Kids #3....Ethen Miles

Ethen, Ethen, Ethen...He is our crack-up kid. He keeps us laughing, and laughing and laughing.

His passion right now is making movies. He makes these short 1-3 minute movies that are usually hilarious. He posts them on his Facebook page for all of his friends to see. Every time he has friends sleep over, he makes a new movie. Every time he is stuck at home, he makes a movie. I am always amazed at what he does, even if it is very silly. Now, at school, Ethen is very serious, I am very proud of all of his efforts at school. He really hates math, so Algebra has been no fun at all for him, but he tries really hard. He does quite well at everything else. Last year, his English teacher entered a poem of his into The America Library of Poetry contest, and his poem was picked to be included in their collection of poems for 2008. I actually accused him of plagiarism because I thought it was so good. Nice mom, huh! Anyway so now he is a published poet, among many other things. Although he didn't win the contest, he thought it was very cool that he owns a book that has one of his poems in it. He played football this last fall for the Freshman and Sophomore teams. He was very overwhelmed by doing both, that meant practice with the Sophomores and two games a week so he could play for both teams. Right now he is doing Track and he runs the mile. His season is just starting, so we will see how it all goes. He is also very artistic and loves to draw, most of that is quite funny as well. Maybe he can be a comic book artist or something. We are very proud of him, he is awesome. We love you Ethen.

Countdown...Kid #2...RaNae

RaNae is one of our "Brains" in the family. She doesn't have to put much effort into studying or working on anything to have it be absolutely Excellent! She carries a 4.0 grade point average quite effortlessly, sometimes I wish I could see what she was capable of if she really tried a little harder. But then again, maybe not. I already feel quite "stupid" next to her. She is definitely our "Social" child, she has been quite involved with Choir, and theater during her high school years. She is in her 2nd year of Chamber Choir, which is a performing choir for the school. She has been in all of her Musicals, and most of her other plays performed at her high schools since her freshman year. She is in the "Natural Helpers" group at school, which helps intervene and help other students who need someone to talk to or get help that they might not seek from others. She is our argumentative child, and keeps us on our toes most of the time. She is a very good young lady, and hasn't (as of yet) caused us any unusual heartache (minus the normal everyday trials of having a teenage daughter). We are very proud of her and all her accomplishments, her two younger sisters adore her, and love spending time with her (I am sure Joslynn will too). She plans on attending BYU Idaho in the fall, she is going to major in English Education and hopes to teach high school-aged kids English/drama one day. I know she will do very well in college and we look forward to seeing the many wonderful things she will yet do in her life. We love you RaNae!

Serving the Lord

We got an e-mail from James today. I wanted to share a paragraph from it. He says,

"We have an investigator that we just taught the first lesson. When I taught, the spirit was helping me to know what to say. It was awesome. The spirit was especially strong when I taught about the first vision. It was so cool to open up the pamphlet, show her the picture of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father standing over Joseph. And then to see her face light up when she saw it. I love being a missionary!! On the last visit she called us angels. I have never been so happy in my life. I know this is really the Lord's work. And it is the greatest blessing in the world to help God's children come unto Christ."

It is so awesome to see him so happy, he truly has been preparing to serve this mission his entire life. We are so proud of him. We love you, James!

Countdown of kids...Starting with #1...James

James is an awesome young man. He is now serving a two-year mission for our church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He graduated in the top 15% of his class, and lettered in Track and Cross Country (several times). All of his teachers and coaches loved him, and he was always a favorite with his classmates. Despite the fact he was very quiet and sometimes a bit of a loner. He is serving in Chile, the northern part. He is really enjoying the food and the people. He is still struggling with the language, but is confident it will come soon. He is an incredible artist, his favorite type of art to draw is more animated type art. But he has been trying a little bit of everything to keep his options open. He plans to either go to BYU in Provo, Utah or maybe an art college somewhere. He is a very sweet and loving brother and son. We love him so much, he has been an absolute joy to see grow into this incredible young man. We are so proud of him and all of the decisions he has made, it will be amazing to see what he will do with his life. He is our oldest, and he has been a wonderful guinea pig for us, hopefully he can forgive us for any mistakes we have made as his parents, we sure have enjoyed seeing him grow up.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick's Day. May the Irish in all of us be fulfilled today. Our closest relatives from Ireland are the Calahans. My dad's mother was a Calahan. Seth wanted me to mention that his middle name is Calahan. Anyway have a great day. Seth always calls it Green Patrick's day! So have a Happy Green Patrick's day!

