Reflections

I have been overwhelmed with a feeling of appreciation for this beautiful family of mine. I feel the need to express to each of them how much I love them, adore them, and need them in my life.

Porter keeps me on my toes. He makes me grind my teeth several times a day, don't get me wrong. But he has such an easy way of making me smile- he has me wrapped around his little finger for certain. He is definitely the cherry on top, the icing on the cake, the exclamation point on the end of the sentence that is the Jensen family.

Maisyn holds a tender spot in my heart. She always has. Having her when we did, was what saved me during a dark time of life. I remember her snuggling up to me just to make sure I was ok. It's hard to watch my kids grow up so fast, but Maisyn and I seem to have a connection that keeps us close - in spite of the "growing pains"!

Sydney was a gift from God. Literally. All of our children are but she was handed to us wrapped up all pretty with a bow. We thought we were done with 2, at least for a long time. But Heavenly Father helped us see otherwise. She has such a sweet, caring personality- always has. It's a joy to have her around. And it doesn't hurt that she is quite the detective when I loose things!

Riley is growing up to be such a beautiful young lady. I remember taking her shopping as a toddler and having to stop often so she could arrange the cans and boxes on the shelf just so. She has been blessed with the gift of organization. It's easy for me because we have so many of the same interests. We could watch home shows together for hours. But she has strength beyond what I used to know. She has determination and drive and I love that in her. And to see her smile at her little brother just warms my heart.

Payton, our #1. What a girl to start this all. She is strong. She is beautiful. She is driven. She is teenager! But wonderful all wrapped up together. I'm often impressed watching her. She is fiercely independent and always has been. I know it will serve her well in her future. Some days I wish I could just hold her and keep her mine- but what a blessing to see the success that is hers.

Last, but definitely not least, Larry. The love of my life. My world. He was my miracle. He never fails to remind me how much he loves me - in what he says, in what he does. He works tirelessly for me and our children (and lots of other people, too.) I often question how I deserved someone like him. I hope he feels just a fraction of the love he gives to me. He is my best friend. The one person I want to spend time with all the time. He makes me laugh when I don't want to. He makes me smile when I don't have a smile left. I will always feel indebted to my Heavenly Father for this sweet man in my life.

So that's my family. My family. It feels good to say it. I know all of us feel strongly about our own, but I just had to share it today. I am very blessed. I acknowledge this every day. I hope I show it to each of them. I hope I can complain a little less about my burdens today. I hope I can smile and laugh a little more, leave worry behind and make sure they feel it back. I hope each of us can hug our kids more often, tell our husbands or wives how amazing they are. Remember how precious life is and that, together, it's that much better.

October 11, 2009

Happy Birthday, Maisyn! The big "9"! The past 9 years have gone by so fast, it's hard to believe birthday time is here again. Each day this week, Maisyn has told me how many days she has been 9 years old. Today is day 5, 6 if you count the actual birthday.

She celebrated this year with a birthday party on Friday, 2 days early. There was a day off of school and all the big sisters were there to help out. She invited 22 little friends, and luckily 17 were able to make it. There were Frankenstein masks to make, a neighborhood scavenger hunt to check off, hot dogs to be eaten, gifts to open, cake and ice cream to devour and much fun to be had by all. Maisyn did most of the planning on her own- with a little advice here and there from the family.

*Sidenote - morning of the party, no cake yet, no supplies... I head to Walmart early to get everything we needed... lo and behold! NO CAKES in the case... the one year we don't bake one ourselves... no time... what to do?!... then out rolls the day-old baked goods headed for the clearance rack and what should I discover?... 4 cakes on said rack... one just happens to be a chocolate cake, Halloween theme... PERFECT!... but it doesn't end there... the kind baker lady offered to write "Happy Birthday Maisyn" on it for me... yes, all was good on party day!

So kids happy. Party ends. Maisyn gets to head to the high school football game with her big sister that night. What could be cooler than that!?

Then to the actual birth day- Sunday, October 11. Woke up to eggs and toast (requested breakfast, of course) and got to open her first gift- a beautiful new Sunday dress. Then to church and home for a dinner of bologna floats (recipe upon request) with Grandma and Grandpa and more gifts. She loved them all - Polly houses, cash, clothes, alarm clock/radio/cd player! Lots of thank you's and hugs ensued. And, this time, there was homemade brownies and ice cream for dessert. Yummy!

