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!

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.

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.

Kotowaza

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! )

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