The Johnson Family

The {Love} Story of Us!

2012-02-08T11:51:00.000-06:00

Since it's February {the month of love} and Valentine's Day is right around the corner, I decided I would link up with From Mrs. to Mama and tell our love story!

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

Gene and I have been together since September of 2005.

2. How did you meet: {What's your "love" story?}

I started as a dispatcher at my hometown police department in February of 2005. One afternoon, a month or so after I started, I walked into the dispatch center and sat down across the room from an officer that had his feet propped on a desk, eating a Subway sandwich. He had gorgeous blue eyes and a smile that made me weak in the knees (and still does!). He looked at me and then continued talking to the other dispatchers in the room. He left not long after that and I didn't see him again for a couple of months. When I moved to the shift he was working for training, I would go downstairs all the time to try and see him. It rarely worked because he was rarely at the station. However, he started coming upstairs every day that he worked to eat his lunch in dispatch before starting his shift. He would gradually move closer to me and flirt and everybody knew something was up because he had never spent that much time in there! :) He eventually got my number from another dispatcher and called me the first time on a Wednesday night after I got home at 10. His shift ended at 1 am and we talked almost the whole time! Except when he was working something. Our first date was that following Saturday, at my apartment, where we watched The Longest Yard! I was absolutely smitten and after he left I told my roommate (and best friend, Steph) that if that man proposed to me right then I would say yes!! He's also 13 years older than me and I was surprised myself when I fell so hard for him! Gasp! Age is only a number and has never been an issue for either one of us.

{Four wheeling date with friends!}

3. If married, how long have you been married? If not, is this the guy you hope to marry?

We were married on December 14, 2006!

4. If you are married, where did you get married? Big or small wedding? If not, where would you like to get married? And will it be big or small?

Gene and I didn't have a wedding or a reception of any kind. We sort of got things out of order and I was pregnant when we married. Six months pregnant, actually. Honestly, not how I pictured things, but knowing what I know now, I wouldn't have done it differently! So, we were in the middle of building our house and were both on our days off from work, when we went to the courthouse to get our marriage license. We were walking around Lowe's looking for bathroom fixtures, while I went down a list of Justices of the Peace, looking for one that was available. We were married in a little old house in Fayetteville, by an 82 year old man that looked just like Colonel Sanders! Red bow tie and everything. He was so sweet and absolutely precious. It was just Gene and I. I would love to renew our vows on our 10 year anniversary and actually have a ceremony.

{One of the happiest days of my life!! And I can't believe I'm posting this, with me looking so horrid!}

5. Do you have any nicknames that you call one another? Do share!

I always call him Babe and he calls me Woman (yes, yes he does, because he knows it drives me crazy!!), Babe or Mama.

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

1. His dedication to our family. He works so hard, both in his career and at home, to provide and care for us. 2. His ability to make me laugh. He drives me more crazy than anybody sometimes, but it is impossible for me to stay mad at him, because he ALWAYS makes me smile and laugh. 3. His fathering. He loves his kids so deeply and would lay down his life for any of them. He's serious when it's necessary and goofy the rest of the time! 4. (Because I'm a rule breaker!) His arms. :) He works out religiously and stays in shape, which I find incredibly sexy!

7. Tell us how he proposed? Or your ideal proposal?

My husband is faaaaaaar from a romantic. Seriously. I know I'm the only person that has ever seen his mushy, sensitive, lovey side because he is just not an emotional person. And I'm ok with that! So, on our one year anniversary of being together, he shows up from running errands while I'm getting ready for work. I keep walking past the bed and finally notice that there is a little gold gift bag lying there. I see a black box inside of it. He had bought me a diamond cross necklace for either my birthday or Valentine's Day, but the chain had broken, so I thought he had just bought me a new chain. I was hurrying to get ready, so I didn't open it. Well, until he finally asked me (after standing there staring at me for forever!) if I was going to open the box, I finally did! And was surprised by an engagement/wedding band set!! I was floored and so proud of what he picked out, because we had not even looked at anything! I tried them on, but they were too small. I don't wear jewelry. Ever. Especially rings, so he had no idea what size I needed! It was torture waiting to get them back after being sized! And....he never even really asked me either. He just stood there grinning the whole time. Stinker.

{One of my favorites of us! It shows his goofiness!}

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne and rose petals?

Ummmm...he's not really either. Remember? He's not a romantic. However, I have received flowers for various different things at work. Which is one of my favorite things ever! But normally, he just gets me something I've been wanting or talking about.

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

I guess I'm a little bit of both, but more the relaxing movie girl. I love going out to eat, but I also love staying in and snuggling on the couch.

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant other one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

Go on our honeymoon. :) We never took one and have only been on one other trip together. Sad, I know. Finances don't normally permit trips!

{Christmas 2010}

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.

I have no idea. Since it falls on a week day, we probably won't do anything on the day of. I don't know if we'll go out this weekend to celebrate or not.

{My birthday, 2010}

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's Day?

Yes, an iPhone 4s! :)

{Silver Dollar City}

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.

Respect each other and learn to pick your battles! Most things aren't really worth fighting over.

{Us with the boys before Colt's junior prom!}

**Sidenote: Gene was married once before and they had two boys. Therefore, I have two stepsons, Colt (oldest) and Corey! They were 11 and 12 when Gene and I got together and are now 17 and 18. I love them just like my own though and I don't really know what I would do without them in my life!

14. Show us a picture of what love means to you.

My family of 5! And what's horrible, is this is one of the very few pictures of all of us together. And it's 2 years old. :(

So, that's our love story! Be sure to check out From Mrs. to Mama and read others!

SUYL - My bestie, Stephanie!!

2012-02-03T11:02:00.000-06:00

I am sooo excited that Kelly is doing her Show Us Your Singles link up again, because my very best friend in the whole wide world is looking for a wonderful man!!

Steph will be 27 next month and has been my best friend since we were 13! She's a down to earth Christian girl who loves the Lord and is looking for a God fearing man to share her life (and future babies!) with!!

We've been to concerts together.

Celebrated every birthday together.

Cooked together! She is an AH-MAZING cook and especially in the baking department!! She's known as the "Cupcake Queen"!

She is currently taking classes at a Christian University towards a degree in Business and has worked in the banking industry for 6 years. She currently works in a Treasury Management department, but will soon start a new role as a Loan Assistant at a bank branch. She LOVES people and is very outgoing. She was looking for a change in jobs because she misses the interaction with people and customer service that comes with a branch job.

Seriously, you've gotta try her cupcakes.

The crazy girl is also an adrenaline junky. She's been skydiving once and wants to do it again. And again and again. She loves roller coasters and does not have a single fear of heights. She wants to go bungee jumping also, and I'm telling you right now, I will certainly not be the one she does that with!

She is such a beautiful person, inside and out. I couldn't have asked for a better friend to go through my teen years and young adult life with. She has been there through everything, literally, everything with me and loves unconditionally!

My brother is blessed with not one, but two sisters, because she's just a part of our family. She no longer has any living grandparents and mine (on both sides) have adopted her as their own. As well as my parents! However, she has some pretty spectacular parents herself! She's an only child, but probably the least selfish one I know!

Steph & my our Mama!

She's my daughters Aunt Stephie and anytime she's around no one else matters to Grace! She's like a big kid at heart and loves playing with Grace, regardless of what it is. She is soooo sooo soooooo great with kids and is really looking forward to having some of her own someday.

Steph is fun, smart, funny, outgoing, patient, crazy, lively, honest and humble. I know she will make some lucky man an incredible wife someday, so I would love for you to e-mail me or comment on this post if you know of someone that may be interested!! Thanks!!

And Steph, I love you like a fat kid loves cake!!! :)

Grab a Kleenex

2012-01-24T10:17:00.000-06:00

If you don't read BooMama's blog, then you must. And if you do, then you've probably already seen this. It's too good not to share again though.

Now, grab some tissues and push play.

Ft. Worth Family Fun

2012-01-21T21:42:00.000-06:00

Ft. Worth, Texas is one of my happy places. For many reasons. One of which being all of my family that lives here. Another being horses. And cows. And Will Rogers Coliseum. Oh, and Joe T Garcia's Mexican Restaurant. Just to name a few!

Dad had been planning on driving down sometime during January because the Stock Show Rodeo/Exhibits are going on every weekend, and luckily this weekend Grace and I were able to join them! We didn't get in until a little after midnight last night, and then we were up fairly early this morning to make it to the 10 am rodeo performance.

Steph has been my best friend for 14 years now and this was the first time she's been to Ft. Worth. I'm not real sure why it took so long, but anyways, she made it this time!

To say that Grace is crazy about her Uncle T would be a gross understatement. I love that he's such a good uncle to her!

The rodeo was great and we saw lots of pretty horses!

They had a big carnival set up with tons of rides for kids and adults. I'm so glad Steph was here because she is a big kid herself, and she rode with Grace on all of them. I am not a fan of carnival rides. And even if I was, Grace would still rather Steph rode with her, so whatever!

I strongly dislike having my picture taken, however, there are so few pictures of me with Grace because I'm normally the one taking the picture and one of my goals for 2012 was to be more intentional about taking pictures. Even with me in them.

Grace loves her Nana! Maybe because she bought her this adorable outfit! This picture does not do it justice and you can't really see her cowgirl boots. All this girl needs a horse!

We were so glad Aunt Weezer (my dad's sister, Brenda!) was able to join us! She has all of the great grands call her Weezer, because she's like a fun version of Weezer from Steel Magnolias! Except she really is not cranky. At all. I loooooove my Aunt Brenda and wish I got to see her more. And she is absolutely crazy about my daughter, which is incredibly special to me!

I can't remember the last time a picture was taken of the Nabors family. Which means it's been too long!

Tanner and our mama. He's quite the mama's boy.

Pardon the squint. The sun wasn't very forgiving and my eyes were literally watering by the time we got all of the pictures we wanted! Attractive, really.

And cue serious watering.

Mom and Dad bought Tanner a new cowboy hat and he was quite proud of it.

Oh, my Mema. One of the most special women in my life. I am so blessed to have such wonderful grandparents, on both sides. They love us so unconditionally and do anything and everything to make us kiddos happy. I love watching Grace with Mema and Papa, they get such a kick out of her and she loves entertaining them!

And my Papa, God love him, he can't hardly hear anything, but he loves his grandkids and great grandkids so so sooo much. He would do anything for any of us. And he does! We are all spoiled rotten!

I love being in Ft. Worth and spending time with my family. There's nothing else like it.

Girlfriends, Books & Coffee

2012-01-18T15:18:00.000-06:00

I just made a command decision to take a 15 minute break at work and blog about a fun weekend (of a few firsts!) I had!

Front: Lindsey, Katie, Jill, me, Lauren

Back: Lindsey (private blog), Brittany, Whitney, Rachel, Kim & Tara

So, the internet is a funny thing. I have had this blog for a couple of years now, and while I don't do as much as I would like with it, it's still a great outlet and a great way to meet new people. I also tweet, because I love Twitter. Way more than Facebook. And while blogs are fun, Twitter is even better. I have "met" so many wonderful new friends over the last 7 months or so, and I've also learned so much! If I ever have a question about, well anything really, I go to Twitter. If I need someone to make me laugh, I go to Twitter (or my husband!). If I just need a little break from staring at my computer at work, I go to Twitter. See the trend?! Anywho, last Friday night I had to opportunity to meet some really great girls that I had met via Twitter! Jillian has a friend that lives in Arkansas and was coming into town for her friend's birthday party and decided that she wanted to meet some of us other fun Arkansas girls! :) Brittany lives in the same area as Jill, so they decided to road trip it together, and I'm so glad they did! Whitney took charge of organizing a dinner for us, and we all met up to eat and visit. I was hesitant to go at first, because I didn't know any of these girls in real life. However, one of my very good friends, Katie, also follows some of the same girls and said she would go with me. I am sooooo very glad we went, because it was such a fun night out and we all just laughed and talked and got to know one another! You can't have to many friends and I'm so glad I added a few this weekend! I hope that we can all do it again sometime soon.

Then on Saturday morning, this sweet little dumpling got to come stay with Auntie Tay all day!! Hank and Katie spent spent the day four wheeling with some friends and I got to love on Miss Audrey! She was sooo good all day and just kept smiling and cooing at me. It's hard to believe she is already 6 months old!

Oh, James Patterson, you sure do know how to write a good book. I have been a HUGE fan of JP for a long time, but I have random reading spurts. I'll go a few months without reading a single book and then I'll pick up a book and read 5 more after it! I'm back in a reading phase right now. I'm now on my 4th Patterson book in the last month and a half. I have ready every single one of his, with the exception of his newest which is what I'm working on now. I'll have to take a picture of my shelf with the hardbacks on it. I am a sucker for a good murder mystery and James Patterson never ever disappoints.

This little pretty has made this work week so much better! When I moved to my current position, to an office in a hallway with four other offices, we all decided that we needed our own coffee pot. There are a few dispersed throughout the building, but there is rarely ever any made in them throughout the day. So, we all pitched in and purchased the Keurig Office Pro coffee maker! Oh my gosh, it has been wonderful. For one thing, it is in my office, therefore, it always smells like a coffee shop in here! And it is so quick and easy. I'll have to buy some new flavors this weekend while I'm grocery shopping!

I'm taking Friday off this week because Grace and I are driving down to Ft. Worth with my parents, brother and best friend to spend the weekend with my family! I'm sooo excited to see everyone and we have some fun activities planned while we are there. So, tomorrow will be my last work day and I am more than ok with that!

Checking In

2012-01-10T12:23:00.000-06:00

Just checking in since it's been a few days! I had some pictures I wanted to share and because I know blog posts are much better with pictures.

This picture was clearly taken before I started my weight loss journey! But my daughter absolutely adores my brother. She thinks her Uncle T hung the moon and every time he's around she is right by his side! Probably because he acts like a child and lets her get away with anything and everything. But that's uncles are for, right? I tell him that he needs to hurry up and settle down and have kids so that I can return the favor by royally spoiling his children!!! I think it will be a while, he's not exactly ready to settle down just yet.

Now this, my friends, is one of the absolute best things on. the. planet. I mean it. This is the Skinny Cow cookies and cream ice cream sandwich and it is 150 calories of pure deliciousness!! I made it very clear to my husband and children that they are not to touch my skinny cows. They think I'm crazy. I think I'm determined to be a skinny cow. :)

via

And then there is my new best friend, the myfitnesspal app. It knows things about me no one else knows. And by things I mean my weight. And it really has been a great (free) tool. The best thing is that it's helped me realize just how many calories I was taking in on any given day. And let me just say, HOLY COW!! I know I used to eat too much, but dern. I am allotted 1240 calories a day, and for the most part, I've stuck really close to that. Even this weekend when I was home all day. It's easier than I thought it would be because I'm making small adjustments in how I eat. I am measuring out servings that I can and when that's not really feasible, I just limit my intake. And water. Oh, blessed water. It's a good thing I love water and have always been a big water drinker, because now I drink a ton.

I went to the gym with my husband on Saturday morning, but unfortunately was not able to sign up then. When he gets back into town this weekend we are going to sign me up! I did not want to wait a whole other week to start working out though, so I decided I would just do my Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD every morning this week. Talk about overambitious. I set my alarm and got up at 5 yesterday morning, put in my contacts, changed clothes, ate a banana, drank some water and I was ready to go. I got started, almost cried about 6 minutes into it because it's tough (when you're as out of shape as I am!) and then at 13 minutes into it I got sick. Literally. It was horrible and I thought I was going to pass out. My husband later informed me to try toast instead of a banana pre-workout. Thank you honey. Now, where were you at 5:15 to tell me that? Oh yes, in Meridian, Mississippi at a class. Needless to say, I did not finish my workout. My thighs would disagree today though. They are soooo sore and it hurts to stand up and sit down. And walk. I love that kind of hurt though, it means I did something!

This morning I could barely get out of bed they hurt so bad, so I knew I wouldn't be able to work out. I'm going to attempt it this evening when I get home. We'll see. I'm just ready to get started at the gym so I can get on the treadmill. I'd take a treadmill over a DVD any day.

Slacker

2012-01-06T13:33:00.001-06:00

*****Ok, I went and took a picture in the bathroom at work! This can serve as a temporary before picture. So at least I have something.******

And just for fun, I added the bottom half. Ya know, so you can see my thunder thighs and also my cute sparkly Toms!! :)

That's me, I'm a slacker!

I was going to take my "before" picture this morning and that didn't happen. My mornings are so routine and taking a picture is not part of my normal routine and, well, it just didn't happen.

However, I will do it. This evening when I get home.

And I'm just gonna go ahead and say that I did not do well this morning, food wise, but for lunch I met my mama at Zaxby's and I had the grilled chicken house salad with only one packet of dressing instead of two. And I did not go back for a second small cup of sweet tea. Thankyouverymuch. :) Baby steps, people.

I also have this deep desire to jump on a treadmill. Right now. Alas, I am sitting at my desk, with no treadmill in sight. So, instead I will figure and type patrol stats and avoid taking a piece of candy out of the mountainous candy bowl sitting on my desk.

I have written out a grocery list and will execute that trip in the morning. This evening will most certainly not work considering our Hogs are playing the Kansas State Wildcats in the Cotton Bowl at 7 pm. And let me just say Woooooooo Pig Sooooooie!!!! Go Hogs, beat K State!

Also, within the next 24 hours, I will be joining the gym. My husband must be with me to join and he had to work early this morning. I can not freaking wait to start going to the gym with my honey every morning.

My motto for 2012 is "Get Fit." I am soooo looking forward to what the next 12 months hold and I'm excited to do it with some awesome friends....both in real life and interweb!!!

So, here's to getting fit!

This Is It

2012-01-05T16:46:00.000-06:00

January 6, 2012

The day I will join the gym and change myself.

My husband goes to the gym every morning during the week and I'm enlisting him as my accountability partner.

I plan on taking a "before" picture in the morning. Regardless of how much I don't (and I mean I really don't) want to. I hope I have the courage to post it on here. If I do that, then it will light a fire under me and make me aim for an "after" picture.

I'm tired of being overweight and unhappy with myself. I'm tired of not enjoying clothes shopping or getting dressed every morning. And I'm tired of being out of breath when I walk upstairs to take my sweet daughter to bed. I need my energy and stamina back to play with her and I'm determined to get there.

The internet is such a funny thing and I really feel like it will be a huge aid in helping me reach my goal.

If I still weigh right now what I think I weigh, then my goal is to lose 75 pounds. Ouch. That's a lot. But, I'm putting it out there because I'm doing it this time. No matter what.

Mason's Giveaway!!

2011-08-31T17:59:00.000-05:00

I entered an awesome giveaway from Mason's Boutique on their Facebook page! You can do the same thing by clicking here!

Good luck! But I hope I win! ha!!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

2011-08-31T09:15:00.000-05:00

I am LOVING that we are only 3 days away from the first Arkansas Razorbacks football game!!!!

I am SO ready to call the Hogs and root them on!

I would love to be able to actually go to a game, but tickets are so so expensive and I don't know that we will get the opportunity to. But, I can guarantee we'll be watching from our living room each week!!!

I'm a little sad that this week's game is only on pay per view though, and it's almost as expensive as the tickets are! So, we may just have to listen to this one on the radio. I will definitely be purchasing some new Hogs gear in the near future! And Grace will need a new shirt or two also, because hers from last year is gonna be too small!!

I'm also loving that today is officially the half way point of the week; we're almost there folks! I love the weekends and this one will be even better because it's a 3 day weekend since Labor Day is Monday! Woohoo!

What are you loving on this Wednesday?!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

2011-08-24T10:34:00.000-05:00

I'm loving that we are only two and a half days away from the weekend!! Which means we're two and a half days closer to going to Granny's! Almost the whole gang is going to Alma this weekend. Mom, Dad, Grace and I were already planning on going because Gene will be working this weekend and Corey will be at his mom's. Then we invited Katie, Audrey and Steph to go with us....and they said yes!! Granny is both overwhelmed and excited! I love going to her house, so 9 am Saturday can not get here fast enough!

I am also LOVING that this sweet girl in this picture slept in her own bed ALL night long last night!!! I was hesitant to even type that out on here for fear that now I've jinxed us. However, I was so excited and so proud of her that I had to share! My alarm clock went off this morning and I was originally startled at the fact that she wasn't in bed beside me. I went upstairs to check on her and she was just cuddled up snoring away! She came down at 7 while I was getting dressed and woke her daddy up to tell him and then came running in to me with a big grin on her face! She was so proud of herself and I praised her BIG time!

