Sprung

Long time no post. Sorry about that. I'm still here. We all are. We're all doing fine too. It's going to get real busy around here very soon. Angie is in her last month of her second to last semester in school. She will be studying non-stop for the next month. Abby is running track again this spring. Her meets are in April. Madeline will start softball in April as well. I am not coaching this year. They asked, but I said no. I will be assisting though.

Alex is preparing to graduate. She wants to go to college, which is awesome. She would like to go to an expensive private school though, which is probably not going to happen. Well, it could happen if her long lost rich uncle comes out of hiding and pays for it. If only. Her grades are not really good enough for a major scholarship. She won't get one for athletics either. I wish I could afford to pay 30-40 grand a year for school for her. I can't. I'm trying to talk her into starting at the local community college. She has no idea what field she wants to focus on, or if she'll even like college. She likes the idea of moving away from home and hanging out with friends though. I remember the end of my senior year in high school. It was a stressful and scary time. It's a big change in life.

52 days until the annual Troutslayer spring fishing trip. This year we're going north, to Deer Lake in Minnesota. We'll be walleye fishing. I'm really looking forward to it, as usual. I hope they have a warm spell while we're up there.

I finally got my Verizon iphone. I really like it. I use the heck out of my ipod, my phone, and my camera. I thought why not have them all in one device. This thing is great. The camera really isn't that bad for a phone either. There are lots of camera apps. I've yet to scratch the surface really. I've attached a couple photos from my phone. I apologize for the crappy photos this time. I haven't had the photo mojo lately. I probably took 6 photos in the last month. This is all I got.

Spring has sprung. Time to go camping. Who's with me?

Peace-
Matt

Squirrel

Back in this post, I told you about an angel channeler that spoke with the son of a friend. Today we got the transcript of part of it:

Kyle: Can I ask you about a person in Heaven? Robby Miller.
Ann: Yes, he doesn't seem old. He looks to be your age.
Kyle: He died when he was a baby from SIDS.
Ann: Ah, he decided to age in Heaven. We are souls first. When you're on the other side you can choose what form to take. He has a good sense of humor! He said that it's for your sake because talking with him couldn't work if he was sucking his thumb. :) He's kind of a smart aleck.

Ann: He said that his life and death were for his parent's sake - not his. They needed to learn about forgiving themselves. They felt that they had a part in causing his death. They had to learn to not be perfect.

Kyle: Can you ask him about firetrucks?
Ann: Did you two used to play with firetrucks? When you mentioned them he smiled.
Kyle: I talked to a Native American and he mentioned a firetruck when I mentioned Robby.
Ann: It must have been in a past life because Robby is showing me a full size firetruck. Not a toy. He's showing me firemen and the Chicago fire. You were friends in a past life. You've always been friends.

Kyle: Can I call on him? What would it be like if he was still alive?
Ann: You would be buddies. He knows that in the soul, there is always more to life than meets the eye. He says that God is bigger than people think - He's more than people can handle. Robby knows that he is a soul.

Ann: Yes you can call on him. When you see beings that are out of place - like a squirrel or something - that is him.

I'm not sure what to think of this. On first thought, what she says sounds hokey and fake, like she used what Kyle said and made it up as she went. I don't really believe in this sort of thing, conversing with "souls", at least not the way this lady does it. I do believe in heaven though, and know that Robby is there. I talk to him sometimes. I think I can feel him listening to me too. I can feel his presence. I swear the little windmills at the cemetery blow harder when I'm talking to him. I don't hear him speak to me though, not in the traditional sense.

I'll have to read this a few times and give it some thought before I can really make up my mind about it. One thing I know for sure though, I should stop shooting at squirrels with my bb gun just in case.

Peace-
Matt

Fever

I was in Florida for a few days last week, mainly just sitting in the sun. It was extremely pleasant, and probably very good for my blood pressure. I have great inlaws and really appreciate their generous hospitality. I'm a lucky guy.

Two of the mornings, I was able to get to my favorite spot on the beach to watch the sun rise. It's been a long time since I've been able to watch the day begin like that. I sure love doing it though. Most of the photos in this post are from my mornings at the beach. I'll probably post a few more in later posts. You can find photos from previous years' morning beach outings in the last few February sections. To some these will all look the same. Not to me though. They all speak to me in different ways.

We've been having unusually warm weather this week. 50's & 60's. This, and the 70's in Florida, has given me (and many other people) a bad case of spring fever. Bye bye winter, please don't come back.

Don't forget to do your taxes soon. We've still got to get ours done. Talk to you later.

Peace-
Matt

(PS - A reminder for my new friends: you can click on the photos to see a much larger size)

Hooky

Sometimes an unscheduled day off just hits the spot.

Peace-
Matt

Pause

I haven't been shooting much these past few weeks. It's been cold and I've been lazy. Here are a few panoramic winter sunsets. In a couple you can even see some snow in the air. That's all I've got.

