24 turned into 26....

On Friday, December 28th , Brian and I went to our "24 week" check-up. However, we were actually into our 26th week of pregnancy (can you believe it???). Our original appointment was scheduled for December 19th but had to be rescheduled due to a last minute Christmas trip to New York.

I tried to tell the lady on the phone when I rescheduled that the baby was fine and I was fine and we could just wait till the 28 week check-up, but she said we had to come in.

Just as I predicted though, the baby is perfect and so am I - all checks in the urine were negative - the weight gain is "wonderful" (per our midwife). I have still only gained 2 pounds past my pre-pregnancy weight. She explained that because there is not significant weight gain, I can blame the not-so-attractive red marks that are appearing on my belly, on my mother - gotta love genetics!!! I have trying to find something to blame on her, especially since she never had an ounce of morning sickness! :)

My blood pressure is wonderful, 100 over 62 and the little ones heart is beating steadily at 138 beats per minute. She is still kicking and punching steadily too. She is moving around so much, I can actually watch my belly shake sometimes.

During this visit, Brian and I were able to get more acclimated to the midwifery center. I am sure, since all our appointments will be there from now on, it will help us to feel more comfortable for when d-day finally arrives. Every time we go there and see the midwives, I am more and more excited about our decision to labor and deliver there. I pray everyday that delivery in the center is part of God's plan as well.

Not only did we see the doctor on Friday, but we also put together Sierra's bed (for at least the next 2 years). :) We were abundantly blessed this Christmas and by the loving graciousness of my parents, we received many gifts, including our lot of nursery furniture. We received from my parents - a crib, a changing table, and a glider with ottoman. The changing table and glider are still on order, but the crib arrived and we had a fun time putting it together and thinking forward to all the moments our future children will have snoozing in this bed.

Thanks for all your prayers for our continued healthy and happy pregnancy.

Here are some pictures of the new crib and us putting it together.
Mannix wanted to help daddy take it out of the box (or most likely just wanted to eat the cardboard - he is our "cardboard-eating kitty")Brian was smart and carried all the pieces up the stairs, instead of carrying the whole box!

Step 1 - Read the directions!

Step 2 - Let the pregnant wife help! :)

Step 3 - Let the cat "supervise" and inform him several times that this is NOT a new bed for him! :)
Step 4 - Assemble!

Step 5 - ENJOY! (or in our case, sit back and wait for the baby to arrive, so she can enjoy!)

THANKS MOM & DAD STANK - WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!! And we know Sierra (and all your future "Miller grand kids") will love the crib!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! (one hour early) :)

It sure is a happy new year's eve for us! We finally got an Internet connection at our new home today! We moved on the 15th (more on that in another post) and have been without Internet and cable since then. Today a very nice man came and fixed the problem - problem was, it was never turned on in the first place. We are thankful that it is finally on! :)

I can't believe it is almost 2008 - Time seems to fly by faster and faster each year. Brian and I hope and pray that all of you have a wonderful and blessed new year!

Lots of love to all!

Here are pictures of my New Years Eve Party guests....(Needless to say, I don't think they are going to make it to midnight) :) Guess I will have to wait till morning to get my New Year kisses from Brian when he gets home! :)

Happy Birthday Pierce!

Not only was Jesus' birthday yesterday, but my precious nephew Pierce Clark Arnold celebrated his first birthday on December 24th! What an exciting time! He has brought so much joy to all of us over the past year. Brian and I thank God each and every day for this precious little angel. I simply can't remember what life was like before this ray of sunshine came into the world. I never thought you could love something so much, so quickly! It is amazing to me!

Click Here to check out my sister Katie's blog and the picture slide show she created to commemorate Pierce's first year of life!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Merry Christmas to all!
Brian and Karen (& Sierra - 25 weeks pregnant) - Christmas Eve 2007

Brian and I pray that each of you will experience the true joy of Christmas this year - Christ's birth - God's magnificent Grace!

And that you and your families will receive God's abundant blessings into 2008

Life is hard...

Moving and packing can take a lot out of you....

...especially when you are a cat!

