Cake does a body good!

This past week has been crazy intense!  Classes studying all types of theories and doctrine and beliefs mixed in with education overload on taxes, insurance, finances and computer technology. My little brain was so full, by Friday I felt that it might explode.

Saturday, on our day off, CJ and I took the girls to the “Quilting Quad” where I thought some mindless function would ease the stress of the week. Only there I was confronted with my own weakness and inability and helplessness. This was my first time to ever sit in front of a sewing machine. It would also be my last. (The girls did end up with some really cute purses – homemade!)

We also experienced a difficult loss this week when CJ’s grandmother, Mama Johnson, passed away. Married to Daddy Joe for 74 years, at age 89, she was the Johnson family matriarch. She made every child, grandchild and great-grandchild feel like the most important to her, and she could best be described by the love she showed to others. Her absence from our lives leaves a cold corner where her warmth and love once overflowed.

Overall, this has been a really tough week…

But…

We have felt your words to the father on our behalf. I hope you know how unbelievably important that is to us and how much we covet that expression from you.

There were a few really cool things that happened this week. A good friend that’s here on our campus took some family pictures for us to use in some of our promotional materials. I have to admit, I was kinda dreading this because the last time we had family pictures made, well, let’s just say it was not a good experience. But this friend was absolutely amazing and patient with us. Despite the fact that we were sweating like pigs in the blazing Virginia evening humidity, she made it so much fun, and the pictures turned out great!

I also had a visit from my Chi Omega little sister, Mary, and her husband, Larry, who happen to live down the road a couple hours. Seeing her was definitely a bright spot during a very challenging week.

But in the words of Zoë, “It’s a miracle!” that happened today. We’re very fortunate to live in a place where they have an amazing cafeteria that provides awesome meals for us everyday, but they don’t allow us any desserts or carbonated beverages. At the end of a long and grueling week, worn by the trials of learning and loss, miraculously in the cafeteria today after lunch, they put out a table with pound cake, warm strawberry and blueberry toppings, whipped cream and chocolate syrup! You would’ve thought they had set out a table with a million dollars on it by the way everyone went crazy over this special DESSERT! It was awesome.

We’re still really at the beginning of our training. I know there are a lot more experiences and challenges and miracles yet to come. I never expected this would be an easy process, and I never guessed where some of our joys would come from. Turns out it’s a piece of cake! (Get it? Cake!)

Keep looking up!

"I AM" by Zoë

Zoë wrote this poem in class yesterday. I thought it was pretty awesome and wanted to share...

I am crazy and left-handed.
I wonder if people have a good time with me.
I hear my little sister's voice.
I see my friends and family.
I want to be awesome.
I am crazy and left-handed.

I pretend to be extraordinary.
I feel like G*d loves me.
I touch my Ipod touch.
I worry about nothing.
I cry when I have to leave friends.
I am crazy and left-handed.

I understand G*d's holy word.
I say I am a TCK.
I dream about elephants.
I try to include others.
I hope for a good life when I grow up.
I am crazy and left-handed.

Getting settled and started

This is going to be a learning process... blogging about life without being too specific about life. If you've read this blog before you understand where I'm coming from. If this is your first time here, well, you'll just have to be in the dark.
We finally made it to Virginia. After two years of preparing for this transition, it's a little hard to believe that  we're actually here. But we are! It's absolutely beautiful, and I hope to post photos real soon so that you can see it.
We are living in a "quad" which has a shared living area and small attached apartments. Yesterday after arriving we were so excited to meet the six other people sharing our building for the next couple months. Six girls and our family make up quad #22 which is pretty cool, because it's centrally located on our campus to all our activities and meetings. The girls' school is right behind us and the cafeteria is just across the lawn - woo hoo!
Speaking of the girls... they have made friends lightning fast (as expected.) We went to get a sneak peek of their classrooms yesterday and it almost looked a little bit like Disney World with all the cool stuff they had there. Also being the only kids in our quad, they are getting a lot of attention from the other girls in #22. And they are loving it already.

We know that we are blessed beyond measure. We feel unbelievably grateful to be here and on this journey. We miss our friends and family at home, but we are excited for the new family we will be a part of here as well.

Stay tuned for pictures - soon - I promise. Keep looking up!

