Our Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas! We made it to the end of the year! We hope your holidays have been full of excitement and quality time with those you love. Here is an update on the Mills family!

This year has been pretty stellar in way of accomplishments for David. Right at the beginning of the year he passed his boards to become a Registered Nurse. By May, he had completed all his clinical hours and requirements to graduate from Sacramento State, with his Bachelors Degree in Nursing. He was asked by his peers to be the class speaker at a special pinning ceremony held for the Nursing students in his class. He was hired at an area hospital to work in the Neo-Natal ICU taking care of variety of premature and ill babies. He has worked within this unit for four and half years and was excited to be an official Nurse. With David's work schedule, we have had many more opportunities to spend time together as a family, which we are truly thankful for. David continues to enjoy an occasional golf game and rock'n to Rockband (our new hobby).

As for Ashley this was a year with a few challenges, but more blessing in return. Shortly after the beginning of the year she was diagnosed with a disease called Celiac. It is a gluten intolerance, which if you're not familiar with, is found in the many of products we eat. It was discouraging. After months of limited signs of the disease, the specialist decided to further investigate. He found that there were no long any signs of the disease and that at this time, she was completely healthy. It was truly a blessing and she is grateful everyday that she can enjoy foods that at one time she thought she'd never get to eat again (hamburgers on a bun and pizza!). Ashley has stayed extremely busy with the help of her two boys, serving in a variety of church callings & assignments, doing some event planning work, along with spending time with family and friends. She also had the opportunity to be very involved with Yes on Proposition 8 efforts. This was a challenging and rewarding experience that also gave her an opportunity to use some of her education. Her new hobby this past year has been blogging. She has appreciated the opportunity to reconnect with many people.

This was a great year for Josh. He is now three & a half and started preschool. He goes two days a week. This has been a wonderful opportunity for him to make many new friends, learn new skills, and teach him how to behalf in a classroom setting. This is especially good since he will be a Sunbeam at church starting this January! Josh is quite funny and enjoys getting a good laugh. He has started telling jokes and doing a bit of slap stick around the house. Here is a little sample of his work:
Josh: What's big, red, and eats rocks Mom?
Mom: I don't know, what?
Josh: A big red rock eater
(Laughter must follow, even if you've heard it many times before.)
His interests have now shifted from sports to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, that's right "hero's in a half shell!" (He'll sing it for you too.) He continues to be an excellent talker and amazes us often with his commentary. Now that he is a bit older, he has also enjoyed a variety of outings with Grandparents, Great-Grandma, Aunts and Uncles. Josh brings such excitement and enthusiasm to our family.

Then our Parker well, he has a had quite a year. Thankfully, it has gotten better. He is now 16 months old. He was born with a cross eye, which shortly after the beginning of the year, was diagnosed as Strabismus (the misalignment of the eyes). We started patching his eye after that and then in March he had surgery to fully correct the problem. It is amazing the attention he got when he started wearing a patch. Thankfully that only lasted a few months and then we were on our road to recovery. Next, our little man decided that he didn't want to try solid foods or drink from a bottle/ cup. Slowly he started to fall under weight. Our pediatrician did all he could to make sure Parker was healthy and that there were no further problems. Overtime he finally started to take an interested in food and is getting back up to average on the scales. Now, I can't feed him enough. He's constantly guiding me to the refrigerator or pantry for something to eat. He doesn't say much yet, but is very aware of everything we say and communicates his needs clearly. He is a tough boy and even takes his big brother down from time to time. He is also busy, which keeps Mom busy too. Even with that said his sweet demeanor and fun personality has definitely enriched our family. We are grateful for his good health and look forward all he will discover during this next year.

As a family we had a lot of fun throughout the year. We took a variety of trips starting with a trip to the snow, Santa Barbara for George & Fallon's wedding, Monterey to a beach house with the Mill's family, a visit to Circus Circus and camping in Tahoe with the Mannion's, and a week trip to Utah with Grandpa and Grandma Surganovich (minus David, he had to work). We have also enjoyed many special family events: the addition of three new babies to our family Regan, Alexa, & Cameron), the departure of Uncle Jordan to his mission in Uruguay, George and Fallon's wedding, Aunt Teri's 50th birthday, Annual Monteith "Run for the Cure" and of course David's graduation/ celebration.

