GIRLS NIGHT IN!!!

So while the boys are away (in SLC/Provo- for the BYU game) the ladies, B.W.E.K. and I had a FUN day full of girls stuff!! I spoiled them with doughnuts and FUN drinks for breakfast... then we went shopping, and bought some FUN stuff for Halloween costumes! (Breilly got her ears pierced - wow!) following all that FUN - poor K. and E. wanted to go home... and home we did go.. We had a yummy dinner, followed by pampering.. bubble baths, and manicures, and pedicures!! (even little K!) Then we cuddled up and watched a little Barbie and the Three Musketeers!! What a great day with my ladies... lots of sugar and spice and suprisingly EVERYONE was very nice!! Now if only the magic fairies would come by and clean up all our girly fun.... I LOVE MY LITTLE LADIES...(but I will be happy when our boys come home too!)

Numbers

So it's super late at night... and how do I know that? Well the clock has numbers on it, that tell me that it is WAY past my bed time. Numbers dictate a lot in our lives. Our identities are consumed by numbers. We have social security numbers so that we can get a job, a loan, or a mortgage. We have telephone/cell numbers so that we can be contacted at any moment, and anywhere. We have numerical address so that we can have a location. We have a numerical birthday to signify the day our physical bodies first took it's first breath. We measure the height and weight of our bodies to signify our health and stature. We place a great deal on the things we can measure.


We often define our worth by the size of our paycheck, our home, the number of kids we have, or don't have, the number of years we spent in school, or the number of vacations we have taken. We identify our selves by these numbers and feel safe when we can measure or quantify our lives.

Recently I have been reminded that the gospel of Jesus Christ enlightens our minds about numbers. The scriptures are full of examples of numbers, which I just have to share.

Numbers: There are three members of the God head, our presidencies in the LDS church are organized in threes (a president and two counselors). There are three degrees of light; the sun, moon, and stars, three degrees of glory, and three degrees in the celestial world. Scholars state that Christ suffered in the garden of Gesthemene for 3 hours, and was resurrected on the third day. There are 12 tribes, 12 apostles, and 12 months in the year. There were 7 creative periods, the Earth was organized in 7 days, and we have 7 days in a week..... We have been admonished to forgive seventy times seven... or as often as we need. The examples go on and on.

What I am most impressed with though is the thought of "infinite"..... a number I cannot understand or comprehend. Christ's love and atonement is infinite. He has created worlds without numbers and yet what is so amazing is that he knows each ONE of us. All that he did, in his infinite wisdom and love, was done for everyONE. He seeks out the ONE lost sheep. He doesn't give up on ONE of us, even when we think our worth is worth nothing. So what is the worth of ONE? Does it have a number? The scriptures tell us that the worth of one soul is great! How do we measure "great", can we assign that a number?

There is great power in BIG numbers, but we need remember there is also great power in small, in just ONE. It is impossibly to measure the the power of ONE good man or woman on this earth. I have been blessed to be surrounded by many of these great ONES.

Summer, School, and Simplify

So we ended Summer with a FABULOUS trip to Lake Powell with my family. We had 4 full days of fun and sun!! I am always happy that in my OLD age I am still able to ski... and even was able to get up on the wake board! Breilly and Whitney were able to get up on skis and Zach mastered the boogie board. All of us survived the many trips on the tubes... although once I wondered if I was still alive after a wipe out!! The high light of the trip was that Saturday.. all my siblings and their families were there! We took a photo (I'll post later) as it is the first time we've ALL been together in a very long time.

I was sad to say goodbye to summer... it went WAY to fast. We did swimming lessons, golfing lessons, and trips to the library and zoo.... then off to Cali, Utah, and Powell!! I didn't get any of my "summer" projects done... but we had a BLAST!!

So as a new school year begins.... I always say we will simplify, and then I turn around and we've got dancing lessons, piano lessons, and soccer, activity days, and preschool... did I say simplify? Everyone has something to do.... and I get them there..somewhat on time. I continue to be CRAZY... and so is life for our crew. ...

Pictures will come soon.... Happy Fall to you all!! I love this time of year!

12 years.....

