Christmas Eve eve

The day before Christmas Eve (the eve of) was the beginning of our celebrations. We were able to finally decorate for Christmas because the flooring and the kitchen were done. Whitney had a blast helping out. That afternoon Bryan's family came into town. Aunt Susan was here from Oregon. I think we had everyone over that evening at some point. We even had carolers come to sing to us (Lloyd and Claudia's family). They even fit into the house, which now seems so much bigger. Here are some pictures from the day:

Hadyen took a picture of Hannah and me.

Susan and Weston

Whitney in a box. (She and Wils loved it.)

Bekah, Susan, and Ethan watching the action.

Heidi munching on her sippy.

BrookLyn caroling.

Angie, Claudia, Kaleb, and Kristin singing.

Mom and her brother Lloyd. I love his hat. (And it's rare that he'll allow a picture to be taken of him, so it's even that much more of a special picture.)

Mom's Remodel

The past few months my mom's house has been being remodeled. The brothers have been busy for sure. They started around Thanksgiving. I was able to 'help' with a bit of the destruction phase. (I say 'help' loosely because I had no clue what I was doing.) Mike finished installing the kitchen last night and Erik will finish the lights today. After that, it's just putting things back to where they should be. Here are some pics of the process that I've been able to see.

Erik knocking out the old insulation from the ceiling. (Nasty stuff).

Mike vacuuming the nastiness away.

The floor had been completely removed and new floor joists installed.

More of the wall-less, floor-less, ceiling-less living room. (We filled a huge trailer with all the wood from the destruction period.)

Putting in the sub-flooring.

Kaleb helping in instal the carpet.

Kaleb and Adrin working on the carpet.

The new wood floor (solid oak). Aunt Susan watching Mike getting ready to instal cabinets.

Mom checking out the first new cabinet.

The finished product. (Almost....still needs some shelves.)

Awesomeness.

Another view of the awesomeness. (Without the sink the Bryan finished installing last night.)

Everything looks so much bigger. I can't believe the change. Mom did a dance of joy last night and let out a huge "Wahoo!" She just keeps walking in and smiling and feeling the cabinets. I think she likes it.

Thesis

I had my thesis defense today. And I PASSED!

Fall Break, Part 2

Weston Kinser Hendershot was blessed while I was at home. He was so good for the whole thing. He didn't even stain his blessing outfit. They held it on a Saturday evening and all the family was there for it, except for Nicole's brother. Here are some pictures to highlight.

This was after the blessing. Just chillin' at home.

Smiling for me.

An almost-grin.

Completely out right before the blessing.

Grandma K and the little man.

The whole family.

Nicole and son.

Daddy Michael

Another of the family.

Grandma and Grandpa K

Grandma H and the little man.

I was so grateful that I could be there for it. I am continually amazed by little ones. They are such a miracle from God. How blessed am I to have 9 amazing nieces and nephews.

Fall Break, Part 1

Fall break began on Wednesday afternoon. I drove home to Wyoming to visit with family. The canyons were beautiful. I love this time of year. Thursday was spent getting lights fixed on my car (Thank you Erik!), holding Weston, and watching the W's get their pictures taken. Can't wait to see how they turn out. The back drop was SUPER cute.

Friday was also spent with family, mostly just hanging out. My brother Bryan was supposed to come home this weekend, too, for Weston's blessing. He told me that there was a huge water main break in Gillette and wouldn't be able to make it. He lied. His family got here late Friday night after I had got to bed. I had sort of suspected that they might come, but my mom insisted that they weren't. I gave her the benefit of the doubt, since she's not a good liar. From now on I'll be sure to second guess what she says when it comes to Bryan. ;)

Saturday was spent entertaining the kiddos. They actually play well together, if no one is tired or feeling sick. There were only a few melt downs. We all went to the craft fair that morning to see Nicole and Janet. It was so warm and crowded in there that I ended up taking the little ones outside. There was a big kettle corn booth outside. Wilson walked up and took one of the bags. It was pretty funny. I don't think he realized that they weren't just for the taking. I ended up buying a bag to share with them all. They loved it. Afterwards we headed home. We picked up some leaves on the way. Once home, they traced them onto paper. They had a great time doing that. Then they played and played. Here are a few pictures to highlight.

Wilson, Hannah, Whitney, Grandma H, and Hayden walking to the craft fair.

Hannah and Whit

Wilson, Hayden, Whit, Grandma H, Hannah, and Heidi on the way to the fair.

Hayden showing off his beloved 'choo-choo' pajamas.

Whit, Hannah, Wils, Hayden and me

Bekah being silly.

Sariah

Sariah, Ethan, Sandy, Erik, and Bekah

Sariah, Sandy, Bekah
(It's highly unusual for them all to be looking at the camera at the same time, so this is a REALLY good photo of them all.)

Drooly Ethan

Man, I love being with my family!

Nephew #4

On September 5, which happened to be Labor Day, the newest Hendershot was born. Weston Kinser. I was able to go home a few weeks after he was born to hold him as much as I could in a 4 day period. Here are some pictures of my time there.

On the couch getting cozy.

With cousin Sariah.

Checking out his new world.

With Grandma H and cousin Ethan.

Yawn! (I think Wilson took this picture, that's why it's fuzzy.)

He was so much fun to hold. Perfect size to lie on my tummy with his legs curled up to the side of him. I think he took a couple of good, long naps there. I loved it. It's been difficult to be so far from him, especially at this age because I'm sure he's changing so much. I do get to go home this weekend, so hopefully I'll get to hold him a bit more before he gets to big or doesn't want to snuggle any more.

Kids say and do, part 2

Today, we were sitting by the door, waiting for all of our friends to get their jackets on before going outside. I was asking questions like, "Who has pink on their shoes? Who had dots on their jackets?" With almost every question, no matter what I asked, I had a resounding "ME!" from all of them, even if they didn't fit that particular category. I then asked the question, "Who has ears on their head?" Not one peep.

Pictures of the Niblings

Here are some pictures of when I was on break during August....except for the first one. But it was too cute not to post right now.

Grandma, Ethan, and new baby Cousin Weston

Wilson and Whitney
Mom had bought some tiny card games. This is when we were playing Go Fish. Whitney LOVED it!

Ethan playing at Grandma's house.

This is one of Ethan's favorite places to play. It's a box of Uncle Kirk's puzzles. He figured out how to open it and loves to sit in it with the lid open.

Wilson with a big bump on his head. He was jumping from the stone hearth to the large ottoman that they have. When he jumped back, he missed and hit it head on the corner of the hearth. I was surprised it didn't get bigger than it did.