Channing and Cody= Married

Channing and Cody's big day finally arrived!  All the hard work paid off and everything was beautiful.  They were married in the St. George, Utah LDS Temple on April 27th.  Their marriage sealing was wonderful.  Channing was beautiful.  Cody was smiling.  There was lots of family around.  And the sun was shining (maybe a little too much, because standing for pictures was hot!)  It was a great day.  Here are some of my favorite shots from the day:

Abe Family

Hamblin Family (minus one brother who is serving a mission)

Don't they look so happy?

Congrats Channing and Cody!  You guys are awesome together.  We are so excited for you.  And we love you so much!

President LeBaron's Funeral

It was hard to hold back the tears when I learned that my dear mission president, Milo LeBaron, had passed away.  He was an amazing mission "dad", leader and friend.  He is the most loving man I have ever known.  I had the unique opportunity to serve closely to President and Sister LeBaron at the end of my mission when I was called as AP.  I personally have seen their love for the Lord, His church and for the missionaries.  I learned a lot from Pres. LeBaron that I hope I will never forget.

I am really grateful that I was able to travel to Mesa for his funeral.  It was neat to learn some things about him that I hadn't previously known and it was very good to see Sister LeBaron.  It has been at least two years since I have seen them, and over seven years since I was a missionary!  I loved catching up with some of the amazing sisters I served with (and met some that I didn't have the pleasure of serving with).  But most of all, this past weekend renewed me spiritually.  So many mission memories have been brought to my remembrance.  I was reminded of the missionary fire that I had while on Temple Square and the love that was felt and shared there.  President LeBaron will always have a special place in my heart and memory.  143!

Temple Square sisters with Sister LeBaron

We got to sing during the funeral along with other missionaries that have served with the LeBarons (He was mission president three times, along with being the Mesa Visitor Center directors twice.)  It was an emotional, yet neat experience to sing to President and his family, "Called to Serve" and his favorite hymn, "Love One Another".  

Jerilyn Hartley and I

My baby!- Marlene (Hernandez), Alanna (Head) and the Jensens....we would play ball with Elder Jensen sometimes

Darci (Lucas) and I

Katie (Anderson) and Marlene

An AP 5 generation picture....Sisters Abe, McCallister, Hernandez, Head, Otto.

(One had to be photoshopped in though)

Thanks to all of you for making my mission (and this weekend) special. And wherever we are, remember that we are always "Called to Serve" and to "Love One Another"! 

We Fly to Wisconsin So We Can Drive to South Carolina

Yes, that is right; we flew to Wisconsin in order to drive to South Carolina with my family for the big Jensen family reunion.  It was cheaper this way (and we wouldn't have to take a red-eye) and plus, we got to spend more time with Grandma and Grandpa Abe.  The girls did great on the plane ride, but were pretty tired once we got to Wisconsin.  But they perked up once we got to Grandma and Grandpa's house.  It has been two years since Kylie and I have been Gma and Gpa's and this was Ellie's first time in Wisconsin.  The two girls took off exploring the house....opening every door and cupboard, going through/admiring my sisters' stuff and trying to find toys they could play with.  It was kind of funny.  We ran around the yard a little and picked raspberries (and ate them right off the vine of course).  And that night we had dinner at Culvers!

 

At the Milwaukee airport

 

Hitchin' a ride on the front of the stroller

 

This NEVER happens.  Guess she was pretty tired.

 

Ellie loving her frozen custard!

We stayed in Wisconsin for less than two days before we loaded up my parents' cruiser van and headed towards the East Coast.  Sleeping the whole night in the car was a little rough for my girls, well mostly just Ellie.  Kylie feel asleep great (I think we have her trained now that she can "start her bedtime" in the car from all our late night trips to Vegas).  But Ellie struggled, especially with all of the car and street lights.  She in one that needs to be in her own bed with it pitch black.  I was pretty ingenious though and strung up some blankets in the back to act as curtains for her.  It worked for a couple of hours.  She ended up sleeping (really, tossing and turning) on my chest most of the night.  And then as soon as the sun was up, which was 5am WI time, both my girls were up too.  Needless to say, I didn't get much (any) sleep.  But I felt surprisingly good the next day....probably because we were headed to the beach!

It was Sunday morning and Father's Day when we arrived in South Carolina.  We stopped by the temple in Columbia for breakfast and a little spiritual thought. 
 

