Summer

Events from the first week of summer:

• Monday- Scott flew out at 5 a.m. for a research trip to the Oregon coast. It rained most of the day, so in desperation, I took the kids to McDonalds with a friend, and we let our kids play for over two hours in the PlayPlace. I'm hoping the good exercise makes up for the antibiotic injected chicken nuggets. (Eww... that looks even worse written than it sounds). We had an evening play date with neighbors, and the kids made their own pizzas for dinner.
• Tuesday- More rain. And I mean RAIN. So we went to the special summer $1 movie theater. Emily and I weren't sure how the twins would do (this was their first movie-going experience) so we were prepared to have to get up in the middle and leave if need be, but everybody was great. They loved the experience. Looks like the $1 movie theater may be a summer staple!
• Wednesday- More rain. Seriously the weather temp was great (low 80's) but the rain HAD to stop! We played inside most of the day. I'm now an expert on how to build a "traffic jam" with hotwheels. :) We read many books, and are now almost down with the BFG, which Eli especially seems to like. This is the first chapter book I've read with the twins, and I can't wait to read another. Eli loves it, and begs me to read more. Elsie... well, Elsie sort of listens from afar. And that's fine with me.

**Wednesday evening was super special because after the kids went to bed, I had some great girlfriends over for wine. And what made this even more awesome was that I spent all day Wednesday in contact with my sister and mom as my sister was in labor! Her sweet baby Camille was born at 7:21 p.m. (10:21 my time) while I was surrounded by my friends. This worked out well because I was aching to be with my sister, but my friends celebrating with me was special. More on this later, too!

• Thursday- Picnic at the Harbison Duck Pond. I will post pictures later. Yes, we did play on the toys and it was great. But what was absolutely amazing was the nature walks we took. Turtles, ducks with ducklings, woodpeckers, swans, herrings... more on this to come.
• Friday- Its finally warmed up today (88- and no, I'm not complaining. June has proven to be amazing so far!) and so we're off to the pool this morning. The plan is to get there at 10 and not return home until we have eaten lunch and swam till we dropped right before nap time.

Its been a great week! I'm constantly looking for new summer activities to experience together, but we like to just hang at home some too. I'm loving the time with the kids, though this mommy really is missing the daddy. He will be home Monday. Summer will only get better!

Happy Mother's Day!

So, I've spent about an hour trying to pick the very best template for our blog with the updated blogger format. I finally got it all taken care of, when I went to a friends blog and noticed that she had the exact same template, and now mine was just a replica of an already cool blog that I now copied. Ugh. So, sorry Jill, but my blog is going to copy yours for the time being because I just can't stand the thought of formatting any more tonight!

I started thinking about his very thing a little more. Moms spend a lot of time making sure they give their kids "the very best" even if its just a family blog with "the very best" template background. I recently read an amazing article about the pressure today's mom puts on herself by looking through various magazines, Pinterest, and Facebook. The temptation to compare is severe, and the outcome almost always leaves me feeling unworthy.

Last March, for Emily's birthday, she asked me if I would make her red velvet cupcakes. Now I've never made red velvet anything. Is it a southern thing? Because I don't remember eating them growing up either. Regardless, I set out to my favorite Publix determined to make "the very best red velvet cupcakes" ever. No mind that I hadn't made them before. No box cake mix for me, no sir! I would make only the best for my sweet Emily! I was armed with my iPhone and a list of ingredients that Paula Dean assured me would leave those first graders amazed. It was if somehow the most important thing in life was to be deemed Cupcake Goddess by a class of seven year olds.

I came home and baked, frosted, and sprinkled until I had what I thought was the very best cupcake ever. The batter had baked up creating the perfect "cupcake top." I had mixed up a batch of my homemade frosting, and piped it on with my special frosting tip. I had matched the sprinkles to the cupcake paper perfectly. These were some dynamite cupcakes if I do say so myself!

Scott had eaten one, and had deemed them a success. I anxiously waited for Em to get out of the shower to come downstairs and marvel at the cupcakes. When she finally made her way downstairs, she gasped. "Oh mommy! Those are fabulous! I bet they taste even better! I can't wait to bring them to school mommy! Oh thank you! I bet these are going to be the best happy birthday cupcakes we've ever had in our class!"

Then she walked away, and I beamed. Success!

But wait....

She got half-way up the stairs, and turned around and came back down. She bursted by over-sized cupcake bubble with this,

"Well mommy. Did I ever tell you about the cupcakes Anne's* mom made for our class? Because they were really pretty too. And they tasted so good! I bet your cupcakes will taste just as good as the cupcakes Anne's mommy made"

I thought to myself, "Okay, I can handle coming in with a tie to Anne's mommy. That's not so bad, right"

But then Emily let the final blow fly when she said, "But the thing about Anne's mommy... she waited for our entire class to eat them..." (she said this with extreme enthusiasm) "... and when we were all done and there was frosting over all our faces and we were saying how good they were, Anne's mommy waited for us to be completely totally done eating. And then Anne's mommy told us that there was actually zucchini and tomato juice in those cupcakes! Can you believe it mom? Anne's mommy made cupcakes that were pretty, they tasted so good, AND they had an entire serving of vegetables! That's amazing, huh mom?"

With that, my sweet Emily walked back up the stairs to brush her teeth. I looked over at Scott who was pretending to read the newspaper to conceal his wide eyes and sheepish grin.

And then I burst out laughing. Right then and there my life had turned in to a sit-com. I had the power to turn the ending in to a sobbing emotional wreck of a mommy moment (think Debra from Everybody Loves Raymond) or I could turn it into a Hallmark Hall of Fame moment where I realized that my love to my daughter doesn't exist through the perfection of red velvet cupcakes. (Cue cheesy music here.)

The entire thing was rather hysterical.

Now, on Mother's Day, I look back on this and pray that somehow I will find and maintain that balance between wanting to do and be all that I can for my sweet Emily, Elsie, and Eli, but also catch myself from comparing to others. There are many things I will never learn to do. But I have to constantly remind myself that my kids don't care so much about things I do, create, make, or achieve as much as they care about me loving them. And as long as they know how much I love them, it doesn't matter if my cupcakes don't have vegetables in them!

*I changed Emmy's friend's name :)

Happy Third Birthday Eli and Elsie!

