How Many People Have My Name?

I saw this on Meggan's blog. Thought it was fun. There are 51,325 people in the US with the name Christie and 48,306 with the name McMillan. For some reason I thought it'd be a little bit more. Thanks Meggan!

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 8 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Where'd Wendy Go?

This is the question Cade asked me this morning when he woke up and Wendy and Grandma weren't here...they had gone back to Utah after a wonderful weekend! Wendy became Cade's new best friend. He loved playing with her and was constantly saying her name. Myla, on the other hand, was a Grandma's girl. They had a good time together too. We love it when they come to visit. We always have such a good time! We went to the movies, we went swimming, we ate orange chips (hee hee), we visited. It was great! Thanks for coming...come back soon!Just the girls!
My handsome men!

Shrek 3!!

I think I was more excited about seeing Shrek 3 than Cade was...and this kid LOVES Shrek. Yes, I am one of those parents who bought the Shrek toys, got the Shrek Happy Meal from McDonalds, and played Shrek 1 & 2 everyday for the past week to "prepare" for the big day! I guess I'm a sucker for big, green, smelly ogres...but I'm more of a sucker for the smile and "shank shoo Mommy" that comes from my surprisingly grateful child when he receives any of these things.

We are so excited because Grandma Pat and Aunt Wendy came down from Utah and we went to see the movie together. My mom came as well and we had a good time.

This is us waiting for the movie to start.
Grandma Pat, Myla, Aunt Wendy and Cade

So the movie...I loved it! Cade loved it! Daddy, Grandmas, and Aunt Wendy loved it! Myla...well, she did good for about 45 minutes, then didn't love it so much, so Mommy took her down and rocked her (while still watching the movie of course) until she fell asleep. I love most the message the Shrek movies send--love yourself the way you are; don't cave to society to be someone you aren't; don't let others define you. Everyone is beautiful no matter what shape, size, or color.

Arizona Museum for Youth

Now that all the season finales are over, I am embarking on my one month of no TV for the kids and I. TV has become too commonplace in our house and is always on. I think that we miss out on learning opportunities and using our imagination when the TV is on. So I thought it would be good to try a little experiment and fill our days with non-TV stuff...music, museums, creative play, crafts, books and library, water play. Any other ideas would be appreciated! :) (Just to clarify, we can watch one movie a day, but no TV.) So today we went to the Arizona Museum for Youth. I love this place!! It is so cute, and such a good place for kids AND adults. They have an Under the Sea exhibit right now and Cade loved it. It was so fun to watch him look at the art, and find all the Nemos. He would go up to a piece and look at it, for almost a minute. I could see his brain taking it in. He especially liked the mermaids (go figure). I was surprised that he wanted to look at the art. I was expecting to have to chase him around and keep his hands out of everything. Myla liked looking at the art as well. They had all kinds of mediums there. And at different spots through out the gallery they had a craft the kids could make. It was so fun!

They also had Artville, a place where kids under 4 could play. It was very hands-on. This is Cade in the submarine looking out at everyone. There was a slide, a little "theatre" where the kids could put on costumes and act things out, an arts and crafts room, a little kitchen playroom, a garden. There was so much to do.
They also had a little area for the babies where there were different colors and textures. Myla loved it.
My favorite thing is to watch Myla and Cade play together. This is them acting like doggies. Really, Cade is acting like a doggy and Myla is giggling and crawling after him.

Diaper Rash Trick

My kids have very sensitive skin and eczema, so every little thing from perfume to grass to baby laundry detergent affects their skin. When Cade was younger he got bad diaper rashes all the time. We tried every diaper rash cream out there, but nothing really worked. Then I remembered a trick my mom used on my twin brothers when they were babies...browned flour. I called her and she told me she got that trick from her mom and that it really works. So I browned up some white flour and put it on his bum and the results were amazing! One application overnight and the rash wasn't even there. I know it sounds weird, but it was all we used on him after that.

Fast forward to Myla and for some reason I went back to putting on diaper rash cream. She's had a pretty bad diaper rash the past couple of days, it even had some blistering. I kept slathering on the cream, but it just kept getting redder and redder. Last night I remembered the flour again and browned some up and put it on her and WHALAH! this morning there is barely any sign of the rash! I don't know how it works, but it works!

