God is Good to the Johnsons

To those awesome readers that still look at my blog even on the days it's not posted to facebook, don't fret this week. I'm off to somewhere natural where WiFi will be nil. I'm still going to write, but it'll be the old fashioned way, the paper ink way. The way that smells like transcending time and space, and reaching between pages to give a warm hug and share some cocoa while recounting adventures in a rocky old voice with campfire crackles in the background. Not that the clickety-clack typeface bright-screen way can't do that, but... there's something special about the handwritten stuff. And that's summat I'm off ter do.

he came home to the grouch. normally silly and sass, she was snippy and sour in lieu of laughter, sarcasm instead of sweetness... a lemon-tart  BONAFIDE GRUMP . He kissed her anyways. He held her anyways. He did the dishes anyways, and cheered up the screamy baby and cheered up the house. He melted the iceblock that had molded over her heart over the frustrations of the day because she allowed the demons of disaster to chill her joy. He melted her, all over again, he melted that grouch. That...that is true love. And that's just one reason I love 'im.

Communication? Yeah. The struggle is real. Today, at the Costa Vida drive through, I was ordering the Thursday special, a Small Pork Salad. I don't normally get a beverage, but since it was free with the special... um OF COURSE. So I ask for horchata. The gal helping me sounds really confused, and then says, "Wait, did you say HORE--CHOTTA?" Linguistic face palm. It's depressing that I say the name the way the Mexicans say it in the very origin country of this drink... and they don't understand me and I don't understand them for not understanding me and it's a vicious cycle. Another drive-through faux pas. I'm seventeen years old and at Del Taco (with my little brother Jordan on the passenger side). After the employee finishes repeating the order back to me, I lean closer to the microphone and say "THANK...." And that's it. My throat decided that was an opportune time to clog up with spit and choke my vocal chords. I couldn't even...

All growing up, my husband's father told him (along with his siblings), "I love you, but I love your mom more." It confused my husband at times as a kid. But he has watched for more than two and a half decades as his father has doted on his wife and prioritized her. What a precedent that has set for my husband and the loving, respectful way he treats me. He prioritizes date night. He writes me notes. He buys me Sprite and soda crackers to help me keep something down after I've had food poisoning. Now, let me explain EMPHATICALLY that parenthood is absolutely and totally divine and absolutely must be intentional. And I must also express my love for those who are single, divorced, separated, or enduring less-than-ideal marital situations. I cannot pretend to imagine the weight on your shoulders and the heaviness of your hearts. I have to tell you that some of my very favorite people who are my greatest teachers and friends in life include MANY individuals who are...

Today is a special holiday in Utah, it marks the day that Brigham Young and his company rode into the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, where he famously declared "This is the right place, drive on." From the settlements of that company and the thousands of pioneers that traversed the United States wilderness to make their home here, our great state of Utah was born. This holiday has special meaning for me because my heritage is one of good pioneer stock. Today I highlight just one of those individuals, a strong, courageous woman named Ellen Walmsly Clegg. She is my fourth-great-grandmother. Ellen was born in Parish Salisburg, England, in January 1816. She later married Johnathan Clegg, and in 1838 she joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints. With her husband and children, she traveled across the waters of the Atlantic on the good ship Horison in the company of 856 saints under captain Edward Martin. They further followed Brother Martin after arriving in the Ameri...

little boy, i never thought it would be so exciting to see someone learn to wiggle their legs, get up on their hands and feet, and start their first scoots forward in tremendous effort to crawl. little boy, i never thought i would giggle in tremendous delight as your little hands reach grasp to turn the pages of a book searching for the next words and pictures. little boy, i never knew what delight it would bring me watching you learn.

Today, my handsome little brother, Jordan, spoke in church. That's something I love about our church, the members of each congregation are the ones that deliver messages about Christ. I've had my turn a few times in my life, and it's been a neat experience to grow and share what I know to be true and right. My brother's message was that of his growth in reading the scriptures, the word of God. It was difficult for him as he grew up to find motivation to read, or to find focus while reading (instead of just trying to get to the next chapter). He shared a few things that really helped him, and I want to share them here: 1. Setting a certain amount of minutes to read helped him enjoy his studies far more than setting a certain amount of pages or chapters to read. That way he wasn't distracted by how long each verse was, etc. He knew that those fifteen minutes were for scripture study and enabled him to be less distracted. 2. Read in the morning or during the day, ...