We had a little backyard birthday party for Eli and Elsie yesterday. Our friends and neighbors joined us. When we were planning for this event, we went to the party store to buy some themed plates and napkins, just for the cake table. Eli chose Hotwheels and Elsie chose Tinker Bell. I thought I could get away with buying an extra-large hot wheel and have a "Tinker Bell riding in a Hotwheel" cake. But alas, that didn't happen. I ended up making two cakes: One yellow with chocolate frosting with a hot wheel for the Eli, and a strawberry with strawberry cake with Tinker Bell for Miss Pink.

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One of my favorite parts of the day was when Eli got to give Elsie a gift he'd picked out for her. Elsie has this doll house that she loves, but she is always trying to find a "friend" for the doll house "purple mommy." Which means she tries to use a Barbie doll to be friends with the much smaller doll house "purple mommy", and all is well until she puts them in the doll house mini-van. Barbie won't fit, the purple mommy always cries and end up going to the grocery store alone, without her friend. It always ends with tears. So... Eli and I went to pick out a gift for Elsie, and he found a new mommy to be friends with the doll house mommy. And to make it even better, she comes with a pony that she can ride. Elsie was elated when she opened it, and the only way to describe Eli's face was "proud." It was awesome to see him filled with joy upon giving his sister a gift. Of course Elsie had a gift for Eli too, which was a car with flashing lights. No surprise here: Eli loved it.

Updated Stuff

I've got to be better about updating my blog. I guess the first thing to do would be to take Tim's suggestion and add some recent pictures. This is Miss Elsie. Her hair keeps growing, and I figure as long as I can run a brush through it and keep it braided and tied back, we'll keep letting it grow. I can't imagine cutting off those little curls from the bottom.

THis was taken by the neighborhood pool. I love this picture. It captures so much of Eli's personality.

My grandmother sent a card to each of the twins. Again, I love how this captures their sweet personality. They couldn't wait to see what was inside, and when "paper money" fell out of the card, they both squealed! Emily has taught them how far a dollar can go at the dollar store!

I ran my first half-marathon a couple weeks ago. I think I will do it again. Having my sweet husband with the kids cheering me on at the finish line was one of the best things ever. Totally worth another 13.1 to experience their excitement for me when I finished.

This one is of Miss Em this past Sunday at the AWANA awards banquet. Notice the two missing teeth. The top two are both wiggly. Its pretty cute to see her toothless grin!

Happy Birthday Elsie and Eli

Time is a funny thing. I remember those ten days that we spend shuffling back and forth from the hospital, trying to make it to as many feedings as possible. I thought we'd never get them home. Ten days seems like nothing now, but to a mom waiting in anticipation to bring those sweet babies home, ten days seems like an eternity! I remember sitting in those hospital recliners in the NICU, napping, nursing, and cooing with my babies. Those days seemed to last forever. And they were wonderful. Not as wonderful as bringing them home though.

And now three years has gone by, seemingly faster than those first ten. How is it possible? Those sweet fragile things are now the most rough and tumble pair I know! And that big sister squeezing them tight? How did she grow in to this loving older child? I remember her walking through the grocery store with me and the twins, people would often walk by and comment on our babies, or as Emily would say, "her babies." But as time went on, if we were in the store and Em thought somebody wasn't paying enough attention to"her babies" she would say a little too loudly, "Hey Mom. Don't you think its great that God gave us two babies? That makes us really special." Then the moment she made eye contact with anybody she would say, "Did you see our babies? We have two! And they're really beautiful!"

These two have been different from the start. Today, Elsie is our comedian. She loves to make those around her laugh. She loves silly faces and sounds. Once she's found out how to make somebody smile, the game is on! Elsie is a very happy girl. She wakes up that way in the morning and goes to sleep that way in the evening. She will go to anybody who looks like "fun" and fears nothing. She's also independent. Emily has had to learn that sometimes Elsie just wants to do things her way, with no help. I see much of myself in her in this way. Elsie is great with a pencil and pen. She loves to write, draw and color. She draws small squiggles on the page and likes to point to them and tell me what they say. When she's "reading" me her writing, her words are just jibber-jabber while her hands are moving all around. Its as if she thinks talking fast will make her sound important. Of course, all with a huge grin on her face.

Eli is our compassionate snuggler. He often will ask to come sit on our laps and snuggle with us. He especially likes to snuggle with Daddy and watch cartoons. He's reserved... certainly not a risk-taker. He refuses to jump on the trampoline or in bounce houses. Its as if he possesses some sort of knowledge about danger that the rest of us can't understand. He's safe, but certainly not reserved. He runs around outdoors like a typical boy... enjoying being potty trained and urinated on a tree if it happens that he should have to go potty while we're in the backyard. That's a highlight of his day. Eli will come up with phrases that he hears and use them in the most perfect context. The other day he was trying to catch the end of a jump rope while Elsie ran with the other end in her hand. Out of nowhere he shouts out, "I don't think I'll ever be able to catch that fast girl!" Which of course wasn't the case. When shortly after he did catch her, he jumped up and down and yelled, "I am the champion!" Hysterical.

Somebody told me once that the older one gets, each passing year is a smaller percentage of total life. How true that is. I can't imagine what it will feel like to have our three out of the house in college and starting their own careers. I can't imagine how quickly the time will pass when they will grow up. How precious life is with them. Three years ago I had no idea how sweet and blessed our lives would become. I couldn't have imagined how these sweet babies would grow to change the way I see the world. How amazing it is to be their mom.

My Simple Family

Our family was fortunate enough to have today off from work and school. We were looking forward to this day to run some much needed errands. We loaded up the car and started down our long list. After four stops, we had some lunch out as a family. Everybody had a great time. We continued on with our errands, ending with the final stop as the twins nodded off in their car seats. I ran in to make a quick exchange, and came out to find all three kids asleep.

Scott and drove home with all three of our sweeties snoozing behind us. We pulled in the driveway and both agreed to do the 'ole, "Who can get the baby in the house without waking him/her" routine. You know this one... where you unbuckle and gently pull the sleeping kid out from the seat without startling him/her, then walk up the stairs, careful to skip over the squeaky one two from the top, and finally put the sleeping child in their bed... and he/she continues to sleep??

Luckily all three kids (Yes, Emily has been known to nap every day on the weekend) stayed asleep, and Scott and I were left with some quiet time to read (or blog).

