'Tis the Season to be Busy!

I am one of those people who looks forward to Christmas all year long. I absolutely love the holidays. I love to decorate the house with Christmas decorations, watch my favorite Christmas movies, sing carols, drink hot apple cider on the couch with only the lights of the Christmas tree glowing, bake goodies, and of course, I love all that SHOPPING! We all know it wouldn't be Christmas if we weren't rushing around, over-scheduled and crazed. So the Millage family got off to a good start this week. With so many things going on and not a lot of extra time to blog, I thought I'd just combine several events into one super blog!


Deck the Halls!

Aaron and Jake picked out a beautiful Christmas tree and we all had a great time decorating the house for the holidays. Lauren is just like her Mommy and loves this tradition the best!

Gracie loves looking at the glowing tree! Thankfully, she hasn't been too interested in taking off the ornaments.

This is one of my favorite decorations in the whole house. It is a tree decorated with ornaments made by Lauren and Jake over the years. It won't be long before Gracie begins adding her handmade ornaments also.

Another favorite of mine is the garland. I think part of my nostalgia for Christmas garland comes from my own childhood. It was my favorite decoration that Dad would put up each year. I used to hate when the holidays ended and it had to come down. The stairs suddenly seemed so bare. Lauren loves to hang the stockings. She chooses a stocking holder for each family member and then delicately hangs each stocking. Gracie just had a a great time with all the new sights in the house. She laughed and smiled. It was precious. I can have had the hardest day, be absolutely exhausted and that smile of hers can light up the room and change my whole mood.

Saturday we celebrated Lauren's 7th birthday with her friends. Her birthday is still a couple of weeks away but I always try to have her party the first weekend in December, before all of the hectic schedules really get underway. We had a great time this year. She had her party at Wizard Animation Studios. I had never heard of this before and am so glad that I found this place. It was an amazing party. Each child could "star" in their own movie. They could pick the theme and then would go into a recording booth, with blue screens surrounding them. The "director" would give them short lines to repeat and simple actions. They were dressed in costume, which was adorable. There was usually three children per movie. We had a large group and so five movies were made. At the end of the party, each child took home a copy of their movie. All of the girls chose the Alice in Wonderland themed movie and my nephews, Ryan and Ben, chose a dinosaur movie. While a group was filming the movie, everyone else was in the party room where each of the 4 walls had a large movie screen and they could play Mario Kart Wii, other video games, sing Karaoke, etc. It was a big hit and we all had a great time. Here is the movie that Lauren made. It is so funny!

I loved having both of my parents and my sister Karen and her two boys, Ryan and Ben in from Atlanta. Lauren loved having them at her party. It was a fun day!





And last but not least...We were so proud of Lauren on Sunday evening. The children's ministry at our church put on "The Mystery of the Manger" and it was so cute. They all did a great job but of course, my eyes (and camera) was glued on our baby girl. She worked so hard learning all of her music months ahead of time. We spent a lot of time listening to her CD in the car and so we ALL knew the music by the time this program came around. Lauren knew all of the motions and my heart was just melting the whole time.

Aaron and I were so proud of her and I can't even describe the feeling that it gave me to watch our daughter sing about the love of Jesus. That really is what the Christmas season is all about. At Christmas, we all do so much rushing around. We go to different parties, or we run from store to store finding that perfect gift or the latest toy, and it is too easy to forget why we celebrate this time of year. Aaron and I don't ever want to be so busy that we forget to teach our children the true reason for the season.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life," John 3:16 NIV

Thanksgiving Day Video

Here is some video taken on Thanksgiving Day. We were in Birmingham visiting Aaron's mom, Sam, and Dan. We had a great time and Lauren, Jake and Gracie enjoyed some special time with Grandma and Paw-Paw. Sam had a cake for Gracie and to our amazement, Gracie didn't like birthday cake. She didn't like the one we tried to give her at her birthday party on Saturday either. I'm sure that will change in a few years! It was a really nice visit and I pieced together a few clips from our day together.