Today is Derek and my 12th anniversary! Crazy how time flies... Marriage, moving to Cali, Baby 1,happy, happy... newlywed bliss, moving to Iowa ..Baby 2 , poor poor.. to far for anyone to visit, to poor to do anything, except go to Oprah, (that's when I thought Oprah was cool, now I think she is a little psycho) move to Utah, HOORAY, baby 3 &4, and 5 (still can't believe we have 5!), happy happy times.. sad, sad, move to Idaho, happy happy... life is good.
It's been a wild ride... adventures, laughter and tears.... but I LOVE our life. It's turned out better than I could've planned (knock on wood), and I am so grateful for my best friend to travel this journey with. I love you Derek, eventhough you are CRAZY (I mean thanks for loving me... even though I am CRAZY!!)Year 12 was fantastic... the move was a bit painful... but Europe made up for it!!!
So what did we learn on year 12.... 5. that there is life out of Utah, 4. that Europe is still as beautiful as I remember, 3. that even though moving was the pits... we took the most important things with us, our 5 great kids, 2. That trials bring us closer to Heavenly Father and to each other, and 1. You have to remeber to stop and ENJOY the journey!! (Okay I didn't exactly "learn" this,,, just I was reminded to do this)
Happy 12... here's to 13.. I know that 13 is usually a suspicious number... but I am going to think positive and hope that it is a LUCKY year for our family......

JOurneY of the B's

June has been so busy... summer started with a "BANG!" We celebrated Whitneys 8th Birthday ..(May 31st) ... and her Baptism, and then our Baby = Little Miss Kiley turned ONE!! How did that happen? I think she was just born... sad, sad, sad.. the year was so busy that it just Blew By... She is now trying to Balance and walk... watch out!

For the Baptism we were happily BOMBARDED by Family... we Broke the firecode and had 27 people at our Bed and Breakfast (home!!) It was a Beautiful day, and we appreciate everyone who came to share this special day with Whitney, and our family!! We were so sad when the crowds left... Please come BACK soon!

I haven't been very good at blogging. I will try to atleast post monthly. .. I am a teacher for Relief Sociey and last month gave a talk about Enjoy the Journey. I had been thinking about what you need for a journey... a bag to bring all your stuff. I was driving down the road and saw it! I found an old RED round suitcase! It is so cute! I now keep it in my room, to remind me to enjoy the journey. I had a big "a ha" moment... I learned that you have to find your own "joy" in the Journey... because it is there... it is always there... see look JOurneY! Life is not to be lived it is to be CELEBRATED!!

Happy Mothers Day!

As we've often heard, being a mom is one of the hardest "jobs" out there! I'd like to add to this... and that is, being a mom is also one of the most wonderful "jobs" out there. So, lately, I've been analyzing my profession...Here are 10 of my discoveries:

1. I can't just waste the day away.. I have 5 little people who "encourage" me to WAKE UP - as soon as the sun shines!
2. If I miss a morning run/exercise... It's okay, because I spend most of the day on my feet - chasing, cleaning, shoping, and playing (with my "clients" -aka kids) It's a wonder that we even can put on any weight... except when you find my stash of chocolate covered gummy bears - YUM!! Don't knock it til you try... YUM!
3. If I am feeling less than stimulated.. I just sit down with my 3 year old who will teach me all kinds of important things, that a "dancer girl" does, or hang out with my 5 year old, who "schools" me at all things relating to video games.
4. If I am in a hurry and forget to eat ... I can just shake out my purse to find all kinds of edible items.. fruit snacks, crackers, gummy bears... a constant 72 hour kit!
5. If we miss a nightly bath... baby wipes are a wonder for all ages!
6. Three day old hair is pushing it, but pony tails will always work... (for kids, and mom's)
7. My kids don't care if I forget to do my makeup.. morning distractions - oops!
8. If the day is long, and full of "to do's" then a special treat helps everyone (esp. mom) feel better!
9. It's okay if my "to do" list doesn't get done, when I have spent a day with the kids, helping them with their "to do" list... from helping with homework to playing at the park.
10. AND the sweetest words are "MOM" and even sometimes "Vicki"(when my 3 yr old is shopping with me, and calles herself "dancer girl" and me "vicki"), OR "teacher" when my kids have been at school all day, and are in "school mode" - Kids are so funny!

So my analysis is that I LOVE being a mom. Yes even as I wipe boogers, change diapers, help with hard homework assignments, and wake up at ridiculous hours at night, feeding babies, cleaning up sick messes, or just listening to a troubled little person. I do Cherish these moments.



