Happy Anniversary....

Okay....two quick things. 1. I have no idea why all the pictures are so small - except for the one of me. 2. I don't know how to get it to put the pictures next to each other so you get a long line of tiny pics. Hopefully you can see what they are.

O, Christmas Tree...

We took our tree down today. It was leaning and dropping needles. All season we have said we are going to buy a fake one for next year but thus far we have not. I figure we should wait until we see our new house. A tree we buy for this house might not be appropriate for a the new house. Speaking of houses. There is a house I really want but it is really out of our price range. Just if that debt was all taken care of... I love this house and I think it is perfect for our family.

Anyhoo....I don't even know why I went down the "we are going to buy a house" road.

I wanted to talk about Christmas gifts. We had a really nice Christmas. I love giving. Some day, when we are rich, I am going to buy people stuff all the time. I won't buy junk just to buy junk but stuff that people need. I can't wait.

I received some great gifts for Christmas this year. Of course, I got many things for the kitchen: a cast iron griddle/grill (one that goes across two burners!), a cast iron wedge pan (for cornbread) and two attachments for my kitchenaid (the ice cream maker & slicer/shredder). Jake & I also got many gift certificates and a Kodak digital picture frame (a ten inch one....it is nice). Oh....I also got my first power tool!!! It is a Craftsman Rotary Tool. I am so excited. I have big plans for it.

The kids were, of course, spoiled beyond belief. Toys, books, cds....we do need that house. Nana made them really nice bean bag chairs. They take up most of our living room. I tried to hide them in the corner but the kids insist on keeping them out. Jude thinks he is Spider Man so he keeps jumping from one to another. Elise got TONS of Hello Kitty stuff.

I had to abandon many handmade gifts this year due to lack of time. I did, however, give out those little clothespin dolls I made. I don't know if anyone really liked them....I think they did. I made calendars again for my Mom & Linda. Instead of buying the kit like I did last year, I actually designed my own. It probably cost the same, and took way more time but the finished product was better and had a lot more photos. I ran out of time so I still own them each February. I plan to do that this week.

I did buy a few gifts at Goodwill. I know it may sound tacky but it was good stuff. Baskets to put stuff in, cookbooks, scrapbooks, picture frames.... Pretty much all the stuff was brand new. I don't think anyone minded. I love finding deals.

I am planning to do a big craft show next November. I am going to have to work on it all year. Hopefully, it will help me stay on track with some of these Christmas ideas I have. Every year I say....if I only had started sooner. So this year I am!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Samsonite

Hey, Wanna go look at the Christmas lights???

