Anybody, Anyone, & Any-buddies Business

A little behind.

2010-10-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

This morning Charly (age 6) on her own, drew her bath, bathed herself, dressed herself and came out of her room twirling around in her Sunday best. Sariah laying on my lap in one of Charly's baby outfits made me so aware of how quickly time had passed from my first experiences as a mother. It seemed like last week I was dressing Charly for church in this same outfit and now a growing, bright, and striking young woman was staring back at me and asking..."How do I look?" I responded, "Charly, you are absolutely beautiful!"I could see how my baby girl had seemingly blossomed overnight...an obvious look of pride on her face I added, "you know what beauty is even more important than how you look on the outside?" she stopped twirling and looked on inquisitively as I continued..."It's more important to be beautiful on the INSIDE..." She stepped toward me and seriously said..."Mom, I know thats why I wash my butt real good." I laughed and she giggled skipping back to her room.

RELIEF Society Rocks!

2010-03-11T06:08:00.001-08:00

Those of you who don't know much about the women's organizations called Relief Society (RS) and the LDS Young Women's group are truly missing out. Ask me about it sometime really! It is one of the greatest blessings in my life and I am honored to associate with the women that are members of this great group! It is the largest womens organization in the world that is dedicated to serving others in need, educating ourselves on self-reliance and self-improvement, focusing on families, humanitarian projects, and so much more. It's about learning CHARITY and showing Christlike love to others.

Last night I had a LONG cleaning list of things to do at our old house in Ava. YES, we moved, but I still had the deep cleaning left to do. Washing walls, baseboards, frames, sweeping out garage, etc...

The President of Ava's RS made calls earlier this week to get me a team of helpers and boy did they come through! I didn't know quite what to expect, so at 6pm two women arrived with cleaning supplies and we all worked together for an hour. I was so touched b/c I barely know these women. We've attended the same church for almost a year, but we never really spent time together other than exchanging hello's and other pleasantries in passing. Still they sacrificed time and energy to help clean a gigantic empty home! By 7pm a crew of about 9 Young Women and 4 additional Sisters (We call one another Brother and Sister at church) showed up making light work of my daunting list! They gave up their youth activity night to come clean! We're talking teenage girls working cheerfully and for FREE! I gotta tell you, I was definitely feeling the toll of bending and cleaning around my pregnant belly by that point! Back in Colorado I had so much family close by we rarely needed the physical help of others. Here in Missouri I have come to know the strength of Church Family! They'll never know how grateful I am to be the recipient of their kindness!

"...when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God." Mosiah 2:17

Moving Again!

2010-02-28T18:26:00.000-08:00

This weekend we helped our friends the Towns moved out of "our" shared home here in Ava. It's such a big house that the emptiness from their absence can already be felt. Not having Uncle Matt and Aunt Jeanne next door will definitely be sad for all of us especially Charly and Kavika. We have plans to schedule regular Matt and Jeanne time so the kids don't miss out too much on the family, spoiling, and fun they've had living with two sets of parents. This week Friday we will be moving closer to Marc's campus. For almost the past year we've lived in Ava and commuted an hour drive into Springfield and Ozark for work and school. We started out with 2 vehicles which worked out great until one of them died. The Towns were driving even further each week and shared with us maybe a month or more ago that they'd be looking to move back closer to Springfield. We contemplated the change and felt right making the decision 2 weeks ago to also begin looking for closer residence. Within days of our decision (literally 3 to be exact) things rapidly progressed and we found a "choice" spot less than a mile from where Marc is going to school. Perfect location for splitting one vehicle and giving me and the kids greater access to shopping, the library, parks and more! Woohoo! We were asked if we could move in immediately and delayed it until this Friday so we could get all of our affairs and ends wrapped up.

We have LOVED our home in Ava. Today it was sad saying goodbye and thanking the friends and church family we have made out here. Something about Ava has felt so warm and familiar. I'm sure it's the people. I'm grateful for the peace I have felt about the move also. I look back over the past 2 weeks and clearly see the Lord's hand aiding us as different things have fallen into place like pieces of a puzzle. I know things don't always work out so smoothly every time, but it sure has been nice. So many changes coming and we're all excited to see what's in store for us next. *I did meet a little resistance from Charly that the possibility of sharing a room when her new sister comes "might not be the BEST idea." I just ignored the comment. Choosing my battles! Anyhow, just wanted to give folks a heads up that we're going through another transition period. I will do my best to keep you posted on what we're doing in the coming weeks. Til then....

