A "BWOG" from Cherish

This morning , Cherish put on her grown up voice and said, "It's a very nice day, Mommy! Can you put that on the bwog?" So this post is for Cherish!

No matter what today holds, no matter what yesterday brought your way, or what tomorrow may have in store, it truly is a very nice day to be alive, have God in our lives, and to know that there is hope in our future. There have been many days that I quoted to myself and others that, "This, too, shall pass!"

Pentecostal Tabernacle is a witness today that you can make it through and come out victorious! Thank God for true revival, orchestrated by God!!!!

This truly is "a very nice day!" Thank you, Little Miss Cherish for reminding us all!!

Dancing to the Chipmunks???

I was baking on Christmas Eve and had our stereo blaring with Christmas Cd's. Cherish was playing and having a good time, I heard giggling and moved a little to peek around to the living room, I grabbed my camera and captured part of the moment! Be sure to keep your eye on Annie, the dog, just after she jumps on the chair!! Enjoy my 3 year old's adventures!! Sorry, I was holding the camera crooked!!

By the way, she loved the doll house!! She had a wonderful birthday and Christmas. Yesterday, I reminded her that it was Jesus' birthday, here came the tears again! "No, pweez, I wanna open pwesents, too!" A little hard to understand, I think!!

We had one of the most relaxing Christmas's ever! No running from house to house! Misti, Adam, Mom, and Candi all came at 9:00 am and stayed until almost 10:00 pm last night! We ate, opened gifts, ate, all found bedrooms and took naps, ate, played, etc. How much better than that?

Pictures of Cherish on her birthday!

We had a small party for Cherish tonight! It was just family here, and Cherish was definately the queen for a night!! She was very gracious and told us each, "Thank you very much!" with every item that she opened!! What a sweety!!

My Cherish is 3 years old today!!! Happy Birthday!

In May of 2005 we recieved the shock of our life!! There would be a new baby coming to the Hill family! Misti was one month from graduating from high school and I was 39 and Stephen 42! We were delighted, but in denial! I took 5 tests before I would believe!!

Here we are, 3 years later and I could not imagine life without her! She is a joy to us that I cannot even begin to explain! "Thank you, Jesus, for our little miracle, Cherish!"

Today we will PARTY! It is 10:30 in the morning and she is asking for chicken nuggets, so she will get them now! I never let her eat like that before noon, but today is her day!! Tonight, her Sissy and Adam, Mamaw and Aunt Candi are coming over and we are eating PIZZA, of which her Daddy strongly dislikes!! Cake of course, to go in the princess party! She is asking for a doll house and that alone, so her daddy and I bought her the doll house at Costco with the elevator! She'll get it tonight!

We took her to Build A Bear yesterday, we waited for this birthday to do her first one so she would understand! We have a very cute dog named "Princess Daisey!"

Here is a clip of her from Sunday in a kids program!! She's a mess!

Cherish, darling, your mommy loves you with all her heart!! Happy Birthday, doll!

Happy Birthday to my favorite sister!!

Today is your Birthday,

Happy Happy Birthday!

Today is your Birthday,

So have a Happy Day!

Yeah!!

Today is my only sister's birthday! Candace is such a caring and sweet lady! She is so quiet that we take her for granted! Today is our day to let her know how much we love her!

Candace, you are 39 today! I hope your day is filled with love and happiness! It seems strange not partying today for you, but since you chose tomorrow, we'll just party extra hard then!! I love you dearly and do so appreciate all of your help! Have a great fantastic day!!

Your "little" Sis!

P.S. For anyone who feels offended by the "Little" remark. I'm older than Candace by 3 years but she introduces me as her "little" sis just to see people's reactions!! You are crazy girl!!

The Candace part.....that is her name but she goes by Candi, I love her given name and like to see her reaction when I use it! I was always jealous of her beautiful name when I got stuck with plain old Susan!!! LOL!!!

Ladies Party 2008 A Huge Success!!!

It was a fabulous party!! Tons of food, lots of presents, and a great turn out! I had 37 ladies in my home! We had a table in the office, a table rounding the corner from the living room to the kitchen, the dining table extended to seat 10 and my bar seats 5. So there were still about 10 of us holding our plates, but we sure weren't complaining!!! The visitor ladies came and loved it! We laughed so hard! It was a wonderful time and I feel fulfilled this night!

Thank you to all of you who brought desserts! They were delicious!! Sis. Lois for the deviled eggs, Misti for the Hill Salsa, & Sis. Angela for one of the Pampered Chef wreaths!!

Misti, your help today was unbelievable. I could not have made it without you and Dad helping out! I know you are exhausted but I do appreciate all of your hard work! It was fun working together, but we were under the gun getting it all done, weren't we??

Stephen, what can I say, I have the best husband in the world! He was right there working himself like crazy! I know that you are exhausted, but the ladies of Pentecostal Tabernacle had a wonderful evening while you guys met at the pizza place with our kids! Cherish loved it!!

