Ray S Johnson and the Hantavirus

Ray S Johnson and a Blessing From the Lord

Monday, May 9, 1977

            We were told that Ray was in the west Millard Hospital with pneumonia.  We were not too concerned because Ray would receive proper medical attention and be out in three or four days.

Tuesday, May 10

            Karla called saying the Ray was being brougt to the Utah Valley Hospital by an ambulance.  He was to get there about 5:45 pm and if I would be there to meet him.  I was at the emergency room about 5:00 pm.  No one there was aware that he was coming.  About five minutes before he got there the driver of the ambulance called in and said that they were on their way and would be there in about five minutes.

            Ray arrived within a short time.  He was hooked up to the oxygen and breathing in very rapid short breaths.  MaryAnne was in tears which was understandable.  Karla and Jim were waiting in the parking lot.  thee came in just as soon as the ambulance arrived.

            Ray appeared sicker than I thought.  As soon as he was in a room and placed on a hospital bed I became light headed and felt that I might faint.  I had to sit down.

            It could have turned into a tragedy because there was no one ready for him or ready to begin giving him any emergency treatment.  A doctor was finally located.  He did not get there before Ray was placed in a regular hospital bed and room.  It was hard to keep track of the time, but in seemed like more than an hour.

            The doctor looked at his x-rays and said that his condition was serious.  He then went in and looked at Ray.  He then reported that Ray was in super critical condition.  Ray was then taken to intensive care on the second floor.  Dr. Bateman, the doctor that was called in, told us that there was lung by pass machine that had been used in Salt Lake City on an experimental basis for people whose lungs had completely failed them.  He said that he just heard about it and then began trying to locate the doctors that operated it.  It took him a couple of hours to find them.  However, he wanted to know about the success of it before he would send anyone up there.

            MaryAnne was trying to call her parents, but was unable to get a hold of them.  She had tried to call her in Delta and no one was home so she then called Paul.  Paul told them where Ray was.  MaryAnne never did get a hold of them by the phone.  They just arrived.

            Several times during the three hours I was there,  I called Carol reporting Ray's condition.  I was unable to talk clearly because of tears and the extreme sadness and emotional stress of the situation.

            I then came home.  Just after I got home Ray's Father-in-law called and said that they were sending Ray to the LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City.  An ambulance and a team of doctors and nurses were coming down from Salt Lake City to pick him up.  Ray's Father-in-law reported that it would take about two hours to get Ray ready for the ride to Salt Lake City.  A tube was inserted into Ray's trachea where he was given 100% oxygen under pressure.  The doctor that came to get him said that 40 out of 100 people with the same condition had survived.

            We had got word from mother saying that she would arrive in Salt Lake City at 12:45 am from Tulsa, Oklahoma.  We would go and pick her up.  About 9:30 Paul and Marilyn came.  At 10:30 we left for the Salt Lake City Airport to pick up mother.  We were an hour early, but we wanted to be there in case she got there sooner.  she was on time so we had to wait for little over an hour.  Mother was upset when she go there.  We picked up her luggage and went to the hospital.

            At the hospital the person at the desk had no indication that Ray was there or was coming.  I went to the telephone and was trying to call the Utah Valley Hospital.  It took me a little while to get the number and place the call in the pay phone.  I got the call through and the operater had just asked me to deposit the $1.25 for the call.  MaryAnn came in as I was about to place the money into the phone.  I told the operator to cancel the call and I hung up the phone.

            MaryAnn's father told us the room that they would have Ray in.  It was here when her father told about the amount of time it took to get Ray ready to move to Salt Lake City.  We went up to the respiratory intensive care room.  The nurse told us that Ray was not there yet, but would soon be there.  She told us a little about what we should do and they would do.

            Ray got to the hospital about 1:30 am Wednesday morning.  He was brought in on the ambulance bed hooked up to life supporting tubes and wires.  The doctor and nurses both told us that he was very sick and it would take a couple of hours to have him ready to begin treatment, or they called therapy.

            Mother asked the doctor if we could give him a blessing.  The doctor said that we could give him the blessing after they had him ready which would take at least two hours.  Mother felt that if we could not administer to him for over two hours, we should have family prayer  At that time a nurse came in saying that the doctor was not LDS and did not know what we were talking about.  She said that it would be all right for us to go in and administer to him.  Paul, Maryann, and myself washed up and put on gowns so we could go in.  It was hard to get close to the bed because of all the equipment, wires, and tubes.  We were however, able to get to the head of the bed.  Paul anointed and I sealed the anointing and gave Ray a blessing.

