It's a Rock Band Christmas!!!

Okay, so I had to add this little tidbit from Christmas!!! Sorry, Kristen....I know that you all were pj'ed up but you got Bridger dancing so cute I had to share with everyone. Besides, everyone is just going to be blown away with the voice stylings of Jason and the crazy guys at the drums:) Not to mention Bridger in all of his shakies goodness......Love you all!

Christmas 2008

Wow! What a season.....it sure all came in a whirlwind and soon we will bring in the new year. Whatever happened to 2008 anyway? I can't believe that another year has come and gone. We have been so busy this past year and so many things have happened along the way! Some really trying times as well as some really wonderful, memory making times. I guess at least there are really good times to be had to help us balance out the majority of life's trials that we all face. Christmas was wonderful for our family. I think that the boys have enjoyed their time home and have also had some fun times out and about and opportunities to learn what Christmas truly is about. Christmas Eve was time that was well spent with our families. My brother and his family came over before they pursued their traditions of Christmas Eve and it was great! I really enjoyed being with them and having our home to welcome them into....never mind when they rang the door bell I had just proceeded to slice my finger near in half with a bean dip lid!!! Hence, we don;t have any pictures with them because I had a lame hand and then I was trying to prepare food for the fam(couldn't have done it with out Kristen's help and my mom's quick hand in the kitchen....thanks guys so much!) I figured that when you are the hosting home there just isn't time to do all the things that you would like to ie.taking pictures!!! After while, Charlie's parents joined us as well as his brother Jay:) We went outside to our fire pit and roasted marshmallows and made smores.....it was so much fun to be together and to watch the boys in all of their splendor.....they sure have an affinity for their uncle Jay and thanks for coming Jay because you made the night memorable for the boys! Bridger was mostly fascinated with poking the fire with the roasting stick and watching the sparks fly into the sky....he sure is full of life and we love every minute of it. Christmas was happy and many things to make it memorable. We miss all of you and wish you a joyous season and a Happy New Year!!!!

one crazy week....

so i am trying to hold up to my Sunday promise and add to my blog......so it is late but the house is finally quiet and i can hopefully piece together this week and present it in a manner that makes sense to everyone else:) rather than me typing and interjecting my "quiet boys, get in your jammies, no you can not sleep with your giant Mr. Potato Head!!!" instructions for the boys. I succesfully kicked my husbands butt at Mario Kart and sent him to bed in a muddle but at last the house is quiet....the week started with me cutting 60 fleece baby blankets for donation at McKay Dee hospitals NICU. I wanted to do something different for Isaac's class party, get out of the same ol rut and I decided it would be a great idea to teach the kids about the true meaning of Christmas and about giving back to those around us because we have been given so much. I have two absolutely wonderful friends that came and helped me to accomplish the task of cutting all those blankets so they would be ready for the first graders to tie knots in each fringe piece around the border!!! I think that friends are like angels that live on earth sometimes...

There really is so much to tell about the event and the day but I thought I would just pick out some of the highlights! It really was a huge success and the first graders responded so much better than i ever thought they would....we had about 10 volunteers show up to help out which is so totally amazing. If any of you have ever organized a class party or event you will know what i am talking about:) When we were all finished, after making our posters and taking our pictures, Ms.Boyce(Isaac's teacher) wrapped her arms around me and gave me a huge hug and with tears in her eyes, she thanked me for such a wonderful experience and said that she thought this would be a memory that kids would never forget!!! One of those aha moments for me I guess.....hadn't really thought about it much that way but it sunk in at that moment. I was just so busy trying to keep everything running I hadn't had a moment to even think twice about it. But my favorite moment of that day came in a personal and quiet moment with Isaac. We had left the class and were heading for home, we hadn't even made it out of the parking lot yet, when Isaac said "Mom, that was really fun making all those baby blankets. It kind of made me feel really good inside and maybe I was doing something that made Jesus happy"....i turned around and he had tears in his eyes. Of course then I had tears in my eyes and was able to tell him that those times that we are doing things for others are the times that we will feel happiest inside. Heavenly Father will let us know what we are doing is right and then he can bless of with those feelings of love and peace!!! in the words of my sister "That was a moment that I was so proud to be his mom". I still have to tie up the loose ends and get the blankets ready for delivery but soon they will go to many families that have had very sick babies in a hospital that is not their home and never what they had intended. They will know that someone was thinking of them and all because of these awesome little 6&7 yr olds that were so eager to help someone in need. We made posters to send with  the blankets and here they are displayed and the white notes will be attached to each blanket for their personal delivery.

