Copy/Paste

My addition to our family "newsletter" for January.  Anna is determined to keep us all honest with sharing every month.  Here's to new years resolutions. 

(I need to get ME some of those:))

The Jensen family update for Enero.....

I'll just tell a little diddy about each of us.

Ryan traveled to Oklahoma City for a few days (just enough time to enjoy eating great meals at restaurants and sleeping through the night and exercising whenever he wants but not too long) and even got to run by the OK City Memorial there that is such a neat place to visit.  I always appreciate the "wholeness" of our family with Ryan being here.  It makes such a difference when he is here versus not here helping with life and someone to laugh/talk to every night. He is playing in our church basketball league. I don't know if any of you already knew but our cousin Becca works with Ryan now.  

Me, nothing terrible unusual, just normal life.  I made a year of dates calendar for Ryan for Christmas and it helps us  go on dates that we wouldn't normally (most cheap or free) and hopefully we'll get to know SLC better at the same time.  We ice-skated last night and although it took us a few rounds on the ice, it was like riding a bike and even got back into doing some turns and skating backwards in the middle of the arena.  So fun!  I am Aub's teacher in Primary and just got called to be the asst camp director--both awesome callings. this is my first time in Primary so it's a whole new view.  My neighbor and I take turns making dinner for each others families one day a week and it is fantastic! 

Aubrie, went to her first roller skating party (for some reason it felt like a big deal to me and I wanted to go watch through the window the whole time--which I might have done had I not had the other 4 kids with me:)).  She is a unique young lady.  She makes me want to punch a hole in the wall in frustration once minute and drop my jaw to the floor the next in amazement.  Saturday morning she said "I got breakfast." I had to run to a meeting and Ryan was still sleeping.  I came home just as she was finishing up the last of the dishes and had fed all the kids french toast, made them get dressed and make their beds.  I was absolutely amazed.   She is struggling a little bit (or alot) with paying attention in school because all she wants to do it read and write stories.  She fights Ryan and I on most anything that we really want her to do (piano, jobs, etc).  She just finished a real novel--her first one to actually be completed. We had contacted a guy from my freshman ward (Adam Sidwell) who is a children's author and just started a publishing company and had asked him for advice with Aubrie.  I sent a few pages of her story to him and he asked her to finish the story and send it to his editor and kind of see where things go. So, that is what she has wanted to do in her spare time and she just finished it (The Mystery of the Destroyer). 

Robbie's life has been a lot of basketball the last 3 months.  He's learned SO much from the league he is in.  He likes to play with friends pretty much every day which sometimes makes me sad but usually we are happy that he has all these good boys around us to play football/basketball outside.  The other day we were walking through temple square heading to our van and he reached over and took my hand and held it all the way to the car and it made me feel like a million bucks. :)

Hallie--has decided lately that she likes her hair all curled and cute (which is so fun because Aubrie runs when I even mention curling devices). She had an eye exam at school and didn't pass (with her glasses on) so we are headed back into to see what needs to change.  Her brave moment of the last few weeks is that she can get her guinea pig out of his cage without Aubrie's help.  Hallie takes life at a consistent pace.  She doesn't ever feel stressed or rushed.  It makes her a pretty content person and it also makes her late a lot. ;)

Blake is in a co-op preschool here in our neighborhood and for awhile was the only boy.  He is starting to be more interested in learning letters etc.  We actually played together this morning for most of the morning which is kind of rare. All activities lead to pretend ramps, explosions, countdowns, and trying to thrown something into something else.  He is super active.   When I was putting him down for a nap i said "Thanks for eating lunch with me (he is not our best sit down and eat boy)." and he says "its not a problem mom."

Clara got 3 new teeth and sick multiple times in the last 3 weeks.  So she has been attached to my hip.  Someone gave me an Amber teething necklace for Clara to wear and it actually seems like it works.  I wrap it around her ankle when she sleeps too and she started sleeping really well at night again.  Who knows.  She is way too close to scooting/walking. Its hard to believe that she will be one so soon.  She knows how to say hi and wave really well now and she does it to strangers at the store, to the kids when we drop them off and on demand whenever the kids or Ryan and I ask her to. Its pretty cute that she knows "when" to say the word too.   She hasn't passed out with her tantrums for a few months--hopefully she is past that now.  She is one cute little clarabella. 

Some exciting news---Liz just got engaged to Jimmy this weekend (she knew him from before her mission) and they are getting married in Houston on May 2nd--so we are headed to Texas in a few months. 

Today Aubrie and I were by ourselves after I picked her up from a play date and we ran into the grocery store together. She asked me to buy some grapes and I told her absolutely not at 3.99 a pound. So she asked what that meant and then I explained good prices for grapes or apples or bananas etc. We started talking about buying produce and prices. :-)and Aubrie says "I need to start Going to the grocery store more with you so you can you start teaching me more about this stuff. I have so much to learn before I leave our house in eight years." 

