HISTORY

A Little History:
Our story begins in Pocatello, Idaho, circa 1972, when the lovely Debby Christensen agreed to a first, though fateful date with admirer, David Croshaw. Long story-short, he bade her follow him, and they went arm-in-arm to the Logan, Utah temple for establishment of an eternal family unit, Generation 1, on May 23 1973.

From their first blissful summer in Salt Lake City, educational pursuits took them to Provo/Orem, Utah, birthplace of Leslie and Rebecca, and to San Francisco/Oakland California, birthplace of Colin and Matt. Then, for establishment of livelihood, expansion of the tribe with Abby and Dana, and for raising/unifying of Generation 2, it was back to the roots in Pocatello for a rewarding sojourn.

In time, driven by a raging, but commonly shared sense of adventure and independence, one-by-one, Generation 2 escaped the homeland to distant regions of the country and the world, each ultimately developing their own tribal expansions by pairing with worthy mates and initiating Generation 3.

Now sensing fulfillment of their purpose in Pocatello, Generation 1 has also left those roots and transplanted to Cascade Idaho, from which base, they anticipate more abundant contact with The Posterity, Generations 2 and 3, in the future. That contact however, awaits fulfillment of a call to LDS missionary service in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, wherein they hope to help the state of the world by sharing the love of Jesus Christ.

So now, including Generation 0 (Grandma and Grandpa Christensen) home base includes Yuma, Arizona, Pocatello, Idaho, Cascade, Idaho, Vancouver, BC, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Spokane, Washington, Boise, Idaho, Los Angeles, California, back to Boise, Idaho, and on and on (Generation 3+) to infinity.

Our Mission Statement:
This is the blog of our eternal family unit. Initiated years ago, it served well as a journal, but even more so, as an archive of our personal interaction. It was a gathering place, a confabulation instrument, a unifying force for four generations of widely dispersed and progressively prolific posterity, and their valued associates. Though it served these purposes well for many years, it eventually took a back seat to new-kids-on-the-block, Facebook, and Instagram, and was sadly forgotten.

We now move to resurrect this blog with an added functional purpose of archiving the missionary experiences of Generation 1, of their movements and activities as they participate with The Gathering of Israel in the land northward. In so doing, we hope that via their own comments and posts, this blog will again serve to gather and unify the posterity and their friends.

As in the past, that the young and vibrant may know the old and tired, that enduring bonds may be fostered and maintained, that experience and encouragement may be openly shared, that posterity may embrace truth, and that hearts may be knit together, we must resist detachment despite our geographic divergence. We shall do so here.
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Wednesday, May 12, 2010

To My Adorable Mother's Day Baby--Happy Birthday Leslie

What a beautiful baby she was.  This is one of my very, very favorite photos of Leslie and Grandma Croshaw.

It is not often that we got a picture of Leslie actually smiling.  It is also quite adorable of Matt and Colin.  Must have been some celebration for Becky--two days late?  I don't remember that.    I don't see a cake either.  Anyway, I am happy that Leslie looks happy here at the old homestead on Rainier.  I definitely don't remember that chandelier.
What a great time we always had at Lake Powell.  I think this was the trip before Leslie and Molly left on their missions.  I am loving the looks of that warm weather.  This was pre-Leslie seeing the WHOLE world!
Actually, Leslie is really quite pleasant looking in this photo, as well.  Becky and Abby are, of course, smiling.  I think we were at Big Sky, but it could have been Redfish Lake.  A very young David.




Finally, a shot of some of the family in Canada.  We went to a podiatry meeting in Calgary (cal-Gary) with the Charlie Call family.  We also went to the Calgary Stampede.  It was the time I woke up screaming when Becky came into our room in the motor home,  same trip where Abby got the V scar on her leg.  Here is Les, in her groovy Birkenstocks enjoying the family.  She did love to read, and yet is still having quality family time.

We all wish you a happy birthday.  You have enriched all of our lives.  You set a wonderful example for all of your siblings, and for your parents, too.  We love you, and wish we could be with you on this special day.  xoxoxoxoxo from 20th Ave in Pocatello.
Love, 
Mom and Dad

8 comments:

David and Debby said...

Leslie, on that fateful Mothers' Day so many years ago, you also made me a father. I'm not sure I comprehended the full meaning of that designation at the time, but I very much do now. What a ride it has been!... and continues to be! I love the old photos of all you kids. I am very much in awe of our family as it exists today. It is seriously, just amazing and gratifying - where we have gone and what we have become. You have been a part of it all since about the second year. The memories will always be there. The future will always be there. The posterity - the generations will be infinite.

By the way, you do smile a lot more as an adult. Something about being a teenager makes people unhappy.
I love you,
Dad

Jason and Dana said...

Hey, I think we have an identical chandelier in our living/dining room that hasn't been replaced yet. Awesome. I also have a really similar picture of Eva with Grandma Croshaw (mom) at the piano! I'll put it up soon.
Happy Birthday Leslie!!! I really appreciate how close we've been able to become, even though it wasn't always that way when we were growing up. Mom and dad have got to be so immensely proud of you and the example you set for all of us younger sibs. I couldn't ask for a better first-born-sibling. Seriously. You set the bar high for the rest of us. I love you Leslie, I hope your birthday in Mexico is chock full of pampering. Can't wait to see you!

Crystal said...

Leslie! Thank you for always, always being kind to me (that I KNOW of ;-) and for being so easy to look up to. Honestly, you are an example of every good thing and none of the bad. I could learn so much from you... And I have... if I could only REMEMBER it.

You are a beautiful, kind, wonderful, giving, brilliant, good woman. I love that you are so articulate and thoughtful. I had no idea you were born on Mother's Day!! Have you had many birthdays fall on the day since your birth?

abbynormal said...

Leslie, I just look up to you so much. You're pretty much the best oldest sister I've ever had. So many of the things I've seen and done over the last several years have been done with the mentality that Leslie has walked in these shoes...what would she do? Life doesn't control Leslie - Leslie controls life. I'm excited to see where you take life next.

I hope you had a cumpleanos feliz en Mexico. I can't wait to see you. xoxox

Colin & Lori said...

That Lake Powell trip was the really fun one with the Knapp's, 3 of Leslie's friends and Shannah. That was fun! Glad you are the big sister and such a great example to Colin growing up. You are a wonderful Aunt and sister-in-law. We love you and hope your birthday was fun!!

rebeccaV said...

Happy Birthday, Les! Sorry I'm late. You are such a wonderful sister, I'm so lucky to have you to look up to! I could say lots more great stuff about you, but my brain doesn't work well at the end of the day! I love you!

rebeccaV said...

PS-you are totally channeling Naomi in that top picture with Grandma :)

Leslie said...

Thanks everyone! I feel so loved. :-)

I loved the pictures mom, even though I wasn't such an attractive kid. I was a little too self-conscious, it's true, but I've also faced reality about not being photogenic.

Dad, thanks for the nice message. It has been a great ride, hasn't it?

Dana, it has been so much fun growing closer the last few years. I think Heavenly Father put us within 5 hours of each other on purpose.

Crystal, thanks for the sweet message! I think I've had maybe 3 birthdays total on Mother's Day.

Abba dabba, now roles are reversed and you're the one with the life I'm envious of! I'm so excited to see where you go (figuratively speaking).

Lori, that was such a fun trip to Lake Powell. It's wired to think there were no little kids in our family at that point in time.

Bec, I actually thought that in that first picture I looked like Asher, but it could probably be any number of the Croshaw posterity. Alex said I look like Dana in some of the others.