Hello to all

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:18:21 -0500

Hi i am Steves daughter I was at the Brandenburg reunion and I wanted to update you on stuff my birthday is nov. 3 and conners is march 17, he is almost 18 months and me and dustin are moving back to springfield and hopefully all goes well to get married.
thank you and love ya all.
Kendra

Kendra & Conner at last reunion

Carletta is home and doing well

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 18:26:52 -0500

Colton and Amber now have a new sister .... Carsyn Abigail arrived August 2, 2009...
I talked to Carletta today and she is doing well... she said she is calling Amber the “baby whisperer” because she is so good with Carsyn.

We love you guys!

We’re havin some fun now!

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:50:53 -0500

As I am sure you all know.... my husband has a band. I can never get enough of them.... He is getting quite a following... Check his website out at ernietrevino.com ... and come see us at one of the gig’s... If you like ZZ top, Robin Trower, Eric Clapton, Santana, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Neil Young... (just to name a few) then you’ll love his music...
Maryann.

Brandenburg Boer Goat Feb 15, 2009 SPECIAL EDITION

Sun, 1 Mar 2009 19:08:16 -0600

The news from the farm today is not about goats, but about the wonderul and special gift my Heavenly Father has given to me, and to us as a family....My Siblings...the loss of two of them in 1947 and five of them in 1956, my reuniting with one in 1980 and another in 2000 and now the wonderful reuniting of all of us togeter again after so many years.
It is unbelievably wonderful for me because I now have three sisters and two brothers in my life that not only love me but also love one another and we are all so excited to be together again.   We also have very supportive spouses and family members and that makes it even more special for each of us.  But there is also some sadness that is in our hearts because mama and daddy and two brothers are deceased and are unable to share this special time with us, and one sister who chooses not to have any contact with us. We know she needs us and we do not fail to pray for her daily.
On December 20th, 2008 my brother Freddie (adopted name Gerry) who found me in 2000, called and said an adoption agency had contacted him and said our youngest sister Doris (adoped name Deborah) is wanting to get in touch with us. Later when I checked my email I too had received an email from the adoption agency saying the same thing. Gerry and I was so excited when he called me we could hardly talk, wow the feelings and thoughts we both had...and we were also excited because another one of our prayers was becoming a reality. Needless to say I slept very little over the weekend in anticipation of Deborah's call.
I do not know the words to describe the feelings, thought,emotions and tears that went searing thru my mind and body as we talked on the phone. It was so easy to talk with one another as I felt an immediate strong sibling bond with her. And then she shared more unbelievable news...she had found our sister Kaye who was given up for adoption and had talked to her on the phone and Kaye wanted to talk to me too. Shortly after we hung up Kaye called me...all this was so emotional for me I could hardly talk. . And she had so much love and excitement in her voice knowing she had brothers and sisters, how that touched my soul.You have no idea what it was like to talk to two sisters that I had not spoken to in over 52 years and 61years telling me they loved me and was glad they had sisters and brothers. There was no bitterness, hate, unforgiveness or anything negative in the words they shared with me. Only love and the desire they had to find the rest of the siblings and all of us be a family again.
Deborah, Kaye and Gerry all live within a hundred miles of each other so the Saturday after New Years they had a reunion at Deborahs house and included me in that reunion with a conference call and lots of email pictures. They made me feel so special like I was right there with them even though I am here in Oklahoma. It truly blessed my heart they could get together and share with one another what I had experienced when I first met Gerry and Shirley.
Then on Feb 10, 2009 my phone rang and it was our brother Buddy, adopted name Leroy Nichols, aka "Bud". That was a sad call as I learned for sure that our brother Earl had died at the age of 17. They had been adopted together by a couple from Pa. But it was also a very exciting, rewarding and touching call for me. Buddy has never been married, he and Earl were very close and had no family except their adopted parents. It really affected him when Earl died and he became a loner, then after he lost his parents he was totally alone in this world and became even more of a loner. We talked, cried and laughed together for over an hour. He was overwhelmed with emotions when I told him he had three sisters and a brother waiting for me to get off the phone so they could talk to him too.
It is truly amazing what God has done. If it were not for Him none of what has happened since Septemer 2008 until today Feb 10, 2009 would be possible. We all realize that and give the glory to God
Deborah decided in August she wanted to try and find her adopted family. Her husband and children was very supportive. The agencey that she contacted went above and beyond what they normally do. They did not charge her for finding any but the first two because her story touched them so deeply. Sandy at the agency worked nights and week ends from home. She said she did it because she gets such joy out of reuniting families like us.
God led Deborah to the right agency. I had tried off and on for years without any luck. The agency Shirley contacted was only able to locate me. The agency Gerry contacted had only located me. Buddy had tried finding his real family in the seventies and eighties. Why did we not have any success. When i asked God that question His answer to me was that our hearts were not prepared...all of our hearts had to be prepared to accpt this special gift from him. And when they were, he put the desire in Deborahs heart to find us and directed her path.
We have all been talking on the phones, emailing, and the ones in Ga have been visiting each other and other Hill relatives. Deborah and Randy and Kaye and Tommie have organized a one day family reunion at Blythe Island in Ga on May 9th for us and all our relatives to spend the day together and Deborah has rented a beach house right on the beach in Daytona Florida that all six of us siblings and spouses are going to spend a week together for our special reunion. And we love the Lord so we will have no problem finding things to talk about.
So as Paul Harvey says....stay tuned for the rest of the story.
Louise

Catch up....

Mon, 9 Feb 2009 21:00:02 -0600

So much has happened since my last post.... last year... sorry so long... This school year has been a bit crazy. We are all doing good. Ernie is doing much better... thanks for the prayers... the loss of his brother hit him very hard. Hannah won first place in the 6th grade Science Fair and is going to District... We are so proud and excited for her. I am doing the usual... planting flowers, reading books, working on my new garden, and being mom, wife, and daughter in-between ( Oh... did I mention being Nurse to 800 kiddos??? ) My wonderful husband surprised us with a last minute trip to Oklahoma to see Mom & Dad for New Years.... It was wonderful and relaxing. I miss them so much and have a hard time with them being so far away... They were so much of my daily life... and still are...only by phone now...
I have to make several posts News:
about Amber.... she is in Argentina... I’ll get more details.
Mom has found another sister.... more on that soon.
Love to all...
Maryann