The Big Texas Hill Family

working on Valentine's Day cards... :)

2012-02-13T16:49:00.003-06:00

Goosey's actual birthday

2012-02-13T13:55:00.010-06:00

This year Goosey got the shaft on her actual birthday because we had to have Poopie's party on that day due to the fire station scheduling. So.... we we went to Taco Bell for a small family celebration. Her "friend" party is this Sat. :)

Hard core mean looks... :)

Cheyenne rolls over! :)

2012-02-13T13:47:00.007-06:00

Our sweet baby rolled over today. She is growing up sooo fast! :)

Before... (she is sooo smiley) :)

After!"What did I just do Mommy?" :)Goosey was discussing her successful roll-over strategy... :)

Kaleb's 6th Birthday Party :)

2012-02-12T17:30:00.018-06:00

This past Sat (Feb 11th - Goosey's Bday) we had Kaleb's birthday party. This year we were able to go to our local fire station. They were soooo awesome. They broke the kids up in to two group for a tour and a presentation. Afterwards, they all came back together for lunch and cake. I can't express how grateful we are to them for this special day. What a unique way to celebrate a birthday. :) Our "helper" was the Fire Chiefs mother. :) I love living here. Have I mentioned that before? :) We were able to set up the party section in their kitchen. :) Korger made this cake out of cupcakes! :) They did an AWESOME job. LOVE this pic...

The baby slept the entire time...

The party started with everyone getting hats... The fire Captain introducing everyone and welcoming us to the fire station...

Group 1 starting the tour... Poopie's group :)

Touring the sleeping quarters...

Moving to the truck bay...

Going on the ambulance...

Learning about all the cool things on the fire truck...

Goosey with Ms. Nancy

(the fire captain and fire chiefs mom who was helping that day)

Poopie on the fire truck...

Group 1 pic :)

Group 2 on their way out for the tour...

Group 2 pic...

Everyone... :) Poopie is at the head of the table on the right...

During the presentation...
They played "Simon Says" while waiting for the other group... :)

We didn't have time to open gifts at the party so we did it at home...

Happy 6th birthday to our love!

Happy Birthday Sweet Goosey Girl!!!!!!

2012-02-11T21:23:00.002-06:00

Today our sweet little girl is THREE years old! She is so much fun. Every day holds something new. :) She is bossy, sweet, bossy, loving and bossy. :) We love every minute with our girl! Happy 3rd Birthday Goosey. We love you soooooo much. More than words can describe.

Scout camp with Dad

2012-02-07T19:40:00.007-06:00

Chuck-E-Cheese's Birthday Dinner

2012-02-07T17:34:00.027-06:00

Chuck-E-Cheese had the kids start dancing then threw out extra tickets

Kaleb let Goosey go in the Ticket Blaster with him. He was listening VERY closely to the directions... lol

He actually got the magic ticket worth 1000 free tickets!

Goosey wanted to wear the birthday crown she got from church even though it wasn't her birthday. :) She was KNOCKED OUT. :)

Sweet Cheyenne is showing off her first Chuck-E-Cheese sticker. :)

Surprise Birthday Lunch

2012-02-07T17:13:00.008-06:00

The morning started with Kaleb coming down stairs to see the kitchen decorated.

(Our family birthday tradition).

I dropped off some donut holes with birthday napkins for his class celebration... He loved his surprise birthday lunch with his friends Austin, Aaron & Mackson. Lunch was McDonald's happy meals. :) After school we had cupcakes with the daycare kids.

After church Sunday

2012-02-07T16:43:00.001-06:00

The baby needed to show off her cute outfit and Goosey & Poopie needed to show off their birthday stuff from church. :)

Happy 6th Birthday Kaleb!!!!

