We need your help!

You can vote for more than one name on the poll to the right but please help us out here and feel free to leave comments. We are SO at a loss for this kid's name this time. How do people do it who have like five and six kids of the same gender? I think if that were the case for me I'd just stop caring about their names and start using numbers or symbols. Anyway, keep in mind the middle name will most likely be Jones or Franklin. (Gotta do the family name thing.) Any input would be greatly appreciated although if we don't like what you have to say we'll just ignore it/you... :)

Last of the Mohawkians!

Granger needed a haircut and decided he wanted a mohawk. For days after this, he could be heard saying, "Rock on dude!" or "Born to be Wild!"while playing an air guitar. Such a fun kid!

Dorothy Was Right

What a fun time of year!

We couldn't fit our presents in the Tercel.........

So we had to have an early Christmas.

The kids loved "Fake Christmas". (That's what we called it.)

It was a long drive...

in a small car.

But it was worth it to see all our family and friends.

Jonah made Dave his new best friend.

We jumped and played like kids.

We were inspired by Grandpa and Grandma still going strong in their 9th decade.

Partied at Grandpa Wendell and Grandma Carolyn's house.

Fun times at the park...

With the Crouse's and the Shaws.

Two of the only people willing to call me a friend.

Our traditional "Jerusalem dinner" on Christmas Eve. (Sorry Dave)

It took a few years but the kids weren't surprised
when they opened their Christmas Eve pajamas this year.

Christmas day with Grandma Ney. (Thank you!)

It's hard to beat the excitement of Christmas.

So much fun!

Look at these crazy kids!

On to Snowflake... We stayed up talking until midnight every night.

Fun times at the Dog House.

Lining up for Pinata fun.

Happy New Year!

Looking forward to a great 2009!

What a great two weeks. It was so nice to get a break and see so many of the people we have been missing.

(Sorry, we didn't get pics of all of you but we love you just the same.)

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.