His first swing set

When Mimi and GP were here, they surprised us by getting Xander his first swing set! It is really incredible. It has a slide, a glider, a teeter-totter, two swings and handle bars to swing from. He absolutely loves it (of course) and asks to go outside and swing every day!!! Of course, now he wants me to come out with him and push him really high! ;) It has been so fun watching him enjoy such a fun gift...Thanks, mom and dad!

Drive-In Movie

We had a successful event with our high school students in Waterford last night. We hosted a Drive-In Movie @ Elly's house. Elly's family owns a lot of property & have a perfect location for hosting large events. They have been very gracious to let us have 2 events there so far.
It was a long day for Brandon as he left the house at 7:30 am and did not get home until almost 11 at night! He stayed in Waterford after church with a few guys from the high school group who helped him set up all the media equipment...of course there were a couple kinks & problems with the sound system so it was a good thing they decided to set up early. I got out there around 6 pm, after running to the store and getting all our last minute items & leaving Xander with our friend Charisse, who is so awesome to watch Xander when we need some help! We watched the Nightmare before Christmas & the students loved it. I was surprised that many of them had never seen it before, or did not remember it because it had been so long ago. They all seemed to have a great time & we were happy to have about 75 students come out for the event! It was a lot of fun & we are encouraged to see the students warming up to us & feeling like they are getting to know us.
After the movie, one of the guy's trucks wouldn't start so we had to search for jumper cables & took about 45 minutes to get his truck to turn on. Most of the crowd was gone by then. We were all packed up & ready to be home so we loaded up & drove away. As Brandon was driving up the hill to leave the property, one of the girls' trucks stopped working. She claimed her battery died and she coudln't get it to start again. They let her work on it for about 10 minutes until they finally decided to all back up & they would roll her truck backwards to jump start it. ONce they had all moved their cars, one of the guys got in her car to jump start it & as he turned the ignition it started right up. Turns out she hadn't had the clutch all the way in...
Always some sort of excitement at a high school event!

Potty Training

So we have been dedicating the last few weeks to potty training. Xander is doing great...loves the treats the follow the time in the bathroom. It has been quite the adventure...

A student's prayer

So things are going really well at the church in Waterford. Brandon officially started working there on September 20, and has really enjoyed getting to know the students and the staff. We had our first event with the students last weekend...we had a BBQ BOnfire at one of their homes. It was really fun & we had a great time talking with all the students. We have been meeting with the high schoolers on Sunday mornings for our large group gathering. This morning, Brandon decided to give the students an opportunity to pray for each other before he began his lesson. A few people shared about about some really deep issues or concerns and then one of the guys broke the ice. He reminded us that this month was Breast Cancer Awareness & asked that we pray for all the breasts...

Sunday Afternoon Update

Today went well in Waterford. Brandon spoke & did a phenomenal job. Thanks for al the prayers. We were both able to connect with many of the students and enjoyed our lunch afterwards. We had a great time speaking with the parents & staff. There was a lot of interest in us and our plan for the ministry. Many of the students were very excited and kept asking us great questions. We are looking forward to what God has in store for us. Brandon will be meeting with the pastor this week. More news to come...

Waterford

Please be praying for us as Brandon has his final meeting/interview with a church in Waterford, Ca. He is speaking to the high school students tomorrow (Sunday) and then we are attending a luncheon with some o f the staff, parents & volunteers in the high school ministry. This is the final step in the process and we are really hopeful that this may work out. The church is about 20 minutes from our home, which would be awesome that we wouldn't have to move. We are excited to see what God has for our family next & anxious to begin ministering to high school students again. We know that this is what God has called us to and it has really been hard to be out of the ministry this summer. Please pray that Brandon would speak well, that the church family would be welcoming & excited to meet us, that their questions would be positive, that Brandon would have the best answers & that God would give us His clarity, wisdom, direction & peace throughout the rest of this process.
We are so grateful to all of our friends & family who have been such a huge support & encouragement to us during this difficult time in our lives. We love you very much & appreciate all of your prayers, friendship & love that you have given us. THANK YOU!

