Author name: hill

the show must go on.

it’s {embrace} the camera day!

we had
such
an incredible time on our little trip. 
so incredible in fact, 
that i thought about it about 759 times today.


the colors of the leaves were breathtaking.
truly.

the trip was so full.
so full of
laughter 
&
heart to heart chats 
rest 
&
food 
&
boutiques 
&
loveliness. 

i simply cannot wait to do it again.



i think that L’s got a new smile.
it’s so big and joyful.
and you can’t resist smiling along with
that happy face, now can you?


it’s been quite a transition for him to realize that he must again share his mommy.
no, he would prefer that i would be his and his only.

let me just say that i am so

sick and tired of 

life
getting in the way of 

life.
you know?
yeah, you know.
you know exactly what i mean.
unfortunately.
but, you know as well as i do that the show must go on. 

406. getting things done

407. staying in my pajamas all the live long day

408. sweet drawings D made

409. welcome home signs

410. packages ready to be sent

the windy city.

L and i just returned from a little trip to the
windy city.
which was in fact, 
windy.
so windy,
that we almost didn’t get to come home yesterday. 
the flight 
right before
and
right after 
ours were both cancelled.


but, the skies opened up for us
and the sun shone
and soon enough,
we were on our merry way home.
Praise the Lord!

do you think i was missed?
yeah, i think so too. 

this was B’s attempt at doing pig tails.
i appreciate his effort. 
i’m not sure she does though. 


I know that the LORD is great,
that our Lord is greater than all gods.
The LORD does whatever pleases Him,
in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and all their depths.
He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
He sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from His storehouses. 
Psalm 135:5-7


401. taking 629 photos in three days.
(yeah, i always take a lot of photos.)
402. quiet, dark basements 
(L sleeps so well in them)
403. the return to high noise levels
404. sunny skies 
405. sweet, dear friends

whispering.

why, oh why can’t my children whisper?
seriously.
at what age does that begin?
they try, they really, really try,
but their words just end up coming out
really, very
l     o     u     d     l     y.


yesterday we went to trader joe’s.
5pm was not the ideal time to go.
i know that.
but we really needed food.
and milk.
mostly milk.
oh, and bananas.
i think i have a bunch of monkeys.
truly, truly.
do you want to know what the best part about going to tj’s today was?
when we were finished shopping 
and 
all three children were in the car
and
i closed the passenger door.
the children were inside the car
and
i was outside.
i heard silence for five whole seconds.
it was lovely. 
i took one deep breath 
and was ready to jump back into hearing the 
incessant call for
“mom!”
it’s a great world, don’t get me wrong.
but quiet is really nice sometimes, too. 

isn’t this bounty absolutely fabulous?

basil, tomatoes and bell peppers galore.
all from Grammy’s garden.
don’t the baskets make it even more lovely?
yes, yes they do. 

396. picking out pumpkins (at tj’s)
397. obedience to God
398. another amazing day at CBS
399. B’s famous egg sandwiches for dinner
400. B making dinner AND doing the dishes

whoa nelly.

this is going to be a big post.
it’s {embrace} the camera day!


on our way up to the wedding that B and i went to,
we took the kids to a
fabulous park
that was near where B’s first house was, growing up.
we all had a lovely time.
a truly, wonderful time.
i can always count on this guy to give a good smile.
and to think that the docs didn’t think he ever would smile.
the main attraction at this park is this pirate ship which is filled with sand.
there is a zip line that runs from the ship to a giant post in the sand.
the ride is over when the zip line bounces against this huge tire,
and your body is flung into the air.
seriously.
everybody rode the zip line.
(don’t worry, i took L out of the ergo before i rode on it.)
L enjoyed watching.
K wanted to go again and again and again.

D even enjoyed himself on this thrill ride
(which says plenty).

every part of that zip line is original.
the rust gives its age away.
yikes.
i do love how this rust from the playground
looks against the blue, blue sky.

our Christmas card will probably look a little like this this year.
the kids don’t do so well when they’re asked to smile.
but B sure does.

we spent the morning playing in the sunshine,

whispering to each other,

and simply had a glorious time.
(it’s official.
i now have too many favorite photos.)

we even went on a nice walk.

but of course the kids didn’t want to walk back to the car.
i think it’s safe to say that we have our hands full.