I realize that in a few years our weekends will likely be more lively with the kids activities. And I also realize that a few years after that our kids will be busy with their own things without us. So today was special, in that it really wasn't. We were just a mini-van full of a family running errands and grabbing a bite on Harbison Blvd. just like many other families around us. But I'm so thankful we were together... having fun doing nothing really.

When our kids grow up and are out of the house, I think it will be these days I will miss the most. I actually like packing the diaper bag, using high chairs at restaurants, and pulling out the stroller at every stop. I like that Emily entertains the twins, and that they giggle at her while I help Scott pick out a new pair of pants for work. Simple things.

Christmas Top Ten

There is so much I could write about our Christmas trip to California. But since I've proved to fall off the blog bandwagon, I will stick to a top ten list in no order of importance.

10. Christmas morning after we did the present thing, we went to my parents church... the church where Scott and I got married, the church where I grew up, the church where I feel everybody still knows me. I love that place. And even though I had to take the twins out of the service after a few worship songs, all was good, because I got to sit in a room full of girls I grew up with while we watched our children play. What a fabulous time.

9. My sister and her husband James are pregnant with their first. I couldn't wait to finally see her with her new little baby bump. I'm so excited for the two of them, and their precious baby due in June!

8. Christmas morning my kiddos opened a gift from my parents that revealed a trip to Disneyland. The twins didn't really get it, but Emily understood. Waiting four days until after Christmas was a little difficult, but boy was she excited! I should probably post specifically about Disneyland... maybe that will be next. We had a wonderful time!

7. I hate the Houston airport. There are few things that I feel that way toward, but the Houston airport is definitely one of them. Scott says its because the place was named after Bush, but whatever the reason, that airport is the most disorganized, unreliable, poor airport in the entire county. (In my opinion of course.) After an amazingly easy trip out, the trip home was miserable. And not because we traveled with three kids... our kids did an awesome job. But because eight hours waiting in an airport for a crew to show up, only to end up with a cancelled flight is no way to end a wonderful trip. Ugh.

6. Costco. Scott loves to go to Costco with my mom. Its pretty funny. One thing he asks to do each year is go to Costco and then have lunch at his favorite Bakersfield restaurant, "Flames and Skewers." Of course we always do this.

5. And another thing about Scott. My mom knows all of his "favorites" and has each of these things waiting for him. Everything to his favorite hair gel, to his favorite cereal, drinks, and snacks. The house is full of "Scott's favorites." Sometimes I think she likes him more than me! :)

4. My dad took Emily to horseback riding lessons. Well, let's back up. Before he took her to horseback riding lessons, he asked her what she would need before riding a horse. She told him she'd need to dress like a cowgirl. So he took her to the "Cowgirl store" (Western Warehouse) where the nice man outfitted her in new boots, hat, belt buckle, wranglers, and a new "cowgirl" shirt. Then he took her to ride a gentle horse named "Shotgun." The lady giving her the lesson was amazing, and totally did an excellent job. By the end of the hour, Emily was fearlessly cantering around the ring. I was amazed... and a little scared at her lack of fear. My dad sort of opened a can of worms, because it looks like Scott and I will be finding a place for her to take lessons around the Irmo area.
FYI- The shirt she picked out was checkered, because Woody and Jessie from Toy Story have a checkered shirt, so don't all cowboys/cowgirls? Hilarious.

3. Being so far away, Scott hasn't had many opportunities to get to know our new brother-in-law James. I've always wished for my husband and whomever Mindy married to be close, just like Mindy and me. While in Bakersfield there were several nights when everybody said their goodnights, leaving only James and Scott to talk to each other. I was so thankful that time was made. I know Scott enjoyed getting to know his brother-in-law. We just love James!

2. Traditions. Every year my mom buys us all new pajamas, and every year we open one Christmas gift on Christmas Eve. Of course Mom chooses, and the one we open in our new pajamas. Scott has an issue with wearing any clothing before its washed, so Mom now actually washes and dries the pajamas before wrapping them. (I tell you, she spoils him!) Well, this year was no different, except not only did we get new pajamas, but each couple got a new game to play. We put the kids to bed, and spent the rest of the evening drinking wine and playing games. It was one of my favorite nights for sure.

1.Family and friends. We were able to see a lot of family and friends this trip. Emily loves to play with her friends Ryan and Issa, and we all loved getting to see some great friends in Fresno, and our friends from Colorado. Seeing our kids interact with their grandparents is always precious, and makes the time so tender. As much as I'm glad to be home, I always look forward to Christmas in California.

The Messy Times

I've started three different posts in the past two weeks, and none of them have made their way to publications. Hopefully this one will be different.

We've had a bit of a mess lately. Almost three weeks ago Scott and I came home on a Monday after work to find water dripping out of our circuit breaker box. Surely this is never a good thing to see. Scott did some investigation that included a crawl to the opposite end of the crawl space access door, and found there was a PVC pipe that was spraying water all over. An hour later, a plumber had come out a fixed the problem, but let us know there was a huge mess, and it had been spraying for a long time. At least a month or two.

Long story short, we had a mold mediation company come and rip out all of our flooring in the kitchen, including the sub floor. They took out and replaced a few floor joists, and cleaned up the remaining wood, painted it all down with a special miro-ban material, and installed a new sub floor. Our cabinets, appliances, and counter all had to be removed as well, leaving our kitchen (That we'd just remodeled 5/2010) looking like a construction zone.

After almost two weeks in a hotel, we're now back in our house. We have our cabinets installed again, with a temporary counter top and running water in our sink. Our flooring won't be done for another week or so, and our appliances are still sitting in our dining room, which leaves our dining room table in our living room, and all the boxes from the cabinets and pantry lining the walls downstairs.

But the entire thing hasn't been so bad. When we were in a hotel, our friend and neighbor who works at the Hilton in downtown Columbia gave us the presidential suite at a rate that was well within the insurance company's guidelines for reimbursement. Emily thought she was Eloise. We were so thankful. It was like a really bad situation turned in to something Emily won't ever forget.

And the first weekend we were out of the house, we decided that since we had to be out of house and eating out anyway, why not take a road trip and see the beautiful Tennessee smokey mountains? We made the most of it, and had a great time.

