Millers in Boston

New Addition

2007-12-23T11:21:00.000-05:00

The Millers have a new addition to the family. We welcomed Carter Coleman on November 13th at 3:07pm. He weighed in at 7 lbs 2 oz and was 20 inches long. His big sister Anna was extremely excited to finally meet him.

My Friend Wes Hardy

2007-07-14T16:38:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, July 7th, my friend Wes Hardy was killed in a motorcycle wreck while on duty as a Plano police motor officer. Wes was an usher in our wedding and was also a Deputy at Wise County with me. He leaves behind his wife of 7 years Ashlee and twin 3 year old daughters. Please keep his family in your prayers.

The funeral procession was the most incredible thing I've ever seen. There were 150-200 police motorcycles and even more patrol and fire vehicles in the procession. They shut down I-35 headed North from Hebron road to Denton and then shut down US380 from Denton to Decatur. They took him by the Sheriff's Department in Decatur where he started his law enforcement career one last time on the way to the cemetery in Boyd. The trip took 2 hours and 15 minutes. Here is some video from the procession. The Lewisville Police and Fire Departments really honored Wes by assembling on an overpass as the procession passed underneath. They had many police and fire trucks on the overpass and all of their personnel stood at attention as we passed by. They had 3 ladder trucks with the ladders extended in formation - what a sight to see. The Lewisville bagpipe and drum corp also played the entire time the procession was passing. I could hear the bagpipes in my car with the windows up. I just started bawling as I saw this in the distance. The video helps to visualize all of this.

All along the route, we saw fire and police departments in similar formation. Wes would have been so proud.

He was also a volunteer firefighter in Howe. One of the fire trucks in the procession had his bunker gear on the tail for one last ride.

The Wise County Messenger also has a great video of the procession and some shots from the burial. It can be found here.

At the cemetery, they had a police helicopter flyover in the missing man formation, a riderless Dallas PD mounted patrol horse that carried only Wes's boots in the stirrups, a 21 gun salute, and echoing taps. One of the most moving things they did was to make a final tour of duty announcement over the Plano police radios. In the police world, we start our shifts by checking on duty with the dispatcher via the radio and similarly check off duty with them at the end of our shift. Over every radio, we heard the dispatcher call his number - "Mary-4"...no answer..."Mary-4"...and Wes's voice answered her and you hear Wes check off duty for the last time. It was one of the most impactful things of the ceremony. I still cry just trying to explain it.

Wes, a Christian, was a good man, husband and father. He had a huge heart and would do anything for anyone. He still wore his conference championship ring from his days as a walk on player at Texas A&M. He had a great sense of humor and loved to laugh and joke. I'm going to miss him.

If you feel inclined, you can leave a reflection about Wes or to his family on the Officer Down Memorial Page here.

Finally, The Plano Police Association is accepting donations for his wife and twin daughters. If you have the ability, please consider a donation. You can donate here.

Rest in Peace My Friend.

Here is Wes holding our daughter Anna as well as some recent pictures of him and his daughters Cora and Caitlyn.

Our Trip to Greece

2007-07-03T18:19:00.000-04:00

Michael and I went to Greece June 11-21. It was a much-needed break after a whirlwind year of studies - full-time for Michael and part-time for me! If you want to see all 155 pictures from our trip, you can click here.

It's a Boy!

2007-06-30T22:02:00.000-04:00

We found out on June 8 that we are having a boy!! It was fairly obvious from the moment the sonographer touched Amy's belly with the instrument. We passed through the stages of finding out: shock, disbelief, denial, and finally acceptance. God has somehow seen fit that our family should include a boy!! Amy is now 20 weeks along. We are actually really excited, as everyone we know with boys tells us how fun they are and "easier than girls." Anna is really looking forward to meeting her baby brother and is frequently heard asking Mommy if she can feel the baby move in her tummy. She will be really good at showing baby brother the ropes (aka "bossing")!

Graduation

2007-06-08T22:30:00.000-04:00

Well, graduation is now officially over. Michael graduated on Thursday the 7th of June. His mom, step-dad and brother came up to Boston as well as Amy's mom and dad. We had a great time seeing the sights around Boston.

