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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Thursday, March 31, 2011

A highly random and unimportant poll

Here it is:

Are hot dogs and bologna made of the same stuff? Or, to put it differently, are hot dogs basically little tubes of bologna?

I say no.

David emphatically says yes.

Discuss. The more rationalizations you can come up with, the better.

(And yes, these are the kinds of conversations we get into all the time. It's fun to live at our house! :)

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Today's Bible Lesson

If you've got 7 minutes, this will make your day.  It is just too cute.



She's got it figured out.  Kinda makes you want to love your neighbor, doesn't it?
Dad

Sunday, March 20, 2011

What happened at your house this week?

So, at 299 S. 20th it was a busy week.  Dad worked on the crib, I went to quilt night.  Had a RS birthday party, commemorating the birth of Relief Society 169 years ago, picked out carpet for the office, kind of decided on new waiting room chairs, went to Utah for my friend Terri Meldrum, now Robert's sealing.  Dana and Jason came home for the weekend, bringing their adorable children.  probably more, can't remember.    AND!!!! Jackson (the cute little guy on the right) celebrated his 5th birthday on Wednesday.

What did the rest of you do?

xoxoxo Mom

Friday, March 11, 2011

There's a Suburban in my Waiting Room

So, some of you may have heard this news already.  You think you've seen it all, and then one day you find out you were wrong.  It was a relatively quiet morning on what is usually the busiest day at Valley Foot and Ankle.  I was treating a patient in a back room when I heard a low rumbling sound followed by horrifying screams.  I ran to the front, and this is what I saw:

It was like one of those weird dreams where you wake up the next morning and think, "Hmm, that was strange."  The persistent screaming from patients, office staff, etc. assured me however, that it was not a dream.  It was so persistent that I was sure someone was trapped underneath the vehicle, but no, most of it was coming from the driver who still behind the wheel, was emotionally distraught, but otherwise unhurt.  Attempting to park in front of the office, her foot had slipped off the brake and hit the gas.  Literally seconds earlier, there had been two women sitting in the chairs you see just below the vehicle, but one had been called back to a treatment room and the other decided to go to the restroom.

Were it not for their timely departure from their seats, they would have been goners, and this otherwise frightening occurrence would have been a tragedy.  Of course, mom, who is now managing the office, called 911, and before long there were police, rescue personnel and media people everywhere.

There was only one other young patient in the waiting room at the time, sitting in a corner chair just to the right of the bumper.  He was sprayed with glass shards, but since the vehicle entered at an angle, he was otherwise untouched.  The vehicle stopped within an inch of the reception desk, trapping him into the corner, but he was able to get out by climbing over the hood. Two weeks ago while having nail surgery in my office, he had received a cell call offering him a new sports writer job at an Iowa newspaper, and after this follow-up appointment, he planned to drive out there to his new life.  Looks like he's still good to go.  As I was helping him over the hood of the car, he expressed appreciation for all the interesting experiences he had been through in my office.  Never a dull moment.

Outside, the Suburban had gone between a tree and a concrete pillar, and made direct impact with the window, barely missing adjacent bearing structure and brick walls.

The beefy header above the window stopped the forward motion, essentially preventing the vehicle from going completely into the office and through the reception wall, behind which staff were sitting a couple of employees with lots of electronic equipment there.  Lots of near-misses.  Damage to the building is significant, but not structural - mostly glass and stucco.The best part: miraculously, no one was injured.
The fire department extracted the vehicle, a restoration company was there within a half hour to clean up the mess, and we went on with our day's schedule, just a little more grateful for life, and a little more sure that we are all watched over....

...and we got a little more fresh air in the office.  We also got a little free (?) publicity out of the matter - front page of today's Idaho State Journal. Here's the article/video

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Evening Antics



Hi, everyone. Not a lot to report here. It is "Spring Break" at JMU, but really all that means is that I dont have classes to teach. Instead, I am cleaning up a really, really, REALLY over-used Genetics lab and a terribly abused micro lab. There is one professor (who incidentally did not teach last semester) who has not trained his students to clean up after themselves. So, it is scrubbing floors and the like for my spring break. Ugh. The good news is that I am not going in until 10, so that is a super benefit. We will likely be moving next week if we can get a lot of things to fall into place. Valerie is super-excited about more room. I am more than a little emotional about leaving here... but it is what it is, I am trying to make myself not dwell. Not so excited about dealing with baby gates and stairs, very excited about screened-in back porch and no "great room." NEVER again, NEVER will I want one in my home. Ugh.

Asher is talking so much more lately. It is incredible, in fact. I had been seriously worried about autism because he would just stare at me blankly- even 6 weeks ago. His speech pathologist has been very good at casting those fears aside. Asher does need speech therapy, but not because of a mental development or cognitive delay (hallelujah!). I remember when he was a screaming baby, I could not even give him a pacifier because he could not keep it in his mouth. Whatever muscles are required to keep a pacifier in were not developed- that is absolutely related to his speaking and eating difficulties. He was/is still eating baby food purees and having bits of fruit in yogurt is enough to make him throw up... It explains so much, but still, to see the amazing speech strides he has made is truly mind-boggling. This week, he has started repeating me. That always makes me laugh. Again, this is something he should have been doing months ago, but he wasn't, so it makes it all the more monumental and exciting for me. He is a great, lovable, happy boy. He is full of energy and runs everywhere (and falls because of it). He is a joy and he does keep me busy. His personality is something that makes every person we meet fall in love with him- and make us lots of friends. Really and truly, he is one special kiddo. We are so lucky to have him.

Valerie is starting high school next year- she signed up for Latin which made me very happy. Somehow, she did not realize it, but I was quite the Latin scholar back in high school. I had 5 years and competed nationally in translation and oration ;-) I am excited about that for sure! She also had a fantastic time in Florida 3 weeks ago, although I think we are all still recovering from the 2 am departure and 3 am arrival ;-)

I can not believe how late Easter is this year! Does anyone celebrate Lent and/or Holy Week? I actually definitely include it in our family because I think those traditions are beautiful and so special.

I would love to know how everyone is doing! It seems like everyone has a lot of excitement going on!
Leslie and Alex with the baby at the same time as opening a "taco truck"
Becky and Ray with the upswing of business into the spring and Grace's baptism
Colin and Lori with the move to Washington and selling their Cleveland house
Dana and Jason as they settle back into their most-favorite town on earth and selling the Texas house
Abby and David as they get through long business trips
David and Debby in terms of getting water to the cabin...

There is a lot going on. How is everyone?