Funny Tour Guide Experience

Today on my tour...I had some really bright children. And some very boring mothers...
I got to the sugar stop, most of you know what I'm talking about, the big 2,500 lb. bags of sugar...and this was the dialogue that followed between me and my group:
Me-"All right, this bag right here, is full of a very special ingredient that helps us make our candy taste nice and sweet! Can anyone maybe guess what ingredient it is?"
At this point I receive completely blank stares from EVERYONE, including the moms.
So I ask,
"Do you guys know what an ingredient is?"
All the little pre-schoolers shake their heads to tell me no. And so I explain that an ingredient is something we put in our candy. I then give them examples. My examples, are SUGAR, (which I emphasize) salt, chocolate, and different syrups.
So I ask again, "can anyone guess what's inside this big bag behind me?"
A little boy pops his arm up and shouts "sugar!".
"Good Job! This bag does have -"
In the middle of my sentence a little girl throws her arm in the air, so I point to her and she exclaims "Salt!"
I respond, "No, this bag has sugar in it sweetie"
"Salt!"
"Ok, salt is ingredient, good job."
I move on to the next room, chuckling to myself.
As we get to the Taffy Kitchen there is white, yellow and pink taffy coming off of the cooling wheels, so further into my talking about the room, I ask if anyone can guess what flavors we're making today. I point to the white, and ask if anyone has any guesses.
Three little kids yell "sugar!"
"No, a flavor. A flavor is like chocolate, vanilla, strawberry...Can you guess what flavors we're making today?"
Again, the little kids in unison all yell "sugar!"
So I say nevermind, and I tell them that the white taffy is vanilla. I then ask if they can guess what flavor the pink taffy is, at which point the kids all yell "vanilla!!"
This cracked me up so bad. I decided to stop asking them any questions and just keep going.
the kids were like this pretty much the whole tour. Deer in the headlights children who had no idea what they were talking about. The funny thing was that the moms were completely expressionless. They didn't think it was funny at all!!! If my kid was that obvlivious/silly, I would think it was hysterical. But not these moms. They were all business.

Anyway...the tour just cracked me up...plus I hadn't posted in a while. So I thought I'd share!

F.Y.I.

Just so you knows...I put in some new links that go to info about HLHS...I know some of you were curious about different aspects of the surgeries and what she'd go through...so...i am posting some links for people to look at that will hopefully answer some of the questions we all have. :)

Families are Forever

I wanted to write this sooner, but, I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to express my feelings accurately. Hopefully, giving myself yesterday to think about it more will make my thoughts a bit more clear now.
My sister-in law Misty got married just 2 weeks before Topher and I, and very soon afterwards, she became pregnant. Misty had wanted a baby so bad and had pretty much begun trying immediately after they were married. She got pregnant about a month and a half after they got married, and was looking forward to her new baby more than anything.
Her pregnancy had been very very hard, not on the baby, but on her. She was constantly sick, to the extreme. She was always tired, uncomfortable, and sick. But, something really neat is that I NEVER heard her complain. She was always happy and willing to give me a smile, even if she had just returned from the bathroom to throw up.
Her pregnancy, aside from her being sick, had otherwise been completely normal. Healthy baby, healthy mommy. Only thing possibly unique, was that her baby was a big one. Her little baby was growing so fast!
For those of you who don't know Misty, she has a very little frame, so for her to be carrying this rapidly growing little baby, she looked like she might break in half from the weight at about 6 months!
Anyway, further in the pregnancy Misty found out she was having a little boy. And they have since named little boy Helaman.
Because of how fast Helaman was growing, Misty's Dr. decided it would be best if they induced Misty about 2 weeks ahead of her due date. Her due date was January 28th, so they planned on inducing her either on January 8th if she was dilated, or if not, then for sure inducing her no later than the 15th of January.
But her plans were cut short this past Thursday night, when she stopped feeling the baby move. Having heard that this may be a sign of going into labor shortly, she didn't worry too much. The next day, on Friday night, she began to go into labor. She waited through most of the night, counting contractions and measuring the time inbetween and then Saturday morning she went into the hospital.
As soon as they hooked her up to the monitor they knew that baby Helaman had died. There was no heart beat and no movement.
Misty then continued to go into labor and ended up enduring 27 hours of hard labor, 18 of which were without an epidural.
Little Helaman was born at 2:20 a.m. on Sunday morning at a big and healthy 8 pounds. They determined that the cause of death was the umbilical cord. It had twisted on itself, cutting off all the blood going to Helaman. There was nothing at all Misty could have possibly done to cause or prevent what happened to him. It was just one of those random horrors that you never expect. I've been told Helaman was an absolutely beautiful baby. Warm brown skin, long dark brown hair, with Jose's ears and Jose's nose.
My heart breaks when I think about Misty and Jose and what they must be going through and will continue to go through. I can't imagine the pain that she must be feeling when she thinks that, at least in this life, she'll never be able to hear him say "mommy" or take his first steps. I wish more than anything in this world that there was something, anything I could do to take away her pain. But, sadly there isn't anything any person can do to bring back what she has lost. But, thinking on it more and more, my shock and sadness for Misty has slowly been turning into a gratitutde and love for Heavenly Father and Our Savior, and their plan for us.
No one could do anything more for Misty than what Heavenly Father and Jesus have done for her. They've given Misty, and all the other families out there who have lost loved ones, the blessing of knowing that if we live up to the covenants we have made, that we will be with our families forever. Whether we are able to enjoy their company for a lifetime, or not even for a moment, they are our family for eternity. Misty will get to raise little Helaman from birth on in the Millennium. And although that doesn't take away the pain that she is definitely feeling, I am so grateful that that blessing is there for her to look forward to one day.
I am so grateful for the gospel and that Heavenly Father loves me enough to offer me this blessing as well. I am so grateful that no matter what happens in this life, no matter the lives we lose and friendships that are cut short, I will see my family again. They are my family forever and only Heavenly Father and my Savior could make that possible.
I am so grateful to live in a church that promises eternal families. I want to live my life in a way that these blessings will always be available to me.
My prayers and thoughts are with Misty and Jose and I know that they'll be with baby Helaman again.
I know this was sort of a testimony/journal entry. But I felt that I wanted/needed to get it off my chest, and so I thought I would share my testimony with my family at the same time.
I Love you guys!

