Jacobsen Journal

Christmas 2020

 

Hi Everyone,

It was really hard to sit down and write this year.  Last year was too hard and I couldn’t do it but I wanted to try this year.  Two years ago I got half of my cards sent and then our world turned upside down two days before Christmas and nothing else got done.   It has been two years since our son, Justin, left us.

After speaking with his friends and employer and doing some reading, we have concluded that it was a sleeping walking accident involving prescription medications he was taking.  As his sister Shireen said, “He was way too nice a guy to have done this to us on purpose.”  There will always be a hole in our hearts but the tears aren’t quite as often. . .  We sure love that guy and hope Heavenly Father has put him to work in heaven as he was a really good worker!!

 

     Now something about the rest of us:

 

 Jared completed his master’s from Georgia Tech in computer science this last year!  He lived in many different places while completing his courses online, from Mexico City to Germany to Chiang Mai Thailand, to Hong Kong and Vietnam.  He just barely got out of Hong Kong before everything shut down and has been stuck in Vietnam ever since – good thing he loves it there!!  He works with his older brother Jake on a programming job for Dad. . .technology these days and what it allows is mind boggling to me.

 

 Jeshua and Gabi had a pretty exciting year with the birth of their first baby Quentin Justin on July 21st.  We just get glimpses on videos and facetime now and then and hope to see more of him when things open up more.  Jeshua is looking for a new job right now and Gabi is working on her prerequisites for nursing school.  They reside in Kirkland for now.

 

 Shireen and Jon (+ 4 kids – Cordelia, Lydia, Kallie and Andrew) made their escape this last summer!!  They put their house up for sale (yes, the one they bought less than a year previously in Lake Stevens), made a killing on it and ran over to Post Falls ID and bought a nicer home for a whole lot less!  The price of the kids activities were half to a third less and they get to go to school!! The only drawback is the commute for Jon to work at his job with the Snohomish fire department back in Seattle area.  We like the idea that they are only 1 ½ hours away instead of five!!

 

 Tanda and Rick (+ 4 kids – Alex, Samantha, Savannah and Andrick) are still in Idaho Falls in their newly remodeled house that Rick did a great job on!  Tanda is working in the library at the same school that Rick teaches at.  The kids are in schools for the most part but their oldest son Alex does some courses on line from home.  Rick completed his master’s in administration and is hoping for something to open up in their area soon!

 

  Jake and Angela (+ 4 kids – Westley, Vaughn, Felicity and Emmaline) have put a lot of work into their house in Moses Lake – especially on the garden!!  We got to go to Vaughn’s baptism last weekend!  Covid hasn’t affected them too much as they already home schooled before the chaos broke out.  Jake still takes care of all Dad’s crab websites and Angela sneaks in some side jobs doing alterations amongst all the kids schooling and activities!

 

 Jake is still commuting to Seattle from Lind however there has been a lot less travel this year to all the exotic places like Alaska and seafood shows that he used to do.  He is making big progress on his lapidary store/workshop downtown Lind!!  He has been pulling rocks out of all sorts of nooks and crannies and hauling them all down to the new shelves awaiting in his workshop.  His next big adventure is tackling our kitchen remodel – we are still hoping to find a contractor to help with most of that.  All the appliances are delivered and the cabinets are supposed to ship Dec 31st!  We still need to pick the color. . .

 

 PJ recently found a new employee to help with the stores and retreat! We shut down for a little while but as soon as we found out our Sheriff was not going to infringe on our constitutional rights we opened back up May 5th and have had several very nice retreats.  Everyone has been grateful for some place to go and to be able to do something “normal”.  We have a full slate lined up for next year so we hope things will be better than this past year!! It was nice to have the long arm quilting jobs to fill in during the shutdown.  The quilt shop is now online at:  www.crazyquilterstore.com!

 

 It is interesting to see Heavenly Father’s hand in all the things going on in this crazy world.  The switch last year to emphasis on home study with church support had us all prepared for the changes.  Following the prophet brings peace and comfort.  Being prepared takes away a lot of stress – we had lots of toilet paper already on hand!  I hope we will stay hopeful and grounded in God’s word with whatever challenges we face this next year.  May the joy of the Savior’s birth illuminate your lives this Christmas season.

PJ and Jake Jacobsen