Holiday Memories

My wake-up call for Christmas usually begins with our company Christmas party. This year we used one of the private dining rooms at the Sunland Park Racetrack, where we had a great view of Mt. Cristo Rey and the food was wonderful. We are blessed to work with so many fine people.

With Peggy, Mary, Keven, Minerva and Bernardo

We only left crumbs .... everything was absolutely yummy!

Keven, Kris and I left for Utah Monday evening, driving through the night and making good time.

We made a spontaneous decision to stop and visit Derek and Sunny as we came out of Spanish Fork canyon. They welcomed us so graciously, and we loved playing with these cute boys who are filled to the brim with energy and hilarity! I'm so glad we stopped in because it turned out to be our only chance to see them. We hoped that Sally and David would be there; sadly, we missed them by a day.

Noah, Isaac, Eli and Hyrum

I am still in denial that Christmas has come and gone, maybe because I'm finally almost ready for it. Being caught quite unprepared (again) I just rolled with the flow and had a most wonderful time with my fantastically fun family. 

The proof is in the pictures!

Christmas Eve
We celebrated Christmas morning 1 day early with the Gingell's. The Christmas pj's were a big hit, especially Marc's and Adelyn's (but Adelyn's zebra lips were a little bit creepy!). Opening gifts, eating cinnamon rolls and entertaining the neighbors while cleaning up the luminarias made it a fun morning.

Back to the Bunker's to decorate cookies, set up luminarias and have dinner together

Lotsa cousins = lotsa fun

With all the kids happily occupied in the kitchen, Kelly finished installing the main bathroom's door sill - nicely done!

Grandpa and Kris kept Aaron happy, with some help from Alex

Santa will be very pleased tonight!

Being trained by a pro

The famous Bunker ham chowder didn't disappoint

(insert your own caption here)

A picture so nice I'm using it twice!

A bit of down time before the caroling and Christmas Eve program

Some people needed a little more down time than others ,,,,

Bring it on!

William's not too sure about the whole Santa Claus thing

Christmas Day

A (barely) White Christmas!!!

After finding out what Santa brought and enjoying the morning together we headed over to Soren & Rachele's to spend some time with the Draper and the (new) Okie Jensen's.

It's never too cold to have this kind of fun!

Back to the Bunkers for another wonderful meal, where the Mariner's  and Gingell's joined us!

Not sure if we had enough dessert though ....

Chillin'

Santa was good to Kris!

By far, the cutest present under the tree!

December 26th 

The tradition continues!

Pizza and fun at the Jensen's, this time joined by Aunt Sandy and Grandma Snider

Such a happy picture!

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New Year's Eve - in El Paso

Alex, Seth, Gabe and I stayed up to ring in the New Year! We played games, wore our silly hats, made lots of noise and drank toasts to wonderful new beginnings for all

All good things come to an end, but the memories will last forever.

A huge and inadequate "Thank You!" to my amazing family for making this such a wonderful Christmas!

Everything I Really Need To Know I Can Learn on Facebook

Truth! Look at some of the cool things I've learned this past week:

1. About my family:

• There were ZOMBIES at Sonja & Marc's wedding!

• I have a grandson who is going to be a cowboy

  

  William

  
  
• I have two grand kids who have narcolepsy

Aaron

Jill

2. About my friends:

• One of the friends I made at the Flying Horses 1/2 is entering the lotto for the NYC marathon. She owns a ranch in Alpine, TX and is on the "Fueled by Beef" team. She's a hoot (think: Vicky McClure), and uses a run/walk system for long distances. She had everyone on the road in stitches, and personally invited me to run a 5K later that day with her & her friend Darla at a New Mexico winery (and yes, they did), and then spend the evening drinking & partying with them. Too bad I had some other commitments....

  

  Janna & Darla

• Jen is going to start crocheting her son's running shorts (I want a pair too!
  

3. About myself - I sure did learn a lot about myself this week from those oh-so-accurate little tests you can take:

• I'm guilty of mephobia, a fear of becoming so awesome that the human race can't handle it and everyone dies
• If I were a U.S. President I would be George Washington
• I am the Office Prude
• I will live to be 88
• I am mentally 41
• If I were a Sandra Bullock character I would be Miss Congeniality
• If I were a Disney princess I would be Belle
• If I were a TV mom I would be Morticia Addams
• If I were a mythical creature I would be a dragon
• My aura is yellow
• I am a genius when it comes to knowing world capitals - I received 100% both times I took the test, and I gave all different answers the second time!

