A Train of thoughts....chooo chooo

So I was reading a friends blog the other day and she always makes a point of mentioning when she has accomplished something hard. Very inspiring. It got me thinking and coveting her idea. I really like the thought of having a theme or purpose to my blog rather than just a travel log or a journal entry. So I started thinking about stealing her idea and writing about hard things I've accomplished. I immediately got a lump in my throat thinking about how hard this summer was with the death of my brother-in-law. I was then taken back to the first couple days of the nightmare and remembered the pain and confusion and headaches and questions. Those were HARD days! I didn't know if it could really be counted as "accomplishing" something hard because it was VERY unwelcomed. Then it got me thinking...welcomed hard times vs. unwelcomed hard times and what is the difference...is there one? Anyway, this thought trailed to what I have gained from accomplishing all sorts of hard experiences or tasks in my life. Things from death to birth (giving birth is definitely one of the hardest thing I've ever done!), hiking tall mountains, taking hard classes, reaching out of my comfort zone, apologizing, forgiving, replacing fear with faith, and so on and so on. Life provides so many opportunities to grow and for that I am grateful. That's when it hit. From now on I will write about things that I am grateful for! I truly believe that when one expresses a sincere heartfelt "thanks" that the world is changed a little bit for the better. I can't really think of anything that would please the Lord more then if we were all to be a little more grateful in our lives for not only the good times but the hard ones too.

So I'm going to start us out with the cliche! I could not be more grateful for my family! My husband is so amazing! I don't know where I'd be without him. My baby Winn is perfect! He has been the joy of our lives! Also, my siblings and parents are some of the most influential people in my life. I'm so happy that I get to be with them for eternity. And last but not least, my in-laws rock! They are such a wonderful added blessing in our lives and I'm thrilled to call them my family.

Guten Tag

Yesterday the sun was shining and Miles got of work early so we headed to LEAVENWORTH! Have you ever been there? If not, you must put it on your bucket list. It's a cute little Bavarian town in the mountains that is almost identical to a little Dutch Village in the Alps. There are huge beautiful mountains, quaint shops, and yodeling in the background. Too bad little Winn hates being out in the sun (I guess that is what raising him in Seattle has done to him) but Miles and I sure had a blast! He looked a little hungry so we let him taste our sandwich So when I was younger and my ward would come to Leavenworth the "tradition" was to go to the "Hat Shop" and take a picture with all the funny hats, so Miles and I decided to continue that tradition. We also got these cute little blocks at the "Wood Store". It will be fun to paint them! When Miles and I were 14 and in the same ward, the young men went to Leavenworth for a camp out and Miles brought me back a wooden flower and wrote a poem with it. I thought it was cute but what I didn't quite grasp was that he was trying to tell me that he "liked" me. I unfortunately didn't keep it, so he got me another one yesterday and made it very clear that he "liked" me...a lot! :)

LITTLE Memories making a BIG influence

Mark is gone, physically. I have to keep reminding myself because at times it still doesn't seem real. This past week I've been so busy trying to block out the pain and stay strong for my family that I haven't really had time to ponder my relationship with Mark and my own personal feelings of his passing.

