Summer again!

So... I promise I am going to get back on the blogging train... if anyone is even still out there? Right now I am averaging 1 blog every 4-6 months (yikes!) But, every time I see my mother she reminds me that I need to blog...
Especially because we are having a baby!  So I guess there is no better time than now to become more consistent!  We will welcome Baby Miller (our first) into this world sometime around November 11th.  I am 17 weeks along, definitely starting to pop out and we have about 2 weeks until we find out the gender.  It is probably going to seem like the longest two weeks since we are so anxious to find out who's in there!
Here's my latest baby bump picture from 16 weeks:

Things that have been happening in our life, since our last blog:
Meredith: My job has slowed down, changed positions and is now gearing back up full force.  The tutorial programs that I oversee ended back at the end of April, and then life at worked took a nice change in pace.. but now, is roaring ahead because we start summer camp in 2 weeks.  I am the Assistant Director for our YMCA summer camp that is called Camp High Hopes.  It is a subsidized camp for rising kindergartners through tenth grade, for families that are under resourced.  We will run on the campus of Southeastern (where Josh is in seminary!) which is super fun and familiar!  For anyone that knew me last summer, I didn't have a job and I would take long jogs around the seminary to pass the time... every day I would see the kids in this camp and my heart would melt and long to be there!  So, it is surreal that I am actually a part of it this summer.  I have now been in my job for a little less than a year, and though it has its extreme ups and downs, the Lord has taught, grown and stretched me in so many ways.
We are two weeks out from the start of camp and in the midst of staff training, here are a few pictures for our last week!

Josh: Has had some schedule changes as well in the past month of so! He has officially ended his first year of Seminary (with a GPA of 4.0 I might add ;)!) He is still working at The Summit each week and being more and more thankful for that position and the staff he gets to learn from.  As of May 1, he is the "Short Term Supply Pastor" at Faith Baptist Church in Durham, NC.  What does that mean? It means, they do not currently have a pastor and Josh is filling in preaching/teaching on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights.  It has been a great time of growth for both of us and has given Josh some awesome experience in what it takes to prepare sermons and deliver them each week (great practice for the future!)  We are very thankful for the opportunity that God has presented for us to be there and serve them in this time.  And we have shifted to going to The Summit on Saturday evenings.  So, Josh has finished class, is now preaching twice a week, working part-time at Summit and leading our small group.  He is a busy man, and I am daily thankful for his heart and spiritual leadership of our family. I am excited to welcome our child into it in the next 5 months <3
Our small group recently took a trip to the River! Here are some pictures of Josh and I :)

Much more to come!
Countdown to our 2 year Anniversary (June 4) 3 days
Countdown to knowing who Baby Miller is (and his/her name!) 18 days
Countdown to Meredith's trip to the Beach with the Sullivan's and Josh's trip to Denver 42 days
Countdown to our trip to the beach with the Miller Family 57 days
Countdown to Baby Miller 5 months and roughly 10 days

Catching Up!

Wow...I realized this past week that the last time I blogged was in October! I apologize, but also must add that we became iPhone users in the beginning of December...I blame my lack of blogging on our sudden surge of new technology... but maybe our new technology should have made me a better blogger? Either way here we are in mid- January and I am going to attempt to catch everyone up on our life through the holidays via pictures (from my tricky iPhone).

Thanksgiving we spent with my family in good ole Roanoke, Virginia.  It was a special time of reflecting on God's grace and love throughout the past year of trials for the Smith's.  We were ever so thankful this particular Thanksgiving.
                       
                                                   A hike we went on with my dad

                                                   Mom and I on Thanksgiving Day

                                              Both brothers in from college

                              Happy Belated Thanksgiving from the Miller Family

Skip ahead to the beginning of December and Josh and I helped throw a tacky Christmas sweater party for @SummitCollegeNR.  I, along with a few other gals helped make pancakes and toppings for 30+! ...

...meanwhile the guys stayed in this position and watched Alabama V. Georgia!

..and our friend Jeffrey dressed up as an elf and greeted everyone at the door as they arrived (anyone surprised that he's a young life leader?)

