Are you kidding me?
So if you could try not to do this again that would be great.
Thanks, your mom

From:
Kelley Jensen (kcjensen@myldsmail.net)
Sent:
Wed 2/10/10 6:57 AM
To:
pjdaisy50@hotmail.com
Hey Mom, I guess that you allready know about me training. Ill just tell you a little about it. On thursday morning president called me and told me that he wanted me to train, so That was surprizing. My companions name is Elder Gorver, he is from Seatle area and worked as a cook in a resturant before he came out, so thats way cool. He is a really nice guy and reminds me a lot of myself with the way he acts. We are getting along great. It is a lot of responsibility though. He doesnt really understand Russian yet, so for a little while i have to do a lot of the stuff that comps usually split. but its alritght. I am learning more and faster than I every have before. I am really thankful that Pres Cranney trusts me enough to think that I will teach him to be a good elder, its a little hard sometimes because it makes all of my faults come right to the front and I cant stand to think that he is learning bad habits from me. So I do my best to try to be a good example for him. I just want to tell one story from this week. WE were out looking for some people that are on this list of members we need to find, and we couldnt get to the door because there was a gate and the neighbor didnt know him and then the other neighbors started yelling at us through their door so we left. We started looking for teh bus that would take us home and decided to get on one bus that is usuallly a reall winner and takes us home, but on this night the bus just went one stop and then pulled into the bus park! and the windows are all dirty so we didnt see where we went, We were lost! so i looked at the map and found our roads back home and i thought we could make it in like an hour, by this time it was like 930 so we started walking and walking and then it became apparent that we were way way far from home and then it came like 1030 and we were in some industrial park and we we sooooo lost and I was about to have a break down and cry. It was like my second day trainnin and we were going to die in the cold. So i was praying duing all this and just begging to get home some how. and we walked past a woman and ... I dont have time to finish this story next time...sorry

Kelley has been working on this mirror for Candice and got it done just in time for a Valentines Day surprise!

We were looking around out at Tai Pan and saw something similar, then he came home and (through a little trial and error) put this together. Its matches her shelf and is rustic and super cute! He never ceases to amaze me.

Hello Calipater!

Olivia called me and said she had just opened the package I sent.

"Oh grandma! you made me a calipater! I love it!"

"And my baby has booties and a nightie just like mine!"

Thank you so much! "I love you grandma! Your'e the best!'

Olivia had left her doll here at Christmas and was missing it, so I thought it would be fun to make her a nightie out of a piece of fabric I had left over from Liv's jamies and send it to her for Valentines day. Sounds like she liked it.

Last night I was able to go to the third ward's "New Beginnings" program. All I can say is that it was amazing! They used this program written by Jenny Phillips that went along with the theme for this year ... Joshua 1:9 " Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed ; for the Lord they God is with thee withersoever thou goest."

Jenny Phillips has written several new songs for the theme this year and they are so beautiful and meaningful!

They had different girls sing these songs for the program last night (SOLO!) and they did such a good job. As I watched these girls sing out with conviction and confidence there was a light in their eyes that told me that they truly believed that the message they were sharing was true! I am just so grateful for the Young Women's program! It teaches such great values that can help us all so much! I am especially grateful for the new value of "Virtue" I think if the girls can put this value into their lives and live it every day, they will be happy; and like one of the songs said, " I didn't come to earth to compromise" " I want to return to my Father's arms unashamed"
I am so grateful for talented, inspired artists like Jenny Phillips that write these beautiful songs that the girls love ...I was sitting by two young women that kept leaning over to me and saying "This next song is great!" or "You are going to love this song" or "this song is my favorite!"
Then while the songs were being sung, I looked around at all of the girls and they were listening intently, some with tears in their eyes. It looked like they were really pulling for the girl that was up there singing and wanting her to do well. After the program was over, all of the girls surrounded the singers and hugged them and there were more tears. It was quite a sight to behold. If the girls will take the words to these songs and truly live them, they will be able to get through these perilous times...it's not easy I know! We talked about some of the situations they face every day at school in young women class on Sunday and I am shocked and so saddened by the evil and wickedness that is all around them. They are going to have to be strong and courageous to withstand the temptations of the adversary in these last days.
I think I am going to miss going to these special programs more than anything as I will probably be released from my stake calling this weekend in stake conference. I know I have gained more from being involved with the Young Women Program than I could have ever given to them. Being able to go to all their activities...girls camp (so much fun!), trek (that was amazing!), youth conference, Day of Celebration (such a neat experience!) going to special programs, and visiting ward yw for their ward conference, helping plan and participate in youth council meetings, wow it has really been a wonderful time for me! So even though I am sad to be released from this calling, I am so grateful for the experiences I have had and for a loving Heavenly Father that knows me and places me where I need to be at different times in my life. He knows what I need and where I should serve to help me develop into the person I am supposed to be.

We were lucky to have Brother Wilcox back to teach today. What a great class! We are reading in Romans where Paul has to regulate on the Jews and the Gentiles because the Gentiles are eating pork and the Jews are judging them and telling them they are not good Christians.

