Fourth of July!!

Mon. 4: Jase was feeling better and I spent the whole day with the kids. Rick opted to stay home and work.  He wanted to clean out the unfinished room in the basement to get ready for his Studio equipment that was due to come this week. So now all of the boxes of storage are in the family room in the basement instead of in the other room and we have nowhere to put it!  He has been calling around to see if we can get a shed out by the garage but it will be probably be awhile before we can get one ordered.  He brought several big loads to the DI. 

I packed a picnic lunch for the kids and we all went to the park in St. George to enjoy the Fourth of July Festivities. I left Jaiden home with Rick, putting her down for a nap before we left, and she slept pretty much the whole time we were gone. The kids did all of the free games and went on the 100 foot slip and slide. We ate our picnic on the grass in the shade. We weren't going to do anything that cost money or required a ticket but then we had two different people (total strangers) come up and give us tickets because they were leaving. So the kids went on the giant blow up slides several times. We ended up running into Barneys and the kids had fun going on the slides with their kids.

I had told the kids I would take them to a movie "Herby Fully-Loaded" and Janika asked if Madison could come too. Her mom gave the go-ahead and so she ended up tagging along. We went home first to drop off Janelle since it was time for her nap. The movie was cute but still had the Lord's name in vain several times - and it was rated "G!"  I mean if you can't trust a "G" movie - what can you trust?  Why can't they just say, "Oh my gosh!" instead of using the other word?  The kids were all very good during the movie and they all loved it. 

Our neighbors called and invited us over to their place tonight for a BBQ.  All of the kids went swimming. Neither Rick or I felt like staying up late to see the fireworks tonight. I told Rick it was his turn since I had been with the kids all day but he didn't want to go either. Janika was really giving it to us, whining and complaining about how unfair that was -- especially since they didn't get to see them last year either. Then some ward members invited us to go over and watch the fireworks that they had purchased.  That seemed to satisfy the kids and so they weren't disappointed about missing the big ones. They came back all excited and said that they were "so cool!"  I had just put the baby to bed and so I stayed home and let Rick take the other kids.  

  

Stomach Flu

Sun. 3:  Jase was complaining of stomach cramps all morning and was just laying around on the couch.   We didn't know how serious it was and we all went to church (bringing a barf bag just in case). Good thing we did!  No sooner had Sacrament meeting started then Jase started throwing up!  So Rick rushed him out the door and stayed home with him.

I had totally forgotten that a week or so ago Janelle and Jaiden had both thrown up in the middle of the night.  Janelle had been crying and said her tummy hurt and so Rick had brought her in bed with us.  Then in the night she started throwing up and Rick shouted "help help!"  He had actually caught it all in his hands (unbeknownst to me of course!) and was pretty proud of himself.  But when he shouted "help!" I grabbed for Janelle, trying to yank her out of his arms to make a run for the bathroom and of course it all went flying everywhere!  He was a little upset at first but then we had to laugh about the whole thing.  I told him to shout something more specific next time like: "grab a towel!"  So we had one of those middle of the night do-an-emergency-load-of-laundry sessions along with the middle of the night bath for Janelle.  The commotion had awakenen Jaiden and so I had gone in to nurse her and then she promptly threw up all over me too! 

Anyway, back to Sunday...I had been was asked to sub for the chorister in primary, but they ended up not having a Pianist and so I ended up playing the piano instead and they found someone else to lead the music at the last minute.  That has happened before when I was asked to lead the music.  I am supposed to lead the music next week too.

When we got home from church, Janelle's crib was in the garage and her little bed was up.  She excitedly crawled right on to it!  In fact, after dinner I couldn't find her and she had crawled on her bed to go to sleep!  It hasn't always been that easy though!  Often she just runs out of her room giggling.  One day I put both girls down for a nap at the same time.  I could hear them in there and so I went to check on them and Janelle had crawled into Jaiden's crib and was playing with her.  When I walked in they were both giggling guiltily and crawling around in circles! These two little girls really keep me going, but they sure are cuties and a lot of fun!!  They love to play and are always laughing!

Janika and Jase Funnies!!

We were always entertained by the funny comments our children would come up with.  Janika had been teaching Jase times tables and he learned some of them.  We were walking to the park and Jase saw a truck that said "4X4."  He exclaimed matter-of-factly, "There's another one of those 16 year old trucks again!"  Then one Sunday we were sitting in church and the first counselor in the Bishopric got up to conduct.  Janika said, "Is he like the "Vice Bishop or something?"  I said, "They are called first and second counselors."  She said, "So that's sort of like the first mate on a ship then?"

On Valentines night we all went shopping and when we came home there were some plates of cookies on our doorsteps.  Janika asked me if she could call and thank our neighbors for the cookies and I said, "sure!"  Well, she called and they weren't home and so she left a message on their answering machine saying thank you for the cookies...(and then she must have been in prayer mode because she said)..."in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!"   When she told me she accidentally ended the message like that I laughed so hard that tears were rolling down my face.  It seems like one of us did that as a kid too...probably me! 

