Blowing Bubbles In The Snow

I just had to take a picture of the kids today as they played with bubbles outside in the cold. They received large bubble wands for Easter, and were anxious to play with them. When Josiah asked me the second time, and I replied, "This is something we do outside on a warm day," he decided he wanted to go outside. So I thought, "Oh well, why not?". Here's the result -- winter coats and summer fun -- what a combination!

Happy Easter

I trust all of you had a blessed Easter. Here are some pictures we took during the day yesterday.The children's Easter baskets.

We were proud of Josiah saying an Easter recitation for the very first time! I didn't know if he would do it, but he did very well. He said, "Jesus lives is what I say on this happy Easter Day!"

Melanie enjoys memorization. She says that she doesn't get stage fright because she's a pastor's daughter. It's neat to see how she improves each year, and is able to have longer parts.

Alayna was a Son-flower in "God's Garden" along with six other flower girls. She really enjoyed this part, because she likes sunflowers. She even has a few little sunflower plants in the windowsill, growing, waiting for warm weather to plant outside.

The kids cheesing in their Easter attire.

Lady Locks for Easter

Well, I finally made "lady locks". Josiah calls them "goldilocks". These yummy little cream filled cookies are delicious, but quite an ordeal to make. Melanie wanted me to make them with green tinted filling for St. Patrick's Day, but because I was a day late, I made them with pastel colors for Easter. They turned out well and we enjoyed them -- there's only a few left! Thank you Mom H. for the recipe, and Dad H. for making the foil covered dowel rods for baking the cookies.

1 Year Anniversary

One year ago we decided to try our hand at blogging. This makes our 162nd post. We have had 9,796 visitors -- including friends, family, strangers, fellow homeschoolers, Huckabee supporters, political allies and enemies. It's interesting to see what brings people to our blog. One common google search that brings people to our blog is "homemade chicken pot pie." Perhaps the most unique google search was "new born wall decorations" -- I guarantee you the poor soul didn't get what they were looking for -- they found a picture of Josiah after he flung spaghetti on the wall!

First, thank you for taking the time to visit and comment on our blog.

Second, We are unveiling a new blog today. At this point, Hilling Highlights will continue, with Esther making most of the posts. She will feature more recipes and family pictures, etc. Chris is going to take the politics and other issues that interest him to a new blog -- Another Perspective. Be sure to check it out!

Happy Birthday, Melanie

On March 13th we celebrated Melanie's ninth birthday. She requested potato soup for her birthday supper. After the meal, she opened her presents from the family.

On Friday, Melanie celebrated her birthday with some friends from school. The birthday party had a horse theme. Therefore, we did a lot of "horsing around." Some of the activities are pictured below:

Melanie posing with her horse cake that Esther enjoyed making. Thanks, Mom H. for the new grass tip -- it came in handy.

We served hay (edible easter grass), sugar cubes, and apples and dip for all the fillies (and one colt - Josiah). The edible easter grass tasted just like straw - I don't recommend you buy any for your Easter baskets! As they munched on their snacks, they each drew pictures of horses.

These wooden horses were transformed into works of art with a few strokes of paint. It was interesting to see how each horse looked different. The white horse above is Alayna's, and Melanie made the palamino. Josiah even enjoyed painting a "rainbow" horse. He started out painting the entire horse red, then he added blue, then green, then yellow, then some more blue, etc. Somebody said that his horse was colorful, to which Josiah replied, "It's boo-tiful."

Melanie received nice gifts from her friends. It was a nice party, and great to get together with some of the girls from Jackson Christian.

Squaw Alayna

This week, Alayna has been studying about Indians in Heritage Studies. She enjoyed the lessons so much, that she dressed up as an Indian after school. She made moccasins for her lesson, you can see them around her ankles. She put on her Indian dress that Grammy made for her. She also instructed us how the papoose was to be carried on her back.

The Parlour

Chris' parents came up last weekend to celebrate Melanie's Birthday. We decided to make a stop at The Parlour for supper and ice cream. If you are ever in the Jackson area and like ice cream, The Parlour is a must stop! If you "Dare to Be Great" and can eat 21 scoops of ice cream by yourself, you get your dessert for free, and get your name put on the wall. Needless to say, none us were that daring.

Melanie's favorite ice cream is Mint Chocolate Chip.

No, those are not ALL mine!

Family Update

Here's a few things that have happened with the kids during the last week:

Melanie constructed a candy house.

Alayna penned a scroll about the life of Nehemiah.

We found a "ball" bank for Josiah to match the sports theme border in his room.

Thank You, Mr. Huckabee ...

Mike Huckabee was a like a breath of fresh air on the political landscape. Thinking back to last September, as I began studying the Republican candidates, Governor Huckabee rose to the surface. At the time I was leaning towards supporting Mike, and the Voters Value Debate sealed the deal. He was authentic. He was personable. He was a great communicator. He had values and was not ashamed of them. His faith directed his life.

Sadly, with Huckabee's withdrawal from the race, there only remains the hot air of Washington insiders who say "what needs to be said" to gain favor with others. Am I disappointed that Huckabee has lost? YES. At this point there is no candidate whom true conservative principled voters can rally around. Although disappointed, I am proud of the fact that I have supported a man of principle and integrity.

During his speech last night, Huckabee said, "I'd rather lose the election than lose the principles that got me into politics in the first place." Thank you, Gov. Huckabee for remaining true to your convictions. I, for one, will be looking forward to 2012.