Christmas tree memories

Taking down the Christmas tree is one of my least favorite things about the Christmas season. I love putting it up. The children are excited to help and it is a fun family night. It helps to build the excitement and anticipation of things to come. Taking it down, on the other hand, means that another Christmas season has come to an end. I am usually in the mood to organize our entire house and throw away half of what we own. I guess that spring cleaning fever hits me somewhere around December 31.

I was not planning to take down the tree today. My to do list was too long, and our house had that "day after vacation" look to it. I woke up to piles of suitcases, clothes and toys that needed to be put away. I told myself that my goal for the week was to have the house look a little neater when I went to bed than it had been when I got up that morning. But after looking at the tree for about the hundredth time this afternoon, I couldn't help it. It became an obsession to get the tree down. I come by it honestly. We left my mom's house on the 25th, and when we came back on the 26th, her tree was down. It must run in our family!

Bailey and Olivia helped me take the decorations, and we talked about the ornaments as I packed them away. The dreaded task became a bit of a walk down memory lane. My mom gives each one of the children an ornament in their stocking each year. She tries to pick one out that reflects an interest they have that year.

Isaac, being the oldest, had the most. Being the first born, he had several "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments from his baby showers. He also had some Tennessee Volunteer ornaments, given to him to make sure he knows who is favorite team is. I saw the little dog ornament from the year he was one. "Dog" was his first word. It brought back sweet memories of him standing at our front window watching the dogs across the street. There was a Veggie Tale ornament the next year, during his Veggie Tale obsession. The next year it was Thomas the Train. The Thomas ornaments are gone because he snuck them off the tree and played with them so many times they fell apart! The girls also each had several, mostly pink and sparkly. Bailey has a set of Barbie and a set of princesses. My favorite one of Olivia's is a pig. Last year, whenever you asked her what she wanted, she said a pink piggy! I love this tradition, and I know this ornament collection will be very valuable to each of my children someday!

Settling in

We travelled home to Alabama yesterday. It was great to have less than a four hour drive. We are used to having a full day's drive after Christmas vacation. I am always ready to get back into a normal routine at this time of the year. I crave normal sleeping arrangements, a more organized house, and better eating habits. This year is a little different. When we were driving home yesterday, I thought to myself, "It will be nice to get back to normal." My next thought was, "We are not getting back to our old normal, we are getting back to Alabama normal." I am not really sure what that looks like yet. We moved in the week before Thanksgiving, and I jumped into unpacking boxes and making Christmas preparations. We travelled home for Thanksgiving, a funeral, and then Christmas. We have only had two weekends at home since we moved in. In other words, we have not had a "normal routine" for several months. So, now we are about to move into January, which looks like it will be a very normal month. It is time for us to start working on building (and continue praying about) our new lives here. I have to admit, it makes me a little lonely. I usually look forward to coming home and seeing our friends and getting back to our routine at church. It also makes me a little excited. I am looking forward to seeing what God has planned for our lives in 2008. I look forward to making new friends and visiting with our old ones. I am really ready to get settled in!

Growing Up...

Anna Grace is officially no longer a baby! How do I know? She tells me many times a day! She has had a bit of a vocabulary explosion and is starting to string together some words. One of her new expressions is a rebuke to me whenever I refer to her as my baby. She says, "No baby ... Anna!" I never realized how often I call her my baby until she started objecting when I do! I love this stage, when you never know what new word they will come out with. She keeps me smiling (most of the time!). I love being her mommy!

Merry Christmas!

Another Christmas Day is here, and it has been very merry! We celebrated with my parents, my brother Wes, my brother Bo and his girlfriend Lindley last night. We kicked off the evening with a yummy steak and shrimp dinner and then opened presents. There were lots of smiles and thank-yous. Isaac added to his Transformer and Lego collections, Anna Grace got a Little People Bus and a See and Say, Bailey got sparkly shoes and a guitar, and Olivia got a Belle costume and guitar, among many other things. I look forward to hearing the duets that Olivia and Bailey play on their guitars (move over Hannah Montanna)! It was truly a gift to be with our family for the evening!

We drove to Johnson City this morning to celebrate with Mamaw (Mark's mom). The children wanted to open presents as soon as we walked in the door, and I think that Mamaw secretly wanted to also! Afterwards, we ate lunch (the Honey Baked ham was my personal favorite) and then relaxed while the children played with their new toys. Anna Grace has been having lots of conversations with Elmo on her new Elmo phone (I have his catchy little tune playing in my head). Bailey and Olivia have been busy with their new Barbies -- Repunzel, the Swan Princess and Holiday Barbie. Isaac has already finished putting together his Neoshifter and transforming his new Transformer. They are a happy bunch of children!

Mark is heading back to Alabama tomorrow to work one day and will then drive back up Thursday night. We are celebrating Mamaw's 70th birthday on Saturday. Then we will all drive back to Madison on Sunday. What a blessing it has been to celebrate with our family. The older I get, the more I realize what a gift family really is. Merry Christmas!

The Johnson Family Christmas

We had our family Christmas celebration on Thursday night. We usually pick out an evening several days before we leave for our Tennessee Christmas to have a special family dinner and open presents. This year, some good friends from Baton Rouge, the Tuckers, stopped by for dinner on their way to Nashville. It was so good to see some familiar Baton Rouge faces!

After they left, we let the children open their stockings and one present. After we got into it, we decided to go ahead and open them all. We were up a little late, but it was lots of fun! The next night, we had our Christmas supper, which consisted of steak, shrimp and stir fry, along with hot dogs and French Fries (requested by some little people!). Santa snuck by and left some presents on our door step since he knew we would not be there at Christmas time.

The children each have different present opening personalities. Isaac opens a present, glances at it, and then wants to move on to the next one. He will go back and be excited about them and study them when all of the presents are open. Anna Grace, on the other hand, opened the snack at the top of her stocking, and sat there munching and watching everyone else scurry around. She took her presents much more slowly. Bailey and Olivia were somewhere in between the two extremes.

Some favorite presents:

Isaac: Darth Vador Transformer, Leapster game, legos, Bionicle

Bailey: Leapster and game, baby doll and accesories, Island Princess movie

Olivia: doll house village, bath tub baby doll

Anna Grace: Busy Bible, Mickey Mouse phone (The $2.00 after thought present from the Walmart check-out, which turned out to be her favorite present), baby doll, wind up clock

Mark: Tivo, Three Stooges pajama pants

Kim: Scrapbook program, perfume, candle

Family Gifts: Scooby Doo Season 1 & 2, Andy Griffith Season 1, popcorn popper

December Family Nights

We have tried to establish some Christmas traditions for our family. Sometimes, given the age of our sweet children, our plans do not turn out picture perfect, but they are always memorable! We have several family nights that we try to do every December.

Our first December family night was our Christmas tree decorating night. This year, Mark set up the tree the night before, which help reduce the stress of the children trying to decorate the tree before he was done setting it up. The children had lots of fun putting the ornaments on the tree. My mom gets each of them an ornament each year, and they like looking at all of their ornaments. When we were finished decorating the tree, Mark read the Christmas story and then we had cupcakes to celebrate the birth of Jesus. We try to start off the Christmas season with a reminder of why we are celebrating!

Our second family night was actually a family morning. We usually make Christmas cookies one Friday night during December, but this year I thought Mommy might be in a better frame of mind first thing in the morning! We used my Granny's sugar cookie recipe, and the children had lots of fun. Anna Grace even took a turn helping Mommy. We all ate a few more cookies than we should have, but it was a great day!