Oh, to Tracie Smith, the game from your hospitality blog that you pass the gift RIGHT and LEFT was a great hit! We had two circles and we had one gift in each circle that went around! Thanks so much for your site! I love it! Oh, yes, we loved the cranberry iced tea, I made a variation on it for a lemonade!! I used some of the cranberry and a little of the orange juice in the lemonade and added sliced lemons and oranges in the top! It was beautiful and delicious!! 3 gallons of each were all gone!!!

Hello to my blogger friends!

Where have I been? I have had company! My Dad and his wife have been with us for a week and we have partied the whole time!!! We just returned from the airport, I'm exhausted, and have 2 days until the Christmas party at my house!! So, rest tonight, make 3 centerpieces and clean house tomorrow, decorate, set up, cook and have the party on Thursday!! I can't wait!! (Stephen is taking Cherish out for pizza while we party!!)

Oh, I had a call today from a new lady at our church, we have had 20 visitors consistently in the last month! 5 families all connected to each other, never had the Holy Ghost and really hungry for God!! This lady that called is one of them, 4 of the ladies are coming to the party! I'm so excited! I already had confirmation from 5 of the other new ladies that have been coming! So, move over Pentecostal Tabernacle ladies, let's make room, overwhelm them with our love! Let's let God do His work!!

So, if you don't hear from me in a while, I have the church dinner on Sunday Night! Busy week!!

Who's birthday are we all preparing for??

I'm sorry but I found this so cute! The man who cleaned our carpet this week said to Cherish, "Oh, your birthday is almost on Jesus'!" She looked at him really odd and said, "It's the twenty-tird!" So after he left, I tried to explain that we celebrate His birthday on Christmas and that hers was only 2 days earlier, etc. That was all fine! The next day, when I was decorating the house and setting the tree up, I was telling her that it was all for Christmas and for Jesus' birthday, and so on. Well, that did it! She cried and cried. Broken-hearted for life! "No, dis is my tree, not Jesus'! Pweez mommy, it's for my birfday!" So, I believe that we must decide here, who's birthday we are preparing for around this house!!

While typing this, Cherish just walked in from a 2 hour nap, she said to me, "I waked up from a wong (long) nap!" I said, "You did?" She said, "Uhh-huh, for my Cwismas twee!" Hmmmm.....maybe she'll understand next year!

We are all very tired today, so we ran through Burger King (not my favorite) and grabbed lunch. Oh, yes, a paper crown for Cherish, too. That is her "pwincesss cwown" today! I was getting ready to lay down, she came into my room and said, "Mommy, wisten!!! Dis is bery 'porant stowy!" (mommy listen, this is a very important story!" I said, "Oh, OK, Daddy let's listen to this very important story!" She said, with her crown on, "You sing Pretty Princess Tweeeel for me so I can Tweeeel!" (Tweeeel = Twirl!) So we proceeded to sing the song I made up for her two "Tweeeeel!

Maybe we will all just have to "tweeeel" on Christmas in front of HER tree!!!!

Oh, I do love this season!!

I may be extremely busy, but I love it! I'm preparing for the ladies dinner at my home and the church dinner on the 21st, buying gifts, preparing my home for my father's visit this next week, gearing up for Cherish's birthday on the 23rd, and of all things, we had our carpets cleaned, so we emptied the house the day before yesterday! Uggghhh, bad thing to do right before Christmas! But it sure looks nice!
Misti and I took the opportunity while the carpet was wet, to run errands for Christmas! I finished Stephen's gifts and a couple more! It was so nice spending the time with Misti! We always have a great time and she spoils Cherish to death!
Adam spoke at a youth service last night about an hour from here and it was all guys going from here do to the busy season, so Misti stayed behind! We enjoyed her here with us! I was decorating for Christmas, Wow, that is such a job!! Anyway, that is finished and beautiful! She was going to help, but she got to enjoying her sister and that was it! She goes to work so early in the morning that she is so tired in the evening, so it was so nice just enjoying them enjoy one another! Cherish got in trouble from her daddy a couple of times and Misti could not stand it! I found it amusing!
Well, today..............there is a home missions church in San Mateo (outskirts of San Francisco) that the pastor is very ill and they have to be in their newly rented building by the 1st. 3 walls have to be torn out an the main sanctuary rebuilt! So, guess where my husband and 4 of our guys are? They left at 5 am and drove 3 hours, they are now demolishing walls, oh guys love that!! LOL I don't expect them before about midnight tonight. So my day? Laundry, finishing the last touches to the house before my dad's visit, preparing my lesson for the pre-teens tomorrow, and guess who is coming over as soon as possible? Hint: Adam went with Stephen to San Mateo! You guessed it! I'll have both of my girls all day today! How blessed am I? I've had Misti 3 days in a row! Ha, I haven't even spoken to my son-in-law in those 3 days! I'm not glad he's so busy, but it sure nice to be with Misti!
By the way, this is the first time in 3 years that Misti will be home for Christmas! The schedule finally allows her to be here this year! We are so thrilled!
So as you can see, we are enjoying every minute of this crazy time! Don't tell anyone, but we had the Chipmunks Christmas blaring through our house yesterday! Oh, Cherish loved that! We all had to sing and dance a little! LOL No, our house is never dull!

Vacation Slideshow!

I promised a slideshow of vacation pictures! We had a fabulous time in Oceanside, at Sea World, and at Disneyland! Enjoy!!

