00am, Jen rolled over and said, “are you sleeping?” J I responded, “not anymore, sweetheart. What’s going on?” She said, “I can’t sleep- I’m so excited about our appointment today!” During the sonogram, our sonographer stepped out to "go get some more tape" and a minute or two later our nurse popped in the room. She was a little confused. Apparently, the sonographer told her that she needed to meet in our room with our doctor, but Jen and I were the only two in the room. We knew something was not right. She left the room to find out more information. We were given a small window of time to pray. Again, our gracious Father was preparing our hearts for the news.
Finally, driving home from the sonogram appointment, Jen and I were crying and mumbling random thoughts back and forth to each other trying to make sense of the situation, when from the backseat of our car, we heard the voice of a little angel, "Mom-ma" "Mom-ma." At that moment, our heads cleared and we were able to gather ourselves. You see, many months ago, our kind Lord gave us a precious gift, our first child Aubri Ruth. On that day, and many since then, the Lord used our sweet daughter as a means of grace to comfort our hearts.

When we arrived home from our sonogram appointment our hearts were broken. The Lord used many of our family members and brothers and sisters in the faith to read scripture, pray, and speak Truth over us. I will never forget the Christian compassion displayed by many toward my family and me. Indeed, the Lord used you all as a means of grace in our lives.

As you can imagine, these are merely a few examples of how our kind Lord prepared our heart for this situation. He has continuously shown His steadfast love to us throughout all 31 weeks.

In the days after, we struggled through both hoping and grieving. Yes, we were given a very grim diagnosis for our son and yet, he was still alive and kicking. We didn’t want to fill the days with tears, and yet, we couldn’t stop them. But, the Lord could. And he was so gracious to do so. Sure there were moments of sadness and grieving, but the Lord’s peace filled our hearts. He enabled us to truly enjoy every kick, every sleepless night, and every moment with our son. Thank you, Lord.

We knew our time with Wesley Adam might be limited, so we wanted to enjoy life with him. We took him to a couple Razorback football games where we jumped, cheered, and called those hogs. We took him to the hot, sandy beaches of Gulf Shores, AL, to the Big Apple to visit his aunt and uncle, and to CA to visit his great aunt/uncle, and cousins.

We probably enjoyed life with him the most in our home. His sister loves lotion. She learned very quickly, that if she asked to “lotion bubba” the answer would always be yes. Many times (a day, J) Bri would gently rub lotion on Jen’s belly. For me, each morning when leaving and afternoon when coming home from work, I would give my two girls a kiss and my boy a love pat. Jen and I would often talk about him and to him. He was apart of our every day life. Indeed, God allowed each day with our son to be a sweet blessing.

Family and Friends, we cannot express to you our appreciation. You have displayed the Gospel to our family well. From the moment we knew about Wesley Adam’s diagnosis you have loved us by standing firmly by our side and bearing our burden with us… you stood on the truths that you confess… even when it hurt you to do so,

You were faithful to bathe us in Scripture that promised God’s goodness.

You were faithful to pray for us each time the Lord brought us to your mind.

You were faithful to send emails and letters, which God used to encourage our hearts.

You were faithful to feed us when food was the last thing on our mind.

you were faithful to dedicate yourselves before God, Jenny and me, and each other to walk this road with us…. And you have.

Redeemer body, you were faithful to walk with us in Christian love. Elders, you were faithful to James 5 and anointed Jenny’s head with oil and prayed for healing for our son. Because of your faithfulness to the Lord He has been glorified.

31 weeks in his mother’s womb was all the time the Lord gave us this side of eternity with Wesley Adam. But, those 31 weeks were used for God’s glory. God changed us and I trust He changed many of you. God touched the lives of people we don’t even know. By His grace and for His glory He continues to use the life and death of Wesley Adam to mold and shape others and us into the image of Himself. God is using a little boy with an under-developed brain who never even took a breath for His Kingdom purposes. No doubt, Wesley Adam Mills, Jr. is one of if not the most precious gift the Lord has ever given my family and me. Thank you, Lord.

We long for the day when You will return and make all things new, including the resurrected body of our son. Until that day, please spend our family for Your glory. To You alone be all the glory, forever and ever. Amen."

6 Year Anniversary.

2010-12-04T11:45:00.009-06:00

We bear the light of the Son of Man

So there is nothing left to fear

So I will walk with you in the shadowlands

Until the shadows disappear

Because He promised not to leave us

And His promises are true

So in the face of this chaos

I can dance with you.

And we are dancing in the minefields

we are sailing in the storm

This is harder than we dreamed

But I believe that is what the promise is for.

Happy 6th Anniversary!

Dancing in the Minefields by Andrew Peterson

31 Perfect Weeks

2010-11-25T22:26:00.004-06:00

On Monday, we went to see our ob/gyn. Because of all of the events of the weekend, we were glad they were able to get us an appointment. We sat in our nurses office and through tears caught her up on all of the details.
I had shared with Wes a day earlier, that Wesley Adam had not been moving much, if any at all. I had been on pain medicine because of the intense contractions
so we were hoping he was sleeping.
We went into the ultrasound room in hopes of getting a picture of our sweet boy
and to check his heartbeat.
The doctor was unable to get a good picture because of the Polyhydramnios-extra amniotic fluid due to not being able to swallow.
He also told us he was unable to find a heartbeat.

On Monday, November 22, 2010 Wesley Adam Mills, Jr. went to be with his Maker.
He lived 31 weeks in his mother's womb.
He was a good gift from the Lord.
The Lord was glorified and blessed many through his life and death. To God be all the glory.
Funeral: 10a.m. Saturday at Redeemer Church, 126 N. Judd, White Settlement, Texas 76108
Memorials: In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to the Raimi Adoption Fund at Redeemer Church.
Survivors: Parents Wes and Jenny Mills; sister, Aubri Mills; paternal grandfather, Tony Mills and wife, Candice; Vickie Ramsey and husband, Ron; and maternal grandparents, Mike and Pam Carroll.

The facts.

2010-11-19T19:43:00.004-06:00

The past few days have been a whirlwind of events and emotion. Wednesday night I began to experience pretty strong contractions that continued most of the day on Thursday. I called our nurse and she told me if we had another night like Wednesday night, we should go into the hospital to get evaluated.

Well, we were up most of the night Thursday night just hoping to make it until morning. Friday morning finally came. We made arrangements for a dear friend to come over to our house to watch Aubri and we went to the hospital.

Once at the hospital, we saw on the monitor that my contractions were regular and about 3-4 minutes apart. I had no sign of dilation so they determined that I was not in "active labor." I was given medicine to slow my contractions and pain medicine. I was sent home with contractions 5-6 minutes apart, but they were much more tolerable.

I slept most of the evening and through the night on Friday. On Saturday, I began running a fever. After talking to the on-call doctor, we decided to try and rest as much as possible. He gave us signs to watch for that indicated the need for immediate medical attention. The signs never presented themselves and my fever broke in the middle of the night. Thank you, Lord.

We are planning to go to our ob/gyn tomorrow and hopefully get a sonogram. Please pray for our hearts as we go tomorrow. The Lord willing, we will be able to get some answers to the contractions and fever, and check for dilation.

As you may suspect, this week/weekend has brought on much emotion. This part of our storm is very rough. I know this post simply provides the facts and leaves out many details of how we are dealing with all of the unknown. That day of sharing will come.
Today we are concentrating on our God. He is enough. He is good. And though at times we feel much hurt, the Lord never forsakes. He is always faithful. His grace is always sufficient. And by His grace, we trust in Him.

Kaden Wesley

2010-11-14T20:57:00.007-06:00

Jenny and James are some of our best friends.
James works with Wes, and through our husbands Jenny and I have become close friends. They have been Aubri's babysitter the few times she has needed one, and Bri has become very fond of them...especially her "Dames".

They, too, are expecting a little boy in January. It has been fun being pregnant along side one of my best friends- to talk about all the woes of pregnancy, all of the excitement and anxieties, and about each doctor's visit.

A few months ago, James came to Wes and asked if it would be okay to give their son the middle name Wesley, in honor of our son, Wesley Adam. He told Wes that whatever the outcome is regarding our son, they would share with their son, Kaden Wesley, how the Lord used Wesley Adam to bring glory to Himself.

We were then, and continue to be humbled by their idea
And so very excited that the story the Lord is knitting together in our son
will be told through the life of another child.
To God be the glory, forever and ever, Amen.

Kaden and WA

30 week appointment

2010-11-10T09:47:00.009-06:00

We had our 30 week ob/gyn appointment yesterday. I have always loved going to these appointments and yesterday was no different.
Our nurse is wonderful. I don't remember if I mentioned this before or not, but she loves the Lord so much. The week after we found out about Wesley Adam's diagnosis, she called twice to tell me that she was praying for our family and to encourage us in the Lord.
When we saw her yesterday, she did the same thing. It is a wonderful blessing to have a nurse that is walking through this with us as our sister in Christ.

We heard Wesley Adam's heartbeat. It sounds great.
It was about 145 beats per minutes, which is a strong healthy heartbeat.

He is kicking, hard. He is much more active in womb than Aubri ever was. I feel like his little personality and his strength are so different than his sister's. Aubri is so girly and delicate and WA is, well... such the little boy.

Our next visit, the Thursday after Thanksgiving, we will get to have another ultrasound! Yay!
I am really hoping for some clear pictures. The pictures we have from our specialist appointment are great to have, but they aren't very clear.

Alright...here ya go...Wesley Adam at 30 weeks.

Recluse.

2010-11-04T08:53:00.004-05:00

I have been a bit of a recluse the past few weeks. Thankfully, it has been for good reasons.

2 weeks ago,
Bri and I started potty training.
Yes, I say, both Bri and I. It took every bit of energy I had to train myself to be by her side at ALL times. It was a time of striving for discipline, patience, and endurance, but I can say now 2 1/2 weeks later, we have persevered. We are not completely trained yet, but many days go by without an accident. And to me, that is success.
I don't know which thrills Wes more, the fact that Bri is now a big girl or how much money we are saving now that we don't have to buy anymore diapers!

