Shauna6pack

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.

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

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...

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...

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...

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:

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"

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!!!

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!

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.

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.

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

I have to admit I was worried... worried that I would have to sit outside all night in the cold on cement, worried that I would be an old fart and fall asleep, worried that I would loose the tickets... worried that it would bite (haha--that's a funny).

Fortunately all it was was worry. I found out that we could get wristbands to reserve our place in line so we didn't have to go to the theater until 9:30 and then we waited just a few minutes until we were seated. We were 227+ in a line of 400 so we got in in the middle of the line and got good seats all together. We even managed to get an extra ticket for my friend Marci who got OUT OF HER PAJAMAS and came down to join us at the last minute (as a matter of fact, there were two seats next to us that never got filled). After 15 minutes of heated discussion over who would sit by whom, we finally got in our seats and settled down to wait the hour and forty-five minutes until the movie started. We played "Would you rather" while we waited... funny.

When the movie finally started, we were all hooting and hollering. It is corny in places and what was up with Carlisle--creepy. And most of the guys in the show need a stiff bristled brush and a haircut. But for the most part it didn't bite. We laughed in inappropriate times and the whole of the audience spent a large portion giggling when the "sexual tension" began to build because they knew where it was going... hehe. It was annoying the way the camera kept panning around them every time they were gazing into each other's eyes--which was often. And then there were the close-ups of their eyes the rest of the time...

Scout insisted on pretending to be our British cousin and she spoke with a condescending accent all night. Oh--she planned to take garlic cloves and sit in line with them around her and fling holy water on people as they walked past us but we restrained her. Her friend was going to put a lightening bolt scar on her forehead to go to the premier last night but when we saw her she had chickened out. Haha... Afterall, it was supposed to be Harry Potter's premier last night. Then, during the movie as Edward confronted Bella about being a vampire, Scout said loudly, "he's a VAMPIRE?" It was pretty funny.

It was good enough everyone, even BNLFan stayed awake. She took pictures of us in line but she's still asleep so I can't get her camera yet--bah! Why do I have to get up? Anyway, after the movie we went to Denny's for breakfast and then came home to collapse. I was so tired, I could feel myself literally "falling" asleep. It was weird. But I was awake at 6:45 to read scriptures, even without my alarm clock. Go me! I mean, Go back to bed now, me!

Ha! No gaps in my knowledge. Right. This test is WRONG.

There Are 0 Gaps in Your Knowledge

Where you have gaps in your knowledge: No Gaps! Where you don't have gaps in your knowledge: Philosophy Religion Economics Literature History Science Art

I'm gearing up for a big day...er, evening. BNLFan_1, Scout, N and I have tickets for the midnight showing of Twilight. They want to get in line at 6 p.m. I'm not looking forward to that--6 hours of standing in line in the cold outside a movie theater? Insane!

Scout and N tried out for the junior high Mock Trial team this past week. The competition was pretty intense. This morning the teams were posted and hurray! N made the team. Scout already knew she made it... at callbacks they said, "So, are you going to be a witness again this year or will you be a lawyer?" So she was pretty confident. I'm proud of her that she said she'd try lawyer. She loves being a witness, though, and she's good at it. She loves tripping up the unsuspecting lawyers. She's quick on her feet and can usually get them confused. I keep telling her she can do it as a lawyer, too. Maybe she can make a witness cry... that would make her day. She can be pretty ruthless with her cutting wit--and I mean that in a good way (she reads this occasionally and I don't want her to think I don't recognize and even, dare I say, covet her tallent).

I am working hard getting ready for a big Primary Christmas party. We are doing a "Super Saturday" except it has to be on a Thursday. Anyway, I need some advice... We are meeting from 6-8 (or 6:30 if we don't feed them). Santa will be there--the REAL Santa. He lives in our neighboring ward, if you wondered. Anyway, we are making fleece quilts for a service project (our YM and YW volunteer at a homeless Christmas and they take the blankets there). For the moms we are making a recipe book, for the dads we are making a secret safe. For sisters we are making a shrinky dink necklace and for brothers we are making a color your own hacky sac. We are also making FHE bags. They are little muslin bags with little objects in it that represent stories from the scriptures. We have a dove (Holy Ghost, Noah), fish (loaves and fishes, fishers of men, Jonah and the Whale), snakes (Adam and Eve, Moses healing the Children of Israel), baby (Moses, Baby Jesus), pirate swords (Nephi, Ammon), tree (tree of life, Adam and Eve, parable of the olive tree), rock (wise man and the foolish man, Samuel the Lamanite), and gold coin (betrayal of Christ, tithing). Can you think of anything else I could get to put in there that wouldn't cost much? I need to keep it to about $10 for 50 of each item. I have some magnifying glasses already (another Primary activity) but I can't think of a good scripture story to go with it. Also, is we were to feed them, what would be an appropriate menu? I don't want anything hard/expensive because I am already overwhelmed with the whole activity. I have one councilor on a cruise and another battling a vicious case of shingles. She's young and shouldn't have it AND arthritis at the same time. She's been out 6 weeks and will be out at least that many more, poor thing. So it is left to me. Fortunately I have a new councilor called--yup. I have 3 now. Just like I said I needed when I was called. Hmmm.... She'll function as a councilor until Tammy is back on her feet then she will move to chorister while still a member of the presidency so she can come to presidency meetings and do sharing times and stuff like that. Brilliant!

