Merry Christmas!

What a year this has been! We have moved from Snowflake (sniffle) to Denver so Lynn can go to Nursing School. He's in an accelerated program and should graduate October 26th of 2009 as a Registered Nurse, at which time we hope to move back to Snowflake (depending on employment of course). Cora turned seven and started second grade. Granger turned five and started Kindergarten and Jonah turned three and gets to stay home with his mommy. We are expecting another little boy in March.

This is the first year in many years we weren't able to pursue our love of international travel but we tried to make up for it roadtripping. We lived in our motorhome for one month during the summer while we were between homes and visited many of the national parks in the western U.S. We had a great time. A few of my favorite photos of the year are below.

We hope this season finds everyone well. Most everyone we know is struggling in this economy so rather than wish you all worldly riches, I pray all of your needs are met and your family is healthy and happy. May God bless you this upcoming year as you seek Him. We love you.

The Johnson Family

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

This year we decided to go all out and have the most amazing, ginormous, exquisite tree ever! (Just picture the Christmas tree in the Nutcracker).

We left our artificial tree in the attic in Snowflake because it just took up too much room. We decided not to have a tree because we were spending the holiday in Arizona and then I read an advertisement for a REAL $14 tree! I decided we should go for it. Pretty pathetic, I know. We put it on a box to give it some height, with a nice pan of water underneath and since we didn't have a tree stand (not that it would fit in one anyway) Lynn tied some very festive green string around it and hung it from our curtain rod in the living room. A Christmas tree tied to a curtain rod? You'd better believe it. It's all good though. We're getting more in touch with our "white trash" side these days. The kids don't seem to mind. They don't even seem to notice that our tree looks like the top of a tree someone discarded because it was a couple feet too tall for their house. I'm thinking with the recession and all this look might "catch on". What do you think?

Have you ever had an eyeball up your nose?

I can't find my camera and I didn't want to blog until I could post the accompanying pictures but I've given up and am going to blog anyway. First off, a couple of weeks ago I put the boys in the car, ran back into the house to get something, went back out to the car and Jonah announced, "I have an eyeball in my nose." What? I had no idea what he was talking about and we were late so I got in the car and proceeded on our way. I then asked Granger what he meant and with a very guilty look he said, "Yeah, okay. I'll tell the truth. (blows out a big breath) I dared him to do it." "What are you talking about?" And then I remembered that the day before he had made some craft in nursery that had those craft eyeballs glued onto some construction paper. He had left it in the car. I asked if that's the eyeball that he meant, stuffed up his nose and I got a resounding confirmation from both boys. Great. I handed him a kleenex while driving down the road and told him to blow. He did but nothing happened. We proceeded on our planned errands and after we were done, I took Granger to afternoon kindergarten and headed to the Urgent Care. After waiting our turn, we were taken back and the doctor tried every trick imaginable to loosen the eyeball but to no avail. Seriously, it was WAY in there and totally stuck. The poor kid was amazingly brave. He held so still with big tears welling up in his eyes but didn't make a sound. His nose started bleeding from the suction, the tweezers and the various sizes of tubes that kept getting shoved up his nose but he just held still and without being asked kept telling them that "His brother dared him to do it." over and over. The doctor called in an assistant and then brought in various machines. Nothing worked. When I asked what we were going to have to do if we couldn't get it out, the doctor and nurse looked at each other and then ignored me. Finally, I got an answer. We were going to have to go to the ER at the hospital and have him put under anesthetic and have an actual OPERATION to get it out. Seriously? But then, as a last stitch effort the doctor began shooting saline up his nose and after the first few tries only yielded blood clots, the eyeball finally came out. Yee haw! (You don't get to say that often enough). So, because he was such an amazing patient (even the doctor and nurses were surprised), I took him to McDonalds for an ice cream cone. Yes, rewarding such evil behavior, I know, but I love that kid and figure he learned his lesson on his own.

Also, Lynn was learning that specific skill in class that day (how to properly insert a suction tube into a patient's nose) and Jonah became the object lesson for the entire class. What great timing! And no, I didn't keep the eyeball...

A Taste of Europe

The Most Beautiful Square In Europe

The Boys Stuffing Their Faces

Tasty

I've really been wanting to travel lately. Anyone that knows us knows that we have a major weakness for traveling. There are some great deals right now for travel all over the world but right now we have neither the means nor the time to take advantage of any of them. I know, I know, this breaks all of your hearts and you feel so bad for us. We have been spoiled brats the last few years and have been able to take advantage of many discounted travel options. Unfortunately this time when the travel bug has bitten, we don't really have a way to scratch it.So today I decided to relive a little bit of our travels through our kitchen.

