Visiting good friends/family

We left Texas at 4:15am and drove all the way to Alabama. We got there around 5:45pm. Which is good timing considering we had two kids with us. We rushed the kids into my parents townhouse to give them baths and then got back in the car to go visit our good friends, the Huffstetlers. We LOVE them! Since we have moved they had a little girl. Evelyn Ruth is so cute and sweet and quiet. My boys were all over her house playing with her toys and she sat in her pink(I might add) cozy coupe car(she got for Christmas)and at one point talked on her pink phone. And that is all she did the whole time and was so happy. lol. SO different then my boys.
The next morning we went to Church of the Highlands where we saw none of our good friends because it is so big now. It was a great service though and we loved visiting. We then drove to my Memaws house and dropped off some Christmas presents and visited with her for a few minutes. THEN we met our good friends, the Strongs who happened to be in town, for lunch. Whew! My boys did AMAZING! And honestly, it wasn't stressful. It would have been if the boys weren't so good. But they were. After all that at about 1:30pm we headed to GA. It took us a little over 4 hrs to get there.

Memaw(My mom's mom) and Me. She is so sweet and hilarious!

Parker, Memaw, and Micah.

Evelyn Ruth, Parker, and Micah.


BROWN Eyes and BLUE eyes. SO cute!

Christmas 2010 and yes, these are ALL the pictures I have. Sad, I know.

So, here are my whoppin 5 pictures I took on Christmas day. Ridiculous!!! However, we had the video camera set up while the boys opened their gifts the whole time. AND I videoed with my Flip camera some too. I might add a clip later of that. It is so cute!
On Christmas morning Parker woke up first...and had NO idea that the day was any different then any other. We had told him the night before that he would be able to open presents but still that morning was the same. We waited until Micah woke up to let them open their stockings and presents. It was fun, uneventful really. My parents were there and my mom made us breakfast. It was nice having them here. My parents left after the boys were done opening gifts and went up to my sister's house with breakfast for them. That is when we gave Micah his Step 2 car(I have no pictures of that...just the Flip camera). He LOVED it! He laughed and sat in that thing for forever. And he still loves it. I love it because I can buckle him in it and take him outside and push him around while Parker is playing outside. Micah is at that age that he is ALMOST walking everywhere, but not there yet. So, me holding him outside the whole time doesn't cut it.
Around lunch time Jeremy, Ashley, and the boys came over. There were SO many presents at my house it was crazy! Everybody loved their gifts from Mama Don and Papa. We snacked on dip and cheese ball/crackers until that afternoon. Then we made a Christmas meal late afternoon. It was nice to have Christmas at our house. The part I didn't love about it was that we were leaving the next morning at 4am to go out of town. So, on Christmas Day I didn't feel like I could relax. All I was thinking about was packing for my whole family and being in the car for 13-14 hours the next day. Whew! Maybe next year we will wait to leave 2 days after Christmas rather then the day after.

Tyler and Micah. So sweet! Tyler asks to hold Micah quite often now. I love it when he does. I want my boys to get as much bonding time with their cousins as they can. They are all going to be best friends anyways!

Parker watching his DVD player that Mama Lynn and Papa K bought for them. Ok...HUGE lifesaver for our LONG drive to GA.

Derek's gift to me was a pampered chef baking stone! I LOVED his wrapping. Hilarious! Packing tape, his business card, and "To Lindsey, From Secret Admirer". Perfect! GREAT gift!

Playing with their presents.

Picture of their gifts from the night before. Right after I set them all out. The ATVs were from my parents. Aren't they so cute?

It is now winter in Austin...Brrr!!!

First, can I say that I miss our BEAUTIFUL 65 degree weather that Austin usually treats us with. No worries though...we are supposed to get some of that next week. Thank goodness since my boys got riding toys for Christmas. I would like them to actually be able to play with them!

Below are pictures of the boys with some of their winter gear on. Actually, their ONLY winter gear. And you will notice that Parker is trying to shove his head in a 0-6 month hat. That is all I got for him. lol.






