Carrie and her new pet rabbit "Buckeye" what a great name!

Merry Christmas Snickers! She loved her new toy!
Snickers after a long day of opening gifts with the fam :-)
My sister and I both got Farmgirl tshirts...so fitting :-)
My brother was creative with his gifts this year and we all had to find them. Here are the clues that he gave us...One was a Christopher and Banks gift cert., one was a shovel, one was a Radar detector, and one was a Kohls gift card...he's so fun!
This is me with my grandparents. I have on an apron she made me...I guess she thinks that one of my resolutions is to cook more....good idea grandma!

Christmas was such a blessing this year. I enjoyed being with my family so very much. We had all of our family visit us on Thanksgiving so no one really came for Christmas. It was very relaxing although we did stay busy. I think the most exciting thing about the Christmas break was that a man in my home church that we have been praying for for years got baptized. He was gloriously saved about a month before. His daughter had grown up on my mom's bus route and he was always hard toward the gospel but we've been watching the Lord soften his heart and it was just so exciting and a huge answer to prayer!

Thanksgiving was so great this year. We had so much fun with family and Hannah came to my house with me and it was just so wonderful. The only bad part about it was that it was too short. I even enjoyed traveling with my brother in the car. Mostly because he drove part of the way..but thats still a good reason! :-) Here are some pics of our family over the break.

Carrie and I

Carrie, Craig, and Cathy

My beloved family...right before we left

Hannah Staples and I

My little cousin Seth..."Put 'em up mom and dad!"
My Uncle Casey and I...it was sooo good to see him

My adorable Grandparents!
My mom and her sister and brother

It was such a great week this week. We were back in the normal routine of things and it was just so nice. The Lord reminded me this week of His goodness and how I take so many things for grantid so often. It is so easy to get wrapped up in self and not see things as God does. He just proved Himself so much to me this week and I just want to praise Him for His love and compassion toward me!

On Friday night, Sarah and I went to get her hair cut and we went to the mall. Then we went downtown to the river and went to Calhouns on the river and just has a great time. What a blessing it is to have friends. I am so thankful for those wonderful friends that God has given to me. Sarah has been a constant friend to me for so long now. The thing I love the most about having a friend like her is that she encourages me in the Lord and encourages me to be a better Christian.

Saturday was a fun day as well. Mary, Sarah, and I got a "new-to-us" couch for our house and it looks so nice!! We absolutely love it. Sarah and I then took Stephanie and Michelle to Krispy Kreame and played some Jenga. We had everyone in the place watching us and it was pretty fun.

Right after school today I got a phone call from my aunt asking if I could do her a favor. Lacie French, her granddaughter, my cousin, was sick and needed to go to the hospital so she asked if I could watch Johnathan and I said SURE! So my precious friend Sarah went with me and we spent the afternoon and evening with him. We went to McDonalds and then came to the church to play on the playground! Lots of fun! Here are some pics of our fun evening...

It is amazing how busy I seem to be all the time and how little I can think of to blog about :-) I have had a great couple of weeks. We have been preparing for the missions conference at our church. It is such an exciting time for all of us! I love this time of the year! The conference, the weather, and the beautiful scenery.The weather has been so great lately. Such a welcome change from the extremely hot weather we've had since school started. The trees are just beginning to change and its so exciting. We got out some of our sweaters out already too.
So since my last post I have had a birthday...a quarter of a century! How depressing! My friends threw me a suprise party and it was so nice! Also I had a lot of parents come to school and brings me so many nice things! I am so blessed with people who love and care for me!
Also we went to Murfreesboro to the teachers convention which was helpful. It is always nice to have a little change from the normal schedule.
I also went to the Boys Ranch anniversary near Cleveland, TN with Sarah and Marys family which was really nice. I was able to see some family friends that I haven't seen in a really long time while I was there so that was really nice. Then we went to Gatlinburg and went shopping and that was also so fun. They are the sweetest family, esp. to invite me along with them everywhere.
This week I have a new student teacher and I am enjoying her already. She a great blessing.
Other than these few things... there is just not a lot to write about. I hope to do something exciting soon :-)