She is so far beyond where I was at her age. Wow. 

Ok so someday they might not like me posting their yearly physical updates. But maybe one last time. 

RIP Oreo

After weeks/months of deliberating Ryan and I decided to give the girls their first pets--guinea pigs for Christmas. They had been asking for pets for years. Neither of us is a big fan of having pets inside so this was a big decision. We got two brothers that were just a few months old.  And one week later one of them died in Hallie's arms which was a little traumatic. Many many tears were shed for quite a few days actually.  We had a lot of talks about "why" it "had" to happen and burying him was a little hard. 

About a week later we did end up getting another pigigie that she has since named Panda since cavies are such social creatures. 

And for the record--its only been a month but Hallie and Aubrie have been ON IT with taking care of them.  I've been super impressed. 

A new day

Yesterday morning Hallie came into my room while I was getting ready and said "I don't want to be friends with Carley anymore (its her current best friend)".  normally I would've just brushed it off as 6 year old stuff--but I just happened to ask her why.  She got this guilty look on her face and said "well, I don't want to tell you because it involves me to and you'll get mad".  Now she had my full attention. :)  

I asked her to tell me what happened.  She said that her and Carley had snuck into Aubrie's drawer and taken some of her gum after Aubrie told her not to.  And it wasn't the first time they had done it. And she was feeling really bad about it.  She said "I don't like feeling this way".  So I started explaining a little about repentance and how that is why the things that Jesus did for us are so cool is because we don't have to keep feeling bad forever--there is a way to stop feeling bad.    I said, telling me and telling Aubrie is a start.  You've already done that.  Tonight in your prayers talk to Heavenly Father about it too.  And you could take some of your coins and I'll take you to the store and we can buy some more gum that you could give to Aubrie.  Trying to make it better if its possible is another part of repentance.  Anyway, we talked for awhile and I thought we were getting somewhere.  Then she started to walk out of the room and came back just crying so hard and buried her head in my lap saying "I HATE that I did that.  I wish I would never have done it."  It was so tender of her. She has the sweetest little soul.   We talked again about how feeling bad for something is part of trying to repent and make it right.  And that when we really repent and tell Heavenly Father we are sorry and the person sorry and try to make it right and promise to try our hardest to not do it again--that it can be like we never did it.  That we don't have to feel bad AT ALL anymore--its forgotten to Heavenly Father and we are forgiven.  And that it is all possible because of Jesus. Hallie looked up at me and said "I don't think I've ever repented before.  This is my first time."  So so so cute.  I told her maybe the Holy Ghost is helping her to feel those things since she is so much closer to getting baptized. 

Clara's baby blessing

Clara was blessed while we were in Florida in the "living room" of the mansion during the Haynie reunion since we were all going to be together then.  She was about 2 months old.  I finally found my notes I jotted down during the blessing.

Ryan, my dad, and uncles Jeff, Carl, Chad, Curtis and Wesley participated in blessing her.


She was given a name...Clara Louise Jensen

"I am honored and humbled to give you a blessing from your Father in Heaven.  You have been saved for the last days and been sent to live with a special immediate and extended family who have a great love for you. Know of the love from all of your family.  Know of the great love from your Heavenly Father.  You will come to a familiar knowledge and closeness that you had with Father in Heaven and it will become a comfort and guide to you.  "

"Bless you will a sensitivity to the Holy Ghost.  I bless you with a desire for baptism and to receive the Holy Ghost and all of the other necessary ordinances of the Gospel. As your love grows for your Heavenly Father it will guide your decisions. Bless you with a deep love for your family and for all of God's children.  Bless you with love and respect for your mother and for her example and wisdom. Seek it out and be obedient. Do the will of Father in Heaven.  Bless you to be healthy and strong throughout your life.  You will help to build the kingdom of God."

The Oatmeal Story

The Oatmeal Story 

(Sunday, December 28, 2014)

This is a story of discipline, stubbornness, suffering, and family turmoil.  It is a story of pain, the sadness of missing out, and the reality of facing consequences.  In the end, however, it became a mini-lesson of justice vs. mercy.  A story of forgiveness, sacrifice, and family love.  I hope Aubrie never forgets it and, if nothing else, I hope she always remembers this when she eats her oatmeal.  :)

Aubrie hates oatmeal.  Or at least she thinks she does.  She actually loved it during all of her early years but then around the time she was 7 or 8, she one day decided she hated it.  And when Aubrie decides she doesn't like something, she will got to great lengths to avoid it.  Unfortunately, her disdain for oatmeal often has clashed with a family rule we have in place: if you don't eat what's in front of you for any given meal, then you don't get anything else to eat until the next meal and you must eat that which you didn't finish before eating whatever is on the menu for that particular meal.   This rule has generated some pretty heated conflicts in our home from time to time (One Saturday morning a few years ago, while living in New Hampshire, we had oatmeal for breakfast before heading up north to spend the day with Dave & Karla's family on the slopes to ski.  Aubrie refused to eat her oatmeal and we ended up taking the oatmeal all the way up to Wolfeboro, NH (90 minutes away).  After enjoying a fun morning of skiing, it was time for lunch and everyone started to eat sandwiches and chips.  We pulled out the cup of oatmeal (now very cold and stale) and Aubrie had to eat it before she could eat what we were having for lunch.  It was pretty nasty but a rule is a rule).

