Music and the Spoken Word

My ideal Sunday morning is spent listening to Music and the Spoken Word while eating breakfast and studying related scriptures. This program has a way of inspiring me and touching my soul the way spoken words alone cannot do. Today the program touched on the beauty of God's creation coupled with the trials we face and our ability to overcome. Lloyd Newell told about the poet William Ernest Henley and his battle with tuberculosis during his lifetime and quoted this famous poem about courage and determination. It is beautiful...


Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance

A book I read not too long ago. I don't know if I would reccomend it necessarily, but it sure was entertaining.

I've been thinking lately about one of her thoughts in particular. She was remembering when she first moved to NYC and imagining what her life would be like, what her apartment would look like, what kind of person her roommate would be. She remembered how much she loved that moment, between unlimited possibility and actual reality. She loved that feeling because in that moment she could imagine that her life and circumstances could be anything in the whole wide world. The possiblities were endless. But once she saw her apartment and met her roommate, they would be what they were. No fun imaginings anymore.

I feel like that in my life lately. There is so much possibility for us right now, I could be scared, but I'd rather just imagine that things are gonna be wonderful beyond my wildest dreams....

Life is Beautiful

Today I decided to copy a friends blog and post what I am grateful for in my rich beautiful life....

1. My Heavenly Father's love and wisdom.

2. A husband who is my best friend in the whole wide world

3. Cameron- his zany sense of humor and all the hugs he gives me proceeded by, Mom, I looove you.

4. Madison- her spunky spirit, creativity, and compassion for her sisters and those in need

5. Isaac- his willingness to help, his innocence and general happiness about life

6. Ava- her questions, her big blue inquisitive eyes, and her cuddliness

7. Mia- her babyness, even though she's not really a baby, her constant happiness and her excitement with simple fun things

8. Parents that love me and have taught me the gospel all of my life

9. Brothers, sisters in law, brothers in law, parents in law, nieces and nephews that enrich my life and extend my network of love <3

10. Friends that love me and help me be a better person

11. A home I love that sometimes loves me back ;)

12. Lucky, our happy crazy loving dog

13. Have I mentioned love enough times yet???

14. slobbery baby kisses

15. cuddling and watching a movie with Chris after the kids are in bed

16. music that helps me move when i need to get things done, or chill when I want to

17. piano lessons

18. Chris's guitar playing and songs he's written for me :)

19. Stories Cameron writes

20. pictures my girls draw, especially when its me with hearts all around

21. when Isaac sings "we will we will rock you"

22. sunsets on a cloudy day

23. flash floods when I'm safely inside

24. snow on the mountains

25. winters in AZ

26. summers in Park City, UT

27. riding bikes as a family

28. running while the sun rises

29. a body that works properly without any major problems

30. stairs to climb

31. running water in my kitchen

32. my dishwasher

33. "Life" the series on Discovery HD

34. texting

35. air conditioning

36. erasers

37. stain removers

28. the word "sorry"

29. the sweet whisperings of the Spirit

30. my Saviour Jesus Christ and His Atonement (this list in no way reflects order of importance!!)

31. soft blond, red and brown hair <3

32. funny stories

33. compassionate service

34. testimony meeting

35. peoples willingness to serve and enrich others lives, even when they dont know them very well

36. Journals

37. Scriptures <3

38. the ocean, mesmerizing and mysterious

39. poetry

40. paintings that express profound truth

41. photography, especially of cute kids ;-)

42. cards and letters in the mail, love it

43. Dora (yes, she makes Mia happy!)

44. flowers, all colors and fragrances

45. swimming pools

46. preschool (it makes Ava happy!)

47. yogurt

48. soft warm blankets

49. hot chocolate

50. going on dates with my best friend xoxoxo

lots more but I thought 50 would be a good number for today! If you made it this far, I am impressed!!

Morrie's Wisdom

I just finished the book, "Tuesdays with Morrie" today. It touched on so many subjects that are dear to my heart, such as family, love and what is most important in Life. For those who haven't read it, it is about a man, Mitch, in his mid 30's who discovers his old college professor, Morrie Schwartz, is dying of Lou Gehrig's disease, when he sees him on TV. He decides to visit this old professor, and makes it a weekly trek, and in the process learns a lot about life. When Mitch asks Morrie (who is 78 years old at the time) about aging, and our culture's fear of it, Morrie has a fantastic reply.

