Macie is 4.

Four? Is my baby girl really 4? If you have ever had a conversation with her, you would agree that she acts much like a 6 year old...at least! She is quite the little girl! We love her so much! It just seems so strange that four years ago we brought our little girl into this world. I remember her cheeks, and how round they were. She was definately not the 5 pound baby the doctors prepared me for! Funny though, she had lots of "extra" skin as a newborn. I didn't think she'd ever grow into it. Little did I know, three weeks later she'd be 12 pounds and quite the chunk. And she didn't stop. On her 1st birthday she weighed in at 34 pounds! Now, 3 years later, she has only gained 6 pounds!

Macie is such a wonderful little girl. She has so much spunk, so much sweetness, and so much humor. She's worried that when she's in Kindergarten, her class "won't get me, like understand me." She likes princesses and wants to be a skater girl, she's her own person! She's a very mature 4 year old, but we wouldn't have it any other way!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MACIE ALIDA! Here's to another great year! I love you, baby girl. I always will.

{Per Macie's request, she gets a mother-daughter date to Disneyland today! How's that for a birthday? Gotta love living in California and annual passes! Hey, she wants an Alice in Wonderland birthday, so we HAVE to ride the Tea Cups, it just makes sense! ;-)}

Back To School Night

{August 26th}

I was so excited to go to Back To School Night. It was our first one. I felt like such a grown up! It was going to be perfect, Noah went with us, and the other two stayed home with Nana. We ate dinner, got ready and were there by 6:25. It didn't start until 6:30, so we were good. We got up to the door, and we totally missed it. Apparently, when you miss school, you miss out on information. Since Noah missed school the previous day to go to LA, we missed the memo of the Kindergarten Back To School Night starting at 5:30. Oh well. We did get to talk to the teacher afterwards, and get a little "late parents exclusive tour."

I guess I'm not as grown up as I thought! But, I'm sure I'll make up for it in the future. I'm afraid I have way too many Back To School Nights left...

grandparents day.

On August 3, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed the proclamation to make the first Sunday following Labor Day, National Grandparents Day. Making it a day to "...honor grandparents, to give grandparents an opportunity to show love for their children's children, and to help children become more aware of strength, information, and guidance older people can offer."

We are very grateful for our grandparents. All of them: Grandma Jensen, Grandpa Jensen, Myrt {aka Grandma Ludlow}, Grandpa Ludlow, Grandma Helen, Grandpa Tommy, Grandma Frankman, Grandpa Frankman, Momo, Pa, Nana and Papa. Each one of the grandparents in our lives has made a difference in the Christensen family. WE LOVE OUR GRANDPARENTS!

HAPPY GRANDPARENTS DAY!





{older people really can offer a lot of strength, information, and guidance...thanks! ;-)}

{I thought this would be a safer way to get a picture on here that you all actually like!}

the surprise

{August 25th}

We left our house early to get down to the airport in LA. The kids were so excited, but still didn't know who the surprise visitor was. They has their ideas, but they didn't know for sure. I had a huge piece of posterboard to make a "welcome" sign, but in the car the huge paper seemed too hard to manuveur, so I decided to cut it {yes...I keep scissors in my car. My mom always did, so I do too! They come in handy sometimes!} into six smaller pieces and write NANA and let the kids draw on the others. Good thing they can't read yet, or it would have ruined the surprise! We got to the airport and stood outside the doors where the passengers come out of and waited, holding the signs. When they saw Nana coming up the walkway both screamed, "NANA!" And ran to greet her with a big hug. We were all so happy to see her. It was a much needed break for her, I'm sure. Things have been different for her, and for everybody, but for her mostly. She needed to get away.

We started our visit with a little lunch and a trip to the Temple. The visitors center just barely reopened after a 3 year remodel, and it was pretty great. Very interactive and fun. The weather forecast for LA was 105 that day, we didn't want to be outside much. We did a little sightseeing, and then sat in traffic for a while {gotta love LA} and headed home.

We had many adventures planned.

bilingual

Jacob is our first Californian baby. Noah and Macie were both born in Idaho. We did move to Cali when Macie was 2 weeks old, but she got her start in Idaho!

