FYI for anyone still checking in on us. We've moved to a new blog home.
http://myhillsview.blogspot.com/
C'mon by...

Tidbits on the Love Shack

I love our house. I love that we own it (indirectly through the bank, of course. I just keep telling myself that we own it), I love that it's something we did together, I love that it's the accomplishment of a long-time goal for both the handsome one, and myself. I love that it's in a charming neighborhood, I love that it's not too big and not too small, and that it has retained some of it's 1950's charm.
However (and that's a big HOWEVER), it does need work. We knew as soon as we moved in that it would need improvements. Some major, others just esthetic.
Well, it has begun. Or, it's beginning. On Monday. Being first time home owners, we finally get some money back from Uncle Sam, which we're dutifully putting back into this sad little economy by installing central A/C and heating. What?!
I know...you're wondering how we've made it this long without A/C. Being a NorCal girl, I know the art of opening the windows at night and early morning and turning on fans, and then shutting up everything before it gets hot. The husby, being SoCal grown, knows the art of complaining about the heat. So, that means that he's the one driving this train: Air Conditioning, our first major project.
This means that I get the satisfaction of some cosmetic changes.
No more furnace vent in the dining room:



Or strange circular swamp cooler vents in the ceiling:





Stay tuned to see how it all turns out!

2

Husband and Wife
April 28, 2007






Old Married Couple, very much in love
April 28, 2009

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Jackson Jett Villaflor was born on 4/23 at 9:05am. Weighing in at 5lb 15oz and 18.5 in long.
I guess you could say that I've done some pretty cool things in my life. I've traveled abroad, bungee jumped, snorkeled in the Red Sea, vacationed in some amazing places, but yesterday....

Yesterday, I experienced something that I will always remember as one of the highlights of my life. I was fortunate to witness my best friend give birth to a beautiful little baby boy.

I had been there all night and left the hospital around 5am to get a little sleep. We all thought the labor had slowed down and we'd have a good amount of hours left. That was not the case, and a little after 7am, I got a text saying "come now". I immediately left the house and when I walked into the hospital room, Emilie was pushing.

I was pretty much in tears off and on from that point until about an hour or so after he was born, full of excitement, and rejoicing over God's design. Switching back and forth between acting as the official face-fanner and vidoegrapher. Quick looks at Renelle and more tears. Little comments from Emilie that would break the intensity with a little laughter, and then result in tears. I cried tears of excitement, tears of compassion for her, tears of thankfulness to God, tears over Renelle's tears, tears at Brice's adoration for his wife, tears at Brice's excellent coaching, and then finally tears to welcome this amazing little life into the world. You'd think I'm teared out, but I can feel them welling up in my eyes as I type.

I didn't go to the hospital expecting to be in the delivery room, so I hadn't anticipated what my reaction would be to. Even now it's hard to describe. I felt thrilled, honored, blessed, and I had an overwhelming sense of love for my dear friend and her new family. Those feeling were only strengthened when she asked Josh and I to be Jackson's Godparents. I consider it a privilege and it gives me great pleasure to know the special role that we will play in his life.

One of my favorite moments of the day was in the post-pardum recovery room. Everyone was pretty much gone. Brice and Emilie were both finally asleep and Renelle had to leave the room for a little while. I sat in a rocker, holding Jackson in my arms, looked down at his peacefully sleeping face, and just prayed over him. I asked the LORD to bless him with the gift of salvation and with an intimate walk with Jesus. I asked the LORD to make him godly, loving, confident, compassionate, independant, tender-hearted, and handsome. That God would give him strong hands to serve Him, and feet to spread the Gospel. And that those around him would be a constant encouragement and example for his own relationship with Jesus Christ. Myself included.

I can't imagine how much love his own mother must feel for him, but my heart is just bursting!


Check out those contractions on the bottom! Emilie did so amazing!



Just minutes old. What a skinny little guy!



The proud Papa!


His first mohawk! Right after his first bath.


Holding on to his Auntie Laina for the first time.

My Emilie

Any day now, my best friend in the world is going to give birth to her first baby. A sweet little boy. If that's not a reason to start blogging again, I don't know what is.