P.S. I don't know what Cherish had in her mouth on "It's A Small World" but it must have tasted good!!

Cherish learns her Alphabet

Cherish is still 2 years old but will be 3 on Dec. 23. ( I know, not a great birth date! She was 5 weeks early) She has been learning her numbers, 1-10, and usually gets them perfect, so now we are working on the alphabet. It is so cute, because several of the 3 in a row letters come out like a word like "teeyouvee!" She loves to sing the end of it! Well, yesterday, she kept saying them on her own all day. So I grabbed the camera and got this really cute clip!! I know it will be one that I'll keep forever! Oh, she asks for a doll house for her gift, that is what we got her!! First, she says spoons, then napkins! She's talking about her party not her gift!!

We did a very brave thing yesterday, the day after Thanksgiving! I have always said that I would NEVER go shopping on "Black Friday!" Well, I did, but in the afternoon! We went to a favorite restaurant first, Japanese Kitchen, then we hit Target, Costco, and Stein Mart! It really was fun, not too busy! Poor Cherish, we pushed her so hard that while in the basket at Target, she laid her head over on my hand and fell asleep. She is very nosey, so that NEVER happens! By the way, if anyone still needs gifts, Stein Mart is having their 75% off and then 25% off of that! We bought Stephen slacks and casual pants for $3 - $4. Jackets for myself for $4 - $5. Just thought you might like to know!!! Anyways, had a great day and came home and enjoyed leftover pie!!

Oh, on the pie note, Stephen's favorite is always the lemon meringue! I make it extra tart and he and Misti always fight over it. I don't bother, I like the pecan best! Well, guess what? I ask Cherish what kind she wants? You guessed it! "Wemon Pweez!" Ha Ha, Daddy and Sissy!!!

My Thanksgiving Day!!

I did not have to eat all 5 pies!!! My brother and his boys, of whom we have not seen in a year, came!! We were so thrilled! Mark, is the oldest at 14 years old next month, then Joshua, who is almost 12, and Jacob is 9. It was so cute because Cherish brought out her tent right away, all three boys looked at her like, "No Way!" It wasn't very long until all three boys and Cherish were all in the tent! I hardly knew Mark, he went from being an boy to a young man! It didn't take long to see that Mark was still in that body that towered over me! I really knew it was still my boys, when it was time to leave and they all asked if they could raid the pantry for candy! I am putting these pictures on for my relatives and friends that know and love the boys! Please keep them and their daddy in your prayers! They lived her near us and I taught the boys in Sunday School for almost 2 years, so I know they heard the truth! They are very close to this aunt's heart and I would love to see them saved!!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

I have baked all day, and then baked some more!! A little sad this year, Misti and Adam went to Adam's parents! I am thrilled they went but will miss them! I love the holidays! We may or may not have my brother and his boys here, so it very well may just be my dear husband, Cherish, my mom & sister here with me! I made 5 pies, cookies, and brownies today, along with tons of "real" food! If they do not come, 4 adults have 5 pies! Ha! I'll be HUGE by Sunday!

I have so much to be thankful for!!! God has truly been good to my family! I hope that each of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

May it be filled with lots of love, laughter, and lots of yummy food!

I told you we were going to Disneyland!!

I am working on a slide show of our vacation!!! Several are asking for pictures, so I am putting these on until I get the slide show! We got home Saturday night and had church both services yesterday, it is now Monday morning, I have not unpacked, so we dug through the luggage to get things that we needed yesterday! So we have vacation hangover and a mess!!

On Vacation!!!

If anyone is wondering why I haven't posted this week, well, I am on vacation! It is the first time in years that we have actually gotten away and not planned to see family, go to a conference or meeting, or spend time with friends!! It is just my sweet husband, my little Cherish, and me!!!

Several months ago, my dad gave us a week of his time share!! We were going to lose it, so we scheduled about 4 months ago to come to Oceanside, which in near San Diego! The closer it got, we almost cancelled. Just last week, we decided to go ahead and come since it was paid for and waiting for us!

I am so glad we did!! Our 2 room condo is gorgeous! It was just built in January and is owned by Wyndham Resorts! It is complete with full kitchen, 2 baths, Jacuzzi tub, granite and marble!! We think we are something!!

Cherish will be 3 next month and she is able to get into amusement parks for free until her birthday. So we went to Sea World yesterday! What a blast! Although, my legs are REALY SORE!!

This time share talked us into going on an hour tour today trying to sell us their program, which we did not accept, but for coming, they gave us $175 in Amex cards!! So, on Friday, we are going to take Cherish to Disneyland with those cards!! YES!!!! It is the first day of their Christmas season and it will be all decorated for the Holidays! She has not ever been and she will get to see It's A Small World all lit up! Just pray we make it, this old gray mare just ain't what she used to be! LOL

I've been taking lots of pictures and I will post them next week!! Thanks Dad and Cindy for giving us this week for just my little family to have such a wonderful time! (If anyone wonders, Misti is VERY jealous! But happy for us!)

To any and all of our friends down south, I know you will be sad that we didn't call and get together, but for once, we are just keeping it just family! I have to say that it has been wonderful and Cherish is having the time of her life! We all are, actually!!