Tuesday night we drove to look at some Christmas lights. The Huntsville Botantical Garden decorates their grounds with lots of neat lights. A new friend at church gave us a prepaid ticket, and we all enjoyed a good time together.

I really love celebrating Christmas with children!

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!

Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving! I must admit that I love it even more now that we do not have to drive twelve hours to celebrate it! We made the 221 (as opposed to the usual 680) mile drive to Knoxville last week and celebrated with my family. We spent Thanksgiving Day eating way too much food and enjoying family. I had not seen my brother Wes since he moved to Colorado a year and a half ago, so I loved seeing him again. He brought his "special friend" Rebekah home with him, and we enjoyed meeting her. I think that she is a keeper!

The day after Thanksgiving (aka Black Friday), Mom and I hit Kohl's at 4:00 A.M. It was ridiculously early, but I loved it. We spent the day shopping, waiting in line, yawning, finding great deals, and enjoying each other's company. It is the one day of the year that Mom and I can go out and not worry about how long we stay. Mark took the children to his mom's house, so I was free from responsibility for the day. We finished up our shopping around 5:30 P.M. We were exhausted, but happy. I know that many people can not fathom why anyone would want to shop that day, but it is a tradition that I cherish!

Settling In

We are getting settled into our new life here in Madison, Alabama. It has been quite a hectic month! The movers delivered our stuff two weeks ago, and the cavalry (a.k.a. my parents and Mark's mom) arrived the next day to help us unpack. We now have almost all of the boxes unpacked, and our house is starting to look more like a home.

We have been visiting Twickenham Church of Christ, and we are beginning to get to know a few people. It is so hard to go from knowing almost everyone at church to not knowing anyone. I have gotten to the point where I do not have to fight the tears when I walk in the church doors! Several families have reached out to us, which is a blessing. I had forgotten how nice it is to be invited out to lunch when you are in a new place!

Mark is getting settled in at work as well. He really likes it so far, and he seems much less stressed when he comes home from work.

We have been blessed to have such a smooth transition. Praise God!

Santa?!?

We went to Big Bob Gibson's barbecue restaurant in Decatur on Sunday. As we were pulling into our parking spot, an older gentleman was walking out. He had a long white beard, white hair, and a jolly belly to go with it. Olivia was staring at him, and I explained that she thought he looked like Santa. He said, "Well, I am!" He then went on to pull our a business card and hand it to her. It thrilled her heart to no end! I am not sure that he really lives at the North Pole, but at that moment he sure was Santa to Olivia!

Saying Good-Bye/Saying Hello

It seems like the last couple of weeks have been full of Baton Rouge lasts - Isaac and Bailey's last music practices, Anna Grace and Olivia's last day of Mother's Day Out, our last Wednesday night at church, etc. Isaac has been especially sensitive to these lasts. I have been so busy getting us ready to move, that I have not allowed myself to put a lot of thought into these occasions. In many ways our move has not seemed real to me -- I have been on auto pilot.

We had an overwhelming going away party from our church family. We were really touched by the people who came to tell us good-bye. It was a very memorable occasion! I shed quite a few tears at the loving words spoken to us by people that we hold dear to our hearts.

We have not officially left Baton Rouge yet. We are going to go down in two weeks and oversee the packing and loading of our stuff and officially move. Despite the fact we have not officially left, our firsts have already begun. Ironically, the firsts have seemed to affect me much more than the lasts. We had our first day visiting a new church on Sunday, and I was a mess on the inside. Isaac and Bailey were apprehensive, and I was right there with them. It was not that I was nervous about meeting new people, that does not typically bother me. It was more of the loneliness that comes with walking into a church where I know nobody, when I am used to walking in and knowing almost everyone. I was on the verge of tears most of the time, but I managed not to "lose it". The children's program was great, and the children felt very welcomed. That went a long way towards calming this mama's heart! One of Mark's old roommates and his family attends the church, and we went to lunch with them. That helped us to feel a little more at home.

I think that our first Sunday at a new church made our move seem much more real. It made me sorely miss my friends that I am used to visiting with at church. After church, I told Mark that I did not want to make new friends, I love the ones I have! I am praying that God will make us feel at home in Alabama. I am also going to pray that God will help me to be sensitive to others who are walking into church for the first time. It can be a very lonely time!

Catching Up

Wow, October has been a whirlwind of a month! I am going to try to catch up in the next several posts. I am spending a week and a half at my parents' house, so I should have a little more time to record my memories!

Mark and I went on a house hunting trip two weeks ago. We packed up the family on a Tuesday night and drove to Meridian, Mississippi. We stayed in a hotel with an indoor pool. We enjoyed the continental breakfast and the pool on Wednesday morning, and then made our way to Chattanooga, Tennessee. We met my parents for supper and they took the children back to their place to spend a few days. Mark and I headed to Decatur, Alabama.

We spent Thursday and Friday looking at about twenty houses in Decatur and Madison. It was a little overwhelming! I felt like I was on the television show "House Hunters" on HGTV. We had originally wanted to find a five bedroom house, which is what we have now, but there were none to be found in our price range. We narrowed our choices down to our favorite three (all four bedrooms): two in Decatur and one in Madison. We finally made the decision to buy the one in Madison, because it is half way between Mark's job and the church we think we might want to attend in Huntsville. We put an offer in on Friday afternoon, and they accepted it Friday night. Needless to say, it was a busy two days!

We drove back to Chattanooga on Saturday and spent the day shopping and watching football. My parents brought the children back on Sunday morning. It was really good to see them! Anna Grace was especially glad to see us. She has developed a serious case of separation anxiety since that trip! I am so thankful that Mom and Dad were able to watch the children. I can not imagine looking for a house with our litte ones with us!

Praise God for Innocence!

Isaac and I had an interesting conversation a few minutes ago. He walked into the kitchen while I was washing dishes.

Isaac-- "Mom, what's the F-word?"

Me (as I caught my breath) "What do you mean?"

Isaac-- "You know how different letters of the alphabet have bad words that go with them, like the 'S-Word'. I do even like to say it. Stt, Stt, Stt..."

Me -- "You mean 'stupid'?"

Isaac -- "Yes."

Me -- "How do you know there is an F-word?"

Isaac -- "I have heard kids talk about it."

Me -- "Oh."

Isaac -- "I think it is the word 'Fat'..."

Me (breathing a sigh of relief) -- "Oh, you may be right."

Isaac left the room, and I smiled and praised God for innocence.

A short update

Mark officially resigned today. His last day will be two weeks from today! His first day at his new job will be the next week. The children and I are going to be nomads for a few weeks after that, wandering from place to place (and spending part of our time here at home). What an adventure we are on! Praise God for the peace we have in this whole process!

A few pictures...

Good friends!

Love those turtles!
This is what happens when you try to take a picture of seven children under seven. Can you find Olivia? Some part of her is there!

Safety First!

My People

Olivia has been playing with a bowl full of plastic forks all week. She calls them her people (never mind the fact that we have a house full of dolls, Little People, Barbie Princesses, etc.). The spoons come in two colors, white and beige. The beige ones are all named Derek and the white ones are Erika. She talks to them and looks for them every morning. Who knows, maybe she will get a bag of spoons for Christmas!

Change is in the air!

