Author name: hill

those eyes.

what a week.
and yes, i know it’s only tuesday.
this has been a
dreary,
draining
day.
i’m so glad it’s nearly over.
on sunday, we heard this great sermon
(it’s called What Would God Tweet).
it’s great.
really great.
you should listen to it.
really, you should.
what especially cut my heart
was when Keenan said that
our children should never see our phones.
i’m trying very hard to not fill any quiet moments with more noise.
it’s hard though.
so hard.
i am trying to be here.
right here.
at this exact moment.
being here.
but sometimes i’m there and not here.
i’m working on it though.
i will always probably be working on it.
but how can i not be in the moment
when i get to witness this shining face?
pure joy.
looking into those eyes touches the depths of my heart.
looking into those eyes takes my breath away.
looking into those eyes reveals how truly overwhelming my love is for him.
he and i can communicate just by looking into each others’ eyes.
The sun will no more be your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
Isaiah 60:19
326. picking pomegranates before the squirrels get them
327. fresh flowers by my bed
328. wise, wise words from a friend that rock my soul
329. overwhelming love
330. an empty dishwasher

climbing rocks.

in celebration of…
my sister’s birthday,
(Aunt WW),
we all did something that she enjoys.
we went rock climbing.
crazy, right?
right.
the waiver i had to sign freaked me out.
we don’t do too many things around here that require us
to knowingly accept that we may be hospitalized if something goes awry.
it’s just not how we roll.
D was a bit nervous, but told me that he has been
practicing on the rock climbing wall at preschool.
the only thing he requested was to wear the helmet with the orange stripes (of course).
K was just about as thrilled as could be.
she was probably the most excited out of the bunch.
this little girl is not scared of much.
everyone got all strapped in,
and were fairly observant of all of the rules.
(i think B was the only person to break one.)
and the only thing K requested was to wear the helmet with the pink stripes (of course).
Aunt WW, showed us how it is done,
and K couldn’t wait to get up there.
here she is climbing up the alligator’s back.
i had to keep reminding myself that she is not yet three.
and here she is climbing on the alligator’s head.
as she posed for pictures, she was absolutely fearless.
(i wouldn’t expect anything else from her.)
D was nervous,
(i wouldn’t expect anything else from him)
but he climbed!
my dad did great climbing up,
but had a hard time coming down
because he just couldn’t believe that my brother
would really be able to slowly lower him down the wall.
i think he was very happy to be back on the ground once more.

my mom was so glad that she made it down safely,
thanks to my brother’s excellent belaying
(i totally had to look up how on earth to spell that).
it was much more thrilling than i could have ever imagined.
i am afraid of heights and i honestly couldn’t believe that i could actually get up to the top
that i couldn’t wait to go up a second time.

after B mastered the “easy” wall,
he decided to take his newfound rock climbing ability to new lengths.
here he is only using the yellow thingies that we used to climb
(i obviously have no idea what those are called… fake rocks?).

and my brother shimmied up the wall like it was nobody’s business.
Aunt WW showing D how’s it’s done.
L was such a good sport while he watched all of us climb.
and L had his fun while coloring at the restaurant afterwards.
321. being asked for my ID once
322. being asked for my ID a second time (seriously, how awesome is that?)
323. pumpkins for sale at tj’s
324. a really, really great PT session
325. receiving Godly wisdom from a God-fearing man

nothing new.

there’s nothing new to report around here.
the kids and i have been snuggled in our
warm and cozy house while summer quickly fades
and fall just as quickly approaches.
we’ve been having plenty of dance parties,
and we’ve all been taking
lots
and lots
and lots of pictures.
what about you?
316. a breakfast feast
317. sweet L who takes such lovely naps during the day
318. clean floors (even if they stay that way for mere moments)
319. fresh flowers the color of fall
320. the chilly air blowing through our windows

a cancellation.

when i got word that we were going to have to enter into a formal appeal
in order to fight for L’s therapies,
i really didn’t think i could handle it.
i was so stressed out and pushed to the max.
but after
hours and
hours and
hours
of a lot of prayer
and a lot of work,
i was able to get everything prepared for our mediation.
I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13
and then do you know what happened?
i got word that the mediation was cancelled
because the team re-reviewed L’s case
and decided that in fact, he should continue with his current therapies
and not decrease them after all.
i know.
i can’t believe it either.
praise God for this result.

