Day 5: Vacation Days

Mark took a vacation day today and we took Libby out of school so we could check out ArtPrize7. We learned after the first year of ArtPrize that it is much more laid back on weekdays versus the weekend with all of the out of town visitors. 

She put her hand print on this piece of art.

Libby got this picture of Mark. He is always so willing to lend a helping hand.

Libby and I called this Grand Rapid's take on Chicago's "Bean".

Our only "usie" of the day.

 

My angel. 

I'm so thankful that Mark enjoys using one of his vacation days to see ArtPrize every year. ~ Happy Monday!

Day 4: Teaching

I enjoying seeing my husband teach our kids. He is great at sharing his knowledge with other and explaining how things work. This afternoon he needed to get one of his guns sighted in for deer hunting. He has sighted in plenty of guns himself over the years. Instead of sighting in yet another gun himself he took it as an opportunity to teach Anna how to sight in a gun. It was fun watching them spend one on one time together. ~Happy Sunday

Youth Hunt

The other weekend our youngest 2 girls got to participate in the youth hunt. This was the first time that Libby got to hunt and she was successful!

Here is Libby and Kaylyn with Libby's 6-point.

Here is Libby with Mark.
And here is Libby back at home showing Mom her kill. She was one happy girl!

Wordless Wednesday - Do they ever out grow it?

How old do boys have to be to stop trying to wrestle their dad's?

Poor Mark. He was just trying to rest.



It looks like Mark can still take the "Mighty Man" even when he isn't completely back to good health.



Awe! Father son love!

See other Wordless Wednesday participants at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Well that caught us off gaurd!

Sunday started off like any other Sunday. While we were still at church Mark complained that his neck was starting to hurt like he had slept wrong on it. I felt it and I could feel a small lump at the base of his skull. We both thought it was like a knot in his muscle. When we got home from church he grabbed an ice pad and went and laid down for a little while to see if that would help.

As the day went on he started feeling like he was getting flu symptoms. He had fever and chills, sweating, and was getting a terrible headache.

I left around 5:30pm for a mtg at church and then Youth Group. The girls mentioned when I picked them up for youth group at 7pm that Dad really wasn't feeling well.

While we were gone the pain got really bad. Mark said he almost called me to come and sit with him. That is NOT like my husband. He's a pretty tough guy.

When I got home at 9pm he asked me to take a look at his neck for him before he tried putting ice on it again. Oh my! When I seen what had become of the little lump from earlier I said "You ARE going to the ER to have someone look at that." It had gone from only feeling a little bump to seeing without even touching it a huge swollen lump on the back of his neck that was about 3" by 6"!


Here he is in the ER. I laid his coat and sweatshirt over him because he was freezing. The ER doctor took one look at the back of his neck and said, "OH BUDDY!" I thought that was an interesting response. LOL! The nurse had told us within being there not even 20 minutes, "You do know you are staying right?"

It turns out Mark had cellulitis which is a deep skin bacterial infection and he would be admitted for 3 reasons.

1. He's diabetic and therefore doesn't fight infections well.
2. Because of how fast this took off.
3. Because of how close it is to his brain and spinal cord.

All of these meant they couldn't just send him home with a prescription for antibiotics he needed to be on a stronger medicine that would need to be administered via IV.


We were hoping that the hospital beds were a bit longer than the ER beds. We do find humor in all situations. Wink!


This is a picture I took while Mark was sleeping Monday.


Monday afternoon the nurse drew an outline so that we would know if it was changing in size. Mark said it felt like a neck roll (that is what football players wear between their helmets and shoulder pads to protect their necks) on the back of his neck.


I took this picture Tuesday. Mark was starting to get a little stir crazy from being confined to a small hospital room so we went and sat in the patient visitors lounge and watched tv together. He was hooked up to IV but it was the kind that can roll down the hall so it could go where he went. He still looks tired to me in this picture. Both of us ended up falling asleep on the couch. I woke up to his snoring. LOL!

We are home now and he will be on 2 antibiotics for 2 weeks. We feel very loved from everyone that prayed, called, shuttled kids, visited and left messages for us on Facebook. We had no idea how many people cared about the big guy.

That being said 2 of his friends (cough, MIKE, cough, ED) asked if they could have his guns if something happened. NICE!

Been busy?

Who hasn't right? But my blog is shriveling up. So I thought I better post something and since I don't have time to write creatively I thought I would just share some pictures instead. After all they do speak 1000 words right?

Youth hunt '09





Art Prize '09

The doll Anna is holding is a class project. It's a computerized doll that is designed to give the students an idea of caring for a real baby. Both Kaylyn and Anna have the class and they were both ready to be done with caring for the baby after only one weekend. Success!



Libby likes having her picture taken. Can you tell?

Check out the bronze "statue" in the next picture...

See a diference?

It is a real live man! Isn't that crazy?

Happy Valentine's

This is a fun little Valentine's Day Meme I found on Melissa's blog.

