Celebrating 30.

Saturday night I got to celebrate my 30th birthday with some dear friends. We went to Mi Pequena Hacienda for dinner. I love Mexican food. I have probably celebrated more birthdays with Mexican food than without! what a fun night! Thanks ladies for celebrating 30 with me! My mom was there too... she just couldn't hobble over for the picture due to her broken foot. love her. Mexican food and my dear friends... perfect celebration.

Suzy Snowflake

Last Wednesday, the parents got to come in and watch the girls perform their dance for the Christmas Recital. This year Emma is dancing to Suzy Snowflake by Rosemary Clooney. This is by far my favorite song and costume she has had... it is quite adorable. Here is a video of about half her dance.

Also, last week as she was prancing into class, she turned around and starting to walk back towards me... this is unusual for her... she usually walks right in. She told me she forgot something and then she gave me a hug and told me she loved me. made my day. love that girl.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!! From the Johns family!!





What a fun night we had. We went over to Yaya and Grandpa's house before trick or treat and had Grilled Cheese and Chili... that has kind of become a bit of a Halloween tradition. It is wonderful living so close to my parents now.



















Shelby, Dawn and Clay met us for trick or treating all around Lone Oak. We went most the of the night. Emma and Luke just love trick or treating... by the end of the night Emma was running in her mermaid tale... cute girl.


At the end of the night, the kids sat on Yaya and Grandpa's front porch and gave out candy to the last few trick or treaters while Yaya made everyone some hot chocolate. It was a really fun night.

30.

So yesterday was my 30th birthday! :) Exciting. 30 really was no big deal to me. My day started off with Luke, Emma and Andy bringing me breakfast in bed and singing happy birthday to me! It was wonderful. A great way to start my day... seeing their sweet faces! loved it.

I didn't feel very good most of the day, so that was a bummer, because it was an absolutely gorgeous Fall day. I started to feel better towards the evening. Luke played in a 4 v 4 soccer tournament so the evening was spent at the soccer field. Luke really loved the "street soccer." It was really wonderful to watch him play and get so excited about it. I tried taking some pictures, but Emma had the camera most of the evening, so the pictures aren't the greatest!! haha.

After the soccer tournament we headed to Fiesta Mexico for my birthday dinner. It was wonderful. Have I mentioned I LOVE mexican food?!? :)

I am looking forward to celebrating my bday again this weekend with some of my sweet sweet friends and family on Saturday for more Mexican food.

30 is not so bad.

Emma's Wii Boxing

Emma is quite the Wii boxer. It amazes me how quickly she knocks people out and I think her skill level in around 600 now... impressive. She is certainly better at it than I am. I love how her boxing is more like dancing. She's a cute girl. :)

Busy Bees!!

We have been SO busy lately!! And I am totally slacking on keeping up with the blog. I have sat down to blog about things so many times and haven't had the time to do it. Andy and Luke are keeping busy with soccer about 3 days a week. Emma is still doing dance and just last week she learned her routine for the Christmas recital (Christmas?!? already... but yes it will be here before we know it!). She is dancing to the song Suzy Snowflake. It is so cute. She showed us some of the routine (what she could remember anyways) when she got home from dance last week. :) Andy is staying busy with his new position at work, as well as being a soccer coach and a DTS leader. love him. As for me, I am still watching my friend's little girl about one day a week, and trying to volunteer at Luke's school as often as possible. I have also started selling Zija. I never really intended to sell it, but I started using it and LOVE it. It is cheaper to be a distributor... so I am selling it. That is a whole other story and I need to write "my zija story" soon. I've lost 16 pounds and been migraine free as well as feeling and sleeping better than I have in a long long time. I am completely sold and I have done EXTENSIVE research on it. I am a bit of a research nerd. If you are interested google "Zija" and/or "moringa oleifera".... good good stuff. Like I said I need to write a whole other blog about it... soon... when I have time... right?!?

We are getting ready for our Fall Breack road trip which will start on Saturday. We have lots of wonderful little trips planned. We are going to see Mary and Josh and also Emma's Godmother, Sister Marie Therese. No beach this trip... which is a little sad to me, but we are planning on a big family beach trip at Spring Break in April. It will be a good little getaway for us. I know I am really looking forward to it. Now... I just have to get everyone packed and ready.

Well I guess that's kind of an update on the Johns family... not too exciting... but thought I needed to update the blog.

Andy is 30!!