            I have given blessings to many other people and some who were very close (my father and a day old son).  The words did not come to me very easily at those times.  The blessings were more general and did not contain any phrases that said that they would be spared from death.  At this time as I gave Ray the blessing the words came  I promised Ray that he would make a complete recovery and as an after thought added if it was heavenly father's will.  I then went on to tell him that his mission on this earth was not completed, that he had responsibilities of a small family and wife.  They needed to be cared for.  I asked a blessing on the doctors and nurses that they might have good judgement and do those things necessary to help in his recovery.  As I finished the blessing, mother came in and I deeply regretted that I had not waited for her.

            The nurses said that Ray could hear.  I told him what I was doing and he nodded his approval.  We then went into the waiting room to wait.  It was a long wait.  Paul and Marilyn went home.  He had to be back to milk.

            As I waited the rest of the morning I felt that Ray was going to recover and regain his full health and strength.  Even though the promise that he was going to recover that given in his blessing there were a number of times in the next 24 hours when our anxiety got pretty high.

            After the blessing the family knelt in prayer in a small room to the side.  Paul led the family in prayer and mentioned Ray's responsibilities as head of his family.

Wednesday, May 11, 1977

            After a restless and hectic time, Kim came and got us and took us back home.  It was about 7:30.  I stayed there until about 1:30.  I then went back to the hospital.  The other doctor was talking to the family.  He said that Ray had a 50-50 chance.  His condition was listed the same, but there were a few improvements.  His color looked better, and the oxygen content of the blood had increased.  I came home about 8:00.  No one in the family stayed with him that night.  We asked the nurses to have the elders administer to him.

Thursday, May 12, 1977

            I went to school and called in about 8:30.  His condition was the same, but there were more small improvements.  When Ray was awake he was writing a few notes to MaryAnn.  I called two more times that day.  Paul and Jim administered to him again.

Friday, May 13, 1977

            Ray was continuing to improve and the doctors said that his improvement was much more rapid than was expected.  By evening they were considering taking out the tube from his trachea.  That night I took Richard, Robert and Eric to a father and son aaronic Priesthood outing.

Saturday, May 14, 1977

            Carol and I went up to see Ray,  His condition was still improving.  He wrote us a note and thanked us for our prayers.  He looked much better.  The gave him a test to determine if they could take out the tube.  he was not ready.  We came home.  The doctors were talking about three and six month check up.

Sunday, May 15, 1977

            At 6:30 am mother called and wanted us to fast to help Ray in his recovery.  I called Karla and Jim.  All our family fasted except Elizabeth.  Carol and I drove up to see Ray.  He waved at us when we came in.  They had taken the tube out, and were giving him therapy so we were unable to see him. 

Monday, May 16,1977

            Ray's recovery is continuing.  When I called MaryAnn, she said that Ray ate breakfast that morning.  The doctors were considering taking him out of intensive care tomorrow.

            Ray was taken out of intensive care in a few days.  He was placed in a private room.  I called several time each day for the next couple of days.  Ray reported that he was weak, but was slowly getting his strength back.  By the end of the week, Ray was able to go back home.  He had to return to the hospital several different times for check ups.

            I know that Ray would not have recovered if it were not for the administrations that he had been given and the faith and prayers of his family and many friends.  Finally if it were not for the honoring of the many prayers to our Heavenly Father.

Eric, April, and Hannah May Johnson

Early this year, April and Eric announced that they had turned in an application to adopt a baby.  We were pretty excited about it.  The home studies were done and finally they were accepted as prospective parents.  The dates are when posted on Facebook and does always reflect the actual time that the event happened. Following are the experiences posted on face book

May 6, 2013    April:   Friends, please send positive thoughts and prayers my way. I really need them! I can't really divulge exactly what for quite yet but please just pray that things will work out the way that they are supposed to......

July 30, 2013   April Johnson:      Friends, please keep us in your prayers. Our profile is being presented to a couple of birth mothers. We ask that you pray that the birth mother will make the best decision for her baby and that we are matched with the right baby.

Posted August 2, 2013 by April and Eric.