My oldest daughter will be 18 in a few days, on the 27th. Time sure slips by so much faster than we'd like it to. Seems like yesterday she was a goofy 13yr old with braces, and the day before that she was learning to ride her bike in the back yard, and the day before that she was eating dirt out of the potted plants. Where have I been when all this time has passed? Somebody please hit pause.

Then again, I have this overwhelming urge to buy her cardboard boxes and packing tape for her birthday.

Peace-
Matt

(PS - Aaron Rodgers is the best QB in the NFL this year. He's fun to watch.)

Fresh Start

2010 is just a memory now. Today we look forward to 2011 and all the possibilities it holds. This is a gift. We get this chance to let go of our old selves, with no strings attached, and to forget all the ways we've failed to be who we've wanted to be. We are new people today. We now eat better and exercise more. We are more responsible with our money. We are more focused on the positive and less on the negative. We don't let life's many struggles defeat us daily, and its minor annoyances are quickly banished from our thoughts. We give more compliments and criticize less. We hug each other more, and say "I love you" more. Today we are phenomenal.

I wish for you a phenomenal 2011.

Peace-
Matt

Merry Christmas

What a great day. Hope yours was the same.

Peace-
Matt

Festivus

Finally, it's here. The kids are on school break, Angie's on school break, I'm off for a couple days. We get to stay home and hang out together. How much better can it get?

I've always disliked the term "Xmas". You know, the whole "taking Christ out of Christmas" thing. I read some information today that changes my mind about it a little bit. According to Wikipedia: "In Greek, the letter X (chi), is the first letter of Christ, and it, or the similar Roman letter X, has been used as an abbreviation for Christ since the mid-16th century. Hence, Xmas is sometimes used as an abbreviation for Christmas". Makes sense to me.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing... For a child is born to us, a son given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests - Isaiah

Merry Christmas everyone.

Peace-
Matt

Baked

Long time no post. Sorry about that.

Yesterday, Alex & I went on a college visit to Briar Cliff College in Sioux City, IA. This is our first scheduled college visit. To be honest, I really wasn't looking forward to it very much. It was gorgeous out on Friday, like sunny & 50's. I didn't want to miss that, stuck in a cubicle at work or on the road to visit some boring expensive college that my daughter surely won't pick. I wanted to spend the day with Alex though, so we went on with our plans. It turned out to be pretty cool. Briar Cliff is actually on a cliff, overlooking Sioux City. It's the only thing on the cliff and is isolated from the city. Pretty neat. It's a small school, their enrollment is 1100. To contrast that, the University of Iowa has around 30,000 students total. It's a Catholic college. You don't have to be catholic to go there though, and a lot of their students aren't. They really stress values and service there, which is awesome. We both liked the school very much. Too bad it's around $30,000/yr tuition & boarding. They have lots of scholarships & Alex might be qualified for some of them. We won't get it below 20 grand a year though. Too bad.

Today, we Miller's had our annual baking day. We held it at our house this year. Funny thing is, my wife volunteered our house for baking day and then she skipped out on us to study for her nursing finals, which take place this week. Thanks baby. We're having shitty winter weather today, so Shannon & her family couldn't make it. We did what we could without them though, and will save some cookies for them. a few photos from today are attached.

Next Saturday, we'll have Christmas at my Dad's in the morning then at the 4H center in Boone County in the afternoon/overnight. We are all really looking forward to it. Angie especially, since she will finally be finished with her 3rd semester.

Camera Geek Mode On: I've reported in the last few posts that I've been having camera equipment issues. I sent my main camera in for service a few weeks ago. When I got it back, it seemed to work fine. After a couple weeks it started acting up again. Trying to kill two birds, I decided to sell it and to downsize at the same time, and to make some cash for Christmas shopping. I did that. I am now the proud owner of a new Pentax system (the K-5). I sold all my Nikon (D700) stuff. The Pentax system is quite a bit different from the Nikon system, cheaper too. For instance, I can't rely on autofocus or auto white balance. Pentax just isn't as good as Nikon in those areas. Pentax has some kickass small lenses though. I had the Cadillac system for a while. Now I'm back to the VW. I might have to work harder to get good results, but I'll have more fun doing it now. Anyway, that's a big part of the lapse between posts and the poor quality of photos lately. I've had equipment issues and now on a learing curve. I'll get there.

One thing I noticed on my drive to Sioux City on Friday. This winter light is just awesome this time of year. The sun started breaking the horizon at 7:30. It was still pretty low in the sky at 9:00, with nice directional warm light. In the summer, the sun comes up early and climbs fast. At 9am, it might as well be noon. The sun is high and harsh. In the winter it's low, which gives awesome light for a long time at both ends of the day. Look for it. Enjoy it. I hope I get a chance to get out in it soon.

Merry Christmas everyone. Love you,

Matt