The Johnsons meet the Huntsville E.R.

We became acquainted with the prompt care of our new city this week. It began on Wednesday when Olivia was taking off her socks. One of them popped up and hit her in the eye. She shed a few tears, and I did not think much more about it. When we were about to leave for church that night, I noticed that her eye was watering. We gave her Visene and sent her to bed that night. It took a long time for her to go to sleep. She was up at 12:30, 1:30 and 2:00. She said her eye and her ear was hurting. Mark finally got up and took her to the emergency room. It turned out that she had an abrasion on her eye and an ear infection. Who knew a sock could be so dangerous?!?

Anna Grace did not want to be left out. She started running a fever yesterday, and we took her to a walk in clinic this morning. She has an ear infection and an upper respiratory infection.

The good news is that we got these little medical excursions out of the way before we left for vacation. We are praying that we will be able to stay away from all medical facilities for the next week!

My Little Runaway

We went to a Life Group Christmas Party on Sunday night. We had a good time meeting some new families. The children had a blast! Isaac played flashlight tag with the older children. Bailey and Olivia played dress up with the host family's daughter and Anna Grace wandered around smiling. The children were all a little unhappy (understatement) when it was time to leave. Olivia threw a fit that only a three year old can. While Mark was dealing with her, I walked the other children out to the van. I had my hands full of our miscellaneous stuff (we do not travel lightly) and Anna Grace was walking beside me. We got to the van, and I expected Anna Grace to climb up into her seat as usual. Instead, she turned, smiled at me and ran towards the street. It was dark, and a car was coming. I threw everything down and took off after her, yelling for her to stop. She thought it was a game, and ran faster, laughing hysterically. I finally caught up with her, right before she hit the street. Needless to say, I was terrified! I managed to twist my foot, and I have been limping ever since. I am so thankful that it was a injured foot instead of something much more tragic. We have been training Anna Grace on the word "STOP" ever since. Praise God for his protection!

Aunt Novella

We travelled home to Tennessee this past weekend to say good-bye to a very special lady. Mark's Aunt Novella went to be with the Lord last Tuesday evening. She was eighty-three years old, and lived her life to the fullest up until the very last. She had the privilege of having her last memories be of worshipping with her church family. What a blessing!

Aunt Novella was very special to us. Mark's paternal grandparents died several years before he was born, and Aunt Novella was a grandmother figure to him. She welcomed me into the family with open arms, and loved my children like her own grandchildren. She loved her church family, was very involved in the Eastern Star, and volunteered at the hospital up until the very end of her life. What a way to live! I pray that I can live and die like her! I will miss you Aunt Novella, and I look forward to seeing you again!

Learning how to win and lose

Isaac and I played a game called Math War today. It is the same concept as the traditional game of War that you can play with any deck of cards. Each player turns over a card and the one with the highest number wins. The Math War deck of cards has addition and subtraction problems on them, so each player has to solve their math problem, and whoever has the highest answer wins. The game is designed to help children (and maybe their mommies) practice math facts. It soon became obvious, that Isaac was enjoying the game as long as he had the most cards. As soon as it looked like I might be gaining some ground, the game was suddenly not so fun anymore. I understand where Isaac is coming from. It is always more fun when you are winning, whether you are a child or an adult. It did make me wonder, though, if there is any way to help children learn to be good winners and good losers. I need to do some thinking and praying about it. I think that if there is any way to help my children learn those skills, it would be a great victory (an even better one than learning math facts)!

Quotes

Here are a few quotes I have heard around our house lately...

"Are you going to marry Daddy?" --whispered to me in a giggly voice by Olivia.

"Will you read my Bible to me?" --Bailey

"I can't hear the TV Mommy!" --Olivia, when I was trying to impress her by singing along with the songs from Beauty and the Beast

"Clubhouse!" -- Anna Grace (her word for Mickey Mouse)

"I have a headache of church. We go there everyday!" --Olivia when we went back for Bible study on Sunday night.

