SHOES

YAY! I FINALLY get to show off my shoe collection.

These are my retro shoes. They remind me of when I was a little girl in the 60's and 70's. Ahhh... those were the good 'ol days and the styles rocked!






These are my gold converse shoes that I was given as a thank you gift for participating in the women's NBA last year. I use them to do my Michael Jordon impressions by slam dunking the basketball after doing a triple twist midair.






These are a valentine's gift from my hubby. Isn't he sweet?






I use these when I go out and don't want to have to carry my cell phone. They come in quite handy except that people keep calling me agent 99. What's up with that?







These are for the 4th of July. Good thing I was born with that extra foot.







I wear these to paint the eves on the house. Who needs a ladder with these shoes?






I wear these when I play with my cat. He thinks I brought him two new playmates.
Update: I can no longer wear these shoes since they got into a cat fight and broke my ankle.






And finally, I wear these when I want to go barefoot.


I hope you enjoyed my shoe gallery. Thanks for stopping by!

Jessica's Birthday Party

Welcome to Jessica's 19th birthday party, friends and family!

Susan and Randy



Jessica and Susan



Jessica and Amanda



Justen, Jessica and Grandma Jensen



Jessica with her Pirates of the Caribbean cake



Look at the cake!



Here's the side



The candles are lit! Don't worry, we take Jessica's oxygen off before lighting the candles. We don't need fireworks on her birthday! ha! She got all 19 candles out in one try! I didn't get a good picture of her blowing them out but she surprised us and did it!

Pirates of the Caribbean come to Jessica's party

Here is Jessica with Elizabeth Swann, Elizabeth's long-lost sister, Jack Sparrow and Will Turner.

I bet you didn't know that Jessica was such good friends with the cast from the movies, did you?

Here's Jessica with the cast on "Isla De Muerte" and the pirate's flag in the background.


Pirate Austin in the crow's nest flying the pirate flag.


Austin may have to be in the next movie. He looks great with the cast!


Of course these are friends of ours - from our church. They were so awesome to dress up and surprise Jessica. We really appreciated them coming to the party.

Even Jack Sparrow needs to eat.... sitting next to his dad.
In the background other party goers are enjoying Eegees sub sandwiches and slushes.

More Pirates of the Caribbean Party Pictures

Steven, Jessica, Tom and Randy

Donna and Jessica
(Donna is our neighbor who is battling cancer -we have requested prayers on her behalf in the past, please continue to pray for her. She is an awesome friend.

Jess and Kayla

Jess opening gifts

Wow! Look at this gift bag!

Georgia, Cousin Natalie and Jessica
Cool Harry Potter pillow! Thanks Barbara and Tom!

Jana, Jessica and Trevor

Georgia, Aunt Clarissa and Cousin Natalie at the craft table

Scott and his daughter with Jess

Rambunctious pirate women!
Kerri, Mona with Reesa in front.

The littlest pirate - Ava is 3 weeks old

Getting Ready For THE Party!

Miss Jess will be 19 years old on Sunday! WOW! AMAZING! We are having a "Pirates of the Caribbean" birthday party for her this Saturday. Jessica's therapist came on Tuesday and brought her an early birthday gift - a Jack Sparrow accessory kit. Jessica LOVES it! She must have put it on at least 5 times on Tuesday and almost as many times every day since then. Yesterday I took her to a dental appointment and she had to wear it there. hehe... Here are some pictures of her the day she got it. The last picture was after she had a bath and changed her clothes. She was pulling faces and I asked her to show me a mean face and that's what she gave me. hehe... (I'm sorry the photos are blurry, I hate it when I don't get good ones. I just hope I can take some non-blurry pictures during the party on Saturday.) We could have anywhere between 30 - 50 people. *gah!* We are cleaning the house and yard like mad.




I'm so scared! You don't want Pirate Jess coming after YOU!

Musical Monday

Today's Musical Monday is in honor of Memorial Day.

I appreciate the men and women who have given their lives and those who continue to fight for the rights and freedoms that my family and I enjoy. I also believe that no matter what your views are about the war in Iraq are, we need to support our troops. They put their lives on the line every single day. We need to support them and pray for their safe return.

