Allergy Testing

Our appointment with the allergy specialist finally rolled around for us to take Duke in to get tested.  I was kind of worried to take all the kids because the paperwork mentioned that the appointment would take 2 hours to run the tests and everything.  But, I had no choice, so we all piled in the car and headed for Boise.  We got to the waiting room and were greeted by Dory and two Nemos!  The kids were pretty excited!

Once in the exam room, we waited....

and waited...

and waited.  Duke got pretty happy when he started ripping off the paper on the exam table.

Once we ran down the family history and what food he had eaten the night of the flare up, they began the test.  They have these little pokers that scratch the surface of the skin with enough liquid of the item that would go inside the scratch to cause a reaction.  He had to lay on his stomach for 10 minutes so that none of the liquids would drip into each other.  That was pretty hard for a 9 month old, but we did it!  For the first five minutes he laid on my stomach, and for the second five minutes I held him in the air as if he were an airplane.  The other kids blew bubbles for him to pop while he was up in the air.  The nurse said he did much better than kids that are 10 years old.

He only reacted to two things.  Eggs and the ibuprofen.  Neither one was very big at all but they think that since he had both that night, that them mixed together caused the major flare up.  However, they wanted to run some blood work to make sure that the egg really is that big of a deal.  So we then had to head over to the ER for the lab to take Duke's blood.  Hoss found this pretty cool chair in the waiting room.  It reminds me of the old shoe polishing chairs.

Duke's name was called so we headed back.  He wasn't too excited.  Check out this play by play of his face.  Sexy Farmer laughs every time he looks at them.

Sad, I know, but cute too.  So, we have to go back for a follow-up at the end of August so they can run some more tests.  They want to check on the blood work and also do a "baked egg test".  That means they want to know if he is allergic to just eggs or if it's bad enough that he can't have anything that is baked with eggs included.  (bread, cake, etc.)  He has had bread and cookies that have egg included with no reaction, so that is why they want to run the test.  But for now, they told us to stay away from anything with egg in it and ibuprofen for the next month.

Elder Lawrence

Since Brandon and I both finished the challenge given by the Stake Leaders to read the entire Book of Mormon by July 15th, we got to enjoy an evening with Elder Larry Lawrence.  We enjoyed a nice dinner and then a low key Fireside.

We were encouraged to submit questions beforehand so he and his wife could be prepared to answer them.  However, we were also able to ask questions that night as well.  I learned so much from them, it was very inspiring.  Then, on Sunday, they had an adult fireside that we were able to attend as well, and again, they opened it up for questions.

There was one thing that I was dying to ask Saturday, but felt the youth should ask the questions instead, so I asked it on Sunday.  He was baptized into the church when he was 23, married in the Temple at 24, and then called as Bishop at age 28.  It all seemed so fast to me.  So I asked him if he felt like he was being "rushed" through the church.  That may seem like a weird question, but I was glad he answered it.  He said he was still in med school with young kids at the time he was called as Bishop too, so that seemed even more overwhelming.  His answer was simple.  "Is anyone ever ready?"  He said his family was also in the works of taking a trip up to Oregon (They lived in Fresno, CA at the time) with plans to find a home and move there.  When he told the Stake President of this plan, he was told "I think this is where the Lord wants you to live."  They knew it was true and cancelled their trip.  I guess it really is that simple.  When we are doing what the Lord wants us to do, everything else falls into place.  His life story may seem overwhelming to me, but to them it's the way of life.  We do what we are called to do, no questions asked.

I'm so glad I took the challenge, I came home from both firesides with new hope for myself, for my family, and for my marriage.  We sat down as a family and made new goals for our home:

Dad's Family Goals -

• 5 Minutes early for church (this was never an issue in Vale but since we moved here we are always late)
• Morning and Evening Prayers (we are really good at night prayer, but not so good at morning) 

Mom's Family Goals -

•  Dinner together at least 4 nights a week, if not more (I REALLY wanted every night, but I have to be realistic with Brandon's work) 
• Scripture Study EVERYDAY (not just when everyone is home)

 Lilli's Family Goals -

•  Everyone needs to pitch in and put away things when they are done.
•  Everyone gets a date with Dad once a month

Hoss' Family Goals -

• Mom needs to make more goodies
• FHE every week (not just when everyone is home)

After that Brandon and I sat down as a couple and updated the goals for our marriage:

Brandon's Ideas -

• Better communication
• When the Temple reopens we will go as a couple at least every other month (this was not good enough for me since when it was open before we went every other week, but I was reminded that he is no longer self employed and can't just leave whenever he wants.  So, I told him I would go with it, but that he can't get mad at me when I go more often without him.) 