Last week,
Bri, Wesley Adam, and I headed to Arkansas to see family to give Wes some uninterrupted work time. He had a big paper due yesterday. (Which is why I am just now getting to post-he was holding the computer hostage.)
We had fun visiting all of the Bri and Wesley Adam's grandparents and a few aunts and uncles, too.
While we were visiting Nana and Ops, Aunt Ashley took a few vacation days from work and met us in Fort Smith for some MUCH needed girl time. Thank you, Ashley, for making the trip! I have missed you so much!
Aunt Ashley and Uncle Ben were determined to feel Wesley Adam kick.
And he didn't let them down!

This week,
Bri was diagnosed with Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. Poor baby.
Per doctors orders, we are now forced to hibernate until this highly contagious virus runs its course.
As I was driving Bri to the pediatrician yesterday, I was thinking that this was becoming a way too frequent occurrence. I began to count all the times since Wesley Adam's diagnosis that Bri has had to go to the doctor. I relate it back to his diagnosis because every time Bri gets sick, I think to myself "now, both my children are sick...".
It is a battle of my mind.
I have been reading Elizabeth George's "Loving God With All Your Mind". I bought it a few weeks before we found out about our little guy's disease, and it couldn't be more timely. It is a book about training yourself to take your thoughts captive-not to think about all the "what if's" or "what could have been's" but to "think on what is true" Phil. 4:8
My Aunt Barbara said it well when she said "we are not going to fill today with lots of tears and sadness because the Bible tells us to live each day for today and not worry about tomorrow. And today, Wesley Adam is alive, growing, and kicking and for that we are grateful."
Thank you, Lord, for speaking wisdom to me through my Aunt Barbara.

We have our next ob/gyn appointment on Tuesday. We are always excited to get a check-up on how WA is growing. And growing he is. My belly is getting HUGE! I think I am already as big as I was in my 9th month with Aubri. Aubri has really started noticing how big I am getting. She talks about bubba all the time. She has started saying "Lotion Bubba?" And she will help me rub lotion on my tummy. She is such a sweet big sister.

Now that a paper is turned in, we are through traveling, and hopefully, all on the mend. We are looking forward to some quality family time in the days ahead!
(Before the next paper is due...)

Family update.

2010-10-13T15:42:00.009-05:00

It has been a joy to have the privilege of praying for the few of you that shared your requests with us. Thank you for sharing and the offer still stands, we would love to pray for you as you are praying for us.

Since it has been a while since my last post, I thought I would share some pictures to catch y'all up.

Bri, Wesley Adam, Nana, and I loaded up and took a flight to visit my mom's sister and her family. My cousin, Anna, had baby Silas in July and we couldn't wait to get our hands on him.

My Aunt Barbara with Silas, my mom with Bri, and my cousin, Anna

We had to make a much needed trip to the Gap to get Anna her post-pregnancy "in between" jeans. We were all feeling a bit "tired" so we took a breather while she was in the dressing room.

While in Cali, we headed for the pumpkin patch.

Me and my precious babies.

Train ride around the pumpkin farm.

My cousin, Taylor, surprised us with some handmade paintings.
I couldn't wait to get back to Texas to show Wes. Thanks, Tay!

While we were gone to California, Wes used his time to work on papers and sermons. He has a busy schedule the next few weeks, please pray for continued endurance and discipline for him.

This past Saturday, Arkansas played Texas A&M.
Some of our family joined us for the weekend and we all headed to the game to cheer the hogs to a victory! Woo Pig Sooie!

Pre-game photo

Ok, so, I have never considered myself a "germ-a-phobe" but when it comes to mall play areas, I have always been a little leery. However, Bri and I stopped by for a few minutes this past week, and I realized it's not so bad. It was fairly clean, it was not overly crowded with kids, and Bri LOVED it.

Here are a few pictures of our family entering a couple new stages...

We aren't full blown potty training just yet,
but we are getting the needed supplies and giving it a few practice tries.
So far, she likes it.

Bri's big girl bedding has been ordered, her new bed rail has been bought, and she will be moving into her big girl bed soon!
I am loving, loving, loving redecorating and rearranging her room!

We have decided not to prepare a nursery for Wesley Adam at this time. If the Lord heals his body and he gets to come home from the hospital, we (and all of our family and friends) will make his nursery welcoming to him at that time. However, with Aubri in a transition stage, the Lord has been so merciful to give me her room to prepare for her. The Lord's timing is great and I am so thankful for that.

Also...

I have started swelling...
What a joy!
No, seriously, I really am joyous about this!
I love feeling pregnant. This is my time with my son and I am loving every minute of it.
I am thankful for all the aches and pains, the sleepless nights, the many impromptu trips to the bathroom, and the swollen feet.
I am especially thankful for the stretch marks that Wesley Adam is leaving on my belly.
He has already made quite the mark in my heart
and now he is leaving his marks on my tummy as well.
Thank you, God, for this special pregnancy.

Prayers.

2010-09-27T21:05:00.008-05:00

I know that I say this a lot, but I cannot express enough how THANKFUL we are for your prayers. The Lord uses your faithfulness to keep our hearts from becoming overwhelmed.
Psalm 61:1-2
"O God, listen to my cry! Hear my prayer!
From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart
is overwhelmed. "

The Lord is growing our prayer lives significantly through this trial. He is conforming our hearts to depend on and be near to Him in our times of trouble. Recently, though, we have been convicted that we are in desperate need of Him all the time. If our prayer life is consistent, our hearts are near the Lord, and we are dependent upon Him during joyous times, then our initial response during trials will be to cling to Him as well.

This seems simple enough, huh?
But, why is it so hard? Why is my initial response to trial is to call upon my husband, my parents, or my friends? We are thankful for this trial for many reasons, one being that the Lord is using it to transform our hearts to realize our need to remain steadfast in our prayer life, regardless of circumstance.

Wes, Bri, Wesley Adam and I traveled to Arkansas this past weekend. We visited family and friends and used the Razorback tickets my parents gave me for my birthday. It was encouraging to spend time with fellow believers who love the Lord and our family. We also had a wonderful time taking Wesley Adam to his first Razorback football game!

As much as I loathe the 5 hour drive to Arkansas, I am grateful for the uninterrupted conversation that I have with Wes. We share our hearts, we talk about what the Lord is doing in our lives, we talk about our uncertain future, we joke, and we laugh. It makes the drive fun.
On this particular trip, we were talking about all of your prayers. Our hearts were encouraged, but also became burdened for you. We want to return the blessing and intercede before the throne of grace on your behalf.
If you have a prayer request that you would like to share or even an "unspoken", please post a comment or email me at jmills1104@yahoo.com and allow us to pray for you.
It would bring us great joy.

James 5

2010-09-19T14:09:00.004-05:00

James 5:14-15
"Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up."

In accordance with James 5, the elders of our church asked us if they could pray for healing over Wesley Adam. So, today, after church we met with them to pray.
They placed oil on my forehead, while acknowledging that it has no healing power but the power rests with the Lord.
They each said a prayer asking for miraculous healing. Healing that would take place, not for pride in our prayers, not for our comfort, but for the power of God to be displayed.
All Glory To God.

I had text messaged my mom and dad yesterday, letting them know about our scheduled meeting with the elders. Today, my mom called as we were headed home from church to tell us that my dad had sent our text message to family and friends. He asked them to pray at 12:15 today, knowing that would be about the time we were meeting with the elders. This is just another example of how so many people are daily praying for the healing of Wesley Adam. The testimony of believers across the country praying specifically for the healing of our son is humbling. We are so blessed and thankful for each and every prayer.

Update on my little ones.

2010-09-16T12:55:00.010-05:00

I was a bit anxious Thursday morning as I was getting ready to go to the doctor because I had yet to feel Wesley Adam kick. I was comforted through so many emails, prayers, and the Lord's Word, that by God's amazing grace, I was able to overcome the anxiety before we got to the doctor. That is my desire- to not put my hope in Wesley Adam's kicks but in our Sovereign Lord Jesus.

The Lord has given us a great nurse/doctor team. We are so thankful for them. They, both, love the Lord and are very supportive in our decision to carry to term. They told us over and over at our appointment that they are on board with all our decisions from this point on- whether that be c-section v. vbac, the manual breaking of my water, certain medications, how to handle pre-term labor, ect. It is wonderful to have the freedom to follow the will of the Lord without having to worry if that contradicts doctor's orders.

Our doctor gave us a few scenarios to think and pray through. He wants us to be prepared so that if these scenarios come to fruition, we don't have to panic but will know our decision beforehand. Please pray that we would be sensitive and have discernment to follow the Lord's guidance.

Wesley Adams's heartbeat continues to be strong and I am measuring right on target. We are so thankful that our little guy continues to grow and seems to be doing well. We long for the day we see him face to face. We love him more with each passing moment. Thank you Lord for our precious son.

23 weeks

Now on to the big sis. Aubri is doing very well. She loves her bubba very much and talks about him and prays for him daily. She continues to be a blessing as she pushes us to stay focused on the tasks the Lord has given us to raise her according to His will and to teach her His Word.

Aubri's newest thing is changing her doll babies' diapers. I can't tell you how many diapers those babies go through in a day. But, just like any good mother, Aubri doesn't seem too bothered by all the dirty diapers and goes ahead and changes her babies over, and over, and over again.

Bri is still seeing ECI twice a month and we are very encouraged by her speech development. She is in the fun copy cat stage, where she tries to say just about anything we ask her to. By her doing this she has started saying so many more words consistently. Our newest favorite is "God". It is so precious to hear her talk about our Savior. Also, she has started putting a few 2 word phrases together-"Big Sis", "Bye-bye Da-da", and "New Shoes".

Thank you for continuing to pray for our family.

Guaranteed victory.

2010-09-14T09:26:00.008-05:00

We will proceed with seeing our original ob/gyn on a normal schedule. This month's appointment is scheduled for Thursday. That means it has been almost one month since we found out about Wesley Adam's diagnosis.

How have we managed to endure and live each day
for an entire month?

By ourselves...
We couldn't.

But, by God's grace...
We have and will continue.
He is with us every step.
He is pouring out His promises on us every morning.
Thank you, precious Lord Jesus.
We are so undeserving.

