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.

The Phenomenom

I must say something about my little phenomenon Caiden. He makes me think of that old song "something like a phenomenon" (you have to sing it to get the full effect). I forget who sings it (LL I think?). Anyway, nothing can stop this little boy, yesterday he had a fever of 102.5 and you would have never known. I must admit on any given day he does give us a run for our money, but even with such a high fever he still can't be stopped. He was still in that toilet searching for something, what I will never know. And his acrobatics are amazing as he will climb up on everything and just find something to get into. The sure will and determination of Caiden will take him very far, I am definitely looking forward to the journey.

The latest funny thing that he does is that He thinks that he knows when he has to potty, as he has watched his brother go to the potty, so he now grabs at his diaper and makes these sounds like "uhuh". I humor him and say "you have to potty" and sit him on the potty. One day Jackson said to Caiden "you didn't even pull your pants down Caiden". I winked and said "Caiden went to potty Jackson" and he got it. So now he says after I take him to the potty "good job Caiden, you went potty, high five". I think it is the cutest thing. Hopefully it will lead to him getting out of those diapers soon!

It's me!

I know it has been a while, between going to Mississippi for Uncle Harold's 60th birthday bash, Jackson starting soccer, and succeeding in a great Valentine's night out with the Hubby and close friends, things have been pretty hectic around here. In regard to Jackson and soccer, I have figured out that "it's me", that is I am the reason that he does not want to participate at soccer practice and be fully engaged. I determine this as fact because my husband informed me excitedly when coming back from soccer practice a week ago that "Jackson was great!" "he did this and he did that", he even shook the coaches hand upon arriving and leaving- saying "thanks coach for the practice". Now I must reiterate that "it's me". I couldn't get him to barely touch that ball, let alone talk to anyone asides from "ummm"-meaning leave me alone. If I give him the benefit of the doubt, I would say he is just getting over bronchitis and an ear infection and didn't really want to be bothered. But if I were honest with myself, I would say that I think that It's official, and I have a momma's boy. We will see though because this Saturday is his first game and dad has to work, hopefully all will go well. I'll keep you posted.

Eboni's going away party

I finally am on my way to the party and miraculously made it on time. I am so excited to host this party because Eboni is the sweetest person I know and I would do anything for her. There are not many people who go out of there way to love and support people as she does. So Eb, Houston is definitely going to miss its Angel! This was a fun night as I got a chance to connect with my line sisters and a lot of old college friends who I hadn't seen in a while. Eboni had a great time and seemed really happy to get a chance to see everyone before she leaves in a couple of weeks. Eb has committed to doing a blog while in Australia, so we will get to be apart of her experience. Below are just a few pictures of the night.



Me and Line sister Rashandra



Me and Pressy



Me, Andrea, Bernie (LS), Chaka (LS), Rashandra(LS)



Me, Dee and Sherry



Me and Eboni

Before Eboni's Going Away Party

One of my very favorite people (Eboni) is moving to Australia for a year with her job and I threw her a going away party at Benjy's yesterday. Before I go into the great time I had at the party, first I will tell you how hectic the day went prior to the party. The morning started off with me trying to do some housecleaning and getting a handle on the loads of laundry that are never ending, while keeping an eye on four little people, as I was babysitting for some friends who have two girls. Caiden was working against me though because as I am folding he is unfolding. At one point I had a moment to sit and RSVP for the many birthday party invites that Jackson has coming up in the next couple of weeks (four parties in the next three weeks!) And I forgot to mention I am officially a soccer mom as Jackson starts soccer this week, yay first game Feb. 14! But anyway, I am sitting at the computer, Jackson is sitting next to me and all of a sudden I notice he is rocking back and forth and all of a sudden, he begins throwing up all over me :\. As I am taking him a bath he begins screaming bc there are oatmeal particles in the water from his involuntary food expulsion and for whatever reason he is afraid of it, so then I am bathing him outside the tub, while Caiden is splashing water all over the floor. After the bath, I guess he is feeling better bc at one point I lost him and he is running through the house with no clothes on "mooning" the girls. I finally catch him but then the girls are yelling to me "Ms. Renita Caiden is in the bathtub with his clothes on". I run to the bathroom, and there Caiden is soaking wet as he decided that he wasn't done with his bath. By the time I finished cleaning up the mess, catching Jackson and putting his clothes on, and cooking lunch for the little muchkins, I was exhausted. But lets not forget its tax time, so I had clients taxes to work on and a party to get ready for. And as I am trying to get out the door I realize that Jackson has a high fever and needs mommy to love on him. So that's what I did.

