Nine inches of snow fell in Toquerville on December 15th. Brrrrr.
2008 has been an eventful year for us. In October 2007 we purchased a lot in the heart of Toquerville, just a block away from the historic home built by John Steele, Rex's great, great, grandfather (the home still stands).
On December 20, 2007, we began construction on our southwest style home. We moved in May 1, 2008. Rex continued to plant trees and shrubs into early summer.
Pamela went back to school in the fall of 2007. Pam had lots of course credits but had never graduated, so th
e time was right for her to return to school to get her degree. She is attending Dixie State College in St George and is majoring in music, of course, and will finish her course work in May 2009. She loves attending DSC, her professors and the students she associates with. Pam leaves for St George every morning, and returns at the end of the day with new knowledge and lots of homework.Pam has been blessed with many singing opportunities in this area. She sings in two St George choirs (St George Heritage Choir, and the St George Symphony Chorale), plus she sings in recitals at Dixie College, as well as opportunities to sing in our Toquerville Ward. Pam also teaches voice lessons to several students each week.
After moving to Toquerville, Pam was called as the ward choir director, and as the Activity Day Leader. She loves both callings and finds great fulfilment in directing the choir and working with her group of sweet Primary girls.
Rex was called as the gospel doctrine teacher and then as the ward financial clerk. The ward finances needed some "experienced" help, so Rex was called. He enjoys working with the bishopric and keeping the ward finances in order.
In June, we held a Rex Jensen family reunion at our new home. All our children and grandchildren were here. We ate, played, laughed, went to Zion National Park for a day, spent a day at the Washington Recreation Center, and Pam rented a large "bouncy toy" that was erected in our backyard for a day. The bouncy toy was for the kids, but the adults enjoyed it just as much.
We have loved our Toquerville Ward. The ward has been very welcoming and loving to us. We have a wonderful bishop and ward leaders. We have wonderful neighbors and love living in this quiet, peaceful, and beautiful part of the world. We marvel each day at the beauty of this area, the green, the red rocks and mesas, Zion National Park in the distance, Pine Valley Mountian to the Northwest, the unusual geology, the volcanic rocks and cinder cones.
In late June, we traveled to Taylor, Arizona with Rex's siblings
to attempt to locate the old Jensen Homestead where John Peter Jensen settled, and Raymond Mahonri Jensen (Rex's grandfather) was born. We succeeded in locating the farm, where the Show Low and Silver Creeks converge, and enjoyed learning about the history of that place. The farm is still there and sits next to Anasazi Indian ruins.One of our reasons for building in Toquerville, and for buying the lot we did, was for the mature Pecan trees on the property and so we could have a large garden. Rex planted the garden before we moved into the house. We had tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, beets, onions, corn, cantaloupes and crenshaw melons. The melons were the best we've ever grown. We also got a few apricots
, peaches and pears off our young trees. The pomegranates were big and sweet, and now the pecans have begun to ripen. We are loving the abundance of large, tasty pecans from our trees. We view it a great blessing to be able to grow all that we are able to on this wonderful property. The soil is excellent, and Rex has been working this fall to build up the soil in his garden by tilling in compost and leaves. He has enjoyed sharing his harvest with family and neighbors.Rex is a weather hobbyist and now provides KSL with a daily Toquerville weather report. He enjoys the "moment of glory" when the Toquerville weather is mentioned on KSL.
In October we traveled to Disneyland with Sarah and Rob and spent a wonderful day with them and their family in the world of make believe.
Thanksgiving was held at our "Toquer Villa" this year. W
e all enjoyed deep fried Cajun turkey, the usual trimmings, and endless pies. On Friday we did a service project at the Hurricane Rehab Center by giving everyone there a treat and a musical program.We glory in the Savior and in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We wish all a very merry Christmas, hope and prosperity for the coming year.
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If you would like more detail on our family, click here...http://jensen08.blogspot.com/
