FINALIZED AT LAST!!!

Wow... the day finally arrived! We had our adoption hearing this week, with the Judge finally proclaiming that Noah is our son, forever and ever amen! It was a pretty powerful day... to think that just a year ago, we were oblivious to what the months ahead had in store for us. Now we look back over 2008, and sit in awe of the miraculous changes we weren't even expecting. We feel so very fortunate, however, to have the honor, privilege, and blessing of having Noah in our lives! He fits in perfectly with his big brothers, and to be honest, I feel Noah completes us all. This is truly a summary of a happy family!

Happy New Year, one and all! May 2009 be equally joyful, and filled with countless blessings.

Christmas Day Follies

On Christmas day, since it was the first time we've ever been home in our own house (without traveling to far-away family celebrations), we decided to gather with friends, and have a soup & snack potluck. Here, Noah exercises his responsibility of being the annoying little brother, as he stands in the way of the tv screen, where the teenagers were playing a new Wii that our friends got for Christmas. (way to go Noah... you're learning young, what your correct role is, ha). Being the active crew that everyone is, we knew the kids (young and old) would want to head to a local ice rink for some hockey time. The dad's didn't want the kids to have all the fun, so despite their lack of hockey skates, they headed for the ice right along with them. Matt even was talked into playing.... Matt, play hockey? Can you imagine?)! He ROCKED the ice!

You'll see below, he even ENJOYED it! It was cold out, but not nearly as cold as it has been... so it was the perfect outdoor hockey afternoon! NO WIND (that was the key).

Matt, Ben, and Ed all go after the puck... there was no mercy on the ice that day. The checking and the penalties were rampant, but without a referee to monitor them, we're just glad nobody got hurt. ha.

Us moms stood along the boards, showing Noah from the sidelines what a fun afternoon with the big kids was all about. PLUS, we had to have our cameras at the ready... nobody would believe we got ALL the boys (and Emily) to participate in one big activity. There are so many different interests, that we rarely find something that everyone wants to do together. It was a magical day.

This was one of the hardest shots to capture... making them stop the action long enough to snap the photo... proving that the three Hippen men enjoyed an afternoon together, WILLINGLY. (although the expressions on their faces wouldn't reflect joy, they really were having fun).

Christmas Fun!

This year was the first in a long time, that we didn't travel to family or friends for Christmas Eve. We spent a wonderful few days at home (well, except that the flu was circulating around our house), and Noah was just chomping at the bit to tear apart the brightly colored packages that had been taunting him from under the tree.
It amazed me that Noah was more excited about eating wrapping paper, than he was to play with his shiny new toys. I guess that's a typical draw for a 10 month old. ha.

We couldn't resist the temptation to outfit Noah in his camouflage jammies and hat. He carried around his new "huntin' dog" all over the place, but didn't leave the hat on beyond these few moments for the camera. He's growing up FAR too fast, and certainly is learning to have his own little personality come into play (sometimes it's a stubborn one, for sure).

"What do you want, dada?" Noah says to the camera, even tho I'm the one behind the lens. We cannot get him to say Mama for anything... everyone and everything is Dada. Could be worse I suppose, but one of these days, he's going to learn my name. hahaha. In the mean time, he's just a bundle of joy, and quite the cuddle bug.

Young Prodigy

Our boys enjoy playing piano together... a couple of true virtuosos. Matt spends many hours on the piano, and it's been really neat to see lately, that Noah just joins right in, and sits on the piano bench along with his oldest brother. Great music is heard in the Hippen Household, often.

Tenth Month of FUN!!!

Noah's become a true Viking fan! Go Vikes!!! His jersey is old (a Chris Carter Jersey), but his middle brother wore it faithfully for a couple years, so we figured Noah could sport the colors of the greatest team too! (No, you can't send him Packers clothes, dad).

Just thoughts at Christmas...

