Happy Birthday Vala!

Vala is one! She's walking, talking (a few words only mom can understand), and destined to be the class clown! Since we homeschool, I guess that means the family clown. She LOVES to find out what makes people laugh and do it over and over again. She's also begun the dreaded tantrums whenever something doesn't go her way. Lord help us to discipline with wisdom and guide her little heart to You!

Vala at 9 1/2 months

Oh yes, Vala is into everything! As if keeping the house clean wasn't already impossible, she now adds to the ridiculously overwhelming task by pulling down everything her little hands are unfortunate enough to get hold of. At least the books on the bookshelf in the background were actually ON the bookshelf. She loves to pull them all off when I'm not looking (and for concerned people, I don't let my children play with electrical cords. The fan in the background is broken and was on it's way out to the trash when I took this picture). However, she does try to earn her keep by eating a steady diet of whatever is on the floor!

But . . . there is a huge upside to all of this-- she's so darn cute!!! She really is a lot of fun right now, and overall, I do love this stage! :)

Vala loves: waving to everyone, clapping her hands, raising her arms above her head (usually only one) to make us say, "Sooooo big!", making clicking noises with her mouth, and hanging upside down. She's standing by herself and has taken 1 step a few times. She definitely has not learned the "don't go into the kitchen" rule. I don't know if she doesn't get it or if she's just that stubborn. With blind optimism I prefer to assume the former. I think she's going to be another feisty one . . . she loves playing rough with Beren!

She does still nap well though, for which I am very grateful. :)

Vala

Thought family might like to see a cute video of Vala crawling and pulling up at almost 8 months. She just turned 9 months and can now stand on her own, but is not taking steps. She also just learned how to wave and clap her hands. She's starting to respond to "No" and is also making ba-ba and da-da sounds. She loves to watch your mouth talk and try to imitate the sounds. What a cutie!

School is underway!

Well, the first week and a half of school is behind us. We've had a good start in general, though we are still trying to really get into the swing of things. And, of course, with four children 6 and under, there will always be tweaking to do. Plus, I'm still learning new things as a teacher and constantly adjusting my philosophy on teaching in light of what I'm learning.

Our ideal schedule looks a little fuller than this, but this is what it has ended up as looking like these past few days:

8:30~ breakfast (Vala goes back to bed for morning nap)

9:30 ~All the kids recite memory work (We've been working on Deut 6: 4-9 here at home and yesterday we added Matthew 7: 13-14 since that's their memory verse for church this week)

~Then I read out loud (Little House on the Prairie)

~Lorien practices oral narration as she tells the story back to me

10:30~ Phonics and writing with Lorien or copywork and she reads a bit to me

11:00~Feed Vala and Lorien reads to me or does copywork if she is not done.

~Play time till lunch

Then in the afternoon while the kids are napping, we do piano or math or art. So, things have been mixed and matched quite a bit this first week and a half, but hopefully, we'll soon figure out what is the best general routine and stick with it.

Gearing up for school

Well, it's that time of year again. We're starting school on Monday. We've had a good break this summer, but we're all looking forward to getting back into a routine again. Lorien told me yesterday, "Mom, you never read to us anymore." so, I know they're ready for school to start back up! I'm looking forward to it too.

This summer I read a book called: Teaching the Trivium- Christian Homeschooling In a Classical Style. It was another one of those life-altering books. God really used it to remind me why I am homeschooling and what my job is as a parent, training His children. It is a great book to read even if you are not considering using a classical style of education. In fact, I highly recommend that anyone who is homeschooling or thinking about homeschooling read at least the first 3 chapters of this book. I think it's the best scriptural argument for homeschooling that I've ever read.

So, we'll update you as the school year gets underway!

Colorado Trip

As I mentioned in another entry, in June, we took a family vacation to Colorado Springs to visit Monte's brother, Andy, and his wife Angela. It was a wonderful trip and we all had a great time!

We went camping at a KOA (the highest in the nation) up in the mountains where we hiked and enjoyed smores (and yes, Beren enjoyed shoveling dirt). Angela, thanks for finding warm clothes for the kids!

We visited an old mining community turned casino town where we checked out the old mining equipment, and, of course, the old outhouse was a fun attraction!

