The whirlwind

Taking a break from the madness to update a bit. Actually, it's not that bad. We have actually been settling in quite quickly into our new home. When the movers arrived and dropped off our things , Kenny and I quickly attacked the enormous pile of boxes and determinedly set forth in our mad unpacking process. Now, with most everything in its place, we are trying our best to settle into the community.
Kenny seems to enjoy his workplace and the new relationships he's formed with his colleagues. Elise loves to run and jump around our yard and the entire neighborhood. She looks forward to the daily visits from the family of deer in the woods in the backyard. Gabriel continues to grow, he is such a wonderfully calm and sweet baby. Of course, we miss our family and friends that we left behind. I am particularly looking forward to our visit back for the holidays. Apart from becoming acquainted with a few neighbors, I have not yet formed any bonds with people nearby. Having two little ones will certainly keep you busy! But I am determined to work on that and try to accept this as our new home.
Our new house and neighborhood is beautiful. The fall colors of the trees here are astounding.
We continue to work towards a complete transition.
We love and miss you!
On to the pictures!

Our new family of four

We are happy to announce that our new baby, Gabriel Owen Hensley, was born on July 30th at 8:35PM. Gabriel is such a good baby. He is still just a super sleepy newborn, but he is not fussy at all for a little baby. He only cries when he's hungry, and he has a good healthy appetite. We are very much enjoying our new lives as a family of four and look forward to more experiences together as our children grow. Elise loves her baby brother very much and is always ready to give him kisses or bring mommy a fresh diaper when he gets stinky. We have been staying at my mom's house the past couple of days and she has been a God send in helping us to adjust and get into a new everyday rhythm. Here are some pictures of our newest tiny treasure.

The time has come!

Just a quick update straight from my hospital bed! Kenny and I are sitting in my room waiting for this little one to be born. I am currently stuck at 8 centimeters. It has been a very long day. My contractions started at 8pm last night and continued to get stronger through the night. At 9am this morning we dropped Elise off at my mom's house and came to the hospital. After an agonizingly long wait for the anesthesiologist, I finally got my epidural at about 3:00. So now it is just a waiting game. I am not in any pain (thank goodness!), but Gabriel seems to be having issues with his heartrate dipping every time I have a contraction. Here's hoping that the rest of this delivery is speedy. Come on little guy!

When you just wish you could go back to sleep...

that's when you know it's getting close.
We are just about wrapping up the last couple weeks of this pregnancy and now it's getting really scary. The thought of having two kiddos to care for 24/7 scares me beyond everything I know. I know that I will be fine, and we will pull through any of the upcoming challenges (moving, unpacking, getting adjusted in a new city, caring for two small children, etc., etc.) but I also know that it won't be easy by any means. I flash back to the days when Elise was just born and we brought her home. I struggled just like any new mom to settle into my new role as full-time caregiver to this tiny helpless being. It was challenge, to say the least, as any mother will tell you. I hope that my experiences from that time and the past two years help me in the challenges I am about to face.
So now I am up at 5:00 AM because I can't get back to sleep. I remember doing this when I was about to have Elise. Why does the end of pregnancy rob people of sleep? Just when you should be resting up the most, preparing yourself for seemingly endless nights of exhaustion, you are up. I have my little checklist in my head of all the little things I need to do before this little one arrives. It's not much, really, just a few things, a frighteningly small checklist. I think that all there is really left to do is set up the new cradle for him to sleep in and put together the new stroller my sister sent (yay! thanks vero, you're the best!).
The night before last we went to the hospital at 11:00PM because I thought I was possibly in labor. I called my doctor who told me to go ahead and come in so they could check and at least make sure the baby was okay. It turned out to be a false alarm, which was a little disappointing, but we continue to eagerly await his arrival. I am excited to meet this little boy. It is going to be strange, I am so used to being the mother of a little girl. This new baby is going to be a whole new experience.
Elise has been so wonderful. I think she is really starting to grasp the concept of having a little brother and having a little baby around the house. The other day she woke up from her nap and came to me in her groggy half-awake state and rubbed my belly lovingly, she said "don't worry mommy, I help you". She is such an awesome little girl. Later that day she touched my belly and said "oh no, baby brodder stuck!". She was very concerned for her baby brother who continues to be somehow stuck inside of mommy's belly. She cracks me up.
On to the latest pictures!


