Goodbye, Gemini!

One of John Owen's first teeth that came in before his 1st birthday was extra special because it was a "gemini" tooth. I had never seen anything like it, so we had our family dentist take a look at it a long time ago. He was the one who told us this was a "gemini tooth" and informed us that this type of tooth is not very common. The term gemini means "twin". So you see, a "gemini" tooth is 2 teeth fused together. It is really a quite interesting phenomenon! But after 7 years with an extraordinary tooth ...we must now say goodbye to the gemini! For today, the gemini tooth fell out! :-)

And we're thinking this type of tooth should bring double the money from the tooth fairy! Don't you think so, too? :-)

In Everything Give Thanks!

Today, our pastor preached a Thanksgiving message, a message of giving thanks to God in everything. I just wanted to take a few minutes to pour out what's been on my heart and mind for a while now. You see, this year has been what some would describe as a rough year for us. But in everything that has happened, I can honestly see God's work. I sat and listened this morning to the words coming from Bro. Chuck, and I wanted to scream out loud how thankful I am for the fact that I am breathing and that I see today and that I have a wonderful husband and 3 beautiful miraculously-created children...that God allowed His mercy to shine down upon me even when I don't deserve one bit of it.
I became a Christian at a very young age. And eventhough my choices in life have not always been ones that would make my heavenly Father proud, I am thankful that he still chooses to love me and forgive me. I think He's been working on me this year through all of the hardships and fears I have encountered...Almost as if He's saying directly to me, "Come to Me, I am the only One you need." I did not refuse His calling to me this past Feb. when I went down at the end of the service and rededicated my life to Him. And little did I know that Feb. morning, that I would be running to Him this year. (See, He already knew what I did not know.) I believe He finds a way to work on our faith, and He used my daughter's medical diagnosis in late January of this year to start working on me. After hearing everything the doctors said about her brain malformation, I was terrified beyond belief. Here was this child who had never had a seizure or any reason to suspect something like a brain malformation and these things the doctors were telling me were just overwhelming. I allowed Satan to fill me with anxiety and take over my every thought and even thoughts of things which hadn't occurred. I think Satan knew my weakness, and he came at me with his very best ammunition...the thought of something happening to my child. None of us wants anything bad to happen to our children, it's terrible to even think about. We do so much to shelter and protect them and make sure they have the best of everything. So you see, I had a huge problem with the fact that I couldn't fix this malformation she has and that I, as her mother, couldn't control the future. (No one else has that problem, right? :-)) Thanks to my own mother and grandmother for stepping in and helping me to fight Satan. I cried, I prayed, I even said outloud, "Get behind me Satan!" when I felt those thoughts and fears entering my mind. I finally found peace in reading scripture in Beth Moore's Praying God's Word, book given to me by my mom. I know this might sound crazy to some, but one night as I was reading a section of the book, I felt as though God said to me, "Nothing bad is going to happen to Mary Claire and you will use this to share with others about Me." I will never lose that thought or feeling. I immediately shared it with my husband. I then turned my thoughts to giving thanks for Mary Claire and the way he formed her brain. I felt bad and disappointed in myself when I thought about how I had allowed Satan in. God made this child this way for a reason. How could I pray for miraculous healing? The truth, I believe, is that he has already healed her and miraculously created her.
(I am so very thankful for the good report she got last week when we went for her 6 month check up with her neurologist. I am doing everything within my control and knowledge to do. I give thanks to God for everyday with Mary Claire and that she has not had a seizure or suffered any developmental or physical delay from the brain malformation.)
In February, my attitude changed, and my heart changed, too. And everyday, I turn to God. I highly recommend Fear Not Tomorrow, God is Already There by Ruth Graham as a daily devotional book. This book has helped me tremendously as I will read it first thing in the morning or as I get ready to go to bed at night. 
In March, my grandfather passed away. I miss him...(Boy, was he crazy about Mary Claire!) and the life he and my grandmother had in Jackson. Right before his death, my grandmother was diagnosed with the early stages of dementia and had to be moved to an assisted living facility. So much changed so quickly. Now the only house I had ever known them in on Lesa Drive is empty with a for sale sign in the front yard. My grandmother likes the new place she lives, and we are thankful that she is just across the hall from my grandfather's sister and her husband. It's a nice place with lots of activities to keep her busy. She has had some minor health issues, but for the most part, is doing well. We just celebrated her birthday a few weeks ago. Here's a picture of Mary Claire helping her blow out her candles. :-)

I am thankful for having and knowing and being close to all 4 of my grandparents! God blessed me with 4 of the best!!

