Expect The Unexpected!

Hello there!!! Yes, everyone should be sitting for this....I'm blogging for the first time in over a year. Don't ask me why though, I'm still not sure. I've been thinking a lot about it lately but could never focus on one topic to write about, until tonight that is.
The first stop is explaining what led to this idea and it was about 30 minutes ago. I was wrapping up all the chores for the night and was excited to go to bed at a decent time since all this week it's been 12:30 or later that I've gone to bed. My last thing was to take out the trash and then I expected to be in bed directly after that, before 10:30, SWEET! Well, that was the problem, I EXPECTED. That has been a very heavy word in my mind lately and this was the icing on the cake to show to me how significant that one word and thought could be to a person. I grabbed the last box and went to walk outside and spilled the whole container of old potting soil on the counters and floors in the kitchen. Just wonderful! All I wanted to do was go to bed and was so excited for my pillow and now here I am sweeping the floors and cleaning most of my kitchen at 10:30 at night. It was one of those moments where I could have either thrown a fit (and the rest of the trash) on the floor or just dealt with it and moved on. I really hope I'm not the only one who has chosen the fit once or twice in my life. Well tonight I chose the higher road and just kept going. With my mind calm this gave me great opportunity to talk with myself. Again, I hope I'm not the only one who does this, at least I tell myself I'm not.
Expect and expectation is something that can really effect someone. I had been thinking of it, like I said earlier, so much I finally looked it up. The definition is 'regard as likely to happen' by dictionary.com and 'the act or state of looking forward to or anticipating (expectation)' by the heritage dictionary. Likely to happen?! Was it likely to happen that I went to bed early? Yeah, maybe but that changed. Is it likely to happen that you have a perfectly healthy baby? Yes but not always. What about expecting that surprise you have for your loved ones to create the perfect reaction? Sometimes I think we use the word expect to loosely but then have the highest hope for the outcome. Oh I'm expecting a great day on my birthday. What is a great day? To me it's sleeping in, spending time at the pool and with my family, maybe not having to cook and keeping a clean house. (weird combination I know) But I know for a fact that is not my husbands or many other peoples 'great day'.
So why do we use the word expect and have such high expectations? Now believe me, I know I am barely learning about this and I'm sure most of you know how to deal with this already, but maybe there is just one other person out there contemplating these same things, and of course it's always easier to say then do. My goal lately is to first, not set unattainable goals. I think that's a good first step because it wipes out a lot of the higher emotional ideas. Okay you have a massive to do list on top of a lunch date and workout class and funeral, but you still expect to get all 30 things done, don't! Work as hard as you can and do the most you can but don't be heart broken when you forgot you had to fill up with gas, hit rush hour traffic and got a call from someone who needs to talk for 30 minutes. If you don't have that expectation of perfection or impossibility I think it makes the day much smoother and pleasant. Secondly I really think you need to look at how much of those expectations you can control, because maybe you can control your plan to create a fun picnic date but you cannot control the rain (or smoke in our case). Don't stress. Thirdly I believe that you need to let your expectations known to others, especially if you are married and have kids. For example, if your perfect day includes sleeping in but you never tell everyone and they come in with breakfast in bed at 7 am, they are super excited to treat you and well, your not as excited. This can start the day off way wrong, but could have been prevented if you would have said something. Even if it's 'hey, really have to make it to the grocery store today no matter what'. That will help others knowledgeable of your expectations. Lastly I think if you must set expectations that being flexible in your expectations is the best way to float through the day instead of battling up a raging river. One definition was 'hopeful'. One word, meaning to wish for something with expectation of it's fulfillment. Always have hope, never give that up because everyone needs to live for something but remember, no matter your expectations of your day, week, month or next 5 years, God always knows what's going on and sometimes He lets us in on the plan and sometimes we just need to float and trust in Him. Go out there and plan a great party and hope it all goes well but know that nothing (and no one) is perfect, so enjoy the ride no matter what!!

Snow, snow, and more snow!

