Christmas 2008

Some pictures from the season.

Maggie on Santa's lap. This is the same Santa she's seen every year since she was born. I have an album of all the pics. It's great to watch her grow from year to year.

Coming down the stairs on Christmas morning. Love the look on her face!

The carnage of Christmas Morning

The Hill Family Cousins...

Riley, Maggie, Gray

The Wileberger Cousins...

Hamilton, Wells, Landry, Ayden, Maggie

We are missing two (Ella and Will) due to illness. :(

Things You Hear at the House of Hills

Things I have heard in my living room since Santa brought a new Wii game.

"I get to pull their yes out!" ~ Maggie

"Nice!" ~ David

"You shot me!" ~ Maggie/David

"Sorry, didn't mean to." ~ David/Maggie

"Walk on 'em" ~ David

"Get the bomb, Maggie!" ~ David

Ah, the sound of father/daughter bonding.  Music to my ears.

Harry Potter Begins

Holy cow! It's been a long time since I've blogged. I've been spending too much time on Facebook and Twitter. However, there comes a time when everything can't be said in a status update.

Tonight was a night I have actually looked forward to since Maggie's birth.  Truly. Seriously. 

Those that know me know my absolute love of the "Harry Potter" series of books. I read the entire series every summer and have even read the last book (came out summer 07) at least 4 times already. 

I'm such a fan that when book 5 came out the same weekend that Maggie broke her arm at 10 months, I set her in exersaucer after exersaucer while bouncing her and trying to get a couple chapters in.  When books 6 and 7 came out, I took the day off from mommying totally so that I could read them straight through. 

I think J.K. Rowling is an AMAZING author. I loved using her work to teach vivid descriptions when I taught 5th grade. You can read/listen to her words and total envision this alternate universe that she created.

So, to say I was looking forward to sharing her works with my child is an understatement. The question was when to share them. The Harry Potter series gets dark and evil. Book by book, the villain, Voldemort, becomes more and more powerful and Harry is put in more and more dangerous situations. So, David and I talked long and hard about when to introduce the books to our precious daughter. 

We consulted with lots of friends. I reread them countless times. We finally decided that Christmas break of 1st grade would be okay for the first one. By that time she would very much understand the difference between fact and fiction. She also had to be able to understand good and evil.  She needed to be able to know that there were mean people out there. 

Maggie hadn't really met any mean people in preschool, and up until she started kindergarten she was surrounded by Christians. She didn't understand until the last year that everyone doesn't believe in God's love and grace. She didn't know that people could be angry and frustrated and not know that they could give those feelings to their Heavenly Father. She totally didn't get that there are people out there that don't try to do the right thing all the time like we are teaching her to do. We were pretty confident that by the middle of 1st grade she would have a better grasp of these things and be ready to read about Harry and his battle with evil.

So, tonight was the night. Mags and I had dinner together because Daddy was working a little late. We got in our pjs, Mags went and got the book, and with great excitement, she opened it and read the chapter titles. It was so awesome to see how excited she was to read it.  She knows how much I love Harry Potter and couldn't wait to have me share it with her. 

She read the chapter titles and then decided she wanted to read the fourth chapter "Keeper of the Keys." I had to explain that this wasn't a book where we could just pick the chapters to read - in "Frog and Toad" all the chapters are really independent little stories. We had to start at the beginning and go all the way through. And it was going to take us awhile.

Then, she started flipping through and realized there weren't that many pictures - just one at the beginning of each chapter. Her eyes got huge at that one. I explained that this was a book where the pictures would be in her mind. She needed to listen carefully to the words and she would see a picture in her head. 

Then I began. And she started wiggling all over the place. Doing twists and turns. Sitting up, sitting down. Rolling around on the bed. And I realized, she is really listening hard. And she's seriously trying to process all this information. 

When Maggie is thinking hard, she's moving. When she does her homework, she dances. When she's reading a really hard book, she rolls all over the place. It seems that when her mind is working hard, her body has to work hard too. I kinda think of the movement as the release of steam from the engine. All the energy runoff has to go somewhere. 

