Happy Father's Day!

I have been richly blessed with the men in my life who are close to my heart. My darling husband works so hard to support our little family, and has the kindest sweetest heart. My Dad, who is my hero and my inspiration. I don't think a day goes by that I don't think about what he would say in this situation, or what he would do to fix this, or how he cut the watermelon as I am cutting up ours for dinner...

Home Made Lemonade

Last Saturday we got a Bountiful Basket that had 9 lemon's in it. So, when life gives you lemons... make lemonade, right?
It was fun!

Christmas Song

Jake: "Someone's Froggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say, HO HO HO, Rodoph with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh to night, Sure! Then he shouted out with glee Whoopee!" Repeat 10 - 12 times

Thanksgiving

The Christensen Family was all together for the Thanksgiving Holiday. It was our first since Dad passed away. Several of us had friends recommend setting a place at the Table for Dad. We mentioned it to Mom and she liked the idea. So, we sat his favorite chair at the head of the table, complete with a big spoon that he always liked to eat with:) We were all surprised to see his journal that he lost last year setting on his plate. Mom and Dad had both quizzed every one of us, asking if we had taken it, and Mom had found it! There was a page in the journal he had written about his kids and his love for them and the gospel. Mom asked someone to read it before we started dinner... WE started eating with tears in our eyes and love in our hearts for the wonderful man we called DAD!

Denise Made 16 beautiful pies... They were all DELICIOUS! She is one talented woman!



We went Day After Thanksgiving Day Shopping, starting at midnight. This was the first year I talked Matt into going... He doesn't do mornings... but the middle of the night is defiantly more his style. He was not mobbed (luckily) but, was still not impressed. The rest of us took a 2 hour nap then headed to Twin Falls on snowy roads to brave the crowds. We love the adrenalin rush and getting "good deal's" :) We came home and were completely wiped out for the rest of the day. This picture is us dividing up our spoil.

Before everyone left, we decorated ornaments and took a tree out to Dad's grave. The grandkids all loved playing in the snow and looking at their handprints in the cement around his headstone. It is a beautiful tribute to Dad and celebrates the love that Mom and Dad share. I think it turned out wonderfully!!!

I am so eternally grateful for the friendships that I share with my family. Each brother and sister means the world to me. I treasure the relationships that I have with them. They all married the most amazing people whom I love and adore. My Mom is a ROCK! She has faced this trial with such great faith and trust in her Heavenly Father that He will see her through. She is an amazing example of living her testimony! I love her with all my heart!

We look forward to the Christmas Season. We send our love out to all!

How do I arrange these???

#1
OR
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7

Things that Make Me Smile

Little boys!
Jake was standing next to me giggling this morning while I read the paper. I looked over to see he had stepped on the footy part of Cole's P.J.'s and was watching as Cole tried to crawl away....

Last night, Mattina was busy with her project of cutting paper in strips to "cast" her Webkinz pegasis wing. She was a very kind Dr. Meanwhile, Jake has on his cowboy hat and is shooting everything that moves and doesn't move...

Cole puts everything he finds in his mouth. This is stressful with two older kids who play with tiny pieces... yesterday it was Jakes apple core that he found... Cole was as happy as coud be as he gummed away at the core with his two little bottom teeth...

Last weekend we had Aunt Dana stay at our house for a night. While we were reading the picture scriptures with the kids, she was talking to her husband on the phone. We read the story of cutting off arms and Jake was pretty persistant at asking where the blood was and where the arms were in the pictures. He wanted to see the sword... and Aunt Dana comes down the hall with her arms pinned behind her back, waving her shoulders wildly she jumps on the bed screaming she has no arms and she is squirting blood everywhere, then she jumps on Jake who is laughing hystrically... I don't think he will soon forget the story of Ammon. Thanks Dana for the giggle fest!

Other things that make me smile...

Jake and his goggles


Mattina sharing her popsicle with Cole


Our Family at the Holgo Zoo


Mattina picking pumpkins

Holy Ghost

My Dad has been in ICU at the University of Utah hospital for 2 weeks now. I am pretty sure I was in denial for the first week and a half. After all, my dad is invincible, nothing slows him down. Last Saturday he was able to visit with each of his grandkids and say goodbye. Then, in a last chance effort to save his life, he chose to go on life support and try a new "miracle drug" to see if it would work. Before he went on Life Support he told us to let him fight for a week, then let him go. Well, tomorrow is a week. It all seems so surreal.
I sit here at the computer sad and numb, but throughout the whole experience I recognized so many mircles, and small blessings, and overall, the abundance of peace and reassurance from the holy ghost. There was a day they took Dad down to surgery. While he was in there, Dana gave a beautiful prayer and I felt SO at peace as we said amen. I knew it didn't necessarily mean everything would be good, I just knew the spirit was calming us in our time of need.
So, tomorrow, as I say a final goodbye to one of my very best friends.

