Robots in disguise

Who are those masked children?! Its Lilli, Faith, Mariah, Stella, Eden, Jesse and Isaiah at Jesse's
4th birthday party on Saturday. He had been telling me for a couple of months (since Levi's transformer themed party) that he wanted a birthday cake with "two transformers sticking out of it" So - I did my best - it didn't quite turn out like I envisioned, but it did have 2 transformers sticking out of it! He liked it, and he had a great time playing in the park with his friends. Thanks to all of you who came to help Jesse celebrate. It was a great birthday!

Letting His Light Shine

Yesterday, Hunter came home from school and told me this story, when I asked him how his day was......

"In math class we were working on our study guide and some of the boys were talking really loud. Katie, she sits next to me, raised her hand and asked Mrs. Barber if she would make them be quiet so she could concentrate. She did, and then Katie raised her hand again and said 'Mrs. Barber, I wish this was an all girl school'. Mrs Barber said, 'Well, Katie, sometimes I wish that too....but then I think about Hunter.' Then she smiled at me and winked........I think she likes me!

I've been so hard on Hunter lately, because of his grades (B's & C's), that I had forgotten to just be proud of the person that he is. And I guess I really did need to be reminded of that, as I went to parent-teacher conferences tonight. I went into it with the attitude that I was going to find out what the heck was going on, preparing myself to hear, and halfway expecting to hear, that Hunter is goofing off in class, not paying attention, daydreaming, etc.....

that is not at all what I heard

teacher after teacher (he's in middle school now and has 7 different teachers) praised him for his behavior and demeanor in their classrooms. They all said that he was so well behaved, respectful, kind,helpful.....One teacher called him a "blessing", One said "If I had a room full of Hunter Hill's, my life would be easy". I left there feeling so proud of my son; and with a new perspective on the whole grade thing. Okay - so he doesn't test well......so he has a few C's.......Even though Hunter is not the straight A student, he is being recognized for his good behavior and his character. That makes me very proud of him.

Back on the Blog

Okay - so it's been over a year since I added any new posts....



I know that's ridiculous - my apologies to everyone who has been checking for updated photos - most of you have just given up at this point (can't blame you), but Jessica and Marria have gently reminded me from time to time that they would like to see something new on the blog!!




It's just that this whole four kids thing has been far more difficult than I anticipated. What were we thinking?!! When I had three children, I had no time - now there's four of them - and i'm telling you - that fourth one is much more than simply adding one more to the mix - it increases the demands exponentially!!. ....But what lessons I'm learning from my sweet baby! And what a difference a year makes.....










It's hard to believe that Luke had his first birthday a couple of weeks ago. This year has slipped by so fast. Too much has happened to try and retell it all but some of the highlights are....

• I stopped the part time physical therapy that I had been doing just before Luke was born. I let my license lapse in January, so I am on "inactive" status. This was a bit of an inner struggle for me - after investing so much time and effort (and money) in getting my Master's degree- to just let it go like that. But I know that being ever-present in the lives of my children will have a much bigger payoff. I could have gone back to working part time when Luke was a few months old, but that brings me to the next thing.....
• Our new business Michael's Collision Center, opened in February of this year, after many long hard months of building. I used to refer to it as "Mike's new business", but since I gave up my career - a career that I loved, and that paid very well - to keep the books and manage the shop, I now call it "ours".
• Hunter played baseball throughout the summer, came in second in the tournament and won the sportsmanship award. He's now playing football in a junior league and sometimes gets to quarterback. (I prefer baseball)
• Faith started Kindergarten this year, and loves it. She continued with dance this season. Her freind Mariah joined her dance class so they could be together since they go to different schools. I think (I hope) this will be a lasting freindship.
• Jesse is being "homeschooled" with the same preschool curriculum that I used with Faith, which I found to be so effective at preparing her for kindergarten (Jesse has 2 more years til Kindergarten, since his birthday is in October.
• We went to Wisconsin in July for the Great Lakes Bible School, which is the only vacation we have had in almost 2 years since Mike began his endeavor to open up a new shop. Things are finally beginning to get a little better, as he only works about 70 hours per week now instead of 80+! And he is taking a few more weekends off now. (I think he has developed an ulcer). I continue to pray frequently that he not lose sight, in all of this, of putting God and family first. Sometimes it is a struggle.

Well, I think that's the best I can do in one sitting to recap a whole year. I'll fill in the gaps with a few pics and start fresh next time.....