The Johnson Family

Introducing...

2010-07-20T16:43:00.007-06:00

Zachary Neil Johnson

Born July 8th at 1:39 pm.
8 lbs - 20 3/4 in. long

We ended up delivering our special little guy at home (yes it was planned!) I'll be posting more about my amazing birth story soon. I know I've taken quite the blogging 'hiatus', but hopefully will post more updates, more often. We're still adjusting to life with TWO kids, but so far, all has gone pretty well. Mom and baby are doing fabulous and we're all just loving our time together!

And the verdict is...

2010-02-06T12:38:00.004-07:00

Disclaimer : Contains graphic images - proceed with caution

I have a lot of blogging to catch up on, but I thought I'd share the good news before I attempted at documenting the last couple of months.

So without further ado... I bring you the next member of the Johnson family!!

We're THRILLED to finally know the gender and to start planning!! One of each - WOW! Avery will be such a great big sister and is already VERY sweet and gentle to her dolls which she affectionately plays with while saying "baby" over and over again. Pretty sure she has NO idea how much her life will change soon, but I know she'll do great!

grāt'ĭ-tōōd'

2009-11-26T16:00:00.003-07:00

(I have a bunch of pictures to catch up on again, but those can wait for now!)

I love this season. Of course I love the turkey, and the stuffing, and the yams and corn and rolls. But I love the spirit that it brings. The chance to forget about all of the problems in my life, all of the things I DON'T have, and all of the things that will ever so willingly creep back into my life soon enough. I love the chance to reflect on the things that I AM grateful for!

- A wonderful mother whom I can't wait to get to know someday - I'm sure I'm more like her than I'll ever realize.

- An amazing other mother who taught me many of the things I know, and who always is there for me.

- A wise father who is humble, kind, honest, and respectable.

- A (very large) family who always give me a reason to smile. Despite our craziness sometimes, we're one great group!

- The gospel of Jesus Christ. Where I'd be without it, Heaven only knows!

- My Savior who gave his life for me.

- My sweet and tender husband whom my love grows for each and every day.

- For my darling Avery and the utter happiness and joy she brings.

- For a new a precious little soul that is preparing to join our family. (Beginning of July 2010)

I could list off thousands of other specific things I am grateful for this season! But rather than read all about my blessings, I hope that you can take a moment to reflect on yours. May the spirit of the season grab hold of you and help you realize how wonderful life really is!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!

Birthday time

2009-10-13T08:00:00.000-06:00

We had a few birthday's to attend recently. Neil's niece Elle turned 4 and we had a fun little party for her. Sadly, I put my camera away shortly after we arrived and didn't even get a picture of the birthday girl.

Avery was glad to see her 2 great uncles, Uncle Steve and Uncle Toe (Robert)

This is the skirt I made for Elle.

The following week we went to a birthday party for our good friends' little girls Maili (3) and Alexa (1). They have the same birthday! These were the skirts I made for them.

It was so fun to see all the excitement that a birthday can bring - especially to little girls!! Avery's is just around the corner. It will be fun, but at the same time, it kind of makes me sad that she is already going to be one! Slow down Avery....at least a little. I'm not ready for you to grow up yet!

What is THAT?

2009-10-12T08:00:00.001-06:00

As Neil went outside the front door awhile ago, it looked as if some sort of fungus was growing on the rock under our archway up to the front porch.

But what was it??

...

...

...

...

Upon further inspection, we realized we had a couple (or 3 or 4) visitors.

We quickly let them know they weren't welcome.

Some left....others faced a gloomier fate.

That'll teach them not to mess with us. You're not welcome here!

Happy 6 years!

2009-10-11T08:00:00.000-06:00

Neil and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary on September 12th! It's crazy to think that 6 years have gone by, and that we now have the beginnings of a beautiful family! (No, that's not an announcement!)

I wish I'd have taken more pictures, but alas, I didn't. It was my year to plan, so I was a bit preoccupied.

We've been following the traditional list for anniversary gifts (found HERE). This year was candy/iron. I'm not sure why it has two, but I thought I'd go with both. I got this cute wrought iron Eiffel Tower to match with a painting we brought back from Paris.

Then I made him a candy bar card. Disclaimer: If you read the card, please note that ALL candy bar cards are incredibly cheesy.

He made me breakfast in bed in the morning and then we went to a 9-12 rally at My Noah's in South Jordan. We dropped Avery off at my mom's afterward and had a picnic at Murray Park (where he proposed to me) and then went and saw Transformers 2. After that, we picked Avery up and went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse, and then went home, put Avery to bed, and cuddled to a movie

Thanks Neil for an amazing 6 years and for many more to come! You fill my life with such joy and I love you so much!!!

P.S. He went with the chocolate theme and got me a DIVINE box of See's chocolates, which he handpicked all of my favorites! Can I just say HEAVEN?!

Swiss Days

2009-10-10T08:00:00.001-06:00

Every year over Labor Day weekend we go up to Swiss Days in Midway with Neil's family. Since my Parents' have a condo up there now, we often make a weekend out of it.

Avery loves her Grandma!

We love watching/listening to Kerry Christensen perform.

And we couldn't go without a Swiss Days scone!!

Avery had fun with Grandma and Grandpa at the condo.

And we even had an unexpected visitor drop by!

Smokin' Hot

2009-10-09T08:00:00.000-06:00

Wildfires make the air gross and smoky, but they sure make for beautiful sunsets!!

First time camping

2009-10-08T08:00:00.000-06:00

We went with some friends of ours camping up in Tooele County. It was Avery's first time camping and she did great!

We had lots of great fun...

food...

and laughter!!

She slept great, and woke up happy as can be!

We made omelets for breakfast,

and swung in the hammock.

We walked to a park and played in the grass...

Went down a slide (with a little apprehension) ...

And had a jolly old time!

So much fun, in fact, that we wore ourselves right out!

Pretty soon she was going...going...gone!

Life is filled with such precious moments!!

Thanks Phil and Jenn, Grant and Lincoln, for a wonderful time!! Love you guys!!

Here kitty kitty...

2009-10-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

Watch out Tonka....

There's an Avery near by...

And you never know what moment she'll strike...

God's country

2009-10-06T08:00:00.000-06:00

There's something special about God's country. The sounds are different, the air is different - it's so invigorating.

It makes you want to bathe in a cool mountain lake...

Or be anyone you want to be...

Or conquer the world...

Or even fly...

It's such a peaceful, quite, reflective place. Full of adventures yet to come...

Treasures to be found...

Memories to be made...

It's so relaxing, it makes you wish you could just lie down and go to sleep...

At least one of us could! :)

Raspberry fields forever

2009-10-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

Okay, okay, I know it's supposed to be "strawberry fields forever." But humor me here.

I was just doing some browsing online and happened to come across a website for a "pick-your-own" raspberry farm in Payson. I grew up with huge raspberry plants in my backyard, and still cherish the days when we could fill bowls full of fresh raspberries, top them with milk and sugar for breakfast. Not only would it be a fun experience, but they only charge $2 per pound!! When the can average anywhere from $8 to $12 a pound at the grocery store, we HAD to go down there!

Just the smell alone when you step out of the car brought back so many memories from my childhood. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it still!
We picked and picked and picked. When dad got tired of holding Avery, mom picked some more while dad took Avery to play on the grass.

When all was said and done, we left with 6 pounds of fresh red raspberries, and a wonderful memory that we will always cherish - all for only $12!

They're open until the frost hits...

http://www.westmountainraspberries.com/

Hurry before we go back and pick all that's left!

Once in a lifetime!

2009-10-04T08:00:00.000-06:00

You know how you sometimes have a moment in time that is so unique, so rare, that it's quite possible that at that moment, you're experiencing something that you may never experience again in your lifetime?!

Well...

This was one of those moments for me!!

I'm an incredibly slow eater! I like to savor each bite, and always make sure that I chew thoroughly. My brother teases me that when I was little I used to take an hour to eat ONE oreo cookie. Neil is the exact opposite. He's a shoveler (as his mom calls it). When he was little, he used to scoot his chair as far away from the table as possible, bend over with his mouth open by the edge of his plate, and just scoop it in. He doesn't eat food, he inhales it. After eating a nice plate of spaghetti, garlic bread, and green beans, I soon came to realize that lo and behold.....

I had finished first!!

It could have been that we had company staying with us, so Neil was on his best behavior and didn't gobble it all up. But I knew that this moment may never happen again, and that I needed proof that "once upon a time..." I DID eat my food faster than him.