NOT moving, or dieing, but close...JK

I remember a few years ago Matt taking a stress management class. He brought a list home and showed me the top ranking things that cause major stress in Life. I remember that moving, death in the family, birth in the family, and changing jobs were at the very top of the list. There were others, but I can't remember them right off:) We moved and had a baby last year... check - I don't want to even joke about dieing, so, let's talk about changing jobs shall we... :)

Matt has enjoyed working at Hill AF Base. It has been good to us. BUT, that being said, he was always wanting something a little different, just not sure what. Last year a friend introduced him to being a Loan Officer for Home Morgages. Matt fell in LOVE. He enjoys working with people, he enjoys getting great rates and crunching numbers. He loves helping people save money and get into a loan that will be the best for them. He has loved this second job for a long time. Well, after much thought and prayer and trying to follow the spirit, we (who are NOT big risk takers) are risking it. Matt is going to be a Loan Officer full time. He turned in his two week notice at the base Friday. This is our leap of faith... Here we go!
SO, if you know anyone who is buying a house or wants to refinance at a rate near 4% Matt would love to help out.:)

Keep us in your prayers, I'm scared to "death".

Private Thompson

I have been pondering going private for a while... I don't want to exclude friends from keeping up, but I am nervous to have info out there for everyone in the world too... so, if you are family, friend, or an extended family and would like to keep up on our family let me know and I'll add your e-mail address to the list. Have a fantastic day!!!!

Life Update

So So So much has happened... all wonderful and exciting... I've taken pictures, but they haven't made it to the blog yet, I'd love to share them all, but here are a few of my favorites for now.

Cole's Blessing Day

He is such a good natured little man. We love to hear him coo and laugh.

Jake turned 3!!!

I LOVE that smile!!!

Easter in Idaho!

Cole and Grandma C's jumping bunny:)

Funny for the day: I was buckling Jake into his car seat and I told him to turn around and sit down... and he started singing "and that's what it's all about..." I couldn't help but giggle, what a goof!

Our Funniest Home Video

I used a quarter of an onion for dinner. Jake picked up the other quarter and started to eat each layer individually. We sat down to play Cooties after dinner and he was still munching away on his "treat". I thought it would be fun to archive this... but I had no idea ...:)

Got Dressed by Myself!!!

We have the rule at our house that we have to have 4 things done before we can watch cartoons in the morning. Eat breakfast, get dressed, do our hair, and make our bed... Jake was so excited to get dressed all by himself... and I giggled as he came to show me his accomplishment! What a cutie!!!

2 Months and smiling!!

It has been so fun to have Cole! He had his 2 month check up this week and weighs 12 lbs. That puts him in the 65%. He has been smiling for a while, but he just started coo-ing and "talking". So fun!

Welcome Little Cole!!!

10 - 11 - 12 !!!! Yahoo

COLE IS HERE!!!
We are going to party all week now! Matt's Birthday is on the 10th, Cole on the 11th, and Sherrie's on the 12th.
Cole arrived at 9:04 a.m. he was 7 lbs. 1 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long. He has dark hair and a small dimple on his cheek when he smiles or moves his lips just right:) It was a quiet peaceful time in the hospital. Because of the flu season we couldn't have more than 2 visitors the whole time we were there.
Mattina and Jake met Cole on Monday and I will always treasure the excitement and glow in their eye's as they saw him and got to hold him... it was priceless. They have been talking to my tummy and giving him hugs for a while, so it was fun to have a baby to hug and give kisses to. It's fun how Cole just fits in and we wonder how we ever were a family without him here. I'm looking forward to a wonderful Christmas season. Hope everyone has a happy Christmas!!! Love ya!

Short or Long?

So, I've been debating on cutting my hair. I get excited about having it short and styled - I think it's fun, but then I remember that I won't have the convience of pulling it in a bun (which happens frequently). So, what do you guys think? What are the pro's and con's of both? ...I've also been pondering the post pregnant hair loss, which might be more easily handled in a short style... humnn... what to do?

So much has happened...

It seems like forever ago that we were in Nauvoo. So much has changed and happened in our lives. This post goes from current back to Nauvoo. There are a million stories and people that have played a part in all this. I have learned in my personal journal keeping that I am not good at going back and catching up, it's better just to take the loss and start where I'm at and go forward. So, this is my febal attempt to catch up, and I'll do better and posting. I'm looking forward to the holiday's though I am not sure what adventures they will hold. This little guy is due December 20th. If he is anything like his siblings he might be here as soon as the Sunday after thanksgiving... So, we will get ready and play the holiday's by ear. So... here is the catch up...


Oct 2-9, 2009 Matt and I were able to go to florida! We had airplane vouchers, a timeshare that was about to exire, Mattina was off track, and I could still travel. It seemed like the perfect opportunity and we couldn't pass it up. We spent a wonderful week together and enjoyed the ocean and snorkling. The weather was fantastic!

