Owen and Amelia - Too Cute!

Check out the arm band.

Kids and their blankets.

Peaceful sleep (now only if she'd do that through the night!)

I believe this is the first time they have made eye contact - ever.

The princess on her throne. Okay, so its kind-of a cheap throne, but it works.

Please note two things:

1) WILD hair.

2) Does his shirt look a little too small? Who do you think dressed him - Mommy or Daddy? Hard to tell, I know.

4/5 Miller Family Photo

Well, here it is - 4/5 of our Miller Fam. And, might I add, the first picture of the four of us together.

I suppose I should've done my hair.

Bright Eyes

It is a rare thing indeed to catch Amelia with her eyes wide open. But tonight I succeeded!

We also found out she has super powers. With one look from her eyes, she can melt the heart of Daddy and Mommy! Must...not...look...directly...

Darn Johnny Jump-Up

So Owen's jumping in his Johnny Jump-Up, when all of a sudden, he didn't jump up anymore. Now he's walking around like this all day... I'm sure he'll be okay, though. =)

[actually, he was playing with the toy you see in the bottom of picture - but didn't get up from that position for a good little while]

This is the Life!

Gotta be the Stripes

Finally Home

Hospital Stay - Day 3

Hospital Stay - Day 2

That Crazy Stork

Stork bites are considered to be a slight discoloration on the skin of a newborn that fades in time. If you look closely at the comparison shot above (you have to click on the picture to enlarge it), you will notice that the stork that delivers our children is VERY particular about where he "bites" them (see foreheads and eyelids for proof). However, it is apparent that Amelia's "bites" are almost an exact mirror image of the boys' (Micah-left, Owen-center). Crazy, huh? Oh yah, it's crazy alright - CRAZY STORK!

Bonus Princess Pics

Announcing the Arrival of the Princess =)

First things first:

I'm exhausted.

(I just heard hundreds of women snicker in unison, "You're exhausted? WHAT ABOUT YOUR WIFE?!")

Good point.

But truth be told - for both Jenna and I - 38+ weeks of waiting, eagerly anticipating the arrival of little Amelia - all boil down to one day. Today. So I'll talk about today (very briefly, mind you) - but in a moment... first of all, let us get past this silly "Guess Amelia's weight" thing. =) I'm not going to come right out with her weight - that would be too easy. Instead, I will mention by name, those who have received "honorable mention".

Many, many thanks to all who decided to "weigh in" on the subject. We did it for pure fun, but found that many of you are rabidly passionate about your guesses. =) Seriously - we had 54 distinct responses!! Thanks to all who participated and made it that much more fun!

So, of the 54 people who guessed, we had nurses, doctors, military members, professional mothers, students, members of the clergy - even concerned grandparents, just to name a few. Without further ado, the list of those who receive honorable mention for getting the "pounds" right - in no particular order:

Billie Ebel – 7-3
Angela Tritle – 7-14
Jill Nelson – 7-1
Sue Pompeo – 7-6
Joni Sherman – 7-2
Andrea Hren – 7-3
Kathy Jaso – 7-1
Nathan Howard – 7-13
The Carrolls – 7-3
Marcy Pacheko – 7-1
Beth Harp and Nikki Voss – 7-6
Cyndi Langhans – 7-6
Sarah Ekman – 7-12
Vicki Fukai – 7-3 (and 20 inches)
Cathy Miller – 7-6
Mary Baker – 7-6.5

The previously mentioned folk have won accolades and applause, and hopefully, a warm-n-fuzzy feeling =) Now, onto the meat of the matter...

Those who receive SUPER honorable mention, due to 1) getting the pounds right, and 2) getting within 2 ounces of the birthweight:

Taja Burke – 7-7
Laura Watkins – 7-11
Melody Peterson – 7-11

What do they win? You guessed it: accolades and applause, and hopefully, a warm-n-fuzzy feeling =)

Now: THE SUPER-DUPER honorable mention award goes to the following, all for guessing within 1 piddly little ounce of the actual birthweight:

James Tritle – 7-8
Melanie Weaver – 7-10
Shelly – Day Recep at SHMC – 7-10

These three individuals, for their undoubtedly torturous and difficult angst in determining Amelia's birthweight, have won treats. =)

When all is said and done, though, all of you reading this email receive the super-duper honorable mention friendship award from us. =) [enough cheeeeze already - ON WITH THE PICS!]

Everything went well with Amelia's birth. She was born at 7:49 a.m. She weighed 7 lbs 9 ozs, and was 19 ½ inches long. She also can already do long division and simple calculations.

