David Michael

 

David Michael Hibner was born on January 13, 1998.  He was our 7th grandchild and our 5th grandson.  He's an important part of this small family:

And an important part of this large family:

Following is David, pictorially, through the years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And that's David 'through the years'.  As I wend my way through his file, the smile never leaves my face because although he's changed and grown and matured, the person that is David and always has been David has never changed.  He was and still is the sweetest, kindest, most loving boy imaginable.  We are beyond proud of him and know how blessed we are to have him for a grandson.  

 

Happy Birthday, David!  Enjoy your year ahead where you'll get your driver's license, become an Eagle Scout, and continue to hone your basketball skills.  You are one awesome kid!!!

Note.  I previously wrote about David in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.

Happy Birthday, Zachary.....A Little Late

On June 26th, while I was in Louisville and my computer was at home, our family celebrated 3 birthdays.  I thought to have Harry send me pictures to do their birthday posts but our power was out and stayed out for several days.  Finally I resolved to catch up after my return and that's what I'm doing now.  Grandson Jeremy's post was Friday, daughter-in-law Teresa's post was yesterday, and grandson Zachary's post follows.

Zachary was born in Kansas City, KS and is our 17th grandchild and 10th grandson.

He's Dave and Patty's youngest.  They now live in Burke, VA where Dave is stationed at Ft. Belvoir and is a Battalion Commander and Patty is an Instructional Coach at Cunningham Park Elementary in Vienna, VA.  Zachary has three older siblings, David 15, Katie 13, and Matthew 11.

A little while ago I talked with Zachary on the phone.  Here's how our long-distance interview went.

I know you just had a birthday.  How old are you now?  5.  You're really getting bigger aren't you?  Yeah.  What's different about being 5?  5 is an older number.

Did you have a good birthday?  Yeah.

What did you do on your birthday?  Played outside and we had cake and the family went out to eat....I went out to eat with Dad, Mom, and me.  And we had an Avengers cake and I got a flashlight from it.

Did you get any other good presents?  Yeah.  What did you get?  Inside basketball but Scout broke it.  Actually I got about 8 100 feet rockets.

I know you played soccer this year.  How did you like it?  A lot.  I played with my friend, Matt.   Any goals?  Oh yeah, yeah.


Is Scout a good dog?  Yeah, a pretty good dog.  Oh, why is he a pretty good dog?  Because he's cute and he's one year old.  He's seven years old too.  Oh in human years?  Yes.
What's your favorite sport?  Soccer.  What else do you like?  Football and basketball.  Hockey.   And I like baseball.  I know you catch balls really well don't you?  Yeah, I like baseball.

And you're a very good worker.  Why are you so helpful?  Because I like working.  Why do you like working?  Because Dad works with me.  So you're a good worker like Dad.  YES!

Do you still help David, Katie, and Matthew play Hay Day?  Oh yeah!  Are you still really good at it?  Yeah.  Well, Matthew is done with Hay Day.  He just decided that he didn't want to play anymore.

You'll be going to Kindergarten in the Fall won't you?  Yes.  Are you excited about that?  Yes.  What do you think you'll like best?  Playing with my friends. 

What else have you been doing lately?  Some playing outside, some playing at Nana's, some playing like on Ipods and my favorite game is Bike Race and um Jet Pack Glide.

Is there anything else I should put in your birthday story?   Ummm.  I think that's.....wait no.  I got Legos - Star Wars Legos  not the Angry Birds Star Wars just the people Star Wars Legos.  Awwww.  What?  Scout fell off the bed.  Why'd he fall off the bed?  He just slipped off.  Anything else I should put in your story?  Ummm maybe.  Like I got Lightning McQueen wrapping paper.  That sounds cool.  Yeah that was really cool.  Anything else?  Ummmm  I think that's it.  But Matthew wasn't there for my birthday party.  David and Matthew were at Camp.  I'll bet you missed them.  Yes, I did.  Can you think of anything else?  No, I don't think so.

And that pretty well concluded our interview.  So I have to add that Zachary is a wonderful, sweet, smart, loving, athletic, and helpful boy!  We're very, very proud of him and hoping his coming year is as awesome as he is.  Oh and also, he's a very fun interviewee.

Reno Week - Time To Go Home

Monday morning and our last two crews had to depart.  But, wait.  The shutters had not been installed and there was no way these hard-working guys were going to leave without that finishing touch.  So I went for donuts and by the time I got home half the shutters were up.

And all the younger honey badgers were assisting with the backyard cleanup.

Finally the shutters were up and it was past time for the Daves to head for home.

Chris stayed long enough to install a storm door, put up drywall inside where walls had been compromised, and one more finishing touch - the house number.

And then Chris and Amber had to leave too.
And that was it.  The end of one of the busiest but most awesome weeks of our lives.  Harry and I count ourselves two of the luckiest people in the world to have all these wonderful people come together to work their butts off and give us an updated, beautiful, secure home and clean, dry driveway.  It was an experience we'll always treasure.  Thank you to every one of you for all you did.

Reno Week, Day 7

Day 7 was another beautiful day in Michigan City.  We were so blessed all week with the weather.  We had one brief rain shower and with all the open windows and doors, there were no flying insects - no mosquitoes in the bedrooms and no flies in the house.  It just doesn't get any luckier than that.

Right away the guys started putting siding on the east end of the house and they were fast!! 

And with that extra dimension, we were starting to see how it was going to look.
Unfortunately at that point Sarah and family had to leave.  We would miss Mike's hard work and Sarah's meal planning and execution as well as her unparalleled dish washing skills.
The back was wrapped, windowed (except for the patio slider) and ready for siding.
And in front Patty and Katie especially were working hard to get the flower bed ready for planting

 while Anna worked tirelessly on the cleanup.


All of a sudden the west end of the house was prepped for siding too.

 
Here's our hard working crew at lunch.

But the break didn't last long and before we knew it they were hard at it again and just like magic the slider was in.

 Jack and Zac did a celebratory tree hang.

 And the siding experts finished up the west end of the house.

 Patty, David, Katie, and I made a quick trip to Lowes for landscaping plants and Patty and Katie got right to work on the design and planting.

 In back, Chris and Dave were doing the final preps for siding.

And Steve was installing the third amazing porch light.  He's the one who told us about these lights and they are incredible.  They burn a low ambient light which is really pretty from dusk to dawn but if someone approaches, they become a security light - immediately going to bright and intense.

 Here's the one he installed on the east end of the house.

But as fast as things were moving, it was impossible to stay ahead of nightfall and lights were set up one more time. Here Chris and Dave are nearing the end.

 And here it is.....one low key but triumphant fist bump.

And the project was done.  The people who said it couldn't be done had obviously never run into honey badgers like ours.