So BLUE

BLUE with EXCITEMENT that is!! I just found out that
Blue October
is coming in concert and I am freaking out. I love them! You can find all their tour information here.

If any of you would like to go with me let me know.

JARDINE CRIB RECALL

Yesterday I was talking to my friend Jill and she mentioned that her crib had been recalled. She told me to check and see if my cribs were made by Jardine. Sure enough they were. The most irritating part about this, is that I sent in the registration cards when we first purchased the cribs, and I have heard nothing from them. So I urge all of you that still have children using cribs to check and see what crib you have.

This is a news article on the recall that I read from the Deseret News:

Jardine cribs sold by Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us stores were recalled, because four children became trapped.

The wooden slats and spindles on the crib frames can break, allowing children to get trapped in the remaining gap. The Consumer Product Safety Commission reported 42 incidents of broken slats and spindles. This includes four instances of children getting trapped, two of whom suffered cuts and bruises.

The recalled cribs were manufactured in China and Vietnam by Jardine Enterprises and sold by Toys "R" Us Inc. retailers: KidsWorld stores, Geoffrey stores, Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us. KidsWorld and Geoffrey stores are no longer in operation, but sold the recalled cribs when they were open.

The cribs were sold around the country between January 2002 through May 2008. For more information on the specific Jardine crib styles included in the recall, consumers can call 800-646-4106.

You can also find out more information by checking out this websitehttp://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08312.html

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Kelly and I were lucky last night to have a date night. Kelly's dad for Christmas gave us 3 months of babysitting for us to go out once a month. It was so nice! We decided to go to a movie and dinner. We wanted to go to Cafe Rio but didn't have enough time, so instead we pulled through Subway and got some sandwiches. One of Kelly's friends from work had recommended that we see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and said that it was one of the best movies he's seen in a long time. So we figured it would be worth seeing... and it was. I loved the story. We laughed, and I cried, and both of us thought it was great. I would say that in many ways it was Forest Gumpish. So if you liked that movie, you'll definitely like this one. If you haven't seen it yet, go see it. It's worth it. Thanks again Neil for a night out. We love you and appreciate this gift more than you'll ever know.

Grocery Shopping

Today I was really good and made a grocery list and cut out all my coupons so I could go grocery shopping. I had everything all planned out because I was going to have to do a couple of transactions in order to get the best deal. No problem right? WRONG!!! I get to the store and they are out of about 90% of the items on my list that I have coupons for. I was so frustrated. Not only then did I have to sit and re-figure everything out, but I had to deal with the boys in the grocery store as well. They were running and screaming through the store knocking things off shelves. It was a nightmare. Then to make things worse I forgot to give the cashier my coupons when I was paying for the second order. So I had to go and spend 15 more minutes at customer service getting that figured out. So from this I've learned, not to grocery shop with kids when it's a complicated transaction, and to have a back-up plan. Now I just hope that I will actually follow my own advice.

FINALLY!!

FINALLY! Today Mom got to go home from the hospital. They ended up changing a bunch of her meds and got her IV's under control, and now today she walked out the doors of the hospital, hopefully never to return.

Thanks so much for all your thoughts, prayers and phone calls. I can't tell you enough how much my family and I appreciated it.

Today's Thought

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you, but first, let me do this. He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air.

Well, he replied, "What if I do this?" He dropped it on the ground, and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?"
Still the hands went into the air.

My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it, because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.

Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who do love you.
The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by who we are and whose lives we touch.

You are special - Don't EVER forget it"

A Feeding Frenzy

Morgan and Cayson spent some time with us on New Years day and they boys loved it. Especially when Morgan would feed Cayson. They wanted to be completely involved with the process. Luckily Morgan is patient and didn't mind that they wanted to help so much. It was really cute to see them helping out with Cayson. I was surprised with how gentle they were and with how much they wanted to help.

