Blessed



my not-so-little puppy

First, I just need to say how BLESSED we are. It's so easy to take things for granted, and to forget all the good things in our lives, but it's just as easy to remember all the good things. I was talking to Victor the other day, and it hit me, just how good we have it!

• We have each other, always and forever. It's sooo nice to know that  we will ALWAYS be together.
• We have a GREAT house. We are just loving being able to fix our house up together. We love being able to call it ours, and making the repairs to prove it. This year our project is the backyard...maybe get some grass actually planted. It should be LOTS of fun. Victor wants to put a basketball court back there, along will a grill pit. I'm so excited.
• We have the cutest little puppy ever. Even though, today, he's 6 months old. I can't believe how big he's gotten. It's crazy!
• We have the Gospel in our lives. Sometimes we struggle getting to church, but when we go, it just seems like our weeks and lives are that much better! It's wonderful
• We have good health! For a while this was an issue. But we are so grateful for our health now!
• We have a great family! Both in-laws and immediate brother's and sisters, along with parents!

We Truly are blessed!

Kitchen Before

We finished painting our kitchen this weekend. The whole upstairs is done now.....except for the guest room that will, someday, be the babies room. I told Victor that I didn't want to paint it until I got pregnant, so we can match it to the bedding and stuff. We'll see what happens with that. We started painting in on Monday, but then on Tuesday I got sick, and I've been sick ever since. So Victor finished it on Wednesday. He's sooo good to me! He's been cooking dinner pretty much all week, while I've done nothing but work, and then go home and go to bed. It hasn't been a fun week, at all.

Kitchen after.

We've started his workout room downstairs, and got most of it done, but we're having a friend paint some stuff on the walls down there, so I'll post pictures as soon as we get that done. It's gonna turn out SWEET!

2011/2012 happenings

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years, because I know we sure did. SOOOO many things have happened since I posted last!

Me & Jake at his wedding

first Jake got married!!!!!! Victor and I were able to drive out to Montana to spend some time with my family before and after their wedding. They got married December 16, 2011, so we went out the 15, and came home the 18. It was a quick trip, but it was just what the doctor ordered. Victor doesn't get a lot of time off work, EVER, so it was nice. While we were there, Victor went duck hunting with my dad. I LOVE that they have bonded so much over the years that we've been together. My two favorite guys!

Me, Ben, & Victor

I also got to meet my nephew Ben for the first time while we were out there. He's such a cutie...he's a tank, but a cutie! He's almost a year old now...crazy how the time goes. We had our own little Christmas with Mom, Dad, Jake, Heather, and Ben while we were there. It was fun. We did our family traditions, meaning, we watched Home Alone, Jake and I have been doing that for EVER! We ate Orange rolls, and lots of other food. It was so nice to be with the family for a holiday!

Then after we got back, we had ANOTHER Christmas with Victor's parents and his brother and sister that were in town. It was so fun to see Richard, Naloni, and the kids! It's crazy to think that I have a niece that is 18? WOW! The kids had such a fun time opening their gifts. Christmas is always much more fun with kiddos around!

The miller girls Christmas Morning!

Then on Christmas Eve, we drove down to St. George (like 2 hours from us) to spend Christmas with Victor's other sister and her family! They have 3 little girls, who made Christmas awesome! They were so excited Christmas morning, just looking at all the gifts under the tree. It sure looked like a lot. They also got their own bikes this year. They had sooo much fun. They had a hard time getting the hang of peddling at first, but I think they caught onto how it works.  Christmas morning was so much fun. Victor spoiled me ROTTEN. He bought me my own bow, so now I can go hunting with him. I'm in the process of taking hunters safety right now! I'm so excited to be able to go out with him....and even more excited for my first kill! Can't wait! He also got me a really nice coat...that's pink and black! He knows me so well! I also got other little things, like a shirt, a movie, a CD and some things for the kitchen that I had been wanting! He's sooo good to me!
I was able to actually surprise him this year...which NEVER happens! I got him some new shoes for his bike, which was the hardest, because he's the one that sells them around here....but I got it figured out! I also put some money down on his bike for him, and got him a few other little things. It was awesome!

