Halloween 2009

Well, it was an interesting Halloween. It was a turning point for us. It was the first year my little baby wanted to be something gruesome. Little Gerry begged. He pleaded. He threw the "all the other kids are doing it" in my face. And after some careful thought, I decided not to fight this battle. I gave in. I surrendered. My precious boy chose to be the grim reaper- the angel of death. I talked to him about who the grim reaper is thinking that maybe that would deter him. Unfortunately, that backfired. The truth about the grim reaper lecture only made him more appealing. Especially when we found the costume with the glowing red eyes and large, creepy scythe. One thing I was not prepared for was the explanation all of my neighbors and friends would require. They know we go to church. They know this is uncharacteristic for us. So, embarrassed, I had to come up with lame reasons on why I let my child be the angel of death. And with each new conversation, I regretted my surrender more and more.

One of the things God is always pointing out to me is His sense of humor. And this situation would prove to be another opportunity for God to laugh at me. The Sunday after Halloween, we went to children's mass at church. Father Don asked all the kids what they were for Halloween. Yep, you guessed it. My son proudly raised his hand and announced to the whole church that he was the Grim Reaper. And while Father Don was holding the microphone for my son's announcement, he was staring straight at me with the "I'll see you in confession this week" look on his face. So, thanks God for the message. Next time I will fight the battle.

Ben on the other hand was Ben. He refused to wear a costume. He did not care that all the other kids were wearing a costume. There was nothing I could do to convince him to wear a costume. So, I went trick or treating with them both while having to apologize to my neighbors for Gerry's costume and then explain to my neighbors why I was carrying around Ben's costume. And I don't know why Ben insisted on sitting in the blue chair for the picture, but he did. So there they are. And I am glad this Halloween is over.

Wakeland Places 4th at State!

We are so proud to announce that the 32 year-old coon-ass band director from Ken-nuh did very well at his first rodeo!  Wakeland placed 4th which is astonishing for their first visit to the Texas 4A State Marching Band competition.  It is the first time a Frisco ISD band has made finals at state.  Our family is very proud of Gerry and all his students!  What a great experience!  Here is their UIL area show.  The video quality on their state performance isn't as great.  The video seems to take forever to load so please be patient.

Wakeland is Going to State

So, first of all, I apologize for not blogging here in a while.  This summer, Gerry went on the road with the Cadets and I started a home childcare business.  So life was very crazy.  I did manage to keep my sanity by blogging a few times on my other blog.  But since we were just hanging on by a thread this summer, there wasn't much to write about here.  Until now.

Wakeland High is going to the state marching contest.  Yes folks, my husband is the man.  He rocks.  He is livin' the dream.  His band earned a spot in the state marching band contest- in TEXAS- the most competitive marching band state in the union.  And there is hope that he will finish in the top 10- perhaps even in the top 5(knock on wood).  I couldn't be more proud of him.

In order to get the students all hyped up for the contest, Gerry is putting together a wall of inspiration.  He invited everyone he knows to write a letter to post on the wall in order to inspire the band to live up to their potential.  I have written such a letter.  And since this is my blog, I get to post it here:

I have seen you from the beginning. I saw the Wakeland Band form, grow and become the inspiring organization it is today- you are today. And I am so proud of you.

My family has made many sacrifices for the Wakeland Band. Mr. Miller has worked countless hours. He has spent time away from me and the kids in order to inspire you to become the young people he knows you can be. He has worried about you, counseled you, challenged you, prayed for you and loved you like his own children. Although it is a challenge to loan him to you so often, we gladly do it. And in doing so, we share in the joy of seeing a group of young people live up to their own potential and add that much more hope to our future world.

You have already won the prize. You have made friendships that will endure through the ups and downs of a lifetime. You have learned life lessons that will prepare you for an unknown world. You have learned to work together to create a beauty that begins where words end. You have developed a self-discipline that many people will spend a lifetime working to gain. You have given of yourself for the greater good of each other. All of these experiences are far greater than a title.

So, with all my love, I send you off to show the world who you are. Show them who you have become. Give them a taste of the greatness you see in each other. Leave your stamp on their hearts. Live your dream. And know that I couldn’t be more proud of you than I am at this moment.

