Merry Christmas

Have you seen the new Christmas memes on the Mormon Channel's facebook page? Or have you seen the beautiful video by the Piano Guys of  O Come, Emmanuel?

Johnny Lingo

Today I decided I married Johnny Lingo (read here for story). Dave told me a few weeks ago that he would have paid 10 cows for me. All I could think was, where are my parents going to put 10 cows? He tells me all the time that he loves me and thinks I am beautiful! When he says things like this it just makes me feel sexy and totally comfortable in my own skin. Now when people ask me, "how is being a newlywed?" I can say I married Johnny Lingo! :)

p.s. The summer I lived in Hawaii I met the man who played Mahana's father, Joseph Ah Quin. He came to my work and I made him say the famous line "Mahana you ugly!" It was awesome, we all had a big laugh!

Christmas Tree

Dave finally got into the Christmas spirit this year. The last two years we had a wimpy 6 inch tall tree I covered in gold balls and bells. Ikea had a sale on Christmas trees, so we got the tallest Dave allowed me to get (or would fit in the car). We also got a box of red and white ornaments on sale for £5. Then went over to a Home Depot like store and got the tree stand and some lights. 

Wish this was a scratch and sniff picture, because the tree sure makes the house smell good.

Movember

Dave decided he wanted to participate in Movember this year. This is what he ended with:

He didn't really like it, too itchy. I thought it was easier to kiss him without it. So Dave shaved it off as soon as he got home from work on Dec 1st (Dave works the graveyard shift so it was around 6am).  But I thought I would put up the evidence that he actually participated this year. 

winter allergies

I had every intention of going to school today. However, my body did not. I woke up and started to sneeze like crazy and have a runny nose. It's difficult to get anything accomplished when all you do is sneeze and blow your nose. I've had this allergy for a couple of months now. The only thing I am allergic to is cats. So I have been confused about where this allergy came from when there are no cats around. It mostly happens in the mornings. I use to be able to take an OTC and a shower and the symptoms would go away, but not anymore. I now sneeze throughout the day and night. The top of my mouth use to be itchy, but now it is my lips and skin around my mouth. I looked it up on the internet and some people said it could be a food allergy, but I'm not eating anything new/different. Or it could be dust mites, that solution is to wash your sheets more frequently. So I have been doing that, and I have been sneezing more. Dave thinks it is the new laundry soap. The last time I was allergic to laundry soap I had a skin reaction, but no skin reaction this time.
Anyone else have a suggestion? I am hoping this goes away when the weather gets better.

phones

Before I left for England more than 2.5 years ago I researched cell phone companies to get one that had international calling ability. I really didn't care about what fancy things the phone could do, I just wanted one where I could call my Mom in America. So I got a cheap phone with an international plan.

 

Ever since I started dating Dave he made fun of the fact that I had a tiny wimpy phone (see above). Lately he is getting more persistent about getting me a better phone. He's a guy who likes gadgets and I don't care. So today I finally gave in a let him buy me a new phone (see below). It could do fancy things with it, but I won't.  I was hoping for a pretty phone, too bad they were out of all the colors and only had black and white.

BD2...finally

Last night Dave and I went to Nottingham so I could watch Breaking Dawn 2 with my friend Karen (pronounce her name as Kar-en, not Ka-ren, she was the photographer for our wedding). Dave went to see Argo with Karen's husband Duane, they said it was good.  

My Mom gave me and Sara (my sister-in-law) the first Twilight book for Christmas 2006. Now that the books and movies are done, Karen and I sat there and said "What do we do now?" We have been anxiously waiting for each book/movie for a while and now they are all done. What will become the new obsession? Hunger Games? The Hobbit? Avengers et al? 

Imagine Dragons

Last night Dave and I went to the Imagine Dragons concert. 

I saw them on BYUtv (since we got rid of cable tv we watch everything on the internet) on the show Audiofiles. 

I haven't been to a concert for a while, so it was fun to go to this smaller venue in Oxford. Dave and I really like Oxford. It's closer to a normal town, like Provo. Here in Walsall the town dies at 5pm. There were people still out and about after the concert at 10pm. The lead singer announced they were coming back in April, we are waiting for the tickets to be available so we can plan on going. 

