Dance Recital

Julia has completed yet another year of dance classes! She made us so proud at her cute little recital. She has come a long way from her first performance when she was just 3 years old. She has now decided she would like to make a change and give gymnastics a try. Heres to hoping we don't end up with any serious injuries! 

Julia and her friend, Sadie started taking dance classes together when they were just 2. 

5 Years Old

Our little baby turned 5! I can't believe how time flies. She got to go to the American Girl store and pick our her first American Girl doll. Ever since she was a baby I have been counting down until she was old enough to go. She picked out her doll "Julie" picked out a couple of outfits, got her dolls ears pierced and then took her to lunch. It's such a girly, darling place. She then chose to have a gymnastics party with all friends. It turned out to be a perfect birthday for our Julia. I love her so much. I can't imagine life without her. 

Back To Blogging

Wow, It's been quite some time since I have blogged. Over a year? How did that happen? How do I catch up on the past year? Well, I guess I don't. I just start with today and where we are now. Things are great at the Miller home. We have been through a lot this past year. We have been through struggles that we never saw coming but we have fought through them and are better and most definitely stronger because of them. I have learned that just because you make it through one struggle, it doesn't mean you won't get your next around the corner. However, within each struggle and trial there is a lesson to be learned, a message to be shared and happiness at the end of the tunnel.

My sweet Julia is getting so big. She is now in Pre-Kindergarten at a Christian school nearby and she is enjoying every second of it. She gets to be in class with her best friend, Sadie and she has made so many new friends. She is so free spirited, friendly, outgoing and silly. She keeps us laughing and is so entertaining. She is still taking dance class and is constantly dancing around the house and singing at the top of her lungs. My little entertainer is also very sweet, caring and can be very sensitive. She has been to known to cry out of pure happiness for someone else. It makes me so sad to see her growing so quickly but I am also so proud of the darling little girl she is becoming.

Travis is still traveling all across the country for work. He enjoys his job and works so hard. We are lucky his job comes with a lot of fun perks. We miss him so much when he is gone but we have learned to make the most of our time when he is home. He is always planning something fun for us to do together as a family and is the best daddy to Julia.

I am doing great and staying so busy. I used to worry about all the free time I would have when Julia was at school but between being involved in Julia's school, babysitting for a neighbor family, my new found love of running, church callings and the every day errands that life requires, I don't have much free time at all! I still love it here in TX and it definitely is home to us. We still miss our sweet Isaac but it's true that time heals all wounds. There are times I think of him more often than others and I am always amazed that during those times he suddenly starts showing up in Julia's family drawings or he comes up when a stranger asks why we don't have more children. It's always a quite reminder that he is always with us.

I recently started reading our blog to Julia and realized how many stories I had forgotten about from  when she was a baby. This really is a wonderful way to document memories and keep track of the  little things in life so that's exactly what I intended to do. Here is to blogging again!

Intsagram

Who doesn't love the Instagram App? And because my current camera roll on my phone is currently holding 805 pictures, I thought I would share a couple:

Back to Blogging!

It has been a long time since I have posted anything but I have made a commitment to keep up on our blog again. We had a good summer and decided to take a break from a lot of things and focus on our family. After having such a stressful year Travis and I are focusing on our marriage and all the things that make us happy. Of course number one on our list is Julia!

We have had some changes here at the Miller household over the past few months. The first being that we rescued a new dog. We named him Baxter and he and Kelso have become the best of friends. He fits in perfectly with our family and is just as sweet as can be. I will never have just one dog again after seeing what good companions they are to each other. Baxter also passes the important Julia test by letting her dress him up in all her princess dresses.

Another big change for us has been Julia starting preschool. She is absolutely in love with school and is constantly asking when she gets go back. I can't believe how big she is getting! Although the peace and quite is nice for an hour or so, I often find myself looking at the clock and counting down to when I can go get her. She is my little buddy and I miss her when she's gone.

We got to also visit Isaac's grave for the first time since the headstone was placed. It turned out perfect. Julia picked out a teddy bear for his grave and after spending time there and talking about Isaac she placed the teddy bear on his grave. While walking back to the car she started to cry. I thought she was having a little tender moment and thought it was so sweet but when I asked her what was wrong in true 3 year old fashion she answered, "I'm really going to miss that teddy bear." Once again she made me smile when I needed it the most.

I hope to post a few pictures here and there from our summer while I keep updating about what is currently going on with our family. But for now all I can say is overall we are happy, healthy and looking forward to the future!

Top 20 under 40!

My great hubby was just chosen as one of the top 20 people under 40 yrs old to watch in the security industry. Security System News wrote an article about him which will be published in July. I already knew he was great but it's always fun when someone else recognizes it! Here's what his work says about him being chosen

Monitronics Professional Recognized in Class of 2011: 20 Under 40

Congrats are in order for Monitronics’ Senior Manager of Dealer Development, Travis Miller. He has earned his place on the Security Systems News’ “20 under 40” Class of 2011.