 If you all were wondering, yes! that is me in my pajamas....It was polar express day in Isaac's class and so everyone wore their pajamas and that morning Isaac gave me the puppy eyes when he asked if I was going to wear my pajamas too......so he won!!! 

      Last night we had the Mills Family Christmas Party....and it was so great!!! I think they keep getting better with each passing year:) Instead of trying to hunt Santa down this year, because you know how busy he is at this time of year, I suggested that we produce the nativity scene this year with the kids as a surprise for Grandma and Papa. Charles' sisters agreed and had even pondered it themselves and so i set out with a mission and happened to come upon some really cute costumes and made some of them myself. We were supposed to practice on Friday but the weather was so treacherous that we all stayed home and the kids practiced about 5 minutes before we presented the short skit. They were so good all on their own and it was such an awesome time and we will always remember this Christmas. I think that we are also going to try starting a new tradition with this:) Maybe we will have more time next year and will be able to come up with a whole short play for the children to do. Beth, may be you could help us out with creating a short play since you are so awesome with your books and creativity....a script!!! that's the word i was looking for:) 

All in all this has been a crazy but great week for us at the Mills household!!! I had to finish it off with a bang you know.....when i was cutting those blankets i sliced my hand with a rotary cutter and now have an infection in my hand that is being treated with antibiotics and a tetanus shot that i had to get because it was out of date, whah!!!! i hate shots.....well, tomorrow brings yet another busy day so I must get my rest!!!! Happy Holidays to you all and Congrats to Jason and Kristen on their news of a healthy baby boy soon to arrive in May:) 

Friday...

On Friday, we had the chance to take part in Jay's (Charles older brother) graduation from Weber!!! It is such an awesome thing for Jay and we are happy to see him accomplish and move through this milestone in his life. Good Luck to you Jay and we hope that you will get into an great PT program and do the things that you desire with your degree. Jay graduated Suma Cum Laude and has worked so hard these last few years. Jay is also the first one to ever graduate with a degree from a college or university in his family going way back through quite a few generations! Gordon(Verlene's husband) graduated a few years ago with a degree from Weber State but directly a Mills, not in laws, he truly is the first. It was really great to have the whole Mills family gathered in one place to celebrate Jay and his accomplishment. Quite amazing for us, considering that usually only happens at Christmas time, once a year!!! We had a great time at Olive Garden following the ceremony and I loved getting to know my nephew Hayden so much better. He is a great kid and makes me laugh....comes from great parents too:) I have to say that my favorite part of the whole ceremony itself was when the provost, or whoever it was, was trying to get the crowd excited and said in her speech "And always remember that we here at Weber, WE BLEED PURPLE!!!" She said it with such gusto and I really think she thought she was going to get a different response but what happen still makes me laugh inside when I think about it. The whole Dee Events center was just silent......silent!!! I thought it was hilarious.....and the smile on her face just sort of faded and she was lost and then sat down. I know I shouldn't find humor in such things but I did, so what do you do?  So, here is to Jay and we wish you the best with your interviews and getting into a good program!!!

Isaac's first loose tooth!!!

