Sweet Dreams

Even though it's been snowy and cold all day, I've never felt more warm and content.

I woke up early this morning (4:30 or so) I always do on Wednesday morning. Kelley had already been up for a while.

Me: "Did you get an email this morning?"

Kelley: no answer. I thought.."well he must have not heard me" Kelley: "Why don't you check and see if you got one" He put his robe around me and followed me downstairs. Sure enough I had one. This is what I read:

3/31/2010


Hey Mom, I am safe and sound, so no worries about the bombs. We had an interesting week. We went with Aleksei to so goodbye at the train station, it was hard for me, but we found out that there are actually 4 missionaries in his city, so we arranged to have them meet him at the station in Moldova, and it all worked out, and I heard that things are going good and that he is going to be baptized! So that is way awesome, he wanted to do it here, but he really want to go home too, so now everything worked out. I am so happy for him and can’t wait to get pictures, ill send them to you for sure. I don’t know if I ever told you, but he told me that he read the Book of Mormon 4 times in the months since we met. Incredible right?! We also were able to find a new investigator last week, his name is Garry, he is a friend of someone who used to meet with the missionaries. We me Garry’s friend on the metro and then he came with Garry, we gave him a BoM and he said he would read. If I could ask for one random thing in a package it would be new socks, mine aren’t so new anymore. and maybe some creamy peanut butter. and then I would be satisfied. I finished the BoM recently and it was really incredible, My testimony grew so much, I have been reading the New Test. since and I love it too, it has been cool to see how the Savior acted and the things he said, I love the scriptures, there is an endless amount of priceless knowledge in them. Isn’t it great? I am so grateful for the knowledge that we have of him and his life, even though it is limited. I would just challenge you guys to show your appreciation for the Scriptures by studying them more sincerely and more often. Ask questions and find answers. I know that it has changed my view on things since been studying well everyday. I promise it will help you too. I love you guys.
Elder Jensen

So I read it, then invited Kelley to read it. Me: "So did you get one?" Kelley: "Yes" Me: "Well can I read it?" ( we always share our emails with each other!) Kelley: "no" Me: "hmmmmmm why not?" Kelley: "You just can't" So I sat there and thought about it for a minute. I figured it was just something private between those two, so I just let it go.... Kelley could see I was kind of flustered though, so he said "ok, you can read it" By then I was like "if you don't want me to read it, I won't...I understand if it's private!" He said, " that's not it... you better read it"

Re: Bombings?‏
From:
Kelley Carson Jensen (kelley.jensen@myldsmail.net)
Sent:
Wed 3/31/10 3:23 AM
To:
Kelley Jensen (jkj51156@hotmail.com)
That is way cool to hear a story about how the spirit was working so strongly through her. Stories like that are really like my favorite thing to hear and to experience. I love that the Lord really wants us to know his will and has prepared a way for us to receive it. Incredible how it works. So yeah there were bombings on Monday morning here. It was at a station that is like 10 minutes from our main church building in the center of the city, but all the missionaries were still at home studying so we are all safe. We got a call Monday morning before companion study and our zone leaders told us not to go outside today, so we just hung out at home all day, it was really unsatisfying because we had a super good day planned. Oh well. It was two women apparently who stuck bombs to themselves, they ended up killing like 38 people. It was really awful. and now security is crazy, I had to walk through a scanner to get to this email place. So, its a little nerve racking riding on the subway now, but what can you do, we cant really go anywhere without it. Maybe don't tell Mom all of that? Just tell her that I'm safe and that President Cranney is taking good care of us, and most importantly the Lord is watching out for us, so we are always in good hands. We are way safe at our apartment, and we don't ride them metro tons, so no worries. I hope you had a good week, tell the ward hello from me. I love you Dad.
Elder Jensen

That explains a lot. Kind of unsettling, but I needed to know what was going on.... I'm the mom...need the info! I had asked K.C. about the bombings in my email to him. He is a sweet heart to want to keep me from worrying about him. Kelley and I talked about it a little bit, then he went to work. It was still pretty early, and I thought if I went back to bed I'd never wake up to go to racquetball, so I decided to just lay down and read my scriptures for a while.

The next thing I knew, I was getting the best hug ever from K.C.! He said he could only stay for a little while. We sat in the living room and talked about his mission. He was wearing his black suit and looked very grown up and handsome. He had on his missionary badge with his name written in Russian. He told me how much he loved being a missionary...he said he had never been happier. Then he sat at the piano and started playing a Russian song, but after a minute, it turned into As I have loved you . It all seemed very natural and so very real. Then the sound of footsteps began to drown out the piano music... and then K.C. was gone and Kelley was standing there at the foot of the bed. They had gotten snowed out at the job. I was all flustered for a minute... I wasn't ready to wake up!

Kelley came and held me while I told him about my dream.

Sounds kind of crazy, but I think Heavenly Father knew I needed a hug from my boy, whether it was in my head or my heart, or just in a lovely dream. What ever it was, I am so grateful for this sweet gift ...I can still feel the warmth of his arms around me.