BNLFan_1 got asked to Senior Cotillion last week. She's pretty excited. It's a formal dance so she needs the dress. Yikes. The funny thing is her date is named Cory Christensen. She says he can't figure out why that would make her feel uncomfortable. Anyway, she has to hurry and answer him because he wont talk to her in the meantime. She asks him direct questions and he puts on his headphones or turns away. Weird. Anyway, I think she's going to deliver a pizza with YES spelled out in pepperoni. It's borring, but it's easy since she's got connections at the Pizza Place. She has a recital tonight. She's getting so good on the cello. I can't believe she's my daughter.

H is in the school choir. The holiday season is approaching so she will start having her concerts. Yip. I mostly look forward to the Festival of the Trees. They sing there every year and I am going along to buy scones and bawl over the trees. Nothing says Christmas like a sad Christmas tree. No really--I love it and look forward to it every year.

M is about to loose her last tooth. It's kind of sad to see all the "lasts" come and go. But then I shake myself and remind myself how nice it is not to change poopy diapers.

Here's a link to Frank's latest letter...

He's doing so well!

I went on a fun hike with elle_cossette yesterday. She took me to her Rivendale. It was beautiful. We had fun trying to figure out our new cameras. So here's another before and after ad nauseum picture post :)

This is an interesting arched tree... I think it had broken but it looks like it grew this way. The first picture is way too dark but I liked the frame of the heavier limb in the top left corner, as well as the shape of the arched trees. And, I was trying to use the "shapes" technique, as well as the "rule of thirds" that elle and I learned at our photo class at Inkley's this week.
Before:













































After:














































Again, the canyon where we were hiking was very dark for that time of day (11 a.m.) so the first picture is very dark but I wanted the sunrise over the crest of the hill.

Before:













































In order to get any detail, I had to kind of wash out the picture. Someday when I learn photoshop better, I am going to come back to this and make it look right because I think it could be very interesting.
After:














































The canyon was very chilly, to say the least. I was fascinated by the frost on the leaves.
Before:




















Just by upping the light, the colors really popped.
After:





















My big project was to get the water to look soft, which takes a slow shutter speed. But without knowing what we were doing, we took a lot of pictures. Then elle got a shot that worked. I coppied the settings and started to have some success. It would have been better with a tripod, of course, but this is good enough for this trip. Besides, I'm not sure I'm up to a hike with a tripod yet :)
Before:





















After:

Scout spent some time in the backyard this weekend, raking all our bazillion leaves into a big pile for M and H to play in...

This stuff is yummy...

Cowboy Caviar

5-6 tomatoes

2 cans shoe peg corn (this is super sweet white corn that I haven’t ever been able to find in cans. I just use white petite corn from the freezer section)

2 cans black eyed peas drained

1 bunch green onions or more

¼ to 1/3 bunch cilantro

3 or more avacados

1 pkg Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing

Combine all the ingredients then pour the dressing over the top and stir to combine.. I usually put less oil than the direction for the dressing and add water instead… about ½ and ½.

Here's a link to Frank's latest letter...

I can post!!!

I am subbing at the local high school this week and have been unable to post because of stupid web blocking software. Like I would blog anything inappropriate! hehe... watch me!

Anyway, I got around it. Because I am a computer wizard. And they aren't.

I'm sitting here in the German classroom, listening to Dennis the Menace--a mess in English, but surprisingly amusing in German--wondering when I get to use the ONE German phrase I know... "kommen zum essen." So far it hasn't been necessary to call the students to dinner, but I hold out hope.

Next period I get to teach BNLFan_1. Yeah!

BNLFan got in a crash this morning. Fortunately it wasn't her fault and she and the two girls she drives were fine. I admit a certain ammount of relief. Since everyone has to get in one accident, at least hers was minor and not her fault. I came up behind her about 2 mintes later on my way to school so I calmed her down and took the other girls to school for her while she waited for the police. She was cited for not having her insurance information with her. I'm sure she has it... she just can't find it in the mess of her car.

Oh... Scout and N tried out for mock trial yesterday. I'm so glad they did. Scout loves it and so will N if she gets the chance. A TON of kids tried out this year and she, being a "sevie" (read seventh grader) is a long shot but she has a long pedigree of Mockers, as we like to call ourselves. When she went in there one of the judges said, "Are you Frank Zigmunt's sister?" so hopefully that is a good thing... It helps that the coach grew up in Dilbert's home ward and we were friends with her SIL in Texas. Small world.

It has been the worst week to sub. After I agreed to sub I realized it was early out all week for the elementary school so the youngest two are home at 1:40 but I don't finish here until 2:20. oops. I've been scrambling to find places for them to go. So far so good... two more days to go.

I heard from Frank today. I will post those e-mails later.

I took some time off this week to go away with some of the ladies from my ward. They do a scrapbook retreat every year at this time. I don't scrapbook. I repeat... I DO NOT SCRAPBOOK. But they were kind enough to let me tag along and do my own thing while they preserved memories. They had quite the setup. Even I was impressed. They moved all the couches, chairs, ping pong and foos ball tables out of the way and set up folding tables, extension cords, power strips, computers, printers and supplies and scrapped from 9 a.m. until 3 a.m. for 4 days. Some of them even got 6 pages done!