Wow, Christmas is over. It went so fast this year. Usually we celebrate for like two weeks but this year it was all squished into 5 days. I don't really feel that post Christmas let down so that is good. We ended up having a great time with both our families during Christmas. I'm sure I will be telling you all about it in the next few posts. We went to West Virginia for a Christmas in the hundred acre woods. It was nice but short. We are always in some sort of rush while we are down there. Hopefully soon we can come down and just relax. We had our Christmas celebration (i.e. feasting and exchanging gifts....then more eating) on Sunday. There had been talk about going for a drive and looking at the Christmas lights. It had rained on Sunday and all NINE kids had been cooped up in the house all day, so it sounded like a great idea. So, we loaded into three minivans and headed for the hills. Before we set off, Jake let his dad know that we were almost out of gas. We have this little electronic thingy that tells us how many miles we have until empty. It said 30 miles when we left. Paul said we would stop at this little station at the end of seven mile road - which is not so ironically seven miles long. That shouldn't be a problem, right? BTW...the kids were asleep at about the three mile mark. Well, we get off 7 mile road and Paul turns right before we get to the station. Hmmm...we aren't sure what is going on but we kinda think he may have said something about a station near rte 64 so we aren't too worried. At this point our mileage thing says we have 11 miles to empty. It obviously isn't completely accurate since we had only driven 8ish miles. We get to 64 and Paul turns on his signal and gets on the highway. At that point we were really confused at what Paul was doing so we didn't follow him. The last thing we wanted was to run out of gas on an interstate highway. So....we went some crazy way and ended up at a gas station. After a phone call we realized they got off at the next exit, which was close and headed to a gas station, where Paul was a "member" and saved 3 cents a gallon. It wasn't a big deal, we agreed to meet at the station they were at as soon as we were done. After Jake pumped his gas he waited for a receipt to print but it didn't. He needed a receipt therefore, he went inside to get one. The line was ten people long. It took forever. Like 15-20 minutes. The kids were still sleeping. Okay, we got on the road and finally met up with the others. We had a little laugh. They, of course, thought we would have been fine. Jake's answer was, "why push it to the limit?". I say, even with the crazy long line it took less time than if we had run out of gas. Besides, it gave me a good story for my blog. After the whole gas dilemma we headed for the lights. We went to this nice development that had huge houses with elaborate Christmas light displays. Just as we drove in, the kids woke up. Great. We followed Paul around the development. It was all hills and curves. I don't know how he found his way around that place. I had no idea where we were. After driving through there we decided to head over to some other light display they had seen last year. I guess it was some rich house lit up with accompanying music. Right before we got there Elise told me she was sick. Just moments later, she started barfing. Now come on....you didn't think I was going to tell you a story about driving around in West Virginia without someone barfing did you? She is barfing A LOT. There wasn't a good place to pull over with a caravan of minivans. Jake drove a little then the smell hit him. He started gagging. And gagging. I was getting mad. Oh man, if he had thrown up............. But he didn't. So, he pulls into this driveway and jumps out of the van. Avery is crying. Jude is as pale as a ghost. Elise is screaming. We have exactly one napkin and three wipes in our van. I start cleaning Elise off and Jake goes over to the other cars to try to get some supplies. Steph has about 6 wipes. That is it. No napkins, kleenex, towels, rags....nothing. Why???? We should know someone was going to be throwing up. But, it is the Miller Way, right? I ended up breaking out the shout wipes to clean off the car seat. We didn't have a change of clothes for Elise so Jude had to take off his shirt and give it to her. He still had a coat. Luckily between the three vans we had two blankets we could wrap her up in. Poor thing. It was freezing out.

New York Moving Company

Come to find out - the lights weren't even up this year and the drive we turned into was were they normally were.

After we get her cleaned up we headed home. Avery was screaming still - because she was hungry a this point. I rode in the back with the kids and sang Christmas carols the whole way home. It was pretty fun. In case you were wondering: Elise is fine now. She was just car sick.

If you missed previous posts about Miller Holidays or Barfing see these posts.

• The Thirteenth Day of Christmas
• Is the Gag Reflex Hereditary?
  
• The Drive Home
• A Miller Dream: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
  

Too Busy to Blog....

I know....the shock and horror of it all. I will be back soon. I have been staying up until 1 and 2 A.M. and getting up at my normal time just to get all my holiday stuff done. I am turning into a zombie. I wanted to share the Santa picture. Santa asked the kids what they wanted for Christmas. Jude said "I don't know" (funny he has been giving me his list for the last month!). Elise told Santa she wanted a candy cane. So, he gave her a candy cane. Simple enough.

I love taking the kids to this Santa for a couple reasons....First I love they have Mr. & Mrs. Clause. Second, I know the Mrs. - she is my Mary Kay lady. Third, it is cheap ($3). And fourth, you can take your own camera and take as many shots as you want. Oh, and one last one....it is a fundraiser for the Akron Canton Foodbank.

Elise was so tired she wouldn't even smile.

Christmas Tour of Homes.....Year Two

Can you believe it has been year since I have invited everyone over to see my house? Probably because I had another baby....things just haven't been quite the same since. Last year I took you on a pretty conventional tour of my home. I didn't want to bore you with the same details as I did before so I tried to pick out some interesting "Christmas" scenes from the Miller home. Of course I waited until this evening to take pictures and there is a blizzard taking place outside so, excuse all the snow flying around.

Welcome to our Pink House. Yes, it is really pink. Pepto Pink, I know. I has grown on me.

This is our wreath. Jake's employers sent it from Maine (where the owners live). It was a nice surprise!

Come on out of the cold....Once you are in you can see our tree. It is nothing fancy and it is starting to droop. I hope it can make it till Christmas!

It is already dropping neddles!

In the dining room you will probably catch a glimpse of an elf or two hard at work....Look here is one making sugar cookies!

Here is another elf making cinnamon ornaments!

Elves everywhere....
More ornament making...

