My Grandma Ellersick passed away this weekend. Yes, my second grandma to die in a little over a month. They are all gone now. All grandparents. My grandpas passed away in the same fashion sixteen years ago. One died and a month later the other one died. A domino effect.
I have been truly blessed in the grandparent department. Three amazing grandmas and two unbelievable grandpas. My Nana was technically my step-grandma but she was as much a true grandparent to me as all of the others and I loved her just as much. I was also blessed with fantastic and dynamic great-grandparents many of whom I also knew. A perk of being the oldest grandchild. I miss them all.
But this loss... this is the end of an era. The end of what has gone before and what is to come is unknown. I have yet to truly process that she is gone and what that means and what the future ramifications will be. All I know is that her death is significant and needs to be recognized.
For Mom/Grandma/Granny Lemon drops and lipstick Green punch and s'mores Bonfire smoke and pine trees Make up my memories Sunlight dancing on the lake The gentle lap of waves That dark and silky water Where memories were made Of echos and of blue jays, Fragrant lilacs, a store bell trills Starry nights of swimming And delicate bluebells The sultry scent of concord grapes The rain on old tin roofs The prickle of a pine cone Road trips of my youth Snow Creek's rushing waters And moss and rocks and earth Books and books and books on books Astonishing to see The clicking of her typewriter keys Post office Box 503 The Chicken Chop and IGA The backyard where I used to play Swimsuits dripping on the floor The slamming of the outside door An icy pop from Grandpa's store and laughter ringing even more. Diving through an inner tube Midnight floats in an old canoe Pansies planted in a boat Delighting in a rootbeer float. Lake water runs through my veins Thick sawdust in my blood Stories told of days of old And faces dear to me. Oh hey you guys... You're out too far! We sure love you... We will see you soon... Lots of love... She smiles at me With her sharp brown eyes that see An era ends. She meant so much to me.
We celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary on May 5th. Wow! Twenty-two years have flown by...absolutely flown by. We had a spectacular day celebrating our marriage. Tyler came home from work early and had gorgeous flowers and chocolates for me. I had some surprises waiting for him too. This year instead of exchanging big gifts or going out of town we are redoing our bedroom. I can't wait!!
That afternoon we headed to Coeur d' Alene to do a bunch of our favorite things. We went to our favorite sushi place and feasted. It was divine. I could eat sushi every single day of my life. Tyler too. I am so glad that he loves it as much as I do. I also love that we are regulars at this particular place and the owner is always so happy to see us and gives us the royal treatment whether it is our anniversary or not!!
Heaven on a platter!!
On our anniversary, when possible, we like to go to where Tyler proposed...on the board walk on Lake Coeur d' Alene. This doesn't seem like that exotic of a proposal spot now that we live close by and come here a lot but at the time we were living in Utah and it was VERY exotic, romantic, and exciting!! So after our early dinner we went to walk on the boardwalk. It was pouring rain but that didn't stop us!!
This lake is beautiful even if it is stormy weather kind of like our marriage. ;)
After our rainy stroll on the boardwalk we went to see this movie:
It was excellent and we both loved it!! I read the book years ago and really liked it. I think the movie did a great job adapting the book and I cried my eyes out.
After that we went back to the resort for a late night dessert:
This picture cannot even possibly convey how enormous this piece of coconut cake is!! This is the world's best coconut cake and believe me I have tried many varieties. It is fantastic!! Tyler got the personal sized strawberry short cake gooey. Nary a crumb was spared!! So good!
This year our anniversary fell on a Friday and we had so many things going on with the kids that weekend that we weren't able to just spend the night at the resort like we wanted to. That would've been wonderful but coming home to sweet cards, posts, messages, and this awesome banner was pretty great too! We have some pretty special kids!!
22 years feels amazing!! It feels substantial and solid like a good foundation has been laid for the coming years ahead. I love that we have grown together over these past 22 years rather than apart. I love him more. I like him more. I respect him more. I appreciate him more. I enjoy him more. It's a nice time of life. Our kids are older and need less constant care. There is more time for the two of us to focus on us and our relationship and it is wonderful!!
