Little Bits of Heaven

Well, judging from the last time that I posted -- 2 months ago!!! -- I would assume that everyone will understand how out of control I've been. This post can easily be several pages long, so this is definitely for my own benefit and documentation.

My last post read that "Hell Has Frozen Over". Well, if it has indeed frozen, then I won't dwell on anything hellish that has happened recently and focus on the little bits of heaven that even adversity can provide. Let me tell you about pieces of heaven that I have experienced since my last post.

Thanksgiving:
My family came up to Utah to spend Thanksgiving here. This was also the first time any of them had met Mason.

(My brother, Kyle, with Mason Kyle Jensen)

There were 19 of us all together. We took advantage of the neighbor's vacant house next door while they are away on a mission and sent half over there to sleep.

(Me with my mom & two sisters)

While everyone was here, my mom told me that there was a time in her life when she felt like she had lost all control and organization of her home and life and it took her a while to pull herself back together. I think that this holiday season was that time for me. I'm pretty put together, but after the stress that has happened over the past year and a half --miscarriages, a funeral, a baby, sickness, etc., I think that I about lost it and that I am just barely starting to recover.

The little bit of heaven that happened during Thanksgiving was Mason's blessing.

(Mason's blessing)

We blessed Mason right after Thanksgiving on a Saturday afternoon in the Relief Society room of our chapel. All of Nate's family was there except for an uncle and a cousin. All of my family was there except for Trudy -- but I know that she was there in spirit. Both Nate & I have been blessed with wonderful families. I put together a little program for the blessing -- my sisters sang and both of our dads spoke. I loved every minute of it.

Another bit of heaven that happened during Thanksgiving was that my sister, Kelli, put together a talent show where everyone in my entire family participated. In my own little family, Nate sang and played a song on the guitar, I played a piano solo that I had arranged, Max played a fabulous song on the piano, Jake played a little song on the guitar (although he hadn't started lessons, yet), Devin played "Star Wars" on the piano (an imitation of Max's piano playing), Mason's talent was just looking cute.

(Max playing piano solo)

The talent show ended with a several page poem that my dad wrote about our family. He is known for his poetry writing -- usually at Christmas time. It was very touching...I may have to

try to type it into this blog some time.

(Dad reading his poem during the talent show)

Sickness
If you will remember, we all got the flu -- including Mason -- when Mason was only 2 weeks old. Then, we all know that this family can never get through the holidays without some kind of illness. I got mastitis during the Thanksgiving holiday. Soon after, I got the shingles. The little bit of heaven that always comes with any illness in our family is that I have so many absolutely wonderful friends who help me. I am forever indebted to them for their kindness.

Reflections Contest:
Max and Jake were both honored in the Reflections contest a couple of months ago. Max wrote the story: "Why Blockbuster Is My Favorite Place" about how Blockbuster brings our family closer together because we can watch movies together as a family. He won 2nd place in his division and was asked to read his story that night. Jake wrote a story called "Trudy B. Loved". His story was about how Disneyland is his favorite place. We went to Disneyland with Trudy and her kids when we went to Newport Beach on a family trip about 3 years ago. Then after Trudy died, we went to Disneyland with Aaron & his boys for Thanksgiving last year. As you walk up the pathway going into the Haunted Mansion, there is a tombstone that reads "Trudy B. Loved". Jake's story talks about how Trudy loved Disneyland, too. He won Honorable Mention in his division. I was proud of both of them.

(Disneyland - Thanksgiving 2005. This is obviously not the Haunted Mansion, but I didn't take a lot of pictures because I was hurting and just starting a miscarriage that I didn't tell anybody about. But, that's a different story.)

Mason -- my little bit of heaven:
Mason is an absolute angel who has brought so much happiness. He has the cutest bright eyes. All 3 of his brothers love him and are big helpers. Mason has slept for 6 hours during the night since he was one month old. He now sleeps between 7-10 hours at night time and is taking about (3) couple of hour naps. He only cries when he is hungry and only fusses a little when he is tired. I know that I have been absolutely spoiled with all of my children being very good sleepers, but I've needed it.

(Mason 2 month)

(Mason's 1st Day of Church -- December 10th)

Christmas:
After baby, flu, Thanksgiving, mastitis, and shingles, it was time to get ready for Christmas. We thought that after 11 years of traveling over Christmas, we were ready to stay home for the holiday. A bit of persuasion by Nate's family meant that we were going to Vegas for Christmas. This time, however, four kids meant that it was nearly impossible for Santa to travel with us. My kids were totally understanding and knew that Santa would have something for them when we got back home.

A few things made our travel plans a little bit difficult. The first one was that BYU played at the Las Vegas bowl on December 21st & 22nd (definitely not an option to miss in Nate's book). The second was that I had already committed to play the violin with the little orchestra in my ward for the Christmas Eve Sacrament meeting program -- and we all know how I feel about following through on committments. So, Nate went to the Las Vegas bowl on the 21st & 22nd. He drove back home to help me pack up and get ready, and then we drove back to Vegas on Christmas Eve after the Sacrament program. I will honestly admit that I was very unhappy packing, buying presents, and mentally preparing to travel.

(Nate's mom with Isaac and Mason)

The little bit of heaven that happened over Christmas was that this was one of my favorite trips to Vegas. Nate's mother was and always has been a very good hostess. We went to a couple of movies, ate really well, went shopping at the fabulous outlet malls there, played fun games (my favorite was Clue on DVD), and even went to Vegas's version of the Price is Right. (I was very disappointed that I didn't get to be a contestant. I would have rocked!) Now that it is all over, the holidays seem to have been perfect.

(Jake with Nate's dad, Steve)

Mason's 3-Month Birthday
Mason turned 3-months old on January 15th. Time goes so fast. This is my favorite stage -- they can respond, laugh, cuddle. I can't get enough of this baby. Heaven to me is just holding him.

(Mason's 3 month)

My Heaven:
I have been extremely blessed in my life. No matter the trials and hardships, I can never doubt that the Lord has given me an abundance. I am grateful for all those who make my life a little more like heaven everyday.