* Tim and Kristen's page*

Anniversary Celebration

2011-07-21T19:57:00.004-05:00

So I realized I completely forgot to post again about our anniversary date! This year we celebrated our fourth year together. My parents were able to watch the boys for us so we could have a date night! Our anniversary date was very similar to last year. We really enjoy bowling, but don’t have a chance to do it often. So maybe it’ll become an anniversary date tradition. Anyways, we had a great time bowling in Menominee, MI. I beat Tim in the first game, and well… we just won’t talk about the other games! :)

After bowling we went to a family restaurant, located right on the lake. The food was great and the view from inside the restaurant was beautiful! We’ve been into watching the show “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” and have been inspired to try more local restaurants instead of chain restaurants. And this one I would go back to again!

I am so thankful for my wonderful hubby, and the four years we’ve had together. Tim--I am so thankful for how you make me laugh, patiently teach me more theology and lead our family, even through difficult decisions. I could go on and on, but I’ll just say, I’m thankful for God putting us together…I’m so thankful for His kindness!!

Happy (Late) Fourth of July!!

2011-07-21T19:32:00.005-05:00

The fourth of July was a busy time for us! Our church had a float in the parade, which actually won 4^th place in the float competition!! After the parade, we went to the U.P. to spend some time with Tim’s family. We were able to spend time with all 3 of his sisters, and with 2 of his aunts. It was great to be able to spend time with them.

We went to the fireworks that evening, but first did a few little fireworks of our own. The place to watch fireworks is within walking distance from Mom and Dad Hill’s house. We got there, got all set up and it started to rain. There were clear skies ahead, so we knew the rain wouldn’t last long, and would probably get back to the house by the time it stopped. We waited out the rain, and the fireworks began a little early. It was a great fireworks show, and made for an even more memorable experience since we were all wet by the time we got back to the house.

One highlight was being able to go out to lunch with just the ladies. Tim and Dad Hill were so kind to watch the boys to allow us a little time away. Another highlight was on our last night there, when we went out to Presque Isle for picnic dinner. Micah and Wesley loved being able to throw rocks into the lake. And it was so fun to watch them find enjoyment in feeding (and chasing!) the seagulls. After dinner, we took a walk around the island and allowed the boys to play at the playground for a little bit. It’s so fun watching Wesley enjoy the slides and wants to copy Micah. We couldn’t go back home without a little bit of Jilbert’s ice cream first! I'm so thankful that we live closer to family to be able to have these times together!

Family Fun

2011-07-19T13:37:00.008-05:00

Mom and Dad Ahtila were able to come for a week visit back in June. They ended up camping about 45 minutes from us, so we were able to visit with them almost every day.On Sunday they came out to join us at church, and then we had a nice meal to celebrate Fathers’ Day.We went out to visit their campsite on Monday, and had a mini-family reunion. I was able to see my Grandpa and Sonja, who I hadn’t seen in a while, my aunt and cousin who I hadn’t seen in a couple years! We spent a great deal of time at the playground, which was really nice! It was so much fun to watch Micah grow in his confidence as he learned to climb up the slide and the rope ladders.

My parents had a beautiful view of Lake Michigan from their campsite, so we couldn’t have a visit there without throwing rocks into the water…one of Micah’s favorite activities!

Wednesday I joined my parents on a day trip to visit my Grandpa and Sonja again, and we were able to spend a little bit more time visiting with my aunt and cousin as well. I also saw an uncle I hadn’t seen in years! Micah’s highlight was being able to drive cars on my Grandpa’s chair, and eat McDonald’s on the way back.

Our fourth anniversary was on the last day my parents were in the area, and they excitedly volunteered to watch the kids for us. There will be more to come about what we did for our date. While we were out, Micah learned how to catch a ball and was quite proud of himself! He wanted my mom to take a picture of him every time he caught it! We were so thankful for the time we were able to visit with them. We all had a great week!!

Birthdays!

2011-07-16T15:36:00.006-05:00

This year I turned 29...my last year before the BIG 3-0!! Tim's parents were able to come down to help celebrate. They also watched the boys for us so we could go on a date. We started our time by going out for coffee at a cute little shop here in town. We were so blessed (and surprised!!) when we ran into someone we knew there and they paid for our coffee! We then headed up to Dave's Falls for a little hike, and ended up eating dinner at a local restaurant.

When we came home from our date, we celebrated with cake. I have really been wanting to improve on my cake baking/decorating skills. This was a cake that Tim and I actually made together--and it was so fun and yummy! It was a Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake. And I would make it again in a heartbeat!!

Then our little Wesley turned 1 year old on May 25th! It's so hard to believe that a year has passed since he was born! He has such a funny personality! He's almost always smiling, such a cuddler and people person, and so very stubborn! He has brought even more laughter into our home, and we're so thankful to God for giving him to us! We celebrated Wesley's birthday on 3 different occasions! We tried celebrating when we went to MI to visit my parents, where we found out Wesley wanted NOTHING to do with his cupcake!