Hendriks 3 B&B

This is what our house should be renamed: The Hendriks 3 B&B
We have had a fun time with our friends and family visiting over the past few weeks
We have had Shana & Kristena (friends from college)
Gerry & Anna (Redding family)
Tiffany & Drew (Oregon family)
Tiff & Drew again
Aaron & Carrie (Super friends from South Carolina)
And then we have coming up:
Kim (from Redding)
Aaron & Carrie again
My Mom & Dad
Hopefully some of the Faires family
And then hopefully Brandon's Mom & Dad

note: if you do not see your name listed about there is a problem. Please consult Melissa immediately so that we can get this sorted out & put a date on the calendar asap for you to come & visit!!!

Still...

Still Praying and waiting to see what God has next for our family. This is perhaps the hardest part of life...and transitions. The not knowing. And the waiting...and waiting...and waiting...
It is particularly hard on someone of my personality type who likes to have not only the next few days planned out minute-by-minute, but the next 5-10 years as well. I don't know why we are being allowed to go through such a long time of not knowing. I don't know why we haven't been led to the next place of ministry yet. And I don't feel entitled to complain, even though it really sucks most days. Because in my heart I KNOW that He is in control. And I know that so many people walk much harder paths than I could ever imagine. And i know I don't deserve anything. But I am ready now. Ready to know where He is leading us. Ready to move on to the next place. Ready to transition and get my family happily planted in our next place of ministry. But He keeps answering all our prayers "Wait." So that's what we are doing. And it is not fun.

Australian Grammer

Muckin Around: Hanging out
Bloak: dude
Holiday: Vacation/ trip
Barbie: Bbq
Boot: Trunk of a car
Rubbish: Trash/ Garbage cans
Bonzer: Great/awesome
Way out: Exit
Give Way: Yield
Ta' : Thank you
Mate: friend
Good on ya: Good luck
G'day: Hello/ A greeting
'Avago: Try it/ Try it out
No worries: No problem/ Don't worry about it (used A LOT)
Maccas: Mc Donalds
Big W: Walmart
Nappie: Diaper
Serviette's: Napkins
Dammit: like our curseword, but socially acceptable here, so I am told
Trolly: Shopping cart
Bonnet: hood of car
Pram: Stroller
Bush Walk: Hike
Chips: French Fries
Crisps: Potatoe chips
Kangas: Kangaroos

Most questions shall be phrased as statements prepared for clarification, such as:
Going to Manly Beach, are you?
You are all students, are you?
Enjoying your Holiday, are you?

Many words will be shortened with an additional "ie" added at the end:
Housies: Housemates
Bickies: Biscuits
Expie: Expiration
Woolies: Woolworth's (a store)
Breckie: Breakfast

Austal-yer highlights

We have been having an awesome time here thus far. Some of the highlights of our trip are:
-Xander fell asleep on the plane before we took off & slept until 9 am- for a whopping total of 10 hours! He slpet on our laps & then when he tried to roll over got a little crabby since it was not super comfy so we made a little bed on the floor under our chairs...he loved that!
-Everyone is so cute when they speak...I just love it & have to keep myself from giggling ;) They all drop their "r's" to make that cute little drawl, but then oddly enough they add an "ar" at the end of many of their words...like they say they live in asutraliar (pronounced austral-yer) or they will add it to peolple's names like Amanda is amand-er...
-I got to attend 2 incredible worship services at Hillsong the very first day we were here. Brandon and I attended their chapel service which was awesome and then Tiff and I got to attend a woman's conference at Hillsong that night which was also incredible!
-Mmm...we just enjoyed some yummy Krispy Kreme doughnuts! My favorite!!! Could this country get any better?!?
-We enjoyed some fantastic "kanga steaks" last night...they were very good, but definitely wierd to think about eating kangaroo!
-Being the brunt of all the jokes...everything is the American's fault!
-Traditional meat pies downtown...I have been told it's comparable to the popularity of hot dogs in New York City...kinda tastes like beef stroganoff in a yummy pastry crust
-Mmm...milk tea- so yummy but so hard to describe (nothing like you think it is...i promise)
-Heading into Sydney today...pics to come!

