Christmas 2009 with The Hill Family
Greeting’s all. It’s the end of 2009 & I am not on cloud nine. I’ve realized Parenting doesn’t get any easier. I think I’d like mine to be babies again, not toddlers just 2 years apart. Whew….I’m struggling this year getting everything accomplished before 12/25. I sure hope it happens. J The children are as busy as ever. With lots of changes this past year, please read along for our 2009 excitement.
January is always the dull month, so we’ve spiced it up by celebrating Lydia’s birthday some days late. Which she won’t realize til she’s older. I hope she’s okay with that.
February, Troy and I celebrated 5 years of marriage. We had planned to go away for the night, but unfortunately with timing, others schedules and a budget it didn’t get to happen. Troy also turned 32, and with this he seems to think that he is too old to add anymore children to our family. I think he’s got the right idea some days. My patience is about paper thin. But there’s still that yearn in my heart that wants more. So we’re pretty sure Lydia was our caboose to the Hill Family Train.
March we have quite a few birthdays in our family and close friends that are celebrated. 1 special one this year was a western themed party. Cowboy Birthday Boy, Kyle Higbee. He turned 5 and started Kindergarten in the fall. Counting down the days till my son goes, ha ha ha. March also dropped a new job right in my lap! I am very blessed for this, because it has provided more for our family, socializing with adults for me and just overall a good experience. I am currently employed at Edgewood Surgical Hospital in Transfer, PA in the Business Office. With that we started building a new relationship with our sitter, LeeAnn. She’s a great Christian woman with a loving family. My children love to go there.
April as always brings the Iroquois Economics Seminar. I get to work with a past co-worker. We get to catch up, sip wine, and rub elbows with the elite. Always a fun day. I especially enjoy the prime rib.
This past summer our Alabran extended family found a new convenient place for family to gather in the nice weather. CP Park, It’s great! The kids love it, the adults love it, and Molly got to go once, too. Your wondering who Molly is….be “Patient” read on.
June was a short month for us, as I covered summer vacations at work. So the days flew by. Unfortunately the end of the month brought us to a big upset…. Brownie our then 5 yr old chocolate lab developed a huge mass on the side of his head. He had to be put to sleep. I held him until his final breath, it was the hardest thing I’ve yet had to do. My Brownie was my protector, my friend for life and my 1st baby. We got Brownie with my ‘last’ ‘single’ tax return, but also our first purchase as Mr. & Mrs. Troy Hill. It was bittersweet. But I knew it was for the best. Our family just didn’t feel complete, so I started on a mission to find another dog to love. I found MOLLY! I wasn’t real sure Troy was going to go for this, but he gave his usual “wellllll Okay” head nod. Molly’s a red/brown Dachshund. She’s about 14lbs now, big change from Brownie’s 115 lbs. But we love her to death and she’s decided she doesn’t like to be ‘dressed up’. I’ve gotten some super sweet deals on dog sweaters/outfits though….wonder when she’s going to realize this…..she’s a female, she’s got to understand!!!! Some day I keep telling myself. She gives me an ashamed look when she’s dressed up.
In August our house was about to change in many more ways, yet again. If Id a known Id a buckled my seat belt! Troy’s parents got rid of their Green Blazer for the Clunker program as did Troy’s sisters family.
Harold & Marlyn got a 2010 Chevy Equinox and the Leise Family got a Pontiac G6. Troy and I must have felt out of the loop, because we got my first “brand new” vehicle, 2009 Pontiac Torrent. I LOVE IT. It’s roomy, nice riding, cute looking, and functional. There are so many sensors to tell me if something’s wrong. It has a built in cell phone and OnStar, I feel VERY safe!!! And it’s my favorite color…blue! Troy’s now using the Tracker as a daily vehicle to try to give the ol’ truck a break. Which it does make sense, sort of weird seeing him drive around in it. He decided to get a garage door system for ‘his’ side of the garage, it’s in the process….like the swing set…like the old front doors in the front yard….need I say more…. I need a ‘Handy Manny’ Owen tells me he can do it!!!
Premier Designs, How many of you have heard of it? Well now’s the time. I am a Premier Designs Jeweler. I started this in August at my 1st home show/training show. I’ve had 13 great shows and would love to show you my jewelry some time. It’s fun, exciting and rewarding. Premier Designs is a religious based company out of Texas. The founder’s (Andy & Joan) I will get to meet at my first Regional Conference at the end of January. I am very excited. It’s also my first big Premier Designs event. The jewelry is multi functional, cute and classy. We get to see the new jewelry line for spring at Regional’s.
The fall just seems to creep right up on us with the Great Stoneboro Fair. It’s always a zoo around here that week. But the kids enjoyed it. Owen and Lydia rode their first fair rides. The day after the fair was over was Owen’s very 1st day of Preschool. I DID NOT CRY!!!! I looked over after dropping Owen off at another mom and she was sobbing….I was grinning…. I was happy, I was excited…. Owen was off to keep others busy instead of his mom. Ha ha ha. We’ve noticed a big difference in him since he started. He is having fun and we’re making lots of new friends. Even mommy is too. He truly keeps me busy and on my toes. I love the new things he comes up with lately. 12/21 he said to Troy….Dad we need to build a fire. Santa needs a place to come in. And we can hang our socks on it. He was thinking if you didn’t have a fireplace Santa couldn’t come and leave presents, and socks he must be thinking stockings…they’re hung in the kitchen on the knobs to the China Cupboard.
October is my favorite month. But this October I’m not real sure. The guys were super busy in the fields. That means more alone time with the kids. Some day I will get used to doing a lot on my own. I do realize that Troy is a very hard worker and if the field work doesn’t get done it does have a chain affect on the farm. And the children love the farm more than anything. Owen seems to be the ‘field work’ type and Lydia seems to be the animal lover. Owen has started getting closer to the cows, but only at fairs and shows. Lydia talks to the cows. It’s cute!
Because of working I was able to start my Christmas shopping a little early. So after many much deserved years Tara and I were able to get the chance to head to Pittsburgh for a girl’s day out. We had a blast. I experienced ‘The Cheesecake Factory’. I was in heaven! Well it seemed with all those desserts. Owen turned 4 and we had a Halloween themed birthday party. It was a blast, I was even a Queen!
In November Troy & I attended our first Parent/Teacher Conference. It was better than I thought. I was certain the facility was going to have ‘Owen Hill’s parents’ phone number on speed dial. But he’s doing well. Time sure does go so fast once Thanksgiving is over. Then it’s time for Christmas cards, letters, etc. I’ve decided that I need to start blogging, here’s our site:
Have a very Merry Christmas and a blessed 2010!
Sincerely,
Troy, Michelle, Owen, Lydia & Molly
