You know you're a great parent when ...

The other day, Aaron got THE cutest letter from one of his friends in his kindergarten class and ward in Orem (see below). I know ... she is an amazing writer for a kindergartener. Wow.

Anyway ... Aaron naturally wanted to write her a letter in response. So, tonight, as he was writing the letter - he was asking quite often how to spell certain words. His last sentence he wrote in his letter was "We can be pen pals!" When he started the first letter of that sentence - he piped up, saying, "Oh - I don't need help with this word. We ... [W - I - I], right mom?" Yeah. I'm feeling pretty good right about now.

Kids ... or whatever

As I put together the kitchen closet - I wanted to have a place where my kids could reach everything they needed to get themselves breakfast and snacks. So, I put kid bowls and plastic spoons and paper plate products and what-not on the lowest shelf in there. WE...e...ell - this morning, I decided to make the kids pancakes and eggs - so, they didn't have to get their own breakfast this morning. Good thing - 'cuz when I opened that closet to get out their "kid plates" for their pancakes, I found this ...


Hmmmm ... Couldn't be Marissa, Krystal, or Aaron - because I was feeding them. Perhaps my other kid (Tyler IS just a big kid at heart, you know)? Well - lo and behold - nicely rinsed out next to the sink - is the "kid" bowl Tyler used for his cereal this morning before work. And - along with so helpfully rinsing his dishes - he put the milk away ... for easier access the next day? hahahahaha. Gotta love my kiddo hubby! I sure do.

And - on a more frustrating note. I got a call from the hospital today. Apparantly - they did one of Aaron's lab tests wrong. AAGGGGHHHHHHHH!!! That makes me so frustrated! His lab was suppose to be frozen for this specific test - and it wasn't. So, lucky us - we get to take Aaron in (tears and all) to have the labs drawn again. Really - it isn't a huge deal. But, having blood drawn is a little more traumatic for a 6 year old than it would be for me. And - we BETTER not get charged twice for it! Oh, the joys of life, eh?

Actually - I don't think I blogged what is going on with Aaron. The doctor had a test done that suggested that Aaron has a rare metabolic disorder (called Acyl-carnitine translocase deficiency) that involves not using the long-chain fatty acid stores for energy when he goes too long without eating. So, when he has the flu - or is sick - and doesn't eat as much as normal - big problems happen and he ends up in the hospital. The lab work will help the metabolic specialist and geneticist at Primary Children's treat him. So, we're hoping for a child that just has normal reactions to viruses in the future. The doctor also thinks both Krystal and Marissa possibly have the same disorder. I'll post more as I get more info.

At least I have the milk in the pantry to chuckle about all day. ;)

A Week in the Life of the Jenson Clan

Our backyard is a TOTAL adventure. Every child that has played back there has stepped shin deep in a mud puddle at least once (ugh!) - haha. But, the kids are learning to stay away from the mud and just enjoy the dirt. It must seem so HUGE to them - Aaron always says, "I'm gonna go climb the mountain out back, Mom!" It'll be nice to get a yard in - but, for now - the kids are in heaven.

We had a fabulous Easter. The kids love having the Easter bunny come - and spending time with family. We had our traditional "Easter Egg Roll" at Grover and DeAnns on Saturday. Mom and Dad made a FEAST for Easter Sunday ... so good. We enjoyed an incredible Sacrament Meeting by our ward choir. What a wonderful weekend!

We are still trying to unpack and find places for everything ... but here's a little of what we've done so far. The pictures below show the family room/dining room area. We are in love with our new couches. They are so comfy. I'm hoping to get a little more color in there - couch pillows, something above that big window, and maybe a rug. Any other suggestions?

Here's the kidlings bathroom. It is the one room that is finished ... well, except for a shower rug (we've got the monkey rug in front of the sink now). :) And the list goes on and on .... hahaha. Anyway - documenting will continue! Stay tuned. ;)

WE are home!!

Well, thanks to Chris M., we have our internet up and running again. Yay! I know it's only been a couple of days, but I have missed the blogging world a TON. Thank you so much Topher!

We are extremely blessed. We moved 2 HUMUNGOUS loads Friday afternoon. Look at this amazing turn out of help that we had!!!!!! I love you guys all so much. Thank you. Thank you. Everyone worked incredibly hard ... lots of loading and unloading. Then Kendra, Lindsay, James, Mom, and Dad started getting things set up. What a fun surprise! Kristy - bless her heart - watched tons of kids for hours. She deserves the biggest gold medal available. Thanks Kris - I love you. Uncle Craig provided us with a huge trailer to move our stuff - heaven sent!! THANK YOU!!

We are so happy to be in our new home! I'll be posting more pictures soon.

