The Johnson Family

Thursday, July 30, 2020

Our New Adventure

I guess I'll see how this goes! We are on to our next adventure. We sold our home of almost 6 years and decided to build.

We found 2 acres and became excited about the building process.

Friday, December 19, 2014

2nd Grade Christmas Party

The second grade collected toys for CASA and took them to Jerry’s Chevrolet. They sang Christmas carols and had cookies and hot chocolate. Then they came back to the school to have their party.

We had a good time. I think we are all ready for the break.

The boys with their teacher, Mrs. Westmoreland. We really like her, a lot. I cannot say enough about how much I really like her. Keep in mind, when we left Beck, the boys had teachers that we specifically placed. So, Hagen had his teacher from Kindergarten that had moved to 2nd. He had a teacher that knew him, knew him very well.

Mason had a teacher that he had build a relationship with over the course of first grade. Some crazy bond that they created and she personally picked him. She wanted him in her class and made sure he was in there… and he was. He loved her. Yes, I ripped him away from that. Mom guilt. But, I have met Mrs. West four times now and each time, I can’t speak enough about how much I like her. I think for a transition year for them, she is great. Perfect.

So, how are the boys adjusting? It is hard. Harder than I thought. I tried to use Jeremy’s analogy of the Band-Aid. We ripped it off and it hurt, but I was ready for it to heal. Is it healed, nope. It still hurts. The boys still miss their friends. We miss our friends. We miss knowing everyone. We miss going to the school party and knowing everyone. Hey, I miss going to the boys’ school and the school secretary knows not only me but each of my kids’ names. It’s hard. It’s harder than I thought.

Here are the boys with a few kids from the party.

We are adjusting. We are settling in. It is taking time. Some days are great, others are hard. Would we do it again? Yes. Without a doubt, we see the big picture. We see what we did and why. It’s just hard getting 7 year olds to see the big picture, too. Thanks for your prayers as we continue to adjust.

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Hope’s Landing

We went to Arkansas for our annual Christmas Trip. While there, Grammy took us to a place that helps children with disabilities. They use horses for some of their therapies. We were able to meet some of the horses.

We also met Santa.

"How Preemie Moms Are Chosen" by Erma Bombeck

Did you ever wonder how the mothers of premature babies are chosen?
Somehow, I visualize God hovering Earth, selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to take notes in a giant ledger. "Armstrong, Beth, son. Patron Saint...give her Gerard. He's used to profanity." Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles.
"Give her a preemie."
The angel is curious. "Why this one God? She's so happy."
"Exactly," smiles God. "Could I give a premature baby a mother who knows no laughter? That would be cruel."
"But does she have the patience?" asks the angel.
"I don't want her to have too much patience, or she'll drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it. I watched her today. She has that sense of self and independence so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I am going to give her has a world of it's own. She has to make it live in her world, and that's not going to be easy."
God smiles. "This one is perfect. She has just the right amount of selfishness. "
The angel gasps, "Selfishness! Is that a virtue?"
God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she will never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't know it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a spoken word. She will never consider a step ordinary. When her child says momma for the first time, she will be witness to a miracle and know it. I will permit her to see cleary the things that I see - ignorance, cruelty, prejudice - and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."
"But what about her Patron Saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in the air.
God smiles.
"A mirror will suffice."