News as of Late

Wow, I can't believe that it has been 2 months since I last posted! I have GREAT news to report! Miss E is fully potty trained! YIPEE!! I dropped Miss L off at school one day and Miss E wanted to stay too. I told her, on the way home, that she still wore a diaper and only big girls, that pee pee on the potty, get to go to preschool. As soon as she walked into the house, she marched upstairs, took off her diaper and put a pair of panties on and has been going on the potty ever since. I can't believe how easy that was! She had a few accidents in the beginning, but now it has been well over a month with no accidents. Way to go, Miss E!!!!

In other news, Miss L is reading more and more. She doesn't read sentences, but she can recognize words here and there. She is also getting more opinionated too, I know that is hard to believe, but now her demands are becoming more specific. The other day she asked if she could send another letter to Santa "for my very own Christmas Tree that I can put my very own Christmas Decorations on and also a wooden treasure box, painted purple and green.

Both girls are growing so fast. It truly is amazing how quickly they learn new things.

Autumn FUN!

This past Saturday we went to the pumpkin patch. Here are a few pictures of the fun!

Miss L on the Jumping Pillow!

Miss E on the Ladybug Train. She loved this so much she rode it TWICE.

Miss L waited in line for a long time to get her face painted.

Miss E seeing how tall she is next to the HUGE scarecrow!

Another Month Gone By

It feels like I just updated this blog. Well I did...a month ago! So many things have happened. We took a trip to Kentucky for a funeral, celebrated Great Grandpa Jensen's 90th birthday, the girls started gymnastics and we were able to get our bathroom completed. (pictures to follow...if I remember to post them)

The funeral was for my grandmother who was 80 years old. What a wonderful inspiration to me and my life. She raised 9 children. That is an accomplishment within its self!! From the time she was 18 years old until she was 28 1/2 she was pregnant/giving birth, all while keeping a household running. And then she had a life of taking care of her family. She had remarkable talents, was a great example of being self reliant, was a great cook and had a great sense of humor. She will be missed.

Great Grandpa Jensen TURNED 90 years old!! 90!! What a wonderful man. He sealed Josh and I in the Nauvoo Temple. He is loved by so many! We were very honored to share that day with him.

The girls started gymnastics! Miss L and Miss E are having so much fun in their gymnastic classes. Miss L's favorite part is the obstacle circuit they have. Miss E love, LOVES the trampoline and the balance beam. She is beginning to have a lot more to say. So just ask her, she will give you the story on gymnastics.

The bathroom is COMPLETE!! Mr. J's brother and father were nice enough to take time off of work, drop their schedules for a few days, and travel to help Mr. J finish the bathroom. It looks so AWESOME. Our home is not the same home we purchased just a short while ago. It is BETTER!! I am so grateful for a wonderful father-in-law and brother-in-law, who took time away from their own families, to come and help. I will never be able to express the love and gratitude that I have for them.

Miss L turns 4

THE BIRTHDAY PRINCESS

On August 5, 2006 we were blessed with a very special gift! Our daughter, Miss L! From the beginning, she set out to be her own true self. She proves that everyday with her logic and wisdom!! Here are pictures of her 4 birthdays!
Just a few hours old!

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday

3rd Birthday

4th Birthday

News of the month

About 6 weeks ago, I took a pregnancy test and it came out positive. It was a very exciting time. We told friends and family our great news. I had been bleeding some, but thought nothing of it. Since the majority of Miss E's pregnancy I bled. But then something just didn't feel right. So I called the doctor, went in for an ultrasound and discovered that there was no heartbeat. It was VERY sad at first, but we know that everything happens for a reason. The Lord does not give us anything we are not able to handle.

The Busy Months of April and May

Since our last post we have been non-stop busy! Here is a look at our calendar from the past month and a half!

April 16-17: Sarah went to Time Out For Women in Indianapolis with some AMAZING friends. Thank you ladies for the fun memories!!

April 23-25: The whole family went to Woodstock to do some cake decorating and have fun at a baby shower for the newest member of the Jensen family and to celebrate Miss E's birthday!


May 1st: Mr. J buried the hose for our front sump pump. And Sarah made tomato cages. Of course we were able to accomplish these tasks with the help of our wonderful friends.