November 18, 2013   April Johnson:     Friends, so many of you have been so supportive during our adoption process that I feel its only appropriate to give you an update. It is with a heavy heart that I tell you that a legal problem has surfaced which will prevent the adoption from happening in December. So, we are trying to be matched with a new birth mom. Please keep us in your prayers that we will be matched with the right birth mom and baby. Thank you all for your support in this journey. It's not over yet and we realize that everything happens for a reason. We are trying to stay positive to move forward

A few hours after the above disappointment, They received the following happy message.

November 18, 2013   April Johnson:    Friends - everything happens for a reason. We have been matched with another baby. Our daughter was born early this morning. I am going to fly back east tomorrow to get her!!!! Thank you all for your kind words, thoughts, and prayers. God heard our prayers and has unveiled his plan and matched us with the perfect little daughter. We are so blessed!!!

November 20, 2013   April Johnson:   We made it to Rhode Island. Our daughter Hannah May is AMAZING!! We are so in love with her sweet soul. We will post pics and more info tomorrow.



Cypress Farmbostons are growers of Boston terriers   Eric and April are also growers of Boston terriers.  They have had them several years.  The following post was by the owners of Farmostons.

November 21, 2013   Cypress Farmbostons:      From our news feed we see a lot of people are having really trying times these last couple of days. But did you know that our friends Eric and April were having the worst time of all after hearing the adoption of their baby had fallen through and wasn't going to happen? I cried as I know they did as I've watched via their FB as they've gone through the motions to make their family whole. Well friends, even in the darkest of times God hears our prayers. Eric and April were matched with a new baby and flew to Rhode Island to pick her up yesterday. Friends, Id like to introduce you to the newest member of the Johnson family, Hannah May. Now instead of tears of heartache I cry tears of joy for this wonderful couple. Congratulations guys! She's gorgeous. ️


November 24, 2013  April writes,  Hannah May can use some prayers today. She had been in the incubator because of a low body temp. She will be transitioned to a crib today and if she can keep her temps up she can be released in a few days. Please pray that she can stay warm.

Hannah is doing much better today (Morning, Nov 25).  April writes, They are planning on releasing her on Wednesday then we just have to wait for the legal clearances so we can head back to UT. Thanks everyone for your prayers and support. And, yes, those are Boston Terriers on her onesie. 

HANNAH MAY UPDATE 💕by Cypress Farmbostons, growers of Boston terriers 
April shared this wonderful photo of Hannah with a note stating Hannah was doing much better today and the doctors think she will be able to go home as early as Wednesday. And yes, that is a BT baby onesie she has on she's ready to meet her furry siblings! Thanks so much for the continued prayers for this little angel.  — withApril Johnson.


25 November late this afternoon:   Eric and Hannah May. 

Hannah May. 27 November 2013
April writes:  Hannah May got released from the hospital!!! She is now at home (at the hotel) with us. 


Later she writes"  As much as I wanted Hannah to be released from the hospital I am missing all the monitors she was hooked up to. At least then I had a visual and could tell that she was breathing and her heart was beating. She is sleeping so peacefully here that I am obsessed with checking on her!!

Options for this story

 28 November afternoon:   April's comments on face book today:

Today, as I sit here at look into the eyes of a beautiful baby girl, I am VERY thankful for her birthmom. The selfless sacrifice that this woman made to give a little girl a chance at a better life has completed me and my life. I have loved a lot of people in my life but never a love like this before.

3 December:  April's comments on face book today:  Well, no legal clearances to go home today  hopefully tomorrow.



4 December Wednesday  April writes, Going out to lunch! We gotta get out of this hotel! 

A little later the same day she writes,  WOOOHOOO!!! Clearances just came in!!! Arranging our flight HOME.


5 December, evening.  She writes:  Now that I have my beautiful baby girl, my husband, AND my dogs all together MY FAMILY IS COMPLETE! P.S. The dogs love her! — with Eric Johnson.

I thought that I was finished with this blog, but no,  there is an other chapter.

