The Johnson Scoop

Our Road Trip - by the numbers

2012-01-23T12:11:00.000-05:00

What a way to start out 2012!! I've been home a little over a week and still don't feel like I'm quite back to a normal routine. We had a fantastic time that we wouldn't trade for anything but were more than ready to return home! Here's a recap of our road trip - by the numbers:

19 days
2,196 miles driven
4 "extra" Christmas celebrations
9 states (if you count DC) passed through
48 family and friends visited
386 pages read by Emma Lee
1 audio book listened to
$14.35 spent on tolls
6 movies watched in the van
1 emergency use-the-bathroom-on-the-side-of-the-what-we-thought-was-a-private-road-only-to-have-a-bus-pull-up-and-unload-its-passengers-right-behind-us-stop
3 (miraculously not more!!?) Are we there yets?
6 historical museums/memorials visited
0 snow flakes seen
1 wondrous feat pulled off by a persistent friend
10 kids meals consumed
1 Coast Guard graduation ceremony attended
2 rides through the Hershey Factory (because one time is just not enough)
1 extremely missed and incredibly awesome daddy/husband to return home to
Countless memories made with my two precious girls!

Road Trip Pictures
Graduation Pictures

School Recap: December

2012-01-02T09:13:00.024-05:00

We did school right up to the Friday before Christmas and focused mainly on getting ahead in our "bookwork" since we're planning on some interesting on-the-road school in January. My little perfectionist missed her first spelling word (noise) on one of her spelling tests, but I was proud of her for not taking it too hard. She also learned a valuable lesson about slowing down and checking her work! The girls are both moving right along in all their subjects, and I'm still loving teaching them! I'm pretty sure they are geniuses, but I might be just a tad biased! Here's a video of Emma Lee explaining how to classify a sentence:

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We did find a little extra time to do a few fun activities this month. We visited a local museum that we hadn't been to before for their Festival of Trees and had fun checking out a few others things there as well.

They loved all the pretty trees decorated in different themes and from different countries.

Kerri wanted to eat the stuff on the baking tree!

Very interested in the toy tree.

I thought this was a creative tree topper for the fishing tree.

We made a few ornaments of our own while we were there

and checked out their map/globe room.

Emma Lee's favorite country right now is India, so she found it on the globe.

We also saw a little animal show. This parrot, Georgia, was their favorite!

They also got a chance to shop for each other in the Secret Shoppe they had set up there (unfortunately, their gifts didn't remain a secret for even a full day!). They loved the experience though!

We also had a couple of cookie and gingerbread house decorating days with some friends.

The girls did a little sewing, and made these cute little trees.

They took their work very seriously

and were so proud of their finished products.

(and as these pictures prove - we don't always get dressed or fix our hair before school...just another perk)

School will start back for us on January 5th. We'll be on the road visiting some very important places!

#3 for Kerri

2011-12-29T10:20:00.001-05:00

She said she just popped it right out with her tongue - no blood, no drama, no tears. She's also very confident that the tooth fairy will know where to find her - even if she's not at home!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T21:37:00.000-05:00

We've had a wonderful weekend celebrating Jesus' birthday, participating in some amazing worship at our church, spending quality family time together, eating way too much candy, and receiving some fun Christmas surprises! The great part about living in a state away from your families is that you get a week long Christmas! We'll be hitting the road bright and early tomorrow to continue celebrating for a week! Merry Christmas!

Best Reaction:

Sweetest Moment:

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

2011-12-22T23:33:00.000-05:00

I way under-ordered our Christmas cards this year, so here's an online version for all those who didn't get one (Georgia people - you get to see us every week, so our friends and family in 10 (!!) other states got priority). I guess I have a better idea of how many I need for next year! Merry Christmas to all!

12-11-11 (better late than never!)

2011-12-20T10:25:00.001-05:00

I totally forgot all about my post this month! We've been just a tad busy!

Recap: In January, after looking through pictures of the past year, I noticed that I didn't have that many of the girls together. I decided I would make sure that I took at least one picture of them together every month and post it. Here's December's, and a look at a year of the girls together.

I love that it helped change my mindset, and I ended up with even more pictures than these that help reflect their actual life - being together pretty much all the time! It also wasn't much pressure because most of them were just snapped as we went about our daily life. I love looking back on the pictures and relieving the memories from that moment. I think that I'll do another monthly challenge next year! Maybe one where I actually end up in the picture since I think I can count on one hand the pictures I made it into this year!

Silent Night

2011-12-17T09:59:00.000-05:00

All is calm

even though it's bright!

Sleep in heavenly peace!

Disney on Ice

2011-12-13T09:44:00.002-05:00

Our little princesses enjoyed the show, and thanks to a friend's generosity, we had amazing seats! I forgot my zoom lens but still managed to get quite a few good shots because of how close we were.

Characters from Aladdin, Toy Story, Nemo, Pinocchio, all kinds of princesses/princes, Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, the Incredibles, Mulan, and so many more!

I recorded the last little bit of the Toy Story army men song for my two not-so-little-anymore-brothers who loved Toy Story and who are now in the Army themselves. (I have no idea what I did to make it so blurry though...)

It doesn't get any more magical than Disney!

Catch Up

2011-12-08T19:54:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty behind on blogging, so here's a little glimpse at what we've been up to lately.

Relaxing the week of Thanksgiving at my parent's house - pretty easy when this is in the back yard!

Visiting the Carolina Christmas at the Lowes Motor Speedway and Andy getting to drive on the track . . . in an minivan ;)

Kerri's highlight of the night was feeding the deer!

Roasting marshmallows three different nights in one week!

Building some Christmas ornaments

This one's dangerous with a hammer!

Santa looks like he needs a break!

Our 5th annual Christmas tree farm hunt for the perfect tree. (Still trying to convince the girls that bigger is better - they'd love to have a tiny tree!)

Who thought it was a good idea to give this crazy guy a saw?

Making Mommy nervous! She didn't have this for long!

Trimming the tree

Kerri took it very seriously this year! She had to find the "just right" spot for each ornament!

Tree up, stockings made and hung, mantel decorated! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here (too bad I've had to have the air condition on at some point most days this week!)

We also went to Disney on Ice this past weekend, but that will have to be its own post - too many pictures!

School Recap: November

2011-12-02T12:16:00.000-05:00

Wow! It's hard to believe that November is already over! Here's some of what we were up to this past month!

Emma Lee has learned all about how to identify and label adverbs (actually started last month but I forgot to write it) and adjectives! She knows all the questions to ask to find these along with the subject noun and verbs, and she can sit down with a list of sentences and do them all by herself. Even though it's technically Emma Lee's work, Kerri has been doing it along with us and has learned a lot of it too!

Sometimes we like to mix things up a bit and do our sentences on the floor instead of paper.

Our "extra" stuff this month was centered around fall and Thanksgiving. We read a lot of Thanksgiving books, and one of their favorites was The Littlest Pilgrim.

The girls drew the "littlest pilgrim" and then used adjectives to describe her at different points in the story. They also wrote a little summary of the book.

Instead of doing journal writing for part of the month, we did "thankful books." The girls actually did this part on their own every day, so I didn't even look to see what they wrote until the end and got quite a few laughs from Emma Lee's.

We learned about about pilgrims and the Mayflower. We had some friends of ours come over and go through a "virtual tour" of the Mayflower with us, and they all picked what they would take with them in their suitcases if they had to leave and go to another country (they didn't get too detailed with these because they were all ready to move on to snack time where they made pilgrim hat cookies!).

We also learned about Indians and how they helped the pilgrims. We had another fun snack (I wasn't very on the ball with fun snacks last month, but I think I made up for it this month!) relating to Indians. We also learned that these Indians didn't really live in teepees, but the girls didn't mind eating them anyway!

It also just so happened that our Tennessee Flat Stanley brought back the girls these cute hairbows made by Indians living there! The girls thought they were great!

We did some leaf projects, fall painting, and had another fun "acorn" snack, and had a great Thanksgiving break spent in NC.

We've had 6 of our Flat Stanleys return, and the girls have enjoyed learning about California, Hawaii, Louisiana, Tennessee, South Carolina, and New York. Thanks so much if you have sent one back (and for the rest of you, it's not too late!) ;)

All the other subjects are going great, and Kerri has really turned a corner with her reading! She did great reading with me if I sat down and listened to her, but she didn't really think she was a good reader, and she never instigated reading on her own or even tried to read things like signs in stores or on the road. One day she realized that she was reading a "chapter book" (like Emma Lee does), and she was so excited. It was like she had just then discovered that she really could read. She's reading a lot more now on her own and loves to surprise me by reading signs while we're in the car.

I think that about sums it up! I still can't believe the end of this year will be here before we know it!

Tooth Fairy Coming Again

2011-11-30T17:10:00.001-05:00

I have several posts that I need to write to catch up on all we've been up to (I literally have 502 pictures in my November album!), but they'll have to wait a little longer. I did have to do a quick one today because Emma Lee lost her 8th tooth!

What a cutie!

She's been on the verge of losing it for a couple of days. This morning she was prepared to let Kerri pull it out for her, but then chickened out at the last minute (with Kerri, I probably would too!). It actually ended up popping out on its own when she jumped out of the van today.Yes, it was that loose! Kind of like this time, but fortunately it didn't last as long!

In typical Emma Lee form, she wrote a letter to the tooth fairy (before she even lost it!). It's pretty hilarious to me because she apologized for the scribbles and she asked the fairy a joke (by the way, do you know the answer - it's her favorite joke!).

I love this girl!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T16:32:00.000-05:00

Two of my greatest blessings!

Happy Turkey Day!

Sisters

2011-11-22T19:49:00.000-05:00

Solving the world's problems atop a hay bale.

The Accomplishment of the Weekend

2011-11-21T07:02:00.000-05:00

I knew it wouldn't take long, but we are now officially a training wheel free family! In typical Kerri fashion, she took right off on the first try and got the hang of it right away! She's more than excited to be able to keep up with her big sister now! (Of course, it's the one time I didn't have my camera with me, so here's the best I could get with Andy's phone.)

