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.

I LOVE My Kid!

You know those days as a parent where you just love being with your kid.  You don't have to fuss, finagle, or bribe.  You're just able to enjoy them.  Today was one of those days.

I had an absolute blast with Maggie today.  She's been amazing to be around for the last few days, but today was tears in the eyes fabulous.  I am just so blessed that God gave her to David and I to raise.  What an amazing gift.

She is funny, bright, loving, and just plain fun to be around.   I LOVE her.  

Just had to share the moment.  

Here she is exhausted after our day of travel yesterday and Chocolate World today.  Those are the two pillows I got her at Chocolate World - they're the fun squishy kind.  One is a Hershey's Kiss and the other is Bubble Yum.  She's also got her "Beary" - doesn't sleep without it.  

How cute is that kid!

Chocolate World

Maggie and Mommy are in Pennsylvania for the Nestleroth (Mommy's Mommy's side) family reunion.  The family is not far from Hershey so Maggie and Mommy went to Chocolate world today.  

Mommy was so excited - an entire building devoted to chocolate.  Absolute heaven!!  Mommy and Daddy had been there about eight years ago, but much has changed since then.  There is a new 3D show that made Maggie just squeal (literally) with delight.

We had a little glitch in the movie so they gave us free passes to see it again.  So, we got to experience it twice!

Then, we went on a fun trolley ride where we learned lots of neat things about Mr. Hershey, his factory, and the town.  The "conductors" were hilarious.  One of them kept "getting off" and reappearing as various historical characters.  It was a fun ride. Mags wanted to do it again, but we didn't get a free do-over on that one so Mommy said no.  

Then we went back into the building where Maggie got to be a factory worker and package her own box of Hershey Kisses.  She actually will eat a Hershey's kiss (not a big sweets fan) so Mommy thought this was a good one.  She of course loved it - got a cool hat, a name badge, and box of kisses plus some cute pics.

After lunch, we FINALLY got to go on the actual "factory tour" part of the building.  They've now made this into a ride where you sit down and travel through an explanation of how it all works with machines there to show you the different parts.  It was pretty neat.  Maggie thought it was awesome so we rode it THREE times!  Luckily, that part is free.  :)

We of course traveled through the gift shop after every ride - amazing how everything ends at the gift shop.  We're not talking a small gift shop.  This place was HUGE with the food court area attached.  We did a little shopping, but Mommy cut Maggie off when she wanted to buy something for everyone in the extended family.  

One more funny from the day.  It's getting later in the afternoon, and Maggie says she's hungry. I'm looking around wondering what to offer her.  I say "What kind of hungry - meal hungry or snack hungry?  There are cookies, cupcakes, ice cream..."  She comes back with "I'm strawberry hungry mama.  Do they have any good food - I want strawberries."  Only my child.  She settled for a big container of milk - white milk not the chocolate kind that comes in the souvenir cup. I actually laughed at her for that one.

Callaway Gardens

Maggie, Hamilton, and Ella went with Grandma and Gramps to Callaway Gardens in central Georgia for five days of fabulous fun.  The kids all go to a day camp for a good part of the day and then swim, eat ice cream, and go to the circus at other times.  The picture above is when the Grandparents and Hamilton picked up Maggie.  Ella was the next stop.  They had an awesome time and can't wait until next year.  Mags wants to stay a week!

Maggie Wanted Jesus in Her Heart

Tonight at dinner, Maggie accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior.  It was a very special moment for the entire family.

She's been asking lots of questions for the last few weeks and really asking lots of questions this week.  She and I talked about God almost all day today in one form or another.  We've talked a lot about what a sinner is, why Christ needed to die for us, and what an amazing gift God gave us in His Son. 

She really seemed to understand the analogy that Christ took the "consequences" of our sin. She knows that she has consequences when she does something wrong, so Christ taking her consequences away so she could be with God forever made sense to her.

Once she could answer all the questions about what the hard words mean, we pulled out the literature piece the church gave us when we went to Jump Start (a very cool thing to have by the way).  We walked through that, making sure she understood each step.  Then, she read the prayer at the end and asked Jesus to be her Savior.  

David and I were both kinda teary, but oh so very proud of her.  She is an amazing child of God. I can't wait to see what He has planned.