End of the Year Review

Oh! Every year we wait patiently (or not) for Christmas and the new year, but it seems that every year it manages to sneak up on us! God has blessed us so much this past year, I don't know where to begin....

Last year was a year of blessing...

Daddy in Ethiopia last January. Lord willing, Mommy and I will be able to travel there in March! Praise Him!

I was baptized in September...

 A year of fun..

And many lost teeth...

Lots of silliness...

A year of birthdays and celebrations...

Happy 10th B-day!

Our 4th Famiversary!!

This one says it all!

It was also a year of hardships...
You can't really take pictures of hardships, and if you could, they wouldn't be a feast for the eyes. We had flooding all summer, and believe it or not, we are going through a drought right now.  We said goodbye to our cousin who joined the Airforce... And we miss him terribly! But there are the spiritually hardships, and emotional ones too.  God is right there and even though it doesn't always feel like it, He works all things for good of those who love Him.

We had a year of family,friends, fun, and fellowship...

Vacation in MN....

Disney World!

Apple orchard with good pals! 

Monday Night Football!! 

This post could go on for a year! :) Everybody is growing up so fast....We are still homeschooling, and we finished our basement renovation a few months ago, watched some friends bring their daughter into her forever family, and are excited with the friends and family who are starting the process of adoption! We made some connections with some Ethiopian and Eritrean friends, and started bringing them to church, and rejoiced when a friend serving overseas came home. (See that story Here)   With love,

The Henn's!  Wishing you a Happy New Year...

~Bugg~

Yeah! Christmas Break

 Merry Christmas from the HENN'S!!
Today we start our Christmas break from schooling.  The next few days we will spend with family and friends celebrating the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ!
Erna has drawn us a festive Christmas tree picture and below, i'm posting a picture of the Solar System model the kids made from balloons!  It fits right in with the rest of our Christmas decor!

Have a very Merry Christmas and a happy, happy new year!

Love, The Henn Family!

Happy Birthday!!

Whooo Hoooo!! Yet another birthday here at the Hennhouse!! Happy Birthday Daddy!! You are the best dad I could ever ask for, and you are an amazing example to all those around you. You are a great teacher, mentor, singer, guitar player, tickle-giver, tucker in-er at bedtime, out loud reader, listener, talker, photographer, provider, protecter, decision maker, friend maker, cook-er, planner, get-'er done kind of person, encourager, writer, correcter, and so many other things I could sit here and write all day! You definitely have your moments, and your boiling points, but you come to see your sin quickly and apologize... =) I can't believe God let me have such a wonderful daddy, and I hope I can celebrate every birthday you have with as much fun as we celebrated your 41st!! Only 41 more years and you'll be 82!! I love you so much daddy and I'm so glad you you were born!!

I LOVE YOU DADDY!!! Post a comment to wish Buzz a Happy Birthday!!
~Bugg

Homeschool P.E.

Some people do P.E like this.....

But we do P.E. like this....

Crabwalking around the house with a baby sitting on top of you builds arm, stomach, thigh and calf muscles. Not to mention, it is very good for the baby's balance. :) Go Oggie! Keep it up dude!!
~Bugg

Oh dear....

Oh my. This is bad, very bad. :) I haven't posted in a very long time. I am really truly sorry, really I am. I could give you a bunch of lame excuses like, I have my own blog, school, we went to Florida, holidays....Wait, did I just say that we went to FLORIDA! Yep! And that is what I will write about today.
        A couple of weeks ago, we woke up super pumped to get on an airplane and leave for Orlando FL!!! But, this is way to much to write, so I will pick from the 2000+ pictures my dad and I took and tell that way. :)

We spent the night in a hotel in Omaha, because our flight left at 7:00 the next morning. Our grandparents were there too! The next morning we woke up and groggily ate breakfast and loaded onto the shuttle. We were very, very tired. Thankfully, the only thing lost the whole trip was my mother's cellular device. Even though that was a big deal at the time, she got my dad's old one and it all worked out. smile....

God blessed us with a very easy flight, nobody was fussy, had ear trouble or got sick... Every thing was a breeze!! My other family (Aunts, Uncle, Cousins) were all flying different airlines, but we all landed in Orlando within 20 minutes of each other. Talk about a serious whoa.....

 PS: They really are not kidding when they say mini pretzels...

Neither me, Erna, Oggie or Squeakers had flown before and Bear and Dash really don't remember it, and all I have to say is it was sooooo cool. And very very pretty!
We had to transfer flights in Georgia and that went smoothly, and the rest of the ride to FL was quick!

We met up with our cousins in the FL airport and let me tell you.... It was a very happy reunion! My cousin Bears( Same nickname as our Bear) brought 4 lightsabers so our boys and Bears were happily cuttting off eachother arms and using the force to slam each other into the walls. :) Just kidding!

As you can imagine getting a group picture was impossible. literally impossible. But our group was a pretty good size.... We had rented to 7 passenger vans for our 17 people (that's including 8 carseats and luggage and 2 strollers) and thankfully, when we got there the shocked car renter person gave us a 15 passenger and a 7 passenger. We had room to spare! That really was a huge (literally) blessing. We would have had to make 2 trips and check into the resort and then manuver back to the airport to pick up the remaining troopers.....Jeepers. Thank goodness we didn't have to do that.

 We made a quick dinner stop at Cici's! Yum, all you can eat pizza/pasta/soup/salad/desert buffet. I think we need one of these in our neck of the woods....

The resort we stayed at was great! There was plenty of room and a full kitchen which was nice.

Well, that's all for now, but here is a preview of what is next.....And I promise I will post again soon...

~Bugg

Out and about...

A couple weekends ago, my mom found a gift card for a restaurant that we had received and forgotten that we had. So they surprised us and we ate out! Our family loves to go on outings, whether it be going to church, to a friends house, even just to the park, but eating out is a special treat.. =) We had a great time and it was fun to eat dinner together in a different setting than the regular dining room table. After we ate, we decided to go to the Morningside College campus and take a walk. Boy, am I glad I brought the camera. There were so many good places to take pictures; fountains, tall evergreen trees, tall brick walls with ivy and flowers spilling all over them... If you ever need a good place to take a family picture, I would definitely recommend it. We took a pretty good distance walk, then went to the gym and ran around the track several times. It was very, very fun. Did I mention that's were my mom and dad met? They loved pointing out to us where their old dorms were and their parents old dorms. Yep, I had grandparents that met at that college too...weird....Here are some of the pictures from the night.

 We are jumping off what my dad kept calling the 'spoon-holder', I don't know....It looked more like a horseshoe to me =) By the way... it took at least 7 tries to get this picture... just trying to get balanced took awhile..

                                I think my sister is just adorable, and so photogenic...

Mr. Dash is pretty stinkin' handsome too! I loved being with my family and eating with them and walking with them and being silly with them. =) It will be sad when we are all grown up and not together anymore...
     I have to write about one more thing. Friday night we went to our friends the D's house and had a bonfire!! It was so much fun. They have a girl and a boy around my age, and they live on a farm! (Which is very fun and exciting for us 'city slickers' as my mom would say) While we were there we did a hilarious skit (it's our tradition) and told scary stories while sitting on fence in the dark. It was a great time of fun and fellowship and I wish I would have brought the camera and taken pictures. bummer. Anyway, have a great week and thanks for reading!
~Bugg