Easter and other Hennhouse happenings......

I have been planning to write a post since we got back from Minneapolis in March but as you can tell, I just hadn't gotten around to it. With that being said, it's good to be back to writing again.  We went to Minneapolis in March and had a BLAST! We got to see our cousins, including little baby Bebo, who is just the sweetest little thing!

We all stayed in an empty house with only 2 bedrooms but it couldn't have been more fun.We were very greatful for a place(thanks to good friends of my Auntie L's) to stay where we could all be together and just hang out. With all the cousins jam-packed in there we were all bumping into each other and running around and being just plain crazy! There was this looooong staircase that all the kids were sliding down on their rears until somebody got hurt and then that game was done.

 So the kids found other things to do such as....playing legos with a beloved cousin

                            Or coloring pretty pictures to hang on the fridge at home.......(By the way, even though almost everybody loves the Packers in our family, some family members a.k.a.Mom, Dash, Bear LOVE the Vikings. And since we were in Minnesota, Dash decided that is was the perfect time to don the purple vikings shirt, and I agree.)

                      Pausing for photos on the dangerous stairway.......

              Holding little Squeakers................

                 Taking more random pictures................

                     Or maybe watch a short movie. As you can tell, we just adore our cousins. The next day we hung out at the mall and that was no short 2 hour trip to the mall, this was an all day thing. There were 10 adults and 9 kids so each parent took 2 kids or so and we called it good.

 This is most likely the only thing Oggie really enjoys at the mall. He probably spent and hour or so in there!

 The girls had a great time at the American Girl Doll store.

And Dad had a amazing time with his dear friend Mr. Chicken.
Just messing! There was this costume and magic trick store and this was in the doorway. I couldn't miss the chance of getting dad's picture next to this waaaaay larger that life sized chicken! :)

 Me, Oggie, and Dash all got to climb on this huge(4 stories) climbing structure. None of us are afraid of heights so we made it to the top. Such fun!

We had a fantastic time with our family and can't wait to see them again!

We came back home and had no major things going on. I was in a play so my family came and saw me in that. I had sooo much fun doing it and the play turned out really well.

  We went to our Grandparents house for Easter and dyed eggs, hunted for easter baskets and stuffed ourselves silly with ham and green beans and potatoes all made by my grandparents! yum!

 We went on a walk to the Rose Garden and it was wonderful to see all the new life popping up all over. Spring!

It was fun dying easter eggs, but it was even more fun eating them!!

  All in all, we have had a great past month or so. We had our friends over who just brought home their little girl from Ethiopia, and have been taking advantage of this warm weather and playing a lot outside.
Signing off :)
Bugg

Rabbit Stew

Yum! This with some mashed potatoes and corn on the cob, now that's good eatin' right there! Oh, can't wait for dinner tonight!
Bugg

Overheard at the Hennhouse

This morning I was making scones and Bear came up to me and said

    "Bugg, I don't think I'll like those thorns you are making. I have never eated one before."

I have no idea where he got thorns but it was awfully cute!
Bugg

Chickens!!

 Today was an amazing (yet insane) day at the Hennhouse. This morning we all woke up extra early to get to a friends house by 7:30 am to help them with them with their new 24 hr old chicks. The chicks arrive in the mail and if they don't get water, they might die. So, Mrs. D went and picked up the chicks at the post office and by 7:30 we were there. We had a great time. You just pick up the chick, and dip its head in the water so that it swallows some. We almost had an assembly line going, pick up the chick, dip its beak in the water, make sure if drank some ( the chicks head will slightly shake and its beak will open and close) then after it drank had it to the person inside the area where the chicks were. The little chicks were adorable, it was like a little ball of yellow fluff, and they had the cutest noise. Sometimes you could even feel its heart beating! It got very crowded in the little coop so Bear and some other kids went and fed and did stuff with the horses.   Everybody was SOOO well behaved and absolutely loved helping with it. It made us all want chickens..........Don't think that will happen. :)

You can tell we were just a little tired. :)

                Bugg

Happy Birthday Bear!!

Today our Jesse Bear turns 5!!!  Where has the time gone.  Jesse was 15 months when we traveled to Ethiopia to bring him home, and he has grown up so fast.  I will never forget his precious smile that melted my heart when I set eyes on him for the first time. He has a very gentle and quiet way about him.  He is an observer and loves to snuggle.  I am blessed to be his momma.  Happy Birthday, Big Boy!!

 

Happy Birthday Mom!

Tomorrow, March 6th, is my beloved mommy's birthday. She is an AMAZING mother, teacher, and friend. Mom has her moments but is willing to confess, forgive and listen. I love her soooo much.  She puts up with all of our many 'moments', cooks, teaches, throws parties, does laundry, cleans up after us, and many, many other things.

This is the only picture of Oggie and mom together that I could find......

Post a comment to wish Ta a happy birthday!

make a difference

This is a reference post to another blog of dear family friends.  Thank you for posting this!

http://untohimwelive.blogspot.com/2011/02/you-can-make-difference-part-1.html 

We have a Birthday Boy Today!

