Merry Christmas from the Jensens! Since Jase is gone on his mission we didn't bother to take new family pictures this year, but we do have a few snapshots that will have to do! Hopefully we can update our family pictures this summer after Jase comes home and before Jared leaves!
I had each of the kids write their own paragraph about what they have been involved in this year, but I couldn't resist also mentioning a few things.
We have loved having Janika home from USU during the Christmas break. She is such a huge help to me and such a positive and calming influence on our family. I don't know how I survived without her when she was on her mission!
We are so pleased with the service that Jase is giving on his mission. He has been in and out of the Armenian Program and so he probably won't be fluent when he returns home, but as long as he comes home with a stronger testimony and understanding of the gospel then his mission will have been successful!
Jared works hard in school, track, and his job, but still finds plenty of time to date and hang out with friends. The neighborhood kids also love to come hang out with him! After almost two years working at Little Caesar's Pizza he recently started working for the Crepery. It will be a good change for him, but we will miss the free pizza he often brought home! We are happy to report that Jared is on track for the Regents' Scholarship as well as a full tuition scholarship at DSU (should he decide to go there after his mission).
Janelle and Jaiden both attend Snow Canyon Middle School. I have loved having them at the same school. They are such good friends and have been involved in many of the same activities. They both auditioned for their school's Warrior Idol and were one of eight contestants who made it. They did awesome on their songs!
Josh went out of his comfort zone this year by joining the swim team in the summer. He never liked swimming and often complained about taking basic swimming lessons. So I was amazed when he decided to take on this challenge in order to turn his weakness into a strength. He did great and it really helped him when he competed in his school triathlon! Josh also went out of his comfort zone by auditioning for his school play and getting a lead role. It was so fun to watch him perform!
Jenna continues to be full of creativity and energy. She started tumbling this year and is constantly doing cartwheels around the house in spite of us warning her not to. She has injured herself a couple of times by crashing into doors or furniture, but still persists! She had to wear head gear with braces at the first of the year. She was only required to wear it at night but thought it was so cool that she insisted on wearing it to school, dance, and church too!
I ended up writing a lot more than I intended. Now I will turn it over to the kids!
Janika: I am 22 and a Junior, slowly freezing to death at Utah State University. I'm majoring in Psychology. Despite the fear that I initially felt last year of coming home from a mission, this has been a fantastic year! I graduated with my Associate's degree from Snow College. I also had the opportunity to work over the summer as an EFY counselor in Provo, Wyoming, and Georgia. Life is crazy, but I've been so incredibly blessed this year! God is good.
Elder Jase Jensen: I am 20 years old and I have been serving as a missionary in the California Arcadia Mission for the past year and a half. It has been such a wonderful experience, but I am sad to say it will soon come to an end. I just finished my golden year and have enjoyed my time here serving and learning from the people around me. This year I had the opportunity to serve in many different positions that have taught me things I didn't know I could learn on a mission. I have also served in many different areas and am grateful for the different experiences. It has truly been an amazing experience to rely on the Lord and serve Him for these past 18 months. I wish you all well and a Merry Christmas! (You can access Jase's missionary blog
HERE!)
Jared: I always struggle with writing these things. I am 17 years old and a senior at Snow Canyon high school and I run track with the Snow Canyon Warriors. This year I attended EFY and it was a blast. I spend a lot of my time working and running track and doing other school stuff. I am preparing for a mission after I graduate this year.
Janelle: I'm 15 years old and I'm a freshman. This year I got my driver's permit and performed with the Hands in Harmony Carolers. I also participated in Warrior Idol and NJHS (National Junior Honor Society). I also went to EFY, youth conference, girls camp, and other super epic stuff during the summer. It was pretty great. Some of my favorite classes are Seminary and Biology. Merry Christmas!
Jaiden: Hi! I am 13 years old and in 8th grade. This year I continued with dance and tumbling. I have learned lots of new tricks. I am also really close to my back tuck! I also participated in our Science Olympiad and Warrior Idol. I am on student council and in NJHS. I am also in my third year of the Hands in Harmony Carolers. I also love to babysit my neighbors and hangout with friends. Some of my favorite classes are Body Toning (weights) and Theater. I hope that you have a great year!
Josh: I am 11 and in the 6th grade. I am in the Hands in Harmony Carolers and I was Michael in our school play,
Elf Jr. My favorite class is P.E. because you get to do fun stuff and I am good at running laps and doing the workouts. I am also in Chinese. I did the Geckathon, which is our school triathlon. I hope you have a good year!
(Here is one of Josh's duets from his school play:
There is a Santa Claus. Don't tell him it is here!)
Jenna: I am nine years old and in the third grade. This year I did tumbling and dance. I learned cursive. I have been in Chinese since I was in kindergarten. This year I played soccer and did choir. I like to make little houses for my Lego people and design dresses for my Barbies.
Rick has now completed 20 years of teaching Seminary! He is also putting his teaching skills to good use by teaching Gospel Doctrine in our ward (and often prepares meaningful lessons for our family). I am serving in the Young Women's presidency and am excited to be working with such wonderful young women (including two of our own girls). Rick and I were session directors of EFY this past summer at BYU-Idaho and enjoyed being in the same session as our daughter, Janelle. We also enjoyed taking our family to see the beauties of Bryce Canyon during the summer. We continue to work as sign language interpreters throughout Southern Utah and Nevada. We both enjoy interpreting, especially when we get to do it together!
We are also directors of the Hands in Harmony Carolers. Actually Rick does almost everything, I just offer support! We had taken a three year break from our caroling group, but our kids really wanted the opportunity to be involved again and so we decided to go for it this year. Our house has been alive with music for the past four months as the group has prepared for their busy Christmas Season! We had brand new gorgeous costumes made and Rick wrote a couple of new songs for the group including this beautiful song for the girls. You can watch it here:
Son of God
We are grateful for the opportunity to spread the spirit of Christ to our community through music. We are also grateful for all of you and for your love and friendship. We are so grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ, and hope that you will find the peace and joy that comes only through His atonement. Merry Christmas!
Love: Rick, Wendy, Janika, Jase, Jared, Janelle, Jaiden, Joshua, and Jennalee
You guys are such a fun, smart, wonderful family! I love that everyone wrote their own parts too. You're such examples to all of us!
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