That's it!!! My baby, who is not really a baby anymore, is growing up. It is one of those life recognition moments.  A moment where you think, huh, where has the time gone and man, it sure needs to slow down...he is so excited though. Really, it feels like we just went through the pain and grumpiness of gaining those first baby teeth and now it is soon going to be replaced by an adult tooth. One that he will have, hopefully, until he is an old Great Grandpa himself. Strange how these little things are so big for us Moms. Isaac was eating dinner and said "My tooth hurts Mom!" My first thought was "Oh, no! Do we have ANOTHER cavity???" Isaac also gets cankers quite frequently and so I began to investigate and sure enough....to my surprise, was his first loose tooth. He is so excited about it though and his hopes are to make it on his teachers list for kids who have lost teeth during the school year. Apparently, she has a big poster and you get to take a picture and put up your name on the poster for all the class to see and keep track of who has lost teeth and how many throughout the year. Man, I tell you......everything a competition anymore!!! At least that is how these little first graders are taking it....well, here is to Isaac and his first loose tooth.

ginger bread photos-Christmas 2008

And the tree is done....really....although we still need the gingerbread men!!!

So here is the tree that has taken oh so many hours of our time....well worth the time spent  I think!!! I know you probably will laugh at the title of this little blurb. We always make gingerbread men for ornaments on the tree. Usually, it is for the kids tree but this year they will go on Mom's tree because what would our Christmas be without our ginger ornaments???? It is a tradition that hasn't failed yet and I won't let it. We have so much fun doing it together as well. Maranee, the recipe that we have used every year is awesome....however, due to time constraint this year we left it up to Betty Crocker and her pouch mix!!! I do have to say that for ornaments, it completely rocked my world. It was all ready and rolled out in less than 10 minutes....you should try it. Not sure how they taste and all but it fulfilled it's purpose well....This was the first year that Bridger got in on the cookie making and lets just say he had a blast.  A couple of sweepings and a bath and we were able to recover from his cookie time in the kitchen....he was so happy though and those are the times you remember the most. Grandma(my mom), wants to attempt sugar cookies with the grandsons as they arrive this weekend from out of town and with our little guys too....Grandma, just look at these pictures and then make your decision!!! Just kidding, I think it is awesome that she wants to do that. That is one of the things I remember most about Christmas time. We always made sugar cookies and decorated them and then we would go out and deliver a bunch to our friends and neighbors. Maranee, if you say that you don't remember that well then we need to help you remember because I have fond memories of the two of us decorating those dozens and dozens of cookies together and I love those memories so much!!! Jason, I just remember you coming up every so often and eating one or two that looked the best and disappearing once again.....lol. Then when it was time to deliver them you would totally disappear or Mom would finally convince you to go  by letting you drive......once again....lol!!!  I love you guys so much...Happy holidays to you all and  I hope that we all are able to establish and enjoy our very own Christmas traditions with our families and keep them throughout the years!!!

Thursday Night

You will have to bear with me here as I am trying to blog for the last few days!!! We have had some fun times preparing for Christmas at our house. The boys decorated their very own trees this year....it was my idea in a way to compensate for not doing two trees this year. We have always had two trees in years past. Mom's tree and the kid tree!!! I am amazed that we even got one tree up this year so I thought that it would be fun to let them have their own. We picked up the trees from DI for a couple of bucks and I found the cute little decorations at Walmart. They loved every minute and they proudly display each of their trees on top of their dressers...it puts a little Christmas all over the house for them. After tucking them in that night, Isaac could not fall to sleep. He came up the stairs and had a drink of milk and then Charles grabbed him up and sat in the rocking chair in front of the tree. I couldn't let the moment pass and decided that if he was up he may as well work on some of his reading homework. Charles said that should make him want to stay in bed from now on(lol)! Really though, it was a precious moment and those I like to remember....

The Lights are FINALLY done...maybe...

