2010: the year at agentorage records

looking back on this last year, i thought i would highlight some of my favorite posts from the year.  here are the links.  if you have a few minutes, you might find something you missed...

the lego ketchup bottle

cade teaches me to delight in the word

i am humbled when i face off in the epic battle: greg vs. the snowblower

i am no mere mortal (sniffle). 

my kids don't feel like dancin.'

i learn the power of dang genetics.

i rant about earth day.

caedmon explains worship.

i preached my swan song. 

i tell my second most embarassing story.

i got in a fight with the new bunk beds.   

i threw up in the susquehanna river. 

i looked back on my first 1,000 posts. 

i discussed my fear of the bricks. 

i wrote an open letter to my kids about starting school. 

'twas the night before steelers football 

cade wants to punch the ravens inside their nose. 

i made our annual family Christmas video. 

hope your 2010 was as wonderful and blessed as ours was, and that your 2011 is epic!

cade (men) at work

i once took jackson for a day of work, so i thought it was about time to take caedmon in for a day with daddy at the office, as well.  above you see him all bundled up and ready for the commute (we walk the 1 block over to the church).

here he is in front of the parking space that we don't use. 

as soon as we got to the office, he sat in my chair and began to pretend to work, which involved a great deal of pointing at papers.  i had no idea how easy it was to do my job!  since then, i've tried this approach, but it doesn't seem to be working for me.  not only does nothing get done, i'm not half as cute as he is.  oh well. 

christmas eve pics

here are a few pics from our christmas eve

here is jack and cade in front of the tree holding our countdown...

 here are the boys on the chancel at church....

and here is the whole fam...

here is jack putting out the cookies, milk and blueberry oatmeal for santa...

and also caedmon..

hope your christmas was merry!

some pics from our december

it's been an absolutely fabulous Christmastime here at the milinovich house, and we are blessed beyond our wildest imaginations.  i'll have some pics from the joy of Christmas eve/day up soon, but for now, here are some of our pictures from the weeks/days preceding Christmas.  hope you're enjoying a wonderful weekend!  on with the pics....

these first three are from Cade's Christmas program at school.  first he was a reindeer and then he was one of the three wise men.  he gave his performance a thumbs up!

jack is so fierce!  rawr!

we love our beautiful Christmas tree, and our lazy dog enjoys sleeping next to it.  this picture just feels so warm and gingery, the way we feel in our living room.

hit "keep reading" to see more pictures!

here's more of max...

and a here's a series from when we went to cut down our tree...

 a couple of crazies playing reindeer games...

 we hope you have had a blessed and imaginative and creative and miraculous Christmas, and that you've been open to the possibility of love being born in your heart again.  peace to you all. 

'Twas the Night Before Christmas, Steelers version

a few months ago, at the genesis of the 2010 football season, i wrote this little poem about the steelers, inspired by coach lebeau's annual recitation of the famous clement moore poem.  my friends over at behind the steel curtain - a top-notch steelers blog - asked me if i'd write a reprise now that it is actually Christmastime.  so i obliged.  click on the "keep reading" link to read my newest steelers verse. 



‘Twas the night before Christmas, late in the season,


And the Steelers were feeling fine with good reason.



After eleven wins and only four losses

It looked like they would be the AFC North bosses.



With only one game to go - against the Browns -

They’d earn a week off if they beat those clowns.



Having already earned a “ticket to the dance,”

They knew in the playoffs they’d have a good chance.



But something was amiss across Steelers Nation,

They felt no joy, just aggravation.



“The offense is weak,” they moaned and they whined,

“They can barely score points of any kind.



“Arians is a fool; he causes us strife;

He can’t call a good play to save his own life.



“Hines is washed up, B-Mac can’t cover,

Troy’s got a bum leg; the O-line gets run over.



With memories of 2009 in their head,

Many fans had already put the season to bed.



Counting these things rather than sheep,

I lied in bed wishing for sleep.



When in through the window came a smell so strong,

I got up to take a look and see what was wrong.



When what to my nose should the soft wind bring,

But a series of perfectly formed cigar smoke rings.



I knew in a flash who it was, with relief,

The aroma assured me it must be the Chief.



Smoke rose through the night, slow as molasses,

And I could just make out the shape of black-rimmed glasses.



It was getting late, midnight it would soon be,

So I spoke into the dark, “Come on in, Mr. Rooney.”



I heard the door creak, when I saw him at last,

An imposing figure, a man of such class.



He sat down as though he were not in a hurry,

And at once he addressed all my unspoken worry.



He said, “Son, I’m the father of this black and gold world,

And I’m proud of the trophies, rings, and banners unfurled.



“Take a look around this league, and what do you see?

