Is it summer now??

Well summer is so close the kids can hardly stand it. School is winding down with end of the year events, and there are three days for the kids, six for me. Ballgames are done at school for Staci time for Hawaii soccer practice and summer softball. Steven has been practicing and is sooooo ready for his games to begin on June 9 I believe, he got his shirt and hat which he of course is thrilled about that means games are so near but then he says " WE GOT ORANGE SOCKS" of course I did not giggle (ya right) A true sign of summer though greeted me in the driveway when I got home. The neighborhood was sitting in a circle having a big discussion so cute I thought.................

...They were playing "truth or dare"!!!

I did listen for a while though and it was harmless!

So all was fine after my first shock of what they said they were playing.

So I went back to thinking how cool all the different ages sitting there ,

notice Cam in the Barbie jeep

Another fund raiser

Hey on Saturday it was beautiful, what a day for a car wash!we had fun made some money and worked on our base tan(or sun burn) for Hawaii :)

I must say the girls did a better job of calling in cars than the parents.

We started at 10:00 and ended somewhere around 4-5:00.

By the way I should have taken a picture of Staci's feet notice she is not wearing softball cleats the shoe to wear of late and so when she put on sunscreen she should have done the feet..they were the only part of her that burned...oppps!

No pictures of Steven or myself this weekend although we were both at the carwash(mom to work Steven to visit), and we were both at the parade which the team marched in today. Steven for support and I sold a few raffle tickets after marching. Steven also spent some time fishing this weekend but aaaa there are no photos to post?? Hmm wonder what that means. Hope everyone had a wonderful Memroial Day and good weekend.

"COOL GRANDMA"

We all know we have a cool Grandma but here is the proof....

look at her go on Guitar Heroway to go grandma!And all DeeDee and Lorrie can say is

WOW!

Thanks to Marcie for showing us how!

Bloomingdale Invatational

This is how it works...They hit it...
you field it!

You hit it... you score!

YOU WIN THE TOURNAMENT!!!

Two Happy Guys

No matter who you are voting for tonight was an exciting night at the Henrickson house. Sunday it was announced that Barak Obama was coming to Grand Rapids, well that was all it took Steven was immediately thrilled...MOM can we go? Well I am proud of his interest in the election and he has put thought into some of what is going on in this process and listening to the candidates, so of course, I said we will try. I really thought by the time I got home and Steven got done with watching the boys we would just be outside the Van Andel listening on speakers....Well for whatever reason Staci had practice cancelled and so she could watch the boys for Steven so as soon as I got home we left for GR. Look how close we were to the stage( sorry for the quality of the pics but we had to post them)

Then to top off our luck with the timing Steven called Aunt Marcie to tell her we were in and she told him she heard on the news John Edwards was on his way and sure enough he came and endorsed Senator Obama...and we were there! This was a night the boys will not forget!

As I said this is not a political statement one way or the other but how cool to see the boys so interested and excited about the whole process.

MY BEAUTIFUL YOUNG WOMAN!!!

Last night Staci Jo received the Sacrament of Confirmation!

This sacrament brings the gifts of the Holy Spirit from God

to us through the laying on of hands from the Bishop.

When studying for Confirmation the candidates chose a Saint whom they can relate with or who they can look to their life as an example of living his or her faith, Staci chose St. Clare of Assisi.

The person being confirmed also chooses a sponsor someone who they feel is strong in faith and will support them in the choice to live her Catholic beliefs.


Staci chose Aunt Marcie who an awesome Catholic role model, she definitely lives her faith in everything she does and shares it always. I hope that Staci knows how proud I am of her to stand publicly and embrace her faith, and choose to live by her Catholic beliefs, and responsibilities that come with doing so. Staci and her classmates are great young adults and are I am sure on to do great things for the world by living the gifts they've each been given.

Thank You Fr. Jorgenson for you support of Staci on this journey and Thank You Bishop Murray for coming to Sacred Heart and confirming Staci "It Worked"

GOD BLESS YOU STACI JO CLARE!

14 Years Later!

In the previous post I talked about our FOTA festival at my school. One of the other wonderful things about OAC has been the on site daycare, which Staci was the first child in 15 1/2 years ago. Steven of course also went to daycare at OAC from birth through age 4 I am so happy with the chance they both had to go with me to work as well as the experiences they had at such a young age and the friends they had. My current teacher Amy also brought her kids to school for day care and her son Nate is 6 months younger than Steven. For the FOTA day Nate came to play his Viola and did a very good job he is a talented young man. Well for the days previous to FOTA I had a toy violin in the classroom that Amy and Marilyn enjoyed hearing me play. Steven found the mini violin and began plying it, which made Nate reply I can play those songs....soon a concert broke out.... ...soon after the concert began some one made the comment you should put your case out for donations, well you didn't have to tell them twice :)

Here are the boys sorting "the loot" I believe they both got $1.40, a jingle bell, and two paper clips. One of them got a cereal bar and the other graham crackers, You can also really see the difference in instrument size in this photo.

Well 14 years after they started school to gather here they are playing again! Boys will be boys, " you've gotta' love 'em"

Time Out from the busy life!

It's no secret how busy we are at this time of year, but I have to share one of the things I love the most about the spring. At school we have a big festival day we call FOTA( festival of the arts) , ever since Staci and Steven have been old enough they have come to school with me to help with the day. The following are a couple of shots of Steven and his friend David at the festival. When I say friend some may think I am just using the term for one of my students but let me assure you Steven and David are friends, and have been for a few years. I am so proud of Steven for this friendship, my students know when someone likes them and it is obvius that these two are buddies. Steven is quick to ask for David when he comes to school to help. Another thing I am happy to see in Steven is that if we make a trip to the mall he asks are we going to stop in and see David?,( his home is near the mall) Thats what friends do! Proud of you Steven, keep putting the smiles on others faces like this!