Before and After

Before the surgery

After the surgery

(Look closely- there is a treat resting on his "lampshade"...he refused to eat it)

What a baby!

-am

How cute!

I am going to get in trouble for posting this...but it's just too adorable!! This is a picture of Russ and Dana...all ready for school. It doesn't get much cuter than this folks.

-am

Moving Out

Russ and I would just like to say farewell to our housemate and friend, Dana Mika. We will miss your presence in the Miller household. We are so happy for you and Katie as you start your lives together in your cute house! We can't wait to come over for our weekly dinners. Oh, and Dana- don't worry, we know how to get there- we'll just follow the "chex mix trail" you left us. He he!

Love you both.

-am

Welcome to the Family, Emma

It's official! Michael and Amy were able to get both parents to sign away their rights and had their court date. At the court (as you can see in this picture) they actually had to SERVE Emma the papers. Strange I thought, since she's not a very good reader....or grabber....hmmm.

Anyway, we are all very very very happy for Michael and Amy. So far the rest of the family got to meet Emma in person on Father's day. Russ and I (and Rene') will get to meet her in July. Can't wait!!!

Thank you to everyone for your prayers. This baby means so much to our family, and espcially to Michael and Amy.

love to all-

-am

Update on baby Emma

Here is what my mother found out from Amy yesterday (June 14):

"Yesterday they signed the papers with the adoption agency and today they have their court date, which from what Amy says is more ceremonial than anything. They told them to bring their camera because they will actually serve papers to Emma, and this will make them legal guardians of her until at 6 months the adoption is final and she is legally their child. After the court date today they have to wait for interstate paperwork to be completed and sent to each state, which they are hoping can happen tomorrow so they can go home. Michael has to go back to work on Sat., so if they don't get the paperwork, Amy and Emma will have to stay in Illinois until they get it and Joyce will go pick them up. The birthmother requested that her name be Emma Grace Cottrell on the birth certificate which is really nice- no name changing. They are all very happy and Amy says that Michael is so good with Emma."

Thanks for all your prayers- keep sending them their way!

-am

Concert

What a weekend! Finally i can breathe again, and blog a bit. :) We had a great time putting on the Start of Summer concert on RBC's Front lawn. This is the first ever, so we were a bit unsure how it would turn out. I'm still not sure, except I had a great time playing. Also I just want to thank all of the great help I had setting up, tearing down, and everything else that goes into it. The concert started off with Joe Kelly playing original lyrical folk style tunes, then Julie Rye (formerly Bishop) played a set of original music... you can catch her latest recording on http://www.purevolume.com/julieanne, and we finished the evening off with some worship tunes. Our band featured Jen "Diva" Dudik singin lead and harmonies, Slammin Scotty on drums and lead voc. on a few, Madie the Mother on Keyboard, Big Bass Chase on well... Bass, DJ Dana on Electric, Joe "Just Play D" Kelly on Lead Elec. and violin, and Last but not Least Big Momma Wah Wah Shaw on the Piano-Forte, Oh, and I sang and played a bit of acoustic. Very fun to play with this group of peeps. :)
So this was the first time, so i'm interested in suggestions and ideas for next year to make it better, we're considering moving it later in the evening (i.e. closer to fireworks time), earlier (after the parade), or doing it Friday night, or all 3! Post your thoughts...
Oh, and here's a few other pics...

Here's Joe:

Here's Julie

And we caught this great candid of Slammin Scotty and his Herem of beautiful women. For some reason he looks happier than they do...

-rm

Fun with friends

Here are a few more pix from last Sat.

Almost over...

Here is the latest update from Amy (my sister-in-law....not me...):

"We are still waiting on termination papers to be signed. We are hoping that a social worker will not have to go (since the dad is willing to sign after getting the letter from the mom)- and that the jail will just have him sign there. We (Emma and I) have been hanging out having some great bonding time. Emma is a great sleeper. So far she has been sleeping in 5 hr. stretches at night which is awesome!!! She is up to 3 oz. of formula at a time and eats about every 3 1/2 to 4 hours. We are very excited that Michael will be coming down after work on Sat.!! I am very anxious for him to come, but also very anxious to get home. We are hoping that we will be able to get to court early next week and be home some time next week. So please keep praying that everything will continue to go smoothly. God has answered our prayers so far!"

Love,
Michael, Amy + Emma

-am

Sooooo Cute!

Just wanted to update everyone on Emma's progress. As far as we know, the social worker from Illinois said that the birthfather is willing to sign over his rights as long as he gets a letter from the birthmother saying that this is what she wants. (Keep in mind, the birthfather is in jail so this process is even more difficult to finish).

We are all still very excited to welcome Emma into our family and we can't wait to see her. Hopefully I will be able to go to WI to see the fam at the end of June. I just can't wait!

-am

Festival of Arts

Saturday we were downtown at the Festival of Arts with Dana and Katie. We noticed it was starting to rain, so we walked over to an awning and stood under it. All of a sudden, the heavens opened up...and as rain and hail dropped down, hundreds of people came running at us hoping for a spot under OUR awning.

You would be surprised how many people can fit under an awning that is about 10 feet long and 3 feet deep. Since we were there first, we were pressed up against the building while others pushed up against us just to get out of the rain. One lady even gave us her baby to hold while she rescued her toddler from the storm.

That day, we learned that Grand Rapids is all about community. The people were friendly, funny, and not afraid to stand REALLY close to a stranger...and even hand them their baby.

-am

What a Babe!

Introducing...drum roll... Emma Grace Cottrell!! She was born May 31st, weighs 8 lbs, and is 21" long. We still ask for prayers for the adoption process to finalize, also pray that they can locate the birth father to sign away the parental rights. This whole process was only started a month ago... well not the baby part... but the adoption process, which normally takes quite a long time. Please be in prayer for Michael and Amy... (Amy's brother and sister in law). Thanks... I think this blog is just going to announce births. :) jk.


rm.