Graduation day started early for Michael. He had to be at the Kennedy School by 7am for photos and they then marched through Cambridge to Harvard Yard behind some Boston Police bagpipers and a drummer. Harvard's graduation is steeped in tradition. This graduation was the 356th commencement in their 365 year history. The president still sits in the same chair during the exercises as the president did in 1737. I've attached a picture of Harvard Yard filled with chairs and banners. Everything is held outside and the weather couldn't have been better.

I've also attached a picture of the family as well as one of his diploma for the family that couldn't be there.

Family expansion

2007-05-27T14:25:00.000-04:00

Yes, we are expecting!! If you look closely at the sono pic above, you will notice that the date is April 20, 2007. This means (1) we are 15 1/2 weeks along now, and (2) I am really late on posting this info on the blog. Please forgive me! We are due November 13, 2007. I will have a sonogram on June 8 where we will try and see the gender. Anna is convinced it is a baby brother. I am scared of that possibility but have heard boys can be great children :)

Anna drew this picture around Easter time - it is a picture of "Mommy with a baby in her tummy." If you tilt your head to the right, you can see Mommy's face fairly straight on. There are cheeks involved in that picture. There is also lots of hair. To the left is Anna herself. Not sure where Daddy is, but she usually draws the full family portrait whenever she gets going.

Wrapping It Up!

2007-05-09T23:16:00.000-04:00

Well, Michael is officially finished with classes as of Friday 5/4. He's still got a paper, a take home final, and a 3 hour in class final exam left before it's all over. It's been a whirlwind to say the least and hard to believe our time in Boston is almost up.

We've been looking for houses in and around Washington DC. We had 2 good options, but both fell through. Things are just so stinkin' expensive in the North East! We'll both be glad to move back to Texas at some point.

Both of our families are coming up to Boston for Michael's graduation. Harvard only holds one main graduation ceremony for all graduating students - both undergrad and graduate students. So, they only allocate 2 tickets for the main ceremony to each graduating student. Each school (Kennedy School, Business School, etc.) has their own ceremony following the main one...and there is no limit to the number of people that can attend it. This is actually where Michael will get his degree. Every year though, there is a black market for tickets to the main ceremony. This year Bill Gates is speaking. I just saw a video report on CNN about the black market for tickets to graduation - some tickets are going for $125 each! See the video here. Anyway, isn't it crazy that with the high tuition bills we have to pay that we only get 2 tickets??

We are back in Texas this weekend for Amy's sister's graduation from Texas A&M. We are excited to get back to campus!

Whiskers?

2007-03-24T21:50:00.000-04:00

The other night I (Amy) was putting Anna to bed, and she looked at me and said, "Whiskers!" Fearing the worst, I said, "Where?", and she pointed to my eyes. I smiled extra big and asked if she meant just to the outside of my eyes. She nodded proudly. Apparently my crow's feet reminded her of cat's whiskers! I would definitely have "eye whiskers" than the other kind!!!

The Aggies are in the Sweet 16!!

2007-03-17T19:40:00.000-04:00

The Aggies beat the Louisville Cardinals in a second round playoff game of the NCAA tournament today 72-69. A big reason for our win was the Louisville player (Sosa) pictured on the left who missed 2 free throws and a 3 point shot within the last minute. Sosa had 31 points for the game and is only a freshman.

In this photo, Acie Law (A&M) comforts Sosa after the game. What a class act this guy is! He gives me hope that sportsmanship is not lost in college athletics. I wish we could all be gracious winners like this guy.

Stay tuned for the Sweet 16 from San Antonio!

Take Classes from MIT for FREE!

2007-03-11T13:36:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wanted to take classes at MIT? Well, now you can! MIT is now putting many of their graduate and undergraduate course material online - available to anyone for free. Check out the hundreds of classes they offer....everything from biology to philosophy to public policy.

The link can be found here.

Greatest First Name Ever....

2007-03-08T22:53:00.000-05:00

This guy has the greatest first name!

First publication!

2007-03-01T14:57:00.000-05:00

Michael wrote an Op-Ed that got published in the Dallas Morning News this morning. I am very proud of him! The print version actually had his picture in it as well. His piece was one of 3 today. The other two were articles by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and the Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau Chief. Not bad company for his first published Op-Ed!

