ABC Orchestra

Meagan plays her violin in a group called ABC ( Anything But Classical) Orchestra at her school. It is a fun group that gets to play all kinds of fun music and have special performances. This morning they were featured on the local news, thought you might enjoy the clip. If you look closely at the very first of the clip you will see Meagan in the back, long hair, side bangs, pony tail and a big smile. You see her again behind the orchestra teacher for just another moment. Yeah Meagan, you've made it on TV!

The Chicken Hatchery!

The day after Grandma Miller's funeral we went to the Chicken hatchery just behind Grandma & Grandpa's house. Grandpa started Miller's Chicken back in 1942. Now that Grandpa is gone, my Uncle Galen is running the family business and he invited us all over to see the baby chicks.

Growing up we would love to visit the hatchery and a couple of times Grandpa brought some baby chicks home for us cousins to care for. We loved playing with those baby chicks!

It was so fun to take the kids and all the cousins to the hatchery together and see them enjoy the baby chicks like we use to. We didn't mind the noise or the smell chickens because they were so darn cute and the kids were loving it!




These baby chicks were only about an hour old, they had been sorted and put in these crates to ship off to the amish farms to be raised. Grandpa's chicken are grain fed, free range chickens, the best chicken around! I also found out that Family Fare is now selling Miller's chicken, how cool is that? :)

Dallen hanggin' with the chicks.


Kailee's new little friend.


Sydni & Dallen showing off their little buddies.


Meagan & Everyone enjoying the chicks.


Thanks Uncle Galen for taking us to see the Miller chicks!

Janelle's Cookbook

I have decided to make a recipe blog. Yes, I know there are hundreds out there but this is for me to share my favorite recipes with family and friends and keep them in one spot. I have had so much fun trying out new recipes from other blogs in the last few weeks that it just seemed like a lot of fun to share in the joy of cooking! I have always enjoyed sharing recipes and I hope you enjoy it and feel free to share your favorite recipes too!

Check it out!
Janelle's Cookbook

What are you going to do with all that "free time?"

When I told people that my youngest daughter Sydni would be in 1st grade this year, I had so many people ask me " What are you going to do with all that time?" Well, I have had dreams of what I could accomplish with all that "free" time with the kids in school all day but I tell ya what, I am amazed at how busy I am with just a lot of stuff! I do have to say that I have had some things thrown in the mix to fill my time like dealing with a basement that flooded for the third time in about 6 months and doing a candle party for the first time in months, along with everything else I need to get done. I am not at a lack of things to do. I would love to have time to scrapbook, blog and go shopping and play but my time is full of all those little things that add up when it comes to managing a family, a calling and a household of things.
One thing is for sure, I seriously just enjoyed the house being totally quiet on the first day of school. I don't know that I turned on the TV or music the first couple of days just so that I could enjoy the uninterrupted quiet. Not to say that I don't enjoy a house full of family and friends, but it isn't too often that my house is quiet like that.
I suppose no matter what stage in life we are in, there is plenty to fill up our time, it is just how we choose to fill it. I hope I fill it wisely.
I have some big goals of deep cleaning, de-junking closets and all the toys and things that are sitting in the garage after the flooded basement ordeal. I also look forward to being able to do projects around the house like re-painting some walls and re-doing the basement, now that there is no carpet and half of the paneling is gone. I also hope to be more diligent in my scripture study, fulfilling my calling and visiting teaching responsibilities. I would like to volunteer at the school and hope to stay on top of my blogging/journaling and going through boxes and boxes of photos and putting them in an album. Oh, the list goes on and I am sure I will have time to do those things all eventually.
But for now I will focus on what is on the to do list for today and make sure that I pencil in some time for friends and fun. Afterall, I do think I can make time for that no matter how busy I get with all that "free" time!

