Teresa Dee Meyerhoeffer Christensen's Life History : Stephanie Marie 1981

STEPHANIE MARIE- Boise, Idaho -1981

In 1980, still in school at Boise State University, we moved to 3904 Pershing Drive. We were having trouble making ends meet financially and there was an ad in the newspaper for an apartment manager that read: “no experience referred and small child okay". Sure sounded like us. I could work at home while Roger went to classes and worked part-time at Morrison-Knudsen Construction Company in the Accounting Depart. There were 36 apartments in 4-unit buildings that had been army barracks and housing for officers during World War II. We lived in a three bedroom townhouse with the bedrooms upstairs. For payment we received free rent and $100 a month. We had to pay our utilities the first year, but those were paid the second year as well. The tenants were an eclectic mix, including wives of convicts in the prison nearby, but I was able to be home with my children and that was important to me. I was soon expecting another child.

Both Dr. Kreuger and Roger felt like I was having a boy. The baby’s heart beat was always slow, between 120-140 beats per minute and girl babies are usually 140-160 he said. I was expecting the first part of December, but by the middle of November my body was ready and the baby could come anytime. Roger was going away on a scout over-nighter Friday the 13th, so I thought it might happen then…little did I know it would be over a month later!

Finally on December 17th, 1981 the doctor induced labor. I had gotten teary in his office earlier that week because we were hoping to go to Twin Falls for Christmas and I was nearly two weeks over due. He broke my water at 8:15 AM and at 12:22 that noontime, I gave birth to Stephanie Marie Christensen. She weighed 8 lbs and 14 oz and was 21 and a half inches long. Her amniotic fluid was meconium stained from being overdue, but she was darling and healthy. I wrote in my journal the next day, “She was different than Emily in every way. She is dark and has dimples instead of a cleft. She seems more mellow. She is a sweetheart. Emily loves her. She came into recovery and kissed her.” With finals and basketball Roger was too busy to come back to the hospital, so my mom who was there to help, took us home the next day. Then she took us back to Twin Falls on the 20th and Roger joined us on Christmas Eve. I painted Roger a picture of Alpine Lake for Christmas at my mom’s house before he arrived. We were now a family of four!

Picture I painted for Roger Christmas 1981

Roger finished his Bachelors Degree in accounting that same December Steph was born and was hired on at C.W. Grow and Company accounting firm (later Grow Rassmussen Co.) for $16,000 a year. Brother Grow was in our Stake Presidency so Roger felt good about the job. He was very busy with tax season and basketball and I was busy with the apartments and two little girls. We decided it was time to get our own house. We had been very frugal in college and not taken out any student loans or gone into debt. We even had a little savings. I believe it was because we were blessed for paying over 10% tithing for a period of time and always paid full tithing with some offerings. There is no logical way to explain that we had saved money during college when we received no earthly financial assistance.

In March of 1982 we purchased a little home and moved in the first weekend of that month. Double bonus, we blessed Stephanie that same weekend. The home was only a year and half old and had almost 1100 square feet. It had 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, a living room and a dining room connected to the kitchen. It was not big, but it was ours and I loved it. We paid $46,500 plus $500 closing costs and put $4500 down. Our payments were only $370 a month which was good for those early 1980's years when some interest rates were over 20%. (The only reason I include all this financial info is that it was in my journal and I think it is interesting how much prices of homes have increased. I am not obsessed with money...pretty much the opposite). There were government subsidized apartment buildings directly behind us, but we were on a quiet cul-de-sac called Kerr Place. I was called to be the 1st counselor in YWs and Roger the Ward Clerk in our new little ward. Welcome to suburbia. We even got a dog named Annie which we had for nearly 16 years.