Running is annoying

Okay, if you can't tell by my title, I have not long ago returned from my run....it usually only occurs about once every three months. Why? Because I can't stand it. (One other annoying thing...trying to fit these tiny fitted clothes onto these tiny Polly Pockets...who came up with these things? Sorry for the interupption, I was called on once again to attempt putting a new outfit on one of these Polly girls).

Anyways, back to running...what a miserable form of exercise. Since I can't seem to lose these last 4 lb.s of baby weight (and have another 4 on top to lose) I thought I'd give it a go again. I'm not kidding, after about 10 steps I begin thinking "How much longer? How much longer?" This thought continues for the remainder of the time. I have to coax myself to the next mailbox, that next bench, make it to the little wall... And I'm sure everyone passing by is wondering "Is she running? I mean her arms and legs look to be in that motion but she doesn't seem to be going anywhere..."

I arrive home having sweat enough to fill up 5 water bottles so after sitting and drinking some gatorade because I literally felt sick, I go get on the scale before I take a shower. Surely, that miserable experience dropped those last 4 pounds and I won't have to do this again. No such luck. Oh well. In a couple of hours I get to go have my hair cut and colored (professionally...wonders never cease) by a gal in our LifeGroup. I'm hoping to walk away from that looking as though I have dropped a few pounds and lost a few years :0).

By the way, I have put on four different outfits on Polly Pocket girls since beginning this post. Jase is home now though, and Laney just asked him...oops, spoke to soon she's back to me now. See you later!

Catch up time

Well, if you can't tell from my lack of posting...things are busy around the Mills' household. I'll try not to go too long and maybe post a couple times this week.

First, an update concerning Reesie. She is scheduled for open heart surgery on Thurs., Sept. 18th. We CHERISH your prayers for her. I talked with another heart surgeon (dad of one of our former students) just yesterday. He agreed with our doctor's assessment, walked me through the procedure, and gave me some questions to ask. I feel more at peace.

Reese just cut her 3rd tooth today which is

good because the girl loooves big

people food. She much rather have anything we

have, if at all possible. She's as smiley and cute as

ever!

Ashlyn Jean started first grade today. The picture is of her before she left for school this morning. Jason and Laney did the honors of taking her to school. We met her teacher last Friday and found out that her best friend at school, Avery, is once again in her class, along with several other sweet kids from their class last year. She is just growing up so fast. I'm so proud of the girl she is becoming.

Laney has been extra sweet and lovey lately. The girl is always sweet but she has been wanting to give me kisses several times a day and just as often tells me, "Mommy I just love you so much!" She has been obeying so nicely and just been in a sweet, sweet mood. Last week she got to go to her best little girlfriends house..."brown Taylor" and tomorrow "brown Taylor" is coming to our house to play. Last year she had two Taylors in her class...one with brown hair and one with orange...thus the "brown Taylor." She asked me to take this picture of her today while she did her hair up like so. Silly girl!

I turned 32 last week. Seriously, I remember my mom being this age :0). It was a nice day. Today Jase left for Portland and won't be back until Friday. I'm a single mom of three for 5 days. Whatever will I do? just teasing. I did straighten out our linen closet tonight though. Alright, I'm digressing. Hope you enjoy some pictures (once again sorry that I can't figure out spacing). Please keep praying for Reese's surgery.

Life with three princesses

Let me just begin the story with this..."What can stop a bigwheel dead in its tracks? A fluffy, pink princess dress!" That's right, we had a little adventure tonight as we went on our walk. After much deliberating and changing of minds the girls finally decided the best mode of transportation would be the double stroller and Laney's Dora bigwheel/tricycle. Ashlyn and Reesie were in the stroller and Laney started on the bigwheel...complete with Dora song streaming from it. Well, the poor girl still can't quite reach the pedals well enough to go very well. So, after moving about 20 feet from our house she decided it would be better if Ashlyn rode it. So, we stopped and they changed.

Have I mentioned that this walk/ ride came immediately following dinner? Once again, Ashlyn wanted a fancy dinner and so she and Laney came dressed in their dress-up clothes. We were told by Ashlyn that she was to be called Queen Nancy. Laney was Princess Fiona, Reese was Little-bits Princess, I was the Godmother, and Jason was Master. I told the girls I thought Jason should be Donkey (Laney's been on a Shrek kick the last couple of days), but they didn't budge. I then tried Farmboy...again, no such luck. Anywho, Laney was decked out in a sequenced halter top with a see-through tu-tu skirt. Ashlyn had on a fru-fru pink princess dress. This is how they chose to take our walk around the neighborhood. Except, Ashlyn added her new blue clogs (oh yes) and Laney added shorts so no one could see her panties.

Well, more than once, Ashlyn's humongous pink dress got caught in the wheels of the tricycle and had Queen Nancy come to a screeching halt. It was hilarious! After awhile Laney thought she'd give the Dora thing a try again (so Jason readjusted the seat once again). Amazingly enough her legs still weren't long enough. Now Jason and I took turns hunching over to push Princess Fiona. Soon Little Bits Princess decided she would rather be out of the stroller. Now, Jason is holding her (whose hair blew in the warm breeze and looked like a hair-do that you might see on Lyle Lovett or Donald Trump) while pushing Ashlyn in the stroller. I am hunched over with Laney. We dropped off the Dora bike and continued on. After about 62 different changes of seating positions and stopping to visit with friends, we finally made our 2 block trek home in over 30 minutes time. But you know, that's life with three little princesses! I wouldn't change a thing.