After saying goodbye to the campgrounds, we took a trip through a dino museum where the kids got to uncover dinosaur bones and say, "Woe, that's a big thigh bone!" We had fun!

Most of all, we enjoyed being with Uncle Andy and Aunt Angela and getting to know them better. I think by the time we left, they were ready to get rid of us. But, they sure showed us a great time. Thanks Andy and Angela!

On the way there

4-wheelin' with Angela

Visiting Angela's parents

Camping in the mountains

Visiting an old mining community

A dinosaur museum

New Van

Well, goodbye faithful friend! Our van bit the dust . . . on our way to Omaha. Monte's dad graciously came and rescued us off of the side of the interstate. We stuffed ourselves and our luggage into his car and drove the rest of the way to Elmwood, NE where they live. That was the last time we saw our van. *sad* Well, when it was time to head home, Monte's Aunt Connie lent us her S.U.V. and Monte's mom drove us the three hours back home then headed back to NE. Praise the Lord for family who loves us and is willing to help us out!

So . . .

We got a new van! Monte found a '03 Toyota Sienna online that was priced way below blue book, so after checking it out, he drove to Wisconsin to get it. It's great. It has TWO sliding doors (one of which is electric)! It also has cruise control (now Monte's foot won't go to sleep on our long trips) and a working fuel gauge! Plus, it just looks nice, ya know-- no rust, a non-cracked windshield and interier carpets not yet caked with crushed cracker crumbs. I feel so spoiled. It is a very nice vehicle. Thank you, Lord.

Last School Year

Sorry to all of you who have been waiting for updates . . . for four months. I'm finally getting around to it. This may be boring to some of you, so if it is too long, just skip to the pictures at the end. But, many of you have asked how our school year went, so I'll give you an idea of what school is like at our house-- not that it won't change as we change; that's part of the beauty of homeschooling.

Lorien was in Kindergarten this year. She learned to read and was so excited when she read the whole book of "Hop on Pop" all by herself! But, on the whole, she's not that interested in reading yet, so we're not pushing it. We went at a comfortable pace this year and are taking a break this summer with periodic reviews.

She loved math and is quite good at it. She's learned about concepts like place value, addition and subtraction, and even the area of a rectangle. She also learned skills like using tally marks and skip counting by 2's, 5's, and 10's.

Bible time or prayer always started out our day. I didn't do as good of a job teaching scripture memory as I should have, but we've worked more on that this summer and I have a better plan for focussing on bible and scripture memory when school starts back up in the fall. But, an essential part of parenting is remembering to teach all the time, wherever we are and whatever we're doing, about the Lord and His ways. God has been gracious to constantly remind me of that and steer me back on track when I forget.

The kids all love being read to. We've read countless shorter books, but some of the longer books we read this year and this summer were: Charlotte's Web, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Heidi, Little House In the Big Woods, Stuart Little, Chatterer the Red Squirrel, and The Little Princess. A couple of these were books on tape that we enjoyed listening to on our way to and from Colorado this summer. I'll save the highlights from that trip for another entry.

The birth of Vala made this school year interesting. But, it was wonderful to be able to take a break and focus on being a family and enjoying our new baby without worrying about school for a while. I was amazed at how much we still got done and how much Lorien learned even though we spent fewer days and a third of the hours doing school than most kids do.

Beren really enjoyed doing pre-school activities this year. He had his own workbooks to do and had so much fun! He's just so eager to learn right now and soaks everything up!

Toward the very end of the year, I had someone give me this tip: have older kids teach the younger ones while you teach a middle child. So, while I taught Beren, Lorien taught Nienna her numbers, and how to sort by color, etc. This worked so well. They both loved it and it is a great way to keep toddlers entertained while you are working one-on-one with another child.

Our two "extra" activities this year were piano lessons and participation in a homeschool co-op. Lorien absolutely loves playing the piano and we have a great teacher who makes lessons and practicing so much fun. I would highly recommend her to everyone, so if anyone is looking for a great piano teacher, contact me for details.

Our homeschool co-op is run by moms who teach 4 different classes to 4 different age groups each Monday afternoon. We cover things that are not as easy for some people to cover at home like group sports in a P.E. class, Music, Art, a C.P.R. course, etc. The kids had a blast and made a lot of new friends.

