guess who's home?!

{Small note...blogger is driving me CRAZY.  I lost the ENTIRE first post I wrote.  This does not make me want to update.  It makes me want to drink wine.}

Well, he has actually been home for almost a week!

You'll have to forgive me for my laziness...

our family is back together again!

We have been busy just spending time together & working on getting Brad's sleep back on track.

So, last Tuesday night, we headed to Baltimore-Washington International airport to pick up Daddy!

Finally!

The extra fun part was that we got to have company...

our friends, Anastassia, Athena & Elias went with us!

I didn't want Anasstasia to have to take the kiddos to the airport,

but she said she could go & take a video for us.

I've never had a video.  It sounded pretty wonderful!

{oh, and blogger won't load my video.  seriously?}

I'm not sure I've even had a picture to prove I go to pick him up!

Thankfully, they live 15 minutes from the airport, so I didn't feel quite as bad!

Here we are waiting.

There is a group who helps you at the airport, Operation Welcome Home Maryland.

To me, what they do is very special.

They thank every person coming off the plane & 

they have cowbells.

The cowbells kept Elias pretty entertained while he waited in his stroller!  :)

They told us where to wait & updated us to the best of their abilities.

When the military is involved, sometimes there is not definitive information involved.  I'm just sayin'.

Do you see the girl on the left side of the picture?

She is a young gal.  With a hubby on Brad's plane.

She texts & he texts=updated information on what is going on.

{Please don't text me.  I don't text!  We're so 2003.} 

And the gal in the white dress...on the right side of the photo.

She came from Little Rock to surprise her hubby.

That made me get teary.  Okay, what didn't?!

She & I also figured out we were both prior service, personnel officers, came off active duty in 2003 & knew some of the same people!

Crazy.  Well, okay.  It's not really that crazy in the Air Force.

Small world.

 More waiting...thank goodness someone was taking pictures!  :)  

My mind was on other things!

Abby said,

"It has been over 10 minutes.  I know it has been longer.  How long have we been waiting?  Why did that lady say 10 minutes?"

HAHAHA.

All things I thought myself...

More cuteness while waiting

Here is the special picture Abby made for Daddy  :)

As a mom & wife, I always worry about the reaction when Brad is gone & he comes home.

You want the girls to run to Daddy like he's been gone 7 months, but not freaked out because he has been gone for 7 months.  I don't know why I even gave it a second thought...it was perfect! 

They ran right to him & couldn't get enough!

LOVE this one!  

Now we have a cute little family picture...

thanks, Anastassia!  :)

Off to do all the fun things we have planned...

swimming, snuggling, road trip 2011, and all sorts of other adventures!

little ballerinas...

Here are the long-awaited ballet pictures...

okay, only the grandparents & daddy were getting a little bitter!

{and maybe an aunt or 2!}

Ballerina #1...

Beks has been waiting for this day.

For 3 years.  :)

Here is some sort of dance move/pose...

The bun...

or as Abby has informed me, a twist!

{this is as good as it gets...can't see me googling how to do it correctly any time soon!}

So cute!

Not a bit nervous...

she ran into the class on the first day & said,

"See you in a little bit, Mommy."

Can you believe all the pink cuteness?!

And the MOST important part of dance...

the dance stamps you get at the end of class!

The big girls' dance class.

There is something I haven't told you yet...

can you see who Abby is holding hands with?

Look closely.

It's Ella!

The Davis family has moved to Virginia!

{more on that later!}

Ms. Linda was wonderful!

How we feel about waiting during Abby's dance class!

More cute posing for me...

enjoy it, because she is moving on to bigger & better things.

She has chosen ice skating for her activity this year...and swimming.

These two are so precious together...

what a relationship.

From Korea to the states--wouldn't know we missed a whole year in there!

That's a wrap on summer dance!

Beks originally wanted dance to be her activity for the year...

not any more!

She has chosen SOCCER ONLY!

Be still her daddy's heart.

{stay tuned for some exciting stories!}

a nap

For a girl who isn't interested in naps anymore, she sure needs them!  LOTS of whining & moaning going on, so today, Beks took a swimming-induced nap.  Have I mentioned the glorious bit that swimming and the delightfully high temperatures cause my girls to sleep quite well?

Ballerina princesses {in full tutu ensemble!} DO nap.

I should write a book.

After this wonderful nap, I even took the girls to the pool before bed!

It's all part of my evil sleep plan.

And it is working.  :)

I was reading here today...and the topic of patience (or lack thereof) always resonates with me!  It's something that as a mom, I feel like is my biggest hinderance.  Truly, some days, I can't believe how much I am like a child--how I let myself become frustrated & irritated by a 6-year-old and 3-year-old.  I can feel it when it's happening, but it's something I have to work on every day.

This is just a piece of what Ann Voskamp wrote on her blog today:

“And he who does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me…” ~Mt. 10:38

Take up a cross… Be willing to suffer… this — these are the marks of a follower of Christ.

Perhaps our greatest daily temptation is to be impatient — to refuse to suffer.

Perhaps my greatest daily sin is to refuse to suffer — to refuse to take up the cross of Christ.

Perhaps my greatest sin is refusing to wait on God’s ways — but to want my own will done — now.

Patience is a surrendering to suffering — a willingness to wait — a carrying of the Cross.

I whisper the heart-known words, what the heart now beats out because now the Words are in the veins and the genes: “And he who does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.”

Today — there is always that possibility — to carry the cross, surrender to suffering, be willing to wait…

I’m hushed and gently turned around, the soul creases smoothed out, the heart dust brushed off.