A few years ago when we were in Belgium, I had the tastiest waffles ever. Most Americans are very familiar with Belgian waffles and when we first got to Brussells and stopped into a little restaurant and had a delicious, fluffy, crispy, Belgian waffle covered with whipped cream, fruit and chocolate syrup, it was very good and exactly what I expected a Belgian waffle to be.

Later on in the day, I noticed a different kind of waffle being sold on the street. They were much smaller than the waffle we had had earlier but they looked pretty good and we decided to give them a try. They were like no waffle I had ever tasted before. We ate the first one and a few hours later couldn't resist buying another. I don't know if any of you have had this type of waffle that I'm talking about but it is something special. Really, it's only a cousin to the more famous Belgian waffles that we know. They are very dense and sweet, almost with a caramel glaze over them. The second one we had was even dipped in Belgian chocolate, which in and of itself is heavenly and quite superior to any chocolate I know of made in America.

I've thought of these waffles many times throughout the years and wondered what it was that made them so special. In the last few days as I have dreamed about vacationing in some remote part of the world, I've been thinking about these waffles and decided maybe I could find out how to make them in our own home. I did a little research on the internet and even called my friend, Roger, who lived in Brussles for awhile, to see if I could find out about these waffles. And thanks to wonderful, modern technology I was able to find several recipes http://www.recipezaar.com/Liege-Waffles-Belgian-Pearl-Sugar-Waffles-158977.

These waffles are indeed belgian waffles but they come from a city in eastern Belgium known as Liege, thus they are called Liege Waffles. The recipe is quite labor intensive and to truly make it right it calls for something called Pearl sugar, which I could not find anywhere but I was able to use a substitute. It took me all morning between culturing the yeast and letting the dough rise and crushing and mixing in the special sugar but I finally turned out my first batch of Liege waffles. They were only about half as good as the originals but still very tasty. I still wish that I could hop on a plane to some exotic destination but it was fun to bring a little taste of our former vacation back home.

(If anyone knows where I can get some kangaroo meat, I'd like to relive a little of Australia. The tail is very tasty. Also, ginger beer and bitters is great. I won't even get into those fantastic pastries in Austria. Many of you know that story. Mmmmm!)

-Lynn

Turkey Trot

We signed up for the family Turkey Trot at Cora and Granger's school this year. We were supposed to go on a 2 mile run/walk and then the school prepared lunch for everybody afterwards and gave shirts away to the kids. I signed up for our entire family and knew they had ordered enough shirts for our three kids and enough lunch for the five of us so... even though we completely forgot about the Turkey Trot, by the time we remembered, we jumped in the car and drove there.... late.

We followed the signs (driving) through the neighborhood across the street from the school. Some people were already finishing the trot so Lynn let me, Cora, Granger and Jonah out of the car somewhere towards the end of the trot and drove to the school so we would have our car there. As we were coming down a little hill, me with my pregnant belly and three little kids, we realized we were almost in the very front of the large group of people. School faculty were there, cheering us on, screaming, "You're almost there! You can do it! Don't give up!" Now mind you, we had only gone about fifty yards at this point. People were saying, "Wow, you guys are fast! You are an inspiration to the rest of us!" and super embarassing stuff like that. We hadn't even broken a sweat and we were just slowly walking along, downhill, while other families were panting past us. Cora said, "Mom, I imagined this would be more challenging." I had to keep telling her that it would have been if we had started at the beginning. Anyway, everytime someone screamed, "Don't give up! You're doing great!" (which was about every 20 or 30 yards) I had to hide my face from laughing and try to put on a grimacing, work-out expression. Then at the end, our picture was taken, cheers were given and I felt like an idiot.

By the way, I appreciate all the nice comments to Lynn on the last post, Prop 8, however, I was the one who posted the post. Sorry to confuse you all. I'll try to make it more clear next time.

Prop 8

During this entire election and the aftermath, I have not blogged about my political views because frankly, it wears me out. However, after reading negative article after article targeting Mormons for being biased and hateful regarding Prop 8 in California, I cannot NOT defend my beliefs. I watched a news article last night and while the news anchor said the protest against Yes on 8 in front of the Mormon temple was peaceful, the sign behind her said, "Burn in hell Mormons." I've read blogs that threaten Mormons with their life and I know that Church members were called out to protect the temple during the night because police forces wouldn't respond to hateful graffiti on the temple walls. Of course this side is not in the news and we, as Americans need to oppose this kind of hate. On a personal note, I absolutely believe that marriage is ordained of God and should remain as that between man and woman however, I do not have any feelings of hate towards gays/lesbians and believe they should be treated with respect and kindness. Just please don't redefine marriage and force your beliefs on my child while in the public school system. I believe I deserve the same respect. I need to stand up for what I believe in. Here are some facts about Prop 8 and the Mormon allegation.

