Cousins, Uncles and Aunts...OH MY!

We were very blessed to have family in town this weekend.  We had the MN Mills in for the weekend and our family had a blast hanging out.  The kids loved cousin time and the adults loved it when all the kids went to bed.  We enjoyed games, laughs and wonderful memories. 

Here are the 7 Mills cousins.  Madelyn was not herself.

Here they are minus screaming Madelyn.  Are they not GOOD LOOKING?

Skippo anyone?

Savannah with Auntie...she loved her!

Deb and the kids...they LOVED being in pictures

Auntie with the crew...did I mention they LOVED being in pictures??

The brothers that make all this possible

WI Mills + MN Mills = FUN!!

Thank you to our dear family for coming to visit and blessing us with an AMAZING weekend.  We love you and are so grateful for your love and laughter.  Also thanks for the spices.  Until next time...

These are the moments...

Today I woke to the sound of something "sucking" in my ear and at first I thought I was dreaming and I was being pulled into a vacuum. Then I realized it was Savannah sucking her thumb and wanting to snuggle up with Mommy. Half conscious I rolled over and fit her next to me. The "sucking" noise did not stop. Not even a minute later I feel Moroni moving closer as he also has a little one that needs a morning snuggle. Ellie had come in and wanted to join in. Moroni did not realize that Savannah had also come in and so we all sandwiched in and enjoyed a few minutes of resting. In that moment of no space, a sucking noise and lots of blankies, I realized that "these are the moments!" These are the moments that one day we will look back on and wish we had again. These are the moments we will think of when we see little children after ours are grown and gone. These are the moments that I will not spend one more moment wishing away. I hope to remember that when I am awoken every morning at 5:30 :-).

"4"of my favorite things...

Savannah turned four a week or so ago, and Sunday was suppose to be her Birthday Party.  Well, sicknesses are going around and all of my family was sick.  So it was just us and Mana and Papa Hoffer.  So in honor of my "4" favorite things I start out with our newest four year old.  Savannah is so special and so loving.  I love that she loves others and is always content doing what her big sister wants to do.  She is an AMAZING older sister and Madeyln just adores her.  Her love is endless and she truly is a cuddle bug.  We love you more and more everyday Vannie...

Four more candles and another year of her growing

Four fingers...at least we are still on one hand

She truly gets prettier everyday

Our girls with Mana and Papa Hoffer

My next favorite thing is our Madelyn(these are in no particular order).  She is truly our Joy and her happiness is contagious and you CANNOT help being happy around her.  She smiles all the time and LOVES her big sisters more than anything.  She is adorable...and knows it.  She has made many of friends/family baby hungry.  Madelyn you are truly a blessing...

Princess Madelyn

Madelyn a few months back...oh she grows too fast

How do all of our children get prettier everyday?  Here she is debating on if she is going to listen to "Auntie" Kristen or not

Ellie has been a miracle ever since she came to our family.  She is truly one of those spirits that is special.  She loves everyone and you can't help but love her too.  She is a rule follower and expects everyone around her to be too.  She is loving and always befriends those who need one. The name Ellie actually means "the light," which perfectly describes her.  Ellie is truly a light in the darkness.  What joy you bring us Ellie...

Ellie on her 6th Birthday!  BEAUTIFUL!

Ellie and her "Barbie" cake...yes that is a cake with a Barbie in it;-)

Ellie's first day of 5K. 

In my top 4 favorite things my last one is someone who I met over 9 years ago and has forever altered my life.  He truly loves me for me and is always my rock.  Moroni is truly the love of my life and I am so grateful for the life that we share.  He a terrific Father and adoring husband.  Love you...

He's silly and he is all mine:)

Still silly and of course still mine...laughter truly is the JOY of our life!

FOREVER!

TGIF "Thank Goodness I have Friends"

TGIF! I woke up on friday morning with my day all planned and very full. However, plans change. It was my friend Jenna's birthday and we had a playgroup planned at my house. Well, Jenna'a kids were sick along with EVERYONE else's that normally would come...EXCEPT my dear friend Heidi. So what do you do when you have a good friend, a tank full of gas, 3 kids under the age of 4 and a 30% off coupon to everything at Gap or Old Navy? YOU GO SHOPPING! So we loaded up the kids and had a BLAST!! Now being impulsive is great, but forgetting your stroller...not good! We did however work that coupon to its full extent. Thank you Heidi and Max for a great day of fun.  Next time there will be pictures!

After the fun shopping it was time to pick up Ellie, bake a cake and drive down to Chuck E Cheese for a birthday party.

Ellie is an AMAZING ski baller. Her top score was 25,000.

Ellie and Chuck E Cheese

Ellie with her four buddies. What a FUN 6th birthday party.