So right now, I sit in my overly-cluttered living room, watching the Gamecocks play some football. (They're winning right now, by the way.) I really have nothing to complain about. This too will pass. Chances are we will love our new kitchen and flooring downstairs much more than the floor we installed just a little over a year ago. Everybody is healthy, and nobody got sick because of the mold, thank goodness. We are back to sleeping in our own beds, and I'm planning on trying out a few new crock pot recipes next week.

When the "normal" of life gets interrupted by a mess, I realize just how lucky we are. We've had so many little "messes"- things that we didn't expect to happen, that just sort of rocked our lives for a moment... twins (more than one baby at a time, seriously?), Emily being in the NICU (we expected with twins, but surely didn't expect it from our first little girl) moving away just a few short months after Em was born, and other little messes that we've dealt with along the way. And the "messy time" will come again. I just hope that between now and then that I will remember to be thankful, and to not take the little things for granted.

Life with the Johnsons

Life has been really full lately, so as I've thought how to update the blog the only reasonable way I could come up with was a bulleted list of random happenings in our home. Things that are "on my mind" so to speak. And here we go!

- Today is Friday and I'm at home. That's because this morning when I dropped the twins off at Shari's, Elsie and I were going up the stairs and she fell on the stairs. After hours of watching the lump on her head, and having her extremely loose teeth checked and x-rayed by our wonderful pediatric dentist, she and Eli are now napping upstairs. This leaves me with a very hectic morning behind me, a current headache, and an unexpected peaceful afternoon. Glad the morning part was over. It was scary to say the lease.

-We have a new addition to the family. Emily Grace is the proud owner of Lucy Anna, a ten week old kitten. The kitten showed up one day, and never left. We've looked for owners, had her microchip-scanned, but nobody ever claimed her. Three weeks, and a $100 vet bill later, we've officially claimed her as our own. She's super sweet, let's the kids hold her, and has a motor on her that you can hear ten feet away. She lives outside, mostly on the side of the front porch. Emily plays with her every day. They have quickly become best friends.

- School. School is going very well. Besides my nervousness about the first time leaving them with a sub, with less than stellar sub plans today, I'm loving the group of lovelies that I spend my days with. There is so much personality, and as I get to know each of them, I just love them so much more. All groups I've had love me to read with them. But there's something different about this group. They don't just love me reading to them, they CRAVE it. We're reading a chapter book right now called Crash, and they BEG for me to read more throughout the day. So its becomes this transitional thing where I will give some instructions on what to do to prepare for whatever we're doing next, and they BEG me to read a chapter while they're doing it. Then they silently attend to whatever they need to do, and listen so intently, just pleased to hear one more chapter. Its awesome. And I love it.

- The House. With the start of school the housekeeping, laundry, cooking, and shopping are once again struggling. I love to be the domestic diva of my house. I love running a household that's spick and span, neat and orderly, cute and inviting. But this is hard for a working mom of three precious kids and one lovely husband. And somewhere I've come to this awful belief that if a house is clean, tidy, and inviting, then the lady who runs it is successful. And my definition of my success sometimes solely rides on whether or not my house is perfect. Ridiculous? Absolutely. I'm learning to working to remind myself that what really matters is the love that goes on in the house....not the dust bunnies that may or may not exist. This is a work in progress.
** It does help, however, that there was a groupon the other day for a cleaning service to come for five hours and clean your house (up to 2500 sq. ft.) for half price. I bought one, and I can't wait to use it!

- Scott and I are starting a small group in our home. A group from church will meet in our home after the second service for lunch and our Bible study time. With everything Scott has going on with his dissertation, I will be the one mainly facilitating the group, but he will co-lead it with me. We're really excited about it.

- Scott and I have been running. This week was sort of a bust with only a couple runs that got in, but for the most part we're keeping it up. We both run about three miles 3-4 times a week. Its like therapy for me. I've forgotten how much I believe in physical and mental health going hand in hand.

- And its beautiful too. My three mile run takes me to one stretch with no houses for about 1.5 miles. Its mostly woods on both sides of the road, but at the end of the road there is a corn field. One night last week, I was out for a run and seven deer darted out not ten feet in front of me. They'd come out of the corn field and I just about peed my pants I was so startled. Once I got over my initial surprise, I was just taken aback at the beauty of this great place we live. I continued on my run, and since it was about dusk, the fireflies were out. Just me running, in the woods, with God's beauty surrounding everything I could see. How awesome it is!

Well, I'm off to spend my relaxing time at home making dinner for my family. The temp has dropped almost 25 degrees over night, making our high just above seventy. I've decided to celebrate the coming of fall by opening every window in the house, and making a big beef stew loaded with fresh veggies. Dinner with the fam tonight should be a good one!

Last Week

Last week while Scott was here we decided to make a brief trip to Fresno to visit some dear friends of ours, Jean, Debbie, and Pat. Once we got to Fresno we went straight to their children's bookstore. Its probably the best kids bookstore I've ever seen. Think Shop Around the Corner from You've Got Mail...only much better. The store is entirely kid centered, and the boooks are thoughtfully selected. I love it. Of course everybody in our family found a book or two they coudln't leave without. I even found a fabulous book that I can't wait to share with my classroom that is apparenlty out of print. The store had one copy left, and since I found it before Scott, it gets to come home with me! Yeah!

After spending a wonderful afternoon swimming, cooking out, and talking with friends, we got up the next morning and set out to meet some other friends of ours, Steve and Lisa and their two cute kids Audrey and Joseph. We loaded up the cars (Steve and Scott in one, and Lisa and I in another) and set off for the Kings Canyon and Sequoiah National Parks to see the "big trees."


We had a fabulous time. Personally, I thought the car ride up was just as fun as anything. Catching up with friends is always good, and a car ride to the mountains was the perfect opportunity. I'm certain Scott felt the same way about his time with Steve.



Once we got there and had lunch, we began to take the hike to through Grants Grove. There were several giant sequoias on this path. The kids looked with awe... well mostly. Emily didn't really think the trees were all that big. She wasn't nearly as impressed as I thought she would be. She kept telling me there certainly were bigger trees some place else. Finally, after assuring her that no, these were the biggest, she seemed to understand the importance. Elsie seemed to be very impressed with the "Big Tees! Big Tees!"