A tribute to my Grandma Ursula Miller ( & Grandpa Annas Miller)

On Sunday August 17th My Grandma, Ursula Miller passed away in Goshen, Indiana. She was just two months shy of her 93rd birthday. Grandma had fallen and broken her hip earlier in the week and because of her bad heart she was unable to have surgery. On Friday My Aunt called and told me that she wasn't opening her eyes and they didn't expect her to last much longer. On Sunday afternoon I had the privilege of driving down to Goshen to be with her and extended family in her last hours. It was a very touching time for all of us as we love her dearly and hated to see her suffer. We shared sweet memories of Grandma and Grandpa ( who passed away 6 years ago in Oct)We sang hymns and had a family prayer. I know she is in a better place and am happy to know that she has been reunited with Grandpa and her son Stanley who passed away at 4 days old.
For me, it has been especially hard saying goodbye as she is the only grandma I really knew and developed a close relationship with. My Grandma Kauffman passed away shortly before I was born and I hardly knew my grandpa Kauffman as he passed away when I was very young. My Miller grandparents are the ones I have so many memories with and especially Grandma. There is just something special about Grandmas!
I remember her cute little laugh and the way she could make you feel like you were the most important person in the world. She always made sure that everyone felt included and special. She was the most amazing cook and made the best pies in the world. We all remember her rhubarb sauce, tapioca pudding, mashed potatoes, potato soup , hot cranberry tea, roast turkey and her Pumpkin pie will never be matched! She loved nature and gardening and flowers. She has a large patch of peppermint in her garden and the smell of peppermint and peppermint tea always reminds me of Grandma. She also knew the name of every bird and so many plants. She enjoyed fine china and crystal and had a very large china cabinet in her dining room. We all have some handmade ceramics from Grandma as that was one of her hobbies. She reached out to so many people and served the Lord the best she could. She was a great example and I will miss her dearly. I Love you Grandma!
I also wanted to mention how great it was to be with everyone at the funeral. the service was so well done and I felt privileged to be a part of it and to also be a pal bearer. It was so great to have everyone there, just like old times, hanging out together in Grandma & Grandpa's home, sharing memories and enjoying each other's company. We also took some time to go to the chicken hatchery ( right behind Grandma & Granpa's home) that Grandpa owned and now my Uncle Galen owns. The kids got to hold baby chicks and play with them, they loved it! I remember how grandpa would bring home some baby chicks for us to care for when we would come on vacation when I was young. It was such a meaningful time for me to be there with my siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles. I also had the great treat of having my siblings all attend with their kids and to be able to have them all here at my home in Michigan. I can't begin to tell you how much it meant to me to share my home with them and spend that time together. It has been a very long time since us 4 siblings have spent that kind of time together. I love each one of them so much and our time together was so fulfilling for me. I don't want to take away from the fact that I have 4 step siblings that I also love very much and hope that I can some day share my home with them as well. But given the events of the week it was the perfect ending to our time together.
I will be posting pictures soon!

Amazing Race at the Olympics!

We love the olympics and this year watching the USA men's team and Michael Phelps has been one of the highlights. Sunday night was one of the most exciting races as the USA men's team showed France that you shouldn't talk smack to the USA. Just watch this amazing race.
Way to go USA!



Amazing Finish in the Mens 4x100m Relay As the US Wins Gold - video powered by Metacafe

How they did it...



Olympics 2008: How Lezak Won Gold in 4x100-Meter Relay - video powered by Metacafe

What would you rather do with $1000?

I can think of a lot of things that I would rather do with $1000. Like, go on vacation, buy new furniture, a new refrigerator, new counter tops in the kitchen, food storage, go school shopping for the kids, and of coarse, invest it or pay off debt. But unfortunately I don't have much of a choice with this one. I get to buy a new garage door and have it installed. Yup, our old garage door hit the dust, after many years of use and the corroding power of rust, it's time to replace it.
Luckily, we have a good friend Blair Morse that used to work as a garage door installer, so he is working on installing our beautiful new garage door as I type. And, even though there are a lot more exciting things that I would rather spend $1000 on, it will look great on our house and be a nice improvement on our home. We even picked out a nice new opener that is ultra quiet, opens twice as fast as regular models, and comes with a key less entry! Whahoo, the excitement that can come with shopping for openers at Home Depot! Who knew ? I look forward to trying it out for the first time and seeing how nice the finished project will look on our home. :)