Mark and Brooke were married when I was 11 years old. He has been in our family for more than half of my life and is considered a brother to me. When Mark was on his mission, I remember Brooke getting kind of serious with another guy. One night I started crying and told her that I didn't want her to marry him. When she asked why all I could say was, "because he's not Mark." Some of my fondest memories come from when Brooke and Mark would invite me to come stay at their house for a weekend. Mark would always go above and beyond to make it special. I grew up wanting to marry someone like him. I loved how he was so passionate about life and about my sister. They were always so fun to be around because they were best friends and being around them made you want to have what they had. They were always laughing and joking and singing and being silly and wrestling and tickling and talking. Their friendship was contagious. I LOVED how he treated my sister! I don't know if he was pretending or not but he was good at making me feel like he was genuinely interested in my life. He would always ask me about boys or my harp or the sports I was involved in. In fact, well before I was of legal age, he let me drive his car around as he taught me how to drive. I remember one time crying on the couch because my braces on my teeth were hurting so bad, he picked me up and shoved me in his car and we went and got shaved ice to try to help. There were many jamming sessions in the car, mainly to guns n roses but I do remember at times we would belt out to country songs, Les Mis, Wicked, and John Denver. I never dated a boy that Mark didn't approve of. One time I was in a relationship that I was really excited about. When Mark met him he instantly told me he didn't like him, not for any particular reason but just because he didn't give off a good vibe. Not 5 minutes later the relationship was over. When I got to college Mark was always setting me up on dates with guys he though I would like. When my high school boyfriend returned from his mission Mark paid for Brooke and I to stay in Seattle to see if it would work out, against my will. When I left boyfriend-less Mark, Brooke and I had a good time venting that night about how stupid boys are and weren't worth my time. Luckily, Mark approved of and loved Miles. Mark is a man of integrity and depth. I've had sooo many deep conversations with Mark that still impact my everyday decisions. One time I asked him if he ever felt like lying would be the right thing to do. He quickly and bluntly responded with a "no." I made up a couple of different scenarios like, "but what if, by you lying, you would save another persons life?" He continued to say that because of his profession (an attorney) he has prayed about this question a lot. He has come to conclusion that he would never give up his integrity to lie, and that somehow he would always find another way. That conversation meant a lot to me and he is the only one to have given me such a powerful answer. One of my favorite quotes from Mark, says a lot about him. We were driving somewhere when someone cut him off and with complete frustration in his voice he said, "Ugh, the more I study about charity, the stupider people get!"

On June 30, 2011 Mark unexpectedly passed away in his sleep from a brain aneurysm. When I first heard the news my first thought was, "no, no, no, not Mark. Of anyone I know he is the most needed person." He was serving as 1 counselor in the Bishopric, and helping so many through his profession, and not to mention his wife and 5 young kids. The hardest part through all of this has been thinking of my sister Brooke. I can't even pretend I know what she is going through, but I do know that I have been in love and I have started a life with my sweetheart. Losing him would be paralyzing. She, however, has been absolutely incredible during this whole devastation. While there are still times that she wants to just sleep and cry and not be bothered she has remained strong and immovable for her kids and others around her. She continually talks about Mark and their treasurable memories. Last night she even took over as the "family horse" so that all the kids could still have their horsey rides before bed. I know Mark is so proud of Brooke and her strength through all of this. My testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ is being strengthened everyday. I believe that families can be together forever, through His plan. I know Brooke and their kids will see him again. I know he is on the other side of the veil watching over each of us. I will personally do what it takes to live my life righteously and to the fullest so that I too can have the promises of the Gospel.

This picture was taken about 3 weeks ago when we went to Brooke and Mark's house for the weekend. These are the new babies with their daddies. Eli is definitely a daddy's boy! Their beautiful family (minus Eli) at my wedding This picture makes me look like a baby, but this is Mark helping out on a memorable hike my family took in Zions one year.

Turning that frown upside down

Today is a little bit of a bummer day. I've been thinking about my family a lot and wish I could be with them. There are quite a few family reunions that are going on and I'm sad I don't get to see some of my cousins. There were 6 new babies born on the McMillan side in the past year, it would have been fun to have us all get our babes together. However, we have been here in Everett for about six weeks and while a couple things have been hard it has also been super fun! I've loved just moving away from my "normal" life and diving into this little adventure away from most things familiar. Life truly is different outside of Utah. There is such a "Utah Culture" that you don't really get anywhere else. Not always a bad thing, but definitely noticeable! I have come to realize just how blessed we were to live in a student ward in Cedar City. The ward here is super friendly and quite big, but there is NOBODY our age. There are some young families but by "young families" I mean already have kids in Jr. High. So my best friend in that ward is Thelma, the 80 year lady that sits by me every week and tells me how cute my baby is (which is clearly why we are best friends :) Therefore, not really connecting with anyone in our ward leads for some pretty lonely days. What I wouldn't give for a girls night out. I will never take having "girl-friends" for granted again! It also doesn't help that it's been raining ever since we got here. There has literally been 4 days of sun. So it just makes it all that much more depressing when I look on facebook and see my friends hanging out with their little ones at the pool while getting a tan. The last thing that has made it a little hard has been the dreaded baby weight. I started to get super motivated to lose all this baby weight especially since Winston LOVED riding in his stroller. I started to jog everyday with him and then I'd finish off with some yoga. Then when Miles got home from work we would all go on a walk or I would go to the gym. I was feeling SO great! I was so sick during the whole pregnancy that I didn't do any exercising. So I was feeling awesome! But I started to notice my milk decreasing. UGH! So I slowed down on the cardio and upped the water, but it was still decreasing. I upped my water in take even more and still...nothing. So for a couple of days I took it super easy and drank tons of water and I was able to get my milk back. It was kind of a scare. The thought of not having enough milk for Winn freaked me out. But now I'm feeling kind of discouraged that I can't work out as much as I wanted to. And I'm not losing any weight :( So, now that I've got that all off my chest and having put all the negative energy out in the air here are a few of my favorite things to be grateful for...

