Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Hensley family!

We hope your holiday season is filled with many wonderful moments spent with the ones you love most!

 

Merry Christmas

and Happy New Year!

 

 

Fall Favorites

Yes, we are busy. Yes, I know I'm WAY behind on posting. Yes, life is passing by at what seems like lightspeed. Yes, blogging takes a backseat to everything else in my life. :)

Here's my way of "catching up":

Favorites from Fall 2013



Miss Mary Claire! Everyday is an adventure with this girl!



Box seats at the U of M game with our cousin, Owen Thomas. We had so much fun!



Cousins in the 2013 Cotton Pickin' 5k
Matthew, Alex, Katherine, Jan, Me, Cindy
Isaac, Harris, Mary Claire, Henry, Hardy, John Owen, Jonah

This was the Cotton Pickin' 5k in Somerville on Sept. 14th. My cousins, Matthew and Alex, and their families participated with us. The route begins and finishes in front of my grandmother's house on East Street in Somerville, so we try to participate each year.  It's nice to be able to do things like this with our family.
Surprise! We just found out that we are going to have a new cousin in May 2014!
We are secretly wishing for an Armour girl! :)



A Tea Party Day at school!
Mimi made the special outfit...Thank you, Mimi!



Naptime with Daddy
I love moments like this!

Mary Claire's field trip to the Pumpkin Patch in October.   

Mary Claire's Upward soccer team on the last day. She showed a lot of improvement this year. She actually stayed on the field during the game and kicked the ball a few times. :)

 

Jonah and his Upward soccer trophy

John Owen was sad to see Upward soccer end. He loves playing!

Mary Claire attended her first painting party for Anna Brooke's birthday! She loved it!!
I think she has a true interest in painting. Santa might have to bring some art supplies...

These guys spent some time fishing at Jan's Uncle Bubba's Saturday afternoon. Caught quite a few bass!

 

Enjoying our fall days and time together!

 

Honorary TN Titans Kid Captain

Jan teased John Owen that he was "livin' like a rock star" during fall break because we were in Disney World, and then right after we returned, we took John Owen to the TN Titans game in Nashville where he got walk out on the field with the team captains for the coin toss!! He was the honorary kid captain for the game! It was so cool!

We all got to go down on the field prior to game time and watch the teams warm up. The Titans were playing the San Francisco 49ers, and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to get up close and personal with the NFL players! :)

They flashed John Owen's face up on the big screen as he made his way out to the middle of the field, and they announced his name. He shook hands with the captains from both teams and stood there as the referee flipped the coin. They wouldn't let me get close enough for good pictures (darn rules!)

Here's few shots from this awesome experience!

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, and eventhough the Titans didn't win, it was an unforgettable experience!

Disney World October 2013

 

Our Disney trip in pictures...

 

They rolled out the red carpet for these weary, but excited travelers!

Yes, sir...We loved meeting characters at Disney World!



 

Daddy Nick and Mimi at the Crystal Palace for breakfast with characters!

Main Street in the Magic Kingdom! Loved the Halloween decor at Disney...
 

 

 

 I've got a TON of other pictures, but I'm thinking I need to to create a separate book for those.:)

We had a blast!

The kids were great travelers, and we all enjoyed our time together.

My parents went, too, and I was certainly glad to have them with us. We never went to Disney World when I was a child, so this was the first time my parents had been. A wonderful week was had by all!

Counting Down the Days!

Today is the last day of September, and we are counting down the days to...

M-I-C-K-E-Y  M-O-U-S-E!

 

Our fall break will be spent at Disney World, and we can't wait! Months of planning will soon come to fruition as we board the plane and head to Orlando.

 

12 more days!!

 

This was a small, store-bought cake we celebrated Jonah's birthday with in July. (Notice our creative way of adding up to the #8 with the bday candles!) We had cupcakes at his pirate party, so he agreed to a Mickey cake at home with Mimi and Daddy Nick. In honor of all things Disney in 2013!!:)

 

It's almost here...

A Wonderful Birthday

Celebrating another birthday was wonderful this year! I was blessed to have so many thoughtful Facebook messages/texts from friends and family, cards from friends and co-workers, and 3 birthday dinners! I received several wonderful gifts, too! Oh, and two of my favorite CAKES, strawberry and carrot cake! (Wow! I've got some major cake calories to burn!)

I am so humbled and appreciative of it all! Turning 29 --alright, alright...36, isn't so bad! :)

I've said before, and I'll say it again, I have been blessed by the Lord in these 36 years He has allowed me to live. Blessed far beyond what I deserve.

I've set some goals for myself this year:
1. Finish training and running the St. Jude Marathon again this year BUT with a faster marathon time than last year. :)
2. Eat healthier. (I pretty much already do this, but a couple of months ago, I started trying to follow a more paleo way of eating.) Now, if I can just get my kids on board with it.
3. Trim our family's' extra curricular activities down so that we aren't "pulled in 10 different directions" too much. I think we were a little worn out after last fall with dance, music lessons, soccer, school activities, races, family obligations...Well, you understand, I'm sure. I've chosen to NOT participate in as many races in an effort to minimize the number of things on our calendar. The boys have taken a break from music lessons and we opted not to do fall swimming with the Millington swim team.
4. SURVIVE DISNEY!!:) I have been planning this for a few months now, and it's almost here!!! We are so excited!
5. I'm teaching the 3rd and 4th grade Sunday school class at church now, so please pray for me.

I had a GREAT birthday! And I'm looking forward to the next one!:)

Ode to August

 

August is a down-right, CRAZY month! Start of the new school year, dance classes, soccer practices/games, church activities...whew! It's always nice to see the end of this month and see things calm down a bit, hopefully. I never use the words SLOW DOWN--they simply are not words in my vocabulary. Not anymore!