Joe and Me

Here's a little about Joe and me. We have been married for 15 1/2 years. We met in Arizona at church and were married 8 months later. We lived in Mesa, AZ for 3 1/2 years and then moved to Grand Rapids, MI for a new job with Meijer inc. http://www.meijer.com/ We have been here for 12 years and we just love it. We really miss living near family in AZ but we have made some dear friends here in Michigan that are as close as family.
Joe continues to work for Meijer as a Manager of Business Intelligence (in the IT department) and he loves it. He is also serving as 1st counselor in the bishopric and is really enjoying working with the youth. One of his passions other than family, church and computers is competing in triathlons. He also does a 25k each spring and last fall he was part of a selected group that was invited to be a part of a 50 yr anniversary celebration of the Mackinaw bridge and swim across the straights. (see pictures below) He is a wonderful husband and father and my very best friend. I love you Joe!!!

I am a stay at home mom which is a true blessing! When I'm not doing something for the kids, housework, and running errands, I enjoy hanging out with friends, cooking, crafts and playing on the computer. I sell Gold Canyon Candles ( http://www.goldcanyoncandles.com/ ) as a hobby and serve as the primary president in our ward. (the children's Sunday school program).

Here are some pictures of a few of our adventures in the last year...

Joe and I dressed as Jack and Jill for Halloween. I actually had someone that thought we were seriously injured... luckily it was just makeup!

Joe and the kids made this 7 foot snowman in front of our house

Joe and I at the Peter Whitmer farm, near Palmyra NY

Joe and I painted the house last summer from an outdated blue to a nice tan color...

.... it was a lot of work!

but well worth it!

Before.....After!

Labor Day 2007 Joe and 49 other swimmers were selected to be a part of the Mighty Mac Swim. A once in a lifetime opportunity! They swam across the Mackinaw straights, a 5 mile swim. You can see behind us how far it was. He did great!

Joe swimming across the Mackinaw straights..

Joe and Dallen gutting a fish at our friends cabin

Yup! I went to a taping of the Oprah Winfrey show. I sat in the third row, and no, I didn't get any free stuff.. but that's OK, It was still great!

Joe and I went to Chicago for spring break, it was so cold and windy but fun!

Hanging with my parents and my brother and his family in SLC, Utah- 2007
Hanging with Joe's two brother's and their families in Flagstaff, AZ- 2008

Meagan Marie

Meagan is our oldest and the most confident person I know. I would love to have her confidence. She also has a very tender heart, is a great big sister and big help to Mom and Dad. Meagan loves to hang with friends, the more the merrier. She is a star student at school and gets involved in anything she can, especially if it puts her on stage because she loves to entertain. She did Odyssey of the Mind, was in the school play and plays violin. We are very proud of the great young woman she has become.

Meagan on the first day of 7th grade.

Meagan playing Lily in the Alice In Wonderland musical.

Meagan and her best buds riding to the temple for a youth temple trip.

Meagan with the ward youth group at the Detroit, MI temple

Meagan jumping in excitement when her Odyssey of the Mind team was awarded 1st place at regionals.

Smiling while on family vacation to Chicago.

Hanging out on the Hill Cumorah in Palmyra, NY

Kailee Nicole

Oh Kailee, she is a ray of sunshine. Always quick to make you laugh and the most creative person I know. She makes the most amazing miniatures and loves any kind of craft she can get her hands on. She can make something so fun and unique out of nothing. She is smart as a tack and is ready to start middle school in the fall. (Yikes!) She has such a tender heart and we love her tons.

First day of 5th grade with Dallen & Sydni

Halloween with her friends Maddy and Alissa
Playin' in the snow


At the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago


Dare graduation, way to go!

Goofin' off in Palmyra NY

We sure love ya KK!