One more year down, so many more to go. I love it. I love to see my kids celebrate their special day. I love to tell them the stories of their birth day. I love to see them learn the fine skills of party planning and enjoy every minute of it. It was a good year- and I look forward to #10!

Love you, Maisyn! Happy birthday!

Track meet #2, Riley

Not to toot my own horn, but my daughter can run. She is just plain good at it. So we were glad when she decided to go out for track this year. Now, we aren't the most excited trackster parents when it comes to the 5 hour long meets, but we love to see our kids participate. Riley has discovered hurdles this year. She is doing well and enjoying it. This meet she also ran the 4x1 relay, the 4x2 relay, and the 200m. My girls sometimes think of all sports as just pre-basketball conditioning... it's fun to see Riley really take to this.

Keep up the great work, Riley!

Football... More than just a game!

Most of you heard the story already, but I figured it deserved a spot on the blog. It's just so sweet to be 16! Our first daughter, our first homecoming! Dion seems to like the big effect and pulled it off this time, too. He started off with asking my permission, then built the intrigue by giving us the day and no other info. Payton was getting anxious but remained calm as usual. Luckily we have an in with Dion (it pays to be good friends with his parents!) So we were told to come to their home game last week. We brought the whole family (minus Mr. P thank goodness). We hadn't told Payton anything, so she was still in the dark. Then in between the 3rd and 4th quarters, the cheerleaders took a break and a bunch of kids lined up instead. The video shows it all- unfortunately I didn't catch Payton's face from our seats, but I hear she was surprised!

When the asking was over, she got a thumbs up from #59 after waving the "yes" sign.

Happy Payton + Happy Parents = Homecoming success! (now only if the dress were that easy!)

Braces, continued

Week 7
Amazing, the change already. Riley is doing an excellent job taking care of our newest investment. And that is exactly what we call the braces around here. I don't need 2 or 3 more trips to Disneyland when I can have a happy daughter with straight teeth. And it is paying off already. The original teal and orange are gone and she has opted for the spooky purple and black combo. Beautiful and festive! Keep it up, Riley!

Riley gets braces.

August 26, 2009: Riley gets her braces on.
This is extra exciting since we've been putting it off for so very long. Riley was very patient as I dragged her all around the greater Puget Sound area trying to find the orthodontist that best fit her, me, our schedule, and our budget! So Dr. Fu of Bonney Lake Orthodontics won out. A great office, wonderful staff and a close office! One week prior, Riley had an appointment to get pictures and for the spacers to go in. I sat with her and I can vouch for her bravery- it looked so painful! But she was a trooper! That first week was full of Advil, Tylenol, and lots of soft foods. Then the day came. She had prepared herself for a miserable experience again but was pleasantly surprised at how painless it really was. I got a lot of reading in while she sat in the chair with her mouth open. She chose teal and orange bands to start out with. So braces are on and I am planning on updating every couple of weeks to chart the progress. I'm sure 22 months will just fly by!

Week 3




Week 5

Keep smiling, Riley!

The last month in review...

I won't apologize for my lack of recent blogging. We've been busy. Enough said. But thought I'd do a generic update and cover some of the major moments of the past 4 weeks.

So here we go...

We decided long ago (got the idea from some wonderful friends- the Winn's) that we would have the kids go on their "first date" with a parent. Larry takes the girls and I can someday take the boy. The whole purpose of this event is to teach our children what is expected of them and what they should expect from their date. We want our daughters to know that a boy should open the door for them, not eat until they both have their food, supply good conversation, be polite, etc. So Larry asked Payton out to lunch on Saturday. They went to Mr. Jalepeno together. Unfortunately, Larry has been under the weather and they had to cut the date short. But they'll finish it another time. Oh ya, the stipulation with dating (other than group dates only) is they can't go on a regular date until the Daddy/Daughter date has occurred. Now we just have to be prepared for the phone to start ringing....

Porter had to get into the picture, too.

The official Daddy/Daughter Date.

Last week I was able to purchase large amounts of food through our ward at great prices. So I took the plunge and learned to can. I was definitely a first-timer so I greatly appreciate my mother-in-law, ReNae, spending her Thursday here teaching me the ropes. We were able to can 12 bottles of peaches and 9 bottles of plum jelly (Thanks Gina and Tony, for the delicious plums!). We couldn't have done it all without Owen there, too. Porter got to play all afternoon with Grandpa and I think they both loved it! The next day, I canned all alone- 22 bottles of homemade salsa! Yum! I had bought so many onion and peppers, that I was able to share them with others- thanks for taking some ladies! But I decided on Tuesday to attempt to can some peppers and the tomatoes from our garden. Now I have a dozen of those , too. I am excited to eat the fruits of our labors all winter long!

