Category Archives: Uncategorized

Callaway Gardens

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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

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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.

My How the Girl has Grown

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Above are a picture from the first day of school (left) and the last day of school (right).  Our girl has grown so much in just these ten months.  Not only has she changed physically, but emotionally, cognitively, and spiritually as well.
Physically, she’s several inches taller and has thinned out so much.  She’s pretty much lost that little girl look and has begun to look like a young lady.  The last day of school found her with her first lose tooth, which she lost a few days later.  All these physical signs that my baby is not my baby any more.
Emotionally, Maggie has never been more sure of herself.  She carries herself with a presence that continues to amaze her parents.  She is very loving and helpful, always there to help someone younger or someone needing assistance.  She is awesome to watch with toddlers and babies.
Cognitively, Maggie has blossomed in a big way this year.  She started reading around Christmas, and now we can’t keep her in books fast enough.  She’s able to read just about anything you put in front of her, but still likes her storybooks with the pictures in them.  We can no longer spell in front of her as she figures it out in minutes.  She is also telling time and counting money, so not much gets by her.

Spiritually, she has grown into a very confident child of God. She knows God loves her and that Mommy and Daddy love her too. She has become an extremely strong leader, and we can’t wait to see how God is going to use that.

We are so proud of our little girl.  We are so thankful that we are the ones God blessed to be her parents.

Last Day of School

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Maggie’s last day of kindergarten was Friday. The class celebrated with a chicken nugget lunch and ice cream sundaes.  They also sang a few songs for the parents and then had their “awards ceremony.”  Maggie received the citizenship award (picture left) – one girl and one boy get it in each class.  Mommy and Daddy were VERY proud of her for that one.  Mrs. Cole talked about how helpful Maggie was to everyone and her willingness to be a friend to everyone.

  

Maggie also received the “Smarties” award (picture right).  Mrs. Cole had made up awards to go with candies, and the kids thought they were great.  They had fun trying to guess who got each one.  The “Smarties” award goes to the most observant child – you know the one that notices everything and tells you when you’re not doing it right – that’s our kid.  When she started describing what the award was for, Maggie raised her hand and said “that’s me!”  It was hilarious.  
After the awards ceremony, the kids gathered all their things, and most of the kids went home.  We brought Maggie home and were at the pool by 2PM with most of the neighborhood.  It was a great day and a celebration of an awesome year.  Kindergarten was lots of fun, and we’re already looking forward to first grade.  We’ve got eight weeks to play and then are back at school.  Maggie has lots of fun camps and activities planned so stay tuned for some fun pictures. 
Happy Summer Everyone!!

Kindergarten Performance

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Maggie had her Kindergarten Performance tonight.  It was supposed to be last Tuesday, but then the tornadoes came through, and it got postponed.  Maggie was very excited that they were able to reschedule it.  

Maggie wore her pink “field trip” shirt for the performance. Almost her entire class was there with four other kindergarten classes.  They performed in the gym for some very proud mommies and daddies (as well as extended family).  
The kids sang about six songs and did a wonderful job staying together with both the words and hand motions.  The favorite was “Matilda” who was a gorilla and they got to make lots of gorilla noises with that one.  It was very fun and very cute.
After the performance, Maggie posed with two young ladies from her class, Serena and Samantha, whom she is going to miss very much this summer.  She also took a quick pose with Grandma, Gramps, and Nana who were able to make the performance.

Memorial Day Cookout

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We had our small group over for a fun Memorial Day cook out. This was the first time our current small group had gotten together with their kids, and what a group of beautiful girls there was.

Maggie was actually one of the oldest girls, which was a fun role for her. She loves to play with younger kids, especially girls. However, when it came time to eat, she wanted to sit next to the 13-year-old. Go figure. 🙂

The younger girls loved playing with the bubbles while Maggie impressed everyone with her ability to hit the ball. The daddies chased the little ones around, and the mommies sat and relaxed for a few minutes before Daddy Dave served up the burgers and dogs. A fun time was had by all, and it was great to finally meet the little ones we hear about each week.

Kindergarten Field Day

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Today was Maggie’s field day, and Mommy went to help out and take pictures.  The kids had an awesome time both participating in the events and cheering each other on. Somewhere, somebody was actually keeping score of the events, but Maggie and her friends “won” everything according to them. 

 

The events were extremely well organized with each teacher having a speadsheet (you know Mommy was in heaven) of who was doing what event where.  Each child was able to do four events competing against all of the ten kindergartens.

Maggie participated in the Critter Crawl (photo above left) which is basically a go pick it up and bring it back game. She also did the scooter relay, the water relay (photo right), and the hurdles.  In addition, she was chosen to be on her class’s big relay team, and did extremely well on her leg of the lap.
The most important thing is that the kids had SO MUCH fun!!!  They ran and laughed and ate all the yummy snacks that the mommies had sent in. What a great way to finish of the year. Only five days of school left!

We are safe!

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Just a quick note to say that the House of Hills survived the storms last night.  We rode them out in the closet under the stairs.  It got a little scary at a few points, but we are so thankful to say that we are fine.  We did sustain some shingle damage, but it has already been repaired, with time to spare before it rains again tomorrow.

Kathy’s step-brother, Trett’s, neighborhood was hit hard with lots of trees down and many into houses.  Trett, his family, and his house are fine.  Yet, another blessing.
The hardest hit area, what you’re seeing on the news, is about a mile from us.  While we are thankful the storm hopped over us, we are saddened to see such devastation.  Please keep those who have lost everything in your prayers.
Many Blessings,
The House of Hills

Braves Game

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Maggie and Mommy headed to the Braves game Sunday afternoon with Grandma, Gramps, Uncle Bill, and Cousin Ella and had a blast!

We made it in time for Maggie to see her favorite part – them cleaning the field.  This would be the time when they spray the dirt on the infield to get ready for the game.  She also really 

likes to watch them put the “boxes” on the field and the lines, but we missed that part.

We watched several innings, had fun snacks, and Mags cheered loudly for all the Braves.  
We tried to run the base by the Coke bottle, but it was closed because it was Bark at the Park, and all the dogs were up there.
Grandma had a wonderful time sharing her love of the Braves with her two favorite girls.

The Pool is OPEN!!

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The pool opened last week, and today was the first day that we
were able to go.  Maggie was so excited to go even though she was warned that the water was FREEZING!

Maggie’s friends, Julie and Grace, were there when when we got there.  They had so much fun playing both in the water and around the pool.  Maggie jumped right in the water and had no trouble “swimming.”  
It was crazy for Mommy how independent Maggie was.  The three girls set up a little camp on the opposite side of the pool from the moms where they were playing, talking, and having their snack.  Gone are the days when Mommy had to watch Mags like a hawk, chase her around the pool edge, and be in the water with her every second.  We have definitely moved onto a new phase of life. 
Grace had to leave before we did, but then Maggie’s friend Lauren arrived.  Maggie, Lauren, and Julie had a blast jumping in together. Finally, Mommy had to get Maggie out of the pool because her lips were blue!!  I can tell we’re going to be spending a lot of time at the pool this summer!  So, if you can’t find us at home, guess where we’ll be.