Christmas week!!!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We sure did...
For Christmas Eve, we went over to my parents and listened to Grandpa read the Christmas story while all the Grandchildren dressed up to act out the Nativity story.
Katelyn played the Angel... A pretty cute little one I might add.


After that we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and went to our friends and neighbors caroling. It was really neat because Madison, the oldest grandchild played the violin while we sang. Then it was off to our homes to leave cookies for Santa.
Katelyn and Brayden were so tired we had to wake them the next morning. Brayden was very good at opening presents... He would open one, smile, then set it aside to open another. He was all business, but Katelyn was very excited about each one she just took her time with them.



Here Grandma and Grandpa Miller. These are their responses to the things you sent them. Oh, and of course the "purple bike" she kept asking Santa for...



Here is the biggest gift they were excited to receive. A walk in kitchen, table and chairs, with all the fun accessories.


Brayden has the hang of multitasking and Katelyn is pretty creative with the food she prepares for you.





Christmas day began with presents and then we went over to Grandma's and Grandpa's for the traditional yummy breakfast made with stolen bread, eggs, and bacon... and of course we used Grandma's China cups for our drinks as tradition. We spent the rest of the day playing games and just having a good time letting the kids play with each other and all their fun presents.
We didn't have any snow, but here are some pictures of the snow storm we had just prior to Christmas week.


Merry Christmas everybody... We sure missed you all and we were thinking of you!

Branson Landing, PJs, and Gingerbread

The Miller family headed to Branson last week to look at lights and a new outdoor mall they built there this year. We had a lot of fun doing a little Christmas shopping and eating ice cream even though it was cold. We wanted to watch a water fountain show they do every hour, but we were unlucky because it wasn't working the night we went. Oh well, we will have to go again some time. Here are some pictures of our evening together though.

I recently went to my mom's and we made Katelyn some new "girly" pajamas. She is modeling them for you. I also made Brayden a flannel sleeper, but he isn't wearing his in these pictures.



Katelyn and Brayden are "Best Buds"

Here are some pictures of the house all "Christmasy"



This weekend, my sister took her second oldest daughter to Arkansas for a gymnastics competition. They were gone all day Friday and Friday night so we got to watch her oldest Madison, Kyleigh, and little Weston. I helped them with their homework, then we made this gingerbread house together. We also made homemade pizza for dinner and the girls all piled in the jacuzzi for a bubble bath. Sean had a camp out with the scouts that night so it was just me and the kids. I felt bad for Sean because they had to camp in the cold wet rain. They all survived though. Here are some pictures of our fun day

Happy Holidays

Only 19 more days until Christmas! We are excited and we hope you all are too! The Miller family has been busy already this month. We had the pleasure of going to Utah for the weekend to visit Sean’s family. His brother Tyler has just returned from the Lisbon, Portugal mission. He spent a couple hours showing us pictures from his mission sharing some memories he made there. What a beautiful place to share the gospel! We had a really great time with Sean’s family. We went to “breakfast with Santa,” looked at Christmas lights, played in the snow, exchanged family Christmas gifts, and had a great time laughing and visiting. Katelyn had a lot of fun playing with her cousins. Here is a picture of them having a realistic “tea party” with water and crackers.


Here are some of the pictures from the "Breakfast with Santa."

We also had the opportunity to take a family photo with everyone there including McCall’s fiancé. They got engaged a couple of days before we arrived so that was exciting news to be a part of. While we were there, we had the opportunity to meet her sweetheart, Josh. He is a really great guy and we are happy for them both. Looks like we will be returning to Utah in March for their wedding.

The snowstorm was a wonderful treat. We put on some warm clothing and headed out to play in it. We made snow angels, chased each other with snowballs, and sled down a small hill. Katelyn and her cousin Zach had a lot of fun playing together. Brayden didn’t last very long in the cold though. He didn’t like not being able to move very well. Here is Katelyn on the morning after it snowed.



It was Brayden’s first time flying. He did pretty good, but as you can see, we were a little bit cramped coming home. Katelyn has been so many times we have lost count. As you can see it is more fun for her the older she gets because she knows more of what is going on. A day after we got home, she woke up and said, "Can we go on the airplane to see Grandma Nancy again today?" I had to explain to her that it was a little harder than it may seem to do that, but I told her we would go and visit again soon!












The drive home from the airport is about three hours, but the kids slept while we talked. We followed this beautiful sunset for almost an hour. This is the first Missouri sunset we have been able to capture on camera. Isn't it beautiful? My dad called me that night we got home and said that his mother had died in her sleep. She was 94 years old and her husband has already passed on as well. We are happy for them to finally be together again. His temple work has been done, but she was not a member so we will have to wait another year to do hers. The neat timing of this sunset was that my dad said his father's favorite color was red. The predominate color of this sunset the night grandma passed away was red. Just a special tender mercy that God has given to us in our moment of grief. We will miss our "grandma Wilber," but we know she is happy to be with her sweetheart again.

Harvest Parties

We had a few Harvest Parties to attend this year. Sean and I went to an adult costume party. We were green M&Ms for that. We had a lot of fun getting to know the people in our ward and had a lot of laughs.
Then we had a harvest party at my parents with close friends of the family and all of Katelyn and Brayden's cousins. We had cornbread and chili to keep us warm and we played some fun festive games with the kids. We had sack races, donuts on a string, a bon fire, pinata, and a hay ride. I think the kids liked the hay ride and pinata the best. Anyway, we had a great time. The weather could not have been more beautiful for it.

Then on Halloween we dressed the kids in some fun costumes and went to our Ward party with bobbing for apples, the cake walk, and trick or treating from door to door. It was nice to be someplace warm and get some good pictures of the kids. Katelyn's favorite thing to do was the cake walk. She kept going around and around all night! We got lucky that our kids liked the bobbing for apples. They ate more apples than candy I think.

Braydens First Birthday

Brayden turned one this month! We had a really fun time celebrating his birthday. He is walking really well, giving kisses, copying everything you say, loves “talking on the phone” and picking on his sister already. As a family we sang to him when he woke up and then we got ready to go to Springfield. We took them to toys R us to let him pick out his gifts and see what things he might really enjoy playing with. Then we took the kids to the Bass Pro Shop and watched a fish feeding show with a scuba diver and a huge underground tank filled with bass, catfish, and tons of others… Brayden really liked looking at all the animals in the store. Then we had dinner at a place called Lamberts where they throw you your bread rolls. The kids got a kick out of that.

The following Sunday we had the real celebration with family, dinner, cake, and presents. Here are some pictures to share with you his special day. Rachel made the cake herself and Brayden’s favorite toy was the red vacuum. He pushes that thing around all the time and if you try to take it from him he throws a fit! Thank you Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jess for sending his cute outfit with the books. He really likes the touch and feel one. Thank you Uncle Brennon and Aunt Lindsey for the Sunday outfit. As you can see, he is pretty handsome in it! We love you all and are thinking of you! Thanks for all of your love and support helping us with this move.

Move to Missouri

Well, things are going well here for us. We are settled in this beautiful home and we have become acquainted with our ward. We already have our callings. Sean is the 1st counselor in Young Men’s and Rachel is the choir pianist and Sunday School teacher for the 14 year-olds. Katelyn has been talking so much! She has been having lots of fun with her cousins and she and Brayden have been playing a lot more together. Sean is still searching for a job in Springfield, but in the meantime he is working temporarily for our Bishop doing construction. Quite a change from a plush office job.