Maia and the Cats

These are two very smart cats in keeping their distance from Maia. She loves seeing the cats and gets so excited when they come near her. She even follows them with her eyes where ever they walk. This particular afternoon Maia and I were playing in the hallway and the cats were around us and she was so excited. Soon they won't even be that close because she may be crawling right to them. One day she pulled a dogs fur so hard that the dog yelped, and stayed clear of her. We are not joking about Maia's death grip.

Sunny Sunday

What do you do on a sunny day in Portland? You make the most of the outdoors. It is amazing how on a sunny warm day people fill the outdoors in parks, on their bikes, walking etc... It's like everyone comes out of hiding when the sun comes out. I guess you learn to appreciate a clear day all the more when it does not happen very often. I include myself in this. Sometimes it can be misleading especially when the sun is out and it is very cold.

However, this sunny Sunday was nice and warm and we decided to spend some of the afternoon on a blanket in our back yard. Maia loves to soak up the Vitamin D as she plays with some of her toys outside.


We even brought our lunch outside and had outselves a little picnic.

We got Maia sunglasses because when she topples over the sun is directly in her eyes and that does not make our little girl happy. However, they do not stay on so unfortunately it defeats the purpose. I will need to get creative and make a little strap to go around her head to keep them on.

So yay for sunshine! Yay for warmth! and Yay for how green our sunny days are because of all the rainy days in between.

Beach Day!

It has been beautiful weather here in the Portland area and I have been craving the ocean. There is always something refreshing for me at the ocean. And so I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather. Maia and I loaded up the car this morning and headed out. We went to Cannon Beach which is one of my favorite beach towns to visit here on the Oregon Coast. We set up camp and took in the Vitamin D. The sun was so warm and there was not much of a breeze. It made our beach day pleasant. It was fun watching Maia be excited about the waves and the sand. Here are a few pictures of our day out.

Our Response to the Haiti Earthquake

For what its worth:

We are saddened and praying for the victims and survivors of the Haiti Earthquake. Everywhere we turn, there is a link, a mass mailing, or suggestion for how to give as a response to the earthquakes. We have many generous friends who have given; some through organizations they personally know or have been a part of, others through my work where the company has matched all donations and even allowed it to be taken directly out (pre-tax?) from one's paycheck, others simply by giving to the Red Cross. In fact, I know many, many people I admire who are hands down more generous than we are.

I have mentioned before that natural disasters (tsunami's, floods, earthquakes, famine and the resulting starvation, etc.) actually have enough money given to provide the help that is needed. They are immediate enough and dramatic enough to make the evening news, plus they provide amazing television images, which have the effect of pulling ones heartstrings and motivating one to give even if that person does not regularly give to care for the poor. This is something I learned during training for Hunger Corps with Food for the Hungry in Bangladesh.

But things like chronic, persistent hunger, which aren't so flashy, or showy, or dramatic, do not evoke the needed response even though they kill many more people. How do you accurately capture through a television lens the need of someone who daily takes in fewer calories than he uses? How do you make this slow killer pressing enough, that it can be 'breaking news' on the evening news of a given night of the week?

What to do? If we were to get bitter at the lack of response to these other issues, that would certainly be the wrong response. Additionally, refusing to give to the Haitian relief efforts based on the fact that there are 'other pressing issues' and that plenty of money is being given by everyone else would not be correct. Our response cannot be a justification or rationalization for why we don't have to act.

Instead, what we have done, is used this immediate, pressing, natural disaster as a catapult to get us to act on the long term issues. We have given money, but not to the Haiti relief efforts. Instead, we gave money to fight chronic, persistent, hunger. My hope is that each time one of these disasters strikes, we will choose, like everyone else, to give over and above our regular giving. But that we would use it as a chance to give over and above towards a need that is being neglected by others.

---We realize that this post does not address issues such as waste, assumptions as to what is needed, creating dependency, and enabling vs. serving. The issue is certainly much more complex than 'To Give Money or Not To Give Money', but if we were to share our thoughts (and they are almost entirely thoughts rather than solutions) on all of it, well, you would not read that long and convoluted post.---

Happy Birthday Michael Hike

"Going on a bear hunt

Going to catch a big one

What a beautiful day

We're not scared"

Oh look a waterfall,

We can't go over it

We can't go under it

We'll have to go through it

Ok so maybe not quite a bear hunt, but we did have a fun adventure out in the gorge. For Michaels birthday he wanted to go for a hike with two of our close family friends, the Leighs and the Huffmans. We did not see any bears, but saw some beautiful waterfalls and green foliage.

