Miller Photo Shoot.

I am posting a post from my photo blog over to this one. It is a shoot of Amber's kids. I have not posted on here forever. I feel bad about it, but I have been very busy with my photography and hardly have time to keep that blog up, so it is a little hard to get to post on this one. I have some great pictures from the past couple of months...maybe someday I will get to do a blog catch up...for now here is a few of the Miller kids shots...

I love these 3 kids! They are darling and we were able to get some great shots of them. They are my niece and nephews so I am probably a little bias, but I have to say that they are great models and I had fun getting to take their pictures. Thanks for letting me steal them away for their shoot Amber...

The Best Day.

Driving home tonight, Taten announces "I HAD THE BEST DAY! - I got $2.75 from the tooth fairy this morning and I won 2nd place in the Pinewood Derby! Really Mom, it was The Best Day!" I agreed with him and he ran into the house beaming from ear to ear. In an 8 year old boys eyes - it doesn't get any better than this. He feels rich and couldn't be prouder of the medal hanging from his neck. I love how simple things are in a child's eyes. Here is a little glimpse of Tate's Best Day...

Tate worked hard on his car. He drew the design and was in charge of every part of the building process. He and Cody cut it out and then he sanded it forever. Then he took it to Grandpa Keith to paint it. They put about 10 coats of gloss on it and thought that it looked like glass. He then took the car home in a box and slept with it in his bed right beside him. He could not wait for this day.
He became a Bobcat tonight (I think - still a little confused on the whole scouting program). They had a face painting ceremony for the boys.

He would hand them his car and run down to the end of the track to see the finish line. There's his red car taking the lead...

The medal.
Showing off his 2nd place car. He also won the sportiest car!




Definitely - The Best Day!

Ellie Skiing.

Cody and I got to go up to Pomerelle and ski with Ellie and her class a few weeks ago. It was a blast! I had not been skiing in 11 years, but it just comes right back. It was so fun to watch Ellie learn to ski and immediately LOVE it. I wish that we could go all the time and take Taten and Emma also. It is so great that we have such a wonderful spot to ski right in our backyard. It is too bad that we can't take advantage of it more often. We were all a little sore the next day, but it was totally worth it.

Ellie didn't want to leave and neither did I. Everyone else had quit for the day and Cody was done too, so Ellie and I went on one last run all by ourselves. It was my favorite part of the day. She was so tired that she went really slow down the mountain, but it was fun having the hill all to ourselves. Ellie slept all the way home...

Haiti.

I have been very touched by the whole earthquake situation that is going on in Haiti. You could say that I am some what addicted to this little families journey to get their children out of that country and into their forever home. I have been stalking this woman's blog for several months now. I am not normally a stalker type of person, but one night I couldn't sleep due to the lovely meds that I was on and I stumbled upon this blog through a friend's blog. It has been an amazing thing to watch this couple go through what you have to go through to adopt kids from Haiti. I can't even wrap my mind around it.

Since the earthquake hit, I have involved my kids in the stalking...

Not the best role model, I know, but I think that it is important for them to see what other children are going through. I think that it is important to teach our children about the less fortunate. I have to say that this past week, my children have taught me more than I could have ever taught them about compassion...

I sent a little note along with our donation to their cause. This is a facebook note that was posted about my kids:


We received a beautiful note along with a donation to Hope for Little Angels of Haiti.

'My 8 year old came up to me with a $1 bill and ask if it could still be used because it had a little tear in it. I told him yes and he handed me the dollar and ask me to give it to the Haiti children for their jet fuel. My 10 year old quickly left the room and came back with a $5 bill. She wanted to give also. I am adding $4 to make it an even amount. Thank-you so much for sharing your story and allowing me to share it with my children and teach them through your situation. Thank you for giving them this opportunity to give!'

Thank you for teaching your children the importance of caring for their brothers and sisters wherever they may be. We are all touched by their kindness and generosity!"

You could say that I was just a little proud to read that note.

Taten would really like a brother from Haiti. He won't stop asking for one. He told me that his brother could always sleep on the top bunkbed in his room. I finally told him yesterday that it cost a lot of money to adopt a child. Ellie looked at me with the most confused face and said "You mean they're not free to a good home?" If only things were as simple as they are through children's eyes.

I know that there is a lot more rebuilding to do in Haiti for these orphans. I love my children and the examples that they are to me. Their spirits are so innocent and pure. I think of the children in Haiti - their little spirits are just like my kids. They just need somewhere to live and be taken care of until they can find Mom and Dad's of their own. Taten and Ellie inspired me and I hope that they can inspire all of you. If everyone that reads this would go and match there $6 donation it could really add up. If you have been thinking of donating to Haiti - this is a good organization to donate to. I know, because I have been stalking them for 6 months! :) Check out their blog and hit the donate button while you are there. Warning: Do not go to this link unless you have a box of Kleenex handy...

http://www.countdowntohomecoming.blogspot.com/

Taten Baptism.