Has any franchise known such victory?



“Does any other team know of such things?

Can any other club celebrate six golden rings?



“Listen to me now” was his directive,

“And let me give you a little perspective.



And he puffed his cigar as he gave his reasons

For the Steelers fans to have great hope this season,



He first talked of defense, praising Lebeau,

“No one stops the run better, you know.”



“We’ve got Troy and Deebo; a ‘Doctor’ who spins;

With Woodley, Timmons and Big Snack we’ll win.



“Now Aaron returns, and we’ll be just fine,

With Ryan and Potsie and number 99.



He spoke of our rookies, of a fantastic draft,

Of how this new center cuts defenders in half.



He talked of Ben’s toughness, how he plays when he’s broken,

All the while his cigar he kept smokin’.



He brought up Mike Tomlin and his stunning wit,

And added, “that man is Steel-cut, made of pure grit.



“And I know that we bother the commish who is soft

But we are blue collar and will knock guys’ heads off.



“No, we don’t win pretty, and that’s that,

But we’re not pretty boys like those cheaters called Pats.



“Don’t try to compare the Steelers to other teams,

That just makes you forget, so it seems,



“That we’ll win the division and get a week’s rest

And show the NFL why we’re still the best.

“Give thanks, Steelers Nation, for our tradition,

For perpetual winning in every condition,



“Be glad that we’re not like the Bengals or Jets,

Or the Vikings or Cowboys – wow what a mess!



“So pick up your towel and wave it with pride,

The great black and gold will continue this ride,



“The quest continues for ring number seven,

And then eight, nine, ten and eleven!



“Don’t get sucked in to the negative spinning,

Be thankful that your team just keeps on winning.”



Then, taking one final puff of his cigar,

He rose to his feet then shot off like a star.



But I heard him proclaim as he rose up toward heaven,

“Stand up, Steeler Nation, for ring number seven!”

11-4

oh man, it was a good night.  the night before the night before christmas.  the pens won against their bitter rivals in a dramatic shoot out.  the steelers won dominantly over an inferior team and put themselves in great position.  and i got to eat hot chicken wing dip. 

priceless. 

anyway, i know it's christmas eve, but i am obligated to do my regular post-steelers-victory post, so here it is:

the steelers are 11 and 4, with one game to go.  if they beat those browns in 10 days, they'll have secured a week off and home field for at least the first game of the playoffs.  also, if the browns beat the ravens this sunday, the same outcome will be achieved, so, go brownies! 

on to the epic pictures:

james farrior, aka "potsie," just keeps amazing me with his play this year.  he is ageless.

it was so good to have heath back. 

forget what mark madden says, this guy is an epic steeler. 

since returning from injury, diesel has been money.

nice to see mendenhall give the ball to big legursy for the spike after scoring. 

ben gives the nation a little love after scoring.

emmanuel sanders wants it more than you.

wallace has grown into a playmaker.  for real. 

merry christmas, baby!

steelers thursday

i know it seems crazy, but it is a steelers thursday today!  so instead of pictures of my kids at their christmas program, you get steelers content. 

that's how i roll.

actually, i don't really have to choose between my kids and the steelers.  i have found that the two worlds can be merged.  as you might have seen in this video, i have been working hard to raise two steeler fans.  and it seems, at least so far, to be working.  the steelers are already proving to be a muse for their creative talents, as one day jackson decided to make this out of bendy stix:

 then, one day i came home from work, and caedmon had colored this (with quite a bit of help from his mom, i'm sure):

i'm a blessed daddy, that's all i can figure.  needless to say, both of these artistic responses to the greatest sports franchise on earth are now adorning my mancave (which i will be happy to give you a video tour of in a couple of weeks).  keep the steelers art coming, kids.  you may remember that i do the exact same thing. 

in other steelers-thursday news, i'd like to share with you that i had the perfect dream last night, both wildly impossible and epically awesome.  the steelers couldn't play in heinz field for some reason, so they decided to play the game indoors in a small venue in waynesburg, pa, which just happens to be where i'm from.  so i went to the game.  there were only about 50 people in attendance, and there was a ton of interaction between the fans and the players.  i was by far the craziest fan there, feeling like i alone had to make up for the lack of fans/noise there.  i distinctly remember jumping around waving two terrible towels and having several steelers players respond.  in between the first and second quarters, the players disappeared to some room, and i went looking for them.  i found james harrison carrying a huge basked full of gatorade bottles, so i asked if he needed any help,.   i took a couple bottles off the top and he laughed and something about how it would be harder for me to carry those two bottles than for him to carry the whole basket.  at one point antwaan randle el threw a football into the crowd. no one caught it and it rolled onto the field.  i leaped out of my seat and onto the field, covering that sucker like it was a live fumble. 

