Tag, I'm it

So apparently there is this tag game floating around blogville and I'm it. Hang in there folks because these are my 7 Random Things that you didn't know, and probably wouldn't have even guessed, about Keli Denise Tompkins Hill. Anda heeerree we go...

1. I've been married 14 years and have moved 8 times. Since I became a Hill, I've lived in 3 different states, a duplex, an apartment, a parsonage, and of course the Hill Mobile-I'm really a gypsie in disguise.

2. Oh, here's a good one. One of the houses we've lived in was haunted. I promise. Weird things happened that were TOTALLY out of any explanation realm. Let's just say that after I moved in I found out that the previous owner's wife had died in the house and that's why he was moving. Creepy!

3. I am a book nerd. If I find a book that is interesting, I will bury myself inside the covers until I finish. I do take care of my kids at some point, just not mother of the year worthy. It's nothing for me to pick up a book when the kids go to sleep and stay up all night until I finish it. I LOVE READING!

4. I have a tremendous fear of heights. At this point in my randomness I need to apologize to my former vehicle, Fionna the Ford Expedition, for the damage I inflicted on her door handle during our family trip to the mountains this summer. My husband thought my freak-outs HILARIOUS until I broke Fionna's handle. Sorry ole' girl, my bad.

5. I hate feet. Don't touch my feet, don't put your feet in my personal space ... feet just bad!

6. I am going to donate my body to science when I die. We move around too much to have a personal burial plot, that, and I wouldn't be a very good hostess if someone did come to visit me. In addition to that morbid fact, science really needs to know the effects of chocolate on ones body -and what better a body to study than mine?!?!

7. On New Year's Eve our family likes to blow up our Christmas Tree.
Here's the 411:

• Get a big tree.
• Water as little as possible while still staying well within the fire safety codes.
• On New Year's Eve take your brittle tree out into an open field (a VERY open field) and insert the tree into a snug hole to keep the not-so-evergreen stable during its assult.
• Load that sucker down with every imaginable firework you can lay your hands on. My advise is to keep all rockets pointing in an upward direction (trust me, bad past experience). The more firepower the better.
• Light the tree and run Forrest, run! It is so cool!

Ok, so now you've got the inside scoop on my life. Rubbing my hands together in a sinister fashion, I now pick Katie and Charlotte as my tag victims. Have fun and make it good ladies!

True Brothers

I was in the kitchen working and just happen to overhear Matt talking to his brother behind me. Apparently, someone was misbehaving and Matt took it upon himself to deliver "the pep talk". As I was standing there listening (I didn't want to turn around and ruin the moment ) to Matt speak of calming down and thinking before you act (it really was sweet), out of the corner of my eye I noticed Drew walk past the front windows outside. I had one of those movie thinking moments...if Drew was outside, and Matt was inside, and Matt was talking to his brother, who was the brother? Slowing turning around so as not to bring attention to myself, my heart stopped. Matt had our Beagle dog, Tex, on the couch delivering the most precious parent sermon I have ever heard or given! I love it when you can capture one of those moments on film. The best part is that my two "boys" never knew I took the picture, they, or rather Matt, went right along with his sermon.

Can you see the offending toy by Tex's feet? If I heard Matt correctly, Tex went into Matt's room and nabbed the goods, only to take off running with it. I personally think Tex was trying to get Matt to play with him. Matt, unfortunately, did not see it that way.

Southern Snow

So, all last night my kids were talking about the possibility of snow. They were planning on staying up ALL night long to watch for snow, they were strategizing about the best outfit to wear to achieve optimum snow play, they were discussing who would be the first one to receive a phone call when they saw snow ... you get the picture.

I, on the other hand, was planning on sleeping in late and enjoying a nice, peaceful day.

At 6:30 this morning my boys were SHAKING me awake to come and see

the snow with them! They were SO happy!

Forget getting properly dressed, we just HAD to get some pictures before the snow melted.

It really is pretty outside and man, is it coming down :)

"Our first Mississippi snow"

"This is the BEST day EVER!"

"I'm making the first snowball""This is totally cool trampoline"
"Now this is how you make a snowball, Drew"

Tossin' the cookies ...

... AND THEN SOME! Matt was sick last night. :(

I mean VERY sick.

For real, he was gross sick!

Did you ever see the Eddie Murphy movie, Daddy Day Care?

Remember the restroom scene? Eddie looked one way with a horrified expression on his face, only to turn and look the other way, and then down, and then up. That was me.

My poor baby ~ he had to have lost half his body weight with one blow (no pun intended).

That's Matt waiting patiently for me to get the "sick couch" ready for him.

Happy Birthday to me!

Tuesday, January 8th was my birthday. I had the BEST birthday EVER! I knew my day was going to be special when my sons prayed the night before that I would have a good birthday.

It was so sweet to listen to them ~ tears!

I spent my birthday surrounded by flowers, thoughtful wishes, Little Willie's, Barq's Root Beer, chocolate cake, sweet hugs, and many "Happy New Year" from a Kindergarten class at school! Hearing that announcement from those precious kids got me to thinking...isn't that what we should be focusing on? Not that we are one year older, but that we are blessed to live another year with those that we love, doing the things we love, and giving love.

It is a new year for us. Does that make sense?

I am so proud of my 35 years! Yes, I am now 35 years great! So, I need to rephrase my title to "Happy New Year to me" :)

Yes, they can be hired out for parties. You should have heard their opera version!

Hunters - R - Us

Matt and Brian went hunting the other day and came back with a surprise for me. Hunting for those two is really a code word for male bonding. If you know my son, quiet and still are not his strongest characteristics! Love the kid, but he has more energy in his jaw bone than I have EVER had in my 35 years (but that's another blog).

Imagine my "happiness" when Matt brought me his treasure...right into my kitchen...swinging from his hands! He was SO proud of that rabbit, and Brian was the one that killed it!

My, my, time sure flies!

It's finally here, time to go back to school.

Gone are the days of sleeping in and staying up late.

No more eating when you want and the optional shower (just kidding).

Make-up is a must and you better make sure you have enough change for the coke machine ~ LOVE caffeine!

Deep breath in...deep breath out. Here we go ladies!

Family Fun

January 1, 2008 saw the Hill family (well, three of us anyway) funning it up with the Killough family at Gattitown. I took my boys and hooked up with the 3-K's and man, did we have a ball! It was hard to tell just who had the most fun, the adults or kids. Kristin, the next time you guys head this way I think a trip to Gattitown is DEFINATELY in order!!!