Happy Birthday to Me!

Today started as any day would. I got up at 7:30, got out of working my airline job for a couple of hours and went back to bed. After all, it is my birthday and I can sleep in if I want to! Even though Jason worked until 1 in the morning, he was kind enough to get up with the kids so I could sleep. What a sweetheart! Then we went out for lunch to Golden Corral. It makes sense if you think about it. Golden Corral is a bit of a hangout for old people and I am getting older, so I was just picking out what seat I will want when it is my hangout too.

After lunch my luck ran out and my work shift began. It actually wasn't too bad. Instead of having to work my full 8 hour shift, I only worked about 3 hours. That was really in my favor because my sister Keturah came over so we could make lasagne. Here is something about me, I love having lasagne for my birthday. Just think of it, a nice cold winter day, and a delicious steaming plate of lasagne. Mmmm. I didn't worry about a cake or anything because Jason wouldn't be home for dinner and there didn't seem to be any point. Enter Keturah. She decided that you can't have a birthday without a cake, so when she was at the store getting ingredients for the lasagne, she bought a cake too. Thank you! My kids were really excited by it, so I guess they feel the same way.




It was a really fun day. Since it is my birthday and I get to thinking about my age, I realized how much my perspective has changed. When I was eight, for example, 36 was really old. REALLY old. Now, it doesn't seem so old at all. When my mom was 36, she had seven children and the oldest was 16. I have three children and my oldest is eight. I know, we are different people and it takes me down a whole other road to compare myself. I don't think I want to go that route for my birthday, so how about this: Happy Birthday to me!

This Day is Such a Special One

Happy Birthday to Janica! Today my sweet little girl turned 5!

That means that five years ago today I was walking around the neighborhood, trying to speed up the labor, to get the contractions closer together. Jason and I went to the hospital that is about five minutes from our house at about 4:30 pm and Janica was born at about 6 pm. I was only pushing for about 15 minutes before Janica came out, and what I really remember is the midwife exclaiming "Look at all that hair!" Janica was born with a full head of black hair and has had beautiful hair ever since. Well, when she isn't cutting it off, that is. I really wish the story ended there. Unfortunately, she inhaled some meconium in the womb and had a low oxygen level, so no sooner was I holding my precious baby in my arms, than the midwife and nurses took her to the NICU. It was so scary! No one was telling me anything, and since I had just given birth, I was exhausted and wasn't moving anywhere. Jason went with Janica and I stayed in the delivery room, sitting there on the same bed where I had given birth, with no one to clean me up. Really not one of my favorite moments.

Eventually I was cleaned up and helped into a wheelchair so I could go to the NICU to be with her. She was hooked up to machines that monitored everything and because she was doing so well, the pediatrician agreed that Janica could go to my room with me - but only on the condition that I stayed awake to make sure she was still breathing. Believe it or not, after having been in labor for six hours without medication and pushing her out without any help, I was pretty tired, but for my little Janica, I gave it my best shot to stay awake so I could hold her through the night. I think I finally gave up around 3 or 4 in the morning and sent her to the nursery. Of course it all ended well and we both went home the next day. I mean it ended well other than her tethered spinal cord that caused her to have surgery on her spine with she was just 10 months old, but that is a post for another day.

Today Janica woke up with a smile and bounded into our room, demanding her birthday presents. Cute, right? For her party, we took her to Chuck E Cheese's, because a new one was built 10 minutes away, and because Janica had been reciting their slogan to us for the past several months. What can I say? Advertising works!





After the pizza and video games, we went back home for cake and presents.






Happy Birthday Janica! I am so grateful you are my Janica Sweetheart. I love your smile and cheery attitude. I really love how you have started winking at me and saying "ding!" Thank you for making me look like a better mom than I really am by memorizing scriptures and reciting them on demand. I only look good because you are so smart! I love how much you look out for your brother and sister. The three of you are quite a team. Thanks for being my daughter. You have made my life so much better just by being a part of it. I love you!

