This is video from Sam’s holiday concert. :You can tell that he enjoys what he does. I apologize for the first video. He wasn’t trying to hide behind the curtain, it’s the Miller curse! I always manage to sit on the wrong side. It’s still enjoyable to watch! Don’t forget to pause the music.
She met Juno for the first time who was overly eager to show her affection for visitors. Of course Leah and Juno have already met and are good pals. However, both girls find it sad not to have Ringo around.
As a bonus this year my nephew Ben came for a visit. It was so fun to have an extended family member here with us. We all went out to eat to Johnny Carinos to celebrate my birthday. Good food and good fun!
For our Thanksgiving feast I made a stuffed turkey of course, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes sent all the way from Oregon (thank you mom!). You can’t find sweet potatoes around here. They sell a lot yams and call them sweet potatoes but they are not the same. I also made my favorite fruit salad also known as the Sister Fiest salad. Monica doesn’t like turkey so we also had ham. It was a fabulous dinner which I enjoy cooking mostly by myself.
For dessert I made pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin pie, and apple pie. The boys especially loved the pumpkin cheesecake.
I love to use my china and all the pretty stuff for the holidays. I specially love my china that I bought at an estate sale for $15.00. The wine glasses I bought at an antique store for like $8. 00. I also use dishes that belonged to my late sweet grandmother. I love the feeling that she is with us during these special times. 
Leah and Alan picked out the games this year and I have to admit they were fun ones! 
This is Alan showing off his triumphant win! Us girls are looking forward to Christmas for a rematch. We will not rest until we beat him at something!!!! He is such a show-off!
The boys have been busy lately with choir concerts and play productions. It’s fun to see them develop their talents. It makes me wonder where they get it. I’m impressed because I would never have the courage to do what they do. I so hate to be in the spotlight. But it brings me great joy to see them on stage. Sam is my drummer boy. He was asked to play the djembe for the 7th, 8th and 9th grade choir concert. He loved every minute. I ran out memory so I didn’t get the whole song but it was a nice performance.
Ammon wowed the crowd once again in the school musical. This year they performed Beauty and The Beast. Ammon was Lumiere. I thought he was amazing but you can judge for yourselves. Enjoy! Don’t forget to pause my playlist below.
I had my mammogram and was called back for a second one. Seems they found a suspicious spot in my left breast that needed further review. Apparently what was over my right breast was of no concern at all. Life just got more dramatic from there.
A week after my second mammogram it was determined that I needed to have a biopsy on my breast tissue. I had that done a week ago today. The surgery itself wasn’t so bad. I actually don’t remember a thing. I never even saw my doctor. The anesthesia worked pretty well. Probably the best sleep I’ve had in months! Wish I could sleep like that all the time. Anyway, the worse part was the prep before surgery. I had to have my breast compressed, so the radiologist could insert a needle and wire in my breast. Of course they had to give me three shots to numb my breast. They also had to get more pictures. All so the surgeon would know exact location of the tissue he needed to take out. It’s amazing what we women have to go through, huh girls?
So, here I am two weeks later still unsure of the results. I talked with my Doctor last week. He told me the Radiologist was having a hard time reading the samples and pictures. For now I’m a little bit of a mystery! My tissue has now been sent to a Radiologist out of state. Hopefully I’ll know something in about a week or two.
Since the surgery I’ve had some discomfort. At this point I feel like I’ll never be normal again. Alan says I will feel normal again but I;m not convinced. For now I’m just trying to endure. Believe it or not I’ve been quite at peace with my situation. I haven’t been overly concerned or anxious about the results. I feel that even if I were to have a negative outcome, it has been found early enough that it can be successfully treated.
Although I haven’t been worried, it does make me reflect on life and the things that matters most. Life is sweet and I’m grateful for every breath I take. I’m grateful for my family especially those I don’t see everyday. I wish I was closer and enjoy as many minutes, hours or days I can have with them. They are what makes my life so sweet!
