Spirit week

It's Anti Bully Spirit week for you both this week. 

Monday was Blue day for Cade and red day for Addy. 

(No pictures taken :( )

Tuesday was Super Hero day for Addy and hat day for Cade.

 Wednesday was Rock N Roll day for Addy and Wacky Wednesday for Cade

Thursday was sock day for Addy and jersey day for Cade.

Friday was hippie day for Addy and school spirit day for Cade. 

How fun and what spirit. Good job guys!!!

Trick the teacher

Part 1 - Addy in Kindergarten

I was recently reminded of one of my favorite stories of Addy in kindergarten.

Before I go there I must mention that I received a call from Mrs Stephens in week 2 of Addy's kindergarten year. I had NEVER received a call from the school before this and I quickly thought "oh boy, this girl is going to be a challenge". Mrs Stephens said 'I hate to bother you, but Addy is sort of bossy to her friends and I'm afraid they aren't going to like her.'  Oh no - I thought!!! I told her how you were the oldest kid in preschool and they used you as a 'helper' but promised her that we would talk and make sure you knew that you and the other kids were on an even playing field now and you couldn't be bossy. It all worked out from there. :)

So a few months later I asked you how school was going. You explained to me that you were not getting called on never often enough. You said that you knew ALL the answers, you raised your hand and Mrs Stephens just didn't call on you often enough!! Then you explained that you figured out the trick!

Me - really?  What's the trick?

You - I just look around like I'm not paying attention, but really I know the answers and then she calls on me!!!

Brilliant I thought - I'm in REALLY big trouble with this one!!!!



Part 2 - Cade in Fourth grade

In fourth grade, Cade had Mrs Wright.  He adored her.  She "got" him.  They both shared a love for theater and it showed!!

One day Mrs. Wright was trying to get a particular idea through to the kids.  She was asking questions and no one was answering.  So finally she pretending to pass out (from agrevation with the class) and she fell dramatically to the floor.  The kids all froze for a moment wondering if this was for real.

Suddenly Cade jumped out of his seat and ran to his teacher aide yelling "It's ok everyone, I know mouth to mouth". 

Mrs Wright has perhaps never jumped up off the ground as fast as she did that day stating "No Cade, that's quite alright, I'm good, I'm good!!!".

Love your sense of humor Cade, don't ever lose it and always keep it kind and clean!! 

 

Grandkids, Grandkids and more Grandkids

We have some of the best family conversations and you two CRACK me up!!

I'll never forget the day we were at the outlets shopping and Addy got very excited and said "Now that's my dream car!!". 

I said "where?"

"Right there" she said and pointed to.....



"REALLY?"  I said

"Yes, of course, for my 10 kids!!!" she said.

A few months later she told us that she had named her 10 kids - 5 boys and 5 girls
()

At that point Cade said "I don't want 10.  I just want all of mine at one time.  Maybe fiflets!!" 

We all looked puzzled but were then told that fiflets were like triplets but FIVE.  Oh boy!!

He proceeded to tell us that he has names picked too - Cade Jr, Caden, Edac, Cader and Cadette.  (Yikes!)

So daddy and I will be somewhere in the country (most of the time but occassional month trips to other countries) in this....



'
Call us and we'll let you know where we are, if we are in your "neighborhood" the kids are welcome, if we aren't - we'll catch up soon!!!  Send lots of pictures though, can't wait to see those cute little things grow up!!

Fifteen grandkids is a LOT you know!!  :)

(Here is what that could look like - esp since Addy plans to adopt!)

Summer Fest (Part 2 June)

The month of practices and performances!!!

The Mets and the Panthers finished up their winning seasons at the beginning of the June and we headed right into a FULL Tech Week for the Dance Recital.  Cade packed his bags and headed to the farm for a week (good call on his part with all that dance/girl stuff going on).

Addy worked hard and soaked up the stage lights with her ballet, tap, jazz and (new to her this year) modern numbers.

 

Tappin along

 

Jazzin' as Madonna

 

Aunt JoJo and her ballet dancers - Gabi and Addy

 

My modern "Plastic" girl

It's a LONNNNGGG week at recital but the girls had a blast and put on an amazing show.  We are once again blessed by this community.  Tari Jo, Kendra, Greta and Chris really care about these girls and it shows. 

Next up - Summer Theater practice.  Cade came back from fun on the farm and immediately headed into Annie auditions.  He spent some time on the farm with Japhie who coached him through his song - "If I Only Had a Brain".  It was a great experience for Cade and he landed 6 different parts - more to come on that next month!

June is also Father's Day and we are blessed with some awesome dad's in our lives.  We were lucky enough to spend the day (at the recital) with two of those great dads.

Love this man!!

 

You are two lucky kids to have a dad who is always there for you - treasure that!!

Summer Fever (Part 1 May)

MAN!  We had a GREAT summer of 2013.  We really maxed it out (that's the way this Miller household usually does things - to the max!).

I'm going to do several posting about this summer because looking back, it was really THAT good!!

Let's start in May! 

We were hot and heavy into baseball and softball.  Addy and Daddy were rockin it out with the Mighty Pink Panthers of South Berkeley County while Cade (and mom cheering loudly) were making a come back to baseball as a MET! 

When Cade made the Mets team, we were excited about Tony Mosby was going to be your coach.  Tony is a great guy, big heart, tough some times but solid coach!!  Tony got sick and before we knew it, you were playing for Brian Kleppner.  We didn't know Brian, you knew his son Cole a little from the school bus but that's all we knew.  We soon learned that Mrs Kleppner (Holly) was the Musselman High School principal (that's a great connection to make).  Then we learned they live in our subdivision - bonus!  New friends in the neighborhood.  We met so many other great people through baseball this year too - Noah Wright's family, Jake Rife's family, Bocca and family and the list goes on.  Cade, after not playing for several years, you made us very proud - you went out, did your best, made HUGE improvements over the season and did it all with a smile.  Boy, do I LOVE WATCHING YOU TWO PLAY SPORTS!!