So last night, at about midnight, we completed the lights on the tree. Now, I might actually be able to decorate it for Christmas....although, as a good friend and neighbor told me today......"It is so amazing by itself, you don't need decorations!" Well, I do have to agree that it is pretty awesome but I couldn't tell if she liked it or was overwhelmed by it...lol:) I think that we figured there at least 3400 lights....at least. The story continues you see!!! So thinking that we could decorate the tree tonight we turned them on and low and behold the fuses blew in the extension cord....but luckily my husband is an electrician and is all over that....no worries....really.....no worries!!! Maybe, just maybe, we will have our tree decorated for Christmas. Although I am not counting on anything at this point. It is driving me crazy not being all ready and able to enjoy the season...oh, well. I have decided to enjoy it regardless.......

For My Awesome Sister on her Birthday!!!

So today is December 7....not just the day of remembrance of that awful event that occured in Pearl Harbor....but a day of happy remembrance for the birth of my sister!!! And no she is not that old, they just happen to have occured on the same day in the month of December. One long before the other:)  My sister is a wonderful woman.....the service that she has rendered in years past is amazing and she is such an example to me. Maran,  I think that you are so smart, creative, nurturing and

 kind. I can always go to you when I need help with something or just need someone to talk to. I couldn't have asked for a better sister and I thank you for all of your prayers that allowed me to be a part of our family and have you for a sister. I realize that there is 6 yrs difference in our age and that was a challenge for you as we were growing up but through it all I am so grateful that I had you to be an example to me. Thanks for always playing with me as we were young....I realize you were probably much more into things that the "teeny boppers" were at the time but you still took time out for me and our dolls and stuffed animals!!! Once you left for college and then met Brian our relationship grew so strong and then as we have shared motherhood and adulthood I feel that our ties continue to strengthen with time. You are awesome and I hope that your birthday is happy and that you can share it with those you love!!! Happy Birthday, Sister.........I really missed not having much time with you as we were in your hometown but soon enough we will have to get together again and share some quality time one with another. 

For Nya!!!

This little blog is for Nya Lane Parry (my beautiful, sweet niece).....I just wanted to tell you that we had so much fun spending the weekend with you. We are so happy that we had the opportunity to be with you for the holiday and for your special day!!! You are an amazing girl and the boys truly love you, as do Charles and I. Swimming was so much fun and Isaac is already asking when we can see you again:) We feel a little sad that we didn't get to officially say good bye to you before we headed out of town and so we just wanted you to know that we love you and miss you and are so happy that we live at least a little closer now....hopefully that means we can see each other a little more often! We had to leave in the morning so that we could get home before it was dark and the weather was scheduled to be a bit windy and we weren't sure what to expect. It did take us a little bit longer due to some weather so it was good that we got out of town in the morning. Thanks for spending your time with us and we look forward to seeing you again soon. Have a wonderful Christmas and I am sure that we will be talking soon!!! Love you honey........

And it's December....already!!!

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and now we are officially into the heart of the holiday season. Guess what??? we are not even close to being ready for Christmas. I usually have all of my decorating done long before now. We atleast have it done a week before Thanksgiving if not two and we have nothing. Well, i guess we technically have the tree up ( we just bought it last night). The tree however isn't even fluffed or with lights. It is a completely naked, sparse, sad little tree!!! We are working on that though. So, we officially bought our first Christmas tree together last night. It is a 9ft forest fir with pine cones and i love it so much....i also bought our first ever ornaments. we have had ornaments but they have been given to us and we make gingerbread men every year for the tree. After 7 yrs of marriage I think it was time......i will post some pictures when we get caught up! Hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season and hopefully i can gain some christmas spirit that is oh so lacking this year, Bah Humbug!!!!