Merry Christmas!

For New Years Eve, we had some friends come down. It was so fun to see them. Drew & Victor took the dogs hunting while Jess and I did some shopping. It was great! I don't have many friends down here, so it was lots of fun to be able to have a girls day! We stayed up till like 2:00 AM watching movies, and eating lots of junk food! A GREAT way to spend the last day of the best year so far!

As for 2012, it's already been an exciting year. I went up north this past weekend to spend some time with my family, and while I was there, my sister-in-law had her baby! WOOOO! A little boy named Rex Aaron. I haven't been able to see him yet...but SOON!

Victor and I are also starting a workout schedule in our basement. We have a weight bench, and a bike trainer...all we're missing is the treadmill that we will hopefully be getting soon. We are also planning on paying some stuff off this year, before we have kids. We'll see how it goes.

and the best part yet...WE'RE PLANNING ON A CRUISE this year! We're so excited! We'll see if we can get the bills paid off that we need to before we can go...but that is GREAT motivation to not spend money!




Anyways, I hope you all had a great 2011, and an even better 2012~!

Happy Holidays

FIRST I just need to start off by saying that I LOVE the holiday season! I wait for this time of year, ALL year long! I love being able to spend time with family, I love how everyone (well, almost everyone)  seems to be in a good mood, and I love looking forward to the next year. Of course I always say, "I'm gonna get into shape next year," or "I need to get better at cooking, and baking, just better at being a wife." but lets be honest, that NEVER happens. I have started decorating the house more, which makes me happy! I've started buying dish towels for every season. It makes me happy. I've also started making wreaths for the door. They turn out SOOOO cute. Even Victor likes them. I'm expecting our lives to change a lot next year. Just growing closer together, maybe our family will even grow...you never know. I'm excited to see what 2012 has in store for us.

Fall Wreath

Another reason I love the holidays, is because it gives me an excuse to totally spoil my husband. I can't wait for Christmas morning, in our OWN house. This year was hard to shop for Victor for, but I think I got everything he wanted/needed, and some things I'm hoping I'll be able to surprise him with. We'll see how it goes.

The holiday season also reminds me of what the real meaning of Christmas is, and I love it! I love the feeling of knowing that Victor and I are going to be together forEVER. I'm also happy to know that our children will be born in the Covenant. Definitely gives us peace of mind!

We had a pretty chill Thanksgiving. It was Victor's parents, his brother and his wife, and us. Wednesday the guys stayed up till like midnight playing the wii. They are VERY competitive when they get together. So they have to play till both of them wins at least once. It's kinda funny. Thursday we slept in, played with our cute little puppy, I made a buttermilk pie, which is tradition in my family, and then we went over to Victor's parents. It was so nice.

Winter Wreath

In a couple weeks we are going to Montana for my brother's wedding. I'm excited to go home, and to take Victor with me. It should be lots of fun. We'll get back on the 18th of December, just in time for Christmas. I think we're having a little Christmas while we're out there for the wedding with my family, then we'll spend Christmas day with Victor's family. We're still not sure where we're gonna do Christmas this year, but it will still be FUN! We're excited! I decorated the house the day after Thanksgiving, and everything except the Christmas tree is done. We picked one out, put the lights on, and some of the bulbs..but there will be more on there by the time Christmas comes. I'm decorating the bulbs with vinyl so when I get those done they will go on the tree. I'm excited to get it done. We're doing a blue tree this year with white lights. It's gonna look GOOOD!


