Exaggeration Station: December 2010

Dear Family & Friends,

Since we didn’t write a Christmas letter last year—-mainly because we had a newborn son, and we were in a sleep-deprived fog-—we figured we better write one this year. Our life in 2009-10 can be summed up in one word: CHANGE.

Jackson Ray Miller

We spent 2009-10 adjusting to parenthood. Jackson Ray Miller joined our family on November 12, 2009, measuring 7 lbs, 6 oz., 21 inches long. Since Jackson joined us, most of our energy has been spent surviving the first year. Our days were filled with the joys of parenting: changing diapers, doing laundry, wiping runny noses, washing bottles and breast pump parts, soothing coughs and sniffles… AND… enjoying every baby giggle, cherishing each drool-laced kiss, relishing moments spent snuggling in the rocking chair, and wondering how we ever lived without Jackson. It was very difficult to leave Jackson in daycare when he was 12 weeks old. However, God provided as He always does. He blessed us with Albre, a wonderful friend from church, who cared for Jackson in her home until August 2010 when he transitioned to the new daycare at our church.

Jackson is 13 months old. We celebrated his first birthday the day after we moved to Nashville (more on that later). He has 7 teeth (which appeared within 2 months), crawls all over the place, stands up while holding onto furniture, stands alone for brief periods, says “Hi” and “Uh oh,” and recently started waving “Hello” and “Good bye”. Jackson gets into everything he’s not supposed to touch, and he loves to play with toys, especially his drum and guitar that light up. God blessed us with a wonderful caregiver for Jackson. Miss Cheri lives in the apartments on the campus of Trevecca (where Melinda and John work – more on that later). Cheri watches Jackson Monday – Thursday, and Jackson stays home with Daddy on Fridays.
We are so grateful to God for blessing us with Jackson. Although parenthood has been the most difficult challenge we’ve ever faced, our hearts are overwhelmed this Christmas with even more love and joy... all because of our sweet Jackson boy.

Melinda

I graduated from Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) in July 2009 with a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA). In the Fall 2009, I had the pleasure of teaching a business class at NNU. After Jackson’s birth, I spent the first part of 2010 on a 12-week maternity leave. Although I quickly fell in love with Jackson, I was overwhelmed by motherhood, and I struggled with some depression for the first few months. Thankfully, God brought me through that difficult time. The Lord continued to provide me with the strength I needed to return to work full-time in February. I enjoyed working at NNU while learning to balance motherhood with working full-time. I often joke that juggling being a mom and working full-time is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, even harder than Statistics and Financial Management! Whenever I have extra time, I enjoy taking pictures of Jackson and writing on my blog. My blog, “Exaggeration Station”, is full of humorous stories about motherhood and candid discussions about my struggles. I enjoy blogging because it provides an outlet for my thoughts and feelings.

John

John continues to enjoy his ministry as a children’s pastor. He taught a Children’s Ministry class at NNU last Fall, and he also taught beginning guitar lessons. I (Melinda) have truly enjoyed watching John develop as a father. He is patient and loving with Jackson, and Jackson absolutely adores his daddy. I just love watching them together. In his spare time, John enjoys riding his road bike, playing guitar, and listening to music and/or downloading music onto his mp3 player.

John went through a period of searching this past year, wondering how the Lord wanted him to continue in ministry. Ultimately, John sensed God leading him to continue in Children’s Ministry. He developed a renewed vision for the ministry at College Church in Nampa. That brings us to the rest of our life story for 2009-10...

The Move to Tennessee

Right around the time John sensed God leading him to continue in Children’s Ministry, John received a call from Dwight Gunter, Lead Pastor at Trevecca Community Church of the Nazarene (TCC) in Nashville, Tennessee. TCC’s former children’s pastor accepted an administrative position at Nazarene Headquarters, so Dwight was on the hunt for a new children’s pastor. Dwight had previously planned a trip to Nampa, so while he was in town, we met for breakfast to discuss the possibility. It quickly became clear that John fit TCC’s philosophy of ministry perfectly, and he really seemed to mesh well with Dwight’s leadership style. However, there were some significant hurtles to jump if we were to accept the call to TCC. Most importantly, we would have to move all the way across the country... with our 1-year-old son and John’s 78-year-old mother in tow! Not to mention that we enjoyed our ministry in Nampa. I (Melinda) loved my job and the new opportunities to teach classes, and John really enjoyed the families at Nampa College Church. In addition, we had some major financial obstacles to overcome, including a house that we couldn’t sell given the current housing market crisis, and also the fact that I had not completed my two years of service at NNU. If I left before I fulfilled the service requirement, we would have to pay back my entire MBA Program (about $19,000) within 2 years. We just couldn’t afford that. So we started praying...