All you do is put about 1/2 cup of white flour in a frying pan, turn the heat on medium, and stir until it is about the color of sand (it'll take about 15 minutes). Let it cool all the way before you put it on the bum (I just throw it in the freezer). Just apply it to the diaper rash area, put the diaper on, and let it do it's magic.

In the Middle of the Night

Last night I woke up to a voice in our room. I heard the printer going spastic and a women's voice. I sat up and told Kevin that our printer was talking to us. He told me to lay down, it's just our answering machine. I was tired enough that I went back to sleep, only to awaken to some serious racket downstairs. I bolted up in bed and moved closer to the baby monitor so I could hear what was going on. I shook Kevin and demanded he wake up and listen. There was all kinds of screaming! Kevin listened for a minute and then told me, in a rather bored manner, "It's just Harry Potter." Huh? He said, "It's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets movie playing." Okay, I could accept that, but...WHY WAS IT PLAYING? So I sit there and stare at Kevin as he drifts back to sleep, totally unconcerned. I huffed out of bed and tip-toed downstairs half expecting some intruder to be lounging on our couch watching Harry Potter before he decides to murder my family and take off with our stuff. (Sometimes I jump to the worst case scenario before finding out what's really going on.) I get downstairs and, indeed, Harry Potter was playing. I turned it off and bolted back upstairs, still a little nervous. Then, while I'm laying in bed (Kevin is snoring away) I started imagining some person in my kids room, waiting for the perfect moment to snatch them away--turning on Harry Potter as a distraction to the real crime! So I gathered up my courage again, threw Kevin a dirty look for peacefully sleeping the night away when there is so much potential for danger, and tread back downstairs into the kids room. Cade and Myla were sleeping soundly. So I looked under their beds--no one there. I peeked in the closet--no one to be found. Lastly, I opened their bathroom door, took a deep breath, and looked inside--empty. Relieved, I went back upstairs and layed in bed, waited for my heart rate to go down, and drifted back to sleep. In the morning Kevin and I had a conversation that went like this:

Me: Kevin, our house is haunted. The printer talked to us last night and someone turned on the Harry Potter movie.
Kevin: Christie, our house is not haunted.
Me: Yes it is!
Kevin: It's simple really. The power went out and when it went back on everything reloaded.
Me: That...doesn't....make...ooohhh
Kevin: All of that stuff happens every time our power goes out.
Me: Oh (sheepish laughter)

I'm such a scaredy cat at night.

Mother's Day

Today was such a wonderful day. I am such a blessed person. I have two mothers in my life. When I was younger it was kind of hard to have two moms, but as I get older I really see how super blessed I am. More people to love and more to love me. I wouldn't change anything about my life and I'm grateful for my moms and all the many women who have influenced my life. I love you!

Today I was also able to reflect on the honor of being a mother. My heart just overflows with joy and love when I watch my children. They are such special little people and I feel so honored they have been entrusted to my care. The pictures below are the moments when I met my babies for the first time. I love these pictures. When I talked to both of them for the first time they turned their heads toward my voice. It was so sweet. These are my first moments of motherhood with each child.

Meeting Cade for the first time
Meeting Myla for the first time

Sausage, Spiderman, and Sippy Cups

What do these three things have in common? Well, let me tell you. Thursday night is breakfast for dinner night at the McMillans. Tonight I was cooking up some sausage for breakfast burritos. Cade was watching Spiderman in the living roon and Myla was crawling around, getting into Myla mischief. In between stirring the sausage and pondering whether I should really be letting my 2 1/2 year old watch Spiderman Cade comes in asking for "bapple juice." I told him that I'll give him water. He shouts, "Mommy, no water!" I fill up his sippy cup with water anyway (Cade had long since surpassed his "bapple juice" quota for the day - he could live on it). I hand it to him and he bursts into tears and runs into the living room. So I give it to Myla and she happily sucks it down. I continue cooking the sausage. I turn around to put a plate in the sink and Myla has crawled into the kitchen and planted herself right in my path to the sink. I know it's really a half-step to the sink, but she's caught me off guard and I lose my balance. My hands go flailing and I elbow the frying pan with the sausage in it and it all goes flying...everywhere. Hot sausage. Hot grease. Hot frying pan. Right onto the floor where my baby girl is sitting. My heart jumped into my throat. I look down and Myla is playing, totally oblivious and untouched by any of it. Don't ask me how, she was right in the middle of everything. I put Myla in the living room and put up the baby gate right away and cleaned up the mess, all the while thanking God that my baby was not burned by the scalding grease. I am really shaken up over this. I learned a huge lesson tonight...I will NEVER cook while my kids are in the kitchen. No matter how careful I think I'm being, accidents happen.

