Stone Soup

So lunch at school today was stone soup and we invited a very special guest into our classroom to read us the book. . . NANNIE!!! She used to read the book to me all the time when I was little so I thought it only fitting that she read it to my kids. We skyped with her and she read the words and I showed the pictures.
The kids LOVED it! I can't even tell you how much they were talking about it and telling everyone. They really loved meeting Nannie and Papa and even called them that! Papa and my mom are up next. . . I am thinking about once a month?? If you want to join the fun, let me know and I can put you on our schedule :) Thanks Nannie, Papa, and Mom for the fun today!

You Bretcha

Sooooooooooo BIG things have been happening here at the Miller household. Not really, we have just been super busy :) School workshops started last week and I am a nerd and totally was excited to get back into my real job but I knew I would miss Syd and Wy too. Well Thursday I got to meet my new crew and holy buckets are there a lot of them (28 at last call) and are there some doosies! One kid walked in, looked at me, and said "gosh this room is a better place now that I am here. . . " Yeah first impressions are always interesting. I also had one that told me that he did not have to do what I said and that he was going to do his worst work all year. Friday then took us down to the cities for a weekend of fun. We went to the twins game Friday even though it was COLD and when we got home we found Tim and Danielle (Thad and Dar) at my parents house. Saturday we went to the fair and saw more than anyone would ever care to see (think full moon. . . Ryan has the pictures on his phone) and ate a ton. Sunday we went to church and then the girls shopped and the boys golfed. We had family pictures taken Sunday night and then Nannie and Papa came over for dinners and some fun games. Monday took everyone home and although we were sad to go, we know that we will all be together at Christmas for a few days.
Tuesday took me back to school and back to the reality of no snacking, going to the bathroom only at specific times, parent emails, parent phone calls, and of course student compliments like "Mrs. Miller, I like your green shirt, you look like a Christmas tree. . . " It sure will be an interesting year but I can already tell you that I am excited for the impact I will get to have on a few students lives as I have already watched them open up in the past four days. Pray that I find a way to manage all 28 and connect with them each individually each day as that has been my struggle in the last four days.
Ryan is good too, busy at work (not really but he pretends well) he did not want to be mentioned in this post so we will leave him at that . .

Beth Moore

My sister gave me a book for my birthday called So Long Insecurity You've Been A Bad Friend To Us by Beth Moore. I was reading it last week Thursday during my quiet time and let me tell you, I was rocked! With all that has happened in the last 2 years with Ryan and I trying to get jobs in the same place and trusting that God has a plan and will bring it all together in his time, this passage just hit me really hard. You see, I had a job interview on Thursday for a job at Glyndon-Felton Elementary (10 min Fargo/Moorhead), the same district I student taught in. I was not sure I even wanted the job knowing that we had just moved and seemed to have everything falling into place for another year in Fergus. Trusting that God had presented this opportunity for a reason, we decided that I needed to interview and see what came. Well, I did not get the job and was told that I interviewed really well and that the principal wants to hold onto my contact information because she wants to work with me in the future. . . We will just continue to see where God leads us and if it is there, great and if not, we are excited for what he has in store! Even so I truly felt that I needed to share what Beth wrote. . .

Lord, help me to learn how to hang on tight to You when my life is rocked by dramatic change. Empower me to trust You and not to panic or fight for control. Help me to stop confusing a change in my circumstances with a change in my security status. You are my security, O God. You are the one sure thing. When everything around me shakes, You are unshakable. Nothing has the propensity to reveal false gods to me like a sudden change in my circumstances. Help me to see them and surrender them instantaneously. Use change to provoke what needs changing in me, Lord and to increase my appreciation of the only One who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Paula Deen

I LOVE Paula Deen! She reminds me of Tennessee, Mrs. Millie, Mrs. Vicki, MeeMaw, and she says ool instead of oil. Not to mention that she loves butter and I just find that funny. SO I was watching her show the other day and she made a really cool trifle that I tried today for dinner with our friends here is the recipe. . .

First you bake a pound cake with almond extract and I LOVE almond extract. . .

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
3 cups cake flour
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons lemon extract or almond extract or orange zest or rum nip

Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.
In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, combine the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour and milk alternately, beginning and ending with the flour. Stir in the lemon extract. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
Place pan in a cold oven and heat oven to 325˚F. Bake cake for 1 hour.
Increase the oven temperature to 350˚F and bake 30 minutes more.
Cook’s Note: Do not open the oven door while baking.
Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Serve garnished with berries and a scoop of vanilla ice cream alongside

Then you start the trifle with this. . .

by mixing it with 1/2 cup sugar and about 4 cups strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries or any combination. . .

Then you cut the pound cake into squares and lay them over the bottom of the trifle bowl and spoon 1/2 of the berries over the top like this:

Then you cover with 1/2 of the cool whip and repeat the process until it looks like this.

Very fun. . . Can't wait to try it tonight!!

One Year. . .

A year ago today this was us
it is this hot and humid again today
We have no big plans today, just enjoying being together and dreaming of the things we will do "someday." We are amazed at how much we have learned and grown in the past year and can't wait to see what God has in store for us while we continue our journey together.

The Zoo!

Sydney, Wyatt, and I went to the Red River Zoo yesterday. While it is not the greatest zoo I have ever been to, we had a blast! We fed the horseAnd the cow. . .
found a llama for Kim that needed some braces
played on the playground
and just chilled!

Please excuse me

for a while so I can tackle this. . .

and Ryan can tackle the 8 inch grass. . .