Emily had a great time hanging with Joseph. If only we lived closer. I'm sure these two would enjoy hanging out more.







The kids all loved running up and down the path with each other. Every once in awhile Eli would get a little too far in front of the group. Elsie handled it though. She would run up to him and yell, "Eyi! Stop!" Then she would grab him by the shirt and walk him back to the group. Poor Eli. I have a feeling there will be more of this bossiness to come.
Scott and I decided to drive the long way through the Sequoia National Park to get to Visalia, and then hit the 99 back to Bakersfield. This was a great trip. We loved the beautiful mountains, the foreign travlers, and the clean crisp air. We stopped several times to see the sights, and just take in the view. This one is of Emily is looking down at the Kings Canyon Park behind her, and the Sequoiah Park is on the other side of her. Simply beautiful! There was a controlled burn going on while we were there, so I feel like it probably wasn't as clear as other days. But still, it was amazing.




On the back side to Visalia we got stuck in a traffic jam for over an hour. Apparenlty there was road work where construction crews demolished one of the lanes for a ten mile stretch. These roads are the curviest roads you can imagine, so taking out a lane on a two-lane windy road must be dangerous work. We sat and waited for the hour, and then when it was finally time for us to, we had a pilot car take us down the mountain on a one-way stretch that rivaled the show Ice Road Truckers.



Luckily for us, our fearless driver got us all home safe!


It was a tremendous trip! We are so thankful our kids could see the "giant trees" even if only Emily remembers. I hope that we can return soon when they are a bit older. Its truly amazing to see such old, strong, beauty.

Carmageddon

If anybody has ever flown in to LAX on the 405, you know about the horrific traffic that can plague a trip. LA is notorious for horrible traffic. The 5, the 405 the 10. Scott and I have been stuck in them all. Just a few years ago my parents and I took Emily to Disneyland (Scott didn't make it to CA that time) and we were stuck in traffic on I-5 for so long I thought my dad was going to turn the car around and cancel the trip all together. On the way home from Disney my mom and I were talking about how much fun we had, and recalling some of the things that were certain to be life-long memories. My dad could only mutter that none of that was worth the traffic that we had to endure to get there. Part of me agreed.

That is why I am dreading the trip from the airport to my parents house on Saturday morning. The 405 (one of the most traffic-plagued freeways I've ever seen) will be shut down for just over 50 hours in a section around Sepulveda Blvd. Our flight in to LA arrives just a few hours after the shut-down begins.

Time magazine has an article here that refers to this traffic mess as Carmageddon. Airlines have began offering "Carmageddon flights" from LAX to both Long Beach airport and the Burbank airport. These flights sold out in less than two hours.

Scott was looking around the web this morning and he even found there is a special app that I could download to my iPhone that would show the best ways to navigate in through carmameddon. I think we'll give it a try.

Both my mom and dad are coming in both of their cars to pick us up. We don't all fit in one car, especially not with our luggage. Surely this traffic mess will provide us with countless hours (I'm afraid this is no exagerration) of conversation with either my mom or dad. But since I remember my dad's aversion to traffic from the Disney trip, I think I'll claim the seat in mom's car.

The influential

When Emily was born we had a pediatrician in Clovis. He was supposed to be "the best of the best" and we felt fortunate that he would be our pediatrician. However, Emily had horrible spit-up issues. I mean, we packed the diaper bag with three extra outfits, and literally a half dozen burp clothes. No exaggeration. When I brought her for a two week well check up, I suspected she had reflux, and while the doctor complained about her lack of weight gain, he told me that reflux was "a laundry issue, not a medical issue." I will never forget that quote. His answer to the lack of weight gain was for me to immediately stop nursing and start her on a prescription high caloric formula. Thankfully I was able to muster all of the new mommy self-confidence I had (there wasn't much at this point) and tell him that I didn't agree. I think he literally rolled his eyes.

Since we were moving in only a few weeks, we looked forward to finding a new pediatrician here in Irmo. I did lots of research and found a pediatrician in the area that was supposed to be fabulous. Unfortunately, he was not accepting new patients, but would we like to make an appointment with his colleague? Sure. Its not like we had a lot of options.

From the moment Scott and I met our new pediatrician, we liked him. He immediately told us Em had reflux, as suspected by the spit up, but also because her poor little esophagus was worn raw. Stupid Clovis doctor! He wrote us a script for Prilosec, and while the improvement was gradual, it was there. I didn't have to stop nursing (an idea our new pediatrician was absurd) and our confidence as parents grew as Emily did too.

Since then there have been many, many trips to see our doctor. Emily once had an ear infection for weeks were she would literally scream for hours and multiple rounds of antibiotics didn't have any affect. She had tonsils the size of walnuts that caused her to snore louder than a drunk sailor. Those had to go. Surgery it was. Then the twins came along and brought their own share of hernia surgeries, potential blood autoimmune issues (this was Elsie, and while it took three weeks for the results to show "normal" levels, in the end it turned out just fine) and multiple seasonal allergy issues. With our climate and humidity Emily can get a staff infection from a bug bite, and Eli breaks out in an eczema rash if he merely looks at a tomato. They're not unhealthy kids by any means, but we've made lots of trips to see the doctor. Many times I was in tears and feared that I could be leaving with a prescription for drugs or even a referral to a mental health specialist. But our pediatrician never fails to offer comfort and assurance to Scott and I as well. He never makes me feel ignorant, or like a hypochondriac. He has young kids himself, and I believe him when he tells me that Scott and I are doing a great job.

But most importantly, he knows and loves our kids. Emily thinks he hung the moon and can fix anything. After the earthquake in Haiti, our doc went there to help offer his services for anybody who needed them. I brought Emily in for a well check up shortly after his return, and when she told him, "I prayed for you every day while
you were in Haiti" he got teary and hugged her so tight. After the "big wave" hit Japan, Emily wrote a letter telling him to go to "where the big wave was" to help all the people. She just knew he could help all those people in Joplin, MO.

When I brought Eli in yesterday for potential pink eye and allergy issues, our doc told us that he had been back to Haiti several times, and he actually partnered with a few others to open an orphanage in Haiti. He gave me the website to share with Emily so she would see their faces, and pray for them by name. He and I talked about how important it was to help our children know about the world that exists outside of Irmo/Lexington. We talked about a missional perspective of the world. I left so thankful that Emily has this wonderful person as her doctor. To not only help her with her ailments, but also to share how he's using his gifts to bless those near and far. What an amazing example.