Havin' fun on All Hallow's Eve

Growing up, my parents didn't participate in all the Halloween "nonsense" and I haven't dressed up for Halloween since I think I was five or six years old. We didn't trick or treat or attend any Halloween activities. One of my big acts of rebellion in high school was going to a haunted house. Oh don't worry, I saved my real rebellion for later.

Anyway, I don't have the strong feelings about Halloween that my parents have, and I know my children enjoy dressing up. My main criteria is that their costumes aren't gruesome or scary, and I try to steer them away from masks.

Here is some of the fun we had this year:

We went to the annual Pumpkin Walk in Syracuse with some neighbors. Here is Tegan with the neighbor boy, Noah.




Here is Janica at the pumpkin walk. You can tell some people do a lot of work on their pumpkins.




Look at all the pumpkins behind Kierra! This is really just a fraction of the pumpkins there.



Here is Janica the witch and her friend Tate the ballerina going to their pre-school Halloween party. Janica is carrying a white cat, because as she told me, all witches have cats. Good logic.




Tegan's school has a parade as part of their festivities, and this year they had the 2nd grade (Tegan's grade), sing during the parade. Here is Tegan, or should I say Indiana Jones, singing, and then enjoying his class Halloween party.






Here are Tegan, Janica and Kierra on our front steps, getting ready to go to our ward Trunk or Treat. Actually, it was for our old ward, since the boundaries had just changed and we were put into a newly formed ward. We went to the Trunk or Treat for our new ward the next night, but I didn't take pictures of that.





Here is Indiana Jones...




a witch...




and a monster cow. Yes you read that right. Kierra was a monster cow this year for Halloween. Instead of saying "moo," she would growl "MOO!" Very cute.




The best part of Halloween for me this year was how a couple of radio stations starting playing Christmas music the very next day! Too soon you say? Not for me. I love Christmas music. The way I see it, since it is only acceptable to listen to it nonstop one part of the year, I'm all in favor of that part starting November 1st. Bring it on!!

It is a small world after all!

I went to Portland this past weekend to enjoy time with my sisters (more on that later), and to attend the "Time Out For Women" seminar that was held up there (more on that later too). Well I was wonderfully surprised not once but twice by running into old friends!

The sessions I attended of the seminar were Friday night and Saturday during the day. On Friday night I got my first surprise!



I saw Angela Flake Grossnickle across the crowded room and raced over to her before she moved! It was so wonderful to see her and spend a few minutes talking to her! Because she is in the Portland area, I don't usually see her at mission reunions. We were never companions, but believe me, that doesn't make much difference with my mission alumnae - at least the sisters. We saw each other and interacted so much, we still got to know each other quite well. Angela is due to have a baby in a couple weeks, so she sold her ticket to the Saturday session. I completely understand. It would have been tough sitting for six or so hours being that pregnant.

Angela you look wonderful! Good luck with your new baby! I love your blog! Your girls are so cute and you tell great stories about them.

So that was the first surprise. On Saturday, before the session started, I saw my second surprise!



It is Angel Bott! I'm sorry I don't remember your married name. Angel and I were companions for two months in sector three in Bucuresti. When I saw her on Saturday, I didn't think my odds were so good to see another mission sister, so I was a little more cautious when I approached her. I told her that if she isn't Angel Bott, then she has an identical twin somewhere. Of course it was her and we had a great time chatting as well. It was an amazing experience to spend the weekend with my birth sisters, and seeing sisters from my mission really made it that much better.

It is a small world and I wouldn't have it any other way!

A little ketchup

Yes I have realized that while I seem to post about major things happening, like trips, birthdays, baptisms, etc.., I am not doing as good a job about our day to day living. This post is to catch up (ketchup - get it? Well it would kill in Romania. Or at least it does in my own mind).




Although she is my last born, I will start with Kierra first. What an amazing girl! After I put her to bed tonight, she pulled her usual tricks of getting out of bed for any imaginable reason but with a twist. This time, when she wanted something, she approached me and politely said "Excuse me," before telling me her request. Now the requests were the average I need a drink, my bed is boring, and Janica is picking on me. It was the "Excuse me," that saved her from getting in trouble and who are we kidding? It got her just what she wanted. That girl plays me like a fiddle!!



