Candice and I went to Brenda's house for a shower for Phil's bride to be.

Stacie is a great girl and seems to fit in real well with the family.
Brenda had made a real nice luncheon for us.

I was glad mom could make it. Teina was staying with her this weekend so her and mom and Leslie drove down together. Olya is expecting a baby in June and with her three little ones, has her hands full. Her kids are so cute though. It made me miss my little Olivia...it's been way too long...can't wait to see her at the end of the month!

I'm so glad Candice could come with me. We had some good talking time on the drive. Sure do love her.

They had put a quilt on downstairs to tie. We were trying to help mom get down there but when she looked at the stairs, she said "Maybe I'll just stay up here while you tie the quilt" So we sat her back down. There were so many people around the quilt, there wasn't any room for us so we sat and visited with mom and Teina, Mark and Olya. They ran out of thread to tie it with before they finished so I didn't take it to bind it. Brenda if you're reading this I'm still planning on doing it...I'll just have to get it here somehow!

We had a little birthday party for Teina while we were there. We've been trying to find a day when we could all be together and this turned out to be a good time. Leslie is always so thoughtful and brought a cake and candles.

How lucky I am to belong to this wonderful family. I love the time we can spend together.

My sisters are the best!

Be kinder than necessary for everyone is fighting some kind of battle.

This quote has been on my mind the last few days. I have been thinking about why people are the way they are...including myself, and realize that there are reasons for the way people turn out. Either by the way they were raised, (good or bad) or by choices they have made along the way, or by circumstances they have been placed in and the attitude they choose to have as they deal with those circumstances.
We are not here to judge each other, only to help and love each other.
Anyway, I've noticed lately that pretty much everybody is going through some sort of battle in their lives...we've all got one. Some seem more difficult than other's...some seem like more than anyone should have to bear. But each battle is personal and very real and should be considered with kindness and compassion.
My love and prayers to all who are fighting that battle today.

That's life

Last night we went to Nikki's wedding reception. It was down in Orem at a country club. Candice came over after work to go with us. She has had a rough couple of days.

One of her cats has been acting unusual... been peeing in strange places and she noticed he had lost a lot of weight. She took him to the vet and he told her straight out that her cat was dying.

He said it was either leukemia or liver failure, but wanted to run a bunch of tests.

He told her to just take the cat home and keep him comfortable till she could see he needed to be put down. Poor thing. She loves her cats so much. She says now she can understand why grandma doesn't want to get another cat...it just hurts too much when they leave you.

Anyway, we were driving along and all the sudden hear a noise that sounded like a pop...then thump thump. I look over at the lady in the car next to us and she is pointing at our tire, so we pull over quick. Dang! flat tire! I have never had a flat tire before...how crazy it that?

I was so glad Kelley was there. He got out and went right to work on it.

I was grateful that it was a fairly pleasant evening after all the snow and cold the past few days.

Kelley and K.C. had changed a flat tire on this car and he said it was quite the process. First you have to get the tire out. I didn't even know where it was! HA ! Up under the car! But first you have to unlock this secret lock on the back of the car the opens up this little hole that you put this long piece of metal (that you first have to assemble) into and turn it till the tire amazingly is lowered down to the ground. I was pretty impressed with Kelley's skills. I asked him how he knew how to do that and he said they read the instruction book! Really? I'm quite sure that must have been K.C.'s idea. Kelley is seriously mental about reading instructions unless it's the last resort.

This is the secret hole that has to be opened with the special key to release the tire. I know I am just a dumb girl, but seriously, who invented these thing...James Bond?

Candice showing Kelley instructions on where to set up the jack. This jack looked so flimsy, I didn't think there was any way it would hold up the car! Kelley told me not to say anything bad about the jack or call it names until he was done changing the tire. bad Karma


It actually worked like a charm.





Tire changed in record time.
Kelley you are my hero...in so many ways.
It was great to see the Larsen family and several old friends. Nikki looked gorgeous and very happy! I just love their family so much. Can't hug Steve and Sherrie without crying...I miss them so bad. There's some things in life that you just can't change and have to deal with. They are a great example to me of how to handle what life throws at you with a great attitude and by doing the best you can with the circumstances you are placed in.

P.S. Thanks to Ackers for coming back to help out when they passed us on the freeway!

