Hettinger Happenings

Well, I got this blog back up and running. I hope we can use it as much as we did last year. It's been such a great and blessed year. Honestly. My friend, Kip, said "Do you know how lucky you are??" And yeah - I do know it. We just came back from a trip to see Bryant and Kristie. Charly, Jess, Stacey and Jake were with us. And though the time is never long that we have to spend together, I am thrilled at the times we have. I have lost over 80 lbs. now. I am so glad I had the surgery in the summer. A lady named Lisa said to me a day or so after the surgery "you are on the other side of the fence now" and wow! I am. So much I can do now that I couldn't do before. Mostly I can play with my granddaughter. She can sit on the lap and we can read books or play the piano and sing. I can't wait to do those things with my little grandson. I can't wait to just sit on the beach and build sand castles with them. What a miracle has happened in our f...

this is me with 2 of my cute little dance students!!

Well tonight uncle is upset. He is saying everyone is laughing at him again. He says it every day. It breaks my heart his world is so sad. The dr. agreed to up his meds at the next visit. But tonight as we were reading our scriptures, a feeling came over me to include uncle in our family prayers. So reading we asked him to join us. I hope that can help soothe him and he can feel more peaceful.

So I gave my intro to foods students a mid term, and they have been really fun to grade! I gave them three essay question choices and they had to choose one to write a one page essay on. The questions were all opinion questions. One dealt with an issue of two girls suing McDonalds because of their obesity, another dealt with the issue of Cafeteria food and if they thought the unhealthy food contributes to childhood obesity, and also what they would do if they were president to help to prevent the rise of obesity. So, all of them have been VERY passionate about what they have been writing, which is great! Some get so passionate that it is down right funny. This comment at the end of this kids essay has been my favorite so far: "these girls are blaming McD for their weight problem seems to me as when a rapist claims that girls ask for it by the way they dress. Just because Hamburgers are tasty and inexpensive does not mean you are allowed the 'rape' them" Being a teache...

Well, we did -- No TV on a weeknight. Not 1/2 bad. We are so use to no TV on Sundays, but this was different. We lit a fire and read books. I am reading Children of Promise - Vol. 3 (about WWII) and dad started Vol. 2. Then we chatted for a while. Next week we thought we would work on geneology. Dad says he has lots more names to put on. So that's it. Nothing exciting, but it was nice and relaxing.

1/4 cup Olive Oil 4-6 garlic cloves, minced 2 - 28oz. cans Italian plum tomatoes, drained and chopped (or buy crushed) 1/2 t salt 1/2 t black pepper 1/3 cup snipped basil Heat the oil. Add garlic, cook and stir for 1 minute. Stir in tomoatoes, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 15-20 minutes. Stir in basil during the last 5 minutes.

I can't figure out how the heading got on the bottom??

Me a year ago... crazy!!! hi! it's me.. i do exist! seem to be just a little bit busier lately packing, cleaning, getting ready for halloween (cant wait), making final arrangements, ETC... but i am proud to say that i have only have 1 mental break down.... and it only lasted a few min. jeron might beg to differ..... but i think i am handeling myself better than how i expected. i'm just trying to forget all the stresses and focus on my little family before we have to say "see ya later" (no goodbyes) ANYWAY we went to sixth street in Austin..... it's a whole entire street filled w/ bars and resturants and clubs and piano bars, and coffee shops.. it is truly an experience. Around 10 they close off the whole street to any traffic and there are tons and tons of people lining the streets.... Me and jeron got there around 8... ate at a c...

I was looking for some of my favorite scriptures, and i turned to this one. As I read it to Jake, it took everything I had not to cry. You could just feel the power and the love and mercy that Jesus Christ has for us, through the way Nephi (A prophet in the Book of Mormon) wrote it. It makes you really think about good and evil. There are some really strong points in these few verses. The questions it made me ask myself include: Why sin? Why fall to temptation when we know the plans God has for us, and we know the purpose to why we are on the earth? Why would we let peace in our lives be destroyed for momentary pleasure? Why be mad at people and not have mercy when we know God loves all of us and wants us to follow him. May we all be like Nephi, and just WANT be Christ like, to win the battle of evil so it doesn't stand a chance against us; to bring us down, to take us away from what we are really here to do, which is to return to our Heavenly Father victorious 2nd Nephi Chapter 4...