James' latest letter

We got James' latest e-mail on Tuesday. So I panicked for 24 hours. It was a great e-mail , he seemed really happy and excited. I guess he had a zone conference on Monday, so that is why he didn't e-mail until Tuesday. So, I am happy to know he is safe and sound and very happy right now. He said they are hoping for 10 baptisms in the next couple of months, if all goes well. He said he is enjoying the food and he really loves the rice they have down there. He told us about a hot dog they ate recently (they eat a lot of hot dogs down there), he said it was as long as his forearm and twice as thick (I hope he didn't mean the hot dog was twice as thick as his forearm). Sounds like too much hot dog for me. He also told us about his mamamita who washes their clothes and cooks some of their food. It is nice to know he is being taken care of even though I can't be there to take care of him. I must say in his defense, he has been doing his own laundry for a while, the cooking was going to need some work. It sounds like he is now in Alto Hospicio, I will include some pictures off of Google earth of his area.

The picture of the bigger city is Iquque, the city next to where he is.

Warm day and the park

Last week we had a warm day. Remember a warm day to us is anything above freezing. With all of the below 0 temperatures this winter, we had an almost 50 degree day and spent it at the park. The winds were so strong it made it hard to fully enjoy it, but the kids did their best. I really love the pictures of them fighting the wind.

New Punishment for the Hendersons

We have found a new alternative to "Time Out". We now put our kids in the computer and retrieve them after they feel they have learned their lesson. It is actually quite effective, and find out how you too can effectively "Monitor" your kids. Just send $19.95 for your "Monitor" kit.

Plus $5.99 shipping and handling.

Ha ha!!!

Life's Changes...

I hope this doesn't seem too tacky to share on my blog. But I thought it might be the easiest way to let everyone know, without making anyone feel awkward or uncomfortable. For those of you who knew I was expecting in September, the news now, is that I am not. I had a miscarriage on Sunday/Monday the 22nd and 23rd of February. I am doing okay now, but I lost a lot of blood and still feel very weak and tired. I was 11 weeks along, but after the D&C I found out it was a blighted pregnancy and the baby never actually developed from the fertilized egg, although the placenta and amniotic sac had developed until I miscarried. So even though I was still experiencing all the hormonal symptoms, the baby was never going to develop and eventually miscarried. It was a very scary night/morning for Harry and I, but I am so grateful he was there with me. So, I am trying to gather all my energy and return to a normal life, but it is taking longer than I thought. I saw Dr. Maurus again yesterday and he said it would take 2 to 3 months to fully recover,from the blood loss, but hopefully in a couple of weeks I would feel much better. I am grateful to the Hollands for teaching Seminary last week and this week for me, that has been such a great help, thank you so much. And thank you to Harry and the kids for all their help and understanding, you guys are the greatest. I love you!

James' MTC stay

James loved the MTC, he made many friends and had a blast. He was there from Dec. 17th till February 16th. His missionary companion in the MTC was Elder Rowe, from Orem, Utah. They had a lot in common, such as track and cross country in high school. Here are a few pictures he sent home. These pictures are scanned and crooked, sorry. And I couldn't make them any larger either. Of course you can click on them and see them a little larger, but then you see the dust and other junk on the scanner bed that I did not realize was there. OOps!

Update on Elder Henderson

Elder Henderson is now in Arica, Chile. He is very close to the border of Peru. He is currently waiting for his Visa to clear, and then is supposed to go to another area. His companion's name is Elder Despain, and he is from the Seattle Washington area. He has been out for 14 months, and James says, "he may not be Latino, or a Native of Chile, but his Spanish is excellent. They only speak to each other in Spanish, unless James can't understand him and needs some help.

James didn't take these pictures, we got them off of Google Earth. James says there are hundreds of dogs in Arica, and he has to do some major dog poop dodging. I am going to try and do some more blogging than I have (yes it has been three months) and keep everyone up to date on where he is and how he is doing.

If you would like to write him here is his e-mail address and his mission office address:

JamesS.Henderson@myldsmail.net

Chile Antofagasta Mission

Sucre 220, Oficina 504

Edificio, Bolnes

Antofagasta, II Region

Chile

Trip to Utah

I fell in love with Phoebe. She was adorable. I can't tell Becki enough how much I appreciate all she did for us while we were there, including putting us up (and putting up with us), chauffeuring us around the world, and being so sweet the whole while. Thank you also to Brian and Fabian for what they put up with also.

