A LOT of Thanksgiving!

This year, more than any other, our family has so very much for which to be thankful. As we celebrate this Holiday and look back over the past year, God has been raining down blessings too numerous to even count! It isn't often that one is able to so immediately see what could have been "Valley Experiences" as "Mountaintop Moments". We know that God has lead us on a path surrounded by people who have made that possible. Thanks to each one of you who has allowed God to use your life to touch ours. Whether through a note of encouragement, unending prayers for Silas, a delivered meal, or financial support for our trip, you have lifted our spirits and have allowed us to just appreciate the journey on which we have been called.

Weekend of Visitors!

It just so happened that a whole bunch of really important people, all of whom had been wanting to visit Silas for a while now, decided to come together for a weekend to remember!! We had a blast seeing a couple of Sy's favorite nurses from his days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. After three months at home and a quadrupling of his size, it was good to be able to see the ones who took such good care of him during such a critical time. As we celebrate this Thanksgiving week, we continue to be grateful to have had them watching over him then and for their friendship now (and mostly for the amazing Mexican that they brought us... of the food variety).
Visitors #2 and 3 were Sy's Grandmommy and Aunt Sarah. Grandmommy came for an overnight visit and got in lots of lovin'. Sarah happened to be in Buffalo for a school sporting event and was able to come see Silas for the first time since his second week in the NICU. She even got to hold him for the very first time!

The weekend topped off with Auntie Christina and Uncle Rick coming in from Maine! We had a ton of fun together and with Nana and Papa, too! Silas was mesmerized by the Sunday Night Bills game (someone had to be!) and loved trying to find Daddy and Uncle Rick in the Nose Bleed section...what can one expect from scalper tickets????

Oh, and the big event for us was, of course, the weekly weigh in. 10 lbs 8 oz last Monday, 11 lbs. 2 oz. one week later! Nice work, Silas!

Shots and Bloody Knuckles

While the title of this post may lead you to believe that Silas has begun his training to become a cage fighter, fortunately, we have convinced him to wait until at least his first birthday.


The shots were of the medical kind and they came today. One was a medicine to help protect him from RSV, a respiratory virus that shows up during the winter months. Although in most kids and adults RSV only causes the annoyance of a nasty cold, in preemies it can be life threatening. The other shot was a medicine to prepare his blood for surgery. The doctor in Dallas has found this medicine has helped to reduce the need for transfusions and surgery complications.

The bloody knuckles are actually ours! In an effort to keep germs away we have been washing our hands religiously! It is suprising how often during a day one comes in contact with potential germs when paying such close attention. The dry cracks in our once normal hands simply laugh at the meaningless application of lotion. But the pain of cracked skin is well worth it, as Silas must stay healthy as we prepare for surgery!

God's goodness over the past few weeks has absolutely blown us away! Whether through the orchestrating of details, the support of friends and family, or the answering of prayers, we continually stand amazed and in praise! Our plans for surgery have come together nicely and at this point we just have some last minute travel details to pull together and a TON of paperwork. Who knew one surgery could accrue a pile of paperwork equal to Silas' weight....which, by the way, is 10 lbs. 8 oz.!! That is exactly quadruple his lowest hospital weight!!!!!!!

While we know that God holds the future, that His plan is perfect and that His love for Silas is greater than even ours, we are still anxiously awaiting the day when this is all behind us. But until then, we are going to keep ourselves busy by decorating for Christmas, picking out our tree together and making loads of Christmas cookies! Our plan is to return from Dallas with nothing to do but to enjoy the two greatest gifts in our lives: the birth of Jesus Christ and our own little miracle!


Thank you all for your prayers as they mean more to us than we could ever articulate!

To Friends of Silas -- From Friends of Silas

Greetings friends and family of J.L., Heidi and Silas Miller,

We hope you have had the opportunity to absorb the beauty of this fall season. It is amazing how God’s creation, a colorful tree, a brisk day, a season, causes us to move. We remind ourselves each fall to stop and look up from our lives to see the beauty of the foliage. It is God’s desire, and for His glory, that we stop and allow ourselves to be moved by and engaged in His creation.

It is within this context that we are writing to all of you. More magnificent than the creation of the earth is the birth of a child. We all are moved by and want to engage in the life of a newborn baby. We are asking that you join us in moving in the life of a precious creation, the life of baby Silas Park Miller.