"Daddy, did you know that bread grows hair if we keep it too long?" -- Bailey

When I asked Olivia what kind of cereal she wanted for breakfast, she said, "A Lot!"

"Remember a long time ago, when I threw a fit at Kathleen's house?" --Olivia, the morning after she threw the fit. Yes, we remember!

"Get up Mamma!" -- Anna Grace as she was dragging me away from the computer to read her a book.

Kim's Tips to Fitting in at a New Church...

The hardest thing about relocating to Alabama (for me) has been leaving our old church family and starting the process of finding a new one. I had forgotten how hard it is to be the "new family on the block." Church can be the most wonderful place on earth, but it can also be the loneliest. We went through this same process when we moved to Louisiana, and it was very difficult. God blessed us greatly through those wonderful brothers and sisters, and the loneliness quickly passed. Looking back on that experience has helped me to remember that this transition will also pass. I thought that I would write down a few "tips" that I am learning while I am in the middle of it all, so that I can have them to look back on if I ever walk this road again.


1. Expect to mourn leaving your old church family. I underestimated how emotional I would be about this. I had a hard time holding back the tears on our first Sunday here. I struggled even more today, despite the fact it was our fourth or fifth visit. For some reason, I started crying during church and could not stop. It was not the calm, shed a tear or two type of crying. It was the red-faced, I need a tissue, I am going to leave and go for a drive kind of crying. I kept hearing the Cheer's theme song playing in my head, and I could not hold back the flood. I tend to be a "cry in private" kind of person, so this was a bit unsettling to me. It was not that the people were not friendly, it was just that I missed walking in and knowing most of the people. I missed already knowing their names without having to think about it. I missed so many things and so many people. I had to remind myself that this will pass!
***Note: One benefit of breaking down during church is that people do notice you and talk nicely to you(maybe I should have made this one of the tips!).

2. Expect the children to go through the mourning process as well! Even Olivia, who is only three, is dealing with these emotions. She has said several times, "I want to go to the church that has Emma in it!" Isaac and Bailey miss their friends also. It is hard to my mamma's heart to watch!

3. Linger I have seen visitors who escape the moment that the final prayer has been prayed, and give no one a chance to talk to them. I understand this temptation (meeting new people can be exhausting!), but is definitely not the way to make friends!

4. Go to church on Wednesday nights. We found that we were able to meet and fellowship with others much easier at Wednesday evening church than on Sunday morning. The crowd is smaller, and visitors stand out more.

5. Have children (this is obviously not a tip for everyone!). Mark found that many more people talked to him when he the children and me with him than when he visited alone. I think that it is hard to miss the six of us! We have gotten to know a few of the children's teachers and the children's minister.

6. Attend a small group. Tonight was our first time to visit a small group. The thought of visiting a small group with four children was exhausting, but it was well worth the effort. We were able to connect with several other families, and that was a blessing!

7. Have realistic expectations. I have to keep reminding myself that this will take time. I will not have close friends here in a week or two. Other people are chasing their children around the church too, so not everyone will have time to talk to me.

8. Pray God is faithful!

To Be Continued...

A fine-tuned sense of smell

Olivia has a very keen sense of smell. She is also a very verbal three-year-old. This can be a good combination. She often alerts me that I need to change Anna Grace's diaper or take out the trash. It can also be a very bad combination! While we were visiting with family over the Thanksgiving holiday, Olivia told my brother (who had been mowing grass) that he smelled like gas and dirt. Earlier that same week, a nice man came to hook up our cable. Olivia was chatting with him while he worked in the living room. I was playing a game with Isaac in the next room. I heard Olivia tell the nice man, "I smell something, and it is you!" Thankfully, he did not understand what she said and I quickly called out of the room before she could repeat herself. We have since had a talk about not hurting people's feelings! Olivia definitely keeps us on our toes!