September 11

One highlight of September was our trip as a family to the Healing Fields in honor of September 11.  We have done this every year for the past 8 years and are grateful that so many volunteers make this possible each year.  What a beautiful place to go to remember and reflect about September 11.  I consider it one of my responsibilities as a parent to help my children understand the importance of that day.  They need to understand that the power of hate is real, and that if you succumb to hatred only darkness and sorrow will result.  More importantly, they need to know that whenever hate roars its ugly head, the powers of righteousness and love will always make an appearance to combat the horrors of hatred.  Amidst the backdrop of tragedy, the hope of the Gospel shines ever so bright.  Sorrow seems to make our Christian sensibilities more acute, and causes us to cling more powerfully to that which is most important, and see the goodness in others as they do the same.

Below is a new addition to the Healing Fields this year.  This field in Sandy has been the home to the Healing Fields since they began, and this was the first Healing Field in America that inspired dozens others that now occur across the country.  This year they unveiled this new, massive bronze statue honoring the fallen responders of that day.  This is one of the iconic images seared into our memory from that day.

At the fields this year they also had a piece of actual debris from Ground Zero; a piece of steel from one of the Twin Towers.  To touch that steel, twisted by the heat of hatred yet preserved to honor the heroes, was an amazing experience.  I closed my eyes and reflected on the events the occurred around this very piece of steel on September 11, 2001.  It was an amazing experience.

September 11 will always be one of the most important days of my life for the ways it affected me then in becoming the person I am today.  One reason is that I was nearing the end of my mission in Korea and that added a unique perspective to my experiences on September 11.  Not only was I a missionary, preaching a Gospel of love and peace, but I was far away from my home, an American living on the foreign soil of South Korea.  My journals are full of my thoughts from those dark days, but this year, on the 10th anniversary, I have begun to recount my recollections of that week and how they have impacted me and continue to influence me still, 10 years on.  With kids of my own, I want them to understand why I will act the way I do the entire week leading up to September 11.  Why all the documentaries?  Family Home Evening lessons on selflessness, heroes, and miracles?  Why the emotional distance in moments of reflection?  My emotions are certainly close to the surface for many days during that time, and often overflow with tears as I watch the numerous documentaries recounting the stories of survival, sacrifice, miracles, and heroism.  I'm not done with my recollections yet, but will include the first paragraph here:

"As I laid down my head to rest in my small home as a missionary in Seoul, South Korea, on September 11, 2001, the people in the land I call home were just rising to begin their day I was now ending.  Following a day of hard work and joy as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I anticipated another day full of joy in the service of my Lord.  Completely unaware of the horror that was just beginning to unfold half way across the world, I slept that night with a peace….with a contentment….that I would never experience again; with a heart light in its naiveté of the true level of evil that existed in the world.  A heart that would soon be weighed down with a sorrow and comprehension from which it would never again be free.  As Americans awoke to the horrors of evil, I enjoyed my last night in the world as we would never know it again..."

A Quick Update

So the past 6 months have been so crazy that when I remembered I hadn't updated our blog earlier today I actually forgot what our address was!  Crazy times, indeed.

Today is Ryker's 6 month birthday.  What a joy the past 6 months have been, but they've gone TOO fast!  I wish I could freeze Ryker in time for a little while before letting him grow again.  But at that rate, I'd die of old age before he even got his driver's license.  I'd be stopping him growing too often!  I want to do the same thing with our other boys.  Being a parent truly is the greatest source of joy that Alice and I are blessed with.  Aside from each other and the Gospel, our boys bring the greatest joy in our lives.  Tommy and Jonas love their little brother.  Last week I asked Tommy what he wanted to take to bed for his ni-night toy and he said "Ryker!"  Tommy is giving Ryker hugs and kisses all day every day.  And Jonas loves being a "big brother" after a couple of years of being the little brother.  Isn't it amazing how at any given moment of any day you can just look at your kids and be immediately overcome with so much joy and gratitude that you just stop what you're doing and stare?  Yeah, I love those moments.

