Christmas Pics

Our Christmas was very low key this year; which was great! Ethan was given another opportunity to run the sound board at a performance by our local children's theater again right before Christmas. We really do think he has found his niche. He absolutely loves it and does a fantastic job. We can't thank Alisha enough for giving him this opportunity. His next venture in children's theatre is a play writing competition that is going on until the spring time. They have four age categories in which to enter and if your play is chosen, it will be performed in one of the summer academies they have. Ethan is very excited!!

One of the perks of theatre, signing autographs !

Christmas Eve was spent with our new family; our church family. We had a small, intimate service that our whole family was involved in. This is our worship team that Steve plays in every week.

Steve also read a passage

I posted a video earlier that had the reading that Ethan did and both of the boys started the candle lighting ceremony

Steve being silly after it was all said in done:) What part did I play? Of course, I was in the kitchen cooking and serving refreshments. Steve and the boys can have the stage. Give we a stove anytime over that!!

Because our boys are older and have never believed in Santa Clause anyway, we decided to open all of the presents on Christmas Eve so we all could sleep in in the morning. This was a picture of our living room before the mayhem began.

The boys opening their eyes

This year the big gift for both boys were mountain bikes. We have such a rough terrain out here that their old bikes were just too hard to peddle. They were thrilled and have ridden them often.

The ripping and tearing then began. They got such great and thoughtful gifts this year from family. Ethan being a retro kid got a record player

Isaac being a weirdo kid got a pillow just like the one he had a while ago that was damaged and ruined. It think it was his favorite gift of all :0) Many of you know what weird things he asks for for Christmas. Last year was a cardboard box, toilet paper and an ink well. This year he wanted a salt lick like you put out for deer. Weird I know!! And no, he didn't get that!!

And because my hubby is so awesome..... he got me a laptop that I am using right now!! I have always wanted one and of course he got me the best!! I love it!!

We had the best Christmas ever. Quiet and calm

How can I use the New Year
To better serve my Lord?
I’ll read my Bible every day,
And be more in accord.

I’ll find new ways to serve others;
I’ll love my neighbor, too.
I’ll focus on "give" instead of "get"
In everything I do.

I’ll forgive the people I’m mad at;
Angry feelings I’ll discard;
I’ll try to love my enemies,
Even though it’s hard.

In the new year, I’ll lift people up,
Instead of putting them down.
I’ll fill my heart with love and joy,
And never wear a frown.

I’ll let go of my worries;
I’ll put it all in His hands;
I’ll repent and try to sin less,
And obey all His commands.

These new year’s resolutions
Are difficult, at best,
But there’s something I can do each day
That will put my soul at rest:

I’ll love my Lord with all my heart,
With all my mind and soul,
And if I do that essential thing,
All the rest will be in control.

By Joanna Fuchs

Happy New Year to all our family and friends. We couldn't not do it without you!!!

We Be Jammin'

We have a new December tradition in the Hill fam. Although in this season there are so many traditions to claim as our own for family togetherness, gift making, and great memories, alas, that is not the way our family does things!! This family tradition is born out of pure necessity. Making Muscadine Jam from the harvest of our vineyard. This year's harvest was only one row which ended up being about 50 lbs. So this was the smallest we will ever have. There will be about 6x that next year. So hopefully some day soon this tradition will be fun "together" time but for now the process involved lots of stickiness from sugar, burns from boiling water and a few tears from me and the boys. Not to mention a few very tense and anxiety inducing outbursts from fear of ruining the little harvest that we got from our first year.

But eventtually , we made it through with smiles on our faces and 8 full jars of jam. Of course a 2 hour recipe turned into a 4 hour ordeal. But I go into the next season of jam making with a little knowledge under my belt and hopefully a more patient attitude.

Here is a very brief picture overview of our experience. Without the drama scenes of course.

Your start with Muscadines. Wash them throughly and pick out any stems

or debris that may be left

Wash your jars and lids in very hot water

This is a must have kit in any canning job you are doing

After your grapes are washed and you set a pot of water on the stove in a very large pot to boil, you measure out your sugar.

Then you take your freshly washed grapes and mash them to break their outer skins. Muscadine are larger than tables grapes with thick skins. So Isaac had a very tough times making sure that all of the skins were broken.