today,
all three children
and i went to our weekly CBS class.
it feels so good to be back after the summer break.
and, it feels so good to have all of my children attending
(my parents watched L last year and would bring him
to the class so that i could run out and nurse him and run back in.
we called it a drive-by nursing).
i am so blessed by the study and the amazing women who teach
not only me
but also my children
about Christ.
CBS has been life changing for me.
i can never imagine life without it.
similarly to how i feel about knowing Jesus.
when i dropped L off in his class this morning,
(this was the very first time in his fifteen months of life
that he was watched by anyone other than family)
there were lots of tears.
but luckily, i was the only one who shed them.
Praise His Holy Name.
Rejoice in the Lord always.
I will say it again: Rejoice!
Philippians 4:4
311. remembering there are cookies in the freezer
312. B’s help to get out the door this morning
313. our surprisingly open afternoon
314. celebrating the news about L’s therapies
315. feeling r e f r e s h e d

one of those days.

it’s been one of those days.
yeah, you know exactly what i’m talking about.
the kids have been super wild lately,
like there’s been sugar floating through the air
that they are getting hyper on by just merely breathing or something.
i can’t figure it out.
but they are wearing me out.

i’ve set up art projects for said wild children,
to distract them while i hurry and get dressed for the day.
but it ends up taking longer to set up the activities and
then after the four minutes of glorious peace that they give me,
where i get ready for the day as quickly as humanly possible,
they ask me “what’s next?”
then, it takes me
way
way
longer to clean the activities up.
(yeah, you know exactly what i’m talking about.)
actually, it’s been one of those weeks.
i’ve been in survival robot mode because of this impending mediation for L.
i am so looking forward to that being over and done with.
soon, soon enough.
i didn’t even brush my teeth before taking D to school this morning.
i know, gross.
but that’s mostly
(but not entirely)
due to the fact that i hadn’t eaten breakfast by the time we left.
i know, still gross.
i have barely been able to keep up with the laundry
(more of a problem than usual).
and to top it off, this little one
has been pretending she’s a fussy, whiny, crying baby.
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart!
I have overcome the world.
John 16:33
306. preschool
307. other special needs moms who get it
308. dream dinners
309. tea parties with K
310. mary poppins soundtrack

too cool for school.

D has officially begun his first and last year of preschool
(note, he was enrolled in preschool for a brief time a few years ago).
i couldn’t have been happier to hear that his first day was “awesome.”

he might just be too cool for school.

K missed him dearly and longs for the day when she can go to school.

L on the other hand, just wants to eat books.

yes, i left him in his high chair for a few moments while i helped K in the bathroom
and what did i come back to?

bits and pieces of wet papers all over his cheeks and hands.
and this is what i saw out my window while i was making dinner the other night.
pure bliss.
301. being able to hear with both of my ears
302. L doing something new nearly every single day
303. the weekend (a.k.a. end of week)
304. our red swing
305. naps while the kids nap

seriously.

it’s {embrace} the camera day!

we had such a great labor day celebrating the end of summer.
B wanted to do something boat related.
so, we did something boat related.

B and me and our little lovebug.


LE, LE, L and me


this was the first boat trip where i thought
we might actually have to jump overboard
to rescue our little daring darling.
luckily, she decided to save that for another trip.


she also thought about going over.


the D club.


he seriously had a good time.

the sweet girls.


the E fam.



she had a good time.

296. my parents who babysat much longer than expected
297. starbucks hazelnut steamer
298. boat cruises
299. pumpkin waffles
300. homemade oatmeal, chocolate chip, butterscotch cookies

the front of our house.

i love children’s artwork.
and by that, i mean that i am
absolutely
completely
in love with children’s artwork.
especially if it’s my children’s.
but you probably feel the same if you have children.
and if you don’t have children,
you probably are in love with my children’s artwork, right?
i would love it if their artwork covered nearly every wall in my house.
it’s
colorful
surprising and
energetic.
it easily leaves you feeling more alive.
that they could create such beautiful masterpieces in a matter of moments,
without hemming and hawing
about which color they should use for this or that,
is simply incredible.
but instead, they hastily paint with such wild fury
because they know that the next moment is there,
ready and waiting to be lived
and not to be merely contemplated.

D painted this picture of our house.
he is surprisingly accurate.
i absolutely love it.
our art filled mantle
(which i just cleaned up).

291. enjoying a hot cup of good earth tea
292. moments to catch up
293. naptimes that just work out beautifully
294. checking things off of your to do list
295. a cloudy day

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