We read through chapter one and then did a review of characters. She got A LOT, and we just had to review who each person was a little. Then she begged for chapter two, and I indulged. Daddy had gotten home by this time, so he got on the bed with us and listened too. She LOVED chapter two as it got a little more interesting and wasn't just backstory like chapter one is. She laughed out loud in a couple of places and has decided the Dursleys are "the boring people." She also said the Hills are not like the Dursleys. We're "much more fun." 

So, we have started reading Harry Potter with Maggie. To me, this is as much a milestone as her crawling, walking, starting school. She's grown up just a little bit more. She's a little bit closer to being a young woman and a little bit farther from being a little girl. 

Maggie's 6th Birthday

Maggie had a two day celebration for her birthday. There were cupcakes at school on Friday and then a High School Musical birthday party Saturday morning with the family gathering on Saturday afternoon. 

On Saturday, Maggie was allowed to invite eight girls over, and we did fun HSM crafts, danced to the songs, played trivia, and watched the movies. They had a GREAT time.

The cousins so enjoyed the cupcakes at the family gathering as you can see by the photos.

Maggie was Baptized Today!!

What an amazing day for the House of Hills. Lots of tears, lots of smiles, and lots of hugs. Maggie showed the world that she loves Jesus today by being baptized during the Family Birthday Celebration, and Daddy got to do the baptizing!!

The tears started when Mommy dropped Maggie off with the other kids who were going to be baptized (most of whom were bigger than she). Then the service started, and all the kids were just amazing! What a pure love of Jesus in their hearts. It was wonderful to watch. 

Then, right in the middle, my precious Maggie was on the screen. Her beautiful and succinct declaration of her love for Jesus made my heart sing. Then, there was my amazing husband, standing in the baptismal telling her how proud we are of her and how much God will love her always. It was obvious that he was Maggie's daddy, and I heard lots of "Oh, how sweet, that's her daddy!" around me. And saw lots of teary eyes. 

What was so beautiful was watching Maggie's earthly father clearly display the love of her Heavenly Father through his words and tears as he baptized her. I was so overwhelmed by emotion that I can't wait to see it again on video so I can enjoy it more thoroughly. 

Once all the kids were baptized, Danny Dukes led us in a beautiful rendition of "Amazing Grace" and then asked us to rock it out with "We Shine" by Steve Fee. What finished off the tears was during the chorus - We are the redeemed. We are the ones who are free. And we belong to Jesus! - they flashed the pictures of the kids who were just baptized and who had just proclaimed that they belong to Jesus on the beat of the song. They a

lso walked the kids out to stand on the front steps of the stage. SO POWERFUL!!!!

Then, all the parents, grandparents, small group leaders, and prayer partners were invited on stage to pray with the kids. After that prayer, we headed to the Kidstuf 

theater for cake and party time. 

It was an amazing afternoon and one we will never forget. Many than

ks to all at North Point Community Church that participated and made it happen

Maggie's First Test

Maggie took her first ever test today! It was a vocabulary test. She has a list of vocabulary words and spelling words each week to work on. Vocabulary tests are on Thursdays and spelling tests are on Fridays.

Maggie had to read the words and sentences to her teacher. She made NO MISTAKES! We were very proud of her. It's hard to believe my kid is at the weekly test taking stage. 

Maggie is adjusting pretty well to the first grade schedule. She's looking forward to library and computer lab next week.

First Day of Gymnastics

Maggie started her weekly gymnastics class this afternoon and had SO MUCH FUN!!! She was so excited throughout the entire hour bouncing up and down and clapping with a big grin on her face. She wasn't the most coordinated girl in her group, but that did not keep her from trying her hardest to do all the things they asked. 

The best part of gymnastics is that Olivia M is in with her. Mommy had no idea when she signed up that Olivia was also in the class so it was a great treat. Mommy and Olivia's mommy were pregnant together and the girls are only a few days apart. In fact, going to see Olivia in the hospital was the first time Mommy left Maggie after her birth. Us parents were in small group together for three years so it's great fun to be hanging out with Olivia every week.