Pretty sure it'll never happen again!

The Condo

2009-10-03T08:00:00.000-06:00

We've been able to spend a lot of fun times up at my Parents' condo in Midway. Avery loves spending time with her cousins!

My brother William looks all nice and comfy getting ready for bed. But why does the room look so small??

There's a little room by the stairs to the loft that the kids (used to) use as a little play house. There are some things my parents store in the back too. William started playing with the kids in there, and eventually claimed the cubby as his own little room. He sleeps in there every time we go up there now. It's quite humorous!

Just keep swimming

2009-10-02T08:00:00.000-06:00

My sister Lori and her family came to visit over the summer. We had a big group of our family go swimming out at the Rec center in West Valley. It was Avery's first time swimming and she loved it!

(Side note: That slide in the background is FAST! I just about flipped over when I went down! I think the one at the Legacy Center in Lehi is just the same.)

Zoo Fun

2009-10-01T08:00:00.000-06:00

Avery's cousin Maddie had a birthday get-together at the zoo over the summer. (I got some REALLY neat pictures at the bird show, but unfortunately I think my camera erased them. DANG!)

She loved the giraffes! Neil brought her stuffed animal giraffe from home.

She was mesmerized that one had come so close to feed when we were inside.

We enjoyed watching the elephant show. (I'd sure hate to put on a show like this if I were 21 months pregnant!!)

Uncle William was thirsty, but he didn't want anyone to watch him drink from the lion fountain.

All tuckered out from the fun!!

It was a great first day-at-the-zoo for Avery! We had so much fun! Thanks for inviting us Maddie!!

Meet Chippy

2009-09-30T08:00:00.000-06:00

So when my brother was in town from MI a couple of months ago, he couldn't get over how big Avery's eyes are. (Which is funny, because he's my brother....and we ALL have big eyes! I suppose mine are the biggest, but still. We all have abnormally large eyes.) He put a picture of Avery and a picture of Bugsy from "Bedtime Stories" on the fridge and said "separated at birth."

Before they left, they got Avery a little stuffed animal that would match her. They've become great friends. Because of my un-cleverness at the moment, he got named Chippy. I know, it's incredibly unique for a chipmunk, but what can I say? I'm a genius.

Ooops!

2009-09-29T08:00:00.000-06:00

Warning: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!!

This is what happens when you don't turn the light on when you're putting your shoes on to go to work. Unfortunately I don't live close enough to have gone home to change, so...I dealt with it. All day. Hope not TOO many people thought I was loony!

GREAT Giveaway!

2009-09-28T10:20:00.003-06:00

Okay! So my good friend Launi is having some give-aways on her blog. This is the best one yet! She makes these adorable purses - get this - out of grocery bags!! How cool is that? She's giving one away, but you have to check her blog out and enter TODAY!

And who wouldn't want one of these?? For the "green" in you, they're from recycled plastic. For the "diva" in you, they're sassy! And for the "practical" in you, they're the perfect size, AND are washing machine safe, and incredibly sturdy!

So go and enter - QUICKLY!

http://www.graciousrain.com/

4th of July

2009-09-28T08:00:00.000-06:00

We had a pretty laid back 4th this year. We ended up having a low-key evening at my parents' house and then doing fireworks in their circle. Avery had fallen asleep earlier, but we woke her up so that she could experience her first fireworks. She was mesmerized!!

(Not sure why this one turned out so funky)

(A firework show isn't a firework show for my dad unless it contains mortars. Pretty much the only bad thing my dad ever does/has done in his life!) :)

My Mother

2009-09-27T22:20:00.000-06:00

So my mom often has me help her with projects that she needed for her YW (she was the president - recently got released.) Well, for their girls camp, they had to make these paper dolls into "them." She gave me the doll and told me to get creative.........so I did! :) The only think she told me to do was to make her doll wearing workout clothes because she likes to exercise. I went a little further than that.

In addition to workout clothes, she's wearing a kitchen apron because she loves to cook. She has sunglasses and a visor on, and of course a party hat, since she is the life of EVERY party!

Her left arm carried her fabric purse which was filled with: A For the Strength of Youth booklet, as well as the YW Personal Progress book. A family picture. A water bottle. Her passport (she travels a LOT!!) Her crochet thread and needle. And of course, her Cafe Rio and Subway giftcards.

Her right arm has a blowdryer (she's a hairdresser) - complete with electric cord - and a pom pom. She was a cheerleader in high school, and while it may not be the case for everyone, for my mom..."Once a cheerleader, ALWAYS a cheerleader!" ;)

Her apron pocket contained a wisk (for baking) her nail polish and nail file (for you will never find my mom without her nails done!) and her comb and shears for cutting hair.

While I may have gone a bit overboard, it was VERY fun to make. I think it was a good representation of her - if I say so myself! :)

Our Garden Experiment

2009-09-26T22:48:00.005-06:00

So I finally downloaded a heapload of pictures off my camera. While some of them were quite awhile ago, who cares, right? So here are some fun things our Summer was filled with.

So we planted a garden for the first time ever. Notice I didn't say "grew" a garden? Well, apparently our thumbs are more of a shade of black than green. Needless to say, we didn't do so hot. We tried the square foot gardening method and built a nice little box and planted our nice little starts from the nursery.

We planted zucchini, 4 different tomatoes, 2 peppers, lettuce, 2 kinds of onions, and some cilantro.

At first things were going quite nicely. Near the beginning, our cucumber plants got eaten by something that must just love cucumbers 'cause everything else ended up fine.

But after not too long, things started growing on their own...

It was all so miraculous. These wonderful little plants just started blossoming, and then bearing fruit. I was so excited. Then it happened. My tomato plants' leaves started dying. So I thought I must be over watering. Then my cilantro went to seed practically overnight, so it stopped growing. Then my lettuce started growing a little tower instead of a big bushy lettuce head. Then my zucchini had these curious little bugs that seemed harmless.....until one day the entire plant shriveled up and died a horrible death. Who ever heard of bugs that ONLY feed on squash??? Not me, I tell you?! I suppose they're called "SQUASH BUGS" for a reason??

This little guy is the lone survivor of the zucchini plant. I did also get one yellow straightneck before it died too. I've gotten a fair amount of tomatoes, though one of my plants literally only produced a whoppin' TWO tomatoes!!! I'd take pictures, but I wouldn't want to further embarrass myself. What makes it worse is that I live between two people who's gardens could feed my entire ward for a month!! ONE of their tomato plants was easily as big as my entire garden!! The interesting thing too, is that the extra jalapeno plants that we couldn't fit into the square foot bed, we planted in the ground by the garden. They've done AWESOME!!

Go figure, eh?!

A New Post (I know...unbelievable)

2009-07-22T20:45:00.002-06:00

So...life gets crazy sometimes. When I'm not running around doing a million things, I'm trying to recoup from running around doing a million things. Unfortunately my blog suffers. But I'm back. Whether temporarily, or for good, only time will tell. In the meantime, here are some pictures of Avery from the last couple of months. She sure has grown/changed a lot!! I can't believe she's been with our little family for longer now than she was in me. She is developing SOOO much of her own personality, it's so much fun to watch it unfold. She has had some moments of being sassy, (do they seriously start that this early???) but for the most part, she's a WONDERFUL little girl! She loves to smile and laughs often! She brings so much joy to us it's amazing!! So enjoy these fun little pictures of the last few months (there are a lot!!)

(Just a cute one of her sleepin' in her car seat)

(Fell asleep watchin' a Baby Einstein)

(Sleepin' in her bouncer)

(We made a wall of pillows on our bed one morning - so we could get ready for church - she loved it!!)

(Shortly after she learned she could get around by rolling, it was rare for her o stay on her blanket. She apparently got tuckered out from all that rollin'.)

(Just learning to army crawl)

(Playin' with mom)

(She figured she'd eat and pray at the same time. She loves to do this with her feet when she's drinking her bottle)

(Fell asleep again watchin' a Baby Einstein. Either they're really boring, or we just wear her out a lot before putting it on for her!)

(She got really messy eating some fruit from her fruit feeder and I didn't want her dripping down the hall into the bathroom, so I rinsed her off in the sink. She LOVED it!!)

(Standing up on anything she possibly can!)

