A fun packed weekend with all the kidos!

Isn't he too cute!Playing Barbies
At least he picked the boy Barbie
Growing up so fast
Stop Uncle James stop! That tickles!
I have to say that we have had a really great weekend. We started out Friday night at the park with miss Abbie and her parents just having fun. We followed that up with some of our favorite Mexican food. Noah actually ate a huge soft taco and a full helping of beans and rice...then finished off mine. I am certain that I will have to get a part time job to feed him in a few years. I would worry that he is eating too much but he is self regulating. He will not eat past a certain point and it varies day to day. He also uses so much energy in a day that he surely burns it off. (As I type he is trying to climb the wood trim in the entry. Wow! I was not fully informed when I prayed for a boy.

Friday night Kayla and I watched No Reservations after Noah and James went to bed. It was fun to hang out together. It was a good movie, we both enjoyed it, but it still hits too close to home. Once you have been through a loss up close and personal you just don't view death the same way. It really triggered some memories that I had forgotten existed. I think there was just too much to process so a lot of it got pushed down. I will be plugging along and something will trigger a memory or emotion and then I have to decide if I'm going to process it or just tuck it away again. I must say more than not it gets tucked away because I just don't want to be sad anymore. I was able to talk to Kayla about the night that Danny died. We really don't talk about the details. We just kinda focus on what we need to do for our friends. I actually didn't even know how Kayla found out. I just remember the phone call and then leaving and being gone for awhile. I couldn't even remember how many days we were gone. I had to ask her. Anyway after watching the movie and talking about some of the details I was awake most of the night. Just too much to process. I knew that the next night would be hard too since we would have the kids. I love having them stay with us, we really enjoy them. This time it was work related not emergency related so we were able to enjoy the kids with out worrying about mom. However when we have them it is a reminder that Danny is gone. He lives through their faces and smiles and when you are tucking them in at night it is just more than our hearts can bear sometimes. Okay see sometimes it just comes out of no where. We really did have a great weekend...I just need to stop watching sad movies where people die. Have you noticed how hard that is these days. There are so many out right now, or maybe we are just more sensitive to it.

Back to our fun filled weekend...

Saturday we headed out to get the guys hair cut before we met up with Aunt Ber. She had to work Sunday because they were moving the hospital and needed all staff so we were keeping the kids. We went to lunch with Ber and the kids (her treat since we were keeping the kids-thanks it was yummy). Then we all went to see the new Dr. Seuss movie. Noah just giggled and giggled. He really enjoyed it until he bit his lip eating popcorn and then he was done. After that we came home with all the kids and played. Ber got to see a grown up movie that night since we had the kids and then she spent Sunday at work.

The kids played well and ate well but some how it is just a little more hectic with 5 kids than it is with 2. Bath time was a little crazy since little man wanted to sleep. It was only 7 though and I was not willing to give in yet. We managed to keep him up until 8:45. His usual bedtime is 9 and then he's up at 5:30. But at his Aunt Ange's house he sleeps till 7. That's right 10 hours. Way to go little man.

We actually made it to church early and that was with 5 kids and me making breakfast for our ABF class. Was not thinking that one through when I signed up. Actually no one had signed up this week and since James teaches we usually fill in the slots that are empty. After church we had family skate day so we came home ate and changed. We were 1/2 late but the kids didn't seem to mind. They were so tired and ready to go when it was over. This was Noah's and Olivia's first time to roller skate so it was an adventure. They did very well...only a few meltdowns. Noah was a pro in minuets. He actually did better with no one helping him. After that Kayla and Hanna had another friend come home with them and they hung out on the trampoline or in her room the rest of the afternoon. Noah was exhausted and napped. This meant that mom had a quiet room and a TV to herself. It was a slice of heaven to curl up on the couch and watch a movie. I made it almost to the end. It's okay though it is on the DVR so I can finish it later. All in all it was just a good weekend. Lots of playtime with the kids. We are looking forward to Spring Break-no teaching-lots of organizing-playing-and hopefully good weather. We may even sneak in some shopping...mom's favorite.

Guess what Kayla is doing for Spring Break?

Guess what happens when you tell your kids that they need to get rid of things that they don't use? That's right they actually play with them again. I'm beginning to think that the wiser move would have been to just go through them and get rid of them. They did have a good time though and it is kinda refreshing to see them enjoy "their little girl " stuff instead of cell phones and and computers. I have to admit that most days I just don't know how we went from little girl to teenager (well almost teenager). By the way just so she is not totally devastated that I posted this...they did clean up and it usually doesn't look that bad. We are however going to go through everything in her room this week and clean out. She has out grown so much of her stuff and we just haven't had time to go through it in awhile. She has run out of room to keep things organized. I am actually looking forward to no school this week so that we can catch up on our organizing. Hopefully we will keep focused the first couple of days so that we can just hang out the last part of the week.


Oh Mom!

Fun Pics

Hey Dude? How's it going?
Noah is that you? Hey what happened to your hair...and the Puppy...
what about Sissy?

Isn't it obvious that they visited Aunt April. I mean how else could you explain the craziness. Thanks Aunt April for the fun pictures. It looks like everyone (except puppy that is) had fun while we were slaving away in Thailand. You know... sweating away on the beach and all. Any way we were happy to see that you found a way to pass some time. Only one more question? Where are the pictures of you and Uncle Bill?