I have not written in a couple of weeks, and what a couple of weeks it has been! Mark went for a job interview on September 17, and was offered a job (in Decatur, AL) the next day. We had been praying that God would make the decision very obvious, and He did! Mark really liked the job, and they gave him a good offer. When Mark called me with the news of the offer, I was really excited! He was excited, and I was very happy for him. Then, I was talking on the phone with a friend, telling her the news, and it hit me! We were really going to leave Baton Rouge! Before we were done talking, we were both crying! A few minutes later, another friend called to chat, and I was sobbing again. After that, I made the executive decision to email everyone else(besides our family)! I told Isaac and Bailey the news a few hours later, and they were heartbroken! Bailey cried for about thirty minutes, and Isaac kept lamenting all the things he would not be able to do again and all of the things he would miss.

When we moved here six years ago, I did not want to come! I did not want to move twelve hours away from my family. I did not want to leave the mountains! I did not want to leave my friends! I cried buckets and prayed a lot. I prayed for God to prepare a place for us, and He did. I would have never imagined that I would cry buckets when it was time to leave Baton Rouge! God really prepared a wonderful place for us! Now, here I am praying that same prayer about Huntsville, and trusting that He will be faithful to answer our prayers once again.

After the first two days, I was able to focus on the wonderful aspects of this move. We will be only 230 miles away from my parents (instead of 680). Mark will have the opportunity to try a job that is a little different from what he is doing now. He is really ready for the change of pace!He worked at this plant right after he graduated from collage, and he really liked the area. I am excited. I know that it will be hard when it comes time for us to actually move, but I am firmly convinced that the friends we have here are friends for life (we are making sure that are new house has a guest room).

We have been in a bit of a holding pattern for the last week. It is my nature to spring into action when change is in the air. When I hear that we are moving, I want to know what I need to do to get our house ready and to find a new house. The new company is taking good care of us (packing us, possibly buying our house, etc.), so there is not a lot for us to do. I have done some painting and cleaning. I have also been going through our stuff, looking for stuff we do not really need (my children are worried every time they see me with a trash bag). Right now we are waiting on the results of Mark's background check and drug test (we are not too concerned), and then things should happen quickly. I have been studying all of the houses available in the Decatur/Huntsville area on the Internet. I feel like I have memorized them enough that I could move up there and be a real estate agent! So, I am having to patient and work on the time frame laid out by the company (instead of the one in Kim's world).

Wow! That is probably enough rambling for this post. This is really an exciting/bittersweet time for us. I am thankful for the opportunities that lie ahead!

Blue Bayou

Splash!

Love that blue tongue!

Daddy's Girl!

Spider Girl?!?

Our much anticipated trip to Blue Bayou went very well! We arrived a few minutes before 10:00, and stayed until 5:15. That is an amazing amount of time for our four children family! Exxon really knows how to put on a picnic. We had a free lunch (barbecue chicken for Mark and me, and hot dogs and chips for the children). We also had snow cones, ice cream sandwiches and all of the soft drinks we wanted. They gave away door prizes each hour. Isaac won a ten dollar gift card to Toys R Us (He was thrilled!).

Bailey shocked Mark and me! She was the queen of adventure. She and Mark went on a roller coaster, two "grown-up" water slides, the swings, and the "Music Express" ride. She seemed to be fearless! Isaac put a lot of thought into the bigger rides and talked himself out of them all. He did have a blast going down the slides in Pirates Cove and relaxing on the lazy river. Olivia went down one of the smaller water slides in Pirates Cove face down (she has a nice bruise under her eye), and decided that was enough for her. The dry rides (merry-go-round, cars, planes, etc.) were her favorite. Anna Grace enjoyed splashing in the water and watching the older children be adventurous. I had a good time riding the swings. I could tell that I am getting older by the slightly yucky feeling in my stomach when I was done swinging. That feeling did not used to be there! Mark was a great dad! Thankfully, he was willing to go on all of those rides with Bailey.

What a wonderful day! There should be a lot of sleeping going on at our house tonight!

My favorite quotes of the day --

--Isaac said, "I wish this day could go on forever!"

--Bailey asked, "How many days until we can come again?" (365)

--When Mark asked Olivia if she would like to go down a water slide with him (after her face incident), she said, "I'll stay here and take care of Anna Grace!"

Tidbits from our Week

--We had Mommy & Me on Monday. My new friend Sara hosted us this week. For various reasons, we were the only ones that could make it, which gave the two of us lots of time to talk. I had a really nice time visiting with Sara. She, her husband and cute little one-year-old son just moved here. Her situation reminds me a lot of mine when we first moved here. I remember those first few weeks of missing my family and trying to make new friends. I vividly remember my first Sunday at our church. I was standing in the lobby (Isaac had gotten tired of the sermon) and everyone around me knew each other. I prayed that God would send someone to talk to me, and I was so thankful that He did! God really blessed me, and I pray that I can bless others in similar situations.

--Bailey started music class with Mrs. Judy on Monday evening. Isaac has been taking the class for a year now, and we are thrilled with all that he has learned. Bailey got up Tuesday morning and asked if she could go again. Mark is taking her to the class. It is a great chance for him to spend some quality time with his Bailey girl and learn some new things about music at the same time!

--Our school time went really well this week. We are starting to get used to our routine, and things are starting to go a little more smoothly.

--We had Kindergarten Club story time at the library on Thursday. I met several new homeschooling moms whom I enjoyed talking to. I am thankful to have company on this homeschooling journey!

--My favorite quote of the week comes from Olivia. I was putting Anna Grace down for a nap, and I turned the fan on. It started to make a squeaking sound (my $2 yard sale fan is high quality!). Olivia said, "Let me handle this." She went over and started to hit it. Her talents never end!

--Tomorrow is our much anticipated trip to Blue Bayou water park. Exxon is having their annual family picnic there, and the children have been asking about it since last September. It should be quite an adventure!

Some Pig! Terrific! Radiiant! Humble!

Tonight was our Charlotte's Web family night. I have been reading the book aloud to Isaac and Bailey as part of their homeschool. We finished it on Wednesday (it was suppose to take us another week, but we could not stop!). Isaac and I both cried at the end of the next to the last chapter (I have already ruined the ending of the book for my dear sweet friend Mela this week, so I will not write the ending here. I am really sorry Mela!), even though we had both seen the movie and I have read the book several times in my life. It is a really good story!

We had a special Charlotte's Web supper. We ate pigs in a blanket, Templeton (the rat) peaches, popcorn and spiders made from crackers, peanut butter and pretzels. We also made a Charlotte cake and some baby spider cupcakes. The children and I had a good time getting everything ready (and keeping it a secret from Daddy). We finished the night by watching the movie. Isaac was able to find quite a few (small) differences between the book and the movie. I think he and Bailey enjoyed the movie more now that they have read the book. We had a great night!

Our favorites:

--Isaac's favorite part of the movie was when they went to the fair. His least favorite part was the sad part that we will not mention!

--Bailey's favorite part was the last chapter.

--Olivia liked the part with the rotten goose egg.

--Anna liked looking at the pig on the television.

--My favorite scene from the movie is when Fern's mother goes to see the doctor to discuss her concerns that Fern is spending too much time with the animals in the barn and not enough time with other children. The doctor said, "There's a name for her condition, it is called a childhood phase. Sadly enough she'll grow out of it soon."