like i said, best. dream. ever. 

so, even without several key players, tonight is a night for the steelers to demonstrate that they are a superior team, and get a good win. 

here we go, steelers, here we go!!!!

steeler nation, rise up!

in human likeness: a poem

o little seed of hope, somehow
taking root in the inner darkness,
being, as it has been said, "knit together,"
what a world awaits your wet arrival,
a cavernous womb of brokenness.

will you yet be born?

you, who are both desired and despised,
welcomed and, with a warrant on your head,
will you still somehow choose this life,
knowing you will be delivered to death?
the world, in anticipation, waits.

o, come.  be born this broken birth
again.

hallelujah.

wishing for this

this is a song called "wishing for this" by leigh nash (of sixpence none the richer fame).  it has become my favorite Christmas song for this particular year.  the video is just a bunch of pics, but the song is really good.  enjoy!

this is Christmas

this Christmas in a bit different for me in that, several months ago i entered a small room in Bethlehem where generations of folks have gone to worship the one who was born there.  tradition holds great sentimental power, and many believe he was born on that exact spot.  truth is, we don't know that.  but regardless of the arguments of scholars or the validity of tradition, i know that i stood on the ground and breathed the air where a young girl also once stood and breathed. 

her breath must have been short, what with all the heaviness on her shoulders and all that weight in her belly.  not just the weight of the baby, but of all that expectation.  the weight of the whole world.  and yet, despite all the mystery and angel-dreams, it was, a pregnancy.  a crave-inducing, hormone-raging, uncomfortable pregnancy.  and so she stood there, perhaps with her hands on her back for support, and she braced herself against her own fear, against her own physical discomfort, against her own wild imagination. 

i stood there, too, earlier this year.  in that same land.  with the same dust on my feet.  with the same humanity and the same desire to ponder everything that happened.  yeah, mary and i are quite different, and her courage in the midst of all the adversity she faced is nothing short of awe-inspiring. 

but this Christmas, as i re-read the familiar stories, i am able to envision the pastoral hills surrounding bethlehem, and the judean wilderness not far away.  i've been to the rocky heights of nazareth and traversed the long road between.  the well-worn words of Scripture have taken on new life for me this year, and i just can't stop thinking about the earthiness of that pregnancy.  the birth of love is, perhaps first and foremost, a birth.  that is, it involved a great deal of grunting and sweating and pain and exhaustion. 

and maybe we would do well to remember that this Christmas, in the middle of the candle-lit sanctuaries and in our warm and cozy living rooms, surrounded by the sweet sounds of Bing Crosby crooning about glistening treetops.  in between sips of our peppermint lattes and while reading through the pile of photocards we received from loved ones, we would do well to remember that all this celebration starts a bloody mess.  the people who walked in darkness were stumbling around until that son started crowning over the horizon.   there was labor and delivery involved, and the delivery started with broken water, chaos, and pain. 

then....overwhelming relief and joy.  the people have seen a great light.  mary lays eyes on the flesh of her flesh: the hope of the nations.  and she holds the crying little thing close to her breast.  this is Christmas: birth, life, noel. 

just as i hope your christmas is unfalteringly merry, i also hope that it is real; that it is grounded; and that it is pregnant with pondering just how painful birth really is...and how beautiful. 

grace|peace.

milinovich family christmas

once again this year i've created a short video just to give you a glimpse into what christmastime is like in the milinovich home.  as always, it includes a great deal of awesomely awesome dance moves.  also, a reenactment of a classic scene from home alone.  hope you enjoy!

punch the ravens

a few days after the steelers played the ravens a few weeks ago, i was talking to my three-year old son Cade about how one of the ravens punched his favorite player in the nose and it was broken and bleeding.  he started getting upset about it, so i grabbed the camera and recorded the conversation.  i think you'll enjoy it.  (and don't worry, the scripture at the end is just a joke...sort of).  : )

last minute shopping

 "his glorious sanctuary"

paper collage on block of wood

gregory a. milinovich

"like after"

mixed media collage on hardcover bookboard

gregory a. milinovich

above are two collages i recently sold, and i thought i would just drop in one final reminder that you can still buy a collage over at my store.  if you order quickly, i can still get it to you in time for Christmas.  also, if you would prefere, i can make you a gift certificate which you can give to a loved one for Christmas (just let me know if you'd like to do this).  remember:  for all of december you can save 20% on every collage in my store just by typing in the code: orangechristmas at checkout.  that's a pretty good deal for some original art!  just thought you might want a reminder!  here's a couple for sale that you might not of seen before...