Kevin from A to Z

Since this is a McMillan blog, I thought I'd introduce myself - it's surprising what you are willing to admit on a website when you would generally have a hard time saying it in person.

A- age: 27
B- bed size: queen
C- Chore you hate: any chore that takes longer than I originally thought. Other than that, I'm game.
D- Dessert you love: raspberry or lime sorbet (sherbet)
E- Essential start of your day: shower
F- Favorite musical artist: Howard Shore
G- Gold or Silver: Neither (see letter P)
H- Have to Have: water
I- Instruments you play: the mouth trumpet
J- Job title: CAD Draftsman
K- Kids: 2; Cade and Myla
L- Living arrangements: little townhouse ("cozy" undermines the emphasis on "little")
M- Most favorite month: October (My wife's birthday, Halloween, it starts to cool off, the leaves start to turn colors in places with regular climates... so many wonderful things!)
N- Nickname: None, I generally don't do much that makes me worthy of a nickname
O- Ordered last on the internet: A video card for my computer
P- Phobia: jewelry, lipstick, and the elderly...I think I must have been traumatized by a great aunt or some other relative wearing gaudy jewelry and chunky lipstick. (Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl!)
Q- Quote: "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." - Walt Emerson
R- Right or Left handed: Right
S- Siblings: 4; Ryan, Jay, Paul, & Wendy
T- Traffic tickets you've received: 4 and a few warnings. Three were for speeding, one was a photo ticket for allegedly running a red light - I'm not convinced the camera was properly synchronized with the light.
U- Unique Talent: being able to memorize movies after seeing them a single time but being unable to remember anything important. And I do a few voices.
V- Veggie you hate: None that I can think of...I even like brussel sprouts.
W- Worst habit: staying up too late
X- What body part would you Xerox?: my hand - I wouldn't dare do anything heavier (I knew a guy who broke the glass by sitting on the copier, a doctor got the pleasure of removing the shards from him - copiers are not built for that!)
Y- Yummy food you make: toast, cold cereal, eggs, grilled sandwiches, top ramen... you know, the basics!
Z- Zodiac sign: Virgo

Okay, now it's your turn! Who are you A to Z?

Book Suggestions?

I'm looking for some new books to read. I like all kinds of genres. Does anybody have any suggestions? Have you read any good ones lately?

Pretty in Blue

Kevin's Mom is a master crocheter and she crocheted this beautiful blue dress for Myla. I love Myla in blue; it brings out her eyes. Thank you Grandma Pat!
The turquoise bracelet Myla is wearing was actually made by my Grandpa Webb and I wore it when I was Myla's age. I can't really describe the feeling I had when I put it on Myla. I love that I am able to pass on something to my daughter that my Grandpa made for me. My Grandpa Webb passed away a few years ago. I will always remember how much he loved children and how talented and hardworking he was. He was totally devoted to his family. I miss him.

Me, A to Z

A- age: 29
B- bed size: queen
C- Chore you hate: folding laundry and putting away dishes
D- Dessert you love: hot apple pie with vanilla ice cream melting on top
E- Essential start of your day: kisses!
F- Favorite musical artist: currently, Rascal Flatts
G- Gold or Silver: A little of both
H- Have to Have: air conditioning!
I- Instruments you play: violin
J- Job title: Domestic goddess
K- Kids: 2; Cade and Myla
L- Living arrangements: cozy little townhouse
M- Most favorite month: October
N- Nickname: Chris (original, I know)
O- Ordered last on the internet: photo book for my mom for Mother's day
P- Phobia: the dark
Q- Quote: "Patience is heavenly." I don't remember where I read this, but I wrote it out in big letters and taped it to my wall so I see it every morning before I go downstairs.
R- Right or Left handed: Right
S- Siblings: 5; James, Nicki, Richard, David, Jacob
T- Traffic tickets you've received: 2; one for speeding on my way home from Vegas with my cousin, one was a photo ticket for (allegedly) running a red light at Alma School and Southern.
U- Unique Talent: pulling my hubby’s leg hair with my toes. I’ve got Supertoes. I should write a theme song for them.
V- Veggie you hate: okra! Yuck, yuck, yuck.
W- Worst habit: eating sweets
X- What body part would you Xerox?: my foot
Y- Yummy food you make: chicken parmesean
Z- Zodiac sign: Libra

Okay, now it's your turn! Who are you A to Z?

