Team Hendrickson Recruits Another All Star!!!

When Kevin and I went to meet Isaac for the first time, we had to move him from rural Ethiopia into the capital city.  We went out to the Mati Child Development Center in Ziway, Ethiopia (one of the most beautiful places on Earth) and met some pretty amazing people.

One of those people was Iris, the girl who loved zippers and Velcro.  She was such a delight and just fell in love with Kevin.  When it came time to leave, she jumped in the van and was ready to go home with us.  She thought we were her family. (Insert sobbing here)

Since then, we have been praying for little Iris.  For her to be restored to her biological family, or for an adoptive family.  Every day.  I have her picture next to my work desk, Kevin has her picture in his wallet.

Long story short, Iris was right, we are her family.  Recent events have made it so we will be able to adopt her.  We only know the broad brushstrokes and we are still filling in the finer details, but if we seem distracted or extra busy, it's because we are trying to do what we did for Isaac's paperwork (that took six months) in 45 days.

This entire situation has been a miracle and we know God will help us through any bumps that we come across, and we believe that yet again, he has given us his call of Psalms 89:1 "Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute." 

More Book Lists

Thought I would share something I came across for those of us looking for summer book lists!  This is for kids of all ages.  Thank you to the Spokane County Public Libraries!

http://www.scld.org/kids.asp

10 Things You Should Do Everyday

If you've ever heard me go off on a rant, you've probably heard me at some point say how many things you are "supposed to do everyday" and how many there are.  I came up with my top 10 and I thought I would share!  What would you add?

1.Eat Breakfast

2.Brush Your Teeth

3.Pray-Connect with God

4.Hug Someone

5.Do something nice for someone else

6.Do something nice for yourself (compliments are free!)

7.Exercise

8.Go to bed on time

9.Read

10.Determine how today fits in the big picture 

Helping Others - The Best Part of Adoption

Summer is here and it's time to get those summer beach towels!!!

 One of the wonderful families we have met through Isaac's adoption is the Miles Family!  They are a wonderful family looking to add a young man to their family!  They have been matched and fundraising like crazy, but just found out they need a little more "dough" than expected.

So what do these things have to do with each other?

Fundraiser time!!! We are selling beach towels that can be customized! Any word or name up to 9 letters. These are super soft and you can pick your color!! These are great for children and adults! Gift them to others or yourself; you will love it! To top it off the sales from this product helps bring our son home as well as helps two other families adopt! It only costs $37 with shipping to help change a life forever. A great deal on a great product!



To order, please contact Megan at:   meganlovesryan@hotmail.com

Vacationing on a Budget Guide: Part I

Many, many, many people ask me how and why  I go on vacation so often, so I wanted to share some of the why's and then help those who want to vacation more get there.

A long time ago in a galaxy far away, I used to not take vacations.  At all.  Ever. Never. Ever. Well okay, that was is a little hyperbole, but I am naturally a homebody and am happy to just stick close to home.

But then a few things happened:

• I started working from home (aka WAH), (lots of time to be a homebody, pretty much 24/7),
• My company instituted a use or loose policy to our vacation time, 
• We bought a timeshare, and
• We had kids.

After all of these changes, I needed a break, but with working from home, my stay-cation model wasn't working.  I would not be able to take days off, end up getting called in to work (because I'm right there, right?), etc. etc.

And since many people think when you work from home, and you are female, you can do everything a SAHM (Stay at Home Mom) does in addition to your paid work, that work load doesn't decrease while on vacation either.  (For the record SAHM work is a full time plus a half time job, plus my full time paid job, minus 5 carry the 2 and I'm always working on something).

Having said this, I realized the need to recharge, but I had a very limited (non-existent) budget.  In spite of that, I took on the challenge and it's taken some time to get the equation just right, but here we go...Oh wait, let's add a pretty picture of a Lanai sunrise...

So, this might seem a little out of the ordinary, I'm going to ask you to answer a few questions and then I will post the answers to all of your vacation planning.  Please keep in mind I am a consultant, which means I ask lots of questions and analyze before I have an answer. :)

• What kind of time to you re-energize from?  A big group of people, family time, girl time, or being alone?
• What types of scenery to you connect with the most?  The woods, the lake, the ocean, the city?
• How long can you be away from your job at a time? (SAHMs - This means, how long can your family survive without you and you survive without your family?)
• How far in advance can you plan? (1 year, one month, one week?)
• What is your budget? (Don't say a little, be specific, even if specific is zero)

I will answer my own questions here:

• What kind of time to you re-energize from? Quite time, one-on-one or less, or the ability to get lost in a crowd.  No accountability for time, calories or exercise.
• What types of scenery to you connect with the most? The ocean, where it is warm
• How long can you be away from your job at a time?1 week if planned in 3-12 months advance, 1 day if not
• How far in advance can you plan?  8 months to a year, but can be less depending on workload
• What is your budget? $500-1500 (annual)

Write down your answers and stay tuned...

Adoption TMI Defined

When you share something with someone that doesn't quite understand the term or situation related to an adoption and then they use it later in a way they don't know is derogatory or inappropriate.

This is why when people ask about Isaac's story we don't tell much. It's Isaac's story and when he's old enough and if he wants to he will share it. Our social worker gave us this advice and I will be forever grateful for it.

Easter Boys

Two happy Easter boys climbing our tree out front!