Yesterday while I was out doing a little shopping, I noticed via my phone that I had an email from Leslie. I got a sick feeling when I saw it that something was wrong. So I tried to log into it on my phone...20 minutes later, I got it to come up and my feelings were confirmed.

She said when she had gone over to moms for lunch, the home health lady had written her a note saying that when she had got there in the morning, she had found mom on the floor and in a pretty bad way. She said her knees were all red and swollen, so she must have fallen. Leslie said it looked like maybe she had had a small stroke cause her eyes were kind of heavy.

Mom told her that she was fine though and that nothing had happened. Leslie tried to get her to the bathroom, but she had no strength in her legs at all. She said she had to practically carry her. After they made it to the bathroom, Leslie told her that she shouldn't try to go to the bathroom by herself anymore and mom agreed.

Also , they couldn't get her tv to work, so all she could do was just sit there.

Oh man that just made me want to cry! She needs someone to be with her all the time now.

I told Leslie and Brenda when we were together on Saturday that I am ready and all set up to have her come to my house to live. Kelley is totally fine with the idea...in fact, every time I go up there he tells me to bring her home with me.

I know it's just not that easy...but we can work out the details.

Anyhow, after I read that, I tried to call mom. No answer. ok, now I was really freaking out. The phone is sitting right next to her. So I called Leslie, but she was in court at work, so I called Brenda..she was at work too. So I called Teina. She didn't answer either.

I hate being so far away from mom that I can't do anything to help her!

So I called Kelley and told him what had happened. I really needed someone to listen to me at this point!
He calmed me down and I went home. Didn't feel like shopping anymore. When I got home Teina called me. She said she had noticed I had called . She had read Leslie's email and was concerned about mom too. When I told her I had called there and she didn't answer, she said she was going to try to call again. She did and got no answer too. So she called Les at work too. By this time Leslie had got my message too and we were all freaking out, so she went right over to moms.

She found her sitting there on the couch, head tipped back, sound asleep. She woke her up and asked her why she didn't answer the phone. She said she hadn't heard it ring. The phone is literally right next to her hand and it rings pretty loud! Oh dear.

While she was there Leslie called comcast to see if she could get mom's tv to work. They tried everything over the phone, but with no luck, so a repairman is coming out today. So she turned on the radio for her to listen to so she wouldn't be so bored. She helped mom get to the bathroom and then got her situated to be as comfortable as possible. My sisters are truly angels.

Brenda was going to go over there today too so Les said they would see how she was doing today and let me know. In the past, when she has had these small strokes, she will be really weak for awhile, then regain her strength. I sure hope that happens for her now.

Driving into cache valley is like entering the twilight zone. Everything is coated with frost.

This is what you see looking out mom's kitchen window...

When I walked out to get in the car, they stood and looked at me for a second, then skedaddled over the fence.

Saturday was our big candy making birthday celebrating day. We woke up to a pretty good amount of snow coming down. I was wondering if my sisters would be able to make it through the canyon. I called Teina to ask her about the hair color for moms hair and she said she didn't know if she would be able to make it. She doesn't like to drive even when it's a nice day, so I didn't think she would try and brave the bad weather.

I colored mom's hair and she watched me make some caramels. Then I got us both a spoon and we sat on the couch and cleaned out the pan. That was a good batch!
Brenda showed up a while later and Leslie too. We turned on some Christmas music and got busy on our candies. Brenda did some chocolate pretzels and a new treat that was really tasty. Leslie made some cherry-0-lets and peanut clusters. Leslie gets mom all set up so she can do the peanut clusters. I made some toffee corn pops and dipped the caramels in chocolate. The toffee corn pops turned out kind of a weird texture, but they tasted good.
Everything else turned out really good. We made up a bunch of plates for all the ladies that come to mom's to help take care of her, and one for her home teachers and for Deloy and DeLois.

Then we had some lunch (I made some potato cheese soup and rolls) and mom seemed to like it. We all sang Happy Birthday and mom blew out her candles.

Then we had mom open her presents. She is about the sweetest lady you could ever know. She makes a big fuss over each of our presents and is just really grateful for everything.

We got all the rest of the candies divided up, put together the "Christmas sacks", made a few plans for Christmas day, and then Brenda and Leslie had to go.

That's always one of my favorite days!
Mom and I watched the Jazz game and ate grilled cheese sandwiches, then she said she was ready for bed. I had decided to stay overnight because it was still snowing and I didn't want to drive through the canyon on a dark snowy night. I figured I would just get up early and get on my way home. I had arranged for the home health to come in because I had to be home for choir at 10:30.

I couldn't sleep very well that night...woke up about 1:00 and read till about 4:00. Then I was afraid I wouldn't wake up in time to get home for church, so I set the alarm on my phone for six.

