Sean Walter Miller!

David and Amy had their baby!

• Sean Walter Miller
• August 22, 2012
• 10 pounds
• 20.5 inches

We love our baby nephew. We cannot wait to come up to Virginia for a visit to see our sweet {almost 2 year old!} niece Estelle and meet little baby Sean!

• David and Amy's blog.

Congratulations to your growing family! We are glad that Amy and baby are going home tomorrow healthy and happy!

Everything's Bigger in Texas.

Who's in for a spontaneous weekend trip to Dallas? We are! If only it were that simple or sounded that fun when we were booking the plane tickets. 

My Grandpa Miller {William Thiele Miller} passed away, Wednesday, July 18, 2012. Grandpa Miller had been sick for a while suffering from kidney failure; I would say his passing was a blessing in that he is not suffering anymore and that his children are no longer bearing the burden of caring for him. 

Sadly, the last time I saw him was in 2006 at my cousin Kristi's graduation from Texas A&M. Of course the Aggie Man would be there. ;)

Me and Grandpa in 2006

We got the call Wednesday night. Jon and I started the plane ticket search. Before we could blink, it was Saturday, and we were getting on a plane to Dallas! We were both pretty excited, despite the circumstances.

Aunt Claire and Uncle Dave picked us up from DFW Saturday morning {side note: I really love the simplicity of GSP}

The itenarary for the weekend went as follows:

• Saturday: arrive in Dallas, head to Lake Texoma Hideaway {the home of Claire and Dave}, spend the afternoon on the lake, sleep in cabin 6
• check out Lake Texoma Hideaway here! I know the owners; they're pretty great! ;)
• Sunday: lake morning, Uncle Greg and Aunt Elena's for family time, visitation, back to cabin 6 
• Monday: little lake morning, funeral, reception at Uncle Greg and Aunt Elena's, hotel by airport
• Tuesday: home sweet home

One thing my Aunt Claire commented on was the fact that this trip was one last little gift we received from Grandpa Miller - the gift of spending time with family I don't see often enough.

I learned the importance of family. I learned that when you leave this world, the people you left have an opportunity to evaluate your life, an opportunity to determine whether you were a "good" person... or not.

An initial reaction might be that God is the ultimate Judge. When we leave here, we answer to Him only. That is very true. I also feel challenged to think on the times in scripture that God calls us love others well - let the fruits of the spirit flow freely, serve one another, honor our parents, love our neighbors, love our wives, respect our husbands, teach our children, etc. I love that we serve a relational God! He surrounded us with other human beings not to battle against, not to disregard, not to feel hurt by, not to make as idols, not to hurt, not to love before God -- He put them here for us to cherish and hold close, for us to build each other up, for us to walk alongside, for us to encourage, for us to treat others as ourselves. He is a God who built in us a need for Him and for others. A God who desires to fill every empty nook and cranny of our broken, sinful hearts.

Below are pictures from our trip!

we made it... out of the Dallas Airport! phew. that place is huge.

the Marina that houses Claire and Dave's boat

jon and his best friend

jet ski hair. i love it.

Tia {83 years old, mind you} and Gramps taking the jet ski for a spin

Aunt Kathy and Great Dane Dillon

Dad in his element

Dad, Aunt Claire, and Gramps

he's huge.

dad with his twists and turns

Aunt Kathy and Aunt Claire

me with Aunt Kathy

me with Aunt Claire

dad skiing it up

jon skiing! first time! woo hoo!

view from Claire and Dave's

another view from their house

the funeral chapel. it was so pretty.

beautiful stained glass windows

me and my cousin Daniel acting like he's still in the Navy ;)

me, daniel, tia, dad

Aunt Elena, Kristi, Daniel, Uncle Greg {this is the only one I took! you guys are blurry and uncle greg's eyes are closed - whoops! also, kristi, i don't know why i didn't get one with you! bummer!}

Tia and Daniel

aunt claire, daniel, aunt kathy

dad, daniel, uncle dave

me, daniel, jon

July 2012!

July was another fun month for us. It was crammed full of adventures {mostly great, but some could be better circumstances}. 

Recap:

• St. Augustine {view here}
• Candlelit dinners {thanks to the hubs}
• Movie Dates
• Krispy Kreme's 75th Anniversary
• we wanted a donut after our movie. we pulled up to krispy kreme and that place was slammed. the drive-thru line was a mile down the road {that might be an exaggeration} and the inside was so full, the line was all the way down the outside of the building. while standing in line, we realized what was going on... buy a dozen, get a dozen for 75 cents. why wouldn't we buy 2 dozen donuts?
• Friday Night Lights
• Trips to QT
• Dallas, TX for Grandpa Miller's funeral {view here} 
• Dead, smelly chipmunks in the garage {I'll spare you the picture}. 
• let me elaborate on this one. after doing yard work or washing the cars, Jon puts his dirty socks and towels in a little trash can for me to grab when I'm ready to wash that stinky load of laundry. we got home from Texas and the garage smelled terrible. the weekend after, Jenn's wedding weekend, Jon was heading to work that morning and asked me to please do the laundry because the garage was smelling worse. i went to grab that little trash can and just happened to look up to see a dead, rotten, half disintegrating into the concrete chipmunk in the middle of the garage {right under where Jon's car is parked}. i took it like a champ and cleaned it up, but man was it awful. point being, Jon's feet don't smell that bad... thankfully! the garage still smells, so if anyone has any tips on how to deodorize a garage, let a sister know!
• Jenn and Adam's wedding {view here}
• And as always, cuddles with Dakota  