Finally Down Under!

Yay! We're finally here...1 very long plan ride, an overstuffed car & 2 days later! Australia is many hours ahead of our California time zone, so when we left on Sunday night we traveled all through the night & finally arrived on Tuesday morning, hence skipping our "Monday" all together. The flight was dark until we were about an hour or so from landing since we were flying forward in time, which made a very wonderful atmosphere for sleeping! We were informed by many people on the flight that we have the best child ever, and that they have never seen a baby behave so well, especially on a plane. Even the flight attendants & frequent travelers were impressed. They also said they have never seen a baby sleep at all the "correct times." Needless to say, this was a huge answer to prayer- Thanks to all of you who have covered us in your prayers these past few days & weeks! BY the time Xander woke up we only had about 4 1/2 hours left on our flight, which seemed like nothing compared to the Looooooong international flight we had anticipated. Xander even fell asleep again for is morning nap, right on cue as we departed the plane & stood on several long lines to get through customs & baggage claim.

midnight yard sale?

We are having a yard sale tomorrow morning and have been organizing, pricing & setting up all day. While we were doing our last minute preparations this evening, a family stopped by on their walk around the neighborhood. They stayed for about 45 minutes, sifting through everything we had laid out in our garage, continuously veering over to the things we had already told them were not for sale. They finally left after bartering with Brandon for about 10 minutes, requesting a ridiculously low deal on a bike. They returned 5 minutes later with some money & the amount we were asking! Hooray!!! Our first sale...praise God and thanks for all those prayers & donations! Keep praying that our yard sale is successful!

spoiled by aunt kk

kristen has once again come to bless us with her presence in beautiful CALI. We love having her here because of her abundantly joyous personality, her sensational sense of humor, her huge bear hugs, her capability to keep Brandon in line, & her extravagent skills at being a doting aunt! She loves to play with Xander, wake up early & feed him breakfast, take him on walks & get him all hyper & riled up right before nap time-
she's AWESOME!
We are so excited to have her here with us on her layover to Australia & looking forward to some more time with her on her way back home. Today we have a very typical Melissa-Kristen agenda: organize a closet, make lunch, go to church, eat lunch, bike ride with Xander, organize the garage with Brandon, go shopping, make dinner, play with Xander, make souffles, KK & Brandon will fight, then Bran will play video games while KK & I cuddle in bed watching a movie!
Who could want anything more?!?

Here we go again

So Xander got bit by a dog...again! We were at a friends house and there were a few children playing and a few dogs running around so we were all just hanging out when all of a sudden I heard the dog bark and saw a friend holding Xander. Immediately i asked, "did that dog bite Xander?" and of course, he did. The dog caught his cheek and his lip, which bled and bled. Xander cried until I offered him some food and then he was happy again ;)

The very next day, Xander was climbing on the gym slide in our living room and was trying to flip over when i heard a thump and a huge cry. Xander had busted his face on the slide while hanging upside down. He split his lip and it bled and bled for almost an hour! And this is my life: raising a boy with blood, tears and absolutely NO FEAR!

Later on, I found Xander on the couch, just chillin'. He is so big it is crazy!

Mother's Day

I had a great Mother's Day in Florida with my mom, which was a real treat! ON our way home from church my mom saw an awesome field of flowers, and since I carry my camera with me everywhere, she just pulled over to the side of the road & we took some fun pics of Xander!



We have also been enjoying some time at the beach with my family. It has been so nice to get to spend some quality time with them this last week. I miss them all already!