I told Morrie I was already feeling over the hill, as much as I was trying to stay on top of it. I worked out constantly. Watched what I ate. Checked my hairline in the mirror. I had gone from being proud to say my age- because of all I had done so young- to not bringing it up, for fear that I was getting too close to forty and, therefore, professional oblivion.

Morrie had aging in better perspective.

"All this emphasis on youth- I don't buy it," he said. "Listen, I know what a misery being young can be, so don't tell me its so great. All these kids who came to me with their struggles, their strife, their feelings of inadequacy, their sense that life was so miserable, so bad they wanted to kill themselves...

"And in addition to all the miseries, the young are not wise. They have very little understanding about life. Who wants to live everyday when you don't know what's going on? When people are manipulating you, telling you to buy this perfume and you'll be beautiful, or that pair of jeans and you'll be sexy- and you believe them! It's such nonsense."

"Weren't you ever afraid of growing old?" I asked.

"Mitch, I embrace aging."

"Embrace it?"

"Its very simple. As you grow, you learn more. If you stayed twenty-two, you'd always be as ignorant as you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It's growth. It's more than the negative that you're going to die, it's also the positive that you understand you're going to die, and that you live a better life because of it."

"Yes, I said, but if aging were so valuable, why do people always say, 'Oh if I were young again.' You never hear people say, 'I wish I were sixty-five.'"

He smiled. "You know what that reflects? Unsatisfied lives. Unfulfilled lives. Lives that haven't found meaning. Because if you've found meaning in your life, you don't want to go back. You want to go forward. You want to see more, do more. You can't wait until sixty-five.

"Listen. You should know something. All younger people should know something. If you're always battling against getting older, you're always going to be unhappy, because it will happen anyhow."

"Okay," I said, "I'm wondering how you don't envy younger, healthy people."

"Mitch, it is impossible for the old not to envy the young. But the issue is to accept who you are and revel in that. This is your time to be in your thirties. I had my time to be in my thirties, and now is my time to be seventy-eight.

"You have to find what 's good and true and beautiful in your life as it is now. Looking back makes you competitive. And, age is not a competitive issue."

"The truth is, part of me is every age. I'm a three-year-old, I'm a five-year-old, I'm a thirty-seven-year-old, I'm a fifty-year-old. I've been through all of them, and I know what it's like. I delight in being a child when it's appropriate to be a child. I delight in being a wise old man when it's appropriate to be a wise old man. Think of all I can be! I am every age, up to my own. Do you understand?"

I nodded.

"How can I be envious of where you are when I've been there myself?"

What a great way to treasure life. Thanks Mr. Schwartz. I only hope I can have that perspective some day. :o)

Isaac-isms

Isaac makes me laugh everyday. I was surprised to read my friend Staci's blog the other day and come upon something I hadn't previously heard about. Here it is...

Jack has been playing a lot with Isaac Sly. His mom Kara is one of my best friends so its super convenient that Isaac and Jack get along so well. Isaac is a really nice kid and I don't ever have to worry that he will teach Jack bad things or get into trouble when they are together. Those two can play for days and days on end and never get bored or irritated. They also had a funny conversation yesterday.

Isaac: What does your dad do for a living?

Jack: He's a police officer

Isaac: Cool! He gets to shoot people!

Jack: Well, not really. Mostly he makes phone calls and writes reports and stuff.

Isaac: So he's like, "Stop, badguy! or I'll..... call you? Stop, or I'll use my ....pen?"

Thats pretty quick sarcastic wit for a first grader. I like him.

ha, ha, I'm glad you like him, Staci, I sure do too. :o) I was tickled by his cute Father's Day gift that also took me by surprise. He walked into our bedroom (while Chris was enjoying breakfast in bed), with his hair all slicked down, ready to sing Chris his "Father's Day song." He told Chris he had been preparing for a while. I wondered what song he had possibly prepared to sing??... he isn't in school any more so he didn't learn any songs there... I hadn't heard him singing any Father's Day primary songs around the house... hmmm. Isaac proceeded to start patting his legs and clapping his hands and chanting "we will, we will rock you!" with all the subsequent words... where he learned them and if they were right I have no clue! But they sure sounded good. :o) I just pictued Isaac practicing in the mirror trying to get all the words right and it cracked me up! I will have to video that one soon for sure!

Ugggh.

I am so tired of being behind on my blog.

So I am just going to start fresh. Who really cares about the end of school, Fathers day, and my bday anyway? I'll get around to those sometime.