Crazy Monkeys

2011-11-16T14:50:00.001-05:00

You know, just when you start thinking that your kids are growing up and getting so smart you walk into something like this:

I wish I had a picture of her face when I walked around the corner and saw her. She was so scared that she was in big trouble! I just paused and stared and she hung up there and stared back. It was just one of those times when I thought it was too priceless not to have a record of. I asked them (because Emma Lee was waiting for her turn) how in the world they did that, and they were more than happy to show me.

I have a feeling that recording their antics might possibly take away from my strict instructions to never do that again. I asked Emma Lee how long they've been doing this and she said, "Every time you're upstairs." Guess I know now why they've gotten so good on the monkey bars at the park...

11-11-11

2011-11-11T22:56:00.001-05:00

Here's my monthly challenge picture of the girls. It's supposed to be the last month, but I think I'll do next month too and then I'll have one full year of a monthly picture of the girls together.

Story time with Felix (on the top bunk).

Happy 6th & 7th!!

2011-11-09T23:36:00.002-05:00

We had a great day full of family fun celebrating the girls' birthday yesterday. Although we've told the girls over and over again in the past year that we weren't going to get them bikes until we move and have a garage, Andy decided that they needed them after all. We decided we could just put up with keeping the bikes inside or in the van for a year. We knew that the girls were going to be so surprised. The evening that we were out birthday shopping, we couldn't figure out what size helmets they needed and had to call and have their sitter measure their heads (their little peanut heads are so small they both ended up needing the smallest size helmet for ages 3+!) Later when we picked them up they kept asking us why we needed their heads measured because they knew that we had been birthday shopping. We joked around about several different possibilities, but eventually stuck with the claim that they were getting wigs for their birthday. After halloween, I just happened to find some long blond wigs 50% off and thought it would be really funny to actually have them open up a wig and think it was their real present. Andy came up with a scavenger hunt for them, I wrapped up the wig and put the envelope with the first clue in the bottom of the box. They were a little confused at first but caught on pretty fast! They were so excited running around from clue to clue. They kept saying, "This is the best birthday hunt ever!" The hunt ended with them opening up the back of the van where their bikes were. They were a little confused at first and thought that they were our neighbors' bikes, but it didn't take too long for them to figure out that they were different and that they had found their real presents!

(You can check out other pictures from our day of bike riding here.)

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School Recap: October

2011-11-04T13:23:00.001-04:00

We finished off another great month of school here in the Johnson household! The month started off with a week long vacation - nice, huh?! It was a nice little break with sleeping in, relaxing on the beach, and playing with family. I did count one day out of the week as a school/field trip day to account for all the educational things the beach has to offer. You know, like flying kites, seeing dolphins, fish, and crabs, and watching fudge being made. Hey, homeschooling has benefits like that! Seriously, one of my top reasons for loving homeschooling is the flexibilities it offers to make trips like this possible - especially with all our family being so far away.

Given that is was October (with halloween decorations everywhere), I decided it would be an appropriate month to learn about what's inside our bodies. We learned all about our bones and how we need them to keep us from being "floppy."

No bones

With "bones"

We put together puzzles and looked at cool glow in the dark books.

We also learned about our brain, heart, lungs, stomach, intestines, kidneys, bladder and other "inside stuff." I outlined the girls' bodies on poster boards, and we began to fill it in as we learned about different parts. They studied books and drew in their brain and colored their heart and glued it on. It was funny to hear them talking about how their hearts didn't look like "real" hearts. We used some bubble wrap for the lungs and then moved on to talking about the intestines. We had LOTS of "potty" humor, and the girls insisted that they had to include a bladder too. We also used first aid tape and q-tips to add in some bones.

Kind of hard to tell in these pics, but this is Kerri working on her brain

and this is Emma Lee coloring in her heart.


We had a "light bulb" moment when they measured out how long the small intestine and the large intestine is


and then realized how it can squeeze into a much smaller space.

Here's the final product:

We began journaling this month, and the girls are still enjoying it. They love to choose their own quiet place and write away. It also didn't take me long to establish the rule that they are not allowed to ask me, "How do you spell ______?" Instead, they can ask, "Is this how you spell _______" and give it a try first. It helps with my sanity because they can actually figure out more than they think they can.

In math, we've been doing a lot of number sentences, learning the doubles, and using a balance.

We also took the girls one evening to see a performance of A Muskrat Lullaby, an interactive children's opera, which they loved (sorry - no pics).

We had one day when our "school room" was being repaired and painted, so we had to be creative and spend the day learning upstairs. We pulled out the games and played several math games with dice, a simplified version of scrabble, and monopoly. There's that flexibility again!


Kerri's face cracks me up in this picture. She gets really nervous about the "Go to Jail" space!

Of course, we had to make some yummy treats on the last day of the month!

A Tribute - The Conclusion

2011-11-01T21:55:00.000-04:00

After parts I and II, I know I've left you hanging for a few days, but here's the final chapter of the story.

It was Sunday morning, time to head out the door for church, when Emma Lee started crying downstairs and Kerri came rushing upstairs struggling to get out through her own tears that Shelby was dead.

Great.

I followed Kerri downstairs and assessed the situation. The crab was out of its shell, and from what I can gather it seems like Emma Lee picked it up and it just fell out. We spent some time staring and trying to see if it was going to move, but I couldn't really tell if it was alive or not (and I wasn't about to touch it!) We had a mixture of emotions going on for a good 30 min while I tried to get the girls calmed down and figure out what was happening (or had happened). Emma Lee cried because it was dead. Kerri laughed and said it was just having a baby (because the curled up tail part was a different color it did kind of look like it). I offered up that it might just be moving shells. They both took turns exclaiming that they thought they saw it move every few minutes (I never did...). In the long run, we ended up closing it up in the bathroom, cranking up the heat (because I think it got too cold), and left with the hope that it would be fine when we returned.

Fast forward a couple of hours. We returned home, and it was pretty obvious that Shelby was no longer with us. As the girls stood crying in front of the cage, Emma Lee pronounced that Daddy was going to have to perform a ceremony for her crab.

Great.

The ceremony quickly consumed all her thoughts and conversations, and I finally suggested (after literally hours) that maybe she should just go away and write out an order of what she wanted instead of asking me about it every five minutes. (Just a guess, but the Sympathetic Mother of the Year Award is probably not going to be mine!) That suggestion was right up Emma Lee's alley though (I'm actually surprised my little list-maker didn't think of it first), so she set right off. After much thought and deliberation, here's what she came up with:

With a spoon from the kitchen, Andy and Emma Lee worked together to bury Shelby right outside the back door. Kerri was put in charge of the song. She stood "center stage" and right on the spot came up with "This Little Crab of Mine I'm Going to Let It Pinch." Andy and I were fighting as hard as we could to hold back the laughter, and I was wishing more than anything that I had grabbed the video camera to record the ceremony! Andy was up next on the agenda, and he choose to recite a quick verse about walking through the valley of the shadow of death (slightly cringing in case a lightening bolt was headed his way!). We all had to contribute a gift to Shelby. Emma Lee placed grass on her grave, Kerri added some flowers, I chose bark (because she liked to eat it), and Andy gave up a penny. Emma Lee also really wanted a stone with Shelby's name on it marking the spot, but she decided to settle on sprinkling some of the aquarium rocks from the cage.The ceremony moved on to a joyous celebration of Shelby's life by playing a game. Emma Lee was in charge of that, and she came up with some type of a crab-pinching tag game that left everyone laughing.

Well, you might think that was the end of that because that's what I thought too. Not for Emma Lee, though, I should have known! She has still cried just about every day since (over a week!), and she often requests to go outside and have "private alone time" with Shelby. After the first few times, I asked her why she wanted to do this and she said that she wanted to spend more time with Shelby since she didn't spend a lot of time with her when she was alive. Almost every prayer time, she thanks God for the little bit of time that she did have with Shelby, and she's anxiously awaiting next year's beach vacation where she can get another hermit crab.

Kerri's been very sweet through the whole process and "shares" her crab (who's been given a new name of Shell Lee in honor of Emma Lee). Kerri's crab hasn't been very active, so we moved it back into its original cage and it seems to be doing just fine as far as we can tell.

Beautiful Butterflies

2011-10-31T15:28:00.000-04:00

Beautiful butterflies

so excited to be dressed up

and anticipating lots of candy!

Here's one of our conversations from today:

Me: "Girls, remember when you get candy from people tonight always say...."

Emma Lee and Kerri: "TRICK-OR-TREAT!!!"

Me: "No! You're supposed to say thank-you!"

A Tribute - Part II

2011-10-25T14:49:00.001-04:00

The girls were in love and completely fascinated by their hermit crabs. The very next day, they insisted on taking them down to the ocean and playing with them in the sand and water (which I believe could be classified as cruel and unusual punishment for a hermit crab!). It wasn't until that night that I noticed that, somehow, there was only one crab left in the cage. I knew that they hadn't been out of the cage since we had come back to the house, so I could only assume that Shiny had seized the opportunity and made a break for it (or was left buried under the sand somewhere...can hermit crabs dig?).


Not really surprising that one little crab got lost in the mix of all this!

Especially when its owner did this the entire time!

The dilemma that Andy and I were faced with was buy a new "Shiny" to secretly replace the lost one or let Kerri in on what happened and let her pick out a new one. The decision was taken out of our hands when we realized that they stores were already closed, so admit it and move on was our strategy.

I should have known better than to worry. In typical Kerri fashion (after being assured that she could get a new one), she just shrugged it off with some type of comment about Shiny finding her family out in the ocean and that was that. Her new crab still doesn't have an official name, but it's been called Hermie, Sebastian, Buddy, and Crabby. More often than not, though, it just "my crab."

