3 new cousins...

I loved talking to my brother C.J. on Christmas day!  He's serving in the Curitiba, Brazil mission. He is doing well and has had some great experiences there. It was funny to hear him struggle to find the words in English, since he speaks Portuguese all day!  He mentioned that in the year before he left, no one had babies, and in the year since he's been gone, 3 of us have had them.  (Sorry Ceeg!)  Just after Christmas, my sister Andrea announced that she's expecting next summer!  Yea! So, here's the latest pic of the 3 newest Miller babies...Claire (almost 6 months), Mikey (almost 3 months) & Noah (9 months).

Sledding in Salt Lake!

So, the one request Ashlyn had when we came to Salt Lake after Christmas was that we go sledding! The temperature had been in the teens yesterday, but today was prime sledding weather. My sisters Andrea & Lisa and their families joined us for some fun in the snow. Corey had been cooped up in the house with chicken pox for 3 days, so he loved getting out.

ROCK ON!

It was a rock & roll Christmas!  Ashlyn got a Hello Kitty CD player from Nanny & her favorite Hannah Montana CD from Santa, and we gave the kids Rock Band for XBox.  We now have a family band named "Teribithia," featuring Dan on bass, Ashlyn & Corey on drums (it takes 2, when you're a kid) and me on vocals.  We've rocked Seattle & L.A....now on to San Fransisco!  P.S.: The song "Maps" on my playlist is from the game.  It's Corey's fave;-)

Christmas card pictures...

 
  

One of my very favorite things about Christmas is opening my mail in December to see everyone's fun Christmas cards.  I hang them on my front door so I get to see them all season long.  I love the family pictures and letters that recap the year!  I also love sending Christmas cards, though my list is getting obnoxiously long! (That's what we get for moving every 2 years, I guess)  Here are the pictures we used for our Christmas cards.....

Polar Express Slide Show!

Nov. 16th:  Thanks to Dan's sister Kari who got us tickets in July, we were able to ride the Polar Express train in Williams, Arizona all he way to "The North Pole."  We had a great time and it really got us all in the mood for Christmas!   We had hot chocolate & cookies and sang carols on the train and Santa made a special visit to give each child a silver bell.  I love the book The Polar Express and  I STILL BELIEVE!

We LOVE Sedona!

On our way home from our Polar Express adventure, we drove through our favorite Oak Creek Canyon, near Sedona.  We stopped at Slide Rock and did some hiking and exploring....well, as much as we could do with Claire in the front pack!  The weather was perfect and it was a good break on our drive home.  As a side note....Ashlyn scares me to death sometimes.  She has absolutely NO fear of heights and loves to climb.  She's a monkey in a tree and practically climbed right up the face of the rock walls!

Beautiful brace face!

"Brace wearers are a patient lot.

We must be considering what

We go through: sore gums, wax-padded,

Oatmeal when tight wires are added

And other such indignities

That go along with wearing these."

- From "Ode to Braces" by Shoshanah Aborn

Due to overcrowding, Ashlyn will likely need 2 sets of braces!  She has Dan's little mouth (if you've seen mine, you won't doubt this;-)  She also got a palate expander to widen her upper bridge, which made her talk unintelligible for about 2 weeks.  She'll wear it for the next 6 months.  Oh, the price we pay for straight teeth!

O Christmas Tree

 

This year I bought a couple of new gold & silver ornaments for our tree (from Ikea, so they weren't pricey) and Dan just rolled his eyes.  I tried to explain to him that this is our 11th Christmas together, and we put our tree up Thanksgiving weekend and leave it up until New Year's, so if you add it all up, we've had a Christmas tree in our home for over a year! That warrants a few new ornaments every now and then, right?

Thanksgiving surprise!