I also loved seeing this beautiful sky this morning on my way to work. When I woke up it was thundering and lightening, but by the time I left the storm clouds were rolling out and the sun was trying to shine through. God is quite the artist! Thank you Father for a morning gift!

And, I'm also really loving that The Pioneer Woman's show on the Food Network premieres Saturday morning! I already told everybody that we have to be to Granny's by 10:30 to watch it! I adore her and I think it's gonna be a great show!

Weekend Recap!!

2011-08-23T09:35:00.000-05:00

I don't know about you guys, but we had a great weekend!! My husband had to work last Friday and Saturday evening (that was a not so great part), so Friday I did our grocery shopping (by myself!!) and Saturday I didn't leave the house at all. It was bliss. Our dear friends, Hank and Katie, and my mama came out Saturday evening and we made tacos and played Super Mario Brothers on the Wii!! It was so much fun and we will definitely be having more game nights in the future! Due to the changes Blogger has made (why don't they give you a tutorial on the changes?!), my pictures ended up out of order. But we're just going to go with it, and the fact that they are not great quality because they are from my phone! Do people really use actual cameras anymore?!

Sunday we went to church, came home and ate a quick lunch and then Corey, Grace and I headed into Target to pick out some new bedding for Grace's room! She's been in a twin bed, but it was in bad shape and we've had some furniture changes in our house that opened up a full size bed for her to upgrade to! She was very excited about getting a bigger bed.

I let her pick out her bedding in hopes that it would make her want to stay in her own bed all night long. See, for the last year or so she has gone to bed beautifully in her own room, however, every night between midnight and 4 am she sneaks downstairs and into my bed! I have done everything I can think of to get her to stay upstairs, but nothing has worked! I'm open to suggestions. :)

As much as I would love to have my bed back, and to actually get to sleep with my husband all night (he normally sleeps on the couch because our bed is NOT big enough for all 3 of us!), I have become so used to snuggling with her and it seems very odd when she's not there. And by not there, I mean when she stays the night with her Nana and Papa!

Anyways, we pick out this cute bedding that she loves, bring it home and pull it all out and I discover that there are no pillowcases. It was a complete bedding set that came with the comforter, bedskirt, sheet set and two pillow shams. Well, the standard pillowcases were MIA! I got it for a great price though and it was the last one they had in the right size, so I told Gene I was just going to go buy some pillowcases in a different color. I'm kinda glad it worked out like that because I think it looks really good!

I ended up completely gutting her room and starting from scratch! Her big brother, Colt, is moving to Joplin so he won't be using his dresser/night stand, so we moved it into her room. I cleaned out her closet and dresser and bagged up a bunch of clothes and toys, and then got everything put together! I love how it turned out, and I've just got to get a new curtain for in there and get her "Princess" sign hung abover her bed. She loves it, but not enough to sleep in there all night. Sigh. Oh well, maybe by the time she starts high school she will!

Of course Miss Audrey came with her mama and daddy Saturday night to play (told ya my pictures were out of order!). I promise she really does love Grace, she was just getting hungry!

Grace. In my bed. You thought I was kidding, didn't you? I don't kid about such things!

Oh, Erin Condren, how I love thee! This, my friends, is the 2011-2012 Life Planner that will change your life! If you follow me on Twitter, then you already know about this little beauty, and the fact that there was an absolute frenzy over these for a couple of weeks! Erin at The Blue-Eyed Bride blogged and tweeted about a promo deal where you could get this $50 planner for $25! Let's just say, LOTS of women jumped on that, including myself, and I'm so glad I did! I am in love and I don't care who knows it!

After a great weekend, it's back to the nitty gritty at work, and I'm already counting down the days to this weekend! I'll blog about what we have going on later!

Have a great week!

I'm still around....

2011-08-16T14:33:00.005-05:00

It has been over a year since I last did a post, and I suppose it's high time I updated! I could sit here and type out every thing we've done in the last year (who am I kidding, there's no way I could ever remember everything we did!), or I could just share some pictures with you (from my phone...so not the best quality!) and just do a quick review!!

In the last year we.................

Went to just about every home football game Greenland played.

Had a nice little (no pun intended) visit to the ER with Miss Grace. Never a dull moment I tell ya. And she was just fine, just a really REALLY nasty cough that scared her daddy and me.

Melted my heart. This picture gets me every time. :)

Went as a princess for Halloween!

Posed for pictures after trick or treating.

Made two separate trips to Ft. Worth to see my family!!! Definite highlight for me!

Played dress up. And house. And restaurant. And anything else Grace could talk her brothers into doing with her!

Had a 4th birthday party for our baby girl! And I don't EVEN wanna talk about the fact that this exact time next year I will have a Kindergartner. Nope, not doing it.

Moving on.......

We also bought this mama a Jeep!!!! And oh how I love my Jeep! Now if it would just cool off enough to take the top off again!

Fell even more in love with this stud I am lucky enough to call my husband!

Had many visits to Granny's! And one very special trip to meet Miss Sadie Lauren, the newest addition to our family! We love you sweet girl!

Went to a few birthday parties!

Did silly things that called for a picture.

Had a few more visits to Granny's! We kinda like her..... ;)

And the most recent thing to happen was the birth of this precious babe! Audrey Mayne Brockmeyer graced us with her presence on July 12th and in her short little month of life has already been spoiled completely!! In the best kind of way!

So, that's pretty much what we've been up to! I am going to try and be much better about updating this 'ol blog, because I know one day I'm going to look back at pictures and words about my babies and my family!

I Heart Spring!

2010-04-20T10:59:00.006-05:00

A post of mostly pictures to re-cap our spring so far!!

Corey snapping pictures of me trying to get ready for church Easter morning.....

Two of my favorite people! There are many, many pictures of Corey and Grace like this because Corey is always snapping them!

Momma and Grace at Granny's house on Easter Sunday!

Tanner entertaining with his guitar and Corey looks like he's about to pass out! We went down to Granny's after church on Easter to have lunch and dye/hunt eggs.

Grace discovering the money Granny put in her eggs!

Grace and Nana dyeing eggs!

Uncle T hid her eggs for her about 4 or 5 times and she had a blast hunting them all!

Grace decided she could play too.....

These next few were taken at Granny's on the Thursday that Megan and Aunt Cathy were here. They bought her a big tube of bubbles and she would have stayed out all day playing with them!

Megan's face cracks me up! ha! She had just been diagnosed with strep throat that morning, so she wasn't feeling 100%!

They also bought her a mini golf set so she was getting some private lessons from her Aunt Cathy! No...we did not watch the Masters that day.

Betty and Vicki on the front row, then Jana, myself and Teresa on the back row. We are the ladies on the Benevolent Fund Committee at work and last Wednesday was our annual Awards Banquet, and the committee does the planning and decorating for it. All of these women have a very special place in my heart, and we have been on the committee together for the last two years!

Me and Teresa! I was honored to be voted Dispatcher of the Year this year, and Teresa (my supervisor) was the one who presented me with it so that made it that much more special! She was my first trainer five years ago, and took me under her wing and I love her dearly!

And here's Boo agan! Last week after gymnastics we went with Daddy to get some more plants to put in the garden.

And tis the season again for jumping on the trampoline! This girl LOVES LOVES LOVES to be outside...no matter what she's doing!

And last picture is of Gene's garden this year! Last year was really the first one he'd done so we learned alot. He did it alot differently this time and so far it's looking great! We have squash, bell peppers, radishes, tomatoes, jalapenos and I'm pretty sure there are others that I just can't remember right now! We're excited for it to start growing so we can enjoy some fresh veggies. The little pink bucket on the bottom right corner of it is Grace's daisy bucket. I saw it while we were at Lowe's and thought it was precious so we bought it for her to grow her own daisies!

That about catches up on what's been happening around here lately! Saturday I'm running in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and it's also Colt's prom so I'll be going in a little late to work so I can be here to take pictures and see him and his date all dressed up in their dress and tux!! Hope everybody has a great end to the week!!

Fun Girls' Weekend!

2010-04-13T09:07:00.005-05:00

Hmmm...well, it's only taken me a week to get this post up, but I guess that's par for the course for me and the blogworld lately!

My Aunt Cathy and cousin Megan were in Alma the week before this last one from Atlanta for their spring break. We usually only get to see them 2-3 times a year so we always try and do something special while they're here!

On Thursday Grace and I drove down to Granny's after gymnastics to spend some time with them, and then Friday morning Granny, Aunt Cathy and Megan drove up to Mom and Dad's and we all left for Branson for the night!! As soon as we got into town we headed for the Branson Landing to do some shopping!

We had a nice lady walk by us while we were taking pictures and offered to take one of all of us, and we all thought it turned out good! Grace LOVES her Aunt Cathy and Megan and literally the whole time we were together Grace was attached to one of them.

See?! We ate lunch at Macaroni Grill down on the Landing for lunch and it was delish! Eating is always one of the best parts!!

Three generations of ladies! Granny, Mom and me! We don't get pictures like this very often because normally Mom and I are the ones snapping and never end up in any. I made it a point to get some good ones this time!

And of course have to get Grace into one for a four generations picture!! So blessed to have such wonderful family!

Yes, that is a jacuzzi tub we are sitting in. I can explain! When we were little, Granny and Papa had a membership to the Lodge of the Ozarks and literally about once a month (especially/mainly during the summer months) they would take all four of us grandkids to Branson to stay. They have an indoor pool and it sits right on Hwy 76 which is "the strip" in Branson so we could walk to several places. After they drug us out of the pool we would all get into the jacuzzi tub and "swim" for a while longer! It's one of the best memories I have from my childhood and last weekend was the first time we'd stayed at the Lodge in many, many years so it was extra special for Megan and I!!!

Here's Grace sporting her new swimsuit Aunt Cathy bought her! She loved the indoor pool as much as we did as kids! I loved sharing it with her!

For dinner we ate at Cantina Laredo, also down at the Landing, and it was YUMMY!! Oh my word, their food was so good! Grace was absolutely worn out from our busy day and she kept laying her head on Mom's shoulder.

Aunt Cathy, Mom and Grace waiting for our food to get there. Mom and Grace were coordinating and it wasn't even on purpose!

And another group shot at dinner! When we woke up Saturday morning we found out that Aunt Cathy and Megan's flight had been delayed from 2 in the afternoon to 5:30 so we ended up having the whole day Saturday with them too! We did some more shopping and had some ice cream at Maggie Moo's before dropping them off at the airport! I cherish the times I get to spend with these amazing women, and love the times we have together!! I'm so glad we had the opportunity to get away with them and enjoy each other's company.

Double Birthday!!

2010-03-31T23:35:00.001-05:00

Today was two of my favorite people's birthday!!

My best friend, Stephanie!!!

And my hubby, Gene!!

Happy Birthday Steph and Gene!! I love you both very much and thank God everyday that he blessed my life with you both!!! Hope you both had a wonderful day!

Girl Trip!

2010-03-14T19:42:00.002-05:00

I had planned on doing a whole post about the girls' trip I went on last weekend with Mom and Steph to Little Rock for the George Strait concert, but Mom just did a great re-cap of the weekend and it has some pictures so I'm just going to share the link to hers here and you can check it out!!

Tumble Bug!!!

2010-03-04T23:09:00.005-06:00

This morning Grace attended her first gymnastics class!!!

We have both been so excited about her starting and today was finally the day! She's in a Tiny Tots class that is all 3 year olds! She was still trying to take it all in while everyone else was stretching and warming up. She stayed on her knees pretty much the whole time watching!

I think she was trying to figure what exactly they were doing.

It didn't take long for her to come out of her shell though! After they broke them up into their groups and headed to separate stations she got really excited and jumped right in, doing what her teacher told her to do.

When I watched her do this for the first time I could not stop smiling!! I was so excited and so proud of her! Dad came to watch her and he brought Mom's flip video camera and I'm pretty sure he recorded just about the whole hour!!

She had to slide her hands across to move her feet from the red mat to the orange mat without letting go and she did it the first time!

Little trampoline!!

Then she had to kick over this big round thing as she jumped off the red mat. There's a viewing area upstairs from the floor and all the parents were sitting up there watching. It was pretty obvious today was Grace's first class because I kept snapping pictures and Dad was videoing it all while the other parents were just watching and talking amongst themselves!

I felt a little bit silly, but not enough to stop snapping!!

I think this is my favorite shot from today! I want to have it printed and hang it up in her room. She just looks like she's been doing it for forever!

The trampoline was one of her favorites and her teacher had to reel her back in a few times because she just wanted to take off!! She was all red faced and sweaty by the time the hour was over and she said she loved it! It's all she's been talking about now and it's so hard for me to believe she's already old enough to be taking gymnastics. I was very pleased with the teachers and they way things are set up so I officially signed her up today and she'll go every Thursday morning now!

Quarter of a Century & Prayer Requests

2010-03-02T10:31:00.002-06:00

As of last Friday, February 26th, I am now 25 years old. I know that's really not old, but I'm only 5 years away from being 30. That seems crazy to me, but then again my baby girl just turned 3, and that seems even crazier! It was a fairly low key birthday. Grace and I hung out at home all morning, and after I worked out we got around and picked Corey up from school and met Mom up at the mall so I could get Grace's Easter dress! I found the perfect one at Gymboree and Mom had a coupon so I was waiting for a time that we could go together. Of course, when we go in that store Mom always finds other stuff that Grace needs!! She ended up with a few precious new things!

After the mall Grace went with Mom and Corey and I came home. Gene had made it home from work just before we got here, and after we were all ready we headed up to Rogers to Mad Pizza to meet some friends for dinner! Mom and Dad came and brought Grace to eat with us.

After dinner Mom and Dad headed home and took Grace with them because we were headed to Fast Lane with a group of friends to bowl and play for a while. I knew it would be a late night so we opted to let Grace stay with Nana and Papa. We had an absolute blast at Fast Lane. They have bowling, laser tag, go carts and tons of other video games. In case any of you don't know, this is my best friend Stephanie! We've been best friends since 8th grade!

Tanner was able to come because he didn't have to work. Hmmmm....you can't tell we're related, huh?! Right! By the way, I'm the oldest. I'm actually 4 years older than him, but his beard makes him look old!

Me and the wonderful husband!! He had to be up at 5:30 the next morning to go to work, but he still stayed out with us (almost the whole time) to celebrate with me!!

And here's a group shot. Well, minus Gene. He had left about an hour prior to this picture being taken! From the left there's Hank (that I work with) and his sweet girlfriend Katie, Teresa (also from work), Steph, Tanner, me, Corey, James (used to work with him, but he recently resigned from the pd and is, as we speak, on his way to Indonesia to work as a K9 handler for 6 months). From the left on the next row is Crystal (work with), Allie (also work with) and Jill (and also work with...she's also James's girlfriend!). And then in the very front is Miss Katie (she's James's daughter)! I love all of these people dearly and they are some of my absolute best friends! Everytime we go out this is the group that goes!

Ok, now I have a couple of prayer requests for my wonderful blog readers! As I just mentioned, James is headed to Indonesia (he left yesterday) and Jill is struggling a little bit (ok, alot) with him being gone. She has a great group of friends here to support and distract her while he is gone, but I ask that you pray for strength and comfort for her while he's away. And also prayers for James for safety while he is over there and also comfort and strength while he's away from his family and friends in a completely different world. However, his cousin, is also there working right now and they will be living together so that will help!!

My other prayer request is for one of my best friends, Brittni. She and I have been very very good friends since junior high, although, neither one of us has been that great in keeping in constant touch over the last couple of years. However, I talked to her one day last week and we played catch up. Long story short, last year she and her husband were on the brink of divorce. Then she got very sick and he completely took care of her. They were able to work through their problems and are now back together and doing great! Once their marriage was back on track they decided to try and get pregnant again. They have a little boy, Jace, that is almost exactly one month younger than Grace. She found out she was pregnant the first of December, and then at her first appointment she had an ultrasound because they weren't sure how far along she was and they were informed that they are having twins!! The bad news is that she has been horribly sick the whole pregnancy. So sick that she was unable to eat or drink anything and they had to insert a permanent feeding tube directly into her intestines. What she's experiencing has a name, but I don't remember what it is and even if I could remember there is no way I could spell it out! But, it's the way that her body is reacting to the progesterone (sp?), the pregnancy hormone. She was sick with Jace, but nothing like this and it's just because there are two babies so it is that much more taxing on her body. A week ago this last Saturday she was finally able to eat actual food for the first time in 4 weeks! She had lost 35 pounds since she first got pregnant, but has put some back on and is now about 25 pounds under where she needs to be. She has another appointment this Thursday to check her nutrition levels and they will hopefully be able to take the feeding tube out if her numbers are up where they need to be. She is not due until August 17th, but her doctor has already told her that he knows she won't carry that long. He told her that she needs to make it to at least 32 weeks. He has also been in touch with a twins specialist in Little Rock to ensure that he is doing everything he needs to be doing. So.....please please pray for my sweet friend Brittni and her unborn babies!!

Three Years

2010-02-21T23:56:00.001-06:00

Three years ago today I gave birth (after 12 hours of labor) to this precious little girl!

I love her more today than I did this day three years ago, if that is even possible! Grace Elaine and her two brothers bring me so much joy and I can't even imagine my life without them.

Highlights of Grace's 3rd year:

1) Completely potty-trained the whole year (with the exception of still wearing a diaper to bed).

2) Has developed an amazing vocabulary. She'll start speaking and I think I'm talking to an 8 year old!

3) Loves to brush her own teeth.

4) Has been in a big girl bed for well over a year now.

5) Almost knows how to spell her name.

6) Can count to ten without any problems.

7) Knows all of her colors.

8) Knows most of the alphabet, but still has to have help.

9) Just recently I found a new church that I LOVE and Grace now enjoys going to "little church"! It makes my heart smile to hear her softly singing "Jesus" songs to herself and talking about what she learned in "little church"!

10) Went through the "terrible twos" for a few months, but seem to have transitioned out of them....for the most part!

I could go on and on and on and on some more about what all she does, but I'll spare you!!! One last thing I want to share though - this Thursday Grace will attend her very first gymnastics class!!!! I am so beyond excited about it and this weekend we bought her a new little lieutard (sp?) to wear that is PRECIOUS!! She's excited about them too, and I'm really hoping she'll enjoy it!

We had her party yesterday afternoon, and one day this week when I'm not so tired I'll get some cute pictures posted!

Snow Angels

2010-02-04T09:35:00.002-06:00

I have four snow angels: Gene, Colt, Corey and Grace!

We got about 7 inches of snow last Thursday and Friday and it was absolutely beautiful while it was falling and watching it fall made me want to go play in it! So, all five of us bundled up and went outside to play. Gene was playing on the 4-wheeler and the kids and I were making snow angels and throwing snowballs! Grace loves making snow angels and I love the picture above of me and her making them.

Grace was so bundled up she could barely walk and she kept saying "I'm walkin' like a penguin!"

We went out two different times on Friday and then on Monday Colt and Grace went out to build a "Frosty!" During the whole month of December and part of January when we would put Grace to bed she would want us to tell her a story about Frosty in our backyard. So, we obliged. However, she had not ever been able to build a real Frosty, and she had an absolute ball outside with Colt working on these!! Well, in between throwing snowballs at everyone, including Layla!

And when Grace is not playing in the snow she is twirling in her tu-tu Aunt Stephie made her for Christmas!! She was sooo funny dancing around in it and she kept saying she was a rock star! I have no idea where she gets that. ;)

Gene has been gone all week in North Carolina at a conference for work and I'm so excited that he'll be home tomorrow! Today I'm trying to get the house cleaned up and a grocery list made so tomorrow Grace and I can get out and get our chores done and back home to get started on her party invitations! I can not believe my baby girl is going to be 3 years old, time goes WAY too fast. Steph and I are going to make her invitations, along with some of the decorations and I'm very excited to see how it all turns out. I will definitely be sharing pictures!!