(She found our dead houseplant and had a hay-day with the leaves. I swear this entertained her for like an hour and a half. Disclaimer: when we put our Christmas decorations away, we somehow forgot the manger, and since it's kind of off to the side of the dining area, we don't notice it often enough to remind us to put it away - hence the dead houseplants as well. It has since been put away!) :)

(Stripped the remaining leaves a few days later.)

(Making a mess with her fruit feeder. Not sure if you can tell, but she has banana goo ALL over her legs and tummy)

(We gave her 1/2 a lemon rind after it had been juiced and she went to town on it! She has since had quite a few others, including a lime - like mother like daughter I guess...I used to eat lemons as a kid)

(I LOVE this pic!! She was trying to put her bottle in her mouth but wasn't realizing that she first had to spit out her binki, so she kept spraying milk all over her face and tummy. It was sooooo cute to see how confused she was getting.)

(Another strange sleeping position after a Baby Einstein movie - you'd think we never put her down for naps!?! I promise we do!!)

(Her bouncer has this toy bin below it - well lately she has this obsession with crawling in it, but then gets so frustrated that she can't sit up strait. And it's intimidating to crawl out of because it's a couple inches off the ground. She gets so sad in there sometimes.)

(Another cute pic trying to crawl out from under the bouncer.)

("Look mom, one hand!!")

(I laid her in bed one morning after feeding her and she just spread her arms strait out - it was soooo cute! Pic doesn't do it justice.)

(The bottle was on the floor next to the garbage can and she thought it was a giant bottle. So cute!!)

(So these pictures don't do it justice. She was drinking a bottle in her bouncer one day and was squirming SOOOO much. I had to pick some of the best ones, but I have about 20 pictures and each one she's in a different position. She kept making this funny grunting sound too - it was hilarious!!!)

New Doo

2009-04-28T14:38:00.003-06:00

I have lots of blogging to catch up on, but I wanted to get these pictures posted. They're not that great, 'cause they're from my cell phone, but they'll do for now. I'll get better ones up soon.

(Before)

(The evidence)

So, at Sunday dinner with Neil's family last week, we celebrated my birthday. Neil's sister-in-law Debbie gave me a free cut and color, so we were discussing what I should do. I decided that I was finally ready to cut my hair short. Neil requested that it at LEAST still touch my shoulders. I didn't want to have too much time to be able to talk myself out of it, so Debbie said she could do it on Monday night. As I was driving home last night, I worried that Neil would think that it was too short. When I walked in, he reacted better than I had hoped for!! He even said that he "loved" it!! YAY! I LOVE it too! I don't have the slightest bit of regret! I just hope I can keep it looking cute and stylish! Thanks Debbie, for a WONDERFUL birthday present - just in time for Cali!!!

(The final product)

Conference at the Condo

2009-04-07T09:00:00.003-06:00

(Uncle William & Avery)

We went to my Parents' condo in Midway for the weekend to relax and watch General Conference. It's such a beautiful setting up there - very peaceful! It was fun to hang out, play games, be inspired and uplifted. I always get really bummed at the very end when they say "this conference will be adjorned for 6 months." I wish it could be quarterly instead of semi-annually. But I suppose that part of what makes it so special is the fact that it isn't ALL the time!

Anyway, while we were up there, Avery began what I believe will be a very special bond with her uncle William. For those of you who don't know who William is, he is my (Jodi's) oldest brother - and he has Down's Syndrome. He just loved playing with Avery and to say she loved it too would be an under statement! He had her rolling with laughter numerous times. Here is just one of the times that we were able to catch on video. (If you listen closely, you can hear one of the speakers on the TV in the background.) She sure loves her uncle William!! We do too!!

Laughs & Giggles

2009-04-06T08:37:00.001-06:00

This video doesn't do the scene justice. Before we ended up taking the video, she had already been laughing hysterically for about 2 or 3 minutes, so she was getting tuckered out. But here is a small glimpse of when she's in a laughing mood.

More spit

2009-04-05T08:00:00.001-06:00

To go along with the last post, here is a video of Avery when she first learned that she could make raspberries with her tongue!

Fun Little Girl

2009-04-04T08:00:00.001-06:00

So Avery is nearly 6 months old now!! I seriously can't believe how fast the time has flown by! I wish the clock would slow down - I'm not ready for her to being growing up so quickly. She is such a little gem and we absolutely adore her. She's developing so much of her own personality now, it's wonderful to watch her learn and develop. Here are some recent pictures with descriptions of the events.

(I'm not sure what I was doing, but I came into our room where Neil had been watching TV with Avery and I found them both asleep on the bed. She had slid down in her boppy so she was lying almost completely on the bed. She looked so dang cute I had to snap some pictures.)

(She wedged herself into her boppy in such a way that her arms were stuck in that position, so she couldn't use them to help her up. Try as she may, she just didn't have the ab strength yet to get up. It was quite humorous to watch - until she got so frustrated she started crying.)

(She LOVES tummy time and often rolls all over the place. She was on the floor in the computer room by Neil and apparently got all tuckered out. I thought it was so adorable that she had her hands all tucked in by her face. She's so precious!!)

(She loves to spit with her tongue right now. She was in her bouncer spitting away when I noticed how much slobber was on her face. These pictures don't to it justice - she was soaked!!)

(I was working on some things on the floor next to her while she was on her tummy time mat. She grabbed the corner of the mat and rolled over, so the mat was over her face. She completed the roll and ended up with the mat around her whole body like a little burrito. By the time I grabbed the camera she had freed her arms and wiggled loose a bit. It was one of those "had to be there" moments - it was so cute!!)

(Neil was working on some things and had her on his lap. I just thought it was cute how she was up working with dad. She was sliding her hands all over the desk and throwing things on the floor. Messy, but cute!)

Yummy Nanas

2009-04-03T14:07:00.000-06:00

We've been experimenting with some different foods with Avery. So far she likes rice cereal, LOVES bananas, and HATES avocados. Here are some cute photos and a video of her eating her "nanas."

Look Closely . . .

2009-04-02T10:06:00.001-06:00

"One of these things just doesn't belong..."

(Neil had to jump to take these pictures - that's how high up it is.)

She's been doing it for awhile, but we finally got it on camera. Tia (our mischievous little twirp) loves to hide out in the open air vent above our furnace. She hides in there quite often. If there's a place to hide somewhere, she'll find it. She is not a very social cat and will only come around on her terms. The rest of the day she spends hiding in places that are sometimes hard to find.

We Surround Them!!

2009-03-31T12:19:00.000-06:00

So Neil and I frequently listen to and watch Glenn Beck. For about 3 weeks leading up to this day (March 13th) he kept talking about this "We Surround Them" project that he was going to unveil. As many people are, he is tired of all the happenings in Washington and all the "bipartisan" mumbo jumbo that takes place. He talked about how we are a country that is too divided and too focused on parties rather than principles. He asked people three simple questions...

1) Do you watch the direction America is being taken in and feel powerless to stop it?
2) Do you believe that your voice isn't loud enough to be heard anymore?
3) Do you read the headlines everyday and feel an empty pit in your stomach...as if you're completely alone?

Well, he wanted people to realize that they're NOT alone. That there ARE things that we can agree upon. That this country was founded upon good principles that many still believe in today.

So he created the 9-12 project.

http://www.the912project.com

It is based on 9 principles, and 12 values - that if you believe in at least 7 of the principles, then you have something in common with the rest of us. It also stands for a date ... 9-12-2001. The day after the terrorist attacks on our country. A day that we all stood together - united in the belief that America would prevail.

9 Principles :

1. America Is Good.

2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.

God “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the external rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” From George Washington’s first Inaugural address

3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.

Honesty “I hope that I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” George Washington

4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.

Marriage/Family “It is in the love of one’s family only that heartfelt happiness is known. By a law of our nature, we cannot be happy without the endearing connections of a family.” Thomas Jefferson

5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.

Justice “I deem one of the essential principles of our government… equal and exact justice to all men of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political.” Thomas Jefferson

6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.

Life, Liberty, & The Pursuit of Happiness “Everyone has a natural right to choose that vocation in life which he thinks most likely to give him comfortable subsistence.” Thomas Jefferson

7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.

Charity “Is it not everyone who asketh that deserveth charity; all however, are worthy of the inquiry or the deserving may suffer.” George Washington

8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority of to share my personal opinion.

On your right to disagree “In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude; every man will speak as he thinks, or more properly without thinking.” George Washington

9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

Who works for whom? “I consider the people who constitute a society or a nation as the source of all authority in that nation.” Thomas Jefferson

So on to the post...

