The Tonsilectomy has been cancelled. I called this morning because Elizabeth has caught a cold. I figured they might not do surgery if she had a cold. I found out that it just depends on the congestion. She tends to get a lot of congestion when she gets a cold... but that isn't the reason for the cancellation. Evidentally, they cancelled it last week! During the pre-op call, I told them that she has beta minor thalessemia. Evidentally that was enough to cancel the surgery and send her to a hematologist before they will do it. Funny... we just did her bloodwork and last week her doctor referred her to a hematologist as well. I guess we need to follow through on that appointment! Oh well.. it is always better to do things in God's timing rather then mine. I am awaiting the call from the hematologist to find out how soon we can be seen.

As for snow; I think we are finally done. It is raining right now. The kids missed 3 days of school last week. Sam and Erin missed it Friday as well and they missed Monday due to Presidents day... and today because it is teacher work day. So they have not been in school since February 13th. Crazy! Erin, Mark and i traveled to Houghton again. Erin has an interview for the honors program. There are over 120 kids trying to fill 50 positions and recieve 60 scholarships. For Mark and I, it was a wonderful weekend. I really enjoyed our time together. Erin had an essay to write and faced 2 interviews. It was probably not so "relaxing" for her. We would LOVE for her to make it into the honors program. If she does, she will spend a month in Bosnia, Croatoa, Venice, and Slovenia. (probalby other areas as well, but I can not remember). What an experience that would be! And during Spring Break, she will hopefully be traveling with the soccer team to Brazil for a ministry.

Well, I need to go. I just wanted to update a little with Elizabeth.

There is never a dull moment in the home of the Millers. Just when things seem to be calming down, something always rises up to remind me my need for God. Elizabeth will be undergoing a tonsilectomy Tuesday. We found out last week. It's a little quick for me, but maybe that is for the better. I am nervous for many reasons, but many justs because it is my little girl who is going under anesthesia for the first time, having surgery, and then facing many days of severe discomfort and then one day in which there is a little more serious complications that could occur. So, I find myself, once again, resting in the presence of God... knowing that I do not have control; only He does.

And then a few nights ago, EMily called begging to come home. Life has hit her hard this week and she is missing us. She just wanted off campus. Thre are advantages and disadvantages to going to a small school. This week, she was only seeing the REAL disadvantages. She wanted to get away from it all. But in reality, what she really needed was for hugs from mom and dad and a good cry on my shoulder. Unfortunately, she couldn't have any of it. She had even arranged to fly home (not yet buying the ticket) until she discovered that we would not be able to be with her and the plans we have CAN NOT be changed. So.. she had to settle for SKYPE. We skyped for a good 2 hours. She was able to join our family devotions. It was pretty cool. By the end, she felt much better. It wasn't a hug, but it was the next best thing.

And finally (though not really the final thing of all that goes on). ... we have been hit with 3 huge snow storms. The kids have not been to school yet this week and both Sam and Erin have to miss school tomorrow! We just got slammed with 9-11 more inches of snow on Jacob's birhtday. LAst night, we had ice. Tonight, they are expecting melting and then freezing. And I just heard that Sunday night, we are expecting another 6 inches of snow! Tuseday we shoveled our driveway and our neighbors. Yesterday, I shoved my parents. When you have long drives and SEVERAL inches of snow; it makes for a VERY SORE back! Oh .. and then... I had a normal physical ... only to find out that I am losing some hearing, weighing more then I care to think... and discovering many other sad results of getting old. This getting old is for the birds!

Jacob missed Emily's birthday by 54 minutes. I am so glad that he was able to have his own special day! Happy Birthday, baby!


















fOURTEEN YEARS ago, today, my little boy (well..maybe my big boy now) was born. He came into the world fighting for air. The umblical cord was wrapped around his neck 3 times. It was a little on the scary side, but just after the emergency button was pushed, he let out a good scream. We praised God when we heard it. Jacob has brought such a oy to our life. He has taught me more about God then I think anyone has. He is such a precious and special young man. He is tender spirited, sweet, longsuffering, strong, self-disciplined, determined, intelligent, and has a sense of humor that blows us away! He is a pure joy.

Happy Birthday, baby girl!


































Today is my little girls birthday! 19 years ago, Mark and I were in the hospital delivering our very first child. I went into labor the day before; in the wee hours of the morning. We went to the hospital on the 13th only to wait a very, very long time for this little girl to arrive. At 9:30 am on Valentines Day, our little girl was born. She was absolutely perfect; the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. And throughout her nineteen years of life, she has become even more beautiful. She has given us more joy then we could have ever dreamed of.

Well, on Friday and into Saturday morning, we were hit with 15 inches of snow! It was crazy! I can't remember ever having that much snow all at one time. I walked out in the morning to 15 inches of very heavy snow to be shoveled from a very long drive. With 4 of us at work, we managed to get it done in less then 2 hours. It was the craziest shoveling I have ever done! You couldn't do more then a shovel full. Usually you can push the shovel across the drive and get most of the snow. ... not this time. It was one shovel full, literally, at a time. Each time you set the shovel down, you came up with 15 inches of snow on the shovel.

Tonight we are under another storm warning. This time they are expecting another 8-12 inches of snow. If we get the 12 inces, we will have had more then 2 feet of snow in 4 days. What a wild thought.

Mark is one of the greatest fathers. When it snows, he always makes sure that the kids have a good time. He straps the rope around his chest and the two little ones jump in the sled and both of them yell "yaw mule". Elizabeth decided she wanted to be the mule. So she grabbed the rope, wrapped it around her and promptly ordered Ri to sit in the sled. He obliged and hollared "yaw mule". It was adorable.

I Put this picture up just so you could get a feel for the amount of snow we shoveled.
The snow was very unique. It was heavy and came down almost packing. It was easy to scoop up big chunks of snow. Thanks to the plow, there were many, many big "ready made" snowballs. Ri couldn't resist them. He kept piling the sled up with them and making Daddy or Elizabeth pull them.