The Good Stuff

It's been quite a while since I last posted to my blog...even longer than I realized till I sat down to write. Seven months is the longest break I have taken since I began blogging but, so what? I have long hated the saying, "It is what it is," but I think it's growing on me. :)

A few thoughts and pictures of the months past....

MARCH 
Annah was in the production of Cinderella at her high school. She was the step-mother and did a fabulous job even though she was sick! We took her to the doctor thinking she had strep but she was negative even though she nearly lost her voice and she had singing parts! But the show went on with her being on vocal rest all day on performance days so she could save her voice for the show!

Annah with Jonathan, the prince

She was a lovely step-mother and was spot-on with her performance!

APRIL 
Annah went to Prom with her friend Jeshaun. Her dress was beautiful and she looked like a princess. 

She's standing on a board because it rained hard just before the 

pictures were done and all the girls were sinking

in the ground with their pretty high heels!

 And those shoes....[insert googly eyes!] LOVE! <3 

My favorite picture....

Funniest picture...Jess gagging in response to 

Jeshaun and Annah's pose!

Love these black and white shots of laughing girls!

A few more favs....

MAY
It was delightful as school drew to a close. I had a few rough months leading up to the end of the year and felt spent and so ready for the summer break.

I began the school year feeling like this.... 

And ended feeling like this.

 (The bear was a birthday gift from Boni, the teacher that I work with!)

About a week before school let out we learned that Abigail, who was serving a mission in the Arizona Tempe Mission, would be returning home after 9 months out due to back problems she had been experiencing for quite some time. A few months before Abigail left on her mission she had gone bridge jumping with her friends in Idaho and one of the times that she jumped in she hit the rocks on the bottom. As a result she hurt her right foot, right knee and her back and was in a boot for her foot for 8 weeks before she left on her mission. On Mother's Day (May 14th) we learned that they were going to be making a decision about her coming home early. She had an MRI, physical therapy, injections, medication, and even some bed rest but nothing seemed to be helping much.

A few days later we got another call from Abigail and as she began to talk she passed the phone to her companion to give us the news of her coming home because she was crying too hard to talk. Our hearts were breaking for her as she loved serving as a missionary so much. She loved the people, her companions, and her mission president and his wife, President and Sister Christensen. It was heartbreaking for her yet it was what had to happen. Missionary life is physically demanding with all the walking, riding bikes, and the constant on the go schedule. Keeping that kind of pace with a back injury became impossible. The decision for her to come home was in her best interest so that she could get additional medical treatment and so she didn't suffer more permanent problems in the future. 

On May 23rd we welcomed Abigail home from her mission...

(We were Facetiming with Jordan, that is why Annah is holding up the phone!)

Although her transition back has not been an easy one, she's done great! In her time home she has decided to return to school in Idaho in the fall. ("No more bridge jumping!" said Mom and Dad.)

JUNE
Summer came roaring in with a visit from Jordan who made a trip back from Utah to be able to bring all of his and McKenna's belongings that had been living in our garage and the upstairs storage room since they returned to Utah in January. It was a long drive out and back but a necessary one to gather all of their things. It was great to see him and spend some time with him. In July they moved to St. George, Utah for Jordan to begin med school there. An exciting adventure awaits him and his family!:D As Jordan traveled from Utah to Kentucky, he stopped in Texas to visit with Andrew. We were so happy the two of them had a chance to visit while Jordan was passing through! <3

After Jordan's visit Tim and I drove Jordan and McKenna's car that they had left here out to Utah for them. It was an opportunity for a road trip AND to be able to spend a few days with Jordan, McKenna and sweet Mackson! That road trip was the first road trip Tim and I have taken ALONE in like 31 YEARS! That was kind of mind bending! :D 

A few of my favorite pictures of Mackson that I snapped during our visit....

I didn't take this picture of Mackson but while we were in Utah Jordan signed the papers for his commission into the U.S. Air Force! Things are getting more and more real for him as his dream of attending medical school draws closer.

 Love this picture of Grandpa with Mackson!

Also in June Annah went on a week long trip to Washington DC with 8 other kids all representing our electric company co-op. What an opportunity that was for her! She loved every minute of being there seeing the sights and learning more of our nation's history.

This picture of the DC Youth Tour kids was in the July issue of Kentucky Living, a magazine put out by the co-op.

Annah at the Vietnam War Memorial Wall 

She was able to find the name of her Uncle Bill's friend that he knew while serving in the Navy during the Vietnam War. Annah was honored to be able to find his friend's name and send him a picture.

*In September's blurb is a bit more about Annah's trip to DC! 

JULY
July began with some fireworks...literally fireworks at RJ Corman's field! But before the fireworks began Abigail and Annah took these cute pictures....love them! 