Love,
Mrs. Miller
 
I have learned that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

–Henry David Thoreau

Matthew 5: 14-16

Love you Gerry!  I am so proud of you:)

Gerry's First Communion

Gerry celebrated his first communion this past Sunday. He is so grown up! He did a great job in all of his preparations and was very excited to receive his first communion. Both sets of Grandparents were there along with Gerry's great grandmother, Nanee. Afterwards, we had a very grown up brunch at the house with a cake designed by Gerry and made by his Mom. Thanks to all who have impacted our little man's spiritual journey so far. We are looking forward to watching him grow into his faith as he grows out of his second set of pants this year(I have threatened to stop feeding him if he keeps it up. I can't afford to buy two wardrobes in one winter!)

Graduation Campout

Mommy (without Daddy) took Little Gerry to the graduation camp out for cub scouts. Mommy is fully expecting a fabulous Mother's Day celebration since she was so willing to endure the harsh conditions of camping alone with Gerry. Mommy has already blogged about the wonderful event on her other blog(link in links). Enjoy the pictures.

Catching up on the Blogs

So sorry that I haven't been keeping up with the blog. Life got busy. Here are a few highlights of the Miller family in the past several months.

Mom's 60th Birthday Party

Despite the fact we told everyone at Outback that she was turning 60, she had a great time. We came up for a little bit of a surprise visit. You know you can surprise them once they get to be this old so I gave her a little notice of our arrival. We had a great time celebrating with Lisa's family and Mom loved having all her grandkiddos in one place.

Ben's 2nd Birthday

We had a little party with a few of Ben's friends from school. Ben loved having them over to play. Of course we had an Elmo party complete with Elmo cake made by his loving Mother.

Trip to Jackson


For Spring Break, we traveled to Jackson to see our God Son/Nephew get baptized. It was great to see little Zachary and Kyle and Kari and to spend time with all the Millers. We managed to visit the zoo and the "Museum with the Dinosaurs" while we were there.

Gerry's 9th Birthday


Gerry celebrated his 9th birthday with a sleep over party. He had a few friends over for some silly string, and Star Wars. They had a great time and Mom survived having all the boys over while Daddy was not home.

That is all for now! Have a great Easter!

The Ongoing Fight

For those of you who don't know, we have two dogs. There is Sammy- the old grouchy Cocker Spaniel who loves little Gerry to death. And then there is Max- our new Pom puppy. Well, he is really my puppy. He is still quite annoying so the rest of the family brings him to me when they have had enough of him. For being old and grouchy, Sammy has had a lot of patience with Max. However, there is one domain he is not willing to share- the toys. Sammy is the keeper of the toys. And as long as Sammy is guarding the toy, Max wants it. Max isn't as interested in toys that are left unguarded. There is one toy in particular that they fight over viciously. It is Sammy's favorite, so of course Max makes it his life goal to get it from Sammy. There is lots of barking and growling with the occasional lashing out. Once, Sammy actually made Max scream with his vicious lashing out while protecting this toy.

In the best interests of Max's life and Sammy's sanity and all of our ears, I decided to invest in another coveted red squeaky ball. We brought it home today and promptly gave it to Sammy. We gave the other to Max and let them go their separate ways with their precious, identical toys. About 45 minutes later, Sammy discovered the ruse. He managed to trick Max into leaving his red ball unguarded and swiped it. And now he is guarding BOTH red squeaky balls. I think that I am going to loose my mind soon!

Our Very Own MVM!

We are proud to report that Gerry won the Most Valuable Maverick award for his class along with his friend Will for the month of January! We were all able to be there to see him get his award. We couldn't be more proud of our little young man!

Our proud MVM!

Two of his close friends also got MVM awards!

Our MVMs with their proud teacher.

The Underwear Chronicles

I have had two conversations with my husband recently that have been a little funny. I thought you would appreciate them. Here you go:

Conversation #1: Emergency Preparation- Underwear

Scene: We are packing for a trip to San Antonio to attend a conference. The suitcases are open and we are trying to decide if we can get away with bringing just one suitcase for the three day conference.