"Dear Friends, In the aftermath of the recent election, we may find ourselves oddly on the defensive regarding our support for the Yes on Proposition 8 cause. Our young people have been especially subject to mean spirited comments by high school friends and teachers. We have nothing to be ashamed of. We did nothing wrong. In fact, we did everything that a civic minded American can and should do. I have put together a few facts that help me to appreciate our position better. For example:

Mormons make up less than 2% of the population of California. There are approximately 800,000 LDS out of a total population of approximately 34 million. Mormon voters were less than 5% of the yes vote. If one estimates that 250,000 LDS are registered voters (the rest being children), then LDS voters made up 4.6% of the Yes vote and 2.4% of the total Proposition 8 vote.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) donated no money to the Yes on 8 campaign. Individual members of the Church were encouraged to support the Yes on 8 efforts and, exercising their constitutional right to free speech, donated whatever they felt like donating.

The No on 8 campaign raised more money than the Yes on 8 campaign. Unofficial estimates put No on 8 at $38 million and Yes on 8 at $32 million, making it the most expensive non-presidential election in the country.

Advertising messages for the Yes on 8 campaign are based on case law and real-life situations. The No on 8 supporters have insisted that the Yes on 8 messaging is based on lies. Every Yes on 8 claim is supported.

The majority of our friends and neighbors voted Yes on 8. Los Angeles County voted in favor of Yes on 8. Ventura County voted in favor of Yes on 8.

African Americans overwhelmingly supported Yes on 8. Exit polls show that 70% of Black voters chose Yes on 8. This was interesting because the majority of these voters voted for President-elect Obama. No on 8 supporters had assumed that Obama voters would vote No on 8.

The majority of Latino voters voted Yes on 8. Exit polls show that the majority of Latinos supported Yes on 8 and cited religious beliefs (assumed to be primarily Catholic).

The Yes on 8 coalition was a broad spectrum of religious organizations. Catholics, Evangelicals, Protestants, Orthodox Jews, Muslims – all supported Yes on 8. It is estimated that there are 10 million Catholics and 10 million Protestants in California. Mormons were a tiny fraction of the population represented by Yes on 8 coalition members.

Not all Mormons voted in favor of Proposition 8. Our faith accords that each person be allowed to choose for him or her self. Church leaders have asked members to treat other members with "civility, respect and love," despite their differing views.

The Church did not violate the principal of separation of church and state. This principle is derived from the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . ." The phrase "separation of church and state", which does not appear in the Constitution itself, is generally traced to an 1802 letter by Thomas Jefferson, although it has since been quoted in several opinions handed down by the United States Supreme Court in recent years. The LDSChurch is under no obligation to refrain from participating in the political process, to the extent permitted by law. U.S. election law is very clear that Churches may not endorse candidates, but may support issues. The Church as always been very careful on this matter and occasionally (not often) chooses to support causes that it feels to be of a moral nature.

Supporters of Proposition 8 did exactly what the Constitution provides for all citizens: they exercised their First Amendment rights to speak out on an issue that concerned them, make contributions to a cause that they support, and then vote in the regular electoral process. For the most part, this seems to have been done in an open, fair, and civil way. Opponents of 8 have accused supporters of being bigots, liars, and worse. The fact is, we simply did what Americans do – we spoke up, we campaigned, and we voted. Hold your heads up high – you did a great job on this most important cause. We will have more opportunities in the future to participate in our democratic process. Let's remember the lessons learned and do an even better job next time. These are my personal opinions and thoughts; any errors are mine and in now way reflect official Church policy or doctrine. Thanks, Kevin Hamilton (818) 857-7298> mobileJon http://us.mc307.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=Tucker760-803-8883jtucker@roadrunner.com"

Self-esteem Booster

Tonight, while watching TV with Granger, a commercial came on for Hydroxy-cut. After watching the commercial with the before and after pictures, Granger said to me, "Hey mom, maybe you should get that." That's not really something I wanted to hear, especially being somewhat self-conscious of my five-month pregnant body. "Thanks," I said, "Are you saying I'm fat?" He paused and then said, "No, I just thought you might want it." with a smile. Now mind you, this is the same child that came running into the kitchen after watching a Life-Alert commercial screaming, "Mom, you have to get this for Grandma. Come see!" Ah, through the mouths of babes...

