Hiester Family Antics: A Record of "Dates"

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.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

A Record of "Dates"

*January 7, 2005: Todd and I celebrated our PRE-anniversary by dressing up and going to dinner at Campagnia
*January 7, 2006: Todd and I got married at Harris Ranch... we celebrated by throwing a huge party and inviting everyone we know and love :)
*January 7, 2007: Todd and I celebrated our first anniversary in our wedding night room at Harris Ranch.
*January 7, 2008: Todd and I cancelled our reservations at Harris Ranch and instead celebrated our second anniversary with dinner at Fridays (conveniently located across the street from St. Agnes Hospital) and a visit to our little 33-day-old Robben Carey in the hospital. We got to bring him home 2 days later.
*January 7, 2009: Todd and I celebrated our third anniversary in our wedding night room at Harris Ranch (the price had about doubled, though!), leaving Robben overnight for the first time.
*January 7, 2010: Todd and I celebrated our fourth anniversary at Tanaya Lodge, just outside Yosemite National Park.
*January 7, 2011: Todd and I will be celebrating our FIFTH anniversary in Pacific Grove, California (in the Monterey Bay area)... I might even get to eat at Bubba Gump's...mmmm!