A Little Wedding

 On Saturday, we hosted a little wedding...

Little Hearts

 I'm going to be very honest about my reality of motherhood right now.  Sometimes the sheer weight of the reality of my responsibility is crippling.

I am responsible for how six individual people are developing.  I am trying to make sure the become honest people, followers of Christ, responsible citizens, happy, well-adjusted grown ups.  Adults capable of love and healthy relationships.  Adults excited to learn and grow, and gainfully employed.  Adults with a good sense of humor, compassion, kindness, goodness, self-control, and gentleness.

Also, I'm trying to make sure they have a joyful childhood full of friendship, growth, learning, support, and love.  I want them to eat their veggies, and their vitamins, to wear warm clothing, respect their teachers, encourage their friends, be challenged in what they do, develop determination, build strong relationships with their siblings, and get enough individual attention from Hubby and me that they know how unique and special they are to us and to the world.

The weight of that responsibility times six children is enough to take my breath away... so I can't think about the magnitude of ALL of that very often.

That said, I am keenly aware of the little hearts that are growing and developing on my watch and in my home.  Especially the hearts of my little girls.

So, when I have the chance to nurture and resolve something that is unsettled in their little hearts, I do everything I can to pause and give my children the chance to work through a heart issue while its going on.

We've had two such instances this week.

On Wednesday, Lee Lee had a particularly hard day at school so much so that her teacher called to discuss things with me.  In this case, it was a definitely case of Lee Lee showing her independence and wanting to do things her own way (not the teacher's way) even it if meant Lee Lee made the whole day less fun for herself, she willfully choose to do things her own way.

She and I talked a lot about that on Wednesday evening and she completely admitted that she wanted to be in charge and made some poor choices at school and she was really sorry for the way she treated her teachers.

So, we spent time making, "I'm sorry" cards for her teachers and found time to take them by the school on Thursday.  We practiced what she was going to say, and discussed that you can say, "I'm sorry" with a smile because you're going to try to do better next time.

After we saw her teachers, delivered the cards, shared her apologies, and received instant forgiveness from her wonderful teachers, Lee Lee told me 3 times later that day how much better her heart felt since she said she was sorry to her teachers.  She said she is going to make such good choices the next time she's at school and can't wait to go back.

I love that her little heart is already feeling the heaviness of when you do something wrong, and then the joy and relief of making things right.

Thursday night, as I was tucking Caroline into bed, she began crying out of the blue and she shared that Thursday (that day) was her music teacher's last day and her music teacher was moving to be close to family.  Caroline was almost inconsolable as she explained how much she loved music class and how she didn't get to say good bye the way she wanted to her teacher.

Tracey saw Caroline so upset and soon was crying as well, sharing Caroline's sorrow, and upset herself regarding the music teacher leaving.

So, I told Caroline that I would make sure she could say a better goodbye to her teacher.  In cases like this, it really helps that Hubby and I work for the district, because I was able to track down the music teacher's number very quickly and asked if we could stop by very quickly for my kids to say one last good bye before she left.

First thing in the morning, Caroline was ready to make her card for her music teacher, and she had most of the day to prepare for saying goodbye.  For Caroline, that preparation is an important piece.  She can't always get her thoughts together on the spot the way she can when she has time to think things through in advance.  We headed over to the music teacher's home in the evening complete with our children's homemade cards and a small flowering plant we picked up at the store.

All three kids were able to say good bye, but Caroline especially had a chance to share what was on her heart about how much she was going to miss her teacher and how much she loved music class.  Obviously our going to say good bye did not change the disappointment that this teacher is leaving, but I hope it gave Caroline's little heart a little more closure and peace than she had on Thursday night.

I want my girls to known that if something does not feel right in their heart, that's God trying to get their attention, and there's something that they can do to regain peace.

Their little hearts are so incredibly precious.  

I sincerely pray that I nurture, and not damage, these individual sweet natures.

Not Every Night

 Well, that doesn't happen every night... which is one reason last night was AWESOME!

1000 Words

 1000 Words

We Don't Talk About Bruno

 Around my birthday, the kiddos made sure I sat down with them to watch their latest favorite movie, Encanto,

I have to confess... its now my latest favorite movie too.

I certainly enjoy good Disney movies, especially those with great music, and Encanto fits the bill.  The music is WONDERFUL, and it is a beautiful story about a multi-generation family.

One of the songs from Encanto, "We Don't Talk about Bruno", has officially surpassed "Let It Go" as the highest grossing Disney Song.

You should see my children singing and dancing to this song.

Sunset Birthday Gifts

 We've started to notice when particularly gorgeous sunsets occur on our birthdays.  We call them God's Birthday cards to us!

This was God's birthday card for Tracey.

Happy Birthday, Tracey Ann

 It's great to be EIGHT!!

