Christmas 2011

Family PhotosA couple of nights before Christmas, we made a surprise visit to Aunt Jami and Uncle Lynn's house and asked her to snap pictures of us for our Christmas card. They were very accommodating, and as usual Aunt Jami worked her magic with us. I think we provided a little entertainment for their family as we tried to get posed--the expression on Caleb's face seemed to show up in many of the pictures. There's always one kid--this must've been his year.

Our family's favorite Christmas Gift.

Christmas Programs

Santa Claus paid a visit to Chloe's pre-school program.

He came around the corner during the kid's song performance. They were definitely surprised.

Christmas Eve

We carried on the tradition of opening jammies on Christmas Eve.

Caleb continued to tap into his arsenal of funny facial expressions.

Chloe's face says how much she loves her Christmas Eve jammies.

The big boys in their t-shirt and sports shorts jammies.

Even though Caleb is a big boy, he was willing to be matching with Chloe and Cash in his jammies.

Christmas Day
Chloe loved her new make-up kit and spent most of the day applying layers of barbie glam to her face, and eventually to mine.

A little Cash-- just in time for Christmas

CASH WILLIAM IS HERE!

This shot is just minutes after his 4:30 pm delivery on December 9th. He weighed in at 8 lbs 15 oz, and was 19 1/2" long.

Cash and Mom are visited by his happy siblings.

There is no doubt he is a cherished little brother.

Daddy loves the new little man.

Chloe says, " I love this baby. I just love this baby so much I can't stand it."

Caleb's first words each day after school are, "Can I hold Cash?"

Who knew Corbin was such a cuddler?

Chase loves having a new brother.

Carter loves to relax after basketball practice with a sleeping little brother on his chest.

The Christensen basketball team, head coach, and cheerleader.

Ready to Labor

It's almost 2:30 in the morning and I cannot sleep. I just can't get comfortable and I desperately would like to go into labor. Chloe has had pneumonia and we have been homebound treating her and helping her get better. Prior to that, Caleb had strep throat, so we were home comforting him, delivering his antibiotics and waiting for them to take effect. To say I have developed cabin fever is an understatement. Finally today (yesterday), Chloe seemed well enough to take out so the 2 of us headed to the tri-cities to walk, eat something spicy, and do a little Christmas shopping. So now I am wide awake, not in labor, and so uncomfortable with super swollen feet and ankles. Please come soon little one.

Being stuck at home has had a few advantages. I have been going through major nesting instincts and have been sewing, cleaning, and trying to get things set up. I made this carseat canopy, a nursing cover, and some things for my cousin Janie who is expecting soon. Maybe this is a little girly, but hopefully the colors and plaid lining will make it okay for a boy.
Here is the quilt that my friend Brooke made with the fabrics I selected. Since this baby boy and Chloe will be sharing a room, I decided to stick with all black and white textiles played off of silver-sage walls. We got burglarized a few weeks back, and one of my biggest fears was that they stole this quilt and the new bumper pad and crib skirt I had just ordered. Luckily they were spared. I guess these particular burglars were just looking for electronics.
Chloe and I bought some of the pre-made gingerbread house kits at Costco today. She and Caleb had a blast decorating them tonight.
If you haven't purchased one of these kits, I highly recommend them.
Carter and Chase have started high school basketball. Carter splits his time equally between the Varsity and JV. Chase is on the Freshman team. Unfortunately, I missed the games, due to the little sicklies at home, but Larry kept me in the loop via text. Carter scored a 3 point buzzer beater right as the clock ran down into halftime. Pretty exciting.

Well, keep your fingers crossed for me that the next post I do is announcing that the baby has arrived!

Mustard Field Family Photos

A few weeks ago, Aunt Jami met us at a mustard field after church to take some family pictures. She snapped these candids of Chloe dancing in the field waiting for us to get set up.I love the colors.



These will probably be the last family photos taken with 5 kids. The new baby will be here within the next few weeks!