With this award, Security Systems News recognizes talented young people who stand out in our industry. The winners are chosen for their hard work, ambition, creativity, and leadership, qualities that Travis embodies.

We’re happy to have Travis on our team; he really cares about our customers and looks out for their best interests:

“There’re a lot of issues with quality of work and integrity in the industry,” Travis says. “I just would like to leave my mark by being sure I’m leaving a full body of work and being diligent and having a full sense of integrity in all I do. I want people to say about me that I’m, above everything, honest.”

Congratulations to you, Travis!

Posted in: Industry Happenings

Tags: 20 Under 40, Dallas, employees, Monitronics, Travis Miller

Dance Recital

Right before her first dance recital, Julia told me that her performance was going to be incredible. I was nervous because while her friends in her class could show their mom's the entire dance and had been practicing at home, Julia had yet to show me a legitimate dance move in the 8 months she had been taking lessons. Every time I asked, she always pulled out some outrageous move that I was sure her teacher wouldn't be caught dead teaching anyone.

Julia is in the middle on the back row. Just wait for the second half of the dance.....

I love my little dancer even if her moves are all her own!! What a crack up!

Thanks Ms. Lisa for a great year!

Julia and her best friend, Sadie

Pray For Alyssa

I am needing more prayers and help for another amazing family. Heather first reached out to me through my blog after reading that Isaac had been diagnosed with T18. She knew everything I was going through all too well because she had just given birth to a beautiful baby girl named Alyssa, who also had T18. Unlike us however, Alyssa's parents had no idea that she had T18 until the day she was born. Heather and her husband went to a doctor appointment at 39 weeks to see if they could do an external version because Alyssa was breech. Suddenly, a routine doctor appointment turned into an emergency when they realized that something was wrong with Alyssa's heart. They were rushed to the hospital and that is when their world was turned upside down.

After welcoming their daughter into the world, Alyssa's parents were told to be prepared to quickly say goodbye because Alyssa had T18. She stayed 10 days in the NICU and was then sent home to spend her last days with her family. With a heart too weak for surgery, her parents had no options but to try and make her comfortable and shower her with their love.

Remarkably, Alyssa is now 6 months old.

Alyssa is a fighter and undoubtably a miracle but every day is a struggle for this sweet baby girl. She is fighting for every breath and requires around the clock care. If you are a parent, you can imagine what it would be like to watch your baby struggle for life for even a moment, let alone for 6 months. If you are a parent, you can imagine what it would be like to live every day not knowing if it would be your child's last.

Alyssa has a beautiful big sister and a darling big brother that her parents also take care of on top of a house, jobs and an enormous amount of medical bills to pay for. Heather's coworkers have graciously continued to donate their time off to her so she could stay home with Alyssa but because she holds the health insurance for their family, she will be forced to go back to work soon. To say their lives are full of stress, would be an understatement.

Despite everything going on in her own life, Heather has been an amazing friend to me. During my pregnancy she wrote me countless words of encouragement, let me ask her all kinds of questions about what it was like taking care of a baby with T18, and has let me confide in her and tell her things that I know only she can understand. She is a pillar of strength and faith and she truly amazes me. The fact that throughout her own hardships she continued to think and pray for our family, truly says what kind of person she is.

I want to help the Barlow family in any way that I can but because they live in Utah, there is only so much I can do. I am asking you to help out if you can. I know times are tough but if you are able to, please make a donation to the Alyssa Maree Barlow Fund. Maybe you could even repost their link to your own blog or Facebook? It would mean so much to me if you could please help spread the word. More than anything though, I ask you to pray for Alyssa and her family because I know firsthand that your prayers work.

Donate to: Alyssa Maree Barlow Fund

Easter

Due Date

Today was Isaac's official due date. The day that we started counting down to the moment we found out I was pregnant. Little did I know then what kind of day this would actually turn out to be. I have truly felt at peace and comforted lately but today I struggled to even get myself out of bed. I could have stayed there all day holding Isaac's teddy bear and smelling his little hat, the only one he ever got to wear. It's been a day of "what ifs" and I know it's such a dangerous road to go down but I just can't seem to help myself.

I can't help but imagine him being born today a healthy little boy. What it would have been like to feed him and rock him to sleep, to bathe him and lay him on my chest. What it would have been like introduce Julia to her baby brother. For her to count his fingers and toes and kiss his little cheeks. It's something my heart will always ache for. I know I will get my chance to be with him again, I just have to wait. Sometimes it seems like such a long, impossible wait.

Birthday

I just celebrated my 27th birthday. This year was a little painful because I am creeping closer and closer to 30! Not that there is anything wrong with being 30 so hold your comments but I just feel like I am still 17 and the last 10 years have gone by way too fast. I love any reason to celebrate though and my birthday is no exception. I got so spoiled this year!

It started out with a great date night. I love going to dinner and a movie with my hubby!