The thing I loved this year was just being a family and getting to watch my kids learn in a relaxed environment using a curriculum taylored to each child's level and learning style. We would often enjoy a snack while doing our math or practice our Spanish words over lunch. I'm loving this and looking forward to another year starting in August.

Math:

Science:

Daddy reading Chatterer the Red Squirrel:

Timberline Church Update

Here is our church update: Timberline is an official e-free church in the central district as of Monday! Praise God! He is doing great things as always! We are seeking to love God, love others, and serve the world together. That is the simple vision God has given the pastors and we're striving to follow Jesus' example as disciples and disciple makers.

We've seen people come to Christ and others grow in amazing ways. Here are a few highlights of what Christ has done. A few weeks ago we heard two testimonies of forgiveness- one of a 50 something year old man who just forgave his father for sexually abusing him as a child and one of a man asking forgiveness from his family members for the way he behaved as an alcoholic. Wow! Amazing life transformation! Many husbands have begun to rise up and lead their families spiritually, rejecting passivity and stepping into the role God designed them for. We also just had a missions team return from Venezuela and heard the amazing testimonies of all The Lord did down there. I've been accused of being ambiguous and unspecific in my updates, so I'm trying to give examples of the way Jesus is working (without writing ten pages). :)

I've seen people in our own small group begin to open up and tell each other how they are really doing and the group is beginning to hold each other accountable (not in a legalistic way, but through encouragement, prayer, and asking how we are progressing in the area of discipleship God is growing us in). We have a long way to go before we are functioning the way the Lord is leading us to, but we're a work in progress as everyone is. We're getting to know our neighbors and starting to learn some of their stories and deepening friendships there. We've heard similar stories from the other small groups at Timberline.

In my own life, God has just brought me through a tough time. Vala was not eating well at all and I felt like all I did all day was try to get her to eat while she screamed. So, I think that probably had a lot to do with it, but I finally realized that I must be going through post partum depression. I've never dealt with anything like that before, so it was new to me and it took me a long time to figure out that's what it must be. And let me say, it was rotten! But, God slowly turned my attitude to joy in Him (little by little) even though I was still feeling the same way and . . . oh, my poor husband and children . . . I'm glad they are forgiving! But, praise the Lord, she is eating better now (I gave up dairy) and our house is much happier. And, spring is on the way!!

Thanks again to all of you who have been praying for our family and for Timberline church. Our Savior has answered your prayers and continues to stretch us and mold us into his image. And, let me tell you, the enemy does not like what is going on here, so please pray that we would remain alert and put on the full armor of God! We love you all and as always, would love to hear updates of what God is doing in your lives as well. God bless you!

One Week Old

It's hard to believe it's already been a week since she was born! Well, for those who want to know, I'll give a brief sketch of the labor story. All my "nesting" energy went into cooking Thanksgiving dinner! Since we couldn't travel, this would be our first Thanksgiving with just our little family all by ourselves-- and, therefore, my first chance to cook the meal all by myself. :) So, I cooked a feast! But, after all that work, I didn't get to eat it. I had some warning signs that said I might be going into labor that night, and I didn't want to chance it (and it's a good thing I didn't). So, I just nibbled a few bites as everyone else chowed down. Then Daddy read from the Bible about the 10 lepers and having a thankful heart. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving! We tucked the kids into bed and warned them that there might be someone else watching them when they woke up in the morning. Still, I was only having Braxton-Hicks (practice) contractions when we went to bed. But, neither of us could sleep, so we were soon both up doing random things (Monte worked on his grad paper and I think I was doing laundry or something). We went back to bed at about midnight. And, just when Monte was beginning to snore peacefully . . . "Oh, that was a real one!" I felt so bad waking him back up, but I said we'd better go to the hospital. For those of you who don't know, my last labor was two and a half hours from first contraction to first baby's cry, so we wanted to get to the hospital quickly in case it went fast again. But, as it turned out, we needn't have worried. This baby was in no hurry to come all in a rush. We got to the hospital at about 1:00am. I was dilated to 4cm or so, but contractions were in no consistent time pattern. We labored while walking the halls of the maternity ward for a couple of hours. The doctor got there at about 3:45 or so. It was actually kind of a fun experience. The pain was handleable (I make up words) and in between contractions, the doctor, the nurse, Monte and I had a great conversation about kids and family and Thanksgiving and God's blessings. All through the labor, Monte was a tremendous help and comfort (he also changed most of the poopy diapers in the hospital). What a guy! At 4:30 or so my water broke and a few pushes later, Vala was born! I didn't tear at all! I've had it the other way with previous deliveries, so I can appreciate what a blessing it is to give birth to a small baby and feel great afterwards! Overall, best labor, delivery, and recovery. :) Before going into the hospital, I prayed that the Lord would give me His strength because I was so exhausted already that I couldn't do any of this on my own. God answered all my prayers specifically. He does truly care about every intimate detail of our lives!

