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, September 29, 2011

My Wonderful Mother and Father, Your Sweet Grandmother and Grandfather


Hi Everyone,

I was thinking about my Mom and Dad, and wanted to tell all of you a few things.  First of all, a couple of weeks ago Grandma and Grandpa really wanted to go to the temple.  They had not been able to go most of the summer because Grandpa was in the hospital and rehab.  Both Gerald and I talked to them about possibly going with us, but they just really wanted to go, and so, one afternoon they went to the Idaho Falls Temple.  They each had a walker that they had to get out of the car, and the ramp up to the temple is not a short distance.  They got up the ramp, also carrying Grandpa's cane for inside the temple.  They both got ready, and did a session.  When it was over they took both of their walkers back to the car, put them in the trunk and went home.  That is the kind of people they are.  Was it easy?  convenient? comfortable?  None of the above.  But they were compelled because of their faith to go to the temple and show Heavenly Father and us that that is where their hearts are.  That is what they want to be doing in the sunset hours of their lives.
 Pretty remarkable.  

Then, this week, they had some plumbing problems.  This was the third time the plumber came this month, in fact.  Kind of expensive, but doable.  Mom was telling me about it, and then she said, "I am not expecting a Golden Ticket".  Does that sound familiar to any of you?  It should.  To know what she was talking about, you need to listen to the Relief Society broadcast, Pres. Uchtdorf's talk in particular.  I love her so much for that.  She couldn't go with me to the broadcast that night, but she sat in her TV room and watched the broadcast all the way through.  Not only did she watch it, she is applying it in her life.  She is 82 years old, and she is still trying to be faithful and obedient.  
Not many people in this life have a Grandma and Mother like that.  

Every fast Sunday, Grandpa bears his testimony, either on his own, or with a walker or cane.  He is 84 years old.  They still go to church every Sunday.  They still read their scriptures and have family prayer, and pray for EVERY ONE of us.  I have knelt a few times with them and heard their prayers.  It is a sweet experience.  They have lots of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and they pray for each of us individually.  I hope all of you can have the experience of hearing them pray once before they go to their eternal reward.  We are so blessed to have them in our lives, and can still learn so much for their example.  

I love both of them so much.

Debby

6 comments:

Jason and Dana said...

What a great example.

Crystal said...

Tears. Very sweet.

abbynormal said...

This is beautiful. I remember when I got to go to the temple with them. I know Grandma felt so bad that she couldn't come to the wedding, but it was actually okay for me because I got to spend time with her at the temple beforehand.

rebeccaV said...

I'm all teary eyed now. I love them so much. They are such great examples to me and I'm proud to come from them. I have had the experience of kneeling with them in prayer and the overwhelming feeling I always have is love. It is always a spiritual experience. Thanks for posting this mom.

Heather said...

Thanks for the posy Debby. They truly are amazing people. And the best examples anyone could hope for. I have never felt anything but pure love when o am around them.

Colin & Lori said...

It has been hard being far away from them the past 8 years. Lori and I used to go to their house every Sunday when we lived there. Grandma drove out to VA with us when we moved, but then being away from them we missed out on a lot. I have heard them pray, and they do pray for each of us, usually by name. It's hard to see them get older. I still want Grandma to be able to go cliff jumping at Lake Powell and go golfing or fishing with Grandpa. Luckily there is eternity. I'm sure Grandma will be cliff jumping in heaven.