Be Amazed...

Yes, I know, Its amazing, I'm posting another blog. And it hasn't even lapsed a month since the last one! Wow.
Topher just took these pictures last week and I thought I'd post them. Emi look!! I'm getting a belly!! (Em always makes fun of me for pretending to look pregnant when I just look fat...) But I think I actually look legitimately pregnant here!
Also, I had to show off the fact that I was wearing my new dress, purchased in Vegas





This would be my darling husband, showing off his belly. He thinks he has a pooch belly cuz he's gained 20 pounds since we got married. Ha ha. Funny thing is...7 of those pounds have been gained since I got pregnant. He must be trying to make me feel better about my weight gain.









I just wanted to show off my cute new hair! I got it cut and highlighted last week. Topher really really really wants me to let my "natural" color come in. But what really is "natural"? I mean, technically my natural color last year was bright blonde. Does it really matter that because I'm aging and pregnant my 'natural' color happens to be a poopy blonde/brown mess color now?! I think that is beside the point. So...highlights was inbetween what I wanted and what Topher wanted. And of course...he really likes it now and doesn't want me to change it. silly husband.

Topher got a hair-cut too...you probably can't tell. But, to clue you in, he looks darn attractive.

Highlights of Christmas

Our front room on Christmas morning was beautiful. Topher almost peed his pants when he saw his new mountain board. And I had to laugh when I saw all of the interestingly wrapped presents. He calls it creative stitch wrapping...(meaning he used four pieces of wrapping paper to wrap one present).

Our Stockings were both jam packed full...his was because he had a lot of socks...those take up lots of space. :) Mine was because there were over 20 acrylic stamps...and he wrapped each individual one!

This was our front room after everything was opened. I got an awesome new scrapbook tote...and Topher left his mountain board in the middle of the room so he could jump on it every time he walked by.

I of course went to work filling my new scrapbook supply holder. It was so much fun to de-junk my crummy back pack and put it all into little compartments and pockets!

Next came Christmas with Dad. We went to his house around 6 p.m. and Christmas day and opened presents with them. It was a lot of fun of course and Rachel was adorable as usual.

Here's topher getting his practice with little girls. He's going to be such an adorable daddy.

In case you can't tell, that's Dacia tearing up when she opens the present from me. Yeah, I know how to push her emotional buttons.

And yes ladies and gentlemen, this is Rachel's new smile. "How you doin' foo?"

The day after Christmas we also had presents and such with Mum and Sam down in Orem. This was also a ton of fun and it was so wonderful to see Mom, but alas, Topher was too busy experimenting with our new camera...and so none of the pictures really turned out all that great. There is one of Mom where she looks completely tipsy and is doing 'raise the roof' motions...I'll have to post that one some other time when Mom is least expecting a humiliating photo...hehe.

