blessings and worship and a baby

Oh hello, little blog! So glad you're still here after my 8 week hiatus due to a cute little somebody coming into our lives. It has been the happiest/craziest/hardest/most exhausting 8 weeks I've ever experienced, and I knew it would be but you never truly know and understand until your in the trenches of pain, 2 am feedings, worry, puke, and diapers. But more on all that later…

It is a balmy -21 degrees with a windchill of -47 degrees today. The fireplace is roaring and Jack and I are preparing to have a long snuggle/nap session this afternoon to the tune of The Office and fleece blankets. I've already eaten breakfast, showered, and nursed Jack, who is now snoozing in his swing, so I'm feeling particularly productive and cozy on this Monday morning. Just within the past week, Jack is starting to get into a little routine and I've been able to count on things like eating, quiet time, naps, and checking my email. It's been awesome, and something I am not taking for granted! I read this this morning in "My Utmost for His Highest":

Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship. If you hoard a thing for yourself, it will turn into spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded. God will never let you hold a spiritual thing for yourself, it has to be given back to Him that He may make it a blessing to others.

I couldn't help but think that the blessing the text talked about was this new little life God has given us. We must commit him and his life to the Lord so He can do great things through Jack.Yes, as a mother I'd love to keep him under my wing of protection to shield him from the hurt, pain, and trials of this world, but as parents we are commanded to dedicate our child to God, the one who gave us this blessing in the first place.

I am so amazed at how much joy and pride my baby brings me. I honestly think he is the cutest baby boy I've ever seen. :) And yes, for the first few weeks, he didn't do much except eat, sleep, poop, and cry. But just within the past week or so, he's started cracking smiles, cooing, and showing us how strong he is with his crazy kicking. It's crazy how much my heart bursts when he looks up at me and cracks a little side grin and then lets out a little gurgle. I have LOVED the newborn stage where it's all about a tiny, cuddly baby, but I'm so excited for this next phase of development - when he's still small and cuddly, but also so smiley and responsive. Love it!

baby shower #2

Well, it's the middle of October and it's starting to look like fall. This year's fall season seems to be a little later than usual, which I am totally fine with. I'll take a long fall season any day. And the beginning of this year's fall was also the beginning of baby showers. I am so blessed to have family and friends who want to literally shower me, Tim, and the baby with gifts, blessings, prayers, and advice. My sister hosted baby shower #2 and did an excellent job. It was so darn cute! Check out all the cute details she put into it...

How fabulous are those cupcakes?! And the tree stumps and striped straws and diaper "cake" and... It was a great little party, full of special touches and special ladies.

And speaking of fabulous, a dear friend designed the shower invitation, which you can check out here. So adorable!

girls weekend

Tara, me, Mom, and Grandma D. at Munsinger Gardens

This past weekend was what I would call a quintessential girls weekend. We shopped, enjoyed the new deck, stayed up late, got up early to go to garage sales, and of course ate some really good food. Tim was around to level out the amount of estrogen flowing around by doing things like digging a new fire pit, making coffee, and mowing the lawn.

The girls didn't come empty handed, either.

They brought
+ crocheted goods and a baby blanket Grandma said she made awhile ago that she's been saving for her first grandbaby
+ a bag full of girl clothes and a bag full of boy clothes. wonder which bag we'll be reaching for in 5 months...?
+ embroidered day-of-the-week tea towels
+ a beautiful pot of flowers for the new deck
+ food! there was fresh radishes, asparagus, lettuce, homemade bread, and cinnamon rolls

I love these women not for just their love languages of gift giving and food making, but for their wisdom and zest for life. I admire them and am blessed to have them as a part of my life.

happy father's day

nothing says "happy father's day" like a new wheelbarrow

Happy (first!) Father's Day to my man. I am so blessed to be your wife and help mate. Thank you for you cleaning up the kitchen after I go to bed. Thank you for loving things like house projects, mowing the lawn, and shoveling snow. Thank you for appreciating my family as much as I do. Thank you for praying for me. And like I've said before, I'm so excited to begin this new chapter of parenthood with you. I know it will be tough at times and we'll feel like we have no idea what we're doing, but we'll learn and grow together. I love you.

And happy Father's Day to my dad, the man who set the bar high as far as fathers go. I'm very blessed to have a dad like you - someone strong and encouraging and loving and not afraid to call me up just to check in. I love you.

but before we go...

As excited as I am for our trip, this week is significant for another reason, too. Did you know that I've been keeping a secret for the past 12 weeks? That's right, we're taking a "hitch hiker" all the way to Yellowstone a.k.a. there will be another Miller in the world come November 2013! Holy cow, I can't even believe how awesome it feels to say that! I've honestly relished the fact that this has been our little secret for the past few months, passing the evenings of "morning" sickness by pinning things to my secret baby Pinterest board, but with the first big appointment under our belts (we heard our baby's strong and fast heartbeat!) and the fact that everything is pointing to normal/healthy, I just can't keep it in any longer. So this trip will be even more special than we even thought it would be. We are so blessed and happy and ecstatic. God is so good!