Thankful

I've seen on facebook people posting what they are thankful for each day. I thought I would do just one list here on the blog.

1. Dave. I'm so glad I get to spend the rest of eternity with him!
2. I am thankful for some awesome family vacations to Waterton National Park in Alberta, Canada.
3. The summer I lived in Hawaii I lived in Hauula and worked in Honolulu. Such a beautiful drive.
4. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had of serving as a missionary to South Africa. 
5. I am thankful for the hard work and learning experiences of grad school both at BYU and the University of Wolverhampton. And for all the dancers who participate in my research!
6. I am thankful for the gospel principle of free agency.
7. I am so grateful for the sacrifices and decisions of my ancestors. I am always in awe of how a decision my ancestors made 175 years ago to join the church can affect my life!
8. These three are just too cute to not add to this list! I'm so glad I get to be their Aunt Teri :) 

This is my list for now...

One of those days

Monday was a little...exciting, stressful, worrying...with turning in Dave's I-130 spouse visa application and my nephew's school in safety mode.

We finally got the application all put together and mailed it to the London Embassy. I had to make a copy of my student visa to prove that I have been in the UK for more than six months so that we could do the application process through the Embassy or else we would have had to send it to Chicago. It's nice to know the application is done and out of our hands. Now to pray the person who reads the applications likes ours and moves us onto the next phase.

My cutie 5-year-old nephew is now in kindergarten and on Monday the police attempted to serve a warrant at a home near my nephew's school. The man aimed a shotgun at a police officer, so a standoff started. Neighbors were evacuated and the school was put in safe mode. Lock down is when the kids have to stay in their classrooms and safe mode is when they can move around in the school, but can't leave. So my nephew stayed at school all day and got to eat lunch with the big kids. I however got a little nervous when I heard about it. As a former teacher and current student, I have been through evacuations and lock downs for real and practice at various times. I'm use to it, but this is my cutie 5-year-old nephew's first time. He's too little, cute, and innocent to have to be around crazy people! Hopefully he doesn't have to do that again until he is in high school.

Normal pt 2

Normal has become a swear word in our house. Dave and I had our first appointment a month ago with the fertility specialist (FINALLY!!!) and they redid all the tests again . . . and again everything is normal. They couldn't do a hysterosalpingography on me, so a laparoscopy has been scheduled for January. Until then I am taking clomid. I have never taken anything more than 800 mg of ibuprofen, so I was really nervous about taking a drug that has at least 7 side effects: hot flashes, bloating and abdominal discomfort, weight gain, mood swings, nausea/dizziness, headaches, abnormal menstrual bleeding, and twins/multiple pregnancies. I had a mild mood swing on the first day with Dave (thank Heavens it wasn't anywhere else) and on day 2 and 3 I had a very low grade headache. Otherwise everything is good so far, but one of the things I have not been able to find out is how long the side effects are suppose to last; only while I am taking the med or for longer? However, I really don't see twins/multiples as a side effect. I would love to have twins/multiples, then we have our family in one pregnancy! Awesome!

PB Frederick Young Jensen Jr

Apparently I haven't posted a copy of my Great-Grandpa, Frederick Young Jensen Jr's PB yet. I've posted about Fredrick's wife Madora previously, but haven't said much about him. I do remember him because he didn't die until 1978. At the end he lived with my Grandpa's brother Neal, who also lives in Centerville, Utah. My only memory of him is when me, Corey, my Mom, and Grandpa went over to Uncle Neal's house to visit and he had a big bag of popcorn he shared with me and Corey. I just thought he was a nice old man, until years later I saw a picture of us eating popcorn together and my Mom said he was my Great-Grandpa.

This is at my brother Corey's baby blessing, Great Grandpa Jensen is holding Corey. I am the blonde on the left on the ground, my cousin Konda in the middle, and Konda's brother Chris on the right. Chris and I are the same age and Konda is a year younger than me.