Cinco de Mayo weekend

Kevin mentioned this morning that it's kinda weird that we celebrate Cinco do Mayo. We're not Mexican, do not have Mexican ancestry, and really don't even know WHY Cinco de Mayo is even celebrated. I say bring on the Mexican food. That's all the reason I need. And boy did we eat...and eat...and eat some more. I started of on Cuatro de Mayo with a lunch with some friends. We had nachos and tacos and some good laughs. We all piled in my little townhouse, almost standing room only. :) It was great to get some girl time. Later that night we played Settlers of Catan with our good friends the Blakes. We had fun! Except their baby, Ty, was an angel while Myla and Cade were little stinkers. I'm thinking they really don't like us to have a social life. We'll remember this when they are teenagers...(insert sinister laugh here, ha ha ha ha).

Saturday was such a beautiful day and we didn't want it to go to waste. We took the kids to the zoo for a couple of hours. It was so nice and breezy. It was beautiful. I think the whole city of Phoenix had the same idea as us because it was super busy. Saturday night we went to a potluck at the church where we had some more great Mexican food and fun. Cade even got to hit the pinata. He loosened it up for the rest of the kids. :) I ran to get my camera to take a pic but he was done before I got there. After the ward party we went to my brother and sis-in-law's house for some of her great bean dip and we played Nintendo Wii. It was so cool! I really have no love for video games, but this was awesome. Instead of shooting aliens and walking through their guts and gore we golfed and bowled. It was pretty cool.

Then tonight Kevin's cousins (and our really good friends) the Olsons came over for some more Mexican food and we played some Star Wars and Lord of the Rings trivia pursuit. We are sad because the Olsons will be moving back to Utah in less than a month, but happy for them because they will be close to family. Jared is graduating from Midwestern University in June. We are happy for them!

We had a great weekend. We didn't really get anything done, but we had fun. I think we need weekends like that every now and then.

Digital Scrapbooking

I recently discovered digital scrapbooking and I have to admit that I think I've become addicted. I have a ton of scrapbooking stuff. In fact, a couple of months ago I decided I need an 8 ft table set up in my bedroom so I could do my scrapbooking. So between our computers and my scrapbook stuff, our bedroom is basically just an office with a bed in the middle of it. This will soon be changing!! Anyway, I haven't scrapbooked since Cade was 6 months old, so I've got tons of pics and tons of supplies, and no motivation! That is, until I discovered digital scrapbooking. I've gotten 6 pages done today alone! It's so much faster and I'm suddenly bursting with creativity. And getting results. This was my very first digital scrapbook page, done in Photoshop:

Basically I started with the aqua dotted paper and added the flowers and other embellishments. I was alot easier than I thought it'd be. It was good to be able to add something, and if I didn't like it I could trash it. It was fun to do the color on the black and white. At first I was intimidated by Photoshop, but there are so many tutorials online. When I saw the tutorial for this I just picked a pic and went for it. The best part is that there is no clean up, no small pieces for Myla to find and put in her mouth, no scissors for Cade to get ahold of, no mess hanging around. I love it! So when I finish my layouts I can get them printed in a hardbound book for a good price at Shutterfly. All in all, it's cheaper, cleaner, and in my opinion, funner (who said "funner" isn't a word?).

Anyway, I just thought I'd share my excitement about it. If you are interested, one of my favorite websites that has tons of tutorials and free supplies is Shabby Princess.

Some Splashin' Fun

This morning we went to the Tempe Town Lake splash park. It was so much fun! This was our first time and I know we'll be heading back there soon.

