Favorite Christmas Albums

This is what ignites the true spirit of Christmas in me:


Gary Lowry Six String Noel (Portland Artist)
Chanticleer Sing we Christmas
Chanticleer Psallite!
If your looking for some great non "Frosty or Rudolph" Christmas music that really touches the depths of your soul these are some good choices!

The Adoration of the Christ Child--Botticelli

Can you believe how fast this year has gone?!?! I'm astonished and excited by all the changes and growth that have occurred. It has been awesome to watch our friends with their little ones and see what great parents they are and now we get to join the club. Thursday, December 13th Nicole and I got to hear the heartbeat for the first time. It was nerve racking because it took a minute to find and a bit anticlimactic but exciting to know that "Peanut" which is more like a prawn or a large shrimp now, is doing great with a heart rate of 163. Nicole and I are leaving today for family visits for the Christmas and New Years holidays. It'll be a long trip but we look forward to some quality time. Finally, after a year of owning Settlers of Catan (check out settlersofcatan.net) we can all play it a few times. I hope everyone has great holidays and safe travels!!!

So close I can see the light!

What is this weird feeling.....oh, it's called free time! It has been far too long since I updated the goings on in the Miller household. Nicole, as most know by now, is pregnant and we're expecting June 21, 2008! Mark your calendars! Nicole has had a bit of a rough first trimester with the nausea and her body basically doing everything it can to make her want to vomit or feel like she should be vomiting. Needless to say Nicole has been mostly out of commission unless she is working. Thus far my adventures as a father, which seems a bit weird to type, have been exciting! Mostly an excess of cooking, cleaning, and other assorted household activities that surprisingly enough now make Nicole gag. ;) I'm sure many can relate to this. Normally, I thought dishes a pain in the ass but now because I'm the one to do them because Nicole is "with child" I don't mind so much.
The Fall term is FINALLY coming to a close, which means I have a month off! I'm looking forward to successfully completing a lot of nothing with some occasional holiday travel thrown in. I might even crack a book for leisurely reading. What a concept. What is it about school that makes you want to do anything but it??? Any thoughts? I would gladly add some updated pictures but I'm at school so it's not an option. Until next time....

Some of Nicole's perspective

I haven't posted on our little blog, so I thought it was about time. Sandy and I have different styles of writing which you will soon find. He is significantly more eloquent with the written word - you'll have to bear with me :-) I will agree with him about the surreal nature of getting ready to welcome a baby into the world. If I wasn't experiencing so many of the pregnancy signs, I would probably forget I am pregnant. Maybe that's why we experience so many changes in our bodies - to remind us we're already mothers taking care of these little lives.
So far we've been calling the baby "peanut." Baby Wolf and Baby Jemimiah are also names that have been suggested. We're sticking with peanut for now, but if anyone has a name you feel needs to be in the running, please let us know. We will enter it in the running.
Starting yesterday, I am getting to partake in another pregnancy joy......having a cold without the ability to take any medicine that actually works. Yup, Tylenol it is...oh, how I miss NyQuil. It's alright really. I keep telling peanut that s/he is worth it.
I should have known I would get sick. I'm getting to do a job I absolutely love - working with kids again. I had enjoyed two years of basically being cold-free when I was working with adults. I have been sneezed and coughed on more in the last month than the whole two previous years combined. Yummm!
Sorry to leave you on that note, but I've got to go lay down. Peanut and this cold are making me feel woozy.

where did I learn to type anyway....proofread yikes!

Sorry about that last post it's a bit of a mess

Balancing the scales of life

I would be very surprised to discover that I'm the only one struggling with the many areas of life that constantly duke it out to be a high priority in everyday life. Sometimes it's easier than others but now I'm all askew. It's lame feel spread thin because you want to have close friendships or a social life while the back of my mind is reminding me that I should be focusing on school or learning my German diction for an upcoming lesson, or a multitude of other things. I love the comment in Lord of the Rings when Bilbo says he feels "thin like butter spread over too much toast" It's a great analogy for the constant mediocrity I feel when I try to do it all at once. I really want a healthy balance and what I get is frustration when I have a bad lesson, or test for playing with friends or watching a movie, which is much more important to me now anyway. I shouldn't fret too much. It's really not worth it to get all worked up over. I do look forward to the day when I can really enjoy an activity, whatever it may be, even when I have something more pressing to take care of. All I can say is Amen for friends and Amen for the good days when I can feel good and confident for choosing one way or the other.

I can hardly wait.....