Packing up & Moving out

On the agenda for today / this weekend...

• Write 1 final Research paper for New Testament Class
  
• Perfect 1 final Research paper for Western Civilization Class (Paper is already written - Thank God!)
  
• Write a discussion board post for New Testament Class
• Work on New Testament Study Guide for Final Exam (on Tuesday)
  
• Prepare for Western Civilization Final Exam (on Monday)
• Pack up entire condo in preparation of our move - TOMORROW!
• Say a prayer that my professors will be in good Christmas spirits when they grade my final papers
  
• Stop for a moment to think!
• Stop blogging - procrastination gets me nowhere!!!

With papers and finals, our move and new home, heading to Rochester, NY (the snow capital of the world) next week (which we just decided this morning), and then Christmas - I am apologizing in advance if we are MIA for a little while.

Love and Blessings to all!

Christmas Cards

One of my favorite things this time of year is sending and receiving Christmas cards. I just love Christmas cards!!! I love the ability to use "snail mail" to send greetings to all the many special people in our lives. This year Brian and I sent out around 150 Christmas cards. I love knowing that so many people have touched our lives, loved us, prayed for us, and at Christmas we can bless them in return with a small token of a Christmas card.
Brian had gotten the mail when he got home from work at 6:30 am this morning, so when I woke up there was a pile of about 8 cards that he had opened and left for me on top of my computer. As I looked through each one I smiled and said a prayer for each sender as I also reflected on what that person or family meant to Brian and I.

I LOVE CHRISTMAS CARDS!!! Although email, blogs, and the Internet take up most of our communication skills each year, I am thankful that I still have "snail mail" to send and receive cards each December.

Now if only I could get those wedding thank you notes finished too... :)

One year ago tonight....

I became the luckiest girl in the whole world!


How amazing it is that so much can happen in one year!
One year ago (at about 7:45pm) tonight, Brian Miller got down on one knee (in the Yankee Candle Store parking lot) :) and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. I could not be more blessed than I am at this moment right now.

The past year has been filled with so many amazing blessings and Brian and I are so thankful to our Father in Heaven who continues to love us and bless us!

Here is the "official" story from our wedding web page about how it happened...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHEN WE GOT ENGAGED

December 12, 2006

HOW IT HAPPENED

Brian and Karen were living / dating long distance (what else is new, seems like their whole life has been long distance!) :) Williamsburg, VA is just about half way between Suffolk and Mechanicsville, so on December 12th Karen and Brian had made plans to meet up and do some Christmas shopping together.

Karen arrived at 7:30pm and met Brian in the Yankee Candle Store parking lot. Karen was anxious to go into the store and Brian seemed to be stalling a bit. Brian told Karen he had bought a gift for her that he wanted her to keep and save for the time when they started planning their wedding (knowing that someday they would eventually be engaged). He pulled a "wedding planner" out of his truck and handed it to her. Karen was excited, thanked Brian and put it in her car, turning again to head into the store (this girl wanted to shop)!!! Brian said, "I got you a card also" and he handed her a pretty red envelope. Karen opened her car door and set the card inside and turned to see Brian's face looking very disappointed that she hadn't opened it. Brian said "I want you to open it now." So she opened the car door (again - getting a little impatient), with her back to Brian as she was using the car interior light she read the card. The front of the card said, "Together" and inside it said "Our Journey Continues" She turned around to say thank you and tell him how much she loved the card and she found Brian kneeling down on one knee with a beautiful ring in his hand.

Karen quickly gasped and said "are you kidding me"? Then Brian said a whole bunch of stuff that Karen didn't even hear because she was in shock and freaking out! She did hear him say though, "I will love you forever and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, so, will you marry me?" Karen shouted, "yes, of course" and gave him a huge hug!

That was just the beginning of their happily ever after.....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Girly Girl

Most people that know me well, know that the last thing I ever wanted to do growing up was wear a dress and be prissy. I was one who would much rather have been on the soccer field, the basketball court, building a fort, or swimming in the pool, than playing dress-up and doing prissy girl stuff.

