Peter and the WolfFor my work Christmas party last week they booked Benaroya Hall, and we got to listen to a special concert from the Seattle Symphony. I never knew I would have liked the symphony so much. It was incredible! If I hadnt been feeling sick all that day, I would have enjoyed it twice as much. Yes, we had food and dessert before, but that paled in comparison to the amazing performance we got to see. They played music from Swan Lake and the Nutcracker, but my favorite was Peter and the Wolf. The best part about that was that William Gossett Jr. was the narrator. He did a great job of bringing a human element to the concert. It was so good I think we might have to do it again sometime! |
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Jacked Again! :(
Amidst all of the chaos this past couple of weeks, I honestly thought I was losing my mind. With everything that was going on-- my programming class, working OT, soccer practice, Young Men responsibilities, I just figured I had had a lapse. ..
On Sunday night I couldnt find my Work/School bag or my cell phone. We all searched the house high and low in the usual places, but nothing was found. I couldnt believe that I had misplaced something as big as my laptop bag. LeAnn had even tried calling my phone on Monday to see if we could hear it somewhere- but it only rang once which only happens if the battery is dead or I am on the phone already.
I had no idea where these things could have gone until I started putting things together and began thinking like a detective. I realized today that my cell phone charger was also missing from my car. So, this afternoon, I called the number myself and it rang three times before going to my voicemail-- odd since I hadnt charged it myself.So I decided to call Nextel and find out if my phone had been used recently. Turns out that it was used at 12:11 this afternoon! Sure wasnt me! I deactivated the cell phone so the scumbag cant use it anymore. He/she had used just 52 minutes the past couple of days, which they wont charge me for. *sigh*
So, this is my prognosis: When I was hometeaching on Sunday at the Brashears, who live in an apartment complex, apparently I left a door unlocked. The perpetrator broke in, grabbed the cell phone and charger and my laptop bag (which didnt have my laptop in it thankfully- TAKE THAT YOU THIEF!!) and then took off.
One positive takeaway- they didnt take my new stereo, which I just replaced two weeks ago after it was stolen with the car back in March.
..and one other plus- at least I got my hometeaching done! 
Saturday, November 26, 2005
News Flash!
It finally happened! We got a puppy yesterday! We were initially planning on holding out until Christmas, but came to the conclusion that it would be more work than it was worth.
Flash, (named by LeAnn) is great with the kids and plays heartily with each of them. He is a Bichon-Poo, which is part Bichon Frise and part poodle. We like this particular breed because it doesnt shed, stays small, and is hypo-allergenic-- all great traits.
The kids were so thrilled with the suprise. Austin keeps saying, "I thought it was a dream, so I had to pinch myself!" Always good for a quote, he also said seconds after the reveal-- "I've got to go make some phone calls!" He is a funny kid. Autumn and Jaylin are so in love with Flash that they practically smother him. There have been numerous arguments already as to whose turn it is to play with or hold the dog. The kids are so excited and I see such joy in their eyes that it really makes me happy to have this new puppy in our lives.
This was a huge sacrifice for LeAnn, and it makes my heart swell with love knowing how much she cares for each of us that she would give this gift to us. Thank you, LeAnn, for loving us so much.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Todd Clan
I trace my Todd ancestral line through my grandmother, Florence Todd Taylor Miller, from whom I was given my name, Todd Taylor Miller.
Here is her pedigree, which goes back to James Tod, 1720 of Glasgow, Lanark Scotland:
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/search/AF/pedigree_view.asp?recid=2609983
Todd/ Tod clan is a sept of the Clan Gordon:
http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/septs.htm
Tartan: (I have attached a picture of the tartan and the coat of arms)
http://www.genealogyweb.com/cgi-bin/tartan03
A Brief Understanding of Tartans
Originally, the Scottish Tartan was adistinction of rank or position. It was not identified by weave but by the number of colours in the weave. If only one colour was used it depicted a servant, two, a farmer rank, three, an officer rank, five, a chieftain, six for a poet, and seven for a Chief. Eventually, clans or families adopted their own tartan, using a range of animal and earth colours which were frequently secret, only known to the weavers of the islands. They included yellows, blues, whites, greens, browns, reds, black and purple. Some say that a keen eye can identify the colour with a particular island, almost like a wine taster can identify the year and the vineyard.
http://www.infokey.com/hall/tartans.htm
Todd info: http://www.traceit.com enter Todd to find surname info
Berwickshire, Scotland. Where the Todd clan originates from.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
November 14
Jammed!
I have never been so thrilled to have jammed my thumb! I played ball for the first time in 2 1/2 years last Saturday. I wore my bionic brace to give me a little backup, but my knee held up pretty well. I did get elbowed in the kidney and am a bit sore, but it was nice to work up a good sweat again. It was good to do something besides ride a bike around for exercise.
I have been trying to prep myself for this momentous occasion by starting to jog a bit. Initially, it was just on the treadmill, but then last month I ran a 5K with Dave Jones called the PumpkinPush. Run a search for my name here. Yeah, I didnt make the top ten in my age group, but Im sure I was tops in the 215# crippled class. 
Last Saturday was also Austin and my last soccer game for the season. It was fun to coach him and the rest of the Cobras. Shown in the pic from left to right are: Solomon, Jonah, Journe, Austin, Evan, Tommy and Coach Miller.
