Ok, I don't mean to be dramatic or anything butI think I almost just got struck by lightning. Susan and I had heard some pretty loud thunder while we were playing racquetball and it was just starting to rain a little bit when I came out of the building.
It was kind of strange because it was cloudy all over but one little spot and the sun was just shining down through this hole in the clouds. I thought, "well that's pretty cool looking" .
I got in the car and was just reading a text from Camille when there was this big flash of light and the loudest crack! There was a huge explosion at the top of this electrical pole. I instantly felt a tingely shock in my hand that was holding the phone. I dropped the phone and screamed. There was a guy in the parking lot that was pretty close to this pole that the lightning hit. He went down on his knees and I thought he was hit. I started to get out of the car to go help him, then he stood up. I was like "are you ok?" He said "ya just scared...it shocked me!' I said "Me too!"
I had to sit in the car for a few minutes before I was calm enough to drive home. Sure glad I'm not dead!
You know how when we pray for safety and protection every day...hmmmm, ya, thanks for that.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Called to serve Him...
Kelley spoke in church yesterday about his trip to Haiti. He did a good job...not an easy thing to do especially when they sing Called to Serve right before he gets up there.
It was a really good meeting though. Nate spoke first about his testimony of the Book of Mormon. So sincere. He is a great young man.
Then Larry talked about gaining and strengthening your own testimony. Also a great message.
Then we sang the rest song "Called to Serve" It was pretty emotional for Kelley and I both...can't ever sing that song without bawling. It was very fitting for the meeting though and reaffirmed the thoughts that were expressed. We are each called to serve, to lighten a burden, to give comfort and hope...in our own little space here on earth, to as many of our brothers and sisters that we can. That's what we are here for.
I was so glad Candice was there. She is also a great example to me of loving and serving. When she was helping out at the food bank the other night with Meg, she became aware of the need of taking food to Elderly people who are housebound. So she signed up to be a helper. They gave her the name and phone number of a lady and she was supposed to call and tell her she was going to come visit her. When she called, Candice said the lady was kind of scary! She sounded gruff and ornery and impatient. Candice told her she would come over on Saturday morning. She text me that morning that she was kind of nervous to go, but was on her way. (Had to make two trips because all the roads by the food bank were closed off because of the marathon that was going on)
She told me that when she got there the lady was quite nice and grateful to her. She said she had a handicapped daughter there with her too. When she got there they were sitting on the couch together, surrounded by a bunch of dolls, all watching tv. She told me after that it was pretty scary to go into someones home that you don't know, but she was glad that she did it!
Candice has always been good with older people and has a real tender heart. She isn't afraid to just jump in and do what she can see needs to be done. She is great with little kids too. (Even if she says she doesn't want any, she certainly has something about her that attracts them to her.) Yesterday at church, Karen was sitting next to us with her grand kids. Within a few minutes the little girl (probably about 2) had scooted over right next to Candice. She sat there for a few minutes, then crawled right up on her lap where she stayed for most of the meeting.
Anyway, Kelley gave a great talk on service. It was pretty emotional for him as he told about the kids in the orphanage there and the circumstances they are living in. He could have easily gone on for another hour...had to skip a lot of his experiences because of time. I hope he will be able to show his pictures and tell more stories another time...possibly a fireside.
Kelley was aprehensive about talking about what he did. He didn't even want to tell anyone that he had gone. He is very humble like that...kind of like the complete opposite of "Look at me...look at what I've done!" But I think after thinking about what he had been through and had learned from the experience, he knew that it was a good message...a message of love and charity and service that he should share with everyone.
It was a really good meeting though. Nate spoke first about his testimony of the Book of Mormon. So sincere. He is a great young man.
Then Larry talked about gaining and strengthening your own testimony. Also a great message.
Then we sang the rest song "Called to Serve" It was pretty emotional for Kelley and I both...can't ever sing that song without bawling. It was very fitting for the meeting though and reaffirmed the thoughts that were expressed. We are each called to serve, to lighten a burden, to give comfort and hope...in our own little space here on earth, to as many of our brothers and sisters that we can. That's what we are here for.