Missing our new friends & far off places.

One of the views from our hotel suit
This pool is right below our balcony-well several stories below
This is the boat that our group rented to go to Coral Reef Island
Relaxing on the Island

Yet another view of another pool from our suite. I think that the resort had four pools.


Friday it will be a month since we left International soil and landed on US soil. It really was the longest Valentine's Day that we have ever had. To leave on the 14th and to land on the 14th while traveling 30 plus hours is just surreal. Jet lag is finally coming to an end. We are sleeping better though the time change certainly threw us a curve ball. I would have never believed that it would take so long to re-adjust. My stomach is settled and smells are not bothering me like they were. I was really surprised that I still had trouble with smells after coming home to things that should be familiar. I would say that I had lost my mind but others in our group have had the same problem. I still have the weirdest dreams though. The other day I told someone that I had the best Thai food and was even telling them about the guy who made it. A few minuets into the conversation I realized that I never even ate Thai food while I was there. Eventually it dawned on me that that was actually a dream that I had. The food was really good though. In the dream that is.

Now that we are able to process those two weeks I really miss the place. It was difficult to be away from the kids and the things of home...like Dt. Coke and protein that you can recognize. On the other hand there are so many things that we do miss.

The views- of the ocean, the main land, and the pools

Going into the city- the strange things that we would discover, the taxi rides, a ton of laughs

Outings- paint ball, water parks, bowling- we miss feeling like old teenagers. Believe me we felt old!

Connecting with the group- we had a lot of time to get to know one another

Our new friends- this is what we miss the most. It's hard to believe that after spending two weeks with them (one week being 24 hours a day) that we may never see them again. Oh how I wish that we could hug their necks just one more time.
We also really miss the stories that were shared, and the work that we were doing. It has forever impacted our hearts and minds. There are frames in my mind that I pause and just reflect on. I do not know if I will ever get to experience moments like that again and they are just priceless.

I wish that we were able to share our hearts but it just isn't possible at this time. For now we are only able to share in person and will do so should any one ever desire to hear more. For now we are just grateful to have had an opportunity to serve and look forward to more opportunities in the future.

All Boy!

We are not really sure how the big boo-boo happened. Noah woke me up Monday morning crying-which he never does. He was in his crib with his pillow, blanket, and puppy. Therefore we are not sure how he pulled this one off. It is looking better but I think that Easter pictures are on hold for a little bit longer. Dad told Noah that he should not talk smack to puppy. The humor in that is that he and puppy are very passionate. Sometime we playfully ask Noah if he and puppy need to be alone. I am serious as a heart attack. The boy loves his puppy and is not afraid to show it. The bad thing about this is that he actually loves every puppy (yes even the real thing) this passionately. What can I say the boy loves puppies.

Another really cute thing that he does. If he is sitting on the potty and he is tired of mom telling him to try to go poop he sighs and says "mom, I'm just so tired!" His language is really picking up. He has no problem telling sissy to "get out." He informed her that this morning because he need to brush his hair and teeth. Something is wrong with this picture. Isn't it supposed to be the preteen telling the two year old to get out. By the way he does get corrected but it is kinda cute funny. We just don't tell him that.

Cetching up on the last few days.

Noah was such a happy boy Saturday. He loved playing outside. He stayed with his friend Abbie while we were at the cabin. He was playing outside when we came to get him. He fell asleep on the way home but when he woke up from his nap the first thing he asked to do is go outside. The temp was cooling off but he was determined. He even put his own shoes on. While we were outside he jumped on the trampoline and then wanted to swing. This was a surprise because he used to cry and act terrified in them. I guess he is over that. Before we came in he went to the pool and said up. I did not give into that one. It is warm- but not that warm. We are really looking froward to the warm weather. We were really spoiled to have spent two weeks in the tropics. I can't say that we miss Thailand but we really miss the weather!

Potty training is still going great. He has only had a few accidents. Tonight he came and got me while he was playing and told me he had to go. Wow! I have to say I was not expecting this to go so well so quickly.

Today we went to a consignment sale in Fayetteville. Since we were close to UA we had lunch with James. We were discussing where to eat when Noah piped in "Acambaro". It was so clear and he just kept saying it every time we talked about going some where else. No we didn't go...it is too far away for the time that we had. After lunch James wanted to take Noah in to see the folks that he works with. Well let me just say that the little dude made out with two toys, candy, and an orange. He was very proud of himself and even had the ladies (in skirts and heels) down on the floor playing with him and his new toys. He proves over and over to be our little Latin charmer. By the way all the toys came from men so he even has some pull in that department as well.

A Day To Remember.

Today is a day of remembering. I wish that I could say that all the memories that surround this day are pleasant. Some are wonderful and I will cherish them forever while others are still very painful.

