Merry Christmas

December 2009

To our dear family and friends:

It's hard to believe the Christmas holiday is here again. Time sure does seem to fly! To all of you, our warmest wishes -- for this holiday and for every day. We hope all is great with your family and that life, in all ways, is good.

Here is the annual Christmas update from the Hendricks family. The short version is that we are still in Tracy, everyone is fine, we had a busy summer, and nothing tragic occurred since last Christmas… i.e. no broken bones. We are not yet rich but we are very blessed. For those of you that want to continue, a more detailed account follows:

Kaylene is now 15 and a freshman in high school. She likes to remind us that she is one year away from…driving. She works hard and does well in school and seminary. She is taking a full load of pre-AP courses which means we are totally useless in helping her with homework anymore. She went to EFY (Especially for Youth) at BYU for the first time this past summer and had a blast. This was her third year at Young Women’s Camp and she got to go on the overnight hike. She also has the part of Titania, Queen of the Fairies in the school play, A Midsummer Night's Dream. We are proud of her for trying something new.

Nathan is 12 and in the 7th grade. I am pretty sure he is convinced 7th grade is going to kill him. He has had to work hard on all sorts of projects. He played baseball in the spring. His team only lost one game all season and won the league championship and he only struck out once all season. He opted to not play All-stars this year so he could go to scout camp. He is Senior Patrol Leader in his boy scout troop and just about to earn his Star Scout. He is still being “forced” to take piano lessons and plays for Priesthood at church on Sundays. But, I think his favorite thing to do is go snowboarding with his dad.

Kyle is 9 (10 in February) and in the 4th grade. School seems to be going okay. He has had to read books in different genres this year and do book report projects on them. He liked A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck (this is a family favorite) and didn’t like Old Yeller by Fred Gipson. He was a bit traumatized that the dog dies. His favorites though are the Percy Jackson books. They have motivated him to try writing his own stories. Kyle is playing city league basketball for the first time and really liking it. He takes his basketball to school everyday and practices at recess. This is going so much better for him than baseball ever did!

Dylan is 7 and in the 2nd grade. He likes school. Homework is another story. I have to pretty much tie him to a chair so he will sit and do it! According to him there are way too many other things going on and he can’t focus. He has improved on his reading. His teacher has started afterschool clubs and he likes to go to those every Wednesday. Dylan loves to do projects. He finds things to make in the Family Fun magazine. He is happy with an empty paper towel roll or orange juice carton….and glue sticks…lots and lots of glue sticks. He can’t wait to be 8 and be baptized and start Cub Scouts.

Now for Logan. Logan is 4 and is dying to start school. He gets upset that he doesn’t have a school to go to. He tells people he has home school with his mom. He gets together with his best friend, Johnny, once a week for a letter day. This helps a little. They are up to the letter M. Logan has a “secret” handshake with his dad and loves to play games with him. His favorite to play is Diego checkers... but, only he knows the rules to it and they change every time they play. He is really bright, loves to sing Primary songs, and can’t wait to be big like his brothers. It will make his life a lot less frustrating!

As for the parents in the family, we're still trying to make it through, doing everything we can—hopefully all that we should! Josh is still the 2nd Counselor in the Bishopric at church. Work at Oracle is keeping him busy but, he still manages to find time to watch Star Wars the Clone Wars with his boys, plant a garden and go snowboarding with Nathan. I was released form my Stake Primary (children's group) job and called to be the Cub Scout committee chair at church. Once you are in Cub Scouts I don’t think they ever let you go, especially if you have lots of sons! I had the opportunity to go to Young Women’s Camp again this year thanks to Aunt Allene. She came and stayed with the boys for me. I had many chances to do service this year and I am grateful for those experiences.

Hope this letter finds you well and we all sincerely wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a healthy, happy New Year.

With Love,

Josh, Kenna, Kaylene, Nathan, Kyle, Dylan and Logan