In a way reflecting keeps my mind off the waiting. Hopefully I’ll hear something soon and we can move forward.
Ringo was loyal and he loved his kids. As they grew he grew with them and always looked after them. He always wanted to be where they were. He loved Alan, he would never eat his evening meal until Alan got home. They were running buddies until Ringo got a little too old to run.
Ammon was his boy. It was because of Ammon we got Ringo. My neighbor had Ringo’s sister and Ammon loved to play with her. My neighbor told me she had our siblings and they were giving them away. Ringo was the nicest one of the bunch. I think they were abused and were terrified of people especially men. It didn’t take him long to know he was safe and grew to love all of us. He was easy to train. His worse habit as a young dog was that he would run off every time you would open the door. He would always come back but I used to get so mad at him. Eventually, he quit doing that it only took him 8 years!
On Sunday he started not feeling well. It was difficult for him to get up off the floor. This has happened before, about twice a year. We just give him heavy duty drugs and he bounces back up. On Monday we got him his drugs, but deep down I knew this was it. By Wednesday they was little improvement and he hadn’t eaten for two days. We took him to vet and he was having kidney failure. There wasn’t more we could do for him. He was in a lot of pain and we knew we had to let him go.
It was heart wrenching to see my 17 year old son breakdown. We surrounded him with all the love we had. We said good bye and he was gone. We know he is in a better place. Free of pain running chasing birds or maybe just keeping watch over the little children in heaven. He probably found my granny waiting for him.
I don’t know how long it will take to get through something like this but I’m grateful for the l6 years of joy we experience with such beautiful creature. God Bless you Ringo rest in Peace!
If you have a special memory of Ringo feel free to leave a comment.
Apparently having two busy boys, two callings, a busy husband, and running a daycare wasn’t enough to keep me busy. I not only got a part-time job but a new puppy as well. First my new job. I’ve been working in the evenings cleaning offices. I actually enjoy it very much. I get to listen to my ipod and be by myself. At first it was a lot of hard work. I realized what a princess I have been for the last 30 years of my life. I’ve never had to work outside the home. I actually had pretty good after all. Now the work load doesn’t seem so bad and I whiz through pretty quickly! I work hard and take great pride in my work!
This is my new puppy Juno. She’s my new baby! She’s a pure bred Siberian husky. I got her for free and I couldn’t pass up a free puppy. I’ve been wanting one for so long a puppy that is. Alan was dead set against it. He didn’t want two dogs. May I say what a wonderful man he is. He wanted me to be happy so he conceded to letting me have her. Thank you baby so much! We named Juno after Juneau, Alaska but spell it like the Movie Juno because it’s a shorter spelling. The kids are so excited to have. As for our sweet Ringo he’s being very patient with her even though Juno bites his ears, tails and his tumor. We told him he was her grandfather and he’s playing the role very well. Having Juno have made us realize how much we love Ringo and that no dog will ever take his place. It’s just simply an addition. Welcome to the family Juno!
http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_video.asp?news=30565
This a news story of the BHS Concert Choir. They sang the National Anthem at tonight’s New York Mets game. Ammon is in the front row. They sounded wonderful. Ammon is having the time of his life!
This post is for Monica and Leah. I was invited to attend Evan’s pre-school program. As you can see it was quite entertaining. I especially enjoyed the girl next to Evan. I think she enjoyed herself the most! Evan was adorable of course! Evan is one of my daycare boys. Everybody thinks he’s mine because he looks so much like Sam. I’d claim any day he’s a doll! Enjoy!
Every year in May Bismarck host Band Night Parade. Different bands from different towns and schools come to march in the parade. This year Sam was invited to participate. Usually you have to be an eighth grade to march. His teacher Mrs. Connelly is retiring this year and Sam is the third Miller she’s had in band so she let Sam march. Sam of course was thrilled! Of course I was excited because I love marching bands, love the drums, and love my drummer boy. Here’s Some video of Sam marching and of course you can hear his loud mouth mother. I’m proud to say that I’m the biggest cheerleader in town.!