Say it isn't so

2010-01-27T09:16:00.004-06:00

This is the 7 day forecast for our area:

The last time we had a forecast like that, approximately one year ago, this is how it turned out:

I am telling you right now, I DO NOT want another stinking ice storm. I'm depressed already just thinking about it! Our whole area was without power for at least 7 days and in some areas even up to 10-14 days without power. Our home was without for 8 days. The most. miserable. 8. days. of. my. life. I'm not just being dramatic here people, it was horrible!!! In my almost 25 years I can honestly say I have never experienced anything quite like it before. It probably would not have been so bad if not for the fact that a) we had an almost 2 year old that became very restless and hard to entertain b) my husband and I both work in law enforcement and I took more calls in that one week than I have taken in my almost 5 years total as a dispatcher c) I am a total laundry freak, I can not stand for my laundry to get even remotely backed up and, let me just tell you, after even just 3 days I came dangerously close to slipping into a panic attack! Luckily, I was able to do some at Granny's house one day and then at a friend's house, who got her power back before us, another day. And d) the fact that everywhere you looked it felt like you were in a ghost town. It is very eery when you look outside and see nothing but vast darkness. Obviously when the power is out in the whole county there are no street lights, traffic lights, business lights, even headlights because hardly anyone was out driving because the roads were so bad. The worst it felt was when I was at work and you opened up the back door of the dispatch center that looks out over our back parking lot and you see nothing. NOTHING. The police department runs off of generator so the lights on and in the building itself were working, but not the street lights in the parking lot. Eery, I tell you, eery.

So, needless to say, everyone in our area is preparing for the worst and praying for the best! As we speak, I have the dishwasher running to make sure all of our dishes are clean, I just washed the sheets on our bed and have the last load of laundry in the washer. Just in case. We have a ton of firewood on the porch so that we will have heat. Just in case. I have cleaned out the refrigerator and plan on taking a few frozen items to work to stick in our freezer there. Just in case. I am going to stop by Wal-Mart on my way to work to stock up on candles and matches so that we will have light. Ya know, just in case.

On another much lighter note, Grace's 3rd birthday is in less than a month and I have been racking my brain coming up with decoration and theme ideas for her party. Steph and I talked yesterday about making her party invitations and we've come up with a cute theme and idea so I'm excited to share all of that when it's complete!!!

Now, I'm going to take a really hot shower before this "winter storm" hits. Just in case.

a little bit of catch-up!

2010-01-15T09:47:00.006-06:00

I had to share a picture of the kids playing in the snow Christmas morning!

I noticed a couple of days ago that I have a new follower and I'm surprised anyone is still "following" me considering how bad I've been lately at posting! But, thank you anyway and I'm hoping to do better!! I'm making it a New Year's Resolution.

I know I haven't done a Christmas post, a New Year's post or even just a plain 'ol everday post. I'm not going to lie to myself (or you) and say that I'll eventually get a Christmas and NYE post done, because in all reality I probably won't! We have sooooooooooo many pictures from Christmas that it just stresses me out to figure out which ones to share and I don't feel like dealing with that headache! I do have just a few pictures from NYE so I may actually do a post on that....who knows! If your friends with me on Facebook then you can see most of our Christmas pictures on there!

I will just tell you that we had a fabulous Christmas!! I was on vacation that whole week, beginning on the Monday before Christmas and I didn't go back until the Monday after Christmas. My aunt, uncle and cousins made it to Granny's the Saturday before Christmas and were here the whole week so that Tuesday Mom, Grace and I drove down to spend the day with them and we had a great time eating pizza and visiting! That Monday (I know I'm not doing this in order, just work with me!) Grace and I went shopping with Mom to help her finish up her shopping. On Wednesday we didn't do a whole lot. On Christmas Eve we had lunch with Gene's parents and his brother and family so we could do Christmas with them and that night we went over to my parents' to do presents with them and Steph.

I stressed out a little bit because we were supposed to drive to Granny's on Christmas Day for lunch and presents with them and it was supposed to start snowing Christmas Eve. It did. Alot. As neat as it was to wake up to a White Christmas (and the kids LOVED it!), I was worried about not being able to make it to Granny's. Like, so worried I almost started crying! I was gonna be so disappointed if we were not able to drive down.

I was distracted from my worries while we were opening presents and seeing Grace's face when she realized what all Santa had brought her!! This was the first year "Santa visited" because she understands more about it this year and is grasping the idea. She got a new kitchen, a Crayola drawing easel and a baby doll!! She only asked Santa for a baby doll. With a pacifier. And a bottle. And a diaper. She got it! Colt got a new piano bench and foot pedal for his electric piano in his room and Corey got a new camera from Santa! Daddy got a new gun vise for cleaning his guns and Mama got a brand new camera also!!! After playing with "Santa presents" and opening presents from us we started to get around and ready. I had been texting Mom back and forth and we all decided that we could make it down to Granny's.

We met Mom, Dad and Tanner and then headed down. I would be lying if I told you that the roads were fabulously clear and that I was not a stitch worried the whole way down there. Because the roads were so NOT fabulously clear and I was so worried the whole way there that my stomach physically hurt!! We ended up taking our car because it's front wheel drive and Gene really expected that the street and highway depts would have been out to clear them all off enough that we would be fine. Plus the car is much more comfortable than the Bronco. Well, we were wrong. About the street and highway depts. I'll just say that we made it all in one piece, but it was stressful. For me, Gene didn't seem a bit phased.

Anyways, it was worth the upset stomach because when we got there I was fine and the rest of the day was wonderful!!!! The drive home was also much much much better! The sun was shining all day and the temperatures got up enough to melt the majority of it off of the roadways. We left Grace with Mom and Dad when we came home and the next day they drove to Ft. Worth to see Mema and Papa and the rest of the family in Texas. The rest of us weren't able to go because I wasn't able to take anymore time off and Gene also had to work. They had a great time though and I'm glad Grace was able to go. I want to make sure she knows her family!!

That whole weekend was spent relaxing and enjoying new Christmas presents!! Mom and Dad got the boys the new Super Mario Brothers game for the Wii and we spent much of our time playing it!

I wasn't ready to go back to work, but I did it anyway! On New Year's Eve Gene's cousin Shane and his family drove down from Kansas to stay the weekend and ring in the New Year. We had a bunch of company NYE night and it was a blast! It was a great start to 2010!

So, now we've just been trying to settle back into our regular routine and it was made a little difficult this week when everyone got sick. I started out having a bad cough and sore throat and then Grace got it which landed us in the doctor's office. She's been on antibiotics and is about over it now, but then Gene came down with bronchitis and has been on antibiotics and now Corey has it! Oh it's lovely. Colt has shown no signs of getting it, so hopefully he'll be spared!

I'm back on my diet and worked out last night with Gene and Colt for the first time in a few months and it felt good! Although I'm sore right now! I'm determined to hit my goal weight this time and we're doing The Biggest Loser at work again so hopefully that will help keep me motivated.

Grace will be 3 in just a little over a month and I can't believe it. I don't want to believe it. She's growing up way too fast and I've been brainstorming party ideas. She has never been in daycare or anything and really doesn't have any little friends her age so we will probably just have it out here at the house again, but my goal for the Spring is to get her enrolled in some dance classes so maybe she can make some friends then and next year we can have her party at a fun play place!

I still have baby fever really bad. I want to have just one more child and then no more for sure, but I want Grace to have a little sibling. The boys are so much older than her and will be grown and probably out of the house by the time she finishes elementary school for sure and she needs a companion. Plus I just want another one!! I'm still working on convincing my husband. We'll see.

Ok, that's about all I feel like typing out right now. I have several other things I want to share and hopefully I'll get back into a blogging routine. I promise I'll share some pictures soon too!

Three Years!

2009-12-14T21:32:00.003-06:00

**I had to add a picture of the beautiful roses he had delivered to me at work today!!**

I would just like to write a quick note to say that today is mine and Gene's three year anniversary!! We didn't have a wedding, but we had a sweet little 83 year old man (that looks JUST like Colonel Sanders) marry us in his living room in his precious Fayetteville home!! (He was a Justice of the Peace in the county we live in!)

It was just Gene and I, and truth be told, I wish we had the boys and more family there, but it was also kind of nice to just be us because it was very intimate. I love my husband very much and with each day I love him a little bit more. I am very blessed that God chose him to be my husband and the father of our children!!

I love you babe and happy anniversary!!!!!

Christmas Tour of Homes 2009

2009-12-14T10:40:00.006-06:00

Hello all!! I would like to first thank you for stopping by my page on The Nester Christmas Tour of Homes 2009!!! I hope you enjoy your visit!!

Welcome to the Johnson household!!! My mom bought me the little Santa and Snowman from Kirkland's this year because she knew I had been eyeballing them since we first spotted them!!

Our "J" flag is outside by the steps to our porch! I eventually want to have more outside decorations and lights on the house, it just didn't happen this year.

My little snowman cookie jar I bought at Kirkland's a couple of years ago!

Snowman towels that hang on our oven handle.

Snowman spoon rest that says "Snow" on it that I bought this year. Granny has a matching one!! I gues I've made my kitchen snowman themed!!

Mom and I both bought this "N-O-E-L" candle holder from Arty Crafty after Christmas last year. It looks plain sitting up there by itself and I still haven't bought any candles to go on it yet either! That's a goal for the after Christmas sales this year.

Our piano with the lighted Frosty and Santa. Eventually wanting more stuff on it also, and a pretty Christmas picture to hang over it!

Table in our dining room. It has several new things on it, and I'm sure one of these days I'll get pictures in both frames!

The fireplace and the blanket Mom bought me! Our stocking holders spell out "S-A-N-T-A" but they're silver and hard to see. I may need to think about painting them either red or gold! Our stockings have little gingerbread faces on them and say "Merry Christmas." I found them on sale the year before last, once again after Christmas! And they just so happened to have 5 left! I also put gold and red bows on the lighted garland. I told Gene that I need a big pretty wreath to hang above the fireplace!

Our little family of 5!!

And, last but not least, our pretty Christmas tree!!! We only have one and this picture does not do it justice but I LOVE LOVE LOVE my tree! I got it on sale after Thanksgiving last year and it stands 9 ft tall and is the perfect width for our living room! It doesn't have any sort of theme, it's just various different ornaments, candy canes, white lights (because they're my favorite) and red and gold bows!! You can't see the tree skirt in this picture but it's red with green trim and has a cute little snowman on it!!

I've already done one post with some of our Christmas decorations and if you read that then this was a little redundant, but thanks anyways for enduring it again!!! Now you need to check out The Nester's page and visit all the other homes on tour!!!!

I thought weekends were for rest & relaxation...

2009-12-12T23:04:00.002-06:00

Whew! I'm exhausted. This weekend has got to be the busiest one I've had in a while, and it was even a 3-day weekend. As I've talked about before, I'm on the Springdale Police Department Benevolent Fund Committee and we do fundraisers to raise money for the police department and it helps officers' families in time of need and it also pays for our annual Christmas party and our annual Awards Banquet. We've been having weekly meetings and fundraisers since September preparing for tonight, which was the Christmas Party.

So, Thursday I went with the other girls on the committee to run errands and get stuff together and then went to Colt's band concert that night. Yesterday I went shopping with Teresa to get jewelry and shoes, got my hair cut (which is super cute by the way :)), ate lunch with 3 of my best girls, got a flat tire (my wonderful brother came to mine and Grace's rescue because Gene and Dad were both working and out of pocket), made 2 different trips to the mall, grocery shopping at Wal-Mart and then home! I told you....whew!

Corey's birthday is the 15th so we told him we would celebrate with him last night. He decided he wanted us to go out to eat then go "real bowling!" You see, we bowl alot here at home on the Wii and, truth be told, I always either win or come in second and we give Corey a hard time because he doesn't ever do very good! So, he said he wanted to go "real bowling" so he could put us to shame!!

However, Gene worked construction this week on his days off from the PD and they had to finish the job they were working on this week before they could leave last night. They ended up not finishing and leaving north Bentonville until 6:30. It's an hour drive home from there and Gene was way past exhausted, so we decided that we would just stay in instead of going out. The boys and I ran in to Blockbuster and Tim's Pizza to get movies and dinner before Gene got home!After my flat tire incident Tanner took Grace with him to Mom at school because she is spending the weekend with her Nana and Papa at Granny's house!

So, we ate yummy pizza and let Corey open his birthday presents. We rented the movie Duplicity and put it in first. We all fell asleep. I'm going to try and give it another chance, but it was pretty slow and really confusing, which was disappointing, because the previews looked cute.

We also had some delicious birthday cookie cake!! Great American Cookies has the BEST cookies in the world!! Gene felt horrible for getting home so late and not being able to take Corey out, but we told him that we'd make it up to him next weekend.

This morning I was up early again and in Springdale by 9 to get things set up for the party. We ended up only having to work on it till about 11:30, at which time I headed to Target to try and find some earrings to match my necklace and I wanted to get my nails done! I accomplished both, but the earrings ended up coming from JCPenney's instead of Target. I LOVE getting my nails done and it had been a while since I'd been able to!! I then headed home and watched the movie The Orphan with the boys before time to shower and get ready. That movie was C-R-E-E-P-Y!! Pretty good, but creepy. I loved getting dressed up in a pretty dress, heels and jewelry and posing with my honey!!! The party was a success and all went smoothly! I do have to go back to work tomorrow but I am sleeping in!!! I don't really plan on getting up until I have to get in the shower and get ready!!

Best Giveaway I've Seen!!!!!

2009-12-09T16:10:00.003-06:00

Ok ladies, and maybe some gentlemen :), I have some huge news! Even though, I'm sure all of you already read Kelly's blog, you have got to go check it out right now because she is doing the absolute biggest giveaway I've ever seen!! It's amazing!!

Ok, what are you waiting for?! Go here now!!!

***Okie dokie, it just got sweeter!! There are a total of 5 fabulous blog ladies that are each giving away this fantastic item so go visit BooMama, NieNie, MckMama and Stephanie!!!

Show Us Your Life - Christmas Trees!

2009-12-04T16:37:00.009-06:00

I decided I would participate in Kelly's Show Us Your Life blog carnival today because she is doing Christmas trees and I haven't posted my decorations yet so I'll just do it all in one!!

I bought this tree on sale last year right before Thanksgiving at Lowe's and I'm in love with it! It's 9 ft tall and is the perfect size for our living room. I only use white lights because I'm personally just not a fan of multi-colored ones! This picture isn't that great, but it was the best I could get and I wanted to post one without using the flash.

You can see my tree skirt really good in this one, but the tree looks kinda funny. It really is alot prettier in person! We had been using the same gold tree skirt for the last 3 years and Gene and the boys had been using it before me, and last year I looked and looked for one that I really loved to replace it but never had any luck. The first time I looked at Wal-Mart's Christmas decor this year I saw this one and fell in love with it! And it was only $20!! I have never done a "themed" tree and growing up we never did either. It was always just a bunch of different kinds of ornaments. I love all kinds. Big, small, bright, unique, traditional, you name it and I'm probably going to like it! I also never really realized how many people put up more than one tree in their house. That's just weird to me! I don't really have the room for more than one and I just like the idea of only having one.

The piano is decorated the same as last year and am looking to get some more stuff to add to it. I also want to get a big pretty Christmas picture to hang on the wall!

Our little table is a little different this year because I have some new things! Mom bought me the snowman thing on the bottom, the little thing that says "snow" and the red and black frame that says "Christmas 2008", I just don't have a picture in it yet!

I got the little snowman cookie jar from Kirkland's the year before last and I just love him! Except I don't keep cookies in it because they don't stay fresh very long in it! So, right now I'm using it as the centerpiece on our dining room table because I need to find a pretty Christmas one.

I took some pictures of my favorite ornaments too to share! This one, obviously, is one of Grace's very first ornaments!! I can't believe this is already her 3rd Christmas.

Mom bought me this one this year and I think it's just perfect! After all, His birth IS the reason for the season!!

I bought this one last year from a kiosk in the mall and I love the personalized ones!! So fun!

This one was from the same kiosk and I just think it's adorable!

I got all 3 of the kids personalized ones to go in their stockings last year and since Corey plays basketball I thought this one was fitting! I'm going to buy them each a new one every year that somehow symbolizes something that happened during the year and when they move out on their own I'm going to send them all with them so they have a start on their own tree!!Grace's from last year isn't entirely accurate because she wasn't a ballerina, but she LOVES to dance and it was cute so I picked it!

Of course, Colt's was a piano!! It was perfect and exactly what I was looking for! That kid loves loves loves playing the piano, and I'm not complaining because he has insane talent and I enjoy listening to him play!

On Thanksgiving when we were at Granny's house putting her tree up I was going through all of her old ornaments that she doesn't put up anymore and I came across a bunch of cross stitched ones like this that my mom made many many years ago!! Granny said I could have any of them I wanted so I brought several of them home to put on my tree! I love having them and not only does it remind me of Mom, but also of Granny because I can remember putting them on her tree as a little girl!

I also have a whole nativity set that were some of my first ornaments and they go up every year!

This picture didn't turn out very good either, but our stocking holders spell out Santa and our stockings have little gingerbread men on them and say Merry Christmas. I got them on sale half off after Christmas the year before last and lucked out finding 5 matching! I put the lighted garland up and then tie some red and gold bows on it. The blanket hanging on the wall Mom bought me last year and it's cute as can be and we just hung it up today because I finally decided I liked it there!

Ok, that's all my Christmas decorations. Well, no, actually I lied. That's not all of them, but the others I just didn't get pictures of! I'll do that sometime and add them on. Now I'm off to help Grace work a Christmas puzzle and watch the series finale of Monk!

Tomorrow morning Mom, Stephanie, Grace and I are headed to Branson for the weekend! We're going to Silver Dollar City tomorrow to see all the Christmas lights and of course will be doing some shopping and eating!!! I'll be sure to get pictures to share!!

Funny Girl

2009-12-01T10:02:00.003-06:00

Grace Elaine Johnson has quite the imagination and quite the vocabulary! She is so funny sometimes and I wonder where she comes up with some of the stuff she says. I decided I would share with you some of her most recent funnies.

*This picture is an example of one! One day last week Gene was making breakfast and I was working on stuff around the house when he yelled at me to grab the camera because Grace wanted a picture of her and the snowman together. I was in the bedroom at the time and couldn't figure out what snowman he was referring to. When I came around the corner I saw her sitting up on the kitchen island with her arm around our snowman cookie jar! She just kept saying "Take our pitcher!" So, I obliged! (Please excuse the tub of butter sitting out!)

*Our conversation this morning while I was making myself some oatmeal for breakfast:

Grace: "Mama, what you makin'?"

Me: "I'm making me some oatmeal for breakfast."

Grace: "Can I eat your oatmeal wif you?"

Me: "Why do you want to eat my breakfast when you didn't even eat your cereal Daddy fixed you?"

Grace: "Cause I do."

Me: "Ooook, well, do you want me to fix you some oatmeal?"

Grace: "Yea, shuw!"

Me: "Ok, do you want peaches & cream, bananas & cream, blueberries & cream or strawberries & cream?"

Grace: "Bluuuuebewies!"

Me: "You are definitely your Nana's girl, aren't you?"

Grace: "Yea, I shuw am!! I am my Nana's girl! Naaaaana, Naaaana, Maaaama, Maaama!!"

Oh, the kid cracks me up!

*While I was eating my oatmeal in the recliner Grace was sitting in her little beach chair on the living room floor holding her sippy cup of milk. Her cup slipped in her hand and some of it dripped out of the lid. Our conversation:

Grace: "Uh oh, Mama, I spilled my milk aaaaalllll over da place."

Me: "It's ok, it's just a few drops, here is a rag to clean it up."

Grace: "Thanks!" (Wipes up the few drops.)

Me: "Now go put the rag in the laundry room because it's dirty."

Grace: (While wiping the rag on her shirt) "No, I wipe it off. It clean now."

Me: "No, it's still dirty, you need to go put it in the laundry room please."

Grace: "Not right now." (Throws the rag on the floor.)

Me: "Grace Elaine, go pick the rag up and put it in the laundry room right now."

Grace: "But I can't get up." (Trying to pull herself up and pretending she isn't strong enough.)

Me: "Yes you can, stand up."

Grace: "Mama, I can't get up."

Me: (Extending my hand to help her up.) "Here, ok, up ya go. Alright, now you're up, go do what I told you to do."

Grace: (While patting me on the shoulder.) "Thank you, Mama!!! You are a goooooood Mama!" (Still patting my shoulder until she bends over and picks up the rag.)

Me: "Oh, I know I am!! Now go!!!"

Grace: Giggles and runs to the laundry room.