So Jake and I have been watching a lot of tv and decided to take pick at least one day of the week and not turn on the TV at all. We challenge you guys to do the same. We are going to do Mon ( our fam home evening day). So, we challenge you guys to do the same...no TV, no movies, and no excessive internet surfing for one day a week. Go for a walk, a hike, start reading a book together, clean, make dinner together, do random service for people you don't know, go to bed early! Let me know how it all goes!

http://www.theinterviewwithgod.com/ click view presentation

I want to see some pictures of Kristie's prego belly!!

Well, I was just thinking of him last night and what I was going to miss most. So even though I have a million reasons why I love him, I am going to put the one that stands out most. It's how he treats people and especially how he greets people. I love his hugs!! You feel like you are the most important person alive to Jeron. I am going to try to be more like him that way.

On a happier note, that will not make anyone cry... Lets all write down our favorite times with Jeron, or the things we love about Jeron. I love Jeron's laugh... you can't miss it, even it you wanted to. He gives great advice, probably because he actually listens to what is in your heart. He loves to dance.... like actually loves it, like Jess and I. Its very rare. Favorite Moment...when the subway doors in NY closed too early leaving Jeron and Chad inside the subway and Jess and I on the plateform. Their faces were SOOOOOO classic. The subway took off with them, and jess and I laughed soooo hard. Two utah boys lost in NYC.

I want you to know how much I admire you. I know that time is short for you and your family to be together and there are lots of things to do. But somehow I feel that you are one of the lucky ones. In these next few weeks, you will love Jeron more than you ever have and you will cherish all your moments together as a family as most of us civilians never do. You are strong. You come from strong stock. Me, my mom, her mom, grandma hett, aunt julie, stacey, kristie. When you were Charly's age, you always loved to be in the wind and rain. I would carry you and try to shield you from the bad weather, but you always poked your little face, loving the rain and wind beating on it. I still have that image of that baby girl as I look as you now. You have challenges and trials and yet are so willing and ready to face them head on. Love each second with your husband! He is a good man. Know that the Lord is mindful of you and keep a record of his many blessings to you and Jeron. You...

Ok so I want you all to know how utterly thrilled I was to see the apron that I bought for Stacey was being put to good use, however Jake I was just as happy to see that you are wearing shorts under it. So October in New York cannot get much better than this we had a great day. I awoke this morning at 7am (normal) to George sitting on the potty, shouting "I'm done" and a stench wafting into my bedroom (also normal). Finn then emerged asking if he could watch TV to which I replied "yer if its got something to do with Jesus cos its Sunday". I went back to bed until 9am, I was awoken for the second time to Marge standing in the doorway shouting "good morning". The thought went through my head.... yes, I do love my life. I got up made frozen waffles, after dressing Marge and switched on my yummy new MacBook, that my ultra yummy husband bought me this week for my 30th birthday. BYU was up in a flash and I made sandwiches for the Ashworth/Hettinger picnic at...

What a lucky girl I am...dinner and a show! At least its not on backwards right family??

here we have our oh so loved dining room and one pic of our living room. We love love love our table and hutch, and all the fun black white and red. IT is soooooo me right?? We keep our vases from the wedding, and hung up the "breakfast and tiffany's" poster from my shower. We also hung up our two pics of Christ, and we can't wait to get our big poster from the wedding to hang up too. i'm still working on pillows for the couch, and other things here and there. We really need a dresser! We now have surround sound! jake's friends bought it for us. It is very nice, and kindof funny for such a small apartment. now you really wanna come visit right?? Anyway.. our ward seems really great. They had a little party for us with a bunch of younger couples. Tinfoil dinner, smores and outdoor movie on blankets. It was a lot of fun. I'm excited to get to know everyone. I really am loving my job. The kids are great to be around, and the staff has been really awesome. I ...

