Notice the blue arm? Well, I have to say this, my little man is one tough cookie. Last Thursday, he was running in a race during May Day. He was winning and was 2 feet from the finish line and fell. He caught his fall, but injured himself from doing so. Jacob is very, very tough. So when he was telling me the pain he was in, I called the doctors and asked if they could just fax over an order for x-rays. They told me that he needed to be seen by the doctor first. We saw the doctor a few hours later. He checked him out by feeling his arm and confidently said it was just a sprain. It should be better in 48 hours, but if it was still hurting Monday, we should get an x-ray. So, we wrapped it that day. The next day, he went to school with pain, but not wrapped. Saturday, he played in a soccer tournament. He fell on it twice. He was in a lot of pain, but kept playing. Sunday, he played another game. Monday, it hurt him a little more, but not enough to complain to me. Yesterday, he said that it was really hurting when he jerked it or turned it too quickly, but it wasn't bad. I finally took a good look at it and realized that it was still swollen. I called the doctor and requested the x-rays. Sure enough, it was broken. We were first told that it was a buckled bone. It appears that is there, but there is also a break (I am assuming hairline because I could barely see it). Our orthopedic is wonderful and the instant he saw Jacob's wrist, he knew it was broken. When he looked at the x-ray, he hollared - "yep, it's broken". So, a cast was put on. Jacob realized he would be in it until July 10th - half the summer break. He also realized that he would not be swimming. And yet, he hasn't shed a tear. He has been tough through it all. He is my hero!

Please pray for the Steven Curtis Chapman family. On May 21st, as I am sure many of you are already aware, the family lost their youngest daughter to a tragic accident. She was hit by their family SUV as their teenage son was driving out of their driveway. Many family members witnessed the accident. All the family members were home, celebrating the engagement of their oldest daughter. The family lives for God and has glorified Him throughout this tragedy. They were a very close family and have touched the lives of so many throughout the Christian community as well as the adopton community. They founded Shaohannahs Hope many years ago. It is a foundation that helps adoptive families with finances to adopt a child from China. They helped us during the adoption of both of our children. It is amazing the connections you feel with people in the adoption community, but especially with how his family has touched ours. Maria is the little one that Steven is holding.



God promises that He will hold us during difficult times. I am confident that the Chapman family will be held through the days to come. Their strength is in Christ and Christ alone. I watched God hold very, very dear friends of mine through a difficult time last year. It was painful and hard, but God held them through each difficult moment. And in the midst of the difficult time, God blessed them with an incredible gift. This little guy is a precious gift from God. As I mentioned, it is amazing how close and connected you can feel within the adoption community. I have a love for this little one that is very, very deep. He is the precious son of very dear friends that we have only physically been with for 3 weeks in our life, but the bond is deeper then most friends I have ever had. We treasure this families friendship and love them very much.

Luke Matthew is a gift from God. He was born on Saturday morning in the wee hours. This is the first picture I have of him. Our friends took a picture with their cell phone so I could see his adorable face!




I had totally forgotten to post the talent show pictures. Sam was an emcee and did a wonderful job. He is so funny. We were very proud of him and just cracked up at some of the silly things he did. Here are a few pictures from that night.

Happy Gotcha Day - Ri

One year ago, today, our life changed. We were blessed with our beautiful son, Ri. What an incredible gift God has given us in this little package. He is priceless, a treasure, our joy! Our world was rocked on May 20th, 2007. It will never be as it was before that day.... and I wouldn't change that for anything. I praise God that he chose to give us this little boy. What a blessing. Many say that he is the one who is blessed.... I disagree! We are the ones whose lives have been changed for the better. He truly has enriched us, taught us, and loves us.

Here is a video of the moment we first laid eyes on our son...

We had the joy of being able to watch Emily do something that she loved on Saturday. It was wonderful. SHe was SO excited for the performance. It meant so much to her that we went and we went without the little ones so that we could watch her! Jacob and Sam babysat. Mark and I even got a chance to go out to dinner alone. What a wonderful evening I had. So often, we are watching one of the other kids events. It was nice to be able to go just for her and watch something she loves.




This was a very funny song. It was all about moms and what they say to their kids. The students all dressed up as their moms. I couldn't help but giggle at it.


She is our treasure!



Other things going on in the Miller home:

Jacob is amazing us lately. He is growing up so much. He is committed to reading through the bible in one year; actually, he didn't start it until March, so he doubled up on reading and will be completely caught up with it in just a few weeks. He is faithful. No matter what time it is or how hard the day is, you can find Jacob ending his day (or reading during free time at school) reading the bible. I wish I was as committed to it as my son! He is a wonderful leader. I truly look up to him with awe and respect. And... the results of filling his mind with the word of God are very evident. Since he committed to reading it faithfully, he has found himself with countless opportunities to share God with others. He has also found himself with many more trials and frustrations. They seem to go hand in hand.