He unveiled the project on his TV show on the Fox News Channel. He asked that people gather in their communities to watch the show together. We went to the gathering at the Noah's building in South Jordan. There were well over 1000 people in attendance - it was incredible! It was nice to know that there were so many like-minded people around us that we could band together with.

We were able to have some nice chats with some local "well-knowns" in the politic world. Mark Shurtleff (Utah's Attorney General) was there, as well as Jason Chaffetz (Utah's newest Congressman.) The whole event was such a morale booster. That there are other people out there who have the same concerns we do. All-in-all, it was a really neat event to be a part of.

God Bless America!!!

(The sign Neil is by is the "Flag," if you will, of the 9-12 project. It is based on a flag that Benjamin Fraklin's newspaper the Pennsylvania Gazette printed to warn the colonies that they must band together in order to achieve freedom from England. More info on the original flag can be found HERE.)

(Avery & I with Congressman Jason Chaffetz)

(Neil's mom, aunt, Avery, & I with Attorney General Mark Shurtleff)

Draper Temple

2009-03-29T21:22:00.003-06:00

(Best view we could get with all of the white canopies on the property.)

Neil and I took little Ave to the Draper Temple open house a couple of weeks ago. It was a really neat experience!! There were so many things that I absolutely loved about it. I was literally breath-taken when we walked into the first of the two painted endowment rooms. All the walls were painted as if you were sitting in the mountains. The other endowment room was painted as if you were in a grove of Aspen trees with a stream running by. They were incredible!! The chandeliers were beautiful as well - especially in the celestial room. One other thing that I loved was the sego lily theme throughout the entire temple. The chairs had sego lilies embroidered in them, as did the carpet (at least in the sealing rooms). There were beautiful sego lilies on the ceiling of the celestial room as well.

Even though we don't live in Sandy anymore, we both felt kind of like it was OUR new temple, since that is where our parents will go now. It was such a beautiful place and we can't wait to attend it. We were privileged to also attend the dedication last Sunday. The spirit was so strong! I'm so grateful that we have so many temples so close and that we get to participate in such a marvelous work.

(They had a wall of pictures of different temples around the world. The only two we've been to are the Frankfurt, Germany one - on the left - and the Salt Lake - on the right.)

(The artwork that they had in the chapel that you went to afterward was amazing. We got a picture by this one - after seeing many others do it. I realized later that it was kind of strange - as if we were posing for a picture WITH Jesus himself...)

Pay it Forward

2009-03-14T09:41:00.002-06:00

So even though I wasn't one of her first three, my friend Jenn is doing this and I thought it would be fun to pass on.

So, here's how it works: the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (or copy paste it like I did). Then come back, let me know you're going to play, and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift! Come and play!! :)

New swing

2009-03-11T09:47:00.002-06:00

(Staring at the mobile)

So my incredibly generous sister Lori had a new swing shipped to us for a baby gift for Avery. She absolutely LOVES it! It is so cute to watch how intrigued she gets with the little bear and stars that rotate around it. Sometimes they captivate her and she will just sit and watch it circle around and around until it puts her to sleep. Other times she will just sit and coo and talk to herself for what seems like hours. We really appreciate her generosity and can't thank her enough. Thanks Aunt Lori and Uncle Scott!! We love you!

(You'll notice these pictures look almost exactly alike, but if you look at the mobile, it's moved. She will just sit and stare at it go round and round! She's so cute!)

My baby's growing up

2009-03-06T16:20:00.002-07:00

So I just fed Avery her first meal other than breastmilk! I decided to give the 'ol rice cereal a shot - she loved it!! It's fun to reach a new milestone, but at the same time it's just one more reminder that she's growing up. A lot faster than I want her to!! *SIGH*

20 weeks

2009-03-05T12:38:00.005-07:00

(Wrapped in her "snuggly")

So Avery is officially 20 weeks today! We haven't had her 4 month appointment yet because her doctor suddenly decided not to accept our insurance anymore, so we have to find a new pediatrician. From what we have looked up though, she's making every milestone on time, and a lot of them she hits early.

* She can roll over from front to back and back to front in either direction. She often rolls all over the place when she's on floor time.
* She grabs at everything she can, always bringing it directly into her mouth!
* She coos and talks all day long, and loves to make new sounds.
* She loves to smile and giggles a lot (is now starting to without being tickled)
* She can hold her own bottle through an entire feeding.
* She can sit up pretty good - we think she'll be sitting on her own soon.
* She is learning to army crawl - combined with the rolling, she needs a lot of room around her when we put her on the floor!

We absolutely adore her and can't enough of her!! We are both surprised by how quickly the time has passed and want it to slow down. But we do love to see how she progresses. We knew being parents would be fun, but had NO idea it would bring us both SOOO much joy!! We're amazed everyday at the precious little miracle we have been entrusted with. She fills our hearts with so much love and joy!

(Smiling - as usual!)

(Playing with dad)

(Ridin' on dad's shoulders)

(Holding her bottle while watching Baby Einstein)

(When unable to locate anything else to put in her mouth - in goes the fist! Lately it's been the thumb, though she more so chews it rather than sucking it.)

(Playing with her tongue)

(Holding hands with her friend Alexa)

(I love this picture! It's like she's been caught red handed! She wouldn't let go of Alexa's PJ's)

(Practicing sitting up in the boppy)

(She fell asleep grabbin' dad's shirt.)

(Gotta love those eyes!! They look like they might fall out in this pic)

(Another one holding her bottle)

Avery's blessing

2009-03-01T09:11:00.003-07:00

(Her long pretty dress)

The Sunday after Christmas we blessed Avery so we could do it while family was still in town from the holidays. It was a very exciting, humbling, and memorable day. Neil did such a beautiful job with the blessing. We had our friends and family over to our house afterward for some brunch food. Our brother-in-law Ed used his fancy pants camera and his mad camera skills to take some amazing shots of Avery in her dress. My mom crocheted that beautiful white afghan she is on in the pictures - Thanks mom!! You're the greatest! The whole day turned out just perfect.

(Family picture)

(Mom & Aves - notice how our eyes match) :)

(Cute picture of Dad & Avery)

(Holding our wedding rings)

(Smilin' for the camera)

Landon's tower

2009-02-26T08:31:00.004-07:00

(Landon building his tower)

So before Neil's sister left town after Christmas, we had everyone up to our house for some Swiss Raclette. It's an AMAZING meal with cheese and potatoes and it's oh-so-scrumptious! We had these blocks out for the kids to play with and they piqued Landon's interest. He wanted to see how tall of a tower he could build. He got it to be 60" high and stay standing on it's own before it toppled while trying to add one more to it.

(You can see it leaning quite a bit.)

(What a nice little tower builder he is)

(Side note: My dad made these blocks many many years ago and I can remember making many different shapes and sizes of towers and castles for hours on end when I was a kid. I inherited them not to long ago when my dad was cleaning out his shed. There are a few round ones, and my brother and I used to draw faces on them to make them into little people to live in our castles. Ahhh...what fun memories!!)

O Christmas Tree

2009-02-26T08:19:00.002-07:00

(Our cute little tree)

So we had a real tree again this year - thanks to my kind brother and sister-in-law! We weren't able to go cut it down with them in Manti this year, so they brought us one home instead! We had fun decorating it and it turned out quite nice. We still don't have a tree topper, so we had to improvise. My real mom made a bunch of little elves (we call 'em pixies) many years ago and they were always one of our favorite things to put on the tree growing up. You can bend their arms and legs and mold them into different poses. A couple of years ago, my parents decided to divvy them up and gave us each a few of them, keeping a few for themselves still. This year one of the pixies helped put up a star ornament as the tree topper. Perhaps we'll finally buy on next year....but probably not until the end of the year when it would be on clearance.

(With the lights on)

(The little pixie, hanging the star.)

Christmas

2009-02-25T08:21:00.004-07:00

(Avery with one of her presents)

We had lots of fun over the week of Christmas. On the 23rd, we went to a play called "Scrooge" up in Ogden with Neil's family. We went to dinner at Morelia's first and then packed everyone up in the Suburban and made the long drive. On Christmas Eve we had dinner at my parents' house and opened up some presents there. Avery got spoiled and had lots of fun opening her presents (or at lease we did helping her.) We spent the night at home and were surprised to wake up Christmas morning to a giant snow storm. We were going to Neil's sister Cami's house for lunch, but just as we left our house, Neil's brother Landon called and said they were snowed in. We had taken the Suburban because of the storm, so we came and rescued them. With the snow drifts, they had over 2 feet in places at their house in Herriman! We had a lot of fun at Aaron and Cami's house!! We went back to my parents' house later that evening to wrap up our fun day! It was so fun to spend time with the family - I love the holidays!!

