Hix Family Stuff

Little Snowman (in German)

2010-12-22T13:38:00.000-08:00

Samaria memorized this poem at school...

(this is it in English)
I am a little snowman,
Made out of snow and ice.
My hat is black,
My scarf is red,
My jacket is very white.

Gardening?

2010-09-21T00:09:00.000-07:00

So, we had our first go at 'gardening'.
We dont exactly have any grass, so we used these little pots.
We sowed our seeds in April.

We planted carrots!
Only, since i have never done it before, we planted WAY too many!
In mid summer we had to thin out our pots.
We loved watching our carrots grow!

So, last week we 'harvested'.
I use the term lightly!

Aren't they awesome!!

Yah...they are TINY!! haha!
We put them in a bowl & ate them that night.
Still pretty cool to eat something you have grown yourself.

I think next year we will get bigger pots!

2010-08-27T11:35:00.000-07:00

the B & B we stayed at was called Salisbury Guest House
in Keswick...about 45 minutes north of us

It was realllly clean and all newly refurbished...really nice!!

we walked Keswick on monday, it was COLD and RAINY!!

but we still had fun...stayed out late drinking coffee and such at a cute little cafe

breakfast monday morning was AMAZING!!
a traditional English breakfast (with continental)

then we took a rowboat out on the lake
(after all, it IS the Lake District)

what a great way to spend our 13th anniversary!
Thanks Mom(s) and Dad(s)
(& thanks to Sam for watching the kids!!)

Trip to Lakes Aquarium

2010-08-26T01:05:00.000-07:00

We had an awesome day riding the Steam Train
and visiting the aquarium with the Huddlestons

we felt like we were on Little House

the aquarium is right on a lake, so we had a nice waterside picnic before going in

it had an amazing underwater tunnel...def the highlight of the trip!

in the tunnel there were rainbows everywhere

even on jeff...

judah said the little dinosaur was his new favorite animal

Loads of fun!!!

lil nighties

2010-08-03T02:25:00.000-07:00

ok, so we have been watching a lot of Little House on the Prairie ...

(i got all 10 seasons for Christmas last year & we are in season 5)

so i was inspired to make some old fashion nighties for the girls.

my friend helped me out! it was fun & the girls LOVE them!!!

busy 1/2 term

2010-06-06T06:11:00.000-07:00

At English schools we have 3 trimesters that runs the school year

from beginning of Sept to middle of July. BUT, every 5-6 weeks, we get a week off.
We get 3 weeks at Christmas and 2 weeks off at Easter. Not too shaby!
Anyhoo...here is how we spent this break which was from 31 May - 5 June...

Praise God for amazing weather all week!!!!!
this is how we ended the week...more on that later =)

Our front garden has REALLY come to life...gorgeous flowers everywhere!

judah loves helping jeff with the trimming, he says this is what "boys" do.

Right before the break we had a lovely baby shower for our friend, Debbie.

it was a really fun time of great fellowship and competitive games! (hehe!)

Then we prayed for her just a few days later as she went off to have beautiful little abigail!

Monday of 1/2 term we did our first English Car Boot Sale with friends!
(like a yard sale but a bunch of people get together
in a designated spot and sell stuff right our of their cars)

Tuesday and Wednesday Jen, Tom & Caleb Cooper came to stay

The blow-up pool came out and the kids crammed in!
so fun...
(yah, we dont have any grass,
so we put the pool on carpet squares...SO GHETTO!!)

Wed - Fri the kids went to an awesome Sports Club.
Friday they had water games...we made almost 200 water balloons!

Saturday we went to Silecroft...an adorable coastal town
about an hour away, with a pretty little beach!

the weather was gorgeous for our picnic lunch

when the tide goes out there is a HUGE sandy area.
the water was a good temperature...
just right for jumping over the little waves!

All in all...a great week off!!!

The most AMAZING Good Friday ever

2010-04-02T07:32:00.000-07:00

Our wonderful friends allowed us to come out to visit their sheep farm on Good Friday.
We were hoping to be able to witness a birthing, but to plan for that would be nearly impossible.

We figured we would be just happy to hold the new babies
that had been born over the past week or so.

Cana couldn't WAIT to hold a new little one!
& she got to feed one too!
(that is it's mother looking on in the back ground)

Samaria loved every minute of it.

Judah wanted me to help, he said he didnt want it to lick him

But he did take a turn to bottle-feed one that needed help.