Micah looks so cute in this hat. Oh my, his face looks so cute and plump. :)

A Decade

I have been HORRIBLE about taking pictures lately. It is amazing that just by adding one baby to the clan you get so much busier doing things. Honestly, I am so bummed about it. But, that is ok...I will get better. So I was thinking about it today(bc of Rachel Hick's blog) about what has happened to me in the last 10 years since this is the end of a decade. And WOW! A LOT has happened to me...definitely the most important decade so far(since I have only lived a little over 2 1/2 decades I don't have much to choose from..lol). It goes way back:

-I turned the BIG 16 years old and got my license and my first car.
-I graduated from high school.
-I went to Lee University as a 18 year old who had NEVER had a boyfriend. :)
-I met a great guy named Derek Mills the first weekend I was at Lee University.
-I got in DZT.
-I got engaged!
-I graduated from Lee only to get married 2 weeks later to Derek.
-We moved to B'ham, AL. Kind of a culture shock for me considering most of my friends where a few years older then us and made more $ than us.
-We bought our first house.
-We had our first baby boy, Parker.
-We decided that God was leading us to move to Austin, TX to start a moving company and help plant a church. BIG DEAL!
-My Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, had a bi-lateral masectomy, chemo, radiation, BUT is cancer free now!!
-We moved to Austin.
-We had our 2nd baby boy, Micah.


Ok...thats all for now. But, that is a lot!!!! I love that 3 most important people entered my life in that decade. My husband and 2 little boys. God has blessed me so much! Life has been hard at different times but God has never failed us. And He is the reason why I have joy and love the life I live.

Home from Church Today

MERRY CHRISTMAS
Love, Derek, Lindsey, Parker, and Micah Mills

Here is our Christmas card photo. Well, sorta...the one I sent out is cropped and in Black and White. I am not sure where that one is on our computer. ??


This week has been not so fun in The Mills household. :( If any of you are friends with me on facebook or twitter you already know what we have been going through. Let me give you the short version.
-Parker diagnosed w/pneumonia on Monday and given antibiotics.
-Micah diagnosed w/ a cold on Tuesday...but Parker was better.
-Micah diagnosed w/ an infection on Thursday and given anitbiotics. Thursday night he threw up 3 times from coughing so hard.
-Micah diagnosed w/ asthma due to a virus on Friday and had to be put on a nebulizer 4 times a day. (His 1st nebulizer treatment was at the Dr. office and the Dr. said that if his oxygen level did not go up he was going to admit him to the hospital...scary!!).
-Micah's oxygen level was better on Saturday but still has to be nebulize 4 times a day until Monday when we go BACK to the Dr. He is taking an oral steroid(not sure how I feel about him taking steroids...ugh...but I want him to get better so whatever it takes.), amoxycillan(sp?), steroid through his nebulizer, AND medicine through the nebulizer to prevent him from wheezing. YUCK!
-On top of ALL that...I came down with something and felt HORRIBLE. I went to the Dr. on Friday and the strep test was negative(that is what I thought I had) and was sent home empty handed. Booo... I feel much better today. But it was painful! We have enough medicine at our house I could just take some of my boys. lol...just kidding.

I need to add right here how AMAZING my husband has been through all of this. It was hard enough when my boys were both sick and I wasn't. But when I got sick it was horrible!! Thank you to my wonderful husband who stepped up to the plate BIG TIME and did everything for me and the boys(he was needed in the middle of the night SEVERAL times!)!!! I am so thankful that Derek was also able to be home from work 3 days this week to help me. He even took Micah to the Doctor twice by himself(he has never done that). I love you Derek SO much!

SO, all of that to say, I have no pictures for you. :( Sorry! Parker is %100 better and I almost there too. Micah is better, but still isn't great. We are believing for complete healing though(ASAP would be nice Lord ;) ). This week is going to be good though. I want to be in the Christmas spirit as much as possible. I also want everyone to feel so much better before we make the long drive to Georgia to visit Derek's family. We have been really excited about the visit. AND we are stopping by B'ham to see some friends that Derek hasn't seen since we moved!!!!

Micah isn't walking yet. He is so close...he takes steps all the time, but I think this whole last week has probably slowed the process up. He hasn't been up for it.

Thanks for praying for us!!! Parker asks almost every day if he can open his presents up. lol. I guess he just thinks that all of the sudden I will be like "OK!" But, I guess to him that is exactly what will happen. He doesn't quite understand that Christmas is on a certain day. We have trying to tell him about it and that we are celebrating Jesus' birthday. Christmas is going to be fun this year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

This is weird

I was getting pictures printed for some ornaments on our tree that are "My First Christmas" ornaments. They hold a picture. I had two, one for Micah, and one for Parker. So, I decided to go back and print a picture out of Parker's 1st Christmas. Really this picture was taken in November right before his first Christmas. Anyways, how weird is it that these two pictures look EXACTLY like the same kid? It is so weird. I had to write their names on the back of the pictures just to make sure we remember who is who. ha ha.