We think his family is more excited about it being published in the Wise County Messenger than the DMN. They asked for permission to reprint it, and ran his Op-Ed in the Thursday, March 8th edition. Michael would love to get everyone reading the Wise County Messenger everyday just as he does! :-)

Winter has arrived!

2007-02-21T22:33:00.000-05:00

We apologize for not keeping this up to date! We started out strong, but with the pressures of school and family life, something had to give. The Fall semester was pretty tough on the Miller family. Michael studied every waking moment and Amy was left to take care of Anna and everything else. Needless to say, we were thankful for our 6 week break over the Christmas holidays. Michael was happy to report he made all A's and one B+ last semester....so maybe the studying paid off.

During our time off over Christmas we did a lot of traveling to see family. We spent time in Dallas with Amy's mom, Decatur with Michael's parents, Tahlequah, Oklahoma with Amy's dad and a few random trips to see other family and friends. We are still amazed that Anna managed to keep it all straight even after our move to Boston less than 6 months before.

The Spring semester has started for both Amy and Michael. Amy is taking a class in Soteriology (the study of salvation for the non-seminarians among us - myself included) from Dallas Theological Seminary. Thankfully, Michael is taking a lighter load this semester and has been able to spend more time with the family.

With the Spring semester came the COLD weather and the wind! Winter has definitely arrived. This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago here in Boston. The wind chill factor was around -10 this day. It's not uncommon to have gusts of 50 mph....in case you are wondering...umbrellas are not made for this type of weather. Unfortunately for Michael, he has to walk about 15 minutes to class everyday. Anna really likes to feel of his cold face when he comes home after a long walk back from class.

The big news for us is that Michael has officially accepted a job as the Special Advisor to the Director of Intelligence of the FBI. Some of you may have been contacted by them during his background investigation. The job will be in Washington, DC, so we'll begin looking for housing very soon.

We are looking forward to a couple of visits from Amy's family over the next month as well as a visit from some of Amy's girlfriends from Dallas in April.

Well that's our update for this week. We'll try to keep this more up to date and will give you more information on our upcoming move to Washington in June.

What's been Happening

2006-10-04T21:57:00.000-04:00

Haven't posted in a while, so this will be like the "Christmas card" update for the month of September.

Michael is taking 5 classes at school. 4 meet M/W and 1 meets T/R. So it always seems the weekends are crunch time getting ready for Monday. He has had lots of reading, a couple of papers, spreadsheet projects, and other fun stuff. I think overall he's enjoying what he's learning, but the workload is pretty incredible. He's taking Criminal Justice, National Security Policy, Strategic Management, Real Estate Development, and Social Entrepreneurship. He's also keeping himself busy by going to company / agency presentations to determine what he's going to do when we leave! We all would love to know that :)

Anna and I do a lot of the same stuff we did back home. We have play dates with other kids, we go to the library for story time once a week, we go to the gym some (I joined the YMCA) - Anna loves the childcare there! We've taking some outings with other families (and the Women of the Cambridge 2nd Ward of the LDS church!) to a farm nearby, where we got to go on a hayride and feed the animals, and to area parks. Next week my mom is coming for a visit (yippee!) and we are going apple-picking on Thursday. I found a really cool wholesale produce place nearby that helps on our grocery bills. With our grad school budget (and Boston restaurant prices), I am cooking dinner at home every night and eating at home every day for lunch. No more El Pueblito when I don't feel like cooking!!! It's a really good discipline for me, though.

Anna is continuing to talk, talk, talk. These days she is playing with her words some (milk = "milky", fridge = "fridgy", etc.), practicing her jumping jacks, and learning to share her toys with other kids. That part isn't so fun. We also started potty training this week on Monday. As of now, Wed. night, we have had no success. Besides losing my mind this week, I am now thinking perhaps she's not ready. Any comments or advice is welcome!!