Thanks Preston

Xander LOVES the stuffed monkey you gave him...he carries it with him everywhere! He loves to watch Curious George & hold his stuffed animal monkey. He actually carries him onto his little jungle gym & pushes the monkey down the slide. It is so cute. He calls him "Jor" (like Geroge) or "Mundy" (like monkey). Thanks so much for the thoughtful gift Preston!
Watching Curious George with his "George Monkey"

1+1=0

Sometimes it feels like one plus one equals zero...

more is not always better.

Deal of the Day!

I just bought some really nice wood frames @ MIchaels for a great deal:

matted 5x7 or 8x10 frames for $3.99 (regularly 9.99)

They come in black, cherry or a light wood

So go print your pics, buy some frames & put your favorites on the wall...no excuses!

Veritas

We just got back from our missions trip to Fresno, CA. We worked with an organization called World Impact. You can check out the Veritas blog: veritasbvg.blogspot.com if you want to hear more about that trip...
We are back to the daily routine now- Church this morning, lunch with friends after church & then we went out on the lake with our neighbor's & had dinner on their boat this evening. It was a good day... (Wouldn't that be nice if that was really our every day daily routine?!) Tomorrow I am scrapping with a friend, Brandon is playing tennis with a friend in the morning & then we have our small groups at youth group.

Easter

We had a great Easter with Kristen here-

We decorated eggs...


Hunted for Eggs...





Visited the Easter Bunny...

Attended the 4 pm service at our church...

And finished it all with a great meal!

Creative shadows

Yesterday, Xander woke up from his afternoon nap in a very determined mood. He wanted to go outside and play- right away! Unfortunately, it took him about 10 minutes to communicate that to me with a mix of his broken english, sign-language & foot stomping! Once I realized what he was asking for, I quickly put on his shoes (against his better judgement) and let him run wild outside in the newly found sun. It was such a beautiful day to explore. Xander quickly found all the things he shouldn't be playing with, like Malachi's dog food and Brandon's tools. He is such a boy! He loves to examine everything & analyze every inch of his surroundings. It was so entertaining to watch him fully enjoy our backyard. I am so looking forward to this summer!


Now I lay me down to sleep...

Lazy Days

Today was a pajama day. Xander and I went to the gym this morning with Brandon and when we got back, Xander took a nap and I got ready for the day- by putting on my comfy clothes! We decided to lay low today because Xander is still teething and just not on his best behavior. He still has a great spirit and is actually very happy, but he has been more fussy than usual and a little more ornery. Actually, a better way to say it is that he has just been more needy. He wants to be held, then he wants down, he wants to play now he wants the a bottle, then he throws it away in the trash, literally just to get a reaction. He stares at me the whole time he is dropping it into the trash with this sly little smug look on his face. So in an effort to relieve any temptations from his life, we stayed in and gave him less to whine about or be distracted by or see things he needs or wants. Yes, it does already start at this age!
So he is down for the night now. We just got back from church. We had training for our spring break missions trip. THings are going really well and we are really looking forward to going to World Impact. This will be our first major event with Big Valley Grace and it will be interesting to see how everything flows together. We are praying for a smooth and uneventful trip, with plenty of opportunities to get to know the students and staff better. It brings back so many wonderful memories of all of our awesome trips with Focal Point. I love looking at our pictures and remembering all the crazy kids (and staff) we have had go on our trips over the years! I am so thankful for my scrapbooks that preserve all those interesting and precious memories for us! (Contact your local Creative Memories consultant on how you TOO can preserve your precious memories) ;) That's a little shot out for my girl, Kim Faires..she rocks the scrapbooking world like none other!

