Blessings

This week I am thankful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I was reminded at the General Relief Society Meeting last night that the Atonement covers more than just our sins.

Sister Carole M. Stephens, First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, said the following in her talk:

They [the early Saints] knew deep in their hearts that there was one — the Savior — who understood their personal adversity because He suffered it for them in the Garden of Gethsemane. He felt their fear, their doubt, their pain, and their loneliness. He suffered their sorrows, their persecution, their hunger, their fatigue and their loss.

Elder Kent F. Richards of the Seventy said the following in his talk at General Conference in April 2011:

 

Much of our suffering is not necessarily our fault. Unexpected events, contradicting or disappointing circumstances, interrupting illness, and even death surround us and penetrate our mortal experience. Additionally, we may suffer afflictions because of the actions of others. Lehi noted that Jacob had “suffered … much sorrow, because of the rudeness of [his] brethren.” Opposition is part of Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness. We all encounter enough to bring us to an awareness of our Father’s love and of our need for the Savior’s help.

The Savior is not a silent observer. He Himself knows personally and infinitely the pain we face.

“He suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children.”

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

Sometimes in the depth of pain, we are tempted to ask, “Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there?” I testify the answer is yes, there is a physician. The Atonement of Jesus Christ covers all these conditions and purposes of mortality.

 

I am thankful to know that no matter what I am going through, I am never alone. Jesus knows how I am feeling and can help me through it. It's never easy to go through trials. It is hard when we are in the midst of our trials to understand why we are going through what we are asked to endure. I have found that I never know the reasons for my trials until they have passed and I can look back and see that they have sent me on a better path and have resulted in wonderful blessings. Because I can't see the good until after, it is good for me to know that when I am struggling Jesus is there to "comfort me when faint . . . to hear my soul’s complaint . . . to silence all my fears . . . to wipe away my tears . . . to calm my troubled heart" (Hymns, I Know That My Redeemer Lives, no. 136) until I get to the other side of the obstacle and have a better understanding of why it happened (although Andy often reminds me that we may never know why or understand our trials in this life). I am very thankful for this reminder this week. I am thankful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ, for His Church, for Prophets and Apostles who guide us in these latter-days, and also for trials. I know that it is through our trials that we can draw closer to our Heavenly Father and Jesus and become more like them.

For any of my friends who aren't familiar with what I believe, you can learn more about it here.

Autumn Mantel

I thought I would take a quick picture of our mantel before I change things up for Halloween next week. I got a lot of my inspiration from Pinterest (as usual) and I like how it turned out, although it looks a lot better in person.

 

  I got some of my inspiration from here and here.

 

 I saw this burlap and lace candle here and fell in love with how cute and easy it was to put together.

 I made the pumpkins out of Styrofoam balls and tissue paper by following tutorials I found here and here. I think they turned out pretty cute. 

 

 Macy helped me collect the pine cones at the park one day. They sell pine cones at all the craft stores, but it seemed kind of ridiculous to buy them when there are tons of parks with tons of trees and tons of pine cones around here so we gathered them ourselves. I learned how to prepare and preserve them here.

Sick

All our babies have been sick this week. There have been lots of runny, red, and stuffy noses, sneezing, and lounging around in our jamas all day. But throughout it all, the children have still managed to play, have fun, and also get into trouble. They are pretty good sports about the whole thing.

 

The Mind of a Two Year Old

I walked into the boys' room to find Macy playing. When I asked her about the animals she told me that they were "ducks". When I asked what the blue thing was she told me it was "water" (actually Zack's changing pad). She's pretty imaginative.

 

Trouble

I was packing up some of the boys' clothes that are too small. I closed the boxes and left the room for one second and when I returned both boys had pulled down the top box, opened it up, and pulled all the clothes out. I caught Nick in action, but Zack fled the scene when he saw me.

 

Family Tree

I found this idea once again on Pinterest. I thought it was a cute, creative, and inexpensive way to decorate our wall and display some pictures. It was pretty easy and really didn't cost very much. The branches and leaves are paper towel rolls cut and painted then finished with mod podge (which also makes them REALLY easy to dust). I put the pictures on a couple layers of foam board, put on a layer of mod podge and finished the edges with ribbon. I cut out the "Families are Forever" with my Cricut and mounted them the same way as the pictures. The part that took the longest was painting everything and waiting for it to dry. I think it all turned out pretty well.

 

Blessings

 

This week I am thankful for Andy. He is the most wonderful husband, father, and friend. He is helpful, smart, and caring. He makes me laugh every single day and the kids love playing and having fun with him. Marrying him is the best decision I have ever made.

