however, taylor, every day you become more and more the beautiful woman I know God is making you ….
mommy and I don't always understand …
but God is teaching us just as much as he is teaching you …
please know, that nothing will ever separate you from your daddy's love …
you will always be my first cinderella …
that will NEVER change …
i love you Taylor …
and even though i didn't think it was possible, I love you MORE today than that day Dr. Hicks first laid you in my arms …
happy birthday cinderella …
the first time I heard this song from Steven Curtis Chapman, I knew …
it will ALWAYS remind me of you Taylor …
She spins and she sways to whatever song plays,
Without a care in the world.
And I'm sittin' here wearin' the weight of the world on my shoulders.
It's been a long day and there's still work to do,
She's pulling at me saying "Dad I need you!
There's a ball at the castle and I've been invited and I need to practice my dancin'"
"Oh please, daddy, please!"
So I'll dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I'll dance with Cinderella
I don't wanna miss even one song,
Cuz all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone
She says he's a nice guy and I'd be impressed
She wants to know if I approve of the dress
She says "Dad, the prom is just one week away,
And I need to practice my dancin'"
"Oh please, daddy, please!"
So I'll dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Ohh-oh ohh-oh, I'll dance with Cinderella
I don't wanna miss even one song,
Cuz all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone
She will be gone.
Well, she came home today
With a ring on her hand
Just glowin' and tellin' us all they had planned
She says "Dad, the wedding's still six months away
but I need to practice my dancin'"
"Oh please, daddy please!"
So I'll dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Ohh-oh ohh-oh, I'll dance with Cinderella
I don't wanna miss even one song,
(even one song)
Cuz all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone
it is hard to believe that some 730 days ago, Dr. Seale laid my second little angel in my arms for the very first time …
today that same little angel is 2 years old …
there are many things that "Rylee Kat" has shown me in those two years …
the first is that God does have a sense of humor …
i just thought that Taylor Grace was something … little did I know what He had in store for me with #2 …
secondly, as big and as blue of eyes as Taylor has, and my thinking that I couldn't imagine God creating another child with eyes that size or color ever again …
he did …
third, no matter how hard I told myself it was going to be when Taylor became a teenager …
that thought, that fear, that anxiety, that uncertainty has now only been doubled …
and finally … no matter what the situation, the day I have had, or the way I may feel … when I come home and "Rylee Kat" rounds the corner saying "Daa-DEE" … "Daa-DEE" … "Daa-DEE" …
And as I look down in those amazing blue eyes as she hugs my leg for all it is worth …
I remember …
i am more than blessed …
and God is more than good …
"Rylee Kat" … Happy Birthday … you are truly "my little blessing" …
okay, so going to try and move away from the political rut that I have been in lately on the blog …
going to move toward a more "family-friendly" tone and hopefully more keep you all updated on the goings on of the family …
as some of you who see me more frequently than others may know .. Lisa and I decided that 2009 would be the year we "got into shape" physically as we had pretty much ignored that part of our lives since Taylor was born …
therefore, we decided to take up the mantle of a pretty radical homeopathic diet known as HCG Diet Protocol …
now, taking into consideration I had never dieted before in my life and neither had Lisa, we did quite a bit of research and we asked lots of questions of some of our friends who had recently participated in the diet as well …
we visited with the local doctor here in the are who prescribed the diet and had actually participated in it herself for quite some time …
she recommended that to begin we perform a 4-week yeast detoxification process which involved no sugars and no yeast …
you also had to take 8 pills a day … 6 to aide in breaking down the yeast and 2 to help flush it from your system … yeah, you get the picture ….
so the Monday after Super Bowl Sunday we began …
my weight on that morning was 199.6 lbs … by far the most I had weighed in my entire life … and my waist was an easy 34 or 35 inches …
after three days on this yeast detox I was cursing my wife for convincing me to do this and wishing like everything that is holy I could drink a diet coke …
but I didn't … and the shakes, the light-headedness, the caffeine deficiency eventually worked itself out … after about 10 days …
the rest of the detox was smooth sailing … then the diet began … i was to participate for 4 weeks and Lisa was going all the way for 6 full weeks …
it took us a couple of days to get used to what to cook together because, honestly, 500 calories a day isn't a LOT to eat and it is hard to put things together from your "approved list" so you weren't eating your weight in cucumbers of lettuce …
and honestly, the weight started to come off … and not in your face or your calves where you don't need to lose weight if you are a guy, it started coming off in my gut …
it came off at a clip of almost 1.5 lbs a day … and I had easily adjusted to the 500 calories a day and we were sailing through this diet thing …
granted, mine or Lisa's results are typical, but they are OUR results … by the end of the 4 weeks, my weight was 175 lbs and I could fit into my old 31 inch waist jeans again …
after the 4 weeks, or 6 weeks of the HCG part of the diet, you finish up with a 3 week phase of no starch and no sugar ….
I figured this was where I would add the lbs back on … however, by end of those 3 weeks when I weighed the last morning, I weighed in at 175.2 lbs … I had maintained …
since then, it has been 4 weeks since I finished the no starch no sugar phase and this morning I weighed in at 177.2 lbs … a slight gain, but I am now working on maintaing that 173 – 177 lb range …
how am I doing that?? by doing something I have swore my whole life I would never ever do unless covered from head to toe in honey and being chased by a wild grizzly bear … I am running …
and not just running, but training … for a 1/2 marathon … yep, I can thank Jonathan Patterson for this one …
he convinced me I could and should do it and after 2 weeks of running so far, I can say, it has been well worth it and I am actually starting to look forward to my runs …
the date for the 1/2 marathon is November 22 in Tulsa, OK … i am hopefully I will be ready and God willing be able to run the 13.1 miles w/out dying …
so that is a little bit of an update for you … stay tuned as I update you on the girls and all they are into these days …
hopefully I can do this each day or at least every other day and keep you all updated on the Hill Clan on the Hill …
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1920's, 30ʼs, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-base paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads.
As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pick up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon. We drank Kool-aid made with real white sugar. And, we weren't overweight. WHY?
Because we were always outside, playing…that's why!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. And, we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the
brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's and X-boxes.
There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no
cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms.
WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it
would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them.
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.
Imagine that! !
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas..
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
If YOU are one of them? CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the
government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.
While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave and lucky their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it ?
The quote of the month is by Jay Leno:
'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the
country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time
to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'
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