Christmas greetings from Ironquill 2009

I decided to share my Christmas letter with all of my readers again this year.

It is that time of year to sit down and visit with all of you. For most of you it is the only time that we correspond. Even though we write only at Christmas time, it doesn't mean that I don't think of you. Some of you are relatives, some casual acquaintances, some old classmates, some very dear friends, and some e-mail pals that I have never met. But each one of you is very special and in some way or another our paths have crossed. As our path of life gets shorter and we get older, we have more time to think of all of those who have come into our life. I feel very blessed that each and every one of you have come into my life, some for a fleeting moment and others become quite intertwined in our lives. I didn't mean to get philosophical on you, so here goes with the happenings of the Miller clan in 2009.

I thought that last year's deer season was dismal, but this one was even worse. The DNR (Dept. of Natural Resources) said on the news the other night that the deer kill was down 30 to 50 percent. For the past two or three years you could buy all of the doe tags you wanted. Now that the doe have been killed off, what do ya know? No baby fawns. Only two deer were taken at Ironquill. Son in law Mike got a small buck and son Rob got a nice doe. On the brighter side, I have fixed a big turkey dinner for the past 42 years. Now that the family has grown, everyone seems to go in a different direction on Thanksgiving, and all that was going to be here at Ironquill was Rob and three sons and Bob and I. Our church was serving a free turkey dinner not only to church members, but anyone in the community was invited. We thought it over and decided to attend. What a Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, cranberry salad, rolls, coffee and choice of pie. And what a choice of pie, mostly pumpkin, but a sprinkling of apple, peanut butter chiffon, chocolate, banana and I took a mincemeat (Bob's favorite). He thought no one would take any and he would have some to take home, but surprise, only one lonesome little piece was left to take home. Anyway, I have decided that is my kind of Thanksgiving dinner, no preparations, no serving and the greatest part, no dishes.

We now have six great grandchildren, Tyler Von Sutor (Bob calls him Tippy Canoe and Tyler Too) was born the last of Dec. and is approaching his first birthday. He is the son of grandson Corey and wife Tamara who also have a daughter Olivia, who is five years old and is quite a "cut-up" -- like her dad.

Grandson Kurt and wife Shawna have two children, Lauren who has reached that magical age of 13, and is a typical teenager. Parker is 4 years old and has more energy than six kids put together. Bob calls him Parker Pen. Grandson Scott and wife Wendy also have two children. Kaitlynn is 12 and enjoys babysitting. She and Lauren have been good pals forever. Son Michael is a typical boy and his favorite thing is fishing. Son Rob and wife Catheryn have four boys, the oldest, David, graduated last year from high school and joined the infantry. His orders will be taking him to Alaska. Next is Daniel, who is 15 and a sophomore. He keeps busy with lessons and school activities. Ben will be 12 on Christmas Eve. He likes to come out to Ironqull and help papa. Last is BobKat (Alex). He is 7 and is being home schooled. He has an answer for everything. He entertains himself very well and is always eager to help. We feel very blessed to have such a nice family.

Last year Susie and Mike celebrated their 40th anniversary. At the time, Susie felt for some reason she wanted to have a 40th party and there was a reason. This June, Mike had a heart attack while driving to the local Quick Stop. The car rolled to a stop in front of the store and Mike slumped over onto the steering wheel. He went into cardiac arrest. A passer-by, a lady, saw it happen and immediately began giving him CPR. By the time he arrived at the hospital, he hadn't been breathing for 20 minutes. He has made a miraculous recovery and is back to work full time. He does have some restrictions, but the Lord is good and we are very happy to have him with us.

It seems the older we get, the more funerals we attend. The Legion does many military funerals, so Bob attends even more than I do. In fact, that is where he is today.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it is time to turn my attention to getting the Christmas tree up and the house decorated. This is my very favorite time of the year. I have gotten out all of my Christmas records and will be playing them the rest of the Christmas season. It seems like I no more than get the decorations out and then it is New Years and the Christmas season is over for another year.

It is time to wish you and your family and loved ones the happiest Christmas season ever. Until we meet again through our Christmas letter, may the Lord bless you and hold you in His hands.

He is the reason for the season.

Love, Marilyn and Bob

P.S. Snow has just begun to fall. Except for a few flakes that fell the other day, this is our very first snow of the year. It is just a snow shower, but it is quite heavy and huge flakes. A Christmas snow! I think I will go and put on White Christmas and Silent Night.