Monday, January 31, 2011

What A Great Day!

I was with Heather and Pete all day. Bill had to go to Wallaceburg, so the three of us went to see mom. We woke her up and Heather gave her a very large delicious chocolate ginger cookie from Germany. She ate it so fast I could hardly believe it. She just loved it. Then she drank 2 1/2 glasses of lemonade. She did say some words so that was encouraging to us.

Then back to Heather's where we enjoyed a fun visit. Heather made a beautiful stuffed turkey breast with fresh green beans garnished with garlic, lemon peel and almonds. We also enjoyed whipped mashed potatoes with horse radish added for flavour. I felt like I had dined at a very fancy restaurant. It was so delicious. Amazingly I am rapidly getting a real interest in cooking. I'm especially having fun making healthy soups. All and All it was a lovely day.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Our Tree Is Staying

Now it's the branch Valentine tree


A little closer view
  Sara and Hannah..... the star snowflakes look kind of familiar right.!  We had lots of fun getting it ready for Valentines Day and Sweetheart month.

This little table sits right by the podium.

This pretty bouquet is right in front of  our activity board.
If anyone wants to come and  visit our little branch we would sure love to have you.  We could sure use the help with our numbers too!  Ha

We are small but Mighty and our dream is to get a new building. So if you are looking for new callings we have lots available.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Christmas In Our Wallaceburg Branch

John and LeNore loved their new Christmas Tree which was trimmed in red and white decor.

This was our little building all ready and  waiting for our Christmas dinner guests to arrive.

This was one of many home made  trees which  we gave to the sweet ladies we visit taught.


Our Building looked very festive in Burgundy and White.

This was at a Christmas Dinner Party in Leamington



Our Elder's Quorum President Bro. Hurd
 Sister Hurd is our Primary President and their children Megan @ Grant.                                                  

Our Missionary Couple  The Dixons

Another great Missionary Couple The Obriens
      

President Hill

The Volk Family

Sister Hill

Our Relief Relief Society President Sis. Newby

Our amazing Sunday School teacher  Sis. Norman

Fallon and sweet Cherish

Our New Family The Ramseys

Still Catching Up





Papa and Tyler hit it off. 
Another bad hair day for Papa.

Catching Up

We had so much fun last year when Lindsey and Jeff left the kids for us to tend for a few days.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Finally Rick and Mary are Grandparents

Angie just had a healthy new baby boy on January 24th  .   They called him Dane Dimitri Divitaris. He weighed in at 9lbs 7oz.  Now that's quite a handle  for this little fellow.  We are so happy for all of them.  Angie and baby are doing well.!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

All Dressed Up And.........

Karri while you and Dave were out  we had fun dressing up Ruth's dog in festive apparel.
Ruth was laughing so hard I couldn't get her still for the photo.  Gretchen ...didn't look too pleased about all this.

My Goal For 2011 is To Become STRONG On The INSIDE.!


My New Health Master
 I bought myself this Heath Master last October and I didn't try to use it until we returned from the West.
I am having a riot trying all kinds of soups.  It only takes 8 minutes and you have fresh home made soup hot and steamy.

Of course it makes smoothies too.  They are delicious.
Interestingly, often the ingredients going into the Health Master are not cooked so I guess you could say I'm eating Raw.!!!
Kathy will get a kick out of this. 

Never say Never....Your mom is having fun in the Kitchen!
This is one of my home made soups, made using my new health master.  This one had tons of carrots and some spinach (which accounts for the strange colour) along with garlic and onions.  It may not look great but it tasted good.  My very first attempt was with broccoli and Bill said it was tasteless. This particular one I added lots of garlic and for sure it was apparent.  After eating my lunch today instead of taking my afternoon nap, I found myself filled with energy and so I washed floors , cupboards  frig and vaccumed main floors and down the stairs. I would say I am a convert of good eating.  Bill however let the appearance dampen his desire...so he didn't try it ....I can't imagine WHY!!  

An Amazing Christmas 2010

 This was one amazing Christmas!   Jeff and Lindsey worked so diligently getting this incredible book ready for dad for Christmas.  In it they put Grandpa Hill's history of the first world war.  They had to literally translate grandpa's hand writting as it was so difficult to read.  They also did tons of research on the internet to get the names of the places etc. where grandpa fought and was transferred to during the war.  Then each of the 5 Hill children received a copy with an interview of grandpa talking on 3 separate DVD's in the back of the book. I had recorded this interview with grandpa some 35 years ago on tape.  What a treasure this is for each of us, but especially for Bill.  
Thanks so much Lindsey and Jeff!!
 Mark put this wonderful book together with the temple on front
and our Family Mission Statement on the back.  It's filled with talks that many of our family members have given over the years. Even the children have their talks included.  What an awesome treasure this is.  When we give talks ....for sure the person writing the talk puts in their deep personal thoughts and testimonies.
Thanks Mark for this Amazing Treasure!  Each of our families received their own personal copy.