Thanksgiving

Whew! It has been a whirlwind of a week! As if Thanksgiving isn't busy enough, we decided to add about 940 miles of car travel to the mix! Yes, we are absolutely crazy but it was still a great week. Even with the 24-hour stomach bug that Lauren had, the antibiotics that Aaron, Gracie and I were all on throughout the week, and the 7 1/2 hours it took us to drive home on Sunday with all the traffic, we still managed to have an enjoyable holiday with our families. Lauren was out of school for the entire week, so we began the week in Duluth, Georgia with my family. Last Monday, Aaron had an interview at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, GA, which is just 30 minutes north of Duluth/Lawrenceville, where my parents and sister live. We are in the midst of Aaron interviewing in multiple places for a neonatologist job, which would begin when his fellowship ends in June. Gainesville was his first interview and it went very well. Over the next two months, he has interviews at hospitals in Savannah, Montgomery and two in Atlanta. We are anxious to see where God leads us in this process. It has been a long road and it is amazing to us both that we are finally at the end. We are ready to settle down somewhere and root our family in a community where we will all be happy. It is a difficult decision and one that we are definitely not prepared to make alone. We are spending a great amount of time in prayer over this and know that God will continue to be faithful in His leading of our family. I will give updates on this as we have them. We welcome your prayers!

After spending a couple of days in Atlanta, we left for Birmingham and spent time with some of Aaron's family also. There was just an intimate gathering of 22 people! It was a great time though and aside from a delicious turkey dinner, I had my first golf lesson! That was quite humorous, to say the least! Let's just say I don't think Aaron is anxious to go golfing with me any time soon.

The third and final leg of our Thanksgiving week was spent back in Atlanta, celebrating Gracie's first birthday with my family. I can't believe our little baby is 1-yr old!! She is absolute pure joy for us all and I am so thankful for the past year with her. She's our angel. What a great day it was to have her celebrate with all of her cousins. She had no idea what was going on, but she knew we were all really excited about something! After we sang "Happy Birthday," she just clapped her little hands together and smiled. It was another great milestone for our family.

It was great to be surrounded by the love of our families. It made all of the hectic aspects of traveling with three young children completely worth it. Below are several pictures taken over this past week...

I thought I should probably tell you about this one...you know this must be a great cup of cocoa if I actually take a picture of it! My Dad made this for me before bed on my last night there. I had just gotten all three kids down for the night, and I was completely exhausted and came downstairs to see this waiting for me. My dad made fresh cocoa with freshly whipped cream. Yum!!

Let's Get Ready To Celebrate!

The Millage house is always a busy one, but as we approach the holidays, we kick the chaos up a notch or two. December is a hectic month for everyone, but in our family, it has extra-special meaning each year. I remember that as a child the day I anticipated most during the holidays was Christmas day. Who doesn't love getting presents?! I especially loved the thrill of running down the stairs to see what Santa had left for me while I was sleeping. As an adult, it is such a different experience for me. It is honestly a more fulfilling one. Now my excitement lies not just in seeing my own children run down the stairs on Christmas morning, but in the special little celebrations that are unique to our family. Let me tell you about them...

Aaron and I were married on December 16, 2000. We had a long engagement, made even longer when I decided I wanted to have a Christmas wedding. After my graduation from college in May of 2000, I moved home for seven LONG months, awaiting the arrival of one of the happiest days of my life. We were married at a beautiful and unique historic home in Atlanta called Pinebloom. It was built in 1914 and eventually was sold to the Southern Baptist Convention in 1946 for use as a broadcasting facility for their Radio Commission. When Jackson Hill Baptist Church purchased the estate in the 1950s, they constructed a sanctuary adjoining the house. This made a perfect location for our wedding, as we were married in the church and had our reception in the house. It was an evening wedding full of candlelight and red roses. We left in a 1940's Rolls Royce which drove us all through downtown Atlanta before taking us to the Ritz Carlton. At that time, I couldn't imagine any experience would outshine that wonderful night. While nothing will ever compare to the excitement I felt that night, it wasn't long before my anniversary would have to share the spotlight.