Is it all in the right place???

I cannot get away from this thought!! It is 2am here on Saturday morning! I am NEVER awake at this time! We had a busy day, preparing our fellowship hall for the 80th birthday party of our dear friend, Sis. Bonnie Keyes! She is Bro. Rick Keyes' and Bro. Randy Keyes' mother. The Keyes family is putting together a fabulous celebration of which we are so honored to host at our church since Kerman is the town that she raised her two sons in and in our church. In fact there are pictures of the building that the celebration is to be in, which is now our fellowship hall, being built and the Keyes boys are in the pictures as small children!

The celebration is not why I am awake! I helped her granddaughter, Sis. Kim Johnson, with some of the decorating, etc. until 11:00pm. Cherish was exhausted and starving so my husband and I came home, ate a quick burger, and got to bed at 12pm. A call came that Stephen had to go to the hospital!

So this is where we find me now!! Stephen has gone, Cherish is long ago gone to slumber land, and I find myself in a very quiet house! I am spoiled rotten, I want my husband home! I guess that is pretty natural, isn't it!! To the thought that I cannot get away from, it is the thought I that I posted a couple of days ago about standing against the flow!

You know, Sis. Bonnie Keyes, along with her wonderful husband who has gone to be with the Lord, Bro. Isaac Keyes, raised two mighty men of God! We all know that Bro. Randy Keyes is highly respected among our fellowship around the world. We love his family dearly and highly honor them! Anyone who knows us, knows that Bro. Rick and Sis. Pat Keyes, are some of the dearest people to our hearts! God truly knew what he was doing when he put Bro. Rick Keyes and Stephen Hill together and molded their hearts! I have heard the deepest and most tender conversations between those two men. Even though, Papa Keyes, as my Cherish calls him, is old enough to be Stephen's father, those two men are amazing when they share spiritual insights!

Why am I mentioning those two? Because I am trying to see what was different in that home, in this church at that time, in this city..................that not only raised one young manto do a great work for God, but two? I've heard the stories of those boys riding their bike each day after school to the church to pray for hours, but you know, I have put a lot of stories together to see a lifestyle! I heard about them filling their car with people to drive with no air conditioning to church! Dedicated? One of the stories is the fact that EVERY time the Keyes household had fellowship with another dear family of that time, the Johns family, they would not ever leave each other's home without first getting in a circle and having a time of prayer and devotion. How many of us can say that we do that on a regular basis? We keep our prayer time personal, or of course as pastors we pray with our people when in need, but just if we go to our friends for dinner? Hmmmm.....!

One of our teenage girls left a comment on my post about standing against the flow, that this has been on her mind so strong for a few weeks. Yes, Katrina, mine, too! I worry about our girls! I know that there is such a pull from the world to look and act a certain way, but in the end, is it worth it? I have always had a strong bond with young girls, wanting to somehow make their way easier for them. The only way that I can do that is to lead them to God and let Him make the way easier!

I think that the bottom line is, getting back to the basics! Have we brought too much into our lives? We are so busy with programs, getting our music just right, higher education, wardrobes to perfection, the perfect of all possessions, and the list goes on (you see that this is in our churches and in our personal lives!) All of these things are good, they are right in each of their own categories! But when they are our single focus, do we need to re-adjust something? We need to strive to better ourselves, but in doing so, are we leaving out what really matters?

About 12 or 13 years ago, (I'll make this story short) we were evangelizing and our travel trailer, which was our only home at that time, held ALL of our earthly possessions. It vandalized and we literally lost everything we owned. Until that point, I had carefully taken each thing down when we moved our trailer and painstakingly put each china tea cup back in it's precise place after our tedious travel. After we lost it all and God so graciously saw fit to trust us with new things, I no longer cringed every time we went over a horrendous pothole in the freeway in Louisiana!! I figured that it could all be replaced again! That what really mattered at that time was the safety of my husband and little Misti! (she's all we had then!)

Maybe that is where I am finding myself again, looking to the only thing that really matters! My relationship with God first, am I EVERYTHING that I can possibly be for Him? What do I need more of and what do I need to cut out? He is the most important! Second, my relationship with my family, am I fulfilling all of my responsibilities there? What more can I do for my husband, my little Cherish, my Misti & Adam? Then of course, my church family!

What I have just said in this book is, "Have I searched my heart and life? Is everything in it's right perspective?"

If so, I don't think I will find it as hard as it has been in the past to travel against that strong tide!! (Hmmm....travel, wouldn't that be moving in a very certain direction?)

OK, it is now 2:53am and my eyes are barely open!! Goodnight all!!

Where are my towels???

Last night I was folding laundry and I realized that my two stacks of hand towels were missing! Hmmm, how could that happen? You guessed it! I looked into the living room, where Cherish was playing in her pajamas, and there they were! Alex, our male miniature schnauzer, was trying to sleep on the chair, he was covered up with a towel, and had another under his face with a bowl and spoon from her kitchen! I don't know where they were or what they were eating but it was all set up! Then I looked at Annie, our female, and I said, "Why is there a towel on her back?" Cherish replied, "She's cold, mommy!" It was just really cute! I thought I would share!