18 December, April Johnson posted this:  Hannah is already a month old, time is going by too fast! However, now that she is going to be a big sister maybe time will slow down a little. Yes, you read that right. Hannah, at 1 month old, is going to be a big sister! We have a Christmas miracle and we now know that EVERYTHING happens for a reason and we should never doubt HIS plan. If you recall, the original birthmom, not Hannah's birthmom, had some legal issues with the birthfather preventing the adoption from proceeding. That is when we got Hannah. Well, now those legal issues have been cleared up and we are able to adopt Paityn! The birthmom is due on 12/24 so we are just waiting for her to go into labor and then we're off again to pick up our 2nd daughter! We feel so blessed. Even though its going to be A LOT of work, we know that both of these babies were meant to be in our family  

20 December.   This was posted by April:   Paityn will be born on Monday via c section! We are off to PA tomorrow. We will be staying at the Ronald McDonald house! We are so thankful that they have room for us. It will be so much better than staying in a hotel.   

23 December around 10:30 am, April posted this.  Hannah is going to be a big sister within the hour!!!  Later she posted "Paityn Ruby was born at 11:22. 7lbs 14oz and 20 inches long.    She is pictured below.




26 December April posted this this evening:   It's official! The amazing birth mom of this beautiful baby girl lovingly relinquished her parental rights and trusted us to raise her. We love this little girl so much.

29 December April post this this afternoon:  Sisters together at last.


 Stay tuned

  Now that I ha

Wedding Aniversary 52

We spent the day in Salt Lake City.  Our first visit was at the at the Museum of Natural History.  After several years of construction, the Museum was recently completed and is now open for visitors.  We had an enjoyable time visiting the exhibits on all aspects of natural history.  We were leaving and walked past their cafeteria.  We decided to eat there.  We got in line and ordered two hot sandwiches and two drinks.  I got pineapple coconut and Carol got chocolate coconut.  The hot sandwiches were fairly good, but the drinks were really disapointing and worse was the wait and the cost.  It was about $23.

We then went to temple square.  We parked in the church underground parking lot below the Conference Center.  Took the elevator to the street, walked a across the road into temple square.  We visited a few of the exhibits there.  Carol left leg was brothering her so much we decided to go home.  We went back to where we parked the car and drove for the exit.  The cost of the parking was $10.  Carol, who was driving, fed the bill into the machine and it would not take it.  She did it several times and still would not take it.  By now there were a bunch of cars behinds us.  I got out of the car, walked around, and tried to do it.  I was not successful either.  By now there were a lot of cars behind us.   A sign over the credit card reader said, "out of order."

A man a few cars behind came to help.  He had a card worked by passing it past as spot just above the spot were a bill is inserted.  The gate opened.  I asked him how I would pay for it.  He said pay double the next time that we are here. But before I could walk around the car and get in the gate closed.  He did it again.  This time I got in the car in time and we drove out.

We drove to Orem and ate at the in and out place.  We got a much better meal there than we got at the Museum of Natural history.  We then went home.

The next day, we drove to Beaver, Utah and ate at a locoally owned non chain burger place.  It was a quaint looking place and we had a pretty good meal.  We then drove home.

My Little Sister

Carma Johnson  11 December 1941 to 19 December 1944

I was 12 days from my sixth birthday when Carma died.  My first memories of her was that she was sick.  Mother had powdered bananas that she would give to Carma.  Mother was in Salt Lake City at the hospital, and I believe that I stayed with Grandma Johnson.  Mother and Dad came home late one evening from being with her.  They picked me up at Grandma's.  I went out to the car and discovered some Christmas presents on the floor of the car behind the driver's seat.

I was staying with Uncle Bert when mother and dad was her beside at the hospital. This must have been a little earlier in the fall.  Uncle Bert was planting wheat.  Uncle Bert pulled the drill with a tractor; and Howard and I were riding on the grain drill.  Howard reached behind him and caught some wheat falling from the grain drill and began to eat it.  I did the same thing but my finger got caught in the turning seeding shaft and a small part of my finger and finger nail were pulled off.  They put some Vaseline on it and dressed it.  We later went out in the field looking for the tip of my finger.  It was not very much.  We didn't find it and my pointer finger and finger nail still shows the scare.

I remember going to the funeral which must have been a few days before Christmas, and touching Carma's hand and feeling how cold it was.  At the cemetery they didn't have a vault, but mixed some concrete and enclosed the casket with concrete.

Three in the Morning

This post should have been written late last night.  The next best thing is this morning.  It is a little after six and still dark outside.