Haha! Our first trip to Carp together for 4th of July. We took off and went wine tasting. Pre-bride, pre-prego, definately pre-mommy. Lets hope your little one has at least half of your awesomeness!


Your two best friends and the soon to be Aunties. What a privilege it is to be part of this dynamic trio. I love the relationship that we've built, especially over the last few years. Together we've had exciting moments where we've felt the LORD's blessings, and real trials where we've felt the LORD's stretching. Devoted many hours of laughter over tea, and discussed important (and not so important) topics over the phone. However many children we have over the next years, I hope and pray (and believe) that we have many more of these times together.


The man. The soon-to-be-father. Wow. What a love he has for you and for your son. He makes you laugh, he gives you joy, he is responsible for much of who you are today and who you are striving to be.


I thank our Savior that He thought to bless me by putting you in my life.

delightful

I want to spend every Saturday morning in this room. A cup of tea, my Bible, and me.
I feel relaxed just looking at it.

Trespassers

This one is for you, Dad:
I see your neighborhood cat in the front yard:



And I raise you one dog in the backyard


And two fighting cats on the front lawn:



And just because it's pretty, this was the view from our front porch a few days ago. I thought a picture needed to be taken:

Tagged

Thanks Natalie, for an excuse to take a break from work!

1. Where is your cell phone? in my purse, I hope
2. Your significant other? is supportive, brave, and awesome
3. Your hair? is getting longer!
4. Your mother? has been pulling all-nighters at work, poor thing.
5. Your father? is probably off hiking a mountain somewhere
6. Your favorite thing(s)? easy--Haagan Daz Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice cream. Oh, and my husband and family, too I guess =)
7. Your dream last night? nothing, thank goodness! dreams tire me out.
8. Your favorite drink? Sprite
9. Your dream/goal? keep it simple: to have a family with confident children who love the Lord
10. The room you’re in? haha-room? I wish, try cubicle.
11. Your fear? hitting a pedestrian/bike rider with my car. seriously. I have always had a fear of doing that
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? In our home with a couple of little ones
13. Where were you last night? home, watching American Idol
14. What you’re not? a lot of things.
15. Muffins/donuts? Muffins. Orange-Cranberry. yummy
16. One of your wish list items? Hmmm, a dining room table and chairs
17. Where you grew up? Fremont, CA
18. The last thing you did? showered, dressed, and came to work. very exciting life I lead.
19. What are you wearing? slacks and a blue sweater
20. Your TV? that's Josh's department
21. Your pet? not yet
22. Your computer? probably needs to be replaced
23. Your life? full and blessed
24. Your mood? pleasant
25. Missing someone? my friend Kim
26. Favorite pastime? lately, it's been reading the Twilight books
27. Something you’re not wearing? I'm pretty much fully clothed. This is a public place, you know!
28. Favorite Store? Vons and Anthropologie (as of late)
29. Your summer? too hot
30. Your favorite color? I don't think I have one anymore
31. When is the last time you laughed? last night with Joshua. He cracks me up
32. Last time you cried? I don't remember
33. Who will re-post this? Probably no one, maybe Renelle
34. Four places I go over and over? Vons, Macy's, church, work
35. Four people who e-mail me? work people, Adam and Laura, friends via Facebook, Pottery Barn (does that count? I get about 16 per day)
36. Four of my favorite foods? Tomatoes, Chocolate and PB ice cream, enchiladas, Mac and Cheese
37. Four places I would like to be right now? at home, on any island on the sand, Fremont, Germany
38. Four people I tag? Emilie, Renelle, Laura D., and that's all

Inside Tour, Part I

Since it's all decked out for the holidays, I thought I'd put up some pictures of our house for those who are interested.
Here's a little taste of the Hilliger's at Holiday time:

