Johnson Family Dish

A Relief Society DOG FIGHT!

Yes indeed. I cannot help but share this all too real story that happened today. I need to be able to remember it so that I can laugh my head off about it when I am 82.

My two lovely counselors, Paola Brown and Emily Nevill, and I decided that it was high time we went on some visits to welcome some of the newest members of our ward with a get to know you visit. We had already seen 3 lovely families and were off to the last one. This home is located in a particularly rough trailer park in AJ. (We have had other somewhat humerous adventures in this trailer part before on our visits of members, but those are another story.) Anyhow so we are invited in and are seated on a couch in a rough single wide mobile home. We are imediately greeted by a large black lab, very friendly, and a pit-bull mix who are eager to play fetch. So, as we are getting to know this sister we are visiting, Emily is throwing a little hair thing that the black lab keeps bringing her to throw. We are laughing at how persistent this dog is, insisting that she throw it, gently, for a house game of fetch.

All is going well. We are sharing small talk. Then they bring a puppy in for us to greet, a doberman pincher mix. Pretty soon after the puppy is there the two big (female) dogs beging to fight. I know that sometimes, like humans, dogs have thier squables so we all wait a few seconds for the dogs to settle down. They do not. The fight is escalating and the woman we were visiting gets up to try and end the dog fight with no luck. She grabs the tail of the pit bull and says “someone grab the other dogs tail”, at this point I was up and trying to help the lady out as the fight is getting worse and the dogs are not letting up. I manage to grab the lab dogs tail (and I don’t know if I would have tried had it been the pit bull). So I am pulling one way and the lady is pulling the other as my counselor Emily is up and wondering how to help and my counselor Paola is sitting frozen to the couch in horor, as the dog owner and I play tug of war with the dogs. Now you must understand that I am wearing a dress and heals, on official church errands, pulling this dog with all of my might. Finally they let go and the pit bull is ushered to a “time out spot”. Emily and Paola and I look at eachother in disbelief and trying not to laugh at the humourous images.

I try to carry on conversation to no avail as the couples 22 year old son (who has serious mental deficiencies, probably the age of a 2 year old mentally, but very sweet and innocent) and introduces us all to a family friend (a rough biker looking man) who comes in to the house as his ‘girl friends’. I could not control myself any more. I am sitting there trying to behave as though all of this was ‘all in a days church work’, and ‘nothing unusual has taken place at all’. Cool, calm and collected. We have to leave, I cannot pretend anymore, I am going to errupt in laughter!

Before we go I am trying to give directions to the lady for our literature group on Thursday. She cannot find a pen so I go to the car that my counselors have raced to the minute that we made any mention of farewell. I get to the car and Emily says, “do you need me to write that for you?, after that work out your arms must be pretty sore!” LOL!!!! That was it, I could not hold back anymore! I tell the lady that I will bring her a mapquest map later in the week because I am trying so hard not to laugh that I cannot think of the street names for the directions.

On the ride home we are trying to be very civil about the whole thing. And when I drop Emily off at her house she says to me “you be sure to go home and put some ice on those,” rubbing her bicepts. Laughing my butt off at this point!

Mothers Day

What a happy day! A brief history; this day used to be filled with depression and gloom for me. Wallowing in the sorrow of what has been denied me. I made the decision not to feel sorry for myself anymore and to rejoice that I have the chance to BE the mother that I always wanted. That decision has changed everything and each year Mothers Day has become a more and more happy occasion. This Mothers Day is no exception.

I am thankful for all of the women who show me, through example, how to be the mother that I want to BE. I am thankful for the woman who is my mother and gave me life. How do you ever repay that gift?

I have to close this post with my cousin’s beautiful wish for Mothers Day: “Happy Mother’s Day to all the woman who are Mothers, all the woman who wish they were Mothers and all the women who are about to become Mothers. It is an amazing thing and something that is worth all that was sacrificed. ” http://www.fivebrowns.com/2006/05/mothers-day/

Women From All Walks Of Life

It was the most amazing thing that women from all walks of life and in all stages of life came together for the common purpose of self improvement. I saw a couple of ladies there in traditional Affrican Dress, beautiful. We had a Tongan chior sing to us, which was stunning. A young girl from this chior sang “I am a Child of God” and it was touching, this song has special meaning to me personally and our family.