(Avery opening one of Grandma & Grandpa's presents)

(Neil with one of Avery's gifts)

(The giant snow storm!!)

(Neil helping Avery with her presents)

(Avery's first ornament!)

(All of Neil's family on Christmas!)

Ward Christmas Party

2009-02-23T23:00:00.008-07:00

(Us posing as Mary & Joseph)

I know it's super late, but I wanted to catch up. So for our Ward Christmas party this year, they did a “Night in Bethlehem.” I’m sure many of you have seen or done something similar before, but our ward made it AWESOME this year! Neil and I always go pick up this life size nativity scenery that my parents ward made many years ago and don’t use anymore. Coupled with the booths that different people did, the night turned out amazing! The YW were in charge of the Nativity, so Avery had her first acting role. She played baby Jesus. She screamed her little heart out the entire time (I think she thought it was a speaking role) but you couldn’t hear her crying unless you were right up at the stage, so people hardly even knew she was crying. I sang “Silent Night” right before the closing prayer. Afterwards, some people that have a farm in our ward (Many of our ward members do actually) brought a big sheep and a donkey and gave the kids donkey rides up and down the sidewalk. I cut in line so Avery didn’t have to be out in the cold for very long. Though I just got a picture, not a ride. It was a very fun evening!!

(The Stable decorations)

(Mary & Joseph during the Nativity)

(The produce shop)

(The toy shop)

(The Bishop's winery ... or rather a "well")

(The bakery)

(Avery & I with a sheep)

(Riding a donkey into Bethlehem)

Photo shoot

2009-02-22T22:25:00.008-07:00

(The birth announcement that never got mailed)

So I was trying to take my own "studio style" pictures of Avery to make a birth announcement. Well, like many good intentions, it never got fully followed through with. I even went as far as getting them developed, but they turned out really yellow, and I never ended up having them reprinted so I could mail them out. *sigh* Perhaps someday I will be good at things like that! I suppose I did get some good pictures out of it. Here are a few of my favorites.

(In the basket - without all of the words.)

We ended up hanging a white sheet over the mantle so it hung down, and then we put her soft blanket down to put her on. We brought in our big spotlight that we use for painting and yard work at night. It wasn't then best lighting, but even in the daytime the lighting isn't good enough to not have to use a flash. Someday I would love to get more into photography!!

(The lighting wasn't that great so I had to lighten them up after. Apparently I'm not very good at editing pictures in photoshop. At least when it comes to the brightness/color.)

(Some tummy time photos)

(She would only put one arm over the prop-up we had for her, so she kept rolling off it.)

(You can't see it as well this small, but she kept drooling and she has a drop of shiny, clear drool on her arm in this one.)

(I love her eyelashes in this one)

(What a cute smile, eh??)

(Wardrobe change - or at least the head wear)

(Another adorable grin. I can't just be biased...she's just stinkin' cute!!)

First Date Away

2009-02-21T15:25:00.004-07:00

(Us at the show)

We went to Glenn Beck’s Christmas Sweater show and it was the first time we left Avery with someone. Neil’s mom (with the help of his aunts Heidi and Iris) watched her for the 3 hours we were gone. I did pretty well, and so did she! The show was really good!! Definitely reminds you of the true meaning of Christmas!

(Neil making her smile before we left)

(Me saying goodbye)

She's ALIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!

2009-02-21T15:23:00.001-07:00

So…I’m not dead, as I’m sure you have all wondered. I have just been incredibly busy and very neglectful in my blogging duties. But here I am, and I come bearing many posts. I have gone through all of my pictures and picked the ones I want to blog about, and have even typed up the blog posts. So as not to bore you with 3000 posts at once, I will post a couple a day for however long it takes to get current. So come back often so you don’t end up having to read tons at a time. Or else just skip to the current stuff once I get there! Happy reading!!

Christmas Tag

2008-12-18T09:25:00.005-07:00

Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper. I recycle gift bags when they’re given to me, but there’s something about ripping off your wrapping paper Christmas morning that makes it so much more fun!

Real Tree or Artificial? Real for sure!! Love the smell, and don’t mind the needles enough for me to get an artificial.

When do you put up the tree? Whenever we get it – there’s not a set date or time.

When do you take the tree down? We usually wait until after New Year’s Day. Or until it’s so dead we can’t stand it anymore.

Do you like eggnog? LOVE IT!! Have to dilute it though, otherwise too rich – either with milk or Sprite.

Favorite gift received as a child? Either I have a horrible memory, or else I was a spoiled little brat who was never “impressed” enough for it to last. I DO remember a great Christmas in high school. ALL of my Christmas money was stolen at school and I was devastated that I couldn’t buy gifts for any of my friends. The doorbell rang one night and there was an envelope on the steps that said “To: Jodi, Love: Your friends” – in it was $100 in $5’s and $10’s. They had taken up a ‘collection’ since they knew how upset I was – which was extra special since I was just turning around and buying all of them gifts! I never found out who was in charge of it or who all donated, but I will never forget how good of friends I had/have!

Hardest person to buy for? Nearly everyone, but mostly Neil. He never wants ANYTHING!

Easiest person to buy for? This year, probably Avery ‘cause she’s too young to care and we already know what she needs. Plus I’m realizing how easy it is to spoil your child!

Do you have a nativity scene? I think a couple of them – currently don’t have enough room to put up all of our knickknacks. Hopefully we’ll get some end tables or something soon.

Mail or e mail Christmas cards? Mail – that is if I ever get them out!!

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I have an aunt who tends to buy her gifts at the DI – I don’t remember any one specifically, just that they’re kind of crazy.

Favorite Christmas movie? I love Elf! The Muppets Christmas Carol is awesome too! Never seen The Christmas Story (I know, I know – I’m weird). I also love Rudolph and the animated Grinch…those will never get boring!

When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually the week before! I actually had a few things bought the first week of December this year – I was so proud of myself!!

Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? White elephants are the BEST when recycled.

Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? I love a good cup of my mom’s homemade wassail! Also toffee, fudge, caramel popcorn, and lots of other little treats.

Lights on the tree? Multi-colored. I like either, but Neil insists on color.

Favorite Christmas song? Not very popular, but “I Wonder as I Wander”

Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home this year. And our travel consists of driving to our parents house about 15-20 miles away, so it’s not very far!

Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Who DOESN’T know them?

Angel on the tree top, or star? Still haven’t ever bought a tree topper – plan to this year when I can find time to check out Hobby Lobby or Tai Pan Trading.

Open presents Christmas eve or morning? One on Christmas Eve, the rest on Christmas. Neil and I get each other hoodies instead of PJ’s – that’s the Christmas Eve gift.

Most annoying thing about this time of year? Driving in the snow! And though crowds and lines are annoying to be in, it’s still kind of thrilling to be in all the hustle & bustle – I’m probably alone in thinking that though.

Most favorite thing about the season? What isn’t there to love? I really couldn’t come up with just one thing! Lights, carols, happiness everywhere, snow, the nativity story, friends and family – I love it all!! (Except DRIVING in the snow – blech!)

Favorite ornament, theme, or color? I have a little ornament that I got when I was like 2 or 3 of a little bear in a bathtub – it’s porcelain. For some reason it’s always been my favorite.

Favorite food for Christmas dinner? I love ham. And my mom’s homemade rolls!!!

What do you want for Christmas this year? To be honest, I'm having a hard time thinking of things. I need some new clothes. All the things I really want are pretty big purchases….couches, an office desk, a flat screen for above the mantle, a piano!! Someday those will all come true…I hope!

I tag EVERYONE!!

8 Weeks

2008-12-15T20:01:00.003-07:00

(Smiling for Mom - she usually smiles big when we DON'T have the camera out.)

Avery had her 8 week checkup today! I can't believe the time has passed SO fast! The doctor said that everything looks great and that she actually seems to be ahead of the game when it comes to her strength. He said that she can stand really well, and that she keeps her head up and balanced very well also. We've always noticed how strong her neck is. Even in the hospital she was holding her head up a lot - the nurses even commented on it. The doctor also said that she's following things very steady - not a lot of jerking movements. We're just proud of her no matter what, but it's fun to think she's learning fast! :)

(Sitting up like a big girl - with a little help)

I never posted her 2 week checkup stats, so here they are along with today's for comparison.

