The Hinkle family

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Mommy's little helper

Nate is really getting into "helping" me lately and has been setting the table for

dinner the last few weeks. Thought you'd like to see what a good job he does. :)

Saturday, January 3, 2009

One morning when my parents were here Nate was watching a movie while we all got ready for the day. My mom came out of the other room and Nate was sitting like this. Just like a man! I guess he also decided it was time to add a little style to his hair. It looked perfect like it had been done on purpose! Such a handsome little man!

A little about our holidays...

A few photos from our Christmas... not in any real order.

Nate has shown a real interest in drums lately. Every Sunday after

church he insists on playing the drums up front.

Lately we have been the last ones to leave as he doesn't want to quit.

So... he was delighted when he got a drum set from Papa and Gramma Moring.

Nate got a real kick out of Elmo!

Christmas Eve...

Checking out his new recorder!

Playing jingle bells for us while we sing along

the three of us

Wow, has it really been that long since I posted last? I guess December came and it all got a little crazy. We had a wonderful Christmas. My parents came down to Buffalo the 23rd to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with us. It was so fun to have them and to spend our first Christmas in our home! Christmas Eve I made a yummy clam chowder and we attended the candlelight service at our church. I decided this year would be different from any other Christmas. I was really desiring a change and I'm not sure if it is my reaction to Jeff's death or to the fact that I was "hosting" Christmas and wanted to start a few traditions of my own. So I decided that we would only open a few gifts Christmas Eve and wait on the rest till morning. Also rather than the usual turkey or ham I did prime rib. It was so good!! I think we will definitely have to keep that as a new tradition! Our day actually wasn't that relaxing since after gifts and dinner we had to start laundry and packing to leave the next day for Talina's wedding. We woke up the next day to strong winds and snow! Not ideal for traveling. It was a stressful 6 hour drive to eastern MT. The Lord was gracious to give us safe travel as we saw a number of vehicles stuck in the ditch. Talina's wedding was beautiful and she was absolutely gorgeous!! She could not have looked any better! It was wonderful to spend time with relatives and to catch up with Rachelle (Talina's best friend from Multnomah and now sister-in-law) and to meet the rest of her family. We had a fun family get-together at my aunt and uncle's in Glendive before heading home Sunday afternoon.

Derrick and I have been fighting a bad cold ever since we got home so this week has turned out quite differently than we imagined. Oh well. It has been very relaxing! As usual our vacation went way too fast and I am not ready to take down all of our Christmas decorations! Its always such a letdown when its all over.
I do hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Our Thanksgiving in West Virginia

Thought I'd share a bit about our trip to WV. We flew from Casper to Washington DC on the 22nd. Derrick's mom, Cindy, and Dave picked us up at the airport. Nate did really well on the trip...it was a long day! The dvd player was a life-saver for us. It was nice to pop in a movie whenever he was getting restless. I think we only needed it once though...or maybe twice. We spent all day Sunday relaxing at Cindy's house in Moorefield and then headed down to Summersville to visit Eric and Tonya and kids on Monday. Nate had a blast with his cousins or atleast with their toys. He was in heaven! Tuesday the guys and Cindy watched the kids so Tonya and I could go shopping in Charleston. It was so much fun! I actually got a bit of Christmas shopping done. That was the highlight of the trip for me. The rest of the week we took care of kids and just had fun being together. We all made the three hour drive back to Cindy's on Thursday to spend Thanksgiving at her house. She had a feast for us! It was wonderful. Friday Derrick's aunt Pam and cousins Tyler and Lindsey came over. It was nice to see them. Our time in WV flew by...its never long enough. Saturday we didn't fly out till 5:30 pm east coast time so didn't get home to WY till 1:30 am. Another long day!! The next morning Nate woke up with a high fever. Thankfully it only last 2 days; not sure what that was all about.

Now we are settled back in and getting ready for Christmas. I got my house and tree all decorated this week. I looks so nice! I love Christmas! We are having my mom and dad for Christmas which will be fun. It will be the first time we have had Christmas at our house! Then the 26th we will all head up to eastern MT for my cousin Talina's wedding on the 27th. (I get to be a bridesmaid!!) After her wedding I think we will keep going on to Lewistown for a few days. So it should good... it definitely will be different this year without Jeff. It's bittersweet. He will definitely will be missed this holiday season. I can't help but wonder what Christmas celebration he will be experiencing in heaven. Surely they celebrate Jesus' birth in heaven, don't you think? :)
Anyway... here are a few pictures from our Thanksgiving. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I love you all and am thankful for each one of you!

