Coca Cola Factory

A couple days after Christmas we headed up to enjoy Atlanta for the day. We had fun at the Coke factory... watching a little movie, taste testing Coca Cola products from all over the world, meeting the Coca Cola bear, playing with the lip puppets (characters from the short Coke movie), and watching the production of Coke bottles being filled so we could each take one home. My favorite part was watching all the Coke commercials. Good times!

"It's the Best Time of the Year"

Christmas morning was so fun. We gathered over on the stairs for a 'Christmas line-up picture' before heading in to see if Santa came. So much excitement! We enjoyed the Santa presents, opened our stockings and then stopped 'Johnson style' to enjoy Chris' Christmas breakfast... sausage, potato, eggs and cheese all mixed together. After breakfast we started opening presents which took several hours. Grandma and Grandpa skyped in to enjoy as much as they could. We placed the laptop on a chair and moved them around so they could watch each person's turn. It wasn't the same... but it was the next best thing!

When Megan finished opening her stockings she turned to us and said, "It's the best time of the year this morning!"

Johnson favorites...
Chris - anything that said BYU, books and a new game 'Puerto Rico'
Lisa - Big Willow Tree Nativity! New lens! New knives! Silouette! (Totally spoiled)
Ryan - EVERYTHING... Wii games, Pokemon figurines and Lego
Katie - American Girl Concession Stand and a new dresser/desk!
Emily - Bitty twin Doll and Junie B. Jones books
Megan - Bitty twin Doll and new toothbrush (that's what she said!)
Luke - Basketball Hoop, Baby Einstein movies and Board Books

Christmas Eve

With Plan C cancelled and grandma and grandpa unable to come we decided we would have Christmas Eve on Christmas Eve after all. We quickly sent Buddy the Elf, our new Christmas elf who reports all things to Santa, back to the North Pole to request that Santa put us back on the midnight delivery schedule and busied ourselves with last minute errands, wrapping and Christmas feast making. Just one problem... our turkey wasn't thawed yet... so we had all the fixings of a turkey dinner without the actual turkey.


After dinner we read from Luke 2, acted out the nativity, used our chimes to play some Christmas songs (thanks Lindsey), sang some Christmas carols, took pictures of the kids in front of the tree, took our traditional stocking pictures, made sugar cookies, put a plate out for Santa, talked to Grandma and Grandpa on the web cam, said family prayer and tucked the kids in bed.

The kids were so excited they could hardly stand it. Ryan, Katie, Emily and Megan were all sleeping on our closet floor. Chris had strung colorful Christmas lights around the ceiling and it was just like a Christmas fort. Being all together in the glow of the Christmas lights didn't help calm the excitement but soon enough they were all asleep... Ryan and Katie first, who must have used some powerful relaxing techniques to fall asleep so fast with Megan and Emily giggling away right beside them.

Decorating SNOWMAN sugar cookies. One for themselves and one for Santa.

Dan, Scott, Mike Brian (and Ryan) decorating cookies of their own.

Johnson kids in Christmas jammies

Ryan and Luke

Katie and Cousin Leah

Molly and Foster

Megan and Katie

Annie and Leah

Talking to Grandma and Grandpa

Stocking pictures

I love Christmas Eve. It was fun to stay up with everyone and get the house ready for Santa to come. It's so magical. We wrapped presents, cleaned up and the boys played some more ping-pong. Chris got a new ping pong table a month ago ready for the Walton brothers to come. (Seriously, he buys things for himself a month before Christmas?!) Ping Pong tournaments went on most nights -- usually starting at midnight! Finally we were all nestled snug in our beds...

The Christmas Mouse

A couple nights after Mike got here, and after everyone else had gone to sleep, Mike stood quietly in his room texting, when out of the corner of his eye he saw something little and grey scurry out of the hall and into the little opening under the sliding door. To confirm his suspicions he placed a piece of cheese just outside the opening. The next morning it was gone.