Now, we have our beautiful baby girl! She eats, sleeps, and poops just like a little baby should. She's been an easy baby so far. The kids love her and have been great little helpers. I think we may be making a trip to Lincoln next weekend to show her off to family and to meet her little cousin who was born a couple of days ago.

Vala Hope is Here!!!

Vala Hope Miller

Born November 23rd at 4:43am

6lbs. 9oz. and 19'' long

She suprised us by coming two and a half weeks early! We're so glad she's here!! God is good!!!

Church Update

Well, Timberline Church had it's first annual "church business meeting" where we reflected on and praised the Lord for all the wonders and heart-changing works He's done over the past few months. And, WOW! Praise the Lord for His mercy and grace to us all!

Monte and I prayed for a long time over what role the Lord wanted Monte to fill at Timberline. He has been serving on the leadership team up until now, but he felt the Lord tugging us in a little different direction. Monte and I are both passionate about the body of Christ functioning as it should, growing in maturity, and reaching those who don't know God yet! So, Monte will be heading up the small groups ministry starting in September. We are excited to see how God will use us.

So, we are beginning phase three of our church plant- "going public". Up until now, we've mostly been inviting the people who were natural connections in our lives-- friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, etc. via word-of-mouth. And, we've seen God at work in our lives and in those relationships. Now that we have had a few months together and have worked some of the administrative kinks out, we are ready to tell the whole Timberline area that we are here. We are putting up signs, broadcasting on some radio stations, and canvassing the neighborhoods. We'll kick of the fall with Church In the Park on Sept 9th at 9:30am followed by food and lots of family fun including inflatables, Miss Missy the Clown!

Thanks again for all of you who are praying for us and for Timberline Church. I'd love to fill anyone in on more specific things the Lord is doing, but it would be way too long for this blog post. So, e-mail if you're curious!

Nienna turns two!

Well, our current "baby" of the family just turned the corner into toddlerhood. Nienna Joy turned two on Wednesday. She blew out all . . . well, both of her candles out all by herself. She received her own booster seat and can now join the rest of the family at the table, which she loves (although it's a lot more mess for mom).

She's really started to develop her own personality, which is so fun to see. She is generally shy around strangers and will just stare at them with a "don't talk to me" face. But, if they hold her, she doesn't cry. She's pretty serious and straight faced most of the time, but can really ham it up when she thinks she's being funny. She loves her big siblings and copies everything they do with great enthusiasm. She's mastered the phrase, "Beren took away from me. I had it first!" When asked how old she is, she responds with five splayed fingers and says "TWO"!

So, now that our youngest is a big girl, I guess it's about time to have another baby. Number four is due to arrive December 11th or so. Nienna, I hope you're ready!

Andy and Angela's Wedding

Andy's big day finally came. The whole family gathered in Colorado Springs for Andy and Angela's wedding. Since we got there a little early, we took a day to see the sights also. We all went to a museum, at some ethnic food (pizza), and hiked in the hills behind Andy's house.

The day of the wedding we all got ready, divided up in cars, and took off into the mountains. It was about an hours drive, and after several wrong turns, we arrived. The wedding was held in a really beautiful ranch in a valley with streams and lakes around, and mountains on all sides.

The ceremony was short but nice, ending with the expected result (marriage). Then the real fun began. There was horseshoes, ladder golf, fishing, canoing, and several rounds of eating. We're Miller's after all.

That evening we all took off back to Andy's house, but for some reason Andy and Angela stayed at a hotel, so we didn't seem them again. Then it was back to the cornfields and humidity of Iowa.

