Megan's Farewell Weekend — The Johnson Family

Saturday House Tour and Picnic at the Park

We drove back from California early Saturday and made good time getting us back into the warm St. George sun by 3:00pm. Grandma Johnson and her sister Carol and Grandma Walton with Brian had already arrived and had both picked up some groceries for us so we could be ready for the picnic and Farewell. So nice of them!

We visited and relaxed for a few minutes and then decided to run out and see the new house before heading to the park. It’s always fun to pull up and see the progress. It was especially fun to show Ryan and Cassie since they hadn’t seen it and were so excited. The Jacksons joined our tour as well. We checked out the new hole in the backyard for the pool, the completed electrical and noted a few things to chat about with Keaton.

With Grandma Johnson and Grandma Walton and Brian we headed to the park downtown St. George and met up with Chris’ three sisters and their families, and the Jacksons and Theurers. It was a beautiful warm evening and it was fun to eat dinner and chat with everyone as the kids played on the playground equipment, enjoyed some tennis soccer (a new favorite) and then started a field soccer game as the sun went down. We stayed until about 10:00 and then headed home to watch Megan’s ‘last movie’… Into the Heights.

Sunday Morning - Taylor’s Birthday

Sunday morning came early but I was happy to get up and start prepping for the day. As everyone woke up they helped get vegetable plates ready, cookies placed, chicken and grapes mixed up and treats prepped. When Taylor and Katie went for a walk, we quickly got his birthday presents placed on the living room table and cheered ‘Happy Birthday’ to Taylor as they walked back in. 24 years old! So fun to be able to celebrate him on this special day as well. We love Taylor!

We enjoyed french toast with homemade buttermilk syrup and berries (Megan’s pick) and then gathered for COME FOLLOW ME - the funniest part was listening to Ryan explain the timeline of the Lamanites and Nephies and Mulekites with different plants I had sitting around. Love him.

Megan’s Farewell

We got to church early and gathered in the center section of the chapel with our families and friends. Brother Forsey conducted the meeting - which was just perfect. ‘Forsey’ is a teacher at the High School and Megan had spent lots of time wandering into his classroom to chat between classes — sometimes she got asked to speak or received a ward calling during class time and then he’d write out an ‘excused from class’ note for her. As he stood at the pulpit and welcomed everyone he commented that he was able to meet Megan in the ward but that he got to know her better at school - and had the privilege to announce her name each week before Dixie High soccer games. He got a little emotional as he said it was now his privilege to announce her as a Sister Missionary. It was cute.

Megan was the first speaker and did such a great job. We enjoyed a musical number by the Sister Missionaries and then heard from a missionary couple. To conclude we sang ‘Called To Serve’ at Megan’s request. Sister Carr asked me to say the closing prayer and I happily agreed knowing full well that I would be an emotional wreck — especially after singing the song. I did ok but got choked up as I asked for a blessing on Megan that she would start her mission with faith and dedication and that she would be a blessing to the people in New York as well as her family back home. We chatted with the Bishopric, Stake Presidency members and friends before heading to Sunday School — and then dashed home to get ready for the Open House.

The Open House

We enjoyed chicken salad with grapes and cashews on croissants for our Open House Lunch… as well as fruit and vegetables, crackers and cheese charcuterie boards and plates full of cookies and treats. It was fun to visit with the Grandmas, Carol, Nikole and John, Ashlyn, Lindsey and Rob, Pete and Ali, Jon and Megan, Brian, the Farnsworths, Michelle, Haley, the Bennions and to have lots of nieces and nephews running around.

Set Apart as a Missionary

Megan’s received her blessing at the Stake Center at 6:15. President Bown complimented Megan on a really great talk and told her he could tell she was ready to serve. Chris stood with President Bown as he set Megan apart to be a missionary. The blessing was long and I was emotional through most of it. After it was over Taylor made of list of things he remembered about the blessing and texted it to the family text thread, which was so nice.

Blessing Highlights

That you will enjoy the privilege and honor of representing the Lord
That you will feel God’s perfect love for you
That you will have Christlike boldness
That you will see others the way Christ does
That you will rely on the Spirit
That you will be an example to your companions, learn from them and be bold in standing up for what is right
That you will bear powerful witness of Jesus Christ
That you will love the prophets and listen to their words
That you will fall in love with the Book of Mormon
That you will be protected
That you will bear witness of the restoration and Joseph Smith
That the Spirit will be your greatest companion
That you will be a blessing to your family

Family Testimony Meeting

After pictures we headed back to the house for our traditional missionary-leaving family testimony meeting. Megan has always been the girl who best expresses her feelings in written form, so it was no surprise when she handed each of us a hand written letter. One by one we read our letters out loud and then shared our feelings for Megan and our testimony of Christ. Matt was first to read but he couldn’t because of his emotion. All of us cried and it was a perfect start to a tender night. So grateful that our sweet Megan girl wrote things that made each of us feel like we were her favorite. What a blessing to have kids who love each other so much. I just loved hearing all of their words and emotion. When it was Cassie’s turn she presented Megan with a Book of Mormon that she had marked with our favorite scriptures. Each of us spent several weeks thinking about our 10 favorite scriptures and sent them to Cassie so she could mark them. It was such a cute idea. Part of her letter to Megan in the cover of the book said, “Whenever you choose to read from this specific copy, I hope you can feel a connection to each one of us as you read our highlighted verses. Know that although we won’t be with you physically, we are all praying for you. We love you SO MUCH!”

After family prayer and family hugs we got into comfy clothes and headed downstairs to watch some family highlight videos - including all the baby Megan ones! We love our girl.

Makes me so happy to see all of my kids together.

So hard to see these twins say goodbye - especially with Katie and Taylor getting married in just a few short months. Katie has loved having Megan living close by this last year. Everything’s going to change but all good things!

Cute Emily had surgery on her arm last week to remove a ganglion cyst and had to wear her cast over the whole weekend. I just love this picture of her laughing as she tried to hide it behind her back.