May 6-9: Sarah, Miss L and Miss E drove down to Aunt Mandi's to have a birthday party for Mr. A and Miss E.


May 20-21: The whole family went up to Woodstock Mr. J, Miss L and Miss E celebrated Papa's birthday, hung out with friends and family. All while Sarah went to Hanover Park to hang out with long time friends to celebrate a birthday and enjoy Marklund's employee party.

Somewhere in the midst of everything else we had going on we went to Menards and picked up some sand for the sandbox that we found on the curb last fall.


We have been home ever since and don't plan on going anywhere until July 28th or 29th. We will then attend an annual reunion for Sarah's family. Even though it doesn't seem that far away, the few weeks we will get to spend at home will be FABULOUS!!!

Miss E's Birthday Pictures

Her Birthday cake!

Ready to make a wish!

Blowing out the candle!

Yummy cake she CAN actually eat!

Sisters!!

Princess E's Birthday

After a rough pregnancy and two weeks of hospital bed rest, Miss E made her appearance on April 12, 2008. Only 6 1/2 weeks earlier then her due date.

It was Friday night and I just couldn't get comfortable and felt contractions. I was nervous and excited at the same time. I called for the nurse and she came to evaluate the situation. I was in labor and there was nothing to do to stop it. The baby was coming. So I phoned Mr. J, who was in bed when I called to tell him what was going on. They weren't going to wait for him to get there (he was an hour away). I hung up the phone and they wheeled me down to the OR. I was in the operating room with the doctor, 2 nurses and the anesthesiologist. I felt very strange being all by myself in this big event of my life. I kept praying that Mr. J would not get a speeding ticket on the way to see his new daughter. He made it safely, ticket free and about 10 minutes after she was delivered. The delivery went smoothly and she was quickly taken to the NICU.

With every difficulty that this pregnancy presented, I just lived through it and made the best of it. But then all of a sudden we had a tiny baby, 4 lbs 13 oz. to be exact. How in the world was I going to take care of someone so small. Her whole body fit into my hand. It made me nervous to think about the complications that came with having a preemie. I sat in my room thinking about my baby that lay nameless in the NICU and knew that EVERYTHING was going to be okay. (She was about 16 hours old before she had a name. She LOOKED like an Eva! Don't know how to explain it, but she just did! Now her name suits her well.)

For the last 2 years we have been blessed with the presence of the sweetest spirit possible. She can make you laugh, cry, ooo and ahh! She truly is a blessing from Heaven. I thank Heavenly Father everyday for allowing me the responsibility of taking care of her.

Happy Birthday to my sweet Miss E!!!

The Dells

Last week we were able to go on our first family vacation! We traveled to Wisconsin Dells, WI and stayed at Christmas Mountain Village. We stayed in a nice 2 bedroom cottage. It was fully loaded and wonderfully spacious. My parents and nephew joined us on our vacation. We planned out our meals before hand, froze them and have very little clean up. It was perfect! Miss L and her cousin Mr. J Lee were inseparable the whole week. Miss E did everything they did, even if they wanted her to or not. She was out to prove she was just as big and capable as anyone else. Even when we played Wii, she bowled with the rest of us and stood on the Fit board (which she is considered a baby on, so her little Mii crawled, ADORABLE!!) like she was made to play! We swam, shopped, ate, walked, and slept! It was a perfect vacation for us! We were very HAPPY to be able to go and enjoy ourselves!

Day of Laughs and Adventure

On Tuesday I called the pediatrician's office to schedule Miss E an appointment due to the worries that I had with her breathing. It was a successful appointment and they prescribed her an antibiotic and moved on with our day. After not having a nap at all the girls were restless for Mr. J to get home. We decided to take this evening to be our evening out. As Mr. J was backing out of the garage and I was waiting in the garage to get in the van, the following conversation happened between him and Miss L.

Miss L: "We can't leave Mommy home."
Mr. J: "Oh, I think Mommy needs to stay home and rest."
Miss L (Crying and Yelling now): "No, Mommy has to go with us."
Mr. J: "Miss L, I am just joking."
Miss L: "DADDY, JOKING IS NOT FUNNY!!!"

Oh, my little girl! Who loves their Mommy?!