Happy 30th Birthday to my wonderful and amazing husband. We've spent our teens together, our twenties together and I can't wait to spend our thirties and beyond together!!

For his birthday we went to eat at the Cracker Barrel which is one of his faves. Then we took the kids to see The Lion King in 3D. KInda funny that we went to see a movie from our childhood on Andy's 30th birthday. The kids loved it and we did too. It was a great night out with our family.

Happy 30th to the love of my life!! :)

success

Sometimes as a stay at home mom it is hard to consider yourself a "success." And often times others look down on you for your choice to stay home with your children. Society does not consider us moms "successful." We don't have power, and we certainly don't have money... so we aren't successful... right?!?

I used to struggle with the questions people would ask like, "What do you do all day?" and comments like, "Well anyone could do that job." It would eat me up. I was too concerned with what others thought about me and my "job" rather than focusing on all the love I was giving to my children. I am not exactly sure when I stopped worrying about what other people defined as "success," but I am pretty sure it wasn't until after I had Emma. I love what I do. I love spending every possible moment with my children. I love my job. I can truly think of nothing more rewarding than my job. I am so blessed and thankful to be able to stay at home with my babies... though they really aren't babies anymore.

Anyways... Deacon Frank shared a poem at church a while back and I really loved it and wanted to share it.

“Success”
Inaccurately attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.

So go out there and be successful in whatever you do!

9-11

10 years have passed since September 11, 2001.... that is still so hard for me to believe. That day still forever be etched in my memory. I even remember what I had on that day. I was in my sophomore year at UK. It was a beautiful Tuesday morning. I got up and went to my 8AM SOC 342 class with my strange professor. After class I walked with Ali back to her dorm and then I headed to my car which was parked in K-Lot. Everything seemed normal. Students were rushing to class. I got in my car and started to drive to Stein Mart because I was scheduled to work 10-6 that day. I got into my car about 9:30ish and headed down Alumni towards New Circle. I turned on the radio and it was not my usual morning show... it was a news broadcast. I figured my tuner had been switched to AM, but it hadn't. I remember hearing something about the World Trade Center, but at this point I still didn't understand what was going on.

I was stopped at the stoplight at Alumni and New Circle. Then I heard something on the radio about a plane hitting the Pentagon. I was confused. The light turned green. No cars moved. We were all frozen listening to our radios... trying to make sense of what was happening. After a few seconds, which in the moment seemed much longer... we drove. I pulled in the parking lot of Stein Mart. I was still confused. What was going on?

I walked in the store and headed to the back. Everyone was crowded around the TV in the break room. My manager was crying. It was then I realized what exactly had happened. I shed a few tears. Then I watched as the first tower collapsed. We were all crying at this point.

I had to go up and open the store at this point it was after 10AM. I remember opening my register. I called Andy, then I called my parents and then I called my roommates. I didn't want to be at work. I wanted to be at home with family and friends. I wanted to be watching the news. I wanted to know what was going on. I wanted everything to make sense.

No one shopped that day. Possibly my slowest day at Stein Mart ever. Those who did come in wanted to talk about it. My manager sent me home early. thanks. I went back to the apartment where my friends were all hanging out together. We all watched the coverage together and then we celebrated Molly's 20th birthday. It was so good to be surrounded by friends on this day.

I remember watching the news the next few weeks, the stories of survival, the heroes of flight 93, the firefighters who were risking their lives. Somehow these stories seemed to make things better... to see people loving one another.

I still don't exactly understand what happened that day or why it happened. I do know that it forever changed our country. It is a day I will never forget and a day I will soon share more about to my children.

God Bless our country and God Bless all the service men and women who defend it each day. We are blessed to live here.

My husband is amazing!

Go ahead and puke if you want... but really my husband is amazing and I feel so blessed to have him! :)

Last night was Bunco night. My sister and my friend Dawn needed babysitters for their children and my husband kindly volunteered to watch ALL of them... and our two kids. 5 kids all under six after a long day at work. We played with them, wrestled with them and then at the end of the night we got them all bathed, showered and ready for bed.... without us asking him to do so. Isn't he great? All this without ANY complaining. I love this man.

He even took a picture of the kiddos all ready for bed in a tent he made for them. love him.

Time with Em!

Luke has been in school for two and a half weeks now. The first few days I think Emma really missed him. Although I am sure she would never admit that. :) Emma and I have gotten to spend a lot of quality time together. She loves it and so do I. We have been working on learning shapes. We've used play dough to make shapes, we've read books about shapes and we've practiced drawing squares, circles and triangles. She is really good at those circles. :) At lunch one day we were eating macaroni and cheese and Emma said, "Look mom! I am eating crescents. " Then the next day she said, "Look! It's a circle moon! I like the macaroni moon better." :) cute girl. She is really getting it.