Happenings at Our House

Nanna and Grand-Bob (my parents) came for a visit over Labor Day weekend. It was really great to have them here. Mom and I were able to get in some shopping (love those summer clearance sales), and we did our normal outings with the children (Dollar Store, Sam's, and Chick-fila-A). Mom and Dad showed how much they love my children by eating lunch at McDonald's. It is most definitely not their favorite restaurant! It was hard to see them go. Isaac, especially, takes it very hard when they leave.

Olivia and Anna Grace started "school" this week. They are going to Mother's Day Out at a local church two days a week for four and a half hours a day. So far, they are doing very well. Earlier in the summer, I thought that I would be very sad when it came time to put them in. This week, I actually really enjoyed it! It was nice to have some time with just Isaac and Bailey. We were able to get some good school work accomplished and run some errands. I was really glad to see the little ones when it was time to pick them up. I am thankful for a great first week!

Anna Grace went "crib riding" two nights ago. She is usually very easy to put to bed. We put her in her bed and she typically looks at books until she is tired and then she goes to sleep. This particular night she was very restless. She started screaming, and I went to check on her. She had managed to put one leg over the crib rail and was perched up on top of the rail, riding it like a horse. She was terrified! We eventually got her to sleep, and she has not attempted it again. I am hoping it does not happen again -- I am not ready for her to move to a "big-girl" bed!

Mark and I went on a date last night. We had to get a baby sitter because we both had meetings at the same time, so we decided to take advantage of it and go out to eat afterwards. We had a yummy meal and a traditional stop at Starbucks on the way home. It is so good for us to have a little time away. The babysitter did a great job. My house was quite a bit cleaner than when I left. What a blessing!

I am heading up the Kindergarten Club for our local homeschool group this year. We were in it last year and really enjoyed it. We are having a mom's Coffee and Dessert night at La Madeline's restaurant tonight. Our other September activities are story time at the library and a tour of Papa John's (we also get to make our own pizza -- yummy!). So far, I have had about fourteen families join. I am looking forward to meeting the other moms.

It is funny how activities seem to come in waves. This has been a very busy week, and then the rest of September is pretty open. I am ready for a few more nights at home!

A quote from Mark...

I just read a great quote:
"I have lived a long life and had many troubles, most of which never happened."
Mark Twain (reminds me of another Mark I know!)

Ladybugs!

Olivia had a nightmare about ladybugs this morning. She was calling out and I went in to comfort her. She said the ladybugs were crawling up her and trying to kill her! Hopefully this will not lead to some great ladybug phobia!

Catching up!

It has been a little over a week since I last posted, so here is a little catch-up:

--Anna Grace had her 18 month check-up this week. It went very well -- no shots! She made it onto the charts in weight--she is at the 90th percentile (28 pounds). She is still off the charts in height -- 36 inches. Tanya kept the other three children, so the visit was much less stressful than normal!

--Anna Grace and Olivia's Mothers' Day Out teachers came to visit on Thursday. Olivia has the same teachers that she had last year, which she is very excited about. The visits went well, and I think they will help ease first day jitters for all of us.

--We had two focused days of school on Thursday and Friday. I am still working on a routine that helps to juggle all of the needs of the four children. Our summer activities are coming to an end, and we are going to hit the books a little harder than we have been. I love the flexibility that homeschooling offers. I have been working on planning our year, and it looks like we will be finished with our curriculum the third week of May. Of course, that could change. Olivia wants to be a part, and she is constantly asking, "What about my school!?!" I have started doing some preschool activities with her. We are going to work on a letter of the alphabet each week. She is very interested, so I want to take advantage of it!

--I used my new Kitchen Aid mixer on Friday, and I love it! I made homemade bread and pizza dough. It really simplified the process!

--I went to School Aids (school supply store) yesterday. I love going there! I love the smell, the colors, and just about everything about it! It is a dangerous place for me to go (financially speaking)! I know that I can get most things cheaper online, but I love being able to hold the items in my hand before I buy them! I bought a couple of science books and some things to help me with Olivia's "school".

--Bailey got to go up in front of the church with the rest of the new kindergartners today and receive a new Bible. Joe told them, "Read them everyday. Wear them out and we will give you a new one!" I pray that she does!

A great birthday!

I had a very nice birthday today! I had lots of phone calls from family and friends, which made me feel very loved! Lauri stopped by with a sweet present and a visit. Isaac volunteered to vacuum the house for my birthday (he came up with the idea on his own!), and the children made sweet cards for me. Tomorrow is actually "Kim's Birthday Observed" because of our busy night tonight. We are planning to go out to lunch and have a little family party at home. My parents and Mark's mom both sent me cards with a surprise inside, so I have a little extra blow money this month. I am very thankful for the incredible ways that God has blessed my life!

Girls' Night Out!

Olivia, Anna Grace and I had a Girls' Night Out (G.N.O.) with Connie, Emma and Maggie tonight. Isaac had a music class swimming party tonight, so Mark took Isaac and Bailey. We decided that it could be a bit stressful to take all four of our sweet children swimming with a crowd of people. So, for the sake of marital harmony, we decided to split up for the night. Jimmy and Connie were in a similar boat, so Connie and I made plans to spend the evening together.

We started our G.N.O. at McDonald's, which is the hip place to start if you are three years old! After some yummy food and some play time, we headed to the Tanger Outlet in Gonzales. They recently opened a Stride Rite outlet store, which really helps to stretch our shoe budget (which is ever expanding with our little family). Anna Grace and Olivia each got tennis shoes for school and some church shoes. I think that the nice ladies that work in the store breathed a sigh of relief when we left! We breezed through the Children's Place outlet and headed to the toy store. Olivia picked out a sucker and Anna Grace got a toy phone. We had a great time with our friends. The whole way home Olivia asked if we could do it again!

Another Quote

I cut up a seedless watermelon last night. Olivia ran through the kitchen and said, "I want a piece without nuts (seeds)!" What a cutie pie!

Hot Air Balloons!

We went to the Hot Air Balloon Festival party with our church family on Saturday night. Two families from church live right behind where the festival is held, so we had front row seats. We were able to watch the balloons take off, and then later in the evening we got to watch them glow. The evening ended with fireworks. Neither Anna Grace, nor Olivia were very thrilled with the fireworks, but Isaac and Bailey loved them. They especially loved the finale(as you can see by Isaac's face in the picture above)! All of the children enjoyed the evening. I knew they had fun when Isaac asked, "Do they have this every year?" when we are on the way to the van.

Other tidbits from the past week:

--Bailey and I went shopping at the outlet mall yesterday. It is nice to be able to spend time with the children individually every once in a while. She had a good time looking at the clothes. I let her pick out an outfit, which is something that does not happen very often. She chose a skirt and shirt that looked very "Baileyish." She kept saying, "Just mommy and me!" I enjoyed being out with my Bailey girl!

--Isaac had his three week follow up appointment on his arm today. The x-ray looked great, and his arm appears to be back to normal. The physician's assistant said he is free and clear, except for gymnastics. She said he needed to wait two more weeks before he starts doing flips and somersaults (which I have never seen him do!). I am so thankful that the healing process went so well. God did a great job making our bodies!

--I think that the children are officially burned out on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! I know it is un-American, but they do not want to take another bite! We have packed our lunches to go swimming and to Mommy & Me activities so much this summer that they have had one to many P B & J's. I am going to have to get a little more creative!

--I made vegetarian chili tonight. It had big chunks of onions, green pepper, mushrooms and carrots, which I know can be scary for children! I knew they would not even try it, so I put some of it in the blender and served it to them over rice, with cheese on top. They gobbled it up, oblivious to the fact they were consuming lots of veggies!