Mountain Men

Spring, that magical time of year when a young man's fancy turns to mountain climbing. Monte and Tim, being young men, heard the call of the Rockies and answered, visiting Andy in Colorado Springs in late April.

They spent their time jeeping, climbing, throwing rocks off cliffs, playing poker, and helping Andy put up awnings at his dental office. It was also a good time for them to get to know Angela, who Andy was recently engaged to. Monte got home sore, sunburned, and with a new respect for 8,000 feet (don't laugh, Andy), but he had an awesome trip.

Nienna tries her hand at make-up

. . . or should I say her lips? She really did a pretty good job. She just needs to learn where mascara normally goes and she'll be a pro. Although, I can see that we're going to have a little issue with vanity. She spent the next five minutes making kissey faces at herself in the mirror.

Hey, Hey, We're Still Alive!

We Survived the Long Winter.

Well, the snow is FINALLY starting to melt. Today was a balmy, 50 degree day! We look forward to getting the kids outside to play more and being able to see the neighbors outside again. We have a wonderful neighborhood and anticipate another fun spring and summer.

A lot has happened since we started school in August. We had a lot of fun with school this year, but since Nienna has stopped taking her morning naps and is trying to cut all of her molars at once, we decided to take a break until she gets to the point where she will play by herself for a while.

For those of you who don't know, we have been/are involved in helping to start an E-free church plant in Urbandale, IA called Timberline Church. This has been and continues to be such an exciting time in our lives. It has been amazing to see God's hand in everything that has transpired. It's been such a joy fellowshiping with our fellow Christians as we're being challenged and stretched to growth and maturity in Christ. We can't wait to see what God does in the Timberline area! Thus far, we've been meeting in the building of the "planting" church who has been very generously letting us use their space and has given us a great start, but we will be moving out into our own space on April 1st. We would ask all friends and family to please keep Timberline Church in your prayers.

Well, that's our update for now. I'll try to do a better job of keeping you all updated in the future! :)

Lorien's First Day of School

Lorien was so excited to hear that she would be starting Kindergarten this year! For many reasons we have made the decision to home school our kids. We haven't decided exactly how long we are going to keep them at home, but at least through grade school, and probably Jr. High also. We have a few years to evaluate and see which road each child should travel. This year we are using the "My Father's World" kindergarten curriculum and adding more Bible and Story Time and Spanish. She loves it almost as much as I love teaching her. We even found a bargain desk for Beren to help keep him occupied. He loves to "do school" too. Monte and I are so thankful to the Lord for all the support He's given through our families and through many friends here in Des Moines. Anyone out there who home schools, I'd love to hear your comments, advice, and encouragement.

"Is Daddy flying in a hot air balloon?"

We drove a few miles out of town to a balloon festival with some friends on Friday night and watched about 40 hot air balloons take to the sky. It was an amazing sight! The kids were glued.

Monte left for a business trip today, and when I told Beren that Daddy was leaving, he asked, "Is he flying in a hot air balloon?"

Nienna turns one!

Nienna Joy turned one year old on Tuesday, August 1st. She's been taking steps for a while, but started really walking around the day before her birthday so she could show off for everybody at her birthday party. On Tuesday, we were surrounded by most of our closest friends in Des Moines to celebrate.

We dug into the cake and ice cream, none with as much gusto as Nienna! The cake isn't in this picture, because it was upside down on the floor at that point. After cleaning her up as much as possible, we all gathered in the living room for her dedication to the Lord. We never had a baby dedication for her at church, so we decided to do it now while we had the opportunity, in this intimate setting, with the friends who would be most involved in Nienna's life. Our hope and prayer for Nienna is firstly that she will come to know the Lord at an early age. Monte also hopes that she will become a woman of faith like the widow who trusted God and gave Elijah her last meal (1Kings 17:8-16). Galadriel's hope for Nienna is that she would become a woman of wisdom (Proverbs 2:1-11) and that her JOY in the Lord would be obvious and contagious throughout her life, in good times, and in the midst of trials (James 1:2-3 and 1Peter 1:6-9) drawing others closer to God. After sharing these scriptures, we prayed together, thanking God for Nienna and lifting her up before the Lord, who is the only One able to change the heart. Our friends also prayed for wisdom for us as parents. We were both so increadibly encouraged and heartened by God through our friends that day!