I woke up on Thursday morning with a sore throat...all throughout the day it just got worse and worse and I went home from school and just slept. I knew something was wrong. I looked and my throat with a flashlight and yep, you guessed it. I had strep thoat. I was just about sure of it. I thought about my class and how I HATE not being at school but Sarah told me I needed to call and let them know I could not come it on Friday. I couldn't be around the students because it is contagious. Otherwise I would have gone in anyway. Anyway, so I stayed in on Friday and went to the Doctor. After a swab test, she said, "well, you were right" it is strep and you will be contagious for 48 hours. Sooo. Now I cannot go anywhere today and I can't go on the bus or to my Sunday school class tomorrow. I think I a going to be SOOO bored by the end of today. I cann't wait until church tomorrow night! I was supposed to go to a football party today and also to a suprise birthday party but I'll have to cancel both. I guess I can stop having my pity party now :-)
Earlier this week, My brother and I were able to visit for a little while with my Aunt Tami and Uncle Rick from West VA and their family. We had such a nice time with them. So here is a picture of My brother and I with little Matt. He is Jessica's baby...sooooo cute!!

This is mommy and baby! Jess is my cousin.

Ok, one more thing. As many of you have already read on Sarah's blog...We were both treated to Tennessee football game last Saturday. It all happened so suddenly. We were both at home and going to go shopping when our friend Nick called and said he had 2 extra tickets!! We couldn't believe it. It was the first football game that either of us had been to. So we rushed around and finally got there. It was a blast! Here are some pics from that. Thanks Nick!!

So I doubt that anyone will actually be looking at my blog anymore, considering it has been about a month since I have posted, but I guess I have to start somewhere again! I feel so bad for not updating until now, I honestly just haven't been motivated. So a lot has happened since my last post. The most important thing is that another school year has started and we are already headed into the second week. Two weeks ago we stayed up very late in our classrooms getting ready for that first day. We were all so tired and so glad to see the end of that. We did have so many people that helped us and I am so glad that we did. We could never have done it without the help of many of our precious friends. This year I did a new theme...FARM! How fitting for me! I really liked my frog theme from the past two years but decided that it was time to begin a new theme anyway. I really am happy with how it turned out and I am so glad that the decorating part is over. My camera's batteries have been dead for a while now and I just now finally got to recharge them, so I will hopefully post a few pics this week of my classroom and of my new students. I miss my students last year so much! They are just so precious. However I am loving my new ones so much already. They are so much fun. It's funny how attached you get to your students and you feel like they are "yours." But the Lord just gives your grace for another year and He gives a great love in your heart for the new class that comes along. I am so glad that the Lord has allowed me to get to know so many families in our church through my classes. It has been such a huge blessing and I just thank the Lord for giving me the opportunities that He has given me the past 2 years since I graduated.
Today a lot of the college students were back and it was SOOO fun to see them all. I really missed them alot and I am just so glad they are back. In just a few days my brother will be here at college. It is so hard to believe that he is old enough. I am wondering what it will be like with him here. I am really excited about him coming and I know this church and Pastor Sexton will be a great influence on his life. I am glad he will be here. I am also excited about seeing my parents when he comes down too. I just love them so much and it will be a good time with them.
Tonight we had a suprise birthday party for my cousin Keith. He was really suprised and it really was such a nice party. It was also so nice to see little Avi. She is a wonderful little baby and so cute! A precious addition to the Henschen family.
Well I guess that is all for the moment. Hopefully I will post a few pics soon. Until then...I hope you are all having a wonderful, blessed day!

Well, thought that I would put up a few more pictures. Haven't really been up to much the past
couple of days. Just getting some stuff done that I need to do before I go back to school.


This is Jamie and Daniel Jones :-)

Aren't they so precious!

Beth Cuevas, JoHannah, Erin Ruark, and me...it was so good to see some friends that I had not seen in a long time!

This are my dogs back home...this was taken just before Dusty passed away...isn't it precious!!

Carrie, Craig, and I at a museum in St. Louis

Here we are showing off our muscles :-)

My wonderful mother and I..I love her so much!

Hello there everyone. It has been so long since I have done a post and I am sorry. I know you are all probably tired of checking it. I am now back in Tennessee so it will be so much easier to update it more often. I had a really great time at home in Ohio and I am really glad that i was able to go. I did so many things while I was there. I worked on the farm doing so many different things, I went golfing with my dad for the first time, I went to a race for the first time, we went to Missouri on vacation, started reroofing our house, went to a few weddings,and I am sure more that I can't remember. So anyway, here are some pictures...hope you enjoy!