I'm also continuing my studies at DTS with Intro to Theology. I am really loving the class - it is really challenging my thinking. It's also challenging because the online class format means we turn in assignments every 2 weeks or so, and then the rest of the class comments on them. No pressure!! Actually, the dialogue that ensues is awesome. There are some really Godly people in my class that I am learning a ton from. I'm also keeping up with the IBC women's Bible study with another girl here. We meet one night a week and follow a week behind the group in Irving. God's been teaching us both a lot through the study. My friend has never done a Bible study before, so it is very refreshing to see the Scripture through her eyes!

We had Amy's cousin Eric and his family - wife Tracie and 1-yr. old daughter Evie - here at the end of September. We did lots of fun stuff like go to the Children's museum, take a duck tour of Boston, picnic in the Boston Public Garden, and eat dinner at the North End. The picture below is of a statue at the public garden - of the ducks from Make Way for Ducklings, which is set in the garden. We checked out the book from the library so we could read it to the girls. They were not impressed. We proved out our guest arrangement - a queen-size air mattress and a pack & play CAN fit in our study! Yay!

We have been going to Grace Chapel in Lexington, and although we aren't really able to get involved with their small groups, we are really liking the church. The pastor is doing a series on evangelism right now that's really challenging and motivating. What better place to put it in practice than here?? We pray God uses us here in whatever way He sees fit.

Big Number 2!

2006-09-01T15:01:00.000-04:00

Anna's 2nd birthday was Sunday, August 20. We had a very fun day for her birthday. First, we went to church (one of her favorite things to do - she asks to go all the time!). We went to another new church, Grace Chapel in Lexington, MA.
After church we drove to the airport to see Dan, Angie, and Abigail Millner on their way back home from Galway, visiting Mandy, Jason, & Emma. Our plan was to meet them and eat lunch together at the airport, but unfortunately their flight was delayed an hour, so they didn't have time to eat. We ate before they arrived, then were only able to ride the airport shuttle with them to their outbound terminal. But it was great to see them if only for a few minutes! Abigail has grown a lot but is just as cute as ever! They had a couple of birthday gifts for Anna, which she opened on the airport bus. Another girl on the bus gave her a bracelet when she found out it was her birthday!
After we said goodbye, we drove home, and Anna napped while we finished getting ready for a little birthday party. We invited two new friends and their parents over to eat cake and help Anna open her presents. They had a fun time playing with Anna's new kitchen set we had gotten her.

Here are some pictures from Anna's birthday!

What's happening at 2:
Favorite things to say: "Deeelicious", "No way", "I don't like it", "Thank you/ welcome", "mines", "self"
Favorite things to do: Go to park, be outside, use finger paints, watch Mary Poppins and Sesame Street, read books, pretend to cook things for people, sing songs
Our favorites: "Happy Dance" (where she runs in place with legs flailing out to the sides and arms pumping vigorously), counting (especially the number eleventeen), singing songs (ABCDFIG), jumping - she is finally airborne!
Not so favorite: some little tantrums that magically appeared after the 2nd birthday - who is this child??

What a story

2006-08-31T17:20:00.000-04:00

I've enjoyed working my way through the Jill Carroll story on the Christian Science Monitor website (she's the journalist who was kidnapped in Iraq and released 82 days later- the first one). http://www.csmonitor.com/specials/carroll/index.html

I've also enjoyed working my way through several websites to learn more about Christian Science, which, if I could channel Linda Richmond ala Mike Myers, "is neither Christian nor a Science. Discuss." This was initiated by Anna's and my visit to the children's program at the Christian Science Center here in Boston. It wasn't a religious program (so they told us), but whoa, was it a kind of freaky - but incredibly beautiful - place. Anyway, the Mother Ship (I mean, Church) is here in Boston, so there are a lot of adherents around. So sad.