The phone rang at three in the morning.  I heard the phone ringing and was having a hard time waking up.  I was wondering what was making the noise.  I have a phone in the bedroom, but the ring is different than the one in the living room.  Lisa, our daughter, and some of her kids were staying with us.  She also heard it ring.  We met at the phone at the same time but the answer machine picked it up and the person calling hung up.  It the rang again.  Lorena, with panic and urgency said that Sadye was in the hospital and would not wake up.  Lorena asked that I would come over and give her a blessing.  I told her that I would be right over.  I put a small container of concentrated oil in my pocket and had Lisa wake up Tai.  He has been home from his mission less than a month.  I thought that they would be in the hospital in Fillmore, but I did not ask.  I called Lorena back and was told that she was in Fillmore.  We quickly dressed and were in the car.

I left the truck parked close to the west edge of the driveway.  The garage door was opened and backing out I missed the truck by inches.  That was the first miracle of this experience.  I got up to 95 mph, but slowed down a little.  Driving to the ER door, I parked so an other ambulance would not be able to unload.  I didn't realize that until we left.

Lorena reported the what had happened.  Sadye tossed and turned, she thought she was having a bad dream.  About a half hour later, it happened again.  Another bad dream?  It happened again, but this time she fell out of bed and bumped her forehead on the floor.  Lorena could not wake her up.  She mildly slapped her face and then she pinched on her leg.  She still did not wake up.  That is when they took her to the hospital and called me.

Tai anointed her and I sealed the anointing.  She was told that she would make a complete recovery.  Sadye turned a couple of times but would not wake up.  The doctor came in a little later and we were informed that she had threes seizures.  We were there a little under and hour and came home.  Carol was waiting up for us when we got back.  She should have gone with us, but that thought did not come to my mind. 

Around nine am,  Carol and I went to the hospital to visit her.  She did open her eyes but would not wake up.  About three pm we hadn't heard anything.  I called Lorena and Sadye was a wake and had been to the bathroom a couple of times, and drank some chocolate milk.  Carol had called the Manti temple and had her name placed on the prayer roll.  She did that a short time before Sadye had woke up.

I called Lorena one more time around nine am to have Rudy do the watering for me the next morning.  Lorena said that Sadye was being released from the hospital and going home.  That was good news.   They will take Sadye to a specialist at the children's Primary hospital next week to determine the cause and treatment for her seizers.

We thank our heavenly father for answers to our prayers.

Camping, Fourth of July Style

Several weeks ago, Eric, our youngest son, invited us to go camping with him and April.  Nicholas was going to be with him for a couple of weeks, and he wanted to take him camping.  Nicholas is eleven years old and is autistic.  He seems to be pretty smart but once he focus on something or some activity, it is hard to get him to change his thoughts to something else.  At times he is rude and inconsiderate. Other times he is polite and thoughtful.

They secured a camping spot at Hill lake up Ephraim canyon for July 4 through July 8.  It was about five miles east of Ephraim.  We consented to go and meet them in Ephraim at two in the afternoon.  We were going to stay the night of the fourth and come home the next day which was on Friday.  They were going to stay a couple of more days.

On the morning of the fourth, we began the preparations, of getting our bedding, food, snacks, camp stove, extra clothing, tooth brushes, etc. ready.  We got our tent out which we haven't put up for over ten years.  Not sure if we could remember how to put it up. That at times gets a little stressful of why don't we take that, or we are taking to much.

We left in just enough time to eat and be at our meeting place at two.  A few phone calls on the way helped to locate them.  We had our lunch at a fast food place.  Carol had a foot long and I had a burrito.  It was pretty good.  We purchased a few more food items  before we left Ephraim.

We followed Eric and April.  They had a small four wheeler in the van and pulled another one on their trailer.  There were lot of wild flowers we passed going up the canyon.   I would stop for pictures on the way back.  We went through several camping spots.  Eric couldn't remember which camping site he reserved.  We finally found the camp site which had some good afternoon shade.  We unloaded everything and put most of it on the picnic table.  We had quite a time finding a place that was fairly level and large enough for our tent.  The tent is fairly large and has quite a few poles that were to hold the tent up.  we laid it out and Eric put the stakes in at each corner. Through trial and error and suggestions by others we got it up.

Eric had his three dogs with him.

