In lieu of the usual Jensen Family holiday newsletter, we offer this top-secret communiqué intercepted by our doctors during a recent MRI on Amy’s brain.
FROM: CANCER AGENT X27
TO: ANAPLASTIC ASTROCYTOMA MISSION CONTROL
RE: 2007 YEAR-END PROGRESS REPORT
I REGRET TO INFORM YOU THAT OUR ATTEMPT TO SUBVERT THE LIFE FORM DESIGNATED “AMY LESTLEY JENSEN” HAS FAILED.
TO RECAP, WE SUCCEEDED AT INDUCING A SEIZURE LAST JANUARY. ALAS, SUCCESSFUL BRAIN SURGERY AND SUBSEQUENT RADIOACTIVE BOMBARDMENT HAVE LEFT OUR FORCES DEPLETED AND ESSENTIALLY IMPOTENT. BUT YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT REALLY KILLED US? THREE THINGS:
1. THIS WOMAN IS TOUGHER THAN STEEL.
2. THE LADY HAS SOME BADASS FAMILY AND FRIENDS. THAT LOVE STUFF THEY LAVISHED HER WITH? HEAVY FREAKIN' METAL.
3. SHE’S GOT THAT GOD GUY ON HER SIDE.
IN THE END, WE MADE A COUPLE DENTS, RATTLED HER CAGE A LITTLE, PROMPTED HER AND HER FAMILY TO CONSIDER ANEW THEIR PRIORITIES, THE IMPORTANCE OF THEIR LOVED ONES, AND ALL THAT DEEP AND MEANINGFUL BLAH BLAH BLAH. IN OTHER WORDS, ALL WE SUCCEEDED IN DOING WAS IMPROVING HER LIFE (AND THE LIVES OF THOSE AROUND HER) AND MAKING CANCER LOOK AS TOUGH AS A HEAD COLD.
YOU KNOW HOW BADLY WE BOTCHED THIS JOB? SHE WENT ON VACATION. TWICE! FIRST, TO SEATTLE AND PORTLAND TO VISIT FAMILY; THEN, TO PARIS WITH HER HUSBAND. AND THEN, IN THE FALL--SHE TOOK A CLASS. IN KITCHEN DESIGN! WHAT KIND OF PERSON WITH BRAIN CANCER TAKES A CLASS IN KITCHEN DESIGN? A STEELY BROAD WITH BALLS THE SIZE OF BOULDERS, THAT’S WHO!
AMID ALL THIS, AMY’S FAMILY STRUGGLED SOME BUT PROVED RESILIENT. HER KIDS (BEN, AGE 6; LAUREN, AGE 4) FLOURISHED, AND HER HUSBAND, JEFF, CONTINUED TO WRITE FOR HIS MAGAZINE, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, WHICH, BY THE WAY, TOTALLY RALLIED FOR HER. WE WEREN’T COUNTING ON THAT. A MAJOR CORPORATION ACTUALLY HELPING ITS EMPLOYEES? WHEN DOES THAT EVER HAPPEN?!
BOTTOM LINE: WE SCREWED UP. THE FEW OF US THAT ARE LEFT ARE HEADING UNDERGROUND. BUT SHE AND HER ARMY OF LOVE AND MEDICINE ARE HOT ON OUR TAIL, AND I WORRY FOR OUR CHANCES. ANYWAY, WHAT DOES IT MATTER? IF THE POINT OF OUR SO-CALLED DEADLY EXISTENCE WAS TO DIMINISH THE VALUE OF LIFE AND CONVINCE THEM THAT THEY ARE SOMETHING LESS OR DIFFERENT THAN THEY REALLY ARE… WELL, WE LOST THAT WAR. BADLY. AND, WORST OF ALL, HER HAIR LOOKS BETTER THAN BEFORE!
ANYWAY. SORRY WE SUCKED.
OH, AND MERRY CHRISTMAS.
AGENT X27—OUT.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Merry Christmas!
We have had a great couple of days with my mom, Rhonda, and step-dad, Matt (they joined us after a "golf getaway" in Palm Desert). The weather in Lakewood has been sunny but chilly and we have enjoyed some great meals together as well as a competitive round of Trivial Pursuit on Christmas Eve (for the first time, ever, Jeff DID NOT win; congrats, mom). The gluttony of gifts were consumed this morning (watch the movie short for highlights). Thank you to all who contributed to our love-pot of gift-giving. My mom and I especially enjoyed the 1 pound box of Rocky Road - yummo!
Love, blessings, joy and peace to all of you,
love, amy, jeff, ben and lauren
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Kickball and Birthday Cake
Today was the first annual Family Kickball tournament. Please view our movie.
We had so much fun that we would like to make it a tradition, or at least, play it together more often. I am thankful for all our friends that could come out and play. Thank you for celebrating my 35th birthday with me!