So after our fun Christmas with Mum and Sam, Dac & I and our spouses headed down to Vegas for Christmas fun with E and her boys.

Topher is of course the best uncle ever, please don't be alarmed by his creepy humongous smile...it just so happens he is always happy...to an extreme level. Jaxon was in no way harmed by him in this photo...

The boys of course got rottenly spoiled and made a disaster of Emily's front room. But it was so much fun to seem them get so excited and play with all their new toys...the fun of course disappeared when they began fighting over EVERYTHING.

Topher's favorite thing to take pictures of since we got the camera has definitely been Caden. He took over 50 pictures just of Caden. Of course half of them are bad lighting or a silly face...but here are some of the ones I couldn't resist. Isn't he adorable?!!! I have the cutest nephews ever. (Alan and Jen, you may want to hide Aaron when Topher comes over next...He probably won't enjoy the hour long photo-op session...)

Before we left, I bribed the boys into sitting down for a photo. Funny thing is...I think they forgot and never actually got their treats. But I got some awesome pictures!

All in all, Christmas was a ton of fun. I loved being able to spend Christmas Eve and Morning just with my husband. It was wonderful and so much fun to be together. And I loved being able to find time for everyone else in the family so I could enjoy christmas with everyone. I will admit I feel I was slightly jipped by my Christmas with alan and Jen...but that's ok. Jen's mum and dad were there...so I hope I'll get more Alan and Jen time next year...

Christmas was definitely not the same this year since we never did a big Johnson get together. I will admit that is always going to be one of my favorite things...to be with my WHOLE family all at once. But, then again, we did get to do that for Thanksgiving, so I can't be too disappointed.

I love my family so much and am so grateful for the time they give me! They're the bestest family ever!

Baby Girl

Well, This is our little baby girl.

Sorry it has taken me so long to post any pictures....You can say thanks for these to Alan, he scanned them in for me and did the cool arrows and everything. What a sweet big brother I have.

My favorite picture is by far the profile one. She was so cute when they took that picture. She had been laying on her side, and then she stretched her legs out all the way on my tummy, and then she stretched her arms way above her head on my tummy as well. It was funny because I could feel her do it! I of course wouldn't have known WHAT she was doing had I not seen it, but it was fun to see her move around and relax. After she stretched out, she rolled over to her back and just fell asleep. (I think anyway, Cuz she stopped moving, kicked her legs up and lay her head down.) It was cute.

Anyway. As most of my family knows now, there is a tiny flaw in our perfect little girl. Her heart hasn't formed properly, so only half of it works. Luckily, while she is in utero, it doesn't affect her negatively, I guess my placenta is supplying all her oxygen. But, once she's born, the problem is fatal.

Because of this, the past few days have of course been hard. Not to mention that there have been difficulties for Dacia and for Alan and Jen, and that only compounds the hurt that I know everyone is probably feeling for all the different situations out there.

Something I have come to realize though, (and it only took me a day or two), is just how blessed Topher and I really are. Not an hour has gone by since we found out, that we haven't been called by someone in the family to see how we were doing. Karen rushed to our apartment to keep us company, bought us Taco Bell and brought a sweet Rachel to cheer us up. Dacia came over, even though she was having troubles of her own and kept me company, knowing that no one else could do it better than her. Alan and Jen were immediate to offer to come get me to spend time with me, even though they were having problems as well! Topher's parents brought us K.F.C. and lots of research. Dacia ordered us pizza for lunch the next day and had it delivered to the house. Mom dropped her weekend plans and said she'd be here over the weekend for me. And today, I came into work after another rotten morning and there were beautiful yellow gerbers sitting on my desk from my sweet sister Emi and her adorable boys.

If nothing else, than this has just taught me how important family really is. I have an amazing family that sacrifices so much for me. That goes out of their way however they can, to put a smile on my face or just to let me know I'm loved. I have a family that I know is praying for me throughout the whole of every day. They are so wonderful and supportive and the best friends I could possibly ask for. I also know that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and Topher very much. I lost count of how many prayers I have said since Tuesday, but even if I was completely devastated and blubbering like a baby, the instant I thought Heavenly Father's name and asked him for his help, I immediately felt comforted. I know he is with me and Topher and that he is watching over Sophie, making sure she's o.k. I know that no matter what happens, she is our baby girl forever and ever, no matter how much time we actually get with her on Earth. This isn't to say by any means that I'm ok with the way things are, and I'm happy go lucky. But like Dacia's "thoughts" blog reminded me, I can have faith that sophie will be healthy and happy, but if not, I can have faith that whatever happens, the Lord is in it, and it will be for my good, Topher's good, and more importantly, for Sophie's good.