Driving in Boston

2006-08-31T09:59:00.000-04:00

...and I thought Dallas drivers were bad?!?!? The drivers here take road rage to a whole new level. Here are the rules of driving, as I have experienced them thus far:

1. Honk if there is the slightest chance (a) the person in front of you doesn't move fast enough; (b) the bicycle or pedestrian near you is in your way; (c) you think the person in front of you might not see the green light when it turns green (I have actually seen a taxi do this kind of "preemptive honking"); (d) the traffic in general isn't moving fast enough for your pleasure. If the situation doesn't change, just keep your hand on the horn. That'll fix it. Alternate method: you may roll down your window and yell at someone instead of honking. This is especially effective when the other driver has his or her window rolled up and is oblivious to you.
2. If you aren't sure whether you can turn left into a busy street because of oncoming traffic, just ease slowly into the street. Traffic will stop.
3. Always take into account the other driver's braking ability. This is especially effective when you pull out in front of them.
4. Don't worry about speed limits - the minimums, I mean. It's perfectly acceptable to do 20 on a road that could easily be traveled at 35. Especially when you have just pulled out in front of someone.
5. If you are the first car waiting to turn left at a red light, you should just turn left immediately when the light turns green; the oncoming traffic will yield to you.
6. Don't pay attention to rights-of-way. Cars will yield to whoever got there first.

I really thought the honking was excessive when we first got here; now I realize you MUST use your horn because otherwise people will just crash into you. Anna and I have had many near-death experiences because of the crazy drivers here.

Can it really be August 16?

2006-08-16T21:17:00.000-04:00

My, my. Oh, the intentions. Probably you won't read this for at least 2 weeks since you've gotten tired of checking the blog, only to find no new entries out there. Sorry about that. Somehow life has taken off without me, as usual.

So, here's an update from the last couple of weeks:
Michael - Michael's nearing the end of Week 4 out of 5. He had midterms last week for Quant and Econ & got 98 on both his tests!! (Note to my parents: don't ask what the 2 points were taken off for, like you used to when I was in school!! lol) He's thoroughly enjoyed his classes, although the homework load will be nice to have a break from.

Amy - Amy & Anna have continued to take trips with the family program and meet more spouses and kids. We have met moms & kids from Minnesota, Tennessee, London, Mexico, Kyrgyzstan, Israel, and Taiwan...and we have met 2 dads and kids from Berkeley, CA and Israel. Sometimes there's a language barrier, but usually everyone just speaks pretty plainly, and repeats a lot (sometimes I have to do that with native Bostonians anyway, so it's no different...). It's amazing how many of the families can all speak English as a second language. We have recently visited the Swan Boats in Boston Public Garden, the Boston Museum of Science, a children's program at the Mary Baker Eddy Library (founder of Christian Science), and tomorrow we will visit the Boston Children's Museum.

Anna's getting excited about her birthday coming up on Sunday. Whenever I ask her how old she is going to be, she says "7". We'll keep trying. One of her latest accomplishments is getting her thumb to stay up on its own and saying "Gig 'em, Aggies"!! whoop!

Last week she got impetigo on her chin, so each day I was applying Polysporin several times a day, which apparently was slightly unpleasant for Anna. She would always say "No posporin" when I would get out the tube. One night I was telling Michael, who was going to brush her teeth, to remember the "P-O-L-Y-S-P-O-R-I-N". She said, "No ABCDEFG!" which made us howl with laughter, and I spelled it again, and she said "No PRS!"

Other things she's doing a lot these days are singing the ABC song, counting everything in sight (Tarrin, she's assigning one number to each object!), and saying "I want [item]" The other morning she was saying over and over again, "I want zucchini bread" so I got her on video. The first time she wouldn't say it, but finally the second time she showed off. (The scratches on her nose in the videos are from a nasty spill she took when she tripped on the sidewalk outside and face planted.)

We have visits planned from Amy's cousin Eric along with his wife Tracie, and their 1-yr old daughter Evie at the end of September. Amy's mom is visiting the 2nd week of October. Also Dangiegail Millner will be stopping by on Sunday - we'll go see them at the airport on their layover on their way back from Ireland. Yippee! A taste of home - we can't wait.

Speaking of a taste of home, there are 2 items that are NOT sold in grocery stores here - are we in a foreign country??!? Rotel tomatoes (i know!!!) and Ranch Style Beans, both of which are used to make my Aunt Melanie's Mexican Dish (or Kylie's Mexican dish to the Clonts's!). Anyway, a sweet girl that I've met, a military wife, found them at the AF Commissary nearby and bought me several cans. Seems that's how I'll be getting my 'Texan' canned goods...in the "international" section of the commissary!! Who knew?