Anyways, I hope you all have a good Holiday Season, and don't forget what the real meaning of Christmas is! Keep it with you all year long! :)

Joyfullness

I just have to start by saying that today has been a GREAT day! It started off not so good, but it has turned into a very good day. It started about 6:30 when Dash decided he was awake and needed to go outside. He can't just up onto our bed yet, but he tries really hard. So we woke up to him trying, and crashing into the side of the bed. Victor got up, let him out, and then came back to bed. Dash laid down for about 2 minutes, and then decided he wanted to play. We put all of his toys up at night because he just sits there and squeaks them all night long. So he started whining again till I got up with him. So I got up, took a shower, actually did my hair today, and off to work I went. It probably helps that I love my job, but today is great! At work I get to help with the money, which may sound like a funny thing to get excited about, but I can't help it. I love working with numbers, and money. Then my boss decided that it was a good day for a company lunch! Free Arby's baby! WOOO. Beats the Cup of Noodles I bring to work every day! HAHA. Then after lunch, I check my email, and to my great surprise, I had the email I had been waiting for, but was told it wasn't coming in till next week. I had a doctor's appointment Friday for my check up after my surgery, just to make sure they got all of the cells, and that it wasn't back. and everything came back NORMAL! I was so excited I almost started crying! I have been worrying about it for 3 months, and I feel like a huge brick has been lifted off my shoulders. I called Victor, but he didn't answer, so I sent Ambee a text, and then called my mom. I was just so excited. I really wanted Victor to be the first to know, but I couldn't keep it in. When I finally talked to Victor about it, he was soooo excited! I think he's been stressing about it too, even though he will NEVER admit it! Then, after I get off, I get to go home to the cutest puppy, and watch BONES! I don't think this day could get too much better!

This is the hallway before I painted.

On another note, I have been reading the "Dexter" books lately, and I'm HOOKED! I got the first couple from my sister in law last week, and I've read 1.5 of them. They are so good. Not the normal kind of book that I like to read, but, man it's good. I've been told there is a show, which I'm gonna try to get ahold of so I can watch them. I love my job, and how if I have nothing to do, I don't have to pretend to be busy, I can just sit and read until something comes up. It's so nice.

This is the hallway after I painted it!

And one more item of business. I finally have pictures of the finished dinning room, and Hallway. I finished them like 2 weeks ago, but my camera was dead, and I couldn't find the charger. So I finally found it, got the camera charged, and took some pictures to post. The colors definitely brighten the rooms up, A LOT. It's so nice to not feel like we live in a dungeon. All we need to do know, is get the kitchen and the bathroom painted, and then we'll be finished, upstairs anyways. We still have the horrible colored rooms downstairs, but we'll get to those when we actually need to use them for something. Maybe a guest room after we have a kid? I dunno yet! I'm sure we'll figure it out. Victor has taken over 2 of the rooms down there, and is trying to take mine over too. He's got his workout stuff in one room, which is painted the purple and green from Barney. YUCK. He wants to paint a runner and bike rider on the walls down there. We'll see what happens. We have a room that is Orange and purple, and another one that is lime green. So there is lots of work to do down there when we get to it.

Dining room after I painted!

Another hallway after I painted.

I hope you have a great day as well! :)))

Thoughts

Lately I've been thinking, A LOT about some things. Some of them matter, and some of them don't.

Working where I do, Death is something that we deal with. Kinda. We don't actually deal with people dying, but their loved ones that come in to order them a monument. We deal with lots of emotions, and grief. It got me thinking the other day about how precious life is. Sometimes its hard to be so thankful for the lift you have, and the trials you have in your life, but I would much rather take my trials over some of those that come visit me at work.
For example, I had a family come in a couple weeks ago that are making a monument for their 7 month old son, who got caught between his crib and the mattress, and suffocated on his blanket. I can't imagine losing a child, especially that young. but the thing that amazed me, while she was designing her son's headstone, she told me that I NEED to have a baby. CRAZY! I don't think I would be able to tell someone that, right  after burying my child.
These last few weeks have been sort of emotional for me. Lots of decisions are being made about our future, and it scares me. I know I've always wanted a baby, but now that the time is coming that we're gonna start trying for one, I'm scared. I'm TERRIFIED that my pre-cancerous cells are gonna keep coming back, and they are going to have to keep doing surgery. The more times I have the surgery done, the more my chance of being able to carry a baby to full term, if at all, goes way down. We have decided to wait till a couple check ups come back clean before we start trying, which is smart, but I feel like the longer we wait, the closer I get to not being able to carry our baby. I'm torn. I'm so grateful for my husband, and for the Priesthood he holds, and for the promptings he receives for our family. I've learned to put my complete trust in him, and just go with it.
Some of the less important thoughts include, what the heck is for dinner, when am I going to get our house painted, and how are we going to afford to do all the decorating ideas I have in this little head of mine.

