One of my Favorite Gifts

One of my favorite gifts this year was this beautiful bowl hand made by my eldest son Tyler. He made it in Art class at school and it matches perfectly the lantern of his that we purchased last month at the MRLH auction! These are the kind of things that will be treasured forever. I try not to think about it too much, but in 2&1/2 years Tyler will be gone...out of the house...away at college. I know that my children are precious gifts, given to me for a time (a very short time), by God. And even though I know that my job is only to raise them to become men of God and then to let them go, I really do not look forward to that day! I love you Tyler and Justin!

Warrior Basketball

Another Warrior basketball game with Justin leading the team! Justin #32 is having a good time this season. He is learning alot as the season progresses. We enjoy watching him (and the team) play. Justin has great moves out on the court! He really is a natural! GO WARRIORS!

Christmas at the P-D's

Christmas is always a wonderful time of family get togethers! Christmas Eve we go to mom and dad's house for a dinner of Swedish meatballs! We all caravan to their church in Olympia for the Candlelight service. After that we all gather at Mark and Gwen's house to open gifts. It is so nice that they open their home for all 17 of us to be able to be comfortable while we open gifts. The boys are getting easier to shop for as they get older. The gifts they want cost a lot more so they don't get as many...right! If only that were true. Every time I went out to shop for other people I ended up with more for my 2!

This year, along with their Christmas gifts, we got a special throw blanket for dad and mom. Dad drives my boys (and the carpool) to school on the days that I work. We really appreciate this and got them a little something to say "Thanks!". Earlier in the year, for my parents 40th anniversary the whole family got professional pictures taken. They turned out beautifully and we used the one of them and the grandchildren to put on the throw blanket. It turned out really well!

Christmas morning we open our gifts from "Santa" and then have mom and dad and Daniel over for brunch. After this we go over to James parents house for the afternoon.

We were all overly blessed with gifts as usual, but cannot forget the best gift of all that was given to us all so many years ago...when God sent His son to earth as a tiny babe that would become our Savior! Happy Birthday Jesus!

Merry Christmas from the P-D's

Hey,we just made total elves of ourselves. Check it out by clicking the link below.
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1475142384

Warrior Basketball

Warrior basketball has begun. Justin enjoys being on the basketball team. He is one of the team captains. He plays in the guard position. They rely on him for throw ins and to bring the ball down the court as well as all his baskets!!!. He may be the 2nd shortest on the team, but what he lacks in height he makes up for with skills! He really is a good player and puts his whole self into the game! It makes me so nervous to watch him flying down the court and being knocked down by his opponents. But he just pops right back up like nothing happened and continues the game! GO WARRIORS!!!

WHO IS THAT???

There is not a stranger living at our house...it is just Tyler with a haircut! Ty has been growing his hair out for about a year. He talked about getting a haircut after school pictures were taken. Well, pictures were taken on Friday, December 7. Last night he decided it was time for a haircut. He wanted to shave his head like his dad's. We were going to use the scissors to get some of the "bulk" off so that we could use the razor without it eating up his hair. After 2 cuts with the scissors HE CHANGED HIS MIND!!! I am not a hairstylist and have no skills there so I was not sure what to do! After a panicked phone call to my hairstylist she suggested coming down this morning and she would fix it for us. She did a great job (Thanks Martina!) and he is happy with the outcome. I was rather fond of the long hair myself and was sorry to see it go. NEVER FEAR...he is growing it back for the next soccer season. Go Hawks!!! IT WILL BE BACK!!!

Annual Gingerbread House

Today was the day that our gingerbread house was created. I buy the kit from Costco and the boys do all the work. Tyler asked "Do I have to?" I tried to explain to him that sometimes you do things that you feel you are too old for just to make your mom happy. He then agreed to do his part. Max (our yellow lab) watched carefully as Justin worked on his part. I think that he was waiting for something to be dropped for him to clean up. It turned out to be a very nice house. It is one of those traditions that I enjoy having the boys do...no matter how old they get to be! Merry Christmas!!!