This past summer almost seems a blur as we dealt with the sudden death of my mother-in-law, Ms. Sue. I cannot put into words how much we miss her right now. Today is her birthday. She would have turned 61 today. We took the children to the grave this afternoon and placed some roses there. I did not go to sing in the Community Thanksgiving Service tonight at church because I felt like Jan needed me to be there at home with him and the children. I am thankful for Ms. Sue's life and that she gave life to my husband. I am thankful that our relationship was good before God took her. We didn't always see things the same way, but we both loved Jan and John Owen, Jonah, and Mary Claire more than anything. That's where we found common ground. I wanted to call her last week when I left the neurologist to tell her what Mary Claire's doctor had said. (I always called her after one of their dr. visits, if she didn't call me first!) And eventhough I miss her, I am thankful that God's got another angel to help watch over these children from heaven. That's one of the thoughts that gets me through this.
Even when it seems impossible to do, give thanks! For everyday He allows me life, I give thanks! For His mercy and love, I give thanks!

Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth.
Acknowledge that the Lord is God. He made us and we are His-
His people, the sheep of His pasture. (taken from Psalm 100)
In everything give thanks.

Happy Halloween

Well, another Halloween season, come and gone. And it's a good thing 'cause I have probably gained 10 pounds from the mellowcreme pumpkins and candy corn that's been "decorating" my house this month. :-)

Tonight was the last thing for us in our week full of Halloween events. We celebrated at our Fall Festival where we played games and won candy. We dressed up for school, Jonah on Thursday and Owen on Friday. We made Halloween cupcakes on Saturday with cute cupcake toppers. And we finished it out with perfect weather for Trick or Treating in our neighborhood!

Everybody say, "Happy Halloween!"

As you can tell, we are very into Star Wars right now. Jan bought the set with every Star Wars movie in it, and he and the boys have been watching them for the last few months. So, I thought it was only fitting that we all dress up as classic Star Wars characters...Darth Vader, Yoda, and Princess Leia.

 Mary Claire was telling people, "I be Pwincess Weia" translation-"I'm going to be Princess Leia."
She was sooo cute tonight as she walked up to the neighbors' doors and without one bit of shyness said, "Tick r Teat!" She even got into handing out candy once we got back to our house.
I was glad that our friends, the Bondurants, decided to come over, too. It was fun "trick or treating" with them!

Here's a shot of the group. I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Halloween!

Oh, and I couldn't leave myself out on this one...

I don't think I blogged about this last year, but our school has Book Character Day on the Friday before Halloween which allows even us grown-ups a chance to dress up, too! Last year, I was Pippi Longstocking complete with the stand-out, braided pigtails! (I can't seem to find the picture I took and downloaded last year. Maybe I'll come across it later and add it.)

And this year, I was Olivia the Pig. (My co-workers, Mr. Peter and Ms.Rachel, were having fun on Book Character Day, too, dressed as Robin Hood and Bad Kitty.) 

See, we grown-ups can have fun at Halloween, too?!

(Now...what to dress up as next year?! Hmm...)

Happy Halloween!

Mountain Memories

(Pardon me while I play "catch up" on our scrapblog.)

Back from the Smokies and back to daily life at the Hensley house...
Here's a glimpse at our 2010 Fall Break Vacation in Gatlinburg.  

We felt as if we were sleeping in the tree tops in the cabin where we stayed. It was awesome!

Jonah clowning around & hugging the bear!

Jan, Jonah, John Owen, Mary Claire and Mimi at the trolley stop in Gatlinburg

 The boys loved the Touch-A-Ray Bay at the Aquarium of the Smokies.

 Mary Claire loved waving at the diver feeding the fish!

 Jonah and his Davy Crockett hat at the Pancake House..."Minnie Pearl style" with the price tag still on!

:-) This made me laugh!

Why does John Owen look as if he's laughing? hehe

Are we having fun yet?

Inside the Missionary Baptist Church at Cades Cove.

After our picnic, this is what ran out in front of our car. I was so excited, I almost didn't grab the camera in time before he crossed the road and headed into the patch of woods. The kids (and grown-ups) loved it!

These are just two of my favorite pictures from the many pictures I took of our trip to the Wilderness at the Smokies Indoor waterpark. We finished our trip to East TN with our stay this resort and had a great time. The food was great, and we had a blast on the water rides. I felt like a kid again screaming on the "Storm Chaser"! We had a great trip, and we are looking forward to a trip back soon for more memories in the mountains.

A Busy Month Begins

We had a very busy 1st weekend for October in which we prepared for & held a yard sale on Sat. with our neighborhood, then celebrated 2 birthday parties with friends, and finished the weekend up with our church activities on Sunday. The yard sale was a success...we made over $400.00! I thought that was pretty good and the best part is we have less "stuff" now! That always feels good. I let the boys have $5.00 each and we rode around the neighborhood on our golf cart checking out the othe other neighbors' "stuff". I told them they could pick one thing out. Jonah wisely chose a "Luigi" from Super Mario Bros. dress up outfit, a former Halloween costume for some other little boy...a perfect fit for Jonah! And it only cost him $1.00! He was so proud, and he has worn it every day since, I think!
John Owen chose to buy a Tennessee jacket for $4.00 formerly owned by his new friend, Scout, who lives in the house directly behind us. Scout even brought his own money Sat. morning and joined us as we shopped at the different yard sales. We had a great time at our neighborhood yard sale!

