Grandpa's Birthday

Cute little conversation I had with Hanna on Thursday...
Me- "Hanna tomorrow's grandpa's birthday."
Hanna- "We need to send him money." (That's what he does for the grand kids)
Me- "Should we send him as much as how old he is?" (That's what he does.)
Hanna- "That will be all of our money."

I had a good laugh and loved sharing this with my dad on his 64th birthday! Happy Birthday dad!

Sharing Your Talents

I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such talented woman here and more importantly that these woman magnify there talents by sharing them with others (like me) who may not be so talented. UNTIL NOW!!!!

One friend does a once a month cupcake class and teaches us fun and interesting cupcake skills. These are spaghetti with meatballs (cupcakes).

Another friend has a monthly cooking class and has given out some wonderful recipes that I've even been enjoying trying out! And more importantly they've turned out great and I've even enjoyed doing so!

Homemade french bread, YUMMY! Made twice last week. And Chicken Parmesan, looking forward to making again!

Another friend taught me how to make this cute little diaper cake!

Another friend taught me a few knew hair techniques to do on Daisy and Hanna's hair! I have also learned how to make hair bows from another friend! I made the hair bow that's on top of the diaper cake. And these too! (Oh, the purple ones, not the brown and white ones.)

Oh ya, and I got my hair done!

THANK YOU, YOU WONDERFUL TALENTED WOMAN WHO HAVE SHARED YOUR TALENTS WITH ME!

Preschool

I had my Pre-K Class graduation and Preschool class program last week, so I'm off until Fall.
Both class programs went so well I was very impressed and I know the parents were too! I currently have no pictures for my Pre-K graduation except for the cute cupcakes we made and the class photo, (my friend will be sending me more so I'll update later). They were awesome though, it was so rewarding seeing their progress! Hanna was in my Pre-K class, which means she'll be starting Kindergarten in the Fall!

Here is my preschool class during their program. Van is in this class, but he still has another year of preschool, then Pre-K.

Daisy and Walt

Daisy and Walt are already getting to be so close it is so cute! The other morning (while Danny was watching them and I was getting ready for my Preschool class graduation) I found them giving themselves a bath. The water was even warm!

They have been climbing out of there port-a-cribs (which Daisy is in Danny's closet and Walt in mine,) and have been getting each other up to play. So I put Walt in the big crib in Hanna's room and they've been staying put for the most part. In the day I find them in Daisy's crib together with their blankies and "reading" stories to each other. (This is not during nap time, they just sneak off together and that is where I find them). They've been watching a lot of Signing Time lately and this evening Danny turned it on for Daisy, but she had two request her blankie and then Walt. They are such a joy and it's so cute seeing them growing closer each day. Here is a picture of their routine nigh-night kisses.

They are 21 months old now, this is the age Van was when I had them!

Max and Van

I have realized a lot of this I've been posting on FB and haven't posted on my blog, so I'm catching up.

Max received student of the month for the month of April in his First Grade Class!

                                           Future Missionary, Van Tolman Jensen (current age 3):

Happy Birthday Max and Me

I turned 32 on May 5th and my big boy Max turned 7 years old on May 6th! Since our birthday is only a day a part we get to have a special birthday lunch together.

Made cookies on a stick for Max's birthday to bring to his class.

This picture is a silly one, but I like it because it shows his innocence. This was Max's birthday dinner request, an artichoke.

It's been a busy month with Father's and Son's that we are officially celebrating his birthday this Sat. Max went to our Father's and Son's and to his cousins' as well. Max finally got a Play Station 2. He's been wanting some kind of game thingy since he was 3 years old. Danny's brother Jeff and cousin Andrew gave it to him and he and Van have been loving it! I've been enjoying using it as a great incentive as well!

Here are some gifts that I got... phone calls, cards, chocolates, a dinner gift card, while teaching a cake in one class and cupcakes in the other, all my wonderful FB messages and of course mom babysat so Danny and I could go to dinner and she even made me french toast for breakfast, my favorite! I felt loved.

Daisy and Walt

Here are Daisy and Walt's 18 month pictures (taken at 19 months).





We also have a video of them which I forgot and filmed it sideways. I don't think there is anyway to edit it to turn it, but if you know of a way to do so please let me know. Independent Babies:

Hanna Riding Her Bike

Hanna's 5th Birthday

Hanna turned 5 on March 7th and she wanted a bike party.

We had her party at this secluded park that had a bike trail, a big grassy field, a covered picnic area, and play set, it was way nice (which is hard to find in Pahrump). We were the only people at the park, it was great! The kids rode bikes, scooters, played red light green light, played freeze tag and just played!

My friend Cambria made this great cupcake "cake."

Baxter, Rebecca, Kurt and Skye were all able to be there. Hanna had a wonderful 5th birthday, thanks to all her family and friends!


My friend took the pictures at Hanna's party for me and she got a lot of fun great shots that you never have time to take at your own child's birthday party. I'm so glad I asked her. Thanks, Linda!

Family Home Evening

Danny did the lesson at FHE on Monday night. He taught the kids about Jesus and read in the scriptures about Him being a carpenter. After his lesson they each got to be a "carpenter" too, as they hammered nails into a wooden plank. I'm so thankful for the example Danny is to our children.