This by far is the most strenous step but he did great!

Choosing the right pectin is essential. The consistency of your jam hinges on your pectin choice. Muscadines are tricky so I am definitly going to have to try a different pectin next time. This one just did not "jell" enough for me

Next you add your pectin to your sugar

Mix well

Once you mash your grapes and break all of the skins, you boil them with skins on to make them even more soft and the juice in released

Bring to a boil and stir, stir, stir

Then, as if all of the jam making is not crazy enough, we still had school to do ;)

Once the grapes have been boiled, next you strain them. I used cheese cloth this first time. That was a gross, sticky mess. Because the grape mixture is hot from boiling, the cheescloth became very soft and easily broken. I had to change it twice and because it was hot, I burned myself several times. Not fun at all. I have since learned that there are "jelly strainers" and that will be purchased before I try this again.

This step was just so gross

After all of the juice has been squeezed out, your add your sugar/pectin mixture with the juice and put it back on the stove to boil

Once the mixture has been throughly mixed and boiled for a while, you pour them into the sanitized jars, secure the lids and place them in a pressure cooker to boil and seal.

I wish I had taken a picture of the end result but by this time we were all so tired and frustrated, I just forgot! Ethan did take this self portrait just so everyone would know that all ended well.

So went the jelly making process and new tradition in our family. So next year be prepared to receive jam from our home to yours. There is no way we will ever eat all of it :)

More Christmas Cheer

One thing I love about our homeschool group is our amazing field trips. There are some that are educational, some that are just fun and then we have what have now become my favorite are the service field trips.

This year was our first time to visit one of our local nursing home. We went to sing carols, take sweets and give gifts to some of the residents that may not have family to visit them during the holidays.

We went with the intention of blessing someones life but were so surprised to have been so much more blessed by the residents there. One lady really took Isaac's heart. He spent all of his time with her. Brought her snacks, visited with her and didn't leave her side until we had to leave. It was so amazing to see how soft his heart is for the elderly. It is really a natural gift to be able to talk to them so naturally.

He has been asking to go back every week since. We will definitly have to do that!

Isaac with Mrs. Hazel Hollis

Ethan met a new friend too

Isaac and Colin couldn't get enough of Mrs. Hazel

The gang singing Christmas Carols

End of the Year Catch-Up - Reality

Okay...so it's been a long time since I really updated last. Things have been a little crazy and busy but mostly I have been feeling a lot reclusive. It's been good for me to kind of take myself out of a lot of the activity and just be home; resting and enjoying my family. This holiday season has been by far the most relaxing and calm in a long time.

What I have learned over the last few weeks.... definitely that most of the drama in my life has one common denominator; me. That is a really hard reality to admit but it's a truth that has really made me take stock of my life and realize what is important to me.

We have had several topics come up either in a sermon on Sunday morning or in the "Crazy Love"book we just finished in book club that have referred to how we approach God with words.

Ecclesiastes 5:1-3 (New American Standard Bible)

1(A)Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the(B)sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil.
2Do not be (C)hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your (D)words be few.

3For the dream comes through much effort and the voice of a (E)fool through many words.

This verse is a very profound one to me right now. Not only in the way I approach God but also with how I verbally approach others. "Let your words be few" implies wisdom when speaking.; a deliberateness in words and not just what is off the top of your head; not emotionally based.

Proverbs 29:20
Do you see a man who is hasty in his words?There is more hope for a fool than for him.


This is what I would love to focus on in the new year. These two verses I would love to put into practice.


So here comes some photos that are long overdue! The first one is of Isaac and his big hunting trip with his BB and uncle Mickey. He actually was able to go for 4 full days to west Texas. This was a big step for my little guy. For him and me and Steve. He did great and had a lot of fun!!

This is just a goofy spoof for our beloved pastor. We had a print out of a picture of Luke's face and thought it would be funny to put it over Isaac's face. It turned out so well that it totally freaked Luke and Alisha out when we sent it to them!!

Ethan's Club 4-5-6 at church. We call it his pre-youth, youth group. This is the whole group on the way to their Redneck Christmas Party

Andrew and Ethan

Best Buds

Ethan loves this belt buckle. Steve used it at Halloween and it was perfect for this Redneck Party

More pictures later. This update took far too long :)