HILL FAMILY MISSION STATEMENT
We the members of the Hill Family, endorse the principles outlined in the Proclamation on the Family. We will use our individual agencies in accordance with the principles of the Gospel. We will be loyal, united in our support for one another, and loathe to criticize.  Indeed we will practice the principle of Family Solidarity, such that no one ever feels isolated from the rest of the family. Our common goal is to be an eternal family and we will live our lives in such a manner that we can fulfill the potential within us such that we can claim that benefit.



Thanks to Karri we got another lovely calendar to keep us on top of special birthdays and family celebrations.  It just warms my heart to look at all the fun memories.
Right now it's on our frig with 2 strong magnets in place so it will hold on TIGHT and not slide .
Karri sent calendars to all of our family members.



We just love it Karri!

PS.  Notice the first picture has our newest addition to the Hill Grandchildren.... Little Joshua.!!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Matt Loves His Basket Ball


Matt dunked at least 6 baskets.  He's a great player....we really enjoyed watching his  game.

Parker is in  school choir. He will travel to Europe in March.  I offered to carry his luggage....!  What an awesome opportunity.!!
Talk about great talent!  Wow!

They Are Taking Lessons


We got to see Parker , Sara and Hannah at swimming lessons.  We also got to a violin practice . The girls are both doing amazing.

Scott and Cassandra's Hotel Room

Wonderful food and a great visit.!

Relaxing

This was a fun afternoon at Scott and Cassandra's hotel.  They ordered in all kinds of food and we all sat around and had a great visit before they left for home the next day.

Brian and Amanda Came To Visit

It was great to see Brian and Amanda and little Dallon.

Great Reunion

We got to visit with Tom and Ruth and Kathryn and Clinton and their sweet children.  It was such a fun reunion.

Too Cute

Leah loved the cute purple hat Karri got her and she wore it everywhere, except to bed.

Beautiful New Mom and Dad

Marie and Mark are so fun to watch as they parent little Joshua.  What a wonderful family they make.!

Sweet Joshua

Joshua is absolutely adorable.  This is Mark changing him. 

The Proud Grandparents




We got a picture of both sides of the family right after the baby blessing.  We were hoping to go visit with Tim and Linda but the weather did not co-operate.  Hopefully we will get in that visit when we go out for Leah's baptism this coming December.

Ready to Return Home Again

Thanks to Lindsey, I just got this new picture on my blog . I had already down loaded it off my camera.  This was us just before we ate at Earls with Hannah and Karri before we caught our flight home again.  It was a beautiful sunny day and I truly hated to leave the wide open spaces and the beautiful mountains.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Only Just A Short While Ago

I did it ! After visiting with mom yesterday and so little response, I wish we could go back  to a short time ago when she was happy and feeling so much better. I think getting old is our toughest test ever!!

A Wonderful Time

The west was so fun!  Thanks to Dave and Karri I am now a novice Blogger!  Thanks to Kim I am actually writing this tonight.  I got home and had trouble getting back on site.   Kim was so patient trying to help me get pictures on but I think I will need some practise to feel confident.
The baby 's blessing was amazing.  It was so neat to be there.  It's so sweet to watch Mark and Marie parent.  They are doing a Great Job!!  Mark is right in there changing diapers and carrying little Joshua everywhere.  Marie is so calm and cool ....so relaxed a wonderful mom.  I love these modern parents.
At Kims we had so many fun evenings playing family games and just having fun together.  We wish Lindsey and Jeff would have been there too along with Tyler and Landon and all the little Hill clan.
Now that Leah is being home schooled she is taking off.  I had fun working with her for the time we were there.  Now that she has a key board, she is signed up for piano lessons.  She seemed so excited about playing ,and  Dillon sang with her as she played Twinkle Twinkle little Star.  He loves to sing with the mic.  We sure enjoyed our stay with Kim and Patrick.
Off to Lethbridge after a lovely visit with Ken and Deb.   Karri and Dave reminded us how busy life is with all the lessons the kids are involved in .  We got to see Parker, Sara and Hannah take swimming lessons at the university.  It was great!  We also went to Matt's basket ball game.  He is a great swift player.  I think I counted 6 baskets he scored. One was especially neat as it was on a break away.  It was exciting!  We had a wonderful stay with Karri and Dave.  It's always hard to leave but we look forward to our next visit.  We are just thrilled that Anne is doing so well after her surgery.  She got home on Friday and called us.  Beautiful miracles happen daily.  Keep up the good work Anne!!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Family Portrait

We wanted to get a picture with both sets of Grandparents together (and the star of the show - BUDDY).
We are having a great time at Stewart's, the time has gone way too fast.

We leave for home on Wednesday.  Look forward to our next gathering.

Joshua's Blessing

We had a wonderful visit with Mark and Marie and little Josh.!  The baby got blessed on January 9th and all were there except Jeff and Lindsey and family and also Scott and Cassandra's family.