My list of places to travel is long but getting out of town for Spring Break was the best! I got to have a change of scenery, spend time with people I love, put all of my every day cares and concerns aside and just have fun. Plus traveling always sparks my creativity in powerful ways and I love that!! 2. ) Wal-Mart Curbside Pick Up
Where has this been all my life?! This is an absolute game changer for me. Walmart is a necessary evil in my life. In order to keep all the Johnsons in groceries and not break the bank I have to go here and I hate it...nay I loathe it with every fiber of my body. I have tried to cut down how many times I have to enter this soul sucking hell and it comes down to twice a month. (Twice a month I make a Walmart and Costco run.) That is still 2x a month too many. Imagine my utter joy when I learned that I could order everything that I need online and they will deliver it to my car. I don't even have to step foot into a store that drains the life out of me and simultaneously makes me hate the human race. Hallelujah!! 3.) Pink Himilayan Sea Salt
Add caption
Love this! Does it taste better than regular salt? For sure. Does it make me feel hip and trendy. Oh yeah. I'll take hip and trendy where I can get it! :)
4.) The Middle
You guys, this show make me laugh SO HARD!! Two reasons: Axel and Sue. This season has been particularly funny. The Middle and The Goldbergs are two TV shows that are guaranteed to make me laugh out loud...A LOT.
5.) Blossoms FINALLY blooming
These are my very favorite blossoms in all of Spokane. They grown at Tyler's office. There is a huge row of about twenty trees that are covered in these gorgeous blossoms. Tyler always makes sure to tell me when they are blooming so that I can come down and marvel at their beauty. I need one of these trees! Their blossoming is always short and sweet and if we get a lot of wind and rain it might only be less than a week. So I've got to enjoy them while they last. So pretty. Things I am hating: Early Release Day
I hate it and always forget when it is. Seriously...this happens about twice a month. Even months with spring break or Christmas break or a when there is already a week's worth of early release days due to parent teacher conferences. There has got to be a better way!?! Not a fan. Plus, maybe if got rid of a few of them we could get out of school before the middle of June for once and not have to come back until after Labor Day.
This month has seemed really long. I am not sure why. Usually when months are packed with holidays and birthdays they seem to fly by but not this April. Part of the reason maybe that I have had NOTHING good to read. Seriously. It has been a drought. I have read a total of 1 1/2 books for the entire month. I just couldn't get into anything and I really tried. It was so discouraging. The 1/2 book that I am into is Tess of the D' Urbervilles which while good isn't exactly light reading nor uplifting...poor Tess...and I hear that things only get worse for her.
Besides Spring Break, Bryn's Birthday, Nana passing away, and Easter...
Swimming started back up for Bryn. Elle is swimming too which makes our Saturday mornings at the pool a little more fun. They are doing great!
Bryn started going to Activity Days and Elle comes with her. They are LOVING it! So far they have done Zumba and learned about the different events for track. One of Bryn's activity day leaders in on a college track team. Bryn and Elle are both runners and so they loved learning about the other events in track and my friend Arianne (the other activity day leader) texted me these awesome pictures and videos.
The javelin
We sent ol' Flat Stanley to Reilly in Utah and she did a fantastic job with him. She impressed the heck out of the 2nd graders in Bryn's class when she emailed pictures of Flat Stanley at the UP House and at Sharpay's (from High School Musical) Pink Locker. He also went to Bridal Veil Falls and to the Salt Lake Temple. Bryn's teacher was THRILLED as was Bryn!!
Reilly is AWESOME!!
My brother Kirk and his wife Meki and their baby came to town for a visit. It is always fun when Kirk is in town!! They came straight to our house after they flew in. Meki was here on business and Kirk and Kirin came along for the ride. Meki had a dinner meeting so Kirk, Tyler, Kirin and I all headed out for sushi. We had a great time!! It was nice to have some extra time with Kirk (Kirin too) instead of always getting together at big family gatherings and trying to catch up amidst all of the chaos.
Plus we got to get in lots of snuggles with Kirin!
After dinner we hung out in Coeur D' Alene and waited for Meki to get done with her business dinner. It was great to see them. Tyler and I really appreciate that they provide a home-away-from-home for Reilly in Utah. They just bought a house even closer to her which is great!
The next night we met up with my mom, Stacey and John and their kids, and Kelley and Elle and went out for dinner. Poor Kameron had to work so he missed out on dinner but met up with us later for ice cream.
Cousins!
