Mason finally has somewhere to sleep

This labor day weekend has been busy as the Miller family has been preparing for the arrival of Mason Amyas, along with hanging out at the park with some friends from church, giving Norris a chance to reclaim his youth and play kickball (unfortunately his team lost :(. But with about three and a half weeks to go, I have been a little nervous because I have not been on top of all the little details involved in preparing for a new baby. So this weekend we tried to get as much done on the nursery as possible, and succeeded with painting and going through clothes and such. We have a few more finishing touches on the nursery (like removing the chandelier), but for the most part, he will have somewhere to sleep if he comes a little earlier than planned. Whoo, I can now sleep easy! Here are a few pics of the dining room transformation to a nursery. I am so happy to have the nursery downstairs for a change because those night time feedings are "no punk" in the middle of the night. Stay tuned as we anxiously await his shining face.

Mason Amyas Miller!

Most of you do not know but Norris and I are expecting our third child. We were waiting for this day before we shared the news. We are very excited and today we found out we were having a boy, Mason Amyas Miller! Ok I must say that we were convinced it was a girl, however God had a different plan which is always a better plan. Immediately afterward, I could not wrap my head around this as I thought my intuition was right and knew it was a girl. Although I did have a dream early in the pregnancy that it was a boy, so I must have just tricked myself into thinking it was a girl. Anyway, in my quiet moment, I spoke to God about this wonderful blessing, and I realized that he knows what we need better than we do. And I realize that the world needs more Godly men (especially African American men) who serve his kingdom. We have been given this task. And for the one second that I may have been disappointed, that will be the only second because I realize what a wonderful blessing it is to be able to bring a healthy child into this world. Each of our children are wonderful in their own rite and I look forward to raise three boys that love God and are best friends to each other. Not to mention I will be the only Queen in the house, which is not a bad deal, as they already take such good care of me!

My 31st birthday!

Well I have to say I had a wonderful 31st birthday! It is amazing to me how times have changed and how I choose to spend my birthday these days in comparison to how I used to spend them, not too many years ago. Mainly, I just want some "me" time. A day where I feel no guilt about doing something simply that I enjoy. For instance, I had breakfast by myself, while trivial to some this for me was the start of a great day. I rarely get a chance to eat slow :) without someone tugging on me or asking for more of this or that. My food was actually hot- this was fabulous. I am sure you other moms out there understand where I am coming from with this one. Second, I went to the spa, this was nice just sitting and relaxing- someone else doing all the work. Third, I had a day date with Norris, which was so nice because he took a half day just to spend with me and we went out for an early dinner/late lunch while the kids were still at school. He then planned a movie outing, getting the babysitter and everything. This was impressive. He never seizes to amaze me, but when he goes the extra mile like this it really makes me fall deeper for him. He also got me a baskin robbins ice cream cake which I absolutely love. Overall, it was a fabulous day and at the end I realized that while I do need my me time every now and then to recharge my battery, I love love love spending time with my family and this was a great way to end the evening, at home with everyone tucked safely in their beds. Thanks God for all your blessings for 31 years!

Going green...

Do you remember the post about the "chittlins"? Well I am finally trying to stay true to my word and feed my family better this year. I have always wanted to plant my own tomatoes and today me and the boys planted some organic tomatoes and lettuce. Ask me if I knew what I was doing, the answer is no, however I planted them in boxes so I wouldn't too much damage to the yard. It was actually very easy. I am very excited about the possibility of my fresh produce. You know tomatoes are expensive these days. If everything goes well, I will do more veggies in the future. If not then I did give it my best shot. I will let you know how it goes. I hope things go well because I really want the boys to see their hard work pay off.

Jackson's soccer progress

Ok as I stated before Jackson always shows out with me at soccer and not his dad, the picture that you will see is him at a game about three weeks ago sucking his thumb in the middle of the field while his teammates are running around him kicking the ball. To his credit, he did decide to enter the game and have a good time but it has taken a couple of practices for him to warm up when I am there and not his dad. Lately though he is all ball player and a team leader. So we are very proud of him and the progress he has made. For a minute we thought we were going to have to substitute Caiden for him because my little man is always ready to play. Matter of fact we are constantly running him off the field. Anyway the season is coming to an end in a few weeks and we are gearing up for t-ball. I will keep you posted on how that goes, we are thinking that the transition will be a lot easier.

Teaching on Marriage...

On Sunday, Norris and I taught our first young marrieds bible study class that we go to every Sunday after service. We were very nervous as we had never taught together and we didn't want to come across like we knew it all but we did want to share some of our experiences that we felt could be valuable to others. Overall, we thought we did a good job and the message was well received.

Our lesson was on boundaries in marriage. We recognize that when we get married we become one, however we are two individuals merging our lives together. We have our own minds, attitudes, behaviors, etc which brings with it challenges in a marriage. The basic idea of the lesson is that we must take responsibility and ownership for our own actions, and not blame our spouse for our behavior even when we feel as though they "made" us act in a certain way because of this or that. Lord knows this lesson was for me! I am daily dying to self and trying to become more Christ like, breaking those generational curses that have tended to follow me in my marriage is so difficult. But I have come so far and I know Norris appreciates this. Anyway the book was called "Boundaries in a Marriage" by Dr. Clouds and Townsend, it is really good and we learned a lot.

Renita

Am I there yet?

Hey you guys, I know I usually get on here and talk about the kids but today I just wanted to send a note of encouragement mainly because I need it myself so sending this out is therapeutic for me. I am convinced that when we go through hard times either because they are self inflicted or the enemy is hard at work, God is always in control, his love for us is enduring, and we must trust that he will get us through those tough times. I continue to have major issues while getting my degree, if it isn't one thing it's another, and sometimes I promise you giving up has been an option at times. I ask God, "Why is this so hard?" "Do I really have to keep going?" "This is for the birds, Lord!". But somewhere inside I just keep going in spite of every obstacle that tries to stop me. But one night in having my breakdown about everything, my husband continues to remind me of the purpose in this moment and how it is making me stronger and how I will be able to minister and helop other young (black) women in similar situations when it is all said and done. So I just want to say to you, no matter how tough things are "Don't give up" because clearly if things are working against you then your blessing must be so big that the enemy doesn't want you to meet your destiny. This is what I keep telling myself, almost like there is this big gift with some awesome things God wants me to have in it once I finish my degree and I just have to make it to the finish line. I will keep going, I will not give up. Pray for me in my journey.