(3rd and Final Round) HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAYDEN!!!

I'm finally getting around to posting a birthday blog for our Hayden. Today is his 12th birthday. We have had a fun time eating breakfast out (Original Pancake House), giving him his new bike, shopping, shopping with Logan, going to the Coliseum to see some extreme bike tricks and stunts, eating barbecue, eating ice cream cake, playing with new video games and having one of his best local cousins over for dinner and FIREWORKS!

Yup we did fireworks one more time. Have about 5 of the medium (legal) fireworks left. Set off about a dozen. The police drove by after I had everything cleaned up. Whew.

Hayden has been a great asset to our family and a blessing to many. He is kind and considerate. He is a GREAT Uncle to Wyatt and Genevieve. He has a wonderful sense of humor and a real quirky streak. Many a time I've been scrolling through the photos on my digital camera and find a really strange self portrait on there. I have a few I'd like to show but Hayden is above all modest.

Happy Birthday Hayman! We love you.

(Round 2) "Happy Birthday Cam"!

Here are a few tiny glimpses into Cam's World. He is such a fun and goofy blessing of God in our family. He is officially EIGHT years old today. Happy Birthday to our Camma Lamma Ding Dong Ping Pong Head. AKA Cameron Philip Hilman. WE LOVE YOU MAN!

Picture

It took forever to post but here is one of the most recent pics we have of the "Birthday Boy". He is the tall one on the upper right :o)

Happy Birthday, Rylan!

I want to post pictures! But I am having the same problem Alyssa seems to be having with her blog. Won't upload photos.

You'll just have to trust me on this one. Rylan is quite good looking. Downright handsome some would say. We have more holiday and airport shots of him than any other kind since he has been able to come home for Christmas the past couple of years.

All that aside.
IT'S RYLAN's BIRTHDAY! Happy happy birthday Ry! Hope you do something special today to celebrate. It is hard for us to have you so far away. We'd love to put 26 candles in the traditional birthday watermelon. You start out the birthday season around here, you know. I even have leftover fireworks that we could have blown off.

We are very proud of the man you have become and the direction God has led you. Korea, though far away, seems to be the place you are supposed to be for this season of your life. We have often heard that young people do the most growing and changing in the years from 18 to 25. Congratulations! You are officially grown up, having just surpassed that mark. So make the most of the year ahead. I'm excited to see what it holds.
Love you! Mom & Dad

Slow down Summer

SLOW DOWN SUMMER, you are going way too fast! Just over one week left in July. Though July is one of my favorite months. It is when we have our wedding anniversary. Twenty-seven years last Friday! We had a super duper day. Biking, shopping and seeing a movie. Then of course it was pizza night. We ended it up eating eclairs on the porch with Lys and Logan. Fun stuff.

August is our busy birthday month. August 1st, Rylan's 26th birthday ; August 7th, Cameron's 8th birthday; August 17th, Hayden's 12th birthday. Of course with Har having such a large family and me having a substantial number of siblings and their offspring, there isn't a month that goes by that we don't have a bunch of birthdays to acknowledge.

Between our 8 and the sons-in-law and grandkids the months of Jan-June are taken as well as Aug-Dec. I'm sure glad July is still just Har's and mine. By the way Har, thank you for being everything to me for all these years. You are a "keeper".

Yo ho ho and a bottle of pop

Pirates everywhere! A couple of our kids got to see the movie this weekend. One saw the midnight showing Thursday night. The other saw a late night show on Friday.

I heard that Cherise might have gone to see the movie too but haven't verified it. Lys and Logan did you see it?

We had another fun weekend with Wyatt and Genevieve here. Cam finally decided he was going to learn to ride his bike once and for all. We let him coast up and down the sidewalk without pedals at all. Hoping to undo the crazy angle his body got used to riding in with the training wheels by getting him to balance as he pushed along with his feet. Friday and Saturday were spent doing that. Today the pedals were put back on and he rode up and down the sidewalk several times independently. A couple of the first times with Dad running along side. It's going to be a few weeks before he is ready for a family bike trip but he is doing very well. Should be joining us out there on the trails before too long. Yay hay hay for biking!!!

Gotta love 'em

Wyatt spent two nights with us this weekend and Genevieve was here for just one. We had a great time. Friday aka Pizza Night, we had Bob, Lita, Zarah, Alex, Wyatt, Cherise, Micah, Alyssa, and for a brief time Derek, in addition to our 6 resident Hilmans here. A bunch of us went to the Oregon Zoo Saturday morning too. Vehicles started departing from here mid afternoon heading for Walla Walla and Sisters. We were left with just the 6 of us and the Grandbabies. Another fun day was had by all today but it was very busy. But was capped off by a rousing game of "beh-boo" with Grandpa and Wyatt.

