Perfect Imperfection

As I was getting back into blogging I realized our blog has been lacking in many things this year.  One that made me the most sad was the absence of kid stories this year.  The school year is almost over and I have yet to tell a story about one of the cute kids I work with.  So here is one for your reading pleasure.

Yesterday I was testing a student.  Typically when I give kids IQ tests it isn’t exactly enjoyable.  Most of the kids I work with have trouble paying attention anyway so to ask them to sit long enough to take an IQ test is usually pretty painful to them.  Well, yesterday one of these little darlings let me know exactly how he felt about taking the IQ test.  Halfway through part of the test the little guy grabbed my stop watch which hangs from a string you can put around your neck.  He then proceeded to sway it back and forth in front of my face while chanting the following, “Mrs. Johnson you are getting very sleepy.  It’s time to stop testing.”  He then looked me right in the eyes and said, “Did it work.  I was trying to hypnotize you”.  I laughed out loud and hard.  It was so unexpected, so funny, and exactly what I needed that day.  I think what made it even more endearing is that this child does the unexpected frequently.  Man, I really do love working with children who don’t see the world the same way everyone else does.

Do you ever sit back and think…life slow down!  That’s how I feel pretty much every week.  I keep thinking,  “Life will slow down next week and then I will once again have time for blogging and cleaning the house”.  I used to be good at doing these things!  Well, so far it hasn’t happened so here I am making a command decision to just blog and let responsibilities go by the way side.

The Johnson’s have been quite busy lately.  The school year started with a bang and Aaron and I have been running ever since.  The good news is Aaron will graduate very soon and there will be many hazzah’s in his honor come August.  Seriously, I think the only person more excited about Aaron’s graduation than Aaron is me.  Its so close we can taste it!

In January Aaron and I were sick of all the snow and responsibility and luckily our friends the Harmon’s were feeling the same way.  When you get to feeling this way there really is only one logical step to take.  Yes, that’s right……head for Disneyland.  We made the decision to go and were on the road within four days.  Some may say we are insane (including the Harmons) and to that we say, “Yes, we are and proud of it!”

It was just so nice to escape the snow, ice, and stress and just be kids for a couple days.  There was much screaming, laughing, eating of bad food, and almost some puking (of course me).  All in all it was the perfect trip to an amusement park. We are so glad our friends the Harmons chose to partake in the craziness with us.  We are also glad to Aaron’s cousins Kari and Eric for hosting us while we were there.  It was so great to see their new home and partake in the California goodness.

Just as an aside, do any of you find Splash Mountain incredibly creepy?  I absolutely hate that ride.  Its not like the drop is overly scary or anything but I totally freaked out when we went on it.  I seriously think I may still have a little PTSD as result of the ride.  Every time I think about those creepy animals and how the music becomes all freaky half way through the ride I shudder.  Yes folks you heard it here, Aubrey Johnson is afraid of Disneyland rides!  But then again those of you who have been to Disneyland with me are not surprised.  And no Keri and Traci I still didn’t make it on the white roller coaster…sigh!

After we left I was feeling kind of embarrassed for being such a weenie but then I remembered I work in an Elementary school with special needs kids and that’s all the tough I need.   So there all you “Roller Coaster Riders” and others who “aren’t afraid of Disney characters”…..eat that!

Our adventures continued this summer as we made our way to California to visit Aaron’s extended family.  Every time we drive through Neveda (scenic glory noted to the left) I am once again reminded how I will…..NEVER LIVE THERE.  Yikes, now that I’ve made that bold statement I’m sure that’s the only place Aaron will be offered a job when we are finally done with school.  We had a fabulous time in California visiting cousins, grandma, aunts and uncles.

While we were there we visited the train museum with Aaron’s cousin, Christan.  As a proud cousin-in-law I have to put a little plug in for my cousin-in-law.  He is so talented and so much fun to be around.  He’s an actor extraordinaire and is currently staring in the Fantastiks at Sundance.  So if you live in Utah County don’t miss it!  It’s so good!  Okay, I’m done with my shameless plug.

While the boys “oohed” and “awed” over the trains I found ways to create my own fun.  Trains are fun and all but they may have been slightly more a boy thing than my thing.  Which is totally ok.  When you have a husband who occasionally is willing to carry your purse for you its really not a big deal to do things he enjoys a little more than you do.