Please pray for me.
I am battling fear.
At times during my pregnancy with Aubri, I battled this same thing. This pregnancy, it has escalated. Is he moving today? Is he ok? What will the doctor tell us?

I am praying for my thoughts to be taken captive. Wes and I have are posting Scriptures around our home to encourage us to "not to worry" and "fear not". We ask you to join in prayer as we battle.

We are in Christ. We will boast in Him. He has guaranteed victory in this war.
Pray that through His power, we will win this battle.

Joy.

2010-09-02T20:51:00.006-05:00

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance." James 1:2-3

Wes and I have been talking about these verses for years. Recently, they have taken on a whole new meaning. I have never faced any sort of trial or tragedy that caused me to really search for the Lord's joy. I am searching now. I admit, that these verses are very hard for me to really understand. Pure joy? Really? I have some joy but I also have so much heartache and pain. Pure joy has not yet been found. I trust the Lord. I trust His word and I am longing for pure joy.

Each day that I spend in God's word, He gives me joy. Each day I have been able to experience His joy in a little different way than the day before.

Today it looked like this:

-I woke up to drizzling rain. It was a beautiful sound that was accompanied shortly, by my sweet girl's call for "Ma-ma" on the monitor.

-My husband was an encouragement to me as he prayed for me before he went to work.

-I enjoyed a morning with Wes's sister, Erica, and our niece, Blake. Erica is on her maternity leave and has come to stay with us. We are loving their company.

-I reread several encouraging cards that we have received the past few weeks. It is so comforting to have these. I am planning on making a scrapbook of Wesley Adam's life to record all the people that have touched our lives and all the lives that he has touched.

- As I was rereading the cards, Wesley Adam started loving on his mommy by giving me some kicks! This must be the absolute best feeling. It brings a smile to my face every time.

-Erica and I enjoyed the sunshine this afternoon and took our babies on a walk around the seminary campus. We checked the mail and I received 3 more encouraging cards. Thank you so much for continuing to petition to our great God on our behalf.

-Aubri has started saying "Bub-ba" and she loves to kiss and point to my belly.

I look forward to the new joys the Lord will bring tomorrow.
I trust in His promises and know that through Him pure joy will come.

Overwhelmed.

2010-08-30T15:25:00.011-05:00

Over the past 10 days, we have been completely overwhelmed as our sisters and brothers in Christ have poured out love, encouragement, joy, tears, and prayers for our family. Wes and I, both, have received an abundance of emails, phone calls, letters, text messages, facebook messages and wall posts, and blog comments that have ministered to our faith in a powerful way. Thank you for allowing the Lord to use you as a tool to comfort and encourage us during this valley. We are witnessing the gospel played out and played out well on our behalf- and it is glorious!

"Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing."
1 Thessalonians 5:11

This past Sunday, our church had a dedication service for Wesley Adam. We were approached about a week ago, asking if we would be willing to share with our church Wesley Adam's diagnosis, our journey this far, how we are spiritually and emotionally, and how they can be praying for us. The road the Lord has given us to walk is a seemingly overwhelming one. We were comforted as our family, care group, and entire church made the verbal commitment to us that we do not have to make this journey alone.

"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." James 5:16

"And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must love his brother."

1 John 4:21

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, ' therefore I will hope in him.' " Lamentations 3:22-24

Thank you our dear brothers and sisters for obeying the Lord's commands. Your obedience comforts us and we are overwhelmed by your love.

Prepared hearts.

2010-08-25T15:15:00.003-05:00

Long before our Thursday appointment, the Lord had begun preparing our hearts to hear the news of our son. Let me share a few of the ways He did.

Wes had been asked to preach in our church this coming Sunday and he had been praying through a few different texts to decide which one to preach. He had been walking me through each one as a time of family worship as well as getting some feedback on my thoughts. The texts that the Lord had laid on his heart were:
James 1:2-4 - the theology of trials
Hebrews 4:1-11 - there is rest available for those who respond in obedience to God's Word
Matthew 14:22-33 - the confession that Jesus is the Son of God should result in worship

Our hearts were prepared.

I am in a weekly book study that is currently studying "Lord, I Want to Know You" by Kay Arthur. We have been on the same 2 chapters for almost a month, due to having to cancel for different reasons-vacations, family, etc. I must admit, I had read and reread those 2 chapters for several weeks now and was VERY ready to move on. We had been studying the names "Jehovah-Shalom"- The Lord is Peace and "Jehovah-mekoddishkem"- The Lord who sanctifies you. The Lord knew that I needed to really know Him as my God of Peace and my God that sanctifies before Thursday. We discussed these on Tuesday.

Our hearts were prepared.

During Thursday's sonogram, our sonographer stepped out to "go get some more tape" and our nurse popped in the exam room. She was a little confused because she was told by the sonographer that she needed to meet in our room with our doctor, but no one was in the room but us. When she told us this, we knew something was up. She left the room to find out more information. We were given a small window of time to pray.

Our hearts were prepared.

Driving home from the sonogram appointment, Wes and I were crying and mumbling random thoughts back and forth to each other trying to make sense of the situation we had just been faced with. When all the sudden, we heard an angel from the backseat. "Mom-ma" "Mom-ma." At that precious moment, our heads cleared and the Lord used our sweet daughter to comfort us from her carseat.

Our hearts were prepared.

Friday, Wes and I woke up early and spent some time praying. We were both checking emails as so many friends and family had sent prayers and encouraging words. Wes decided to check facebook messages. A friend of his that didn't even know our current situation had posted a link by John Piper. Wes, thinking this would be nice diversion from the situation, said "Let's see what Piper says about the prosperity gospel...", with a smile on his face.

Our hearts were prepared.

On Thursday, we were hit by a blow that will forever change our lives....And we thank Him that our hearts were prepared.

Wesley Adam Mills, Jr.

2010-08-21T08:28:00.005-05:00

We are proud to announce that we have a little boy, Wesley Adam Mills, Jr. His little body is growing and he has a very strong heartbeat and for that we are so very thankful. Please remember this and rejoice with us as you continue reading.

We headed to our 18 week check-up, on Thursday, with high excitement as we were hoping to find out the gender and get to see pictures of our sweet baby. We left with much different feelings...

During our routine sonogram (our first one for this pregnancy) we found out that our little boy has a birth defect, Anencephaly. Basically, this means that the portion of the neural tube that forms the brain does not close. Consequently, infants with this condition lack parts of their brain, skull, and scalp. They are often born without a forebrain and a cerebrum. Life outside the womb is suspected to be minutes.

Our hearts are broken.

And yet, we are fighting for joy.
Joy that the Lord most graciously gives.
"I will be filled with joy because of You. I will sing praises to Your name, O Most High."
Psalm 9:2

While medical practitioners have diagnosed Wesley Adam with a defect, diagnoses are sometimes wrong. Even if it is accurate, we serve the Creator, Sustainer, and Healer of life. He can change these circumstances if it is His will.

We don't know how long the Lord will give our Wesley Adam life, but we will carry our child as long as He gives. We know that the weeks ahead of us will be full of times of sorrow but full of times of joy as well.

Let us pray for the Lord’s will to be done and make the request for healing an urgent one. We pray in faith that God will accomplish His purposes even if the outcome is different than we would script it to be. It is our hearts deepest desire and we pray that the Lord will use Wesley Adam and his story to turn other people's affections toward our Almighty God.

Please join us in these prayers.

Back by popular demand.

2010-08-12T15:16:00.003-05:00

I have had a few people tell me that they enjoyed using my recipe blog that I started over a year ago. I had removed it from this page since I had not been frequently updating it. It is now accessible on the right sidebar of this page. I hope to begin updating it again shortly. Enjoy!

Dr. appt, new niece, and a wedding.

2010-08-11T09:48:00.005-05:00

Last Thursday, Bri had an appointment with her pediatric urologist to check for scarring on her kidneys. It has been a year since her last UTI and so we were hopeful for a positive report. We got it!! The dr. said her kidneys were clear! We are very thankful!

Last Wednesday, we got a phone call that said that Wes's sister, Erica, had gone into labor. Praise the Giver of Life! Erica welcomed Blake Addison into the world at 12:30 pm! We couldn't hardly wait to get to Arkansas to hold this precious baby! Erica and Blake are both home and doing well.

Blake, just minutes old.

First feeding.

Momma and Blake

All dolled up!

While we were home visiting the new baby, we also had a wedding to attend! My cousin, Jay, was getting married to a wonderful girl, Christa. Christa is from Greenwood, just a few minutes from Fort Smith, so all the family joined up at my parents house for the big celebration. Lots of laughs, lots of tears, and lots of fun was had.

While in FS we also had the opportunity to show off Bri's walking skills to her grandparents. They were so proud! I didn't get many pictures but here are a few...

Check out her new 'BIG SISTER' shirt!

Our pond.

2010-08-02T10:38:00.005-05:00

Living on the seminary campus has been such a blessing for many reasons; one of which is our pond. Aubri and I have been walking (and strolling) around the campus everyday trying to stay in shape during this new pregnancy. After we walk, we head over to the pond to see the fish and play in the gazebo. Aubri LOVES this! She loves talking about the "shish" (that's fish) and the "wa-a" (that's water).

Our ECI case worker, Stacey, has given us the goal to start learning to go up and down stairs. So this is the perfect place for us to practice.

Our Summer break: The update.

2010-07-28T12:42:00.005-05:00

-Bri and I went home to visit my mom and dad for a few days in May. My sister and her girls met us there and we ended up having a great few days of girl time! My parents are renting a 2 bedroom house while they are in process of building their new house, so all 5 girls (me, Bri, Ash, Esther, and Millie) all "slept" in one room! It was cozy and fun! Bri was teething so we ended up on the couch most nights...(at least I am blaming it on Bri, ha!)

-We spent a long weekend in NYC with Wes's sister Ashley and her husband, Jonnie. We had such a great time exploring the city, eating at every bakery we crossed, and just hanging out with the Mackes. They were so kind to give up there bedroom, love on Bri, and let her play with all of Ashley's "pretties" (jewelry) and coasters. We had a wonderful time!

