Boy Scout Patch

Not too long after Rheese died his Scout leader, Kimball Washburn, told me that he was working on something for us about Rheese. They had moved though so I didn't know if anything would really come of it but it made me feel good that he was thinking of us and him. Last month our troop had its Court of Honor and Kimball came back for it. He got up and talked a little bit about Rheese and how much he had made an impact on his life and how he thinks about him a lot. Just that right there was huge to me and had me crying, then he showed us what he had been working on. He had scout patches made in Rheese's honor. He used the picture of Rheese as a Bear in front of the flag but had the uniform changed from Cubs to Scouts and added the green because it was Rheese's favorite color and the Mickey ears because Disney was such a big part of him. Kimball told us that when he was telling the people what he wanted he said that the most important part was to get his smile : ). He told us that the Rheese Miller Difference is that we need to do our best in all that we do and not complain when things are hard. Rheese was always smiling and didn't complain about his heart. He didn't make excuses that he couldn't do something because of it and that's what we all need to do. I was definitely crying after that presentation. I cannot even begin to tell you how touched I was that he did that for us. Touched isn't even the right word. My heart felt like it was going to burst because I felt so much love. I am truely amazed everytime I hear of how Rheese touched so many people's lives. This little boy made such an impact on people in his short life. I was talking to Kimball afterward and he asked me if it was ok that he added the Mickey ears. Of course, they are perfect!
Rheese with his Scout leaders, Jared Bates and Kimball Washburn.

You'll Be Poor

Tonight we were at my parents' house and this story came up that I had to include on here. George told it at the funeral but it needs to be written. Rheese was very concerned about his cousin, Brandon, not being married and being 25. He used to ask me all the time when Brandon was going to get married. Well, one day he told Brandon that if he didn't get married by the time he was 30 then he was going to be poor. LOL! And he was completely serious. I don't know where he would come up with things like this but he did often. We now like to remind Brandon that he better find someone because he doesn't want to be poor. What a funny boy!

5 months

It's been 5 months today since we laid our little Rheese to rest.  Since those days in March we have been very aware of what day it is each month, whether it be the 11th or the 16th, until this one.  None of us recognized the significance of the 11th of August until a few days later.  I was upset with myself for not remembering but then we wondered if it is a sign that we are healing just a little.  I know I thought about Rheese that day because I do everyday but I must have been thinking of his beautiful smile or his infectious laugh instead of remembering the day he left for his home above.  Most days I wonder if the hurt will ever go away or if I can make it however many years until I can see him again, so maybe our forgetting the 11th, at least this one time, means that it will.  I don't think it will be for awhile, but maybe it will happen someday.  We miss you and love you Rheesey!!
-Niki

Heart Camp

I was at Wal Mart the other day and as I was paying for my stuff the cashier asked me if the bracelet I had on was a Rheese bracelet. I was a little shocked but said that it was. I did not recognize this lady and my mind was trying to figure out who she was. I then remembered a similar experience my dad had a few months ago and that it was Caitlyn's mom. Caitlyn is the girl that Rheese had a crush on. He would blush when he would talk about her. She also has a heart defect. After remembering my dad's story I asked her if she was Caitlyn's mom and she said yes. She asked how I was doing and I told her I was doing ok but there were definitely hard times. Then I asked how Caitlyn was doing and her answer was the same as mine. She then told me that Caitlyn was going to heart camp at the end of the month. This heart camp is on Catalina Island in California and Rheese really wanted to go to it. We thought about it last year but it made me a little nervous sending him off alone since he was only 10 yrs. old. We were going to try for this year. Wouldn't it have been fun for them to go together. But anyway, she told me that Caitlyn had Rheese's name put on her bag for camp in green rhinestones and she also has a Goofy on her bag. I was so touched. It meant so much to me that this little girl still thought about Rheese and wanted to remember him and take him with her. I am still amazed at how many people my little boy touched in his short life. As I left Wal Mart I had tears streaming down my face. How grateful I am for the Lord's tender mercies.

I'm Peanut Butter and You Are Jelly

I love this video of Rheese and I treasure it so much because it shows how much he loves his baby brother, Troy. Rheese loved to sing to Troy and he loved to hear it. This is the song he sang most of the time. It is by InsideOut and he sings it just the way they do. I had tried to record him once but missed it and never had the chance to try again. It wasn't something that could be set up, it needed to just happen. Right after Rheese died and we were still at the hospital, Trevor showed us this video that he had captured on his phone. My heart soared! I was so grateful that he had it. You can see the love in his smile. What a special moment between brothers.

