july happenings

Hey guys! Okay first and foremost...for those of you who are looking for ways to be praying for us: Logan is in his last week of classes for the summer. He has two finals...one of which he is extremely worried about (Math). It would be awesome if you could remember him in prayer over the next several days as he prepares! It's going to be extra hectic for him because he has his two last finals this week (Thursday) and he begins his first class at the University of Phoenix on Wednesday. Therefore he is a bit stressed. I know he will do great, and I am so proud of him, but I know he appreciates the prayers and encouraging words.

So what have we been up to besides school and work? Well last weekend was rather eventful, so I thought I would share :)

We started out the weekend by heading to Tulsa on Friday night. We stayed with the Logan's family and had some time to love on three of our sweet nieces. Saturday, we went to lunch with Molly and Derek (Logan's sister and her husband) in Owasso... Then we all went back to the house for a birthday party for our handsome nephew, Collin. He turned 1! We were so glad to be able to celebrate with the family.

This was so cute. Collin just insisted on touching the lit candle. Daddy tried to stop him, but he ended up touching it anyways.

He was very upset to find out that fire burns you. So sad. 

(Which made me think...what an absolutely perfect picture of human nature and our relationship with our Heavenly Father. He may tell us "No" but we insist on our own way because we think we know better. We often end up hurt and upset and asking God why...when in reality He was the one that tried to stop us in the first place.) Don't worry, Collin, it takes awhile to learn that Daddy knows best :)

 He seemed to get over it pretty quick though and dug into his very first birthday cupcake :)

Happy birthday Collin!

After the birthday party, we got all dressed up to go the Bloemker-Jones Wedding!! Now get this- Last weekend, three (yes THREE) of my good friends got married! I had been friends with each of these girls during different stages of my life, and I love seeing them open such a new chapter in life! It also feels good to not be the only young newlywed anymore :) But anyways...I met Kyla Bloemker when my family went to Tulsa Bible Church. We befriended each other in 7th grade and remained pretty close until my family moved to Missouri at the end of 10th grade. We haven't always kept up with each other since then...but I still wouldn't have missed her wedding! It was perfectly beautiful in every single way. I didn't honestly take a lot of pictures, but I stole a few off of Facebook just to share how beautiful it was and how gorgeous Kyla looked! I'm so proud of her :)

LOVE this!

The ceremony was precious. The reception was beautiful as well and SO fun!! Everyone danced the night away! Below is a video of the bride and groom's first dance. It's a must watch!!!

One of the best parts of the wedding was getting to see old friends...especially my bestie Alicia May Wilbins! She was in the wedding so I didn't really get to hang out with her until the reception. Then we all went out to ihop afterwards with her sister Amy and her boyfriend Bryce. We had a blast catching up with them. I love that girl to death...she is one of those people I can go to with anything. Even if we go a month without talking, it's so easy for us to just pick up where we left off. I'm so thankful for friends.

On Sunday we went back to Springfield for the next wedding of the weekend. I met Kara my Freshman year in college. We were both in the nursing program, and we just clicked! She moved schools after our Freshman year, but we have remained close, and I'm so glad! I love my Panera dates with Kara :) I think we get along so well because we are at similar places in life... and I love it!

This was at her Bachelorette Party :)

Bachelorette party fun ;)

The wedding was so cute...I felt like everything should have been pinned on pinterest! The programs were actually fans for a hot July day (so creative!). It was just paper on popsicle sticks with a simple bow tied around....but absolutely adorable!

The front was the names of everyone in the bridal party.

The back was "10 Fun Facts About The Couple"

 Again, I'm figuring out I would be an awful wedding photographer because I get too caught up in watching the wedding that I forget to take pictures! So again...I grabbed a few that have been posted on Facebook by the photographer!

At their reception, Josh and Kara had a different flavor of cake at each table! It was a such a good idea, so that everyone could try different flavors. Plus, it helped everyone to feel comfortable to mingle :)

Unfortunately we were not able to attend the third wedding (my good friend from high school)... but congratulations to Kyla & Adam JONES, Kara & Josh CAMPBELL, and Lindsey & Jared MICHAEL!!! We couldn't be happier for you!!

