Archive for the ‘Parenting’ Category
In Whit’s words…
Posted on: September 19, 2008
- In: Church | Family and Friends | Parenting
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Two things that Whit has recently said that made me laugh…
1) While looking at each other’s eyes, I started opening and closing mine to which he says “Mama, your pimples are getting big and little, big and little!” (Pupils not pimples…get it?!)
2) We’ve been praying alot for Ms. Jessi’s mom. Well…tonight after we prayed for “Ms. Jessi’s mom”, Whit says – very matter of factly – “Mama, don’t you think it’s about time we got on a first name basis with Ms. Jessi’s mom?!?!”
In other news – not in Whit’s words…we ordered pizza the other night for dinner. I had on my old Elevation t-shirt…not one of the fancy ones…plain white shirt, black “Elevation”, orange (^) logo. I walk out to meet the delivery person and I’m signing the debit receipt. Out of stark silence he says “Dang. Are you a walking billboard sign or what?” I then realize that not only do I have on my shirt, but I took out an Elevation pen (don’t judge – you have one, or ten, in your house too!) to sign the reciept AND we’re standing next to my car with the sticker! “Are you a walking billboard sign?!” Why yes, Mr. Domino’s Pizza Delivery Man, I am a walking billboard sign! Wrote down the locations and times, with my Elevation pen, so we’ll see if walking billboards work! I even gave him the pen! 🙂
Quotable Quotes
Posted on: August 14, 2008
Just thought I’d share some of my favorite quotes from some of my favorite people:
“Mama, you don’t seem to know much, but I like what you do know” -Whitman Miller, August 13, 2008 (In my defense, he was asking questions about Spiderman and the Green Goblin – and I really don’t know who is the fastest!)
“Mama, why couldn’t Nanny just pick out two pairs of pajamas and stay in heaven for two nights?” -Whitman Miller, August 1, 2008
Thanks to my papa, we’re big storytellers in our house. So, after hearing this: “Once upon a time, there was a princess named Sophie…” for so long, Sophie began to tell her stories like this, “Onetuponatime, der a pincess name me.” -Sophie Miller, August, 2008
And my favorite, from many years ago. One of my dear friends who, admittedly, is not the brightest bulb in the box got her first job at a locally owned family restaurant. When asked to make some tea, she responded with: “Where are the sweet tea bags?” Hmmmmm?!?! -???????, 1996
Five
Posted on: May 28, 2008
By the time I finish typing this it will be past midnight, officially making it Whit’s birthday. Five years ago, at 7:43 am, Whit was born! All 8 pounds and 13 ounces of him – four weeks early!! The past five years have flown by and I’m preparing myself for the next five to go even faster.
When I was pregnant with Whit, we did not find out his sex. A choice that our families were not happy with, but something that excited us! I remember people saying “Don’t you really hope it’s a girl?” or “Will you be disappointed if it’s a boy?” My sincere answer was that I just wanted a healthy baby. I really didn’t care, since it was our first, I had nothing to compare it to.
Well…as it turns out…I was right! It didn’t matter! I LOVE having a son. I cannot imagine my life without a son. He loves me in a different way than Sophie – not better – just different. Because of him, I know WAY more about dinosaurs than I ever learned in school. I love the fact that he is a big brother to a sister. (Kemp is a big brother and I have a big brother – how appropriate?!?) He makes me laugh every day. He makes me want to pull my hair out every day. He is such a sweet big brother. He never meets a stranger. He is so affectionate, so loving. He never tires of playing “I Spy”. I can’t believe that the baby I delivered five years ago today will be starting kindergarten in three months.
Obviously, because they are my life, I speak often about Whit and Sophie on my blog. I will leave you with one of the sweetest conversations I have ever had with my son:
Setup: After spending a few hours in agony over a decision involving the sale of our house and Whit’s kindergarten placement, I broke down. Alot was at stake over our decision and I simply met my breaking point. I was home alone with the kids and I couldn’t hold it in any longer. Sophie started kissing my hand and Whit crawled up in my lap to put his arms around me.
Whit: Mama, it’s going to be ok. Do you want me to talk to God?
Me: Yes, honey, that would be great.