Now, fast forward to this past Sunday.  Oatmeal was on the menu for breakfast (again) and Aubrie decided to put her foot down like she never had before.  Arguing ensued and, after the typical back and forth reminding her of the rule, she absolutely refused to eat it.  So, we cleaned up after breakfast and left the large cup of oatmeal out on our counter island as a reminder to Aubrie everytime she walked past it.  The oatmeal sat there all morning.  The kids had a quick lunch before we all walked to church at 11:00 AM and Aubrie refused again to eat the oatmeal and, thus, didn't get to eat anything at all for lunch.  By the time we came home from church, we figured that Aubrie's stomach would surely scream at her to give in and eat the oatmeal so that she could get some food.  Nope. She stuck to her guns all afternoon!  (as a quick point of reference, Aubrie has never fasted more than one meal on any Fast Sunday prior)  Aubrie played with the kids and the afternoon went on fairly normal, with not much said about the oatmeal. At some point, someone had dumped the oatmeal out of the cup onto a paper towel on the counter and the oatmeal mostly held its form, sitting there like a disgusting blob that had now taken on a pretty nasty appearance.  The oatmeal just sat there, getting more gross by the hour.  Around 5:00 PM, I started to make German Pancakes (i.e. Hootenannies), one of our family's favorite breakfast-for-dinner meals. When Aubrie realized what I was making, she started to talk with Amber to try and get out of eating the oatmeal.  Amber stood her ground and I heard Aubrie (from all the way in the basement) yell through her tears that "I will never eat that oatmeal EVER for the rest of my life!!" followed by a stomp to her bedroom and a loud slam of the door.

The rest of us sat up for dinner around 5:30 PM and started to eat without Aubrie, with the oatmeal staring us all in the face.  As we started to enjoy the hootenannies, both Amber and I started to feel really sad for Aubrie. She hadn't eaten anything all day and was down in her room hating life.  Yet, we couldn't fold on the rule as it would set the wrong precedent for the other kids (we have a real fear of our kids growing up to be picky eaters).  Amber then scooped up the oatmeal into a cup and said, "Do you guys remember the story of the kid who stole another classmate's lunch because he was desperately hungry because his family was poor and had no food at home?  Do you remember what happened when the teacher found out that he had stolen the lunch?  Do you remember what the boy did who's lunch had been stolen once he realized how hungry the other boy was and that was why he had stolen his lunch? A mistake had been made and the consequence (whipping) had to occur, as per the rules of the class.  The boy who's lunch had been stolen asked his teacher if he could take the whipping in place of the hungry boy."  Suddenly, I realized where she was going with this.  She continued, "What if we all help Aubrie by taking a bite of this oatmeal on her behalf to help her out so that she can join us for dinner?"  After a minute to think about it, Robbie was the first to volunteer and took a huge bite of that now (nearly) 12-hour old oatmeal.  He nearly gagged.  I took a bite, winced once, and swallowed the whole thing as fast as I could.  Hallie took a bite and, in her Hallie-like way (always wanting to be positive) said, "Hmmmm!  That's goo...d!"  Then, after the taste started to really set in, her honesty came through: "Oh, gross!"  Amber took a big bite and then Blake, after watching everyone suffer through each bite proclaimed, "No way I'm doing that for Aubrie!" (as only a 3-year old could, he probably thought we were nuts but even he eventually gave in and took a small bite).

Robbie then ran downstairs to tell Aubrie what everyone had done and that we all did it because we loved her and we wanted her to be with us.  The penalty for breaking the family rule had been paid and Aubrie's path to Hootenannie Heaven had been paved.  She was so happy and went around giving everyone a hug and, despite the short-lived misery we put our respective palates through, each of us felt good about what we had done to help out Aubrie.  It was pretty touching and a good reminder as to how the Savior paid the price for all of us and, as only He could have done, extended mercy to us all while meeting the demands of justice on our behalf.  We talked briefly with the kids about how this experience was similar to what the Savior did for us.

Alma 42:15:  "And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also." 

Perhaps the coolest part of this whole story was what Aubrie wrote in her journal and then later shared with both Amber and I afterwards...

Jay Robert Jensen

Happy (belated) Birthday to the man, the myth, the legend...
JAY ROBERT JENSEN!!

Some great shots of Jay just for keeps:

Such an awesome guy that we wish we had more time with.  So glad he is our brother and uncle!