Rheese's Funeral

I thought I should warn you before your proceed that there are pictures of Rheese after he passed away. I hesitated before I posted them because I didn't know how it would affect some people but then I decided to include them because they are part of his story. I carefully picked which ones to include. I think he looks beautiful in them all.

This is Rheese's casket but it isn't the one we ordered. I was a little upset when I saw that it wasn't the right one but it was still a beautiful casket. Unfortunately, since the funeral was the next morning they weren't able to send us the right one. Our family after we dressed Rheese for the last time. This was such a beautiful experience. I didn't know what to expect or if I'd be able to do it but it was so wonderful to be able to take care of my little boy one last time. I know that when all my kids were little and I was always dressing them or doing their hair or cleaning them up that it became a chore. But when you know it is the last time you truely treasure every moment. I know George and I didn't want to leave. We wanted it to last as long as possible.
Rheese's beautiful casket and flowers. I chose this bouquet because it had all of the kids favorite colors in it. Purple=Cassy, Orange=Chad, Yellow=Seth, Green=Rheese, Red=Lane (Troy doesn't have one yet ; ).) Daddy saying good-bye, one last time.Mom's last kiss until we meet again in heaven.Our last family picture.

You can see that there is a little Goofy in with Rheese to keep him company : ).Dad, Mom and TroyChadSethLane

Special musical number, God Be With You Till We Meet Again Our family releasing our balloons first.
Everyone else releasing them.
The balloons floating to heaven.
The lid of the vault.

Our Little Boy, Rheesey

Rheese was born on February 9, 2000 with multiple heart defects. He underwent 6 heart surgeries along with various other surgeries in his short time on earth. Rheese was a happy little boy. There was something about him that made you smile. He was also a very smart little boy. He asked questions that most of us never would have thought of asking and I didn't know the answer many times. In school, his favorite subject was Social Studies, specifically American History. He would come home and tell us the things he learned. I remember one time we were sitting at the dinner table, Rheese must have been in 2nd grade, and he started talking to us about the White House. He told us all about the fire and the year it happened. He told us about some of the presidents that lived there. He talked for quite a while. I remember sitting there in awe thinking that I couldn't believe that a 7 yr. old was telling us all of this. He also loved the Statue of Liberty. Rheese could tell you what all the symbolism was on her, like the 7 spikes on her crown represented the 7 continents. He liked to talk about her and hoped to one day see her in person. The closest he got was the one in Las Vegas at New York, New York. When George and I went back east in 2009, we got to see the Statue of Liberty. We got a Christmas ornament with her on it and Rheese made sure he got to put it on the tree each year.

Rheese also had a great love for all things Disney. I've always been a huge Disney fan but not like Rheese. He thought about it all the time. He wanted to be an Imagineer when he grew up so that he could design new rides. He couldn't wait to meet Walt Disney and talk to him about Disneyland and I'm sure that he has done just that. I can just imagine him getting up to heaven and saying, "Where's Walt? We need to talk." His 2nd trip to Disneyland was when he was 3 yrs. old. It was just one day and it rained nonstop until evening. It was also crowded. Don't believe people who say that Dis is empty when it rains. We spent most of the day trying to get from ride to ride as quickly as possible or sitting where it was covered. I don't remember how long after that trip this next conversation started happening but it was a while. I'm thinking like 6 mo. to a year. So he comes to me one day and wanted to talk about Dis. He brings up a ride, I don't remember which one but I'm pretty sure it was one in Fantasyland. He then says, "Don't you go this way, this way and this way to get to ____ from____?" I thought about it and I couldn't believe that he had the right directions to the ride. He did it with a few other ones too. He had been there one day, in the rain, while it was crowded a long time before and this 3 or 4 yr. old could tell me exactly where things were? I was shocked, in awe, impressed, surprised and many other things. It was after this that he wanted to talk about Dis all the time. I remember laying on my bed with my eyes closed and opening my eyes only to find Rheese sitting there staring at me. He would say, "You wanna talk about it?" That was code for: Let me talk at you about Dis. He would give us walk thrus on the rides. He would ask why Walt put certain rides in certain places or why he made things the color they were or other questions I couldn't answer. He didn't really want the answer, I don't think, he just liked to talk. Rheese's favorite character was Goofy. When we went to DisneyWorld he got this big, floppy Goofy hat that was way too big for him. It made me laugh when he would wear it. He was so proud to wear that hat. It was so cute!