for posterity...

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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Friday, November 6, 2009

Hearts Knit Together

Maggie picked the only live flower on the temple grounds (Colin and Lori's temple--this is the first time I have been back since they were married!)

I sat Naomi down in the Living Room, and she crawled over to the sun all by herself. She was basking in the sunshine.

leslie and alex in one of the keys

ditto, Mom and Dad

The famous wood stack

The shelves, not quite ready for loading. Notice new vacuum. Not as loud as the old one.

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to enter a few photos you may not have seen. Also, all of you know that we spent a week at Becky's, and on the Sunday we were there we were sitting at dinner and Grace said, "Let's each tell what we learn from Jesus. I'll start." We went around and around and around the table. We helped Maggie to say something, and we skipped Naomi. Wow. I think Grace's spiritual nature is an example of all of our grandchildren. We know they aren't perfect (almost), but you parents are teaching them well. When you were all here in August and we had gone up to 'touch the temple', we were driving up to the hotel to swim. Colby started singing, "I love to see the temple." It was a very sweet moment for me. They are very susceptible to the Spirit, and I feel so blessed to have such wonderful children and spouses, who are teaching their children the gospel. Thanks, xoxoxo Mom

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Harrisonburg Halloween

Valerie was at Six Flags DC with our friend from church, Alexis, so after daddy got some sleep, it was dusk. We handed out candy. I LOVE this photo because LOOK HOW HAPPY HE IS! The thing is, he had NEVER had candy, but he just KNOWS he will like it. We let him have a few M&Ms. He put so many in his mouth he could hardly breathe. It will be a while before he has candy again.

Matt was a dingy blonde for a bit

Waiting for Trick or Treaters- is a lion in a Tigger stroller a Liger?!

One CUTE lion

Trunk or Treat ward party- the Vampiress (Valerie has ALWAYS wanted to be something "pretty", I always wanted to be something scary).

Practicing for Halloween... oh, costume aisle, how we will miss you.

Valerie and I did crafts last week- she painted this herself and I painted a jar. Part of it is talent, part, GREAT INSTRUCTION and enough CAN NOT BE SAID for having the right tools. "the craft lady" has everything you need to do a good job.

Hope everyone had a happy Halloween.

This was the last time I dressed up- 2006. I was a pirate. Matt and I were "just dating" (he was at my house every day and I made him dinner every night...) then. I often feel bad for Matt in terms of how I look now, but he never makes me feel bad about it. Seeing pictures of myself though... sheesh. I really want to look better, but I just have no time to work out and that is the "only" thing that has changed...

Finally, we have the "good" neighborhood to Trick or Treat. It was truly amazing how many children and parents lined our streets!

Hallo-Happy-ween!

Good times with good friends.

Jack is Leonardo from TMNT.

Mia is Angelina Ballerina.

Cole is a sad little puppy.

Punked out in DC

There are so many fun details to David's and my Halloween attire that it deserves multiple pictures to capture all of it.

(The shoes were my favorite part!)

(or maybe the tattoos, or body piercings, or the spikey-spike necklaces...)

The back of my shirt says "sometimes" and his shirt says "your mother pays me to be nice to you." We decided it would be fun to dress up like that when we go to town, on a day completely unrelated to Halloween. I'm almost positive that will actually happen. At least once.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Trick-or-Treat!

I'd love to see pictures of all the other kids and adults that dressed up!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Video-Conferencing

I have this idea that sometime on Thanksgiving, we should try to do a video chat. I know for us (amazing) Mac users, iChat will allow 3 conversations at once, so if we did it right, all the siblings/families could get on at one time for a little "thankful" talk. I imagine lots of interruptions, strange silences, etc., but it could really be fun if we combine video chat + typing ;-)

Just a thought... waddaya think?~

PS- what is everyone doing? We are currently plan-free and I have the entire week off! (During which, I am sure, I will be grading).

Friday, October 23, 2009

Jason's Milestone

Jason is 30 years old today. 30 years filled with so much greatness. I can't wait to see what the next 30 bring. I love you Jason, happy birthday!
(I'm on Jason's laptop and these are the only pictures I have.)

Coolest jack-o-lanterns ever, what do you think!

Are these not the coolest jack o lanterns you have ever seen?

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

The added dimension

I don't know if I told everyone about my little experience in the hospital in SLC with dad's doctor. I was sleeping and he woke me up after the surgery. It was about 6 a.m. He described what he had done, and his prognosis. He felt like the upper part of Dad's index finger would basically be worthless, and "if it was me" I would just amputate the finger" from the lowest joint up, or else amputate the whole finger and have a three fingered hand. He explained how there was bone missing, the nerve had been cut, etc., etc. As he was talking I was thinking in my mind--you don't really get it. Your life is based on science. Your decisions are based on science and what is right in front of you. You don't understand the power of the priesthood, the power of prayer and fasting. You really are limited in your ability to evaluate medicine. Maybe he just needs more experience. Despite what I know about prayer, priesthood blessings and fasting, I was really depressed and wondering how David was going to cope with it all. When I went in to see David he was all upbeat and positive, asking a million questions, pushing the limits of what they all wanted him to do, telling me we could go ahead and go on the trip. It totally changed my attitude. I just want all of you to know that I know prayer works, that priesthood blessings are answered, that Faith is more powerful than anything we puny earthlings think we can do. I am so grateful to know that I have a Heavenly Father who will help me with hard things, any time I ask. Mom

Monday, October 19, 2009

Sometimes it's a hard world for the little things.

Becky's comment made me look for this. This should have won an award in the music category.