Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Anyone need a last minute Christmas gift idea?

Sunday, December 21, 2008

I was tagged and my assignment from Heidi was to post the 6th picture from the 6th picture folder on my computer and give you a little background. Like Heidi, my 6th folder only had 4 pictures, so I am just posting all of them.

What you are seeing is from February 4, 2008. It was not a special outing or a special day, just a glimpse into the usual to me, but unusual to most, regular happenings in our house with 3 girls in the middle of a long Minnesota winter when creativity is running wild. I think the girls were playing horse and I am not sure what Macie was exactly..she may have been a disobedient horse who needed to get back into the stable or just an innocent bystander. But as you can see she plays right along with the big girls and apart from the apparent risks she takes to her own life, she seems to have a pretty good time. I would also like to note that Tori is NOT wearing her own pajamas, and I was apparently not in the mood to fight that battle, so excuse the extra snugness on her boo-tay. And the last note, unfortunately for you, what you don't get from the pictures is the sound of hearty laughter and uncontrollable giggles that accompany the games the girls play--it is one of the sweetest sounds in all my life and one I hope echoes through our house a long time.

Thanks for tagging Heidi...I always enjoy a stroll down memory lane.






I am also a rule follower...so I will tag 4 more people:

1. Tara Chapman (just cuz...I know you are a sucker for these games)
2. Amy Johnson Samo (it has been waaaayyyy too long since your last post)
3. Becky Leatherman Adams (because you love stuff like this and take great pictures)
4. Amy DeMaranville Bottomly (an excuse to see a cute picture of Silas)

Oh and Jamie wanted me to tag Eric, because HE SAID all you do is post pictures anyway....


Your instructions:
1. Find your sixth picture folder and in that folder, the sixth picture
2. Post it on your blog with some of the background of the picture
3. Tag four others and leave a comment on their blog to let them know they've been tagged

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Our house is pretty quiet these last few days. The girls are still here in all of their girl glory, but last week we had some special Ohio visitors (Jamie's sister and fam) and our house was full--There were 4 adults and 7 kids age 7 and under. ;) We had a great time showing them our MN world and it was great to get some quality time with all of them.

Dustin tackled several of our house "safety violations"....

The two toddler terrors took turns taking treats off each others trays...



Isabelle and Kaylee played and played and played...



We took down at least five of the 6 pack and a pounds from Taco Johns...Dustin is quite obsessed.


My girl Lydia (who calls me "mom") She is crazy, but cute...


Aunt Penny spared me a week of helping Tori with homework....Thank you!


And Carter...well, the picture just says it all...


I spent lots of time loving on my new nephew, Abraham James (he and I even snuck in a nap by the light of the Christmas tree with Christmas music serenading us) mmmm...Christmas heaven!!!!



WE LOVE OUR COUSINS!!!!!

Thursday, December 11, 2008



I for Imagination--I have found few children that can rival the creative mind that my Ponsi has...she even has her own Ponsi World where she goes and plays with a family of giraffes and a family of bunnies.

S for Smile--Ponsi has a sweet and contagious smile with one precious little dimple that makes her whole face light up.

A for Animals--So far, Isabelle has not found much interest in sports, but she is in love with animals. One of the highlights of her year this year was taking classes at the nature center and learning all about little animals and nature. Right now, she wants to be a zookeeper when she grows up.

B for Bears--Ponsi finally got her turn and is a Washburn Elementary Bear. She had been living vicariously through Tori for two years and is so excited to share with us her very own school adventures.

E for Endorphins--It is Ponsi's job in our house to be the Endorphin raiser (I am not really sure the real science behind it) But...if you are low on endorphins, Ponsi knows it is her job to give you one of her famous hugs and that makes everything a little better.

L for Little Gretchen--I love all my daughters equally, but I do love that there is one who looks and acts a lot like me when I was a little girl. It is our special bond together and makes her quite the soft spot for her Daddy.

L for la, la, la--Okay, the acrostic may be a stretch, but the "la" represents Ponsi's love for singing. It is not uncommon for me to find her with her microphone putting on a concert on her bed/ stage. She sings the way she lives--uninhibited, perfectly confident and comfortable in who she is.

E for Endearing--Everyone loves Ponsi and often people feel the need to just pick her up. I don't know if it is her petite size or that smile or that laugh or what, but she endears herself to people almost immediately. I should know...she endeared herself to me instantaneously 6 years ago today and she becomes more dear to me with each passing day.

Happy Birthday Ponsi! I love you!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

I wrote a Psalm/poem recently and Jamie posted it on the Consumed Website....he has a very strict policy about double posting so I am not allowed to post it here, but if you want to read it, you can click here. There is also a great Christmas poem (written by Rob Stearns) there as well if you are in the mood to read something new on the holiday season.

I hope you are enjoying your December...

Thursday, December 04, 2008





These were some of those "warm your heart" moments. I got to spend almost an entire day with my very dear friend Tara while we were in Ohio. Ronsi and her daughter Rory were like two peas in a pod...we just know they would be BFF's if they lived closer to each other and her son Jake, well, I just love that kid!

Monday, December 01, 2008

Yesterday was a long day...We drove (well, Jamie drove and I trip managed--which is totally a blog for another day) but we were in the car for 13 and a half hours through snow, sleet, slush, rain and an obscene amount of Thanksgiving holiday traffic. When we finally arrived home we were tired, freezing (because we had turned our heat down while we were gone) and a little sad to be away from family in Ohio.

We normally set up the Christmas tree when we get home and we considered waiting until today, but knowing it is a short season we pushed through and carried on with our usual tradition. Jamie and I started the traditional assembling of our little tree we bought our first Christmas together 12 years ago from Rave Garden Center in Clarks Summit, PA. Jamie and Tori hung the lights as we listened to Gene Autry's Christmas Cowboy CD and Isabelle and I unwrapped all the precious ornaments that we have collected over the years. I even started to well up as I unwrapped the little globe ornament given to us by our first landlords--it has a picture of "the cave"--Jamie and I's first apartment. And then as we turned off all the lights and the girls counted down for the first official lighting of the 2008 Miller Family Christmas tree, I took a deep breath and thought to myself...

All is well, All is well
Let their be peace on earth
Christ has come, go and tell
That He is in the manger
Sing Hal-le, Hal-le-lu-jah





Merry Christmas Season to all of you...I hope you find the time to soak every blessed moment in and to share the wonderful gift of Jesus with the world around you!