candlelit dinner

lovin' on Dakota

movie date night. and yes, we enjoy Taco Bell

this place was PACKED

buy a dozen, get a dozen for 75 cents

view this video to see why Jon looks so thuggish Krispy Kreme: The Baddest

we love Friday Night Lights

Dakota being clingy. Probably a storm or something.

no, these were not both mine. :)

our guard dog... ha.

more cuddles!

St. Augustine 2012!

June 30th began the St. Augustine vacation with the Harris family {Jon's parents, sister, and brother-in-law}. Jessica and Chip rode down with us as we formed our little caravan behind Jim and Nancy {I can't imagine what this trip will be like with kids some day... in the far, far future}. As many of you may know, this trip has been taking place a LONG time... even before Jon was born. It is like a 2nd home for the Harris family. I obviously haven't been going for quite as long. This was my 5th year tagging along. Over the years, it has become like a 2nd home to me, too.

Jon's family has stayed in the exact same condo at Ocean Gallery for the past 15 years! New owners purchased the condo and decided to not rent it out anymore during the week of July 4th. Jon's parents were able to find another condo for rent during that week which meant this year would be a whole new experience. Still at Ocean Gallery, and actually able to look directly across at the old condo. It was a little bitter sweet for every one I think. Over all, it was still an incredible beach vacation get-a-way. And of course, we'll be going back next year.

Below are pictures of the trip. Enjoy!

June 30, 2012: travel day. dinner at Salt Water Cowboys. lots and lots of giggles to end the night {thanks to Mr. Funny Man Jon}.

View from Salt Water Cowboys

Chip and Jessica

Nancy and Jim

so of the decor. This reminded Jon and I of this:

things got a little crazy when Nancy started requesting M&M shots  ;)

July 1, 2012: beach day. dinner at CAPS on the Water.

Ocean Gallery from the beach - our unit is top right corner.

Jim and Nancy all ready for CAPS!

Jessica and Chip!

this was my "behind the scenes shot"

CAPS sits on on this little canal waterway. They have a dock where people with boats can pull right up if they want to come for dinner. :)

this is why I like CAPS. ;)

July 2, 2012: Universal Islands of Adventure in Orlando! :) {this was a surprise from Jim and Nancy. They said they wanted to treat us to a day at one of the parks. We chose Islands of Adventure! It was lots of fun. A few bouts of motion sickness from a few, but overall a very enjoyable experience and highlight of the trip}.

no other than Dr. Seuss. :)

Jon, the Lorax... who knew?

on the Seuss train!

Poseidon's Fury

Stunt show

  

 

Hogwarts

this part of the park felt the most realistic. I loved all the buildings and castles!

best ride; lots of motion sickness for most everyone

waiting in line. poor Nancy had no idea she'd be so sick afterwards!

Chip and Jess waiting in line

my main man. :)

so fun!

butter beer - soooo sweet!

he's cute, isn't he?

we got SOAKED!

very fun ride

 

 

gross Jon!

w/ Popeye and Olive Oil. :)

Jon was telling him that my name was Mary Jane

all over!

July 3, 2012: beach. shopping {one of my other favorite parts of the trip}. pizza. spoons. rummy.

July 4, 2012: independence day. full day at the condo. lots of beach time. BBQ dinner in.

a little JH photography action. ;)

2 sea turtle nests right on the beach! I would love to see this little cuties hatch and run for the ocean!

sandy feet. my favorite.

dune bunnies. haha.

oh just an innocently competitive game of spoons; the other innocent game of Rummy came later

July 5, 2012: beach. downtown walks on St. George Street. dinner at O.C. White's. frisbee. more rummy.

Jon ran for the ocean!

my Baywatch babe. haha

i really liked this {camo} hat on him.

we bought a frisbee

not a pro {at all}

this is the {innocent} game of rummy.

Nancy kept killing all of us and laughing the whole time.

uncontrollable laughter

July 6, 2012: more beach. dinner at Creekside {probably my absolute favorite}. the pier {another favorite... even when it's under construction}. frozen yogurt treats.

ready to get my beach on

so is Jon!

Chip and Jessica walking

Nancy on {yes you guessed it!} FACEBOOK.

best one of them  ;)

guys, it's seriously the cutest place

I loved this hutch! had to take a picture... haha

this guy was WAY out... we didn't even know it was person until we zoomed the camera!

And he fell. Good snapshot Jon. lol

July 7, 2012: last little bit of sunrise {so great}. that bitter sweet feeling of going home.

dune bunnies!

this little dune bunny was enjoying his breakfast and watching the sun rise :)

in front of the "fireplace"