saying goodbye to summer

By on October 2, 2017 in A day in our life, at the miller manor, Personal

On our last day of summer here at our little Manor.  We really snuggled into this place of ours this summer.  The seeds we planted over the last few years have come to life here in a lot of ways.  This is the longest we’ve lived anywhere since our family started, and it feels like such a sweet corner to be nestled into in this season of life.

We are very much entering our “middle” phase, as we’ve seen the hard work from our “early” stages start to pay off over the decade, we still aren’t necessarily coasting.  Our life is so so so so so full, in every sense of the word, and sometimes it feels like we’re tredging through stressful seasons, but at the same time breezing by in the scope of life.

I asked Harlo recently if she ever thinks about moving out of here and she said, “Never.  I love this house.” and it pierced my heart to the core.  We have made a happy little home here.

It is not perfect, the office needs to be tweaked again, I’d like to freshen up some paint, and we have just that little bit to go to finish up the original remodel.  We are our best with projects, creative juices flowing, and hands busy in service for our home and family.  I’m so grateful for the opportunity of service this little home provides.

When we bought this house, we really loved the idea of living this season of our lives intentionally simple.  We hope to plant seeds for our future while we live here, but rest here in this happy place we’ve worked so hard for.  We have learned so much, and taught our kids along the way.  I have grown up a lot in this house as I have progressed to my “late twenties”, and have birthed two more children while we’ve lived here.  We have continued and started businesses in this home, and every day as I walk our streets I feel inspired to do and live better.

I know we are always growing and shifting and always on the look for more, but this season has been one of letting go and just being still for a time, and that has gifted me such joy and happiness for choosing this path.  Business, success, independence, space, time, and uninterrupted sleep will be in the seasons to come.  I can only pray they are just as full of beauty as this season we’re in right now. ♥

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drowning in blessings

By on September 7, 2017 in I'm a mom, love and loss, Personal, Self Love

cassmiller – Just a happy little reminder left just for me on my sidewalk by one of my children. #tendermercy
If you are going through a stormy season, let me remind you that your rainbow is coming. God is with us in our trials and He never wastes a hurting heart. 💛

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I have been dealing with a wave of depression over the last little while.  I know it’s depression, not only because depression has gotten so familiar to me, but when my life seems pretty smooth, everyone is doing well, things are busy and bustling and there’s nothing to be sad about, yet still I feel sad inside.  That is exactly what’s been going on here.

This morning, as I finished up my hour of gratitude, where I start my day noting all the things I am grateful for, I told Mr. Miller, “I feel like I’m drowning in blessings.” and that is exactly how I feel.  I am so grateful for this full and happy life, and sometimes it just feels like so much full and happy life.  I guess I’ll take that particular set of issues.

Depression isn’t something I chat about too much, even though it’s something I’ve dealt with my entire life.  Lately though, as I have been studying depression, post partum depression, depression in women, I have found some truths and statistics that troubled me.  Like, post partum depression being the highest complication after delivery, but only 7% of these women suffering get help.  I found this through my own research to find answers for my post partum depression, a very misunderstood and misdiagnosed form of depression.

I, of course, believe in living a healthy lifestyle.  I do all things possible to maintain a happy, healthy, and wholesome life.  These things include but are not limited to: eating habits, exercise, self care, therapy, good books, nights with friends, a good date night, resting, self love, down time, vacation, feeding creativity…  I believe everyone should be striving for these things on the regular.  IF MAMA AINT HAPPY AINT NOBODY HAPPY.  It is not bad mothering to enjoy life and prioritize taking care of your mind, body, and spirit.  That is actually great mothering.  You cannot fill anyone’s cup if yours is on empty.  Take time for yourself.

I (after exhausting all my options I could on my own) sought help from my OBGYN, because ya know, post-partum/women/childbirth…  but after they lead me kind of astray and I felt worse and more confused after their carelessness, I eventually found myself in the care of my primary care doctor, which is exactly where I should have been in the first place, I learned.  So, know that is where to go.  Depression you can chat to your primary care doctor about.  *And if you find one you like, keep them forever! (words from the wise here) His help might be lifestyle suggestions, different areas of therapy, hormone support, medication… there is a variety of different treatments, but just talking about it to someone safe might make the world of difference toward feeling better.

Do you know the signs of depression?  If you aren’t feeling yourself, if you can’t feel the joy that you can see all around you, if you have increasingly less energy that you typically have, or are finding yourself always feeling like you’re running on empty… these could all be signs of depression.  I have struggled with depression and post partum depression, and after each of my babies, my post partum depression has manifested itself differently.  Sometimes with anxiety and panic attacks, sometimes with all consuming, reason-less sadness, sometimes in extreme feelings of failure or never doing enough.  I muscled my way through it, and now that I have an entire family that depends on my emotional well being, I have had to prioritize myself and get the help and answers I needed to get better.

There is NO SHAME in self love, self care, self prioritization.  The more kids I have, the more I have to prioritize myself.  The weird thing is, the more kids I have, the less natural it feels for me to keep myself at top billing.  I have really kept to aligning my life with my relationships with God and myself as my priorities.  This is the only way I wont get swallowed up by the bits of life that can become consuming.

For me, this dance is not hardly ever graceful.  Or not ever.  I burn way out before I start asking for help, but I am learning that about myself, and looking for opportunities to be better.  Working on my own personal boundaries and figuring out what I can really fit on my plate.  And that’s it, just on my plate.  Not what is on her plate, or what the general area has on their plates in comparison to mine.  We all have a different place here, and it’s okay if I can only squeeze in one kid in a dance camp for the year and tell the rest Santa will only come if they sacrifice extra-curricular activities. (Just kidding, but really..) While other friends of mine seem to breeze through the web of organization it requires to maintain a bustling family schedule. (Looking to you here Liz, Jess, Amy…)  “Different” is not “less than”.  Run your race, let the others run theirs.