Great. We have a mouse in our house. My utter horror at this thought was not shared by Mike or Chris. They were up to the challenge of capturing our Christmas mouse. Night two, after everyone else had gone to sleep, Chris and Mike set up their trap. Old school... shoe box, pencil, string and a piece of cheese. They set it up by the opening under the door and quietly waited for 41 minutes for it to emerge. It went for the cheese, they pulled the string and down went the box. They were thrilled. Then during their celebrations the mouse found a little round hole in the box... one that was clearly part of the design of the box but was not 'punched out' yet. The Christmas mouse punched it out and scurried under the kitchen cupboard.

Chris and Mike were now both frustrated and even more pumped up. They had been SO close. Night three and the set up the box trap the same way. Chris waited up for a while but finally decided to go to bed. It was Mike alone manning the trap. Sometime around four in the morning the Mice emerged but didn't go into the trap. No worries. Mike had lined the doorway with a row of presents. The mouse headbutted the presents several times, ran into the bottom stair and then ran past Mike into his room. Mike grabbed the box and tried to slam in down on top of him missing closely several times. The mouse escaped into the bathroom cupboards.

Each morning we were eager and a little disgusted to hear the report. Mike felt the thrill of being a 'hunter' and had big plans for Night four but it never emerged... at least not while he was up.

Night five was Christmas Eve. Our cute little Christmas mouse (they told me it was cute... 'shudder') had evaded them once too many. They bought traps and set them up.

Christmas morning there was an extra little present waiting for us in the pantry which Mike took care of before anyone was up. Thank you Mike! He of course took a picture of it but I thought this cartoon mouse was so much cuter.

Obviously I was not up at 3:00 every night so I apologize if the facts are a little off. All I know is that while we had a wonderful Christmas our Christmas mouse did not.

(we set traps the next couple of nights as well... looks like our Christmas mouse was living alone HOPEFULLY!)

Flat Rock Park

(picture by Mike)

One of our favorite places around here is our own Flat Rock Park. When company comes we have to take them down the big rock stairs, over the bridge, wander up by the stream and little waterfall and play on the swings. Always. It's a picture taking wonderland... perfect for my family. We ventured to Flat Rock twice during the holidays. Once on the coldest day of the season where we bundled up in coats and scarfs and once where t-shirts was enough. Here's some of my favorite pictures.

Emily in the tree.

Emily, Amy, and Katie

Chris on the swings

Annie

Amy and Katie

Katie and Brian (and a little photoediting gone wrong)

Megan on the slide

Mike and the sasha pose.

Emmy on the swings

Scott and Molly

Scott, Elisha, Molly and Foster

Emily and her twin... a classic Brian photo.

My Dad's Back

A year ago my Dad suggested that the whole Walton family gather in Georgia for Christmas 2008. As the economy worsened and flights skyrocketed we still maintained our goal to be together for the holidays. Amy, travel agent extrordinaire, found and suggested good flights for everyone. Walton Christmas 2008 was on.

But first, let me 'BACK' up... My Dad has been dealing with horrible back pains for at least six months now, each month worse than the last. As December approached we weren't sure how he would handle the long day of travel to get here. Dad remained positive saying that it would be a hard day but worth it to be here all together.

There is nothing really positive we can say about the Canadian healthcare system. Dad's doctor had referred him to a neurosurgeon but was told not expect a call to schedule an appointment for weeks to months. Because of a friend at work, he was able to see a neurologist who used his contacts to get him on the list to see a neurosurgeon. However, he still had months to wait before his appointment. Meanwhile he could barely work and was in constant pain.