We don't have ANY gifts wrapped in our house yet....did I mention I have a bunch of kids? Well, since we haven't wrapped anything I will have to show you a pretty package of cookies. I have been hard at work baking. JenF & I baked around 30 DOZEN cookies last Thursday! Who would have ever thought the two of us would be baking together someday! We made 16 of these packages to give to her tenants!
Are you hungry? Why don't you see if there is anything in the fridge you might want. My fridge is stuffed to the gills right now. Ham, butter, lemons, limes, cheese, those sparklely packages are more cookies for my neighbors, juice, eggs, gingerbread coffee creamer (I am addicted to flavored coffee creamers! ), more cookie dough and the blue bowl is full of cookies....lots of yummy stuff.
On my window sill I have my paper whites growing. I can't wait until they bloom. BTW...I bought those bulb vases at Goodwill (my favorite store) for $1! The other crazy plant is a bunch of clippings to start a plant for a friend.
Another elf....busy eating her toes.
What would a tour of my home be without a glimpse of my craft area. Not too bad this year....probably because I had to abandon most of my homemade projects. I was running out of time.
Last but not least this is my (embarrassing) stash of hidden gifts I need to wrap. I put them in our little toy closet in the basement. I locked it. The kids think they accidentally locked it and I can't find the key. Don't look too closely...you might see your gift.

I am so glad you stopped by to see my seasonal disaster. If you want to see more traditional and pretty pictures visit last years tour. Thanks for stopping by...don't forget to bookmark my page!

For more of the TOUR see BooMama!

Delilah's Favorite Things....A Thirteen Thursday

Yesterday Oprah had her annual Favorite Things Show. I caught a little bit of it. She gives away really good stuff - including a $4000 refrigerator. Wow. Ellen is also giving stuff away for her "twelve days of christmas". I only caught a little of it as well but man, she was giving away the loot. I even got a great gift idea for my sister.

So, today I have decided to give you a list of my favorite things - and unlike Oprah & Ellen none of my items are sponsored.

1. Tom's of Maine toothpaste

2. Jodi Picoult - I've read FIVE of her books since October. I love every single one of them.

3. Coffee-Mate Peppermint Mocha coffee creamer. Seriously....YUM.

4. Kitchen Aid Artisan Mixer. Now that I am finally using it I LOVE IT!!!!

5. Martha Stewart's website - yes, I am addicted to her website. I spend a bunch of time there.

6. BCBG Paris "Pretty" Shoes. My Mom bought them for me and I adore them.

7. Bath & Body Works Midnight Pomegranate Body Butter

8. Stay by Sugarland (I know, I know it is country! I passed up the chance to see them on Friday - for free thanks to Justiene- but I watched my sister's kids instead.

9. WNIR - I am still a junkie. I find myself saying "I heard on the radio" way too much.

10. Making Memories scrapbook supplies. I am very behind on my scrapbooks but 2008 is the year for scrapbooking. I have a good feeling about it. Question....why doesn't my computer recognize scrapbooking as a word? Is it not supposed to be used as a verb???? LOL.

11. Tostitos Hint of Lime chips - plain or with salsa. They are delicious.

12. Spot Shot & Magic Eraser (two for the price of one - they are both miracle workers)

13. Sony Ericsson w300i - Here are the things I love about my cell phone. 1. I can listen to the radio. 2. I can listen to mp3's (although I haven't) 3. it is simple 4. I get great reception. I have had several phones and this is my all time favorite by far. FUNNY STORY: When I was in the hospital after giving birth to Avery, I was trying to turn on the radio on my phone. I was so doped up I didn't know what I was doing to I kept trying to turn on the radio. The next day I told Jake I thought I ordered something....He forgot about it and when we got the bill I had ordered some crazy radio thing (obviously not public radio) and they charged us twice. He called and got the charges removed.

Have a great Thursday.

Thursday Thirteen

The Answers....