♥ How long have you been together? 19 years, 7 months
♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? We met at a Friday night "get-together" and he asked me out for the next day.
♥ Who asked who out? Mark asked me out.
♥ How old are each of you? Mark is 42. I am... younger than that. LOL!
♥ Whose siblings do/did you see the most? We see mine more. He sees his brothers more during hunting.
♥ Do you have any children together? 4
♥ What about pets? 2 dogs
♥ Did you go to the same school? Nope
♥ Are you from the same home town? Nope
♥ Who is the smartest? Well that is a loaded question. I'll play safe. Mark.
♥ Who is the most sensitive? Me. Mark has compassion issues. Shhh.
♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? Rose's. It is our favorite!
♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? California for the '88 Rose Bowl game Mark played in. However we didn't technically "travel" together but we met up out there.
♥ Who has the worst temper? That is a tie. Both are bad.
♥ Who does the cooking? Mostly me but Mark chips in when the need arises.
♥ Who is more social? Mark. He talks to anyone and everyone.
♥Who is the neat freak? Mark.
♥ Who is the more stubborn? Me.
♥ Who hogs the bed? We have a King size so it doesn't seem like either of us do.
♥ Who wakes up earlier? Me.
♥ Where was your first date? Mark took me out for ice cream while I was camping at the beach with girlfriends.
♥ Who has the bigger family? Mark. He has 3 siblings I have 2 sisters.
♥ Do you get flowers often? Yes. Mark works in a Greenhouse but he still buys me flowers because he know it means more than grabbing a plant on the way out the door. Wink!
♥ How do you spend the holidays? We divide it up between our families.
♥ How long did it take to get serious? We were dating exclusively from the get go.
♥ Who eats more? Seriously? If you know us you know the answer to this. Mark eats his meal and half of mine.
♥ Who’s better with the computer? That is funny. Mark avoids the computer at all cost.
♥ Who drives when you are together? Mark is the only one who drives when we are together because if I drive he is busy telling me how to drive so he might as well do it himself. Smiles!

Per Cheri's request.

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

And a bonus one for fun.... (if it works)I removed it since it wasn't working correctly.

He knows I love them!

What does my sweetheart do before he leaves for the weekend to hunt? He brings me roses and not just any old color roses but yellow roses. Do you know why I prefer yellow roses? Because they represent friendship and I love knowing that I am my husband's best friend. He also brought home mint chocolate chip ice cream for me to enjoy while he is gone. He knows it is my favorite and he doesn't like it. He's a keeper!

Here is a bit of what Florapedia says about yellow roses...

A bouquet of yellow roses now brings to mind all of the sunny, cheerful feelings of warmth and happiness. In contrast to the romantic meanings attributed to other roses, the yellow rose is purely a symbol for friendship. This gives it a unique place in the pantheon of roses. Yellow roses can send the perfect message of appreciation and platonic love without the romantic subtext of other colors. They can represent feelings of joy and delight, and are an ideal way to brighten someone's day who may be feeling down. There is perhaps no other flower that is able to bring out a smile in quite the way that a yellow rose can.

That is true for me!

Smiles!

My Husband....

I am giving the "scheduled post" a try. We (Mark, Zack, and I) are gone for the weekend on another official college visit to the University of Wisconsin. I am not looking forward to the long drive but hopefully with the trees starting to change it will at least be a scenic drive.

I seen this on a couple different blogs and thought it would be fun for while I am away.

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? Hunting DVD, football, or NASCAR (side note: unless he has picked college football I am probably not in the room with him)

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? French and Thousand Island (yep, together, don't ask)

3. What's one food he doesn't like? Coconut. It is the only food he will spit out.

4. You go out to the bar. What does he order? Diet Coke. He's diabetic so that's as strong as it gets for him.

5. Where did he go to high school? West Ottawa

6. What size shoe does he wear? 13

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Guns, he already owns more than I know about. Should I be concerned? Now y'all are thinking, "No but any unannounced guest to your house should be." And I would add, "Especially you boys wantin' to date my girls!"

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? All of them and the more mayo the better.

9. What would he eat every day if he could? Chips with chip dip. Apparently you can't eat chips without chip dip. Who knew?

10. What is his favorite cereal? Special K or Cheerios.

11. What would he never wear? Anything with a Notre Dame logo on it.

12. What is his favorite sports team? MSU. He played football there. Go Green!

13. Who will he vote for? McCain.

14. Who is his best friend? Me, however, Ed is running a close second lately. Should I be worried?

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? Where to begin.... buy chips without buying chip dip, snap my gum, park the suburban in the garage front end in first, leave my keys anywhere other than on the key hook by the door, trust me this barely scratches the surface. Poor guy, how does he make it through the day being my husband.

16. How many states has he lived in? One, unless confusion counts. (Ha! I made myself laugh with that one. Maybe I need more sleep.)

17. What is his heritage? German and Dutch.

18. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what would it be? Cheesecake. He would be a happy man.