Then I must have dozed off because the next thing I know I can hear mom calling me from downstairs...Paula, Paula! I thought I must be dreaming because the light was on in the hallway, and I knew I hadn't left it on. So I laid there for a minute. Then I hear her call again. This time I hop up and run downstairs and find her sitting there on the couch watching TV. I looked at the clock...6:00! I was just like

"mom! did you come turn on the light in the hallway?" and what are you doing up at 6:00? She never wakes up till about eight or so. She said she had been up and been to the bathroom, then thought I needed to get up so she came out and turned on the light in the hallway. Really? The night before, I had to practically carry her just the few steps to the bathroom! She was really perky though, and her mind was clear, so I just thanked her for waking me up. I went and got my things together, and noticed my phone. The alarm never went off. If mom hadn't woke me up, I'd have probably slept till 8:00! I think I was the recipient of a little Christmas miracle that morning!

I got mom all situated, gave her a big love and was on my way. I stopped off at Teina's and left her a plate of the treats we had made, then made it home in time to get ready and make it to our choir practice.

The choir sang some beautiful numbers and we had a real nice Christmas program. I taught the lesson in YW and it went pretty well. I had made them each a white Christmas stocking and talked to them about giving gifts to Jesus. I read a story that was a pretty tough one to get through, but it went good. It was so nice to have Candice there, and Kelley came in too.

There was a sweet spirit there. Sure do love those girls and the ladies that I serve with too!

For YW-YM combined activity, we went up to Temple Square to see the lights.

It sounded like a good idea...and it would have been any other time, but it seems like this was the night that EVERY young women and young men group in the valley had the same idea!

There was sooooooo many people there!

First of all we had to find a place to park. We had planned on parking in the Joseph Smith building parking. Nope, it's full. So we drove around and around and finally just let the girls out and told them we would try to park somewhere and come find them. We had driven by a hotel west of Temple Square that had a sign out front that said "event parking...5.00$" so we went in there. It was fairly close and well worth the five dollars!

Kim and I walked over and met up with the rest of the girls and the young men. (Kelley had driven our car with a load of boys)

It was so beautiful! but soooooo many people! We didn't even try to get over to the other side of the pond to see this from the front. The people were so packed in there you could hardly even move! I think all the people helped generate some body heat in there though cause when we got in there, it didn't seem so cold anymore.

I love to see the Nativity there and listen to the story of the birth of Jesus. It was the highlight of the trip as the girls huddled together and kind of shut out the madness that was going on around us and listened to the story and the beautiful music.
...all is calm, all is bright. For a sweet moment, it was!

Last week I got a call from Kristina Cole...she was the girl that KC and I met at the missionary mall...and come to find out she was going to the same mission that KC was going to!

She is already home from her mission (18 months !) and had brought home a little gift from KC. Well Friday morning she came by the house and brought the note from KC and a big chocolate bar from Russia...Candice and I tried it last night...delicious! (it was like chocolate filled with air!) She also gave me a cd with a bunch of picture she had taken on her mission. What a thoughtful thing to do! Especially since KC has taken about 5 pictures total!

We sat and talked about her mission for a while.... She loved it...cold and all! She said they had had some met some great people and had some really good success. She's a very sweet girl.

These are a few of the pictures on her cd.Last day at MTCMTC district with teachers
At Temple with districtFirst day in Moscow...this one tugged at my heart...reminded me of how he could go to sleep in any position. I imagine this day was pretty stressful! This was their first trip to Kiev to renew visa (with driver)

Christmas conference


Christmas conference show

Elder Stoopes birthday

Kiev famous temple

Place in Kiev where church was set apart for missionary work

( I just finished a great book that talked about this very place..."The Silence of God"

It was about a family that was the first members of the church in Russia (they were actually from Finland, but moved there) and what they went through when the revolution happened.

I love a novel that tells a true story...It helped me understand what went on there and why the people are the way they are. It's hard to comprehend the atrocities that were imposed upon these innocent people!

Red Square

Sister Cole's birthday

Thanksgiving with the Holmes

Tsaritsina Park

(This is Elder White, the companion KC has been with a good portion of his mission)

What a great gift...Thank you Kristina!

These are the email's K.C. sent us the past few weeks. Hard to believe he's been out for 18 months now...but when I read his letters, I can see so much growth in him. It's like he said in a letter he sent a few weeks ago..."A mission is an interesting thing. The longer you are out, the more you know and the better you can work. But at the same time, the longer you serve, the less time you have to serve!"
I think he will realize soon that his time of service is not coming to an end...this has been his preparation for a lifetime of service that he will just continue after he gets home.
At the ward Christmas party we all wrote notes to the missionaries serving in the ward. Thanks so much for all the sweet messages to KC...it surely will brighten his Christmas!


Happy Thanksgiving!

