Ellie's new hair

After

(hard to see the new hair cut with side bangs! - we will take a better photo in the morning)

Before

She felt so big getting her hair cut!

After her hair was done we walked in the snow across the street to a coffee shop and got some hot chocolate together. It was so much fun! Ellie told me she "felt like a new person."

Pretty stinkin' cute.

Making the best of the unexpected...

Michael took this week off and will not be returning to work until after the New Year. We had big plans full of family fun. Unfortunately, it’s not turning out the way be planned. Ellie got the stomach flu last week up until Christmas day. We did have a sick free 24 hour Christmas and that was very nice! Then Saturday Blake came down with a nasty (when I say nasty I mean it) sore throat and high fever. We are still waiting for a diagnosis either strep or mono, neither one is fun. So we have had lots of sleepless night, movies, and “sit cuddles” (Blake named our cuddle sessions that). Even though we are disappointed with the start of this week we sure have been enjoying each others company. We made smores in our useless but pretty fire place (sucks the heat right out of the house due to a missing damper), but it was worth it and FUN! We used Ellie’s new Easy Bake to make some tiny cakes, and I am getting ready to take Ellie to get her first professional hair cut. We will post pictures tonight, I promise! We miss seeing our friends and family…hopefully we can come out to play soon with a healthy strong Blake!

Oh and playing in the snow too!

We love you Ellie

Happy Birthday Ellianna Kate!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy Birthday Ellie

Our big girl Ellie turned 6 years old on Tuesday December 15th. Ellie had a couple of days packed with some of her favorite things. Monday night she got to go on a date with Papa and Nana. She got all dressed and waited by the window for them to pick her up. She was so excited. They took her to dinner and then to the Disney store where she picked out a beautiful Belle dress. On Tuesday she went to school where she got to bring a wrapped book for the teacher to read to the class. Daddy surprised Ellie when he picked her up from school and had a happy meal for her. She came home and opened her gift from us. She got busy right away painting her new magnets.

That night Ellie got to indulge in another favorite thing. Yaya took her to the Dollar Tree (one of her FAVORITE places) where she got to spend as much time (Ellie needs LOTS of time to decide) as she needed to pick out what she wanted. She came home with quite a lute! She even spent some of her money on a gift for Blake. The next morning she showed Blake (who has the stomach flu) her treasures. Oh and she even got a candle in her mashed potatoes at dinner.

New Pics

We had some fun pictures taken of the kids with the Miller cousins.

Jenni Price did a wonderful job!

Thank you

Soccer

Ellie played her last game of the season this past Saturday. She loved every second even when it rained! She said the best part of soccer was, daddy and Mr. Moffat coaching, her friend Kari, running, and scoring goals! The worst part was being pulled out of the game so other kids could play. If it was up to her she would have played all 40 mins of the game.

I love that Ellie is board waiting for the game to start.
That's our girl!

Happy Birthday Blake

What Ellie loves about Blake

"When I need someone to play with Blake always plays with me."

"When I get hurt he cares about me."

Blake we love you so much. You make us smile and laugh everyday. You are a fun, caring, energetic, hungry (Ellie), a great cuddlier, rowdy, cool, funny, compassionate, animated, and lovable!

Hugs and Kisses,

Daddy, Mommy, and Ellie

Blake

Thank you everyone for your prayers! For those of you who don't know Blake got hit hard by "THE FLU" and then got pneumonia this past week. We had a few scary moments earlier this week and we sent out the request for prayer. I have heard people say they could feel people's prayer before and I never fully understood what they meant. Now I do. On Tuesday night Blake was having a really hard time breathing and it became so painful that he had, the only way to describe it was a panic attack. We rushed him to the doctor's office when they informed us that he had pneumonia and they were ready to treat it. They calmed us down, put him on a nebulizer, and gave him an antibiotic shot in the bottom, sad but good! That night I held him when he finally fell asleep. I started to get scared and then realized God is BIG and GOOD! I closed my eyes and imagined the sound of our friends and family all over the country praying for Blake. What a beautiful sound to God to hear his children praying together even though they were scattered. I know that things could have been so much worse and that others have to face much bigger obstacles, however in the moment the reality can feel so helpless. Knowing that so many people were praying gave me an over whelming sense of peace. I simply prayed, "God I know you hear our prayers, let your work be done." I am thankful for our doctors quick diagnosis and treatment, help from family and friends, and all you who prayed. Thank you!

Here is Blake... ...doing so much better!

Thank you Cornerstone for the get well gift.