Poor Alex, he's 9 years old and set in his ways! He was just putting up with her!

Standing Against the Flow

Recently, I have been troubled with the lack of dedication that I see on a whole through out the "church!" I look to the large churches and to the small and it is obvious that it is the times that we live in! Life is out of control. The majority of young people under 30 years old vote for "Change!" Well, they sure all seem to be headed the same direction! Straight down stream, no goal in sight except personal gratification! Marriage isn't sacred, no loyalty to family or friends, to loyalty to employment and obviously not even to their own children as we see abortion rates to an all time high. So they say they want "Change," why aren't they standing against the flow? Wouldn't that be change? They are all headed in the same direction! I feel so disheartened about the world that my little Cherish will be growing up in. I know that God is in control and He will take care of her!!

Then I look at Misti, who at the age of 14 was watching the "flow," wondering if that was the way to go since everyone seemed to be headed that way. I could see the "older" group pulling at her and it seemed to be their goal to get her to follow!! Her dad and I went to devoted prayer and fasting and I can still remember the service that she made up her mind that she would stand AGAINST the flow.

Here we are, 7 years later, she is a beautiful Godly woman, dedicated to her God, her church, and her family!! Looking at the "group" that was pulling so hard on her to follow them, not one of them is living for God! Their lives are a mess!

Misti, I am so proud of you for making up your mind, remaining a pure young lady at that time and you are absolutely gorgeous! Mom and Dad cannot be more proud of you!

Cherish, The world is not a nice place, Mommy and Daddy know that God sent you to us at this time for His purpose, which means that He will take care of you! Our prayers will be with you just like they have been with your "sissy!" Baby, stand strong, don't ever go with the flow, be yourself and let God guide you!!

To all of our other "children" in the Lord, "Stand strong, the flow is not getting you anywhere except where everyone else is going! I know that the fight against the flow is hard. I have stood in the current with the heavy flow of water and it is all you can do to stand and when you try to go in the opposite direction it is all you can do to take one careful step at a time! Each step is well planned and calculated. You would never take a haphazard step. But if the goal is worth it, nothing will stop you, no matter how hard the journey!

Stand against the flow!!"

Trunk or Treat

Of course this isn't Trunk or Treat, but you know I have to add the newest of Cherish!!
We had an awesome outreach this past Friday night, October 31. We haven't ever had anything for that "day" but this year decided to use it as an outreach! We decorated our trunks as biblical or positive themes and we dressed up as biblical characters. Our church is located at the front of a sub-division so we had a lot of children and actually ran out of candy and we had prepared well, we thought!! We got a few cute pictures!!! Oh, yes, we had 6 commitments to visit church and my husband and I picked up to children on Sunday morning that were direct results of that outreach!!! KeJuan and KeJanea were darlings!!!

Missions Conference & Board Meetings

We have been a busy lot this last week! Stephen is the promotions director for the Home Missions Department of the Western District UPC, so he represented the Home Missions Dept. at Bro. Randy Keyes missions conference last Friday and Saturday!! That was a wonderful experience!!! We took Adam and Misti with us we were all thrilled at the awesome experience!! On Saturday, we went to a luncheon at Bro. Keyes' house and they shuttled all of the children to John's Incredible Pizza. Believe it or not this mommy let Cherish go! There are pictures of her in the van!! She had a blast, of course!! She made a friend from that church earlier in the year at District Conference! Her name is Olivia Morris! She is Bro. Don Morris' daughter, he is Bro. Keyes' personal assistant. She is in several of the pictures with Cherish! Olivia is 2 months older than Cherish! Darling little girl!!

We got home on Sunday morning at 1 am and had church on Sunday both am and pm. Then had to leave at 11am on Monday for District Board Meetings in Bakersfield. I am on the Ladies Ministries Board and Stephen on the Home Missions. The ladies board was a wonderful time! We all worked so great together and feel good about our progress. Late on Tuesday night, several ladies, myself, Amber Gilliam, Ronda Hurst and Darla Young all made a Walmart run! I laughed so hard I was sore the next day! I have a picture of that "Late night crew!" Thank you Bro. Richardson for taking the picture!

So, for the last 7 days we have been CRAZY busy!!! We are exhausted but in some crazy way, refreshed!! Stephen says that it is because we have been overly busy with something bigger than our own world! Whatever the reason, Thank God!!

That's Crazy

Okay, our children embarrass us all sometimes!! Last night was bible study at church, Stephen did a great job teaching about "Terrorists in the Tabernacle!" Which was about watching out for the well meaning people who cause discord against the church, people in the church, or the pastor. That spirit of , "I just want to tell you how I feel!" It was fantastic because we all know that those types of spirit can get a hold on a church and wreak havoc. Well, right in the big middle of the message, at a very quiet second, I'm on the second row from the front and Cherish is just watching her daddy and she hollers loud enough for everyone to hear, "I gotta go potty!" Long and drawn out like she's singing it!!! I could have died!!! The whole church was laughing, I was shocked and couldn't move!!! Her daddy said in the microphone, "That's OK honey, so do a lot of other people!" I took her out with tears running down my face, I was laughing so hard! When I got out to the foyer, I said, "Cherish, you have to whisper that!" She laughed and said, "That's crazy!"

