So, it has been a while since I had a personal type of post, and I feel like now, because of the holidays it would be a good time.

We have a lot of fun traditions around our house and most of them are related to this time of the year. There are things that we do that stem from both side of the family and things that we have come up with on our own. The kids are growing up so much and we are trying desperately to teach them what they need to know in life so that when they are out there, on their own, the decisions they need to make will (hopefully) be second nature. We try and have fun with them and believe that we are learning as much (or more) then they are.

One of the fun traditions that we have together (that came from the

Claybaugh side) is going to see “A Christmas Carol” every year. We have seen it is various locations, some better then others. But the one that is “ours” is at the Hale Center Theater. Clay was too little still, but Koby and Spencer love seeing it and it is a good way to start of the Christmas season.

Another tradition that comes from the Hansen side is the story “Santa Mouse“. As I read it to the boys this year, the memories came flooding back of when I was younger and the times that we read and re-read the book. It was a hit around here this year as we read it several times.

The tradition that Cami and I started (or modified) is the opening of “Christmas” PJ’s the night the tree goes up. My family used to open these on Christmas Eve, but we thought it would be fun to have a present under the tree right away and it also gives the kids a chance to wear their Christmas PJ’s all season long.

Today in church I was noticing how much the boys love to draw. We have been buying them drawing pads for church and they have gone through 3 or 4 of them already. I though that it would be fun to start uploading them to flickr, so I sent some time this afternoon doing just that. Here are some drawings of Koby‘s and Spencer‘s Christmas drawings. Hope they get you in the Christmas Spirit.

Jacob Marley (by Koby)

Scrooge (by Koby)

Santa Mouse (by Koby)

Santa (by Koby)

Santa and the Tree (by Spencer)

Santa and the Sleigh (by Spencer)

Carolers Singing Rudolph the “Red Nose Reindeer” (by Spencer)

Snowmen (by Santa)

Merry Christmas from our family.

]]> http://www.brandonhansen.com/blog/merry-christmas-from-the-hansens/feed/ 4 http://www.brandonhansen.com/blog/us/ http://www.brandonhansen.com/blog/us/#comments Sat, 25 Oct 2008 23:15:12 +0000 brandon http://brandonhansen.com/wordpress/?p=346

this last week:

mom was here to see us,

cami is in california,

the house is  mess,

we still don’t have internet so updates are scarce,

we may have sold our colorado house,

more later…..

Yeah, my trusty old car that my mom and dad got for me brand new back in 1996 right after my mission just had a “birthday” last Thursday. It just turned 200,000 miles and it is still going strong.

The “Check Engine” light just came on a couple days ago, but I am sure it is nothing major. It has happened before and has always been for minor things.

It is funny because everyone I know that owns a Japanese car has nothing but good things to say about them. I would never buy an American car. But those that buy other models, tend to have problems from time to time, even with new cars.

Well, here is a short video I took while driving down Highway 34 from Loveland to Greeley. It is a little blurry because all I had in the car was our old camera and the quality isn’t that great. Even though it is blurry, you can still make it out.

Here is a link to the video. I would have just posted it here, but when I did it messed up the layout of the page, so rather then messing with it for a half hour, follow the link.

Here are a couple pics of the trusty car.

Here’s to another 200,000.

Here is an update on the vegetables in the basement. It is getting a little warmer outside and I look forward to the day I can re-plant them out doors. We are going on vacation at the end of April and I hope I can plant them before we go.

They were getting a little out of control so I had to build a “boxing ring” for them to climb. So far, so good.

Each day that I go to water my plants they seem to have grown a little more. I planted them with the idea to get them to a point where I could transplant them by mothers day, but at the rate they are growing, they will out grow the box by the middle of April.

I have to rotate them a couple times a week because they tend to grow towards the light as you can see in the pictures. Overall, I think the tomatoes and peppers are doing great so far, but I haven’t seem anything even sprout from the zucchini. I planted some more seeds on Sunday, so we will see how they do it the next couple weeks.

Here are a couple updated pictures.

I have gotten past the first week of my mini-greenhouse, and have had to make a couple minor changes which I think have made a positive improvement.

The first change that I made was to switch the light bulb out from a 75 watt plant bulb to a 125 watt heat lamp. The plant bulb was a little too weak and didn’t quite give the heat that I needed. With it getting a little cold during the night, there just wasn’t the heat I needed.

When I built the greenhouse, I did it intentionally with an arched roof and plastic wrap so that the water that I put on the plants would evaporate, collect on the sides and top and keep it pretty humid in there and help the plants. With the 1st bulb, it wasn’t quite strong enough. But the new heat bulb works great and the sides and top do a great job of collecting the dew and keeping it pretty humid and warm. It is awesome.

The next change that I made was I put a timer on the light. It is timed to go on at about 6:00 am until about 7:30 or 8:00 pm. This is to give the plants a little break and simulate the sunlight a little bit. It seems to be a positive benefit for the plants.

