Emma's Princess Party for her 5th birthday was a huge success! All the royal guests had a great time - at the castle on Escalante Road. The royal events started out with playing on the splash pad, grilling hot dogs, opening presents, and eating the beautiful pink strawberry princess cake Queen Sarah made (she did a GREAT job!).

Then princess & queen crowns were decorated, lots of pictures were taken, and then our hair, nails & make-up were done. Some of the princesses watched movies, ate popcorn, and even played a few songs on Rock Band. A beautiful story - "Parable of the Princesses" by Jenny Phillips was read. We had a few princes in attendance - Prince Mikey & Prince Brigham - and Great Grandma Queen (Nadine) was right in the middle of all activities. Queen Tammy & Princess Abigail slept in the upstairs guestroom, Queen Sarah & Princess Eliza in the downstairs guestroom, and all the princesses (Brianna, Ashley, Alexis, Destiny, Lucy, Emma, & Rachael) slept on the floor in the basement or on the futon, or pull-out bed. Princesses Amber & Jenny went to their respective castles and slept with their Queens Trina & Tammy & Kings Billy & Rick! Even though most didn't go to sleep until midnight, pancakes were served bright & early before King Grandpa went to help a lady in distress (move) and then to help Main Queen (me - Grandma Debbie) at a primary water activity day. It was a full, happy day!

Princess Party

All's Quiet on the Home Front!

The Johnson grandkids are back home now with mom & dad! We truly enjoyed having them with us - what delightful children....they're so related to me! hehehe:) Friday night we took them to R & R Pizza Express and had some great pizza - then we headed on over to Fry's to pick up a few groceries. While driving over I was racking my mind trying to figure out how to keep them happy and busy at the grocery store. Bright Idea! Have them play ABC Groceries! I had each one of them try to find a product or item that started with each letter of the alphabet in order. When they found an item they had to come back to Don or I, tell us the item, and then take off to find the next letter. They had fun and we did too! Don't remember who won....I think we all did! What a joy grandchildren are.

Princess Party coming up tomorrow 7/25/08! Just for princesses & queens! We're celebrating Emma's 5th birthday with a slumber party, goodies, arts & crafts, make up, and a beautiful story and song entitled "The Parable of the Princesses" by Jenny Phillips. I will look so beautiful after the granddaughters do a makeover on me! Fun, fun, fun!

I'm enjoying serving in the Primary. Saturday 7/25/08 we are having an Pioneer Activity Day complete with water games, pioneer games and otter pops! Sunday - we are having a Pioneer Sharing Activity complete with pretend campfire, pioneer dresses - (I will look so cute!) songs and stories. I'm going to tell this story:

Mary Bathgate & Isabella Park were handcart pioneers - part of the Daniel McArthurs company of 1856. They were old women - about 60 years old - older than I am!!!

They didn't have a handcart to push or pull - they were Walkers, and were pretty smart - they always liked to take the lead which kept them out of the dust and game them the firmest footing. They bragged about how they were going to walk all the way to Salt Lake City and vowed that they would never ride in a wagon or cart.

One day Mary was talking and visiting with Isabella as they walked and all of a sudden something bit Mary on the ankle! It was a RATTLESNAKE! Mary didn't hear the rattle of the snake until just a second or two before he struck. Oh, it hurt so bad!

Mary sank to the ground, pulled her long full skirt up above her ankle, took off her garter that she used to hold up her socks and feeling faint & sick to her stomach, tied the garter tightly above the bite.

Help was called for and the captain of the company came to help. He told Mary that he was going to have to use his pocket knife and cut the back of her leg above the ankle to - between the four puncture bites to get the poison out. Mary asked him if he had brought his consecrated oil so they could administer to her (he had!). She said "There's power in the priesthood & I know it".

One of the men held Mary tight, so she couldn't move and the captain took his big knife and made one quick but deep slash between two of the puncture wounds. Blood spurted out! Mary screamed - it hurt so bad....her body was trembling. Then the captain told Mary he had to make another cut. He did it quickly and Mary moaned. They thought she would faint - but she didn't - she just took in air with quick frantic gulps. The captain began to squeeze the leg and blood poured out and dripped onto the sand. They had to get all the poison out.

The the priesthood leaders laid their hands on Mary's head and gave her a priesthood blessing. Mary had great faith that the Lord would heal her. Brother McArthur wrote "...we took and anoited her leg and head, and laid our hands on her in the name of Jesus and felt to rebuke the influence of the poison, and she felt full of faith." The men told Mary that she would have to ride in a wagon and she got really mad. She didn't want to ride in a wagon. But she was smart enough to finally realize that she couldn't walk on her leg.

But she told the group - I want you to be my witness - "That I never got into a wagon until Iwas compelled to by that cursed snake.

Isabella had been giving comfort to Mary throughout this ordeal. And when it time to travel on, Isabella wanted to check on her friend Mary one more time, so she moved towards the wagon really fast - so fast that the teamster didn't even see her. The lead mule knocked her down and she fell beneath the hooves of the teams. She fell directly in the path of the wagon sheels. The front wheels of the fully loaded wagon went directly over both hips. She screamed out in agony. Fortunately one of the brethren was standing just a few feet away. When he saw whwat has happening, he dived for her, grabbed her arms, and dragged her outward. Quick as he was, he wasn't quite quick enough. The rear wheels then passed over both of her ankles. She was in agony. That wagon had passed over her body twice - and it was fully loaded with flour, about four thousands pounds of it! And do you know what? There was not a broken bone! But she was in tremendous pain and had bad bruises.

The priesthood brethren administered to her, just like they had to Mary. They got Isabella into the wagon. Her friend Mary teased her about wanting to give her company.

Mary & Isabella were quite sore for a while, but before they got to the Salt Lake Valley they were out there walking together again cheering each other up. They walked together, they rode together, and suffered together....and together they witnessed the power of the Lord.