A Very Special Early Birthday Gift...

I'm mentioning my birthday much more that I ever do. But this is one blog entry I want to make and remember for a very long time.

I turn 60 this year. That is kind of a milestone. But, like every other year, I just don't really think about it a lot. However, yesterday afternoon I got an eMail from my Jacob, my son. It was just a wonderful gift and I have asked him if I could share it. He has assured me I can send a copy to his siblings, which I will do, and he has assured me I can post it on my Blog if I give the artist credit, which I will.

I received this eMail message from Jake with an attachment yesterday afternoon:

Dear Mom,

Since you are heading out tomorrow I'm going to give you your birthday gift now. I know a professional comic artist in Ann Arbor named Jay P. Fosgitt. I had him adapt our family portrait especially for you. Logistical good fortune has been lacking on my end, so I haven't been able to print and mail a nice copy. But I wanted you to go ahead and have your present. Anyhow, hope you like it. Let me know if it doesn't come through. It's a big file.
Love,
Jake

Next I want to preface this by showing you the original picture taken many, many, many years ago outside of Denver in the mountains. Claude has a dear friend named Gordon Kay. They were in the Air Force together in basic training and then in the service. Gordy is a very good person. He loved to take pictures. Long after their military days, we retained our friendship with Gordy. He was taking a job with NOAA and was going to Alaska. On his way through he stayed with us in Denver. We had recently moved there for Claude to work with Bureau of Land Management. We took a trip into the mountains and Gordy took this great picture of our family at that point in history. After Gordy left, he had the picture professionally mounted on board and in a large size and sent it to us. We framed it and it has hung on the wall in our home ever since. We all love this candid shot of our family. Everyone's personality is evident in their faces.

In the picture you have Andie sitting on my knee, Nissa in the middle, and Claude is holding Jake. This would have been taken in 1975. Please note Claude has a mustache but no beard and I have no gray hair.

This last year Andie found someone who could make the picture smaller for us. It was too large for us to scan and we wanted all the kids to have a copy. Bless her heart she found a person who could do that in Louisville and had copies of this picture made for her siblings.


Jake's gift to me was to take the beloved family picture to his friend, Jay P. Fosgitt, and have him make a picture using the picture as the inspiration. He also asked him to do it using a 'turtle' theme. Another of the things I love is turtles. It was always my favorite word and now I have lots of 'turtle' things in my home. I just recently hung a turtle windchime made of wood on my patio that Nissa and Todd gave to me. So Jake, asked his friend, Jay P. Fosgitt, to make a turtle version of our family picture for 1975.

To say I was overjoyed is just not enough. I just loved this new version of our family...and we are all turtles!!!  Jake said he loves the expressions on Claude and my faces best. They seem to say, "What have we gotten ourselves into??" I immediately saved the picture, then printed it out on good photo paper. There was no one at home to share it with. I sent Jake the best thank you note I could come up with via eMail.  Then I waited for Claude to get back home so I could share this wonderful piece of artwork.

Claude had the best grin on his face when he saw it. He immediately recognized the source from which the inspiration sprang for this picture. He was so happy with it.  I was wishing I had taken a picture of his joy at seeing it. He had two comments that were notable. The first was, "This is suitable for framing!" and the second was, "Jake wins the prize for best birthday gift this time!"

I asked Jake if I could share the picture. He assured me it was okay if I credited this fabulous artist friend. Jay P. Fosgitt, you get all the credit for doing this wonderful work of art that will be an added treasure in the Christensen family for years and years to come. Your name and talent will be heralded by me to many people for many years to come.

Here is the information about Jay P. Fosgitt that Jacob gave me for your reference and use:

I would say if you wanted to post it on your blog, you should credit Jay Fosgitt by name and offer a link to his website. http://www.jayfosgitt.com/. His online portfolio is quite fun and irreverant (Think PG-13). He is often asked to redo family portraits in his style, but I definitely made the first request of having him turtle-ize a photo. Yes, he did have fun doing it!

So there you have it...a really fun gift to remember turning 60 years old by. A glimpse into the Christensen family past.  I can't wait to frame this and get it on the wall for all to see.

Thank you Jake for this wonderful gift of memories and looking forward to many more years with my family that I love with all my heart. They are the thing of most worth to me.