I am Proud To Be An American.




It is the soldier
not the reporter
who has given us
freedom of the press

It is the soldier
not the poet
who has given us
freedom of speech

It is the soldier
not the campus organizer
who has given us
freedom to demonstrate

It is the soldier
not the lawyer
who has given us
the right to fair trial

It is the soldier
who salutes the flag
serves under the flag
and whose coffin is
draped by the flag
who gives the protester
the right to burn the flag

To our men and women in uniform....
past, present and future
God bless you
and Thank You.

Who will be the 10,000th visitor?

Wow, my site is at almost 10,000 hits. These are not unique visitors and I know that I am my biggest fan... meaning that I probably hit my site more than anyone just from posting a message and then editing it several times, responding to messages and other stuff that will reload that page and set the ticker ahead. But if you look at my little map down the left-hand sidebar it shows that I am not the only one who looks at my blog. Granted many of these could be visitors who stayed less than 1 second but who cares! They put a spot on my map! YAY!

Another interesting thing... clustrmaps shows a lot of places that have hit my blog that statcounter doesn't. I wonder why this is? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

I was thinking about having a little contest to see who would be the lucky person to hit 10,000 and send them something ... a prize of sorts... but then I realized that I have so much going on right now that by the time I actually mailed the prize out it would be time to have another contest for the 20,000th visitor. For example, I barely mailed out a scrapbook that I made for my grandmother. For Christmas. I had finished the album just before Christmas but never mailed it to her. So Grandma turned 90 years old in May. On May 9th to be exact. My mom even emailed me ahead of time to remind me to mail it to Grandma. I FINALLY mailed it on May 24th. I think I should call my aunt who is caring for Grandma to make sure that they got it. I hope it made it and is in good condition. Hey, at least it was for Christmas 2006 and not 1986. :-P

Oh, and Bri, I will get your Christmas package mailed to you too. Someday. Hopefully. But your 90th birthday is a ways off. At least by a few years.

UPDATE: I came online today to find my counter hit 10,009. Who was the 10,000th visitor? Please step forward and receive your "gift"... which would be my undying thanks for visiting my humble blog. I have found that blogging has been quite therapeutic for me and a fun way to spend the long evenings while trying to get Miss Jess to eat her snacks and get ready for bed. It's amazing to me that other people come by and read what I have to say. I've also really enjoyed participating in the Photo Hunters and Musical Mondays. I've made some great friends through blogging. I really want to thank all of you for stopping by and giving me encouragement. Have a great day!

Colorful

Here are some photos of my family at the County Fair. What a vibrant and COLORFUL place!
The first picture is of Austin on the merry-go-round. He is holding up his hand saying HI. Behind Austin you will see Jessica sitting on a bench and I'm sitting beside her holding onto her oxygen (and holding on to her as well). This is the only ride that Jessica will go on. She usually likes to spend most of her time looking at the arts/crafts and visiting the animals.


This next picture is of Dad walking by the vending stands. Jess is in her wheelchair and you can see her pink hat on the bottom of the picture. She is looking at all the colorful toys and things.


Here is a picture of the ferris wheels and other rides/vending areas from a distance. I took this picture as we were leaving the area where they keep the animals.

My Two Graduates

Here are my two graduates. Austin promoted (graduated) from 5th grade this morning. Here in AZ the students usually promote from 5th grade into middle school. Austin attended his class's promotion even though he is going to stay at his elementary school for 6th grade. Our elementary school has been offering 6th grade for only 2 years now. Brandon went to middle school for 6th grade. And speaking of Brandon, he promoted from middle school today and will be attending high school in August! I am so proud of my two sons who have done well in school this last year. Tonight Karl was telling me that two people from church were telling him what great kids these two boys are. One of the men that Karl was talking to is Austin's Sunday School teacher. He told Karl that Austin is very knowledgeable about the gospel and loves to participate in class. The other person Karl was visiting with is one of Brandon's leaders at church. He was telling Karl how much he enjoys having Brandon in his class and what a great sense of humor he has. One time the Deacons (12 & 13 yr old boys) were playing football as an activity and they wanted Brandon to do a button-hook. Brandon didn' know what that was so they had another one of the boys run out onto the field and show him. As this other young man started to turn he slipped and fell. Everyone started laughing (even the young man who fell). Then Brandon asks, "So what am I supposed to do after I fall?" More laughter! What a character!