I was so glad Candice was there. She is also a great example to me of loving and serving. When she was helping out at the food bank the other night with Meg, she became aware of the need of taking food to Elderly people who are housebound. So she signed up to be a helper. They gave her the name and phone number of a lady and she was supposed to call and tell her she was going to come visit her. When she called, Candice said the lady was kind of scary! She sounded gruff and ornery and impatient. Candice told her she would come over on Saturday morning. She text me that morning that she was kind of nervous to go, but was on her way. (Had to make two trips because all the roads by the food bank were closed off because of the marathon that was going on)
She told me that when she got there the lady was quite nice and grateful to her. She said she had a handicapped daughter there with her too. When she got there they were sitting on the couch together, surrounded by a bunch of dolls, all watching tv. She told me after that it was pretty scary to go into someones home that you don't know, but she was glad that she did it!
Candice has always been good with older people and has a real tender heart. She isn't afraid to just jump in and do what she can see needs to be done. She is great with little kids too. (Even if she says she doesn't want any, she certainly has something about her that attracts them to her.) Yesterday at church, Karen was sitting next to us with her grand kids. Within a few minutes the little girl (probably about 2) had scooted over right next to Candice. She sat there for a few minutes, then crawled right up on her lap where she stayed for most of the meeting.
Anyway, Kelley gave a great talk on service. It was pretty emotional for him as he told about the kids in the orphanage there and the circumstances they are living in. He could have easily gone on for another hour...had to skip a lot of his experiences because of time. I hope he will be able to show his pictures and tell more stories another time...possibly a fireside.
Kelley was aprehensive about talking about what he did. He didn't even want to tell anyone that he had gone. He is very humble like that...kind of like the complete opposite of "Look at me...look at what I've done!" But I think after thinking about what he had been through and had learned from the experience, he knew that it was a good message...a message of love and charity and service that he should share with everyone.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
If you don't like the weather in Utah, just wait a day or two. We have had the craziest spring time weather this year. Really cold and windy, snowy, cold, hail, lightning, rainy and cold. Did I mention that it's been cold?
I mean something is just not right when you are still using your electric blanket in the middle of April. ( I may have some other issues that make me really hate the cold weather. I pretty much feel cold all the time, rain or shine. I must not circulate very well or something because my hands, feet and nose are always cold. Cold like when you reach out to shake someones hand at church, they pull away and say "you're hand is like ice! Have you been outside?" or so cold that in the middle of the day, I'll have to go take a hot shower or snuggle under the electric blanket till I get warmed up) Anyway, I've been loving the electric blanket...luckily I can just turn on my side or Kelley would kick me and my blanket out of bed.
It was rainy-snowy-windy over conference-Easter weekend, as usual, but was supposed to be warming up this last week. Ya it snowed again. Whatever! I would call Camille and she would say they were swimming in their pool!
So I would just kind of hibernate and only go out if absolutely necessary....then I would put on at least five layers of clothing. Kelley will always ask me if I need gloves and muk luks too. Hey I am way beyond trying to look good. I just want to be warm!
So yesterday it finally was warm! Oh Frabjous Day! Callooh ! Callay! ( yes I still have that poem memorized from jr. high) I went outside, and just walked around the yard looking at all the flowers, plants and trees that were coming to life again. The birds are back in their nest they made in the light cover on the patio a few years ago. Kelley wanted to take it down before the birds came back this year, ( it doesn't look very good) but I'm glad he didn't. I love to hear the chirping of the new baby birds and watch them till they grow up and fly away. I watched the mama bird go back and forth, picking up twigs and leaves and things to fix up her nest. The woodpecker is back. He was hammering away on the big tree in Leslie's back yard and Tiny was yipping away at him.
Our new peach tree has cute little blossoms all over it. Reminded me of last spring when Kelley and K.C. were pulling out the apricot tree so we could plant this new one. Sigh... Miss him.When he comes home next, next summer, we will have peaches to eat!
There are still a ton of these pods off of the tree in Anderson's yard. It has branches that hang right over the pond so that is full of pods too. It's kind of strange because they didn't fall off last fall with the leaves, they all fell off this spring. The ground was absolutely covered with them. Kelley had raked them all up a few weeks ago, then when we had more wind this past week, a bunch more came down. I picked them all up and cleaned them out of the rock garden.
