oh, sweet relief

A picture says a thousand words, so here’s a few. Let’s just say that this is the best purchase we’ve ever made.

 

An All Time Low Moment

So, do you ever have those days where you kind of sit back and think….”did I really just do that?” or maybe it’s “I thought I would never do that and I just did?” . OK, so this is one of those day’s for me.

 I try to do the best with my kids when it comes to discipline and being consistent and staying on top of things. I try to focus on there behavior, but more importantly there hearts, and the motives and feelings they have internally. Yes, it’s been working well for me and the kids…….that is, until Owen came along. I love my son with all my heart! He is sweet and kind. He loves animals and babies. He is so gentle with my parents cat’s and his little nephew Josiah. He’s a great helper too, putting his own dishes away, and throwing his dirty diaper’s in the trash……. But there’s another side to this child that I am at a loss for what to do with him!

 Since he began walking, he has never stopped. Every cupboard, nob, drawer, door, counter and refrigerator is fare game in his little mind. It’s almost like a natural thing for him. Like breathing…..if I say no to one thing, he’s on to the next, and so on and so on, all day, every day, for eternity I’m thinking. We recently conceded to putting a lock on the refrigerator, after finding him countless times with the half and half dripping down his cheeks, or the egg carton emptied on the floor, or him helping himself to the “child proof” bottle of vitamins. That was hard enough for me to do, me being someone who used to laugh at the parent with the leash on there child, or the safety latches on there cupboards ( which I also have now, thank you Owen).

 But today, I think I went beyond any safety proofing I ever thought possible for myself. Recently Owen discovered how to climb out of his crib. At first it was just when he woke up in the morning that he would do it, and it was sort of convenient. But then he began waking up his brother , who he shares a room with. Then he started trashing his room, or wandering out into the house. I would find DVDs , makeup, toilette paper, or  refrigerator items strewn across my house. Now he is climbing out at nap time and bedtime before he even falls asleep. I have to put him back in bed over and over. I wait outside the room and listen for the crib to start squeaking, and know he’s at it again.

 And last night, I was awakened by what sounded like diaper’s rustling. I stumbled into his room around 3am and found him out of bed, trying to change his own diaper. Now, Jeremiah and I are going out of town this Sat, and his mom is coming over to take care of the kids for us, and I was thinking, how will she do bed time, with out going insane! The answer…..sadly……I’m have resorted to tenting him in his crib. That’s right, they actually make these things and sell them, crib tents. They’re a see through tent like enclosure that totally covers the entire top of the crib, with an easy access zipper to have contact with them. Apparently, my son is not the only child with this problem, and as embarrassing as it is, I am counting the days until it comes in the mail and I can finally have a peaceful night knowing that he is securely in his bed, and not wandering around the house destroying who knows what.

 Whew, it feels good to confess this. I hope none of you feel any less of me after this sad last resort that I’ve had to come to. I’ll leave you with a little video of a sweeter side of Owen, and hope that you will pray hard and long for this little stinker, and for me too, that I won’t go crazy while I’m waiting for him to just chill out!

 

We Are Accepted!!

So, there’s been some pretty big news since the last time I updated any one. As you know, we are in the process of applying to an organization in hopes of moving over seas. It’s been a long and tedious adventure, but we finally recieved word from them, and we have been accepted. 

 Sometimes it’s hard to know how much to say on a public blog. But  I will say that this has been such a challenge for me, this whole process. It has tested me in how much I trust God.  You can have all the head knowledge about how God is faithful, that He answers your prayers and that He wants the best for you. But until your faced with having to trust him completely, to rely solely on him, and trust that your desires are His, you can’t comprehend how difficult it actually is to live it out. As we sent in our application, and then had to wait for month’s to hear word, doubt started to creap in. Maybe they don’t think we’re ready, maybe it wasn’t really God calling us to apply, is this really the best thing for our family. All these questions were in my mind. But, no, that was not it at all. Instead, God was teaching me a real life lesson in trusting God completely. That when you press into to God and Try to put Him first ( I emphasize try, because that is a continual process for me) that His desires become my desires. And in everything that He calls us to, the ultimate result will be bringing glory to God and making His name known in its truest sense.

 I am by no means a theologian, in fact I probably should have had Jeremiah write this post instead of myself, but these are the thoughts and feelings going on in my heart all mixed up with the things that I know are true about God and His goodness.

