Sledding

A Poem...

My 9 year-old DD H wrote this poem for school...

Turkey Poem

Fortunately, this year we were going to have a turkey.
Unfortunately, the turkey fell in a pond.
Fortunately, we had some ham.
Unfortunately, the ham was SPAM so we had to delete it right away.
Fortunately, we had nice neighbors.
Unfortunately, they were with Little Bo Peep. Apparently she lost some cows or something.
Fortunately, they found them soon enough.
Unfortunately, they didn't have a fishing rod.
Fortunately, we still had the stuffing.
Unfortunately, the stuffing was spoiled.
Fortunately, my Dad just got back from the store.
Fin.

Frank's Letter December 10, 2008

Dear Dad,

I heard you were sick, hope that you get better soon. We actually had a great Thanksgiving. Knocking wasn't so great, but the dinner was awesome. Our weather here has been bizarre actually. It was 20 and windy all weekend, but now it's 65 outside and raining.

Thanks for sharing that story with me. I thought you'd shared all your cool stories with us children by now.I actually used that as a spiritual thought, so the effect of it continues on.

We actually had a really touching experience last week too. We'd been visiting an older member of the church named Claudia Trabbert in an assisted living center for a long time, just to listen to her talk and enjoy company and such. A few weeks ago we thought as we did our weekly planning to inquire as to whether she received the sacrament regularly, and it turned out that it had been a long time since she had had it. We got permission and the next week administered it to her. The following morning she passed away. I could certainly tell the story more dramatically, but the principle is the same: the Lord will use us for his purposes at exactly the moment when they need to be done. Everything had been set in motion at exactly the proper time to do it that day, and the thought came right out of the blue. It also shows us that we have to be ready for whenever he might call upon us. I was really glad to be able to be a part of that.

I wish I had more time to write, but we're almost up even now. Mom didn't get anything for the same stupid reason you didn't get it last week.

Love,
Elder Robert Christensen



Hi Rob,

Hope you had a good week. We were all wondering if you had a good Thanksgiving. Did you go to the music professor's for dinner? We went up to the Fords again. Same old crowd, nothing too new. We did talk to Grandma + Grandpa Ford through their skype connection on the computer. They looked blurry but other wise the same.

It is a shame that we didn't do much else since the weather was so nice. I just got down the Christmas stuff.

I have been substituting in primary in Holly's class. Last week we studied Moroni and I had them write a letter on aluminum foil with a toothpick. They thought that was cool. No erasers either. One of my BYU professors thought that you can tell the mistakes in the BoM that couldn't be erased, so they were corrected or clarified. Next time you are reading look for places that say "or rather" or something like that. Maybe they are places that would have been worded differently if they could have gone back and corrected. This week we went over faith. It surprises my how much different the levels of understanding is among the group. Some have clearly been thought by there parents, some clearly not, or at least have studied on their own like you did. I will teach until they get someone else i suppose.

Your mom seemed to have a good birthday; we went out to eat and all ate too much. We had to spent $100 to get $50 off so we got drinks and dessert, something we never do otherwise. She bought herself a bunch of camera equipment and the girls made her a cake and stuff. Marissa and Holly were sure excited when they found your camera. I guess we will sent it and the memory card we thought didnt make it back to you now.

Went down to Grandma/Grandpa Christensens the other day. They are doing fine. We did there list of things, like carry heavy items, fix the clock on the VCR, got the printer working, etc. They put decorations on the shed we made. They always comment on how much they like it. Kind of funny. I think they go back their and hang out and tinker and stuff. It was a lot of work, but I am glad they enjoy it.

Other than that, not much new. Glad you are having success placing books and are able to teach people. I remember once, probably the first time I really was able to teach someone about the gospel that didn't already now all about the church. He was a mixed up kid on a work program at a computer place I worked in Provo. He had done a lot of bad things and was a satan worshiper and was bragging about how the evil side was stronger than the good side and junk. I was able to talk to him and tell him he was wrong and that there really is a God and loves him and stuff I dont even remember. I do remember feeling the spirit so strong that I thought I was going to pass out. I felt like I was yelling but I dont think I was. It was something I wont ever forget. It didnt feel like I was the one talking. Eventually he ended up going to an LDS ward and changed. I wish I could say it was me, but it wasn't.

Anyway, I hope you are doing well. Stay warm.
-Dad

Advent Day 7

Yesterday was BNLFan's big date. She was asked to Cotillion by Cory Christensen. He can't understand why she's a bit weirded out by it. But he seems like a very nice--very smart--young man. He's got to be smart--he saw what a beautiful, sweet daughter I have and asked her out. That shows brilliance.

It's been pretty funny. He was kind of embarrassed or something because once he asked her, he wouldn't talk to her. She would try to talk to him and he would pretend he didn't hear her or something. He would even turn and face a wall to get out of talking to her. I was worried the date would be weird but she said it was okay during the daytime activity--they went ice skating. She said he enjoyed holding her hand as he "helped" her up from the ice every time she fell, which was often. I told you he was smart!

When it was time to get ready, the neighbor/hairstylist wasn't home. We waited until we couldn't wait any longer and then had to call another neighbor to do her hair. She was a little panicky but it turned out just fine. The hairstylist never did make it home in time to do her hair. So here's the pictures...

Advent day 6

While I was outside taking pictures of my house, I looked up and saw the moon--no clouds! So I decided to take a few shots and see what I could get. I like it very much...