Here I am, in the middle of summer, wondering how we got 3 weeks into it already?? Anyone else feeling that way? I always have so many plans for the summer, so many fun things I wanna do with the kids. But the days just come and go. The house still needs to be cleaned every day, gosh dang it.

Anyone else wishing they had a pool to swim in? I have fought Chris on getting one all these years and now, finally, I think I am on board. Especially when I think about how good my kids could be at swimming if we only had a pool! All these years I obsessed about something happening to them, in reality I think it is more likely that if we had a pool I should worry less. So bring it on... oh wait, we actually don't have the money to get a pool anymore... oops. But hey at least we have our boat that we use twice a year, right? ;) Anyone want to donate to my pool fund?

I promise, the next one will be a real post, with pictures and all. ;o)

Visiting the Jensens

I can't believe its been 2 weeks already. That 2 weeks ago I was kid free... if only or a few days. A wonderful few days.

On the 6th of this month, I went to see my younger brother Bryant, his wife Taryn and their cute little 5 month old baby Emmy Mae. I so enjoyed watching them be parents, seeing how they interact on a day to day basis, sharing in the places they like to go, food they like to eat (which, I have to say, Bryant got his dream come true a woman who truly could care less if she ever eats another piece of meat again). We had so much fun in 3 short days, travelling all around Delano and nearby places. Bryant had this strange idea that I would actually want to sit around and relax while I was there... something which is totally foreign to me and just felt too strange... I decided I wanted to go explore Delano, Bakersfield, Visalia, Kingsburg, and the Sequoia Nat'l Park while we I was there... Sunday was enough of a relaxation day for me. :)

I arrived in Bakersfield Thursday evening and was exhausted from all the travel and staying up late the night before, so after a little Delano sight seeing, I came to their house and cashed or a a few hours before we went out on the town or some yummy Mexican food.

Friday we woke up not so early (ahhh.... sleeping in), got ready not so quickly (aahh... no rushing out the door) and left about noon to Kingsburg and Fresno.

Kingsburg is a cute little Swedish town on the way to Fresno, which is where my family lived in the mid 80s. We walked around the cute little town and got some lunch then headed on to Fresno.

I hadn't been back to Fresno in the last 22 years since we moved, so it was pretty cool to see the old neighborhood again. I was surprised at how different it looked from how I remembered it. So much greener and had so many more trees... I guess i have been in AZ way too long! Well, it was great to see BOTH of our houses on Rialto (we moved across the street to a bigger house), and reminisce on some old memories and old friends. Its amazing how yards and distances seem so much smaller and shorter as an adult. We also visited our old elementary school and Roeding Park, where we spent many Saturdays feeding the ducks, going to the zoo, riding rollercoasters and climbing around at Story Land. Bryant Taryn, Emmy and I actually spent like 3 hrs just chillin at the park, enjoying the great weather, taking lots of pics (mostly of cute Emmy), and kickin the ball around a little bit. Then we headed to an Indian restauant, which was a teat since Chris hates Indian food and I love it.. and we never go since there aren't any nearby Indian places anyway. I got a mango lassi, chicken tikka masala, naan, some kinda yummy basmati rice.. all my faves. When we got home we played a few rounds of some card game I can't even remember... it was way fun though... especially watching how competitive Bryant and Taryn can be with each other. :)

Saturday morning we took just about as long to get ready, stopped by a few stores, then went up to the Sequoia Nat'l Forest. I remember going as a kid and being fascinated by the giant Sequoias and redwoods, and they were just as majestic and beautiful as I remember them. And still as big, even though I am a little taller. ;) On the drive up I was instantly taken back to being a young girl driving on family campouts or daddy daughter campouts through similar woods.... even the smell seemed to be the familiar. When we got to the Giant Sequioas we were all a little shocked at how much snow was on the ground. In some spots it was like 4 ft! Crazy but so beautiful. We had a little picnic lunch then went on a hike in the snow.... needless to say we didn't go too far... especially since I only brought 1 pr of shoes with me and lets just say they were definitely meant or the AZ summer sun.