Next I'll tell you a bit more about Janica. This fall she started playing soccer and Jason is her coach. Sadly I am working every Saturday so I can't go to any of the games and since they have a 30 minute practice before their 30 minute game every week, I miss that too. Jason comes home with such good stories each week that I am really sorry I miss the games. Since it is fall and cooling down, being cold is a common complaint he hears from the girls on his team. He told me there is one girl in particular who will cry because she is so cold. Because she is at the game and her parents insist, Jason will put her in the game, but she cries the whole time. Then there is another girl who is a real firecracker. She always wants to play and kicks the ball the most. She will ask for a break and is taken out, but then 30 seconds later is begging to be put back in. Then there is Janica. She is a combination of the two. She will cry because she is cold and then with tears streaming down her cheeks will kick the ball down the field and score a goal. See why I am sorry to miss it? My parents were able to go to her game this past Saturday and watch her score. Lucky them!




Tegan, Tegan, Tegan. What can I say about him? He really is my angel. He is doing very well in 2nd grade. It is fun watching him read everything in sight. He was absolutely tickled when a family moved in next door with seven children. Their oldest boy is a couple of weeks younger than Tegan and the two hit it off right away. The only problem is that we don't have their phone number yet so the only way Tegan can go over to play is by walking over and knocking on the door. Why is that a problem? Well Tegan is shy and doesn't like knocking on people's doors. He won't even walk into his grandparent's house until we open the door and walk in with him. His way around it is to take Janica with him. She'll knock on the door for him and ask whoever answers if their friends can play. They really make a great team. Just the other day Janica was telling me that Tegan lets her hang up his coat too. They really are so cute!

Jason and I decided to finally do some work on our yard, so on Friday we moved some dirt from the front of our house so we could put in an island. We wanted to get the dirt moved on Friday, because the weather was supposed to be colder on Saturday with maybe snow, and we wanted to work some more on Monday when Jason was off of work. Well wouldn't you know the joke was on us and we waited too long because it snowed longer than expected on Sunday and the snow stuck around too long, so now what is going to be our island is a big mudpatch. That just means we'll have to put off working on it a bit longer. Wouldn't you know, I'm really good at that part! ;)

How I know I married the right man

I was working last night and by the time I got off, Jason had already put the kids to bed. I came upstairs ready for some relaxing "me" time, and I heard Jason talking in our bedroom. Curious, I went to investigate and found him kneeling by the side of bed with Janica, saying a prayer. Jason was praying that Janica would know how much her parents and Father in Heaven love her, and that she would get help not having accidents in her undies. Since we usually pray in the living room before sending the kids to their beds, I stuck around to find out what was going on.

It turns out that Janica had gone to bed, and then had a poopy accident. Jason was upset, got her cleaned up and then disciplined her before sending her back to bed. Well Janica was upset too, and Jason found her in her bed later feeling very bad about herself. That is when he took her into our room to say a prayer together. By the end of the prayer Janica was crying and I almost was too!

Oh yes, I married the right man. I love you Jason!

Happy, Happy Birthday Jason Dear

So no sooner had the dust settled from Tegan's birthday and baptism, than it was time for Jason's birthday! Poor Jason. He gets lost in the shuffle a little bit with his birthday so close to Tegan's. We talked about it when I was pregnant with Tegan, and Jason, who was so happy at the prospect of his impending fatherhood, told me that the baby was his birthday present. Having seen what multiple birthdays so close to each other was like in my mom's experience, who had a child three days before her birthday and another one three days after, I warned him that it may not be so great, but Jason stayed firm. He was pleased to share his birthday week with our baby.