The other day I was holding Jacob and spinning around. When we were done he yelled, "Mas!" It caught me a little off guard, so I said, "More?" And he shook his head, that was just what he wanted. And this continued. Every time he wanted more of something, he said, "Mas?"

I'm not very good with Spanish, but isn't that 'more' in Spanish?

He's a true Californian.

drug free.

Noah had an appointment with his neurologist in LA yesterday. We had scheduled Carol's flight home on the same day since we'd already be down there. We were very sad to send Nana off at the airport. We had the best time with her, really an adventure everyday. But, we got pretty good news afterwards at the doctor. NOAH IS OFF HIS MEDICINE! And we couldn't be happier. He was given an EEG just to be safe and to see if there were any gray areas or abnormalities in his brain activity. And there wasn't anything, everything was crystal clear. He hasn't had any seizures since July 2008!

I am a bit nervous to be completely off his medicine, however. Since he's in school now, I can't be with him 24 hours a day, which makes me a little nervous, but we're pretty confident that he will be okay! It was quite the momentous day for us. If you remember this post and this post you know the journey he has been on through these past few years. He has been on medicine since he was 15 months old.

We couldn't be more excited for him! Here's hoping the future is seizure free!

37 years.

On September 6, 1973 Denis Jensen married Kristine Ludlow in the Provo Temple and were sealed for time and all eternity. Four children {and four teenagers...}, five grandchildren, and many trips to Disneyland later, they still love each other.

Happy 37th Anniversary, Mom & Dad!

The big 33!

Happy Birthday, Adam! Today he is 33. There are many reasons why I love him. But, in honor of the 33nd day of his birth, here's 33 reasons why:

1. He's pretty cute.

2. He is a very good Daddy.

3. He loves the Lord.

4. He loves me.

5. He has such a strong testimony and understanding of the Gospel.

6. He has those cute dimples.

7. When it comes to church books, he's got a photographic memory. If you tell him a topic, any topic, he will tell you a book and a page number where it is mentioned.

8. He's pretty ticklish.

9. He has incredibly thick hair.

10. And the best brown eyes.

11. Can't forget about those killer dance moves.

12. His smile and laugh are contagious.

13. When he tells jokes he carries on his father's legacy, by unintentionally saying, "And they/he/she laughed."

14. He always makes me laugh.

15. He inspires me to become better.

16. He exemplifies dedication {ie. teaching early morning Seminary, biking or walking to work}

17. That silly sneeze.

18. He's a cuddlebug and loves cuddling with the kids.

19. He reads to the kids every night

20. No matter how much he doesn't want to wake up and how tired or late he is, he will always roll out of bed and say his morning prayers.

21. He reads his scriptures everyday.

22. He pretends that I'm a good cook.

23. His head has so much random knowledge about music.

24. The mustache he gets when trying to sneak the Nutella.

25. He makes the BEST crepes.

26. He wants to have more kids even after the frustration of the terrible twos!

27. He always wants to learn.

28. He loves to teach. {and is pretty good at it, too.}

29. He doesn't care about matching his clothes, it's all about comfort.

30. He does try really hard to master the black/brown rule, just for me.

31. He loves his family.

32. He gives the best hugs

33. And...I'll always be younger. ;-)



I hope your day is fabulous, husband, dear. I love you.

stay tuned...

we have been having the best time with our "Surpise Visitor!" The kids were very excited to see Nana. We have done a lot and taken lots of pictures...and a lot of birthday party planning. Don't give up on us yet, however...

Backyard campout.

Adam came up with the greatest idea tonight. He asked the kids if they wanted to sleep in the tent in the backyard. Of course, they were SO excited. In fact, at 6, just after dinner, Macie told us she was tired and ready for bed! They didn't go to bed that early, however. Adam then had another great idea: project a movie onto our backyard wall. That REALLY excited the kids. After a long process of getting the laptop plugged in, the projector working, and the finding the right cables and speakers {and a few hours} it was show time. Macie didn't last long, but Noah stayed up for the whole movie of Ponyo. It's nearly midnight, and they are all still out there. We'll see if they make it all night!