What A Drag?

2010-02-03T09:20:00.000-08:00

Me and the kids are eating breakfast this morning. We're all looking out the dining room window at the melting snow. Charly while chewing a mouthful of toast looks over at me and asks, "Mom are there really Drag Queens."

Me: "Huh? Say that again?"

Charly (swallows and smiles): "Are there really Drag Queens?"

Me: "Where'd you learn that?"

Charly: "Barry Benson"

Me: "Who?" (racking brain for new kids at church)

Charly: "You know, Barry... in the "Bee Movie,"...He says to that bee, "THIS is your Queen? That's a man in womans clothes! That's a Drag Queen!" laughing she says...A boy in girls clothes....that's so funny.

Me: LOL. "Yeah.... need a napkin?"

Charly: "Sure, Mom." As she returns a smiling gaze out the window while chuckling to herself.

A Mind Like A Steel Trap that girl!

Name Game

2010-01-25T13:44:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,

We spent Christmas and New Years home in Colorado Springs with family and returned the day before my Dr. appointment for an ultra sound. We got a due date and learned we are having another baby girl! (I knew it!) The baby is due the first week of May. Very excited.

My sister had already told my parents over the phone, and said I needed to call Mom and Dad, because Dad had something important to tell me. I guess when he heard we were having a girl, Dad just knew what name she should be given. Apparently no one in our immediate or extended family has been named after his Great Grandmother Tinei (pronounced Tee-nay).

Although we had already settled on a first name for this child, Marc and I agreed to use Tinei as her middle name, which immediately offended Dad. I heard him in the background telling mom, "If she's not going to use it as the first name then tell her don't use it at all." We told mom to tell him we were going to give the baby his mothers name, Ailua as a middle name. When Mom told him, he started going on and on about how sick he was of hearing that name, that there are too many Ailua's in the family (including myself) and no Tinei's. (He cracks me up).

We got on the subject of the importance of choosing names that give honor or have special meaning. Mom shared several family names on both sides. Nearly all of them were what my good friend Jeanne would have been referring to when she said, "Ya know, some names are just meant to die off." Hate to say it, but it's so true and every family has 'em, lol. I shared Jeanne's wisdom with mom and although she hated to say it, she had to agree. It was so good to hear her laugh about it.

Mom then told me that Grandpa Fusu told Ailua to give Dad a family name that basically translates into "fish poop," but Ailua told her Dad quit talking nonsense and that his name would be Oliva after Oliver Cowdery an early leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who witnessed miraculous things. Hmmm...Fish Poop or Oliver...No comparison.

Another poor relative was not so lucky and was named, Pepilo (sp?) meaning stinky or funky (as in bodily stink). Poor guy changed his name soon as he was old enough to Phillip. Up to that point the poor guy was miserable. After he changed his name he met a nice girl and eventually got married, had kids, and was much happier. Mom shared a lot of cool stories over the phone that I'll have to record for our family someday.

In the end, mom said Tinei has the meaning of "one who overcomes." I like that. In our family prayers each night we ask Heavenly Father to bless this baby to be healthy and strong in faith. We are certain there will be things in her lifetime where she will need faith and strength to overcome. We look forward to giving her a name that she can be proud of and live up to.

Leilani

2009-11-13T14:47:00.001-08:00

Here's the rest of Charly's gymnastics class. I had to break it up into four different segments cause it's so long. It's certainly something that a grandma would love.

UPDATES

2009-11-11T09:30:00.000-08:00

So, we haven't officially posted anything about expecting a third baby (although hopefully we've already told most of you by phone-sorry if this is *NEWS*). We suspect I'm just past the first trimester although still feeling yucky and nauseous. Kavika is a month away from being a year and a half. Charly is still an adorable and sassy 5yr old going on 12! Marc just joined me in the 30's club last summer. I'm done for now with coaching High School Volleyball and feel its time to reconnect with the blogging thingy. Marc posted some older videos for us, but on to more info on what we are really up to! Here's a quick recap!

Marc: JUST got an official letter of acceptance into the Physical Therapy Assistant program for Ozarks Technical College! Woooohooooo! Way to go Dad! Recently called as new YM President for the Ward. Busy, Helpful, and an Amazing Husband and Father.