We have also been working on counting. Pointing at one object and counting it. She is getting much better at this and she is counting to 50. We've also been doing a few crafts as well. We are having lots of fun together.

In the afternoons we've been going up to the pool. Emma has become quite the little swimmer. She is swimming about 10-12 meters without her swimmies. She is even jumping off the diving board without them as well. I love this time we get to spend together at the pool. I think she loves the water as much as I do.

Here are a couple videos of her swimming and of her jumping in. I still need to get her jumping off the board. I am usually in the deep end with her when she jumps off the board, so I will have to have Andy there to help video that. :)

We really enjoy our days together, but we love heading over to RDES to pick up Luke in the afternoons too. We do miss him!

Random Goings On

All the sudden life is SUPER busy. Seems like we have something on the calendar for every day. Soccer practices, games, dance classes, PTO meetings, birthdays, anniveraries, The Fall Festival. The start of the school year is going to be super busy for us. I was very hesitant to let go of our lazy summer days at the pool, but now that we are in somewhat of a "routine" it's not so bad. I actually love it! :) I love how excited Emma is to start back to dance and I love watching Luke and Andy leave for soccer together... such a bonding experience for them! :)

Yesterday was the closing on the Breenie Circle house. Sunday afternoon we went and walked through the house one last time. It really was a great first home. It wasn't as sad as I thought it was going to be. I think it really helped that we are so settled and happy where we are now. I do still miss my neighbors dearly, but I am keeping in touch with them and plan to continue to do so. When we met the new people moving in to our house, it was so strange to think they where going to be living in our house. I am not sure how they will fit in with the neighbors, but I hope they do. I think it will really hit me when I go to Breenie and someone else in my house.

Anyways... just some ramblings of the business going on around here. :)


Here's a new song that I love and thought I would share!

Fall Shopping Savings!

So Luke basically needs a whole new Fall wardrobe. It is still summer and warm outside, but I am always thinking ahead about shopping for the kiddos. Gymboree is having a really great back to school sale right now. If you have kids you should check it out. So I did some online shopping and put everything into my shopping cart. Then I decided to hunt for a online coupon code... seems like you can ALWAYS find a Gymbo coupon. I tried facebook and a couple of friends lead me to a great deal on groupon for Gymboree Play and Music.... here it is if you want that.

http://www.groupon.com/deals/gymboree-national-lexington-ky?c=dnb&p=1

Then a twitter friend lead me to a one time only 20% off coupon that saved me $54!! Thanks!!

So, after all the sales and the 20% off I got Mr. Luke:
- A pair of jeans
- a fall jacket
- 2 hooded sweatshirts
- 6 long sleeve tees
- 3 button ups
- 1 puffer vest
- 1 pair of khakis
- Khaki cargoes
- a Rugby shirt

ALL for $224. I thought this was pretty great! AND I got $100 back in Gymbucks to use for next time. Before sales and coupons, my total would've been $438! I'm proud and my little boy has LOTS of super cute new outfits for Fall! :)

Two of Luke's new outfits:


Have I mentioned I love online shopping... especially for kids clothes!! :)

Thanks!

Dear God-

Thanks again for giving us this beautiful home. You truly have blessed us. The past two weekends we have shared our home with family, friends, and the youth group. I am just sure this is all part of your plan. I hope we continue to do your will with our new home. Thanks also for sharing this Bible verse with me multiple times in the past few days:

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Things are making sense. It is all part of your plan.

Thanks again,
Your faithful servant,

I love my sweet boy.

On the first day of school, I used the car lane to pick Luke up. I wanted him to get used to this because I will have Emma in the car and some days I will have Madison as well, so it was going to be much more convenient. Having to get out of the car with both girls to walk in and get him would be less convenient. So the first day we did it, but he didn't like it. As I was walking him in on day 2, he asked me if I would come in and get him instead of the car lane. I reluctantly said I would.

So yesterday afternoon, I got to school, parked, walked into the gym and waited for the kids to be dismissed. Then Luke came into the gym looking all around for me. When his eyes caught mine he got the biggest smile. He was so happy I'd come in to get him. He walked over to me, grabbed my hand and we left.