Greetings and good cheer one and all ~
Today is a cold day here in the Red River Valley, and I'm snuggled in under a warm blanket on the couch with my coffee and the Today show, waiting for Noah to wake up. I have an unexpected day off (most of this week off, it's been wonderful). As I sit here relaxing, and reading many emails and blogs, I am reminded what an amazing time of year Christmas really is!
One realization I had recently, was that this year is my "do over" year. By that, I mean, it was 18 years ago that my life began to unravel, with the sudden and tragic death of my husband. My son, Matt, was just 10 months old, and he and I walked through a horrific journey of loss, confusion, and loneliness as we celebrated Christmas, just the two of us, in our base housing on Guam Naval Base. I was in a state of shock, awe, and disbelief as I rang in his first Christmas, sorting through my own nightmares and the wonderment of the birth of Christ. It was a surreal mix of joy and tragedy, but God brought me through it all.
Fast forward 18 years... that little baby that I held it all together for, is now a fine young man, in his senior year of high school, successful in his own right. And at the same time, I have a new little 10 month old (flashbacks are endless, I have to say), who is such a rich blessing to our family. The polar ends of the spectrum, my youngest and my oldest, are filling my heart to the rim with joy and love this Holiday season. I get to "do over" that baby's-first-Christmas, as Noah is doing all the same things that Matt did so many years ago, during this festive time. The mirror image of one another is uncanny, as they both also get to enjoy their other brother in the middle, Ben.
How is it that through such tragedy and rough beginnings, a woman can find herself so completely blessed and fulfilled by the loving family which surrounds her? Only by God's grace and mercy can this be my good fortune. Thanks be to God, for restoring me after such pain and horrible tragedy. I am humbled by God's mercy, and praise His name for loving me so deeply. God is good, and this definitely is a Merry CHRISTmas for this child of God. I wish you all a Merry CHRISTmas in the most true sense of the greeting. May you find yourself blessed with a "do-over" blessing as well, in whatever form that may come in. This is the day that the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Merry CHRISTmas to all, and a Happy New Year (Do-over year) to you too!

Christmas Photo Shoot

Each year, as I try to compile our Christmas letter and photo to send out to our family and friends, I struggle with some of the common decisions: who's in the picture (whole family or just kids?); serious poses or fun-loving; matching outfits or whatever they want to wear; when are the kids all home (or... when is Matt around to join the photo); what to write in the letter; to make cards or just send the letter; do people really want to know what we've been up to for the past year?..... the questions are endless. In a spontaneous moment as we drove home from Thanksgiving travels this weekend, I realized it was going to be "now or never" to get the kids all in a picture at once, so we called in our friend, Kylie, who LOVES photography (and frankly is FABULOUS at it) and just decided to DO IT!
This was one of the fun poses, but there's even better ones, so you'll have to watch your mailbox for your copy of the official 2008 Hippen Christmas Picture (I will most likely break down and blog it anyway, ha).

Here is yet another fun picture of my three sons.... all happy and healthy, nice boys who, at that moment, melted my heart (of course 1/2 hour later they were bickering or yelling at each other, or sassing their parents, or crying for a bottle). But in this glimpse of time, joy filled their hearts, and mine too.

As you all step into the joyful season of Christmas, I wish you endless joy! Please remember that this is a season of hope, love, and blessings. We don't have to let the hurried schedules and the frantic rush to shop and wrap gifts take our focus away from the reason for the season... Christ's Birth! We are eternally blessed with the loving, unending grace of God who sent His son for our sake, saving us from our sins, and blessing us instead with eternal life in heaven.

Halleluiah! Christ is coming! Merry Christmas to you all!

Happy Thanksgiving

We spent a fun Thanksgiving in Minneapolis with Ed's brother's family, Dean & Karen. Noah got a lot of cuddle time with Grandpa Dean and Grandma Karen, and Ben had fun hanging out with his cousin Matt also. Stephanie loved seeing Noah this weekend, but unfortunately she had to work most of the time we were there. Hopefully her schedule won't be so harsh on her next time we come for a visit... she was one pooped out girl. But she still was able to enjoy Noah's cuddles a little bit, anyway.

Noah tried all weekend to pet "Cheeto", Stephanie's cat. Finally on the last evening in Minneapolis, the kitty cat agreed to stay still long enough for Noah to get close. I think it was all our gasps of amazement that caused Noah to look startled and actually avoid pulling all her fur out.

FUN extended weekend trip!

Noah and mommy went traveling this weekend... we visited Aunty Kristen in Wisconsin, and had a GREAT time with her dog Coconut! Noah loves his Aunty Kristen, and never ran out of smiles for her loving cuddles and tickles. We miss her already!

Noah also got to visit his Grandpa Dean and Grandma Karen, and birth-mommy Stephanie in Minneapolis. He had the most fun with the cat's ball of gift-ribbon (go figure). ha. We laughed as we watched the cat eyeing the curly ribbon the whole time.