We took a few short rides down to the lake and up a short dead in rode to another camp site on Eric's four wheeler and Nicholas drove his little four wheeler.  It was about time for dinner.  We wanted to wait a little while longer.  Nicholas did not want to wait.  He kept asking how much longer and the answer to that question was a little while.  He wanted to know how long a little while was.  Finnally I told him one hour and set the timer on my cell phone for 55 minutes.  He asked about ten times during the count down.  The it was about every minute during the last five.  April prepared the hamburgers for us.  We hiked down to the lake and followed a trail around the left side of the lake.  We did some visiting and it was almost dark and time for bed.  

High Hopes For Monday

06/18/2013.     Monday
I started out the day with great hopes of accomplishment, but no way.  We have a pussy willow tree next to the north west corner of the garage.  The tree is mostly dead and rubs against the eves when the wind blows.  In the spring when there should be pussies, there are none or at the least very few.  I had planned to have that cut down and loaded one the trailer by nine this morning.
But again, that did not happen.

The box was on the truck and needed to be removed.  I use my tractor to help lift it off. It won't lift high enough, good idea came into my head. With a pallet the length of the forks would be extended about six more inches. I was able to get the stakes out off their holes and the pallet underneath the cross bars.  I carefully lifted it up. The box sifted to the left and nearly fell off the truck. It took nearly an hour to get it off.  By then it was ten.  I got two thirds of the tree cut down and loaded onto the truck.

Lorena did the watering and then had to leave to take care of her husband  and nephew and their new job at the Duckworth dairy.  She was gone the rest of the day.  I had to take care of the nursery  and wait on customers.
Customers were the the rest of the day.

I had an order from a man Reno Nevada to fill.  I started doing that at six. i
boxed them a little differently this time which speeded things up some. finished up at 7:15.  carol was not able to help because of nerve pain, she was able to get the garden watered.

Melissa & Derrick

Miles and Nyleen called earlier saying that they would come for plants.  They here about 10:30.  We had a short visit and then went out to the nursery to get some tomato plants.  They will be back  in a week or two for more.

Melissa and her boy friend, Derrick came this afternoon to stay a couple of days.  Derick wanted to practice on us.  We really didn't know just what he wanted to do.  They arrived a little before two and brought in all of their things.  Of course they had two different rooms.

Derrick started of showing a short video on his  ipod.  It was a short introduction of a person who is giving him some training.  I watched it and then we had a short discussion about it.  I didn't have a clue as to what just what his objective was.

I had eaten lunch a little earlier.  Carol had sandwich meat prepared for them.  Melissa started to eat and Derick was still with me at the sofa.  He completed his little presentation and joined Melissa at the kitchen table.

I made preparation for mowing the lawn.  It takes a while to move all the hoses and other items that might be on the lawn.  While doing this Carol showed them around the nursery.  It takes me about an hour to mow the lawn.  Today, dumped the grass catcher once.  Usually I have to dump it twice.

Melissa could not find her car key and the key to her apartment.  She searched by retracing her steps all over the yard and up the street.  She then all over the house.  We had Lorena's kids looking for those lost keys.  She came back in the house and looked through her purse again.  She found them in another bag.  She was greatly relieved.

Later we drove to Fillmore and had fast food at Costa Vida.  This is the second time that we had eaten there.  I had a chicken burrito which was good, but didn't seem to taste as good as the burrito that I had the last time which was about six months ago.

We came home and he started to set up his equipment for the presentation   He had a white board which was placed in front of our TV which was the same the same size of the TV.  He had a choir director's stand which he used for a podium. A loose leaf note book contained the talking points.  He asked how long of a presentation that we wanted to hear. After giving several options, Carol one hour would be fine. The second half of the hour seemed to go faster than the first half.

He had Melissa introduce him as speaker.  I thought that was a really good thing for Melissa to do. She was pretty shy about it and finally made it through.

He spent an hour on the presentation.  It seems that he is training to be a motivational speaker.  He did a pretty good job.  I think that it would have been better if he had a larger audience that Carol and me.  After each talking point he would open his arms wide and ask if we had any questions.  I asked how to do it type of questions.

Farewell to Sister Hallie Johnson

Hallie is one of four speakers in her ward this morning.  Two youth speaker spoke first and then and a return missionary was the concluding speaker.  At the end of the meeting the Bishop made a few concluding remarks.  We were told to be there by 10:30 so we would be able to sit on the soft benches in the chapel.

