16-0!!!! What a great season!!!, Now hopefully they can win 3 more to make that accomplishment even more meaningful!!!!!! GO PATS!!!!!

Happy Birthday to AJ and Julia!!

So we did a family birthday party for AJ and Julia today. (we were going to just do Julia so they didn't have to share, but AJ is still going to have a "friends party" that will be a transformers party. We figured it would be easier (and cheaper) to just combine them and since this meant he could get some presents early, he was all over it!!

AJ got to pick a cake with strict instuction that it had to be one that Julia would like too...so Shrek it was!! -It was a cute cake and AJ did great blowing out candles. Julia did pretty good but resorted to a raspberry to get the second candle out (with a little help from jen--i'm not sure if it was the wind from jen or the spit from julia that actually did the trick!!)


They had a great time opening presents. Julia got a doll house from us with a bunch of furniture and stuff. WE also gave he a big stuffed Dumbo with the Dumbo movie. My parents gave her doll house people and my sister gave her a Dora color wonder coloring set. With "BA-pa and Mah-ma's money i got her a magnadoodle and an aquadoodle, which she loved and was extra happy that the aquadoodle was elmo! With my grandma's money i got her this cute flapping ears Eeyore thing that sings "do your ears hang low" -so cute and an elmo book with a little stuffed elmo. --She has suddenly gotten into the elmo thing-sophia was influetial on that one! :)


AJ got one of his presents from us-the Fox and the Hound movies with a stuffed hound that happened to be a webkinz-he was ECSTATIC!!! HE will get his other present from us at his "transformers party"-that was part of the early birthday party deal!! My sister gave him a Diego color wonder set like Julia's and my parents gave him an awesome hotwheels carrier case that holds 100 cars...room to grow!! :) With "ba-pa and Mah-ma's money i got him a leap pad and some games for it. and with my GRandma's money i got him this cute animal carrier vet thing with little cages for the little pets. It is super cute and he LOVED it. HE has been so into the little animals and pets and carrying them around and naming them and everything so this was perfect. It is next to his bed right now with "carrot" the parrot, "buddy" the dog, and "tuna" the cat that came with it and 3 other animals that he already had-"cocoa chocolate Jenson" the dog, "Brownie" the dog (that he got when grover and Deann were here this summer)and "stripes" (I think) the tiger...HOLY COW he is soooooo cute!! I just love it!

IT WAS SOOO MUCH FUN and the kids were just sooo cute!!!

CATCHING UP!!

Yikes...I am so sorry that we have pretty much disappeared from the blogging world. Things have just been crazy but here i am to catch up with things so here goes...

Thanksgiving was fun, we went to my parents, it was pretty small since Jen and her family spent most of the day with Richards family (because his cousin, Adam, was back from afganistan on leave). i did get a few pictures of the girls-they just LOVE each other--it is sooooo cute!!!


Julia is in to "upside down" thing lately. She will hold her dolls, stuffed animals, even books upside down and sing "ap-a-down down, up-a-down" so as we were getting ready to leave on thanksgiving, i caught her hanging from the door nob singing "ap-a-down, down, up-a-down" She CRACKS US UP!!!




CUTE STORY... Julia is also very much into getting herself dressed and undressed lately. It is cute that she wants to be independent but when it takes a half-hour to get her dressed because she keeps yelling "MINE" and ripping the clothes out of my hands, OR she grunts at me when i pull the shirt out a little so it actually goes over her head, it gets quite frustrating!!!

ANYWAY, so she is also dressing and undressing her dolls..mostly undressing!! The other day she tells me "pee-pee" as she is taking the pants off of this little doll and then she wanders into the hall near the bathroom. I go to check it out, expecting the baby to be swimming in the toilet, and found this!




LOCKS OF LOVE!!
SO i finally did it... i have been wanting to hack my hair off and donate it to locks of love FOREVER. because of our crazy schedule and my useless brain (i kept forgetting to find a salon/make an appointment) It has taken a while. So i decided during this week that i would finally do it. I cut off 11 inches and was able to go to a salon where they cut it, send the hair, and give me a style for FREE!! I just gave her a little tip and i was set!! So here is before and after...

So, heres a quick update on our crazy lives!!!!!!

Life has been so crazy lately, we've barely had time to breath, let alone think about blogging (not that it isn't important, just life gets crazy ya know!!) So here's what's goin on.