Love and blessings,
amy, jeff, ben and lauren
We had so much fun that we would like to make it a tradition, or at least, play it together more often. I am thankful for all our friends that could come out and play. Thank you for celebrating my 35th birthday with me!
Love and blessings,
amy, jeff, ben and lauren
Friday, December 14, 2007
Amy: Health Update for Dec.
Amy is turning 35 this coming Tuesday - yep, 15 years to 50! Since I, Amy, am writing this blog entry, I have to admit that 50 sounds really good and I am praying to see it, if only to see if Oprah is right, that 50 is the new 20. Anyway, we have some good news besides the imminent life celebration for me. I had an MRI on Dec. 5th and it came back clean. No tumors but the "light mist", which a dear friend refers to as the "Holy Spirit" is still appearing on one of the slices of my brain. Too bad the mist isn't in the shape of the Virgin Mary and then, I could be on the 5'o clock news. Oh well - I guess I'll have to become famous another way.
Some interesting news, besides that another one of Jeff Jensen's classic Christmas Newsletters is on its way to most of your mailboxes, is that we just found out that I have an 8 year-old nephew who lives in Bend, OR. It's weird to think that Jeff and I have been married for as long as this little guy has been in the world. We hope to meet him soon. We will keep you updated on him - he is currently in foster care and we would love if you could pray for him, his name is Justin. My mom, dad, and soon-to-be step-brother went to visit him today. He cried tears of Joy when he heard that he had grandparents and that they were coming to visit him!
We had a great Thanksgiving with Jeff's parents, Uncle Devin and Aunt Jan. Jeff did a fabulous job with the Turkey and Charl and Tom were great helps with the dinner, clean-up and fix-up of our house. Tom is a very handy guy to have around!
We will update again, hopefully soon, so keep checking back.
much love to you all,
amy, jeff, ben and lauren
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Pumpkin Patch Expedition
A beautiful October Saturday--a perfect day for our annual outing to Pa's Pumpkin Patch down in Long Beach. The kids wanted to wear their Halloween costumes, which was nice for Amy, as alas, she'll have class on the evening of Oct. 31, and the wicked wizard that is her professor ain't cancelling. So she got to see the kids all decked out in a relatively festive setting. As you can see, Ben's a Jedi and Lauren is Dorothy; she got the idea a couple weeks ago after I told her the whole story during a long car ride. (As for the movie, they both watched Wizard of Oz for the first time last night.) At the Patch, the kids (reluctantly, sometimes petulantly) posed for photos, rode some rides, picked some pumpkins. Now, it's off to Ben's soccer game, a birthday party, and get-together with friends. A busy--but fun--Saturday. More later!
Love, The Jensens
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Take the Kids to Work Day
Jeff took the kids to work last Wednesday after I had my MRI because the whole EW staff had to have their photos taken. The photographer was so nice that he offered to take a photo of Jeff with Ben and Lauren. Aren't they all so cute?! I was at one of Jeff's coworker's apartment taking a catnap. Then we all met up at the Grove in LA for dinner. They have an American Girl store there so Lauren was in Christmas list making mode.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
MRI Update: More steady progress...
Sorry for the late posting--a crazy-busy day for The Lakewood Jensens. Cut to the chase: Amy's MRI showed improvement over the July MRI, which was an improvement over the June MRI. You may recall that previous MRIs have been clean except for these two small spots which our doctor can't really explain. Tumor? Scar tissue? What? In the July MRI, one of the spots had shrunk. In this new MRI, that shrunk spot had disappeared altogether! Our doc is still bugged by the other spot, so he's ordered a new kind of test, a "PET scan," which involves, like, injecting nuclear technology stuff inti her. My question: "Will she get super powers afterward?" (Answer: No.) So that'll happen in the next week or so. But the bottom line: "I'm very happy with what I'm seeing." Thanks to everyone for your prayers. Please pray for continued healing, and that these treatments will "irreparably" damage the remaining cancer cells in Amy's brain so that they won't grow new tumor tissue.
More soon!
Love, The Jensens
More soon!
Love, The Jensens
Monday, October 8, 2007
Amy's Next MRI
Howdy, folks. Please keep Amy in your prayers on Wednesday morning--she's going in for her every-other-month MRI and then meeting with her neurosurgeon, Dr. Ananda. If you recall, the last time she had an MRI, we learned that the Mystery White Mass (tumor? wounded brain? marshmellow? who knows?) had shrunk. So if you want some specifics to bring before the Lord, please pray for more shrinkage and continued healing. As always, we are grateful to all of you for your love and support. Through all of you, God has answered so many of our prayers.
Look for a post on Wednesday afternoon about the results of Amy's MRI.