PB Jensen/Spackman

Just so my Jensen and Spackman side of the family knows, here is a final list of PB's (if you want copies let me know):

Jensen

1.       Edward Quinn Jensen 1939 Monticello and 1933 Blanding

2.      Fredrick Young Jensen Jr 1938

3.      Madora Laverna Rogerson Jensen 1901 Monticello

4.     SarahJane Perkins Rogerson 1875 Parowan

5.      John Edward Rogerson 1901 Monticello

6.      Jane Benson Perkins 1896 Manti

7.      Christen Jensen 1877 Ephraim

8.     Kirsten Marie Johansen Jensen 1877 Ephraim

Spackman

1.       Joyce Lucille Spackman Jensen 1936 Raymond

2.      Amy Clarissa Neal Spackman 1921 Stirling

3.      Sarah Ann Criddle Spackman 1899 Farmington

4.     Thomas Spackman 1909 Stirling

5.      Christina Elizabeth Mattson Bohman (but name on PB is Christinna E Greenburg) 1862 GSLCity

6.      Mary Ann Bull Criddle 

7.      Clemency Litten Casper Neel 1837 Kirtland Ohio

8.     William Stevens 1869 GSLCity

9.     Edmund Walker 1872 Peoa Utah

10. Maria Antoinette Swallow Walker 1872 Peoa Utah

No PB

1.       Alfred Bohman

2.      William Henry Spackman

3.      Cora Caroline Walker Neel

4.     John Marion Neel

5.      Thomas Alfred Spackman

6.      Axie Matilda Bohman Spackman

7.      John Perkins

8.     Henry Criddle

9.     Johan/John Larsson Bohman

10. Maria Christina Gavert Bohman

11.    Mattias Anderson

12.   Elizabeth Larsdotter Anderson

13.   John Austin Neel

14.  Ellen Christiana Stevens Neel

15.   John Neel Sr

16.   Rebecca Guess Neel

17.   William Casper

18.  Avarilla Nancy Durbin Casper

19.  John Neel Jr

20.  Emma Crowden Stevens

21.   Thomas Henry Wright

22. Elizabeth Barrett Wright

23. Walter Pharas Walker

24. Charlotte Wright Walker

25.  Frederick Young Jensen Sr

26. Else Marie Andersen Jensen

27. Jens Christian Andersen

28. C/Kathrine Marie Christensen Andersen

Christen and Kirsten Marie Johansen Jensen PB

Christen and Kirsten Marie Johansen Jensen are my 3rd Great Grandparents from Denmark. The first missionaries arrived in Copenhagen in 1850, but my ancestors are from the northern area of Denmark called Hjorring (don't ask me how to pronounce because I will get it wrong), so they weren't baptized until 1853. I'm not exactly sure when they emigrated to the Utah Territory because it was after the railroad arrived in 1868 and their 8th child, a daughter Anna was born in 1870 in Denmark. I do know that their 6th son Frederick, my 2nd Great Grandfather, stayed behind to do missionary work before joined his family in Utah. 

Prior to 1850 Danish last names were done by patronymics, which is the first name of the father was the last name of the children and in Denmark the last names were done by -sen (-son in Norway and Sweden). Daughters had the last name of -datter, so Kirsten was really Johandatter. But after 1850 all the last names were the same from parent to child, thus my Mom's side of the family are known as the Jensen's because Christen's father was Jens Pedersen. Christen and Kirsten were married in 1843 and had eight children, so the older children have a last name of Christensen, but Frederick was born in 1857, has the last name of Jensen. 

Christen and Kirsten's PB both say they are from the tribe of Ephraim, which is the first PB I've come across that says that. The others either didn't say it or used flowery language. In Christen's I do like the part on page 1 that says, "you have received a companion of your youth she shall prove a source of comfort and blessing unto you all her days." In Kirsten's it says, "The Lord loveth thee because of they integrity." They both say that they will some day receive their temple blessings, which was done in 1878 in the Endowment House. 