Parker, November 2007

Micah, October 2009

Blog Worthy...for sure!

Last night my Mom said that she thinks Micah could walk. Derek and I were like "well, lets try it out." So, we we sat across from each other and balanced Micah on his feet and guess what? He walked!!! He took 1 step...2 steps...3 steps...and at one point he took 6 steps in a ROW!!! We were so excited, clapping, and telling Micah "good job". He was excited too. Keep in mind that he is 10 months and 1 week old. Yeah, my brother said "you are going to be busy"(instead being a proud uncle...ha ha). Anyways, this little guy will be walking soon. Fun times.

FYI

I wasn't going to post any pictures on here but I changed my mind when I saw the selection of pictures I had to post. :) BUT, the ACTUAL reason for this post is this. Parker has eczema. It isn't always bad and he hasn't always had it. He started getting it about a year ago(maybe?). Well, it drives me crazy and him too. Ok, it doesn't bother him too bad unless it really flares up. Twice has it flared up where it has made him itch all over which is really an allergic reaction to something(we think it is certain soaps). Even when it is not flared up it is still there. Sometimes so dry it creates scabs. A friend of mine saw it and told me about Pure Aloe...so I researched it out and found out that Pure Aloe really helps eczema. When I found this out I immediately went to Whole foods to buy some Pure Aloe. I lathered Parker up with some(which it did sting him the 1st time I did it but now he says it doesn't sting that bad) and his legs look SO much better. Where there were once huge red spots on the back of his legs it is now almost completely clear. I am SO happy! I feel like between believing for healing and God showing me about the Aloe, Parker is on his way to being eczema FREE!!
Just so you all know, I realize that there is awful cases of eczema out there. And Parker does not have that. And I also know that some cases of eczema are related to allergies to certain foods. However, I do not think Parker has that. I just wanted to let you know if you happen to be like me and are looking for a solution that is simple and something other than steroid cream. I also bought some shampoo that is all natural and made with pure aloe. Thats all! Just FYI. :)

The famous grandchildren picture. Mom and Dad's grandchildren that is. I did not get a good picture at all. Parker decided to bail out after 2 pictures were taken. Boo. My sister and Mom have a great shot though. Anyways, besides the fact that almost none of the kids are looking aren't they so cute in their pjs? And how about Harley in her tutu. Loved it.

We had Thanksgiving at Wade and Kimberly's house this year. It was great! Derek fried a turkey and I made home made dressing. First time we have ever done that. And honestly, it turned out great. ALL of the food was so good! So, it was us, my brother and his wife and kids, and my parents. So relaxed and fun. We did miss the Mills family Thanksgiving in GA. But, we are going there right after Christmas. FUN!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Not sure why Micah is not happy in this picture. I think he wanted to crawl outside. Parker wore this outfit for his first Thanksgiving too. I love it!

Mommy and Micah. So happy!

Just Us

Parker eating cookie cake at Kimberly's birthday celebration with the fam. This was after the haircut...that he needed as you can see below.

Ok, so maybe he needed a haircut(maybe is not even worth saying...he REALLY needed a haircut), but he is so cute! Just so you know...when you have a child that has hair like my kids you are bound to have a long haired boy every once in a while. He truly needs a haircut every 3 weeks. Who has time for that?!

My beautiful cousin, Stephanie on her wedding day! I flew to Alabama just for this event all by myself(no kids or husband) and to be honest, it was wonderful. Did lots of Christmas shopping with my Mom and got to see a beautiful wedding! And my cousin is one of my best friends...it was worth every thing to be there!

Flip Video Camera

Hey!
Yesterday Derek came home with a gift for me. Well, he didn't buy it but his client gave this to him to give to me. How sweet! It was a brand new(in package) Flip Video Camera. This one is one of the original versions so now they have ones more advance and that can record for longer. This thing is so cool! It is small like a camera and it has on it a USB port that flips out of the side. It can record up to 30 minutes and then you download the videos on the computer just by connecting the USB port. Derek knew I would love it because I am always recording on my phone short clips of the boys. We have a video camera. But, we don't have the cord to connect to the computer. Plus getting the video camera out takes work. Whereas something like this will be used LOTS!!! You can make "movies" with their program, get snapshots off of the video footage, e-mail the videos, and lots of other fun stuff. Anyways, Hope this works and you like it. This is the only clip I have uploaded. It is not long at all. But so cute!