  

It was an "off" year for my family for Thanksgiving, which left my parents with no plans for the big Turkey Day.  My Dad called on Tuesday before Thanksgiving and asked if they could come visit!  It was so great to have them here.  My in-laws were gracious and added 2 more plates to the table and it was a party!  My cute Mom even brought her gingerbread mold & all the leftover candy to decorate gingerbread houses (my family did them the day before in Utah)!  Thanks for coming Mom & Dad.....it means so much to us that you feel comfortable here;-)

HALLOWEEN

(Top) Claire the caveman.

(Bottom) Ashlyn, Lacey & Corey ready to Trick-or-Treat!

WARD HALLOWEEN PARTY

For Halloween this year, we dressed up as cavemen! I'm not sure how many more years I can coerce the kids into dressing up as a family, but there were no complaints this year. Corey really enjoyed saying "UGH!" Even little Claire (3 months) got in on the fun...

Halloween box

Linda made each family one of these Halloween boxes...all handpainted, of course! It has lots of tiny drawers where she'd placed candy or a Halloween toy for the kids. Amazing!

Mommy joy

"Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible." ~Marion C. Garretty

All day today I've been thinking how blessed I am to be a mother! Now that I'm feeling better, everything just seems better. Ashlyn is so grown up and responsible. She even changes Claire's diapers and is the best helper I could ask for. Corey is pure joy. He goes to bed happy, wakes up happy and makes me happy all day long. I'm enjoying watching Claire become her own little character. Now that she's smiling and cooing, she makes us all smile. I even love that quiet feeding in the middle of the night when it's just the 2 of us. Life is good!

Favorite quotes of the day:
***Ashlyn (while playing the game "Life" with her best friend Lacey): "You can't just drive around with a boyfriend in your car. You have to stop and get married!"

***Corey: "Mommy, I gave Dark Vader to Claire so she can play with him."

Claire smiles!

Labor Day: 2007

For Labor Day weekend, we went up to my parents' cabin in Wyoming with my family. My Mom bought matching PJs for all the cousins!

Left: Tyler, Corey, Ashlyn & Claire, Jane & Kate. (not pictured: Lisa's Anna, Ellie & Noah)

Pictured: Claire with cousins Anna Whitmore & Jane Fredrick.

Elggren cousins meet Claire

Ashlyn's horse-themed 7th birthday party (graciously & fabulously hosted by Grandma & Grandpa Elggren): Here my niece Riley and nephew Brock meet Claire for the first time!



Left: Brock, Gavin, Riley, Ashlyn, Lance, Hunter & Corey

Growing up way too fast!

"Watching your last child grow up is always bittersweet" I've heard. Claire is our caboose and I'm already finding myself thinking "this is the last time we'll buy newborn diapers, etc......"

She's been such a sweet baby. She'll look right at you and smile now, which we love!

Worth waiting for...

Family time

What would we do without family? I was so grateful to have my cute Mom stay with us for almost the entire month of July. It's miserably HOT here, so that's love! I was really hurting after the surgery, and I couldn't have made it without her.

*July 13-27th: Ashlyn & Corey in Utah. My amazing sisters & my Dad took turns taking care of them so I could recover. Thanks guys! XOXOXOX
*July 27th: My Dad returns to AZ with the older kids.
*Aug. 1st: My sister Andrea comes for some Claire time! She & my Mom head back to Utah August 4th.
*August 7th: Ashlyn & Corey start school!

Sisters

I love this picture! Ashlyn has been calling Claire "my baby" for months. I think they'll be good friends!

Grandparents!

Top: Allen & Linda Elggren with Claire
Bottom: Nancy & Corey Miller (and Corey Elggren) with Claire

Ashlyn & Corey meet Claire

*July 12th, P.M.: 

This is the first time Ashlyn & Corey saw Claire! I was still in the ICU, so they wheeled me into a little room just outside of the ICU so we could all be together. I have 2 memories of this night that will never leave me. 

First, when I saw Corey, he said, "Mommy, you had baby Claire. Can you hold me now?" This {broke my heart} because I couldn't lift him during the last half of my pregnancy, and I couldn't bear to tell him that it would still be a while until I could pick him up! 