We have had an unnaturally warm September. We decided to scrap all the house projects on the 12th and go boating. Payton has more pics on her camera so I'll have to add those later. But Riley and Sydney both skied all over the place! This was their summer to learn! Porter and I got to tube - he really enjoyed it and we even got several Ole's! Payton tubed with her sisters, as well. We had a great day in the sunshine- no better way to say good-bye to summer than a day on the lake with the family!

Porter has found a new play place. Since Larry has had his tools set up and the cars parked outside on the driveway, the garage has become Porter's new building site. He has confiscated all of Larry's wood scraps and creates towers and buildings, ramps and trails all over the place. I love it- he's such a boy (even with the pink Barbie car in hand)!

The first day of school came so quickly. Each of the girls were excited to go back and see all their friends again. This year was the latest we ever started, though. The Tuesday after Labor Day, September 8th, was their first day back.

Payton is a Junior.

Riley is an 8th grader.

Sydney started 7th grade.

Our Maisyn is a big 3rd grader this year!

Porter had his first olive experience. It's amazing to me that kids just know that they fit on the ends of their fingers!



On August 28, our Relief Society held it's 3rd annual Mother/Daughter campout. So we set our tent up in the Mitchell's yard and enjoyed an evening around the campfire. Some of the girls lead us in some fun camp songs. There were s'mores for all. It just happened to be the rainiest night of the entire summer, but we survived. Larry was waiting to hear the garage open as he listened to the rain hit the roof. But we persevered. We got very wet, slept very little, but we stuck it out. There was a yummy little breakfast provided and we headed home to dry out. Can't wait for next year!

So that is our month in review. So much has happened, as usual, and not everything makes it to blog status. But it's been fun to look over even these few pictures and smile. Thanks for sharing the memories with us!

Our mini-getaway

We needed to get away, even for just one night. So Larry picked the peninsula. Yes, Forks is on the way, but we went to see parts of Washington that we have never been to before. We left Friday morning and were full of excitement and enthusiasm to be on our way. The car gets a little crowded with 7 people now, but for the most part it was an enjoyable drive. The scenery is beautiful! We first stopped at Hurricane Ridge. We went on a short hike that made you feel like you are standing on top of the world.

We drove right along the water, through small towns most of the way. There were a lot of fishermen out that weekend, too. There were cool birds to see. And we saw several deer. At Hurricane Ridge, a doe and her fawn allowed the kids to get right next to them. On our way out, another doe walked straight at our car. It's neat to see wild animals so close (Riley shut the van door pretty quick when it looked like the deer would climb right in with us, though!)

We stopped by Crescent Lake. What a beautiful lake! We would like to stay there next summer. Even in the drizzle, we could tell it was a peaceful place.

We had booked a place to stay that night - after quite an online search! - in Beaver, WA. I had never heard of it either. It was the Hungry Bear Cafe and motel. Very cute and clean. Our family no longer fits in one hotel room. They gave us a great deal on two rooms; one had a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and living room, the other had a double bed and bathroom. To our pleasant surprise, they were adjoining. So we just opened up the door and took over the whole place. We cooked some delicious potato soup and french bread and watched Psych. What better way to finish a fun, family day.

The next morning we woke up, had a yummy breakfast and packed up. I'm glad we packed light. We went to the rain forest. Saw a giant tree.

Drove through Forks of Twilight fame. (It took us about 5 minutes to drive from one end to the other including a stop for gas - and, no, there were no vampires or werewolves spotted. Unless you count the posters in every business window!) We headed for the beach and the kids jumped right in. Everyone enjoyed the next couple of hours hanging out on the rocky shore, splashing in the waves. Well, Larry and I did not get wet- but the kids did! We wanted to get back to the car before our spot got overcome by the tide, so we decided to go. I love the sounds of the ocean. There is something definitely therapeutic about hearing it and watching it. Just amazing.

We stopped in Aberdeen for a little dinner at the local Denny's. Promptly decided we will never visit a Denny's in the future. And were on our way back home. A quick trip, indeed. But a much needed one at that. Who knows where we'll go next time. Just as long as we go together, smashed in a tiny van.