The woman that I talked about in the last post who was struggling with something that I was good at and vice versa, she was a complete and total stranger. And we were from vastly different backgrounds, she was older than my own parents. But we related to eachother and encouraged eachother like we had always known one another. It was something quite terrific!

I can’t wait to go back next year. It was a lot of walking and hard on the feet, for one class I went to the north and East most points @ BYU (actually accross the street from the campus), and then for the next class had to race down to the south and west most point of the campus, I would say that distance was a least a mile. But, it was so worth the spiritual refreshment!

2006 BYU Womens Conference

It was so wonderful! The theme for Womens Conference was “Rise to the Divinity Within You”. So all of the classes that we went to were centered around this theme.

Basicly Thurday and Friday we got to choose 3 classes each day to attend on a variety of topics. With two general sessions each day, for everyone (probabaly 15-20 thousand women) an opening and a closing session. My favorite class that I went to on Thursday was for women leaders, the information was so helpful with my current calling. I took notes in all of the classes that I attended so that I could reference the talks that I heard.

On Thursday Night we all attended a concert of very talented and popular LDS musicians. It was SO COOOL! We heared a variety of music from Regea to Rock and EVERYTHING in between. My Favorite was William Joseph, a talented Pianist. He played some Led Zepplin music, among other classic rock tunes.

They also had a large variety of service projects that we could do on Thursday and Friday nights. Making cards, blankets, newborn layettes, a large variety of hygeine kits including birth kits. They had a project for making bears, blankets, procedure dolls, and games for children all over the world. THAT IS SOOO COOL!!!

My favorite class for Friday was called “Stir up the Gift of God”. About coming out of your comfort zones and starting a new career, school, or any new season or challenge in life. I sat by a woman there who was struggling with something that I was good at and I am wrestling with something that she has already done and so we were able to encourage each other in these things.

Friday night we, me, Emily and Randi, went to a comedy club, that was very clean and sooo funny. Fluid spewing out of your nose funny! Emily, Randi and I were laughing so hard the whole trip. It seems that we have discovered how we spur eachother on with gut busting jokes! That was so refreshing, to laugh and be girls again (with no real responsiblity for a couple of days).

To close Womens Conference we were privleged to hear from Boyd K. Packer (one of the 12 apostles). He spoke about the importance of Woman and how we are vital to the family unit and society as a whole. It was so encouraging and uplifting!

Joni & some of our friends, went to SLC the next day and went to the temple there. That was such a beautiful experience. That temple is the most beautiful inside and out that I have seen.

So then we drove to Vegas (stopping to shop all of the way, we were in a Wal-mart in St.George at 11:30pm!), spent the night with Sherri and flew home. I feel renewed. Talk about a spiritual feast! And also a good time to remember that I do know how to have fun with friends still and just be me for a while. I missed my family though and I am happy to be with them again. I love them so much more!

I have to end this post with a HUGE THANKS to our dear sweet husbands for taking our burdens for those days so that we could get away and discover ourselves again! You are our Rocks! I know that I can speak for all of the women that I was travelling with, as we all spoke about our dh’s with love and appriciation.
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Daddy is going to….

be in his underpants cleaning house when the kids get home from school on Thursday and Friday, this prediction by Morgan. Crazy girl!

Like Daddy staying home from work a few days to do Mom’s job will cause this radical behavior?!! BTW, THIS IS SOOO NOT WHAT I DO!

I am going to miss all of my crazy people here while I am at Womens Conference the next several days. I have only been gone one other time, to take Grandma to CA to care for her rental property there, a couple years back, and a couple of overnighters over the years.

With my trip to CA with Grandma I missed my family very much. But in all honesty, after being alone again for two days it was hard to come back (I know not a motherly thought, but an honest one). You see, when you are in the thick of things, keeping up with a growing, demanding family of 7 (myself included) it is hard to see all of the work you are doing on a constant basis (motherhood is the origonal 24/7 job). When you go away for a few days and can catch your breathe, you remember what it was like to just take care of yourself, and being a person who leans toward being a loner (we can discuss this in a future blog), it was very nice! It caused me to look inside a great deal. I was in a very introspective place I wanted to know why I do what I do when it is SO HARD?! Love. I would not be happy or fulfilled without these people here. They are my heart, my soul, my reason for living. I have found true love in working my butt off, and I love it.

So, I will miss my family but, I will enjoy my break.