Fast forward eight years, and for the eighth year in a row, I have forgotten Jason's birthday until there isn't enough time to do anything about it! This year was no exception. When you think about it, I never had a chance. What with Disneyworld and then Tegan's baptism, Jason's birthday was the last thing on my mind! It wasn't until yesterday that I looked at the calendar and saw that his birthday was today. Oops! I asked Jason why he didn't remind me and he just smiled and said that it was on the calendar for all to see and why didn't I just look there. Well ha, ha very funny. Then to make it even worse (if that's possible), not even one hour later I was making plans with a friend for the next night to go to a concert down at Temple Square. When I got off the phone, Jason smiled at me and asked if I really wanted to go. I had forgotten his birthday again! Well we both laughed at that one and I called back my friend and told her why I had to cancel. Funny, right? I'll try to do better next year sweetheart!

So happy birthday to you Jason! I love watching you reach a new age four years after me so I can provide you with my sage advice. I love your sense of humor and willingness to forgive my weaknesses. I have loved enjoying every year with you.

In case you were wondering, we did do something for Jason's birthday. We took him out to Chili's for a special birthday dinner.


Here is Jason enjoying his birthday buffalo chicken fajita.


Since it is Jason's birthday, we decided to splurge and share a dessert. Doesn't it look yummy?


It was very yummy! This picture was taken three minutes after the first one. It really was only three minutes! You know a digital camera will tell you the date and time a picture was taken. We loved it!

So again happy birthday my dearest, darling Jason. I'm glad you were able to hear from everyone in your family. Well everyone except for two of your brothers, and three of your sisters. And I guess technically you didn't talk to your mom. She left you a message. Wow, so who did you talk to today? Your dad and my dad. Well who cares. We all love you very much and wish you the very best! Sorry Ludlow family, I will stop teasing - eventually! It's just nice to know I'm not the only one who forgets!

I love you Jason! Thanks for being born. Thanks for growing up with such a strong testimony and staying close to the gospel. Thanks for going on a mission and then coming home and moving to Utah so you could meet and marry me. Thanks for marrying me and for raising three beautiful children with me. Happy Birthday!!

Tegan's baptism

Now that some dust has settled from our trip and having family in town, I feel like I can post about Tegan's baptism. It was a wonderful day. Tegan is really growing up and I am so proud of him! Tegan was baptized on his birthday, September 15, 2008. When my older siblings and I were baptized, we didn't live in Utah and we chose our baptism date. Because my birthday is in December, I was baptized on December 25, 1980. It has always been special for me to know the exact date that I was baptized. In talking to Tegan, he told us that he wanted to be baptized on his birthday. I thought it was great and set about to planning it. There was however a glitch. This year his birthday was on a Monday, and while I thought a baptism was a great family night activity, others felt differently. Well this meant that we needed to get special permission and have his baptism at 4:30 in the afternoon. There were some sacrifices involved, but it was all well worth it.

Here we are at the church before the baptism, still waiting for people to arrive. As you can see, we were very happy and excited.

After the baptism, we were able to stop the children from running around with their cousins long enough to take a few pictures. My sister Malauna came down from Boise with her sons Roderic and Hyrum, my sister Keturah flew in from San Francisco with her husband Brook, and even my brother Cortney and his wife Misty came with their three children, Cashton, Parker and Quinlee.

Jason's Mom (left) flew in from Phoenix with her husband Barry. My Mom (right), had to postpone some clients in order to be at the baptism. We are so glad they were both there!

We also got a fun surprise when Jason's grandparents came up from Midway. We are so blessed to have so much family who love and support us! It was great having them there.

Here we are back at my house for the birthday party. I had a really fun time posing for pictures with Malauna and Keturah. Thanks again for coming girls!


Here I am with my Mom's youngest sister, Rachelle. I have a confession to make. She is my favorite aunt. She is a couple of years older than me and has been a really good friend. I'm very glad she was able to come with her family too.

After all the dust settled, it was still Tegan's birthday, so of course we needed cake to celebrate. When he was younger and didn't have a preference for a flavor of cake, Jason and I alternated between chocolate and white. Well, now Tegan has a preference and it isn't white cake. That's okay. I can live with chocolate cake for him. I still have two other children who I hope haven't been corrupted. Only time will tell.

