Drum Roll Please.....

Chris passed both the written and practical tests for his National Registry Paramedic Certification!!! He's officially a paramedic!!! We are done with that part completely!!! I'm so proud of all that he has done and all of the hard work that he has put into becoming the best paramedic he can! I'm excited for him to continue to learn and develop his skills as he gains more experience and applies the things that he has learned. Through it all he has managed to still be completely there for me and the girls! He is AMAZING!!

What we've been up to!

Wow, it has been way too long since my last real post! So in this post I will try to get everyone up to date on our family! Here goes nothing...

July

Chris finished the Paramedic program!!! His Mom and sister Sarah were able to be here for his pinning ceremony and to help us celebrate his birthday. We were so happy that Sarah was able to stay for a couple weeks and go camping with us! Camping was interesting with the girls but so much fun with so many friends!

August

We didn’t really do anything special in August because Chris spent a lot of time working. We knew that he was going to be leaving in September for an internship so he wanted to work as much as he could before then. The girls and I spent a lot of time at the fire station but enjoyed it. We enjoyed the summer weather and going for walks to the park. Chris was gone for a week on a wildland fire near Pocatello but enjoyed the experience and getting to be outside all day everyday.

September

Chris left for Provo where he was to do an internship with Provo Fire Dept. for his paramedic certification. We went down and visited and enjoyed getting to know some relatives better. On our first visit to Provo we were able to spend time with most of Chris’ siblings and their families. It was so much fun to see everyone. We went to the BYU vs UW football game and enjoyed time with family. The girls were so happy to get to play with all of their cousins on that side of the family. Samantha still talks about the football game and yelling “Go Cougars!!” She loved Auntie Lisa teaching her how to cheer for BYU.

Chris was able to come home for our second ultrasound. We were told that I would need one more ultrasound because I had Placenta Previa. Our doctor wasn’t too concerned because it was only “marginal” previa rather than complete but he wanted to make sure that I wasn’t going to have to have a c-section.

Chris and I celebrated our 4-year anniversary, although we were in different states at the time. So much has happened in the last four years and I am so grateful to have been able to share them all with such a wonderful man.

October

October started with my birthday on the 1st and even though Chris wasn’t able to be here I had a wonderful day. The girls and I had a play date and a friend made me a surprise cake! That night the wives from Chris’ shift at the fire department took me out for a girl’s night while one of their husbands watched the girls. It was so sweet of them and made my day! I am so grateful for such wonderful friends and look forward to returning the favor!

Chris decided to switch internships because he wasn’t getting the number of calls that he needed in order to finish on time. The girls and I went down to Provo for a few days and were very happy to bring Chris home with us!

While we were waiting for the paperwork to go through for the internship change Chris played in his first performance with the Madison Fire Department Pipe Brigade. He played the bass drum and did a great job! He will be playing the snare drum for the fire department’s Christmas party in December too!

A week or so later we were packed and headed for Washington so that Chris could finish his internship in Yakima. We stayed with my parents and truly enjoyed spending a month with family. The girls were able to spend time with almost all of their cousins on that side of the family!

The girls enjoyed dressing up for Halloween although we didn’t do a whole lot. Samantha was Minnie Mouse and Ashley was (as Samantha says) a “regular” mouse. They were both super cute and enjoyed trick or treating to a few relatives houses.

Ashley started nursery!!! YAY! She loves it once we get her interested in something and sneak out of the room!

November

We were in Washington for a little over half of November. We celebrated Samantha’s 3rd Birthday! (I know! I still can’t believe that she’s 3!!) We had a party for her at “Granny and Gramp’s” house. Chris’ sister Karey and her family came over so there were a lot of kids to play with. After the actual party the adults had a bowling tournament on the Wii! It was so much fun! Samantha says “thank you” for all of the birthday presents and cards!

We also enjoyed visiting some friends while we were there and helped my parents dig potatoes and make apple sauce/cider. We dug about 1500 lbs of spuds while we were there! We all enjoyed playing in the dirt and getting dirty! Chris finished his internship and we made it home before the bad weather hit too bad.

