.Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

I hope you all sang the title ;)

There is one word in particular that stands out..LUCY! Remember my Proud Auntie post? Remember seeing how adorable my sister-in-law Maria looked at 9 months pregnant? Remember how I said she was due in one week? 

Well friends and family, I am Proud Auntie Katie AGAIN! 

Meet baby Lucy:

The proud parents of their first little bundle from God. 

My brother-in-law Nathan, sister-in-law Maria, and my baby niece:

Lucille Leigh Miller

7lbs 3oz, 21.5in born on March 1, 2011

.3 Years Old.

Meet Christian, he is the first boy to steal my heart.. 

This dear baby boy pictured can no longer be called that, he's a big boy now at age 3. Age 3, did you hear my heart breaking when I said that? Our amazing friends James and Lynette gave me the honor of watching their baby for an entire summer back in 2008. 

He looked like this at the time:

On Saturday of this past weekend, we celebrated Christian's 3rd birthday. "3" I have to keep telling myself "3"..I will forever look at him as he appeared that summer and simply enjoy getting to know his big, talkative, hilariously cute personality and fall in love all over again..

he has my heart after all.

Meet big boy Christian, age 3.

Not the greatest shot of myself but look at that handsome fellow, what a smile!

Christian James Banks you are loved. 

Happy 3rd Birthday!

.Special Weekend.

Wondering why this weekend was "special"--read here, or I can quickly catch you up :)

For Adam's 25th birthday, I decided to fly in his best friend from Boston to spend a long weekend with us. It was a complete surprise for my dear hubs..a good, good surprise--the kind of surprise that actually WORKS! 

We all had a relaxing yet busy weekend together. Thursday night Adam and I treated Phil to an Outback dinner. This provided the perfect setting for catching up and for Phil to enjoy a nice meal after a long day of traveling. Back at our house, I called an early night for myself to allow the guys some good ol' quality time. 

Friday morning we all enjoyed pancakes, sausage, and had amazing conversation. The boys then hung out at Adam's studio, went out for lunch at Roly Poly, and spent the evening snowboarding at Snowflex. Where was I?--I worked! I had the girls all day and then simply rested in the afternoon. The guys were greeted home with hot, delicious tortellini soup, perfect after a cold night at Snowflex. The three of us (and pup) spent the night on our couch watching stand up comedy on youtube..we laughed, hard, so hard tears were pouring out. Is there anything better than laughing with great friends? 

Saturday started with a hearty, healthy breakfast consisting of grapefruits, yogurts, banana nut muffins, scrambled eggs with cheese, and of course--coffee! After breakfast, Phil was amazing and washed the dishes for me! Ladies..go get this one, he's keeper ;) We all headed to the Blue Ridge Parkway to spend the afternoon hiking up Sharp Top. This was the first major exercising for Colden after his knee surgery and we are happy to report he did fabulous! Our dog is always the happiest outdoors...ya know what--so are we! 

Saturday night we had a game night at our place. Getting ready was a bit rushed after our hike but Adam, Phil, and I all worked together and everything fell into place! We had great snacks set out such as cheese and crackers, chips and salsa, apples, grapes, and pomegranate seeds not to mention chili! Thanks to my mom's chili recipe, everyone ate and ate well ;) The game of the night--Cranium! Great game and perfect for a group of people willing to look silly! Good friends, good food, good conversation, and good laughs--LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL!

Sunday Phil treated us to breakfast at the Blue Dahlia. We enjoyed our last morning with him and soaked in as much as we could. Adam and I brought him to the airport and waited with Phil until he was ready to board. God has been good to my husband..he has provided amazing people in his life..the kind who love him, respect him, and encourage him. We miss Phil and are so thankful for the long weekend we had..until next time!

 Here are some pictures from our hike and the one who looks like a little boy?--yeah, that's me!

Happy Weekend!

.Another One.

I woke up this morning with another headache, a bad one, the kind that will surely turn into a migraine if all the precautionary steps are not taken asap. These include: - migraine medication  -water, water, water - a little bit of food 
- head rub - ice pack - laying down in a quiet, dark room - PRAYER. Did I mention PRAYER?--Oh good, I did ;) This happens so often and is extremely depressing for both my husband and I. Good news my work day starts at 1130am when I pick the girls up from school so there is plenty of time to accomplish all of the things my body is needing to fight the migraine. Bad news for this particular day, we have a house guest. Why is this bad news?--I want to be feeling 110% for our very special guest! The Lord is good, so very good, and gave me the strength and attitude needed to simply wake up and prepare breakfast for Adam and our guest. It was nice and very relaxing. Fast forward 8 hrs and here I am typing on the computer which means one thing: my head is getting better. I caught my headache in time to prevent it from becoming a debilitating migraine. The headache is still with me, but anyone who suffers from migraines understands the blessing "just" a headache is..


Now onto the most important, FUN news. Our house guest..Adam's "surprise" house guest. Who it is you wonder..I would be delighted to tell you! :) His name is Phil Masterson. He is my husband's very best friend and an amazing man of God.  Adam and Phil met at a Christian all boys backpacking camp called Deerfoot Lodge. (I mentioned this camp briefly here.) This is an incredible ministry that speaks the truth and shares the gospel of Christ. Adam and Phil led a 12 day "Voyageur" trip in the High Peaks of Upstate NY. Again, that was 12 days, yes--12 days backpacking in the wilderness while leading young men to Christ! Deerfoot Lodge is an amazing place filled with the most loving, fun, and respected people. It is so special Phil is here with us in VA..in our little town of Lynchburg..so cool! 


Here is the story behind Phil's visit. Adam turned 25 on January 9th and I did not "give" him anything. The reason for this?--I planned weeks ahead for Phil to visit this very weekend. Yes, it is not Adam's birthday weekend, BUT that means one thing: SURPRISE. Phil and I worked great together--I told him I would pay as long as he made the arrangements and simply told me when and where to pick him up. Our plan worked, Adam was completely in shock last night at Phil's arrival. On our way to dinner, I told Adam I needed to make a pit stop on Kemper street..we then found ourselves headed for the train station (imagine that) and my man was CONFUSED. As we got out of the car and walked down the stairs, we found PHIL MASTERSON walking off the train!!--Adam could not believe his eyes. Success.


Happy 25th Birthday to my best friend and props to Phil and I for pulling this off! :) I know this weekend will be a blast for both guys..they are currently skiing and snowboarding together so I think they are off to a great start!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend just like my baby will ;)

HAPPY WEEKEND!