I am so happy I got to spend some time with my brothers and sister and their families. It was so wonderful to see them all. I have really missed them and their sweet families. Thank you everyone for making the time to see us, it meant so very much to us. I didn't get pictures of everyone like I would have liked to, but I am happy to have gotten some of Joslynn with her sweet girl- cousins Brooklyn and Faith.

I love you all, Scott, Rachel, Tyler, Mallary, Matt, Michael, Melanie, Madison, Coleman(sorry we didn't get to see you), Morgan, Tanner,Faith, David, Chelsea, Brooklyn, Rob, Becki, Brian and Phoebe. I can't wait to see everyone again, and hopefully bring my family to enjoy it all too. I love you!

I also want to let Annette, Rochelle and Maren know how glad I am I got to see them. You guys are awesome. Thank you for taking the time to see me. I wish I could have spent more time with each of you, hopefully we can visit soon. P.S. remember you always have an open invitation to come and visit us, we would love it. I love you guys.

"Our Missionary"

He is in the MTC and we will not see him for two years. But, I am okay with that, I know I showed much panic about the whole thing, but I have come to terms with it, with much help. Now, I can just tell you how proud I am of our son, and what a wonderful young man he is. It was one of the hardest things I have done yet, in this life, but one of my proudest as well. He has been preparing for this his entire life, and he is one of the most spiritually prepared young men I have yet met. He will do great, and he will have incredible experiences and adventures while on his mission. I can't wait to hear from him in the MTC and hear what he thinks of it all. We love you James, and even though you won't see this, I want to shout it out. P.S. We all miss you (but we won't tell you that , at least not very much).

Love,

Mom

Of Thanksgiving and Blessings...

I have so many wonderful blessings to be thankful for this Beautiful Thanksgiving Season. Number one would have to be the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. I always have trouble knowing how to place my family. I always think they are first, but I have of late realized that without the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life, I would not appreciate or love my family enough. I would not know that I could be with them for all eternity or be able to raise them as I know my Savior would want me to do. So if someone thinks, "Wow, she doesn't put her family first", that is why. I know we should love Heavenly Father and Jesus more than anyone or anything else, but sometimes I always think in earthly terms, and what we have now. Then realizing I have my family for all eternity, they come second. Because they are second, I know I can do what I am supposed to and raise my family as I should (or at least the best I can). I am so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father, my Savior, Jesus Christ, and my beautiful family. How wonderful it is to have a husband I love with all my heart, and children that bring me such great joy, each and every day. I love you all! I also want to thank my Heavenly Father for my Father, Mother, and brothers and sisters. What a tremendous blessing you all are in my life. I love you all, your spouses and children. Thank you for being who you all are, I love you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

My Little Monsters!

Halloween 2008 (30th and 31st)

This Halloween we celebrated for two days. We went trick-or-treating in Iowa on the 30th, and in Illnois on the 31st, followed by Trunk-er-treating in our church parking lot. Too much candy and lots of fun.

Joslynn was a "Fairy Princess"

Aidan was a "Scarecrow" (the first night) and a "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" (2nd night)

Seth was a "Warrior" (1st night) and a "Pirate" (2nd night)

Clarissa was a "Cave Girl"

Bethany was an "Ice Queen"

We kept Joslynn happy for two hours the 1st night by feeding her dumdum suckers. The 2nd night we only went out for an hour before going to the trunk-er-treat at church, that night she wanted to get out of her stroller and go up to the houses (on the 1st night Bethany wheeled her up to the front porches and got the candy for her).

Hope everyone had a Happy and Safe Halloween!

Love,

Judy

Back from the dead!

We are Back!!!!

We now have a working computer. We survived the 6 weeks without one. Well, barely. Many things have happened during this time. James received his mission call, he is going to Antofagasta, Chile. He goes to the MTC on December 17th. Yes, I am freaking out. But, I am so proud of him, he is the most awesome young man. I know he will experience many wonderful things while on his mission. We have had much to do, passport, interviews, buying stuff, and trying to spend as much time with each other as possible. It is going too fast. He received his call on Oct. 17th, so we started with a 2 month countdown, it is going very fast. Cindy is coming to visit next week, YEAH! I am so excited. We plan on going to Nauvoo that Saturday, and go through the temple with James. How cool is that. I will try and update more often, but I won't make any life threatening promises or anything.

It is great to be back!

Love,

Judy