The Saint Louis Arch

My family at the arch

This is my brother, sister,and I on the "Ducks"

and we have "quackers" in our mouths...fun times!

This is Pastor Boldman, the man who my parents were saved under.

We were able to visit with them when we went to Missouri. It was

so nice to spend some time with them.

This is farmhouse where my grandparents live

Me on the roof :-)

Me milking the cows...this picture is for Braden :-)

This is me golfing for the first time. It is dark outside

because it was almost dark before we finished :-)

Family vacation, I am so excited!!! We are finally going on a family vacation. The first summer vacation as a family since I left for college I believe....Six years. We are planning to go to Missouri and a few other places out that way. It is just for the long weekend but it will be fun I'm sure. So far this week hasn't been too eventful. I did go to Jamie Lendo's wedding near Toledo and it was just beautiful. She was a beautiful bride as we all knew she would be. I will probably put a few pictures up when i get back to Tennessee. I might just do a post with several pictures of what I did during the summer..who knows...we'll have to see. Anyway I was able to see several friends that I haven't seen in quite some time so that was nice too.
Life on the farm is still going good. My grandparents are so cute. We were getting ready to pour cement today and we were waiting on the truck. As we sat there grandpa began tell my brother and I how everything was he was younger and how they did everything and where they did it and how everything has changed so much. It was just precious. I want to record him telling some of his memories as a child and also all those memories he talks of when he was in world war 2. I just think that is something we would cherish one day.
Well, that is all for now. I am sure I will let everyone know how the vacation goes. I hope that all is going well for you. I am praying for you all. Lately several new people have found my blog and it has been so fun hearing from you! Thanks!

Happy Fourth of July Everyone! I hope that you all have a wonderful day filled with lots of fun. Our family is having a church picnic at our house today. Should be lots of fun. Then tonight we will probably be going somewhere to watch fireworks. It is so good to be back in America for July 4th! For the past two years I have been in Australia for this day so it will be fun to celebrate it with my family once again. Two years ago we went to the American embassy on the fourth of July..now that was interesting. We couldn't even go inside the gate because it was so well protected. They were not even very nice to us. So I am glad to be in the good ole USA today!
Well, have a wonderful day everyone!

It has already been more than a week since I have updated my blog...hard to believe. I have been home now for almost a week and half and so far, have had a great time. When I got home last Wed. I went straight to the farm and got the mower and mowed our yard and also the grass around the pond too. Busy right away but really it has not been bad at all. I have got to do a lot of what I love the most....Mowing and raking hay! Out there in the middle of the field I have so much time to pray and think and occasionally sing at the top of my lungs!! Now those are fun times!! I have also been milking and helping my grandma clean in her house and I think I will be painting the garage for her as well before I leave.
I was also able to go to Columbus to a wedding of one of my friends from college. While I was there I was able to see a lot of friend that I had not seen in a long time so that was really nice.
Then, on Sunday through Wed. we had VBS at our church and I had the priviledge of teaching the 4-5 year old class. There were SO many of them each night and they were all so fun. I had the most wonderful helpers that helped me too...I never could have done it without them. It was really crazy every night because I would get there and right away have to write all their names down and then pin on their name tag and then go to the rally time for 20 minutes and then teach them for 20 minutes and then it was craft time for 20 min and then snack time for 20 minutes and finally the ending rally time where they were preached to. It was CRAZY but somehow we managed to get through it every night and had so much fun too, well at least by the end of the week we were having fun :-)
Oh I almost forgot, I went golfing for the first time ever, with my dad!! We had a blast and I didn't do too bad..good thing dad was there to give me lots of pointers because I had no idea what I was doing really. I ended up getting a 69 or something like that with mostly 7 hits per hole. However by the end, I actually got par and hit the ball farther than my dad, I must say that I was pretty pleased on that one.
So needless to say, I have had a very evenful week. I am so thankful for where I grew up and I am glad that I am able to be here for a while this summer. I know this is where the Lord wants me for now...
I would put pictures on here too but the computer that I am using is dial up so it won't upload pictures unless you give it like an hour..So you'll just have to wait until I go back to Tennessee for that.