My favorite Johnson Family quotes of the week:

"Why is it that sometimes ladies do all the work?" -- Isaac

"Mon" -- Anna Grace's new word. It is a shortened form of "come on" and she says it as she drags me by the shirt to do whatever she want done.

Victory!

OK, victory might be a strong word, but I am very excited that I was able to outlast Amazon's price fluctuations and get my Kitchen Aid mixer at the lower price! I ordered it today, and I am not going to check the price anymore -- I do not want to know if they lower any further! It is funny how little things thrill my heart!

My birthday present

I have been eyeing a Kitchen Aid mixer for a while now. I think that it will really come in handy now that I am making bread and pizza dough on a weekly basis. Exxon gave us a gift card, and I had decided to put my part of it with my birthday money and finally buy one. After some research, I came to the conclusion that Amazon.com is the best place to buy it. I had been looking at it all last week, and on the day that I finally decided to buy it, it had gone up fifty dollars! After reading some of the reviews, I learned that the price fluctuates from week to week and that if you watch, you can get it at the low price. Reading that was like a challenge to get it at the low price! So, now my new obsession is to check the price several times a day!

Hummus

Isaac discovered a new love this week -- Hummus! I buy it from time to time, but I had never thought to offer any of it to him. In my quest to add variety and healthy food to our diet, I bought hummus and whole wheat pita bread this week. I was eating some, and he asked for a bite. He said, "Mom, why haven't you ever told me about this before???" Olivia also jumped on the hummus bandwagon, although she calls it "tummus." I love it that they are willing to try new things!

Catching Up!

We have had a busy week, and I wanted to write about a few of the highlights. The theme for the week has been water!

--On Monday, we headed downtown to play in the fountains. Isaac and Bailey immediately began running in and out of the water. Olivia and Anna Grace were not so sure. Olivia eventually warmed up, but Anna Grace thought she was being brave by getting within five feet of them. I spent most of our time there chasing Anna Grace. She apparently wanted to explore the downtown area. After about two hours, the sky burst open and released a downpour. We had a frantic dash to the van. After we were all safe inside, we decided that God's fountains were quite a bit more impressive than the ones we had come to see!

--We went swimming at "Ms. Granny's" house on Wednesday. I must admit that I have to talk myself into going every week. Getting everything ready and then watching over the four of them at the pool is an overwhelming thought! It is a blessing to have such great friends to help me while I am there. Isaac and Bailey are very independent (although I keep an eye on them). Isaac has gotten to where he can go all over the pool by himself. Bailey sticks to the shallow end and sometimes wears her float suit. Olivia has a little suit that holds her up, but she still likes adult companionship while she is in the pool. Anna Grace is my wild one. She likes to play in the pool, get out, and then run back in. She and I usually play for the first hour we are there and then she wanders around and looks to see what everyone is eating for lunch. We made it about two and a half hours this week. We were all tired when we got home!

--We repeated our Wednesday experience on Friday. The doctor prescribed lots of swimming for Isaac, to help his elbow get back to normal. Ms. Granny graciously allowed us to come for "therapy" again on Friday (surely I get a few Mommy Points for doing it twice in one week!).

-- My wonderful friend Laura came over and watched the children on Friday night so that Mark and I could go out on a date! It was an early birthday present (Laura is about to have a new little blessing, and my birthday is a little too close to her due date for comfort!). Mark and I went to Raffinos (yummy) for dinner and then on to Barnes and Noble. We finished the evening with a treat from Starbucks (yummy again!). It was so nice to not have to search for babysitting. What a treat!

-- Saturday was a busy day! I made my normal Saturday morning rounds (Walmart, garage sales, produce stand & bread store) and then Mark mowed the yard. We headed to a crab boil at Danielle and Chris's house for lunch. This was our first crab boil, and we had a good time. Danielle's dad had caught the crabs that morning, so they were fresh! Isaac and Mark furthered their Louisiana education, and became "experts" at getting the meat off the crabs! Danielle sent some home with us, so they had more "practice" at lunch on Sunday! The corn was my favorite, despite the fact my lips felt like they were on fire when I was finished.

--We finished our Saturday with a church swimming party (more therapy for Isaac!). We had a lot of fun eating pizza and snacks and visiting with our church family. Mark was gracious enough to get in the pool with Anna Grace, and I was able to sit on the side and chat (what a luxury). We had a good time, and we were all ready for bed when we got home!

--Our Sunday was pretty "normal". We went to church, ate lunch and then had a wonderful nap! I was in a culinary mood, so I made cinnamon bread, blueberry muffins and spaghetti sauce (tomatoes are cheap right now!). We went across the street and met our new neighbors who moved in this week and took them some bread. They were very nice people. Their seven year old grandson lives with them, so Isaac was excited to meet him.

We have had a great week, but I am ready for some quiet days at home. We will see if that happens!

Olivia keeps me on my toes! Yesterday, I started a new "character training" lesson. I wanted to encourage the children to obey when I asked them to do something, without complaining. For example, if I say, Isaac, would you please help Anna Grace open the door?" It is so nice if he says, "Yes, Ma'am" and does it. So, yesterday I started rewarding those types of responses with an M&M. I put them in a bowl, and they got to eat their goodies and dinner time. It was so pleasant around here! So, when it came time to eat the goodies, Olivia put and M&M in her mouth and promptly spit it out. She got a napkin and started wiping her tongue to get the taste off. She said, "I do not like M&Ms Mommy!" She typically loves all candy, and she has always gobble up M&Ms. I suppose that motivational lesson has lost its effectiveness!

Olivia's newest obsession is playing on the computer. She heads there as soon as she gets up, and wants to play every chance that she can. Part of the problem is that Isaac and Bailey love it too! I did not know anything about computers until I went to college, and it amazes me that my three year old can turn it on, put in her own game, use the mouse and play the game! Her favorites right now are Green Eggs & Ham, D. W. and Freddy Fish.

Today, Olivia decided she wants to let her hair grow out to her toes! Whenever I tell her that I love her, she says, "I love all my family and all my people." I love my Olivia!

Anna Grace

Anna Grace is such a cutie! I really enjoy this age (almost 18 months). My wise friend Connie said this is the age when you start to say, "I could have another one!" Anna Grace is constantly coming out with new words that I had no idea she could say. One of the joys of her life right now is watching the ducks and the geese on the pond behind our house. There is a group of six ducks that stay together, and then another mamma duck with her two little babies. The two groups do not mix (there may have been a scandal in the duck community that I am not aware of!). Several times a day, she stands at the back door and watches them. The two baby ducks sometimes wander into our backyard, and Anna Grace loves it! She also loves watching the Wiggles. She goes and stands in front of the television or computer and says, "E. O. E. O." (her version of D-O-R-O-T-H-Y, one of the Wiggles' songs). I love the fact that little things thrill her heart. Life is certainly more exciting when you see it through the eyes of an almost eighteen month old!

Water Day

We went to "Water Day" at the church property this morning. The children had a blast! It could have also been named "Mud Day" (we had a massive downpour yesterday, that left quite a few mud puddles), but that did not seem to bother the children one bit! Some lovely ladies from church set up quite a few very creative stations, and the children rotated through each station. The toddler crowd splashed in a couple of wading pools and a sprinkler. We finished up with a lunch of sandwiches, chips and homemade ice cream (made by the children). On the way home, Bailey asked why Water Day only comes once a year. I explained how much work went into it and how there were still ladies there cleaning everything up. I really appreciate the wonderful things our church does for my children!