During a year of many ups and downs for so many, we are thankful for the family and friends we hold dear. This time of year is a wonderful chance focus on the ones we love. We are grateful for the love of the Savior and especially the blessings we have felt throughout this year. We appreciate each of you and hope that you will take time to come back and visit our blog. This is an opportunity for us to share a little of our lives with others and in return would love to hear back from you. We hope this year finds each of you healthy and happy. We look forward to 2009 to see what new adventures lay ahead!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
David, Ashley, Josh, and Parker Mills

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Monteith Family Party and Talent Show

We had one rock'n party with the Monteith family last weekend. (That is my mother in-laws family.) In the past, they had Christmas/Talent shows for their family party. So, this year was the reinstatement of the talent show. It was great! First of all, Eric and Carri hosted it at their home. They did a wonderful job, all the food was fantastic. Eric made a variety of soups with bread bowls. They even had a mini bread bowl for Josh. It was nice to visit with everyone. Now there are two other children besides my own, plus Dan had his two boys with him, who felt like instant family members. (They even participated in the talent show and had just met us for the first time.)

Back to the Talent portion of the party. We had a many different talents, Janell shared her baking skills, Peter taped himself doing a drum solo, Amber and Aaron are psychics and showed off their skills, Uncle John wrote a fantastic poem that I will post at the end, Cory and Kayla drew everyone in the room, Carri shared music from her CD and future music video, Dan juggled, his son older son made a glass sing, and his other son did the worm, and we ice skated as a family on wax paper. We are full of talents! It was very fun though getting to see each person put on a show.

We are thankful for the fun we get to have as a family anytime of year. Thank you all for a memorable evening!

My Family
by John David Monteith

I was born in America half Irish/half Scot
there were uncles and cousins, sisters and aunts.
From paycheck to paycheck, we did our best,
easy credit took care of the rest.
The memories I have aren’t of possessions,
but the old kitchen table and heated discussions.
Birthdays at the park,
carving pumpkins in the dark,
board games and cards,
weddings in the yard,
hours on the phone,
we were never alone.
We gathered together at the gazebo to share in the loss of our beloved people.
We gathered together at the hospital to gaze upon babies so perfect and little.
I never became what I wanted to be,
life’s little lessons were all lost on me.
And when I’m broke down and the world’s just not fair,
the bills pile up and the boss doesn’t care,
I turn off the news and pick up the phone,
for the strength that I need when I’m feeling alone.
I may not be rich, but I have been blessed,
I stay close to my family and God does the rest.

Track Santa right now!

Santa is already on his way. According to the Santa tracker he's already been to India and Russia. He's even a little ahead of schedule. If you'd like to see for yourself click here.

My boys

Gripped tightly in Parker's arms is a snow globe Carri gave him at the Monteith Christmas Party. It has a handle and when you press the button it lights up and all the snow flys around. When I was taking him to bed, he would not let go. So, I finally laid him down with it. When I went back later to cover him with a blanket he was still holding tightly to it in his sleep. So, I shot this picture in the dark, you can kind of make it out in his arms.


My poor sick Joshie-o right before Christmas! Last night he had a headache. So, to cure it he thought dad's stethoscope would do the trick. (Apparently, he could feel a heartbeat in his head.) So, I finally convinced him that letting me rub his head or put ice on it would make more of a difference. Well, he went for it, but still insisted on the stethoscope between on the eyes. That kid, he just cracks me up sometimes. I spend at good 10 minutes just holding it in place for him so he could relax.

Grandkid's Party

Every year Gramma Mills (now referred to as Gramma Jean) hosts the Grandkid's Christmas party. This originated many years ago so that the grandkids could spend time with Grandpa and Grandma, while all the parents went Christmas shopping. Brilliant! So, the tradition has continued and we look forward to it every year.