Right now, the tomatoes and bell peppers are growing. I have yet to see anything from the zucchini. Maybe this week, but more likely I messed something up and they will not grow, but two out of three is not that bad.

Here is a picture from this week. (I will update this project about once a week.)

One of the things that my dad made us do when we were younger was work out in his garden. He always had a pretty large plot of ground dedicated to his vegetables. It was something that I really didn’t enjoy too much growing up, but as I have gotten older I have begun to enjoy it a little but more.

I think it would be awesome to have a green house and grow plants year round. Remember “Big Top Pee Wee” when he grows those huge tomato’s? That was sweet! (By the way, this year is the 20th anniversary of that movie)

Anyways, I don’t have the room on my property for a greenhouse, but I thought about it for a while and came up with a makeshift greenouse for my basement. I built it with some PVC pipe, plastic wrap and a heat lamp. There are two variations and think I like the 2nd one a little better because of the pots that I used and because it is indoors. 

Design 1

Design 2

The box I built in the 1st design was meant to be filled up with dirt so that I could have a bigger planting area, but I decided I didn’t want that much dirt on the table, especially because it doesn’t have a bottom on it yet or a good place for it to drain when I water it. Plus in the 2nd one the lamp is a little closer to the plant, providing more heat.

Not too sure if this will work or not, but I will keep track of it and if something good happens, I will update about it.

I am on a newsletter list of a local mortgage business here in town and every month I get a newsletter from them. In November, there was a short story that said:

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. To the room of 200, he asked, “Who ould like this $20?” Hands started going up.

He said, “I’m going to give this $20 to one of you, but first, let me do this.” He proceeded to crumple up the $20 bill. He then asked, “Who still wants it?” All the hands were up in the air. “Well,” he asked, “what if I do this?” He dropped the bill and ground it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. “Now who wants it?” Still the hands went into the air. “My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson,” he said. “No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.

“Many times in our lives,” he continued, “we are dropped, crumpled and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. At times we feel as though we’re worthless. But no matter what happened or what will happen, you’ll never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless…and especially to those who love you.”

I am not sure who the author is as it didn’t say on the newsletter.

(If you want to read the whole newsletter, click here. For information on the company providing the newsletter, visit their website at www.ColoradoLendingSolutions.com)

We have had a lot going on the last couple weeks. I am not sure where to start.

Business is looking good. I have a few good things going on right now that are exciting and I am looking forward to doing things right. We (Jaris, Dad and I) are partnering with Mike Butcher at his business. His partner, Bevan Wilde is moving to Utah and we are going in to help out with what they are doing. It is exciting because they are doing a lot of really good things and making a big impact on people in Northern Colorado. We are moving our office the end of the month and we are going to have a new office built. There is one in Windsor that they are building, but we might have one somewhere else. We are not sure yet.

Church has been pretty good. We have a lot going on there in elders quorum. We have had a bunch of moves this summer. It is really taking a lot of time and I am trying to make sure we stay on top of them. We had one (the Gollhofer’s) on Monday night that, for family night we went and helped out with and they are finishing tonight. Tomorrow all day the Adams’ are moving and Friday the Tracy’s are moving. We had one last week and two the week before, one of which being the Bennett’s that took all week and I am not sure it even got all the way done. We will see what happens and try and keep the work balanced out so that the same couple elders that always show up do not get too burned out.

The boys are doing good. They are riding their bikes a lot and doing really good. Spencer is still having trouble getting started and stopped on his own, but he is doing fine with kepping upright, as long as he keeps peddling. He likes to crash into the grass and thinks that is funny. Koby is a maniac and goes and stops without problem. It is pretty funny to see.

We have a ward campout this weekend. It is at some place in Briggsdale. I can’t remember what it is called, but we are excited to go. I think that it will be a good time and we should have fun. The boys are looking forward to it.

Koby had his 4th birthday this last monday. I can’t believe that he is getting that old. We went to Chuck E Cheese and had a lot of fun. Here are a couple pictures.

You can see more pictures here.

Life has been interesting in the last 24 hours in the Hansen household. Life is challenging and stressful, but at the same time I feel excited about the future. I know that our situation is only temporary and that we will make it through the trials that we are going through. I am working on a couple joint ventures at work, along with some other things that will pay off in the near future, assuming it all goes right. I have a mortgage group that is willing to send out a letter referring my services to all their clients and letting them know what I do along with a gift certificate of sorts for a free consultation about what I do. I also have a few other things going that will be positive. If I can just get through the time being.

Koby gave a talk yesterday in church about prayer and how prayers are answered. He did such a good job. I was so proud of him and the courage he had to stand right up there and give a good talk. Cami helped him and he did great. They are great kids, even though they get on our nerves sometimes. But, what kid doesn’t get on their parents nerves once in a while.Well, I know that we all go through challenges in our lives. I also know that our Father in Heaven hears and does answer prayers. I have a testimony of that. I have faith that we will never have challenges that are too much for us to bear and I am grateful for the strength and lessons that I have to go through that help me now and prepare me for the future. We will succeed.