Scared

Our sweet Reesie is 9 months old now. She looooves to wave and is very good at it! She is the queen of rolling over (even in the middle of a diaper change) and she enjoys being on her belly although she hasn't attempted crawling yet. She weighs 14 lb. 3 oz. and is 25 3/4" long. She is absolutely the cutest, happiest, sweetest baby on the planet.

Today we had her cardiologist appt. and didn't get the outcome we were hoping and praying for. There is no change in the size of the hole in her heart (it is pretty large) and it's causing her heart to still be enlarged. The doctor thinks surgery to repair it is what is best. Open heart surgery. Just the thought makes my heart hurt. If you can't tell, I'm in love with her...absolutely in love with every single thing about her. And the thought of something going wrong and me losing her frightens me. However, God is still a big God and He can use people and medical means to heal, so that is now the direction we are praying.

I don't know anything further other than the surgeon is supposed to call so we can meet with him. The cardiologist thinks it should be done in the next month or two. One of my friends and roommates from ACU, Paige, has had this surgeon do open heart surgery on her daughter. He is top-notch from what I hear. I'll keep y'all posted.

Please pray for God's healing hand to be on our Reese, for her protection through the surgery, for her healing afterwards, and quite frankly for continued peace for Jason and I. While I am sad and disappointed, I have expereinced His peace a great deal the last few months.

Enjoy the pictures of our girl!!

Spectacular Six

Our Ashlyn Jean turned 6 yesterday. We had a fun day celebrating. We hit Sweet and Sassy's, a fun little girls boutique where she and Laney got their hair, nails and make-up done. We ate at her favorite restuarant, Jin Beh, a Japanese hibachi place. We opened present, sang happy birthday, and had some yummy cupcakes. And we're not done yet...her party with her girlfriends is Monday night. It's a fancy party, of course. We'll eat off fancy china and once again, hair, make-up and nails will be done.

I'm so proud to be her mom. It's a privilege that blesses me each and every day. I love you, big girl!

These are some pics from the day.... (looking at these has enabled me to already know what I'm getting Jase for Christmas...a BIG stick...to keep all those boys away!!!)

Quiet on the Home Front

Well, last weekend was our weekend away to Ft. Worth and the Texas White House Bed and Breakfast...it was absolutely wonderful. I forget how much I enjoy Jason's company. I know that sounds silly but usually the girls get my full attention rather than Jase. We ate (and ate). We went to the botanical gardens and an improv comedy show, stayed up late, and slept in late. Okay, Jason's internal clock went off at 7 each morning but he's normally at work before then so he too slept in. They had cable which we don't, so we got to watch a bunch of HGTV (looove that channel). It truly was so enjoyable and such perfect timing. I know that I'm tired but didn't know how much until I got to slow down. To whoever it is that treated us...a HUGE THANK YOU! We loved it!

When we got home on Sunday afternoon Mimi and Papa D then left to go back home but took the big girls with them. Can I tell you how quiet it is around here and a tad boring? It really is so weird. They went up last year too but I was on my mission trip so this is the first time I've been home with both of them gone. I think Reesie has enjoyed being an only child but will love having her little entertainers back. She has been keeping herself busy with her Little People house. We go up tomorrow to get them. Can I tell you what a breeze having only 1 child is? We love and miss you Ashlyn and Laney and can't wait to see you tomorrow.

Any bloggers out there. how do you keep the piocs from automatically posting at the top? It drives me crazy!

Thank Offerings

The above pic is of the girls and their friends in their princess bounce house that we put up inside the house when it's so hot outside. And I'll be the first to admit...it is very hot outside.

"Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy." Ps. 107:22

Today I am celebrating some of the smaller things in life God has blessed us with lately:

1. Reese is 8 mos. old and we have never had to buy wipes for her. We were so blessed from our baby shower for her.
   
2. Drum roll please....Laney Hope has stayed in bed for 5 nights in a row!!! Woo hoo!! She is on her way to a special reward. I've taken out her nap for the most part and added swim lessons. She's a sleepy girl when bedtime rolls around.


3. A couple or two from our LifeGroup at church (although we don't know who) are blessing Jase and I with a weekend to a bed and breakfast. Only a few more days and we'll be childless for over 36 hours. We adore our kids but it will be nice to have a meal longer than 25 minutes, not have to tell anyone to "stop talking and eat please", have no laundry or dishes to do, sleep in past 7am, etc......


4. We always have food to eat and a roof over our head (an air conditioned one at that).
   
5. Our girls play really well together. They can get frustrated with one another but it normally only lasts for about 20 seconds.

A little more randomness:

Ashlyn always talks to Reese in a higher pitch than she normally talks. Actually, I do too but I'm telling you I am surprised each day that we don't have every neighborhood dog lined up at our front door with how high Ashlyn talks to her. Reese loves it though so it's all good. She is very into playing office at the moment. She pretty much sets up her office in a different place in the playroom everyday and will spend a long time playing in there. She is swimming like a fish at swim lessons.

Laney is loving the movie Enchanted. She does not love having to put her head in the water at swim lessons, however. A few tears have been shed but overall she's doing well. Since she is so fun and spunky it always throws me off that she isn't more adventuresome, but honestly it brings me comfort. Seriously, I get so nervous with my children around pools.

Reese loves dancing with her mommy. She likes to play with her blocks and loves toys that make music. I love that I know every teeny tiny thing about her and know how to comfort her within seconds.

Jason loves that he has such a great wife (tee hee)! Since I'm writing I get to post what I want. He's also been enjoying getting in a few more runs lately. I think in his head he is planning on running the San Antonio marathon this November. I normally cave so he probably will.