Kids Camp was fun. The facility was really nice. I had the pleasure of sitting on the back porch of the staff room during the outdoor worship time. The praise music echoed off of the hills on either side of the river valley that the camp is nestled in. I haven't heard anything like before. Absolutely awesome!

No cell phones, no internet, no TV....It must be KIDS CAMP!

Hello,
Kids camp is right around the corner. Cam is all ready as you can see. His first year as a camper. This year we are going to be at a new facility. At least it's new to our Kid's Camp. Other groups from New Song have used it in the past couple of years. We get to do our own cooking at this place so it will save a bunch of bucks.

As Cherise mentioned in her recent blog comment, jury duty is over. The young man will be spending the rest of his natural life in prison. I kinda feel bad he is not going to be able to wear any of the spiffy new clothes he wore during the trial. But that isn't reason enough to not do the right thing for society as a whole and have him locked away.

I've decided to put a picture of our oldest and most affectionate pet. Sabre is such a nice old guy. He likes people a lot just not little people. They make him nervous. Leprechauns beware.

Jury duty

Not a fun subject. I have been to the Multnomah county courthouse 10 days in the past month. Eight of those days have been sitting as a juror for a trial. We reached a verdict today. Only to be informed that we have got to sit for 2 days of additional testimony for the penalty phase of the trial. So..... I'm sure we will get through all of it. It just is getting to be long. Crimes are not nice things to think about and talk about. There is a lot of "warfare" going on in that building if you know where I'm coming from. Today, when the verdict was read, there was an almost palpable presence of evil in the room. It was very oppressive.

I have to remind myself that I can bloom and even thrive in oppressive circumstances. Like the little flower on the left here that is blooming in the middle of a concrete driveway. I can tap into the Power that overcomes all things this world has to throw at me.

Hey It's Your Birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOGAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have lots of pictures to post....unfortunately or possibly fortunately for you I am working on a laptop that isn't hooked up to the files on our network.

So I'll just have to let everyone that reads this know that we love you very much and we are so proud to call you our son-in-law. You are one super cool brother-in-law as well to these impressionable young-uns here at home.

I hope your birthday was enjoyable. As much as it can be down there in the heat and humidity :-)

Looking forward to celebrating with you on your actual birthday some time. Twill be great!

Happy Birthday Har!

Hey and Happy Birthday to my One and Only!

You have been my anchor and my inspiration for many a year. Almost 28! It was great to be able to spend the day just kickin' back and spending time with the kids. You are a wonderful Dad and a fun Grandpa.

Many many blessing for the year ahead.
Love you,
Tam

May Bath Babies & "The Kids"

I can't believe it has been more than a couple of weeks since I updated by blog. I know there have been interesting and fun things happening all the time. We have enjoyed having the kids here off and on all month. Jess and Joylynn have been here a few times with Wyatt and Genevieve. Lys and Logan were here a few times with Max. Cherise even came for Mother's Day and Bob's birthday! Bob and Lita have been here a few times too. I even had jury duty on two different days. I'll be finding out soon if I am one of the "lucky twelve" that will be sitting for aproximately 9 days in the courtroom.

I wish I had taken a few more pictures lately. I have some nakey bottom shots of Wyatt in the tub but it wouldn't be appropriate for this medium. So here are a few CLEAN shots and a group picture from Mother's Day.

Grand Puppy

I have to say Mad Max is a grand puppy. Some people don't want me to refer to him as my grandpuppy. He is a toy Australian Shepard. So soft and fluffy and enthusiastic and he has puppy breath!

Logan and Alyssa brought him here shortly after they picked him up from the breeder. He was given a healthy dose of welcome and gave as good as he got. Max seems to have taken to Wyatt especially. Perhaps because he was closest to his size. We can't wait to spend more time with him. Right now he is getting acquainted with Logan's family in Sisters. But soon he'll be back here for more lovin'.

Races and Zoo trips

Last night was the
Royal Ranger Gold Cup Derby. It is always a fun night for families and friends to come and pig out on hot dogs and cheer on their favorite car. This year was a bit different in that the Pioneer Girls made cars as well. The number of girls in attendance was only 2 less than the number of boys so all but one of the first races was a boy against a girl. The racing format had to be changed from the traditional. Logan and a couple of others came up with a brilliant race strategy. Our boys were both eliminated before the final round but both had fun anyway. Hayden got a trophy for the most original car design in the boys category.

Today we got up bright and early and headed for the Oregon Zoo. It was a beautiful sunny day. Har got a bit more sun than he should have. But Wyatt and Genevieve were there along with Jess, Joylynn, Lyssa, Logan, Courtney, Hayden, Cameron, Har and I. We spent about 6 hours there all together. Took 72 pictures. You're lucky I'm only posting three! :o)

Wyatt is 2!

