Happy Birthday Michael

 

We celebrated Mike’s birthday last night, even though his official birthday is today. Jeffrey and I both have dentist appointments this afternoon and I wasn’t sure how much we would feel like celebrating once we got home; so last night we partied.

Mike is turning 37 today. He’s getting up there, but he still has the same relentless energy and fabulous good looks he had when I met him 16 years ago. In fact, I think he gets better lookin’ every year. Wouldn’t you agree?

I love November 29th because we get to celebrate the birth of the greatest guy I know. Happy birthday Michael. I love you; we all love you, because you really are the best of the best. How lucky I am that I found you and was smart enough to marry you. Best decision ever!

Mike made a wish when he blew out his candles, and to Jonathan’s horror, announced that he had wished for a new sports car and a million dollars. Too bad he told us, because now his wish definitely won’t come true.

Here’s Mike modeling some of his birthday gifts. I picked out a fabulous new shirt and some matching corduroy pants (an outfit he looks great in by the way) and Jeffrey crafted these interesting paper items and sealed them in an envelope. When Mike first shook these orange beauties out onto the table we were all a bit confused, but Jeffrey soon cleared things up when he asked, “What do you like best of all?” Oh yeah…they’re basketballs! I think Mike should pin the paper basketballs to his new shirt when he wears it, because they match!

Here’s Jonathan’s gift…

I love it…”Happy B-day Dad Dickey.”

You all have my permission to party it up today in celebration of Dad Dickey’s big day. Maybe you could play some basketball or something? That’s what Mike is doing right this minute in fact. He’ll probably stay extra long because it’s his birthday after all.

Happy Birthday Michael! Your are truly the BOMB!

I’m Thankful for Thanksgiving

How many pictures is too many for one blog post? I’m sure there is an amount you shouldn’t exceed, but I’m positive I will exceed that number in this particular post. We were invited for Thanksgiving to my Uncle Rob’s. This is the best invitation to get. Highly coveted. Rob and his wife Mary are fabulous cooks, wonderful hosts and have a beautiful new addition to their home; a lovely kitchen/living area perfect for large crowds. The lighting in this new addition is amazing. It was hard to take a bad picture, so forgive the over abundance of photos. I just couldn’t narrow it down.

I often feel that Thanksgiving gets the shaft. No sooner has the last “trick-or-treat” been shouted, and the last bowl of Halloween candy emptied, that stores begin decorating for Christmas, the radio stations start to play Christmas music and Thanksgiving seems to get lost in the shuffle. It shouldn’t. Thanksgiving is a beautiful holiday. My mom says it’s her least favorite because Thanksgiving requires you to slave away for hours in the kitchen cooking all the food. It then get’s devoured in a shake, and you slave away in the kitchen for even more hours afterward cleaning everything up. I can see her point, but that aside, Thanksgiving is the time to pause and think about your blessings more than usual, to enjoy time with family and eat delicious food. What could be bad about that?

My mom and dad being thousands of miles away notwithstanding, we did have a lovely Thanksgiving. The food was absolutely delectable, and the company…perfect. We spent the day basking in the love of family and good eats. We were thankful. Look and see….

Here’s the happy chef, Uncle Rob and his lovely daughter Mary Kate. Uncle Rob loves to cook with garlic. We had a garlic turkey with garlic mashed potatoes AND an apple cider basted turkey with apple cider gravy. We had choices.

One of the main highlights of the day was seeing my cousin Paul again after his two year LDS mission to Florida. He looked amazing. He gave me a hug so big and tight I was off my feet. I love Paul. He has the best sense of humor and he’s a great guy. Although he likes LeBron James, so we’ll have to work on that. Right Paul?

The day was filled with cousins. Here are my lovely cousins Mary Kate, Sarah, Rebecca and Melanie; some of the best gals I know.

My whole family, (minus mom and dad who did make an appearance of sorts) were invited to Robs. My brother Eric was recruited as a turkey carver and took his job very seriously.

After my sister-in-law Emily gave a beautiful prayer and blessing on the food, the eating commenced. There was a long line at the buffet, but there was plenty to go around. None of the Johnsons are shy when preparing food. They make enough to feed an army, because usually they are feeding an army.

Check out this meal! I can’t decide what I liked the best. I’m leaning toward the stuffing. Thanksgiving is the one day of the year that I wish my stomach had more capacity.

