My Sentimental Thoughts

Today, I am supposed to be back home in California.

I have been scouring the internet for plane tickets for the past 2.5 months so that we could be there. When I approached Joe with the idea of this weekend trip, and its importance to me, we set a financial limit/goal, and both agreed that we would go if we could find tickets within our bracket. I didn't think our expectations financially were out of reach. But I was wrong. The cost for airfare never even came close. I finally acknowledged the fact that we wouldn't be able to go just about a week and a half ago. I felt heart broken. Maybe it was good that I was in a very public place (and in a "teacher" role), so I couldn't cry or be emotional. But inside, I felt crushed.

You see, today, my friend Jessica is marrying her sweetheart. I met Jessica when I was 16. I realize now that I have known her for half of my life. She's always been more to me than just a friend; she's the closest thing I have to a little sister.

I have a lot of fun memories of our time together. Somewhere we developed an inside joke about s'mores, supported each other in concerts and performances, played games, made cookies, went swimming and hot tubbing, watched movies, went on walks, danced, talked, cried, laughed, hugged, loved.

When I think about Jess, my heart bursts. In a good way. I wouldn't be who I am today or have many of my incredible blessings, without the relationship and influence of my little sister. For days, I have been thinking of many of the things I have learned and gained from her, and I decided to finally write them down.

Jessica is a ray of sunshine and happiness. Seriously. That girl is just happy! Even tho not everything is going perfectly and she's facing challenges and trials. She makes a choice to be happy.

Jessica is a hard worker. School does not come naturally nor is it easy for her. But she is dedicated and focused. She sets goals and rises to the challenge. She wants to be her best self, and she has always been willing to work and to fight for it.

Jessica is a follower of Christ. For as long as I have known her, her spiritual convictions have been evident and expressed thru the way she lives, the choices she makes, the people she chooses to associate with, and the goals she sets for herself. She is devoted to following God and serving Him. She lives in a way that brings others the blessing of His spirit, and thru her, we know Him better.

Jessica is a friend. She is thoughtful and kind and makes a strong effort for people to know that she cares about them. She includes those that are lonely. She lets you know that you are important to her and that she values you.


And I guess, one of the last things that I love about Jessica, is this: BECAUSE OF JESSICA, I AM A MOTHER.

Motherhood is challenging and definitely not easy. But it is also filled with blessings and joy and a love that I cannot describe nor can I compare it to anything else I have felt or experienced in my life. And because of Jessica, I have found that love and joy. Because of her influence in my life, I have found peace and happiness to fill the void of doubt and despair. Because of Jessica, I know that I am of worth. I know that I matter. I know that I am blessed to be me and to have the life that I have. Because of Jessica, I have a son and I became a Mom.

And because of Jessica, I have been blessed.

I wish more than anything that I could be with her on her special day. My heart is beyond touched that it mattered to her and that she wanted me to be there. And so today, like many days, but especially today, I think of her and Michael, sending them my happiest thoughts and excitement as they begin their adventure together, as husband and wife. 

February 1st - Court Date

Well here it is - finally a post about going to court to finalize the adoption. Which also means we can formally reveal our little man's name online. No more "BJ". So, announcing

Brek Julian Aaron Jensen

Going to court was exciting and not a big deal all at the same time. We only had Joe's mom come and join us. We saved the real celebrating for another month when we would be sealed in the temple (more on that to come in a later post.)

Anyway, since there were so few of us we were back in the Judge's chambers. Our judge was so enamored with Brek that she didn't pay any attention to anything that was being said. Joe and I were not prepared for all of the legal jargon that actually took place. We were put under oath, our lawyer "presented evidence to the judge" and things like that. And seriously, the judge just made goo-goo eyes and faces at Brek the whole time and didn't catch a word that was said. We were impressed that our judge had actually read our files beforehand, so she knew little facts about us and our family. We thought that was cool.

We thought it was funny our judge stood so far away from us in the picture.

The Jensen Family

Grandma Jensen took us out to breakfast afterwards to celebrate. And Brek was all tuckered out.

Brek was of course the charmer and he got TONS of comments on how cute he was in his suit. He really liked wearing it. We actually showed him the suit a couple days beforehand and he was squealing with delight. He knew he looked good. I didn't get any good pictures of him from that day, except from the picture studio because after court we went and had his 6 month pictures taken. So this is a picture of a picture, but you get the idea:

Yep, he's a stud.

