Hiester Family Antics: Can I Get My Gum Back?

The Hiester Family in a nutshell - a big one, like a coconut or something

We are a family of a whole bunch of random people, thrown together in one small house, who all happen to look alike. Each member of our family was hand-picked by God... that's the only explanation for the saga that is our family. Here's the story from the beginning... My husband, Todd, was married before me. His wife's name was Carrie, and together they had 3 kids: Tyler, Kurstin & Elissa. Todd's parents were divorced and his mother remarried. Her new husband, Don, had 2 small children: Ally & Wesley. Their natural mother was killed in a car accident when they were 8 & 11. One year later, they lost their dad and Todd and Carrie took them into their home. 6 months after Ally & Wesley were added to the household, Carrie died of cancer at age 26. Her own children were 3, 6 & 9 and Ally & Wesley were 10 & 13. And Todd was alone with them. Think Lord of the Flies. So when I fell in love with Todd, I got these 5 kids as a bonus. We married about a year and a half into our relationship, with the kids as our wedding party. We made it all official with an adoption lawyer and lots of money, ensuring that we are LEGALLY their parents. They even had to take oaths saying they would perform the duties of sons and daughters, which I think means I have someone to change my diapers when the time comes! After 2 years of marriage we added Robben Carey to the mix. And now we've welcomed Livi Claire...the seventh, and final, Hiester kid (unless, of course, God has other plans). Todd and I are 37 and 35, respectively, and our kids range in age from 1 to 21. It's great because we're cool and always the youngest in a crowd of high school parents.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Can I Get My Gum Back?

Ally told me this story last night:

She was chewing a piece of gum in class and all of a sudden, a sneeze took her by surprise. She didn't have time to cover it and her gum flew out of her mouth and onto the back of the head in front of her. Luckily, the head belonged to her long-time friend, Jacob Anthony, (who, I might add, keeps his hair very short - thank God). He felt something hit him and slowly reached around to feel for the culprit. Ally said, "Sorry, that's my gum. I'll get it." I asked her if she put it back in her mouth, and thankfully she thought better of it. Imagine what it would be like to be Jacob... you hear someone sneeze and something hits the back of your head. YUCK!!!