Myla did great. She loved splashing in the water. Again, babies in swimming suits. Love it! It took about 15 minutes for Cade to start having fun. This is just his personality. It didn't help that the second we got out there, a bigger boy came up and pushed Cade...of course, his mother was nowhere to be found. Cade got over it and once he found the slide and stairs he was one happy little boy.
The water was shallow everywhere, so she was able to crawl around and find fun things to put in her mouth. Needless to say, Mommy was pretty on-guard the whole time. By the way, Myla is an official crawler!! We are so excited. Yesterday I couldn't keep her out of the kitchen. She pulled down the kitchen cart on herself. I discovered that I need to re-babyproof the house.
When it was time to leave, Cade didn't want to go. So we started out our little trip the same way--crying because he didn't want to play in the water, then crying because he didn't want to leave the water. It's always nice to go full circle. :) But at least we had a good time in between.

Our New Pool

We had pool installed on our front porch this weekend. Okay, not really. It cost $8 and came from Walmart - but to Cade it's the coolest new thing right now. We tried it out for the first time today. The water was a little chilly at first, but we soon got used to it and had a great time!

Myla spent the entire time trying to get out or eating the little leaves that fell into the pool. Cade spent most of the time splashing Myla in the face, which may be why she was trying to escape. Okay, is there anything cuter than a baby in a swimming suit?! I love it.

This is Myla kicking back, getting ready to eat a twig.

This is Myla after Mommy so rudely removed the twig from her mouth. I was not her favorite person for a couple of minutes.

Cade splashing!

I know this isn't a pool picture but I had to put it on the blog. Tonight we had roasted asparagus with dinner and Myla wouldn't take any of her food or any of the food she usually eats, and she just kept whining. So finally I tossed an asparagus at her and she ate almost the entire thing! I was really surprised she liked it.

R2D2 Mailboxes

Today I was at Arizona Mills mall and saw one of these R2D2 mailboxes! At first my sister and I were like, "What the heck is that?!" but then I remembered a news story I read about how the USPS is coming out with Star Wars stamps in May. It's a clever little marketing idea! I actually think it's really smart for the USPS to team up with Star Wars. Since email and the internet has become so common the USPS has suffered. It's quite possible that the USPS will rake in a nice amount of money because I think people will buy the stamps simply because they are Star Wars - because that's what Star Wars "freaks" do...just ask my Kevy! I'm sure we'll be adding a book of Star Wars stamps to our Star Wars collection.

(Lest anyone think I am insulting my hubby by calling him a "freak" I would have all know that Kevin is a self-proclaimed Star Wars freak, and I find it rather endearing. When we were dating watching the Star Wars trilogy together allowed us an uninterrupted 6 hours of cuddle time. Now, we're lucky if we can touch hands while watching a movie...a two year old can quickly interrupt any cuddling we attempt to do.)

On a cute kid note, Cade has a little Lego R2D2 that he carries around, but instead of calling it R2 he calls it D2. It took a while for us to figure out what he was talking about. He sure loves his D2. He will even take him with him when he does down for a nap.

A Day at the Zoo

Today Cade, Myla and I went to the Phoenix Zoo with Beka, Braden and Landon, and Rachel and Ty. I thought it was going to be a nice, mild day and am a little upset with Mother Nature that she didn't inform me when she changed the forecast to HOT! Other than that, it was a fun day!

We are in front of the elephant exhibit. Cade was really excited because the elephant came up pretty close to us. He was being fed. Cade loves the elephants.
Ty, being the youngest kiddo at 5 weeks of age, was definitely having a good time. He got a nice nap while we took on the hills and heat at the zoo.
The twins are 3 months old and were were such little troopers!
The 3 Mommas, pushing our double strollers. We had a great time!

My 29 1/2 Birthday

I noticed today that it is my 29 1/2 birthday. I've never really thought about half birthdays, but this one seems to be a little more significant because the big 3-0 is looming. I am beginning the final descent out of my 20's. For the past couple of years on my birthday my brother has been teasing me about turning 30. He'd make a couple of "old lady" jokes, and I'd punch him in the arm, he'd laugh and say I punch like an old lady, I'd punch him even harder --you know, brother/sister stuff that you always do no matter how old you get or how many children you have (for whom you should be setting a good "keep you hands to yourself" example). Anyway...I have been thinking about my life and all the things I have wanted to do and how many I have actually done. My life has been wonderful up to this point. Few regrets, lots of good memories. But I know there is so much more I can do, so much more I WANT to do. So in honor of turning 30 this year, I am making a list of 30 things I want to do to better myself. I don't necessarily have a time frame for these goals. Some I want to accomplish before I'm 30. Some are works in progress. Some are one-timers that may have to happen later in life. I'll keep adding to my list. Just like life, this list is subject to constant revisions.