I LOVE Halloween!!!

Halloween is definitely my favorite holiday. I had a very hard time giving up trick-or-treating. I think I went until I was 16 or so. I even went once in my twenties under very special circumstances. The last few years I've traded in trick-or-treating for doing haunted houses. I guess I just love to scare people. This year however I couldn't do a haunted house because all our decorations are in Snowflake. I resolved to make the most of this year's Halloween and by sheer accidental luck, I was able to thoroughly enjoy myself.

I went with Cameo and the kids for awhile and my heart was swollen with parental pride as I watched Granger and Jonah literally run from house to house to get as much candy as they could. After going with the family I went back home to pass out the candy. To make it easier on myself I put a chair out on the front porch and grabbed one of my books to start studying. Of course I had a scary mask on the whole time and was wrapped in a blanket that looked pretty spooky itself. One little kid happened to walk up to me as I was finishing reading a paragraph. I finished the paragraph right as he got up to me and reached down to grab a piece of candy for him. I guess I had been sitting really still because when I moved he jumped. I had to take off my mask to show him that I was just a real person and that calmed his fears but it gave me a great idea. From that point on I put my book away and just sat as still as I could on the porch until unsuspecting trick-or-treaters came by. Apparently, it was not very easy to tell whether I was real or just a stuffed monster on the porch. Wave after wave of unsuspecting trick-or-treaters were frightened by me as they came up to the door, reached down to take a piece of candy out of the dish and were surprised when I would say, "Happy Halloween." or ask them, "What do you say?" or just growl. The best fun came when a group of four 8th Grade girls came to the door. I wasn't sure they were even going to make it to the door. They debated for so long whether I was real or fake. The whole time I sat perfectly still. Eventually a large group gathered behind them as they tried to dare one another into coming up to take the first piece of candy. Finally one girl with a squirt gun suggested, "If we squirt it with a squirt gun and it doesn't move, we know it's not real." So they squirted me with the squirt gun and I didn't move. Assured by my lack of movement, they came forward to take their candy. Just as they grabbed for the candy I jumped up and growled. The whole group who had gathered turned and ran, screaming and jumping all over the lawn. I have to admit I loved it. The girls loved it too and asked me to give them high five and told me I was the best actor around. I had fun all night until Cameo and the kids finally came home and we went inside to sort through all the kid's loot. It wasn't quite as cool as the haunted house but all-in-all, still a fun night.

Red Devil Rose

I saw a butiful rose in our frontyard. It had two swerls in it. I picked it. I was serprsied it was alive. It was BRIGHT red! I gave it to Mom. Mom called it a rose A.K.A. the Red Devel Rose. "Where should I put it?" I said. "In a cup." Mom said. I put a little bit of water in a white cup on the table. "Its BUTIFUL!" I said. Its the Red Devil Rose. I said to myself. Yha. The Red Devil Rose.



ritin by Cora

365 to go!!

So when I first started school I had Cameo make up these little cards for me. There are actually two different types of cards here. One to mark off the days from when I started school to when I'm done with school and one that marks off the weeks. Cameo ridiculed me heavily for making such cards but I love them. I made similar cards on my mission. It's kind of the equivalent of scratching marks in the wall when you're in prison. I've actually never been to prison so I don't know that for sure nor would I describe my mission or my time at school as prison persay but I find them very helpful. I'm a goal oriented person and one of the best ways for me to achieve my goals is by being able to chart my progress. It really helps on some of the really hard days to be able to look back at my nice green and orange markings and see how far I've come. Even Cameo has gained interest and will occasionally ask how many days have gone by.

All that being said, today is a big day. It is exactly one year from today that I will graduate! Time really is starting to fly by, especially now that I've started clinicals. Speaking of which, I have to go to bed because I have clinicals at 5:30 am tomorrow. I mark my clinical days off with an added measure of satisfaction. Good night.