Two weeks ago tomorrow (Friday) my favorite client here at the program Jimmy I know I shouldn't have favorites, but what can I say i'm human) died here at the group home. He choked on a PB sandwich. I got in late that day, so I missed the whole thing (thankfully, I'm not sure I could handle another death on my shift), but it really shook me up. It is such a reminder of how fragile life is. I still can't believe he's gone. His sister was away on vacation and we couldn't reach her for 5 days after his death, so the funeral wasn't until yesterday, a week and a half after his death. It was good to be able to remember him, laugh and cry with those who knew him best. I'm getting pretty emotional even writing about this, so onward to other family news.

Tina will not be nannying for the Dennehey's anymore. She found another nanny job and will be doing that 3 days a week, and looking for other jobs the other days of the week. The Dennehey's unstable life (ugly divorce, psycho father) made her decide to look elsewhere. Tomorrow is her last day with them. She's having a mini celebration!!!!!!!

I had evaluations this week where my field instructor (from school) and my field supervisor (internship) met with me to discuss how I am doing. It was really frustrating for me. I felt that my instructor really focused on my anxiety (which is high) but never mentioned how I plow through the anxiety and get the job done. It really opened me up to a lot of self doubt during the past couple of days. Then today, during supervison with my field supervisor (internship) she stated what a good job I do at hiding my anxiety, she had no Idea how anxious I was while at work. She also told me that the othe clinicians are always happy when I am on, and several of them have commented to her that "he's good" :) That comment felt so good, and removed a lot of the self doubt and insecuriteis I was feeling about myself. Then in class, we had a group presentation (two people) and after class, my teacher came up to us and specifically told us what a great job we had done, and how impressed he was with our work!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!! (OK, I just about broke my shoulder patting myself on the back, but it's worth it :)

We sure miss you guys, especially during the holiday season. But, at least it will be our last one apart!!!!!

A Mom's Day!!!

Ok, this is awesome!!! It sums up my life and just makes me laugh!! ENJOY!!

TRICK OR TREAT!!!

Well here they are, the only pictures that we took on Halloween night!! OOPS-i was so busy carrying Julia up and down each set of stairs(she could do it with the HUGE car on her--the costume is so cute that it was all worth it!!!), i didn't have time to think about pictures!!! Weather-wise i don't think it could have been nicer!! But...we wish we could have been there with you--i over heard brandon talking about the Jenson Halloween traditions YUM!!! We had a lot of fun though. We did a few houses with Richard abnd Sophia and then they went to see other family and we did some more around my parents house.

Julia was so cute she would stick her bag out and say "tr-tri-tree" and then stand there, hoping they would give her more. then i would prompt her with "what do you say" and she would say "tay-too" and turn around to go to the next house. She's all business when it comes to candy collecting--that's our girl.

Aj was soooo tired by the end of the night. Jen took all 4 kids to the neighborhood where she nanny's. They do a little parade down the main street every year and then all the kids start trick-or-treating. It is a pretty good walk, so this year jen parked half-way down the "parade route". So AJ had to walk 1/2 of the route and then do the parade and then was trick-or-treating back to the car. But the neighbor hood is full of HUGE houses and also HUGE yards so it is a lot of work. He was so done he was saying he had enough candy...even though Richard, apparently didn't agree and ran ahead with the little girl, payton, to collect more. Then we did the houses around my parents and then we left their house past his bed time. I don't think we were more than 4 houses from my parents before he was asleep!! When we got home, I woke him up to bring him in and told him "we're home" he said "no were not" as he looked around all confused. I reassured him that we were and then he said "how'd we get home this fast?" I just giggled! He is soooo cute-I love that boy!

So... a fun halloween was had by all. And today wasn't too bad with all the sugar-infested children!! :)

Trunk or Treat!!

We had the "Trunk or Treat" tonight at church. The kids had a blast. We went with Richard, Sophia, and Jen. AJ and Julia were Mater and Sally from Cars. I found the costumes on clearence on disneyoutlet.com!!! SUPER exciting find!!! I must say they looked pretty DANG cute. (P.S.-AJ totally says "dang" now and i am pretty sure that Julia does too- i think that is what she is trying to say, it definately sounds like it!! :)

Halloween Cookie Decorating

Wednesday night (our only night home together during the week) we watched the Transformers movie and decorated halloween cookies. AJ was so excited about the movie, it was adorable!!! He, of course, also enjoyed the cookies!!! Julia was all about decorating the cookies!! She got very into the details a few times which was super cute. I don't think that she actually had any cookies but she had plenty of toppings along the way!!!