Only Words

This post is just an update of what is going on in our lives. No pictures. My Mom and Dad sold their house in B'ham! PTL! And my mom borrowed my memory card to my camera so it is in B'ham with her. :)
So, after a whole year of my parents house being on the market they close on November 10th! If it wasn't ever clear to you, my parents have been living with us since Jan. Which some of you or your husbands would HATE. However, Derek and I have enjoyed it. Derek is so easy which is wonderful. His feathers don't get ruffled easily and he doesn't ruffle anyones feathers. (Side Note: SO wish I could be that way). And I get along with my parents very well. We are open with each other and respect each other. They are so easy to live with. They have been a huge help with my boys and my boys love having them here. Yesterday we had a play date and Parker said "Julia is going potty in Papa's bathroom". Which is also known as the guest bathroom. Ha! We told my parents not to be in any rush to move out and to take their time on finding something else. They might rent, they might buy. Either way I will be glad when my Dad AND my Mom(who is B'ham a lot still) have a place here and are here for good.
Parker has definitely shown me that he is 2 in good ways and not so good ways. Parker has always required a lot of sleep but for some reason for the last 3 or 4 weeks he has developed an awful habit of waking up at 4am. All I have to do is go in his room and put him back to bed and he is fine. BUT still...interrupted sleep by your 2 1/2 year old is ridiculous. I have tried everything to get him to stop but now I am having to leave him in there and let him cry. It is NOT fun! And what stinks is I should have nipped it in the bud forever ago. Now, he cries for a long time. Tonight will be the 3rd night so I am hoping that this is what breaks the habit. He has shown me attitude, and talks back, and pitches fits. However, he has shown me how smart he is, sweet, loving towards us and his brother he is, and how funny he is. We have good days and we have bad. Being on top of the discipline is the key but isn't always easy. He is MUCH better when I am on top of it. I love him so much! He brings so much laughter to my days. Today we went to the zoo and I was able to let him walk the whole time. He was so good and obedient. A little slow...but obedient. I said that I can't believe he will be 3 in 6 months!!! He is just about to the too big for a stroller age. I remember when there was no way I was letting him out of the stroller without his daddy around. Crazy how time flies!!

Micah is just as cute and sweet as he can be. He smiles ALL the time. Way more then Parker did at his age. He has lots of hair but it is his daddy's texture. Which means, he probably won't be having a bowl cut like his brother(Parker has my hair). I think we might have to keep it short and maybe spike it up most of the time or kinda long but not too thick or it will be BIG. lol. He just turned 9 months old last Friday. He is so close to walking. He stands up without holding onto anything. He will be standing there playing with a toy. He can walk with his walker toy. And he is everywhere. He will play in the playroom for forever by himself. He is still nursing but I think I am about to have to quit. I don't think he is getting enough milk. He just gets frustrated and will only nurse for 3-5 minutes sometimes coming off several times. Good thing he will take a bottle of formula. He actually loves bottles. Since day one Micah has only cried when it has something to do with sleep or getting off his sleep schedule and trying to get him back on it. That is how he is still to this day. Lots of people say "I have never heard him cry." Thats why. Because most people aren't at my house during that time. But as long as he is doing good with his schedule he doesn't cry. We want to wait until a year from right now to get pregnant again. That way Micah and the next baby will be 2 1/2 years apart. However, because Micah is so good I am already thinking about having another baby!!! I am going to try SO hard to wait simply because it makes sense for us to. But don't be surprised if we don't.

The business is doing good and Free Chapel is too. However, we always need prayer. Prayer for growth, God's provision financially, God's protection and His favor. I will post pictures when I get my memory card back which should be in about a week.

Top Ten {Tuesday}: Things that need to be done at my house

I am not good about doing a "Top Ten Tuesday" List every week. I do it when I get the urge. Today, I have the urge. :) Since I woke up this morning I have seen several things that I need to do in my house. Which drives me C-R-A-Z-Y! Because I want to get all of it done right then. However, I have 2 little ones pulling at me almost every minute of the day. Besides, right now...the ever so wonderful NAP time. That, my friends, is why I still have this list. Because during nap time I do not want to be doing a million things. I want to chill out, watch whatever show I want, take a nap if I choose, eat lunch, etc. However, the list still exists. Here goes.