Today marks 15 years of commitment to my husband and best friend. By the way just in case it needs clarifying this is the memory that I cherish. For those that have known us for the duration or even part of the duration you know that this journey has not always been easy. As a couple we have faced many obstacles (including but not limited to 8 years of infertility and 10 years of fighting for James' health). Of course there are the typical things that couples face...finances, in-laws, life with children (and sometimes without), grief, sex, hurt feelings, stress from jobs, or stress that occurs from staying at home full time and pretty much anything else that causes a relationship to become strained. Also if you know us well you know that God gave us both a stubborn streak a mile wide and a mile long. This can be very taxing on a couple and those around them. However with that stubborn streak comes a desire to never give up.

Because of our age people usually seem shocked when we tell them how long we've been married. The first thing that we usually like to clarify is that we did not "have to" get married. There was no rush- other than the fact that heart disease runs in James' family and if we want to celebrate 50 years then we were going to have to get a move on it. Actually we just knew that we wanted to spend our lives together and that it couldn't start soon enough. We knew each other about four years before we started dating and had become good friends while James was away on summer missions. When he came back and we decided to go on a date we had the advantage of knowing each other without the physical part getting in the way. I would like to believe that we were both easier to look at back then.

Looking back on the last 17 years I can see how much God had his hand on both of us. There is no doubt that God ordained our marriage and that his grace and mercy has covered us all these years. What started as two very young and immature kids that were focused on each other and what we wanted has turned into two young adults trying to focus on what God wants. We have not arrived but the focus has certainly shifted. I am so grateful for a God whose love and patience far exceeds our own.

I am overwhelmed that God would allow two broken people to come together and serve him. I am humbled that God has given me a helpmate that will stand beside me, that will comfort me, guide me, encourage me, help me, forgive me, trust me, and love me unconditionally. I am grateful for each and every day that God allows me to be a wife to my best friend.

With 15 years of marriage comes the reality that life gets in the way. As we remember pledging our commitment to one another our dear friend and sister in Christ is remembering the day that changed her live forever. Six months ago tonight we received the tragic news that our good friend Danny had died suddenly. As we celebrate... another family morns. This is not to say that we are not grieving the loss of Danny today. It is just not the same kind. We are looking forward to what the year holds for us as a couple while she is faced with another day that reminds her that her helpmate is gone. This day speaks to me more loudly than an other day. It tells me not to take one day with my man for granted. To forgive quickly and fuss about details less. To not waste time arguing and to spend more time listening. Loosing so many friends at such a young age that have left behind a spouse and children should cause us to not take one single second for granted. We just don't know how much time we have with the people that we love. Instead of planning out the next year of our life which is borrowed time we are trying to ask God each day what do you have for me today. If we focus on yesterday or we wait for tomorrow then we are only loosing precious time that we can never get back. It is humbling to know that a widow's only wish is to have one more chance to talk to her husband when so many times we pass up the opportunity to have so much more with our own spouse. We miss Danny, Eric, Miriam, and Granddad but we chose to live life more abundantly because God has used each of these precious lives to teach us not to take what time we have for granted.

I encourage those of us who God has blessed with one more day to not only treasure it but do something with it. Make a difference in the life of someone each day. So often we get busy doing life and forget that life is about impacting others for Christ. Weather it is your children, your spouse, or someone else that you love stop today and make sure that they know how much you love them. When you or one of them is gone it won't matter if the bed was made or if the dishes were done. All that will matter is the impact that we made in the life of those around us. Unfortunately many days the only impact that I make on my family compares to that of a tornado leaving behind chaos.

Because of His Grace

It's time for favorite photo Friday. And the winner this week is ...Beaver Lake Front Cabins!


This is where James and I will be spending our 15th wedding anniversary. The kids are staying with some Friends and James is only working a half day today. He will be home around noon and then we can head out. Our big prayer is that we will all remain well until we get home. My stomach has been upset and there are so many with the flu. In fact Tia AJ (who was going to hang out with the kids while we were away is in the Hospital with the flu.

Gotta go! I have alot to do before James gets home.

Some days you just can't help being pround!

Monday morning I decided to put Noah on the big potty to see if he would go poop. It was a long shot but you have to start sometime. Kayla and I sat in the hall way doing school while he sat on the potty. After about five minutes he did go and he just kept saying "that's gross!" We reassured him that he was doing a great job.

I put him in his big boy underwear and figured that he would have an accident with the hour. He surprised us and continues to surprise us. He was dry all day (except nap when he was in a diaper) and did all his business in the big potty.

Tuesday morning I debated on what to put him in because he goes to nursery while I am at bible study. I decided on a pull up out of fairness to his teachers. He was dry the whole time and was dry the rest of the day. He just holds it till you take him. By Tuesday evening he was starting to tell me that he has to go.

I am kind of in awe that this is happening so fast. I was expecting it to take awhile and to go through several steps. Kayla was potty trained by 18 months so we are behind with him. He just didn't seem ready based on vocabulary. Over the last month his communication with us has really taken off so I guess it is time. He is loving all the praise and keeps saying "mommy watch this" as he goes pee-pee. At first he asked for his treat every time. Now I have to offer them because he just goes back to playing. I try to offer them a few times a day just because I am so proud of him.