Quickly I will jump to Christmas so that we are not here all day! This year we spent Christmas with the Miller's in northern VA. It snowed and was our first official white Christmas!

Here is our nephew, baby William at 5 months old for his first Christmas

 

So that was a recap of the past 2 and a half months! 

...oh and we moved... to an apartment complex in Raleigh...

can we still be The Miller's in Wake Forest???

A pumpkin patch & 3 Krispy Kreme Burgers....

This past Friday was the epitome of Fall!  I took our after-school group on a hay-ride and to a pumpkin patch and then.... Josh and I went to the North Carolina State Fair with some friends in the evening! How much more Fall can you get than that?

Here are some pictures of our kiddos at the pumpkin patch :)

Then....
The State Fair was an adventure!   Something I think we will commit to once a year.... and it will take our stomachs that long to prepare for the food! Josh and I had.... a candy apple, a chocolate-covered frozen banana with sprinkles, Cheerwine (can't get more Carolina than that!), a Krispy Kreme Burger (thanks to Paula Deen), and french fries w/ vinegar! ...   Here are some pictures from our time!

Mitch & Alyson with their first course of the night...

 Gus started the Krispy Kreme Burger epidemic with our group!

 Josh & his Krispy Kreme Burger!

 Brennan & his Krispy Kreme Burger! (notice.... no wife has taken part in any of this!)

 Our group :) 

Fall is here!

Wow, we have not blogged in a long time!  It has been about a month but so much has happened...

Josh is heavy into classes, and I have started my new job!  I work for the YMCA, specifically the Outreach program which serves underprivileged, low-income children and their families.  It has been so neat to see God work in the short month I have been working... just to see His plan in drawing people to Himself and have Him affirm that this is where He desires me right now has been a blessing.  It has been a huge transition for our family but we really feel the Lord is teaching us so much through it and growing us to His glory... not to mention Josh and I both get free memberships to the Y!

Here are various pictures from a few weekends over the past month!

Towards the end of September, we helped put on a tailgate for college students from Summit @ NC State

 Yes, we had catered Chick-fil-A...

 Alyson and I :)

Out to dinner at Vivace for Hope's Birthday!

Labor Day!

      A quick update on us: Josh is two weeks into his seminary classes... he's really liking them, while also feeling overwhelmed...but getting adjusted.  I got a job (yay!) as an Assistant Outreach Coordinator with the YMCA here in Wake Forest, I have orientation on Wednesday.  We have just felt super humbled and blessed by how God has provided for us over these past four months in NC!
     With life getting busier by the day, we decided to get up to Stephens City,VA to visit Josh's parents while we could.  So we packed the car, along with Hope & Kent (Josh's sister and brother-in-law) and headed north Friday evening.
    It was definitely one of those vacations that you need another vacation to recover from! ...but a good exhaustion, a fun exhaustion!  One of the highlights of our busy weekend in northern VA was the Nationals game... they played the Cardinals Sunday afternoon...and yes, Strasburg pitched which was such a treat for us! Here are some fun pics!

Josh's First Day!

Josh's official first day of class as a graduate student :) 

Closing Remarks from Summer :)

And as quickly as summer comes, it goes... but we are excited :)  Last week Josh had orientation, and this week he starts class full-time!  We moved down to the area back in April, thinking we'd have time to adjust as things were added to us... like transitioning, friends, school, jobs, etc... but now we laugh because we are about to get slammed with a lot of these things all at once!

Josh starts school, we are helping out with the college ministry at The Summit this semester, we are helping out with the membership class at The Summit this semester, Josh is co-leading a small group that starts next week, I had a second-round interview with the YMCA, and am waiting to hear back this week..
ALL at once! Ah!  God must constantly laugh at the plans we try to make ourselves...

Here are some various pictures from the past few weeks!

Our friend Will from college came down for a quick visit!

 We are such rookies... but here are a few veggies from our "garden"

Bell Pepper

 Tomato 

Yesterday, we had Thanksgiving (in August) with 3 couples that go to our church & live in our neighborhood! :)

 Emily & John's fried turkey!

 Our spread!