At midnight we all, including Jayce toasted in the New Year with sparkling grape juice and fancy glasses. Jordy had already hit the hay about 9:30 and slept the New Year in. Nothing better than sharing a holiday with family and preparing to look forward to the upcoming year with new hopes and dream. Happy 2009 to everyone. Love you all !!

Happy New Years Eve

This year we didn't go to our ususal New Years Eve Party spot which was Dwane and Rose's, due to illness, we have went there every year for a long time, so instead we planned on Laura and Jared'd house. Well, I ended up being scheduled for the evening and with great dissapointment I sent Danny and Pte on down for a fun evening. Well, about 8 pm, when I called to check my backup status, I found out that another nurse had volunteered to work my shift, so I headed down to Camdenton for the last few hours of 2008. We played Battle of the Sexes game which was fun and had chili and homemade cinnamon rolls, fresh from Laura's kitchen.

Happy Birthday, Mom

December 28, would have been mom's 80th birthday. She was born to Clyde and Opal on December 28, 1928, the second born of 9 children total and the oldest daughter. She was raised on a farm, helped to raise her younger brothers and sisters, wash out canning jars, pick beans, wash alot of dishes and diapers and pretty much had to do anything her Ma didn't want to do. When mom was in her teenage years, she started having vision problems that couldn't be helped with glasses, this didn't stop her from working away from the home for neighbors and staying with families as far away as Buffalo and Phillipsburg. In her 20's mom started working for the Carter family in Phillipsburg as a waitress in their cafe on Route 66. She lived with the family and became good friends with their daughter, Marilyn. She always said that Mrs. Carter was like her mother and she always held her in a high regard, enough so that she named my brother Steven Carter for her second family. Mom made our tiny home as clean and snug as she could, I can't even imagine raising 3 kids in a house that small. My folks bought a small country store when I was about 6 years old, came as a complete surprise to us kids, we weren't told much back then. I think it was my mother's cross to bear and she came to down right hate being there 6 days a week. She was also trying to do laundry on an old wringer washer and no dryer for years, can you imagine? Also, heating with wood at both the store and home, her trying to keep heat in one place and then coming home to a deep freeze of a house in the evenings and restarting a fire, about the time it got warm, it was time to go to a cold bed. Mom was steady, truthful, patient, ruthless, quick to laugh, but could get quiet and distant at times. She was ornery and spiteful too, but loved any child that came around. I didn't want this blog to get long like my Myspace one did, but how can you sum up all those years into a few sentences? Mom didn't drink, smoke or cuss, she tried to treat everyone fairly and was really a pretty open-minded thinker at times. She loved westerns, like Lonesome Dove, which she actually wore out a VHS copy, she loved John Wayne, George Jones, white tennis shoes, cotton button front blouses, orange circus peanuts, anything chocolate, Captain D's fish, good "her" potato salad, a drive along the back roads, making a snowman, Easter Lillie's in the spring, the frogs "hollern' " a new perm, oil of olay lotion, Wanda and Betty Sue, most of the time, the color rose, her grandkids and great-grand kids. Thanks mom for the memories, I miss you everyday. Love to you all.

Laura and Jayce Racing from William Hillhouse on Vimeo.

Snack Time

After a fun afternoon of playing outside it was time for a snack, Jayce had applesauce, Jordy apples and oranges and memaw and Jayce say, Horray for a fun day.

A Day At The Races

We spent a beautiful December afternoon with Laura, Jared and the kids. Danny and I had bought the boys scooters from the mall for Christmas, wiggle scooters are what they are called, they are made sturdy enough that even a large adult can ride on them without breaking them. We delivered them and boy did we have fun, Jayce and Laura line up for a race down the drive with Jordan as Laura's co-pilot. Later Pete and even Memaw got into the action, with a little spill-over by Memaw, no injuries noted. Jordy had his own little scooter, a left-over from Jayce and had fun going up and down the hill. Meanwhile, Papaw and Jared were on the front porch roof sealing up the edges before winter hits us again. We had a fun afternoon and no one was injured in the making of this blog. Love you all!!

Christmas Revisited

While I was digging through old photos to start this blogspot, I decided in the spirit of the season, to add a few Christmas memories of the past, when our babies were still looking forward to Santa's visit and our house was busy with the sounds of children. The first picture was of Laura and she was about 3 years old and this was our first Christmas in our home, Her and Krysta both got Glo-Babys, when you squeezed their tummy, the head glowed for a comforting night light. Notice the ornament to her right, I still hang this one on the tree each year. Laura had just gotten a bath and into a warm flannel gown(bought at a yardsale) ready for bed. The next picture is of Krysta, she is about 4 or 5, I'm sure she wasn't in school yet, as she was 6 starting school with her July birthday. She always had to get a baby doll for Christmas, she loved dolls, looks like she was getting skates and a toy vacum, both the girls got skates that year and rolled around on the kitchen floor all winter. The next picture is of Pete, what a skinny little guy he was. Looks like he was just starting to open the gifts that Santa had left, I think this was his Kindergarten year maybe, I think he got a Gameboy, he looks pretty excited to get going. Hope you enjoy these oldies, but goodies, I have learned how to scan so I will try to put more on as I go along, just for fun. Let's look forward to a new year together. Love you all!!

I Thee Wed

Danny and I were married on May 2 1980, which by my calculations, we have been married for 28 years, 7 months and 26 days or around that number. We have had many good times, more than our share of hard times, many blessings including 2 beautiful and smart daughters, 1 lovable and handsome son, 2 fantastic son-in-law and our 2 sweet grandsons. While we have never had much money, we have always been lucky to have wonderful family to catch us when we falter. In our 28 years of marriage, we have moved many times, in the early days, living in both Iowa and Illinois for a short time. We have endured being richer and poorer and sickness and health, we have had many squabbles and differences of opinion, especially about wallpapering, we have traveled through the death of a parent, my mom and the planning of a funeral. We have rejoiced at the births of our grandsons and Danny holding vigil with little Jordan and Jared in NICU, while I was a support to Laura and Jayce. We are family, we love each other, respect each other and all of us only want each to excel and do better by our positive cheer leading and support. Maybe that is why we have kept our family whole all these years. This Blogspot is to update family far away about our successes and our failures and all that go with this little thing called life and the Hillhouse family. Love to you all !!

Hello To All

Hello To All:

While I have enjoyed MYSpace and Blogging on that area very much, I decided to open our own Blogspot and enjoy updating my friends about our family and things that happen in our fun and crazy lives. I hope this catches on and you enjoy visiting this space, I will do my best to update as much as possible. Love you all !