Stuff That Makes Us Hillarys: 49 reasons I love my family.....(believe me there's more than this but let's start here)

...in the beginning...

We are the Hillary family. I can't actually claim all of us to be Hillarys, we've meshed with the Stimpsons, the Doxstaders, the Merrimans, and the Lowreys - but the more you hang around us the more we kind of rub off on you, and poof - you become a Hillary. Which, after reading some of the things that we do might sound like a pretty frightening thing. The disclaimer is that I cannot embarrass any of my children, and I promised. Then I uncrossed my fingers. We love the following people in our family.... Del & Nicole, Matt & Bethany & Drew, Em, and the Noahman Ashley & Mike and Baby Mackadamia and soon to be..., Mandy & Ryan, J-man and Dimples, and Ryan and Katie - yes we own two Ryans! Not pictured: Zoey the German Shephard, Opi the newly adopted puppy, BG & Baby Red the Macaws (the latter two Zoey would eat if put in the same picture). Welcome to our Blog. Don't take us too seriously.... life is meant to have a never ending, bottomless tub of buttered popcorn and laughter.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

49 reasons I love my family.....(believe me there's more than this but let's start here)

So 49 candles this year - was spent in Disneyland (pictures to come). Good times! My kids presented me with a cake in our Hotel room they had brought all the way from home (thank you Bethany!) and this AMAZING list of things that made me cry 1,000 times 49 tears. Long list - worth sharing - MANY inside joke here - but never the less - here's why life is sweet for me as the payoffs begin after years of parenting and loving my children and now their spouses.

1. Oh hey, Bob - Ashley 2. Calling me Mae Mae - Matt 3. You smell like pee - Ashley 4. You have a beautiful smile - Matt 5. You look hot on a bike - Ashley 6. The way you give me big hugs - Matt 7. You always dress like a hot MILF - Mike 8. I love how you are always laughing - Matt 9. You have always stood up for me. Ryan H. 10. You are glad you are on Verizon - Ryan M. 11. Leaving funny messages on my phone - Matt 12. The way you make the tastiest dinners - Matt 13. You sure dress Mandy in hot clothes - Ryan M. 14. You are an awesome workout partner - Ashley 15. When you surprised me with a new shirt - Matt 16. You are an even better shopping partner - Ashley 17. The way you got me all ready for scout camps. 18. You are incredibly talented at driving with your knee - Ashley 19. You love, without restraint, everyone in your family circle - Mike 20. You created an Eden for our reception in your backyard - Ryan M 21. Your "Mandy, just SHUT UP and let me read it!" comment - Mandy 22. Calming my hysterical crying before, during, and after music juries/auditions competitions and reminding me to count my blessings - Mandy 23. You are one of the few people who can still make me blush - Ryan M 24. Most of my ideas are too dirty to name, so I'll only tell you two - Mike 25. You are like a sneaky magical grocery fairy! Very thoughtful - Ryan M. 26. I'm so glad you started the Second Sunday Family Dinner tradition - Bethany 27. You always have multiple compliments to give us when we see you - Bethany 28. You've been a constant friend even when others in my life have not - Ryan H. 29. thank you for being my shoulder to cry on when my husband is gone - Ashley 30. MORE than SEVERAL random acts of kindness a day, I swear you do - Mandy 31. Laughing or sneezing (in three's - always in three's) so hard that you pee your pants and then that makes you laugh even more - so then - you get the cycle - Mandy 32. Dead people at the end of your bed at night. Yeah! Family history work! - Mandy 33. You're always patient with me even when I am hard to get along with - Ryan H. 34. I value all the counsel you've given me during hard times over the years - Ryan H. 35. Teaching Andrew Pat-a-Cake and introducing him to Marshmallow Mateys - Bethany 36. Your willingness to drop everything, anywhere at anytime, 100%, to be there for us - Mandy 37. It was so fun to see you when you worked at Willow Canyon while I was going there - Ryan H. 38. Teaching me how to drive with a BIG Mac in one hand and a large drink in the other hand - Matt 39. You have always supported my efforts to marry Mandy, even before I knew I wanted to - Ryan M. 40. I wanted to do calendar pages for my missionaries just like you did for Matt every month - Bethany 41. The answering machine message after you got the April Fool's Day joke: "Hi this is Nicole. If Bethany's not dead yet, I'm gonna kill her!" My parents saved that message until the answering machine died - Bethany 42. You have shown me so much love over the years, and I wouldn't be who I am today with you you - Ryan H. 43. I am so impressed how you always have food for the family on the stove each night, even if you need to be somewhere else. That was a special blessing over the summer when I had the crazy internship days - Bethany 44. Pointing out the invisible things in my teeth to me from the congregation before I give a talk at church - Mandy 45. Thank you for teaching me from the time I was young not to fight with others and not to provoke others - Ryan H 46. When you called me in high school before my first date with Matt to warn me that he overdid the cologne - Bethany 47. When you address letters or cards to Mori (the Stimson's Dog) if she could talk, I'm sure she'd express her appreciation herself - Bethany 48. Sending Drew home in 'punk' outfits every so often and surprising us with a new Tigger outfit and photo shoot - Bethany 49. You are really supportive. You come to all my home races even when I had only know Mandy for a week or so - Ryan M.

So I ask myself - who is this person they're talking about? Was I in the right Hotel room? I love you all so very much. Thank you for all the effort in getting this put together for me. I thought I would share your kindness with the world. 50 adventures before 50 begin... ....right.... now....