Wish me luck now that school is out. I hope these boys don't kill each other or die of boredom. lol! They have to share a room - which is so messy I may have to get a back-hoe to clean it out. That's one of our big projects for the summer. To get rid of a lot of junk and get their room more organized.

Musical Monday

This week's song is dedicated to my friend, Elaina, who is mourning the loss of her sweet little boy, Kristopher. Hang in there sweetie. (((Hugs)))

Kenny Chesney- "Who You'd Be Today"

There was a Full Moon Out Tonight - but it wasn't in the sky!

That's right ladies and gentlemen, I witnessed a full moon right here on the ground and another amazing thing was that it wasn't even bright. Let me explain.

This sighting took place at a fancy schmancy event called "Remarkable Moms" which was hosted at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort. I was invited to attend and I could bring one guest so I took my hubby, Karl. We know one of the moms being honored at the event since we go to our Tu Nidito support group together. We arrived for the entertainment and cocktail hour which was out doors. The entertainment was a circus style act. After some juggling and other acts including stilt walkers, there was to be another type of entertainment up in the air. When we first arrived we saw a bunch of HUGE balloons that were attached to a ramada. Karl and I were near the balloons when 5 clowns started pulling the balloons down. We noticed that there was a harness and a clown with a guitar was trying to climb into the harness. I guess they needed help and a young man came over to assist them. They were all in a circle, facing inwards and helping the one clown into the harness while holding the gigantic balloons down. As the young man (not dressed as a clown) was reaching up and pulling on the harness, his light blue shirt went up and his pants went down a little ways... far enough that I was thinking "say no to crack" and "oh my word, that boy doesn't have any underwear on!" It was really noticeable since said young man was black and there was absolutely no whitie tidies under there! I nudged Karl and told him what was going on. As we looked over again the pants were going down further and two cameramen were moving in, taking photos. I was giggling and decided I had better not look any more. They finally got the clown into his harness and he was set to do his act. The young man in the light blue shirt managed to get his pants back up and was seen around the event several times. Fortunately he did not "perform" again. hehe... After the clown's act was over he got out of the harness and a young girl went up high into the air and did some acrobatics hanging from a long black strip of fabric. She was the best part of the act! Then it was time for us to go inside and have dinner.

We were seated at table 38 along with other couples that we know from our Tu Nidito support group. I also saw quite a few other people that I knew either from the hospital, the Tu Nidito staff or Tu Nidito volunteers. It was really great to see them all. Dinner was very... interesting. The salad was good and had a walnut vinaigrette. The desert was already at the table and was an apricot cheese cake. The dinner was a sirloin burger disguised as 3 meatballs on mini rolls. The veggies for the "sirloin burgers" were served in a cocktail glass with an olive pierced on top of a pickle, tomatoes and lettuce. What's funny is that the veggies were way too big for the mini burgers. Karl said, "So this is how the rich go to McDonald's!" in his best Robin Leach voice. I can't take that man anywhere! LOL

The circus-type performers continued to entertain us indoors while trying to burn the place down. They did several things with fire and there was so much smoke the doors were opened so that the sprinklers wouldn't go off. Fortunately our table was right by one of the doors so we knew we would be able to get out first, although the people in front are usually the ones who are crushed and trampled on when people panic. Good thing everything went well.

I couldn't help but get teary-eyed when they honored Marcia. Her daughter has leukemia and has gone through a lot of complications resulting from the radiation. She is such a sweetheart and I am so glad they honored her. 4 other moms were honored as well but I don't know them personally. Karl was saying to me as we walked the 1/2 mile back to our car that I should be honored. He said that I have taken care of an ill child for almost 19 years now and he thinks that I'm remarkable. Awwwww....... he gets extra points for that! I told him that he and my kids are my reward. I am so lucky to have him and my kids.

