San Diego!

Greg and I got to go on a belated honeymoon to San Diego December 10th for 3 nights. On the 9th, Oregon was expecting freezing rain, so my mom came over with the kids so Greg and I could head to Portland to miss it. I had a free hotel stay at the Courtyard by the airport, which worked out perfect because we didn't have to pay for parking this way! In San Diego, we stayed at a really nice renovated hotel in the Gas Lamp and were within walking distance to a lot of things. Our hotel had a nice rooftop that we could go up to at night with our own alcohol or food and have a 360 degree view of the city. On our first full day there, we walked down to the USS Midway and took a tour. We spent 3 hours on it and only saw 3 decks. It was a self guided tour with headphones. We just pushed in a number of what we were standing by and it explained that area. We then took the ferry to Coronado Island and spent some time looking around all of the little shops. On the next day, we took the trolley to Old Town and wandered around there for about 3 hours. I fell in love with this place! We then took the trolley down to the boarder...I, however, did not want to cross! We spent 10 minutes there before I was over it! It was such a relaxing trip and much overdue. It was weird not having any mommy responsibilities! The longest I have ever been away from Emily in her entire life! When we got back, we hit the ground running by running to a ballet performance and made it with 5 minutes to spare!!!

Family Pictures!

We finally got our family pictures done! It was so cold...in fact it even snowed 2 days later! But the kids were troopers and smiled any ways!

More Wedding Pics!

Just a few more! We have over 400 pictures and I have to go through and figure out which ones to print and such, but I am thrilled with all of them. Couldn't have asked for a better photographer!

Halloween

I have never been one to dress up for Halloween since I was about 10 years old. But my husband still feels the need to dress up along with the kids!!! We had fun. We did the traditional going to the outlet mall, the elementary school and hit up Holmes Rd. Kids were exhausted...and so was I! I made the mistake of wearing the wrong shoes and man did my feet pay for that for about a week!

October?!

This month has been crazy weather. From severe storms to the most beautiful Indian summer! Last night we could hear the ocean just rumbling, which in all fairness we live about a half mile from the beach! So, we decided to load the kids up and go to the beach to watch the sunset. I captured these pictures and fell in love with them! Last week was a bit crazy to say the very least. My mom ended up having to be transported to the hospital via ambulance last Tuesday and didn't get out until Friday. The doctor said if she hadn't of been brought in, she would have been dead by the next day. Who knew a UTI could cause death?! I do now! The infection went into her bladder, kidneys, and eventually made it to her lungs...I guess that is what happens when it becomes septic! It was very scary for her and I. She can't remember most of the week, but I do. All I kept thinking is she is the same age my dad was when he passed away and it is almost 3 years since that happened. I am not ready to deal with this again. I plan on her being around for at least 20 more years if not more. She is doing much better now. Getting home and getting some much needed rest has done her a world of good...that and a crap ton of antibiotics!!!

Ballerina!

Emily LOVED ballet! It was difficult to get her out of her skirt after we got home, she even wanted to wear it to bed!! She is disappointed that it is only one day a week, but for this mommy, I am thrilled that it is only one day a week! Trying to play catch up with homework and dinner for four kids when we got home was rather interesting...ugh! But, I am happy that I was able to get her into something that she really enjoys, especially with the weather getting ready to be constant rain and the ability to go outside and play is going to be hardly ever.

Ballet

Every Friday the kids bring home their "Friday Folder" which has all of their completed and scored papers on one side, and homework and newsletters on the other side. One thing I have grown to love about this school district is their constant communication. Any ways, this past Friday there was a handout in Emily's folder about beginning ballet being offered. Since we are in such a small district, sports and dance are not really offered for the younger kids. I could drive the 15 miles into Lincoln City every other day for practices and what not in a city that is well financed and full of youth sports and activities. However, when you work 10 hour days/6 days a week, it seems like a bit too much. Any ways, back to the ballet...it offers beginning ballet every Monday from 4:30-5:30. Typically I am not even home by 5:30, but being married to the owner of the deli and he being her dad, we can make an exception on those days! So I asked Emily if she would be interested in ballet and she got so excited. First practice is tonight, so this morning I rushed out to get her the required dress wear. Upon returning to work and finding the registration for the ballet class online, I read that there are specific colors of leotards, skirts, tights and slippers that they need to wear, none of which match what I just purchased! Looks like I get to go back shopping! But I excited that Emily finally gets to do something that she has always wanted to do...even if it requires me to go hunting for specific colors of leotards and skirts!!! I will post pictures soon!

MARRIED!!!