So I promised I would catch everyone up on all the happenings in our household.  Be aware some of these events may have taken place a few months ago but I’m determined to document our lives even if it is a little late!  The summer started with an amazing trip to Zion’s National Park.  Let me begin with a little story.

My husband is always saying, “Let’s go camping! Let’s go camping!”  I love the out-of-doors (especially when you have an air mattress) but I always think, “My poor misguided husband, he just doesn’t understand.”  You see, I am from Washington.  Yes, the Evergreen State!  Where I grew up Mt. Rainer was just a few hours away.  I would always silently chuckle at my husband and think “You just don’t understand that nothing you could see in Utah could possibly compare to Washington.”  Don’t get me wrong I really love Utah.  I think it is very beautiful.  There are many mountains and wooded areas…it’s lovely.  But I had already convinced myself that nothing could possibly compare with the Olympic National Forest of my childhood.  Especially Zions ,which is in Southern Utah, therefore what you see is a bunch of dirt, red rocks, and sage.  My conceit knew no bounds and I condescendingly agreed to do the “Southern Utah” version of camping.

Well, the moment we got there I wanted to eat my words and also have a panic attack because of the little tiny roads and the sheer drop offs just on the other side of our car.  It was amazing.  Beautiful in a way you can’t imagine without being there.  I’m so grateful that Heavenly Father has such an imagination that he could create both the Olympic National Park and Zion’s National Park.

We were there with our wonderful friends, the Harmons!  There was much laughing, much hiking, and much dutch oven cooking.  We learned many fun facts about the park.  Such as, the squirrel is apparently the most dangerous animal in the park.  However, that didn’t really stop Aaron from putting his hands lots of places those little monsters can hide (See Exhibit A to the right).

It was a fabulous trip and I’ve decided I really enjoy Southern Utah.  Where else can you find towns called Hurricane and La Vericane (pronounced Hercun and LaVercun).  However, I still have trouble believing that the squirrel is the most dangerous animal in the park, especially when there are plently of snakes and various mountain lions around the park.  It may take a few more trips to Zions and possible a squirrel attack for me to become a believer.

I know, I know….my faithful readers are wondering why I have abandoned them.  But since my faithful readership consists mostly of myself and my husband (kidding, sort of) I don’t feel too guilty.  Anyway I hope you will forgive me when I share with you the reason I have been absent for awhile.

Pretty much this guy!  This summer my husband and I were in Washington helping my sister survive as she just had two new little twins and this guy to take care of.  It was so much fun!  I miss everyone already.

Between taking care of kids, seeing other family and friends, trying my best to get healthy, and catching up on sleep so I could start a new school year the summer just seemed to fly by.  So here we are.  I’m starting another school year and I haven’t blogged about any of our adventures since April.  But fear not.  Lots of fun posts are on the way!  The Johnson’s are coming out of blogging exile!

Since I’ve been out of commission I haven’t been posting about all the fun stuff that’s been happening in our lives over the past month plus.  So here’s a little recap!

1.  We celebrated Aaron’s birthday and I’m so glad to say he’s catching up to me.  Since I’ve opted not to age this year he should be caught up in no time.  I wanted to make this year special for him without spending a fortune so I decided to throw him an incredibly cheesy themed birthday.  For those of you who don’t know my husband let me just tell you he loves all things techy.  His new favorite passion is the ham radio.  YES, the ham radio.  If you will let him, he will happily tell you why the ham radio is so cool and will one day save the world.  So being the fantastic wife that I am I threw him a “Ham Radio Birthday”.

In my mind I have creative abilities that rival Martha Stewart.  In practice, however, the end product is always a little less fantastic than I had imagined.  I made him a cake in the shape of a ham radio.  Once again, I have proved just how special I am.  It looked slightly more like a tombstone than a ham radio but what can you do.  At least I’m getting the practice in with my husband’s cake not my kids so that our kids won’t get labeled because their mom makes weird tomb shaped cakes.  To make the cake more festive I covered it with black sprinkles and some special food coloring that made it more black.  This had the fun effect of turning everyone at the party black.  Lips, mouth, etc.