The crabs lasted the rest of vacation and the trip home, although one had to be rescued from being dropped under the seat. We also did some reading up on hermit crabs and what they need. What they don't tell you in the store is that those tiny cages that they come in are too small for them to live in (well, maybe it's too small to be happy in....if you look long enough you'll see that there are some people crazy about their hermit crabs!). We decided to make them a bigger home, and spent quite a bit of time searching Goodwill and Walmart for a new home with plenty of accessories and ended up with quite a cute little environment for them.

to be continued...

If you missed part I, read it here.

A Tribute - Part I

2011-10-24T10:09:00.002-04:00

While we were at the beach we had one of those "divide and conquer moments" with the girls. We were shopping, and they had their own money burning a hole in their pockets. Of course, what immediately struck Kerri's interest (with Emma Lee quick to follow) were the hermit crabs. So interested were they in these crabs that they refused to spend their money on anything else in the store (and I did try my best because surely something in a junky beach store has to be ~~tacky~~ glitzy enough to compete with a hermit crab). We left empty-handed with the girls continuing to plead their case all the way home. Finally, tired of being the "bad guy," I said that they could ask daddy when he got back and if he said yes then they could get hermit crabs. I then proceeded to warn them in advance that there was no way in a million years that he would ever say yes.....and then promptly forgot about the situation.

Guess who didn't forget? Kerri was lying in wait the moment he walked in the door. In a rush of words full of excitement and even going so far as to bat her eyelashes, she made her request - being sure to add "Mommy said we could if you say yes!" At that moment, I'm sure somewhere froze over, because with a casual "Sure" the deed was done. With the quickly pronounced and newly acquired title of "the best parents in the world," off to the store we went. It was a long, big decision, but finally "Shelby" and "Shiny" were the newest members of our family.

to be continued....

Finally

2011-10-18T17:22:00.000-04:00

You probably don't remember, but at the beginning of the year I blogged about my empty above the mantel space. I'm embarrassed to say that it has remained empty up until last week! I came up with a grand plan at the time, but it involved projects and buying things and time (you know how that goes....). Then I thought, "Well, we'll just be moving in a few months, anyway" (which we aren't now - we decided to just stay in this townhouse for one more year while we settle on our other options) and nothing ever happened...until last week.

There's something about fall in the air (which we've only gotten a slight taste of so far!) helped along by my new-found addiction Pinterest, that just gets me in a crafty/decorating/sewing/project kind of mood. Here's what I came up with!

It's nothing grand or showstoppingly different, but it's not empty! I made the burlap wreath, used some left over fabric scraps in the frames, and pulled out some of the hurricane vases I already had. I bought the candles, leaves, burlap, and that adorable little pumpkin (all on sale), so it turned out to be a pretty budget friendly decorating attempt.

I'm wondering if it needs something in the middle?? I tend not to like the overly decorated mantel where everything is completely covered (unless it's with greenery at Christmas time...), but it is my first time having a mantel, so I don't have much experience with it. What do you think?

Between this and whatever I come up with for Christmas, it at least buys me a few months to work on my original plan.

Journaling

2011-10-17T14:00:00.001-04:00

The girls started journaling this past week. They are so excited about it! Emma Lee keeps making comments like, "I wish it was tomorrow already, so I could write in my journal again." and "WHY is it not a school day?? I want to write in my journal!" Kerri's been exclaiming, "I can write about this in my journal!" anytime she gets excited about something. The requirements are that they have to spend at least five minutes alone with their journal and write at least a few sentences (they can also draw pictures).

Here's Emma Lee's first entry. Can you tell how excited she was about it - she didn't want to stop writing! She had a bad dream the night before and finished the night up sleeping in our room. She decided she wanted to write about her dream in her journal.

Kerri spotted an opossum right up at our back door the night before. Of course, that's what she was most excited about and just had to include that in her journal.

10-11-11

2011-10-12T14:05:00.000-04:00

Well, let's just pretend that this was posted yesterday - in time for my monthly photo challenge.

While we're at it.....let's just pretend it was taken yesterday too (instead of last week)!

School Recap: September

2011-10-10T23:32:00.001-04:00

It's a little late since we were at the beach all last week (more on that later), but here's what we were up to last month.

We did a lot of graphing. One of our projects was to eat 10 apples (guess what we had a lot of for snack!) and record the number of seeds in each apple. We then arranged the numbers in order and made a graph showing the results.

*I even learned something: The amount of seeds in an apple correlates to the health of the tree!

Other math highlights for the month included learning about wholes and halves. We put it into practice using the speed slice game on the wii. They had to shout out "half" or "not half" as they cut their objects, and then we moved on to some real-life slicing in the kitchen (using pizza cutters - much safer than giving Kerri a knife!). We also did some "guesstimating" activities with pennies.

The girls now know what it takes to make a complete sentence (and one of their new favorite words is "fragment"), and they also know what nouns and verbs are. We done some "classifying" work where they ask the right questions to discover the subject/verb in a sentence, but we've also made things a little more fun by going on noun hunts, making "noun soup," and acting out the verbs in some funny stories.

We read Flat Stanley and incorporated that into our study of the United States. We mailed out Flat Stanleys to friends all over America and are eagerly waiting for them to all return with info from the states they visited! In the meantime, they're becoming familiar with the names and locations of all 50 states.

We've enjoyed watching and learning about our ants. They're much farther along now than in this picture. In fact, I've been debating whether it would be cruel or helpful to them to dump more sand in their home just to give them something to do.

We've expanded our Spanish from numbers to numbers and colors. We've played lots of games, together and online. Their favorite was probably "backwards bingo" where I called out a color in Spanish and they got to remove (eat) the m&m of that color and see who cleared a row first. We also pulled out the "edible paint" again since they enjoyed it so much last month. This time we painted marshmallows with it.

Emma Lee's cursive is coming along great. Here are her first two cursive sentences! She's also made a 100% on every math test and every spelling test! She loves test time - at least for now!

As much fun as we've had, we've also learned that everything can't be all fun and games all the time. After a rough day, where I didn't exhibit as much patience as I should have and the girls both ended up crying and frustrated at different points in the day, we came to the point where we just stopped and talked about what was going on. I promised to do my best to make learning as fun for them as I can, and the girls promised to do their best with good attitudes when it comes time for the "boring" things. I also rearranged how we go about the day, and now we get those "boring" things over with at the beginning, while everyone has a lot more patience! Things have gotten a lot better since our "deal." I actually haven't heard one complaint from them since - I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will last!

First

2011-09-30T16:08:00.000-04:00

Their first "just because" sleepover that wasn't planned because we needed someone to watch the girls but because they have "BFFs."

Not that it makes any difference to them why they get a sleepover as long as they do. For us, though, it's kind of a big deal....we're childless for a night. I think it's the beginning of a new parenting era: the sleepovers=impromptu date nights. The big question: what do we do? Pretty sure tonight's going to be pretty uneventful due to the fact that I'm in the "I'm not letting myself admit that I'm getting sick but I didn't sleep all night and Andy's not getting anywhere near me just in case" stage, but a dinner out with uninterrupted adult conversation (with the person I enjoy being with the most!) - I'll take it!

Our Rarely Mentioned Member of the Family

2011-09-28T22:46:00.000-04:00

Because I have a new SD card and can take pictures again (yay!) and because the girls are asleep and Andy's not here and I'm not really big into self-portraits and because he's the least photographed member of our family, tonight's post is dedicated to Felix!

Here's his "slightly interested" face

Here's his "you're boring" face

Here's his "maybe if I ignore her, she'll go away" face

Here's his "I just want to go to sleep" face

Here's his "I'm over it" face

Ahhh, Fifi, we love you!

LOVE!

2011-09-20T14:34:00.000-04:00

Since I haven't been able to take any pictures right now, I've actually done something with some of my pictures! I've made Shutterfly books before, and I absolutely LOVE them! They're much, much quicker to put together than a scrapbook, and I feel fine with leaving them out for the girls (and anyone else) to thumb through - no worries about them falling apart or losing pieces!

This new Happiness style might just be my favorite. It's definitely perfect for our beach pictures from this summer!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Whining

2011-09-19T09:44:00.001-04:00

Waaaaaahhhhhhh, both of my SD cards decided to go all crazy on me, and now I can't take any pictures. Waaaaaaahhhhhh, waaaahhhhhhh! Definitely have a new one (the size of both of my old ones together!) ordered and on its way. I just don't know how to manage without taking pictures. I'm SUPER glad that they decided to stop working after I finished up the school portraits. As much as I can trust my memory, I think that the only pictures that didn't make it off the card were of Andy's birthday party and the scrumptious Reese cake that I made for him. Could have been much worse, but waaaaaahhhhhhh anyway!

Happy 33rd!

2011-09-14T14:47:00.001-04:00

My awesome husband turned 33 yesterday! Since all the writing in this blog is from my perspective, I decided it would be fun to have some input from him on his 33 years. Here's a list of 33 of his favorite memories, in order (somewhat) of when they happened:

Mom leading children's choir at church and playing a song and game about a sleeping cat at the end of rehearsals.
Singing "Just a Swingin" and "Elvira" at the dentist office.
Fishing at the Blackwood farm with Dad.
Watching Jerry Clower at the State Fair.
Watching Earnhardt's pass in the grass with Dad.
Mom taking me to Woolworth's during Edie's piano lessons.
Dancing at the beach to the One Man Band and having people throw money at me.
Trip to Canada with the Greensboro Youth Chorus.
Performing jokes at family reunions.
Breaking out of my shell - sense of humor started to take shape.
Basketball camp during the summer - scored 21 points in a game.
Trusting in Christ.
Getting caught stealing and realizing more about Jesus' forgiveness.
16th birthday party when 100 people unexpectedly showed up to join the party.
Boy Scout Order of the Arrow weekend.
1st time ever shared the gospel.
Becoming an Eagle Scout 3 days before 18th birthday.
Changed majors in college from Engineering to Parks and Recreation.
Forest Hills spring break mission trips.
1st sermon to about 300 teens at Camp Caswell.
Blue Ridge Leaders School with Zach and Corey.
First date with Michaella.
Getting baptized after being a believer for 7 years.
Proposing to Michaella.
Getting married/honeymoon.
Going on a camping trip as a newly married couple.
My calling to ministry.
Birth of Emma Lee.
Mission trip to China.
Birth of Kerri.
Spending a week in Disney World as a family.
Graduating with a doctorate.
Starting "K Time" and "E Time" with the girls.