Then I started thinking about Em's Kindergarten teacher. She just returned from Honduras with her church. I've showed Emily several of the pictures from FB of her beloved teacher on this mission trip. Emily beamed. She was proud to know her very own teacher was a missionary! Emily's class had learned all about water last year, and took action to raise money to construct a well in a school in Nicaragua. This left Emily with a beginning understanding of how life was different for children in other countries.

And then there's our own church. Several students and leaders are taking a team back to Belize. There have already been teams there to help construct a church building and to build a bridge where the only way across the gorge was the old bridge that had been destroyed in a storm. All these things have been shared with Emily in her class at church.

All of these people and experiences in her life have helped develop a missional understanding in Emily. This morning she was talking to me about how we had given up cable for the year that I was a stay at home mom. We'd been clear with Emily as to why we made this choice, and she understood that cable was a bill that we had to pay monthly. We went an entire year with no T.V. but now not only do we have cable but we also have Netflix. Emily asked me how much the cable bill cost. I told her and she walked away. Later this morning she asked me if we could donate to the orphanage if we turned off the cable. I was blown away. I think this will be a decision that she will eventually change her mind about. I told her we needed to talk with Daddy about this decision, and that we would probably need to wait until we got back from our trip to California. But that if she wanted to give up cable, that would be an excellent way to help support the Haiti orphanage. Emily beamed.

This morning my heart is swollen. Our Emily is so precious. I'm so thankful for the people in her life that show her what it means to serve God by serving others.

The Deer

On Monday before our Fourth of July festivities began, Scott and Emily decided to go on a nature walk. The twins were napping, and it was one of those rare times when I decided to take a nap too. I was exhausted!

Scott and Emily walked out the door just before I went to sleep. I woke up over an hour later and they weren't home. I waited another hour, and they still didn't show up. My mom called, and I was on the phone with her voicing my concern and asking how long until I contact Search and Rescue when Emily bardged in to the house.

"Mom! Quick! There's an emergency! Mom! You have to come quick!

Oh no. My first thoughts were that something had happened to Scott, which made me heart drop to my toes. I quickly realized that he was coming up the stairs right behind her. Once I saw that he was fine, I had no clue what this emergency may be.

Apparently, they walked over four miles. Scott said they talked about all sorts of things while exploring nature. They followed a turtle to see where he was going. They saw all sorts of birds. They looked at all sorts of trees and vines.

And then when they were making their way back to the house, they saw a deer that had\ obviously been struck by a car. The deer was laying in a ditch on the side of the road. It could hardly be seen until they walked right up to it. It was in a lot of pain, and panting hard. They had no idea how long it had been out there.

So this was the emergency. And to Emily, it was a huge emergency.

A few years ago, my class read a series of books about expansion (think urban sprawl) and we ended up deciding to collect materials for a wildlife group here in Columbia. I remembered this group, and how they cared for hurt animals, or animals who had been displaced by construction. I called only to find out that they were closed (it WAS Independence day!) and that they referred all injured deer calls to the Department of Natural Resources.

So I called the Dept. of Natural Resoources and put in notice about the injured deer. We were told that since it was hard to see from the road, that it would help if we could wait by the deer until an officer showed up. We loaded the mini-van, and were off.

When Emily and Scott showed me the deer, they noted that it had rolled over, exposing its very broken bone-exposed legs. The poor deer! Emily was so concerned.

It wasn't until the two sherriff deputy cruisers rolled up that Scott and I fully understood what the phone dispatcher that I talked to meant when she said "officer." All of the sudden Scott and I had the realization of what was to happen next. Our head snapped towards each other as our eyes told us we were both thinking the same thing. Deputies have guns. I don't exactly know what Scott was execting, but I guess I was expecting some sort of DNR "officer" to come with an animal truck, where the deer would be loaded up and taken away to be cared for. This is absolutely ridiculous, as we live in a state with an overpolulation of deer to the point where they frequently open deer season to include doe. Why would this one deer be one they would want to save? While the deputies parked, I quickly realized I hadn't thought this all the way through.

We walked away from the deer to talk with the officers. They were totally nice and understanding about not wanting to leave an animal in such severe pain, which made me feel better about the thoughts I was having about wasting their time on a probably very busy holiday weekend.

We walked back across the street to show them the deer, all the while waiting for an opportunity to ask the deputies if they could wait before bringing out their guns so we could promptly drive away so Emily wouldn't have to see.

But as we showed them the deer, we instantly noted that it must have just died. The heavy breathing was gone, and it wasn't moving. Its eyes distant, not jerking around like before.

*deep sigh*

Emily wasn't going to have to witness the Bambi being shot by the deputies. I have to admit that I have never been so excited for a deer to die.

On the way back home, Scott told Emily that she was a person of action, and that she decided to do something when she saw something was wrong. He explained that the deer had probably been passed up by dozens of people, not to mention the car who must have hit it. I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw her beaming in the back seat. I loved that they take their nature walks together. I loved seeing the pride on her face when Scott noticed her responsibility and action. I also loved that we didn't see a deer get shot.

Thanks deer. I'm pretty sure this is one of those instances that Em won't ever forget.

Post Vegas

I would have posted earlier, but I am still in recovery mode.

Where to begin.


First of all, I flew in Friday morning and met my sister and her friends at the airport. I arrived at the airport before Mindy, so it was one of those rare post-911 moments when I was actually able to wait for her at her gate when she got off the plane. We were super excited to see each other!

We took a hummer limo (as seen below) to the hotel, where we promptly put on our swim suits and went to the pool.


Now you may think, "Hotel pool. That's not too outrageous. That seems relatively calm."
But you'd be wrong.

It turns out, D.J. Pauly D from the Jersey Shore was there to spin some music. He was supposed to be there at noon, and didn't show up until three. But that didn't deter the almost four thousand people from paying an outrageous $50 cover to get in and wait for him. Luckily, as hotel guests, we didn't have to pay to get in. Which was good since we literally couldn't find a place to put our things. The entire place was packed like I've never seen. I friend of mine commented on facebook that it looked like I was in the scene of MTV's Spring Break. Yep. Felt like it too.