Copy Cats

Here are a couple more pictures from yesterday that perfectly depict the boys' new copy cat phase. One boy will do something and then the other boy will decide that it is a great idea and will do the same thing. Nick went through a short phase recently where he hated baths and cried the whole time. When I started bathing the boys together, Zack taught Nick the real purpose of a bath- to splash. Now they both splash their hearts out together each and every bath time. Other things they copy each other on: waving, clapping, spitting, pounding their booster seat tray, and as shown below, sticking their tongue in and out quickly. Silly boys. . .

 

 Zack sticking his tongue out.

 

Nick giving it a try.

Crib Rail Covers

One afternoon Andy walked into the boys' room after their nap to find that Nick had gnawed a nice chunk out of his crib rail. We tied some burp clothes on it as a quick fix until we could buy some rail covers. After doing a little research, I found crib rail covers to be a bit on the pricey side and because we have two cribs to cover, I decided to look at different options. I found this idea on Pinterest (of course)- homemade fleece crib rail covers. I don't remember the exact price, but the fleece was on sale and I think I spent around the same amount for four covers that I would have spent on one pre-made one (AND I got to choose the color!) Mine doesn't look as cute, but it accomplishes what it is supposed to. Nick now enjoys a soft place to chew and the crib isn't damaged (any more than it already was). You're supposed to cut off the excess strips of fleece, but I tied them on top and then tied a couple rings to some of them. Now Nick has a couple of toys to play with as well!

 

An interesting note: Nick can somehow untie the top knots. I have no idea how he does it because it is difficult for me to untie them and I am an adult. I don't know if he uses his hands or his teeth, but in the mornings or after naptimes there are often a few knots untied. Silly little boy!

 

 Zack and Nick having fun after naptime.

 

 Playing with the letters and rings tied to the rail cover.

 

Waving to the camera.

The Cage

You may have noticed that we have a cage of sorts in our living room. While it may seem from all of my pictures that the boys are ALWAYS in the cage, this is not the case. The boys have plenty of time to roam free, but if I am helping Macy or doing some quick chores around the house they are content to have some play time in this enclosed area. It keeps them safe and my hands free to do things around the house. I just wanted to clarify in case anyone was wondering . . .

 

 Nick enjoying chewing on some rings.

 

Zack practicing his standing skills.

The Craziness That Is Hendrickson Mealtime

Mealtime is never boring at our house. I line these three little munchkins up and then the fun begins. Here is a quick rundown of how things unfolded at lunch today:

 

Both boys tried to remove their bibs immediately. Nick did so successfully, but I was able to distract Zack with food so he forgot about his.

Because Nick was bib-less he, of course, missed the first bite of pureed squash and pears and a big glob ended up on his shirt.

Zack decided in the middle of eating that it would be a great time to start spitting. This meant that both he and I were covered in the squash-pear mixture.

Macy's cup of milk suddenly ended up on the floor for no apparent reason.

Zack decided to reach over and try some of Macy's toast. She did not appreciate this.

Nick decided that his bite of banana was much too interesting to eat without pulling it out of his mouth and examining it first.

Macy led us all in the following songs, "The Wheels On The Bus", "If You Chance To Meet A Frown", and "I Am A Child Of God".

 

Silliness : Nature vs Nurture

A couple days ago we changed Macy's sheets. In order to do this we had to take her many, many toys out of her crib and put them on the ground. When we put her to bed we gave her Pooh Bear and Bear. She then informed Andy, "need more stuff". We had to load the crib back up with her blankets and assorted stuffed animals before she felt comfortable going to bed.

 

This morning after Nick's nap I walked in to find him sitting with his pants on his head. After his second nap I walked in to find his pants thrown on the ground.

 

The other day Zack was starting to put something in his mouth. I shouted from across the room, "Zack! What are you putting in your mouth?" He stopped and held it up to me. I walked over, saw it was a Cheerio and said, "ok. you can eat it". And then he did.

Temple Block

I saw this really cute, really simple Temple block on Pinterest. Basically you just find a block, paint it, add the picture plus a bow and you are done. I think the whole thing took about an hour (I applied a couple coats of paint and had to let everything dry) and cost less than $5.

 

The lady has a long list of Temples to choose from and you can download the pictures for free here. I chose the Spokane Temple because that is where we were married, but I might make one of Manhattan and Orlando for Macy and the boys because those are the Temples where they were born.

 

Blessings

This week I am thankful for music. Someone is always singing in the Hendrickson household. We sing a lot of Primary songs and finger plays as well as lots of made up songs about silly things. One person starts singing a song and we all join in. It keeps everyone in our home happy and I am thankful for that.