Okay so last but not least...I wanted to share with everyone a gift idea that I used for one of the girls last weekend. I was a little late to buy their wedding gift, which is unusual for me. By the time I opened her registry at Target, almost everything had been purchased except....a bunch of household cleaning supplies. At first I wasn't very excited. However, I got to thinking about how we forgot to register for that sort of stuff and ended up having to buy it all our very first shopping trip...which adds up! I decided to go ahead and stock the couple up on all of their basic cleaning supplies and then purchased a little "Cleaning kit" to put it all in. Guess what? It looked so cute already that I didn't even have to wrap it! I added some tissue paper and ta-da! (I kind of want one now!)

Lately I've discovered (as you can see) that a great way to give gifts is to find some sort of container that they will use and then just put the gift inside that! Number one, they will use the container AND whats in it. Secondly, no wrapping! For instance....a laundry basket that they register for with towels and such inside.  For a child, you could do a toy box. For baby Collin's birthday, we got him a cute little toy wheelbarrow that he can push around and we filled it with toys! It was adorable. Another idea for a teenager girl/woman is a pretty basket with candles/lotions inside. Last Christmas someone gave me a big, cute Christmas bowl and filled it with Christmas kitchen utensils. SO fun and there are so many different options :) Just thought I'd share my "new" discovery even though I'm sure it's not so new to all of you. :)

That's all I have for now! We are about to begin a new work week. Again, please keep Logan in your prayers with all he has on his plate this week. I also appreciate all your prayers regarding my work situation! I have truly felt them, and I would really appreciate if you would continue to remember me as I interact with coworkers and patients over the next few nights. :)

We love you & pray you have a blessed week.

The Miller's

buttermilk blueberry breakfast cake

Our July has been flying by! I want to start sharing some recent recipe favs before I forget and life gets super busy again! A couple of Sunday's ago, it was our turn to bring breakfast for our Sunday School class. I wanted to do something a little different than the norm (donuts and chocolate milk). I remembered seeing a recipe on my sister-in-law's blog that looked soooo yummy. I was a bit nervous trying something out for the first time and taking it to an event... but I took a leap of faith, and I'm glad I did! Everyone absolutely loved it. I ended up using Tamara's recipe for the "cake" part. Then I found a very similar recipe that a dear friend (Jennifer Freeman) gave me that included a streusel for the top....so I went ahead and added that too :) YUM.

Buttermilk-Blueberry Breakfast Cake

(I always forget to take the picture until I've already cut into it!)

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

 zest from 1 large lemon

7/8 cup* + 1 tablespoon sugar**

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. kosher salt

2 cups fresh blueberries

½ cup buttermilk

* 7/8 cup = 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons

** The 1 tablespoon is for sprinkling on top

Preheat the oven to 350.  Cream butter, 7/8 of the sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.  Toss the blueberries in 1/4 cup of flour.  Whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the batter alternating with the buttermilk.  Fold in the blueberries.  This batter is THICK!  Grease a 9 inch square pan with non-stick spray.  Spread into the pan and sprinkle with sugar.  

For the streusel- In another bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, and cut in 1/4 cup cold butter. Sprinkle over cake batter and bake it all at 375 for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

ENJOY!

old married couple

Okay maybe not old... but we did just celebrate our first anniversary! To celebrate, we took a little "get-away" weekend to the Plaza in Kansas City. We were blessed to be given a free hotel stay at a Marriott right on the Plaza (super thankful for dad's who have lots of points to give away)! 

Our hotel room just happened to be on the top (19th!) floor...we felt special...especially when you have to swipe your room key in the elevator in order to access the floor :) Anyways, we had a spectacular view and our floor also had a concierge's lounge where you go to get refreshments any time you want! Yes, we are SPOILED.