-My cousin, Anna, had her baby, Silas Daniel Abeyta. I can't wait to meet this little fella!

-After having it scheduled for 2 years, the Carroll family all headed to Orange Beach for a family vacation. No oil could stop us! And I am glad it didn't, because the water looked clear and we never even saw 1 tar ball. It was as beautiful as ever! Thanks for a wonderful vacation and all the funny memories! (In typical Mills fashion, we didn't take pictures but you can see some here.)

-On my parents way home from the beach, they stopped by to say hello. The stayed for a few days and we relived the beach vacation as well as made a few more memories! We headed to the Ranger's stadium to catch a ball game, went to the zoo, went downtown for some PF Chang, and did a little golf and shopping. It was great having you guys here!

-Wes turned.....dare I say it???? The Big 3-0! He is an oldie but a goodie!! I love you, Wesley!

-We are anxiously awaiting the call from Wes's sister, Erica. She is expecting a little girl, Blake, August 1. We are so ready to meet this little blessing! I will post pics as soon as she arrives! Please be praying for Erica and Blake in the next few days!

18 months check-up (one month late...)

2010-07-27T13:31:00.005-05:00

Aubri is now almost 19 months old! Here is what she has been up to...

She is 32 3/4 inches tall (80%) and weighs 22.5 lb (20%)
She is in size 4 diapers and 18-24 month clothes.
She has too many teeth to count!

She loves to play with her 2 cabbage patch babies. Most mornings, "baby" is the first word out of her mouth. She will continue to call for her babies until she has them in her arms and has given them multiple kisses.

She now says momma, da-da, baby, ball, shoe ("ssue"), eat ("eee"), banana, Nana, hi, bye-bye and (unfortunately) no consistently.

She loves to point to her nose, eyes, ears, tummy, and tongue and has started to find them on me and daddy.

She can now follow simple commands like "go get a book", "pick up your baby", "give me your shoe", etc. It is fun to see her learning and understanding.

She is quite the dancer. She has learned how to walk to the stereo, turn on Taylor Swift, and let it loose! It's really cute when she holds her baby by the arms and dances around with her!

She has recently started singing to her babies. It is such a sweet sound.

(...and she has found some attitude.)

It is hard to believe how quickly she is growing! She is becoming such a big girl! We LOVE YOU, BRI!

This one is for you, Aunt Barbara.

2010-07-27T12:53:00.009-05:00

(My Aunt Barbara has been giving me a hard time about keeping up with this o'blog. So you can thank her for the update...:) love you, see you soon)

To catch up...

First off, I ran my first 5k. It has been a goal of mine ever since I had Aubri. My good friend, Nicole, came up from south Texas to run in the Zoo Run with me. After running in the rain, a big fall, and few good laughs we finished the race. We were so proud and sore.

Good thing I raced when I did because 3 weeks later on Mother's day we found out that we are expecting our 2nd baby.

We are thrilled! Our new baby's due date is January 15. At our next prenatal visit we will, hopefully, find out the gender!

Now let me fill you in on our sweet bri...because of Aubri's delay in walking, we were advised by our pediatrician to contact Early Childhood Intervention and see if they could diagnose the cause (if there was one) for the delay. So, we did. A PT came out to the house did a evaluation and told us that she may need inserts for her shoes to give her ankles more stability. So, we ordered them. 4-5 days after they arrived, we officially have a FULL TIME walker! Praise the Lord! We have been praying for this for some time now and it is so exciting to see God growing our little girl.

Bri with her inserts.

Now that she is able to walk she is so busy. Before she started walking she was pretty content to sit and play with her toys. Now, she is ALWAYS on the go! She is loving her new legs!

I will do a summer recap soon. Stay tuned.

Getting SO close!!

2010-04-19T16:47:00.002-05:00

YAY! What a great day!!!

Resurrection Sunday

2010-04-05T08:26:00.003-05:00

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, BUT HAS RISEN!

Luke 24:1-6 (emphasis added)

A few years ago, Wes and I had the incredible opportunity to go to Israel on a study tour. Here are a few interesting pictures from that trip...

The Via Dolorosa is a street within the Old City of Jerusalem held to be the path that Jesus walked, carrying his cross, on the way to his crucifixion.

This slab commemorates the place where Jesus' body would have been prepared for burial.

This the inside of a tomb. Some people believe this to be Jesus' actual tomb.

PRAISE THE LORD!

I couldn't wait to give out the Easter basket, so Wes and Bri got to see their goodies on Saturday. Bri learned how to put her eggs in and out of her basket. And, next year we will be able to have an official egg hunt!
Wes, of course, got all of the candy once again. He did share a VERY SMALL amount of chocolate with Bri...much to her mother's dismay.

We woke up Sunday morning and fixed a pancake breakfast and read the resurrection account from Matthew 27 and 28.
We went to our church to celebrate with our church family the perfect picture of LOVE displayed through Christ's death, burial and resurrection.

Sunday evening, we went to our good friend Tasha and Anthony's to have Easter dinner. We had a wonderful time reflecting on the goodness of Christ as we ate and had fellowship. The Lord has blessed us with an amazing family away from our home.

I pray that each of you had a beautiful Easter Sunday reflecting on the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, which by his death, now we may live.

It's Friday...but Sunday's coming!

2010-04-02T13:02:00.002-05:00

“He was despised and rejected by men;

a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

(Isaiah 53:3-6 ESV)

15 months.

2010-03-31T13:39:00.007-05:00

I have no idea where the past 15 months have gone!

Wasn't it just yesterday when Bri was born? Goodness.

Here is what Bri has been up to...
-She has 9 teeth, 3 of which are molars! Yikes!

- She crawls, pulls up, and cruises EVERYWHERE she goes!
I know she will be walking before we know it!

-She is completely on table food and she LOVES it!

-She has FINALLY mastered her sippy cup!

-She LOVES her baby doll!
If I say "love the baby" she gives her baby hugs and kisses! SO cute!

-She can say hi, bye-bye, night night, more ("mo"), Nana, momma, and da-da clearly.
She tries to say thank you and says it at the appropriate time but it still needs a little work.

-Ops (my dad) introduced her to Cherrios for the first time last week
and she is so grateful! She now has a new favorite snack!

-She loves to dance! Anytime she hears music
she starts waving her hands in the air- it looks like she is "praising"!

-She is now on a 1 nap schedule and I love it!
We have so much more time to play and get errands run.

John Michael Carroll

2010-02-22T08:37:00.003-06:00

Thank you all for diligently praying for the Carrolls as they awaited the arrival of their son.
The Lord is so faithful to hear our prayers!
He provided a safe delivery for both baby and momma;
both seem to be healing well.
Ben was an amazing leader as he encouraged his wife through a very painful labor.
They were blessed by the comfort of their own doctor being able to deliver.

John Michael Carroll
(named after his maternal great-grandfather, John, and his paternal grandfather, Jodie Michael, and his dad, Benjamin Michael) was born on Tuesday, February 16. He was
7 lb 12 oz and 21 inches long.

John Michael and his momma

John Michael and Ops

Proud Aunt Jenny

Aubri meeting him for the first time.

She warmed right up.

Ops, Nana, and all 4 grandkids!

PLEASE PRAY!

2010-02-15T19:29:00.003-06:00

I just got "THE" call! My brother and Allison are at the hospital with contractions 5 minutes apart!

Please pray for a safe delivery for Allison and Baby C,
Ben's leadership,
the Lord's calming peace,
wisdom for their dr,
and most of all, that the Lord would call Baby C to Himself at an early age,
so that he may grow to love the Lord and live for Him!

I am sure they will be anxious to post pictures of their sweet blessing. Click here to see their blog!

SNOWY DAYS!

2010-02-13T08:52:00.006-06:00

What a beautiful, peaceful, restful (well...maybe not restful), fun gift the Lord gave us! We are enjoying a 4 day weekend due to the record breaking 10-12 inches (depending on who you ask) of snow Fort Worth, TEXAS received on Thursday!

Our WINTER WONDERLAND! Isn't God amazing?!?!

We had friends over on Thursday night since we got wind that the seminary was going to be closed on Friday, too. We almost had to have a slumber party due to all the snow buildup and the limb that fell and blocked our driveway. Have no fear, our handy husbands came to the rescue and cut up the limb so that our friends could carefully drive home.

Maegan, Jenny McWilliams, me, and Karen.
I wish this picture showed Jenny's shoes---she had on flip flops!...Hawaiians....

I tried to measure the snow fall on Friday morning. However, the only ruler I had was my handy dandy 8 inch Beall Barclay and Company ruler. It was covered by snow.
(side note- this is the middle of tax season for my dad and all the other employees at Beall Barclay. Please say a prayer for them as they are facing long hours with little sleep.)

We spent most of our days lounging in our pj's in the warmth of our home. Bri is showing off her "new" jammies that her cousins passed down! Thanks Millie and Esther!

Bundled up to play in the snow!

Aubri would much rather be held than touch the snow. She must be a Guatemalan at heart. ha!

This is our snowman! Isn't he handsome. The naming of the snowman went something like this:
Wesley: "Aubri what do you want to name the snowman?"
Aubri: "Ya!"
Wesley: "Do you want his name to be Ya?"
Aubri: "Ya!"
Wesley: "Ok, our snowman's name is Ya. Do you like Ya?"
Aubri: "Ya!"
Wesley: "How much?"
Aubri: "Ya, ya, ya!"

Got to love new "words"!

My name is Jenny and I am a Settlers of Catanaholic.
This is my new favorite game! Thankfully, all of our friends LOVE it too! We stay up way too late to fit in as many games as we can! After probably a dozen games, poor James had yet to win...until now! Here he is looking so proud! Way to go James!

The Settlers: Keith, Maegan, James, Jenny, Wes

We made some snow ice cream! It was...decent. A very fun memory!

Doesn't it look yummy? It was pretty good covered in chocolate syrup.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."
James 1:17

Family Camp-Out

2010-02-03T09:02:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, Bri started running a fever. It continued to climb all day and her little runny nose quickly became a snotty mess! She was having a terrible time breathing through her nose and was very frustrated. She fell asleep in her crib at bedtime but an hour later she woke up crying. Bless her heart.