I hope that my kids will always know how much I love them, and LOVE being their mom. I was trained by a great mom...aka Lovely Loraine. I LOVE my mom. She is a dear friend, and a great Mom. Thanks MOM!! And Derek's Mom is wonderful too!! How lucky I am to have such outstanding examples of how to be a Mom.

Here's me and my cute mom, in Prague! We had such a lovely time on our European Adventure!

So to all my sweet friends! You are such MARVELOUS moms... Thanks for your examples and for your support.. It is nice that we can work in field together! Isn't it a great job? If you ever get discouraged, just read my list of 10 and give yourself more credit! HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!! Loves to all of you!

My Sweet Journey

So we've been back from Europe for almost 2 weeks... it seems like it was a dream! We had such a lovely time. I have to admit, Austria was so heavenly for me. It was so nice to reconnect to my "homeland." I said that I didn't even care what we did in Austria, I'd be happy just to drive through the cities I served in... but I have to say, visiting with my "friends" was how I really was able to reconnect to Austria.


We had such wonderful visits with my dear friends: Erika, Natasha, The Back Family, (including Roland), Monika, and Rebecca! I am so happy that they all wanted to see me after 14 years!!! What's so amazing.. is that when I was there, with them, walking down streets, eating schnitzel and Almdudler... it just seemed like yesterday, AND Derek was proud that, yes, I could still speak German... and they could understand me! What was interesting was that during the time I was there I prayed in German, and even dreamed in German. What fun!



The whole trip was just delightful... and I was able to share it with Derek! It was his first time to Europe, and we gave him the crash course, as we went to 4 countries (Austria, Czech Rep., Germany, Netherlands) in just 9 days! We ended the trip in Amsterdam... the "homeland" to the Vreekens. My grandpa was born in Amsterdam. It was such a beautiful city. I LOVED the canals, and the architecture! But finding my grandpa's home was the cherry on top. Walking the streets that my ancestors walked, worked, and joined the church! It was quite moving for all of us! I am so grateful that my mom found the address!



How grateful I am for this trip. I LOVED my mission, and to go back was truly so wonderful! And then going to Amsterdam, was so humbling. I am so thankful for the missionaries that knocked on my "great granparents" door, and taught them the gospel! I am so thankful for their sacrifices that they made to move to America!




So, now I can only hope to someday return again... but until then, I will hold onto these sweet moments, and new memories to sustain me... and hope I won't have to wait another 14 years ... but if I do, what sweet journey it will be! (again)

Prague and Grundau (D)

We had a wonderful time in Vienna. I think we walked grandma and grandpa's legs off.!! Complete with lunch at "Herbs" the schnitzel place in Vienna that ALL the missionaries go!! It is still yummy (and HUGE). We had a special surprise as we went by the Lipizzaner Stalls, and we saw the horses, Derek even pet them! Yesterday we spent the day in Prague! It was beautiful... but a bit windy, and cold. Then we drove on over to my friend Monika's home in Germany (Grundau) about 1 hour South of Frankfurt. We spent the night, in their beautiful home.. and got to see another friend, Rebecca, and we will leave to see the Frankfurt temple and make our way up to Dusseldorf. Here are the pictures for today!! ENJOY!!

Day in Graz

Today we spent the day in Graz Austria. This was mom's first area on her mission. Here are some pictures from today. The first one is of the train tracks of a train we took. It was very steep. The second one is of a Austrian boy we met in the park and he started kissing Kiley on the head. She now has a boyfriend in Austria. Third one is of me and Kiley on the train. The next one is of clock tower that has little people (fake) come out and dance. The last one is of mom and Kiley in front of our rental car. Zach and Emily, you know when you tell me to go faster well, you would be so proud of me as I got the car upto 180 km/hr. That is all for today. Now we are in Vienna. We are planning on calling you as soon as we get up the room. We love you lots! Love, Dad and Mom

Hey... Breilly, Whitney, Zach, and Emmie....we are here in Austria!! Tonight we are in Graz, staying with the Bäck Family! We miss you!! Kiley has been missing you.. she sleeps alot so she must be dreaming about all of you!! LOVE YOU!! Here are some pictures of our trip so far.We rode in a carriage to a castle (Kiley slept´she was just like sleeping beauty!), we went to the place where the family lived in the Sound of Music, and we went shopping down a neat street!! We wish you were here too!!

