Nailed It!

Jarid and I enjoy life despite life's curve balls.  We are constantly having fun together, laughing, and being super silly.  I truly did marry my best friend.  I just had to post these adorable attempts of Jarid impersonating me, with his permission of course.  I think he NAILED IT, what do you think?  

God's Simple Answer

Today as I was sitting in sacrament meeting I was caught up in deep contemplation.  I was curious to know how the family two rows ahead of us felt with their three boys, two of which are physically and mentally handicapped.  I wondered what pain the bishop's wife felt as they announced the recent passing of her father.  I wondered about the the mother sitting behind us who was struggling endlessly with her children, and questioned if the row of single elderly ladies were ever lonely or sad.  Were they all happy with their lives?  I was then drawn to the thoughts of others that have come and gone in my life and their struggles: the loss of a child, a wayward teenager, loneliness, discouragement in  find one's eternal companion, unemployment, serious addictions, financial difficulties, physical or emotional abuse, etc.  I thought to myself: "We all struggle.  That is part of life."  For some reason this simple yet profound impression hit me with great force.  I didn't ask the question "Why do we (I) have to struggle?"  Instead, I found myself asking "Why is it so hard for us to comprehend the need for suffering?"  We all struggle, it is a part of life, and it is okay.  

I assure you I am not writing this to spread my gossip everywhere, or to share what some may see as too personal of experiences, or even appear better or stronger than others around me.  I am simply writing something very personal to me because I have been inspired to do so.  I don't know yet whether this is for me or you, but never the less here it is.  

Jarid and I have been trying to start our family for about a year now.  After months and months of disappointment we decided to visit the doctor.  Last month, after some testing, we found out that Jarid has less than 2% viable sperm, and having children would not be an easy feat for us.  My heart was broken. I knew that we would have to face trails in this life, but I NEVER imagined I would have to face this one.  My shield of ignorance was removed and I felt helpless.  I was in a state of shock and denial which then turned into mourning and fear.  Many other feelings swept over me in such a short period of time it was so difficult to sort through them all.  While we were grateful for the many wonderful friends and family who were loving, supportive, and encouraging,  I still struggled.  I never asked why me, which seems rather odd not to do, but amid the storm there was also a peace unlike any I have ever felt.

Peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of Christ.  

After a lot of emotionally filled days and MANY prayers, I knew that no matter what happened my life was in good hands, and if my Father in Heaven felt I needed to pass through this trial then I needed to trust Him.  He has never let me down before, and He knows better than I which paths in life I should take.  I still don't know how or if Jarid and I will have children and we have not given up hope by any means, but I do know that struggling is a part of life and it's okay.  It is okay to feel hurt, lost, afraid, lonely, or sad, for without these feelings we would not be able to comprehend the love, kindness, and peace that our Savior offers.  President Henry B. Erying said, "If we have faith in Jesus Christ, the hardest as well as

the easiest times in life can be a blessing."  We must turn to our Savior in our trials for he suffered to comprehend all things and we must pray to have faith in the things we cannot comprehend. Each day still brings new experiences and feelings, both good and bad, but for now I know "It's okay."

Under Construction No More

Friends & Family

The new Trish&Jarid blogspot is finally available again.  I am very sorry for the inconvenience for the past year of "construction!"  NO we are not dead, and YES I will finally be giving an update on Jarid and I.  A BIG THANKS to Abby Olsen for helping fix the problems I created on my blog!!  YOU ROCK!  Also another BIG THANKS to Emma Vickery for chastising  me for my lack of commitment in updating my blog and her on my life.  

The Johnson Annual Gingerbread Creation-Trailer Park Style!

Every fall near Christmas time the Johnson family gets together and makes a gingerbread house.  This year we decided to use cardboard instead of the normal gingerbread houses, because the structure has increased in size year after year.  I believe my mother-in-law Karen had to 10x the recipe for last years house.  Sounds like a sweet, fun family tradition right?  WRONG!  Well I should say it is sweet because there is lots of candy involved, and it is fun because of all the twisted things you will find in these pictures...they may be disturbing so please don't read any further if you get squeamish by seeing dead cinnamon Santa Clauses.

This is like the book Where is Waldo? and you can find all the different things happening on the page.  Well do you see the car accident killing innocent candy men, dinosaurs eating cinnamon Santa candies, and the only normal pretty thing on the board my beautiful Christmas tree (it is on the lower right)?

T-Rex eating a cinnamon Santa Clause while...how should I put it...going to the bathroom.

 An army of cinnamon Santa Clauses.

Two toy trucks pulling a Santa apart.

If you are still reading, I met Jarid's whole family for the first time while participating in this family tradition.  He said he wanted to make sure I would be able to accept him and like his family for who they are.  Needless to say, I wasn't scared off! 

  

The Love of my Life!!

I call him "Bear" a lot because he is so protective, and yet so cuddly!  Love it!

(I am sure real bears are not as cuddly but you know what I mean.)

He goes golfing with his buddy and this is what he brings back.  

An Unforgettable Trip!

In February Jarid and I traveled down to AZ for the baby blessing of my newest nephew Daniel Dax Davis!