As I grew older, I always thought that God would bless me with little boys as a mother, because for me to raise a little girl would almost be a disservice to that child. I thought God and I had a pact and He would grow 4 boys in my womb (one at a time of course) and then on child number five, I would have a girl. Well, as you all know, I am carrying a little girl in my tummy right now, so it turns out, those were just my worldly ideals - God had other plans!

I have spent the past 3 weeks, since we found out we were having a girl, making sure EVERYONE that loves me knows that this child will NOT be inundated with outfits that are covered in the color pink, she will not wear frilly, lacey, gaudy dresses - with dreadful bows, and most certainly she will NEVER wear those stupid headbands around her head - if she doesn't have much hair, people can ask and I will tell them that she is a girl!!!! Don't get me wrong, if my child decides (when she is older) that she wants to go to dance lessons or gymnastics, I will let her try it -but you won't find me waiting in line to sign her up for ballet lessons as soon as she is able to walk!!!

I will admit though, the "girly-girl" inside of me has shown its face a bit lately. While walking through Kohl's the other evening, I saw this dress and I just couldn't get over how stinkin' cute it is. I can just picture our little girl wearing it with white stockings and black dress shoes. (oh, no! I just said stockings and dress shoes - I think I am turning into a monster!!!)Of course my husband doesn't like it - but can you blame him, he married me, the least "girly-girl" of the bunch. He feels the same way I do about frill and lace. However, maybe it is because I have a little girl growing inside me, but I seriously think I will buy this dress if there are any left after Christmas (of course I need to get it on sale! Let's not go crazy folks, if I am going to branch out and buy a dress, I certainly am not going to pay full price for it!) I know that she won't be able to wear it this year, but I can get a size 9 months and hope that she fits into it next Christmas. :) But if they sell out, I will take it as a sign straight from God above! :)

Moral of this blog = Tomboys can have daughters that own at least 1 dress!

Neat

This video is very cool - check it out and I hope everyone has a wonderfully blessed Thursday!!!

Christmas Lights

It is no secret that a favorite past time of mine is to help my parents set up Christmas lights at their home. This year is no different and because Brian and I were in Richmond this past weekend for my friend's baby shower, we were able to help out. Although it was cold and there was a strange occurrence of all the lights we plugged in, only half the strand would work, we got it done! It looks so great!

Each year we seem to add another fun display to our already huge display of lights. This year we added a 6 foot spiral tree, a choo-choo train, and 3 lit gift boxes. It looks AWESOME!

Unfortunately, we were working so hard all day on Saturday, I didn't get any pictures of me, Mom, Brian, or Dad in action. I did take a few pictures on Sunday night, however it was raining so I only took pictures from the front porch looking out and the pictures aren't the best. They will have to do though until I can get some more next time we are there.

Merry Christmas lights to all of you!!!

Matt & Steph's Shower

On Sunday I was blessed to be able to attend a baby shower in honor of my friend Matt Johnson and his wife Stephanie. Matt is a very dear friend of mine and was my late husband Daniel's best friend. He met Stephanie shortly before Daniel passed away, married her the weekend before Brian and I got married and now they are expecting their first child - a little boy - on January 14th. I love them both dearly and their friendship is so precious to me. I can't wait to meet their little boy and I am excited that our little one will only be about 3 months younger! Please keep them in your prayers as they head into the last few weeks of pregnancy.

Here are a few pictures from the shower:

Mike Moved!

My little brother decided that his time in Northern Virginia was done - Stick a fork in it! He picked up and moved to Raleigh, NC. Here, he not only scored a great job, but an even better girl! :)

This past Friday I was able to travel with my mom (while Brian slept the day away in Richmond - after working all night) to help with the move and unpacking. His new place is really nice and this is the first time he has "been on his own", meaning no roommates!

Unfortunately, Blakely, his great girl that I spoke of, was unable to be there on Friday. She was very excitedly finishing her last few hours of her medical rotations. We are so very excited for her as she will graduate from ECU with her degree as a Physician Assistant on December 15th.