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend and participate in any way with Tegan's baptism. It was a very special experience.

Happy Birthday to my Teganangel

Tegan, you changed my life forever and for the better. Eight years ago I held you in my arms for the first time. You were so fragile and small and perfect! You sure did need your mom and I glad you didn't outgrow that. Remember last night when I was tucking you in and you were telling me about the book "Love You Forever?" We were talking about how you would cry at the end when the grown man rocked his mom back and forth, because you were thinking about me dying. And then you started to cry again. I love how sensitive you are. I love how much you care about other people's feelings. You never complain to me about not having friends. Everyone seems to want to be your friend, because you want people to feel good.

Today my heart could have burst with joy when you were baptized and confirmed. I know it wasn't a step you took lightly. You think things through and decide what is best. Plus, you will always ask questions, and then even more questions! You have a bright, inquisitive mind and I hope you never get sick of asking questions. I was talking to your Primary teacher after your baptism and she told me how much she loves you. We talked about your desire to do what is right. You don't choose the right because you are afraid of the negative consequences, you choose the right because you want to. You are simply amazing.

I know Dad and I put some additional responsibilities on you because you are the oldest. Thank you for shouldering those responsibilities. Your little sisters look up to you and you are a great example for them. You help them make good choices, comfort them when they are sad and show your love for them everyday.

Tegan, I truly don't know how I am so blessed as to be your mom. Like I said before, you changed my life forever when you were born. I am a better person because of you.

Thank you and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Back home again

There is nothing so good as sleeping in your own bed. After a week in a hotel, I am very ready to sleep in my bed again.

While the trip is still fresh in my mind, here are some thoughts.

September or October are great times to visit Disneyworld. As I mentioned many times, the crowds were minimal and for the most part the weather was fine. Well fine other than the constant heat and humidity. But even that wasn't so bad due to my next thought. The minimal crowds meant we stood in very few lines, and because we were there during the off-season, we were able to get some terrific discounts.

Because we went in September, we were able to take advantage of a Disney promotion which gave us a free dining plan. We just needed to stay at a Disney resort, which we were happy to do. Yes it was their cheapest resort, but believe me, we weren't there to spend the week in our hotel. Plus I didn't want to have to worry about our children messing up a fancy place. The benefit of the food package in regards to the weather was that we took at least one break, usually more, to eat in a nice air-conditioned restaurant. We got out of the sun and were able to rest and relax. Plus, did you read above where our food was free?

So when we go back next year for the Christensen Family Reunion, there are few things that I would change. It was truly an enjoyable vacation!

Day Seven: Epcot (again)

Now that the week is pretty much over and before I start writing about what we did today, I just want to make it very clear that I am exhausted! My feet and legs are really sore and I feel like every time I walk outside I am drenched in sweat. My sweat! Every morning the window of our hotel room is covered with condensation because it is so humid here! It looks like it rained every night and who knows? Maybe it did. I wouldn't know because when it is bedtime, I just fall into bed and go right to sleep. I don't remember the last time I slept this well. One morning on our way to the car, we saw a rabbit sitting in the grass, eating. It wasn't afraid of us and we got very close before it hopped away. Now, when we go to the car, Kierra calls for the rabbit and is upset that he doesn't appear. At least it is a way for us to coax her out of the room and out to the car for another fun filled day!

Seemingly in an attempt to prove wrong all the skeptics that say you never get anything free from Disney, we have had Disney castmembers give us stickers almost nonstop. At times it has felt like we couldn't approach a castmember, even to ask the time, without being given stickers. Well as you see here, Janica had too many stickers and too much time on her hands and put both to very good use! In case you can't tell, they are on her arms, legs, hands and stomach. Yes, very good use.



So today, as I promised yesterday, we went to Epcot. We had lunch reservations at the Biergarten in the Germany pavillion, so we decided to work our way around the World Showcase until lunchtime, and then decide from there. It made more sense for us to walk clockwise, which meant we started in Mexico. Here are some pictures from around the "World."