The littles were given their own small Thanksgiving corner and table. They thought this was very cool. Even Mary Kate tried to get in on the action…

 

 

….although she and my cousin Kristen (and Jenny) have graduated to the grown-up table.

Jeffrey would have starved if not for Aunt Rosie’s famous rolls, he had at least 12 of them. He used his fork though. Good boy.

Lydia and her cat liked the rolls too.

After dinner we Skyped with my Mom and Dad in New Zealand. I think they enjoyed being able to talk to everyone. Of course they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in New Zealand, but the CES director Brother Bell (pictured on the computer) and some of the institute staff threw my parents a ‘Sausage Sizzle’ which is New Zealand speak for Barbeque. I’m sure, aside from missing family, my mom preferred that over having to cook and clean all day.

Here the grandkids are gathered around to give a Thanksgiving ‘shout out’ to Elder and Sister Stauffer in New Zealand. I just love modern technology, in a Kip Dynamite kind of way.

After Skyping…dessert. This pumpkin roll was my contribution. I make it every year. I love all the walnuts. I didn’t eat much, being too full from dinner, but I made enough to save some for later.

We had a lovely, lovely day. In my opinion, there is nothing better than spending time with family, and I can’t think of a thing I’d rather do on a day of Thanksgiving. Thanks Uncle Rob and Aunt Mary (and everyone else who contributed in anyway to this lovely day), it was delightful. With my Mom and Dad being away I wasn’t sure how great it was going to be, but it turned out well. (We did miss you so much though Mom and Dad) We missed you too Laurie! (My sister-in-law had to work on Thanksgiving)

And since this post isn’t long enough yet…a few parting shots before I quit…my favorites…

My beautiful niece Emily and Jonathan are best buds.

‘

The Three Stooges!

My cousin Melanie is a kid magnet. She loves them all with a big heart, and they love her back. She also gives incredible back rubs. (Thanks Mels!)

Two of my amazing and gorgeous aunts, Rosie and Mary. I love these ladies to death! They have been such positive influences in my life, more than they will every know. I look up to them and love them dearly.

Last, but most certainly not least, my basketball spinning husband! (I was just a tiny bit worried that the basketball would spin off his finger and shatter that china cabinet behind him, but he assured me he had that ball under total control)

Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving. I hope you know how grateful I am for all of you! We missed all family members who weren’t here to celebrate with us, and we send our love.

Today we are enjoying some ‘Day After Thanksgiving’ fun, including Black Friday shopping and snowmobiling with Mike’s family. More to come on that.

P.S. Thanks to Mike for figuring out a better format for my blog. Now I can post big horizontal pictures too!

Happy Birthday Laura!

This lovely picture was taken several years ago at my cousin Julie’s wedding. I have no idea who the guy in the background is (just try to ignore him and concentrate on the faces in the foreground). Mostly turn your attention to the face on the left. That beautiful face belongs to my sister-in-law Laura, and it’s her 33 birthday today. Happy Birthday Laura!

33 is Laura’s favorite number so today is her favorite birthday. She’s celebrating her exciting and adventurous 33 years on her blog today. If you go there and read, you’ll get a really good idea of what Laura is really like. She’s all about adventure, excitement and living life to the fullest. It’s so fitting that Laura currently lives near Walden Pond because she really is the epitome of sucking the marrow out of life.

Laura has a special place in the hearts of all of us in the Michael Dickey family. She was around many years while attending BYU, and she has seen us at our very best as well as our absolute worst. Happily, she still loves us. Laura really truly loves people, in a deep, unconditional and empathetic way. She has a really big heart and I personally think this is her best quality. We are all lucky enough to have her love in our lives and it’s a true blessing.

Thanks for it all Laura, and for being there in the best times and the worst. We miss you all the time and wish we could be there to celebrate with you on this awesomest of birthdays.

Art Gallery

The kids collectively decided that decent artwork at our house was in short supply, so they pulled out a thick stack of fresh white paper, boxes of markers, crayons, scissors, and rolls of tape and set to work creating their very own art gallery in our stair well. The project kept them busy for two solid days and I think it turned out quite lovely. Wouldn’t you agree?

