Getting Ready

Less than four weeks left! I'm so excited for this little guy to arrive. All indications are that he's healthy, and I feel great. I think we're ready besides moving a little furniture around and calling some people to see if they're willing to be on our last minute phone call list to help care for Isaac when things start to happen.

We had such a wonderful Christmas. Nothing beats spending time with family. This year most of my siblings were gone. My step-sister is on a mission, my step-brother spent the holidays with his dad, my sister was with her in-laws in southern Utah, and my youngest brother was on a cruise with his in-laws. Alan and family were here until Christmas morning when they flew out to be with in-laws. So it was a small group of us, but still just so nice to be together. My dad and step-mom gave us a unique gift this year. Each family received a certain amount of money from them to be used at our discretion to make Christmas meaningful for someone else. We could do Sub for Santa, donate to a charity, buy something meaningful for our family, or do anything else we could think of to serve others and spread Christmas cheer. The best part of this gift was thinking for weeks about what to do. I found myself thinking of others more and noticing needs that I hadn't noticed before. I also realized that the biggest needs may not be financial so much as emotional and spiritual. Our time and interest seemed to be more needed than the money. We finally settled on a unique idea, and without going into detail, I just want to say that the idea we chose made this one of the best Christmases of my life.

I got a bad ear infection last weekend, and the pressure in my ear still isn't equalized, so I can barely hear out of my left ear, and it has a constant and very loud ringing. It's not a huge problem, but I would really like for it to be gone before I go into labor so I don't have to worry about a painful pop when I'm pushing. Maybe that's not even possible, but it's what I'm worried about. Any prayers would be appreciated. Thanks! (This happened to me one time about 7-8 years ago when my ear never equalized from a plane ride. It lasted 6 weeks before my ear "popped" on its own in class one day. I still remember that blessed day.)

Screamin Daily Deals

Hi! You may or may not be interested in this, but I love this type of thing, so I'm passing it along. And I get a referral credit if you join through the link on the bottom of the email. So please feel absolutely no pressure to do anything at all, but if you're interested, here's the info:

I discovered the website "Screamin Daily Deals" today. They offer local deals for restaurants and services at deep discounts. And you can choose a local charity or school to support, so with every purchase you make the site donates 10% of the proceeds to that cause. Today's deal in Utah Valley is a $12 Hickory Kist gift card that you can buy for $6. And if you set up an account with them, you get a $5 credit, so it makes the gift card $1. If you click on this link to set up an account, I get a referral credit:

http://www.screamindailydeals.com/r/9YJZI5AAKO

Johnson Family Christmas Letter 2010

Greetings Family and Friends! We hope this note finds you happy and well.

The year 2010 has been a fun one with several changes for us. January brought a new calling for Walt in the Stake Young Men’s program. His assignments include working with the Spanish Ward to help them develop their scouting program. He has particularly loved his association with the people in that ward, practicing his Spanish, and watching their Scouting program flourish. In February Walt changed jobs and started full-time with ImSAR, a small company in Spanish Fork, Utah, that develops radar technology for civilian and military applications. He is really enjoying the work environment there. In the summer Walt got to go on several High Adventure Scouting trips, including backpacking in the High Uintahs and mountain biking. We also enjoyed a Johnson family reunion in the mountains near Prescott, Arizona, in October. Good times!

Among other things, this year Isaac (17 months) learned to roll over, eat solids, crawl, walk, tantrum, climb, and flush the toilet. Whew! He also took his first plane rides, including two trips to Seattle, one to New Jersey, and one to St. Louis. Mommy got really good at going through airport security one-handed. Isaac’s favorite things include Daddy, soft blankets, trucks and tractors, and books. He loves to sit and “read” books to himself while turning the pages. He eats and sleeps very well, which are huge blessings. We feel so blessed that Julie can be home full-time with him. In the summer we found out we’re expecting a second baby boy in early February, 2011. Yay for boys!! (That’s all the Johnsons know how to make). And yay for relatively easy pregnancies. Again, a huge blessing. This time her ankles are even identifiable still. They mysteriously disappeared last pregnancy.

In addition to being 10-11 year old Activity Day Leader, Julie was also called to be Valiant 11 Primary Teacher this year. Both are such FUN callings! She read a bunch of books this year for Book Club and for pleasure and made her first denim quilt. She also found a walking group and goes most weekday mornings for a few miles. With the Christmas program coming up in church she’s been giving the piano a good workout practicing to accompany the choir numbers.

We are thankful daily for our Savior, Jesus Christ. We know that He is “the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by [Him]” (John 14:6). We find peace and joy through living His gospel and pray that our thoughts and actions will celebrate His birth every day of the year.


With Love, Walt, Julie, Isaac, and baby boy #2 Johnson

Belly Shot - 33 weeks

Christmas

Isaac is really liking the Christmas decorations. I put up a string of lights in his room around his window, and every morning he asks me to plug it in. We got a live tree, which I was a little nervous about, but he hasn't tried to pull it over yet. Whew! Most of the ornaments are on the top half, out of his reach, but there are about 5 that I put on the bottom for him to play with. I also bought him a Little People Nativity. The first day he played with the packaging. The second day he threw all the figures down the stairs. The third day I arranged them all on the coffee table, and they've basically stayed there since. He plays with them a little each day, sometimes putting a police man on the top in place of the angel, or carting the camel (his favorite) off to some remote hiding spot in the kitchen or bedroom. But mostly they stay there and just get played with. It's so fun to have a toddler at Christmas!

Last week for our date night we went to see A Christmas Carol at the Hale Theater (really great community theater). My brother is performing in it this year in the men's chorus, which plays a significant role throughout. It was so fun to see him, the play was fabulous, and the audience was star-studded (Elder Holland and his family came :). What a wonderful way to start the month. Dickens gives us a lot of food for thought with that story. I'm so grateful for the mercy extended to us through our Savior, Jesus Christ, and hope that I can recognize and repent of my Bah Humbug attitudes and take advantage of each day to feel my Savior's love and extend it to others.

October

A Johnson Family Reunion was held near Prescott, Arizona, in mid-Octber. Walt's dad and four of Walt's five siblings and their families were able to make it. We rented a big cabin and all stayed together there for several days. FUN!!

October was Isaac's first trick-or-treating Halloween. We just took him to a few houses, but he sure got the hang of taking candy and putting it in his bag. Luckily he was satisfied with one sucker the entire night and forgot he had any other candy. Mom scored the chocolate, and the last people to our door got the rest. I was going for Peter Pan, but he looked more like Robin Hood. That works, too. :)



We celebrated Walt's October birthday by surprising him with a night at a cabin near Brighton Ski Resort. My sister and her husband and my brother and his wife came, too, so it was a party! We had so much fun, and I brought the sled along so Walt could take Isaac sledding. They both loved it!

Design Help

I haven't updated the background and colors on my blog in a while, and now I can't figure out how to change font colors. I used to go to "Layout", and I can no longer find that option. Any help?