Then in the evening we got ready to go out to a club. I put on my tall gold heels and was ready to go. We stayed out super late, and had a great time.





The next day we went back to the pool, which was wasn't nearly as busy as the day before. But I still found it weird that I was I.D.'ed at the door when it was only 9 a.m. Apparently beer and alcohol is served at the pool from the moment it opens in the morning, to when it closes in the evening.


After a day at the pool, we went back for a brief nap, and then started getting ready for dinner. We walked through some gorgeous hotels before finding a spot for dinner. Then we went to a wonderful show.

That's right. We say Thunder from Down Under. I don't really have anything else to say about that. Google it if you wish.

After the "show" we went to a series of clubs that were within out own hotel. One of these clubs was having Shaq's retirement party. At about 2 in the morning, I finally gave up and walked back to our room by myself. I was having a great time, but 2 in the morning was about all I could handle. I was exhausted.

The following morning we spent some time in the hotel spa. The hot tub and steam room was just what my tired legs and feet needed after two super-late nights in heels.

After an afternoon spent walking through more hotels and seeing some beautiful shopping, we made our way back to the airport to fly home.

I had a wonderful time with my sister. Mindy was absolutely gorgeous, and I the entire trip made me even more excited to see this beautiful sister of mine marry the man she loves. I've never been happier for her! Here are some of my favorite Mindy pictures from the weekend!

If the Shoe Fits...

On Friday I'm flying to Vegas. Yep. Me. In Vegas.

My little sister is getting married in August, and her bachlorette party starts Friday in Vegas. Friday is my birthday. This is terrific because Scott and I got married on my sister's birthday. Yes, it is possible to narrow down every Saturday in an entire season and arrive at only one possible date that just happens to be your little sister's birthday. She was cool with it, but made us promise that we could get married on her birthday only if we shared our first anniversary with her on her twenty-first birthday, which of course, we did.

So now her bachlorette party is on my birthday.

My sister and I are not alike at all, but we're super close. Many qualities that I love about her are those I wished I possessed myself. However, with those differences comes this Vegas trip. My sister will probably rock the Vegas. Me... well, not so much. When I got the itinerary of weekend events, I just about fell out of my chair. Let's just say there will be lots of... "clubbing." Me. In a club. (Its okay if you giggle, I giggle nervously just thinking about it.)

I don't want to be totally out of place in this Vegas scene, I mean my little sister has ten other friends coming, and as the risk of sounding like a high schooler, I want to fit-in at least somewhat. And I didn't think my typical Loft sundress and fake pearls would do the trick. So Scott and I went to the mall and I got some "appropriate attire" that I'm sure I will never ever wear again.

Today I returned to the mall to get a pair of shoes and a couple pairs of earrings to go with my new "Vegas outfits." My friend Amber went with me, and I told her that I was thinking about getting some gold flats, like some gold hercules sandals. Maybe something like this:



Amber just sort of looked at me, and asked if I had talked to Mindy about this. I told her that I'm sure Mindy would agree. Amber insisted that I call Mindy right then and there and ask her opinion.

Fine.

I called Mindy, and the conversation went sort of like this:
Me: Hey Min. I'm looking at shoes for Vegas, and I'm thinking about some gold hercules sandals. That's fine, right?

Mindy: Wha??? Flats? In Vegas? I don't think they even let you in the club with FLATS?!? No Malisa, no way... (laughs and giggles in the phone at her big sister's ignorance of "appropriate Vegas club attire")

At this point, Amber asks to talk to Mindy. I hand her the phone, and this is what I hear:

Amber: Hey Mindy, its Amber.
(silence)
Amber: Yeah I know, (rolls her eyes playfully at me) Uh huh... I know! That's what I told her..... Yep.... (laughter) yeah, I will... no problem... bye!

I get the phone back from Amber.

Mindy: Boy I'm I glad that Amber went with you shopping today. YOU should be glad too! Flats in Vegas! Hahahahahaha!

The phone call ends.

So, Amber and I spent the next hour and a half looking for appropriate foot attire. And these are similar to "wonderful appropriate club foot attire" that we found.



If a single pair of shoes could symbolize the difference between my sister and I, these shoes do it. Pray for me. I don't want another broken leg. I hope my sister appreciates all the sacrifices I'm making for her. :)

Waste

One of our favorite restaurants to go to for lunch after church used to be Chipotle. When we lived in Fresno we would go frequently with the Portelas. Obviously we missed this restaurant when we moved to SC, so we were thrilled when one of our favorites opened on Harbison Blvd.

We've been several times, however I've noticed a trend that I don't care for. Every time I wait in line to get my food I watch as the people in front of me give their order, and when things don't look just right, the food is thrown away and the server starts over.

Last time we went, the waste was extraordinary. First of all, the lady in front of me asked for three steak tacos. Apparently the server thought she meant three orders of steak tacos. There are three tacos in an order, so the server began steaming tortillas for nine total. The customer quickly realized the miscommunication and explained it to the server, who promptly threw the extra six tortillas in the garbage. Then the customer asked for one with rice and beans. The server thought she meant one with beans, and another with rice, but no. The customer wanted one with rice AND beans, and the others with none. This resulted in adding beans to the one with rice, and throwing yet another tortilla (this one with steak too) in the garbage.

Then we began our order. My mother in law said that she wanted black beans, the server added pinto. Another burrito in the trash. I asked for two burrito bowls. The server steamed two tortillas, and then upon realizing her own mistake, threw both tortillas in the trash.

But the real clincher was with the kids' orders. I ordered quesadillas for the kids, with Emily's being a full kid's meal, complete with a side of both rice and beans. I watched as the server wasn't pleased with cheese the oozed out of the foil during the heating process (she threw these away) and then when adding the rice and beans to the kids plate, she didn't like the way the beans overflowed in to the next compartment of the disposable tray, so she threw the entire thing away and started again.

Now I realize that in the restaurant business you give the customer what they want and yearn for complete satisfaction and yada yada yada. But really? I was shocked at the waste.

Scott's class went on this awesome trip to a camp north of here. There are many things that he shared he loved about this camp, but one of the big things was the kids are taught not to waste anything. The camp emphasizes making meals without waste and the kids are expected to take only what they will eat, and the group strives to complete a meal without waste.