We are so grateful for Mom and Dad letting us stay with them while we were there.

We got a couple of big snowstorms just after we got back to Rexburg and were glad that we got back when we did. We spent Thanksgiving at home together, which was a huge change from the last few months where Chris has either been gone or we have been traveling. It was so nice to consider all of the ways that we have been blessed this year and all that we are grateful for. We made a complete Thanksgiving dinner and the girls were so excited to get their own glasses of sparkling cider.

We had our third and final ultrasound today (the 29th). I am happy to report that I do not need a c-section!! Everything looked great and the baby is healthy! I am starting to get uncomfortable and am looking forward to February, though! Samantha told me the other day that she wanted to eat all her dinner so that she could have a “big belly like Mommy!” She’s so funny!

So for now things have quieted down. Chris is home a lot more since he is only taking three online classes right now. The girls and I are loving all the time that we get so spend with him!

I am sorry if I have forgotten anything and “should” be able to keep up better now that we’re home and things aren’t so crazy!

The pictures that I want to upload aren't working right now but I will try again later!!

Ultrasound Pictures!!

I have a lot to post about! We have been SUPER busy and have had a lot of fun and I want to post about it all. To start with we had our ultrasound today!!! The baby looks great and we can't wait to meet him or her! We will be surprised again as to whether its a girl or boy!!

Here We Go Again!

Most of you probably have already heard, especially if you're family, but we are expecting another little Henderson in February! We are very excited, although I personally will be more so when I'm past the yucky part. Samantha can't decide if she wants it to be a girl or a boy, Chris and I are hoping for a boy but of course we'll be happy either way!

The favorite duck!

I don't know what it is about this duck but both the girls love eating it's head. After I took the picture of Ashley I realized that I had a very similar one of Samantha! Well, I though that I would share them with you all.



The first one is Ashley... just in case you weren't sure. I'm not sure how old Samantha was when this was taken but it wasn't much older than Ashley.

We're alive!

Wow, I have been so bad about updating this thing! Lets see… where should I begin? I guess I should start with our Baby’s 1st birthday! Ashley turned ONE!! I can’t believe it’s been that long since she was born! She has grown and changed so much! She is so sweet but also so stubborn and independent! We love our little monkey girl SO much!!! We had two birthday parties for her but both were small. We had one at the fire station one the day the Chris worked. The whole crew (including Chris) ended up being really busy so we pretty much celebrated with the crew’s families. Then we had a family party at our house with Tia and Tucker. We were about to skype with my parents so that they could sing “Happy Birthday” with us and watch her destroy her cake. She has really started trying to use words and put words together, which has been so fun to see! She’s still pretty small for her age but runs around after Samantha like there is no difference. The girls are so close and are constantly looking out for one another. I love that they have such a close relationship, (for now at least…let’s hope they stay close once they become teenagers). Well, here are some pictures!

Oh and my plan is to update everyday if I can to catch you all up. Wish me luck!

Ok here's yet another excuse!

I will update, I promise!! We are in the middle of moving yet again! We get our washer, dryer and dishwasher back with this move though so it is well worth it to me! Much is going on that I can't wait to post (mainly so that I don't ever forget). I love you all and hope you will continue to be patient!

Oh Dear!

Well, maybe reading isn't such a great thing for me. I get so into the books that I neglect my poor blog! There is so much going on right now that I have to post about! I'm sorry for all of you who have been checking for updates! I will update again very soon with pictures and everything!

I want one of these!

So I'm trying to win one of these! I love this blog and she happens to be having a giveaway for one! I want to win so bad!

Live List 2010

My friend Megan has inspired me to make a live list! So here it is! I'm so excited to start doing things from it! I'm hoping that it will help me to break out of my routine and make wonderful memories! I'll keep you all posted on our progress with this!