So...when we celebrated his birthday on the actual day, I made chocolate chip cookies instead. They were a hit! And his final celebration was with the Hills, where we celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday, sister-in-law's birthday and Wesley's birthday. We're so thankful to be closer to family, so we can share these special times with family.

Catching Up--Easter

2011-07-16T15:27:00.005-05:00

Wow! It’s been a while since we’ve last posted anything on here! These next few posts will be to help catch up on the last few months…starting with Easter!

This year Micah was able to help out much more with dyeing the Easter eggs. He absolutely loved being able to pick what color he wanted and help dip the egg, and later put stickers on them.

Here are a few pictures of our handsome boys decked out in their Easter outfits.

Best buds!

A Picture Comparison

2011-04-03T18:54:00.023-05:00

I was looking through some old pictures, and realized how different Micah and Welsey look! When dressing Wesley, I purposely chose outfits to get pictures, because I knew we had previously taken pictures of Micah in those outfits. The other day was the first time I compared the pictures of the two boys. I think there are certain characteristics where they look similar, but overall they really look different! Micah definitely resembles more of the Hill side and Wesley resembles more of the Ahtila side. It will be interesting to see if they start looking more alike as they get older.

In the pictures that follow, Micah is in the first picture in each pair. Because Micah was such a chunker, he needed larger clothes sooner, so he's younger than Wesley in most of these pictures. The first picture is the only one where I think that they look similar. I tried putting them side by side, but I just can't seem to get it right...so this is as good as it gets! :) Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Micah's Music

2011-04-01T09:11:00.004-05:00

Since no longer being in the classroom teaching, I have taken advantage of every opportunity to teach here at home. Micah’s at the age right now where he loves learning, and he soaks up everything! Lately, we have been listening to a lot of classical music , hoping to instill an appreciation and love for music in the boys as they grow older. Two of Micah’s favorite videos to watch are “Baby Einstein: Mozart” and “Baby Einstein: Beethoven”. So later, as we’re listening to music on i-tunes, he’s been able to identify a few songs by Beethoven and Mozart. For example, he’ll be playing and hear “Fur Elise.” So he’ll stop, excitedly point to the computer and say “Toven!” And since he’s already been a fan of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, he can identify some of those pieces as well. To help him expand his musical repertoire we recently borrowed “Baby Einstein: Bach” from the library. He gets excited to pop in the DVD featuring the little Baby Einstein bunny on the cover. I love watching this little boy build an appreciation for the classical music that we enjoy listening to as well! The only downside…Micah is going to grow up thinking that the little cartoon bunny on the cover is Bach. :)

Book Review 1: Practicing Hospitality

2011-03-17T18:47:00.004-05:00

As I previously mentioned, I have a book list for this upcoming year. One of those books is called Practicing Hospitality, by Pat Ennis and Lisa Tatlock, which is one I received from Tim for a Christmas gift. This book was very helpful because I’m very much the type of person who likes to have concrete examples for abstract ideas, and their book is full of them!! Probably one of the most helpful things for me personally was how the authors explain the difference between entertaining and biblical hospitality…something I think we often confuse. Here’s a paragraph explaining the difference:

“Hospitality is a practical way to love others. Therefore, a person practicing biblical hospitality should also be a loving person. This element separates biblical hospitality from social entertaining or even distinguishes between the hospitality of a believer and unbeliever. Believers can uniquely display God’s love as they extend hospitality. Entertaining focuses on having a beautiful table décor or preparing gourmet food. Biblical hospitality is a demonstration of love. Food and other elements are merely tools used to express our love for people. Our motivation for being hospitable women is a response to God’s work in our lives. Hospitality is one way we can tangibly demonstrate our love for God.” (p. 50)

One very practical suggestion they offered was to spend time in prayer before opening your home to others. Ask God to work in the time you’re about to spent with others that the conversation would be edifying and encouraging.

The most helpful chapter was the one that discussed the need to extend hospitality first to your own family, and then to extend hospitality to others. After Wesley was born, I found the transition to life with two kids an extremely challenging one. Compared to Micah, Wesley was a more difficult and needy baby. I won’t go into all of it. And with the close ages of the two boys, Micah still needed a lot of attention, especially in the discipline department. Needless to say, I went through many days feeling like I did a horrible job taking care of the family and home…so how could I invite people into my home when I couldn’t even do an adequate job caring for my own family? This was the tension I felt for quite some time, so I was thankful that they addressed this. The authors talked about how when you’re in certain seasons of life you may not be able to show hospitality to others quite as often, and you may need to find ways to creatively show hospitality. The authors suggest partnering with your husband in hospitality, because he “can give you counsel and direction regarding how much time you can dedicate to hospitality.” I found this to be so freeing, because they continue by saying that “The protection of working under the authority of your husband is a blessing, since he knows your physical limitations, work or ministry responsibilities and unique family characteristics.” I am so glad that Tim is my protector in all areas…including hospitality!

