Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas from the Miller Family!

And then there were five. Yes, we added another savage to the tribe this year. Ben joined us on March 26^th and has been a little bundle of joy ever since. The boys are obsessed with their new laughing, squeaking, and crying toy and have welcomed him with lots of love. Some of that love hurts, but sometimes being the third child is painful. Ben has been our happiest baby and blessedly the least mobile. But, as he sits on the floor chewing on Josh’s school papers or toys, we can see him carefully watching his brothers’ every move and taking mental notes. We can tell that this one will be crazy, too.

Michael started preschool this year at the ripe old age of three. He is attending the same program Josh did, Teens and Tots at the local high school. He loves his teachers and playing with his friends. However, when we ask him what he learned at school, he always answers, “Playing with Rescue Heroes.” We are not sure how much he is learning, but he enjoys himself and Irene gets a break. We thought for a while that Michael was not going to fixate on specific toys like Josh does, but he has developed a love for all things Buzz Lightyear and superheroes. He often dashes around the house using his “powers,” sometimes for good and more often for evil. Michael is our mischievous child with a darling smile and a propensity to bug the heck out of Josh.

Josh graduated from Preschool in the Spring and has moved on to the big world of Elementary School. He loves everything about Kindergarten; from riding the bus to doing worksheets, there is not a single part of his day there that he doesn’t enjoy. He is a great reader and enjoys spelling and rhyming all day long. He has also had a string of “girlfriends” this year; shades of Jason in his (much) younger days. We are past the days of Josh’s exclusive train obsession and now add dinosaurs, spaceships and superheroes to his list of interests. And Josh has become our resident Wii expert having logged in more hours on Mario Kart than the rest of us combined. We are very grateful for our oldest boy with his kind heart and love of learning.

Irene just survives one day at a time. Keeping busy with playgroup, various clubs and preventing the all out destruction of our house is a full-time job. Having a baby in the house has put several of her hobbies on hold and she hopes to rejoin the land of the sane about the time that Ben turns one.

Jason still teaches World History and Geography at the high school. He is getting ready to teach AP World History next year. He continues to initiate the boys into the world of superheroes and shares their love of trains, bugs and things that explode. We are blessed to have such a great Daddy in the house.

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas and great New Year!

Love, Jason, Irene, Josh, Michael and Ben