The last thing I'll include is that I (Amy) am organizing a babysitting coop with 4 other moms I've met around here. We are doing it with tickets so we're not locked into a schedule. I'm excited to see how it's going to work - and to get some free time! The great thing about it is everyone is pumped to join because everyone's on a tight budget. Gotta love the free stuff.

Calling your To-Do Lists

2006-07-31T22:58:00.000-04:00

This blog is collecting to-do lists for a book to be published in Fall 2007. The author is still looking for "lists from Republicans, conservatives, red state types, and born-agains." Apparently the grapevine he's created doesn't reach those demographics very easily. Do you happen to fit any of those categories? Submit your to-do list and you might get published!

I Won Four Pounds of Squash

2006-07-30T15:45:00.000-04:00

OK, so a while back in women's Bible study they asked us the best thing we had ever won. I racked my brain and couldn't think of anything!! Well, next time remind me that I now have won 4 lbs. of free squash. How, you ask?

Last Sunday morning we trekked over to Harvard Square where there is a farmer's market that sets up Fridays and Sundays each week. They have various fruits, veggies, flowers, breads, herbs, etc....the usual suspects (plus a jam stand with a lady that has a thick Massachusetts accent - so thick that Michael took me to her stand and started asking her questions about the jams just so I could hear her talk...is that wrong?).

There was a HUGE yellow squash sitting by the cash register with a sign that read "Guess the Weight and Win an Equivalent Weight in Squash". Tempting, eh? You had to guess it to the tenth of a pound. The guy next to me guessed 6.5 pounds and was wrong. I picked it up and thought it weighed about the same as a half gallon of milk (and luckily I knew a gallon of milk weighs about 8 pounds). So I guessed 4.2 pounds. I also was wrong.

This week I came back and there was a sign that said "Last week's squash weighed 4.3 pounds," and the girl working the stand recognized me and said right off the bat, "You were really close last week!" I said, "yeah, was there a winner?" And then the good news. Apparently there was a winner right before closing time, but he didn't like squash and told them they could give it away to someone else. The girl decided on the spot that I should be the free squash recipient. How lucky can a girl get?!?! So now we have four pounds of zucchini.

Is this a marketable skill set?

Starting School...

2006-07-29T22:44:00.000-04:00

Orientation started on Wednesday for Michael, and he got a rude awakening: two tests to divide the class into teaching sections for their summer program. Math and microeconomics are the main subjects of the next month of study, so if you love to talk math or econ, I'm sure Michael would love to hear from you. And if you don't, then he'd love it even more! He'll have class pretty much every day from 9am - 5pm and is expecting about 3 hours of homework each night. It will be a pretty intense month!

Michael's class is slightly over 200, about half from the U.S. and half elsewhere. Everyone got 20 seconds to introduce themselves (without referring to professional credentials) to the whole class on Thursday. Michael told the story of knocking Dan and Angie's picture into Dan's groom's cake at their wedding...kind of a 'most embarrassing moment' story. Another guy sang, repeat: sang, "Unforgettable" by Nat King Cole to the class (as in, "we're unforgettable"). And his last name is Cole. Ugh. In my mind, he just created a most embarrassing moment! Avoid eye contact.

Michael has also learned that he is probably the most uninteresting of his classmates. Among his fellow classmates are the former Prime Minister of Tanzania (1995-2005), the principal dancer in the New York City Ballet, the Deputy Director General of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, 3 members of the Mexican Congress, a member of the Danish Parliament, a person from the CIA, an advisor to the Israeli Prime Minister, a member of Parliament from Thailand, an internal medicine physician, and the list goes on and on. I think it's clear now that I (Michael) definitely filled some "Wise County boy" quota Harvard had. :-)

Anna and I (Amy) also attended orientation on Friday for the family activities. Next week they have a 'paint your pottery' day and trip to the Aquarium planned for us. We're going to participate as much as we can, to get to know the other families. The ones we met on Friday were really nice people. We met a family from Nashville with 3 kids ages 3, 5, & 7.

Soon I'm going to blog about ego trips. But I'm too tired now.