There’s just so much more that I could include, but I’ll leave just one more thought from the book. Often we get the idea that hospitality is only having people into our home for a meal. We don’t think outside of the box or see that showing hospitality is not limited to this! When it comes down to it, what is hospitality? Demonstrating our love for God by showing love to others and meeting needs. Some ideas the authors gave included visiting someone in the hospital, a shut-in, bringing a meal to help a family out, having people over for games, meeting up with a friend for coffee. This book was not only challenging, but it helped me to redefine my understanding of hospitality, giving me a more precise, biblical understanding of hospitality, that I can use to apply as our seasons of life continue to change. Like I said, there is so much more that I learned and want to write about, but I’ll stop here…for now anyway, and say that I highly recommend this book!

And I couldn't do a post without a picture of these guys!

9 Months

2011-03-05T07:32:00.003-06:00

It’s hard to believe Wesley is already 9 months old! I’m a little behind on my blog posts, as he turned 9 months on Feb. 25^th. His little personality has definitely been coming out more, and it’s so interesting to see the difference between the two boys. Wesley is such a strong-willed, “I WILL do what I want to do” type of baby. He loves getting into anything he knows he’s not suppose to, or putting anything into his mouth he’s not suppose to. He also loves taking Micah’s pacifier and crawling off as fast as he can (which is actually really funny to watch). He’s starting to take his first few steps, so it won’t be too long before he’s walking around, chasing Micah.

As far as foods go, Wesley has been a very picky eater in a strange sort of way. He seems to like food, but he’s always fighting against eating any of it. It appears that he just wants to eat what we’re eating. We let him try munching on a non-salted saltine cracker the other day, and the look on his face as he’s first holding the cracker was priceless!

Our two favorite things about Wesley is his crazy hair and his smiles. Every time he wakes up from a nap or we take his hat off, his hair is ALL over the place! He’s always cracking us up with his wild hair. And he is always smiling. It certainly doesn’t take too much for anyone to get a smile out of him. Happy 9 months, Wesley! We love you!

Goals for the New Year

2011-01-10T18:47:00.002-06:00

Starting a new year seems to have a way of causing me to reflect on the previous year and to look ahead to different changes. When I was younger, I would always write down my New Year’s resolutions, only to fail in the first week. I think one of the reasons we so often fail so quickly is due to lack of specificity and planning. At Cedarville, one of the things my professors continually told us was when writing lesson plans you must have goals for your students that are measurable and attainable. The season of life that I’m in can sometimes be difficult to spend much time on anything that doesn’t involve caring for the boys or home, so I needed to be careful that my goals weren’t too grand! Taking that information, last year was the first year that I set out to write goals for myself that were such. I carefully made plans of how to try to attain these goals and for the most part, was able to keep them. My goals this year are similar to last year, but tweaked here and there. Here are a few in no particular order:

-Practice my flute 2 times a month (I very much miss playing, and doing so with the little ones has been difficult. Last time I tried playing for our two little guys, Wesley immediately started wailing. Practicing 2 times a month I thought would be doable.)

-Memorize the book of Philippians (Tim found a plan for memorizing Philippians, so it’ll be something we encourage one another and memorize together.)

-Read 12 books (Reading one book a month should be an attainable goal for me. I have a list of books I would like to finish this year-- some classical literature, Biblical parenting, and some to keep up my educational background. Last year my book list changed slightly, as I was introduced to new books that I thought would be more beneficial at the time. My goal is to blog about some of these books as I finish them, so you can be watching for that in the future.)

So even though this is a little bit late, Happy New Year! May we look ahead in anticipation to how the Lord will work this year!

Christmas Newsletter 2010

2010-12-21T14:57:00.005-06:00

Merry Christmas from the Hill family!

If we could sum up this year, it would probably be defined by learning. With the many changes over this past year, we’ve had many opportunities to learn, grow, and change.

In April, God provided Tim with a second job working at the local Piggly Wiggly. He’s been learning how to stock shelves, fill propane tanks, and bag groceries! Though the extra income has been helpful, he’s been especially thankful to get a little better connected to some people in the community. He’s had opportunities to speak of Christ on several occasions.

On May 25^th, Wesley Owen Hill was born, weighing in at a hefty 9lbs., 5oz. (Poor Kristen!) It’s definitely been a challenge transitioning to two children. The need for constant attention combined with lack of sleep (Poor Kristen!) have taken their toll, but we’re thankful for God’s daily grace and learning to rely on the strength He provides. As much as we may not want to admit it, the struggles have had a purpose. God is refining us to make us more like Christ. And at the end of the day, we’re thankful for that, even if refining isn’t what we most want.