This is the first main waterfall we came across. On this trail you can see about 12 waterfalls if you hike the whole way to tunnel falls which is about 12 miles. So yes pretty amazing for sure.

Maia also enjoyed the hike. She just loved being outside. Mostly she just kicks her feet and flaps her arms with utter excitement, and then she gets exhausted and falls asleep in the Ergo. However, this time she gets to be with daddy and that is exciting as well!

This is Punch Bowl falls. Can you see why it's called that?? We have heard that people kayak down this falls. Pretty amazing if they do!

At this falls it was time for snacks!! Naomi and her delicious sandwich!

Maia and Eben are having fun becoming friends.

This is a view of Maia in the Ergo. I want to have a picture of this angle before she begins to ride on my back. This is an image I want to remember!

More beautiful water. This trail is called Eagle Creek trail. At the 12 mile mark it hits the PCT. Maybe one day we will make it that far!

Just around the bend was this waterfall. Just a beautiful view to look at.

This is a view from High Bridge looking down the stream. The water flows in between these huge rock crevices and this picture does not do justice to how amazing it was.

I did not make it to this part since I had a little one to feed, but Michael and a few others went on to this part of the creek and the following waterfall.

This is part of the trail that was pretty crazy. It's just on a cliff edge with a cable fastened into the rock for us to hold on to if need be. So yes kinda scary with kiddos, but we made it. It's pretty incredible how high above the river we are.

Well that ends our adventure. Yea for Michael's birthday and great friends to celebrate with!

Hats

Maia and her daddy have got theirs on and are ready to do a little show for you!!! So sit back, put on your favorite hat on and enjoy these fun pictures!Hats from the side

Close up with the Elvis lip


Hat tilted to the side

Don't be shy!

hats from below

Hats can make you tired too!!!

So lets hear it for hats!!!!!!!

Sleepy kiddos

Three kiddos in a row fast asleep. Daphne and I (Jeanette) went to a fabric store with the three kids and it didn't take long on the way home for them to fall fast asleep. Here is just a small glimpse of those cute kids.

I guess it takes a lot of energie for kiddos to bear with their moms at fabric stores, but they handled it pretty well. The great part was just having that time to be with Daphne an adult. I loved it and look forward to more adventures!
Well as I write this I am beginning to feel a little sleepy. So good night!

Roley Poley # 2

So the latest trick that Maia has been doing is rolling continually in one direction. From her front she rolls to the left and then continues on. So does that mean she rolls to the left or right? Do you judge that from her back or front? This is what Michael and I are trying to figure out. Anyways, she rolls and it is a lot of fun. However, most of the time it is at other people's houses that have carpeted floors and those are the times we don't have our camera...ooops. Well enjoy this video of our roley poley. (Sorry about uncentered filming. I was trying to cover the red light and get Maia's attention at the same time. Not always easy.)

Without further ado...Maia Sage Miller.......(feel free to clap).

Grandma Jo came to visit...

We got the privilege to have Grandma Jo spend the weekend with us about a week ago. It was the first time Maia got to meet her and I think they hit it off just great! We had a fun and full weekend. We spent some time at home, had a delicious dinner at the Mosers, and a good time visiting the farm. It was so much fun to get to see Grandma Jo and hear stories of a faraway land!

This was before we left to the farm. Notice the matching fleece vests. They know how to stay warm! These are my cooking buddies!!! Maia gets to play with cooking utensils as I cook and this morning daddy decided to join right in when he got home from work.We also climbed to the top of the hill out at the farm. This is the spot where Ginya took a picture of us when we came out to visit about 3 years ago. Those are always fun memories!! Little did we imagine at the time that eventually we would be standing here with our little Maia and Grandma Jo in the same spot!

Yes the giraffe. Maia took a nap cuddling with her new friend. She actually went to sleep this way. I just thought it was pretty cute.

Lots of fun games and songs with Grandma Jo. She was very smart to find Maia a different toy to chew on instead of her fingers. Yes, be careful --Maia could hurt you with her gums.

Grandma, dad, daughter all in a row!

Since this was the first time in a while since Grandma Jo has been in the states on her birthday I thought it would be fun to do a little celebration with her and Michael since their birthdays are only a day apart. So...."Let the wild Rumpus begin"

Ooops maybe a better exposure or a flash would have helped....

There that is better, but I will admit it is a little posed. We enjoyed chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting at 9:30 pm.

Let them eat cake!