Thank you so much to my wonderful family. My sweet, beautiful, wonderful, caring sisters. My perfect and wonderful mommy. My big adorable brother and My loving, and caring dad. Thank you so much to my adorable neice and nephews who are so eager to give me hugs and kisses, (even AARON!!), and thanks so much Karen for your constant friendship and support.
Thanks for your prayers! Please don't stop sending them our way.
Love you all more than you could imagine.
Love Buggy, Topher and Sophie

It's a Girl!!

I had my big ultrasound yesterday. I was lucky enough to have my adorable husband there as well as my sweet Mom. Topher's parents came too and that was not as uncomfortable as I had feared! Instead it was actually really sweet to see how excited they both were. I know it was really special for them.
I will post the ultrasound pictures tonight sometime. But I thought I'd write out the blog now.
Baby girl looks adorable and happy. She moved around stretching her arms and legs against my tummy. She waved at us once or twice. Gave us a thumbs up sign once. Hid from us numerous times. And laid on her side with her hand under her head. She looked adorable and healthy!
Topher and I went out to Old Navy last night and Topher spent 50$ on ADORABLE baby clothes. We bought a little dress, two shirts, a courduroy skirt and the cutest winter coat for her first winter. Topher then took me out to dinner to celebrate baby girl! It was a lot of fun.
This morning, I went through the box of baby clothes mom brought me and I couldn't stop smiling. There were outfits I've seen me wearing in different pictures. And maybe even a few I've seen on Dacia in pictures. It was so special to think that my little girl will get to be in some of those same outfits!!
Before I left for work, I watched the Ultrasound video we'd gotten. It was fun because it was just 5 minutes of her moving around, stretching and some cute profile shots. When we did the 30 minute ultrasound it turned out that the video hadn't been working!! So they did a second ultrasound just for a couple minutes so I could get some baby girl on tape. All in all, it was a great morning.
Then...I came to work and got a call from my Dr. saying that the Ultrasound technician thought something might be amiss with the baby's heart. I have to go in and see a specialist in Ogden. I guess he's really hard to see, especially with the Holidays next week. So my appointment with him is November 27th. I have no idea what they'll find or say, my Dr. didn't really give me a lot of information. But, either way, no matter what happens, she really is a beautiful happy little baby. I just know it.
Since mostly it's just my family that reads this, please pray for Topher's and my little baby girl. Just pray for her health and for her to be happy. That would be wonderful. I know everything will be just fine if she is in everyone's prayers.
I love you all!
Thank you for the prayers that I know are already coming in our direction!

a.k.a

1. My Rock Star Name (fist pet and current car): Kat Tercel

2. My Gangsta Name (fave ice cream flavor and fave cookie): Vanilla Fudge Oreo

3. My "fly" guy/girl name (1st initial of 1st name and 1st 3 letters of last name): A. And...wow that is way super lame

4. My detective name (fave color and fave animal): Blue Siberian Tiger

5. My soap opera name (middle name and city where you were born): Ann Blue Springs

6. My Star Wars Name (1st 3 letters of your last name and 1st 2 letters of your first name): Andal

7. My Superhero name (2nd fave color and fave drink with "The" in front): The Yellow Apple

8. My Nascar name (Grandpas' first names): Carl Juergen

9. My stripper name (name of your fave cologne/perfume and your favorite candy): Romance Gummi Raspberries

10. My Witness Protection Name (Mother's and Father's middle names): Anita Frederika Marion (same as Emi's)

Once a Cougar...Always a Cougar

I have always wanted to BYU-Idaho....and I just KNOW that one day, I will be able to take classes there...
But, I wanted to tell you all, because I was proud of myself, That I recently applied to Fall/Winter 2008 semester and I was accepted. :)yay for me!!! I'm telling you guys...I am MEANT to one day go there...and one day...I will.
Anyways...spare me your criticisms if you have them. I am excited and don't want to hear any pessimism..I have enough of that on my own. I might just take online courses and stay in Utah..but somehow..I am going to hold my position at the best of best schools!
Thank you! Congratulations are welcome! ;)

my creepy husband...

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