There is new Royality in the area!!

And we finally got to meet her this week! Our friends, Sophie and Gary, traveled to China in October and brought home their precious baby girl from Hunan. Little Ms. Zia Joy has completely wrapped her parents around her little finger, just as she should! Of course, they waited for her for well over two years, so they were goners pretty much as soon as she was in their arms! She is a cute little punkin and I think that our girls will be wanting to spend much more time with Zia as she grows.



We also found out that there is a pretty nice pizza place not too far away from our home. So not only was it great to finally meet Ms Zia Joy, but we also have a new place to eat! The girls also played at the school play area for a while and had a great time!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

I have been trying to think of something profound and/or poetic to say about today. All I can think of is that we have been very, very blessed. Nick and his girlfriend were here this week to help us celebrate. Bubby walks on the water pretty much as far as his little sisters are concerned. He brought his Wii and the girls have had a wonderful time bowling with it. Bubby and Delaney each brought their laptops and this morning I found RaeAnne sharing in the fun of side-by-side gaming with her big brother! With Daddy websurfing on his laptop in the next chair...well let's just say that technology is alive and well here at our house!

As I worked yesterday and will now work the next three days, I opted to cook our "feast" as the girls call it just a little differently this year. We ordered our meal from our local supermarket. For less than what it would have cost for us to all go eat out, we had turkey, dressing, smashed tators w/gravy, cranberry relish, rolls, a broccoli/rice casserole and pumpkin pie. While it wasn't nearly as good as homemade, it was nice to basically heat and eat. The turkey was really good and made up for the so-so dressing. And we will be able to enjoy the leftovers for a couple of days. I even have grand ideas of using the turkey carcass to make some turkey noodle soup!

We have strayed from our traditions the last couple of years and we were anxious to get back into the tradition of putting the Christmas tree up as a family. For many years we would wait until Bubby was with us for Thanksgiving (usually after) to put up our Christmas tree as a group. I think the last time we actually did this was in Texas....we have been so bad! So once we had regained our senses after pigging out, we tore into the task! Okay....so we did fudge a little. We finally had to replace our Christmas tree a few years ago. We now have a pre-lit Christmas tree that is absolutely beautiful. It is already decorated with pine cones and has lights that can be all white or multicolored, continuous or alternating. We have many ornaments that we have collected over the years, but this tree is gorgeous without decorations!
We then took the traditional photos of our family in front of the tree. Here is a November 2003 photo and one from today. Just a few more darlings around the tree!!

The Big FIVE~~~O!!

Yes, it finally happened. I have become one half a century old! Hill.....what hill?? Most of the time I don't feel old, I do feel tired, exhausted and decrepid at times....but OLD? My biggest regret of life so far....the fact that I waited so long to have a husband and children! Of course, if I had started at a younger age, I would have never had the best family in the world!!

The girls had to wake me up early to wish me Happy Birthday and give me a handful of cards. I enjoyed receiving a beautiful bouquet of flowers from my cousin in the afternoon and then my significant other and crew took me out to Red Lobster to eat! If I have to turn 50...this is the best way of doing it!!

My conjoined triplets

Three heads are better than one and with three brains working overtime....you can get into trouble much quicker!