Merry Christmas!

What a wonderful Christmas we had! I caught myself many times throughout the day taking a step back and just soaking it all in. I am so thankful for my THREE (yes, three!) beautiful children, my incredible husband, who is in every sense the love of my life, and my loving family and friends. Everything that life throws at us we are still just so blessed and I thank God everyday for all that He has given us. I am just overwhelmed with the love and support from everyone and we are so grateful!

Our morning started at 7:15. Pretty great I thought. Everyone slept in till then including little Elizabeth. What a wonderful Christmas present from her. She only got up two times that night. (Although she has made up for it every night since then.) Andrew was so excited and the best quote of the day was, "Santa is my best friend". :) Everything he opened he would exclaim how that is just what he wanted even if it wasn't anything he even thought of. Ella was just tickled with the ripping of the wrapping paper and quickly got the hang of opening presents. The kids were more than happy to assist Elizabeth with her presents and would squeal for her at each gift they opened. The day was pretty busy taking things out of their boxes, placing stickers on toys and putting things together. My fingertips literally are sore for untwisting those stupid wires from the back of boxes. We had a nice ham dinner and I don't think the kids made it into bed until somewhere around 10 o'clock! They were still wired from their day and Mommy and Daddy were exhausted!

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Here are some pictures from our day! We love you all!

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The kids decorating cookies.

Elizabeth at three weeks.

Daddy and his new little girl on Christmas Eve

Elizabeth and Mommy (all the other children refused to nicely be in a picture)

Santa did it! Andrew with his long awaited Spider Man watch and scooter!

Ella with her Little People Doll house from Santa

Elizabeth enjoying her new activity mat from Santa

Ella was amazed at her crawling My Little Pony.



Ella blowing kisses to Elmo

New Packer Jersey and new scooter...what could be better?

Elizabeth's new Scottie PJ's. She has some growing to do. :)

Andrew going to bed with his new Star Wars bedding

Andrew's Preschool Christmas Program

Sorry to the Grandparents for taking so long to get this video up. Just don't know where the time goes...oh wait, yes I do. Ha! :) Andrew did so well at his Christmas program and was the "star of the show". He was waving like crazy at us and towards the end he was that notorious "crazy" child that has lost interest and rolling around on the floor. The first video he is pretty much the only one singing and everyone was cracking up. It is kind of hard to see (sorry). I had a little lady named Ella distracting me. Andrew is in the middle on the top row if you can find him. Christmas pictures coming soon! :)

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Santa x's 2!

Well we attempted to visit Santa on Sunday. They had Santa and Mrs. Claus after mass in the Parish Hall. We went and the only one that didn't cry was Elizabeth. :) Andrew wouldn't get within a ten feet range of him and Ella went over crying in my arms. So no pictures from that. The church took a family picture that we still need to go and pick up in the office. (I am sure that one will be great! Ha!) Later that day we went to ride the Christmas Train in Fort Myers and they had Santa there too. This time went much better and Andrew talked to him and told him that he wanted a Spider Man watch. He has been talking about that for weeks. He saw it in one of the ads and hasn't stopped talking about it since. Ella was still a little hesitant but went by Santa with Daddy holding her. So we did get a few pictures of them with Santa.







Elizabeth hit the two week mark and has been a little more lively. We are wondering if the good sleeping is going to last. (Fingers crossed.) She still is a very good baby and LOVES the pacifier!! So she is definitely a pacifier baby like Andrew where Ella would have none of it and was such a hard baby to console and get to sleep. So we are happy that the pacifier has been accepted! Haha!! She went to the dr. on Monday for her two week check and measured 20.75 inches (75th percentile) and weighed 7 lbs. 13 oz. (25th percentile). She is a tall and skinny little thing but I am sure will fatten up in no time. She gained nearly whole pound since leaving the hospital!! Way to go Elizabeth!

The rest of the family continues to be adjusting well and the kids still just LOVE her. Eric and I often joke if Elizabeth makes it through her first year it will be a miracle the way these kids have to kiss and hug her every time they pass her. It is really so sweet. We are just gearing up for Christmas and have one excited little boy on our hands. It is so much fun!

The Look-a-Likes

We were looking through pictures of the kids to see who little Elizabeth looks like. We definitely forgot what Ella looked like as a newborn because Elizabeth is the spitting image, although Elizabeth has more of Andrew's eyes. What do you think?

Ella at 6 days old.

Elizabeth at 6 days old.

Elf Yourself Disco with the Whole Family

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

One week old already and of course, PICTURES!

I can't believe it has already been a week since Elizabeth joined our family. She has fallen right into place. She is such a blessing and an incredible miracle. Andrew has completely fallen in love with her and often asks how "our baby" is. He just thinks the world of her. What a great big brother! Ella thinks she was made for her entertainment and gets very concerned when she cries. She will say, "Uh-Oh...baby cy-ing". Poor Elizabeth or "Lizard Breath" as it sounds from Ella, has had near eye pokes, head butts, and nearly squashed but so far she has made it through. She will be one tough cookie.
We were blessed with lots of help and now all the Grandmas have gone. We are flying solo for the first time this week. We shall see it goes. Say a few prayers for us. :)
For those of you that played the baby guessing game the winner was Ella!
(Coincidentally, Mommy entered all the guesses...I guess I should have listened to those instincts.) Aunt Sherry came in second! It was funny how there were only about 3 people that guessed a girl. Boy, were we all totally wrong. Haha!

Here are some pics of the kids and of little Elizabeth Marie...our little angel. :)


Coming Home From The Hospital (Poor Daddy had a final that morning so luckily we had both Grandmas here. One watched the kids and the other came and freed us from the hospital.) :)





Andrew and Ella seeing the baby for the first time on their territory! :)

It's A GIRL!!!!!

Monday, December 1, 2008, we welcomed the littlest Hensley into our family. Elizabeth Marie Hensley was born at 10:51 a.m. after two quick hours of labor. She weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces and measured 20.5 inches long. We certainly were surprised when the doctor announced she was a girl. That was so fun and exciting and now we can't imagine it any other way! Big brother Andrew and big sister Ella are absolutely thrilled with her and think she is just the cutest thing. So far everyone is adjusting wonderfully. Here are some pictures of miracle #3! Thank you for all your prayers, well wishes, and kind thoughts.

Before They Broke My Water (notice still smiling)





Elizabeth had a little trouble breathing at first so I couldn't hold her right away. I finally got to touch her in this picture!


Proud Daddy!




The kids seeing Elizabeth for the first time