Kenny and Elise picking blackberries at Sunberry Orchard


Elise wearing her new jammies which she had to put on right away and refused to take off. This was actually the middle of the day, at the babyshower my mom threw for me. (thanks, mom!)


Elise and I, checking out the loot we got at the babyshower.


The cake.


Me being rediculously large, two weeks before my due date.

The times they are a changin'- Summer 2009

This is Kenny finally writing a post on our blog. The summer of 2009 is certainly full of adventure for our family. March of this year we found out that I was losing my job as part of the general economic freak show in which our entire nation is embroiled, and especially as part of specific misfortunes happening at my foundation. Not to worry, we're all about turning negatives into positives and so we have done this time. After some months of hectic traveling and interviewing, I have taken a new position at the University of Toledo Depts. of Pathology and Neuroscience, effective this October. So we sold our house (lucky us, in only 2 weeks, at full asking price!) and rented what we call our "summer home", a lovely house in nearby Nichol's Hills. Here Norma can finish her pregnancy in peace and relative tranquility.

Speaking of pregnancy - we are all thrilled at our imminent new addition. We are going to name him Gabriel Owen Hensley. Elise clearly understands what is going to happen, in general terms. She totters around the house pointing to things we bought for the new baby and saying "diapers for baby brodder?" "bed for baby brodder"? Elise is a gem. She was a bit nervous about moving, initially, but quickly adapted. Everything new for her is an opportunity for discovery and play.

Attached are some recent pictures of our family, the first of Elise helping pack up the house, playing at our "summer home" and Elise's recent excursion on her 2nd birthday to Martin Nature Park. She loves the water so much!

Baby #2

I kinda feel bad about the title for this blog entry. Poor baby still has no name. I thought it would be appropriate to announce on here that we found out on Friday the gender of our incoming addition. We are very excited to announce that we will be having a baby BOY! He is due to be born on August 6th. The ultrasound was very cool. He was lounging in there with one hand behind his head and he was sucking his thumb on the other hand. Just like a boy! We are elated to add a little boy to our growing family.



I also wanted to put a new picture of Elise on here. Here she is being a cranky ballerina. My sister used her awesome photoshopping skills and colored it in, very neat. It is hard to believe how big she is getting. She will be turning 2 on May 31st!

Happy Happy Holidays

It seems the holidays are finally over. Oh my, what a stressful time they can be. Between trying to control an over-active one year old, trying to find just the perfect gift for everyone and doing your best to get everything in order and on time, holidays will wipe you out! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the holidays, but they sure do make me tired. I guess I just really want to make it special for Elise so, of course, I end up over working myself over it.
This year Kenny and I decided not to give eachother presents, and boy was that a stress relief. Instead, we opted to buy presents for a needy child together. That worked out really well.
Elise had a blast, of course. She was so excited to open all the gifts she got. This year she really got into tearing them open, which was so great. That girl is constantly making me laugh and smile, the holidays only make it extra special.
We started off this year on a good foot, hopefully. We recently found out that we are expecting a second little one, so we are VERY excited. I also haven't been nearly as sick or run down with this pregnancy as much as I was with Elise. It's been so great, sometimes I even forget that I'm pregnant! Haha! Now that's good.
I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season and that this new year brings lots of joy, happiness, and peace.

On to the pictures!


Being a princess, she made me put this dress on her, notice her Dora jammies poking out underneath.


Elise in her Christmas dress, one of the few pictures she stayed still long enough for.


This picture almost made it to the Christmas card, if Elise didn't look like a hostage.


Elise and Mia, starting work on the pile o' presents


Matching Christmas jammies!


I love Christmas! HAHAHA!!!!


Taking a much needed break, and trying out her new princess lounger.


Me and Elise with our Christmas tree, notice the ornaments have migrated to the top, out of reach for little hands.