 

Then came more figurative fireworks when Tim and Lisa gifted me with a trip to Alaska to visit them and their 22 month old son, August, who was 6 months old the last time we saw him in person! 

August still wasn't too sure about me after seeing me only in pictures and on Skype but he did let me hold him just for a minute before wanting down! 

I love this picture!

The only way you want to see a bear in Alaska....

Love, love, love the tracks that follow the winding road 

headed to Anchorage

Barbara Falls was sooo incredible! Lisa knew a secret path that took us up close to the falls -- so close that you could feel the mist! 

This picture of August was actually taken by Lisa

 before I got to Alaska but I just love it! 
He's just reading a book on a rock in ALASKA!

August is ready for church!

Alaska was amazing...there are no words to describe how beautiful it was and how much I loved being able to visit Tim and Lisa and August. 

AUGUST

August rolled around much too quickly for me with school beginning again for Annah and I (she is a senior this year!) and it was back to the familiar grind of school routines. In addition to that, Abigail was making her plans to go back to BYU-Idaho to begin school again. We did a few fun things before she had to leave us....

We went to King's Island...

 

Guess who didn't get the memo that it was a "serious" family picture?:D

 

We drove to Hopkinsville, KY to be there for the solar eclipse that happened on August 21st. Hopkinsville was the place in the U.S. where the eclipse lasted for the longest! It was so amazing being there for that. We left our house at 10:30 on Sunday night to make the 3 hour trip. Then we slept in the car (in anticipation of the crowds) and come morning we found a place in a nice park to spread our blanket and wait for the eclipse! 

Annah put a pin in the map to show where we came from to see the eclipse. There were pins from all over! We met a guy who had come from England!

It was hotter than Hades that day but still an awesome adventure! 
Proof positive it was HOT...Annah had her retainers with her in the car 
(she's a faithful retainer-wearer) and in the heat of the day her retainers
 got so hot they no longer fit her teeth right! 
(A few days later we had to make a trip to the orthodontist 
to get new retainers made.) :( 

As the full eclipse was nearing it looked like dusk outside and the crickets began chirping REALLY loud, the air cooled off enough that it was noticeable, and as I gazed up at the eclipsed sun I cried! Not cried as in sobbing cried but my eyes welled up with tears as I was there to witness such an awesome thing! It is something I won't forget!  

At the end of August Abigail was headed back to Idaho to continue school. It was another hard departure but one we knew she needs to do. 

I am going to miss the two of these girls together...they are so funny and always making us laugh!

 

 

It's goodbye again. :'(

SEPTEMBER

Ahh September....Fall is on the horizon (or so we hope...it's still pretty hot in Kentucky for this time of year but Mother Nature assures me it's coming.) 

We were so happy to receive our issue of Kentucky Living Magazine that featured our area youth from the Washington DC Youth Tour! There was Annah gracing the front of the magazine AND inside there was another picture of her along with a quote by her that they feature on the sidebar and even more of it in the actual article!  

Sidebar quote

Annah's full quote in the story

Additional picture featured with the story

Also in September, eighteen hundred miles away in St. George, Utah, Jordan had his white coat ceremony! We so wished we could be there for this special occasion but Tim and Lisa and August were able to be there. 

 Getting his coat.... :)

The cousins, August and Mackson meet each other for the first time since they were babies when August was 6 months old and Mackson was a newborn!

And seventeen hundred miles away in Mesa, Arizona, August celebrated his 2nd birthday! We sent a gift of tractors to him as it's his favorite thing! :D Lisa did a video of him opening them and I was able to get this screenshot of him playing with them. He's getting so grown up! 

And seventeen hundred miles and north of Mesa, in Rexburg, Idaho, Abigail is back to school and loving it and I am loving that she is loving it!

 

So those are the highlights of the last 7 months. Seeing these pictures and being reminded of good things and good times gives me reason to pause and be thankful. We can sometimes get lost in the heavy stresses and trials of everyday life and can lose track of the good that is really *still* there but can get clouded over. This has been good for me to be reminded of the "good stuff". :)

The Winter That Wasn't

It is surely no secret that I love winter. I look forward to winter making its presence know. I love the cold. I love the snow. But alas, I live in a place that seems to have a hard time mustering up the courage to blanket the landscape in white. In our nearly 22 years in Kentucky we've had few "good" winters but they are typically nothing to write home about. While I don't have official snowfall totals for this winter, I can tell you that it wasn't much! We only had 3 days off school but that was due more to slick roads because of a lot of rain that made the road get icy. 

I told Annah that I blame her for the lack of snow. In years past she decks out our picture window with the most lovely of paper snowflakes. Her creations have gotten lovelier through the years. I told her that one day when she moves away from home, that she will need to send me paper snowflakes at the beginning of each December.  This year she was so busy with school, choir, ReVerb (an a capella group), and drama (3 productions in all this school year!) that she didn't have time to grace my window with paper snowflakes until just a few days before Christmas. I have decided that THAT is why the snow didn't come! I won't let her miss the date next December! 