A few things from the last few days....
I have been thinking a lot about K.C.. There was a terrorist bombing in Moscow this morning on the subway, killing 37 people, wounding about 65 others. My heart skipped a beat when Kelley told me about it...K.C. takes the subway there every day... but then just as quickly I felt at peace. I know K.C. has a special plan for his life and he will be protected while he is serving the Lord. (somehow, I have been able to put out of my mind what a scary place he is serving in)
We got this email from him this past week. It sounds like this was a hard week for him. Kind of hard to hear of this turn of events. He has been so hopeful and excited for this young man they had been teaching. It sounded like he is really ready and prepared to be baptized. But you never know what will happen...with God all things are possible! I am just so grateful that he has the faith to put things into God's hands when he has done all that he can do.

Hey Mom,
How are you doing? Sounds like your doing well from your letter. Thats way cool that Phil is getting married, Ill have to write him a letter and congratulate him. Thats way funny about candice being on tv, what did she think about it. Man its been forever since she worked there. Things are going well here, I was In Keiv on Monday, it was way nice weather, like +10 C, and sunny, so that was way nice, Ill send some pictures. I have been a little stressed the past couple of days, it seems like things are kind of getting out of my control, and I really want everything to go right. But I know that even if it is out of my control, everything is under Gods control. That is what gives peace to my heart. You guys get to watch conference in a couple weeks, thats exciting.We will have to wait until the 10th. But Conference on the mission is the best, I loved it last time, because there is really no time that I have every needed revelation from the prophet more than now. So im really looking forward to it. Alekcei bought a ticket to go back to Moldova this Friday, its way sad. I may cry that day a little. I have only known him for a month but meeting him has really influenced my mission and probably my whole life. He wants to write letters every month, but I will still miss him. I can just hope that someday they will get a branch in his city, the closest on is like 100 km away. I just pray that the Lord will help him not get lost. One of our other investigators had to postpone his baptism to the 3rd of April instead of this Saturday, but thats ok, he'll just be even more ready then. I love you so much Mom, hope you have a good week.
Elder Jensen


Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:29:49 +0300
Subject: Re: pond scum
From: kelley.jensen@myldsmail.net
To: jkj51156@hotmail.com


Hey Dad,
I really am glad I didn’t have to smell the pond again. Although I wouldn’t mind working along side you for a little bit. So what kind of stuff did you get at the expo? I think I’m going to go and buy a pole soon and then go fishing on p days. That would be the best thing ever, doesn’t even matter if I don’t catch anything, it would just be relaxing to sit in the sun and fish for an hour or so. Our work here seems become 3 times more complicated in the last week, so I’m a little stressed. But I know that the Lord is always there to pick up the slack when after I do my best. It is hard to be the one that has to decide things, but I am really growing as I am having to rely on the Lord. I have grown more in this last little bit than at any other time in my life. The growth doesn’t come free, but it’s all worth it. Thanks for teaching me to work hard and to do what I know is right. Love you.
Elder Jensen..


Saturday, I went to Nikki's wedding shower. It was so great to see her and Sherry and Jamie. There was a lot of hugging and crying going on. Oh man I sure do miss them! Every day I look out my front window at their house (that will always be their house) and my heart aches a little bit for them. They have been through a very difficult time, yet remain optimistic and positive that things will turn out the way they are supposed to. I so admire their strength, courage and faith.
Michael gave his homecoming talk yesterday in church. He has really grown up a lot and gave a great talk. I remember two years ago when he was leaving, his talk was pretty short. Yesterday, he filled up the whole time, so the high council speaker was moved to another week. It's amazing to see what a mission can do for a young man.
Another thing I was so impressed with is the way Nancy handles the choir. We have been working on the song "Beautiful Savior" to sing yesterday. She had picked 3 primary girls to play chimes for an introduction, then she had the primary kids learn the first verse and also how to sign the words to it. The choir sang the rest of the song and she had Cami playing the violin for the last verse. It was quite the production! Anyway, she had us all come at 10:30 to practice and it was pure madness. The primary kids were tearing all over the place. Some were crying cause they didn't get to stand where they wanted to. Cami didn't show up till right before church started, and Nancy hadn't been able to get hold of her so she was just hoping she would remember she was playing. The choir had a hard time finding their parts on the last verse, so Nancy said "why don't you just play their parts instead of all that accompaniment". So at the last minute, I completely changed what I was playing ( I was kind of glad ...much easier! ) Anyway, through all of this, she stays completely calm and unruffled. She always says at the end of our practice..."this is really going to be beautiful" even though it may sound not so beautiful when we are practicing! Anyway, I do admire her for the calming effect she has on everyone, her great attitude and easy going way and mostly for her unwavering faith that everything will work out!

The other night when the family came over, Kim brought all these pictures he had taken at Camille's wedding. We don't have a lot of pictures from her wedding so I was thrilled to get them. Thanks Kim!

He took a some good one's of Kellen's family too.

Here's a few other one's he brought over.

Kelley and Chris at Plymouth Elementary. First day of school for Chris

These were at Grampa's birthday party last year

This was a Polaroid he had of K.C. Cute!