She seemed to be able to breath so much better when she was elevated, so we decided to have our first family camp-out in the living room. Bri and I slept in the recliner and Wes was on the couch. Let's just say, at least Bri slept well. She woke up still sick, but so happy.

Beautiful Baby

2010-02-03T08:32:00.003-06:00

So, Live's Regis and Kelly are having a Beautiful Baby Contest. The winner gets a $125,000 college scholarship! Of course Aubri's biased momma thought "what easy way to snatch up a scholarship for Bri!". So, I asked for Wes's support and once he agreed, I got all of the paper work filled out and all we had left to do was agree on Aubri's best picture! Unfortunately, we would be disqualified if we used one of the Beaty pictures, because those are hands-down our favorite.

A week later, Wes and I still can't decide. Thankfully, I notice that the deadline has been pushed back...or so, I thought.

Looks like I got a little confused, and we missed the deadline. Sorry, Bri. Maybe next year.

Here is my pick!

I love that you can see her personality in this one!!

Being ONE is so much FUN!

2010-01-18T17:54:00.004-06:00

Since Bri turned one year old, she has not stopped moving! She has been crawling ALL OVER our house! She is loving it and so are we! So many people told us that we were so lucky Bri was taking her time to motor, because once she did, we would be chasing her all over the house...well, I know we aren't completely there yet, but I wouldn't trade this for the world! We are so blessed! How can it get any better that this?!

Bri has also learned to stand up in her bed! It is so much fun to walk into her room and see her peering over the edge looking for mom and dad. However, she hasn't quite mastered sitting herself back down! Wes had to go in her room 3 times during this afternoon's nap time, to lay her back down! Ha!

Busy Bri

2010-01-12T14:39:00.005-06:00

I love to climb up on the t.v. But, I get in trouble when I do this...

Trying to help daddy get all of his school
books picked up off the living room floor- So mommy will quit bugging him! ha!

My little girl is getting so big! She looks so grown up in this picture!

I love to read books! (and eat them too!)

Check me out...

2010-01-07T15:37:00.005-06:00

Hey! Look what I can do!

Better late than never, right? Ha! I am so proud of my little one! We have been praying for this day!

Aubri is ONE!

2010-01-05T09:33:00.005-06:00

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear AUBRI
Happy Birthday to you!

Aubri is ONE year old! We had a little party for her while we were visiting family over the holidays! I wasn't quite sure how she would handle all of the attention but, SHE ATE IT UP! She was the life of the party! All of her grandparents and cousins were able to attend and most of her aunts and uncles were there to help celebrate too!

Here are a few pictures from her Razorback party!

Her Razorback party invitations. Aren't they cute! ha!

We are so blessed to have such a loving family that prays and supports us as we strive to raise Aubri for the glory of the Lord. Thank you!

2009-12-11T18:52:00.002-06:00

Over Thanksgiving break we had the opportunity to get some family pictures done! One of my friends from high school has a new photography business with her husband. She met us at my parent's house in Fort Smith for a photo session! They turned out GREAT! Thanks so much Emily! You can see some of them here.

11 months.

2009-12-07T14:35:00.010-06:00

Last week, Bri turned 11 months old! It is SO hard to believe that in less than a month she will be celebrating her 1st birthday! Here is what she has been up to:

She loves to play with her new Little People Nativity Set! She is very partial to the red wiseman. He goes with her wherever she goes- I even let her go to sleep with him one night, but she stayed up playing and would never fall asleep, so I had to take him away. ha!

Wes is so proud of his little theologian studying the Scriptures.

Every day we practice the productive parenting skill of the day. Today, we learned how to take on and off a lid.

Aubri loves, loves, loves to play with Momma's Christmas tree. And it makes Momma crazy, crazy, crazy. If you only knew how long it took me to get that tree up, you would sympathize with me.

Still trying to master the sippy cup. We have tried 3 different kinds and are still struggling to get the hang of it. Any tips?

Aubri hamming it up!

All Bri wants to do these days is STAND UP! She will let go and stand up by herself for about 2 seconds. Way to go, girl! (Wes put these socks on her...he always thinks she is cold, so he goes overboard to keep her warm...Ha!)

Thankfulness.

2009-11-30T14:04:00.004-06:00

What are you thankful for?

During the craziness of the Thanksgiving holiday accompanied by festive Christmas shopping, I never stopped and spent time thanking God.

When I finally did stop and begin thinking of the blessing to praise God for, my first thoughts were: health, family, financial provision... all of which are true and wonderful blessings from the Lord. However, once I began praying through each of those things, my heart was convicted. What is good health if you don't live for the Lord? What is having a family that isn't united in Christ? What is financial stability apart from Christ? What I truly need to be thankful for is my life in Christ. He has shown me through His word that we are called to "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Wes and I recently started praying through a handout our church provided called "30 days of Gratitude". It has drawn my attention to the precious gifts I all too often take for granted: my salvation, God's goodness, an entrance into God's presence, His Word, believing friends and family, His provision, faithfulness, steadfast love, and the list goes on.

May I encourage you to take a moment and praise the Lord for EVERYTHING- "Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:20

Reformation Sunday

2009-11-01T21:15:00.003-06:00

Every year our church celebrates Reformation Day (October 31). As most of you know, this commemorates the day when Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses to the cathedral door in Wittenburg, Germany, during the 16th century.
It's a fun time for our church to think about the founding father's of our faith and celebrate the Protestant Reformation. Most years, we have a HUGE Reformation Celebration and all the kids dress up, but this year we decided to have a church picnic at the local park. That didn't stop me from wanting Bri to have her turn to dress up. Wes thought she should be a Puritan. Ha! Here is a picture of our little Puritan in her first Reformation Day outfit!

A day of PUMPKINS!

2009-10-31T22:45:00.006-05:00

We went ahead and set our clocks back today, so that our fun field trip to the Pumpkin Patch didn't conflict with Wes's flag football game and Bri's nap time. However, we had so much fun, she still ended up missing most of her nap.

Here's the rundown:

This afternoon, we headed to Mainstay farm to visit their pumpkin patch. It was AWESOME! Bri was still a little young for most of the festivities but we got some cute pictures and she will, hopefully, love it in the years to come!

Bri fell asleep on the way home, so we let her sleep a little later (Yes, we do sometimes veer off schedule, ha!). Once she woke up we decided to start carving the pumpkin we got at the farm. Bri was a little hesitant at first, but she warmed right up.

Cleaning out the insides.

My little helper.

My first time carving!

The finished project.

We finished up our pumpkin day with toasted pumpkin seeds and a pumpkin roll- 2 main reasons why I LOVE this time of year! YUM!

An afternoon at the park

2009-10-30T14:36:00.004-05:00

The sun was out today, so Aubri and I headed for the outdoors. We spent the afternoon playing at the park. This park had the harness type swings, so Bri got to try it out all by herself! She LOVED it!

We both were beginning to get a little cabin fever with all the rain we have had. It was a great day to just sit outside and soak up the sunshine...

and explore LEAVES...

and see how they taste, of course! ha!

Flu Season

2009-10-27T09:10:00.007-05:00

While talking to my sister this past week the topic of the flu came up. It seems like just about everyone we know has either had or has the flu. It is past the point of if you are going to get it but rather, when you are going to get it.

Well, we had our turn.

Wes got sick last Sunday and was out a full week. We took drastic measures (set up a quarantine, Lysolled the entire house every few hours, bought 4 bottles of hand sanitizer and 2 bottles of antibacterial soap, communicated with Wes via telephone to avoid him spreading the virus to me, etc.) to ensure that Aubri didn't get sick. (Which is why I haven't blogged lately...Wes had the computer held hostage in his flu infested quarters.) By God's grace, she has remained healthy.

We sure missed Wes this past week. But, Bri and I had some good girl time! We went shopping, we baked, we sewed...

What's girl time without a little lip gloss?

Aubri was SO happy when Daddy finally emerged from his room!

I know that many of you knew of our situation this past week and were fervently praying for us! We are so appreciative that we have friends and family that pray for us, call us, and encourage us. THANK YOU!

Funny Faces!

2009-10-14T16:23:00.003-05:00

When it comes to baby food, Aubri can be pretty picky. She likes her food to be warmed up and if it cools mid-feeding, then she stops eating until it is warmed up again. Now I must admit, I cater to her pickyness. I am more than happy to warm and re-warm at her request.

Well, she has found a new favorite food. It is blueberries & apples. She would eat it all day long if I let her. If she won't eat a certain kind of veggie then I throw in a little blueberry & apple and she digs right in. It is a real blessing to have found this treasure!

So anyway, since she likes blueberries & apples so much, I decided to see if she would eat them cold-straight from the fridge. Now, mind you, she doesn't even eat things room temperature, much less COLD.
But she did...and it is so funny I had to share!

Our 9 month old Swimmer

2009-10-10T09:34:00.004-05:00

Aubri is really beginning to move! I have heard that all babies find their own style of crawling. Aubri's looks more like swimming than crawling! Want to see?

Last Friday Aubri turned 9 months old. Here is what she has been up to:

-She weighs 17.1 lbs and is 27.5 inches long.

-She says "Ma ma ma ma" and "Da da da da"!

-She waves bye-bye.

-She claps when she gets excited! (Which is almost ALL the time!)

-She has started sleeping on her tummy. (I never thought this would happen since she has always HATED being on her tummy.)

-She has moved to size 3 CRUISERS since we have a little cruiser on our hands!

-She has started eating a few solids (boiled potatoes and chicken). But it takes her FOREVER to chew it up and swallow. What can you expect? She only has 2 little teeth! ha!

-She LOVES bath time! I lay her down to get her clean and then sit her up and she just plays and plays and plays! Last night, when I started getting her out of the tub, she started crying! It was as if she was saying "But, Mom, I'm not wrinkled yet!" ha!

-She likes to sing. When I start singing, she watches me for a while, and then she joins in. And when the music is on in the car, she sings at the top of her lungs! What a joyful noise!

I could go on and on and on. I just love to talk about this little one!

Football Frenzy!

2009-10-05T10:00:00.004-05:00

This weekend the entire Carroll family met in FW for a weekend of football!