*Yesterday Grace and I must have both been worn out because we both slept in until 10 am and that very rarely happens with her. Since that never happens and she got so much sleep she was consequently not tired last night when it came time for bed. When I got home from work at almost 10:30 she was still up, which is an hour and a half past her bedtime. Gene was only about half awake because he started back to work yesterday after being off for 3 weeks so he was not used to being up at 5:30 and working all day. So, my fault, she slep too late and was therefore staying up too late. So sue me!! ha!

I changed into my pjs and washed my face and then got Grace's teeth brushed and headed upstairs with her. First of all, she was H-Y-P-E-R!! I mean, she was running around like crazy squealing and laughing and being silly and I was worried it might take a while to get her wound down and asleep. I was right! When we got upstairs she was being goofy and kept trying to arrange all of her stuffed animals that sleep with her. Finally, she settled in and we read a Christmas book before turning the light off. The book we read is a new one I bought her Saturday and she was already saying most pages right along with me, and was even beating me to some parts! It amazes me how much her little mind absorbs!

Once the light was off she kept squirming....and squirming.....and squirming.....and squirming some more! Finally I was very stern with her and told her she had to be still and quiet and go to sleep. I knew she was very sleepy but trying her hardest not to stay still because she knew she would fall asleep. We have a night time ritual that consists of a regular kiss, an eskimo kiss, a butterfly kiss and also an ear kiss (a kiss totally made up by Grace herself where you rub ears together...silly I know, but she loves it!) before she goes to sleep. She and I had already done all four, but after a few minutes of the squirming she picked up her stuffed Santa and gave him a regular kiss, an eskimo kiss, a butterfly kiss and then an ear kiss! It was the cutest thing, because she didn't know I was watching her. She did it one more time and then laid him down beside her! She's so sweet when she wants to be!!

As hard as it is being the mother of a toddler, it is also very rewarding and I had no idea what love truly was until I had children!!! They really are a blessing from God and I'm so blessed to have three wonderful kids!!!

Giveaway News!!

2009-11-30T21:11:00.003-06:00

I know I've been absent for a while, but things have just been absolutely crazy and I've barely had time to get on and read blogs let alone post one of my own. I have a post planned about our Thanksgiving, but I want to get the pictures my mom took because I didn't get any. Shameful, I know!

I had to post a quick one today though and share about a few giveaways going on. Kelly over at Kelly's Korner is having one that is awesome and Jenna at Jenna's Journey is also having a cute little giveaway so jump on over and check them out and I'm hoping to get back on sometime soon to catch you guys up. Because I know you care so much! ha!!

Have a good week!!!!

*Update - I was just reading another blog and found another giveaway! Check out Heather's blog Life at Sonic Speed because she is also giving something away!!!

Ick...It hit our house...

2009-11-09T08:12:00.006-06:00

The flu bug that is.

Let me start by saying my husband does NOT actually wear his hair like this! He shaves his own head and I took this picture the last time he did about a month ago. He always leaves big chunks in random places to try and make me think he's actually going to leave it like that. I know better! He's a big dork, but he's my big dork!

Anyways....

My crazy workaholic of a husband caught the bug last Thursday. He works construction some on his days off from the police department and last Thursday when he got home from working on a house he said he didn't feel very good. I thought it was just because he was tired and had to do manual labor instead of driving around all day! :) However, I was wrong. He didn't sleep hardly at all that night and kept sweating and then getting the chills. He finally checked his temperature and it was 102. Friday morning when he woke up it was 100, but he still went to work.

I didn't know any of this until I woke up Friday morning and saw the text message he'd sent me. He had gone to the last Greenland football game Thursday night and I was in bed before he got home so I never knew he was experiencing all of this. His first text just said that he didn't sleep because he had a fever. I then asked him why he went to work and he proceeded to type, verbatim, "To make you money." Ok, well, I can't argue with that BUT, I really am more concerned with his well being than money! So, I told him he should not have gone and he ended up home by 11.

He crashed on the couch right after he got home and Grace and I left shortly after that to meet Mom for lunch. After we ate lunch I had to make a quick run to the pd and then we picked Corey up from school early because the seniors had dubbed Friday a "skip day" so most of the students didn't even show up and none of his teachers were doing anything in class due to the absence of so many students.

On our way to get Corey Gene sent me a text that said he still had a fever and that he was freezing. I called the doctor because he had already told me he was having body aches. I knew it was the flu and I didn't want to waste anytime getting him in. It was 1:50 when I called the doctor's office and they had a 2:45 appointment so I told them we wanted that one and I told Gene. He responded by telling me that he didn't feel like driving. Oh. boy. First of all, I knew he was really sick if he didn't want to drive because he hates not driving because riding makes him sick. Second of all, I had about 30 minutes to make it down to Greenland from Springdale and then to the house to get him. I also needed to get a load of laundry started. Mom and Dad's washer died last week and the repairman hadn't made it out as of Friday and my cousins were coming to stay with them for the weekend and Mom said all of their towels were dirty! I most certainly did not mind catching up their laundry because 1) laundry mats are miserable and costly and 2) as much as my mom (and dad) have done for me (us), doing their laundry was the least I could do! There were only 3 loads, but by the time we got home it was 2:30 and I had just enough time to throw the first load in and then throw Gene into the truck (ok, not really, but you get the picture!).

Gene felt absolutely miserable. I felt so bad for him and he was shaking and couldn't get comfortable sitting out in the waiting room and his face and neck were all red. They called us back fairly quickly, but then we had to wait forever in the room for the doctor to come in. As soon as he came in and Gene told him that he'd had a fever and body aches the doc said "Well, it sounds like influenza." To which I replied, "I told ya!" Gene gave me a dirty look. Oops!

A tech came in and did "the swab." I don't know if any of you have had it, I have not, but I know it was icky to watch. They stick a little q-tip thing up your nose and Gene said it felt like she went all the way to his brain. His eyes were all watery and the girl is lucky he didn't smack her!! She was nice though. A few minutes later the nurse came in and told us that it was in fact the flu and that doc had prescribed Tamiflu. So, we were off to Walgreen's to get it filled. I brought Gene back home, checked on the laundry and turned around and went back to pick up the medicine. Gene quarantined himself upstairs in hopes of not sharing the germs.

He didn't sleep much at all Friday night either and was actually feeling a little better Saturday but had an upset stomach all day. He said he did sleep really well Saturday night and yesterday was again a little bit better, but still having stomach issues. He wasn't able to work the pd, obviously, Saturday or yesterday, but went back to work this morning and I have not spoken to him yet this morning to see how he's feeling. I know he wants to be all over it by tomorrow afternoon because he's leaving for Madison County for THREE WEEKS to hunt. Yes, three weeks. One of our other officers owns a ton of land over there and he and Gene will spend much of their time out in the woods being manly. Ha!

All of the kids have had their flu shots. I have not. So, I am really really hoping I don't get it because with him leaving town I can not afford to be sick! So far so good though. I haven't felt bad so hopefully it'll stay that way!

Fall, Fall, Fall!!!!

2009-11-03T09:03:00.006-06:00

It has been quite busy around the Johnson household and I have finally come to terms with the fact that I'm just not as good at blogging as I used to be! It's ok though, because everything else I spend my time doing is completely worth it!

Between work, school (the kids, not me...not yet anyway!), sick kids, airport runs, baking and sleeping (some) I've just only had time to read blogs and not the time to sit down and upload pictures and actually type something out. I don't really like posting without pictures, which is another reason I don't post a whole lot. However, I've got lots of pictures to share today and even though I've not completely adjusted to the time change in some ways it's a great thing. This morning, for example, Grace and I were up by 7:30 but I didn't feel tired because it still felt like it was 8:30 to me so she and I have had lots of time today to spend together!

We've been having some issues with her sleeping habits. I'm not sure what the deal is, but for about the last month, more nights than not, she wakes up at least 2-3 times a night and tries to come downstairs and get in bed with us. Most of the time I'm able to intercept her and lay her back in her bed, but that doesn't always work. And the times that it does work she wants me to lay down with her until she goes back to sleep so each time I'm up it's usually for 20-30 minutes and sometimes for an hour. On the nights that I'm absolutely exhausted I just let her get in bed with us or I'll eventually bring her back downstairs to our room if she's taking forever to go back to sleep. Last night was a good night though and she didn't wake up until very early this morning and she came and got in bed with us. So....I haven't had just a whole lot of restful sleep lately, which is ok I guess, because it's all part of being a mommy. I just really really REALLY like my sleep!! And I don't put her back to bed just because I don't want to cuddle and sleep with her, I just don't want her to get used to sleeping with us and not in her own room. She's almost 3 and I want her to know that mommy and daddy's room is not her room! We're working through it and I'm just taking each night one at a time.

On a lighter and more fun note.....we made homemade chocolate chip cookies this morning!!! The fall/holiday season always brings out the baker in me! I just want to cook, cook, cook!! And, as previously stated, we have had lots of time this morning to bond! This was the first time she's helped me and she had a few issues listening and not adding more ingredients than we needed, but she is only 2 so what did I expect?!

They turned out great though and we've already enjoyed one!! She loved it and just kept saying "Can I help ya?" in her cute little southern drawl! My girl is most definitely from the south and I love it!

She's also a little bit ornery! I know, I know, that probably comes as a real shock...especially if you know any of our family! She is a handful though and though we have still had some struggles with the "terrible twos" we're coming through it ok and she is getting better!

We are currently watching The Santa Clause 3 for the second time so far this year! This picture was taken the first time she watched it and she just lounged back the whole time completely in awe yet again with the Clause!! I'm pretty sure she's probably going to be just like her momma and her Nana when it comes to Christmas! Mom and I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas and everything that comes with it! I'm so excited about putting out our Christmas decorations that I actually asked Gene last Friday if I could put them out now and he said "NO!" Boo! Oh alright fine, I guess I'll wait! Especially considering Thanksgiving is only like 3 weeks away and that's when we put ours out!!!! Woot!

My wonderful Granny is doing absolutely beautifully recovering from her surgery!! She had an appointment with Dr. Gallaher, her surgeon, a week and a half ago and he completely released her and said that she needed to be careful but she could return to her normal activities!! He also told her he didn't want to see her again...in a good way of course!! Her appointment was here in Fayetteville so Mom went and picked her up and while she was up here we had lunch at Guido's to see Tanner and then we had to pay a visit to Kirkland's! Ummm hello?! Who else LOVES that store? Oh my, they've got their Christmas stuff out too, so as if I didn't love it enough before I really do now! Mom and I could just get stupid in that store! Ahem. Anyways, while we were in there Granny found these yummy candles and bought Mom and I one! We all got the Cafe Mocha one and it smells yuuuuuummmy! I'm burning it as I type this actually.

This would be Grace's hot chocolate face! The first time she watched The Santa Clause she had a cup of hot chocolate. 'Tis the season!

My man, who is oh so ready for his 2 week vacation that starts next Tuesday, which will be spent in the woods with Jake (his other wife! ha!) hunting! Jake and his family own a ton of land over in Madison County and there's a cabin on it that Gene and Jake will spend much of their time in and around. I took this picture of him while he was cleaning one of his guns. Notice my kitchen cabinet became a work station. I was not real happy about it, but there's not much I could do or say considering the poor thing doesn't have a garage or a shop to do it in! One of these days (when we win the lottery) he wants to build a shop to keep his motorcycle and all of his tools in. But, for now, the kitchen counter will just have to do. The sacrifices a wife makes.

Very intent. The man is obsessed with guns. And hunting. All that is on our tv when he is home is hunting. It's so bad that even now Grace asks to watching the hunting channel. Really?! Grace, honey, you're a little girl! Oh well, it could be worse I suppose.

Colt and Corey love taking pictures, especially of and with their baby sister! I find it precious! Colt started feeling bad Saturday morning and by Sunday morning had a fever of 102 degrees. Lovely. So, we quarantined him to the upstairs portion of the house and doped him up on some Motrin and Tylenol Cold & Flu. By noon it had broken and never got up above 97. That is until yesterday morning when it was up to 100. So Gene made him a doctor's appointment and I took him in to see what was up. I was really hoping it was not the flu, and considering all of the kids have had their flu shots, I was hoping even more that it was not the stinking swine flu. Luckily, it wasn't either. He has an infection in his throat and was prescribed an antibiotic! He's back to school today and was very relieved because that boy hates missing school. Seriously, I'm not being sarcastic. He really was hating not being in school yesterday. I am certainly not complaining, it beats the alternative!

Saturday afternoon Corey and Grace were playing outside and Corey was capturing some pretty cool shots! I love this one of Miss Thang, well except for the fact that it makes her looks like she's a little girl and not a baby! I can't believe she's already almost 3, and that Colt is 16 and driving and Corey will be 15 in a little over a month. If anyone figures out how to slow time down would you please be so kind as to share it with me?!? Thanks!

Have I mentioned before that I am in love with this season?! Because I so am. With all the rain we've had this year the colors have been gorgeous! It's probably the prettiest fall we've had in a while. Another one of the advantages to living in the country....being surrounded by trees. The road out to our house is beautiful to drive while the leaves are changing because you're surrounded by bright pretty colors!

It's the eye of the photographer! Corey is crazy when it comes to the camera and loves to take pictures of anything and everything. The kid can make a rock look amazing! I just don't have any talent when it comes to that, or the patience to learn! I've already told Gene that when I reach my goal weight in my weight loss journey we're going to have family pictures taken, because ya know, in 4 years we've never once had a family picture done! Sad, I know. Don't judge!

Mom, Dad and Tanner spent this past weekend in Las Vegas celebrating Tanner's 21st birthday! Mom and Dad told us that they would take us to Vegas when we turned 21 and they took me back in '06 and followed through this past weekend by taking Tanner! They had an absolute blast and I'm sure when Mom gets a chance she'll post about it with some pictures and when she does I'll be sure to link to it so you can check them out!

This will be my 5th Christmas to work at the pd and for the first time I will actually have both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off!!!!! Gene also has them both off so I decided that this year I was not going to stress myself out about making arrangements and when we would have Christmas with my family and then when we would have it with Gene's family and having to rush around to eat or do presents before having to go to work so I am taking the WHOLE week of Christmas off!! I am so very excited about finally being able to really enjoy the holiday with our families!! I love my job, but I'm telling ya, having to work just about every holiday every year gets old! So, this year we won't have to! Yay for vacations!

Alright, I think that about wraps everything up that's been happening. The highlights anyway! I know, that was a long "highlight!" Now I've got to go fold some laundry and finish getting ready for work! I'm training a rookie and this is his last week before he's completely released and I'm very ready to be done training. As much as I love it, it's also stressful, so now I'll be done for a while. Until we hire some new ones, which will be soon, because we have 2 positions open right now. So, if you know anyone who is interested in being a dispatcher, send them our way!!

Happy Tuesday everyone!!!!

Feeling Crafty

2009-10-17T11:04:00.003-05:00

First things first....I am just now posting about our dinner Thursday night! Let me just say that it was delicious! Oh my word, we all had it over a baked potato and ate the cornbread on the side and it was just to die for!

I am telling you, that mixture with the potato and the cheese was awesome and such a good cold weather food! I'm anxious to take some leftovers home for Gene and the boys to try and see if they like it! I do know the boys won't like the beans so I'll cut them in half next time I make it.

The cake was awesome too and it really tastes like a pumpkin bread. We did decide that next time I'm going to add walnuts to it and do a cream cheese icing instead of the glaze. The glaze isn't bad, it just doesn't have much flavor. I think with the walnuts and cream cheese icing..mmmmmmm!! You could even just leave it dry and put it in loaf pans and make a bread! It's easy and yummy!

Now, of course, I have to throw a picture of Miss Thang on here! Mom, Grace and I went shopping yesterday at Target, Kirkland's and Hobby Lobby and this little one racked up big time! Which is no big surprise because she always does but ya know! Truthfully though the girl was in desperate need of some winter clothes so that's what Mom and I got her yesterday. She ended with, I think, 8 different outfits, 3 new pairs of pajamas and 5 new pairs of shoes!! I am so jealous, but you just can't beat Target's $4 dollar Circo brand pants and shirts. They are the best and fit her so good! The child is not even 3 yet but she is already wearing 4T clothes and a size 9 shoe! She is just growing too fast. Mom and I were in HEAVEN in Kirkland's because they have most of their Christmas stuff out and let me just tell you, Mom and I are HUGE Christmas people and our houses are always decorated big time for the holiday! I could have spent a lot more time and a whole lot more money in there but I just had to tell myself no! We did get a few things and we also got Granny a few prizes too!

Our last stop was Hobby Lobby because Granny had this glass vase from some flowers she was sent after her surgery. We had to throw the flowers out this week and I told Mom I wanted to do an arrangement in it for her table. So, we ventured into Hobby Lobby and found these artificial flowers to use! I had already decided I was going to slice lemons and oranges to put in the bottom. I got started on it this morning and this is how it turned out! I was very pleased with it, especially considering it's my first one to make EVER!!!

The lemons weren't a very bright yellow but they look alot better in person than in this picture! I've decided I'm going to have to get some more and make one for my house! I've been wanting a new centerpiece for our dining room table as well so now I've just gotta get to work on it! Overall, it wasn't that expensive either. She already had the vase and Hobby Lobby had their greenery and shrubs 50% off so all of them cost about $14-15 dollars and then I used two oranges that were .50 a piece and about 6 lemons that were .38 a piece. Not bad! Plus Granny was very happy with it!!

I have to work today so Grace and I will have to be leaving here in about 45 minutes to head back home up the mountain. :( I'm sad and wish we could stay but I'm also ready to get home and see my hubby and my boys! Gene is leaving tomorrow for a class at the Academy in Camden and won't be home until Thursday so I need to spend some time with him before he leaves!

The Razorbacks play the Florida Gators in the Swamp today at 2 so we'll be calling those Hogs all afternoon and rootin' for another win!!! Whooooooooo Pig Sooie!!!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!!!!

Four Generations Weekend!!

2009-10-15T18:42:00.008-05:00

This is going to pretty much be a picture post with a few snippets about our last few days!

I am enjoying a 3 day weekend and Mom had taken all of this week off to come stay with Granny so I decided Grace and I would also come down to spend some time with them. Us girls usually have a big time together and this time has certainly not disappointed! When we got here yesterday Grace was back in the bedroom and came walking out with a new baby doll Granny got her. It's a bathtime baby so she and a few toys she came with can get in the bath with Grace. She loves it!

The first thing she does is take the little diaper and shirt off of it. I don't know why she can't leave clothes on her babies!

We've spent alot of time out on Granny's new deck and luckily today the weather was beautiful! Last night we went out for a little bit because it had dried mostly from all the rain we've been having recently. Granny started sweeping all the leaves off and Grace decided she needed to take over!

Grace had just woken up from a nap and went to her Nana's lap first and then decided she'd rather snuggle with Granny! I think they kinda like each other!! I love this picture!

I'm pretty sure we may have a photographer on our hands because anytime Grace can get a camera in hers she starts snapping away! She took this one of Mom last night. Decent ones are few and far between. They usually are of her feet or a big blur but every now and then she'll snap a good one! So far the two she's managed to get anything in have both been of her Nana!

She was excited to take a bath with her baby and spent all of bathtime talking to her and scrubbing her clean!

This one was taken this morning while we were sitting outside after breakfast. Grace would literally stay outside ALL day if we would let her! The sun came out today and it was a blessed sight!

The other one Grace snapped of her Nana, and she is going to kill me for posting this on here!! I think it's cute....she doesn't agree with me though!

I really think sometimes my daughter should have been born a boy! She is such a tom-boy and loves climbing on everything and destroying everything!

I had to bribe her with tootsie rolls to try and get a picture with her and this was about as good as it was gonna get! She hates having her picture taken...unless it's her idea!

Granny and Granny Ima enjoying my pumpkin cake after dinner! I'm going to do another post either later tonight or tomorrow about it!

Me and my girl! There are so few pictures of us together because I'm usually the one taking the picture but I had Mom try and snap one of us while I was finishing getting dinner ready! It's the same thing with Mom, I need to get some of them together!

Grace didn't really like our dinner so I heated her up some enchildas my great Aunt Rosie had made! I don't think she realized I was taking her picture because I was looking at her instead of at the camera!

Mom bought Grace some new puzzles and she has wanted all of us to work them with her except we always end up doing all the work! They had been strowed (sp?) all over the living room floor so after Mom ate she was trying to pick them up and it was like pulling teeth to keep Miss Thang at the dinner table eating instead of messing them up!!