Later that evening we had finished our bedtime routine with the girls and they were on their way to sleep, or so I thought. Miss L gets out of bed, comes into my room and asks for another blanket. I told her alright, lets go. As we approached her bed I said, "Okay, get back in bed." As she jumps up into bed, laughing because she is not supposed to jump on her bed, she smacks her head on the bookshelf at the head of the bed. I picked her up to comfort her and pulled her back to look at her newest "BooBoo"! She had blood streaming down her face and all over her hands now. I kicked into calm motherly overdrive. Acting quick I took her to the bathroom grabbed a towel (which now thinking about it wasn't the greatest thing to grab), and went downstairs to tell Mr. J that she needed to go to the ER. I went and put back on my clothes, while Mr. J put a butterfly bandage and a band-aid over her 3/4" long by 1/4" high hole. We went to the ER and waited and waited and waited. It seemsed like all there was to do was watch Life After People on the History channel. After 3 1/2 hours and a brave little girl, the hole became a line with Dermabond. I felt so bad, here she sat with burns on her left hand for 2 weeks before, a scratch over her right eye and now a laceration over her left eyebrow. Oh my, the life of an active little girl! She was so brave through the whole thing. She never complained except that she didn't like those shelves anymore. What a great little girl!!!!

Snowmen and Blisters

On Tuesday Miss L and PawPaw went outside to play in the snow. They were having tons of fun when Miss L got the idea to build a snowman. The snowman was beautiful and even had a princess umbrella to complete the outfit. Miss L also had MeMaw making snow angels! She had tons of fun! Miss E was enjoying a nap while all of the snow playing was happening. Then on Wednesday Miss L climbed up to help make dinner and placed her hand on the hotplate that had just been used, so it was still EXTREMELY hot! Right away Tea Tree Oil (the best stuff EVER for burns) was placed on it! She still has quite a burn on her upper palm and a couple of fingers, it is nothing compared to what it could have been if the Tea Tree Oil wasn't put on it! She screamed for a VERY long time, which seemed like FOREVER!  Now we just need to help her to be very careful when touching things, to not upset the blisters. Miss E has been saying more and more words. Here is a list of the latest ones:

1. paper

2. apple

3. oh man

4. more

5. cookie

Travelings

So the girls and I took off and headed to Kentucky yesterday morning. I was a little nervous seeing as it is winter, I was traveling alone with little ones and I had 400 miles to cover before the day was over. Which 400 miles doesn't seem like a lot to some, it sure sounds like a huge number when little children and isolation in a car are involved. Happily the girls sat in their carseats reading books, playing with toys and dancing! It was a GREAT drive and we only stopped twice! I was happy that they did so well. I was hoping that they would take naps for a good portion of the nap, but no such luck. Miss L was too excited for our "special trip" and Miss E fell asleep about 20 minutes from our final destination! The weather was great and very cooperative! The landscape is amazing in Kentucky in any season and it is breathtaking every time I see it. I always feel at peace when I am gazing at the rolling hills of good ol' Kentucky.

We left Mr. J behind to tend to work and organizing the garage. He has been asking for weeks and I mean weeks if he could organize the garage. I had told him there were things inside that needed to be fixed and/or put together and besides it is FREEZING outside. Well he did get the list of Honey Do's completed and was excited to get his garage organized while we are gone. I am pretty sure I saw a little bit of excitement...no, RELIEF in his face as we were backing out of the driveway. I am sure he will miss us, but a week or so of bachlorhood is welcome with open arms when the opportunity comes his way. Until next time!

Hello Blog World!

So, I am going to try and update this often so that everyone can see what we have been up to! Since the girls are getting older. Miss L is now almost 3 1/2 years old. She is very, VERY smart! She always has a better way for everything! She also loves to draw and read. Miss E is now 21 1/2 months old. She is becoming quite the little clown! When anyone gets after her, she smiles a big cheesy grin, shrugs her shoulders and runs off giggling! She also likes to play with baby dolls and strollers. Life is very interesting around our household! Mr. J is currently doing a Developmental opportunity right now at work. He likes the work. He is always learning new ways to do things and keeps setting new goals for himself. I am so proud of him. I have been doing a lot with card making recently! I love coming up with new designs! It is so much fun! Hope all is well with all of you!!! Until next time!!