Fourth of July

This fourth of July our friends called and invited us to walk up (literally--two miles of mostly up) to a parade with them. We're so glad we said yes! It was a great parade, tons of candy thrown to the kids, cool old cars, plenty of bagpipes, guys in fat pants dancing with mops, etc. So much fun. And here's the picture proof:

It was a lovely sunny day. Sadly, Henry was very tired (it interfered with naptime).

Guys in fat pants dancing with mops

Bagpipes (there were no less than two bagpipe groups)

And a group celebrating 100 years since California gave women the vote. :)

She was my favorite. And her sign. And her hat.

And then there was this guy at the back of the group. We couldn't decide whether the missing "R" was intentional, but I still lean toward not.

How can you not love a parade that has a Miss Art Deco?

Henry's friends Zoe and Amara ready to run into the street for candy...

And here's what Henry's doing while all this is going on. He's sitting on Dad's lap. Looking tired.

And maybe a little bit confused.

But he got a stuffed shark, so... great? Oh, and his onesie does say "My First 4th of July." (Thanks, Grandma Johnson!)

And most of the time he was shoving Cheerios in his mouth, because the parade also interfered with lunch time. All in all, though, it was so good to be out and about in the sun, and the parade was excellent. There's really nothing like a good parade. :)

Henry's Birthday Party

I thought we'd start with the fun part. Once our house was disease-free we had a few of Henry's friends over for a party. I took advantage of the excuse to bake and went a little overboard, but hey--is there really such a thing as too many cookies? Well, yes, I suppose there could be, but that's not the point. The point is that I'm going to post pictures of the party and then I'm going to post the recipes for the cookies I made. Because I like them. And I can. But first, the pictures! Because I love Henry much more than I love cookies.

Our amazingly adorable birthday boy. I think he looks like a Johnson in this picture. Especially with the curls.

Sugar cookies! I had a lot of fun with these. After Christmas last year I picked up a big box of cookie cutters on clearance and they certainly came in handy. (And yes, those ARE carmelitas in the corner...)

This is what I did with the "1"s that I cut out for the sandwich cookies above. No, the cupcakes were not from scratch. But the frosting and the cookies sure were.

I know what you're thinking: you've never seen anything cuter in your entire life. Not even that sneezing baby panda. Nope, not even close.

You'd think he'd never seen a match before. (Oh wait...)

And then he got to eat his first cupcake ever! Too bad he wasn't that interested, so there are no baby-with-his-face-totally-smeared-in-cake-and-frosting photos. He's not a clean eater by any stretch of the imagination, but the only part he liked was the frosting, and it seemed like it was just too much effort. Oh well.

Opening a card!

New books from his friends! Have I mentioned that he loves books? Books and balls are pretty much his favorite things. (After his parents, of course, I'm sure.) And that's his blurry friend, Chetan, who is just about as blurry in real life but very, very cute.

I keep wanting to say things like "I can't believe he's one!" or "I can't believe it's been so long!" and so on and so forth but while it does seem a little crazy that my boy is a year old now, it doesn't seem all that weird. Don't get me wrong, he was an amazing baby, but I'm not sad that he isn't anymore because he's such an amazing toddler. It's just too much fun watching him do all the new things he can do (or almost do). Speaking of which, I need to post some more videos of his new skills, which include a good-parts-only version of pat-a-cake (i.e. the rolling and the tossing). But first, cookies! Again, because I can. :)

Henry's Birthday!

Our baby turned 1 at the end of last month! He remains (as you shall soon see) ridiculously cute and generally superlative. We didn't do much that was special on the actual day of his birthday, since he and I were both sick, I think. But we did have him open his presents from grandparents, whom he loves (and who love him) very much.

About to open his first present! Clearly I spent hours on the wrapping...

It was a truck! With blocks!

Fun times :) (Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Johnson!)

Opening the push-cart thing. We were hoping it would help his confidence toward walking. So far he's...not so interested. But he does stand up by himself now!

Reading his new book from Grandma and Grandpa Stephens! They also sent him an adorable pirate outfit. I'll have to post a picture of that too. :)

Aaaaaaand here he is reading his book again before bath time. (Couldn't resist.)

And this is the present we got him. He picked it out himself, and he LOVES it. He loves rolling and tossing it around. I think a lot of the fun is the fact that it's as big as he is.

Birthday party pictures coming soon!

Piano!

My parents were wonderful enough to drive here from Utah with a gigantic trailer to bring us the piano we inherited from my grandma. This video was taken back on June 4th of Henry on Grandma Johnson's lap--his first time playing our "new" piano!

Lines of Authority

For several years now I have wondered about my line of priesthood authority. I had asked my dad, who ordained me an elder before I left for my mission in Uruguay, but he did not have his either. In turn he spoke with his father and began a conversation of logistically how lines of authority are recorded. We were unsure if a person had several lines (one for each ordination-deacon, elder, bishop, etc.) or if there was only one according to the highest priesthood office held. We never got straight answers and we were pretty confused and disheartened.

A few days ago, I was waiting for the missionaries at the Oakland Temple Visitor's center for a lesson with an investigator. Before I found out it was cancelled, I wandered downstairs into the Family History library and asked one of the workers if there was a way to access the Church records for ordination. They referred me upstairs to the visitors center and the folks at the desk referred me to a missionary who works in the Visitor's center office. I got conflicting information and left, again, distrought.

Later, I googled "line of authority" and came upon an LDS company that sells (tacky) framed lines of authority with Greg Olsen paintings in the background. I browsed the site and found an email address linked to an office who dealt with lines of authority issues. So I took a chance, emailed them and waited.

Now I would like to say how impressed I am with the church's recent overhaul of their information technology. The New Family Search is brilliant (I logged in and found Henry's pedigree in about 3 min). I can request a copy of my patriarchal blessing with two clicks from the main page. Light years ahead of where it used to be. I am pleased to say that the lines of authority office is in-step with the rest of the church information offices. I received my official line of authority as recorded by the church in 1 day.

Here it is:

• John Lester Stephens High Priest 15 Jul 1990
• Larry Thompson Stephens High Priest 30 Aug 1970
• Robert Dee Sanderson High Priest 27 Aug 1953
• George Quayle Morris High Priest 8 Mar 1908
• Rudger Clawson Apostle 10 Oct 1898
• Lorenzo Snow Apostle 12 Feb 1849
• Heber Chase Kimball Apostle 14 Feb 1835
• The Three Witnesses 14 Feb 1835
• Oliver Cowdery
• David Whitmer
• Martin Harris
• Joseph Smith, Jr Apostle 1829
• Peter, James, and John Apostles ordained during the earthy ministry of:
• Jesus Christ

My priesthood authority comes from an unbroken line of priesthood holders, each conferring the authority to the next by the laying on of hands, directly from the savior himself.

If you are interested in your own line of priesthood authority email: lineofauthority@ldschurch.org

Include the following:

· Full name of the priesthood holder:

· Date of birth:

· Current ward and stake:

· Current priesthood office held:

· Address and ZIP Code:

· Who performed the ordination:

(Note: Priesthood line of authority is not recorded for Aaronic priesthood offices)