Aunt Lauri and her boyfriend Chad came down here after Christmas and it was fun to hang out with them. We spent one day in Vegas with them and rode the New York New York roller coaster and that was a BLAST!! They stayed at our house for a couple of days and so we had to do a Christmas Tree burning while they were here and the kids just LOVED the huge bonfire! My sister loves to go hiking and anything outside, so our friend was nice enough to let us borrow their Razor and man was that a lot of fun! We took the rhino and the razor and went for a little ride and the weather was just beautiful! We had the loader at our house from doing our backyard and she really wanted to drive it, so Josh showed her how and she thought it was the coolest thing! It was so nice to see my big sister and we really enjoyed getting to know Chad! We stayed up way too late every night playing games or watching movies, but it was worth it!
Ty was playing against his friend, Mason
Ty running with the football...it was an awesome play
Ty was so excited to play football. Josh wasn't too excited about it being flag football, but I had to remind him they are only in kindergarten and 1st grade. Ty had a lot of fun playing and it seemed like the season just flew by. It was fun to watch him play and it really wasn't that cold. By the end of the season, he was really getting the idea behind it and really improved a lot.
Tag was suppose to be singing at our Ward Christmas Party, but he seems a bit distracted
Christmas Eve PJ's all the kids LOVED their new PJ's
Christmas Morning...the madness begins
Jensen family football game
The cheering squad
Christmas this year was a bit crazy. We moved into our house on December 2nd, so it was hard for me to get into the Christmas spirit. Normally I have all my shopping done by this time, but I didn't want to get anything until after the move...we didn't need anything else to move! I haven't moved since we bought our last house, 7 years ago and Josh and I had only been married 5 months. Needless to say, we didn't have a lot of stuff at that time. 3 kids later and man do you accumulate a lot. Our new house is twice the size of our last one and I really don't know how we fit all that stuff into that tiny house. We did have a big garage outside and I know that is where a lot of things were kept, but still we had a ton of stuff. The first two weeks of December I was busy unpacking and putting everything away and still being a mom too. I stayed up way too late and was exhausted everyday. I finally went shopping on the 15th and felt relieved when I was done. We had a friend that was so kind and brought us a Christmas tree because when would we have time to go cut one down. The kids were dying to decorate for Christmas, so with the tree up and a couple of little decorations, our house was a little festive, but not like it usually is. I felt bad not putting up lights on the house, but knew this year would just be an exception to the norm. With work parties, church parties, head lice, colds, and the move, it was more hectic this year than usual. However, Christmas Eve came and we had a great time. We were happy when Uncle Seth showed up and was able to spend that night and Christmas morning. We haven't seen Uncle Seth since February, so the kids were so excited to see him and he was surprised at how big Tenley had gotten. We watched a touching video called "The Madera Miracle", read a book called "Jingle Bells" that Ty's teacher had given him, and then got to open their Christmas Eve present. Ty now knows that it is PJ's, but he was still excited. Ty got Mario, Tag got Batman, and Tenley got Dora! We then told the kids it was time for bed and that Santa Claus wouldn't come until they were asleep. Christmas morning came way to early, but it was fun to hear the boys out there looking at what Santa had brought for them. Josh and I finally got out of bed to make sure they weren't opening all their presents and they were excited to show us their new bikes and all the presents that were left under the tree. Our tree was bare because Tenley would open everything, so they were so excited to see all those presents under the tree. They had ravaged through their stockings and were shoving their gumballs in their mouth just as fast as they could. They begged Josh and I to wake up Tenley, but I told them no way. We made our traditional blueberry muffins and by 7am, Tenley had woken up. We let the kids find all the presents that belonged to them and put them in a pile and then we go youngest to oldest on opening presents. One of my favorite things about being a parent is seeing the excitement in their eyes when they open their presents and it is just what they want. Ty wanted a BeyBlade set, Tag the Avengers set, and Tenley a puppy and they each got those things and a few other little things. They each also got a movie to add to our collection. Josh was given a TV for our bedroom and he was proud of me for getting him something I wanted too! He told me I was learning because that is what he did when we were dating and newly married. Josh got me a little massage kit and a NEW HOUSE!!! The house was all I wanted! Each of the kids loved their new bikes and were riding them throughout the day. It was a very successful Christmas and I really did feel like we focused more on the true meaning of Christmas. We talked a lot about why we celebrate Christmas and that while the presents and treats are fun, the most important thing is our Savior, Jesus Christ. The boys are really understanding this and as a mother, nothing could make me happier. Later on that afternoon, Josh's family came over and we had dinner, played with our new toys, played games, and had a great family football game in the backyard. Josh has already done so much work on the backyard and all of our neighbors have told us how good it is looking. We cleared all the weeds and trash and started building a fence. There are those horrible thumbtack stickers and I HATE them and yes I mean HATE them! I was so happy when he cleared all the weeds away and even out the backyard as much as he could. It has already been a lot of work, but looks so much better and it is still just a patch of dirt! It made a great football field! When were all exhausted and looked at the clock and it was only 5:30pm! We cleaned up and everyone left and we crashed and were lazy the rest of the evening! It truly was a wonderful Christmas and we were so excited to be here in our new house!
This is my final post for 2012 and I just wanted to leave a few thoughts about this year. I cannot believe how fast the year has flown by! I have a son in kindergarten, another son in pre-school, and an energetic, fiesty little girl! We have had a wonderful year and have really felt so blessed this year! We have been so lucky to have a GREAT job throughout this terrible time in our country, we have been healthy and kept safe from the craziness of this world, our testimonies are stronger, and we visited Montana and the Caribbean for the first time and made some wonderful memories. We are so grateful that our extended family has also been blessed this year. My parents are serving a mission in Hungary and this has blessed our family so much. It has been so wonderful to hear of their experiences and really be grateful for living in The United States of America and having the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives. Josh's parents are healthy and doing great and it is a blessing to have them so close that our children get to see them often! I look back at this year and we been extremely blessed and I pray that we will always show our gratitude and give back as much as we can! I know without Jesus Christ and his teachings in my life, that I would be in a very different place in my life. I have a wonderful husband and am so thankful for his hard work and the support he gives to me as a mother! My husband and the gospel keep me grounded and make me remember what is really important in life! Everyday I pray that my children will gain their own personal testimonies of the Savior...nothing could bring me greater joy than to know my children walk in truth and righteousness.
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