Live List 2010

1) Splash in puddles
2) Play hide-n-seek for a FHE activity
3) Go to the zoo
4) Go camping
5) Take a spur of the moment road trip
6) Go on a new adventure
7) Find a new favorite place
8) Go huckleberry picking, again!
9) Take the girls to the ocean
10) Go on a family hike
11) Feed the ducks
12) Take a picnic lunch and go fishing
13) Water fight
14) Record a song together (Chris’ Choice)
15) Movie marathon in jammies
16) Build a fort!
17) Have a party for no reason
18) Sleep outside under the stars
19) Have dessert before the “healthy” stuff one night
20) Play dress up
21) Try something new
22) Make a new friend
23) Splurge and take the girls out to a movie
24) Learn a new skill
25) Watch the sunrise
26) Send a letter to someone special
27) Climb a tree
28) Take treats to a friend for no reason
29) Spend an entire day doing fun things (no chores)
30) Make a list of books that I want to read and read them all!
31) Take pictures and document each of these activities!

Valentine's Day!

We had a great Valentine's Day! Chris was actually home ALL day, which is rare lately. We started with breakfast in our bed. Then after church we went to the fire station to have dinner with Chris' shift and their families. The guys had planned the whole thing! The kids had pizza and watched a movie in one room (they even got some people to come watch them). They took all of us wives out to the bays where we found a trail of rose petals that led to the back of one of the trucks. We climbed up to find a whole candle lit dinner set up! They had even set up a dance floor complete with their version of a disco ball (which was two helmet taped together and wrapped in clear Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling)! The fire chief brought his kids who all play the violin and they played a few songs for us while we ate! After dinner we danced and then were joined by all of our kids to dance too! It was so nice and the food was AMAZING! They had a friend help them make authentic Italian food that he learned to make on his mission in Italy! It amazes me how creative these guys are when you get them together and I can't wait to see how they top this one!

Fun in the Sun!

This last week we had a couple beautifully sunny days that we wanted to enjoy, but because the temperature never got above 25 degrees we decided to enjoy the sun from inside. The pictures are of Samantha and Grace (the little girl that we watch) playing "ring around the rosie" and running around in the sun. Just before this they were laying on the floor "getting warm" as Samantha called it. I do realize that I didn't get pictures of Ashley in the sun but she was enjoying her lunch, while laughing at the older two.

A whole week!!!!

Samantha has now gone a whole week with only one little accident! I have realized that once she decides that she wants to do something she goes all out! I'm so proud of her! She still wears pull ups when we go somewhere and at night but she goes all day in her "big-girl" undies! She even reads her books when she has to go #2! Its so cute!

Back to work...

Ok so it seems like just yesterday that I last posted but I just realized that I haven't posted anything for this new year! I'm horrible, I know, but I'm going to fix that today! Well, as far as our holidays they were great! Chris' parents and sister were able to come spend Christmas with us. It was so much fun to spend time with them! The girls got to know them better and Samantha still asks when Omi and Papa (she decided she wanted to call him Papa instead of Opi) are going to come visit again. It was a little untraditional since Chris had to work quite a bit including Christmas day. We opened presents and spent the day at the fire station. Thank you to everyone for all of the wonderful gifts and cards they were greatly appreciated! The girls and I also spent New Years Eve at the fire station with Chris. We truly have a lot of fun there with all of the other families and have made some great friends.

School started again on the following Tuesday so we decided to take the girls sledding for the first time this winter. It lasted about 10 minutes thanks to me. I crashed on my first run with Samantha and hurt my knee. Thankfully it wasn't broken but I couldn't walk for a couple days. It is still bothering me but getting better. I am not taking classes this semester which helps because Chris' schedule is even busier than last semester. I have been spending my time with housework and potty training Samantha. If anyone has any advice please leave me a comment!!! She is beginning to get it but struggles with using the potty if she has anything on, including big-girl undies.

Her and Ashley both are learning and growing so quickly! Ashley is starting to wave, and give kisses. Samantha loves singing lately and is learning her ABC's. These two just amaze me, with their curiosity and understanding. We hope all is well with you all and your families!

Oh yeah, My brother Aron and his wife Jill had their first baby on Jan. 4th. Adam Marcel was the first baby of the new year in Kittitas County! He's so cute and we can't wait to meet him in person!