Sugar and Spice!

That's right...we had our ultrasound today...
It's a girl!
Megan is getting a sister!!!
I would have been grateful either way...just wanted all to look normal and healthy. So far...so good!
Yay!

I'm jumping on the "Thankful Bandwagon"

Well, here goes! I have seen many others express their gratitude on Facebook and blogs, and I just couldn't resist! Although it is a bit lengthy, here are my top ten:
1. The Gospel. Well, that is pretty much the greatest blessing, isn't it? Knowing that we are here for a purpose and that we have a purpose after this life...that is the best gift! To know that our children are ours forever, and that the hard work we do every day isn't for nothing is just priceless! I love knowing that we have a Savior that atoned for us. I love the blessing of the restoration of the gospel and the Church in the latter-days. When my kids have questions, I know the answers and I can say it with confidence, that I know.


2. My husband. This is a man, who got his Master's degree on four hours of sleep a night helping to take care of newborn twins. This is a man who doesn't mind working all day, and then coming home to work all night helping with the house and kids. This is man who thinks the gospel and his family are the most important things in his life. I would pretty much be living at the funny farm without him and that is not a joke! I can not do this alone...way, way too much work involved! I'm thankful he entered my life 13 years ago next month, and I'm thankful we are where we are today. I love him very much.


3. My children. Oh how I love them! These four people are why I was born. It is beyond the work I ever expected, but so worth it. It really does go too fast. One minute they are infants, and the next they are getting baptized. I appreciate and love every thing about them. I love how they are all different and contribute to our family and society in a different way. I love how they love each other...even though they quarrel or wrestle, they stick up for each other and think of each other. I love that. They are great little spirits I've been given to raise.
My Mom and Step-father, Dave
My Mother-in-law, Leesa and my Step-father in law, Mike

 

My Dad, Val and Brandon's Dad, Jeff
4. Parents and Grandparents. Where would we be without them? Sadly, we have both lost our fathers and I have also lost a step-father, but we'll never forget all the memories and wonderful contributions they have made to our lives, which are just too numerous to mention. Sometimes we shed some tears here or there, as we watch our children grow and think about how much their grandpas would enjoy certain parts of their lives, but we are confident they they are very much aware and part of their lives even if we can't see it. My grandparents have all passed on. I never knew my grandpas, but I knew my grandmas, and I loved them both. I miss them both to this day. They were both VERY strong, wonderful women and mothers and I'm grateful I grew up knowing them. Brandon has four wonderful grandparents...STILL LIVING!!! They are all doing well, and we love seeing them. I have loved having a relationship with grandpas, that I never have had before. They are great men. Our moms are wonderful blessings in our lives. We couldn't make it without them! They do so much for us and love our children. Our kids also love their Grandpa Mike. Thank goodness for him! He is very good to our children, and I am so appreciative of that. We are also so grateful and appreciative of aunts and uncles and cousins who love and accept our kids and are close to them.


5. God Bless the USA. I love this country. What a immeasurable blessing it is to live here and be able to practice our religion freely. I'm grateful for the struggles that went on so that we can worship freely and vote.

6. Good teachers for our children. This has been a big one for me, especially this school year. Zach has progressed by leaps and bounds these last three months! He came from a small-group Kindergarten and started out his 1st grade year with three hours of resource...after a month the teachers wanted to see him go down to an hour and that is where he is now! He is doing absolutely GREAT! I have cried many tears of gratitude for his wonderful teacher who has been so in tune to his needs and just loves him. She saw how smart he is and his great potential right away and has been a great blessing in his life. All the people that work with him this year have exceeded our expectations. We are also grateful for primary teachers and others who just love our children! That's the best gift I could ever have.


7. My health. What a blessing it is to be able to take care of my children every day. Yes, I am frequently tired, and that was before I was even pregnant! Now it is even worse! ;) But I'm overall healthy and able to take care of my children and that is something I am thankful for every single day.

8. Our home. I have cursed my home for its many levels and a basement laundry, MANY TIMES! It's can be difficult to keep clean and it seems we need more room every day. However, it IS home, and a good one at that. The kids have been very happy here and we are grateful to have a nice place and area to live in!

9. Social Networking and Blogging. Through Facebook, I have found so many old friends and new friends and reconnected with people. Most of them have been friends and family I have often wondered about and I'm so happy to see pictures of them and get to communicate with them on a more frequent basis. What a great blessing that is! I am also grateful for my blog, those that read it and being able to read other blogs as well. I enjoy seeing all the creativity and thought that goes into many posts. I appreciate uplifting comments I receive, many of which have many times made my day!


10. This is just for fun...DVR! What would we do without our DVR? It is perfect for us, because we can't watch the shows we like until later when kids are asleep, and it is so nice to program it in and forget about it! When we do watch our shows, we can skip right through commercials and it takes much less time. We record shows and movies for the kids, so we all enjoy it. I love this invention!