I have left my snowflakes up just hoping beyond hope it would stir a little winter magic but it failed. I decided weeks ago to take them down but when I went to do, I couldn't just yet....even though a few were ripped. 

It was precisely because a few were ripped that I couldn't take them down.

They were ripped because of this guy toddling around the house and going for the snowflakes!  

Jordan, McKenna and Mackson moved back to Utah in January and this was all I had as a visual reminder that Mackson was here.

This is 11 month old Mackson walking and carrying a basketball...in his UK hat. 

The next UK Wildcat...gotta start 'em young!

Jordan and Mackson in matching sweaters

Mackson and winter, I miss you both!

Almost the New Year!

Here it is about and hour before the start of a new year and if I get nothing else done before the end of the year, I have to update my blog so I don't go into the new year already behind! So here we go....

It's a wrap for another Valenta Christmas! We had some hectic moments and had to slow down for a few speed bumps along the way but all is well!

Now that the dust is settling and things are winding down I will admit I haven't managed to keep up with my blog very well and I have missed it! I have kept up with the missionary blog I am keeping for Abigail of her weekly letters. In a perfect world I would be able to keep up with both hers and mine while juggling family, job, home and everything else in between but I make no promises. :) I can *try* although I am well aware what Yoda says about trying.... "Do or do not. There is no try." So yeah....I will try. ;)

While I didn't get as many pictures as I had planned or hoped to, here is a little bit of our Christmas....

This is our favorite Christmas card...

This is Tim's boss, Dr. George Privett, dressed as 

Santa for the front of the Christmas cards sent to employees! 

It is the most awesome of cards!

Santa came.... :)

We've had this ornament for a lot of years but it was 

extra special this year with our Spanish 

speaking missionary in Arizona! :)

It was a peaceful Christmas morning before 

we went to church. The little nativity was sent

 to us by Abigail. I love it very much

Annah opens a present before church

Mackson (9 months old) and his daddy by the tree

Mackson and Auntie Annah

Mackson liked his activity table!

And bows were his favorite too!

A great ending to our Christmas festivities...

Skype session with Hermana Valenta!

(McKenna and Mackson were upstairs napping 

and missed being able to see Abigail.)

2016 is rapidly coming to a close (like in about an hour!!) and as it does we are full of anticipation for all the possibilities that await us in the coming year! May it be a prosperous and happy New Year for us all! :)

The Eagle Has Landed - Repost from Abigail's Blog

In the wee hours of Tuesday morning (about 3 am) I woke up and looked at my phone. Taking a quick look at my email, I was shocked to see a message from Abigail! It said that for her last night in the MTC she was allowed to send email and she was able to chat back and forth if I was on the other end of her email. My eyes instantly scanned the email to find out what time it had come in and I cried when I saw that it had come in at about 9 pm on Monday night and I had not see it until 3 am Tuesday!!!  When Tim stirred I leaned over to him and asked if he was awake. He mumbled that he was so I told him that Abigail had written and I hadn't seen it and how sad I was that I missed her email. He didn't respond after that so I guess he wasn't awake after all. All I have thought about all day was the fact that I missed the chance I had to chat with her through email last night. Today Abigail left Mexico. I tracked her flight from Mexico City to Dallas and from Dallas to Phoenix! Finally this evening a letter and pictures arrived from Abigail's Mission President and his wife...

 Dear Brother and Sister Valenta,

Sister Christensen and I wanted to let you know that your daughter, Sister Valenta, has arrived safely at the Arizona Tempe Mission Home. Attached you will find two photos that we thought you might enjoy. One is your missionary with Sister Christensen and me and the other is with the group of missionaries that arrived with her.

We are so pleased to have Sister Valenta serving in the Arizona Tempe Mission. Monday is Preparation Day at which time she will let you know her mailing address, the Zone and District to which she is assigned, and the name of her Trainer.

As we met with Sister Valenta, we stressed the principles of obedience, hard work and worthiness.  This mission holds great potential for each missionary assigned. The members are strong and love these great Elders and Sisters. You can be assured they, and we, will do all possible to watch over your daughter.  It is a very special responsibility we feel toward our missionaries. We want to see them enjoy a happy and successful mission.

Our missionaries have permission to Skype or telephone their families twice per year: on Mothers’ Day and at Christmas. But if you need to get a message to your daughter, or if you have any questions, please call us directly. We do want the missionaries to receive letters and e-mails from home on a regular basis encouraging them in their proselyting efforts.

Thank you for raising a daughter who has a desire to serve the Lord.