First Day of First Grade

We have started "real" school in the House of Hills. Maggie began first grade today, and it is VERY different than kindergarten.

Maggie went to Meet and Greet last Thursday and was SO EXCITED to start school. This morning finally came, and Mommy drove her to school so she could take pictures. Maggie walked in the classroom and didn't look back. I didn't even get a good-bye kiss. There are several kids from the neighborhood in her class as well as her good friend, Kate, from church. She was allowed to sit by Kate today which was a major treat.

Mags got off the bus this afternoon looking pretty worn out. When I asked if she had a good day, she said, "Not really. We had to just sit there a lot." I tried very hard not to smirk as I thought, "Welcome to real school kid." 

When we got home, we immediately started our new routine and made sure all the papers went in the right place and everything got unpacked.

Mommy had set up a homework area for Mags on the dining room table across from her computer so they could work together.  Maggie wanted to do homework right away so we sat down to do that as soon as possible. She had even brought a text book home! Talk about REAL school! She has vocabulary and spelling words and will have two tests this week - Thursday vocab and Friday spelling.  

After discussing the day some more, we discovered that it wasn't so boring, just very different from Kindergarten. She told us a lot about her day, and seemed to think it was actually pretty good. She is anxious for tomorrow when it won't be as much of "the teacher just telling us stuff."

Trying to fall asleep tonight was VERY difficult.  It took her almost an hour and a half to calm down enough to fall asleep. She came out and complained "I just keep having thoughts in my head. I can't stop thinking about stuff." I totally empathized and let her finish her chapter book, which seemed to do the trick as it is finally quiet up there. The girl is very much like her mama.

End of Summer

Maggie finished out her summer in style!

She did one week of gymnastics camp and then a three day cheerleading camp at Chattahoochee High School.  The best thing about cheerleading camp is that Maggie gets to be with friends from NPCC weekday.  

The craziest thing about cheerleading camp is that 

Mommy has flashbacks every time she walks in the gym since both of her brothers graduated from there.  Also, some of the high school girls are girls that Mommy taught way back when!

We spent the last few days of vacation hanging out as a family and got a couple more good swims in. 

Looking back, I would say it was an awesome summer.  Mags had a great time and so did her parents. I'm in the process of making a photo book for Maggie of all her summer activities and there were tons! She's already talking about what she wants to do next year!

The Water Slide

Mags has finally conquered a major fear - the water slide!  Today at Lifetime Fitness Mommy encouraged her to try the slide.  After explaining that it wasn't much longer than the slide she had just gone down at the aquarium and promising to do it too, Mommy got Maggie to walk up the stairs.

Once up the stairs, Maggie began to have MAJOR second thoughts.  As she was deciding not to go, a little boy at least one year younger said "I'll go!" and went down.  Well, that was the last straw. Maggie was not going to be outdone by someone smaller. So, down she went. There was quite the scream as she entered the turn so I wasn't sure what I'd find when I met her at the bottom. As promised, Mommy went down too, and when we met at the side of the pool, Maggie was all grin and the dimples were shining. 

"That was AWESOME!!!" she said.  When asked why she screamed, she looked at me and said, "Because I was so excited. I want to go again."  

Needless to say, Mommy then moved our things to be closer to the slide and sat down in a lounge chair to watch.  She went over and over and over.  I totally lost track of how many times. Even when it was time to go, I kept hearing "Just one more time!"  

Mommy and Daddy are so proud of her conquering her fear.  Does this mean a roller coaster at Disney? Hmmmm....

Georgia Aquarium

Maggie and Mommy joined the NPCC Weekday program on their first ever field trip today.  We went to the Georgia Aquarium in downtown Atlanta and had an awesome time.

Mommy's group included Erin, Maggie, Emily, and Olivia.  They did a great job of sticking together and following directions while we explored the aquarium and saw some really amazing things.  