James-boy came over today and put the kids' beds and a desk together. Honestly, James - what would we do without you? Everything looks fantastic ... and I will CERTAINLY post pictures when the toys are a little more evenly distributed (rather than randomly all over the place)! :) And, here is James (yet again) helping us figure out our washer and dryer. I couldn't help but post Ty's confused (yet again) look. Oh, James - thank you so much!

We can't wait to show off our new place to everyone!! We're working hard to get everything put away. I'll post pictures of our awesome piano and new couches tomorrow! Love everybody so much! Thanks again all that helped - we count our friends and family twice as blessings.

All Better

Say a Prayer for Our Aar-Bear

I am so lucky to have the best families in the whole world! Aaron was hospitalized today ("again?" you ask? Believe me - we did too :O!). He woke up this morning with an upset tummy, so we let him stay home from school. Thank heavens - 'cuz an hour later he started throwing up. Every time this kid starts vomiting - it gets out of control. From 8am - 11am he threw up over a dozen times. So, we took him to the doctor. After an entire afternoon of doctor's office and labs at the hospital - and hauling around a 50 lb. kid + throw up bowl + purse + Krystal + all the paper work they hand to ya - I was exhausted! Thank heavens for Mom and my sisters who came to my rescue. I really don't know what I would do without you guys. We came home for a little while - and then the doc called and said he'd better be admitted to the hospital right away. How is it that I was yelling at Aaron to stop goofing off and go to sleep just 12 hours ago? Now he's laying lathargically in a hospital bed hooked up to an IV. I am so grateful that the hospital can make my little boy better - I certainly can't. Anyway - thank you so much Grover and DeAnn for keeping Miss and Krys while we got Aaron situated. And - thank you Kristy for picking up and caring for Marissa. And - thank you Mom and M for all you do continually to help me get through days like today. I love you guys!

Say a prayer for our Aar-bear.

A Shout Out to the Boys (A-Z): by T-Dawg

A- Attached or single: Attached (12 1/2 years of pure bliss)

B- Best Friend: Michelle

C(a)-Cake or Pie: pie ... Key Lime pie, Pumpkin pie, Banana Cream pie, Coconut Cream pie ... I love pie!
C (b)-Coke or Pepsi: Coke ... Diet

D- Day of Choice: Saturday. It's the weekend baby!

E- Essential Item: My Wii. Haha - Never gets old.

F- Favorite Color: Blue

G- Gummy Bears or Worms: neither - I'm not much of a gummy person.

H- Hometown: Orem, Utah - Born and raised ... on the playground is where I spent most of my days ... chillin' out, maxin', relaxin' all cool ... and shootin' some B-ball outside of my school - ahh ... you get it.

I- Indulgence(s): scuba diving, video games

J- January or July: July

K-Kids: 3 - Marissa, Aaron, and Krystal

L-Life is incomplete without: my family

M- Marriage Date: August 17, 1995

N- Number of Siblings: 3 brothers

O- Oranges or Apples: hmmm ... probably oranges

P-Phobias or Fears: SPIDERS!!! yuck.

Q-quote(s): 1: There is no chance, no fate, and no destiny that can circumvent, or hinder, or control the firm resolve of a determined soul. (E. Wilcox)

R- Reason To Smile: I have a hot wife.

S-Season: Fall (FOOTBALL!)

T-Tag Eight: Aaron F, Brandon, Brent, James-boy, Jeremy, Kent, Ryan D, Topher

U-Unknown Fact About Me: My favorite TV shows are Hanna Montana and Home Improvement.

V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: I love meat.

W- Worst Habit: I drop my pants in the doorway as soon as I walk in.

X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Huh? For what?

Y- Your Favorite Food: Baby back ribs, candy, and a perfectly cooked steak

Z-Zodiac: Aquarius

B.L.A.H.

B. Birthday.

Our lil' Aar-bear turned 6 YEARS OLD today. He is just the sweetest kid EVER. I hope he had an okay day. I have been so sick all week - and today I was finally able to get an antibiotic to hopefully kill whatever bug it is that is causing me so much greif. So - Aaron got to spend a good part of his day with me in the doctor's office and waiting for my prescription to be filled. He was a good sport and was happy to get a cool Bumblebee Transformer while we waited. He also chose to go out to SF to see our house in the afternoon - that, dinner at One Man Band (his absolute new fave), and some Nintendo Wii filled his 6th birthday today. Happy Birthday, Aaron! We sure love you TWO billion trillion scooter pieces!

L. Laundry.

Why is it that laundry is so overwhelming? I feel like I canNOT even come close to keeping up with it this week. I get WAY too tired WAY too fast. I can't WAIT to be feeling better - but, even then - the laundry never ends. Ugh.