GO SOX!!!!!!

So, the whole are is of course THRILLED that the Sox are in the world series, it's impossible not to get swept up in the emotion and excitement of it all. And if the Braves can't win the World Series, I gotta cheer for the Sox!!!

A cute AJ story

So, it's been a little while since posting (sorry about that) it's just so hectic right now!!!! Here's a cute AJ story.

Tina dropped AJ off with me on Thursday. When it came time for lunch, all he wanted to eat was the left over rice and corn from Wednesday's dinner. I told him he had to eat more than that, so I put some left over home made Mac and Cheese (from Tyler and Michelle's cookbook they gave us when we got married) on his plate and warmed them up. While I was warming up his lunch, he asked if he ate all his lunch if he could he have some chips. I told him only if he finished all his lunch. He gobbled down the rice and corn, but wanted nothing to do with the Mac and cheese. He got up from the table and said he was full. I let him go and play, because I knew that eventually he'd want those chips. He went into our room to watch Bob the Builder and after it was over, he came out of our room and STOMPED into the kitchen saying "BUT I DIDN'T WANT MACORONI AND CHEESE!!!!! He marched right into the kitchen and ate all of his luch!!!! He came running into the living room with an empty plate and asked for those chips. And of course, I was only happy to oblige.

If you guys think Will Ferrell is funny, you're gonna love this!!!!

COMMICAL RELIEF!!!!!

HOLY COW!!!
I am going through all of our stuff and trying to start the downsizing process early. I was going through some of our old clothes today and Brandon decided to see if these spandex and this shirt from his mission fit...WHAT DO YOU THINK...i'd have to go with "a little snug" HE HE HE!!!

Our Crazy Life!!!!!!!!!

We have begun to settle in to our crazy and hectic life, here is an update of what we are up to.

Tina is nannying and has a real love/hate relationship with it. She LOVES being with our kids, and Loves taking care of the kids she takes care of, it is just A LOT of HARD WORK taking care of 5 kids 40 hours a week!!!!(there is a special place in heaven reserved for her I'll tell ya!!!!)

Here is Tina's crew. There was no school on Wednesday so they went to a little farm place and the kids got to play on the hay pile, have a picnic, and then pick out pumpkins.




I am learning so much at my internship. I am doing it at a crisis center. One of the two area hospitals will call us with a person to assess for crisis. We then need to determine if admitting them into a psych hospital, to the crisis stabilization unit, or just letting them go home is the best course of action. I also have to deal with the insurance agencies and make sure their insurance will cover a psych hospital stay. It will be quite a learning experience, I am excited.

School for me is going great!!!!! I am taking a practice with families class which is a TON of fun and I really enjoy it. I also have to take a research class which is a bummer, but if it'll get me that degree, I'll take it.

We sure miss everyone and can't wait until we are all together again!!!!

Now that our crisis with DSS is over, we will be setting our blog to private. We'd like to do it this weekend, so please get us your e-mails so there is no lapse in being able to access it. Send your e-mail address's to branjenson@gmail.com.

Thanks guys!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRANDON!!!

After such a crappy week, I don't know anyone who deserves a better birthday. We love Brandon so much not only because he is such an awesome Dad (Even DSS can see that) but also just because he is an all around great guy (and quite a stud-i must say!!!!)

Our worst week ever!!!!!!!!!

For those of you who are not aware, we have had the worst week ever, and the most stressful week ever and now that it is over, I feel more comfortable putting it on the blog.

Last week, we got a call from Tina's sister Debbie saying that a Department of Social Services worker called her about a report they got saying we were neglecting our children. The individual who called DSS was uncomfortable that our children were close to Kevin.(I'm pretty sure all the adults understand). Anyway, when the worker called Debbie, she told them that she couldn't say that we weren't neglecting them becasue she is in Oregon. She then detailed all of Kevin's history to DSS. Her conversation provided DSS with all the information they needed to investigate all of our family out here for neglect and putting our children in harms way.

