My Husband is Officially A California Resident!!

Just really quickly, we made it to Roseville safe and sound. The drive was extra long because we towed our car behind the moving truck so Devin was very cautious. My mom so kindly told me a story of an accident she saw involving a truck towing a car and that got us a smidge worried. Anyway, we are here with all of our stuff in my parents garage sleeping in my little sisters room. Thankfully not on twin beds anymore since we were able to bring all of our beds with us. We put one up there and moved hers out. Devin started work today, Tuesday, because yesterday we had to take a trip to San Ramone, the bay area, to pick up some furniture my aunt and uncle gave us before they move at the end of this week to Atlanta. We have been blessed to have been given several great pieces of furniture and hopefully all we will have to buy is a table for our tiny apt. kitchen and a couch of some sort. We are glad to have IKEA close and lots of discout furniture stores around. We will see what we can fit in our apartment. I hope to find us a place soon and will begin my search today. If any one knows of any great complexes in Roseville or Rocklin, let us know. We are so excited to be here, but we keep talking about how weird it feels to actually live here because for 3 years Roseville has been were I go on vacation, and all Devin has known of Roseville is vacation. So I am excited to get settled and start feeling like we actually live here!! Love you all. Thanks to all of the Christensen side who helped us move and to my family who helped us fill up the garage. XOXO!!!

Mummy Kids

Sunday was rather slow and we all started getting really bored and sleepy around 7:30. Lucky for us we are moving and Michelle handed me the plastic wrap to put around our furniture so that it stays in one piece. GENIUS Mich. I decided to wrap Jacob in the stuff, and then the other kiddies wanted in on the fun. It was so funny and they were trying to jump all over the place and they got all sweaty. it was so funny. We were dying laughing!

Our Girl

I realized that most if not all of my friends do not know anything/much about Chantel so I thought I would just give a little info about her life and about Rett's Syndrome. Mom C, if any of this seems innacurate, please let me know so that I can be right. :)

Devin's oldest sister Chantel has what is called Rett's Syndrome. I am not positively sure of when she was actually diagnosed, but I think that it was sometime in her youth. Rett syndrome is a neurodevelopment disorder that began to become noticeable in Chantel when she was about 2 I think. Her brain development began to slow and Mom and Dad C knew something was wrong, although many doctors did not know what the cause was. Rett syndrome is very common among girls because the gene for it is on the X chromosome.

Chantel has many outward signs of Rett syndrome, although in her heart I am sure she just laughs her head of when people act like there is something terribly wrong with her. Some people will talk to her very loudly, although she can hear perfectly fine, or they will act like the things that she does that are normal for her, are signs of something wrong. It is so funny to hear stories of how people who don't know her act toward her. Anyway, Chantel wrings her hands, grinds her teeth, avoids eye contact with others, shows a lack of interest at times, has scoliosis, and other things. If you ever saw Chantel, chances are she would have a chew toy, preferrably her hamburger, in her mouth to preven her from grinding her teeth or chewing on her wrist.

Chantel has been such a tremendous blessing in my life for the short period of time that I have known her. While there are times when she could care less whether or not I was around, there are other times when I know that she loves me and cares about me with all of her heart even though she can't tell me with her words. She has taught me so much in this past year that I have been able to grow close to her. I am really going to miss her and being able to laugh with her and see her smiling face when I show up with a new shirt with lots of pictures or detail. She always pays attention to my shirts if they aren't boring. She is always making us laugh, which she just gets a kick out of. It will be so fun in the next life to hear in her words what it was like for her when she teases us all. She is such a sweetie and is so close to our Father and I just treasure that about her. I know it was so hard for Mom and Dad C to leave her behind, but she is in such great hands, and we can tell all the time how happy she is. We all adore her and would do anything for her. Love you lots Chantelly.

Miss Celestial Kingdom

On Sunday evening, we were all going stir crazy so we decided to take a walk up to the temple. While we were there, Chantel was being so funny and super cuddly with me. I was loving it because I love it when she acknowledges me. She was laughing and hugging me and was just so happy. She wasn't thrilled that she couldn't get into the temple, but she got over it. I wish we had gotten it on video so that everyone could have seen it, but it was really fun to be there with her and the rest of the family. I love that girl!

Here We Go!!

Well friends we are very excited for our first big move as a family. We are heading to Roseville, CA. Yup my hometown. Devin got a job in Granite Bay so we are leaving Rexburg on July 25th for our first big adventure. I must admit that it has been a little bittersweet imagining the things that we are going to be leaving behind here. Contrary to popular belief, I enjoy Rexburg most of the time, just not in the -25 degree weather and when winter lasts until June. While there are things that I don't love about Rexburg, there are other things that I love and that I am really going to miss when we leave. I have already started crying thinking about what we are leaving behind, which isn't saying much since I cry all the time, but still. So here is my tribute to Rexburg/ Idaho. I hope it makes my Rexburg boy proud to be my husband. :)

1. I am really going to miss Michelle. This is one of the things that makes me the most emotional. She has really been my closest friend the entire time they have been here. She has always been there for me and I just think the world of her. Plus Chantel of course. She is so funny. It takes time to get to know her but once you do, you just adore her. She is so great! Love you girls. Oh and Ace, I don't have any pictures of you, but I will miss you too! Who will harass me when I am gone. Certainly not my siblings. We just have a relationship that will be hard to match with anyone else. Ha Ha.

2. I am totally going to miss these kids. We spend just about every day playing with them and it will be sad to not see them anymore. They are so dang funny and they make us laugh all of the time. We love you so much guys.

3. I am going to miss the river. It is so beautiful and you can see it everywhere you go because it just meanders all throughout the state.

4. I am going to miss having the temple right up the street. While we should have gone all of the time since it is within walking distance, it is just so re-assuring to see it from throughout town and to see a reminder of the Lords love for us.

5. I am going to miss all the land. In California, every bit of empty ground gets developed quicker than you can believe. Everytime I go back home there is more being built. Here there are huge farms and fields forever. So many people live on big pieces of land and that is definitely a dream of mine that would never happen in California.

So there are things about Idaho that I will miss, but I would be lying if I said that I wasn't so dang excited to go to California with Devin. I think he is going to love being there and I am so excited for us to live there together. YAY! Well so long Idaho, you are loved.