CHRISTMAS!

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We sure had a great time here. I must say this has been our most fun Christmas yet. It is so fun now that Katie is old enough to really understand what's going on (I say that every year, but I think this year it's actually true!) And even though McKenna didn't quite get it, she sure was excited and loved all the presents. EVERYTHING the girls got was a huge hit which made it so fun. Even though Christmas is not all about the gifts, we feel extremely blessed to have had such a wonderful Christmas for our children. They were very lucky to get everything they wanted and more!

Here are some memories from this year's Christmas:

Christmas Eve

opening presents on Christmas Eve

Christmas jammies & Christmas book!

writing letters to Santa to leave with egg nog & cookies

"Dear Santa, I love you. And I love McKenna..."

so excited for Santa to come!

Christmas morning (7:30 am)

waiting patiently for everyone to be ready...

evidence that Santa was here!

Santa brought a kitchen!
He also brought...

a princess tea set for Katie &

a new baby & stroller for McKenna

fun new games -

Old Maid,

Matching,

Jenga (from the Yuans - thanks!),

Candyland

Katie's craft tool box from Gran Jensen - HUGE hit

the much anticipated Princess Book!!!

Little Einsteins stuffed dolls set - Katie picked these out herself for McKenna and she LOVES them. Way to go Katie!

McKenna discovered candy canes and VERY sticky fingers

new coordinating comforters for the bunkbeds - a very ambitious project for Mom, but she did it!

Princess dolls - Ariel, Snow White, & Belle

(thanks Elena and Grandma Hopkin!)

Elmo Live!!! McKenna's new best friend!

rhythm instruments from Grandma Hopkin - so fun!

beautiful books from GG Jensen - Polar Express & Puff the Magic Dragon

As you can see, we had VERY happy children Christmas morning. We managed to get through the day with only 1 breakdown! Impressive! After we opened presents and played for a bit, we went over to Dave's Aunt Sandy & Uncle Bruce's house for Christmas brunch. It was so fun & sure was fun to spend part of Christmas with family. There we had delicious food and had fun playing Christmas songs on the chimes. The girls even participated - Katie on chime #7 and McKenna conducting!

That evening, after much needed naps for mom & the girls, we went to our great friends Jason & Erica's house for a delicious Christmas dinner. We had prime rib (yum!). We then played Old Maid and the Wii. Very fun night - more time with family :)

The girls then stayed up until almost 10:00 playing in the playroom with all of their new toys. They were playing SO WELL together I didn't dare break it up.

We had such a great day. I love Christmas and love it even more than ever as a mom. It is so fun watching our girls get so excited and happy. That is the best Christmas present for this mom.

And we were SO THRILLED to hear the news that baby Maya Yuan was able to go home on Christmas Eve. What an amazing gift for Amy & Arthur! Merry Christmas you guys!

We love you all and wish we could have spent a part of the holiday with each of you. We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas as well!

Merry Christmas
to all of you and may the spirit of Christmas
- LOVE, family, & Christ -
be with you and your family this night and always.

D.E.A.R. time

Katie & I have been reading Charlotte's Web for the past month or so and finished it today. We have discovered that Katie loves us to read chapter books to her. She gets very excited to read a chapter before naptime or bedtime and is thrilled when we finish the entire book. It started with a princess book that her Uncle Don gave to her two Christmases ago that was about 250 pages long and full of chapters. We didn't dare tackle it back then when she was 2, so we mostly just looked at the pictures and made up shorter stories to go along. This summer I started reading it to her - one chapter at a time - to see how she would like it. She ended up loving it and asking for more everyday until we finished it in October. I honestly didn't think we would ever make it through the whole thing, but she loved every second of it. When we finished Katie said, "Mom, there was no Snow White or Sleeping Beauty in that book!" She then decided that she was going to ask Santa for another princess chapter book that had ALL the princesses in it for Christmas. In hopes of keeping her interest in chapter books alive, we started reading Charlotte's Web with the goal to finish it before Christmas when hopefully Santa would bring her the exact book she requested. And we did it! We read the final three chapters today before her nap. She was so excited when we turned the last page. She knew that meant that her princess book will be here soon! We'll see if she gets what she asked for tomorrow!

I am enjoying this time reading with Katie and hope that she continues to love reading, and reading with her mom, for a long time. I had never read Charlotte's Web before. I loved the animated movie as a child (and still do) so I knew the story well. I loved the book just as much as the movie, probably a little more (no surprise). The last two chapters were pretty emotional for me though. I don't know if it was the writing or the hormones, but Charlotte's death and Wilbur's new friendship with her daughters at the end definitely got me. What a sweet story of friendship and love. I would definitely recommend reading this classic children's story if you haven't already. And if you have, read it again!

Drop Everything And Read

My Very Own Personal Blog!

