Here goes somethin'!

Well it's been quite a while. We've had an eventful summer. We got a new baby sister (don't worry, she's a lot cuter than the picture, but we also love the sock monkey that Grandma Sue made for her)...Blake turned 7 and Tyler turned 5...(I can't believe my eyes!!)
Tyler, Mommy and Blake took swimming lessons... (Daddy filled in when he could!)
And the boys experienced their first Omak rodeo at Aunt Debbie's house!! (and their first of many public appearances in men's sized cowboy hats. Drove mommy wild!) Tried to get Mike to wear one too but all he would wear was a sombrero. Not the same effect...(nothing against sombreros)
A fun filled, but glad it's over summer. And boy was that week of sunshine nice or what? Please. I still have the rainy crankys left over from last fall, and now it's about to start all over...

So we must return to the subject of the new baby because I know people are dying to know: She is wonderful. She is healthy. She is smiling all over the place and even laughed out loud once and we've been trying and trying to get her to do it again and haven't won yet, but it will come...oh yes, it will come. I'm constantly after the boys for being in her "space". They just want to be in her face all the time and it makes her little eyebrows wrinkle. I think it's the same face I give them a good portion of the day. Soon enough she'll have a voice of her own and a little hand push-off to go with it and they'll be in trouble. But I love to see them love on her. That I could sit and watch for days...if only they would be more available for the practical side of things. Diaper changes, 4am feedings, what have you.

I will keep things very simple on the blog about baby girl's situation...please pray for the process. It looks like we might be headed in the way of adoption, but for one, that can be long, frustrating, and probably will include another set of fingerprints for me, but would result in a forever home for what we're praying is a wonderful match for our family. She seems to be the perfect match right now. And at the same time we stand guarded...knowing that at any point any of this can change in an instant. It's just how the system works. So as this sweet one is in our arms and we are loving her more and more each day, just pray that the right thing is done, that the best thing is done for her little life. That she would be safe, healthy and loved and to have a chance to know God. These are the things we want above all else...and we selfishly pray that these things can be done in our home with her last name being Johnson! And then I will finally get to post all of the pictures I want of her on here. Hairbows, nail polish and all!

Another thing that happened this summer is that I took a good, hard look at myself and realized just how out of control I was. I mean seriously out of control. For example, I would start the laundry machine at 1am and make sure it had 3 dish cloths, 2 pairs of boys underwear, an outfit for me, an outfit for the baby AND towels for baths JUST so we'd have clean stuff for the next day. Then around 2am I would go to sleep. It only gets worse from there. But what I started to think was, "What do I get done? I mean really get done? Sure, the kids are healthy, fed, happy, husband's happy, I'm happy, but am I just doing enough to get by or am I doing all that I can?" No, siry-Bob, I'm not talking about some super-amped-up-you-gotta-be-your-greatest-you-and-then-tell-Oprah-all-about-it crap because some of these book writer/ program seller people aim a little too high for the average Joe and then we fail at that high and so then we go back to feeling okay about doing nothing. So here's my plan...A reasonable schedule for my day which allows flexibility (especially on weekends) but still gets my life in order, allows time for exercise, family time, individual kid time, God time and me time, PLUS a "little bit more".

This little bit more portion of my week is going to be my legacy, in case there isn't much of a forever because we just can't control that, but it also could be the start of something bigger, or not. At the very least it will be good for my mind, my soul, my heart, my family, my kids, my future generations, my friends and whoever should choose to read it.....have you caught on??? I am finally going to write. I live and breath and eat it. My mind blogs while I'm driving in the car without me even knowing it. It's my passion, my calling, and I just don't want any more time to go by without me doing it. So here's where you come in: What should I do? What would you want to read first? What would you buy? Do you have connections? Tell me everything and anything you want because I want to hear it. I have children's books written in my closet that I haven't done anything with...I could do something with those first, or I could write my story but where do I start? Where do I end? It seems like every time I want to end the book God writes another really good chapter. You're the ones I trust because you're the ones who keep telling me to write so now tell me what to do and I'll do it...(maybe, but you're not the boss.)

A little order to your life, a little TLC to your body, and some meaning in your day can do a lot for your heart! Instead of dropping my priorities to work on a project like writing and letting everything else pile and pile up, now I can breathe slowly, get the toilets scrubbed and the baby changed and then have time for the things I love, guilt free! And I can't wait to see what this girl comes up with! My mom would be freaking out!