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!!!