Monday, July 15, 2013

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!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

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!