So...
I have started my own personal blog. Since I started this blog with the intention of it being our family blog, and have kind of taken it over as my own... So I have decided to take all my personal thoughts and randomness and put it on its own blog. Why I think that anybody is ever going to want to read it? I'm not sure. But this blog will now be dedicated to the Jensen FAMILY - pictures, videos, family updates, and such.

My new blog is called So Buttons
(so-ingbuttons.blogspot.com)
It still is very much a work in progress, but it's something. Hope you enjoy!

Woman of Habit

(This just happened a few minutes ago)

I was standing in the kitchen eating my dinner. Dave took Katie hometeaching with him and McKenna was done with her dinner. McKenna walks into the kitchen, opens the drawer with our "paper" goods in it, pulls out a sandwich bag, and says "cereal, Mama, cereal" while shaking it at me. When I took it from her, she then leads me into the mudroom/laundry room/pantry to the Cheerios. She then says "look Mama!" and pulls out the cereal. I put a small handful of Cheerios into her bag. She then runs off to the playroom saying "Whoa-Boz Mama! Whoa-Boz!" (Whoa-Boz = The Wizard of Oz). I then follow her to the playroom where I see that she has already turned the movie on. She sits down, starts eating her cereal, while watching her favorite movie "Whoa-Boz." She sure is a girl who knows what she wants and knows how to get it.

This happens at least once everyday. :)

This One's For Mom

When my brother went home for Thanksgiving, he told my mom that I didn't look pregnant. So, whenever I talk to my mom she brings that up and doesn't seem to believe that I'm getting big, so this one's for you mom. Proof that I am in fact growing! I still can't figure out how my brother could have missed seeing this belly...

Tag

I wasn't technically tagged, but MK did say anyone who wanted to...and I thought it would be fun......so.....

The tag is to post the eighth picture in the eighth folder on your computer.

This is the eighth picture in the eighth folder on my computer (well, in my picture folder)...kind of. I admit that I go overboard with the folders inside folders. My eighth folder was "2008." Inside that folder was a folder for each month - eighth one was "May 2008." Inside that folder were many folders as well (told you...) but there weren't eight. So I opened the first one - "Hogle Zoo - Katie's Birthday" - and this was the eighth picture:
(wow, did any of that make any sense?)

This is Katie & I on her third birthday at the Hogle Zoo, infront of the bear habitat - no bear of course :) For some reason we thought the bear was in the picture...? Whatever, it's cute of us and I'm glad to have the picture!

Tag: Erica, Becca, Kari, Kelly, Terri, anyone else who wants to do it!

(phew! that was kind of exhausting...)

Battle of the Jensen Singers

These girls crack me up!

For Your Entertainment :)

Get ready...

This is pretty funny...

Master Tigress vs. the Snake

Master Tigress vs. the Snake

Part II: Princess Style

The Turkey

I don't have many pictures from Thanksgiving (actually only 2), but I did get a picture of the turkey. Yes, I have officially cooked my first Thanksgiving turkey (actually my first any kind of turkey) and I have to say I think it was a success. We had a great time having Thanksgiving dinner at our house with great friends and family. We're so glad that some of our most favorite people were able to join us throughout the day! Sad that we didn't get to see the rest of you that we love so much :( - but we hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Now on to Christmas...!

btw - it was actually done even though the little red thing didn't pop up like it was supposed to...don't worry I didn't poison our friends!

What Have YOU Done?

This is pretty fun. TAG if you are reading this!
(Thanks for the fun idea Julie)

To participate, just copy and paste in your own blog, and bold all of the things you have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Seen Mount Rushmore in person
101. Learned to play an instrument

This makes me want to make a list of all the things I want to do/see in my life...maybe I should do that....

The Baileys

We love the Baileys!

Maddy, Zach, Danny, Abby, McKenna, Joey, Katie

We had so much fun a couple weekends ago going down the St. George to visit our good friends the Baileys. We are so glad that we were able to go and glad that they let us come! We had a fun time. The kids had a blast playing the whole time. We are lucky to have such great friends - that are still our friends even when they move far away! We miss you guys and can't wait for our next "vacation" together!

Evidence

Looks like we have some busy little bodies around our house
Here is some evidence I found this evening...

smudges

pen


not sure what this is...

more pen

20-something

22 weeks pregnant with Katie

23 weeks pregnant with McKenna

20 weeks pregnant with Baby #3

and feeling WAY more pregnant than I did with Baby #1 or #2,

but equally happy to be having a girl :)

Halloween

We had a great Halloween! Here are some pictures - sorry the pictures are kind of backwards :) You get the idea though - we had fun!

Our Jack-o-Lantern pizza for Halloween dinner

Getting ready to Trick-or-Treat with friend Grace.

(McKenna = mouse, Katie = Bel, Grace = cat)

So excited!

Katie had a Halloween party at preschool and had SO MUCH FUN

We carved pumpkins too - Katie & McKenna even designed their own :)

Family picture #2 of the year

Hay bail maze at the pumpkin patch

Picking out our pumpkins