A Hairy Tale

Expression is priceless! :-)

I wish I could say that this is a picture of Mary Claire's first haircut, but the truth is that I was urged (by the hairdresser) to get her hair cut 3 months before her first birthday! (And consequently, did not have my camera with me when the first cut was made!) God blessed Mary Claire with a head full of hair...more hair than anyone in my family has ever seen on a baby! Did I really birth this baby? just kidding! I believe the hair is definitely a genetic trait inherited from her Daddy's side of the family. I can remember when she was born the nurse looked at her and said, "Oh my! She's got a double crown. That hair is going to give her fits!"

I didn't know a thing about "double crowns", although my best friend's mother and father informed me that the old wive's tale says that a person with a double crown will break bread in two countries! So I shrugged it off and decided she was destined to be a world traveler! :-)

The hair dresser was right! After two cuts and a trim last week, "the hair" has begun to act as it should! No more cowlick that mats up every time she naps or gets in the carseat, no more of me constantly carrying tangle-free spray and hoping I am not hurting her as I try to get the tangles out! Just lovely dark brown hair that almost perfectly matches the color of her beautiful eyes. Now, our hairdresser wants me to make a decision about whether to let it grow out or keep it short in a "Dorothy Hamil" style until she gets a little older. That's how my mom had my hair when I was little. Remember the Dorothy Hamil look? Can't believe that this is something I have to decide so early...she's only just turned ONE!! Most babies don't have enough hair to worry about the style of it yet!

Mr. Coy, our wonderfully patient hairdresser, and Mary Claire


Now, if we can just get past the "I want to pull the bow out of my hair and eat it" stage, we'll be GOOD!! And I am sure this is not the end of our hair issues. Adolescent years, keep your distance! :-)

Thank You for Being My Daddy

Well, the thought occurred to me late Sunday night as I drifted off to sleep that I forgot to post a "Happy Father's Day" post on my blog, so here it is...I guess better late than never, right?

First of all, I spent Father's Day with the people I should have spent it with...my father-in-law, my own father, and the wonderful father of my children! It was a wonderful father's day! And Sunday night as I lay in bed trying to go to sleep, I let myself think of these three men and how important they are to me. Jan's father is such a nice, caring person with a great personality and since the day I met him, he has always been a gentleman to me. He's someone that I enjoy being around very much. I wish we got to see him more often, but he travels with work alot, and our visits our too few and far between!

And my own father...Well, those of you who know me well know that he is very special to me. What would I want you that don't know me or my father to know about my daddy? For starters, I believe that he greatly desired to be a father before he ever had me. I believe that he had faith that God would someday make him a father, and after much patience (7 yrs. worth) he and my mother welcomed me into their lives. And since that day, I can honestly say that I took top priority in his life. Of course, he had to work and work hard he did to provide for me. But when he got home, I had his full attention. I cannot remember a time that I ever had to ask my dad to turn off the T.V. to come play ball outside with me or sit in the floor so I could challenge him to a game of "Concentration." (AKA "Memory Match") I don't remember a ballgame or recital or concert or play or program where my daddy was not present! He would sometimes come straight from work in his pharmacist labcoat to make it there because he wanted to be there for me.

And I thank you for being my Daddy! Thank you for being there for me. Thank you for reading books to me every night before I went to sleep. Thank you for taking me to church and teaching me to sing and pray and for sitting beside me on the brown leather chair in our old living room as I invited Jesus into my heart. Thank you for showing me patience and forgiveness, so that I might show it to others. Thank you for throwing me in the swimming pool! :-) Thank you for hunting and chasing crabs with me on the beach. Thank you for instilling in me a love for music and history. Thank you for walking me down the aisle as you gave me away to be married to a handsome young man who was nervously waiting at the front of our church. I think that it's very fitting, and I like the fact that my children call you "Daddy Nick" because as the saying goes...Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be called "Daddy."

As I end this post, the other very special Daddy that I couldn't possibly leave out is Jan, my wonderfully sweet husband and father of our 3 children. I love you, Jan. I love the way you love our children. I will never forget how you wore your "New Dad" hat for two weeks after John Owen was born. I love the way you work so hard for our family. I love how you desire to be involved in our children's lives in every way you can be! I cannot begin to think of anyone I would rather have to be the father of my children! And like I said in the Father's Day poem I wrote for you last year, I love the fact that all three of our children are so much like you in their own ways. I believe God sent you to me to be my best friend, husband and "Daddy" for our children, and I thank God for the gift He gave in your life. I look forward to watching you be "Daddy" to John Owen, Jonah and Mary Claire and celebrating many more Father's Days with you! I look forward to hearing our children say to you, as they grow & are able to recognize and realize your love for them, "Thank you for being my Daddy!"
Hope you had a great Father's Day!
I love you more than words can say!
Love, Nicole

My "All Star"

Just when I thought that t-ball was over with and Mary Claire and Jonah had endured their last game and last of the ballpark hot dogs and such...

The all-star list was called out... AND JOHN OWEN HENSLEY made the all-star team! Congratulations, John Owen!
John Owen and teammate Toby Neal

(Now, what I was really thinking was...REALLY?! All-stars for T-BALL?! What are they gonna do? See who plays in the dirt the best? hehe Just kidding. Oh well! Here we go! )

I couldn't help but think of my own parents who spent COUNTLESS hours driving to and from games, literally traveling almost half-way across the world to be there for me when I played, and I know it was out of love for me that they were there for every game cheering me on, lifting me up when I was down and encouraging me in something they knew that I loved doing.

Two more weeks of scheduled practices and games. Those of you who know me (and know how I love athletics and loved being involved in athletics myself) are probably wondering why I sound as though I am complaining, but really I think that it's that I am trying to get used to the idea of my little boy growing up more than anything else! I see how much he likes to play baseball and how good he is, how much he has improved even when faced with two somewhat challenging seasons. He spent all of last week in baseball camp with the "big boys" and every day that I picked him up, he seemed a little more "grown up", and I found myself looking at a child who was now sitting in the car telling me things about baseball he hadn't said before and showing interest in the radio and the songs we listened to and it was a "FLASH FORWARD" that made me feel good about the "cool guy" that sat beside me, but sad at the same time to know that that "guy" was my little boy!


I am not ready for big time baseball. I just want him to have fun because I KNOW from experience that he'll have plenty of time later for "baseball life" and for baseball to consume his life if he so chooses.

But I also want him to be happy, and I am so happy for him having made all-stars because it makes him happy! I sat and watched him in his first all-star practice last night and was so proud of him as he threw with great accuracy from the outfield and second base, as he batted and made sure his coach knew he could hit right-handed AND left-handed! (We had a little "heart-to-heart" after practice about this. :-)) I am looking forward to seeing him play on another team this weekend and seeing how they do. And just like my parents did for me, I'll be there cheering him on from behind the fence. Because he is MY "all-star"! Even if he hadn't made the all-star team, he's always an "all-star" to me!

Mirror, Mirror, In My Hand...

Who's the fairest in the land?

I couldn't resist posting some pictures from Mary Claire's 1st birthday party with family and close friends this past weekend. She enjoyed the cake as you can see...

She enjoyed the presents...

And most of all, she enjoyed every minute of turning ONE!

Thanks to everyone who made this day special! And a BIG thanks to my mother for making THE PARTY DRESS! It is beautiful and will always be a keepsake for us!