Happy Birthday to our creative, humorous, inquisitive Tracey Ann.

This girl is a born inventor and artist.  If she has an idea, she is going to figure out a way to try it out over and over and over again.  She is constantly raiding our garage for boxes, wood, tape, and string to invent and create something.

She has matured SO much this year.  She used to give up pretty easily when something was hard.  This year, her determination has increased tremendously.

She enjoys swimming, ice skating, roller skating, sewing, art projects, science activities, reading, cooking (especially inventing her own recipes), animals, singing, dancing, and directing her siblings.  She says she wants to be a Marine Biologist and loves the idea of studying marine life.  She has become more athletic this year, and enjoys doing workout videos with Mama and takes Tumbling Classes during the week.

She has become so much more responsible this year and is such a help with her youngest siblings (Hunter and Brady).  She will be a wonderful baby-sitter in a few years.  She is very strong-willed and always wants things done her way, but she has worked incredibly hard this year at calming down and making better choices.

She is doing very well in school and has several close friends.  She is frequently asked to be "Class Boss" -- a helper to the teacher, which is SUCH a good job for her.

When I look back at the past 8 years, I really am blown away by the growing my little Tracey Ann has done THIS YEAR.  Age seven was SUCH a year of growing for her, and I am so excited that she is growing into a kind, and caring young lady who I not only love, but really like to spend time with.

Brady Christopher -- 8 Months

 And just like that, Brady turned eight months this past week.

I tell you, time it is a-flyin!

Here is Brady at 8 months of age:

And here is the comparison of all six kiddos at eight months of age:

Top left to right - Howard, Brady, Tracey

Bottom left to right - Lee Lee, Hunter, Caroline

Weight: 

18 pounds and a few ounces... unfortunately I know this because Brady came down with a nasty virus (not COVID) and we had to give him ibuprofen and Tyelonol to try to help him feel more comfortable, so we had to know his weight for the proper dosage.

Length:  

Maybe 26" or there abouts

Clothing size: 

I've just moved him out of all six month clothes, and out of most nine month clothing into primarily 12 month clothing.  This isn't because he's a big hulk of a baby, but rather has to do with the fact all his clothing is hand-me down that has either been worn by 2 older brothers, or 2 older cousins... so it has gone through some wear and tear and is a little shrunken.  My biggest challenge is to make sure the 12 month clothing is warm enough -- we seem to have a lot of 12 month summer clothing.

 

Eating:  

We have not found a food that Brady will not eat.  He certainly likes some foods more than others, there has not been anything that he has flat out spit out or refused to eat.  My brother brought us some fish he caught in Washington, and I cooked it in the air fryer this week and BRADY LOVED IT!  It was air-fryed in a panko bread crumb crust and super flakey, which yielded terrific bite-sized pieces for Brady and he ate SO much!

He still nurses before naps and when he doesn't feel well, but if there is any activity around when I'm trying= to nurse him, he ignores the milk and wants to watch the surrounding activity.

Sleeping:  

Are you ready... he FINALLY started sleeping through the night this month.

He had about 3 or 4 nights of sleeping through the night (12 hours or more), and then he had about 4 nights when he was very sick and up throughout the night, and I was very fearful that his old habits would come back due to the illness.  But last night, he was feeling better and slept about 10 hours... so I'm VERY hopeful that we may have turned a corner regarding his nighttime sleep habits.

Also, he had recently begun taking just one long nap a day as opposed to several short naps.

 

 

New Things/Discoveries/Accomplishments

• He can crawl, but he hasn't really realized that he can yet.
• He just started to go from his tummy to the sitting position, but again, I'm not sure if he's realized that he can do this.
• His first Christmas season
• First Christmas Eve service
• First Miller-Rodriguez family gift exchange
• He says "Mamama" often enough that I think that might be what we're calling the first word... but I'll let you know.

  

Likes: 

• His siblings
• Smiles and eye contact
• His walker
• His swing
• Rolling over
• Laying on his tummy and moving any direction but forward
• Strangers who smile at him
• Kisses
• FOOD
• Activity
• Sitting up
• Baths with siblings

Dislikes:

• Fevers
• Being tired
• The nasal bulb syringe used on his nose

 

  Places He's Gone and Special Memories:

•  First Christmas
• First time celebrating Howard and Caroline's birthday
• First time celebrating Mama's birthday
• Fun trip to Scheel's Store in Kansas City
• First time in the Mountain Miller Christmas Pageant 2021 (has not been release yet but pictures below)
• First time really interacting and having fun with cousins, grand parents, great grand parents, aunts and uncles in St. Louis

Nicknames:

• Brady
• Buddy
• Brady Boy
• Brady Blue Eyes
• Braidster
• Brady Buddy

Pictures in no particular order:

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