So back to the Full Moon sighting:
Moral of the story: Dude, if you have to wear the baggy pants that are so loose they will fall down well below your hips, BE SURE TO WEAR UNDERWEAR!!!!

Cooking

Austin is cooking dinner for the other scouts and their leaders.

Dad and Austin enjoying the meal.

End of Another School Year

Where, oh where has the time gone? I can't believe it's nearing the end of another school year. My kids have only 4 more days of school left. Well, technically, it's 3 1/2 days since my kids can come home early on the last day, May 24th.

Brandon will be "promoting" from 8th grade on Thursday. They don't call it "graduating" here. lol Whether it's called promotion or graduation, he is doing it! Today he received an award for Drama. I'm not surprised though, I definitely see enough DRAMA around here! hehe... Seriously though, he is a great kid and I am excited to see him succeeding in something he loves to do. He has come so far since being diagnosed with depression/anxiety when he was 7 yrs old and then ADD when he was 10.

Austin will be "promoting" from 5th grade. Unfortunately he and Brandon will be having their promotion ceremonies at the same time but at different locations so I have to choose which child's promotion to attend. Austin will actually be staying at the elementary school for 6th grade but Brandon will be entering High School so I will be going to Brandon's promotion. The Dad has court that he can't get out of otherwise one parent could have gone to each ceremony. Austin came home from school today with a trophy! I asked him what it was for and he said that it was for getting 90% or above on every test throughout the whole school year!
We are so proud of him! *wiping a tear from my eye*

Justen is still doing his own thing. He's working at Fry's grocery store, going to his young adults ward for church, taking a religion institute class and doing his service mission every Wednesday morning. Today he was outside helping his dad do "real work TM" shoveling dirt and moving it as we prepare for the big concrete pour.

Miss Jess had a bad night last night and didn't get to sleep until close to 4:00am. Poor kid was very emotional and not feeling well today. I suspect PMS is playing a part in her mood swings since we go through this type of thing every single month at approximately the same time before Aunt Flow comes to visit her. I just keep wondering, out of all the things that don't work in her body why does this one have to?! Not Fair I say! But as usual, I don't get to a whole lot of say in the matter. At any rate, I was able to be calm last night and didn't stress out too much. The Dad came home from work a little earlier than I expected and he said they sent him home since he already had 40 hours. So I caught an afternoon nap which I desperately needed. All in all, Jess has actually been doing fairly well the last couple of weeks. We are getting ready for her birthday party. She is going to be 19 years old on June 3rd! We are amazed. Miss Jess is having a Pirates of the Caribbean party. I will be taking her to school this coming week so she can see her friends and teachers and give them invitations to her party.


And that concludes the Jensen Family Update for this evening. Stay tuned for more excitement when we return next time to hear The Mom say, "When is school starting again? Not soon enough!"

Updates

First I have very good news about Gabriel.



This is from his blog:
"The surgery was a complete success and it looks hopeful that any future interventions would be performed in the cath lab and not the OR."
"Gabers is has been wide awake all morning, limbs flying everywhere. He is off the vent and breathing just fine on his own. He is down to just Tylenol for pain medication. Less than 24 hours after leaving the OR for Open Heart Surgery our kiddo is breathing on his own, off of the narcotics, and turning into a giant ruckus."

Yay! Gabe! Hope you can go home soon!

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Somewhat good news:

The little girl that I mentioned in this post: Off Day and Prayer Request On May 1st is still hanging in there and is going home. She is still very ill and has lost a lot from this event. It is unsure how much she will be able to regain and what type of life she will lead but she is still fighting and her family is happy that she is able to leave the hospital and go home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Very sad news:

Unfortunately I don't have as good of news of a little guy named Kristopher. Kris was born on March 8th with very severe heart defects and underwent heart surgery. He had many set backs including seizures and a brain bleed. Kristopher passed away on Mother's Day only 9 1/2 weeks old. Please keep his young parents in your prayers. This is a very sad time for them.