Each year just keeps getting better and better with him! I'm so grateful for the marriage that we have, and I hope that we're blessed with many more years together! I love you and all your craziness, Andy Johnson!

*Sorry, I have pictures to include with this post, but my SD card is acting up on me and I can't get them onto my computer right now....

9-11-11

2011-09-11T21:52:00.000-04:00

It's a little weird to post my monthly challenge picture today, for obvious reasons. It's hard to believe it's been 10 years. Until today, I hadn't really stopped to think about the fact that my girls have no idea about 9/11. I was debating over talking to them about it, but as important as it is for them to know, I think I'll wait just a little longer. You can't get childish innocence back; today, it belongs to them. Instead, I just held them a little closer, cuddled with them a little longer, and said a prayer for those who lost their loved ones ten years ago.

Not-Too-Much-of-an-Update Update

2011-09-08T17:31:00.001-04:00

After hitting a little snag, we've updated our immigration stuff (I think). I tell ya, it's always a pleasure dealing with our government (can you tell that was written with the sarcasm font?). Actually, we've sent them everything they've requested, twice, been fingerprinted for the fourth total time for this adoption, but are still waiting to receive the official document that says we've been renewed, which in turn will have to be sent with some other forms to Bulgaria to renew our status with them.

I'm pretty optimistic that we'll get everything from CIS though because after 2 1/2 weeks of mulitple unreturned phone calls from the only officer who we're allowed to talk to about our case and finally getting one (conveniently on the day I found out his supervisor's number and left a message with him) only to have all my questions answered with, "Well, I can't tell you that, but..." how else should I feel? It's such a joy to think about how we'll most likely have to do it all again in a year! (you read that with the sarcasm font too, didn't you?). Anyway, not too long after this experience, I read this blog post and just had to laugh. It's comforting to know that we're not alone in this experience, although I guess that's pretty much a "misery loves company" attitude. It's just easy to get the "maybe we're not supposed to be doing this because everything is so much harder for us than it is for everyone else" kind of doubts. Then I read a post here that offered the following comforting thoughts:

I have been asked quite a few times lately about adoption in general, about getting started, and about what to think about ahead of time. My biggest warning isn't about birth order, agencies, country programs, fear of social workers, or even attachment. Know why?
Because the Enemy strikes at your heart.

He knows your fears… he put them there.
("For GOD has not given us a spirit of FEAR, but of power and love and a sound mind." 2 Tim 1:7)
He knows your weaknesses and exploits with half-truths.
("Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" Ge 3:1)
He wants you down, depressed, sad and deflated.
(The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in darkness like those long dead. Ps 143:3)
He wants you dead.
(Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1Pet.5:8)

In adoption, there is loss and redemption. There is pain and there is joy.

I have said it before, but when you step out in obedience to God, you engage the enemy. Be ready and expecting the attack. Be in prayer. Ask friends and family to pray for you too. Pray for strength, wisdom, and fierce resolve. And make sure you journal your experiences. Someday you will look back on this and see a very clear picture of God's divine protection and providence in your life!

So, here's me asking for your prayers; here's me journaling; here's me getting excited thinking about what God has planned for our family - because it's going to be so much greater with Him doing the planning than if I was in charge!

Just Another Night in the Johnson Household

2011-09-07T15:00:00.001-04:00

The girls love, love, love to play games. Not the sit down and be still board games that I want to play. You know, the ones where you don't really have to have any energy to participate. Nope, Uno, Yahtzee, or Don't Break the Ice just isn't going to cut it with them on most nights. Don't you know that "Store," "Baker," "Hair Salon" (ok, that's one's not so bad - I just have to sit), or their current favorite, "Gypsy" (don't know where that one came from) are way "funner" (who is their English teacher)??

After I refused to play gypsy last night and we made it through a few rounds of uno, we decided to do a little impromptu show. It's the great face off of 2011. Enjoy!

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World of Coke

2011-09-01T20:58:00.000-04:00

Hi, I'm Michaella, and I'm a coke-aholic.

My life's complete now that I've been to Hershey AND World of Coke! :)

It was a-ma-zing! Even more so because my mom and I saved up enough coke points (you know, from those little codes on top of the caps and inside the boxes) to get all 6 (my parents were here visiting) of us in for free.

Honestly, this place is about more than just the history of Coke. They make you feel so happy and sentimental and even patriotic about drinking and loving Coke. It's like the Disney World of advertising. I don't know - maybe it's brainwashing, but I came out of there so excited and happy about loving Coke and wanting to drink more of it and nothing else. Genius on their part!

Some of my favorite displays: Coke - for Headache and Exhaustion - that's definitely my philosophy! Coke and Chocolate also made the list for the emergency shelf.

We even found some tributes to Bulgaria

The girls favorite machine

Kerri loved this machine! You can't hear the sounds it makes of the top popping off, the fizz, and the "ahh" at the end, but you can hear what made her laugh every single time!

Needless to say, my rarely-get-to-drink-a-soda girls where amazed that I was not only going to let them have soda but they were going to get to choose whatever kind - no kindS - they wanted - no limit. They were in heaven!

Good to the last drop

Some of them were not so tasty!

Some of them were too good to stop

I think they had a little too much to drink....

Even Andy, who hasn't had a soda in 3 years, broke his streak and got in on the fun!

Definitely lots of fun family memories made - thanks, Coke!

School Recap: August

2011-08-31T15:01:00.000-04:00

We had a great start to our school year this month, and the rest of the month just got better! The girls also started weekly art and dance/tumbling classes that they've really enjoyed.

Here are a few of the highlights of some of the things we studied this month. (Due to their philosophy that fun snacks/lunches=fun school, I tried to incorporate an edible component to a lot of our learning. The girls were big fans!)

We studied creation and then made edible masterpieces by painting something God made on pieces of bread.

Who knew toast could be such a fun snack?!

We learned a lot about constellations!

We had an almost fail art project remaking our own crayons.

See that "FOR WATER ONLY" note on the side?? I didn't! These cute little trays I just had to have from IKEA began to melt along with the crayons. :(

They weren't perfect, but they girls like them. Definitely not a project we'll do again.

We had a field trip to the World of Coke Museum (which really deserves its own post!) and to the Georgia Aquarium.

We did a lot of dividing large groups into sub groups (which is building a foundation for what we're learning in grammar this year). I'm pretty sure their favorites were the plants (trees, grass, and flowers) and shapes (circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles) group activities.

Emma Lee's

Kerri's

Their favorite lunch of the month!

Debut

2011-08-27T10:55:00.000-04:00

Introducing my new, very on the side, official adventure: photography.

I'm renting out a studio and offering school portraits to homeschoolers on Sept. 9. I've had a great response so far! If you're in the area and want to get in, let me know quickly before it fills up!

I'm also offering a few sessions per month of either on location or studio shoots.

Check it out here!
Read about me and why I love photography so much. Look at a few of my favorite pictures, and let me know if you're interested!

Another Two Reasons

2011-08-21T22:25:00.000-04:00

After all, laughter is the best medicine, right?

Scene 1 - Kerri runs from the pool over to me and whispers excitedly in my ear,
"Mommy! I think I really AM a mermaid because I can see underwater! Isn't that great??!!"

Scene 2 - Walking out of our house at the same time a man carrying a suitcase is leaving our (single) neighbor's house.
Emma Lee: "Why do you have a suitcase?"
Unknown Man: "Because I have to go back home now."
Emma Lee (to me): "Oh, I thought he might be her husband. I guess he was just here to have fun with her."

Yeah, how do you explain that one!

One Reason

2011-08-17T19:03:00.000-04:00

Just one of the many reasons I've had to laugh today:

Emma Lee: "Mommy, why are you sneezing so much?"
Kerri: "I think it's because the boogers in her nose are dancing."

*Officially, this mommy does not condone the use of the word "boogers." Unofficially, this mommy might not have been able to keep from laughing her head off.

Kerri's Turn

2011-08-16T23:10:00.000-04:00

Just like we did last year for Emma Lee, we let Kerri get her ears pierced since she's an big kindergartner now! She wasn't about to let me forget that it was her turn!

She opted to take Mr. Penguin along with her to keep her brave. It was a tough deciding between Mr. Penguin and Jessie, but in the end Mr. Penguin won out due to his squishy and huggable nature - much more comforting.

It didn't take her long at all to decide which earrings she wanted. She chose cute little multi-colored daisies.

So excited! Not nervous at all!

She was so brave! Here's the video. She came close to crying, but in her words, "I just chose to laugh instead." Typical Kerri!

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Here's the before and after shot! Don't you just want to eat her up!

8-11-11 (A Little Late....Again) + Back to School

2011-08-15T13:08:00.000-04:00

So, this may be cheating a little, but I was behind on this month's photo challenge and decided to just wait a couple more days since I knew I'd be taking some back-to-school pictures today. Here are my sweet girls:

My Kindergartner!!!???

My First Grader!!!

We had a great first day back to school, and I think we're all really excited about this year. We talked about when we need to have/do/be for a good school year. Here's the list they came up with:
Good Snacks (first and most importantly!) ;)
Obey and Listen
Fun Trips with Friends
Respectful
Patient
Always Do Your Best

We also started out the morning by going through all their books and talking about what we're going to learn this year, and then I asked them what else they might want to learn about. Kerri had an immediate and very specific list:

How do butterflies make cocoons?
Are butterflies and bumblebees cousins?
How does lightening strike down?
What is the sun made out of?
Do fish really do school underwater?
She also wants to learn about ants, bumblebees. . . well, actually all bugs, rainbows, snapping turtles, and everything underwater. I'm thinking science will be a big winner with her!