2012-02-05T23:50:00.004-06:00

4 3

21 1st day home - 3 days old

Hair Washing Time

2012-02-03T18:53:00.001-06:00

My Weight Loss Update

2012-02-03T18:51:00.002-06:00

Still no active weight loss since Sept. The dr. can't explain why. They are trying to convince me to get another surgery. We-shall-see. :)

Miguel is doing well in his new school

2012-02-03T18:49:00.004-06:00

Here he is with a friend before a choir performance last week.

Donuts with Dad at Poopie's school :)

2012-02-03T18:39:00.001-06:00

* Fake smile on Poopie, but still a cute pic. :)

I love you my Papa. I miss you everyday.

2012-02-02T18:35:00.002-06:00

Mommy, take my pee-cher! :)

2012-01-31T14:19:00.005-06:00

Who can say "no" to this face... :)

Andi loves church

2012-01-30T15:25:00.002-06:00

I am soooo grateful for our church and the wonderful programs it has for the kids. Andi LOVES church and she is so proud to be in Young Women. :)

(CTR stands for "Choose the Right.")

Lovin' on Cheyenne

2012-01-30T15:18:00.001-06:00

The Littles Hangin' out...

2012-01-27T17:10:00.002-06:00

Surprise lunch :)

2012-01-05T14:39:00.005-06:00

Today Goosey, Cheyenne and I surprised Kaleb at school for lunch. He has been asking me to come eat lunch with him since school started so it was great to finally make that happen. His face lit up and I got a HUGE hug. The kind where he runs in to my arms. :) Goosey was thrilled to carry his food into the school and told all the teachers she saw what he was getting. lol

Daycare kids: silly string war...

2012-01-05T14:09:00.002-06:00

Can't get enough of this little dancer

2012-01-05T14:06:00.002-06:00

Goosey LOVES dance class. She asks every day if it's Wednesday so she can go to dance. lol I am so glad she has something, even at this young age, that she enjoys. :)

New Year New School

2012-01-05T14:03:00.002-06:00

After Christmas break Miguel transferred to Eric's school. He started this past Monday. So far he likes it and all is well. I think it's great he knows Dad is around and is watching him... :)

New Year's Eve

2012-01-01T01:28:00.011-06:00

Like last year we went to our good friend's house for their NYE party. This year Kaleb's group won the dance contest and Eric lead all the kids in dance to the "Thriller" song. :) After we rang in the "east Coast NY at 11pm our time at their house, we headed home for our traditional sparkling cider and watching the ball drop at 12pm our time. Andi's sweet friend Riley came with us and spent the night. Happy New Year Everyone!

5 years ago today!

2012-01-01T01:25:00.002-06:00

We arrived in Texas with faith and a dream. No jobs, just bought a home, and faithful that it would all work out because God wanted us here. :) 5 years later we are so grateful we made that leap! Happy New Year!

Cheyenne 7 weeks

2012-01-01T01:21:00.003-06:00

Potty Training

2012-01-01T01:21:00.001-06:00

Lord Help Us! :)

Armed Forces Bowl - BYU vs Tulsa

2012-01-01T01:18:00.003-06:00

My birthday gift to Eric was a ticket to the Armed Forces Bowl. He went with some of his friends. The seats were awesome. Row 2, 50 yard line. :)

Playing with the favorite Christmas toys... :) (Daddy's favorite) lol

2011-12-28T18:35:00.003-06:00

Yes, the playroom is a mess. :)

Christmas Day

2011-12-26T18:26:00.032-06:00

First thing Christmas morning we got up and got ready for church. We didn't let the kids go downstairs because we didn't want to "ruin" the build-up. :) So, Eric carried them downstairs to the van while covering their eyes. lol Then, when we got home he took them back upstairs and we all put our jammies back on then started the festivities. :)

Before the kids came down I took some pics of the tree and downstairs decorations. This year we had the upstairs decorated too but it doesn't look as cool as downstairs. :)

Below: Before this kids came down I made our traditional "Fun Old-fashion, Family Breakfast." :) Eggs, cinnomon rolls, sausage & pancakes. :) This time I made choc. chip pancakes. Yum!