2 week:
Height: 20 1/2" (82%)
Weight: 8 lbs 8 oz (85%)
Head Size: 36 cm (75%)

8 week:
Height: 22" (37 %)
Weight: 10 lbs 6 oz (42 %)
Head Size: 38 cm (32%)

Apparently, I had a large baby, but she's shrinking....or rather not growing at a "normal" pace. I'm not worried one bit though - we love her just the way she is! She loves tummy time and always kicks her feet to try to move forward (I swear she'll be crawling in no time!) She's smiling more and more every day and she's more and more happy (if that's possible)! She is SUCH a good baby and we just adore her!

(Some tummy time on the Boppy)

(Doesn't it look so relaxing? She's so content!)

Thanksgiving

2008-12-03T23:55:00.003-07:00

(Our little family at dinner)

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! I spent the morning relaxing and getting myself and Avery ready for the day. Neil went with his brother and some friends to play their annual Turkey Bowl football game. We started the festivities at Neil's mom's house. We were missing Lindsey & Ed (we really missed you guys!!) but the rest of Neil's family was there. Neil's mom, Grace, made these cute name tags that each had a different quote about gratitude, and a different question we had to answer. My question was "Name something you're grateful for about the way you were raised." Neil's question was "Name someone who has been an example to you of gratitude." It was a very fun activity that really helped us all reflect on the things in our lives that we are grateful for. His extended family came over later for dessert and we all sat and enjoyed each others' company. Later in the evening, we went to my parents' condo up in Midway. We enjoyed more dessert and played games with the fam. We ended up staying up VERY late! It was a wonderful day filled with food, family, and fun!! It was a great beginning to my favorite time of year!

(The loves of my life!)

To keep with the spirit of gratitude, I would have to say that one of the things I'm most grateful this year is my own little family! Avery has brought so much joy to our lives!! I love being a mother and soak in every minute of it! I'm sure I'm spoiling her rotten, but I snuggle her pretty much all day! I love to rest my cheek on the top of her head and breathe in her "new baby" smell. I also love to watch Neil with her. He is the most wonderful father and it's so obvious how much he absolutely adores her! I must say, though I wouldn't have thought it possible, our love for each other has grown ten fold!! It's amazing, the depth of my love for him. I am so thankful for the blessings I've been given, and for the family I have to share my life with!

A Day Out

2008-11-19T10:58:00.003-07:00

(What a cutie, huh?)

So most days lately, I have been the epitome of LAZY! I stay in my PJ's all day, watch TV or movies, play on the computer, and occasionally cook or clean. Because we don't often get out, Avery stays in her PJ's most days too! Yesterday I had a few things to do including getting my hair done, so I actually got us ready. I couldn't help but ogle over how incredibly adorable Avery looked in her little outfit. I'm sure I'm biased, but she is the most beautiful little girl! Ahhh...I LOVE being a mother!

(Some of the MANY faces of Avery)

(The famous "O" - The shape of her eyes matches the shape of her mouth!)

(Full body shot - What a cute outfit...thanks Alisa!)

(When we first got home, she had wiggled the headband down around her eyes. Nice night mask though!)

Twilight Contest

2008-11-10T14:23:00.003-07:00

So my friend is giving away 2 tickets to the opening night showing of Twilight (Tickets are for Jordan Commons in Sandy.) I know there are a lot of Twilight lovers out there, so I thought I'd post the link to the contest to "spread the word." All you have to do to enter is e-mail your name, phone number, the blog address of where you heard of the contest (so MY blog) and a soup recipe to Launi@GraciousRain.com!! You can submit two entries per day. You can check out her blog for more details. The contest ends this Friday and the winner will be drawn at 5:00 pm so get your entries in!!

Gracious Rain Blog - Contest Information

New Pictures

2008-11-09T19:21:00.005-07:00

Nothing too significant has happened in her first 3 weeks, but I thought I'd post some more pictures of Avery. She is still so much fun and we are loving every minute of being parents - Yes, even the diaper changes! (Though I'm sure those will get less appealing)

(We put her in the boppy on our bed and we all watched a movie - she didn't last long before she fell asleep. Must take after her aunt Lindsey!)

(Another picture of her sleeping in her bed)

(After a bath)

(She looks like she's enjoying her dream in this picture)

(It's out of focus, but I love her eyes in this picture - takes after her mom!)

(Her famous "O" face - She's gazing out the windows)

(Cousin Max holding her - He LOVES babies...especially his cousin Avery!)

(Another adorable picture of her "O" face. She was just staring up at mom)

Halloween

2008-11-07T13:00:00.003-07:00

(Avery helping us carve pumpkins)

So it's been a week, but I thought I'd post some pictures of our Halloween night. As with most things in my life, I procrastinated carving our pumpkins until the night of. I like to do my own stencils for my pumpkins, so I drew them up and then Neil and I carved them while Avery watched from her bouncer. It was fun!

(Neil's pumpkin)

(My pumpkin)

(Avery's pumpkin)

(All the pumpkins on the porch)

And even though it takes a lot of time, I love separating all of the seeds and baking them. This was the first year that I haven't burned any of them. We had a LOT of seeds this year - and they're nearly all eaten. They get addicting. Anyway, hope you all had a great Halloween.

We caught a Wabbit

2008-10-29T10:33:00.004-06:00

(I like this one with all of the leaves in the background)

My parents have a family Halloween party every year where we all dress up, have a big dinner, and then play Halloween games. We bought a little rabbit costume for Avery before she was even born. 2 days before the party, I was thinking that we didn't have any costumes for us to wear, nor did I have any idea what we would be. Then the thought hit me! We could dress as hunters! So we borrowed Neil's brother-in-law's hunting clothes and here's the result. We caught ourselves a 'wascawy wabbit.' (She was the cutest little rabbit ever, might I add) I was stupid and didn't get one of just her in her costume, but we can still get one of those later.

(Us after we shot our wabbit - bow hunting isn't usually the MOST conventional way to catch a wabbit, but we improvised!) :)

(Us with our "kill")

(The whole family - well, those that live in Utah at least. Nearly 1/2 are out of state!)

Pictures of Week #1

2008-10-24T20:29:00.005-06:00

Here are just some fun pictures that we've taken in her first week. Surprisingly, they've all been of her, not other people holding her! We'll try to get more of those.

(Neil likes to get pictures with her arms in cute places. She looked so relaxed with the stretched out so far and in her cute, soft blanket.)

(Her bouncer has a mobile that goes over it. Neil put it up when she was wide awake and though it looks like she's staring at it, she never did look at the little animals. She was just staring into space. We just loved her cute little face in this one.)

(She's always so cute, but when we were taking pictures this time, she lifted her little lip like Elvis. It was so cute!)

(Just another cute one of her deeply sleepin' in her little bouncer.)

(A cute one of her all wrapped up in her bassinet just sound asleep. Look at her cute little saggin' cheeks! They're so dang fun!)

(Another one of her arms in a funny position. We were just getting her ready for bed and she put them straight up over her head.)

(Dont' think we're mean - we just had to snap a picture before we picked her up. We wrap her tight at night so she can't flail her arms and wake herself up - not an uncommon thing. Well, she somehow wiggled her right arm up, and since she couldn't get her left arm out of the blanket, she decided to completely take it out of her jammies and stick her bear hand out the neck of her jammies. She must have wriggled for quite awhile to accomplish that. We think she was so upset because she had gotten herself stuck.)

The Birth (Novel)

2008-10-24T19:19:00.005-06:00

So some people have asked about the whole birth experience (with going natural.) I'll try to summarize as much as possible, so as not to bore anyone. Those who don't really care can skip this and just check out the few new pictures.

So the surges (contractions) started about 9:00 pm Wednesday night, but they weren't very regular yet. I just kind of dealt with them on my own through the night, but didn't sleep much. They started coming regularly at about 4:00 am. I woke Neil up at about 5:00 am to start helping me through them. His biggest job was to use light touch massage (he basically uses the backs of his fingertips to try to create the chills. The chills release endorphins, and endorphins are natural pain blockers.) It wasn't bad enough yet to need that too much, so he just helped me keep track of how far apart the surges were. I took a bath, and then showered and got ready. Finished packing the hospital bag, and then just tried to relax in bed. We wanted to wait as long as we could at home so that we were in the most comfortable place possible so that it would be easier to relax. We finally left for the hospital at about 2:00 pm.