Emma Lee wasn't quite as specific, but she's most excited that she gets to learn cursive because that's been a request of hers for a while. She also wants to start a nature collection, and "harder" math "like grown-up math" was at the top of her list.

Anatomy of a Sleepover

2011-08-07T23:59:00.000-04:00

Make-up

Dress-up

L-R: Flashlight Fashion Girl, Tinkerbell (who must have spent too much time with the lost boys), Ninja, & Purplicious Fashion Mermaid

Pizza

Dancing

Ice Cream

Movie (with popcorn of course!)

and slowly,
one-by-one,
eventually,
hours later,
just before midnight:

Sleep!

Turbulence

2011-08-06T13:15:00.000-04:00

You know the airplane game you play with your feet?

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Well, Kerri hit a little turbulence the other night.

*I promise, we didn't do this to them when they were babies!

**Just an FYI, those are Andy's feet - mine are much prettier! ;)

Our Little Drama Queen

2011-08-05T10:29:00.000-04:00

While we try not to promote the negatives aspects that can come along with having a drama queen in the family, we love it when the more positive side of her dramatic tendencies pop up. Here's Emma Lee giving a little reading about one of her favorite characters: Amelia Bedelia.

Simple Recipe for Crazy Fun

2011-08-01T15:02:00.000-04:00

Take 1 strong daddy and 1 brave girl.

Add a pool full of water and toss until thoroughly mixed!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

*Substitution: 1 diving board can be substituted for the strong daddy, but the results aren't nearly as good!

Beautiful

2011-07-28T21:30:00.000-04:00

They say bald is beautiful,

but hair is pretty darn cute too! I'm so glad she finally got some!

Here is Kerri's latest hair experiment. She LOVED it. As soon as she saw it, she laughed and said she looked just like a poodle (which might not seem like a compliment to anyone else in the world, but since her favorite stuffed dog is a poodle she was very happy).

Shameless Self-Promotion

2011-07-27T13:17:00.004-04:00

Ok, so I'm being one of those annoying "vote for me" people. Here's the story: I was checking out the canvas prints on Winkflash yesterday (60% off until 8/1 with the code CANVAS60), and I saw that they are doing a weekly photo contest with a $100 credit prize. Of course, my brain thought, "Hmm, free canvas would be even better than 60% off canvas," so here we are.

This week's theme is flowers, so I entered a picture I took of Macon's cherry blossoms this past spring. (Want to see it? Click the link and vote! Yeah, I'm mean like that!) I'm barely hanging in the top twenty, but the number one spot is (at this moment) only 35 votes ahead of me. Soooo, vote....for me! I won't complain either if you want to get your friends to vote for me too!

Your mission (should you choose to accept it) is simple. Click this link http://www.winkflash.com/contest/winkflash/browse.aspx?idce=56484 and click vote and you're done! My walls (and Andy's wallet) will thank you! This week's contest ends 8/1, but there's a new contest every week. If you want to enter another week I'll vote for you!

Multi-Purpose

2011-07-20T16:48:00.002-04:00

You know the great thing about slip-n-slides?

It comes with a built-in water fountain in case you get thirsty.

At least, that's what these silly girls thought.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

*Sorry about the "squashedness" of the video. I forgot I had my camera turned the wrong way.

Training Them Up

2011-07-19T16:34:00.001-04:00

When I was younger, I was the perfect big sister. Really! Ask any of my siblings. Take for example, the second born in our family, Anna. She will tell you I was her best friend, her role model, her confidant...okay, well she might also throw tormentor in there...maybe I wasn't so perfect after all. My sister frightens super easily, and without fail she offers a big reaction to anyone who would happen to take advantage of it. I don't know how many times I scared her growing up, and it didn't stop there. I remember going to great lengths to get in a couple good ones during our time together in college too.

Anyway, lately the girls have spent our dinnertime together begging Andy and I for stories from our childhood. I'll admit, several of my "scaring Anna" stories have surfaced during these times. Well, we just spent all of last week with Anna, and the girls (it was really all their own idea, I promise!) thought it would be great for them to continue the legacy and scare Aunt Anna. For days, they would come up to me whispering and planning what they could do. I even gave Anna fair warning and explained the situation (see - I am a great sister!). We finally came up with a plan. The girls hid in a large cabinet in one of the bathrooms at my parent's house. I was on my way to shower upstairs and called out to Anna to go get me a towel out of that cabinet. It worked! She screamed, they laughed, and here's another fair warning, they're planning for round two! Like mother, like daughter, huh?!

7-11-11 (a little late)

2011-07-19T12:37:00.000-04:00

*Playing catch up after being away from home and my computer most of the month!
Here's my monthly picture of the girls - just posted a little late!

Family Pictures

2011-07-09T21:10:00.000-04:00

I'd like to take this moment to thank my girls for being easily bribe-able (promises of a late night swim in the pool and a few pieces of chocolate was well worth it in my book). I'd also like to thank my husband for indulging me (although he might have been bribed as well.....).

Without further ado, here are a few of my favorites:

of course, there are LOTS more favorites. You can see them all here.

Vacation

2011-07-09T14:10:00.001-04:00

This was kind of a strange vacation for us. Normally, we go somewhere and stay for a week. This time, we split up our time between Savannah and Hilton Head. We had never been to either before, so it was fun to get to check them both out. I think it made our vacation seem a little shorter though because it felt like just as we were getting settled in, it was time to move on. We squeezed in as much fun as possible, with a little relaxing on the side.

On our way to Savannah, we stopped and spent most of the day at a water park. It was tons of fun, and the girls were real daredevils with the huge water slide and the "surfing" ride they have.

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*The girls are on the yellow, and Andy is beside them on the orange.

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(I also have an incriminating video of Andy on this, but have decided it's better for my well-being to refrain from posting in on my blog!)

We spent the 4th in Savannah. In the morning, we went to the Oatland Island Wildlife Center of Savannah and had a lot of fun walking their 2 mile trail and looking at all the animals. Of course, after a hot morning outside, we HAD to spend the afternoon in the pool. We ended the day with dinner and fireworks on the Riverwalk, where we also HAD to check out the world famous pralines and other treats from River Street Sweets - yummy!!

We did have one little "hiccup" in our vacation. I realized on the 4th that I forgot to pack my camera battery charger. I'll admit it. I'm not proud of it, but I had a Michaella version of a meltdown - read quiet, moody, and pouty - until we got it solved. I was looking into some options but thinking about how I could convince Andy to buy me a $40 charger that I already had at home. Andy is smart enough by now to leave me pretty much alone when I get like that, but he was thinking about how he was going to convince me that he was not going to buy a $40 charger that we already had at home. (Just for the record, I SO would have won out!). Fortunately, for a small fee, Battery Plus saved the day (and my birthday and maybe my marriage.....haha kidding) and charged my battery for me while we ate lunch. Whew! I'm pretty sure I'll not forget my charger ever again! After the crisis was solved, we headed to Hilton Head and celebrated my birthday. We had a great dinner at a really fun place, took a walk on the beach, and had ice cream with some friends.

The rest of the week was spent hanging out at the beach, doing a little shopping, getting a little beach entertainment for the kids with Gregg Russell, swimming in the pool, and applying aloe to everyone's sunburns!

Oh, and I think the part of the week I was most excited about (hence the reason I HAD to have my charger! ahem, letting it go now) . . . family pictures on the beach! You'll have to check back for those later though!

We're Back!

2011-07-08T20:19:00.001-04:00

We're back to our home sweet home (for a day or two). I've got 509 pictures to go through, and I'm excited because I think I got some good ones. We had a great time, and the girls were very adventurous in the water this year. They jumped right in without the slightest hesitation and were probably a little too brave for their own good. (If you're a mommy, you know this means much more work - no more relaxing on the beach with a book while your kids happily play at the edge of the water - but the smiles I got were so worth it!) Their favorite activity was catching waves with their boogie board, and they were pretty good at it! :)

Stay tuned - I'll have lots more vacation photos to post!

Family Time

2011-07-01T17:50:00.000-04:00

We've been counting down the weeks, and it's finally here! Vacation=fun family time with just the four of us! In typical Michaella fashion, I've got a week full of activities planned out but left plenty of time for relaxing and of course some beach bum time. I got a spur of the moment idea to make the girls and I dresses for a beach photo shoot and finished them up just in time. Here's a little sneak peak. I'm not sure how often I'll get to update my blog this week, but I'm sure it will be picture overload when we get back!

#7 for Emma Lee

2011-06-29T20:51:00.000-04:00

The Johnson household is keeping the tooth fairy in business! She's been able to twist it around backwards for days, but today it finally popped right out when she was playing her recorder.

Another cute, toothless smile!

#2 for Kerri

2011-06-28T18:58:00.000-04:00

The girls both have had a loose tooth for a while, so they've had a little sisterly debate going on about whose would come out first. Here's our winner! (Although she had a little help with a kick to the face by Emma Lee - oops!).

Look at that cute smile!

Not Much

2011-06-23T10:39:00.000-04:00

There's not much going on around here lately. I like to take a good week of relaxing and not doing too much after a week of VBS (and all the preparation that goes into it weeks beforehand).

Of course, it wouldn't be VBS without cousins, so we also had a few extras for part of the week. Man, do they know how to have fun together! I love it!

Now that I'm thinking about it, our "not much" has included a home visit with our social worker (read major housecleaning beforehand!), a morning full of legwork to get some of our adoption paperwork in order, a couple of playdates, an impromptu sewing project, swimsuit shopping (for mommy! Please tell me I'm not the only one who has to visit every store in the entire city to find one I'm happy with!). Yep, we're not up to much at all this week!

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T22:05:00.000-04:00

Words can't describe how happy this daddy makes his children!