I know it's been awhile since I updated, and some of you may be in disbelief until you actually read this, but yes I am blogging! Today it's all about the trip we just got back from.

Adam's family has a cabin up in the Jemez mountains not far from Fenton Lake. This is a wonderful place because in the winter we get to go play in the snow for a few days but come 'home' to a heated place with comfy beds! It's also only 1 1/2 hours from the house so it's very easy for a quick getaway! Well, we left Friday after school and made it home later in the evening on Sunday.

I always like to think that our trips are going to go perfectly, but God enjoys laughing and putting in His own little twist. I have learned throughout the years to just take it, and keep going, though it still seems hard. Well this trip was no different, but looking back I wouldn't ask for anything else!

It started off on Thursday when Adam's mom informed us we were not allowed to use the water due to the high possibility of freezing the pipes. No running water! Okay, not that big of a deal, we go camping all the time without running water.

Well then we get up there and Adam can't get one of the heaters turned on. They keep them all off because people aren't up there a lot. So it was about 20 degrees inside when we first get there!! We all bundle up, start unloading and get settled in. It's okay though because there are plug in heaters, and in no time we are warm.

The next morning we start getting ready for sledding and all I hear for about an hour (it took us 1 1/2 hours to get everyone dressed!) is Zackary crying about his clothes not fitting. (They fit just fine btw) I was ready to undress him and stay at the cabin all day.

We finally make it out to the main sledding area and Johnathan runs up the hill so excited and hauls butt down the first run. Yep, he catches air, lands on his tailbone and starts crying for the next 10 minutes swearing he's never sledding again. (You think we would have learned from last year when we let him go first and he went right through a barbed wire fence bc the run iced up over night!) He finally shakes it off and we have a blast the rest of the day then head back to the cabin.

Then Adam goes to get water from the spicket (to use for dishes, toilet, etc) and it is frozen, for the rest of the trip!!! Thankfully we had put many, many gallons in the bath tub the first night to save, and brought some along from home for drinking.

The next morning we are all excited to get the day going and I was stoked to make a big breakfast for everyone including pancakes, bacon and eggs. In a matter of minutes, half the pancakes were throw in the trash bc they were so burnt they were inedible, the eggs were all stuck in the pan, the bacon was eaten smothered in syrup to try to get rid of the burnt taste and the smoke alarm had gone off for quite awhile, but we could only open the door for circulation for a minute bc it was getting too cold in the house!! Well we all ate cereal and got all dressed again, less crying this time and had a great day sledding.

We came back to winterize the cabin and head home and when we went to drain the bathtub with the leftover water, the drain was frozen, so it wouldn't drain a single ounce!! Poor Adam had to use a cup and 5 gallon bucket to get it all out.

We finally made it home around 7pm on Sunday night. It wasn't that horrible, but we were shooting for 5 so we could have dinner and be ready for school the next day while having time to unpack.

I don't tell you all these things as a complaint list or a poor me, looking for sympathy. I tell you this because I want everyone to remember that you can make things any way you choose! We could have had a very miserable trip, with no fun, but we didn't! We had a blast!! Honestly! I've never seen Adam have so much fun with his boys. Zackary has never been so adventurous and brave and Johnathan is never going to forget this trip with his family!!

If we didn't go through all those 'rough experiences' I would have never been able to sneak a peek at God's love when I saw Zackary whisper in his brothers ear, 'I love you' when Johnathan was reading to him! I would have never been able to kiss my husband at the cabin looking at all the amazing stars that you can only see from the glorious outdoors. I would have never seen Johnathans mind working when his Dad was teaching him how to make a fire. I would have never been able to hear us all laugh so hard we almost cried at the littlest things. I also would have never seen all the progress God has made in our family the last year bc the last two years we have done this trip with Zackary in a body cast! I was in tears the first time I saw him walk up that hill by himself!! All because we took to the time to escape from 'reality' and just love each other and make memories!

If you take anything from this let it be, live every moment to the fullest, don't look over the small things, and know that you will NEVER know where your life can be in just a short time!!

