OREM — Nov. 22 started like any other day for Marcia Johnson as she knelt in prayer at the side of her bed. This was her time for planning the day and getting that spark of divine inspiration that would put the day's routine activities in motion.
But this day was different. For some reason, the only thing she could focus on was making the bed. As she tidied the bed, the phone rang. From that moment on, her life has been anything but routine.
That phone call informed her that her brother-in-law, Keith Johnson, and his wife Nancy were killed that day near McKinney, Texas, when a semi-truck collided with the family's minivan.
All five of Keith and Nancy Johnson's children were injured.
The youngest son, 1-year-old Caleb, suffered three skull fractures and didn't come home from the hospital until recently.
But home for Caleb Johnson and his siblings no longer is McKinney, Texas. It is Orem, Utah. And Aunt Marcia and Uncle Lane are now, to some extent, mom and dad.
"We were really sensitive about that," Marcia Johnson said.
"We weren't sure about titles, what the kids would want to call us. The younger ones see us as the mom and dad on Earth, but they know they have a mom and dad in heaven, too."
In a matter of days, the Lane and Marcia Johnson family swelled from six to 11 kids. Lane Johnson bought a van that seats 15 and temporarily converted his home office into a bedroom.
The 11 children, who range in age from 17 years to 14 months, double up in the five bedrooms in the house.
It seems like a slumber party at times to the children, Marcia Johnson says, but at some point the family will need a bigger home. When that happens, Lane Johnson isn't sure where the money will come from. He hopes his brother's life insurance policy will help, but he isn't sure how far that money will go.
For now, the home feels cozy, not crowded. A Christmas tree stands in the living room next to a piano. The children sometimes gather around it and belt out a tune.
In spite of the tragedy, they seem happy.
Because the two brothers were always close, both families spent a lot of time together. Lane Johnson thinks the friendship he had with his brother made it easier for the children to adjust.
At the funeral for her parents, 14-year-old Alyse said the tragedy brought her family together.
"I just want everybody to go home and hug their kids and their parents," Alyse said at the funeral. "I just hope that people understand that it can happen really quickly. Every time you part, think of it as being your last time, just in case it is."
Without their religious faith and help from friends, Marcia and Lane Johnson say they could never do it. When the children arrived, the doorbell never stopped ringing, and the answering machine was flooded with calls from neighbors who wanted to help.
Neighbors come in shifts to bathe and feed Andre, 5, who is in a body cast. One day their local leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stopped by the house with an envelope of money. He wouldn't say where it came from.
"It's easy to watch the news and read the newspapers and think there aren't many good people left. But this experience has taught us that that's not the case," Lane Johnson said.
Marcia nods in agreement, "People are good," she said. "That's what we've learned, people are good."
E-MAIL: jhyde@desnews.com