The kids have been studying God's Creation, and what a way to really see it up close.  All those different types of fish - awesome really.  Makes you seriously want to know what He was thinking about some of them - strange stuff.  The girls got to see many, many tanks of fish and even touched some sharks, rays, and shrimp.  Yes, they did wash their hands - OFTEN!

The big bonus for Maggie was that she got to spend the day with Emily.  Since the girls were in both the same threes and pre-K class, they've missed each other during Kindergarten as they only got to see each other on Sundays.  Witness the LOVE!

Small Group Reunion

July 12, 2008

The Hill ladies, the Ashers, and the Eliots descended on the McCune home for a small group reunion.  We were missing the Loyolas to make it a complete group.  

The kids had an awesome time playing in the pools, eating hotdogs, and ending the evening with ice cream.  

Thank you McCunes for such a wonderful evening!

Camp Highlands

July 7 - 11, 2008

Maggie attended Camp Highlands Day Camp this year for the first time.  She had an amazing experience and couldn't wait to get there each day.  She loved the many events they had planned during the day including water play, arts and crafts, worship, and outdoor play.  Each day, they also did an activity on a challenge course.  Unfortunately, Maggie didn't participate in these, but she did get close to going on the zip line.  She got the gear on, but then decided no.  Her friends and counselors were very understanding and supportive.

The week ended with an assembly of all the campers where they sang and performed skits for the parents.  We parents totally enjoyed it, and it was wonderful to see them all worshipping together.

Sugar Kiss

Maggie loves powdered donuts!  They have become a favorite dessert - those fun little mini ones. 

Anyone want a sugar kiss?!

4th of July

Maggie was invited to march in the Woodstock 4th of July parade with her Upward Cheerleading Camp from FBCW.  The girls walked the parade route doing cheers and shaking their pom poms while the boys from the basketball camp threw candy and passed out Upward brochures.

Mommy walked the parade route with Maggie while Daddy, Grandma, and Gramps sat with our friends the Eliots to watch the parade.  It was lots of fun but very hot!!! We were extremely thankful that Daddy had dropped a car for us at the end of the parade route.

After the parade, Mags and Mommy went and got their swimming things.  After a quick stop at the 4th of July Festival in the Woodstock Square, they went over to the Eliots' pool for some swimming.  Of course the 4th of July would not be complete without some watermelon.

Edisto Island

June 30 - July 3 2008

Maggie and Mommy headed back to Edisto for some time with Grandpa and Grandma Dot. Daddy had a retreat for work so he didn't join us, but us girls had fun anyway.  Cousins Gray and Riley were supposed to make the trip with us but unfortunately they both got sick right before time to leave so Mags was without a built in playmate.

We spent lots of time at the beach where Maggie got pretty good at riding the waves in on her boogie board.  She made some new friends each day, but really did miss the cousins.  

We also went and checked out the snakes and gators at the island Serpentarium where Maggie even petted a snake!!

It was a fun trip, and Mags and Mommy were very happy to get some beach time and spend time with family.

Major Milestones This Weekend

No pictures of this - will have to get some later, but we had two major milestones this weekend.

1. Maggie actually jumped rope - like five jumps in a row.  This is a HUGE motor skill milestone. She actually swung the rope over her head, jumped (with both feet - no stepping), and kept the rope going to go over her head again.  HUGE!!!

2. Maggie is now reading silently.  This is a MAJOR cognitive milestone.  That means she doesn't need to hear the sounds of the letters to know what the word is.  She can look at the word and just figure it out or know it on sight.  AMAZING.  She and Mommy were in bed tonight reading together - cuddling but reading their own books.  How COOL is that!

Had to share!  Happy Day!

Swimming with the Webers

June 29, 2008

The Weber girls came over to see Maggie and swim at the pool.  They hadn't seen each other in over a month, so they were all very excited.  They had a great time, and Anna joined them later in the afternoon.

These girls LOVE to get together!

Upward Cheer Camp

June 27, 2008

Maggie had a great time at Upward Cheer Camp.  She went every morning for a week, and they had Parents' Day on Friday.  Enjoy the pics!

