Safford Trip

 Can you tell where we went last week during Fall Break? Safford, Arizona.
 Actually, it was a bit of a two-fer trip because Morgan had to be out visiting his mines there for a couple of days. Morgan's parents went with us and it was a great trip.
 One of the highlights of the trip was Cassidy and Lund doing baptisms for the dead in the Gila Valley Temple AND they were also family names!! What a blessing, both for my own children, but also for those ancestors who have been patiently waiting on the other side of the veil.
 Another highlight came as we picked buckets and buckets of "Blushing Golden" apples off of the trees in Angle's Orchard. What a memory! So far I have only attempted apple cupcakes, but I am always up for more apple recipes!
 The third highlight of the trip was connecting with my friend Destiny Bollinger, who lives in Pima.(right next to Thatcher, where Morgan was born). I always LOVE catching up with my buddies from the years.
The last highlight was actually quite the surprise. Morgan was walking with the kids through a cotton field and ran into a gal from Mesa High School that he and I both knew. She had us hurry over to her house because there was a huge thing happening over there....Her baby chicks were hatching!

 It was the real deal! They were slowly chipping away with their beaks to break out of their eggs. And we learned that you can't help them, because they have to go through this trial to be strong enough to live. (lots of life symbolism there)

 And frankly, they look pretty gross when they do get out. But if you give them a couple of hours...

They look like this!!!!! Will really loved watching the whole process.

And honestly, who can be sad when there are adorable chicks like this around!

And we all know that Sarah was in heaven!!

Connie had a six year old boy, we had a six year old boy, and they also had a very impressionable, not to mention, adorable, little sister. In this picture "D" (adorable redhead on the right), is showing Will how to use a "fire starter"...you know the old flint and steel variety. Oh boy, those two together would be a handful!

The other thing that Sarah was just mesmerized with was all the cotton literally floating through the air. Those of you that have ever lived in the Gila Valley know exactly what I am talking about during the height of cotton season.

Elementary Picture Day

 Yesterday the Elementary kids had their picture day. I am sure we all remember picture day..."Hey kid, here's your cheap comb...run it through your hair and smile...or not...it doesn't matter to me."

It was also a great day because News Channel 10 came to their school in the morning and Sarah and about 450 other kids had a chance to have a brief spot in the limelight. (Which is also why we made her poster lime green so she would stand out in a crowd. It totally worked! Even though there were tons of kids and tons of posters, we could always spot our neon lime green beautiful 3rd grader.) Fun times!

And as is the tradition in my house, I always get a shot of them at the door before they leave. (Just in case the school picture looks like.....well, a school picture!)

And Will had his picture almost taken today as well. You see, he has been sick for the past three or four days and I thought that since he wasn't going to school, I could sneak him in and they would take his picture.  Great plan except we just barely missed the photographers as they left the school. Oh well, there are always retakes.

And another shot.

Summer of Love Part 1

 This past month, I had the opportunity to go to the greatest retreat EVER!! Even though this is the first retreat I have been to, it was still the greatest!

It was a culmination of ladies from Morgan's side of the family. Some ladies were absent due to pregnancy, and Church responsibilities,  but we had a slew of wonderful ladies when the dust cleared and we arrived in, Abique, New Mexico. And thanks to Alicia and Grandma and Grandpa Johnson, we all received BEAUTIFUL shirts in various hues.

 

First, you have to meet the guard dog! (And no, the statue is not the guard dog, but they sure do look like). Beans is the darling rescue dog you see behind the statue. Pat rescued Beans years ago in Mexico at a landfill. And we were sure glad she did because Beans was such a great addition to Pat's "Compound".

But now I feel I am WAY ahead of myself. These ladies are the real reason we had the retreat...And truthfully, Pat (the furthest on the left) is the real instigator. She invited all of us to come up to beautiful Abique, New Mexico and stay in her homemade adobe homes. And when I say "homemade", I really mean that she even build her own adobe bricks to make these wonderful abodes. But everyone was there because of Grandma Martha Frazier who gave birth to these beautiful sisters. (Judi, the youngest is not in the picture. She is Primary President and had to conduct the Primary Program back home)

And here we see the Haglund clan. Actually, there are quite a few more Haglunds, but these were the only ones able to come. From left to right we have : Aunt Gwen, Grandma Frazier, McKenzie, and Alexis........... Haglunds not in attendance include: Jacob's wife, Karleigh, Brook, and Elisabeth, Adam's wife

I thought the area that we stayed was sooooooo beautiful, so of course, I had to take lots, and lots of pictures.

