Our pond.

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.

-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...)

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.

(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!!

YAY! What a great day!!!

Resurrection Sunday

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!

“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)