Hiester Family Antics: Strays

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.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Strays

Why do my children (and husband) never bring home stray dogs or cats or some normal household pet such as these? My family manages to find and capture the WILD animals and creepy critters. Seriously, they are called wild because they BELONG in the wild! They are not strays. They are not looking for homes. In the past 5 years we have welcomed several snakes (which my hubby actually sets out to catch), a possum and a squirrel. That's not to mention the baby bird we "tried" to rescue... I use the term "we" quite loosely, as I am almost always protesting the taking into captivity of such beasts of field and sky. Needless to say, the bird died in our care. Anyway, I feel that the already-below-par-standards that we hold for our "pets" has actually managed to decline. Yesterday, Tyler went long-boarding with a couple of his friends and came home in possession of three-count them three- mutant tarantulas. They were temporarily housed in ziploc bags. Good thing you have ziploc bags on hand when you come across something as fascinating as a GARGANTUAN spider!! My goodness, without the baggies, one might have to pass up such an opportunity!! The most disturbing part of this episode was Todd's response: "Are you gonna keep 'em?" I don't think I even need to tell you my answer. Tyler knew they were a temporary item, but before releasing them (faaaaarrrrrr from the house), he tried to fight them. But since he wasn't prepared with a boxing ring or cage-fighting enclosure, they just lazily ambled away from each other. Darn. Seriously, though, these spiders were so huge and hairy that Robben, after his fear-induced crying fit, asked to pet them!