Brek's Blessing Day

The day after Brek was sealed to me and Joe, Brek was blessed by his father. Thanks to my Aunt Diana, we actually have the blessing recorded. It was beautiful.

Here's a picture of Brek with all the family members that were in the blessing circle. We also had a couple friends from Church that joined in, but we weren't able to catch them for the kodak moment.
Back: Dustin Belt, Great Grandpa John Bennett, Uncle Mark Biggs, Uncle Peter Jensen, Grandpa Guy Biggs, JD Bennett (Amy's cousin), and Marte Green (Amy's Uncle.)
Front: Joe Dixon (Amy's cousin), Uncle David Biggs, Uncle Matt Asplund, and Joe Jensen with Brek Jensen.

After Church we did our best to take some pictures. Here's Brek all studly in his white suit and the special baby blanket from Bethlehem.With Grandpa Biggs

With Grandpa and Grandma Biggs

With Grandma BiggsWith Brek's 3 Uncles - David, Mark, and Dustin

With Daddy

LOVE this picture!

With Mommy

Our family picture

After that photo shoot we changed Brek's clothes into a very special outfit, which of course called for more pictures. Brek was a pretty good sport through most of it.

I got several of these pictures from my sister

LOVE this one too!

This one makes my heart meltChecking each other out

Playing with Grandpa

I think this was about the time that he was DONE.4 Generations

With Grandma Great, as we call her

And with my Papa, who is now Grandpa Great

The rest of the pictures are from my sister - she's much better at capturing fun moments. These are from all throughout the weekend while hanging out.

We were SO grateful to Joe's sister and brother-in-law that let all of my family come and stay at their house so we could all be together and still have room to breathe. :) We had a wonderful time!Our first day together: Tummy time for grandparents and babies. That's my niece Aurora next to Grandma. Aurora is 5 weeks younger than Brek.

Showing off that cute brown body. Cousin love!
This was the first time Brek acknowledged another baby; he sure loves them now.Just a cute picture of Aurora and Brek
Hanging out on Sunday - me, my dad, and my oldest brother Mark.

And ending with a picture of Adelynne (dressed as Belle), Amy (dressed as Ariel), and Grandma (dressed as herself), playing Sorry.

It was such a wonderful weekend. And I LOVED being surrounded by my family - it doesn't happen enough! Wish we could have done more photo shoots with Grandma Jensen and all the Jensen family that was around too, but it just wasn't able to happen. But you aren't forgotten!

Brek's Sealing

I know this post has been a long time coming. My apologies for the delay, and many thanks to my cousin Melissa for the only family picture we took on that special day, and to my sister-in-law Janelle who took the rest of the pictures.

Brek was sealed to Joe and I, becoming a part of our eternal family on Saturday, March 5, 2011, in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple in South Jordan, Utah.

We were sealed by my NY mission president, Alan Layton. He is the temple president of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It was very nice to have him perform such a special and sacred ordinance.

It was such a wonderful day, and extremely emotional too. To say that it was a special day feels like an understatement. It was so overwhelming (in a good way, of course), to be surrounded by our family and closest friends. My entire immediate family came into town for the weekend, including my grandparents. It is very hard for them to travel so we really appreciated their efforts. And I loved having my sister and her entire family come from Indiana. I love seeing my nieces! Joe's older sister Michelle also came from Nebraska. We were so excited that she could come and be with us too!

I don't remember what President Layton said, but I really wish I did. I think I remember that he talked about husband and wife relationships in the Old Testament. Mostly, what I remember was how I felt. When Joe and I walked into the sealing room, to see our family and friends warmed my heart. It still makes me cry, knowing how much we are loved and supported. And knowing that we couldn't and wouldn't be this little family of 3 without all of the help, financially and emotionally, from those we love.

So yes, I cried a lot. :) Such is life. Eventually little Brek was brought in, all dressed in his white suit that my mom made him. And Sister Layton knelt with us at the altar to help Brek. He didn't care too much for having to put his hand on ours, but he did LOVE the chandelier.

And the most amazing thing about it all, is that now, no matter what happens to me, or Joe, or even Brek, we are an eternal family. What a blessing!

By the time we got changed and back to the nursery to pick up Brek, he was all tuckered out. But I think he had enough of a nap to party with the rest of usHere he is with Uncle Peter.

And here he is with Aunt Michelle, from Nebraska.

He got passed around A LOT!

We had lots of soups and rolls, plus some salads and stuff on the side.
And we had 2 cakes:

and...Our sealing day is also Joe's mom's birthday.