Here are some of us gearing up for the Hogs vs. Aggies game!
WOOO PIG SOOIE!

But first, we had to cheer for one of our own.
Wes had a big flag football game Saturday morning.
He had a great run and they won! Go RAC team!

When I was a student at the UA I rarely missed a Razorback game, but since we moved from Fayetteville it has been a little more difficult to get the stadium to cheer on the hogs. So, I was VERY excited when I found out that they would be playing in Arlington, right here, close to our home! Plus, that means we would get to check out the infamous Cowboy Stadium! And let me tell you, it was amazing!

Hogs 47 Aggies 19
GO HOGS GO!

Aubri and her cousins stayed in Fort Worth and played with Jenny and James during the game.
This was Bri's first time with an official babysitter. We got a great report. I guess Aubri behaved herself, besides her peeing all over Jenny! whoops!

Our big day!

2009-09-30T14:04:00.003-05:00

Today, Bri and I met some of our friends at the FW Zoo. Bri was more entertained by her stroller's seat belt than she was the animals but it was a great time to get together with friends and to get some fresh air!

What a great day for Aubri's Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma! Check this out!

Check this out!

2009-09-30T10:29:00.002-05:00

Glory to God, the Giver of all good gifts!
Click here for some exciting news!

Getting Busy.

2009-09-28T10:38:00.005-05:00

Bri is getting so big and I am loving it! Everyone tells me that the current stage is your favorite stage, and this is so true! The stage she is in right now is SO FUN!
(Please forgive the blurriness of the pictures, I am having a little trouble with my camera.)

Tickling the ivory!
She loves her new piano! But more than playing, she loves to turn the pages of the attached piano book.

Her cousin, Millie, gave her a lion that is push/riding toy.
She can't push it yet, but loves to use it to stand up!

Now she's riding. When she pushes his nose, he starts growling and she starts beaming!
She loves this toy! Thanks, Millie Moo.

Each year that we have been at Seminary, we get together with fellow Razorback fans and a few 'Bama fans to watch the two teams battle it out. This year, we hosted the party at our house.
Bri loved playing with all the big kids, even though they were cheering against her Hogs.

I am hopeful that next week, when we actually get to be at the AR vs. A&M game, we will be able to cheer the Hogs to a victory!

Hit that line, hit that line, keep on going...

2009-09-19T23:46:00.004-05:00

I LOVE FOOTBALL SEASON! There is just something special about this time of year! Today, the three of us got our Razorback gear on and had some friends over to watch the Hogs play the Georgia Bulldogs. Aubri thought her mommy and daddy were going crazy as we cheered and sang the fight song at the top of our lungs! She has never seen us act like that! ha!

Aubri was getting really upset that we were losing so she decided to go to bed before it was over.

Unmotivated...

2009-09-16T13:18:00.004-05:00

For whatever reason, I have not been real motivated to blog lately. Maybe it's the weather. It has been rainy and gloomy for the past several days. But things are beginning to look a little brighter outdoors today.

Labor Day weekend, our little family headed to Arkansas for the Carroll family Olympics. It is tradition that my side of the family gets together every Labor Day for the 3 day weekend. In the years past the boys have played golf and last year the winner even got a golf trophy. Dad thought it would be a good idea to include the girls in the friendly competition so this year we had the Olympics. We had so much fun, but unfortunately we didn't bring home the coveted "Big Hoot" trophy. I forgot my camera but you can see pictures of the weekend here.

Last weekend, my church had a women's retreat. My mom and dad came down so Mom could come with me to the retreat and dad could spend time with Wes and Bri. Sharon Better's was the speaker and she talked about ways to encourage our sister's in Christ that are going through very dark times. It was a very encouraging time and was a huge blessing to be able to experience it with my mom.

Thank you so much, Mom, for coming! It meant so much to me!

Dad needed a little nap to re-energize from his weekend of babysitting!

Sunday School

2009-08-30T20:31:00.005-05:00

Today was a big day for us! Wes and I have started teaching Sunday school classes and Aubri went to her Sunday school class for the first time ever! Yes, you heard me right; Aubri has Sunday school not nursery. Our church actually has Sunday school starting at 12 weeks. They even have a little lesson and a time that they prayer over each child. I love how intentional our church is with teaching children. The teachers really see the importance in fulfilling their covenant with parents to come alongside them in the shepherding of their children in the Lord.
Wes was asked to teach a study on the Biblical book of Mark and I am teaching 1 year olds.

Due to the hustle and bustle of all of us getting ready and out the door early this morning I didn't remember to snap a picture to capture the big day. But, you know I rarely post without a picture of Baby Bri! So, here ya go!

Women of Faith

2009-08-28T13:57:00.004-05:00

The Women of Faith Conference was great! We heard some wonderful testimonies from the speakers of God's amazing work, we sang our hearts out in worship, we laughed until we cried, and cried until we laughed. Glory be to God! Mom, I look forward to doing this AGAIN, maybe next year?!?

Mandisa (a former contestant from American Idol) was there! She did a little mini concert! I have never been to a REAL concert before. (I know, I know, it's hard to imagine.) The closest I have ever been is the little "concerts" at the fair. And I don't really think those count. Anyway, Mandisa sang a medley of songs at the beginning of her concert. The audience all got out their cell phones and started waving them in the air! (You know, like lighters...) It was just like I imagined a concert to be! Ha!

This picture is terrible. But you get the idea.

She also sang this song. It is based on the Ecclesiastes 3 passage.

Psalm 46:7 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Dallas Day Trip

2009-08-21T08:47:00.003-05:00

My mom and a few of her friends (CRAZY friends, I might add!) are in Dallas for a few days for some shopping and the Women of Faith Conference. So, Aubri and I hopped in the car to meet them for the afternoon at Northpark Mall. It was so fun watching all of mom's friends "ooo" and "ahhh" over Itty Bitty. They tried hard but I don't think she even gave them a glimse of her toothy smile!

Me and my Nana

There's a smile!! Check out my 2 teeth!

We had a great time visiting and strolling around-actually we used the stroller as our shopping cart because mom couldn't put Aubri down! ha! I think she must have been missing her granddaughter! I am planning to head back over to Dallas tomorrow for a day of the conference. That means Aubri and her daddy will be getting some quality time! That should make for some fun stories! I'll keep you posted!

I CAN'T IMAGINE!

2009-08-20T08:34:00.008-05:00

I was reading my sister's blog and a few other friends that posted about their children heading off for KINDERGARTEN yesterday! They all had pictures of their little ones sporting their new outfits, with coordinating hair bows in place, new back packs packed with brand new supplies, lunch boxes in tow, and my eyes filled with tears! All the memories they are making with their babies made me think of my Bri getting bigger and us snapping pictures to capture each moment of her first day of Kindergarten. At the rate we are going, this day may never come for us! We struggle putting Aubri in our church's nursery-and its only for 1 hour, 1 day a week! ha! I CAN'T IMAGINE! For now, we will hold her close, rock her gently, and soak up every precious little moment!

Esther, I am so proud of you, Big Kindergartner! And Ashley, I am proud of you too! You made it through her first day!

Did you know?!?

2009-08-18T13:43:00.005-05:00

Does your digital camera eat batteries like ours does?!?

Before we left for Hawaii I went to Target to stock up on some batteries for our trip. I saw these that said they lasted 7x longer in digital cameras. It had to be too good to be true! But, decided to give them a try anyway. I loaded my camera with these bad boys the day we left town. And now almost 2 weeks later (2 weeks of using my camera multiple times a day) I am still using the same 2 batteries! AWESOME! Worth every penny!

Now on to the good stuff!
A video I thought the grandparents might enjoy!

This video is a milestone in the making!
Our little Roly Poly is TRYING to crawl!

Aloha and Mahalo!

2009-08-14T13:03:00.014-05:00

Some of our good seminary friends, James and Jenny, got married! Jenny is from Oahu, Hawaii and she wanted to have the wedding back home. So we traveled with our friends Anthony and Tasha, and their son, Marcus, to witness their covenant! How could we pass this up?!?

This picture just about sums up the whole trip! If you know my husband at all, you probaly know about his love for pineapple. Well, we just visited the home of all pineapples. We bought 4 pineapples while we there. And ate all of them. (Aubri doesn't eat solids yet and I don't like pineapple...so really WES ate all 4 pineapples. Not to mention the pineapple at the luau, the pineapple at the Dole plantation, the pineapple at at different restraunts, and so much more that I can't remember it all!! ha!)

James and Jenny (our friends that got married) both said "I do." and we had a great time so I guess you can count this trip as a success! Here's a run-down of all the Hawaii happenings.

Wednesday, August 5- We arrived in Honolulu, and were greeted by Jenny's parents and sister who gave us leis. We then went to get our rental minivan. Side story: Once we got our van we noticed that it made a funny noise, but we had just stood in line for 1 1/2 hours to get the van so we just blew it off and headed to find our lodging. Once we were settled, we headed out to get dinner and find a wal-mart to buy diapers and snacks.

Jenny (the bride) and Aubri at the Honolulu airport.

Thursday, August 6- Woke up early (due to 5 hour time change) and headed out to hike Diamond Head -an inactive volcano that looks over Oahu. We ate a late lunch and then headed to the rehearsal dinner.

The dads and their babies.

Almost to the top.

View from the top! It was beautiful!

Friday, August 7- Woke up early. Headed to Pearl Harbor. We saw a historical video to refresh our memory of the events that took place and then toured the Arizona Memorial, the Battleship Missouri and a U.S.S. Boefin submarine! Then we headed back to the house to let the kids nap and get ready for dinner.

On Arizona memorial. (L to R-James, he's the groom, Anthony, Marcus, Tasha, and us.)

Saturday, August 8- WEDDING DAY! Congratulations James and Jenny Williams! It was a beautiful ceremony and reception. Which reminds me of a funny story. At the reception, the wedding party was supposed to be announced as they walked in. Well, the MC announced Wes and the bridesmaid we was escorting and no one came in...so, the MC announced them again. Still nothing...then all the sudden, Wes and the best man, Anthony, swing open the doors to the recepiton hall and start breaking it down! Ha! I have never seen Wes dance like that! He was pretty good! Ha! Then the bridesmaids came dancing in, followed by the new couple! It was hilarious! I wish I had it on video but by the time I grabbed my camera I had missed it.

