Not Quite the 7 Year Itch

Marty & I celebrated our 6 Year Wedding Anniversary yesterday. To celebrate we drove down to the Kemah Boardwalk. We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. We found a little Bed & Breakfast off the beaten path and called the number on the sign, when we couldn't find the office. They happened to have one "suite" available. To get the suite we had to drive around the corner to another place called "The Hula Hut" and find a lady to pay. We found her in the store and paid for the room. She couldn't give us the key, because the room wasn't ready yet. So, she said to come back later and someone would be in the room to let us in. I asked, "Well, what if we go to dinner and don't come back until late?" She said, "Oh, don't worry, she'll be there and she'll leave the door open for you to come in." Marty & I looked at each other and the same thought went through both of our minds at the same time..."Who is "SHE" and will she be staying WITH us???" It was pretty funny. We had NO idea what we were getting ourselves into, but we just went with it. So, we left and walked around and explored a bit until they called to say the room was ready. We went back and got our key. The room was surprisingly very charming and perfect. After settling into the room we walked to the Boardwalk. As we were walking toward the Boardwalk, we could see and hear the Boardwalk Bullet, which is the huge wooden roller coaster right on the water. I just couldn't walk right past that thing and not take a ride. We decided it would be a better idea to ride before we ate dinner.....we thought right. It was ridiculously fast and crazily rough, but it was certainly exhilarating. Afterwards we ate dinner right on the water. We were one of the very few people out there, because the wind was blowing and it had gotten pretty chilly, but we had driven all the way to Kemah and dog gone it, we were going to eat dinner by the water! It was great. 

At the risk of sounding sappy, we truly have never been happier and more content in our marriage. And for us, it does wonders for our relationship to get away, even for just a night, and act like we're dating again. So, I just thought I'd share the story of our little "get away." 6 years down....hopefully 60 more to go.

A Glimpse

Here is a glimpse into what The Miller Family has been up to lately. The pictures are ones from the following events:

Reagan's 2nd Birthday

MacKenzie's 5th Birthday Party

Christmas

Trip to Colorado

Mardi Gras in Louisiana

Valentine's Day

Enjoy!

*Once you are finished watching the slideshow, if you would like to silence the music to read on the blog, just click on the little sound icon in the bottom left corner of the slideshow*

The Gift

This is a story about a sweet thing MacKenzie said to me the other day. One small detail as background: Whenever we go to Birthday Parties, it is a really (and I mean really) big deal for MacKenzie to carry the gift into the party. She asks me continuously leading up to the party if she can carry the gift. It's just imporant to her. Now, for the story: We were driving to a friend's Birthday Party and she, of course, had already asked if she could carry the gift in, and I told her she could. On the way to the party she started talking about Jesus, and how nice He was. I told her that He was very nice and that He always thought of others before  himself. (I talk a lot about putting others before ourselves with the girls, because it's something I really want them to embrace and it is something that is very hard for them to grasp.) So, I took the opportunity MacKenzie had given me to really emphasize how Jesus put others first, and how we should try to be as much like Jesus as we can by thinking of others. So, we stopped talking about it, and I could look at her in the backseat and see her little wheels turning in her head. About 5 minutes later, she said, "Mom, you know what?...........I think I am going to let Reagan carry in Finley' s present." I just thought, "Yay! She gets it!" Of course, that was a small, temporary, moment that she got the concept I had been talking about with her, and I know there will be many more times that I will need to remind of her to put others first. It was just a small glimpse of hope that one day she will understand fully what that means and live her life that way. 

Awakening

I wanted to share this story with everyone who may be reading this blog in hopes that it may inspire you. Thursday night (Valentine's Day) Marty & I went to bed after watching a movie around midnight. Around 12:20am I was woken up by Marty who was putting his clothes on frantically and telling me he would be right back. I asked where he was going, and he said he had just heard an accident behind our house and he needed to go and make sure someone was coming to help. He jumped in my car and sped off into the night. I lied in bed, my heart pounding, just praying over and over again for God to help whoever was in the accident and that Marty would be the hands and feet of God to help wherever needed. Not too long after Marty left, I heard sirens, and it just made my heart sink. I thought, maybe, just maybe, Marty didn't hear correctly and there was no real accident with people in trouble. I was wrong. Marty called a few mintues later and said it was pretty bad. He arrived at the accident at the same time as a single ambulance was pulling up. He and two paramedics got out of their cars to approach the one vehicle involved which was off the road and in the trees. As they were approacing the vehicle the car went up in flames. Marty looked at the two paramedics and they looked back at him. They all knew what they had to do. They ran up to the car and while Marty and one paramedic pried open the door, the other paramedic pulled out the young woman who was the driver. She was the only one in the car. They pulled her to the side of the road and checked for a pulse. They couldn't find one. The paramedics started CPR, and Marty moved away and waited for the police to come. Once the police arrived, they told Marty he could leave. He came home with adrenaline rushing through his body and was pacing back and forth. We looked over our back fence to see if the ambulance had taken her away yet, and they were still there. Marty kept repeating, "I just keep thinking about the phone call her family is going to get tonight." We stayed awake for a while longer wondering how the girl was doing and praying she would be ok. I think Marty probably slept a total of 2 hours the whole night. Marty left town early the next morning, and I got up with the girls. I made a phone call to a friend to tell her the story and she said she would ask her neighbor, who is a fireman, to make a call for us and find out how the girl was. She called me back with the news that the young girl did not make it. I had to call Marty and tell him. We found out later that she was 21 years old. The point of this whole story is that it was an awakening to Marty and to me. This young girl had so much life ahead of her, and in an instant it was taken away. We have been doing the "One Month to Live Challenge" through our church, which basically is living our lives as if we have 30 days left to live. We are reading a book written by our pastor and his wife every day and journaling about our experience as we live our lives as if we have nothing to lose. The challenge has definitely made a life changing impact on the little details of our lives, as we try to cherish every moment with our girls and with each other. It really is living fully. The experience from Thursday night for Marty and for me has just solidified our desire to truly live our lives like we have only days left, because we really don't know how much time we are given here on this earth. And since we don't know, why not live our lives every single day as fully and passionately as we possibly can, so that when our time does come, we can know we have done what we could to fulfill God's purpose for our life. It is truly liberating. Embracing the stark reality of my own mortality has been the most freeing thing I have ever done. So, I just wanted to tell the story and share our experience in hopes that maybe someone who reads this will be inspired to live every day for today, to embrace the present like they never have before, to stop living for tomorrow and for yesterday, but for the day that we are given right here, right now. It is a gift from God...every second we have breath. What a way to live our lives and what an example to set for our children...to treat every moment we have as a gift. If you are interested in learning about the One Month to Live Challenge and/or getting the book, you can go to: www.onemonthtolive.com

A Whole New World

So, this is definitely a whole new world to me. I have enjoyed viewing and reading many other blogs. I figured it is time for me to start one of my own. I have no idea what I will be adding to the blog or how often, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it will become addicting for me. So, I hope you enjoy whatever comes your way through "The Miller Experience."