This was my favorite moment of my birthday. After days of convincing her, Julia finally realized that moms have birthdays too. She just thought it was so weird that it was my birthday. She just kept saying, "Moms don't have birthdays! That is wayyyy too silly!" In the end, she caved and sang her heart out to me. It could have just been because cake and ice cream were involved.

The day after my birthday my amazing friends threw me a surprise party!!! I was honestly so surprised too. Travis tricked me into thinking we were just running over to a friends house to grab some papers and boy was I surprised to see a TON of people when I opened the door! They planned a great bbq and we had so much fun. It was so sweet and thoughtful of them. I don't know what I would do without my friends here. They have been so amazingly supportive over the past year and I think of them all as family. We have a blast together and they always make me laugh!

Right when the party was winding down I looked over in the corner and saw that cute Drezdyn had quietly climbed up on the table and was helping herself to the rest of the cake. You're My kinda girl Drezdyn!

We also went to a John Cougar Mellencamp concert. Travis travels a lot for work and has visited one company in LA quite a bit. He has become friends with the owner and his fiance who just so happens to be John Cougar Mellencamp's daughter. Her dad was coming in concert to Dallas and they were flying into town and invited us all to see the show. I have to admit I had to do a little Googling to find out who he was. Maybe 27 isn't so bad :) I actually knew a lot of his songs but I just didn't realize he was the one who sang them. During my Google search however, I found out that he is dating Meg Ryan! Oh, how I love Meg Ryan. Who doesn't, right? So I kept telling Travis to ask if Meg would be there but he just kept laughing and making fun of me. We had a great time at the concert and we had unbelievable seats. After the concert, we got to hang out back stage and while we were waiting outside of John Mellencamp's trailer guess who was sitting there??? Meg Ryan! She shook each of our hands and introduced herself (as if any introduction was needed) and we got to chat and hang out with her for about 20 minutes. I was trying to act cool talking about the concert, the weather, etc. but I really wanted scream, jump up and down and tell her how much I loved When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, French Kiss, You've Got Mail....the list goes on and on! But I kept my composure because I am sure Travis wouldn't have appreciated me acting like a fool in front of his friends.

Eventually John came out of his trailer and we all lined up for a picture. I was the only one who came prepared and brought a real camera (secretly hoping to meet Meg). We found a guy to take our picture and everyone started handing him their phones. His hands suddenly got full and he set my camera on the ground. It took forever for him to figure out each phone and the process went on and on. When it was all said and done, I got my camera back and not ONE picture was taken with it. It had stayed on the ground the entire time! By this time Meg had gone back in the trailer. Not only that but we didn't even get a decent picture on anyone's phones. I couldn't even believe it. My one chance to meet one of my favorite actresses and I didn't even get a picture?? Man, what a bummer. But what I can tell you is she was so nice and friendly and exactly how I always pictured her to be. She looked beautiful though and not like she had gotten a ton of plastic surgery like they say and believe me I was a lookin'!

So here's the best picture we got:

No Meg in sight!

(John Cougar Mellencamp is the one in the gray sweatshirt just in case you had to google him because your 27 like me :)

T18 Awareness Day

Today is Trisomy 18 Awareness Day and just 5 and a half weeks from when we lost our Isaac. I feel very passionate about advocating for the Trisomy 18 foundation. When I was just 13 weeks pregnant and got the call from my doctor's office that my AFP test (the finger prick test) came back high risk for Trisomy 18, I had never even heard of this disorder. To be honest, I had no idea I was even tested for T18. We immediately dove into researching everything we could about T18 and the foundation website became a place where we could connect to other families, learn about what might be in store for our baby and find comfort in knowing someone was there advocating for us.

I will never forget when we sat across the table from our doctors and asked them, begged them to do whatever it took to help our baby. They sadly looked us in the eyes and told us there was nothing that could be done. The only option that was given to us was terminating the life of our child. In a world where doctors can stop hearts to operate on them and babies are given surgery while still inside the womb, not one thing could be done for my baby.

I wish nothing more than to prevent another parent from hearing those words. I wish nothing more than to cure those precious angles who survive birth and are fighting for their lives every day. I pray that I will be able to see this in my lifetime but so much more research is needed. 1 in every 3,000 live births are affected by T18. It can happen to anyone. If you can, please visit the foundation page to learn more or to donate towards research.

Cole

We have witnessed the undeniable power of prayer and service over the past months. We have had strangers reach out to us, pray for us and help us in ways we never even imagined were possible. Now it's our turn to send out the message to pray for another family in need. Please go here and meet Cole. His parents are wonderful friends of ours and they could really use your prayers right now.

There is nothing like a three year old to help you keep life in perspective. That's just what my Julia does. She keeps me laughing, smiling and carrying on. Our days consists of tea parties, painting, dancing and nature walks. The perfect cure for a mending heart. I am blessed to have her. Oh, so blessed!

Four weeks ago today, angels surrounded us as we welcomed our little miracle into this world. I will never forget what these moments were like. I feel blessed to have felt heaven so close.

Photography by my dear friend Danielle. creativelychicphotography.com