Wes walking out his bridesmaid.
Isn't he handsome?

Sunday, August 9- Woke up early. The boys had reservations to swim with the sharks so we drove to a little historic town on the water to drop them off. They had a great time and saw lots of sharks! BIG ONES! Wes will have to tell you this story! After they finished with their shark enounter we drove to the Dole Plantation. This was really cool! We took a train through pineapple fields and ate pineapple ice cream, drank pineapple juice and got t-shirts too! ha! This wore the kids out so we took them home to rest and then headed out to Waikiki for dinner.

The Dole Plantation.

Pineapple Ice cream!

Monday, August 9- Woke up early. Remember that story about our van making a funny noise? Well, it was getting worse each day. And today, we got all loaded up to go to the beach and started backing down our STEEP driveway when...DAD STOP READING!...the breaks went out. Thankfully, Wes was smart and hit the emergency break before we ran into the road. So, needless to say, we spent the morning on the phone with our car rental agency and waited for a tow truck and a new van. Then, WE FINALLY WENT TO THE BEACH AT WAIKIKI! There was a threat of a hurricane coming and we were beginning to worry that we were going to have gone to Hawaii and not gone to the beach!

Beach Baby!

Tuesday, August 10- We woke a little later. Finally able to sleep the day before we head home. ha! We headed to see the only waterfall in Oahu. This was probably my favorite day! It was BEAUTIFUL! Then we headed back to Dole to get some more pineapple ice cream. YUM! We headed back home to get ready for the luau!

Walking to the waterfall.
We forgot to bring Aubri's hat, so we had to stop at the gift store and get her one.

Getting a Somoan temporary tattoo at the luau.

The underground oven...where they cook the pig.

Hawaiian doing the hula dance.

Wednesday, August 11- Headed back to a beach that we had seen when were driving to the waterfall the day before. It was so beautiful! While we were there, the boys and I went cliff jumping! That was crazy! On our way home, we stopped to get some shaved ice. It was just like the sno cones from New Orleans-with ice cream at the bottom and sweetened condensed milk on top! YUM! Then headed back to the house to clean up before we flew home.

It was such a great trip! We can't wait to tell you all the funny stories! Aloha and Mahalo!

*please excuse the font sizes...I don't know why they are all over the place. I can't get them to change.

Happy Birthday Motorcycle Millie!

2009-08-01T17:51:00.005-05:00

Happy 3rd birthday Millie Moo

We wish we could have been there to help celebrate!

Aubri - the motorcycle babe- giving birthday wishes!

Aubri's cousin, Millie, has always LOVED motorcycles...or at least motorcycle MEN! ha! So she had a Harley Davidson birthday party! Check out the Beller's blog for pictures!

Homemade Baby Food

2009-07-28T11:52:00.004-05:00

Aubri is eating sweet potatoes! AND she loves them! I was beginning to worry that she would never eat real food! She never really took to the cereal. After I introduce some fruits maybe we will try the cereal again with a little fruit camouflage.

My mom got me a homemade baby food maker so I decided to try it out.
It was really easy and cost efficient too.

yummy.

Bellers and Birthday

2009-07-28T07:24:00.011-05:00

This past week, the Beller's came to visit! We had so much fun just relaxing and running a few errands!

Girl Time!

We even got to take the little girls to the zoo! Esther and Millie were so cute! They would get excited about all the different animals. Millie was partial to the tigers and surprisingly, Esther really enjoyed the snakes. This was Aubri's first zoo trip. She slept through most of it but I think she really liked being outside!

My favorite part had to be watching the girls feed the parakeets with a seed stick.
My least favorite part was when we almost got attacked by a squirrel during our picnic lunch. I'm not kidding, we really did almost get eaten up!

Aubri relaxing as she strolls around the zoo.

We had so much fun! Come back soon!

Happy Birthday WESLEY!

Wes had a birthday on Friday! (I won't disclose his age but I will say...HE'S OLDER THAN ME!)
We had a great weekend celebrating! On Saturday, he went golfing with a buddy and when he returned home we had a little party for him. Aubri was too funny about the candles! Her eyes were huge! For dinner we loaded up and drove to a really neat shopping area in Arlington. We ate at Fish City and had lots of crab legs and shrimp! Then strolled around looking at a few stores before we headed home for some more birthday cake. Happy Birthday Wes! I love you!

ATTENTION ALL GLORY HOLE READERS!

2009-07-20T09:50:00.002-05:00

We will be going to a private blog in one week. That means that you will have to have a log in name and password to see our blog. I know this may be an annoyance for some of you but since this blog is primarily about our daughter, we decided to place some controls on our site.

I will send you an invitation to our blog through email. The email will have a few simple steps for you to follow so that you can gain access to The Glory Hole. So, if you want to be able to read our blog please email me at mills.thegloryhole@gmail.com to ensure that I have your correct email address. (This is not my regular email. I created this one for this purpose only.)

Let me know if you have any questions!

SUMMER VACATION

2009-07-19T14:28:00.011-05:00

Being a stay-at-home mom definitely has its perks! One of them being that my schedule is free to TRAVEL! Here is the recap of our time away from Texas.

Wes, Aubri and I went to Arkansas to celebrate the 4th! We drove in late Thursday night and spent the night at Mima and Poppie's. We woke up to a yummy breakfast and then headed outside to smoke some moles out of the flower beds! I have never seen anything like this. I don' t know how well it worked. But it made some pretty funny memories!

Ron is digging the holes to the moles.

See the smoke?

Later that night, we headed to Papa and Gamma's house. We had fantastic T-bone steaks for dinner and entertainment from Aubri while we ate. She was laughing and talking so loud the whole time we were eating! It was so funny!

Aubri sitting with Papa.
Doesn't she look so big?!?

Saturday, we headed to the Fort to see the Carroll crew for Carroll family fun night. We had a great time of food, swimming, and games. Aubri went swimming for the first time while we were there! She still hasn't decided if she likes it or not.

She sure is cute in that suit!

Sunday, Wes headed back to Texas and Aubri and I headed to Cave City with the Bellers and Nana and Ops to visit for the week. It was a week of some work and the rest play. We spent a few afternoons cleaning up the porches (oh, how I love those porches! They are so peaceful!) and weeding the garden. We even harvested a few tomatoes, snap peas, green beans, jalapenos, and purple peppers. We spent the evenings doing Mary Kay Virtual Makeovers (Click here to go to Ashley's website to do one for yourself! It's FUN!), swimming at Mimi's, having dance parties and play weddings (Esther made a beautiful bride and Nana was a very pretty flower girl!), and of course, shopping.

Nana and Ops' grand kids

We made this little box for Aubri to sit in while we were eating dinner.
Looks like she got a little hungry herself! ha!

Me and Aubri relaxing on the porch swing.

After a great week, we headed back to Fort Smith. Mom and Dad dropped me and Aubri off in Van Buren where we met Wes. He came back to Arkansas because he was performing his childhood best friend's wedding and was also serving as Best Man. So, Saturday night, we (we being me, Wes, Aubri, Poppie, Mima, and Mamaw Peggy) loaded up and headed to Kevin and Lacey's wedding in Rogers. It was beautiful and Wes did a great job!
Gamma's daughter, Carrie, also got married that same night. We were sad we missed the wedding and can't wait to see the pictures! Congrats Carrie and Brian!

Family Photo

The Bride and Groom cutting the cake.

Mamaw Peggy playing with Aubri at the reception.

After dinner at the reception, Mima, Poppie, and Mamaw Peggy were heading back to Van Buren so we sent Aubri home with them. This was a first for us. We were "those" parents. You know the ones that call or text every few minutes. ha! All went well. They got Aubri changed and put to bed! Thanks guys!

Sunday, our little family headed back to Fort Worth with just enough time to get things washed and repacked for our trip to California. Wes took Aubri and I to the airport on Tuesday at 4:00am so we could fly to see the Farrar's, Jana, and Jeff.
This was our first time flying and it was....interesting. As soon as we took off, Aubri threw up EVERYWHERE. The fasten seat belt sign was still on so we had to sit in the grossness until we reached our flying altitude. Thankfully, she slept through all the other flights.
We were greeted in Cali by my Aunt Barbara and Taylor. I don't think she drives to the airport much...let's just say, we thankfully only had to turn around once. ha!

Tay trying not to laugh at her mom as we make
our way to Concord.

Aunt Barbara swerving over 2 lanes of traffic.

While in Cali we LAUGHED! But, while we laughed we also attempted to beat Jeff at Bananagrams, watched movies, had hot tea, had hot tea with disgusting chocolate drops, forgot to eat lunch, made Ashley's cookies, went to Build-a-Bear for Bri, drove out to see Anna's gorgeous house, drove out to see the new church facility, went to Muir Woods, went to SF, ate at Ghirardelli Chocolate, watched Jana text message, got eyeliner tutorials from JB, went to Anna's sonogram appointment (thanks for letting me go Nan, I had so much fun!), and made lots of fun memories! Here are a few we captured...

We had a great time on our vacations! Thanks to everyone that helped make our great memories!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ESTHER!

2009-06-29T12:03:00.006-05:00

It's Aubri's cousin Esther's 5th birthday today!
Happy Birthday!
We can't wait to hear how much fun
you had at your party!
(Click here to see pics of the
cutest ballerina party ever!)

Teething!

2009-06-22T21:20:00.009-05:00

Aubri is teething! I can see 2 little bitty teeth starting to irritate her bottom gum. They aren't super swollen yet, so we probably still have a little while until they cut through. But, she is chewing on EVERYTHING! I got her a mesh feeder that I put ice in to make her gums feel better. (I really don't think they are giving her to much of a problem, but I am trying to stay one step ahead. ha!)

She was a little hesitant at first,
but then she started going to town on her new feeder!

We played outside for a while today.
She got a little hot so we had to cool down with some bottled water!