So with that, I'd like to leave you with a little video that captures just some of the joy that has already come from this little one. To give a little context to the video, I had just handed Grandma D. a skein of baby yarn and asked her to make something for me. She didn't quite get it right away, but when she did...

we're having a baby! from Erica Miller on Vimeo.

moving day

Can I just tell you how thankful and blessed I am? So much has happened in the past few days that has literally stopped me in my tracks. God is so good. On Thursday, Grandma M. called to report that the cancer found in body last fall has dwindled to less than 1% and the doctors are calling her cancer free. On Friday Mandy took her nursing board exams and passed, officially giving her the title of R.N. And as of Friday, we have officially joined the homeowners club! I've had to pinch myself several times over the last few days. I am so thankful.

As for the house buying/moving - everything went so smoothly that at one point I was waiting for the we-don't-have-the-right-documents moment or the there's-mold-growing-all-over-the-house discover. The only downer was breaking a glass pitcher that I had bought at Walmart for $5. And I'm pretty sure we moved in record time - everything was in the house and our apartment was cleaned for inspection by Saturday afternoon. Amazing. We couldn't have done it without our Miller Moving Team! 

Right after our final walk through.

Moving in the first U-haul load.

Our official moving day mascots!

The first morning in our new home.

Enjoying pizza in the sunroom after a long day of moving/cleaning.

We are getting settled in, although it still sort of feels like I'm house-sitting or on vacation. It doesn't feel like "our home" just yet. Tim is loving every single minute of it. He's spent that last 2 humid nights cleaning and organizing the garage. His goal is to get it so clean that you can walk in the garage with white socks. I love that man. Painting is next on my list, and I've recruited Mom to help me this weekend. Stay tuned for some before-and-after pics!

packing up

It's here - the week we move! Big life changes are always a sort of surreal experience for me - graduating from college, getting married - in that I wake up each morning and think, "This is the last morning I will..." And this week is no different, and being the nostalgic/sentimental girl that I am, I keep thinking how much I will actually miss things about this little apartment of ours. I'll miss the coziness, the view out our patio door, the fact that if something breaks (aka the washing machine) it's someone else's expense. It's been a good little place for us during the past year.


This is also a big week for other reasons:

• Grandma M. had her 100 day check-up yesterday to determine if the medicine/chemo worked enough to put her into remission. I talked to her last night and she sounded tired, but good. Now the hardest part - waiting for the results.
• Mandy takes her board exams this week! I know she's a total wreck stressed to the max, but throughout all of nursing school, she rocked any and every test she had to take. So proud of you, Nurse Mandy!

Thank you, Lord, for these blessings and celebrations in life. I owe you everything.

our weekend :: birthdays & vacations

We just spent a wonderful weekend along the beautiful North Shore of our beloved Minnesota with my family. It's such a blessing that we all have such a great time together. There was much laughter, good food, and a little R&R by a giant Minnesota lake. We...

• stayed in a cabin overlooking Lake Superior
• ate breakfasts of omelets and pancakes on the deck each morning
• slept with the windows open
• fished for northern
• took in the sites of some of the most beautiful MN state parks
• stuffed ourselves with pasties and pie at Betty's Pies
• got sunburnt
• explored Canal Park and its museums and antique stores
• celebrated father's day/mom's birthday/Tim's birthday all in one night

Now it's Sunday night and as we watch the storm clouds roll out our patio door, it's sinking in that this is the week we've been waiting so long for. It's officially we-become-homeowners week! The boxes have been found, the lists have been made, and we have a goal of not buying any groceries this week. Let the craziness begin!

Dinner guests

Guess who came to visit? Matt and Marji and my fave little Evelyn! They were car shopping in St. Cloud and stopped by for a grill out and lawn games. Evie liked sitting outside, staring at the sky. So Marji put her little cardigan on (so cute), wrapped her up, and she quickly fell asleep. What a little trooper. It's stuff like this that makes me so thankful we close to family.

Girls Weekend

While Tim and the boys were out canoeing, camping, and hiking, we (mom, Grandma D, Tara, and I) had a little girls weekend in St. Cloud. It was one of those weekends that was just so fun and relaxing and comfortable. I love being around people who know me, really know me; it's just so comforting. Some highlights from this weekend:

• Sunshine and a 75 degree Saturday afternoon
• An hour long tour of our new house
• Lunch at The White Horse
• Walking in and out of little shops downtown
• Sitting up late and solving all the problems of the world
• Laughing

So now it's Sunday afternoon, the rain has arrived, and the crew has left for home. This weekend was just one more reminder of my blessed life.