Grandpa Clink and Grandma Sharon also got some great cuddle time with Noah. He loves his extended family so much, and he is also SOOO loved by them! (but he's NOT a Packer's fan, so don't even go there, dad) hahaha.

Grandma Karen was in heaven with her two little boys on her lap. Devon's goofy smiles cracked us up so much! Noah just giggled and smiled the whole time, at least when he wasn't getting tackled by his older (bigger) cousin. These two boys are going to be so much fun to watch as they grow up together.

Leave it to Grandpa Dean's crew to give Noah his first taste of deer jerky. He is hooked forever now! He loved his grandpa's recipe (no offense Ed, he just hasn't tried yours yet). Mmmmmmmm, good stuff.

Noah laughed the hardest in the Spiderman tube and fort that Grandma Karen had gotten for him... a real big hit with the two boys. Many hours of fun ahead, as we'll travel back there for Thanksgiving. The joys of childhood... so amazing to be a part of it all!

Matt in the Hobbit

Matt is currently in his high school's production of The Hobbit. He's a dwarf (funny to have a 6' tall kid as a dwarf, ha), and plays a really hilarious, fat, dumpy, goofy Bombur. He really played his part well and made the audience laugh a LOT.


Here, he gets water splashed in his face from below the stage... something that was perfectly timed and hilarious!







Noah wasn't sure WHAT to think of his brother in all that strange makeup. the beard was something he never messed with (surprisingly) but Noah didn't want to touch Matt's face, either. I think he was a little unsure of just who really was under that fat-suit that big brother was wearing.

FIRST HAIR CUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Noah is very well known for his CRAZY hairdo! His amazing locks of soft curls have been the attention grabber of anyone that's seen him. The hair on top of his head, and the hair around the back of his neck & above his ears, is the longest, with a mysterious thinner band around the middle of his head... almost like a reverse Friar Tuck look. And the SNARLS that get tangled in there... my, oh my. So... this afternoon, Ed and I were thinking we'd probably had enough, and we had a rare brave streak, and decided to try our hand at the kitchen barber shop.
Noah sat EXCEPTIONALLY still on his daddy's lap while mommy snipped away, and it was actually quite easy, and as far as I can tell, I did a fairly even job of it. He looks SO much more evened out now, and actually even looks older (not that I was rushing THAT or anything). Now it's just a question of how long it will take his biggest brother to notice. ;-)

You can see there was quite a pile of hair on the floor when we were done... Ed was feeling a little envious of Noah's trimmings, since Ed hasn't had a pile that thick in quite a few years (shhh, don't tell him I said that) ha.

Yardwork in this day & age...

Ed and I asked the boys to rake the back yard this weekend... I really can't recall the last time they had to do that (it's been a few years, because I know we've done it for them), and now I can see why we didn't bother having them help.... because just as Ben was getting exasperated with Matt's incessant text messaging, we would have grown frustrated with him as well (but at least his outdoor gear is all cool and trendy).
Ben decided not to wait around for his brother to finish his conversation on the cell phone, because he had friends waiting to go jump their bikes on a dirt pile around the block (boys will be boys). Matt and Ben actually do work well together, and I didn't notice any bickering... must be a sign of them growing up. By the way, they did do a great job on the raking (just took a while between messages on the cell phone).

Ben's first Arena Game

Ben's Junior High football team played their first ever indoor game at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks on Thursday. I'll tell you something... getting psyched up for a football game at 8:30am is interesting to say the least. ha.
As you can see above, the size of the boys on that field was kind of surreal. We had to remind ourselves that the field HAD to be normal sized, as 100 yards is 100 yards, whether it's in an arena, or in our home town. I think it was just viewing them from up above that gave an optical illusion of being so much bigger.

Ben is #11... in 9-man football he's a Flanker (no idea, it's just what he tells me). ha. He had a GREAT game... caught passes and ran the ball for a total of 14 points.... two touchdowns and a two point conversion. He said the "turf" wasn't too bad to play on. Said it wasn't as hard to land on as he thought it would be. The grippy nature of the surface was great, he said, for his zigs and zags to escape the tackles... "you don't slip like you do on grass" he said, as he recapped the highlights of the game. They CRUSHED the opponents, 48-6!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO TOMMIES!!!

A sweaty and pooped out, (but excited) Ben comes off the field after shaking hands at the end of the game. A game experience he won't soon forget.

Choosing the "1st Costume"

Noah was kind of uncertain about this Dragon costume we picked up for him, but he sat still (probably because he was thinking "What in the world have you put on me, mom?") for me to take a couple snapshots of him in it! Check out his two little teeth you can finally see on the bottom... the only ones that have broke through so far.