So, that's what has been going on around here! Mom is giving Grace a bath now and Granny is already in her pjs settled into her chair. I'm following behind shortly in the pj department and then I'm going to finish coloring my picture! I told Mom earlier that I was in the mood to color so after she took Granny Ima back home from getting her glasses earlier she ran into the dollar store and got me and Grace some coloring books and crayons!! I've been getting in touch my inner child!!

It's starting to smell like Fall!!!!

2009-10-15T15:07:00.006-05:00

Grace, Mom and I are down in Alma right now at Granny's house and I have a ton of pictures to share but for right now I'm going to share two new recipes I've tried! I recently signed up at myrecipes.com and also at southernliving.com so I receive e-mails with recipes and ideas on a regular basis. Let me tell you, my recipe book has grown tremendously since I started getting them!

This past week I received one that was 20 Slow Cooker Recipes and I printed off just about everyone of them because they all sounded delish! I brought them down with me yesterday when we came and had Mom and Granny go through to see which ones they thought sounded good to make while we were here. We all decided on the Chalupa Dinner Bowl and the recipe says to put it in large taco salad shells or over cornbread so we decided we would make homemade cornbread and also baked potatoes to put it over!!! Now I will say first that we have not actually eaten it yet. I put it all together last night and let it cook overnight and we will be eating it for dinner here in about an hour so I'll be sure to come back and let you know how it was all together! I have tasted it though and mmmmmm......yum!! Ok, here ya go!!!

Chalupa Dinner Bowl

1 lb dried pinto beans

1 (3 1/2 lb) bone-in pork loin roast

2 (4 oz) cans chopped green chiles

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 (32 oz) box chicken broth

1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes and green chiles with lime juice and cilantro

8 taco salad shells

1 small head Iceberg lettuce, shredded

Toppings: shredded Monterey Jack cheese, pickled jalapeno slices, halved grape tomatoes, sour cream, chopped avocado

Rinse and sort beans. Place pinto beans in a 6-qt slow cooker; add roast and next 6 ingredients. Pour chicken broth evenly over top of roast. Cover and cook on HIGH 1 hour; reduce to LOW, and cook 9 hours. Or, cover and cook on HIGH 6 hours. Remove bones and fat from roast; pull roast into large pieces with two forks. Stir in diced tomatoes and green chiles. Cook, uncovered, on HIGH 1 more hour or until liquid is slightly thickened. Heat taco salad shells according to package directions; place shredded lettuce evenly into shells. Spoon about 1 cup pork-and-bean mixture into each shell using a slotted spoon. Serve with desired toppings.

Note: I used a boneless pork roast and it worked wonderfully and it was easier because I didn't have to pull it out in order to tear it into small pieces because it was sooo tender! I also used minced garlic instead of garlic cloves (it says on the jar how much equals 2 cloves), a can of regular Rotel instead of the one it calls for and after it cooked for the first hour and I turned it to LOW I added a glass of water to it to make sure it didn't get dry because Granny's crock pot is really big and not all of the roast was under the broth. I think the water really helped because it made it more brothy. And of course we are using the cornbread and baked potatoes instead of what it says and I'll be sure to take pictures of the finished product and let you know how it all was together too!!

Now....I also had some new dessert recipes and I brought them down as well! They were all pretty much pumpkin recipes because, after all, 'tis the season!! So, we decided on the Pumpkin Pound Cake with Buttermilk Glaze! We haven't tried any yet because it will come after our dinner but rest assured I'll give you a verdict on it as well!! I do know that it smelled absolutely heavenly in here and then I got the cake in the oven and my mouth was just watering over the smell alone!! I'm so happy that fall is here....it's just my absolute favorite!!

Pumpkin Pound Cake with Buttermilk Glaze

CAKE:
cooking spray
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup fat-free buttermilk

GLAZE:
1/3 cup fat-free buttermilk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbslp butter
2 tsps cornstarch
1/8 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To prepare the cake, lightly coast a 10-in tube pan with cooking spray; dust with 1 tblsp flour. Spread pumpkin over 2 layers of paper towels; cover with 2 additional layers of paper towels. Let stand about 10 minutes. Scrape drained pumpkin into a bowl. (This drains the moisture out of the pumpkin to help make the cake's texture light.)

Place 3/4 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup butter in a large bowl.; beat with a mixer at medium speed 3 minutes or until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in pumpkin and vanilla. Lightly spoon 3 cups flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture and 3/4 cup of buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pan, and cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare glaze, combine 1/3 cup buttermilk and remaining ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Drizzle cake with glaze.

I'm hoping it tastes as good as it looks!!! I really do have several other pictures to share from our last couple of days but right now I need to make sure Grace isn't doing something she shouldn't be and finish getting stuff together for dinner!!!

Till then....

Seasons

2009-09-30T11:14:00.005-05:00

Tomorrow is the first day of October and that does not even seem possible. I find myself in a new season of my life as we enter this fall season. I have two teenage boys (one of which is driving) and I have a toddler. I'm pretty sure they could not be any more different to parent! Even the boys are like day and night from each other yet they are so similar in many different ways.

Clearly being a stepmom means that I am not their mother and I have only been in their lives for almost 4 of their 14 and 16 years, therefore, I still don't know all there is to know about each of them. I find myself struggling with this often. Now when I say struggling, I really mean more like learning and observing, because the boys are FAR from a struggle and mothering them (even as a stepmother) is FAR from struggling. It's learning them and understanding them. Yes, I was a teenager once...not really that long ago...but I was not ever a teenage boy (obviously!) and I find myself sometimes stuck between being a "mother" and being a "friend."

When Gene and I first got together and before I ever even met the boys I told myself that I would not come into their lives as another "mother" but as a "friend." I didn't want them to resent me or their father and think that I was supposed to somehow replace their mother. I had absolutely no intentions of that whatsoever and quite honestly I think as far as that goes I've done a pretty good job. The boys and I have a wonderful relationship and because I am technically closer in age to them than their father (no comments!) we get along because I can relate to them. This fact actually helps things when they get frustrated with Gene for being their father and getting on to them or acting like a parent. They will vent to me about it and I have to tread lightly in letting them know that I am on his side because we are parents together but also help them understand that they are still kids and that they need guidance and discipline and that it's his/our job to hand those things down.

I have grounded the boys once and it was because they hadn't done their chores like they were supposed to. They were told that if they didn't they would be grounded for one week with no phone, computer or going anywhere. I got up with them the next morning and told them both to bring me their phones and that they were grounded for a week because they didn't do what they were supposed to. They did as they were told, no arguments.

This is where the struggle comes in that I'm talking about. By the end of the day I felt bad for grounding them because 1) I'm not their mother 2) they are NEVER in trouble and had done their chores wonderfully up until this one time and 3) I felt somehow like it wasn't my place. Gene backed me 100% and was perfectly ok with me punishing them. That afternoon when they got home from school I gave their phones back, told them that I would cut them a break since they'd done so great up until that point and warned them that next time it happened it would most definitely be for the full week. It never happened again. I told you....great kids.

Now they are older and we are all moving through a new season. Some of it together as a family and some of it as individuals. Either way I'm trying my best to figure it out as we go, which I guess is what every parent does, step or not, it just seems hard sometimes. No, I take that back, parenting is tough and probably the hardest thing I've ever done! In the same respect, it's also the most wonderful and rewarding thing I've ever done! I love it when Colt calls me because he wants to tell me how great his grades are (which really are great by the way and he's taking almost all pre-AP or AP classes) or that he's learning a new song on the piano and when Corey calls me Tay-Tay (which is all the time because he never calls me Taylor!) and he says he wants to go run with me and asks me to make a butterfinger cake or chicken enchiladas because those are his favorites and he knows I'll do it!

I love being a mother of 3, even if I only birthed one of them, and I love doing it with my husband. I get very impatient and upset sometimes but I remind myself that it's nothing that other parents haven't gone through and that it's just part of it.

As hard as it is being stepmom to the boys, it may even be more difficult being mommy to this 2 and a half year old little girl! Oh. My. Word. We have had quite a time this last month or so. She has discovered that she has a will, a very strong will, and that she doesn't agree with us most of the time and that she thinks she is entitled to say so! Who knew toddlers could be so dramatic and demanding. She is going through her terrible two's in a very real way and my patience, as well as her daddy's, have certainly been tested! I must say that Gene is much better at it most of the time because he's so much more patient with her. He's been there and done this twice before with the boys so he has a better understanding and what to expect with this particular season of Miss Grace's life. I, on the other hand, am going through this for the first time and I just get absolutely frustrated and upset. It's one of the those times I am somewhat thankful that Gene was married once before and has experienced the terrible two's because he can help guide and ground me when I get upset! He helps me realize that it's a part of life and that yes it is hard but we have to endure it. At least he's suffering through it with me!!

I honestly love that man more and more each day because of it and I thank God that he brought him into my life! I love my little girl so much and have finally come to an understanding that she will eventually outgrow this little phase she is growing through and we will all be fine! I can tell you right now that we don't have to worry about her being a wallflower and not having any friends. I'm pretty sure it will be just the opposite and we are going to have our hands full from here on out! Which is ok with me, she's a beautiful mix of her momma's personality and her daddy's personality and she gets along with everyone!

As hard as change is, it is also a great thing and being a parent is so neat getting to watch those changes happen and knowing that you are a part of that person's legacy!

I have had some struggles this past month and I think that it's mostly due to a changing of the seasons in the Johnson household. So, as we move into fall and all the wonderful things that come with it (amazing weather, leaves changing, hot cider, cuddling up under warm blankets and football!) we also move into this new season of our lives and I feel like now we have a better grasp on what is going on and things will begin to flow more smoothly!

What seasons are you going through? I'd love to hear from others who have, or are, going through similar situations! I would like to better get to know the folks who read my blog!!

Show Us Your Life - Desserts

2009-09-25T13:19:00.003-05:00

It's been a while since I've participated in Kelly's blog tours because 1)I didn't have a wedding, therefore, no wedding pictures to share and 2) I just haven't had the time and sometimes not even the desire to blog! However, I am today because my 2 year old is currently in trouble in her bedroom because she refuses to take a nap and I refuse to take her to town without one considering she's already whiny.

So.....this week Kelly has chosen DESSERTS!! Oh yum-o! I've got several dessert recipes but I decided I would go with Monster Cookies. Now I know I have shared my Butterfinger Cake recipe on here, which came from my Aunt Cathy, and Monster Cookies is another one I got from her!! She is full of wonderful recipes I tell ya!

Ok, I will warn you that this recipe makes ALOT of cookies and you will need a really big bowl to mix everything up in!

Monster Cookies

6 eggs

1 lb. brown sugar

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 lb. butter

1 1/2 lbs. crunchy peanut butter

9 cups oatmeal

1/2 lb. chocolate chips

1/2 lb. M&Ms

Cream butter, vanilla and sugars together. Mix in baking soda and eggs. Then mix in peanut butter. Then stir in oats, chocolate chips and M&Ms. Use ice cream scoop to form balls of dough and put on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Did I mention before that they are incredibly fattening too?! Cause they really are but they are so delicious!!

Now go check out Kelly's Korner for a ton more great recipes!!!

Granny the Great!

2009-09-16T09:23:00.003-05:00

Have I ever mentioned before how much I really realy really really and I mean really love my Granny?! If I haven't, let me just tell you, I do! As does Grace!

I know I said I was going to be better about blogging but it just hasn't happened because there just isn't enough time in the day. However, right now I'm making time because I have to share about Granny!

She had to have back surgery on Sept. 10th to correct her spinal stenosis (I would love to explain what that is but to be honest I'm not entirely sure and would rather not sound like a dumb dumb trying)! Luckily her doctor works out of Washington Regional that is here in Fayetteville so she was close to Mom and I. Aunt Cathy and Uncle Greg were able to drive in the day before from Atlanta to be here with her also.

The surgery only lasted about an hour and then she was in recovery for an hour and a half before any of us could see her again. We took up a whole section of the waiting room! Gene went with me and stayed up there the whole time to help with Grace and then of course Mom, Aunt Cathy and Uncle Greg were there and Monica (Aunt Cathy's best friend) came up for a while and also our cousins Julie and Courtney brought Granny Ima up! Stephanie was able to come up too because she got off work early!

I'm not sure there's been a time that I was more ready to see Granny! I was very anxious to see her and make sure that she was in fact fine! The doctor came out and visited with us as soon as he finished the surgery and told us that everything went smoothly and that she would be just fine and dandy (ok those weren't his exact words but you get the picture). We all really liked her doctor and knew she was in good hands. We also found out that he was the same doctor that did Gene's back surgery back about 5 years ago! Gene said he was great then too and came highly recommended. Whew! Good news for sure!

We were told that after the surgery Granny would have to be in the hospital for 3-4 days then in rehab for physical therapy for about 2 weeks. Sure enough, the surgery was on a Thursday and on the following Monday afternoon she was moved to Healthsouth for her rehab! We were all very relieved that she did in fact qualify for the rehab so she could regain some confidence in her abilities to walk again! She was in alot, and I mean alot, of pain for the first week and then it started to ease a little bit. She has done so wonderful at rehab and all of her therapists have been so complimentary of her progress! Go Granny!!

Mom and I met up there on Tuesday for a family therapy/meeting to discuss her discharge date. Granny was really hoping to go home on Wednesday but the doctor at Healthsouth thought it was a good idea to keep her until tomorrow (Saturday). She was a little bit bummed but after we thought and talked about it some more we all decided that was probably for the best. That would give her 3 more whole days with her therapists to build her strength more and to ensure she was really ready to head home!

Aunt Cathy flew in Wednesday to stay at home with Granny for the next 2 weeks which is a HUGE blessing! So, tomorrow is the big day and we are all sooo excited that she gets to go home and really get back to herself! It's been right at a year now since her fall that started all of her horrible pain and now she is on the road to feeling like her old self again! Just in time to enjoy the leaves changing color on her brand new deck!!!!

Ok, now that I've caught everyone up (finally) I'm going to take a shower and Grace and I are going to visit Granny!!!

Have a great weekend!

Ended as great as it started!

2009-09-07T09:35:00.004-05:00

My weekend that is! I had a wonderful 4 day weekend filled with family and fun. Gene, Grace and I drove down to Granny's Friday morning to get started on her deck. Granny was on Grace patrol while Gene and I worked outside! We worked for about 4 and a half hours and got all of the framing on it done. We headed home in time to get showered and ready for the first Greenland football game against West Fork....their rival. We ended up getting beat! It was still awesome though just to be back at the stadium!! Grace spent the night with Mom and Dad and after the game Steph, the boys and I all headed to midnight madness at the fair. Oh my, I'm getting too old for that! It started at 11 and ended at 2 am. I was exhausted by the time we got home!

We were all back up by 7 Saturday morning and out the door by 7:30 headed back to Granny's. Mom, Dad and Grace got there a couple hours after us and Tanner showed up a couple hours after them. Gene, the boys and I all got started on the deck right away and then it started raining on us. We ended up having to take about 3 breaks because of the rain but then finally the clouds moved out and gave way to the sunshine. And then it got HOT!! After Mom got there me and Grace rode with her to Lowe's to get some more material and then to Wal-Mart to get stuff for lunch. Tanner's 21st birthday is this Wednesday so Mom ordered a cookie cake and bought decorations so we could celebrate this weekend while we were all together! Mom and Dad grilled burgers and hot dogs and lunch and dessert were yum-o!!

Ok, here are the deck pictures. This was a before picture. You can tell right below the door where Dad busted out all of her brick steps last week. They were in really bad condition and incredibly not safe to walk down. I took this picture Friday right after we got there.

This was at the end of the day Friday after we completed the framing! The patio was way off on measurements and not squared up so we kept having to go back and forth measuring the frame to make sure it was even and squared up.

This is the final product!!! After literally about 11 hours of working on it all day Saturday it was complete!! The boys were great and stayed out there all day helping Gene. I was in and out helping clean up inside and then helping outside when needed! Granny was so excited and I don't think she could be any happier with the end result!! It's so nice out there now and we don't have to worry about her hurting herself going down her old steps! She has nice wide steps now with a handrail!!

Corey was snapping pictures and got this one of the beautiful night sky! We were all so worn out by the end of the day and absolutely filthy with sweat, dirt and sawdust. Mom and Dad stayed the night with Granny and Grace stayed with them so that we could all come home and shower and just rest!

Grace was a busy body all day long and ran and ran and ran and ran her little heart out !! Corey was able to get this crazy looking picture of her running up the front steps!

Yesterday we all laid around the house resting and watching movies. Gene told me at about 1 that he was hungry for a pot of beans. So, I ran to town and did some grocery shopping. I knew that there was no way the beans would be done in time to have for dinner last night but he seemed to think they would be so I bought the stuff for them, fried potatoes, weinies and kraut and cornbread. However, I was right and the beans were not done by the time we were ready for dinner! So, I re-grouped and ended up putting some chicken breats in a marinade and still made fried potatoes but changed to green beans and it was delicious! Gene did a great job of grilling the chicken because it was perfect!!

So, my 4 day weekend was amazing and I'm not ready to go back to work today! But oh well, I now only have a 3 day work week! Granny is having her surgery on Thursday so Aunt Cathy and Uncle Greg are driving in Wednesday night to be here for it. Granny will be in the hospital for 3-4 days after surgery but luckily she'll be at Washington Regional up here close to us so please keep her in your prayers this week! Also pray for traveling safeties as Aunt Cathy and Uncle Greg drive in from Atlanta!! I'll be sure to keep everyone posted on how everything goes.

Meet Paisley Jayne!

2009-09-03T15:35:00.004-05:00

My weekend is already off to a great start!! Gene, Grace and I drove up to Centerton today to see Addie and Corey and meet baby Paisley Jayne. She was born last Tuesday but had jaundice and had to be under the billy lights for a few days so she didn't get to go home until Saturday. She is better now and I could not wait to get my hands on her!!!

She is soooo precious! She weighed 8 lbs 14 oz but lost a little bit with the jaundice and stuff after she was born. Grace weighed 8 lbs 1 oz and I seriously don't remember her being that small!! Grace was instantly intrigued by her and kept trying to pick her up and hold her. After she held her the first time she became more interested in all of her toys!!

I could have sat and held her all day but Addie's grandparents got there about an hour and a half after we did so I decided I'd be nice and share! ;) She was such a good good baby and just laid in my arms cooing and grunting and sleeping. So peaceful!

Addie had to have a c-section and she developed a cold while in the hospital so she hasn't felt super, but who does after child birth?! I know I didn't!! Addie started at the pd about a month after I got pregnant with Grace and her husband Corey used to be one of our officers who now works for Benton County Sheriff's Office. I just love Adelaide and I was one of her trainers when she first started!! Now she's all grown up and a mama!!

Is she not the sweetest little thing? Oh my word I want another one so bad now it's not funny. As of yet I've not talked my hubby into it. Give me some time, I'm still working on it! And in the car on the way home from their house I told Grace to tell her daddy that she wanted a baby brother or sister....and she did it! So cute. We'll see!!!

I'm very very excited about the rest of my weekend and I'm hoping to have alot of picture documentation to share with you guys! And hopefully get back on a regular blogging schedule, I've sorta fallen behind. Family, work and workouts have taken up all of my time recently!!!

Sweet 16!!!

2009-08-26T09:14:00.003-05:00

William Colt Johnson is 16 years old today!!! Scary...I know. We allowed him to drive himself to school this morning and I was an absolute nervous wreck, but I know he's a good driver and that he will be fine. It still doesn't make it any easier on my nerves!! We're having the big party this weekend. And when I say big birthday party I mean he's having some friends out to the house for hot dogs and stuff and then they're going to the Pontiac Coffee House to listen to some bands play. He's excited and it's just what he wanted so that's what counts! I just can't believe he's already 16. He was 12 when Gene and I first got together and it's weird that it's already been 4 years. They grow up too fast!! Happy 16th Birthday Colt!!! I love you very much and hope today is a great day!!!