We checked in the hospital at 2:30 pm at which point I was 100% effaced and dilated to a 5. We decided to stay anyway, since it was a half hour drive each way if we were to have gone home. I spent most of the time in bed and Neil would just help me through each surge and then we would chat between each one. My midwife showed up at about 6:30 and checked where my progression was. At that point I was at a 6+. I was surprised that I had only progressed roughly 1 1/2 cm. in 4 hours. At that point I decided to take a bath for awhile. Neil helped by pouring water over my stomach (as the bath wasn't deep enough to cover it all.) They had to get me back on the fetal monitor, so I got out of the bath and made it over to the bed. I decided to lay on my side for awhile and the first surge that hit me, my water broke. (What a weird sensation!!) That happened at about 7:20 pm. The surges became steadily stronger, and I began to lose my focus in getting through them. I started getting nauseated and Neil and my midwife were able to use some pressure points to help me through them. I decided to go sit on the toilet to relax through the surges. (It helps relieve the pressure and allows your hips to spread well.) I was able to regain my focus and was dealing pretty nicely with the surges when the nurse said I had to get back on the monitor! Grrr....I wasn't too happy about that. So back to the bed, monitor on, and trying to focus. I was able to get into focus in the bed, but is was not as comfortable as the toilet. The monitoring is supposed to be for 20 minutes. Well, WAY more than 20 minutes had passed but the nurse wasn't removing the monitor. My surges were lasting between 1 - 2 1/2 minutes each, so right when one would ease up, another would start. I finally found a moment to break my focus and asked to have the monitor taken off. She said that I had seemed so relaxed that she didn't want to disturb me. So the monitor came off, and I went straight back to the toilet. What seemed like not very much longer, I told Neil I felt like it was time to start pushing. He paged the midwife and nurse back in. The midwife checked me and I was fully dilated. In Hypnobirthing (the method we used) you "breathe" the baby down instead of push. Difficult to explain in writing. Anyway, I gave a few of the downward breaths on the toilet when the doctor suggested I get back to the bed so that the baby wasn't born IN the toilet. I chose to deliver on my hands and knees as it was less pressure and more comfortable for me. I continued to use the downward breaths, and what seemed like 5 minutes later, she was out!! (About 30 minutes total passed from when I said to Neil that I felt like I needed to push, and when she came.) Neil watched the whole thing and was even able to help deliver her!

I immediately turned around and they put her on my chest for some skin-to-skin contact and bonding. The midwife and nurse were still working on other things and I just sat and held our beautiful little Avery. Eventually, they needed Neil to hold her while the stitched me up and got everything cleaned up. Once all of that was complete, they brought the people in to do the weighing and measuring and then gave her back to me to nurse. She latched on great and took a full 10 minutes from each side. We then just continued to bond and enjoy her little presence before they took us to our recovery room.

In Neil's own words, he says that half of the time he couldn't even tell I was in labor. The nurse said that she had only ever been involved with one other Hypnobirthing birth and that the other girl wasn't able to relax very much and was quite miserable. Seeing my experience made her want to take the class just to simply learn about the concept and better be able to help someone in the future. My midwife (she said about 90% of her patients use Hypnobirthing) said that she was amazed at how well I did and that very few women have kept the level of concentration that I had. None of this is to brag, but to simply say that it was WELL worth the studying and practicing and the entire experience turned out as well as I could have hoped! Well, almost... I hoped it would have been a little bit less painful, but who doesn't? :) It still was a wonderful experience and I will definitely be doing it again - just not in the near future!

Note: I did not emphasize one of the most important parts of the entire experience and I can't believe myself!!! I have to say that there is ABSOLUTELY no way that I would have been able to get through it all without Neil's help!! He was the most amazing coach and said and did all of the right things at the right moments for me to be able to stay as relaxed as I did!! I couldn't have done it without him and I thank him SSSSOOOO much for being there for me every step of the way! We made a great team and my love for him has grown immensely through this entire experience! Thank you Neil, and I love you so much!!!

Avery Lyn Johnson

2008-10-20T21:32:00.006-06:00

Avery entered this world at 10:04 pm on October 16th, 2008. She weighed 8 lbs 8 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. She is a beautiful baby and has already been such a joy in our lives.

I've been recovering slowly, which is the reason for the delay in the post. Here are some pictures of the miraculous event! I'll post more details of the whole day soon.

(Right before going to the hospital)

(Neil getting ready to help deliver her)

(Neil holding her shortly after she was born)

(Weighing & Measuring)

(Me holding her before nursing)

(Watching dad from her "bed" in our room)

(At home in the Boppy)

Stick a Fork in me!

2008-10-15T09:05:00.005-06:00

So my due date came.......and went! I wondered what would happen to my pregnancy counter if I went over and apparently, it starts counting backwards.

(It should say "-1 days to go")

I'm actually still feeling great, I'm just very anxious to get her here!! We're so excited for her arrival - we just wish she was too! At the doctors office yesterday, she said I was dilated to nearly a 4, 90% effaced, and her head was fully engaged - meaning she can't go any lower until I actually start labor. She set up an induction date for the 30th, but she said she doubts I'll even make it another week. We basically just need the surges to stay regular and it'll progress pretty quickly she thinks.

*Sigh*

Cross your fingers that TODAY will be the day!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-13T09:56:00.004-06:00

(Neil picking his pumpkin)

So I haven't blogged in awhile - not because we've had our baby, but because I've been nesting! We've gotten so much tidying/cleaning/organizing done, it's been great! In between all of the hustle and bustle to get ready for her arrival, we have been able to squeeze in some fun time!

(Me picking mine)

On Saturday, we decided it would be fun to go get our pumpkins from a pumpkin patch around the corner from our neighborhood. (During 1/2 time of the BYU game, or course!) It was so fun to wander through all of the pumpkins in search of the best one!

(Picking out Avery's pumpkin)

(A baby pumpkin for our little baby)

(Neil taking our pumpkins to the car)

The guy who owned the patch had a bunch of apple trees lining his property. Before we left, he told us to go pick a bunch of apples for free, so we came home with a bunch of fresh apples as well! It was a really fun experience for both of us - we definitely will make this a tradition. We now have our fun little "pumpkin family" on our porch!

(Our pumpkin family)

a v e r y

2008-09-29T11:01:00.002-06:00

So my cute friends at work threw a shower for me last Thursday! Can I just say how wonderful the people I work with are!! I have loved every minute that I’ve had getting to know them – they are some of the kindest, sweetest, most fun people ever! I got so many cute, fun little gifts!! A group of people even went in and bought her bouncer! I was completely blown away by everyone’s generosity.

I have to point out one gift in particular. 5 of the girls each took a letter of Avery’s name and they decorated a wood letter. Being that I work as Stampin’ Up where the walls are bursting with creativity, I shouldn’t be surprised that they turned out so adorable! I absolutely LOVE them and they will shortly be adorning her room as décor. I just had to show everyone their creative talent and thank them for the darling gift!! So a gigantic “THANKS” goes out to Glenda, Leah, Melissa, Sheila, and Kristen!! You gals are the best!

6 Unspectacular Quirks

2008-09-24T16:18:00.003-06:00

So I got tagged by my friend Chelsea to write 6 weird things about me. I may be doing it wrong, but oh well - here goes nothing.

1. I love birds! Mostly parrots or birds of prey. I have a strange little desire to someday get a falconers permit and own a peregrine falcon. Coupled with this love of birds, I have a unique stupid human trick. I can whistle like a parrot without using my mouth – it comes from my throat. I have used this on many occasions to ‘woo’ the hearts of many beautiful parrots into being my friends. I know – I’m weird!

2. I get WAY excited about the silliest things. For example, last night we were just about to eat dinner (which I had to snarf because I was already late for YW because I work so dang late) when the doorbell rang. Since we don’t often have unexpected company, and since I had informed him that there had been a salesman on the sidewalk when I pulled into our neighborhood 5 minutes earlier, Neil didn’t want me to answer it. I didn’t want to be rude if it happened to be someone else, so I went to get the door. The salesman was nearly to the sidewalk when I opened, and the minute he turned around and I could read his hat, I yelled for Neil to come quick – it was the COMCAST guy!! We have made numerous calls in the past year to Comcast to see when they would be available in our area, since all other options for TV or internet SUCK. And there they were! Finally in the neighborhood and getting people to sign up! To make a long story short, I was even more late for YW but on cloud 9 the rest of the night knowing that we would have MUCH faster internet as well as the Discovery channel and BYU football on The Mtn. by Thursday! (Too bad BYU has a bye week) What can I say, I guess I’m just easy to please!!

