1180-1190

thankful this week that:
Nordstrom rack saved the day with their amazing dress assortment

We were encouraged as we gathered with other christians in a rural little town in iowa

Harrison was uber brave & got 2 teeth pulled & a filling filled at 8 am on a Monday.... #fiercein15 #lovethisboy

For singing during road trips

A writing taste test lesson that went over awesomely for my class

I'm on spring break this week!

A coworker at dustys work who got in a nasty wreck & currently is in the hospital w/ a fractured apine, is open to hearing gods good news

Matts off friday for good friday & big H begins his spring break

hannah loved her horse riding lesson. 5 more weeks to go! The excitement is pretty overwhelming



Hudson turned 2 & so far has shown "terrific twos" behavior!! Keep it up cutie ;)

Sleepy travelers :) 

Uncle al & aunt Gloria took good care of us :) 

 This is how hudson spent ministry meeting ;)

Hotel fun!!

Hannah at preschool :) 

 Cereal fun!!! {each student chose their fave cereal for an opinion essay assignment. I thought on Friday, after a 2 week writers workshop time, a cereal party was needed on the due date :):) yum!!!}

Love these two snuggle bugs!!

Horse fun!! 

Hudson Frederick is 2!

Our littlest guy is 2 today.
Hudson Frederick

This special dude was named after Hudson Taylor, a missionary to China, who reached over 18,000 with the gospel during his 51 years there! What a powerful follower of the Cross.

New do for the new 2s!

 We loved that Hudson was another H name, and so we knew if our baby was a boy- Hudson was the 1st name.

Matt & I agreed, after Harrison was born, that all middle names should give my Hill side credit, as at the time it seemed like our Hill lineage may not be carried out ;) So Harrison is Harrison Allen after my dad... Hannah is Hannah Reese Connie {Connie after my mom} and so that left Maxwell after Dustin, or Frederick after my grampa... Hudson Maxwell sounded adorable but Hudson Frederick sounded noble and dignified, and it just stuck! I love that all my positive memories{trips to get candy or go to "china", special birthday surprises and the best of all was I got to be my grandpa's own hair comber during many family events :)} of my grandpa come flooding back almost daily- as we call Hudson, Hudson Frederick- like it's one name.

So once we knew our baby was a boy... we had his name ready...

I am so excited to write that although it has surely been a blur some days, I have been here and in the moment with almost every milestone of Hudson's life! Because I worked right outta the gate - with both Harrison & Hannah I wasn't the 1st to see them do many of their special things, and at the time, I was totally okay with it! Our daily norms were different and that was okay & perfect. But now that I have been at home with Hudson, for most of the days... it has been so exciting to be with him on his 1st steps, his first "words", his 1st fits, his 1st trials of foods, his 1st hospital stay, his 1st surgery etc...
These past 2 years have been such a wonderful adventure.

Hudson Frederick - your 1-2 yr old write up- I hope someday you will read this blog post :)
You crack us up with your silly smile. You try charming us with that smile to get out of obeying. {It works sometimes:)} You love playing on your own. You are not a fan of Hannah imposing on your car race track. You are very determined. You will let others know how you feel. We love how you kiss us and sometimes lick us in the process. We love that you cuddle and hug. You love to show us your own made up sign language. {We show him the sign for I Love You, and he does it in an upside down version}
You are not truly talking in our language yet, but you are most surely  talking in your own language. You make lots of sounds and point at things. You love all toys with wheels, especially Hannah's pink jogger doll stroller and her tea cart. You love music. You love movies. You love to play tag. You love wrestling with us. You are brave. You endured 2 hospital stays so far, with many smiles! You have flown a few times- to Arizona & to Hawaii ( 9 hours!). You can sit still during church for 1.5 hours, but a second longer. You love all snack foods and will eat most of the foods we offer.
You are very special. You are our 3rd child... you are our 2nd son... but our one & only Hudson Frederick. We pray big prayers for you. God is watching you. God has you under his wings.
You are loved.
 Love you so deep that the ocean is jealous. {PINTREST credit for that adorable quote}

Multitude Monday: Snow in March?!

Happy Monday!!

This post comes to you from a snowy yet bright southside classroom. Insane how just last weekend all the winter gear was washed and stored away. Flip flops came out, boots went away. All of our Hawaii clothes were busted back out, praise the Lord, but now... now the boots are on and the jackets are getting worn... Spring COME ON!
My precious #angels, are at Music, allowing some blog time :)


Thankful for: a hardworking hubby
Thankful for: a hubby who loves on his kids so much. {I take this as a norm, but when I hear how my 5th graders spent their weekends, and the lack of parental involvement, I just smile inside and thank the Lord above.}
Thankful for: finding Hannah the perfect flower girl dress for my mom's wedding. {My hunt is still on- if you have seen any fun, tulle-ish Ivory dresses, lmk!}
Thankful for: answered prayer. Not in my timing, but still....
Thankful for: an encouraging weekend
Thankful for: these blue teeth :)

Thankful for: a decent paced 5K style jog.

Thankful for an impromptu visit from to-be family! Ray's son Scott and wife Rachel popped in on Friday- with their 4 kids. We hadn't officially met before. Our kids were overjoyed to meet their new cousins, and they got along like they've been besties for years. We love S & R too, and can't wait to see them again in a few short weeks.... just in awe because all of this could only happen because of God. Seriously too cool. 