Zachary's Baptism

Max's cousin Zachary was baptized at the beginning of this month. It was great to be at his baptism because Max and Zachary are so close and it's neat to have the kids be able to watch such a wonderful ceremony. We also had fun visiting and eating with all the family afterwards!

Hanna, Max, Zachary, and Walt

Uncle Jeff, Danny, Zachary, Uncle Tom and Tracy

Mother's in Making is Back

My Mother's In Making Blog is back on the posting board! My goal is to post once a month! I've already posted once in Jan. and once in Feb. so so far I'm accomplishing my goal 100%! Go and visit it!

Grandma Mike

Grandma Mike has been visiting since Sunday and on Thursday night she was coming down the stairs for dinner and missed the last step and fell. I was the only one here with here so I called my friend Allison who came over and we got grandma up into a chair. The first thing she asked for was a blessing so my home teachers came and gave her one. I went with her in the ambulance to the hospital while my friend Allison watched the kids. Turns out grandma broke her hip in 3 places and will be having surgery today. I know grandma is ready to move on to the next life, but she means so much to me that I want all my kids to know her and as long as her mind and body are working I would love for her to stay a little longer. We love you Grandma Mike!

Danny's New Calling

Danny was called as Bishop today in our ward; the Manse Springs Ward of Pahrump NV, South Las Vegas Stake. We were actually extended the call over 3 weeks ago, so we had time to adjust that he was going to be called as Bishop, but I'm sure it will be sometime before we adjust that he is Bishop. We both know through serving our missions that sacrifices only bring great blessings. I know that at any time in any ones life, being called as Bishop will be a sacrifice on the family. Having 5 little one's will be trying at times, but I think if they were all teenagers running to activities here and there would be even more trying. I'm so thankful for Danny and for the Priesthood he holds, for the love that he has for our Savior Jesus Christ and for his desire to serve. He has a huge heart and I know he will love all the members of our ward. I'm so grateful for the example he is to me and our children, I love him so much and I'm here to support him 100%. I know this will be a great blessing to our family and we will appreciate all your love, support and prayers. With love the Jensen's.


Family members who attended...
Dee, Susan, Grandma Mike, Tom, Becky, Tanner, Hailey, Zachary, Ruby, Jeff, Cindy, Raquel, Andrew, Olivia, Aunt Joann, Kristina, Allison, Emma, Natalie and Aunt Laura.

Cleaning Tips

Just got a new mop called the Sh-Mop and love it! It looks as though I washed my floors on my hands and knees for hours. It's just a simple mop with 3 change out machine washable cloth rags. You can order one from the Clean Team. You can also visit their blog for more cleaning tips. When moping my floors I always carry around the Pampered Chef scraper in my back pocket for those hard items to scrap up. Only use hot water and white vinegar on your floors other cleaners will cause your floors to be more sticky. Burn a candle when you clean to keep your house smelling vinegar free. I found out you can even use vinegar as a fabric softener, just as you would use any fabric softener, neat huh!

Sledding

Got a lot of snow last week in the mountains, so we went sledding yesterday and had a great time! My sister-in-law Becky and 4 of her kids came and played too.
All the kids lined up to sled. Danny giving everyone a good push.
Walt even got a couple turns and loved it. Daisy was home sick with grandma. This ended up better with only one because I wore boots that kept my feet dry, but couldn't keep me standing, there was no way I could have carried her.
Max's turn.
Building a snowman.

New Years 2010

We went to CA for New Years this year. We first visited with my dad and Debi for a night which we all enjoyed being spoiled there.

Then New Years Eve we went to my friends which is also my old mission companion and stayed a night there with her husband and 4 children. We celebrated New Years at 8:00on New Years Eve; all are kids are young enough that it was a very easy to trick them. Us grown ups only stayed up until 9:30 or 10:00, I guess we must be too old.

On New Years Day we went to San Diego up to the Mt. House and celebrated my mom's Christmas which everyone, but Micheal, were there for the weekend. Even my dad, Debi, and Debi's 2 boys came up on Saturday, and it went really well!

Family tradition is Santa comes and gives each child a present.

(Yes, every child sat on Santa's lap, didn't want to bore you with each picture.)

The gift is always pajamas.

Christmas 2009

We felt that our kids are getting a little older that we needed to establish some family traditions so this year we decided on... for gifts, the kids get 1 Santa gift, they work for the month to earn money to buy each of their siblings a gift and then we get 1 family gift as well. On Christmas morning for breakfast we will have a verity of fruit to eat and hot coco and cider to drink. On Christmas Eve we get new jammies and the kids get to sleep in our room and we watch a movie together.
On Christmas Eve we always go to the Tom Jensen Family home and have a very yummy dinner (Mediterranean food) followed by the Nativity play with all the kids as the performers. We always have a great Christmas Eve with the family.
All the kids by the tree on Christmas morning.
Max made us this all on his own, we thought it looked good and was very sweet and creative of him.
The kids each got bikes from Santa, thanks to good'ol Craigs list.
Later in the afternoon on Christmas Day we go to the Jeff Jensen family home to be with family and eat and enjoy the day together. Hear is almost all of Danny's family (brother Tom was home sick and niece Brittany's husband was on the phone with his brother on his mission). We had a wonderful Christmas 2009!