the hockensmiths

watch for pumas...

2011-01-31T09:14:00.000-08:00

after being cooped up in the house for what feels like months, it was SO nice to enjoy a "warm", sunny day. we have some beautiful parks where we live, so we made the most of a gorgeous day. while we were walking, koleman got scared and said "what if we see a puma?". he said that on diego he learned that pumas live in the woods. luckily, our hike was puma-free. :o)

long time, no blog.....

2011-01-23T12:38:00.000-08:00

   my new niece, Samara Lena
   kaylee&koleman enjoying the snow
   fall break trip to gatlinburg

i can't believe its been over a year (!) since i have posted anything. i really thought i would be a good blogger but apparently not. i did well for awhile but oh well, such is life.....i am trying to think of what has happened since nov 09...the main things that pop in my head are kaylee starting kindergarten (aug'10) and my new niece (jul'10). otherwise, i know i could never even begin to summarize an entire year, so i won't even try. kaylee turned 5 last may and koleman turned 4 in december. we spent most of last summer at ky river campground and cannot wait until it is warm enough to go back. we absolutely love campground life - no phones or tv but lots of fun family time. i am going to try to get back into the routine of blogging regularly, so check back often.....

trooper island

2009-11-19T07:20:00.000-08:00

we recently got the chance to spend a few days at trooper island - one of my all time favorite places! it is an island located in dale hollow lake that is run by the ky. state police. they run week long camps all summer long for kids who would not otherwise be able to afford camp. when i was a kid, it was a boys camp. me and my sisters would go every summer with our dad. imagine us girls on an island full of boys! we loved it. i hadn't been back there in 15 years. it was so wonderful to go back and share it with my husband and kids. the kids had a great time walking along the beach collecting shells. the weather was perfect. it was us and my parents-we had the island to ourselves! we cannot wait to go back!!

pumpkin time!

2009-09-29T14:05:00.000-07:00

it was so fun to actually grow our own pumpkins and squash this year. we had fun decorating our pumpkins last night. kaylee and koleman are showing off their creations :)

3D adventure

2009-09-24T12:22:00.001-07:00

we saw our first 3D movie last night-cloudy with a chance of meatballs. it was so much fun! aunt becky got in on the action, too. koleman had to concentrate really hard to keep the glasses on his tiny little head. (he gave them up shortly into the movie) i think kaylee would give this movie 2 thumbs up. she was slapping her knee and cracking up through the whole thing. we had originally gone to see the wizard of oz but it was sold out (who woulda thought?) but we definately liked this movie and had a blast.

time flies...

2009-08-27T06:36:00.000-07:00

"kole go kool, too" :(

the day i have dreaded for 4 yrs finally came--the 1st day of school :(

she started on 8/12 and is going to the "singing bridge academy", sounds real exclusive, doesn't it? :) it is MWF 8-11 and she absolutely loves it! her 2 best friends, carson and lacey are in her class. between the 3 of them we get a full report on each day.

yesterday, she was picked to take home a class "pet" aka stuffed animal - mr. quackers. he came with an overnight bag and everything. she was so excited!

my little girl is growing up......

God Bless America!!!!

2009-07-23T11:43:00.000-07:00

(making banana ice cream-yummo!)

we are so thankful and blessed to live in this wonderful country! God has blessed us so abundantly. we had a great time celebrating with family and friends. kaylee was so excited to finally get to wear her "first of July dress" :) they were so cute doing their little photo shoot with me. they are growing so fast. kaylee starts preschool august 12th. koleman is wearing big boy underwear. where did my babies go? they are so wonderful!

can't we just buy our food at kroger??

2009-07-02T08:19:00.000-07:00

men are so funny. this is our first garden venture so in my mind we are gonna have a little trial garden. well, as you can see from the pictures, my husband had a very different idea in mind! he plowed a field!!! but it's been fun. the kids love getting in there and helping. my parents always had a garden and i helped when i was little but i haven't worked in a garden since then. i am enjoying it, though. i forgot how fun it is to get my hands in the dirt. i was going to pull weeds the other day but couldn't find any. i was really impressed by how the corn was growing, though. then mike informed me that the "corn" was really johnson grass! i guess i have a little to learn about gardening...

fishin' fun

2009-05-28T08:49:00.000-07:00

i don't want to carry the tackle box!

our little "fisherwoman"

it looks cool but i'm not so sure...

