27 Reasons I'm Thankful!!

Life is so wonderful!! I have discovered, reading other peoples blogs, that I really enjoy the lists people post.
I have sooo much to be Thankful for that I'd really like to share:

1. My Family
2. The Gospel
3. Work
4. New Home
5. Fall Leaves
6. Friends
7. Turkey
8. Strong boys, Thanks for all your help with Tina, --Shawn and Michael.
9. Missionaries
10. Carpet (instead of cement floors)
11. Heaters
12. My mini Van
13. Defroster
14. Scrapers (have you ever used a metal spatula to scrape your window?)
15. Ear muffs that don't mess up your hair.
16. The option of still wearing sandals in November.
(my friend asked me today: "If someone would have asked you in Sept, if youwould have the option of wearing sandals in November what would you have said?")
17. Snow, in the mountains.
18. Lotion
19. Carmex
20. Sunshine
21. Chocolate
22. Flannel, homemade, hand tied blankets.
23. Neighbors
24. Homemade applesauce, especially when it is still warm.
25. Waffle iron, Aunt Libby's waffle recipe
26. Wheel chair ramps
27. Wheel chair friendly gas stations, with BIG restrooms, go New Maverick!

Check This Out!!!

I think this is the coolest site for no-brainer meal planning. It will help you plan your meals according to your families' tastes. It will help you to choose meals to loose weight. It will help plan the meals for week/month/year ongoing. Then you can print the shopping list to go with the menu planned for the week. It will help you track exercise, strength training, cardio etc. You can choose to be a no red meat family, vegetarian, no fat and more... the list of choices is great. The healthy living tab is where you find most of this "cool stuff". I did have to sign up to use the site, but it was free with alot of questions to answer. I'm sure I will get Kraft coupons and other things like that in the mail.

http://www.kraftfoods.com/

Thanks Shawn!!

You're a great handyman. Mikaela has been wanting those pretty curtains hung for quite some time. The bi-fold door was broken when we moved in so it's been hanging out as an annoying wall ornament hoping it would fix itself soon -- no luck, so Mikaela picked the fancy sheer curtains and rod to match the colors she has decided to make her room and YOU just began the process for her. THANK YOU!!!!! MK say's I LOVE YOU!

"BlogBooking"

It is so exciting to combine blogging with scrapbooking. It actually speeds up the process. I really enjoy sharing with others and being able to read other family and friend blogs. It's fun to keep up and see the personality everyone has, to see the growth of family and pictures. I like the links too.

What makes it "blogbooking"? Well, it's my made up word for making scrapbooking easier. I am able to take the journaling right off my sight and place it with the photos on my pages. It's like laying out the pages before you pull out all the supplies, thinking through the writing part and "voila" your prepped for your next scrapping night!!! and it seems like journaling is the hardest part of putting the albums together. Some day our blogs may not be available and what a shame to no longer have a print form of the information.

This Continent but still foreign

and Spanish Speaking.
Mexico Monterrey West Mission ... leaving February 11, 2009

Where in the world..........

Shawn's mission call came today!!! We are so excited. We'll know after 8:30 pm tonight where he's going. He wants to open his call at the indoor soccer game scheduled tonight because everyone will be there anyway. It's been a long wait....He submitted his papers September 1.

EWWW, WHAT'S THAT SMELL????

At the end of "irrigation season" every year the kids (and crazy adults) go fishing for pond smelling, algae eating trout or other type surviving canal fish. (Yeah, nearing the end you can smell the algae, it's palatable.) The end means the water goes out for the year in your nearest canal.
There is always a race to be the first to the best ponds, before the water is all the way gone. You have to get to the fish before they get "too old". One year they covered the tailgate of the back of a truck with big fish, at least 20. That was when we lived by the bigger feeder canals.

In true fashion this year as soon as I told Michael and Mikaela the canal was out they readied their "fishing" equipment put on the appropriate garb and out on the hunt they went!
Michael finds his only catch, some kind of small white fish, called Shawn for gutting tips, then independently built a fire to cook his catch. Sounds through the window like all is going well, then he comes in complaining "Man, it was just finished cooking and fell off the stick into the fire." :( Later that night he'd let the dog out to potty and couldn't find her anywhere. Eventually the searching leads to the hosed down fire pit, there she was just sitting there lickin' her chops after enjoying Michael's dinner, at least the dog got some fish.

Costumes, Candy and "Spoofing"

My favorite things about Halloween are the dressing up, and the "spoofing" of secret families. The hardest part is not getting caught.

:) Spoofing is giving a plate of goodies to a secret family without getting caught. Usually everyone dresses in black for hiding purposes and the goal is to place the goodies on the porch, hide, wait to make sure they find them and make the get away without getting caught. Getting caught can result in no treat when we arrive home, ya know, like no hot chocolate, or cookies or pie.

Eric and baby Braxton shared the fun with us this year, it was really fun, except when in the excitement to document the fun Beckii dropped her camera out the van door. By the way flashes inside the get away vehicle do not help the get away van hide very well, it also blinds the driver. Fortunately the camera seems to have survived the trauma.

By the way the candy we made to spoof with came from Nickie's blog (Thanks) from Christmas of 2007. The button candy, with Halloween colored MM's was perfect for making eyeballs. They were so fast to make especially when Beckii, Mikaela and I were unwrapping the foil from the Hershey kisses. Later when Michael was making the "eyeballs" by himself it took a little longer so Mikaela and I joined in so it became a race to the end, Michael placed the last kiss. And the pumpkin cookies were the work of Beckii, Michael and Mikaela.

This Dad has Courage!

YouTube - 99 Ballons

My friend Lori :) sent this amazing video to me. Get the tissues ready if you're going to watch it. Children make life wonderful! God is so Good!!!!
It is so touching to hear a Dad with such love for his child and wife. The neighbor, oh, I hardly have words for the skill of others and their willingness to help, even at 2:30 in the morning. Heros.

Two of the Johansson Uncles

Michael is real proud to be an uncle. He hugs Braxton so carefully and supports his head with diligence. (left)

Shawn dancing, eating Beckii's birthday cake and snuggling that 9lb. nephew. Men can multi-task!!! 10/19/08(right)

New Grandma

Being a new Grandma really is different than being a Mom. This picture looks extra happy because we were laughing pretty hard. Michael tried I don't know how many times to take this photo and I closed my eyes every time the camera flashed. Pretty soon all I could do was laugh.