Hettinger Happenings

What was your best Christmas????? What was the best gift you received???? I think for me, my favorite Christmas, is the one when it snowed and snowed. Instead of opening gifts first thing in the morning, we drove down to White Plains and had Christmas "breakfast" with grandma and uncle. Then, we came home and opened our gifts. Later that day, we took dad's truck over to Aunt Julie and Uncle Bob's. Remember dad put you kids in the back under the trap......That had to be the best ever because nothing was planned and everything just happened and we had so much fun. My best gift is, probably, without doubt, the little doll outfits my mom made for me one year. She had the flu on Christmas and was in bed for a week. But apparently, while sick in bed, she hand-sewed each little outfit. Seams, snaps, trims and all. I treasured those for a long long time.

So I had dinner with Uncle last night. He said they didn't have enough work for him this week. When I started to question him about it and tell him I was going to call his job coach to see what was going on, he hung his head down low. "Oh, I told them I was on vacation....I needed a break." He called it a "white lie" and said he was sorry and he would never do it again. So when I questioned him about why Kate wasn't calling....he said "I told her I was on vacation too." So then I thought maybe he really does want to go on vacation!!!

Yesterday was Memorial Day and we were at the Walls for Family Home Evening. We had a discussion of Patriotism and love of country. Dad shared some really great thoughts. One was on his impression of the Vietnam Wall Memorial in Washington DC. He said it has a sacredness to it and was a very spiritual experience for him to be there. He talked about the 52,000 young men that gave their lives for this country. Then he spoke of D-Day in Normandy, France and that great great sacrifice of those young men. The boats landed on Normandy and the doors opened and the Germans were there waiting. The first 5 rows of men were shot instantly. The water turned blood red. He told about that sacrifice and the freedoms we take for granted. While he spoke, he cried. It reminded me of the stories I heard growing up of WWII. My father grew up in France listening to Hilter on the radio. He was 13 when Hilter invaded Paris. My grandfather was serving in the France Army (he also served in the

Jake and I are just dying to know if our little bugger is a boy or a girl!! We find out next Wed at 3pm. I've been looking up old wives tale predictions and this is what I've found Reasons I could be having a girl: ~It was my first initial thought when I found out I was Preg! ~ Face has been breaking out more than usual. Reason I could be having a boy: ~Jake says so! ~Did not have morning sickness...at least no throwing up ~Crave salty foods WAY more than sweet ~Chinese Predictor said BOY ~My hair has not been dry Anyone have any guesses?? Regardless I am excited and I just hope the baby is healthy and all is going smoothly in there!

These are some pictures from sunday night. I threw Bryant a surprise party, it was so much fun! I also surprised him with tickets to see the Mets play the Nationals in June, Go Mets!!! I hope you had a great day! We Love you!

Today Will and I went shopping and he has to say 'Hi' to everyone we pass and that gets me talking to a lot of people I normally wouldn't talk to. Anyway this old man was behind us in the check out and he was going off on how the cashiers these days don't know how to count, I don't recall the entire conversation, I had said 'bet' like 'I bet that was cool' anyway he then asked me if was from Utah? I said yes and he said 'people in Utah don't bet and they talk funny' I told him he was right and then he turned and wouldn't say another word. Bryant is always making funny of the way I talk, I didn't think I had much of an accent. It was so funny that he picked out where I was from. Just very random!

So I was sitting at my desk this afternoon, when my cell phone rang. It was the David Letterman offering me 2 free tickets to Monday's taping! Can you believe it. We are so excited. It is something I always wanted to do. And last month the Rachel Ray show called Stacey and 2 years ago the Rachel Ray show called me to come on. Wow -- I am being to feel like a celebrity with all these shows calling. What next? Maybe American's Next Top Model will call!

We got home from - changed our clothes as quickly as we could, and took the bike down to the river. Just bliss! I wish you all a motorcycle and someone to ride with, in your lifetime!!!