Sunday was an especially wonderful day for me since it was Mothers Day... I felt bad or my kids not having their mommy around on Mothers Day, but honestly didn't feel the least bit bad for myself... Bryant made us a wonderful Mothers Day breakfast and I loved going to their church, which was vastly different to the ward I am used to attending. Oh, and best of all, I didn't have to be a mom on Mothers Day. :) At church, thee wee no screaming kids, not many people my age, and really not many people at all. And about 75% of the members were Hispanic, prob half of those didn't speak English. What was really surprising to me was the casual organization of the meetings... like their Sacrament meeting. We walked into the chapel and the bishop asked Bryant if he had seen Bro so and so who was supposed to be speaking that day. He hadn't been told this bother was sick and couldn't make it to the meeting. So the bishop asked Bryant if he might say a few words. So after listening to the first speaker and one of the full time missionaries, who had also been put on the spot, I was privileged to hear my bother give a beautiful talk on motherhood and the divinity of women... quotes, stories and all. It was wonderful. Sunday school and relief society ran about the same way... no teacher for Sunday school so they combined us with the youth class. No teacher for the Spanish women, so they had a bilingual lady translate for the 2 women that didn't speak English. Even so, it was a beautiful day with beautiful lessons and a sweet spirit in a humble salt of the earth wad.

I was sure sad after lunch that I had to head back home, but at the same time I was excited to see the family I missed so much. I enjoyed the alone time on the airplane both ways when I could catch up on the book I was reading, but it was so great seeing my sweet kids' excitement to have their mommy back. They all made me cards and gave me lots of hugs and kisses.

I am so happy that I got to visit Taryn, Bryant and Emmy, to see Emmy's loving and happy disposition, smiling almost every time I looked at her! And thank you Taryn or driving Bryant and I all around memory lane and or sharing you first Mothers Day with me!! Can't wait to see you all again soon!

Kingsburg

Memory Lane



















A little friendly competition... s'all good





































Sequoia Nat'l Park






































































More random faves

Go for the Gold!

I'm a little late in posting about our eventful soccer season, but better late than never!

Isaac is definitely our #1 athelete in the family so far... not only is he great at all sports, he has lots of energy and LOVES to play. Especially soccer.

Chris decided to sign Isaac up for the Arizona Soccer League, which he has heard lots of good stuff about, and when they asked him to coach he said OK. We recruited a few of our friends kids, and it has been a great experience. They all play so well together and with so much heart and drive. All the parents LOVE Chris because not only does he teach the kids soccer strategies, but also life lessons. Respect, motivation, good sportsmanship, teamwork, consistency, sacrifice- to name a few.

AZ Soccer Club has a competitive league (Chris's team is the recreational league) that Chris was interested in having Isaac try out for so we were taking him to the try outs in addition to team practices. Lots of soccer for a few weeks. The league has 3 levels of competition, Gold, Blue and White, gold being the highest, white the lowest. We were hoping Isaac would make it onto the blue team and thought that was about where he belonged. When we got the roster back we found out he made it onto the Gold team!! We were so excited for him and he was ecstatic! I think he must have told everyone he came in contact with for at least 3 days afterward. We are looking forward to him starting this summer with a professional coach and camps and tournaments.. but we will greatly miss all the great kids on the Sharks. And of course the awesome parents. Here are some great shots from game #2...

A Mother

Eleven years ago, I became a mother for the first time. And my very first Mothers Day was on Cameron's very first birthday. Why does it seem like last year and not the 10 years ago that it was?

I can remember life with only Cameron... he being the center of the world for so many people for so long.... the only grandchild on the Jensen side and the apple of his Sly Grandparent's eye... and of course always the center of attention in our house. I remember how big a deal all of his "firsts" were.... first step, first time eating baby food, first word, first time he read a book at age 3. ;) And yet how graciously has he accepted and loved each one of his siblings as they have joined our family... I love watching how much he adores Mia and all the funny things she does. How sweet and patient he is with Ava when he's trying to help her get the little things she wants... and of course the cute voice he uses with both the little girls when he's trying to teach them something. Even though he asks every week when he can kick Isaac out of his room, I know how special Isaac really is to him... being his only brother and the one who goes along with all of his rough boy wildness. I deinitely love the sweet relationship Cameron has with Maddy... they are only 20 months apart and she's been there with Cameron though most of his life. Madison absolutely adores Cameron and would do anything for him... even when he does something mean to her, she doesn't want him to get in trouble. Just the last few years Cameron has returned that adoration with his own affection, which is so sweet to watch. I love it when he gives her a hug and tells her how much he loves her. Then seeing her face light up with absolute joy.

Happy Birthday to my sweet, cool, intelligent, compassionate, loving first born.