So we sang to herand everyone shared their chocolate frosting with Brek

He was a fan.This is just a cute picture of my niece Amy. Love her!

And this is the table we displayed of all the pictures of Brek that we had.
He's a cute kid.
And I love him.
And he's ours.

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!

Other January Happenings

January has seemed like a very long month. Not much has really happened. I spent several weeks with a cold/flu, BJ had the never-ending cold which finally cleared up about the same time I was feeling better, and Joe picked up the sickness this past week. That's been fun. :)

The little guy is sitting up by himself really well.

Just a cute picture.

He was moved from his bassinet into his crib.

He likes the new bed a lot, and it has made him think he's in a whole new place. He likes all the "new" things to look at. His curiosity and observance is super cute, except for when he wakes up in the middle of the night and needs to get a good study of the "darn fan." We keep telling him that nothing has changed, but he hasn't started to believe us yet.

Like I said, he spends a lot of time in his saucer. He's only fallen asleep in it once.
I know his nose is gross - this was the worst of his cold. But it was just so cute that he fell asleep while playing.

He has also started teething, made evident by his chewing on EVERYTHING.

I told you in the Christmas post how he is interested in our food now. Especially with cups. He hasn't figured out that they are supposed to tip, so we seem to satisfy his need to share just by putting the rim of the cup up to his mouth. He gets a few good slobbers and licks in, and then he's nice enough to let us take another sip, but only if we remember to give him another turn.

Joe played in a little polka band for a missionary dinner. I just happened to know this Elder that was there. He's from the ward I grew up in. I've known him since he was a baby. My dad rebuilt his family's house after it burned down. I'm sending a copy to his mom.

Here's the little guy in his Christmas outfit from Grandma Biggs. It's so darn cute! Sadly, he hit a growth spurt and the pants are already capris. I'm hoping to get some professional photos done of him in the outfit before it really doesn't fit him. I just think he looks so charming!
Oh, and he's wearing Joe's polka hat too.

More pictures from the same evening.

Joe's mom had the entire Jensen family make puzzle people. I'm excited to see the rest of the family's. We were pretty proud of ours, tho I thought mine was kinda boring. Oh well. This actually isn't the finished product. Joe put googly eyes on. :)

My mom gave us this tummy time toy when we first found out we were getting a baby. We finally pulled it out. BJ really liked it and kept trying to grab the sponges. Here he is giving it a lick. I think the next time we pull it out I'm going to fill it with warm water; his arms were really cold after playing with it.

More water tummy time.

He's such a happy, fun boy!

See, I told you he likes his saucer.

Just a happy morning.

We're really starting to get his hair figured out. We got a special brush for him and all the right shampoos and conditioners. It really helps define his curls.
He really likes bath time. He also likes running water. He likes to watch it in the kitchen, and when he's in the bath he likes sitting under it or putting his hand under it. It sure is fun to watch him learn and explore.

The little guy rolled over for the first time on January 11th. It was very exciting. He doesn't quite understand our applause and cheers, but I'm sure it won't take him long.
He also pulled himself from sitting to standing a couple weeks ago. We're sure it was just a fluke sort of thing - he just loves being on his feet.

He had his 6-month check-up on the 26th. He weighed 17 pounds, 4 ounces, which is 50%. He also had a major growth spurt in his height, up to 27 inches, 75%. His doctor was sure that the nurse had done it wrong, so she remeasured him. The nurse had been a little off, adding his hair as part of his height, but BJ really had just gotten that tall.

BJ is also talking and babbling A TON! It's super cute! He's even got loud and exclamatory and squeals. He's usually most talkative in the mornings. At least he wakes up happy. :) He has started playing with toys more, and he loves books. He especially likes to have a book when Daddy has one. He doesn't really care so much if we actually read it, but he likes hitting the pages. One day when Joe was reading a book aloud, BJ was super talkative every time Joe was reading. And when Joe would stop, so would the little guy. Joe got kinda frustrated about it, but it really was cute.

Alright, well I think I'm all caught up now. Hope you enjoy the posts. Who knows, it might be another month before it happens again. :)

Emma

Emma is a beautiful little girl that I will never meet. 

She has spunk and personality. She is the exception. She is a fighter. She loves life. She is stubborn. She doesn't despair when others lose faith; in fact, she doesn't really pay any attention at all to things others may say about her. She is a bundle of love and joy. She loves her family. She has a purpose. She is a daughter of God. And she is my niece. 

