Merry Christmas!

Greetings!

Welcome to our Christmas Blog.
This year, each of us have written you a letter (otherwise known in blog-world as a post)!

Up in the left hand corner, under the title "Labels", you will find our names. Click on the name to read that person's letter.

The posts by Nathan and Emily were created by asking them questions and typing out their answers. So what you read there is pretty much what they think. Paul has given you his take on the year, complete with cartoon. And mine is much like the Christmas letter you've come to expect, with a few more pictures. So, take a read through each of them, then click comment. We would really like to know who has checked us out.

Amy's Blog is where I regularly post throughout the year. You'll find the daily craziness of our family featured there.

Enjoy!

Nathan

Hello, I am Nathan.

I am five years old. My favourite colour is yellow. I like to pretend to be Matt from Tractor Tom. I also like to be Benny from the Boxcar Children [book series].
I like to play tea party, it's very fun with Emily.

This is me typing:

gyre7egtrtgryttywueyeurytghjiturtyyeeye5y4gffsqdggshfgrytrecwgbwffc

rggfgfgbdgwteerfhghfdbgewfwftffrfffetrfftefdgtgrtfytefteyrftryf43y4tete

fdfrrrgrgfgtrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrg

I went to Calgary with my mom, Amy. We flew in a plane. I liked seeing all the places we flew past and even when we landed. We visited the Calgary Science Centre, mommy's friend, Bea. We stayed at Ryan and Sarah's house, mommy's friends.

We also visited Daddy's Uncle Joe and Aunt Judy and their kids, Thomas, Matthew and Elisa.

We went up into the Calgary Tower. I liked looking out the window. I saw cars that looked like little toy cars. One day, I went to see the mountains. I told Daddy about the mountains when we came home.

This summer, we went to the CN Tower. My favourite part was the ride [Lego Racers].
I also liked going to Centre Island; that was very fun. We went on the Subway train to get to these two places.

We went to the Ontario Science Centre, my favourite part was playing with the hot air balloon and pressing the red button to make the fire push the hot air balloon up.

We've gone to Black Creek Pioneer Village a lot of times. My favourite part is finding all the buckets with things I can do.

I am homeschooled. I like playing except I have to do school for a long time. I like to do my numbers and science experiments. My favourite experiment so far is growing the Amarylis bulb. It has two Amarylis flowers opened on it.

I like to put the different shapes on the Advent Calender as we get ready for Christmas. The shapes make the stable scene of where Jesus was born. Some of the shapes are the manger, Mary with her baby, shepherds and stars. On Christmas Day, I like to go to my Mommy's mommy and daddy's house.

Christmas means to me that Jesus loves me. Jesus loves you too. I love you too.

Happy Christmas!

Love,

nathan

Emily

Hi, my name is Emily.

I am three years old. My favourite colours are yellow and pink. I like playing pretend, like being Matt from Tractor Tom or Jessie from the Boxcar Children [book series] or all kinds of animals. I like playing Dominoes and Hiss.
I like playing with the Thomas the Tank Engine train set and Emily is my favourite train.
My favourite doll is my pink music baby - I call her Emily.

Some of the places that we visited that I like are Centre Island, CN tower, Ontario Science Centre and Judy's house with Aunt Ana.
I like to go to Black Creek Pioneer Village, Jack and Alexanna's house, McDonald's, Zone Out and Sunday Church.
My favourite thing I did this summer was go on the rides at the fair at Chingacousy Park.

This is me typing:
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utuhusjr8jmmdjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjdeee;iiiomnnbbjjjjkiiu
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo0000000yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Happy Christmas!
Love,
Emily

Paul

Well it has been a very long time since I have written anything that is publicly posted on the Internet for all to read. But be that as it is, I will attempt to summarize 2006 from my own perspective with a focus on the impact to the Hills Family (or at least my little corner of it.)

As I look back at the last year I am amazed at how quickly I forget what has happened. Let's see... I hate to admit it, but much of this last year revolved around my work. I have been working on a project for the last two years to help qualify Canadian Tire (my employer) as a Custom Self Assessed Importer and thus qualify for using the "FAST" lanes for their imports from the United States into Canada. I know that may not seem interesting to most readers of this blog, but when you have been living that every day for the last two years at work, it has a way of brainwashing one into thinking that it really is important and interesting.