Let's Do Lunch

2009-08-26T09:01:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of an unexpected lunch date with 3 fabulous ladies!!! A good friend of mine was scheduled to have a c-section yesterday morning at 10 so I got up and out early to get a baby gift and meet Allie at her house so we could drive up to Rogers to see Addie and baby Paisley. When I got to Allie's house she was on the phone with another friend of ours who had just informed her that the c-section had been pushed back to noon. Since I have to work at 2 and Allie has to work at 3 Addie would not have been out of recovery in time for us to see them so we weren't able to go up there. I was sad because I was so excited about seeing Miss Paisley Jayne!!!

I had been texting Steph back and forth and asked if she had taken her lunch break yet and she said no so Allie and I decided to meet up with her for lunch at Marketplace!!

Steph called me while we were on our way over there and asked if her mom could go with us too. Well duh!!!! Steph and I have been best friends since junior high and while we were in school and before I got married we were pretty much inseparable. We were always over at each others' houses and my parents were like second parents to her and her parents were like second parents to me!! I don't ever see Sheila and Curtis anymore so I was very excited when she told me her mom was coming!! We had a yummy yummy lunch and I was absolutely stuffed. I have done pretty bad with sticking to my diet the past few days but today started back full force!! I figured Marketplace would be my last hoorah for a while!!!

I had to go straight to work right after lunch and it was just a long night at work. I was off this past Saturday and then out sick Sunday because I had pulled something in my neck and couldn't move my head so I've only had to work 2 days so far and today is technically my Friday but I have a police dispatcher in-service class tomorrow from 8-5 so I'll be off Friday/Saturday this week to adjust out for the class. It works out good because there is something big happening this weekend and I'm actually fixing to do a whole separate post about what that is!!!

Weekend Bliss

2009-08-24T09:57:00.005-05:00

I had a really great weekend!!

Grace modeled some heels...

...and used Layla as a foot stool.

I worked out with my husband...

....and my toddler.

I got my house cleaned, with the help of my wonderful husband...

...and a little laundry.

Grace tried her bubba's hat on for size, along with her "neckaless"!

Colt played some piano while blindfolded because he wanted to prove he could!

Corey tried to keep me from taking his photograph, which he was successful at...for the most part.

We went out with friends for some dinner, drinking and dancing!

And had just an absolute fabulous time!!!

I promise I really did do more than just walk around with a camera. I made chicken enchiladas for dinner Thursday night and lasagne and a Butterfinger Cake Friday night!!! I also ran errands and spent some good quality time with my family!

I am soooo far behind....

2009-08-14T15:43:00.007-05:00

There is just not enough time in the day for me to get done all that I need/would like to get done! I've put blogging on the back burner the past couple of weeks since the boys are fixing to start back to school and I've enjoyed just spending the time with my kids instead of on the computer. There's not been anything huge that's happened...just life. I don't have just a whole lot of time right now either to write a real long post so I've just posted several pictures to sort of highlight what's been happening!!

Grace LOVES LOVES LOVES to ride the 4-wheeler!! She has spent alot of time riding it with either her daddy or her bubbas! One morning last week she and Gene came running into the house looking for the camera because there was a group of deer next door to us and there was a little spotted baby! Grace thought it was just the neatest thing and they actually just stood there forever eating and watching us!

One of the things I love about living in the country is being able to look out and see deer in our front yard..or neighbor's yard!!

Gene has a love of guns and hunting and there is so much camo stuff in my house it's not even funny. It's typically scattered throughout our bedroom and closet and Grace found one of his hats and decided it was just her size!!

Now, I don't think I've ever shared with you about Grace's "look!" See....she started this several months ago and when we say "Grace, give us your look!" she does this! It cracks me up everytime!!

This is sort of the "look" but not quite. She's quite the little entertainer and there is most definitely never a dull moment in the Johnson household!

I had posted about wanting to find a hammock for Grace's stuffed animals and I didn't even know if they still made them but I found one on Target online and ordered it. Her room looks so much better with all of them off the floor! Plus she can't throw them all over the place now! I'm not realy crazy about the chain hanging across the front and will probably take it down. When we hang animals on the clothes pins they just look so sad! :(

I don't have a story for this picture, I just love it and the softness of it! My little girl is not so little anymore!

Grace is still a huge fan of bath time! She has now taken to trying to swim in the bathtub. Well, at least "going under water!" Since I'm only home 2 nights of the week I love giving her a bath and last night while she was sitting there playing I was filing my nails and heard her start talking so I peered over the tub and she was talking to her big pink duck. The conversation, obviously one-sided, went something like this:

Grace: "Here you go ducky, you want to hug? Give her kiss!"

Duck: (Silence)

Grace: "You want to go to my house? Ok. Come one." (stands up...walks to other side of tub) "Here you go, here's my house."

It was so stinking funny and I had to grab my camera!

She went on talking for a while and then realized I was taking pictures and said "take our pitcher" so I obliged! She kept squeezing her ducks up to her face and giving them kisses. She's so smart and so funny!

Yesterday while I was cleaning the upstairs living room I had to pull her tent out from behind the big bean bag and you would have thought it was brand new again! She asked me to bring it downstairs and she spent the better part of the evening playing in it. Colt decided he needed to play too so he started crawling through the tunnel! Grace thought it was hilarious and crawled on top of him!!

Colt had a doctor's appointment this morning and then I had to drop him off at his mom's house with Corey. Gene was supposed to be off today but ended up getting called out and worked most of the morning. When Grace and I got home she was watching Dora and they were going to the beach on a pirate ship so she turned the tile by our front door into the ocean and she and her babies went "swimming!" I was cleaning up after lunch and when I turned around she'd stripped down to her panties and told me she didn't need them to swim in. All of her babies were already swimming...as you can see! Quite the imagination!

In other news, the boys start back to school next Wednesday then Colt turns 16 the following Wednesday, the 26th. I can't believe he's almost 16! Corey is excited to be a 9th grader and now officially in high school! We're having Colt's party on the 29th and then the following weekend we'll be headed down to Alma because Gene is going to build a deck on the back of Granny's house!! She is so super excited about it and has wanted one for forever. Lucky for her I married a carpenter!!! There is other more serious stuff I want to eventually post about but not today. I need to get off here and get dinner started!

It feels good to be back!!!

Ten Things About Me!!

2009-08-06T23:03:00.004-05:00

Lynette over at Dancing Barefoot on Weathered Ground is doing a little blog carnival to get to know her readers a little bit better! I have only been reading her blog for about a month but she is so fun and and inspiring!

Anywho, the idea is to share 10 fun things about yourself! I've met so many incredible people in the blogging world and this is just another fun way to get to know each other a little bit better. So, if you're interested in participating hop on over to Lynette's blog!

And here we go....

1) When I get really upset/mad at someone I get incredibly quiet and don't want to talk to anybody....especially that person. My husband hates this particular quality, I think he'd rather me just yell at him every time I get mad!

2) My favorite movie is The Sound of Music.

3) I absolutely, whole heartedly, inconsolably, totally HATE clowns and circuses. Creeeeepy.

4) I am very anal about the way my house is cleaned and the way my laundry is done. I gripe and complain because Gene and the boys don't take more initiative as far as house work goes but truth be told I'm so stinking picky about how it's done I go right back behind them and do it again myself!!

5) I can't live in the city. I grew up out in the country and currently live in the country. I've only ever lived in the city for 6 months and I was not a fan!!

6) My husband is 13 years older than me...although some of you already know that because I just did post about us!

7) I have a tattoo of a cross on the inside of my left ankle. It matches the one that's on Gene's arm.

8) I gained about 50 lbs the first year and a half that I worked at the police department and am currently on the road of weight loss. I eat healthy now (for the most part!), work out on a regular basis and have lost 25 lbs in about 2 months time!! I was also prescribed a diet pill by my obgyn, which has helped things. I feel so much better about myself and know that I am capable of looking the way I want to. All it takes is dedication!!

9) I love to cook...and bake. Well, anything but seafood. I detest seafood!!

10) I love Jesus, my Lord & Savior!!

There ya go...10 things about me! I'm really tired right now and couldn't come up with any really fun or interesting ones so that'll just have to do!

finally making time

2009-08-04T11:39:00.002-05:00

I have not been very good about posting lately. It's been pretty busy though and this past week has been all off routine. Grace and the boys were gone all weekend so Gene and I spent some good quality time together!

Saturday morning we got up around 9 or so and Gene made a yummy breakfast. I started my period (sorry if you didn't want to know that!) right afte I got up so of course I started cramping and didn't feel so hot. Gene decided after we ate though that he wanted to take Layla out to Devil's Den. I had no intentions of going but he was able to talk me into it. I'm glad I did though, it was alot of fun!! It rained on us on the way there and I was afraid it would rain the whole time but it stopped before we got out there and was pretty the whole time. The rocks were all slick though so we had to be very careful walking!

Layla had an absolute blast and was loving being in the great outdoors. She would have loved it even more if we'd let her off the leash but I'm pretty sure she would have been long gone chasing squirrels!! If you live in Northwest Arkansas and have never visited Devil's Den you definitely should. There are several different park areas, swimming areas, hiking trails, campgrounds, just all kinds of stuff to do and it's so pretty!! This bridge is right in front of what is sometimes a waterfall if there has been enough rain. Obviously, Saturday there wasn't one.

We also came across this awesome bench they had made out of big cedar trees. It was so neat and they built it to where it faces the waterfall. Further down the trail there was a chair built just like it!! We were out there for about an hour or so and then headed back home. We drove the back way the whole way home and just enjoyed the beautiful countryside and the time together to talk. Gene grew up out here and knows everything about everything about the country!!

After we got home Gene grilled some bratwursts and some squash!! We ate and then showered and went in to see Transformers and it was amazing!!! I loved it and I think it was even better than the first one!! Gene was craving some Shake's ice cream after the movie so he pulled through the drive thru and I just had a small concrete and felt like I was going to be sick because I hadn't had that much sugar in a while!

Mom called after we got home so we got to talk to Grace for a little bit and then I went to bed before 10 o'clock which never happens! Sunday I was back to work and Gene took the boys school clothes shopping.

Grace made it home last night around 6 and I was so happy to see her this morning when she woke up!!! Teresa and I went and ran last night and I go back to the doctor on Monday so I'm hoping I can lose another 5 lbs this week!!

I hope everyone had a good weekend!!

This is how we do it...

2009-07-31T21:43:00.007-05:00

Today was supposed to be a lazy day of doing absolutely nothing. Supposed to be. Instead, I was on the go most of the day! Mom, Dad and Tanner got out here to the house at about 8 this morning to pick up Grace and head to Ft. Worth. They're spending the weekend at Mema & Papa's house and seeing family that lives there. Gene had to work at 8 this morning so after Grace left I was here all by myself. It was so nice! I had planned to lay back down after Grace left because I went to bed late last night but I was too awake to do that. So, I watched part of the Today show and Gene called me about 4 times within about 45 minutes. He had asked me to run to Walgreen's and pick up his prescription and then take him his shotgun because he had to qualify today.

Remember....supposed to be.

So, I ended up showering and leaving the house just before 11. I met Gene and Ti (the county

deputy Gene works interdiction with...and yes that's really how he spells his name because his real name is Tion) at Oseguera's for lunch and to give him his gun then after that I ran to Walgreen's. After I picked up his prescription I was walking back through the store and walked past some tote bags. There was one that caught my eye and after looking closely at it I saw that it was only $5!! Woohoo! And it was so super cute! They only had one of them so I bought it!

I was going to go home then but instead decided to drive up to Springdale and take my new bag to Bella's to have my name monogrammed on it!! I had been texting Mom back and forth checking on Grace and I had told her about my bag. She had said she'd like to have one so I ran in the Springdale Walgreen's since I was passing right by it and they ended up having one just like it! Only one again. So I bought it for her!

Then I really did come home. I had planned on making a cajun chicken pasta for dinner and then Gene called me and said that after he qualified he had to go up to Arvest Stadium to do a dog demo at the Naturals baseball game. They were having a dedication night to heroes and wanted a demo by the K9's. So....Gene ran home, picked me up, drove to Springdale so he could qualify, then to the pd to have his car washed and then out to Arvest Stadium!

What started out only being one of our K9's there ended up being 5 dogs total! Gene & Aros, Chamberlin & Aldo (our other one), Robin & Blecky (from Fayetteville PD), Ti & Yari (from Washington County SO) and Joe & Koty (also from Washington County SO). There was a parade first of several different emergency services vehicles and all the K9 vehicles went in last. We all stopped along center field and they took turns doing demos. Joe & Koty went first and did some dope work. They had laid out 3 suitcases and one of them had drugs in it. Koty did a passive alert by sniffing all of them and then just lying down next to the one with drugs in it. Then Chamberlin & Aldo did dope work. Aldo does an aggressive alert, which means when he finds the one with drugs in it he starts scratching and barking and biting at it.

Gene and Aros went next with bite work. Joe had put on the bite sleeve and Aros sent him in to attack. He did great and backed off the first time Gene called him off and then Gene sent him in again. He did great!! After Aros was up, Robin went for Blecky. Robin wasn't even able to get the leash on him, he just shot out of the truck and after the decoy (Joe) which actually turned out awesome because it looked incredibly real! He called off quickly then Robin did the pat down. While Robin was patting down the decoy Blecky was lying in front of him. Blecky isn't supposed to do anything but watch unless the decoy (which obviously is usually the bad guy) moves then he bites again. Well, the decoy moved so Blecky attacked again. Very cool. However, you couldn't pay enough to be the decoy and wear the bite suit!

Anyways, after Blecky went Ti & Yari went. Now, they did it a little differently. We had a pickup out on the field and Joe was sitting in the driver's seat with the window rolled down. Ti was yelling at Joe to get out of the car and Joe was yelling at Ti. After Joe didn't comply Ti sent Yari in. Yari grabbed the sleeve and literally pulled Joe out of the window of the truck. It was crazy to watch!! Those dogs are sooo strong!

We had the option of staying for the game but decided not to. We were both hot after standing outside for so long and ready to eat dinner and come home. So we brought Aros home then went back into town to eat dinner. We made it back home and I showered while Gene mowed the lawn. Now I'm sitting on the couch and about to fall asleep!

My day was alot more eventful than I had originally planned on it being but it was a fun day. I didn't have to worry about taking care of kids and just kind of did my own thing. Plus I got to spend alot of my day with my husband in a different atmosphere than we usually do. I love watching him as an officer and especially as a K9 handler because it's so amazing to me. He's so good at what he does and Aros is such a good dog and people are just in awe of them!

The pictures that I posted are actually from this past Tuesday night while they were training. All the area K9s train together on a weekly basis and this week they decided to do water bites. It's not something they do often but need the practice because you never know when it might happen in real life. Gene had taken our camera and got some really cool shots of the other dogs but there's way too many to post on here so I'll just share my favorite team with you!!! The fist one is of Gene taking off Aros's leash off and telling him to attack and bite (only they use a German word that I have no idea how to spell!!). The second one is, of course, Aros bounding through the water and the third is of the bite.

Like I said...craziness. The dogs are amazing and all of the K9s in this area are imported dogs. Aros, who is a German Shepard, is from the Netherlands. I know for sure that Yari and Aldo, who are also both shepards, are from Hungary. Robin's dog Blecky, is a solid black shepard, but I'm not sure where he's from. Joe's dog Koty is actually a Belgium Mallemaulle and they are the fastest stinking dogs. Gene said they can run upwards of 40 mph and both they and shepards are insanely strong. They are just an amazing breed of animal.

I love being a part of the law enforcement world, most of the time!

That's Life

2009-07-28T10:01:00.003-05:00

Last night when I got to Mom & Dad's to pick Grace up after work Dad was sitting out in the garage in his rocking chair working a crossword puzzle. This is very typical of him, he loves to sit outside in the quiet and work his puzzles. Anywho...I pulled up and we got to talking. Dad and I don't ever have the opportunity (or make the opportunity either I guess) to sit and visit for any length of time so last night we sort of played catch up.

Now, keep in the mind the fact that I don't even get off of work until 10 pm so by the time I got to the house it was about 10:15 and we stayed outside talking for an hour and a half! When I finally walked in the house Grace was passed out on the couch in front of Mom and she looked like she was about to pass out too. She said "Have a nice visit?!" Oops! I didn't realize we'd been out there so long, but she knows that Dad and I don't do that often so she didn't care!

It was nice. An eye opener and a reminder of how incredibly wonderful my parents are and have always been. Some know and some don't know about the history of my relationship with Gene and some rough waters we travelled after we first got together.

Suffice it to say, I was 20 years old at the time and Gene was 33. He was a divorced father of 2 pre-teen boys and my parents were initially NOT ok with it. At all. I had moved out for the first time into an apartment with my best friend Stephanie and one month later was when Gene and I began our relationship. I won't even begin to go into all of what took place because quite frankly if you don't already know the nitty gritty of it then it's just none of your business!! However, I will say that from September '05 to May '06 my life changed completely.

I was head over heels in love with Gene and knew that I was going to marry him the first time I saw him sitting up in dispatch in full uniform with his feet propped up on the desk eating a Subway sandwich!! I had been working at the police department for maybe 2 weeks and was still very shy and didn't really talk to anybody. Long story short, we kept seeing each other downstairs and then after I was moved to evening shift for my training (the shift he was working at the time) he began frequenting dispatch....a lot!! He was always friends with everyone in dispatch and would visit occasionally but he began coming up everday we worked together and would hang out for about an hour before he had to go to briefing. Oh how I loved him. Finally after some help from the girls I was working with at the time he got my phone number from one of them and called me. I remember it was a Wednesday night (September 21st) and I had just got home from work and I was talking to Steph about him. Then my phone rang. I already recognized the number because I had had to call him out the week before for a K9 track and remembered his number!! I was so excited and I'm pretty sure that we talked until 1 that morning when he got off work. Like I said, I was absolutely crazy about him. And he about me. Which was really nice. He was older and mature and didn't act like a typical "guy" because he was a father and responsible and instantly took care of me. Nothing has changed over the last almost 4 years.

Like I said, my parents were not ok with our relationship. I am not a rebellious person by nature and I sure as heck was not a trouble maker growing up. Tanner and I were really never in trouble, serious trouble anyway, just the picking on one another sibling rivalry way! I never acted out or fought with parents and always did what I was told. Except when it came to my love for Gene. I pretty much told them that I would be with him no matter what and there was nothing they could do about it. There was a period of time where we didn't speak much, especially my dad and I. I can not even begin to put into words how incredibly hard that was for me and for them I know too. We were a very very very tight and close family growing up. My parents protected us from the evil ways of the world and always made sure our home was a "safe harbor" in the words of my Dad. We had no idea the kind of hurt that was the world. I got a taste of reality after I started at the police department because obviously that's about all we deal with, is the evil.

So, anyways, our relationship (mine and my parents) was on a slippery slope downhill. This was all the first part of 2006. I must say, that Gene and I hit it off and were together all the time. We talked and talked and talked and he would still come up and visit and bring Aros (K9) up to visit. I first met the boys in November '05 while I was working one Sunday afternoon and they had just bought Bear (our rat terrier) and brought him up to the pd to see me. The boys were very quiet and very polite the whole time. It was a little odd but not bad. I didn't see them again until February '05, the first time I went to Gene's house. He and his ex wife had agreed when they divorced that they would not bring people they were dating in and out of their lives. I was more than ok with that. I told Gene I was ready when he was ready. So, the boys and I clicked right from the start. They are both such great kids that it's unbelievable. They were respectful and polite and we were instantly friends. My biggest thing was not coming into their lives as a "mother" but more as a "friend." That approach apparently worked because we have never once had a problem. I must also say to that Gene's ex wife is incredibly nice and she and I have never once had issues either. Thank goodness! That made our relationship that much easier knowing I didn't have to worry about that.

Mid June '05 I was due to start my period and was a week late. Honestly, I didn't think anything of it. I had been cramping and just knew I would start anyday now. Well, at the time I was working with Stephanie (another Steph) and she and I had been on the same cycle for a while and we were both late. She kept asking me if I had started. Nope, not yet. So, one night at work we're sitting there talking and Kara (another co-worker) says we should take pregnancy tests. What? I wasn't pregnant, but whatever. So, Kara sent Christina (her trainee at the time) to Wal-Mart to by some pregnancy tests. She gets back. I go first. I know longer pee on the silly thing and the "pregnant" sign pops up. Holy moly. I didn't believe it. I just walked back into the room laughing. Steph went next. Same thing.