Miller clan rocks with Switchfoot & Relient K

Tonight Tyler went to the Switchfoot & Relient K concert in Everett with his Uncle Mark (in green), Uncle Daniel (in blue) and cousin Noah (in blue). They have been eagerly waiting for this concert since they bought the tickets months ago! I asked him what the highlight of the concert was and he said "The whole thing...it was awesome!". Sounds like a great time of male-bonding was had by all!

Swedish Pancake Breakfast

This morning we were able to go to the Swedish pancake breakfast at the Swedish Cultural Center in Seattle. Our cousin Calle is here from Sweden and works at Microsoft. He has been inviting us to this breakfast for quite some time but we hadn't been able to go until now. It was alot of fun. The pancakes were good and the atmosphere was festive. There was Swedish folk dancing that was fun to watch. Calle is an excellent dancer and teaches dance as well. I was content to watch but was compelled by Calle to try it out. Poor Calle! I told him that I would just move my feet and he would have to push me around! There were a couple girls that wanted to dance with Justin, but he was not up for that. (Although he did agree to try it out with Calle!). Calle even got my mom out on the dance floor for a turn around the floor.

Tyler and my dad were the only two that didn't dance! it really was alot of fun!!!

JUSTIN: Warrior Pride

About a week ago I received a call from Justin's school. As I looked at the caller ID on the phone I wondered what he had gotten himself into this time! To my surprise it was a gal in the office that works with the promotional aspects of the school. She asked for permission to have Justin (as well as other kids) in some photos to be used for advertisement in the Tacoma News Tribune! I agreed and didn't expect to see the picture until it was in the ad in the paper in January. Today I went to the school website and to my surprise who was staring back at me? Yes, Justin!!! To see the picture go to http://www.concordiatacoma.com/ and click on "classrooms" and there he is! Isn't he handsome?!?!

MRLH 1st Annual Auction

Mount Rainier Lutheran High had their 1st annual Auction last night. Holly was the decorations committee chairperson, in charge of the nights decorations. The table decor was simple but beautiful. The art students created the centerpieces on a pottery wheel. They were clay lamps that the kids created and then cut out shapes on the sides to let candle light shine through. Tyler is in Art2 and he created the piece shown in the picture. The pieces were auctioned off during the evening and guess who went home with this one? That's right...I did! I owe a BIG "thanks" to Mr. Scearce, the art teacher, for all his work on helping the kids with these pieces! It really made my job easy! We put the whole auction together in 49 days and had a goal of $20,000. At the end of the night, before the centerpiece $ was figured in we had made $37,000. for the schools extraciricular activities! Quite a success!

Hawks Fall Sports Awards Night

Thursday night we attended the Hawks sports awards. (Tyler is pictured with Coach Kirchenberg). Although the team didn't have any wins this season, they improved dramatically. At the beginning of the season they were losing by 7,8,9 points. The end of the season brought losses of only 2 or 3. This was a great season of growth for the team and we look forward to next year.

Correction: Warriors Semi-undefeated...

The Warriors had a kids vs. the parents game to finish off the season. James was able to get off work early and was able to play with Justin. The parents won the game! I don't know how that happened...a bunch of old folks who haven't played in years beat an undefeated team...the kids must have felt sorry for them and played easy. It was a fun game and the kids tried out different positions than they normally play. Justin got to try his hand at goalie. I think he realized he is just too short!

Warriors Finish Undefeated!

The Concordia Warriors finished their season UNDEFEATED!!! This team really played well together and played as a TEAM! James and Max (our Yellow Lab) watch the last game. max was not happy being on the sidelines! He wanted to be out on the field running alongside Justin! The coach was excellent, always very positive and really was able to get the players to play well together. We have been blessed to have EXCELLENT coaches for both of our boys soccer teams! WE LOVE OUR WARRIORS!