 So, yes, we are accepted, we are excited for what the future holds for us, and where that might lead our family, and we will continue to trust that he is good, that he is leading and directing every step that we take, and that the ultimate end will be bringing glory to his name. 

Dinner Time

As I sat at dinner tonight, I began contemplating something. I know that many of you parents have struggled with dinner time. I’ve always been a stickler when it comes to meals. I have never wanted to be a short order cook for my kids, and so for the most part, the kids are expected to eat what Jeremiah and I eat for dinner. And if they don’t, they don’t get anything else to eat and usually go to bed early.

 But as I was remembering all the things I’ve made my kids choke down. The soup Olivia gags down, or the enchilada’s Eden pushes around on her plate until they’re cold and hard, yet still has to eat them, I began to wonder.

 Does it really make a difference. I mean really, all those things your parents made you eat as a kid…..did you all of a sudden start liking them after the tenth or twentieth time your mom made you eat it? Or is it just a part of becoming an adult? I hated stroganoffe as a kid, and meat loaf too, but now I love them. On the other hand, Peas, and brussel sprouts were on my hate list, and still to this day I can’t eat them.

 I don’t know what point I’m trying to prove hear. In fact, I’m coming to realize that there really isn’t any point at all. Just a question I’ve been mulling over in my head. Does it really make a difference if the kids eat scalloped potatoes tonight? Will they grow up and one day thank me for making them eat it? Or will they eventually just like what they like regardless of what I did or didn’t make them eat as kids. HHmmmm……..

A Trip to the Fire Station

 Eden’s pre-school got to go on a field trip to the fire station. We walked about six blocks in the rain to the station. Silas got to go as well , which turned out to be one of his favorite days ever. We saw a lot of the cool tools the firemen used. We learned that the fire truck carries enough water int he truck to fill a small swimming pool. (that’s crazy, I didn’t realize that!) Then, they needed a volunteer, and picked Silas to come up and try on the fireman gear. He started with the boots and pants, suspender’s and all, then the jacket, and lastly the hat. He looked like he was about to tip over, but he had a great time anyways. Then they got to see the inside of the fore truck. We walked back to school in the rain and will never forget those four important words….STOP , DROP, AND ROLL

Olivia and Hip Hop

                         

 

So those are two words I never thought would go together in the same sentence. Olivia will try her hardest at everything she does though. Recently her and some of her friends from school joined an after school class. They were learning “hip hop” dancing. The girls had so much fun, and a while back they got to perform there dance routine in front of an audience. I didn’t post the video of the actual performance because it was a little long, but I did put up another little video of Olivia doing her thing at home. It was limbo night at the Johnson home, and she was feelin it. She may seem all sweet and proper in public, but in the comfort of her own home, she’s nutty.

 

 

 

SIGHHHHH!!!! It’s Done.

Well, it’s done. Silas has had his surgeries.

Let me start from the beginning of the day. It started with me finding Jeremiah lying on the bathroom floor. Jeremiah is extremely sick. He hasn’t gotten out of bed more than twice today. He has had a fever off and on, along with a terrible cough, and can barely stand. There was no way he was going to be able to go into the hospital with Silas, or work for that matter. So I sent Jeremiah back to bed and drove the girls to school.

Jeremiahs mom came over to take care of Owen and Jeremiah, and me and Silas headed up to OHSU to check in for surgery at 11am. Silas was having a great time having his own little TV that he could put right in front of his face and change the channels if he wanted to. He was surrounded by all of his action figures, and totally clueless to the fact that he was going to go into surgery. All he wanted was a sticker that he could add to the collection on the car window next to his seat.

I talked with the ear doctor, the urologist, a nurse, an anesthesiologist, another urologist, and then another anesthesiologist. Finally they were ready to go. They gave Silas this oral drug that relaxes people, and is also a sort of amnesiac. It helps kids to not freak out when they have to be wheeled into the OR and away from there parents.     

well, about two hours later, the surgeons came out to report on the surgeries. The testicle had been successfully lowered to its proper spot, and there was also a hernia that they had to repair. They also had to pull back some scar tissue on his penis that had formed after his circumcision. His ear surgery was also done and went really well. I was able to breathe a sigh of relief, and call home for an update.

About twenty minutes later, I was brought back to the recovery room as Silas was waking up from his anesthesia. He was really restless and crying and moaning. He was mumbling and very disoriented. It was at that point that I first started to feel a little overwhelmed. Luckily I was able to just pick him up and carry him back to our little recovery area. He fell back to sleep on me for about a half an hour. The next time he woke up he was a lot better, and was happy to drink a cup of juice and  a grape popsicle.  All he had to do was go to the bathroom , and then we were able to check out and head home. By this time it was about 4:30.

