The Christmas Card that never was...

This should have been our Christmas Card and letter. Steve and I could not agree on a picture. I didn't like this one. Ironic, now that I am posting it to my blog. We hoped to have taken a "snow" picture in Idaho, but it just never happened. And now that the Christmas is but a faint memory...I still wanted to make sure I had our letter in for archive purposes. So, forgive me as I reflect back...

Greetings from the Jensen Family,

We hope this letter finds you and your family happy, healthy, and enjoying the Holiday Season. Life has been good to the Jensens this past year, so we’ll just “cut to the chase” and fill you in on the highlights.

Amy just turned 4, and most people would never guess she has Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. She loves to jump on the trampoline, ride her tri-cycle everywhere, learned to swim this summer, and is regularly found climbing the counters to find hidden My Little Pony “treats”. We recently changed doctors and now see 2 phenomenal doctors at Stanford Medical Center. Amy’s last lab results gave us huge encouragement that she is well on her way of putting this into remission. She also started preschool this year and is having fun making new friends.

Rachel is now 9. Her pleading and begging finally paid off and she convinced her parents to buy her a hamster for her birthday. His name is Nibbles. She still loves soccer and is currently playing in a year-round indoor league. She is the family baby sitter, being that she is more qualified than her older brother. She recently formed a club with her friends called the “Mouse Town Club” (not sure where the name came from). Basically, the club is a good excuse for her and her friends to get together and play…but at least they have an agenda. She still likes to draw and write books in her free time.

Alec is now 12. He loves being involved in the young men organization of our church. He also is quite involved in scouting and earned 10 merit badges over the summer. He continues to love swimming and played in some junior golf tournaments this past summer. This coming year he will be trying his hand in karate, something he has wanted to do for years. While he has always liked the girls, it is hitting full force now (although he won’t publicly admit it).

Trisha is busy keeping the house running at “peak performance”. She keeps up with the kid’s schedules, which seems to get more hectic as the years go buy. She finally replaced her “lemon” sewing machine for a much better one that sparked her faded interest in sewing. She made several things this past year, including a darling TinkerBell costume for Amy that she wore on Halloween.

Steve turned that magic age this year where rigor mortis sets in after a hard fought game of flag football. Trisha threw a huge surprise birthday party for him and invited all his local friends. His job content increased this year so he’s busier than normal for the time being. He is now involved in shipments of plutonium “parts” in addition to the test work he oversees.

Fun activities this past year included a trip to Disneyland, camping at Lake Tahoe, and our yearly visit to McCall, Idaho for some scenic mountain beauty and lots of golf.

We would like to wish your and your family a Merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year.