A breakdown in communications

For someone who has spent their life in the communications business, this "going off the grid" has been quite a challenge for me.
My accounts on Facebook, Twitter and all kinds of social media are now drastically different. Even this website has endured some serious alterations. But by far, the most difficult aspect of this transitioning process has been giving up my cell phone. Well, I still have a cell phone for two more weeks, but my smartphone is no longer smart. It's just for talking and texting.
I can't tell you how many times I've gone to eat at Azteca and wanted to "check-in" on Facebook, but couldn't. I just don't have that capability anymore, and I feel a little like I've lost connections with my friends and family.
A little funny... this week while we were visiting family in South Florida, my kind brother-in-law, Joe, would periodically hand me his cell phone and say, "Here. Tweet something. I know you want to."

At the end of this month, my cell phone will go away altogether.
Oh, CJ will still have his cell - at least through the end of September (while we're in Virginia.) And ironically enough, so will my oldest daughter since her phone is part of his account. But not me...
I know this is just all a part of a process, and when I look at the bigger picture, I think, how important is having a cell phone really? There are more difficult challenges endured by people in the world for sure.

Lately, I've been trying to think of it this way: An ice sculptor first starts with a block of ice. He chips away a little piece here and there til he creates his artwork. Likewise, I know that in order to be used for the Master, I have to have pieces of me chipped away. The goal is to become what my creator wants me to be so that I might be used by Him. I'm not melting, I'm just changing.

I know there will be many more changes in the near future as our family learns to live within a completely different culture. And I know that not being able to communicate like we do in this country is just the tip of the iceberg.

Speaking of communication, we'll be in Virginia for eight weeks and we'll be able to receive mail there - the old fashioned kind - and we'd love to hear from you! Cards, letters, care packages (hint, hint) can be sent to us at:
CJ, Julie, Zoë and Miá Johnson
c/o International Learning Center
16492 MLC Lane
Rockville, VA 23146

Ride a bike to work

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column about my kids playing in the neighborhood and how their experiences reminded me of my own childhood. Well, maybe it’s the warm weather and the end of school approaching, but those thoughts of my younger carefree days have stayed with me. That’s why when my girls recently asked me to go riding bikes with them around our subdivision, I jumped at the chance.

It was just a month or so ago when we had our big, family yard sale and I had sold my bike… the one that sat in the garage unused for a whole year. When approached by a friend who wanted to purchase the bike from me, I gladly relinquished the fancy bicycle which was relatively brand new. I had purchased it originally with good intentions of riding it for exercise, but excuse after excuse cropped up, and before long, the bike was forgotten.

So when my two children invited me to tag along on their youthful excursion, I borrowed my dad’s old, beat-up bicycle for the short trek.

The sight of me on this bike was, I’m sure, quite comic. My dad’s bicycle is a boy’s bike (of course), and when I sit on the seat, my feet don’t touch the ground. If I need to stop the bike, I have to slow down, lean to the side and basically jump off. The padding on the handle-bars is falling off and the gear shift no longer works. The tread on the tires of the bike is also completely worn smooth from the many years of use.

But there was something about riding it that warm evening on the heels of my two girls, laughing, singing and racing that made it so much fun regardless of the spectacle it created. It was just pure joy.

As I sat in my office on Monday morning, I was reminiscing over the bike-riding fun I’d had with my girls while reading a story in another community’s newspaper bemoaning the high gas prices we’re currently facing. That’s when the thought struck me, why not save some money, get a little exercise and ride a bike to work?

I toyed with the idea while I was home during the lunch hour, and decided, why not? I live less than two miles from the office, the weather was beautiful outside, so I thought I’d go for it.

It only took me about ten minutes to bike from my house to the office, but those ten minutes were the highlight of my day. I must have driven this route along Church Street more than a thousand times in my car in our fourteen years of living in Columbia, but biking the street, I observed things that I have never noticed before. Flags flying, pretty flowers lining the sides of historic homes, kids playing ball on empty side streets… and as I rode by, people on their porches or in their yards would wave or shout out, “Good afternoon!”

It was exhilarating! So much so, that I rode the bike again to work on Tuesday.

I know some people might think I’m crazy, including my dad who just knows that I’m an accident waiting to happen on the dilapidated bike. (But it doesn’t make sense to buy a brand new bike when I’ve only got six weeks left before moving away.)

So for now, I’ll stick to riding the shabby bicycle as much as I can til it breaks down. The happiness that it brings is so worth it. My only regret is that I’ve waited til now to discover this enjoyment that was at my disposal for years.

