Merry Christmas 2014

Merry Christmas from the Johnson's

A FEW Of My Favorite Things.....

I LOVE Christmas time! I saw these cute ornaments last year and loved them but as with most of my ideas it stayed in my head. This year I showed the idea to a friend then told her I found where you could get the wood blocks. Again, just thinking "oh that's a good idea", but instead she said she was ordering them. We ordered them and actually got them done! I am so grateful because I love them! I did more than this but my babies are some of the favorites. 

 I took this picture so he could be part of the school Christmas play. I love it!
He loved having the Santa hat on.

 I love our nativity! It was always a favorite decoration when my Mom put it up each year
and it continues to be a favorite.

 I love this boys smile...enough said :)

 Owen's Christmas tree.

 I love the Christmas tree lights when everything else is dark. There is such a special feeling of peace.

 I love our Christmas Eve acting out of the nativity.

 I love that this girl loves Owen!
She stopped to visit with him before she left for Jerusalam for a semester of school.

I love our Christmas lights that Lenn puts up, only with a little help from the rest of us!
This year he bought this angel, not a good picture, but I love it! It is even blue!

And of course the memories!! Aww the memories....I am not sure where Rhet was, 

maybe hiding from all the dolls;)

Feeling blessed and surrounded by miracles

The last little while has been a little tricky with Owen. He has been really good and then all the sudden he's not. I am pretty sure he likes to make sure we are paying attention!

About 3 weeks ago I noticed a pressure sore on his tailbone area. My heart sank because those are not good anywhere, but right there I knew would be tricky. I did want I had been told to do previously and then made a little donut for his bottom.

His doctor told me to keep a close eye on it and send pictures to keep them posted. I use duoderm, and since he isn't immersed in water for a bath it stays on for awhile. I thought I would take pictures each time the duoderm came off to compare any progress or worsening of the sore.

The second time it came off I was getting ready to send more pictures when I realized something about the sore wasn't right. I felt it and it felt like a scab. I softly scraped at it and it came off!!
The sore was gone and completely healed!  I could not believe it! I still have a hard time believing it went away only after about a week and a half. I knew right then that I had just witnessed a miracle!

I was giddy the entire day! I couldn't help but feel my Heavenly Fathers' love for Owen and our whole family. I know that Owen is watched over day and night very closely by loving angel hands sent from above.

He shaved!!

The last few weeks have been very humbling to me! Lenn's idea to see if we could raise money for SMA research, started an outpouring of support from many of you. Not only did we meet our goal but went above and beyond. Our grand total is $1325!! That is amazing! I really wondered if we would even reach $500.

Thank you to all who donated to support our fundraiser to not only shave Lenn's beard, but to aid in finding a cure for SMA. We got all the money in the mail this week and I am really excited and hopeful for what it might do.

Again THANK YOU, to all of you who donated!! We would like to give you a little something as a thank you, so if you donated without letting us know please message one of us, text or get a hold of us somehow.

Shave the BEARD.....Lenn's Facebook Challenge

Bentley was challenged to do the ALS ice bucket challenge. As he was getting ready to do it we talked about how ALS is like SMA but in adults. "I want to come up with something for SMA", he said. As we were talking Lenn was over playing with Owen and said "I'll shave my beard if we can raise $1000 for SMA". I don't think he thought I would act on this but as soon as I got the chance I posted it on Facebook. I knew after I posted it he couldn't take it back.

As of right now we have $405, almost half way there! I have been so humbled by the donations that have come in and we appreciate them so much! Thank you!

We will give every penny collected to the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation and they will send it on to do more research hoping for a treatment or cure for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).

Our SMA journey began about 6 1/2 years ago with the birth of our third child, Owen. We had no idea what SMA was, no idea that this could happen to us!! We hoped to go to Primary Children's where they could 'fix' our baby so we could take him home and get back to our normal lives. We soon found out that our 'normal' lives would now have to find a new 'normal'.

Trying to enjoy the moment of a new bundle of joy was dashed by the NICU team waiting to rush him away.
I would love for a cure to be found so that no other family ever has to deal with this!

Almost two and half years later, our son, Landry was born with the same low muscle tone. Twenty three days later he returned to his Heavenly Father because his little weak body could no longer keep him here.

There is no treatment or cure for SMA and it is the #1 genetic killer in children under two years of age. 1 in 40 people are carriers of this gene. How could we not have known about this disease? 

August is SMA awareness month and yes, I know I am a little late on this post, but I still want to get word out for anyone who does not know about SMA and the devastating effects of it. 

We feel very blessed to still have Owen with us, he is a fighter! I would give anything to be able to see him walk, run and play with his older siblings or even get on the bus in the morning to go to school. Instead we go to him, in his bed to play, sing, smile and visit with him.

To visit little Landry we have to go to the cemetery or sit quietly to feel his spirit around us. 

With that being said; let's help find a cure....and just for fun let's SHAVE LENN'S BEARD!

This handsome man needs a razor! Thanks for the picture Jan!

You can donate by giving us the money and we will send it to the GSF or donate by clicking here: 

http://thegsf.org/donate. If you choose to send a check directly to the GSF or do it online please let us know your total donation or write on your check or online donation, Lenn's Facebook challenge. Thank you to everyone who has donated and to anyone else who wishes to donate. Remember any amount is amazing!!