Hiester Family Antics: A Piece Of Heaven

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.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

A Piece Of Heaven

Elissa and I (and sometimes Kurstin) have some ideas (and hopes) about Heaven. It all started one day when Elissa was about 6. We were driving - as I so often am - when she announced out of nowhere that when she goes to Heaven, she wants her room to be made out of bubble gum. This began the activity of dreaming up the ideal situation and claiming it as your own personal heaven. Every time we come across, or think up, something that we really love, we add it to our heaven. So now, this is Elissa's description of her heaven: "My room will be made of bubble gum that never loses its flavor, and it will be full of birds that never poop." I love that. She thinks of everything!

Here is mine: I will be in a hammock outdoors in spring/fall (in Heaven I can probably have both at once) with a light breeze and the soft tinkling of windchimes. I will be drinking a never-ending, yet guilt-free chai from Starbucks and reading a book. Robben will be asleep on my chest with his baby face tilted up towards mine. (He'll be all of his baby ages and stages at once) And I recently added that I will be receiving a Rascal massage... she's my fat cat who is ever so SOFT; I just want her poofy warm softness rubbing all over me. And from Kansas, a new addition: the guest bed at Lyndsay's house. The only bad thing about the bed was that I had to get out of it. It was somehow firm, yet cloudlike all at once. The covers were light and fluffy, but warm and cozy. The pillows conformed to my head and body (there were a lot of them) and held me like a baby in Mama's arms. This bed deserves the honor of becoming a permanent part of my heaven.