Sorry it's such a long blog, but I guess that's what happens when you live 48 hours of my life!!

Of course, if you want to see more pictures, check them out on facebook.

Camping!!

Okay, so my family really enjoys camping. It is like a mini vacation to just get out of town and spend quality time together. The peace and quite, animals, streams, afternoon rain mists, and beautiful green just cannot be beat. And it doesn't cost much to go! (always a great perk in the Miller household!) The camping trip we went on last week was planned for almost 2 months because we were so excited it was camping season again! There was so much stuff going on in those short 2 1/2 days from squirrels, wild turkeys, cows, to warm camp fires and a 6 mile bike ride.

So the picture you see here actually has quite the story to it. Starting on the car ride up to the site, for some reason I wanted a 'perfect' picture of a squirrel/chipmunk. (don't ask me the difference) By the end of the second day I thought it was going to be impossible because every time I came across one they got startled and ran way to quickly. Well then I spotted one on the other side of the camp grounds from our fire pit. I started zooming in and taking (pretty blurry) pictures while quietly sneaking up on it. By the time I got the last snap in I realized it had been about a 5 minute process and I was only about 10 feet from the animal. Mission accomplished!!

On the second day we also adventured out on our mountainous bike ride yet as a family. We took the forest 'road' (a dirt path) up toward the entrance of the National Forest from Resimandero camp site. What I thought was going to be a leisurely ride turned into 6 miles that I felt for days! I truly enjoyed it though. More the downhill as opposed to the uphill, but loved it none the same. We were able to find some amazing views that reminded me of how awesome and huge our God is. He makes such beautiful vast land, but still knows the number of hairs on our head. Absolutely breathless I was! On our way up a certain area we actually scared up 2 wild turkeys. We had no idea what they were until they were almost gone, but we were all still able to see the beautiful birds.

Nothing to dramatic happened besides our daily visits from the cows. And that's how I like my trips, uneventful. We have too many that went array. Though they made for great memories, I think this one goes in the vault for awesome family time, and you can't get any better than that! Next time we plan a camping trip, don't be afraid to jump in, the more the merrier! Oh, and don't forget to check our all the other pictures I posted on facebook, like the one of the flowers my son's picked specially for me!!

Music to my ears!!

Alrighty, well most of you know how much I love music. I am not musically inclined what-so-ever, but I have to listen to music all the time! I continually have a radio on in the morning while getting ready, in the car while driving, and throughout the house while doing my chores. I even have a portable radio to drag around so I can have music in any room at all times. It is so bad I even listen to music when I am having conversations with other people and will easily get swept away in the lyrics as opposed to the conversation. Sad I know. The only thing I am waiting for is an IPhone so I can have the K-Love app so I can listen no matter where I am!

I really enjoy many aspects of music. I am the type of person to actually listen to the lyrics (unlike Adam) and try to think about the story behind it or the feelings it is trying to portray. I also like to think about how it could relate to me and my life. I love the different instruments and sounds that are made to make a song unique. I also like to know about the artists and see what their inspiration is and what they were thinking. I love to watch music videos to see the songs come to life and I absolutely love, love, love to see music played live, whether it is at a concert, and church or my hubby playing guitar in the living room!

When it comes to the types of music I listen to, it is quite the variety. My parents taught me to appreciate it all, and my grandfather found it necessary to take me to at least one opera. I can say though I am just not patient enough to sit through orchestra, jazz or opera. For random reasons like I need instant gratification and I can't really stand music without words for very long, unless it is soundtrack to a movie or something. My 2 main types of music that I listen to are country and christian. But I could definitely spit out lyrics to ICP, Snoop Dogg, Avril Lavigne, Vanilla Ice, The Monkey's or Bush. Some I prefer to keep under wraps. That also reminds me, I love to memorize lyrics, it makes me feel a part of the song and I think it brings greater appreciation to the song as well.