Well, as Providence would have it...God was up for the impossible
and decided to allow us to partake in the miracle of life this afternoon!!!

This sheep was "in labor", so i was helping to check her out.

Yep...I'm in there! Then i pulled the first lamb out!!!

Samaria was so incredibly brave! She went in too!!
Then she "birthed" the second lamb!

Here are our baby lambs! A boy and a girl!

Then the kids got to help herd the older lambs out into the fields.

How amazing to spend our GOOD FRIDAY birthing lambs!
What a memorable day!

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Psalm 150:6

MIll Beck Farm / Tea House

2010-03-03T11:26:00.001-08:00

There is a cool little Teahouse walking distance from our house...

It is actually a WORKING dairy farm, so there is an open area for kids to pet live animals.

This was as close as judah wanted to get to the new baby calfs.
He is trying to feed it a piece of hay.

YES...that is it's tongue licking cana's coat!!

We couldn't figure it out at first, but this one was REALLY interested in Samaria's coat...then we realized she had a new pack of gum in her pocket!!! (hehehe!)

Oh, and the ice cream there is AMAZING!!
It is one of our favorite spots here in Kendal!

Introducing....

2010-02-19T13:12:00.000-08:00

PASTOR JEFF HICKS!!!

(I want to be a dentist!)

little joke for you jeff, ok, here is the REAL Pastor Jeff Hicks...

see everyone, he IS smiling...sort of scary tho!

After having a great few days visiting with our friends (the Metgers) from Hungary,
showing them some sights of Kendal and the Lakes District...

Jeff and Phil up at Kendal Castle overlooking all of the town of Kendal

eating fish-n-chips in the freezing cold (with gloves on) overlooking Lake Windermere

a quick walk through town (we stopped by the "Truly Scrumptious" cafe)

tea, snacks & games for the girls and technology for the guys (jude even has his DS)

and a curry with the Cuozzos.

We squeezed a lot in 2 days!
And then the day finally arrived for Jeff to be prayed over and,
for all intents & purposes...ORDAINED!
How amazing that his parents & sister and her family,
SKYPED in and were "present" for the whole service (5:30am their time!!)(back in PA)

It was a gorgeous morning and we were completely blessed to share this event with
our amazing family at Calvary Chapel Spring Valley.

praying over Jeff (even all the way from the states!)

Jeff's Dad & Mom sent over a very special gift for Jeff as well.
It is a Communion set that Jeff's dad (former Chief of Chaplains, US Army)
received for HIS ordination, 30 years ago!They had it engraved to:

"Pastor Jeff Hicks, Ordained February 14th, 2010"

and on the inside:

"In Remembrance of Me"
There were very few dry eyes.

It was truly a blessed day!
Thanks to all who made it amazing,
and thanks to GOD for all He is and all He does!

Call to ME and I will answer you,
and show you great and mighty things
which you never knew!
Jeremiah 33:3

Some Good News

2010-02-12T00:56:00.000-08:00

Jeff gets ordained this Sunday!

Our friends Phil and Joy Metzger came in from Hungary to perform the ceremony!
I will post pix next week of how it all went!

The Winter Boots

2010-01-15T12:47:00.000-08:00

(Anyone who has ever dressed a child will love this)

Did you hear about the teacher who was helping one of her reception class pupils put on his boots? He asked for help and she could see why Even with her pulling and him pushing, the little boots still didn't want to go on. By the time they got the second boot on, she had worked up a sweat.

She almost cried when the little boy said, 'Teacher, they're on the wrong feet. ' She looked, and sure enough, they were. It wasn't any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. She managed to keep her cool as, together, they worked to get the boots back on, this time on the right feet.

He then announced, 'These aren't my boots.'

She bit her tongue, rather than get right in his face and scream, 'Why didn't you say so? ' like she wanted to. Once again she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off his little feet. No sooner had they gotten the boots off when he said, 'They're my brother's boots. My Mum made me wear 'em.'

Now she didn't know if she should laugh or cry. But she mustered up what grace and courage she had left to wrestle the boots on his feet again.

Helping him into his coat, she asked, 'Now, where are your mittens? 'He said, 'I stuffed 'em in the toes of my boots.'

A new day is dawning...

2009-12-14T22:51:00.001-08:00

i did not get a great recording of her play,
but the night before the performance she was practicing some her songs,
and here is one of them....

there IS a King, and yes...we can believe it!

