Classic Hilton's

And I do mean that literally! I still don't know quite how it happened, but regardless, the England- Ostrander- Hilton community grew in numbers yesterday as w e welcomed Darla, an 8 week old pug to our busy little world. It took her all of two minutes to wrap every one of us around her little paws! My favorite part of watching our three dogs interact is how similar they are to my three children. I don't normally like to compare my kids to animals, but the resemblances are striking!  Darla and Madi are the adorable, engaging babies. They must be coddled and cuddled, and frequently find themselves the center of attention.  Achilles and Brooklyn are the patient first-borns. They know how to behave and can interact with minimal instruction.  Grayson and Piper...sigh...the toddlers. They are busy, rambunctious, and in need of constant supervision!  Together they add spice and laughter to our lives!

Christmas this year was a blast! I'll go ahead and say it...it was the best Christmas of 2012!! ;0) First, we all ended up sick, except for Mom, though I promise we tried our hardest to infect her! Madi and Grayson both ended up with a stomach virus that gave them round the clock bouts of diarrhea (this also gave Madi a very angry diaper rash!), on and off fevers over the course of a few days, and all around crankiness. Brooklyn, Ray, and I now have head colds.  Even so, we've had fun.  Brooklyn and Ray sang in the Christmas Eve service, which was so beautiful! I think the Christmas Eve service may be my favorite service of the year. We came together and we worshiped. We glorified the Lord in song and readings. It was loud and a little chaotic and people kept shuffling little ones and in and out (because their little bodies can only handle so much!), but we were all together for that one beautiful purpose. To acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. The evening star

If I'd pushed a little harder to get our Christmas letter out, this is what it might have said... Merry Christmas! What a wonderful year it has been for the Hilton's! God has continued to grow our family, first with the addition of Achilles, a six year old Peekapoo that we rescued in April. He is very much the fourth child in our home.  what's that? Fourth child? Last year you only had two! How do you now have four?! Yes, indeed, we added another baby to our family in 2012! Our dear, sweet Madilyn was born in June. At six months old, she is a healthy, happy addition to our home.  We are all enjoying watching her little personality emerge. She is sweet, engaging, mellow, and all smiles all the time!  Grayson, getting closer to two by the minute, continues to establish himself as the BOY of the family. He delights us on a regular basis with his ever expanding grasp of communication and language, and there is not a single surface in the house that he will not

I'm pretty sure when I look back on these days I will remember them idyllically: peaceful, filled with laughter, everyone getting along... I won't remember the thirty minutes it takes just to get everyone buckled in the car, or the forty five minutes before that, where I'm pulling everything together to be ready to go out!  I won't remember that Grayson hits his sister or that Brooklyn aggravates her brother or that Madi is sitting quietly in the hall, forgotten again!  I will remember that Brooklyn loves planning - making lists, knowing the details, and being involved in every aspect of the event that she can be.  I will remember that Grayson makes us LAUGH  with his demands for attention and attempts to communicate. I will remember that Madi smiles with her whole body.