Thanksgiving

Jake and I are blessed enough to live in the same place where we both grew up so we are surrounded by family. One of the drawbacks is we sort of have to manage spending time with each family. Last year we ate with Jake's family so this year we decided to eat with my family. My family's Thanksgiving meal is usually joined by my Mom's family so there are a lot of extended family - Aunts, Uncles and lots of cousins. With Jake's family the guests include really just his Mom and siblings and their significant others and a few kids. Before we left for my family's gathering I snapped some pictures of the get-together at our house then to follow are the pictures of the hoopla at the Hatch family gathering!

Jake had to sample the sweet potatoes before we left!

The meal was at my parent's ward building so we took advantage of kids playing in the nursery

Brody found a slide that he just LOVED!

Update on life with us

Here are just some of the going-on with the Miller family as of late....

I had my six month appointment with my OB last week and the baby has a strong heart beat and is growing nicely. Also some kicking has started in just the past month. Even though this is only my second pregnancy I really enjoy the movement from the baby. As with Brody, it makes it feel real, makes me feel bonded to the baby, getting to know the personality of the baby to come and it is just really great and makes me smile. Here is a pregnancy picture. As with many photos I don't love the way I look but I am trying to be more comfortable with how I look plus I want to look back and see what I looked liked when I was pregnant.

Jake has been working a lot. Well no more than what other managers work at Mattress Firm but more than a normal 40 hour work week. But he has also done a few extra things that his bosses have asked him and between that and in general I think he has earned a lot of respect. So recently he got a promotion. Jake was a Manager On Duty and now he is a permanent Manager of the Mattress Firm on Octillo and Arizona Ave. No increase in salary but a great opportunity. I am so proud of him and thankful for his hard work. Even though he isn't doing what he wanted to do after graduating from ASU he is thriving where he is at and in the current state of economy we are blessed that he has a job!


Since Becky moved out there has been some extra room in the house so there were some room changes. Donna moved into where Becky was so now she has her own bathroom and Brody is in the room where Donna was. Its a pretty big room but he will be sharing it with his brother at some point. So to save money we decided there was room enough in the house to empty our storage unit. A couple weeks ago Jake spent his days off after the room change and brought everything here. One of my major responsibilities was situating Brody's room and going through old baby clothes. There were 11 boxes (some were small but still) and 3 garbage bags full of Brody's old clothes. Needless to say we see the blessing in having another boy cause we have plenty of clothes!!! I wanted things separated and organized for when the baby gets here. I bought some tubs and sorted through everything and now that Brody's new room has two closets there is room to store it all. Here is just some of the mess all the stuff made until it was sorted through:

Also there was some baby stuff that was in storage that apparently, even at Brody's age, still are fun to play with.

We found that Brody discovered this in the living room and immediately got in on his own and started playing with it

Unfortunately Brody got pink eye last week. I think he might have gotten it when we went to the park on Thursday. So far none of Brody's cousins who come to our house daily have gotten it which is a relief since it is SO contagious. Other than how bad it looked Brody was happy during the whole thing. But Brody actually responded to the antibiotic really fast and though he is still taking the medicine he doesn't look like he has pink eye!

As I said in the last post Brody has been a handful lately but also extremely adorable and cute and a few days before the yucky pink eye hit I got some great pictures of him.

Eating popcorn in the backyard with cousins (yes he is in just a shirt and a diaper)

This is one of my favorite pictures

Another fav

Of course with his smile this is a big fav as well!

Brody's favorite place to play in the backyard is by the citrus trees

Now onto Thanksgiving and Christmas. Happy Thanksgiving to all who visit this blog

Food, family and thanks!

Being Mischievous and Tired

Brody is a toddler! Yes, that is not news to anyone but he is proving to be that troublesome toddler who is a handful and at the same time adorable and when I should be disciplining, at times, I am holding back a giggle or smile! I feel, as his mother, he has been especially mischievous lately and it is accompanied with many tantrums and flat out not taking naps some days.

Recently I made our scenic pictures from our Colorado trip we took this Summer the screen saver. Brody LOVES watching the screen saver. For such a rambunctious kid its funny to see him sit so still and just watch the pictures on the computer screen. Except sometimes he is naughty and stands up on the computer chair to watch.

One day last week I was looking around the house to see where Brody was (great mothering, right). I noticed one of his cousins had left the bathroom door open and I heard something but the light was off. Then I opened the door to find Brody sitting in the sink!

Brody didn't seem to think it was a big deal. He acted as though it was as natural as sitting on the couch.

There have been quite a few days the past couple weeks where Brody didn't get to take his nap before 2 pm. A couple times we were out of the house and the rest were just him sitting in his room refusing to sleep. If he doesn't fall asleep by then I just have him stay up so that he can go to bed early. This picture and the next capture how exhausted a nap-less day is for a toddler!

Here is to the goal of more naps, even if Brody has to take a nap at 10 am!!

Veteran's Day

I was listening to NPR this morning and heard a panel of people talking about Veterans and all that goes with that, current and present servicemen and women. The discussions ranged from Veteran's current problems seeking physical and mental treatment to the sacrifices veteran's families experience. I heard about some amazing organizations and I came home and look them up on the Internet. I am listing the names, websites and a little info on each below.