Despite all that has gone on the last 6 months, I won't provide a fully detailed update now (it's too late, I should be in bed).  We have had our fair share of challenges these past few months, and have dealt with more stressor events than I think we have at any other period in our 8 years of marriage.  At least no amount of stress can prevent the sun from setting each night and rising again in the morning, and no degree of challenge can change the innocence, virtue, and beauty of our children.  They're like built-in daily motivation to help us forget about our trials.  And General Conference last weekend was awesome...how about Elder Cook bringing the Titanic into Conference?  I about leapt off the couch!  It's been 9 years since our last Titanic reference in Conference, we were overdue for another.  And I'll quit yakking now and throw some pictures in this post before I go to bed.  After all, that's really why you check this blog, right?  For those updated pictures of those darn cute kids!

Ryker McKay Jensen

Time to blow the dust off this blog and get things going again. After all, isn't the birth of our third son reason enough to break out the 'ol keyboard again? Ryker McKay was born on April 11 at 6:38 AM. He weighed 8 lbs. 6 oz.. Today was his scheduled birthday--Alice was scheduled for a C-section this morning, but he came 8 days early!

So far, he has been our easiest baby (knock on wood). He was fussy at the hospital due to gas, but has totally mellowed out since coming home. He eats, sleeps, and just quietly sits around when he's awake. He has already smiled a ton and his brothers just adore him. Tommy and Jonas are always following him and then giving him hugs and kisses whenever he is within their reach.

We thought of the name Ryker McKay several months ago, though we didn't finalize it as his name until 3 days after he was born. Our main other choice was Hyrum, as I've always wanted a Hyrum and it has taken me several years to convince Alice to let me use that name (that's why Tommy and Jonas aren't Hyrum, Alice wasn't yet sold on using such a classic yet strong name). As this is our third boy, it may potentially be our last boy or even last child. With Alice having to have C-sections, the number of kids we can have is limited depending on how well her scar tissue heals from each C-section. Due to that fact, I simply wanted to be sure that we could potentially let Hyrum go as a name. Though we eventually settled on Ryker, we both agreed that if we have another boy it will be Hyrum.

Another reason for the hold-up was that the name Hyrum has a lot of meaning behind it, whereas Ryker simply sounds cool. Both Thomas and Jonas have names that have significance behind them in our families as well as the meaning of the name itself. With Ryker, we actually got led to that name through the middle name, which has more significance. McKay is his middle name, and it is after David O. McKay. I did a good amount of research about President McKay about 2 years ago and was amazed at his remarkable life. During the course of my research, I thought it would be appropriate to use the name McKay for a future son. Alice agreed, and about a year later she came home and said "How about Ryker McKay?" The two seemed to go together really good, and so we have held onto it for a while.

After 8 days, mother and baby are doing good. Alice is recovering nicely and Ryker is a truly wonderful addition to our home. Thank you everyone for your well wishes!

Hiking the Alps...Right in Utah

My friend and I hiked the peak known as the Pfeifferhorn as well as the Little Matterhorn. It is so called for its resemblance to the high and rocky peaks of the Matterhorn and other high peaks in the Alps. While not the highest peak in the local Lone Peak Wilderness range (that's Mt. Timpanogos), it is a much more grueling and, as such, a much more rewarding hike than the busy trails leading to Timp.

We took off early in the morning and made great time, reaching the mid way point at Red Pine Lake in only a couple hours (the Lake from my last posting, with Alice). The Lake is the midway point distance wise, although timewise and elevation wise it's not even a third of the challenge. There are no trails or markers past the lake that lead the way. It was quite a challenge but quite exhilirating. Much of it involved climbing up huge talus fields and large boulders, moving at a snail's pace to avoid tripping or twisting your foot and tumbling on some of the razor sharp rock edges. Once we reached the saddle, we could see the peak in the distance and we both thought it would be impossible to reach. It looked quite daunting and we both began having second doubts about completing what we set out to do, quickly justifying the hike as already rewarding enough. We pushed on nonetheless, admitting that we would turn around if we felt like it. Well, that never came and as we got closer it looked challenging, but we pushed on. Much of the climb is on slopes that are well over 50 degrees, you were nearly laying on the ground while vertically ascending. The view, however, was awesome. We even got cell phone reception from the top! We were also comforted by several large alpine valleys nearby suitable for a LifeFlight landing if the need arose.
After enjoying the view, we began our descent. This is where some poor decisions led to some sticky situations and a potential overnighter in the middle of the wilderness. More on that to come....