A few months ago, Mark and I were convinced that we would be homeschooling him next year. As of now, there have been so many changes in Jacob that I am not so confident that we will be doing it after all. One thing for sure, he is growing and God is holding him through it all.

He found out that there are a few 7th graders who have tested out of 7th grade math, 8th grade math and have entered 9th grade algebra during their 7th grade year. Math is a strong subject for Jacob. It comes very easy, almost too easy because he often finds himself bored and frustrated. But, during the year, in success maker, he was making silly mistakes because instead of typing an naswer in the normal way, you had to enter it backwards. For example: if the answer should be 1758, he would have to type it in asw: 8571 It was causing him to be very frustrated. He couldn't advance to higher levels even though it was too easy for him. Because of that, he felt as if there was no hope of him ever getting a chance for algebra and probably not even make it into 8th grade math. Last week, he was tested for 8th grade math. If a child did very well on that test, they would have the opportunity to take a algebra placement test to see if they could take 9th grade algebra. He was a nervous wreck about the tests. But, when he came home from the first test, he was smiling. He said he took the test and in the next period, his teacher came and tapped him on the shoulder and said he only missed 1. He and 2 other boys qualified to take the algebra placement test. He was thrilled, but very nervous. He prepared for the algebra test by having me ask him questions. I pulled out the algebra book I used to teach Em algebra in 8th grade. We got to lesson 20 before i just plain got tired of checking. He understood every single question without me having to explain anything! I was shocked.

Well, he took the test and he only missed one. I'm not sure that means he is in algebra next year or not. Evidently, he has to make sure that he passed the OAT (Ohio Achievement test). He will know for sure this summer. We are very proud of him!

I truly am enjoying the imagination of a 3 year old. My favorite age was 3. There is something special and "magical" about that age. It was the same way with the other 4. Age 3 was just plain fun. When Sam was three, we would hear the wildest stories. I loved it! It was often about a bear. One day, there was a stain on the carpet in his room. I asked him how it got there. He told me that a bear had come in the window and made the stain. That was 11 years ago and I can still see his expression and him pointing at the window and the floor. I don't remember all that he said, but it had me rolling.

R is not yet at the stage that pretending has become a part of him. But Elizabeth sur is.. and boy does she get me smiling. Last night, she sat in the car at the end of the soccer game. She looked at me, scrunched up the side of her face and looked out of the corner of her eye (my favorite, favorite, favorite look on her!) and held up one finger and said John was her best friend. Now, the question I had was "who is John". She looked very serious at me and said "John is my best friend, I love John". Still not knowing who John was, I asked her again. She said he played with her. Well, Levi (a third grade boy who is wonderful with Elizabeth) came to the game for a little while and sat with us, so I thought she might have meant him. I said "Do you mean Levi?". She said "oh yes, Levi. Ri, John and Levi. Their my bests friends" and then she looked at me as serious as could be and said it again. I have never heard her use the term best friend before. It cracked me up.

Another of my favorite expressions from her is "oh dear". When she gets in a predicament where she has fallen or something silly like that, she says "oh dear" or "oh my goodness".

Out of the mouth of babes

This morning, the kids were painting pictures. As they painted, the subject of "beautiful" came up. Pretty soon, Elizabeth and Ri were in a word battle about being beautiful. Elizabeth would say "I am beautiful" and Ri would reply "No - I am beautiful". Then Elizabeth would say "No - you are handsome" and Ri would argue "No - I am beautiful". You see, she understands the concept of girls being beautiful and boys being handsome. Ri is not yet there. I tried to intervene, but it didn't work. Once in awhile, Ri would say "I am handsome" then he would turn it around and say he was beautiful.

I walked out of the room and heard Elizabeth explaining that Ri was "handsome like Daddy". I thought that was sweet. Then she repeated it adding this: "Ri, you are handsome like Daddy. Daddy is handsome. I am beautiful like Emmi sister and Erin. You are handsome like Daddy and Sam and Jacob. They are handsome. I am beautiful like Emmi and Erin".

Well now! Talk about getting my pride hurt! If I were self conscious, I might just think that she purposely left me out of this conversation because she doesn't think I'm beautiful! Ouch.

But... when I walked in the room, she looked at me in the middle of her conversation and said. "Mommy is beautiful". I was quite relieved :). But... I think she is just learning at a young age how to "cover up" what she says.