This summer flew by as Tim was preaching most Sundays. The highlight of August was getting ready for our church’s Vacation Bible School. We were thankful for Bible Baptist in Ishpeming supplying decorations, puppets, supplies, and material to allow our VBS to go well!

September we enjoyed a trip to Michigan for Jeremy’s wedding (Kristen’s brother). We’re very thankful for God bringing Jeremy and Siera together! A little over three years after our wedding, Jeremy and Siera were married and in the same city we were, and just a mile or so down from the church we were married in! We were thrilled to be a part of their big celebration.

Micah celebrated his 2^nd birthday, November 11^th. He’s at such a fun age, doing silly things to make us laugh, like wanting to try eating onion and ginger. It’s been so neat to see his knowledge increase, as he’s been learning his numbers and letters. And thankfully, he’s starting to enjoy playing with Wesley, who is now crawling and getting into everything!

And now, here in December, we look forward to spending time with family over the holidays, while remembering Jesus—the true reason for Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

Mommy's Little Helper

2010-12-10T12:38:00.003-06:00

Micah is such a funny little guy! Whenever I do my baking he wants to sit in the stool and “help” me bake. He enjoys being able to taste test what we’re making...his favorite has been canned pumpkin, believe it or not! Anyways, one day I had him help me dump in some cinnamon into our bowl, which he quickly tried tasting some. I told him not to take anything out of the bowl. Next was the ginger that he dumped into our bowl, which he quickly stuck his hand in to taste some more! His reaction to eating the ginger was hilarious! I wish I had it on video! As soon as he tasted it, he stuck out his tongue and started screaming hysterically, trying to wipe theginger off his tongue. I quickly found his sippee cup and tried to help him out. I don’t know what plain ‘ole ground ginger tastes like, but he did NOT like it one bit! (And now I’m tempted to try my own taste test to see what it taste like!) I think he’s learned his lesson to NOT taste what we’re putting into our bowl. At least for now.

Play Time

2010-12-08T10:28:00.004-06:00

I would not consider myself to be a creative person at all! I always find myself taking ideas that people post online. So when it comes to keeping Micah entertained or even introduce new play ideas to him, I’m not always quick to think of creative, fun ideas. I was so excited to find out about this book, Unplugged Play, that I quickly reserved it from the library. I loved this book and the many great ideas that it gave for different age groups. If you are creatively challenged and want some ideas for your kids, I definitely recommend this book!

The Big 2

2010-11-11T15:27:00.004-06:00

It’s so hard to believe that our sweet Micah is already 2 years old! We thank God for giving us Micah…what a blessing! He has definitely brought a lot of laughter into our home. My favorite aspect about this age is how much more he can communicate with us. And the interaction is so much fun, too! He’s starting to play “pretend” as he pretends to feed his stuffed animals, or brush their teeth. His latest favorite game has been to go to the door, knock, wait for me to say “Come In” and then come get hugs and kisses from me. He’ll wave and say “bye” and head back to the door to do it all over again! So fun!! So a very happy birthday to you, Micah! Mommy and Daddy love you so much!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

2010-10-27T10:51:00.005-05:00

I decided to dedicate this post to some of my favorites. I'll start with...

Favorite almost-two-year-old: It’s so hard to believe Micah will be turning two November 11^th!! This age has definitely been challenging with the MANY opportunities to discipline and train him to be a godly young man. But he’s also so much fun! He has been so into learning the alphabet. Though he doesn’t know the “Alphabet Song” yet or know the order of the letters, he knows the sound of almost all of the letters, which I think is more important right now. We’ll work on order later. Three of his favorite things- Curious George, cars, and his magnetic letters. A not favorite for him—potty training! But we’re working on it!

Favorite five-month old: Wesley’s already 5 months old!!! He is usually very content to sit in his exersaucer and watch Micah. He’s pretty much sitting up on his own and even getting into the crawling position! I have a feeling once he gets mobile, he’ll be Micah’s little shadow! His own little personality is starting to come out as he’s always looking to see what’s within his reach that he can grab. (Unfortunately it’s been my bowl of cereal on a couple of occasions.) He’s also very social and usually doesn’t hesitate to smile at anyone who stops to talk to him.

Favorite husband: Well, since Tim is always a favorite I just had to put a picture of him in here! I just really appreciate his godly example to me and the boys! He's the best!

Favorite book: I’ve recently been reading Because He Loves Me by Elyse Fitzpatrick. It’s been very convicting and I can’t wait to pick it up again later today. I’m realizing how much I work at the Christian life on my own, leaving Christ out of the equation. I highly recommend this one!

