Just a few days after Christmas the Lord saw fit (I'm sure my dad as well) to call my mother home. While it deeply saddens me to think that my children will not get to know my parents now I know they will someday. I feel like my children and more especially I still had so much to learn from my mom and dad, but I know the Lord is watching over all of us. While I will always feel a void from the loss of my mother I take comfort in knowing she is with my dad and they are doing a great work on the other side. This is her obituary as seen in the paper:

Louise Elizabeth Carbine Johnson Louise Elizabeth Carbine Johnson, our beloved mother, sister, and grandmother, passed away Dec. 29, 2009, in Naperville, from pulmonary hypertension. While we will miss her wise and constant guidance, we know Louise had a joyful reunion with her eternal companion, Kim, who was anxiously awaiting her arrival. Louise was born Dec. 6, 1943, in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was the second of three children born to Leland and Melva Carbine. Louise lived on Chadwick Street in Sugar House and attended Highland Park Elementary School and graduated from Highland High School. She attended the University of Utah for two years and then worked full time at First Security Bank where she met her husband. Louise married Delbert Kim Johnson for time and all eternity on Sept. 6, 1968, in the Salt Lake temple. Louise found her true calling in life as a wife and mother. Together with Kim, they were blessed with eight children. Louise devoted all of her time and energy to raising her children. She made individual time for each child: attending sporting events, lending her talents to help with their homework, and spending time talking to and counseling with her children. Even as adults, each of her children counts her as one of their best friends. Her greatest joy was spending time with her posterity. Her children and grandchildren all "rise up and call her blessed." Louise loved to grow things and maintained a very extensive garden. She spent significant time growing fruits and vegetables that she canned or froze for her family. Her salsa will be missed by many. She even loved the satisfaction of pulling weeds. Louise loved playing the piano, watching old movies and crossword puzzles. Louise is known and loved by many for her even temper, good nature, and wisdom. She chose to live a simple life but enriched the lives of everyone who knew her. A faithful member of the LDS Church, Louise served in many different positions. She loved to serve others and teach children about the Gospel. Louise is survived by her eight children, Jeffrey L. Johnson (Lisa) of Pleasant Grove, Utah, Joshua D. Johnson (Katy) of Yakima, Wash., Sara L. Smith (Kurt) of Nashville, Tenn., Jessica J. Child (Andrew) of Naperville, Adam K. Johnson (Nikki) of Round Lake Beach, Matthew H. Johnson (Sharon) of Provo, Utah, Katie C. Earp (Ryan) of Tucson, Ariz., and Elizabeth W. Earp (Daniel) of Kyle, Texas. She is also survived by her 23 grandchildren: Maren, Talia, Miles, Grant Johnson, Emma, Timothy, Savannah, Caroline Johnson, Sean, Trevor, Leia, Myla Smith, Tyler, Rachel, Tanner, Anna, Ellie and Claire Child, Dallin, Caleb, and Natalie Johnson, Marissa and Devon Earp. She is also survived by siblings, Rita Ann Best of Harrisonburg, Va. and Daniel Carbine of Salt Lake City, Utah. Louise was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Kim; and her parents, Leland D. Carbine and Melva W. Hudson Carbine. Funeral services will be Saturday, Jan. 2, at 11 a.m. at the Naperville LDS Meetinghouse, 1411 95th Street, Naperville, IL 60564. A viewing will be held Friday, Jan. 1, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home, 44 S. Mill St., Naperville, IL 60540, and Saturday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the church. Graveside services will be held Jan. 4, at 11 a.m. in Santaquin, Utah.

Published in Chicago Suburban Daily Herald from December 31, 2009 to January 1, 2010

Ward Christmas Party

We just had our ward Christmas Party tonight. Here we are in front of the tractor Santa arrived on. We were told to dress warmly for this - and a good thing too because it was outside where it was a 'chilly' 72 degrees!

Who'da thought?

We just recently discovered we have an orange tree in our yard! The fascinating thing is that not just a month ago I used the fruit off this very tree to make a key lime pie to take to my friend's house for Thanksgiving. I ate that key lime pie, my friend and even some of her family ate that key lime pie, Ryan ate that key lime pie, and my visiting teachee also ate that key lime pie and I received compliments all around on that pie (I don't even really like key lime pie very much but I thought that pie was pretty good). At the time, I thought I had picked all of those limes off the tree because I thought some of them were about to burst and some were even losing their bright green color for a faded yellow/orange. A few days ago we pulled into our garage with Marissa excitedly exclaiming "Mommy we have a lemon on our tree!!" Naturally, I thought she was grossly mistaken only to find this on the tree (see picture). It still took some convincing me that it was truly an orange but when Ryan cut into it and gave me a slice there was no mistaking it. I guess what I really made was a "key orange" pie and in my book it was better than any silly key lime pie anyway!

