Our Beloved Jack

Tonight I am posting for a bitter sweet reason. All of you who know us know that we loved our wonderful rottweiller Jack. Unfortuantly we lost him this evening to an accidental death. Jack was on a chain while we were away from the house so he did not get lost or hurt. On this fateful night he happened to get his chain tangled on his watering tough, after he got it knocked over. The best we can figure is that he got stuck and couldn't get his collar untightened and he was choked.
  We loved and still love Jack with all of our hearts. He will be a very missed family member. Jack was the best dog a person or family could ask for. He was famous for wanting to sit on our laps and greeting all visitors with licks after licks with his big slobbery tounge. He was also famous for playing with anything he could get his paws on. Unfortuantly it was his love of playing with big bulky items that ended his sweet life.
   We know that Jack is in a better place and will never have to suffer any kind of pain, but our hearts are still crying for him. We don't know how long it will take for our pain will heal. For now all we can do is remember the fun and loving times we had with our loving dog Jack.

Vriginia Trip

The weekend after our zoo trip we still were not finished vacationing. My cousin Brittany had a baby boy about 8 weeks ago so we headed up to Virginia to see her and her new bundle of joy! We headed out on Friday morning and arrived at Brittany's at around 3 pm that day. As soon as we got there I immediatly got to hold lil baby Jay. He is such a perfect little baby and so very cute!

Taken five minutes after arrival!

Later that evening we headed into Old Town for some dinner at a fabulous resturaunt called Austins Grill. By far some of the best Mexican food I have ever had! After dinner we all went on a walk to the harbour and enjoying the beautiful sites of Old Town. We spent the evening playing around outside with the baby and watching some tv. The next day we went back into Old Town for some ice cream and to walk around a bit more. It was so different to see so many people and so many buildings! Brent and I live in the country and very much like it that way! I was amazed at seeing all the street performers! Some were good but most I think could use a little work! One thing I really enjoyed about the "big city" was that there is not a shortage on things to do! I also liked the bridge we walked on that is part in VA and Part Maryland! There was a wonderful telescope spot that you could clearly see DC in! It was a bit of a culture shock to us. I guess as the old saying goes, you can take us out of the country but you still can't take the country out of us! There are many wonderful places to visits and many pretty places to talk walks on!

 We stayed at the house most of the time just enjoying the time we had with Brittany and the baby! We played a fun game of poker the last night we were there (which I lost). Since I lost I had to change the baby and put him in his pj's (which of course I didn't mind doing :) It was a wonderful relaxing weekend enjoying good food, sites, and family!

He is sooo cute

Spending an evening on the dock

Brent and Jay

Brent and I on the bridge

We walked right out of VA!

On our way home we stopped in at Morgantown to see my cousin Sarah and her soon to be husband Scotty. We enjoyed a nice Chinese lunch then went shopping or a little while! It was nice to see them and spend the afternoon with them (and giving us a break from driving!) After a wonderful visits we had to head home :(

The weekend was fun while it lasted and now we are back to our normal routine but I am certain more summer fun is on the way! After all, I do have a birthday next week :)

Lions Tigers, and Bears...OH MY!

  I was so excited when my Mom called me and asked if Brent and I would like to go to the zoo with her and my daddy! Of course we said yes and on the 29th of May we all headed up to go to the wonderful Columbus Zoo and Aquarium!    It was a beautiful day to be at the zoo, hot, but pretty! It was so much fun to spend the day with my parents and my husband wondering around seeing all kinds of exotic animals and a few native species as well! The only concern on my mind the entire day was keeping track of my sugar out in the heat. (fortuntanly my mom is a nurse so she kept a close eye)
  Steering away from the trip for a paragraph or so the reason I have to now keep track of my sugar has to do with babies! At my latest Doctors appoitment the Dr. discovered that my body is not producing insuline properly therefore causing my ovaries to work improperly. She prescribed my a pill called Metformin, which is a diabetic pill that causes my body to produce more insuline. The down side to this new medication is that since there is more insuline being produced my body metabolizes sugar at a much faster rate causing my sugar to drop. The up side.....greater chance of regular ovualtion! (well thats the plan anyway) Anyway I simply take a pill everyday and test my sugar periodically throughout the day to ensure it does not get dangerously low. I joke with Brent that when our kids get older and start acting up I will simply say "Do you know what I had to do to have you?!"
  Now, back to the zoo! My all time favorite animal that I was so excited to see was the Penguins! I adore penguins and wish it was legal to have them as pets. I told my husband if I could have one I would turn the basement into a penguin paradise, which spoils his plans of turning it into a so called "man cave". Along with penguins we got to see polar bears, monkeys, alligators, and many more! I was so grateful for this day with my parents and husband! It was so nice to just have a day out without having a care in the world!

