A long weekend.... A lot of pictures

Sean is working 4 10hr days for the summer and this month he has had Friday's off. So it has been great to have dad home an extra day and then with it being a holiday today, it's even more great! 4 days with dad home, the kids love it! Here are some highlights from our fun, long weekend...

4 days with dad home
BBQ hamburgers
Laying out in the sun, drinking iced tea
Running through the sprinkler
Going to the beach, looking for seashells
Beautiful sunsets
Swimming in the pond
more bbq hamburgers
and taking 'lots of pictures....

The many faces of Ava Evelyn...

I tagged Stella and Jonah....

I am:
Stella: Stella.
Jonah: Stella...oh, Jonah.
I think:
Stella: That Jonah loves me.
Jonah: Treaty.
I know:
Stella:What to do.
Jonah:Stella.
I want:
Stella:Mom and Dad to love me.
Jonah:Daddy and mama.
I have:
Stella:My special monkey.
Jonah:Toys.
I wish:
Stella:That Kaylee and Maya remember me and to get my ears pierced too.
Jonah:Stella will play with me
I hate:
Stella:I don't know, let's skip that one...
I miss:
Stella:Kaylee and Maya.
Jonah:Grandma.
I fear:
Stella:Bears.
Jonah:Tigers.
I feel:
Stella:Happy.
Jonah:Sad.
I hear:
Stella:My monkey calling for me.
Jonah:Kaylee calling for me.
I smell:
Stella:Pie.
Jonah:Ice Cream
I crave:
Stella:A Sleeping Beauty dress.
Jonah:Addison to come to pre-school with me, Addison will be the teacher.
I search:
Stella:for a map.
Jonah:For bears, with a gun, I shoot the gun like Mr. Posenjak. I run very fast.
I wonder:
Stella:If my monkey really likes me.
Jonah:What will happen if I cut the trees with my cutter thing.
I regret:
Stella:Pushing and fighting with Jonah.
Jonah:Pushing Stella.
I love:
Stella:My mom, dad, and all my family.
Jonah:Addison, Alexia and Ashlin.
I ache:
Stella:When I stub my toe.
Jonah:When I step on prickles.
I care:
Stella:About my friends and family.
Jonah:About Addison, Alexia and Ashlin.
I always:
Stella:play Polly Pockets.
Jonah:Play with Stella.
I am not:
Stella:A Barbie.
Jonah: bad.
I believe:
Stella:In God.
Jonah: In God.
I dance:
Stella:With my mom and dad.
Jonah:Like this (showing me - shakin' his booty)
I sing:
Stella:praise songs.
Jonah: Sing praise.
I cry:
Stella:if I hurt someone's feelings.
Jonah: When I get an ow-ee.
I don't always:
Stella:Hit someone.
Jonah: cry.
I fight:
Stella: With Jonah....wait I want to skip this one.
Jonah: With bears and tigers.
I write:
Stella: Notes.
Jonah: On papers
I never:
Stella: Fight.
Jonah: Not fight.
I listen:
Stella: To music.
Jonah: To mom and dad. (he had a little coaxing w/this one)
I need:
Stella: Love.
Jonah: A race car toy
I am happy about:
Stella: Friends and family.
Jonah: Horses, Spirit horse.

I was tagged again and this one is from Jeanette...

I am: a child of God
I think: a lot
I know: and believe the Bible is Truth
I want: a Nikon D 80 digital camera and a rug for my living room...that's it really, that's all I want ;)
I have: been blessed with the greatest husband, 3 healthy children and an awesome family!
I wish: it was hard to gain weight and really easy to lose :)
I hate: the word hate. We don't use that word in our house. AND sin! (amen Kirra...I am with you on that one 100%)
I miss: my sisters, and my college friends.
I fear: falling down the stairs while holding Ava - seriously, I think of that every time I walk down those steps (maybe I should want a runner for our stairs??).
I feel: exasperated when after I clean something it's a mess again in a matter of seconds.... it's called children.
I hear: nothing, all of the kiddies are asleep. Oh, I guess I hear the laundry machine... but I always hear that.
I smell: the new soap in the bathroom. Ever since I opened it up, the smell has permeated the whole house!
I crave: a diet coke.
I search: for Buzz Lightyear and monkey a lot.
I wonder: what kind of personality Ava is going to add to this family.
I regret: all my past sins, but I praise the Lord for His forgiveness and grace.
I love: clean sheets.
I ache: for my friends and family going through various trials right now.
I care: about my children and what kind of friends they have.
I always: have to have the sheets tucked in before I get into bed.
I am not: a big fan of ironing.
I believe: in Jesus Christ, that he died and rose again.
I dance: with Stella
I sing: Jesus Loves Me and the Barney song every night to Jonah.
I cry: easily... I like to call that - tender hearted :)
I don't always: like to cook dinner.
I fight: having to get up in the morning... "5 o'clock comes soon" quote by Randy Conover :)
I write: emails to my friends on a daily basis.
I never: want to see my children suffer.
I listen: when spoken to.
I need: a vacation with just my husband.
I am happy about: the fact Sean has 4 days off this weekend!

SO..... Reese, Amber, Kirra, and Kim - consider yourself tagged! (and anyone else who wants to play :)

Ava Update

As many of you know I took Ava in to see a pediatric ophthalmologist on Monday to check her eyes and see if there is a reason as to why they wiggle. I want to thank each of you who prayed for her. The appointment went really good. Ava was a trooper and, for the most part, cooperated as much as any 5 month old baby could while being extremely tired. The doctor said her eyes look great, developing as they should. However he wants to continue to keep an eye (no pun intended) on her and see if the wiggling gets worse or gets better over time. So please keep praying. Pray the wiggling will cease as her eyes continue to develop and get stronger, and most of all please pray it doesn't end up being nystagmus as her pediatrician thought it might be.