Ali Al-Saadi/AFP/Getty Images

Veterans for America (http://www.veteransforamerica.org) is an advocacy and humanitarian organization. VFA focuses specifically on the signature wounds these conflicts: psychological traumas and traumatic brain injuries. VFA concentrates much of its attention on the needs of those who are currently serving in the military since the majority of those who have seen combat in Iraq and Afghanistan are still in the military and under the care of the Department of Defense. Veterans for America unites the current generation of servicemembers and veterans with veterans from previous wars to address the needs of our men and women in uniform—both active-duty and Guard/Reserve—and their families. VFA’s mission is to ensure that the voices of those who have sacrificed immeasurably on behalf our country in recent years are heard and that support commensurate with their sacrifice is provided.

National Military Family Association (http://www.nmfa.org) their goals are to educate military families concerning their rights, benefits and services available to them and to inform them regarding the issues that affect their lives and...

To promote and protect the interests of military families by influencing the development and implementation of legislation and policies affecting them.

National Journal's Oral History of Iraq & Afghanistan (http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/nj_20080805_8304.php) Since 2004, National Journal reporter Sydney Freedberg has conducted in-depth interviews with more than 90 military service members about their experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq. The resulting series of articles has covered subjects ranging from rules of engagement to National Guard call-ups to the role of armored vehicles in urban combat. For National Journal's influential audience -- members of Congress, their staffs, lobbyists, analysts, activists and other Washington insiders -- this series helps provide an infusion of "ground truth" into often abstract policy debates. At the same time, it puts individual experiences into the wider context of the high-level decisions being made about how to equip, organize and employ the U.S. military.

Since this blog is private I know (almost) for a fact that no one who is currently in the military or has served is going to read this post (though my friend Saundra's husband did serve in Vietnam but she rarely looks at this blog). But I wanted to post, for my own peace of mind, this info and say a big THANK YOU for all the SACRIFICES and SERVICE the many men and women of this country have given in years past and currently giving. Selflessly these people are serving in the military and more recently in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I know a 'thank you' isn't much and it seems very insignificant compared to all service that has been done for us as US citizens and for people of other nations. But I didn't want this day to go by and not do or say anything!

Jake is for sure the father!

Josh and his bride-to-be Amy were looking through family photos the other day wanting to get some pictures of Josh to use for a video to play at their up coming wedding. While looking through, Donna came across some of Jake when he was little. As soon as I saw them I thought, "Wow, except for Brody having lighter hair when Jake was little he looks exactly like Brody". So not that there were any doubts about who Brody's father was and not that it is strange to have a son look like his father but these pictures really illustrates the saying, "Like father like son"!!

A lot of the facial expressions Jake made when he was little are the same that Brody makes but as I was looking through photos of Brody to put along side Jake's to show a comparison I realized that many of the photos I have taken of Brody don't always capture his wonderful facial expressions. I guess you still get the idea...

This is the only photo out of all the ones in this post where Jake is two. All the rest he is around 3 almost 4. So this picture in particular is appropriate because Jake is closer to Brody's curent age in this picture and I think this picture really shows, more than the others, how similar they look.

Happy Birthday Evan

Last week was Evan's birthday but I got busy and didn't post anything about it. I know it seems silly and with such a big family that Jake and I come from we just aren't able to show much recognition for each person's birthday. But Evan has a special place in my heart and he is so close to Brody's age and we are hoping as they grow up around each other that they are buds. I just had to post something to commemorate Evan's 2nd birthday!

Here is a picture from the day we went and visited Evan and Sarah at the hospital after he was born.

Here is another picture from that same visit. This is the introduction of Brody (about 5 months at the time) to Evan.

When Evan was about 5 months old (or so) his Mom, Sarah, went back to work and I was lucky enough to watch him for just a few weeks.


It was a fun experience to bond with Evan at such a young age. Not many people have the luxury of spending that much time with their nephew!

Brody and Evan started bonding...sort of!


This is Evan now, I am back to watching him and he brings lots of joy to me and to our home when he is here! He has a fun personality and I love hearing him talk.

He has a head full of blond curls and is always smiles - except when the trains do something to make him mad

Thursday of last week Sarah, Grandma Donna, Evan, Brody and myself all went to the zoo to celebrate the birthday. It was lots of fun but tiring for the boys...more for Brody as you can tell!

President Elect Barack Obama!

I know many in the country were divided over which candidate was best suited to be the next president. There was lots of opinions and in many cases emotions that went along with this Presidential election. No matter who won I would like to say (though I am an Obama voter) I really hope the country joins together Republicans and Democrats and those independent voters to put disagreements aside and, as President Elect Obama asked on Tuesday night, work together to bring needed changes to some of the problems the US is facing. During tough times bickering, arguing and fighting does not help.

My first impression of Barack Obama was formed back in 2004 when he spoke at the Democratic Convention. I remember sitting on our couch with Jake and just being blown away by his speech. The way he delivered the speech, the speech itself, the inspiration both Jake and I were left with was amazing. We felt empowered. I remember thinking at that time, "I wish this guy was running for president instead of Kerry!" I know words are just that, words, but words have a power and they play an important role. If you think about it, as voters, we really just have the words of the candidate - do we believe them or not? 4 years later Barack Obama is our president and his words are, to me more motivating, encouraging and arouse in me a spirit of optimism and hope for the future and increase the pride I have for my country. I know very few of you will care to read the following but I include it for my own record.

Parts of Obama's speech from Tuesday night

On the future

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there. There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand."

On bipartisanship
"Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too."

On the genius of America

"To all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope. For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow."

On the moment
"America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made? This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can."