(This picture was taken by my brother-in-law Dustin who is a great photographer just check out http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fat-Lemon-Media/162286437168264 )

We left in the morning right after Jarid got off work, so I got him a little something so he could sleep better....

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

It was a joke though, and I did actually get him a more "manly" mask!  Driving down to AZ wasn't bad at all, and my Grandma Pickett came with us.  We actually got to stop and see one of my cousins, Brad, that I haven't seen since I was a very little girl!  He is now a firefighter, and he took us on a tour of his station and showed us his truck.  

I was happy to arrive in Mesa though, and I missed my family sooo much it was good to see them!!  We spent a few days in Mesa with Tamara, Dustin, and Jenae.  We went to the Zoo with them, and it was so crazy to see how much the kiddos have grown!  I wish we could be closer to see them more frequently!

Andy wrestling the alligator!

The one request from Jarid on this trip was that we eat at a Russian restaurant, so Jarid looked up a few and most of them had closed down.  He found one in Phoenix so we were off.  After about 45 mins of driving and searching for what seemed like a non-existent restaurant we found it, and it too was closed down! All of the Russian restaurants were shut down...hmmm...health code violations??  We ended up eating Indian food with Tamara, Dustin, and Grandma Pickett-it was her first time eating Indian food. 

 We eventually went down to Safford/Thatcher, AZ and got to hold and cuddle baby Daniel!!  OH HE IS SOOO ADORABLE!  We got to see Rachelle and Darren, and a lot of other family!

The funniest part of our entire trip was our hotel room.  We (Jenae my oldest sister, Jarid, and I ) decided to share a hotel room and split the pay, yet when we walked in there was a major problem-one king size bed.  Jenae quickly decided that I would be sleeping in the middle (they would not switch our rooms).  Needless to say, in the morning we all decided NOT to do that ever again for some reason or another!  I think Jarid was the only one who slept semi-well.  

Everything else went well except the trip home. We started Sunday night and were planning on driving through the night.  However, just outside of Page, Arizona I got the flu and started vomiting.  We stopped in Page for the night, and it was awful.  I had no sleep the entire night because I was violently vomiting every 5-30 minutes, and passing out afterward.  I would try to wake Jarid to help me, but he would just pat me on the back for comfort and go back to sleep.  At one point I asked him to get me some Sprite, so he got up like a faithful husband and found himself in the stairwell unsure why he was there.  The poor guy!  Wait what am I saying POOR ME!  By the morning I was delusional and extremely dehydrated, so Jarid by some miracle got me into the car and took me to the ER.  They gave me a lot of medications and fluids.   I kept going in and out of consciousness, and my loving husband extremely worried wouldn't leave my side!  With two full bags of fluids and no urine out put the nurse said I needed fluids badly.  Finally we checked out, and got home.  Unfortunately, the next 3 days I spent in bed.   

Even though I came back with the flu, the trip was worth it to see my family and celebrate baby Daniel and his lucky parents. Congrats Rachelle and Darren Davis! 

We must be just a little crazy....

One of the things that I loved about Jarid when we were dating was his LOVE for his family especially his nieces and nephews!!  He even took me on a date once to Jump on It with his oldest niece Kaitlyn and Doug.  He went on regular dates with the older kiddos, but now that he is married we went all or nothing!  It was sleep over time, and we had all 6 of our Johnson nieces and nephews over for the fun!

We had Kaitlyn, Doug, Talon, and Alec from Melissa and Jake Johnson &

Jaxon and Abigail from Angel and Jason Jonson  (ages ranging from 8 to 1 yrs old)!  

FUN CRAZY JUMPING TUMBLING FUN!  

We had a big dinner for the kids full of lots of chicken nuggets (dino shaped), homemade french fries, and of course veggies.  Then Uncle Jarid and all the kids built a large fort with Christmas lights and sheets, but we ran out of sheets so the sides suffered a little.  Afterwards we pulled all the mattresses in the living room and set up camp!  The kids all slept on our king size mattress, and Jarid and I got a full sized mattress that was not so soft and nice.  After the mattresses went down there was TONS of jumping and tumbling!

These two squirts were the wildest! Alec and Jaxon are both 2 (Alec is now 3, but 2 at the time), but they loved each other and fuel the mischievousness of the other. 

 After the fort was all built and it was getting late we all bunched up in our places to watch a movie: "Jungle Book 2."  

In the morning we woke up and Doug was missing.  I found him wedged between two other kids stealing their blankets and pillow space, and Jaxon had wiggled his way onto our bed squishing Jarid.  They all slept really well with no interruptions during the night!  THANK HEAVENS!  However, I was dying because the mattress we got was not comfortable at all!  We had a super yummy breakfast with the kids of pancakes and eggs, and then the parents came and got them all.  They were all gone as quick as they came, and yet the mess remained.   I had to work that Saturday so I left the mess and told Jarid I help would clean it when I came home.  TO MY SURPRISE...I came home to a perfectly clean house.  What an amazing husband I have and what an awesome family I married into!  

What a fun night we had!!