Whit: Dear God, (stops and peeks at me to see if I’ve stopped crying) Thank you for outer space. (peeks again to see if it’s working – noticing that I’m not completely dry yet – he continues) Thank you for the astronauts. (The tears have stopped and my lips are curling into a smile. How can they not while he’s praying for the solar system?!? Realizing that he’s almost done the trick, he wraps up with this…) But most of all, make mama happy again. Amen.
It worked.
Happy Birthday, my little Whitman. I love you as high as the sky and as deep as the ocean!
***FUNNY UPDATE*** After Whit went to bed tonight, we littered his room with balloons, streamer and confetti. I just walked down the hallway to go to bed and he was up throwing the balloons around at 1:00 in the morning! Hee Hee! Oh well..it’s his birthday, right?!?
Under where?
Posted on: April 6, 2008
- In: Church | Family and Friends | General | Parenting
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Where have I been? I don’t even know if I know the answer to that! We’ll chalk it up to some busy times, blog blahs and getting a house ready to put up for sale. That’s our first step in trying to get in a decent school district. (See previous post.) I don’t want to leave any stone unturned in our D.E.W. Process. That would be our Decent Education for Whit Process. (I crack myself up!) So we have been busy cleaning, painting, throwing away and boxing up. It won’t be long before the sign goes up – and we’ll see what happens from there. Also, I mentioned in my previous post that I wish kindergarten had scholarships and/or financial aid….as a joke….well…turns out that some private schools do offer assistance – so that’s another stone we’re going to look under. If those don’t pan out – I’ll be on the phone with Gina, Marybeth, Paige and Erica – ALOT!! Wish us luck!
Speaking of Paige – whom I just love with all of me – she is about to become an aunt – twice in the same day! Isn’t that the most exciting thing?!? Her sister in law, Lindsay, is something like 54 weeks pregnant with twin boys! (Really only 38 weeks, but with twins it has to feel like 54, right Lindsay?!?) Because Paige and I are third cousins, twice removed, by marriage and upside down – I have to be related to these babies somehow, right?!? Either way, I can’t wait to meet them! Say a prayer for mom and babies, as they’re being induced Tuesday morning!
In Whit news….for those of you that have been any where near my son in the past 72 hours, you know why this post is titled what it is. Friday afternoon, Whit comes up to me and without any preparation of what is to come, says to me “Mama, what’s under there?” Of course my response (as is everyone else’s) is “Under where?” And he says to me…..drum roll please….”HA HA, YOU JUST SAID UNDERWEAR!!! HA HA!!” I laughed so hard I almost cried! Not because it was that funny, but because my almost five year old told a joke, told it right and didn’t preface it by saying that he was getting ready to tell me a joke! Now that I’ve heard it over 200 times, it’s getting a little old – but seeing other people’s faces when he gets them is not getting old! Like I said, if you’ve seen him since Friday – chances are, you’ve heard it. If you’re going to see him in the next week or so you’ll probably hear it, please humor him me!
One last thing – if there are any Quest volunteers that read this blog – hopefully this will mean something to you. One more way to show that what we do in Quest makes such a difference in our children’s lives. Today’s special words were “I can pray to Jesus anywhere.” When we got home today, I was working at the computer and Whit comes and taps my arm and says “Mama, lets pray to Jesus.” Of course, I stop everything and say “Ok, bud. Let’s do it.” Whit: “Dear Jesus, thank you for this day. Thank you for my preschool. Thank you for the sunshine and thank you for Sophie. Amen.” I give him a big hug and ask him why he wanted to pray at that moment. He says “Mama, you can pray to Jesus anywhere and I just wanted to make sure you knew that you can even pray to him at the computer.” How true, son. Thanks for the reminder!
And the winner is?
Posted on: March 24, 2008
Not me. I have entered four lotteries in the past month and I lost them all.
Am I on a pity pot? Maybe. Am I frustrated? Yes. Do I feel like I’ve let my child down, even if I haven’t? Yes. Do I feel completely defeated? Yes, in this moment I do. For those that can’t handle a little sap and sorrow – quit reading now. For those that dare to continue – consider yourselves warned.