Taten got baptized on the 2nd of January. I was very proud of his decision. I love this little boy so much. He continues to make me proud everyday with the choices that he makes. I need to brag now, cuz who knows when he will start acting like his Dad and I won't know what to do with him! :)

Can you tell how excited Cody was to get to go and put on the big white suit???

We had a meal afterwards in my parents garage. It was a wonderful meal and for dessert we had cookies. They are Tate's favorite thing ever - so why not. Taten took 5 of Grandma Kathy's sugar cookies...I was going to get mad at him and tell him that it was rude to take that many, but it was HIS day, so I guess if he wanted to eat all of those - more power to him.

I love you Taten Max. Keep making good choices my baby boy...

Harley.

We have a new addition in our family. His name is Harley, and he has fit right into our fam perfectly. I always have wanted an inside dog - I just could never add the stress that comes along with one, so we haven't gotten one. Dad gave him to Mom for Christmas on Christmas Eve and then Mom re-gifted him to Cody on Christmas Day. Sal did not last long as a dog owner. :)

I really don't count Cody's dogs as family dogs. They are not the cuddling type. Well, they are, but they stink and are too large to sit on my lap. Harley is a cuddle bug. I am loving having a dog that we all can enjoy and that doesn't eat me out of house and home. He is 2.5 pounds right now and probably won't get more than 7 pounds total. He is a cockapoo-poo. His mom is a cockapoo and his dad is a toy poodle. He actually calms me down, and besides the fact that he is not quite potty trained - has not caused me much stress.

He has been really good for Tate also. Tate has had a bad experience with a puppy in the past, and it has made him very offish to all dogs. But he just can't resist Harley. Who could??? Oh Yah - Mom. :) Taten loves Harley and tells him that. It makes me so happy to watch him take care of Harley.

It has always been Ellie's dream to have an indoor lap dog. She carries him everywhere and he kept going in her room the other night and whined at her bed because he wanted to sleep with her. Harley loves Ellie. It is funny that he is attacking her in this pic though.

Seriously, he is ADORABLE!

Happy New Year.

Here is our Christmas card this year...

I didn't mail very many out, so if you didn't see me over the Christmas Season, you probably didn't get one. Sorry. Here is your digital version.

Christmas.

We had a really enjoyable Christmas this year. I just don't have many pictures of it. I was not feeling as well as I wished I could have (M.R.S.A. lesion #4 arrived on my face on the 18th - Merry Christmas to me!), so I guess I just didn't feel up to pulling the camera out for all of our parties that we went to. This year we went to 3 spots on Christmas Eve. It was really rushed, but fun. We started at Aunt Dee and Uncle Sherm's house which brought me back to my childhood and was fun to see Dad's side of the family. Then we went to Tom and Kathy's house for dinner. We spent some time there and then finished off with Julie's house and all the good old Gillette family traditions that we have created over the years. Christmas day was low key. We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner and Sarah, Don and Bill were there. Along with Aunt Chris, Uncle Sam, and Uncle Bill. We all had dogs there too - which was hilarious. Keith and Sal don't usually let dogs in their house - let alone 4 inside and 3 more outside. We let them all run together and it was pretty entertaining to watch.

Christmas just wouldn't be the same without family.

I learned a little Christmas lesson this year...

This is what our tree looked like on Christmas morning. I worried for days that our kids wouldn't have enough for Christmas. I felt like I was going to ruin their Christmas due to a lack of gifts. I knew that everyone else would spoil them though, so I refrained from putting anything on the credit card just to load them up more. When we were done opening gifts, before they received anything from anyone else. Taten looked at me and said "Mom, this is the best Christmas ever!" Wow. It took my 8 year old son to show me that it is not about the possessions that we receive - it is about being with family and thinking of Christ.

I hope you all had the best Christmas ever.

Ellie Basketball.

We spent a lot of time in December at the gym watching Ellie play basketball. I loved watching her. She tries really hard.

She is number 15.
The good thing is that there is not too much of a height difference. She is only slightly shorter than all the other girls on her team...I had to keep telling her that!

What a shot! We think that she probably gets her form from her Grandma! Just kidding Mom. :) On a bragging note - Her coach did tell Cody that he wished that she had a little more power because her shot is right on every time. She has great aim. She just doesn't have the strength to get it to the basket. We will work on the strength part this summer. I am glad that we were able to have the coach that we did. He did an awesome job with the girls and Ellie learned a lot without being yelled at every second. Ellie really enjoyed her basketball season.