Her father said, "How would you feel if you were coming to a family and everyone was depressed you were coming?"

It's given me a lot to think about. But I've decided that I don't agree. We are thrilled that she's coming to our (Jensen) family; we're all just depressed that she's not staying.

At 23 weeks, my sister- and brother-in-law found out that their baby was not developing properly. Her heart was growing too big and her lungs weren't growing at all. (Metaphorically speaking, don't we all wish our hearts were a little bigger so we could love a whole lot more? I don't mean to make light about such serious and somber things, but in the bigger picture, it's definitely something to think about.) The doctors and specialists they saw said no baby with her condition had ever lived. Most babies died in the womb. The fact that little Emma has lived this long is nothing short of a miracle. 

I don't write this in any way to try and make any attempt to emulate the feelings of Emma's parents. I know that I do not know what they are going through. Not to be selfish, but I hope that I never know what they are going through. 

I have been so touched and impressed at their faith and strength through such a difficult experience. I've wept when I've heard that they wept, and probably at other times when they haven't. 

Loss is something my heart does not deal with very well. When my grandma died when I was 8 years old, I sobbed...for weeks. I used to make up songs about her. I didn't even know her very well. But I knew at that time that my life would be different because she would not be a part of it. Even the simple loss of friends, because life's paths have taken us different directions and staying close and in-touch has failed, my heart has ached. I hate losing the interactions, or even the possibilities of memories, with those that have touched my heart. 

I'm not trying to compare the loss of my grandma or broken friendships to my brother- and sister-in-laws' loss of their daughter. They don't compare. But my heart aches. It aches for them. It aches for my family. And it aches for me. My heart aches because for this earthly life, we will not get to make memories with Emma. We won't get to see her grow and learn and develop. We won't get to see her smile, or wipe away her tears, or laugh and giggle as we play. My son won't get to be close to his cousin. Not now.

But later, we will. With each ache of loss, I find peace and hope amid the tears, knowing that there's more to life than death and sorrow. There is love. And there is Life. We are families far after our mortal bodies rest in the earth. 

Christ is the reason. He lives, so that we will live. His love  binds our sorrow and heals our grief. His love magnifies our joys. His love creates our purpose. His love makes us an Eternal Family.

Things I want to remember

A couple weeks ago my husband Joe put up 7 Ways To Drink A Bottle as his facebook statuses. His sister Michelle added an 8th. I thought they were funny, and of course, they are all inspired by our son.

#1: The Zen Master - Exemplified by a sense of peaceful focus. Bottle is drunk without unnecessary fuss or trouble.....This is rare

#2: The Chuck Norris - Drinking action is accompanied by random, manic, clumsy martial arts moves. Possibly also bad acting.

#3: The Rodgers and Hammerstein - Must pause every two to three swallows to comment, in singsong fashion, upon the fact that you are drinking a bottle. Quality of singing can be highly variable, but the quantity is always profuse.

#4: The Politician - If milk is offered, insist on rice cereal. If rice cereal is offered, insist on applesauce. Cry. Never back down from your "principles".

#5: The BYU Freshman - Frequently interrupt drinking to smile, giggle, and otherwise flirt with anyone else in the room. Percent effort expended on relationship building= 100%. Percent effort expended on the task at hand= um, not so much.

#6: The U.N. Peacekeeper - Loud noise? Turn and look. Bright light? Turn and look. Unfamiliar room? Definitely take a look. Observe, but take no action.

#7: The Michael Phelps - Characterized by swift, nearly frantic drinking, coming up only when absolutely needed for a quick, gasping breath.

#8 (A combined effort of Joe and his sister Michelle, in reference to nursing babies): The Performer - Always ready for another curtain call.

New Year's Party

So, I didn't take any pictures of our Jensen Family New Year's Party. Well, I take that back. I took 1 picture. But, my awesome S-I-L Janelle toolots. So, I'll just share the link to her blog post about the family party to include pictures of all the fun we had.

Hope you had fun ringing in the New Year. We did!

And just for fun I'll include the picture of our first ever turkey,
which we cooked on New Year's Day.

Story: A couple days before Christmas we were doorbell-ditched a 14 pound turkey. We (tho I should probably say Joe; he did most of the work.) brined it because everyone we talked to said that was the best way to do a turkey. I'd have to say it turned out great! We kinda had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner along with it, tho everything else was made from a box. The turkey has made some great leftovers of turkey salad pitas and homemade turkey noodle soup. Thank you to whoever it was that gave us the turkey!