Christen's PB page 1 taken in Ephraim, Utah

 Christen's PB page 2

 Kirsten's PB, both took place on 8 January 1877

Quoted

I've had this chill Sunday, so I go on facebook to see if my Mom is on to say Hi. Instead I see that the University of Wolverhampton press office got a quick quote from my professor about my research because one of the celebrities on Strictly Come Dancing has a neck injury. They don't even bother to reference that it is my research and when I emailed my professor about it he said the press office added the false info about the Jive into it! And now I see the Daily Mail has quoted it! Granted the Daily Mail is just a gossip magazine, but still GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT!!! No wonder I got a notice from Academia.edu that someone had looked up my research a couple of days ago! I don't even know if Denise Van Otten really has my hyperextension neck injury (I call it HNI for short)! Ugh, I'm so annoyed that they don't even say it was MY research!

Dave's Visa

See that pile of papers above my blue folder and yellow pen? That is everything we have collected for Dave's visa application. Letters from family and friends, marriage and sealing certificate, birth certificates, government forms, blog posts, twitter messages, text messages, etc. All we have to do is take new passport pictures and copies of our passports to add to this small dead tree. Too bad the government won't accept electronic applications yet. If we are killing a small tree for Dave's application think of how many people apply for visas and how many trees altogether we are killing just for visas!

Plus we have been married for 18 months today!

Can't wait until we are all back together again!!!

Shabby Apple

I wanna win one year's worth of Shabby Apple dresses!!! I am going to graduate with my PhD soon and I need pretty new professor dresses! Thanks!

President Monson's Big Announcement!

President Thomas S. Monson, the Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced this morning that the minimum age requirement for Sister Missionaries has been lowered to 19 starting today!!! I had to wait until I was 21 years old to serve a mission. I felt like I wasted three years of my life waiting to turn 21 before I could go on a mission. Yea, I was going to school, at BYU and Snow, but I also had two more years after mission, so I really could have done all my university education after mission if I would have been allowed to go at 19. I really feel like my life started after mission, the really interesting/cool stuff that is. If I could have gone at 19 my life would have started two years sooner. President Monson made a plea 2 years ago for more missionaries. There was a 12% increase in Sister Missionaries! What do you think the increase will be now?

During the press conference, after the announcement during General Conference, Elder Jeffery R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stated, "God is hastening his work. And he needs more and more willing worthy missionaries to spread the light and the truth and the hope and the salvation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to an often dark and fearful world. In the vernacular of the day, this announcement I say to these young people is not about you. It is about the sweet and the pure message you are being asked to bear and the ever greater numbers God needs to bear it." So if you are wondering why change now? This is why. If that statement didn't make the hairs on your neck stand up, it should have. One more step closer to the Second Coming.

One of the reporters asked about earlier Relief Society experience for these future Sister Missionaries. I've thought about that for a while now. The Young Men are expected to help with Home Teaching, so the Young Women should be expected to help with Visiting Teaching too! I also have thought that Regional YW leaders are needed too, especially in areas where there are not as many experienced YW leaders. When inexperienced ward and stake YW leaders have questions, who do they turn to? Their Bishop or Stake President who also have no experience in YW's? There needs to be a intermediate between the General YW Presidency and Stake YW Presidencies. Maybe have the Mission President's wife be the intermediary?

Pictures of me in the South Africa Cape Town Mission:

The seven Sister Missionaries in East London with President and Sister Markus and Elder Christofel Golden (he was announced as the first South African member of the Quorum of the Seventy a couple of weeks after this picture was taken)

Sisters Proctor, Moliga, and I at the East London chapel

Karen and Duane's wedding at the Port Elizabeth chapel

 First time at the Addo Elephant Park outside Port Elizabeth

 Linda's birthday dinner with Sisters Nicolaou and Van Dyke

 Waterfall near King William's Town with Sister Moliga

 Typical African tree, in East London

 Ostrich farm near Paarl

 Making funny faces at Sister Truter

 Teaching English at a township school near Port Elizabeth

 Monster motorcycle in Port Elizabeth with Sister Minster

 Seaview Game Park near Port Elizabeth (btw, giraffes are awesome!)

 Playing cricket at the township school near Port Elizabeth

 Holding baby lions at Seaview Game Park near Port Elizabeth

 Port Elizabeth chapel with Sister Robbins

 At the beach with Sister den Dulk near Port Elizabeth

 President and Sister Armstrong, my first Mission President

Storms River Bridge near the Tsitsikamma National Park