4. Other miscellany:

• Saw a video of the easiest and least messy way to peel a pomegranate I've ever seen, even better than the way Marie Eichelmann taught me
• Saved a really great quote: "Some days there won't be a song in your heart. Sing anyway."
• Learned that Joseph Smith was named by the Smithsonian as the most significant religious leader in the United States, with Brigham Young being named the 3rd most significant (after William Penn)
• Also learned that the British Columbia Supreme Court has banned a polygamous group in Canada from using any name associated with the Church
• All sorts of great motivation for working out & running

What did I DO before Facebook?!? Hmmmmm .... I think I DID a lot more. I think it's time to spend less time on the computer and more time catching up with all the stuff waiting for my attention. Another New Year's resolution.

State of the Blog Address

Let's be honest here. I've been pretty uninspired to keep current with this blog even though there have been plenty of events that have awed, humored, gratified and uplifted me. Part of my problem has been the amount of time it takes to download, edit and determine which pictures to use. I need to come up with a plan that works - maybe doing the writing a.s.a.p. and then adding pictures as I can? We'll see - new year, new motivation, hopefully! Another part of the problem is that when I sit down to write my brain is mush. I haven't figured out how to cure that.

So, I stole these questions from a blog I found called The Art of Simple (I also stole the title for this post from same because it seemed apropos). I'm hoping that answering them will be a kick-start to getting my blogging act together again. 

1. What was the happiest part of 2014? Definitely the fact that 7 new people joined our family! Welcome to the Jensen Tsunami: Aaron, Marc, Natasha, Emma, Sami, Adelyn and Riley!!!   

   

   Brei, Me, Aaron Chase and Keven

   
   

   

   Natasha, Marc, Adelyn, Sonja, Emma and Sami

   
   

   

   Riley Ann

2. What was the saddest part of 2014? Losing Jack in July and my friend Carmen in October.
3. What was one really hard thing that you did in 2014? Emotionally: Helping a friend with some serious challenges which were causing her to question her faith. Physically: Running two 1/2 marathons in 2 weeks (but running the 7 miles to the top of Transmountain in the 1st one was the hardest - and most rewarding of all). 
4. How do you think you've changed this past year? I have become more willing to own some of my weaknesses and shortcomings, and have made some decent progress in overcoming them. Notice I said "some". There are plenty more to work on - give me a few more years!
5. What are you hanging onto that you are ready to get rid of? My bad habit of procrastinating - the 1st item on my list of resolutions.
6. Are you sad to see 2014 go or ready for the new year? Both - I'm always sad to see a year end, especially one with so many wonderful memories. Sadly, 2014 is already a blur. It flew by, faster than any other. There were so many monumental events that I want to savor and remember in detail, it frustrates me that I'm already feeling rushed to start a new year. But of course I am excited about new adventures, opportunities and surprises that await - ready or not!
7. What is one dream that you hope comes true in 2015? That my brother's cancer stays in remission and he is able to do all the things he's hoping to. And that I can spend some time with him.
8. What is a character quality you will work on this year? Gratitude - I definitely need to be more aware of the many acts of kindness and love that come my way, and to express my gratitude to my family, friends, and of course the Lord, more readily.
9. What new skill do you want to learn this year? This could be a long list, but I'll start with knitting/crocheting something more challenging than slippers or hot pads. Or maybe I'll get into aquaponics. Nah, I'll save that for next year....
10. What excites you about 2015? The new adventures our children and their families will have this year, and the opportunities to share some of them. We will have 2 new deacons, 2 new teachers, 1 baptism, and a couple of changes of address, maybe more! 
11. What makes you feel scared? A mother will always worry about her children; a grandmother will always worry about her grandchildren. Every day seems to bring new concerns for the spiritual, emotional and physical well-being of the ones I love. I don't live in fear and I won't say that I am scared, but I pray constantly for their protection from evil influences, the direction of the Spirit in their lives, and for their safe-keeping.
12. How do you think your life will be different one year from today? I plan to have my home in much better order - repairs, paint, pictures hung, decluttered, etc., etc. This will be a direct result of my birthday present from my girls this past year and in being successful with #5 on the list.