This what I got when I said "Look at me!" Ha ha!
Kirin is so cute and kissable!!
We had a fun night as a family but we were missing Jordin and Ramon and their family and Reilly too. It is getting so hard to get everyone all together at the same time. The next day we drove up to my mom's house in Sandpoint (where Kirk and Meki were staying) and spent the day. We did a bunch of shopping and went out to lunch. Then we dropped off the kids at my mom's house and me, Ty, Kirk, and Meki headed to Montana to Kootenai Falls to go hiking. It was absolutely gorgeous!!
Before you get to the swinging bridge you have to cross this bridge that goes over the railroad tracks. We were really hoping to see a train while we were on the bridge. Sure enough... while we were on the bridge we saw a train headed our way. Kirk and I immediately ran right to the middle of the bridge which was right over the middle of the tracks and held onto the chain link fence as that train barreled right at us. OH.MY.GOSH. It was the trippiest thing ever!! The wind that came off of that train was so strong and blew the heck out of us while that train was roaring right beneath us and shook the heck out of the bridge. It was awesome and terrifying!!
After that we hiked to the swinging bridge:
This swinging foot bridge is not for the faint of heart or for someone with a fear of heights. Ailey happily agreed to go to Grandma's house and babysit Kirin rather than make another trek across this bridge although she has crossed it twice. The swinging bridge is suspended 100 feet above the river and is 210 feet long. Only 5 people can be on the bridge at a time. It is awesome.
I am not afraid of bridges and had to do some jumping. Kirk too! :)
This is the area where parts of the movie The Revenant was filmed and also the movie River Wild.
Kootenai Falls Slo-Mo
Sitting on the edge of a cliff and taking in all the beauty!
Love these guys!! We had such a great day!!
That night the four of us went to dinner in Sandpoint, Idaho and it was so nice to have a little double date!! Our two girls and Kirin had such a fun time having Grandma all to themselves also.
The next weekend Stacey represented Sisters Creed at the Vintage Faire in Omak, WA. This is a terrible time of year for me to go and do that show even though it is a fun one and we love doing it. It was nice that Stacey at least could go and represent us. John went with her and they brought their kids to Spokane (Kelley was watching them for the weekend) and so we got to have a bunch of cousin time.
Ailey, River, Dane, Elle, Bryn
These are some of my favorite pictures:
Anyone remember Kids Incorporated from the 80's?? This is what I got when I said "pose!" Ha ha!! Yep, they are related.
In other news...Spring finally arrived:
Bryn did Bloomsday training at her school again this year. It's basically track for the elementary school kids. She loves to run and did such a great job!!
This was also a great month for meeting up with friends...especially before the craziness of May hits. I had some great long chatty afternoon lunches with three different friends...one of whom I rarely get to see...and it was so nice to be able to catch up and have some girl time. It was MUCH needed!!
Now May is in full swing!! Farm Chicks is looming and I am trying to get a bunch of projects done before family comes to town on Friday for Bryn's baptism this weekend.
Kameron gave this talk in Sacrament Meeting on Easter Sunday. He did a fantastic job. I love that kid so much!!
Why Is
the Living Christ Important In My Life
I was asked to speak on why the
living Christ is important in my life. I thought that this would be an easy
topic to talk about and in some ways it is…but my feelings about the Savior are
so deep and all encompassing that it has been hard to narrow down my thoughts
about what exactly to talk about today.
I decided to focus my talk on Easter and Holy Week …the week
that leads up to Easter Sunday. Every year during Holy Week my family discusses
and reflects on what was happening in the Savior’s life on each day of that
important week. Every day of Holy Week
my mom writes on a chalkboard in our home the events of that particular day.
She also displays pictures from the Gospel Art Kit that depict what was
happening on that day. It has been really interesting to know what He went
through on a day to day basis. Each night at dinner we discussed more in depth
what happened each day.
As the week progressed each particular day had an event that
resonated with me…whether it was Palm Sunday the one day when Jesus was treated
like the King he is, or on Monday when He cleansed the temple, or Tuesday when
Jesus returned to the temple and His authority was questioned and he taught
important parables on the Mount of Olives while behind the scenes Judas was
negotiating with the Sanhedrin to betray Him, to Wednesday when we don’t have
much information as to what was happening, to Holy Thursday as Jesus and His disciples prepared to share
in the Passover and ate the Last Supper and to the events that occurred in the Garden
of Gethsemane as Jesus atoned for the sins of the world to Judas’ betrayal and
Jesus’s arrest.