Well, we survived the week with four extra children and belt testing and new carpet all rolled into one!!! We had new carpet put in last Tuesday in our upstairs bedrooms, hall, stairs and living room. Our plan is to put laminate into the family room but we will actually see when that project gets finished. We had mold in the baby's room from heavy use of the humidifier during his first two years of life but we got it all killed and new carpet put down.....ahhhhhh......that was a sigh of relief. Mold is definitely not something to mess with!!! (Kristen.....there is all your excuse to get your new carpet downstairs. What with all that flooding that has happened in your window well....unfortunately you will probably have to rip out the sheet rock and replace it too) Then for the rest of the week we had upwards of 4 extra children all week and over the weekend. Verlene had a healthy baby boy named Quentin Bonsall Johnson, 6lb 7oz, 19.5 inches born at 3:26 A.M.!!! He is the cutest little guy and they are all doing well. Amidst all of the craziness and fun, the boys had their first belt test. Each did a really great job and they received their yellow belts at a belt ceremony that was last night!!! They were so excited and we are so proud of them and the hard work that they have given to their new interest......Grandpa and Grandma Whitesides were able to attend and we were so happy that they could make it. So as it goes, life continues and all is well at the Mills household. I am just trying to recover from having seven children and keeping up with all that goes on in a family and household!!! I am thoroughly convinced that God gives us one at a time(for the most part) for a great reason......love you all and hope you are all doing well.

It's November....Happy Harvest to you All!!!

Well...we are back online and ready to try again at this whole blog thing. Halloween was a lot of fun but I have to admit that I am quite happy that we are done with it all. Now on to the next holiday!!!  This year I was voted to be the Head Class Mom in Isaac's first grade class...or whatever it is that they call it. So each holiday now has added business to it. It was fun though but I am getting excited for our trip to Grand Junction for Thanksgiving and for my favorite holiday of the year....CHRISTMAS! Can you believe it? I was grabbing some milk last night from Walmart because it was late and it is the closest, but they were playing all Christmas music!!! It was November First.....so it goes. Earlier and earlier each year. Luckily it is my favorite holiday or else I would die for all those who are a little annoyed at the commercial side of Christmas. We took the boys this year to the Dojo(japanese word for a place to practice Karate) for a Halloween party and they each got to take a friend. Gage took Tessa(our neighbor...his best friend) and Isaac took a friend from class(Gavin). Gage was a 50's gangster and he won first runner up for his costume and received a lighted pumpkin bucket! He was the coolest guy ever....Isaac was a ninja and loved every minute of it. They each got to break their first real boards and did a great job. Isaac hit it so hard it broke into three pieces....his Sensei was quite impressed.  I misses out on actual Halloween night because I had a bad case of that 24 hr flu.....and it stunk to miss out!!! Bridger was the cutest little clown around. I was worried that he wouldn't wear his hat but he loved it. We miss you all and we are going to try harder to keep this thing up to date!!! Happy Harvest.....

long time...no write!!!

well, here i am on a thursday afternoon trying to catch up with those that i love and miss. the last month has brought trying times and many things to adjust to. i had my shoulder replaced on the 13th of may and while the surgery went well there have been little hiccups in the road to recovery. I have dealt with thrush, strep, pneumonia and a severe bladder infection all within the last 4 weeks. Like recovery isn't hard enough!!! the boys are doing really well. Isaac finished kindergarten and will start 1st grade in August. mom isn't sure that she is ready to have him gone all say long:( Gage finished his first year of preschool and can't wait to get back!!! he is quickly closing in on his brother in height. they are only about two inches apart. They are looking forward to our yearly trip to Lagoon next friday and Isaac is now tall enough to be able to ride most of the rides. Bridger is a mover and a shaker and keeps us on our toes. He constantly has a bruise or a scrape on his forehead from all of his exploring adventures!!! Charles is doing well and still greatful for his job on base and that he can work so close to home. He is due for a raise and we are praying it will come soon ...what with all these new medical bills that are starting to flow in. we recieved our hospital bill for the surgery.....just the hospital,not including the doctors and the anesthesiologists. It was 42,665.00 and half of that cost was just the parts that were placed in my shoulder!!! Crazy,eh? good thing for insurance....well, until next time!!!
the mills fam

Bridger's first steps!!!