It's home again home again jiggity jig!! So I am headed back home today for a month. I will be working for my dad on the farm and helping at our church's VBS and other things I'm sure. I just wanted to write a quick post before I left.
Once again last night I was able to go to jail, what an experience. Those ladies just grip at your heart and they are so precious. So needy. I am excited about getting involved in this ministry, to try and be a blessing to these ladies. One lady in particular stuck out to me. Her name was Danielle and she just seemed like she wanted to so much to do the right thing and just searching for answers. I just pray that she would understand that it isn't anything SHE can do to help herself, but she needs to trust the LORD to help her...Anyway, I do thank the Lord for this opportunity.
Hannah, I hope that your jobs go well this summer and I will be praying for you in a special way that the Lord would give you a wonderful summer and use you in so many ways.
Charity, I am also praying for you that your job would go well and that maybe you could witness to someone there this summer. Have fun with Tidy and keep in touch! Again, you are in my prayers daily.
Sarah, I hope you have a great vacation and are refreshed when you come home again. Have fun seeing those precious nephews of yours!! Of coarse I am praying for you as well and please don't miss me too much!
Mary, if you read this, I hope that you have fun with your family while you are at home and I am praying that the Lord would give a good job for the rest of the summer. I love you and I am praying for you!
I know it is strange to write to people on a post, but I figure no one else is really going to read it anyway :-) I love you all very much!
Cathy

Yes indeed, this was definately an eventful weekend! It all began on Thursday...

Sarah and I had the privilege of going to the viewing of Lee Waller. What a great testamony he left behind! The family was holding up so well and you could just see the Lord really helping them. We were very grateful for the opportunity to go, reminding us that our life is like a vapor and that life itself is very precious. Because it was three hours away, that pretty much took all evening and we got back home fairly late that night. Please continue to pray for the Waller family!

On Friday, Mary and I helped with decorating the auditorium, and then we all went to the rehearsal dinner at P.F. Changs. Yum Yum!! We all then headed back to the auditorium for the rehearsal, which went very well. I had the fun experience of helping the coordinator, doing whatever needed to be done and I really had a great time doing it. We then stayed and helped do the final touches to the auditorium. Now only a few more hours until the real thing!

We woke up on Saturday morning and never stopped all day long. I got ready and headed over to the church. We had so much to do before the main event! Rachel arrived and was ever so beautiful! My main job was the pictures...Rachel had made a list of all the pictures that she wanted and so I helped them with that. I absolutely loved watching all the pictures being taken, especially the ones with the bridal party, Stephen Troell did such a wonderful job taking the pictures and I can't wait to see how they all turned out. The entire wedding party looked so great and Rachel and Tony were just perfect. The cutest of everyone though was Rachel's little neice Ashley..so adorable! During the wedding Melody, the coordinator, and I were on the opposite sides of the auditorium calling each other to let each other know when to let the next set of people go. It worked out so well and the wedding ended up being just wonderful. We then headed to the reception where Rachel Johnson, Teresa Clark and I were in charge of the cake. We cut and cut and cut and then we ran here and there until finally it was time for them to leave. Well I forgot an important part. We all went over for Rachel to throw the bouquet and guess who caught it!! Yep, Mary did and so we all hope that she'll be next in line :-) By the time clean up was over we were all so tired and ready to go to bed! What an eventful day.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY DAD!!!

HAPPY FATHERS DAY! I am so thankful for the amazing family that God has given to me and I especially thank him for my Dad. He is the most wonderful father anyone could ask for and I just thank the Lord for him! I love you Dad!! You're the bestest!!

He's an awsome mechanic! :-)

Well this post is getting much too long so I will end with this last paragraph. It was the last Sunday on the bus with our best bus driver Mr. Ellison. He has been such a great help to our bus route and has provided some great entertainment over the last year and we will miss him GREATLY. We would always sing "In the good ole summer time" with him and he'd always be telling us some funny story about when he was a boy or something hillarious that had happened to him on one of his most recent trips, or maybe just update us all on the latest Nascar race...anyway he was so fun and will be greatly missed by us all. We've been talking the past few weeks about who should be our new driver and he keeps saying that I should get my CDL...scary to think about I know! And we would just laugh...well before he parked the bus he got out of his seat and let ME drive!! I was laughing and Mary and Sarah were scared and Mr. Ellison just calmly told me what to do and so I had my first opportunity at driving a bus!! I know you are all scared to death just thinking about such a thing...Thanks Mr. Ellison for the influence you've been on my life.