Mexico


Norway

China


Outpost to take a break and play some drums

Finally we were at Germany and it was time for lunch! I was really excited to eat at the Biergarten because so many Romanian foods seem to be german, and I was hoping for some sausage stuffed cabbage. They didn't have any, but the food they did have was so delicious, I wasn't disappointed!
We all really enjoyed the band that played while we were there. They were fun and it was interesting to hear so much german music.
True to form, when it was time to dance a polka, Janica jumped right up and would have danced by herself if Jason hadn't decided to dance with her. What a cute couple! Thanks for the suggestion Luella that we eat here. I'm glad we didn't miss it.

Epcot has a program to make the World Showcase more interesting for children. The pavilion for each country has an area set aside where the children can color on masks and learn more information about that country. We bought a $10 passport for the whole family, and we got the passport stamped at each pavilion too. Tegan didn't dig it too much when we started out, but by the end, he was the most insistent that we find the coloring area. He colored his mask very creatively. I think it looks great. Janica colored her mask purple. What was so funny to me was that she used all the different purple markers. She would color with one for a while, and then put the lid on it and get started with the next purple marker. It was very cute.

After lunch, we started back up visiting the countries.


Germany


Italy

Coloring masks at Italy


The American Experience. See how quiet and respectful my children are? Actually, I don't blame them letting off steam. That and the American Experience presentation didn't work. At least it wasn't working then. We came back later to watch it.


At this point we were tired of walking and the kids wanted to ride some rides again, so we took the ferry back across the lagoon.

We went to the Imagination building and rode the imagination ride with Figment. We rode on the ride hours ago and Janica is still talking about it like it just happened! Remember when I said there is a window for taking kids to Disneyworld? Janica is proving to me over and over again that she is right smack dab in the middle of it, because she is enjoying our trip so much! And her enjoyment is helping my enjoyment.

After our Journey into Imagination, we went on Soarin' again. Janica didn't like it when she rode and Kierra is still too small, so while Jason and Tegan rode it, I took the girls on a boat ride to learn about the land. Twice. It was interesting the first time and cute the second time, because Janica kept pointing out the exact same things she pointed out the first time! Then it was time to swap and Jason learned about the land while I rode Soarin'. I really do love that ride! Someone in line told us about the hidden Mickey on the golf ball, which we then looked for. For any of you planning a trip to Disneyworld or Disneyland, do yourself a favor and ride Soarin'. It is the best!

Enough fun time. After Soarin' it was back to the World Showcase. This time we started on the opposite side and worked our way counter clockwise. That meant we started with Canada.


Where we found another rabbit! In case you can't see it, look just right of Tegan's hand.


Next came England where they had a Beatles lookalike band playing, we took some pictures,
and met up with Winnie the Pooh and friends again!



While waiting for the movie to start at the France pavilion, Janica decided to strike a few poses. What a cutie!


Then it was time for dinner at the Morocco pavillion. Out of the many places we have eaten this week, this restaurant was my least favorite. The service was very poor and the food wasn't that good. The best part was the belly dancer. When she asked for volunteers, you guessed it. Janica jumped right up and started to dance. The big surprise was Kierra wanting to dance too. Sadly, by the time we got her out of her highchair and up to the dance floor, the dance was over. I would say maybe next year, but I really don't know if we'll eat there next year. I really didn't like it.

Here is the family at the Morocco pavillion. See Tegan's mask? I love how he put together that patchwork of colors together. Very creative!

By the time dinner was over, it was late and the pavillions were starting to close. We hurried to Japan, which was the only one we hadn't seen, and then went back to the US pavillion to watch the American Experience, which was up and running by that time.

Then we went back to the hotel for bed. I'm surprised I spent as much time writing this as I have, since our flight tomorrow is at noon and we need to get checked out and to the airport. I will try to post some final thoughts tomorrow. Goodnight!