Silas is dong pretty well tonight. He’s already noticing all the new sounds. The ones that get his attention the most are the fire engines. “did you hear that mom? A fire truck. Let’s go find it”. I’m so excited to see the changes in his hearing and speech as he gets more and more used to hearing sounds clearly.

Please keep praying for a good couple more days, and lift up Jeremiah too. He is really sick to say the least.Thank you all for your prayers and support.

A Quick Update

Man, it feels like I never have any real updates on our missions application. But, yesterday we received an e-mail from TEAM.

A little history on our application. We had sent in our completed application last November. Usually they get your app. and put it all together, and then send it out to 3 separate assessors who then look at our file as a whole and determine if we’re good candidates for overseas work. It usually takes only a few weeks to process it all, but there had been some crisis on the field along with a shortage of assessors. We have been trying to patiently wait for word and it has been a little difficult for me, especially.

 Well, we got news yesterday that they got 3 assessors, and our application has been sent out to them. That means that by March 20th we will know if we have been accepted to TEAM. Oh, I am so excited to know, either way. It can be a very humbling experience, telling someone just about everything in your life, past and present, and then waiting for them to decide your “fate” so to speak. 

  We will let you know when we find out. If we are accepted,  Jeremiah and I will be flying out to Chicago for a placement interview. That will help us know if the area we’re interested in is a good fit for us, our family, our personalities, our beliefs and the way we share them, and so on. I don’t know yet what we will do next if we are not accepted. That’s a little bit of a scary thought, but I guess we’ll figure it out if we need to when it happens. 

 Thanks for all your prayers, and please continue to pray for us as we wait. Also, remember Silas. He will be going into surgery on the 17th and with any surgery, it can be a little scary.

How is Silas, you ask?

 

Well, just to keep everyone clued in on the latest health stuff, I think I’ll write a little update.

Silas, as most of you have already read, is getting surgery on March 17Th because of his undescended testicle. I had also noticed that his speech was a little behind, and he sometimes didn’t hear me. In Dec., I took him in to the hearing and speech institute for a hearing screening. He failed the hearing test, and they wanted him to come in six weeks later for a full diagnostic hearing test. He had that last week, and failed again, but the nerves connected to his ear drums worked just fine. Because of that, they were sure this wasn’t a permanent problem, but something that should be able to be fixed.

 Yesterday I had an appointment with a pediatric ear nose and throat doctor. She could easily see that he had fluid in his ear, and suggested tubes in his ear.For some reason, tubes have always sounded so scary to me. I imagined not being able to let him swim or take bath’s for fear that water might get in his ears and do something bad to the tubes. I’ve come to realize after yesterday’s appointment that it is a very basic procedure that won’t alter his life in any significant way, well, except for the fact that he should be able to hear after the tube’s are in.

 The doctor said they may even be able to coordinate the two surgeries together which might be better for him, not having to be put under anesthesia twice.  It’s a big relief to have everything diagnosed and heading in the right direction for Silas. I look forward to all of this being over and him being able to hear like hes probably never heard before. Thank you, everyone, for your prayer’s and concern about Silas, and just continue to pray for him in this next month.

A Great Weekend

                                        

Last Saturday we had a great time as a family. It was the first Saturday in a longtime that Jeremiah didn’t have a meeting or go into work. We headed up to the gorge to the trail (I can’t remember the name of it, but it was right across from the fish hatchery) that Jeremiah and I went to on our first date. We also had our first kiss there on the bridge. Now eight and a half year’s later, we returned to the trail for the first time, only this time with four kids in tow. It was a bit surreal, how our lives had changed since the last time we were on this trail.

 The trail is only a mile in and a mile out. Jeremiah carried Owen on his back, while I carried the back pack with lunch, a blanket, and some flashlight’s. The other kids hiked in and out the whole way. All the waterfalls were really swollen this time of year, which made for a beautiful view. At the end of the trail was the large waterfall and an old abandoned bear cave that me, Olivia, Eden, and Silas climbed in and explored.

 After the hike we stopped in at the Bonneville fish hatchery to check out the trout and see Herman the ten foot sturgeon. Oh yes, it was a good time, and Silas especially didn’t want to leave the fish. It was a really fantastic day, and we took some good pictures and made some great memories. Just thought I’d let you in on a great weekend with the fam.