braidy the biker!

This past weekend (1-11-13), Braidy learned to ride his bike with NO TRAINING WHEELS! It was a beautiful day outside, and daddy decided the training wheels were coming off! We gave it a shot back in the summer, but he wasn't anywhere near ready, this time, he was 100% ready! Dad ran with him down the street one time and by the time they came back by our house, he was riding by himself! I was so excited and proud, and so was this cute little 5 year old! He was (and still is!) on cloud nine! I love watching my kiddos reach milestones! There's nothing like it! After he was done riding for the day, he showed me that his tooth has, indeed, gotten looser! Daddy thought we should pull it! NO! Only one huge milestone per week! This momma can't handle too much growing up at once. 

dad+john volunteering day

I love that Ryan is selfless in his giving of time, especially around the holidays. He wants to instill this in his kids, so he started this year by bringing John along to help him serve at the food bank with some of his CityBank coworkers. They helped load people's cars with food to last throughout the holidays. I think it really opened John's eyes to how much we have and take for granted, and that some people don't even have food, much less presents to open on Christmas morning. I think he enjoyed it even though it was freezing that day and they were outside for 3 hours. I know they made a difference and their volunteering was very much appreciated. I desperately want my kids to grow up appreciative, but I think sometimes that is hard in today's world since they are given so much, and never WANT for anything. I hope we can continue doing this to teach our boys what Christmas is all about!

Braidy's School Christmas Activites!

Braidy's Pre-K classes put on a precious Christmas program the week before school let out. My boy looked SO very handsome, I could hardly stand it. Suddenly he looked twelve. He had a speaking part, so we had been practicing and practicing his line: "Let's make an angel band!". He did AWESOME! He sang and nailed his line. The program was adorable. Besides his speaking part, the best part was the "Snowman Rap" where they wore sunglasses, folded their arms, and nodded to the music. Maybe hard to picture, but it was hysterical and I never want to forget it!

Later that week (it was a busy week in Miller world!) it was time for the class Christmas party! The kids played a game, decorated cookies, ate a snack and got to see Santa too! Ryan and I loved being about to be there with him and to be a part of his special activities!!! We are so blessed with an awesome teacher, friends and school!

Christmas 2013

Christmas Eve!!! We spent Christmas Eve at Lulu and Papaw's house with the Stone's, Rach, and Big John, and their dog, Charlie! We had a delicious mexican dinner, some interesting conversation at the table (that's what happens when the ratio to boys to girls is no longer 4:1, but is now 4:4), fun cousin time, and of course, presents! The boys were super excited that it was finally time for presents! They all opened, we opened, and we were all blessed far beyond what we deserve! My favorite was just being together with my family and enjoying the moment!!

Christmas Eve Night: We came home to get ready for Santa! We put jammies on, got Santa a few snacks (cookies that Aunt Jess made and some divinity!), and some hot cocoa, and went to bed so that Santa could come!!!

Christmas Morning! (Yes, Quin had a wardrobe change that morning!) SANTA CAME!!! Although, believe it or not, mom and dad had to wake them up! We were up long before they were and we were ready to see them see all their goodies!!!! They were sleepy but excited! They loved all their gifts and spent the rest of the morning/day playing with new toys, watching a new movie that Quin got, and enjoying the day together as a family!

John was with his momma this year for Christmas, but we got to see him for a couple of hours that night, so he got to open all of his goodies just a little later! He was super excited about everything and we were super excited about seeing him for a little bit on Christmas!!!

 The next night we celebrated Christmas with Poppa and JJ! They came in town for a few days and we loved getting to spend time with them too! The boys were thrilled to see Poppa and JJ and that there was one more present to open! We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and then let the boys go to town on the gifts!

This Christmas was wonderful. We missed seeing some of our family (The Curry's!), but we loved spending time with the family we did get to see! I loved watching the excitement of the boy's faces as they opened gifts and I loved seeing my living room in a huge state of disaster while sitting on my couch, with a cup of coffee, next to my husband, watching my boys play and play and play. What a special day. I hope my kids always believe in the magic of Christmas, but I hope they know the reason that we celebrate. We celebrate the birth of our Savior. There is no more important reason to celebrate anything! Happy Birthday Jesus!