Lani: Finished with HS Vball moving into Club Vball coaching season, growing a baby, homeschooling kiddos, and waiting for morning sickness to pass. Love teaching Primary 11 & 12yr olds.

Charly: Reading at Kindergarten Level, has completed most Kindergarten milestones and skills and is anxiously waiting to start up gymnastics again. Did an amazing job speaking and singing in the Primary Program last month. Great big sister (sometimes a little more hands on with her brother than we'd like).

Kavika: All BOY. Interests involve FOOD, playing with anything that makes noise, lights up, has buttons (including items off limits ie. computer, cell phones, DVD player), food, and food. Most of his vocabulary revolves around using polite commands for food. Playground favorite: Swinging-could do this forever.

Marc & Lani: Celebrated 7yrs of marriage in June! wooooohoooo!

Where are we? Still in Ava, missing friends and family in Colorado Springs!

Some much overdue videos

2009-11-08T17:07:00.000-08:00

I guess we wear this boy out. This is what happens when he misses his morning nap.

Here's the beginning of one of Charly's gymnastics classes. It was pretty boring to watch the stretching so we got more of the boy. How cute!

Charly's first talk in Ava

2009-11-08T14:10:00.000-08:00

In primary, Charly was given an assignment to talk at church the next Sunday. We were so excited for her to give her first talk. As Charly prepared to give her talk we went over and over it with her. Well, OK Leilani went over and over while I just sat back and watched. Leilani and I were singing in sacrament that day and had left a little early for church and Charly came later with Matt and Jeanne. She ended up sitting with them as well, so Leilani and I could go up and sing when it was time. As we finished up our song, Charly turns to Matt and very courageously and consigned to her assignment, says "well I guess it's my turn now." The poor thing thought she was giving her talk in front of the whole Ward. How nerve wracking that must have been for this wonderful five year old. Although sometimes, I feel that same way when it's my turn to talk. LOL

Slackers

2009-08-30T18:03:00.001-07:00

A Little Lunch with your Sleep :)

2009-05-26T19:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a new clip of the family hanging out in our new place since our move. Miss you all! Will be sure to post another by next week.

Busted by the Babysitter

2009-04-01T23:04:00.000-07:00

Wednesday nights Marc and I play volleyball at the church. Our awesome friends Matt and Jeanne take the kiddos for us. When we picked them up tonite, Jeanne shared with us something Charly's been trying to pull on her the last couple of times. Apparantly once we're gone, Charly will walk into the kitchen with a deep in thought kinda look on her face and hands on her hips and say something like this to Jeanne, "My mom always lets me have....." (here's where she usually asks for candy or something mom doesn't always give her), to which Jeanne has always answered..."Charly?.......Do I look like your mom?" and Charly usually gives an awe shucks kinda smirk and says, "Noooooo."

I guess she figured it wasn't working like she'd been planning it all in her head, so last Wednesday she started with..."My Dad, let's me...." turning to face Jeanne she can see Jeanne's already on to her...she stops (shaking her head) and finishes, "but....you don't look like my dad do you?" Laughing Jeanne says, "Nooooo." Gotta give the girl credit for trying.

Kavika's crawl

2009-03-26T13:59:00.000-07:00

So, Kavika is crawling now...well I say crawl but it's more propelling than anything else. Anyway, I caught it on video for you all to see. Isn't it so cute.

STORY TIME w/ CHARLY

2009-03-22T21:10:00.000-07:00

So we've started asking Charly what she is learning in Primary (Her Sunday school class) at church. We figure it would help us to know what teachings to reinforce throughout the week. Here is a recap of the lesson her teachers taught last Sunday (or at least what Charly got from it). We were both impressed and amused that we asked her to tell it again only this time for the camera. She took the liberty of changing the boy's name (no doubt to protect his true identity) and also modified the ending from the first version she shared with us.

The original story can be found in the CTR 5 Primary manual for this year. In case you were distracted by the doodles of details given, we believe the lesson was on the blessings of repentance. She also came home with a coloring page titled, "I feel happy when I repent." ENJOY!!!

The cutest laugh only Charly can bring out.

2009-03-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

Charly and Kavika played this game for a good five minutes before I even started recording.

Spring is HERE!

