Did you know?

Did you know...

Todd's favorite thing to wear is jeans and no shirt (I'm guessing on this one, but that's what I find him in the most during the warmer months)
McKayla's favorite thing to wear is her Snow White costume
Bodie's favorite thing to wear is Nuttin (I guess he's more free that way)
My favorite thing to wear is leggings and a top in the winter...a maxi dress in the summer

Christmas Fudge

I attempted peppermint fudge for the first time for our x-mas party. It turned out pretty darn good and was really easy to make :-)

Our wedding

I've had many people ask me how I feel about what happened at our wedding. I usually give them a simple "It was still the greatest day of my life and you can't change the past." This statement is true, but I've never gone into detail with anyone about how I truly feel about that day. Some might think this dramatic, but these are my feelings and everyone is entitled to those.

I was one of those little girls who dreamed about her perfect wedding and husband. I waited 7 years to marry Todd and I knew with all my heart and soul that he was the one I was supposed to marry. The preperation was fun and exciting...not stressful. I told myself that nothing is perfect so if anything went a little astray the day of the wedding then I would just go with the flow.

Sometimes when I think about it I'm sad and other times angry (more for Todd really although he has never expressed anger over what happened...I just feel like he shouldn't have had to go through that), but most of the time I think about what many people told me that day "I have never felt so much love in a room before" and know that it was I feel too. Would I have had it different if I could? Of course, but after that day I knew even more that Todd is my soulmate and that our family and friends are second to none.

If I think of the day as a whole it's a blur as I'm sure many people's wedding days are, but there are definitely special moments with individual people that stand out to me and I will never forget. Some too personal to explain...it's something you can only experience. Like the moment in the middle of the night when we knew I was actually sick and my mom just held me in her arms...she spoke words to me that took us both back to a time when I was little...words I will never forget. Or the moment when Todd and I had our first dance...I forgot the world, forgot the craziness of the day. I knew in his arms was the safest place I could be and I still feel that way today. My Dad, sister and brother were an amazing support through my day as well (as were so many family and friends), but the experiences I had with my Mom and Todd were life changing and I will hold those in my heart forever. They were so calm and collected even though I'm sure they were so confused and frazzled inside.

I don't know why it happened to us and I've never felt like I should try and figure out why (I would just drive myself insane). God has a plan for all of us and he knew what he was doing that day. The thing about heartache is that is helps us grow and appreciate more, if we let it. Whether it was to grow, to appreciate more or simply so we could have those intimate experiences, He knew we could get through it and He knew we had the love and support to still make it one of the best days of our lives.

So there are my honest feelings...and thank you always for all the love and support. Life is full of challenges and struggles, but if you open your heart and eyes you will see that the blessings are plenty. The day after our wedding we went to Tuscany for breakfast and they told us their bride the night before was so sick with the flu she ended up in the hospital instead of at her wedding. I'm incredbily grateful that I was able to walk down the aisle to a wonderful man and share that day with everyone (and let me tell you...after 7 years it was going to take more than the flu to keep me from marrying Todd!).

Spaghetti baked in garlic bread

Christmas Crafts around the house

Something new for the dining room chandelierWe made it snow in Kayla's roomA place for our x-mas cards

Did you know?

Did you know...


That Todd started out blonde and ended up dark


That McKayla started out dark and ended up blonde


That Bodie...well, we're still waiting to see, but there is a little blonde peach fuzz now :-)


That I started blonde and stayed that way (must say I'm happy I did!)


Have a FABULOUS weekend!

Annual Johnson X-mas Party (Pajamas)

We had our annual Johnson Xmas Party last weekend and this year we did "PJs". We had a fun time hanging with all our friends and McKayla had a fabulous dance off with Uncle G (video to come). Nick playing dress up with the little girlsParty in McKayla's roomHugs with SophiaDance Off time!