After Ellie had her fun and I had some fun with the other Moms, who I just adore, then I got to have fun with my friend Julie. We spent Friday night mixing, frosting and talking. Julie, her sweet hubby Marshall, and I decorated Savannah's 4th birthday cake. We had a tinkerbell theme and there was a lot of practicing.

Here is Julie attempting to teach me the tricks of doing a pretty flower

Here is the AMAZING cake that Julie designed...she truly is an artist!!

So I DID IT!  With help from a good friend, Savannah will get her dream cake. 
Thanks Julie.

Saturday came and I was shown yet again how blessed we are with sweet friends.  Thank you Tara for blessing us with a day in Chicago and a day off from the worries of life.  So yes, THANK GOODNESS I HAVE FRIENDS!!!

Brownies, HGTV and Friend!

Have you ever had friends in your life that bring a smile to your face just by their voice? Our family has been SO LUCKY over the years with wonderful friends...I hope you know who you are. A couple of weeks ago we were able to go and stay with our dear friends the Kochs. We spent almost two weeks with them and it was so much fun. My Best Friend Kristen and I enjoyed our days and laughed away the nights. Moroni was on a business trip and Ryan and Kristen helped take care of me and our kids. We love you guys so much and your friendship is more than we deserve!! One of last nights there Moroni flew back and us four went on a double date. Below you will see the evidence of what happens with us four get together. Maybe that is why we were separated a few years back!!??

Happy Day after St. Patty's day! Here our the two hotties getting ready to PARTY! No Ryan for the last time I did not steal your pot of gold:). LOL!

My "friend" decided I needed a little more Zac in my life. Here we are together.


Just the four of us eating at our favorite place in Columbus, IN. It is an AMAZING BBQ restaurant that frankly I cannot get enough of. Ryan is deep in thought about what to get Kristen for their anniversary.


Friend and Me! I love you girl!!! Truly if you know Kristen you are better because of it! Also she makes the BEST brownies.


Thank you to the Koch family for loving us and for being AMAZING friends that we thank our Heavenly Father for daily.

"Dancing with the Sick"

Last Friday I, with an AMAZING committee were in charge of this big family dance for all the families in our community with elementary school age kids. The theme was "Dancing with the Stars." It had it all...dancing with a live DJ with his own light show, bouncy houses, face painting, a star walk of fame, photo opt area and even a photo booth. The best part is it was FREE. Families could come and enjoy and not have to worry about paying for a thing. It was months of work and it felt so good when it was done. It was my first time being the Social Committee Chair for our parent group(GSPIE), and it was such a good experience. I learned so much and I had the BEST committee ever. I think the thing I learned most is I like to party! The weeks leading up to it were stressful and full of things to do. However, that night came and I was on cloud nine. I was running around the whole night making sure everything and everyone were where they were suppose to be, but I LOVED IT! I loved seeing so many people happy and having fun. We had over 360 families attend and the feedback I keep hearing is totally positive.

So you maybe asking why the weird blog title? Well, when ever us Mills party we usually have a casualty. Our Savannah woke up Sunday and let me know she wasn't feeling well. I figured she was just tired and hoped that we could make it to church. She started to feel a little better so we went. Through out church she kept getting more lethargic and hotter. Finally Moroni took her and the other two home. On the way home Savannah threw up all over herself and the car. She then said her throat was hurting. So what happens over the next few days has been nothing but horrible for that little girl. She has strep throat but after another day of throwing up she couldn't take her medicine. Yesterday we ALL went to Madison for her to get double checked and to see if one of us was a carrier for strep throat since Savannah has now gotten it 3 times in 60 days. It was a long day at the doctors and I am just grateful that when I woke up this morning Savannah actually smiled.

So folks this past weekend we had dancing and we had sickness. I guess they are a package deal!

Gratitude

Do you ever just feel so grateful for your life that you feel you don't deserve it? Do you ever just feel so blessed and you wish you were worthy of those blessings? That is how I feel today. I feel so grateful for the life that I have and the wonderful people that are a part of it. I am so grateful every moment of everyday that a little over nine years ago I was blessed with my best friend, the love of my love and my true soul mate...my husband. He is truly my light and loves me more than I deserve. I am so grateful for our children who keep us smiling and keep the clouds away. I am grateful for wonderful family who took time out of their busy schedules this week to spend time with Ellie at school. I am grateful for wonderful friends who call, email or send books in the mail to me. I am grateful for wonderful people on our social committee that worked so hard and pulled off an amazing event last night. I am grateful for laughter, smiles and hugs. Most of all I am grateful for the beliefs I have and for the peace it gives me everyday to do the right things. I LOVE my life. I just hope I can share our wonderful life fully with others and that is what this blog is for.