Thoughts of a Mom....

Often I sit and watch my kids and wish that life was "as fun" for me as it is for them. I watch as they pick up a ribbon, and dance across the room with it, as though it is a magic sash. I watch as my son becomes a "rock"star as he plays guitar hero (okay I feel a little rock starish when I play it too), picking up a stick - which immediately becomes a weapon of some sort. I watch as they drag their stuffed animal dog around by a ribbon, pretending it is real dog. So begins the play, I begin rocking the baby, petting the new dog, dancing around the room. We laugh, and I stop and think - am I the kind of mom I "thought" I'd be?

I think of my beautiful, talented, amazing sisters and friends, and the mom's I know they are, and I wonder.... am I? I know that I have better mom days, and not so good mom days. I have days when I AM a fun, cool, mom. And I have days that I transform into the wicked witch of the west, riding my broom around the house, as my children run from my spells.... Thank goodness that they forget quickly, and give me another chance the next day, to "try" again. I love being a mom. Right now, living somewhere new, I am embracing this role. I am grateful that I am a mom. I am grateful that these little people we are intrusted with, love us, and teach us that life is so fun and magical.

To all my sisters and my friends, you are wonderful moms. You are wonderful women thank you for encouraging me, inspiring me, and motivating me to be better. I love you all.... have a wonderful day!

Valentines Day... Happy Feet!

We had a FABULOUS Valentines day. We woke up early, had a fun valentine breakfast. (Heart waffles) Derek bought me roses! (What a sweet guy!) I bought him candy (that IS sweet-right?) Then we went to a FREE movie (care of our realtor - who sold us our home) where we ate lots of FREE popcorn, and FREE soda. (Unfortunately the 3 littles didn't think the Pink Panther was that great, Derek left early)

The afternoon, we ate lots of SUGAR cookies. Then we prepared for the big clogging debut for Breilly and Whitney. They did a GREAT job, even if you can't see Whitney very much, she did AWESOME! They both got first and second place. We came home and then played in our family band, with Guitar Hero's help. We are planning on taking ourselves on tour, maybe to a location near you.... Or, you are welcome to come to our establishment - The Johnson B&B. We offer AMAZING entertainment. (clogging, singing, etc...) Needless to say, the day wore out the kids, and everyone went to bed quickly that does show LOVE to mom and dad.

After our last year of chaos, and trials, and good times too.. I sure love my "Valentine" more today than I thought I could. This year has brought us closer to each other, and closer to the family, and closer to what is really important. Love is really what makes the world go round. Love you all!

Choices and Consequences

Life lessons.... Monday I was at the school, helping the PTA, when one of my children proceeded to pull/touch the fire alarm! WOW! What do you do? Well, I don't know if I did the right or the wrong thing, things kind of went into "slow" motion, and I asked this child to immediately come to my side - as the principal shut the alarm off. Then when we returned home, we had a "talk," as she was in "time out." We then went over the good old "choices/ consequences" - YW stuff... bottom line she decided that she wished that she could rewind the "choice," hence having a much better consequence. Isn't life like that? I told her that she would have more days like this, but the best thing that we can do, is to never do it again, which she assured me, "I'm never doing that again, Mom." I know that I will have more days like today, Ug... maybe next time it will be better - for both of us.

I got tagged 4th file, 4th picture

Here is my very handsome husband. This picture was taken at my parents house, I don't know why, but I thought he looked so good in it that we used it in our Christmas Card this year. He's such a great husband- I sure do love him, even if he walked on our new wood floors with his shoes on (A big NO NO)

Now I tag... Alita, Diane, Cheri, and anyone else who needs a fun idea for a blog entry....

Go to your files and post the 4th file, 4th picture and then explain the photo!

The Freaky Face Book

So this past week Derek and I decided to join Face Book... If you haven't done it, than you won't understand when I say this is so fun and freaky too... I can't believe how many people are on there! I must admit that I am enjoying it, especially because as of today's date I still have more friends than Derek!!(ha ha- he has turned this into a contest of sorts). I have found some long lost friends, that I am so thrilled to have located, especially some of my dear mission companions, who I thought disappeared! I have also found some people that I will continue to hide from, ha ha.... I think that I still enjoy this blog thing better, maybe because it is so personal and I just love it!! Love you so much, see you either in the Blogging world or the FB world...