Nov 23

Hey guys,
Sounds like you've had quite the week. I had no idea that Ann Dibs was President Monsons daughter, but as soon as I saw her in my branch building I knew that she was American and important. She’s way nice, I’m so glad she called too, I bet that was good to talk to her for a while. That’s an incredible experience you had with the piano too, man its amazing what we can do when the Lord is with us. I’m glad you got the letter, I only sent it 2 weeks ago and I put it in a weird little mailbox by our house. We made mashed potatoes today and are carrying them around in a big pot down town to the place where we are eating, we have had 4 comments and about a million weird looks hahaha. I cant believe Spencer is getting married, you will have to tell him congratulations for me. And send me pictures. We had some snow too, but it turned into really cold rain which is way worse. Elder White is leaving me and I am getting another newer companion. But it will be easier this time because our area is already pretty good. On Saturday we met a man on the street by our house and told him about the restoration and he said that he would gladly meet with us, and invited us to come to his house that night. So we went and met with him and his brother, they are both over 60 but look like they are 80 because they have been smoking for 40 years. Nice guys though, it was way funny to see how they interacted, you could tell that they hadn’t had any guests for a LONG time. He made borscht for us, and usually that’s a real treat, but do you remember the borscht that we made before I left? It tasted like that haha, but it wasn’t too bad. We had a nice lesson and lots of funny memories. We saw him outside yesterday and he said "Why haven’t you been coming over? When are you coming over again?" so we are going by tonight. I had a really nice interview with President Sorenson last week too, he is a great guy, I love him. On Tuesday the other elders in our district called and told us about a family that lives in our area, there is son that served a mission and now lives in America, and the mother was almost baptized but the dad was against it and that’s all that we know. But we have their address so we are going to try to get in touch with them. It would be way cool to see if the father has softened his heart. I’m so thankful for you guys, I hope you can feel it because I don’t know how else to say it. I hope that you guys have a wonderful thanksgiving. Don’t eat tofurkey.
KC

Date: Wed, 1 Dec 2010 16:53:25 +0300
Subject: Re: Utes
From: kelley.jensen@myldsmail.net
To: jkj51156@hotmail.com

Hey Dad,
Hows it going? Hows the ward doing? Are you still going to be in the bishopric when I get back? My companion is a lot different than all of my other companions, but we get along fine, so that just means that I can learn new things from him. The weather here is really nasty. This morning when I woke up I checked the thermometer and it said -20, that’s -4 in F. It was really cold yesterday and we didn’t have a lot of meetings so we had to spend a lot of time on the street, so we had every part of us covered except a little spot for our eyes and nose. The worst part was that the wind was blowing too, so it was bad. But no need to complain because its just the weather, and our missionary work is going really well. I wish you could meet our old neighbor that we are teaching, he is a hoot. Way funny and he can dance, mime and juggle, so its a blast to go to his house. He saw a few people who were baptized on Saturday get the Holy Ghost on Sunday and he really wanted them to bless him too, so we explained how and he agreed to get baptized on the 14 of January. We are way excited about that. I love you Dad, have a nice week. Don't freeze.
KC
Hey Mom,
Man I wish the baby would have come today, then I could have seen it, but I guess I can wait another week. I’m way excited for it. Tell Camille good luck from me...I don’t really know what to wish some one in that sort of situation, so we'll just go with good luck. Things are going really good here. Its way way cold, when I woke up this morning I looked on our thermometer and it said -20, that’s -4 in F. But don’t worry, we are dressed up all warm. We have been working with our old neighbor a lot. He came to church and loved it, he is coming this week again. And we agreed with him last night for him to be baptized on the 14 of January. He needs to learn a lot and quit smoking, but he wants to so I know he can with the Lords help. He is a way funny guy, you guys will have to come meet him when we come back. I got a new companion named Elder Page, he was Elder Grovers comp in the MTC, so he has been out since I trained Elder Grover. Things are going really well. Our area is growing a lot, it has been really neat to see the changes that have come in since I’ve been here. Today we decorated cookies to give to our investigators, is was way fun. We are going to buy a Christmas tree too, so that will be fun. I got your package and a package from Karen Neilson. Thank you so much for sending that, tell Karen thanks a ton from me. I will send her a letter and say thanks. I don’t know that doctor, I have been to the doctor a few times but I just went to the clinic because our area doctor went home a few months ago. Are you all excited for Christmas? Is the house all covered in snowmen? you should take a picture of the house decorations and send it to me. I really want to find a snowman martroshka for you that would be cool. Do you remember that one girl that we saw at the missionary mall? She went home on Saturday. I hope you have a great week. Love you. Send my love to Camille and kellen and Liv and the new boy...what’s his name going to be?
KC