One morning in early December while my Dad endured a very hard morning my Mom silently changed her consistent prayer from "please bless David so that everything will work out so that we can go to Georgia" to "please bless David that he will be given the care he needs no matter what that means to our plans". Within hours they received a call from the neurosurgeon's office telling them that he had a cancellation and could see them that afternoon. They left immediately. The neurosurgeon confirmed what we already knew... that Dad needed back surgery... and that now he would be able to be placed on the waiting list to receive his surgery, likely in March or April. The news was almost crushing. On the way out, the receptionist asked my Dad when he would like to have his surgey. Dad, joking, said 'how about the first week of January?' The receptionist said, 'how about December 16th -- there has been a cancellation. ' Dad said yes immediately. My mom started to cry. It was an answer to prayer.

They postponed their flights to Georgia still feeling confident that they would be able to fly a week after surgery. We prayed, we fasted and he went into surgery. When he came out of surgery the leg pain he had been suffering with for months was still there. Somehow he had reherniated his disk while still under anesthesia. They kept him in the hospital. (Don't let the smile on his face fool you!) Two painful days later he finally had an MRI scan. He still had not seen a physician since his surgery. The MRI showed he would need another surgery but his neurosurgeon could not schedule it until December 24th. Again devastating. Mom was already spending long days at the hospital, driving an hour away in record snowy conditions, to care for him and be with him. They couldn't imagine waiting another five days.

We spent a lot of time that night on the phone receiving new information... none of which was good. Chris was driving to the airport to pick up Amy, Mike and Brian while talking to my parents and the neurosurgeon. At one point I felt strongly like it was time for yet another prayer. Katie was beside me. I asked her if she would pray with me. We prayed and then went back to folding Christmas letters. Ten minutes later we received the news that the Chief neurosurgeon in the hospital had reviewed Dad's MRI and was making arrangements for the surgery to take place the next day. By all means I do not intend to take credit for this little miracle, as there was so many people praying for him during the same time, but I was completely overwhelmed with the power of prayer and my testimony grew ten fold.

Dad's second surgery was successful and his leg pain was much improved. On December 20th, he was released from the hospital. He still had very little energy and could only sit for twenty minutes at at time, but within a couple of days he felt like he was walking like a 40 year old. We worked on plan C... flying on Dec 24th directly from Vancouver to Georgia (instead of Seattle) to make the day shorter. We were praying for a Christmas miracle.

On the morning of the 24th Mom and Dad's flights were delayed because of the snowy conditions and they decided then that with it and my mom's health (another issue entirely)and my Dad's weak condition they would cancel the trip. They weren't coming. Everyone was here and waiting for them and they weren't coming. Although they were devastated not to have Christmas with their kids and grandkids (they could barely talk about it without crying) they felt peaceful for the first time since this all started. Dad's recovery would be slow and it was the wise thing to do. We tried to be jolly but the truth is Christmas would not be the same and everyone knew it.

On Dec 27th Dad called with more heartbreaking news. His leg pain had come back with a vengence. He was once again almost crippled and he was asking for our prayers. We left the little kids in the other room playing. Six siblings and three in-laws met in our bedroom to have a prayer. Scott prayed and it was one of the most well spoken and powerful prayers I have ever heard. Most of us were crying. I was sobbing. It happens to be one of my favorite memories from our whole Christmas holidays. There is true joy in being together with siblings who have faith and honor their priesthood and where the spirit in present. At the same time my Dad was able to receive a powerful blessing of health and comfort from his bishop.

The past month has been emotionally and painfully trying but my Dad ends every conversation with his testimony ensuring us that he still has faith that everything will work out as it should. He is a great example to me.

It is now a week later and he is slowly recovering. There is much unknown. When will the pain go away?...when will he be able to go back to work?... More miracles needed... more faith required.


The Walton Family... minus two very important people.