Septemper 28, 2009 We bought a van... We have known this was coming with the addition of #3 to our home. The trick was getting the van I wanted in the price range Matt wanted. I think we did pretty good:) We are happy to have that off of our "to do before the baby gets here" list. The funny thing is, we fit right into our new ward... there is the whole row of mini vans, and we park in that row too... crazy.

August 21, 2009 We attended our last ward overnighter with the Clinton 8th ward. We spent all day Saturday tubing down the stream with several families that were able to stay. Saying goodbye has been beyond difficult...

August 17, 2009 Mattina started Kindergarten. Syracuse Elementary is a year round school, so her class had been going for a few weeks. She has jumped right in and loves it! Her teacher got married unexpectedly while they were off track and turned in her two week notice last week. Her last day is December 4th. So, Mattina will get a new teacher... A crazy way to start school.

August 12, 2009 We moved from Clinton to Syracuse, not very far, but a whole world away.

Nauvoo Trip

Nauvoo 2009

We left Sunday night and drove straight through to Winter Quarters. We stayed there that night and toured the vistors center the next morning. The next night we stayed in Kansas City. Wednesday we visited Liberty Jail, Far West, Adam - Ondi -Ahman, and Hauns Mill. We staid in Nauvoo from Thursday through Sunday at the Hyrum Smith Farm. All 25 people fit comfortably and it was fun to have everyone in one house. In Nauvoo we visited shops, stores, and learned games and activities that the pioneer were involved in. Thursday morning we drove to Carthage Jail. That afternoon families kinda split up and did their own thing. We took our family to a little play that was put on in the Cultral Center by the missionaries. Friday was our temple day. We had a session at 8 a.m. for the adults and a baptism session at 6:30 p.m. for the youth. During the day we visited the gun smith shop, the bakery, and a home. Saturday morning we had a handcart pull scheduled. It was kinda drizzling rain, so we put on our hoodies and long pants and headed out. The trail they sent us on was completely muddy and we were all covered by the time we finished the first up and down hill. The trek was 2 miles and by the end Mattina and I were walking behind the cart train, and she told me that she would rather be in Disneyland than Nauvoo... (all summer we have been talking about our trip to Nauvoo with the same excitement that we did Disneyland last year, and I guess in her mind they were going to be similar, but handcarts in the rain and mud was NOT Disneyland in her mind:)
There are so many incredible memories from this trip. I really need to sit down and write them all down. I think that Matt and I have narrowed our favorite down to baptisms in the temple. We had 4 endowed males and 3 endowed females, they (the temple workers) showed us what needed to be done, and we basically did everything. The spirit was so strong and amazing there. The workers that did stay in the baptistry were full of stories and wisdom. It was also amazing to watch the fathers get to baptise thier teenage children. The spirit was incredible!
We staid in Omaha Sunday night and attempted to leave early Monday for our 14 hour drive that day. We were in a three car caravan entering the freeway and the middle car suddenly lost ALL power. We pulled over to the shoulder behind them and turned on our emergency flashers. So, there sat three cars holding 12 people on an on ramp that people were speeding onto during rush hour traffic. Matt and I sat and watched in horror as we had a million close calls where people noticed at the last second that we were there and moved over into the other lane... Heavenly Father was watching out for us! A miracle happened and they wiggled the right wire and regained power after just about an hour of fiddling. We were off and the car worked the rest of the day! It was a fantastic trip with many wonderful memories. We will treasure those forever. Now, we are packing like crazy, cleaning like crazy, and just plain going crazy:) Hopefully we will close the loans Monday and get the keys to our Syracuse home Wednesday. Life is BUSY!

We are having a BABY and it's a ....

BOY!!!!

Mattina went with Matt and I to the ultra sound yesterday. On the way in she and Matt were still debating boy or girl. When we got into the room Mattina told the technician that did our ultra sound that she wanted a girl. The Tech was very cute with her and said, "just think, if it's a boy you won't have to share your toys or clothes or makeup..."
The baby was curled up with his legs pulled up under his tummy so we got a good shot of his bottom and manly parts. Definanlty a boy:)
The tech wanted the baby to stretch out so she could get a better view of the heart, she tried to shake the baby into moving... Later Mattina told Grandma C. that the doctor "tickled our baby."
Back in the car Matt asked Mattina what we should name our new baby... she announced
"Franky" (That is the name of a character on a movie she saw recently:) Then she said that it was mommy's baby so she could name it. Sounds good to me:)

We have a week and a half until we have to be out of this house... I am finally feeling better, so we are going to box everything up like crazy the next few days and try and get a POD or storage unit to store it in. We are hoping to move alot next Wednesday - Friday and move into the new house Friday and Saturday... This is crazy... I can't imagine doing this very often.