While we were in the waiting room I was standing holding Ava and Sean was sitting down looking up at us and I noticed his eyes wiggle a little too. And, my mom just heard from Tricia that she can do it too. So who knows, maybe this will be a special trick she inherited from her dad and her aunt, where she can freak people out with her wiggly eyes... maybe we'll nickname her 'googgily eyes Ava' :)

This picture was taken after the appointment. You can still tell her pupils are really dilated. I bought her some sunglasses, but when I put them on her I think she was trying to tell me something..... something along the lines of "Mom I don't like these!!!" (waa, waaa, waaa). So we opted for the hat instead. I guess I should be thankful it wasn't a really sunny day.

Since we're on the subject of this sweet girl, I might as well update on other things about her too. She is now a bottle baby. The whole week prior to Mother's Day I noticed she was extra fussy, even after I fed her. It was typical for her to stay awake for barely an hour after she ate, before she was (what I thought) ready for another nap. Well that Sunday was when I figured things out...she was hungry. I supplemented a bottle for her before bed that night and she gobbled the thing down like it was the greatest stuff she had ever had (and here I thought she wouldn't like formula - HA!). So the next day I decided to give her a couple bottles and I'd nurse the remaining feedings. Oh man you guys, seriously she was like a different baby! She is now SO much happier, more content to just sit or lay, she jabbers and talks more, she's able to stretch her "wake time" from an hour to at least an hour and half, she has regular poopy diapers (that week she hadn't had one for 3 days!). It is like she's a completely different baby! I guess my milk supply had run out. I'm not sure really what caused this, whether it was because of exercising and trying to cut back on food or what?? (let's remember I have to fit in a bridesmaids dress soon!). I guess I started out producing whole milk and then it went down to non-fat and Ava was having none of that! :) Who knows...all I know now is that Ava is a much happier baby, and that is worth every penny!

My day(s)...

chocolate cake from Costco
red Peony plant
even better from Clinique
purple-ish pink evergreen Azalea
Rhododendron
Sprinkles red velvet cupcakes
presents still to come in the mail
birthday cards with money still to spend
new plant "starts" from Amber
new-to-us elliptical machine for Parsons Gym
Gene Juarez salon
pasta milano from Macaroni Grill
Starbucks coffee frappuccino
matching hair cut with Stella
no bad news from Ava's eye doctor
5:45am workout with my husband

Please continue to pray for the Johnson's

I posted back in March to please pray for this sweet family (you can click here if you haven't read it). Matt has undergone many tests and they were hoping to start his bone marrow transplant soon because they did find a match for him. Although the latest news they received after a biopsy was done Thursday, was not the news they were hoping for. They just found out that Matt now has erythroleukemia and they were told this type of leukemia is highly resistant to treatment. Matt left for the hospital this morning to start chemo today at 10am. Leaving his precious family was the hardest thing for him because he doesn't know if he'll ever be home with them again. My heart aches for them...I'm having trouble finding the words to type. So I ask you friends to just lift them up in prayer. They believe our God is great and can do great things. They believe He and He alone can provide a miracle for Matt and heal his body if it is His will. So please pray for them, pray for a miracle.

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
Romans 8:28

This morning we were reminded of this song after doing our family Bible reading....

Look What I Made Today

I saw this sign in a catalog a long time ago and I told myself - I can so make that. Well at last I did, and I love it! It was quick and easy because of the "worn in" look, or "rustic" look, if you please. It really didn't matter if the letters were straight or not, and so on, so it made for speedy work. And to all you men out there who may be reading this and think along the same lines as my husband - meaning you think in literal terms. No I am not charging if you go to the bathroom or take a bath, and yes I know I don't have an actual bath in there. This is purely a nostalgic sign, to bring joy to your eyes while you're in this cute little bathroom. :)

Friday's Favorites

a few of this week's favorites

Favorite things...

tulips and white pitchers

I love tulips. They are one of my favorite flowers. They are in full bloom right now, looking beautiful in all their glory. I wish they had it in them to bloom all summer because they make me so happy when I see them.

I also love white pitchers. I've recently started collecting them, they just have an old charm feel about them, which I love. Granted these aren't the original iron stone kind, but they still please me just the same. I can't wait for my hutch to be built (hint, hint honey), because they will look so great set on a black hutch so they just pop out at you :)!


Favorite photo...

Stella's hair

Stella came to me and said... "Look mom I did my hair all by myself!" with my response being... "get out of here!! Did you really??" ;) I think I counted at least 10 clips. Stella please stay 5 forever... please!

Favorite Stella quote...

"Mom I want to get my hair cut...long hair is such a bother!"

Dinner's done...It's a beautiful day...Let's go for a walk!

Here's a little pre-walk warm-up...

Stella's ready...

Jonah's ready...

Ava's uhhhh....ready or not??

...and they're off!! Sean even gets a little jogging in while trying to keep up with the kids...

...after walking the "loop" we drop the bikes off at home...

...then we head down to the pond...

...time for climbing on the boats, throwing a few rocks, and playing by the water...

...then we head to Grandpa and Grandma's house for some pie and ice cream :) (hey we walked remember??)...

...when Ava starts making these faces we know it's time to head on home...

(seriously, can you believe these faces??!!)

...Ava's crying it's time to "book - it" home...

(we're moving so fast we're a blur :)

This time of year is my favorite. The weather is starting to get nice, the days are long, we can go for walks...love it! Stella always asks if she can go swimming in the pond (brrrrr). Hopefully the day comes soon when I can finally say "yes you can!"

Stella's comment on our walk to grandma's...

"This is my most favorite season of all."

Me too Stella girl, me too!