19. Did he play sports in high school? Yes. Football, wrestling, track (sounds like another guy in my house...)

20. What could he spend hours doing? Hunting.

21. Does he belong to any men's organizations? He helps lead the men's ministry at church.

Homecoming and Youth hunt

It was a busy weekend at the Hill house. Friday night was the Homecoming game. We won 62-0. We were ahead by like 40 points at halftime so we left so that Mark could get up north with Kaylyn and Anna for the Youth hunt. Saturday morning they weren't successful. Then it was time to get Anna back home so that she could get ready for the Homecoming Dance. Anna went with her friend, Andrew, from school. My camera died, argh, so I have gotten pictures from friends off from Facebook but I will be getting pictures on a cd from friends today. I can't believe how old Anna looked. Tears.


Zack went with a "throwing" friend from Kent City. They both go to a throwing club together at Calvin College. Too bad the sun was so bright. My husband was the typical guy about this picture when he seen they took it in front of his truck. Who cares how the kids look, how does my truck look? Funny guy.

Then 4am Sunday morning Mark woke up a groggy Anna and headed back up north. But not before informing me that my tire was flat and I would need to plan on taking Zack's car to church. Thank goodness for a back up plan.


Kaylyn had stayed up north with a friend of ours and his daughter. This time proved successful for Anna. I don't know if you can tell but it was raining a little bit also. They all had a great time. In the picture from left to right is Kaylyn, Mark, Anna, and Ellie (our friend's daughter).


Good times!
Smiles!

My Man

(Not sure what he was doing in this picture but it looks like he is holding on to an imaginary pole. LOL!)

I saw this on my friend Mari's blog and thought it would be fun.

1.Who is your man? Mark

2. How long have you been together? We just celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary this past July.
3. How long did you date before you got married? 3 years, engaged for 2 of them.

4. How old is your man? 42
5. Who eats more? Most definitely him. He usually finishes his meal and them helps me with mine. I love being in the clean plate club.

6. Who said "I love you" first? Mark. He isn't afraid to say what he thinks.

7. Who is taller? Mark. He is about 6'3" and I am about 5'9". That means I still get to wear my heels and I love wearing heels.
8. Who sings better? Hands down it is Mark. Thank goodness our kids also got his musical abilities.

9. Who is smarter? It depends on the topic... don't ask him to help you with anything computer/gadget related. But the real important life questions... he is your man.

10. Whose temper is worse? Me. Mark has to deal with truck drivers and stores all day long and I am always amazed at how calm he handles people who have done stupid things. I need that kind of patience.

11. Who does the laundry? Me. Mark was smart and washed a crayon in the laundry early on in our marriage and I haven't let him touch the clothes since.
12. Who takes out the garbage? Everyone.

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Well this is a hard question to answer. Mark sleeps on my right side but if you are standing at the foot of the bed looking at the bed he is on the left side so I guess it is a matter of perspective.

14. Who pays the bills? I do with Mark's paycheck.
15. Who is better with the computer? Me. I try to keep Mark away from it. LOL!

16. Who mows the lawn?Mark. My allergies are too bad to do this. I used to help him but I would have a headache for the next 24 hours and heaven knows my hubby doesn't want my help if it means I have to have a headache.
17. Who cooks dinner?Me.
18. Who drives when you are together? Mark. Even if I would drive with him in the car he would still be driving from the passenger seat if you get my meaning. Wink!

19. Who pays when you go out? Me, with Mark's money.

20. Who is the most stubborn? Me.
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Mark.

22. Whose parents do you see most? Mine now, but before Mark's mother passed away it was his.

23. Who kissed who first? He kissed me first.
24. Who asked who out? Mark asked me out.
25. Who proposed?Mark.
26. Who is most sensitive? Most definitely me and I need to be less sensitive because I often read into how he says things way to much and that gets us in trouble.
27. Who has the most friends?Mark. He is a people person and it seems like wherever we go he finds someone who knows him.
28. Who has more siblings? Mark. He has 2 brothers and 1 sister and I have 2 sisters.
29. Who wears the pants in the family? Mark. I wouldn't want it any other way.

30. How did you meet? Since my kids might be reading this I will just say through a mutual friend.

Hope you had fun reading this. I'd love to see you do it too!

A few more Christmas Memories.

For Mark's family party we rented out a banquet room at a local hotel. This is a great idea if your family is too big to fit in a living room. It cost us $50 and we had the room all day and we had use of the pool all day. We got there around 4pm so the kids could get some swimming in before we had a potluck at 5:30pm. It is really nice to not have to deal with the clean up like you have if it is in your own house.

Doesn't Mark look like he wants another baby? This is his great-nephew, Logan. He is just the sweetest happiest baby and he loves Mark. On a side note, that brand new shirt Mark is wearing he got from work. It has a work logo on it. Well needless to say his wonderful wife washed it with Zack's new jeans and they bled on it. Anyone have any tips for fixing that? I caught it before it went into the dryer but I think it is still a lost cause. Bummer!


The handsome fella on my lap is also a great-nephew, Josiah. He stole my heart when he came over to me and asked me if he could sit on my lap. Are ya kiddin? What are you waiting for, jump on up here.


This last picture is just too funny to not include. It is Logan's brother, Tusla, jumping into the pool. Isn't that just the best picture?


Smiles!