1. take photography classes

2. go on vacation to a incredible place I've never been

3. learn how to sew/crochet/knit

4. watch no TV for one month...and then see if I can go two

5. become a foster parent

6. write more love letters

7. plant a garden...and keep it alive!

8. take dancing lessons with Kevin

9. write a book

10. go snow skiing again - it's been 10 years!!

11. overcome my bad habits

12. make a real difference in the life of another person

13. develop good spiritual habits

14. get rid of "stuff" and keep what matters - "dejunkify"

15. get a Master's degree in counseling

16. look good naked

17. go to an opera

18. cook something new every week

19. expand my taste in music

20. be forgiving and non-judgemental

21. create new traditions in our family

22. start playing my violin again

23. discover new passions

24. have an organized room totally devoted to creating (like a craft room)

25. get on the floor and play with my kids every single day

26. create a home where everybody feels welcome

27. learn from more experienced people

28. learn more yoga and do it consistently

29. take voice lessons

30. make each day better than the last

Our New Look

I think Kevin is getting a little interested blogging. First he writes the Superman post, and then he designs the polka dot graphic you see at the top of the page for me. I had told him how I've seen such cute blogs out there and I wondered how they did it. So we both did a little googling and when I came home from grocery shopping today he had designed the graphic for me. He knows I love polka dots and pink and brown right now (my tastes change often) and this is what he created! How he knows me. Anyway, if we are too pink now, let me know. We don't want to be annoying. :)

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's . . . Kevin??

This was a fun little survey. Both Christie and I turned out to be Kryptonian, surprisingly enough. But I guess we do come from the same place on a lot of issues. So give it a shot and see who you are most like! Click the link at the bottom of the post and see who you are!

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Your results:
You are Superman

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Superman - 90%

Robin - 80%

Spider-Man - 75%

Supergirl - 60%

Batman - 50%

The Flash - 50%

Iron Man - 45%

Wonder Woman - 35%

Hulk - 35%

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You are mild-mannered, good,
strong and you love to help others.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

Blast from the Past

I'm working on a project for Mother's day and have been browsing through hundreds of photos. I love doing this. I have to give a quick shout out to Kevin for his patience while I've had tons of pictures laying around. Thanks Love! Anyway...I have found a lot of pictures that I just have to chuckle at. Especially the ones out of the 80's and early 90's. Yes, I was one of those girls who stood in front of the mirror with Aquanet and a blow dryer, trying to get my bangs up as high as I could, while strains of New Kids on the Block and Milli Vanilli were playing on the radio. I wasn't very skilled at it, I could never get it up very high. So I just looked like a big-bang wannabe. :) I also loved to wear two colors of socks and tie my shirt to the side. I remember having one of those clips to help tie the shirt to the side that was in a shape of a watermelon. I was a big fan of stone washed jeans and florescent colors. And vests! I had a minor obsession with vests. I didn't own many, but the ones I had I wore ALL THE TIME! Here's a fun picture of me with my brother and sister from 1988. Note the stone washed denim vest! Boy, was I excited to get that! I remember at this time one of my friends just got her bangs permed (yes, just her bangs - the rest of her hair was totally straight - why?) and I thought that was so cool so I tried to copy the look, basically just messing up my bangs and then hairspraying them.

Kevin would be very disappointed that I put this next picture on the blog without trying to touch up the aging colors in Photoshop. I'm just not as skilled as he is. Anyway, this is me at 6 months. I was pretty excited to see traces of Myla in this picture. Everyone says she looks like me, but I couldn't really see it. I thought it was just because she looked NOTHING like Kevin and Cade, so she must look like me. I personally think she resembles my dad, in a cute baby girl way. After seeing this picture I can see a little bit more. Her nose, the shape of her face, her smile - yup, we look alike!

Don't Go Daddy!