Dallen Joseph

My sweet boy! Dallen is such a great addition to our family. He has a heart of gold and has had to develop a lot of patience living with three sisters. He loves playing outside and riding his bike and anything else with wheels. He also loves magic and has be come quite the magician. He stunned everyone at the school talent show when he turned a fake $1 bill into a real $1 bill. He's also been known to make things vanish into thin air and read your mind by guessing which what card you picked! He started soccer this past spring and has fallen in love with the sport. He also enjoys playing the piano, being a cub scout, and anything else that means hanging out with other boys!

Dallen turned 8 last year in August and was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints.

Dallen's first cub scout meeting.

Walking to the bus on the first day of 2nd grade.

Playin' in the snow.

A new red bike for Christmas!

Using his magic to turn a fake $1 bill into a real one at school.

Playing goalie at his last soccer game of the season.
We sure love you buddy!

Sydni Ann

My sweet little Sydni. I can't believe she is almost 6. She is bright eyed, full of energy and loves to be entertained. She can spend the day at a friend's house and the minute she gets home she'll tell me she's bored and wants to play with another friend. She is full of spunk and as the youngest in our family she holds her ground and wants to be counted in with the big kids. She has a great sense of humor and always has hugs and kisses ready for Mom and Dad. Sydni finished Kindergarten this spring and here are some pictures of her many Kindergarten adventures.

Sydni's first day of Kindergarten Sept 2008

She was so excited to finally be going to school like her big brother an sisters.

Sydni's 5th b-day party with her best friends all dressed like princesses.

Her first Kindergarten field trip at Kackle's orchard.

She got to pick a bag full of apples to take home. They were soooo good!

At the Fredrick Meijer Butterfly exhibit this spring.

Here she is at the Grand Rapids Children's Museum looking through the mirror mazes. I love this picture and had it as my desktop for the longest time.

Our sweet Sydni, you're such a ham. We sure love you!

Here we go..

My first blog entry. I set this blog up a couple of months ago but am finally getting started.. I am looking forward to getting into the whole blogging thing. I have a lot to learn but I gotta start somewhere, right?
Our header picture is of our family in Palmyra, NY over Memorial Day weekend.

We went to see my parents who are serving a Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints http://www.lds.org/ in Palmyra NY. They are site missionaries and give tours of the Home where Joseph Smith and his family lived, their farm and the Sacred Grove where he had his first vision. They also give tours of the Hill Cummorah http://www.hillcumorah.org/ where The Gold Plates were found , the Peter Whitmer Farm where Joseph lived for a time and finished the translation of the gold plates to be the Book of Mormon and the Grandin Building where the first copies of the Book of Mormon were printed.
We had an amazing time. You could feel that it is a sacred place, the spirit of God is there and our testimonies of the gospel were strengthened. We hope to make it back again soon!

SOME PICTURES OF OUR VISIT

Inside the Joseph Smith log home where the Angel Moroni appeared to him and told him about the record of the ancient Americans ( The Gold Plates)

Reading a sign at the Smith farm outside the Old Frame House

Hugs from Sydni in the Sacred Grove

A Fun picture in the Sacred Grove

Outside the Visitors Center at the Hill Cumorah
Looking at a replica of the Gold plates at the Grandin building

At the top of the Hill Cumorah

At the Grandin Building where Grandpa is teaching Dallen about Moroni's visit to Joseph Smith and how Moroni came to Joseph five times with the same message.
A replica of the handwritten translation of the Gold Plates into what is now the Book of Mormon

The printing press at the Grandin Building where the first copies of the Book of Mormon were published.

Sydni, Meagan, Kailee & Dallen resting their feet at the Grandin Building.

Grandpa& Grandma at the Whitmer Farm Visitor's center

Joe & Janelle at the Whitmer Farm.

Our family outside the Peter Whitmer farm home
Inside the Whimer Farm home where the Church was officially organized and the sacrament was passed.
Eating Fudge with Grandma Clark at the Whitmer Farm

Thanks for a wonderful visit Grandma & Grandpa, we sure love you!