Our First Week of School

It has been a busy week! We started school on Monday. I wanted to start early, so that we would have more flexibility throughout the year. I have two "official" students this year. Isaac is in first grade, and Bailey is in Kindergarten. It is more accurate to say that I have four students, because Olivia and Anna Grace are not about to be left out! In fact, Olivia is constantly asking, "What about my school?"

Monday's school went pretty well. We started with breakfast in bed -- green eggs and ham. This is becoming a tradition (if two years in a row can be considered a tradition). We ended with lunch at McDonald's. It was our weekly Mommy & Me outing, but Isaac and Bailey thought that everyone was coming to celebrate their first day of school!

It will take me a few weeks to learn how to juggle everything and get us set up with a good routine. I had planned to homeschool four days a week, for about an hour and a half a day, for the rest of the summer. I have decided to change that to three days while we still have summer activities. I tried to school on Monday before we went to Mommy & Me and then again on Wednesday before we went swimming, and it was just too much -- I was getting very stressed! Sometimes I greatly overestimate how much I can get done! So, we are going to try doing school on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday for a week or two and see how it goes.

So far, the curriculum we are using seems to be a good fit. This week we have focused on math, reading, handwriting and Bible. We also started Charlotte's Web. I will add in history and science next week. Isaac is enjoying his reading lessons. I had pushed him pretty hard last year, and it seemed to be a bit over his head by the end of the year. He has been able to read the first few lessons easily this week, and that has been great for his confidence! I had started a new math curriculum (Math-U-See) towards the end of the year, and we had gotten about a third of the way through. We had to review a few concepts this week, and we are ready to move on. Bailey is using the Kindergarten Math-U-See program, and she loves it. I think that it has been her favorite part of school so far. Olivia and I have been working on some preschool skills. I want to encourage her love of learning!

Cast Free!

Isaac went for a follow up visit for his arm, and they took his cast off! It has only been three weeks, but it is healing nicely. He still has some restrictions on what he can do (no contact sports, skateboarding, wrestling, etc.), but he can get back to swimming. We go back in three weeks for another x-ray to make sure that it still looks good. He has a brace to wear if he is going to be in a situation where he might get knocked about. He is very apprehensive about being without his cast. Bailey was the same way when she broke her arm a few years ago. She wore a blanket wrapped around it for a day or two, until she got used to life without a cast. I am so thankful that God made our bodies so resilient!

Saturday Morning Happenings

I got back in the garage sale saddle today. It had been well over a month since I had been, and I was having withdrawal! I was not too impressed with the sales today, but I enjoyed looking. My first hit was a yard sale that was advertised to open at 6:00. They also said, "Early birds welcome, please knock!" I arrived a few minutes after 6:00. There was a groggy looking man standing out front. He came up to my van and said, "There is no sale, my 'friends' played a practical joke on me." When the "early birds" had knocked, he had answered the door in his boxers and demanded, "What do you want???" The "friends" had brought their camera and caught the whole thing on film. The victim did not seem to find it too funny! From there I went to about seven or eight other sales. I bought a $3.00 bike. I am hoping to be able to use the training wheels, and pass the bike on to someone else. I also bought a few flashlights (my salute to hurricane preparedness), a toy box for Olivia and Anna Grace's room and a couple of things to put back for Christmas.

I stopped by the bread store while I was out that way. The bread store is a great place! I can buy bread for 1/3 to 1/2 the cost, and I can also get cheap flour tortillas. I usually buy enough bread for a week or two, and put some in the freezer. Now it hurts to pay full price at the grocery store. I also had the added benefit of interesting conversation with the lady who works there. Today she was telling me how much she would like to move back to Knoxville, TN (I understand). She and her family had evacuated there after Katrina and had been really impressed by the beauty of the place and the friendliness of the people. She is hoping to move there in a couple of years. She went on to tell me how she thought that the entire Gulf Coast would soon be under water, and she wanted to move north. Interesting!

I popped into Winn Dixie and Albertsons to take advantage of some deals, and then finished up at Walmart. Thankfully, all three of these place are within a couple miles of my house. I really treasure my Saturday mornings "adventures". A big thanks to my wonderful husband for "holding down the fort" so that I can go!

Our lovely garage

I started attacking the scary place that we call our garage this morning. We do not have attic storage in our house, so anything that we do not know what to do with gets put in the garage. It is a keeping place for yard tools, baby items, bicycles, strollers, toys that are being rotated out, and lots and lots of junk! We do manage to have room to pull our van in, but there is not much room to walk. It gets unbearably hot in there, so I decided I would try to work a few minutes a day, until I can see a bit more of the floor.

I started with our shelves. I am amazed at how many products we have to kill bugs. We can spray them, dust them, bomb them, or swat them. If that does not work, we can put poison in our spreader or mix up some concentrated solution to zap them. I think that if the whole engineering thing falls through for Mark, he may have a future in pest control!

I found a box of yearbooks from middle school through the years that I was teaching. I still have not quite figured out what you are supposed to do with these ten pound books. I did enjoy looking at the pictures and reading the things that people wrote. I have notes from middle school friends that said things like, "I will never forget you." I have forgotten them -- I have no idea who they are! I enjoyed looking at pictures from the eighties and early nineties. I was made for those hair styles! I also chuckled at the description of me in the 1994 yearbook of the school where I was teaching -- "Miss Jones enjoys exercising(???) and reading."

I also unpacked a box of dishes that belonged to my grandmother. My parents mailed them to me before we moved here, but I had not gotten around to opening the box. I really like the pattern on the dishes, and I am looking forward to using them!

The children discovered the box of toys that I had been accumulating in the garage. Whenever I start to get frustrated with toys that are not being picked up, I begin secretively packing a few away. I always choose the ones that nobody is playing with. It was almost like Christmas when they started pulling those toys out of the box!

Our garage still needs a lot of work, but it already looks better!

Sleep

This week has been a challenging Mommy week. My head knows that post vacation weeks are always difficult, but the rest of me still gets caught by surprise. We have had to focus on obedience quite a bit the last few days, particularly with one of my sweet children (My children seem to take turns having challenging weeks. I am thankful they typically do not all choose the same week!). It kind of came to a head today. Thursday mornings are often difficult. We are up later than normal on Wednesday nights because of church, yet the children tend to get up at normal time on Thursday mornings. Everyone just seems to be a little fussier than normal (including Mommy). It was even more exaggerated today because we are still trying to get back to a good sleep schedule. As a result, the child of the week was extremely whiny. Eventually, this child threw a huge, screaming fit. This led to an ultimatum: Either take a nap or go to bed early! After a four hour nap, peace seems to be restored to our family. I was reminded once again how important sleep is. It is so easy to see it in a child -- a normally obedient child can become a terror when sleep is not happening. I know the same is true for adults, yet it is harder to recognize. How often am I fussy with my children because I need more sleep? I will close for now, I am off to bed!

Culinary Ramblings

I was in a culinary mood today. I suppose that it was my way of putting off all of the cleaning and straightening that I need to be doing. I bought a five pound package of hamburger meat, so I decided to cook some things to put in the freezer. I love the feeling of having meals in the freezer that I can just thaw and serve!