We love our little man and are so happy he's a part of our family!

November - National Adoption Month

The Gift of Life

I didn't give you the gift of life,
But in my heart I know.
The love I feel is deep and real,
As if it had been so.
...For us to have each other
Is like a dream come true!
No, I didn't give you The gift of life,
Life gave me the gift of you.

--- Unknown

We celebrated adoption by joining in the Salt Lake Adoption Walk.

The best thing about it was that it got us out of the house. :)

It was fun to see a whole lotta orange.

Here's a self-family portrait. Sadly we're missing half of Joe's head, but this really is the best looking one of the bunch.

BJ was definitely the cutest black kid there, not that there was any doubt. Especially with this cute smile!
He was also probably the youngest kid there too.

We're looking forward to many more years celebrating such a wonderful gift for our family!

Baby Showers: Pre- and Post- Baby's Arrival

My visiting teacher Ellen, (for those of you that are not LDS, this is just a specially-assigned friend from church that comes and visits you to make sure you're doing alright), who was 3 weeks from having baby #4 organized a baby shower for me with the women from church. It was a great turn out. We received so many wonderful things and adorable outfits. It was slightly awkward being the center of attention, but I tried to remember that the attention was for our sweet boy instead of for myself. To begin with, they had me put together a quiz to see how well they had gotten to know the Jensen Family. How well would you do?
1. Where did Amy & Joe meet?
a) singles ward (church) b) work c) school
2. Where did Amy grow up?
a) northern California b) southern Utah c) east coast
3. How long have Joe & Amy been married?
a) 1 year b) 2 years c) 3 years
4. Which team sport did both Joe & Amy play as kids?
a) soccer b) baseball c) curling
5. What is Amy's calling at church?
a) Mia Maid advisor b) Sunbeam teacher c) Cub Scout leader
6. What is Joe's job?
a) electrician b) high school teacher c) state senator
7. What is the baby's due date?
a) July 15th b) August 2nd c) July 26th
8. What is Joe's favorite comic?
a) Cathy b) Garfield c) Calvin & Hobbes
9. What does Amy like to do while listening to stories (books on CD/tape) ?
a) puzzles b) read a book c) crochet
10. What job did both Joe & Amy have in college?
a) teaching assistant b) custodian c) food service
11. How did Amy hurt her back on her mission?
a) water skiing b) car accident c) fell on ice
12. What are Joe & Amy naming their baby?
Corbin and Joe Jr. were the wrong 2 choices.
13. What temple were Amy & Joe married in?
a) Salt Lake City b) Monticello c) Sacramento
14. Which of the liveable continents has Amy NOT been to?
a) South America b) Europe c) Australia
15. What is Amy & Joe's favorite TV show?
a) Dancing with the Stars b) Community c) iCarly

Let me know how you did.
So, on to the rest of the shower. The food was amazing! There was so much and it all tasted so great. I thought this fruit baby carriage was adorable!

I also thought these cupcakes were so cute! The lady that made them didn't even know who I was. I thought that was a very sweet thing to do. They tasted awesome too! There were lions, monkeys, zebras, giraffes, and elephants.
Here we have Merrily, Camilla, Phyllis, Rebecca, Sally, and Janelle. This side was Jodie, Emily, Ellen, Lesha, Marilyn, Karen, Dana, and Morgan.

Lesha gave us his first swim suit. It will fit him next summer. That's Cheryl in the background.

Jodie (our case worker and the advisor that I work with in YW) gave us the bath. Joe had been saying for weeks how he wanted to get a bathtub. It was the first thing he noticed when he got home among all the loot. He talked about it for days. That's Lana, my landlady, in the background. She truly is amazing!

This is Laraine and Kathy. Laraine has 4 adopted children; she also used the same agency as us, A Guardian Angel Adoptions. She has been so excited for us on this journey.

This is Sue. She teaches the older girls in YW. Her oldest Sami used to be in my class, and now her younger daughter Nikki is in my class. I love their family! Sami wanted to get me some UofU attire for the baby because their family are huge fans. I politely told her that although I am not a U hater, I did go to BYU (they are rivals, for those of you that don't know). So she got me a sports blanket instead. That's Debbie and Laraine in the background, with Laraine's daughter Cora.

Another picture. Mary was our photographer for the evening, so I don't think she's in any of the photos. This picture has me talking to Lana, with Bethany and Barbara Johnson, Sally, Laraine (also an adoptive mother), Kathy, and Sue.

