My grandpa turned the big 9-0

If I was only allowed to listen to 10 songs, these would be it.....

Taking You Home - Don Henley
He Walked on Water - Randy Travis
Please, Before I Go - Derek Webb
How Great Thou Art
It is Well With My Soul
I'll Fly Away
A Consistent Ethic of Human Life - Derek Webb
Hard Candy Christmas - Dolly Parton
4th of July - Shooter Jennings
Sweet Home Alabama - Lynard Skynard

What are your top 10?

we hung out with the over 60 crowd last night....

My mom's cousins had a costume party and they were nice enough to include us.
They made authentic curry chicken and tumeric rice. It was the best meal I have ever eaten. No kidding.

I am basically posting this just so that Missy can see my dad posing in his costume.

On the make....

haircuts by Kendra

before
after

Gary!!!!!

Excerpt from a widely circulated e-mail written by no other than Gary Wilson....

"However always go to http://hillenblog.blogspot.com/ and then look on the right side for Wilson Family Blog and click on it there. The reason is we always want to be the #1 outgoing link on Hillens blog and by doing this we will get a lot more hits. Rachel Burch is either number #1 or #2 and it is killing her that we are beating her as the #1 outgoing link.

So check out our blog often so we can get more hits then Rachel."

I bet you thought I wouldn't find out, didn't you?

This is purely my opinion........

I think these inflatable snowglobe things are the biggest waste of money ever.

Greg- If I really did have a bone to pick with you, I would not use a blog to communicate it. I think you had a very valid point.

Is this shallow enough for you Greg?

What a beautiful weekend. Really, the weather could not of been more perfect.
We drove to St.Louis thursday afternoon. We got to my aunt's house around 8:00 and surprised her because apparently I forgot to let her know that we were coming on thursday instead of friday like we had originally planned. That's what happens when plans are left up to me.
Friday we went to a great pumpkin patch where we played for awhile. We left there and headed for The Galleria. Now shopping is really the main reason why I leave town. Do you remember when a trip to a big city was not complete without a stop at Old Navy? Then it was Abercrombie. Next, Forever 21. Well, now it's H&M and Anthropologie for me. Of course, I can't afford anything at Anthropologie unless it's on sale and their sales weren't that great on Friday. But, H&M was great!
After shopping we ate at a new italian restuarant then headed to Crate & Barrel. We stayed up late that night playing card games with my family.
Saturday we packed a picnic lunch and went to a HUGE apple orchard. After spending the better part of the day picking apples and enjoying the country life, we left to do a little more shopping. We enjoyed a great steak dinner that night at my aunt's house.
I woke up a little bummed on Sunday thinking about how we were missing hearing Pastor Rogers preach. I'll have to get the recording of that.
We packed up the car and went to the Musuem of Transportation. The Talburts had been the previous weekend and had recommended it. It was fun and quite the bargain at only $4.00 per adult admission.
We got home around 7:00 and ate Lenny's subs with Mandy and Erika. Then we went to Mandy's to watch the Office episode we missed while on the road. I don't like that new girl flirting with Jim!
There you have it. A web log of our weekend away.

a few things...

Is anyone else watching Dancing With the Stars? Let me just tell you, Slater can dance!

And Jerry Springer cannot.

We got another update from our agency. We're still #1 on the list which means we should hear any day. You've all heard me say that before.

Help me out. What should Lucy be for Halloween?

Last day of September

 

Surprise!!!

We had Jen a little surprise lunch today for her birthday. She loves surprises!

 

apple picking

Well, it was actually more like apple looking. The kids weren't allowed to touch the apples because they had just been sprayed. Maybe next year!

So I had this dream last night......

We were in a tattoo parlor that just so happened to be located in that McDonald's that goes over the highway in Oklahoma. I was trying to make up my mind as to what to get and where. Cindy and Sky were there helping. Sky showed me her arms which were covered in tattoos. She had very colorful rainbows and flowers and such. I thought they were so beautiful. Well, after much thought, we all agreed that I should get a Windsor chair on my back. We thought it was a brillant idea.