Little toe

Two weeks before Christmas, and of course in a rush to get things done, I ran into my closet to grab something and turned around quickly to run out again only to smash my toe into the door at full speed. I hobbled to my desk already feeling it throb, and sat down on the chair. Ouch, I said, and then suddenly felt like I might faint. I rolled off the chair and slid to the floor still in pain. 'Ouch, ouch, ouch', I couldn't help repeating as I lay there. Megan giggled. She had witnessed the entire thing and thought the whole scene was much too dramatic for a little stubbed toe. 'Megan, it hurts -- stop laughing.' I said crossly as I looked over at my toe for the first time. 'Oh crap, now I feel like I'm going to faint AND throw up.' My little toe on my right foot looked bent out of shape. I don't do pain well. I tried to walk a few steps as I reached the phone but had to immediately lie back down when I dialed Chris' work number. 'Chris I stubbed my toe, I think I'm going to faint and throw up and my toe is pointing the wrong direction.' Chris tried unsuccessfully to suppress the giggles. He told me to take a Tylenol for the pain and he'd check it in a few hours.

When he got home I was lying on the bed and had been there for three hours. I had tried walking but could only hobble and the throbbing in my toe was too much to handle. 'Yep, it's probably fractured.' he said looking at it with his super x-ray vision radiology eyes. Then while I was distracted with the kids, he yanked on my toe trying to pull it back into position. Again, nausea overwhelmed me. When the yanking didn't work he taped it up and I began a week of slow hobbling , making me look and feel like a nine month pregnant woman waddling around. Fitting my fractured and swollen blue and green foot into shoes has been interesting.

Three weeks later my toe looks like it is going to point in it's normal direction after all but it is still twice it's size. At least I'm not hobbling, or fainting or feeling like I might throw up.

No need to send care packages. I think I'll be OK.

Stardom

Ryan and Katie got the chance to be in this year's school Christmas program. Katie and all the third graders were 'singing elves'. Ryan auditioned and was chosen as one of the main elves. The music teacher send home a CD so the kids could learn the seven songs. Even Emily and Megan (and now Chris and I) know the songs completely.

The program was adorable. Called 'The Elves' Impersonator' it was about the elves at the North Pole uneasy about the new and very different elf... 'ELFVIS'. They made him feel bad, he felt 'blue' and Santa and the reindeer finally helped them realize they should accept him for who he is, ending in a cute 'Santa Claus Rock'. In response to Santa's question "Where is Elfvis now?" one of Ryan's many lines was "ELFVIS has left the building!" which he did with cute elf personality. The audience laughed loudly and Ryan was soon recognized all over the school because of his funny lines.

The other day he came home from school and said, "Mom, it's kindof hard being a superstar." "Really?" I said. "Ya, everybody is always saying hi to me and asking me to say my line to them. But I always say, just wait for the show. Now a couple girls in Katie's class like me. People just won't even leave me alone." "Sounds like a hard life, Ryan." But in the same conversation he said he wished they could start a new production right away. I guess stardom isn't so bad after all.

I was chatting with Megan today, a little frustrated with her attitude, and told her, "Megan, I am so good. I think I'm going to get more presents than you at Christmas time." She started to get a little worried and then said, "Mom, no no no, we're both the SAME good."

A trip to the Farm

Tuesday for Megan's preschool we went to a farm for pony rides. Megan was so excited. She took a turn riding the pony, had fun being pulled in the pony cart, enjoyed the horsie tire swing, ran around the open fields and through the red barn with her friends and made smores... well, she burnt a marsh mellow till it was black and flaky and then decided just the Hershey's chocolate bar was all she needed for a good snack. She's been asking if we can go back every day since.

Luke was tired and seemingly ready for a nap when I pulled up to the farm, but one look as I opened the van door and he was up for the adventure. He had so much fun wandering around. He's a pretty good walker but these uneven farm fields had him wobbling and falling down a lot. He didn't mind though. He was too interested in the wandering cats and dog, the pony and cart, standing (at a safe distance) in the barn to study the horses, and trying to figure out a way into the circular fenced off pony ride. He was so eager and frustrated that the pony lady was sure he needed a turn. He loved it. When I asked him if he wanted to come to me he just pointed at the horse. After his ride he was even more determined to get back in there. It was a fun morning. Just what we needed... a break from the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season!