Danielle Miller

Vulnerability leads to connection. March 16th was my three year wedding anniversary. What a wild three years it's been... I'll take you back to that day one year ago. I was 9 months pregnant sitting on the couch. That may seem nice, but it wasn't ideal. Next to me was my husband. He wasn't feeling good. Why? Because he was going through severe withdrawals.  Rewind to a few weeks before that. It was midnight on a Sunday, I was sleeping. Something woke me up. It was something I had never felt before. It was almost like a kick in the back. Chase had fallen asleep on the couch. I went in the living room and just had a strange feeling. It was almost like a voice whispered in my ear... "go look in his backpack." I took the advice of this voice and looked in his backpack. What I found...the devil staring me dead in the eye. Drugs.  In that instant it felt as if all the air had been sucked from my lungs, the blood drained from my veins. I had this beautiful baby girl ...

If you let go, you'll be ok...I promise. I know this because I have and I'm still here to talk to you about it today. If you're anything like me you need to be in control, control of situations and in control of others happiness. It's taken me a long time to realize that it's not my responsibility to make sure everyone is happy, getting along and doing well in their own life. Although as a loved one I know it's right to help people I love and want the best for them, I'm learning it's not my responsibility. Many of us have loved ones or even friends that are hard to love. You may not agree with their life decisions, how they handle their finances, parent, or even how they dress and carry themselves. As a person who cares deeply I have tried so hard to change all of these things in these particular people in my life. It's never worked and in the end I was the one who was unhappy. I grew up with two parents who were addicted to drugs and alcohol. ...

As the expression goes, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. I'm here to tell you I've taken some of the sourest of lemons and made some of the sweetest lemonade and you can to! Growing up my childhood wasn't "normal" so to say, but it wasn't bad in my eyes. I had to grow up very quickly due to my circumstances. My father was an alcoholic and mother also suffered from addiction. I never understood their addiction until I was older, but looking back now I see the ways it affected my life. It was around 6th grade when I started understanding things more. I began to understand what addiction was and knew both my parents were suffering from it. I noticed things like depression in my parents, sadness and the way their addiction was controlling their life. I felt abandoned. I felt like drugs and alcohol were more important then me. I hated my parents. I was mad at Heavenly Father for making them mine. I'd lie to my friends and tell them my parents ...

One wedding...two ceremonies One of the biggest questions I've gotten from people after they see my wedding photos is why I had two different dresses. The answer is simple, we had one wedding with two ceremonies. These ceremonies were each unique and held special meaning. Early on in our relationship, Chase and I knew we wanted an LDS temple marriage. This was so important to us and it was a goal we both held close. Chase and I met in June of 2017. We went on our first date about a month later. A few short months after that, on October 21 Chase popped the question. Immediately after the proposal we chose to be sealed in my favorite temple in Manti, Utah. Although we were prepared for this journey of keeping the commandments and doing what we needed to do to be worthy, I couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling thinking about that day. Chase grew up in the LDS church and has a family who is still very strong in the church. I was a convert and got baptized when I was 18...