Whit starts kindergarten in the fall. Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) has home schools – meaning that you are assigned a school based on where you live. We are not thrilled with our home school assignment – so much so that we will not send Whit to that school. (For reasons that are not necessary to broadcast on a public forum, but for reasons that we, as his parents, have decided that it is not in his best interest to attend that school.) We attended the magnet school fair. We chose three magnet schools as our choice schools to put him in for the lottery drawing. We found out the first week in March that we did not get ANY of our choices. (Only to find out the next day in the Charlotte Observer that 52% of parents got their first choice. How is it that 52% got their first choice, but we did not get our second choice OR our third choice?) I have always loved Queens Grant Charter School. Great school. Great beliefs. Great principal and staff. Great parental involvement. I entered Whit into their lottery drawing the day they opened enrollment for the 2008 school year, which was back in September. I patiently waited months for the lottery drawing, which brings us to today. Almost 300 children wanting less than 60 kindergarten spots. Whit is number 107 on the waiting list. Needless to say, we did not get in, nor did we get a desirable number on the waiting list. We had four school options, none of which panned out.
Now, ask me where Whit will go to school for Kindergarten? I have no clue. I am a planner. I am a list maker. I am detailed and I am organized. I try to look at things from every imaginable angle, so that I can be prepared for the weirdest of circumstances. I am approaching what could possibly be the biggest part of my son’s life so far, and I have no plan.
I, therefore, feel defeated. Even though Whit doesn’t have a clue as to what is going on, I feel like I have let him down. I wish that we would have moved when we first started worrying about his home school, back when he was two. I wish there were student loans or scholarships for kindergarten. (Did I really just say that?!?)
I am reminding myself of the words my best friend spoke to me – “God will work it out.” I know she’s right. He knows if our house will sell, so that we can move to a better school district. He knows if I should home school. He will work it out. He has a plan for Whit that will be revealed. I know He will show up – it’s up to me to find a way to depend on that.
Jeremiah 29:11 says:
“For I know the plans I have for you“, says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
I believe that. I really believe it. So, tonight, I’m going to fall asleep repeating this verse over and over. Knowing that my God…Whit’s God, knows the plan and He will reveal it to us when the time is right.
I’ve got a fever.
Posted on: March 6, 2008
- In: Parenting
- 3 Comments
If I had to guess, I’d say it’s about 104 degrees. Maybe higher. I’m not chilling. I’m not vomiting. I don’t have a sore throat. I have a fever. Baby Fever.
I am one of those women that loves, LOVES, LOVES to be pregnant. I didn’t have picture perfect pregnancies. I was nauseated all day with both of them – never could vomit which I think would have made it better. Lots of trips to the doctor… had to see my diabetic doctor every two weeks for the entire pregnancy. My OBGYN once a month for the first trimester, twice a month for the second trimester and every week for the last trimester. Blood pressure issues. In and out of the hospital for the last trimester of my pregnancy with Whit. Those closest to me will tell you that I suffered through some depression after both births. Feeding issues with both of them.
I still LOVED being pregnant. Wanting to throw up every day cannot compare to the first time you hold your baby. Sleepless nights are forgotten the first time that sweet baby smiles at you. A little depression is a thing of the past the moment he wraps his little fingers around your finger. Plus, I have some of the best memories of being up at 2:00 in the morning with Kemp watching Most Extreme Elimination Challenge.
For a lot of different reasons, we’re done. We’re completely blessed with two beautiful, healthy children that take my breath away on a daily basis. Although I would love to be pregnant again, Whit and Sophie fill my heart and soul.
But…for all you preggo women out there that happen to notice me sitting really close….lingering a little longer than usual….I’m not stalking you. Or, maybe I am. 😉
Sunday Night Summary
Posted on: March 3, 2008
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Another week has flown by. It’s going to be Christmas before I know it. Highlights for the Miller family:
*** Definite highlight for the week was the Murder Mystery Dinner we attended last night. Our entire small group was invited to a Mocktail party set back in the 1940s in Charleston. Dress up. Role play. Fake cigarettes. Scary hairpieces for men. Southern drawls. (Or was that from London?) A pickpocket monkey. A couple of dead people. No children. Unbelievably good time. We honestly didn’t realize how much fun we had until we couldn’t stop talking about it all the way home! Awesome pictures and more details will follow! Once again – another reason why I am a part of the most fascinating small group.