Not just about a birth

For the past couple of Christmases, this one included, Josh and I have kept ourselves busy with Christmas concerts. This is something we've really come to enjoy. This year we went to four. It's acutally become kind of entertaining working out our schedule in order to fit them all in.
This year has been different, though. It has been a sweet blessing to my heart. As a result of the teaching at the concerts paired with the great sermon from Pastor MacArthur last Sunday, I have been thinking a lot about the point of Christmas. What we celebrate and why. For maybe the first time, my thoughts have not been on the birth of the baby Jesus, or the perfect way in which God orchestrated the attendance of the shepherds and Wise Men, or even the supernatural virgin birth. I've been thinking about Jesus's death.
On Sunday, Pastor MacArthur said that a person's death is the culmination of his accomplishments. The point at which, retrospectively, one's life can be counted worthy. Though there was the promise in the Old Testament of the life Jesus would lead, every other human that was and will be born, comes to the world with no accomplishment. Nothing praiseworthy. No great work or influence. Yet, we note the births of people, even great leaders, as a means of honoring them. A day on which we have accomplished nothing.
This is why, this year I can only think about the most important death that this world will ever know. When Jesus died on the cross and rose again on the third day, he gave purpose to His birth and His life. He triumphed over death by taking on the the sins of the world, crushing Satan's head. And in His resurrection and ascension, he completed His salvation work and gave the promise of the Holy Spirit, giving sinners the opportunity to have a relationship with a most holy and just God.
A while ago, Josh and I made the decision to keep Santa Claus out of Christmas in our home. Completely. Yes, this decision does reflect each of our backgrounds and traditions, but ultimately it was a decision we came to together. A decision for our family, as a family. We know that one day our children will wonder about Santa Claus. Maybe they'll wonder why I don't have any Santa decorations in the house or why they don't take pictures with him at the mall. But after this Christmas 2008, I believe that I will have a complete answer for them.
Christmas is about one thing only and one Person only. It is the celebration of the culmination of Jesus' life. That the Son of God, who laid down His deserved glory to be born in human flesh, lived on this earth so that one day He might die for the sins of man, be raised into Heaven and returned to Glory, and offer the greatest gift there could ever be. One that is not wrapped, it's not under the tree or delivered via reindeer and a chimney. Christmas is about the gift of salvation and the majesty of a Baby that was born to provide it. And that is it. That is Christmas.

"This has been my best day ever"

Last night's entertainment of choice. I have wanted to see this for a while, but could never convince Josh to agree to it. Last night was "Laina's Choice" at Blockbuster, so...sorry Joshua.
He complained, of course, and I told him he'd eat his words.
He didn't eat his words, per se, but he definately snacked on them.
Son of Rambow was adorable. Definately quirky, overall humorous, and at times very strange, but adorable still. I'd watch it again.
It helped that the main kid reminded me of Freddie Highmore who is the cutest kid in movies today.
For those of you who liked Lars and the Real Girl, this might be up your alley. For those of you (Renelle) that didn't...don't even bother. Instead, you should watch Little Manhattan. You'll like that one.

Sweet

If I could build a house from scratch and had an unlimited amount of resources (aka $$$), I'd be a copy cat from sites like this:

http://mysweetsavannah.blogspot.com/

I'd like some sweet stuff of my own.

Cuz it's cool

Homeowners

I'm not quite sure where to start. It's been so long since I've sat down to write something substantial (besides poking fun at Dan).

Josh and I have been keeping ourselves very busy for the last few months. On Halloween night, Josh and I moved into our first home. We'd been looking for a house for about 6 months with little success. In September we finally found one.

I was amazed at the challenge of getting the paperwork and loan documents taken care of. It seemed like it was one thing after another. If it wasn't signing docs, it was scheduling deliveries. It was re-ordering appliances. It was driving here and there for meetings during lunch breaks and after work. Everyone involved worked really hard to get us into this house.

But now we're in and we're loving it. Josh feels perfectly at home and I love the opportunity to decorate and add my own personal touch. Like most houses in the valley, it's over 50 years old and still has many of it's original features. It will need some upgrades. A remodeled kitchen, refinished floors, new bathrooms, landscaping-front and back, central heating and air. You know, nothing major.

But it's ours. Our home. Our first home. Together.


We are blessed.

For Dan

As one of my most faithful readers, I dedicate this post to you, Danny T.

No one knows how to put the pressure on me quite like you do. Since the first day I met you, you've had a special knack for getting me to answer almost any question or offer any personal information that you seek.

Maybe it's your charm.
Maybe it's your loyal friendship to Joshua.
Maybe it's because of our mutual passion for Java Chip ice cream.
Maybe it's the badge.