 

2004 Jensen Christmas Newsletter

 When we were expecting our fifth child we decided that we were growing out of our home in Ivins and needed a bigger home. We found one we loved in Santa Clara, just ten minutes away from our previous home and moved the end of February. The new home was two and a half times bigger than our former home and we loved it!! We had a wonderful ward with lots of great neighbors – including friends for the kids and baby-sitters – all within walking distance. We bought tons of new furniture and put in a cement slab in the backyard for the pool.

Rick’s sister Julie came down from Ogden to help us decorate and we painted the entire house. When I say “we” I mean Rick and Julie.  I, in my pregnant condition, just watched. We loved the way it turned out! Rick transformed the basement into a studio for the Carolers with mirrors all the way across the wall and he put in an entire theater system with a projector so that the Carolers could critique themselves (and so that we could watch movies on the big screen.) We also had the bathroom in the basement finished and planned to rip out the carpeting in the front room and hall-ways to put in tile. 

On May 31st (Memorial Day) we welcomed another beautiful baby girl into the family. Jaiden Wendy Jensen was born at 10:16 p.m. and weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and was 19 1/2" long. I had a few different doctors in the past and every single one of them missed the birth of my babies (either they were gone that day, or left temporarily, or the baby just came too quickly and they didn't make it into the room in time). But this doctor (Dr. Lunt) was there (barely in time) to deliver Jaiden! We really liked this doctor and decided to keep him for my future deliveries! Jaiden was a cutie and looked much like her siblings! 

 

 
July pictures...


July was a big month filled with family affairs. We went to Jake and Mikalyn's wedding in the Jensen's yard in Farr West on July 16th and Jaiden was blessed on July 18th in the Jensen's ward in Farr West. She received a beautiful blessing and we enjoyed time together with our family!

We then spent time with the Westra family in Salt Lake and visited with friends. July 22 and 23 we went to Lagoon with the Healeys and had a great time! We then stayed in a condo at Powder Ridge and went boating at Pineview Reservoir. 

Rick taught EFY again this year in Provo, Las Vegas, and San Diego. The Provo session included the Deaf group and so he and I also interpreted for several of the meetings and classes. Rick and I also celebrated our ten year anniversary this month! 

Jaiden is now almost seven months old. She is chubby and cheerful with big beautiful bright blue eyes and long eye-lashes.  She is such a doll and we are all enjoying her very much! 

Janelle turned two years old in October.  She mostly communicates with sign language but she is finally starting to talk as well!  She is a favorite of all our baby-sitters who love to come over and baby-sit cute little Bellie! She has dark brown hair and dark blue eyes and looks just like her mom when she was a baby.  Her favorite things are her silky blanket and her thumb!!  She also loves Barney, toy farm animals, dollies, story-books, hats, necklaces, shoes and going on outings with her Daddy. 

Jared is 4 ½ and loves attending pre-school with all of his friends.  He continues to hoard treasures (everything from rocks to screws to mom’s earrings) everywhere he can – in bags, boxes, bowls, egg-cartons – you name it!!  He loves to color and has a great imagination.  We can hear him carrying on complete conversations with several different people when he is the only one in the room! 

Jase just turned seven years old and is in the first grade.  He is also a great reader and very good at math.  He LOVES to play computer games!  He is a good singer and is excited to start soccer again this year.  We started a ticket system this year where the kids earn tickets for doing chores and for good behavior and Jase is the one that always has the most tickets by far!! 

Janika just turned nine years old.  She is the splitting image of her dad when he was her age.  She is in the third grade and is the smartest one in her class (okay so I’m a little biased, but it is still true!!)   Janika loves to read and loves to have her mom read to her.  Most nights after the other kids have gone to bed I read to Janika from my childhood journal.  She loves the time we spend together and to hear all the quirky things I did when I was a kid!! Janika has been taking piano lessons (with a little arm twisting) and it is her first year being one of the Hands in Harmony Carolers. She wasn’t too sure she had made the right decision with all of the long practices for four months, but as soon as performances started she blossomed into a little performing star, charming all her audiences! She is the youngest one in the group – four years younger than the next ages in the group.

Rick is teaching Seminary at Snow Canyon High School which is just right up the street now that we live in Santa Clara. He is in the Elder’s Quorum Presidency and is the ward choir director and I teach primary.

I have been very busy being the mother of five children and trying to keep the house in order.   I love being able to stay at home but I also love to get out and take a break by keeping up with my sign language. This year I taught an ASL class at the college as well as a community education class and did lots of freelance interpreting.  I also worked as a mentor for interpreters working to become certified here in the Southern Utah area.  A couple of months ago I joined “Curves” and I rush out the door every morning at 6:00 a.m. before Rick leaves for work to go “work-out.”  I can finally work out without kids jumping on top of me!    

