Finally!!

Well, I finally got around to creating a blog for our family. I was inspired by Virginia's "Innes Family Post" and Catherine's "Old Spillhouse" blog. So here it is! I will probably redesign it several times as I go along--I'm such a perfectionist and also get tired of things being the same for a long time. Anyway, I hope you will enjoy hearing about what's going on in our lives and seeing current photos, especially for those of you we don't get to see often.

For my first post, I want to talk about one of the great loves of my life, my son Miles. What an incredible human being he is, and what a joy and honor it is to be given the gift of knowing him and to be his mother. He surprises me more and more these days with new things he learns and new silly words he makes up, and other silly things he likes to do that get us both rolling with laughter!

Many of you may know I had a rough start with motherhood, but these days I have mostly settled into it, and have really come to enjoy it! I treasure the moments I have with Miles, knowing this time in his life won't last forever. His favorite thing to do right now is to "play trains" and he loves to play with both me and Chip. He started out as a very clingy baby, but has become more independent lately, catching me off-guard just a couple of months ago when he went into his bedroom and closed the door and stayed in there for an hour playing by himself! It is nice to not have to be there entertaining him every moment, but at the same time it makes me sad, knowing he will only break away more and more time goes by.

What's going on with us right now: Miles just finished his first session of tap dancing lessons! I enrolled him last month because ever since he could walk, he would stomp his feet and dance! There was even an Elmo's World episode where Elmo tap danced and Miles would immitate him. So I decided to enroll him in a class and see if he liked it. He loves it so far! Every time we're done with class and are on our way home, he tells me, "Mommy, when we get home, I'm gonna be the teacher and teach you how to tap dance." Precious!

Miles is absolutely adorable during tap class! He doesn't seem to mind (or even notice!) that he is the only boy in there. I'm hoping that will be the case for a while! I've always loved watching others tap dance and have wanted to take lessons myself, but haven't, so I guess I'm living that dream a little through Miles. I do plan on finding out if there are any adult classes available for myself though. Miles has two more sessions to go this fall, followed by a recital! I can't wait!

In just a few days, on the 18th of this month, Chip and I will be celebrating our 10th Anniversary! We will be going up to the Kiamichi Mountains in Oklahoma for a few days to celebrate toward the end of the month. I'm looking forward to seeing some beautiful fall foliage! I'll post some pictures when we get back.

Chip is taking a class to prepare for the GMAT, and plans to start working on his MBA at UNT in the spring. Please keep him in your prayers!

I am still running my portrait business, and have also launched a second website selling products for photographers. Needless to say, I am very busy, especially with all the holiday sessions being scheduled!

I hope you've enjoyed this first post of the Griffin Family Herald! I'd love to hear your comments on it!