And another picture of the other side of the grass of women. The one directly in the center is Ellen, the very pregnant awesome friend that put it all together.

It was a very wonderful event and Joe and I were so appreciative of all that we received.

Our second shower was 2 weeks after our lil boy arrived; it was his first official outing. This one was hosted by my sweet cousin Brittany. Most of those that were in attendance were family, but some friends came too. Here's a photo of the food. I thought the fruit skeweres were so cute!

This outfit was from my friend Elizabeth. I'm so excited for when he can wear it to church.

Cousins Cathy and Liz. Liz should be having her 2nd little boy sometime this week. Liz is married to one of my bestest college friends Joe.

Cousins Nancy and Melissa

Me with my friend Elizabeth (due in December with her 3rd, a little boy), my Aunt Genni holding our baby boy, and my cousin Kaylee (who just announced she is pregnant with her 3rd). On my dad's side of the family, there are about 15 cousins that have had/are having babies this year. Just wait til they are running around at reunions causing chaos. Elizabeth and I worked together at the WILK on BYU campus back in the day (pre-mission).

My cousin Cheri and my friend Shealee, and her little girl Felicity. Shealee and I studied together at Jerusalem.

I thought this was a sweet picture of my Aunt Genni feeding our little guy. This is my cousin Kaylee holding 2 of my other cousins' babies. They are about 3 weeks apart in age. The baby on the left is my cousin Brittany's baby. The one on the right is my cousin Melissa's baby. My sweetheart needed a change in clothes. I think he looks good in green.
Couldn't leave out a picture of me and Brittany, aka Burnt. Love this girl! She is amazing. Thanks for all you did Cuz! I love you!

It was so fun to get to have my family and friends meet my sweet boy. I think one of the best parts of being a mom so far is showing off my baby. :) I also love cuddling with him too.

A Picture I Can't Post

I can't post this picture, but it means a lot to me.

This is the last time we saw Jewel. This was right before we all signed papers. This was also when we asked her if we could use the name Julian as a middle name. She started crying. Jewel isn't an emotional person, though of course this experience was emotional for her. But her tears were a sign to us that it meant a lot to her. This picture means a lot to me. I want Brek to know that his birthmom held him. She loved him. She still loves him. She didn't give him up. She gave him a life and love that she felt she could not give him herself. She made me a mommy, and Joe a daddy. She literally gave me my world. And she made Joe's dream come true.

Jewel is amazing. Not just because she gave us our son. But she just is. I'm glad we had a lot of time with her, to get to know her better, and hopefully for her to get to know us too. I hope this picture will bring peace to her, and to Brek too.

He's here!

Our little baby boy is here! His birthmom is amazing! Her water broke Sunday morning at 7:00 a.m., and this little guy finally came at 7:15 a.m. Monday morning. We got to spend a good chunk of Sunday with her waiting for the excitement to happen. We were finally sent home just after midnight, and got a call around 6 a.m. that she was finally progressing. Whew! What a long day!

We are so happy that he is here! He is beautiful! He is in the NICU, but is improving and doing well. The doctors think that he is a little premature, somewhere around 35 weeks, instead of the supposed 38 or 39. He doesn't have any lines on his feet, which apparently is one of the signs of premature babies. He has lots of dark soft and fuzzy hair, which I expected to be a lot coarser. He has a dimple chin, just like Joe, which I think is adorable. We are watching his heart rate and breathing, which will determine when he gets to try real food and also when we get to take him home. He is already improving a ton, so we know he's special.

He was 6 pounds 5.3 ounces and 18.5 inches long.

He seemed very calm to me, and I loved just holding his hand. He finally cried after we had been with him for a couple hours. I love that sound!

We were told we wouldn't be able to hold him until this evening, but the doctor changed her mind and we got to hold him before we left for lunch. Up until that point I just felt like I was admiring a beautiful baby. But once he was in my arms I knew he was mine.

I was nice and let Daddy have a turn too.

A closer look at that head of hair:More to come soon!

Happy Day

We are getting a baby! We have a little boy joining our family on July 26th. We are really excited! (Still waiting for shock to creep in.)

Due to legal purposes, we are not supposed to use his real name until after the adoption is finalized, which should happen in January or February.

Just wanted to share the news. Thanks for all the love and support and prayers that we have received.