This was only the small garbage can. I totally filled the big one too. So many pods! I want that tree to go away!!!! Hope Kelley will talk to the Neighbors about taking that tree out soon!
This was only the small garbage can. I totally filled the big one too. So many pods! I want that tree to go away!!!! Hope Kelley will talk to the Neighbors about taking that tree out soon!
It took me about 3 hours to pick them all up, but I didn't mind. I was just enjoying being outside and being warm! I even got so warm I had to go change into some shorter pants. Had to dig them out of the back of the closet...they haven't see the light of day since last summer. Why is it that pants shrink up over the winter? They never were this tight before! hmmmmmmm dang it!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Went to Bunko last night at Cheryl's. I have to say that I sure do love these ladies and I'm grateful for the friendship we share.
I've been playing with this group (give or take a few that have joined or dropped out) for about 20 years. Stacey asked me to substitute one time and I joined not too long after that.
We've been through a lot together as our families have grown up. They all are so great to show interest and concern in what's going on with each other's lives. We have supported each other and shared in the joy's and sorrows that have come into our lives. This is a group of women that are truly there for each other.
We found out last night that Cheryl's one year old grandson has leukemia. She had pictures of him in the hospital and told us about what he was going through.... it was heart breaking. I tried to imagine how it would feel if that was Olivia. Made me want to just hold her real tight and never let anything bad happen to her. I guess that's not possible. It made me wonder though about why such hard things have to happen to little one's. They are so innocent and pure. They usually seem to be able to handle their situation better than most of the adults around them though...maybe the test is not for them, but for the one's that love them.
Anyway, we'll remember their family in our prayers.
I know people have said things about bunko groups and tried to discourage you from being involved in one but in my life it's been nothing but a blessing to be able to associate with and call these special ladies my friends.
I've been playing with this group (give or take a few that have joined or dropped out) for about 20 years. Stacey asked me to substitute one time and I joined not too long after that.
We've been through a lot together as our families have grown up. They all are so great to show interest and concern in what's going on with each other's lives. We have supported each other and shared in the joy's and sorrows that have come into our lives. This is a group of women that are truly there for each other.
We found out last night that Cheryl's one year old grandson has leukemia. She had pictures of him in the hospital and told us about what he was going through.... it was heart breaking. I tried to imagine how it would feel if that was Olivia. Made me want to just hold her real tight and never let anything bad happen to her. I guess that's not possible. It made me wonder though about why such hard things have to happen to little one's. They are so innocent and pure. They usually seem to be able to handle their situation better than most of the adults around them though...maybe the test is not for them, but for the one's that love them.
Anyway, we'll remember their family in our prayers.
I know people have said things about bunko groups and tried to discourage you from being involved in one but in my life it's been nothing but a blessing to be able to associate with and call these special ladies my friends.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
I've been putting together a few things to send K.C for his birthday...
Had another strange dream last night (not as good as the one the night before where I was on Noah's ark) that involved talking to Glen Campbell, trying on shoes on the side of the road with Marsha and making this pillowcase. I thought I'd go ahead with the pillowcase idea.
These are his latest emails. I don't know what we ever did to get a kid like him.
Must have been something good.
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2010 15:23:15 +0400
Subject: Re: still cold
From: kelley.jensen@myldsmail.net
To: jkj51156@hotmail.com
Hey Dad,
How are you doing?
Things are going really well here. A couple weeks ago it suddenly stopped snowing and got way warm. It has been like 50 or 60 lately and all the snow melted. My comp and I went to our branch building and cleaned up the yard there. It was hard work, there were tons of leaves, but It felt sooo good to work hard with my hands again. In the big city we don’t get tons of chances. It turned out nice. Im glad to hear that the Easter Bunny didnt have any mercy this year. The Ceiling? NIce! I bet she looked for ever.HAHAHA. We will get to watch Conference on the Sat and Sun so that will be way awesome, I am going to try to invite as many investigators as I can. What a great opportunity to show them that our Prophet really is inspired by God. Good Luck with all of you Bishopric stuff, I actually had a really cool opportunity to interview a girl this week who has been waiting to be baptized until she turned 18 because her parents wont let her. ( Did I tell you I was district leader? When President Cranney had me train he made me District Leader too, so Its my responsibility to interview Baptisimal Candidates.) It was probably one of the most spiritual experiences that I have ever had. She was so ready to be baptized and the spirit was so strong as we bore testimony of our savior and the righteous choice she was making. It was really incredible. I was so nervous to do the interview, but I would gladly do another. I love you Dad.