Below: checking out the fireplace to see that Santa ate his cookies and wipped the ash from the fireplace off on some papertowel we left with is cookies. :)

You know it's been a perfect Christmas Day when a sweet baby girl falls asleep under the Christmas tree. :)div>

Our tradition is to open stockings and open grandparent/family gifts Christmas night but I was so tired I went to take a "nap" at 5pm and didn't wake up so the pics below are from this morning. It actually turned out great to have more fun things to do the day after Christmas.

Below: The Wall of Love looks great! :) Can you see your card? :0

Christmas Eve Pajama Party

2011-12-26T15:56:00.013-06:00

Below: Tamales, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, green bean casserole, salad, baked ziti, stuffed mushrooms, ham & rolls. :)

Below: kid tables

We did a Christmas Eve program followed by a performace by each family :)

After the kids opened their gifts, we had an adult White Elephant gift exchange.

Opening gifts with Grandma

2011-12-26T15:27:00.006-06:00

We went out to eat for Grandma's birthday then went home so the kids could open the gifts from her before she left the next day. Kind of like a pre-Christmas for them. Lucky kids.

Fun Christmas Clothes for Church :)

2011-12-25T02:27:00.003-06:00

Below: My mother was visiting and went to church with us

Operation Cookie Drop

2011-12-25T02:18:00.004-06:00

Goosey teachers Cheyenne all about Santa and how to look at herself in a mirror :)

2011-12-25T02:12:00.003-06:00

Making the Cookies for "Operation Cookie Drop"

2011-12-25T02:01:00.006-06:00

6 weeks :)

2011-12-25T02:00:00.000-06:00

Daycare Christmas Party

2011-12-25T01:54:00.004-06:00

Andi's Christmas Band Concert

2011-12-23T15:39:00.006-06:00

Kaleb's Class Christmas Party

2011-12-23T14:57:00.005-06:00

I think it was a hit with the little kids. :) It was fun for me as one of the "room moms" to be a part of the party. My mom was here visiting so Kaleb thought it was pretty cool that his grandma was at his class party.

LOVE this video of the kids chanting Poopie's name when he was playing the game. :)

Miguel

2011-12-23T14:55:00.002-06:00

We got an e-mail from Miguel's choir teacher saying he is really a great singer and doing well in choir. A GOOD e-mail from a teacher! lol He attached this pic.

Daddy's Birthday

2011-12-19T20:21:00.002-06:00

My gift to Eric was a surprise lunch with his friends. NO kids and NO wives. :) (I pretended I was going but once he saw his friends I left with the baby) :)

Cross Country

2011-12-19T20:08:00.003-06:00

This year Andi was on her school's Cross Country team. She did really well and placed in two of her meets. :) We are very proud of her.

Babies love Christmas... :)

2011-12-11T17:57:00.003-06:00

Daddy and two littles... :)

2011-12-09T16:03:00.000-06:00

Getting better at baths... :)

2011-12-09T16:02:00.000-06:00

A Day at the Mall...

2011-12-06T16:29:00.015-06:00

Last Saturday Miguel's school choir had a concert at the mall followed by a choir ice skating party. While Andi went ice skating with Miguel we took the little ones to meet Santa. What a LONG but awesome day. Afterwards Kaleb & Goosey were knocked out in the van before we even left the parking lot. :)

Meeting the Big Guy... :)

2011-12-06T16:27:00.000-06:00

Decorating the tree...

2011-12-06T16:09:00.004-06:00

In lieu of decorating while watching a traditional Christmas movie, this year we labored to "Waterboy." :) lol

Downtown Grapevine - The Christmas Capital of Texas :)

2011-11-27T10:33:00.004-06:00

Ornament making...

The Blacksmith...

Ice Skating...

Polar Express Train Ride - Grapevine, Texas

2011-11-27T09:41:00.009-06:00

Before the train ride, we were ushered in to a large tent for a pre-ride show. :) It was a great way to get the kids excited. :)

We went in early because it was so cold outside. It was nice and toasty in the tent. :)

Goosey was SOOO excited to see Santa!