Tubing at Soldier Hollow

For my family's Christmas shindig this year we decided to get together after Christmas was over and spend some time on the hills at Soldier Hollow in Midway. During the winter seems as how it's useless for golfing, they groom one of the many hills for tubing. Not only do they have it all groomed for you, but they also have a pulley system that you are attached to so you don't even have to walk up the hill. It's so much fun!

We all met there and geared up for some fun. We spent a good 2 or more hours going down the hill. Each time in huge groups, yelling at people at the end of the path to get out of the way. Landon and Carter even got to go down the hill with us. They had so much fun!

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of us in action. It's too bad because I'm sure it was a sight to see. These were the only pictures I took. The group pictures are missing Turia, Rhett and Grayson. They escaped before we were able to take it. Sorry guys!

The Group with Mom

The Group with Uncle Zach

Our Family
Jordan and Morgan

Day After Christmas 2008

The day after Christmas, Kelly's family came over for dinner and games. We had so much fun together just hanging out mostly and being goofy.

Neil & Sharee were so kind and gave each family a night out once a month for the next 3 months, baby sitting included! I wanted to cry, I was so happy.

The family Dog Piled on top of Kris Anne

Isn't she happy after that many people were piled on her.
Lucky for her and Scotty, Kelly was on his hands and knees.

All of us exchanged gifts that night.
Kris Anne made all of us a book about Neil's and his parent's lives.
They were amazing!
Notice the wrapping?
That's Johnson style wrapping. Oh Yeah!

Becky, Emily and Marty chilling on the couch enjoying the festivities.
Marty and Emily gave us all a game night.
It included: Rumikub, and all the fixings for ice cream sundays.
They even included the bowls.
It was such a fun gift.
And of course the boys didn't leave the side of the train table.
Thanks everyone for such a wonderful Christmas!
We love you all!

Christmas Day 2008

Here are some pics from Christmas day. It was so much fun being home and having Greg and Grandpa Johnson with us. The boys LOVED the train table so much that they really didn't open hardly any of their other presents. We ended up opening them for them. Enjoy!

Christmas Eve 2008

I finally got some pictures downloaded today. Here are some of the fun pictures from Christmas Eve.

LIVE

Life is short.
Break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly,
love truly, laugh uncontrollably,
and never regret anything that made you smile.

Mom Update

Well, my Mom is still in the hospital, and I am really frustrated. It seems that for the last week they've been treating her for the wrong thing. She still has the ulcer in her colon, but apparently there is something else wrong in addition to it. Which makes perfect sense, because she's not getting better. Today they are finally doing some more tests on her. A scope and something else (possibly a second scope, no one has been able to confirm that for me). I hope that they can get it figured out soon. She looks a little better than she did when she was first admitted to the hospital a week ago, but really hasn't improved much. They're having a hard time keeping her headache under control, and she still has a lot of pain in her stomach.

It's been so hard to see her in this condition. It takes her about 15 minutes just to sit up in her bed and swing her legs off the side to try and stand up. She is so weak she can barely walk and when she does it's not far. Only 10 - 15 steps at the most. I never thought that I would see my Mom in this condition so early. She's only 47 years old, and is in good health otherwise. She's not overweight, she eats healthy, she takes care of herself, and exercises.

I hope that with these tests today they'll be able to figure out what's really wrong with her, and start treating her. I know that it may not happen, but I am hoping and praying that they'll at least find something, so we can have some more answers.

It's also made me think about my family, and what if something like this happened to us. What would we do? I know one thing for sure. I need to start eating and feeding my family healthier meals, and we need to exercise more. It wouldn't hurt Kelly and I both to loose a few pounds either. I guess that I've always known this, but watching my Mom go through it really makes it reality for me. It's horrible that it takes something like this to really open my eyes, but as horrible as it may sound, I'm grateful that it has. I hope that I'll be able to make some changes within my own family so that we can hopefully avoid poor health in the future.