Sincerely yours,

President Spencer Christensen

 Poor Abigail, this is the first time we've gotten a good look at the cast she is in. I just want to give her a great big hug. 

And Summer Gave Way to Fall

I think the older I get the more quickly time passes. I am not even sure where the time has gone but here in Kentucky summer gave way to fall in what seemed a blink of an eye. And in that blink of an eye we readied Abigail for her mission and in moments, just like that, she was gone. The Mexico MTC is her home for a few more weeks (6 weeks in all) and then she will go to Tempe, Arizona and call it home for 18 months. 

Just now I am feeling the dust beginning to settle and find my footing. 

A few weeks before Abigail left for her mission, Jeff, Tim's brother, came to visit from Arizona. It was the first time he has been to Kentucky and we loved having him to ourselves for a week! I think it is pretty spectacular that Jeff lives one city over from where Abigail will be, as does my good friend, Patty. It eases my mind and heart that we have people close by should Abigail need them! I think it's one of those heavenly arrangements made so this mama wasn't so stressed out! :)
 

We took Jeff to Morehead, KY where Jacob is a student 

at Morehead State University.  

A little entertainment at Jacob's apartment after dinner.

Jeff got to meet baby Mackson for the first time now that Jordan and McKenna live here while Jordan attends The University of Kentucky!

And Jeff got to be here for Abigail going to the temple for the first time!

It was so great having Jeff with us for a week and hope that he comes back soon for another visit. 

I was looking through some pictures the other day and found some fun pictures of Abigail and Annah. They are quite a pair....a pair that will have a sweet reunion in 18 months. 

 This is classic Abigail! Hahaha!

This was on Abigail's 18th birthday...It's gotta be genetic!

Just hugging a horse...

I do miss that girl and her funny quips, her random comments, her silly faces, her interactions with her sister, the covert videos she took of me doing or saying crazy things then posting them to Snap Chat for all her friends to see. :)

As Abigail signed (as in sign language) to Annah when she was in the security line the morning she was leaving, "See you in 18 months."  It will be a sweet reunion indeed! 

Summer of the Sloth

Yes, I am the sloth...

It's been nearly 2 months since I updated the blog with our spring break mad dash across the country. What I didn't put in that update was that the day after that post went up I was having surgery on my shoulder. It had been planned for a month or so but I was waiting for school to let out so I could use the summer to recover. That is why I have been a sloth. 

I am not kidding when I say I have done *NOTHING* this summer. Well, nothing but lay low, baby my shoulder, cry at physical therapy visits and gradually get back to my mom duties and real life. It's been a slow process and some of that "real life" stuff I am still working on but like it or not school begins tomorrow and ready or not, here comes some more "real life"!

While I was perfecting the life of a sloth this summer, some not so sloth-like things happened....

Annah attended AFY (Adventures For Youth) in Idaho with 

her sweet friend, Elizabeth.

Salt Lake Bees baseball game

Headed for adventure...

AFY group 2016

  

Power Poll...yeah, Annah!

Andrew and Heather and their family came to 

visit for a few days from Texas!It was so good to see them

and the kids! Connor (10) was visiting his dad so we didn't get to see him,

These boys...Fletcher (3) and Ackerley (5) ...adorable!

Just before they left to go back home Ackerley came over

 to me, hugged my leg and quietly asked me if I was going 

to come to see him at his home. I said that maybe 

sometime we could come to visit. He then said, 

"Can you come on Sunday?" Oh sweet Ackerley....

Fletcher wouldn't look up so I could take his picture when 

they were in the car to leave...silly boy! He's a little sweetheart!

Andrew in his Texas shirt.... :)

One last picture before they drove away (Fletcher was hidden by pillows!) It's times like these that I wish for kids and grand kids to be closer so that we don't have to say those hard goodbyes.

Abigail returned from BYU-Idaho where she made lots of great friends...

And she received her mission call to the Arizona Tempe Spanish-speaking mission and will report to the Mexico MTC on September 13th where she will be for 6 weeks learning Spanish before reporting to Arizona!

...And she had her 19th birthday! Her friend Jen made her a cheesecake to celebrate her 19 years. Jen and Abigail have been friends since they were little and now they will both be serving missions! 

We took Jacob back to school as he gets ready to start another year at Morehead State University where he is in the Space Science program. He and Abigail won't see each other again for 18 months. :(

And now we look forward to Jordan, McKenna and Mackson moving to Kentucky in another week so Jordan can attend the University of Kentucky. We are thrilled to have them close by to be able to see Mackson grow. The last time we saw him was when he was 2 weeks old and this month he will be 5 months old!

 What a little doll he is!

 Mackson reminds me of Jordan when he was a baby ...

So it's been a slothful summer for me for sure but not so much for the family! Life keeps moving along as it should.

 Here's to my slothful summer on my way to a fabulous fall!