With this Ring I Thee Wed

As a little girl I always dreamed of what I would do when I grew up, I mean what kid doesn't? Little did I know that my life would turn out to be as wonderful as it is now. On August 7th 2010 I was blessed to be wed to my best friend and love of my life!Looking back at how this marriage came to happen it is so hard to believe that so many choices could have influenced wether or not this day happend. I went to Marshall for one year in 2006 to study music but quickly came to find out that I needed a smaller school so I moved home to go to the local College. Once home I decided to get a job, and thanks to my cousin Brittany, I was employed at the Ravenswood Pizza Hut. It was there that I met my now husband Brent! For awhile I was unsure if I had made the right decision leaving Marshall, but now I know I did!Brent proposed marriage to me on December 14th 2009 at the spot where we shared our first kiss (he does have a small romantic bone!) We quickly set a date for the following August and the preperations were soon started. My mother took me shopping for my gown along with my older sister Ashley. I have never been one for trying on clothes (especially dresses) so thankfully I fell in love with the third dress I tried on! As my family will tell you I have always been and still am a tom boy, so I was not too big on the dress thing but it was well worth it! The other awesome thing about my dress was that it fit me like a glove! No expensive alterations at all!Following the dress shopping it was time to properly announce our engagement and impending marriage by getting our pictures done. We had a fantastic photographer from A+ Photography! Not only did she do our pictures but she also did our invitations and our guest book! Not only did she do a fantastic job but she is a long time friend on my sister Cassi so we got a little bit of a discount!After we had the pictures taken I did what I do best, procrastinate! I quickly realized that I was slightly behind and really needed to get things done! We went and registered for my bridal shower which my sisters and best friend threw for me! As a side note to all those who are registering, do not give the scanner to the man! I ended up having to go back and remove tires, game consoles, and hunting supplies off of our list! The shower was so much fun! We had a slumber party the night before the shower with my sisters, cousins, and Laurce! That was so much fun, since we have all grown it had been years since we have all been together like that! The bridal shower was awesome and my friends and family were very generous! We got so many nice things to start our lives with!I finally got the invites out and started the planning on how I wanted my big day to be! Brent and I are avid hunters and outdoorsmen so we decided to make Camo the theme of our wedding! Go ahead, you know you want to call us rednecks! We then went to talk to the Preacher whom we settled on to marry us. Brent really wanted the Preacher that had married his entire family to marry us and since he did not have much say in anything else we agreed on him. It was a wonderful choice, our Preacher was very good and his Church was beautiful! Now all that was left was to get all the decorations and knick knacks for the big day!My sister Cassi came in about a week before the wedding and she came and took me shopping for everything I would need! That was so much fun for me! Since she lives clear in Oregon quality time with her is far and in between, I am so thankful for that day and for all my wonderful siblings! After hitting several stores we finally had everything we needed for my wedding! Oh I almost forgot one really fun memory during all this wedding planning! My sisters all got together and took me out to Charelston and out to eat as a last little get together with me as a single lady! I had so much fun with all of them and hope many more of those days come to be!My best friend and Maid of Honor Laurice came in the day before the wedding and helped us to decorate the Chapel and Reception hall and to be there for the rehearsal. I always told myself that I would never be a so called "bridezilla" but it turns out your nerves really do get the best of you! I would like to apologize to all those who helped to pull my wedding together if I got a little irritated! Although I was a nervous wreck the wedding turned out perfect! We have now been married for nine wonderful months and I could not be happier! Below I am going to post a few highlights from our big day! Enjoy!