An office party

I've decided I'm way too emotionally invested in Jim and Pam. You Know?

Ethan

As many of you know, Ethan's leukemia has been in remission for 2 years. He has been in the hospital this week fighting a high fever. Today they decided to transport him to Children's Mercy in Kansas City since he is just not kicking this infection due to chemo. Well, his blood work came back showing leukemic blasts. This is totally unexpected. Hiedi wanted me to spread the word that they would really appreciate everyones' prayers. He is having a bone marrow extraction tomorrow to determine exactly what is going on. Please pray for Ethan's healing and peace for Jason and Hiedi, especially Hiedi as she is 3 months pregnant.

Anyone need life insurance?

Everyones' favorite New York Life salesman stopped by today. We were his first appointment. Ever! He did a great job. Give him a call!

 

cider days and football

Tell me this is not addicting........

http://www.bigideafun.com/veggietales/arcade/pile_up/default.htm

Is this not the most ridiculous thing you've ever seen?

 

I knew I liked that Mr. Pitt

Though Shiloh, the world-famous daughter of Pitt and girlfriend/earth mother Angelina Jolie, hogged much attention upon her birth in May, Pitt says he "cannot imagine life" without adopted children, Maddox, 5, and Zahara, 1.
"They're as much of my blood as any natural born, and I'm theirs," says Pitt. "That's all I can say about it. I can't live without them. So: Anyone considering (adoption), that's my vote."
(Foxnews.com)

name those people

If you have some extra free time...

There are 30 books of the Bible hidden in this story. See how many of them you can find.

There are 30 books of the Bible in this paragraph. Can you find them? This is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found by a gentleman in an airplane seat pocket on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu. Keeping him occupied for hours. He enjoyed it so much he passed it on to some friends. One friend from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john boat. Another friend studied it while playing his banjo. Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend was so intrigued by it she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column. Another friend judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving, she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot. That's a fact. Some people, however, will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized. Truthfully, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or scholar to see some of them at the worst. Research has shown that something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the book in this paragraph. During a recent fund raising event, which featured this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi lemonade booth set a new sales record. The local paper, The Chronicle, surveyed over 200 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen. As Daniel Humana humbly puts it, the books are all right there in plain view hidden from sight. Those able to find all of them will hear lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers. Also, keep in mind that punctuation and spacers in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete really well against those who claim to know the answers. Remember there is no need for a mad exodus, there really are 30 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in the paragraph waiting to be found.

Roygersville

According to an article I read this morning, people consider Labor Day the most depressing holiday of the year. Well, our celebration was anything but. Perfect weather, great food, wonderful friends, and soooo much fun. Thanks so much to Greg and Teri for having us all out. We hope you make this an annual bash!

I'm an internet nerd

When I was in high school I thought that people who loved the internet were nerds. Dorks. Science club geeks. I had a friend in ninth grade who opened an e-mail account and that fact alone lost her several cool points in my book.
In college I discovered that the internet was useful for school and such. Beyond that I didn't see much need for it.
We were married over 4 years before we bought a computer. I started online banking and fell in love with eBay. For a long time, that was about all I did online.
Well I am confessing today that I am an official internet nerd. I daily check Hillenblog, my checking account, my eBay account, yahoo news, my e-mail, foxnews.com, and people.com. I am a blogger, although lately a rather infrequent one. I am an active member of our adoption agency's message boards. I even have a group of blogs not associated with our little community that I check regularly. My favorite is http://www.christinemoers.blogspot.com. I am a dork and I am addicted. There you have it.

We had a ball this weekend.

Matt dumped Morgan's rubber ball collection down the stairs. Twice.
Admin playing in the pool.
Shopping buddies.
Okay, so Christina's birthday didn't really have anything to do with balls but I did not want to deviate from the theme. Happy 26th!

 

weekly news

Paris says her new album is so good that "I, like, cry when I listen to it." It's comments like this that earned her the title of "most overrated celebrity" in the 2006 Guinness Book of Records.