Here are a few pics of our place. We have really made it our home, and it is so nice to come home to a place where we feel so comfortable and safe! Come visit us! The first two pics are of our bathroom. Jake painted the same pattern of the towels on the wall. He is amazing. The 3rd pic is of our awesome kitchen butcher's unit, which has really helped us with storage and added a fun touch to the kitchen. i still have to think of how im going to decorate it. The last pics are of our bedroom which we really haven't worked on yet. We love our bed and our little strand of lights. Jake bought a dimmer, and the little touch switch is posted right up by our pillows so we can adjust the lighting for reading scriptures, and then dim them for....otehr things.

Stacey said that Jake had a suggestion as we approach conference to have some sort of question that we would like answered as we listen! I think that's a great idea. I love this quote from the woman's broadcast What a different world and Church this would be if every Latter-day Saint sister excelled at making, renewing, and keeping covenants; if every sister qualified for a temple recommend and worshipped more often in temples; if every sister studied the scriptures and doctrines of Christ and knew them so well that she could teach and defend those doctrines at any time or place. Think of our combined strength if every sister had sincere prayer every morning and night or, better yet, prayed unceasingly as the Lord has commanded. If every family had family prayer daily and had a family home evening once a week, we would be stronger. If every sister was self-reliant enough to be able to give freely of her knowledge, talents, and resources and if every sister’s discipleship was r...

We said a prayer for you Bry. We know Heavenly Father will bless you because you are strong. Take is easy and get better soon! We love you!

What I want to know is.....what exactly does dad do for a living??? He is having way too much fun! hehe --- it's a good way to be -- work hard when you are young, so you can have a little fun at 50! I just finished listening to Women's Conference on the internet and it is some of the greatest talks I have ever heard on being a woman. Go to www.lds.org to hear it for yourselves.

Let's all have a family prayer for Bryant tomorrow night. Say about 10 p.m. EST (9 p.m. in Texas) I think that will help a lot. He is in a lot of pain still. Can't drive or bend his knee but he still has to go to work. I know soon he will be all healed soon and we are so blessed it wasn't worse, but let's pray as a family tomorrow. I know it will help so much.

pics of are jake and I at the orioles/yankees game, and our day of picking! Big Happy Happy's for: Kristie Hettinger...Happy Birthday Jake Nelson.... Happy Birthday Mom and Dad...Happy Anniversary Mom... Happy Birthday What a great month for our family! So things are still going great here in MD. Jake makes me laugh.... lost an ipod connector to our new surround sound while cleaning, so he spent 30 min in the dumpster looking for it. Didn't come back with the ipod connector, but a string of jack-o-lantern halloween lights. haha. He is very excited about them. ( he wants me to let you know, they all work!) Our relationship with Gary is growing. We met his parents. I know what you are all thinking.. "is it moving too fast?" "meeting his parents within the first month"... but i guarantee it will still work out! haha. We went to the orioles/yankees game last fri night with him and his daughter and his dad. It was a great game. His daughter is kind of a monster. ...

Hey everyone here are some pictures and video of the bike and my battle scars. Other than being in the hospital for 6 hours I'm fine, just really sore and in pain. The bike will be fixed and I will ride again.

Life is really great as newlyweds. Its hard to accomplish ANYTHING because we just can seem to separate ourselves. As you can imagine, luggage and gifts are just everywhere! Not that we are complaining about it. We feel very blessed with everyone's generosity. The question just is.....Where to put it all! Jake started his new job the day we got back from Utah. He is working at the law firm doing all sorts of paralegal work. He is working for a LDS guy, who just LOVES Jake. I mean, he invites us to dinner, and we're going to the Oriele's/Yankee's game on Friday, and invited us for conference, and buys Jake lunch everyday, and OFFERED JAKE A JOB AS PARTNER AT THE LAW FIRM if Jake decided to go into Law, which he does not want to do, but Gary is trying to work his magic on him. Gary even text messages Jake, EVERYDAY. Are we paying Jake to work, or for Gary to have a friend? Either way, he is a really nice guy, and has a cute little family, and they have gone above and beyo...