"here fishy, fishy"

worm pickin' is serious business!

we had a wonderful memorial day weekend with lots of family time. kaylee had been dying to use her new barbie fishing pole that she got for her birthday (thanks, neena!). she has been practicing and is really good at casting and reeling it in. we lost count of how many fish she caught. she loved it. kole had a great time, too, but was way more preoccupied with seeing the cows and riding the pony. he is definitely my farmboy.

mother of the year?

2009-04-24T13:42:00.000-07:00

i am sitting here eating a banana split and thin mints, trying to recover from a very traumatic afternoon. i just about killed my childrens' "best friend" (as kaylee so lovingly refers to her). for any of you who don't know who lydia is, she is our guinea pig. for all of you who do know who lydia is, you also know how much i desperately hate her. and the fact that everyone feels the need to remind me that i just had to have her, makes me hate her that much more. well, back to my traumatic afternoon: this morning, we took her out to the back deck so that i could clean out her cage. i am very easily distracted so i never actually got around to cleaning the cage out. i played in the yard with the kids and then i remembered that i had promised to bring mike lunch out at the farm. so we spent several hours playing at the farm in the nice warm weather. i decided that i would let the kids play at the farm while i went home to clean (such a blessing in disguise). as soon as i walked in the front door, i remembered that i had left lydia outside. i wasn't too worried until i saw her laying outside of her little igloo in the scorching sun - uh-oh. when i brought her inside, she was completely lifeless and breathing really hard. now, i cannot tell you have many times i have wished that she would die but i sure as heck did not want to be the one who killed her!! i knew i was definitely in danger of losing my "mother of the year" title. i was immediately trying to decide what my story would be because no one was ever going to know that i was the one who killed her. i was completely freaked out. i called the vet and they told me to wrap her in cold towels and put rubbing alcohol on her ears and paws. so now i am not only completely freaked out, i am also completely grossed out. i do not like dead things or even almost dead things and here i am sitting on my kitchen floor, trying to revive a half dead rat. after doing everything the vet said, she was not getting any better. so - i rushed her to the vet. i never in my life dreamed that i would take a guinea pig to the vet. i don't know if i was more motivated by the fact that i thought the vet could help her or that i just did not want a dead guinea pig on my kitchen floor. either way, a few minutes later i am standing in the vet's office holding a half dead guinea pig (in a box of course) and crying. yes, i was crying. they took her straight back and started giving her fluids. slowly, she started to revive. while we were back there, i could hear people coming in and the receptionist was telling them "it will be a few minutes, there has been an emergency". i thought that was really funny. so after about 15 minute in the office, i was on my way back home with a groggy but pretty alert guinea pig and a vial of antibiotics to administer twice a day. so even though she's not completely out of the woods; the vet said her prognosis was "guarded", i think she's gonna pull through. i am going to go polish my "mother of the year" trophy now.

happy easter!

2009-04-10T08:57:00.000-07:00

we did the yearly "pictures with the huge creepy bunny" last weekend. koleman was thoroughly freaked out. however, all it took was a piece of candy to undo the damage. once he was a safe distance away, he even waved and said "bye bye eastie bunny". the kids are looking forward to decorating easter eggs tonight. koleman can't wait to get more "eastie teets" (easter treats).

i hope that everyone has a very blessed weekend and remembers the real meaning of easter. it has absolutely nothing to do with easter bunnies or candy. its all about a loving Savior who was willing to pay the ultimate price for our sins. i am so thankful to serve a God who loves me that much.

queen of sass

2009-03-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

my little girl is growing so fast i cant stand it! she is so much fun. she is so outgoing and funny. i cant believe she is going to be 4 soon!

where's koleman??

2009-03-10T12:59:00.000-07:00

could he be any cuter?? i LOVE my little man! he is so much fun and such a blessing to us. even though he has pretty much secured his spot as the youngest, we love him so much and cannot imagine our family without him.

happy valentine's day!

