Changing of the gaurd...

No matter what I do time keeps marching on even when I want or need it to slow down for me. The shift from Thanksgiving to Christmas has been made and the all out dash to Christmas begins. Each year I always say that I am going to have my shopping done before Thanksgiving and my house all in order and down to the scent you smell when you walk in the door. I have this idea of no kids fighting, no parents yelling, or having any other things to worry about so that we can just sit back and enjoy the magic of Christmas. Obviously this is not realistic. Especially with three little ones under the age of 5. Ornaments get broken, rooms get messy, tantrums get thrown, and feelings get hurt. But inbetween these moments are the ones that matter most.
The other night the girls helped me put up and decorate the tree, hang the stockings and put up other decorations. Christmas music was playing, we were having fun, and watching the awe in my baby's eyes at the lights was the best. I found it extrememly appropriate that the tree ended up right next to this picture of Christ that was already hanging on the wall there. It is a great reminder for us of what Christmas is all about.


Once the tree was up and we tried to get a decent picture of the girls with it, the frustration tried to eek it's way back into the room (you know why if you have seen past posts about trying to get a picture with all three of my girls) but luckily it was evaded.


If you look closely you will see that all the ornaments are at least a foot and a half off the ground so that they don't end up in the grasp of chubby fingers.


McKenna was really worried that we wouldn't be able to tell who's stocking was whos so she had to write everyones name on some paper and tape it to their stocking. She is so funny and such a worrier. She gets that from her dad :)

Now I just have to get everything done in the next couple of weeks that should have been done a month ago. So here's to next year and enjoying this year for what it is. Merry Christmas everyone!

It snowed....

It is always a sad day when you realize that it is time to retire the flip flops and BBQ. I think that it becomes official when it finally snows for the first time each year. Since we moved to Washington, I really wasn't expecting snow and was quite happy about that fact. But needless to say I did not escape it even after moving 500 miles. Even though I complain about it, it is hard not to acknowledge the fact that it is beautiful. It changes the way you look at things in an instant. And I like that. I like the new perception when looking at everything covered in pretty, white, fluffy snow. It just looks clean and pure. The way things should appear I think.

Not to mention that the girls LOVED it!!! They went outside to make a snowman and did it all on their own.

And here is the finished product that they were very proud of.

It's true, snow brings something magical. But I am glad now that it is gone :)

Rain...

I love rain. And since I have recently relocated in the Seattle area I suppose that is a good thing. I don't know why I love it so much. I love the sounds, the smell, the feel of it on my face when I walk outside, and for some reason I love the nostalgic feeling that it brings along with it. I love how it washes the world around me creating a fresh and clean feeling. I have missed it tremendously after living in the desert for the last 6 years. The desert has it's own beauty, but I am definitely one that was built to enjoy the rain. My mother-in-law gave me the perfect wall hanging for my birthday this year and on it, it reads "Those who think only sunshine brings happiness, have never danced in the rain." It is the perfect quote for how I feel about the rain. It makes me happy. And I love things that make me happy. I love the rain. And it's been raining quite a bit.

Please help....

A couple of weeks ago, my cousin Holly and her husband Shane went for a run in a Ragnar race in Washington DC and her husband passed away due to heart complications. Shane was 28 years old and a very neat person. I was only around him a few times, but he was always so kind to me and everyone that he was around. He served in the Military and was attending law school. Now Holly, 26, is now faced with the challenge of raising their 18 month old boy, Preston. So I want to do all I can to help. Many of you know I sell Scentsy so for the next 2 weeks 100% of the profit from ALL orders made will go directly to Holly. So if you are in need of anything Scentsy or just want to help please send all your orders to stephaniehillman@gmail.com To see the online catalog go here. All of your help is greatly appreciated!

Over the river and through the woods....

So for those of who don't know, we aer moving to Washington in a couple of weeks! It has all happened so fast and has been pretty crazy that I have pretty much been a little MIA from blogging and everything else on the itnernet. (Not that that's always a bad thing). Anywho...I will probably continue to be somewhat MIA as it is now crunch time in getting ready to head these wagons west. Travis and I are really excited about this.

The reason for this move is, we quit our company a few months ago and Travis got a job working for a GREAT company called Performance Systems Inc. They are a very large construction company so Travis still gets to do what he loves just on a much larger scale. This was and continues to be a tremendous blessing for our family. It's amazing how it all just fell into place at the right time. It's funny how Heavenly Father knows exactly what we need and when we need it. So a couple weeks ago, Travis got a promotion which entailed moving to Washington. So here we go! I am so proud of Travis for his hard work and his willingness to go wherever he needs to go. Especially being that he is a home grown Idaho boy. We have so many dear friends and family here that we will miss, but are excited to get to live by some other dear friends a family. Life never ceases to amaze me. :)

Happy Birthday Madison!!!

Today is Madison's 3rd birthday! It is hard to believe all that time has gone by since the drama of her coming to earth. It definitely took a little more for her to get here, but were are sure glad she made it!
I am really glad I am not still packing around that minitor of hers that was bigger than she was!