Quick Update

Well the holidays have come and gone and I'll hopefully get a post up about them sometime soon. Life's been super busy with family and the holidays and we are doing well. All of us except for my Mom. She's been in the hospital since Tuesday (Dec. 30) and will be there for a few more days. She has something called endocronitis, which is inflammation and sores (ulcers) in the lining of the large intestine, or colon. She's been in extreme amounts of pain, and most of my time has been spent there trying in any way to help her stay comfortable. There isn't anything that they can do for it other than control her pain and give her IV fluids. She's not able to eat or drink, as it makes it worse. I know that many of you had asked, so I thought this would be the best way to let everyone know the details. Hopefully she'll make a speedy recovery, and life will get back to normal... whatever that is...

So Cute

My sister Morgan had some pictures of Cayson taken and they are too cute not to share.

Santa

A couple of weeks ago Zions held a Christmas event for their employees and their children/grandchildren. My Mom works for them and got tickets for us, Morgan, the Deveys, and Tolboe's to go. We had a great time. It was held at the Scera in Orem. We got there and all the kids were given a bag of goodies containing lots of candy, and a Pez dispenser that looked like a stuffed animal. They loved them. We went into the theater and found our seats.Then I went and got popcorn and drinks for all of us. We watched the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie. This was the first movie I had ever taken the boys to. I was a little worried that they wouldn't sit through it. They proved me wrong! The boys were so good and only switched seats a couple of times. After the movie was over Santa came. We waited in line to see him, and enjoyed the Christmas tree and train they had out in the lobby. Landon and Carter thought the train was the coolest thing ever. When it was our turn Carter jumped right up on Santa's lap and told him he wanted Choo-choo tracks. Landon was freaked and wouldn't say anything. Cayson sat with Santa too. He slept through the whole thing.Alivia and Ethan were great. Abby got really shy and buried her head in Mom's shoulder. It was so cute and really funny. Santa gave each of the kids another sack full of goodies.

Afterwards we snapped a quick picture of Mom with all the kids and they each gave her hugs and thank yous. It was so much fun! Thanks Mom and Zions for a great time.

SNOW

I have issues with snow. I think it's pretty (sometimes) and is something that should only happen on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I would even be fine with it if it would just stay in the mountains and not hit the valleys. Other than that, I really hate it. It's horrible to drive in. It's cold. It turns all brown and gross after a while. It makes the roads horrible, especially out here where it's a miracle if our roads get plowed. Shoveling it is awful. I can't ski or snowboard, and it's just not fun for me. I know that I am probably a scrooge or something, but I really do not like the snow. Landon and Carter even think it's "yucky snow" and I haven't tricked them into thinking that at all. They walked outside the first time it snowed this year and said, "Eww, snows yucky!" I laughed, and agreed with them.

Bulimic Blogger

I am diagnosing myself as a "Bulimic Blogger." I came to this realization slowly over the past few months. Here is the criteria for diagnosing a person with Bulimia, and the similarities to my self diagnosis:

• Recurrent episodes of binge eating. Eating, in a fixed period of time, an amount of food that is definitely larger than most people would eat under similar circumstances. A lack of control over eating during the episode.
  • Similarity: I store up, aka "binge," so many things that I want to post, either in my mind or on the computer over an extended period of time. That which, a normal person, would just post within a reasonable period of time.
    
• Recurrent compensatory behavior, such as: self-induced vomiting.
  
  • Similarity: I purge, aka "vomit!" A ton of information all at one time. It's not uncommon for me to in one night post 2 - 3 weeks worth of stuff that's been going on in our lives. Plus add in a few tags, or something else. In doing so, it's impossible for anyone (myself included) to quickly check my blog and find out what's new.
    

Therefore, I feel as though my diagnosis of being a "Bulimic Blogger" seems to fit quite well. Are there any cures. Of course there are! Am I willing to cure myself? I am willing to, but the likely hood of that happening any time soon, doesn't seem to be in the near future. So until then... enjoy reading my "vomit."