Saturday Project

I saw this refrigerator container idea on Pinterest awhile back. Once we moved into our new apartment, it was one of the first things I tried to keep our lives a little more organized. I like how the baskets keep groups of food together and are really easy to move around by the handle, plus I think they look really nice.

 

Last week, I saw this fridge coaster idea (again on Pinterest). Since we have been having a little trouble with spills in the fridge lately, I decided to give it a try today. I found the placemats on clearance at Target. I wasn't in love with the pattern, but I think it ended up looking really nice.

 

I'm hoping that between the coasters and the containers cleaning the fridge will be easier because I can take them out, rinse them in the sink and put them back. No more trying to pull apart the shelves in the fridge and getting water everywhere because they don't fit in the sink.

Sometimes . . .

Sometimes Nick just falls over. We think that the weight of his head just overcomes him. He's a good sport about it, however, and just continues to play.

Sometimes Zack pretends to be really sad so his Daddy picks him up and holds him. Then he does this:

Sometimes Macy helps bake cookies and puts more chocolate chips in her mouth than in the bowl. Then she applauds herself for a job well done.

My Boys

Meet Nick:

 

Lately he thinks it's lots of fun to toss his toys out of the play pen. Today I caught him in action. Look at that pile of toys he threw out! He took a little break from bear crawling around the play pen to make his pile.

 

 Meet Zack:

 

He loves to read books (especially when they are upside down). He also thinks it's pretty funny to put books on top of his head. Also, notice those long legs! It means that he often looks like he is waiting for a flood.

A Wedding

There is a lot of pretending that goes on at our house. Macy plays all day long with her toys telling little stories about them. Today I saw her playing with Construction Man and Dora. I heard her calling them "Mama and Daddy". After she went to bed I found them on the stool with a bunch of other Little People on the ground in front of them. Andy and I concluded that they were probably having their wedding this evening. Look at Construction Man, he has his little arm around Dora. So cute.

 

Scripture Study

Macy and I have scripture study together every morning when the boys take their nap. On Saturday I put the boys down and was reading on the couch. Macy ran up to me and said in a very excited manner, "scripture study! scripture study!" She knew what time it was! She loves to read "Jesus Books" and is so excited to go to Nursery on Sundays. She likes to point out pictures of Jesus, the temple, and the Prophet. What a sweet little girl she is and such a wonderful example to her brothers as well as her parents!

 

Blessings

Today I am thankful for these three little munchkins even though they do not feel good, refused naps, and have been crying all day unless they are either held or within 1 1/2 feet of Andy or me. Even on the difficult days they are still our greatest blessings.

 

Book Worms

The boys really love to read books these days. When I sit on the ground to play with them, they come crawling over, sit on my lap and we read book after book after book. They sit very quietly, listen and look at the pictures. Sometimes they will grab a book and hand it to me like, "please read to me, Mama!"

 

 The other day I heard Nick jabbering and when I peeked in on him I found him reading a book to Zack.

 

Zack really enjoyed it.

And then Nick began to eat the book.

Frozen Vegetables

We decided as a family to start eating more healthy. I bought a bunch of vegetables and put them in the fridge. When I went to cut some up for Andy to take for lunch, about half of them were frozen! I was quite upset. After a little research on the Internet, I found that I could just use them like I would vegetables that I buy already frozen (makes perfect sense). I found a recipe for vegetable soup here and made a HUGE pot (you will notice in the picture that it boiled over before I was able to transfer some to another pot). I threw in all the frozen vegetables (celery and carrots), some cabbage we needed to use, and part of a ginormous zucchini that Andy brought home from a friend's garden. I didn't have any ground beef so I left that out, but the meatless version was still very tasty. Even Miss Macy (who has been protesting against veggies lately) ate a bowl!

 

Brotherly Love

This is how the boys show their love for one another.

 

Princess Macy

We got a package in the mail yesterday from Grandpa Steve and Grandma Molly. Inside were WSU onesies for the boys and Princess dresses and a Princess toy for Macy. This morning Macy asked to put on the Princess dress, specifically the pink one. We took this picture on Macy's Princess mat which, according to the package it came in, is "the perfect place to get ready for the ball".

 

Bathtime!

Bath time at the Hendrickson home goes something like this:

 

splashing

splashing

more splashing

wild boys crawling around the tub

still more splashing

Macy singing and telling me about how she is in the ocean

and finally, more splashing

 

Even though most of the water ends up outside the tub and/or all over me by the end, having three clean and good smelling kids makes it all worth it!

 

Because we can't capture a tub picture due to all the splashing, here is a post bath shot.

Macy instituting a group hug.