Happy Halloween

Chloe is excited to wear her Princess Ariel costume for Halloween. I'm excited for her to use her Princess Ariel toothbrush after Halloween.
Corbin and Carter each went to Halloween parties on Saturday night and decide to be Hip-Hop Gangsta dudes. Watch out JayZ and Kanye, White Chocolate and A la Carte are in da house.Monday, since Corbin was home from school 'sick', he and Chloewent to the pumpkin patch to pick out some nice pumpkins for carving.
They felt pretty good about their choices.
Yep. It looks like they weigh about the right amount.
Once Caleb gets home, the carving begins. Chloe's a little apprehensive about digging into the goo, but her brothers think it's pretty cool.
Here are the finished pumpkins and kids in costumes--Corbin the Clown, Chloe as Ariel, and Caleb as a BYU football player.
Off to collect the loot. First stop, Mrs. Katie's house (Chloe's preschool teacher).
And look who's inside? Two of Chloe's preschool friends and fellow princesses--Ava and Maddie. Chloe got some great treats and got to see Maddie's new baby brother (Mrs. Katie just had a baby and he is so cute. It makes us excited for ours). Good stuff.
Chase dressed up as a 3 touchdown throwing, play making, freshman quarterback. We let the younger three do some Halloween acitivities and missed the first half of what may have been Chase's best game of the season. Royal beat Quincy 29 to 25. Way to go Chase. You rock.

Oversize Load

My dad was in town this last Friday and Saturday and snapped this very flattering picture of me with his phone. Not only is it evidence of my state of pregnant belly, but it also says a lot about the state of my life. I feel sometimes like I have an OVERSIZE LOAD with all of the responsibilities of motherhood, church callings, being a wife, decorating jobs, pregnancy, etc. My Blog, which is also my method of record keeping for our family, has been a victim of my perceived oversize load. The more time passes, the more daunting the task of catching up seems. One thing I have learned is that time passes too quickly, kids grow up way too fast, and it's important to savor and treasure the details of life. I am re-dedicating myself to keeping a family record and am starting with the most recent events and working my way back to my blogpost announcing our new baby back on June 10th. So far, I've posted to mid- August and I'm feeling good about my momentum.

Seattle--thanks for the memories

Just before school started we decided to take a last minute getaway to Seattle. After all, the Mariners were playing the Blue Jays and this would be our chance to see the Mariners (who we love) but also Jose Bautista from the Blue Jays (who the boys think is an awesome player).We got there early and watched batting practice with our mitts, hoping to catch one of the balls. We stayed late after the game in anticipation of maybe getting to score a signature from one of the players--dreaming of the Bautista autograph. No luck.
But, we sure had a great time all the same.
That night, after the game we spent the night in a hotel just outside of Seattle in one of the more mellow, family friendly hotel areas. We headed back in the next morning and explored the waterfront where the kids rode the carousel.

We went to the Pike Place Fish Market and couldn't resist getting a picture of Carter in front of this big sign.
We walked along the pier checking out the little shops and seafood shacks.
We saw all kinds of big jelly fish in the water below. It was really cool.
We decided to make our way into the city shopping area where the kids were anxious to do a little back-to-school shopping. Chase was especially anxious to get the new Nike shoes he had been waiting all summer to be released. He, Larry, Caleb, and Chloe were in Nike town getting those, while I took Corbin and Carter over to American Eagle across the street. After a couple of minutes, I get a call from Larry saying, "You won't believe who is here in Nike? Jose Bautista! Tell Carter and Corbin." I immediately text Carter in his dressing room to tell him. On another trip to a Mariners game earlier that summer, the boys met a fake Ichiro in the Mariners gift shop and got a pic with him. Carter immediately texts back, "If this is some fake Bautista, I'm going to be so ticked." Carter, Corbin, and I quickly made our way back to Nike where Larry and the kids were downstairs. I asked, "Did you talk to him?" Chase said, "No. Dad says to just leave him alone. He's upstairs I think." Well, I wasn't about to let this opportunity for the boys pass by. It's not easy for a pregnant 39 yr. old with 5 kids to trek over to Seattle, sit through hours of baseball, walk all around town, sleep in a hotel bed, with the possible thrill of my kids getting to meet one of their sports idols, and pass it up. So, I marched my pregnant butt upstairs and told him what big fans my kids were of his and how much it would mean if he would be willing to sign their ticket stubs (which I conveniently still had in my wallet). He was very gracious and kind, signed the stubs, and even stood in a picture with the crew.
Thanks, Jose. You were the icing on the cake for the boys and for Larry because he's bigger than you.