Konnor and Goosey went to the front of the stage to sing... :)

Kaleb got a little prize for being a good singer. He knew ALL the words. Could my obsession with Christmas have something to do with that? lol

Below: the Train Depot and the Train.

Downtown Frisco Light Show

2011-11-27T09:27:00.003-06:00

Play below to see the awesomeness... :)

In N Out :)

2011-11-27T09:24:00.000-06:00

Gotta have the In "n" Out Christmas bag... :)

Babe's Chicken - A Texas visit tradition :)

2011-11-27T09:19:00.002-06:00

Thanksgiving :)

2011-11-25T15:58:00.022-06:00

This year we have been extra blessed because my dear friends Shannon & Konrad (whom I have been friends with since high school and who sang at our wedding:) were able to drive down from AK with their boys and visit us for the thanksgiving holiday. :) They will be here with us until Sunday. We also had my awesome cousins Scott and Chris and our great friends the Stokers here to share Thanksgiving with us. We look forward to having them here as part of our Thanksgiving tradition. :)

Eric and Konrad took part in the annual "Turkey Bowl." Eric threw a touchdown pass to Konrad and we have been hearing about the glory of that play ever since... lol

This year we rented a bounce house for the kids. :) Here are our kids with Shannon and Konrad's boys Konnor and Evan. Their girls were in AK with their dad and they were missed. Maybe next year they can join us! :)

Below: the official Turkey cutter. :)

Below: Adrienne brought a GREAT activity for the kids. They had to write what they were thankful for on a leaf, cut it out and put it on the Thankful tree. :) The parents added theirs then we all read our leaf out loud.

The baby spent her day like this. asleep. As usual she was wide awake and ready to party by midnight. lol

Below: reading our leaves...

Below: the kids getting ready to get their first Christmas gift of the season... :)

Jeremy in his reading glasses... He is a pilot and also wears these glasses to fly... :)

Thumbs up for Thanksgiving! :)

Hanging out with Kaleb and Sissy & first time in swing

2011-11-21T15:41:00.002-06:00

First bath :)

2011-11-21T15:36:00.002-06:00

Kindergarten Thanksgiving Program :)

2011-11-18T16:01:00.014-06:00

Today Kaleb had his kindergarten Thanksgiving "feast" and program. The "tables" are on the floor with their snacks and they were able to sit and eat after they sang their songs. :) Soooooo cute. :)

This was the baby's first trip to the school... :)/p>

Below: with his teacher
Below: Poopie is right in the middle... :)

Meeting the doctor... :)

2011-11-16T22:22:00.005-06:00

The entire office was sooo eager to meet Cheyenne. :) It was like a family reunion when we brought her in for her newborn visit. lol

Below: Nurse Valerie

Below: P.A. Jan and her nurse

Dr. Joe... :) She has been our kids doctor since we moved here 5 years ago.

This is what you get when Goosey dresses herself... :)

2011-11-14T18:57:00.003-06:00

Howdy Partner!

First Young Women's Daddy Daughter Dance

2011-11-14T18:52:00.002-06:00

A few days before the baby was born Eric and Andi attended her first Daddy Daughter dance since Andi moved up from Activity Night for girls to the "Young Women" group at church. :)

Cheyenne's Baby Shower

2011-11-14T18:36:00.005-06:00

Last week my awesome friend Donna hosted a baby shower at her house for Cheyenne. :) I was so busy socializing I only got a handful of pics of some of ladies out of the 12 friends who were there that evening. I am so sorry guys! I appreciate you ALL! Thanks for coming out to meet the baby! :)

Below: Donna getting ready for the guests!

Below: Andi and her friend Riley

Riley's moms Bree and Steph with the baby before the party... :)

Below: Ami, Me & Cristina :)

Ingrid & Cheyenne

Gift opening time! :)

TWO sweet faces! :) Meghan & Cheyenne

It's that time of year again...