Lori: It's only three days. Lets see if we can scale down and fit all your stuff in with mine.

Gerry: If you can take some stuff out of here, then we can make this work.

(Lori watches as Gerry takes our her boots, hair dryer and pajamas- all things he does not consider to be essential to this trip)

Gerry: Now I think we can do it. (He proceeds to pack his underwear and socks into her suitcase.)

Lori: I thought that we were only going for three days.

Gerry: We are.

Lori: Then why are you packing seven pairs of underwear?

Gerry: In case there is an emergency.

Lori: What kind of emergency are you planning for that requires you to bring twice as much underwear as you are going to need?

Gerry: I don't know.... my Mom always told me to pack extra underwear.

Lori: I am not sure I want to travel with you if you are going to have an emergency that requires you to use all that underwear.

(Gerry starts to take out some of the underwear. He decides to leave two extra pairs- just in case.)

Conversation #2: More Underwear

Gerry: I'm going to Walmart. Do you need anything?

Lori: I could use some new panties.

Gerry: Really? (in an excited tone) You want me to get them for you?

Lori: Sure.

Gerry: Well, what kind should I buy? Bikini?

Lori: I like the low cut bikinis.

Gerry: (a little more excited) What size should I get?

Lori: 6

Gerry: Is there any particular fabric you like- cotton, silk?

Lori: Either is fine.

Gerry: (eyes widening) What colors do you like?

Lori: White or flesh so they don't show through.

Gerry: (pausing to take in the mental picture) Do I have a budget?

Lori: I don't know- $10 should work. I didn't know this was going to require so much questioning.

Gerry: I got it. I will be back!
(he leaves the house with much more excitement for a trip to Walmart than I have ever seen him leave in the past. I must not be following through on my New Year's resolutions.)

I forgot to blog about Ben's meeting with Santa. We had prepped him. We talked about Santa's generosity and kindness. We showed him pictures and read him stories. Ben even started to say the word Santa as Christmas approached. But our prepping was to no avail. He was not happy about sitting on the lap of a man with a long white beard wearing a silly furry red suit. He was not having any part of it what so ever.

Christmas at the Millers

I know that I have been slow in posting about Christmas. Many apologies. Aside from Ben's bout with RSV, we had a great time. Little Gerry got his Nintendo DS complete with Star Wars games. Ben got many toys related to Elmo and his very own table and chairs. We were excited to see them have a fun Christmas and to share it with my parents who were here fresh from the frontier and Gerry's parents who were coming back after visiting their newest grandchild in Jackson. Here are a few pictures. Enjoy!

My Child is Brainwashed by McDonalds

At about 5:30 this evening, I decided that I was hungry, tired and lazy and there was no relief in sight because my husband was in Abilene. I also had both of my children and Gerry's friend Will over. So, I thought that maybe we could go to McDonald's for dinner. I am a little health conscience and I watch what my family eats. Therefore, we never go there so it is a shocker to my children when it is suggested. I don't know about you, but aside for the fact it isn't very healthy, McDonald's is not my first choice when it comes to food. The older I get, the more often I suffer from the McGurgles.

At any rate, after asking Will's Mom if it was okay, I told the boys that we were going to McDonald's for dinner. You would have thought I told them we were going to Disney World. They were soooo excited- running through the house, pretending to faint, talking fast and loud about the toys they could have this week, etc... I was amazed at their response. So that got me to thinking. How has McDonald's brainwashed our children? When did this happen?

When I was a kid, I remember that I loved to go to McDonald's. I think that McDonald's and Burger King were the only restaurants that had the kids meal with the toy so that was a big draw for me. Other than that, I am not quite sure why I liked it so much. I could have been that I got my very own meal in a McDonald's-shaped box. Or maybe it was Ronald McDonald and his gang of friends- I remember those commercials on T.V. Now that I think about it- was I brainwashed too? I must not have been if I am not a lifetime lover of the place. Right?

So, now back to my question. How has my child been brainwashed? I watch T.V. and I do not recall seeing a recent McDonald's commercial. Are they in the schools? Is there something addictive to children about their food? Are there subliminal messages in the video games? I just don't get it. I would like to get to the bottom of this mystery....