We've had a love affair...and we're not ashamed to say so,
It began thirty-three years ago and will continue -- we know!
The first time we saw her, we fell helplessly in love,
Created by our love...we prayed for her to our Father above.
She was tiny and helpless, a cute little child,
We soon discovered she was indomitable -- not mild!
When she enters a room, her spirit takes charge of the place,
She wins people over with her talent, beauty and grace.

She's everyone's advocate -- she cheers others on,
She's smart and ambitious -- she makes life a song!
This poem could not end if I named all her good traits,
To offer a helping hand -- she never hesitates.
She's a teacher, a mother, a lover, a wife
So the love affair continues-and will...for the rest of our life!
Happy Birthday, our dear Billie Jo. We love you!

Ellie Jo -
She's our very first grandchild...it seems we waited so long,
Oh my, we loved and spoiled her...she could do nothing wrong.
Look at her now -- the oldest, so responsible, a beautiful girl,
Ready for baptism -- we're so happy and proud...our hearts are a swirl!
Happy birthday Ellie Jo. Grandpa and I love you so much!

It seems so very long ago...
A cute, bubblie girl I got the chance to know.
She was smart as a tack, played "hard to get" with my son -
And many years later, became the "one and only,"...her heart he won.
They've tackled Las Vegas and law school and becoming a pair,
They're well on their way now and a good life they share.
She's still cute and bubblie, she's saavy and bright,
She's the love of his life -- is the story over? Not quite!
It can only get better! Happy Birthday, Trici!

Happy Birthday - to all our October Girls!

Oktoberfest

Happy Birthday - Noah...The Frost is on the Pumpkin!

Noah - definitely handsome, bold, and strong!
A grandson to be proud of forever on.
Good teachings, example, hard work and fun,
Lots of love and devotion equals a fine young son!
Happy Birthday - Noah - Grandma and Grandpa love you!

I have been trying to convince Dad that we missed fall. He keeps insisting that the cold and snow are temporary and that we will return to fall...soon. What do ya think? How many weeks have you seen snow pictures of the Beautiful Valley? Not only is there frost on the pumpkins, but also 3 inches of snow!

The thing that gets you through not being exactly in love with winter weather so early on is the beauty of the whole thing. When have you ever seen anything so pretty? The snow, the animals, the blue sky, the countryside...I definitely can't be unhappy when Heavenly Father has given us so much!

Zeke and Bella love me no matter what the weather is. When it started to turn cold, they did take to cuddling rather than wrestling! It first started in the lawn clipping pile, then moved to the haystack and now they have moved to Bella's condo -- her kennel with the snugglie blankie (and besides, it is close to the food bowls!).

And you guys thought that the "water" calls would end when the hay was put up and farmers were no longer irrigating. Think again! There's too much water; there's not enough water; there's too many leaves; there's snow clogging the ditch...I'm sure there are other reasons to call regarding water, but no matter -- isn't it pretty?

Happy Birthday -- little Chelsea!

Her name had been chosen long before she ever came,
To us...it was strong, independent, decisive--and she would be the same.

She couldn't wait for the doctor, to make her earthly debut, When it was her time to arrive, she and only she knew.

She loved her kind, big brother -- he adored her as well,
She was a loving, caring sister to little Liz Giselle.

She grew and matured and no one could quite keep up,
Soccer, volleyball and basketball -- her athletic ability she could strut!

She graduated with honors and away to college she went,
Being rather competetive, on her goal of success she was bent.

A beauty indeed, with such spunk and so much fun,
To Hawaii, on cruises and to Mexico she traveled in the sun.

She was pretty pickie when it came to finding the perfect mate,
Way to go Chels! The Johnson Family is first-rate!
Happy 25th birthday, dear Chelsea, Dad and my love for you is endless!

The Newst Little Family....

There is absolutely nothing in the world like witnessing the birth of a new baby. Each time one of my daughters share this experience with me, I am truly amazed at the wonder of it all. This is surely the ultimate plan -- one only a Supreme Being could conceive -- it is so miraculous and beautiful! Baby Jack was no less of a wonder. Both Chelsea and Max worked together so patiently and persistently to bring him into this world. Max was undoubtedly overwhelemed with joy, love and gratitude at seeing his perfect little son.

Jack's little mop of hair -- all curly and wet -- was measured, along with all of the other fussing and checking he received from the medical professionals, while we all sat smiling and staring at him.

Here is the new mommy admiring her beautiful new baby. It is so cute to listen to her coo and talk loving, soothing words to him. How easy and natural this comes to our daughters.

Introducing the newest, little complete family -- Max, Chelsea and Jack Johnson. I am taking the liberty of announcing the middle name that has FINALLY been selected! It is ROBERT! Jack Robert Johnson. I feel this is such a tribute to Chelsea's older brother Robert. We are all so thankful for his influence on our family through the years and feel like we are better individuals for the lessons we have learned from him. The honor of having Chelsea and Max choose this name for their baby is such a heartfelt honor. Thank you - Max and Chelsea.

Baby Jack is even more beautiful today than last night. He is a calm, content, quiet baby and fits perfectly with his two beautiful parents. Thank you such a beautiful addition to our family!

Just Life here in Woodland....