The only downer today was the fact that Jenna's spinal didn't work so well. First time in three children. So they had to give her general anesthesia - knocking her out cold. That, combined with silly hospital policy, meant that neither of us saw the birth of our daughter. HOWEVER - as sad as we were about that (or angry in my case), we are even more thankful that Amelia is healthy and whole, and that Jenna came through with flying colors. On a side note - I was also able to give Amelia her first two shots!! (thanks again Julie!) And Owen seems to take to her with great enjoyment mixed with curiosity.

That's it in a nutshell. We're still at Sacred Heart. We'd love to see you or hear from you, be it by phone or email. But even if we never hear from another soul again, we still believe words cannot describe how thankful we are to have friends and family like you!!! God is far too good to us. Sometimes it's hard to comprehend, let alone embrace. Okay - teary eyed now. Best be wrapping up. =)

Enjoy the following pics of lil Amelia. There are more to be found on our website. Just go there and scroll down.

Off to bed I go, for tomorrow awaits...

In His Love,

The Miller Fam - E, J, M, O and A
Look our family up at http://millerlights.blogspot.com

Guess Amelia's Weight!

So here's the deal - guess Amelia's birthweight. The winner will receive.... applause and accolades - and maybe a warm and fuzzy feeling. The only help we can give you is history: Micah weighed 9 lbs 5 ozs, Owen weighed 7 lbs 15 ozs. So add a comment to this post, and tell us what you think she'll weigh.

On a side note, I'm "weighing in" at plus or minus 6 ozs from Owen's weight. Jenna's thoughts? "She'll be huge."

Back to the Future

"Micah-Moo"

"Lil Obens"

We are now officially less than 3 days away from the arrival of our newest little addition. In honor of this fact, I wanted to share our favorite baby pics of Micah and Owen (as if we could limit ourselves to just one). Each were taken before we left the hospital. Now, only a few more days before we add another. Praise be to God!

Our Son the Artist

Today Owen drew his first picture without any help from mom! If you look very carefully, you can see two different colored lines. Wow - he's getting so old!

(and yes, the picture currently resides on our fridge.) =)

Reach Out and Touch Someone

Another pregnancy pic - one of my favorites!

MAN WHO NEEDS ATTENTION: our friend J

This is our friend J. I mentioned him in our family update - he's one of the ones who got us into this blogging thing. He has bugged (I mean told) us about blogs for yeeeears now - at least since 2004. NOTE: J is the one who FIRST mentioned the word "blog" to us - before it was ever popular. In fact, much like Al Gore "invented" the internet, J created this whole "blogging" phenomenom our country now experiences. In fact, you can see the labors of his passion at http://dossclan.blogspot.com.

J is an incredible man. There is no one like J. His intellect is unsurpassed, his humor unequaled. Just look at him - he is so pretty. I have never met a man like J. J has 17 children, works 5 jobs, and is still a devoted husband, consumer, and all-around good guy.

What word does "J" stand for? Absolutely nothing. But it doesn't need to stand for anything. One letter is all that is needed to define the man, the power, the one and only - J.

*P.S. Hey J - is this enough of a mention for ya? =) I know you told me in instant messenger that you've been waiting for something of substance about you on our blog, so I hope this makes up for our "brief mention" of you in our last update. =) Be careful what you ask for... Hee hee.

Miller Family Update 2005-11-07

Owen - almost 16 mos
Micah - almost 16 mos
Family at Cat Tails Zoological Park
Family at Newcastle Golf Resort in Newcastle, WA

Good day and God bless!

I hadn't realized how "busy" I've become until I looked up our last Miller Family Update - on Aug 24th. That's a little over two months ago. Quite a few things have happened since then. Very briefly, here's what I can think of right now:

We actually TOOK A VACATION! It was the first time in our almost 6 yrs as a married couple that we went on a "true" vacation (one not related to the death or birth of a child). I had four weeks off, and we decided we'd savor them while we could! We first went to the "westside", where we visited mostly family. We actually were able to visit some of my friends from high school, most of which I haven't seen since our wedding, or graduation. After the "westside", we went to Orondo, Washington (near Lake Chelan). Thanks to the generosity of a couple of our friends (thanks E and T!), we stayed in a summer home, and spent some time at various parks by the Columbia River. From there, we swung through Spokane overnight, and then continued on to Montana (nearabouts Missoula). The entire trip was simply fabulous!!! (It was also MUCH needed after a torturous Summer Qtr.)