Christmas Style - Get To Know You

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know you. Here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be a SCROOGE!!! Just copy this entire post and then delete my answers and put in your own.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both. It depends on the gift.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial... the mess of the real ones is the downfall.
3. When do you put up the tree? Normally the day after Thanksgiving. This year, about two weeks before.
4. When do you take the tree down? About the middle of January
5. Do you like eggnog? Yes, but only with a little sprite mixed into it.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? I honestly don't remember.
7. Hardest person to buy for? Fathers
8. Easiest person to buy for? Is it awful to say myself?
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes a precious moments one.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail

11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? An over sized pair of mens briefs. They were incredibly HUGE. It was a prank.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? The Grinch

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? This year I did some really early on at the after Christmas sales, and then I started again in August. It's so expensive, I have to spread it out throughout the year.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Ummm... yep!
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Home made caramels from Angela.

16. Favorite Christmas song? Silent Night, Christmas Shoes, O Holy Night, Mary Did You Know... the list goes on and on.
17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? STAY AT HOME. I traveled to 5 or 6 houses every year of my life growing up, and now that I have my own family, I refuse to do it anymore. Call me a Scrooge.

18. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star or Bow
19. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning, just PJ's and slippers on Christmas Eve

20. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Feeling like I will offend someone if I don't get them something, and of course the $$$$$$
21. Favorite ornament theme or color? Right now... Red and Gold
22. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Ham with potatoes and gravy
23. What do you want for Christmas this year? New Camera or Laptop

These were Kelly's answers to this:
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Does the bag the gift came in count?
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial... the mess of the real ones is the downfall.
3. When do you put up the tree? Normally the day after Thanksgiving. This year, about two weeks before.
4. When do you take the tree down? About the middle of January
5. Do you like eggnog? Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Star Wars Figures and Construx.
7. Hardest person to buy for? Anyone that doesn't give me a list.
8. Easiest person to buy for? Hum, there's always a huge list to pick from.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes a precious moments one.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Neither, but if I had to, email.
11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Skis. Since it was such a big gift, I didn't really get much else, and I already knew about them going in to Christmas, so there was no surprise. I think I started crying that morning.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Christmas Storey, Christmans Vacation and Elf.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Dec 22.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Ummm... yep!
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Cheese Balls and Crackers.
16. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night
17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? STAY AT HOME.
18. What happened to 18?
19. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star or Bow
20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning, just PJ's and slippers on Christmas Eve
21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Shopping, and of course the $$$
22. Favorite ornament theme or color? Whatever Hum likes
23. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Chili and Ham
24. What do you want for Christmas this year? Nothing
25. Who is most likely to do this? Hum already did.

Tagged - My 100

To participate just copy and paste in your own blog, and bold all of the things you have done.

1. Started your own blog ... Sure Have
2. Slept under the stars ... On our trampoline in our back yard growing up
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity ... Does tithing count?
7. Been to Disneyland ... Yes! I can't wait to be able to take Landon & Carter.
8. Climbed a mountain ... Yes, it was awful, and I don't ever want to do it again.
9. Held a Praying Mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch ... Yes
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping ... You haven't lived until you can check that one off your list!
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke... yes but never in a public place. I think I would pass out!
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight ... In San Diego on our honeymoon.
46. Been transported in an ambulance... once for real, and another time in a mock disaster I participated in.
47. Had your portrait painted... When I was a little girl
48. Gone deep sea fishing ... Yes, in Mexico with Jill and her family.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain ... Oh Ya!.
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason ... Kelly sends them on occasion! Isn't he so sweet!!
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person ... Just this last Sunday.
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car ... Just our van after we had the boys.
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper ... Just this year in fact. I was in the paper in NM with all the amazing girls in my group that went to FORKS, WA!!!
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox ... As a little girl.
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous ... Stephenie Meyer and the one and only Lisa Hansen! Creator of TwilightMom's.
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one ... Yes
94. Had a baby ... Yes, TWO at one time.
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone ... Mine is attached to my ear
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Fallen in love ... Of course!