Three Years

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

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

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!

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!

**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

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...

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!!