Happy Easter!

I realized I haven't done anything to our blog for a very long time and I probably should.  Here are pictures from Easter.  I love Easter!  It's my favorite holiday.  I also love my boys :).

This is as excited as Chad gets for pictures.

Seth

Lane was so excited to get Beyblades from the Easter Bunny.

Troy

I think this is the only egg Troy picked up.  Once he got it he just wanted to sit in the yard and eat the candy out of it.

Yummy jelly beans!

I was very happy to get this picture of my boys.  But after looking at it I realized that it makes me sad because it is missing Rheese.

Lane Got His Bear

At July's Pack Meeting, Lane got his Bear badge. All the boys who are getting it have to go into a tent and fight the bear. Lane won! Chad is usually the one in the tent and this time he was dressed like a real bear. We got a Bone Box for the Game & Fish Dept. and there were a bunch of skins inside along with bones. Chad decided to surprise the boys by wearing the skin. He said Lane's eyes got real big when he first saw him. LOL! Now he is a Webelos, his last year before becoming a Boy Scout. Way to go Lane!

A little "bloody" after fighting the bear but still smiling : ).
Mom and LaneMom, Dad, Lane and TroyThe Bear (Chad) and Lane. Lane has the claw in his hand that he won in his bear fight.

Troy is 11 months old!

I can't believe my baby is 11 months old already. He has grown up so fast and is such a big boy. He's in the 98th percentile for height and 90th for weight. His brothers want to know why he's tall and they aren't. LOL! He just got in 2 teeth on the top and 2 more are ready to pop thru. He has been standing on his own for a couple of weeks and we're just waiting for him to take that first step. When he stands he likes to clap and for us to clap for him. He is very proud of his accomplishment : ). Troy is such a joy to have in our family. He is almost always happy and smiling, much like his big brother Rheese. The only time he isn't is when he's hungry or ready for bed. His smiles have been so good for us. They make us smile even if we are feeling down. I really need to get some new pictures of him. These were taken back in June. I have a new camera too. I think it's time for a photo shoot : ).

5 months

I can't believe that today it has been 5 months since we laid our little Rheesey to rest. Every month since those days in March we have been very aware of the date whether it be the 11th or the 16th. This month was different. None of us remembered the 11th. When I finally did 3 days later I was a little upset that I could have forgotten but then we realized that it may be a sign that we are healing just a little bit. There isn't a day that goes by that I am not thinking of my little boy and Aug. 11th was no exception, but I guess I didn't focus on the fact that he left us for his home above but rather on the good memories of him like his beautiful smile and infectious laugh. I love you Rheesey!

Rheese's Blog

I started updating Rheese's blog yesterday. I put some of the letters that were in a scrapbook from his class on it. If you don't have the address the link is down in my Friends & Family on the lower right of the blog.

MORP

Chad got asked to MORP this weekend. He wasn't home though when the invitation was delivered so we had to have him come home from watching movies with friends to get it.

Here it is outside our front door. It's a really big cupcake in the middle and 7 smaller ones around the outside. She even gave him utensils to eat it with. There were 3 notes he had to open in order at the top.
We decided to move it inside the house since he wasn't home because I didn't want anything to get on it. But when he came in the house he didn't look and almost stepped on it.
His friends and family helped him eat the cupcakes to find the message. Inside the big one the note asked him if he'd go to MORP with her and there were Scrabble letters in each of the little ones to spell her name.
He answered her with a candybar card. Hope they have a great time!

Baby Buzz

The Jones cousins sent Troy a gift from Disneyland- a baby Buzz Lightyear. It is so cute! The blanket that is wrapped around him is so soft. Thank you Jones'.

Troy is 4 months old!

I can't believe Troy is 4 months old already. Sunday was his "birthday" and he got to celebrate by having his first solid food, rice cereal. He actually did really well eating it. It seemed like such a long time until he was going to be able to have cereal but it is here and came very quickly. He went to the doctor yesterday for his check-up and he weighs 14 lbs. 12.5 oz. and he is 26 1/4" long. He's in the 50th percentile for weight and the 90th for height. No Miller boys have ever been in the 90th percentile for height. Maybe that means he'll be tall? His brothers would be jealous ; ).

Here are some pictures I took after church on Sunday, his birthday.

What a precious face.

Troy loves to eat his hand.

New Year's Eve

What an exciting New Year's Eve! We finally got to do fireworks. Everyone was so excited about it. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings for our annual dinner and then home to do the fireworks with the Miller cousins and Rasmussens. The only problem was that it was soooo cold!!!! It made Idaho Falls 4th of July fireworks look warm. We are always bundled up in coats and blankets in Idaho but this year it was about 37 degrees here when we did them. Brrr!!! Rheese and Lane and the Miller girls- Brittany, Ashlee and Emily, went inside and watched them from Chad's window. Chad ended up going to a friend's house and Seth went to his first dance.

Rheese, Aunt Sherene and Brittany
Lane

Seth- All ready to go to the dance.

Christmas

What a wonderful Christmas we had. It was so much fun having a baby in the house on this special day. Whenever I would be holding Troy, especially while he was sleeping, I would think of Mary holding baby Jesus and think of the love she felt for him. It is so beautiful to hold that precious baby and think of how pure and innocent they are and so fresh from the presence of our Heavenly Father. Christmas is such a wonderful reminder of that.

It also reminded me of just how fast our baby is growing up. He is getting so big! I just wish I could stop him from getting bigger so quickly. I'm just trying to treasure every moment.

Chad and Troy- Our Jolly Elf

Sleeping on Grandma's shoulder

Christmas pjs- Chad, Seth, Troy, Maegan, Lane, Maddie, Brandon and Rheese

Brandon and Troy- It took a while to get Brandon to hold Troy but he's holding him more and more.

Christmas morning

Rheese wanted a Nerf gun so bad. Luckily, Santa came through.

Troy got some cool shades from Santa, along with a book, spoons and socks.

Troy's Blessing Day

Troy was blessed on Sun., November 7th. What a wonderful and special day it was. Our family that lives here was there to help make it special. Afterwards, they came over for a yummy spaghetti dinner that George fixed. What a great way to spend a Sunday, with our family.

Troy was NOT in the mood to get his picture taken after church. He was hungry and wanted to eat. So this is the best I was able to get. He's still cute, even if he is screaming ; ).3 Generations- Grandma Miller, George and TroyOur cake to celebrate the day.

ASU Band Day

On Saturday, Chad and Seth performed with the Basha Bear Regiment at ASU Band Day. It was so great to see them perform there. I have great memories of performing there when I was in high school and they came flooding back when we were there. I always had such a feeling of awe when we'd march out onto that field and see this huge stadium towering around us. This time I got to watch my boys march out of that tunnel onto the same field.
Basha's show is called 'Bound'. It's supposed to be about the different things that bind us together in life. The last movement is about friendship, or so I've been told. It's all a little too deep for me. I just like to listen to good music and watch a great show. Seth is in the pit on the sidelines playing bass drum, gong, and various other instruments. I don't know where Chad is but he's somewhere in there.

Maddie, Lane and Rheese waiting to watch the show. Go Devils! (and Bears : )!)

Getting ready to enter the field, they are all 'bound' together with the yellow rope.
Seth is at the bass drum and gong.