Thought this was a funny story to share. Hope you enjoy what comes out of their mouths.

There are times when God seems to reach down and hold me close and whisper "it's going to be ok". I can almost feel His touch when He does. This morning was just one of those moments.

You see, it has been a little tough these past couple of weeks. Ri seems to having a lot more days of "behavior issues"; not necessarily bad, but difficult to handle. The end of the year school schedule has been very intense with several events; concerts, awards nights, & field trips. Track finished but our soccer demands are extremely intense. We haven't had a free night (or weekend) for a very long time. Mark and I rarely see each other and if we do, it is from across the room "waving" at each other.

Here is a taste of the life in the Miller home last week: Monday - Jacob had a home game. Tuesday, Sam had an away game. Mark went to that one while I got Erin to a home match to referree. Wednesday - agape small group, Jacob had practice, kids had youth group, & Erin had a concert/awards night for band. Thursday: Sam had talent show. Friday: The boys each had a band concert. Saturday: the boys & I ran 2 concessions stands, Sam & Erin referreed in the morning. I ran Jacob to someone's house in order for them to take him to an away game where Mark would meet up with him. Then I ran Erin to referree the traveling games, went back to pick up Sam at his referring, ran to Walmart to finalize MOther's day gifts, then flew back to pick up Erin, ran home, changed and then headed to Powell to celebrate Mother's Day for Marks' mom. Sunday: church in the morning, then Erin had a home game (Sam reffed it) and we watched in the pouring down rain. Sam & Erin were suppose to ref the next game but it got cancelled. Then we went to my parents house and cleaned up some and then headed to our house and cleaned for the next couple of hours. Then we went back to church. Monday - Jacob had an away game. Mark went there. I went to the school board meeting to support Mr. Freshwater. Last night, Sam had an away game, Mark went to that. I went to an academic awards night for Erin.

So, as you can see, our life has not been relaxing or calm in anyway. I really needed to feel God's presence in a fresh way. And, today, I did. You see, Elizabeth has really been into hearing about Jesus. SHe talks about him a lot. She is into me drawing Jesus on the cross and then drawing the "mean" guys watching him on the cross. If she sees anything that looks like a cross, she tells me that it is a cross and then reminds me that Jesus died on the cross. This morning, she found something that looked like a cross and once again reminded me. I smiled and walked into another room. Then she said "mom". I came out to see what she wanted. She looked very sad and was holding the "cross". She sincerely said "we need to save Jesus". I knew what she meant. She didn't like Jesus dying on the cross. As much as her little mind can understand about death. I don't think she knows what it is, just that it isn't something people want anyone to do. She really doesn't understand what it means that JEsus died on the cross, but she knows it is something really big and good and yet she doesn't want him to hurt. So, she wants to save him. It was very, very precious.

I told her that he had to die for us. She looked sad and then said "He needs to pray". So sweet. She knows that we pray when we are sad or when we are thankful or when we need God's guidance, help or whatever. She is very interested in prayer right now. I asked her if she wanted to pray. She asked me to pray for Jesus.

I know that none of this is doctrine and I understand that she really doesn't have a clue. BUt.. I am confident that God has begun a work in her heart. One day, she will bow her knee and trust in Jesus Christ as her Savior. She has what many refer to as a "child like faith". Her faith is genuine and very innocent. It is not scarred by the world or circumstances. She trusts simply because she has been told about Jesus and who he is. Her innocense is pure and very refreshing.

So, this morning, I was reminded of who God is and how precious faith in Him can be. I was reminded of the verse: "LET THE LITTLE CHILDREN. COME TO ME, AND DO NOT HINDER THEM, FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD BELONGS TO SUCH AS THESE" Mark 10:14.



This morning, the kids made some masterpieces. They told me what each picture is. HEre they are:


"Daddy", by Elizabeth



"Cow" by Elizabeth




"Daddy" by Ri




"Ri and Kings Island" by Ri

Ri is the first of our 6 kids to discover the dryer and want to hide in it. I found him exploring everything he could the other day. Yesterday and today, when I went to do a load of clothes, I opened up the dryer and out popped "Cat". She had been in it over night! Poor thing!



I have been going through a ton of old photos and making them digital. This is a picture of Jacob that I found.. I just love it!

We spent the evening, yesteday, with Mark's family. It is always wonderful to see them all. His sister went all out and prepared a great meal to celebrate Mother's Day. All the cousins were together, at least for a little while. Emily had to go to work. She was so disappointed. She likes being with her family!

Erin organized a big game of ultimate frisbee. It was so much fun. Nearly everyone played.


This is my beautiful neice, Chloe.