Keep your eyes on the overpasses!

Have you heard the horror stories of people driving along and something being dropped on them from an overpass above? Well, Tyler and I have experienced it firsthand! We were driving on the freeway and heard a loud bang like something exploded. Tyler, in the front passenger seat, was covered by a cloud of glass dust. We were very fortunate that the glass was not in bigger pieces or he could have been hurt badly. We definately felt that God's hand of protection was on us at this time when we really needed it! We were pretty shaken up but not hurt! PTL!

Warrior Flag Football!

The Concordia Warriors played in a flag football tournament today! The school's league is considering starting flag football next year and had this jamboree today to see what the interest would be. (Pictured: Mac, Casey and Justin). Justin's team only had 3 practices. They WON all three of their games today though! The last game started off with Justin receiving the first pass and returning the ball the whole length of the field for a touchdown! Justin finished the game with 2 more touchdowns! He scored 18 of the teams 35 points, leading the team to a 35-19 victory! Justin's team did well in all 3 of their games. Justin's cousin Noah had a real football game today and they won as well! A winning day for Miller clan football!

A Hawk in Flight!

Tyler (#24) in action!!! Mr. Scearce, the art teacher at MRLH, takes the soccer pictures during the season. He took this picture at the last game...WOW!!! Look at Tyler in motion! Unfortunately it was another loss, but WE SCORED!!! That goal was as good as a win to the parents gathered on the sidelines to cheer on our Hawks! We love our team!!

Gals weekend away from it all!!!

This past weekend I went to the Women of Faith conference in Portland, OR. I go every year with my mom and a couple of friends! This year only Marta was able to go with us. It is a wonderful weekend of speakers, worship music, drama, a comedian, concert by Sandi Patty, and a concert by Nicole Nordeman. We head down on Thursday night and attend the conference all day on Friday and all day on Saturday. We stay over til Sunday and SHOP!!! This year mom's birthday fell on the Saturday that we were down there. Marta got some individual cakes from a bakery and we surprised mom with a mini-party! It was so much fun. It is a great time to get away from it all and to be able to learn from the speakers! They all have life stories that make you wonder how they can be so positive and inspiring...but when you hear them you will know that it is only through God's grace that they are able to share their experiences. I would highly recommend this conference to anyone!!!

Cousins!!!

What a great shot of the Miller cousins! Growing up my brothers and I had no cousins. Mom and Dad were both only children, we had grandparents in the area but no COUSINS! I can remember my friends talking about going somewhere or doing something with their cousins and never experiencing that myself. I am so glad that my children have cousins and that we are all close together! (Pictured: (L to R) Tyler, Noah, Evan, Lila, Ethan, Justin, Abigail and Cole). It is also pretty special to be "Auntie Holly"!!!

Millers Know How To Party

We had quite the celebration today at the Miller's! We had gotten pretty far behind in our birthday celebrations...we had 7 to catch up on!!! The birthdays were: (as pictured L to R) my brother Tim ( Aug. 29), my cousin Calle (July 10), my mom Carol (Oct. 13), our good friend Marie (Aug.21), my sister-in-law Gwen (July 23), Justin (Oct. 11) and my nephew Noah (Sept. 14). WOW!!! We decided to have one big party! It was a lot of fun. We ended up with 22 people attending! We enjoyed a potluck dinner and lots of desserts! We had 3 different kinds of cakes, pumpkin pie, my sister-in-law Jen's chocolate no-bake cookies and ice cream! The food was good but the company was the BEST!!! It is always a good time when we all get together. We are blessed that we all live in the same area and are able to get together regularly...though sometimes not regularly enough. Time goes by so quickly...enjoy every opportunity you have to be with your loved ones! Make memories!!! Thank God for every day you have together! I know I do!!!

Hawks Never Give Up!!!