My Ideas -

• Couple's prayer every night (it may have to be over the phone)
• More Lovin'

Then I sat down and made new goals for myself. 

• Personal scripture study more often
• more patience
• finish my personal progress
• more date nights with the kids

As for the young women, we only had 1 girl finish and 3 leaders.  I was so proud of Kiara for accepting the challenge!

As for the young men, they did awesome!  Well, the deacons didn't think it was for them, they thought it was for 14 and up, so none of them finished, but the rest did great!  4 of the leaders and 4 of the boys all finished.  4 boys doesn't  sound like many, but when there are only 5, that's a great number!

Jazzy

I got a couple text a few weeks ago from one of the Young Women.  I love these kind of text.  She wanted to show me where she hung her birthday gift.

Great spot!  She will get to see it every day as she gets ready for the world! 

And this is the girl.  Her name is Jasmin.  From my very first Sunday in Young Women's we kind of just clicked.  She will always stay after class for a few minutes to chat and I will get random text from her quite often.  I remember being in California earlier this year and getting a text with a picture of a craft she had just completed, she knew I would be impressed and she wanted to share.

Yesterday I got another text from her telling me that she has something I should try.  I asked if I should be scared.  She said she has been craving peanut butter captain crunch and thought it would be yummy in a cookie.  Then she said she didn't know how to even begin making them.  She knows me too well.

So I set out to make them for her.  I found a recipe and already had everything on hand to make a batch.  We packed them up and got them ready to give her at Church.

I'm honored that she knows that I will do anything for her.  Whether it be making her cookies, being a listening ear, or laughing at her hilarious jokes.  Her family just moved, but since her dad is in the Bishopric, they are staying in the Ward until a new Bishopric is called.  I will really miss her, but am so glad for technology, so I can still peak in on her.

July Date Night

 I'm really diggin' our monthly date nights!  It's been so nice to have some Sexy Farmer time.  For July I had bought tickets to the Parma Motor-Vu, the local drive-in movie theater.

 We had been looking on their website to see what weekend we wanted to go.  Our choices were Men in Black 3, Dark Shadows, Snow White and the Huntsman or Madagascar 3.  We chose Madagascar 3.  I'm also lovin' having my niece live here in Ontario.  She's pretty much my main babysitter now, THANKS Skyler!!!  We even left Duke with her this time, and all was well when we got home!

I didn't include a dinner gift card in this one because the place I tried to buy one from doesn't sell or accept them, so I figured we would just stop there on our way past.  However, Sexy Farmer wasn't in the mood for that place so we stopped at Arby's instead.  TORTURE!  I LOVE Arby's and it was really hard for me to just get a salad instead of my all time FAVORITE Roast Beef Sandwich, but I did it!   I was really shocked by his dining choice because he normally HATES Arby's.  Maybe he was just testing me to see how strong I am with my diet! HA!  I WIN!  WOOHOO!!

 August can't roll around fast enough!

Duke - 9 Months

 

 Weight - 18.3 lbs (12%)

Height - 29 inches (70%)

• Has 2 teeth
• Drinks from a cup
• climbs to standing position
• walks around furniture
• gets to a sitting position from crawling
• isn't afraid of stairs, climbs down head first
• loves bathtime
• snuggles with a blanket
• likes Dad, but loves Mom
• wants to eat anything you may have in your hand
• takes 2 naps a day

This little guy is on the move!  He is into everything and nothing stops him.  He will climb over anything in his way and gets very frustrated if he can't get around an obstacle.  He got his head stuck under our pellet stove the other day and was very upset that he couldn't just turn around.