Elder Jensen
Ps. Been fishing yet?
Hey Mom,
I hope you had a wonderful Easter, mine was great, we tried to dye eggs using an onion peel, because someone told us it worked. It just turned them the color of those brown eggs. I took pictures but I forgot my camera today, next week. The reason I had a good Easter was because I was fasting that day and I decided to read in Jesus the Christ about the Resurrection to get the full picture. I learned so much and it really strengthened my testimony that He really was resurrected. I really just felt it so strong that there were no longer doubts in my mind. I am so grateful for the scriptures, its just like you said, we weren't there but we can feel the truth of the things that did happen. I had the coolest experience interviewing a young lady for baptism this week, I have probably never felt the spirit so strong. I really knew that she was ready and that the choice that she was making was righteous. We also had a great opportunity to talk to some of the youth of our ward about going on missions, we have some really great young men who are getting ready to go. We also had one of the inactive men we have been working with come to church on Sunday and he even paid his tithing, so that was way awesome. Thank you Grandpa for your support your so great, I love you. I got a package from Hatsumi and it had a bunch of letters from my friends in it, it was so nice to hear from them. Could you call her and tell her that I got her package and I'm very very thankful for it. And tell her and my friends hello from me. Oh and I got a Package from a girl named Marie too, please tell Hatsumi to tell her thanks a ton from me too, and that letters are being written back to them . I hope you have a great week, I love you
Elder Jensen
Subject: Re: still cold
From: kelley.jensen@myldsmail.net
To: jkj51156@hotmail.com
Hey Dad,
How are you doing?
Things are going really well here. A couple weeks ago it suddenly stopped snowing and got way warm. It has been like 50 or 60 lately and all the snow melted. My comp and I went to our branch building and cleaned up the yard there. It was hard work, there were tons of leaves, but It felt sooo good to work hard with my hands again. In the big city we don’t get tons of chances. It turned out nice. Im glad to hear that the Easter Bunny didnt have any mercy this year. The Ceiling? NIce! I bet she looked for ever.HAHAHA. We will get to watch Conference on the Sat and Sun so that will be way awesome, I am going to try to invite as many investigators as I can. What a great opportunity to show them that our Prophet really is inspired by God. Good Luck with all of you Bishopric stuff, I actually had a really cool opportunity to interview a girl this week who has been waiting to be baptized until she turned 18 because her parents wont let her. ( Did I tell you I was district leader? When President Cranney had me train he made me District Leader too, so Its my responsibility to interview Baptisimal Candidates.) It was probably one of the most spiritual experiences that I have ever had. She was so ready to be baptized and the spirit was so strong as we bore testimony of our savior and the righteous choice she was making. It was really incredible. I was so nervous to do the interview, but I would gladly do another. I love you Dad.
Elder Jensen
Ps. Been fishing yet?