Bodie got burned

I ALWAYS shut the bathroom door when I have my curling/flat iron on. Monday, I was racing trying to get ready and just ran to my room for a second while my curling iron heated up. In that split second, Bodie got into the bathroom, pulled the iron down by the cord and touched the hot metal. I heard the thump of the iron and then the cry. When I came in he looked up at me stunned by what he had just felt and then the tears came. I felt HORRIBLE!!!! I reacted quickly...ran it under room temp water, got burn cream on it, gave him Tylenol and then just held him. For the next hour and a half Todd and I switched off holding him while I called the doctor. At one point we put him in the bath to just try and distract him/calm him down and keep his hand in the water (he ws screaming the entire time). The doctor saw him later that day and he went to the burn unit at the U the next day. It wasn't the worst burn ever, but he definitely got it good. They cut off the blister at the burn unit, cleaned it up and then showed us how to clean and rebandage it every day for the next two weeks. The biggest concern they have is it healing properly so it doesn't affect his grasp (it runs over two joints b/c it's on part of his index finger and part of his palm). The doc said he shouldn't have any scaring or issues as long as we take care of it.
I have never felt so horrible as a parent (a close second was his fat lip a couple weeks ago) even though every nurse, doctor, friend kept telling me "accidents happen". I know I can't take it back no matter how much I want to and I'm just grateful it wasn't worse.

Christmas at Paka and GiGi's

We celebrated x-mas early with my family since we'll be with Todd's family for the actual holiday. We had all the yummy breakfast traditions...egg casserole, bacon, sausage, OJ, eggnog, sweet rolls. We also had a fun time giving and recieving gifts. McKayla got a Barbie makeup kit, book, clothes, piggy bank (after which she learned to hit up Paka and Papu for coins), Minnie Mouse doll and more. Bodie got a little people pirate ship, octopus counting toy, piggy bank (Kayla filled his for him), Santa Mouse, and more. It even snowed a little for us that day!Yaya opened the glitter in Kayla's kit only to have it explode on her...we decided the vacuum was the best way to take care of that :-)

Humbled

I am the coordinator for all of our office community service events at my work. This year I had the joy of taking recordable books to the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind. The school consists of students from Pre-school to High School.
It was a humbling experience to deliver the books and meet the students. The Utah School for the Deaf and Blind is the only school here that uses only ASL (American Sign Language) in their classrooms for their deaf children (no speaking) and it was beautiful to watch the elegant dance their hands did as they “spoke” to each other in peaceful silence. They allowed me to wander the halls for a minute while they got my paperwork done and as I did I was privileged to watch a little girl McKayla's age as she navigated the halls with her walking stick. She was no more than 3, but she had a strength and maturity about her that came from the obstacles she has already had to face. Most of these children were born deaf or blind so they have known nothing else, and they live “normal” lives and have just as much pure innocence, child like excitement, curiosity and fun as any child does who does not have a disability. If anything, they appreciate what they do have even more.
I feel very blessed to have wandered those halls and I have so much respect for the adults who have made such a safe and wonderful place for the children.

Thanksgiving Point X-mas Lights

One of my goals this year was to go see the Thanksgiving Point Holiday lights as a family. So we grabbed my mom and sis and down south we went. McKayla thought it was the most awesome thing in the world because we let her take off her seatbelt and ride in the back with Daddy (don't tell!) and Bodie loved sitting in Aunt Nonnie's lap so he could see the lights. We even got to go see Santa's reindeer after and GiGi bought us all the yummy treat of our choice (funny story...I let Kayla pull the lever to get the purple m&ms she wanted cause the pink one didn't let many out when I did it...well apparently the purple was different. All of a sudden there were purple m&ms flying out faster than I could catch them...then there were hundreds stuck in the tube where I was stuck with a tiny bag at the bottom. I know I looked like an idiot, but you know every parent in there was just grateful it wasn't them because it easily could've been). When we were leaving, my mom told McKayla the reindeer were going to bed now. McKayla got very concerned and said she was worried becuase they didn't have blankets. We finally told her Santa had blankets he would bring them and after about 5 minutes she was convinced and happy :-)
P.S. Please forgive the pics of the lights...I was trying to take them while driving