Fabulous Friends

June 25, 2008

Maggie's friend, Kate, came over to play after Upward Cheerleading camp.  The girls had lunch, did a little dancing, and then decided to go to the pool.  

When we got Kate's suit out of her bag, I had to giggle.  Maggie has the same one.  

When I complimented Kate on her cute hair cut, she told me she got it to be like Maggie's.

When I put my swimming suit on, Kate looked at me in amazement.  Her mom has the same suit, different color.

When we found out who the girls are going to have for first grade, they're both going to be in the same class.

Guess who Maggie sits with at Kidstuf at church - Kate.  

Obviously, these girls are destined to be FABULOUS FRIENDS!  Or, our families are just so similar it's freaky.  :)

Nestleroth Reunion - Day 2

June 22, 2008

The Nestleroth family fun continued the next day at Kathy's cousin Stacy's house.  Stacy is Kathy's closest second cousin in age, and they used to spend some time together each summer when Kathy would visit her grandparents.  Stacy's family has a pool in their

backyard so Mags was very anxious to hang out there.  Stacy also has a daughter who is a year or so older than Mags.  They were the only two younger girls there that day so they had tons of fun 

playing together.  The picture to the right is the girls sunning with Cousin Callie.  

We had a wonderful time visiting some more, eating more good food, and just hanging out together.  We agreed that the reunion is a wonderful thing, and we are so glad we do it.  Kathy's mom suggested that the next reunion be in Atlanta so that folks can come see the South.  The idea was met with a great deal of enthusiasm, so it looks like that will happen in 2010.  Let the planning begin.  Seriously, we are already working on menus.  

One more note about the reunion.  We had many teenagers there, and I have to thank all of them for being so patient and loving with the littler kids.  Little kids (especially Maggie) want to be wherever teenagers are and do whatever teenagers are doing.  They are absolutely fascinated by these bigger people who aren't adults, but aren't really kids either.  Maggie just adored all the older kids, but has a special place in her heart for Meghan.  What Maggie doesn't remember is how much she loved Meghan two years ago, and the adoration continued this year.  Meghan was fabulous with it, and I can't thank her and the other teenagers enough.  So, a special thanks to my younger second cousins who truly understand family and sharing themselves with others.  It was such a pleasure to get to spend time with you at the reunion.

Nestleroth Reunion - Day 1

June 21, 2008

The Nestleroth family is Kathy's maternal Grandfather's family.  Kathy and her brother, Bill, used to spend several weeks up in Pennsylvania during the summers with their mom's parents.  The annual Nestleroth family gathering almost always fell during that time, and Kathy and Bill enjoyed seeing their second cousins several times each summer while growing up.   Since the grandparents' generation has passed on, the cousins have taken it up on themselves to gather with their families every other year in Pennsylvania.  Kathy's Aunt Hazel and Uncle Mark (picture right) host the event, and do an amazing job.  Kathy's family usually goes up a few days early to help out as much as possible and do some extra visiting.  The actual reunion celebrations are planned for Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday morning started with a pie crust making demonstration done by Aunt Hazel.  Maggie, Mommy, and Cousin Meghan were very interested in learning how Hazel makes her great crusts.  As you can see by the picture, Maggie had a wonderful time playing the flour and rolling

 the dough.

Once lunch was had, the third cousins had a wonderful time on the slip and slide.  They had the grown ups laughing from their lounging spot in the shade.  There is nothing better on a summer day than a slip and slide!!! While the younger cousins were sliding, the older cousins enjoyed bocci ball, badminton, croquet, and horseshoes.  The older ones were very patient with the younger guys when they wanted to play the other games too.  

The day ended with a Wii bowling tournament where Maggie Hill did some major domination with the Wii controller.  She won two rounds quite handily.  Cousin Michael (age 18) finally came in and beat her, but not by much. The funniest thing to watch was Michael's fear that she actually might beat him as she was leading until half way through the game.  :) 

It was a wonderful day, and Maggie sank into the bed with a smile on her face and was asleep in minutes.