Eight years ago today, our Dash was born!  Today we celebrate and thank our Almighty GOD for giving us this precious child!!  Leave a comment to let him know your wishes for his Birthday!

Gotta love the fist pump!

Below is a video of our Jbear doing what he LOVES, basketball!!
This was during his final game and he had a great season.   Check out the total package, he dribbles, he shoots, he scores!

Daddy gone- Part 1

2 Corinthians 12:9~10

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I wanted to start my blog post off with that verse, because without His grace and power, Dad going to Ethiopia and us staying here without him would have been impossible. Seriously impossible.
With that being said I will start rambling on about our many adventures here while daddy is in Africa.

all of his bags, ready to go!!

Our first day went very smooth. My Aunt Lea, Uncle JT and cousins Claira, Malachi, and Cecily (also their dog Jasper) Came over about 45 min after Dad left for the airport. That was a GREAT distraction to the first 36 hours of him being gone. After they left we headed to Target for and outing. We had all gotten giftcards there for Christmas so we packed a lunch and headed out the door. All of us in a store can be quite a sight, but Squeakers was and absolute angel and we didn't have any major issues. smile........

Dash loves to help, pushing the cart, stroller, you name it!

The day after that my Aunt LaRae, (dad's sister) Uncle Bob, Cousin Nate and his girlfriend Nutmeg came up for a visit. (Nutmeg is Not Nate's girlfriend's real name but just a nickname I came up with for her. Her real name is Megan) We had a TON of fun. Mom went to Panera and read her Bible for a while, when she came back she said she felt like a new woman! :)




                                                                                                      

 That evening we had dinner and fellowship at a dear friends house. We had a blast!! They are currently in the process of adopting and have kids similar ages to us.

That is the end of Daddy gone-part 1 (hopefully there will be a part 2)!
Bugg

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Daddy!!! You are officially 40 years young! You are the best dad I could ever ask for! You are a mentor and guide, a musician and a teacher. Boy,can you make people laugh!

  Buzzard's birthday was actually yesterday so we all went to his restaurant of choice, Archies. We had a GREAT time. And I hope he did too! Here are some pictures of the fun we had.

this isn't from archie's but I thought I should post it anyways.

Buzzard and his sister, LaRae.

Boy, did he enjoy that cake!!

Okay, this last pic has a story behind it. Greta, the woman in the middle of the picture is a very loyal reader of our blog! We ran into her at the restaurant while we were eating.  It was weird, she knew all about us and even called us by our nicknames! We all felt pretty famous.

The morning of Dad's birthday we made a cake. It was SOOO good and we had a lot of fun with it. We also pretended to be elves and decorated a Christmas tree for my grandpa, who didn't have time to put one up this year.Here is a picture of it.

I made a popcorn string to go on it but I could only make one because Bear ate all the rest of the popcorn. We had a whole lot of fun decorating that tree.

Post a comment to wish Buzzard a Happy Birthday!
bugg

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

WHOOOOOHOOOOO! 21 days 'till CHRISTMAS!!! The Henn family is ready for it! Anyway, since Christmas is so very soon we put up our tree and decorated the house. And while decorating for other holidays might pass unnoticed, decorating for Christmas(or Christamas, as my piano teacher might say) does not. It could almost pass as another holiday in itself, (maybe not but whatever!) So, because pictures say 1,000 words, I will post some :)
.
Last week our family went to Minneapolis to celebrate Thanksgiving/Christmas with my mom's side (grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles) We had a BLAST!! There is NO words in the world that could describe the fun we had.  Here are some pics of that.

All the girl cousins (minus Squeakers) eating breakfast.

My cousin (on the right) is SO cute in everything she does!

THANKSGIVING!!!

Dad and Uncle JT took us to the closest YMCA.

all the cousins having a pj party.

             We had a ton of fun! But that's not the end of this long post :)
       I also have pics of our Christmas decorating party!
   Usually we set up the tree, then have our decorating but but this year we did it differently. This year, we had our traditional Jerry's pizza, and cookies the night we set up the tree, then this morning we had doughnuts and hot cocoa and decorated.

sprinkles, sprinkles, sprinkles!!

notice Dash and Buzzard in the corner. so sweet!

what do you think that he is thinking?!

              It is always is sooo fun to post to the blog! Also, this is Squeakers first Christmas!!
       Last thing, this video of Squeakers is ADORABLE. I have never seen (or heard) her laugh that hard.

Bugg

happy thanksgiving

An eventful day!

We got the kids up  REALLY early and headed out for our turkeyjerky day weekend.  at 2:30 am the boys were rousting around in their bedrooms.  So we decided to get underway.  on the highway by 5am, trying to beat a winter storm.  however we were slowed down a bit by a deer.

the chrome piece that was left here didn't make it must past this stop...  the wind was blowing like mad,  you can see how it shifted the cargo topper clear to one side.  

The car ride was pretty smooth otherwise, only a few fights and none between ta and buzzard! 

we made it, beat the storm and still had time to hit the the Christmas display downtown.  it was so cool.  The animated elves were fun for the kids to watch and SANTA!  what a day.  The kids are so excited to be with their cousins and they just crashed a few minutes ago.