Kelley Carson Jensen to me
dec 7
Yay! Im so glad that Camille had her baby. I thought about it pretty often this week. So glad that he is healthy and so is Camille. He is way cute, I like the picture where he’s wearing the hat. I like the name too. That was the best news ever. We are going to have a nice Christmas party on the 18th, all the missionaries are going to sing in a choir, which is hard because almost none of the Elders know how to sing. I am one of the worst. But it will all work out. We have had a good week. It was really cold, but what can you do? Just keep going. On we set another baptismal date with another of our neighbors, Alekcei. He is like 30, he is a way nice guy and LOVES it when we come over. He really wants to know all the commandments and do things right. He is going to be baptized on the 8th of January. And we should be able to set up one more baptismal date this week, that will be really good. I just got back from Kiev on last night, we spent the day at the Kiev temple yesterday. It was fantastic! We got there at just the right time, when a bunch of members or our mission who we knew had just finished doing baptism and the temple workers put us in charge of doing all of the Confirmations. It was really cool to get to do it in Russian, but it was hard. Russian names are hard, especially ones from 1816. But that was a way good experience, and then the workers decided to put on a special initiatory session for us, it was really great to be able to remember all the promises of the Lord. We are so lucky to be members of His true church. We have lots of investigators named Alekcei, its a way common name, but one of our other Alekcei's called us on Sunday and wanted to meet, so we went and met with him and had a really good meeting where we got passed this one problem that he has been worried about for a while, and then taught him about the 10 commandments, the Sabbath day , w.o.w and following the prophet. He is a really neat guy because he understands the reasons behind the commandments well and is willing to follow them once he finds out about them. I was thinking that you guys should make a list of questions and things that you want to know so that when we call on Christmas I can tell you all the things you want to know. On Sunday I had got to do an interview for baptism for one of the investigators of our sisters. This girl is deaf and can only read lips, and is hard to understand for an American, because its hard enough to understand regular Russian. Anyway, I was just praying that the Lord would bless me that I would be able to communicate with her, because I’m not Russian so my lips don’t make the right movements when I speak, so she really couldn’t understand me at all. So we figured out a way to do it where I showed the pictures and then wrote and the Lord blessed me to be able to understand her. It was really pretty incredible. Ive got to go. I love you guys.
KC

Can you stand the cuteness?
I'm so grateful Camille sends me lots of pictures of Sam and Olivia...it eases the ache of being away from them a little bit.
Camille said Sam is being a very good baby so far...sleeping for several hours at night and looks like this when he's awake...what more could you ask for?

Olivia washing bottles for Sam. She has stepped right into the big sister role without a hitch. I could see that in her though...she is such a sweet, loving child. Camille told me she found Olivia teaching Sam a little song about numbers and holding up his little fingers to count while she sang.

Sam is a very good eater!

He had lost 4 oz. by the time they left the hospital ( very common)

but at his first week checkup, he had gained it back, plus 4 oz.!

Camille has never had to coax him to eat...That's the Jensen coming out in him!

I've been thinking about this special lady...I always keep her memory in my heart, but at this time of year, the feelings come back stronger and clearer.

It's been seven years since she left this earth but in some ways it feels like yesterday....

She had so many health problems all through her life, but never really complained. She would drag herself out of bed when we would go over there to visit, trying to appear cheerful even though she was in an incredible amount of pain.
The only time I ever saw her break down and cry though was the early fall day I went over

there and asked her how she was doing...she had been into the doctor for some tests for terrible pain she had been having in her back and hips. (She was no stranger to pain after going through many back surgeries) We were standing there in her living room and she started telling me, kind of matter of factly what the doctor had said...then she just started to cry. It was pancreatic cancer. I held her and cried with her. I think she knew then that she would not be getting better this time.

I remember the day she asked Katie and I if we would find her a new dress. We were thinking she just wanted something new to wear..."Of Course! What do you want it to look like?" "Well, I'd like a pretty new temple dress to be buried in" That was a tough one. Kate and I went everywhere(seriously every white clothing store in the valley) looking for the perfect, most beautiful dress and finally found one that looked like 'her'. She said she loved it and thanked us for all of our efforts.

She was about the toughest lady I ever knew and endured the short remainder of her life with dignity and grace...loving and teaching us till the end.

Another special memory I have is being asked to be the one to put on her temple veil and tie the bow before they closed the casket. It was a tender moment and a sweet blessing for me to be able to say goodbye to her this way.

Last night at bunko, the ladies were talking about their mother-in-laws. One related a story of how she had run into her mother-in-law at a nail salon and she acted like she didn't even know her! Can you imagine that? Then several others said they had never had a very good relationship with their mother-in-law either....I know you hear awful stories about mother-in-laws, but I was surprised to hear how many of them felt this way.

I felt sad for them... that is a relationship that I hold very dear! I am very grateful that I was blessed with a wonderful mother-in-law...she has been such a big part of my families lives. She had a unmeasurable impact and influence on each one of us that we will never forget.

Love and miss you Maxine!