1. Clean the guest bathroom-AKA my parents bathroom. Why should I clean my parents bathroom? Ha! Because my Mom is gone to B'ham and lets just face it...my Dad is not going to clean it. Thats ok...I like doing things for my Dad.
2. Organize, get rid of, tidy of playroom. Ok, so I already did this one. But, I did it this morning. It was on my list.
3. Wash, Dry, and Fold the HUGE mound of laundry on the chair(that has been sitting there for 2 days).
4. Sweep.
5. Mop. Due to the fact that my 2yo thinks he is an adult and needs to drink out of big boy cups. I do put lids on them, but he takes them off and spills his drink every where. Today I told him that he was going back to the sippy cups. Oh well...he is 2!!!! What was I thinking?!
6. Wash dishes that are in the sink. If my Mom was here these would have been done by 7:30 am. Darn you work! My mom needs to be here! ;)
7. Clean outside fridge. Really, it is in my garage. But I have leftovers in there that need to be thrown away. I dread doing this. Yuck!
8. Make a grocery list and buy groceries. This is usually done by today. Gonna have to wait until tomorrow.
9. Get my hubby(and a friend) to figure out how to switch our Dish Network to a different room. I REALLY do not want to pay someone to come and do this. It should be simple, right?
10. Wash all my cushion covers for the 2 chairs and couch in our den. But, why would I do that when they will be stained in no time after they are washed. Hmmm?

Just Doing Life Together

Oh just enjoying his frosty. You know...needed to air out his bottom.

Parker has had a virus the last couple of days. So after his Dr's appt. I told him I would get him something sweet. Anyways, he didn't eat all of it that afternoon so I let him have the rest of it after dinner. My dad had already trying pulling his pants up once but Parker pulled them back down where you could see the top of his bottom. He has had an opinion about his clothes lately. Like "I don't wanna wear shirt" or "I don't wanna wear my underwear." lol. Please don't be surprised if you come over and my child has no pants on...just underwear. That is how it is here most of the time.


How cute is the bottom on this outfit?!

My mom's good friend bought Micah this and I love it. It is so soft and he looks so stinkin cute in it!

Having SO much fun playing in the water why brother takes a bath.

One day Parker was taking a bath at a random time and I was cleaning his room. I hear Micah crawl in there and he is laughing so hard. I finally decide to see whats up. Parker has the bath tub so full of water it is about to go over the top. Micah is standing there splashing in it with his hands...not caring one bit, actually liking it to splash everywhere. You know what I did? I laughed and walked out of the bathroom. I let them play. Even though it drives me bananas to have water on the bathroom floor and for my kids to get their clothes wet sometimes they just need to do it. For their sanity and mine. :)

Vacation Continued

The resort had an awesome pool, baby pool, lazy river with a beach/sand area, play ground, places to eat, a game room, and bikes to ride. Our room was so nice! I posted 4 pictures of it at the bottom. I wrote by all my pictures so not much to say up here.


Boys playing in the baby pool

Parker swimming. The water is actually not even 2 foot deep where he is at. It looks like he is swimming laps. ha!

Derek and Parker going around the lazy river. Parker loved the lazy river!

You can see the hotel in the back. That was just part of it. It was really nice!

Me and Micah hanging out on the beach/sand area. The water was REALLY cold in the lazy river. So, we opted to hang out and wait on them.

Micah eating some really good ice cream and lovin every bite.

Parker being sweet taking pics for his mommy.

Me, Micah and Parker

Derek, Micah and Parker

My sweet boys!

Mini Vacation Sept. 2009: San Antonio

Because just Derek and I took a cruise in May we wanted to take the boys somewhere for a mini vacation at the end of the summer. We decided to go to San Antonio. Our good friend works for Hyatt hotels. He offered us a great deal on staying at The Hyatt Resort. We also decided to hit up the San Antonio Zoo while we were there. Besides Micah not sleeping well at all the first night...we all had a great time. It was a much needed break for Derek. I am ready to visit the zoo again. This zoo has so many fun things to do for a kid. And it has a lot of shade. Here are pictures from the zoo.


This bird kept following Parker. It was so funny!





This picture is funny to me. We were trying to get Parker to be the butterfly so we got Derek to show him. lol. Parker didn't do it. I do, however, have a picture of him running away from it. :)

Parker loved the monkeys. I used to think monkeys were cute. Not so much anymore. I saw way more than I would have liked.

This is where Micah hung out most of the time. I did end up front packing him towards the end. He was so good the whole time.

On our way into the zoo. Parker was ready!