Gave Blake big smiles!

What's New

Ellie and Kari braved a new spot this fall and they are doing GREAT! We had our kick-off Jamboree last Saturday and it was so much fun. Ellie is taking to the spot rather quickly and surprising both Mike and me. She scored her first goal on Saturday! Michael is an awesome asst coach and the girls are loving the fact that their daddies get to be on the field with them. Hopefully their enthusiasm will stay strong when the rain comes.

Ellie and Daddy ready for the game to start!

I can't believe it's here. How did the past 5 1/2 years go so fast? We have lived in our house for almost 8 years now. Every time I drove down the street and passed the Elementary school I would tell Ellie someday that will be your school. It felt like the day was so far away. Now here she is an official kindergartner! Mike took the morning off and we all walked her to school Tuesday. She did great! I was glad Michael was here because I was on the verge of tears for about the first hour that she was gone. Ellie gave us the run down of the day but come to the conclusion that it's really not that big of a deal:) She doesn't understand why everyone wants to talk about it...it's just school. I think that translates to a successful day.

Melissa has a few month off work and has been able to bring Baby Ava over for us to cuddle. She is just adorable and I am so happy we finally get to hold her.

The school year is back and so is Viola!

She is walking and starting to talk and loads of fun :)

Blake and his growing imagination will keep me and Viola quite entertained this year. Here he has created a BATMOBILE complete with a computer and headset. I have found myself hugging him a little tighter and longer knowing that these next two years of him being home with me are going to be gone before I know it.

Andrea & Joe's Wedding

Michael and I got to attend a wedding Saturday of an old high school friend, Andrea. It was the most beautiful wedding out at the Youngberg Hill Vineyards. They even lucked out with some last minute sun! Andrea, you were a breathtaking bride. Michael and I just recently had the pleasure of meeting Joe and even though we have not been able to spend much time with him YET...WHAT A GUY! Andrea and Joe you are perfect for each other! Here are a few pics of Andrea and Joe's big day. It was awesome!

More Pictures

Too many cute pics to share!

Our very first family pictures - EVER!

This is the first time we have ever attempted to have professional pictures taken of our family. We asked Bethany (old Miller family friend) and she did an incredible job. Check out her site. She gives you a CD of all your photos and all the rights for great price.

BD Photography

These are just a few of the fun ones. I am still going through all the pics on the CD's trying to decide which ones to put up on my walls...too many good choices!

Part 3 - Michael's Birthday Dinner

I forgot my camera for Michael's birthday dinner. His parents made the most delicious ribs, mashed potatoes and killer gravy with tri-tip in it. It was amazing! Then we were able to enjoy Betty's famous triple chocolate cake - YUM! Thank you everyone for making such great food, I would have never been able to make it that special for him. It was perfect!

Part 2 - Michael's 30th and my attempt to surprise him

I did my best to surprise Michael with his gift, even though he figured it out...oh well. Shawn and Mars brought over his gift Sunday night after we got back from camping, ROCKBAND 2! It's been a long time since we've played Rockband and it's lots of fun to have new songs, new characters, and a drum set that worked. So if anyone likes to play we would LOVE to have you over!

Part 1 - Michael's 30th Birthday

It's Michael's 30th birthday today! We went camping with the Jeffs on Mt Hood and visited one of Michael's favorite places on earth, Trillium Lake. He grew up fishing on this lake with his Grandpa Miller and Dad. He camped there so many times as a kid and it's been WAY to long since he has been back. He was all smiles as he rowed the boat into the middle of the lake. It has to be one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen.

Happy Birthday Babe - Love you tons!

Soccer Family

We are officially a soccer family!

When Andrea and I talked about putting the girls in soccer this year little did we know our whole family would be jumping in with both feet. We received an email letting us know they were in desperate need of coaches which lead to Greg being head Coach, Mike Asst Coach, and I was now the Team Mom! We know very little, close to NOTHING about soccer. Thank goodness Greg at least played the sport and he is doing a great job coaching. Despite the fact that we nervously laughed at the idea of Mike and I having any role at all on a soccer team we are REALLY LOVING IT! Besides, we get to hang out with the Moffat family multiple times a week - WHAT A BLAST! Here are a few pics of practice last night. I am sure this blog will be bombarded with photos from games in the weeks to come.

Wonderful Moments

The arrival of baby Ava Mary!

More pics coming soon...

Lunch with Aunt Katy & Yaya

Church Picnic on the Sandy River

Visit from my Cousin Lizzy, Nathan, and their adorable son Oliver.