They are deleting scenes from all Warner Brothers' cartoons that contain any images that "glamourize smoking."
PFC Jessica Lynch announced she's preggers
Paula Deen became a grandma.
David Copperfield claims to have found the real fountain of youth in the Bahamas. He does look good for 50.

They won!!!

 

I've been thinking about what to get you all for Christmas.....(it's only 4 months away you know!)

I think I'll get FS a subscription to his favorite magazine.
Then I'll look into buying Sky her dream home. And hiring a tree trimmer for her.

Next, I can get the same t-shirt for both admin and islandrider.

After that, I'll order Jen her dream scent.

Last but not least, I'll buy nb a charm to wear as a reminder of his summer bff.

Weekend with the Wilsons

Blake's 15th birthday, Bryan folding Matt up in the couch, boating to dinner, golf cart rides, Lucy sleeping between Gary and Lisa, tubing, swimming, feeding the fish, awsome music, watching Holly dive, naps on the boat, and the yummy food. I'm pretty sure I gained 10 pounds. We can honestly say that we enjoyed every minute. So fun!

 

Gabe the Babe

 

cannonball contest

The birthday boy won.

 

lake day

 

a few things..

So we went over to talk to our new neighbors last night. Lucy welcomed them to the neighborhood by throwing up in their living room. Did I mention that they had new carpet installed yesterday?
Tyson has new chicken breasts called "trimmed and ready". They already have the gross fat cut off of them! This is life changing for me.
I got my first negative feedback on ebay. It was bound to happen sometime.
After much discussion, it looks like the Varsity class reunion might just actually happen.

Know anyone who wants to move to Nixa?

 

This is to islandrider....

Your blog will only let me leave one comment so I will try and answer your question here. Why is the term "orientals" suddenly taboo? The Orient is a region and does not contain all of the said "orientals" therefore making it an inadequate term. That point alone does not make it offensive, I know. As the times change, our voacbularies change. We don't say negro or colored anymore even though, at one time, these were considered common and neutral labels. Personally I feel like "orientals" sounds ignorant, not offensive. Race issues are new ground to this white bread girl. I'm trying to figure this stuff out, too.

Grrrr....

I really do love eBay. I made $80 last week and so far this week I've made close to $30. It's the best place to get rid of stuff and the greatest place to track down hard to find items. Yesterday, I bought a lamp that matches that groovy nursery set we're using for Oliver. It's usually a fun experience.
The only downside to the world's largest marketplace is dealing with stupid people. This world is full of them and we've met quite a few of them this week at the fair. I would say that for every 50 items I sell on eBay, one of these items goes to an ignorant individual who then causes a stink and makes me regret ever selling anything at all.
I am currently dealing with such a person. She bought three items of toddler clothing from me. She got quite the steal considering the shirts still had the tags on and she only paid $.99 for all three. She emailed me yesterday to let me know that one of the shirts was only a size 12 months and I had listed them to be a size 12-18 months. She said that size 12 months was too small for her child. I'm sure that you all with children have picked up by now that the stupidity of her claim is that size 12 months and 12-18 months are the same size! Everyone other than her knows that! Anyway, she wants a refund which is totally understandable considering that this one shirt cost her .33 cents!!!! She wants me to pay for her s&h which no seller on ebay does.
Thanks so much for letting me vent. I appreciate it.

We have much to discuss....

1. Welcome Amy Muncy!
2. Matt and I googled it last night and it seems Blake Shelton (a.k.a. nb's bff) filed for divorce in Feb. Keeping track of these b-list country stars' lives can be so confusing!
3. We have learned this week that unless you are inebriated you cannot put on a good concert. All of the acts have liquored themselves up before and during their performances. I don't know why I am surprised.
4. Sky- where have you been?
5. Indulge me for a moment while I give you a quick adoption update. We were told that we would receive our referral in July. Now it's August and we are #9 on the waiting list. We will hopefully know something within the next 2 weeks. I met a mom of a Chinese adoptee who told me that her agency lost their paperwork so it took a lot longer than normal. Not too reassuring. The good news is that after a referral, he will be given clearance to travel within 2-4 months.