Holly had mentioned to me that she would like to have a bunny for Hannah so I made her this one. I put Velcro on the bunny hands so it could hold things! I hope she likes it!
I love to watch conference with mom so I chose to spend this past weekend with her. I wanted her to have a little bit of Easter sunshine and since it has been snowing all weekend, I got these tulips for her. She loved them and even sang "When you wore a tulip" for me...
"You make me cheery when you call me deary"
She seemed really good this week. Her mind was clear and she was able to get around pretty good. We enjoyed watching conference together. The talks were all so good...great reminders of how we should be living and great messages of the love our Heavenly Father has for each of us.
Love my mom!
Kelley came up Saturday morning to put up some more hand rails for mom. He put one in the hallway that made it easier for her to get to the stairs, and one in the bathroom to hold on when she gets out of the shower. She was so excited and grateful!
We went out a looked at the pond. The water has been down about a foot and a half and the lilly pots were all tipped over. I think the reason the pots were spilled was from the ducks chasing the fish around. We saw three big ducks hanging around the pond. There were a few fish left that we could see hiding in the bulrushes. It was easy to see why the water was low. The patches that had been put around on the walls of the pond from previous leakages had come loose. It's going to take some doing to get it fixed up again. Kelley suggested filling it with cement. boo.
I stayed with mom till about 11:00 Sunday morning. It was awful hard to leave her there alone. Sure wish she would just come home with me.

When I got home, Kelley had cleaned the house, gone grocery shopping and prepared a lovely Easter dinner....oh and had been busy being Mr. Easter bunny.

Kelley's dad came over about 1:30 all alone. I said 'Where's Pat?" He said Tiffany had stopped by just as they were leaving so Pat stayed with her. I called Pat and told them to both come over for dinner, so after a while they showed up too.
Lovely salad...Katie you would have been proud! Pork roast yummy mashed potatos, gravy, broccoli, corn, and rolls. And to top it off, angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream on top! Wonderful dinner! Thank you dear! You are the BEST!

Then it was time to go hunting. I think this is the first year Mr. bunny hid them inside the house. It's been so stormy and cold lately, I was glad I didn't have to go outside to find it. I had been getting text messages like this: "You guys will still be looking for your baskets till next year! Love, Da evil Bunny." Then when I told him he would be too, he said he had already found his and was eating his goodies right then! Ha! No Way! I hid his so good, I knew he would need lots of hints to find it!

Candice and I went looking first. He did give us a hint that we would find them within 10 feet of each other, so we kind of stuck together. We looked all through the house, then ended up downstairs. I was looking in the closet down there by the water heater and happened to look up. I saw the bottom corner of Candice's basket in the ceiling. I didn't say anything and kept looking for mine....within 10 feet of her's.

I looked in the other closet and saw Olivia's little lady bug costume hanging there. It looked extra puffy, so I took it down and looked inside it and there was my basket! He had given me the sweetest book about being a mother and a cd of the Tabernacle choir singing songs about the Prophet. Love it!!

So now Candice knew her basket was close by and looked everywhere possible but up. I finally told her she needed to look up. She saw that little corner of it up in the closet and tried to get it out, but couldn't reach it. She got the laundry basket and stood on that but still couldn't get it out. There was a board in front of it so there was no way to get it out. This is evil bunny at his best.

So we tried to figure out how to get at it. Had to take out a piece of the ceiling to get it down!

He was quite proud of himself. We put a little money in Candice's basket. She has had a kind of bad run of luck financially lately. She didn't want any candy...just a bag of carrots! Seriously!

Now it was Kelley's turn to find his basket. Candice and I got a lot of pleasure out of watching him look and look and look!

He finally found it in K.C.'s closet. Ha! Mrs. Easter bunny is not too bad at hiding baskets either! We were thinking about some good hiding places of the years past. We decided one of the best was a couple of years ago when K.C. had the idea of hiding Kelley's basket in the garden. He pulled back the black cloth stuff and dug a big hole. We put his basket in a big plastic bag and put it in the hole. then pulled the black cloth back over the basket and you couldn't even tell the ground had been disturbed. We pretty much had to show him where it was! Ha! That was a good one!

We had a nice day although I was sure missing the rest of our family. Easter was kind of strange without any little one's around. I bought a box of egg dye, but didn't really feel like doing it. Only put out a few of my bunnies...nobody to play with them.

I was doing pretty good until Saturday night when I was talking to Kate on the phone and she told me they were going over to Kellen's parents to color eggs for their egg hunt on Easter. Got to feeling pretty sorry for myself. and had a small melt down at Walmart.