Here are some pictures of the new place that I snapped on Friday:






































































Mike and Dad were exhausted after unloading the moving truck up at least 4 flights of stairs

UVA vs VT

Last weekend my sister Kirsten who works for the UVA football coaching staff was gracious enough to "allow" us Tech fans into the game and we certainly saw an amazing game! Thankfully the Hokies pulled out the Victory, but all in all it was fun to be with the family - even if some of them call themselves "wahoos" :) We missed Brian though, he was working his first couple nights at the jail! :)

Here are a few shots of us before the game.

The 2 "wahoos" of the bunch - Keith and Shaun
Mike & Blakely
Tailgating

JD & Dad

Me, Mike, and Blakely

Thanksgiving Pictures

Thanksgiving 2007 was so very blessed. I thought I would share some pictures that I took as we spent the day with my (Karen's) family.

(I know the slide show is 6 minutes long - but keep watching - there are 4 fun videos of Pierce in this slide show. 1. Pierce being a total ham and entertaining us while balancing plates in his mouth. 2. Pierce enjoying his 1st Thanksgiving dinner. 3 and 4. Pierce taking a bath in Grandma's sink and trying to drink the water.) :)

Enjoy!

Blessings to all!!!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

BOUNCING BABY GIRL!!!

Last Wednesday we were so blessed to be able to have an ultrasound and see our healthy baby girl that is growing my tummy. She has been so very active, kicking, punching, and moving all the time! This ultrasound was no different, the technician was actually trying different techniques to try and get her to settle down. Looks like we are going to have an active child on our hands. Wonder where she gets that from, her mommy or her daddy?? :)

She is growing so big and I know we are bias, but she is already sooooo cute! The U/S Tech actually took about 10 pictures and told Brian to fold them up tight and not show anyone else. She said she usually only gives parents about 3 pictures, but our baby had the cutest profile, she just couldn't stop snapping images of her. We thought that was pretty funny and we already knew that God had blessed us with a beautiful baby!

I am not sure if you can read my labels - but I am pointing at her leg that kept kicking on the far left, her hand behind her head on the far right, and her mouth that kept opening and closing throughout the u/s. Also, can you spot her little button nose?

She is not only active and cute, but pretty good size too. Weighing in at just about 1 pound and measuring in the 88th percentile for fetal length. My estimated due date, based on my last period is listing as 4-5-2008, however, based on this kids measurements, my estimated due date is listed as 3-31-2008. We shall see how it goes! Maybe she will be tall like her daddy! :)

We can not express how excited we are about our little baby girl and after watching her on the screen, we just can't wait to hold her!!!

We hope that you all will continue to remember us and our growing baby in your prayers. We pray that God will continue to keep her safe, healthy, and growing in all the right ways.

Thanksgiving

"Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done."
~1 Chronicles 16:8 NIV~

We are so very thankful this year and always.

Thankful for:

- Wonderful loving families
- Our health
- Our home
- Brian's job
- Each Other
- A loving father in Heaven that continues to bless us

and....

- Our very healthy, active, wiggly Baby

also...

- For the wonderful technology that allowed us to see her on the screen on Wednesday morning - and yes I said HER - ITS A WIGGLY, HEALTHY, LITTLE GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We can not express how excited we are that she is healthy and soooo cute! I will post pictures and more information about our 20 week checkup this coming week. We can not wait to hold her, love her, and raise her up to love and serve Christ in all she does! We are certainly "Blessed Beyond Measure"

We hope and pray that each of you can find many things to be thankful for this year.

Pierce on the move

I got some great videos of Pierce walking or maybe I should say "plowing" through the house!

Here they are....Enjoy!!!

Weekend with the Arnolds

This past weekend we had a wonderful opportunity to spend time in Charlottesville with Shaun, Katie, and Pierce. It was an awesome weekend of fun, family, fellowship, and relaxation. So glad we are blessed with wonderful family members and we are able to spend time together creating memories. I wish we lived a little closer though!

Here is a slide show I created from the pictures I took this weekend - of course Pierce stole the show, as always!