Fashion Queen

2006-07-26T15:28:00.000-04:00

Here's a video of Anna testing out Amy's high heels...

And another of Anna playing with Michael after dinner...

Enjoy!

We're in!

2006-07-20T22:59:00.000-04:00

Anna and I arrived a week ago to a 'mostly' put together apartment, and somehow we have been working ever since to get this place in order! Here are some pics. Please pardon the picture quality; I shrunk the pictures to attach them to an email. And I know my head is cut off in the first picture!

We have also figured out that the playground is the place to meet people! Michael didn't meet a single person (aside from delivery men) the first week he was here alone; now we have met a few other families with small kids that live in the area. Thanks Anna! The people we have gotten to know the best are a Canadian family with a daughter named Simone. She is almost 6, and I think she likes playing with Anna because she can boss her around and Anna does whatever she says! But she's really sweet to her. Her daddy is in the same program as Michael, and he's the first we've met in his program. We'll meet more next week when orientation starts (there is orientation for families too!).

2 good reasons not to have a car

2006-07-12T00:24:00.000-04:00

Alright, so the two biggest news events in Michael's life today related to our car. Well, almost.

1. The parking garage next to our building (where our car is parked) caught on fire. Michael found out when he heard sirens and looked out the window to see 18 fire engines outside. Isn't that a great feeling? Anyway, more than 35 cars were damaged - but not including ours. Here's the article.

2. Part of the Big Dig caved in and killed a woman today. So sad - she was a newlywed. It's on the part between our apartment and the airport. Also between our apartment and IKEA. Two places Michael has / will be traveling to a lot lately. Here's the article.

2 very good reasons to take public transportation!!

like IKEA?

2006-07-09T23:26:00.000-04:00

...then you'll love our apartment! Saturday Michael made the largest IKEA purchase in our family's history. Thankfully he still had the U-Haul from his cross-country trip to carry his loot home! In case you're interested, here are some of my favorite items:
Anna's bed
fun rug for the den
Amy's desk
Michael's been working so hard unloading, loading, and unloading that little trailer. I bet he's glad he had to turn it in today so I couldn't send him on any more "runs"! If you've ever been to the IKEA retail store, I feel like we're trying to furnish a "living in 1000 sq. ft." model they do in the store.

Michael's trek took him across 11 states during his 3-day trip (Wed - Fri). He braved rain, I-40 construction delays, and the New Jersey turnpike along the way. Like he said on Wednesday night, "It's me and the big rigs out here." Except for the CB radio, of course.

Monday the rental furniture arrives, and Thursday Anna and I arrive. We are anxious to be there with Michael and get settled into our new "home"!

On the move...

2006-05-27T01:20:00.000-04:00

Amy here. So...we're not in Boston yet, but we're definitely on our way. A quick status of where we are in the process: we DO have a place to live (yay!). I'll send out a change of address to everyone in email. We're in a student housing apartment tower here. Our new apartment is a 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1000 sq. ft. matchbox! :) (Read: quick to clean!). Our lease starts July 5. Michael's class starts July 26; we want to get up there a few weeks early so we can get settled and perhaps do a little sightseeing before school starts, so our current plan is this: Michael will leave on July 5, and Amy & Anna will fly up and join him a few days later. I know he's looking forward to that 3-day driving trip with a U-Haul attached to our trusty car!

Our house went on the market May 4, and we got an offer May 15. (Another praise!) We are in the contract option phase, and need to agree on the extent of "fix-ups" we will do to the house so the buyers will close. Ugh...we found out yesterday we will need to replace about $2000 worth of windows...what's up with that? They don't leak, so...anyway. Assuming we can come to an agreement, we will close on June 29 and then be out of the house by July 3. Thankfully my mom is allowing us to stay with her a few days while we're in transition.

So, let the packing begin! This will be the icky part, but hopefully the 2 garage sales we had will show their worth now...

Welcome to our Blog!

2006-05-06T18:38:00.000-04:00

The Millers would like to welcome you to our first ever blog! We thought this would be a convenient way to keep our friends and family informed about our lives. It will also allow the grandparents to get their Anna "fix" whenever they need it! Enjoy!