The MRLHS Hawks had another game today! It was up in Kirkland, which is where our cousin Calle lives. He came to watch the game with us and then we went out to PIZZA!!! Sadly, it was another loss for the Hawks, but it was a much closer and better played game than any other! We won't give up on our Hawks and know that they will come up with a win any time now!!!

Warrior Soccer Rocks!!!

Today was Justin's official 1st game of the season! They played Holy Trinity School from Seattle. The Warriors were hot!!! They played well together as a team and came out victorious 4-2 over the Tigers! Justin (#25) was great in both positions the coach had him in...he started the game as a defender and later switched over to forward. He has excellent ball handling skills and is able to keep the ball away from his opponent. Grandma Carol and Grandpa Clyde came to cheer him on! It was another beautiful day for soccer. We have been really lucky with good weather every game so far!

HAWKS play on in Yakima!

Another beautiful day for a soccer game! Today's game was in Yakima...a 2&1/2 hour drive away. Tyler had to be at school at 6am to ride over on the bus. The girls volleyball teams had games there as well so they all went together. The volleyball games were this morning and the soccer game was at 2pm. We left Tacoma at around 9:30am and followed the directions to find an empty parking lot! After calling Tyler, we found out the volleyball games had been reassigned to another location! When we finally arrived, we found out that the bus had broken down and that the soccer team had no way to get to the location of their game. James and the athletic director, Mr. Syverson, rushed off to try to find the part for the bus. Meanwhile a mechanic showed up and was able to fix the problem! The boys were late to their game, but were still able to give it their all and play! (Joel, Tyler, and Daniel are pictured). Tyler played most of the second half and has really shown a lot of improvement. Although it ended up being another loss, this team is not made up of quitters and they played their best to the very end! Coach Kirchenberg and the whole team can be proud of their good sportsmanship! They truly are a team that brings honor to God!

GO WARRIORS!!!

Today was Justin's 1st soccer game! It was a non-league scrimmage between the Concordia Lutheran boy's team and girl's team. Justin's team won the game 6-3! It was a very exciting game! Most of the time Justin plays the defender position, but he will also play as a forward when needed. Justin has been blessed with the God-given ability to play sports and to play them well. He definitely takes after his father in that area. This should be a great season! We can't wait for more games!! Go WARRIORS!!

A Day on the Lake

Today we were able to spend the day at American Lake with Grandpa Greg. He has a boat on the lake. The boys each brought a friend along and they were able to swim, go inner tubing and wake boarding. (Justin in the picture on the tube). Grandpa Greg always takes his time with Justin, teaching him the correct way to wake board. The weather was perfect and although the water was rough, a great time was had by all!!!

Go Hawks!

Today was Tyler's

first soccer game for the season. The Mount Rainier Lutheran Hawks vs. Shoreline Christian. Tyler (#24) had a nice attempt on the goal but their goalie stopped it! Bummer! Unfortunately we lost the game, but not our enthusiasm! The team gave a standing ovation to their loyal fans and then bowed their heads to thank God for the perfect day and for their ability to play the game! The team has a great coach. He is a young teacher that the guys (and gals) on the team can really relate to. He is always positive and encouraging towards the players! A true role model for the kids to follow!

God in a hamburger hat?

Tyler asked me to take a picture of him in this hat and print it so he could take it to school. For his religion class he had to take a picture of himself in a hat he thinks God would wear. When I asked him why he thought God would wear this hat he said "Well, God obviously has a sense of humor...He created the hippo and the giraffe. I think He would wear this hat!" You are right Tyler, God has a great sense of humor, and He wants us to enjoy His creation!

School Days!!

Today was the boys 1st day of school. Tyler is in 10th grade at Mount Rainier Lutheran High School. Justin is in 7th grade at Concordia Lutheran School. They both are playing soccer this season, which will be a first for us. In the past they have played different sports at different times of the year. I am looking forward to a car FULL of kids, running from school to the field and back again! I love being a "soccer mom".