2009-03-17T22:58:00.000-07:00

I am so excited for the warmer weather coming in. Must be my island blood longing for ice storms and winter to pass. We drove for the first time in a LONG time with the windows down. Charly and Kavika just loved the fresh air. We went to the playground for a play date and weren't surprised at all at the number of people already crowding the playground. We all were thinking the exact same thing....it's been too long indoors!

Anyhow, with spring approaching we have been offered garden plots by members of our church to plant, tend, and harvest. I've talked with Marc about accepting a plot and having our family work it. Especially with this economy, Marc and I have been wanting to work more on self-reliance, preparedness, and so on. I know this is probably weird, but I have been a bit of a snob towards home grown produce. Actually that's not it. I love farmers markets and getting the extra squash, tomatoes, or zucchini, from church members and friends who offer to share their harvest. I think I've just been spoiled to think that produce always looks the way it is presented in the stores. I like idea of "picking" it fresh from the matching bins rather than pulling it from the soil. Store bought produce is always shiny, mostly bruise or bug free, and for the most part beautifully shaped. You don't see the dirt it's been sitting in or the worms or bugs that have touched your food....all that kinda creeps me out. (Pretty dumb, I know)

Talking with Charly and Marc, I am pretty sure we're gonna try our hands at it again. Wish us luck!!

Ear Infections

2009-03-17T22:21:00.000-07:00

So we took the kiddos to the doc to get em a check-up. Found out they both have ear infections. Came home with filled prescriptions for antibiotics. First day Charly was hysterical when we wanted to administer her meds. You'da thought we was tryin' to poison the poor gurl! Anyhow, we pulled out the old token system and NOW she's reminding us to administer the thick pink pepto bismal looking stuff. She's got 22 tokens and is working her way up to 40. She has been asking us over a month now for this or that and we keep saying, sure maybe for your birthday. Now that she's got actual tokens she's dreaming big: Chuck-E-Cheese, get heelies (sp?), buy her a pogo stick, or "a barbie pupcake toy." I hadn't ever heard of a pupcake let alone a toy, but she says she wants it so she can decorate them with frosting and give them to people. Marc tried to explain to her that it was just a decorating kit for CUPcakes it doesn't actually bake anything. Either way, we told her she can choose a (single) prize once she's earned enough tokens. (We'll have to post her decision in the coming days/weeks. By the way...that's not Charly in case you're worried you've missed out on a lot of changes...also, we don't use giant soup ladels for her doses either)

8 month Updates!

2009-03-15T21:36:00.000-07:00

Recently passed his wellness checkup with avg. weight and height. Kavika still only has 6 teeth. I say ONLY because he's been working on cutting more for about 2 months now. He has 2 itty bitty teeth (cut at 3 mos) on the bottom and 4 up top (cut 2 by 5mos and the other 2 by 6mos). Right now the canines make an appearance just under the surface of his gums and then disappear again. It makes him miserable! He likes to bite or chew on just about everything (especially paper). Here are a few more interesting things he does...

He claps at almost everything his sister does and bounces/dances to music.

Already loves to bang on the piano and pluck ukulele chords.

He gets around on his belly kinda doing the "worm" and occasionally works in his "left" leg to propel himself forward.
He is also making sounds like dah, bah, mah, oh, ah. We've been teaching him ASL and has learned to sign the following words: Eat and More.

The other day I was speaking with my good friend Jeanne. Not sure how long we had been talking, but Kavika became very fussy. He was on my lap squirming and whining. We were deep in conversation and I kept having to move him from side to side to look around him and continue talking. Suddenly I felt a sharp prick on my shoulder. I pulled him away at arms length and cried out, "Hey!" turning to Jeanne I started to complain about him biting and how I don't get it. She was grinning at him. I turned toward him to see his pudgy little fist formed and lightly pounding on his chin. Yep. "EAT!"

