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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

2 Months

Our little man is growing so fast!!!


He is smiling all the time it seems.  And the other day he laughed!!! Maybe it was just me. ha ha


Here he is with his first sibling inflicted wound.  He was laying on my bed and I walked around the corner and set something on the desk when I heard him cry out in pain.  I spun around and saw Eden standing next to him and said, "What happened?" She replied, "Hit the head."  I looked at his face and saw the damages. 


Eden had scratched his face and seemed to be proud of it.

That same day he was perched on the couch and I heard Uncle Brady say, "Oh Eden!  Be careful!"  I turned to look and saw Eden had wanted to hold him and had pulled him from sitting position and was about to pull him off the couch.  Whoa!  Child!

She is much better now but she just loves to hold her brother.



Stats:
Size 1 diaper
Started Sleeping through the night at about 3 1/2 weeks!  (Love Him!)
Eats about 5-6oz each feeding
Loves the swing
Has the deepest blue eyes
Loves to clench his fists and then are full of lint
Loves his car seat
Finally has a full head of hair
Has one boink on his left ear just like his sister (Only true Johnson's have boinks)
Still has a little cradle cap


We just love this little boy!!! 
It is so hard for Colby to be away from him.  
He just wants to reach through the web cam and munch on him.  




Sunday, September 9, 2012

The Big Move - Part 2

With the passing of Grandma Marjorie it moved our move up a week.  So we had to be completely packed in 3 days!!!  Luckily I had already started packing.  But the real luck was all the amazing friends that came over to help pack, brought meals, and watched my kiddos!  You all are life savers and I could not have gotten it all done without you.

This is the Bishops wife.  She is one amazing woman and I had the blessed opportunity to co-direct the musical we did with all the youth.  Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat.  
I still need to do a post on that experience.  Oh my goodness!!! It was incredible and the youth from our ward did a fabulous job!!!  I will miss them all so much!  I love you guys!  

This is one of Eden's favorite friends and babysitter!  She came over to say goodbye to Eden and she even packed up a couple boxes while she was here!  Love her and her family!

As Colby began to break down the kitchen table Eden wasn't far behind.  Eden loves to help the boys.  She will follow right along the moment Colby pulls out the tools.  She loves to take the wrench and walk around the house "fixing" things.

A huge thank you to all the guys that came out and helped load the truck.  They got it done so fast!!!  We were short on space but luckily we still have our trailer for all the rest of the stuff.

And of course we loaded the beast up on a trailer.  There was no way we would attempt driving that thing across country again for several reasons but mostly...GAS Guzzler!


We didn't finished getting the truck or Bronco loaded till about 1am.  Crazy I know, but what makes it worse is Colby was aiming to hit the road at 4 or 5am.  So we turned off the lights about 1am and settled plopped down on our air mattress and slept for a few hours before we were up and at it again.

We loaded up a few more things in the truck and Colby locked it up and hit the road.

Through all of this the kids have really done pretty good.  Eden, of course, is having the hardest time as I expected.  I really felt that over the past few days I had abandoned them.  There was so much to be done and I so many great friends who would let me drop them off watch them for a few hours so I could get some things done.  Another thank you to all who watched my kiddos!  They had fun!  

But.... I was feeling really guilty.  So Eden and I took a little break from everything and went out to have a little fun.  She loves coloring the sidewalks, well, more like she likes to tell me to color the sidewalks while she watches. 


My sister Ryanne had driven up on monday to help us out.  So Colby left Thursday morning and Ryanne and I stayed for a couple days.  We wanted to hit up the zoo one last time and see the new Sea Lion exhibit, which was way cool, and we had a few loose ends to tie up.  

Have I mentioned how amazing my ward is?!?!?  I just absolutely love our ward.  I can easily and honestly say it is the best ward I have been in thus far.  I will miss them all so much.  Truly it was a huge factor in deciding when the kids and I would leave.  I was just not ready to say goodbye and I'm still not.  Just last night I received a phone call from a sister that I absolutely idolize and it made my day.  They made us meals and had us over for dinner our last night there and then a handful of them came over to help deep clean our apartment.  True friends.