As we closed in on Good Friday I felt almost anxiety because I
knew what was coming and I didn’t even want to read what was written on the chalkboard
that day… about Jesus’ trial and His being condemned to death, Him being
scourged, beaten, and mocked, forced to carry His cross through a jeering
crowd, His crucifixion and death. As I read those words I was hit by such
intense sorrow that He had to suffer for me and for all of us.
In our family we talked about why it is called Good Friday
when such terrible and tragic events occurred and that it is because the price
was paid for all of us that day. It hit
me in a such a personal way what the Savior willingly went through for me and
for you and for everyone. We had a powerful discussion in our family that night
and were overcome with so much gratitude for the incomprehensible love that the
Savior has for all of us. That the perfect sinless Son of God would do this for
me hit me in a way that it hasn’t before.
Then as we continued to follow the events of that sacred week
and read about Jesus’ body being prepared for burial and laid in the sepulchre
with the stone placed in front and guarded by Roman Soldiers I found myself so looking
forward to Easter Sunday when the stone was rolled away and the tomb empty, and
an angel asks the women “Why seek ye the living among the dead?” to knowing the
Jesus Christ overcame death and was resurrected and that He lives! It was
wonderful to read those words and to know that He lives not just on the third
day but this day and every day. He lives and we can find Him and have him in
our lives.
I am glad that my family has this tradition every year because
it is so easy to get caught up in the worldly aspects of Easter…the bunny, the
baskets, the eggs, and the candy and forget the powerful reality of WHY we
celebrate Easter. I am grateful that I was able to slow down and reflect upon
what the Savior went through in the week leading up to His death and
resurrection.
How powerful are the words of the angel in Luke 24:
Why seek
ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen.”
President Benson said that nothing in history equals that
dramatic announcement, “He is not here, but is risen.”
President Monson said in April 2010:
“Our
Savior lived again. The most glorious, comforting, and reassuring of all events
of human history had taken place—the victory over death. The pain and agony of
Gethsemane and Calvary had been wiped away. The salvation of mankind had been
secured. The fall of Adam had been reclaimed.”
So why is the living Christ important in my life… because
without Him I am nothing. His life and example influence every aspect of my
life. Who I am, what I do, what I say, the choices I make, the friends I
choose, the path I am on, and the decisions that I will make in the
future…everything.
One of my favorite scriptures is D & C 76:22
“And now,
after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony,
last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!”
Today we got the news that my great-grandma passed away this
morning. As we remembered her and her influence these words from John had extra
special meaning this Easter morning:
“ I am
the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead,
yet shall he live… And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”
This year we did our own thing for Easter. The lake house is STILL out of commission. Don't even get me started on my absolute annoyance with that situation. My mom decided to go to Utah to spend Easter with my brother Kirk and his family and Reilly. So even though it wasn't our typical Easter weekend we still had a really great time!
My favorite Easter tradition is to celebrate Holy Week. Easter comes up so quickly. You blink and it is over. Tyler and I like to SLOW down Easter so that we can really think about it and prepare for it. Celebrating Holy Week does that for us. Every day of Holy Week I write on a chalkboard what happened that day. We also put up pictures from the gospel art kit that go along with the events of the day and at dinner we discuss what happened on each day, read about it, read scriptures, and discuss our feelings about it.
For example:
We start with Palm Sunday:
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Holy Thursday:
Good Friday:
Saturday:
Resurrection Sunday:
We also really love to listen to Lamb of God by Rob Gardner during this week and especially Easter Sunday. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that amazing compilation. Listen to it!!
Doing all of these things helps to extend the holiday and makes it more meaningful for our family.
We decorated for Easter. We sent Reilly a big Easter care package. Tyler and the girls dyed eggs. The weather (sort of) cooperated for them to do it outside. Barely.
The day before Easter the girls helped me get everything ready. Our church is late; it goes from 1pm to 4pm so I didn't want to be throwing things together and trying to cook at the last minute. So we prepped food for the next day. Ailey helped by ironing the linens. Ailey and Bryn helped me set the table and made cute place cards. They are such good helpers!! Everyone helped with the food. We have some great cooks and bakers in our family...the guys included.