Hey Mom,
I hope you had a wonderful Easter, mine was great, we tried to dye eggs using an onion peel, because someone told us it worked. It just turned them the color of those brown eggs. I took pictures but I forgot my camera today, next week. The reason I had a good Easter was because I was fasting that day and I decided to read in Jesus the Christ about the Resurrection to get the full picture. I learned so much and it really strengthened my testimony that He really was resurrected. I really just felt it so strong that there were no longer doubts in my mind. I am so grateful for the scriptures, its just like you said, we weren't there but we can feel the truth of the things that did happen. I had the coolest experience interviewing a young lady for baptism this week, I have probably never felt the spirit so strong. I really knew that she was ready and that the choice that she was making was righteous. We also had a great opportunity to talk to some of the youth of our ward about going on missions, we have some really great young men who are getting ready to go. We also had one of the inactive men we have been working with come to church on Sunday and he even paid his tithing, so that was way awesome. Thank you Grandpa for your support your so great, I love you. I got a package from Hatsumi and it had a bunch of letters from my friends in it, it was so nice to hear from them. Could you call her and tell her that I got her package and I'm very very thankful for it. And tell her and my friends hello from me. Oh and I got a Package from a girl named Marie too, please tell Hatsumi to tell her thanks a ton from me too, and that letters are being written back to them . I hope you have a great week, I love you
Elder Jensen
Hey Mom,
It sounds like you had a nice week, we had kind of a weird week. We had tons of conferences, we had zone conference Thursday and then interviews with president Cranney, then on Saturday and Sunday we watched Conference. It was a really inspiring week, just a little different. I really enjoyed watching Conference, it was an interesting experience because I really felt like I was just like thirsty for the words of the prophet and when he was talking I just loved it. I have never felt such a need or desire to hear from the Prophet. I noticed that just about every talk was related to families in some way. It made me realize that they really are the most important thing that we do here, the work we do in our homes is the most important. I wanted to thank you guys for the way that you raised me, I am so thankful that I was taught the gospel not only by your words, but how you lived your lives. I feel so privileged to have you as my mother and Dad as my father. I’m glad that you talked to Hatsumi, she’s great, I was thinking about it the other day and I have a friend that is coming home in September, that’s like 5 months away. Its soo crazy how fast time is flying. I have been gone for 9 months tomorrow. Can you believe that?! Got to use every minute. I’m sorry, i don’t know my size exactly, but the number 16.5 comes to mind, if that makes any sense. I liked the ones from the distribution center, they were just distribution center brand. They are really thin, but I like them. And also if you are going to send a package, could you send me a couple of rechargeable AA batteries and a charger? My camera drinks batteries like I drink strawberry shakes from McDonalds, or like Candice eats brussel sprouts...so pretty fast. And also if possible those measuring cups and maybe some crest white strips. And then I would be absolutely content. Thanks. When we were at conference a member came up stairs where we were watching in english and told us there were two guys down stairs who wanted to be baptized. So we ran down and sure enough there were two guys that had taken the lessons a long time ago but were never baptized and they came to ask to be baptized, so we explained we need to meet a little while first, and then you can. So that was pretty exciting. I love you Mom.
Hey Dad,
Hows it going? That is way neat that you got one of the places rented out, I’m glad to hear that. That’s too bad you haven’t been fishing yet, fish in Russian is "reeba". I see guys fishing the Moscow river pretty often, Ill have to try it some P day, or maybe I could make some sort of contacting approach from fishing, we could convert a couple of fishermen. That would be sweet. We are doing really well, these are probably my last few weeks in this area, I’ve been here for almost 6 months. It will be sad to say goodbye to all them people I’ve grown to love, but that’s part of the work, you only get so long in each area. As far as I know Aleksei is still being baptized on Saturday, so that is way exciting, as soon as I get a picture of it I will send it to you. I love you Dad, I will pray for you for your talk. You’ll do great, I just wish I was there to make faces at you... and maybe kick mom’s shoe of. I kinda miss that.
Love Elder Jensen
Date: Wed. 7 Apr 2010
It sounds like you had a nice week, we had kind of a weird week. We had tons of conferences, we had zone conference Thursday and then interviews with president Cranney, then on Saturday and Sunday we watched Conference. It was a really inspiring week, just a little different. I really enjoyed watching Conference, it was an interesting experience because I really felt like I was just like thirsty for the words of the prophet and when he was talking I just loved it. I have never felt such a need or desire to hear from the Prophet. I noticed that just about every talk was related to families in some way. It made me realize that they really are the most important thing that we do here, the work we do in our homes is the most important. I wanted to thank you guys for the way that you raised me, I am so thankful that I was taught the gospel not only by your words, but how you lived your lives. I feel so privileged to have you as my mother and Dad as my father. I’m glad that you talked to Hatsumi, she’s great, I was thinking about it the other day and I have a friend that is coming home in September, that’s like 5 months away. Its soo crazy how fast time is flying. I have been gone for 9 months tomorrow. Can you believe that?! Got to use every minute. I’m sorry, i don’t know my size exactly, but the number 16.5 comes to mind, if that makes any sense. I liked the ones from the distribution center, they were just distribution center brand. They are really thin, but I like them. And also if you are going to send a package, could you send me a couple of rechargeable AA batteries and a charger? My camera drinks batteries like I drink strawberry shakes from McDonalds, or like Candice eats brussel sprouts...so pretty fast. And also if possible those measuring cups and maybe some crest white strips. And then I would be absolutely content. Thanks. When we were at conference a member came up stairs where we were watching in english and told us there were two guys down stairs who wanted to be baptized. So we ran down and sure enough there were two guys that had taken the lessons a long time ago but were never baptized and they came to ask to be baptized, so we explained we need to meet a little while first, and then you can. So that was pretty exciting. I love you Mom.