The Dragon's tongue hangs down in front of his eyes, and caught his attention, capturing his stare. This will be a FABULOUS year of "1sts", enjoying this First Halloween already!

Wrestling Match...

Daddy and Noah wrestle on the floor (or, more accurately, daddy watches tv, and Noah comes and attacks his relaxation). Noah's really been standing more and more, using next to nothing at times to hold his balance. But it only takes a few minutes of Noah beating on his victim....

...before daddy retaliates, and goes into a tickle tackle! Noah giggles to no end, and loves every minute of it.

But soon, the giggles from behind my camera are realized, and Noah takes off after me.... or at least he's after the camera. Looking through my camera lens, I don't realize how close he has gotten, and soon the little fingers grab the strap, just as the shot is snapped. Boy, that was a close one. My camera wouldn't survive if little Noah got ahold of it. He's such an adorable little blessing to us!

Homecoming

Noah always finds a way into the action with his brothers... Here, Noah crashes the photo moment with Matt and his friend as they posed with their little buddy between shots with all the rest of the Homecoming Dance crew
Matt says "Good Morning little buddy" one morning before heading off to school... they're both in great moods in the mornings!

Ben has all kinds of school spirit with his Thompson Tommies face paint on... I think his class (the class of 2014, can you believe it?!) won the school spirit contest between the other grades.

This is what an entryway looks like when 17 kids storm you house, to hang out and watch a movie, when it's too damp outside to have a bon-fire after the homecoming football game. It was quite a sight to see this many pairs of shoes in my entry way at one time.

This group of friends all hung out together (most of these kids belong to the shoes shown above, ha) for their senior year Homecoming Dance. Everyone was dressed to the hilt, and had a great time. They're a great group of kids!

Life is GOOD!

Life is Great for this little guy... a tooth finally broke through, so as you can see, he's happier and more full of smiles!!! His mouth isn't hurting as much, and he's squacking and babbling LOTS more!!!
Sometimes when I get started snapping pictures, I get on a role, and can't stop capturing these amazing and fun moments. Sometimes, when I'm stressed about this or that, all it takes is a slobbery kiss from Noah, and a giggle or coo, and my worries are lessened. He's a constant reminder of what's truly important in life, and what is just fluff.

Sleeping Beauty (Handsome)

Sometimes Noah's naps take place in our arms, as was the case on this particular afternoon. Sometimes, if we're having a lazy afternoon (RARELY are we lazy, maybe just catching our breath instead, ha), we'll just hold him if we think laying him down would cause him to wake up. As you can see in this picture, there wasn't much danger in him waking up, as he was OUT FOR THE COUNT! (I think he may have even been snoring).
He was sleeping SOOOO soundly, that his little dreams were pretty enjoyable I think! Either that, or he was REALLY processing his dinner, and his tummy was tickling him with rumbles of gas bubbles. haha. We couldn't stop laughing at his cheesy grin in his sleep!

When he woke up, the puzzled look on his face was equally amusing... he must have been wondering what we were all looking at, and why he was being laughed at. He's a non-stop source of joy, entertainment, and wonderful memories!

Six Months Old!!!!!

Daddy helps Noah try on his newest jammies... what a big boy in the button up "Cars" pj's! He is so long in the torso and his legs are like stilts, that he has outgrown all the little baby sleepers already. We have to shop in the toddler stuff just for the length of outfits. Needless to say, he's so lean that the bulk of his clothes are far from tight around his tummy, but the length is always stretched to the max.
Noah is really getting good with his finger dexterity... he puts his own pacifier in his mouth, and even surprised me the other day when he held his hand in front of his mouth when he sneezed, so his pacifier wouldn't go flying out of his lips! He munches on it more than he sucks on it, trying to soothe his aching gums I imagine. Still no teeth for Noah, but hopefully soon! Can't you just MELT from the handsome eyes he looks at us with though?!!!

Yes, his hair really is this wild 99% of the time! ha... He has a little ring around the back of his head where most of the hair has been rubbed off, but now that he's sitting on his own, and upright more often than laying down, hopefully some of that hair will start to fill back in. In the meantime, he just loves playing with his brothers, and is SO curious when he sees the camera come out (thus, no smile... he was just laughing before I snapped the picture, but wonders what's in front of mom's face when the lens cap comes off).