A Day Without the Kids!

And what do we do? A difficult hike that we couldn't possibly do with them! It was a strenuous hike that climbed 2500 feet in 2.5 miles but it was well worth it. Not only were the views along the entire trail gorgeous, but once we reached Red Alpine Lake we felt extremely fulfilled for the great efforts we exerted to get to the top. We had planned on hiking to the summit of a peak called the Pfeifferhorn, but Alice was just too exhausted to go any further so we enjoyed lunch and some leisure time exploring around the lake and enjoying its beauty. By the way, the water was WAY green, the pictures don't do the color justice.

Jesus or George Washington?

So this morning I gave Tommy an Independence Day gift of a George Washington gold dollar on a special matte with information about our first President. In my efforts to be a productive father, I figured I would take advantage of the opportunity to begin teaching Tommy about our country and the President's who have served it. It went well and he had good recall about what I taught him. A short time later, in my fatherly pride, I called the grandparents to show off my son's new found knowledge of naming the first President of our country. After asking Tommy the question and handing over the phone, he proudly declared that our first President was "Jesus!" Somewhat surprised, I asked him again, to which he gave me the same response. When I tried to correct him by saying "George Washington was our first President," he quite firmly and with great confidence assured me, "No daddy, it was Jesus." And thus throughout the day, Tommy has been telling us that Jesus was our first President. Apparently we are one nation much more under God than we initially believed.

ANSWER: The absolute BEST television show of all time IS......

THE WONDER YEARS! Unfortunately, this isn't on any TV stations right now and there are no plans to bring it out in any format for the consumer to purchase. It probably won't be available to buy for a long time. The difficulty is due to all of the great music in every episode, it's way too expensive to buy the rights to sell the episodes with the original music. Too bad, although I have the entire series on my computer hard drive, and YES, it pretty much takes up all my space. I recorded all the episodes a few years back when it was being re-run on ION television.

Anyways, isn't this just a classic show? There are so many feel good, warm and fuzzy moments, and they outnumber any awkward or uncomfortable moments about a hundred to one. What junior high guy didn't have a crush on Winnie Cooper? And what girl didn't have a crush on Paul....okay, well, maybe not that many. But didn't Kevin's relationships with his family just mirror our own? His less than perfect family was just that, less than perfect and so they were much more easy to relate to. Remember the episode called "Heroes," where the basketball star befriends Kevin and yet by the end of the episode, Kevin and his dad are sharing a soda at a restaurant and Kevin reflects on why his dad is his hero? And who can forget Mr. Collins, the beloved math teacher. My favorite episode of the series is the one where he takes Kevin under his wing and then passes away unbeknownst to Kevin who turns bitter due to a missed study session and intentionally fails his math test. Yet, Mr. Collins made it possible for Kevin to retake his test and once he finishes it, he tells the principal, "You don't have to grade it, it's an A." Then, when walking out of the room, he turns to the desk and tells the empty chair, "Good job, Mr. Collins." (Geez, I'm getting a little misty-eyed just typing about it).We need more shows about real life, not television life. Shows that, at their heart, are not only about the relationships of the characters they portray, but try to make those relationships easily applicable to the lives of the viewers as well. The Wonder Years was a show that almost helped you growing up, and then when viewing it later it causes you to swell with nostalgia and feel overcome with gratitude for all the good that was around us during our lives growing up. And yeah, it even helped us remember the bad times but also what we learned from them. This is a show that I am looking forward to watching with my own kids as they grow up and I hope they learn a thing or two about how to live a good life and not expect everything to be perfect, but realize that it can at least be good despite what goes on around us.