The project really was quite interesting as I got to be involved in designing, building and testing a new software application for Canadian Tire. I have learned just how difficult it is to fully know what it needed at the design phase of a project, and also how detailed a design needs to be in order for the final product to be what was envisioned.
If you have ever seen the cartoon of the rope swing as proposed, as the analyst designed it, as it was built by the developers, as installed for the customer, and what the customer really wanted.. well I always thought that was a slam to the craziness of business, I have come to see that in large part it actually represents the amount of communication that is assumed to be understood, at different phases of a project, but is not understood.
It isn't that the senior analyst is unable to design what the customer really wants, but just that when listening to the customer describe what he wants, well, the customer didn't communicate it well, and even the analyst didn't make it clear to the development team how it should look, and what do you know, when it was installed, well the design wouldn't quite fit and so the installers did their best to make it work.

Anyway, the project I was on was delayed multiple times and what was to be delivered in June was finally delivered in November (five months late).

During this time, there was much stress in the Hills household as it led to many Saturdays where I was not at home, but rather at the office. I think that the kids even began to think that Saturday was a work day, not a day for daddy to be at home. In the end it was almost 70 hours where I was at work or about 8-9 weekends that were not what we wanted. It was so bad that the gift certificate we received at Christmas last year for the Stratford Festival of Canada ended up being used on closing night of one of the plays. It had to be used either that week, or the next week, or it would have lost its value. Thankfully, my sister Ana agreed to watch our kids and Amy and I had a wonderful afternoon and evening, going to the Waterloo outlet stores and then to a play at the festival.

We had planned to go camping in the summer, but alas with my schedule, it did not happen. Emily continues to talk about camping, and would probably sleep in a tent outside tonight if she were given the chance (BTW, it is currently 3 degrees Celsius outside). I know that I will need to make camping happen this next year no matter what the schedule at work.

On the weekends that we did have this last year , I got the chance to travel with the family to Pioneer Village in Toronto, and several other conservation areas. We have come to realize that our family really enjoys the outdoors and thus have bought our first conservation area annual pass this last year. It took us until the summer to begin really using it, but by the fall we were very glad that we had made the investment. It has made it much more relaxing to go to the area conservation areas when we don't have to pay just to get in.

Other things that happened this year were that Amy and I began home-schooling Nathan. He turned five just this last November, and Amy realized that for Nathan the "un-schooling" alternative would not work. So we invested in a curriculum and began using it. I am amazed at how bright Nathan is. He is really working at reading, and has sounded out many words here and there. He still needs prompting to do the figuring out of what is written, but he is just at the precipice of deciding to figure things out for himself and begin trying to read everything. Amy is sometimes frustrated that she is not able to cover things in the curriculum as regularly as she would like, but I can see from Nathan that he is learning and continues to be building the love of learning that is so critical ones educational well being.

Emily has recently turned three, and I am seeing that children are not alike. In some ways Emily has been amazingly well behaved. For example, when we moved her from her crib into a toddler bed (Nathan's old bed) she never once got out of bed after being put down for the night. When we moved Nathan to a bed, it took a long time before he was good about staying in bed when he was put to bed at night. However, in other ways Nathan was quick to obey. I don't recall really having any "terrible two's" with Nathan, but with Emily, well I'm starting to think they are really the "Terrible Threes". She is so smart, and so stubborn (you'd think she had Amy and me for parents or something). I don't think Nathan was ever that fixed on getting his way. He was more like..."Ok daddy, I'll do what you think is best" Where as Emily is more like "No, I want my way." Ahh, the joys of being parents.

Speaking of Emily getting Nathan's old bed... The one project that did happen this summer at home was that Amy (I helped a very little bit) completely re-did Nathan's room. For those of you that had never been to our home, the paint in his room was pealing off the wall the day we moved in. After it being like that for a few years, Amy and Nathan had enough and well it had to change. After much scraping of the walls, then priming with an alkyd primer then painting Nathan had a room that looked amazing. He also had a new bed thanks to a bed frame from "Freecycle" (repainted by Amy) and a mattress from grandma and grandpa. Nathan loves his new bed, and shows all guests his new bed. We just had some people over last week, and Nathan took them to see his new bed. Oh, did I mention that the new bed and re-done room were finished at the beginning of the summer? I guess in his mind it is still his new bed and he is oh so proud of it. It is great to see his joy in the everyday things.

----

Since I have written the previous part, everyone else in the family has written. Now I have been reminded about Amy and Nathan visiting Calgary back in February, Our family visiting the CN tower, Centre Island, and the Ontario Science Centre. All of which I had not included before and all of which I will allow their letters to cover. Suffice it to say that as I grow older, my mind is not what it once was. (Some of you will be thinking that perhaps it never was that great to begin with. If that is so, just imagine how bad it is now.)