I do keep up on country as much as possible, but in order to make it through my day and week I must continually play christian music. And I know what some of you are thinking, no it's not all boring and gospel, slow stuffy music. It's amazing, inspirational, keep you grounded kind of music. There are some awesome (local and national) artists!! First off, I love to listen to K-LOVE (105.5FM). They have great D.J.'s, good news information as well as continuous (no commercials) music all day and night. I have come to love a lot of musicians such as David Crowder Band, Steven Curtis Chapman, Echoing Angels, Big Daddy Weave, and Casting Crowns just to name a few. When it comes to 'local' bands I can thank Calvary of ABQ for introducing most of them to me. I have enjoyed groups like MOI, and Kendal Payne that have stopped by and now I can't live without their c.d.'s in my car at all times. Some outstanding artists have come straight from Calvary (who's c.d.'s are also in my car) like Jennifer Santiago and Nick Crespo (who had the best concert last night at Calvary.). I love feeling the relationship these artists truly have with God and it inspires me to walk closer to HIM every time I hear them.

So if you ever need a partner for a good concert or just wanna hang out and swap music, please let me know. I'm always available for that! Also, if you have any other suggestions of good bands/artists that I should check out please leave it in the comments. Thanks, and until next time, TURN UP THE MUSIC!!!

My First Post!!!

Okay, so I first off have to thank Nichol for leading me to blogging. If you know me at all you know I am never short of things to talk about so this is a great way for lots of people to hear me (or at least lets me think that way).

Secondly, I have to give you all a fair warning. I usually don't type fast enough for my brain and I am not good at grammar (thanks De) so be prepared for lots of mistakes. Thank God that He knows we are not perfect. I prove it every day!

Thirdly, I would love to hear your comments, maybe even ideas of what I can blog about.

Okay, so i was contemplating on what to write about because like I said, I could go on for forever about anything, but what better thing on Mother's Day to talk about then my amazing boys. Usually my 'boys' includes the hubby but today I want to focus on Johnathan and Zackary. If you do not know this by now, my world revolves around my family and my 2 boys are the main focus.

Johnathan is the oldest at 8 years old and is in 2nd grade. He started off life at 2 lbs. 8 oz and has been growing ever since. He is an avid reader (Adam and I don't know where that came from), loves to play sports, can run for days on end and is the best big brother any person could ever ask for! He is so compassionate and worries about everyone else way before himself. He's newest habit is running and has run in 2 5K's. His first time was 28:42 and his second was 27:39, so he is improving and has another race this Sunday. I can already see God's gifts of children's ministry and evangelism. He made sure to say the sinners prayer with his (then 3 year old) brother, just in case anything happened 'even though Zackary didn't know, he would go to heaven!' I can remember doing finals in high school (yes I had him on my 17th birthday) with him sitting on my lap at the computer. Life wasn't always easy at that point in time, but he has always been one of my best friends. He makes me laugh all the time and it's kind of scary how much his attitude is like mine. I guess I better start paying attention. He is also amazing at school and keeps almost perfect grades while making sure to be friends with everyone and help them out in any situation.

Okay, I know, blogs are suppose to be short so I will move on to my second son Zackary. He is now 4 years old and quite the fire cracker. He loves to smile and laugh and do anything his brother is doing, including going to school. He started out this world even smaller than his brother at 1 lb. 12 oz. He had a harder time coming out of the NICU but we were so happy to have him home once he was finished. He is the strongest person I know. What other person can go through 5 surgeries in less than 1 1/2 years (on his hip)and still have a huge smile on his face and be walking in no time! God has truly blessed him with strength, healing and wisdom beyond his years. He loves helping anyone do anything. He can do laundry with the best of them and can plant a killer garden! He will be starting preschool next year and I don't know what I am going to do with another one of best friends being gone everyday!

I am so blessed that I have been able to stay home and spend so much time with these 2 amazing miracle children of mine. I love them with all of my heart and they truly made this a wonderful Mother's Day by all their hugs, kisses, pictures and love. God bless the little children in this world, because I know he has blessed me with mine.