2.) My husband planned a fanstastic surprise date and took me dancing.  It was so much fun!!  There was a real live band playing big band music and I loved every minute.  It was once again confirmed to Aaron and I that we can’t dance; but we sure had fun doing whatever you would call what we were doing.  It was so much fun to be out dancing with him because the last time we had been dancing was the night we were “unoffically” engaged.  Dancing brought back a flood of fun memories from when it all began.  Man, I love partying with my best friend for eternity.

Well friends and family life has been really exciting lately. With the hope of sharing with you some wonderful lessons I’ve learned lately I’ve decided to let you in on some recent life events.  I’ve been absent from the blogasphere because unfortunately my health hasn’t been the greatest lately.  About a month ago I started feeling ill every time I ate.  Then I started having a lot of pain.  To make a long story short after numerous ER visits and tests I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease.  I ended up being in the hospital for over a week and having surgery.  I’m still on lots of medications but am finally feeling almost normal again.

Although the last month hasn’t been fun I’m glad I had the opportunity to experience it because I realized just how much I’ve been taking for granted on a daily basis.  My Heavenly Father has given me a wonderful, normally healthy body.  I’m so lucky to have that, some never do in their earthly life.  Furthermore, I am surrounded by loving family and friends.  I had friends who dropped everything to visit me in the hospital or to make my husband meals.  People sent flowers and books and movies to entertain me.  I also had a mother who dropped everything and got on a plane in order to take care of me once I was home from the hospital.  And let’s not forget my wonderful husband who held my hand from the beginning of this whole experience.  It’s such a good feeling to know that you are loved.  Being in the line of work that I am, I am fully aware that many people aren’t loved and treated the way that they should be.  I’ve always been surrounded by people who love me and I have really taken that for granted.

The whole point of sharing all of this is to say thank-you.  Thanks to all of you who have been so kind and thoughtful.  I really appreciate all the people who went out of their way to take care of Aaron and I.  We are so lucky!  I also want to express my thanks to my Father in Heaven.  When I got home from the hospital it all hit me and I realized what a charmed life I lead.  I am so blessed and I take that for granted.  I’d like to say I’ll never complain again but I guess I know myself a little too well to make that kind of promise.  But I certainly do have a renewed sense of gratitude regarding almost every aspect of my life.  I’m so grateful to know I have a Heavenly Father who loves all his children.  I’m also grateful to know that He has a plan for each of our lives and that his ultimate joy is to see his children experience joy and growth.

Oh gosh, so much cheese in this post!  I blame it on all the drugs:)  Thanks for putting up with my musings!  I hope this post finds you all well and enjoying your individual journeys!

I am writing a little birthday tribute to the man I couldn’t live without.  For those of you thinking about Aragon from Lord of the Rings go ahead and stop drooling because it’s actually my husband!  In celebration of the glorious day of his birth here are 26 things I love about him.  I’ll try to limit the cheese but no promises people!

1.)  His idea of gourmet often matches my own.  For example, both of us couldn’t be happier than when we are eating a Totino’s pizza.  It is such a relief that I found a man who has just as sophisticated a pallet as I do.

2.) He always puts the seat down.  Perhaps that’s a little of an overshare but as a woman I truly appreciate it.

3.) He makes the bed every single morning without fail…even when I’m the only one who slept underneath the covers and messed the bed up.  He will also make the bed on the days I’ve stold all the covers from him.  I tell you, this man has no bitterness in his heart.

4.) He almost never stinks.  For a man this is quite an accomplishment.

5.) He has the most beautiful blue eyes and they twinkle when he’s up to something mischievous.

6.) He love the Lord and he’s always trying to do what’s right.  Sometimes I have a hard time keeping up with him.

7.)   He has a very unselfish heart.  When I compare myself to him I always lose, he is my example.

8.) He loves to have fun.  I think he will always be a kid at heart.

9.) He’s obsessed with nerdy pass times such as ham radio.  It’s so cute to hear him talking to his hammy buddies most of whom are old men.  The other day he made a special container out of old airborne containers to protect his radio antenna because he, “had to make sure it was protected.”

10.) I’m pretty sure he forgoes video games for my happiness and satisfaction.  From the time we started dating I told him all my theories about the evilness of video games.  I’m pretty sure he would play them if it weren’t for me.

11.) He’s very expressive.  Even though he doesn’t love to write when he does he has quite a way with words.