Smarty Pants on the Sabbath

2009-03-15T21:10:00.000-07:00

Sabbath day is almost always a rush for me. Since we've moved to Missouri, I've maybe been on time to church just a handful of times. (Yeah, pretty sad especially since our sacrament meeting begins at 1:00pm). I think it's because I always think I have more time than I really do, so I do more of a sabbath stroll until the pressures on to feed and dress kids, do hair, grab teaching materials, etc... Today, I at least knew what everyone was going to wear and Marc was home to help me instead of at church meetings. Anyhow my dear Charly (4yrs. old) was being her usual funny self which was fine, but was taking much longer to get ready than needed (hmmm...not sure where she learned that from) and decided to run around in her tights pretending she couldn't find her church clothes. Trying to hide my building frustration, I firmly told her to get dressed! She disappeared for a while and I continued to get myself ready. Marc came into the room after getting baby ready and Charly walked in behind him still in just her tights!!! To top it off, she had her hands behind her slipped in between her panties and tights. It was obvious she was goofing off the whole time. Pretending to be grossed out and said, "Ewww, Charly don't do that, get your hands out of there...there's germs!" She looked a bit shocked and pulled her hands out. I continued, "We don't touch our butts, they have germs!"

By now she was looking at her hands...
Me: "No Really! See smell them."
Charly: Concerned-Puts hands to her face (sniffing)
Me: "See! What do they smell like?"
Charly: "Roses"

Couldn't help but pack up laughing. She's a bit too witty for her own good. Only ended up 2 minutes late afterall (probably was the last minute PBJ I had to make before leaving!) Warning: You might wanna PASS, if she ever asks you to stop and smell the roses with her.

2009-02-24T13:07:00.000-08:00

So the following pictures are NOT in order, but it would take me too much time organize it all. The reason I'm posting them is because my mom & dad back on the island requested bigger pictures of their grandkids. Especially of the baby. They've missed out on a lot of growing and fun.

So Mom & Dad.......HERE they are!

2009-02-24T11:33:00.000-08:00

Charly's first time seeing her new baby brother! She was so excited and immediately began placing an order for a baby sister named Wella? Needless to say, I was quick to tell her we were NOT taking requests for a while!

2009-02-24T11:19:00.000-08:00

Here's a family picture of us on the day Kavika was blessed!

2009-02-24T10:45:00.000-08:00

Baby's blessing outfit matching Daddy!

2009-02-24T10:44:00.000-08:00

This girl LOVES to eat! :)

2009-02-24T10:42:00.000-08:00

She loves story time with Mommy! She is learning to read, "all by my ownself."

2009-02-24T10:39:00.000-08:00

Almost 1 month old!

2009-02-24T10:38:00.000-08:00

Proud Big Sister always making sure she's in the picture :)

2009-02-24T10:26:00.000-08:00

3 weeks old today!

Explanation of Who is WHO?

2009-02-15T23:19:00.000-08:00

So for anyone NOT in the Johnson FAM. Here's a breakdown of who is WHO?

There are a lot of Johnson's around. In our BIG Family keeping names straight may prove quite a task. For a long time now each member of the family was given a PRONOUN to identify themselves.

Dad (my Father in-law) is WHO

Mom (now this is debateable but according to my husband) has been called WHOM, WHOEVER, and LOVE

My husband is ANYBODY so when I married into the family I became ANYONE and we now have the most adorable little additions that we'll call Any-buddies. (Super cute, and I can't even take credit for it...cuz ANYBODY said it first).

My Brothers & Sisters in-law range between YOU, SOMEBODY, NOBODY...you get the picture.

In a nutshell that's our funny name game, hence the title ANYBODY, ANYONE, and Any-buddies Business. Most folks just know us as the Johnson's.

Now we just need a bit of info to add on my side of the family...the TOLOA's from SAMOA! COMING SOON!

P.S. If something tragic and fatal were to happen to me, I told Marc I'd want him to remarry so my babies could have a mama, but just for the record, I'd like everyone to refer to her as "ANY-THINGY" and to remind her I was "ANYONE" or "ANY#1" (hee hee)

That would be worth a couple of chuckles on the other side.

STARTING UP!

2009-02-15T22:15:00.000-08:00

TALOFA Family and Friends,

So ANYBODY & ANYONE can blog these days! Believe it or not it's true! It's been a long time coming but we figure, WHO would find out, right? At least that's Any-buddies guess.

ANYHOO - the real reason for jumping on board the blogging world is LOVE. I'm sure your wondering, "WHAT's LOVE Got to do With it?" ANYBODY can tell you without LOVE, NOBODY wouldn't even exist! Oh yes my friends it's so true.

That being said, we should warn you that most of our blogging will be random postings about Any-buddies business.

Enjoy the blogging!

Disclaimer: Like everything...no guarantees or timelines on how often we will update. Especially these days, when does ANYBODY have the time. So for now it's probably ANYONE's call. :)