Well, it's official...after almost 2 years of dating and all of the trials that had put in front of us, we conquered it all and were officially married on Sunday the 15th!! Other than the day I gave birth to my daughter's, this was by far the best day ever! Right after the ceremony, Emily came running up to Greg and I yelling, "Mommy...daddy...I am finally a Hill!" Love her to pieces! Poor girl that day, anything and everything that could go wrong, did. First her special hair clip that nana Glenys got her, broke. And then the necklace that I had gotten her for the wedding as a present, broke. And then after the ceremony and Greg and I were getting ready to leave, the poor girl broke down into tears. When I got her to calm down, it eventually came out that she was worried that she wasn't going home and she wouldn't be able to see her friend Jackie while we were gone. After I reassured her that nana Marsha was staying at our house and she would be able to sleep in her own bed and play with Jackie, she was fine! Greg and I got away for 2 nights. First night we stayed in a local hotel that had a hot tub on the balcony. They had it set up with robes, rose petals and chocolates. The next night we ventured to Portland and got to eat at our favorite restaurant...Kell's! We had an early dinner so that we could avoid crowds. We got some snack foods at the 7-Eleven right next to the hotel and just stayed in the room all night....falling asleep at 6pm! We got some much needed rest but were happy to come back home to sleep in our own bed again!

First Day of School

Kids are officially back in school!!! Emily and Quinn are in 2nd grade this year, Fiona is in 5th and Liam is a freshman! It's crazy how quickly time goes by. Kids were so excited that they actually woke up 30 minutes early this morning! I am excited because I will actually come home to a clean house instead of a house that looks like four kids were left home alone all day!! In other news: wedding plans are coming along better than I expected. Since changing the location to Lincoln City, my stress level has gone down significantly. We have a location, cake, flowers, dresses, suites, marriage license purchased, etc. The only thing left is the food, which I am happy to say that my chef of a fiancé is in charge of! 12 days...that is it. I am going to finally be meeting a lot of Greg's family (and there are a lot of them) so I am sure I will be overwhelmed. 12 days and my last name will be Hill!!

Growing Up

Sometimes it feels like just yesterday that I got to meet this beautiful little girl who would completely change my life forever. Who made me realize what it was like to be completely selfless. Working 10-16 hour days just to provide for her and get very little sleep because the 5-6 hour window of sleep I could get would be interrupted every two hours by a little cry that I absolutely loved! They say when you become a parent, there is no greater love. I didn't understand that until Emily came into my life. Yes, I admit that I was elated when Emily started sleeping through the night, what parent doesn't?! But I miss the cuddles, the middle of the night feedings when it would just be her and I. How relaxing is it to just hold your baby and watch them eat and sleep? Nothing better! But now that she is almost 8 and has developed into an amazing little girl, I realize that these years are going far to quickly. Within the past week, Emily has had her first pimples (3 to be exact) and I had to buy her the very first training bras. I know, she is only 7!! I didn't think this would be going on so young. I mean, jeesh, I was 10 when I first started all of this stuff. Emily will always be my baby, but she isn't a baby any more. This breaks my heart. 11 more years and instead of buying pencil boxes and wide ruled paper, I will be buying her stuff for her dorm room. 11 years...that is it. UGH...why do they have to grow up? Being a mom is the greatest blessing I could ever have. Yes, I was a young mom, but it made me into the person I am today. I bypassed all of the poor decision making and got thrown into responsibility. I have been blessed with two beautiful daughters, one of which is not with me, but with her amazing parents in California. Oh how I miss her so much it hurts at times. And then there are times when I feel truly blessed to have her parents in my life. I know that she is well cared for and has the best life possible surrounded by a lot of people who love her. What more could a mother ask for? She has started school and even with her it feels like just yesterday I was holding her in my arms. (Might I add that I do believe she looks just like me!) I miss my kids being babies. I want to protect them from the world and keep them innocent. I want Emily to always want to cuddle and run to me when she is upset. I want to be able to always tickle her and hear that belly laugh. But, the reality of it all is, those things will disappear, she will hate me at times, and she will move away and create her own life. All I can do is help mold her into a beautiful woman inside and out and be here to listen. Being a parent is difficult!!!

Love These Kid's

Never did I think that I would be a mother to 4 children, but I couldn't picture my life any other way! They bless my life in more ways than I can count. They bring me so much happiness, they stress me out, they run me ragged and never stop asking for things! But, I wouldn't want it any other way!! These years are few and precious...I'm going to soak it all in.

Tonsils Out 7-8-13!!

FINALLY!!! After almost a year, they are out!! Poor girl was not happy with me at all the day of surgery. The nurses were so good with her though. They even put a hat on her American Girl doll and a fake IV so it would look like Emmy. We were both exhausted when we got home (had to leave our house at 4:45am to be in Corvallis by 6:30am) so her and I took a nap that afternoon. By evening time, Emily still wasn't feeling well and ended up throwing up. The scream that came out of her is a sound I never want to hear again...my heart just broke. Poor girl was throwing up right after having her tonsils out. Ugh, sometimes being a mommy is so hard. I held it together while they were prepping her for surgery, but as soon as they wheeled her back, I was crying. It is a simple operation, but so many things can go wrong. She did well and is fully recovered. We have her post op appointment today and should be all done. Whew...who knew this would be such a hassle. The doctor did say her tonsils were HUGE and that she probably won't snore anymore. He was right...no more cute little snore and she is actually sleeping really well finally. It takes some work in the morning for me to wake her up. I do believe that I am probably the only parent out there that enjoys having a difficult time waking their child up!!

Engagement Photos!!!

They are done!!! Now we just have to make up the invites!! Less than 4 months now...AAAAGGGHHH!! So much to do, so little time!