Much love,
Jeff, Amy, Ben and Lauren
Look for a post on Wednesday afternoon about the results of Amy's MRI.
Much love,
Jeff, Amy, Ben and Lauren
Our cat is on YouTube!
Yes, what does Amy do all day while the kids are at school? I have recently become addicted to iMovie HD and this morning, while I was drinking my coffee, our cat, Fred wanted to play fetch with my candy-bar wrapper (I know, chocolate for breakfast? - Chocolate and Cancer go very well together, when I'm not nauseous, that is). So, all that to say, I made a movie of Fred playing fetch and put it on YouTube! Check it out here, too:
Sunday, October 7, 2007
More... Jensens in Paris! Oooooh, la, la
If you loved the Paris Mini-movie, then, you will
love this slide-show of our photos that didn't make it.
love this slide-show of our photos that didn't make it.
You win some, you lose some...
Yesterday, Ben decided to express his school spirit by participating in a
“Family Fun Run,” a fundraiser at Gompers Elementary where he attends First Grade. The event was divided into two separate “runs,” a 1K race for K-2nd graders and a 5K race/stroll for middle schoolers and their families. We arrived for the 1K without any expectation of really racing, or even running, for that matter; at best, I thought Ben would jog for half a block, and then collapse into an exhausted, heaving heap.
Ben, however, had other plans.
We showed up just as the 1K was about to begin. At the word “Go!”, we were still 10 yards away the from the starting line, where about 100 kids were massed. I told Ben, “Dude! Start running—we’ll catch up!” And he was off like a rocket. He quickly caught up to the gaggle, then disappeared into it.
That was the last I saw of him for the next 10 minutes.
The 1K consisted of two laps around the large city blocks occupied by Gompers. After the kids took off, a contingent of parents began walking after them, many of us assuming that along the way, we’d happen upon our stalled child, huffing and puffing and through teary eyes asking if it was okay to stop. With Ben, I assumed this encounter would occur shortly after the first turn of the first lap. But as I pushed Lauren in the stroller to this marker, we saw that Ben wasn’t there. And he wasn’t there after the second turn, either. In fact, looking ahead down the street and around the third turn, I could see no sign of Ben. “Where’s Ben?” asked Lauren. Good question, I thought.
Slightly concerned, I cut across the Gompers playground to get back to the starting line, which had been turned into a water table. Surely I’d find Ben there, guzzling from multiple Dixie cups. Nope. Could it be? Had Ben already completed his first lap?
The race was to end on the Gompers playground. To get to the finish line, the kids had to enter an opening in the gate right after the third turn. So Lauren and I quickly made our way there, hoping to catch Ben. We arrived just as the runners at the front of the pack were showing up—and there was Ben! He was sweating and burning with very pink cheeks—but he was smiling and going full blazes. I stopped him and celebrated him. “Did you run the whole way?” I asked. He nodded yes. “Way to go!” I yelled, giving him a hug.
Just then, a kid passed him, and that’s when it kinda hit me: This is a race—and Ben was at the front of the pack!
“Whaddyadoing!?” I yelled. ”RUN!”
Ben took off again, and when he spotted the finish line, I saw him turn on the afterburners. Way to finish strong, I thought. Catching up with our little Carl Lewis at the finish line, I gave him a big hug and told him that I was very proud of him for working his scrawny little butt off. I thought that was the end of it…
…but then we heard that there was going to an awards ceremony after the 5K race. And that’s when it really hit me: This was a race—and they were actually keeping track! By stopping Ben at the gate, had I cost him a better finish?
Perhaps. We showed up at the awards ceremony just as they were giving out medals for the 1K—and we heard them call Ben’s name! Turns out he finished third place overall, and second place among First Graders. As you can see from the photo, Ben was pretty darn pleased with himself—and his parents and sister were very proud of him, as well.
There was a small price to pay for his budding track and field superstardom. Ben had a soccer game later that afternoon, and it was pretty clear to us that he didn’t have his usual wheels. His team lost 0-3, which was an improvement over last week’s 0-7 blowout.
Lessons learned:
No more “Fun Runs” on soccer game day.
And save the proud parental hugs until AFTER the race.
Lots of love,
Jeff, Amy, Ben and Lauren
“Family Fun Run,” a fundraiser at Gompers Elementary where he attends First Grade. The event was divided into two separate “runs,” a 1K race for K-2nd graders and a 5K race/stroll for middle schoolers and their families. We arrived for the 1K without any expectation of really racing, or even running, for that matter; at best, I thought Ben would jog for half a block, and then collapse into an exhausted, heaving heap.
Ben, however, had other plans.
We showed up just as the 1K was about to begin. At the word “Go!”, we were still 10 yards away the from the starting line, where about 100 kids were massed. I told Ben, “Dude! Start running—we’ll catch up!” And he was off like a rocket. He quickly caught up to the gaggle, then disappeared into it.