Every inch of the wall was covered in colorful drawings, scenes from the life and times of MK, Jonathan and Jeffrey. While the kids were at school I sat on the steps and spent some quality time just studying each work of art. In doing so I got a pretty in depth glimpse into the minds and hearts of my kids. I liked what I saw. The saying is true…a picture truly speaks a thousand words.

For example…

…this is Jeffrey’s drawing of Grandma Jancie (sorry about the blurriness). He says grandma is happy in the pictures because she is out teaching the gospel…but then…

…this is Jeffrey’s drawing of himself. He says he is crying buckets of tears because he misses grandma while she’s out teaching the gospel. Don’t the child psychologists use art to help children process their feelings? I think we may have a little of that going on here.

I love a good art gallery, and I think this one is my favorite ever. If you want to come over and view it yourself there is a small fee…you must bring some blank paper, or a roll of tape because we’re fresh out.

p.s. We Skyped with mom and dad tonight and they are doing great. Still a little jet lagged, but they say that New Zealand is gorgeous. They love how the toilets flush, how the ice cream tastes and how the weather is warm. Christmas in summer should be interesting. Tomorrow they get their own car and will practice learning how to drive on the wrong side of the road. Ahhhhh!

I Hate Goodbyes!

I’m camped here by the phone waiting for one last phone call from my parents before they board the plane, headed for their 18 month mission to Christchurch, New Zealand. My heart feels heavy.

Mom and Dad have been staying with us for the last 9 days while they have been attending the MTC and we have loved every minute of extra time with them; but now it feels even harder to let them go.  We love them so much, and we’re going to miss them terribly.

I can’t help thinking about all that will take place while my parents are gone. I can’t help thinking about how much my kids will change in 18 months, or about how much we’ll miss them at special occasions and holidays; and how we’ll especially miss our weekly visits that we’ve grown accustomed to and love so much. I’m especially going to miss all the little things.. my long phone conversations with mom, our Sunday dinners, card games, snail hunting in the backyard, trips for ice cream, and shopping at the Dillard’s sales. I”m going to miss it all.

Maybe some of you who live far away, those for whom seeing family is a rare thing, are rolling your eyes and wanting to reach through the computer screen, slap me on the back, and tell me to buck up (I probably could use that), but living here is a conscience choice for us. I love having extended family as part of everyday life. Regular family interaction fuels me, fuels all of us. My mom and dad are a huge part of that fuel, and we will feel their absence acutely.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m excited for my parents as well. What an adventure they will have! New Zealand is an ideal mission destination; a beautiful place full of wonderful people. I know my parents will love their mission and the work they will do in New Zealand. I believe they should go and I know our family will be blessed for their willingness to serve.

Mom and Dad will be incredible missionaries because they have strong testimonies of what they will teach, they love people, and they know how to work hard. I can’t wait to hear about all their adventures. I made my mom promise that she or dad would post to their blog at least once a week. (I’ll be checking Mom and Dad!)

Even though we will miss them terribly, they do have our total support and love. Thank goodness we live in this day in age, with email, Vonage, blogs, and Skype. We’re going to keep in touch, and we’ll pray for them every single day.

Love you Mom and Dad.

(Mom and Dad just called, and they are feeling calm and ready. I hope they have a safe flight)

When It’s Fall Time, the Withered Leaves, Fall From Branches Off the Trees…

…whirly, twirly, whirly twirly in the air. Whirly, twirly, whirly, twirly everywhere!

Yesterday was a beautiful Fall day. The weather was perfect. Warm enough that the kids were out playing barefoot in the backyard. I was folding laundry when the boys and a few of their friends boisterously bounded into the house, so excited by the crisp pile of leaves they had scooped together under our one lonely maple tree in the backyard. They begged me to come outside with my camera for a photo session of them jumping in the leaves. “Then you can post the pictures on your blog!” the boys suggested. My kids know me well.

I love how these pictures turned out. They truly capture what is best about this season and the joy kids find in the simplest things. Check out there faces. I wish I would have taken video so you could hear the crunch of the leaves, and the squeals of laughter and delight….

No rakes needed.. just some crunchy leaves, loads of energy, and the excitement that comes with being a kid. I like to think that our lonely tree was happy today to be contributing to the novelty of this particular afternoon.

I hope you’re all having a fabulous Fall. It’s a beauty.