This Year of 2011

Hate Christmas letters?  Stop reading!  NOW!!!!!!  Quick!  Just close the page!

The Henry family 2011

Dear family and friends,

     Well I decided not to send out a letter with our Christmas cards, because it annoys some people. Its been a pretty eventful year or so for us.  One of the best things was having all of our children at the Temple with us.  They are truly the joy of our life!

We feel very very blessed to have Michael serving his mission, he was able to finish up at Clark College before he left.  We had two kids graduate in a week--Mike from Clark College and Sherry from Prairie High School.

Our two graduates!

 

Michael's mission call is to Porto Alegre North, Brazil.  However, his visa application was lost and recently the Missionary Travel Office called to let us know, they are resubmitting it.  He spent 9 weeks in the Missionary Training Center in Provo Utah learning Portuguese, then was reassigned temporarily to the Long Beach California Mission to wait for his visa. He loves it there and is serving in Long Beach and Compton in Samoan wards, learning the language and loving being a missionary.

Mike and his companion at his first baptism as a missionary.  Michael was able to confirm him the next week.

 Sherry finished an incredible high school experience with quite a few exceptional honors and awards.  And many others she was "runner up" for--we started joking that she is Miss 95th Percentile (her height, her grades, just missing the cut for a few awards). Her principal called her the most outstanding student he's had at Prairie, she truly excelled in so many areas starting with being a graceful kind caring person.  She has carried those qualities with her to Brigham Young University where she is considering a performing major, finding her way, relishing academic challenges, learning more than ever before, and functioning as an independent wise adult.  Its fun to see her roommates' and friends' reactions to her sense of humor and fearlessness in using it.  She ran her first 5K and placed 5th overall for females out of a couple hundred, went to lots of football games, played intramural Ultimate Frisbee, performed in a student directed version of Oklahoma as well as in her first student film, has truly enjoyed working with her voice teacher Dr. Arden Hopkin, and found she loves learning about science and philosophy as well as tap dancing.  (No, she doesn't have a boyfriend, yes she dates, yes she writes a missionary but they are just good friends. I know you were wondering because so many people ask haha)   Update:  Sherry passed her Acting proficiency audition, and is moving on in the Acting BFA Program next semester!  (BFA=Bachelor of Fine Arts)
Here's a photo of her with her absolutely fabulous roommates. 

   Spencer had an eventful year too, finishing his first year of high school, playing on the tennis team, participating in Rachel's Challenge (a service organization), performing in plays (just started his third rehearsal process in Midsummer Nights Dream), working in the student store, and carrying on his siblings legacy of being a kind, funny student at Prairie.  He's just an enjoyable person.  He also has grown 6 or 7 inches in the past year or so, and has some pretty nasty stretch marks to prove it!  He loves his classes at school and lately has been obsessed with Napoleon ("he's my idol!) (scary haha!).  Here's a photo from The Three Musketeers:

And one from Tennis too showing his studliness and all that ;o)

Tori is growing too, not at the rate Spencer is, but she's hoping to be the shortest Henry child anyway (her sister has complained about guys being too short to date, so Tori has her strategy for the future haha).  She's doing really well in school, loves the Lord with all her heart, knows a lot about the Gospel, and basically is obsessed with Dr. Who and an Anglophile much to her Granny's chagrin.  She is such a pretty little girl that boys are starting to ask her when she will date them, she tells them "not til I'm 16" but confides in me that they are like brothers.  Ha!

Ready for a Portland Winterhawks Hockey game with bff Bailey

Damon is still working for ACS, still serving as Stake Athletic Director, and still my best friend!  I started working at Crafts Americana Group this summer just as Mike was leaving, so I'm gone during the day and he is home holding down the fort. 
     We feel so blessed to have a missionary from our family serving, and such a wonderful family.  Life isn't without its challenges but we're grateful for the ones we have and pray for those with more difficult burdens than ours are at this time.  Thank you for your prayers on our behalf, on Michael's, and for being our friends.

     Much Love from the Henry's in Vancouver!