*** Whit finally got his hair cut this weekend. I think everyone that has seen him over the past couple of weeks will breathe a sigh of relief when they see some of that weight off his head! My boy has a head of hair!
***Whit’s preschool class “adopted” a soldier in Iraq to send him things throughout the year. They didn’t know it, but he came home last week and surprised them in their class on Friday. Whit was so excited! When we said his prayers that night he said “God, thank you for this day. Thank you for my preschool. Thank you for bringing David to my class today. I bet his mama and daddy were as excited to see him as me. Amen.” I could probably write about his prayers every day. They are so precious to me!
*** Sophie is still all about princesses. Loves the sparkles. Loves the tiaras. She is all girl. She has really gotten into singing too. She’ll find anything and turn it into a microphone. Apparently, she put on a concert for some of the girls in her Safari room at church.
***We had an issue with childcare tonight for small group – so all of our kids were with us at Kirsten’s house. Sophie prayed with everyone and she closed out our group prayer for the evening. Thing is….she starts her prayers by singing “God Bless America”, then goes into some Russian chant and closes with a big “Ahhhmahen”. It’s really cute, but none of us know what she’s saying! That’s ok – God does! 🙂
***I am so in love with my children.
***I’m also in love with this weather. I could handle this kind of weather 7 or 8 months out of the year!
Here’s wishing all of you a happy week!
Sunday Night Summary
Posted on: February 17, 2008
Is it really already Sunday? This week has flown by. I didn’t do a Sunday night summary last week, so I’ll begin with last Sunday:
***Unbelievable day at Elevation. That whole day probably deserves a post in and of itself, but my highlights are the baptisms and attending the live recording of the worship team’s second cd. I’ve never witnessed a group of baptisms and I found that it was very emotional for me. Three of the volunteers in Quest got baptized – Christine, Jacque and Katie – so it made it personal to see three friends get dunked! I was even moved by some of the strangers. You could see their excitement…their tears…their history. All being cleansed in that moment. This story and this story were especially emotional for me. I guess because they involve children – and c’mon, is there really a dry eye when a daddy gets to baptize his own little girl? Now that I get the importance of being baptized, I will cherish the day that my children decide to take that step of obedience in their walk with Christ. Congratulations to all of the baptizees last week!
***Momtourage on Monday. What a lovely group of ladies I get to spend every other Monday with. I laughed very hard, thought very deep and have already changed some things about myself. My husband doesn’t know all of the Momtourage ladies, but he’s already very grateful for them! An added bonus was dinner with Jess before Momtourage! Milligan College …really?!? Who would have ever thunk it?!? 🙂
***Tuesday was devoted to a string of EKidz meetings. Another group of wonderful people! And a wonderful ministry area, too. I have found a passion in working with the preschoolers at church ~ another added bonus for me is that I have made some beautiful friendships with people that share that same passion.
***Wednesday – Friday were somewhat uneventful. Sophie has fallen passionately in love with The Little Mermaid. She will, at any request, stop what she is doing and sing you The Little Mermaid song if you ask her. She is also passionately in love with her new tutu. She wears it everywhere. I’m shocked we got her out the door for church this morning without it on! So. Dang. Cute. Whit is at a stage where he wants to know how to spell everything. How do you spell stop? How do you spell word? How do you spell dinosaur? How do you spell Tyrannosaurus Rex? I love to stretch his mind and help him learn things..but the thing is…my brain doesn’t have a spell check. And although I’m very anal about spelling words correctly, sometimes you just can’t spell Tyrannosaurus Rex without a spell check!
***Saturday I hired Whit and Sophie’s first babysitter. We have alot of family in town – as well as friends with children that will watch our kids without us having to pay them. (Grandparents will do it anytime and we can return the favor to friends!) Kemp and I overlapped some plans and we needed someone to watch the kids for about 2 hours. So…I called “my cousin” Paige to see if her daughter, Jessi, was available. She was! She came over. The kids loved her. I think she loved the kids. So….now we have someone we can call on a regular basis if needed! Neat historical chain: Paige used to babysit Kemp when he was little. Jessi was a flower girl at our wedding. Now she’s babysitting our kids. Neat, huh?!?