Let's just say the Lincks and the Lantz's took this information and blew up. Being a social worker who knows people who work for DSS, I was confident that nothing would be found, and all would be well. Richard Lincks (RL from now on, ya know to many Dicks in the family) :)!!! found an article from an attorney he knew while he worked for the John Birch society. He specializes in DSS cases and has seen the worst of the worst. (Including cases where DSS took the children out of the parents home becasue of a bruise on the child's thigh. And no, I am not kidding) The Lincks and the Lantz's were preparing for war!!!!! (RL even kept little Richard home from school out of fear that DSS would take him away from them while he was at school). Over the weekend we tried not to think about anything as we had heard nothing from DSS about the matter. I thought that if DSS were truly concerned, they would have contacted us before the weekend.

When I got home from my first day at my internship, we had been served with papers saying that we were under investigation for neglect. This really sent us all over the edge. Tina called Debbie to let her know, and (from what I hear, I was at the internship) Tina really let her have it. Debbie refused to say she trusts us as parents. We really felt (and still FEEL) betrayed by Debbies accusations. But that's another story for another day. At this point, RL had almost made up his mind to hire his attorney friend. One of the things the attorney told him was to not let them into the house for the first meeting. Let them serve you with papers, and that is all. On tuesday, the investigator came over and I feeling that handing of the papers was over, felt I should talk to him. One of the first things he asked me is if Fannie was a regular caretaker of the kids. I almost laughed because Fannie NEVER takes care of the kids!!! ( I knew then and there that this report came from a friend of Debbies who is not even close to the situation). He asked about Kevin's history, and about what precautions we take while over at the Lantz's house. After talking to me, the investigator served papers to the Lantz's.

The news that I had let the investigator in and talked to him didn't go over to well with the Lincks and Lantz's. RL still thought that our only contact with him should be with an attorney. This made for a very STRESSFUL tuesday for me, as I thought that I had screwed up royally. I knew I needed to talk to someone, and I thought about calling one of my professors from last year, David o'Malley. He has been kind of a mentor for me. I quickly dismissed this idea, because I had NO idea when we could meet on campus. I drove to class that night and walked in the door, and guess who is teaching the CLASS!!!!! David O'Malley!!!!!! I knew it was a sign from the Lord and a truly comforting sign it was. We spoke on the way out to our cars, and he was so helpful in putting into words what I was feeling. He reminded me that I wasn't the first social worker to have a DSS case, and that it wouldn't affect my status as a social work student. It just felt good to talk to someone.

When I got home from school, the Lincks and Jenson's had a meeting and we decided to hire the lawyer. Mom told me not to get the lawyer. She told me she had prayed and she felt if we were honest and truthful everything would work out all right. We just felt that having someone there who knew the law would protect our rights. We also thought that even if the attorney is speaking for us, we have plenty of community witnesses who could vouch for us as parents. Wednesday was the worst day of my life!!! My stomach was in knots, and I still wasn't entirely convinced that having a lawyer was the right decision, I just didn't want to bring it up.

After my internship and class on Wednesday, I came home and found we were having a family meeting. RL had gone to see a psycholigist because he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The psychologist strongly suggested not using a lawyer becasue of the adversarial nature of having a lawyer. We had a really powerful family meeting and the SPIRIT was SOOOOO strong in the room. I shared my experience about meeting my professor. I also talked about Mom's prayer and as I said the words honest and truthful, Jenn got chills. Those were the EXACT words the psychologist used. We decided that not to hire an attorney. Each of us felt so much better about our situation after this meeting. The knots in all of our stomachs were released. Those knots were the Lord telling us not to use the Lawyer, and let this investigator see us as the good parents we know we are.

The investigator came over yesterday and met with each of us for about an hour. He asked some very personal questions and we answered honestly. He encouraged us to seek family counseling as a way in insure our safety plans for our kids are appropriate and safe. We agreed.

The investigator met with Richard and Fannie this morning from 8:30-9:30. After the meeting, he told them that he had NO FINDINGS OF NEGLECT (Take that Debbie). His investigation is over, and our file will be DESTROYED in a year. (Tina wants to send the shredded file to Debbie). :)

Anyway, we have truly been blessed as a result of this trial. We each feel closer to each other. We have felt the Lords love and concern for all of us. It is so exciting that it is all over. Thanks one and all for their prayers and for their concern.

Brandon and Tina

HELP!!!!!!