 He loves to help load and unload the dishwasher and climbs right up and dives in!  Which really isn't much help at all.  By looking at him, he doesn't look like he is small for his age, but he measures only in the 12th percentile.  His cheeks are chubby, his thighs are massive and his feet always appear to be swollen because of how big they are.  But, he is still growing and the doctor wasn't concerned, so I shouldn't be either, I suppose.

He is doing much better with solid foods and only wants to nurse when he is tired or very cranky and doesn't have patience for a spoon.  At his check-up they measured his hemoglobin and the number came back low.  So, we have to give him iron supplements now, which reminds me of myself.  Looks like we better put some more greens in his diet.  Then some days his hair just won't lay down, but we all think it's pretty cute.

Annual Boys Only Trip

This may be the last time Hoss gets to spend some quality time with Uncle Shane before he runs off and gets married.  He doesn't understand what's going to happen, it's already made a huge difference in the amount of time he spends with him, but it will only get worse.

Brandon, Hoss, Shane, Blue Grandpa, Weston, Jayne and Kailani all took a day and headed for the hills.  As they were driving, they came to a little water run off where they stopped to take a drink.

They rode clear to the tip top of the mountain, all the way to the fire lookout peaks.  They toured the inside of the lookout and posed for pictures.

On the way back down the mountain, they found 3 patches of snow.  I love this picture.  Something about it just makes me smile.  Weston even stopped and filled a water bottle with snow to take home to Lori.  How thoughtful of him. :)

Then it was Brandon's turn to slide down the hill.

then Shane.

until he crashed.

Can you find Blue Grandpa?  He didn't join in on the fun.  He was caught napping!

Back at the bottom of the mountain they turned and saw just how high they really were.  See the itty bitty white snow spots at the top of the mountain?  That's where they were.

PPW - Integrity #3

Integrity #3
It's funny how certain things pop into your life right when you need them. Take this video for example. I had seen it on the church's website many times but never took the time to watch it, until yesterday. It fits in perfectly with this value experience and the story I was going to share. I LOVE it so much that I watched it 6 times in a row, thinking about how much I can relate to the message. Take the time to watch it, right now. It'll be the best 4 minutes and 21 seconds spent today, no matter what your religion may be.



I've stood alone many times, and never regretted any of them.

~ I can remember sitting at a track meet my senior year and one of my friends walked in with a spaghetti strap tank top on.  She kept complaining how she felt "naked".  I never said anything to her, I would just laugh as she laughed.  But in my mind I kept thinking, "well put some clothes on then!".  I was never very comfortable in my skin growing up so modesty always came pretty natural.  While everyone else was wearing spaghetti strap tank tops or mini skirts, I stood alone with my oversize t-shirts and roper boots.

~ I once knew a boy named Rob Micheli.  Everyone picked on and made fun of him.  Everyone but me.  I can remember being in Ag class, either my Freshman or Sophomore year, and his coveralls caught on fire.  He never lived it down.  He dropped out of school and got his GED at home.  Our senior year he asked me on a date.  We went to the movies and he thanked me for always talking to him, when nobody else would.  Everyone needs a friend and to be stood up for.

~ I know at least one person reading this will not agree with me on this issue, but I 100% honestly feel I did the right thing, and in a heartbeat, I would do it again.  We were suppose to watch an R rated movie for one of my history classes.  I know for some, that isn't a big deal.  In fact, I think there were only 2-3 of us that took this stance.  That movie may be really good, it may depict exactly what "real life" is like, it may explain history, etc. but, I didn't want to watch it.  I don't intentionally want to hear horrific language, I don't purposely want to see sexual innuendos, and I don't really care to see much violence.  Yes, I know that we see and hear worse things everyday, I can't control everything, but if I have the CHOICE of what goes in my head, I'm going to hand select the best things.  I'm not going to deliberately fill my mind with filth and trash, just for a better grade, or because it's the "cool" thing to do, and I don't feel "sheltered" or "deprived" for making that choice.   

Now you know why I kept watching the video over and over.  It also reminds me of a few verses in Job chapter 27.

Job 27:3-6

"All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live."