This morning (Saturday), when we found we were not in St. George, we took breakfast up to Grandma and Grandpa and then watched the first session of conference with them. Upon leaving, I told Dad we needed to take some pictures of the beautiful fall colors before the storm came in. We came home and puttered around for a while and then I asked him to go get dressed. I was putting my makeup on and he said, "I think you just missed your 'window of opportunity'!" I looked out and there was the snow storm! Rob hurried and put his shoes and winter coat on and we went out. Rob is the photographer and Mother Nature is responsible for the scenery! Thanks to both of you!

Just two days ago, Dad was out pampering the babies. Jealousy struck the hearts of the two favored children and they had to get in on the photo shoot, so here they are, kids -- the children we now tend!

Here's the busy life of Bella and Zeke (they may be tired of chasing deer all night or hunting the river bottoms -- there is an elk head laying in my front yard), but whatever is the case, I think they both look rather content!

Up, Up And Away........

Up, up and away...in Life Flight....
Well, I guess a combination of things.....moving all of the stuff out of her room and office (and you all know what the office looks like!) in order for new carpet to be laid; working over the weekend with the kids on their Homecoming skits and music; narrating the skits and all the other jazz just took it's toll on Andrea.....

At the conclusion of the skits, just prior to the voting beginning...Andrea was announcing the contestants, and Nan came flying out of the booth and grabbed Melanie. Nan then called 911 and Aunt Jo came to get me. When I got up to the booth, Melanie was bawling and screaming at Andrea to respond to her and said she couldn't get a pulse and she started CPR -- I begin talking loudly to Andrea and begging her to respond. She was a horrible purple color and bleeding out of her mouth. I was worried about the blood but wondered if she had hit her head and bitten her tongue. Matt Ostmann arrived with oxygen and Dad came running in with the monitor from the ambulance . The rest of the ambulance crew arrived and they assumed she was having a stroke, so called Life Flight to get her to the hospital as quickly as possible.

She came to about this time and they got her out of the building and loaded into the ambulance, where Dad and Kim Simpson gave her a blessing while we waited for Life Flight. Dad was in his pajamas because it was pajama day, so he ran home to change his clothes and came back and got in with Billie Jo and me to go to Salt Lake. When she arrived, they did lots of tests, EKG, EEG, CatScan and blood work. As always, waiting in the emergency room is not the most eventful situation ever, but Dad was able to solve that experience -- and I will let him take over from here.

After they brought MZ out of the CatScan and told us that everything was looking good, I thought it would be a good time to catch a little nap while they took her in for the EEG. I have had a toothache the past couple of days and so I took my total allotment of pain pills and lay down on a couple of chairs for a little rest. Somewhere in the fog of the nap, I thought I heard Aunt Dorothy calling for me to get up; which, of course, I tried to ignore to continue with my sleep. But no. The next call to alarm was my own sweet wife calling for me to get up and help someone. I can ignore Dorothy, but not Billie Sue. I awoke to a commotion in the hallway next to the waiting room and everyone telling me to help the policeman who was trying to subdue someone on the floor. As I stood up, the perp (perpetrator, for those of you who have no law enforcement background or who haven't watched any crime TV)jumped up, escaping the policeman and fleeing down the hall towards the main part of the hospital. Shaking my head to clear the drug induced haze, I leaped over a row of chairs and started after the two. I stopped momentarily to recover the policeman's handcuffs and saw the pair turn the corner going down the hallway towards the cafeteria. Just as I reached the hallway, I saw the perp (still being hotly pursued) go around to the next hallway where the main elevators are and then turn back towards the hallway that I was in and head for the main entrance. By this time, I had made up a lot of distance, and as he was trying to round the corner to go out the front doors, I caught up with him and made a diving tackle. My left hand got hold of the loop on the side of his carpenter's pants and my right hand knocked his feet out from under him. He went skidding into the pharmacy with me still hanging on to him. The policeman then jumped on the perp and I handed the handcuffs to him and waited until he got him cuffed. The guy was cursing and swearing but didn't really give much resistance after that. The cop had tried to taser him but the barbs just stuck in his coat and he was trailing the wires as he ran. I handed the cop a pair of keys I had picked up along with the cuffs and said, "Book him Dano." Then I went back and got a free bandaid for the carpet burn on my elbow. For a minute I thought that maybe I was still asleep on the chairs and that somehow Nik and I had had a "twin" experience catching criminals, but the scab is real and Nik isn't really my twin anyway. Anyway, it was kind of cool.

And to think I had told everyone I knew that he was a pain intolerant kind of guy and a boob to boot! Glad to know that all those years of Special Forces training didn't go to waste! Anyway, it is more than a rugburn (don't tell him or he'll whine), it is a loss of skin!
Well, the day finally ended around 6:30 with Andrea being released and the diagnosis that she had a seizure. The doctors said that with all of the circumstances she had faced, anyone could have had a seizure, especially shortly after a brain trauma. We all went to eat at Chili's, as none of us had eaten all day. She is a bit wobbly but says she's going back to school tomorrow to handle Homecoming. She had a pretty bad headache, but we didn't know if that was from not having food all day and the lack of caffeine or from the seizure itself. We are so thankful that once again, Heavenly Father has watched over our baby sister.
This last picture is of Rob on Saturday. He and I went to Salt Lake to pick up the impeller motor for the hot tub and his request of to eat at Chinese Buffet. As you can see, his eyes were bigger than his tummy, but he did enjoy himself trying!