So let me encourage you… don’t let this opportunity pass you by. It seems like each day I have left here, I grow to appreciate some new aspect of this wonderful community that we live in. Make sure you take advantage of each and every one!

published in the Columbian-Progress 05/12/11

Monday memories

From my weekly column:

It’s the end of a long and weary day. Mondays always are, but especially after a tiring, yet fun holiday weekend, getting back into a routine is challenging.
I make the short drive home from work. Home is now at my parents’ house on a quiet, little cul de sac just around the corner from where we were living before. As I near the house, I’m expecting to see the driveway full of cars, there’s four usually parked there between all of us — it takes some serious manipulation in order for everyone to get their cars out in the morning as we all go our separate ways. But on this day, I was the last to arrive home in the early evening, so I anticipate that there will be strategy involved with pulling into the garage between the other vehicles already present. 
I become even more frustrated when, to my displeasure, as I approach the driveway, I discover about ten bicycles all heaped up on the ground blocking the entrance.
Exasperated and too tired to get out and move them all, I maneuver my car to the curb in front of the house instead. As I get out of the car, I notice the tall, wooden gate to the house across the street is open, and I hear peals of giggles and laughter coming from within. Curiosity got the best of me, despite my desire to just go inside and go to bed. I couldn’t help but walk the few steps required to peak inside and see what was going on.
Just beyond the gate, I found the owners of those bicycles, about ten kids of varying ages including my own two precious daughters, all piled up in a king-size hammock, swinging and laughing, obviously telling stories and sharing secrets.
I felt the fatigue of the day fall away as the sight reminded of the glorious days of my own childhood, playing with my neighborhood friends.
Riding bikes, swimming, creek-stomping and volleyball with make-shift nets. Those were days without care or worry, just kids living life to the fullest. It may sound silly now, but we called ourselves the Stratford Scavengers. Stratford Avenue was the main thoroughfare through the neighborhood and the street I lived on then. Everyday during the summer, all of us kids would gather at the meeting tree at some point after breakfast. We surmised a mystery each morning that we had to figure out by the days end like “Where did Mrs. Cathey from the house at the corner go everyday in her big blue Caddy, driving in her bathrobe and slippers?” and “Why did Mr. Tall Man (we didn’t know his real name) wear all those keys on a key ring on his belt?” We theorized brilliant and sometimes funny stories for every situation. We played like we were Tom Sawyer on mysterious adventures, and we created completely new sports in the empty field behind a row of homes.
As the sun diminished late in the day, lights would start popping up on the street lamps, and we knew it would soon be time to go. My parents would flash the lights on the front porch when it was time to come home for dinner, and our group of comrades would part ways until the next morning would dawn with a new day and a new escapade.
As I stood there watching my own kids with their friends, my memories flooded back in such detail that I could almost smell the honeysuckle and the fresh cut grass. I could feel the wind whipping in my hair as we raced down dirt roads on our bikes, and I could hear the songs playing on the radio as we laid on a blanket in the middle of the solitary field watching the days slip away.
Those days were so sweet and I immediately felt so grateful that my children have the opportunity for similar experiences. I’m so glad that we live in a city and a neighborhood where they have friends nearby, and it’s safe to roam the streets and play.
All of a sudden, it didn’t matter to me that I couldn’t pull my car in the drive or that there were bikes in the middle of the road. The angst from the day seemed like a distant memory, and I felt my frown fade away.
Through the windows of our house, I saw my mom wafting through the rooms turning on lamps, and I could smell something cooking in the kitchen.
I know it must’ve been my imagination, but I could’ve sworn the front porch lights flickered on and off saying, “It’s time to come home.”
As I called to my kids from across the street, they came running over to meet me.
“Did you have a good day?” my youngest daughter asked.
“I sure did!” came my heart’s reply, cause in that one moment, nothing could’ve been any better.

published in the Columbian-Progress 04/28/11

Rocky Mountain High

Our actual anniversary was nearly four months ago, but we're just now getting around to celebrating. Fifteen years is definitely worth celebrating in this day and time.
This little mini vacation also could not come at a better time. Home has been chaos the last couple weeks, and we needed a break to clear our heads and just breathe for awhile.
So to celebrate our milestone, we decided to do one of the things we love most - SNOW SKIING!
There are so many ways that snow skiing illustrates marriage. There are ups and downs, there are challenges and smooth rides. It also takes great effort but the payoff is so worthwhile. So here we are skiing...
CJ adds: Ok, he didn't want to add anything. After fifteen years, I guess he's wisely learned that fewer words are better.
As I'm writing, we have just arrived in the Denver airport, and we will soon make our way to Steamboat Springs - one of the most beautiful places on earth! We hope to ski, relax, eat, ski some more, eat some more. You get the picture. :)
I'll try to upload pictures as possible, so stay tuned!