My two handsome guys on the first day of school!

 Jonah is in 2nd grade, and John Owen is in 4th grade this year!

Jonah's 2nd grade teacher is Ms. Whitney Robertson, and he LOVES the his best friend, Bo, is in his class this year. :)

 

 

 John Owen's 4th grade teacher is Mrs. Jessica Pickett!

 This was the scene in the car after the first full week of school!

We had just pulled into Sonic for an after school treat at Happy Hour when I turned around to find BOTH boys asleep!! Worn out and weary...

 Little Miss Mary Claire started her last year of Pre-K the week after the boys and I started back. This is a picture I snapped at Open House with Jan holding her hand as she entered the building.

Waving goodbye as the bus pulled in to pick her up!

 And we are so happy that Mrs. Delores is Mary Claire's bus driver again! Mrs. Delores has driven all 3 of our "babies" to preschool, and she's a special lady!

Thank you, Mrs. Delores!

It's still HOT here, and when we don't have somewhere to be, you will find us by the pool at Mimi's house trying to stay COOL! Perhaps there'll be a break in the temps soon. I think I might be ready for some cool, fall weather!
Farewell, August...

 



Happy 8th Birthday, Jonah!

Jonah turned 8, and we celebrated with a really neat party at the Memphis Botanic Garden. The My Big Backyard section is GREAT! There was a pirate theme for the party, so Jonah and his guests made pirate hats, decorated their own treasure box, and then went out into the garden to search for treasure. I was a little worried about an outdoor party in the middle of July, but it was perfect! There was plenty of shade and there was a nice breeze blowing through the garden. We had GiGi's cupcakes! (FYI...the banana creme pie cupcake was awesome beyond words!)

Hapy birthday to my awesome 8 year old, Jonah! You are so special to me and I love you more than you'll ever know. Thank you for being the unique person that you are with a tender heart and love for collecting things. I pray that this year brings wonderful things your way. 

Happy birthday!

Love, Momma 

Here's some pictures from the party...

The pirate pinata

Jonah passing out treasure to each of his guests

It only took one swing and the pinata treasure was scattered everywhere!

Mad dash for the candy treasure!

Working together to build a fort!

Summer 2013 at the Hensley House

The summer is quickly passing by, and we have been keeping very busy with swim team, camps, time with friends, vacation, and cleaning out and selling things...And we are not done yet! This summer has once again proven to me that finding the time to sit down and blog is extremely difficult. But I don't stress about it. Time with my family is more important. Please forgive me if I "jump around" in this post...

Because my boys are so close (in age and in their relationship with one another), they enjoy doing a lot of the same things, such as swimming. The boys have done great with their 2013 swim team season and will wrap up the season this weekend with a championship swim meet in Tunica and a swim team party next Monday night! They have attended Ag Camp this summer and are looking forward to going back to Ft. Pillow Camp next week. We ride bikes and run together pretty much everyday. The boys, Jan, and I just completed a 5k together 3 days ago in Dyersburg. It was H-O-T, but it was great being there together. Mom and Aunt Dinah were there, too!

Mom, John Owen, Jan, Jonah, Me, Aunt Dinah

The kids have been helping me clean out things that they don't play with anymore and selling these things so that we can save money for our Disney trip that is coming up this fall. We are so excited, and I am trying to finish up getting everything planned out.:)

Mary Claire had her first playdate with a friend yesterday without ME!! I walked her over to her friend's house and left her to play all day practically. I only called 3 or 4 times to check on her. She seems like such a big girl more and more everyday.

Our summer days are quickly winding down and the sight of school supplies on the shelves at Wal-Mart is bittersweet. John Owen will start 4th grade, Jonah's headed to 2nd, and Mary Claire is starting her last year of Pre-K. Lots to do to get these 3 ready for their first day...

Ahhh...the luxury of summer day naps will soon end.:(

Jan and I started our Road Race series this past week with a 5k in Memphis. I was 30 seconds faster than last year--woo hoo! (Hey, at least I wasn't slower.) We have also implemented the Paleo way of eating here. I have been researching recipes and studying about the types of foods that we can eat. I got a great book called Everyday Paleo (written by a mom with 3 kids!) that I hope will help include the whole family in this endeavor. Healthier eating for us all!! I'm not promising that my kids won't eat McDonald's once in awhile. Heck, even I'm gonna take a "day off" if I want to, but we're gonna give it a try.

Last week, we took part in a special event at our church-"Mission Covington 2013". The kids made me proud as they loved on the elderly people and delivered meals to shut-ins. They even pitched in and helped with some yardwork. Never too young to learn to serve others and set an example of Christian love.

This was such a blessing to see my son, completely uninhibited, showing this sweet lady a good time at the 50's party at Covington Care. Despite being confined to a wheelchair, she and John Owen danced and danced! She hugged him at the end and thanked him while I stood to the side and fought back the tears of joy that swelled up in me. A selfish part of me longed for my grandmother to still be here at this facility so that the children could have danced with her, too. But I have no doubt that the dancing she's doing in Heaven is far better than any dance here on Earth.

Mission Covington blessed our lives this summer, and I hope our church will continue to do things such as this in our community.

Wow! What a summer! Ag Camp,VBS week, beach week, cleaning out/selling things, waterpark trips, swim team meets and practices, races, church activities, testing my Paleo culinary skills, Disney planning, trying to squeeze in some summer instruction time, checkups at the dentist and doctor for 3 kids and myself...It's been a BUSY, but wonderful summer!

Up next...Jonah's 8th birthday party and John Owen is going to his first church camp!