The month of November was a blur, what with two birthdays and the project at work "going live". Some how Amy managed to survive, and recover just in time for the rush of activity that surrounds Christmas. Having delivered our last few Christmas cards today (the 24th) we are now completely ready to relax and enjoy the evening with my sister, and then attempt to get two excited and sugar filled children to sleep. In the morning we will all enjoy the unwrapping Christmas gifts and then we all say good-bye and rush off or separate ways. Amy, the kids and I travelling to visit Amy's family, and my sister returning to her home in Kitchener. Soon Christmas will be over and we will have another year before we all meet here again.


I do hope that you enjoyed this summary of our year. Please be sure to also read the posts by Amy, Nathan and Emily. They have some really great stuff to say as well. If you can take the time to leave a comment, we would all really appreciate it. Even just a short "Hi" would be great.

- Paul -

Thanks.

Amy

Well, 2006 began with an exciting journey to Calgary, in late January. Nathan and I had many adventures together. Here he is enjoying the Calgary Science Centre.


We journeyed to Banff with our friends Ryan and Sarah. And we saw MOUNTAINS!


When we returned, the weather seemed to finally conclude that it was indeed winter and thus it should get about the business of being cold. So it was. In our typically defiant Hills manner, we explored the Kortright Conservation Area on one COLD Saturday in February. Nathan thrives on new experiences and loves to be outdoors. Emily loves being outdoors too, but isn't as much of a nature-walker, yet. I don't think she'll have much choice though!

However, she does enjoy her play-doh.


While trying to survive the winter, I worked on Easter outfits. I'm not sure I'm going to continue this tradition of working toward a set day to get new clothes done for everybody. It was a little crazy, working on Emily's dress (didn't get a picture of it...but it was embroidered cotton, a simple highwaisted dress with a sash), Paul and Nathan's ties, a skirt for me and producing the Easter service at our church. Yeah, it was a little crazy.
Some of you are smirking right now. You know me too well. But the ties look nice, don't they?

Then, we discovered a little girl who would sit still while her aunt french braided her hair. How lovely!

Nathan and Emily have grown in their enjoyment of punny humour and silly antics. They are quite a pair, and we have had to reign in mealtimes to mere chewing and polite requests. But sometimes, with a sly look between us, Paul and I indulge!

They also absolutely love posing for pictures and taking them. We have about 6 disposable cameras in the house where Paul emptied out the film and rendered them useful, even going to the extreme of drilling holes to enable the flash.
Oh! There are those smirks again. You know him too well!


We all love reading. We have read a lot of Berenstain Bears and Thomas the Tank engine throughout the beginning of the year but have moved on to chapter books. One series, that we worked through initially as part of Nathan's kindergarden homeschool curriculum, was the Boxcar Children, book 1. We are currently awaiting book 5 from the library. Nathan has also taken to learning about knights and medieval interests as well as the ever popular boy topic - SPACE. It's an interest Paul shares, so he got Nathan up early one morning, just to watch a launch. I was a little grumpy about it, because I had hoped they would get me up so I could see the important part and they didn't. But they taped it for me!

I believe I might have a budding drummer. Don't tell, but I've gotten him a pair of real drumsticks for Christmas. Maybe now I can get my chopsticks back, and he can cease breaking his plastic screwdrivers! Note the set up of the drums...the wooden bead toy, stool, Ikea stool, upside down plastic bin and peanut butter container are all part of the set up. This picture was taken in July and he still is setting up his drum sets all over the house. Only now, he's getting territorial and, at times, it takes a clever bit of negotiation to regain use of the containers for their original Mommy-declared purpose!



Then there's his trumpet.




Ah, memories of the summer. We had a fabulous one, though Paul was working extra-long hours on a project for much of the summer.
We enjoyed what we could and took as much time as possible picnicing at a local conservation area, checking out the planes at the airport, heading up the CN tower, ferrying to Centre Island, exploring various modes of GTA transportation and walking along the restful paths of Black Creek Pioneer Village. One darling quote of the summer is from Emily, "Mommy, someday I want to go back on the rocking train, rock, rock, rock." She very much enjoyed the subway. She loved it so much that one day when we were sitting in our respective outdoor chairs, she lined hers up with mine and asked if I could be the driver of the rocking train, so she could pretend to be getting on and off the subway.


On one of those rare Saturdays that Paul did not work, he gave me the most beautiful gift. This picture is one of my favourites of the year. It's a very happy picture. Yes the kids are cute, but the GRASS, well, it steals the SHOW! Lovely, lush grass. I still love looking into the back yard (yes, I will call it a yard, cuz it has GRASS!), even though it's not so lush and is somewhat faded to brown. It just meant that we used our back yard this summer. The kids spend as much time as humanly possible in the outdoors and we escaped without any sunburn. Save for Paul, poor man.

