A Rare Shot where Jacob looks like he's winning!

Happy Birthday Noah!!!!

June 23, 2005

This was taken in the NICU when you were just a couple hours old. So sweet!

3 years old. Wow! That is very hard to believe. We've had quite the past three years with you buddy! You've been in about 100 airplanes, 100 hotels, many hours on the road traveling, moved states 4 times, moved into a different house 5 times, had 4 different doctors, been a member of 4 different churches, and have about 200 girlfriends in 3 different states. Wow, buddy that is alot to accomplish in only 3 years! Most people don't do that in a lifetime! You must have some crazy parents!!!

We love you Noah Armstrong Hill! You truly are a gift from God and we are so thankful that He entrusted your precious life with us. Thank you for being a good brother to Jacob and sharing your toys whether forced, or willingly. God is going to do some great things in your life buddy! We pray for you everyday that you might know and love Jesus with all your heart.

We LOVE you so much!

Proud Potty Boy!!!!!

Doesn't he look so proud! Pottytrained. What is that word...really? I mean, does it mean use the potty all day with big boy pants on and doesn't have an accident in 3 days? 4 days? a week? I don't think I would say Noah is 100% potty trained. Is he dry all day long? Yes. Does he go pee pee in the potty when I take him? Yes. Does he tell me when he has to go? No. Does he tell me when he's gone in his pants? No. Does he go Number 2 in the potty? Sometimes...lately, no. Does he wake up from his naps dry? Yes. Does he wake up in the morning dry? Most times yes.
It's so confusing! We started this sticker chart about 3 weeks ago. He LOVES it! I will ask him if he has to go potty, and he responds, "no, potty". But when I say, Do you want a sticker? He stops what he is doing and runs to the potty pulling his pants down on the way. He only gets a sticker if he goes. I have no idea what I am doing. He wears big boy pants around the house but I am scared to death to put him in them when we are out (which is alot). What if he has an accident at the most unopportuned time? It's hard enough playing a zone defense when you have 2 to cover and are out and about. Maybe when we are on Vacation and Josh is around to help me. No clue. He will be Three tomorrow and I would have loved to say, "why yes, of course my son was potty trained before he turned 3!" Oh well. We're still working on it.

$69.08

Yep! That is what it cost me today to fill up my extremely empty tank. Thankfully, we only fill it up every couple of weeks, but my prayer goes out to all of you who are driving 70-100 miles a day! Sheesh!

My Two Sons =)

They sure do make my days interesting! Daddy has started volleyball camp at the college yesterday, so for the next week and a half, he pretty much comes home to sleep. We're planning on staying busy though, so we won't miss him TOO much. Today we went to the Children's Museum downtown. I didn't even know it was there! I went to the bank to make a deposit, and got lost and accidentally drove right by it! Ha! Anyway, Noah was completely overwhelmed with all the cool "hands on" stuff they had there. He loved to go shopping at the store and dress up and ride in the fire truck. In the lower level of the museum they have a really cool Orange Tree set up, where you can pick the oranges off the trees, then put them through the factory, put them through these cool tube thing a ma bobs and they somehow end up in your kitchen! It was pretty neat. Noah loved it and threw a hissy when we had to leave. Hopefully we'll go back soon! It's been pretty rainy the past couple days, so we've been inside. These pics were taken yesterday. I was plannig on taking the boys to the pool, but that doesn't happen when it's pouring outside!

We leave for Myrtle Beach a week from Friday!! WOOOHOO!!!!

Happy Father's Day!

At least HE knows what he's reading...

Daddy and Noah reading his favorite Thomas book, well, Noah reading it....

Finally learned how to say MOMMA!

Not the best video, but you get the idea.

I will try to get a better one up. My battery died...

Mommy and Jacob!

Just a quick update on our little guy! He has such a cute little personality. He really keeps a smile on all of our faces! He is walking ALL over the place, but will NOT keep any shoes on! We went to Chuck E Cheeses tonight and he kept wanting to crawl on stage with Chuck E. He has 10 teeth, 4 of those being his molars. He LOVES his big brother and is still a pretty big momma's boy. Lately he has been clapping and laughing when daddy comes home. It's too cute. He flies out of my arms into daddy's. He says, "Thank you", 'Da-ddy", "Nigh- Nigh" and "Nana". We love our little Jacob and can't wait for you all to meet him someday!!!

From Trash to Treasure

A while ago I was driving around the lake and it just happened to be the night before trash. Well, I unexpectedly came across an entire patio set. It is bamboo like and included the love seat, couch, chair, and table (which was broken but all the parts were there). Josh was in volleyball practice and I had the van and the boys all by myself. These items were out by the side of the road for the taking. I couldn't just LEAVE them there! So, I opened up the back and proceeded to load the van up with ALL of this furniture. It was quite comical. I wasn't that far from the house, which was good because the back door wouldn't shut all the way. I had to tie a beach towel from the handle to the latch on the van. I put on the hazards and away we went. Whew! We made it home! I put the boys in bed and started unloading the van and putting it on the patio to surprise Josh. They weren't horrible in the Before shots, but I like them MUCH better in the after shots.

BEFORE

The Love Seat

The Couch and Chair

AFTER

It's pretty neat what some paint and some cushions can do. Not sure, but I think the total of the paint, the cushions, and the pillows totaled about $80. Not bad for a WHOLE patio set!!!

Second story, our neighbors down the road were moving. They left town and had a HUGE pile of trash out by the road. There was a dining room table and chairs, a wardrobe, just junk.... Well, I moved some of the stuff and found this kids table and chairs. I couldn't just LEAVE them there!!! So, I carried them home. They've been sitting on our porch for quite some time, but finally I got some paint and worked on them today. They aren't perfect, but will be just fine for the boys to play play dough outside or paint or something.

BEFORE

AFTER

Yes, I picked up trash.....but it was FREE and I can use it! Keep throwing those things away people! We love it!

A New Chapter

Well, this post is all about me. Sorry. No pictures, no videos, just me typing about myself. That sounds pretty selfish! Anyway, the past 2 weeks I have been in the process of applying, interviewing, and getting offerred a job teaching piano at Lakeland Christian. I think it is time for me to get back into the teaching world. I have missed it. I love my boys so much but know that this will benefit us all. Noah is almost 3 and is very eager and ready to learn. He has probably double his vocabulary in the past 2 weeks and is doing so well with the potty. He's ready for preschool. Jacob is such a little ball of energy and loves others so much I just don't know what he would do if Noah weren't home to play with him! We are excited about this new "chapter" in our lives. I am so excited to be working at a Christian school again. The hours are wonderful and I get all holidays, and summers off! I am looking into preschool for Noah and care for Jacob. I would love to find a stay at home mom with little ones for Jacob. There are a couple people at church, so we'll see ;-) That would be a prayer request if you think about it!

We have been looking at houses for the past couple weeks as well. Sheesh! That is also a chore! Do we want new? Do we want a yard in this heat? Do we want a pool? Newer house in our price range = smaller house....... So many things to consider! Not to mention finding something close to the college, LCS, AND church! We think we've found something, but are not getting our hopes up!

Well, stay tuned. Our story is always to be continued!

Last Wedding in Raleigh

This was my last wedding in Raleigh. Well, for now at least. They were a great couple and super easy to photograph. Thankfully I have already had some people contact me about weddings here. Yeah! Praise the Lord!

HIs Name is Noah and he's TWO!

Of course, he is almost 3, so we should be working on that. His bible verse for last week was, "hear, the word of the Lord." He knew it by Sunday afternoon and has been saying it all week. He is quite the little parrot and still repeats EVERYTHING he hears.