Before I go I have to share that the other night Kayla kind of tattled on me. She told her dad that mom kept her too busy with other subjects for her to get to start her new book. This sounds really silly if you do not know our history with her. We took her out of school because at the end of her second grade year she could not read at all. We had been very concerned but they just kept ignoring our pleas for help. She is in 6 grade now and reads grade level. The other day she told us that she did not care for her last book because the author did not know how to keep the reader wanting to read more. "She said a good author would leave you hanging at the end of a chapter so that you would have to keep going. Instead I could just put the book down and not care." The whole thing brought tears to my eyes. It feels so rewarding when you see your children capture the love of reading. Her dad read to her every day from the time she was an infant until just a few years ago. If she was sound asleep when we got home at night she would still wake up and cry until dad would read to her. It did not matter how late we got home there would be a story. You can see how disappointed that we were when she struggled to read. She went from loving books to crying every time she saw one. It crushed us, especially her dad because he is such a reader. Thank you God for giving us the insight and ability to school her at home and to see such progress. This is such an answered prayer.

Today...I am just in love with being a mom!

With an ink ink here and an ink ink there...

Little man is finally feeling better and back to being a ham. Tonight we were watching Survivor Man while we were waiting for a phone call to meet some friends. A commercial came on about Dirty Jobs which is Dad and Kayla's favorite show. It became apparent tonight that Noah knows enough about the show that he recognized the host Mike Rough. The host was standing next to a pillar with a very large pig on top. Noah quickly said "Dirty Jobs" and "mom, cow-cow, ink ink." We had a really good laugh and then reminded him that it was a pig and they say oink oink. I guess mom needs to step up the animal lessons. He may be a little behind on his animals but I'm not too worried...he knows thank you in three languages as well as American sign language.

"FPF" Favorite Photo Friday"

This seems to be the thing to do in blog land so here goes...by the way how do you pick just one?



Noah and Abbie-Going for a rid on Noah's bike.

No More Thailland Mommy!

Aunt April and Naoh~ Noah talks about her every day!
Uncle Bill & Noah~ Buddies
Noah wearing his new Elephant shirt and sitting on mom's suitcase~he took everything out and then sat on it. He is such a smart little guy!



We made it through a really difficult weekend and are slowly recovering from little sleep and a sick child. Friday night I only managed to sleep about 1 hour & 45 minuets. James got about four hours. We left around 8 am to get the kids and returned home about 4 pm. We met my sister at a McDonalds half way between here and Shreveport. I was so excited to see the kids. Kayla was happy to see us but Noah just freaked out. He took one look at me and clung to my sister and started crying. He would go to James but he just gave me the evil eye. Thankfully I had brought him a toy elephant that won him over after a few minutes. I don't think that I will be able to forget that look for some time. I imagine the thought that went through his head was "have you been at McDonalds this whole time?"

It was very obvious that he was sick. You could see it on his face and in his eyes. He was also very fussy. This was the norm for the next few days. The rest of the day Saturday he wanted Dad but he did not want me to leave his sight. It was if he was letting me know that I was not out of the dog house yet but don't go any where. Sunday was full of absolute defiance. Monday was about the same but at least we were able to see the pediatrician and find out why he was sick. ~More ear infections and he was wheezing~ Another round of antibiotics and back on inhalers. He went to bed Tuesday night around 9 and slept till 1 pm the next day. He woke up and has been much easier to get along with. He is still not minding us very well but it is better than it has been.

Tuesday was my worst day so far. I could not stay awake and felt terrible all day. I fell asleep on the couch around 2 pm and woke up when the phone rang about 4:30. I still went to bed at 9 and woke up at 5 am. I stayed up for a couple of hours and then went back to bed till noon. It is Wednesday evening and I have felt much better. I even accomplished a lot this afternoon. I am hoping that Thursday will be a productive day. I know that we can not blame jet lag forever but they say that it usually take one day for every hour of time difference. I sure hope not. We are on day 7 tomorrow and I just can't imagine feeling this way for another 6 days.

Kayla is doing great. She has been awesome through this whole thing. She did great at my sisters and has been a big help since she got home. She is staying on track with school and has had a great attitude. I need to find some way to show her how much I appreciate her.

Even though it has been a long few weeks it has been one of the greatest experiences that we have ever had. I would go through the long flights and no sleep again in a heart beat. I would even go through the hard part of being away from the kids again. That part was hard but what God allowed us to experience and see was worth it. I am not sure that Noah would agree- he just keeps saying no more Thailand mommy, no more Thailand.

JET LAG STINKS!

Well I slept good the night we returned home and had a great morning nap that lasted into the middle of the day. I don't think that was a good idea. My days and nights are mixed up- we were 13 hours ahead over there. Now it is 1:45 am and I can not sleep.

I also miss my kids. We leave at 8 am to get them. Noah has the flu so it will be a hard ride home but I can't wait to hold him. I feel like I can't even remember what he looks like:( I'm kinda sad and and very anxious to see them both. On the other hand I know that there will be a lot to talk about and my brain cells still do not function well. It is very difficult to keep my thoughts together long enough to finish a conversation.

I have to go get dressed-James and I have to work the route tonight from 2 -4am. Then get a couple hours sleep and drive 8 hours.