This morning when Kevin left for week both of the kids didn't want to let him go. Daddy gave his usual round of kisses and then went to leave and both of the kids burst into tears. Myla lunged for him from my arms and Cade went to the couch and cried. So Kevin gave the kids another round of hugs and kisses. It was a sweet moment and I had to grab my camera. Daddy left for work and both kids continued to cry for several minutes. I know it breaks Kevin's heart to leave when they are crying. It's hard to be so loved.

The Shootings in VA

I've been somewhat addicted to the news reports of the shootings at Virginia Tech--not because I have a morbid curiosity of what happened, who died, who did it and why--but because I am gripped with this fear for the future of our kids. I guess I want some answers. How do I prepare my children to live in this world? Our world is becoming increasingly violent. Places we thought were safe are becoming battlegrounds. I realize that as far as countries go, we are relatively safe. We don't have to worry about bombs or insurgents or radical soldiers. We really don't have to worry about if we are going to eat. We don't see blood on the streets. However, that makes it worse when things like the shootings in Virginia happen. This isn't supposed to happen here. So what do I do? Do I keep my children close to me and never let them go anywhere? Do I homeschool? Do I carefully select every one of their friends for them? Do I not let them out of my sight ever? And if I do, can I even protect them? I have struggled with these questions often since I became a parent. But even as I type them I know that the answer to every one of those questions is NO. Someday our kids will have to live in the real world. They will have to interact with people and develop "survival" skills on their own. Do I protect them as long as I can or do I allow them to develop those skills that are need to live in this world while they are young? The thought that keeps coming back to me as I struggle with these thoughts is to have faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Elder Richard G. Scott said, "Let the Savior be your 'lead' in life. He has said, 'I am … the Rock of Heaven … ; whoso cometh in at the gate and climbeth up by me shall never fall.' The Redeemer will safely lead you over the most difficult obstacles of life. His laws are absolutely secure anchors of protection that dispel fear and assure success in an otherwise dangerous world. Such a life will certainly provide you peace and happiness."

We know that the world is only going to get worse. We know that there are terrible things to come. But if we teach our children in the ways of the Lord, if we teach them about Jesus Christ and the atonement, if we teach them how to communicate with Heavenly Father through the Spirit, if we teach them to be good people, and if we teach them to have faith in themselves and in the Lord then they can effectively deal with anything they experience. They will know where to find peace in a chaotic, violent world. And as parents, if we do the same thing, in the end, everything will be okay. We can't control what happens in the world, but we can control how we deal with it. I don't think life was meant to live in fear and anxiety.

Now that I've typed this out I feel so much better. The unsettledness in my heart has lessened. I know that, with help, I can do this immensely intimidating job of parenting in today's world. I guess I just needed to get it out. Thank you. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by the terrible occurance yesterday in Virginia.

UPDATE:
While I was glued to the news earlier this week, now I am officially boycotting it. The media has officially taken this tragedy and turned it into a three-ring, let's capitalize on other people's pain, overdone circus. It's sickening. Really.

Loving Cade & Myla --So Easy to Do!

I was tagged to write six things I love about my significant other. Since I just told you 11 things I love about Kevin last month, I thought I'd do Cade and Myla instead. I hope thats okay Jill! :)Cade:
1. Cade has the most amazing smile. It brightens up the whole room. Kevin and I will do almost anything to see Cade smile. Lucky for us, he doesn't keep his smiles to himself.

2. Cade is such a polite boy. He always says "thank you" when he receives something or gets to do something (even if I let him flush the toilet!) He always says "thank you" like he's just been given the most wonderful thing in the world. It makes me want to give him the world.

3. Cade is such a good big brother. He gives Myla hugs and kissies and will even fall down to make her laugh. When she cries he brings her a blanket or a toy. He just recently started calling her Lala. That is an improvement because before he'd only call her Baby.

4. Cade is a look-before-you-leaper. Whenever we go somewhere new or get something new Cade will stand on the sidelines and watch for a while before he participates. He is very cautious and needs to be comfortable with the activity first. I'm sure this is something I will continue to appreciate as he becomes a teenager!

5. Cade LOVES trains. He loves, loves, loves them. Sometimes its all he'll talk about. When we go to the library he can always find the train books. He can hear the train that runs near Main from our house. It's amazing to me. When he hears the "choo choo" he'll stop what he's doing and shout, "Choo choo train, Mommy!" It's quite adorable.