After a busy work week, we are packed and just about ready to head off to the Smoky Mountains for Fall Break! I just have to finish cleaning. I have this wierd thing about cleaning my house before going on vacation...I know, it's probably stupid, but it sure feels good to come home to a clean house after being gone. The boys are so excited about staying in a cabin in the mountains. Mary Claire even chimes in with, "We goin' to 'da mountains!" My mom is going with us, and we are going to brave the Wilderness at the Smokies indoor water park while we're there! With a 3 to 3 ratio of adults and children, I am hoping we can pull this off successfully! hehe

So, off we go! Next time I blog, it'll probably be with pictures from the trip. Here's a few cute pictures from the birthday party I took Jonah to at the Firefighter Museum last Sat...which, by the way, was a terrific place for a birthday party!!

Pretending to drive the fire engine!

 I love this picture! Don't they look like they are swapping a good firefighter story? :-)

Wonder what all these buttons do? Boys love buttons and gadgets!!

Jonah and Owen T. climb, climb, climb!

A neat place for a party! As you can see, he had a great time pretending and playing and celebrating his friend's birthday!



Animal "Safaria"

(First of all, thanks to Christi and Brandi for sharing your experiences at the Tennessee Safari Park on your blogs!)

"Safaria" is what Jonah called it :-)... so, here's our story of the adventure to the West TN Animal Safaria!

We decided to travel to Alamo last weekend and check the TN Safari Park out ourselves. We loved it!! We took my parents with us as part of our Grandparents' Day celebration, and the safari did not disappoint! I would highly recommend this to others. The crowd was very slim when we were there, and we got to take our time driving through the park feeding the animals and even got a little special attention when one of the workers took us to the "back room" to meet Chucky the cock-a-too and the monkey they called...oh, what was his name? I can't remember...oh well! Anyway, I can't begin to post all of the pictures we took, but here are some good ones along with some short commentary on our experience.

A camel in a cotton field. You don't see that everyday!

A lovely llama! Mary Claire loved the llamas, and she kept saying, "Bye, llama! Love you, Llama!"

I think the llama loved Jonah feeding it food! They walked right up to the window! The buckets were super handy for little ones.

More than one llama was lovin' Jan and beggin' for more! 

Zebras! I think they are one of God's most interesting and beautiful creations. Their patterns are amazing!

Do you think the person who invented hairpieces might have been inspired by the Addax from Africa?

I just couldn't get over how much he looked like he was wearing a toupee! hehe

Three children sooo excited about seeing the animals up close and feeding them.

Well, excited about all except the ostrich! Watch out for that one! I think Mary Claire was pointing at him coming towards the vehicle. That thing followed us the whole way through the park! She kept saying, "Here it comes! O-trich, o-trich!!!"

And she is still talking about the baby "gonkey". How sweet is he!

My up close and personal experience with a llama caught on camera by Jan.

Feeding camels and goats!

"Hi, goat!" she said...

Then proceeded to greet him with a goat kiss!

An encounter of species involving my dad and the giraffe. Almost looks like they are having their own conversation. :-)

Jan, my camera, and the giraffe get up close and personal!

Wow! John Owen got to hold the macaw in the "back room". Isn't he a beautiful bird?

We had a great day! We finished the day with a trip to the local DQ for hamburgers and ice cream. My sweet Jonah summed it up best by saying, "We had 2 adventures today! The "safaria" and going to a restaurant!" :-) Oh, the wonders of a child. Gotta love it.

New School Year

Well, before the school year gets too far along, I guess I better include a post about our new school year.

John Owen began 1st grade and so far, seems to enjoy it. He's doing great, I think! (Especially with the adjustment we have had to make to HOMEWORK!!)

His class tree!

His apple!

Getting straight to work! :-)

I wasn't able to take Jonah on his 1st day of preschool (his 3rd year of preschool), so my mom took him. Believe me, he was pretty happy with his "Mimi" escorting him to school! She snapped this picture of us together before John Owen & I had to leave for school. She then took some pictures for me of him in his class and emailed them to me. Thank goodness for moms! (Thank you, Momma.)

Jonah & Mommy

Jonah coloring with classmates

My sweet Jonah

We've hit the ground running, as I am sure everyone has.

My prayer is that God will watch over us all this next year with His divine protection and guidance along the way.