Sam is taking a floral class. It is a rather long story why but anyway he has learned a lot and I have enjoyed being the recipient of the projects. He had to do a 15 hour project and chose to do a little landscaping. He took this overgrown garden by the wood shed and went to work.
It involved a lot of weed pulling!! Things had gotten a little overgrown.
He did find some lambs ear and saved them to replant because his mom likes them. He decided to add some rocks found around the farm.
This meant bringing in the big guns!! Dad and the tractor. These rocks were a little heavy!! 
Things looked a little rough for a while.
He dug up some grass and extended the garden to include a big rock and my rose tree that were nearby. He found a couple of old rose bushes and some ferns. We went shopping for some bulbs which he planted and will buy some more plants including lavender plants in the spring when they are expecting you to plant things!!
This is the finished project. I am excited to see what will grow here and to have some color against the old woodshed background. Thanks Sam!!
Here are a few of our pictures that did not make the cut when it came to which picture to send out to all our friends and family this last Christmas. You try to get 7 people to all look great at the same time!! Not to mention that Luke seems to have a perfect joker smile in most of them!!
And I have a problem keeping my eyes open!!
You have got to love this bunch!!
And this one too!!
We tried really hard to get a good one with the tree. It just was not happening this day.
And I thought the umbrellas were a cute idea but we could not get it together.
Hope you are all having a great New Year!! From the Henriksons
I was talking with my mom about how proud I was of Sam who finally got his Eagle papers in this week and how he would be our first Eagle Scout (a proud mother blog soon to follow!!). She shared with me something Lorna said to her this week. She said she was tired of being first; first to have a baby die, first to have her husband die and now possibly first to have cancer. You see Lorna has had a few health issues lately and spent New Year's Eve in the hospital getting a blood transfusion. Then they ran some test and found a large mass. This last week she has had another transfusion and met with various doctors including an oncologist. After getting a blessing and being remembered in endless prayers, happily she does not have cervical cancer as was the fear. She has a fibroid tumor which they will be removing on the 25th and that should take care of the problems. Lorna has become one of my heroes. She has been through a lot the last few years and has come out on top. She stays positive and just keeps going forward. She has battled through a lot of junk and lost a lot. She is a great mom to her two kids. It is amazing to watch her with Jesse. I am so proud of her. I love ya Lorna Doone!! Millie
Hannah and David some time during the holiday season!!
Isaac and Elder Gudjenov (he is from Bulgaria originally and he looks kind of like a hobbit and is about as tall as one!!) on Christmas eve.
Hannah and Charlie (with Sam in the background) at Grandma Julie's Christmas day.
Luke and Elder Lemperle with their matching aprons on Christmas Eve.
Sam and Ainzlee the night we made gingerbread houses.
Luke doing I am not sure what!! He does a lot of that!! And we love him any way!!
Raelynn with Sky (Isaac's turtle).
Rob's birthday!! I know that should have been a blog all of its own!! Sorry sweetie!! I really do love you the most!!
Sam and Luke helping with the stamps on the Christmas cards. Believe me you really don't want to know!!
And this is my favorite. Luke set up the nativity on the piano for me. I love how every one is flocked around the baby Jesus even the animals. This is how it should be!! Millie
What is it about boys (of any age) and fire? I had some stuff to burn. But I had to wait until it was not pouring down rain. And then I had to wait a few days for the wind to stop blowing. And Isaac wanted to wait until his two older brothers were not home so he could do it by himself for the first time. (I guess having older brothers around makes it difficult to actually do it on your own. They are so helpful with their ideas and suggestions!!)
Finally such a day arrived and Isaac headed out to the fire pit where we usually roast hotdogs and marshmallows for s'mores with stuff to burn and matches. 
They have been practicing their fire building skills at scouts (he is almost a first class) and assured me he could do it.
So Isaac has passed one more rite of passage to becoming a man. He can build and maintain a fire all on his own. They grow up so fast!! Millie
First you pick out the perfect tree. 
Then you cut it down.
You haul it home.
You cut off about 2 feet from the bottom and a foot from the top. You put it in the stand and move it in to the house. After some maneuvering it from left to right about a billion times and finding the perfect frontal view you are ready for the lights. After about 5 hours and 12 strands of lights your tree is all lit up!!
Add a little garland, we prefer red beads.
After adding everyones decorations it is perfect for the pajama picture.
Or kissing in front of!!
And of course caring for all the gifts until Christmas morning. And after giving us a month of joy and light and adding cheer to our holiday season, tomorrow we will take it down. We will put away all the decorations and the beads. We will unwind the lights and wonder why we put so many on and had to have them on every branch. Then we will put it outside on the patio where it will stand for a few days until the wind blows it over and Millie gets tired of picking it up. Then one of the boys will haul it to the burn pile. But it will still be with us for a while because every time we vacuum the living room we will smell the pine needles we have vacuumed up and remember our beautiful tree and look forward to next year when the process will start all over again. Millie