A very happy and healthy baby

That Miles is loving his internship and doing SO well at it

Miles gets home at 3:00 everyday, so I still feel like we can do fun things every day together

My ubber cute apartment

The gospel is the same no matter where I go in the world

The reason Seattle is so beautiful is because it rains so much, so I guess I'm grateful for the rain

I love living so close to downtown Seattle!

The racquetball court, swimming pool, and gym at our apt complex

The lake across the street

My new bedspread that I got for my anniversary (still working on getting more pillows)

2 years BABY!

June 20, 2009 was a windy day in Denver Colorado. I remember it being a little overcast and a bit chilly. However the only thing on my mind was my handsome new husband! I loved everything about my wedding (with the exception of my hair, it didn't work right in the wind and I never really got a good picture). It was small but special. We had our immediate family all come out to Denver and a couple uncles, aunts, and cousins were generous enough to come as well. We didn't have a reception because my parents were still serving as mission presidents and couldn't leave Colorado, but we did have a nice little open house in Utah a few weeks later. My colors were "lemon yellow" and "lime green" which are still my favorite colors, but I thought it made for a fun summer feel. My cake was made by my brother-in-law and I LOVED it! It was completely his design and creation...totally awesome. My mom and the senior missionary couples in the mission did all the food. DELICIOUS! The night before the wedding we all sat down in a big circle and my family "warned" Miles and about me and his family "warned" me about him. We talked and laughed into the late hours. It was sooo enjoyable and a wonderful celebration. After the talking we gathered in close and Miles and I each got a father's blessing. It was such a special time for me to be able to transition from my father as the priesthood holder in my life to my new husband as my priesthood holder. It was a wonderful way to start out eternity with him. The Temple ceremony was absolutely beautiful. I LOVE the temple. Afterward was a yummy lunch where we talked and opened presents. Then my new Husband whisked me away to Telluride, CO for an awesome honeymoon!

Now two years and a baby later I couldn't imagine my life being any better. Miles is literally my best friend. We have been through the best of times and the worst of times (which, even then haven't been all that bad). For our two year celebration we went out to eat at The Melting Pot! SOOOO yuumy! Fondue is very romantic! I was very grateful to my in-laws for watching Winn. At dinner we were talking about some of our highest of highs and lowest of lows. All of which I have been so grateful for. We have grown 10 million times closer because of everything we've gone through. I'm so happy with how my life has turned out. If you were to ask me 5 years ago what my ideal life would be 5 years from then, I don't think I could have conjured up a dream like this. Miles has provided a life for Winston and I that is perfect. He is a real man and marrying him was the absolute best thing I could have EVER done. I admire so many things about him. Like his dedication to his school work. He has been presented with two really amazing awards this past year as the top business student which has also lead him to receive a full-ride scholarship for next year. Miles is also the biggest support when it comes to helping me accomplish my goals. He is always saying how proud and impressed he is by me and asking how he can help me accomplish where I want to go, helping me know that he will do what needs to happen to make my dreams reality. I couldn't ask for a better partner. I am also so impressed by his work ethic. Whatever he does, he does the best of his ability. By him working so hard, he has made it possible for me to stay at home with our little baby. He let's me have my dream job of a stay at home mom. Also, nobody can make me laugh like Miles does. That was one of the first things that made me fall in love with him...his sense of humor. He is so witty and clever and sometimes my face aches when I'm around him because I'm laughing so much. Last but not least he is a man of God. I see his true desire to learn more about and become like the Savior. He honors his priesthood and by so doing he becomes the husband and father that the Lord sees in him. What an incredible two years this has been. Life is meant to be lived with this man, to eternity and beyond :)