Gramma does a beautiful job setting the table, using her 12 Days of Christmas plates and glasses. We always have a wonderful meal, this year was lasagna (it was extremely delicious this year) and variety of sides. After dinner we shared our favorite traditions and then were entertained by Nathan and Carissa. (You can watch and listen below in the video. They did a great job.) Gramma read to us about the birth of Christ and then afterward, we decorated cookies. We appreciate all the time and preparation she puts into her party. (She sends out special invitations and even spent individual one to Josh and Parker.) We love Gramma Jean so very much and can't thank her enough for the love she shows us!

New Baby

Oh no, not really! I saw this on someone's blog. I thought it would be interesting to see if either of our boys looked like the one the program created. I think this baby looks a little like Parker, the nose and the hair for sure. I think he could belong in our family. Give it a try!

A little Christmas cheer

I love the chance to spent time with our friends and families during the holidays. Not to mention an opportunity to spend time with my husband without children. It's always fun to have a chance to reconnect!



I also really love and appreciate my sister in-law Janell. I could not be more blessed to have her as my sister. I appreciate how well we work together and how comfortable I am with her. I enjoy our conversations and the fun we always seem to have when we're together. I am so fortunate to have her and look forward to all our years ahead.



I have to say, I also think the world of Peter too. He is a great guy and wonderful uncle. He is hands on with our kids and patient, they love him. I feel blessed to have such wonderful people in my life.

(We kind of look like we're paired up to go to the prom or something.)

Whopper Virgins

Have you noticed the Whopper Virgin commercial lately. I went to the site tonight and instead of finding humor, I found something far more interesting. I am a hamburger lover and never really thought about the fact that some people may have never heard of one (unbelievable!). So, Burger King traveled around the world and did a taste test between the Whopper and the Big Mac. Then, they visited towns and opened up their grill to let people give them a try. In a funny way, I guess I am grateful for the hamburger (along with our modern conveniences).

A Little Miracle

We are so excited to welcome Sarah to our family. She is the baby of Mike and Trudi Jensen who live in Idaho. (They are cousins to my father in-law) She is a little miracle because they had been unable to have children. They have adopted two wonderful children McKenna and Shad, both as babies. Well after all these years (I don't maybe they have been married for 15 years or so), they found out they were expecting. What a miracle and surprise to all of us. We have all been thrilled for them! Sarah made her way here a little early at just 34 weeks. She is 3 lbs. 3 oz., but Mom and baby are both doing well. We can't wait to see more pictures!

Welcome to the family baby Sarah!

The Polar Express

Josh had the opportunity to go to the Polar Express at the Sacramento Railroad Museum. He went with my parents and a girl from my parents ward named Rachel. They had a great time. They actually road in the dinner car and travel along the American River. The music was wonderful and the story was narrated throughout the train cars.






Josh wore his new pj's for the occasion. Parker has matching ones for Christmas.







This is Josh and Rachel with a couple of Elves.



The conductor came by and punched everyone's tickets.




They sat at a table and enjoyed a cookie along with a cup of hot chocolate.




The Christmas ghost came through their train car. Josh was a little afraid, but he looked a lot like the character.



Then of course they arrived to the North Pole and met Santa. He gave them each a bell. When Josh came home that night he shot through the front door like a bullet, full of excitement! He had to tell us about all the details. What a wonderful memory he made. I think he'll remember it forever!

Elder "Uncle" Jordan has arrived

Elder Mills arrived in Uruguay. Dorene and Jeff received an e-mail from the Mission President. They are excited to have him in their mission. We look forward to all the wonderful experiences Jordan will have while serving the Lord.

Did you see it?

Ruth was on Who Wants to be Millionaire today. So the big news, she won $25,000 and made it to the $100,000 question. Way to go Ruth! Dave and I watched it with her this afternoon. It was exciting and we're so happy she got to have such a fun experience!