Favorite recipe: Here’s a link to one of our new favorite meals we recently tried—sweet and sour chicken! Very yummy! Check it out! http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2009/06/10/sweet-and-sour-chicken/

Favorite season: And the last favorite I wanted to share was fall!! I just love the beautiful colors, the temperature, the smells…it’s all wonderful! Tim and I were able to take a hike up Sugarloaf Mountain in Marquette, MI a few weeks ago. It was the perfect date!

Micah knows hot

2010-10-10T21:15:00.002-05:00

This is Tim chiming in on the blog for a quick post.

So tonight, Micah foiled my inadvertent plan to burn our place down.

We had just finished eating supper, and I thought it might be cool to brew us a cup of coffee on my new French press. So I put some water on the stove, and then set about to clean off the supper table while Kristen gave Wesley a bath. Micah was still seated at the table finishing off his last slice of pizza as I moved into the kitchen closet and quickly became preoccupied with crushing aluminum cans. After sufficiently clearing out space in our recycling container, I reemerged from the closet. That was when Micah nonchalantly pointed over to the stove and said “Hot?” So I took a glance at the stove—and saw flames shooting up from the stovetop!

Yeah, our oven mitt was totally engulfed in flames! I quickly dashed over to the stove and grabbed a piece that hadn’t yet burned and threw it into the water in the kitchen sink! So, Micah, our little firefighter, saved the day. His quick thinking and command of the English language foiled my absentmindedness. And me? I think I need to take some time out of the kitchen until I can tell the difference between a front burner and a back burner.

"All in a day's work."

Happy Birthday, Tim!

2010-10-02T11:49:00.004-05:00

Happy birthday to my favorite person!! Tim- you are a wonderful husband and wonderful Daddy! I am so thankful for your godly example to our boys, and for your desire to continue to grow in Christlikeness! I love you and am so thankful for you!

It Starts Already!!

2010-08-30T16:21:00.002-05:00

"Mom...he's touching me!"

Silly Micah

2010-08-30T16:13:00.003-05:00

Micah has such a personality and makes us laugh! One day he brought me the camera and stood by the couch until I took this picture of him!!

True Woman Conference

2010-08-05T07:58:00.007-05:00

At our church, I'm currently trying to get a group of women together to attend the True Woman Conference in Indianapolis, Sept. 23rd-25th. On Facebook, they are currently giving away a ticket every day in the month of August. Some speakers include Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Joni Eareckson Tada,and Dannah Gresh, with worship leaders Keith and Kristyn Gettty. It sounds like it'll be a conference you don't want to miss! So be sure to check out the details here to find out how you can try to attend this conference for free! And if you don't win a ticket, and you want to attend, you can purchase your ticket here. If you buy one before Sept. 8th, you can use the code TBC2010 to save $20! It'll be hard leaving my two little guys and my hubby for a couple of days, but I'm excited about this conference and I hope you'll be there, too! (If the links don't work, let me know...this is my first time trying to link pages to my blog!) And of course I couldn't do a post without a picture of my little guys!

Family Fun

2010-06-24T15:06:00.005-05:00

Last week, we spent part of our morning picking strawberries! Our plan was to put Wesley in the baby carrier, and Micah would walk and “help” us. We weren’t quite sure how Micah would do, but he did awesome!! I’m not sure he was much of a help though, because as you can see from his face, he REALLY enjoyed eating the strawberries! But we had a great time watching him…so cute! And we were very thankful that Wesley slept the whole time, too. After picking all of the berries, I had fun baking some strawberry bread, strawberry crepes, a strawberry-rhubarb pie and making some strawberry freezer jam. I’m already looking forward to strawberry season coming again next year!

New Addition

2010-06-21T20:49:00.003-05:00

In case you haven’t heard, Wesley Owen Hill was born on May 25th at 1:47 a.m. He weighed in at 9 lbs., 5 oz. and was 22 1/4” long. Yeah, we were definitely shocked when we found out how big he was!

I know some people are interested in hearing the birth story, so I’ll take a moment to share. (There may be several rabbit trails…just to warn you!) This experience was much different than labor/delivery with Micah.

On Monday morning, two days after my due date, I had my appointment, finding out that I was “a good 4 cm dilated.” Everything looked like my body was ready for labor, except Wesley was still fairly high and was posterior. She thought that if Wesley turned the correct way, then he’d drop and labor would start. On a side note, I need to mention that I saw the doctor instead of my midwife, because my midwife wasn’t feeling well. After my appointment the staff wanted me to take a stress test. During this time I started to feel some contractions. The nurse came in and asked me if I was feeling the contractions and asked if they hurt. They weren’t really painful yet…just uncomfortable…mostly. Besides, I didn’t want to say they were painful and have the nurses make me stay at the hospital!! So after a really long stress test, I could hear the nurses talking out in the hallway…definitely nervous about letting me leave. After they made sure several times that the contractions weren’t strong yet, they finally let me go home, giving me several warnings and instructions.