Angie

Home Sweet Home

Theses guys are plain crazy when they have not eaten and have been stuck in an airport all day. Our pizza arrived at 10 pm. -no wonder they look half crazed.
Susan trying to eat her pizza while "trying to reschedule our flights that they re booked to the wrong destination.
James, Darrin & Susan hanging out on our flight to Tokyo.


I am not even sure where to begin. There is so much that has happened since our last posting. I will try to give a little update but we are still fighting jet lag so it may be a little patchy.

First- Our flight to our destination was longer than expected. A lot longer. We did not make our flight out of XNA on time which meant that we missed our connecting flight in Chicago. This began a very long adventure and resulted in us spending the night in Chicago. It also meant that we were 24 hours behind schedule if we were able to catch a flight out the next day. The next challenge was getting to the hotel in the blizzard (not a blizzard to Chicago but for us it was a blizzard). It took us three hours to get a shuttle to our hotel. We finally realized that the only way to catch a shuttle was to stand out side in the freezing cold, snowing of course, with 30 plus mile hour winds. Now we now why it is called the windy city. Any way we did this in groups and each time it would take us about 40 minutes to get on the next shuttle. Let me remind you that we were dressed for the tropics-not a blizzard. No coat or cloves, most of us in short sleeves. We finally get to the hotel and eat our first meal that day. Of course since we were in Chicago we had deep dish pizza delivered.

We were able to call the next morning and reschedule flights for that day. Now the hard part of this is that we hard a large team traveling together and we were booked as one so we had spent 4 hours the day in customer service re booking flights. Everyone was great and very patient but we soon discovered that they had booked us on a flight to Germany that would result in us being sent back to the US at our cost and then staring over. Very complex, to difficult to explain but God worked it all out and we got new flights.

We all left Chicago by 2 pm Friday. That was the great news. The bad news is that we still have 22 hours of flight time left and we are officially late. There is nothing that we can do but keep moving.

The flights were very long and many including me were unable to sleep a wink:(

We arrived 26 hours behind schedule with no luggage. It is now time to get to work. The team that was there to meet us had mercy on us and gave us 4 1/2 hours to sleep before we had to report. That would mean that we would be functioning for 60 hours on 5 hours of sleep.

The next hurdle would be jet lag and culture shock followed by 24 hour youth camp for the next 7 days.

There is so much that we would love to share but are unable to do so at this point. We are home and safe and never getting on a plane again (okay maybe one day but not any time soon).

We are still missing the kids. They come home Saturday. We will meet half way again. Noah had been sick most of the time we were gone and is now running 103.5 temp. We are ready to have our baby home again and I'm sure that my sister is ready for him to be home. Kayla had done fabulous and we are anxious to see her. God really sustained us through the trip. I only cried a little the first time I talked to Noah. I talked about the kids a lot and showed everyone there pictures. God just gave me a supernatural peace about not being with them. I needed that so that I could focus on the task at hand. I think that I will really miss them today now that we are home and they are not. I refuse to even go into there rooms because I am afraid that the flood gate of tears will burst and I really need to focus on getting things accomplished here before they get home. I am looking forward to eating at Olive Garden tonight with James. It is our little treat before the kids come back and we have a gift certificate.

The Milners

Bitter Sweet Goodbyes

Well it is official. We are childless for the next 17 days. While we are excited to be leaving for our mission trip tomorrow we are a little sad that it will be a while before we see the kids again. On top of leaving them today Noah has the stomach flu. He is currently at my sister's house throwing up. This tends to be a family tradition when you visit Aunt April. In fact while Noah was throwing up on the way (he started throwing up half way to my sisters) Kayla said "well Noah you are officially a Milner because you have thrown up while driving to Aunt April's." They live about 6 hours away so it was a long trip. I am sad but there is nothing we could do.

We are getting excited and are almost ready to leave. I still can't believe that we will be on a plane for more than 20 hours total. Well I have to get going so I will have to post more when we get back.

Two Will Do!!!!!!

Little Man After His Bath

So often we are asked the "are you done question?" The answer...God willing yes. We absolutely adore the two children that God has blessed us with. We are so content and blessed especially since we thought for ten years that we could only be a family of three. Of course there is the occasional laps in judgment where you begin to think to your self that you could do this again. Then it happens. You quickly re-enter reality as you take on three extra kids while mom is recovering from the flu. Actually it is always such a blessing to have the kids. As many of you know a dear friend of ours died suddenly (almost 5 months ago) leaving behind a wife that was expecting, along with two children. Our little man of Steele was born two weeks after daddy went to be with Jesus. Since then we have had the pleasure of being a part of his birth, his baby dedication, and his day to day milestones. So when mom came down with the flu we packed up the kids and brought them home with us. Actually we have shared the time with another family that has been there with them too. All this to say I really do not know how single mom's make it. We tag team and still have to fight our way through the chaos of feedings, baths, getting kids to school and daycare, etc. At one point in the evening I think that all the kids were crying. At one point I think I even heard James crying. He He He! Just kidding but he did look at his preteen daughter and say "doesn't this make you want to go out and adopt three more?"

We really do count it a blessing to have these three beautiful children and their mom as part of our family. We always look forward to having the kids we just wish that it was under different circumstances. Please do pray for this precious family. They are a beautiful picture of God's grace and mercy at work and are such an encouragement to our family. However all the struggles and burdens of being a single mom are overwhelming.