Molars & Creepers

Xander has been a little less exhuberant this weekend and we were chalking it up to an unusual schedule & irregular sleep habits over the past few days. He has still been extremely hilarious and entertaining but I could tell something else was going on with him. I started to think that he might be getting an ear infection or something until this afternoon when my mom suggested I check to see if his gums were swollen. I checked and they weren't just swollen...but he had actually already broken through one of his back molars! I couldn't believe it! It was already through and he hadn't even gotten any tylenol or anything. Poor little man had to go through it all on his own.
Later this evening Xander was sleeping and Brandon & I went in to check on him. I was going in to tuck him in and I knew he would be sound asleep because he had been asleep for about 2 1/2 hours. When I leaned over his crib I realized he was staring straight at me! I was shocked because he was not moving or talking or anything! I freaked out and started to back out of the room before he cried for me and then I realized he was actually sleeping with his eyes OPEN! Not like barely squinted open but staring open right at me! Creepers! I went in and checked on him again later and he had rolled over but his eyes were still slitted open a little. It looks very creepy...
BUt he's fine, mom! ;) I checked and he is still breathing. And his affect is much better today, although I have been giving him motrin now that I know he is teething ;)

Fire & Pee

Brandon,Xander and I enjoyed a wonderful day with Aleah today. We had a great lunch at the Elephant Bar (mmm...Sweet Potato Fries) and got in a little more shopping before Aleah had to drive home. We then attended the Saturday night service at our church. Afterwards, we got to stop by and see our friends (Brandon & Abby) new house. Finally, we got home around 8:15 and I decided to make pasta for dinner. While i was boiling the pasta, I reached over the stove to stir the noodles & my arm caught on fire! Seriously! The sleeve of my (Really pretty black sweater that I just decided today that i really love) got charred and my arm was a little sore. Thankfully, I am not actually burnt. Somehow, the fire put itself out but there is a section about the size of a fist on my sleeve that actually caught fire and had flames shooting off of it. Brandon shouted, "Your arm was on fire!" and I responded, "I'm glad you saw that or you never would have believed me when you saw that I was actually not hurt!"
After dinner, I took Xander upstairs for our evening ritual of potty, books & bath. He strips down and sits on his potty while the bath is filling up and we read several books together. Tonight was very exciting, as he finally peed in his potty! It was so cute...he was so shocked and surprised that he was just trying to figure out what was going on and kept trying to grab the pee. Xander was so excited and grinned with his award winning smile when I congratulated him and he enthusiastically clapped for himself. "yeeeeaaaahhh Xander!!!" What a full day!

i have really missed aleah

it is amazing how much more you miss someone when you get a little sample of what you have been living without. we have been totally blessed to have a very fun house guest this weekend. although, i really shouldn't call her a guest since she is actually family. aleah came down on thursday to hang out with us for the weekend and it has been really great talking and catching up. just like the good 'ole days. she is such a valuable friend to me, and has grown to be my "redding sister." i love talking, laughing and being silly with her. she understands my silly moods and occassional dramatic personality and loves me just the same! we are having a great time and i don't want her to leave! she is such fun to have around and such an awesome aunt to xander! we love her!!!

Brandon & I are in love

The blog below had nothing to do with Brandon. He and i are very much in love, for which i am very thankful. He is a great husband and wonderful Daddy to our beautiful son. I am so thankful for him and all the other incredible people in my life. God has truly blessed me with many amazing friends and family. I love friends. I love community. I love relationships.

My house is complete

I got to meet the Pringles in Sacramento this weekend to pick up my "babies" and bring them back to our house for the weekend. It is so much fun having them here again. It feels like my house is complete and full, now that they are here. It is amazing how quiet it seems when they are gone. Xander is loving having the extra attention, love & competition in the house. Elijah adores Xander, but still likes to be that baby at times, which is really funny to watch. Emma is the little mother at all times and carries Xander around, feeds him & is my little side-kick. Simon is a great big-brother like always & enjoys doting on Xander and playing games with him. Tonight we were giving Xander a bath & Simon kept making up new games to entertain Xander. We just enjoyed some late-night smoothies, you-tube & a game of cards before I tuck us all into bed for the night. I love them so much! It is so nice to have their joy & laughter fill my house once again.