Christmas at the Jensens means Caroling season. As you all know, we have a caroling group called the Hands in Harmony Carolers. This year they had over 70 performances!! They have done a great job and have become very popular here in St. George. I am very proud of the great job Rick does putting all of this together…and now he gets to take me to the Anniversary Inn and LOTS of dates to make up for being gone the entire month of December!

We are filled with gratitude as we reflect upon all our many blessings, including the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the gospel, our family, our health, new home, our friends, and the many opportunities we have had to spread cheer throughout this holiday season! 

2004 Jensen Family History

Here is an update from our past year.  On May 31st (Memorial Day) we welcomed another beautiful baby girl into the family.  Jaiden is now almost seven months old. She is chubby and cheerful with big beautiful bright blue eyes and long eye-lashes.  She is such a doll and we are all enjoying her very much! 

Janelle turned two years old in October.  She mostly communicates with sign language but she is finally starting to talk as well!  She is a favorite of all our baby-sitters who love to come over and baby-sit cute little Bellie!   She has dark brown hair and dark blue eyes and looks just like her mom when she was a baby.  Her favorite things are her silky blanket and her thumb!!  She also loves Barney, toy farm animals, dollies, story-books, hats, necklaces, shoes and going on outings with her Daddy. 

Jared is 4 ½ and loves attending pre-school with all of his friends.  He continues to hoard treasures (everything from rocks to screws to mom’s earrings) everywhere he can – in bags, boxes, bowls, egg-cartons – you name it!!  He loves to color and has a great imagination.  We can hear him carrying on complete conversations with several different people when he is the only one in the room! 

Jase just turned seven years old and is in the first grade.  He is also a great reader and very good at math.  He LOVES to play computer games!  He is a good singer and is excited to start soccer again this year.  We started a ticket system this year where the kids earn tickets for doing chores and for good behavior and Jase is the one that always has the most tickets by far!! 

Janika just turned nine years old.  She is the splitting image of her dad when he was her age.  She is in the third grade and is the smartest one in her class (okay so I’m a little biased, but it is still true!!)   Janika loves to read and loves to have her mom read to her.  Most nights after the other kids have gone to bed I read to Janika from my childhood journal.  She loves the time we spend together and to hear all the quirky things I did when I was a kid!!   Janika has been taking piano lessons (with a little arm twisting) and it is her first year being one of the Hands in Harmony Carolers.  She wasn’t too sure she had made the right decision with all of the long practices for four months, but as soon as performances started she blossomed into a little performing star, charming all her audiences!  She is the youngest one in the group – four years younger than the next ages in the group.

The end of February we moved from our home in Ivins to a home in Santa Clara.  It is two and a half times bigger than our former home and we just love it!!  We have a wonderful ward with lots of great neighbors – including friends for the kids and baby-sitters – all within walking distance. We bought tons of new furniture and put in a cement slab in the backyard for the pool.

Rick’s sister Julie came down from Ogden to help us decorate and we painted the entire house.  When I say “we” I mean Rick and Julie.  I, in my pregnant condition, just watched.  We love the way it turned out.  Rick also transformed the basement into a studio for the Carolers with mirrors all the way across the wall and he put in an entire theater system with a projector so the Carolers can critique themselves (and we can watch movies on the big screen.)  We also had the bathroom in the basement finished and plan to rip out the carpeting in the front room and hall-ways to put in tile. 

We didn’t go on a half a dozen vacations like we usually do since we were so busy (and broke) with all of the house purchases but we did squeeze a trip up North to take the kids to stay in a condo for a few days and take the kids to Lagoon. Rick taught EFY again this year in Provo, Las Vegas, and San Diego.  This next year he will be the session director for the ASL group in Provo.   Rick is teaching Seminary at Snow Canyon High School which is just right up the street now that we live in Santa Clara.   He is in the Elder’s Quorum Presidency and is the ward choir director and I teach primary.

I have been very busy being the mother of five children and trying to keep the house in order.   I love being able to stay at home but I also love to get out and take a break by keeping up with my sign language.  This year I taught an ASL class at the college as well as a community education class and did lots of freelance interpreting.  I also worked as a mentor for interpreters working to become certified here in the Southern Utah area.  A couple of months ago I joined “Curves” and I rush out the door every morning at 6:00 a.m. before Rick leaves for work to go “work-out.”  I can finally work out without kids jumping on top of me!   

Christmas at the Jensens means Caroling season. As you all know, we have a caroling group called the Hands in Harmony Carolers.   This year they had over 70 performances!!   They have done a great job and have become very popular here in St. George.  I am very proud of the great job Rick does putting all of this together…and now he gets to take me to the Anniversary Inn and LOTS of dates to make up for being gone the entire month of December!

What is Zion?

Yesterday in church the speaker was posing the question, “What is Zion?”  Janika leaned over and whispered in my ear, “It’s a bank!”  

Today Jared was pointing to the pictures on the computer and said, “That’s Janika, that’s Jase, that’s Jared – that’s definitely Jared!”  It is cute to hear three year olds say words like “definitely!”

Janelle TLC