On another note, tonight I'm super excited to be carving pumpkins with some friends! It's gonna be TONS of fun! I'm making chicken wings for dinner, and we'll probably do a little drinking...of the MTN Dew that is!

oh... and I'm glad there is spell check on this thing cause my fingers aren't working right! ;)

Another one bites the dust!

Well, We've finished another room in our house, Finally. We started this room the day before we moved in, and after a Lo-ot of work, IT'S FINISHED! WOOOO! We finished our master bedroom last night around 10:30ish. It looks so nice. It took a lot to get it there, but we're done! When we moved in the walls were all this blue-green color, and one of the walls had a huge chunk of the wall paper removed, so we thought we would removed the rest of the wall paper and just start over on it....little did we know what we were in for. After we started removing it we realized that there was about 6 layers of wall paper, a couple layers of paint, and another layer of wall paper! Now, the house was built in 1941, and we're pretty sure this is the original wall paper that we were trying to remove. It wasn't easy, at all. We bought all sorts of chemicals, razors, and sanders to try to get all of the layers off. We had about 12 people that came to help us. and I'm so glad because we couldn't have finished it when we did without everyone's help. THANKS to those of you that came to help! After spraying chemicals that burned our skin to try to get it off, and sanding 1.5 walls, we decided to just razor it off with razor scrappers. It was a huge project that we weren't expecting. Needless to say, the rest of the rooms in our house, the wall paper is STAYING! I'm not going through that again!

Anyways, we painted our room Red and White! It was kinda a pain in the butt! I painted the Red walls first, let them dry, and then taped them off so I could paint the white on the other walls and the ceiling. Well after I painted the white walls, I started taking the tape off, and it started peeling the red off, in HUGE chunks. Not on the edge where I had just painted, but under the rest of the tape. So I had to go back and re paint all of the edges, and the trim, which totally defeated the purpose of taping them off because then I got Red on the white and white on the Red. I was about ready to just throw the cup of Red paint I was using on the White walls and call it good last night. I was so frustrated. I usually don't even take the time to tape it off, and now I know why. Ok, so that's probably not the reason, it's probaly more along the lines of me being lazy, but still. I wasn't very happy! But despite the issues I had, It looks pretty awesome if I do say so myself! We ended up scrapping the ceiling as well because it had the popcorn stuff on it, and I knew I would get paint on it, so we just took it off...but then we had to wash the ceiling before we could paint it! Such a pain....but it turned out awesome as well!  I'm excited to move everything in tonight and see what it's gonna look like with the pictures and other stuff on the walls. The white walls right now look really boring, but once we get everything put in, it's gonna look awesome! I'm going to post some pictures of the final walls without anything moved in, and then I'll post some of after everything gets moved in probably tomorrow or Thursday! I'm very excited to have this room done. Now I can work on our scrapbook, and slowly work on painting the other rooms that need to be painted...and trust me, there's A LOT of them! 







Our Home



So, I know that I've been promising some pictures of our new house, and here are a couple! We don't have too many yet, but we're still doing LOTS of work. We have finished one room so far, the living room, and we're still working on the master bedroom, which, if I may say, totally sucks! I'm about ready to just take a baseball bat to the walls, and make Victor put them back up! haha We are peeling layers of wall paper and paint off before we can paint it. but when we're finally done with it, It's going to look SOOOO good!



Before of the living room









Before of the living room

Finished Living room

Finished Living Room



Master Bedroom when we moved in