Just like in this video when the girl leaves the movie theater, I've had people laugh at me for the choices I've made because it wasn't the "norm".  My mom told me once that when I set my mind on something, I'm not easily persuaded.  I guess she's right, I'm stubborn, but, I call it having integrity. 

Dare to be a Mormon,
Dare to stand alone.
Dare to have a purpose firm,
Dare to make it known.

Pioneer Day

Today is July 24th, in other words, the Mormon Holiday.  It's funny because all over Utah stores are closed and parties are being held in honor of this day.  I am grateful to all of those people who made the journey to Utah on my behalf.  Their strength, their sacrifices, their heartache, their service, their dedication, all for religion.  I'm honored to be a part of this Church, and believe, with my whole heart, that it is true.  In honor of this day, Hoss and I are going to watch 17 Miracles, while Duke takes a nap.  

This has become my all time favorite movie.  The love the Savior has for us is shown over and over again in this movie, it makes it hard to doubt that there is a God.  I love that this movie it based on the journals of the very pioneers that made the handcart trek to Zion.   Our Ward celebrated on Saturday with the other Ward that meets in our building.  One of the members own the Corn Maze here in Ontario so they brought down their cow train for the kids to ride in.

 

 Enjoy this day, and celebrate the freedom of religion and remember all of those who sacrificed their lives so that we may enjoy that freedom.

Sad Day at the Johnson House

 I walked out to the garage yesterday to get a bottle of Apple Juice and noticed blood all over the floor under one of our freezers.  I opened the door and found this.

 So sad!  Milk was on sale again, so we bought a bunch.  As it started to freeze and expand, it pushed the freezer door open just enough to defrosted everything in the front and door of the freezer!

All of my hours of pumping sitting there to rot!  I immediately called the first two people I thought of, Ed Anthony and Debbie Johnson.  Ed, because he works at a meat packing facility to see if meat can be refroze after it has thawed.  And Debbie, because she works in the NICU department at a Boise hospital, to see if I can refreeze the breast milk.

Not everything was thaw, just the stuff in front, and it was still cold like it was in the refrigerator, so we called a few neighbors to take some of the meat that was ready to eat that night.  They were all super happy to be getting free steaks for dinner!

Both Ed and Debbie said yes we can refreeze everything, so it wasn't such a bad day after all.  But now we know not to have 3 rows of milk on one shelf!

Birthday Celebration

 Hoss celebrated his 5th birthday yesterday, but he didn't only celebrate one day.  Brandon has been able to take off every Tuesday for the past couple weeks, so this week he took Hoss for the annual Johnson men 4-Wheeling ride with Blue Grandpa and Uncle Shane.   Brandon's good friend, Weston also joined with two of his girls.  They headed for the mountains and later on that day I got a text from Shane with this picture.  They found SNOW!!

 Then yesterday, on his real birthday, we started off the day by getting his height measured.  He is 3.5 inches taller than last year!  No wonder his pants are high waters now!

 For his birthday he wanted to "go to work".  So, he spent the entire day with Brandon, "working".  Brandon got him Chocolate donuts for breakfast, Chicken-nonolds (McDonald's) for lunch and then the annual trip to the "tractor store" (Hollingsworth's) to pick out his own birthday present.  He chose a combo pack of two tractors (one with a loader), a backhoe, hale bale, spare tractor tires, and a disc ripper.  I guess he played with the backhoe the entire day in the shop.

After work he wanted to eat at his favorite restaurant, Fiesta Guadalajara.  All of my family was in town for my nephew's baseball game, so we invited them to join us.  I picked up a hunting cake since Hoss has been talking about hunting nonstop lately.  I guess he thinks he is old enough to go with Brandon this year, we'll see how that ends up later in November. 

 He loved the cake.  The above picture is how it was originally decorated.  Then below is how he changed it, because "the deer is suppose to be in the trees".

 And then he changed it again, so that the hunter "can shoot him in the head!".  He's so funny.  Every time I looked at the cake, he had the decorations arranged a different way.

 

We all sang to him, and then right when we were done, the staff came and sang to him!  I had asked him earlier if he wanted to wear the hat and have them sing to him, and he said no.  I knew that he would get embarrassed so I wanted to see how he felt about it.  So, we never asked the staff to sing to him, but they did it anyway.  I love that place! 