2011-11-14T18:33:00.003-06:00

For the Hill men to put up the Christmas lights! :)

Some family shots :)

2011-11-12T16:53:00.004-06:00

Nursery Wall

2011-11-08T10:51:00.003-06:00

We will have the baby in our room for a year or so but I still wanted the experience of decorating a nursery. :) Eric painted our entire room brown and made the "nursery wall" pink. He did such an awesome job! I put on Cheyenne's name (thanks Meldrums!) and Eric did the rest. I did have the really hard job of shopping for all the stuff... lol Sorry about the white spots in the pic. Not sure why they showed up on two of the pics but not the other one...

Bringing Home Baby... :)

2011-11-05T20:07:00.010-05:00

Arriving at the hospital...

Below: Signing the papers... yes, I was crying.
On the way to the nursery...

Getting Cheyenne in her car seat for the ride home... :)

Leaving the hospital!

Home!

Our friends Bree & Steph watched the kids while we were at the hospital. We are sooo grateful they spent most of their day helping us. :)

First family pic

Goosey is always asking if she can "pet" Cheyenne... lol

Poopie made a sign welcoming her home. :)

Date Night

2011-11-05T20:04:00.002-05:00

Last night Eric went out on a date to celebrate the new arrival that would be joining us the next day. :) We went to the mall, walked around, watched the ice skaters and then had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. I LOVE my husband. He is the BEST husband and father. :)

Cheyenne meets her brothers and sisters :)

2011-11-05T19:25:00.007-05:00

Special Delivery

2011-11-05T19:14:00.005-05:00

We got a text from Cheyenne's birth mom around 10:30am that she was dialated to a 4 and it was ok to head to the hospital. We were only there for a short while and she went to a 10! ONE push later Cheyenne was here! :) It was an amazing experience.

Below: the dr. getting ready...

Below: First time eating...

Trick-or-Treat! Halloween Night...

2011-10-31T21:17:00.007-05:00

Because candy isn't enough sugar, we added Halloween cookies... :)

Diaper Shower

2011-10-31T19:45:00.002-05:00

Last week Eric's school colleagues had a "diaper shower" for him at work. :) He LOVES his school and those he works with and we are very grateful for the diapers!

What are these little white things all over the house?

2011-10-31T19:38:00.004-05:00

I could not figure it out until I looked at Goosey after I gave her some candy corn. Apparently she doesn't like the white tips! lol

Pumpkin Carving :)

2011-10-31T19:38:00.001-05:00

Below: at first Goosey wanted NOTHING to do with the pumpkins... :)

Daycare Halloween Party

2011-10-30T20:44:00.007-05:00

Charades, ice cream sundaes, Halloween twister, hot pumpkin and a movie... :)

Trunk-or-treat

2011-10-30T19:35:00.010-05:00

I have to start by saying that the costume Goosey is wearing this year was made for ME by my perfect Grammie 31 years ago. It's so wonderful that she can wear something created by the warm hands of my Grammie. :)

This year it was raining so "Trunk-or-Treat" was brought inside. :)

tradition...

2011-10-30T19:32:00.002-05:00

The first fire of the season and "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown." :)

Now in a big girl bed :)

2011-10-30T19:29:00.001-05:00

Kaleb's 1st Field Trip :) - Kindergarten at the pumpkin patch

2011-10-29T18:06:00.007-05:00

In class before the field trip :)

Getting ready to go on the bus!

Arrived at the pumpkin patch...

Craft station inside...

Science lesson... It was pretty cool!

They went to different hay stations for math, reading and social studies...

Hay Maze activity to find words that were hidden inside that started with the letter "P."

Treat bags to hold their crafts and pumpkins...

Lunch time!

School pics 2011

2011-10-28T15:51:00.003-05:00

Kaleb: Kindergarten Miguel: 6th grade

Andi: 7th grade