I have to admit, I am very proud that I took this picture! After some editing, it will look awesome!

This was one of the beautiful homes that she built. The "Abique" house is so gorgeous.

This is where I stayed, the "Steelie" house. Also gorgeous! Thanks for sharing a bed with me Alicia!

But this is what it was really all about, connecting! This is Bonnie and Tiffany having a conversation together. Helping each other through the hard times of being a mother.

And this is where I showered, IN A BUCKET!! It was an awesome invention though. Pat is VERY creative and artistic and everything about her homes are unique and original. LOVE IT!

Beans again, she sure made a lot of friends that week.

And this is the studio where we had Yoga classes everyday taught by Juliet, who teaches Yoga in Portland, Oregon.

Here are the Haglund sister's, McKenzie and Alexis. They are such beautiful, humble sisters with the biggest hearts you will ever find. They both came from Las Vegas, Nevada.

And these giggling gals are posed behind our favorite past time activity, the tower of plastic balloons. From left to right: Alicia and Grandma Karen hailing from Arizona and Tiffany hailing from Utah, and Bonnie from Idaho.

And this beautiful piece of artwork called the "Labyrinth", is also a tool for meditation. You start on the outside and meditate as you make your way to the center.

One day we had a Salon in our house with Alicia giving wonderful haircuts and laughs galore. Aunt Pat found all the jewelry I had brought and they had a great time "dressing up"! What a hoot!

And here is the studio that Steve lives in and creates wonderful pieces of art. Steve just purchased this land from Pat, and it is a great building. I especially love the stairs that shoot out the side without any rails. Fun and a bit scary!

Here are the Johnsons in attendance: Top row: Me,(the only non-blood relation), Bonnie, and Alicia. The bottom row includes: Heather, Juliet, Grandma Frazier, Karen Johnson, and Emily. Not in attendance: Ruth, (just gave birth),and  Charice, (health and family issues). Next time we hope to have all in attendance.

And Grandpa Toady just couldn't get enough of us. I found him in the same place two nights in a row. The ladies all thought it was weird that I would pick up a toad, but that is what we do all the time on the golf course behind our home.

Here is our beautiful hostess, Aunt Pat, smiling and enjoying sharing her love with us. Thanks again and again Aunt Pat!

Let's end with some amazing, talented women, the balloon artists, Bonnie and Juliet. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope to add a couple more blogs about this trip since it was such a life-changing experience for all. Bear with me though because I just received a Photo program, Lightroom 4 that I have been coveting for a while. I am very excited about this, but it is very complicated for my chemo brain to understand.

Updates, etc, etc, ...

I don't even want to go into details as to why I haven't blogged in a very long time. I used to be soooo faithful at blogging. When did I fall off the train?! It might have been when my laptop died and had to be sent back to Dell for a month. It might have been when I got so wrapped up in the happy cancer progress and started trying to do "real things" again. I started physical therapy on my weak muscles that have had poison constantly flowing through them for three years. But truly, I really have no excuses....I just have been too busy being a relatively healthy mother of four beautiful children....which is just where I always want to be.

I am just going to quickly go through updates around our home:

Morgan: Happy with his job. Happy with his calling as Gospel Essentials teacher. Had a horrible cold/flu that lasted about two weeks.  Really enjoys golfing especially with his brother and daughter. Really, really enjoys having a somewhat healthy wife!

Christa: Recently found out that my tumor markers (the measurement of how much progression the cancer is making in the body. Just remember, high numbers bad, low numbers, good), is down to 214 as of September 10th. The Oncologist was really happy when she told me that since being at MD Anderson over this past year, my tumor markers have gone from 800 to a mere 214! This means cancer is steadily leaving and my medicines continue to work. Although if you ask me, I am still going with the miracle/prayer theory. The Lord must have some more assignments for me!
 I am recently loving/hating physical therapy as I try to gain some strength in my weak body. But I am totally enjoying the one hour massage sessions that I also get!  I have been getting crafty again in my spare time and that helps my soul. I still have a lot of issues with the cancer such as working out a pain regiment that doesn't have me sleeping all day long. But, after this ginuea pig stage of balancing "real" life, it will be awesome!