Second, when Dan gave Claire to Ashlyn to hold for the first time, there were {big tears rolling down her cheeks}. She was so quiet and didn't say much, but I'll never forget that!

Surgery goes on and on....

So, my version of what happened the night Claire was born will differ greatly from that of Dan or our parents. The surgery lasted from just after 3 P.M. until after 10 P.M. or 7 hours! I was in and out during the whole surgery, but the anesthesiologist told me I was joking around and was very "cheerful." He's never done a surgery that long under just an epidural. The alternative was a central line in my neck, and I'm grateful I avoided that! I lost nearly 4 liters of blood (more than half my blood volume) and required 5 units of blood by transfusion. My placenta had grown into my bladder and was difficult to remove. When it was over, I remember looking around and seeing my blood all over the floor with footprints in it! I stayed in the ICU for the next day, but couldn't see Claire or my older kids until the next night, which was very hard.

Dan and the parents waited for over 5 hours in the surgery waiting room for news that I was ok. They said it was a very scary night. On a happy note, they could go to the nursery and see Claire! Here's a picture of the first time my Mom & Linda saw Claire!

SHE'S HERE!

Announcing...

CLAIRE ELGGREN

July 11th

4:57 P.M.

7 lbs. 14 oz.

20 inches

CLAIRE'S BIRTHDAY!!!

After 2 days sitting in the hospital, Claire's birthday is finally here. We all approached this day with very mixed feelings. I knew that this delivery would be very risky for me and that my doctors were prepared for the worst, but hoping for the best. Dan had been sleeping in a chair by my side for 2 days and he seemed very nervous the day of the delivery. I've had 3 c-sections, but this one would be different. I'd have to have a vertical incision (my others had been horizontal) and I'd need a hysterectomy. I'm grateful that Dan & I are fine with this being our last child.

My parents, Dan and Dan's Dad were there before the surgery and they all seemed scared. I kept telling everyone "Cheer up! It's Claire's birthday," but I was nervous too. There was just so much at risk and I knew that. When the nurse wheeled me out to go down to pre-op, I told everyone "No crying" and tried to put on a brave face.

When I was wheeled into the OR, it was busy with activity. There were 3 OBs, an Oncologist, a Urologist, the Neonatologist and staff for the baby and so many nurses! The Urologist started by putting some stints (tubes) up to my kidneys so the OBs wouldn't cut anything accidentally. After he was done, Dan came in and sat by me and held my hand. Thanks goodness for Dan! Everyone in the OR was so kind and reassuring to us. Next came the fun part..... Claire! The c-section felt very different than my previous 3 and I'm not sure if that was due to the new incision or that I had an epidural rather than a spinal this time. It was much more comfortable when Claire made her arrival at 4:57 P.M. Dan & I were laughing that Gwen Stefani's "Sweet Escape" was playing in the OR when she was born because Ashlyn & Corey love that song! Dan snapped these amazing pictures of Claire's delivery. I loved her cry! Dan got up to be with her and came back a few minutes later with this beautiful bundle. She was so much bigger than I'd imagined! 7 lbs. 14 oz. and 20 inches long! I gave her a kiss on the head, then she was whisked away to the NICU for assessment. Dan also had to leave, and the surgery would continue for 5 hours longer.....

GOING TO THE HOSPITAL FOR COMPLICATIONS

Well, it's finally here! We got the call on July 9th at 10 A.M. to go into the hospital in Phoenix to have our baby on July 11th. My Mom stayed with Ashlyn & Corey and planned to stay "until I'm sick of her" (her words, not mine!) My Mom's the BEST! I was nervous but ready to get this all over with.

When we arrived, they hooked me up to an IV and started some saline and iron. I have placenta percreta (see http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancycomplications/placentaaccreta.html) for all the details. The risks during delivery include hemorrhaging and damage to my bladder, so my OB wanted to get me pumped full of iron for 2 days before I delivered.