Words can't describe how much I love him for it!

Thanks for being such a wonderful father to our children, Andy!

They wouldn't say much in the video because they really just wanted to play, but here are a few things they came up with for his card (with a little help from mommy to make it fit).

D is for daddy - we love you!
A is for awesome because you're the awesomest!
D is for delighting us with your stories, games, and silliness!
D is for date night - we love our special time with you!
Y is for yucky sweaty hugs (but the game is fun)

*And yes, for those of you wondering, this is what he looked like before his shower this afternoon!

Skinny Dipping

2011-06-13T17:41:00.000-04:00

It might be a little (or a lot) redneck,

but it was the perfect way to end the day.

Anything goes at grandparents' house, right?

6-11-11

2011-06-11T22:44:00.000-04:00

Almost didn't make this one, but here's my monthly picture of the girls.

You Might Be a Mommy of Girls If . . .

2011-06-09T23:43:00.000-04:00

The only band-aids you can find in the house are Hello Kitty, and it doesn't phase you a bit to wear it out in public.

Procrastinator's Motivation

2011-06-06T10:34:00.003-04:00

On a particularly hyper night for the girls last week, they were cracking me up making up songs and being silly about not wanting to go to bed yet. I gave in for a few minutes (just so I could pull out the camera, of course!)

I posted this video on Facebook last week, but I love it so much I had to put it on here. In case you haven't realized it yet, my blog is more for me than for you. I love being able to take a few minutes several days throughout the week to post what's going on, so I can look back at it later and stroll down memory lane. Your role is important though because I really believe that the fact that it's public and people are checking it on a regular basis (I've got proof, even though most of you don't leave me comments!) is what gives me the motivation to actually take those few minutes to sit down and do it (if you know me, you know I'm a procrastinator, although I'd like to believe that I've gotten a little better since my college days!). I have a pretty terrible track record with diaries, journals, and scrapbooks, but blogging works for me (because of you - thanks!) I'm so glad it does because then it gives me the opportunity to look back and remember times like

this
this
this
this
this
and this!

just to name a few!
Thank you!

Vocabulary Pains

2011-06-03T14:25:00.000-04:00

You gotta love the conversations you get with growing vocabularies! Here's one from yesterday:

Emma Lee: "Mommy, Kerri murdered."
Me: "Really, who did she murder?"
Emma Lee: "Me."
"Me: "Ummm, do you know what murdered means? It means she killed you - are you dead?"
Emma Lee: "No. Well, she did talk bad about me."
Me: "Ok, maybe you mean murmur?"
Emma Lee: "Yes! She murmured me!"

Please Don't

2011-06-02T09:49:00.000-04:00

Will somebody please tell this little princess not to grow up too fast!

Seriously! Please don't! Love, your mommy

Please Stop

2011-06-01T09:26:00.000-04:00

Will somebody tell this little miss that it is not okay to grow up this fast!

Seriously?! Please stop! Love, your mommy

For Those of You Just Dying to Know...

2011-05-27T17:51:00.001-04:00

I didn't win anything in CA or even make it onto the Price is Right, BUT I did have a pretty incredible time! We filled every minute of every day and while every part of it was not fun (stomach bugs, long waits, getting lost, and roads closed with no detours), we definitely made a lot of memories and even managed to still be best friends by the end of the week!

In LA, we did the whole tourist bit and went down Hollywood Blvd. and Rodeo Dr. We went to the Tonight Show with Jay Leno taping where the evening's guests were Ed Helms (Andy from the Office) and Chelsea Kane (from Dancing with the Stars). The whole thing was pretty neat to see, but we didn't really make it on tv. The Price is Right was pretty exciting. The very first person they called was the girl sitting in the seat right in front of me. A little later, I thought - for just a split second - that I made it on the show. It's so loud in there when they're calling the names that you can't really hear what they are saying. To find out if you're on, they have a guy standing in the front with the name on a big poster. I heard something Johnson and then looked to the board and saw Michael Johnson. Yeah, my heart skipped a beat or two, but then it all began to sink in as I saw a big guy stand up and make his way to the front. So close! Look for me on June 8th because while I didn't get to "come on down," I did get a lot of screen time!

California is such a beautiful state. I usually don't take a lot of scenery type pictures, but I couldn't help myself there. Between the miles and miles of farmland, the gorgeous ocean, and the majestic mountains, it's a little easy to go camera crazy! One of my favorite days was when we walked around Monterey. I loved all the amazing views and thought it was pretty cool to see tons (literally!) of sea lions and seals all on the beach. It's easy to forget animals like that actually live outside of zoos and aquariums!

San Francisco is definitely not one of my favorite cities, but I did really love our Alcatraz tour. I knew very little of the history, and it was all very fascinating. I'll spare you the long history lesson, but it started out as a military base, transitioned into a prison, became occupied by Indians hoping to claim some territory as their own, and is now part of the National Park Service. The island itself is very beautiful, and San Francisco looks a lot better from a distance!

While I love the fact that I have some amazing friends and enjoy every chance I have to spend some time with them, by the end of the week I was so ready to be back home with my sweet little family! Nothing can compare to them and the life that we have together! The time I spend away from them makes me realize all over again how blessed I am! There's no place like home!

*For more pictures click here.

End of the Year Celebration

2011-05-15T17:37:00.004-04:00

Our school year is officially over, and I had fully intended to post a brief overview of all that we've learned and done this year. Time's gotten away with me though, so it'll have to wait until later because I've got to get my bags packed and ready to go!!! We did have a big end of our first year celebration that included lunch at Chuck E. Cheese's (or the place where 92% of all pandemics begin, according to Andy).

My favorite students!

It was the first time the girls were more focused on which games give the most tickets instead of which little ride is the most fun. Just another sign that my babies are growing up. Sigh. It seems like I've seen more and more of that in the last several weeks.

It was a tough decision, but they finally got all of their tickets spent, and then because there were still plenty of hours left in our day of celebration, we headed off to a state park/lake.

The weather was perfect, and the crowds were non-existent.

Of course, Kerri had to try and make some furry friends

without their mommy's permission!

It was a great day to celebrate a great year!

In Her Own Little World

2011-05-13T20:33:00.000-04:00

If you came to visit our house around 8:30 pm on any given night, you'd have about a 50% chance of seeing Kerri hopping around the house with both legs crammed into one side of her pants. "Why?" you ask . . .

because she's a mermaid of course!!

A little while back, she made the comment to me that she is 1/2 mermaid and 1/2 independent. Gotta love that girl!

5-11-11

2011-05-11T10:38:00.000-04:00

Here's my monthly picture for my challenge to myself to take at least one picture of the girls together every month. To see the first four pictures, you can click here, here, here, and here!

I'm pretty sure that this is my favorite picture of the girls - ever! It was a quick moment of unprompted affection, and I just so happened to have my camera ready. Oh, how I love these sweet girls! I actually took quite a few pictures before/after this one. You can see the rest of them here if you'd like.

Sunshine(s)

2011-05-08T08:44:00.000-04:00

You are my sunshine

My only sunshine

You make me happy

When skies are grey

You'll never know dear
How much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away.

Thank you sweet girls for giving me the best job in the world. I love being your mommy so much! I can't believe God gave me the two best girls in the world, but I'm so incredibly glad He did! I love you!

California or Bust

2011-05-06T18:12:00.000-04:00

In less than 2 weeks, I'll be boarding a plane and landing in San Francisco to meet up with 2 out of 3 of my best friends from college (we're sooo sad our 4th couldn't make it to our annual get together this year, but she's got a pretty adorable little baby boy to make up for it!).

The four of us last year in Ocean City, MD

I think we've planned out almost every second, and we're pretty determined to fit in as much as possible! At this point, our itinerary includes checking out as much of San Fran as we can in a day, including a boat ride and a tour of Alcatraz, several days in LA taking in as many "must-sees" as we can and attending a taping of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno AND *insert drum roll here* the Price is Right!!! Plenty of beach time and a little trip to Lake Tahoe are also in our plans. Yes, I'm only going to be there for a week, but who needs sleep, right?!

Let's go back to the Price is Right thing - pretty much a dream come true for me! To say that I'm excited to have tickets to be in the audience is putting it mildly, add to that all the magnificent "what ifs" that are running through my head, I'll readily admit it: I'm having a hard time living in the land of reality here. ~~Since it's always better to be prepared~~ (ok, who am I fooling) Since I tend to spend a lot of time in the "what if" world, we've been doing a lot of game show watching around here, you know - just in case. With "Come on down!" being shouted at random times throughout the day and excited bids of "$1!" coming out of my children's mouths (along with requests to please win them that trip to Disney or that really cool cotton candy maker), I might just be creating a monster (well, several).

The other thing about going to the show is something that, I admit, is one of the very first things that popped into my mind when I found out: What shirts are we going to wear? There has got to be a line between game show spirit and TOO (because I know they all are on some level) tacky, but I'm pretty sure I don't know where it is. Here are my top two ideas:

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Call me on down
Cause I *heart* Drew

or

I *heart* The Price is Right (on black t-shirt with rhinestones)

Neither one of them are the work of a creative genius, I know, but I'm working with the best I've got. Give me a little help, and tell me what you think!!

Goofy

2011-05-04T15:44:00.001-04:00

Just because it has been that kind of day around here!

It's a Jungle Out There

2011-05-02T09:21:00.000-04:00

Or at least it sounds like it. Here, listen for yourself -

Cicadas 2011 from Michaella Johnson on Vimeo.

Ok, here's your science lesson for today (and way more bug pictures than should be in any post but in some way it's grossly fascinating).

Ever heard of cicadas? You know, the little locust type bugs that leave their little brown shells around on trees and leaves?

Come to find out, there's another kind called periodical cicadas. These cicadas live underground for either 17 or 13 years (the ones we have right now are the 13 year ones), then they come out, mate, lay eggs, and die. In another 13 years, their offspring will follow the same pattern.