I can't even believe it! Nicole and I are going to be parents! We are both very excited and hopeful that everything in the coming months will go smoothly. It's amazing to me that we created life and I can hardly wait to see this little person we get to love and teach and take care of. I'm excited to be stretched as a parent, a spouse, a son, and a friend. I know I'll probably need to remember I said that somewhere down the road when I'm hanging on by a thread trying to finish grad school and Nicole is very pregnant, or the baby has come and we haven't slept at all. It's so new to think that we get to have a family. I am so excited and a bit scared. I found myself journaling about my fears and really laying them down at the feet of God, about the health of the baby, Nicole, our financial status. There could be so many easy things to focus on that could take us away from the joys of preparing for this major change. I also spent time writing a letter to my baby. I asked he/she what they were like. It's a bit odd sounding but I'm very excited to meet this little person. Nicole is going to be an amazing mom and she says the same about me, which I am encouraged by. I happy that my parents are excited for us, too. I'm really glad that my parents and brother come to visit in November. We never get to see each other enough. Who knows maybe they'll fall in love with Eugene? It could happen. For now I am happy, content and excited to be a dad. I can hardly wait...

Practically midterm!

I can hardly believe how fast fall term has flown by. Nicole has been very busy in her new job yet she is loving the kids and their families she works with. I have been involved in a full load of classes in my second year of graduate school. It keeps me busy, need I say more. We have survived by occasional game nights, TV nights, scrapbooking (Nicole), and our Tuesday night small group. We are both anticipating change within the next year and perhaps starting a family and it is still my plan to pursue my new career passion of academic librarianship. Hopefully, we might find a house within a year as well too!

Graduate school Year 2 day 1

How! I survived the first day back to school. It really hasn't been much of a break with the Italian course I took so I'm not too excited that summer is gone. I took GRE's last Friday and the prophecy was fulfilled, I'm terrible at standardized tests no matter how much studying I do or money I throw at training for higher scores. Math is basically the bane of my existence. I don't care about it at all. Needless to say I didn't do so hot and I'm a little worried if I do submit my GRE scores to University of Washington for admission they might laugh. At least University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne doesn't require GRE's if you have maintained a high GPA through college, so I have that going for me. I can really get into this blog thing what a great relief, huh? It isn't for sure yet but I am hopeful that I will be able to stay in Italiano 201 SO I can finish this Spring term. It will be a crazy year but very possible! As you can see I added my two favorite shows to the top of this blog. Yes, I am officially and old man!! I love History detectives and Antiques Roadshow! They are the coolest ever! Also, diet coke with Lime is climbing the charts! Nicole, my lover for life, is off at Bible study so I get to blog, prep for tomorrow, and start studying. Agh, so much school!

September trip 2007

Ah,
Well I survived a super rigorous Italian course over the Summer term. I went into it with the wrong attitude and it really was a lot of fun. I'm excited to continue learning the language and more about the Italian culture. My wife Nicole and I had a great time with my family in Monterey, CA this past weekend. It really was fun. I only wish my siblings and I could've pitched in more. Dad always seems burdened by spending money even if he can afford things. I look forward to Christmas this year with them all. I have to mention that I have discovered another fantastic Library Science program via University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne. The program there is a fairly expensive but it is much shorter that the program at University of Washington.

Sooo tired of school!

I guess it's a great thing I have the opportunity to come back to school for a master's degree BUT it is a lot of work. I'm seriously drained and don't have much left to get through 2 more weeks of this constant grammar and vocab in Italian. Last night I watched a great newer movie called "Teh Painted Veil" with Naomi Watts and Edward Norton. I totally recommend it to those, who like me, love a good drama. It's a love story of sorts in the early 20th century in China during a Cholera outbreak.
Nicole is back after a quick and crazy trip to Boise, Idaho to visit her pappy in the hospital. She is worried how he will take to the drastic life change that must occur now that he doesn't have a colon. But she did come back to me and I am soooo glad. I'm anxious to see my family and it has been way too long since that has happened. They were going to come up to Eugene for Nicole's graduation but Mom was very sick, in and out of the hospital, the week prior to graduation. I think it's been 10 months! Too long!
I'm feeling quite contemplative today. I'm not so sure going to library school is a high priority of mine now. I love the idea of being a librarian. But i think I want to try it on first, maybe get a library job to see if it fits before I commit to a long term and very arduous program. God is totally in control of that now, I'm not going to worry about it. Off to work I go.....

Ahhh, first Saturday free all summer!
What best to do but go to the library and check out fly fishing books and old Friends and Will and Grace episodes. I think I'll make a list of the many Operas they had to check out and try to feel better about pursuing a Masters degree in something I hardly know anything about. Anyhow, Opera is fantastic and I want to know more yet I don't have any desire to learn how to act. It's another reason I should definitely be librarian. What will i do the rest of th day.....hmmm let's see. Nothing I'm supposed to do of course.

I'm going to use this as a journal of sorts but won't get to personal. If anyone is out there do you know how to add favorite movies or book covers with reviews on here? I'm brand new to this. Any help?

I found this picture online. the caption read, "Why kids shouldn't be left alone!" I couldn't resist! What great blackmail this shot will be when the boy is older, such splendid dirt! mua hah hah!

I'm supposed to be studying for my Italian final right now. I'm so burnt on school I would rather do pretty much anything. So I settled with Blog time. Man I'm sick of school! Today I choose to quit it all. Tomorrow I'm sure I'll change mind. One day at a time.