This is really not the place to broadcast the difficulties we are facing right now, however we still need your prayers on our behalf. Please get in touch with Mom and Dad for the details. We apologize for not being able to tell you over the phone what is going on, but between school, Tina's new job and this issue, we have been OVERWHELMED.

Anyway, keep us in your prayers as we face this difficult time.

Check out my Slide Show!

NO TIME!!!

SO here they are...my crew!! (2 are not "my kids")

Ryan(the one I saw with mny old job), Antonia (jen's girl), Alison (Ryan's twin), Katherine (AJ's new best friend), AJ, Sophia (jen's daughter), and Julia (squatting -she has to be different/difficult! :)

WOW, it has been a busy week. I LOVE being with the kids all day and the kids are really good kids-busy but good!! Katherine is a toughy-she has been pushing the limits but i think i have effectively established that i don't put up with any crap!! The twins are just excited to have "Miss Tina" at their house every day. (They called me "Miss Tina" when i came to see Ryan through early intervention and i am afraid it might stick!!) AJ and Julia have had a blast with a daily full-day play date and a huge house and yard full of new toys. They have definately had to adjust to the schedule-both getting up and out early and playing hard all day. They have been VERY tired at night!! (Another benefit because so have I!!!) So i have pretty much come home and collapsed every night this week and we went to the beach this week-end (pictures to be blogged soon) and life is just busy. I will try to be better because i recognize that a full week between blog postings is totally unaccceptable!!! :)

WE'RE OBSESSED!!-We admit it

Ok, We recognize that this is OUT OF CONTROL. But AJ is so excited about the BYU game it is just too cute not to blog. So today we cooked on the grill and all went out to play while the steaks were cooking. Julia had to wear a hat because AJ had his when we went outside. Of course, to play football one needs a helmet to be safe...The bike helmet has to do!! (This was all AJ's doing-his idea, his explanation, etc.) They were just sooo cute. Gosh-we love our kids! :)

GO AJ GO!!!!

No game is truly complete with out a cheerleader !!
(or 2-does Murphy count? :D )

OUR LITTLE COUGAR FAN!!

All these early traning events are all starting to really pay off!!

Ok, AJ has continued to watch the football clip on the computer. (he knows how to get onto the Internet and make it play!!!) but today he took it to a new level. He was playing it again and i said "You and that football game" and he replied "No Mommy, i was just getting it started for Julia". Of course it took about 2 seconds for Julia to become uninterested and wonder off. He kept yelling at her "JU_EE_AAAH" to come and watch it. Finally i told him that she didn't have to watch it if she didn't want to and then he started with "Ju-ee-aaaahh, you're missing out!" He kills me-he is so stinkin cute!!

Then at the grocery store tonight i told him we were getting soda for the game. They, of course were out of Mountain Dew and Root beer so i told AJ we would just get it tomorrow. He got this panicked look on his face and said "Mom, the BYU game is tomorrow, we CAN'T miss it." I was able to reassure him that i would get in and be back with PLENTY of time for the game!! The funniest part is that Brandon is just LOVING that he is so excited. I must admit, it is pretty cute!!!

OUR next BYU spirit project...

Just a reminder to all those going to the game tomorrow, Make Lavell Happy, Wear BLUE.




BTW, AJ has watched the video of the Utah game like 7 times!!!!!! (we might have a mini me on our hands!!!!)

IS IT SATURDAY YET!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just a little video to wet your appetite and get you ready for Saturday!!!!

My first Grad School Report Card!!!!!!!

Diversity A-

Social Policy B+

Human Behavior/DSM-IV A-

Not to shabby for my first semester in grad school huh? :)

Who says all dumbs are blonde?

AJ and Julia JIB JAB

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TINA!!!!!!

Happy 29th birthday Tina, from all of us!!!!

We love you so much!!!!!!!!

Pudding Anyone?!?!

BUSTED!!!!

I was trying to put some stuff away in the kitchen yesterday so i plopped Julia down with a little thing of pudding-chocolate (OBVIOUSLY) Luckily, I took her shirt off first cause i had a feeling how it would end up. She loved it, of course, but i think she preferred it as body paint instead of a snack!! :) My favorite part was when she turned around (i was sitting on the floor behind her) and said "MAMA" as she placed her nasty, slimy, chocolate-pudding-filled hand on top of my head!!! HE,HE,HE

SO PROUD OF HERSELF!!!




"HEY LOOK HOW YUMMY I LOOK"