Well, the contractions continued through the day, even after doing several different things to rule out false labor. With Micah, the contractions continued to get stronger as the day progressed, but not this time. I remember our childbirth instructor and previous midwife saying that labor can slow down/not progress with a bunch of distractions around, and if you have other children at home, to make other arrangements to have them elsewhere. Well, I didn’t take their advice, and I noticed that it did affect labor from progressing. And let me just add, we are SO thankful to have family close by. Tim’s sister, Rachel, was able to come down to watch Micah. She brought her son who is a month older than Micah. (Those 2 boys LOVE playing together and are just so cute to watch!!! ) Anyways, back to the story… after the boys went to bed my contractions started getting a little bit stronger. Around 10:45 p.m., they really started picking up in intensity. So Tim and I hopped in the car and sped down to Oconto Falls, WI—about a half an hour away. We made it to the hospital around 11:30. I found out then that I was 7cm dilated. After they hooked me up to the fetal monitor for a little while I was able to go in the whirlpool…which was wonderful!!! Somewhere around this time my midwife showed up!!! I was so happy to see her, because I expected to see the doctor instead!

After a little while in the whirlpool tub, they had me get out and checked me…9cm. With Micah, my water broke at the very beginning of labor. I’ve heard before that if your water doesn’t break, it acts as a buffer for the contractions. I totally agree! I noticed the difference! The midwife broke my water and as soon as she did, it was time to push! Seven minutes later Wesley was born! With Micah, I pushed for 3 hours; with Wesley-7 minutes! What a difference for that second-born.

We praise God for another baby boy and for a smooth transition so far. Micah has shown much interest in Wesley, as he’ll go peek in on him throughout the day when he’s sleeping. He’ll also go running in to check on Wesley when he starts crying…so cute! I just know they’ll be best of friends when Wesley gets bigger!

Egg Hunt

2010-04-06T18:20:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday, we enjoyed taking Micah to his first Easter egg hunt. The town of Crivitz had over 3,000 eggs for the kids to find, and I think they were all picked up in about 3 minutes!! We were shocked to see so many people there! Micah was able to get 4 eggs, which is more than we thought he’d get! It probably didn’t help that he liked throwing the eggs instead of putting them in his basket. We look forward to taking him again next year!

30 Weeks and Still Growing

2010-03-19T14:35:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe that we're already down to the last couple of months before baby #2 arrives! There's still so much to do!!

And I couldn't make a blog post without a picture of Micah. His cousin, Reagan, came over for a visit, and it was so cute watching them interact with each other. They're so cute and getting to be such big boys!!

Bob Wehadababyitsaboy

2010-02-04T13:02:00.002-06:00

Do you remember that commercial from years back? Trying to save money calling collect without actually calling. Anyway, that old commercial popped into our minds as we were able to get the 20-week ultrasound of baby #2. We were excited to find out that we are having… another boy!! Yes, by God’s grace, Micah will have a brother (something that Tim never had, though he loves his sisters—dearly—and he’s not just saying that...really.) We thank God for the health of this baby, as it looked like he was developing well. We’re now nearing 25 weeks! Our newest addition to the family will be here before we know it! And in case you’re wondering, we don’t have a name picked out for him yet. We’re going to have a few ideas, and then wait to decide on a name until he’s born. We’ll keep you posted!

Here are a couple ultrasound pics. He's looking right at us in this first one:

This one cracked us up...looked like he's flexing his muscles:

So Big!

2010-01-16T09:43:00.002-06:00

It’s so amazing to see how much Micah is learning every day! He just turned 14 months a few days ago, which is hard to believe that the time is going that fast! Now he can sign “please”, “milk”, “all done” and “more”, and working on “thank you”. He also is following commands, which surprised me so much the first time he obeyed! We can tell him to “Sit down” or “Bring me a book to read”, and he’ll go get a book. Or my favorite, is “Micah, go to your room. It’s time to change your diaper”, and off he goes to his room! He’s also starting to sing along with familiar songs in his own little way. So although this age brings MANY opportunities to correct behavior, he’s also at a very fun age, where we can interact with him on a whole new level!

Christmastime

2010-01-16T09:22:00.005-06:00

We were so thankful that this year we were able to spend Christmas with family. Mom and Dad Ahtila were able to make it to our place for a visit a week before Christmas to celebrate with us. Then we headed up to Mom and Dad Hill’s house on Christmas Eve to spend the holidays there. Some highlights included going to the Christmas Eve service with family, making gingerbread houses together and of course playing a lot of games. And as always, it’s fun to watch Micah and Reagan interact together. We came back home the day after Christmas, only to turn around on Sunday afternoon to go to Minnesota to visit Tim’s extended family, many Micah and I met for the first time. We also enjoyed a day trip to IKEA and Mall of America. Here are a few pictures of our time in Michigan and Minnesota.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T09:49:00.003-06:00

Merry Christmas!!