This was at our wedding

At a family reunion up in Centerville

Families are Forever

We had quite the treat last night. Chris had put together a slide show for Kelley's dad's 90th birthday. It hadn't worked out that we could be together to watch it till last night.

Chris and his family had come up from Las Vegas to fly out with Kelley's dad and Pat to meet up with Mark in Mexico. I think it was hard for Kelley because he wanted to go with them so much...well we all did, but it just didn't work out that we could go this time. With Kelley taking work off to go to Haiti and other responsibilities, it wasn't a good time for us to go. Hopefully we will be able to go in June!
We invited all his family over and had a little dinner, then watched the dvd he had put together.
Chris had collected pictures from all the brothers and had gone through lots of his mom and dads old pictures too. It was so fun to see these pictures of when Maxine and Lisle when they were young and just married and starting out their life together. Then there were pictures of all the boys as they came along. Then their wives and grandchildren. It was just really cute how he put it all together with old songs playing that kind of went along with the pictures.
There was lots of laughing!!! It was so great to see these brothers laughing together as they reminisced over the past 50 years.
There were a lot of tears too. Seeing all those pictures of Maxine really brought out a lot of emotions. She was such a big part and influence on all of our lives. I think as we watched the slides of her interacting with us and our families, we were all thinking our own special thoughts and memories of her.
Chris gave each one of us a copy of the dvd and that is quite a treasure. So grateful that he would take the time and effort to put it together for us.
These are some pictures we had given him to use in it.

This was before Kelley and I were married. Leslie let me borrow her car and I drove down to Salt Lake to meet the family. I had never driven down there by myself and got quite lost. I had to stop at a phone booth and call Kelley to direct me to his house.
That first dinner at their house was quite an adventure. I remember a lot of: Loud boys, laughing, eating ribs, reaching across the table, teasing each other, large bowls of food (I'm talking the big tupperware bowl full of mashed potatos) , dogs running through the house (3 legged emmy sitting under my chair waiting to be fed) Maxine being sweet to me...sweet but kind of cool...I think she was still kind of surprised at Kelley's change of direction after he started dating me. He had been quite serious with another girl that lived by them and Kelley's mom was quite close with their family. It wasn't long before we became best of friends though. Anyway, this was quite different from the Braegger family meals. Our meals were always pleasant and calm. "Please pass the potatos" We would always eat quietly while talking politely about the day, or about church or the weather. I guess that is the difference between being raised with 3 girls and 6 boys!


This was down in Monticello at Kelley's grandparents old house.

Kelley's Grampa Jensen. He was living with them when we were dating. I only met him a few times and he passed away just a few weeks after we were married so I never got to know him, but Kelley has some great memories of him.

This was at his funeral in Monticello

This was at a get together we had when Kelley's cousin's from Oklahoma came up to visit. We are close with his cousin Kelli-Ann and her family...They are great people! I would love to go to Oklahoma and see where Kelley's mom grew up.


So sweet. This is how I remember Maxine.
She loved to read and has given all of her grandchildren an amazing library of the classics.
Every Christmas and birthday, she would add something new to their collection. Then she would write a little note inside the book to them. Priceless treasure.

Kelley's dad is doing really well and was so excited to go on this trip. He says he is worried about being a burden at the airport because he can't walk very fast, and that this will be his last trip. He is slowing down a bit, but still gets along amazingly well for his age.

He is really in his element when he is fishing.. There was lots of great pictures of him fishing in the slide show and he sure looks happy! I hope this is a great week for him!

Just had to throw that one in...it makes me smile!

This was at Lisle and Maxine's 50th wedding anniversary. All the grand kids sang some cute songs for the program."Having a grandmother to love you...is better than the frosting on the cake!"

Katie, Tiffany, Sara and Camille having fun at Grandmas. How lucky to have cousins to grow up with.

This was when Chris was in the MTC. We all went down to visit him. How times have changed.

Katie and Camille spent a lot of time with Maxine. When we would go over for a visit, they would always beg to stay over night...then most of the next day! I think that's why they have such a strong bond with her. She was the only babysitter they ever had.

Chris, Ted, and Kelley on a river trip. Nice hair

Kelley was a big baby! It's amazing Maxine could carry him. She was such a tiny little lady. She was pretty tough though. I think she is the only woman Kelley was afraid of. She used to chase the boys around the house with a broom and wasn't afraid to use it. She had to raise these 6 boys pretty much on her own because Lisle worked out of town most of their growing up years. She was a good strong mother and taught her boys well. Kelley has has utmost respect and love for her and has a hard time talking about her without getting emotional.

I'm grateful for Maxine and Lisle and the way that they raised Kelley. Maxine made sure the boys were raised in the gospel and were taught to be good, honest, kind, respectful, and hard working. All of Kelley's brothers are great. I have always had a good relationship with them and their families. We have been through a lot together as we have shared the experiences of raising our families. This family is very close and supportive of each other. There have been many good times and some very hard things too, but through it all, we know that we can always count on each other to be there. I know I was sure blessed when I married Kelley and became part of this special family.