Ultrasound update

Yesterday we went to have "the" ultrasound. First off, let me say that our baby seemed healthy and to be growing right on target. Although I swear this is the most docile kid around. Just sits there and doesn't want to move so the ultrasound tech had a hard time seeing what gender it was. Anyway, I had been thinking it was a boy for the last month or two and so I was trying to prepare Cora for that possibility. She really wants a sister and told me that if it's just another brother, she'd rather get a dog. Poor kid. Anyway so while we're trying to figure out what we're having, I see the heartbeat, right around 145 and so Lynn and I are pretty sure it's a boy. (Besides the fact that I've been eating pickles and olives and everything salty I can get my hands on.) Then the tech says, "I can't see for sure but I have a guess." I said, "What percentage of likelihood would you give yourself?" She says,. "95%." So then she says, "I think it's a boy." Jonah says, "I knew it!" He had been telling us that all along. Granger smiles and says, "We'll be crazy, all these boys swinging off the roof and trees!" Although he was hoping for a girl, he didn't seem to mind and then poor Cora just puts her head back, tears welling in her eyes and tries not to cry. Then the tech gets a better look and just confirms what she already thought. "Yeah, that's a boy part." Later, the tech leaves to get the doctor (I'll post about that in a second) and Cora puts her head on my chest. I tell her, you'll love your baby brother and he'll love you." She looks up at me with watery eyes and says, "She only said 95%, not 100%." Lynn told her that eventually we'll get her a girl dog. That seemed to help a little. So there you have it. Another boy. That makes four boys in a row. Crazy.

On a side note, although this is quite personal I wanted to blog about a little more. We could still use your prayers. I have been spotting again. The doctor thinks it's a low-lying placenta but nothing too serious. For me, however, it feels serious. I think things will be okay but the more people we know the more prayers we get and I believe in the amazing power of prayer. Anyway, thanks for your concern and love and I know the right thing will happen with this baby too. We already have one angel baby in heaven and hopefully that's all we need right now.

Wonder.

Concern.

A captivated audience.

Jonah's tricks.

...and fun times!

The circus pics turned out a little dark.

The Greatest Show on Earth

So our bargain hunter Cameo found half price tickets to the circus. Having gone to the circus as a kid she wanted to give our kids a chance to see what she remembered when she was young. The kids where so excited, it was fun just to watch them. Granger told us before the circus he was going to be an acrobat when he grew up. After watching all of the death defying stunts high above the ground he rethought his career choice. He had a very concerned look on his face most of the circus and when Cameo and I asked him if he still wanted to be an acrobat he said he didn't know, pointing out that the acrobats could easily die doing what they were doing. I don't think Granger is willing to take that chance. Cora's favorite part was the animals of course and Jonah was so inspired he started showing me all the tricks he could do on the rails in front of us after the show had been going only 15 minutes. It was a great time.

Happy Anniversary Decade

We celebrated our anniversary in Greer, Arizona at the Red Setter Inn. We've always wanted to stay in the inn there. It's a beautiful bed and breakfast in a log cabin. They feed you a great breakfast, cookies and goodies out all day long to eat all you want, along with soda and juice. They provide a sack lunch so you can take it with you on a bike ride or fishing. (They provide all the gear.) We even had our own bathrobes in the room. It was a beautiful place with a stream running right along the back of it. We played a mean game of Checkers on the river. (Yes, this was our tenth anniversary, not first so we figured it was okay.) Lynn killed me by the way. We took a hike along the river one day. The pics above are of that hike. All-in-all it was a magical time with the love of my life.

Snowflake Reunion

We went to Snowflake last week while Lynn had the week off between semesters. Jeanette threw a party for everyone to get together for dinner and fun. We even had friends and family that drove up from the Valley to see us that week! It was a lot of fun and made us a bit homesick seeing all our awesome friends and family. I didn't get pictures of almost anyone, but most of you were there. Thank you. It was so good to see you. Our kids were in heaven with their cousins and didn't want to come home. A special thanks to Darce who watched our kids for two days while Lynn and I went on a romantic getaway to celebrate our 10th anniversary! Later that week my mom, sister and her husband drove up to see us too. It was a lot of fun.

A book a day...

I love reading books to the kids and so far they love it as much as I do. Yes, there can be a limit now and then to Jonah's obsessiveness (after the 15th book, I tend to be done.) But all-in-all, it's one of my favorite things. The kids love to plop into bed with me and read. One of the great little things in life. Do you think they'll still like it when they're teenagers?

A good Colorado Saturday

Earlier this month we had a great Saturday at A Taste of Colorado. The kids panned for gold, made bead bracelets and met Spiderman. Yes, there were great rides and food and trinkets but we opt for the free stuff every time. Then we were able to walk down 16th Street Mall, which is a great street in historic downtown, with shops lining the streets. We stopped for lunch and then rode the "free" bus back. We all had a great time. I thought it was about time to post a successful Saturday outing in Colorado.