2009-02-12T13:22:00.000-08:00

happy valentine's day (a little early)! we had our annual valentine banquet at church last night. it was such a great time. the kids loved all the decorations. kaylee and her friend carson have gotten their picture taken together at the banquet since they were babies. i need to find them all and keep them together. its so cute to see how they have grown. koleman had a great time, too. it seems that kaylee gets bigger and looks older everyday. she was so cute last night so i got some extra pictures of her. she's a little poser - i don't know where she gets it! : ) hope everyone has a great valentine's day.

snow, snow and more snow............

2009-02-03T10:31:00.000-08:00

what a crazy winter! im sure everyone has heard about the ice and snow that has hit ky. lots of people have been without power for over a week. today we got hit again and already have at least 3 more inches on top of what was already there. its pretty- but no fun for those without electricity and those having to work out in this mess. for those of you who long for snow - enjoy the pix!

a time to rejoice

2009-01-17T05:17:00.000-08:00

my precious mamaw got a wonderful surprise on thursday night. she went to sleep here and woke up in heaven. as much as i will desperately miss her, i am so happy for her. she did not just "live a good life", she lived her life good. she used her one chance on this earth to make a real difference in the lives of others. most people these days feel that being a good person is good enough. it is not. as precious as my grandmother was, if she had not had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, this blog would have an entirely different tone. i would not be able to rejoice in her death. God's word tells us that our good works are "like filthy rags" to Him (isaiah 64:6). unless we confess our sins and have a personal relationship with Him, we will not see Him-our death will not be a time of rejoicing.

as we spent yesterday taking care of all the many preparations and details. we spent a lot of time thinking about the life that she lived. because of her example, prayers and faithfulness-my mamaw lived to see her 2 sons, 2 daughters-in law, 6 grandchildren (2 by marriage), husband and all of her siblings come to know the Lord and have a personal relationship with Him. everyone in her immediately family either died serving the Lord or is serving the Lord now. now THAT is the kind of legacy that i want to leave! she was not rich according to the world's standards but she left us an inheritance that all the money in the world could not equal.

the last few years of her life were difficult. many times we thought it was the end, but God had other plans. i will never know all the reasons that God had for allowing her to stay here as long as she did but i am very thankful that my children were able to know her. i do realize that they may not remember her when they are older but the times they were able to be with her were so precious. most kids are kind of afraid of older people, especially as frail as my mamaw was. but kaylee and koleman loved their "mamaw walton". as soon as we would walk into her house, koleman would go right to her and rub her arm with his tiny little hand. he would lay his head on her lap and kiss her. he would hold her cup for her so she could get a drink. kaylee loved to help her in any way she could. she would constantly ask mamaw if she needed to go to the bathroom. she loved to raise her electric recliner and get her walker for her. she would "help" her walk down the hall. she would also hold her cup for her so she could drink. and though mamaw could barely see or hold her head up, she truly did enjoy them so much. she loved to hold them in her lap.

the last time we spent with her was on new years. we stayed up late new years eve and celebrated as it turned midnight. we were all being silly, yelling and kissing each other. we looked over and koleman had gone to her on his own and kissed her. it was so sweet. after we left on new years day, kaylee ended up staying 2 more nights on her own. she wanted to stay and "help mamaw". while she was there, she enjoyed riding her new pony. as weak as mamaw was, they were able to bring her to the door so she could look out and see kaylee on the pony.

i know i will shed a lot more tears as this weekend goes on and we go through all of the services that accompany someone's death. but these services are not for my mamaw, they are for us. my tears are not tears of sorrow for mamaw but for me. i am gonna miss her so much but i am so incredibly happy for her. i pray with all my heart that i can leave the legacy that she has left. i want to live my life as "good" as she did.

"there will be a day with no more tears, no more pain and no more fears.

there will be a day when the burdens of this world will be no more

we'll see Jesus face to face."

("there will be a day" by Jeremy Camp)

weekend in columbus

2009-01-13T11:23:00.000-08:00

we had a great visit with my sister and her family this past weekend. we are so happy to have them living closer-yay! we look forward to getting to see them more often.

happy new year!

2009-01-13T10:48:00.000-08:00

i love looking at everyone else's blogs so much, i figured that i would try my own. i am starting out with some pix from our new year's festivities in salt lick. kaylee enjoyed carrying on my aunts' new years day tradition of making pillowcases. she was very excited to use her new sewing machine that santa had brought her. kaylee and koleman love being on the farm and especially love riding the new pony!