Memories

This week has been a tough week for me. It has also been a week full of memories. Last Saturday a dear person to both Daniel and myself went to be with the Lord - Daniel's Uncle Milton. Milton was diagnosed with liver cancer only 3 months after Daniel passed away and he put up a courageous battle for 14 months. Milton was only 57 years old and is survived by his wife of 27 years, 3 children, 1 grandchild, and many many other family members. His wife is Daniels' Aunt - Daniels', mothers', sister - did you all follow that? :) Very very special people not only in Daniel's life, but also continue to be very special to me.

It was a great loss and Uncle Milton will be missed. His earthly body was laid to rest yesterday, Wednesday, only a day after what would have been Daniel's 29th birthday. Uncle Milton was buried at the Gregory family cemetery, a place where he put many hours of hard work in to get it ready for Daniel. I am forever grateful for that. So, there both their bodies find rest after very long battles on this earth, one who created the idea of a family cemetery, and the other whose hands built it. It is continually amazing to me how God works.

It is always hard for me to go there, honestly, the family cemetery was the only "argument" Daniel and I in regard to his passing, but I am thankful that now there is a place for Milton's body to be laid to rest.

Daniel Floyd officiated the memorial service and he made an excellent point, telling the family to always remember, always share stories, and always hold on to their memories. This is something that has been important to me as well and important for healing in general. However, I am beginning to think that this week was just too hard with all the memories. My heart needs a short break.

Please keep the Trigg family and all those that love Milton and miss him in your prayers.

Here are a few pictures that I took....This is the oak tree that Daniel was persistent about being buried by - His plot faces this tree - It looks more beautiful this fall than I have ever seen it.
Daniel's (very large) :) memorial stone (with bird feeder attached). :)
Another view - you can see the wind chimes and the bird feeder in the background that I put up - Daniel loved to hear the chimes and absolutely loved to keep the birds fed. :)
Uncle Milton's plot is in the opposite corner from Daniel - there were so many beautiful flowers sent.Auntie Dale - Milton's wife told some of us to take some flowers and keep them for a little while and when we saw them, we could remember Milton. I found some purple and orange ones in the mix (Daniel's favorite colors) and I placed them on Daniel's memorial plot at my parents house. Many people may not know this, but Daniel's ashes were separated in half and the half that weren't buried in the cemetery in Spotsylvania, were buried at my parents house in Mechanicsville. There is a light that shines on Daniel's plot all night, so I placed the flowers there in remembrance of both Daniel and Uncle Milton, and I took this picture last night.
(Trust me, the words are spelled correctly on the stone - when the granite gets wet, the words fade until the stone dries, that is why it looks like "lives" is spelled wrong.)

Happy Birthday!

It is my understanding that some people don't necessarily find an important need to remember the birthday of those that have passed on before us. I on the other hand think it is an important part of the (my) healing process.

There has never been a day since Daniel has been gone that I haven't thought about him. Even if it is just a passing thought because I will see something or hear a song that reminds me of him; or the occasional thoughts that I experience, wishing I could tell him about how God has blessed me. I would love to be able to share with him the happiness I have in my life now, the joy of the little miracle growing in my belly, my schooling and how well I am succeeding in my classes, things like that. All things that I know he hoped and prayed for, for me. Aside from him being my husband, people often forget that he was my bestest friend for 6 years; when that goes away, it is easy to feel a void in your heart.

Regardless of all that though, there are a few days every year that have a special place on my calendar, today is one of those days. Today, Daniel would have turned 29 years old. His last birthday that we celebrated on this earth was so very special and I will forever be thankful for those memories.If there is anything I can share with you today, it would be to cherish every moment you are given. When you are told that your life might be cut short, everything changes. Daniel shared with me often that his prayer was to live until he was 30 years old. He wanted to hold his own child and see his younger brother and sister get married. None of these prayers were answered on this earth, but Daniel had a way of really cherishing the moments that he was given. He loved life and he was thankful for the 27 years that he did have.

I pray that we all will live life in a similar way and always be thankful for what we do have, especially those of us that are healthy, happy, and still have a chance to LIVE - No matter what age we are!