Addy and Daddy headed back out this year to play with the Panthers.  What fun they had!!  After a tough season last year, they recruited hard, practiced hard and came out this year, a winning team!!!  We were all lucky to have MK join the team.   This rekindled a college friendship between mommy and Bridget as well as introduced you two to MK and Liam who are awesome kids.  Addy was focused on catching this year.  She did well and sure looked cute all suited up in her gear.  Watching you play ball brings back LOADS of fond summertime memories for me as a little girl playing a ton of softball every chance I had (and I was a catcher my first few years too).


 






Next up in May - Luke Bryan concert - we had a blast.  It was a little wet that day, but we know the "Rain is a Good Thing" and we partied on.  We bought tickets for the Summer Concert series at Jiffy Lube Live - more to come on this.  :)

School was out at the end of May and it became another summer of Camp Hannah!!

Memorial day weekend ended the month and we headed to the bay with the Roy family.  Thanks to Mark and Stacey for inviting us to their new house - we had a great time with the kids, on the boat and just relaxing a bit.

Check out Caption Barrett!!

Sittin on the dock of the bay

The boy LOVES his dogs!!

And she loves her babies!!

Safety Net

Grandma Hite:  I've got you!

There is no better safety net than God and your family.  I love this picture because it says it all.  Grandma was more than willing to go exploring with you, Cade.  But she wasn't going to let you go without a little safety net - she held tight to your belt as you inched your way over the edge to check out the creek below.

As you grow up, you'll appreciate this safety net less and less then eventually you'll circle back and appreciate it more and more.  Funny how we have to go through these cycles in life.

I also felt safest with my grandparents - honestly, looking back, they were the closest thing to Super Heros in real life.  They could do anything.  They knew stuff that no one else knew.  They could build things from nothing.  They could turn a drawer of old clothes into a magical playhouse.  They could tell us stories about horse drawn buggies that would keep us seated and quiet for hours (or at least for long minutes).  They had the best jokes.  They played games with us from Monopoly and Careers to Kick the Can and Tag. 

But they ALWAYS warned us, protected us and made sure we knew their house was a safe place.  We could share our deepest secrets.  We could tell them our biggest fears.  We could cry with them and laugh with them in the same conversation.

We also knew the rules - no getting too close to the pond, no running through the upstairs of the old milk barn (there were holes in the floor that could be covered with hay until you step there), no playing with guns (ever) - they aren't toys, be careful on the roads whether crossing it or biking it, always wear a helmet on the 4-wheelers, and the list goes on.  We didn't ALWAYS like the rules but looking back I certainly understand each one of them.

Just remember that you have a long family history of safety nets.  You have grandparents, aunts, uncles, great aunts and uncles, first cousins, second cousins, parents and even a sibling to back you up, hold you up and encourage you along this journey that we call "life".

Goodbye to G-town Elementary - it's been fun!!

First day 2012-2013 - 2nd and 5th grade

  This is the last day at Gerrardstown Elementary for the Miller family.  That's sad.  I have to admit, up until about a month before Cade started school, I didn't think much about where you would go to school, who your teacher would be, whether you would get a great education, who would be in your class, etc.  I started to panic right before Cade started school.  After I settled myself down, I prayed (a lot).  And my prayers were answered in a big way because Gerrardstown Elementary was WONDERFUL in so many ways.  Mr McBee is great, he is encouraging and very friendly.  It was because of him that Cade felt he wanted to someday become a principle and dressed as one each year for career day.  Mr McBee was quick to pick up on Addy's smile and love of life.  He commented often on how he loved that smile each morning and hated to see her move on to Mountain Ridge. 

 

And then there was Mrs Stephens and Mrs Collis - they made kindergarten a HUGE success for all of us.  They were so perfect for both of you and I instantly knew we were right where we were supposed to be!! 

 

The list is long but Mrs Randolph (the nurse) needs to be called out as well, she has been a huge blessing to me as a working mom and someone that can't always be there exactly when you need me - she has called to let me know you aren't feeling well, she has sent me pictures throughout the day of your smiling faces, she has cheered you on when I wasn't there to cheer myself and the list goes on. 

 

Then of course we love Mr Bowers (gym teacher) - he may not be a Steelers Fan (right Addy?) but he is a Penguins fan!!  Ms Allen (computer teacher) what a sweet and encouraging lady!!  Mrs Keys (the secretary) rocks!  Mrs Marchase (Cade's first grade teacher), Mrs Neely (Addy's first grade teacher and FAVORITE teacher of all times), Mrs Ellers (Cade's second grade teacher) and Mrs Brooke (Addy's second grade teacher).  Then comes all of the great friendships that you have developed over the years and the parents of these children.  We live in a wonderful community.  There are plenty of "bad" eggs all over the place, but I feel that we have been surrounded by some amazing people and I pray that we can be a blessing to them just like they are to us!!

 

Thank you God for these people, the lives that have blessed us and the lives that we have a chance to bless.  Thank you for guiding us (without us even knowing it) to a place where our kids can grow up and form relationships with other Christian children to continue to do your work here on Earth.  As I dropped the kids off today for their last day of school they both said - I wish this wasn't the last day, I'm going to miss my friends and school this summer.  That's amazing - thank you God!!!

Addy and Mr. Bowers at Field Day

Addy, Jayson, Rebekah, and Jacob at Field Day!!