We hope everyone is having a wonderful time with family, celebrating Christ. We wanted to share a couple of our family Christmas pictures we got at Picture People (for free!!) before we moved to WI.

Closer to Home

2009-12-18T11:10:00.004-06:00

Now that we are living in Wisconsin, it’s so much easier to spend the holidays with our family. And since having Micah, it’s become even more important and special to be able to do so. I know this is a little outdated already, but for the first time in years, we were able to spend Thanksgiving with family!! Poor Micah wasn’t feeling too well, and wasn’t his normal happy self. But my parents did enjoy the rare treat of being able to cuddle with him…very rare since he’s become mobile. Also, my parents just got a Wii, so we logged many hours taking turns trying it out. Even though the time was way too short, we really enjoyed our time with my parents, Jeremy, Sierra and Ethan. Here are a few pictures of our trip.

The Big 1

2009-11-16T21:58:00.005-06:00

Happy birthday, Micah!! On November 11^th, our little guy turned the big...1. It’s so hard to believe that he’s a year old already! We helped him extend his birthday celebration as long as we could. For instance, he opened presents with my parents about two weeks before. Then he opened presents on his actual birthday. And then we had cake the day after when Tim’s parents, aunt, sister and nephew came to our house.

The Lord certainly has blessed us by giving us Micah. He has brought so much laughter to our home. It’s been so fun to watch him learn and become more aware of his surroundings during this first year. He loves slamming his toys against the hard surfaces, especially the kitchen floor (the noisier the better)! He also loves it when Daddy chases him and lifts him through the air. He absolutely loves bananas! He can eat a whole one in one sitting… along with the rest of his meal, of course. His bottle is now a thing of the past… even that nighttime one. He’s officially graduated to a big boy sippee cup, and he’s even eating what we eat…and boy does he eat!!

Happy birthday, Micah! Your mommy and daddy love you so much and can’t imagine our lives without you!!

Happy Birthday!

Back North, Eh!

2009-11-16T21:17:00.004-06:00

Wow! It has been a busy month! Where to start? Well, first, we moved! We are now living in Wisconsin and are getting settled in. We’re so thankful for the many friends who came to help us load up in Virginia, for Mom and Dad Ahtila who helped us move, for the safety on the roads, and for the friends who came to welcome us and help us unload here in Wisconsin. Micah did really well during the LOOOONG car ride, and somehow adjusted to the 2 hour time change (Daylight savings ending in there) much better than his parents did!! We also enjoyed a day layover at the Ahtila’s house. Mom and Dad Hill and my brother, Jeremy and our nephew, Ethan, were all able to visit as well! We had a great time visiting, resting and breaking the news that we were expecting Baby #2 at the end of May.

Tim is diving right into serving here at Timberland Bible Chapel. We’re enjoying getting to know the people of the church better. Tim is definitely keeping busy, but loving it!

Also, Micah turned one year old on November 11^th. He had his 1 year doctor’s appointment, where we were told he’s on the “skinny side”, which made me chuckle! I think that’s the first time anyone has called him skinny! We’re thankful for a happy, healthy boy (not so much a baby anymore!!), who’s developing well.

Happy birthday, Tim!!

2009-10-06T18:29:00.001-05:00

I’m a little late in getting this post completed, I know. But I did want to say happy birthday to my sweet, amazing husband! His birthday (the BIG 3-0!!!) was on Friday, and we celebrated by going to Red Lobster for the all-you-can-eat shrimp special, which is Tim’s favorite! Then we enjoyed a movie later that evening. It was so nice having Tim off of work for a few days, too!! Saturday night, we had a few friends over for cake and ice cream to help us celebrate. We had a great time of fellowship with them! Happy birthday, Tim!! I thank my God every day for you! You are such a wonderful Dad and husband. And I’m so thankful that I got another year to celebrate with you!

A Micah Story

2009-09-24T12:22:00.001-05:00

So Micah is an extremely inquisitive little guy! As he was finishing his bottle yesterday, he decided to start chewing on his fingers. No big deal. Well, this time, he stuck them so far back in his mouth that it made him gag! As he sat there, realizing what just happened, you could see the little wheels in his head turning. He stared at his fingers for a moment and then put them back into his mouth, gagging himself once more. So I pulled his hand out and told him no. I tried stopping him, but he succeeded in gagging himself about 3 more times. The last time, however, when he shoved those little fingers into his mouth, he threw up all over himself! I was cracking up, while Micah sat there with a look on his face that said “What just happened?” Hopefully Micah won’t try that again anytime soon!

On the Move

2009-09-19T19:24:00.002-05:00

It’s official…Micah is on the move! Not just crawling, but walking that is! He’s learned to pull himself up on the couch or against a door, and then…look out! He’s off to scampering. Yesterday he was squealing with delight as he was walking all over the house. He makes us laugh! He’s just so happy when he’s walking around.

