Johnson Family Dish

I don’t show it enough

Last night some friends of ours, a retired couple, had our family over for a swim in thier pool. It was a lot of fun to play in the water with the kids. There was no pressure to get anything done or be quiet etc. We just played with all of them and it was so refreshing. I sure love my kids. I love to see thier personalities shine. I just want to take note briefly of thier personalities at this time in thier life.

Kelcie is so outgoing and energetic, it is contagous. She is so self motivated, it is wonderful to watch her put herself to something and achieve.

Morgan is so thoughtful and deliberate about everything she does. She has a love of classical music. I put in a CD of the 5 Browns and she came to me and said “where did you get that? I love that song that is called Simple Gifts by…and she told me the composser.

Scott is so gentle and loving and yet so much like a boy. I love to watch him with his friends to watch him play is so fun. He loves to fix things, wants to be like his daddy. He dotes on me, just like his daddy does.

Addison is also so gentle, she is incredibly sensitive and funny. She loves a good joke or trick on some unsuspecting person. She loves to hug and cuddle. On Sunday I was trying to take a nap and she was not sleepy but came to cuddle with me until I fell asleep.

Charis is our dare devil. She has little fear. She also has energy like you would not believe. She will play really hard and then tell you that she is done and just stop and watch quietly from the sidelines. She also has a serious sweet tooth.

Funny to see bits and pieces of yourself in your children, a joy really. Until you see some of your unpleasant vices in them too. Opposition in all things I guess.

Goodbye Tami

My friend Tami passed away today after a long battle with diabetes that caused her to lose her leg and her kidneys to fail and today her untimely demise. She was just 36 years old.

I want to remember her example so that she will forever inspire me. My favorite part of Tami was her willingness, no eagerness, to serve. She would always ask me what she could do to help me. It struck me that after her amputation she was asking me what she could do to be of service. I admired how she was always thinking of others and sent a thank you card to every person who ever sent her a dinner (and she recieved help with dinners for months at a time) that was a lot of thank you’s but she would not think of not sending them.

She was so positive in the face of terrible adversity. She faced devistation and somehow found some way to be positive anyway.

On one hand I am glad that her pain and struggle are over. But on a more selfish note, I will miss her. She really touched me. I feel comfort that she is in heaven now and that I knew her. I will see you again Tami, I am so glad that you don’t have to feel pain anymore.

50 X 50

I love this idea. My cousin did one on her blog and challenged me to do one. Well I love goals, and a good challenge, so I am going to be working on this list.

The first 10 are from the ‘wishes’ tag I keep in my scriptures as a constant reminder.
1. Visit Ellis Island
2. Go on a Mission for my church (which likely will be after 50)
3. Go White Water Rafting
4. Learn Ballroom Dancing
5. Find Geneology for 5 Generations back
6. Be a Scriptorian (have a good knowledge of them and a constant study)
7. Get a BA in Nursing
8. Take kids to Washington D.C. (the year K. graduates)
9. Teach my children to be successful self sufficient adults
10. Hike the Grand Canyon

The following 40 need some time to formulate and will likely be a series of smaller goals as most of the 1st 10 are lofty.

11. Maintain a fitness routine that challenges me
12. Develope/maintain healthy eating habits
13. Write and stay true to a personal mission statement
14. Maintain a passionate marriage to Randon
15. Learn to spell (yes, I know you know I can’t spell)
16. Constantly expand my vocabulary
17. Serve in my community/church
18. Pray every day
19. Read good books and lots of them
20. Review goals often
21. Be a better listener
22. Be a loving, helpful, supportive Mother
23. Be an involved Grandmother
24. Be a better friend
25. Be more compassionate
26. Strive to be more Christ-like
27. Maintain a strong spiritual connection to God
28. Do ‘walk for the cure’ or some like marathon w/ Crystal
29. Do our Christmas tree hunt/trip each year
30. Talk myself out of getting the tatoo I want
31. Continue to pray each night as a couple (as we have since our honeymoon)
32. Help Scott earn his Eagle Scout Award
33. Help Kelcie earn her young Womans Recognition Medallion
34. Help Morgan earn her Y/W Recognition Medallion
35. Help Addi earn her Y/W Recognition Medallion
36. Help Charis earn her Y/W Recognition Medallion
37. Continue in our FHE each Monday Night
38. Continue with our morning family devotional
39. Continue to pray each night as a family
40. Send my son on a mission
41. Pay for Kelcie’s Wedding
42. Pay for Morgan’s Wedding
43. Pay for Addi’s Wedding
44. Pay for Charis’ Wedding
45. Maintain girlhood friendship w/ Hesper
46. Stand up for family values
47. Take Randon on an Alaskan cruise for his 40th b-day
48. Continue to save for retirement
49. Go kyacking in Idaho
50. LIVE EVERY MOMENT TO IT’S FULLEST!

Charis’ Birthday

Our baby girl turned 4 on Sept. 6. She requested lip gloss, nail polish (which I told her to not hope for because she was not getting any) Polly Pockets, baby dolls and barbie dolls, oh and chocolate. A girl after my own heart. It was so much fun to watch her excitement for her special day.

We went to the Apache Junction Multi-Generational Center on her B-Day to workout/play. It was the 1st anniversary of our beloved MGC and so they had streamers and balloons up and cake and punch on a table when you walked in. Well just imagine Charis’ delight! She thought it was all for her. When I told the staff that it was her B-Day they all played along. SO cute!

The Perfect Cure

I was feeling pretty blue for a few days. I had caught wind that my mother would be in town on the 1st of Sep. (that day)and this always rattles my cage, though less and less as time goes by, THANKFULLY. It just reminds me of our broken and disfunctional relationship which seems entirely hopeless, when she comes to town. So, she came and left and I never saw or heard from her, which is really just as well. It just never feels good and is a harsh reality for me that has plagued my life from a very early age.

Anyway, I digress, so I went to help a friend who was also feeling low. I was hoping that it would take my mind off of what I was feeling and cheer me by serving someone else. While there we were busy working on a project and visiting, having fun, keeping track of our kids all the while. My friend missed a phone call or two in our cleaning frenzy. When we were done cleaning and were ready for lunch my friend checked her phone for missed calls and returned them. One of the calls was her mother who was distaught that she could not reach her daughter during this time. She had called many other people to see if they knew what might have happened during this space of 2 hours that she was not able to contact her daughter, no one knew or could be reached either. I was in the kitchen getting lunch for everyone and my friend was in another adjoining room talking to her distressed mother, I, in the kitchen, could hear the conversation clearly. And there lies the perfect cure for my blues.

I was talking with another friend of mine about this miracle cure. This friend is single and has longed for a family all of her life, she never had one of her own. She enjoys her extended family and friends children but it is no substitute for her own longing. She says that when she is caring for other children for an extended period of time it is good to bring them home because she sees that it is very demanding and wears a person out. Her miracle cure? Maybe not but a temporary comfort at least. A band-aid if you will.

So, is it really a miracle cure? No. I will always long for what never was and what probably never will be, and try to maintain some small ounce of hope. It will always hurt. But I am grateful for the band-aids that make it more tollerable, and kind of funny. I think the lesson for me is that I just need to learn to see and be happy with all that I have. I have been so incredibly blessed with a family now. I could never ask for a better man to walk through life with.