I wanted a second opinion so we sent Christina back to Wal-Mart for another pregnancy test. This time the digital one. I didn't want just a little line, I wanted it to say either "pregnant" or "not pregnant." Well....guess what that one said...."pregnant." I was excited. Not scared. Not freaked out (ok well maybe a little freaked out). I was excited. Gene and I had already talked about having kids together and I know what you're thinking and no, we were not married.

Another big deal. I was a Christian and had grown up in church and youth group and going on mission trips. I loved the Lord. I still do, more than anything. Now, obviously, that is not the way it was supposed to happen. Cart before the horse so to speak, but that's the way it was. Gene was excited also.

Once again, I won't go into the nitty gritty of what happened over the next couple of months because I don't want to re-visit some of that. But, my parents came around once they realized Gene (and the boys) weren't going anywhere and that we had made them grandparents.

So...I got pregnant in May and Gene and I were married that December. Grace made her beautiful appearance into this world the following February!! I sit here and look at her now and do not regret one step or action that I made because if something were different I wouldn't have my sweet girl!!! I am so completely consumed in my children and my role as their mother and honestly I wouldn't have it any other way!

Ok, back to last night and the talk Dad and I had. The relationship between Dad and Gene has been cordial since our marriage and they have never once been cross or nasty towards one another. They both love me enough to not do that. Anyways, Dad told me last night that he had no ill will towards Gene and that he wanted to have a good friendship with him and that he wanted Gene to know that he totally respects him as my husband, as a daddy, as an officer, and as a man. Melt my heart. He also told me he was proud of me. I almost cried. Now, don't think for one minute that it was the first time he'd ever told me he was proud of me because that is SO not true!! He's told me that on hundreds of occasions, but last night was different. I wasn't standing there as a high school graduate or a new hire at the police department or as a little girl who just learned how to ride a bike. I was standing there as his daughter, as a mother, as a wife, and as a grown woman. He told me he was proud of me and the life I had created.

He told me that he and Mom don't have to worry about me because he knows that Gene and I stand on our own two feet and take care of what is ours and that we are responsible and mature. We laughed because he told me how he always tells everyone how I "hit the ground running" as far as growing up goes. I moved out at 20, pregnant and married at 21, and financially responsible and grown up now at 24 (well sometimes grown up...when I'm not goofing with my kids)!! I told him that's because I was taught how to be a responsible adult. My parents took good care of us but they didn't hand us everything we wanted/asked for. We had to work for it.

I am forever grateful for my parents and for my husband and the relationship I have with each. My life has changed dramatically over the last 4 years and though there were some really rough patches I survived and I'm a better person because of it. God has blesssed me in ways I really don't deserve and yet here I am. I am eternally grateful to Him for that!!!

Daddy - I love you more than anything and you are the perfect daddy for me!!!!

As Requested...

2009-07-26T12:02:00.008-05:00

Here's the recipe for pizza crust and how we make our pizzas!! This is just for you Nic!!!

Easy Pizza Dough

2 1/2 to 3 cups flour

1 pkg. yeast

1 tsp. salt

1 cup hot water

2 tbsps. vegetable oil

In medium bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour, yeast, and salt. Add water and oil. With mixer on low speed beat until well blended, about 2 minutes. Gradually stir in remaining flour to make a firm dough. On floured surface knead dough 10 to 12 times. Cover, let rise for at least 15 minutes.

Now, when I make it I use 2 large pizza pans that I bought at Wal-Mart with the holes in the bottom of it so I make 2 whole recipes of dough and it's just the right amount for the big pans. You don't have to preheat the oven, just turn it to 425 degrees when you put your first one in. We like lots of cheese so we use 2 lbs of monterrey jack cheese and 2 lbs of mozzarella cheese. Grate it all and mix it together. Make sure to spread flour across your counter and then spread your dough out to fit your pan. I typically buy the Ragu brand pizza sauce but I have a recipe for sauce I'm going to try next time. Spread the sauce across the crust and then spread your toppings of choice on the sauce. You can really use anything you want. If you like italian sausage or hamburger make sure to brown the meat first. I chopped up one green pepper and half of an onion for ours.

On the first one I spread half of the browned hamburger meat (I used 2 lbs total) and then on the other half spread out pepperonis, crumbled browned italian sausage, green peppers and onion. Top it with cheese. Put it in the oven and turn it to 425, it had to bake for almost 30 minutes. You'll know when all the cheese is golden brown and you should be able to lift the edge of the crust with a fork to make sure it's done on bottom.

I repeated the steps for the second pizza!! Then just enjoy!! It really is pretty easy and a fun meal you can make with your kids.

Here's the sauce recipe too if you want to try it:

Pizza Sauce

1 can tomato puree

1/4 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. basil

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. onion powder

2 tsps. grated parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

Blend well.

I would love to tell you how much this makes but honestly I have no idea so you'll just have to play around with it!!!

One Year (and 2 day) Blogiversary!!!

2009-07-26T10:39:00.002-05:00

I had full intentions of getting this post done on Friday, which was my actual one year blogiversary but that didnt happen! So, here we are one year and two days later and I'm still blogging along!

I had written my first post and had about a handful of people that even read it and now I've met tons of new people from all over and have a lot more people that read it on a regular basis. I still love blogging because it gives me an excuse to talk about what's going on in my life and post pictures of my beautiful family and it matters not to me if just my mom reads it or if hundreds of people read it!! Ok, actually I like to see when new people check out my blog because I think it's neat but that's beside the point.

Anyways, I'll continue to write and participate in blog carnivals and in blog hops and continue to meet new people!! And if you're a reader of "The Johnson Family" I just wanna say thanks and I really appreciate your interest in our lives!!!!

"I don't wanna be big Momma!!"

2009-07-24T23:29:00.003-05:00

Today was probably one of the best Fridays I've had in a while! It started off great because I slept in till 11 because Grace stayed with her Nana & Papa last night so the boys and I slept in!! After I finally decided to get up I paid bills (which was not part of the whole best day!) and then the boys and I got around and ready to take Colt to the doctor. After the doctor we got groceries and then picked Grace up from Mom and Dad's. We stayed and talked for a while then had to hurry home to get our groceries unloaded!

After we got groceries put away we all headed outside to play for a while since the weather has been so nice the last couple of weeks. It's amazing how much it changed after the last set of storms came through. It's been in the upper 70s to mid 80s and then in the upper 50s at night but during the day has been so much more tolerable because the humidity levels have been very unseasonably low. So a day in the 80s hasn't felt like it because it's not so humid!! Gene has been gone all week at a class in Iowa (he finally got home tonight...yay!!!) and he asked me last night if I'd been checking his garden. Oops. Not really. So, tonight I got out there and tended to it some. Like I've said before, the only plants that have made it are our squash, tomatoes and bell peppers and we've actually had some really good squash out of it. Well, tonight I pulled one off of there that was, no exaggerating, 2 ft long. It is insane! I'll post a picture of it tomorrow, but anyways, I watered it and weeded some. We couldn't find our sprinkler from last year so I went over the front part of our lawn up close to the house because it was looking a little dry. Of course the boys are boys and decided it would be hilarious to pour a pitcher of water on me. Thanks guys!! They must have not seen the waterhose in my hand and I most definitely paid them both back!! Grace just kept running back and forth through the hose so we were all soaked by the time we went in!! It's all good though, we had fun!

After our water wars we came in and changed and I started getting stuff ready for dinner. I had decided to make homemade pizza and the boys love it because they help make them!! Growing up Mom would make homemade pizza quite a bit and it was always mine and Tanner's favorite! We called it Momino's instead of Domino's!! Our pizza tonight turned out so incredibly wonderful! Mmmmm...it was so good! I made the dough from scratch and we made 2 large ones. They were both half hamburger and half pepperoni, italian sausage, green peppers and onions!! And of course they both had a TON of cheese on them!!!! I was texting Mom pictures of them and I'm pretty sure she was mad at me by the time we got done eating because she wasn't here to join in the festivities. I did tell her I would save her some though!! Corey took some next door to Gene's dad and he said it was awesome and that he wanted the recipe. Score!!!

Corey had requested almost 2 weeks ago that I make a Butterfinger cake and today was the first opportunity I'd had to do it so....after I got the mess cleaned up from dinner I made him one! Of course it's not exactly part of my diet but I did treat myself to a very small piece of it. And I only had 2 pieces of pizza...and I didn't eat lunch today so that was my calories from lunch I didn't use!

I took a shower and gave Grace a bath and Gene got in around 9:30. Grace was very very excited to see her daddy!! She was not excited, however, when I told her that all of her pacis had gone bye-bye. The part I didn't tell her was that Mommy hadn't exactly planned for them to leave so abruptly but we left the last one at Nana & Papa's because Mommy thought we had another one here. Hmmmm....we looked all over the house for one when we got home and there was not one in sight. So....once we realized this we all started telling Grace that she was a big girl now and that all of her pacis had gone bye-bye to help other little babies! After I brushed her teeth before taking her upstairs to bed I said "So you're gonna be a big girl now and not sleep with a paci?" She looked up at me with the saddest face and said "I don't wanna be big Momma!!" Awww..broke my heart and I was really dreading putting her in bed without it. Luckily, she only whined for it a couple of times and that was it. Funny thing though, I was laying down on her bedroom floor waiting for her to fall asleep and I kept hearing her making sucking sounds because she's so used to going to sleep with a paci in her mouth! I smiled and then almost cried. My baby is growing up.

Favorite Recipe Blog Hop!!!

2009-07-21T23:10:00.006-05:00

Ohh...I can't wait to "hop around" to all the fun blogs with favorite recipes on them!! I've decided to post 2 of my favorite recipes, both of them are courtesy of my Aunt Cathy!! She makes the best lasagne and the best Butterfinger Cake. After the first time I made each of them they became favorites around our house and now my family requests them! So, here ya go.....

Lasagne

16 oz. grated mozzarella cheese

2 lbs. ground beef (I usually also add a package of Italian sausage, but I partially cook it first)

2 cans stewed tomatoes

2 envelopes spaghetti sauce mix

1/4 tsp. minced garlic

8 oz. box lasagne noodles

1 cup cottage cheese (I really like ricotta cheese in it too so I'll mix 3/4 cups cottage cheese with just a little more than 1/4 cup ricotta cheese)

Brown the meat, spoon off excess fat. Add the next 4 ingredients. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes stirring occasionally. Cook noodles according to box directions. Drain and rinse in cold water. Place half the noodles in dish, cover with 1/3 sauce, add half the cheese and half of the cottage cheese (or cottage/ricotta cheese mixture). Repeat layers ending in sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes to 1 hour. I will let it bake for about 45-50 minutes, pull it out and top with some more grated mozzarella cheese then continue baking for about 10 minutes.

It's absolutely delicious and one of my family's favorite meals!!!

Butterfinger Cake

1 yellow cake mix

1 can Eagle brand milk

1 tub Cool Whip

1 jar caramel topping

6 Butterfingers

Mix cake as directed and bake at 350 degrees. Poke holes in cake while hot. Mix caramel, Eagle brand milk and 3 crushed Butterfingers and pour over cake while hot. Cool completely and top with Cool Whip and sprinkle with 3 crushed Butterfingers.

It's better after it's been refrigerated for a while so it's cold through and through and you can use fewer Butterfingers depending on how much you like!!

Ok, so there are 2 of my favorite recipes and I'm excited to check out everyone else's!!! If you try either of mine let me know what you think!!!

A (Base)Ball & A Work Out

2009-07-17T09:58:00.004-05:00

Yesterday Mom, Grace and I drove down to Alma to stay at Granny's because my Aunt Cathy (Mom's sister) is in town from Atlanta. We didn't get down as early as we originally planned because I was cleaning house and that ended up taking longer than I anticipated. Nevertheless, we made it down around 2:30 and Grace absolutely loves coming to her Granny's house!

Grace definitely inherited her daddy's love of outdoors. That child would be outside all day everyday if we would let her. It was raining when we got here so after it stopped raining and the skies cleared Grace was ready to go outside with Granny. So off they went! Granny had pulled out her broom to sweep some of the leaves and sticks off of the patio and some rugs to sit on the wet swing. Grace decided she could do a better job I guess than Granny so she confiscated the broom and went to work!

She got bored pretty quickly with the broom and just started running back and forth up and down the little hill in Granny's backyard. Aunt Cathy made some terriyaki chicken, salad and fried okra for dinner that was yummy and I did so good sticking to my diet!!

Before we ate dinner Grace and Granny were talking money and Grace was using her coasters as $5 and $20 bills! She kept buying stuff and then Grace would have Granny sign like it was a credit card receipt and while Granny was signing it she would say "I'm signing it Ruby Ball" and they were practicing Granny's real name. About 30 minutes later while we were eating dinner we were asking Grace what Granny's real name is and she looked confused so we all said "Ruuuuby" and she said it after us then we asked what her last name was and she said "Baseball!!" How funny is that?! We just started cracking up, so now Granny is Ruby Baseball instead of Ruby Ball!!

Since our whole family has started exercising and working out more Grace always has to be right in the middle of it and last night she decided it was time for her and Aunt Cathy to do their workout! So...here they are doing "crunchies" as Grace calls it! I had a really funny video to upload and I tried several times and couldn't ever get it to load. They did crunches, leg lifts, push ups and leg lifts! Of course, I think Aunt Cathy was doing all the work!! After they started their second set of crunches Grace just stood up, put her hands on her hips and said "I'm done!"

I had a really cute picture of them together that I literally just managed to delete. Frustrating. Anyways, I'll post it later with some pictures from our lunch at Cracker Barrel earlier today. Granny had a stress test done at the hospital this morning and then Grace and I met them for lunch. Now we're just hanging out at the house relaxing!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-15T10:24:00.001-05:00

Quick Note

2009-07-14T12:24:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to make a quick note. I'm eating my ham and cheese sandwich and baked Lays before I go take a shower to get ready for work. I worked out arms last night after work and then ran with 2 other girls I work with and I did a P90X work out this morning. I'm feeling very encouraged at the rate I'm losing weight and am trying to keep myself optimistic and on a steady eating and work out schedule so it will continue to come off.

If I keep on the track I'm on right now I can be to my goal weight by the end of November...just in time for Christmas!! I know most of you could really care less about this but it helps me to put it on paper and to see it!!

No Destination

2009-07-13T10:58:00.002-05:00

Gene and I decided on a whim yesterday to take a motorcycle ride since I had the day off. Normally Steve and Jennie go with us but Steve wasn't able to take the day off because he's been the only one in the tattoo shop this week due to Billy being out of town, so Gene and I drove it alone!

We really had no specific destination in mind but headed out east and ended up travelling through 5 different counties and just under 200 miles in about 5 hours. It was such a great ride. We drove along the Mulberry River, along White Rock and through several small country towns that, to be honest, I could not even tell you the names of because we never saw signs!

After we made our 50th turn onto an unkown highway (not much exaggeration there!) I said to Gene "I think we're lost!" To which he replied, " You can't be lost if you don't even have a destination or know where you're going!" Dang. He got me there! However, I was beginning to wonder a little bit if we'd end up in a completely different state without even realizing it. We didn't. Thank goodness. We ended up literally running right into I-40 about 40 miles south of Fort Smith. We had travelled a long distance and ended up making a huge circle by the time we made it home.

The timing and location actually ended up being perfect because it was about 1:30 when we got onto I-40 and we would go right through Alma, where Granny lives, so I told Gene we needed to stop and surprise them because Aunt Cathy is here from Atlanta. So, that's where we headed and luckily they were at the house when we pulled up!! You just never know with Granny..especially when Aunt Cathy is here. They are busy girls!! They were very surprised to see us and it was a great water and a/c break for us! We stayed and visited for almost an hour before heading on home. I don't have any pictures from our adventure but I'll be sure to take the camera on our next one!

The boys were gone to the movies and Grace was gone with my in-laws to my brother-in-law's house when we got home so I was able to get showered, laundry going, and stuff together for dinner while Gene washed the motorcycle.

Steve and Jennie came out to join us for a yummy dinner of grilled pork steaks, green beans, mashed potatoes and fried squash and everyone made it back home all in time to eat! It was a wonderful day and by the time my head it the pillow I was flat worn out!!

Sooooo Excited!!

2009-07-11T22:59:00.001-05:00

I'm so excited that my blog makeover is complete!!! What do you think?! I am so liking my new look and I want to say a special thanks to Kelly at Fabulous K Creative for making me over!!!

Just A Line...or Two

2009-07-10T23:21:00.005-05:00

I don't have any pictures to post of my weekend and I don't really like posting without pictures but oh well. I don't really have a lot to share either! Yesterday Grace and I got haircuts and then we went to lunch with Mom at Guido's Pizza after I picked the boys up from their mom's. Tanner (my brother) works at Guido's and I hadn't seen him in a while so we decided to pay him a visit! Grace loves going to Guido's because alot of the employees know her and love playing with her! It was yummy...of course, but I only had 2 small pieces because I've been eating so much better and was proud of myself for the restraint!

Grace went home with Mom to stay the night and the boys and I came home to clean house. I accomplished all that I wanted to and a little bit more. The boys are such great help around the house! We finally finished around 8 pm and then ran in to Subway to have dinner. Gene was at work till 10 so after we ate we went to Gulley Park here in Fayetteville and ran for about 25 minutes. I would have liked to have gone longer but it got dark on us because we got there so late. It was certainly better than nothing and we had already worked out back and abs at home, which ended up being a mistake. I don't know what I was thinking doing that after I'd swept and mopped and that always makes my back hurt...then I decide to pick back to work out last night. Brilliant. My lower back has been killing me all day today! It was worth it though and I know it'll pay off.

This morning I slept in till just before 11, which felt great, because I'd stayed up late last night watching Australia when I should have gone to bed! I paid bills then Corey and I hit the post office and Wal-Mart for groceries. Oh how I HATE buying groceries. I'm seriously always broke after doing it! Prices have just gone up so much and it's depressing. Especially when you're feeding 5 people...two of them being teenage boys!

We finally made it home and got the groceries unloaded. Gene only worked about 5 hours today and after he got home decided to go for a ride on the motorcycle. Mom and Grace came out to the house and we all loaded up to go swimming. We got there a whole lot later than I intended and only stayed about an hour and a half. I was planning to make chicken enchiladas for dinner (at Corey's request) and they take a while so we didn't get long to swim. It was nice though!

I had asked Gene to put the chicken on to boil before we left the pool and by the time we got home he already had it boiled and all the stuff mixed up! All I had to do was roll the tortillas. They were absolutely delicious and definitely a hit. We had enough mixture for a whole big pan and then a whole small pan. The big pan was all but gone by the time we finished. I showed great restraint once again and had half of what I would have normally eaten!

I got the kitchen cleaned up and the boys and I went to the park again to run. Grace went to ride the 4-wheeler with her papa (Gene's dad) while her Mimi (Gene's mom) walked up and down our road. Gene was exhausted from having to be up earlier this week than normal for work and was asleep when we got home. Stan (Gene's dad) brought Grace home right after we got here and now everyone has had baths and most are asleep. Grace was exhausted and went right to sleep and I'm pretty sure it will be the same story for me!!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-08T11:31:00.003-05:00

Favorite Photo Blog Hop!

2009-07-07T11:39:00.004-05:00

Man, I am telling you, this blog world is happening! There is always something going on and I love it! You meet such wonderful people from all over the place and it's just neat! I was reading Kelly's blog earlier and she, along with several several others, are participating in the "Favorite Photo Blog Hop" so I thought "what the hay?" I might as well join in the fun!

So...here are 3 of my favorite photos. All of them I've posted before but oh well, you can just enjoy them again!!

Colt & Grace's "love"

Gene & I on Valentine's Day 2009

And my kiddos at the pool for our first swim of Summer 2009!!!

Thanks for stopping by and I look forward to checking out everyone else's favorite photos!!!

You can add your link to your "Blog Hop" post on any blog you read that is participating and then copy and past the "MckLinky" code into your post and voila! it's added to yours too!!! So go....have fun!!!

4th of July Weekend

2009-07-06T11:29:00.003-05:00

My "4th" post is a little bit delayed but I don't really have much to post about because I had to work Saturday so...it wasn't that great for me! I love my job as a dispatcher but I have had to work more holidays than I have been off in the past 4 and a half years. Luckily I work with great people and they're like my second family so it's not horrible!!