Another favoured kid activity, year round, is visiting Grandma and Grandpa B's home in Corbyville. The highlight of most trips is getting to sit on the tractor.

Now, Emily really likes the tractor, but she adores play parks and Belleville has an absolutely beautiful one. It is a giant ship and we spent one blistering midday there, swinging and climbing.

Another favoured pastime for Emily is hiding items underneath the back cushions of our couch.

Weddings. They are so much fun. This year Paul had the honour of standing up for our good friend, Al and his new bride, Nadine.

It took the entire summer. But he's riding a bike.!!! He loves it! He did not want to move up to training wheels. But he was too big for any of our trikes. So, with much coercing, he allowed us to get him a two wheeler with trainers. And after a few tries, he's quite comfortable and confident. Though it is now obviously winter, we recently took advantage of the warm weather and went to the library, he on his bike and Emily, in tow, behind me, in the wagon.

In August, we began working with a homeschool curriculum with Nathan. As much as I thought I would thrive on the set schedule of it all, I'm learning that I'm much more of a free spirit. Thankfully, so is Nathan. He enjoys our spontaneous learning moments, as well as working through workbooks. His favourite time is listening to us read, whether it be science-related, literature or biographies. He also is finding it thrilling to learn to read. I'm astonished how quickly he's progressing.
Emily wishes to do school too and I see in her the ability to handle much more than I give her. My challenge for the coming year will be to see her as she is and not to limit her to activities typical for her age group. For instance, as we walked to the mall yesterday, I was going over the months of the year with Nathan. When we came home 5 hours later, I heard HER reciting, "January, February, March. April, May, June. July, August. September, October." and she would start over, having missed the last two. Or sometimes, she added them in as an after thought.

That's smoke! And I'm now 32.

Early in November, we took in the Royal Winter Fair as a family. We enjoyed the SuperDogs show and the sheep. We also took advantage of the Kubota exhibit to indulge our tractor-crazed children.

In November, we have both kids' birthdays. Emily had her first real party with little girl friends running around enjoying our camping party. We set up the tent in the basement and did camping like things. For Nathan's party, we indulged in medieval festivities, complete with jousting practice, with small plastic muffins as targets, and daddies as the valiant steeds. Nathan's cake was the requested chocolate cake with jello boats in the moat and a chocolate bar drawbridge.

Even with the exciting approach of Christmas, Nathan and Emily still manage to have their regular tea parties. It has been a busy last two months. Even so, Paul and I have managed to sneak away to Stratford for a play, accomplish the requisite Christmas shopping and play many games of our new-found favourite game, Carcassone. I must admit, there are some details missing from this extended post but you can alway check out my other blog by the link over there on the side.

In the past two weeks, Emily has started toilet training (doing well) and Nathan is showing signs of finally being able to give up his nap. So, as the year winds up, it seems we are gearing up for a grand entrance into the new year, free of diapers and quite possibly, free of naps, almost free of Paul's latest project (check out his blog post) and full of excitement of what is yet to come. I hope you're seeing God's hand throughout our year and in our posts. We certainly do.

Getting ready for Christmas

Our home traditions are much the same as past years, but with much more enthusiasm, if that were possible. The kids yell out the subjects of our advent candles (Jesus' family, Shepherds, Wise Men), and they hop up and down in excitement when they put the pieces into the advent calendar. One highlight of the season is our Christmas tree. We managed to make it a family endeavor with all 8 hands fluffing the artificial branches, 4 small eager ones decorating the bottommost portion with vigor, 2 large one reroping the lights to where I (sorry, Paul!) wanted them and 2 soft paws finding some fun thing to bat at now and then. We are having a lot of fun anticipating Christmas this year. We took the opportunity to help at the Knight's Table with the entire family early this month. The Knight's Table is Brampton's only soup kitchen. We also have taken some donations to it and the kids are very passionate about being able to provide for those with less. We also took a trip to Zellers where Nathan and Emily chose some toys to donate to a child. It's amazing how they look at Christmas differently after we take some practical opportunites to live out the love of Jesus.

Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog. We hope you enjoy reading about our year, through our different perspectives. Please take the opportunity to leave a comment. We'd love to connect with you and hear what is going on in your life. We are really excited to be taking some new steps in our lives. We are beginning to seek out opportunities to give, serve, love and help others. Got any ideas for us? Feel free to pass them along or share what you're passionate about too.

Have a blessed Christmas. May you have many joyful moments throughout the New Year. Love, Amy (and Paul, Nathan and Emily)