Cassidy: Loving/hating the 8th grade. Loving/hating the songs she creates as she sits at the piano. Loving/hating her family and all of life. Basically, she is a normal 13-year-old teenager!
     (Mom's overview of Cassidy is that she is a beautiful, strong, caring, compassiante girl/woman. She has an amazing talent with music...piano playing, singing, writing her own songs. Has an amazing relationship with Lund and is just great)

Lund: Enjoying 7th grade, especially because his big sister is right there with him at the same school. Has a love/hate relationship with football right now. Loves football/hates practices. And he is still amazing at learning/memorizing piano songs. (I just wish he would concentrate on the stuff the piano teacher is giving him). Altogether, he is a happy, energetic 12-year-old.

Sarah: She is really enoying 3rd grade and is a great student. She loves animals and is training to be a Vetranarian. She uses family pets and teddy bears as victims, I mean ..patients. She loves that we practically live in a zoo. Current animal count at the Johnson home: 1 dog, 1 cat, 1 bird, 2 tortoises, and quite a few dust bunnies.It's kinda nice because after all the kids leave for school, I never feel alone..............ever! She is still using her big brown eyes to get what she wants and is my cuddlebug.

Will: Is actually enjoying school this year. Second time around has been so great for him. It's as if someone turned a light switch on in his brain...Hallllleeelllluuuaaaa! He likes to sport a fau-hawk or a "fluff like Lund" (hair sticking up in the front) to school but always knows that it has to be "Sunday hair" for church. Such a goof! He is constantly getting taller and he loves to create from his imagination with Legos, duct tape and anything else he can get his hands on.

So, that gives you a bit of an update, but nothing beats pictures, so I will keep working on posting.  Hopefully while I am on vacation this week without kids and hubby! wahooo!

Colorado or Bust

At the end of July, Morgan and I had a chance to go to Colorado for work. He had company stuff to do and I was lucky enough to hitch a ride. I have never been to Colorado and it was sooo beautiful! And of course, it is ALWAYS fun when we get to go on any trip, just the two of us. It was very rainy when we were there, but coming from Arizona, where the weather was holding steady at 115 degrees, it was heavenly!

When Morgan didn't have to be at work, we took long drives in the mountains, and not just any mountain range, the ACTUAL Rocky Mountains! Wow, nature can be soooo beautiful!



And we did keep oxygen on hand for me, because sometimes the elevation was reaching 11,000ft or more.

Beauty everywhere. And right behind that river are the Outlet stores where we spent a lot of time and money as well. Lots and lots of walking and lots of fun!

Here is the mine in Climax, Colorado. In that tall building you can see in the distance is an elevator that goes 5,000ft down to the underground mine! Not an elevator ride I would ever take. I think I would be having a bit of anxiety!

I also really loved all the tunnels that went through the mountains.

And everyone had to stop on this highway and wait until the elk sauntered on through. I would definitely do this trip again, four stars for sure!

Take me out to the Ballgame

 Well Ladies and gentleman, after a long blog vacation I am hoping to get back at it.  I have a new picture program on my labtop and I am hoping it works out well because it sends the pictures instantly to my blog and that would save a ton of time! Let me know if you notice any problems on this blog, let me know. I am not a real technology guru, that is for sure.
  This first blog entry is from earlier in August when we had a chance to go to a Diamondbacks game with some friends. We had such an amazing time~

Tim and Clarissa are so much fun and they only had to bring one baby, which is quite the amazing feat for this family (11 children, and they are soooooooooooooo calm). Thanks for coming!

Here is the whole gang except Tim and the baby. The baby was taking the picture and she needed her dad to hold her while she stedied the camera.

Lund's cousin, Cooper, came too and had a great time.

Morgan and I love a good baseball game!

What?! This must be the Kiss Camera!!