A Long Time Coming...

Can I get a HALLELUJAH?!
Finally.

It's still supposed to be a secret...she wants to tell everyone herself.
So, this is for Daddy.  She has already broken the news to him...

Abby is swimming.

If I could tell you the excitement that brings me...

I even got a little teary today. 

{Shocking, I know!  HA!)

We had been doing lessons from January until we left for our 49-day road trip.

Which is an entirely different story, but the important part is that we had FIVE MONTHS {5!!!!} of lessons.  Abby had done pretty well at the beginning.  Then, one of her little friends in class threw up in the pool.  Let's just call that the beginning of the end.  Can you say anxiety?  And Mommy stress?  So, we changed locations & teachers.  The new teacher let her play with toys in water so shallow she could sit down in it.  This is when I began to call these the "happy feel good swim lessons."  I explained to Abby that she could play in the bath tub with toys, and we wouldn't be spending $75 on swim lessons anymore.  Fast forward...about 2 weeks ago, we started back up.  My friend Robin had 3 semi-private lessons left with a teacher she wanted me to meet.  New pool...new teacher.  Round 3.  First lesson: Abby left telling me that she didn't know about Coach Mary.  She said, "Coach makes me do everything.  I'm not supposed to tell her no."  Goodness, Mommy likes Coach Mary already!  :)  Buh-bye happy feel good lessons.  Hello actual teacher.  She has 30 years experience, and 6 kids.  I'm sold.  SO, I signed my girls up for semi-private lessons with her.

And Abby is swimming.

Because Mary won't let her tell her no.  She is the teacher...Abby can tell her why she doesn't want to do something, but she can't say no.  :)  Someone is a little stubborn, so she just does what Mary says so she doesn't have to tell her why she doesn't want to do it!

I'll get some cute pictures tomorrow morning!  Aren't you proud of your big girl, Daddy?  :)

a first

What did we get to do today?
Let me give you a hint...


THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH


Okay, I'm pretty sure that made this too easy!


As one of our first CO adventures, we went to the Ringling Bros, Barnum & Bailey Circus.


I have never been to a circus.  According to my father-in-law, I'm the only person my age or older that he knows who hasn't been to a circus.  Hmmm.  I find this so funny!  He was just baffled by the fact.  I can't wait to tell my mom how she neglected me.  :)  Again.  HA.  How often does this come up in conversation with him.  He's a dentist, so he talks to a lot of people.  A lot.  Maybe he just mostly talks to people who weren't from a town of 4,000?  Or maybe he just knows more of the circus-type people?How does he bring this topic up?  Is it part of his checklist?  Does he ask all his patients if they have been to a circus?  I would argue that he knows lots of people who haven't been to a circus--it just hasn't come up in conversation!  I have been to a carnival.  Lots of those.  Growing up, that's the only time we locked our doors & cars...ANYWAY, back to the topic at hand.


We went to the circus today!  

Pre-show visiting!

These poor cats...it was quite warm. 

Cute cousins...

Dylan, Abby & Maddy

{where is Beks you might ask...oh, her mommy was carrying her and taking pictures!  fun times!}

Aunt Erky & Dylan

Super cute girlies...they were picked to pose for this photo!

They had such a fun time today...they are precious together!

The mature oldest cousin!

He still knows how to have fun...

Pink hair...

win-win.

It came with the cotton candy & made for some pretty funny pictures!

Not sure why a sword seemed like a good idea...

maybe on the way out?  :)

So, my first circus.

My first time witnessing a circus performer fall to the ground in a freak accident.

Cable snapped & he fell probably 30 feet down to the floor.

Oh yes, he missed the protective padding.

It was horrible.

Back to the cuteness...

After our circus fun, we headed out to Rudy's for dinner.

Yum.

Rib-loving cousins.  :)

My nephew Parker was Bekah mauled all through dinner.

While trying to get her to eat, he told her that her mommy might get her a treat if she did a good job.

In all seriousness, she said,

"Will it be a beer?!"

Where do these girls get this stuff?  :)

p.s.  Did you know that you could have a margarita or a beer at the circus?  I did not know such things. It was magical.  How sad is it that I was excited by this?  I hope not too sad because I thoroughly enjoyed it!  And I'm pretty sure Beks didn't drink any of it.

Sacrifice

 We're on our big Summer Trip 2011...

back in my hometown for Phase 1 of the trip.

Since Grandma Lene had today off,

we decided to go to the Memorial Day Ceremony at the cemetery.

I have no idea why we don't do this every year--I think this has just started a Johnson Family Tradition.

Um, Daddy will be all for it when he's home!  :)  Right, Daddy?!

  

My hope is that my girls will grow up understanding the sacrifices those in the military have made.

That some daddies and some mommies don't get to come home.

{Probably not the best message while their father is gone, but we talked about some aspects of it today.}  

I know that at age 6 and age 3, the girls only understand so much.

This seems like a good step though.

Take {at least} one day to remember.

To have a ceremony.

To shed a tear for those we know {& don't know} who have paid the ultimate price.

Not sure this is the best picture, but I was very impressed with the turnout.  

My hometown is military friendly...lots of veterans here, so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised.

It was wonderful to see all the families there.

Beks wasn't too fond of the guns...guess I should have warned her!  :)

Thank you to all who serve and have served.

The sacrifice is great, and your commitment is beyond anything most people will ever understand.

Thank you military families.

It is not always an easy road, but it is an important one.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."  John 15:13

3x5 Folded Card

Classic Collage 3x5 folded card

Click here to see graduation announcements by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.