Speaking of, I actually survived 2nd quarter (it really was as difficult as it was cracked up to be!). I practically had a test every week on about 10- 14 chapters of material. It was simply hideous. But thank the good Lord we made it through that one! I also completed the first half of this quarter - OB/Labor and Delivery/Mother-Baby care. That was incredible! So much so, in fact, that I fell in love with the field. It is the only field that currently is challenging Peds as a desired career for me. We'll see what happens with that one. To be able to care for a mother and her baby - that was something else.

bn mn bvn bn b c
,mn vc ////// NVC DSZXh
(that was Owen saying hi)

I had the privilege to speak at two Donor Family Gatherings as well - one in Spokane, the other in Seattle (Newcastle). Donor Family Gatherings are held once a year in Seattle, Spokane, and Montana. Their purpose is to bring together families of loved ones who have died and who donated organs or tissues. It is hosted by the NW Tissue Center, Lions Eye Bank, and other organizations. Both Family Gatherings were powerful events, and we were thankful to have had the experience of meeting others who have not only lost loved ones, but also some whose lives have been extended or made better by the gifts of donors.

Jenna has continued to amaze me with all that she does while growing a human life inside of her. She only recently stopped cleaning houses, and even still continues to serve at our church. However, with the oncoming addition of our new lil one, she realized that Micah's scrapbook, which she started some time ago, needed to be completed, lest it never get done. Needless to say, she has officially gone SCRAPBOOK CRAZY! She is so incredibly creative. To see what she has done with Micah's scrapbook, and now Owen's - words can't describe. =) I'm actually trying to figure out a way to take good pictures of the pages so I can post them on our blog. That one might take awhile, though.

Owen has grown from baby to little boy. He recently decided that walking was an okay thing. It's funny - Micah started walking at 14 and-a-half months. We figured Owen would have that beat by a long shot. Not so. Owen finally committed to walking at 15 months. Jenna was slightly concerned, as she apparently started walking herself at 9 months. Out of curiosity, she looked in my baby book to see when I started walking. Sure enough, I started walking at 17 years old. Well, okay - not quite that long. 17 months is a little more accurate. =) We Miller boys simply like to take our time... He also received his first haircut last week - at about 62 weeks old. "Why state it in weeks?" you may ask? Because Micah had his first haircut at 8 weeks. Just another example of how different but similar our boys are.

Alright - I didn't want to go on and on and on and on in this update, so I better cut to the quick. Here are a few things coming up on the horizon for our family:

In 8 days, Owen turns 16 months - near the same age Micah was when he died. We are of course excited for the milestone, but a little bit saddened by it as well.

In 11 days, our newest addition will be born!! No, I'm not psychic - just a planned c-sec, that's all. =) (I'm also not referring to our new lil addition's name yet because there are some who don't want to know the gender, let alone the name).

In 13 days, we celebrate our sixth anniversary!!! Wooo-hoo! We will dine on fine hospital cuisine. Too romantic, I know...

It has become apparent I have prattled on long enough. I can only send a few pics with this update, but will post many more on our blog (http://millerlights.blogspot.com/). If you happen to visit it, and wouldn't mind leaving us comments, please continue to do so - we love reading them! Some have told me they have to become blog members to post comments, but there actually is a way around that. You simply select "anonymous" when you post your comment, then you can add your name in the comment itself.

Others have said leaving comments doesn't work because they click the envelope and don't know what to do. To leave comments, you simply have to click on the word "comments" underneath each post. You can leave comments for as many pictures as you want, as often as you want. I have actually tried to update our blog frequently, and with the exception of this last week, have done fairly well. =) This update will be on there as well.

Whether or not we hear from you on the blog, we'd love to hear from you via email! Hope and pray you and yours are doing well!

Until lil A joins us "out here"...

In His Love,

Eric and Jenna (and M, O and A)

Aps, Ums, and...

So here is an email we received from some friends of ours. I literally laughed out loud at school when I read it. A few people looked at me funny.

I asked if I could share it, and they were kind enough to let us do so. Thanks B and A! (they, along with another friend - J - are the ones responsible for finally pushing us over the edge into blogville). Their original email text is below:

This made us laugh, so I just had to share it! (Yes, we are easily amused by our children!)

I gave Gavin a practice spelling test the other night. When he was finished he took it upon himself to label each set of words. For instance, "map, clap, and flap" were the "aps" words, etc. Here is the test...

This Year's Halloween Pics

That's our stud! We had a difficult time keeping the ball in his hands. Everytime he had it, he wanted to toss it. Later, he won the purple hat at our church's festival (with some help), and actually wanted it on his head the rest of the night!