Cherish at Japanese Kitchen

The Sunday school class that I teach is next to Cherish's class. So I snuck over there and got a picture last Sunday and took a picture of her! Thought I'd share it!

Then on Tuesday, we had to run errands in Fresno, which is about 15 minutes from us, and we went to our favorite restaurant, Japanese Kitchen. Cherish was using chopsticks with the child ends on them, and I thought it was so cute, she ate her entire meal with them!! She was showing off for the camera, she doesn't usually eat with her lips so gross and poked out, but this really turned out cute!! She eats onions like most children eat french fries!!!

(It is a video clip so be sure to click the arrow!"

Ohio Slideshow!!!

Finally, here it is. My sister, Candace made such a cute slideshow that she inspired me to work hard on this one. If you find flaws, don't tell me! LOL!!!

We are home!!

Well, we are home!!! I have to say that we had a wonderful time!! Relaxed, Relaxed, and Relaxed!!! I'm working on the pictures and will get them on in the next day or so!!!

Thank You, Candi!!

A great big "Thank You" to my sister Candi for making this trip to Ohio possible!!! You are always thinking of others and we do love you "LOTS!"

Heidi is HOME

Thank You, Jesus!!! Heidi went home yesterday!!! To God be the Glory! May God give Loretta and John peace and rest while caring for their beautiful perfect newborn baby!! Congratulations!!!

Heidi is doing good today!!

We just spoke with Heidi's mother. They have taken her off of the antibiotics, are starting to ween her from the seizure med's and she is doing well. She is awake and responding today! They were getting a crib ready to take her out of ICU and to downgrade her!! This is really exciting and we are giving God all of the glory!!! Her mommy said that she herself is running on adrenaline alone! Keep her in your prayers for strength and rest!!!

From 95 to 60

We got here to Dayton, Ohio last night!! It was 95 degrees on Monday at home and the high today here is supposed to be 60 degrees. I am freezing!! I know that 60 isn't cold but that quick of a jump is COLD to me!!! They are laughing at me drinking my hot tea!! On top of all of that, the "Ohio Sleepies" have set in!! That is why I love to come here!! Dad's place is beautiful and the view front and back of the gorgeous trees in various shades of fall colors and the drying corn fields is a sight to behold!!! I have only been up 3 hours after the late night arrival! Now I'm ready for a nap! We are setting the pace, I do believe!! Cherish is in little girl paradise!! Spoiled rotten and totally out of control on her new Princess Sleeping Bag Mattress!!! (Papaw got it for her!) After I wake up, in a day or two, I'll update!! LOL

Update on Heidi AND I'M OFF ON VACATION!!!!

OK, Heidi first, because she is definitely the most important!! She is taking her bottle well!! That is great!! Out came her feeding tube!!! They are starting to ween her from her seizure medications slowly so please pray that she holds her own there! If all goes as it is now, the Dr's are saying that she may be released in 7-10 days!! Mommy is a little nervous about the full care, but by God's grace, Heidi will come home as healthy as any other little darling baby!!

Now, vacation!! We are flying out tomorrow to visit my Dad in Ohio!!! My sister, Candi, paid for Cherish and I to go with her to spend time with our Dad, then Stephen crashed our party and bought himself a ticket (don't tell him, but I'm really glad, I hate being away from him!) I'll update with pictures of our time when I can!!! This is a time we always look forward to. He lives on several acres in the country and we just totally relax there. No pressure!! The last time we were there, there were peacocks just roaming the property!! Hmmmm.....sounds so good!! Our trip tomorrow is.............3 hour drive to San Francisco, 3 hour flight to St. Louis, 2 hour layover, 2 hour flight to Dayton, Ohio. Hopefully, Cherish will be on her best behavior!!!

Text about Heidi on Saturday!

We had a pre-schedule Sunday School Seminar with the McCools today, which by the way was fantastic!! While there, I text messaged Sis. Loretta this,

"Hey, it's Sis. Hill, I'm sitting in a Sunday School Seminar. How is Heidi! Anything new?"

The immediate reply was this,

Loretta Willman says, "Heidi is doing well!! She got her head dresses off today, and I fed her which means I held her!"

My reply was this,

"Yeh, Thank God!"

Heidi's Mom's Update

Heidi's mother posted the following to her blog tonight!!

Heidi Update
Heidi is coming along well. The doctor has her on Phenobarboltol to help keep her seizures away and she hasn't had a seizure all day. We talked with the nuerologist, her doctor, and the genetics specialist today and all of them had a postive outlook on her recovery without being too optimistic. I guess you could say that we are not out of the woods yet, but the bears are all in their cages.She has no sign of infections, no heart conditions, no bleeding on the brain (she did at birth sometime), and is otherwise functioning well. The area affected with oxygen deprivation is a very small area and the doctor said that it probably didn't last over a minute. That's good news. She still has little electrodes all over her head because they are going to watch her EEG overnight again. I may actually begin feeding her tomorrow. That means I'll be able to hold her too. Overall, God is good and merciful. Little Heidi is a special gift and we are so glad to be able to know her. She is recovering well and by God's grace will have a bright future.Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers!

