Our Home

I am truly in love with our house. We have been here only a year, however, I feel like this is where we are going to be forever! I have NEVER felt that way in the 11 other places we have lived. I love cleaning it and making it beautiful. I love picking the weeds out front and planting things in our yard. I just love it. We have the best neighbors and the best ward. The kids have friends to play with all over our neighborhood! I know that the Lord led us here for reasons that are obvious and many reasons we do not yet know. I am so happy to finally be able to say that we have "planted our roots"! My poor kids do ask on occasion when we will be moving, just because they are so used to that. It makes me feel terrible. I am just happy that I am able to finally say, "we are HOME"!

End of Another Year....Playing Catchup!

I cannot believe that 2015 is just about over. We are coming up on Christmas, just 4 days away! My kids are so excited, there is snow on the ground and fun in the air. I love this time of year. It has come so quickly and I am already getting sad that it is almost over. Below are a few things I have missed to document:

Family Pictures - November 2015. I am not super in love with them but they work for now! 

Football 2015
Noah did great! He had a fun team that did really well. We are already excited for next season!

 

This was our first Halloween in our house, the kids had so much fun getting a ton of candy...we have a lot of neighbors that go "all out" for Halloween. It was fun. We had Bat Girl, Bat Man, Blue Shadow, and of course, a Ninja. (not sure why the pics are blurry..boo!)

  

We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Johnson's this year. As always, the food was super delicious, the kids had a ball running around the church and playing together, and the adults were able to chat. I am so grateful for such wonderful family and the blessing that our Heavenly Father so selflessly gives to us.

 

 After Thanksgiving, we were all excited to decorate! I love our house...that we have now been in for a year! And I love the Holidays. My kids had so much fun going through our decoration boxes and asking questions about what we have and finding the ones that they have made. Such a magical time of year!

Beau is getting so big. He is almost six months old already and such a fun little guy to have in our home. We love him to pieces.

My beautiful sister in law, Whitney, gave us the scare of our lives. She suffered a brain aneurysm and we almost lost her. She spent 1.5 months in the hospital but is now how and on the road to recovery. We have witnessed so many miracles and are so very grateful for the power of the priesthood and the power of prayer.

I am sure there are so many things that I have missed, but right now, my camera is full of Beau pictures and not much else! lol. Priorities!

Bitter Sweet

The week of Feb. 17th was so much tougher than it usually is. We celebrated my beautiful Mother. This was the first time in years that we, as siblings, all(minus Amy and Stacy) got together to take her flowers. While at the cemetery, cute Daniel asked Chris to give us a prayer. It was beautiful and sweet and perfect! I love my family so much. I could never have endured the pain alone. The Lord sure knows what he is doing!! We then went to dinner altogether. It was a great night!

Also on Feb. 17th, Sandy went in for surgery on her hip. She fell off of her stool in the kitchen. It was a bit concerning and due to the nature of the day already, it is fair to say we were all nervous! Everything turned out fine and she is in rehab getting physical therapy to help her movement. She is doing well, thank the heavens!

Feb. 19th we received the call that my beautiful Grandma Maxine went back to our Heavenly Father. Even though we knew this day was coming, it did not make it any easier. Grandma has always been such a huge part of my life. There will be a void without her here. I am so grateful to know that we will be together again. And to know that she is with my mom, grandpa and so many others that have gone before her, it makes me smile. We took the kids to St. George for her funeral. It was beautiful. So many love her and wanted to say goodbye, it was a wonderful sight. I have been so blessed with such a wonderful family and that all started with my Grandma and Grandpa! Because of her, I will "never take a wooden nickle" I will always "remember I have precious cargo in my car" and I will live life to the fullest with a zest for life that she always carried. Each time I drink green tea I will think of her!! I love you Grandma.

Beau Walker Johnson - 6/26/2015

BEAU WALKER JOHNSON

6/26/2015

8LBS 6OZ

 

 He is finally here! And we love him to pieces. We went into Lakeview at 8am for a scheduled induction. Things were going great! I felt great things were calm, we were ready. The nurse hooked me up to the equipment at about 10am and kept coming in to see if I needed meds because I was contracting, I felt nothing which was wonderful! Dr. Pead came in and broke my water, I got the epidural and started pushing within 30 minutes. I pushed about 3 times and he was here! He had some lungs on him at first but he calmed right down and is the best baby!

