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.

Kids say and do....

I love working with 2 and 3 year olds. They say and do the craziest things. I do miss working with the babies; they are much quieter and a little less nicer to each other. But I wouldn't miss some of the funnies that I get to be a part of.

- I would guess that I hear the question "Why?" about 25-30 times in 5 hour day. I've found the best way to stop the next why is to ask them, "Why not?" They will look at me like I'm weird and then stop asking. At least for a few minutes.

- I love when they figure out my name and they say it in their cute little voices. It often ends of sounding like "Sauny". Once they figure it out, they are quick to use it and then say, "Watch this." I am always 'watching' something. At least, when I'm not answering, "Why?".

- We have a male teacher that comes in for a few hours to help out when we are in our transition times. One day while we were outside, he was playing 'horse' with some of the kids. One of the little girls had a full-out breakdown because she couldn't hold his hand the whole time. She was kneeling on the ground crying into her arms. When I asked her what was wrong she told me the teacher was mean because he wouldn't hold her hand. I almost lost it. I had to softly remind her that other friends need to have turns, too. It took some soothing, but she finally became happy and trotted around with the other children.

- When asked where milk comes from, one kids correctly identified 'cows'. I asked where it comes out of the cow. Some of them thought the nose. One boy piped up with, "Its (boy member part)". Oh, and this was during lunch. I had to quickly stop myself from laughing and say they were called utters. (Obviously this boy has had the talk about differences between boys and girls.)

- And, of course, I hear, "I can do it myself" quite often.

I'm going to try and be better about blogging the 'funnies' and cute things so that I can remember them.

Hannah's Birthday

I'm a bit behind on my posts. In August, Hannah celebrated her 5th birthday. I happened to be on break from school, so I was able to go to Gillette when they had her party. My mom, Saraiah, Bekah, and I headed over to spend a night or two. The party was held at Chelsey's parents' house. We had pizza and hung out for quite a while. Most of my time was spent playing with Heidi since all the other kids where playing with each other. Here are a few pictures of the highlights (or when I actually pulled out my camera to take pictures).

Hannah with her birthday quilt that Grandma H made for her.

Cheesing out.

Bekah cheesing out.

Hayden being a cheese-head.

Hayden and his cousin Keith.

Hannah opening her presents.

Sariah

Memories: An Angel sent to answer my prayers

For some reason, this memory has been on my mind a lot lately. I think it's because I've been praying to see God's hand in my life more and to show gratitude for the things He blesses me with. I don't often have those huge, miraculous events that would be considered a sign from heaven. Most of my blessings come in small packages. This memory is of the previous kind, so it kind of stick out in my mind as super important.

A few years ago, while still living in Rexburg, I needed surgery. My doctor explained that he would do the type of surgery that only required a small hole in my belly button and another on the lower portion of my stomach. Well, once they got the holes opened, he realized that they would need to cut me open in order to provide the necessary treatment. Needless to say, the surgery wasn't exactly what was planned. My mom was there with me and told me that afterwards I kept asking what had happened. She had to repeatedly tell me that the surgery didn't go as planned. Basically, I'd been cut open like I'd had a c-section. Not bad for one who's expecting it. But I wasn't.

Recovery was long and hard. The air bubbles inside hurt worse than any other pain. My mom was able to stay and take care of me for a few days, but my brother Kirk was having surgery that week, too, so she had to leave before I was ready to fully take care of myself. I had many close friends, so I wasn't too worried. My cousin's fiance, Brad, stopped by often to bring me chocolate milk and to check on me. I also had coworkers who often called.

One night, about a week or so after my surgery, I decided I needed to go grocery shopping. I had been told by the doctor not to lift anything over a certain weight. (I don't remember exactly, but I'm sure it's like 10 lbs or so.) I figured I could walk around the store (good exercise) and get the few items I needed in no time. Well, everything was fine until I went to lift a gallon of milk into my cart. My body didn't like that. In fact, it hurt so bad, I didn't know if I'd be able to get it into my car. I did, but just barely. The whole way home (all of 1 mile) I bawled because I had no idea how I was going to get my groceries out of my car, down the stairs, and into my apartment. I remember pleading with Heavenly Father to send help. To my utter amazement, when I pulled into my parking lot, my good friend Marianne was there to see how I was doing. I remember feeling immense relief. I know that my emotions where high and that I probably could have gotten everything in on my own. I also know that for her it was such a simple thing to do to take in my groceries. I can't explain how grateful I was for her to show up. Who knows what type of prompting she had so that she came. I was just grateful that she listened and that she was willing to serve me.

Memories: 9.11.01

That day began as it always did, picking up stragglers on my street on the way up to BYU campus. I think that there was only 1 in the car with me that day rather than the usual 4-5. We were listening to the radio and heard the report. For some reason, I thought that the planes were only the small 2-seater ones rather than the large ones that they actually were. I wasn't too worried until I got to work. We turned the TV on to watch. The TV was right by my desk and I remember not being able to look away for hours. We finally turned it off so everyone would get some work done. We kept updated via news sites. Then the first tower collapsed. The TV went back on. We couldn't believe it. I have never been to NYC, so I'm not familiar with how tall these buildings actually were. Seeing the destruction on TV probably didn't give me a true sense of how devastating everything really was.

