Hill Family: December 2012

What a busy month! From about the end of November to the second week in January we are just busy! I would not recommend having birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, and other events all crammed into one month. It gets to be too much! Anyway, at least we are done for awhile! We have been so blessed this year and are so grateful for our family and friends that support us and help us. We are looking forward to a great year ahead! Here are some highlights of December 2012:

Boxtops Contest- I am in charge of the boxtops fundraiser for South Weber Elementary's PTA. It is a fun, but very time consuming job to have. Anyway, for about 3-4 weeks I was busy trying to coordinate a boxtops contest which included handing out fliers before the contest, setting out a box to collect the ziploc bags from the teachers the week of the contest and then counting, and counting, and counting some more boxtops after the contest. After that week of counting then I had to go and deliver donuts for each person in the 4 winning classes (2 from each school). Whew! It was busy and exhausting, but fun for the kids and money for the school. Now I get to cut and bundle and ship them out! I will definitely be doing something different next year, but this has been good for now!

Anniversary- Matt and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary on the 17th. Those seven years have gone by so fast! We have moved several times, had three kids, had several jobs, met lots of good people and have also had our share of trials. And I couldn't imagine going through any of it without the support we give to each other. We make a good team and we really love being with each other and helping each other. I can't wait for 70 more years together!

Visitors- This year we were able to spend time with Matt's mom,Janna and her boyfriend, Daniel. They flew up from Arizona to spend a few days with us. Unfortunately, the kids were still in school and Matt was still working, so we weren't able to spend a lot of time with them during the day, but we were able to get together in the evenings and that was fun. We enjoy visiting with them and catching up with everything that is going on in each other's lives. We were also able to have Christmas together with them (Christmas #1). The kids absolutely loved it! They got so many fun things and cute clothes. We also got some gift cards so we could buy some stuff for our house. It was a nice visit and we will be seeing them again for Camille's wedding in June.

Shock- A friend in the ward and I both have kids in the same kindergarten class, so we trade babysitting for each other once a month so we can go volunteer. Well, it was the Friday before Christmas and we had wrapped all the presents and they had been sitting under or tree for almost a month and our kids hadn't messed with them. So, when her two year old twins came over, I didn't think anything about it. Well, I went upstairs for a couple minutes and then Caleb comes up to show me this fun new "Go Fish" game. I knew at that moment that something had happened because that gift was from my grandma to Caleb and was wrapped under the tree...so how was he holding it unwrapped? Well...the twins had unwrapped about half the presents that were under the tree! I was furious! So, I now know for future reference to either find someone else to trade babysitting with or to lock them up in one room when they are here!

Bye, Bye Van- That same Friday before Christmas we sold our Honda Odyssey. Matt and I had been going back and forth about whether or not to sell it and had looked at trying to pay cash for something to get out of a car payment. Well, on Thursday we had gone to look at an Expedition that was fully loaded but had a salvaged title. I liked it, but didn't like the title issue, so we decided to just keep the van. Well, it was late and I didn't take the ad off of KSL. Friday morning I had a guy call and want to come look at it for his son and daughter-in-law that live in Montana who needed a new van. He really liked it and by four o'clock it was driving out of my driveway for the last time. It was bitter sweet for me because I really did love that van and it was comfortable for our family, but I did want to get back in a Ford and get an SUV. Well, we went to Heber for a train ride that night and thankfully we had the truck or we wouldn't have been able to go! That night after getting back from the train ride I looked online and saw an Expedition that had just been listed that had everything in it, was really clean and had low miles for the year. The next day Matt and I went and bought it! It's a 2003 Ford Expedition with 93,000 miles and loaded with sunroof, heated and cooled seats, DVD player, and navigation. The only thing my van had that this doesn't is a back up camera, but that's okay and it still has back up sensors, so that works for me! I absolutely love it! I'm just glad the van sold when it did and that the guy selling this Expedition decided to keep it at the dealership for one more day, because he almost took it off their lot (it was at Ed Kenley Ford on consignment). So many things worked out that I knew it was the right thing for us to do.

Train Ride- After selling the van we drove up to Heber, Utah to ride the train that is there. During the holidays they transform the train into the "Polar Express." The kids wear their pajamas and they serve hot chocolate and cookies and then towards the end of the ride Santa comes and visits. It took about an hour or so from the beginning of the ride to the end and for the most part the kids really enjoyed it. Caleb had a hard time at first, but after a few minutes he really started to like it! It was pretty dark so we didn't get to see much of what was around us, but the ride itself was pretty fun. I know the kids' favorite part was when Santa came and talked to them. They loved it! I am definitely glad that my grandparents invited us and the kids got to have that experience.

Christmas Eve- On Christmas Eve Santa (my dad) came to visit our house and he read us the story "The Night Before Christmas." Alora knew pretty quick that it was Grandpa Doug, and I think Emily did too because she was kind of freaked out. But Caleb really loved it! It was funny to hear Dad try to disguise his voice and then he forgot his reading glasses, so the story was a little unusual. It was a fun time and we all had a good laugh about it! Thanks Dad! On Christmas Eve we also kept up the tradition and went to Denny's for dinner and then when we got home the kids got to open one present. They opened their Christmas ornament. Every year we will give the kids an ornament to represent what they have been involved in or something fun that they like that year. When the time comes for them to move out, they can take their ornaments with them and have some memories of their childhood years.

Christmas Day- Thankfully our kids are still young enough that they don't wake us up at 3:00 in the morning to open presents, so we got one more year to sleep in. We got the kids up around 7:30am and brought them downstairs to see their presents. They were all so excited! Then we got to open presents and the kids had so much fun with that! We love seeing their faces light up and the excitement. It's also nice because then they spend the rest of the day busy playing with all of their new stuff! Later on that afternoon my mom and niece came over and we got to open presents from them. Once again, it was total overload! They are some spoiled children, that's for sure! We are so grateful for everything that was given to us and for the special time of year that it is.

Jerolyn's Birthday- And finally, at the end of December we celebrated my birthday. It was my golden birthday this year (turning 28 on the 28th). I had a pretty relaxing day just hanging out at home with the kiddos. Matt wrote me a nice poem and got me the new Carrie Underwood CD, an iTunes gift card, and then went and bought me an iPad 2. He is so wonderful! The next day my mom and Shayla brought over cake and ice cream and we got to celebrate with them, then we went out to dinner and a movie with some friends. It was a great way to celebrate and I am looking forward to all the wonderful things this year will bring!

End of 2012- Well...this last year has been busy for us. We have met a lot of new friends, bought a house, sold a car, and Matt has worked at three different shops! We have also had our trials and difficult times this past year, but feel like we are stronger and better because of them. I have read an amazing book this year titled "Divine Signatures." I would recommend everyone read it. It has helped to strengthen my faith and better understand my Heavenly Father and His role in my life. I know that we have been so blessed this year, even in the midst of difficult times and I am just happy that we are able to start fresh in 2013! I am hoping for a wonderful year ahead full of fun vacations, a couple weddings, and watching our children grow and learn. Goodbye 2012....hello 2013!!