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)