Then a couple hours later, we were digging on the beach! 

 

 Next post:  Jensen family reunion and Myrtle Beach bliss!

Who You Are - Hilary Weeks

Tonight we had a stake Relief Society dinner and presentation by Hilary Weeks.  I was of course excited to go just for a little time with other women and to hear Hilary sing.  But I did not expect that I would leave so uplifted.  It was something that I desperately needed.  (Thank you Chris for re-arranging your night so I could go!)  Hilary spoke mostly on the power of our thoughts and how identifying our positive thoughts and increasing the number of positive thoughts we have on a daily basis can change us.  Lately, I have felt burdened by the amount of seemingly meaningless tasks that I spend my day doing...dishes, cooking, cleaning, laundry, picking up toys....  I wish I could spend all day teaching and playing with my children and working on projects to beautify our home and our lives.  But often, at the end of the day, I feel that I didn't accomplish much.  Since chores seem to be an inevitable part of motherhood, I have been trying to  find some kind of joy in those tasks I do for my family. 

Anyway, tonight's message was renewing.  It strengthened me.  So, I thought that I would share the last song that she sang for us, "Who You Are".  I thought she had written it for me.  (This is a new song, so she doesn't have a video for it yet.  The video below is just one I found on YouTube.  You don't have to watch it, but definitely listen to it.  Though some of the pictures I could relate to!  I contemplated making my own slide show with pictures, but then I thought, "With what spare time?"  Maybe I will in the future.)

“I know you wonder if you’ll ever have a day where the kids stay calm, the laundry’s done and the dishes are put away.  And sometimes you feel like your days are spent and gone and the question running through your mind is, “What have I gotten done?”

And when you finally have a moment to slow down at the end of your day, I know that Father would say,

‘Believe in what you’re doing.  Believe in who you are.  And hold tight to the truth that you’re a daughter of God.  Believe in who you’re becoming.  Believe in who you are.’ 

It may seem simple all the little things you do, but the lives you touch matter so much.  And there’s no one else like you.   And Father needs you to stand tall and faithful.  To be all you can be.  Oh, if you could see what he sees, you’d believe in what you are doing. And you’d believe in who you are.  So hold tight to the truth that you are a daughter of God.  Believe in who you’re becoming, believe in who you are. 

When it’s hard to believe in yourself and you feel that you are beginning to doubt, remember, He believes in what you’re doing. And He believes in who you are.  So don’t lose sight of the truth that you’re a daughter of God.  That He believes in who you’re becoming.  He believes in who you are.”

Christmas at our house

It was fun to have my whole family and grandparents at our house for Christmas.  It was a busy week and of course went by too fast.  My mom was able to come out a week early, which Kylie loved.  We played, baked lots of cookies and did a little shopping.   

Sugar cookies!  Kylie was pretty good cutting them out, but would lick the frosting instead of keeping it on the cookies!

Stirring the brownies

We all went skiing, yes, even Chris!  It was fun even the snow wasn't the greatest (o.k. was non-existent)

Devin and Chelsa

Chandra and Channing

 It was so fun to have Grandma and Grandpa Jensen come!  We always love spending time and playing games with them. 

Ellie and Great-grandma Jensen

Ellie and Great-grandpa Jensen

 Right before Christmas, we (Mom, Dad, Gma and Gpa J, Devin, Lori, Chris and I) got to go to the SLC temple.  My grandparents were married there and have never done a session there, so I decided it was necessary to go!  And of course, since serving my mission there, it is one of my favorite places.  After the temple, we were able to walk around a bit to look at the lights (quickly...it was freezing) and grab a bit to eat.  It was a memorable night.  (Thanks Chandra and Channing for babysitting.)

  

Temple in El Salvador!

Chris served his mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in San Salvador, El Salvador from 2001 to 2003.  We were able to visit for 10 days in August of 2008, which was an amazing experience for me.  It was so fun to see where Chris served, to meet some of the wonderful individuals and families he taught, and to see the country.  We were excited to hear the news that the temple there was finished and dedicated just this past August.  I can just imagine the excitement of the members there.  This morning I watched a short video about the dedication and the impact the new temple has had on a particular family there.  I couldn't hold back the tears!  It was a good start to my day and reminded me of the blessings of the temple and how grateful I am to have one (o.k., multiple ones) so close!