Congrats Bry on your new job!!! I hope you love it and it keeps you busy. Stace

We have endless entertainment with Will!  

Just wanted to remind everyone to say a prayer for mom as she goes through surgery tomorrow! We hope its a super speedy recovery! Love you mom!!

I hope everyone had a good Valentine's Day. What did you all do? Jake did a good job with Valentine's Day. He hates being put in charge of plans, but I basically made it and I woke up to a nice breakfast, thought out gift and a day spent in Annapolis, an awesome town built in the 1700's that is now full of great shops with all the same old roads and buildings. It was really nice. But.. I wanted to share a quote I read from "Between Husband and Wife". President Hinckley quotes Jenkins Lloyd Jones: "Anyone who imagines bliss is normal is going to be waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. Most putts don't drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old-time rail journey- delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas an

We don't know if those are the names we will use, but we really like them and keep calling the baby by those names!  We are only 6 little weeks along and here is a pic to prove it!! Due date is October 4th!  I feel great so far, just tired some days and craving certain things on certain days. When mom told me that she had made spaghetti and meat sauce for dinner, I HAD to stop and get it for dinner! Yesterday it was an egg roll! Today its still an egg roll! haha. But I have been eating super healthy, lots of fruits and veggies, and not craving junk food at all! not even craving sweet and chocolate which is just plain strange!!  More to come!! Moving into our house in 12 days!! So much going on!

Such a sweet Princess, Rachel Here is my great big beautiful Italian family, minus a few (like my kids) of course

:o)

Just wanted to say Happy Birthday to little Will on his 1st Birthday!!!! Hope it was a good one filled with messy cake eating!!

Jake and I put an offer on a house last night and found out today that it was accepted! We are sooo excited! Its a cute little cape code, 2300 sq ft, with 4 bedrooms and 1.5 baths. It has a full basement. The back yard is adorable with a big old perfect tree and fenced in yard and bird bath.  There is both a covered patio and deck area. The whole house needs some updating, but we can't wait to put in some sweat equity and make it cute and homey.  What i love about this house is the fact that I can tell someone really loved that house. They took care of it, and you can just feel it when you walk in. The son and daughter are selling their parents estate, who have either passed on or moved into other retirement community.  The community is adorable. The house is in Pikesville MD and the community we live in is Sudbrook Park, which is a historic district. They have a community website and newsletter. I read some old ones on the website today and they are soo cute. They write about new

If you look close Will has a black eye, and a bruise on his forehead. He thought he could run and tripped over his own feet.

I want to aplogize for that awful spaghetti sauce I served last Sunday. Stacey was right! It was nasty. But I am proud to announce I finally got it right. It tastes just like Grandmas. Oil in the pot 1 chopped onion 6-8 gloves of minced garlic saute that a bit Add 1 small can of tomato paste 1 small can of water let that simmer then add 2 cans of puree tomatos 1 can of water 2 teaspoons or more of basil bring to a boil then add cooked meatballs and sausage cover and simmer for at least 1 hour YUMMY

Charly dressed herself She wouldn't take the sun glasses off. In fact, she went to bed with them on. Snot, snow and chocolate donuts on her face. Kathy made a snowman with her. We had such a fun day today. We went to Whaley Lake with the Wall's. They like to shoot rifles. They had Jimmy and Kathy with them and Jimmy's parents. We had Charly with us and the $1 Land's End snow boots I bought from a thrift store! Yeah thrift store!!! '

Dad never ceases to amaze me. His confession is very shocking! You will have to call to find out what it is!!

We went to dinner with some friends tonight and some how we got on the subject of our EX's...anyway I dated this guy in college but I couldn't stand being around him. The way the ate, sang(it was awful), but the way he talked would drive you insane. At first he was okay and then he became very annoying. He came from a wealthy family and would take me to nice restaurants and he would let me borrow his car when I needed to go church so I kept him around. Bryant called me a whore without the sex, but it was just that one guy.