It's no secret that he is the favorite brother right now. They can't get enough!HE will be taken care of his whole life!

He is such a pretty baby...he looks just like his brothers and sister! ***the picture to the left is me in all my pregnant glory the morning we went to the hospital. I don't think I could have stretched any more!***

 

                                                         We were so excited to get him home and snuggle! The kids often fight over who gets to hold him and who has held him more. It is so much fun to see Noah, Cameron, and Elliott with the baby. They are so concerned for his safety and health...they are all such great helpers. We are truly blessed.

So Many Things Missed.....

What a crazy few months. I feel like I have been losing my mind a bit and being 8 months pregnant, I have had NO energy or desire to do anything at all! I really do feel bad for my kiddos! So, I will go through the missed months.

APRIL - The start of spring! I love this month, mostly because it starts out with General Conference and Easter. This year, we were lucky enough to have them fall on the same day! The kids did their best at sitting and listening, as much as Ben and I just thought they were playing around, they actually remembered some of the talks. I was very impressed. They are growing up so fast, it makes me sad...but I also love the little people they are becoming. On Saturday morning, we got together with the Smith side and had breakfast. It is always fun and yummy. On Sunday night we went to the Johnson's and had a yummy dinner. We are so blessed to have family all around us to make memories and enjoy time together.

We had Soccer, a late snow storm, Amy and Phil blessed their beautiful new girl Kayelynn, Elli had dance and I celebrated my birthday. My family spoiled me with a trip to the spa....I have never been so pampered! Lunch at Olive Garden and a night out with Ben! Tocano's is so yummy!! So much crammed into 1 month! Goodness....no wonder I am so tired all of the time.

 

MAY -Cameron turned 7! He is such a good boy. He really wanted to have a Nerf War with his friends so Ben and I surprised him with a birthday party at "The Dartside"! It is an indoor Nerf arena. He and his friends ran and shot at each other for hours! They then came back to our house for pizza and cake. I can't believe my boy is 7. He is really excited now to turn 8 and be baptized!!

JUNE - School ended and summer began! The kiddos just had to last a few weeks before the baby came and mom had the rest of the summer off! We couldn't wait.

June 26, 2015....Baby Beau Walker Johnson joined our family. (he will get a post of his very own!) The kids love him to pieces and are such great helpers. I love to see them with the baby. I can't believe how grown up they all are. It has been a fun transition and Beau is such a good little guy! I can't believe we waited this long to have him!

JULY - Ben took the kids to the cabin and Beau and I stayed home. It was really weird to have such a quiet house. There was a little anxiety on everyone's part to be away from each other...but we all survived. I love July, fireworks, parades, and bbq's! On the 24th we went to Sally's house for the annual party. It was so much fun! I love the neighborhood I grew up in and the neighbors that are still around. It is fun to see them and catch up.

AUGUST - Summer is winding down. I went back to work and the kids started school(separate post to come!). Noah started football and won his first game! I love this time of year. I am ready for the cooler temps to start!!

Cutest Kids Of All Time!

I have a bit of an obsession! I love these 3(1/2) more than life!

February....

It is now 3/22 and I am just sitting down to write about our February. It was TOUGH. On Feb, 18th we "celebrated" my mom's life. It has been 17 years. The crazy thing about that, is that next year, she will be gone as long as she was in my life. That truly breaks my heart. This year, we all met up(minus Stacy and Amy) and took her flowers. Daniel asked Chris to give a prayer before we left. My brothers are amazing and I am so glad they are in my life and such good examples to my boys! It was perfect! We then went to dinner and enjoyed being with each other. The Lord knew that losing mom would be difficult and I know in my heart, that is why he sent us all to this family. We need each other, we rely on each other, we love each other. If I had to think about not having any of them here with me...I just couldn't do it! I am blessed.

Sandy fell off of a stool and had surgery on the 18th. We were all very worried for many reasons, but of course, due to the day, it made it even more tough. She is a fighter and did really well. She was in the hospital and in rehab for about 3/4 weeks. She is home now and doing really well.