I am trying to simplify meal planning, so I am going to try having several nights a week that have a set theme. The children really like Mexican, so one night will be Mexican night. We will have some variety, maybe quesadillas one week and tacos the next, etc. Friday night will be homemade pizza night. I may do breakfast another night. Then, I only have two or three other nights to come up with something to cook (we usually go out one time a week). I am going to try this plan for a month or so and see how we like it.

So, back to my cooking. First, I put on my Mexican hat. I started by cooking a pound of black beans and about two pounds of pinto beans. I mixed the black beans, diced tomatoes and hamburger together with some homemade taco seasoning for tacos and burritos. I also made a second attempt at refried pinto beans. They were pretty bland the last time I made them, so I added garlic and onion when I cooked the pinto beans today. When the beans were soft, I added a little bit of butter and some salt and then mashed them with a potato masher. They were quite a bit better this time.

Then, I switched to Italian. This is a great time of year to buy tomatoes! They are cheaper and yummier than normal, so I bought quite a few at Fresh Pickens yesterday. I pureed them with carrots, green pepper, onions and several cans of processed tomatoes to make spaghetti/pizza sauce. I have a recipe that I loosely followed. I like sneaking in lots of veggies on my children!

I ended up with eight meals in the freezer (two spaghetti, two taco/burrito and refried beans, and four pizza) plus dinner tonight. I do not think that anyone would confuse me with an authentic Mexican or Italian cook, but everything tasted ok. Best of all, I have eight meals I can pull out of the freezer!

Back to Normal

We arrived back home on Sunday night, and I have spent the last two days trying to get back to "normal". The first week after a big trip is always a challenge. The children go through grandparent attention and sugar withdrawal (so do I, for that matter!). I have a to-do list that is about a mile long (unpacking, balancing our budget, cleaning, laundry, etc.). So, while I am trying to work around the house, the children clamor for attention, and we all go a tad bit crazy. I have learned that I need to set small goals for each day during a week like this. I tell myself that if the house is neater when I go to bed than it was when I got up, I have accomplished a lot!
We are going to have "Johnson Boot Camp" during the next couple of weeks, as we try to get back to healthier eating and a more set schedule as we gear up to start school. My goal for next week is to begin training the children to help more around the house. We will see how that goes!

Yesterday we went to Mommy and Me at the Parish Hermitage. The children enjoyed their swamp tour with Mr. Eddie. They were also happy to see their friends! It was worth enduring the Louisiana heat!

Happy Birthday Bailey Girl!

Yesterday was Bailey's birthday. She turned five!!! I can not believe how fast she is growing up. Nanna and Grand-Bob let her choose the menu for her birthday supper. She said that she either wanted left over hot dogs or pizza. Thankfully, we went with pizza. Uncle Bo (my brother) and his girlfriend Lindley came and joined us for our celebration. We were planning to eat outside, but it rained so we headed inside. Nanna had bought her a birthday crown that Bailey was very proud to wear. She received a pink suitcase, a new doll, complete with tent and sleeping bag, an Island Princess Barbie and money from Uncle Bo. She was thrilled with her presents. Happy Birthday Bailey Girl!

Our Visit with Mamaw

We drove to Mamaw's house in Johnson City on Sunday afternoon. We packed a lot of visiting with Mark's family in the three days that we were there. We started with a family reunion on Sunday evening. Sue is one of seven children and six of them are still living. All six of them, along with many of their children and grandchildren were able to meet for a picnic. There was a lot of food (of course) and a lot of visiting. The children had a great time playing with their cousins on the playground, and some of the men gave the horseshoes a workout.

We drove to Uncle Jim's place in Southwest, Va on Monday. We stopped at Pal's for lunch. It is becoming a tradition to pick up some fattening hamburgers and fries on the way (yummy!). Uncle Jim still lives in the house where Mamaw and her brothers and sisters grew up. You have to drive on a gravel road over a hill that seems like a mountain. The drive in is a bit terrifying for us city folks in our minivan, but it is worth it. The children love going to visit Uncle Jim. He has eighty-one sheep and seven cows, which Anna Grace especially loved. The biggest attraction is the river that runs through the property. We headed to the water soon after we arrived. Uncle Jim stopped on the way to make a fishing pole for Isaac to fish with. The children loved wading in the water. It took Bailey a while to warm up, the thought of getting her feet dirty was a little unsettling. Uncle Jim and Isaac waded on the rocks all the way across the river (Mark and I decided it was a "dangerous boy" thing to do!). Mark had never done that before, so he followed suit. Isaac and I decided that if he lived at a place like Uncle Jim's he would not need a television. He could spend his time exploring.

We stopped at Aunt Brenda's house after we were done visiting with Uncle Jim. She is Mamaw's youngest sibling, and she and Uncle Joe always makes us feel welcome at her place. She babysits her granddaughter, so she had lots of girl toys that my girls enjoyed playing with. One of her sons collects Star Wars memorabilia, so Isaac loved looking at those treasures.

Afterwards, we headed to visit with Aunt Novella (Mark's dad's sister) and Cousin Lisa in Kingsport, TN. We enjoyed visiting with them over pizza for supper.

Tuesday was full of visiting as well (I described it in my post about Isaac's arm). We packed a lot of visiting into a short amount of time. It was tiring, but we loved doing it. I am so thankful that our children are forming relationships with our extended family. We loved our time with Mamaw. I know that she was sad to see us leave, but I think that she was ready for a big nap!

A New Blue Cast

I spent the morning trying to figure out how to get Isaac seen by an orthepedic doctor. I started at 7:30 by calling our insurance company. It took me a while to get through the menu to talk to a "real" person. I finally got a nurse who told me to call back at 8:00. At 8:00, I talked to someone who told me that our insurance only covers urgent and emergency care outside of our home area. We had to call our PCP to get a referrel and to find out who to see. That meant I had to wait until 8:30 when our doctor's office opened. I called and left a message with the doctor's nurse, and began the waiting game. Mark called back again and got the ok to find a doctor on our own and then call back for the referrel. My mom had talked to a friend who is a pediatric nurse, and she recommended someone who was considered the best in the area. I then spent a total of about forty minutes on hold trying to get an appointment with the doctor. We finally decided to go to the doctor's office and try to get an appointment that way. When we got there at 10:00, they directed me to a phone in the lobby, where I called the same number I had tried earlier. I spent almost twenty more minutes waiting to talk to someone. I was finally able to talk to someone, who found out we were in the waiting room, and worked us in for 11:00. It turned out that it was well worth the wait. We were very impressed by Dr. Madigan.

We learned that Isaac actually broke his arm in two places in the elbow area. It did not have to be set, which was a wonderful blessing. The doctor prescribed three weeks in a cast, and three weeks in a swimming pool! He said that older people need physical therapy, and children need to get in the pool. He also said that older people with this type of break often do not regain full motion. Because of Isaac's age, he should have a full recovery. He said it is important that Isaac gets moving again as soon as possible. We were glad to hear that he should get back to playing the piano with both hands as soon as possible. It will be a bit awkward for him to play with the cast, but the finger movement is helpful. So, Isaac is sporting a new blue cast. We will see someone in Baton Rouge in three weeks. Hopefully he or she will take the cast off and Isaac can get to swimming!

A trip to the ER

We had a great day yesterday. Mamaw has a good friend named Dessie who invited us over to swim in her pool. Mamaw packed a picnic lunch, complete with birthday cupcakes, and we had an early birthday party for Bailey. The children had a great time in the pool, and Bailey was happy with her party.