My Grandpa Van Curen just so happens to live in the KC area, and when he found out we were going to be in town, he insisted on taking Logan and I out to dinner! He said taking his granddaughter and her husband to dinner was on his bucket list. :) Friday evening we met up with my Grandpa and Grandma. They picked us up at our hotel and brought us to a wonderful restaurant called McCormick & Schmick's! We had never eaten there before...but it was SO nice! When we arrived, we were seated in a private dining area. This is what we saw when he handed us the menu!

The menu was specially made for us!

 Anyways, we had a fabulous dinner and a wonderful time catching up with family. We also got introduced to an amazing restaurant!! Thank you Grandpa and JD!

Grandpa, JD, me, and Logan at McCormick & Schmick's in Kansas City

Friday evening after dinner, we walked around the Plaza and even went exploring down town. KC is a hoppin' place on a Friday night! ;) Anyways, Saturday we slept in and then enjoyed a delicious meal at the cafe at our hotel. Then we decided to walk/shop the Plaza! We hit just about every store, haha. It was so fun!

We had Panera for lunch on Saturday. Logan has always given me a hard time about my Panera addiction, but after lunch Saturday he was hooked! He even asked if we could go back on Sunday for lunch. I was a pretty happy camper.

Our anniversary present to each other....total spurge...but then again they were having their annual 25% sale so it was basically a must ;)

After our morning at the Plaza we decided to hit up a couple of other KC attractions! We went to visit the Crown Center. We enjoyed the indoor shopping there and also toured the Hallmark Visitor Center. It sounds cheesy but it was actually really interesting! We saw them making the priceless cards that go out all over the world! We also got a few freebee's which is always fun :) We also ended up over at Union Station which is such a neat building! We truly enjoy just exploring new things.

They gave us a complimentary set of greeting cards (which I love)! So...if you receive one of these from me you'll know where it came from :)

The cute little bow that we got to take home after we watched it be made!

After our little afternoon excursion, we ended up back at the hotel to clean up for our nice anniversary dinner at The Cheesecake Factory! It's funny how meals become the highlights of vacations so easily. This meal was a highlight and rightly so! We went all out that night with appetizers, drinks, entrées, and of course....cheesecake. I think the only thing we actually ate all of was the cheesecake, haha. We tried our best to eat it all, and we even were sick later that night from practically gorging ourselves (I'm telling you, this food was AMAZING). Let's just say it's a good thing we only do The Cheesecake Factory on special occasions :)

I was so excited to be there!!!

Outside The Cheesecake Factory waiting for our table :)

Later that evening (after gaining a few pounds ;))

 

We ended our last night with some hot-tubbing and hanging out on the deck of the hotel. The next morning we (again) had an amazing breakfast at the hotel. We decided we wanted to steer clear of the heat that day, so we saw a movie instead. Yes, those tickets were really $4 a piece! Crazy! Oh and I have to mention that we felt incredibly guilty for going to see a movie because half of the theatre was rented out to a church so everyone around us was going to church while we watched a cartoon. Yep. We felt awful. Haha.

Anyways, in case you couldn't tell, we had a wonderful weekend away from our everyday routine, which is exactly what we wanted. Through our getaway I think we both realized how easy it is to underestimate the power of alone time in marriage. We had been so busy this summer with work, school, church, family, friends, etc... Don't get me wrong...all that has been really great. However, it's so important to have time to get away from the distractions and focus on each other for awhile. I honestly forgot how much I love my husband and saw some things in him that I don't get to see on a daily basis in our busy lives. Let's just say we didn't want to come back. But I guess that's what's so fun about vacations :)

As far as our actual anniversary day, it was Monday. We both had to work, but we did have a couple of hours together in the evening and we made this yummy recipe for Chick-fil-A chicken and sauce! A friend had recommended it to me, and it was SO yummy! I was nervous that it would totally fail at the "Chick-fil-A" expectations but the chicken and sauce both resembled Chick-fil-A's well! So next Sunday when you are sinking into depression over Chick-fil-A being closed...have no fear! This was super easy and a big hit! Very fun anniversary meal..again, it all centers around the food! :) Recipe below!

This was our chicken ;)

http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/2012/02/27/chick-fuh-lay-nuggets-sauce/#