For now we are just blessed to have two beautiful children and the opportunity to be an aunt and uncle to several other precious children. Unless God says otherwise I think that we are done.

Look What I Can Do!

Remember when Noah could just barley see over the top of the crib on the first setting.


Okay I was not ready for this one:(
Yes I know that he is two and yes big sister was in a toddler bed at 18 months but he's the baby and I was hoping that we could make it till at least 2 1/2 before we have to take down the crib. It just seems like he's growing up too fast.

Hey, check this out. There's a way out!
Uh Oh! I've been caught.
But I'm still so cute that mom won't mind.

ATTACK OF THE SLASHER!!!

I know that we are behind "filling in the gaps" but we are just really busy getting ready for Thailand. We can hardly believe that in 11 days we will be on a plane flying half way around the world. I have also started the new Beth More study "Stepping Up". Those that have taken her studies know full well what that means.

Any way I really need to get on with the current post so I will go back and fill in as I can. So on with the current madness at the Milner house hold.....

Late November I (angie) came down with pneumonia. When I went to the doctor I was treated for allergies not pneumonia. Well long story short after two more weeks I went back to the Doctor and still had pneumonia. More meds! Another 10 days went by and I was still sick with all the symptoms returning. So this time more test, almost a hospital stay, and yes more meds! The reason for sharing this part is to say that I have been on meds for 7 weeks now and still going. The meds that I have been taking all this time include steroids. Now when they first prescribed them I said no (they make me sick) but was told that they were necessary and to give them a try. When filling the prescription the pharmacist said not to take them late at night as they cause nightmares and many other sleep issues. Hence the following story.....

Last night Kayla our daughter came into our room around 3:30 am to inform us that she had a terrible ear ache and that she couldn't sleep. She was hoping for pain meds and moral support. However that is not what she got. Here's how it goes.

Mom is in a very deep sleep having an intense dream. Kayla taps mom on the arm to wake her up. Mom gasps as she is woken up and realizes that something is standing over her. Just as mom is trying to process being woken up Kayla leans forward to tell mom about the ear ache. Mom (not wearing her glasses, coming from a deep sleep, and having an intense dream) finally makes out the image that is standing over her. To mom's horror it appears to be a faceless slasher with very big hair and a tie dyed shirt lunging at her. Kayla trying not to wake dad leans in so that she can tell mom about the ear ache. Remember that Kayla is in pain as she leans in and is moaning as she approaches mom. Mom becomes threatened by the slasher and her moans and gasps one more time before she begins to scream violently while grabbing dad's leg. Mom is also trying to get as far away from the slasher as possible. (Yes dad's lap will do) This causes Kayla to gasp then scream and then for some reason dad becomes startled and in his "I'm scared now too, but I'm here to protect you growl" starts to take on Kayla. At this precise moment in time mom realizes that it is actually Kayla and not a slasher and told dad "everything is okay go back to sleep. This did not set well with dad because now he is all worked up and confused wondering why we are all screaming. Well, lets just say NO ONE went back to sleep for some time. Kayla got her meds and was back in bed but by this time we all had the giggles. Well except Kayla she was still in pain and a rattled by mom's out burst). Now when I say we got the giggles I mean that we laughed until we could not breath. I think that we actually feel asleep laughing.

I have to say that we have had such a good day today because of that moment. I think that with all the tragedy and seriousness that our family has seen and endured lately that we have just forgotten how to laugh. The kind of laughter that comes from your gut that you just can't stop. I have stopped so many times today and thanked God for that very odd yet priceless incident that we shared this morning. I think he just knew that we needed to laugh. In so many ways it was very therapeutic. Thank you Jesus for bringing some much needed smiles and laughter into our home.

As for Kayla she is feeling a little better. Dad and Noah took a four hour nap and Mom just can't wait till there are no more steroids!

angie

Time to update the Blog

Well we have officially been home with our little man NOAH for 18 months almost 19 months. As one would expect so much has changed. Life with a toddler and a preteen is rewarding yet challenging.

The day we received Noah's referral Tia Aj suggested that we follow our journey with a Blog. Of course my first thoughts were "a Blog what is a Blog?" Well now I know what a blog is but I still do not know all the tricks to posting on them. After following other adoption blogs I come to have bloggers envy (Yes I know that is not spiritual but neither are you all of the time). Actually I have just come to a place where I feel that I need a place to journal and share what God has been doing and is still doing in our family. Also Noah is starting to talk about Guatemala and his foster mom Grandma Alice so I want to catch up on the blog while those precious memories are coming to the surface again.

To clarify we will always cherish the memories that we have from our pick up trip and the months to follow with our new baby boy however our homecoming was bitter sweet. Our family has endured three tragic deaths and our brother Mark leaving for war since Noah's pick up trip...the first tragic news received when we landed in Houston waiting for our next flight. I will share more of this in other post as I would like to honor each of these Godly men as they have played an important role in our life and supported our family's decision to adopt.