When I got home from work, my roommates and I pulled out my old and huge TV to watch. We had people stop in because not many people had TVs on our street. Everyone was in shock. Our EQP (elder's quorum pres) was going around the ward to make sure everyone was okay and to see if any family/friends were involved. Surprisingly, there weren't.

Later that evening I took Leticia with me to fill up my car with gas. No one knew who was behind the attacks and we were worried about not being able to get gas in the future. There was a huge line at the gas station. I ended up walking to work for a few days because I was worried. Didn't need to worry too much (except about the prices).

I think what I remember most about everything was the unity of the nation that came to the forefront. It's amazing to see the turn about in just 10 years. Before it was, "Do anything to protect this country and our freedom...including war." Now it's, "Avoid anything that would include our troops on foreign soil." It's a bit sad to me. I am SO grateful for those who fight for our freedoms as well as those who help support other countries so they can have similar freedoms.

My Buddies

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE being with children. Their hugs, their laughs, their wiggles...everything! (Maybe not the stuff that comes out of their noses or the other end...)

Starting in June I've had the opportunity to begin to work/volunteer at a daycare on campus. The summer was spent in the infant/toddler room. I loved watching them figure things out: how to crawl, how to manipulate objects with their pudgy hands, that naps WILL make them happier. I started working in the 2-3 (young preschool) classroom last week. These little ones keep me on my toes! Talk about energetic. So many questions, with the most obvious one being 'Why'? I love having these little buddies.

It goes without saying that they often notice my least favorite body traits: my zits, which to them are owies; my moles that I have on my arm, neck, and face (What are THOSE?); when I sweat, I use a paper towel to dry my face (I saw one boy try to do the same once).

But most of all, I just love that they accept me even with these yucky faults of mine. They like giving me high-fives. My favorite is when I'm sitting and they come close to hold my hand or they stand between my legs so they can be near me. I know that away from the classroom most of them wouldn't recognize me. But it's comforting to know that I'm their friend for a few hours of each day.

Memories: Labor Day

I think the first time I really heard and understood what Labor Day was when I was in 4th grade. My youngest brother Kirk was born on Labor day 24 years ago. I stayed at Aunt Linda's and Uncle Richard's while my mom was in the hospital. When we got the call the next day about Kirk, I remember I was sitting on their stairs putting on my shoes. When Linda told me it was another boy I thought she was teasing because she knew how much I wanted a sister. When I finally believed her, I cried.

When I got to school I remember my friends and I were confused about the true meaning of Labor Day. At first we thought it was the day that all babies were born. Then we realized that most of our birthdays were in other months so that couldn't be true. I'm sure we still didn't fully understand it after that. (I still don't fully understand it now.)


I would never trade my brother Kirk for a sister. There are been some trying times because of his disabilities, but they have taught me so much.

And to add to the greatness of Labor Day, another family member was born on Labor Day. Weston Kinser Hendershot joined the world today at 3:06 p.m. He was 8 lbs 12 ounces and 20 inches long.


Happy Labor Day!

A Visit from Family

Most of my visits with family are done with me driving to visit them. This last July I had family drive to visit me in Logan. My brother Bryan and his family, as well as my mom, decided to spend a few days visiting. I was so excited that someone decided to come see me. They all stayed at my apartment, which was a little tight. But it was still fun. We drove to SLC a couple of times to go to various sights. Here are some pictures to highlight the few days.

My mom and I met up with Bryan's family at The Old Spaghetti Factory in SLC. (Was so not impressed with the food there.) This is Hayden cheesing it up for me.

Hayden and Grandma showing the love.

My mom and I were able to stop and see the Brigham City temple on the way to SLC. It almost looked like a cake topper because there were no windows and a red roof. Can't wait to see the finished product.

After lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory, we went over to the children's museum at the gateway mall. It was pretty expensive, but the kids had fun. Grandma decided to walk around the mall with Heidi while we played.

Hayden and Chelsey looking at the display that used balls and air.

Bry and Hayden playing a musical instrument.

Hayden building with blocks.

Hannah moving some blocks.

Heidi at Old Spaghetti Factory

Hayden and Hannah playing with the water display.

Bry and Hayden checking out the helicopter that was on display.

Checking out the controls on the heli.

Giving a newscast.

Building some more.

The next day we went down to check out Temple Square. We took a tour of the conference center and then sat in front of the temple for a bit. We were tired because we had already been to the zoo and it was a hot day.

Checking out the fountains at the conference center.

Where the music happens.

Heidi taking a break at the zoo. (It was REALLY hot.)

Hannah and Hayden riding the rhino.

Heidi enjoying the conference center floor.

One night we went to see the Logan Temple, which was closed. The kids enjoyed the water pools and running around.

Grandma enjoying the grandchildren.

The kiddos and me.

The trouble makers.

B-ry and Dee

I was surprised at how well the kids did the whole time, especially with how hot it was. One of the mornings before we headed to SLC the window in the van got stuck down. We ended up in the parking lot at an O'Reilly's parts store while Bryan fixed the window. Hayden was pretty intent on helping him. Us girls sat on the grass and watched while eating snacks. That seemed to be the only unexpected thing to happen. After church on Sunday we also drove up to the Idaho border, which is only 30 minutes away. Chelsey had never been to Idaho, so we went across the border so she could say she was there. The rest of the time was spent hanging out at the apartment. All in all, it was a great weekend.