A. Attitude.

For some reason it gets more and more difficult to stay peachy and optimistic as a sickness drags on and on. I was really trying all week to "HOPE" my symptoms away. And, honestly - I felt like it was working several times - but, I'd always end up tired and miserable again anyway. haha. Just get into the doc ASAP - although, that's a hard line to draw, because sometimes if you go in too soon - ya just get sent home - only to be back in a few days later. Oh the drama. So - double blah.

H. House.

Now - don't get me wrong ... this is DEFINITELY NOT a "Blah" topic or event happening in our lives. In fact, it is nothing but EXCITING! Getting ready to pack up and move is quite an overwhelming thought - especially when I can't even keep up on our small space here at the Jenson's right now. But, I'll be better soon - and it'll all go well. It's hard not to smile (and leap for joy, actually) whenever I look at these pictures I took of our house today. Enjoy:

Here is what we see when we open the front door:

Missy Dee at the kitchen sink:

The kitchen:

The crawl space (it actually extends all the way under our entire house!)

Tyler getting ready to enjoy our nice garden tub:

So, even though I'm feeling blah - I'll be better soon ... and life really IS good. We are so blessed and happy! :)

Obsession?

I pretty much always have my nose in a book - and therefore, I keep books on hold at the library very regularly ... ya know, so I can always have a book to read. Anyway - I have gone several days .... yes, DAYS ... without a library book. And then, voila - today, I get a call from the library - and look what treasure I had to pick up! That should keep me busy, huh? I had also put the movie "Rocketman" on hold for Marissa back when she was sick. It was her only request. Apparantly, the 5th grade watched it in short increments throughout the week - and she missed part of it. It came today too. Weird movie. Made for a pretty impressive stack, though, don'tcha' think? Where to start? Hmmmmmm.....

Oh, and PS - I just think it is the funniest when Marissa hollers to Aaron, "AA-AA-AA-RON! I can't get this DVD to work!" And Aaron (exasperated): "Okay - just a minute - I'm coming." hahaha. Notice she doesn't ask me - I'd have to ask Aaron too. :)

On your mark ... get set ...

The next many posts I'm sure will be of our house, because it's all coming together so quickly now, and we move in next weekend. Sooo ... stay tuned or stay away, I guess :) - depending on how boring that sounds. haha.

Anyway - we had an early morning meeting on Tuesday this week just to make sure everything is looking as we expected. Our appliances were mostly in - aren't they pretty?

Carpet goes in tomorrow. Crazy. More pics coming soon.

Krystal all bundled and ready to go out to our new house!

Kent is to Blame - in a good way, of course :)

So, we are huge video game fans. We have recently purchased "Zelda: Twilight Princess" for our Nintendo Wii - and we LOVE it! Ty -n- I rationalize these kinds of purchases, because they really DO save us money in our entertainment fund ... 'cuz all we want to do is stay home and play! :) Seriously, though - I blame our obsession on my dear brother Kent - who got us involved in this type of stuff in the beginning.

It all began with our endless, yet VERY entertaining and enjoyed, saga of Heroes Quest. O man - even though it was a board game .... we had very vivid imaginations. And playing against Kent ... well ... priceless. Tyler and I became oh so close during those fierce decision making game plays! :) And then - Kent moved us along to the Myst games. Let me just say - we were hooked easily. And, again ... playing along side Kent = priceless. The last couple in the Myst games, Tyler and I were on our own. And although we finished them - and played them diligently - we had to cheat on almost every puzzle. Our brain power just wasn't the same without good ol' Kenter Qube.

So, anyway, Kent - this post goes out to you - and how you brought me and Ty together in one of the only things that we have in common ... video gaming. haha. This Zelda game is SO much fun - wish you were here with us. Lotsa love.

Reminiscing ...

How many of you remember playing Barbies and/or Cabbage Patch dolls? Me, Kristy, and Melynda used to call it CP for short - so we could try to trick Kent, so he wouldn't tell on us if we didn't let him play - haha - very rarely worked. Well, my idea of "playing" consisted of getting the dolls dressed as adorable as possible, fixing their hair in yet another fantastic style, and RE-setting them up in their homes ... much different from my daughters' immense imaginative play. Krystal and Marissa have never cared AT ALL about what their dolls' hair looks like ... or even if they have clothes on ...

ANYWHO ... Melynda found this REALLY fun blog of a mom who posts her childrens' hairstyles with instructions. I was in awe. When Marissa was little, I always would fix her hair in extravagant hair-dos. But, for some reason, ever since Krystal was born - I very rarely fix my girls' hair. Hmmmmm. So, after viewing this blog in detail, I was inspired. Below are pictures of the hairstyles I accomplished today .... and I realized how theraputic and rejuvinating it was for me. Although these "do's" took some time today - I remember being very speedy in the past. Hopefully, my girlies will continue to have fabulous hair - for a little while, anyway. Miss can fix her own hair now - so, she might just let me every once in a while.