Exactly one year later, Aaron and I were in Augusta, Georgia. Aaron was in his second year of medical school and I was almost 7 months pregnant. He took me out to eat at an amazing restaurant for our anniversary, he arranged the entire evening, with every romantic detail in place. After dinner, we came home and pulled out our wedding cake top from one year earlier. It had defrosted all day and looked almost identical to how it did the night of our wedding. We took a bite for the sake of the tradition but then I began feeling sick. We thought at first it was indigestion, but little did we know it was the beginning of early labor! It was Aaron's birthday the next day, December 17th, which was spent entirely in the confines of a hospital room as the doctors tried to stop my labor from progressing. As fate would have it though, it became just one in a trio of days that we would celebrate every year from that day forward. The next afternoon, December 18th, Lauren made her entrance into the world two months early. (Just some quick math...that was 37 hours of labor!) So our baby girl, due February 14th, decided against being a Valentine's baby and went for Christmas instead. God created a special calendar of events in our family as we crammed our anniversary, Aaron's birthday, and Lauren's birthday into three consecutive days. It is always a wonderful time of year for our family though. I can hardly believe that this year we will celebrate our 8th year of marriage and Lauren will be 7 years old! (I'll keep Aaron's age confidential...)

God had certainly given us many reasons to celebrate but almost a year ago, He gave us one more. Gracie was born on November 29, 2007 and our little family became wonderfully complete. Over Thanksgiving weekend this year, we will celebrate Gracie's first birthday! What a great way to usher in the holiday season each year. I can't imagine life being any sweeter than it is right now.

Election Day

Today is November 4th...the day we have anxiously awaited for many months now. All of the political rhetoric will be forced to an end, and the voters will finally have their say! I was excited to go to the polls today to cast my vote but I'm even more excited to watch 2 years of this political ping-pong come to an end tonight. I assume that like me, you are all exhausted by the incessant media coverage of this political race. I don't ever remember election coverage dragging on for this long, but with the primaries, national conventions, and the 900 debates, it has felt like an eternity! I just pray that in some way, after tonight, it will all be worth it.

There has been a lot of discussion about the needs of "middle America" or "Average Joes." I can really simplify this one for them. As an "average mom" from Tennessee, what I crave most of all is a candidate who is honest! I want someone with a strong moral character, with an understanding of what is most important to me and my family. One who will provide protection for our country in this time of war. One who will take a serious stand for our environment and create energy independence for our nation. And most importantly, I want a President who will use my tax dollars with INTEGRITY! Is this too much to ask of our leader?

Either way this comes down tonight, it truly will be an historic election. I feel very proud to be able to share with my children the importance of this day. I am excited to see where we go from here.

Time to go watch this all unfold...

There's No Place Like Home

Lauren began her Fall Break last Thursday and so we enjoyed a long weekend visiting with family and friends in Atlanta. It was a busy but wonderful trip. I hosted a baby shower luncheon for one of my best friends, Kim Nash, at The Swan Coach House Saturday afternoon. It was so much fun spending time with old friends and celebrating with Kim. She has been a faithful friend to me through the years. I met her 12 years ago at the start of my freshman year at Mercer. We were sorority sisters, roommates, and bridesmaids in eachother's wedding. It is rare and so special to have a friend who knows everything about you, all your silly quirks and habits and still loves you. I have no doubt we will be lifelong friends. I knew I wanted to give Kim a baby shower and yet, even after planning the date, I didn't realize how perfectly timed this trip would be. I discovered a few weeks ago that it would also be Lauren's Fall break. So Aaron and I decided that I would bring the kids over on Thursday to enjoy a nice long weekend at my family's home, rather than the usual quick trip. Lauren and Jake adore their cousins and so this idea was a big hit among us all. We missed Aaron until he was able to join us late Friday night. It finally felt complete when he arrived.