We will try to relive some of the events over the next few weeks so that there are not as many holes in this adventure. Please bear with us as most of this is old news but we feel it will help us sort through all the emotion that this journey we call life has brought our way. For those picture hungry folks like me we will add those too. We will post as often as possible to catch up but we are also trying to prepare for our mission trip (we leave in 20 days). Prayers are coveted as we will be away from the kids for 17 days:(

I will try to post a few pictures from our pick up trip as soon as I remember how that is done.
Angie

Our Last Day in Guatemala

Hello to everyone,

Well it is our last day in Guatemala and it was the best so far. We went to Antigua today and had a blast. Noah slept most of the time except when we were in a place that he needed to be a little more quiet. We did have a lot of help with him from the local people. Everyone has been so kind and the people here are beautiful. We will miss them greatly and will never forget our experience in Noah's birth country.

We are looking forward to being home though not looking forward to such a long day. Noah is teething and has a cold so he gets fussy when we stop for very long. We do appreciate all the prayers and thank God for each of you. Your emails while we have been away have been so comforting. It has helped more than you will ever know.

Love the Milners

Our First Outting with Noah!

We have met our new son, met his foster mother, exchanged gifts with the foster mom {we got the better end of the deal -Noah}, finished signing paper work, taken pictures, and said our goodbyes to Grandma Alice.

Now it is time to enjoy our little guy and get to know him. What we have learned so far is that he really likes to smile. Unless of course you take his picture and then he is all serious. He is much smaller that we were expecting. Very healthy just not as big as he looked in the last set of pictures. This is okay with us just brought the wrong size clothes. We were expecting him to wear 9 -12 months clothes based on his weight. We thought that we were pushing it by bringing 6-12 month clothing (thought they may be too small). It turns out that 3-6 months is a good fit. We have those too just not as many. Pjs will just have to be big till we get home. Thankfully we brought a few pairs of smaller socks that will work until we get home. After holding him I think that the reason his weight had us thrown off was because he is solid and barrel chested.

After a very long emotional day we are going out for our first dinner together. We have decided on Apple Bee's because we can see it from our hotel room and it looks easy to find. Noah has been changed into his new out fit and he is sporting his new hat and his new snuggly. He seems to be pretty happy at this point.

Toes, Toes, Glorious Toes!

We waited so long to see these precious piggies! They are all there and accounted for. They are however much smaller than we expected them to be. He is 6 months old and wears a size newborn shoe. The socks that we brought are huge on him.

The Other Woman

I know that the title sounds a little odd but that is really how I have felt until today. For six months I only knew that our son was being cared for by his foster mom in Guatemala. We had no name or face to assign to to the woman who was holding and comforting our son, providing his every need. Questions and thoughts would arise such as...what does she look like, how old is she, why did she chose to foster, does she have children of her own, is there a father figure in the picture, if so how is there marriage, does she put sugar in his bottle (this was my biggest fear- crazy as it sounds), will she miss him when he's gone, and the biggest question of all does she know how much we already love him?

All of those questions and fears faded the moment I saw "Grandma Alice". She was beautiful, warm, and kind. Her smile spoke all the words that could not be communicated. We knew right away that the "other woman" loved our son and had given him a home, his first home and that we were blessed to have had such a wonderful foster mother for our little boy. We respectfully and lovingly refer to her as Grandma Alice. Noah has her picture next to his crib and we talk about her every day. She will always be very dear to our family and we will forever admire her for loving our child completely knowing that it was only for a short time.
Thank you Grandma Alice. Our words can never truly express our gratitude.

Meeting an Angel

Today we held our precious little boy for the first time. It has been six months and 6 days since the birth of our son. As each day passed our love for this little guy has grown far beyond anything we can describe. Each passing day our bodies ached to hold him and touch him and even to know his smell. So today we are so relived and feel like such a burden has been lifted from us. We just feel complete. We have prayed for such a day as this and have stepped out in faith anticipating it's arrival. He is every thing that we could have imagined and so much more. He is beautiful beyond words. His smile and eyes have captured our hearts. And holding him...well it just feels so good. We want time to stand still so that we can treasure this moment forever yet we can't seem to move forward fast enough.

We Have Noah!

We have NOAH! To say he is beautiful is an understatement. He is doing very well. The transition was easier than we thought but very emotional. Noah has laughed and smiled and kicked his little legs since we got him. He is a very happy ,healthy boy. He is not as big as we thought he would be. But he is huge in his chest. He loves to go out side. When we went to dinner he smiled all the way.

Okay well we could go on and on but the little guy is getting sleepy and we have a very early morning. We are ready for our Embassy appointment then we should have the rest of the day tomorrow.

His Daddy has not stoped smiling either. If we miss a flight on Wednesday it will be okay because we can just fly home on the rush that we have after holding him.

Thanks for the prayers. We love you all.

WE HAVE PINK!!! {translated} NOAH IS COMING HOME

Update: We met with Carol from our agency on Monday June 5th which was also the day that Noah turned 6 mo old. We were discussing what we should expect over the next couple of weeks, and we made our last payment "OUCH". We asked Carol if she had any information about Noah's paper work and she said that our lawyer had no new information. We left the meeting encouraged with a lot of information about what to expect next.

