Month 4

Yesterday was my 17 week mark. In plain English, that is about 4 months. I keep wondering where that baby is hiding! (Probably the same place where my abs are hiding) I don't show very much at all, though I have no doubts that a baby bump will be sprouting soon. We are really excited for February 10th when we find out gender. I feel great, haven't gotten sick at all, and have been craving cheese and pizza. Also, on Sunday 1/24, I think I had my first kicks during church. It felt like a tiny throbbing in my lower left abdomen. I'm not sure what else it could have been!

In Memory of Elwin Christensen

The day after Xmas, we found out that Grandpa Christensen had passed away. He was 92 years old and had lived a nice full life. We were all grateful that Grandpa was able to be freed from the confines of his aged body. He hadn't been able to move or communicate very well. The week before his passing, Grandma had to feed him. Taking care of Grandpa had been a strain on Grandma so we hope she can get some rest now and feel better.

His funeral was held Wednesday, December 30th with a viewing beforehand. Normally I have a really hard time with corpses since it never looks like the person to me without the spirit inside. However, there were something about the expression on Grandpa's face that was warm. He had aged considerably since I had last seen him, but it was definitely the Grandpa I loved. I looked at his hands and you could tell he was a man who always labored. I am glad he has found rest.

There were some great stories shared about Grandpa. Here are some of them.



As told by Aunt Sonia:

My dad love the history of Manassa. He enjoyed driving through town pointing out the places he had lived as a boy and where others had lived. He enjoyed telling stories from his childhood. One of his favorites was about the time when he and Otho Bagwell decided to play hooky from school. They were in the first grade. The story went like this.
My dad: “Why don’t we play hooky today?”
Otho: “How do you play it?”
Dad: “Well, I don’t know. You just don’t go to school. You do something else.”
Otho: “Where shall we go?”
Dad: “I know where there is a new baby we can see.”
So, they went to see the new baby, whose surprised mother asked “why aren’t you boys in school?”, to which they replied “we are playing hooky.” They visited various other residents of the town, confessing to each that they were playing hooky until they ran out of ideas, so my dad suggested that they could go play at his house. My surprised grandmother asked why they were home, and to her they explained that they were playing hooky, and then explained that they shouldn’t do that.

Another story I liked was about when he and uncle Alfred caught a ride to town in the milk truck. The milk truck was probably a model T, they sat in the back on top of the milk cans. At the corner, the truck lost it’s brakes and crashed into the ditch. Milk spilled and cans rolled and boys and the driver were rattled. No one was seriously hurt, but Uncle Alfred never did find one of his books among all the spilled milk and cans.

My dad had a sweet tooth which I think we all inherited. He loved to drink home made root beer, eat watermelon and even ate tomatoes sprinkled with a little sugar. He always preferred the corner piece of cake as it had thicker icing (grandma’s penuche frosting on applesauce cake comes to mind). We all liked to go with him when he took an animal to the Alamosa cattle auction because when all the selling and buying were done, we always went to the A&W and had a banana split for lunch. That never happened when we went to Alamosa with my mother.

One of my best early childhood memories is of the day that my dad took me, Miriam, Lowell and our dear cousins Wanda, Shirley, Marie Christensen and Vincent Echols to see Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the theater in Alamosa. We each got to buy our favorite candy, then we sat together in the theater to watch that thrilling movie.

He worked hard into his 80s and was noted for his strength. Once he stopped in New Mexico to aid a young man whose motorcycle had died along the road. He lifted that motorcycle into his truck surprising it’s young rider who commented about how strong he was. Just a few years ago, Wendell and I were visiting in the summer and my dad went outside to trim the lower branches of the evergreen which stands just to the south of the little house on the corner, so the house could be warmed by the sun. We saw him out there standing on a ladder with the chainsaw raised, and Wendell said “I think I better go help your dad”. Awhile later, Wendell came in worn out and had to lie down, and my dad was still out there working. (the effect of that altitude on people coming from sea level is part of the story, but his stamina and strength exceeded our, even so).