6. Cade loves to love. Sometimes he will bring me to tears when he'll run up to me out of the blue, give me a kiss, and then run back to whatever he is doing. He is very affectionate and loving.




Myla:
1. Myla has the brightest, bluest, most inquisitive eyes. She has a way of studying you as if she's trying to figure you out just by looking at you. Then, a moment later, those same eyes can become friendly and flirty. Yes, I am a little worried about this feature when she hits the teenage years. :)

2. Myla's laugh is adorable. I remember the first time she laughed. I was sitting on the floor with her, with my legs extended. Cade was running by and tripped on my leg and fell down. Myla busted out with this giggle that wouldn't stop. So Cade kept tripping and falling just to hear her laugh.

3. Myla loves to cuddle. She loves physical contact. Even if I'm just holding her while walking around she'll put her cheek to my cheek and rest there -- or she'll rest her head on my chest when we are sitting. It is the best feeling in the world to cuddle my baby.

4. Myla can get around!! She isn't crawling yet, but this girl can move. She rolls, she scoots, she moves her bum, then swings her legs around. She's got it figured out. When she see something she wants, she gets it!

5. Myla loves her Daddy. She is such a Daddy's girl. If Daddy dares to come in the door and kiss Mommy first, she throws a little fit. She's happy if she's in Daddy's arms. It's very sweet.

6. Her chubs. I LOVE Myla's chubby arms, legs, and cheeks. I love to pinch them, squeeze them, nuzzle them. She's just so squishy and I love it!

Tag, you're it!! What are six things you love about your significant other or another loved one?

McMillan Madness

Life is never dull when we go see the McMillans. We have such a good time that we have a hard time leaving. We really appreciate all the effort the Utah McMillans put into showing us a good time and making us feel comfortable. We know we are a lot of work! :)

Uncle Paul is one of Cade's favorite people. He really gets down and plays with the kids. It's really fun to watch. Cade calls him Poll. It's cute.

Is Ryan lifting a camper all by himself?? Wow!

Cade and Aiden are partners in crime. They get along so well. Cade can't quite say Aiden, so he calls him Annie. It's really cute to watch them play together. They love playing with cars! They had fun finding eggs together.

Grandma, Wendy, and Ryan
Grandma set up Grandma's Easter Fun House. We got to color eggs, decorate cookies, find eggs, eat dinner, feed the "goggies," watch movies...anything we wanted. It was tons of fun.
Doesn't Wendy look hot in the cowgirl hat?

One of the most exciting parts of the trip was meeting Baby Oliver. He is so sweet and little! He is such a cutie-face. This is Aubrey's "I'm a serene mom" face.

Grandpa and Myla got to hang out a lot. We got to stay with Kevin's Dad and Lynn. We had a lot of fun. One benefit to having so many parents and grandparents is that there are more people to love, and more people to love us. We are sure blessed!

Hey, you've got to have one "I'm taking a picture of you taking a picture of me" picture. Lynn and Hailey stepped up for this one!

Road Trip to Utah

Driving to visit Kevin's family in Utah is something we both look forward to and dread. We can't wait to see our family and are so excited to get there, but the trek can be, well, dreadful. This time we decided to split the trip up into two days, and it proved to be so much easier on us and the kids. It was really fun!

Right now, Cade is really into trains and he loves to look at books. We went to the library and checked out choo choo train books and he spent hours looking at them on the road. That is one way in which he takes after me!

Myla was sweet as could be. She didn't fuss too much and always responded with smiles and laughter when Kevin or I went in the back and played with her. I have to say, we LOVE the mini van. We've done the trip in an SUV and a car, and it is so much better in a mini van. So say what you want about how lame our mini van is, we love her! (We named her Miss Frizzle.)

I drove most of the first day, thanks to some allergy medication Kevin took. But the second day and on the way back Kevin drove most of the way. I think he was feeling a bit guilty.







Nice self portrait of me in the passenger seat.








Only a couple of hours away from Salt Lake!

A Little McMillan Montage

I probably spent way too much of my day uploading pictures and organizing them into the little montage above. I probably should have been vacuuming or fixing dinner. Instead I browsed through pictures and marvelled at my little family. Definitely more fun. If you want to do one of your own it's easy. The website is www.onetruemedia.com.