 He opened up gifts from the family.  Money, apples and a can of root beer from Yellow Grandma & Grandpa, a tractor movie from Mom & Duke, and a Gater from Aunt DJ, Uncle Cory & Jamey.  On the way home, we let him stop at the truck stop and buy a big Truck that he always asks to buy, with the money from Grandma & Grandpa.  He chose a white truck with a flat bed that hauls a forklift and pallets.  It took him a good 10-15 minutes to pick just the right truck!  When we got home, we Skype'd Lilli so she could join in on the fun! 

Baseball Fun

My nephew, Jamey, is playing in a summer baseball league.  He had a double header in Ontario today, so Duke and I had to head down to check it out.  He was the pitcher in the first game and second baseman in the second.  Look at his form!  Pretty good, Jamey!

I guess he's had glasses for about 3 years, and this is the first time I have ever seen him wear them!

It was extremely hot outside.  My mom took Duke to the shade and lookie here, she still has the magic touch to put babies to sleep!

He had a rough day with the heat.  He wouldn't eat or drink then finally he started perking up back to his cheerful self during the last two innings of the second game.

PPW - Choice & Accountability #3

Choice & Accountability #3 -
In this experience we are to learn about agency and the power to choose.  As I was reading the recommended scriptures (Joshua 24:15; 2 Nephi 2; and Doctrine and Covenants 82:2–10) one of the verses in 2 Nephi Chapter 2 really stood out.

2 Nephi 2:27

"Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself."

We do have the power to choose for ourselves yes, but if we choose to make the wrong choice, we will end up miserable, just the way Satan wants us to be.  Granted, not all choices we make, that are different from others, are wrong.  Everyone does things different, but the choices I'm talking about are those that we KNOW are wrong, but choose anyway.

Brandon and I were talking about this and he likened the responsibilities of agency to driving a car.  You can {obey} by driving the speed limit, wearing your seat belt, etc., or you can {choose wrong} by speeding, swerving in and out of traffic, tailgating, not using your blinker, running red lights, etc.  You are in a hurry and don't think you are hurting anyone but yourself, but in reality you really are, you are putting others in danger.  That "choice" you made does in fact effect others.

The other part of agency is the blessings.  A couple weeks ago Brandon was talking to someone on the phone.  We learned of some changes that took place in an adventure coming up later this summer.  I knew what was going on because I had read about it on Facebook earlier that day.  I was really upset with the changes and kept telling Brandon to tell the person on the other end of the phone that we had already spent money toward the original adventure.  And to ask that person if he was willing to refund us our money if we can't get it back.  I felt that we should have been told about this change before it was made.  Brandon on the other hand, wouldn't say a word to him about my feelings.  He CHOSE to take the high road and just "let it go".  I was furious!  When he got off the phone he reminded me that this trip isn't about us it's about other people.  He chose to take the high road and not let the other person even know about our new troubles.  What a blessing that was for me to see my husband in this position.  I learn something new from this man everyday.   He had the choice to make a big deal (like I wanted to) out of the change, or just go with the flow.  We get to make those types of choices everyday.  We just need to make sure we are making the right ones.

Apricot Tree

 When we first moved into this house we walked around the grounds and fell in love with the fruit trees.  We noticed, 4 apple trees, a grapevine, a walnut tree, and a cherry tree.  Well, the other day we went outside and noticed all these orange things on the ground by the walnut tree. Upon further investigation, what we thought was a walnut tree, is in fact, an apricot tree.  The reason we thought it was a walnut tree was because of all the seeds on the ground when we first moved in and it was a HUGE tree, like the walnut tree at one of our old houses.

They were everywhere!  How did we not notice it before?!  I went over to pick some, but since the tree is so big, very few limbs are at arms reach.  We got the ladder and picked what we could, which was not much at all because 80% of them are already on the ground.

 But I REALLY wanted some, I LOVE apricots.  So, my loving husband, acting as Tarzan, shimmied up the tree.

We only got half a bucket full, and knowing that my Grandmother loves apricots too, drove to Vale and gave them to her.  She was overly excited.  Next year, I will be watching this tree earlier in the season!