Surprise!!!

Thanks Hills for the ride!

Well, it wasn't easy to keep quiet, but we did and the surprise was surprisingly successful. Unfortunately, we have no pictures of the surprise, as the surprised were surprised and the surprisers didn't have a camera.

Last Wednesday we received an email from a family we know saying that they had just decided to take a trip down to Florida, had a couple of open seats in the van and would be happy to take a couple of us along for the ride and drop us off in Montgomery, Alabama for a visit Nathan & Jeanine. Almost immediately we decided that if it did work out for a couple of us to go, we wouldn't tell N&J about it and just show up. And that's exactly what happened. Although Mom was quite sure that something would come up and she wouldn't be able to go, on Saturday afternoon she and Josiah were at the Hill's home leaving for Alabama.

Sunday morning as Nathan and Jeanine prepared to leave for church (and Corrine was napping), they were surprised to hear their doorbell ring. Reportedly, they both nearly collapsed from a very pleasant sort of heart failure when they opened the door and saw who was standing there! When Corrine woke up, they sent Josiah in to get her out of bed. As he walked out of the bedroom carrying her, she was just staring at him - but soon smiled and wouldn't go to anyone else or let him put her down for half-an-hour! They are all having a great time and look forward to spending all week together.

This weekend most of the rest of us (minus Jonathan & Joseph) are headed down to Georgia for an event that some of us are attending and Josh is recording. On our way back, we'll stop at N&J's, pick up Mom and Josiah, and drop off Jessica who will be staying with them for most of the month of April before heading home.

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!

Happy 18th Birthday to you, Jonathan! Have a great one!

Two Reasons We Smile A Lot

Alabama and Update

Well they made it! Nathan, Jeanine, and Corrine are now finally moved down to the very warm state of Alabama. Various friends and acquaintances down there have begun assisting them with "correcting" their pronounciation. We miss them terribly, and are already planning times and ways to exchange visits! Nathan's first week of work on his new job seems to be going well thus far. May it continue so!

Josh and I (Jessica), helped them move down and more or less enjoyed a week of weather in the 80's that even made it up to the low 90's one day! Today, we are back home in Illinois watching a lovely (and fairly heavy at the moment) snowfall turn the world outside our windows bright white. :-)

This Saturday we'll be having a Liberty Day meeting to wrap-up 2006 and discuss our plans for 2007! If you have any thoughts on the past or suggestions for the future of Liberty Day, now's the time to send us an email. Speaking of Liberty Day, there are also now a whole bunch of pictures on the Liberty Day site for those of you that are interested!

Look Who's 13!!!

Happy Birthday, Joanna!

Also of note is that today is Jeanine's birthday, too!!!

A very Happy Birthday to you both! We love you and thank God for each of you! Have a wonderful day!

Liberty Day & Conference

What a great way to spend a Saturday! We'll get a full report and more pictures up when we get the pictures from our photographer. In the mean time, be it known that it was absolutely fantastic!


The conference was great and Dr. Jehle was wonderful. Starting with Genesis 1:1, he moved forward from there discussing principles of government, the constitution, and history articulately - educating and inspiring young and old alike. For those of you who weren't there, I'll add that Josh did record the sessions and you really ought to hear it!


Then came the evening. Despite a handful of glitches that had certain ones of us holding our breaths, it was again a fabulous time! It was our 8th annual Liberty Day celebration and, from reports we hear, better than ever! It's always hard to judge just how it went when one knows every little thing that didn't go exactly like it was supposed to. But still, it was a very fun evening and the eloquence of Dr. Jehle and Patrick Henry stand as complimentary rivals for the status of "highlight of the evening."

The room was packed! The chairs were full, and the back and sides of the room were lined with additional attendees! In addition to the 450 who attended the conference during the day, another 100 or so showed up just for the evening!

Those of you who were unable to join us, we wish you could have been there! You missed a really wonderful day. Some small comfort may be found for you in a quick email to Josh who also recorded certain items from the evening...

Those who were there - we'd love to hear what you thought! Leave a comment here, or here, or you can email us, too!