Ashley doing my makeup





Mom, Cassi, and Laurice tying my sash

Jessica snapping my dress up

Mom doing my lipstick

Brent puttin on his tux(he got caught off guard lol)

Daddy preparing to give me away

Daddy walking me down the aisle

The Ceremony

Our first kiss as Husband and Wife

The Wedding Party

The "oh so gangster" men

The lovely ladies

Laurice and I

My Siblings and I

Our First Dance

Cutting the Cake

Our Camo Tables

Tossing the bouquet

Flinging the Garter

Ready to leave

Off to the Blennerhasset!

Buying a home!!!

A few months before we were married we decided it was really getting down to the wire about finding a place to live. We looked through the papers, online, and drove around looking for a place we could afford. We had orginally thought about renting but there were not many options with that that we could afford. When we called about the house we ended up with we never thought we would be able to afford it but we decided to look at the house anyway. Brent asked his grandfather to co-sign for him and low and behold we were approved for the loan. Two months later, after many hours of paper work and getting everything together, we finally closed our loan and were the proud owners of our first home! We bought a ranch style home at the top of a hill in Long Bottom, Ohio. The house has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, family room, living room, basement, kitchen/dining area, and a garage. It is a very spacious home and to make it better there is even a hot tub in the living room! There is a covered front porch and a back deck that spans the length of the house with a tree house in the middle (which our nephew loves!) We own roughly 3 acres of yard and 3 acres of woods which our dogs go crazy on. We moved into the house exactly one week after our wedding, it took several months but we finally got everything put into place and looking like a home!

Our Story

We first met in May of 2008. At the time Courtney was working at the local Ravenswood Pizza Hut as a waitress and Brent had just graduated College. Very close to closing time at Pizza Hut Brent and some of his family came in to eat and celebrate his cousins High School graduation. Reluctantly Courtney took the table (since it was five minutes to close no one wanted the big and rowdy party) and began the daunting task of waiting on a very large group late on a Friday night. Courtney started to notice that it was not such a bad idea to take the table because she had started to notice that Brent was flirting a little with her which made the night a bit easier. As they were leaving Brent informed her that he had left his number for her on the table (along with a very nice tip!) After nearly a month with the napkin tucked away safely in Courtney’s purse she decided to give it a shot. While at the beach with her friend Samantha she began to talk to Brent. We went on our first date on Courtney’s 20th birthday. Brent took her to his brother’s house to hang out and watch movies. Shortly after our first date Courtney had not heard from Brent in over a week. Courtney just assumed maybe he did not like her and didn’t think too much of it. Almost two weeks after their first date Courtney got a phone call from Brent. It turns out that he had a very severe tonsil infection and was unable to even speak. Later that fall Brent ended up having his tonsils removed with Courtney right by his side to care for him and it is all history from that point on. Brent and Courtney were engaged on December 14th 2009 and were married on August 7th 2010. We now live in Chester, Ohio in a lovely ranch style home. We have two dogs and are trying to start a family. The dog’s names are Jack Daniels and Hunter Easton. Jack is a rottweiller that Brent had when we met and Hunter is a black lab Brent got Courtney for her 21st birthday. We are also the proud aunt and uncle to Brayden Michael and Caleb Dylan. Brent’s brother also has twins on the way to add two more to our nephews.

We are currently enjoying the married life but are wanting to add a baby to our family of us along with two fun loving dogs. We are working with our OBGYN closely and trying to find what works best for us. Courtney's family has a history of problems when it comes to conceiving. We are trying to take it day by day and pray for the best! We are currently enjoying being an aunt and uncle and taking thing with stride.

Brayden Michael Hensley Caleb Dylan Hensley