Thanks Grandma Jo for coming to visit us up here in Portland. We certainly enjoyed your stay and look forward to your return!!! Also Happy Birthday a few days early!!! Hope it's a good one!

Repentance

I am sitting in a mostly empty plane coming in to Denver. Jeanette is flying back from Aberdeen with Maia, and I am going to meet her and surprise her, and help with the baby and luggage. I have been thinking lately about sins that are committed over and over again. We all have addictions, or bad habits that we do again and again. Now matter how many times we repent, we end up blowing it again. No matter how many times I feel terrible about it, and resolve to do better, I end up being critical of my wife once again. Or jokingly antagonistic. Or poutingly selfish. Or fill in the blank. I know that when I sin, I need to apologize, ask God for forgiveness, and that He will help me not to do it again. The trouble is, I need this to be genuine, and not just some formulaic incantation I recite so I can get what I want again. When I do a random act of sin it isn't too difficult to feel genuinely sorrowful, to repent, and to genuinely turn away and choose never to do this again. But when it is the same act I've committed over and over again, well, its hard to convince myself that I'm actually repentant when I've been in this same situation for this same sin myriads of times before, repented, then like a dog to my vomit, said the most harshly critical thing to my wife yet again. I'm suspicious of my intention to not sin again. I like sin, and this repentance seems a bit too timely-- I'm confessing again after its all done, yet have not bothered to keep my mouth shut and say nothing when I'm about to criticize.

So here I sit in this plane, thinking. I've been avoiding God, because I know there is something between us that needs to be addressed. I've given in to sin, and it is hard to confess because I don't know how to make it genuine when I've said the same thing thousands of times before and am here needing to do so again. On this plane I have my journal, a waterbottle, and JP Moreland's book "The God Question." I brought nothing else. I brought the book because besides being the best book I read in 2009 (this book is incredible!) I remember that what he said about Confession struck me when I first read it, though I forget what he said. Turning to p168, I re-read:



"For years, I practiced a self-desctructive approach to confession: If you do something wrong, you confess it as soon as you recognize what you did. This cleanses you afresh, and then you can enter into God's presence again." Hmm... this is exactly my approach to confession. I view my sin as separating me from God, and that I cannot get close to Him until I confess it and repent.

Continuing: "This approach has two problems. For one thing, you subtly come to believe that your confession-- for example, how earnest you were this time, how much you really felt sorry, how ready you were to acknowledge it, how well you have done since the last time you confessed something like this-- earns you the right to walk with God again. This is deeply harmful. For another thing, you form the habit of giving a surface treatment of what is causing you to sin and what is going on in your heart. As a result, you are more likely to engage in the sin repeatedly." Moreland has perfectly described how I've been confessing my whole life! When I talk about being genuine, what I mean is that I am trying to feel earnest in my confession... and therefore to earn my 'rightness' with God again. If I am honest, I also do not view sin as being as bad as it is. This is because I know in the back of my mind that I have the 'magical' blood of Christ to make everything good between us. This sounds crass and sacreligious, and it is, but refusing to admit to the view does not make it any less true of me.

And then I come to the true gem of this passage: "By contrast, here is a more helpful approach. When you sin against God and become aware of it, you immediately run to Him and invite Him into your situation. You immediately ask Him to search your heart and show you what is going on in the depths of your soul." He goes on to say you then agree with Him about what you see.



So sitting there on that plane, I invited God into the mess of my bad habits, and I asked Him to show me what was going on in the depths of my soul. I've asked God to help me express what happened next, because I want to get this experience across. All of a sudden, I felt a Presence diving down into me, and baring the depths of my soul. I can't explain how I knew this; there were no thoughts in my head, no words describing to me the little, petty life I was living, just a heaviness pressing in on me. I was all shortness of breath and tears. As I finished my prayer I managed to reach up and turn off my reading light before I was overcome. Then I sat there, plunged in darkness, in a tiny, dark, silent plane looking out my window at the dark earth below. There was noone in my row, nor in the rows around me. And I sat there, hot tears streaming down my face, hands clenched and unclenched, my mouth tightened into the wide grimace of a silent cry, occassionally letting my head fall into my hands, my brow tight and furrowed, breathing heavily, feeling heavy, and feeling Someone inside me, examining me and cleansing me. There, in that darkness, a tiny dot hurtling across the night sky, I discovered and agreed with God about what He found in me. And I finally repented. I was undone. And I felt whole.

Eventually the Searching went away, and instead calmly nestled inside me. And as we descended into Denver, I was nothing but peace.