Junior Mr. Miller

 Hey everyone!  I haven't been here for a while so I figured I would pop in.  My mom has been a blog hog lately and hasn't let me post in a while.  Today my mom and I went and visited Stephanie.  She has cancer like my mommy and has to get treatment too.  She has a different kind of cancer than my mommy and she has to get chemo healing juice for 24 hours in the hospital so I figured it might be fun to go hang out with her.  We spent the afternoon with her and her mom, Sue.  We even got to meet her dad but I don't remember what his name is.  My mom calls that chemo brain :-)

I let Steph hold me and snuggle me and I was even nice enough to spit up on her.  I just wanted her to feel like she was part of the family. . . I also did my duty and posed for some pictures. 

Aren't they beautiful?  Who knew cancer could look this good?!  I'm praying for Stephanie and trusting that our big God is working in her body and destroying those silly cancer cells.  If you have an extra prayer today would you pray for her too? 

Until next time,

Leo

Discover Meaning Through Scrapbooking

This weekend my friend Sarah and I got to go to an event put on by one of the nurse practicioners at Minnesota Oncology.  It is a pretty cool event where you can go and scrapbook and they provide anything you need.  Books, paper, ideas, pens, stickers, tape runners, cricut machines, you get the idea .  The doctors at the clinics donate lunch and the volunteers are mostly nurses from the clinic.  So cool to see people in a different setting volunteering their time with their kids.  Everything they have is donated. Super cool to see people step up to the plate.  They have a speaker come in and talk a little about living with cancer and going through treatment.  Sarah and I spent the day hanging out.  She tried her hand at scrapbooking, I worked on some long overdue projects and even began a new one.  We both even won prizes from the drawings! We also met some cool people, ironically, the one lady at our table had been diagnosed with breast cancer while pregnant and now has two kids and is three years out. . . God sure knows what he is doing, doesn't he!

Family Pictures

 We were blessed to have Monika who did Kari and Derek's wedding pictures bless us with some family pictures.  I was a little nervous about having my picture taken with my wig on because I really don't wear it a whole lot any more and I don't look in the mirror and love what I see.  I know it is a good wig.  There are many people who have no idea that it is a wig.  I just know what I am "supposed" to look like and I am missing my hair more and more these days. . .  BUT back to the pictures, they are FABULOUS!  I LOVE them and I don't even care that I have my wig on, I actually didn't really notice!  Here are some of my favs!

 Monika is a sweet lady and an awesome photographer.  We were super blessed by her generosity.  If you need some pictures taken and are in the twin cities area, please check out her website here. 

3 Months

 Can you believe it has been three months already?  Yeah well neither can I!  Look at how much I have grown!  I am on a new formula and a new reflux medicine to help with my gas.  I am still pretty grunty but not as gassy.  I have to do my stretches before I eat.  You should see them, these people are nuts!  My mom and dad think I am getting close to ten pounds!  (They are excited because people keep telling them that as I get closer to 11 or 12 pounds I will sleep longer at night).  Yes that is poop on the bottom of my onesie. . . Aren't I talented!!

 

I am still wearing newborn clothes.  I have tried on 3 month pants and they are long enough but they fall right off of me.  I still like my nuk!  I have learned how to spit it across the crib and onto the floor.  It is fun watching my mom and dad try to catch it before it hits the floor.  I like watching them find it at night too.  I just wish they were faster at getting it back to me.

 I like making really sweet faces.  Mostly after I eat but you can catch them at any time.  I can smile and coo now too but I have to be in the right mood.

 I can hold my neck up like a big boy and during tummy time I can turn my head back and forth.  My favorite place to show off my neck muscles is on my dad's shoulder.

 I like my post bath greasy hair hairdos.  Mohawks are my favorite.

 Oh, you like hearing from me?

 I am very serious sometimes and my mom calls me spicy.

I haven't figured out what that means yet but I think it has something to do with how I cry scream when they do any of the following things and then calm right down when they pick me up:
change my diaper
stop feeding me to burp me
change my clothes
leave me alone
leave me in my crib at night. . .

My mom and dad keep telling me that I am a precious gift from God.  (They also tell me I am much cuter in the day light?!)  They tell me that I am a miracle and that they can't wait to continue teaching me about God's love.  They say he is healing my mom and I can't wait until she feels all better.  Until she does, I am lucky to have my daddy and our other family members to help take care of both her and I.  Mom and dad said I need to say thank you and tell you that we could not do it without them.  I will continue to show my love for you and appreciation in showers of spit up :-)

Easter

Easter 2012 took us north to Henning.  It was this little guy's first long car trip and he did fabulous!

 

Saturday night we were able to spend some time with some sweet friends.  We have missed them soooooooooo much since this whole cancer journey began and it was great to catch up!  Here is Mandy and I:

 Ryan and Easton:

 Future best friends: Wyatt, Easton, and Leo:

 Ryan and Wyatt:

 Do you think they like one another?

 Randy and Leo:

 Sorry we have no pictures of Marty but he was there too!!  Sunday had us up early and at church by 6:30am. . . yes you read that right!  We didn't take many pictures that day due to the little guy choosing not to sleep, early church, and leaving right after lunch so Auntie Kim could get back to Iowa but here is our first Easter picture as the Miller 3.

Sunday Night

I toyed and toyed with which blog to put this on. . . this one or the team chin blog. . . I went with this one for now and decided that I would let the Editor in Chief of team chin decide whether to post it there.  She rocks by the way, I don't think I say that enough!

My heart is light tonight. I am continually amazed at the love and support of people!  I cannot tell you how many people have shared the link about the honorary batgirl contest.  People from all different times in my life, people that I talk to regularly and others that I have not talked to in years and others whom I only know by association.  Whether or not I win is not the point, the point is that I feel sooooo loved to know that people care enough to want to share.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart to each person that has shared the link or voted.  I am truly humbled by your support of me as I walk what has been the toughest journey of my life.  Knowing that you are behind me gives me confidence and energy to continue walking each day at a point in my journey when it is easy to get frustrated and tired and want to quit.
I am also constantly amazed at how God provides opportunities to remind me of his love.  The sunshine, a smile from a stranger, a song I love on the radio, a parking spot near the door on a day when I am tired.  Each week as we leave the Gathering at church I reflect that the music was just what I needed to hear.  You see, I LOVE the music part of worship and find comfort in songs because they remind me of the promises of God.  Tonight was no different.  We sang two of my FAVORITE songs tonight and as I head into another week and the beginning of another three week round of chemo I leave you with the promises of those songs. . .

Your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me.  And I never, ever have to be afraid, one thing remains. . . (One Thing Remains- Jesus Culture)

I will bring praise, I will bring praise, no weapon formed against me still remains, I will rejoice, I will declare, God is my victory and he is here.  All of my life, in every season, you are still God, I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship. . . (Desert Song-Hillsong)