Update!!!

I've added a couple of pictures of Heidi from today!! I got to see her!! What a doll!! She sure looks like a Willman!!! No denying that she looks like her gorgeous sister at this point! Who knows though, they sure change! Anyways, everyone know how I love babies, so I'll go on now!! Heidi has not in any way declined!! The blood has not increased and the seizures are under control at this point! The Neurologist at this point feels that the next few days will level out and that the poblems all were a direct result of trauma during birth! To God be the glory!! We must continue to pray that there are no more seizures, that they cause no long term damage, and that Heidi gets better with every moment!!! I was overwhelmed with God's keeping hand today, as I saw all of the tiny premature babies all around her and she looked so big and healthy!! I know that He has the power and will find in His will to just continue His safe keeping!!!

Prayer For Heidi

Heidi & her mommy, Loretta
Little Doll, Heidi

Her Pastor with her!!
Heidi just after birth!

A beautiful baby girl was born to our church on Wednesday night. Heidi Leanne Willman is the daughter of John & Loretta Willman. She is having complications and was taken from the hospital of birth to Valley Children's Hospital and is in Neonatal ICU. Heidi has been having seizures and the doctors are trying to discover the cause. There are 2 areas with blood on her brain and signs of lack of oxygen. Her parents are very strong and trusting in God, in fact as her mother lay in the hospital bed at a separate hospital yesterday, she said to me, "She is in God's hands now!" But it was obvious that her heart ached for the little one. Please keep Heidi and her parents in your prayers! She has two young siblings and the next couple of weeks are going to be extremely taxing on them all. I will update on little Heidi as I receive information!

A Day At The Zoo

Last Saturday, we decided to go to the zoo! It was to be a nice day of 82 degrees! That's great since today is 96! We called "the kids", our daughter and son-in-law, Misti and Adam, off we went!! It was a gorgeous day and we had a blast!!! Cherish loved all of her "fwiends!" (We shared a Corn Dog!!!)

Seeing the "Ewephants"

Petting the goats! She was amazed at the tail!

S.I.S. Conference

I just got back yesterday from S.I.S Conference! SIS stands for Safety in Sisterhood. It is a conference just for ministers wives and was in Tulare, California this year. My friends and I rarely miss one and we look forward all year to it. It is designed to be a retreat and to speak to our hearts specifically. Sis. Laquita Mullings heads this up with a large committee helping her out! I have always enjoyed it, but I have to say that this year will be a highlight for me! Sis. Cindy Miller from New Jersey was the speaker and she spoke to us about finding out who we are individually and being that person. We are too stress driven and we need to do the best at what we were designed to be! Boy, did I need to hear that! I try to be all things to all people and only God can do that!

Ok, to the fun stuff!

The theme this year was,
The rich things in life....Friendship and Chocolate!

Yes, chocolate!!! Yummmm, they had chocolate EVERYWHERE! On the benches when we came in each session, in our packets, on the tables, and the best of all, both nights there were chocolate fondue fountains!!!! Dark Chocolate, Light Chocolate, and White Chocolate (my favorite) and there were plates overflowing with fruit, graham crackers, marshmallows to dip in the chocolate! Oh, yes and there was food, too! Scrumptious!!!

Then, on Tuesday night, they had brought in 2 massage chairs & massage therapists!!! Yes!!!! The girl who did my massage was fabulous!!! Then there was paraffin wax for pedicures and manicures. It was too wonderful!! We were pampered and then pampered some more!! And what a time of friendship, laughter, and CHOCOLATE!!!

I went with my friends, Lori Domingues and Lorraine Bertram, again! We had a great time and no I did not take Cherish! I got to sit through entire sessions with out going out, I got to eat entire meals without interruption!!!

But I did miss her terribly!!

I'll add a slide show below of the fun!! But first, to Sis. Pat Keyes, "Thank you for helping me go!" You and "Papa" mean the world to us and you and I are going to go one day and we'll have real massages and pedicures done! You will love it!!

The Piano

My mother-in-law did the sweetest thing recently!! We had no idea, but she had bought Cherish a black baby grand child's piano!!! She called the day that it was to arrive and told us that she had shipped something (she lives in Houston)! She told us that we would have to put it together (I had no idea what it was at that time) and that she had gotten insurance on the shipping. OK, sounds good! The delivery man rang the doorbell, I answered and the box was almost too heavy for me!!! I got Cherish, set up my camera to video clips, position it and Cherish to capture the moment. We made a huge production out of the whole thing! She had even printed a 5X7 picture of Cherish and taped it to the box. It was a lot of work!! Well, I started cutting the tape, removing Styrofoam, and pulling out a tray of legs, the top of the piano which way about 2 feet by 3 feet. This was a big thing. Then I got to the main part of of the piano. It was broken into pieces! The keys were everywhere, the wood broken, etc. Cherish was devastated! I quickly turned off the camera! She kept crying and saying, "Mommy, fis (fix) it! Can Daddy fis it?"