My sister Karen, often referred to as the "cruise director" in our family, always finds fun things for us to do with the kids during our visits. This time we planned to spend Saturday afternoon at Stone Mountain's Pumpkin Fest. I joined the crew after Kim's shower ended. The kids wore costumes and there were a lot of Fall activities for them to enjoy. Lauren and Gracie were UGA cheerleaders, a bit taboo for their Daddy, a Georgia Tech fan, but they were on loan from Kathy, so it doesn't really count, right? Jake was a superhero, but he ditched his costume as soon as he found the climbing ropes course. I guess it was going to slow him down. His favorite was the zip line. If it hadn't been so crowded, I'm sure he would have wanted to stay there all afternoon! We ended the day with a great dinner out at a Mexican restaurant, my favorite! My Aunt Jeannie, my mom's sister, was visiting and so it was really great to enjoy this time with her also.

It was a busy weekend, but well worth it. It is amazing to me how comforted I can still be by being at home. Though my parents are amazing supporters of me and Aaron, it is not the only reason I long for home at times. There is just something about going back to where I grew up. I love showing my children the places and things that I once loved. I love seeing the pictures throughout my parent's home. I love driving through downtown Duluth and passing by my old high school. I enjoy the memories that rise up when I am surrounded by it all. To be clear, I don't in any way long to relive those days but I enjoy remembering them. I enjoy sharing them with Aaron, just as I love hearing his memories. I love visiting his home in Blairsville, seeing old videos and pictures, and having that window into who he was before we met. We have all heard the age-old question, "Can you ever really go home again?" I believe the question is asking whether or not you can go back home and have that home still provide you with the same nurturing you received as a child. And can you revisit the past without being forced to relive it in some way? For me, and I know that this is not the case for everyone, I can go home again and be energized by the warmth and love it provides. I leave feeling encouraged and eager to return to what has become the greatest home of all, the one that Aaron and I have created together. I am excited to be where I am today. I feel blessed and thankful to have the opportunity to create new memories, ones that my children can carry with them into adulthood. I hope that one day they will also be able to say, "There's no place like home."

Here are some more pictures from Saturday at Stone Mountain...

I love my little man!

My Boys!

Hannah, Gracie, Lauren, Ryan, Jake, Ben and Meaghan




My baby girl is growing up!

Gracie stops for a snack!

Aaron distracts the kids from being sad with an

impromptu game of Simon Says as we all leave

the park. Uncle Aaron is the coolest! Always

coming up with fun new ways to entertain the

kids. Just one of the many reasons why I love

my husband!

Sarah Palin on SNL

Sarah Palin was on SNL last night and this was by far my favorite clip from the show. Hilarious! It took courage for her to go on there and laugh along with everyone. In fact, I think I like her even more than I did before...didn't even think that was possible! My favorite part of the "rap" was the moose being shot down while Palin danced along to the music in the background. Did I peak your curiosity? Watch it if you have a minute and then I'd love to hear your comments. I thought she had a great sense of humor about it all. Also, I'm sure you know this about me, but I don't in any way endorse the preview for "Religulous" that runs following this SNL clip. (Just a side note on this topic...I don't have a problem with someone questioning faith and seeking to learn more. I don't even mind if there is a movie made about it. I do, however, have a strong reaction to Bill Maher's continual mocking of Christianity. Suggesting that one who believes that God actually speaks to them should seek psychiatric care and that the Bible is just a book of stories is truly intolerable to me. He will know the Truth one day. I'll stop there...I could go on for a while. That would be a whole other post!)

We just returned from a great weekend in Atlanta. I have many pictures and will be posting them in the next day or two!