Bridger is 17 1/2 mos old and on tuesday afternoon he took his first four steps all by himself!!! He is in physical therapy and the therapist comes every other week to work with him on his gross motor skills. She asked us if he was walking yet and we told her no. He only had taken maybe a step from us to the bed or the couch or something similar. She picked him up, helped him balance, and he was so afraid of her that he bolted right to me!!! It was amazing...to see our little guy take those first steps. After all that he has been through in his short life I felt like it was a step to putting that all behind him!! Now he is working on perfecting that skill,which still needs a lot of work, but none the less, he has taken his first steps. He prefers the crawling, so it is just a matter of encouraging him a lot to continue on the walking. I know that before too long he will be running and wearing me out but it is such a good feeling to see him succeed!!!

once it starts...

it just doesn't stop for me!!! yes, today I cut my hair even shorter...is that possible you ask? Well, it is and i did it. I am having major shoulder surgery in May and i need something that requires the least amount of effort each day but yet will still look cute. My sister thinks this is the best look for me and so i will go with that:) I sure love ya maran!! Hope all is well in your lives and in the lives of your loved ones.

Bridger's Surgery

Well, we have survived yet another surgery at the mills house. Bridger went in to Primary Childrens an march 7th and had an inguinal hernia and hydrocele repaired and tubes placed in his ears. We spent a longer thatn normal recovery time at the hospital because he was extremely sensitive to the morphine they gave him for pain and it caused him to stop breathing.That brought us back to the good old days he spent in the NICU!!! Then we got him home and his incision opened...which eventually led to us bringing him back to Primary Childrens the following day to have it put back together. We thought we were in the clear and last tuesday he started on a high fever which led us to the ER at Mckay Dee where we spent six hours running tests and trying to bring his fever down when they decided to run an antibiotic in his IV and his fever finally broke two hours later. he is doing so well now at we only suffer from his lack of schedule and trying to put him back into a good sleeping routine...kids are so amazing and they can recover 10 times faster than we ever could. We are greatful for our blessings and pray that this is the last of the surgeries for Bridger!!!

our first away night from the kids...

Charles and i had the opportunity to go with his parents to the Manti temple on the weekend of valentines!!! it was our first night away without the kids barring the whole hospital things(and those don't count)...it was fun and we were able to go and do a session at the Manti temple. that is one beautiful temple!!! We stayed at a local bed and breakfast, the Manti Heritage House. Great deal for the money. Our goal is to one day be able to make it away for a little vacation on our own and hopefully someday that will happen. Seeing as this was our first trip together, outside of our honeymoon, nearly seven years of marriage, i am guessing it might be another seven.....hehehe!

# 2!

wooo hooo!!! here goes blog number 2....well, what have the mills been up to? we have been having fun and working hard and only a few little bumps in the road. For valentines we took the boys to salt lake and we took them for their first excursion to Build-a-Bear! they absolutley loved it and i think that we have started a thing for it. afterwards we took them to the Joseph smith memorial building and watched the joseph smith movie. it was a fun family outing in the middle of the winter... yesterday i went to the salon to have a haircut and while there we had a little mishap with Isaac. the beautician told Isaac he could get a drink of water from their dispenser and didn't bother to say that he needed to be careful and not use the red button because it had coffee hot and ready water. isaac being five thought that the red button was the most exciting and pressed it, only to have hot scalding water run down his hand. to make a long story short he has 2nd degree burns and is trying to recover from the pain and avoid infection. we have had him home from school to help avoid infection but he keeps asking when he can go back!!! lets hope that it will last through highschool...yeah, right. well the picture will explain that i grew very brave and cut eight inches from my hair and now have a cute, spunky new dooooo! or you could say i was tired of all the maintenance of long hair and got sick of it all and did something about it. i am so excited to wake up and run my fingers through it and go. for me it wasn't too much of a shock seeing as how i spent all of my highschool years with it very short:) well, we hope all is well with all that we love and until next time....the mills fam:)