What we didn't expect was that Carol would call about 8pm that same evening to inform us that our lawyer called and we have an appointment with the US Embassy. Our Appointment is at 7:15 am Monday June 12th. We have to pick Noah up no later than the day before the Embassy appointment. While in shock we started looking at the calender. We would need to fly out on Saturday so that would only give us four days to make arrangements and fly out. We were expecting to have another week to get things done.

So.... We have booked a flight that leaves Saturday early afternoon and will arrive in Guatemala about 10pm. Our lawyer will bring Noah and his foster mom to our hotel on Sunday were we will have a chance to give the foster mom a gift and ask her questions about Noah and his routine. Noah will remain with us from that point on. We will go to the Embassy Monday morning, pick up his Visa packet Tuesday afternoon, and we will fly home on Wednesday arriving about 5pm.

Please continue to pray for our family to have safe travel with no problems going through customs or immigration. Pray for Noah's foster family as they prepare for the separation, and for Noah as he is leaving the only family he has ever known.

We will try to update the blog as soon as possible when we get home.

Love the Milners

May's Noah Pictures!

Out of PGN At Last !!!

THE GOOD NEWS...
Last night we received the long-awaited call from our adoption agency, telling us that at last we had cleared PGN!

We were sure that since the week had come to a close, we would not hear any news until the beginning of the next business week, at the very least. So you can imagine our excitement (not to mention shock) when Carol (from our adoption agency) called us at 8:00 on a Friday evening to tell us that we had cleared PGN.

We were more than relieved to finally get the call, which came following one of the toughest days we've had since entering PGN. Friday marked the 12th week since we had cleared the U.S. Embassy, and we were reaching the point of beginning to wonder if we would be able to bring Noah home by mid-summer.


SO WHEN IS HE COMING HOME?
Within the next week, Noah's birth mother will sign his adoption decree, granting us legal guardianship and making him legally our son. It will take about two weeks to receive Noah's new birth certificate, at which point our lawyer will apply for his passport. Once this is done, our exit interview with the U.S. Embassy (also known as our "pink slip") will be scheduled.

Once we've received our pink slip, we can officially make our travel arrangements and hopefully leave for Guatemala within the next week.

April pictures have arrived.

Our little man is getting to a point that he is not so little anymore! He now weighs in at a healthy 16lbs, 8 oz. Dad is currently considering Football Scholarships as a college funding option, and we are still waiting (ever so patiently) to clear PGN. The call could come at any time and we are ready (oh, so ready) whenever they call. Once the call comes we should have about 10 days to get to Guatemala, and about 4-5 days “in-country” to bring him back home!

New Pictures, March 2006

It has been four weeks since we cleared Embassy and we were hoping we would have cleared PGN by now. We did find out that our lawyer did not turn our case in to PGN when we expected she would have. This puts us about three weeks behind where we thought we were. We are, however, very excited to get new pictures. Noah's medical records say that he has found his fingers (and his pictures are proof positive). He is changing so much...we can't wait till we get to bring our little guy home.

Exciting News!

We were very excited to get pictures on Thursday (March 2nd). We were not expecting any more news until we cleared Embassy or until our next set of pictures. Today, Friday March 3rd (which happens to be our 13th wedding anniversary), we received a call from our adoption agency that we have cleared the U.S. Embassy! This took two weeks as opposed to the six weeks it was supposed to take. We go to PGN on Monday. This is the final stage of the adoption. This process can take two to twelve weeks. We are hoping for two weeks. We'll keep everyone posted!

NEW PICTURES!!!

Noah will be three months Sunday March 5^th. He is 12 lbs 4 oz and 22 in long.

After what seemed like an eternity we finally received the newest pictures of our little Noah (who is not so little any more). The pictures were only about four days late, but when this is the only connection that you have you rely on it a great deal.

While we were anxiously awaiting the pictures and medical records Dad, Mom, and big sister Kayla decided to guess Noah’s weight. Kayla guessed 13lbs 2 oz, Dad guessed 11 lbs 9 oz, and Mom nailed it on the head at 12lbs 4 oz. I called it mother’s intuition they called it pure luck.

The medical reports say that he received his latest shots and that he is healthy. He is eating well, smiles when you smile at him, and is responding to playfulness. We were excited to hear the positive reports but this makes us all the more anxious for him to come home!!!

We received notice that the DNA was a match and that his biological mom signed away her parental rights for the last time. Our case is now in family court and going through the Embassy for pre approval. They expect this to take 5 to 6 weeks. Next it will go to PGN where it could take 2 to 12 weeks to process. Please pray for accuracy in family court and that the Embassy process would happen quickly. Also please begin to pray that God would place our case with the right person in PGN and that there would be no mistakes in our dossier (and if there are that God will cover them).

Our last prayer request is also a praise. God has supplied all of the financing needed to complete Noah’s adoption. We are so grateful for God’s provision and give him all the glory for bringing this part to completion. The only financial hurdle that we have left is our travel expenses. We have about $1,800.00 left to raise for travel. This cost is an estimate by our agency since we are not sure when we will travel and can not book flights in advance. Please pray that God will show us what we need to do and that we will continue to trust him to meet this need.

The church baby shower is going to be held at the Pinnacle Country Club on March 11^th. We are very excited about this event as it adds some normalcy. We’ll add pictures to the blog after the Shower.