We did it!

We made it through our first football/cheer season. (Well, except for our awards banquet, which is tomorrow night). And, in what will seem like a very short time, we'll do it all again :-) Only, hopefully it will be a bit easier the second time around.

We are honored that our franchise is featured in our local newspaper this month. Here is the link if you have a few minutes to spare.

Practice for Cheer Competition

Abby's cheer team is having their year-end cheer competition this weekend. During last Thursday's practice, Mark had all of the players and their parents come into the gym to watch them have their final practice before their big day.

All of the girls did such a great job. They have worked so hard this year and it really showed in their performance. And, yes, Abby was amazing. Really, she was. And no, I'm not a bit prejudice. I know this because everyone else told me so. I just happen to agree wholeheartedly.

First Day of School for the Miller Boys!

We have two middle-schoolers! How can that be? Noah is now in 7th grade, and Ethan in 6th, so they both attend our local middle school. Ethan has been home-schooled for the past two years, so this is a big adjustment for him. Noah is a middle school pro now, but still has all new teachers this year (except for band). I am so excited for them to get home (they rode their bikes together) and tell me all about their first day. They should be home in approximately 21 minutes!

And our baby started first grade today! This is Cole's first experience with all-day school as he went to half-day kindergarten last year. He was so excited and brave and confident this morning. I love it! I can't wait to hear all about his day, too, when I pick him up from school in 1 hour and 14 minutes! (Except maybe the part about how thirsty he is because his dorky mom forgot to put his water bottle in his lunch today...oops!)

I am home-schooling Abby this year, but she doesn't officially start until next Tuesday. Mark took her on a little shopping run this afternoon, though, to get some last minute supplies for art class.

Homemade chocolate chip cookies are just out of the oven...I can't wait to share them with the loves of my life as they share their days with me.

It's been a long road since January, but you've made your dream become a reality,
and I'm so very proud of you!

Portland Zoo

So thankful for a much-needed (football-free) family day!!

Cole's First Baseball Game

Amazing

Abby is amazing. She always has been. It's the way our God created her. She is the most empathetic person I know. She is the only person I know who physically feels other people's pain and suffering. Since she was little, she would feel such sadness when we talked of Jesus dying on the cross for her sins, because she would actually feel physical pain in the palms of her hands when we talked about it.

She talks to her friends at school about her Jesus. Her goal for 2010 was to know God more, by reading her Bible and praying more.

Earlier this week, I found a note from Abby on my pillow when I went to get into bed. It said:

Dear Mom and Dad,
Come in my room. I might be asleep but please write somewhere the answers to the questions I wrote on my white board.
Love,
Abby

When I went into her room, this is what she had written on her board:
1. How often do you see homeless people?
2. Could I save money to buy Bibles for homeless people, so I can give them to them and tell them, "Read these stories. They are true."
3. Will you help me save money to buy the Bibles?

See, I told you she was amazing.

I've told her that I think we should save money as a family to buy Bibles, and then pass them out along with some sandwiches, in downtown Oly or Tacoma. Any of you locals want to join us?

Easter Sunday at The GraceWorks

Third (and final!) Retainer

Cole just got his new retainer on Thursday. He is doing such a great job with it! His speech is just a tiny bit slurred, but I know that will improve quickly with how well he is already doing.

Noah and Ethan both also had retainers, so we feel like we're kind of experts at it by now. Thankfully, Abby's bite corrected itself when her permanent teeth started coming in, so the dentist feels she doesn't need one.

Another year or so and we'll start all over again with braces! Oh, Grandpa, why can't you just move out here and be our personal orthodontist?!?! :-)

Changes

Our family hasn't experienced a ton of huge changes over the last few years. Adding homeschooling to our schedule was certainly an adjustment. And having dear friends move away has been difficult. But, we've lived in the same house for over 6 years (a record for us!), we haven't had another baby in over 6 years :-), we've gone to the same church for almost 9 years, Mark has had the same job for over 12 years, I have worked at home now for over 7 years. And now, 2010 is going to rock our world, I think...

We have decided to join The GraceWorks, a new church plant - daughter church, really, of our current church. We are so excited about this new adventure and can't wait to see how God is going to bless this church. But, it's also going to be a big change for us, and a lot of work, too!


And, as of Sunday evening, Mark is now the franchise head coach of the new TCYFL Steilacoom-DuPont Sentinels. Again, the thought of creating a brand new football/cheerleading franchise in our hometown is so exciting...and amazingly overwhelming! The lists of things to do just keep growing and growing.

I'll admit that the unknown of exactly what lies ahead for us this next year is a scary thing for me. But with all of the changes and unknowns, it is so comforting to me to know that we serve a God who does not change; who is the same yesterday, today and forever.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Anderson Island

Kindergarten Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Ethan's 1st Day of School

And, finally, Ethan's first day of school! I am homeschooling Ethan again this year, and we are also using WAVA (Washington Virtual Academy) again. The beginning of this year is so much easier than last year, just knowing what to expect and not having everything being new and scary. However, even though Ethan is in 5th grade, he is doing 6th grade science, history and art this year... so we'll see how the 6th grade science experiments go as the year progresses :-)

And, yes, he is barefoot in the front door picture, because, well, he isn't going anywhere :-)

Cole's 1st Day of Kindergarten

The last one! Our baby started kindergarten today!

Our conversation when I picked him up:
Me: How was your first day, buddy?
Cole: Great!
Me: What did you do?
Cole: Stuff.
Me: Who did you play with at recess?
Cole: You know.
Me: What did you do in class?
Cole: Stuff.

Boys! So goofy! Good thing I have one daughter who will give me an account of every minute of every day!

Pirate Day

Noah attended Pirate Day at Pioneer Middle School today. He rode his bike there with friends, and Mark & I met him there later. He saw tons of old friends and learned lots of new information. He is so excited to be back in school. Mark is calm, yet excited for him, too. I am ... I don't know what I am ... my mother's heart is filled with too many emotions to put into words. I can't believe my baby is old enough to be in middle school, and I feel like this is the beginning of starting to let him go. Yet, I am proud of the young man that he is becoming, and I'm excited to see how this new adventure will cause him to grow and mature. I am praying God's protection over him. I am praying he will make wise, God-honoring choices. I am praying he will show the love of Jesus and be bold in his faith. And... for Noah's sake, I am praying I don't cry on his first day of school.

Summer Fun

We had so much fun on Anderson Island this summer. We were hoping to be able to get over there one more time before school started, but we are seriously running out of days! With football already going strong three days a week, it's hard to fit much of anything else in.

port orchard play-time...

ethan, mattie abby and biz with some big wooden fishing man...

ethan looking at the birds...

noah and colton looking at the ships across the harbor...

cole checking out the boats...

abby and biz...

cole and mattie...

back from the beach...

we just got back from 3 days at ocean shores... the kids loved the special time with grandpa and grandma from north dakota...
ill post more pictures tomorrow...

post #1 from disneyland...

i cant believe we are two days into this great vacation already... and we are having so much fun...(justin, cole, abby, pluto, noah, ethan, and tyler)

my family is so excited to be sharing this time with so many family and friends...

my mom and dad, and frank and jill are keeping up with us just fine... we so love having them here...

my sister holly and her family (justin in photo) and my brother daniel...

an excursion to seabrook... #1

neil and karla pose with gwen and the kids for this photo...

me and the family...

abby writing a note to send out in a bottle...

karla helped seal the bottles with wax...

abby and cole looking cute...

abby and ethan looking into the frog pond...

ethan and cole in a little tree trunk we found...

we had a great day adventure and cant wait to do it again soon.... thanks neil and karla...