I was up early, showered, shaved and then went out to the greenhouse to do the watering.  Dawn was just beginning to break.  I turned the lights on in house six which is the on greenhouse that has lights.  I was able to do the watering.  When finished with house five it was light enough to do the watering in house one though five.  I also had to water plants that were on benches outside. It took just a little over an hour.

While I was watering Carol was getting the salad ready for the lunch after the Sacrament meeting. Yesterday she made a tray of brownies.  We had everything ready to go about an hour.  We were getting close Salem, so I turned on the GPS.  It was giving directions until Melissa called for directions to get there.  She gave the phone to Derick who was driving.  He asked me several questions of which exit, etc. Every time we got a direction, Derick asked a question.  I was pointing left and right for Carol telling her which way to turn. We finally reached the church which didn't have an address any where to let us know if we were at the right building.  We concluded that we were.  I was then able to answer Derick's question.  We went inside and were able to get a seat in the chapel.  Jeanne came a little later and we moved to the chairs behind the last row of benches.  There was room for all the family and friends.

I was on the chair next to the isle.  A man came by, I looked at him and stood up.  He asked if I knew who he was.  He looked familier and I thought that it was someone who had come to the nursery.  I was Richard, our oldest son.  I hadn't seen him for a couple of years.  It was good to see him.  About the same time Emily our oldest grandchild, came in accompanied by her boy friend.  It was so good to see her.  It has been about a year since we have seen her.  The meeting went well and Hallie gave a good talk.

We went to Robert and Jeanne's home for a lunch as soon as we could get out of the church.  Everyone brought salads and deserts.  Robert and Jeanne had rolls and cuts of lunch meat.  It was good.  Of course we had a good visit with every one.

The battery on my camera was nearly dead and I didn't get as many pictures that I had wanted.  Our oldest daughter and her husband and Allie, one of their children. 

Emily and her dad, Richard Johnson.  This is the first time that Richard has seen Emily for many years.  It was good to see them together again.

Melissa and her boy friend Derick.  She is so supportive of family activities. 

Here is pictured Emily and her boyfriend, John.  It was nice meeting him.  From this brief meeting, it seems like he is a nice person.

Hallie on the left with her friends 

Hallie on the right with some of her extended family.

Japannes food

I worked inside at the computer this morning.  There were a couple of customers just  after lunch.  We left for Sandy, Utah in the early afternoon.  On the way we stopped for a few things in Provo. I have been looking for a four foot wand for several days.  I get them form Steve Regan in Salt Lake City.  The did not have any at any of the places were we stopped.  I checked out Cooks nursery to help me determine prices for our plants.  I also checked out the prices at the Home Depot.  

We were an hour early at the home of Eric and April.  We drove to the Draper Temple to take a close look.  The photo is from the east side of the temple.

We then went to Eric's house and had a nice visit before the others came.  Those that were there were Eric, Lisa, Emi, Chase, and Allie Gray.  Sadie, Mason, Hallie, Robert and Jeanne Johnson.  Erica Peterson, and  Eric and April Johnson.  The Grays fixed a Japanese diner which was very good.  We ate our fill.

Sadie and Mason.  The stripes on their legs is the sun shining through the blinds casting a shadow.

 
Robert, Hallie, and Emi

We said our good-byes and the drove home without a stop.  We got home around ten.  We are usually at the temple on Saturday night, but the temple has been closed for cleaning.  It will be open Tuesday morning.

Family Time

This evening we drove to Spanish Fork where we had dinner with my brothers and sister and their spouses.   We enjoyed a lovely meal at the Prestwich Farms restraunt.  All were there except Dan, Betsy Husband.

The Baptism and Confirmation of April Johnson

This is a report of the baptism and confirmation of April Johnson, wife of Eric Leslie Johnson

We just left Holden and are on our way to the baptism of April Johnson. It was snowing some this morning and still is as we leave town. Roads are mainly wet now but still pretty good. The snow is blowing across the frontage in some places as we approach the entrance of I-15 north of Holden. Some Snow was sticking to road as we went up and over Scipio pass, but once north of Scipio the road was only wet with visibility of a mile or so, due mostly to fog. The road is barely wet between Scipio and Nephi with a few areas of heavy cross winds. As we pass through Nephi, the roads are damp and in some place look dry. There seems to be thirty mile visibility. Coming into Payson. it is windy with falling snow.