12.) He has a tender heart.  The other day we adopted a stray cat.  It was a very cold night and Aaron was worried the kitty would freeze so he stayed up late with me to make a “kitty condo” out of carboard boxes.

13.) When he does a job he always does it well.   There is no in between for Aaron.  When he committes he always gives it his best effort.

14.) He’s very intelligent.  When he starts talking “computer” I must admit I’m a little lost.

15.) He knows what is most important in life.  He puts God and Family first and I’ve never had to question that.

16.) He makes little lists of things he needs to do or accomplish and he keeps them in his pocket.  One day I peaked at his list and saw that he had written, “be Aubrey’s best friend”.  Doesn’t that just melt your heart.

17.) He gets really silly at night and will refuse to go to bed no matter how tired he is.  It’s hillarious.

18.)  He can make me laugh until I cry.  We have such a good time together that it really helps to balance out the more serious side of life.

19.)  He’s a good listener.  Even when I’m having a crazy “female” day he tries to understand me.

20.) He’s experimental when it comes to food.  Macoroni and cottage cheese was probably the grossiest but alteast I can count on him to clean out the left overs in the fridge.

21.) He loves sushi!

22.) He does these goofy little dances when he’s really excited.  Very white but also very funny.

23.) He’s not afraid to just love others–no matter who they are.

24.) He does crazy things in his sleep.  While they initially scare me after I wake up a little they are very, very funny.

25.) He’s very passionate about things he cares about.

26.) He is my best friend and partner in crime.  I don’t know what I’d do without him.

For those of you who made it through all 26 congratulations.  Feel free to leave comments about what you like about Aaron or memories you’ve had with him.

There is seriously no kid cutier than the kids I work with.  Today I was working with a little boy who is Autistic (as are most the kids I work with) who’s particular obsession is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.  Go figure!  While I tried my darndest to teach him about eye contact he seranaded me with his favorite tunes from the show.  His favorite is Goin’ Courtin’ which he sang for about ten minutes while I was working with him.  But, at least he used his eyes and looked straight at me while he was singing.  I’ll count that as a victory!

As many of you know I love to talk about my kids at school.  This year my greatest challenge has been working with a classroom of kids who are, for the most part, completely non-verbal.  My question has been, “How do you teach social skills and other abstract concepts to kids that are so low that most of them barely speak?”  While I truly love these little darlings, teaching them has been a great challenge and I’ve had to revamp a lot of my curriculum and look for new ideas.

One of our main goals this year was to have the kids recognize their own names, be able to say them, and then recognize other kids’ names.  About halfway through the year I discovered we had an over achiever because he was not only recognizing the other kids names but he started to use them.  I was so excited!  I didn’t expect to see all that progress.  But now we come to the dilemma and reason for this post.  This little guy has mastered a lot of speech sounds but there are a few he still struggles with, namely ‘x’.  One of the kids in the class is named Phoenix and every time this little guy tries to say ‘Phoenix’ it comes out, well, really badly.  His ‘x’ comes out like an ’s’ and the ‘ho’ sounds more like an ‘e’….are you getting the picture here (if not, go ask your mom).  Yes, fun huh!  And even worse…he gets really excited about saying the kids names so he’s usually screaming the names by the time he gets to Phoenix.  Another fun fact about Autism…these kids usually like to repeat things over and over again (and he does).  The adults in the room usually cover it up by saying the name with him and really emphasizing the ‘x’.

So that’s what I was dealing with today.  Humorous, but also a little concerning.  I don’t want to discourage the little guy because he’s doing so well but I also worry about what other kids in the hall think I’m teaching the kids in this school.  Here’s hoping he gets the ‘x’ sound REAL soon!

After working with the kid who has a potty mouth I went into the High Functioning Autism classroom.  These kids can all speak and sometimes that’s part of the problem.  I was having all the kids sanitize their hands before our activity when a very nervous student asked me if I had purchased the hand sanitizer at Wal-Mart.  He then informed me that all the bread and hand sanitizer that was made at Wal-Mart is poisonous because they put special chemicals in these products.  I then assured him I hadn’t purchased the hand sanitizer from Wal-Mart to which he responded it would be better if I made my own for next time.  Where do they come up with this stuff?