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...