Jackson's 3rd Birthday

Today we celebrated Jackson's third birthday with a small group of close friends and family, and we had a wonderful time! We couldn't invite everyone we wanted to this time but had a good time with those that came. Jackson has been waiting all week for his birthday and asking everyday (are we going to my birthday party?). Asides from a certain someone (Granny) who always shows up and shows out (which is a story I could tell with a whole other blog), everything went really well. Jackson got a chance to ride on a train, flying cars, and airplanes- he had the time of his life. His favorite cousin, Brea, was a life saver as she took Jackson on all the rides and to play all the games. Leaving Norris and I, along with some of the other parents to go have some fun and ride the roller coaster. Anyway here are some pics of the party. And I know this is only the beginning of many more birthday parties to come, as I don't think we will be able to get away with not celebrating his birthday in the years to come.
(Lil MJ in the making!)



(Daddy and Jackson)

(The birthday boy)




(The Cousins)




(Nic and Savannah)





(Jackson and Granny-How can this little woman cause so much trouble-I will never know!)




(Laura and Kale)



(The Fellas having fun)



(Me and the boys)







(Obi and her boys)



(Bianca and Trey)



(Me and Big Sis)



(Janai and James)



(My little man Caiden)

Jackson's first day of pre-school

The new year is here and today is a day everyone is back to work and school. Jackson started his first day of preschool today (basically he moved from the 2yr old class to the 3yr old class-his birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks). When he got to school he walked in his new class very slowly and suspecting, but there were others from his class that had also moved up, so he warmed up quickly. This is a big deal for me because I really really messed up in trying to teach him his letters and sounds, as I got a little frustrated with him and he sensed that doing letters with mommy wasn't fun and now he will not go over letters with me anymore :(. I am so sad about this but I quickly learned my lesson. It is just that I am so concerned about him being prepared when he starts school and I just want the best for him academically, so I tend to get "overly" anxious. So in his new class they will be spending more time on letters and sounds, thank God. I have just decided to move on to numbers :) I will keep you posted on his progress.

Renita

Chittlin Fat

A new year is here and I am so tremendously blessed! I am not going to make resolutions, however, I do have a few goals in mind that I would like to get accomplished. One I will share, which is not only to eat better myself but to feed my family better. My darling husband mentioned the "chittlins" that he cooked and he did it out in the driveway and today I noticed a pile of "chittlin" fat on the driveway from where the pot had overflowed, this really grossed me out. While I will admit tasting them and they were pretty good, I have regretted it ever since and want to be a lot more mindful of the things I put in me and my families' body. If you hadn't noticed from the blogs food is very important around here, and we love a good meal. We are just going to have to figure out how to make it healthier. If you have any good recipes please send them along. I hope and pray that 2009 is a great year for you and your family!

Renita

Christmas Break

I had a lot of fun on my Christmas break in Texas. The first thing we did was we went to this fish restaurant,and it was pretty good. I had shrimp and my dad and Renita had some kind of catfish thing. Then I told them about the batman movie,and I said it was pretty good,so they watched it and they said it was really good. Then we went to this Chinese restaurant and had some egg rolls and shrimp fried rice,and that was really good. Then later on that night we went to Tina and Jeff's house,and it was really fun. Me Jay and a couple more of his friend's went over one of his friends house it was pretty cool. The next day we went to Monica and Theo's house,and we played a lot of video games. After that we played a game of Taboo,and it was my first time so I wasn't very good at it. Then we came back home and I got on Myspace,for and hour then I went to sleep. But I had fun and my Christmas break was really cool.

'09 is Here!

The big guy upstairs have allowed us to see yet another year. It is always a good idea to bring the new year in with family, this year was no exception. However, we did do things a little different this year. We usually attend church, or stay at home and watch church via internet due to the little ones. This year we were invited to a friend's house for some cards, fireworks, chicken and fries. We left the house a little later than intended because I was outside cooking some good ole chitterlings AKA chitlins. Renita doesn't eat pork, but even she couldn't resist my Creole Chitlins. So on the way to our friend's house Jalen noticed that the parking lot at RAVE, which is a movie theater, was pack. He says "Ohh I bet there are plenty of girls off in there." So I asked would he prefer for me to drop him off there so he can go femallowship (a term I coined which means meeting and greeting females). He quickly said naw that's alright I don't have my phone on me. I asked why did he need a phone to talk to girls in person. He then states with the utmost of sincerity, how am I going to be able to get a girl's number without a cell phone. He further goes on to say that writing a girl's # down was pretty much obsolete now. He also states that the better looking you are, the less you have to talk. In other words, all you have to say to the female is "put your number in my phone." I just shook my head, and began to wonder how we have gotten to this point. See you guys next time.