"brilliant"

mixed media collage on hardcover bookboard

gregory a. milinovich

"coming into focus"

paper collage on hardcover bookboard

gregory a. milinovich

where the ordinary becomes extraordinary

during advent at Catawissa Avenue United Methodist Church we've been inviting people to "come home for Christmas," which is both a literal invitation for those who have never been here before or who have been away for awhile, as well as a more figurative invitation for each of us to bring our whole selves home to Jesus.  it has been a good series, and this week we will be focusing on our home - both the church and our spiritual home - is a place where the ordinary becomes extraordinary. 

it's one of my favorite things about Christianity.  we don't believe that God looks at this world and says, "Ugh.  Disgusting.  Look at them with all of their base and primal emotions.  And look at all that stuff.  The Earth is such a broken, dirty, disgusting place.  I can't wait until I come again and get the good guys out of there." 

nope.  that's not the God we see in Scripture.  the God in the Bible doesn't reject the broken and blunt; doesn't ignore the ordinary objects.  instead, God uses them.  God takes what is broken and finds a way to use it wonderfully.  God takes that which is dishonorable, and brings it to a place of honor.  God takes that which is ordinary and makes it extraordinary.  things like donkeys and mangers, stars and dreams are no longer just background noise.  they aren't just smelly animals or food troughs.  they aren't just randomly strewn pinpoints of light or the ramblings of the subconscious.  God uses what is dead to you and me and breathes new life into it.  dust and ribs and even dry bones have a way of taking on a life of their own with this wildly creative God of ours.  are you getting this?  are you yet alive?

see, here's the thing.  we love the ordinary.  we may not think we love the ordinary, but we do.  it is comfortable for us.  it is easier to manage ordinary lives.  we wake up, we read the paper and drink the coffee, we go to work, we talk about sports or the weather or whatever, we go home eat dinner, watch our tivo'd shows and go to bed.  or whatever your routine is.  it's your routine, and you choose it, day after day.  you like it.  and it often becomes a bit numbing.  and ordinary. 

and then we gather into our ordinary churches religiously (regularly?  routinely?  ordinarily?) and we talk about how we look forward to a time when it will be different, when we will walk on streets paved with Gold and gates made of pearls.  like our hope is attached to some celestially-lit thomas kinkade painting. 

and i think God laughs.  God isn't busy making gold bricks, i don't think.  i think God is much more interested in the red bricks you  live inside.  God wants to take your ordinary life and make it abundant life (john 10:10).  i'm convinced God wants to take the normal objects of your existence - the straw and mangers of your life - and turn them into the birthplace of hope and life and love.  not for some future heavenly vision, but for some very present change. 

Christmas reminds us that God breaks into the world not to get us out of it, but to help us in it.  i hope you see the huge difference.  i hope this Christmas you think about what has become ordinary for you.  time with your kids?  the changing of the seasons?  the group of day laborers you drive by each morning?  the neighbor dying of cancer?  what is it for you?  what has become ordinary for you, because God might just take that and turn it into something bursting with life.  that's what our faith tells us.  that's our hope - the hope of this season - that God comes to us right where we are, in the midst of the smells and stains of life, and fills it with such radiant starlight and angelsong that we can't do much but fall in love with all the ordinary bits and pieces of life that reflect God's awesomeness. 

join me, this Christmas, wherever you may be in your own faith journey, in rediscovering the extraordinary right here in america.  right here in the midst of economic recession.  right here in the midst of winter.  right here in the midst of broken relationships and sickness.  right here in the midst of my life, in all its boring regularity, God is being born anew; hope is being born anew.  will you see it with me? 

troy's good looks

i don't know if you saw this picture from sunday's game, but troy made a game-changing interception which he returned for a touchdown.  this picture is a great shot of the smile on his face as he takes it in for the score.  i never realized what a good-looking guy troy is.  wow. 

10-3

wow, that has a nice ring to it, right?  ten and three.  last year at this time we were busy losing to the bengals and browns and raiders and chiefs.  not this year.  after the bitter taste that last season must have left in their mouths, they seem to want it more than the opposing team each week, no matter how dead set that team is on beating us. 

like the bengals, who put up a pretty good fight, at least to start.  they looked like a team hellbent on being the spoilers to the steelers' playoff party, but ultimately, the steelers showed that they wanted it more.  it came in the form of troy polamalu's miraculous and super-human pick six, and then it just concentrically widened from there.  the steelers would not be denied by these injury-hampered bungles (not that the steelers aren't facing a laundry list of injuries themselves).  at 10-3, the steelers look to be in pretty good shape to lock up the second seed of the afc playoffs, but they have to keep taking care of business these last three weeks.  this week the struggling and frustrated new york jets come to town.  should be another knock out fight.  here we go!

on with the pics.