After a little research, here are some things I've discovered:

The source of the noise:
Cicada nymphs emerge from the ground, crawl up trees, shed their skins, and fly to the treetops from which the males call for mates. Females reply with wing clicks to lure in the males. They only sing during the day - at night everything's nice and peacefully quiet again.

Everywhere you look - up high, down low, or in the middle - you can spot tons of the shells

Weird fact:
Apparently, they taste good: cats, dogs, and even some people like to eat them. I stumbled across recipes for cicada stir-fry, deep-fried cicada, and cicada rhubarb pie along with instructions on how to properly gather, blanch, and store them. Gross! (Please, if you've eaten a cicada - or any bug for that matter - don't ever tell me or I might not be able to get over it enough to ever hang out with you!)

Reasons not to be scared:
Cicadas are not pests -they don't eat up or damage plants or anything else (they eat tree sap, even when they are underground).
Cicadas are no threat to humans. They don't bite, sting, lay eggs on you or in you, or even land on you (unless, I'm guessing, in the case that you are camouflaged as a tree . . . then they might).

Reasons I'm still scared:
They are bugs.
They are big bugs.
They are big, freaky looking bugs. They have bright red eyes and orange on their huge wings. (Did I mention that they are big?)
They leave behind scary looking shells all over the place, and I don't want to accidentally touch or crunch one.

Basically, the only reason I'm still in Macon for the next 4-6 weeks is because (other than the noise and the shells which don't move so I can tolerate them) they really do keep to themselves. Trust me, if they were flying around all over the place, there is absolutely no way that I would venture out of the house! Every now and then, I'll spot a dead one, but that's it.

Little known fact:
Ok, here's the real reason why it bothers me so much. I can tune out just about anything: laughing, talking, singing, playing, crying, giggling, screaming - none of it bothers me. Little noises that shouldn't bother any normal person drive me crazy: buzzing from a speaker, humming of a light, the background noise of singing cicadas that I can still faintly hear inside my house. On second thought, maybe I should rethink the whole extended trip . . .

Guess who's pretty excited about it all though - this weird child of mine who doesn't mind any creature, no matter how disgusting or annoying they are (except for ants which totally freak her out - go figure!?)

No Longer a Baby

2011-04-26T12:49:00.001-04:00

*Alternatively titled, How to Get Your Child to Beg for Bedtime!

I guess it's official now: you're not really a baby anymore when your baby teeth start falling out.

Guess who couldn't be more excited!!

It was relatively drama free compared to all that we've gone through with Emma Lee. Kerri was just chewing some gum and out popped her tooth! No bleeding, no tears, no tooth. Well, no baby tooth - you can see that her "big girl tooth" is already coming in!

About every five minutes or so she asks if it's time to go to bed or if she can please go to sleep. I have a feeling it's going to be a long day! On the other hand, I think I could get away with a 7:00 bedtime tonight!

My Springtime Flowers

2011-04-19T09:40:00.000-04:00

are my favorite flowers of all.

Reminder (Just in Case I Forgot)

2011-04-17T18:10:00.001-04:00

I don't miss wiping a stinky little bottom - not one little bit!

This should have come along with a disclaimer: Warn child when taking her "special" medicine that things that might normally just result in rude sounds will possibly have another effect and should only be done while sitting on the toilet . . . just in case! I'm just glad it happened after we got home today!

*The name of the child has purposefully not been disclosed to avoid the chance of her renouncing me at a later point in her life. However, you'd probably only need one guess about which one it could possibly be! ;)

Strawberry Season

2011-04-16T22:16:00.000-04:00

We set out on Friday night to do a little strawberry picking (it comes early here in GA)!

Here are some of the highlights from our little outing:

Someone forgot to let the girls in on the fact that picking actually means putting them in the bucket...not in their mouths!

Multi-tasking at its finest

Fun family togetherness

Good time with a sweet friend on her first strawberry picking experience

Big, juicy, sweet berries

And the whole picking-one-and-seeing-an-even-better-one-that-you-just-have-to-pick problem that resulted in over 10 pounds of berries!

4-11-11

2011-04-11T13:08:00.003-04:00

Just realized that today is the 11th, so here's my monthly challenge post!

Accomplished Swallower

2011-04-11T09:16:00.001-04:00

I don't know what age is "normal" for kids to be able to swallow pills. I just know that for me, it has always been a struggle. I couldn't do it until I was 18, and even now they can't be too big. For Emma Lee, it just so happens that she is able to do it at age 6 (and almost a half as she will quickly let you know!) She's been having a lot of allergy problems, so we're going to see if this helps her - at least until everything stops blooming around here!

Andy coached her through it first, and then we caught her first attempts (and success) on video. I guess her swallowing her tooth wasn't too much of a fluke after all!

Accomplished Swallower from Michaella Johnson on Vimeo.

(Mommy's happy because it seems like such a great accomplishment. Daddy's happy because you can get 40 pills to swallow for the same price as 12 pills that dissolve!)

Adoption Update

2011-04-09T21:38:00.000-04:00

I've been putting this post off for quite a while, despite the many requests and questions about how things are going. It's hard to get excited about writing about waiting, waiting, and more waiting, which is what we're still doing. I heard from our program coordinator yesterday, and the MOJ is slowly (but surely?) plodding away. They're meeting, on average, about three times a month.

We do have some things to work on at the moment. It's time for us to begin working on our CIS I800A renewal. We need to update our home study before we can file for an extension, so we're in the process of finding a local home study agency and getting that done. Also, at the end of the summer, we'll have to complete our yearly declaration for Bulgaria to let them know that we still want to adopt. Welcome back, paperwork.

That's the specifics. The real update is on what I'm learning through this journey. This whole process has definitely strengthened my faith and my relationship with God more than any other experience in my life. Recently, I was reading through Habakkuk (obscure place I know, but I'm going through this awesome study right now) and some things really jumped out at me. Here's what Priscilla Shirer writes about it:

We don't know how long Habakkuk had been calling out to God, but when it appeared that He was not answering, Habakkuk pointed an accusatory finger at God (read his prayer in Hab. 1:2-4). Habakkuk became increasingly discouraged and started to lose confidence that the Lord would answer him. God finally spoke up and answered the prophet in verse 5 - "Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days - you would not believe if you were told." With these words, God gave Habakkuk a spiritual vision. The prophet received encouragement to look around and observe. While Habakkuk waited on God to answer, God was already answering! . . . Even though the prophet wasn't seeing God respond in the way and timing he expected, God was speaking and moving. He always is - even in His silence.

Wow, how nice of her to write this whole book just for me! She continues to point out:

Habakkuk's second prayer is completely different from his first. After seeing his circumstances through new eyes, his level of anticipation increased.

Along with this, I'm making David's prayer my own: "In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch." Psalm 5:3

There's my challenge, and I'm assuming that it just might be yours too! Aren't we all "waiting" (read complaining) about God not doing things according to our plans and timing far too often?

Things I Find Myself Saying

2011-04-05T12:21:00.006-04:00

My friend did a post about the things she catches herself saying throughout the day, and I enjoyed it so much I thought I'd do the same thing. It's funny how many things I say that just pass for "normal" around here. Here are a few of the things I've found myself saying lately:

1. "Your toothbrush is only for your teeth. Please don't scrub anything else with it!"

2. "You're a girl, and you sit! How can you miss the toilet?!"

3. "Do you really think that right here in the middle of the sidewalk is the best place to scrape all that poop off your shoe?"

4. "Please stop playing with the cheetos and look at me when I'm talking to you so I know you're listening!"

5. "I don't know how old you will be when you get to have your own cell phone. I do know it's too far away to talk about now though!"

6. "Umm, you know what happens to the things you swallow don't you . . . ."

7. "No! You may NOT have oreos for breakfast!"

8. "Ok, you were right....this time." (ouch!)

9. "Yes, you're right. I could probably say that a little nicer." (double ouch!)

10. "Umm, those are boxers and they go on daddy's booty, so I don't think I'd put them on my head if I were you!"

And the thing I just can't say enough: "I love you more!"

For those of you just dying to know - here are the "answers."
1,3,5,7,9, 10 (you probably guessed it) = Kerri!
2 ("funny" story) and 6 = Emma Lee
4 and 8 = Andy

6 at 6

2011-04-02T21:22:00.002-04:00

The tooth fairy is about to go broke around here! Not only does Kerri have a loose tooth, but Emma Lee lost her second tooth of the week today.

That's 6 total for her! Is it just me or is that not crazy for a six year old?!

She actually swallowed it at some point during dinner without realizing it. (Guess she's not taking after me in that area! Little known fact - I have the hardest time swallowing pills. My first one wasn't until I was in college and even now they have to be little and I have to wash them down with a carbonated drink.) She was so upset when she realized it was missing. I assured her that the tooth fairy would still come, and she wrote a note right away explaining what happened.

Pure Joy

2011-03-31T21:13:00.001-04:00

For weeks and weeks, Kerri's been complaining about the injustice and unfairness of the fact that she has no loose teeth in sight, even though Emma Lee had loose teeth when she was five. While we were eating tonight she kept complaining about a "boo-boo in her mouth." I finally checked it out and realized that it was a new tooth coming in and that she has one pretty loose baby tooth. I have seriously never ever ever seen her more excited about anything. She was absolutely giddy!

I have a feeling I'm going to be seeing a lot of this until she gets that thing out of there!

If...

2011-03-29T13:02:00.001-04:00

If you give a girl a tutu,

she's going to want to twirl!

All's Well That Ends Well

2011-03-28T15:35:00.001-04:00

After an unfortunate incident with scissors, it was pretty essential that Emma Lee get a haircut (Side note: WHY does my SIX year old lure me into a false sense of security that she is getting to be pretty trustworthy when left in her room alone and then do something like chop off a hunk of hair from her own head like a TWO year old??? AND why would that same six year old then proceed to cry herself to sleep because she doesn't want to get a haircut??)