***The reason I needed to be away on Saturday was for AMPLIFY. Great day. Once again, with a group of great people. Elevation’s Family Pastor, Phillip McCart did a phenomenal job speaking to all of the Family Ministry’s volunteers. Phillip’s passion for his ministry is so palpable – I don’t think there was an untouched heart in the room. Way to go, Team Orange!
***Which brings us back to Sunday – today. Another great day at Elevation! I missed the sermon, which I will catch on the Internet, but the volunteer push last week granted us with six new volunteers in Quest at Butler!! Three for the 1st worship experience – three for the second. I’m thrilled, to say the least. Beautiful weather today. Leftover Elliot’s BBQ for lunch. Excellent company and baked ziti at small group tonight. Overall, an exceptional week. God is good.
Lucky Girl
Posted on: January 25, 2008
- In: General | Parenting
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When we get home from taking Whit to preschool, I try to spend one on one time with Sophie. Whether it’s playing a game of her choice, reading books or practicing our ABC’s – I generally try to spend special time with her.
I was extremely tired this morning. Not just tired, but sleepy. Heavy, burning eyes sleepy – you know the feeling. Honestly, all I wanted to do this morning was close my eyes and go back to sleep.
Guess what Sophie had in mind? ALL she wanted to do was play night night. She made me lay down, got me all sorts of “pee-ohs” and “bankies” and “bee bee daws” (pillows, blankets and baby dolls) to snuggle up with. If I opened my eyes, she would tickle my face or stroke my hair until I would “go back night night”. This lasted for about an hour!
Did I get good “catch me up” sleep. No.
Was it relaxing? You better believe it!
Did Sophie have fun playing mommy to me? Yep.
Could I have been more productive in that hour? Absolutely.
Do I feel guilty? Not one bit.
I’d like to think that Sophie and I will have that special mother/daughter connection. Maybe we did this morning. Maybe she knew “mommy night night” was what I needed. I was a lucky girl this morning!
Godspeed!
Sunday Night Summary
Posted on: January 21, 2008
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** Busy week around the Miller house this week. Lots of doctor’s appointments, meetings, etc. I’m happy to report, though, that everyone is happy and healthy. (Knock on wood!)
** Whit learned a new song at school this week. He has a hard time pronouncing the letter “J”, so his new song sounds like this: “I’ve got the Choy, choy, choy, choy down in my heart….” and “I’ve got the love of Cheese-us down in my heart….”
** I now, am not only a part of the best small group at Elevation, I’m a part of the coolest small group at Elevation! Mike bought our group a website! How exciting is that? Our small group has a website that we can go to for updates and news about our lives! I know you’re jealous. Not everyone can be as cool as us, though.
** Kemp and I have spent the entire weekend painting. Why? Well….we were offered some free furniture. Free. Zero dollars, zero cents, zero tax. The furniture (sofa and two recliners) is in very nice condition. We really couldn’t pass it up. Only thing…didn’t match our walls at all. What’s a girl to do? Paint, of course! I have to say that I am very pleased with the outcome. All of my walls were peach, which I never loved. Now they’re taupe and wine – and I love them! New furniture plus fresh paint equals happy Teri and Kemp!
** Coldest day of the year, right? My husband decides to meet a coworker of his tomorrow at 6:00 in the morning to go duck hunting. Never been before in his life, but he decides to go on the coldest day of the year when he’s off from work and he could sleep in. Men – go figure!
** The Made sermon series at church has been one of my favorites. Every week has spoken something to me in a deep way. Even without Pastor Furtick being there this week, the guest pastor, Jonathan Martin really spoke to me about how we, as believers, need to reach out to others so that we can feel the love of Jesus through their touch. There’s a reason I’m not a pastor – so go here to hear it spoken properly. Well worth your time.
** That’s it from here! I haven’t read up on my favorite blogs all week – so I’m off to do that! Hopefully I’ll make it in the bed by 2:00. Blogs are so addictive at times – that’s another whole post!
Godspeed
Teri Sue's Thoughts 