Brother Wilcox knows how to take the things that Paul went through and relate them to similar situations that we go through in our lives today. Makes it it so much easier to understand! Anyway, these are the issues he brought up that we may either do or find ourselves judging other people for doing within the "mormon community".

To drink coke or not?

Swearing

Hunting

(office pool, betting)

Wearing shorts? Nylons to church? flip flops?

Wearing white shirt and conservative tie

Living in big house...excess

Playing bunko

Long hair on men...facial hair

Homework on Sunday?

Eating out on Sunday when traveling

Family size

Face cards, dice

Music-questionable movies rated pg13
He had us all laughing as he went over each one...he was really tippy toeing around each one for fear of offending anyone and wouldn't say whether he thought it was wrong or not...except wearing a white shirt...he was totally against having to wear a white shirt every day. (probably because he has to dress every day in a shirt and tie for work.) It was pretty interesting and an eye opener for me to think about these things and to consider if I was a judger ( you are bad because you do these things! or a despiser ( "You are fanatics!" "lighten up!") or a set at naughter ( don't care what people think about them)
Paul had a good case for both sides and tried to persuade them rather than impose his authority on them ( "The brethren said you have to do this or else!")

He told the judgers to stop judging...the decisions these people were making were between them and their God...He will do the judging. Don't try to impose your standards on someone else!

Then he told the despisers to consider what they were doing...does it impact other people? Couldn't you compromise a little to have unity and peace with the people around you that are affected by your actions? What a great message! One I needed to hear!

I try not to judge people, and consider myself pretty passive as to what others do. I am one of those live and let live type of people and would never say anything to anyone about what they were doing; but in my mind, I realize that I do judge people on some things. What came to my mind was keeping the Sabbath day holy. It goes back to what Paul was saying though about why people do the things they do and the way that they were brought up and the standards they were expected to keep.

I was raised in a home where you kept the sabbath day holy. You NEVER went to a store or a resturant on Sunday. You didn't play sports on Sunday. Didn't go on outings on Sunday. We just went to church, (this was back when the meetings were seperate, so it pretty much took up the whole day.) We would go visit relatives or play games or nap or read or just sit around together and visit. Sometimes I would think my parents were too strict as I watched some of my friends go out to eat, or go to movies or whatever they wanted on Sunday, But as I got older, I was grateful for the standards they set and expected me to keep. It just made it easier when I was placed in those situations... I knew what I would do because the decision had already been made. We have tried to teach our kids to keep the Sabbath day holy...Hope they will choose to live their lives that way...but then again, after we have taught them the best we can, then it is up to them to choose what they will do.

Anyway, I know that not all people were raised that way, and everyone has a different idea of what keeping the Sabbath day holy means. So I am going to try to not judge like that anymore. And as far as doing some of those other things on his list...I am totally guilty, but I don't think they are bad things. I'm going to consider if any of those things have an impact on the people I love though, and if they do, I would stop doing them .

I always come away from his class with my head full of things to contemplate and things to do to try to be a better me.

We got this sweet email from K.C.'s mission president yesterday. I can't really add anything to this except to say that my heart is full.
Elder Jensen‏
From:
Charles Cranney (prezidyent@gmail.com)
Sent:
Mon 2/08/10 7:33 AM
To:
pjdaisy50@hotmail.com
1 attachment
IMG_0043.jpg (65.6 KB)
Dear Brother and Sister Jensen,
I am pleased to inform you that we have just called your son to be a trainer for one of our new missionaries, Elder Grover. Being a trainer is the most important responsibility in our mission. It is critical that the new missionaries have a good experience their first transfer. It can set the tone for the rest of their mission. As a result, I only use my very best, most trusted missionaries to be trainers. Elder Jensen tries to live very close to the Spirit. It is an honor and privilege to serve with him. I am confident that he will do all he can to help Elder Grover adjust to the language, culture and demands of mission work.
Thank you for all you do to support your son. He is a great strength to this mission.
Warm regards,
President Cranney

ARIZONA!

I got to go spend this past week in Arizona with Camille's family. How much fun!

I have never flown alone before so I was kind of nervous, but everything went just fine. I was waiting for it to be time to board the plane and sat next to a older man and woman who were tending to a young boy (probably about 6 or 7) in a stroller type of thing that was very physically handicapped. They were trying to get some sort of fluid into him through a hose hooked to his stomach because they wouldn't let them take the fluid on the plane. Seriously? I felt silly for being worried about getting my own self on the plane after watching them patiently handle the circumstances they were in.

Camille and Olivia were there to meet me when I got off the plane and totally spoiled me for the rest of the time I was there.

The weather there was just perfect. We went to a park there in Gilbert and had fun riding the train, feeding the ducks, and swinging.

We played with Olivia's animals and I made her a new one! Snake! She called it her worm though. Now she wants a caterpillar or calipater in her words.
Saturday morning we woke up early. Race today!

It was a beautiful morning, but quite cool and windy.