(Youngest-Oldest: Hudson in bed ;), Hannah Harrison Shayla, Reed, Silas & Riley)

The guys {There are 4 other cousins that we havent met so Hill/Hebert/Barrett Party of 20 coming right up} :)

Thankful for inspiration. This verse is POWERFUL.

Thankful for these smiles. He is almost 2! Just 4 days left of being 1!

1160-1170

I love Mondays!!
{Tuesdays are my slow sluggish days...but tomorrow's a holiday- so I hope to beat it this week....but I love the fresh start that Monday brings! Hope you do too!!}

1160- Thankful for spring temps. I took our Arizona temps for granted. Totally.  Even the intense dry heat summers and the countless seatbelt buckle burns I would get by the burning hot metal each day in the car....I would take those melter days any day!! Our February was crazy here in the Windy City....and I know we had less snow that our back East friends and fam... but the cold and gray is no bueno!!

1161- Thankful for being awoken out of a very real dream 3 minutes before my alarm clock was supposed to go off...and thankful to have had the strength to GET UP and hit the gym at 5:15! I used to do this ALL the time when we just had Harrison- back in AZ... mornings are my fave time of the day.. fave... but lately as in 5 years lately... I have been too lazy and love my sleep!! But no more baby! I love tank tops too much for flabby arms! Gotta rock out. #fiercein15

1162- Thankful that even though we had to lose an hour of precious zzzz last week, our evenings are longer!! More family time OUTSIDE! Such a blessing!!

1163- Thankful for good, challenging, heart searching ministry yesterday. Relationships are hard. Relationships take work. Relationships are essential. I appreciated the reminder that our relationship with God is interwoven into all other relationships.

1164- Thankful for food cooked for all meals this week!! Matt rocked out a grocery spree with Harrison on Saturday during naptime, and yesterday I whipped up 80% of it, and portion controlled it, making it easy to grab & go for our lunches...and our biggest struggle is supper on the run for some of our crazy evenings, so now struggle no more. Already cooked- just zap and eat in the car if we have to, but fast food will not win.......... this week anyways ;)

1165- Thankful for Hannah and her masterpieces. She is one creative chicky.

1166- Thankful that we got to enjoy a nice meal with friends.... and I got to snuggle 2 babies!!

1167- Thankful for leprechaun traps. My class had a blast unwinding from a stressful PARCC testing period, to enjoy team building Leprechaun Trap creations... so fun. Thanks for the inspiration Jill!!

1168- Thankful for family rocket blasting time

1169- Thankful to have a God who thinks about all the details in our lives.

1170- Thankful for Iced Coffees and Uncle Dusty and Kamilla who provide us Sunday afternoon drinks

Marchin' On....

thankful - for a wake up call #befierecein15  #donotgrowwearyindoinggood
thankful - for an all knowing God
thankful- that our inheritance is not found here on Earth - we have a home in mansions above
thankful - for the strong support of my hubby- being on the exact same page so often is such a blessing! He is my iron & I love how we sharpen each other.
thankful - for our out of the norm worship time yesterday
thankful - for meeting new believers
thankful - for a special couple that sharpens us too - do you have friends that once you've spent a meal with them you leave feeling encouraged blessed & challenged? Thankful for our friends who really care & really pray. The power in specific prayer will change your life. And we are thankful for how it is changing ours.
thankful- that there is an end date to the long term sub job. I full enjoy teaching each day- fully. I have been part of the PARCC tests and that is been very helpful. I have learned so much from these 5th graders and have been blessed by my team and staff- BUT ....April is insanely busy, and I will be needing to do more hands on things with our fam... so yay for an end date :)
thankful- that my mom & Ray have decided to move forward in  their relationship and have set a wedding date, and mailed invites & that date is quickly approaching! April 17th!
thankful- for mom daughter Pedi dates. I got St Patty toes. Hannah got rainbow and flowers :)

Welcome March!! Hudson's Birthday month is upon us!

Thankful this week... for stolen crackers stuffed into Hudson's mouth :) * He is into everything, and ventures to the basement where Uncle Dusty lives, and steals any food that was left out! Good survival skills buddy :)

Thankful for this silhouette 

 Thankful for the crazy laughs 

Thankful for no lines no waiting on a Saturday evening at Giordanos. After going to Cheesecake and waiting the 10 minutes, of our 40 minute wait, we decided waiting is not our favorite activity ;) So off to explore the area and find another kid friendly place :) Always win with Italian food 

 Thankful that our picky princess is expanding her eating horizon and trying new foods, yet her love for all things noodle still stands :)

 Thankful for positive quotes 

 And another one...

 Have you ever had those moments when you know you've made God honoring choices and yet someone will poke at you anyways? Yeah... been there... too many times, and so while running- Taylor Swift came on on my Pandora this weekend, LOVE PANDORA, and this song played... and the words were right. Can't change how some people view our actions or abilities, those haters will hate, but like her song is called below... SHAKE IT OFF! *Disclaimer- easier said than done, but running does help ;)*

Thankful for continuation of daily scripture writing. If you are interested www.swtblessings.com has monthly print outs with daily passages to write out.  HAPPY MARCH MADNESS EVERYONE!!

XO