3. I’m slightly OCD. Not in the ‘germ-a-phobe’ way, but in the sense that I am picky about making sure things are uniform and even. An extreme example would be that all through middle and high school if I had a paper that I had written my name on (with pencil of course, since if I messed up in pen, it couldn’t be fixed) and I didn’t like the way it was written, I would erase it and re-write it. After 3 attempts, the previous writings would remain visible because an eraser couldn’t get it all completely, so I would throw the entire piece of paper away (even if there was nothing else on it.) I’ve calmed down a bit and am not that bad any more, but even playing Yahtzee with Neil the other night, I had to make sure all of the dice that are set aside are facing the same way. Once again, I know – I’m a freak!

4. I hate for my food to touch. This is a weird little pet-peeve, I know. People say all the time “It’s all going to end up in the same place anyway.” But the greatest part about eating is the chewing and tasting part. And when two things that were not intentionally put together end up touching on my plate, the whole bite transforms – often into something not as pleasant as the two bites would have been had they remained separate. Some things are tolerable, but most of the time I make every effort to not let them touch in the first place. I mean seriously, who wants jello in their mashed potatoes?? (Anyone who can answer ‘me’ to that question has some serious taste bud deficiencies!!)

5. I sleep with a humidifier on every night. Sadly, it generally doesn’t even have water in it. It started as a way to drown out my husband’s snoring when we were first married. (Sorry to disclose that fact Neil.) But I have now been conditioned to the noise and frankly, I can’t sleep well without it. I’m going to have a very rude awakening soon when I need to leave it off in order to hear Avery wake up in the night. I’ve tried numerous times to practice sleeping without it, but end up having a miserable night and generally end up getting up and turning it on before morning even comes. I’m in trouble! And I’ll learn exactly how much trouble very soon.

6. I’ve been stung by a jellyfish. Well, it’s technically not a true species of jellyfish – it’s called a Portuguese Man-of-War. It was while we were on our honeymoon in Jamaica. We had done all the sight-seeing we wanted to for the day and still had a little while before we had to be back on the boat. So we decided just to go to the beach and relax. We were a little more than waist deep in the water when it felt like something bit my hand and wouldn’t let go. I jumped because it scared me so bad, and then started frantically shaking my hand to get whatever was on it off (this made things worse, as I was dragging my hand back and forth through the tentacle.) Neil carried me to shore as a bunch of locals were running over trying to offer something for relief. As I’m screaming and bawling in pain, all I can think to say is “Someone find my camera!!” We had drifted from where our towels and backpacks were on shore, and I wanted to get a picture of my hand because despite being intensely painful, it looked really cool. We rushed back to the boat only to have the infirmary tell us that if we wanted to see the doctor, it would cost $150 JUST to have him paged – let alone the fee to see him, and any treatment he would do. So we bought a $5 bottle of hydrocortisone cream and went back to our room. On the way up, the toxin glands in my armpits kicked in to keep the poison from spreading to my body and they felt like they were on fire. Then I started going into shock as I could no longer move my hand or fingers. Luckily we had met another couple our age (who actually got married in the sealing room next to us at the exact same time in the SL Temple) that same day and he and Neil were able to give me a blessing. The paralysis went away by the next day, and the numbness subsided shortly after that. We even swam with stingrays the next day (What was I thinking?!) The welts lasted a few months, but the memory will last a lifetime. And frankly, I look back on it as a humorous experience now. How many people can say they’ve been stung by the second most poisonous jellyfish in the world??

(This was taken once someone went to find my camera)

Now, here are the terms and conditions for those of you who are going to be "tagged" by me:

Link the person who tagged you

Mention the rules on your blog.

List 6 unspectacular quirks about you.

Tag 6 other bloggers by linking them.

Now, I tag Lindsey, Laura, Jenn, Tiffany, Suzie, and Loni. Have fun with this one - think hard!

Smells so sweet!

2008-09-15T13:39:00.008-06:00

So this past weekend, our home has been filled with some GREAT smells! First was Friday when Neil gave me a giant, gorgeous bouquet of flowers for our anniversary. My favorite flower is a stargazer lily, and they are incredibly fragrant! Our whole house smells like fresh flowers - I love it!

(This picture doesn't do the flowers justice - they're GORGEOUS!)

Then on Saturday, I was feeling 'domestic' and decided to make some banana bread with some bananas that were a little to spotted for normal consumption. The bread smelled so good while it was baking and has been devoured by both of us. I'm tempted to buy some over-ripe bananas now and make some more it was so tasty!

(So this isn't my actual bread, but it looked similar.)

Then Sunday, since my previous baking experience had gone so well, I decided to make a fresh peach pie with some super sweet & juicy peaches we get from an orchard in Provo. (I've been obsessed with them lately and we're on our 4th bushel! What can I say, I'm pregnant!) I must admit, I've never made a pie before at all, so it was all new to me, but they turned out BEAUTIFUL! We baked them at my parents house last night and since they didn't get out of the oven until almost 10:30 (due to my poor planning) I haven't actually tasted it yet. But we left one of them for my parents and my dad had some for breakfast (typical of my dad!) and LOVED it! It sure did smell good on the drive home though. I must say I was quite proud of how it turned out for being my first pie ever.

(This IS a picture of my first pie! The juice made a mess of my mom's oven, but it turned out beautiful!)

Neil is probably beside himself that I've baked so much! He shouldn't get used to it though, because everyone keeps saying that I won't have time for baking once Avery arrives. I've enjoyed it so much lately (I made fresh wheat bread last week with fresh ground wheat flour!) that maybe I'll have to keep making the time for it! But our house sure has smelled good for the past few days!!

Happy Anniversary!!

2008-09-12T10:18:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to take a minute to thank my wonderful husband! Never in a million years did I expect to end up with someone so loving, patient, strong, caring, giving, selfless - the list could go on forever! I truly couldn't imagine my life without you! You bring me such happiness on a daily basis!! These last 5 years have had ups and downs, but the ups FAR outweigh the downs!! I am so glad that I have the blessing of spending the rest of my life with you! I am so glad that together, we can welcome our sweet little Avery into this world - and other future children! You will be such a wonderful father, I have no doubt! Thank you for putting up with me at my worst, helping me through tough times, and loving me through it all! You are my one true love! Forever and for Always! Happy 5 years babe, and an eternity to come!!

I LOVE YOU!!!

Rare glimpse

2008-09-05T13:05:00.005-06:00

So our little girl Tia is not the most social thing in the world. In fact, the opposite is more so the case! She rarely comes upstairs and when she does, she's incredibly skiddish, so we don't often get to see her get playful. I was sitting on the chair in our family room working on my laptop, when she brought up this little piece of sponge that she stole from my scrapbook stuff who knows how long ago. (This is more the personality we're used to - she's a mischievous little clepto!) She started playing with it and luckily the camera was close enough that my getting up to get it didn't scare her downstairs. So here is a VERY rare glimpse at a side of our kitty we NEVER get to see. Might be boring to you all, but I was thrilled to witness it!

The countdown is ON!

2008-09-02T09:58:00.005-06:00

WOW! Only 6 weeks left! I can't believe how much time flies - it has gone incredibly fast!! A friend mentioned last night that if I were to go into labor anytime now, they would not stop me! I don't expect to anytime soon as I've been feeling GREAT, but just the thought that she could be here anytime now is so exciting! Our lives are about to change so much. I look forward to it with nothing but excitement though! I hear all of the scary, not-so-fun things like how tired we'll be, and how we can't "go out" anymore, but all I can think about when people say those things is "But OUR baby will be here." We will finally be able to see her, hold her, feel her, hear her, smell her..... I simply can't wait!

Rise and Shout!!

2008-08-30T21:01:00.002-06:00

The Cougars are Out!!

What a game! Despite a rough third quarter, and a few "slippery" hands in the third quarter, our Cougars pulled off a 41-17 win over Northern Iowa. BYU scored more points in this year's season opener than in the last three years' season openers combined! With some fantastic plays by our star players, and some impressive ones from some rookies, it was an exciting game! I can't wait to see what the rest of the season brings. GO MIGHTY COUGARS!!!