I also thought it would be a pretty good time for Kerri to get a haircut, but she's been consistently resisting the idea for quite a while. Sooooo, I did what any good mommy would do - I resorted to some manipulation along with a tad of bribery thrown in there for good measure - and she actually agreed (as long as it was still longer than Emma Lee's!).

In the long run, they both ended up loving their new looks!

(Click picture for a larger view)

For All My Northern Friends

2011-03-23T11:40:00.001-04:00

who are so tired of the cold and now more snow. I know you might be thinking that the grass is greener ~~on the other side~~ down here, and you're probably right.

Don't worry, though - it's just the pollen! Enjoy breathing up there!

A Time for Everything

2011-03-21T11:15:00.001-04:00

There is a time for "fun" school,

and there is a time for worksheets.

(Especially when mommy has a busy season with extra proofreading demands that requires a lot of time spent at the computer.)

Fortunately for me, the girls think (at least for today) that it's new and exciting to be holed up in the office with me!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T16:23:00.001-04:00

Click on the collage to see larger pictures

I'm afraid I set a precedent last year, and the girls remembered and planned all year for the day you get to wear green and eat green food. Kerri insisted that we couldn't do all the same things - we had to have some new things and everything had to be green. Last year, Emma Lee's preschool made quite a big deal about leprechauns, so they were really excited to find masks that they could paint. We also made rainbow cupcakes (a few actually had the rainbow layers like they were "supposed" to but most ended up being a pretty rainbow swirl. For lunch, they had broccoli, cucumber, and celery sticks with green ranch, green grapes, green goldfish (yes! I picked out every single green fish from a big container of colored goldfish - slightly obsessive, I know!), mini sandwiches made with green bread, and green sprite! All in all, a very fun and green filled day to celebrate a missionary and the country he served (since we're not the slightest bit Irish!)

Love and Marriage

2011-03-14T12:46:00.004-04:00

After over 8 years of marriage, Andy and I finally had the opportunity to attend our first marriage conference (FamilyLife Weekend to Remember) this past weekend. With the busy past year we've had, full of changes in our lives, we felt like we really needed the chance to get away and reconnect. We both feel like we have a very healthy marriage, so we didn't feel like we needed to "fix" anything. It was so amazing and worth it to just have so much uninterrupted quality time together. I think that we each even learned a little something new about the other person, and I know that we were definitely reminded of the fact that all healthy marriages take work.

The very first sentence of the conference was one of the things that stuck with me the most throughout the whole weekend: "Every marriage is either moving toward oneness or drifting toward isolation." There is no stagnancy in marriage - you are either moving toward one another or drifting away from each other. Wow! That's kind of a scary thought considering how many other things are vying for our attention and how easy it is to take care of the "problem" things in our lives first and leave the "healthy" things alone until they develop problems. No wonder so many people wake up one day and feel like they're married to a stranger!

We enjoyed ourselves so much that we made the decision to set aside one weekend every year just to focus on our marriage. It won't be a conference every year, probably more often than not, it will involve us getting away and going through some type of marriage book together and making it a point to spend some quality time with just each other.

I'm so grateful for the amazing husband God has given to me and for the 8+ years that we have had together!

3-11-11

2011-03-11T13:45:00.000-05:00

I've made it three months in my challenge to myself. Just for the fun of it, I threw in a couple extra from today's photo shoot.

Rain, Rain

2011-03-09T13:45:00.000-05:00

You can stay,
If you wash my allergies away!

Overheard

2011-03-06T14:26:00.001-05:00

Scene: Driving around doing errands with the girls in the back seat...

Emma Lee: But Kerri, she's my BFF.

Kerri: Your "bff"?

Emma Lee: No, my B-F-F.

Kerri: Your "bff"???

Emma Lee: NO, my B--F--F! It means best friends forever!

Kerri: Oh, that's weird; I thought you were spelling "bff"!

Father/Daughter Banquet (plus mommy/daughter fun!)

2011-03-05T17:59:00.000-05:00

Emma Lee and Andy attended the annual Father/Daughter banquet at our church last night (Kerri won't be old enough until next year).

Emma Lee got all "fancied up" and picked everything out herself, from her dress (which we literally shopped until we about dropped trying to find!) to her hairstyle.

Her date treated her right by cleaning up his ride and showing up with her first corsage.

Of course, Kerri and I had to do something special too, so Kerri's choice was dinner at her favorite restaurant

followed by roller skating for the first time. We had tons of laughs and learned that some things that happen at the roller skating rink stay at the roller skating rink!

Tons of fun was had by all! Click here if you want to see more pictures of our evening.

So Long...

2011-03-03T21:50:00.001-05:00

As much as I had to battle feeling like a traitor, I had to give in to reason and find a new home for our sweet Oreo. His sweetness was well overshadowed by his energy (to put it mildly). I kept hoping that he would settle into a happy medium, but the truth is that he was much too rough for the girls, even though it was all in the spirit of playing. It dawned on me that the girls were the ones that I had gotten a dog for and they weren't even playing with him or enjoying him at all. They were too busy being upset with him for jumping on them, play biting them, grabbing things from them, etc. I worked hard to find him a new (hopefully permanent, for his sake!) home, and I hope that he's happy there.

Despite everything, when the time came for him to walk out the door, the girls (and myself) were all upset. I shared an important life lesson with them tonight: there are times when cuddling in front of the tv with some tissues and chocolate is just the right kind of medicine for a sad heart.

...Farewell, Oreo. We'll always love you, buddy!

*This post is not supported by nor does it reflect the thoughts and feelings of Andy Johnson or Felix! Not everyone was exactly sad to see him go.

Green(ish)

2011-03-02T14:37:00.002-05:00

Ok, ok, who am I fooling? I'm not even really a little "green," unless it doesn't involve too much of me going out of my way, OR it saves me money - which leads me to my latest project: making my own laundry detergent. I'll admit it; it's one thing I NEVER thought I'd do. I don't even remember what made me first look into it. The turning point in my mind was when I realized how much cheaper it is than buying a big box of Tide. So, I'm not green, but I AM always looking for a "deal."

Yesterday just so happened to be the day when I ran out of laundry detergent and made my own for the first time. It also happened to be a full day spent playing outside, which resulted in clothes with grass stains, dirt, and mud: the perfect test.

After some online research, here's the "recipe" I used (I wanted to do a powdered detergent because the homemade liquid just looks gross and sounds like too much work). All three of these ingredients were available at my Kroger. I barely made a dent in the boxes of borax and washing soda, so they'll last me a long time.

1 bar laundry soap (I used Fels Naptha - $1.29)
1 cup of borax (76 oz. box $3.99)
1 cup of washing (not baking!) soda (55 oz box $2.79)
(I think this is supposed to equal 40 loads worth, using 2 tablespoons per load - not bad for about $2!)

I grated the bar of soap and mixed the ingredients. Done! So easy. So simple. So fast. So cheap!
(I actually ended up dumping it all into the blender to get the soap bits it a little more "powdery," but I really don't think that was necessary.)

Best of all, the true test is that my load of clothes came fresh and clean (without any pre-treating). Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm going to stick with this!

Sunny Days

2011-02-26T10:30:00.000-05:00

Although we're enjoying the warm weather we've had the last week (and more still to come - 81 on Sunday!!?), I'm a little scared about what warm 70s (80s!?) in February means for the summer months.

Oh well, we'll enjoy today and think about that "tomorrow."

Shaken Not Churned

2011-02-24T16:24:00.004-05:00

In spite of all the sickness around here, we've still managed to get a good bit accomplished in school. We're almost finished with our farm animals mini-unit, and after comparing goat's milk to cow's milk last week we moved on this week to learning about dairy products. We made our own butter, which involved a whole lot of shaking, a little creativity (using a nalgene bottle instead of a mason jar), and a little accident (shaking a bottle near your face may result in some trauma!).

After the butter was done, the girls sampled some in their "dairy party."

They had bread with their homemade butter, crackers with cream cheese, pretzels dipped in sour cream, cheese, yogurt, vanilla wafers dunked in milk, chocolate milk to drink, and (their favorite of course) ice cream. They definitely met their dairy requirements for today!!

Side Note: It's so funny how I just assume that they know where everything comes from, but they really have no clue! A couple of my friends and I were talking this week about how most Americans are so far removed from from the "food process." We just go to the store (without even marveling at the many selections!), pick whatever we're in the mood for, and buy it. Case in point, when I first asked the girls to name some dairy products after we had talked about some of the things that come from cow's milk, Kerri said she thought bananas came from cows. I laughed thinking she was joking and asked her why she thought that. She pointed out that bananas are the same color as milk, so they must be made from it. Emma Lee agreed and thought Kerri had a pretty good point. When I told them that bananas grow on trees, they were the ones who laughed and thought I was joking! I really hope it didn't confuse them that part of their yogurt for their dairy party just happened to be banana flavor....hmm should have thought that one out a little better!

Reasons

2011-02-21T09:26:00.001-05:00

Reason number 2,856

and reason number 2,857

why I love this man so much!

Kerri's Turn

2011-02-19T14:54:00.000-05:00

Kerri has been eagerly waiting for almost a whole year for her turn at a reading chart. She learned to read like everything else she's learned to do - quickly and with hardly any help from me! Apparently, having a sister just one year older creates quite the learning incentive! Hey, potty training herself in a day, reading whole books on our first real try . . . no complaining here!! After a couple weeks of her reading to me, I let her know that I thought that she was ready for her long awaited reading chart. She literally started jumping up and down and squealing. She had her first row filled within a few hours! Here she is proudly displaying her reading chart.

Here's her first book she read for her reading chart.

Big sister is excited to be the listener!

E-Love

2011-02-14T08:00:00.021-05:00

Since these Valentine's Day cards only made it out to grandparents and cousins, here's the e-version for you.

T-shirt Ideas
	Roses are red
	Rhinestones
	Go back to the drawing board!
	I've got a better idea

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