Family Update

My great Friend Wendy Richhart did a little update on her family and I thought it was such a great idea I am going to follow her example. Here goes the latest on the Hinkson fam:

Dave--is excited to return to where he served his mission--Italy. We leave this week and we will try to blog our adventures in Italy and the Czech Republic where Joe served his mission. We will be joined by Devin (for his Senior trip) and Heather and Joe, James and Ali. We will also meet my sister Debby and her family and some friends from our ward, who are also going for the Italy portion of the trip. Dave had his first experience refinishing a wood floor this week at our Provo house and it looks really great. I will post pictures.

Christy--Life is good right now. The adopted kids have made great progress and since all the children are in school a lot of the day this year, I am getting a lot of writing done. I had my first book published on Amazon.com. It is called Living on Less. I have 4 more books scheduled for publication this year.

Holly, Brian and Blake--Holly is expecting a baby in August and is feeling better each day as the pregnancy progresses. Brian was hired for an internship in Idaho Falls this summer in industrial hygiene and so they will be living in 2 places this summer. Blake is as cute as ever and speaking like a champ. He is destined to be a great athlete, mark my grandmotherly word.

Heather, Joe, James, and Alicen--Joe graduated with his bachelors and is preparing to apply for graduate programs in a couple of years. He has been working as the office manager at Dave's Office and just accepted an internship as Harris Research where he will do consulting for other businesses. Heather is enjoying being home with James and Ali and is excited for the Europe trip. James is getting tall and handsome and loves being a big brother. Ali is sweet and precious and every good, feminine adjective out there. She was blessed by her father this Sunday and we celebrated with a lot of family and friends with a dinner at our home after the meeting.

Tyler--is on a cruise this week and excited to work out East this summer. He will then return to USU and keep preparing for Dental school. No wife yet, no worries, no prospects, any suggestions??

Bryan-- Serving in Western Ukraine as a missionary. He is in the branch presidency and loves his mission. He is a trainer and helping to train brand new missionaries. He has had some success there and is doing really well. We are anxious for his return in a few months. When he gets home, we plan to have the boys from Ukraine sealed to us in the temple.

Devin-- is busy with his Senior year. He is in Encore and made it to the finals in the state vocal competition. He is excited to graduate and is preparing for his mission. He turns 19 in April of 2012 and so he will attend USU for a couple of semesters before he is old enough to go.

Daniel-- is a busy boy. He is taking driver's ed. He was voted the king at the Sweetheart's dance and he just won a competiion at school with his original song. He just finished being in the musical Wizard of Oz. He loves any attention from girls and is looking forward to a trip to NYC in May. The boys all play on the ward basketball team (Devin, Dan and Vitaliy) and the team just won it's first game at region.

Alisa--Loves school, especially the social aspect and is still a straight A student. Her ward basketball team is also winning all the regional games. I wonder if the kids in our ward just take more vitamins or something. They are all great at Basketball.

Vitaliy-- wins the most improved award for the past few months. We were wondering what we had gotten ourselves into and suddenly he made a huge turnaround and is amazing us daily. He was getting an F in math (26 %) but has raised his grade tremendously and now gets 100% everyday in Math. His grades are good, his attitude is great, he is good to others and obedient to his parents. He actually does his jobs at home and is more compliant than I ever dreamed that he would be a few months ago. It has been amazing to see his progress. He loves being in a family and gives us the most hugs of any child.

Spencer-- Is an English speaking champion. He knows almost an many words in English as other immigrants that have been here for 10 years. He does well in school and has gone from being in big time competion with Scott to being a great playmate and friend. He is a happy young man and doing exceptionally well.

Scott-- is still a sweetheart and a good friend to all. He is a favorite uncle for Blake and James and is having a great time being 7. He loves first grade and I have to remind Scott and Spencer to not go out to the bus too early because they are so eager to go to school each day.

We have been very blessed and are enjoying being able to watch the family grow. I will post a few pictures from the past few weeks. There will be a lot posted when we get to Italy so enjoy coming along with us.

Love to all
Christy