And now she is just growing up to be so beautiful and fun! She is for a sure a little firecracker and keeps us on our toes. She loves Dora and likes to yell at me in Spanish. It is hilarious and I can never get mad when she does. She loves animals and is having a farm animal party. Oh the difference between her and McKenna- Hannah Montana - Farm Animals....hmmmm. Happy Birthday Madison! We love you.

Labor Day!

For Labor Day weekend we finally got to go camping. We had been wanting to all summer and it just never seemed to work out that we were able to. But Labor Day gave us the perfect opportunity. Even Travis' brother Shane got to come up and go with us. So we packed everything up and off we went. The kids all got to go fishing and they all caught a fish. The poor little guy. I am pretty sure it was the same tiny fish coming back each time. But man were those kids happy about it!
We went and picked huckleberrys and the next morning had huckleberry pancakes. Madison was having more fun sliding down the dirt hill getting as dirty as possible than picking berrys. We also rode the four wheelers all over. Madison would stay on them for hours if we would let her. She is our little daredevil that is for sure.

I have to say that I love all the dirty camping faces. I think it is hilarious that no matter how hard you try you just can't keep their faces clean. Megan however had a pretty clean face in this picture, but it is still super cute!


Megan had lots of fun time with Grandma Hillman. She was so great to hold her for me a lot of the time so that I could have fun doing whatever we were doing or just relax. Thanks Sheila!!!!
I also learned about another Hillman tradition and that is playing hockey with sticks and either a pop can or tin foil. That was for sure a highlight for all involved.


And I just really liked this picture. I love how McKenna smiles when she isn't trying to smile for a camera.

It was a super fun weekend and I am so glad we got to go. It was a great way to round out the summer. However, the worst part about it is the fact that this is the fun I got when we got back. Oh camping laundry......you are the worst!

Lulu & Chacha!

My friend Cara makes these amazingly cute accessories for girls and you can go to my photography blog here to enter a giveaway to win some for yourself!

pretty place with pretty girls...

This last weekend Travis had a training in Portland for work that he had to go to. So we all decided to pack up and go with him and spend the weekend there on a little mini vacation. So on Friday during Travis' training I took the girls to go see the temple. The prophet has said to take your children to the temple while they are young so that they grow to love it as they get older. He said to even have them touch it. And that's exactly what the girls did. It was fun to watch them and to see them touch the temple with a reverence that usually isn't there (in a two year old especially!). They loved how it sparkled. McKenna said, " I never knew how beautiful the temple was until now mom! I can't wait to grow up to go inside". That was pretty neat for me to hear.

Then we took advantage of the BEAUTIFUL grounds there at the Portland Temple to take some pictures. I still can't believe that I was blessed with such beautiful daughters. I look at them and am so grateful that Heavenly Father let me be their mom! Man I am LUCKY!!!

For the last 8 months since Megan was born, I have been trying to get a decent picture of all three of my girls together and every time it seems it is a DISASTER! Just take a look and see exactly what I mean. And these are just a few samples :)

These are the two best pictures of the three of them together and they still aren't my favorite but will have to do for now.

And I just love Madison's "I am so done smiling and taking pictures with you mom!" face. It makes me laugh really hard. Oh man does that girl have a personality and isn't afraid to show it. At least I got a few keepers out of her. Thanks for the temple adventure girls...it made a few great memories for your mom. Love you...

My how time flies....

I can't believe that my McKenna is old enough to go to school. Today was her first day of Kindergarten! She was so excited and just a bit nervous. Her prayers the last few days have been, "Please bless that I won't be so nervous and that my teacher will let me sit by my friends." I just love kids' prayers. They are always so perfect. Anywho...we got up early which for us is a struggle sometimes but I am glad that she is in the morning so that we get up and get going. She looked so cute in her little uniform!



Then we were off to school! The Kindergarten classes all met in the cafeteria to get everyone together. Luckily McKenna is in the same class with her two little friends Carine on the left and Shelbie on the right. That made it much easier on her.

I only saw a bit of concern on her face as she was sitting there waiting to go.




Then they all had to get in line to follow their teacher to class....

...one last little wave.....

and just like that she was all grown up and gone.

She will do so great and I am so proud of her, but I will for sure miss her while she is gone.

Home for Sale

We are selling our home and I made a blog so that if you or anyone you know may be interested they can go there and see pictures and find out contact info. Please help me spread the word. The blog address is http://hillhome4sale.blogspot.com/ Thanks!

Today I Love....

...squishy babies. Most people that know me know that I am not a morning person to say the least. But there are times that I am really glad that I got up and got out of bed and today was one of those days. I woke up with Travis and got him off to work and I REALLY wanted to just crawl back in bed, but as I was walking back to my room I could hear the faint cooing of my sweet baby girl. So instead of crawling back in my comfy bed that was SCREAMING my name, I walked into her room to find the happiest smiling face one could see. Megan has such a sweet spirit about her and I swear she has a direct line to heaven. At least that is the way she makes me feel. So I got her out of bed and gave her a bath. It was really nice because I don't get very much one on one time with her with the demands of my older two girls. So these moments are few and far between. As I got her out of the bath I couldn't help but kiss all her sweet rolls and squishiness and I wanted to make sure that I wouldn't forget how yummy she is right now. So today, I love my squishy baby....