Choir Performances

Jase and Jared's school choir performed at Lins Grocery Store this morning (Christmas music already!) See if you can find Jared. I couldn't get Jase -- there were so many people I could hardly see.

Janika's Honor's Choir sang later this afternoon. It wasn't as crowded so I was able to get a couple of pictures of her. She had a short solo and did well. It was fun to hear them sing!

Happy Birthday Mom Jensen!

If you are ever lucky enough to meet my mother-in-law, you will understand how I fell head-over-heels in love with her son. Whether through genes, environment, or both, he had developed her sense of humor, optimism, and zest for life. Those qualities, along with his dad’s gift for music and gorgeous singing voice, made him especially attractive to me!

When Rick and I had started dating, I gave him a card to celebrate his recent graduation from college. I don’t know what prompted me to do this, but I wrote, “Congratulations on your graduation, I really look forward to marrying you someday!” When he told his mom about the card she said, “You had better watch out for this one – she is planting seeds in your mind!” When Rick brought me to meet his family later on, I was enamored by their exquisite yard filled with colorful flowers, trees, bushes, and water-fountains. “Wow,” I breathed, “This would be a perfect place for a wedding reception!” I’m sure if his mother would have heard me, she would have silently whispered in his ear, “See what I told you? She is planting seeds…”

I knew she was a fun mom when the three of us sat on a little bench in their backyard and she told us about a recent retreat she had taken with her friends. She laughingly told us about some silly antics they had done such as saran wrapping a friend to the bed – and the fun didn’t stop! Later on I was invited back to their house in the fall for their infamous “scary dinner” at Halloween. Rick’s mom was dressed in a bright yellow curly wig and was serving lemonade from a bed-pan along with all sorts of gross looking food like fresh “fingers” (Vienna sausages with fake fingernails stuck in them). She then led the family in gory stories about where the food came from.

Rick’s dating activities seemed to fit into the “fun” mold of his family. He planned everything from picnics in the park, to dancing in formals underneath the stars in his backyard. Once on a date he had me put together a party for us from the contents of a paper sack and another time we went to the grocery store, where our objective was to purchase a meal for both of us for under $2.00. It wasn’t until later on that I learned that “the party bag” and probably half of these other schemes were actually his mom’s idea! Maybe she was testing my ingenuity to see if I would fit into this family, or maybe she was just helping her son to win my heart!

Whether his own ideas or not, I was definitely attracted to Rick’s resourcefulness. He was so creative (cheap) and fun! How could I help but fall in love? So my lucky husband should be grateful that he has such a wonderful mom, who had come through so many of life’s challenges with a smile on her face. After all, one of the reasons I married him was so that I could have her too!

Now our children get a grandma who is not only the “Queen of Chicken Foot,” but also the “wife of Santa Clause.” As far as Christmas is concerned, the content of that story is so big that it will have to wait for another time to be told. Grandma mails the kids a box of “junk-food” from their annual Valentines Bingo party since we live too far way to attend and makes sure that our family’s winning hard-boiled egg gets to compete in their annual “egg-bashing” contest at Easter. When we can't be there for the annual Halloween Party, she mails our kids all of their goodies.

When my husband came up with our own little family traditions of “Father’s Day Flee” and “Mother’s Day Tea,” I could immediately envision it. I mean look at all of the clever traditions his mom has come up with? I don’t know if our children know how lucky they are to have a grandma like this, but I know. When my husband lights candles around the room and melodramatically begins to weave a story for our children, I look at their entranced faces…and I look at him…and I know.

Happy Birthday Mom -- I love you!

Janika -- Reflection's Winner!

Tonight was the Reflection's Awards Night for grades 6-12. Janika received an award in all three categories that she participated in! She tied for First Place in musical composition for her song (Yeah!). She took Second Place in literature for her story. She also received an Honorable Mention for her pictures in photography. (Those are her sunset pictures just behind and above her head in the background). She came away with $70.00! ($50.00 for the first place and $20.00 for the second place) and some gift certificates. (The PTA at this school really goes all out!) She was also asked to perform her song at the Awards Night tonight. Way to go Janika!

If you didn't get to hear her song, here it is:

Click Here

Jared's Achievement Award

Each teacher from grades 3-5 nominated three students in their classroom to get an Academic Achievement award. Jared was one of them. The awards were given at a special Recognition Night. Way to go Jared!!

That's inappropriate!

Kids say and do the darnest things!! It is so funny whenever I hear my kids say words that sound just a little bit more mature than their young age. Like our kindergartener, for example. Today she showed me something and said, "this is just delightful!" A few days ago she she came up to me and stated matter-of-factly, "I found a red pencil and I was going to draw red lines down both sides of my chin so that I would look like a vampire but then I thought, 'no, that's inappropriate,' so I didn't!" Way to think things through, Janelle!

Speaking of "inappropriate," Jaiden had a little friend over to play the other day. We were all in the van to bring the little girl home on our way someplace and Jaiden innocently held up her middle finger to show her friend an "owie" on her finger. Immediately, all of the other kids started yelling, "Jaiden -- no! That's the swearing sign!" Well, the little girl apparently went home to her mom, held up her middle finger, and with a big smile on her face proudly exclaimed, "Look, Mom -- Jaiden showed me the swearing sign!" (She will probably never let her daughter play over here again!)