Phoenix and Mexico!

I've been about a month behind on all my posts so I figured it was about time to write about our vacation. Ryan had his two weeks off the first part of November. For the first week, Ryan's parents came out and we drove to Phoenix to stay at a resort there. The second week we drove down to San Carlos, Mexico. Here are some of the highlights and lowlights from our trips:

*The weather in Phoenix was even a little warmer than usual for the time of year and we spent several afternoons at the pool.
*Grandma and Grandpa spoiled us in Phoenix which means I only saw my kids about 65% of the time:)!
*We also got to go golfing in Phoenix, which was great because we hadn't been able to go golfing since we'd left Ann Arbor.
*Our resort in San Carlos was right next to the beach and the kids had a blast at playing in the sand and seeing who could find the best seashell.
*The taco stands really make the best tacos ever - I just had to be careful not to watch the preparation of them or it ruined the whole experience.
*Ryan was able to visit with some friends from his mission - Marissa enjoyed this as well because every time we left one of his friends they always liked to give the kids some little toy.
*Unfortunately, Devon spent at least 50% of time either crying or throwing a fit
*Best of all...we all came home with a tan that will last us through the winter!


Devon and Marissa enjoying the resort pool in Phoenix.




The kids and me at the beach in San Carlos. Devon favorite thing to do was throw rocks into the ocean. Marissa's favorite thing to do was float on the raft with daddy to go snorkeling.




The kids at the resort pool in San Carlos. The kid pool is behind them and there was that nice little ledge in between them that Devon could use to jump into the kid pool and Marissa could use to jump into the big pool!




Devon is wearing Marissa's goggles. In the hot tub he started getting down low enough so the water covered his mouth and nose. Occasionally, the water would also reach his eyes so we put the goggles on him to see if he would go farther under. He thought he was pretty cool!




Since Devon spent so much of his time like this, I thought it only fair to include a picture.




It was at taco stands such as this that we had many a dinner!




We drove to Hermosillo where Ryan served his mission to see a few people and also walked around the temple grounds.

Happy Halloween!

Our ward had a carnival in the church parking lot with 10-12 carnival games for the kids and a chili cook-off. Devon was a chef and Marissa was a witch for the party (costume from 2 years ago that I had no idea would still fit her) and a kitty for trick or treating. Chef Devon was a little distracted at the party...



Chef Devon: I'll be right back - I must check on my tart!




Chef Devon: Oh my souffle!




Chef Devon: What did you say about my quiche?




Marissa and Devon getting ready to trick or treat. We went with another family (One of Marissa's best little friends is Ella so we had to go with them) and Devon sure made the most of it. He was pretty serious about his trick or treating and realized quickly that the faster he went the quicker he would get more candy. When people put the bowl of candy in front of him he wasted no time in grabbing a huge handful. Then he'd race off to catch up to the older kids. They were still a little too fast for him but he was hard core!









Marissa and Ella

Devon's room has been 'uncute' since he was born and Ryan was tired of it! So using the valence and blanket that Ryan's mom made for Marissa's room for a pattern we made this valence and blanket for Devon's room. (You can't see it well, but it is super cute:) Ryan was the unofficial measurerer, pinner, and ironer and I was the seamstress. Except for a small 'run-in' with the iron, this was the most positive sewing experience I've had!

Happy Birthday Marissa!

I can't believe our little girl is growing up so fast! This year for Marissa's 4th birthday we decided we to give her a real birthday party with friends and she was so excited!



The first thing the girls had to do was find different "princess" things around the yard so they could all be little princesses for the party. Here is Marissa with her crown, necklace, ring, and earrings.

After her party, Marissa and I went out for ice cream. She still had much of her princess stuff on and the lady at the ice cream store thought she was an adorable princess!



Here are all the little girls "princessified"!



The next thing the girls had to do was save Princess Marissa from the horrible green dragon that had come to take her away. The girls were given pink and purple water balloons with which to pelt the dragon to scare him away. Here is one of Marissa's friends trying to save her from the dragon! Fortunately for him, the dragon said they were all lousy shots!



With craftiness beyond their years, the princesses then cornered the green dragon on top of the swing set, forcing him to make his escape down the slide. Unfortunately, the slide did not survive this encounter:)!

Then the girls went inside to decorate their sugar cookie star princess wands. I didn't get any pictures of these, but let me just say there was a lot of pink and purple stuff involved!



Marissa is opening her first present at her party to find a princess slipper game (love the face!). Since then this has become the favorite game and involves seeing who can get all of their cards enchanted first so their Cinderella can attend the ball. For some reason, Ryan and I are just not very good princesses so we never get to go to the ball and Marissa loves being the 'honored' princess!



Here's Marissa in front of her loot later that evening - presents from grandparents and us.



And finally to top the day off, we had a chocolate pudding cake (Marissa looks exhausted!) and I was too!