Silas has been diagnosed with a rare cranial condition known as Mercedes Craniosynestosis, a fusion of three plates in his skull. This premature closure of bone inhibits the brain from growing in the appropriate manner. To date there have only been thirteen reported cases of this condition in the world. Silas will need to undergo major vault reconstructive surgery in early December. This will entail opening his skull, removing the fused plates, reshaping the skull bones and placing them back into his head. J.L., Heidi, and Silas will be traveling to Dallas so that the procedure can be done by a Craniofacial surgeon who has treated 10 of the thirteen patients with this malformation. Following the surgery and for many years after, he will be monitored closely to ensure that everything is forming and developing appropriately.

We are asking that you allow yourselves to be moved by Silas and, in doing, so be engaged through the Holy Spirit to act, first by praying, second by your offerings and third by praying some more! The financial need is immense. The timing is critical. The hope is that all donations would be sent by Thanksgiving, as the Miller’s will be leaving early December for Silas’s surgery. Donations should be made payable to “Baker Memorial UMC” and sent directly to:
Baker Memorial U.M.C.
345 Main St. East Aurora, NY 14052
*with a notation of “Silas” included on the memo line.

We all know the opportunity to see the passing of the fall season presents itself year after year. Likewise, the opportunities to help our brothers and sisters in Christ are presented to us often. We ask that you do not wait for another opportunity to act, but stop and look up at the opportunity that is presenting itself to you today.
“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.” Proverbs 3:27

With hearts engaged,
Friends of Silas~
If you have any question please direct them to Karla Prychodko @ 652-3014, Jody Zacaroli @ 655-5059 or Katie Felton@ 353-0442, several of the many friends of Silas.

Surgery Date

Hey Everybody!

Many of you knew and had been praying for us as of Friday when our insurance company denied our request for surgery in Dallas. However, clearly God has been working overtime answering all of the prayers for Silas!! As of Monday, the insurance has come through!!! And on top of that, we were given free round trip airline tickets from a generous friend at church. The blessings keep on pouring in!

Silas is getting all ready with pre-op workups, prescriptions, bloodwork and doctor's appointments. His busy schedule is beginning to put a cramp in our style. However, it has become clear to us through all this what exactly he will be needing for his first Christmas; a palm pilot and Personal Assistant.

We will be headed to Dallas on Sunday, December 2nd. On Monday we will be meeting the Neurosurgeon, a Craniofacial surgeon, a Genetist, and completing all the rest of the necessary pre-op.

It seems as though all of the pieces are really coming together perfectly. We are anxious to get Silas through this next step in the journey and to have him home and well by Christmas! There could not be a gift more precious.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. We see the blessings in this each moment of each day. The love that has been showered upon us by God and His people gives us all the encouragement we need.

New Tricks

To Play without pauses, please press the play button and then pause immediately until the white bar to the right of the play button fills in to grey. Then press play and enjoy!

Oh and if you were born prior to man walking on the moon... make sure your volume is up too. We have had to handle a varitey of technical questions from the builder/boomer generation as they enter the wonderful world of blogging.

Fall Walk and Update

A wise friend of ours told us to enjoy every second that we have together as a family before Silas has his surgery. We absolutely have!! We love having Silas home and are making the most of each day! Here are some pictures of a walk we took in this awesome Fall weather to show Sy the colored leaves!

By way of an update, Silas had his four month appointment yesterday. Although only two months corrected age, the pediatrician said that he passed every four month developmental test. He really showed off by smiling, "talking", tracking horizontally and vertically, doing a push-up and almost rolling right off the exam table! Silas now weighs in at 10 lbs, 1 oz. and is 22.3" long, which puts him right under the 0 percentile for both height and weight! But, he's making a curve of his own and is narrowing the gap! The Pediatrician kept saying she was "very impressed"! So are we!!!

Happy Halloween!

Silas said "Howdy" to his first Halloween by dressing up like a cowboy! Although a little suspicious at first, he loved every second of it! He played the part well, with hat, lasso and all!! He visited a bunch of friends houses and ended the night by hanging out with Nana and Papa. Although he didn't receive any candy, he did get a lot of laughs! We think this is a look that could stick!

NO MO O

Silas passed his first big test!! This past weekend he came home on a monitor that recorded his oxygen saturation. We hooked him up and let him go the whole weekend without any supplemental oxygen. On Monday we found out that he did great and passed with flying colors!!! So... he is officially off the O2 and breathing on his own!

We are more than happy to say goodbye to these pesky machines and wires...