Of course, there was no way to "fis" it! Cherish cried for days about that silly piano. Of course, when we tried to find a new one, the manufacturer stopped producing this one, they only make it in white!! We finally found a Schoenhut one that is darling. When Cherish and I walked in the house at 1 o'clock in the morning from our LA trip, there in our entry way covered with a blanket was the new one all put together waiting on our little concert pianist. Here is the new one and Cherish after riding for 5 hours from LA!! Be sure to see the video clip of her playing!!

Play Cherish, Play!

Thanks Mom, for making a little girl happy! Oh, the new one is getting scratched up! She is at it 3/4 of the day!!

L.A. Pictures!!!!!

To Lorraine and Lori, it is amazing how we all look so different, have different tastes, and can be apart for extended times, but we all have the same heart and that heart spans the tastes and time! You guys will be dear forever! I think often of the quotes about true friends and I know that we three will always be just that! Before my dear friend Denise Smith passed away, she gave me a framed picture with a little quote that said,

"Friends are there when good times aren't!"

I think that all of us feel that way about one another!! We "are there!"

Here they are!!! I have finally sat down long enough to get the pictures downloaded!!! What a wonderful trip! I even bought some things!!! I rarely buy for myself! I buy for Cherish and Misti, not this time!!! I wore new things BOTH services yesterday!! Oh, speaking of Misti, she keeps bringing up the fact that I didn't get her ANYTHING!! LOL I started to a couple of times and then I would put the things back and think, "No, let Adam do it!!" What a great feeling!! Oh, by the way, when I got home, my house was spotless!! You can tell that my sweet hubby missed us, he had vacuumed, dusted, did the dishes, cleaned mirrors, etc.. Thanks, babe!!


Back to the trip, it was a lifetime memory in making! Next time, Cherish is staying home!! That will free me up even more!

Dear Ma & Pa

Dear Ma and Pa,I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Marine Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before all of the places are filled. I was restless at first because you got to stay in bed till nearly 6 a.m. but I am getting so I like to sleep late. Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot, and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing. Men got to shave but it is not so bad, there's warm water. Breakfast is strong o n trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food, but tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by the two city boys that live on coffee. Their food, plus yours, holds you until noon when you get fed again. It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much. We go on 'route marches,' which the platoon sergeant says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it's not my place to tell him different. A 'route march' is about as far as to our mailbox at home. Then, the city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks. The country is nice, but awful flat. The sergeant is like a school teacher. He nags a lot. The captain is like the school board. Majors and colonels just ride around and frown. They don't bother you none. This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals for shooting. I don't know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk head and don't move, and it ain't shooting at you like the Higgett boys at home. All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don't even load your own cartridges. They come in boxes.Then, we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, they break real easy. It ain't like fighting with that ole bull at home. I'm about the best they got in this, except for that Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake. I only beat him once. He joined up the same time as me, but I'm only 5'6' and 130 pounds and he's 6'8' and near 300 pounds dry. Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get onto this setup and come stampeding in.Your loving daughter,Alice

Another Spontaneous Trip!!

I think the only way that pastor's wives will ever get away is to be spontaneous! Planning never works! On Tuesday morning, Lorraine Bertram called to see if Lori Domingues and I could leave asap and meet in Los Angeles for a 4 day getaway! We did it!! Within 12 hours we had all washed our hair, packed our bags (Cherish's, too by the way!!) and driven to LA and were checked in to a hotel at Disneyland. At this point we do not have plans to go to Disney, however, we have NO PLANS AT ALL!!! Today, we got up late after going to sleep at 3 am, we slowly got dressed, at lunch, and went to the garment district !!! Yes!!! I bought 3 things for myself!! That is a NEVER!! We came back over by Disneyland and ate at the Cheesecake Factory! We even ordered dessert which is another NEVER!!
Oh, about dessert, when they sat it down, Cherish started saying, "Happy
Cake!" "Sing Happy Birday!" So, we very quietly sang it!! Well, the waiter was great, he came by and said, who's birthday! We explained that it wasn't anybody's, that we were just entertaining her. Well, in about 5 minutes, here come the waitstaff, with a hot fudge sundae in a tiny little sundae glass, with a candle lit on top, they all sang happy birthday and Cherish was beaming, she kept blowing out the candle while they were singing and they kept relighting. It was so cute!!!
OK, back to our trip! Here we are, Cherish is asleep, Lorraine and I are blogging, and Lori (who doesn't have a laptop) is reading a magazine and talking to us as we type!! LOL!! What a wonderful time! We have no plans from this moment on! All I know is that I will be home sometime Friday!!! I'm taking pictures and will add them sometime!!

Labor Day on the lake!

Our day was spontaneous!!! First, Stephen and Adam (our son-in-law) helped someone move furniture. Then we decided to go to Oakhurst, which is the mountains to eat Bar-B-Q! On the way there, Lori Domingues called and said that they were doing a crazy spur of the moment thing! We always do that with them!! They were going to the lake (at Oakhurst) to rent a boat!! Now, it is 3:30 in the afternoon! So.......we met them, rented a larger boat! It was Cherish's first boat ride! We had a wonderful time! We played games, fed the ducks and just enjoyed ourselves!!!