I am feeling better after a couple of tough weeks, and I pray that as I continue to learn about myself, I can heal faster, grow deeper in faith and love, care for myself better, and maintain a happier, healthier, more beautiful life.  At least, that’s the goal here.

If there is one thing that I have learned through this blog of mine, it is that we are not alone in our lives.  Not only is God with us, but He provides us angels all over in the world to connect with.  You all have been a blessing to me, and I care about us all too much to not sometimes talk about the important stuff.  If you are out there reading this, needing these reminders today, remember this: You are loved, you are thought about, you are prayed over.  You, my dear friend, are not alone.

 

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happy & healthy

By on September 6, 2017 in I'm a mom, Personal, Self Love

After a little hiatus, I thought the best way to get back to bloggin’ is with a little SELF LOVE SEPTEMBER.  This week, I am dedicating this space to self love, happier living, and all that entails!

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Over the last couple of years, and also decade, and also my whole entire life, I have experienced some emotional trauma.  For various reasons, a thousand different circumstances, choices, relationships, and a lot of dealing with whichever cards you’re dealt in a certain season of life.  I have had no shortage of emotional baggage I  have had to navigate through, as well as carrying it with me through this life, while I wife, mother, friend, daughter, etc. etc. etc.

At 20, I had miraculously pulled myself through the hardest years of my entire life, but even though I had made it to finally see the light on the other side, I was no where near out of the woods.  That was the first time I really looked inside myself and realized that I wanted to change my life.  Change the things that weren’t working, work on things inside myself, negative tendancies, unhealthy relationships, I wanted to work hard on loving myself because after the specific set of trials I had faced in my young life, I had a really hard time believing I was worthy of anything, and that included love.

I found a therapist, Lord bless him.  He saw me every single week for years as I tried to make sense of all the pieces in my life and how they had lead me here, and how I could walk forward in light for my lovely, perfect, darling daughters.  This work took time.  It was hard, and emotional, and soul-stretching.  It was life changing, and I am grateful for every hour I spent in that therapist office in those years and the impact it has made on my life.

A couple of years ago, I found myself in a bit of a “funk”, as one does.  I knew that meant I had some work to do to clean up my life and some emotional stuff I had swirling around.  After praying and thinking on that, I got a clear mantra to follow; Happier and Healthier.  It was a guiding light for me as I navigated all aspects of my life.  My relationships should be happier and healthier,  I cannot be fully happy if I am not fully healthy.  Things can make me happy, but not necessarily healthy (junk food), and things can make me healthy, but not necessarily happy (kale).  The trick I saw was that making the decisions for health AND happiness had the real everlasting results.  They  may be the hardest to make stick sometimes, but they are worth striving for.  And so, this became my life mantra.

Create a HEALTHY, HAPPY, beautiful life.

If there is one thing I have learned on this road to a happier, healthier life, it is that you are never just THERE.  I mean, you are, but you always always have to work to maintain it.  I can’t stay happy and healthy if I always just stay exactly where I am, so I must always be moving forward.  I do not have a free pass to trials, struggles, tough relationships, everyday life problems, fears, insecurities, etc.  I have to work through those things in the healthiest way I can, so I can maintain my happiness.  A happy and healthy life takes work, but it is such good work.  And it is always worth it.

This week I’ll be touching more specifics of this mantra like facing depression, spiritual crisis, and good old fashioned self care, body image, all that entails.  This is a conversation I am starting here on the blog, and I hope we can keep the conversation rolling.  We can all use a little more love from ourselves.

latest favorite shirt from HERE.  Giveaway coming this week to the ‘gram!

Have faith, mama.  You are doing better than you think.

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SELF LOVE SEPTEMBER

By on September 5, 2017 in I'm a mom, Personal, Self Love

Each passing summer gets a little busier here at the Miller Manor.  With four growing children all at home under my feet, our precious time together is filled to the brim.  I cling to it and every single year.  This little blog of mine gets neglected, but something always draws me back once our routine settles in a bit.  I gave myself a breather from work and that felt nice for a couple of weeks, but I am a creative person, and if I don’t write, or shoot, or create in some way or another, I get stuck.

I think recently I’ve been so stuck on what this blog needs to be for everyone else, or maybe aiming to please or not offend, that I haven’t thought enough about what this blog was always intended for; me.  I needed this blog, I have clung to this blog and the clarity, connection, perspective it provides.  It has brought joy to my life, and peace to my heart.  It has become a treasure of journals for my family.  It has become a creative outlet for my sanity.  I love this space, and I pray it continues forward, onward.  Whatever that means.

I have taken some time for some real true soul searching.  I have felt a pivot in my life, but just in the way that I need to grow and step up to whatever my life calling is.  The first week back, I am going to be talking about some self love as we walk into September.  We made it through the summer, we got our kids miraculously back to school in August, and September – before the holiday hustle and bustle starts – we are going to take some time for ourselves, damnit!  We need it, and more importantly – OUR FAMILIES need it.  A happy mother makes a happy home!

So hang with me this week as I kick off SELF LOVE SEPTEMBER as I share some ways that I have learned to love myself to better myself as a mother, wife, and all around woman!

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Also!  This fall, I will be speaking at the SALT lds womens conference.  My friends and I are making a girls trip out of it, and I would love to see some of my readers and squeeze you in person!  INFO HERE.

So bare with me as I get back into the swing of daily writing, and unload a bit of my “crazy” with y’all this week.  As always, feel free to message me if there is something you’d like me to weigh in on here.  I love hearing what you have to say!

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