Happy, Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween '09

What is it about Halloween? There is something I just love about planning our costumes, putting them together and then taking lots of pictures. I always feel a sense of sadness when it is over because we won't wear them anymore. It's a ton of work, but such a fun time for us at this point in our lives with our kids, and I LOVE it! The stars of this year's Halloween were:

Tanner the "Wiimote"

My friend Lori made this costume and was kind enough to send it to me from Minnesota to borrow! I was so grateful. Tanner loved it and was a hit at school! Thank you dear friend!

Next it was Snow White and her Handsome Prince!(I can hardly resist the temptation to match the twins, can you tell?)
Um, who is that lurking there behind them?
Snow White, I'm not sure you should eat that apple!

Does this person look safe to you???

Is that an adorable little monkey I see? Quite possibly the cutest monkey EVER?
Why its Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat! That Man with the Yellow Hat is SUCH a trooper. I mean, only REAL men can pull off wearing ALL yellow, right?
The whole Jensen gang. I love Tan's bare feet in this picture. If you're wondering, he wore shoes to go trick-or-treating. I mean, it was warm, but come on!

All in all, a most fabulous Halloween. Megan said, it was her best ever! That always warms a mother's heart, doesn't it?! I was glad to hear it. I am almost 17 weeks pregnant, and the last two months have not been a walk in the park. Taking care of four, cute and active kiddos plus being sick and pregnant has been no picnic, but somehow we are getting by and managing to still have fun and do a little something here and there.

Fall Break

The boys are off on their annual boy trip. Every year they attend one away BYU game. They have gone to several places such as: Las Vegas, Colorado and even just Logan. This year they are in San Diego and are going to Sea World! Wish Zach luck at the game. He is not a fan of it! The game is NOT why he is on the trip! He is there to be part of the group, have fun and go to Sea World. I packed him a bag of things to do at the game. I hope he will last the 3-4 hours. Zach is proof that Brandon doesn't have the power to brainwash his children to love BYU football! Ha ha...people always used to say that about Tanner, but then Zach came along and it didn't work that way! Tan just naturally loves it all!

So While they do this:


And this:



Megan, Gavin and I went to play here today:



And are going to go here tomorrow:



Okay, okay so it's no Sea World, but it should be fun! For those of you that have a break also, have fun and Happy Fall Y'all!

This ticket is a keeper!

For those of you going to the BYU game on Friday, if you look on your ticket(or just look at this one) you will see Tanner and his cousin Noah. It's really them, I promise! This is something they do after every winning game...high five the players. Too bad you can't see their faces, but we'll take it.

Off to the Beaver State

It was off to Oregon for a long Labor Day weekend! Our niece Abby was getting baptized and we decided to head up for that so the kids could spend some time with their cousins. The drive was long(thank goodness for the DVD player!) but it was fun to go to the Portland area which we had never been to before. After the baptism, everyone enjoyed the great BYU win over Oklahoma! We went to the beach on Labor Day in Seaside, Oregon, where we played, ate lunch, roasted marshmallows, rode a carousel and had dinner. We also crossed the Columbia River into Washington State, another place we had never been! Zach loves his cousin Hallie. He is counting down the days until they come for a visit in November. He has adored her since she was a baby and she really enjoyed him this time too! They are very cute together. All the kids were!

Chalk Surprise

Megan said for me to come outside when I could.
I opened the door to find this:
Click on the photo.Just so happens...I really needed it today! Almost made me cry...yes, it's been one of those days!

First day of school!

They started! I only cried a little in the morning, because it is another milestone for the twins. Then Gavin and I trotted off to the Dollar Store like two little kids in a candy store!!! I am hoping and praying for a good year. Tanner is VERY happy with his teacher! So much more so than last year! Whoops, did I say that? Oh thank you, thank you! The next four posts are from our girls' trip to St. George! Brandon and Tan always take their boy trip(Zach may start to go this year...or maybe next year) and so I wanted to make a tradition with Megan. We took along my Mom and sister for the fun!

Silver Reef and Kolob Canyon

 

We visited Silver Reef-an old mining town North of St. George. Very interesting! We walked up the side of the hill to an old barred off mine shaft. Fascinating! Kolob is a piece of Zion Ntl. Park. We drove through and hiked a 1 mile hike on the Timber Creek trail. It was a great hike and the weather was perfect! Gorgeous!

St George!

 

I love St. George! It was fun to see things we hadn't before...we did some of the walking tour, which is mostly old pioneer homes, Brigham Young's Winter Home and the Tabernacle...places like that. Thomas Judd's store was very fun. They serve homemade soup and breadsticks and sell fun little old fashioned candy and sodas. I just noticed the phone booth picture is sideways! I'll fix that later...maybe!