Grandpa served in WWII in the Philippines as an MP. Shortly after arriving, Grandpa was at the post office when a bomb was thrown, landing at his feet. The bomb didn't detonate but broke into pieces in front of him. He tried to pick up a piece of it and it burned his fingertips it was so hot. It really didn't make sense why it hadn't detonated, but he always told his family that God had protected him from harm. While serving in the army, he didn't write a whole lot about what he saw; his journal entries mainly outlined ordinary things of army life. He served as a spotlight operator.

After the war, he went home for a few years to help his family with the farm. He was in his 30's when he decided to serve a mission for the Church and was called to Uruguay for 2 1/2 years. He had been corresponding with Grandma, who was one of his classmates from school. He bought her a ring in Brazil on his way home from the mission.
Mom shared a funny story. She said there was a major house rule when she was growing up: absolutely no jumping on the bed. The mattresses were old and jumping would cause it to collapse. The mattresses were really heavy and fixing it was a difficult task.
We all know rules are made to be broken. Mom and Sonia (and maybe Lowell?) were jumping on the beds, and sure enough, one collapsed. They were all scared but went to fetch their dad. He was perturbed for sure. The kids stood and watched while he worked to fix the bed. They were sure that they would get some kind of punishment for breaking the rule.

While Grandpa was lifting the bed, he passed gas. Mom said that was something he never EVER did in front of them. They all started giggling. He turned around and cracked up. It broke the tension, and they didn't get in trouble.

There were many sweet stories about Grandpa. He was always a kind man. It is hard for me to imagine him being angry at all. We will all miss him a lot and look forward to the day when we will see him again. I can't wait for my baby to meet him.

Xmas 2009

For Christmas, Kevin and I traveled down to St George where it was a lot warmer (a whole whopping 40 degrees!) It was a nice, relaxing, and much-needed vacation. We had planned to go to our favorite pie shop and order ourselves a lemon sour cream pie. Since we were heading back north on Sunday, we figured we could pre-order a pie to pick up Saturday, the day after Xmas. Well, we went in Xmas Eve morning and were disappointed to find that 1) they were going to be closed the day after Xmas, and 2) they were out of the lemon sour cream pie that day. So no luck with the lemon sour cream pie. Oh well, less calories I suppose. We did manage to pick up the last ham quiche though...

Xmas Eve, we went to midnight mass with Mom, Michael, and Mikey. And I learned something! Midnight is supposed to be the darkest hour of the night. Of course, Christ came into the world in the darkest of darkness and filled the world with light. And thus, we have the reason for midnight mass! Kevin and I decided we will keep up that tradition if we can. That way, the kids should have no trouble getting to sleep Xmas Eve!

Xmas morning we had quiche for breakfast and opened presents. Santa Claus brought Kevin a cast-iron skillet he had been drooling over for months. He had been researching how to make "the perfect steak" and I guess cast-iron was the way to do it. After tasting the fruits of his research, I can confidently agree that he has found it. Tom and Carly got him a book entitled, "Seduced by Bacon." Do they know him or what? Kevin also got a Webber grill which will assist him with many of his favorite dishes. His parents got him his deep-fat fryer. I smell trouble. Are people trying to fatten us up?

Santa Claus brough me a culinary education. I got a copy of "Julie & Julia" on DVD which is just the most delightful movie, if you haven't seen it. That Meryl Streep infuses such an infectious humor into it. After watching Amy Adams cook her way through Julia's cookbook, I yearned for the very same cookbook: "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." Santa Claus really paid attention, because I got it. I cannot wait to steam artichokes and dip the leaves in Julia's hollandaise sauce. Yum. I also got some DVDs with the real Julia Child. That will be fun to watch.

We always go to a movie, so we went to a matinee of "Avatar" in 3D. It was certainly an entertaining movie despite its mediocre plot.

Xmas is also my mom's birthday, so we have a birthday celebration at night. We had eaten so much junk the past few days, that mom decided she didn't want a birthday cake. So she had a birthday cupcake. We all gave her presents and watched Julie & Julia (she also got a copy and hadn't seen it before.)

We forgot our camera, so sorry for the lack of pictures!