We had a little "photo shoot" one day hoping for a

nice picture for Christmas...

Three little monkeys jumping on the bed...

Nate loves his Grammy!

Derrick, Tyler, and Eric watching football

Sweet Logan

Eric cutting up the prime rib.

Wow, it was good!

Nate enjoying his Thanksgiving dinner

Yum!

Derrick and niece, Caroline

She is 3 months younger than Nate

Saturday, November 15, 2008

A few fun pictures for ya

Just hanging out

Kisses!

Enjoying his new car from Grammy

Story time with Daddy

Friday, November 14, 2008

I'm back!!

So I've been away from the "blogging world" for a few weeks now. A lot has gone on since my last post so I'm not sure where to begin. I have been feeling a bit uninspired lately but I'll try to get something out today. I guess I'll start with our trip to Florida. It was tons of fun!!...the first two days. We got there on a Thursday afternoon and Derrick immediately met a fellow dentist and WVU alumni. Since the Mountaineers were playing that night we just "had" to find a sports bar to watch the game. It was great fun...they won! Friday Derrick spent the day in class and I spent the day shopping and pampering myself at this little nail salon called "Golden Nails." I got a beautiful manicure and pedicure and a 15 minutes massage all for like $75! We ate at a great italian restaurant for dinner and spent a wonderful evening together. It was that night at 3:30 am that we got the call. It was a call I had always prepared myself for but never thought would actually come: Jeffrey was gone. Both of my parents as well as Kelsey had had a bad feeling about that night. In fact the night before my mom had asked me to pray for him as he planned to pick up Dane at the airport. After the phone call we were in shock, devasted, angry. There was definitely no possibility of sleeping, so we decided to go to the beach and take a walk. It was quiet and peaceful; the opposite of how we were feeling inside. Once it was light out we had to chuckle at ourselves walking barefoot in the sand in the dark. We came upon a number of prickly things that we could have stepped on. The next few day in Florida were just ok. We tried to come home early but it was going to cost us a small fortune so we decided to make the most of our "vacation." We arrived home to Buffalo late Monday night. On the way home I asked the Lord to show me a shooting star to assure me that Jeff was with Him and that He was going to use this tragedy for His glory. Sure enough, about half way home a huge beautiful falling star shot across the sky! I cried and laughed at the same time. What an amazing personal God we have that would care enough to do that just for me. Tuesday was crazy but we finally made it to Lewistown late that night. It felt good to be home with family and to hold eachother tight. So many family and friends were there to support us. So many memories of Jeff. So many emotions. So little time to grieve. The viewing and funeral were both a healing time for me. The Lord was definitely there that day and the salvation message was very clear. It was as Jeff would have wanted it. He was never a grey person... it was either black or white. The rest of the week we spent just being together. We did get a chance to go look at Jeff's car as well as the wreck site. All difficult things to see but necessary at the same time. It was very hard to leave and come home. I wasn't ready to come back to reality. I wanted everything to stop! Life can't go on! It's not the same now!

I have been reading Beth Moore's "Praying God's Word" on overcoming despair. She reminds us that Satan does not give us a break when we are grieving. He plays dirty. He gets us when were down. That has been true since we've been back. I have been physically quite sick with a sinus cold, there is a lot of big, stressful decisions to be made at the office within the next fews weeks, and I had an odd experience with a stalker which has left me living with a bit of fear. (That story to come) So I have been taking a day at a time and trying to keep my eyes on the Rock. My Strength. My Constant One. What would I do without Him?!?

I do want to mention my little bit of sunshine that has been shining through the clouds... a friend! God's timing amazes me. I have been waiting and longing for a friend for almost 6 years!! And what better time than this! And I seriously dont know if I could have done the last few weeks without her phone calls and spontaneous invitations to get out of the house. Thank you Jesus for your provision of a friend for me!

So, that pretty much sums things up. I guess I'll post some pictures of the last few weeks... our time in Florida and our time in Lewistown. I hope you feel a bit more "caught up" with my life. I want to thank each of you for your continued prayers for our family, especially for Jeff's daughter, Mylo. Being 2 1/2 you understand alot but not enough. She knows that her daddy is gone and that her mommy is sad and that something isn't right. Mom said that she will start to ask for daddy and then catch herself like she knows she's not supposed to. The other day she saw a picture with Jeff in it and ask if that was her daddy and when they said yes, she threw the picture across the room. I cant imagine how confusing it must be! Pray for Kelsey, too, that she will keep her eyes of Jesus and take a day at a time.
Okay, thats enough for now. I love you all my friends!!

Our early morning walk on the beach

(they are a little dark, but they're special to me)