Hey Dad,
Hows it going? That is way neat that you got one of the places rented out, I’m glad to hear that. That’s too bad you haven’t been fishing yet, fish in Russian is "reeba". I see guys fishing the Moscow river pretty often, Ill have to try it some P day, or maybe I could make some sort of contacting approach from fishing, we could convert a couple of fishermen. That would be sweet. We are doing really well, these are probably my last few weeks in this area, I’ve been here for almost 6 months. It will be sad to say goodbye to all them people I’ve grown to love, but that’s part of the work, you only get so long in each area. As far as I know Aleksei is still being baptized on Saturday, so that is way exciting, as soon as I get a picture of it I will send it to you. I love you Dad, I will pray for you for your talk. You’ll do great, I just wish I was there to make faces at you... and maybe kick mom’s shoe of. I kinda miss that.
Love Elder Jensen
Date: Wed. 7 Apr 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
We got to go to the Humanitarian Center for Young Women and Young men last night. The kids always seem to come out for this activity...we had a great turn out. It's great to see how they feel the joy of service!We got to tie quilts for a change and it was a lot of fun!
The girls had done it before, but the young boys were clueless.
The missionary couple that was helping last night was really good with the kids though and showed them all how to do it. Most caught on real well. Some...not so much...but it was ok because the missionaries made each one feel like they were doing a great job!
Kelley was the best one in his row.This is not his first quilt.
He got a call from Tye while he was quilting and had to explain what he was doing. I imagine he is getting a lot of crap from his friends at work about now.
We have a really great bunch of kids in YW and YM. It's pretty much a whole new group (except for Faith and Caitlin) since I was in ward Young Women. They are great girls though and it's been fun to get to know them. They amaze me every week with their knowledge of the gospel and strong testimonies. I was so impressed last Sunday when the lesson was about learning to be financially smart. Each one of the girls knew what she wanted to do for a career and had a plan of how she would get there. Some of them are already working toward their goals and are well on their way.
We celebrated Jenni's birthday last night. I got her a cute book from Seagull and a card for everyone to write a note to her in. We all sang happy birthday to her while we ate donuts out in the parking lot. She is such a great person...very easy going and sweet. She has a good relationship with all the girls and they love her. I remember when I was president, she was an advisor for me so it's fun to have the tables turned and be able to support her in this calling.
This is the quilt I was working on. It was nice to visit with Greg, Jenni and the others. Greg said they have another grandchild that was going to be born that night. They just had a new one a few weeks ago and are expecting another later this summer. JEalous!
This is the quilt I was working on. It was nice to visit with Greg, Jenni and the others. Greg said they have another grandchild that was going to be born that night. They just had a new one a few weeks ago and are expecting another later this summer. JEalous!I am always impressed with the way Greg is with his younger girls. So sweet and kind. When I think of how far these girls have come from the time they were adopted, I am just amazed. They are great parents and have taught these girls well and loved them and have given them a wonderful life. It's pretty cool when you think about what a difference adoption can make in these young people's lives.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Hi Olivia! Just wanted to let you know your Barbie's new home is all finished and ready to move in. Sorry Grandma was so slow in getting it decorated!
Grampa made this cute little dresser and mirror and is going to make a few more pieces of furniture for your house.
Cute little table and chairs...thanks to grampa!
I had lots of fun sewing drapes, painting and decorating and can't wait for your dollies to move in. Mostly though, I can't wait for you to come visit so we can play Barbies together!
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