Team Christensen

I'm not sure what you would call this. It's not sledding, it's more like plowing. I think
Wade and all his tough talk got a little intimidated with the size of this hill. Now Lindsey knows first hand what a white christmas is. They looked like snow people when they got off that sled, and Lindsey was scared to death!!!!

I never thought I would resort to this as my Christmas Card, but I did!

We have had such a wirlwind year as you can tell from older posts. It has definitely been a learning experience. From Wade coming to Richfield alone for 6 months to us moving from Georgia and still trying to sell our house. We have learned to definitely be grateful for the things we have the moment we have them. The kids have adjusted so well. Brett and Lindsey love school and Paityn is almost 2! Yikes! Time for another one....... Living in the snow has been great, Wade asst. coaching football was so fun and the kids had a blast. The community has been so welcoming and so nice. Our ward has been great! We jumped in head first with Wade and I in charge of Roadshow and then the Primary Christmas Program. My New Years Resolution will be: Simplify, Simplify, Simplify!

I am still learning where everything is (at least I don't need a map to travel to Target) (both because there isn't one and because the town is so small) Wade is adjusting to working at night and driving on icy roads. He actually says it gives him an adrenaline rush! Helllo!!!! The kids are making friends and we are loving being so close to family!!! That has been such a blessing. We miss Walt Disney World and Nana and Papa, but hopefully soon they will join the family back here in the West!!

We just hope that you all know how much we love you, how much we truly miss our Southern Friends and how much we love our Savior and are grateful for the gospel in our lives. We as a family hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy the season!

I found some great sites to help with blogging template changes here they are for those of you who are interested!
http://www.matiekay.blogspot.com/
http://www.thehart-family.blogspot.com/
http://sjhblogdesign.blogspot.com/
It was so fun creating! I can't wait until after Christmas to Scrapbook my blog! Hey what else do you do when you stay home and don't work. The Laundry will wait! haha

Grandpa Joe pulling the kids in the Wagon. He is so good to just play with the little ones. I think he is a big kid too. He has always had a soft spot for them.
Paityn on the Gazelle. She can swing on this thing like nobodies business! She pushes with her feet and flys. It is so funny, then she just yells Mama Mama(look at me) and smiles! She has no fear. And yes, it is used. Maybe Paity uses it mostly,but it gets used. Someday I'll have my body back. I don't know who's body this is I'm using, but I am not likin it.
Wyatt and Garrett visitin. Man, it's good to be in Utah! Like the Rock Wall, and the paneling. Ya!

My other sweet boy turned 40. I said boy, that's right he is still a kid. I use some of the same tactics with Brett that I use with Wade. He is so good with the kids. They get so excited to see him come home. They loved going to football with him, and just for drives with Dad. He is an awesome Dad and I am so grateful for him! He works so hard and still makes time for us!

O.K. enough mushy stuff.

Trying to come up with something to wish for. He already got one Hot Smokin Wife, what else could he wish for. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

O.K. so I have spent over an hour trying to figure out how to scrapbook our blog. Now I am thoroughly frustrated, and all I could come up with is this silly tree. For those of you who are technologically hip, please help me. I feel like I should have Aaron Nevilles music in the background or something! Ug, Help

This was on my cousins blog (thanx Belly) and I thought it was beautiful! No pics this time, just this little story. So often I feel invisible, but I love my kids so dang much it's worth it. I hope I can show them how much each and every day! What a blessed woman I am. I started to cry when I read it, not sure if it was the music in the background or just that I am a bawl baby. Probably both. These stories are so cheesy, but sometimes they just hit home!

It started to happen gradually. One day I was walking my son Jake to school. I was holding his hand and we were about to cross the street when the crossing guard said to him, 'Who is that with you, young fella? ''Nobody,' he shrugged. Nobody? The crossing guard and I laughed. My son is only 5, but as we crossed the street I thought, 'Oh my goodness, nobody?' I would walk into a room and no one would notice. I would say something to my family - like 'Turn the TV down, please' - and nothing would happen. Nobody would get up, or even make a move for the remote. I would stand there for aminute, and then I would say again, a little louder, 'Would someone turn the TV down?' Nothing. Just the other night my husband and I were out at a party. We'd been there for about three hours and I was ready to leave. I noticed he was talking to a friend from work. So I walked over, and when there was a break in the conversation, I whispered, 'I'm ready to go when you are.' He just kept right on talking. I'm invisible. It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.' I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going¸ she's going¸ she's gone! One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she wasgoing on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.'It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.' In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything. A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.' I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over.You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become. 'At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my ownself-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work onsomething that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our life time because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built ashrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then,if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.' As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women

Lindsey's 10 going on 16 Birthday party. Just kidding. We had Navajo tacos for dinner and opened presents! Like the cabin motif in the background??How bout the pom poms?
Wade suited up one day with the boys and Brett proudly tried on the uniform in the mirror
Paityn loves the tramp. she goes to the door and points and even cries until someone takes her out there!
Visitors! Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Jess, Clay and Tay came for a visit. It was great having family so close!! WE have been in a family famine!
Wade and the boys on the Homecoming float. Lindsey and Brett got to ride too. What a fun season. With all my complaining, I love it, the kids love it and I am even beginning to understand football. Will wonders never cease. They come in a 3 way tie for 2nd and after the coin toss came in 3rd. They won 5 games during the season. Richfield has only won 3 games each season for 15 years so they were pretty excited to break the curse. The last game at San Juan they caught an awesome pass to win in overtime 27 to 21. Pretty exciting. Wade is still talking about it! GOOOOOOOOO WILDCATS!!

These were all taken up at Fish Lake, Fun!!!!!!!!

He is so darling! Wade is probably doing the fake gag, can you tell I'm not a huntin' girl!?

Brett didn't even make it past Wal Mart on the main road in GA. All the excitement of seeing Dad after 6 months I guess just tuckered the poor kid out! Lindsey and Paityn were ready to roll! Utah here we come. in 4 days anyway! The Arch in St. Louis, that's about all I have on that one.
Our nail rings we got in Nauvoo at the Blacksmith shop. Awesome Fun!!
AAAAHHHHH! Finally, Grandma and Grandpas house. It's good to be away from the humidity and back to where we know how to drive without a map! The West is good!
Out in Monroe. One of the houses we looked at to try to rent. Thank heavens we found one. After almost 3 weeks in a motel with the kids and 2 dogs! Sheesh!! We finally found one in Richfield. Wade couldn't live with himself if he lived outside Richfield.
IT'S SO GOOD TO BE HOME!!