Every year the Bismarck High School Choir selects music from a favorite group. Last year they selected songs from the group Kansas. This year it was music by Styx. It was unbelievable! I was only able to capture a portion of the show but it was the most important part. Ammon had a duet to the song Boat On A River. I’m sure you’ll be able to pick him out of the group. He’s the one smack in the middle in the front row. He’s the one with the biggest smile and the one dancing the most. The light show was awesome! It wasn’t as dark as seems in the video my camera didn’t capture the lighting well. I hope you all enjoy it!
As far back as I can remember I have always loved children. I think I got that from my own Mother. She loved little ones and took very good care of them. I learned how to care for my own little ones from her. There was never any question whether I wanted to be a Mother or not. My mother instilled in me that it was an honor to have children.
Many women have high ambitions of a career especially in today’s world. I think a college degree is very important and someday I hope to accomplish that goal. However, my deepest desire has always been to be a mother.
Motherhood has been my chosen career. There’s never been a moment of regret. I’ve enjoyed every stage of my children’s life. I feel blessed to have witness their first smile, first step, learning to read, learning to tie their shoes and every other first in their lives.
I heard the other day that if mothers were to be paid for all they do at home their earnings would amount to about 100,000 dollars. Though I think it would be nice to have the security of that income, you can’t put a price on a sweet little infant. You can’t put a price on youth with a strong testimony or a young adult with his/her eye on the temple. You can’t put a price on young men worthily passing and blessing the sacrament.
As mothers we sacrifice a lot. We go without so our children will have what they need. We sacrifice sleep caring for a crying infant and waiting up for a teenager. More importantly we sacrifice our bodies. The hips get wider, the breasts sag, and (as I tell my children) scars that are not so pretty to look at. If you asked any of us if it was worth it? We would say “every minute”.
I’m at a different season of motherhood now. I have teenagers and young adults. But there is joy to be found in every milestone of a child’s life.
The greatest blessing of motherhood is that I can extend my mother love to my nieces and nephews, great-nieces and nephews and even a few of my friends children. So, it’s not 
So what are my dreams for my children? They are very simple things really. After all the time invested, after all the sacrifices made, after all the teachings my hope is very simple. First and foremost, I hope that my children will embrace the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope they will build on that foundation of faith. I hope that they will keep their focus and eye on the temple. I hope they will have gratitude for the atonement of the Lord. I hope they have a testimony of the Book of Mormon. I hope they will think more of others than they do themselves. I hope they will serve the Lord all of their days. I hope they will embrace their great heritage. I hope they will not be slothful with their inheritance of faith. I hope they will exercise it, and increase it daily. I hope they will truly understand their worth and find worthy companions.
Lastly, I hope they know that I have a testimony of Jesus Christ. I know that he died and atoned for all of our sins. I know that through him we can have eternal life. I know we have a loving Heavenly father who loves us and knows who we are. He knows our needs and will never leave us alone. My faith is what sustains me day by day. This testimony gives me hope and gets me through the rough times. I know that my calling as a mother is the most important calling I will ever have. I hope they know of my great love for them. I hope they know all that I do and all that I am is based on the love I have for the Savior. I know that he lives and is the Redeemer of the world.
I know that families are forever!
Mr. cool in his shades.
This is Todd Zentz he rode for the Jiffy Riders and completed 8 miles.
The agony of defeat! Samuel giving it his all in the home stretch.
A view of the crowd. It gets bigger every year. This year there were teams that were turned away because of the lack of space. They're thinking about holding it the civic center next year so there will be room for more teams.
This Medibear he is the Medcenter One mascot. Medcenter One are sponsors of The Great American Bike Race.
Even federal Judge Charles Miller was there. He was the judge who presided at my citizenship ceremony.
It's always a fun time and I'm proud of my boys!
