A Visit to Grandma Morris
After trick or treating on Halloween night, we brought Michael home with us to spend the night in order to facilitate an early morning get-away to visit Grandma Morris in New York. Although we have been on other trips with Michael, this was the first time we have had him all to ourselves. Michael proved to be an entertaining and congenial travel companion. We were happy that Grandma -- who is doing very well after her pacemaker surgery -- could have a nice visit with this engaging grandson.
As is our custom, we departed from I-81 at Great Bend for a side trip to along the Susquehanna river to pay our respects at the historical marker that commemorates the restoration of the priesthood in Harmony, PA. We also made our usual stops to drive by the farm and through the village in Fabius. It saddens us to see many of the once fertile dairy farms with their cultivated fields and well kept pastures abandoned and the lands returning to wilderness.
We enjoyed our Sunday visit to the Fayetteville ward in their new chapel and were happy to recognize a few long time members -- David Richards (now in the stake presidency), the Marquarts, Wayne Wolsey and his family, the Chamberlains. The chapel is barely a five minute drive from Grandma's house in Manlius and in that short time, Michael had managed to wrestle himself out of his Sunday clothes and into his comfortable travel clothes.
Thanksgiving
Our usual Thanksgiving holiday was brightened with Ashley's presence and by having Brother Barron from Columbia 2nd ward as our dinner guest. The best thing about this holiday is that it changes so little from year to year -- having achieved perfection with the menu many years ago, we simply enjoy our traditional feast and the warm feelings of family and gratitude that permeate this day.
Ashley
Sister Marsh and Sister Suhaka took advantage of Ashley being home to host a lovely bridal shower for her. Each invitation contained a tag printed with an hour of the day and the guests were invited to bring a gift appropriate to that time. Many thoughtful gifts that Ashley received had obvious application but one that was puzzling was the box tagged for 7 am containing a tupperware container and a blanket. The giver explained her clever gift: the tupperware was to pack Ryan's lunch in and the blanket was for Ashley to go back to bed with. With a demanding school schedule of two to three semesters before graduation ahead of these newlyweds, this scenario will not likely be realized for some time.
Grandma Johnson's Passing
When Dad called Grandma Johnson to wish her a happy thanksgving, he was concerned that Grandma did not seem her normal alert self. Not long afterward, Uncle Harvey called to say that he expected the end was near for Grandma. We were all very aware that the next day, November 30, marked the 27th anniversary of Grandpa Johnson's death. Grandma passed away on the morning of the first of December 2008.
It was good to all be together to honor Grandma and make our goodbye to her for her funeral. We are especially grateful to Holly's in-laws, Dan and Nadine Olsen, who took us in and were so very hospitable to us while we were in Utah.
I think what we miss most of all is the way Grandma always expressed her love and appreciation so freely and generously to each of us. To use one of her own oft-used expressions, she was "a great lady."
Family picture at the funeral with the addition of Jeff, the first on the left and Ryan who is not a member of the family, next to the end on the right.
Dad and Lisa at the funeral with the cemetery in the back.
What a Wonderful Christmas!
The only thing that could have made our Christmas any better would have been to have Brett and Sara with us. Somehow, the whole season seemed pure joy. Maybe it was because we were together more than usual. Nicole and Ashley were home from BYU. We were anticipating Lisa coming from Oklahoma (and hoping against hope she would tuck Maggie into her bag). We were excited about Ashley's temple endowment the day after Christmas, and then her wedding the next day. Every day seemed a perfect day.
The Wedding
The wedding party -- Ryan's parents, Paul and Eva Smith, and younger siblings, his grandparents, aunts and uncles, (nineteen of them in all), arrived in Baltimore on the afternoon of Christmas Day. The next day, they invited the Johnson/Johnston family to a pre-wedding lunch at the Cheesecake Factory in White Flint. We ll enjoyed a wonderful lunch but especially enjoyed getting to know this very nice family. Ashley is very blessed to be marrying into such a kind family.
At a little past noon on Saturday, we began gathering at the temple for the wedding. What a perfect day it was for a wedding, especially on December 27. The ceremony was sweet nd sacred, performed by President Abernathy. The temperatures were in the comfortable sixty degree range and so our beautiful bride and handsome groom could linger for pictures very comfortably. Holly, Lisa, and Mom had the privilege of joining Wendy and Ashley in the bride's room of the temple after the ceremony to "help" Ashley arrange her dress and veil, but mostly just to admire our bride and bask in the moment.
Soon it was on to the reception at the Johnston's home. We will remember the loveliness of the evening -- the vases of tall calla lilies, the swags of cedar and trailing ribbons, the candle light, the jazz pianist, the attraction of the table filled with the syrups for the Italian ices, the warm hors d'ouvres, and especially the many friends and family who filled the house. After the guests departed, both families squeezed into Christopher's bedroom for some special last moments together to watch Ryan and Ashley open their gifts. Then it was some some quick hugs and kisses goodbye, and the bridal couple were off to start their life together. Wendy and Steve would see them in California for their open house at the Smith's home in Merced, but for the rest of us, we were saying our farewells with hopes we'll have many frequent visits back and forth.
Ryan, welcome to the family.
At the temple.
The Sequel to Our New York Trip with Michael
At our Relief Society Christmas party early in December, Mom remarked to Holly that she had noticed Michael had been wearing his dad's shoes (sized a little on the large side) to church for the past three weeks now. Had he found his lost Sunday shoes yet? No, Holly responded, she kept forgetting to do a serious search for his shoes during the week. In fact, she hadn't seen his shoes since he came back from New York. Aha! The mental light bulb came on -- tucked and hidden well under the Honda's car seats Grandpa found Michael's shoes. Now the epilogue: the next Sunday, Michael walked into sacrament meeting again wearing his dad's oversized shoes. In the intervening weeks, his Sunday shoes had become too small.
What's Ahead
Mom and Dad put Nicole on the plane back to BYU on Saturday, January 3rd. Now Mom shifts into overdrive to ready the house for our presiding authority for stake conference next week, Elder Clayton Christensen. Elder Christensen is a Harvard professor and former Rhodes scholar and although his credentials are imposing, we expect he will be as charming and kind as have been our former conference visitors.
Just a few weeks from now, we will gather in Puerto Rico for Sara's wedding. Then, two weeks later, we will be off to Utah for Nicole's senior recital at BYU.
We have just four months ahead to prepare for Nicole's wedding on May 6th and we expect that labor of love will consume up our time in the coming months..
Thanks Holly for the pictures.
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