As we walked out of school, holding hands, I treasured that little moment, knowing there will come a day (very soon) when he won't want me to walk in and get him and he certainly won't want to hold my hand. So, as inconvenient as it may be, I will continue to walk in and get him each day because it means so much to him and really it does to me as well. I love that sweet, sweet boy. :)

1st Day of 1st grade!

Yesterday was Luke's first day of first grade at Rosenewald-Dunbar. I am so excited he gets to go to school where Yaya used to teach and where I went to fifth grade. Some of the staff is still there that was there when I was in school. I have so many memories in that school. Some of my very best friends (that I am still friends with now) where made in that building. I hope Luke makes lasting friendships there as well.

Luke was really nervous and excited for first grade. He was nervous because he didn't know anyone in his class, but also very excited because he loved kindergarten. He also wanted me to take him this year. So we got to school much earlier than we needed to. We waited in the car a while and then we walked in. I could tell he was still nervous. We walked him in to the gym where all the students must remain until school starts. He sat down with the other first graders and then told us we could leave.

When I went to pick him up he looked like he'd had a wonderful day. He told me that he loved school and that his teacher was really nice. He also named a few friends that he'd met... Charlie from Garden Gate and Hampton who lives in our neighborhood. He loved first grade. :)

Sending Luke to RDES for first grade was much easier that sending him to kindergarten. I just teared up a little as opposed to the "ugly cry" I had on the first day of kindergarten. I do miss him LOTS during the day, but I know he is having a wonderful time in first grade. :)

My Little swimmers!

My kiddos are becoming quite the little swimmers. Luke is swimming freestyle all the way across the pool... 25 meters. It isn't the prettiest, and he still needs to work on breathing to the side, but that is a very hard comcept that many adults can't even do! He is doing awesome. I'm so proud. :) He is also swimming backstroke. He can't quite go half the length backstroke yet, but if we could straighten it out he probably could. He is doing so well!! What is so amazing is how far he can swim without taking a breath. He probably swim 10 meters under water without breathing... that's really long for a kids his age. I am so impressed with him. I think he will for sure be ready for swim team next year... if he wants. :) He is also going off the diving board.... that took some pressure from his little sister. Once he saw her going off ALL BY HERSELF, he decided he had better do it as well. And he did and he now loves it. We went up to the pool just yesterday and the kids spend an hour just going off the diving board over and over and over again. I loved watching them!

Here is Luke going off the board and his friend Shelby about jumping on top of him.



Emma is also doing quite well. She has a really great kick and she is dog paddling as well. If I could just get her to take her swimmies off, I think she would be dogpaddling enough to keep head above the water. She LOVES swimming. She is sticking her head in the water and paddling around. So cute. She also swims her own version of butterfly with her swimmies on. Cute. She is going off the diving board all by herself and swimming to the side. She loves it and I love watching her!

Here's Miss Emma jumping off the board.



I hate that Luke goes back to school in 2 weeks... crazy!! I feel like summer just started. I will miss our pool time and watching my little swimmers.

These kids are cute!

The kids love to use our dining room as a stage, because you have to step up into it from the living room. This is a video of them dancing on their "stage." I love Miss Emma's moves... she is a sass for sure. She even takes a tumble, but keeps going. I love how Reagan just keeps jumping around through the whole thing. so cute. And if you listen closely you can hear Luke singing. He loves this song. Just thought I would share. These kids are fun! and super cute.

One month later

One month later and Miss Emma's ear is basically all healed up with NO scarring!! Thank you again Dr. Ogden. It is still a little red, but mostly all better. She still calls it her "bad ear." Luke though is still missing his two front teeth. He had a dentist appointment last week and she said those can take months to come in. So Emma's ear may be all healed up, but I am going to have a toothless little boy for a bit longer. :)

Emma's ear before


After

Mini Vacay!

Not this past weekend, but the weekend before the kids and I went on a little vacation with my parents, my sister and the her kids. We went to Opryland Hotel for two nights in Nashville and then we stayed in Bowling Green with my Aunt Gayle and Uncle Mike. It was a really fun little get away. I really did miss Andy and wish he could've gone with us, but he was at Ignite Your Torch with the youth group kids which is always a really great experience for him as well.

The drive down was rather uneventful... all the kiddos were really good. After arriving at the hotel, we decided to explore the place and all it's gardens. We also ate lunch at a "build your own hamburger" place inside the hotel. The Opryland Hotel is kind of like it's own city... shops, lots of restaurants, gardens, pools, convention rooms. There is even a boat ride through the place. It's massive and easy to get lost and turned around in. After lunch, we took the 15 minute boat ride. Here are some pictures.