She is trying to drink her water all by herself!
She's getting so big!
Speaking of getting big, today we tried going to only 2 naps! She did so well! She took a 1 1/2 hour morning nap and about a 2 hour afternoon nap. And no fussing in between!
I don't know if we will be able to stick to this new schedule tomorrow since we see our urologist during her AM nap time but we will try again on Wednesday.

kpxciw36ay

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T14:51:00.004-05:00

Happy Father's Day, Dads!
Aubri and I woke Wes up this morning with the "Happy Father's Day" song. This is a new tradition we are starting...I guess...ha! Then I read a poem that I...excuse me, Aubri and I wrote for him and gave him a travel mug with Aubri's pictures on it. He loved it!
I never understood how Dad's could sport World's Greatest Dad shirts made out of puff paint or mugs with little hand prints all over them with such pride, until now. I, now, realize that these are precious treasures that, all too soon, will turn into gifts of the past.

After church, we went to eat at one of Wes's favorite spots, Taco Bueno! Then headed home for a photo shoot. It was pretty hot and the mosquitoes were eating me alive, so we had to cut it short. But, we got a few good ones. Here ya go...

Today, as we all think about our fathers and the memories we have made with them, I encourage you to think of your relationship with the Heavenly Father and thank Him for all He has done for you!

Our little spinner

2009-06-18T19:33:00.004-05:00

Aubri is loving her new Spin Garden!

I have never seen anything quite like this. It is a spinning "saddle" that she lays on that allows her to have tummy time without her face being on the ground. Her feet and hands can touch the ground and when she moves them it causes the "saddle" to spin. She is still getting used to the spinning part but loves not having her face down in her usual blanket. The play mat that the saddle sits on has lots of fun toys for her to play with. We are LOVING this new toy!

A few fun photos.

2009-06-17T12:41:00.003-05:00

Relaxin' while mom pushes me in my stroller around campus.

Mom stacked up my blocks for me,
but by this proud smile I could have fooled you into thinking I did it, huh?Ha!

Uh oh! What happened?

I'm so happy because I am SHOPPING! ha!

Hmmm...

Back to the Doctor

2009-06-11T12:50:00.007-05:00

This morning we headed back to the pediatrician for a re-check. Little Bitty had to get more blood work done to make sure her white blood cells were back into a "normal" range. They were! Yay!!!

There were many times during our stay in the hospital that absolutely broke my heart. One of the big times was when she would flinch anytime someone approached her too quickly. It was as if she was scared of everyone because so many people were poking, prodding, and hurting her. Wes and I had to move slowly and love, love, love on her. Which is our favorite thing to do, anyway! So, today when the doctor said we needed to do blood work, it broke my heart all over again. But, she was so brave! Yes, we did have a few tears but she was smiling again as soon as it was over.

God's grace.

2009-06-08T18:27:00.007-05:00

"My grace is sufficient for you,
for My power is made perfect in weakness."

2 Corinthians 12:9
My weakness was overwhelming as I watched my sick baby undergo test after test and there is nothing I could do to make her better. But, the Lord's grace is sufficient and His power was made perfect in my weakness.
Although many tears were shed, through the Lord's grace all our fears were calmed.
Your prayers were not in vain.
What a mighty God we serve!

Most of you know that we spent the weekend in the hospital with Aubri. We found out that her high fever was a result of a UTI. Because of this diagnosis a few further test were done to access the cause and damage that may have occurred due to the infection. Praise the Lord there was not any damage to her kidneys! We did find out that Aubri has vesicourteteral reflux. You can read more about this here if you are interested. We will be seeing a pediatric urologist at the end of the month to see where we should go from here.

Wes and Aubri in our hospital room.
Wes called her "Aubri Transformer" because of her huge IV. ha!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers. We were so comforted by all the emails, text messages, and phone calls we received. We love you guys!

Amanda Marie

2009-06-05T16:08:00.003-05:00

My cousin Amanda had back surgery today. The surgery went well and she is currently in recovery. Please pray for quick healing and comfort for the days to come.

I Love Suprises!

2009-06-05T14:58:00.008-05:00

Well, we had a few nice surprises today.

First, this morning I opened up my front door to find that someone (anyone want to take credit??) had left a high chair on my front porch! This is a big blessing as Aubri has started cereal and we have yet to get her proper seating! So, a big thanks to whoever dropped this off!

It doesn't have a chair pad in it so, I thought I might try my hand at making one. I recently bought some Heat N' Bond Iron-on vinyl that I thought would be good to use so I can wipe out the mess...but I don't know exactly how to use it. Anyone have any pointers for me? I'll let you know how this goes...could be interesting.

Second surprise...take a look for yourself!

YAY! She looks so proud of herself, doesn't she?!?

Boxcar Baby

2009-06-03T21:22:00.003-05:00

Today, Aubri took a ride around the house in her homemade boxcar!
She thought it was so funny,
but, when I got the camera out she quit smiling! Silly Girl!

Mt. Magazine Wedding and Reunion

2009-06-03T09:33:00.003-05:00

We headed to Mount Magazine for my cousin Jon's wedding and a Taylor reunion (my mom's side). Wes and Aubri had a chance to meet some of my family for the first time! Wes had heard stories of how crazy we get when we are all together but he got to see it first hand this weekend! Here are a few pictures (courtesy of mom and aunt cheryl) of the beautiful wedding and crazy times...

Be sure to visit the Beller Brood to see my mom doing the Cha-Cha!

Fun times and not so fun times

2009-05-28T15:28:00.005-05:00

It's been a while since our last post. We have had a whole bunch going on! Let me catch you up...

Wes's best friend, Cliff, and his wife, Nichole (also a good friend of ours), and their gorgeous daughter, Georgia, came to visit us for Memorial Day weekend! It had been almost 2 years since we had seen our good friends. We had never met Georgia and she is is already over 1 year old! My how things have changed in 2 years! Ha! So, the dads golfed, the moms sewed, and the babies played! It was a great relaxing weekend.

Until Monday...
Monday morning I woke up very sick with a high fever. Yuck! Wes was such a sweetie and watched Bri so I could take a few good naps that afternoon. And then Tuesday it was Aubri's turn...

Tuesday morning, Aubri woke up with a cough and a fever. I took her in to see her doc and he confirmed a viral infection. There is little that can be done for someone so young. Tuesday night her fever went way up.

Wednesday her fever went back down.

Wednesday night, she cried and coughed ALL night long!

SO, we headed back to see the doc today. I was afraid the infection may have gone to her ears! Praise the Lord that it hasn't! It is just going to take a few days to get over this virus.

This is yet another reminder that I must trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding but in all my ways acknowledge Him and He will direct my paths.(Proverbs 3:5-6)

Thank you so much for those of you who have prayed for our family during this time.

Weekend Travels

2009-05-19T23:19:00.005-05:00

Wes had a great opportunity to visit a Weekender Conference at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in D.C. this past weekend. A weekender conference allows pastors, students, elders, etc. the opportunity to observe a healthy New Testament Church. Wes had a great time and was able to build some great friendships while he was there.
Since, I knew he was going to be gone for a few day, I made plans to take Aubri to Texarkana. My cousin, Amber was recently married in VEGAS (whoohoo!) and was having a reception for friends and family to attend. We were able to stay with Mamaw and Papaw, as well as see some cousins that I had not seen in a very long time! We had a great time! So great, in fact, that I completely forgot to take pictures! Here are the few that I have...

You can go to The Beller Brood to see pictures of the wedding reception.
Congratulations, Amber and Danny!

Yum Yum Cereal Time!

2009-05-10T14:58:00.004-05:00

Before...

During...

After...

Look at the excitement in those toes!
Wes thinks that both, me and Aubri, speak through our feet! Ha!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T14:33:00.004-05:00

Happy Mother's Day, Moms!

I must admit that I have a new favorite holiday! Wes and Aubri made this weekend so special for me! I have some big shoes to fill once Father's Day rolls around!

Last night, Wes and Aubri took me to one of my favorite spots, The Ol' South Pancake House, to have some breakfast for dinner. As we were sitting, sippin' on some coffee, we remembered the last time we had eaten there was the day before Mother's Day last year. We had just told our parents that we were expecting! Fun memories!

This morning, Wes and Aubri woke my up by singing the "Happy Mother's Day" song. The day has continued to be filled with wonderful memories!

Mother's Day 2009

4 month check-up

2009-05-06T12:50:00.005-05:00

I was a little nervous about taking Aubri to the pediatrician for her 4 month check up since we have had a few confirmed cases of the swine flu here in Fort Worth. However, once I arrived at the pediatrician's office, I was pleased to see that anyone who is feeling any flu-like symptoms are quarantined so that they will not contaminate the waiting room. Also, at the check-in desk they had hand sanitizer for me to use as well as wipes they used to clean the desk in between each patient/patient's parent. So, this overprotective parent was able to rest easy.

I know I have mentioned this before, but I must say it again... I LOVE going to the doctor's office! Of course, I don't like seeing Aubri get shots (this time was harder for me than the last time...it just breaks my heart!!). But, I love to talk about Aubri and so does Dr. Crawford, so we just sit and chat it up about this sweet lil' thing!

Aubri's doctor says that she is growing just as she should be and that we get to start rice cereal as soon as we feel that Aubri is ready for it. (Did you hear that Papa T? Rice Cereal! I knew you would be excited!) She watched Aubri's movements and tested her ability to hold her head up. She thinks that Aubri is very close to rolling over. YEA! That will be a fun milestone!

Here's a few pictures of Aubri waiting for Dr. Crawford to come in for her checkup. I couldn't decide which one to post, so you get to see them all.

She weighs a whoppin' 12 lbs. 6 oz. and she is 24 3/4 inches long.

Now that Aubri is 4 months old I thought I would share a little bit of what she has been up to!
-She is "talking" ALL the time.
-She has her hands in her mouth almost constantly!
-She has found her feet and has started pulling off her socks.
-She loves to make spit bubbles.
-She still hates tummy time.
-She thinks the sound of toots are funny. (Not real ones, but the ones you make with your mouth.- I have a video of this on my phone, I am trying to figure out how to upload it.)
-She is sleeping about 11 hours every night! WOO HOO!
-She eats about every 3 to 3 1/2 hours.
-She is down to only 3 naps a day!
-She has graduated to size 2 diapers!