In Church on Sunday we had a really good sermon. Unfortunately I can't find my notes from it. I know they are here somewhere. Anyways....I remembered this particular verse and thought I would share it with you. When I looked it up I realized the entire chapter is interesting so I am sharing the whole thing. I am always amazed that the Bible was written SO long ago but it really pertains to us today. Not that I ever doubted it, but the Bible really does have all the answers - you just have to find them. I am including the Message version and The King James. I also checked out the NIV version and they all say the basic same thing - just in different terms.Here are some verses I find particularly amusing....

v. 7 - "If you are stuffed you refuse dessert" ...hmmm, you do?
v. 14 - I guess they didn't like morning people even back in "Bible times".
v. 15-16 Many other translations say "the nagging wife" or various other negative terms. The translation that was in the sermon was the Good News translation and it uses the nagging wife term. The woman who was sitting next to me looked at me during the sermon and pointed out that the verse was coming up (she was reading ahead in the bulletin). Every woman in the room probably felt the same....Something like (sending mental telepathy messages to their husbands) - "don't you dare elbow me!". Ha ha ha.
v. 22 - Just plain funny.

Proverbs 27 (The Message)

You Don't Know Tomorrow

1 Don't brashly announce what you're going to do tomorrow; you don't know the first thing about tomorrow.

2 Don't call attention to yourself;
let others do that for you.

3 Carrying a log across your shoulders
while you're hefting a boulder with your arms
Is nothing compared to the burden
of putting up with a fool.

4 We're blasted by anger and swamped by rage,
but who can survive jealousy?

5 A spoken reprimand is better
than approval that's never expressed.

6 The wounds from a lover are worth it;
kisses from an enemy do you in.

7 When you've stuffed yourself, you refuse dessert;
when you're starved, you could eat a horse.

8 People who won't settle down, wandering hither and yon,
are like restless birds, flitting to and fro.

9 Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight,
a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.

10 Don't leave your friends or your parents' friends
and run home to your family when things get rough;
Better a nearby friend
than a distant family.

11 Become wise, dear child, and make me happy;
then nothing the world throws my way will upset me.

12 A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks;
a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered.

13 Hold tight to collateral on any loan to a stranger;
be wary of accepting what a transient has pawned.

14 If you wake your friend in the early morning
by shouting "Rise and shine!"
It will sound to him
more like a curse than a blessing.

15-16 A nagging spouse is like
the drip, drip, drip of a leaky faucet;
You can't turn it off,
and you can't get away from it.

Your Face Mirrors Your Heart

17 You use steel to sharpen steel,
and one friend sharpens another.

18 If you care for your orchard, you'll enjoy its fruit;
if you honor your boss, you'll be honored.

19 Just as water mirrors your face,
so your face mirrors your heart.

20 Hell has a voracious appetite,
and lust just never quits.

21 The purity of silver and gold is tested
by putting them in the fire;
The purity of human hearts is tested
by giving them a little fame.

22 Pound on a fool all you like—
you can't pound out foolishness.

23-27 Know your sheep by name;
carefully attend to your flocks;
(Don't take them for granted;
possessions don't last forever, you know.)
And then, when the crops are in
and the harvest is stored in the barns,
You can knit sweaters from lambs' wool,
and sell your goats for a profit;
There will be plenty of milk and meat
to last your family through the winter.

Proverbs 27 (King James Version)

1Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

2Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.

3A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both.

4Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?

5Open rebuke is better than secret love.

6Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

7The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

8As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.

9Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel.

10Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.

11My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.

12A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.

13Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.

14He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.

15A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.

16Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself.

17Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

18Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.

19As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.

20Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

21As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.

22Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

23Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.

24For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?

25The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.

26The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.

27And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.

Wordless Wednesday....More Please!

wordless wednesday

Survivors

I am happy to admit that we survived the weekend. It wasn't that bad. I think just the shear number of kids is enough to send someone ever the deep end but we actually made it. We even went out to eat on Saturday. We went to Ponderosa because they had a great coupon for the kids. All four kids ate for a total of $2. In fact, Jake & I ordered dinners (the kids at 90% of mine, which was fine) and then with the kids - tip and all we got out of there for $32. Not bad considering we all ate steak, shrimp & dessert. The kids were really good. The waitress even commented that we were quiet. I guess those threats I made before we went in the building worked. LOL.

You Might Be Crazy If....

....you agree to watch your sister's two children for the weekend. We did and yes, we've gone crazy. Thanks for asking.

Christmas Photos...

Oh My Goodness....my kids are so cute. Here are the Christmas Pictures I took today. Remember what last years looked like??? Check them out.
Christmas 2006
Christmas 2005