Every year the city of Springdale has a 4th of July parade on the July 1st and the 4th. On the 1st it's at 3 in the afternoon and the 4th is 10 in the morning so the 4th is usually the one we go to because I go to work at 2 in the afternoon. The boys were with their mom that morning so Gene, Grace, and I met Mom at the pd parking lot to walk up to the parade. Grace looked really cute in her litte red, white and blue and her pigtails but I have no good bows for her so the hairdo was kind of boring! She always ends up messing it up anyways. She wasn't being very cooperative for the pictures either. It was cloudy the whole morning so it wasn't just unbearably hot and there was a slight breeze so it was good weather to be outside.

Once it finally got started we moved up to the curb so she could see better. She just kept switching back and forth between Gene, Mom and myself. She LOVED seeing the horses and just stood there waving at everyone!

We were awake early that morning though so she was getting really sleepy by the time it was over. Right as we were leaving Springdale headed home it started to pour down rain and then after we got home it started storming really bad. The boys got home and then I had to get in the shower to get ready for work.

Corey's best friend Rhianna came over and Colt's friend Sarah came over to hang out with them for fireworks. Grace, apparently, was pretty much attached to Rhianna and Sarah the whole time and never left them alone! Rhianna has been around for forever so Grace was already used to her!!

Two goofy kids! They played outside on the trampoline, took pictures, went swimming next door, ate lunch, shot off fireworks and just had a grand 'ol time! I got home at about 10:20 and they were still shooting of fireworks so we hung out till about 11 then called it a night. Grace was completely exhausted and covered in sweat and bug spray so I brought her in, gave her a bath and put her to bed. Her eyes were so heavy when I was putting her to bed that she was snoring by the time I finished reading her a bedtime story! I'm pretty sure we all slept good that night and then yesterday ate a big breakfast and hung out at home, that is, until I had to go to work! Saturday and Sunday night were both really busy after about 6 and I'm sure that pace will continue through the summer!

I hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th this year and a very special thanks to all the men and women who serve our country and fight for our continued freedom!!!

Gotta Love Giveaways!!

2009-07-04T21:09:00.001-05:00

So...I just discovered a new blog, Jenna's Journey, and she is hosting a giveaway!!

Seriously? Who doesn't love one of those? And they are the cutest pair of earrings so you should hop on over and check it out!! Just click here.

friday list

2009-07-03T15:00:00.002-05:00

*I have to work tomorrow, which of course, is the 4th of July. Definitely one of the disadvantages of working in law enforcement, you don't get many holidays off.

*Today has been incredibly boring. We had talked about going to the Rodeo of the Ozarks that is held every year July 1-4 in Springdale but finances aren't the best right now so we'll be staying home.

*The boys are with their mom and won't be home until tomorrow. I wish they were here.

*My house is clean! I cleaned house ALL day yesterday and am very proud of how it looks. I even cleaned all the downstairs windows.

*Grace is watching Scooby-Doo right now. Surprising. I know.

*I woke up to the sound of thunder last night and it was fabulous to hear it raining also!

*Gene pulled the first squash out of garden this week! Pretty much the one squash plant, one tomato plant, and two bell pepper plants are all that survived our garden this year. Next year we will be doing it a little differently!

*I've lost 13 lbs in almost a month's time!!!!

*I've also been working out on a regular basis.

*I'm anxiously awaiting a blog makeover!! I wasn't going to say anything until it was all done, but I'm getting so antsy and am just waiting on Kelly, over at Fabulous K Creative, to send me an e-mail with the header proof for me to approve and then she can install it!! I'm so sick of how mine looks right now but it won't be like this much longer!

*Mom and I are taking Grace to the 4th of July parade in Springdale tomorrow morning!! I don't know if Gene is planning to go with us or not, but I know Grace will love it!

*Happy 4th of July!!!!

Wordless Wednesday - Then & Now

2009-07-01T11:32:00.001-05:00

Summer 2007

Summer 2009

Hodge Podge

2009-06-30T09:18:00.002-05:00

That's pretty much what this post will be...hodge podge! It'll basically just be an overview of the weekend and I don't have any new pictures to post from the happenings.

Gene had dropped his motorcycle off at the shop last Thursday to have his rear tire replaced and a 10,000 mile service done. He told them before he dropped it off that the only way he would bring it to them was if they could have it done and ready by 9 am Saturday because he was planning on riding to Tulsa. They assured him it would be done. Well, that didn't happen. We showed up right at 9 Saturday morning and there was nobody there. Finally one of the owners showed up a few minutes after us and opened the business. However, Gene's bike had not even been touched yet. They told him it would be done between 2 and 3 that afternoon. So, he didn't get to ride to Tulsa. He was not a happy camper.

After we got back home I sent Mom a text asking if she wanted to meet at the mall and help me spend the rest of my gift certificate to Arty Crafty because I wanted to find some stuff for our bedroom since I'd re-arranged. She, of course, said yes so we planned to meet at noon! The kids ended up going with me and Gene just dropped us off at the mall then went to hang out with Steve until time to get his bike. I was able to find a couple of things for my bedroom, that I'll share at a later date because it's still not done, and it was too big to fit in my car so we loaded it up in Mom's and then the kids and me piled in! I called Gene when we finished at the mall and he was fixing to head down to the shop. So, Mom just took me down there to get my car. Gene ended up having to sit and wait there for almost 3 hours because his bike still was not done. I had run back into the mall and then down to the grocery store and right as I got home he called and asked me to come get him because it wasn't going to be done until the next morning. Oh, he was sooooo mad! They ended up putting a front tire on the rear and were going to have to fix it. The owner wasn't there most of the day Saturday and kept apologizing because he wasn't there watching what they were doing.

He promised Gene that he would be up and at the shop by 8 Sunday morning and Gene told him we'd be there sometime between 9 and 10 to get it. We got up, drove in, got there right at 9 and nobody was there. Shop was all locked up. So...we went back home. Gene tried calling him....straight to voicemail. We were supposed to go riding with Steve and Jennie too. Gene ended up going back up there by himself at 10 just to make sure and so he could say he was there at both times, but still no one was there. Right after he got home Steve called him and they were talking. While he was on the phone the owner tried calling him so he clicked over and he told him that he was now up at the shop and he could come get his bike. It was 10:30 by now.

I went and changed clothes and got ready really quick and Gene got Grace dressed and her stuff together because I was going to drop her off at Mom and Dad's to stay the night with them. The boys had gone to their mom's right after they woke up so we all loaded up and went back, yet again, to the shop. It was...finally done. Gene left for Steve and Jennie's and I headed for Mom and Dad's. I got Grace dropped off and then met everyone else at Steve and Jennie's house. When I got there Jennie met me at the door and told me that after Gene got to their house Steve was doing an inspection of it because he used to work on motorcycles and knows just about all there is to know about them and saw that his saddlebags were all scratched up. Jennie was able to buff and polish some of them out but they still didn't look great. It was seriously one thing after another and Gene called and left another message with the owner, who quickly returned his call. He was very apologetic and told Gene to bring it back up and he would take care of it. It was an absolute mess and I'm so glad that Steve decided to take the day off for us to go ride because it was exactly what Gene needed.

We finally got on the bikes and our first stop was Rogers and we ate lunch at Texas Land & Cattle at the Promenade. It was yummy!!! None of us had eaten there before but we were all impressed! After lunch we headed out Hwy 94 West and went to the Beaver Dam lookout. It was so pretty and there were tons of people out swimming and boating. I was jealous of that...I would loved to have been in the water! We hung out there for just a little bit then we drove on over to Eureka Springs and sat downtown for a while, ate snow cones, and just people watched. It's usually really packed on the weekends but it wasn't as busy as I expected it to be. We loaded back up and headed back to Fayetteville. There was a benefit BBQ dinner for the blind that night that we were invited to so we got there about 6 and hung out for about an hour but Gene and I were worn out so we came home, took showers, and settled in to watch Gran Torino. It was such a good movie! I had not seen it before but I'm definitely glad I got it for Gene for Father's Day because it's one I could totally watch again!

Overall, it was a really great 4 day weekend for me! Although we had the little situation with the motorcycle the good still outweighed the bad and I was able to just relax and spend some great time with both friends and family!! I did go back to work last night and I was soooo not ready for that! It was really slow though, especially for a Monday, so it wasn't too bad and now it's already almost my weekend again!! Gotta love that! I'm hoping to take the kids swimming again on Thursday because the boys are going to be with their mom Thursday and Friday night but then back hom for the 4th. I, of course, will have to work the 4th but about the time I get home is when they usually start the fireworks at my house. We live up on the top of a mountain and it's a dead end so we always get together with some of our neighbors and shoot off a ton of fireworks up here!

I guess that's about it for now, I need to get off of here and get the boys upstairs so we can workout before I go to work! Have a great week!

Soaking Up Some Sun!!

2009-06-27T09:50:00.004-05:00

The past few summers I have only gone swimming about 3 times. Sad I know, but I don't know anybody with a pool and there was no way I was taking my kids to the Springdale Aquatic Center because it's always so so crowded and I knew it wouldn't be much fun. So, early this week I remembered that Prairie Grove has an aquatic park also that was supposed to be much better than Springdale's. Gene told me he and the boys used to go all the time a few years ago so I decided that yesterday I would take the kids. However, I needed a swimsuit, so we made an Old Navy run Thursday and I was able to find one that I like. The best part is it was on sale so I got a $40 swimsuit for $10!! Can't beat that! I also found Grace a little cover-up and I found me one at Wal-Mart. The pool doesn't open until noon so the plan was for me to be done with my errands yesterday morning in time to be at the pool by noon. Well, that didn't work out so well, which was ok because I'm sure it was really crowded then.

We ended up not getting there until right at 2 and there were quite a few people there but not real bad, and we were able to find some chairs under a pavillion by the kiddy pool so it was shady. We all got coated with sunscreen and took off for the water! I bought Grace some floaties but they didn't work very well so we ended up taking them off and one of us just held her. The best part about their pool was that the big main one starts out like a beach where it's just super shallow and you can just sit in it then it gradually slopes to the deep end, which is still only 5 ft, so Corey and I hung out a lot up there while Colt and Grace walked and swam back and forth. It was perfect for her because there was a huge area where Grace could walk and play without having to be held. She absolutely loved it!

Colt got all of his hair cut off yesterday! He got it cut while they were in Florida last week but the girl who did it didn't do a very good job so yesterday he went with me to get my eyebrows done and Salwa fixed it for him! He wanted it short enough to spike on top and his hair hasn't been this short since Gene and I first got together almost 4 years ago. He actually was really pleased with it and I think it looks great!

Corey thinks he's a stud muffin in his sunglasses!! While he and I were sitting in the water this little boy came up to us and asked Corey what his name was. Instead of answering he just looked at me so I told him his name was Corey! The kid floated off to a group of girls who then started giggling and looking over at us! As if that wasn't funny enough, about an hour later the same kid came back up to us and asked how old he was. I just started laughing and Corey, without skipping a beat, said "I'm 18." What?! I just looked at him and started laughing even harder!! The kid apparently believed him because he toddled off and told the girls! The whole rest of the day the girls kept walking back and forth in and out of the water past us trying to get Corey's attention. It didn't work. He wasn't interested, but it was just too funny!

I am absolutely in love with this picture of the kids!! We have very few pictures of all of them together and I was able to get them all to cooperate long enough yesterday to get a couple and this one was the best one! I'll be framing it!

Isn't Grace's swimsuit adorable?! One of my friends from work bought Grace a giftcard to Gymboree for her birthday and when I went to use it they had just put out the summer stuff and I found this swimsuit. Too cute and she just had to have it! Every hour on the hour the lifeguards blow a whistle and everyone has to get out of the water for a 5 minute break, which is a good thing, because it was easy to get Grace out of the water to get more sunscreen on her. Of course as soon as she saw everyone else getting back in the water she'd look up at me and say "I wanna go schwimmin 'gen!" It was quite the struggle getting her out of it when it was time to leave!

I love this one of me and Grace too because of the black and white! I think I'll frame it too! We really did have a blast at the pool and even though it was over 90 degrees outside it was the perfect weather because while you were in the water it was awesome and then when we were out it was good because being wet kept us cool plus the shade was cool!! Mom was going to go with us but couldn't bring herself to get out in the heat. I told her it was perfect though and she's decided next time she'll be joining us!! I'm hoping maybe next week again!

Show Us Where You Live Friday - Master Bedrooms

2009-06-26T22:20:00.004-05:00

It's Friday....and you know what that means!! It's time for Show Us Where You Live Friday and Kelly, over at Kelly's Korner, has chosen master bedrooms for this week. Now, I was cleaning house yesterday and sort of went into hyperdrive in our bedroom! My original plan was to just clean out underneath our bed and somehow that turned into a rearrangement. We really only have 2 options as far as where our bed goes and I decided I'd try it the other way. I'm liking it more and more and I think it makes our room look bigger. My walls are still pretty bare but I'm hoping to change that soon!!

Ok, on with the tour. Welcome to our master bedroom! It's right off the kitchen/dining room. Originally our dresser was on the wall to the left as you walk in but now with the bed where it is it looks better on this wall.

I took this one standing in the corner by the bathroom and, like I said, bare walls. Our bed used to be over on the wall you see on the left in between the two windows and it's throwing me off having the picture still there and no longer over our bed. Our bedroom furniture doesn't all match either! The sleigh bed we found at an antique store when we finished the house and I fell in love with it! The night stand and dresser match and Gene had them when he and I got together. The browns on the bed, dresser, night stand, and the curtains don't really match but I actually kind of like it. We're country people, not fancy city people, and it's homey. That's all that really matters to me!

View from the opposite corner of the dresser and our miror. The door to the left of the dresser goes outside to our porch. I love having it there because it's easy to just pop your head out and yell at Aros to quit barking! ha! Only kidding. Sort of. Ahem. Anyways, the picture above our dresser is a collage frame that the boys filled with various snapshots of us. It needs to be updated and I would like to paint the frame, I'm just not sure what color yet.

And this one was taken from the doorway of our bathroom. The treasure chest on the floor in the lefthand corner was mine from when I still lived with Mom and Dad. I got it when I was in high school and it's filled with my diploma, senior and prom pictures, and various items. I really want new bedding for our room I just haven't found anything I really like and is affordable. And I also want new curtains. But ya know...it works and is comfy! I hope you enjoyed the tour and now I'm going to retire to, well....this very room! I have a lot more to blog about and I'm hoping to get it done tomorrow! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and don't forget to check out Kelly's Korner to see all the other tours!!

Overdose of Cuteness

2009-06-26T00:13:00.005-05:00

I'll just go ahead and warn you now that you're about to overdose on cuteness!! Today the boys and I have been cleaning house all day and I ended up going a little overboard in our bedroom cleaning and rearranging! While I was working on that Corey and Grace were playing beauty shop!

You can't say I didn't warn you.

This morning while I was cleaning out Grace's toy box she found the little barrettes Granny bought her and she played with them literally all day! She kept trying to put them in Corey's hair but she kept pulling his hair!

I know...precious.

"Ok Mom, enough with the camera."

Trying to sneak up on him.

He's got a new look! I think they go great with the pink barrette!

She is determined to get it in his hair and he's determined to NOT get his hair pulled!!

Back Where They Belong

2009-06-24T10:42:00.005-05:00

The boys are back home where they belong! They didn't make it in until about 5 this morning and we were all in bed but I smiled while lying in bed this morning when I heard Corey in Grace's monitor talking to her!! She slept until almost 9 and Corey heard her first when she woke up and went to get her. I was the last one up and Gene was making us breakfast. As soon as the boys walked downstairs all was well again because my whole family was home together!!

They were both getting irritated with me because I kept snapping pictures of them! And while they were gone Colt cut off all of his hair!!

Corey bought Grace a Little Mermaid toy set and she had a blast opening and playing with it! He also got her some Scooby-Doo stickers that have her name on them!! She was waaaaaay excited about those since Scooby is now her absolute favorite thing to watch and we literally watch it all day long!

Remember when I posted about my laundry baskets being empty here? Well, that is no more! I should have taken a picture after they had emptied their luggage and before I started their laundry. Both baskets were heaping and overflowing onto the floor! I got it started and that will be their chore for the day!

Beethoven is on one of our movie channels and since Grace loves dogs so much she's been very intrigued by it. Colt was up in his room playing his piano because he had dearly missed it and the minute Corey sat down in the recliner Grace was up in his lap!

Colt came down to join us and watch the movie. Gene had to go to work so now it's just me and the kiddos...at least until I have to go to work. :( It is my Friday though!!! And my day is so much better now that my boys are home!!!!!

Happy Father's Day!!!!

2009-06-21T11:02:00.003-05:00

I want to wish all those dads out there a Happy Father's Day, but most importantly, to my very special father, husband, and father-in-law!!!

This morning Grace let us all sleep in until almost 8:30, which is pretty late for her, and when we got up Gene made some biscuits and gravy for breakfast! Grace gave him his present which was the movie Gran Torino and the Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2009 Wii game. He was happy with both! I took this picture while he was making breakfast and Grace actually cooperated!

This picture was taken the day Grace was born, obviously! And sadly enough, this is the only picture of Gene with all 3 of the kids, that I could find anyways. I've got to start doing a better job of taking pictures. The boys are still in Florida with Gene's parents so they get to spend Father's Day with their Papa but not with their Daddy. They will finally be home on Wednesday morning though!!!! I'm so excited! Gene is such a good daddy and loves his kids more than anything. He would and does do anything and everything for them!!

And of course, my daddy and Grace's Papa!!! Another tragedy, I couldn't find a good recent picture of Dad and Grace together and I couldn't find any on the computer of he and I together. I have an actual picture here of us together but I don't have a scanner to put it on here. I just love this one of them though!! He's such a good Papa and thinks the world of his girls!! Thank you Dad for always doing everything in your power to take care of me for the last 24 years!!!! I love you very much!!

And last but not least, Gene's dad Stan, and the kids! Stan and Jeanette live right next door to us and are always willing to do anything we need and help take care of the kids. Stan spoils them all too, which I suppose is most definitely one of the top jobs of grandparents. My kids are truly blessed with a wonderful daddy and wonderful Papas!!

I love you all very much and hope that today is a wonderful Father's Day!!!!

girls just wanna have fun

2009-06-20T09:32:00.003-05:00

Last night was such a nice break from the cruddy week I'd had! I went to dinner and a movie with 4 of my most favorite women! Stephanie, Jennie, Teresa, Mom, and I all met at Noodle's in Fayetteville and had a wonderful Italian dinner and then we went to see The Proposal!!

Wednesday was Mom's birthday so last night we celebrated! We don't ever eat at Noodle's so it was a really nice change of pace. I had a salad and chicken fettucine alfredo and it was delicious but I wasn't able to eat it all! There are so few pictures of Mom and I together that it's really kind of sad but Steph snapped this one of us last night and it actually turned out pretty good!

All the girls waiting for our food! We laughed and laughed and it was so good to hang out and catch up!

Stephanie was the first one to the restaurant and before the rest of us made it there she told our waiter that we were celebrating Mom's birthday so after dinner he brought out this big sparkling bottle and yummy chocolate cake and ice cream!! They even put 5 spoons in it so we were passing it around the table. It was so rich though and since I've been eating better it was a little bit of a shock to my system but oh it was so good! She was VERY surprised...and a little embarassed maybe, but at least they didn't all sing to her!

After we ate we had some time to kill before the movie started but since it was opening night we decided to go ahead and purchase our tickets then make a Target run. Steph is moving into a new house next weekend so she needed to find a, in her words "cute", laundry basket to go in her room! She found one and after our approval bought it! She's so funny and is so excited about moving out! I'm happy for her! Jennie bought her some candy for the movie and Mom and I got Dad and Gene one more thing for Father's Day. Then we headed back to the theatre and it's a good thing because there was already a line formed to get into our movie and we were there 30 minutes early. It ended up selling out right after we stepped into line so I'm really glad we decided to get our tickets early! The movie was absolutely wonderful and hilarious! It's probably the best movie I've seen, in theatres anyways, in a long time. I would have turned around and paid to see it again right then. Everybody in there was laughing so hard and after it was over Mom said we'd definitely have to watch it again so we can hear all the dialogue we missed with everyone laughing! I'm telling you....a very very very good flick! I can't wait to see it again. I didn't end up getting home until about 12:15 last night because we stood outside talking for a long time and I was worn out by the time I got home. It was such a blast though and I so treasure the time I have with my girlfriends!! I have the best friends and I am so thankful for them!!