They did such a great job!!
Easter morning ended up being bittersweet. Just as I was waking up...I could hear the kids up and starting to check out their Easter baskets...and Tyler had just turned on the song He Is Risen...when I got a call that my Nana had passed away that morning. This wasn't a big surprise. My Nana hadn't been doing well and had been moved to hospice care. I had been getting regular updates. But I still wasn't prepared for the call. It kind of subdued things for awhile. But there was also beauty in knowing that she went home to her Savior on a beautiful Easter morning and it made the meaning of Easter even more profound for our family.
At Jordin's wedding: Kirk, Nana, Me, my cousin Colin, and Jordin
My Nana was a beautiful, sweet, hilarious southern lady with charm and sass and a flair for the dramatic. She has left me with so many sweet and hilarious memories and I am so blessed to be her granddaughter.
I love that smile!! She was an absolute character. She will be greatly missed!!
Easter morning was still a sweet celebration. We had a delicious breakfast and the Easter Bunny had paid a visit. :) There were all kinds of treats and little gifts including Easter dresses for the girls and Easter ties for the guys. We even semi-coordinated!! I love it!!
We facetimed and did a Johnson Tries with Reilly...for Sour Peeps (meh), Summer Splash Starbursts (mixed reviews) and Cadbury Creme Egg Cookies (delish!)
We had an Easter Egg Hunt in our backyard:
On the run!!
The sly Easter Egg hiders!!
Then it was time to get ready for church. There is nothing better than church on a gorgeous Easter morning. It is my favorite Sunday of the year!! Even better...Kameron was speaking!! My Nana would've LOVED that!! She never could get over the idea that in our church the members do the "preaching". She used to call us every Sunday night for years and would always ask "Did any of you do the preaching today?" and she loved it when we did and always wanted copies of our talks. I think she would have been absolutely THRILLED to know that her great-grandson was doing the "preaching" that day!!
We were so missing our Reilly!! But we were so glad that she was spending Easter at Kirk and Meki's house and with my Mom. She was having a wonderful Easter as well and that made us feel a lot better about being far apart. (She comes for a quick visit next week and we can't wait!!)
I love Easter pastels!! The girls and I gave each other manis and pedis the night before and our nail polish matched our dresses. So fun. I wish that we still lived in the days of Easter hats, gloves, and corsages. I could totally get on board with that!! My Grandma McKinnon always wore a fresh flower corsage to church on Easter and Mother's Day. I love that tradition. I also loved getting texts when my sister Jordin found and bought her Easter dress!! Love that these traditions carry on...
It's hard to see but Kameron's tie is gray with tiny pink polka dots!! He matched!!
Tyler's tie was pink polka dots and so he matched too!! Ha ha!!
Then it was time to head to church... Kameron gave a fantastic talk about "Why the Living Christ is Important In My Life". He did such a great job! He even referenced our little Holy Week tradition which was awesome to know that he was paying attention and that it meant something to him. I'll post his talk on the blog. It was a great day at church and so wonderful to celebrate the miracle of the resurrection of the Savior.
We took a few more pictures after we got home since we were in a huge rush before church:
Love these Johnson men!!
Then it was time to eat!!
Our Easter Menu:
Baked Ham
Funeral Potatoes
Homemade Rolls
Fruit Salad
Ailey's Deviled Eggs
My Granny's Green Punch
Lemon Curd Cheese Cake
It was a delicious feast!! I texted this picture to Kirk and Reilly who were texting and snapchatting pictures of the brisket Kirk was making out on his smoker to try to make us jealous but in the end they were the jealous ones!! Ha ha!! Everyone loves Granny's Green Punch!!
Best Drink Ever!! Makes you thirsty just looking at it, right? ;)
It was an absolutely fantastic Easter even taking the bitter with the sweet. Losing Nana definitely made us all the more grateful for the miracle that occurred on that Easter morning with the dramatic announcement that changed the course of history:
Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here but is risen.
I am a stay-at-home mom and small business owner. I have four FANTASTIC kids: Reilly (29), Kameron (25), Ailey (21), and Bryn (17). I have been married to my amazing husband Tyler for 31 years. We are also grandparents to four cute grandkids and another on the way!