391. rainy afternoons
392. connecting with two new special needs moms
393. family time
394. incredible sermons
395. hot apple cider

something new on the way.

i have an announcement.
there’s something new on the way.
more like someone new.
and no, it’s not us.
my baby sister
(who’s married to an army man)
is pregnant!
we are jumping for joy over here
and praising God for this new little life.
her dolly babe and L will be just short of two years apart.
my dolly babes can’t wait for a sweet little cousin.
in other news
(not nearly as exciting, though)
K and i have really been enjoying our time together.
doesn’t she look like tarzan’s wife, jane, here?
swinging might just be the very favorite activity of all of my children.
she’s got her daddy’s eyes.
again i say, who can turn down that smile?
not i.
386. the new babe
387. chaos
388. noise
389. squeals
390. a new yard (more on that soon)

ocean breezes.

last weekend, B and i went to my second cousin’s wedding.
without any children.
it was almost a date.
well, except for the fact that we carpooled with my parents.
and that there probably wasn’t one other place on earth
we could be with more family.
but whatever.
we’ll take what we can get these days.
the location for the wedding ceremony was absolutely lovely.
it was outside, amongst the swaying palm trees and ocean breezes.
i told B that if he closed his eyes it was almost as if we were on a tropical island.
with my parents, of course.
and obviously, with a ton of my family members.
but whatever.
it was still a break from reality.
a much loved break.
they had a photo booth at the reception.
B noted that photo booths are this year’s chocolate fountains.
B told me to make a serious face in photo 2
but i could see out of the corner of my eye
that he was making a silly face.
we (i) got better and better at making
the appropriate faces with each visit to the booth.
B on the other hand, can keep a straight face like nobody’s business.
and this was our interpretation of what happens to you when you have kids.
photo 1: elation
photo 2: confusion
photo 3: anger
photo 4: going cuckoo crazy
381. ocean breezes
382. a night out without the kids
383. ending the night with finding your children happily sound asleep
384. photo booths
385. B making me laugh.
all.
the.
time.

the birthday girl.

K turned 3 yesterday.
i know.
how did that happen so fast?
i don’t know.
the festivities kicked off with waffles for breakfast.
B is our expert pancake maker and i do the waffles.
she and i made this sweet little headband
for her to wear while we celebrated.

and yes,
i let her have mini m&m’s at 10am.
Auntie B and i took her to get her nails and toes done.
she picked the two brightest pinks
(of course).
doesn’t she look like a pro?

the happy birthday girl

with her momma.
she’s been practicing showing how old she is.

any guesses on the color of cake that she wanted?
yep, nothing but pink
(of course).

three.
the celebration was made complete
when we
may
or
may not
have
lit some sparklers in the backyard.
yeah, we love birthdays here.
376. exciting baby news (not us!)
377. playing outside
378. L sleeping in until 6:30am
379. a night out at the most wonderful restaurant
380. peaceful afternoons

it was a full visit.

B’s lovely college friend,
SS came to visit last week.
we all
had such
a wonderful
time with her.
she brought the sweetest gifts for the kiddos.
(and of course you remember that she
sent me this lovely package a while back.)
our days were filled to the max.
SS…
played with the kiddos,
(in fact, there was not one
whine
or tear
or fight
while L’s PT was here.
that’s saying a lot).
she read to them,
did crafts with them,
we got some fun group shots
which went very quickly from this,
to this,
in a matter of nanoseconds.
we perused the getty villa,
where we…
saw some fall leaves changing color
(a real treat),
got rained on,
made a new friend,
in which we named,
mr. snail
(obviously),
whom we followed quite a bit.
i think K was more fascinated by him than she was the museum.
L got snuggled,
and then he snuggled lambie,
K threw pennies into the fountain
(a super treat since i never give the kids pennies for that).
and the fun didn’t stop there.
we ate tito’s tacos,
and SS made us the
most
delicious
apple pie.
from scratch
(along with an amazing dinner one night).

what a treat.

and what a full visit it was.
371. SS
372. the rainy weather last week
373. the toasty weather this weekend
374. dinner cooked by anyone other than me
375. faith-filled friends
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