Later in the afternoon we went to have supper with Mark's cousin Chuck and his family. They do not exactly live in the country, but it has a country feel to it. The children had a great time splashing in their pool and playing in the yard. They have sheep, and it was fun to watch them wander around the yard. We had a delicious supper, followed up by homemade ice cream. Isaac especially liked playing on their zip line that ran from their play structure to a tree. He was very proud of himself that he could do it! Right before we were about to leave, his hands slipped when he was riding across the yard. He fell, and started screaming. Isaac can be a bit melodramatic when it comes to injuries and sickness, so it was hard to assess how badly he was hurt. He cried the entire way back to Mamaw's house (about thirty minutes). We decided to take him to the emergency room to have his arm checked out. It turns out that he cracked his elbow. They put a splint on it, and we are going to try to get him in to see an orthopedic doctor in Knoxville either tomorrow or Friday. Thankfully, it is not a bad break, so it should heal well.

The ramifications of Isaac's injury have begun to sink in today. The first thing we thought of was music practice. He is going to have a hard time playing hands together for a while! My second thought was of all of the outdoor activities that go along with summer. He will have to skip playing in the pool and sprinkler for a few weeks. I have also thought about the Louisiana heat, and how nice that cast is going to smell in the near future.

There are several things that I am thankful for in this situation:
--It happened after we went to the beach.
--He broke his left arm, and not his right.
--He did not fall on the rocks that were close by.
--The people in the ER were great.
--He did it while he was out having fun, being a little boy!

Time Away!

My parents took care of our four cuties while Mark and I went away for the night. We left at lunch time on Saturday, and had lunch at Aubrey's, which is one of our favorite restaurants in Knoxville. We had salads and shared an appetizer. Afterwards, we went to McKay's used book store and spent a couple of hours browsing. We have not found a used book store in Baton Rouge that comes anywhere close to McKay's. We stopped and had a treat from Starbuck's. I had a Raspberry Mocha Frappaccino - it was yummy! We explored two more bookstores -- one discount and one used. I love the fact that Mark and I both think that exploring bookstores is a good time (I would say he married the right woman!). We had supper at a Japanese restaraunt and had Hibachi. The food was delicious! We had a lot left over, so we stopped back by and left it in the refrigerator. Isaac chowed down!

We spent the night at the Mariott. I really enjoyed relaxing and reading the books we bought. I slept through the night and stayed in bed until almost 9:00 (that is like noon in Kim time). We ate breakfast at the Mariott restaurant and then spent more time laying around and reading. We went back to my parents' house around noon.

I am so thankful that my parents were willing and able to give us a retreat. It was so good to spend time having fun with Mark, with no parenting required. One of my favorite things was having no time schedule on Saturday, not having to get back at any certain time. I really enjoyed my time away, but I was thankful to see the children and get back to being a Mommy!

Mother/Daughter Time

Mom and I went out to lunch at The Apple Cake Tea Room today. It is a very "girly" restaurant, although I did see a few brave men dining with women they must love very much! Lunch was delicious! We both had the Tea Room Medley, which is chicken salad, banana bread and cream cheese sandwiches, chips and glazed fruit. We also had spiced tea, that reminded me of Russian tea that my Granny used to make. After lunch, we went shopping (of course!). We went to a couple of shops that have neat "stuff" for the home. We did not buy much, but it was nice just to be together. We topped off our afternoon with a treat from Starbucks. I love being with my mom!!!

Daddy's Here!

Yesterday morning, I met Mamaw (Mark's mom) in Morristown, which is about half way between her house and my parents' house. We ate at Cracker Barrel, and then Isaac and Bailey went with to spend the night with Mamaw. They were very excited. They both love the attention, and Mamaw loves having them. It is a bit hard for me not to have all four of my little cuties with me, but I am glad they get to go.

Olivia was not too happy that she did not get to go. I asked her what special thing that she wanted to do while they were gone, and she said, "Maybe go to Walmart?" We decided to go to the mall instead. There is a little playground that she and Anna Grace enjoyed playing on. We looked around in the Disney store and then ate lunch at the food court. I am amazed at people that can take their small children to the mall and enjoy the shopping experience (Connie is a wonder woman at this!). Olivia and Anna Grace did OK, but I was very ready to head for the van! We took a nap (yeah!) and had fun with sidewalk chalk. At bedtime, I asked Olivia to tell me a story. She said, "There was a little girl who missed her daddy, and he came home." Her story came true after she went to sleep!

Mark's plane was originally supposed to arrive at 10:15 PM, but he called me in the afternoon to let me know it was behind schedule. I got to the airport at about 11:30, and his plane came in about 12:15. I enjoyed watching people as relatives and friends came to pick up their loved ones. The airport is a great place for people watching! I was very happy to see Mark!

When Olivia woke up this morning, she heard some snoring. At first, she thought it was Isaac making the noise. Then she realized it was Daddy. She said, "Daddy is burping!" She and Anna Grace were both very excited to see their Daddy!

Dad's Birthday Part 2

We had a great day! We went on a "mountain adventure" with my dad. We drove through Townsend, to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We stopped at a wide place in the river, known as the "Y", and the children and I went wading. There has not been much rain here lately, so the water was a bit down. It was just right for my four adventurers. They all enjoyed splashing and throwing rocks into the river. Anna Grace even tried eating the rocks, but decided the texture was not to her liking! Grand-Bob and Isaac found a crawdad (crawfish if you are in Louisiana). When Isaac first saw it, he said, "Look, there is a lobster!" Isaac carried it around for a while and then threw it back. The water was very cold, but it felt great in the heat!

We continued on our adventure and headed to Cades Cove. We bought hotdogs and ice cream at their camp store. The children thought it was a perfect lunch! We were able to see four deer (there my have been two deer that did some moving around, but we are counting them as four!). Olivia had hoped to see a bear. She had already decided that when we saw one, she would say, "No, no bear, do not grab us!" I was glad she did not have the chance to use her little speech!

We topped off the day with a birthday dinner for Dad. My brother Bo and his girlfriend Lindley joined us for steak and baked potatoes. What a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my dad's/Grand-Bob's 60th birthday. I am so glad that we get to spend the day with him! He is taking the day off, and we are planning to go for a drive through the Smokies. We are getting ready to fix him a special breakfast. Isaac has already blown up thirteen balloons all by himself (except for the tying). Happy Birthday Dad! I am so thankful for you!!!

Grandma, Mamaw, Nanna, Grandpa???

The "What am I going to be called?" process started right after Mark and I were married. Someone asked my dad what Mark was going to call him (Bob, Mr. Jones, etc.). My dad responded, "Grandpa." A year and a half later, when Isaac was born, the grandparents began choosing names. Mom wanted to be called Nanna. Mark's mom chose Mamaw, like her mother. Mark's dad chose Grandpa (Pa for short). He said Papaw sounded too much like a fruit. My dad said Isaac would choose what he would be called. Somehow, Isaac started calling him Grand-Bob, and the name stuck. Anna Grace is currently calling him "B-Bob." My children called my grandfather, "Great" (short for Great-Granpa).

When I was learning to talk, my Granny was trying to teach me to say her name. She would break it into syllables and say, "Gran-Nee." I caught on to the second syllable, and she was called "Nee" for years.

A couple of years ago, Isaac started calling Mark's mom Grandma instead of Mamaw. Now she signs her cards Mamaw/Grandma!

No matter what they are called, grandparents are special people!