I couldn't let the weekend get away without letting everyone know that Wyatt is two years old now. We had a fun party for him on Friday night. Aunty Cherise got to have a cake too. I'd like to say thank you to everyone that came. Our #1 grandson is one of the best kids around. He is a real goofy kid. Loves his "tunes" especially anything Veggie Tale related. He got some cool new toys that are age appropriate and enough DVD's to keep him busy for some time. Here are a couple of pictures from that night. A smooch from his loving sister and getting ready to blow out the candles.

Happy Birthday Wyatt!
Grampa and Gramma love you SOOOOOOO MUCH!

Happy Birthday CHERISE!

Twenty-two years ago today we welcomed into our home and hearts a little curly haired girl. We have been watching her grow into a beautiful curly haired woman. She was such a delightful child that we figured we would have more than 3 children. So if you ever wonder why we have 8 it's Cherise's fault. Happy Birthday Reesie! We love you!

First day of school.

Today marked the day when the fifth of our children started at PCC. Rylan, Joylynn, Cherise and Alyssa all started their higher education there. It makes a whole lot of sense financially and also it is good for Krystle especially since the instructors have more time to spend helping her. The whole faculty is geared up to helping students succeed. So off she went with her backpack. First stop was the book store to buy her text books. Then off to get her student ID and to her first class. She called home after her first and then her final class and even had her first meeting with an instructor. It will be great to see her plugged into writing groups and such there.

Only 3 more to go before we have an empty nest! (Like that is ever going to happen) Hayden is planning on getting married and then living here with us.

More signs of Spring

My brother Gerry is an ARTIST when is comes to cooking on a barbecue grill. The picture is of his latest creation that we partook of at his house on Saturday night. It was unbelievably delicious! He has many other talents as well. But his skills as a chef are way up there.

Happy Birthday Krystle!

Aunty Naomi still calls you "Krystle Dolly" even though Uncle Byron stopped calling you "Lil Bit" quite a while ago. Seems everyone has a story or two about your growing up years. You have told a story or two, yourself, in your growing up years!!! We are proud of the woman you have become. A beautiful and Godly young woman. Happy Happy Birthday. We love you.

Looks like Spring

Yep. Snow last week but today it's beginning to look like Spring. Flowers are blooming. Trees are budding. Young children are sprouting bunny ears.

A boy and his dog...

I have a little guy that LOVES dogs! He and his brother want one sooooo bad. We have cats. Not that I don't like cats. Cats are cool, independent, can be left with a bowl of food and some water and their necessity box and there you go. You can be gone for quite a long time. Dogs however are like very needy small children. Can't leave them for long. If we didn't have cats, we may try to make the necessary adjustments to our household to get a dog. But that is impossible at this time. Also I am looking for a breed that doesn't have fur or one that has fur which doesn't fall out. I am also looking for a breed that doesn't, for lack of a better word, poop. So as cute as all those puppies are at Scamp's, as adorable as the puppies at the pound and those featured on Craig's List, I've yet to find one that doesn't have hair or poop. Until the other day when I found the perfect dog and brought him home. Cam has gotten quite attached to him. His name is Slappy. He is a "Dalmation-wood". We like him a lot.

Light Sabres

Do light sabres really work? Genevieve was getting an intro to weaponry from her Uncle Hayden while her Aunty Cherise was holding her. We had a bunch of our "Kids" home for the weekend. Jess, Joylynn, Wyatt and Genevieve spent the night Thursday. Cherise came to Portland to get some dental work done, get her eyes checked one more time while she is still on our insurance and to go to a concert with her Dad. The concert was enjoyed by both of them. I have enjoyed hearing Jamie Cullum's music floating through the house for the past couple of days myself. Reminds me of the music I enjoyed in my high school and college years. Very cool. I'm updating this blog while waiting to see Jamie on the Tonight Show. I think I know what Har is going to want me to get him for his birthday. May even have to get a Shuffle to load them on to.

President's Day

I know I'm old. I remember when we celebrated Lincoln's birthday on Feb. 12th and Washington's birthday on Feb. 22nd. This morning I was reading the explanation of the holiday on the kid's school websight.

It said "Today we celebrate President's Day. Presidents' Day was originally celebrated on the 3rd Monday in February in honor of George Washington's birthday, which was February 22, 1732. Gradually the holiday also honored Abraham Lincoln, who was also born in February.

Today, President's Day is not only a celebration of Washington and Lincoln, but it is a day to honor every man who has served as a U.S. President."

For one thing the whole Monday holiday thing is a recent phenomena. For a second this gradually honoring Lincoln thing is totally bogus. Now they throw all the other presidents in there. What's up with that! Can't any one individual be honored on their own. How come MLK doesn't have to share the holiday with all others that lived and died in support of civil rights.

I'm not complaining about having a paid holiday I'm just not appreciating the "changing" of the facts.