North of Payson the roads are wet and in some places slippery. One car slid off the road to the right. A Utah trooper had stopped where slid off the right shoulder. Cars splash a dirty mist through the periods of falling snow. The road now is wet enough for the passing cars to keep our windshield dirty. Good that we had our wash tank full of windshield solution.

We arrived in Eric's neighborhood a little after two. We drove back and forth on 13 east several times until we finally found his street. The road past his house was the worst for snow than any road that we have driven all day. We had a nice visit with Eric and April. We were plenty early at the church. I got my jump suit on and was ready for the service to begin. But we needed to wait until four. When four came, there were some people that hadn't arrived yet. Robert and Jeanne and Hallie were late.  They had so much snow this morning that they drive out of their driveway let down the steep road.  I talked to Robert on my cell phone.  They had left and were in Orem.  I suggested that they keep coming and would be here in time for the the lunch. Brother Stevens, the ward mission leader, announced that there would be a fifteen minute delay to accommodate those that had not arrived. I called Robert again and informed him that they would wait. Robert and family arrived during the opening hymn. The room was full of friends and family.

The meeting went well. The opening him was "How Great Thou Art". Carol gave the opening prayer. The first speaker was Berta Webb, the relief society President, who spoke on faith, repentance, and baptism. Her talk was inspiring and invited the spirit. April and Susie, her sister, and others shed a lot of tears.  TJ Brown, Susie’s boyfriend, was also in attendance.

I entered the fount from the left and April came in from the right. I positioned her close the right end of the water facing the right wall. I positioned our hands, brought my right hand to the square, called her by name, repeated the words of the ordinance, and laid her down in the water. After she came up from the water, she gave me a hug.

As I called her by name, she looked over at me, I repeated the words, and she watched me as laid her into the water. That really made it personal. I was talking to her, which made it extra special.

I removed the jump suit and put on my suit.  While I was doing this, three different videos were  being shown to those that witnessed the baptism. When April came back, Melissa, a good friend, spoke on the Holy Ghost and how important it was.  She invited those there that were not members of the church to accept a copy of the Book of Mormon.  She did a good job. When she finished there hardly was a dry eye in the congregation.  After hugs and congratulations, we went into a multipurpose room where a lunch was served. The buffet of croissants, funeral potatoes, salads, and deserts were waiting for our enjoyment.  There was plenty of food for everyone. 

Early Sunday afternoon I had the opportunity to confirm her a member of the Church of Jesus Christ and give the Holy Ghost.  After sacrament meeting we said our good byes and drove home.  The roads were dry all of the way home.

We stopped at Roberts house in Woodland Hills on the way home.  Finding his house was a little bit difficult we had the address, Utah that was all. We found the street okay, but could not find their house number.  The large houses were not close together with a lot of snow in the yards.  We went past it once and made a big loop and found it the next time. The sign was really small and difficult to see. Their house is large with many rooms on three or four different levels.

Merrill & Carol Johnson

The phone has been ringing much of the day.  Richard called.  He has been having back problems.  He had an MRI trying to determine the cause of his back pain.  He may get a job in Colorado.  Lisa called wanting to know how her mother was doing.  Carol has been sick with a bad cold for a week now.  She went to the clinic just before lunch.  She has a bad cold and the only thing that will help her is more time.  She did get a prescription that will help prevent complications in the case that she another cold on top of the that she has.  Melissa called.  She is moving into her own apartment.  She has been on a waiting list for nearly a year.  She is pretty excited about it.  She had a sist removed from her left wrist.  The surgary went well and there were no feelers from the sist.

Eric, our son called.  I answered the phone and turned on the speaker.  The first thing out of his mouth was,"I want to borrow $10,000."  Of course we said that we would loan it to him.  Just kidding.  Then he said that April is going to be baptized on February 23, and she wanted me to baptize her.  Our response was, "your kidding."  He wasn't.  We are really excited about that.  Eric wanted us to invite the rest of the family to be there.

The last call of the evening so far was from Holden.  His birthday is tomorrow and Carol sent him a card with $25 in it.  He called to thanks us.

Francis & Muriel Johnson Burham

Gordon & Helen Johnson McEuen

Owen and Alice Johnson Bensen

Max and Della Jackson Johnson and Laurel Johnson

Bert and Nina Alstrom Johnson

If you know Bert and Nina Johnson or any of their children, please express in the comment section how you know them and any experiences that you have had with them.  Then share this  blog with other people or relatives that might be interested in them.