Micah at 9 Months

2009-08-26T12:37:00.003-05:00

Can you believe Micah is already 9 months?! I can hardly believe in a few short months he’ll already be 1 year old! We just took Micah to his 9 month appointment, where he weighed in at 23lbs., 2 oz. and is 28 ¾ inches long (he might be a little longer, since he was not cooperating with the nurse! J) It’s so fun to see Micah learn new things! He’s at such a fun age! Oh, and thankfully, he finally got 2 teeth a couple weeks ago!!

Here are some things Micah loves:

- Crawling ALL over the place, especially to the bathroom to play with the scale

- Standing up and walk, by hanging onto our hands

- Eating (big surprise!) He especially loves his puffs, peaches and smoothies!

- Playing with his brown bear

- Throwing the ball to Daddy

- Going for a stroller ride outside

- Playing peek-a-boo

Here's an action shot of Micah crawling:

Looks like he found the mirror!

Cuddle time with Daddy before bed:

Amazing Deals!!

2009-08-26T12:33:00.003-05:00

I love when Harris Teeter has their triple coupon event! Sometimes they have a Super Double Coupon event, where they double coupons up to $1.99!! Last time I didn’t really find many good deals at that one, but instead prefer the triple coupon. Last night, I found out that they were having their Super Double Coupon event, starting today! I looked through a few coupons, and quickly decided that it probably wasn’t worth my time (because last time we went sure wasn’t!) However, this morning, as I was looking through my coupons some more, I decided that we needed to go! We got all of these items for about $3.50!!! What great buys! Many of these items were free! We were so excited to get our good deals, and glad that we didn’t pass up this coupon event!

Date Night

2009-08-04T20:13:00.007-05:00

I am so thankful for my wonderful husband, and for the time we were able to spend together Thursday night on a surprise date!! As Tim was leaving for work, he asked me to go get his wallet for him. There was a note for me with an invitation for dinner! I was so excited, and a little confused at first. He explained that a few weeks ago he had requested the evening off, and secretly planned a date night for us…even finding a babysitter for Micah!! Is he wonderful or what?! After bringing Micah to a family from our church, (they are so wonderful for watching Micah a few times for us!!) we headed to Cheesecake Factory, and then ended the night with watching a movie at home after picking up Micah. We were thankful for a short wait at dinner, a cute little booth for two, and half-priced cheesecake. (It was National Cheesecake Day!!) It was so great to be able to have a date mid-week, and be able to just sit and talk over an amazing meal. It was a little bit of a long week for me with a cranky baby who is teething very badly, so I definitely needed that refreshing time with my husband. Here's a picture of our evening. Thanks for such a fun surprise date night, Tim!!

And of course, I have to include a picture of our little cutie. Can you believe he's almost 9 months?!!

Blueberry picking!

2009-07-25T18:43:00.002-05:00

For the past few years, I have really looked forward to going blueberry picking! This year we were a little bit unsure of how it would go since we had Micah with us. Micah did an absolutely fantastic job! He was such a good boy, and so content to sit and watch us from his stroller…as long as he had his pacifier, of course! He even had his first taste of blueberry while we were out there. He’s definitely not so much a fan of them. Not like his daddy! Tim could hardly wait to get back home to freshly baked blueberry waffles. The part that I love most about picking the blueberries is planning what to bake, and then baking things like blueberry coffeecake, blueberry pancakes, blueberry crisp, and blueberry bread. And Tim loves it. :) Here are a few pictures of Micah’s first blueberry picking experience.

Frugal Tip for the Day

2009-07-17T16:09:00.003-05:00

Here’s a frugal tip I thought I’d share. One of my favorite frugal meals that we like to make is a fryer chicken. We usually get about a 4 lb. chicken, which runs about 89 cents/lb. at Walmart. (Sometimes there will be other stores, such as Food Lion, that has a sale on them for 69 cents/lb. ) They are so easy to make, and make a pretty good Sunday dinner, when paired with potatoes and a vegetable! After washing/pat drying the chicken, I will brush some olive oil all over the chicken, and then brush a Roaster Chicken Poultry Rub (from Food Network) on top. Then you just follow the cooking instructions for the chicken and then you have a delicious meal! Oh, and I forgot to mention, to make it even easier for clean up, I line the roasting pan with aluminum foil! TONS easier to clean!! After we finish our meal, I will take all the meat off…it’s easier to do when it’s still hot. Our leftovers will last us just about the rest of the week! Some of our favorite recipes we use the leftovers in include stir fry, chicken pot pie, chicken and dumplings, chicken wraps, quesadillas and salads, chicken tortilla soup, barbecued chicken pizza (AN ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!!!)…so many possibilities! So there it is! My frugal tip for the day. I just hope Tim doesn’t get tired of eating chicken anytime soon!