LeAnn's web site is up and running now. Ready to take your oders. I have just started submitting it to search engines and am exploring other marketing opportunities. Please forward this link to your friends. She has some great looking stuff available.
LeAnn had a great time in Virginia last week with her sister Lisa. She was able to tour around the capitol and see quite a few sites. Sounds like the Smithsonian was quite the hit.
LeAnn's mom, Anna and Ashley helped with watching the kids while I was at work, then I took last Tuesday off to be Mr. Mom. It is quite a tricky job. (Especially doing the girls hair! 
)
)Friday, June 10, 2005
June 27
De Fence
Good. Productive. Saturday. I sprayed the perimeter of the house for ants, sprayed Roundup on the weeds on the hillside, and put up the post for the new gate in our fence. Dad started the gate last week when he was here and got the hinges on. I finished with the post hole, concrete and fixing the slat. Tonight I will add the latch. Later this week I hope to start putting in the new swingset that we got from Kelly.
June 20
BUMbleBEE
On June 4th, LeAnn and I were out whacking away at the jungle which is the hillside in our front yard. About an hour in, I was pricked by something that I thought was a blackberry bush. As the pain intensified and I tried to flip it away, I realized there was something else moving around inside my pants! I whipped them down--just the pants, not the underwear mind you-- and flipped a big ol nasty bee out onto the ground. It wasnt one of those wimpy honeybees, but rather a big, fat, fuzzy drone bee. Oh, I squished him and stomped him right into the ground. It hurt to sit on my left cheek for a couple of days after that. The moral of the story is; Thats why they call them, "BUM"blebees"!
June 15
Jackpot
Mom and Dad took the kids and me to the Family Fun Center for dinner last night. (LeAnn was at Enrichment) The pizza there is suprisingly good. Afterwards, we got some tokens and Autumn, Austin and Jaylin were having a ball playing the games and winning 3-6 tickets at a time. Then Autumn played a game where you try and launch the token into a tiny basket--depending on which basket you hit would determine how many tickets you got back. As LUCK would have it, she hit the jackpot slot with a random toss. She said she wasnt even aiming--that must be the way to do it!) After the machine spit out a steady stream of tickets for about 7 minutes, she had won 662 tickets! She was ecstatic! It was so fun to see the huge smile on her face. Granted you cant buy a huge prize with that many tickets, but she got a lava lamp night light and a dart board. Good for her!
Monday, April 18, 2005
Happy Birthday Jaylin! 4/18/2005
3 years of utter delight.
From one so happy, full of sprite.
Seeing you smile fills ones heart,
From your side it is hard to part.
The sparkle in your eyes, the bounce in your step--
The wonderful days together I will never forget.
You are my princess, my light in the dark--
Hearing your voice is more beautiful than the song of a lark.
Watching you grow from a babe to a young girl,
Like a grain of sand into a lovely pearl.
So much potential I see in your face,
A rare gem you are, impossible to replace.
Thank you for the love you bring into our home--
With you in our lives we are never alone.
Love,
Dad
3 years of utter delight.
From one so happy, full of sprite.
Seeing you smile fills ones heart,
From your side it is hard to part.
The sparkle in your eyes, the bounce in your step--
The wonderful days together I will never forget.
You are my princess, my light in the dark--
Hearing your voice is more beautiful than the song of a lark.
Watching you grow from a babe to a young girl,
Like a grain of sand into a lovely pearl.
So much potential I see in your face,
A rare gem you are, impossible to replace.
Thank you for the love you bring into our home--
With you in our lives we are never alone.
Love,
Dad
Sunday, April 10, 2005
April 26
Joseph Banks
We saw a fireside last Sunday by Joseph Banks, a WWII veteran. He is 82 years old and going strong. It was very touching as he shared his experiences, how he was protected through the power of prayer.
After he escaped as a POW, he was hiding in a barn with some of his comrades. A German soldier saw him, and he spoke back to him in German. He told us to this day, he doesnt speak any German. He said that the Holy Ghost influenced him to be able to speak in German and disguise his appearance that he would look like a German himself. He still doesnt know what he said to the soldier to make him leave. Amazing. I will be getting this book so as not to forget the power of his testimony.
Quote
After he escaped as a POW, he was hiding in a barn with some of his comrades. A German soldier saw him, and he spoke back to him in German. He told us to this day, he doesnt speak any German. He said that the Holy Ghost influenced him to be able to speak in German and disguise his appearance that he would look like a German himself. He still doesnt know what he said to the soldier to make him leave. Amazing. I will be getting this book so as not to forget the power of his testimony.
Quote
Veteran Shares His Miraculous Wartime Experiences
April 22
Miller Contact List
I made a Visio file of the Family Contact information. I dont think many of the Millers have Visio on their PCs-- so I saved it in a few other formats and sent it out to everyone. If anyone is having problems with it, let me know. There is a copy of it in the Photos tab of the MillerTime Spaces and attached here.
Car = Gone
Still no word on my stolen car. It might be time to start doing some P.I. work! It makes me sad everytime I see another Accord like mine. I wonder if it has been swapped out for parts, or painted... Looking forward to judgement day when I can track that stinker down! 
Thai Fried Rice = Bad news
Still trying to recover from the spicy fried rice I had yesterday. I ordered a 3/5. Note to self: DO NOT DO THAT AGAIN!
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