A few nights ago the little kids were in the tub and I walked into the kitchen for a minute and heard Josh yelling, "No! Jaiden -- that's dangerous!" (Again, it sounded cute for a two year old to be saying the word "dangerous.") I hurried in and there was Jaiden standing on the top of tub -- naked, wet, and slippery. Josh was right -- that is indeed dangerous. She almost slipped when I walked in and shouted, "Get down!" but caught herself. Thanks for the head's up, Josh!

A couple of days ago Josh was hovering over the baby staring at a little "thing" hanging out of her nose. Then he shouted, "Jennalee has a nose hang-nail!"

Here is one I forgot to write down in the blog: Last September Janike and Jase were selling her home-made Capri-Sun Bags at a little stand where people walked by on their way to Swiss Days. A lady came up to Janika and said that she was in charge of a Youth Drug Prevention Expo in January and asked Janika if she would be interested in selling her bags at it. She would even give her the booth for free. Jared overheard the conversation but must have misunderstood because he came home and said, "Mom -- a lady wants Janika to sell drugs at her convention!"

This afternoon we were having family home evening and we all sang "I Am A Child of God." Since we are a musical family, these songs often sound really neat with Janika and Rick singing harmony along with everyone else singing melody. Well, today was an exception. Whether on purpose or by accident, everyone was singing in different keys and it sounded terrible. Afterwards Janika gave an exasperated breath and said, "That was absolutely horrible!! We sounded like... like... a "normal" family!!!" She is so funny!

Janika's Reflection's Entries

The theme for the PTA's Reflection's contest this year is "Wow!" Janika entered in three categories: photography, literature, and musical composition. Here are the pictures she took (from our own front porch) for the photography portion. Gorgeous!

She also wrote a story about a pre-teen girl named Sierra who is always on her cell-phone texting her friends. (This must be wishful thinking on her part since we won't let her have a cell-phone until she is sixteen!) In the story Sierra's parents are fed-up with her for spending so much time on her phone. So they take her to the mountains for a much- needed vacation where there is no cell-phone service in hopes that she will learn to appreciate the beauty all around her!

Janika also wrote a song for the contest and it turned out sooo cute! Click on the link below to hear her singing it!

Janika's Song: "WOW!"

Happy Birthday Mom!

“Hey mom, “I’m home!” These were always the first words coming out of my mouth whenever I ran through our front door. The door was never locked, the house was never empty. Our house was always filled with children and noise and there was always a mother who would answer, “I’m here!”

If I had a great day I would come bursting through the house with excitement ready to tell my mom everything. If I had a particularly bad day I knew I had someone to talk to and a shoulder to cry on. When I came home one day from Junior High upset over an incident with some other kids, my mom was there to listen. And when I came home from girl’s camp visibly distressed because the older girls had stolen the younger girls bras and hung them on the flag pole and dumped corn syrup on their hair…my mom let me sit on her lap and cry.

When I was sixteen and had only had my driver’s license for a week, my mom had warned me to be careful about pulling out of my friend’s driveway. I waved my “okay” as I ran out the door. Later, when I dropped off my friend and pulled out of her driveway, I backed right into someone’s brand new parked car. I cried all the way home. My mom comforted me and never said, “I told you so.”

Of course I shared the good times too. When I got asked out on my first date I gushed excitedly to my mom. Through my high school years I remember shopping for prom dresses, trying on dress after dress until we found the perfect one. After each date I would come into my mom’s room and sit on the edge of her bed and tell her all about it. She was always there to listen and was interested in all of the details.

I shared my excitement when I succeeded academically or did well in a track or cross county race or drama competition. I was thrilled to share the good news with my mom when I made certain college music groups that I had auditioned for or when I landed a desired job. She was there when I learned where I would be going to serve a mission for my church, and was supportive in helping me graduate from college. Some of the accomplishments were big and others were small, but my mom was always there to celebrate with me.

Of course I always spent many hours discussing boys. I cried on the phone to my mom from college when I was dumped for the first time and later excitedly chattered on when I got asked out by a new guy that I liked. My mom helped me through all of the many stresses and ups and downs of those exhilarating but emotional dating years. When I was engaged, my mom was there every step of the way and did everything she could to make my wedding day perfect!

Several months later when my husband and I learned that I was expecting, I couldn’t wait to tell my mom. Later on when I was in the hospital giving birth to each of my children, we would call my mom. How comforting it was just to hear her voice! As soon as they could, she and my dad would travel several hours to come and stay with us for a few days in order to help with the new baby and other children. She would often bring loads of library books to read to our kids and help my boys pass off scout requirements. She would spend hours in the kitchen preparing all sorts of yummy meals and home-made bread. I enjoyed all of our long talks about anything and everything!

As I look back on my life, I see a mom who always said, “I’m here.” Even now, although several hundred miles apart, I will often receive an e-mail with encouraging words that seem to say those sweet words, “I’m here.” Just like my mom, I hope and pray that I too will always “be here” for my children. Happy Birthday Mom -- I love you!