2022 History

 Jensen Family History - 2022

Jase, Ellen, Evan, and Eli

This year has been a big one indeed! It seems like every year since Ellen and I have been married we have just had so much going on. To start off this year, Ellen and I began our last semester of college at Dixie State University. After having Evan last summer, we were very much looking forward to graduating and moving on with our family life. Ellen studied Communications with an emphasis in Organization and Applied Leadership and I studied Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Trying to juggle both of us in school full-time and taking care of a little one was very difficult, but it was well worth it. Ellen attended her classes at night with many students who already had full-time careers. This brought wonderful connections that allowed Ellen to start a new job in January, working for one of her classmates who was a financial advisor. As his assistant, she helps by meeting with clients and helping them fill out their life insurance applications. The nice thing about this job is that she can work from home and have flexible hours. She gets paid exceptionally well for the time she puts in. Her career has been exceptionally beneficial to our family, and her boss has been giving her even more opportunities to help with other businesses that he is starting. 

Earlier this year, we decided we wanted to keep our family growing, and in the springtime, soon after our second anniversary, we found out we were pregnant with another baby boy! We were so excited for all that lay ahead and felt so blessed. In May, we were finally able to finish school and we both graduated with our respective bachelor’s degrees. I normally try to make light of my achievements and act like they aren’t a big deal; but I have to admit that after the last two years of difficult coursework, I felt like I had accomplished a huge task in my life. It felt so wonderful for both of us to finish school at the same time and I couldn’t wait to have a nice break. Deep down I knew that I loved school though and always planned on going back. Right after graduation, I studied briefly for the MCAT for medical school and got a decent score, but I wasn’t sure it would be good enough to get into medical school - which is where I planned on going after a gap year. 

Soon after graduation, Ellen and I moved out to Baltimore, Maryland for my internship at Johns Hopkins University. I was very excited to receive such a prestigious internship and couldn’t wait to continue my studies there. During our time in Baltimore, we had the opportunity to visit New York City once and Washington DC multiple times. It was a great opportunity to have a family adventure! Although social media may make it seem like an amazing trip, it had several downsides too. While it was great to do research in a very prestigious chemistry lab, it was not in a field that fit me very well and I struggled greatly. I found out that I have a difficult time with electrochemistry, but I was also grateful to have a project so challenging for me. Our apartment was expensive and dirty. It was extremely difficult to find housing for such a short period of time; and when we finally did, it was not up to our expectations. There were severe pest problems, and by the time we reached our last week there, we noticed a rat in our basement kitchen! By the time we left, we were both ready to get out of there. We were very glad when we moved back to Utah.

During our last week in Maryland, and upon moving back to Utah, Ellen and I made some other big changes to our original plans. We decided together that medicine was not the career for me; at least not right at this moment, and so we decided to postpone my medical school application. We also decided that it would be right for Ellen to continue her education, so she quickly applied for an online master's program at SUU where she was accepted to study Professional Communications. This was such a scary time with a lot of change, and I was always so nervous that I would never find the right career for me. I have learned to accept that I will always feel this way, but if I just keep moving forward things will work out. They always do as long as you keep moving forward, even if you change your mind later. 

Once we got back to Utah, we decided that we wanted to live up north, closer to Ellen’s family. I also wanted to find a full-time job that was applicable to my degree, and there was a lot more opportunity in the Salt Lake area. It was also very difficult to find housing here that was within our budget. Inflation has caused prices to skyrocket this year! Luckily, we were finally able to find a 3-bedroom basement apartment in Herriman and we absolutely love it. I found a job in downtown Salt Lake City working as a biochemistry reagent formulator. It is a little bit of a commute for me (ranging from 30 to 50 minutes), but I love the neighborhood we live in and so it is well worth it. It feels good to finally have a job that is paying me well too!

Our new lives were well underway when Ellen again went into preterm labor at the beginning of October. Eli wasn’t due until the middle of December, so it was looking like we were going to have another NICU baby. Ellen was in and out of the hospital for the next few weeks and was dilated to a 6 the whole time! This was very stressful, but it was well worth it as Eli was able to stay in until 33 weeks and 6 days gestation - which was a week and two days longer than Evan! On October 29th Eli Dean Jensen was born. 25 days later (a little longer than Evan), right before thanksgiving, Eli came home from the NICU to join us at home! He has been such a joy to have with us and it has been so exciting to have our two littles together. It has been very busy, but we wouldn’t have it any other way!

Right after bringing Eli home, we were called as primary teachers for a class of 9-10-year-old kids! We’ve enjoyed our time teaching the kids and obviously love singing time. Right now we bring both boys to class with us because Evan isn’t old enough for nursery. We’re excited to meet our next class of kids come January! We have loved our ward so much. They were incredibly helpful during Ellen and Eli’s hospital stay and we’ve loved getting to know everyone!

Love, The Jensen Family