Well as you can see from the pictures kristie had her ultrasound today. And the verdict is in. Its a BOY!!! We're very excited. Thanx everyone for you love and support. We Love you all!!

Feels like we have been celebrating Stacey's wedding for months now!! But she was married 2 weeks ago in the Mt. Timponognos Temple in Utah -- September 14th. We all got to fly there, except Jeron. And a week later we were all here in New York - including Jeron!!! It was a whirlwind, but I enjoyed every moment. Jenn, the photographer was at the Utah reception, the New York reception, the Temple and even the bowling party!! I can not wait to see her pictures. In the mean time -- here are some of mine -- I got so caught up in everything that I would forget to take out my camera!! Most of all it was so nice to be all together as a family. Let's put our heads together and try to remember all the Temple sealer said -- it was such good advice....

my best days.. -my wedding day... the most romantic and happiest day of my life -moving into our own appartment together in TX, first time as a family -thursdays with stacey in logan.... going from dance class.... to getting something to eat...to going out dancing at night. simply the best -Becoming a mother, holding charly for the first time... priceless -Jeron's baptism.

I got locked IN the bank today. Why do these things only happen to me?????????

So Bry and I were talking and we came up with our best days: With out a doubt being married in the temple Bry serving a Mission The day we found out we are going to be parents Graduations for both of us I think the best thing about life is that there are so many 'best' days to come and looking forward to them and living through them brings so much joy! Like the birth of our baby, our family growing and watching our kids grow. Our son/daughters baptism, first date, mission, college, marriage, and then their family. Us growing old together and the adventures that we will go on. Life is such a great thing and we are so glade that we are here to make the choices that will help guide our future to many great things to come. Stacey and Jake we are so proud of you and your decisions that you have made, we are grateful that we can share this day with you. Marriage is such a great thing and to spend the eternities with your best friend is something that you can put a price tag on....

He said to me.........the day he heard me laughing at Scarsdale High School on the football field for a Young Single Adult activity. He gets brownie points for that one!! He did have a whole list -- i'll have to ask him again. After he said that I wasn't really listening.

I have so many awesome days.... how do you pick only 5. Maybe the 5 best years of my life?? Ok..Let me try...5 best days 1. The night Jake proposed to me ( it was truely amazing!) 2. Night before I left for college, and all my girlfriends and I went to Walmart....and I mean, all 10 of them. We all put on rollerskates we found, and had races up and down the isle. Of course Kari and Melissa collided and knocked down an entire shelving unit. I remember just feeling pure friendship that night. No one wanted to leave. We stayed up until 4am, just wanting to be together. We all cried like babies. And now look....they are still my cloest friends, and my bridesmaids! 3. Every day at college with jess...i honestly can not choose! wow... this was hard...i've got to get back to you. i can't choose between all of them

On the way home from Maryland, dad and I were quizzing each other on our 5 best days. What are yours? These are mine: Wedding Day -- just perfect When I became a mother for the first time. Being sealed to my parents. Grandma's funeral -- I know she was there and so proud of each of you and your tributes to her. The night before Bryant left on his mission. Remember how we didn't want the night to end.

So I heard the Bachelor left Tessa for Bevin!

It's Monday evening! It's been a great weekend. I am waiting for dad to change because we are taking the bike out and going out for dinner. He spent all day at the lake with uncle bob and the cousins and I was with Aunt Julie, but we did go out and meet them. I took Aunt Julie to look for photo spots for the photos for Stacey's reception. We found a nice spot. They filmed Hello Dolly there. It's in Garrison. It looks like a place lost in time. Around the 40's. With an old fashioned train station and building and a beautiful park on the rivers edge with a gazebo. West Point is just across the river. Now is the count down to the wedding and all the festivities. Do you all know your flight schedules?? Saturday we went with Stacey to the Washington DC temple. (I have pix in Stacey's camera, which my USB cable doesn't fit - since I can't find my own camera). The Spirit was so strong and Stacey was so touched by it all. It was wonderful. I am s...