After lots of prayer, we said “No” to TCC’s offer because we just felt like the timing wasn’t right. John was in tears after he called Dwight to decline TCC’s offer. In that moment, I knew this wasn’t over...

Two months later, the story continued. Dwight called again. He said he just couldn’t get us off his mind. As God often does, He was working in ways we could not see. To make a really long story short, God knocked down the hurdles one-by-one... even a job for me at Trevecca Nazarene University. Although not everything is resolved yet, God has worked in miraculous ways, and we’re trusting He will provide for our needs as we continue responding to God’s call on our life.

I will leave you with this... Last January, John and I had a long conversation about our life. I expressed some very specific needs that I felt had been unmet for the past few years. John admonished me to share those needs with God, and to ASK Him to provide. Less than one year later, God has provided several of the needs I mentioned in January, although not entirely without sacrifice. God’s provision is significant not because God answered my prayer, but because He recognized what I needed was a confirmation of faith at this stage in my spiritual journey. As you celebrate Jesus Christ (the reason for the season), remember this… God knows us… not just superficially like a Facebook friend who touches base once-in-awhile. God KNOWS us. He knows the needs of our hearts. He cries with us. He laughs with us. He KNOWS. Perhaps this is one of the greatest blessings in life… to be intimately known, understood, and LOVED by The Creator of the heavens and the earth.

Please know that we think of you often and pray for you. May you enjoy God’s richest blessings as you celebrate this sacred season. Merry Christmas!

Snuggles turned 1 year old on November 12, 2010! After we got settled with our new health insurance in Tennessee, we got Snuggles an appointment to see his new pediatrician. Here are his stats from Snuggles' 1-year-old well check appointment last week:

Age	Weight (pounds, ounces)	Height (inches)
Birth	7 lbs, 6 oz	21
2 weeks	6 lbs, 11 oz	21
1 month	9 lbs, 14.5 oz (47%)	22 5/8 (82%)
2 months	11 lbs, 12.5 oz (52%)	23 (53%)
4 months	14 lbs, 9 oz	26 (83%)
6 months	16 lbs, 11.5 oz (34%)	26 1/2 (53%)
9 months	18 lbs, 15.5 oz (24%)	28 1/2 (59%)
12 months	22 lbs, 1.6 oz (35%)	29 1/2 (34%)

Snuggles is growing well. They tested his hemoglobin, and it's normal. He is a perfectly healthy little boy. We are blessed!

It goes without saying that Snuggles did NOT like his one-year-old vaccines. We had to hold him down while they gave him 5... count them... f-i-v-e shots! The poor little guy screamed in terror, and it was all I could do to hold it together, especially after I looked over and saw tears in Guitarman's eyes. Snuggles was fine after a few minutes, but I think it's safe to say the shots were harder on Guitarman and me then they were on Snuggles!

Snuggles has changed so much in the past couple of months! Here are a few highlights:

Wears size 12-18 months clothes.
Helps put his own clothes on, although he would rather have them OFF, as you will notice in the photos posted here.
Crawls all over the place.
Pulls up from sitting to standing position
"Cruises" around furniture.
Gets into everything he's not suppose to touch!
Refuses to lie still while we change his diaper. (He screams so loud, you'd think we were torturing him.)
Prefers to sleep on his tummy hugging a blanket, sometimes with arms/legs hanging out between the crib slats.
We often find him standing up in his crib in the morning.
Says "Uh oh!" purposefully when he drops something on the floor.
Repeats "Uh oh" when prompted
Doesn't say "Dada" or "Mama" intentionally yet. (We wish he'd hurry up!)
Jabbers non-stop (Dada, Mama, Nana, Gaga, Baba, Rara and Yaya)
Loves balls, tractors, and his new guitar and drum musical toys
Loves pushing buttons, especially on things he's not suppose to touch.
Drinks whole milk
Eats almost anything off Mommy or Daddy's plate. He even likes lemons!
Favorite food: Green beans, Chicken strips, Bananas, Pears, Ritz crackers
Shows no interest in desserts (Whose kid is this?!)
Uses a sippy cup to drink water or apple juice
Refuses to drink milk from anything but a bottle
Takes a nap in the morning and afternoon
Sleeps through the night, usually from about 8 p.m. to 8:30 a.m. (Thank you, God!)
Loves for Momma to rock him at night and sing him lullabies (Favorite Christmas lullabies include "Away In A Manger "and "Silent Night")
Loves music and books (although he won't leave the pages open long enough to read them)
Responds by shaking head side to side when you tell him to "dance"
Loves to dance around the room with Momma (His favorite dance is "The Tango")
Hates riding in the car seat!
Loves every animal he sees, especially dogs.