I know I have been very blessed to have my family around all the time ...a lot of people don't... so I can't really complain. It's just kind of hard because that is where my joy lies...in my family. There is nothing that makes me happier than just spending time with my family. We have always had a great relationship with each one of our children and truly enjoy being together. I hope that someday we will live close enough to be able to spend lots of time together. Visits are nice but it's not like being able to just do the everyday things together. I miss that. I know that this is the way things need to be right now...I admire Kellen for working so hard at school so he can get a good job and take care of his little family. He is doing really well. Camille is doing really good too and is making the best of their time in Arizona. I'm going to quit my moping and try to do the same. I've got so much to be thankful for...especially today when we ponder and give thanks for the most precious gift the Savior gave us of the atonement... that makes it possible for our family to be together forever!

You got some splaining to do

Yesterday I went to the cannery. Dave and Kelley had volunteered their wives to go. Nice! No I didn't mind at all. I've always had a fascination with assembly lines, conveyor belts, the show "how it's made" and Mr. Rogers field trips to the factory to see where stuff comes from! Fascinating! I guess that's just how my simple brain works. I also haven't been for a while so I was good to go.

I picked up Earlene bright and early...well snowy and early. We were the only one's there when it was time to start, so we got the orientation. dressed in our aprons, gloves and lovely hairnets and were taken to our assignment. The smell that filled the air was unmistakable mushroom!

I got to be the one to regulate the filling of the cans. (Oh we were making cream of mushroom soup) This really nice man was teaching me how to run the machine that works the soup dispensing and the conveyor belt that moves the cans along. I think he could tell I was a little panicked when I saw the rate the cans flew by me. I had visions of Lucy eating the chocolates and shoving them down her blouse because she couldn't keep up with the boxing of the candy. He showed me a big red button that said STOP and said that I could use that if I got in a pickle. Then he showed me what to do if the cans got stuck, and how to keep the big tub filled to the right level with soup. O.K. I can do this. So then when everything was flowing along nicely, he left me.

It was really pretty easy, there was even a stool for me to sit on while I watched the cans fill nicely with the steamy soup, then chug along their way to get their lids.

Then I noticed the soup was coming out really runny! It was just like watery milk with mushrooms floating on top and it was splatting all over the place. I started waving like crazy at the guy who had trained me...he was clear in the back of the place. He started walking over, not in any particular hurry, so I figured he knew what was going on. When he got there he could see how runny it was and explained that they had lowered the temperature 1 degree on the soup and that had made it come out all runny. It has something to do with the temperature that the starch starts to work or something. He assured me that it would thicken up when they cooked it. I didn't like the way it looked at all. The mushrooms were floating on the top and it looked like watery milk. Then another guy that works there came over and looked at it and he didn't like it either. Oh by this time, Kelley had gotten there....(snowed out at work again), and he was working with Brian on the mixing and cooking of the soup. The guy must have told them to turn up the heat on that next batch cause it started coming out thick...really thick. It was so thick that it would pile up in the can like Ketchup. I started waving at the guy again. Ok. So now it's too thick! The guy went over and talked to Kelley and Brian...come to find out they had got to chatting and the temperature had gone up from 151 degrees to 191 degrees! It was only supposed to go up 1 or 2!

Well they got that straightened out and before long the soup started coming out this lovely shade of creamy white, and the perfect consistency. I looked over at Kelley and Brian and gave them a big thumbs up. Kelley came over to talk to me and I told him that was the perfect batch! He just kind of giggled and walked away. He didn't tell me till later that they had forgot to put the mushrooms in that batch. HA!

The time went by pretty fast. I only had one major disaster on my part. The cans would get stuck every few minutes and I would have to go straighten them out to keep them moving along. Well new people started coming to work and my spot was right by the doors where you enter, so they would all stop and ask me what they should do. I got to talking to this lady for a minute and when I turned around, all the cans were backed up and the soup was just pouring into the big tub...no cans to fill! I got distracted... ok? So I quick straightened them out and got them going along again, but when they got filled, they just stopped moving, with the soup pouring over the top of the can. I tried to push them along, , then actually picked them up and moved them down the conveyor belt, but they still just sat there. I looked around for the helper guy...nowhere to be seen, So I pushed the big red STOP button. AHHHHHHH. That made pretty much everything come to a halt.

The guy came hurrying this time and asked me what was up. I showed him how the cans wouldn't move and he said...Oh when the cans don't come through for a minute, the conveyor rubber pusher alonger thingie pops out of place and you have to put it back to make the cans go. (He didn't say it like that, but thats what I got out of it) He put the rubber thingie back in place and pushed the GO button and everything started flowing again.
Not too long after that the guy came and told me that new people were showing up and he needed to find someplace to put them, so I could go home! HA ! fine... whatever. He was really very nice...said I did a good job and didn't even over flow the tub once!
So we may have produced some less than top quality cream of mushroom soup...sorry bout that. Kelley and I (especially Kelley) may be banned from the cannery for a while.

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!