Advent day 5

This is my house all dressed up for the holidays. I love my star... I like the simple decorations, rather than Clark Griswald's Christmas Vacation. Not that there's anything wrong with that; it's just not for me.



And another shot when it was darker...

Advent Calendar day 4

This was my favorite tree at the Festival of the Trees. It is a tree of blown glass. Each limb is an individually blown "plate".



And under the tree were glass presents:

Advent Calendar day 3

I spent the day at the Festival of the Trees. H's school choir, Bobcat Beats, performed and then we walked around, enjoying the atmosphere. Here's H singing:


And here she is, singing her "solo"

Happy Birthday to Me!

I had the best birthday! The kids made me breakfast in bed and sang to me bright and early. I spent the morning doing NOTHING--nothing except laundry, dishes and general tidying up around the house. My 1st councilor took me to lunch at Mimi's Cafe; I had delicious Asian Chopped Salad AND a mousse cake. She spoiled me. Then I came home and took Scout to horseback riding lessons. While she rode, I had electrolysis done by my delightful SIL FordeverFamily. Yeah, that's how I celebrate my special day. I have someone poke my face with needles and then electrocute me. Fun.

When we got home, Dilbert took me and the kids out to dinner. We had a restaurant.com coupon for $50 off a $100 purchase so we ate and ate and ate until we couldn' t eat any more. Then we came home and the kids gave me my gifts. BNLFan and N had sneaked up to my cake-lady's house and baked me a chocolate ganoche cake and decorated it. Yummy. We were so full we didn't eat it until the next day, but I can tell you--it was delicious. They had also bought me some flowers and some rasberry caramel Dove chocolates. Oh wow. Dilbert bought me a new lens for my camera, which I have been enjoying emensely.

It was such a nice day--I think it was the best birthday ever--with the one exception that Frank isn't here. But I wouldn't have him home, considering what he's doing. So here's to the next 41!!!

Frank's letter December 3, 2008

Click here for Frank's latest letter

And for the record, I am NOT keeping that close of count on his days left in his mission. I have it as a countdown clock on my blog or I wouldn't know or care. So THERE! I AM a good mom!

Advent Calendar day 2 (also late)

This is a poor picture of my Living Room Christmas tree.



The square thing at the top is a paper angel, made by a darling lady from Sweden who was in my craft guild in Florida. She did them from hand carved wooden molds. They made the terracotta toilet paper temples look like crap. Anyway, it is a treasured ornament.

Advent Calendar day 1 (late)

I am going to post Christmas pictures--taken by me, I hope.
My darling niece from my other blog does a daily advent calendar every year and I was invited to join a few years ago... Please feel free to join in, too! I would love to see your advents!

Bear with me and my sad sad new obsession.

Frank's Letter November 26, 2008

It is a shorter letter this week so I will post it here, rather than a link. Just an update... the memory card DID make it, we just couldn't find it and BNLFan answered her Cotillion date with a pizza that said yes in pepperonis and Scout and N DID make the mock trial team (just can't remember if I have posted all this stuff) Anyway, here it is...

Dear Family,

That SO ticks me off!! The memory card didn't even make it back after all the trouble it gave me, and then all the trouble the post office gave me. it was taped up at the seams when I sent it is all I can say in my defense. I'd be happy to send my card, as soon as I get a new one to use. And I'll make sure it is more secure and all. I'm glad to hear that Marissa enjoyed her present too. Let me know how Holly likes hers, when the time comes.
Another thing, I had a few questions that never got answered from a few weeks ago; the one you replied to while you were on a subbing job.
I have this list of other stuff that I was going to ask for for Christmas, but I keep forgetting it at home when I come to email. I'd actually prefer just normal thermals to thermal garments, that way I can make them last longer. I actually had to go out and buy a pair last week because it was getting pretty bad. Lo and behold, this week it's back up in the 40's. Not that I'm complaining, and I'm sure it will get back down to below freezing soon... I usually write my emails at about 10-11 in the morning here, I don't know when you get them. Today is the exception because we had a zone activity.
Oh boy, Hillary and Cory. I hope she has fun, but I'm dissapointed that she took the pizza route. It's a little cliche. I didn't realize dresses were so expensive. But I still say we have it harder as guys. And I want to know, did Nikki make the Mock Trial team? I've heard all this talk of her trying out but no results.
Elder Call and I are still getting along very well. We actually have a Visa waiter with us as of last night, Elder Cabrera. He's from Oregon, and he's going to Belgium, French/Spanish. He knew Craig in the MTC. He'll probably be with us for about 2 weeks, and those will be nice because he can talk with all the hispanics. I actually taught a lesson in it last week though. It was very awkward and I'm sure a bit ambiguous, but I feel accomplished. Now Elder Cabrera can tie up the loose ends with him.
We've made good progress here, at least on the new investigator front. We alone were 1/3 of the BoMs placed in the Columbia Zone (9 areas) last week. That was 20, my new record. We found some pretty promising looking ones, we'll just see how they turn out in the end though.
Our investigators we've been teaching haven't been making a whole lot of significant progress unfortunately. This is a busy week, and we've had a hard time making appointments with people. Only Bill and Betty were able to see us. Well, all the others cancelled. But the work goes on. Whenever one thing seems down, others come up. So long as we work hard and do everything else we need to it'll all turn out.
Until next week.
Love,
Elder Rob Christensen