My Beautiful Grandma went back to our Heavenly Father on Feb. 19, 2015. Though she was 94, and we had been preparing for months, it was not easy to get that call. My heart has yet another hole that will never heal. She lived a beautiful life and was such an example to me and everyone she met. She lived life to be happy and have fun. I miss her with all of my heart and soul. We went down to St. George for her funeral. It was really nice to see all of our family. My kids had a great time at the hotel, swimming and playing with cousins. I am so grateful for our Savior and for the knowledge we have of eternal families.  I, again, am so blessed to be a part of the family I have. We are large in number and I wouldn't have it any other way.

And Just Like That...I have a 10 Year Old!

How can this be? He is 10!! He just seems so big and grown up. Does that happen automatically when they hit double digits! Noah had a small party with a couple of his friends from our old neighborhood, and then went to a birthday party for a boy in our new neighborhood. Being up at 5 because he was so excited for his day, he was super tired by the afternoon! We then went to dinner, Garcia's, and they sang happy birthday in Spanish as he sported a Sombrero! I love this boy more than words. He is growing up so fast! I hope you had the best day ever buddy!! We love you!

Christmas 2014

This Christmas, like so many others, flew by with the blink of an eye. For starters, the Johnson's bought a house! We are so excited and know this is where we will be staying put for a very long time! What we didn't really think through very clearly was moving in the week before Christmas! Because of this, we spend the month packing. My poor kids didn't even really realize it was Christmas time until they were out for Christmas break! We planned our move for 2 seperate days. The first weekend, Ben and I(as much as I could do) packed the U-haul and our cars with as much stuff as we could that didn't require too much heavy lifting. The second weekend, we had help and moved all of the big stuff. After the first load we picked up a beautiful Christmas tree and set it up in the front room. There really was nothing else unpacked, but we had a tree! We have waited for this home for a very long time and we were all over the moon to start our new chapter in life!

We were able to go see Santa. He was a funny guy and the kids told them exactly what they wanted, and nothing that was on their lists from before! Gotta love it. We were also able to take all three kids to the Tabernacle Choir's Christmas performance with the Muppet's! It was so much fun and the kids loved every minute of it. I was very impressed with how well they sat and listened.

We were able to get a little settled before Christmas Eve! We had all of my family over for dinner and presents. It was a bit cramped but we all had so much fun! Other than I was sicker than a dog...it was a good night.

Christmas was a success this year! The kids were happy, which makes mom and dad super happy, it was snowing, and we were able to spend it with those we love most. I love this season and I am ready for the day when I can just enjoy it and not let it pass us by so quickly! Maybe next year!

Grandma Maxine

I know that everyone in the world says this...but I HAVE the BEST Grandma in the world! I mean, the lady is 94 and up until late last year she was as spunky as a woman could be. I love her with all of my heart! She was able to come visit for a few weeks, however, during her stay, she ended up in the hospital with what they found to be heart failure.We were all heart broken, of course, but we all know that it is part of life, and for heaven sakes, she is 94! A few weeks after she went home from her visit with us, I decided to take a trip down to St. George to help pack Grandma and Aunt Sis up to move to Arizona. I was unable to do any heavy lifting so I was able to spend a lot of one on one time with Grandma. Time that I will cherish forever! During this visit, her mind was more clear that I had seen in months. We talked, we held hands, we laid on the bed together in silence. It was perfect. In my heart I knew it was the last time I would get to spend time with her on this earth. I needed every minute of it. On 1/13/2015, I found out that she is in the hospital with a pulmonary blood clot. They had her in ICU and on a ventilator. This woman is a fighter! After a little over a week in the hospital, she was sent home. It is now just a matter of time. She is no
t doing well, but she is home, in her bed, with loved ones around her. My heart again aches for a hug and a kiss from my Grandma. I know that when she passes on to the other side, so many of her loved ones will be there to greet her, including my mom. It will be beautiful. I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to know that she will be there to greet me when I return home. I love you Grandma and I am so thankful for all that you have taught me. I am thankful for the example you have always been to me, Ben and my kiddos.