Thanksgiving...on saturday...in england

2009-12-01T04:26:00.000-08:00

YUM YUM!!

We had a GREAT day!! the sun was shining (in contrast to the recent horrible weather)
and we all took part in the prep of the meal!!
We started at 8am, and we sat down to eat at 2pm!!

first we made some crafts...turkeys, color pages, acrostic poems, and pilgrim hats!

samaria made a peach crisp...

cana made an apple pie...

judah made pumpkin bread
(which was actually butternut squash bread, because i couldnt get a hold of any pumpkin)...he had a little too much fun with the blender...

each dessert turned out amazing! great job guys!!

i made my first turkey!!
(the store ran out of gloves, and those who know me well, know there is NO WAY i am touching raw meat,
so i compromised with baggies and rubberbands...hehe!)

jeff worked on mashed potatoes and random other things.
(looking unusually cheerful here with a potato stuck on the end of a knife)

all in all, we had a great meal, but missed all our friends and family!!

Thank You Lord, once again, for your great provision!!!

Samaria's Space Assembly

2009-10-23T07:48:00.000-07:00

Presenting....

2009-10-19T03:05:00.000-07:00

how a caterpillar might view fallen
AUTUMN LEAVES

Celebrating Harvest

2009-10-09T13:29:00.000-07:00

Jeff and i were shocked this morning (pleasantly) at the Harvest Assembly at the kids school. The whole assembly revolved around giving thanks to GOD
for the sun and rain, and all the harvest
that HE provides for us every day,
and a call to help those who are less fortunate!
This is a Public School!
thank you Jesus for loving and watching over my kids!

Judah's class sang "Big Red Combine Harvester" ...it was so cute! he is in front, the 2nd from the left. he is sporting the "faux hawk". (he pats his legs WAY longer than the other kids...hehe)

Samaria's class sang some Harvest songs too...but they were on the other side of the hall, so her video didnt turn out very well. she has an assembly coming up about space travel where she has a few lines. i will try to post that one in a few weeks!

cana's class is WAY to mature for this stuff, so they didn't participate in this assembly =)

New School Year

2009-09-12T05:09:00.000-07:00

the kids started Heron Hill Primary School along with about 400 other kids. they have all had a great time so far, made some sweet friends and they all love their teachers as well! we will continue to pray for them and all the teachers and staff, parents and students over there! i cant wait to begin volunteering a few days a week in each class, and jeff is hoping to help out too! here they are on the first day!

Beautiful Easter

2009-04-14T07:17:00.000-07:00

We decorated eggs this year, but there aren't the fizzy tablets like i am used to in America, so after looking up some ideas online, we used wet tissue paper to create some patterns. When they dried, the color transfered and the turned out pretty cool! We had some friends from Hungary here with us to help decorate.

We had the most amazing weather this year! The kids even had Sunday "dinner" outside with our sweet friends. We are so blessed!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2008-12-21T13:07:00.000-08:00

to all our loved ones all over the world who we will not see on Christmas....

we love you all so much!

"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given:
and the government shall be upon His shoulder:
and His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."
Isa. 9:6

i am OLD

2008-12-17T12:22:00.000-08:00

me and my sweeties on my 33rd bday

we stuck confetti on our faces that jeff had put in my present.
then we left them on too long, and the color stayed on our skin...hahaha!!!
we all had pink spots for a day or so!!

now it REALLY snowed!

2008-12-02T13:11:00.000-08:00

jude had fun with his friends at school!

the girls played on the play ground at school and did some sledding
(which is called "sledging" here)

this is the best picture ever!

on break at school with their mates hattie and alfie (and caleb at the bottom)

it snowed all day! it was SO great!

2008-11-26T13:38:00.000-08:00

YAH! it snowed!! (well a little anyhoo!)

we'll take it!

2008-11-12T13:15:00.000-08:00

"Guy Fawkes" / Bonfire night

debs wedding

2008-10-19T08:33:00.000-07:00

they are so beautiful

2008-08-23T06:22:00.001-07:00

i am also on facebook...hi!

2008-07-05T04:54:00.000-07:00

my myspace is www.myspace.com/frednweezie. that is where all our info and pix are. i am confused by blogspot. i know, i am lame...so educate me!

2008-04-30T13:24:00.001-07:00

uhh, not sure what is happening here. just trying to see if i like this. oh well...