Around noon, Ryanne and I had packed the car and loaded up the kids.  As I stood in the doorway and looked back on my home for the last three years exactly to the day, I couldn't hold back the tears.  So many memories were made within these walls.  Good and bad, but they are still all memories.  I looked at the exact spot where Eden started crawling and where she took her first steps.  I looked at the spot on the wall where she spit up and it went everywhere.  I remember standing in the kitchen so many hundreds of times when Colby would come home and sweep me up in his arms and kiss me hello.  Every square inch has a memory that will never be forgotten.   

 (Our last picture in our empty home.)

But there is good news to all of you in St louis!!! Colby will still be there for 6 more weeks.  So if anyone would like an extra dinner guest I am sure he wouldn't mind and I would be so grateful!!!







Saturday, September 8, 2012

The Big Move - Part 1


We have begun the process of making our way to Denver.  Colby doesn't graduate till December but the kids and I are already moved out.  

Our lease on our apartment ended on August 31.  At that time we were to pay month-to-month rent.  Seeing as how that would increase our bill by nearly $300 each month we decided to look at other options.  We have a lot of expenses coming up and we need every penny.  So the thought of the kids and I living with my parents for 6-7 weeks to save a few thousand $$$$ dollars was very tempting.  We threw around a ton of ideas and changed the date of the moved so many times.  

We even had a friend of ours, who is a contract lawyer, look over our lease contract to see if there was a way to get out of it.  Because as of right now we are stuck with paying all that extra money for the month of September because we did not act fast enough.  We proposed a few ideas and compromises to the leasing office but to no avail.  We did manage to talk them down a bit on the month-to-month rate but still it is a lot of money.  So right now we are still pursuing all efforts to find someone to buy our contract for September.  And the good news is something will be coming to check out our place this weekend!  Wahoo! Keeping fingers crossed.

In the mean time, Colby is bacheloring it up in our apartment with paper goods to eat on and with as well as a desk, folding table and lawn chairs as furniture.  Don't worry he does have a bed and amidst all the packing I was able to cook and stock the freezer with meals for him that he can throw right in the oven.  
Man he is spoiled!!!

Originally the kids and I were not going to leave St louis until Sept 5.  However, on Sunday, the 26th, we received word that Colby's grandmother had passed only a few minutes before.  
She was 93, and a mother of 7 sons!!!  

This beautiful picture of her is from our wedding.
Photo: We are very sad to announce the loss of our Mother Marjorie Aurelia Johnson; April 6, 1919 – August 26, 2012.  She passed peacefully after spending several days with her family. Our hearts were filled in her final days with her love for her family and by our eternal love for her.  Marjorie was born in Victor, Idaho on April 6, 1919 to William Benjamin and Indria Viola Jones. She spent her early years in the Teton Valley where she met her eternal sweetheart, J. Clark Johnson. They were married in the Logan Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on June 23, 1937. Their family includes 7 sons, 6 daughters-in-law, 23 grandchildren, and many great grandchildren.  Marjorie spent her adult life raising her sons to be honorable men, spending time with her family, and working with her husband in their businesses. She served as a Relief Society President for many years in Everett Washington and knew the value of sisterhood from her family life and church service. In every venture of her life she combined the virtues of hard work, integrity, good humor and compassion. The value of her life is measured by her example of service, by the trust of those she knew, and by her devotion to her family.  Mom, we rejoice in your life, we love you, and we will miss you. Services will be at 2:00 PM on Tuesday September 4, 2012 at Evergreen Cemetery, Everett, Washington. Friends and family may visit preceding the service at 1:00 PM.

Before she passed she was able to meet Eden and she also completed a baby blanket for her and just a few weeks ago we received one for Axel too!! Thank you Grandma! They are beautiful and and so special and we will tell our kids about the amazing woman who made them!


to be continued...