Well that's my eventful weekend..I am sure I could have wrote more, but I'm sure that you are all so tired of reading this HUGE long post..hopefully the pictures make it more exciting.

Jail was definately an interesting experience...I have never been to a jail before, let alone with the inmates. However, my eyes were really opened to a different kind of life than I have ever observed before. These ladies have such real needs and they are so different from the needs of anyone I have been around before. I think that it will take some getting used to, but I feel like it will be so good for me to expose myself to this ministry and prayerfully be used of the Lord, to influence these ladies for Christ. I really look forward to be a part of it.
Not too much is going on right now. I have been keeping busy trying to do some cleaning and odds and ends. I have been able to write several people emails that I don't usually get around to doing so that has been nice as well. I like trying to keep up with people but I am not always so good at it as I would like to be.
Last night at church was a blessing..Pastor talked about how we need to pray as a church and a college that the Lord would give us the grace to continue in what God would have us to do. It would be easy to just stop all the pioneer groups and singing groups and have them come home, thinking it would keep them safe. However, God allowed us to begin these ministries and He hasn't called us to stop them. I pray that our church continues to press forward in the work of the Lord and all He has for us to do for Him.
Hopefully next I will be able to write about more exciting adventures that have happened..but until then, I will sign off. I hope that the Lord Jesus blesses you all with a splediliquent day :-)

Yes you heard it right, I am going to jail tonight. Sarah and Kristin both go every week and I have wanted to go for a while now, so I get to go for the first time tonight. I have heard lots of stories how it can be so good and how that the Lord can use this ministry to help the ladies. Sarah talks all the time about how they are in such bondage and it is so hard for them to get victory. I am very excited about this new experience that the Lord has allowed me to be a part of.
I have so much time to update this lately but I know that when I go home it won't be as easy. My parents have dial up and so it will take real effort to update...we'll see what happens I guess. I hope I well with it.
Tonight we are going to have some friends over and have corn on the cob and hotdogs and hamburgers, oh yeah, and Mary made this wonderful looking dessert!! I cannot wait to try it!
On Tuesdays, Sarah and I have been golfing, well at least going to the driving range, and it has been so fun. We won't be able to today...just too much going on, but we hope to continue when I return from Ohio in July.
Well the rest of this week we will probably be busy with Rachel Pinkerton's wedding..there is so much to do and it's coming up fast. Weddings are always exciting times and I am sure this will be a very special and beautiful wedding.
About three years ago, almost to the day, a singing group from Crown college was killed in an automobile accident. I remember that we were all so shocked and hurt and I also remember how the college grew close and was unified and how the Lord worked through it even though it was a very hard time. Well, yesterday, a member of the New Testament Church Pioneers was traveling with his group in Nevada and he was trapped under the vehicle and soon passed away. The other 2 guys, Scott and Zach, were ok, but Lee Waller did not make it. The Lord saw fit to take him home. He left an outstanding testamony and so many were influenced by his life. Please pray for his family, also for his girlfriend and her family, there are many who need to be saved. Please pray for his pastor, Dave McCoy, for Pastor and Mrs. Sexton, and also for his friends who loved him so dearly. Pray that God would do great things through this and that He would speak to many of their need for Christ and also that many would gain a greater burden for souls as Lee did.
Until next time..May God Bless and remember that "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose"

Well I am back in Tennessee now but not for long. Pastor Sexton talked to me last night and the result was him wanting me to just go home for a month straight instead of traveling back and forth. I am excited about going home, however I am going to miss being at the church here for the summer.

I wanted to update some pics of my family and also of my brother's graduation so you can see whats been going on in my life so far this summer.

They broke our trampoline! It was actually quite funny :-)

Jess and the new baby, me, Bethany, and Becky

The Setsers (my dad's sister and her family)

Craig giving his senior speech....sorry it's blurry

My dad giving my brother his diploma! :-) Finally finished.