Good Intentions

Recently, I feel like my life has been very cluttered with good intentions left unmet. Good intentions to write thank you cards from Xander's birthday (thank you to all of you who came or sent gifts, cards & well wishes)***Good intentions to clean my house, deep clean my house, organize my desk & actually "move into" my closet***Good intentions to plan a date for Brandon***Good intentions to send care packages to my friends who are expecting (I have all the stuff, just sitting on my counter in the laundry room...it's been there for 6 weeks)***Good intentions to call a few of my friends/family who I love & miss so much (especially my not-so-little-anymore Pringle kids)***Good intentions to write thank you cards for Christmas, & dinner invitations, sweet gestures & kind words***Good intentions to send cards to my sisters...
The list goes on, and as I pour over it and realize how many I have failed at. To those of you who feel I have failed you, I am sorry. I already feel like I have let people down. All i can focus on is being a good mom right now. And thankfully, that is the one thing in my life that I am not failing at right now. SO, for that, I am not sorry!

Good times

What a faker!

Tonight Xander and I were playing and he accidentally hit me with a toy. So what did I do? Well, obviously I pretended to cry. I was like "boo-hoo-hoo...wahhhhh..." and then I told him that he hurt me and asked him to give me a hug. He ran over and with his most wonderful Xander-like-smile, gave me the biggest, most loving hug ever. I thanked him and we continued to play. A few moments later he looked over at me and made the funniest, most fake sounding whiny cry ever. He was like"wah-wah-wah" with a big smile & a twinkle in his eye. He was anxiously "crying" and awaiting my response. So i scooped him up and gave him a big hug, of course, which was exactly what he wanted. What a little tease!

the update

so the update is:
xander had a fantastic birthday
he is now running, yes RUNNING, around the house
he has a friend here that he LOVES & they play together once a week
they jump up & down and run wild when they see each other
xander often will tackle him when they play, cade is not sure if he likes that or not ;(
xander likes to dance- he spins around then squats...repeatedly
he loves all his new birthday toys...thank you!
he sneezed & hit his head on the table last week- chipped the table & his tooth!
didn't even cry
xander signs pretty well now- please, more, all done, sleep, thank you, eat, bottle...
he says daddy, mommy, mimi, GP ("jihp"), doggie, "mELMO", peez, cheez...
he brings me the remote when he wants to watch tigger or elmo on tv
xander LOVES loves LOVES to read books
he performs for the camera & loves to watch himself in home movies
xander loves to give hugs & kisses- he will randomly stop playing to come over & hug me
he is SO loved

what a wild rumpus!

Portland

I had a great time in Portland last weekend. I went up Thursday to visit my friend Shana and to see her beautiful kids. She has a 3 yr old, Josiah, and she has a 7 week old Kaleb. They are both so adorable. Xander had lots of fun playing with Josiah. He tried very hard to keep up with him, though, which resulted in many bumps and bruises along the way. Josiah is such a sweet big brother and was such a nice friend to Xander. He would help him and play with him and check on him during his naps! ;) Xander sat at the big boy table with Josiah for all their meals, resulting in lots more table food than usual. It actually meant that I would feed Xander his regular breakfast, then when Josiah woke up Xander would eat second breakfast with him too! Not a problem for my little garbage disposal! He just eats and eats and eats! But it's no wonder with all that energy! He just never stops moving. They are living in a 3 story condo and the boys would run up and down those stairs all day long (Yes- we did have a big fall- although Xander is used to the stairs, he was trying to run and play with Josiah and did tumble head over heels down one flight until I caught him at the bottom...flipped him upright and saw the HUGE grin on his face! He thought it was so much fun!)
We even got a little snow while we were there, checked out some great coffee shops and a delicious dessert place! It was fabulous!

We also got to visit some of our good friends up in that area, Luke and Amber and got to see their 2 beautiful children, Emmitt and Ava. It is such a great city.I really can't wait to go back!

Now I am busily preparing for the big birthday this weekend! So much to do...and so little time with a little one under foot!