Heidi

Apparently the firefighter hat is a popular toy at our house. This is Heidi. She and her brother come to our house a few days a week. They are a lot of fun to have around.

Edmund

This is one of the kids I am taking care of occasionally this semester. Edmund has learned to sit up during the past few weeks. The boys love dancing and doing silly things to make Edmund smile. He has added a fun baby element to our family during the afternoons he is at our house.

One day I opened my fridge to find this guy hanging out in the door. Ben told me he was in a time out. I promise we are not giving our kids time outs in the refrigerator. This is just one more example of Ben's creative mind at work.



Noah got finger paints for his birthday. So one morning when the boys needed a bath and the weather was warm, I let the boys paint on a cardboard box outside on the back deck. Rain was forecast for later in the day. I thought I had planned things perfectly so that the rain would clean up the extra paint and the bath would clean up the boys. (I was also doing laundry which would take care of the messy pj's.) Unfortunately I did not factor in the boys' propensity for destruction. They splattered paint all over the aluminum siding of the house. I spent 15 minutes cleaning the siding (which needed it anyway) for fear that the light rain would not remove the bright red, green, blue and yellow globs decorating our house.

The boys had a great time, which is what really matters anyway.

FYI-this picture was taken before the paint slinging began

Moral of the story...never leave your children unattended with finger paints while you put the camera back in the house.

Noah's 5th Birthday Trip

We have started a birthday tradition in the Miller family. We take a special 5 year old birthday trip to the Baltimore Aquarium. Just mom, dad and the 5 year old. Here are some pictures from the fun day we had with Noah.

We saw the dolphin show.

The dolphin show was a nice break after walking around for a few hours. The whole day went perfectly and we never got bored or tired of what we were doing. It was nice to only have one child to focus on and we were able to work nicely with Noah's interests and energy level.

I really like snakes and frogs. These were my favorite exhibits.

I wanted to take this frog home.

Drew and Noah did not like the reptiles and amphibians. They were more excited about the fish. The tanks were full of beautiful marine life.

Noah was able to sneak up close to take a look at some amazing fish.

This fish (Drew will have to add the name later) loved posing for our camera.

We finished up our day with lunch and a trip to a candy shop for a special birthday treat. Those of you familiar with Baltimore will recognize the paddle boats behind us.

Pics from a snow day in February

I currently have 5 kids in my house (Noah is the oldest). 3 are sleeping and 2 are having a quiet time. I am hoping to have time to post the pictures that have accumulated in my camera over the past few months. It takes me forever to load pictures to the blog, so we will see how far I get.


These are pictures of a snow day back in February. We went sledding at Noah's preschool with our neighbors Jane, Anna and Kathleen.

Noah went down this hill and had to wipe out before running into the tall grass at the bottom.

Random picture of Noah eating lunch after playing in the snow.

Ben stayed at the top of the hill with his mama. :)

Noah and Jane were big kids and went up and down the hill on their own.

An Article In the Local Paper about Drew

Daily News-Record (Harrisonburg, VA){PUBLICATION2}

February 23, 2009
Page: A3

Africa Trip Offers A 'Renewed Calling'
Educator's Journey Affirms Career Choice
JENNY JONES, Daily News-Record

PENN LAIRD - Working with middle school students can sometimes be daunting, but one local school administrator found rejuvenation in an unlikely place. Drew Miller, assistant principal at Montevideo Middle School, traveled to South Africa in September and says the experience made him even more committed to his career. Since returning from the trip that was sponsored by Rotary International, Miller has shared photos and stories about the culture and educational system in South Africa with local students, teachers and community members. Rotary International sends business professionals to other countries through its Group Study Exchange. The program provides travel grants for teams to visit different countries, where they observe how their vocations are practiced, according to the Rotary International Web site. Next month, a group from South Africa will visit this area as part of the exchange. Miller said he applied for the South Africa trip because he's always wanted to visit the nation located at the southern tip of Africa to see how its people are dealing with issues such as race relations, poverty and crime, especially in the school systems. "I've always wanted to go, particularly to South Africa," Miller said. "The problems that ... they're addressing are problems, really, our whole world is addressing." South Africans Face Hardships Miller and his group traveled to about a dozen different towns and villages throughout South Africa and stayed with host families the duration of the month-long trip. When he wasn't visiting orphanages or gold mines, Miller toured schools and visited with teachers, administrators and students to get a feel for how the country's education system operates. During his visits to schools, Miller also shared information about the United States education system and talked about what it's like to work in Rockingham County Schools. The trip, Miller said, was eye opening and unforgettable. He visited a school that operated out of run-down one-room building with outhouses, a school where teachers left for the day when the principal was out at a conference, and a school where teachers were forced to continue working with a student who assaulted the school secretary. Despite facing such overwhelming problems as AIDS, poverty, crime and high unemployment, Miller said he saw a lot of happiness on his trip. Children who walked to school barefoot in shorts and T-shirts on a 45-degree day still played and smiled, he said. "I saw kids playing with garbage and having a blast," Miller said. "I just wonder if [the South African teacher] comes here and says, 'These people have everything and they're not content.'" 'A Renewed Calling' As he took in the South African culture and observed its educational system, Miller said he felt a greater sense of the importance education plays in people's lives. All the major problems plaguing the country could be improved through better education, he said. "It was like a renewed calling [to my job as an educator]," said Miller, who is in his second year as assistant principal at Montevideo Middle School. "I thought, 'Here's why I do what I do.'" Supervisor Supportive Of Trip Lisa Milliken, principal at Montevideo Middle School, said she was supportive of Miller's decision to go to South Africa and can tell that his experiences there have only fueled his drive to help children. "This position can be very stressful and frustrating at times; it can make you question your purpose as an educator," Milliken said. "I think after seeing the poverty, crime and violence in South Africa, [Drew] became even more compassionate about his purpose here." In addition to refreshing Miller's career perspective, his experiences in South Africa open up possibilities for future exchanges with the people he met during his trip, Milliken said. "The development of a relationship between Drew and the South African students [could] lead to great learning activities such as a pen pal project between our students and South African students," she said. "I know others, like teachers, students and community members, are learning from his experience as well." Contact Jenny Jones at 574-6286 or jjones@dnronline.com

Copyright (c) 2009, Byrd Newspapers, All Rights Reserved.
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SNOW DAY

It snowed yesterday and Drew didn't have to go to work. So we teamed up with our friends, the Tongens, and headed to Massanutten for a day on the slopes. Noah really enjoyed his first skiing experience. Megan and Anthony took turns teaching him how to snow plow. After a short while Noah felt confident enough to head up the mountain. Here he is with Drew and Anthony after a successful trip down the bunny slope.

I am not very fond of skiing and welcomed the chance to hang out with the little boys while everyone else skied. Paul, Ben and I played in the snow around the ski lodge and had a great time together.

Ben and Paul enjoyed throwing snow balls (really ice chunks)
as we waited for Noah at the ski lift.

Paul and his rosy cheeks.

Every time Ben bent over for more snow, his snowsuit would expose his little behind.
I had to take a picture. :)

We were fortunate to find a little hide away spot in the midst of the huge crowd. The boys had a great time playing together. We even attempted a nap but ended up having story time instead.

We finished off a great day with pizza at the Tongen's house.

The boys were exhausted after a fun day in the snow.

I am grateful for wonderful friends and a perfect snow day together.