I could only wonder what these kids would have said in this situation. I wish I could have known what an appropriate thing would be to say, however I sat their silent. Bummer.

Reading

Every once in awhile Scott and I will find ourselves looking for something to do after dinner is over and the dishes are put away. Many times we find ourselves going to Rita's for italian ice, and then to Barnes and Noble. For some reason, this happened many Friday nights in a row. A few of those times I had a gift card to spend.

Spending money at Barnes and Noble has never been an issue for me. However, I always find myself in a quandary. I will walk straight to the kids section, and begin perusing through the newest children's literature. But then I wander over to the newly expanded "young adult" section and find several titles there too. Eventually I remember that I AM an adult, so maybe I should check out the best sellers shelf, or find one of those titles my friends have mentioned were great.

So which books do I get? Almost all of the time, I go for the children's lit or young adult. I guess there is something so wonderful about sharing a great book with somebody that makes it that much better. Some favorites I enjoyed talking with kids about this year were The Hunger Games Trilogy (I also loved talking about this books with several friends of mine who also loved this book), The Evolution of Calpernia Tate, The Underneath, and A Long Walk To Water. (Though I think I'm missing some...)

This summer started out with my reading through so many things. I re-read Crazy Love. And then I sped through the latest Nicholas Sparks book. But then I started reading what just may be the best book I've read in years. I just finished it today, and I think Scott is thrilled because he's been claiming neglect for the past couple of days.


The Help is an amazing book that looks in to the relationship between female black maids an their female white bosses. Its brilliant in every way. It was one of those books that I had to make myself put down. Several times I just couldn't, like the time this week that I stayed up until 2 a.m. reading. Then when I did put it down to MAKE myself do housework, I couldn't stop thinking about not only the characters in the book, but the lives of those who lived in Mississippi in the 1960's... both black and white. I've always thought that the best books were those that continue to make me think and question long after I finish the last page. This certainly meets that requirement.

The movie comes out in August, and while I'm certain it will not be as good as the book, I've already told Scott I want to see it. Here's a trailer:

Summertime

Every summer I have a lot of things I want to get done. Of course, not everything gets completed before the summer ends, but I do accomplish many of my goals. This summer is no different.

I was thinking this evening about everything I wanted to "get to" this summer. Things like learning how to pickle cucumbers, reading certain professional development books, and cleaning out my closet (I still have my Y2K millennium dance party in there from college!)

Emily was sitting beside me as I went through this mental list. So I started talking with her about things she wanted to do this summer. At first she told me about going to VBS, visiting family, and going to the beach. But when I started telling her about the things I wanted to learn this summer, she immediately responded with what she wants to learn. She said she wants to learn how to tie her own shoes (Boy do I hope she's successful with that one!) in addition to learning how to whistle and snap her fingers. She also said that she really wants to lose a tooth.

Whistling, tying shoes, snapping her fingers, and losing teeth. In my mind, these are all rights of passage that come with growing up. Then it occurred to me: She wants to grow up!

I don't know I how I feel about this. On one hand, I remember so many things that signified growing up when I was little. Not things that many of us share like learning to drive a car or staying home by myself for the first time, but specific things that signified "growing up" for me. Things like the "Moving Up" song at RBG. (Talk about building school community!) and getting to go off the high dive at the pool. Others I thought about were not going to children's church during the service, but actually having to sit through the whole sermon. Or getting to ride my bike on the other side of Kranenburg Ave. without my parents watching me cross Nord Rd. Thinking about this made me wonder what specifics will enter Emily's mind as a symbol of growing up. I can't wait to see what those things will be for her.

But on the other hand, I can't believe my little girl wants to GROW UP! How can this happen? I'm frequently reminded how fast time goes, and with each passing month that my twins are not just two, but two and a few months now, I just can't help but wonder how this can be possible. And to think Em will be in the first grade next year makes me second-guess myself and think maybe I miscalculated somehow.

Somebody once explained to me that the older we get, the more years we have in our memory. So each year becomes a smaller percentage of our entirety. For example, for a 6 year old, one year is only 1/6 of their life, or 17% of their life so far. Whereas my birthday next week makes me 31. Making my past year only 3% of my entire life. Doesn't that automatically make a year seem to go by faster and faster?

Maybe this is the reality that I face as I get older. Perception is everything I guess. And it seems to me that my Emily has grown way too fast, and it doesn't seem to be slowing down any time soon. I guess the only thing to do is hold on tight.

Things you may not know about Scott Johnson...

Scott and I have some friends who marvel at the many new things they learn the more they hang with Scott. A similar comment was made to me by a neighbor this afternoon, and yet again a few days ago. I started to think about it, and decided this was worthy of a blog post. I'd be curious to know which things shocked/humored/horrified you the most...

1. Scott was originally a music major before he changed majors to education. He marched in the Rose Parade carrying his tuba three years in a row.

2. There is a large tattoo on his upper right arm.

3. When he was (much) younger, he got in trouble with the cops more than once. One specific instance was when he and his brother were throwing hot tar off the top of a building down on to the cars below.

4. He spent a month backpacking across Europe

5. He's had seven different surgeries

6. He accepted Christ on March 26, 1992 when he was 19.

7. He once lived with a friend's grandmother. She spoke no English, so he learned quickly. I still love to hear the way he orders at a Mexican restaurant.

8. Scott listens to crazy rap, heavy metal, and various other genres of music. (all but country, which he swears gives him headaches.) His favorite group is Rush, but he's also a big fan of Ozzie Osborne.

9. He was once a state ranked tennis player

10. In high school he had long blonde hair and wore a long dangly skull earring.

11. In high school he had a teacher tell him that he would never make it in college. His teacher also told him that she hated him.

12. While living in southern California he would ride his bike from the city of Santa Fe Springs all the way to Seal Beach every day.

13. His wife loves him! But I'm sure you already knew that!

Painting

The twins love to color with Emily at the table. So the other day I decided to get out some water colors and let them try it out. Elsie took things very seriously, and sat for over thirty minutes with the paints and her masterpiece. Emily has always loved to paint, so Elsie just sort of watched her and caught on to dipping the brush in the water and then the paint. Eli caught on to one thing: Dumping the cup of water upside-down. We had a short few minutes while I took pictures when things were relatively calm with all three, but shortly afterward, Eli had to be removed from the table. He's such a boy!