Whatever it is...here I sit, in my corner cubicle, looking out on my view of the parking garage--and I find myself compelled to compose a blog purely for your sake, because you asked for it.
So Dan, in honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, and by inspiration from your sweet wife's blog, this is for you:

5.) I'm thankful for your ability to chug a very full glass Egg Nog in less than 7 seconds.
4.) I'm thankful that you had kids who have birthdays because it gives you a reason to invite us to your house. Otherwise, who knows when we'd see you.
3.) I'm thankful that you work so hard to keep our streets clean at least 2-3 days a week.
2.) I'm thankful for your God-given ability to awe a room of over 100 people with your indescribable singing voice. I'll never hear "You Raise me Up" again without thinking of you.
1.) I'm thankful for your contribution to our water skiing trips to the Deltas. Without you, Huey might have been thrown over and left to drown in Platinum Ravine and I'd be out a Father-in-law.

Dan, without you, my life would not be the same. This is my ode to you. I hope it brings a smile to your face and satisfies your need for me to update my blog. Cheers.

**For those of you who don't know Dan (or me, for that matter), this post -like Dan- is dripping in sarcasm and full of love =)

I don't necessarily recommend all movies to all people. Not everyone has the same interests and taste.

We saw this movie last night. We loved it. It was sweet. sad. charming. funny. believable. quirky. clean. An all around great flick.

Like I said, it may not be for everyone. But it was definately for us. And, if you're any of the following people, I think it's for you: Adam and Laura, Ricky, Natalie G., and maybe Heidi.

Friday's Food for Thought

I was in Costco yesterday on my lunch break. Strange stop for a lunch break? Not if you only have $2 in your wallet! Can I get an AMEN for hot dogs and a soda for $1.50? There's not too many places you can get a filling lunch with $2 and still walk away with change. That's what I call a stellar deal.
AAANYWAY...
It hit me.
The light-up reindeer bobbing his head.
The rows of wrapping paper, glittery ribbon, and greeting cards.
The 6-foot Evergreens stowed away in boxes.
Christmas.
Really??
We're there already?? I though it was still summer! I guess I should have seen it coming. The back-to-school Target commercials. The extra traffic in my morning commute. Football.
Summer is long gone. So only one question remains...what's on your Christmas list?

Friday's Food for Thought

Question: In past years, were all the good parts of the Olympics so late at night? How did we watch it without DVR, Tivo, or whatever program you use? Is this what we can expect in the future? All the good stuff happening in the middle of the night or while you're at work? Consider: All programming commercial-free. Hearing all the results in the morning paper without actually being able to see the event yourself.

I heart the Hollywood Bowl

Last week, we made another visit to the Bowl. As I sit here and think about it, it feels like we've been there a lot lately. I guess it's just that fun. For a wedding gift, my brother-in-law gave us a rad picnic-basket-backpack-thing. We love it and use it as much as we can. So, with a picnic dinner in hand--er, on back-- (taco salad, flatbread and hummus, and white wine. I know...not exactly your typical picnic menu), we sat back and enjoyed a night of Jazz. We went there specifically for Jamie Cullum. Unfortunately the two opening bands played so long (and were fairly boring) that it was after 10p by the time Jamie made it on stage. Don't tell anyone, but I actually fell asleep during one of his slower songs. As Josh says, I'm the oldest 25 year old he knows. I have trouble hanging past 10pm.
Anyway....I heart the Hollywood Bowl, and I think you should, too. And Jamie Cullum. And Trader Joe's flatbread. Oh, and picnics.

Over the weekend...

...my mom and little brothers came down to LA for a mini vacation. We had an awesome time.
On Friday, we went here and saw this awesome show. It was an enjoyable evening to the highest degree.

Saturday, we took a joyride down the PCH and had dinner at this restaurant. The waves splashed and sprayed up against the rocks outside our window. It was very cool.

Later, we enjoyed an evening at our house watching this movie and eating ice cream and cookies. I like this movie better each time I see it.

Sunday, after lunch at Joey's favorite restaurant, they left for the tedious drive back up north.

Thanks Mom, Rick and Joe for such a fun weekend. We were happy to host. You're welcome at our home anytime. We love you!