That was the last I saw of him for the next 10 minutes.
The 1K consisted of two laps around the large city blocks occupied by Gompers. After the kids took off, a contingent of parents began walking after them, many of us assuming that along the way, we’d happen upon our stalled child, huffing and puffing and through teary eyes asking if it was okay to stop. With Ben, I assumed this encounter would occur shortly after the first turn of the first lap. But as I pushed Lauren in the stroller to this marker, we saw that Ben wasn’t there. And he wasn’t there after the second turn, either. In fact, looking ahead down the street and around the third turn, I could see no sign of Ben. “Where’s Ben?” asked Lauren. Good question, I thought.
Slightly concerned, I cut across the Gompers playground to get back to the starting line, which had been turned into a water table. Surely I’d find Ben there, guzzling from multiple Dixie cups. Nope. Could it be? Had Ben already completed his first lap?
The race was to end on the Gompers playground. To get to the finish line, the kids had to enter an opening in the gate right after the third turn. So Lauren and I quickly made our way there, hoping to catch Ben. We arrived just as the runners at the front of the pack were showing up—and there was Ben! He was sweating and burning with very pink cheeks—but he was smiling and going full blazes. I stopped him and celebrated him. “Did you run the whole way?” I asked. He nodded yes. “Way to go!” I yelled, giving him a hug.
Just then, a kid passed him, and that’s when it kinda hit me: This is a race—and Ben was at the front of the pack!
“Whaddyadoing!?” I yelled. ”RUN!”
Ben took off again, and when he spotted the finish line, I saw him turn on the afterburners. Way to finish strong, I thought. Catching up with our little Carl Lewis at the finish line, I gave him a big hug and told him that I was very proud of him for working his scrawny little butt off. I thought that was the end of it…
…but then we heard that there was going to an awards ceremony after the 5K race. And that’s when it really hit me: This was a race—and they were actually keeping track! By stopping Ben at the gate, had I cost him a better finish?
Perhaps. We showed up at the awards ceremony just as they were giving out medals for the 1K—and we heard them call Ben’s name! Turns out he finished third place overall, and second place among First Graders. As you can see from the photo, Ben was pretty darn pleased with himself—and his parents and sister were very proud of him, as well.
There was a small price to pay for his budding track and field superstardom. Ben had a soccer game later that afternoon, and it was pretty clear to us that he didn’t have his usual wheels. His team lost 0-3, which was an improvement over last week’s 0-7 blowout.
Lessons learned:
No more “Fun Runs” on soccer game day.
And save the proud parental hugs until AFTER the race.
Lots of love,
Jeff, Amy, Ben and Lauren
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Birth Announcement!
The Lakewood Jensens are proud to announce the arrival of...
Their own blog!
No more squatting on other people's ether-space! (But much thanks to Brother Mike and others who have served as barker channels for us the past year). We've buckled down and gotten a pixelated pad of our own. (No, I don't know what I mean by pixelated, either.) We'll even try to update it more than once a month!
To get things started, we bring you the very first edition of...
WHAT'S HAPPENING AT OUR HOUSE RIGHT NOW!
Ben: "I'm watching Mommy and Daddy's video about Paris on Mommy's iPod."
Lauren: "Nothing." (She's actually watching the video with Ben.)
Amy: "Looking at Mike and Steph's blog."
Jeff: "Writing these words--and scratching my privates!"
Freddy the Cat: "Meoooow." [Translation: Someone get me out of this crackhouse from hell. Also: I like cheese."]
UPDATE:
Lauren just screamed: "I don't want to get marrried!" (Dad's response: "Whew!") and "I want a little sister!" (Dad's response: Wild, hysterical laughter.)
And I just scratched myself again.
Much love,
The Jensens
Their own blog!
No more squatting on other people's ether-space! (But much thanks to Brother Mike and others who have served as barker channels for us the past year). We've buckled down and gotten a pixelated pad of our own. (No, I don't know what I mean by pixelated, either.) We'll even try to update it more than once a month!
To get things started, we bring you the very first edition of...
WHAT'S HAPPENING AT OUR HOUSE RIGHT NOW!
Ben: "I'm watching Mommy and Daddy's video about Paris on Mommy's iPod."
Lauren: "Nothing." (She's actually watching the video with Ben.)
Amy: "Looking at Mike and Steph's blog."
Jeff: "Writing these words--and scratching my privates!"
Freddy the Cat: "Meoooow." [Translation: Someone get me out of this crackhouse from hell. Also: I like cheese."]
UPDATE:
Lauren just screamed: "I don't want to get marrried!" (Dad's response: "Whew!") and "I want a little sister!" (Dad's response: Wild, hysterical laughter.)
And I just scratched myself again.
Much love,
The Jensens
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