After the ride we headed up to our room to get ready to head to the pool. When we got out to the pool, it was thundering, so we had to hang out in the indoor pool for a while, which the kids didn't mind at all. :) After swimming for a while we got cleaned up and ate a pizza place in the hotel for dinner.




Emma is becoming quite the little swimmer... like her momma. :) Here she is swimming at in the hotel pool. This is her "butterfly" she says. :)






The next morning we woke up to rainy, cloudy skies, so that kind of ruined our plans of hanging out by the pool. So, we instead drove into downtown Nashville and after getting a little lost, we found Riverfront Park and the General Jackson Showboat. It took us on a cruise down the Cumberland River. We had a wonderful 3 course lunch and then we got to walk around on the boat for a little while. Then we watched to Shotgun Red Show. He is a singer, comedian,and ventriloquist. We also has a band with two singers who impersonate other famous country music singers. It was a wonderful show.







After the cruise, we got back to the hotel and toured some of the gardens inside the hotel. The kids loved this. They thought it was so neat that all the flowers, trees, waterfalls, creeks were all inside the hotel. so cool.




After touring the gardens the sun started to shine again, so we headed out to the swimming pool area where line dancing and karaoke was going on. The kids swam and the adults watched to karaoke and line dancing. It was lots of fun. Sydney even got up and try a new line dance.






We stayed out by the pool until almost 8PM. So when we got back to the room, we just ordered some room service for dinner which the kids thought was so cool.



After dinner, Yaya, Syd, Luke, Emma and I headed down and watched the Dancing Waters Show in the Hotel. It is about a 15 minute show where the fountains are set to music. The kids absolutely loved watching it. I did too.





The next morning we got up and headed towards my Aunt Gayle and Uncle Mike's house in Bowling Green. The original plan was to drop off Yaya, Grandpa and the little kids are Gayle and Mike's house and my sister and I would take the big kids to Beech Bend Amusement Park. But, once we got to Gayle and Mike's house the big kids started having too much fun and just wanted to stay there. They have air hockey, Wii... all kinds of new toys. They also have a beautiful pond and hammock in the backyard. The kids had just as much fun there. Gayle made us a wonderful dinner and a wonderful breakfast before we headed home Sunday afteroon.

It was a wonderful little getaway with my parents, sister and kiddos. So much fun and so many fun memories. But I was excited to get home and see my sweet husband and hear all about his trip too! :)

7 years.

Today is our 7th wedding anniversary. We didn't do anything to super exciting for our anniversary, but thanks to Audra and Matt (who took the kiddos this weekend) we got to spend some time alone together on Friday night and Saturday till around noon. It was nice to have time for just us. That really is a rarity these days. We went and ate Mexican, took a long bike ride together and then watched the movie, The Lincoln Lawyer, it was a really good movie... strange ending, but good. Then we got to sleep in Saturday morning... fabulous! :) Low key anniversary... kind like us. :) Thanks Matt and Audra for keeping the kiddos... it means more than you know!!

It's hard to believe our wedding was 7 years ago... time passes so quickly. I remember how in love I was with Andy on that day, but I fall deeper in love with him every day. Our love just seems to keep growing stronger. I am so thankful to be married to such a compassionate, kind, faithful man who happens to also be a wonderful and super fun dad to our children. I'm a lucky girl. I am so thankful for him and our kiddos. I am truly blessed. :)

July Fourth Flag Cake

For the past three years Luke and I have made this simple cake on each July 4th. This year Luke did most of the work and Emma helped out. It is such a fun thing for us to do together on this holiday.

What you need:
-Yellow Cake Mix
-Large tub of Cool Whip
-Fresh Strawberries (cut in half)
-Fresh blueberries

Directions:
Bake the cake according to directions on the box, then let cool completely. We usually let it cool overnight. Then, spread to cool whip all over the cake. Next use the blueberries as stars on the flag and the strawberries as the stripes.

This is such a fun and easy thing to do with kids. They love it. Luke put most of the cool whip on our cake this year as well as the strawberry stripes. Emma helped with the blueberry stars! It tasted great as well!

July 4th

Hope you had a wonderful July 4th weekend. We sure did. We went to a picnic and watch fireworks on Breenie Circle, spent some time at the pool, went to the Wilmore July 4th parade, then a cookout at my parents house where we set off some lanterns. So much fun! Here are some pics!