This was after we got registered for the run. Looking around I was pretty intimidated. Most of the people there were pretty serious runners. Camille runs quite a bit so she was pretty prepared for this. Me, not so much. I have been trying to run on the treadmill at the gym instead of doing the bike or elliptical machine but the farthest I had ran was about two and a half miles. I don't know what I was thinking! A 10 K ???

I felt good that morning though and really had a desire to accomplish this, so I just made up my mind that I would just do the best I could...I was mostly worried about holding Camille back. I told her I wanted her to just run at her own speed and not wait for me and she was just like, "OK, but you will be surprised to see what your body can do!" And I was! I'm sure it had a lot to do with the adrenalin of being in a big group of people, all excited to be running for a great cause. We started out running in the middle of this big herd of people, so we weren't going very fast, then the crowd thinned down...the speedy ones took the lead, the slower ones fell behind, and we were just kind of in the middle, going at a pretty decent pace. I didn't really feel too tired or out of breath, and before we knew it we had gone two miles!

The race was out in the farm lands of Queens Creek, so they had us running on dirt roads, which I think really saved me. It had rained a lot the past week, so the roads were still soft and even muddy in some places. You could really feel the difference when we had to go on the paved road for parts of the race.

We were able to run pretty much the whole race, only walking when we passed the places they were giving out drinks. Camille was great to encourage me and set little goals that kept me going. When we got to the last mile, you could hear people cheering and that was really encouraging. As we got closer, there were lots of people standing on the sides of the road cheering and clapping for us. Kellen and Olivia were there at the finish line waving at us too. Wow that was a great moment for me...I couldn't believe I had made it!

My face stayed this shade of crimson for about 3 hours. HA!

Camille had scheduled to get their family pictures taken Saturday afternoon. Auburn got some good shots of them.

How cute is my little bug?

O.K. she's had enough

We baked some favorites...sugar cookies, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, corn dip, and yummy fajitas!

Sunday we went to their church. They have a real big ward... very friendly people. It was fun to watch Camille and Kellen teach their sunbeam class. They have just recently been called to teach Olivia's class. They take turns teaching and it was Kellen's turn. (Camille was holding a little boy that would not stop crying) He was really cute with the kids...head shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes....He had thought of a cute story about Nemo to get the point across that our Heavenly Father loves us and is always there for us.

Olivia goes to this little music class that was really a hoot! It was in this ladies house and there were four or five other kids there with their moms. The teacher was adorable. She "sang" us into the living room where she had everyone sit in a circle and do all these fun things with music and rhythm. (Puppets, instruments, parachute, sticks, and silky scarves for dancing and twirling!) Olivia loves it!

There was the cutest little boy there...he looked just like K.C. when he was that age!
(remember when we thought K.C. looked like Mikie on that commercial?) I thought maybe it was just me, but Camille noticed how much he looked like him too.

We went to this place called Rancho Market and bought some strawberries...super cheap fruit and vegetables! That was an adventure in itself...so many people all speaking Spanish and very excited about the fruits and vegetables! Then we came home and made some strawberry jam.

Camille bought a plain bed ruffle for Olivia's bed and we busted out her new sewing machine and she sewed rick rack all around the bottom of it! Very cute! I'm afraid I started something bad by having Olivia sit on my lap while I sewed. Now she thinks that's just how it should be. " I will help you sew!" She is the kind of kid that you can trust to not get her fingers by the needle though, (you know how with some kids you would just say NO Way!) so it's just challenging reaching around her to try to sew straight. Camille did really well though. I hope she will keep using her sewing machine and learn to love it like I do.

Liv liked the snake I made her. She played with it all day!

Camille and I tried to do one of the P90X work outs every day. Big mistake doing back and legs after just abusing them like we did on Saturday. We were both walking like 90 year old's after that one! I kind of like the workouts though, really tough, and I only do about half of it, but I can feel myself getting stronger.

These are her Christmas jammies I finally got done last week.
We went out to lunch with Beverly Thursday before I had to leave. We went shopping with her too earlier in the week and had a real nice time. She is really good to Camille and I'm so glad she is there for her. She is always planning something fun for them to do or invites them over to their house for dinner or to watch a game. So even though I'm pretty envious that she gets to do all the fun everyday things with her, I'm glad that she has a good mother and father in law to love them and support them when we are so far away.

Olivia is pretty aware of what's going on around her. Wednesday, she started saying "Grandma, I want you to stay a while longer..." then she would pull my face up to hers and whisper like she was telling me a secret "promise you won't leave for a while grandma" This was not to mention the times when we would just be sitting together and she would pat my hand and say

" I love it when you stay at our house grandma!"

That makes it pretty tough to say goodbye. So I told her that I had to go home to take care of grampa and feed Lizzy. After she thought about that for a while, she said, "ok grandma, you better go home and feed Lizzy."

I sure had a nice time. Camille and Kellen really took good care of me and made me feel welcome and at home there.

It's always nice to be home though. Candice took off of work early to pick me up from the airport and came over and visited for a while. She is a peach! Thanks for keeping dad company and playing with Lizzy while I was gone!

Came home to a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a nice clean house. Feel so lucky to have this good man to come home to. I don't like to be away from him for that long...next time, we'll both go!.. Chewey too!