Look who's two...

Sarah is now officially two. She was so cute eating her ice cream. She licked it instead of taking bites. She also had a great time playing with her new toys. Of course it had to be the worst birthday ever (according to Colton and Whitney). We attended a baptism that afternoon and so I sent the kids into the nursery. How awful of me to want to enjoy a convert baptism. Anyhow, I had to remind them that to a two year old, nursery is fun!! Toys, food, stories who could argue? Anyhow they all survived and I got to see half the baptism, the other half was spent trying to keep my kids and a few others from disrupting the service. Oh well, I tried. It was a nice birthday.

Father's Day!

Jason got a special Father's Day tie this year. I downloaded a photo to Walmart and had it put on a tie. It turned out cute. This week was quite busy as I had to finish some other church gifts for a few local churches. I did a box pyramid with window. Filled with candy and a golf pen attached down one side. I ended up having to add some extra tape due to high humidity which made it hard for the scrapbook tape to hold well. Whitney gave this one to her dad and added another golf pen down the other side. She likes to follow after her mom. We have a good time creating things together. In our ward the primary colored King Size candybar wrappers, I must say that each one was very unique.

Winter or Summer?

Ok, by the look of the TV show and Luke's winter hat I bet you'd think this was still winter! Nope, took this picture last week when I saw Luke trying to find his hat so he could match the characters. Ya just gotta love 'em! Update on his diabetes...last check he was over 9 in his 3 month ratio, up from the last visit. He needed some adjustments to his insulin and he seems to be doing better now. We are hoping to see a 7 next time which would put him at a great zone. The three month test lets you see and average of his sugars over that period of time. When he was diagnosed he was off the chart over 13. His range should be around a 7. Lower and we'd be asked to give him more carb/sugars per unit of insulin. It's a balancing act I guess. He's doing well though.

Sarah or Melanie?

She's my girl. Finally the Miller mold has been broken and we get an Erickson. I do love my Miller kids though, just glad someone looks like they came from me. If you couldn't tell Sarah is the pink background. I'm in the blue background. Of course, you should be able to tell by the dated dress that it's me.

Memorial Day at Crowley's Ridge, AR

For Memorial Day we went to Crowley's Ridge, about an hour away. A few families we know joined us at the small lake where they have a swimming area, fishing, paddle boats, camping and picnicking. We waited out a rain storm and then had a beautiful day picnicking and swimming. The highlight was watching the swimmers freak out when some snakes were discovered in the water. The rumors were flying around at first it was one poisonous cotton tail snake and then it was up to six. When the park ranger removed them she announced to every one that they were not poisonous, they were yellow bellied water snakes and there were only three. It was funny.

Thanks to the Rich and Davis families, we had a great time.

The Day After....

It is amazing to me how time has flown by. Yesturday was the anniversary of my brother Darin's death. So much has happened since that day. For a long time I felt my life was on hold, impossible to go on; but as time passed life forced me back into living as hard as it was, I had to continue on. He wasn't perfect, but he had a big heart. He was always willing to do things for anyone in need. He really loved his little boys and you could tell by the way he looked at them. He loved to play with them. He had a contagious smile that make me laugh when I think about him. Amazing things have happened since that day, things that have reminded me the he is not far. He is closer than we realized and is standing ready to fight for his kids from the other side. Joni, his widow, has lost not only him but the man she married after his passing. She has had to carry on, raise those boys and is once again feeling the weight of these two losses. I have so much respect for her. I am grateful that with all the loss she has suffered she has persevered and finished her schooling and has become a certified teacher. I wish I could be there for her and James, Darin Leon, and Nate. I love them very much. I miss my brother. He is a reminder to me of what the great gift of the Resurrection really means. We will be together again and I am so glad.

Here is a sample of the last 2 weeks. I made 140 of these paper purses which were filled with hershey kisses & hugs. They turned out cute but took me a long time to make....what was I ever thinking? Next time if it can't be cut on my cricut then I aint doin' it! A third was for our ward and the rest were for a local church and some folks at Jason's work. (I did stuff a few years ago and now they expect some creative gift each mothers day, creativity can be a curse:)